ABSTRACT Destructive impacts resulting from volcanic eruptions affect food production severely, leading to the deterioration of food access and food consumption. Thus, we spotted the urgency of researching food access, household food consumption, and nutritional status of children in Sinabung's eruptions-prone areas, Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 368 (158 farmers only and 228 farmers plus farm laborers) households headed by farmers. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Three indices were used for assessing the nutritional status of children namely weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ). Data on household food consumption were collected by using the food consumption score (FCS). The household food consumption among the two groups of farmers was significantly different. Farmers plus farm laborers had a slightly better variety of food since they could collect free vegetables and fruits from the fields where they were working as a farm laborers. Household food consumption was significantly associated with the nutritional status of children. But in the group of farmers-only, the correlation between household food consumption and underweight was not significantly associated. To improve food access and food consumption, the policymakers should provide information about other job opportunities (as an agricultural laborer on another farm) to the farmers, and help them to reach out to those jobs, especially during unpredictable circumstances like Sinabung's eruptions.


To produce more meaningful parameters product based on remote sensing data is becoming the research focus in remote sensing data processing area. Because remote sensing data is massive, how to produce the parameters products efficiently is a difficulty confronted with research institutions. This paper researches the organization of remote sensing data and the process of the parameters products producing, designs the system model, verifies the model's effectiveness through an example, lays the foundation for parameters products manufacture system.


Immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is a systemic disease characterized by the production and deposition of light chain-derived amyloid fibrils in different organs. Prompt treatment directed to the underlying plasma cell clone is crucial in order to achieve a rapid, deep and durable hematologic response. The decrease in the production of the amyloidogenic light chains is a required condition to obtain the organ response, which is commonly delayed. Meanwhile, supportive treatment is aimed to maintain quality of life of these patients and preserve their involved organs' function. From simple measures, such as salt restriction or compressive stockings, to very complex interventions, such as heart transplantation in very selected patients with isolated severe cardiac involvement, this supportive care is essential and has to be necessarily included in the multidisciplinary management of this disease.


All prisons provide healthcare services which aim to meet the needs of prisoners. The goal of the service is to give prisoners access to the same quality and range of health care as the NHS gives the general public. However, within the prison environment priorities centre around order, control and discipline and therefore an ethos of health care needs to be developed. Custody reduces the prisoner's opportunity for self-care and independent action as inmates have to consult nursing or medical staff for even the most simple remedies. Nursing staff in the prison service can play a significant part in primary health care, mental disorder and health promotion. Nurses have the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to deal with this diverse and vulnerable prison population and to promote a positive interface between custody and care.


In this paper, we present a study of the usage of intensity exposure in histogram segmentation and its performance in histogram equalization. Two techniques are proposed: the mean-based bi-histogram equalization plateau limit (mean-BHEPL) or median-based BHEPL (median-BHEPL) and adaptive bi-histogram equalization algorithm (ABHE). Both techniques initially divide the input histogram into two subhistograms through a threshold value computed from the intensity exposure of the image. Histogram clipping for mean-BHEPL and median-BHEPL is then performed on these subhistograms using the mean and median values, respectively. Conventional histogram equalization is also implemented on each clipped subhistogram. The second proposed technique, ABHE, applies the modified version of the adaptive histogram equalization algorithm (AHEA) on both subhistograms. Results of extensive simulations reveal that mean-BHEPL and median-BHEPL perform comparably to the conventional BHEPL technique. ABHE exhibits excellent performance in image quality, naturalness, and mean brightness preservation. However, it is slightly inferior in image detail preservation to the conventional AHEA technique. In conclusion, segmenting the input histogram through the threshold value calculated based on the intensity exposure of the image yields good enhancement results.


For the last decade, research into integrated software development environments has been one of the focuses in the software engineering community. The key objective of this paper is to classify the existing tool interfacing/integration models for software development. They are termed the uncoupled, tightly-coupled, and loosely-coupled paradigms. Our experiments with these paradigms are also briefly described so as to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each paradigm. Based on this paper a clear view of tool interfaces for software development is presented.<<ETX>>


This brief commentary will argue that whether hormesis is considered in regulatory risk assessment is a matter less of science than of science policy. I will first discuss the distinction between science and science policy and their roles in regulatory risk assessment. Then I will focus on factors that influence science policy, especially as it relates to the conduct of risk assessments to inform regulatory decisions, with a focus on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The key questions will then be how does hormesis interact with current concepts of science and science policy for risk assessment? Finally, I look ahead to factors that may increase, or decrease, the likelihood of hormesis being incorporated into regulatory risk assessment.


Future space missions face enormous challenges in the area of on-board data processing; especially in the area of earth observation and robotics. Powerful and smart on-board processing becomes more and more important to cope with limited communication bandwidth to the ground and to enable higher degrees of autonomy for deep space robotic missions.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is conducting the research activity OBC-NG (On-board Computer – Next Generation) to build a new distributed on-board computer architecture that allows sharing of computing resources across subsystems of a spacecraft. Redundancy is not limited to one particular subsystem in this architecture. Tasks of failing computing nodes can be migrated to any available computer on the spacecraft. Additionally, it is possible to reassign computing resources to specific tasks if the mission profile changes. For instance, if a probe is going to land on a celestial body by utilizing an optical navigation system, the majority of the on-board computing resources are used to run the complex computer vision algorithms during descent and landing and calculate a navigation solution and control the spacecraft. Afterwards, the computing resources are reassigned to other tasks, e.g. for scientific experiments on the ground.
Both scenarios, task migration in the case of failures and changes for different mission phases, are made possible by employing the concept of reconfiguration of hardware, software, and network routing tables. The OBC-NG architecture consists of reconfigurable nodes connected via a SpaceWire network. The nodes can be realized on different computer architectures, for instance CPUs and FPGAs. A special OBC-NG middleware provides means for error detection and reconfiguration services, like checkpoint, task migration, and task morphing (i.e. moving a task, for instance, from an FPGA to a CPU). The middleware supports diverse operating systems. Real-time operating systems like RODOS running hard real-time tasks for the avionic subsystems or soft real-time operating systems, like Linux, that provide many third-party libraries for complex data processing algorithms. Dedicated interface nodes distribute sensor data to the network and provide services to access actuators of the spacecraft from any computing node in network.
The next step will extend this architecture to swarms of spacecraft or robotic exploration devices like rovers. We call this concept "Space Cloud". For this, the network is then not only limited to a single system but extended to a system of systems. In such a setup, the tasks can be distributed across several systems by running the same middleware and providing high-speed communication links. One possible scenario would be that after the landing of the aforementioned probe, several small rovers and robotic crawlers are deployed with limited computing power to explore the area and the main probe provides computing resources via a communication link for these vehicles. Another possible scenario would be a swarm of satellites which act as a distributed network of computing nodes. Tasks can be shared across several spacecraft.
In summary, this contribution presents the architecture of OBC-NG and gives an outlook towards the vision of an OBC-NG-based Space Cloud architecture.


The purpose of the study was to compare the physical fitness components among the club and non-club cricketers. 30 (15 club & 15 non-club) cricketers were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects was 17 to 28 years. Age, Height and Weight were taken as personal data. Selected physical fitness components were measured as criterion by standard tests. The subject was taken randomly. Data were collected in the afternoon (3-4:30 p.m.) consecutively four days. Mean, Standard Deviation and independent t-test was used. Significant level was set at 0.05 levels. Club cricketers were significantly better than nonclub cricketers on Agility, Sit-ups & standing broad jump and there were insignificant difference between club and non-club cricketers on selected other physical fitness components.


BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to analyze the relationship between clinical factors and velopharyngeal closure (VPC) in cleft palate patients. METHODS: Chi-square test was used to compare the postoperative velopharyngeal closure rate. Logistic regression model was used to analyze independent variables associated with velopharyngeal closure. RESULTS: Difference of postoperative VPC rate in different cleft types, operative ages and surgical techniques was significant (P=0.000). Results of logistic regression analysis suggested that when operative age was beyond deciduous dentition stage, or cleft palate type was complete, or just had undergone a simple palatoplasty without levator veli palatini retropositioning, patients would suffer a higher velopharyngeal insufficiency rate after primary palatal repair. CONCLUSIONS: Cleft type, operative age and surgical technique were the contributing factors influencing VPC rate after primary palatal repair of cleft palate patients.


The formation of autoantibodies against chromatin is the main feature of systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), an autoimmune disease, which is T-cell dependent and autoantigen-driven. Historically, antibodies against dsDNA, one ofthe components of chromatin, are considered as a hallmark of SLE. However, dsDNA is poorly immunogenic. Nucleosome-specific T helper cells have been identified. These T cells propagate not only nucleosome-specific antibodies, but also anti-dsDNA antibodies Nucleosomes are formed during apoptosis by cleavage of chromatin, and evidence of disturbed apoptosis has been foundespecially in certain murine models of lupus. In addition to an increased rate of apoptosis, autoimmunity against chromatin might also result from an impaired phagocytosis ofapoptotic material, for which strong evidence has been provided by studies in certain knock-out mice (C1q, SAP, Dnase I). The induction of an immune response to nucleosomes could be enhanced by modifi cations of histones or DNA during apoptosis, altered presentation by antigen presenting cells or a viral infection. The release of nucleosomes and the formation of anti-chromatin autoantibodies result in formation of complexes, which bind to the glomerular basement membrane via heparan sulfate. This deposition incites glomerulonephritis, the most serious manifestation of SLE.


We believe that the demographic evolution can provide new knowledge about the economic growth. The differences in the dispersion of the distribution of production and population in all the regions and countries of the world, have an impact on economic growth, expressed in the form of per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Although, there is no consensus on a relationship between the explanatory economic and population growth, however, necessarily, there is an arithmetic relationship between the two concepts, the expression gross domestic product ( GDP) per capita. The objective is to analyze in the long term how both effects have participated in different regions and countries of the world . Keywords: population, GDP, Distribution.


The gastric secretion was systematically examined in 58 patients during the first days after operations on organs of the abdominal cavity, 23 of them having it considerably increased. In three of these patients the operation was followed by gastric bleeding from acute ulcers. Higher gastric secretion was most frequently observed in patients with mechanical jaundice, purulent peritonitis and intestinal obstruction. Changes in the gastric secretion depend on the composition and volume of infusion therapy.


EU project ASTARTE aimed at developing a higher level of tsunami hazard assessment in the North-Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (NEAM) region by a combination of field work, experimental work, numerical modeling and technical development. The project was a cooperative work of 26 institutes from 16 countries and linked together the description of past tsunamigenic events, the identification and characterization of tsunami sources, the calculation of the impact of such events, and the development of adequate resilience and risks mitigation strategies (http://www.astarte-project.eu/). Within ASTARTE, a web-based database on Paleotsunami Deposits in the NEAM area was created with the purpose to be the future information repository for tsunami research in the broad region. The aim of the project is the integration of every existing official scientific reports and peer reviewed papers on this topic. The database, which archives information and detailed data crucial for tsunami modeling, will be updated on new entries every 12 months. A relational database managed by ArcGIS for Desktop 10.x software has been implemented. One of the final goals of the project is the public sharing of the archived dataset through a web-based map service that will allow visualizing, querying, analyzing, and interpreting the dataset. The interactive map service is hosted by ArcGIS Online and will deploy the cloud capabilities of the portal. Any interested users will be able to access the online GIS resources through any Internet browser or specific apps that run on desktop machines, smartphones, or tablets and will be able to use the analytical tools, key tasks, and workflows of the service. We will present the database structure (characterized by the presence of two main tables: the Site table and the Event table) and topics as well as their ArcGIS Online version. To date, a total of 151 sites and 220 tsunami evidence have been recorded within the ASTARTE database. The ASTARTE Paleotsunami Deposits database – NEAM region is now available online at the address http://arcg.is/1CWz0. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 603839 (Project ASTARTE Assessment, Strategy and Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe). Abstract #270646 The ASTARTE Paleotsunami Deposits data base – web-based references for tsunami research in the NEAM region Daniela Pantosti1, Paolo Marco De Martini1, Simone Orefice1, Alessandra Smedile1, Antonio Patera1, Raphael Paris2, Pedro Terrinha3, James Hunt4, Gerassimos A Papadopoulos5, Joao Noiva3, Ioanna Triantafyllou6 and Ahmet C Yalciner7, (1)Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy, (2)Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Clermont-Ferrand Cedex, France, (3)IDL Instituto Dom Luiz, Lisbon, Portugal, (4)National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom, (5)Inst Geodynamics, Athens, Greece, (6)National Observatory of Athens, Institute of Geodynamics, Athens, Greece, (7)METU, Ankara, Turkey270646 The ASTARTE Paleotsunami Deposits data base – web-based references for tsunami research in the NEAM region Daniela Pantosti1, Paolo Marco De Martini1, Simone Orefice1, Alessandra Smedile1, Antonio Patera1, Raphael Paris2, Pedro Terrinha3, James Hunt4, Gerassimos A Papadopoulos5, Joao Noiva3, Ioanna Triantafyllou6 and Ahmet C Yalciner7, (1)Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy, (2)Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Clermont-Ferrand Cedex, France, (3)IDL Instituto Dom Luiz, Lisbon, Portugal, (4)National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, United Kingdom, (5)Inst Geodynamics, Athens, Greece, (6)National Observatory of Athens, Institute of Geodynamics, Athens, Greece, (7)METU, Ankara, Turkey


The aim of this study was to evaluate the productivity of net melon, grown in coconut husk fiber with fertigation. A randomized complete block design was used with five cultivars and four repetitions. Each parcel consisted of six plants, where only the four central ones were evaluated. The hybrids were: Maxim, Louis, Fantasy, Shinju 200, and Bonus n o 2. The seeding was done in expanded polystyrene 128 cell trays, in which the substrate was Plantmax Hortalicas ® . Thirteen days after sowing, one plant was transferred to each pot. Planting was made according to a 1.0 m between rows and 0.5 m between plants arrangement. The melon plants were hydroponically cultivated in plastic vases filled with the commercial coconut fiber Golden Mix® Misto 98. Harvesting took place 95 days after transplant. The production characteristics evaluated were production per plant, longitudinal and transverse diameters of the fruit, roundness of the husk, transverse and longitudinal diameters of the locule and productivity. The qualitative characteristics of the fruit evaluated were weight of the fruit, thickness of the mesocarp, level of soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, maturation index and vitamin C. Although the hybrids Shinju 200 and Maxim did not differ from the hybrids Fantasy and Louis as to productivity, they showed lower pH and soluble solids. It was conclude that hybrids Fantasy and Louis are the most indicated for cultivation with coconut husk fiber with fertigation. Additional keywords: Cucumis melo L.; fruit yield; fertigation; fruit quality.


Simultaneous injections of Evans blue dye (T-1824) and iodinated (I131) human serum albumin (IHSA) into the antecubital or femoral veins of four normal subjects gave the same values for cardiac output when arterial samples were analyzed. Two indicator dilution curves were constructed from arterial samples collected after the simultaneous injection of dye into the superior vena cava and IHSA into the antecubital or femoral vein. A third dilution curve was recorded by a crystal placed against the chest in a position where it was activated by IHSA in both right and left chambers of the heart. Observations were made in the resting state and after the circulation was increased by atropine or isoproterenol. In the analysis of arterial samples, injection of an indicator into the superior vena cava gave lower values for cardiac output than injection into the antecubital or femoral veins. When the isotope was injected (in a volume of 1.5–2 ml) into an antecubital vein, the values for cardiac output calculated by external counting were similar to values obtained by arterial sampling of dye injected into the superior vena cava. The values for cardiac output by external counting after femoral injection of the indicator were consistently higher than the values obtained with the centrally injected dye.

Submitted on July 6, 1960


The concept of rita (Road Information Transmitted Aurally) was to communicate spoken messages directly to the driver of a vehicle approaching a traffic incident, and to warn of the danger, delay, and possible re-routeing required. Inductive loop communication in the low frequency (16 to 150 khz) band may be used to transmit such information. The loop may be buried beneath or on the edges of a road, coupling directly with a receiver mounted in the vehicle. To investigate the installation and maintenance problems and to determine the electrical radiation properties of inductive loops, seven buried cable loops were installed in the M4 motorway between the Theale (no 12) and Maidenhead (nos 8/9) Interchanges. The installation was carried out in the summer of 1971 and the motorway opened to traffic in December of the same year. This report describes the techniques used to electrically energise these cable loops, the resultant electromagnetic field patterns so obtained, the signal loss experienced due to bridge structures, the loop attenuation characteristics, and the variations occurring between loops. /Author/TRRL/


The creation of policy is one of the prerogatives of a free and uninhibited (freies ermessen, or free discretion) government administrations. Although freies ermessen grants free authority to the government, within the framework of national the law said the government should still observe legislation and the Principles of Good Governance. However, at the implementation level, there are still many policies that which are difficult to put into effect due to ambiguous interpretation and conflicts of interest, thus resulting in legal uncertainty. Based on this, there needs to be an affirmation of the position taken by the Indonesian government regarding the contradictory relationship between written law and implementation, so as to ensure the appropriate application of the principles of freies ermessen.
Keywords: nPolicy Rules, Freies Ermessen, Legislatin, Good Governance Principles


A negative capacitance field-effect transistor (FET) with sub-60 mV/decade subthreshold slope (SS) at different temperatures (i.e. 14.8 mV/decade at 300 K, 15.7 mV/decade at 360 K and 24.3 mV/decade at 400 K) is experimentally demonstrated. A detailed account of the fabrication process of a negative capacitor is first introduced, followed by the measurement setup for the negative capacitance FET. The impact of temperature on negative capacitance FETs is investigated: (i) the equation for the internal voltage gain in the FET as a function of temperature is derived using Gibbs free energy and (ii) internal voltage against gate voltage (V Int against V G), internal voltage gain against gate voltage (dV Int/dV G against V G) and drain current against gate voltage (I D against V G) curves at different temperatures are measured. It is confirmed that internal voltage amplification can be achieved using the ferroelectric capacitor. However, the magnitude of the step-up voltage transformation is reduced, i.e. from 9.5 at 300 K to 2.6 at 400 K. Additionally, the SS is slightly increased (i.e. degrading from 14.8 mV/decade at 300 K to 24.3 mV/decade at 400 K) with increasing temperature; however, all SS values are better than the physical limits of SS as dictated by Boltzmann statistics.


ABSTRACT The 2014 Êzîdî Genocide caused a rupture in the social fabric of the Iraqi religious Êzîdî minority. A search for meaning in the aftermath of violence has caused a group of Şingalî poets to reconstruct memories of the past through their narration in Arabic prose poetry. A narrative analysis has been used on a selection of poems written and interviews conducted with five poets. I investigate their trauma process through adopting the theory of a cultural trauma, viewing 'trauma' from a social constructivist point of view, in an attempt to advance and challenge trauma theory and position the importance of representation in empowering lost voices. Through reconstructing the past in the present, the poets narrate counter-histories which give access to untold experiences which lie outside the narration of a singular event, but instead comprise of stories of the everyday in which violence is embedded. In recounting these memories, the poets serve to historicize their suffering while rebuilding the foundation of the collective and relating themselves to wider communities fostering attachments, solidarity and a critical vision for the future.


We discuss the possibility that the recent detection of 511 keV gamma rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, can be naturally explained by the supermassive very dense droplets (strangelets) of dark matter. These droplets are assumed to be made of ordinary light quarks (or antiquarks) condensed in a nonhadronic color superconducting phase. The droplets can carry electrons (or positrons) in the bulk or/and on the surface. The e(+)e(-) annihilation events take place due to the collisions of electrons from the visible matter with positrons from dark matter droplets which may result in the bright 511 keV gamma-ray line from the bulge of the Galaxy.


The authors derive the most general equations of motion for the electrons and the electromagnetic field including the effects of diffraction and pulse propagation. The field evolution is expressed in terms of the amplitudes and phases of a complete set of transverse modes. The analytic solution is given in the small signal regime, where the theory is shown to be in excellent agreement with a recent experiment.


AIM
To study the characteristics of hospitalized pain patients in Shenzhen with the aim of identifying some of the social, economic and therapeutic aspects of pain management in China.

METHODS
A retrospective study was designed to collect the information of 3061 hospitalized pain patients in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Their demographic characteristics, diagnoses of pain types, hospitalization, therapeutic effect, economic cost and payment types were analyzed.

RESULTS
The number of female patients significantly increased with time. The patient's average age increased from 41.3 in 2003 to 49.7 years old in 2011. The most common diagnosis of pain was lumbar intervertebral disc herniation. The total hospitalization days of each patient per year significantly decreased from 15.7 days in 2003 to 10.4 days in 2011. However, the hospitalization cost for each patient was almost doubled.

CONCLUSION
The hospitalized pain patients and their economic burdens have almost been doubled in the recent four years.


Many different names have been assigned to the myocardial disease which is characterized by ventricular hypertrophy and abnormal function, and which is often associated with obstruction of the outflow of the left ventricle (McMicha¶l, 1964). Goodwin et al. (1960) have proposed the term "obstructive cardiomyopathy" in order to emphasize the generalized nature of the heart muscle disorder, and later the word "hypertrophic" has been added to this description (Cohen et al., 1964) to point out that in some cases obstruction may not be present despite massive ventricular hypertrophy. Whether these latter cases will go on to develop outflow obstruction is not known. These cases often present diagnostic difficulties, in contrast to the patients with outflow obstruction in whom the diagnosis can usually be made on clinical grounds alone. There are numerous reviews of the obstructive cases, which, as was remarked by Burchell (1964), give almost a monotonous clinical and haemodynamic description of the condition. There has, however, been little emphasis on marginal cases which show little or no obstruction. We describe 4 such patients who presented diagnostic problems. The clinical presentation in 3 of them did not suggest the diagnosis of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, but subsequent investigations indicated that they might belong to the same group. In the fourth, the diagnosis of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy was suspected on the grounds of family history and clinical signs, but could not be confirmed by further tests.


In most intensive dairy farms, P input exceeds output, causing potential P losses to the environment, which results in leaching to ground water and eutrophication. Phosphorus in fertilizer and purchased feeds are the main contributors to P input, whereas milk P is the main output. In the Netherlands, new legislation has been introduced to substantially reduce P surpluses. However, since P is essential for maintenance and milk production, the dietary P supply must be maintained, especially for high-yielding dairy cows. This paper reviews how dairy cow diets can be manipulated to reduce potential P-loss to the environment without negative effects on animal health, feed intake, or milk production. The availability of P in forages, purchased feed, and inorganic phosphate supplements for ruminants may differ substantially and more research work is needed to elucidate the relevant factors influencing feed P availability. There is a lack of understanding of how and to what extent P is absorbed from the small intestine and the relationship to hydrolysis and microbial P utilization in the rumen. Comparing national P requirement systems indicates that the systems used in the UK and Italy should be revised to minimize unnecessary P accumulation in the soil. In addition, the impact of manipulating the dietary P supply to decrease P losses from dairy farming systems is evaluated. Whole farm system studies have illustrated the potential environmental benefits of more closely monitoring imports of purchased feeds onto the farm.


Due to continuous development, the miniaturization of the integrated circuits in CMOS technology is approaching its limit. Thus emerged several proposals for new technologies that would take advantage of the effects which hinder the operation of miniaturized CMOS circuits. One of the proposed novel technologies is the quantum-dot cellular automaton (QCA). Its basic building block is a QCA cell with four quantum dots and two electrons which can assume two configurations within a cell. Electrostatic effects enable the transfer of data between cells. Therefore, the QCA can perform binary processing. Researchers constructed various logic gates composed of QCA cells, including the majority gate, the inverter and the wire. This enables the construction of complex QCA structures. As in the design of CMOS circuits, the QCA design methodology must be formalized and computer aided design must be introduced.
In this thesis we address the automatization of the layout design of QCA structures. Layout design consists of placement and routing of logic gates. We developed the methods for automatic placement and routing of QCA logic gates, thus introducing the computer aided design of QCA structures. We analyzed existing algorithms for layout design in CMOS technology and adapted them for layout design of QCA structures. For placement of QCA logic gates we used the simulated annealing algorithm. For routing of placed gates we developed the algorithm based on the maze router and the line probe search.
Correctly operating structures can be designed only by using the design rules that determine the necessary structure characteristics. Thus, the design rules must be considered by the computer tool for automatic QCA layout design. In thesis we defined the design rules that must be satisfied by correctly operating structure. The defined design rules take into account the physical characteristics of QCA, thus their use enables the design of manufacturable structures.
In order to evaluate the characteristics of automatically designed QCA structures we defined appropriate metrics. They were used to assess the quality of automatically designed structures. Based on the introduced metrics we compared automatically designed and manually designed QCA structures.
We implemented the computer tool for automatic layout design of QCA structures. We used the tool to design several QCA structures and we analyzed the results. Correct operation of all designed structures was verified by the simulation in QCADesigner tool.


Astronomical adaptive optics systems with open-loop deformable mirror control have recently come online. In these systems, the deformable mirror surface is not included in the wavefront sensor paths, and so changes made to the deformable mirror are not fed back to the wavefront sensors. This gives rise to all sorts of linearity and control issues mainly centred on one question: has the mirror taken the shape requested? Non-linearities in wavefront measurement and in the deformable mirror shape can lead to significant deviations in the mirror shape from the requested shape. Here, wavefront sensor measurements made using a brightest pixel selection method are discussed along with the implications that this has on open-loop AO systems. Discussion includes elongated laser guide star spots and also computational efficiency.


BACKGROUND
Members of self-help groups (SHGs) for support of cancer patients are concerned that physicians are skeptical about these groups and see them as potentially harmful. The purpose of this study was to assess family physicians' attitudes towards self-help groups and see whether these could be changed through an educational intervention.

METHODS
A questionnaire assessing attitudes toward SHGs was mailed to 1,422 eligible Ontario family physicians, to which 911 responded (64% response rate). Responders were sent an educational package consisting of an article about self-help groups, a list of local cancer self-help groups, and a follow-up questionnaire.

RESULTS
The study was completed by 584/911 family physicians (64%). After being exposed to educational material, the physicians were more positive about the helpfulness of SHGs (p = 0.021), and less concerned about SHGs' being harmful (p = 0.003). They were more positive about the potential for SHGs to provide participants with opportunities for: sharing information (p = 0.004), bonding with other patients (p < 0.001), feeling understood (p = 0.004), sharing common experiences (p = 0.004), providing hope (p < 0.001), sharing laughter (p = 0.001), becoming more assertive (p < 0.001), communicating with health professionals (p = 0.04), dealing with issues related to death and dying (p = 0.005), advocacy (p = 0.01), and overcoming isolation (p = 0.002). They were less concerned with the potential for SHGs to provide misinformation (p = 0.003), the negative effects of associating with the very ill (p = 0.002), dwelling on illness (p = 0.002), or cultivating false hope (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION
Having family physicians complete a questionnaire, followed by educational material specific to their concerns, changed their attitudes toward self-help groups. Further study is needed to see whether behavioral changes resulted.


Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) is a VEGF165 and semaphorin receptor widely expressed by vascular endothelial cells in normal tissues and on some tumor cells. Blocking NRP1 with a human IgG1 against the b domain of NRP1 has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in several preclinical models. However, due to the wide expression of NRP1 in normal tissues, the uptake of anti-NRP1 by tumor cells may be impacted by the uptake in normal tissues. The objective of this study was to determine the normal tissue uptake of anti-NRP1 and assess its impact on tumor tissue uptake in a tumor bearing mouse model. Nude mice bearing tumors with either low, HM7, or high, SKMES, NRP1 expression were dosed with [111In]-DOTA labeled anti-NRP1 with or without excess amounts of unlabeled anti-NRP1 via single IV injection. Following dosing, blood, tumor, and several normal tissues were collected at pre-selected time points for the determination of radioactivity levels using a gamma counter. In the absence of unlabeled anti-NRP1, 3% Injected Dose (ID)/ml of radioactivity was observed in the blood at 15 minutes post-dose and decreased quickly. There was minimal radioactivity seen in tumor tissue. In contrast, the majority of radioactivity was detected in the lungs and liver. With increasing amount of unlabeled anti-NRP1, the radioactivity in the lungs/liver dropped, while increasing in blood and tumor tissue. At ∼10 mg/kg unlabeled anti-NRP1, there was no additional decrease of radioactivity in these normal tissues whereas the tumor radioactivity appeared to reach its peak. Taken together, these data suggest that the lungs/liver are tissue sinks that sequester a majority of the anti-NRP1 when given at lower doses, thus hampering tumor uptake. It is important to optimize the dose and dose regimen in order to overcome this tissue sink binding and allow for a sufficient amount of antibody to be available for tumor uptake. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 696.


PURPOSE
To examine the stress values of different bone densities and to compare the tapered and the cylindrical implant designs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Finite element analysis was used to apply a force of 100 N vertically and at an angle of 30 degrees to implants with a cylindrical or tapered design in D1and D4 bones in eight separate models. The von Mises and principal stress values obtained from the models were compared, and the optimal stress values were determined and compared with the physiologic stress limit of the bone.

RESULTS
Von Mises stress was found to be lower in D1 bone densities, in vertical loading, and in implants with a tapered design. In the case of both implant designs, the von Mises and principal stress values were lower for D1 bone densities. The tapered implant was found to have higher principal stress than the cylindrical implant in both bone densities, while von Mises stress was higher in the cylindrical implant than in the tapered implant. Vertical loading was found to induce less stress than loading at a 30-degree angle.

CONCLUSION
D4 bone density and loading at a 30-degree angle increases von Mises and principal stress more than selection of different implant designs.


In this paper we present the design and evaluation of our biomedical literature searching approaches using the TREC 2004 ad hoc retrieval task in the genomics track. The main approach taken in our system is to expand queries by exploiting the three widely used strategies -local analysis, global analysis, and ontology-based term re-weighting across various search engines. The experimental results show that (1) ontology-based term re-weighting provides the best results among the three query expansion strategies, (2) expanding the initial query with more precise ontology-based term enhances LSI based local analysis substantially, and (3) including context to term re-weighting and LSI further improves the precision. Experimental results also show that the ontology-based term re-weighting with LUCENE or LEMUR search engines increases the average precision by up to 20.3% or 12.1%, respectively, compared to that of the baseline runs. In addition, the LSI-based local analysis increases the average precision by 9.2% with LEMUR search engine. We believe the approaches of the term re-weighting and LSI-based local analysis may be exploited in other bio-medical domains.


One of the main reasons for using a UAV instead of a manned aircraft is that the mission that need to be carried out is very dangerous. In such cases, we believe that the risk of losing the vehicle should be made an explicit and important part of the mission planning. The mentioned risks can often be estimated on a small scale, using detailed simulation models, but the tools to propagate such estimates to the overall mission planning level has been missing. In this paper we propose one way to take such local risk estimates into account in the mission planning, and at the same time make the tradeoffs against other path properties, such as fuelor time constraints, explicit. First we show how to rewrite the accumulated risk estimate into a form that matches the formulation of the so-called weight constrained shortest path problem. Then we approximately solve it using a series of regular shortest path problems. These are in turn easily solved by standard algorithms such as Dijkstras or A*. UAV path planning has been extensively studied in the literature. However, to the best of our knowledge, only Chaundry et al. give the operator an explicit estimate of the risk associated with the proposed mission path. Furthermore, only Zabarankin et al. enable the user to clearly state constraints in terms of available fuel or time. In contrast to both Chaundry et al. and Zabarankin et al. who focus on the interactions of the UAV with a single SAM battery, the proposed approach enables planning of missions dealing with multiple threats, in the same way as the papers by Beard and others. 8, 11 The organization of this paper is as follows. In Section II, we state the proposed risk vs fuel path planning problem as well as two other path planning problems from the litterature. We then show how the proposed problem can be rewritten and approximately solved in Section III. A detailed example illustrating the approach is presented in Section IV, and finally, the paper is concluded in Section V.


This paper considers the approximation of linear systems by means of orthonormal basis functions, which are generated by stable all-pass functions. These basis functions induce the so called Hambo transform, which transforms scalar systems into square systems of i/o dimension equal to the order of the all-pass function considered. We will consider the construction of the Markov parameters of the system representation in the transform domain and show how these can be used to realize minimal state space representations for the exact and partial knowledge case. Additionally a projection mechanism is presented to allow inverse transformation of any sequence of Markov parameters in the transform domain. This mechanism is illustrated with an example.


Activity-Based Costing (ABC) has received extensive attention during the past decade because it achieves improved accuracy in allocating costs, by using multiple cost drivers to correlate the activities with the products that are associated with the resources consumed by those activities. The complexity and uncertainty in determining Cost Drivers (CDs) limit its use. This paper presents the use of Fuzzy Logic (FL) in tackling the complexity and uncertainty in implementing the ABC system in Small and Medium Size Manufacturing Enterprises (SMMEs). Specifically, this paper examines two new concepts: Multi Criteria Cost Driver (MCCD) and Production Line Cost Driver (PLCD). By using MCCD, all related cost drivers are integrated in one suitable cost driver to relate the expenses to the activities. The multi criteria cost driver which emerges from using Fuzzy Logic increases the ABC system reliability. Moreover, complexity is reduced by applying ABC system; since production line cost driver is developed to select one cost driver for each production line instead of one cost driver for each product. The results showed that combining Fuzzy Logic with ABC system improves the ability to decrease uncertainty and complexity in ABC system for Small and Medium Size Manufacturing Enterprises.


The rise of the Song dynasty brought significant changes to the Buddhist clergy in China, its institutions, and the patterns by which Buddhist traditions networked into local communities. With them came distinctive developments in ritual form and repertoire. Some of these ritual forms involved the redeployment of programs that had an established presence from bygone eras, such as rites performed during the annual monastic rains retreat and on the occasion of major festivals, or the programs for intensive personal penance and contemplative retreat long featured in the Tiantai Buddhist tradition. Others betokened newer ritual syntheses that were directed to the shifting concerns of lay patrons and the Song populace at large. Such were the elaborate public rites—laden with vernacular elements—designed to intercede on behalf of local gods and the dead. Drawing on a range of genres, Buddhist and beyond, this chapter explores the landscape of Song Buddhist ritual, from its major sites, temporal cycles, and liturgical repertoire to its shared logics of ritual procedure and their resonance with vernacular religious narrative.


Essential Cases: Public Law provides a bridge between course textbooks and key case judgments. This case document summarizes the facts and decision in Osborn v Parole Board [2013] UKSC 61, Supreme Court. This case concerned three applicants who, it was contended, had been subject to procedurally unfair processes by the Parole Board. In arguing their cases they had primarily relied upon Article 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The UKSC preferred the common law principle of procedural fairness. This case note examines that principle and the concept of common law rights more generally in relation to the ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998. The document also includes supporting commentary from author Thomas Webb.


Background Vascular endothelium is involved in several immune mediated diseases and in chronic inflammation. An important matter of debate is whether endothelial cells (ECs), both in resting or activated state, express the repertoire of costimulatory molecules such as CD86 (B7.2), for adequate T cell interaction/activation [1,2]. Objectives In order to evaluate the CD86 presence on ECs of different origin, we studied in vitro two distinct human ECs lines, both resting or activated with different immune/inflammatory stimuli (γIFN, IL-17, IL-1β). Methods Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC, Lonza, Switzerland) and Human Microvascular Endothelial Cardiac Cells (HMVEC-C, Lonza, Switzerland), at fourth culture passage, were stimulated for 48 hours with γIFN (500 U/ml, Sigma, Milan, Italy) in order to activate them [3]. In addition, HMVEC-C were stimulated for 48 hours with two further stimuli: human IL-1β (500 U/ml, Adipogen, Incheon, South Korea) or IL-17 (100 ng/ml, Biovision, CA, USA). Thus, in both HUVEC and HMVEC-C, the expression of EC phenotypic markers was detected by flow cytometric analysis, using PE anti-human CD31 and CD105 mouse antibodies (Milteny Biotec Inc, CA, USA). In addition, the expression of CD86 in resting or activated ECs was detected by flow cytometric analysis, using a FITC anti-human CD86 mouse antibody (BD, Biosciences, NY, USA). In every three experiments specific isotype control was included. Results At flow cytometric analysis, the phenotypic characterization of the ECs by CD31 and CD105 specific staining was confirmed. CD31 and CD105 markers were found in respectively 99% and 96% of the unstimulated HUVEC, as well as in 93% and 96% of the unstimulated HMVEC-C. ECs in resting condition, expressed mild level of CD86 (57% on HUVEC and 60% on HMVEC-C) at 48 hours. The same ECs after 48 hours of γIFN stimulation, showed an evident increase of the fluorescence for CD86 expression (85% on HUVEC and 68% on HMVEC-C). Further evaluations limited to HMVEC-C, showed that IL-1β stimulation did not change the percentage of CD86 positive cells (61%) after 48 hours, compared with untreated cells (60%). Conversely, IL-17 treatment induced a light increase of CD86 positive cells (71%) after 48 hours, compared to untreated cells (60%). Conclusions Our study shows that ECs (both HUVEC and HMVEC) express constitutively the costimulatory molecule CD86, and the expression is increased in activated state. In particular, microvascular ECs activated with γIFN and IL-17, but not with IL-1β, show an increased CD86 expression compared to their resting condition. These results suggest the involvement and contribution of ECs during the immune/inflammatory response for example by facilitating T cell adhesion and migration. References Kreisel D et al. J Immunol 2002;169(11):6154-61. Lozanoska-Ochser et al. J Immunol 2008;181;6109-6116. Batten P et al. Immunol 1996;87:127-133. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


This paper studies the interplay between kinematics (position and velocity) and appearance cues for establishing correspondences in multi-target pedestrian tracking. We investigate tracking-by-detection approaches based on a deep learning detector, joint integrated probabilistic data association (JIPDA), and appearance-based tracking of deep correspondence embeddings. We first addressed the fixed-camera setup by fine-tuning a convolutional detector for accurate pedestrian detection and combining it with kinematic-only JIPDA. The resulting submission ranked first on the 3DMOT2015 benchmark. However, in sequences with a moving camera and unknown ego-motion, we achieved the best results by replacing kinematic cues with global nearest neighbor tracking of deep correspondence embeddings. We trained the embeddings by fine-tuning features from the second block of ResNet-18 using angular loss extended by a margin term. We note that integrating deep correspondence embeddings directly in JIPDA did not bring significant improvement. It appears that geometry of deep correspondence embeddings for soft data association needs further investigation in order to obtain the best from both worlds.


A simple theory of the fluid state of a charged colloidal suspension is proposed. The full free energy of a polyelectrolyte solution is calculated. It is found that the counterions condense onto the polyions forming clusters composed of one polyion and n counterions. The distribution of cluster sizes is determined explicitly. In agreement with the current experimental and Monte Carlo results, no liquid-gas phase separation was encountered.


Insoluble mixtures of polyvinylsilsesquioxane, -(vinylSiO1.5)nPVS, and polymethylsilsesquioxanes, -(MeSiO1.5)nPMS, in THF at ambient when treated with catalytic amounts (1–5 mol%) of fluoride ion introduced as tBu4 NF will depolymerize and dissolve. The resulting soluble species consist of [vinylx Me8−x (SiO1.5)]8, [vinylx Me8−x (SiO1.5)]10 and [vinylx Me8−x (SiO1.5)]12. Ratios of 1 : 1 of PVS : PMS greatly favor formation of vinyl rich cages. Only at ratios of 1 : 5 are the proportions of vinyl : Me in the cages approximately equal. Of the T8, T10 and T12 species produced, all conditions tried, including changing the solvent to EtOH or toluene or at reflux (THF), favor the formation of the larger cages sometimes completely excluding formation of the T8 materials. Efforts to isolate the cage compounds by removal of solvent regenerates polysilsesquioxanes, albeit those containing mixtures of Me and vinyl groups. Introduction of CaCl2 sufficient to form CaF2 prior to workup prevents repolymerization, allowing recovery of the mixed cage systems. The approach developed here provides a novel way to form mixed functional group silsesquioxane cages. The fact that T10 and T12 cage formation is favored appears to suggest that these cages are more stable than the traditionally produced T8 cages. Copyright c © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The properties of a Schwarzschild black hole as an elastic scatterer of waves are studied in detail. Phase shifts and elastic scattering cross sections are obtained for a wide range of energy and angular momentum from the exact analytical solutions of the wave equation by employing computational techniques developed by the author in an earlier paper. Features of the low-frequency elastic scattering are pointed out, and comparison with other approximations is made. The angular distribution of the scattered waves is obtained for different values of the frequency. As could be expected, it presents a peak (proportionaltheta/sup -4/) in the forward direction and a ''glory'' in the backward direction. For intermediate angles it shows a complicated oscillatory behavior as frequency increases that disappears only at the geometrical-optics limit. By using the elastic scattering parameters obtained here, we calculate the angular distribution of the absorbed waves. The differential absorption cross section is isotropic for low frequencies and gradually shows features of a diffraction pattern as frequency increases. It shows an absolute maximum in the forward direction which grows and narrows with the frequency. In the geometrical-optics limit there results a Dirac delta function.


Abstract:The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars produced a new generation of military authors and artists who recounted their wartime experiences with unprecedented vividness and immediacy. Exploring the intense conflict and suffering of men at war while also underscoring their virtue and heroism, this work typifies what has come to be known as "military Enlightenment." This essay examines a selection of military texts and images that represent soldiers' sensory and emotional experience of the wartime spaces of battlefield and bivouac: the anonymous Journal Kept in the British Army (1796), L. T. Jones's Historical Journal of the British Campaign on the Continent (1797), the work of the army officer and historian William Napier (1785–1860), and the Waterloo images of the army officer and painter George "Waterloo" Jones (1786–1869) presented the wider British public with a complex understanding of war. Even as they represented battlefield violence and death with visceral intensity, they understood battlefield space itself to be grounded in affective practices associated with enlightened modes of virtue, sensibility, and civility. There the chaos and horror of conflict gave way to duty, order, civility, and community, and the distinctions of rank were maintained, even as the common humanity of officers and their men was affirmed.


There has been very little research aimed at evaluating the influence that advanced networking technologies such as the Internet have on higher education outcomes. Results of a survey of students who have completed a course with Internet-resident materials indicates that the students approve of the World Wide Web (WWW) as an effective means of disseminating course materials. Further, the students prefer the WWW to traditional paper distribution as a means of receiving these materials. While students perceive that home access to the Internet is an advantage while taking an Internet-resident course, there was no significant difference in the course performance of students with Internet access from home versus students without Internet access from home.


Two biodegradable hydrogels were stitched together through the intermediary of oppositely charged polyelectrolytesviaelectrophoresis. The two gels in contact adhered when an electric field was applied with a cationic gel on the anode and an anionic gel on the cathode. Adhesion of the two gels was not observed when the opposite electric field was applied or with pressure bonding. Adhesion of cationic and anionic hydrogels should exhibit repeatability characteristics. Electrophoretic adhesion of two hydrogels with the same charge was also achieved using an oppositely charged polymer as a binder.


Heavy oil emulsions such as water in oil (W/O), oil in water (O/W), and water in oil in water (W/O/W) would be formed during the development of heavy oil reservoirs. The key to the efficient development of heavy oil reservoirs is to clarify the fluidity of heavy oil emulsions in formation pores medium. In this study, the main factors that determine the fluidity of heavy oil emulsion were analyzed under the condition of simulating the formation pores medium. The reasons for the difference between the viscosity of heavy oil emulsions in formation pores medium and the viscosity measured by laboratory rheometer were analyzed. Then, experiments have confirmed the shortcomings of the current screening and evaluation method of emulsified viscosity reducer. Finally, through experimental research and mechanism analysis, the mechanism of the emulsified viscosity reducer was studied and suggestions were made to improve the effect of emulsified viscosity reducer in the oil field. When heavy emulsions flow in a formation pores medium, since the size of the droplets would be larger than the size of the pores medium, when the heavy emulsion passes through the pores medium, it would receive additional resistance brought by the Jiamin effect. But when a rheometer is used for viscosity testing, this additional resistance is almost nonexistent. Therefore, the current method of viscosity test using rheometer cannot fully reflect the actual flow state of heavy oil emulsion in formation pores medium. The research in this paper proves that the larger the droplets of the emulsion, the less accurate the rheometer test results. Temperature, permeability, oil–water ratio, and the type of emulsified viscosity reducer all have a certain effect on the flow of heavy oil emulsion in formation pores medium. This article evaluated four types of emulsified viscosity reducers. When the viscosity test was performed by a rheometer, the results showed excellent viscosity-reducing effects. However, when simulating formation pores medium conditions, the effects of some types of emulsified viscosity reducers are not so good. It is no longer accurate to judge the effect of emulsified viscosity reducer by the way of measuring viscosity with a rheometer. It should be screened by the flow capacity of the heavy oil emulsions in formation pores medium. In oil field development, the contact area of heavy oil and emulsified viscosity reducer solution should be increased as much as possible and provide more time for the substitution effect of emulsified viscosity reducer molecules.


alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1AT) deficiency is an inherited disorder almost always associated with the development of panacinar emphysema in the fourth to fifth decades. One source of alpha 1AT for chronic replacement therapy of such individuals is that produced by E.coli directed by a cDNA coding for the human alpha 1AT molecule. Using TG1(E.coli), an alpha 1AT molecule produced by E.coli transformed with the plasmid-expressing vector pTG922, the present study shows that recombinant DNA-directed E.coli-produced alpha 1AT is as an effective inhibitor of neutrophil elastase as alpha 1AT purified from plasma. Importantly, TG1(E.coli) inhibited human neutrophil elastase with an association rate constant of 1.3 +/- 0.4X10(7) M-1 sec-1, similar to that of normal plasma alpha 1AT (1.1 +/- 0.1, p greater than 0.2). Furthermore, when TG1(E.coli) was added to alpha 1AT-deficient plasma obtained from homozygous alpha 1AT type Z individuals, the TG1(E.coli) remained functional and augmented the anti-neutrophil elastase activity of the serum proportional to the amount of TG1(E.coli) added. These observations suggest that if sufficient amounts of recombinant DNA methodology-produced alpha 1AT molecules could be safely delivered to the alveolar structures of alpha 1AT-deficient individuals, they would function to protect the alveolar walls from elastolytic attack.


Gilthead sea bream juveniles of 135 g average body weight were fed for 120 days a fish oil-based commercial diet (CTRL) or one of two experimental isonitrogenous and isolipidic low fat (LF) fish meal-based diets differing only by the lipid source, in order to evaluate the efficacy of beef tallow (BT) as an ingredient in aquafeeds. Both experimental feeds were formulated with 60 g/kg of BT; the LFBTFO diet also contained 35 g/kg of fish oil (FO) whereas a blend of BT and vegetable oils (VO) completely replaced FO in the LFBTVO diet. No differences in growth and feed efficiency were found between fish fed the LFBTFO diet and the CTRL group whereas fish fed the diet devoid of FO (LFBTVO) presented the poorest growth indicators and the lowest feed and protein efficiencies. The use of LF feeds contributed to maintain the hepatosomatic index and the proportion of triacylglycerols (TAG) in muscle and brain in spite of the dietary replacement of FO. Flesh from fish fed the LFBTFO diet supplied the same absolute amount of EPA + DHA than that of fish fed the CTRL diet, whereas a reduction of approximately 45% was registered when fish were deprived of FO.

Practical applications: High proportions of BT can effectively be used as a valuable alternative to partially substitute FO in diets for gilthead sea bream juveniles without significantly affecting fish performance and health while promoting a limited impact on its health benefits for human consumption. The decline in the inclusion of marine ingredients in aquafeeds could actively contribute to the sustainability and profitability of the marine aquaculture industry.


Kori Schake examines key questions about the United States' position of power in the world, including, Why is the United States' power so threatening? Is it sustainable? Does military force still matter? How can we revise current practices to reduce the U.S. cost of managing the system? What accounts for the United States' stunning success in the round of globalization that swept across the international order at the end of the twentieth century? The author also offers suggestions on what issues the next president should focus to build an even stronger foundation of U.S. power.


Wasps of the Polysphincta clade are known to manipulate the behavior of their web-building spider hosts by injecting psychotropic chemicals, but the methods they use to hunt spiders are poorly documented. In 25 attacks observed over several years in the field in the Valle Central of Costa Rica, Polysphincta gutfreundi showed great flexibility. Wasps employed three basic hunting tactics to subdue the host spider Allocyclosa bifurca: strike the spider at its resting site at the hub of its orb web; land in the sticky spiral of the web, struggle, and then attack the spider when it approached; and wait immobile at the hub to await the return of a spider that had fled. The wasps moved and oriented agilely on their hosts' orbs. The only repeatedly effective spider defense was to drop immediately from the web and remain away for many minutes. Parasitism was strongly clumped spatially, suggesting that female wasps may learn where to hunt. Nearly all the details of P. gutfreundi attack behavior have also been observed in other species of the Polysphincta clade. They include the use of multiple attack strategies, surprise attacks from the air on spiders resting on their webs, attacks through the hub, agile movements on the spider's web, inducing the spider to approach by apparent imitation of prey, waiting for long periods in the web poised to strike, and inserting the ovipositor into the anterior end of the spider's cephalothorax. One unique detail of attack behavior in P. gutfreundi was to shuttle rapidly to the other side of the hub to reach the spider. Few of the spider's defensive traits were effective against these wasps. Species in the Polysphincta group are behaviorally flexible, but as a group these wasps utilize relatively uniform tactics to subdue their hosts.


Motivated by prior work with the global optimization algorithm pVTDIRECT95 [2], this paper considers two methods for simplifying communication with spawned processes. Tests are performed for each method, and mean runtimes and standard deviations for the two methods are compared. In general, the performance of the two methods is quite similar, although other aspects of each method set the methods apart. In particular, restrictions on how the spawning has to be done determines the practicality of the method.


Paying close attention to the intricacies of the episode below, this paper sets out to reflect in situ a shift to digitizing "lost and found" services. Foreshadowing a more extensive study on a contemporary redistribution of assistance at Deutsche Bahn, it refers to a pragmatist tradition concerned with preserving the condition of voice. Following this vein, it faces a purist critical attitude – epitomized in the practice of economics (Orléan 2014), which defends market forces ("exit") as a way to outperform voice in any situation of decline, decay or dissatisfaction (Hirschman 1970). Anti-elitist suspicions, brought to perfection by another branch of social sciences, have become a powerful ally of this position. Rather than criticizing elitism and privilege, however, the present contribution draws on ethnographic research which displays the ambiguity of privileged users' encounters with assistants. Exploring ambiguous patterns in the practice of assistance, it seeks for a politics of pity which has been largely absent from current appraisals of digital sociality.


We compared the tolerogeneic properties of BM-derived GM+IL-4 and GM+Rapa host DCs and their potential to induce long-term acceptance of vascularized skin allograft in rats across a full MHC mismatch with transient immunosuppression. Results show that both DCs were CD11b+ and expressed low levels of CD86 and produced low levels of IL-12p70 following TLR activation. GM+Rapa DC produced lower levels of anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to LPS. Both DCs had low T cell stimulatory capacity in vitro. Interestingly, donor Ag-pulsed GM+Rapa DC (GM+Rapa DCp) induced long-term survival of the vascularized skin grafts and this was significant compare to GM+IL-4 DC and control groups. PBMC from long-term graft survivors that were previously treated with donor Ag-pulsed GM+Rapa DC were hyporesponsive to donor Ag, but proliferated in response to the third-party Ag and produced IL-10 in addition to IFN-gamma. Recipients of the long-term surviving allografts were challenged with full-thickness tail skin grafts. While the third-party grafts were rejected fast the donor graft had delayed rejection, suggesting that this treatment induced a regulatory mechanism that prevented the acute rejection of donor skin grafts. Further experiments demonstrated presence of CD4+ Foxp3+ T cells in the vascularized skin and secondary lymphoid tissues. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the donor Ag-pulsed tolerogenic GM+Rapa DC have ability to induce regulatory T cells and prevent vascularized skin graft rejection across a full MHC mismatch.


As the Millennial generation becomes the largest generation of the global workforce, it is vital that organizations understand Millennials' work values, motivational factors, and expectations to adjust existing employee retention techniques that may not suit this generation. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the major factors that affect employee retention among Latin American Millennials working in the public relations industry. Additionally, we examine generational differences in work attitudes across three generations, with an emphasis on the nature of the similarities and differences of Millennials when compared to prior generations. Findings show a highly significant positive relationship among job satisfaction, trust in the organization, job engagement, excellent leader performance, and supportive organizational culture and Latin American Millennial turnover intentions. Compared to Boomers and Gen-Xers, Millennials reported lower levels of overall job satisfaction, work engagement, and organizational trust.


X-ray emission from a compact diode consisting of a sharp edged cathode and flat anode of copper and lead, energized by simple capacitor discharge is reported. With a sewing machine needle cathode, and lead target, the generation efficiency upto 0.4% is obtained. The efficiency is expected to enhance further with the increase in discharge energy, charging voltage and reducing the parasitic inductance.


Abstract. Present study is based on the change in surface area of the glaciers in downstream area of Dhauliganga basin, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand. For this study, Survey of India toposheets (surveyed in 1963) have been used for preparation of initial boundary of glaciers. Total 11 glaciers have been selected for the study in downstream valley. RGI (Randolph Glacier Inventory) data version 60. (15_RGI 60.SouthAsiaEast) from GLIMS, released July 28 2017, used for measuring temporal change in surface area. Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS image of 06 November 2016 has used to measure present area of glaciers. ASTER GDEM was used for automatic extraction of basin boundary by hydro-processing methods. Glacier boundaries were manually digitised from the Landsat image for better accuracy. The total glacier area was 69.35 km2 (1963), 48.10 km2 (2001) and 34.35 (2016) as determined from SOI toposheet, GLIMS and the Landsat image of 2016 respectively. Total vacated area by the retreat and melting of glaciers from 1963 to 2016 is 35 km2, which accounts to a total loss of 50 % from the total glaciated area. Google Earth imagery was also considered for marking the actual position of glacier outlines. Ice walls in topographic maps are also considered as the part of glacier but in present satellite image they are free from ice.


Abstract Site-specific recombinases (SSRs) such as the Cre/loxP system are useful genome engineering tools that can be repurposed by altering their DNA-binding specificity. However, SSRs that delete a natural sequence from the human genome have not been reported thus far. Here, we describe the generation of an SSR system that precisely excises a 1.4 kb fragment from the human genome. Through a streamlined process of substrate-linked directed evolution we generated two separate recombinases that, when expressed together, act as a heterodimer to delete a human genomic sequence from chromosome 7. Our data indicates that designer-recombinases can be generated in a manageable timeframe for precision genome editing. A large-scale bioinformatics analysis suggests that around 13% of all human protein-coding genes could be targetable by dual designer-recombinase induced genomic deletion (dDRiGD). We propose that heterospecific designer-recombinases, which work independently of the host DNA repair machinery, represent an efficient and safe alternative to nuclease-based genome editing technologies.


Methods of multidimensional signal processing under spatial toroidal coordinate systems configured on a set of combining sums over vector "Glory to Ukraine Star" combinatorial configurations. Base vectors are discussed, and the two theoretically grounded approaches to formation such coordinate systems in order for optimum encoding and conversion of vector signals using its unique properties, both optimum monolithic and group vector codes, and non-redundant codes are proposed. On the particular examples described the benefits of each method of coding of multidimensional signals pointing to corresponding theorems, calculations and illustrative material. Extension of the "star" combinatorial configurations opens new possibilities for the application of methods of optimized coding and processing of multidimensional signals under toroidal coordinate systems for designing modern systems of communication and development of optimized vector information technologies. The remarkable technical merits of the vector configurations, which properties hold for the same set of an optimum encoded design in varieties permutations of its terms is demonstrated, and methods for processing of two- or multidimensional vector signals based on both the optimum binary monolithic and non-redundant codes are presented. Proposed methods of multidimensional signal processing under toroidal coordinate systems provide, essentially, a new approach to generalize them to great class of optimized problems in radio-telecommunications, navigation and information technology. Moreover, the optimization embedded in the underlying combinatorial configurations. The favorable qualities of the "stars" provide breakthrough opportunities to apply them to numerous branches of science and advanced technology, with direct applications to vector data telecommunications, vector encoded design, and optimal vector information technology.


Cloud computing is interesting from the economic, operational and even energy consumption perspectives but it still raises concerns regarding the security, privacy, governance and compliance of the data and software services offered through it. However, the task of verifying security properties in services running on cloud is not trivial. We notice the provision and security of a cloud service is sensitive. Because of the potential interference between the features and behavior of all the inter-dependent services in all layers of the cloud stack (as well as dynamic changes in them). Besides current cloud models do not include support for trust-focused communication between layers. We present a mechanism to implement cloud service certification process based on the usage of Trusted Computing technology, by means of its Trusted Computing Platform (TPM) implementation of its architecture. Among many security security features it is a tamper proof resistance built in device and provides a root of trust to affix our certification mechanism. We present as a security pattern the approach for service certification based on the use TPM.


We study psychological games of cheap talk communication involving players who have misaligned material interests and reciprocity preferences. We find that full and efficient information transmission is often impossible if reciprocity concerns are too high. Furthermore, higher material preference misalignment may facilitate the achievement of full information transmission. A key driver of our results is that truth-telling is not per se a kind action by the sender. We contrast discrete and continuous environments, alternative conceptions of reciprocity preferences and consider one-sided reciprocity models.


OBJECTIVE
To examine weight changes in a large cohort of obese and nonobese adolescent girls initiating depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), an oral contraceptive (OC), or no hormonal contraceptive method (control).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Prospective study of 450 adolescent girls, aged 12 to 18 years, who attended 4 urban health clinics and selected DMPA, OC, or control. Data collection occurred at baseline and at 6, 12, and 18 months; consisted of structured interview and measurement of height and weight; and occurred from April 19, 2000, through September 26, 2003.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Weight was examined as mean change over 18 months and actual weight at each study visit. On the basis of preliminary analyses, we stratified the sample according to baseline obesity status (nonobese, body mass index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters] < 30; obese, body mass index > or =30).

RESULTS
Adolescent girls who were obese at initiation of DMPA gained significantly more weight than did obese girls starting OC or control (P<.001 for both). At 18 months, mean weight gain was 9.4, 0.2, and 3.1 kg for obese girls receiving DMPA, receiving OC, and control, respectively. Weight gain in obese girls receiving DMPA was also greater than weight gain in all nonobese categories (4.0 kg, DMPA; 2.8 kg, OC; 3.5 kg, control; P<.001). A significant interaction (P = .006) between length of time receiving DMPA and weight gain was evident for obese subjects.

CONCLUSIONS
Over 18 months, DMPA use was associated with increasing rates of weight gain in obese subjects. The potential contribution to severe obesity in this population is concerning.


In the article the scientific views of the prominent Ukrainian historian, professor of the Universities of Warsaw and Lviv Myron Korduba (1876-1947) on the origin of the Belarusian people are highlighted. The key works of the scientist on the problems of nation-building of the Eastern Slavs are taken into account, in particular, the little-known among Slavists study of M. Korduba «Some remarks on the origin of the Belarusian nation (in the margins of Dr. Jan Stankiewicz's article)». The problem of ethnogenesis of the Belarusian people in the interpretation of M. Korduba is considered in the context of modern historiographical discourse.


Five non steroidal cardiotonics have been studied for the search of a common pharmacophore with the aid of the SYBYL computer modelling programme. On the basis of the model thus obtained a series of pyridylquinolones have been prepared and some structure activity relationships examined. The compounds were evaluated for positive inotropic and vasodilatory activities in vitro and in vivo animal models. Several substances displayed activities higher than that of classical references, and might be beneficial in patients with congestive heart failure.


THE DC gas discharge is established between a coaxial cylindrical stainless steel electrodes. The coaxial cylindrical DC discharge device consists of an outer grid cathode and inner rods anode with 4 mm gap between them. This experimental study is focused on the effect of gas pressure and electric field strength on breakdown voltage. There is a balance between the electron attachment and first ionization collision, so the Second Townsend emission is the responsible for maintain the discharge.The I-V characteristic curvesfor different pressures ofhydrogen gas indicate that the highest current appears for the highest gas pressure. The gas breakdown voltage varies as a product of Pd and Townsend's coefficients depends on gas pressure and E/P, where E is the electric field and P is the gas pressure.


The lateral movement of drill-pipes, while rotating, can be the source of diverse drilling problems, such as tool-joint wear, grinding of cuttings into a fine powder that is very hard to transport, formation instabilities. Yet, it is virtually impossible to estimate the sideway displacements of drill-pipes as soon as the distance is greater than a couple of stands from a measurement source, like a dynamic sub placed in the bottom hole assembly (BHA).
 It is therefore tempting to place dynamic subs along the drill-string with the objective of detecting any pipe movements that could have a negative impact on the drilling operation. However, to be useful, the measurements must be made at a relatively high frequency, in practice above 80Hz, and with enough precision. For that reason, we have placed a dynamic sub that measures axial and tangential accelerations, rotational velocity, 2-axis bending moment, torque and tension, approximatively 300m behind the bit while drilling two 9 ½-in lateral sections of a horizontal multilateral well.
 The dynamic sub sent rotational speed, torque and tension at 80Hz through wired-pipe telemetry and burst data for all the measurement channels were recorded in memory, for 10s at 800Hz every 15 minutes. We have been able to test a method to collect and interpret the high-speed telemetry data, i.e. 80Hz, and we have post-analyzed the burst memory data. A methodology has been developed to compensate systematic errors on the accelerometer sensors by taking advantage of the redundancy of the measurements present in the mechanical-sub. An interpretation software has been used to reconstruct the likely 3-dimensional pipe movement at the location of the measurement tool. The analysis has shown a surprisingly large variation of pipe movement patterns and astonishing fast changing levels of lateral movement throughout the two runs where the tool has been used.
 With such a pipe reconstruction methodology at hand, it can be envisaged to perform the processing downhole, i.e. directly into the dynamic sub, and to transmit information about the 3-dimensional movement of the pipe. Such information would be valuable, when received in real-time from distributed sensors, to inform the drilling operational team about possible detrimental drill-pipe vibrations that are not necessarily associated with abnormally high accelerations.


PURPOSE
A new Joint Commission element of performance effective July 2015 requires incidents where the radiation dose index exceeds a defined level be reviewed, analyzed and compared to external benchmarks. This work offers a comprehensive review of the CT exams in which the notification level was exceeded and the reason at one academic medical center. This review may help other institutions set reference levels at clinically relevant values.

METHODS
Radiation Dose Structured Reports from each of the 5 diagnostic CT scanners at our institution are automatically sent to our radiation dose index monitoring software platform, Radimetrics from Bayer Healthcare. Global notification levels for CTDIvol and DLP were configured in Radimetrics for head, chest and abdomen studies for 0-2 year old, 2-13 year old and adult age categories. Global CTDIvol notification levels were set lower than the AAPM recommended values. Additional notification levels were configured for specific protocols that do not use AEC or have better or limited image quality requirements. Notifications of exams exceeding the global or protocol specific notification levels were reviewed on an ongoing basis by a Qualified Medical Physicist and the reason(s) for the acquisition or exam exceeding the level recorded.

RESULTS
Out of 80 notifications for acquisitions or exams exceeding notification levels over an 8 month period, 72 occurred due to large patients or due to implants or external hardware in the scan range. Four instances of the incorrect protocol being selected were recorded and 4 instances of incorrect manual technique application were observed.

CONCLUSION
Properly configured notification levels, even below those recommended by AAPM, produce few dose notifications on modern scanners using AEC and/or iterative reconstruction. Using SSDE instead of CTDI for notifications may provide more clinically relevant data on exams well above or below the clinical norm for dose and image quality. Mark P. Supanich: Global Informatics Advisory Board Member: Bayer HealthCare.


We present a new approach for handwritten signature classification and verification based on descriptors stemming from time causal information theory. The proposal uses the Shannon entropy, the statistical complexity, and the Fisher information evaluated over the Bandt and Pompe symbolization of the horizontal and vertical coordinates of signatures. These six features are easy and fast to compute, and they are the input to an One-Class Support Vector Machine classifier. The results are better than state-of-the-art online techniques that employ higher-dimensional feature spaces which often require specialized software and hardware. We assess the consistency of our proposal with respect to the size of the training sample, and we also use it to classify the signatures into meaningful groups.


Eighty strains of fungi and heterotrophic bacteria, isolated from natural water sources polluted with heavy metals, were tested for their bioaccumulation abilities. Metal-resistant strains were first selected in a preliminary step. Preselected cultures were then screened for gold, silver, nickel and cadmium uptake capabilities. A collection of bioaccumulating strains, consisting of 39 strains for the recovery of gold, 9 strains for silver, 28 for cadmium and 22 for nickel, has been established. All the strains selected were able to remove metals tested from diluted solutions (ca. 5 mg/l) to levels below 0.5 mg/l. The maximum uptake capacity of strains was determined in concentrated metal solutions (20 50 mg/l). Nine of the strains had saturation values of 100 mg/g dry weight or higher. The importance of pH in passive bioaccumulation process is discussed.


The link between a particular class of growth processes and random matrices was established in the now famous 1999 article of Baik, Deift, and Johansson on the length of the longest increasing subsequence of a random permutation [BDJ99]. During the past ten years, this connection has been worked out in detail and led to an improved understanding of the large scale properties of one-dimensional growth models. The reader will find a commented list of references at the end. Our objective is to provide an introduction highlighting random matrices. From the outset it should be emphasized that this connection is fragile. Only certain aspects, and only for specific models, the growth process can be reexpressed in terms of partition functions also appearing in random matrix theory.


A study of the light output/current characteristics of epitaxial and diffused, red-emitting, GaP electroluminescent diodes shows that the output saturates at an emission density which is essentially constant for all diodes, irrespective of their efficiency.


Abstract : The purpose of the Proposed Action is to support agreements between the U. S. Government and one of its foreign allies. The Singapore Ministry of Defense and RSAF have submitted a Letter of Request to establish a Foreign Military Sales F-15SG squadron based in the continental United States (CONUS). The Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs have agreed to offer the RSAF a CONUS basing option and Headquarters Air Combat Command (ACC) selected the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, for this relationship. This combined military capability permits substantial reductions in each nation's military force, while also creating the larger force necessary to respond to international requirements. This philosophy establishes a need for military personnel of different nations to achieve a common high standard of training and proficiency and to forge the strongest possible team. The proposal would permit the RSAF to construct operations and maintenance facilities necessary for the flight training of their aircrews. Under both the Proposed Action, the RSAF beddown, and Alternative A, the modified RSAF beddown, the RSAF would beddown and operate 10 F-15SG aircraft, add required personnel, and construct and remodel facilities. Several facility projects at Mountain Home AFB are required to support the beddown of the RSAF squadron. A total of 13 construction, modification, or infrastructure improvement projects directly related to the beddown would be implemented from 2007 to 2009. In total, the construction, modifications, and infrastructure improvements would affect about 112,567 square feet of building space. The modified proposal differs in the location of construction, demolition, and remodeling of facilities at Mountain Home AFB. Under the Proposed Action, RSAF facilities would be integrated near the northern portion of the base.


A study of an effect of the magnetic levitation on polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide at room temperature was carried out. The magnetic levitation environment, which is created by strong and upward magnetic force counterbalanced with the downward gravitational force, is multiple environment consisting of both the microgravity and the strong magnetic field which is lacking in a space vehicle orbiting around the earth. In this work, the effect was evaluated from the viewpoint of the number-average molecular weight (Mn) and the polydispersity (the index of the molecular weight distribution) of the synthesized polymer. A small extent (~10 %) of the effect was observed on both the parameters. When the polymer was synthesized under the magnetic levitation environment, Mnincreased while the polydispersity decreased as compared with those of the polymer synthesized under the gravity.


Flower bulbs are treated with fungicides before planting to protect them against fungal diseases. When applying fungicides, methods with a minimum of residues are sought. Foaming and coating seem to be the most suitable for this. In addition, it is important to keep the fungicides with the bulbs after application in order to ensure proper functioning. Also, the agents should not come loose with the skins and scales of the bulb, in order to prevent emission via dust and wind. For this purpose, Wageningen University & Research and partners examined a few adhesives and sticking agents within the project 'Het Nieuwe Verwerken van Bloembollen'. Wetting with water shortly before planting, appeared to work very well against the loss of hyacinths skins. Coating is a new and interesting method for applying fungicides to bulbs. It is already widely used in the seed industry. For bulbs, it has been established that coating has a significant effect on reducing loose scales and skins in tulips and especially hyacinths.


A double slope wick-type solar still has been designed and fabricated with varying thickness of insulation beneath the tilted-wick portion and optimum thickness for effective distillation has been presented. Energy balance equations have been written for each element of the still including the climatic parameters such as solar radiation intensity and ambient temperature and design parameters of the proposed system, Theoretical equations have been developed for heat and mass transfer mechanisms inside the still. The efficiency of the still is found to be 41.25% for the insulation thickness of 0.05m beneath the tilted-wick portion and sides of the still. It is confirmed that the bottom and sides of the wick-type solar still should be thermally insulated with a minimum thickness of 0.05m for better production and performance.


Consolidation of commodities and coordination of vehicle routes are fundamental features of supply chain management problems. While locations for consolidation and coordination are typically known a priori, in adaptive transportation networks this is not the case. The identification of such consolidation locations forms part of the decision making process. Supply chain management problems integrating the designation of consolidation locations with the coordination of long haul and local vehicle routing is not only challenging to solve, but also very difficult to formulate mathematically. In this paper, the first mathematical model integrating location clustering with long haul and local vehicle routing is proposed. This mathematical formulation is used to develop algorithms to find high quality solutions. A novel parallel framework is developed that combines exact and heuristic meth-ods to improve the search for high quality solutions and provide valid bounds. The results demonstrate that using exact methods to guide heuristic search is an effective approach to find high quality solutions for difficult supply chain management problems.


Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the mechanism by which cholinergic enhancement improves working memory. We studied the effect of the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine on subcomponents of this complex function. Cholinergic enhancement increased the selectivity of neural responses in extrastriate cortices during visual working memory, particularly during encoding. It also increased the participation of ventral extrastriate cortex during memory maintenance and decreased the participation of anterior prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that cholinergic enhancement improves memory performance by augmenting the selectivity of perceptual processing during encoding, thereby simplifying processing demands during memory maintenance and reducing the need for prefrontal participation.


Macrophages, which are functional plasticity cells, have the ability to phagocytize and digest foreign substances and acquire pro-(M1-like) or anti-inflammatory (M2-like) phenotypes according to their microenvironment. The large number of macrophages in the intestinal tract, play a significant role in maintaining the homeostasis of microorganisms on the surface of the intestinal mucosa and in the continuous renewal of intestinal epithelial cells. They are not only responsible for innate immunity, but also participate in the development of intestinal inflammation. A clear understanding of the function of macrophages, as well as their role in pathogens and inflammatory response, will delineate the next steps in the treatment of intestinal inflammatory diseases. In this review, we discuss the origin and development of macrophages and their role in the intestinal inflammatory response or infection. In addition, the effects of macrophages in the occurrence and development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and their role in inducing fibrosis, activating T cells, reducing colitis, and treating intestinal inflammation were also reviewed in this paper.


This paper intends to link CEOs' adverse early-life experiences to accounting policy choice, by investigating whether a CEO's Great Chinese Famine experience impacted on corporate accounting conservatism. Our results show that companies whose CEOs had famine experience in their early life used more conservative accounting. We also find that the positive association between the CEO's famine experience and accounting conservatism is moderated by firm ownership structure and environmental uncertainties. Additional tests suggest that the CEOs who experienced famine during their youth had a greater impact on accounting conservatism. By using the exogenous variation in local severity of the famine, we confirm the causal relationship between CEOs' early-life famine experience and the level of accounting conservatism. Our study contributes to the accounting policy choice literature, and results are robust for several other robustness tests. We argue that the CEO will apply the risk sensitivity learned from the famine experience to the company's accounting policy decisions to meet the obligations of the contracting parties and other stakeholders.


Background Tacrolimus (TAC) is an immunosuppressive macrolide that blocks T-cell activation by specifically inhibiting calcineurin; it is widely administered after organ transplantation. TAC was approved in Japan for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 2005. The emergence of biological disease–modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has made remission an achievable goal for RA treatment. However, in some patients, biological DMARDs fail to achieve adequate suppression of disease activity or the efficacy of biological DMARDs is reduced. Therapeutic options for such patients include dose increases of biological DMARDs, switching to other biological DMARDs, and add-on use or dose increase of conventional anti-rheumatic drugs. The usage of add-on TAC has been reported in some studies [1,2]. Objectives We report the results of post-marketing surveillance to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TAC add-on therapy with biological DMARDs in Japanese RA patients without an adequate response to biological DMARDs in a real clinical setting. Methods The observation period of this study was 24 weeks. Six hundred twenty-four patients were included in the safety population and 566 patients were included in the efficacy population. An inadequate response to biological DMARDs was defined as meeting all of the following conditions: Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) >3.3 when TAC was started; both tender joint count and swollen joint count were the same or increased compared to those at 4 to 8 weeks prior to TAC; and biological DMARDs were used for at least 8 weeks prior to TAC. Efficacy was mainly evaluated using the SDAI and EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) response criteria. SDAI improvement was defined as SDAI ≤11. Results Mean age was 61.9 years and mean disease duration was 10.5 years. The mean TAC dose was 1.3 mg during the observation period. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occurred in 94 patients and serious ADRs were observed in 11 patients. Infections occurred in 21 patients and serious infections were observed in 8 patients. SDAI remission rate was 16.5% at week 24, SDAI improvement rate was 62.7% at week 24, and the mean SDAI was decreased from 20.0 at baseline to 10.8 at week 24. Interestingly, 40 patients (33.6%) out of 119 patients with high disease activity at baseline achieved SDAI improvement at week 24. Based on EULAR response criteria, moderate to good response rate was 64.7% at week 24. Conclusions TAC is well tolerated and effective when used as an add-on to biological DMARDs in Japanese RA patients who do not achieve an adequate response to biological DMARDs in a real clinical setting. References Naniwa T, Watanabe M, Banno S, Maeda T. Adding low dose tacrolimus in rheumatoid arthritis patients with an inadequate response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitor therapies. Rheumatol Int. 2009;29(11):1287–1291. Mori S. Additional use of tacrolimus after switching to tocilizumab therapy in patients with primary lack of efficacy of infliximab therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Mod Rheumatol. 2012;22(6):947–950. Disclosure of Interest T. Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahikasei Pharma Corp., Bristol–Myers K.K., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Pfizer Japan Inc., Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., SymBio Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Teijin Pharma Ltd., Consultant for: AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Medical K.K., Astra Zeneca K.K., Bristol–Myers K.K., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Nipponkayaku Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharma K.K., Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK., Astellas Pharma Inc., Bristol–Myers K.K., Celtrion, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Diaichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Co., Nipponkayaku Co., Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., UCB., K. Ishida Employee of: Astellas Pharma Inc., K. Shiraki Employee of: Astellas Pharma Inc., T. Yoshiyasu Employee of: Astellas Pharma Inc.