Fractures play an important role in both reservoir fluid flow and well productivity.Fracture conductivity is an important parameter to evaluate the fractured reservoir.It is difficult to evaluate the fracture conductivity with conventional prospecting methods.The wireline formation tester has been applied to evaluate the fracture conductivity near wellbore.The effects of evaluating the fractures crossed and non-crossed well borehole with the method of interval pressure transient tests and harmonic pulse testing are analyzed.In order to research the effects that evaluate the fractures in the reservoir with the wireline formation tester,we used the finite element method to simulate the pressure response of fractured reservoirs with the interval pressure transient tests and harmonic pulse testing.At first,we simulated the pressure response of different fracture parameters with interval pressure transient tests and analyzed the different effects of evaluating the fractures crossed and non-crossed well borehole.Then we analyzed the feasibility of evaluating the fractures non-crossed well borehole with the harmonic pulse testing.The pressure response of different pulse frequencies and different dual probe spacing were simulated and the simulation results of different fracture parameters were compared and analyzed.In order to investigate the effect of the fracture conductivity on the interval test behavior,at first,we changed the fracture conductivity in the range from 1×10-15 m3,1×10-14 m3,1×10-13m3 to 5×10-13 m3.The simulation results indicate that pressure drawdown is faster and buildup occurs slower as the fracture conductivity decreases.The pressure differential and MDH curves of different fracture conductivity values can be distinguished easily from a pressure gauge.It presents that the fracture conductivity can be evaluated by the interval pressure transient tests efficiently.In the second case,the fractures do not intersect with the well borehole.The fracture conductivity-17 varies from 1×10 m3,1×10-15 m3,1×10-14 m3 to 1×10-12 m3.The simulation results show that pressure responses have a small change when the fracture conductivity is varied.Although the values of different pressure differentials can be distinguished by aquartz gauge,the effect on pressure response is negligible.Then we used Harmonic pulse testing to evaluate non-crossed fractures.At first,the pulse frequency was defined as 0.1Hz,the spacing of dual probe was defined as 20 cm.From the simulation results,there is a certain pressure differential and phase shift between the fractured reservoir and non-fractured reservoir.In addition,the pressure differential and phase shift can be distinguished between different fractures conductivity values.When the spacing of the dual probe was equal to 50 cm,there is evident amplitude differential and phase shift between fractured formation and non-fractured formation.Thus it indicates the long spacing of dual probe can detect those fractures near the well borehole more efficiently.Finally,we simulated the pressure response for different radial depths of fractures near well borehole,for which the pulse frequency was defined as 0.1Hz and the spacing of the dual probe was 50 cm.According to the simulation results,the method of harmonic pulse testing can detect the fractures near the well borehole efficiently.However,it becomes more difficult and probably invalid for detecting those fractures located far away from the well borehole.The fractures intersecting the well borehole can be evaluated efficiently by interval pressure transient tests depending on fracture conductivities.Non-intersecting fractures in the vicinity of the well borehole have negligible effects with the method. However, when the fracture conductivity increases,or the fractures get close to the well borehole,the effect becomes noticeable.Harmonic pulse testing can detect and evaluate the non-crossed fractures with appropriate spacing of the dual probe and pulse frequency.Through decreasing pulse frequency and increasing dual probe spacing,it can increase detection distance and improve the detection precision.However,this method becomes much less precise when the fractures conductivity become enough large or fractures located far away from the well borehole.


Relatively energetic low frequency fluctuations in horizontal currents are found to exist below the thermocline in the northern trough of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. For example, deep eddy kinetic energy levels there are about twice as large as those observed at similar relative depths in the MODE-I region. Eddy kinetic energies are about 2-10 times larger than mean kinetic energies. The vertical distribution of eddy kinetic energy is frequency dependent, increasing toward the thermocline for the longer time scales and intensifying toward the bottom at higher frequencies. In addition to the expected mean westward motion of Norwegian Sea Overflow Water through the northern trough of the fracture, rather consistent mean southward flow is observed at a depth immediately above the overflow.


Humans can flexibly represent both categorical and coordinate spatial relations. Previous research has mainly focused on hemisphere lateralization in representing these two types of spatial relations, but little is known about how distinct network organization states support representations of the two. Here we used dynamic resting-state functional connectivity (FC) to explore this question. To do this, we separated a meta-identified navigation network into a ventral and two other subnetworks. We revealed a Weak State and a Strong State within the ventral subnetwork and a Negative State and a Positive State between the ventral and other subnetworks. Further, we found the Weak State (i.e., weak but positive FC) within the ventral subnetwork was related to the ability of categorical relation recognition, suggesting that the representation of categorical spatial relations was related to weak integration among focal regions in the navigation network. In contrast, the Negative State (i.e., negative FC) between the ventral and other subnetworks was associated with the ability of coordinate relation processing, suggesting that the representation of coordinate spatial relations may require competitive interactions among widely distributed regions. In sum, our study provides the first empirical evidence revealing different focal and distributed organizations of the navigation network in representing different types of spatial information.


Due to the bandwidth constraint and unreliable transmission of network, data packet dropout exists inevitably in networked control systems (NCSs). Networked three tank system with the controller designed without having the network in mind is analyzed and conclusions are drawn that network should be considered when designing NCSs. Next, NCSs with arbitrary but finite data packet dropout is modeled as switched linear system and sufficient conditions are presented on the stability of NCSs. The corresponding state feedback controller can be constructed by using the feasible solutions of a group of linear matrix inequalities. Simulation results for the three tank system are given, which prove the validity of the design method.


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are capable of providing high-quality orthoimagery and 3D information in the form of point clouds at a relatively low cost. Their increasing popularity stresses the necessity of understanding which algorithms are especially suited for processing the data obtained from UAVs. The features that are extracted from the point cloud and imagery have different statistical characteristics and can be considered as heterogeneous, which motivates the use of Multiple Kernel Learning (MKL) for classification problems. In this paper, we illustrate the utility of applying MKL for the classification of heterogeneous features obtained from UAV data through a case study of an informal settlement in Kigali, Rwanda. Results indicate that MKL can achieve a classification accuracy of 90.6%, a 5.2% increase over a standard single-kernel Support Vector Machine (SVM). A comparison of seven MKL methods indicates that linearly-weighted kernel combinations based on simple heuristics are competitive with respect to computationally-complex, non-linear kernel combination methods. We further underline the importance of utilizing appropriate feature grouping strategies for MKL, which has not been directly addressed in the literature, and we propose a novel, automated feature grouping method that achieves a high classification accuracy for various MKL methods.


German fertility trends show that the average age at which women have their first child has increased in recent decades. Moreover, researchers have argued that delayed maternity is an important factor in reduced fertility. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper contributes to the debate about maternity timing and reduced fertility in Germany by analyzing some of the factors determining the delay of motherhood. The results suggest that German women who have accumulated more years of education and longer work experience at the time of marriage delay motherhood more. On the other hand, women with higher labor income and a higher contribution to household income delay motherhood less. The results confirm that women consolidate their careers before motherhood in order to reduce career costs. Therefore, if fertility rates are to be increased in Germany further policies that aim to combine women's careers and motherhood need to be developed.


In the past decade the demand for highly qualified and especially trained teachers of students with special needs has exceeded the supply. To meet this deficit, alternative programs have sprouted up across the country. One such program, at CSU Fullerton, is successfully trying to fill that gap. Some 280 students have completed the requirements of a specially designed Intern program of coursework, practicum, advanced seminars, research and directed student teaching and are working in the communities of four, Southern California's local counties. The following article explains and describes the process, procedures, methods and results of these efforts. A highlight of this program is action research; the gathering of data, using scientifically-based interventions and analyzing the outcomes that produce change or progress.


This article considers the legacy of 1970s revolutionary thought and political action within Argentine cultural production. Liliana Heker's 1996 novel El fin de la historia is a fictional depiction of Montonera 'Lucy' Carazo, who was taken as a political prisoner, fell in love with and seduced her captor, and went on to collaborate with the military regime. Similar stories continue to arise and generate a great deal of debate in present-day Argentina, at the same time that Heker's novel itself continues to elicit controversial critical and cultural responses. This close reading of the novel thus situates itself within present-day debates regarding the ethics and politics of 1970s armed struggle as well as ongoing debates concerning individuals who abjure or betray their commitment to 1970s revolutionary causes. The analysis focuses on seduction and sexuality as a means of leading the novel's protagonist astray from the cultural topoi of revolutionary martyrdom and heroism.


Sport is a rich source for memory culture. Conspicuously, sport regularly declares an event to be historical while it is still ongoing. This includes transforming the sport event into one of broader cultural, especially national significance. Using a number of examples from different sports, this article discusses how and why sport, for already more than a hundred years, continuously contributes to national memories. It will argue, that it is first of all the serial organization of standardized (and thus comparable) competitive events that enables sport to continuously declare and remember historical moments. Sport produces an endless series of events that can possibly become historic; simultaneously, all sports organize ('their') memory in such a systematic manner that the claim for historicity can be made with good reasons. On the one hand, it is the comparison with hundreds of past events that allows an ongoing or even an upcoming event to be marked as 'historic'. On the other hand, retrospectively, this ongoing comparison guarantees that the historic moments of the past will be referenced repetitively and thus remembered. Analyzing these foundational mechanisms which represent sport to a global audience allows for a better understanding of the otherwise seemingly irrational and excessive role of sports in national memory cultures


I wrote last February to 'C.T.R.' to congratulate him on his ninetieth birthday and saying that it would give his friends great pleasure if he would write his reminiscences of his early days in The Cavendish for Notes and Records. He replied saying he would try and see if he could write anything worth publishing. I reminded him of his promise in August and he replied: 'When I received your letter last week I was just developing a rather sudden attack of pneumonia, which was a new and interesting experience. I have delayed answering your letter until the doctor was able to assure me that the pneumonia had responded to the penicillin treatment. I am getting on with the reminiscences. It has given me a good deal of pleasure thinking of old days.' In September his reminiscences arrived and I wrote thanking him and trying to persuade him to add a little more about the development of his cloud technique. His reply is reproduced on Plate 9. It was the last letter he wrote as in a few days he had followed his 'much loved Highland pony'. As he had not written a description of the diagrams he had chosen, Professor Blackett has kindly done this for him. T AM writing from my home which is in the pastoral countryside where A my forebears lived for generations and is only a few miles from where I was born more than ninety years ago at Crosshouse, the farm at the foot of Castlelaw. I was the youngest son and my father hoped that I would be the farmer; but he died when I was four years old. As it happened I became a physicist and at a very interesting time in the history of physics. In the reminiscences which follow, and which I will not carry beyond the early years of this century, I hope to give some idea of what this exciting time was like.


We examine in some detail Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) the dominant features used for speech recognition and investigate their applicability to modeling music. In particular, we examine two of the main assumptions of the process of forming MFCCs: the use of the Mel frequency scale to model the spectra; and the use of the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) to decorrelate the Mel-spectral vectors. We examine the first assumption in the context of speech/music discrimination. Our results show that the use of the Mel scale for modeling music is at least not harmful for this problem, although further experimentation is needed to verify that this is the optimal scale in the general case. We investigate the second assumption by examining the basis vectors of the theoretically optimal transform to decorrelate music and speech spectral vectors. Our results demonstrate that the use of the DCT to decorrelate vectors is appropriate for both speech and music spectra. MFCCs for Music Analysis Of all the human generated sounds which influence our lives, speech and music are arguably the most prolific. Speech has received much focused attention and decades of research in this community have led to usable systems and convergence of the features used for speech analysis. In the music community however, although the field of synthesis is very mature, a dominant paradigm has yet to emerge to solve other problems such as music classification or transcription. Consequently, many representations for music have been proposed (e.g. (Martin1998), (Scheirer1997), (Blum1999)). In this paper, we examine some of the assumptions of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) the dominant features used for speech recognition and examine whether these assumptions are valid for modeling music. MFCCs have been used by other authors to model music and audio sounds (e.g. (Blum1999)). These works however use cepstral features merely because they have been so successful for speech recognition without examining the assumptions made in great detail. MFCCs (e.g. see (Rabiner1993)) are short-term spectral features. They are calculated as follows (the steps and assumptions made are explained in more detail in the full paper): 1. Divide signal into frames. 2. For each frame, obtain the amplitude spectrum. 3. Take the logarithm. 4. Convert to Mel (a perceptually-based) spectrum. 5. Take the discrete cosine transform (DCT). We seek to determine whether this process is suitable for creating features to model music. We examine only steps 4 and 5 since, as explained in the full paper, the other steps are less controversial. Step 4 calculates the log amplitude spectrum on the so-called Mel scale. This transformation emphasizes lower frequencies which are perceptually more meaningful for speech. It is possible however that the Mel scale may not be optimal for music as there may be more information in say higher frequencies. Step 5 takes the DCT of the Mel spectra. For speech, this approximates principal components analysis (PCA) which decorrelates the components of the feature vectors. We investigate whether this transform is valid for music spectra. Mel vs Linear Spectral Modeling To investigate the effect of using the Mel scale, we examine the performance of a simple speech/music discriminator. We use around 3 hours of labeled data from a broadcast news show, divided into 2 hours of training data and 40 minutes of testing data. We convert the data to 'Mel' and 'Linear' cepstral features and train mixture of Gaussian classifiers for each class. We then classify each segment in the test data using these models. This process is described in more detail in the full paper. We find that for this speech/music classification problem, the results are (statistically) significantly better if Mel-based cepstral features rather than linear-based cepstral features are used. However, whether this is simply because the Mel scale models speech better or because it also models music better is not clear. At worst, we can conclude that using the Mel cepstrum to model music in this speech/music discrimination problem is not harmful. Further tests are needed to verify that the Mel cepstrum is appropriate for modeling music in the general case. Using the DCT to Approximate Principal Components Analysis We additionally investigate the effectiveness of using the DCT to decorrelate Mel spectral features. The mathematically correct way to decorrelate components is to use PCA (or equivalently the KL transform). This transform uses the eigenvalues of the covariance matrix of the data to be modeled as basis vectors. By investigating how closely these vectors approximate cosine functions we can get a feel for how well the DCT approximates PCA. By inspecting the eigenvectors for the Mel log spectra for around 3 hours of speech and 4 hours of music we see that the DCT is an appropriate transform for decorrelating music (and speech) log spectra. Future Work Future work should focus on a more thorough examination the parameters used to generate MFCC features such as the sampling rate of the signal, the frequency scaling (Mel or otherwise) and the number of bins to use when smoothing. Also worthy of investigation is the windowing size and frame rate. Suggested Readings Blum, T, Keislar, D., Wheaton, J. and Wold, E., 1999, Method and article of manufacture for content-based analysis, storage, retrieval, and segmentation of audio information, U.S. Patent 5, 918, 223. Martin, K.. 1998, Toward automatic sound source recognition: identifying musical instruments, Proceedings NATO Computational Hearing Advanced Study Institute. Rabiner, L. and Juang, B., 1993, Fundamentals of Speech Recognition, Prentice-Hall. Scheirer, E. and Slaney, M., 1997, Construction and evaluation of a robust multifeature speech/music discriminator, Proceedings IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing.


The epidemiology of lung cancer in industrialized nations during the 20th century is a fascinating phenomenon. It is predicted that 161,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 1991. Lung cancer will cause 143,000 deaths in the United States in 1991, and it has surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. The 5-year survival for patients with lung cancer has not changed significantly over the past several decades and is approximately 13%. The current attack on lung cancer is aimed at earlier detection, better understanding of its biology, more effective therapy, and prevention, the last of which is the key to controlling this disease. Medical historians of the future will surely be both amused by and disappointed in our efforts of the past five decades. Despite our knowledge of the most important causative factor in the development of lung cancer, our efforts to control this deadly epidemic have been paltry at best.


We describe a quantum dynamo effect in a driven system coupled to a harmonic oscillator describing a cavity mode or to a collection of modes forming an Ohmic bosonic bath. When the system Hamiltonian changes in time, this induces a dynamical field in the bosonic modes having resonant frequencies with the driving velocity. This field opposes the change of the external driving field in a way reminiscent of Faraday's law of induction, justifying the term 'quantum dynamo effect'. For the specific situation of a periodically driven spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ on the Bloch sphere, we show that the work done by rolling the spin from north to south pole can efficiently be converted into a coherent displacement of the resonant bosonic modes, the effect thus corresponds to a work-to-work conversion and allows to interpret this transmitted energy into the bath as work. We study this effect, its performance and limitations in detail for a driven spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ in the presence of a radial magnetic field addressing a relation with topological systems through the formation of an effective charge in the core of the sphere. We show that the dynamo effect is directly related to the dynamically measured topology of this spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ and thus in the adiabatic limit provides a topologically protected method to convert driving work into a coherent field in the reservoir. The quantum dynamo model is realizable in mesoscopic and atomic systems.


This paper reviews the International Atomic Energy Agency's "International Conference on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources: Towards a Global System for the Continuous Control of Sources throughout their Life Cycle," which was held in Bordeaux, France, from 27 June to 1 July 2005. Some high points of the progress in controlling radioactive sources since the similar meeting in Dijon (1998) are discussed. The impact of the IAEA's Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources for radioactive material licensees in the United States of America is summarized.


A radio receiver system for frequency-modulated signals is described which uses a direct conversion (zero intermediate frequency) technique. The characteristics of the system are developed especially in areas of difference from conventional methods. The realization is shown of the complete receiver in two integrated circuits which form part of a synthesized 30 to 88 MHz equipment. The conclusion is drawn that the combination of direct conversion and large-scale integration is a very powerful means for future development of radio receiver techniques.


The article deals with the formation of understanding and interpretation of the phenomenon of memory in the European philosophical tradition. The historical-cultural and linguistic-semantic connections of the ideological paradigm of Ancient Greek thinkers and philosophers are researched. In article revealded a peculiarities of the main philosophical categories of Plato's philosophy in the context of explaining the phenomenon of memory and memories. We realized a distinction for better understanding of the phenomenon of memory for ancient culture into two branches: 1) memory as a natural property of man and 2) memory as a technique, as a skill for perfection, as an instrument. We emphasize that ancient categories: eidos, logos and cosmos are the central of the theory of memory of the western tradition, which we can also observe in the treatises left by Plato. Also we analyzed the connection between the Platonian theory of memory and the development of knowledge about memory paradigm. Memory for Plato is determined by a metaphysical character, like immortal knowledge, it is a way of human transcendence. An intelligent soul for Plato is the translator of eternal knowledge of things through which we learn not only the world, but also receive knowledge (remember) about ourselves, our true perceptual perception, and represent our ideas in real forms. The soul of man for Plato, due to memory, connects human existence from outside the physical space and time, where there is simultaneously the past, present and future, which at the metaphysical level are united into a concrete conceptual design of memory. Thus, the Platonic theory of memory as a reproduction of knowledge can not relate to the development of the art of memory, but has a direct connection with the development of the paradigm of knowledge about memory and allows us to understand the concept of memory as a philosophical and cultural phenomenon. We noted that the theory of Plato's memory resembles the same categories as the art of memory, it is a category of "place" bearing memory-reflection in the memory of the soul and "image" of true knowledge.


Despite the national quality awards (NQAs) categories that reflect properly the total quality management (TQM) concept, the relative importance of these evaluation criteria may have different influence on different industries due to various characteristics of industries. Therefore, this research makes an attempt on probing the impact of each Taiwan National Quality Awards (TNQA) evaluation category, particularly, "research and development (R and D) and innovation," for the high-tech industry. Based on TNQA evaluation criteria, the research builds up a hierarchical structure of evaluation standards and designs a questionnaire for soliciting expert opinions from industries, government, and academia. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is then employed to compute the weights of TNQA categories and criteria in an effort to identify the critical features high-tech firms need to develop and reinforce to excel in a changing industry teeming with intensive competition. Of the eight TNQA evaluation categories, experts consulted by the study demonstrate the consensus that the weighted value of "R and D and innovation" appears to be significantly higher than the weight it receives in the TNQA evaluation standard, suggesting that, in addition to competent leadership and management, research and development capability also plays a crucial role to help high-tech firms promote innovation and enhance core competitiveness.

 Key words: High-tech industry, national quality award (NQA), total quality management (TQM), evaluation criteria, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP).


The renal toxicity of the ionic, very hyperosmolaric megluminamidotrizoate was compared with the toxicity of the non-ionic, slightly hypertonic iopamidol after intravenous injection of 0.7 ml/kg body weight (i.e. about 300 mg iodine/ml) in a randomized study of 20 individuals with normal kidneys. Quantitative measurements of the excretion of the enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alkaline phosphatase (AP), and N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) in 24-h urine samples, serum creatinine, and the endogeneous creatine clearance were conducted to determine the possible renal damage. All 20 subjects tolerated both contrast mediums well. Reduced renal function as measured by the creatinine blood level and the endogeneous clearance did not occur. The ionic, hyperosmolaric megluminamidotrizoate++ caused significantly elevated enzymuria of NAG, AP, and LDH (P less than 0.01) following tubular irrigation, whereas iopamidol showed no significant enzymuria. Therefore, it appears that the non-ionic contrast medium, iopamidol, is less toxic for kidneys than the ionic megluminamidotrizoate.


The methodology for the collection, extraction, separation and measurement of urinary angiotensin II [the octapeptide, ANG(1-8)] is described. To determine the origin of urinary ANG(1-8), mean arterial pressure, renal hemodynamics and the arterial, renal venous and urinary concentrations of ANG(1-8) were examined prior to and following the constant intra-arterial infusion of tritiated angiotensin II [3H-ANG(1-8)] in graded doses of 0.5, 2.0 and 2.5 ng/kg/min in 5 uninephrectomized, anesthetized female dogs. The infusion of 3H-ANG-(1-8) had no significant effect on mean arterial pressure, glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow or urine flow rate. The mean concentration of ANG(1-8) in the urine was 3.7 fmol/ml. None or only trace amounts of 3H-ANG(1-8) were detected in the urine in spite of marked increases in renal arterial 3H-ANG(1-8) concentrations. These observations suggest that urinary ANG(1-8) was derived de novo from the intrarenal generation of angiotensin II. In addition, plasma and urinary concentrations of ANG(1-8) were assessed in patients with essential hypertension undergoing treatment with either a diuretic (n = 14) or an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (n = 14). Although the concentrations of plasma ANG(1-8) responded appropriately to the respective therapies, the urinary excretion of ANG(1-8) was not different following either therapy. These data suggest that ANG(1-8) collected from the urinary bladder may not occur in adequate concentrations to accurately assess the activity of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system.


Human B cell lymphoma and murine T cell leukemia can be initiated by several agents. The present paper formulates some thoughts on the role of cytogenetic changes in the subsequent neoplastic process. Initiation creates long-lived preneoplastic cells. In some respects, they are comparable to in vitro-transformed ("immortalized") cell lines that maintain a diploid karyotype and are not tumorigenic in vivo. The development of a tumorigenic ("autonomous") clone is dependent on additional changes at the genetic level. In human B and murine T cell lymphoma, there are characteristic nonrandom chromosomal changes. The 14q+ marker appears to play a key role in human B cell lymphomas. The reciprocal 8;14 translocation in Burkitt lymphoma is a specialized subclass within this category. In murine T cell leukemia, trisomy 15 is the predominant change. The clustering of these nonrandom changes to tumors derived from a certain cell type rather than to tumors induced by a given etiological agent has important implications for the understanding of the genetic control of cellular responsiveness to growth-regulating forces in vivo.


Document clustering or unsupervised document classification is an automated process of grouping documents with similar content. Document clustering is an important task in many Information Retrieval systems. Also document clustering Algorithms can help in discovery of new and useful knowledge or novel class from the documents under analysis. This knowledge or novel class is very important issue while handling forensic analysis. Digital Forensic Investigation is the branch of scientific forensic process for investigation of material found in digital devices related to computer crimes. In computer forensics, hundreds of thousands of files per computer are examined. Hence methods for automated data analysis, such as clustering are required. Labeling large data sets with clusters bridges the effective cluster analysis to the large data set. Labeling irregular shaped clusters, distinguishing outliers and extending cluster boundary are the main problems in this stage. We address these problems and propose a cluster labeling algorithm which is very intuitive and easy to use


 The objective of this project is to analyze and design an existing old structure using actual codes and specifications, locating the structure in a seismic risk zone. This project performs a load analysis of the structure using the International Building Code 2009 specifications, and the reinforced concrete designs using the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary 2008 specifications. The structural system is a "Special Moment Resistant Frame". The designs of reinforced concrete members included in this project are: beams, columns, slab, joints, walls and foundation. For the selected typical designed elements, serviceability and strength requirements are checked and conclusions and recommendations are given. Key Terms  Analysis, Design, Reinforced Concrete, Special Moment Resistant Frame.


Abstract Purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a severe kidney disease carrying high morbidity and mortality. An ischemic process, at the cellular level, has been detected prior to the full-blown AKI. An elevated ischemic modified albumin (IMA) was also found to be increased fast at several minutes following an ischemic process in the body. In this connection, we have investigated, in advance, the changes of IMA concentrations in patients with possible AKI. Methods: IMA and other biochemical and haematological parameters were measured in sera of thirty nine patients with AKI and of thirty eight healthy controls. AKI is defined by an increase in serum creatinine by ≥ 0.3 mg/dl in 48 hours or an increase by ≥ 1.5-fold from a known or assumed baseline. The results in the two groups were compared. Results: IMA, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, white blood cell, neutrophil, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and mean platelet volume were found to be higher in patients with AKI than in healthy controls. In contrast, total protein, albumin, lymphocyte, and haemoglobin were lower in patients with AKI than in healthy controls. No significant difference was recorded in platelet counts between the two groups. Conclusion: Our results indicate that increased levels of NLR and PLR play a central role in a systemic inflammation in AKI. Monitoring serum IMA could be a useful tool in the assessment of AKI.


We present an outline of a method for mode identification, which relies on a nonadiabatic version of the traditional approximation and involves instability and visibility considerations. Determination of the angular degrees, (l, m), is done simultaneously with the rotation velocity and inclination angle. The method is applied to oscillation frequencies detected in the rapidly rotating SPB star μ Eridani.


Detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) in poultry meat is hampered by the lack of an efficient analytical method able to extract and concentrate viral RNA prior to PCR. In this study we developed a method for extracting and detecting AIV from poultry meat by a previously standardized 1-step real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RRT-PCR) assay. In addition, a new process control, represented by feline calicivirus (FCV), was included in the original protocol, to evaluate all analytical steps from sample preparation to the detection phase. The detection limit was below 1×10(-1) TCID50 of AIV per sample, and the quantification limit corresponded to 1×10(1) TCID50 of AIV per sample. Moreover, the addition of 1×10(2) TCID50/sample of FCV did not affect the quantification and detection limit of the reaction. These results show that the developed assay is suitable for detecting small amounts of AIV in poultry meat. In addition, the developed biopreparedness protocol can be applied to detect AIV in legal or illegal imported broiler chicken meat. The availability of a rapid and sensitive diagnostic method based on molecular identification of AIV in poultry meat provides an important tool in the prevention of AIV circulation.


Worldwide, there is a trend towards increased herd sizes, and the animal-to-stockman ratio is increasing within the beef and dairy sectors; thus, the time available to monitoring individual animals is reducing. The behaviour of cows is known to change in the hours prior to parturition, for example, less time ruminating and eating and increased activity level and tail-raise events. These behaviours can be monitored non-invasively using animal-mounted sensors. Thus, behavioural traits are ideal variables for the prediction of calving. This study explored the potential of two sensor technologies for their capabilities in predicting when calf expulsion should be expected. Two trials were conducted at separate locations: (i) beef cows (n = 144) and (ii) dairy cows (n = 110). Two sensors were deployed on each cow: (1) Afimilk Silent Herdsman (SHM) collars monitoring time spent ruminating (RUM), eating (EAT) and the relative activity level (ACT) of the cow, and (2) tail-mounted Axivity accelerometers to detect tail-raise events (TAIL). The exact time the calf was expelled from the cow was determined by viewing closed-circuit television camera footage. Machine learning random forest algorithms were developed to predict when calf expulsion should be expected using single-sensor variables and by integrating multiple-sensor data-streams. The performance of the models was tested using the Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC), the area under the curve, and the sensitivity and specificity of predictions. The TAIL model was slightly better at predicting calving within a 5-h window for beef cows (MCC = 0.31) than for dairy cows (MCC = 0.29). The TAIL + RUM + EAT models were equally as good at predicting calving within a 5-h window for beef and dairy cows (MCC = 0.32 for both models). Combining data-streams from SHM and tail sensors did not substantially improve model performance over tail sensors alone; therefore, hour-by-hour algorithms for the prediction of time of calf expulsion were developed using tail sensor data. Optimal classification occurred at 2 h prior to calving for both beef (MCC = 0.29) and dairy cows (MCC = 0.25). This study showed that tail sensors alone are adequate for the prediction of parturition and that the optimal time for prediction is 2 h before expulsion of the calf.


Summary
Pezoloma ericae (D.J. Read) Baral, a widespread mycorrhizal fungus of plants in the Ericales, is known to form intracellular associations with several families of leafy liverworts (Schistochilaceae, Lepidoziaceae, Cephaloziaceae, Cephaloziellaceae) in vitro. The ecological significance of this link between vascular and non-vascular plants is unknown.
Fungal symbionts were isolated from rhizoids of the leafy liverworts Cephalozia connivens (Dicks.) Lindb. and C. bicuspidata (L.) Dum. (Cephaloziaceae), as well as from the hair roots of two dominant ericoid mycorrhiza-forming species of European heathlands, Erica tetralix (L.) and Calluna vulgaris (L.).
Using pure cultures of P. ericae, we resynthesized liverwort–fungus associations to use colonized liverworts as inoculum which was applied to substrates supporting the growth of heather seedlings and cuttings. Effects were quantified using germination, rooting, plant colonization, plant survival under waterlogging stress and growth in height in experimental systems with and without liverworts and/or fungi.
Fungal symbionts growing from liverwort rhizoids readily colonized the hair roots of ericaceous plants to form typical ericoid mycorrhizas.
The presence of inoculum-bearing liverworts led to significant increases in plant growth. Erica tetralix was more responsive to inoculation than C. vulgaris.
Ericaceous cuttings rooted and survived more successfully when they were coplanted with previously colonized liverwort stems.
We demonstrate, under realistic ecological circumstances, that liverworts can deliver mycorrhizal inoculum and improve the establishment of vascular plants. We propose that by providing sources of mycorrhizal inoculum, symbiotic non-vascular plants can contribute to the restoration of plant communities dominated by Ericales plants. This research leads to broader knowledge about the function of ericoid mycorrhizas in ecosystems.


Treatment of ErbB2-overexpressing BT474 and MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells with 1 to 10 μmol/L betulinic acid inhibited cell growth, induced apoptosis, downregulated specificity protein (Sp) transcription factors Sp1, Sp3, and Sp4, and decreased expression of ErbB2. Individual or combined knockdown of Sp1, Sp3, Sp4 by RNA interference also decreased expression of ErbB2 and this response was because of repression of YY1, an Sp-regulated gene. Betulinic acid–dependent repression of Sp1, Sp3, Sp4, and Sp-regulated genes was due, in part, to induction of the Sp repressor ZBTB10 and downregulation of microRNA-27a (miR-27a), which constitutively inhibits ZBTB10 expression, and we show for the first time that the effects of betulinic acid on the miR-27a:ZBTB10-Sp transcription factor axis were cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and CB2 receptor–dependent, thus identifying a new cellular target for this anticancer agent. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(7); 1421–31. ©2012 AACR.


The cyclic load number of aero-engine blade during its service life is very likely beyond 107, which is regarded as the conventional fatigue limit. Moreover, surface strengthening is very often used in the manufacturing process of blade. The conventional testing method in the VHCF regime cannot exactly reflect the stress state of the blade, including the mechanism of crack initiation. To study the fatigue behavior and effects of laser shock peening, a kind of bending fatigue subcomponent specimen was designed and the laser shock peening model was established. Experiment about TC17 was accomplished by the Ulra-High Cycle bending fatigue system. It is found that the fatigue damage occurs beneath the surface and the S-N curve is continuously rather than multi-step declining in the VHCF regime. Process of surface strengthening has a significant effect on fatigue performance of TC17 titanium alloy.


As TrkA, a high-affinity receptor of nerve growth factor (NGF), is a potential target for relieving uncontrolled inflammatory pain, an effective inhibitor of TrkA has been required for pain management. To identify a specific inhibitor of TrkA activity, we designed cell-penetrating peptides combined with amino-acid sequences in the activation loop of TrkA to antagonize tyrosine kinase activity. To select a peptide inhibiting TrkA activity, we examined the effect of cell-penetrating peptides on tyrosine kinase activity of recombinant TrkA in vitro and studied their effects on NGF-stimulated neurite outgrowth and protein phosphorylation in PC12 cells. Thereafter we investigated the effect of the selected peptide on NGF-stimulated TrkA activity and the expression of transient receptor potential channel 1 in PC12 cells. The selected peptide inhibited TrkA activity, but did not inhibit tyrosine kinase activities of other receptor-type tyrosine kinases in vitro. It also suppressed NGF-stimulated responses in PC12 cells. The selected synthetic cell-penetrating peptide antagonizing TrkA function would be a candidate for inflammatory pain therapy.


The peer group as reference group in the behaviour of the adolescent with reference to sexual behaviour. Reference groups influence the behaviour of the individual in an important way. As the peer group provides in specific needs of the adolescent, it can become an important reference group and consequently influence his behaviour in a significant way. Research results show that the peer group as a reference group also has an influence on the sexual behaviour of the adolescent, and this influence could be negative in nature. Research results are however still inconclusive in this regard, and especially in South Africa more research should be undertaken in this field. Knowledge regarding the positive aspects of the peer group could be used for the development of peer-group counselling.


Microalgae have many applications such as the production of high value compounds (source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and pigments), in energy production (e.g. photobiological hydrogen, biofuel, methane) or in environmental remediation (especially carbon dioxide fixation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction). However, the photobioreactor microalgae process needs complex and costly hardware sensors, especially for biomass measurement. Thus, state and parameter estimation seems to be a critical issue and is studied in this paper in the case of a culture of the microalga Porphyridium purpureum. This paper is an extension of the previous work of Becerra-Celis et al. (2008) where the principal objective is to design a biomass estimator of this microalga production in a photobioreactor based on the total inorganic carbon measurement.

Unscented Kalman filtering is applied to estimation of states and model parameters, producing better performances in comparison with Extented Kalman filtering. Numerical simulations in batch mode, and real-life experiments in continuous mode have been carried out. Corresponding results are given in order to highlight the performance of the proposed estimator.


THIS CLASS PACK OF STAGE 12, TREETOPS MORE STORIES A, INCLUDES SIX COPIES EACH OF THE FOLLOWING Cool Clive and the Little Pest Here Comes Trouble Pass the Ball! Shelly Holmes Ace Detective Snooty Prune Billy's Luck Teaching Notes (single copy)


The purpose of this paper is to provide a classification of the insight into the new approach of the real estate analyze. This approach is based on the space based built up of the property and on the other hand on the workout of the time based analyze of it nature, firstly represented in the earlier works of Bakhtin, and changing the analytic analyze with the synthetic analyze throughout the workout scheme of the chronotope. Design/methodology/approach n The research in this paper is based on space and place founded literature introduction and on the adapting and further promotion of the Bakhtinis definitions and itis philosophically approach into the real estate nature. Findings n The findings in this paper confirmed that the term chronotope and its fundamental presentation will be arranged and used for the analyzing the real estate on the different levels of it acquisition; the three levels of the chronotope Research limitations/implications n The research in this paper is aimed specifically at broad nature of real estate professionals and should supply them with a contemporary and modern approach of the fundamentals analyzes. Practical implications n The paper shows that, if consideration is given to the characteristics that bring us from the use of the traditional tools of analyze to their contemporary and more sophisticated interpretation, then the psychologically aspects through the philosophy of identity, must be accounted. Originality/value n In the paper the emphasis was placed on identifying on the different theoretically fundamentals of the basic parameters of the space and place that are used for the workout of the real estate chronotope. The theory of chronotope allows summarizing the heterogenesis of space and place in the real estate researches. As a new and contemporary tool of the description of the real estate nature (space and place) and research, the paper is fundamental and moves the market participants to the more holistic approach treating the property, and also promoting them for the larger discussion.


Medicinal plants are playing an important role to human livelihood. Bangladesh is well recognized of medicinal plants wealth as unique and globally rich. The studies demonstrate about the value of traditional systems of medicine as economically useful plants and possible effects of climate change on medicinal plants. It is true that climate change is causing noticeable effects on life cycles and distribution of the plant species. However, climate change effects on medicinal plants are widely unclear in Bangladesh. At present, a huge number of populations in Bangladesh are directly dependent on the healthcare treatment by medicinal plants that is why it is an emerging concern in Bangladesh. It is a crying need to improve our understanding the effects on medicinal plants by various researches is stressed in the present article. To know the present condition of medicinal plants and effects of climate change on medicinal plants in northern part of Bangladesh an attempt is being taken here. The study also added the optimum use of medicinal plants and their conservation in northern part of Bangladesh.


The analysis of literature shows that as to the problem of the division of the Lithuanian national movement into periods (as well as to the problem of its genesis) there exist quite different and even contradictory opinions and much confusion of a theoretical character. Holding one methodological principle (i.e., social-class principle) the author tries to distinguish qualitatively different periods and stages in the Lithuanian national movement.


Recently, Science defined transportation as the most potent component of logistics. In addition, it has an interdependent relationship with business logistics. Also, AI is intervened in transportation logistics to solve transportation issues. Also, it is used for optimizing and obtaining possible solutions for critical and complex problems. This paper aims to optimize costs and profit to get satisfaction for individuals and organizations using AI techniques. A proposed methodology consisted of two phases. The first phase discusses data collection, and the second involves applying FGA Artificial Intelligence techniques. A proposed Transportation Logistics model was used to determine boundary profit for each Product, and a Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm FGA for transportation logistics was done to solve transportation issues. According to that, outcomes were detected by optimizing the transportation cost by detecting the parent's and the child's chromosomes, and it took the number of iterations =2000. Also, between 100 loops, the best of 5 loops took 1.53 Millie seconds per loop Using GA. Similarly, GA was used for optimizing the minimum total cost of the Product also by determining parents and child chromosomes, which took the Number of iterations= 2000, and among 100 loops, the best five loops took 1.40 ms per loop. Moreover, determining the profit boundary of each predicted Product using triangular fuzzy logic shows that the minimum profit is considered between (20 million and 23.9 million), while the moderate profit is (24 million), and the maximum profit is more than (24.1 million).


In the typical loaded verbal working memory (WM) span task (e.g., Daneman & Carpenter, 1980), participants judge the veridicality of a series of sentences while simultaneously storing the sentence final word for later recall. Performance declines as the number of sentences is increased; aging exacerbates this decline. The present study examined whether veridicality (whether the sentence was true or false) moderated age differences on a verbal working memory task. Results suggested that veridicality interacted with age and span size such that older adults were more negatively affected by false sentences, particularly under the lowest WM demands. Findings are discussed in terms of the role that veridicality may play in age differences in verbal working memory.


Methylation on CpG residues is one of the most important epigenetic modifications of nuclear DNA, regulating gene expression. Methylation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been studied using whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), but recent evidence has uncovered major technical issues which introduce a potential bias during methylation quantification. Here, we validate the technical concerns with WGBS, and then develop and assess the accuracy of a protocol for variant-specific methylation identification using long-read Oxford Nanopore Sequencing. Our approach circumvents mtDNA-specific confounders, while enriching for native full-length molecules over nuclear DNA. Variant calling analysis against Illumina deep re-sequencing showed that all expected mtDNA variants can be reliably identified. Methylation calling revealed negligible mtDNA methylation levels in multiple human primary and cancer cell lines. In conclusion, our protocol enables the reliable analysis of epigenetic modifications of mtDNA at single-molecule level at single base resolution, with potential applications beyond methylation. Motivation Although whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) is the gold-standard approach to determine base-level CpG methylation in the nuclear genome, emerging technical issues raise questions about its reliability for evaluating mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) methylation. Concerns include mtDNA strand asymmetry rendering the C-rich light strand disproportionately vulnerable the chemical modifications introduced with WGBS. Also, short-read sequencing can result in a co-amplification of nuclear sequences originating from ancestral mtDNA with a high nucleotide similarity. Lastly, calling mtDNA alleles with varying proportions (heteroplasmy) is complicated by the C-to-T conversion introduced by WGBS on unmethylated CpGs. Here, we propose an alternative protocol to quantify methyl-CpGs in mtDNA, at single-molecule level, using Oxford Nanopore Sequencing (ONS). By optimizing the standard ONS library preparation, we achieved selective enrichment of native mtDNA and accurate single nucleotide variant and CpG methylation calling, thus overcoming previous limitations.


This article focuses on the development of polylactic acid– (PLA-) based thermoplastic composite filament for its use, once 3D printed via thermoplastic material extrusion (TME), as current collector at the negative electrode side of a lithium-ion battery or sodium-ion battery. High electronic conductivity is achieved through the introduction of Ag-coated Cu charges, while appropriate mechanical performance to allow printability was maintained through the incorporation of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether average Mn ∼ 500 (PEGDME500) as a plasticizer into the PLA polymer matrix. Herein, thermal, electrical, morphological, electrochemical, and printability characteristics are discussed thoroughly. While Ag-Li alloy formation is reported at 0.1V upon cycling, its use with active materials such as Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) or Li2-terephthalate (Li2TP) operating at a plateau at higher potential is demonstrated. Furthermore, its ability to be used with negative electrode active material of sodium-ion battery technology in a wide potential window is demonstrated.


1. This paper deals with the results of the writer's investigations on the Sclerotium disease of bananas caused by Corticium centrifugum (LEV.) BRES. Comparative studies of the causal fungus with five strains of the same fungus isolated from various plants were first carried out. The pathogenicity of the causal fungus, the effects of certain environmental factors on the growth of the causal fungus and the control method of this disease were also studied.2. So far as the writer's experiment concerned, the causal fungus from bananas seems to be nearer to the strain isolated from the rocambole than the strain from the clover.3. Under favourable conditions either the hyphae or the sclerotia of the causal fungus are capable of attacking the wounded or unwounded fruits of bananas.4. The optimum temperature for the germination of the sclerotia of the causal fungus seems to lie in a wide range between 24° and 36°C. and they require the relative air-humidity higher than 97% for germination. According to the writer's experiment the air-humidity seemed to be a more important factor for the sclerotial germination than the air-temperature.5. The optimum temperature for the mycelial growth of the causal fungus seems to lie at from 28° to 32°C. The growth is remarkably diminished at 20°C., and shown scarcely at ca. 11°C.6. The control method of the disease in question may be as effective with the refrigerated transport by rapid cooling of ca. 11°C., as in the case of other diseases of the banana in transport.


In a double-blind study no significant difference was found in intraocular pressure control, mean pressure or comparative binocular intraocular pressure difference between pilocarpine in Adsorbobase compared to pilocarpine in 0.5% hydroxypropl-methylcellulose solution. Intraocular pressure control was achieved on fewer than 60% of visits using pilocarpine twice daily in either of the 2 vehicles. While pilocarpine retained some residual hypotensive effect 12 hours after application, twice-daily dosage with the solutions tested gave inadequate control for clinical usefulness.


See how a New jersey medical center used data mining technology to help physicians work more efficiently and reduce medical mistakes.


The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) customarily uses affected children and their parents (often case-parent trios, TDTD). Control-parent trios are necessary to guard against spurious significant results due to segregation distortion but are not generally utilized in the identification of disease susceptibility loci (DSL). Controls are often easy to recruit and the TDT can easily be extended to include control-parent trios into the analyses with unrelated case-parent trios. We present an extension of the TDT (TDTDC) that incorporates unrelated cases and controls and their parents into a single analysis. We develop a simple and accurate analytical method for computing the statistical power of various TDT (e.g. the TDTD, TDTDC, TDTDC and TDTC that employ control-parent trios only) under any genetic model. We investigated the power of these TDT, and particularly compared the relative power of the TDTD and TDTDC. We found that the TDTDC is almost always more powerful than the TDTC and TDTD. The relative power of the TDTDC and TDTD depends largely upon a number of parameters identified in the study. This study provides a basis for efficient use of control-parent trios in DSL identification.


Previously, we reported an algorithm for scanning a large number of tightly linked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for LD mapping of functional sites or regions from a family‐based association design. In the present study, we extend our method to a case‐control design. We first use the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate haplotype frequencies of multiple linked SNPs, and follow this by constructing a contingency table statistic S for LD analysis, based on the estimated haplotype frequencies. An empirical p‐value is obtained based on the null distribution of the maximum of S (S *) from a large number (e.g., 1,000 or more) of randomized permutations. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in a computer program in which window searching for functional SNP sites can cover any number of loci without limitation, except that of computer storage. Unlike other programs for a case‐control design that always conduct tests at a fix window width, in our program after setting a maximum size of haplotype window width, for a given maximum window width all possible widths of haplotypes are utilized to find the maximum statistic S * for each locus under investigation. The sensitivity of the proposed algorithm has been examined with simulated and real genotyping datasets. Association analyses indicate that our program is powerful enough to detect most, if not all, functional SNPs simulated in the original model or identified in the original report. Moreover, the program is very flexible and can be used in either regional or genome‐wide scanning for association analysis with SNP markers.


The risk recognition model for preventing and monitoring the Coronary Heart Diseases (CHD) in the aged is proposed, which is based on the testing results of four indexes and includes Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), Total Cholesterol (TC), Triglyceridemia (TG)and age. Some people who took the health checkup in Shanghai Xinhua Hospital are classified into 3 groups,and each group is associated with prevalence risk of contracting CHD. Then the fuzzy recognition method is applied to evaluate the risk of CHD. The accuracy rate is up to 85%. The model is applicable to not only analysis of risk in medical but also analysis of risk in finance, insurance and some other fields.


Panelists explore the past, present, and future relationships between the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the regional archival organizations in the United States, including the vision for cooperation held out in Peter Gottlieb's 2010 SAA Presidential Address. Is a proliferation of archival organizations a sign of health or is it problematic? How has technology affected our organizations and their ability to meet archivists' needs?


The reactivity of hydrogen peroxide and catalytic hydroiodic acid towards 3,6-dimethoxy-2-(cycloamino)anilines is tunable to give ring-fused benzimidazoles or 1,4,6,9-tetramethoxyphenazine in high yield. Mechanisms via a detected nitroso-intermediate are proposed for oxidative cyclization and the unexpected intermolecular displacement of the oxazine. An aqueous solution of molecular iodine is capable of the same transformations. Oxidative demethylation gave targeted benzimidazolequinones, including without cleavage of the incorporated oxetane.


The large test data volume and power consumption are major problems in testing system-on-a-chip (SoC) which is a key component of today's embedded system. To reduce the test application time from an automatic test equipment (ATE), a new test data compression technique is proposed in this paper. Don't-cares in a pre-computed test cube set are assigned to reduce the test power consumption. Then, fully specified low-power test data is transformed to improve compression efficiency by neighboring bit-wise exclusive-or technique. Finally, test set converted is compressed to reduce test application time.


This paper deals with mobility prediction of batteries for an emission-free Electric Vehicle. The data-driven model has been developed based on empirical data from two different road types –highway and local streets –and two different driving modes – aggressive and moderate. Battery State of Charge (SoC) can be predicted on any new roads based on the trained model by selecting the drving mode. In this paper, the performance of Adaptive Recurrent Neural Network (ARNN) and regression is evaluated using two benchmark data sets. The ARNN model at first estimates the speed profile of the new road based on slope and then both slope and speed is going to be used as the input to estimate battery current and SoC. Through comparison it is found that if ARNN system is appropriately trained, it performs with better accuracy than Regression in both two road types and driving modes. The results show that prediction SoC model follows the Columbcounting SoC according to the road slope. 1


The function of the small intestine before and after extensive resection is dealt with on the basis of infant metabolism under normal and pathological conditions. As a result of the changed absorption conditions in such children, application of parenteral feeding, stepwise establishment of oral feeding using the building-up and cure diets which are available and compensation of long-term losses are necessary. The feasibility of testing the changed absorption conditions is mentioned.


An algorithm for system parameter identification will be presented in this paper. The method is applicable to linear and nonlinear systems with known structures. It is applied in this paper to systems in which both system and measurement noises can be neglected. The algorithm requires less time per iteration and less computer storage than the quasilinearization method. A shaft position control system with multiple nonlinearities will be used to illustrate the method.


In this paper our objective is to understand the process of emergence in the study of social behaviours evolution with a learning model. When the system is too complex to study it is important to recreate an artificial universe in which experiments' simulation can help to understand the mechanisms of human social behaviours. In Previous work we determined the conditions that favour the perpetuity of the Capitalist Globalization, the possibility of its overcoming with a Free Scientific Society and the possibility of the Ecological Hecatomb. In this paper we have theoretically explained the emergence of the anomalous behaviours and developed statistical studies of the conditions that favour their apparitions and finally their geographical repartition. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We examined whether completion of a military Freefall parachuting program enhanced self-efficacy in the domains of leader self-control and leader assertiveness. The Freefall program was particularly suited for self-efficacy development because Freefall required personal mastery to overcome a substantial perceived risk. We surveyed participants at the beginning and end of the Freefall program. We also distributed a subsequent survey nine months later that allowed us to compare leader self-efficacy as a function of participation in Freefall and a similarly risky but less mastery-oriented Soaring program (i.e., flying gliders). The obtained results indicated that successful performance in Freefall, but not in Soaring, contributed to leader self-control and leader assertiveness. The implications for leading in dangerous and traditional contexts are discussed.


Aspergillus fumigatus causes a variety clinical syndrome in lung including aspergilloma, chronic necrotizing aspergillosis, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergilloma develops by a colonization and growing of Aspergillus inside lung cavities with underlying lung disease. There is a few report of endobronchial aspergilloma without lung parenchymal lesion. We experienced a case of endobronchial aspergilloma did not fit any category of Aspergillus-induced lesion, who show minimal fibrostreaky denstities on chest PA and chest CT. Massive hemoptysis was improved by a removal of the aspergilloma in this patient. Here, we report a rare case of endobronchial aspergilloma showing massive hemoptysis with review of literatures. (Tuberc Respir Dis 2004; 57:589-593)


The cytogenetic effects of copper chloride on root tip cells of Vicia hirsuta were investigated. Seeds were treated with 10, 25, 50 and 100 mg/L of the copper chloride for 4, 12, 24 and 48 hours. It was found that copper chloride has a marked mitodepressive action on mitosis. Mitotic abnormalities were increased and the mitotic index was decreased depending on the concentration and duration time of the copper chloride applied.


This book critically examines the geopolitical and economic contexts of the region's export-oriented industrialization. The first part of the book focuses on the global and regional elements of the economic system and recent geo-politics. The second part of the book focuses on the domestic actors and institutions which played critical roles in the miracle economies of East Asia. This collection of original papers describes the economic developments and environment that underlie the East Asian NICs. Through a comparison of the Four Tigers South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore the contributors deliver a case-oriented study that explains the region's most successful economies. This book is the first region-wide comparative study to provide readers with country-specific information about economic environments and development. The authors examine the transferability of this region's experience to others. It charts the successful dynamic relationships between geopolitical, economic, and social resources. It is relevant to sociological and economic studies. There are indepth case studies combined with comparative analysis within the region. There is incorporation of global security and economic contexts in the analysis of economic development and democratization. Format: Hardback Pagination: 234 Price: £65.99 $108.99 €95.99 Publication Date: 11th Aug 1998 ISBN: 9780124074408


While focusing on the terms dental anxiety, phobia, and fear, they are considerably common, but they are different in their circumstances. However, a difference has been noted between the terminologies. When challenged with a menacing dental issue, dental fear is a response to a familiar danger involving a "fight-or-flight" reaction meant to respond to stimuli 1 . On the contrary, dental anxiety (DA) is a response to unfamiliar danger where an individual exhibits a negative attitude towards dental treatment 2 . In contrast, dental phobia is primarily similar to fear, but it is much stronger because the "fight-or-flight" reaction happens when one thinks or is reminded about the situation3 . There are 3 categories of dental phobias based on their intensity4 . Dental anxiety is popular with the general population and is the least intense, mild odontophobia. When the issue becomes moderate, it becomes dental fear or moderate odontophobia. Finally, a severe case is considered rare and can be challenging to manage - dental phobia.


Advanced reproductive technologies are being applied for the propagation of squirrel monkeys, to ensure their preservation as a genetic resource and the effective use of their gametes in the future. In the present study, oocytes and spermatozoa were collected from live squirrel monkeys, following which piezo intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was performed using these gametes. Follicular development was induced by administering equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) containing inhibin antiserum to an immature squirrel monkey female. The unilateral ovary was excised after the administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), to induce ovulation, following which the larger developed follicular oocytes were collected. Follicular oocytes were prepared for ICSI using sperm from the epididymal tail of a unilateral testis extracted from a mature male. The embryos were continuously incubated in CMRL 1066 medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal bovine serum. Embryo culture was performed with cumulus cells. Two experiments of ICSI carried out with three females resulted in 14 mature oocytes from the 49 cumulus-oocyte complexes collected and five embryos, three of which developed into blastocysts. These blastocysts were vitrified, thawed, and transferred to recipient monkeys, but no pregnancies resulted. In conclusion, the present study is the first to successfully produce ICSI-derived blastocysts from MII oocytes obtained by means of hormone administration (a combination of eCG+inhibin antiserum and hCG) and in vitro maturation in immature squirrel monkeys.


Water-filled mining goaves are extremely prone to water inrush accidents in coal mines, and the transient electromagnetic method (TEM) is a good geophysical method for detecting water-rich areas. Considering that conventional TEM was mainly carried out on the ground, to increase the detection resolution, the underground TEM was used to detect the water-filled goaves in this study. Based on the whole-space model, the data-processing method of the underground TEM was studied. The whole-space geoelectric model was established based on actual coal-measure strata data, and the whole-space TEM response of the water-filled goaves was modeled using the finite-difference time-domain method. The results showed that the low-resistance areas of the apparent resistivity contours can accurately reflect the water abundance of the mining goaves. The underground TEM was used to detect the water abundance of the mining goaf in a mine environment and its detection results were consistent with the actual results.


Conductivity of Insulating oil, which reflects the electric conduction ability, not only can be used for characterization of oil insulation performance, but also is an important basis for the design of electrical equipment and the calculation of electric stress distribution, especially in the converter transformer's valve side. Existing insulating oil conductivity test standard usually use the results of oil intrinsic conductivity under the low electric stress $(<0.1\mathrm {kV}/\mathrm {mm})$, but the insulating oil of transformers could operate under high electric field, which will produce more charge carriers, change the mechanism of electric conduction due to factors such as electrode charge injection, impurities dissociation. Hence the test results under a low electric stress will no longer be applicable to the high electric field. In order to study the influence law of electric stress on the oil's conductivity, in this paper, several common transformer oil are set as test object, the conductivity of them were tested and analyzed in different temperatures $(30^{\circ }\mathrm {C}, 60^{\circ }\mathrm {C}, 90^{\circ }\mathrm {C})$ and fields (0.1kV/mm and $10\mathrm {kV}/\mathrm {mm}$). The results show that the change of oil conductivity mainly depends on the compound and generation process of the internal carrier. There is a threshold field $\mathrm {E}_{\mathrm {t}\mathrm {h}}(\mathrm {l}\mathrm {kV}/\mathrm {mm}\sim 2\mathrm {kV}/\mathrm {mm})$. When the test field is lower than Eth, the compound of the charged ion is dominant, and the conductivity decreases with the increase of the test field. When the test field is higher than Eth, the generation of charged ions is dominant, and the conductivity increases with the increase of test field.


Abstract The extent and rapidity of global climate change is the major novel threatening process to biodiversity in the 21st century. Globally, numerous studies suggest movement of biota to higher latitudes and altitudes with increasing empirical evidence emerging. As biota responds to the direct and consequent effects of climate change the potential to profoundly affect natural systems (including the reserve system) of south-eastern Australia is becoming evident. Climate change is projected to accelerate major environmental drivers such as drought, fire and flood regimes. Is the reserve system sufficient for biodiversity conservation under a changing climate? Australia is topographically flat, biologically mega-diverse with high species endemism, and has the driest and most variable climate of any inhabited continent. Whilst the north-south orientation and altitude gradient of eastern Australia's forests and woodlands provides some resilience to projected climatic change, this has been eroded since European settlement, particularly in the cool-moist Bassian zone of the south-east. Following settlement, massive land-use change for agriculture and forestry caused widespread loss and fragmentation of habitats; becoming geriatric in agricultural landscapes and artificially young in forests. The reserve system persists as an archipelago of ecological islands surrounded by land uses of varying compatibility with conservation and vulnerable to global warming. The capacity for biota to adapt is limited by habitat availability. The extinction risk is exacerbated. Re-examination of earlier analysis of ecological connectivity through biolink zones confirms biolinks as an appropriate risk management response within a broader suite of measures. Areas not currently in the reserve system may be critical to the value and ecological function of biological assets of the reserve system as these assets change. Ecological need and the rise of ecosystem services, combined with changing socio-economic drivers of land-use and social values that supported the expansion of the reserve system, all suggest biolink zones represent a new, necessary and viable multi-functional landscape. This paper explores some of the key ecological elements for restoration within biolink zones (and landscapes at large) particularly through currently agricultural landscapes.


BACKGROUND
Fever in neutropenia (FN) is a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy in pediatric cancer patients. The current standard of care at most institutions is emergency hospitalization and empirical initiation of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy.

METHODS
We analyzed in retrospect FN episodes with bacteremia in pediatric cancer patients in a single center cohort from 1993 to 2012. We assessed the distribution of pathogens, the in vitro antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and their trends over time.

RESULTS
From a total of 703 FN episodes reported, we assessed 134 FN episodes with bacteremia with 195 pathogens isolated in 102 patients. Gram-positive pathogens (124, 64%) were more common than Gram-negative (71, 36%). This proportion did not change over time (p = 0.26). Coagulase-negative staphylococci (64, 32%), viridans group streptococci (42, 22%), Escherichia coli (33, 17%), Klebsiella spp. (10, 5%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (nine, 5%) were the most common pathogens. Comparing the in vitro antibiotic susceptibility patterns, the antimicrobial activity of ceftriaxone plus amikacin (64%; 95%CI: 56%-72%), cefepime (64%; 95%CI 56%-72%), meropenem (64%; 95%CI 56%-72), and piperacillin/tazobactam (62%; 95%CI 54%-70%), respectively, did not differ significantly. The addition of vancomycin to those regimens would have increased significantly in vitro activity to 99% for ceftriaxone plus amikacin, cefepime, meropenem, and 96% for piperacillin/tazobactam (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Over two decades, we detected a relative stable pathogen distribution and found no relevant trend in the antibiotic susceptibility patterns. Different recommended antibiotic regimens showed comparable in vitro antimicrobial activity.


The current study was conducted to assess the relationship between online gaming addiction, narcissistic personality, anger expression and social interaction among adolescent boys. Correlational research design was used and the sample was selected through non probability purposive sampling technique. Data was collected from adolescent boys (13-16 years) of five private schools of Lahore. Data was accumulated by using Anger Expression Scale (Shafaqat, 2016), Narcissistic Personality Scale (Ames, Rose, & Anderson, 2006) in Urdu version (Zafar & Kausar, 2016), Social Interaction and Technology Use Questionnaire (Henderson, 2001) in Urdu version (Zafar & Kausar, 2016) and Gaming Addiction Scale (Lemmens, Peter & Valkenburg, 2011) in Urdu version (Zafar & Kausar, 2016). Pearson product-moment correlation revealed that thereis a significant positive relationship between anger expression and gaming addiction (r=.25**,p < 0.01) among young adolescent boys. On the contrary, there exists a non-significant relationship between narcissistic personality and gaming addiction. There is also a significant negative relationship between social interaction and gaming addiction (r= -.10*,p < 0.05).The findings of this research will be helpful in determining the causes of gaming addiction in adolescent boys and to solve this problem among them.


Computational text phenotyping is the practice of identifying patients with certain disorders and traits from clinical notes. Rare diseases are challenging to be identified due to few cases available for machine learning and the need for data annotation from domain experts. We propose a method using ontologies and weak supervision, with recent pre-trained contextual representations from Bi-directional Transformers (e.g. BERT). The ontology-based framework includes two steps: (i) Text-to-UMLS, extracting phenotypes by contextually linking mentions to concepts in Unified Medical Language System (UMLS), with a Named Entity Recognition and Linking (NER+L) tool, SemEHR, and weak supervision with customised rules and contextual mention representation; (ii) UMLS-to-ORDO, matching UMLS concepts to rare diseases in Orphanet Rare Disease Ontology (ORDO). The weakly supervised approach is proposed to learn a phenotype confirmation model to improve Text-to-UMLS linking, without annotated data from domain experts. We evaluated the approach on three clinical datasets of discharge summaries and radiology reports from two institutions in the US and the UK. Our best weakly supervised method achieved 81.4% precision and 91.4% recall on extracting rare disease UMLS phenotypes from MIMIC-III discharge summaries. The overall pipeline processing clinical notes can surface rare disease cases, mostly uncaptured in structured data (manually assigned ICD codes). Results on radiology reports from MIMIC-III and NHS Tayside were consistent with the discharge summaries. We discuss the usefulness of the weak supervision approach and propose directions for future studies. for disease phenotyping.


Resource allocation in firms is often done in relative terms. Allocations to each project or, in the case of multibusiness firms, business segments are not made independently but through comparisons among the options. In that context, it becomes particularly important to identify the organizational factors that might influence those processes, as well as the mechanisms that create that influence. In this article, we investigate one of those potential factors—the size of a business segment relative to the rest of the organization—and two possible accounts. One is a naive tendency to spread out allocations evenly over the firm's segments that would cause managers to relatively ignore differences in size and favor smaller segments over larger ones, holding other variables constant. The second is a tendency to direct larger allocation to the segments with the most political power and clout within the organization, which would normally favor larger segments, as those generally possess more influence. We investigate these competing hypotheses in a cross-section of firms to conclude that both mechanisms are partially at play. We find that both the smallest and the largest of segments are favored in the capital allocation process. Moreover, we find that the segment's growth and profitability as well as corporate management ownership of the company moderate those effects.


From raunchy rhythm-and-blues singers to cute all-girl groups, sensitive singer-songwriters, hard-core and street-wise rappers - few industries have demanded as many stereotypes of women as the music business. In this exciting celebration of their talent, music journalist Karen O'Brien meets fifteen of the most successful and influential women who have made it to the top, creating the music we listen to today. From a rich variety of backgrounds, they talk with vibrancy and honesty about the nature of creativity, the importance of image, the doubled-edge of celebrity and how to survive and thrive among the pressures of the market-place. Carla Bley ~ Rosanne Cash ~ Sheila Chandra ~ Neneh Cherry ~ Angelique Kidjo ~ Evelyn Glennie ~ Nanci Griffity ~ Janis Ian ~ Monie Love ~Kirsty MacColl ~ Yoko Ono ~ Jane Siberry ~ Tanita Tikaram ~ Moe Tucker ~ Suzanne Vega


This paper investigates travelling wave based protection schemes developed for high voltage transmission systems and their adaptation to medium voltage distribution networks in order to enable ultra high speed relaying (within a quarter of a cycle of the power frequency) on a medium voltage level. After different travelling wave algorithms are evaluated using simple test systems, they are applied to an industrial power system where fault detection within one millisecond is required. Difficulties that arise from typical characteristics of medium voltage distribution systems are outlined and requirements to measurement and signal processing systems are discussed.


This paper presents a dual-band coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed printed antenna with rectangular shape design blocks having ultrawideband characteristics, proposed and implemented on an FR4 substrate. The size of the proposed antenna is just 25 mm × 35 mm. A novel rounded corners technique is used to enhance not only the impedance bandwidth but also the gain of the antenna. The proposed antenna design covers two ultrawide bands which include 1.1–2.7 GHz and 3.15–3.65 GHz, thus covering 2.4 GHz Bluetooth/Wi-Fi band and most of the bands of 3G, 4G, and a future expected 5G band, that is, 3.4–3.6 GHz. Being a very low-profile antenna makes it very suitable for the future 5G Internet of Things (IoT) portable applications. A step-by-step design process is carried out to obtain an optimized design for good impedance matching in the two bands. The current densities and the reflection coefficients at different stages of the design process are plotted and discussed to get a good insight into the final proposed antenna design. This antenna exhibits stable radiation patterns on both planes, having low cross polarization and low back lobes with a maximum gain of 8.9 dB. The measurements are found to be in good accordance with the simulated results.


Background and aims: Hyperglycemia is one of the most common causes that leads to oxidative damage, is frequently observed in association with inflammatory infiltration mediated by mononuclear phagocytes and epithelial cells present in glandular tissues of diabetic patients. Actions that make it possible to reduce tissue damage caused by the oxidative process inherent in this metabolic disease can become an efficient alternative in helping to maintain the quality of life of millions of people. The present study aimed to analyze the effects of the use of alpha-tocopherol in cultures of primary cells of the parotid gland submitted to conditions similar to those that occur in diabetes mellitus. Methods: For this, cells from the parotid glands of Balb / C / Unib mice were extracted using the Percoll® protocol. The cells were organized into five groups with different amounts of glucose diluted in the cell culture medium and with the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide to induce the inflammatory process, as well as the presence or absence of alpha-tocopherol. Results: The observed results indicated an increase in cell viability with the use of alpha-tocopherol and reductions of this same variable when in the presence of oxidizing agents. The proteins involved with the mediation of antioxidant protection and inflammation, NRF2, nuclear factor kappa B, and glutathione peroxidase were increased in the groups submitted to a hyperglycemic and inflammatory condition, but the same behavior was not observed in the other groups of the experiment. Conclusion: It is concluded, therefore, that alpha-tocopherol showed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in this type of cell culture, attenuating the harmful effects of the conditions in which the cells were subjected.


How we feel about an outcome often depends on how close an alternative outcome was to occurring. In four experiments, we investigated whether predominantly White, middle-class, Canadian children (N = 425, Experiments 1-3) and American adults (N = 227, Experiment 4) consider close counterfactual alternatives when inferring other people's emotions. In Experiment 1, 6-year-olds (but not 4- and 5-year-olds) inferred that an agent would feel sadder about winning a mediocre prize if she later found out that a more attractive one could have easily been won. However, children of all ages failed to judge whether the better outcome could have easily happened. In Experiment 2, when 5- and 6-year-olds knew the locations of the prizes beforehand, they inferred that an agent would be equally happy about winning a mediocre prize, regardless if she almost won a better prize or not. Again, they did not recognize when the better outcome was a close counterfactual possibility. In Experiment 3, we included extra cues to the closeness of the alternative and both 5- and 6-year-olds inferred that she would feel sadder about winning a mediocre prize, and 6-year-olds acknowledged that the attractive prize was a close counterfactual alternative. In Experiment 4, adults considered close counterfactuals when inferring emotions. Our findings suggest that close counterfactuals influence children's emotion inferences before they become able to acknowledge their closeness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


Adipose tissue represents an abundant and accessible source of multipotent adult stem cells, which appear to possess a yet-undetermined degree of plasticity. Subcutaneous adipose tissue is much studied in recent years than omentum fat tissue. Hence the objective of this work is to characterize the freshly isolated human adipose tissue derived stromal vascular fraction cell relative to passage 0 from subcutaneous fat and the omentum fat. The stromal vascular fraction of both subcutaneous and omentum fat contains hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cell population where as in P0 the mesenchymal stem cell alone was retained. The side population ABCG2 is present in subcutaneous fat, whereas no ABCG2 expression is found in omentum fat. This study showed that the omentum fat exhibit higher percentage of hematopoietic cells compared to subcutaneous fat in both SVF and P0. It is concluded from this study that not only subcutaneous fat, but also omentum fat derived stem cells serve as a therapeutic potential in Regenerative medicine.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

A growing body of literature suggests Breast Cancer-Associated Protein 1 (BRCA1) is important not only as a cause, but also as a target in the quest for cancer treatment. BRCA1 deficient cells treated with radiation as well as PARP inhibitors and other chemotherapeutics demonstrate a greater sensitivity than cells with wild type BRCA1. Inhibitors of BRCA1 would take advantage of this synthetic lethality and represent a significant advance in cancer treatment as well as an understanding of the biology of DNA repair. Despite significant study of BRCA1 protein and function, it is a large protein (208 KDa) that is still largely uncharacterized, but its N- and C-terminal domains have been described by significant structural data. The BRCT (BRCA1 C-Terminal) Domain is a phosphoprotein binding domain that is commonly mutated or lost in cancers and has a binding cleft seemingly very suitable for drug design. Small molecule screens have been conducted against this domain, but the resulting hits with moderate affinity have not been shown to induce BRCA1 deficient phenotypes. Phosphopeptides have also been studied as potential BRCA1 inhibitors, yet despite some having affinities in the mid-nanomolar range the presence of a phosphate is not without its pharmacologic challenges. We generated an mRNA display library with 1.3 x 10ˆ13 cyclized peptides covalently attached to the mRNA that encoded them. Eight rounds of selection exposing the library to a GST-BRCT fusion resulted in non-phosphorylated peptides that bind to a BRCT domain of BRCA1. The sequences resulting from the selection have common homologies and initial characterization has shown that these peptides may be the first viable non-phosphoserine containing inhibitors of BRCA1.

Citation Format: E. Railey White, Zhong Ma, David E. Hacker, Jason M. Beckta, Melissa B. Huie, David C. Williams, Kristoffer Valerie, Matthew C. Hartman. Selection of non-phophorylated peptide inhibitors of BRCA1. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4539. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4539


Abstract This paper deals with a class of semilinear elliptic Dirichlet boundary value problems where the combined effects of a sublinear and a superlinear term allow us to establish some existence and multiplicity results.


A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an immunoaffinity column cleanup liquid chromatography (LC) method for determination of aflatoxin B1 in cattle feed at a possible future European regulatory limit (1 ng/g). The test portion was extracted with acetone-water (85 + 15), filtered, diluted with water, and applied to an immunoaffinity column. The column was washed with water to remove interfering compounds, and the purified aflatoxin B1 was eluted with methanol. Aflatoxin B1 was separated and determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) and detected by fluorescence after post column derivatization (PCD) involving bromination. PCD was achieved with either pyridinium hydrobromide perbromide (PBPB), used by 14 laboratories, or an electrochemical cell and addition of bromide to the mobile phase, used by 7 laboratories. Both derivatization techniques were not significantly different when compared by the t-test; the method was statistically evaluated for all laboratories together (bromination and PBPB). The cattle feed samples, both spiked and naturally contaminated with aflatoxin B1, were sent to 21 laboratories in 14 different countries (United States, Japan, and Europe). Test portions were spiked at levels of 1.2 and 3.6 ng/g for aflatoxin B1. Recoveries ranged from 74 to 157%. Based on results for spiked samples (blind pairs at 2 levels) as well as naturally contaminated samples (blind pairs at 3 levels), the relative standard deviation for repeatability (RSDr) ranged from 5.9 to 8.7%. The relative standard deviation for reproducibility (RSDR) ranged from 17.5 to 19.6%. The method showed acceptable within- and between-laboratory precision for this matrix, as evidenced by HORRAT values, at the target levels of determination for aflatoxin B1. No major differences in RSD were observed, showing that the composition of the feeds was not a factor for the samples tested and that the method was applicable for all materials used.


Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed male cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in U.S. men. Late-stage PCa is characterized by metastasis followed by castration resistant PCa (mCRPC), for which there is no cure. Docetaxel (DTX) is the first-line chemotherapeutic drug for late-stage PCa, and resistance to this drug is inevitable. Our group has previously reported the elevated expression of the stress oncoprotein lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) in PCa cells and tissues, and this upregulation promotes resistance to DTX-induced non-apoptotic lysosomal cell death. Another stress oncoprotein, clusterin (CLU), is also upregulated in DTX-resistant PCa, and protects cells from DTX-induced mitochondrial-triggered apoptosis. In this study we observed that targeting LEDGF/75 with siRNAs partially resensitized DTX-resistant (DR) mCRPC cell lines to DTX treatment in clonogenic assays. Similarly, other groups have shown that knockdown of CLU in mCRPC-DR cells resensitizes them to treatment with taxanes. However, recent clinical trials targeting CLU have not been effective, suggesting that blocking this protein alone is insufficient to overcome DTX resistance. We hypothesized that simultaneous knockdown or inhibition of both LEDGF/p75 and CLU could be more effective in resensitizing chemoresisant PCa cells to taxane therapy than targeting each protein alone. Because of LEDGF/p75's role as a stress transcription co-activator, we first sought to determine if this protein contributes to CLU expression by performing siRNA-mediated knockdown of LEDGF/p75 on the taxane-sensitive and -resistant mCRPC cell lines PC3 and DU145. Western blotting revealed that CLU protein expression was not downregulated by LEDGF/p75 knockdown, compared to treatment with scrambled siRNA control. Similarly, CLU knockdown in these cell lines did not downregulate LEDGF/p75. These results indicated that CLU expression is independent of LEDGF/p75, consistent with previous observations that these two proteins promote chemoresistance via distinct, possibly redundant, mechanisms. We then performed siRNA-mediated knockdown of LEDGF/p75 and CLU, separately or together, in PC3 DR and DU145 DR cells, in the presence and absence of varying concentrations of DTX. MTT and clonogenic assays were used to determine cell death viability and clonogenicity, respectively. Simultaneous knockdown of LEDGF/p75 and CLU, in combination with DTX treatment, resulted in increased sensitization to DTX than single knockdown of each protein. These findings suggest that co-targeting LEDGF/p75 and CLU could be an effective strategy for ameliorating chemoresistance in mCRPC, and set the foundation for combinatorial therapies targeting multiple stress pathways linked to taxane resistance together with taxane chemotherapy for treatment of late-stage PCa. Citation Format: Christina K. Cajigas-Du Ross, Leslimar Rios-Colon, Leanne Woods-Burnham, Carlos A. Casiano. Co-targeting the stress survival proteins LEDGF/p75 and clusterin to resensitize chemoresistant prostate cancer cells to docetaxel [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4167. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4167


ABSTRACT Objective: This research analyzed the effects of weather technology interface characteristics on the quality and timeliness of weather-related decision making via mental workload and situational awareness (SA) metrics using flight training devices (FTDs) and follow-up in-flight validation testing. Background: A significant number of fatal general aviation (GA) accidents are attributable to pilots flying into instrument meteorological conditions without the necessary certification for safe operation. Even when takeoff conditions are clear, they can degrade in flight. Pilots might consult in-flight weather technologies to inform flight-plan-related decisions. Method: GA pilots flew 2 scenarios in FTDs while receiving weather notifications (referred to here as alerts) via complex graphical or smart-watch-based visual displays and under different vibrotactile cuing conditions. In-flight testing examined if vibrotactile cuing effects found in simulation were present in real flight. Results: Results suggest the quality and timeliness of weather-related flight decisions and flight-related SA are better supported when displays use vibrotactile cues and embed alert text within maps rather than present it separately on a smart watch. In-flight data confirmed that pilots can reliably perceive vibrotactile cues in real aircraft. Conclusion: Vibrotactile cues improve the reception of notifications and can reduce cognitive demands while flying. Visual weather information should be displayed on larger screens that are positioned to reduce pilots' postural reorientation. These findings can inform the design of weather technologies for supporting pilot in-flight decision making.