This paper presents a case study to investigate the human thermal comfort on a naturally ventilated two-storey residential house in Malaysia. Three parameters were investigated in this study, namely the air temperature, air velocity and air humidity. These parameters were measured using the appropriate measuring device to obtain the actual data and compared with simulation results. The level of thermal comfort in the house was found to be poor as the parameters measured are over the limits specified by ASHRAE standards. Simulation on the model of the house was performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) commercial code, FLUENT to visualize the temperature distribution and air flow pattern and velocity in the house. The error between these two sets of data was acceptable and thus the simulation used in this study was validated. Comparison was also made in the CFD simulation to see the effects of using a ceiling fan installed in the house and without ceiling fan. The level of thermal comfort was poor in both cases as it did not satisfy the standards set by ASHRAE but more uniform temperature distribution inside the house was found when the ceiling fan was turned on. The thermal comfort level became critical in the afternoon as during this period, the house receives direct sunlight which causes the temperature inside the house to increase. Although the mechanical ventilation devices did not help to improve the thermal comfort in the house being studied, the CFD simulation results can be used by building designers to further improve the level of thermal comfort in naturally ventilated residential houses.


The leading centre for the treatment of premature births in the Netherlands has decided in principle to stop the active intensive treatment of babies born before 25 weeks' gestation because of research showing poor prognosis.

Neonatologists at the University Medical Centre in Leiden argue that many babies born before 25 weeks do not survive and those who do are likely to develop serious problems in later life. Elsewhere in the Netherlands, treatment is not offered until 26 weeks, though in neighbouring countries and in the United States there are limits of 23 or even 22 weeks.

The head of neonatology at the Leiden centre, Dr Frans Walther, explained that the hospital had decided to increase the limit from 24 to 25 weeks because its own study of …


The Lorenz 1963 dynamical system is known to reduce in the steady state to a one-dimensional motion of a classical particle subjected to viscous damping in a past history-dependent potential field. If the potential field is substituted by a periodic function of the position, the resulting system shows a rich dynamics where (standard) diffusive behaviours, ballistic motions and trapping take place by varying the model control parameters. This system permits to highlight the intimate relation between chaos and long-time deterministic diffusion.


The ground and excited state energies of a hydrogenic impurity located at the centre of a multi-layered quantum dot (MLQD) are calculated in the framework of the effective-mass approximation. The MLQD consists of a spherical core (e.g. GaAs) and a coated spherical shell (e.g. Ga1-xAlxAs). The whole dot is then embedded inside a bulk material (e.g. Ga1-yAlyAs). We solve the Schrodinger equation exactly. The eigenfunctions of the impurity are expressed in terms of Whittaker function and Coulomb wavefunction. The state energies are expressed in terms of the shell thickness, core radius, total dot radius and the potential heights. Our calculation shows that, as the dot radius approaches infinity, the state energies of an impurity located at the centre of a multi-layered or a single-layered QD approach -1/n2 Ry, where n is the principal quantum number, Ry = µe4/2e22, µ and e are the electronic effective mass and the dielectric constant of GaAs material. Thus it behaves like a three-dimensional free hydrogen atom. For very small dot radius, however, the state energy of the hydrogenic impurity of a MLQD behaves very differently from that of a single-layered QD. For a multi-layered QD with finite shell and bulk potential barrier heights, the state energies of the impurity are found to be dependent on the difference of the shell potential (V2) and the bulk potential (V3).


1. Quickly thaw cryopreserved MNCs (1 ml) in 9 ml PBS supplemented with DNase I immediately before use (final concentration: 0.1 mg/ml). 2. Incubate at 37 degrees C for 10 min. 3. Wash twice in PBS supplemented with 2% human AB serum at 4 degrees C. 4. Incubate with saturating amounts of selected MoAbs for 20 min at 4 degrees C. 5. Wash twice in PBS supplemented with 2% human AB serum at 4 degrees C. 6. Immunomagnetic bead separation of viable cells as described by Lea et al. (1). 7. DNA extraction. 8. Measure quality and yield of DNA by spectrophotometry. In conclusion, the DNA extraction method presented here, based on DNase I pretreatment of the cryopreserved cells followed by an immunological selection for viable cells, provides cell suspensions with close to 100% viability; thus, high-quality DNA can be extracted even from cryopreserved cell samples of low initial viability. Furthermore, using this method DNA analyses can be performed on selected cellular subsets if desired. We thus recommend this method for DNA analyses in hematological research when the only materials available are cryopreserved bone marrow samples of low viability.


The current practice of myocardial revascularization for acute myocardial infarction (MI) is primary percutaneous intervention (PCI). Surgical revascularization ("bypass") is reserved for patients unsuitable for PCI. The purpose of this report is to describe the long-term outcome of acute MI patients who underwent left-sided arterial revascularization (left anterior descending and circumflex arteries) before PCI was adopted as the preferred treatment for this subset of patients. Between 1996 and 2002, 434 consecutive patients in our center underwent myocardial revascularization for recent MI using the composite T-graft technique (381 bilateral internal thoracic arteries and 53 single internal thoracic artery and radial arteries). Two-hundred and seventy-six patients were operated on within seven days of an acute MI (Group A) and the remaining 158 patients were operated on after the 7th day since an acute MI (Group B). Group A had significantly increased operative mortality (6.5% vs 1.3% for Group B, P = 0.012). Surgery performed within the first week of an acute MI was also found to be a significant predictor of early mortality in multivariate logistic regression analysis (O.R. 10.31; 95% C.I. 1.32-83.30, P = 0.026). The mean follow-up was 10.6 ± 5.2 years. The Kaplan Meier 10-year survival of the two groups, however, was similar (65.6 ± 2.9 Group A vs 64.6 ± 3.8 Group B, P = 0.953), and assignment to Group A was not an independent predictor of decreased survival (P = 0.395, Cox model). When using arterial grafts for myocardial revascularization, the long-term outcome of patients operated on during the first 7 days of acute MI is not worse than that of patients operated on after more than 7 days, despite their increased operative mortality.


A rare case of giant renal leiomyoma presenting as a suprarenal mass is reported. This type of tumor seldom gives rise to other clinical symptoms. The angiographic appearance has no characteristic features. The treatment of choice is nephrectomy since it is impossible to make a correct preoperative diagnosis.


We have studied the platelet release reaction and thrombin generation during the spontaneous clotting of whole blood in vitro. Both thrombin formation and secretion of platelet Factor 4 were detected at least 12 min before clotting (clotting time, 22--26 min). Initially, at low thrombin concentrations (2--5 ng/ml), there is a small increase in plasma platelet Factor 4 (less than 1% of the amount present in serum). This is followed by a gradual increase in both platelet Factor 4 and thrombin concentrations over a 12 to 20-min interval. Finally, 5 min 5 before clotting, there is a rapid increase in both thrombin generation and platelet secretion. Thus, we have shown that the release of platelet Factor 4 is a prolonged reactoin and the extent to which it occurs parallel thrombin generation. It is only when thrombin concentrations are high (45--90) ng/ml)--during the period of clot formation--that the major part of platelet Factor 4 secretion occurs. Release of platelet Factor 4, like fibrin formation, occurs in the last step of in vitro coagulation.


BACKGROUND
Juvenile glaucoma is an uncommon form of chronic open angle glaucoma that appears between 3 and 35 years of age.

METHODS
We report in this study seven cases of juvenile glaucoma that occurred in patients melanoderma.

RESULTS
Three of them had unilateral blindness and in two others visual acuity was reduced to light perception in one eye. The intraocular pressure is above to 30 mmHg in 64.3% of the cases and a myopia was frequently associated.

CONCLUSION
The insidious development of this pathology and the difficulty of its diagnosis among children often result in severe clinical manifestations with high visual field defects and optic disc cuppings particularly in melanoderma patients. Recent studies have proved autosomal dominant transmission with variable penetrance for one kind of juvenile glaucoma and location of the defective gene on chromosome 1q.


The Australian Hemerobiidae are revised, and keys and illustrations provided to facilitate identification of all known species. The 34 species are referred to 10 genera, one of which (Notherobius) is described as new. Thirteen new species are described in the genera Psychobiella (one), Psectra (two), Carobius (six), Notherobius (three) and Zachobiella (one). Several specific synonyms are established, and the genera Oxybiella and Drepanomina are synonymised with Megalornina. Kimminsiella is synonymised with Psectra.


In 1997, 6.04 x 10\u8 kg of hazardous air pollutants were emitted into the atmosphere from the United States. A bench-scale activated-carbon fiber-cloth adsorption, electrothermal desorption, and condensation system was designed, built, and operated to demonstrate its ability to capture and recover organic hazardous air pollutants from airstreams. The annular-cartridge configuration of the activated carbon fiber cloth allows low pressure drop and rapid electrothermal regeneration. Adsorption and electrothermal desorption cycling of the system with an airstream containing 1,000 ppmv methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) resulted in closure within 8% by mass. Competitive adsorption between water vapor and MEK reduced MEK adsorption capacity 43% as relative humidity of the gas increased from 4 to 90% at 22°C dry-bulb temperature. Increasing the dry-bulb temperature of the gas stream by 10°C at a constant dew-point temperature resulted in a 37% increase in MEK adsorption compared to the high relative humidity test case, while allowing the water vapor to penetrate the adsorber. The automated system achieves MEK capture efficiency >99.9% by mass while recovering the liquid MEK for reuse.


OF THE THESIS Identification of Key Kinases Associated with Bone Marrow Toxicity by Lisa Diane Marroquin Master of Science in Public Health San Diego State University, 2011 Cancer continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. This disease also challenges oncology pharmaceutical development programs determined to reduce undesirable side effects associated with many cancer treatments. Bone marrow toxicity is a common dose limiting adverse effect of many cancer therapies, resulting in immunosuppression or anemia that may require expensive growth factor treatment and/or dosing holidays, and may also limit treatment combinations. Many kinase inhibitor drugs used for cancer treatment can cause bone marrow toxicity. The main objective of this study was to establish and validate a new model system to identify key kinases associated with bone marrow toxicity. This was accomplished by using siRNA-mediated gene knockdown in human bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs) and CD34+ progenitor cells of tyrosine protein kinases that are known to play a role in hematopoiesis. After kinase gene knockdown, cell proliferation effects were assessed to see if the kinase played a key role in the cell proliferation process. Among the target kinases studied was Janus kinase (Jak) 2 which is a well characterized for its role in hematopoietic signaling and non-redundant function in mediating cytokine receptor signaling. Electroporation was used to introduce siRNA, and results were compared to negative controls (siRNAs with sequences that do not target any gene product) under the same electroporation conditions. At 48 hours post electroporation more than 75% knock down of Jak2 was confirmed at the mRNA level using real-time quantitative PCR in MNCs and CD34+ progenitor cells. Jak2 knockdown resulted in a 50% reduction in cell count in MNCs and a 40% reduction in CD34 + progenitor cells that were induced to granulocyte, erythrocyte, monocyte, and macrophage cell lineages. An even further decrease (60% reduction in cell number) was seen in CD34 + progenitor cells that were induced to undergo differentiation into a specific erythroid cell lineage. Suppression of other tyrosine protein kinases that play a role in hematopoiesis, including c-Kit, Axl, colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) and Lyn, were also evaluated in this model. C-Kit knockdown lead to a decrease in cell proliferation in MNCs and CD34 + progenitor cells whereas Axl, Lyn, and CSF-1R knockdown did not decrease in cell proliferation. These observations may be explained by the fact that many kinases have redundant roles in the hematopoietic process. Overall, this model system could be used to identify key kinases associated with bone marrow toxicity in the early stages of drug development where novel kinase can be evaluated for potential bone marrow risks.


Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the managerial efficiency and the customer satisfaction of Parisian boutique hotels by using the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods.

Design/methodology/approach

In the first stage, hotels' managerial efficiency is assessed by data envelopment analysis to establish which hotel has the most efficient performance. In the second stage, the customer satisfaction of these hotels is estimated by the ELECTRE (ELimination et Choix Traduisant la REalite) method to assess the hotel's ability to satisfy their customers.

Findings

Empirical results show that there is an inverse relation between customer satisfaction and ability to maximise the Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR). In other words, trying to improve efficiency implies a reduction in guests' satisfaction (and vice versa).

Research limitations/implications

Therefore, through this research the authors can realise that hotel managers should give more attention to customer service because it has a more direct and important impact on customer satisfaction. It also positively impacts on resource management. However, there are some limitations to this study. First, this study only focuses on 12 hotels. Because the data set is very confidential, it is very difficult to have a bigger sample. Then, the evaluation is based on 2014 figures only. It could be interesting to know their performance for previous years to understand their evolution. Finally, it is necessary to know the percentage of direct reservations for each hotel. For instance, if a hotel is relying too much on online travel agents (i.e. Booking.com, Expedia, etc.), it needs to pay a significant amount of commission to these companies. As a result, it could have a good RevPAR but might pay a huge commission (for example, 20 per cent for most of sites) at the end. In terms of perspectives, it is necessary to conduct a more extensive research to test the hypothesis in a different context. Additionally, the data were taken for a single period of time. It will be very interesting to create a panel of hotels and collect data over a period of time (Barros, 2005; Barros and Santos, 2006; Barros and Deike, 2008). This would enable to better understand the relationship between managerial efficiency and customer satisfaction in a long-term prospective.

Originality/value

This paper presents the relationship between the managerial efficiency and customer satisfaction in Parisian boutique hotels context. Study suggests that in service industry, increase of firm's efficiency could negatively impact the guest satisfaction. Therefore, through studying the authors can realise that why hotel managers should focus on customer satisfaction, which attributes play the vital role in customer satisfaction and how to optimize their resources. One of the originalities of this paper is that the authors use the customers' feedback from the UGC websites (Trip Advisor and Booking.com) as the performance evaluation indicators for customer satisfaction. The data are very confidential and hard to get.


Acute macular neuroretinopathy is an entity that occurs predominantly in young women who present with either an acute loss of vision or paracentral scotomas. Fundus lesions consist of unilateral or bilateral reddishbrown wedge-shaped macular lesions pointing to the fovea. The lesions fade with time, but the scotomas persist. The abnormality is located deep in the neurosensory retina, possibly at the level of the photoreceptors. Sieving et al1described decreased earlyreceptor-potential amplitudes in a patient with acute macular neuroretinopathy that implicated the outer segments of the photoreceptors as the site of the abnormalities. Although the cause of this condition is unknown, it has been associated with adverse reactions to sympathomimetics.2Our case lends some insight into the acute changes that occur in acute macular neuroretinopathy as well as supporting the theory that sympathomimetic administration may be a causative factor. Report of a Case. An 18-year-old Asian-Indian male presented to


Developing extended-release (ER) formulations with appropriate release characteristics can be challenging for formulation scientists. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the use of computer-simulated dissolution profiles associated with statistical experimental design in the development of doxazosin ER tablet formulations. Experimental doxazosin ER tablets were prepared and tested using USP Apparatus 2 with 900 mL of simulated gastric fluid without enzyme at 37 ± 0.5 °C and 75 rpm for 960 minutes. The results were used to optimize calibration constants for the ingredients in the simulation software, DDDPlus. Design Expert software was used to obtain different mixtures between lactose and HPMC K100M, creating seven formulations with dissolution profiles simulated in DDDPlus. After statistical analysis, an optimized doxazosin ER formulation was identified, manufactured, and tested for comparison with the predicted profile. A correlation coefficient of 0.99 was obtained for observed and predicted dissolution profiles of the optimized doxazosin ER formulation. The use of test simulations led to a 66.67% reduction in analyst working hours and 77.78% reduction in both equipment usage time and dissolution medium volume. Computer simulations associated with design of experiments can save time and reduce costs in the development of ER formulations.


Concrete slabs on grade are mainly subjected to mechanical loads and restrained loading. The designer could easily treat mechanical loads by using various tools. Restrained loading caused by restrained shrinkage or thermal movements are, however, often dealt with in a very approximate way. Swedish guidelines have suggested two possible ways to handle restrained loading in steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) slabs. If the ductility of the SFRC is sufficiently high, Losberg's hypothesis stating that restrained stresses vanish as soon as the reinforcement yields is used also for the SFRC slab. Solely mechanical loads have to be treated in the design. Contrary, for lower fibre contents, the SFRC slab is in principle treated as an un-reinforced concrete slab. Here, the effects of mechanical and restrained loads must be combined. The paper describes the Swedish method to compute stresses due to restrained loading. In indoor climate, the restrained shrinkage stresses are predominant. They depend on developed free shrinkage, modulus of elasticity, creep, and the degree of restraint. The degree of restraint is the most difficult parameter to determine, but the guidelines propose different values for different circumstances, e.g., material and treatment of the uppermost layer beneath the concrete slab, joint spacing, slab thickness, and locking effects.


We describe the behavioral adaptations of a population of Hermann's tortoise to the climate of a northern sector of its range, and to a wooded biotope that is uncommon for the species. The activity, the home range, and the thermal relations along the daily and the yearly cycle are described. In contrast to other populations that have bimodal activity peaking in spring and in autumn, the tortoises in our study area had unimodal seasonal activity that can be related to lower summer temperatures. Home range size, 7.4 ha for females and 4.6 ha for males in our study area, was from three to seven times larger than that of all other populations. The large home range, and the low population density of the tortoises in our study area, may be due to food scarcity in the wooded habitat.


One of the most significant obstacles for systematic delivery of nanopayloads is the foreign particle clearance by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). The majority of biocompatible nanopayloads with charged groups on their surface cannot fully evade the clearance by MPS during systemic circulation. For safe and effective targeted nanodrug delivery in vivo, we describe a novel approach for evading the macrophage clearance. We demonstrate that neutral and hydrophilic materials can effectively evade the macrophage uptake and also quickly degrade into bioeliminable fragments. We show that there is no opsonization effect and no toxic effect on living cells. In addition, the payloads are stable in an aqueous environment, and they can release drugs in a cellular environment. These results suggest that the unique properties of this kind of payloads may make them useful for designing new drug delivery systems.


The present study comparatively analyzed the blood glucose and insulin concentration, the temporal and spatial expression of brain-gut peptides and the key enzymes of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis in Japanese flounder by intraperitoneal (IP) injection and oral (OR) administration of glucose. Samples were collected at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 24 and 48h after IP and OR, respectively. Results showed that the hyperglycemia lasted 5 hours and 21 hours in OR and IP group, respectively. The serum insulin concentration significantly decreased (1.58±0.21mIU/L) at 3h after IP glucose. However, it significantly increased at 3h (3.37±0.34mIU/L) after OR glucose. The gene expressions of prosomatostatin, neuropeptide Y, cholecystokinin precursor and orexin precursor in the brain showed different profiles between the OR and IP group. The OR not IP administration of glucose had significant effects on the gene expressions of preprovasoactive intestinal peptide, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide and gastrin in the intestine. When the blood glucose concentration peaked in both IP and OR group, the glucokinase expression in liver was stimulated, but the expression of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was depressed. In conclusion, brain-gut peptides were confirmed in the present study. And the serum insulin and the brain-gut peptides have different responses between the IP and OR administration of glucose. A negative feedback mechanism in the insulin-regulated glucose homeostasis was suggested in Japanese flounder. Furthermore, this regulation could be conducted by activating PI3k-Akt, and then lead to the pathway downstream changes in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.


Pulmonary rehabilitation is a comprehensive and individualized intervention for patients suffering from respiratory dysfunction due to various diseases. This approach has been highly valued and implemented by clinical medical professionals. However, the lack of equipment and real-time monitoring of ventilatory lung function during pulmonary rehabilitation treatment is a challenge. In addition, there is a need for improved methods that can directly guide physiotherapists to provide precise treatment. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a novel medical imaging technology that allows real-time monitoring of lung ventilation status. It is currently being translated from basic research into clinical applications and is widely used in respiratory disease, particularly in critical care respiratory management. However, there is a lack of reports on pulmonary rehabilitation guidance and outcome evaluation. This article aimed to provide a comprehensive review of this field, with the aim of generating more ideas for clinical research and further improving individualized treatment in the field of pulmonary rehabilitation.


Our aim in this case series was to report and discuss the clinical and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of six eyes of six cases with retained subfoveal perfluorocarbon (PFC) bubbles after vitreoretinal surgery. The six cases were referred to the retina department of our hospital for decreased visual acuity related to rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and underwent vitreoretinal surgery with PFC. In addition to the ophthalmological examinations, OCT in all and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) findings in some cases were also evaluated in the postoperative period. Retained subfoveal PFC bubbles were detected clinically in all eyes. OCT showed hyporeflective, homogenous round bubbles while FAF showed hypofluorescent bubbles with a hyperfluorescent surrounding area. It was concluded that OCT and fundus autofluorescence could support clinical observations for the diagnosis of retained subfoveal PFC bubbles that may cause retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) atrophy.


Background: Two cannulated screws were proposed for prophylactic fixation in adult patients with an aggressive benign femoral neck lesion in recent literature. However, the biomechanical properties of this intervention have not yet been investigated. Methods: After the evaluation of the heterogeneity of bone mineral density and geometry via quantitative computed tomography, 24 embalmed adult human cadaver femurs were randomized into the control, inferior half of the anterior cortical (25%) bone defect, entire anterior cortical (50%) bone defect, and the 50% bone defect and two cannulated screw group. Biomechanical analysis was conducted to compare the stiffness and failure load among the four groups when mimicking a one-legged stance. A CT-based finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to mimic the cortical and cancellous bone defect and the implantation of two cannulated screws of the four groups. Measurements of the maximal displacement and von Mises stress were conducted with the longitudinal load force and boundary conditions being established for a one-leg-standing status. Results: We noted a significant improvement in the failure load after the insertion of two 6.5 mm cannulated screws in femurs with 50% bone defect (+95%, p = 0.048), and no significant difference was found between the screw group and the intact femur. Similar trends were also found in the measurements of stiffness (+23%, p > 0.05) via biomechanical testing and the von Mises stresses (−71%, p = 0.043) by FEA when comparing the screw group and the 50% bone defect group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that two cannulated screws provided sufficient biomechanical strength for prophylactic fixation in adult patients with an aggressive benign femoral neck lesion even when the entire anterior cortical bone is involved.


The design of CRT controller is studied, which is applied in the Speech Interactive System based on ASIC. CRT controller based on CPLD is presented. MCU flexible read and write to RAM with CPLD. Meanwhile, the simulation is also given based on Maxplus II. The simulating results prove that the design can reach the demand of real time exchanging, and has integrality, reliability and good applications in the Speech Interactive System.


Power gating is widely accepted as an efficient way to suppress subthreshold leakage current. Yet, it suffers from gate leakage current, which grows very fast with scaling down of gate oxide. We try to understand the sources of leakage current in power gating circuits and show that input MOSFETs plays a crucial role in determining total gate leakage current. It is also shown that the choice of a current switch in terms of polarity, threshold voltage, and size has a significant impact on total leakage current. From the observation of the importance of input MOSFETs, we propose the power optimization of power gating circuits through input control


Abstract Let X be a complex projective variety of dimension n with only isolated normal singularities. In this paper, we prove, using mixed Hodge theory, that if the link of each singular point of X is ( n - 2 ) ${(n-2)}$ -connected, then X is a formal topological space. This result applies to a large class of examples, such as normal surface singularities, varieties with ordinary multiple points, hypersurfaces with isolated singularities and, more generally, complete intersections with isolated singularities. We obtain analogous results for contractions of subvarieties.


A new type of coherent x-ray radiation from relativistic heavy ions passing through a crystal is considered theoretically. It is shown that the intensity of the coherent x-ray radiation can be of several orders of magnitude higher than the x-ray bremsstrahlung from an electron. A possible application of the radiation to a relativistic beam monitor is also pointed out.


Background: PAL , an oral cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor, is under investigation in multiple oncologic clinical trials and is currently approved for use in multiple countries in patients with hormone receptor positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2–) advanced breast cancer (ABC). International Conference on Harmonization guidance recommends that all new drugs be evaluated for effects on cardiac repolarization in a well-controlled clinical study. For drugs for which such evaluation cannot be conducted in healthy volunteers (eg, most non-adjuvant anticancer agents), collection of robust corrected QT (QTc) interval data from a dedicated QTc study (hybrid thorough QT/QTc study) in patients [pts] is required in the registration dossier. The phase 3 PALOMA-2 study (N=666) confirmed the superior clinical benefit of PAL+LET vs placebo (P) + LET in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor positive/HER2– ABC who have not received any prior systemic anticancer therapies for ABC. One of the secondary objectives of the study was to evaluate the effects of PAL+LET on QTc. Methods: 12 lead (with a 10 second rhythm strip) tracings were performed in triplicate ∼2 min apart but within 10 min for all 3 ECGs. On the day preceding the initiation of treatment (Day 0), triplicate ECGs were obtained at time 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 hrs (baseline). On Cycle 1 Day 14, when PAL concentrations were at steady-state, triplicate ECGs time-matched to baseline ECGs collected on Day 0 (±35 min) were obtained following PAL or P dosing. All ECGs were sent to a central laboratory for blinded manual adjudication and these data were used for analysis. ECG measurements included PR interval, QT interval, RR interval and QRS complex. The QT interval was corrected for the effect of heart rate using Fridericia9s correction (QTcF), Bazett9s correction (QTcB), and a study-specific correction factor (QTcS). Approximately 60 pts were to be included for QTc evaluation to ensure 40 evaluable pts in the PAL+LET arm (2:1 randomization) of PALOMA-2 and thus, to establish noninferiority between post-baseline and baseline (ΔQTc) at all 5 QTc sampling timepoints on Cycle 1 Day 14 with 90% power. The test was based on a 1-sided difference in means t test for paired ΔQTc (α= 0.05). The difference in means between ΔQTc under the alternative hypothesis is 10 ms, assuming a noninferiority margin of 20 ms and the standard deviation of the paired differences equal to 16 ms based on PALOMA-1 study. If the upper bounds (UB) of 1-sided 95% confidence intervals (CI) of ΔQTc for all 5 QTc time points were Results: A total of 77 pts were enrolled for intensive QTc assessment in PAL+LET arm. No pts had a post-baseline absolute maximum QTcF, QTcS or QTcB ≥500 ms or a ΔQTc ≥60 ms during the intensive QTc assessment period. A random effect analysis of the mean ΔQTc data demonstrated that the UB of the 1-sided 95% CI for QTcF, QTcS, and QTcB were Conclusion: PAL+LET does not have a clinically relevant effect on QTc. Sponsor: Pfizer Citation Format: Ruiz A, Gauthier E, Durairaj C, Huang X, Hoffman J, Finn RS, Moulder S, Joy AA, Ettl J, Rugo HS, Wang D. Evaluation of the effects of palbociclib (PAL) + letrozole (LET) on QTc [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-22-10.


Syntactic natural language parsers have shown themselves to be inadequate for processing highly-ambiguous large-vocabulary text, as is evidenced by their poor performance on domains like the Wall Street Journal, and by the movement away from parsing-based approaches to text-processing in general. In this paper, I describe SPATTER, a statistical parser based on decision-tree learning techniques which constructs a complete parse for every sentence and achieves accuracy rates far better than any published result. This work is based on the following premises: (1) grammars are too complex and detailed to develop manually for most interesting domains; (2) parsing models must rely heavily on lexical and contextual information to analyze sentences accurately; and (3) existing n-gram modeling techniques are inadequate for parsing models. In experiments comparing SPATTER with IBM's computer manuals parser, SPATTER significantly outperforms the grammar-based parser. Evaluating SPATTER against the Penn Treebank Wall Street Journal corpus using the PARSEVAL measures, SPATTER achieves 86% precision, 86% recall, and 1.3 crossing brackets per sentence for sentences of 40 words or less, and 91% precision, 90% recall, and 0.5 crossing brackets for sentences between 10 and 20 words in length.


An examination of the available literature shows that the accurate measurement of antenna efficiency is a difficult task, and that the available methods have potential for a substantial amount of error. This paper refines a method already presented, and gives detailed results with some newly defined reference antennas. Two methods of determining antenna efficiency are presented. One method may be considered to be a generalization of the "Wheeler cap method." The two methods presented show excellent agreement with each other, and show excellent agreement with the reference antennas. The reflection method appears to give the better results of the two methods, except under special circumstances.


Fifty-five cases of ring avulsion injury were reviewed to examine how extent of injury and surgical management correlated with results. After injury, three patients had adequate circulation. Of 52 patients with inadequate circulation, 8 had primary amputation; salvage was attempted in 44. Of these 44, 9 fingers were amputated secondarily, 19 were successfully revascularized, and 16 were successfully replanted. Return-to.ffork time averaged between 4.5 and 10.3 weeks. Cold symptoms occurred in 65% of salvaged fingers. Range of motion was usually normal at the metacarpophalangeal joint; most patients had 90 degrees or better combined arc of motion at the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints. Two-point discrimination of less than 10 mm returned in 47% of patients with injured nerves. Most patients whose fingers were successfully salvaged were glad they had had the procedure. We conclude that amputated igits, are salvageable and propose a classification system that includes skeletal injury; (J HAND SURG 1989;14A:204-13.)


Twenty-one conserved positively charged and aromatic amino acids between residues 331 and 462 of sigma 54 were changed to alanine, and the mutant proteins were studied by transcription, band shift analysis, and footprinting in vitro. A small segment corresponding to the rpoN box was found to be most important for binding duplex DNA. Two amino acids, 52 residues apart, were found to be critical for maintaining transcriptional silencing in the absence of activator. These two activator bypass mutants and several other mutants failed to bind the type of fork junction DNA thought to be required to maintain silencing. The two bypass mutants showed a binding pattern to DNA probes that was unique, both in comparison to other C-terminal mutants and to previously known N-terminal bypass mutants. On this basis, a model is proposed for the role of the C terminus and the N terminus of sigma 54 in enhancer-dependent transcription.


In this detailed study we have reported on single-crystal and polycrystalline phases of V1+xS2; 0.10 }2(√3)a superlattice ordering in the a-b plane. As-grown flakes showed complex irreversible behaviour in resistivity on cycling to low temperatures, related to the metastability of the structure. The annealing of the crystal flakes and addition of 5-10 percent Al stabilizes the superstructure. We observe an anomalous contribution to the resistance of these crystal flakes with a maximum around 100-150 K. The contribution is more pronounced for better-ordered phases. The magnetic susceptibility and thermopower values of these compounds are large and vary smoothly on cooling around this temperature interval. The polycrystalline phase, obtained at a higher temperature, on the other hand, showed absence of superlattice distortions and gave a smooth behaviour in its resistance, but with a large T2-contribution. The structural and electronic properties of different phases are discussed in terms of disorder among the interstitial V atoms and the effect of in-plane vacancies on the charge-density-wave instability in these and similar compounds.


After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the transition to a market economy model in Russia, there has been observed a rapid growth for market economic studies challenge in ranking of its three segments, such as the economists market, scientific economic journals market, research training of economists market. The purpose of the study is to aggregate quantitative indicators of economic market segments for economic studies in the Russian regions. The initial data calculations are done on quantitative indicators from the TOP-500 gold ranking of economist E. V. Balatsky for 2016, the list of "vakovsky" economic journals from 07.06.2017 and the ranking of 2016 economic dissertation councils across the Russian regions. The aggregation of the above indicators is done according to the arithmetic average formula for their normalized values. A cross-correlation matrix has been constructed for the above indicators and an integral indicator with all linear paired regression equations in which the values of the coefficient of determination R2 varied in the range from 0,93 to 0.99. A practically analytical multiple regression equation (R2 = 1.0) has been obtained between the values of the above three indicators of the market for economic studies and an integral indicator on the other hand. In the article, it is also shown that the effect of the number of economic councils on the integral indicator is three times greater than the effect of the number of economists and the number of economic councils each separately. The best convergence to the Pareto distribution has been shown by the distribution of the values of the integral indicator of the state of the regional economic research market. On the basis of an integral indicator, the clusterization of regional markets for economic studies in Russia has been done using the method of natural borders.


In the present day, organizations face with numerous challenges such as increased uncertainty, cutthroat competition, financial crises, technological advancement, labour turnover, etc. The banking sector is highly complex and competitive with little stability due to the entry of national and international financial institutions in the emerging economies. The outstanding customer relationship management in the new generation private banks can improve their ability to lure affluent prospects, elevate the banks' profitability, lower operation costs, and create greater customer loyalty. At this juncture, the present study is undertaken to study how the managers differ from staff of the banks in terms of their level of acceptance towards practical utility of customer relationship management practices of the new generation private banks in Puducherry. For collecting primary data from the customers, multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. The primary data were collected from 66 employees with the help of schedule. The secondary data were collected from journals, magazines, government reports, books and unpublished dissertations. The results showed that 'attracts new customer' is the maximum discriminating variable (R2%=24.11%) between managers and staff, followed by 'creates friendly environment' (12.53%), 'growth in banking service' (9.36%) and 'boosts customer confidence' (6.20%). The contribution of all other items discriminating between managers and staff are less than 5%.

Keywords: Customer relationship management, Relationship marketing, Service performance, Service quality in banks, etc.


Much of early Americana has been destroyed and lost forever. But occasionally, and almost miraculously, some parts of its survive. So it is with the photographs in this book. Saved from an ignominious end in the city dump, they chronicle and enliven the cowboy's life on the range. The result is a beautiful volume of real-life images of western cattlemen. These unretouched photographs taken from the original 5" x 7" negatives give an unprecedented look at life on the ranch and trail. We are presented with real people seen on the job. We see the costumes, the work, the everyday necessities of the range. And as the cowboys stare back at the camera or work with one another, the reader will get the sense of knowing them and their way of living. This is an important volume of history that every student of the Old West will cherish.


The transformation of snow into ice is a fundamental process in glaciology. The yearly accumulation of fresh snowfall increases the overburden pressure, changing the snow’s properties such that it transitions into firn and pure glacier ice thereafter. Additionally, periods of melt and variations in subsurface and surface conditions can lead to the presence of ice layers and firn aquifers within the firn column. Therefore, firn characteristics provide a tool for evaluating past and present climate conditions relating to the amount of snow accumulation, melt, temperature conditions and the subsequent preservation of the snow.

Due to the importance of relationships between firn and other glaciological processes (e.g., settling, sublimation, recrystallization and other deformation processes) it has not been possible to develop a theoretically-based model which accurately predicts firn properties with depth. Therefore, methods of measuring firn are either intrusive or rely on (potentially unreliable) empirical conversions. Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) may offer a new standard for glaciological seismic modelling, mitigating issues within current seismic modelling techniques and paving the way for the recovery of elastic properties, including density. Constraining firn properties also leads to improved corrections for deeper seismic responses, e.g. glacier bed reflectivity.

Using seismic datasets obtained from Norway’s Hardangerjøkulen Ice Cap (60.47°N, 7.49°W) along with varying synthetic firn column scenarios (introducing the presence of ice lenses and firn aquifers), we show how FWI can mitigate the dependence on intrusive techniques and empirical relationships. Furthermore, we compare the robustness of the FWI approaches versus traditional glaciological approaches to velocity model building (Herglotz-Wiechert inversion).


A descriptive study to assess the knowledge and attitude on neonatal jaundice among the 50 mothers in selected villages of Puducherry was conducted with Interview schedule and convenient sampling technique. The objectives of the study are-to assess the existing knowledge and attitude of the mothers on neonatal jaundice and management of baby during neonatal jaundice. The findings of the study shows that 21(42%) mothers were in the age group of 21 – 25 years, 48(96%) were Hindus, 24(48%) were educated up to primary level, 40(80%) belong to joint families, 38(76%) were primi, 12(24%)were multi mothers. Regarding the knowledge on neonatal jaundice, only one 1(2%) mother had adequate knowledge. In relation to their attitude it showed that 15(30%) mothers had positive attitude towards the management pattern of the baby on jaundice– that is taking the baby to hospital for treatment, continuing breast feeding etc. conclusion- mother is the first care giver for the baby, so they must identify the colour change and seek immediate medical care, by which they can prevent the complications and save the life.


Circuit theory is applied to derive a transformation to move the reference in a partial inductance matrix from one lead to another. A package is experimentally characterized with three very different return paths to produce radically different partial inductance matrixes. These matrixes are re-normalized and shown to be equal except for the initial measurement return path. Additional measurements show that repeatability is not affected by the choice of measurement return path. Bandwidth can be affected by the measurement return path.


The relationship between nitrogen (N) sources and photosynthetic capacity of leaf differs between species. However, the leaf anatomical variabilities related to photosynthesis (A) of shrubs under different forms of N remain imperfectly known. Here, Lonicera Japonica (a shrub) was grown hydroponically in the presence of three forms of N (sole NH4+, 50%/50% NH4+/NO3− and sole NO3−). A and photosynthetic N use efficiency significantly decreased under sole NH4+ supply, in parallel with down-regulated stomatal conductance (gs), mesophyll conductance (gm), and electron transfer rate (J). Up to the total A decline of 41.28% in sole NH4+ supply (compare with sole NO3−), the gm attributed to 60.3% of the total limitations. Besides, the decreased internal air space explained the increase of gas-phase resistance, and the increased liquid-phase resistance in sole NH4+ supply was ascribed to the thicker cell wall thickness (Tcw) and decreased chloroplasts exposed surface area per unit leaf area (Sc/S). The discrepancy of Sc/S could be interpreted by the altered chloroplasts numbers and the distance between adjacent chloroplasts (Dchl-chl). These results indicate the alteration of Tcw and chloroplast numbers were the main causes of the difference in gm in coping with varied N sources. Highlight Cell wall and chloroplast variability determining the mesophyll conductance under different nitrogen forms


It has long been understood that flow behavior in heterogeneous porous media is largely controlled by the continuity of permeability contrasts. With this in mind, we are looking in new methods for a fast estimation of the effective permeability which concentrates on the properties of the percolating cluster. From percolation concepts we use a threshold permeability value (K_th) by which the gridblocks with the highest permeability values connect two opposite side of the system in the direction of the flow. Those methods can be applied to heterogeneous media of a range of permeabilities distribution and various underlying structures. We use power law relations and weighted power averages that can be inferred either from the statistics and the properties of percolation sub-networks at the threshold point. This approach does not need fitting to the experimental data of conductivity measurements to estimate the model parameter as is done in empirical methods. We examine the order of accuracy of these methods on some layers of 10th SPE model and found very good agreements with the values determined from the commercial flow simulators. The results of this work open insights on new methods in estimating the effective permeability using percolation concepts.


Enchondroma is a benign hyaline cartilage neoplasm arising in the medullary region of the bone. Most commonly involves short tubular bones. Most of the lesions are asymptomatic slow-growing lesions detected accidentally on the radiological examination or presents with pain secondary to pathological fracture. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a quick, less invasive procedure and is of help in diagnosing these lesions. We report three cases of enchondroma, two involving phalanges of hand, one in humerus diagnosed by FNA and confirmed by histopathological study. The triad of clinical, radiological and cytological evaluation is imperative for the cytodiagnosis of this well-established entity.


We previously showed the MAPK pathway can be mutationally activated, and may implicate drug sensitivity in HNSCC [1]. Here, we report that RNA expression of several MAPK pathway components may be associated with HNSCC patients9 outcome based on the US-TCGA Provisional data. We found that loss of DUSP4, a negative regulator of MAPK pathway, was correlated with poor overall survival (OS; P=0.0286) and disease free survival (DFS) in HNSCC (0.00150; median progression time = 38.11 vs. 71.22 months in DUSP4-unaltered patients) which can potentially be explained by activation of oncogenic MAPK pathway upon DUSP4 underexpression. Interestingly, we identified a group of HNSCC patients with homozygous loss and mRNA downregulation of MAPK pathway scaffold protein components (GRB2, SHC2 and SHC3) with significantly poorer DFS (P=0.000871). RPPA analysis showed a trend of decreased protein expression level of phospho-RAFs, downstream of scaffold proteins, decreased MEKs and MAPKs, supportive of an overall decreased MAPK pathway signaling in this subset of patients. Unexpectedly, downregulation (homozygous deletion/ RNA expression less than 2 SD) of multiple MAPK pathway components which normally support activation of the pathway: RAF1 (9%), MAPK1 (3%) and RPS6KA1 (1.9%) was found to be significantly associated with poorer DFS (P=6.643x10^-5) with median time to progression of 18.17 months vs. 71.22 months in the unaltered group. Subsequent proteomic analysis of the respective patient tumors from the TCGA cohort (N=357 with RPPA data) showed that these patient tumors had elevated levels of E2F1 protein expression (P=0.0146), along with increase FOXM1 expression (P=8.499x10^-4), which is known to drive cell cycle progression [2]. As E2F1 is involved in cell survival upon DNA damage [3], it is likely that upregulation of E2F1 protein expression may enable cancer cells to survive after DNA insults by radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and contributes to disease relapse. Acknowledgements: VWYL is funded by the Research Grant Council, Hong Kong (#17114814, General Research Fund), Theme-based Research Scheme (T12-401/13-R), and the Start-up Fund from the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Reference: 1. Van Allen, E.M., et al., Genomic Correlate of Exceptional Erlotinib Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. JAMA Oncol, 2015. 1(2): p. 238-44. 2. Barger, C.J., et al., Genetic determinants of FOXM1 overexpression in epithelial ovarian cancer and functional contribution to cell cycle progression. Oncotarget, 2015. 6(29): p. 27613-27. 3. Berton, T.R., et al., Regulation of epidermal apoptosis and DNA repair by E2F1 in response to ultraviolet B radiation. Oncogene, 2005. 24(15): p. 2449-60. Citation Format: Hoi Lam Ngan, Vivian W.Y. Lui. Potential clinical significance of downregulation of MAPK pathway components mRNA expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) [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 5712. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5712


Changes in body size have been the subject of numerous palaeontological and neontological studies, but despite several general postulated "rules", the underlying processes controlling them are still incompletely understood, and their broad applicability is debated. Here we utilise morphological and ecological data from the Jurassic marine bivalve Chlamys textoria (Schlotheim, 1820) to analyse spatial and temporal trends in body size and ornamentation. We find: (1) fluctuations in body size during the Jurassic and no support for Cope's rule (the tendency to increase body size over geological time within an individual lineage); (2) a gradual increase in the average height to length ratio of the valves during the Jurassic. In the absence of any obvious adaptive advantage we suggest genetic drift as the causal mechanism; (3) a significantly larger mean body size in mid-palaeolatitudes than in the Jurassic tropics, providing evidence for the validity of Bergmann's rule (the assertion that body mass increases with latitude); and (4) a complex relationship between the number of plicae and the environment, which we explain as an improvement towards camouflaging the shell.


Coupling energy intake (EI) to increases in energy expenditure (EE) may be adaptively, compensatorily, or maladaptively leading to weight gain. This narrative review examines if functioning of the homeostatic responses depends on the type of physiological perturbations in EE (e.g., due to exercise, sleep, temperature, or growth), or if it is influenced by protein intake, or the extent, duration, timing, and frequency of EE. As different measures to increase EE could convey discrepant neuronal or humoral signals that help to control food intake, the coupling of EI to EE could be tight or loose, which implies that some ways to increase EE may have advantages for body weight regulation. Exercise, physical activity, heat exposure, and a high protein intake favor weight loss, whereas an increase in EE due to cold exposure or sleep loss likely contributes to an overcompensation of EI, especially in vulnerable thrifty phenotypes, as well as under obesogenic environmental conditions, such as energy dense high fat—high carbohydrate diets. Irrespective of the type of EE, transient elevations in the metabolic rate seem to be general risk factors for weight gain, because a subsequent decrease in energy requirement is not compensated by an adequate adaptation of appetite and EI.


In a scenario of an increasing use of renewable energy, conventional power plants will be more and more forced to compensate for the volatility of the natural resources. Even huge coal-fired units which have been designed for baseload operation will face an increased number of start-up/shutdown cycles and the requirement for faster load changes.For the power plant operator that means a challenge as well as a chance: a challenge because the plant experiences higher alternating stresses which may reduce the lifetime. A chance because usually there are incentives for contributions to the grid stability which may give him additional profits. Coping with the challenges and making the best of the chances will require a detailed and quantitative assessment of the lifetime consumption in various modes of operation.In this paper, an online software solution is presented that provides this kind of information right at the fingertips of the plant engineers. The innovative approach integrates the most recent European standards concerning the calculation of lifetime consumption from load cycling with state-of-the-art methods of predictive analytics and cutting-edge FEM technologies: the recent standards supported by FEM calculations allow an estimation of lifetime consumption which is unchained from unnecessary allowances. The predictive analytics easily correlate plant operation and lifetime consumption and allow for a reliable prediction of fatigue. This in turn gives the necessary information to make the best of the chances of load flexibilization while mitigating the risks of increased lifetime consumption. If the expected fatigue in a given period is exceeded due to the current mode of operation one can react with a more moderate mode of operation — or the other way round, if the expected fatigue is not reached.Examples from German coal-fired power plants which have been put under economic pressure by the ongoing "Energiewende" (energy turnaround) are presented to demonstrate this approach.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


In this paper, identification of an appropriate hybrid energy storage system (HESS) architecture, introduction of a comprehensive and accurate HESS model, as well as HESS design optimization using a nested, dual-level optimization formulation and suitable optimization algorithms for both levels of searches have been presented. At the bottom level, design optimization focuses on the minimization of power loss in batteries, converter, and ultracapacitors (UCs), as well as the impact of battery depth of discharge (DOD) to its operation life, using a dynamic programming (DP)-based optimal energy management strategy (EMS). At the top level, HESS optimization of component size and battery DOD is carried out to achieve the minimum life-cycle cost (LCC) of the HESS for given power profiles and performance requirements as an outer loop. The complex and challenging optimization problem is solved using an advanced Multi-Start Space Reduction (MSSR) search method developed for computation-intensive, black-box global optimization problems. An example of load-haul-dump (LHD) vehicles is employed to verify the proposed HESS design optimization method and MSSR leads to superior optimization results and dramatically reduces computation time. This research forms the foundation for the design optimization of HESS, hybridization of vehicles with dynamic on-off power loads, and applications of the advanced global optimization method.


CD44 is a widely distributed set of cell surface glycoproteins expressed in several types of cells and tissues, implicated in cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. This molecule plays a major role in cell differentiation, development and activation and has also been described as a potential marker of malignancy and metastasis. In the present study we investigated by RT-PCR followed by exon specific amplification the expression of CD44 splice variants in four different murine tumors as well as in the invaded organs in order to correlate the expression of CD44 variants with potential tumor invasiveness and their implications for growth. Our data showed deregulation in the expression of CD44 isoforms but no discernible correlation in isoform expression pattern. However, in all tumors studied isoforms presented by the primary tumor were detected in the invaded organs before metastasis could be demonstrated by histopathological analysis.


We present simplified non-LTE radiative transfer calculations for CO (v 0-1) fundamental and (v 0-2) overtone lines, using the structure of dynamical models for dust shells around carbon-rich long-period variables, which result from a consistent treatment of hydro- and thermodynamics, radiative transfer, chemistry and carbon grain formation. Owing to the saturation of the fundamental band absorption cores the most useful information is provided by the P-Cygni emission component, which can be used to constrain the dust optical depth in the 5 m region. The first overtone lines clearly reflect the shocked, layered structure of the inner shell region by showing a multi-component structure of the profiles. At least the lines of higher rotational excitation (Jl > 10) are not satu- rated even for mass loss rates of the order of 10 5 Myr 1 and thus can be used to constrain the mass loss rate. Furthermore, the dynamics of the dust formation process is reflected in the temporal evolution of the synthetic CO first overtone line pro- files resulting from the models. The formation of a new dust layer in the inner shell region leads to a secondary (low veloc- ity) absorption component which evolves on the time scale of a dust formation event, usually longer than the pulsation period of the star. The synthetic overtone line profiles calculated on the basis of one dust shell model resemble the time variations of corre- sponding lines in the observed high resolution CO line spectra of the carbon-Mira IRC +10216, which thereby are interpreted as result of a dust formation event taking place on a time scale of 10 yr corresponding to 6 pulsation periods of the star. However, the calculated fundamental line absorption cores are broader than observed and the first overtone line strengths are too high, indicating that the density and thus probably the mass loss rate of the model is too high by a factor of about 3 and should be closer to the value of 110 5 Myr 1 given for IRC +10216 in the literature.


Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is currently a legume crop of minor importance in Europe but a highly relevant staple crop in Africa and the second most cultivated legume in Mozambique. In Portugal and Mozambique, cowpea's phenotypic and genetic variation has been maintained locally by farmers in some areas. We used the molecular markers SSR, SilicoDArT and SNP to analyze the genetic diversity and population structure of 97 cowpea accessions, mainly from Portugal (Southern Europe) and Mozambique (Southern Africa). As far as we know, this is the first time that the genetic variation and the relationship between cowpea landraces collected in Portugal with those originated in Mozambique is reported. Despite the shared historical past, the Portuguese landraces did not share a common genetic background with those from Mozambique, and two different gene pools were revealed. Knowledge of the genetic structure of cowpea landraces offers an opportunity for individual selection within landraces adapted to particular eco-physiological conditions and suggests the existence of a valuable gene pool for exploitation in future Portugal-PALOP (Portuguese-speaking African countries) cowpea breeding programs.


A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of sludge on plant uptake of {sup 14}C-pentachlorophenol (PCP). Plants included tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), lettuce (Latuca sativa L.), carrot (Daucus carota L.), and chile pepper (Capsicum annum L.). Minimal intact PCP was detected in the fescue and lettuce by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. No intact PCP was detected in the carrot tissue extracts. Chile pepper was not analyzed for intact PCP because methylene chloride extracts contained minimal {sup 14}C. The GC/MS analysis of soil extracts at harvest suggests a half-life of PCP of about 10 d independent of sludge rate or PCP loading rate. Rapid degradation of PCP in the soil apparently limited PCP availability to the plant. Bioconcentration factors (dry plant wt./initial soil PCP concentration) based on intact PCP were <0.01 for all crops, suggesting little PCP uptake. Thus, food-chain crop PCP uptake in these alkaline soils should not limit land application of sludge.


Trains require high deceleration and stable traveling performance. Improvement in adhesion characteristics is, thus, very important for electric trains. We have previously proposed an anti-slip/skid re-adhesion control system that is based on a disturbance observer and possesses a high adhesion force utilization ratio. In the present work, we focus on the deceleration mode. Generally, a train has an electric regenerative brake (electric brake) and an air brake (mechanical brake). Under wet railway track conditions, the regenerative brake may be suspended because of the air brake response. This paper proposes a regenerative brake priority control and an electro-pneumatic blended braking control based on an estimated adhesion coefficient. Furthermore, this paper evaluates and discusses regenerative brake priority control using numerical simulations.


Membranous aplasia cutis is characterized by the presence of a cystic-like nodule located at the midline of the scalp, which is surrounded by a ring of long, dark hair, called a 'hair collar' sign; it always contributes to underlying central nervous malformation. Herein, we report a 2-month-old male infant who was admitted to our ward due to diabetes insipidus complicated with hypernatremia. Physical examination revealed the unique 'hair collar' sign, which is a rare presentation of congenital aplasia cutis. Imaging study revealed holoprosencephaly. Thus, the aim of this report is to remind pediatrician that in a neonate who has "membranous aplasia cutis" with hair collar sign, imaging studies, including brain sonography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, should be performed because of the great possibility of underlying central nervous system malformation.


Poverty is still a serious issue worlwide including in Indonesia. One important way to address it is by providing education by the government. However, the government alone cannot address the problem satisfactorily, and, therefore, it needs non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to assist. One of these type of NGOs is Yayasan Penyantun dan Pembina Anak Cacat (YPPAC) Kasih Bundo. This NGO assists the government by providing a non-formal education by establishing Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat (PKBM) Kasih Bundo (The Kasih Bundo Study Centre for the Community). This article reports a study on this NGO, focusing on what it has done and what it has successfully achieved by looking at the social and economic background of their families. The result suggests that the NGO has successfully assisted the government in a significant manner.


In this paper, a progressive collaborative representation (PCR) framework is proposed that is able to incorporate any existing color image demosaicing method for further boosting its demosaicing performance. Our PCR consists of two phases: (i) offline training and (ii) online refinement. In phase (i), multiple training-and-refining stages will be performed. In each stage, a new dictionary will be established through the learning of a large number of feature-patch pairs, extracted from the demosaicked images of the current stage and their corresponding original full-color images. After training, a projection matrix will be generated and exploited to refine the current demosaicked image. The updated image with improved image quality will be used as the input for the next training-and-refining stage and performed the same processing likewise. At the end of phase (i), all the projection matrices generated as above-mentioned will be exploited in phase (ii) to conduct online demosaicked image refinement of the test image. Extensive simulations conducted on two commonly-used test datasets (i.e., IMAX and Kodak) for evaluating the demosaicing algorithms have clearly demonstrated that our proposed PCR framework is able to constantly boost the performance of any image demosaicing method we experimented, in terms of objective and subjective performance evaluations.


Abstract The authors have carried out verification of 590 12–24-h high-temperature forecasts from numerical guidance products and human forecasters for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, using both a measures-oriented verification scheme and a distributions-oriented scheme. The latter captures the richness associated with the relationship of forecasts and observations, providing insight into strengths and weaknesses of the forecasting systems, and showing areas in which improvement in accuracy can be obtained. The analysis of this single forecast element at one lead time shows the amount of information available from a distributions-oriented verification scheme. In order to obtain a complete picture of the overall state of forecasting, it would be necessary to verify all elements at all lead times. The authors urge the development of such a national verification scheme as soon as possible, since without it, it will be impossible to monitor changes in the quality of forecasts and forecasting systems in the future.


Asthenozoospermia (AS), defined as low-motility spermatozoa in the ejaculate, is a frequent cause of human male infertility. DJ-1 (also known as PARK7), a protein highly associated with male sterility, binds to the mitochondrial complex I subunit to protect mitochondrial function. However, its involvement in spermatogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Previously, the levels of DJ-1 were shown to be significantly decreased in testicular tissues of rats with ornidazole (ORN)-induced AS. Here, we used a rat model to investigate the localization and expression levels of DJ-1 and its interacting NDUFS3 and NDUFA4 mitochondrial complex I subunits, as well as AS-induced metabolic alterations in testicular tissues. ORN significantly reduced the levels of DJ-1 in the nucleus of secondary spermatocytes, while increasing the expression of NDUFS3 in the cytoplasm of primary spermatocytes. Further, NDUFA4 showed higher expression after treatment with ORN. The principal ORN-induced changes in metabolic small molecules related to accumulation of glucose, glutamine, and N-acetyl aspartate, enhancement of purine pathway, increase of the phosphatidic acid (PA) (18:0/18:1), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (16:0/18:1), and PA (18:0/20:4) lipid metabolites, and imbalance in the concentrations of Na+ and K+. However, we did not observe any abnormalities of certain small metabolic molecules and metal ions in semen samples from patients with AS. In conclusion, these results suggest that DJ-1 deficiency in testicular tissues might be closely related to the localization of NDUFS3 and content of NDUFA4, thus causing abnormalities in the mitochondrial energy metabolism and multiple other metabolic pathways.


Mineral surface area (SA), neutral sugar (aldose) concentrations, and organic carbon content (OC) were measured in two holes from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 155 (Holes 932A and 942A) and compared to analogues from the modern Amazon River and Delta. Nearly all (>90%) of the OC in the ODP holes was tightly associated with the mineral phase; the two phases could not be quantitatively separated after sonication and density fractionation. Organic matter in Holes 932A and 942A can thus be functionally defined as adsorbed. There is a relationship between OC and a sediment transport pathway prior to deposition. When OC is normalized to a mineral surface area (OC:SA), sediments that were rapidly deposited and strongly influenced by the river had average OC:SA ratios of 0.46 and 0.39 mgCm−2 for Holes 932A and 942A. Sediment deposited indirectly through nepheloid transport had lower OC:SA ratios (average 0.32 and 0.24 mgCm−2). For comparison, OC:SA ratios of suspended sediments from the Amazon River average 0.67 mgCm−2, and modern Amazon Delta sediments have a loading of ~0.30 mgCm−2. Although aldose concentrations in Hole 932A decreased downcore, corresponding molecular compositional patterns do not suggest extensive in situ diagenesis. Rather, the aldose composition throughout Hole 932 lithologic Subunits IIA and IIB is similar to that of fine suspended particulate materials carried by the modern Amazon River, which are largely composed of degraded material derived from plants and riverine microorganisms. The aldose data support isotopic and lignin compositional evidence for a terrestrial-riverine source of organic matter in Unit II of Hole 932A, as suggested by Goñi (this volume).


Objectives To assess the delivery outcome in a pregnancy with a previous unexplained intra-uterine death by elective induction of labour at term. Methods An audit of the pregnancy outcome of all women within the catchment area with a current singleton pregnancy; and a previous unexplained or unexplored singleton fetal demise ≥24 weeks (or 500 grams birth weight if gestation unknown) after planned routine induction of labour at full term (39-40 weeks). Results During the audit period, 306 patients with a previous intra-uterine fetal death were referred for further management. Of these, 161 had a clear indication for earlier intervention and were excluded from the protocol. Of the remaining 145 patients, 9 met further exclusion criteria and there were 2 patients who defaulted. Forty-two of the remaining study patients (with no known previous medical problems) developed complications during their antenatal course that necessitated a change in clinical management and earlier (<39 weeks) delivery. Of the remaining 92 patients in the audit, 47 (51%) went into spontaneous labour before their induction date; all 92 women delivered without major complications. There were no intra-uterine deaths prior to induction. Conclusions Careful follow up at a high risk clinic identifies new or concealed maternal or fetal complications in 29% of patients with a previous intra-uterine death and no obvious maternal or fetal disease in the index pregnancy. When all risks are excluded and the pregnancy allowed to progress to full term (39-40 weeks) before an induction is offered, 50% will go into spontaneous labour.


Diabetic polyneuropathy is the most common neurological complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and may affect about half of all patients with diabetes. Timely diagnosis and treatment of DPN can prevent such serious complications as limb numbness, severe pain during the day and night, foot ulceration and suppuration, amputation of the foot or toes, disability and even death. The combined approach to the treatment of DPN is the most effective and includes glycemic control, diet, optimal hypoglycemic therapy, management of cardiovascular diseases, educational conversations with patients, psychological support in the form of consultations with a psychologist or psychotherapy, and sufficient pathogenetic and symptomatic drug therapy of DPN. A clinical case of managing a patient with T2DM, DPN and cardiovascular diseases is described in detail. The interdisciplinary approach was used to treat the patient, which included the use of drug and non-drug therapies. The drug therapy of diabetes was adjusted, and medications to treat cardiovascular diseases were prescribed. Pathogenetic therapy of DPN remains a highly controversial issue. Among the drugs that affect the pathogenetic mechanisms of DPN, careful consideration was given to B vitamins and alpha lipoic acid. In the presented clinical case report, the patient was prescribed a combination drug containing vitamins B1, B6 and B12 as a pathogenetic therapy of DPN. A high priority in the treatment of DM and DPN is placed on raising awareness among patients about the causes and prognosis of the disease. Most patients with diabetes and DPN have psychological problems, symptoms of anxiety and depression about the disease, catastrophization of existing symptoms, poor adherence to medication due to feelings of despair and thoughts of the disease as incurable. In view of above factors, psychological methods appear as effective in the treatment of patients with diabetes and DPN. The cognitive behavioural therapy was used in the described clinical case as a psychological method. The use of CBT improved the patient's emotional state, increased his adherence to medications and lifestyle recommendations. A positive effect in the form of decreased severity of neuropathic and autonomic symptoms of DPN was observed in as little as 10 days after treatment. At follow-up Week 12, the patient's condition continued to improve and his work capacity increased.


Predictions derived from North American formulations of normalization suggest that contemporary care policies for people with intellectual disabilities will have a positive impact on societal perceptions of this group. To test this, adolescents' attitudes towards the community presence of people with disabilities in a normalization-advanced country (Sweden) and a relatively less normalization-advanced country (England) were compared. It was expected that Swedish and English participants would hold equally positive views of people with a non-intellectual disability, whereas English participants would hold less positive views than Swedish participants of people with an intellectual disability. The results gave limited support to this expectation when dimensions of participants' attitudes derived from a factor analysis were analysed. These results are discussed with reference to other factors that may influence attitudes in the two countries. In addition, implications for future research and practice are outlined.


This research paper investigates the effect of social networking on student performance those use the social websites. Variables which are used in this research paper are gender, education, age, academic performance and social influence. Our research is based on quantitative and descriptive research. Some data is collected from different websites, magazines and journals and 168 questioners are filled from different universities professors and students. The result shows that in age range between 15 to 25 mostly use social networking websites for enjoyment, 60% of male respondent used these websites for information. Inter and Graduation students mostly used these websites for enjoyment. The result also shows some people also used social websites for social influence.  This study also shows these students also used social websites for relatives, professors and friends.  Students whose gpa are 3.0 to 3.5 GPA (Grade Point Average) commonly use social networking websites for enjoyment Keywords: social networking, student life, learning effect ,


The present paper summarizes steady and unsteady computations of turbulent flow induced by a pitched-blade turbine (four blades, 45° inclined) in a baffled stirred tank. Mean flow and turbulence characteristics were determined by solving the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations together with a standard k-e turbulence model. The round vessel had a diameter of T = 152 mm. The turbine of diameter T/3 was located at a clearance of T/3. The Reynolds number (Re) of the experimental investigation was 7280, and computations were performed at Re = 7280 and Re = 29,000. Techniques of high-performance computing were applied to permit grid sensitivity studies in order to isolate errors resulting from deficiencies of the turbulence model and those resulting from insufficient grid resolution. Both steady and unsteady computations were performed and compared with respect to quality and computational effort. Unsteady computations considered the time-dependent geometry which is caused by the rotation of the impeller within the baffled stirred tank reactor. Steady-state computations also considered neglect the relative motion of impeller and baffles. By solving the governing equations of motion in a rotating frame of reference for the region attached to the impeller, the steady-state approach is able to capture trailing vortices. It is shown that this steady-state computational approach yields numerical results which are in excellent agreement with fully unsteady computations at a fraction of the time and expense for the stirred vessel configuration under consideration.


Nietzsche attributes 'will power' to all living things, but this seems in sharp conflict with other positions important to him-and implausible besides. The doctrine smacks of both metaphysics and anthropomorphizing, which he elsewhere derides. Will to power seems to be an intentional end-directedness, involving cognitive or representational powers he is rightly loath to attribute to all organisms, and tends to downplay even in persons. This paper argues that we find a stronger reading of will to power-both more plausible and more consistent with Nietzsche's other views-by developing his affinities with Darwinism. By seeing will to power as an 'internal revision'to Darwinism, opposing the latter's stress (as Nietzsche thinks) on 'survival', but assenting to its uses of natural selection, we can ground or naturalize that notion, congenially to Nietzsche and to us.


It is shown that there are j=1 and j=0 wrong-signature fixed poles, and a j=0 right-signature fixed pole in gamma gamma scattering. The invariant amplitude-helicity amplitude relationship is clarified. At t=0 both fixed and moving poles are shown to fall into sequences corresponding to Toller poles.


Mobility entails the study of systems in which components change location, in a voluntary or involuntary manner, and move across a space that may be deened to be either logical or physical. Coordination is concerned with what happens when two or more components come in contact with each other. In this paper we put forth a working deenition of coordination, we construct arguments that demonstrate that coordination is central to understanding mobility, we explore the intellectual richness of the notion of coordination, and we consider the practical implications of coordination-centered system design strategies. We develop these ideas in two steps. First, we analyze the diierent dimensions that govern the deenition of a coordination strategy for mobility: the choice of an appropriate unit of mobility, the treatment of space and its implications on the way we think about mobility, and the manner in which contextual changes induced by component movement are perceived and managed. Then, we explore mechanisms that enable us to model and reason about coordination of mobile components, and to make it available to software developers in the form of middleware. Three very diierent models of mobility (Mobile Unity, CodeWeave, and Lime) are used as principal sources for illustration purposes.


The first numerical study of axial (toroidal) pulsation modes of a slowly rotating relativistic star is presented. The calculation includes terms of first order in ϵ ≡ Ω(R3/M)1/2 ≪ 1 (R is the radius, M is the mass, and Ω is the rotation frequency of the star) and accounts for effects due to the Coriolis force. Effects due to the centrifugal flattening of the star enter at order ϵ2 and are not included in the analysis. It is shown that increased rotation tends to decrease the damping times for prograde modes, while retrograde modes become longer lived. Specifically, we show that rotation affects the axial gravitational wave w-modes in this way. We also present the first relativistic calculation of the so-called r-modes (analogous to Rossby waves in the Earth's oceans). These have frequencies of the same order of magnitude as the rotation frequency of the star. The presented results indicate that the r-modes are unstable due to the emission of gravitational radiation for all rotating perfect fluid stars. This is interesting, since the previously considered gravitational wave instability associated with (for example) the f-mode of the star sets in at a critical rotation rate. Because they are also unstable for the slowest rotating stars, the r-modes may well be of considerable astrophysical importance.


A series of short RNA duplexes containing one or two 1‐ethynylpyrene‐modified adenine bases was synthesised. The melting behaviour of these duplexes was examined by monitoring temperature‐dependent pyrene fluorescence. In the singly modified RNA duplexes, the bases flanking the ethynylpyrene‐rA were varied to examine the sequence specificity of the fluorescence change of pyrene upon RNA hybridisation. Because an increase in pyrene fluorescence upon melting of the duplex can be correlated with intercalation of pyrene, and a decrease is usually associated with the position of pyrene outside the strand, a relationship between the flanking bases and the tendency of the dye to intercalate has been established. It was found that pyrene intercalation is less likely to take place if the modified base is flanked only by A–U base pairs. Flanking G–C base pairs, even only in the 5′‐direction of the modified base, will favour intercalation. In addition, we examined a doubly modified compound that had a pyrene located on each strand. The spectra indicated that the two pyrenes were close enough for interaction. Upon melting of the strand, a fluorescence blue shift corresponding to the dissociation of the pyrene–pyrene complex could be observed in addition to the intensity effect already known from the singly modified compounds. Two melting curves based on the different properties of the fluorophore could be extracted, leading to different melting points corresponding to the global duplex melting and to the change of local pyrene environment, respectively.


Abstract Two sets of sequential presence-absence sampling plans for decision-making in the management of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), were developed and evaluated. One set of sampling plans targeted the classification of proportions of infested plants, and the other set of sampling plans targeted the classification of larval density. The action thresholds investigated were 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, and 0.45 proportion of plants infested with larvae, and 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 larvae per plant. They are representative of the action thresholds currently practiced by Australian crucifer growers. For each sampling plan, the population range within which a minimal correct decision rate of 95% can be expected at a maximal average sample size of 50 plants (OC95ASN50) was specified. The closeness of an OC95ASN50 range to the target action threshold is a measure of the expected performance of the sampling plan. A closer distance reflects better performance. The OC95ASN50 ranges of the proportion-classification sampling plans were within 33–53% of the target action thresholds. The width of these OC95ASN50 ranges represents 73–87% of the entire population range (0–1). For the classification of larval density, an empirical proportion-density model was first established using data from different states and different cruciferous crops. The OC95ASN50 ranges of the density-classification sampling plans were within 57–75% of the target action threshold. Simulated sampling of 20 independent data sets showed that for most data sets the correct classification rate was at least 98% and the matching average sample size was <50 plants.


We report a case of granulomatous lesion in the upper lip which was histopathologically diagnosed as lupus miliaris disseminatus faciei (LMDF). A 59-year-old woman had two small nodes with pain in the upper lip for 2 months. The pathological finding demonstrated that many granulomatous lesions composed of epitheloid cells and Langhans-type multinucleated giant cells were formed in the dermis. In some lesions, central necrosis was also observed. Other investigations, including chest X-ray examination and cultures of bronchial secretions, showed no evidence of tuberculosis (T.b.). Angiotensin I converting enzyme in the serum, which is widely used to diagnose sarcoidosis, was within normal range. Tuberculin test (PPD 0. 05 ƒÊg/0. 1 ml) was positive. Since there was no obvious evidence of T.b. or sarcoidosis, she was finally diagnosed as LMDF mainly from the histopathologic features. She is well and shows no sign of recurrence 7 months after surgical treatment.


Human immunodeficiency virus infection can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract and hepatobiliary system. Gastrointestinal abnormalities in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are common and may relate to opportunistic inections and tumors, diseases which are usual in the anti-HIV negative population also, and disease of unknown aethiology, such as wasting syndrome and recurrent diarrhoeal illness. Diarrhoea and weight loss are found in more than 50% of patients with AIDS. Gastrointestinal manifestations range in severity from the discomfort of oral and perianal infections, through life threatening diarrhoea due to intestinal cryptosporidiosis. The approach to the patient with AIDS and gastrointestinal or hepatobiliary disorders is oriented toward diagnosing treatable aethiologies and avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures. Although the final prognosis of full developed AIDS is poor, management of gastrointestinal disease may be improved by accurate diagnosis.


This study examines the learning methods of Islamic religious education in ABCD Muhammadiyah special schools Palu. The method used is a qualitative method with data collection techniques through observation, in-depth interviews, and the study of various written documents. The results of research studies on Islamic education in special schools mentally disabled ABCD Muhammadiyah shows that learning in extraordinary schools is done by using examples through direct demonstration to students. In the learning process, the teacher uses a more friendly humanistic approach so that students are eager to follow the learning process. Every day the teachers give various topics of Islamic religious education learning starting in the morning until after hours of study through various demonstration activities. Besides that learning is also done through demonstrations that are carried out together and repeatedly so that students easily practice it.


This article is a critical exploration of the professionalization of public relations as a struggle or contest over the meaning of work, and it engages with a question about the driving forces behind the long-standing professional project of public relations. The article will use the concepts of 'dirty work' and 'occupational branding' to address the relation between the role actually performed, normative ideals, and the image of the occupation. The article analyzes op-eds authored by public relations practitioners, scholars, and representatives from professional organizations in newspapers and trade media in order to explore the ways in which the meaning of public relations work is described, contested, and framed, and, consequently, the occupational brand of public relations is formed.


The number of patients with lung cancer is difficultly diagnosed in the early stage. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy combined with serum CA125 and CEA on the diagnosis of lung cancer. 120 patients with suspected lung cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to January 2020 were selected and divided into an ultrasound group (n = 60) and CT group (n = 60), according to different percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy modalities. All patients received serum tumor markers detection, so as to compare the CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy results and pathology results, levels of serum tumor markers among all patients and the patients with different lung cancer types, and diagnostic efficacy of tumor markers, as well as complication rate (CR) in patients. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy were 0.880 and 0.800, respectively, while those of CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy were 0.909 and 0.625, respectively; the CA125 and CEA levels in the lung cancer group were higher than those in the benign group (P < 0.001); the CA125 and CEA levels of the patients with adenocarcinoma were higher than those with squamous carcinoma, and the CEA levels of the patients with small-cell carcinoma were lower than those with adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05); the sensitivity, specificity, and Youden indexes of CA125 were 0.638, 0.833, and 0.471, respectively, while those of CEA were 0.766, 0.778, and 0.544, respectively; there were no significant differences in CR between the two groups (P > 0.05). CT- and ultrasound-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy is a safe and feasible diagnostic modality for lung cancer, and its combination with serum CA125 and CEA can significantly improve the accuracy of the detection results, which is worthy of promotion and application in clinical practice.


This paper deals with the problems and misunderstandings we had with the families of our schizophrenic patients on an open rehabilitation ward. Considering these difficulties we started to integrate the members of the families in our therapies. The selection of the families, our concept, the setting and the technique, the results as well as the dangers of this procedure are discussed in the paper.


This chapter describes two empirical studies of autobiographical memory that focused on the personal memory component of autobiographical memory. These experiments investigated the characteristics of randomly sampled events and of events that subjects selected to be memorable. The autobiographical memory data in these experiments were obtained from naive subjects, not from the experimenter. Both experiments were designed so that it would be possible to study memory for thoughts independently from memory for actions. The second experiment was designed to study cued recall of verifiable autobiographical memories, and in this experiment systematic reports were obtained of the subjects' phenomenal experiences during the recall process. The data from these two experiments were used to address a wide range of issues in the study of autobiographical memory. Memory for random events was compared with memory for subject-selected events, and memory for thoughts was compared with memory for actions. A number of analyses were carried out to uncover the relationships between the characteristics of the original events and memory for these events after various time intervals. The cued-recall data were used to study the accuracy of autobiographical recall and to work out the relations between the contents of the events and memory for the events. An analysis was carried out to study the relative effectiveness of various forms of cues for the retrieval of information from autobiographical memory. The data from the phenomenal memory scales were used to explore the subjects' experiences during the recall process.


The design of any application on a configurable System-on-a-Chip (SoC) like Atmel's FPSLIC is subject to a lot of constraints stemming from requirements of the application and limitations of the architecture. In a top-down approach a real-time MPEG 1 Layer 3 (MP3) decoder is designed on this SoC, which integrates FPGA resources and an AVR microcontroller core within a single chip. An intensive design space exploration based on simulations on different levels of abstractions is fundamental for a real-time implementation on this limited architecture. After determining a suited functional partitioning a special DSP is implemented on the FPGA, wherefore an instruction set simulator is build, which allows concurrent HW/SW development.


In early 2019, the market stability reserve (MSR), a volume-based regulatory regime for tackling the surplus in emission allowances (EUAs) in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), will enter into force. The MSR will take EUAs out of the market when the amount of banked and thus unused EUAs exceeds an upper threshold and will release EUAs into the market when the amount of banked EUAs falls under a lower threshold. Over the last years, the design of the MSR has been the topic of controversial discussion. Among other concerns, scientists are afraid that the MSR may increase price volatility and uncertainty, which in turn may enhance specula-tive activity. In this paper we analyze the effect of the MSR on the behavior of a speculator with market power. For this purpose, the interlinked electricity and carbon market is modeled with an open-source agent-based model, which is expanded by adding the banking behavior of the spec-ulator. The results indicate that with the MSR mechanism being active in the EU ETS, both speculative banking activity and speculator profit increase. We further test the hypothesis that the MSR mechanism itself could be used by a speculator to increase his returns, leading to the conclusion that while this is theoretically possible, it is unlikely to actually happen. The results obtained can help to understand future behavior of market participants in the EU ETS.


In this review, we present information about a heterogeneity of monocyte subsets based on their unique functional and phenotypic properties. Here we also discuss the search of an optimal technique for the isolation of monocyte subsets as well as the origin of monocyte subsets and their role in inflammation.