This paper proposes an efficient feature vector classification for Speech Emotion Recognition (SER) in service robots. Since service robots interact with diverse users who are in various emotional states, two important issues should be addressed: acoustically similar characteristics between emotions and variable speaker characteristics due to different user speaking styles. Each of these issues may cause a substantial amount of overlap between emotion models in feature vector space, thus decreasing SER accuracy. In order to reduce the effects caused by such overlaps, this paper proposes an efficient feature vector classification for SER. The conventional feature vector classification applied to speaker identification categorizes feature vectors as overlapped and non-overlapped. Because this method discards all of the overlapped vectors in model reconstruction, it has limitations in constructing robust models when the number of overlapped vectors is significantly increased such as in emotion recognition. The method proposed herein classifies overlapped vectors in a more sophisticated manner, selecting discriminative vectors among overlapped vectors, and adds those vectors in model reconstruction. On SER experiments using an emotional speech corpus, the proposed classification approach exhibited superior performance to conventional methods, and displayed an almost human-level performance. In particular, we achieved commercially applicable performance for two-class (negative vs. non-negative) emotion recognition.


In this paper, we present a new way to control linear stochastic systems. The method is based on statistical bootstrap techniques. The optimal future control signal is derived in such a way that unknown noise distribution and uncertainties in parameter estimates are taken into account. This is achieved by resampling from existing data when calculating statistical distributions of future process values. The bootstrap algorithm takes care of arbitrary loss functions and unknown noise distribution even for small estimation sets. The efficient way of utilizing data implies that the method is also well suited for slowly time-varying stochastic systems.


The diagnosis and classification of endometrial hyperplasia is still one of the rare areas in histopathology that is still purely based on morphology without the use of ancillary techniques. The two popular systems used for classification of endometrial hyperplasia are the WHO system and the newer still not so popular EIN system proposed by the Endometrial Collaborative Group. Herein we discuss these two systems of classification and the implications for management of patients thus classified with emphasis on pitfalls in the assessment of follow up biopsies of patients managed conservatively.


The COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant lockdown restrictions in South Africa pose critical challenges for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) and on ART, impacting their ability to remain engaged in care and adherent to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Not only has this pandemic directly impacted the health care that ALHIV receive, but it has also consequently had devastating effects on society and has negatively affected the mental health and well-being of ALHIV. The challenges associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disadvantaged groups such as ALHIV on ART need to be further explored as it may offer hope to ALHIV and restore confidence in the health system.


The operating range of Francis turbines is limited at full-load conditions by the formation of a cavitation vortex rope that may enter self-oscillations under certain conditions. This induces severe pressure pulsations in the entire system, as well as output power swings putting at risk the integrity of the electro-mechanical components. The understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms and the prediction of the stability of hydropower units at full-load conditions are therefore crucial to ensure a safe extension of their operating range. In the present paper, the dynamic behaviour of a stable cavitation vortex rope at full load is investigated by high-speed visualizations while the test rig is excited at its first and second hydroacoustic eigenfrequencies. It is first demonstrated that the cavitation volume and the pressure in the draft tube are more likely to oscillate at the first eigenfrequency, in agreement with the observations of self-excited oscillations at the first eigenfrequency of the cavitation vortex rope during unstable full-load conditions. In addition, it is observed that the amplitude of both the cavitation volume and pressure fluctuations in the draft tube reach a limit value when the amplitude of the excitation is further increased. Further investigations will determine if this behaviour can be generalized to any full-load conditions and will focus on the determination of the hydro-acoustic parameters of the draft tube cavitation flow based on the behaviour of the vortex rope during forced oscillations.


The Pliocene period in the Montpellier region, considered as being emblematic since the middle of the 19th century because of its diverse mammal fauna, has not received much innovative treatment over the last 30 years. In particular, there has been no reinterpretation of geological data in the light of the Messinian-Zanclean double eustasy and related mechanisms. And yet, the increase in the number of urban projects affecting the Pliocene terrains and substratum has allowed for a renewed analysis of these areas in conformity with the results obtained in the nearby valley of the Rhone river. Highlighting the discordance, the regressive Messinian erosion has allowed for the Pliocene fluviatile network of the Lez to emerge. This in turn has made possible the reconstruction of a digitate network that recorded all of the phases of the filling in of these Pliocene rias. This is particularly clear thanks to the study of the Messinian discordance in the hard rocks of the Montpellier fold on the one hand, and on the other, within the Neogene ditches. Since the Messinian, the course of the Mosson and Lez rivers, just as that of the Vidourle river, tracked heavily to the east. This is how the Pliocene Mosson river crossed the Montpellier fold. In fact these modifications of the river courses, made possible by the reuse, until the end of the Pliocene, of the erosion surfaces of the coastal links (the Montpellier fold, the Gardiole), correspond to the accentuation of the deformations of these surfaces. The amplitude and variability of these movements is a result of the altitude of the marine-continental Pliocene transition. This altitude is doubtless often rather approximate, but it differs considerably with respect to the coastal Jurassic ranges (the Montpellier fold to the north, the Gardiole to the south), which frame the Pliocene "Gulf" of Montpellier. The two coastal ranges, calcareous and sub-parallel to the sea surface, have succeeded in channeling the transgression at the point of the saddleback axes, conferring Dalmatian coastal characteristics to the Pliocene ria.


This thesis report discusses and summarises the concerns for making the communication network location aware. Along with the motivation a collection of services is presented, some more useful than the others. Several different techniques that could be used to acquire location awareness are presented. Each presentation includes both a technical description, a section with the pros and cons, and a summary of how well it corresponds to the desired characteristics. At the end of the report the implementation of a prototype call routing application is described, as an example of a location aware service. It enables automatic routing of phone calls based on the user=92s location and is built with help of the Smart Badge and International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMCT) Call Management Agent system.


This thesis examines the clinical, pathological and biochemical diversity of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The material and patients used for these studies involved 23 clinically diagnosed living patients and 127 pathologically confirmed cases of PSP, archived at the Queen Square Brain Bank (QSBB). Differences between 'classic' PSP and 'atypical' PSP were identified, and a number of clinical features that separate them from other bradykinetic rigid syndromes were explored. In addition to the clinical phenotype associated with PSP-tau pathology initially described by Richardson in 1963 (Richardson's syndrome, RS) two other distinct clinical syndromes were identified: PSP-Parkinsonism (PSP-P) and pure akinesia with gait freezing (PAGF). The following clinical features, in addition to the operational diagnostic criteria, were supportive of underlying PSP-tau pathology in patients presenting with Parkinsonism: an absence of drug induced dyskinesias, autonomic failure and visual hallucinations the presence of falls within 6 years of disease onset UPSIT scores above the 12th percentile for gender and age and abnormalities in auditory startle response and auditory blink reflex. PSP-tau pathology always involved the subthalamic nucleus (STN), globus pallidus (GP) and substantia nigra (SN), but involvement outside these structures was variable and could be sub-divided into at least three different patterns. Severe tau pathology in PSP-P and PAGF was restricted to the GP, STN and SN. Co-existent pathological diagnoses did not differ between RS, PSP-P and PAGF. The ratio of pathological 4-repeat:3-repeat tau in PSP was variable. In RS the mean ratio was higher than in PSP-P (2.84 vs. 1.63 (p<0.003). Mutations of MAPT did not account for the diversity of clinical features The proposed clinical and pathological sub-classification of PSP will be helpful in clinical practice. Pathological and biochemical correlates raise the possibility that PSP-P and PAGF may represent discrete nosological entities. Further research may ultimately lead to their absolute distinction from Richardson's syndrome and related tauopathies.


The deviation angle variance (DAV) is a parameter that characterizes the level of organization of a cloud cluster compared with a perfectly axisymmetric tropical cyclone (TC) using satellite infrared (IR) imagery, and can be used to estimate the intensity of the TC. In this study, the DAV technique is further used to analyze the relationship between satellite imagery and TC future intensity over the North Atlantic basin. The results show that the DAV of the TC changes ahead of the TC intensity change, and this can be used to predict short-term TC intensity. The DAV-IR 24-h forecast is close to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) 24-h forecast, and the bias is lower than NHC and other methods during weakening periods. Furthermore, an improved TC intensity forecast is obtained by incorporating all four satellite bands. Using SST and TC latitude as the other two predictors in a linear regression model, the RMSE and MAE of the DAV 24-h forecast are 13.7 and 10.9 kt (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s−1), respectively, and the skill space of the DAV is about 5.5% relative to the Statistical Hurricane Intensity Forecast model with inland decay (Decay-SHIFOR) during TC weakening periods. Considering the DAV is an independent intensity technique, it could potentially add value as a member of the suite of operational intensity forecast techniques, especially during TC weakening periods.


We have investigated the ecology of viruses in Lake Bourget (France) from January to August 2008. Data were analysed for viral and bacterial abundance and production, viral decay, frequency of lysogenic cells, the contribution of bacteriophages to prokaryotic mortality and their potential influence on nutrient dynamics. Analyses and experiments were conducted on samples from the epilimnion (2 m) and the hypolimnion (50 m), taken at the reference site of the lake. The abundance of virus-like particles (VLP) varied from 3.4 × 10⁷to 8.2 × 10⁷ VLP ml⁻¹; with the highest numbers and virus-to-bacterium ratio (VBR = 69) recorded in winter. Viral production varied from 3.2 × 10⁴ VLP ml⁻¹  h⁻¹ (July) to 2 × 10⁶ VLP ml⁻¹ h⁻¹ (February and April), and production was lower in the hypolimnion. Viral decay rate reached 0.12-0.15 day⁻¹, and this parameter varied greatly with sampling date and methodology (i.e. KCN versus filtration). Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, viral lysis was responsible for 0% (January) to 71% (February) of bacterial mortality, while viral lysis varied between 0% (April) and 53% (January) per day when using a modified dilution approach. Calculated from viral production and burst size, the virus-induced bacterial mortality varied between 0% (January) and 68% (August). A weak relationship was found between the two first methods (TEM versus dilution approach). Interestingly, flow cytometry analysis performed on the dilution experiment samples revealed that the viral impact was mostly on high DNA content bacterial cells whereas grazing, varying between 8.3% (June) and 75.4% (April), was reflected in both HDNA and LDNA cells equally. The lysogenic fraction varied between 0% (spring/summer) and 62% (winter) of total bacterial abundance, and increased slightly with increasing amounts of mitomycin C added. High percentages of lysogenic cells were recorded when bacterial abundance and activity were the lowest. The calculated release of carbon and phosphorus from viral lysis reached up to 56.5 µgC l⁻¹ day⁻¹ (assuming 20 fgC cell⁻¹) and 1.4 µgP l⁻¹ day⁻¹ (assuming 0.5 fgP cell⁻¹), respectively, which may represent a significant fraction of bacterioplankton nutrient demand. This study provides new evidence of the quantitative and functional importance of the virioplankton in the functioning of microbial food webs in peri-alpine lakes. It also highlights methodologically dependent results.


Standard wireless sensor networks models emphasize energy efficiency and distributed decisionmaking by considering unattended sensors. Wireless sensor networks are confronted with the challenges of performance and energy consumption. To prolong the lifetime of the sensor networks, a game theoretic energy balance routing (GTEBR) algorithm is proposed. This algorithm aims at the balanceable energy consumption in sensor networks. A game theoretic method presented in this algorithm can make the sensor nodes more rational to take part in the routes by considering the consumption and other factors. Thus, the consumption shares by the whole sensor networks and the energy consumption becomes more even. Finally, the existence of Nash equilibrium in this energy control model is proved. The experiment results show that GTEBR algorithm reduces the consumption of some hot-area nodes and prolong the lifetime of the sensor networks. At the same time, this algorithm has desirable convergence and response.


Budu is a traditional fermented fish product which are produced and distributed within a specific area in the province of West Sumatera prepared from Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus guttatus). The samples were obtained from the small scale domestic factory. The aim of this research are to isolate and identify Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) activity from budu with pathogen bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella thypi, Bacillus subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes) followed identified by PCR. The bacteria isolated were growth on medium Glucose Tripton Agar (GTA) supplement with CaCO3 and then performed purification by plate out on deMan Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) Agar. It was found 138 isolates of LAB showed with clear zone around the culture and 8 isolates (B2, B4, B5, B9, B11, B13, B28 and B34) has been antimicrobial activity against the growth of pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that isolates B28 had the highest antimicrobial activity against all bacteria test, with a range of inhibition zone 14-35 mm, gram positive, spore former bacil, motility and catalase positive. Based on morphological examination and PCR analysis, the isolate B28 was primarily identified as Bacillus cereus strain HVR22 bacteria.


The biological action of luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin (lutropin/choriogonadotropin) in the ovary is mediated by interaction with its specific receptor. Lutropin/choriogonadotropin-receptor hnRNA is processed into multiple mRNAs. However, nucleotide sequences for many of the transcripts, including the major form (6.7 kb), have yet to be determined. In an attempt to identify a cDNA encoding the major transcript, we have isolated a 3.5-kb cDNA clone from a rat ovary cDNA library. The 3.5-kb cDNA recognized only two (6.7 kb, 4.4 kb) of the three (6.7, 4.4, 2.6 kb) ovarian lutropin/choriogonadotropin-receptor transcripts when used as a probe. The first 732 nucleotides of the newly identified 3.5-kb cDNA showed 98% identity to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the previously cloned cDNA corresponding to the 4.4-kb transcript. Southern blot analysis indicated that the 3.5-kb cDNA and the C-terminal domain of the lutropin/choriogonadotropin-receptor originate from the same gene. Oligonucleotide-directed cleavage of the 6.7-kb lutropin/choriogonadotropin-receptor mRNA by RNase H revealed that the newly identified 3.5-kb cDNA is a 3' extension of the 4.4-kb transcript. We propose that the nucleotide sequence of the 6.7-kb lutropin/choriogonadotropin-receptor transcript, the major form found in rat ovary, contains a long 3' UTR, which has not been previously identified.


High precision and accuracy in volcanic SO2 emission rate quantification is critical for eruption forecasting and, in combination with in-plume gas ratios, quantifying global volcanic emission inventories. Light dilution, where scattering of ultraviolet light dilutes plume SO2 absorbance signals, has been recognized for more than 50 years, but is still not routinely corrected for during gas flux quantification. Here we use modeling and empirical observations from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, to show that light dilution produces: i) underestimates in SO2 that can reach a factor of 5 and, at low column densities, cause little impact on standard retrieval fit quality, even for heavily diluted spectra; ii) retrieved SO2 amounts that are capped by a maximum value regardless of the true amount of SO2, with this maximum amount being reduced as light dilution increases. Global volcanic volatile emission rates may therefore be significantly underestimated. An easily implementable dual-waveband analysis provides a means to detect, and in clear sky conditions, correct dilution effects directly from the spectra, opening a path to more accurate SO2 quantifications.


As with all less-than-lethal weapons, the user is frequently left to estimate the optimum effective range of their weapon. Factory literature often exaggerates effective ranges and other features, which can be misleading and potentially dangerous in the deployment of the weapon. Using a modular combat shotgun and its three barrels, this study examined the accuracy of 12 gauge bean bag rounds in relation to barrel length. Accuracy was measured by point of impact and projectile spread in relation to the deviation from the point of aim. Our observations for the selected shotgun and bean bag rounds show that, at distances under 12 m (40 ft), the projectile was both accurate and reliable. At greater distances, both accuracy and reliability decreased. The 25 cm (10 in), 36 cm (14 in), and 46 cm (18 in) barrels can be used in close proximity from 3 m (10 ft)—15 m (50 ft) without a considerable loss of accuracy. This is of major significance as the use of shotguns during tactical room clearing is often limited by the length of barrel. These findings suggest that even the shortest length barrel tested would perform well if the targets are not engaged beyond 15 m (50 ft). Beyond this distance, the 46 cm (18 in) barrel is the most accurate performer and will reliably engage targets out to the maximum tested range of 24 m (80 ft).


Abstract : A smart sensor was fabricated using a carbon-epoxy composite laminate in which fibre Bragg gratings were embedded. These instrumented carbon fibre laminates can be used for reinforcement and protection of concrete/metallic structures, playing an important role in monitoring repaired or reinforced constructions.


Objectives:To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of once-daily gastroretentive gabapentin (G-GR) for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia in real-world clinical practice. Materials and Methods:Patients aged 18 years and above were divided into 2 cohorts: patients aged 70 years and below and patients above 70 years. All patients were titrated to 1800 mg G-GR/d over 2 weeks and maintained at that dosage for 6 weeks, for 8 weeks total treatment. To reflect clinical practice, exclusion criteria were limited to those in the product label. Efficacy was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Brief Pain Inventory. Patient/Clinician Global Impression of Change scales were completed at week 8. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed. Results:The efficacy population included 190 patients (110, 70 y and below; 80, above 70 y). The mean percent change in VAS score at week 8 from baseline was −21.3%/−20.4% (70 y and below/above 70 y). The proportion of patients with a ≥30% reduction in VAS score from baseline was 51.8%/55.0% (70 y and below/above 70 y) and was 42.7%/37.5% for a ≥50% reduction. Brief Pain Inventory scores were all significantly reduced by week 8. On the Patient Global Impression of Change instrument, more patients aged 70 years and below reported feeling "much" or "very much" improved from baseline (59.0% vs. 40.3%). G-GR was generally well tolerated. Thirty-seven (18.8%) patients experienced AEs that led to discontinuation. No patients died and 5 (2.5%) patients experienced serious AEs. The most common G-GR-related AEs (70 y and below/above 70 y) were dizziness (11.7%/16.3%) and somnolence (3.6%/8.1%). Discussion:In real-world clinical practice, G-GR seems to be an effective, well-tolerated treatment option for patients with postherpetic neuralgia, regardless of age.


The pathogenesis of proliferative diabetic retinopathy is unknown. Although there are some established clinical and histological facts, the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined. Diabetic angiopathy is widespread in the body and appears to be a complication ofand related to the duration of the diabetic state. The essential difference between this and proliferative diabetic retinopathy is the absence of microaneurysm formation and neovascularization outside the eye. It thus seems that local ocular factors, either genetic, metabolic, or anatomical, modify the generalized response. The role of the last factor has not yet been investigated, so that it is not known whether the anatomical pattern of the retinal arteries and veins has any relationship to the sites and size of areas of neovascularization. It is the purpose of this paper to study the size and distribution of those areas in early proliferative diabetic retinopathy which are of sufficient size to be visible in fundus photographs and to subject them to statistical analysis to see if any definable pattern emerges.


The study area is one of the watersheds of Tel river, covering an area of 1515.45 km and lies  between  19°  17′  and  20°  00′  N  latitude  and  82°  30′  and  82°  59′E  longitude  in Bhawanipatna area of Kalahandi district, Odisha, India. Poor soil cover, sparse vegetation, erratic rainfall and  lack of soil moisture characterize the study area  for most part of  the year.  Recurring  drought  coupled  with  increase  in  ground  water  exploitation  results  in decline  in the ground water  level. So the entire study area has been  further divided  into 12 subwatersheds named SWS1 to SWS12, ranging in geographical area from 30 km 2 to 202 km and has been taken up for prioritization based on morphometric analysis using GIS  and  remote  sensing  techniques.  The  drainage  density  of  subwatersheds  varies between 1.09 to 3.36 km/km 2  and low drainage density values of subwatershed SWS11 indicates that it has highly resistant, impermeable subsoil material with dense vegetative cover and low relief. The elongation ratio varies from 0.6  0.8 which indicates high relief and  steep  ground  slope. The  high  value  of  circularity  ratio  for  SWS11  subwatershed (0.8) indicates the late maturity stage of topography. This anomaly is due to diversity of slope,  relief  and  structural  conditions  prevailing  in  this  subwatershed.  The  compound parameter  values  are  calculated  and  the  subwatershed  with  the  lowest  compound parameter  is  given  the  highest  priority.  The  subwatershed  SWS1  has  a  minimum compound parameter  value of  4  is  likely  to  be  subjected  to maximum  soil  erosion  and susceptible  to  natural  hazards.  Hence  it  should  be  provided  with  immediate  soil conservation measures.


This work uses a set of panel data to contribute new evidence on the impacts of socioeconomic determinants on academic achievement in Chile. Socioeconomic determinants are found to have a statistically significant effect, which rises over time, on academic achievement. The evidence shows that two individuals of different socioeconomic levels (SEL) who achieve the same score in Chile's Educational Quality Measurement System (SIMCE) in eighth grade, are separated by a gap of over 70 points on average four years later, when they sit the University Selection Test (PSU). It is concluded that in a context of great income inequality and high returns on tertiary education, academic achievement indexes throw up barriers to access to tertiary education, principally for the population of low socioeconomic level, thereby perpetuating poor income distribution.


This article analyses recent developments in Danish film and television education through a case study of a new training initiative for creating content for children and young audiences. Following an outline of traditional training and career trajectories in the Danish screen industries in general, and for working with children's film and television specifically, the case study investigates the guiding ideas behind Manuskriptskolen for børnefiktion ('The Cross-Media School of Children's Fiction'), which was established in 2020. The school marks a new approach to Danish film education in several ways. First, by creating a training ground focusing on a specific audience, rather than on screenwriting or film-making more generally. Second, by thinking of content for this audience as fundamentally multi-platform and teaching students storytelling across different media from the outset. Third, by insisting that creating content for this audience calls for having knowledge about the current lives of young people and their media use, and encouraging strategies for engaging or even co-creating content with them. The article builds on qualitative interviews, document analysis and observations at industry events as part of the research project Reaching Young Audiences: Serial Fiction and Cross-Media Storyworlds for Children and Young Audiences.


Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and arises from melanocyte gene mutation. This disease is multifactorial, but its main cause is the excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Currently, available chemotherapy has shown little expressive results, which may justify the high use of natural products to treat this cancer. We performed a systematic review to compile the results of studies carried out in murine models and investigated the effect of plant extracts on melanoma treatment. Papers were selected in MEDLINE/Pubmed and Scopus according to the PRISM statement. Search filters were developed using three parameters: plant extract, melanoma, and animal model. The 35 identified studies were all submitted to the criteria described in the ARRIVE guidelines. The different extracts showed antiangiogenic, antimetastatic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity, and also proved to be effective in cell cycle modulation and apoptosis evasion. Bias analysis evidenced the absence of standardized experimental designs, as well as failures in statistical tests and in the presentation of results. The analysis of the studies suggests that the use of plant extracts is effective for the treatment of melanoma in murine models.


Abstract One of the questions traditionally posed in forums of legal translation training and teaching is whether legal translations should be done by translators or jurists. Very often, the answer lies halfway, and current theoreticians agree that a double competence, in both translation and law, is the most adequate solution. In accordance with this idea, the present paper examines, on the one hand, the pedagogical elements which should be considered when preparing a legal translation course within the university context, and presents, on the other, a model of lesson planning, in the light of the future European Higher Education Area and according to the real needs of legal, sworn or court translators. Many of the reflections contained in this paper stem from the pedagogical practice of legal translation courses taught at the University of Alicante, and are also grounded in the teaching experience of the author as a legal translation trainer.


A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determining oxolinic acid in tiger shrimp ( Penaeus monodon ) tissue has been developed. The sample was simply extracted with ethyl acetate without further clean-up. The extract was analyzed using reversed-phase chromatography with UV detection at 330 nm. An extraction efficiency of 97.4 ± 10.3% was obtained. The within-run precision ranged from 1.46 to 4.21% and the between-run precision ranged from 6.01 to 9.77%. Detection of oxolinic acid in spiked shrimp was linear from 0.007 to 4 μg/g with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. The minimal detection limit of this procedure was 0.0035 μg/g.


Fragile X syndrome is the most common from of inherited mental retardation. Approximately half of females with the full mutation have significant cognitive deficits, whereas females with the premutation do not. Phenotypic effects seen in 281 females (IQs from 64 to 139) were analyzed. Results showed that females with the full mutation differ significantly from controls on selected anthropometric measurements, physical index score, and various behavioral features. Females with the premutation differed significantly from controls in regards to a few anthropometric measurements and the physical index score but not in behavioral features. These results suggest that phenotypic effects of the FMR1 mutation are not only common in females with the full mutation, but in females with the premutation as well.


Astronomy and astrophysics are witnessing dramatic increases in data volume as detectors, telescopes and computers become ever more powerful. During the last decade, sky surveys across the electromagnetic spectrum have collected hundreds of terabytes of astronomical data for hundreds of millions of sources. Over the next decade, the data volume will enter the petabyte domain, and provide accurate measurements for billions of sources. Astronomy and physics students are not traditionally trained to handle such voluminous and complex data sets. In this paper we describe astroML; an initiative, based on python and scikit-learn, to develop a compendium of machine learning tools designed to address the statistical needs of the next generation of students and astronomical surveys. We introduce astroML and present a number of example applications that are enabled by this package.


Alan Turing was born in Paddington, London on June 23, 1912 . His family were middle-class and well-off. He was fascinated with science from an early age and showed precocious talent, especially in the areas of chemistry and mathematics. He attended Sherbourne Public School and then King's College, Cambridge where he studied mathematics. His areas of interest at Cambridge were probability theory and mathematical logic. It was at Cambridge that he first conceptualised the Universal Turing Machine, an idea that was to evolve into the modern theory of computing. He has been referred to as the father of the computer. He worked on a cipher machine at Princeton University between 1936 and 1938. He worked for the British Government during World War II with the Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park. He was ultimately the key player in deciphering the German 'Enigma' code used by its submarines during the war. After the war he took up a post in Manchester University where he continued to work on ideas of artificial intelligence. He was arrested and charged for homosexual activity in 1952 and underwent a course of oestrogen therapy. He committed suicide in 1954. He was regarded as being socially aloof and eccentric by colleagues and friends. He was interested in mathematics, chemistry and logic from an early age, to the exclusion of other activities. This paper attempts to establish whether he fulfilled the criteria for Asperger's syndrome.


SARS coronavirus papain-like protease ( PLpro) is responsible for the proteolytic processing of pp1a ( 1ab) amino terminus to release nsp1,nsp2 and nsp3,and plays an important regulatory role in 第 7 期 陈晓娟等: SARS 冠状病毒 PLpro 蛋白酶对泛素样分子的 DUB 活性 the assembling of SARS coronavirus replicase complex and the escape from host innate immunity. SARS PLpro has been reported of in vitro deubiquitinase ( DUB) activity,but the characteristics and functions of the DUB activity are poorly understood. In this study,we first constructed several PLpro mutation constructs with N-terminal Ubl domain or C-terminal transmembrane ( TM ) domain deletion and the PLpro mutants at its catalytic sites ( Cys-His-Asp ) , then assayed for the DeISGylation and DeSUMOylating activites. We found that Ubl-deleted PLpro remained same DeISGylation activity in vivo as the wildtype suggesting the Ubl domain was dispensable. The DeISGylation of SARS-CoV PLpro was dependent on Cys-His catalytic residues,but little affected in the Asp mutation of the catalytic triad ( Cys-His-Asp) . The mutation of SARS PLpro core domain did not affect the SUMO-conjugated cellular proteins,but the transmembrane form of PLpro ( PLpro-TM ) induced dramatic reduction of SUMOconjugated cellular proteins. Such DeSUMOylating activity relied on intact catalytic residues,indicating that the DeSUMOylation activity of SARS PLpro required both TM-and catalytic residues. These results demonstrated that SARS PLpro might have both DeISGylating and DeSUMOylating activities in vivo.


Monogamy among the large primates is not accompanied by high levels of male care for infants. The selective pressures that have led to its evolution in this case are far from clear. In this paper, we evaluate and test four different hypotheses. Monogamy in these species did not evolve because males are unable to defend access to more than one female. Hence, it must be related to behavioural services provided by the male which substantially increase the female's reproductive output. Existing data argue against the suggestion that these services involve protection against predators or defence of an exclusive feeding area. We propose that the male's service consists primarily in protecting the female against infanticide by other males. Tests that would differentiate this hypothesis unequivocally from other hypotheses are suggested. To the extent that these predictions can be tested with the data currently available, the evidence supports the infanticide hypothesis. We speculate that infanticide avoidance is also responsible for the near-universal occurrence among primates of male-female bonds.


In distributed computing environment, divisible load technique is used to speedup the completion time of a parallel task by splitting a huge task into a smaller grain size jobs where jobs can be executed remotely by other nodes. Due to the heterogeneity of computing nodes, load balancing technique is employed to distribute workload evenly across distributed nodes in order to reduce the overall response time and maximize the resource utilization. Load information plays an important role in heterogeneous computing environment to formulate a job distribution decision. In this paper, we propose a dynamic load balancing algorithm where its information policy for those nodes that have an empty neighbors' list to discover and predict other neighbors' load information. Simulation results from various scenarios show that our approach able to reduce the overall average response time of each job.


The thermal stability of Ti-45Nb powder obtained via mechanical alloying of pure components Ti and Nb using an AGO-2C high energy planetary ball mill was studied. To evaluate the structure and phase transformations in the material, scanning and transmission electron microscopic studies and x-ray diffraction analysis were carried out. Mechanical alloying of titanium and niobium powders occurs under the conditions of severe plastic deformation and leads to the homogenization of initial components. As a result, an alloy with the structure consisting of a mixture of different grains is formed. This mixture of nanosized grains consists of the main β-TiNb phase and metastable αand α"-phases. The presence of metastable phases, large amount of interfaces, lattice distortions of the main phase indicate the presence of high internal energy stored in the material. By means of differential scanning calorimetric analysis it was found that structural and phase transformations occurred during heating of the powder up to temperatures of about 500°C and 700°C. During annealing at 500°C the mechanically alloyed powder loses the metastable α"-phase while the α-phase becomes equilibrium. At the same time, the process of recrystallization nuclei formation starts in the structure. The annealing at 700°C does not change the phase composition of the alloy. The exothermal effect observed at this temperature is related to structural transformations in the alloy, in other words, to the recrystallization of plastically deformed material. Basing on the results obtained it was concluded, that the upper limit of the thermal stability of mechanically alloyed Ti-45Nb powder does not exceed 500°C.


With the discovery of missense mutations (A53T and A30P) in alpha-synuclein (alpha-Syn) in several families with early onset familial Parkinson's disease, alpha-Syn aggregation and fibril formation have been thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of alpha-synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. As previous reports have suggested that alpha-Syn plays a role in lipid transport and synaptic membrane biogenesis, we investigated whether alpha-Syn binds to a specific lipid ligand using thin layer chromatography overlay and examined the changes in its secondary structure using circular dichroism spectroscopy. alpha-Syn was found to bind to acidic phospholipid vesicles and this binding was significantly augmented by the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine, a neutral phospholipid. We further examined the interaction of alpha-Syn with lipids by in situ atomic force microscopy. The association of soluble wild-type alpha-Syn with planar lipid bilayers resulted in extensive bilayer disruption and the formation of amorphous aggregates and small fibrils. The A53T mutant alpha-Syn disrupted the lipid bilayers in a similar fashion but at a slower rate. These results suggest that alpha-Syn membrane interactions are physiologically important and the lipid composition of the cellular membranes may affect these interactions in vivo.


The authors present a method for automatically determining the characteristic points (onset and offset) of the P, QRS, and T waves in multilead electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the 15 standard leads. From these points significant clinical parameters are measured, in particular PR interval, PR segment, QRS interval, ST segment, and QT interval. The method makes use of the differentiated low-pass filtered ECG signal and information about wave shape. The procedure begins applying a multilead QRS detector to recognize beat activity in each lead. After that, waves onset and offset are searched in each lead, and a selection is done to consider those limits from leads where the electrical activity of the heart has longer temporal projection. The performance has been evaluated with the CSE multi-lead measurement database, comparing the results with those from other programs and manual measurement. The method improves the T wave end measures, since it results in much better agreement with clinical experts than other programs. The same evaluation has been done with the interval values, and the results are lower than the tolerances recommended by CSE experts.<<ETX>>


This paper examines the factors of rural-urban migration in Bangladesh. It is found that the underlying cause of migration is mainly driven by economic and social factors i.e., unemployment, poverty, political and ethnic conflicts, religious etc. In the migration process the push factors are more active then pull factors, as poverty and unemployment always push the poor villagers to change their residence to the cities. After migration majority of the migrants comparatively improved their livelihoods in the city. Although poor migrants have contributed significantly to the economic growth and gained from higher wages in higher productivity areas, they remain socially and economically excluded from the wider benefits of economic growth such as access to food and education, housing, sanitation and freedom. The study results highlight the need to target migrant groups and urban poor within urban areas in the provision of availability of work and social care services.


Gonadal function was evaluated in 10 men [33 +/- 17 (SD) yr] with pituitary tumors and hyperprolactinemia (47-2550 ng/ml) using nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT), semen analysis, urinary LH and FSH excretion, and diurnal variation of serum testosterone and PRL. Results were compared to 16 normal subjects (33 +/- 13 yr). NPT was decreased in tumor patients as demonstrated by reduced maximum circumference change (P less than 0.01) and total tumescence time (P less than 0.05). Semen analysis was examined in 5 patients able to produce specimens. All seminal parameters were significantly abnormal as demonstrated by oligospermia, asthenospermia, teratospermia , and elevated fructose. Urinary LH [570 +/- 72 (SE) vs. 838 +/- 22 mIU/h; P less than 0.01] and serum testosterone (235 +/- 60 vs. 625 +/- 63 ng/dl; P less than 0.01) were decreased in 9 tumor patients, all of whom had serum PRL levels above 50 ng/ml. Diurnal variation of serum PRL was absent in hyperprolactinemic patients whereas all had normal circadian changes in serum testosterone, although at a lower set point. Eight patients were followed for 6-13 months after reduction of serum PRL by surgery and/or drug therapy. Serum PRL reached normal levels in six men after 6 months of treatment. Selected individuals had an increase in serum LH after 2 months of treatment. Significant rises in serum testosterone occurred as early as 3 months and normal levels were found in six patients after 6-8 months of treatment. Only two subjects, however, demonstrated a normal semen analysis. These data suggest that men with serum PRL levels above 50 ng/ml maintain a normal diurnal pattern of serum testosterone at a lower set point, and demonstrate hypogonadism with reduced urinary LH excretion and NPT. In addition, routine seminal parameters are clearly abnormal and are both delayed and incomplete in their recovery.


The Nef protein of primate lentiviruses acts as an important virulence factor in vivo both in monkeys and in humans. Among a human cohort of long‐term non‐progressors, several Nef defective HIV1 viruses have been isolated, indicating that Nef may accelerate HIV progression and disease in humans. Additionally, a Nef‐deleted SIV virus has low titres in rhesus monkeys and the animals develop AIDS at a much slower rate. In vitro, Nef can exert at least three kinds of effects: it downregulates CD4 and MHC class I, it stimulates virion infectivity and it alters signal transduction pathways. To accomplish this, Nef interacts with a series of cellular partners including CD4, components of the adaptor complexes AP‐1 and AP‐2, and several protein kinases, Nef often functioning as a connector between targets and effectors. The high degree of understanding of at least some aspects of Nef action, as well as the importance of this viral gene product for disease induction, identify Nef as a valuable target for the development of novel antiviral therapies. Moreover, the possibility of developing vaccines using attenuated viruses with deletions in nef and other crucial genes raises the possibility that the AIDS epidemic might one day be restrained. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Purpose This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare endoscopy as primary versus secondary prophylaxis to prevent future bleeding in children with esophageal varices. Methods A systematic literature search using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method was conducted using the Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane databases for relevant studies on the outcome of rebleeding events after endoscopy in primary prophylaxis compared to that in secondary prophylaxis. The following keywords were used: esophageal varices, children, endoscopy, primary prophylaxis and bleeding. The quality of eligible articles was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale and statistically analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results A total of 174 children were included from four eligible articles. All four studies were considered of high-quality based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Patients who received primary prophylaxis had 79% lower odds of bleeding than those who received secondary prophylaxis (odds ratio, 0.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07–0.66; I2=0%, p=0.008). Patients in the primary prophylaxis group underwent fewer endoscopic procedures to eradicate varices than those in the secondary prophylaxis group, with a mean difference of 1.73 (95% CI, 0.91–2.56; I2=62%, p<0.0001). Conclusion Children with high-risk varices who underwent primary prophylaxis were less likely to experience future bleeding episodes and required fewer endoscopic procedures to eradicate the varices than children who underwent secondary prophylaxis.


In analogy to Brownian computers we explicitly show how to construct stochastic models which mimic the behavior of a general-purpose computer (a Turing machine). Our models are discrete state systems obeying a Markovian master equation, which are logically reversible and have a well-defined and consistent thermodynamic interpretation. The resulting master equation, which describes a simple one-step process on an enormously large state space, allows us to thoroughly investigate the thermodynamics of computation for this situation. Especially in the stationary regime we can well approximate the master equation by a simple Fokker-Planck equation in one dimension. We then show that the entropy production rate at steady state can be made arbitrarily small, but the total (integrated) entropy production is finite and grows logarithmically with the number of computational steps.


A new higher-order cumulant-based criterion for an adaptive interference canceler is proposed in the cumulant domain. The input signals are first computed to find the self- and joint-cumulants of the higher-order statistics-based adaptive filter. The paper presents a new "criteron of goodness", called fourth-order cumulant-based minimum sum-of-error-absolute (HOS4-MSEA). With respect to different convergence factors, it proves that the new criterion works well requiring less computation than that of Shin and Nikias (see IEEE Trans. Signal Processing, vol.42, no.10, p.2715-28, 1994).


The acquisition of houses was one of the primary goals for those who left Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s to work in the Netherlands. Many attained this goal. However, as the return to Turkey was continuously postponed and eventually called off by many, the roles of these houses in the lives of their owners greatly changed. This article uses a biographical perspective to discuss the altered significance of those houses and increase our understanding of how the significance of houses in Turkey belonging to (former) migrants develops within the transnational lives of dwellers. However, this transnationality is not only created by the Turkish-Dutch themselves who reside in at least two places, but also by representatives of the Dutch state who assess these houses to check on tax payments and welfare entitlement outside the state territory. These assessments are met with resistance, the rationale behind which can be better understood from a biographical perspective.


Styles of thinking and creating indicate the preferable ways that individuals process information. This study aimed to investigate the impact of sex and age on creative styles. The sample was composed of 1.752 subjects (780 men, 972 women), ages ranging from 17-72, living in 4 Brazilian states. The scale "Style of Thinking and Creating" was administered to groups in various environments. Results analyzed by the Analysis of Variance indicated significant differences between sexes and age ranges (p≤.001) for the following styles: Cautious-Reflexive; Non-Conforming/Transformer; Logical-Objective and Emotional-Intuitive. Significant interaction between sex and age were also observed for the Cautious-Reflexive, Logical-Objective and Relational-Divergent styles. In conclusion, the importance of considering gender as well as developmental influences for understanding creative expression was demonstrated.


Diastereoselective alkylation reaction of the chiral 6-ethoxypiperidinones (4) and (5) has been developed and successfully applied to the asymmetric synthesis of piperidine alkaloids, (+)- and (-)-coniines (11) and (12), (-)-sedamine (21), and (-)-allosedamine (22)


Abstract Little is known about how mental health symptoms develop during the transition to university. Most anxiety and depression research fails to consider how symptom development differs over time across different individuals, and how symptom co-occurrence influences the severity of mental health problems. Students (N = 658) completed online surveys on mental health prior to starting university and every 2 months until April. To better understand mental health problems during this transitional period, latent class growth curve analyses were run to determine how anxiety and depressive symptoms co-develop over time, as well, if self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor for more severe symptom trajectories in this transition. About 40% of students experienced depression and anxiety symptoms prior to entering/during the transition to university. There is substantial variation between students in terms of how they experience depression and anxiety symptoms, and research needs to take this heterogeneity into account to properly identify which students might benefit most from resources. Self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor, such that students higher in this trait experienced more severe anxiety and depressive symptom trajectories during this transition. This research further implicates the importance of understanding and studying individual differences in symptom development.


The increasing incorporation of Artificial Intelligence in the form of automated systems into decision-making procedures highlights not only the importance of decision theory for automated systems but also the need for these decision procedures to be explainable to the people involved in them. Traditional realist accounts of explanation, wherein explanation is a relation that holds (or does not hold) eternally between an explanans and an explanandum, are not adequate to account for the notion of explanation required for artificial decision procedures. We offer an alternative account of explanation as used in the context of automated decision-making that makes explanation an epistemic phenomenon, and one that is dependent on context. This account of explanation better accounts for the way that we talk about, and use, explanations and derived concepts, such as `explanatory power', and also allows us to differentiate between reasons or causes on the one hand, which do not need to have an epistemic aspect, and explanations on the other, which do have such an aspect. Against this theoretical backdrop we then review existing approaches to explanation in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and suggest desiderata which truly explainable decision systems should fulfill.


Over the last few years, DNA-surfactant complexes have gained traction as unique and powerful materials for potential applications ranging from optoelectronics to biomedicine because they self-assemble with outstanding flexibility spanning packing modes from ordered lamellar, hexagonal and cubic structures to disordered isotropic phases. These materials consist of a DNA backbone from which the surfactants protrude as non-covalently bound side chains. Their formation is electrostatically driven and they form bulk films, lyotropic as well as thermotropic liquid crystals and hydrogels. This structural versatility and their easy-to-tune properties render them ideal candidates for assembly in bulk films, for example granting directional conductivity along the DNA backbone, for dye dispersion minimizing fluorescence quenching allowing applications in lasing and nonlinear optics or as electron blocking and hole transporting layers, such as in LEDs or photovoltaic cells, owing to their extraordinary dielectric properties. However, they do not only act as host materials but also function as a chromophore itself. They can be employed within electrochromic DNA-surfactant liquid crystal displays exhibiting remarkable absorptivity in the visible range whose volatility can be controlled by the external temperature. Concomitantly, applications in the biological field based on DNA-surfactant bulk films, liquid crystals and hydrogels are rendered possible by their excellent gene and drug delivery capabilities. Beyond the mere exploitation of their material properties, DNA-surfactant complexes proved outstandingly useful for synthetic chemistry purposes when employed as scaffolds for DNA-templated reactions, nucleic acid modifications or polymerizations. These promising examples are by far not exhaustive but foreshadow their potential applications in yet unexplored fields. Here, we will give an insight into the peculiarities and perspectives of each material and are confident to inspire future developments and applications employing this emerging substance class.


Gust load alleviation has become an integral part of aircraft design to significantly decrease the impact of atmospheric turbulence on aircraft loads, handling qualities and also passenger comfort. During the design of an active control system, the aerodynamic response of the aircraft subjected to gust encounter and control surface deflection effects needs to be modelled. Current industrial practice is based on lowfidelity linear-potential panel methods which are repeatedly evaluated in frequency domain to obtain so-called frequency response functions. Even though rapid turnaround times are possible, important aerodynamic effects such as shock waves and resulting boundary layer separation which define transonic flow conditions are neglected. Typically, robust and adaptive control laws have been designed to account for the shortcomings of the underlying aerodynamic modelling fidelity. In contrast to this, we present initial results of a basic gust controller while using an enhanced aerodynamic modelling by solving the linearised Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations in frequency domain. Results are presented both for an aerofoil and a large aircraft configuration near transonic cruise conditions. Control laws derived from different levels of the aerodynamic hierarchy are scrutinised during unsteady simulations of realistic gust-encounter scenarios.


Investigating the elementary process of diffusion yielded the universal expression of diffusivity relevant to the angular momentum of each microparticle in a material. Using the diffusivity obtained then for the diffusion equation, the wave equation of Schreadinger was theoretically derived from the physical concept in Newton mechanics. The derivation itself reveals that any moving microparticle has the wave image as an intrinsic nature. It was theoretically revealed that the relation having been accepted as a hypothesis proposed by De Broglie is really valid for any moving microparticle and also that another relation of matter-wave is possible. The new diffusion theory based on the matter-wave will be useful for further development of the nanotechnology in materials science.


B-(p, r)- invexity is a new generalized invex function. By using B-(p, r)-invexity functions, the wolfe dual of the multiobjective programming problems is considered, in which the objective and the constraint functions are differentiable. The weak, strong and strict converse duality results are established, these results are obtained under B-(p, r)-invexity assumptions on objective and the constraint functions. The work generalizes many results on programming problems with B-invexity functions, (p,r)-invexity functions and invex functions.


Purpose
This paper aims to provide an assessment of tourism promotion in tourist destinations and airports (TPTDs) and to organize and classify the literature on tourism promotion, with the aim of staging the importance of this topic and encouraging future research in the projection of tourism and marketing sectors.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database to analyze the bibliometric in TPTDs topic from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, the paper also uses the visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer software to map graphically the bibliographic material. The graphical analysis uses bibliographic coupling, co-citation, citation and co-occurrence of keywords.

Findings
This study provides an amended new definition of tourism promotion, which is the efficient management of a destination's resources and strategic plans by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to adapt the tourism supply to market trends and will empower tourists to visit such destinations. Furthermore, results also show a new paradigm applied to TPTDs topic and classified in five first-order research streams. Digital and mobile marketing, infrastructure, branding, quality, accessibility and information factors about a specific destination which are mostly demanded by tourists are considered as an important means of promotion for the tourism industry.

Originality/value
The contribution of this study is important to identify new challenges and opportunities for researchers, DMOs, airport and airlines operators and stakeholders, as disentangling existing contradictions and applying new theoretical framework to make better future decisions by researchers and organizations to provide higher quality to new research in the context of the TPTDs.


A 25-year-old man developed fulminant multisystem failure 28 hours after elective repair of an inguinal hernia. Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) was diagnosed. The patient recovered fully with supportive care in ICU, antibiotics, and IV human immunoglobin . To the best of our knowledge, only one case of TSS following inguinal hernia repair have ever been previously published. Journal of College of Medical Sciences-Nepal, 2013, Vol-9, No-2, 57-59 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmsn.v9i2.9689


Twelve patients with congenital dislocation of the knee (nineteen knees) were studied.

Genetic factors appear to predominate in the etiology of the condition, although the effects of environment on the fetus cannot be entirely discounted. The condition is frequently associated with other congenital anomalies and has a higher incidence in females than in males. It is relatively rare compared with congenital dislocation of the hip, but in many ways these two anomalies are similar.

Congenital dislocation of the knee is, in essence, a dislocation of the proximal part of the tibia anterior to the articular surface of the femur. With the less severe deformities, excellent results are obtained by early treatment with conservative measures. The technique of open reduction, when indicated, is varied according to the deformity. In one knee with a severe long-standing deformity arthrodesis was necessary.


A new oscillator configuration for a Josephson voltage standard is proposed and designed by a novel method. An analytic design procedure is presented for six general configurations of oscillators with two loads. The power splitting relationship between two loads is derived with respect to the reactive (lossless) embedding element. A HEMT oscillator is designed in X-band for the Josephson voltage standard and tested at room and cryogenic temperatures. There is a significant improvement in C/N ratio if it is operated at cryogenic temperature (4.2 K).


The idea that interpreting a lexeme typically involves a context-dependent process of meaning construction has in recent years become common ground in linguistic theory. This view is very explicit in relevance theory (Sperber and Wilson 1995), which posits that speakers systematically infer ad hoc concepts (Carston 2002). Such an approach raises theoretical issues, though. First, it directly poses a challenge for the exact nature of (and difference between) concepts and ad hoc concepts (Carston 2002, 249). In addition, as Wilson (2011, 2016) and Carston (2013, 2016) point out, this view also uncovers the following paradox: if speakers are assumed to follow a path of least effort (relevance heuristics), why should they so systematically infer ad hoc concepts rather than test the encoded concept first? The aim of this paper is to reflect on this theoretical puzzle. It will first be argued that the hypotheses formulated both by Wilson and by Carston seem rather post hoc and fail to fully resolve the apparent paradox. Attention will then be given to the assumed nature of (ad hoc) concepts to show that the problem can be resolved when an alternative (non-atomic) view of concepts in terms of meaning potential is adopted.


Our reply to Bonikowski and DiMaggio (2021) is in three parts. First, we clarify the aim of our research note (Eger & Hjerm, 2021). Our original critique was based on a replication of their inductive analysis, and we evaluated their work using best practices for the methodology that they chose. Our argument is straightforward: If one is going to use inductive methods to say something meaningful about the real world, one needs to make sure that the model being advanced fits the data. We present additional evidence supporting our original critique. Second, we discuss whether their new analyses bolster their original results and conclusions. Third, because their own results actually suggest that different levels of American nationalism exist rather than qualitatively different types, we question their claim of convergent validity. In short, we stand by our original critique.


Data obtained in the framework of the INTERBALL-Tail Probe (1995-2000) and RHESSI (from 2002 to the present) projects have revealed variations in the X-ray intensity of the solar corona in the photon energy range of 2-15 keV during the period of the quiet Sun. Previously, a hypothesis was proposed that this phenomenon could be associated with the effect of coronal heating. In the present study, a new mechanism of coronal plasma heating is proposed on the basis of the experimental data and the quantum theory of photon pairs that are produced from vacuum in the course of the Universe's expansion. A similar mechanism based on the splitting of photon pairs in the interplanetary and intergalactic space is also proposed to explain the observed microwave background radiation.


Industrialization and urbanization are the two phenomena that are going relentless all over the world. The consequence of this economic success has been a massive increase in waste on one hand and increasing demand for suitable sites for construction on the other. Owing to the surplus raw materials and energy requirement needed for manufacturing synthetic fibers, applications of waste fibers for reinforcing soils evidenced to offer economic and environmental benefits. The main objective of the proposed work is to explore the possibilities of improving the strength of soil using fly ash waste as an admixture and Human Hair Fiber (HHF) as reinforcement such that they can be used for construction of embankments and land reclamation projects. The effect of fiber content on soil — fly ash mixture was observed through a series of laboratory tests such as compaction tests, CBR and unconfined compression tests. From the stress - strain curves, it was observed that the UCC strength for the optimised soil — flyash mixture reinforced with 0.75% human hair fibers is nearly 2.85 times higher than that of the untreated soil. Further, it has been noticed that there is about 7.73 times increase in CBR for the reinforced soil compared to untreated soil. This drastic increase in strength may be due to the fact that HHF offer more pull-out resistance which makes the fibers act like a bridge to prevent further cracking and thereby it improves the toughness which in turn prevent the brittle failure of soil-flyash specimen. Hence, the test results reveal that the inclusion of randomly distributed HHF in soil significantly improves the engineering properties of soil and can be effectively utilized in pavements. SEM analysis explained the change of microstructures and the formation of hydration products that offered increase in strength and it was found to be in accordance with strength tests.


People from nearly every country are now learning computer programming, yet the majority of programming languages, libraries, documentation, and instructional materials are in English. What barriers do non-native English speakers face when learning from English-based resources? What desires do they have for improving instructional materials? We investigate these questions by deploying a survey to a programming education website and analyzing 840 responses spanning 86 countries and 74 native languages. We found that non-native English speakers faced barriers with reading instructional materials, technical communication, reading and writing code, and simultaneously learning English and programming. They wanted instructional materials to use simplified English without culturally-specific slang, to use more visuals and multimedia, to use more culturally-agnostic code examples, and to embed inline dictionaries. Programming also motivated some to learn English better and helped clarify logical thinking about natural languages. Based on these findings, we recommend learner-centered design improvements to programming-related instructional resources and tools to make them more accessible to people around the world.


The author provides an overview of the history of congressional involvement with the Violence Against Women Act's (VAWA) provisions to protect immigrant victims of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women. He also outlines the reasoning behind, and purpose of, the most recent enhancements in legal protections for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and foreign fiancés and spouses that were included in the recently reauthorized VAWA 2005, also describing the bipartisan work that resulted in this newest piece of legislation.


We show that, if the input process of a general GI/G/1 queue is a positive recurrent Markov renewal process then the output process, too, is a positive recurrent Markov renewal process (the conservation property). As an application we consider a general tandem queue and prove a total variation limit theorem for the associated waiting and service times.


This article investigates the production and re-production of a recurring pickup basketball game at a public park in Santa Monica, California. I argue that it is best understood as a recurring "scene"—an ecologically shaped, biographically significant, interactionally accomplished, and narratively organized pattern of social life—colloquially known as the "Ocean Run." Drawing on Kenneth Burke's dramatism, I suggest that the scene is constituted by the interrelation of the park's socioecological landscape ("stage"), the diverse personal meanings that players construct through their participation ("cast"), and the practical work of re-creating the scene through situated interactions ("performance"). The park stage facilitates a sense of intimacy for players with very different personal relationships to each other and to the scene. Those players then actively mix themselves up, re-creating the scene through an "improvisational" style of team formation. Place, people, and action are dialectically related in the patterning of public life. This method of analysis is replicable in a wide variety of public scenes and sets up concrete grounds for comparison and theoretical generalizability.


BACKGROUND This article sets out the economic problems faced by the humanities disciplines in the transition to gold open access and outlines the bases for investigations of collective funding models. Beginning with a series of four problems, it then details the key players in this field and their various approaches to collective "procurement" mechanisms. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT The Open Library of Humanities seeks to instigate a collective funding model for an open access megajournal and multijournal system that should enable for a phased transition to a gold open access model that does not require author-facing article processing charges. Libraries who participate then have a governance stake in the platform. NEXT STEPS The project is currently working towards sustainability and launch. Authors' pledged papers are being called in and libraries are signing up to the model.


In experiments with high-level photogeneration of carriers in a semi-conductor crystal the concentration and the spatial distribution of the carriers are often not well known. The reason for this is that the influence of the surface and of the free carrier absorption cannot be directly determined but has to be estimated. In this paper we describe an experimental method which allows us to determine the interband absorption coefficient, the free carrier absorption cross section, and the absolute value and spatial variation of the concentration of generated carriers in silicon. A pulsed Nd: YAG laser is used giving pulses of 15-20 ns duration at λ = 1.06 μm. An analytical expression for the nonlinear absorption caused by the generated carriers is presented. We show that it is possible to determine the absorption parameters from the measured attenuation without using a separate probe beam.


ABSTRACT:In tKet 4.5 a rare distinction between types of captives is introduced, bearing dramatic consequences: a husband must ransom his wife if she is a "captive of banditry" but not if she is a "captive of a kingdom." In addition, the Tosefta rules that if divorced, the ransomed wife is entitled only to a ketubah of 100 dinars, and not of 200 dinars as expected by the standard halakhah. Despite previous scholarly efforts, the rationale for the distinction and its unique legal implications remains unclear. In this essay, we offer a solution based on the Roman law of captivity. We argue that this distinction is adopted from the Roman law that distinguishes between captors based on the degree of their political legitimization. Furthermore, the reduced monetary obligations of the husband in the Tosefta should be understood in light of the legal consequences of captivity on a citizen which, according to Roman law, entail suspension or dissolution of all the citizen's legal bonds, including marriage. Beyond solving local problems, the essay points to a profound impact of the Roman model of citizenship on tannaitic halakhah. According to the common opinion, external circumstances cannot impact the status of a Jew vis-à-vis the halakhah. In contradistinction, the Tosefta follows the Roman model that views the applicability of the law as a matter of citizenship, which may be lost.


Dictyostelium is a suitable experimental system in which to study the effects of mutations in actin-binding proteins on cell motility. Three cytoskeletal mutants that show distinct alterations in cell shape, chemotactic movement and cytokinesis serve to illustrate the diversity of phenotypes. Cells lacking talin, a protein which in many mammalian cell types is a constituent of focal complexes that link the actin cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane, are strongly impaired in adhesion to external surfaces. Coronin is an actin-associated protein that belongs to the WD-repeat family of proteins, which are engaged in protein-protein interactions involved in signalling pathways. Cells lacking coronin build large hyaline protrusions at their leading edge, diagnostic of an imbalance in the actin polymerization/depolymerization cycle. Cells devoid of a pair of cortexillins, which are novel members of the spectrin/alpha-actinin superfamily of actin-binding proteins, form an atypical cleavage furrow on a solid surface and fail to divide in suspension. Other mutants in which one or more actin-binding proteins have been knocked out have weaker phenotypes. With these mutants, cells need to be subjected to special conditions in order to reveal an effect on cell motility. For instance, only on weakly adhesive surfaces is a disturbance in the spatio-temporal co-ordination of protrusion and retraction of the cell body, and of the attachment to and detachment from a substratum, observed in a mutant that lacks three actin-binding proteins: alpha-actinin, 120 kDa F-actin gelation factor and severin.


This article discusses the determination of reliability coefficients for clinical evaluation forms by use of generalizability theory. This method is contrasted to some of the commonly used measures of interobserver agreement, interobserver reliability, and classical reliability. The value of this method in terms of making recommendations, such as the number ofjudges and the number of items on a form, in order to improve reliability is illustrated by two examples. Also, the difference between norm-referenced decisions and criterion-referenced decisions in determining reliability with this method is presented.


In everyday family environments, conflict resolution in the presence of children is often not feasible. Can children still benefit from other sources of information about resolution? Analogue studies presented 5- to 6-year-old and 9- to 10-year-old children with videotaped scenarios of interadult conflicts ending in various ways. Study 1 demonstrated that negative effects of adults' disputes on children are reduced even by «resolution behind closed doors». Study 2 showed that negative reactions are also reduced by an adult's subsequent description of a resolution. Even 5- to 6-year-olds were capable of inferring resolution from incomplete information


Because synthetic vascular prostheses perform poorly in small-diameter revascularization, biological vascular substitutes are being developed as an alternative. Although their in vivo results are promising, their production involves long, complex, and expensive tissue engineering methods. To overcome these limitations, we propose an innovative approach that combines the human amniotic membrane (HAM), which is a widely available and cost-effective biological raw material, with a rapid and robust textile-inspired assembly strategy. Fetal membranes were collected after cesarean deliveries at term. Once isolated by dissection, HAM sheets were cut into ribbons that could be further processed by twisting into threads. Characterization of the HAM yarns (both ribbons and threads) showed that their physical and mechanical properties could be easily tuned. Since our clinical strategy will be to provide an off-the-shelf allogeneic implant, we studied the effects of decellularization and/or gamma sterilization on the histological, mechanical, and biological properties of HAM ribbons. Gamma irradiation of hydrated HAMs, with or without decellularization, did not interfere with the ability of the matrix to support endothelium formation in vitro. Finally, our HAM-based, woven tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) exhibited clinically relevant mechanical properties. Thus, this study demonstrates that human, completely biological, allogeneic, small-diameter TEVGs can be produced from HAM, thereby avoiding costly cell culture and bioreactors.


In December 2010, Dakar hosted the Troisième Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres (FESMAN), which took for its main theme the notion of an 'African Renaissance'. FESMAN sought to revive a highly utopian pan-Africanism that had been prevalent in the era of decolonisation from the 1950s to the 1970s, but it departed in significant ways from many of the ideas and values that had marked previous pan-African cultural festivals: FESMAN celebrated popular culture and extended its definition to include sport in various manifestations. The aim of this article is to trace the connections that were drawn by festival organisers and the media between sport and the wider artistic, cultural and identitarian agendas at work in the festival. It will also ask what these tell us about the evolution in the understanding of culture and identity in the 44 years between the 1966 and the 2010 festivals.


Abstract Analysis of the velocity filed measured by ballon-borne anemometers through a clear air turbulent patch is presented. It is shown that, except in the case where the ballon altitude is constant, the vertical wind shear related to nonturbulent motions may create a contamination above the outer scale of the turbulent field. The results is typical of all turbulence measurements obtained along non-constant altitude trajectories: it may explain some intriguing characteristics of the gust velocity spectra measured by instrumented aircraft.


Background Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is relatively rare but highly aggressive and it has poor prognosis, especially for metastatic GBC. We aimed to determine the prognostic significance of primary tumor resection on patients with metastatic GBC. Material/Methods The records of patients with GBC with distant metastasis from 2010 to 2015 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to compare overall survival (OS) and carcinoma-specific survival (CSS) between patients receiving primary tumor resection and those without surgery. Cox regression analysis was conducted to identity independent factors significantly associated with survival. In addition, a propensity score-matched analysis was performed to adjust for the heterogeneity between the groups. Results Of the 1337 patients included, 496 patients underwent primary tumor resection and 841 patients did not. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.48–0.66, P<0.001) and CSS (HR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.48–0.66, P<0.001) were significantly improved in patients receiving surgical resection of the primary tumor lesion in the unmatched cohort. Additionally, in the matched cohort, univariate Cox regression analysis similarly indicated that performing surgery at the primary site was associated with better OS (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.50–0.77, P<0.001) and CSS (HR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.50–0.762, P<0.001). Conclusions This study indicated that primary tumor resection might prolong survival in patients with metastatic GBC.


The National Toxicology Program (NTP) studies chemicals to determine if they are carcinogenic. These experiments include subchronic (90 day) and chronic (2 year) rodent exposures studies and, therefore, are costly and time consuming. The long-range goal of our research is to learn Bayesian belief networks from the NTP data and use them to predict the classification of chemicals at various milestones during the process when that information could be used to justify either continuing or terminating the experiments. NTP has data from 226 chemicals which have previously been classified. The data contain almost 1000 attributes, including the results of microbial assays, physicalchemical parameters, and the results of 90-day rodent exposure studies. While the data set contains continuous, discrete, and binary attributes, the majority of the attributes (836) are the subchronic exposure study results representing the presence or absence of organ pathology. Detection of a particular combination of organ and morphology (damage) is rare, so these attributes are very sparsely positive. This makes detecting significance of an attribute difficult. In addition, not all of the exposure studies are done for every chemical, so a number of chemicals are missing the attribute values for many of these attributes. Our approach to handling this complex data set has been to use various feature selection techniques and statistical analysis (such as linear discriminant analysis) on the exposure study result attributes. The models we build use the results of that analysis in combinations with the other attributes to predict various subsets of the chemical population. The cross-validated accuracies of these models have ranged from 70% to 92%. We are also building models from the data set directly. In analyzing the results of our preliminary models, it became apparent that much of the difficulty with this data set comes from the level of noise of the result attributes in the exposure studies. Our endpoint is a combination of many different types of carcinogenicity where each is likely to show different types of organ damage, so our model is called upon to find many biological pathways to many endpoints. It is our opinion that this wide endpoint is aggravating the noise in the data. In future experiments, we plan to replace this endpoint with endpoints for cancers in specific organs, the goal being to increase the accuracy and intuitiveness of our models.


Currently, during automated vehicle trials there are two personnel present within each test vehicle: the Safety Driver and the Test Assistant. This summary report presents recommendations on how to progress to advanced trials and perform the roles of the Safety Driver and Test Assistant remotely. The recommendations are based on a literature review and a stakeholder engagement. It was found that the terminology relating to remote operation used by the industry is inconsistent, so key terminology has been produced with the aim of promoting common use. The summary of roles, requirements and responsibilities of Safety Drivers, Test Assistants, and the Remote Operators (who would replace them) are presented. Following this, recommendations are given to enable remote operation of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). Finally, these recommendations have been used to generate a roadmap to enable remote operation of CAVs in the UK.


Photodegradation (photolysis) causes the breakdown of organic pesticides molecules by direct or indirect solar radiation energy. Flucetosulfuron herbicide often encounters water bodies. For this reason, it is important to know the behavior of the compound under these stressed conditions. In this context, photodegradation of flucetosulfuron, a sulfonylurea-based herbicide, has been assessed in aqueous media in the presence of photocatalyst TiO2 and photosensitizers (i.e., H2O2, humic acid, and KNO3) under the influence of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The influence of different water systems was also assessed during the photodegradation study. The photodegradation followed the first-order reaction kinetics in each case. The metabolites after photolysis were isolated in pure form by column chromatographic method and characterized using the different spectral data (i.e., XRD, IR, NMR, UV-VIS, and mass spectrometry). The structures of these metabolites were identified based on the spectral data and the plausible photodegradation pathways of flucetosulfuron were suggested. Based on the findings, photocatalyst TiO2 with the presence of ultraviolet irradiation was found effective for the photodegradation of toxic flucetosulfuron residues under aqueous conditions.


Results obtained with the HELEOS (hypervelocity experimental launcher for equation of state) railgun, which uses a two-stage light-gas gun (2SLGG) as an injector, are presented. The high-velocity 2SLGG injector preaccelerates projectiles up to approximately 7 km/s. The high injection velocity reduces the exposure duration of the railgun barrel to the passing high temperature plasma armature, thereby reducing the ablation and subsequent armature growth. The 2SLGG also provides a column of cool, high-pressure hydrogen gas to insulate the rails behind the projectile, thereby eliminating restrike. A means to form an armature behind the injected projectile has been developed. In preliminary tests, the third-stage railgun has successfully increased the projectile velocity by 1.35 km/s. Extensive diagnostics have been used to determine the behavior of the armature and track the launcher's performance. Insome cases, velocity increases in the railgun section have been achieved, which are in close agreement with theoretical predictions, whereas in other experiments deviations from theoretical have been observed. The reasons for and implications of these results are addressed. Recent tests are reported. >


The aim of this study is to investigate the policies related to access to higher education and work, and more specifically the relation between these policies and the requirements of the current society in terms of the education process. Such requirements are considered in a context strongly related to economic development, in the attempt to align the education process to market requirements only. Developing an academic education program committed to the acquisition of knowledge, which contributes to preparing for work and the emancipation of the human being, is a current challenge. Thus, research was conducted, using a focus group of 20 professors who work in higher education. From the testimonies, it was possible to identify four categories: characteristics of the labor market, professional requirements, characteristics of academic formation, and academic formation requirements. The data make evident the need to contemplate a contextualized and interdisciplinary education process to contribute to overcoming educational inequalities and to allow young people to access work.


Highly selective hydrogenation of molecules containing more than one reducible group is always challenging. Here we report an efficient strategy for rational preparation of highly selective gold-based catalysts in the hydrogenation of substituted nitroarenes by positioning gold nanoparticles on the edge/corner sites of anatase. Mechanistic studies reveal that the catalyst with gold nanoparticles on the edge/corner sites of anatase could form unique sites for selective adsorption and activation of nitro groups, thus leading to high activity and selectivity. This strategy for preparation of supported gold catalysts opens a new door for the design of highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts in the future.


Supporting springs influence the stiffness and resonant frequency of vibrating ring gyroscope (VRG). This letter presents a new calculation method of potential energy of semicircular cantilever supporting spring in VRG. The partial derivatives of the potential energy are also worked out for developing complete dynamic model of VRG lately.


Abstract Environmental issues are steadily increasing across the world. News media plays a significant role in highlighting environmental problems and facilitating the public debate to foster a healthy environment. The South Asian news media do report on environmental challenges. However, the major focus of news media's coverage remains politics, economy, regional and international security issues. In the case of Pakistan, the second largest South Asian country, environmental reporting does not rank high among the editorial priorities and the newsroom's hierarchies across the country. In addition to editorial priority, reporting on environmental issues, in its geopolitical, social, and scientific contexts, requires expert knowledge and the journalists' ability to frame environmental stories in an effective manner. Therefore, it is important to explore learning approaches that can enhance journalism students' skills to report on environmental problems effectively. Thus, informed by the theory of experiential learning, this study aims to explore how an experience-based model can help to meet the practical needs of environmental journalism for an improved news media's coverage of environmental issues in Pakistan. In doing so, this study features the views of Pakistani journalism and media academics that have been gathered through in-depth interviews (online) and analyzes the gathered data thematically.


Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing problem, particularly among previously sensitive Streptococcus pneumoniae . The emergence of wide spread resistance to antimicrobial agents complicates therapy of infections caused by these organisms. Between January and December 2002, one hundred and fifty-eight isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae at the microbiology laboratory of the University of Ilorin Teaching were studied, in order to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. All the isolates were recovered from clinical samples and identified by their alpha-haemolytic reaction on sheep blood agar, bile solubility and their sensitivity to optochin. Susceptibility testing was carried out using the stokes-disc diffusion method. Majority of the Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates (78.4%) were recovered from the cerebrospinal fluids, 18 (11.3%) from sputum, 14 (9%) from throat swab and 2 (1.3%) from eye swab. Eight three percent of the isolates were resistant to penicillin G and 12.7% were resistant to more than three antibiotics. The isolates were largely sensitive to the third generation cephalosporins and quinolones. The study has shown that penicillins are no longer useful for the treatment of infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in this centre. The cephalosporins and quinolones however remained effective and are therefore recommended. Keywords; Streptococcus pneumoniae, Susceptibility, Antimicrobial
Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2004; 5(2): 172 – 176.


This paper presents location based service for telecom providers. Most of the location-based services in the mobile networks are introduced and deployed by Internet companies. It leaves for telecom just the role of the data channel. Telecom providers should use their competitive advantages and offer own solutions. In this paper, we discuss the sharing location information via geo-messages. Geo messages let mobile users share location information as signatures to the standard messages (e.g., email, SMS). Rather than let some service constantly monitor (poll) the user location (as the most standalone services do) or share location info within any social circle (social network check-in, etc.) The Geo Messages approach lets users share location data on the peer to peer basis. Users can share own location info with any existing messaging systems. And messaging (e.g., SMS) is the traditional service for telecom


Depending on the application, malleability in cryptography can be viewed as either a flaw or — especially if sufficiently understood and restricted — a feature. In this vein, Chase, Kohlweiss, Lysyanskaya, and Meiklejohn recently defined malleable zero-knowledge proofs, and showed how to control the set of allowable transformations on proofs. As an application, they construct the first compact verifiable shuffle, in which one such controlled-malleable proof suffices to prove the correctness of an entire multi-step shuffle. Despite these initial steps, a number of natural problems remained: (1) their construction of controlled-malleable proofs relies on the inherent malleability of Groth-Sahai proofs and is thus not based on generic primitives; (2) the classes of allowable transformations they can support are somewhat restrictive. In this paper, we address these issues by providing a generic construction of controlled-malleable proofs using succinct non-interactive arguments of knowledge, or SNARGs for short. Our construction can support very general classes of transformations, as we no longer rely on the transformations that Groth-Sahai proofs can support.


Objectives This study aimed to identify whether differences exist in postpartum depression (PPD) in US and Korean nurses and its related factors. Identifying occupational and personal factors that underlie potential differences will be helpful for women's occupational health. Methods Baseline and postpartum survey data from employed nurses in the Korea Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study 3 (1244 Korean; 2742 US nurses) were analysed. Postpartum data collection was done via online survey. PPD was analysed based on cultural validation from prior studies using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (cut-off of 10 for Korea and 13 for USA); depressive symptoms prior to pregnancy and childbirth, general characteristics and sleep satisfaction were also measured. Descriptive statistics, χ2 tests and t-tests and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis were performed. Results 45.9% of Korean participants had clinical symptoms of PPD (≥10), whereas US participants presented with 3.4% (≥13). Prior depressive symptoms were also higher in Korean participants (22.5%) compared with their US counterparts (4.5%). Prior depressive symptoms and poor sleep satisfaction were significant risk factors of PPD in both cohort groups, and vaginal birth was an additional influencing factor in Korean participants. Conclusions Differences in PPD rates and related factors suggest the role of stress, cultural variation and differing work systems. Nurses and other women shift-workers noted to have depressive symptoms before and during pregnancy and exhibit PPD symptoms should especially be followed closely and offered supportive mental health services that include greater flexibility in returning to work.


Background Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) have behavioral effects predictive of antipsychotic activity in experimental models such as amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion (AHL). However, the signaling mechanisms that contribute to the antipsychotic-like properties of mGlu5 PAMs are not well understood. Methods Because the Akt/GSK3β pathway has been implicated in schizophrenia and is modulated by known antipsychotic drugs, we evaluated the effects of systemic administration of two mGlu5 PAMs on Akt and GSK3β signaling using western blot analysis in both naïve and amphetamine-treated adult male rats. Results In the dorsal striatum, the mGlu5-selective PAM VU0092273 (30 mg/kg) significantly increased Akt phosphorylation at residues associated with enhanced kinase activity, Thr308 and Ser473. Inhibitory phosphorylation of GSK3β at Ser9 was also increased. Similar effects were observed with a second mGlu5 PAM, VU0360172 (56.6 mg/kg). VU0092273 increased Akt phosphorylation levels in amphetamine-treated rats. Effects on Akt/GSK3β signaling were not limited to the striatum, as VU0092273 also increased Akt/GSK3β phosphorylation in the medial prefrontal cortex. Conclusions These findings suggest that mGlu5 PAMs that have antipsychotic-like efficacy in rats affect signaling pathways that are modulated by known antipsychotics, and raise the possibility that inhibition of GSK3β might contribute to the antipsychotic-like effects of mGlu5 PAMs.


The paper discusses the differences between API 579-1/ASME FFS-1-1/ASME FFS-1 [1] and ASME Section VIII Division 3 [2] stress intensity factor solutions. In addition to this, the use of the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) in leak before burst analysis is compared to the present Division 3 approach. The paper contains the background of both approaches and a worked example demonstrating the effect of both methods. Finally, a simplified fatigue crack growth based life time study is presented.© 2008 ASME


Low molecular sialoglucides were isolated from the urines of normal human male and two patients with lysosomal disease (mucopolysaccharidosis type II and a new type of mucolipidosis) by charcoal adsorption method. Urinary sialoglucides were fractionated into two fractions (SG-1 and SG-2) by Sephadex G-25 gel filtration and considerable increase in excretion of SG-1 was observed in the patients with lysosomal diseases: two- to three-fold increase in mucopolysaccharidosis type II and seven- to eight-fold increase in mucolipidosis. SG-1 was further fractionated into 18 to 19 fractions by Sephadex G-50 gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. Comparison of the amounts and the chemical compositions of these fractions suggested that the increase in SG-1 was dependent upon the increase in excretion of low molecular sialoglucides rich in mannose and N-acetylglucosamine.