This is the first report demonstrating that a commercially available household consumer product produces nanoparticles in a respirable range. This report describes a method developed to characterize nanoparticles that were produced under typical exposure conditions when using a consumer spray product. A well-controlled indoor environment was simulated for conducting spray applications approximating a human exposure scenario. Results indicated that, while aerosol droplets were large with a count median diameter of 22 µm during spraying, the final aerosol contained primarily solid TiO2 particles with a diameter of 75 nm. This size reduction was due to the surface deposition of the droplets and the rapid evaporation of the aerosol propellant. In the breathing zone, the aerosol, containing primarily individual particles (>90%), had a mass concentration of 3.4 mg/m3, or 1.6 × 105 particles/cm3, with a nanoparticle fraction limited to 170 µg/m3, or 1.2 × 105 particles/cm3. The results were used to estimate the pulmonary dose in an average human (0.075 µg TiO2 per m2 alveolar epithelium per minute) and rat (0.03 µg TiO2) and, consequently, this information was used to design an inhalation exposure system. The system consisted of a computer-controlled solenoid ''finger'' for generating constant concentrations of spray can aerosols inside a chamber. Test results demonstrated great similarity between the solenoid ''finger''-dispersed aerosol compared to human-generated aerosol. Future investigations will include an inhalation study to obtain information on dose–response relationships in rats and to use it to establish a No Effect Exposure Level for setting guidelines for this consumer product.


This work is aimed at studying the adsorption mechanism of short chain 20-mer pyrimidinic homo-ss-DNA (oligodeoxyribonucleotide, ODN: polyC(20) and polyT(20)) onto CNT by reflectometry. To analyze the experimental data, the effective-medium theory using the Bruggemann approximation represents a suitable optical model to account for the surface properties (roughness, thickness and optical constants) and the size of the adsorbate. Systematic information about the involved interactions is obtained by changing the physico-chemical properties of the system. Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are evaluated by comparing the adsorption on hydrophobic CNT and on hydrophilic silica and by modulating the ionic strength with and without Mg(2+). The ODN adsorption process on CNT is driven by hydrophobic interactions only when the electrostatic repulsion is suppressed. The adsorption mode results in ODN molecules in a side-on orientation with the bases (non-polar region) towards the surface. This unfavorable orientation is partially reverse by adding Mg(2+). On the other hand, the adsorption on silica is dominated by the strong repulsive electrostatic interaction that is screened at high ionic strength or mediated by Mg(2+). The cation-mediated process induces the interaction of the phosphate backbone (polar region) with the surface, leaving the bases free for hybridization. Although the general adsorption behavior of the pyrimidine bases is the same, polyC(20) presents higher affinity for the CNT surface due to its acid-base properties.


We present the direct measurements of electric dipole moments for 5P3/2→nD5/2 transitions with 20<n<48 for rubidium atoms. The measurements were carried out in an ultracold sample via observation of the Autler–Townes splitting in a three-level ladder scheme, commonly used for two-photon excitation of Rydberg states. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic measurement of the electric dipole moments for transitions from low excited states of rubidium to Rydberg states. Due to its simplicity and versatility, this method can be easily extended to other transitions and other atomic species with few constraints. The good agreement seen between the experimental results and the theory proves the reliability of the measurement method.


Unilateral anophthalmia in a Holstein calf was examined morphologically. On the left side, a small cystic remnant of the eye ball (CRE) was present in the orbit. The CRE was adhered to the dura mater through an abnormal foramen formed in the orbital region of the cranial base. At this region of the left cerebral hemisphere, a porencephalic change was detected. Histologically, the pigment epithelium was continued from the lining of the inner surface of CRE to the residual cerebrocortical tissue attached to the dura mater. These characteristic changes seem to suggest the partial fusion of the outer layer of the optic cup to the telencephalon during optic organogenesis.


In 2018–2020, in the Federal Research Centre of Horticulture in the Leninsky district of the Moscow region, a research study into the growth, production and biochemical processes of ungrafted and grafted cherry trees was performed. The planting plan was 5×2.5 m, the age of the trees — 17-19 years. Three varieties of cherries (Rusinka, Volochaevka, Apukhtinskaya), grafted on clonal rootstock (AVCH-2, Moskoviya Izmailovskiy) and own-root, propagation-grown by herbaceous cuttings, were selected as the study objects. Biochemical studies involved determining the total antioxidant status of the alcoholic extract, the chlorophylls (a and b) and carotenoids content, the total of phenolic compounds, rutin and quercetin in the leaves. The study aimed to assess the agrobiological and biochemical parameters of grafted and own-root cherry varieties and to identify the optimal growing technique for promising ones. It was found that the variety, rootstock and breeding method influenced the growth and development of cherry trees. The linear and radial growth improved for the trees grafted on the AVC-2 and Moskoviya rootstocks and the height and crown volume thinned for the own-root trees and in those grafted on the Izmailovskiy rootstock. Depending on the variety, stock and growing technique of seedlings, the productivity of trees ranged from 3.5 (Rusinka, own-root) to 11.6 kg/tree (Apukhtinskaya, own-root). The advantage of own-root trees compared to grafted ones was revealed for Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties. The Rusinka variety showed the highest productivity when grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock (5.5 kg/tree). To increase the yield per garden when cultivating the Apukhtinskaya and Volochaevka varieties, it is beneficial to use own-root seedlings grafted on the Moskoviya and Izmailovskiy rootstocks. For the Rusinka variety, the optimal result can be achieved when growing seedlings grafted on the Izmailovsky rootstock. The biochemical studies allowed the influence of rootstock on the photosynthetic, antioxidant systems and the synthesis of phenol compounds in the cherry leaves to be determined. It was shown that the antioxidant activity and the accumulation of phenol compounds in the leaves were the highest for the own-root plants of the most winter-hardy Rusinka variety and the Rusinka/Izmailovskiy graftedrootstock combination. The chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were the highest in the leaves of the Apukhtinskaya variety own-root trees, Apukhtinskaya/Izmailovskiy and Rusinka/Izmailovskiy grafted-rootstock combinations with increased productivity. Notably, the biochemical values decreased for all varieties grafted on the AVC-2 rootstock.


Overall mortality ascribable to multiple traumas, that in Italy is responsible for about 8,000 death/year, is strictly dependent on the function of the so called Trauma Care System. This study reports on an epidemiological survey conducted in the urban area of Florence along a 23-month period (from Jan 97 to Nov 99), with the aim to identify the typology of traumas and the first aid care delivered to the person until hospital admission. These data were compared to those collected in the urban area of Bologna because the composition of the first-aid team is different, being nurses, in Bologna, an integral component of the first aid system. On a total of 118 multiple traumas, 17% was represented by isolated head trauma, while in 72% involvement of other organs was present in addition to the head; 11% of cases were abdominal or thoracic traumas, 1% of lower extremities. In 46% the cause of trauma was a car accident. The complexity of care delivered to the person with trauma was less in the Florence survey, as indicated by the immobilization of patients, performed in only 11% of cases as compared to 47% in Bologna, by the application of the cervical collar, applied in 12% versus 62% of traumas. Although the two samples are not strictly comparable, these data suggest that the presence of nurses in the Trauma Care System can be one of the elements of improvement of the quality of delivered care.


This letter studies the adaptive decentralized congestion control (DCC) algorithm defined in the ETSI TS 102 687 V1.2.1 specification. We provide insights on the parameters used in the algorithm and explore the impact of those parameters on its performance. We show how the algorithm achieves good average medium utilization while protecting against congestion, but we also show how the chosen parameters can result in slow speed of convergence and long periods of unfairness in transitory situations. Finally, we propose a modification to the algorithm which results in significant improvements in the speed of convergence and fairness.


We investigate various phenomena of strained heteroepitaxial growth. To this end, we study a model in 1+1 dimension by means of off-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. We observe the appearance of strain-induced mounds upon a wetting layer, i.e. Stranski-Krastanov growth. The transition from 2d to 3d islands occurs at a critical layer thickness and its dependence on the growth parameters is studied quantitatively. We find that for large enough deposition rates the layer thickness as well as the size and density of islands depend on the misfit between substrate and adsorbate, only.


The B6.C-H-2bm12 (bm12), H-2 I-Ab mutant, originated in the C57BL/6 (B6, H-2b) strain, is a nonresponder to the male antigen H-Y in both T cell proliferation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. Defective H-Y presentation by bm12-adherent cells, as a cause of the CTL nonresponsiveness, can be excluded, because 1) CTL from primed responder/nonresponder F1 female mice (B6/bm12 F1) were activated by H-Y antigen on antigen-presenting cells (apc) from either parent; 2) T cells from primed nonresponder bm12 females did not generate CTL to H-Y presented by responder B6 apc, but conversely, CTL from B6 females could be activated by antigen on bm12 apc; and 3) adherent cell-depletion experiments indicated that male adherent cells are necessary for generation of optimal H-Y-specific CTL responses, male adherent bm12 cells being equally as efficient as male adherent B6 cells in presentation to F1 T cells. The need for T helper cell activation by H-Y-presenting adherent cells during secondary in vitro restimulation can be circumvented by interleukin 2 (IL 2), because IL 2 completely restored the H-Y-specific CTL response of B6/bm12 F1 cells in cultures depleted of adherent cells. However, addition of IL 2 during in vitro restimulation of bm12 cells did not result in an H-Y-specific CTL response, indicating that H-Y-specific, I-A-restricted T helper cells are probably needed in vivo during priming for the generation of sufficient numbers of Db-restricted CTL memory cells. The data are compatible with the concept that H-Y antigen is presented in the context of the I-A alpha, beta molecule on the surface of adherent cells to T helper cells and in the context of the Db molecule on the surface of nonadherent as well as adherent cells to CTL precursors. The most likely explanation for the difference in H-Y response between B6 and bm12 include positive selection of the responder phenotype by the I-Ab alpha, beta molecule of the B6 strain or generation of suppressor T cells in the bm12 strain.


Backpacking is an outdoor pastime, which is popular in many parts of the world. Backpacking involves traveling to a camping location while carrying a pack that contains food and gear for the hikers. Backpacking usually involves at least one night of outdoor camping, but can last for months if hikers replenish their supplies along the way. Backpacking is usually done in groups of two or larger, although some backpackers will undertake solo expeditions. Backpacking is a cheap and fun way to see large parts of the world. This mode of traveling need a well plan journey
to make it interesting and cost efficient. Travel & Recreational Itinerary Planner or TRIP is an interactive portal that provides tourism information to backpackers and travelers coming to Malaysia. This project was initiated based on the potential market of tourism-related activities in Malaysia where more than 20 million tourist coming to Malaysia each year. TRIP will be a unique portal that would enable tourists to download personalized travel itineraries or travel plans based on their travel requirements for a minimum fee of 5 USD The content of this portal will be emphasizing on the frequent asked question (FAQs) by tourist such as where to stay, where to go, how to go, what to do and what to buy. This business will mainly focus on gathering tourist specific traveling data and filter it to be published in the portal to suit the tourist the tourist criteria. It is estimated that 2% of total tourist coming to Malaysia will visits our portal generating 400,000 web traffic and 10% from that will be the potential customer
estimated for 40,000 buyer yearly. The targeted revenue for the business are expected to be generated directly from itineraries downloaded by the tourist, which are charged at US Dollar rate. Additional revenue will be from commissions paid for bookings made from our portal provided by external parties such as hotels, transportation and other tourist related services. Since the portal is an online service,
the other source of revenue is based on sales of advertisement spaces on the travel portal. Through our marketing programs such as branding the services, low and affordable price, Easy access to the portal via Internet, series of online advertising and marketing strategies and also collaborations with related tourism agencies will
ensure our target sales will be meet each year. This project will promote Malaysia as a travel destination for different tourists markets as the current focus in only on normal travelers and not budget travelers. Specializing in this new market segment will help increase the number of tourists arriving in Malaysia. The tourist can also benefit from the travel portal as they will systematic and well-planned travel itineraries for them to experience the country.


Accumulating evidence reveals a pivotal role of intestinal fungi in modulating host immune homeostasis. However, the mechanisms for regulating immunity to commensal gut fungi remain unknown. Here, we show that dendritic cell (DC)-specific deficiency of casitas B-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, confers mice susceptible to dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis. Moreover, c-Cbl functions as a signal mediator downstream of α-mannan recognition receptor Dectin-2 and Dectin-3 by mediating the ubiquitination and degradation of non-canonical NF-κB subunit RelB. Thus, DC-specific deficiency of c-Cbl facilitates fungi-derived α-mannan-induced activation of RelB, which suppresses p65-mediated transcription of an anti-inflammatory cytokine gene il10. Consequently, suppressing fungal growth or inhibition of RelB activation in vivo significantly attenuates colitis in c-Cblf/fCD11cCre/+ mice whereas treatment of DPH, agonist of c-Abl, could synergistically increase the fungi-induced activation of c-Cbl to restrict colitis. These data unravel a role of c-Cbl/RelB axis in regulating intestinal inflammation for sustaining intestinal homeostasis, and a potential clinical utility of DPH for colitis treatment.


The research is framed within the quantitative approach and mode of Feasible Project was held at the Francisco de Paula Santander, Northern Department of Santander (Colombia) University with populations of entrepreneurs, high school students, alumni and representatives of clusters different sectors of the region. The fundamental objective of the research is to design a proposed model to evaluate the social relevance in academic programs offered at the Francisco de Paula Santander (UFPS) University. Data collection was conducted through surveys, semi-structured interviews, panel, mathematician SWOT, using six sigma. The selection of indicators includes indices linking systems at national and international levels, and hierarchical multivariate analysis, principal components. The creation of the model followed different phases as a result of information analysis and includes diagnostics, measurement, analysis, improvement, monitoring and control, also contains models to analyze population projections to support decision-making. For the analysis and interpretation of information diagramming tools, capability studies, multivariate analyzes were used, analysis was carried out following model Rash through Item response theory, design of experiments and using triangulation as an element involved in obtaining multiple views of the research problem. The proposed model expected to sustain the role and social mission of the UFPS to offer knowledge producing, sharing and socializing in the innovation system in the formation of human capital for society and companies in the region. The model was validated through structural analysis.


Background: Covid-19 is a serious pandemic disease that spread throughout the World. It reported that people having high immunity defend this disease while low immunity die. This study reported the lifestyle and dietary habits of people who become victim of covid-19 to know people of which habits are more prone to the disease. Methodology: Questionnaire having questions related to lifestyle and dietary was directly filled during March to June 2020 under SOPs, 200 the covid-19 positive patients of each three main hospital of Province Punjab Pakistan, Mayo Hospital Lahore, Nishtar Hospital Multan, and Tayyab Urdagan Hospital Muzaffar Garh. Results: It reported that Covid-19 is more in the age 21-40 years (83.3%)people, more in men, more in people of having comorbidities and medical problems and patients having positive family history of COVID-19. 79.7% were fast food consumers. 18% patients consumed yogurt in daily food and 59.5% were smokers. Most of the patients were physically inactive (94%). Conclusion: Purpose of this study is to aware the people to change their life style and dietary habits so prepare their body to fight against Covid-19. This is the first report for the awareness of people in Pakistan.


In recent years, mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) have met an increasing commercial success and have become a fundamental element of the everyday life for billions of people all around the world. Mobile devices are used not only for traditional communication activities (e.g., voice calls and messages) but also for more advanced tasks made possible by an enormous amount of multi-purpose applications (e.g., finance, gaming, and shopping). As a result, those devices generate a significant network traffic (a consistent part of the overall Internet traffic). For this reason, the research community has been investigating security and privacy issues that are related to the network traffic generated by mobile devices, which could be analyzed to obtain information useful for a variety of goals (ranging from fine-grained user profiling to device security and network optimization). In this paper, we review the works that contributed to the state of the art of network traffic analysis targeting mobile devices. In particular, we present a systematic classification of the works in the literature according to three criteria: 1) the goal of the analysis; 2) the point where the network traffic is captured; and 3) the targeted mobile platforms. In this survey, we consider points of capturing such as Wi-Fi access points, software simulation, and inside real mobile devices or emulators. For the surveyed works, we review and compare analysis techniques, validation methods, and achieved results. We also discuss possible countermeasures, challenges, and possible directions for future research on mobile traffic analysis and other emerging domains (e.g., Internet of Things). We believe our survey will be a reference work for researchers and practitioners in this research field.


In most animals, primordial germ cells (PGCs) originate from an extragonadal region and migrate across the embryo to the gonads, where they differentiate and function. During their migration, PGCs move passively by morphogenetic movement of the embryo or move actively through signaling molecules. To uncover the underlying mechanism of first-phase PGC migration toward the germinal crescent in chickens, we investigated the spatial and temporal action of PGCs during primitive streak formation. Exogenously transplanted PGCs migrated toward the anterior region of the embryo and the embryonic gonads when they were transplanted into the subgerminal cavity, but not into the posterior marginal zone, in Eyal-Giladi and Kochav stage X embryos. These results indicate that for passive migration toward the anterior region the initial location of PGCs should be the central region. Notably, although PGCs and DF-1 cells migrated passively toward the anterior region, only PGCs migrated to the germinal crescent, where endogenous PGCs mainly reside, by active movement. In a live-imaging experiment with green fluorescence protein-expressing transgenic embryos, exogenous PGCs demonstrated markedly faster migration when they reached the anterior one-third of the embryo, while somatic cells showed epiblast movement with constant speed. Also, migrating PGCs exhibited successive contraction and expansion indicating their active migration. Our results suggest that chicken PGCs use sequential passive and active forces to migrate toward the germinal crescent.


A study was carried out on the relationship between the antiviral behaviour and changes in interferon (IFN) gene expression of virus-resistant cell mutants. Three virus-resistant L cell mutants were selected by mutagen-selection method. These mutant cell lines were found to show marked changes in their behaviour in both IFN induction and IFN action systems. An accelerated IFN induction response was observed in mutant cell cultures when they were exposed to NDV. Induced mutant cells synthesized IFN mRNA more quickly, and the IFN titers after induction with poly I:C were higher in mutant cell lines than those in the parent cell line. The virus-resistant L cell mutants appeared to be more sensitive to the anticell-division activity caused by ppp A2'p5'A2'p5'A. The results obtained suggest that changes in IFN gene expression may account for the antiviral behaviour of these cell mutants.


Viewed from a cosmic perspective, Earth is a dry planet yet its oceans are enriched in deuterium by a large factor relative to nebular hydrogen. Can comets have delivered Earth s water? The question of exogenous delivery of water and organics to Earth and other young planets is of critical importance for understanding the origin of Earth s water, and for assessing the possible existence of exo-planets similar to Earth. Strong gradients in temperature and chemistry in the proto-planetary disk, coupled with dynamical models, imply that comets from the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Disk reservoirs should have diverse composition. The primary volatiles in comets (ices native to the nucleus) provide the preferred metric, and taxonomies based on them are now beginning to emerge [1, 2, 3]. The measurement of cosmic parameters such as the nuclear spin temperatures for H2O, NH3, and CH4, and of enrichment factors for isotopologues (D/H in water and hydrogen cyanide, N-14/N-15 in CN and hydrogen cyanide) provide additional important tests for the origin of cometary material.


Some empirical and theoretical models of the emptying behaviour of the stomach are presented. The laws of Laplace, Hooke, and Poisseuille are used to derive a new model of gastric emptying. Published data on humans are used to test the model and evaluate empirical constants. It is shown that for meals with an initial volume of larger than or equal to 300 ml, the reciprocal of the cube root of the volume of meal remaining is proportional to the time the meal is in the stomach.For meals of initial volume of less than 300 ml the equation has to be corrected for the fact that the 'resting volume' of gastric contents is about 28 ml. The more exact formula is given in the text. As this model invokes no neural or hormonal factors, it is suggested that the gastric emptying response to the volume of a meal does not depend on these factors. The gastric emptying response to the composition of the meal does depend on such factors and a recent model of this process is used to evaluate an empirical constant.


New Caledonia is a French Overseas Territorywhose lit erary works do not take the "center stage" in Francophone literature. In particular, the Javanese diasporic community in this archipelago has received relatively little attention from researchers, with past studies largely focusing on Javanese indentured laborers in Suriname, instead. This research examined the autobiographical novels of two New Caledonian writers, Le rêve accompli de Bandung à Nouméa by Ama Bastien and L'écharpe et le kriss by Marc Bouan. These writers belong to the second generation of Javanese immigrants, whose parents came to New Caledonia at the beginning of the 20th century under the indentured laborer scheme. The analysis employed diasporic and cultural identity as its theoretical framework, along with Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek's comparative cultural studies method. The results explicate the way in which these novels embody the establishment of identity in the Javanese diaspora in New Caledonia. They also demonstrate how the contestation of identity and memory is inextricably linked to the problems of the Javanese diasporic communities. These findings should contribute to and encourage the further study of diasporic communities related to Southeast Asian indentured labor.


Background Platinum-based chemotherapy is the cornerstone of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapy. However, the molecular mechanisms and predictive markers of platinum chemoresistance have not been fully understood. Our recent study revealed that Jumonji domain containing 5 (JMJD5) expression in cells was elevated under DNA damage by alkylating agent or UV radiation, which suggests a potential role of JMJD5 in DNA damage related chemoresistance. However, the role of JMJD5 in NSCLC chemotherapy has not been reported. In this study, we demonstrated JMJD5 as a potential prognostic indicator in NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy. Methods JMJD5 protein expression level in tumor and adjacent normal tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. Samples were from primary NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy after surgical resection. Survival curves were presented by the Kaplan-Meier method and p value was acquired by log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was tested by Cox proportional-hazards regression method. Results Elevated JMJD5 expression was found in 27.2% cases of tumor tissues (22/81), and high JMJD5 expression were significantly associated with poor overall survival time (OS) [HR =2.881 (1.774–9.121), P=0.001] and progression-free survival time (PFS) [HR =2.255 (1.417–5.886), P=0.004] in NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy. In multivariate analyses, JMJD5 was proved to be an independent prognostic indictor for shorter OS [HR =2.339 (1.158–4.724), P=0.018] and PFS [HR =2.031 (1.095–3.767), P=0.025). Conclusions High JMJD5 expression indicated a worse prognosis in NSCLC patients who received platinum-based chemotherapy, and JMJD5 may serve as a novel predictive marker in NSCLC chemotherapy.


ADHD and ASD are both associated with social cognition and literacy deficits in childhood. Although ADHD and ASD are highly comorbid conditions, few studies have sought to examine to the role that co-occurring diagnoses has on these important life skills.
This thesis aimed to address this lack of research by first investigating the effect of ASD traits on reading comprehension performance in a large scale sample of children with ADHD, together with an examination of the full profile of literacy ability in ADHD. Results revealed that basic reading was an area of strength for some children with ADHD, while reading comprehension represented the largest literacy deficit. However, additional ASD trait severity was not shown to exacerbate this reading comprehension deficit.
Secondly, the effect of ASD symptoms on the social cognition abilities of adolescents with ADHD was investigated. Each social cognition ability (facial emotion recognition, empathy and theory of mind) were explored in turn with differing results. Social cognition was tested using behavioural tasks, and both FER and empathy were also examined using eye tracking technology. Results showed that ASD symptoms were not found to affect the facial emotion recognition ability of children with ADHD, or alter their eye looking patterns. However, ASD symptoms were shown to have a significant effect on cognitive empathy for fear, alongside reducing the amount of time children spent looking at the eyes and increasing the amount of time spent looking at the face of a character experiencing fear.
In the investigation of theory of mind, co-occurring conduct disorder symptoms were also investigated alongside ASD symptoms, as a gap in the literature was identified. Results showed that theory of mind was impaired in children with ADHD compared to controls, and that conduct disorder symptoms seemed to be driving this deficit. ASD symptoms, on the other hand, had no additional effect on performance.
Thirdly, the relationship between reading comprehension and social cognition was explored in relation to a sample of adolescents with ASD and typically developing peers. Participants with ASD were found to be impaired in reading comprehension, facial emotion recognition and cognitive empathy compared to controls. In addition, the association between ASD diagnosis and reading comprehension was shown to be mediated by cognitive empathy.
Taken together, these results provide a valuable insight into the dimensional overlap between ADHD and ASD, and suggest that practitioners should take co-occurring ASD and conduct disorder symptoms into account when choosing appropriate interventions for young people with ADHD. The findings from our ASD sample additionally indicate that interventions which focus on improving both reading comprehension and social cognition simultaneously could be viable, and should be considered for future implementation into schools to support the learning of individuals with ASD.


An ionospheric tomography reconstruction using Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) method has been successfully carried out recently. Data utilized on this work was a campaign-based Gnu-Radio Beacon Receiver (GRBR) observation in West Java during 8-10 November 2016 and 25-29 September 2017 data. Grid resolution of the tomography previously had been increased in the in the latitudinal (0.5o horizontal direction) and altitude (~25 km in vertical direction) scales. Although the quality of the tomography has also met a compatibility level through the correlation analysis (e.g. 85% of correlation coefficient), the computation result should be improved in order to get the best value of bias frequency (i.e. < 1 MHz). Through this opportunity, the result of the tomography within the grid resolution of 0.5o and ~25 km for the latitude and altitude respectively is presented.


Purpose During the transition from medical school to internship, trainees experience high levels of stress related to pages on the inpatient wards. The steep learning curve during this period may also affect patient safety. The authors piloted the use of simulated pages to improve medical student preparedness, decrease stress related to pages, and familiarize medical students with common patient problems. Method A multidisciplinary team at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine developed simulated pages that were tested among senior medical students. Sixteen medical students were presented with 11 common patient scenarios. Data on assessment, management, and global performance were collected. Mean confidence levels were evaluated pre- and postintervention. Students were also surveyed on how the simulated pages program influenced their perceived comfort in managing patient care needs and the usefulness of the exercise in preparing them to handle inpatient pages. Results Mean scores on the assessment and management portions of the scenarios varied widely depending on the scenario (range −15.6 ± 41.6 to 95.7 ± 9.5). Pass rates based on global performance ranged from 12% to 93%. Interrater agreement was high (mean kappa = 0.88). Students' confidence ratings on a six-point scale increased from 1.87 preintervention to 3.53 postintervention (P < .0001). Conclusions Simulated pages engage medical students and may foster medical student preparedness for internship. Students valued the opportunity to simulate "on call" responsibilities, and exposure to simulated pages significantly increased their confidence levels. Further studies are needed to determine effects on patient safety outcomes.


This letter proposes signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)-optimal spreading sequences for faster-than-Nyquist (FTN) transmission. The peculiar association of direct sequence spread spectrum with FTN proves relevant to mitigate noticeable cyclostationary features, leading up to covert communications schemes. Considering a matched-filter-based receiver, the proposed SNR-optimal spreading sequences and their closed-form approximations outperform traditional pseudo-random noise sequences by achieving near-interference-free bit-error-probability. Our results pave the way for the design of FTN-specific multiple access techniques while ensuring a low probability of detection/intercept.


The tongue is a vital human organ that needs to be checked before beginning a dental treatment, especially one in orthodontics or sleep apnea. The size of the tongue is an issue because there is not yet a clear definition of what a normal-sized tongue is. This leads to further problems in defining macroglossia. The current article aims to define macroglossia and bringforth more information about the two different types: pseudo macroglossia and true macroglossia. It further discusses treatment solutions available, such as partial glossectomies, coblation technique, and radiofrequency waves treatment.


This paper presents a fisher's criterion, Welch's criterion, and Bayes criterion for performing a discriminant analysis. These criteria estimates a linear discriminant analysis on two groups (or
regions) of contrived observations. The discriminant functions and classification rules for these criteria are also discussed. A linear discriminant analysis is performed in order to determine the
best criteria among Fisher's criterion, Welch's criterion and Bayes criterion by comparing their apparent error rate (APER). Any of these criteria with the least error rate is assumed to be the best criterion. After comparing their apparent error rate (APER), we observed that, the three criteria have the same confusion matrix and the same apparent error rate. Therefore we conclude that none of the three criteria is better than each other.

Key Words: Fisher's criterion, Welch's criterion, Bayes criterion and Apparent Error rate


e-Learning has revolutionized the way in which undergraduate medical education is delivered. One e-learning tool of note is the virtual patient (VP), a type of computer software that simulates real-life clinical scenarios, in which the learner emulates the role of health care provider to obtain the history, conduct examination, and make diagnoses and management decisions. VPs have been in use since 1993. Early designs were based on serial screen-cards of patient history, examination, investigations, diagnoses, treatment, and outcome, which the learner explored. With the development of web technology, VPs can now be accessed via the Internet and are more versatile, supporting different structural designs to suit a variety of learning objectives, and they can branch via different routes through a case. Using VPs has a number of advantages: 1) VPs improve access to learning material, 2) VPs help learners to acquire higher order cognitive skills like strategic thinking and decision making, 3) VPs provide a safe environment to practice, 4) VPs help to teach interdisciplinary care, and 5) VPs can be used instead of patients for examination. A number of well-known VP player systems are in use today: CASUS, CAMPUS, web-based Simulation of Patients, OpenLabyrinth, and vpSim. At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, we have also developed a web-based VP authoring and player system called Formative Assessment Case Studies (FACS), which is run by our Teaching and Learning Resources Centre. FACS has been integrated into Year-5 Anesthesia teaching since 2006. Three VP products have been developed: Anaesthesia FACS (six cases) that teaches preoperative assessment, Acute Pain Management FACS, and an eight-part longitudinal VP which tells the story of a patient's stay, and anesthesia care, for routine gynecological surgery. Students spend about 3 hours on each during a 2-week clinical attachment. Our VPs have been well received and have overcome problems of providing adequate clinical exposure.


This article aims to provide what lung disorders can be caused by liver cirrhosis and also explain the pathophysiology of each etiologies. Regardless of preexisting lung illness, patients suffering from liver cirrhosis, especially decompensated liver cirrhosis can develop distinct pulmonary complications. Liver cirrhosis patients should be assessed for hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH), hepatic hydrothorax (HH), and spontaneous bacterial empyema (SBEM) which are the most clinically significant pulmonary consequences, in particular when dyspnea develops in conjunction with hepatic cirrhosis. These entities differ in terms of pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and suitable treatment options. This emphasizes the need for a specific diagnostic algorithm in liver cirrhosis patients presenting with dyspnea or other pulmonary symptoms. These pulmonary complications might be rare in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension but these complications might carry significant morbidity and mortality risks and, therefore, strong clinical suspicion is required to make an early accurate diagnosis. There are several medical therapies available for each condition in multiple studies but most of the treatments and procedures don't have a significant benefit or have short-lived benefits. The only treatment that changes the clinical prognosis of decompensated cirrhosis effectively in the long term is liver transplantation. However, liver transplantation also needs careful consideration as in some cases it might increase the risk of morbidity and mortality.


Abstract. The synergic relationship between physiology, ecology, and evolutionary process makes the body-size distribution (BSD) an essential component of the community ecology. Body size is highly susceptible to environmental change, and extreme upheavals, such as during a mass extinction event, could exert drastic changes on a taxon's BSD. It has been hypothesized that the Late Triassic mass extinction event (LTE) was triggered by intense global warming, linked to massive volcanic activity associated with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. We test the effects of the LTE on the BSD of fossil bivalve assemblages from three study sites spanning the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in the United Kingdom. Our results show that the effects of the LTE were rapid and synchronous across sites, and the BSDs of the bivalves record drastic changes associated with species turnover. No phylogenetic signal of size selectivity was recorded, although semi-infaunal species were apparently most susceptible to change. Each size class had the same likelihood of extinction during the LTE, which resulted in a platykurtic BSD with negative skew. The immediate postextinction assemblage exhibits a leptokurtic BSD, although with negative skew, wherein surviving species and newly appearing small-sized colonizers exhibit body sizes near the modal size. Recovery was relatively rapid (∼100 kyr), and larger bivalves began to appear during the pre-Planorbis Zone, despite recurrent dysoxic/anoxic conditions. This study demonstrates how a mass extinction acts across the size spectrum in bivalves and shows how BSDs emerge from evolutionary and ecological processes.


Background: A hallmark signature of the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is abundantly infiltration of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which facilitate HNSCC progression. However, some clinical trials showed targeted CAFs ended in failure, even accelerated cancer progression. Therefore, comprehensive exploration of CAFs should solve the shortcoming and facilitate the CAFs targeted therapies for HNSCC. Methods: In this study, we identified two CAFs gene expression patterns and performed the single‐sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) to quantify the expression and construct score system. We used multi-methods to reveal the potential mechanisms of CAFs carcinogenesis progression. Finally, we integrated 10 machine learning algorithms and 107 algorithm combinations to construct most accurate and stable risk model. The machine learning algorithms contained random survival forest (RSF), elastic network (Enet), Lasso, Ridge, stepwise Cox, CoxBoost, partial least squares regression for Cox (plsRcox), supervised principal components (SuperPC), generalised boosted regression modelling (GBM), and survival support vector machine (survival-SVM). Results: There are two clusters present with distinct CAFs genes pattern. Compared to the low CafS group, the high CafS group was associated with significant immunosuppression, poor prognosis, and increased prospect of HPV negative. Patients with high CafS also underwent the abundant enrichment of carcinogenic signaling pathways such as angiogenesis, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and coagulation. The MDK and NAMPT ligand–receptor cellular crosstalk between the cancer associated fibroblasts and other cell clusters may mechanistically cause immune escape. Moreover, the random survival forest prognostic model that was developed from 107 machine learning algorithm combinations could most accurately classify HNSCC patients. Conclusion: We revealed that CAFs would cause the activation of some carcinogenesis pathways such as angiogenesis, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and coagulation and revealed unique possibilities to target glycolysis pathways to enhance CAFs targeted therapy. We developed an unprecedentedly stable and powerful risk score for assessing the prognosis. Our study contributes to the understanding of the CAFs microenvironment complexity in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and serves as a basis for future in-depth CAFs gene clinical exploration.


Cardiac transplantation has extended and improved the lives of patients suffering from severe heart failure over many decades. Despite advances in medical therapy, cardiac transplantation remains the definitive treatment for end-stage heart disease. Surgical techniques for organ procurement and implantation, development of appropriate methods for preserving the heart, and understanding the immunological challenges associated with transplantation were among the many areas which required focused investigation. In the current era, heart transplantation is associated with a low operative mortality and excellent long-term survival, however, the major obstacle of shortage of suitable donor organs remains. In the following chapter, recipient selection and management, donor organ procurement and preservation, and surgical techniques of heart transplantation are described in detail.


Context: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has both mechanical and proprioceptive (sensory) functions. Knee-joint proprioception has been assessed using either reproduction of position or threshold to detect passive motion in non-weight-bearing positions. It has been suggested that a more functional and dynamic/active assessment of proprioception might clarify the effects of injury and reconstruction on the proprioceptive function of ACL at the knee joint. Objective: To assess knee joint position sense (JPS) following ACL reconstruction in functional positions. Subjects: Twelve male patients who had undergone ACL reconstruction and 12 male healthy control subjects participated in the study. Methods and main outcome measures: JPS was evaluated by reproduction of the angles in weight-bearing position with limb movement into flexion and extension. The dominant knee of healthy subjects and both (reconstructed and uninjured) knees of the patients were tested. Absolute angular error was used as a dependent variable. Results: There was no significant difference between the operated and uninjured knees of patients or between patients and healthy controls (p⩾0.05). These results were measured during two tasks of limb movement into flexion and extension. Conclusion: We found no evidence of impaired JPS in weight-bearing positions in subjects with ACL reconstruction at a mean follow-up of 11 months after surgery compared with subjects with healthy knees.


This paper describes our work on the development of a large vocabulary continuous speech recognition system applied to a Broadcast News task for the European Portuguese language in the scope of the ALERT project. We start by presenting the baseline recogniser AUDIMUS, which was originally developed with a corpus of read newspaper text. This is a hybrid system that uses a combination of phone probabilities generated by several MLPs trained on distinct feature sets. The paper details the modifications introduced in this system, namely in the development of a new language model, the vocabulary and pronunciation lexicon and the training on new data from the ALERT BN corpus currently available. The system trained with this BN corpus achieved 18.4% WER when tested with the F0 focus condition (studio, planed, native, clean), and 35.2% when tested in all focus conditions.


Rationale: Issues have been reported with aromatase inhibitors (AI) compliance in adjuvant breast cancer. The present study was performed in order to better assess patient (pt) compliance, and to test whether educational material (EM) can improve compliance rate. Methods: This 2-year observational study (NCT00681122) was conducted on 2,758 patients in 18 countries, and completed in March 2009. Pts were allocated to Standard Therapy AI (anastrozole or letrozole), Group A, or to Standard Therapy + EM (Group B) following a 1:1 randomisation. EM consisted of a range of information on breast cancer-related topics. Primary endpoint was compliance rate for AI: patient is defined as being compliant if she took more than 80% of her tablets during the last year. Secondary endpoints were: persistence rate at 1 and 2 years (patient is classified as a persistent user of adjuvant AI medication when the data supports the persistent intake of adjuvant AI medication during the one-year period), and reasons for and time to AI discontinuation. Specialised questionnaires were used to evaluate pt compliance and behaviour (EORTC-INPATSAT-32, OPTIMA-X, GHQ-12, FACT-ES, compliance questionnaire and EM feedback in Group B).Results: 711 pts were randomised in France, 348 in Groupe A and 363 in Groupe B. Pt characteristics were well balanced across randomised arms. Mean age was 65 years, mean BMI was 26, 20% of pts had received hormone replacement therapy, and 68% had associated co-morbidities, including musculoskeletal disorders in 12%. Preliminary analysis showed that compliance rate at 1 year was only 74%, with no difference between the 2 groups (73% in Group A vs. 74% in Group B). Persistence rates were also similar (77% vs.78%). AI discontinuations were mainly attributed to AI related side effects. Prognostic factor analysis showed no baseline characteristics associated with compliance behaviours.Conclusion: At 1 year, Cariatide preliminary analysis showed that compliance rate of adjuvant AI in France does not exceed 74%, and is not improved by EM. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-11-06.


A great deal of research into the theory of random processes is concerned with the problem of constructing a process that has certain properties of regularity of the trajectories and has the same finite-dimensional probability distribution as a given stochastic process . It is a complicated theory and one that is difficult to apply to those properties that we most need for the study of Markov processes (the strict Markov property, standardization, and the like.) The problem can be usefully reformulated. In an actual experiment we do not observe the state at a fixed instant , but rather events that occupy certain time intervals. This is the motivation behind the Gel'fand-Ito theory of generalized random processes. Kolmogorov, in 1972, proposed an even more general concept of a stochastic process as a system of -algebras labelled by time intervals . Developing this approach, we introduce the concept of a Markov representation of the stochastic system and prove the existence of regular representations. We construct two dual regular representations (the right and the left), which we then combine into a single Markov process by two methods, the "vertical" and the "horizontal" method. We arrive at a general duality theory, which provides a natural framework for the fundamental results on entry and exit spaces, excessive measures and functions, additive functionals, and others. The initial steps in the construction of this theory were taken in [6]. The note [5] deals with applications to additive functionals (detailed proofs are in preparation). We consider random processes defined in measurable spaces without any topology: the introduction of a reasonable topology allows of a certain arbitrariness. The relation between our definitions of regularity and more traditional properties stated in topological terms (continuity from the right, the existence of a limit from the left, etc.) are considered in the Appendix, which is written by S. E. Kuznetsov.


The voice of patients indicated for surgical procedures in treating of dysphonia is already damaged before the operation. The problem, which exists at the level of glottis patients usually try to solve by compensative mechanisms. The quality of voice after the interventions in larynx depends on the type and width of resection, disturbance of physiological phonation mechanisms, and ability to establish optimal phonation automatism. The damage of laryngeal structure, especially its glottic part and vocal cords as its central part, no matter if they are just fibrous or they are partially or totally absent, leads into the development of substitutive phonation mechanisms. The most frequent substitutive mechanisms are: vestibular, ventricular, and chordoventricular phonation. There are some variations of these phonation mechanisms, which are conditioned not only by applied surgical technique, but as they are also individual characteristics, they can be the consequence of applied rehabilitation methods. The diagnosis of voice condition before and after the oncosurgical procedure is done by: laryngostroboscopy, subjective acoustic analysis of voice, and objective acoustic analysis of voice (sonography or computer analysis of acoustic signal). The most of laryngeal carcinomas appear in glottic region, so the function of phonation imposes itself as the objective parameter to measure the quality of life after the oncosurgery of larynx. That is the reason why according to the priority, it is just behind the principle of "oncologic radicalism". Phonation as the most complex laryngeal function seems to have secondary importance. All known operative techniques, especially partial resections, have the preservation of phonation as their goal.


In this paper, the effects of various compressor inlet air cooling methods to increase the performance of Shahid Hashemi-Nezhad gas turbines refinery were investigated. These methods included media, fogging, and absorption chillers as common inlet air cooling methods and pressure drop station as novel cooling method. By using the exergy, environmental, and economic analysis, the best method for compressor inlet air cooling was selected. Based on the results, the absorption chiller system had the highest compressor inlet air temperature drop and increased the thermal and exergy efficiencies of cycle by about 2.5 and 3%, respectively, in hot season. Using absorption chiller, pressure drop station, fogging, and media had further reduction in CO2 and CO than simple gas turbine, respectively. Finally based on the net present value and internal rate of return coefficients, the pressure drop station method is the most economically feasible option.


This paper presents novel texture based content based image retrieval(CBIR) methods using six assorted color spaces i.e RGB, LUV, YCgCb, YIQ, YCbCr, YUV. For extracting texture feature Vector Quantization (VQ) algorithms like Linde Buzo Gray(LBG), Kekre's Proportionate Error (KPE), Kekre's Error Vector Rotation (KEVR), Kekre's Median Codebook Generation (KMCG) and Kekre's Fast Codebook Generation (KFCG) algorithms are used. The codebook generated from these algorithms act as the feature vector for CBIR system. Seven different codebook sizes varying from 8x12 to 512x12 are generated in six color spaces and using five different VQ algorithms, so in all 210 (7x6x5) techniques are presented here. The proposed image retrieval techniques are tested on generic image database having 1000 images and is independent of the image size and rotation invariant. To test the performance of the proposed CBIR techniques Precision and Recall is used. From the results it is observed that KFCG gives best results with higher precision and recall values. Codebook size 128x12 gives best result in all codebook generation algorithms.


Using bibliographic records from the Social Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index, this paper tries to give a complete view of the evolution of the field of Scientometrics based on its literature published during 1980 to 2009. This is a descriptive survey using scientometric indicators. Findings revealed that out of 691 articles in the field of Scientometrics, a total number of 183 articles (26.48%) were written during 1980 to 2009 by the top ten authors. Some of these articles were produced in authors' collaboration and some of them were by single authors.   Geographical analysis indicated that the field had evolved considerably in different regions of the world. Hungarian Academy of Science with 40 records (5.71%) was the most productive institution in the field of Scientometrics. Furthermore, chronological analysis disclosed that the scientific production in the field of Scientometrics showed a slow increase from 1980 to 2009. The overwhelming majority of documents were in English, and the international journal of Scientometrics was the most prolific journal in the field. It has also been declared that 67.87% of the literature was published in the area of Library and Information Science.


Four new Philippine moss records and five additions for the Luzon moss flora are presented. Anomodontopsis rugelii (Müll. Hal.) Ignatov & Fedosov; Chaetmitrium horridulum Bosch & Sande Lac.; Chaetomitrium vrieseanum Bosch & Sande Lac.; and Dicranoloma deplanchei (Duby) Par. are new country moss records while Anomodon pseudotristis (Müll. Hal.) Kindb.; Bescherellia elegantissima Duby; Claopodium assurgens (Sull. & Lesq.) Cardot; Pseudoparaphysanthus moutieri (Broth. & Paris) S. Olsson, Enroth, Huttunen & D. Quandt and Racopilum magnirete E.B. Bartram are new additions to the Luzon moss flora. Anomodontopsis Ignatov & Fedosov is a new genus record for the Philippines. This report of new records for the Philippine and Luzon's moss flora has once again highlighted the importance of continued bryological studies in the archipelago. In this respect, field collecting in the country's intervening islands and understudied areas is still necessary to further improve of knowledge of Philippine moss flora.


The XUV spectra of free metal atoms obtained by absorption, photoion, photoelectron and two-photon spectroscopy are reviewed. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with the predictions of the different theoretical approaches. Emphasis is put on the basic excitation and de-excitation processes, the importance of electron correlation, on common features of groups and on trends along series.


When targeting small amplitude surface deformation, using repeat orbit Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations can be plagued by propagation delays, some of which correlate with topographic variations. These topographically‐correlated delays result from temporal variations in vertical stratification of the troposphere. An approximate model assuming a linear relationship between topography and interferometric phase has been used to correct observations with success in a few studies. Here, we present a robust approach to estimating the transfer function, K, between topography and phase that is relatively insensitive to confounding processes (earthquake deformation, phase ramps from orbital errors, tidal loading, etc.). Our approach takes advantage of a multiscale perspective by using a band‐pass decomposition of both topography and observed phase. This decomposition into several spatial scales allows us to determine the bands wherein correlation between topography and phase is significant and stable. When possible, our approach also takes advantage of any inherent redundancy provided by multiple interferograms constructed with common scenes. We define a unique set of component time intervals for a given suite of interferometric pairs. We estimate an internally consistent transfer function for each component time interval, which can then be recombined to correct any arbitrary interferometric pair. We demonstrate our approach on a synthetic example and on data from two locations: Long Valley Caldera, California, which experienced prolonged periods of surface deformation from pressurization of a deep magma chamber, and one coseismic interferogram from the 2007 Mw 7.8 Tocapilla earthquake in northern Chile. In both examples, the corrected interferograms show improvements in regions of high relief, independent of whether or not we pre‐correct the data for a source model. We believe that most of the remaining signals are predominately due to heterogeneous water vapor distribution that requires more sophisticated correction methods than those described here.


During the institutional revolution between 1870 and 1910 almost two dozen physics institutes were newly erected in Germany. The design of these buildings was largely determined by sets of precautions against various sorts of disturbances. These undertakings were by no means unique. Recent historical studies have identified similar attempts in physics institutes outside Germany. But as yet, hardly a word has been wasted on the necessity of these precautionary measures. It seems to be self-explanatory that disturbances should be precluded from scientific investigations. My paper criticizes this approach. The evidential nature of this assertion rests on the questionable assumption that disturbances are external factors, which hinder physical research. I examine the architecture of disturbance and show that it is the set of precautions itself which sometimes produces disturbing effects. I then focus on particular sources of disturbance that were taken into account in the design of the buildings, and analyze the aporias that characterize the external definition of disturbances. In conclusion, an alternative understanding of disturbances is offered. Following Michel Serres's concept of the parasite, I suggest that disturbances indicate the being of relation in physics research around 1900. From this point of view I finally sketch two novel features that governed the design of physics institutes after the turn of the century.


In embedded operating systems (OSes), non-functional properties like reliability, performance, or memory footprint are of special importance. State-of-the-art OS product lines focus on the configurability of functional characteristics of the system. This chapter proposes an approach that aims at also making non-functional properties indirectly configurable and maintainable by the system configurator. In order to reach this goal, the CiAO OS product line used here has configurable architectural properties, which have no functional influence on the target system, but instead bear an impact on its non-functional properties. Additionally, the chapter develops a feedback approach that gains information about the non-functional properties of an already configured system to assist further configuration decisions, and presents and details the CiAO approach and evaluates it using two case studies from the CiAO operating system. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-493-6.ch005


This communication presents the development of Delay Spread statistical models of the Wireless Body Area Network indoor channel taking into account parametrically the geometry and the material characteristics of the rooms within the framework of a scenario-based approach in the UWB (Ultra Wide Band) context. The study is performed in the 1st UWB sub- band B = [3.1, 4.8] GHz and restricted to the stationary (time- invariant) channel, the subject being motionless. The models are derived from statistical samples obtained thanks to a homemade simplified Ray-Tracing code. The trends of the simulations were compared to the behavior of the Delay Spread of the "classic" indoor channel observed in several experimental studies (for different frequency bands), which confirmed the reliability and consistency of our approach. The models extracted from a set made up of several categories of premises present a very satisfactory goodness of fit for the three considered radio links.


The paper describes a microcontroller based secured optical wireless communication system using laser and phototransistor. These days the usage of Wi-Fi has reached to every nook and corner of the world. There are some downsides belong to the usage of Wi-Fi such as those concerning to the speed, limited bandwidth, security and range of its usage. In order to overcome these hitches we can use the advanced version of Li-Fi which is efficient, high speed, and fully networked wireless communication. If light contains encrypted message then both privacy and prevention from unwanted access along with high data rate can be achievable from Li-Fi. A new encryption technique based on substitution of ASCII value of characters implemented and reliable data transmission carried out. The proposed encryption algorithm primarily follows Caesar Cipher WHEEL substitution, acts similarly with Caesar wheel device by rotating circularly and changes the ASCII value of original message according to predefined values and length of repetition. Encryption of data, transmission, reception and conversion to original message are implemented successfully using laser, phototransistor, microcontroller and associated devices. Microcontroller performs as overall controlling and processing unit.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Choriocarcinoma is an aggressive cancer that arises when the invasion of placental trophoblast cells into the endometrium becomes dysregulated. Trophoblast invasion is a complex phenomenon, dependent on cues that drive trophoblast invasion, as well as factors to ensure that placental invasion does not extend beyond the myometrium. Nodal, a member of the TGF-β superfamily, is expressed throughout the endometrium during the peri-implantation period and in invasive trophoblast cells. However, Nodal's exact role in placental function is unclear. Nodal signals by activating the ALK4/7, ActRIIB and Cripto-1 receptor complex and emerging evidence suggests that its signalling strength can be controlled at the level of receptor endocytosis into signaling endosomes. Two key regulators of receptor endocytosis and cell invasion are the α-arrestins, multifunctional scaffolding proteins and Ral GTPases, members of the Ras superfamily. Ral can bind to ActRIIB, and its activity can be regulated by Ras, as well as by α-arrestins, in a Ras-independent manner. We thus hypothesized that Nodal promotes trophoblast invasion via a α-arrestin/Ral-mediated pathway. The specific objectives of my study are to (i) determine the effects of Nodal on trophoblast invasion, (ii) elucidate a role for α-arrestin / Ral signaling in regulating Nodal-induced trophoblast invasion. We found that Nodal stimulates the invasion of both the non-malignant HTR-8SV/neo trophoblast and JAR choriocarcinoma cells using Matrigel-coated transwell chamber assays. Interestingly, we found that the JAR choriocarcinoma cells responded differently to Nodal in that while HTR-8SV/neo invasion returned to baseline levels, JAR choricocarcinoma cells continued to invade even at the higher concentrations of Nodal (100ng/mL & 500ng/mL). For this reason, we decided to look at potential differences in the regulation of Nodal-induced invasion between the non-malignant HTR-8SV/neo trophoblast and JAR choricoarcinoma cell lines. We found that the JAR choriocarcinoma cells differentially expressed Ral and α-arrestin proteins compared to the HTR-8SV/neo cells. Additonally, endogenous Ral and α-arrestins associate with the ALK4 and 7 receptors, and knockdown of these molecules impaired Nodal-induced invasion. Thus, our data reveal a novel function for Nodal in modulating trophoblast invasion via a α-arrestin/Ral signaling pathway.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3257. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3257


In trauma and orthopedic surgery, infection of implants has a major impact on the outcome for patients. Infections may develop either during the initial implantation or during the lifetime of an implant. Both infections, as well as aseptic loosening of the implant, are reasons for revision of the implants. Therefore, discrimination between aseptic-mechanical-loosening and septic-bacterial-loosening of implants is critical during selection of a patient-tailored treatment policy. Specific detection and visualization of infections is a challenge because it is difficult to discriminate infections from inflammation. An imaging tracer that facilitates bacterial identification in a pre- and intraoperative setting may aid the workup for patients suspicious of bacterial infections. In this study we evaluated an antimicrobial peptide conjugated to a hybrid label, which contains both a radioisotope and a fluorescent dye. After synthesis of DTPA-Cy5-UBI29-41 and-when necessary-radiolabeling with (111)In (yield 96.3 ± 2.7%), in vitro binding to various bacterial strains was evaluated using radioactivity counting and confocal fluorescence microscopy. Intramuscular bacterial infections (S. aureus or K. pneumoniae) were also visualized in vivo using a combined nuclear and fluorescence imaging system. The indium-111 was chosen as label as it has a well-defined coordination chemistry, and in pilot studies labeling DTPA-Cy5-UBI29-41 with technetium-99m, we encountered damage to the Cy5 dye after the reduction with SnCl2. As a reference, we used the validated tracer (99m)Tc-UBI29-41. Fast renal excretion of (111)In-DTPA-Cy5-UBI29-41 was observed. Target to nontarget (T/NT) ratios were highest at 2 h post injection: radioactivity counting yielded T/NT ratios of 2.82 ± 0.32 for S. aureus and 2.37 ± 0.05 for K. pneumoniae. Comparable T/NT ratios with fluorescence imaging of 2.38 ± 0.09 for S. aureus and 3.55 ± 0.31 for K. pneumoniae were calculated. Ex vivo confocal microscopy of excised infected tissues showed specific binding of the tracer to bacteria. Using a combination of nuclear and fluorescence imaging techniques, the hybrid antimicrobial peptide conjugate DTPA-Cy5-UBI29-41 was shown to specifically accumulate in bacterial infections. This hybrid tracer may facilitate integration of noninvasive identification of infections and their extent as well as real-time fluorescence guidance during surgical resection of infected areas.


This study aims to identify the effect of listening to the Holy Qur'an on some psychological and physical variables among practitioners of yoga exercises among Al Ain University students. Where the study population consisted of male and female students of the Physical Health course in the first semester of the academic year 2020/2021, and the study sample was chosen by the deliberate method as it consisted of (80) students from the original study community, and in one experimental group to achieve the study objectives and its questions, where psychological measurements (mood, focusing attention) were performed during the practice of yoga exercises before and after listening to the Holy Qur'an and after performing a constant intensity (below the maximum) for the sample members, and the physical variables (heart rate ,muscle relaxation and flexibility) for all members of the study sample before and after listening to the Qur'an, the pulse was also measured, as the experiment was repeated a week after with listening to the Qur'an while performing yoga exercises, where the researchers used a headset connected to a personal phone and a smartwatch to calculate the intensity of the pulse individually for each player to listen to the Holy Qur'an. After collecting the data and using the necessary statistical treatments, the results of the study showed a clear improvement in the psychological and physical variables of the study sample during listening to the Holy Quran, and in light of the results, the researchers recommended that they prefer the use of listening to the Holy Qur'an while practicing yoga exercises, and in training sessions, especially curative ones, as well as conducting similar studies for players who show signs of anxiety before competition and after training for the purpose of recovery and calming down, and applying the study to different categories of athletes and in some sports.

Received: 4 March 2021 / Accepted: 6 May 2021 / Published: 8 July 2021


We demonstrate unrepeatered transmission of 8x128Gb/s PDM-QPSK signals over a 515k-m fiber link. This ultra-long distance of 800 Gb/s unrepeatered transmission in a single fiber configuration is achieved by employing enabling techniques such as large-effective-area ultra-low-attenuation fibers, co-propagating and counter-propagating 2nd-order-pumped distributed Raman amplification, and remote optically pumped amplifier (ROPA). The ROPA itself is also counter-propagating 2nd-order Raman pumped. The designs and characteristics of the ROPA and 2nd-order pumped distributed Raman amplification are described, and optimization of the transmission performance of this ultra-long reach 800Gb/s unrepeatered transmission fiber link is discussed in this paper.


Background: Infections are readily transmitted as a result of bacterial contamination of swimming pools. Therefore, hygiene and preventing the contamination of swimming pools is of particular importance. The objective of this study was to determine the amount of bacterial contamination in indoor pools of Yazd in 2013.
Methods: In this descriptive and analytical study, all indoor swimming pools of Yazd (12 pools) were evaluated during the spring and summer of 2013, in terms of bacterial contamination. In order to determine contamination, a sterile cotton swab was used for sampling. On average, 45 samples were taken from different surfaces in each pool (shower, dressing room, sitting places in sauna, platforms and around the pool). In total, about 540 samples from all pools were tested for bacterial contamination.
Results: The results show that from 540 samples, bacterial contamination was observed in about 93 samples (17.22%); and was seen more in showers, edges of the pool and jacuzzis, and the slippers used in swimming pools. The most important isolated bacteria types were E. coli, Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas alcaligenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia.
Conclusion: The results indicate the presence of bacterial contamination on the surface of these places. It is recommended that health authorities should pay more attention to cleaning and disinfecting surfaces around the pool, showers, dressing rooms etc, to prevent infectious disease transfer as a result of contact with contaminated swimming pool surfaces.


During the fall of 2010 a marketing survey was conducted by Taylor University as part of the NSF CCLI award #1047557. The High Altitude Balloon Research Survey and Report were designed to accelerate learning concerning High Altitude Ballooning at educational institutions. The survey was sent to two and four year colleges in the United States and its territories and analysis was done at Taylor University in January 2011. The undergraduate institutions indicated that hands-on activities are a valued asset to any learning experience. Survey findings however, pointed to the lack of knowledge regarding near space opportunities and the role high altitude ballooning can have as a hands-on learning tool. Next steps to improving the level of knowledge and expanding the use of high altitude ballooning in undergraduate curriculums include broader dissemination of knowledge beyond the discipline specific journals and traditional fields of study.


A mathematical sensitivity analysis of the flow-through dynamic flux chamber technique, which has been utilized usually for various trace gas flux measurement from soil and water surface, was performed in an effort to provide physical and mathematical understandings of parameters essential for the NO flux calculation. The mass balance equation including chemical reactions was analytically solved for the soil NO flux under the steady state condition. The equilibrium concentration inside the chamber, Ceq, was found to be determined mainly by the balance between the soil flux and dilution of the gas concentration inside the chamber by introducing the ambient air. Surface deposition NO occurs inside the chamber when the Ceq is greater than the ambient NO concentration (C。) introducing to the chamber; NO emission from the soil occurs when the Ceq is less than the ambient NO concentration. A sensitivity analysis of the significance of the chemical reactions of NO with the reactive species (i.e. HO₂, CH₃O₂, O₃) on the NO flux from soils was performed. The result of the analysis suggests that he NO flux calculated in the absence of chemical reactions and wall loss could be in error ranges from 40 to 85% to the total flux.


Background: Some studies suggested that miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism was associated with the risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). However, the results were still unclear. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis.
Method: An electronic literature search was conducted using the following database: PubMed, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) till to June 2017. The strength of association was investigated by pooling Odds Ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95% Confidence Interval (CI).
Results: In total, four studies with 2642 cases and 2260 controls were included in this meta-analysis. MiR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of CAD (OR=1.30; 95% CI, 1.00-1.69). In the race subgroup analysis, Asians with miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism did not show increased CAD risk (OR=1.25; 95%CI, 0.89-1.76). In the subgroup analysis according to source of control, hospital-based studied showed significantly association (OR=1.44; 95% CI, 1.11-1.86).
Conclusion: In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggests that miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism was associated with CAD risk.


Pleomorphic (giant cell) carcinomas have been described in the lungs, thyroid, pancreas, and gallbladder. Two pleomorphic carcinomas of the small bowel and two of the large bowel are presented. On light microscopic study, the carcinomas were solid, without squamous or glandular differentiation. The tumors were composed of the following three cell types: gemistocytic (giant) cells, smaller polygonal cells, and spindle cells, with identical immunohistochemical reactions. A panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies was applied. All tumors were found to coexpress keratin and vimentin. A positive reaction for neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) was found in three tumors and a positive reaction for chromogranin was found in one tumor. On electron microscopic study, intracytoplasmic whorls of intermediate filaments were seen in the perinuclear area. Dense core "neurosecretory" granules were rarely seen. Intestinal pleomorphic carcinomas are histologically identical to pulmonary giant cell carcinomas. The prognosis is poor due to early tumor spread, with only a few months of postoperative survival. The pleomorphic carcinomas have some of the differentiation characteristics of carcinoid tumors and are best regarded as poorly differentiated variants of neuroendocrine carcinomas. Cancer 64:2557–2564, 1989.


Serious overloaded transportation phenomenon exists generally in China. There are some advanced apparatus to test overload. The WIM weighing apparatus is one of them. Overload causes tremendous threat to road traffic. Current situation of overloaded and its influence on road are analyzed. Proposals are presented about how to reduce road surface damage caused by overloaded transportation. Keywords-Overloaded transportation; Test apparatus; Influence; Road traffic


Indirect calorimetry (IC) is considered the gold standard for measuring resting energy expenditure (REE). This review presents an overview of the different techniques to assess REE with special regard to the use of IC in critically ill patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), as well as to the sensors used in commercially available indirect calorimeters. The theoretical and technical aspects of IC in spontaneously breathing subjects and critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation and/or ECMO are covered and a critical review and comparison of the different techniques and sensors is provided. This review also aims to accurately present the physical quantities and mathematical concepts regarding IC to reduce errors and promote consistency in further research. By studying IC on ECMO from an engineering point of view rather than a medical point of view, new problem definitions come into play to further advance these techniques.


Due to anthropogenic impacts generated by colonial and neocapitalist cultures, the world is now moving on accelerating trajectories toward dystopian futures. Education, traditionally engineered as an instrument of cultural reproduction, now urgently needs to adopt a leadership role for cultural transformation to generate a sustainable future. To fulfil this role, the aims, objectives, and practices of education must be strategically revisited. Here, in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, the overbearing role of the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) assessment culture in secondary schools is critiqued for its territorialising impact on educational content and praxis and the stifling of teacher-led innovation. Based on the author's own experience and research with secondary-school teachers, a call is made for the deterritorialisation of assessment culture with the aim to liberate and instrumentalise student and teacher agency to promote humanity's search for Deleuze's new Earth and new peoples.


Network of workstation (NOW) is a cost-effective alternative to massively parallel su-percomputers. As commercially available off-the-shelf processors become cheaper and faster, it is now possible to build a PC or workstation cluster that provides high computing power within a limited budget. However, a cluster may consist of different types of processors and this heterogeneity within a cluster complicates the design of efficient collective communication protocols. This paper shows that a simple heuristic called fastest-node-first (FNF) [3] is very effective in reducing broadcast time for heterogeneous cluster systems. Despite the fact that FNF heuristic fails to give the optimal broadcast time for a general heterogeneous network of workstation, we prove that FNF always gives the optimal broadcast time in several special cases of clusters. Based on these special case results, we show that FNF is an approximation algorithm that guarantees a competitive ratio of 2. From these theoretical results we also derive techniques to speed up the branch-and-bound search for the optimal broadcast schedule in HNOW.


Introduction: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are major risk factors for suicidal death, and sleep problems are associated with an increased risk for mental disorders. We investigated the relationship between sleep duration and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a representative sample of the Korean general population from a nationwide survey. Methods: We analyzed data collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI and VII (2013–2018). Suicidal ideation was identified via self-report, and we accessed suicide attempt history. Sleep duration was divided into three categories: short sleep duration (SSD) (≤5 h), normal sleep duration (NSD) (>5 and <9 h), and long sleep duration (LSD) (≥9 h). Sampling weights were applied to obtain estimates for the general Korean population. Results: Overall, 4015 (12.0%), 25,609 (76.5%), and 3857 (11.5%) participants were in the SSD, NSD, and LSD groups, respectively. Among these groups, 7.2%, 2.8%, and 3.3% reported suicidal ideation; while 1.2%, 0.4%, and 0.7% reported a history of suicide attempts. Multiple regression analyses revealed that SSD was significantly more strongly associated with suicidal ideation (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.46, p < 0.001) and attempts (AOR 2.05, p = 0.003) than NSD. No association was found between LSD and suicidal ideation/attempts. Conclusion: Sleep duration is significantly associated with suicidal behavior, and SSD was particularly closely related with an increased risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. Clinicians should carefully consider sleep duration in suicidal patients.


Implementing IPv6 in modern client/server operating systems (OS) will have drawbacks of lower throughput as a result of its larger address space. In this paper we quantify the performance degradation of IPv6 for TCP when implementing in modern MS Windows and Linux operating systems (OSs). We consider Windows Server 2008 and Red Hat Enterprise Server 5.5 in the study. We measure TCP throughput and round trip time (RTT) using a customized testbed setting and record the results by observing OS kernel reactions. Our findings reported in this paper provide some insights into IPv6 performance with respect to the impact of modern Windows and Linux OS on system performance. This study may help network researchers and engineers in selecting better OS in the deployment of IPv6 on corporate networks.


Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respira tory ducts caused by genetic and environmental fact ors. Free radicals play a role in pathogenesis of asthma on o ne hand and antioxidants, which are comprised of ra rely found ingredients such as selenium and zinc, act as defen s factors against negative effects of radicals on the other hand. Knowing that asthma increases oxidative stress it i assumed that selenium plays a key role in asthma pathogenesis. Relationship between prevalence/severity of asthma and selenium level has been proven by empirical fin dings of studies on some of the human studies. All the asthm tic children who referred to pediatric clinic of K horramabad Shahid Madani Hospital, Iran constituted the study population of the present analytical cross-sectiona l study. 65 asthmatic and 65 healthy children were selected as experiment and control groups. Variables such as: a ge, gender, domicile, exposure to cigarette smock, number of fa mily members, history of asthma and allergy in the family, and type of feeding during infancy were surveyed by a q uestionnaire. In addition, blood samples were colle cted to measure selenium level. The experiment group was co mprised of 40 boys and 25 girls and these figures i n the control group were 36 and 29 respectively. 8% of gi rls and 5% of boys in the asthma group had selenium deficiency However; Fisher's test showed that the difference w as not significant. Among the asthmatic children fr om rural areas, 12.9% had selenium deficiency and no such de ficiency was observed among children from urban are as. Therefore, there was significant relationship betwe en selenium deficiency and domicile of asthmatic ch ldren (p = 0.031). In addition, no significant difference was observed regarding serum level of selenium of asthm a ic children based on number of family members, asthma, family h istory of asthma and allergy, type of infancy nutri tion, and exposure to cigarette. Deficiency of selenium was o b erved in 2.6% and 1.3% of asthmatic and healthy c hildren respectively, which indicated no significant differ ence. There was no significant difference between a sthmatic and healthy children in Khoramabad city regarding serum level of selenium. Therefore, there is no need for selenium supplements for asthmatic children.


In Sweden the overall life satisfaction trajectory between ages 22 and 40 is slightly hill-shaped and dominated by life transitions, especially those relating to one's family situation. Among persons in their twenties, partnership formation and birth of a child typically lead to a slight increase in overall satisfaction with life. Between ages 30 and 40 average life satisfaction declines, chiefly due to the increasing strains of family life and the breakup of couples. These strains are evident in data relating to specific aspects of family life. After age 30 satisfaction with one's partner declines, and so does satisfaction with both one's mother and father. Also, despite rising income, satisfaction with one's economic situation lessens. Considered as a whole, the evidence suggests that even in a welfare state the strains on young adults of balancing work and family life are substantial. The analysis is based on panel data, 1999–2009, that focus especially on family life.


1D spin-1/2 Fermi gas with a self-interaction allows a non-perturbative solution. Using the algebraic Bethe ansatz approach eigenvectors and spectrum of the system can be written. Computation of the observables, such as transport coefficients,  however still very complicated problem. The first problem, studied in this thesis, is a calculation of the form factors of the monodromy matrix, that can be used for the computation of form factor of the ultralocal operators. The correlation functions can be expressed via a form factors series. In order to perform summation of this infinity series the numerical algorithm that allows to scan the basis of the eigenstates and choose only the important contributions to the from factor sum was developed. The developed approach allows to study system at zero-temperature and can be generalised for a similar model of Bose gas and lattice supersymmetric t-J system of electron gas.


Through the adoption of 'International VAT/GST Guidelines', the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has taken up the ambitious challenge of prompting international consensus on how Value Added Tax (VAT)/GST systems should be designed and implemented with the aim of reducing the risks of double taxation and unintended non-taxation created by inconsistencies in the application of VAT/GST systems to cross-border trade in goods, services and intangibles. In 2014 and 2015, more than 100 countries endorsed several chapters of these guidelines, which concern basic neutrality principles and place of taxation and collection rules for supplies of services and intangibles (thus leaving supplies of goods aside for the moment). This article retraces the context in which the International VAT/GST Guidelines started developing and provides for a detailed and critical analysis of the recently adopted chapters.


approach (less than $20 for each additional child who received immunization) are small compared with the costs of a major epidemic of measles. David A. Jeffs, FRACMA Wendy A. Wenzel, MA IIIawarra Area Health Service Illawarra Child Development Centre Porter Street, North Wollongong, NSW 2500 l. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Children's Immunization Survey, Australia 1983. Canberra: ARS, 1985. (Catologue number 4352.0.) 2. Martin DA, Flemming SJ. Flemming TG, Scott DC, An evaluation of immunization status of white children in Kentucky County. Publ Health Rep 1969; 84: 605-610. 3. O'Flaherty S, Golomb M, Janolan E, et al. Immunization compliance; an evaluation of computer assisted reminder scheme in Western Sydney. Sydney: Research Department, Western Metropolitan Health Region, NSW, 1982. 4. Roder D. Immunization status of South Australian children by socioeconomic status and ethnicity, Community Health Stud 1982; 6: 19-24. 5. Recommendations. In: Thomson N, ed. Proceedings of the First National Conference on Immunization in Australia, Canberra, July 20-21, 1987.Canberra: Public Health Association, 1988:2. 6. Lentini G, Heseltine P, Amling J, et al. Measles Los Angeles County, California, 1988. MMWR 1989; 38: 49-57.


We investigate the interactions between two symmetric monovacancy defects in graphene grown on Ru (0001) after silicon intercalation by combining first-principles calculations with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). First-principles calculations based on free-standing graphene show that the interaction is weak and no scattering pattern is observed when the two vacancies are located in the same sublattice of graphene, no matter how close they are, except that they are next to each other. For the two vacancies in different sublattices of graphene, the interaction strongly influences the scattering and new patterns' emerge, which are determined by the distance between two vacancies. Further experiments on silicon intercalated graphene epitaxially grown on Ru (0001) shows that the experiment results are consistent with the simulated STM images based on free-standing graphene, suggesting that a single layer of silicon is good enough to decouple the strong interaction between graphene and the Ru (0001) substrate.


The high theoretical capacity of vanadium oxides makes them promising cathode candidates for the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Nevertheless, the relatively poor electrical conductivity and capacity retention hinder the practical application and have to be overcome urgently for the increasing demand for storage technologies. Herein, a new BRG system composed of bimetallic oxide/rhodamine B (RB)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was prepared through the facile self-sacrificing template of the precursor polyoxometalate (POM) composites POMs/RB/RGO (PRG). RB not only acts as a cationic mediator to facilitate the loading of POMs on graphene for conversion to oxides but also promotes the formation of uniform nanorods on the RGO. The prepared composite FeV3O8-RB/RGO-1 as the cathode exhibits superior cycling stability (specific capacity of 225 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1) and elastic rate capabilities for LIBs. What is more, the new PRG precursor provides versatile possibilities for the design of oxide composites from the self-sacrificing template of POMs-based composites with abundant architectural designs and compositions for the energy storage system.


The current stepwise refinement operation of Petri nets mainly concentrates on property preservation, which is an effective way to analyze and verify complex systems. Further steps into this field are needed from the perspective of system synthesis and language preservation. First, the refinement of Petri nets is introduced based on a k-well-behaved Petri net, in which k tokens can be processed. Then, according to the different compositions of subsystems, well-, under- and overmatched refined Petri nets are proposed. In addition, the language and property relationships among sub-, original, and refined nets are studied to demonstrate behavior characteristics and property preservation in a system synthesis process. A manufacturing system is given as an example to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in synthesizing and analyzing the Petri nets of complex systems.


Mass mortality among migratory birds at Grand Forks, North Dakota, was attributed to a mosquito control operation employing the insecticide fenthion. The factors involved may have included the toxicity of the pesticide for birds, the method of application and coincidence with the peak of the spring warbler migration.


The Mind/Body Problem (M/BP) is about causation not correlation. And its solution (if there is one) will require a
mechanism in which the mental component somehow manages to play a causal role of its own, rather than just
supervening superflously on other, nonmental components that look, for all the world, as if they can do the full causal job
perfectly well without it. Correlations confirm that M does indeed "supervene" on B, but causality
is needed to show how/why M is not supererogatory; and that's the hard part.


Functional hepatocytes are needed for drug screening and chemical-safety testing, and primary hepatocytes are commonly used, despite problems involving donor limitations, lot-to-lot variation, and unsatisfactory two-dimensional culture methods. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) might be a strong contender to address the aforementioned issues; however, there remain technological challenges involving the robust, highly efficient production of high-purity hepatic clusters. Here, we developed a method to accurately control hepatic differentiation by first inhibiting the phosphoinositide 3-kinase- and Rho-associated protein kinase-signaling pathways to stop self-renewal and improve survival, respectively, which enabled formation of a well-defined endoderm and facilitated hepatocyte commitments. Additionally, we optimized hepatic induction and differentiation of hPSCs by adjusting step-by-step timing and used a microfluidic device to create a three-dimensional (3D) culture environment that enhanced the maturation and function of hepatocyte-like cells by increasing the expression of both hepatic maturation markers and cytochrome P450. Furthermore, we confirmed improvements in drug uptake/excretion capabilities in >90% of 3D-maturated hepatocyte-like cells by indocyanin green assay. Our results indicated that this approach for generating 3D microscale hepatocytes could enhance the processes involved in drug screening and chemical-safety testing.


In a multi-domains application environment, where distributed multiple organizations interoperate with each other, the local access control policies should correspondingly be integrated in order to allow users of one organization to interact with other domains. One of the key challenges of integrating policies is conflict detection and resolution while preserving policy consistency. This paper addresses several types of potential conflicts and consistency properties with a systematic and rigorous approach. In the approach, graph theory, network flow technology and colored Petri nets are applied for specifying and verifying a secure interoperation design. The component-based integration of policies is applicable for both static and dynamic multi-domains environments.


Weighting methods that adjust for observed covariates, such as inverse probability weighting, are widely used for causal inference and estimation with incomplete outcome data. These methods are appealingly interpretable: we observe an outcome of interest on one `observation' sample and wish to know its average over another `target' sample, so we weight the observation sample so it looks like the target and calculate the weighted average outcome. In this paper, we discuss a minimax linear estimator for this retargeted mean estimation problem. It is a weighting estimator that optimizes for similarity, as stochastic processes acting on a class of smooth functions, between the empirical measure of the covariates on the weighted observation sample and that on the target sample. This approach generalizes methods that optimize for similarity of the covariate means or marginal distributions, which correspond to taking this class of functions to be linear or additive respectively. Focusing on the case that this class is the unit ball of a reproducing kernel Hilbert space, we show that the minimax linear estimator is semiparametrically efficient under weak conditions; establish bounds attesting to the estimator's good finite sample properties; and observe promising performance on simulated data throughout a wide range of sample sizes, noise levels, and levels of overlap between the covariate distributions for the observation and target samples.


This study is the first work that compares rodent communities in a deciduous forest in Mexico. It documents differences between sites experiencing different degrees of disturbance caused by firewood and lumber extraction, and cattle grazing; a relatively undisturbed site (Site 1) and another more disturbed site (Site 2) in southeastern Morelos State. In each site we captured six species of rodents. Though habitat disturbance did not modify diversity or evenness of rodent species, the total number of individuals captured in Site 1 (n = 319) was greater than in Site 2 (n = 90). Effects of habitat fragmentation were expressed in significant differences in population density, age structure and microhabitat preference between two sites for Baiomys musculus, Peromyscus levipes and P. melanophrys. The disturbance of deciduous forest appears to be the principal factor explaining differences in demographic parameters of rodent species between the two study sites, as these two sites have the same climate, similar soils, and topography which