We present a noise robust deep learning based aberration analysis method using 2-step phase shift measurement data. We first propose a realistic aberration pattern generation method to synthesize a sufficient amount of real-world-like aberration patterns for training a deep neural network by exploiting the asymptotic statistical distribution parameters of the real-world Zernike coefficients extracted from a finite number of experimentally measured real-world aberration patterns. As a result, we generate a real-world-like synthetic dataset of 200,000 different aberrations from 15 sets of real-world aberration patterns obtained by a Michelson interferometer under a variety of measurement conditions using the 4-step derivative fitting method together with the exploitation of the Gaussian density estimation. We then train the deep neural network with the real-world-like synthetic dataset, using two types of network architectures, GoogLeNet and ResNet101. By applying the proposed learning based 2-step aberration analysis method to the analysis of numerically generated aberrations formed under 100 different conditions, we verify that the proposed 2-step method can clearly outperform the existing 4-step iterative methods based on 4-step measurements, including the derivative fitting, transport of intensity equation (TIE), and robust TIE methods, in terms of noise robustness, root mean square error (RMSE), and inference time. By applying the proposed 2-step method to the analysis of the real-world aberrations experimentally obtained under a variety of measurement conditions, we also verify that the proposed 2-step method achieves compatible performance in terms of the RMSE between the reconstructed and measured aberration patterns, and also exhibits qualitative superiority in terms of reconstructing more realistic fringe patterns and phase distributions compared to the existing 4-step iterative methods. Since the proposed 2-step method can be extended to an even more general analysis of aberrations of any higher order, we expect that it will be able to provide a practical way for comprehensive aberration analysis and that further studies will extend its usefulness and improve its operational performance in terms of algorithm compactness, noise robustness, and computational speed.


INTRODUCTION
Patients with asthma-like symptoms pose a diagnostic dilemma when physical examination is normal. The usual practice in Malaysia would be to give empirical asthma treatment. Bronchial challenge test (BCT) is widely used in many countries to diagnose asthma objectively but it is not widely available in Malaysia.

OBJECTIVE
To describe our experience with BCT using methacholine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a supporting tool in the investigation of patients with asthma-like symptoms.

METHODOLOGY
Review of case notes of patients who underwent BCT from July 2008 till April 2009. BCT was performed via dosimeter technique. Results were classified as high hyper responsiveness if the provocative dose of methacholine required to achieve 20% fall in FEV1 (PD20) was less than or equal to 0.125 micromol, moderate hyper responsiveness if PD20 was between 0.125 to 1.99 micromol or mild hyper responsiveness if PD20 was between 2.00 to 6.6 micromol. PD20 of more than 6.6 micromol constitutes a negative MCT.

RESULTS
29 patients had BCT during the study period. 19 cases were included in this review. The age ranged from 13 to 70 years old. There were 12 males and 7 females. Duration of symptoms ranged from 2 weeks to 23 years. BCT was positive (mild or moderate hyper responsiveness) in 10 out of 19 patients. No patient had high bronchial hyper responsiveness.

CONCLUSIONS
BCT is a useful adjunctive tool in the investigation of patients presenting with asthma-like symptoms. This test obviates empirical asthma treatment. BCT should be made available in all major hospitals in Malaysia.


Abstract. The main objective of this study was evaluation and mapping of an average rate of phenological changes for example special plant s indicators as a result of climatic changes in Poland. Multi-year analysis clearly showed a tendency to earlier onset of spring events. The average advance of flowering/leafing was −1.4 days/decade and −2.4 days/1°C. Whereas the response of autumn phenophases was ambiguous. Phenological and climate data come from archives of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Analysis covered the period of 1951–1992. The relation between temperature and date of phenophases was described with Pearson's linear regression model. Statistical significance of the model parameters was checked with Student's t-test at the following levels: 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001. The results were visualised on maps. ArcGIS 9.2 Geostatistical Analyst was used to examine the data and create prediction maps. Numerous tests were performed in order to find an appropriate method of spatial interpolation. Finally kriging was chosen as the most precise.


Different questions lead to the same class of functions from natural integers to integers: those which have integral difference ratios, i.e. verifying f(a) - f(b) ≡ 0 (mod (a - b)) for all a > b. We characterize this class of functions via their representations as Newton series. This class, which obviously contains all polynomials with integral coefficients, also contains unexpected functions, for instance, all functions x ↦ ⌊e1/a ax x!⌋, with a ∈ ℤ\{0, 1}, and a function equal to ⌊e x!⌋ except on 0. Finally, to study the complement class, we look at functions ℕ → ℝ which are not uniformly close to any function having integral difference ratios.


Aim This study investigated the association between nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods This study retrospectively collected medical data of T2DM patients who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and nerve conduction study at the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China. The primary outcome was the total hip BMD T-score. The main independent variables were motor nerve conduction velocities (MCVs), sensory nerve conduction velocities (SCVs), and composite Z-scores of MCV and SCV. T2DM patients were divided into total hip BMD T-scores < -1 and total hip BMD T-scores ≥ -1 groups. The association between the primary outcome and main independent variables was evaluated by Pearson bivariate correlation and multivariate linear regression. Results 195 female and 415 male patients with T2DM were identified. In male patients with T2DM, bilateral ulnar, median, and tibial MCVs and bilateral sural SCVs were lower in the total hip BMD T-score < -1 group than T-score ≥ -1 group (P < 0.05). Bilateral ulnar, median, and tibial MCVs, and bilateral sural SCVs showed positive correlations with total hip BMD T-score in male patients with T2DM (P < 0.05). Bilateral ulnar and tibial MCVs, bilateral sural SCVs, and composite MCV SCV and MSCV Z-scores were independently and positively associated with total hip BMD T-score in male patients with T2DM, respectively (P < 0.05). NCV did not show significant correlation with the total hip BMD T-score in female patients with T2DM. Conclusion NCV showed positive association with total hip BMD in male patients with T2DM. A decline in NCV indicates an elevated risk of low BMD (osteopenia/osteoporosis) in male patients with T2DM.


Introduction. The mango mealybug Rastrococcus invadens is a pest of horticultural crops, especially mango. Though this fact has been demonstrated and its parasitoid, Gyranusoidea tebygi , released for its control in many countries, quantitative information on the damage inflicted by the mealybug and post-release mango fruit production are still scanty. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the damage caused by mango mealybug and its associated sooty mould on mango plants and to assess mango fruit production after the release of G. tebygi in 1989. Materials and methods. Laboratory experiments were set up to determine the effect of different populations of mango mealybug (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 adults/cage) on the chemical constituents of mango leaves. The mould associated with the mango mealybug was identified and its effect on leaf temperature was studied. A mango orchard was studied for fruit production from the time of fruitlessness in 1990 to 1998 when fruit yield peaked. The resultant effect of the parasitism of mango mealybug by G. tebygi was monitored on the chemical composition of mango leaves during this period. Results. Protein, fat, carbohydrate, ash, crude fibre and moisture contents were depleted with increase in mealybug population. The isolated mould fungus Capnodium mangiferae was found to raise leaf temperature of infected mango seedlings. The population density of G. tebygi was found to be negatively but significantly correlated with mango mealybug population and positively correlated with mango fruit yield. Parasitism was highly correlated with mealybug population and yield, and was considered a major factor in the control of the pest and the subsequent increase in mango fruit yield. Rainfall did not have a significant impact on yield, mealybug population or sooty mould score. Discussion. The injury inflicted by R. invadens and its associated mould, and the enhancement of mango fruit production by the activities of G. tebygi on the mealybug were discussed.


The EU's single market provides several implications to East Asian countries building their FTAs for their regional economic integration. They participate in different mega FTAs such as the RCEP and the CPTPP. As a result, their economic interests are rather divided deeply and related to political and security issues in the Asia and Pacific region. Particularly, the trade conflicts between the U.S. and China have continued since 2018, and the U.S. negated the TPP that turned to CPTPP without the U.S., while India withdrew from the RCEP in Nov. 2019. This paper deals with Mega FTAs as well as East Asian collaboration and competition. It also argues what are East Asian countries' economic interests by participating in the RCEP and the CPTPP as well as how to overcome the newly emerging protectionism caused by the new U.S. trade policy and trade conflicts between G2. Finally, it also analyzes the roles and strategies of China, Japan, and Korea to protect their regional and global economic interests overcoming protectionism in the global trade environment individually and collectively, while the new global supply chains are reshaping in the region.


Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge and self-medication behavior among health professions students regarding antibiotic usage. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administrated questionnaire. A sample of 424 questionnaires was distributed randomly among health science students of a medical university in Ajman, UAE. The questionnaire is categorized into three sections which are Socio-demographic details of the participant, knowledge and self-medication practice of antibiotic. The data was entered in MS Excel spread sheet and analyzed as per the study objectives. Original Research Article Aboulilah et al.; JPRI, 32(9): 24-34, 2020; Article no.JPRI.57354 25 Key Findings: Upon assessing the knowledge of respondents, authors found 85.8% of the students were familiar with the term 'antibiotic resistance'. Half of the students agreed that antibiotics treat common cold quickly. Regarding the self-medication practices, 55.6% (n= 236) of students reported that they always take antibiotic without prescription. Cold and flu was the common reason for using antibiotics. Augmentin (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid) was the common medication used among the students. Nearly one third of the respondents (32.78%; n=139) saved the antibiotics in case of reinfection. Conclusions: In conclusion, antibiotic usage was common among study respondents. Preventive strategies, antibiotic stewardship programs, training, education programs and more restriction towards antibiotic dispensing should be implemented to avoid the misuse and antibiotic resistance.


1719 Background: Genetic aberration and the corresponding activation of oncogenes is an important event in cancer development. This can occur through mechanisms such as mutation of DNA sequences, chromosomal translocations and segmental copy number changes, all which lead to deregulation of gene activity. The activation of oncogenes through gene amplification has been reported for many cancers. These mutations lead to an increase in gene dosage and in turn, can induce overexpression in cancer cells as a consequence. However, few genes have been shown to undergo this process as a mechanism of activation. The low incidence of oncogene amplification may be attributed to the failure of detection rather than governed by tumor biology. It is difficult to comprehensively identify genetic alterations using current molecular cytogenetic techniques due to their limited resolution, as small segmental amplifications may escape detection. Consequently their contribution to the oncogenic process may be grossly underestimated.
 Objective: To determine the contribution of gene amplification to the activation of oncogenes in cancer genomes by high-resolution tiling array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH).
 Methods: DNA was isolated from 104 cancer cell lines of multiple tissue origins. Cancer samples and normal reference DNA were differentially labeled for hybridization analysis using an array CGH platform that spans the human genome with a tiling set of BAC clones. Array data were assessed using SeeGH software and regions of genomic amplification were defined and compiled for each sample.
 Results: Over 100 tumor genome profiles of diverse tissue origins were generated. In addition to identifying known oncogenes previously shown to be activated by other genetic mechanisms that are frequently amplified, the delineation of amplification "hotspots" in the genome showed differences between tumor types and allowed the discovery of novel genes potentially involved in tumorigenesis. These hotspots were enriched for genes related to cell proliferation, apoptosis and linage dependency, reflecting functions advantageous to tumor growth. Integration of parallel copy number and expression data highlighted the downstream impact of these amplifications on gene transcription levels in lung cancer cell lines and clinical tumors. For example, multiple downstream components of the EGFR family signaling pathway, including CDK5, AKT1, and SHC1, are overexpressed as a direct result of gene amplification in lung cancer. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that DNA amplification is far more common a mechanism of oncogene activation than previously believed and that specific regions of the cancer genome are hotspots of amplification.


[This brief ongoing survey reviews some current literature on martyrs with special emphasis on those who have died for the faith in our own time. The author also addresses the claim that this literature is not only hagiographic (in the best sense of the word) but also a frequently overlooked resource for theological reflection.]


The most commonly used photoaffinity labeling probes are compared, which are aryl azides, aryl diazirines, alpha-diazocarbonyls and benzophenone-derivatives. The compounds were used under identical conditions and crosslinking efficiency, influence of water, irradiation requirements, and by-products were investigated. Using the pentapeptide thymopentin (TP5) as a model system, we synthesized four analogues by solid-phase peptide synthesis and partially N-terminal modification to obtain [p-(3-trifluoromethyl)diazirinophenylalanine5]TP5, [p-benzoylphenylalanine5]TP5, 4-azidobenzoyl-TP5 and 2-diazo-3,3,3-trifluoropropionyl-TP5. The peptides were characterized by HPLC and ion-spray mass spectroscopy. Irradiation of the peptides with two different ultraviolet sources was carried out in water, n-propanol and water/n-propanol to imitate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic peptide/protein-interactions as well as the influence of the aqueous environment. Analysis of the products with HPLC, ion-spray MS, HPLC-MS and HPLC-CID-MS revealed that (Tmd)Phe is a highly potent carbene-precursor, which can be transformed easily into uniform crosslinking products by smooth photolysis. However, the electrophilic nature of the intermediate causes a high tendency to react with water molecules. The 4-azidobenzoyl group showed comparable crosslinking efficiency, but the probability to create non-uniform irradiation products (e.g. through rearrangement) is higher, whereas the reaction with water is less dominant. In contrast, Bpa was found to have an extremely low affinity to react with water, whereas prolonged UV irradiation is needed to get complete rearrangement into a variety of products. As the absorption band of alpha-diazocarbonyls at around 350 nm possesses a low extinction coefficient, 2-diazo-3,3,3-trifluoropropionyl-TP5 could not be activated at all with the optimized irradiation conditions that we have chosen for our comparative studies.


Early constructive (encrustation, cementation) and destructive (physical disturbance, micro- and macroboring, grazing) diagenetic processes exert a major influence on coral reef framework preservation. Assessment of surface and subsurface coral framework samples collected from sites across a range of water depths and environments at Discovery Bay, north Jamaica reveal marked variations in terms of, 1) styles of framework preservation, and 2) the ratio of in situ framework: rubble: sediment. Back-reef sites are characterised by limited framework development and extensive framework alteration. Grazing and boring (both micro- and macro) result in rapid diminution/dissolution of framework carbonate, whilst constructive processes (encrustation and cementation) are of limited importance. In-situ framework preservation is restricted (< 5%), and the majority of the preserved substrate comprises sediment (~60%) and coral rubble (~35%). Rates of vertical reef accretion are predicted to be low. Deep fore-reef sites are also characterised by poor framework preservation, with limited in-situ coral preservation (~20%). Sponge boring, in particular, causes significant degradation of in-situ framework and, combined with reduced coral growth rates, results in low potential rates of vertical reef accretion. In contrast, high accretion rates are predicted at shallow fore-reef and fore-reef terrace sites where a combination of active constructive processes (cementation and encrustation) and physical disturbance promote rapid framework accumulation. Physical damage causes extensive breakage of coral colonies (especially fast-growing branched species), but such rubble is rapidly encrusted, cemented and retained "in-site", comprising 40-50% of the accumulating reef structure. In addition, in-situ coral preservation (especially of species such as M. annularis ) is high (~50%). The study illustrates the framework diagenetic gradients that exist across even relatively narrow shelf reef systems. This has implications not only for interpreting spatial variations in rates and styles of framework development, but is also relevant for predicting the response of reef systems to future environmental disturbance.


:  This article mobilises a strategic-relational approach to state spatial restructuring to overcome the weaknesses of the conventional "New Regionalist" account in economic geography of the resurgence of the region as a strategic site for economic governance. Focusing on hegemonic projects and the shifting nexus of spatial dependencies and engagements through which these are reproduced, undermined and transformed, the role and geography of political agency in state spatial restructuring is highlighted. To illustrate this point, I analyse the construction of new regional state spaces in Belgium, paying particular attention to the hegemonic projects that create a social basis for particular state spaces, the construction of collective agency on different scales (Belgian-national and Flemish-regional) and the various ways in which these processes are informed by pre-existing state spatial and scalar selectivities.


Questions of media control and quality have become urgent in this country. Financial deregulation and the spectacle of continually changing ownership of the media in stock market adventures have highlighted problems of editorial integrity and the threatened and actual loss of potentially high quality publications and programming possibilities. Against this background, we have witnessed constraints on public funding for ABC radio and television, the near demise of SBS and increasing pressure for commercial sponsorship to top-up declining public bUdgets. , Central to all the debates are aspects~of the media's relation to Australian'culture, its ability to shape opinion and direct or suppress discussion on crucial cultural issues. The place of religion in our culture is one such issue, and is closely connected with matters of gender, race and ethnicity, dominant mythologies and the vexed question of 'Australian identity'. Contributors to this issue of the REVIEW have been asked to reflect on specific aspects of these complexities. Although much energy has been expended on ensuring a wide range of topics, attitudes and styles personal, speculative, political/analyticalit is clear that a future issue of the REVIE W could take up this theme again to highlight further points of debate and focus on other major topics. Readers are asked to notice the new section, COMMENT ARIES, and contribute to the development of this and other themes. [Ed.)


BACKGROUND
Oxidative stress has been reported to be an early factor in the development of cataracts. Echinatin (Ech) is an active ingredient of licorice that exhibits antioxidant effects.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the effects of Ech on oxidative stress-induced lens epithelial cell (LEC) damage.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Human lens epithelial B3 cells (HLECs) were exposed to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and were pretreated with or without Ech. For rescue experiments, ML385, an inhibitor of the Nrf2 pathway, was added into the medium.

RESULTS
Echinatin reversed the H2O2-induced reduction of cell viability in B3 cells. Additionally, H2O2 induced oxidative stress, evidenced by an increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and a decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels, which could be abolished by Ech. Echinatin treatment also reduced HLEC apoptosis induced by H2O2. In addition, Ech pretreatment promoted Bcl-2 expression, and suppressed Bax and caspase-3 expression levels, in H2O2-treated B3 cells. Moreover, H2O2 significantly reduced Nrf2 nuclear localization, as well as HO-1 and NQO1 expression, which could be reversed by Ech. Inhibition of Nrf2 by ML385 aggravated H2O2-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis in HLECs, and the protective effects of Ech on H2O2-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis could be restored by ML385.

CONCLUSIONS
Echinatin mitigates H2O2-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis in HLECs via the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, suggesting that Ech may be a potential drug for the treatment of cataracts.


ABSTRACT Research and design activities are often employed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education. This study aims to examine students' attitudes towards doing research and design activities in secondary school, among two groups of students: (1) students that take the quite recently introduced Dutch subject O&O (research & design), in which students perform authentic research and design projects related to STEM disciplines; and (2) students that do not take O&O. The subject O&O is only taught at a limited number of certified, so called 'Technasium', schools. A questionnaire, developed by the authors, was completed by 1625 students from Grades 8 and 11. Unlike previous studies on student attitudes, which usually use abstract concepts like 'science' or 'technology', the questionnaire used in this study contains active verbs to characterise research and design activities. The results showed that, in general, students who took the subject O&O had more positive attitudes towards doing research and design activities than regular students. Both student groups appeared to find doing research activities more relevant than doing design activities. The results of this study provide useful information for teachers as well as teacher educators about the existing attitudes of students, for example their preference for design projects over research projects.


The hypothesis that prostaglandin inhibitors might reduce the incidence and severity of suxamethonium-induced myalgia was investigated using lysine acetyl salicylate (LAS) 13 mg kg-1 i.v. 3 min before the administration of suxamethonium in 20 patients. A comparison was made with atracurium 0.09 mg kg-1 (and placebo) in a double-blind prospective randomized trial. LAS and atracurium were effective in reducing the incidence and severity of postsuxamethonium myalgia and the increases in serum potassium concentration. There were no appreciable changes in serum calcium, sodium, chloride, phosphate, magnesium, creatinine, creatine phosphokinase concentrations or plasmacholinesterase activity. Atracurium caused a delay in the onset of action and a decrease in the intensity of suxamethonium-induced neuromuscular block. It is concluded that LAS pretreatment might have a place in suitable patients in the prevention of suxamethonium-induced myalgia and increases in serum potassium concentration.


BACKGROUND:
 Pediatric myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) constitute a heterogeneous group of rare blood disorders characterized by dysplastic, ineffective hematopoiesis that portends a poor prognosis. We completed a North American survey of clinical approaches to pediatric MDS, which demonstrated a lack of national consensus on diagnosis and treatment. Little progress has been made to improve outcomes and there is no modern data on the demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcome of children and adolescents with MDS in Northern America. There is a critical need for a North American retrospective study which will serve as a reference for future prospective clinical trials. To validate the accuracy of our proposed clinical response criteria and to ensure the functionality of our retrospective database, we completed a pilot 12-year retrospective chart review documenting the diagnosis and outcomes of children and adolescents with confirmed or suspected diagnosis of MDS.
 METHODS:
 We conducted a retrospective chart review of subjects between 0 and 24 years of age at diagnosis, diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2020 with primary or secondary MDS at the Children's Hospital Colorado. Demographics, disease characteristics, treatment, and outcomes were recorded on 18 subjects. Diagnosis was made based on the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of MDS. Overall survival (OS) was measured from time of diagnosis to death. Event-free survival (EFS) was measured from time of diagnosis to first event (death, relapse, or refractory event necessitating additional therapy). Overall Response was determined by using three criteria - Cytopenia Response, Blast Response, and Cytogenetic Response (Table 1). Categorical variables were summarized using frequency and percentage (n, %) and continuous variables with median and interquartile range (median, IQR). Kaplan Meier (KM) curves were reported for OS and EFS, with patients censored at the last follow-up date if an event did not occur.
 RESULTS:
 Of eighteen subjects, sex was represented equally (50% female) with a median (IQR) age of 14.3 years (9.8,17). Four (23%) presented with refractory cytopenia of childhood, 8 (45%) with overt bone marrow blasts, and 6 (33%) with MDS-Unclassified with diagnosis based on various MDS-defining cytogenetic abnormalities accompanied by peripheral cytopenias. Five (28%) had a genetic predisposition, 6 (33%) were deemed treatment-related, and 7 (39%) were idiopathic with no identifiable cause. A cytogenetic defect of chromosome 7 was identified in 9/17 (53%) of subjects. Ten (56%) received a form of cytoreductive therapy prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT); 8 (80%) were treated with a demethylating agent (2 decitabine monotherapy, 4 azacitidine monotherapy, and 2 dual therapy azacitidine and venetoclax). Seventeen (94%) underwent HSCT from a variety of donor sources including 2 matched-related bone marrow, 2 matched-related peripheral blood, 4 matched-unrelated bone marrow, 1 matched-unrelated peripheral blood, 6 matched-unrelated cord-blood, and 2 haplo-identical bone marrow. Eleven (61%) were alive at last follow up, however, only 8 (44%) remained in Complete Remission. The 1-year survival rate was 83% (95% CI: 67%-100%), 3 year was 58% (37%-92%), and 5 year was 44% (21%-90%) (Figure 1). Fourteen (78%) experienced an event. The 1-year EFS rate was 28% (95% CI: 13%-59%) and 5-year EFS rate was 19% (6%-55%) (Figure 1).
 CONCLUSION:
 Despite advances in cytoreduction and HSCT, we found pediatric MDS to remain a highly morbid disease with a 5-year OS of 44%, 1-year EFS of only 28%, and inadequate first-line therapies. Attempts to improve outcomes require the development of standardized diagnostic and clinical response criteria. This study piloted clinical response criteria on a single-institution cohort. Statistical power is limited by small sample size, therefore, we have secured funding to complete a large multi-center North American retrospective in collaboration with the North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium (NAPAAC). The multi-center study will help validate proposed clinical response criteria and guide the development of the first prospective interventional trials for pediatric MDS in North America.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The characterization of homogeneous 3-D obstacles in a Earth-like medium in the induction regime is investigated, the interaction between obstacles being accounted for. To simplify the approach yet to keep good accuracy they are modeled by conductive ellipsoids, the extended Born approximation and a pertinent low-frequency expansion of the fields being employed in addition. The inverse problem itself is solved by differential evolution.


Merryn Dineley's thesis is based on the premise that the biochemical laws that govern the processes of malting, mashing and fermentation remain unchanged throughout the millennia'. She therefore uses the results of scientific experimentation to search for evidence of ale and brewing amongst Neolithic residues. Following a discussing of the actual brewing process and later Viking and medieval embellishments, the study discusses the evidence for barley in Egypt and the Near East, the first evidence of grain in neolithic Europe and ceramic, environmental and structural clues for brewing in Neolithic Orkney and Grooved Ware sites in Britain.


The present study assessed water quality parameters and attempts to compare four different Water Quality Indexes (WQIs) for consistency, similarity and reliability in assessing the water quality of river Benue -an inland riverunder wet and dry seasons. The results demonstrate that River Benue is continually being polluted in both dry and wet seasons by different sources, particularly domestic sewage and storm runoffs from farmlands. The quality of the water generally exceeded physiochemical and microbiological infection risk limits recommended in water quality guidelines concerning their use for domestic, recreational and irrigational purposes. Proper sewage treatment and river quality monitoring are needed to guard against hazards to public health and vulnerable river water resources. The WQIs applied were: CCME WQI, BC WQI, Dinius' WQI and Weighted Arithmetic WQI. To evaluate the differences between these indexes, data on ten water quality parameters (Temperature, pH, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, Nitrates, Phosphates, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen and faecal coliform count) for two distinct seasons from 6 river monitoring sites along the river Benue at Makurdi reach, were used. Significant discrepancies were observed in classification results between the Dinius' WQI and the other three Original Research Article Kondum et al.; JERR, 20(4): 1-14, 2021; Article no.JERR.66219 2 WQIs. Similarly, the WA and BC WQIs showed an over-optimistic rating due to their eclipsing limitation. Among others, it was concluded that any of the four indexes except Dinius' index can be adopted but the CCME water quality index would be best suited for assessing water quality in River Benue.


The potential use of fiberoptic endoscopy in the head and neck region was evaluated by the comparison with the findings we obtained from indirect, mirror endoscopy. Fiberoptic endoscopy confirmed our clinical staging and diagnosis in 39 percent, changed our diagnosis in 41 percent, and changed our clinical staging in 20 percent of this series of patients. These findings indicate that fiberoptic endoscopy is a valuable aid for clinical staging; in some instances it may be used in preference to indirect, mirror examination; frequently, it may enable one to avoid a direct laryngoscopy. The procedure is safe, well tolerated, and may be performed on an outpatient basis. With this instrument, routine examination of the head and neck in suitable patients may lead to improved clinical evaluations.


Women have always been the subject of art in terms of their biological and physiological characteristics. The compositions that are shaped in accordance with contents have different nuances in terms of form according to the cultural structure in the arts of civilizations with functional practices and sub-meaning interpretations. Despite this, they have common characteristics in terms of woman/body/sexuality on social duty and classification. Such that male domination social gender roles, gender discrimination based on biology bring along some restrictions and exclusion, and that degrades women to the subject of scopophilic. Gender structure in art is exposed with unfair visual codes, disadvantageous images, improper female circumstances and erotic nudity in many compositions. Women body that is turned into a theatrical material, their identity and gender are abstracted, their image, representation, symbol and government connetion shows the demands of male dominant structure. In this frame, the aim of this study is to analyze the affect of gender roles, patterns, the woman themed art pieces in historical process that is oriented towards structuring, building a sustainable woman perception in male dominant systems of societies on art history. Accordingly, the study is important in terms of showing the systematical dominances on woman identity, body, sexuality created by male dominant sense of art and art literature research in terms of turning femininity into a different construction other than its natural positions and clarifying the problem of re-naming and re-structuring the position of woman and body today. Literature research and descriptive research methods are used in this study. Related visuals and written resources are analyzed and the parts that are related to the content of this article are handled in a manner that creates meaningful unity.


Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a powerful MRI technique used to noninvasively measure cerebral blood flow (CBF). In preclinical studies, rodent brain CBF serves as an important indicator in many brain disease models. In this work, we established a whole-brain CBF atlas based on 102 adult normal mice and profiled CBF distributions in 27 brain regions. We found that there is a high correlation of CBF between the left and right hemispheres. Additionally, the high-resolution mouse CBF atlas can be used to distinguish mice with autism disorder, indicating the potential applications of the atlas in preclinical studies.


The alveolar epithelium of various reptiles living in different habitats has been investigated with the light and electron microscopes. In all species pneumocytes of type I and II can be distinguished. The comparatively uniform pneumocytes I cover the blood capillaries and usually exhibit a smooth surface. Occasionally they bear in their marginal parts, especially when bordering a pneumocyte II, some microvilli. Their main characteristics are: pinocytotic vesicles and apical bundles of microfilaments. In the aquatic Trionyx particularly thin areas resembling precursor structures of a fenestration have been detected. In this species the blood-air barrier is unusually thin (280...350 nm). The thickness of this barrier otherwise varies considerably: in Agama, Chamaeleo, Hemidactylus and Pseudemys it measures normally less than 400 nm. In Tamnophis, Caiman and various turtles it measures from 400 to over 500 nm. The pneumocytes II exhibit a remarkable morphological variability which concerns a) the cellular dimensions, b) the microvilli, c) diameter, number and structure of the lamellar bodies, d) the number of mucous granules, e) the lateral and basal labyrinth. The lamellar bodies are especially numerous in the terrestrial species Hemidactylus and Testudo. Most aquatic turtles contain few pneumocytes II with few lamellar bodies. In the squamata the blood capillaries bulge into the alveolar lumen, in turtles and tortoises they are deeply embedded into the connective tissue.


This contribution presents a non-linear control of a hybrid pumping system supplied with a photovoltaic generator and a battery. This system is employed for delivering a continuous volume of water whatever the climatic conditions. In the DC side, a boost converter is controlled with the indirect double integral sliding mode controller (DISMC) for maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The DISMC is suitable for MPPT because it gives a fast response and reduces the amplitude of power oscillations. Then, a bidirectional buck-boost converter is adopted to ensure the energy management between the battery and the DC-bus, and this converter is controlled with integral sliding mode control (ISMC) theory.  The non-linear predictive control (NPC) is chosen to drive an induction motor (IM), the NPC is known by its fast dynamic and high capacity to reject disturbances. The hybrid system is modelled in MATLAB/Simulink software. During simulations, the DISMC-MPPT is compared with other techniques such as sliding mode controller (SMC) MPPT and integral SMC MPPT, the DISMC provides the best tracking performances under different irradiances. Moreover, the designed controller for the bidirectional converter regulates the DC-link voltage with better performances than the classical PI controller. Lastly, the NPC regulates the speed of the IM with high robustness.


The development and delivery of commercial aviation applications that integrate and consume aircraft data continues a long-accepted paradigm of point-solutions—deploying specialized hardware and custom software with very specific functionality to address a very specific problem. And while these solutions are effective at addressing individual issues, the underlying systems are generally difficult to improve when the problem changes or new technology is introduced, hampering the operator's flexibility, slowing innovation, and making it difficult to control costs. However, as demonstrated by the advent and increasing acceptance of Internet "cloud" services currently shaking-up traditional and long-accepted software business platforms in the enterprise, the aviation industry now has an opportunity to make radical changes to the way software applications are built, deployed, maintained, and used in their organization. By embracing these new models, platforms, and technology, airlines can not only enjoy major cost savings, but also significantly boost productivity through operational efficiencies, providing value across traditionally "siloed" organization units.


This work gives the history of an argument, originally Plato's, that the soul is immaterial and therefore simple and without parts. Hence, it cannot come apart or corrupt, and is thus immortal. The sources and development of the argument from the Platonic period to the "Renaissance are traced, with attention to the "Socinian heresy" that the soul is only conditionally immortal. The maior component is the discussion of the Cambridge Platonists and the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries generally leading up to Kant. The religious and philosophical disputes, and even polemics, surrounding the simplicity argument are examined in the works of interesting lesser known figures. An engaging feature of the study is the brief proposal that the argument has significant implications for contemporary philosophical-theological dialogue. The immortality of the soul today, in the face of reductionist explanations of biologv and psychology and of the materialistic brain-mind identity theory, is much in need of new bases of understanding. "Immateriality of thought" can be easily given some quasi-operational foundation. But utter ontological simplicity is an idea of a different order, hitting closer to the mark about the uniqueness of the undying core of the human person. However, while the simplicity argument is significant, the historical sweep of this book is greater than it ought to be. It seems unnecessary to hold for a substantial independent identity to the argument from Plato to Kant. The burden of this contention is responsible for the peculiar selections and exclusions in the authorities considered. In medieval scholastic philosophy the struggles with the concept of the soul were centered elsewhere. Also, this argument is dubiously helpful as an introduction to idealism. In any case, it is evident that the simplicity argument shows an intriguting persistence.


Atmospheric pollution would increase morbidity and mortality rates for various respiratory illnesses in urban areas, and could also be an explanatory factor of higher rates of myocardial infarction in Charleroi compared with the other Belgian cities. The present study investigates the health effects of acute exposure to air pollution on cardiovascular morbidity/mortality in Charleroi. The study is based on comparing hospital data taken from the registry of ischaemic cardiopathies in Charleroi (1999 to 2008) to data on the air quality in this region. To measure the association between atmospheric pollution and the number of cases of myocardial infarction, Poisson regression was carried out. The excess risk of myocardial infarction was analysed according to the month of admission. For men, a decrease in the attack rate of myocardial infarction is visible during the first three years of the study, later to remain stable. For women, attack rates are stable throughout the study. Most of the pollutants vary according to season. Except for ozone, concentrations are generally higher in winter. We observe an association between the concentrations of PM10 and NO2 and morbidity/mortality by acute myocardial infarction. The increased risk for an increase of 10 μg/m3 of pollutant is 1.8% for PM10 and 4.0% for NO2. Multivariate models must still be developed and applied to our data.


Analysis of the protection of confidential information and of trade secrets in high-tech sports (Formula One racing and America's Cup sailing) on the basis of international intellectual property law standards resulting from the TRIPS Agreement (art. 39 TRIPS).


The incidence of fibrous dysplasia (FD) is not frequent in the case of benign bone tumors of the chest wall, and differential diagnosis between FD and the malignancy on the basis of imaging findings is difficult. We report a case of a painful FD lesion (size, 9×8 cm) that originated from the 5th rib of a 52-year-old man and was surgically resected. His symptoms improved after the operation. Painful and large FD lesions should be resected because of a difficulty in differential diagnosis from malignant tumors.


The azoospermia factor c (AZFc) region on the Y chromosome is a genetically dynamic locus in the human genome. Numerous genomic rearrangements, including deletion, duplication and inversion, have been identified in AZFc. The complete deletion of AZFc can cause spermatogenic impairment. However, the roles of partial AZFc deletions (e.g. b2/b3 deletion) in spermatogenesis are controversial and variable among human populations. Secondary duplication has been hypothesized to be a compensatory factor for partial AZFc deletions. To further study genomic duplications in AZFc as a potential genetic modifier underlying the phenotypic variations of partial AZFc deletions in spermatogenesis, we conducted comprehensive molecular analyses in 711 idiopathic infertile men and 390 healthy controls. Unexpectedly, we found that additional AZFc duplications accompanying the b2/b3 deletion, instead of the b2/b3 deletion alone, led to the b2/b3 deletion-associated risk of spermatogenic impairment previously reported in Han Chinese population. In addition, partial AZFc duplication also rendered a risk factor in the non-deletion patients. DAZ is a multi-copy AZFc gene (DAZ1-DAZ4) implicated in spermatogenesis. Genetic variations do exist between DAZ copies. Intriguingly, we found that the DAZ1/2 cluster was the main duplicated copies in the partial AZFc duplications associated with spermatogenic impairment, suggesting a potential different role of spermatogenesis between DAZ copies. Our findings demonstrated that additional AZFc duplications did not compensate but convey the susceptibility of the b2/b3 deletion to spermatogenic impairment in the tested population. Notably, genomic duplications and deletions in AZFc deserve comprehensive investigations to uncover spermatogenic roles of the AZFc region.


This work present novel method for structure estimation of an underlying dynamical system. We tackle problems of estimating dynamic structure from bandit feedback contaminated by sub-Gaussian noise. In particular, we focus on periodically behaved discrete dynamical system in the Euclidean space, and carefully identify certain obtainable subset of full information of the periodic structure. We then derive a sample complexity bound for periodic structure estimation. Technically, asymptotic results for exponential sums are adopted to effectively average out the noise effects while preventing the information to be estimated from vanishing. For linear systems, the use of the Weyl sum further allows us to extract eigenstructures. Our theoretical claims are experimentally validated on simulations of toy examples, including Cellular Automata.


In this paper, the test of the indoor thermal environment for Tibetan Dialogue in Happy Village in winter, that have tested indoor temperature and the temperature of house surface, and contrast to analysis tested parameters. The results of the test show climate characteristics in rammed earth Tibetan Dialogue and variations of temperature effecting indoor thermal comfortable. The proposes and measures be taken out from this test for improving the comfortable of the indoor thermal environment.


Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most clinically significant primary antibody immunodeficiency recognized in adulthood. Previously published data have shown an average diagnostic delay of 10 years for Polish adult patients with CVID. In the current study, we aimed to analyze the current diagnostic delay of adult patients with CVID in Poland. To this end, we identified patients from four immunological centers specialized in the care of adult patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID). Demographic and clinical data of patients were collected using an internet database. We identified 103 adult patients (F:M 44.7%:55.3%) in Poland with CVID. The median age at onset of symptoms was 24 (0–66), 33 (4–70) at diagnosis, and 37 (18–73) years at the time of analysis. The median diagnostic delay for the entire study population was 6 (0–57) years. However, this delay was higher in patients with symptom onset before the year 2000 than after the year 1999 [15 (0–57) vs. 3 (0–19) years; p < 0.001]. Comparing patients (median ≤ 6 years, N = 53) with short diagnostic delay (SDD) and those (median > 6 years, N = 50) with long diagnostic delay (LDD), the LDD group had a statistically significant higher incidence of infections of the lower respiratory tract before diagnosis (90.0 vs. 71.70%). During the entire observation period, cytopenias (44.00 vs. 22.64%), granulomatous lesions (28.00 vs. 11.32%), and solid tumors (14.00 vs. 1.89%) were significantly more frequent in the LDD group. In conclusion, we found a significant reduction in the median diagnostic delay in Polish CVID patients with disease onset in the last two decades.


We present a case of a female patient with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and a history of pseudopapillary pancreatic tumor two years earlier. FAP is accepted to be a rare precancerous syndrome characterized by hundreds to thousands of c olorectal adenomatous polyps with a variety of extraintestinal manifestations. Solid pseudopapi llary tumor (SPT) is an uncommon exocrine pancreatic neoplasm. This rare pancreatic tumor sho uld be suspected in FAP patients especially if the patient has abdominal complaints. The developme nt of two rare entities in the same patient may suggest an association and research for a certain g enetic basis might be indicated.


Dens evaginatus may pose a problem, on occasion, in diagnosis and treatment planning. This paper presents a case report indicating such difficulties and suitable treatment measures.


We report on the first computer simulation studies of the percolation transition of water at the surface of the DNA double helix. With increased hydration, the ensemble of small clusters merges into a spanning water network via a quasi-two-dimensional percolation transition. This transition occurs strikingly close to the hydration level where the B form of DNA becomes stable in experiment. Formation of spanning water networks results in sigmoidlike acceleration of long-range ion transport in good agreement with experiment.


Using the well-characterized pyridine-2(1H)-thione (1)/pyridine-2-thiol (2) system as a model of thiated nucleobases in DNA or RNA, ab initio (HF, MP2 and MP4) and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods using large basis sets were applied to reproduce structures and tautomerization free energies. Hydrogen bonds of the dimerized thione 1 in the solid state were well-reproduced by the B3LYP method. Electronic correlation similarly stabilized both 1 and 2 protomers, and so the gas-phase free energy of the 1/2 equilibrium was equally overestimated by 4 kJ mol–1 in favour of the 2 by HF, MP2(full) or MP4(SDTQ)/6-311+G(2d,p) ab initio methods. Otherwise, the B3LYP method systematically overestimated the relative stability of 1, but using the 6-311+G(2d,p) basis set, the error was comparable to ab initio methods. Dunning's D95+(2d,p) and Aug-cc-pVDZ basis sets gave worse protomeric free energies than Pople's basis sets using the B3LYP method. The nonspecific solvent effect on 1/2 protomerization was accurately predicted (within 2 kJ mol–1) by the SCIPCM self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) methodology at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The Onsager SCRF method or HF theoretical treatment of the solvent effects gave less good results.


Laboratory adaptation process used in sterile insect technique (SIT) programs can exert a significant impact on the insect-gut microbiome relationship, which may negatively impact the quality and performance of the fly. In the present study, changes in the gut microbiota that occur through laboratory adaptation of two Ceratitis capitata populations were investigated: Vienna 8 genetic sexing strain (GSS), a long-established control line, and a wild population recently introduced to laboratory conditions. The bacterial profiles were studied for both strains using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable region in larvae and in the gastrointestinal tract of teneral (1 day) and adults (5 and 15 days) reared under laboratory conditions for 14 generations (F0–F13). Findings demonstrated the development of distinct bacterial communities across the generations with differences in the bacterial composition, suggesting a strong impact of laboratory adaptation on the fly bacteriome. Moreover, different bacterial profiles were observed between wild and Vienna 8 FD-GSS displaying different patterns between the developmental stages. Proteobacteria, mainly members of the Enterobacteriaceae family, represented the major component of the bacterial community followed by Firmicutes (mainly in Vienna 8 FD-GSS adults) and Chlamydiae. The distribution of these communities is dynamic across the generations and seems to be strain- and age-specific. In the Vienna 8 FD-GSS population, Providencia exhibited high relative abundance in the first three generations and decreased significantly later, while Klebsiella was relatively stable. In the wild population, Klebsiella was dominant across most of the generations, indicating that the wild population was more resistant to artificial rearing conditions compared with the Vienna 8 FD-GSS colony. Analysis of the core bacteriome revealed the presence of nine shared taxa between most of the examined medfly samples including Klebsiella, Providencia, Pantoea, and Pseudomonas. In addition, the operational taxonomic unit co-occurrence and mutual exclusion networks of the wild population indicated that most of the interactions were classified as co-presence, while in the Vienna 8 FD-GSS population, the number of mutual exclusions and co-presence interactions was equally distributed. Obtained results provided a thorough study of the dynamics of gut-associated bacteria during the laboratory adaptation of different Ceratitis capitata populations, serving as guidance for the design of colonization protocols, improving the effectiveness of artificial rearing and the SIT application.


This article aims to understand urban un-sustainability. First we review some paradigmatic cases of unsustainable cities, namely Easter Island, Mayan cities and Santa Maria Island. Then, we briefly review operational urban simulation models and sustainability with particular focus on spatial interaction models with land use. We apply an operational urban model with the use of natural resources to perceive the past and future history of the development of one of the smallest cities of the world, Corvo. We show that, in unsustainable cities, technological inadequacy leads to irreversible degradation of the natural capital and institutional inadequacy enables free access to the urban space, creating a "tragedy of urban networks".


Vulnerable child syndrome (VCS) is a condition in which a caregiver perceives a child as inherently frail and consequently employs health care services disproportionate to medical need. Historically, VCS has been described after a medical event or diagnosis in developed countries. There is little to no literature on VCS outside of well-resourced countries. Cases from a medium-resource setting are presented to illustrate risks for development of VCS, including impaired feeding practices and the potential consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Exploring VCS through this different lens offers insights to providers working with immigrant populations on the United States mainland, including guidance on how to foster more resilience and less hypervigilance among their patients' parents. [Pediatr Ann. 2022;51(12):e469-e473.].


OBJECTIVE
The treatment algorithm of donor middle hepatic vein (MHV) was made depending on the remnant liver volume of the total donor liver volume as calculated by computer tomography, estimated graft-to-recipient weight ratio and also anatomy. The present study was to analyze the influence of this algorithm upon the safety of donors and recipients in right lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and to provide references for our future clinical practices.

METHODS
Data of 73 consecutive LDLT cases, operated and managed by the same surgical team according to the pre-operation MHV treatment algorithm, were analyzed. MHV was harvested in 28 cases and not in 45 cases. Donor and recipient gender, age, weight, operation time, blood loss volume, graft weight, non-hepatic phase, graft cold preservation time, perioperative survival rate and the incidence of small-for-size syndrome were compared, and also the peak post-operative values of ALT, AST, T-bilirubin and D-bilirubin.

RESULTS
No donor needed blood transfusion and suffered small-for-size syndrome. One recipient recovered from small-for-size syndrome successfully by medical interventions. One recipient had acute hepatic necrosis at Day 6 post-operation and was converted into cadaveric liver transplantation. At Day 30 post-operation, one recipient died from disseminated infections and respiratory failure, but his liver function was normal. There was significant difference in donor and recipient age, actual GRWR, graft cold preservation time and recipient's ALT peak value between the MHV harvest group and the MHV non-harvest group.

CONCLUSION
The MHV treatment algorithm is safe to both donors and recipients.


In this paper, a virus coevolution genetic algorithm (multi-mode project scheduling-virus co-evolution genetic algorithm, MPS-VEGA) for the precedence and resource constrained multi-mode project scheduling problem is presented, and the encoding of the solution and the operators such as selection, crossover, mutation and virus_infection are given. MPS-VEGA is used to obtain the optimal scheduling sequences and resource modes for the activities of the project so that the project cost is minimized, which can transmit evolutionary genes not only between parent and child generations vertically by the genetic operators but also in the same generation horizontally by the virus_infection operator so as to perform a global search and a local search, respectively. The schema theorem is adopted to analyze the performance of MPS-VEGA. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the MPS-VEGA outperforms the GA. For the multi-mode project scheduling problem with different optimization objectives, MPS-VEGA can simutaneously give standard the optimal scheduling sequences subject to the precedence constraints and the optimal resource modes for the activities of the project.


By alternatively operating two pulsed optically pumped (POP) atomic clocks, the dead time in a single clock can be eliminated, and the local oscillator can be discriminated continuously. A POP atomic clock with a zero-dead-time (ZDT) method is then insensitive to the microwave phase noise. From τ = 0.01 to 1 s, the Allan deviation of the ZDT-POP clock is reduced as nearly τ-1, which is significantly faster than τ-1/2 of a conventional clock. During 1-40 s, the Allan deviation returns to τ-1/2. Moreover, the frequency stability of the ZDT-POP clock is improved by one order of magnitude compared with that of the conventional POP clock. We also analyze the main factors that limit the short-term frequency stability of the POP atomic clock.


Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Children in the United States are being expelled from their early care and education settings at alarming rates. A growing body of research indicates that teachers' perceptions of parents may impact their decision to request a child's removal from their classroom. Nevertheless, few studies have simultaneously captured the voices of both parents and teachers when describing the process of expulsion and how the parent–teacher relationship can protect a child from being expelled. To identify and describe protective qualities of the parent–teacher relationship, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 8 parents and 8 early childhood teachers currently working with a child who was previously expelled. The parents and teachers interviewed consistently attributed the successful retention of the child in their current program following the expulsion to the transparent and open communication between home and school. Our findings indicate that one particularly important area for intervention is promoting high-quality parent–teacher relationships for all children, with special attention to how these relationships may differ for children who have previously been expelled.


In the research, the examination of the problems that the instructors who work at the education faculty encounter in the process of the use of e-learning system in the context of classroom management and deciding the suggestions for the solution of these problems were aimed. Phenomenology design which is a kind of qualitative research design was used in the research. The participants of the research consisted of six instructors who were chosen according to the criterion sampling. The interview form that constitutes open-ended questions was used to collect the data. For analyzing the data, content analysis method was utilized. According to the result of the analysis, the participants working at the educational faculties use e-learning systems both in the classes specific to the field and shared classes. It was revealed that the problems they encounter are related to providing effective communication that constitutes the dimensions of classroom management, time management, and teaching method and they suggest that in order to solve these problems, the designs that increase the participation of the students, and the instructors' information and experiences about e-learning systems should be enhanced and the teaching should be planned effectively.


This paper explores the use of Frisian, a minority language spoken in the Dutch province of Fryslân, on social media by Frisian teenagers. Frisian is the mother tongue of 54% of the 650,000 inhabitants and is predominantly a spoken language: 64% of the Frisian population can speak it well, while only 12% indicate that they can write it well. However, in recent years Frisian contributions have frequently shown up on social media, an important development as active use on the Internet is essential for a language to survive into the next century. In this study, more than 2,000 Frisian teenagers aged between 14 and 18 years filled in a questionnaire about their language use, language preferences, language attitudes and language proficiency. Results show that, on social media, Frisian is mainly used by mother tongue speakers, 87% of whom use it to some extent. The study indicates that the teenagers' peer group, language attitudes, and writing proficiency are reliable explanatory factors for the use or non-use of Frisian on social media. Although teenagers do not always follow its official spelling rules, Frisian has conquered a presence on social media. Social media thus seem to have introduced Frisian into the written domain for an extended group of people, which is a positive sign of the vitality of the Frisian language.


A structural relationship exists in several areas in the Southwestern region between rock types in the Precambrian and Paleozoic structural trends. The Ouachita geosynclinal belt on the south and east of the Texas Craton which underlies the Southwestern region was the dominant structural feature during the Paleozoic and probably exercised indirect control over all intracratonic structures. Most of the early and middle Paleozoic oil and gas reservoirs are associated with unconformable surfaces. These reservoirs were formed by weathering of the unconformity surface particularly where pre-unconformity folded and faulted structures existed. Four Paleozoic continent-wide interregional unconformities are present. The approximate dates of the regressional maxima represented are: (1) very late Precambrian, (2) early Middle Ordovician, (3) early Middle Devonian and (4) post-Mississippian. In addition, many regional unconformities are present, the most important in relation to the source, migration, and accumulation of oil and gas being that between the Permian and Pennsylvanian. This regional unconformity is composed of local unconformities associated with structurally positive areas. Early and middle Paleozoic hydrocarbon source beds were probably organic-rich sediments overlying the unconformities. Late Paleozoic Pennsylvanian and Permian sediments were by far the most abundant source of hydrocarbons in the reservoirs in th middle and early Paleozoic formations. Within the Pennsylvanian and the Permian, unconformities are important; however, their importance is overshadowed by lithofacies phenomena in the form of reefs which End_Page 2073------------------------------ formed the most prolific oil-producing reservoirs of those two periods. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2074------------


Feed-forward neural networks can be trained based on a gradient-descent based backpropagation algorithm. But, these algorithms require more computation time. Extreme Learning Machines (ELM's) are time-efficient, and they are less complicated than the conventional gradient-based algorithm. In previous years, an SRAM based convolutional neural network using a receptive – field Approach was proposed. This neural network was used as an encoder for the ELM algorithm and was implemented on FPGA. But, this neural network used an inaccurate 3-stage pipelined parallel adder. Hence, this neural network generates imprecise stimuli to the hidden layer neurons. This paper presents an implementation of precise convolutional neural network for encoding in the ELM algorithm based on the receptive field approach at the hardware level. In the third stage of the pipelined parallel adder, instead of approximating the output by using one 2-input 15-bit adder, one 4-input 14-bit adder is used. Also, an additional weighted pixel array block is used. This weighted pixel array improves the accuracy of generating 128 weighted pixels. This neural network was simulated using ModelSim-Altera 10.1d and synthesized using Quartus II 13.0 sp1. This neural network is implemented on Cyclone V FPGA and used for pattern recognition applications. Although this design consumes slightly more hardware resources, this design is more accurate compared to previously existing encoders.


Objectives Musculoskeletal disorders are a major cause of disability and absenteeism among nurses worldwide, but established risk factors do not adequately explain the observed differences in prevalence across countries. Pain prevalence has been linked with job satisfaction, mental health, somatising tendency and cultural background. We compared associations of risk factors with musculoskeletal symptoms and associated work-absence among nurses from Italy and Brazil. Methods Through the standardised CUPID-Questionnaire, we ascertained age, gender, workload, job satisfaction, psychosocial factors, musculoskeletal pain and associated absence, among 193 Brazilian and 560 Italian nurses. Differences between countries were investigated using the χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression models. Results Gender distribution was similar (85% female) but Italian nurse were younger (52% aged<40 vs 40%) with a shorter duration of employment. Back pain prevalence in the past month was comparable (45% Brazil, 49% Italy) but with a higher prevalence of related absence in Italy. Italian nurses reported more neck disorders while Brazilians reported more shoulder disorders (41% vs 33%, p=0.03). Somatising tendency had a similar prevalence between countries (38%) and in both countries was associated with pain in all investigated anatomical sites and with associated absenteeism. Job satisfaction (92% in Brazil vs 83% in Italy, p=0.002) was negatively associated with musculoskeletal disorders in both countries, and especially with low back pain in Italy and shoulder pain in Brazil. Conclusions Our results confirm that job satisfaction and psychological characteristics are importantly linked with musculoskeletal disorders. The influence of psychosocial risk factors may vary in different cultural environments.


This paper describes the implementation of NURBS-curves into the VARKON CAD-system. NURBS is an acronym for "Non Uniform Rational B-Spline" and is widely used in Computer Aided Design (CAD) to represent both curves and surfaces. The software sources of the VARKON CAD system is released under GNU/GPL licence, and is now maintained by the CAD-research group at O¨ rebro University. The document gives a background to the area of curves in Computer Aided Design, different curve types, their main properties etc. This introduction is followed by a detailed explanation of the theory behind NURBS and the implementation in VARKON. During the implementation an effort has been made to benefit from the structure of previously implemented curve types. This made it possible to reduce the need of new code mainly to the evaluation routines. The possibility to make geometrical analyzes on a curve is an important part of a CAD-system. The theories and implementations of derivatives, normals and curvature are explained here as well as the calculation of an analytical offset curve. The document can serve as an introduction to curves in Computer Aided Design as well as an example of what kind of problem one has to deal with when implementing geometric entities in a CAD-system.


The Genetic Algorithm technique has been used to optimise the design of small folded wire antennas. The genetic optimiser located wires on a predefined grid to create well matched devices operating at single or multiple bands. The chromosome structure and the fitness function employed are described. The GA approach also enabled broadband radiators and electrically small convoluted geometries to be designed.


In this work, a high-efficiency radio-frequency energy-harvesting system that takes use of the Portuguese Digital Television signal (750–758 MHz) to obtain DC power is proposed. To be useful, it is optimized to operate at low-power conditions. For the rectifier, three different solutions are presented: a single-series diode, a single-shunt diode, and a voltage-doubler configuration. The efficiency is similar for the three rectifiers – about 54% with a sine-wave excitation and −10.5 dBm of input power. Field measurements with the voltage-doubler have shown 63% efficiency for the same input power.


Researchers wonder what it takes to improve athlete performance. Research has suggested that plants reduce anxiety, and reduced anxiety could, in turn, improve athletic performance. Research also shows that plants have psychological and restorative value such as improving coping mechanisms in human subjects as well as the potential to improve concentration and focus attention that could affect performance of athletes. The main objective of this research was to investigate the impact of greenery/landscaping on athletic performance and cognitive and somatic anxiety in track and field athletes. Four university track and field teams and 128 athletes participated in the study. Individual athlete performance and athletes' scores on the competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (CSAI-2) cognitive and somatic anxiety tests were collected from seven track meets that occurred during one spring competition season. Greenness/landscaping level was determined by Likert scale rating averages from professional horticulturists who individually rated each site. A regression analysis found that greenness level was a predictor (P = 0.000) of best performance by athletes. More of the athletes' best performance marks were at the track and field site that had the highest greenery rating, and many of the athletes' worst performance marks were achieved at the site that had the lowest greenery rating. Results also indicated that all athletes performed better at the more vegetated track and field site regardless of event and level of anxiety. All athletes performed similarly at each of the track and field sites regardless of ethnicity, gender, or grade classification. However, the overall average mean anxiety scores for all the athletes involved in this study were somewhat high in comparison with the instrument-normed scores for both the cognitive and somatic anxiety scales.


Two teeth collected from the Upper Triasssic Chinle Formation of northeastern Arizona are described here and named Kraterokheirodon colberti gen. et sp. nov. These teeth are novel in having an occlusal ridge with six cusps and a posterior shelf lacking dentine. Evidence for thecodont implantation of the root suggests amniote affinities for these teeth. They do not match any teeth known for basal vertebrates or basal tetrapods. Although the teeth display some affinities with "traversodont" cynodonts, there are significant differences that preclude a referral to this group. These teeth most probably represent an unknown tetrapod clade and document the presence of a large amniote previ- ously unknown from Late Triassic terrestrial faunas.


Round table meetings are frequently used between professionals to design new approaches, review developments, or make decisions. These meetings are highly collaborative and usually the objects or documents to be discussed are on the table. More and more of these objects and documents are not physically present but only virtually available, e.g., displayed on a computer screen. Using conventional input devices such as mouse and keyboard the interaction with these virtual objects and documents is often constrained to one operator while the other meeting participants can observe and suggest but not interact with them, which hinders creativity and collaborative working. This is a major constraint particularly to architects who are used to manipulate physical models during round table review meeting. In this paper, we describe an augmented round table system for architecture and urban planning that enables several meeting participants to actively interact with virtual objects visualized through head mounted displays on the round table. In particular, this paper describes 1) the means of interaction that were developed for the augmented round table, namely a wireless wand and tangible interfaces, command hand gestures and a pointing gesture, and 2) the user interaction. Preliminary feedback from end user tests is positive.


When I took over as President this time last year I realized that I had a very difficult act to follow. Under Lord Porter, the Royal Society had expanded its role in various directions and was playing a prominent part in national affairs. As one aspect of this I found myself immediately involved in setting up and steering a major Science Inquiry. While I might have preferred a gradual introduction into all the complex issues involved, I have instead undergone what can only be described as a crash course. As you may know, our Science Inquiry, which has a very broad remit, has solicited views from a wide range of individuals and organizations. The response has been quite impressive both in quantity and quality, and I personally have tried to read every contribution. As a result we have first-hand knowledge of the views of the scientific community and can clearly identify the issues that cause most concern. Digesting this material and producing a measured report will take a few more months and will no doubt provide suitable material for my Anniversary Address next year. In the interim you might like to know some of the issues which we are focusing on. We are very concerned with the position of the individual scientist at all stages in the scientific process. There are many serious questions about the recruitment, pay and conditions of Ph.D. students. This leads on to the even more difficult problems concerning post-doctoral Fellows and others on short-term appointments. The size of this group, as compared with tenured staff, has increased dramatically over the past decade, and this raises fundamental issues which must now be addressed.


In 2 studies, children ages 3 to 7 years were asked to recall a series of touches that occurred during a previous staged event. The recall interview took place 1 week after the event in Study 1 and immediately after the event in Study 2. Each recall interview had 2 sections: In 1 section, children were given human figure drawings (HFDs) and were asked to show where the touching took place; in the other section, the same questions were asked without the HFDs (verbal condition). Children were randomly assigned to 2 different conditions: HFD 1st/verbal 2nd or verbal 1st/HFD 2nd. There were 2 major findings. First, HFDs elicited more errors than the verbal condition when used to probe for information that the child had already been asked. Second, regardless of interview method, children had poor recall of the touches even when these occurred minutes before the interview. It is suggested that cognitive mechanisms involving memory and semantics underlie children's poor recall of touching in both verbal and HFD conditions.


Proposed matching method of bag's images based on straight line features control in this paper. At first, it established a mathematical model of straight line features control theory; Secondly, it collected bags images by use of machine vision systems. It applied the contrast, image binarization, the first order derivative edge detection, dilation and erosion, image thinning, noise remove and other image processing technology and got the edge of the target object image. Next it used the Harris corner detection algorithm to get corners of edge image which is needed by straight linear control theory and achieve the features matching of two bag's edge images. Finally, it processed vertical, rotating, tilt, moving and light changing's bags' images when putting bags stacked and side by side, the results show that the proposed matching method has strong robustness.


Routine activities and lifestyle theories focus on the opportunities that lead to victimization experience. Routine activities theory considers a micro- and macro-level approach to understanding victimization, which suggests the utility of this theory in cross-national research. However, few cross-national studies applying a routine activities framework address both the individual and structural levels of analysis. Additionally, much research adhering to this theoretical perspective does not distinguish between instrumental and expressive crimes. Because of these limitations, the full explanatory value of the theory has not been adequately explored. In this study, the author focuses on a cross-national multilevel analysis of violent and property victimization across 47 developed and developing nations. The author uses the International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS) and the European Survey on Crime and Safety (EU ICS) for individual-level measures and incorporates information on country structure from sources including the United Nations, World Bank, and the International Labor Organization. The results indicate individual-level measures of routines and lifestyles are differentially related to expressive and instrumental victimization, and these relationships maintain significance when structural opportunity measures are considered. Moreover, the measures of structural opportunity as captured by the level of development, sex ratio, and female employment are differentially associated with violent and property victimization.


In todays age of data, discovering relationships between different variables is an interesting and a challenging problem. This problem becomes even more critical with regards to complex dynamical systems like weather forecasting and econometric models, which can show highly non-linear behaviour. A method based on mutual information and deep neural networks is proposed as a versatile framework for discovering non-linear relationships ranging from functional dependencies to causality. We demonstrate the application of this method to actual multivariable non-linear dynamical systems. We also show that this method can find relationships even for datasets with small number of datapoints, as is often the case with empirical data.


ABSTRACT Objectives: Vision impairment is one of the most common disabilities among older adults, and it has a substantial impact on well-being. The present study constructs an integrative model to identify which variables derived from four dimensions of life (physical/functional, social, psychological and environmental) combined with sociodemographic variables explain the overall subjective well-being (SWB) visually impaired older adults living in the community. Method: A total of 121 severe visually impaired persons, aged 60 and over (M = 77.4, range 60–95), participated in the study. Personal, face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants at social centers or at their homes. Research tools consisted of valid and reliable questionnaires. Results: Five variables explained the older adults' variability in SWB: self-rated health, sense of meaning in life, functional independence in activity of daily living (ADL), sense of control of one's environment (Mastery) and the participant's age. The explained variance percentage was found to be high (61%). In contrast to expectations, social-environmental variables proved to be only of secondary significance in explaining SWB variability. Discussion: Variables derived from the psychological dimension appear more significant than the social-environmental variables in explaining SWB among visually impaired older adults. These variables should be considered when developing intervention programs intended to increase SWB within this unique population group.


Abstract: Plant communities and ecosystem processes in seres at multiple altitudes in the tropical montane forest zone of northern Borneo were studied to understand the patterns and mechanisms of the secondary succession after shifting cultivation. A total of 25 stands (and additional three stands) were sampled with stand ages ranging from 2 to 55 y after slash and burn at altitudes between 900 and 1400 m asl. Plant species composition, above-ground biomass (AGB), chemical properties of soils, litter and foliar samples were investigated in each stand. A TWINSPAN analysis classified five plant communities primarily as a sere but with two altitudinal communities in the later successional phase. AGB accumulated steadily at the rate of 2.42 Mg ha−1 y−1 during the succession for the first 55 y due to the ontogenetic development of plants as well as plant community shifts. At the onset of secondary succession, pool of soil NO3-N and soil total P was high probably because burning caused flushes of minerals originating from the burnt plant materials. Pool of soil NO3-N and soil total P decreased with increasing stand age during the succession. Leaf-litter N:P ratios of dominant species significantly increased with increasing stand age suggesting disproportionately greater P deficiency than N deficiency in the later successional phase. It is suggested that tree species shifted to those of greater P-use efficiency during succession in response to decreasing soil P availability. We conclude that the interaction of altitude with the reduction of soil N and P availability was related to the altitudinal split of plant communities in the later phase, while pioneer communities were wide-ranging across altitudes reflecting richer soil nutrients.


The widespread use of antibiotics caused severe problems of antibiotic residues in foodstuffs and water, posing a serious threat to public health and thus urging the development of sensitive, selective, and rapid detection methods for antibiotics. In this study, a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based system is developed for the multiplexed analysis of chloramphenicol (CAP) and streptomycin (Strep) with detection limits of 2.51 and 8.69 μg l−1, respectively. The FRET-based system consists of Cy3-tagged anti-CAP aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) (referred to as AuNPs-AptCAP) and Cy5-tagged anti-Strep aptamer-conjugated AuNPs (referred to as AuNPs-AptStrep). In addition, AuNPs-AptCAP and AuNPs-AptStrep have been demonstrated to serve as signal transducers for implementing a series of logic operations such as YES, NOT, INH, OR, (2-4)-Decoder and even more complicated multi-level logic gates (OR-INH). Based on the outputs of logic operations, it could be figured out whether targeted analytes were present or not, thus enabling multiplex sensing and evaluation of pollution status. This proof of concept study might provide a new route for the enhanced sensing performance to distinguish different pollution status as well as the design of molecular mimics of logic elements to demonstrate better applicability.


This thesis work started with an extensive literature study in several areas, ZigBee, instruments and measuring methods. The knowledge was implemented in use with the ZigBee modules from the two manufacturers ITN and Chipcon along with ZigBee Software Stack. Measuring methods were developed and software in ZigBee software Stack was developed to use in the ZigBee modules for the measurements. Developing measurement methods and performing measurements was an iterative process for the different measurements. The aim was to characterize the ZigBee modules in the most important areas during the extent of this master thesis work.


Infrared light (760 nm-1 mm) constitutes approximately 40% of the solar radiation reaching the ground at sea level. Shortest wavelength near-infrared (NIR) photons (NIR or IR-A: 760-1,400 nm) can penetrate the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue with numerous biological effects. NIR used to have a bad reputation on the basis of past studies using high-intensity artificial light sources (above the solar IR-A irradiance threshold) at high doses leading to detrimental effects (i.e., upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-1). However, when looking at the other side of the coin and what we can learn from the sun, NIR intensity matters. Hence, mimicking sunlight NIR intensity (30-35 mW/cm2) will rather trigger beneficial cutaneous effects. It is likely that intensity is more important than the fluence (dose) delivered. Moreover, the law of reciprocity (i.e., the biological effect is directly proportional to the total dose irrespective of intensity) does not always apply when considering tissue response in photobiology. In fact, the biphasic dose curve (Arndt-Schulz curve) of photobiomodulation establishes that if irradiance is lower than the physiological threshold value for a given target, it does not produce beneficial effects, even when -irradiation duration is extended. Also, photo-inhibitory deleterious effects may occur at higher irradiances. Remarkably, the beneficial "sweet spot" in between corresponds to the irradiance of the sun. NIR might even precondition the skin from an evolutionary standpoint as exposure to early morning NIR wavelengths in sunlight may prepare the skin for upcoming mid-day harmful UVR. Consequently, NIR light appears to be the solution, not the problem.


The research aims to find out about the conception of the state of law and democracy aspired by Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar. The type of research used in this study is the socio-juridical type of research. Juridically because the unit of analysis in this research is an idea, the idea knows the concept. Where in what is meant is an idea Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar about the concept of a state of law and democracy. Empirically the author sought to see the historical facts about the application of the concept correlated with the constitution of the Republic of Indonesia in the era of President Soekarno's leadership. The results showed Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar wanted the Indonesian state as an Islamic state with a presidential system of government while still carrying out the principles of true democracy. True democracy means Abdul Qahhar Mudzakkar is a tribute to the values of martyrdom, pluralism, and justice. This certainly requires better time, methods, and refinements if you want to be applied in a plural Indonesia.


SUMMARY Genotype by environment (G x E) interactions for grain yield were investigated in 13 perennial rice (Oryza sativa L./Oryza longistaminata) derivatives over three sites and 2 years in Lao PDR. Genotype accounted for 29.0% of the total sum of squares, with environment and the G x E interaction responsible for 60.2 and 10.8%, respectively. Cluster analysis identified three environment and six genotype groups, which accounted for 49.7, 98.0 and 42.8% of the E, G and G x E sums of squares, respectively. Principal component axes 1, 2 and 3 accounted for 54.0, 30.6 and 11.7% of the G x E sum of squares, respectively, with PCA1 indicating yield potential, PCA2 timing of cessation of rainfall in the 2011 wet season, and PCA3 environmental stresses affecting regrowth in the 2012 wet season. Genotype groups differed in adaptation to these contrasting conditions. G6 (Line 213, 240 and RD23) was widely adapted to all environments, with G5 (Line 248) being especially adapted to the 2012 environments. G3 and G4 were neutral, though G3 (Line 53) showed some preference for the Na Pok environments. G1 and G2 were poorly adapted everywhere, with the tall and late G1 (Line 11) being especially poor at Na Pok 2011 in a dry finish. While yields were lower in 2012, all derivatives survived the dry season with access to life-saving irrigation. This is promising, as the annual rice RD23 was unable to ratoon under these conditions, and had to be re-sown. Importantly, Line 213, 240 and 248 yielded comparably to RD23 from regrowth in 2012. Development of perennial rice should target rainfed and especially upland environments.


Issue reports are a pivotal interface between developers and users for receiving information about bugs in their products. In practice, issue reports often have incorrect information or insufficient information to enable bugs to be reproduced, and this has the effect of delaying the entire bug-fixing process. To facilitate their bug-reproduction work, GitHub has provided a new feature that allows users to share videos (e.g., mp4 files.) Using such videos, reports can be made to developers about the details of bugs by recording the symptoms, reproduction steps, and other important aspects of bug information. While such visual issue reports have the potential to significantly improve the bug-fixing process, no studies have empirically exam-ined this impact. In this paper, we conduct a preliminary study to identify the characteristics of visual issue reports by comparing them with non-visual issue reports. We collect 1,230 videos and 18,760 images from 226,286 issues on 4,173 publicly available repositories. Our preliminary analysis shows that issue reports with images are described in fewer words than non-visual issue reports. In addition, we observe that most dis-cussions in visual issue reports are concerned with either conditions for reproduction (e.g., when) or GUI (e.g., pageviewcontroller.)


At the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution held here last month, two speakers presented evidence suggesting that forces other than chance shaped the origin and history of the genetic code. Experiments with RNA have shown that chemical attractions between the genetic material and the components of proteins may have helped shape the original code, reported one speaker. Another researcher, using powerful computer analyses, suggested that the modern code is the product of evolution because it is so error-proof: Only one in a million other possible codes is better at producing a workable protein even when the DNA carries mistakes.


The existing signature verification systems usually train classifiers for a new user by both his/her genuine and forgery signatures. Obviously, the requirement of forgery signatures is impractical. This paper presents an off-line signature verification system that only requires the genuine signatures of a new user. At the training stage the system learns the mapping between the parameters of classifiers without simple forgeries and those with simple forgeries. In the application stage, a primary classifier is trained for a new user without his/her simple forgeries. The final classifier is obtained by transforming the primary classifier via the mapping learnt in the training stage. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system.


Vehicle roll dynamics are strongly influenced by suspension properties such as roll centre height, roll steer, and roll camber. In this paper, the effects of suspension properties on vehicle roll response have been investigated using a multi-body vehicle dynamics programme. Roll dynamics of a vehicle model with MacPherson (front) and multilink (rear) suspensions were evaluated for the fishhook manoeuvre and variations of its roll response due to changes in the suspension properties were assessed by quantitatively analysing the vehicle response through simulation. Critical suspension design parameters for vehicle roll dynamics were identified and adjusted to improve roll stability of the vehicle model with passive suspension. Design of experiments has been used for identifying critical hardpoints affecting the suspension parameters, and optimisation techniques were employed for parameter optimisation. This approach provides a viable alternative to costlier active control systems for economy-class vehicles.


Abstract Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), one of the most potent mediators of angiogenesis, plays an important role in tumor cell proliferation and migration. Elevated VEGF levels are found in both the plasma and the bone marrow of patients with chronic myelogeneous leukemia(CML). Moreover, the CML-associated oncogene Bcr-Abl induces endogenous secretion of VEGF. The aim of this study was to construct a lentiviral vector-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene and to investigate the effects of RNAi inhibiting VEGF gene alone or in combination with imatinib on the proliferation and apoptosis of K562 leukemic cell line. Methods: A lentiviral expression vector containing short hairpin RNA (shRNA ) targeting VEGF was constructed and cotransfected with the pPACKH1 packaging plasmids mixture into 293T cells by Lipofectamine 2000. K562 cells were infected with the packaged lentivirus. The levels of VEGF mRNA and protein were detected by real-time quantitative RT- PCR, Western blot and ELISA. Cellular proliferation was determined by trypan blue exclusion and MTT assay. imatinib -induced apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: The lentiviral shRNA vector targeting VEGF has been constructed and transfected into K562 cells successfully. The expression of VEGF mRNA and protein in K562-shVEGF cells transfected with pRNAT-shRNA were significantly inhibited when compared with those of K562 and K562–con cells (mock transfection). The proliferation rate of K562-shVEGF cells slowed down. After imatinib treatment, the percentages of apoptotic cells in K562-shVEGF cells increased more significantly than those of K562 and K562–con cells. Conclusion: Suppression of VEGF by lentivirus-mediated RNAi could effectively inhibit proliferation and increase the sensitivity of K562 cells to imatinib. These results indicate that Bcr/Abl-targeting compound in combination with anti-angiogenic therapies may provide a potent therapeutic strategy to CML.


Black-throated Green Warblers (Dendroica virens) use coniferous vegetation as foraging and perching substrates at coastal sites in Maine and predominantly deciduous vegetation at inland sites in interior New Hampshire, despite the availability of both substrates. I tested the hypothesis that these habitat use patterns result from intrinsic preferences (fixed behavioral choices independent of environmental influence) by quantifying coniferous and deciduous vegetation use by individuals from New Hampshire and Maine in common-garden aviary experiments with equal substrate and prey availability. I also determined the strength of these preferences by skewing experimental prey distributions toward the less preferred vegetation type of birds from each region and measuring resulting substrate use. Individuals from coastal sites showed significantly greater preferences for coniferous vegetation as both perching and foraging substrates than did inland birds, which preferred deciduous vegetation. In skewed prey distribution experiments, individuals maintained their regional preferences for perching substrates, but shifted foraging substrates typically after first capturing all prey from the preferred vegetation type. Significant morphological variation (larger maxillar width, tibiotarsi, tarsometatarsi, humeri, and radii in coastal birds) was found among Black-throated Green Warblers from the two regions that corresponded to morphology- habitat associations found in other mixed coniferous and deciduous bird assemblages. These data suggest that intrinsic factors may be influential as a proximate microhabitat selection mechanism in the Black-throated Green Warbler.