ABSTRACT Most of Hawaii's endemic avifauna are species of conservation concern. Some of Hawaii's endangered waterbirds, however, have increased in number as a result of intensive management of wetlands. To inform these conservation efforts, we examined interisland genetic structure and gene flow within 2 Hawaiian endemic waterbirds, the Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai) and the Hawaiian subspecies of the Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis), using microsatellite and mitochondrial loci. Hawaiian Coots and Hawaiian Gallinules occupy coastal wetlands and exhibit similar life history characteristics and generation times, although they may differ in dispersal propensity. Mark–resight data for Hawaiian Coot indicate interisland movements, whereas Hawaiian Gallinules are sedentary. Genetic diversity is partitioned across the landscape differently for Hawaiian Coots and Hawaiian Gallinules; patterns of variation are likely influenced by behavioral and ecological mechanisms. Hawaiian Coots exhibit low levels of structure at microsatellite loci (FST = 0.029) and high levels of gene flow among islands. Conversely, Hawaiian Gallinules are highly structured across marker types (microsatellite FST = 0.205, mtDNA control region FST = 0.370, mtDNA ND2 FST = 0.087), with restricted recent gene flow. Patterns of gene flow have changed after the population declines in the early to mid-1900s. Gene flow estimates indicate historical dispersal from Kauai to Oahu in both species, while recent estimates show individual Hawaiian Coots dispersing from Oahu and restricted gene flow between islands for the Hawaiian Gallinule. Changes in gene flow through time suggest that patterns of dispersal may be an artifact of the availability of habitat, which may be indirectly associated with the synergistic influences of population density and wetland quality. Despite recent population size increases for both species, continued threats to Hawaiian waterbirds (i.e. nonnative mammalian predators and invasive plants, avian disease, altered hydrology, and saltwater inundation of freshwater wetlands) will likely require continued active management to maintain viable populations.


Folate metabolism in Plasmodium falciparum is essential for cell growth and replication, and the target of important antimalarial agents. The pathway comprises a series of enzymes that convert GTP to derivatives of tetrahydrofolate, which are cofactors in one‐carbon transfer reactions. We investigated the expression of five of the genes encoding these enzymes by quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) using a threshold detection technique. We followed changes in mRNA levels as parasites progress through the erythrocytic cell cycle and examined this process in two cloned lines of diverse origins, as well as under stress conditions, induced by either removal of important metabolites or challenge by folate enzyme inhibitors. Although conventionally regarded as performing housekeeping functions, these genes show disparate levels of and changes in expression through the cell cycle, but respond quite uniformly to folate pathway‐specific stress factors, with no evidence of feedback at the transcriptional level. Overall, the two genes involved in the thymidylate cycle (encoding dihy‐drofolate reductase–thymidylate synthase, dhfr‐ts, and serine hydroxymethyltransferase, shmt) gave the most abundant transcripts. However, only the latter showed major variation across the cell cycle, with a peak around the time of onset of DNA replication, possibly indicative of a regulatory function.


Recovering nutrients from human excreta and wastewater has been receiving increasing attention as a means to supplement or replace synthetic fertilizer production. Apart from technologies for nutrient recovery at centralized wastewater treatment plants, numerous decentralized, source‐separated sanitation systems, also known as new sanitation systems, have been developed to facilitate recovery. Decision‐making for the planning and implementation of new sanitation systems would benefit from a spatially explicit inventory of nutrient hotspots in urban areas. To provide visual representations of nutrient loads, we developed a methodology that combines spatial‐temporal modeling with geographic information system analysis, and used it for the city of Amsterdam. The methodology is new in the field of nutrient mapping, especially at the smallest geographical scale: building. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium loads and hotspots are mapped at both building and neighborhood scale, drawing attention to the need for multiple scale analyses in decision‐making. This study concludes with a discussion on the potential to further develop the method proposed to include more detailed and verified data and to identify nutrient hotspots that are promising as nutrient recovery sites with new sanitation systems.


Weather and climate extremes impose serious impacts on natural and human systems. In its fifth assessment report (AR5) and a special report [Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX)], the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided a thorough assessment of observed and projected changes in extremes in a warming climate, with evidenced scientific gaps in the understanding of these responsive changes being reported. Reviewing post-AR5 literature, this article synthesizes recent advances regarding these previous gaps with respect to detection, attribution, and projection of extremes. We focus on constraints for the assessment confidence, overlooked types and characteristics of extremes, and changes in their thermodynamic-dynamic drivers. We also stress potential misinterpretations of existing results, propose an update of earlier key findings, and identify burgeoning topics.


Introduction Chyle leak (CL) or chylous ascites (CA) remains a rare complication after laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LDN). Its aetiology and management have not been well elucidated in the literature. Thus, the aim of this study is to review the incidence of CL/CA after LDN in our institute and the literature to propose a classification system with its associated treatment strategy. Material and Methods A retrospective review of LDN cohort from January 2005 to April 2016 to identify CL/CA along with the management was conducted. A proposed classification system is described based on our experience and literature. Results CL developed in 4 donors (2.25%). Of the four, three were managed non-operatively with diet modification and subcutaneous octreotide injection. One case required surgical intervention after failure with conservative treatment. Conclusion CL/CA is rare after LDN but delayed diagnosis may lead to morbidity secondary to malnutrition and immunosuppression. Meticulous surgical dissection is essential to seal the lymphatic tubes during LDN. A proposed classification system will provide a guidance for management of CL and improve the outcome of recovery.


This paper investigates the impact of the DUT antenna pattern on the test area performance for multi-probe based MIMO OTA setup in terms of received voltage and spatial correlation. The plane wave synthesis (PWS) technique has been proposed for vertical polarization in the literature, where the goal is to approximate plane waves with arbitrary directions. The received voltage at the antenna terminal depends on the antenna radiation pattern and the impinging plane waves. A novel closed form technique to reproduce the received voltage with arbitrary incoming plane waves based on trigonometric interpolation is presented. The proposed technique provides a closed form solution for the PWS when the probe ring radius is infinite. The proposed technique shows that the impact of the antenna pattern on the induced received voltage accuracy is ruled by Nyquist sampling theory. Furthermore, the impact of the antenna pattern on spatial correlation accuracy for prefaded signal synthesis (PFS) technique is investigated as well. Simulation and measurement results show that the number of required probes depend directly on the DUT antenna pattern. To test realistic DUTs with higher variations in directivity, we need more probes to maintain the same received voltage and spatial correlation accuracy level.


At the end of the nineteenth century, while many regions of Colombia faced the constant internal strife, the nation discussed the need for profound changes in the organization and financing of the education system. At the time, the governors promoted insightful educational reforms following political orientation, prevailing in the period an education to serve the economy. The linkages between national policy and its impact on the educational system are shown in the article, as well as the reasons which explain the decline of the educational system in the country in the period.


We describe a patient with self-induced disease who presented with repeated urinary tract infection and sepsis due to intravesical and intravenous injection of feces. Sepsis occurred repeatedly such that the patient exhibited 10 bouts of fever > 40 degrees C in a single month. This bacterial challenge led to massive activation of the monocyte system with high levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, and monocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). This cytokine response was followed by strong expansion of the novel CD14+CD16+ monocyte subset. These results suggest that cytokines induce the development of CD14+CD16+ cells in human septicemia and that CD14+CD16+ cells may serve as indicator for previous bouts of excessive inflammation.


Two flavanones, 5,2',6'-trihydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavanone (1), 5,2',6'-trihydroxy-6,7,8-trimethoxyflavanone (2) and their 2'-O-β-D-glucosides (3, 4), and a neoclerodane-type diterpene, 15-demethoxyscupolin I (5), together with twenty-eight known compounds were isolated from the extracts of Lagochilus leiacanthus. The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectroscopic means. The two new flavanones and some known flavonoids showed the inhibitory activity on the release of β-hexosaminidase from RBL-2H3 cells.


This work presents the complete effort to model the presence of an integrated system of heat exchangers mounted in the exhaust nozzle of an aero engine which uses an alternative but more efficient thermodynamic cycle. The heat exchangers are operating as heat recuperators exploiting part of the thermal energy of the turbine exhaust gas to preheat the compressor outlet air before combustion and to reduce pollutants and fuel consumption. The presence of the heat exchangers enforces a significant pressure drop in the exhaust gas flow which can affect the overall efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle and the potential benefit of this technology. For this reason it is important to optimize the operation of the system of heat exchangers. The main target of this optimization effort is the minimization of the pressure losses for the same amount of heat transfer achieved. The optimization is performed with the combined use of experimental measurements and CFD methods. Since the CFD modeling is taking into consideration the overall geometry of the exhaust nozzle of the aero engine where the heat exchangers are mounted, the presence of the latter is unavoidably modeled with the use of a porosity model for practical reasons, having to do with CPU and memory requirements. The porosity model is taking into account the pressure drop and heat transfer behaviour of the heat exchangers and was developed and validated with the use of detailed experimental measurements. For the validation of the CFD model, isothermal experimental measurements carried out for laboratory conditions in a 1:1 model of a quarter of the exhaust nozzle of the aero engine, including four full-scale heat exchangers, were used. The CFD results were in good agreement with the experimental measurements and the same flow structures and problematic regions were detected. Thus, a complete 3-D CFD model of the overall exhaust nozzle of the aero engine was created and validated which at the next step formed the basis for the optimization of the overall aero engine installation for real engine operating conditions. The improved design of the aero engine installation presented decreased pressure losses in relation to the initial design and a more balanced mass flow distribution, showing the applicability of the overall methodology and its advantages for producing efficient engineering solutions for similar setups.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


It is shown that there is a fairly simple and cheap alternative to conventional analogue-to-digital (ADC) converters if the conversion time of the ADC need not be too short.


This paper provides methods for packet scheduling that designed for VoIP in a mixed traffic scenario over high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) in WCDMA. In the interested mixed traffic scenario voice packets are transmitted together with 5 background best-effort (BE) data users. The proposed packet scheduling schemes in such a mixed traffic environment are based on a proportional fair (PF) packet scheduling algorithm, to be more specifically, they are two resource allocation methods for BE data user. The performance is evaluated with a quasi-static system level simulator. Performance with a LMMSE advanced receivers is also addressed. The results indicate that with the proposed scheduling algorithm 2 in this paper the VoIP capacity in a mixed traffic scenario can be up to 106 users with a delay budget 80 ms, which is approximately maintained as that of VoIP single mode. At the same time, a rather good background BE performance can be obtained. With the proposed algorithm 1 the VoIP capacity can reach 101 users per cell. However a better background BE performance than algorithm 2 can be obtained.


Employment in the temporary help supply (THS) industry more than tripled in the U.S. between 1982 and 1992. During that period, the variability and cyclical sensitivity of THS jobs, their average weekly hours and real hourly earnings were extraordinarily high. In addition, changes in temporary employment levels disproportionately affect aggregate employment flows over this period. One possible explanation is that the dramatic rise in THS jobs stems from demographic changes in the composition of the labor force toward groups believed to prefer impermanent job commitment or temporal flexibility in supplying labor services. A contrasting view considers the growth in temporary jobs as a human resource strategy increasingly adopted by firms seeking lower labor cost or increased numerical flexibility in labor input utilization. Such a strategy may be the employer's response to greater volatility in aggregate output demand, intensifying price competition pressures in globalizing product markets and rising fixed labor costs incurred for permanent employees. A model is developed that presents permanent and temporary (secondary) sectors as two distinct labor market segments. Three-stage least squares estimation of non-nested models of aggregate monthly employment in the THS industry is conducted. The empirical test results more strongly support the hypothesized effect of the "strategy/ opportunity" set of variables in the model. Specifically, the fluctuation in aggregate industrial output, relative international value of the U.S. dollar, and the relative magnitude of non-wage labor costs are all positively associated with the log of the level of temporary employment over the period 1982 to 1992. In addition, the changing relative bargaining power of labor is a contributing factor to growth of temporary employment, facilitating the hiring of more temporary employees. None of the variables in a "labor force composition" non-nested model, with the exception of married women as proportion of the labor force, is positively associated with levels of temporary employment. Given that the rapid growth in temporary employment is more a demand-side phenomenon, public policies are discussed which might serve to curb the growth of THS jobs to the rate at which such jobs are preferred by workers.


Avian influenza A viruses, which can also propagate between humans, present serious pandemic threats, particularly in Asia. The specificity (selectivity) of interactions between the recognition protein hemagglutinin (HA) of the virus capsid and the glycoconjugates of host cells also contributes to the efficient spread of the virus by aerosol between humans. Some avian origin viruses, such as H1N1 (South Carolina 1918), have improved their selectivity for human receptors by mutation in the HA receptor binding site, to generate pandemic viruses. Molecular details and dynamics of glycan-HA interactions are of interest, both in predicting the pandemic potential of a new emerging strain and in searching for new antiviral drugs. Two complementary techniques, 1H saturation transfer difference (1H STD) nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, were applied to analyze the interaction of the new H7 (A/Anhui/1/13 H7N9) with LSTa [Neu5Ac α(2→3) Gal β(1→3) GlcNAc β(1→3) Gal β(1→4) Glc] and LSTc [Neu5Ac α(2→6) Gal β(1→4) GlcNAc β(1→3) Gal β(1→4) Glc] pentasaccharides, models of avian and human receptor glycans. Their interactions with H7 were analyzed for the first time using 1H STD and MD, revealing structural and dynamic behavior that could not be obtained from crystal structures, and contributing to glycan-HA specificity. This highlighted aspects that could affect glycan-HA recognition, including the mutation H7 G228S, which increases H2 and H3 specificity for the human receptor. Finally, interactions between LSTc and H7 were compared with those between LSTc and H1 of H1N1 (South Carolina 1918), contributing to our understanding of the recognition ability of HAs.


The now-day period of development of the medical service of the Armed Forces of the RF and it's system of control is characterized by a growing up need by functionaries of control departments in an actual, authentic, well-timed and all-round information. This information is necessary for qualitative solving of concrete missions. Growing of volume and importance of information stipulates research of new methods and ways of rise of control effectiveness. One of the ways of resolving this problem is elaboration of the unique informational space of the medical service of the Armed Forces of RF. Realization of perspectives of improvement of information acquisition and processing for the control of the medical service permits create the unique informational space of the medical service of the Armed Forces of RF, realize a centralized control, solving missions of building and reforming of system of control and medical supply of Forces.


In the United States many children are malnourished. We very rarely think of over-nutrition as malnutrition, but it is. Furthermore, our children are suffering because of it. No one would tell their child to go play in the street, because imminent harm and perhaps death would ensue. Yet we fail to recognize the threats posed by overweight and obesity. Not only is one's quality of life greatly diminished, but morbidity and premature mortality from Type II diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease are the consequences. Obese persons are the subject of ridicule in television programming and the motion picture industry. This negative attention contributes to the stigma and resulting psychological pain endured by adults and children alike. Health educators must actively pursue resolution of the obesity crisis, not only through education, but through policy advocacy for PE standards, recess, school vending machine policies, nutrition education, and improved nutrition within our schools. Individual intervention has not proven effective, and it is time to address the environmental forces at work.


Inference of network internal link performance has become an increasingly important issue in operating and evaluating network. However, it is impractical to directly measure each node or link in the network. A promising alternative is to measure only at the edge of the network and infer internal behavior from these measurements. In this paper we concentrate on the estimation of internal delays based on end-to-end delay measurements from sources to receivers. We develop a new algorithm by using cumulant generating function (CGF) to evaluate the probability distribution of link delay in network with stochastic routes. Simulation results prove that the algorithm could resolve the delay inference in the network with random routes. At the end of this paper, we apply the delay characteristics of the internal link to locate bottleneck link in network.


The article gives a brief description of the electric pump unit of the satellite thermal control system as an electromechanical subsystem. General issues of development of diagnostics systems for electromechanical systems are considered. Defects of system parts and the reasons leading to failures of electromechanical units are determined. Using modern sources, an overview of methods and approaches to solving problems of diagnosing defects in the mechanical, electrical, and electromagnetic parts of the systems under study is presented. The advantages and disadvantages of modern approaches are noted. A diagnostic chart of prospective current diagnostics is shown. The paper gives an effectiveness assessment of various methods and practical recommendations for the use of the presented methods for the diagnostics system design for electric pump units of satellite systems. Promising areas of research in the field of diagnostics of electromechanical systems, such as the use of current methods or methods based on neural networks, have been identified.


(abridged) In the core accretion scenario for the formation of planetary rocky cores, the first step toward planet formation is the growth of dust grains into larger and larger aggregates and eventually planetesimals. Although dust grains are thought to grow from the submicron sizes typical of interstellar dust to micron size particles in the dense regions of molecular clouds and cores, the growth from micron size particles to pebbles and kilometre size bodies must occur in protoplanetary disks. This step in the formation of planetary systems is the last stage of solids evolution that can be observed directly in young extrasolar systems.
In this chapter we review the constraints on the physics of grain-grain collisions as they have emerged from laboratory experiments and numerical computations. We then review the current theoretical understanding of the global processes governing the evolution of solids in protoplanetary disks, including dust settling, growth, and radial transport. The predicted observational signatures are summarized.
We discuss recent developments in the study of grain growth in molecular cloud cores and in collapsing envelopes of protostars as these provide the initial conditions for the dust in disks. We discuss the observational evidence for the growth of grains in young disks from mm surveys, as well as the recent evidence of radial variations of the dust properties in disks. We include a brief discussion of the constraints on the small end of the grain size distribution and on dust settling as derived from optical and IR observations. The observations are discussed in the context of global dust evolution models, in particular we focus on the emerging evidence for a very efficient early growth of grains and the radial distribution of grain sizes in disks. We also highlight the limits of current models, including the need to slow the radial drift of grains.


Teaching with Space permits easy and quick identification of resources you will find most beneficial. This guide captures the essence of resources with applicability across the elementary curriculum. Specific product reviews and suggested uses in the classroom are provided to enable informed decision-making. Materials from NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration may be obtained in limited quantities at no cost from public domain sources when available. Pricing in this guide is based on duplication, warehousing, and overhead costs associated with distributing these items. Although this resource guide is a prototype guide distributed on a limited basis, we trust you will find it useful in locating quality instructional resources. Your suggestions and comments are most welcome, and will receive the fullest consideration as we work to expand and validate this guide for national distribution. Based on teacher criteria for quality, educational soundness, compatibility with the curriculum, ease of use, and affordability, the guide will be updated as new resources become available, and in response to teacher feedback. You may provide us with additional items for consideration at any time. We also are planning to develop a resource guide for middle and high school teachers, and your input is welcome for that effort too. This guide is just one way that space can help you in the classroom.


A Nelore population data was analyzed to estimate genetic parameters for days to calving (DC) and verify the possibility of using it as a selection criterion. There were 49698 calving observations from 36196 females. Data were analyzed using a single-trait animal model. The fixed effects were contemporary groups, calf sex and age of dam at joining as a covariable. The contemporary groups were composed by farm, year, season and handling group at joining and mating type (mating group with multiple sires, mating group with one sire or artificial insemination). The inclusion of permanent environmental effect of animal did not increase the likelihood function significantly. Heritability estimate was 0.090 ± 0.006, indicating that DC is strongly influenced by the environment.


Caloric consumption during 343 binges was calculated from the 7-day, self-monitored food records of 32 subjects with bulimia nervosa. A second analysis was performed that examined only the first two binges recorded by each subject in order to control for the unequal number of binges among subjects. The results of these analyses were similar with subjects consuming, on average, 1200 kilocalories during episodes of binge eating with a standard deviation of approximately 1000 kilocalories. Twenty-eight percent of binges consisted of fewer than 500 kilocalories and another 28% consisted of 501 to 1000 kilocalories. The within-subject ranges of caloric intake during binge eating episodes averaged 1905 kilocalories with only three of 32 subjects having a range <850 kilocalories. These findings suggest that both among and within patients with bulimia nervosa there is much variability in the number of kilocalories consumed during episodes of binge eating with most subjects exhibiting both large and small binges. On the basis of these findings, we recommend that future additions of the DSM be modified to de-emphasize the importance of the size of eating binges.


Abstract Given a certain pre-existing commitment to sea-level rise due to the long thermal lags of the ocean system, several million people living in coastal areas and small islands will inevitably be displaced by the middle of the century. These climate exiles will have nowhere to go. Rather than deal with this in an ad hoc manner as the problem arises, the authors propose a mechanism by which these exiles would be given immigration benefits by countries through a formula that ties numbers of immigrants to a country's historical greenhouse gas emissions. Such a compensatory mechanism appears to be a fair way of addressing the problems faced by climate exiles.


The publication surveys the major existing evidence from EUROSTAT and UN/World Bank sources and comes to the depressing conclusion that there is practically no real convergence of social conditions in Europe over the last years. Instead, the gaps between East and West, and between South and North tend to be permanent. A large number of poverty indicators is analysed. The analysis bodes ill for the aims of the Union to become, by 2010, the world's leading market. The analysis is especially pessimistic for the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Bulgaria and Romania. The publication surveys also the latest evidence on Roma poverty and Roma discrimination in the region.


.PHESIDE~T H.\J)LEY. l'ole ['nitersity: The larger the world in which we live. the greater the demands it place!' upon us. St'l'EHIXTE\;IlEXT E, T. F.\IRCllILD. Kansas: The mechanical accessories of the school are not the important things. The great thing is to develop the character of boys and girls. Leave in the atmosphere of the room that you have! heart power and sympathy for teachers and pupils,


The synthesis of cobalt(II)complexes with benzil isonicotinoyl hydrazone(BINH) ligand have been reported. The ligand was prepared by condensing benzil and isonicotinic acid hydrazide. Infrared spectra show that the free ligand exist both in keto and enol form at room temperature. Complexes of the composition [Co(BINH) X2].nH2O and [Co(BIN) X2].nH2O (X = Cl , NO3 or SO4 2) have been prepared at different pH .The ligand (BINH) acts as a neutral tetradentate NNOO donor both in keto and enol form. Characterization of the above complexes has been made on the basis of their elemental analyses, infrared spectra, magnetic measurements, conductivity data, and electronic spectra. The electronic spectrum of cobalt(II) complexes in acid medium indicated the distorted octahedral and square planar in alkali medium around the cobalt(II) ion.


This work aims to analyze the capacity of the conventional Reverse Time Migration related to structures imaging in complex geological models such as below salt bodies, which is one of the greatest challenges in the petroleum exploration. The velocity model used was a slice of the 3D SEG/EAGE salt dome, known as Salt-BB. Acoustic modeling was used to generate 2D seismic data. In order to enrich the study, this acoustic modeling was performed with the variation of two very important seismic data acquisition parameters: shot point interval and receiver interval. A technique for removing artifacts from migrated data, known as selective mute, was implemented to improve the outcome of the stacked section.


Biochemical methane potential (BMP) experiments of thermo-hydrolyzed sewage sludge are carried out to investigate the effects of thermal hydrolysis on the digestibility of sewage sludge. The results show that thermal hydrolysis pretreatment can facilitate the dissolving of organic solid in sludge, and soluble organics hydrolyzed into low molecular organics, in which volatile fat acids accounted for 30% - 40 % of soluble COD, so the digestibility of sewage sludge remarkably improved. The optimum pretreatment temperature and holding time were 170 degrees C and 30 minutes, under which the total COD removal rate enhanced from original 38.11% to 56.78%, and biogas production rate of COD in feeding sludge from 160mL/g to 250mL/g.


Among the 416 angiosperm families, palms (Arecaceae) are striking in possessing almost all possible combinations of hermaphroditic and/or unisexual flowers, making them a particularly interesting subject for studies of the evolution of plant sexuality. The purpose of this review is to highlight the amazing diversity of sexual expression in palms with a view to proposing scenarios to explain the evolution of this character, drawing on the numerous advances that have been made over the last 20 years in palm systematics, ecology, developmental biology, phylogenetics and genomics. We provide an overview of the variability of sexual expression in palms, with illustrations of the associated morphological diversity and its significance to reproduction. We discuss the evolution of sexual systems using the most recent phylogenetic framework available for palms. Finally, we review advances made towards unravelling the genetic basis of sexual expression in palms. Our survey opens new perspectives for understanding how plant sexuality has evolved in angiosperms as a whole.


Water trading in Australia is enabled by much historical institutional development, which had other objectives at the time that it was implemented. After 2 decades of institutional reform to enable water markets in the Murray Darling Basin, active markets are reallocating surface water entitlements among irrigation users. However, permanent water trading is currently limited in terms of the volume traded and reallocation among uses. Given these limitations, this paper seeks to assess the success of surface water markets in the Murray‐Darling Basin by comparing current practice against the six desirable characteristics for water markets suggested by Howe et al. (1986). Overall, it is argued that, despite the relatively low rate of reallocation, the market performs well against most criteria but that ongoing evolution of institutional arrangements is critical for improved success.


ABSTRACT Guo, B., 2020. Research on the construction of logistics information platform for coastal ports under the background of electronic commerce. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp.120-122. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The construction of e-commerce integrated information platform is the key to realize the informatization, individuation, high efficiency and sustainable development of port logistics park (Buntak et al., 2019). With the improvement of China's economic strength, many modern technologies, such as automatic identification technology and bar code technology, have been widely applied in the field of port logistics, making ports gradually develop from traditional labor-intensive to e-commerce of logistics operation mode. E-commerce, with its good information processing and transmission system, has become a very important condition for the logistics industry to provide good services. The realization of port logistics informatization is an inevitable requirement to enhance the comprehensive competitiveness of port logistics in the era of e-commerce. Without the guarantee of a perfect logistics system, e-commerce activities cannot be carried out smoothly. This paper discusses the development trend of coastal port logistics in the e-commerce environment and the competitiveness of e-commerce to enhance port logistics. On this basis, the conditions for the construction of port logistics information platform are described.


Society's power to make us obey allows for peaceful existence, economic prosperity and efficiency but it also amplifies faulty decisions to become catastrophic. In 1963 Stanley Milgram showed that the vast majority of humans exhibit excessively obedient behavior in presence of an authority and can easily be made to encourage or tolerate real torture and murder.
 In this advocacy paper, the overdue issue of how to limit excessive obedience is addressed. Eliminating the Milgram Prediction Error – i.e. the discrepancy between what we think we will do and what we actually do in situations of authority is stressed. Barriers and dynamics in our society that keep us from breaking and even enforce our habit to obey excessively are discussed. For example, society does not know what the strong situations are and therefore cannot put up a defense against them; the law does not punish excessively obedient behavior and the teaching of ethics is hampered by illusions of its efficiency.
 A sketch of a solution to the problem of excessive obedience is made involving experiential training, mappings of authority fields, rules and strong situations, and policy changes.


Background. Systems for intravenous administration of blood products and drugs are divided into the systems for transfusion (pore diameter – 114-200 μm) and systems for infusion (pore diameter – 15-75 μm). Gravity delivery systems consist of a drip chamber, an infusion rate regulator, a needle connector, a system tube, an injection needle, and a system fixation patch.
Objective. To describe modern approaches and devices for infusion therapy.
Materials and methods. Analysis of the literature on this issue.
Results and discussion. If the needle is integrated into a drip chamber, it should contain two channels at different levels: a channel for the drug and an air channel with a built-in antibacterial filter. This is important because air is always considered a non-sterile environment. The use of antibacterial filter systems for injection of drugs into the vial is prohibited. Filter materials are able to absorb on its surface from 10 to 90 % of the drug. In addition, drying of some solutions make the filter impermeable to air. Another important filter in infusion systems is the drip chamber filter, which prevents insoluble particles of the drug, particles of ampoule glass, plastic or rubber stopper from entering the bloodstream. Typical characteristic of infusion from plastic vials is the absence of need for an air needle or opening of the ventilating chamber. During the infusion, air does not enter the vial, so it deforms. On an additional inverted scale you can see the amount of drug infused. The main materials for the systems are polyvinyl chloride, diethylhexyl phthalate, and thermoplastic elastomers. The most modern and safe systems are made of thermoplastic elastomers or neutral polyurethane, however, imperfect cheap systems made of polyvinyl chloride and diethylhexyl phthalate are still widespread in Ukraine. Parenteral uptake of phthalates has antiandrogenic, antiestrogenic, antithyroid, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects. This increases the risk of reproductive problems, diabetes, obesity. Special care should also be taken when using latex-containing systems, as 3-17 % of inpatients are allergic to latex. Anaphylactic shock can develop even 4 hours after surgery. Ukrainian company "Yuria-Pharm" produces modern phthalate-free systems, including a system for the introduction of light-sensitive solutions. There are also closed non-drop level systems designed for both gravity infusion and use with volumetric infusion pumps of open type. Automatic filling of the system due to the use of a purge filter with a hydrophobic membrane allows to reduce drug losses when filling the system, to reduce the risk of chemical contamination, and significantly save time to fill the system. The nurse also does not have to look for a drain tray when filling the system. The drip system filter with non-drop level function allows not to lose the required fluid level during massive infusion therapy, significantly save the nurse's time spent on monitoring the fluid level in the vial and refilling the system, reduce the number of "alarm" staff calls, reduce risk and chemical contamination of the vial. In turn, closed systems with a graduated regulator are designed for the infusion of drugs that require accurate dosing and careful rate control throughout the infusion period (Flow Set).
Conclusions. 1. Systems for intravenous administration are divided into systems for transfusion and systems for infusion. 2. The most modern and safe systems are made of thermoplastic elastomers or neutral polyurethane. 3. There are closed systems with non-drop level, designed for both gravity infusion and the use with volumetric infusion pumps. 4. Closed systems with a graduated regulator are designed for the infusion of drugs that require accurate dosing and careful rate control throughout the infusion period.


A new self-activated green-yellow emitting Gd₂CaZnO5 (GCZO) phosphor was synthesized using solid-state reaction method at high-temperature. XRD analysis confirmed the orthorhombic structure of the sample with the Pbnm space group. SEM micrographs reveal the irregular morphology with micron sized particles. Detailed photoluminescence (PL) analysis revealed that the excitation of the phosphor lies in the UV range (˜377 nm) with the related broad green-yellow emission centered at 530 nm. The broad band emission ranging from ˜450 nm to 650 nm can be attributed to the surface defects and oxygen vacancies. The calculated luminescence decay lifetime for the optimized phosphor was found to be 2.925 μs. Furthermore, the color-coordinate (x, y) were calculated and found to be (0.44, 0.45), which lies in the green-yellow (˜540 nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The values of color coordinates and Color correlated temperature of 3289 K support the synthesized phosphor for the emission of warm white-light. These results perfectly established the suitability of this green-yellow emitting GCZO phosphor for Ultra-Violet Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) excited white-LED applications.


BackgroundThe overall aim of this thesis was to improve the oncological treatment strategies in esophageal and gastric adenocarcinoma (EGAC). Podocalyxin-like protein 1 (PODXL) has been associated with poor prognosis in other cancers and we wanted to investigate its potential role as a prognostic and predictive biomarker in resectable EGAC. Another aim was to assess how dose reductions and treatment delays of neoadjuvant chemotherapy affect outcome. Lastly we aimed to explore a novel palliative treatment strategy in esophageal adenocarcinoma with the primary objective to achieve durable improvement of dysphagia. MethodsExpression of PODXL was assessed using immunohistochemistry on material from two patient cohorts with EGAC: one with 174 patients treated with surgery up-front and the other with 148 patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy ± adjuvant chemotherapy. For 63 patients in the neoadjuvant cohort, treated with EOX (epirubicin, oxaliplatin and capecitabine) followed by resection, we calculated the ratio of actual to planned cumulative dose and the ratio of planned to actual total duration and then associations of these measures with histopathologic response were assessed.In the phase II PALAESTRA trial the treatment consisted of external beam radiotherapy with 20 Gy in five fractions followed by four cycles of chemotherapy. ResultsIn paper I we show that PODXL expression is an independent prognostic biomarker in EGAC and the results in paper II indicate that PODXL expression is predictive for benefit of neoadjuvant ± adjuvant chemotherapy. In paper III it is suggested that treatment delays of neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be avoided in order to achieve a major histopathologic response. In the PALAESTRA study (paper IV) with 29 patients enrolled, 79% experienced improvement of dysphagia and for these the median duration of improvement was 12 months.ConclusionsPromising steps have been taken towards improved treatment strategies but confirmation in additional studies is warranted. (Less)


Dilated cardiomyopathy is a rare and unrecognised complication of propionic acidosis. It usually progresses to chronic cardiac failure with a poor prognosis. The authors report three cases of cardiomyopathy due to this condition. One of the children underwent liver transplantation which cured the cardiac complication.


The complexity of mechatronic systems increases continuously. The need of simulation to evaluate these systems in an early design stage is an evident fact. This paper presents a new approach for simulation of heterogeneous mechatronic systems. The aim of the development was to combine openness and flexibility with a high simulation speed and accuracy. Additionally to the description of algorithms and methods, the implementation and an example application are discussed.


It is proposed that to help facilitate progress in electromagnetic field (EMF) risk governance and actively address potential concerns whilst encouraging environmentally-sound technical advancement, the ground rules of stakeholder participation / debate may benefit from being radically overhauled to encourage more openness, trust, understanding, transparency and innovation. It is further proposed that two-way communication should be actively promoted, as should proactive thinking and informed discussions of risk (which address realistically the concerns of all parties). The creation/development/adoption of enhanced best practice solutions and precautionary principle measures should also be encouraged.


Chronic catatonia with posturing can cause joint contractures leading to greater morbidity associated with the physical deformity. We report a case of a young man with chronic catatonic schizophrenia with posturing of bilateral upper limbs in flexion leading to fixed flexion contracture of left metacarpophalangeal joints. Initiation of electroconvulsive therapy along with physical rehabilitation measures helped him regain full range of motion in the right upper limb. The fixed flexion contracture, however, remained resistant to intensive treatment efforts. Early interventions in the form of electroconvulsive therapy and physical rehabilitation can be useful in reversing such potentially disabling complications.


The eigenvalue j(j + 1) of the total angular momentum operator squared follows from the commutation relations for angular momentum. An alternative proof is given based on the uncertainty relation for the angular momentum components and . For expectation values in the state , the uncertainty relation holds as an equality and is used in the proof.


In the past decade, disinformation has become an increasingly dangerous enemy of public health, scientific advancement, and social stability. To address and counter this trend, it is essential to first identify communities most at risk for disinformation. The Jin-Hafiz Disinformation Index (JHDI) is developed and validated as a tool to counter disinformation and address deficits of good information on a county level in the United States. Once vulnerable communities are identified with the JHDI, targeted interventions with community partnerships can be conducted to address knowledge concerns.


Aparna Kapadia. In Praise of Kings: Rajputs, Sultans and Poets in Fifteenth-century Gujarat . Cambridge, New York, Port Melbourne, New Delhi, and Singapore: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Hardback. 183 + x pages.

How does one exactly praise a king? Aparna Kapadia, Assistant Professor of History at Williams College, reminds us in her book that a satisfactory answer to this question requires a critical examination of who composed the praise, and to what end. As Kapadia points out, the Mughal emperors are typically thought to have been the first to integrate Sanskrit, Persian, and Indic vernacular poetic conventions to enhance their prestige among their diverse communities of subjects. However, the wealth of scholarship on Mughal courtly patronage often obscures the fact that these developments had already begun to take place in previous centuries, especially in Gujarati literature composed during what she calls a "century of transitions" between 1398 and 1511 C.E. (3). Her rigorous examination of primary source materials and royal chronicles, together with her astute analyses of Mughal, colonial, and contemporary-era histories of this period, allow for a vivid understanding of a compelling world in which Rajput chieftains and Muzaffarid sultans—an independent dynasty of Gujarati sultans that reigned between the rule of the Delhi sultanate and Mughal empire—vied for power and control in the region. Her study of the fluid religious identities of Hindus, Muslims, and …


Capsule endoscopy first captivated the medical world when it provided a means to visualize the small bowel, which was previously out of endoscopic reach. In the subsequent decade and a half we continue to learn of the true potential that capsule endoscopy has to offer. Of particular current interest is whether capsule endoscopy has any reliable investigative role in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Much research has already been dedicated to enhancing the diagnostic and indeed therapeutic properties of capsule endoscopy. Specific modifications to tackle the challenges of the gut have already been described in the current literature. In the upper gastrointestinal tract, the capacious anatomy of the stomach represents one of many challenges that capsule endoscopy must overcome. One solution to improving diagnostic yield is to utilize external magnetic steering of a magnetically receptive capsule endoscope. Notionally this would provide a navigation system to direct the capsule to different areas of the stomach and allow complete gastric mucosal examination. To date, several studies have presented promising data to support the feasibility of this endeavour. However the jury is still out as to whether this system will surpass conventional gastroscopy, which remains the gold standard diagnostic tool in the foregut. Nevertheless, a minimally invasive and patient-friendly alternative to gastroscopy remains irresistibly appealing, warranting further studies to test the potential of magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy. In this article the authors would like to share the current state of magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy and anticipate what is yet to come.


A power system may have buses that cannot be installed with PMUs for reasons such as non-availability of communication facility, inconvenience in installing PMUs and severe limitation on number of channels of PMUs. Such buses, when identified, are modeled as proposed in this paper. The only solution and partial set of solutions to the fault observability problem (FOP) may not be implemented when such buses are not already known. Therefore, it becomes necessary to determine complete set of solutions to the FOP. A simple yet robust method capable of delivering complete set of global optimal solutions and complete set of the best global optimal solutions to the FOP is proposed in this paper. The method is illustrated through a sample network and it is applied to a realworld transmission system. The illustration and the simulation results on the IEEE 14-Bus system and the IEEE 30-Bus system show that the proposed method is superior to the known methods. The real-world application shows practical importance of the proposed method.


Body composition (BC), training volume/pattern, and injury status are a few important factors affecting training quality and sport performance in female artistic gymnastics. We aimed to examine BC status, training volume/pattern, and injury status during the first competition period. Our cross-sectional study included 17 female gymnasts (age: 17.4 ± 4.1 years, body height: 159.8 ± 6.2 cm, and body weight: 54.8 ± 5.3 kg) who were high performance at the international and national level. The BC (measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) parameters included body height and mass, body fat percentage (BF %), lean body mass (LBM), body mass index (BMI), total bone mineral density (BMD total), and total bone mineral content (BMC total). Training volume and pattern were assessed via an author-developed questionnaire, while injury status (i.e., anatomical location, symmetry and rate of injuries) was assessed via a modified questionnaire on overuse injuries used in sports injury epidemiology studies with elite-level athletes. Body composition parameters were as follows: the BMI was 21.5 ± 1.4 kg/m2, BF % was 21.9 ± 4.7%, LBM was 41.2 ± 3.4 kg, BMD total was 1.22 ± 0.08 g/cm2, and BMC total was 2486 ± 344 g. Furthermore, the average weekly volume of training was 23.5 ± 1.4 h, with the highest training volume occurring on Monday and Tuesday and high variability within gymnasts. Our study also revealed that the most frequently injured joints that had the most negative impact on training volume, sport performance and pain status were the ankles and low back, followed by the knees and shoulders. This kind of yearly screening method is warranted to allow more definitive conclusions to be made on adjusted training and preventive strategies.


This paper presents a neural signal processing ASIC based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The recorded neural signals from 256 channels are analyzed by fast DWT algorithm with special ALUs, then, compressed by run-length encoders (RLE). The processed data are delivered through RF links and reconstructed in a host receiver. This design operates at 200 MHz clock with 2.5 V and was implemented with TSMC 0.25 mum technology. Recorded neural data test shows 1:89:3 (1.12%) compression rate and perfect in-band noise rejection


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Development of targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major challenge. Previously studies have shown that protein level and kinase activity of Wee1 are significantly elevated in HCC compared with surrounding cirrhotic tissues, although the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Under normal conditions, Wee1 kinase plays an important role in maintaining G2 arrest through the inhibitory phosphorylation of cdc2 on Tyr-15. In the present study, we explored the possibility of Wee1 being a potential therapeutic target for HCC. To inactivate Wee1, three Wee1-specific small interfering (si) RNAs (Wee1-1, Wee1-2 and Wee1-3) were tested for growth inhibition in HCC cell lines as determined by MTT assay, FACS analysis and microscopy. To obtain insights into molecular changes caused by Wee1 silencing, global changes in gene expression were examined by illumina microarray. For in vivo evaluation of Wee1 as a therapeutic target, we employed orthotopic xenograft model using luciferase-expressing HCC reporter cell lines Huh7- and HepG2-luc+ and stable-nucleic-acid-lipid-particle (SNALP) as an optimal carrier of siRNA into liver.

Among the tested siRNA molecules, the Wee1-2siRNA was the most effective in inhibiting Huh7 and HepG2 cell growth (80% and 84%, respectively) which was paralleled by a similar decrease in the levels of target mRNA and protein. Wee1 knockdown by siRNA also caused a block in cell cycle progression and induced apoptosis of HCC cells. The comparison of gene expression profiles in HepG2 cells treated with either control siRNA or Wee1-2siRNA identified 506 differentially expressed genes (P < 0.05 by bootstrap t-test). Genes functionally involved in cell proliferation, such as cdk2, cyclin B1, and Akt1, were down-regulated while cell cycle inhibitor p21 and tumor suppressor TSC2 were up-regulated. Western blotting showed that Wee1 silencing significantly increased the expression of p53 and p21 and decreased cyclin D1 protein levels in Wee1-deficient HepG2 cells, which could contribute to cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. Wee1 5/6, a modified variant of Wee1-2siRNA, was then selected for in vivo application based on the growth inhibitory effect and minimal induction of unwanted immune response. Systemic delivery of Wee1 5/6 variant by SNALP significantly suppressed both Huh7 and HepG2 tumor growth in orthotopic xenograft model. In addition, administration of Wee1 5/6 SNALP increased the survival of mice bearing HepG2-derived tumors bearing mice in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, these results indicate that Wee1 maybe an attractive molecular target for systemic HCC therapy.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1644. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1644


We evaluated the binocular interaction and horizontal disparity sensitivity in neurons recorded from macaque visual cortex. Neurons from VI of three awake Macaca mulatta monkeys were isolated by means of extracellular recording and tested for disparity sensitivity with dynamic random dot stereograms. Neurons sensitive to horizontal disparities were stimulated both monocularly and binocularly with flashing bars and their responses quantified. ANOVA and regression tests were used for data analysis. Sixty-six cells out of 185 (66/185, 36%) showed sensitivity to horizontal disparity. Disparity sensitive cells were grouped into near (25/66, 38%), tuned inhibitory (16/66, 24%), far (13/66, 20%) and tuned excitatory (12/66, 18%). Receptive fields of tuned cells were located more centrally in the visual field than those of near and far cells. The binocular interaction in tuned inhibitory cells increased linearly along with ocular unbalance. Most of tuned excitatory cells (10/12, 83%) showed facilitatory binocular interaction, characterized by a stronger response to binocular stimulation than to the stimulation of the dominant eye. On the contrary, most of toned inhibitory cells (14/16, 88%) showed suppressory binocular interaction, characterized by a weaker response to binocular stimulation than to the stimulation of the dominant eye. Near and far cells showed both types of interaction in similar percentages. The binocular response showed a linear relationship with the sum of both monocular responses in tuned excitatory, tuned inhibitory and near cells, but not in far cells. Sensitivity to horizontal disparity may be a result of facilitatory and suppressive interactions between left and right inputs.


Biomimetic processes have attracted huge attention in recent years due to their significant applications in biomedical areas such as bone tissue engineering. In the present study, a biomimetic process was employed to form a nanocrystallite apatite coating on metal. A thin bone-like apatite layer was coated onto titanium (Ti) metals via an alkali pre-treatment. This was followed by immersion in a simulated body fluid. Analysis of the coating by thin film x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope has shown that the apatite layer grown in this way exhibits nanostructure and has similar stoichiometry to that of natural bone. It is observed that the thickness of the apatite layer increases as the immersion period increases. The growth kinetics and mechanism are also discussed. A cross-sectional study has also shown that a uniform coating of carbonate-containing apatite (hydroxyapatite) is firmly adhered on the Ti metal. The adhesion of the apatite layer on the Ti substrate was further confirmed by a shear test, which has shown an average value of 9.5 MPa. The bioactivity of the coating was finally examined by cell culturing experiments. The results have shown that the nanocomposite prepared using the present method possesses good mechanical properties and bioactivity.


Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) is a method of determining the most efficient, low-cost and reliable operation of a power system by dispatching available electricity generation resources to supply load on the system. The primary objective of economic dispatch is to minimize total cost of generation while honoring operational constraints of available generation resources. In this paper an intelligent water drop (IWD) algorithm has been proposed to solve ELD problem with an objective of minimizing the total cost of generation. Intelligent water drop algorithm is a swarm-based natureinspired optimization algorithm, which has been inspired from natural rivers. A natural river often finds good paths among lots of possible paths in its ways from source to destination and finally find almost optimal path to their destination. These ideas are embedded into the proposed algorithm for solving economic load dispatch problem. The main advantage of the proposed technique is easy is implement and capable of finding feasible near global optimal solution with less computational effort. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, it has been tested on 6-unit and 20-unit test systems with incremental fuel cost functions taking into account the valve point-point loading effects. Numerical results shows that the proposed method has good convergence property and better in quality of solution than other algorithms reported in recent literature. Keywords—Economic load dispatch, Transmission loss, Optimization, Valve point loading, Intelligent Water Drop Algorithm.


INTRODUCTION
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide. It is defined as a persistent airflow limitation usually progressive and not fully reversible to treatment. The diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severity of disease is confirmed by spirometry. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease produces electrical changes in the heart which shows characteristic electrocardiogram pattern. The aim of this study was to observe and evaluate diagnostic values of electrocardiogram changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with no other comorbidity.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
We analyzed 110 electrocardiogram findings in clinically stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and evaluated the forced expiratory volume in the first second, ratio of forces expiratory volume in the first second to the fixed vital capacity, chest radiographs and electrocardiogram changes such as p wave height, QRS axis and voltage, right bundle branch block, left bundle branch block, right ventricular hypertrophy, T wave inversion in leads V1-V3, S1S2S3 syndrome, transition zone in praecordial lead and QT interval.

RESULTS
We found electrocardiogram changes in 64% patients, while 36% had normal electrocardiogram. The most frequent electrocardiogram changes observed were transition zone (76.36%) low QRS (50%) and p pulmonale (14.54%). Left axis deviation was observed in 27.27% patients.

CONCLUSION
Diagnostic values of electrocardiogram in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease suggest that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients should be screened electrocardiographically in addition to other clinical investigations.


Since the late 19th century homarid lobsters have been cultured under hatchery conditions, and hatchery-reared Homarus americanus and H. gammarus have been released into the wild on many occasions in North America and Europe, respectively. The success of such re-stocking programmes could not be evaluated, however, due to lack of a suitable tagging method to discriminate between hatchery-reared lobsters and natural stock. This paper reviews the early attempts at re-stocking, and then describes in some detail more recent experiments that make use of coded microwire tags. The recent results show that hatchery-reared animals can survive to recruit to a fishery, but despite this initial success, there remain important biological questions on whether re-stocking programmes are likely to provide sustainable benefits to fisheries and whether released animals actually enhance or simply displace natural stocks. The success of future re-stocking programmes will be easier to evaluate if biological and economic objectives are more tightly defined at the


SUMMARY: Proteus vulgaris, suspended in meat extract broth or in a defined medium, bound cobalt to an extent dependent on the cell concentration and on the concentration of cobalt in the medium. An increase in concentration of cobalt or a decrease in the number of cells per unit volume resulted in a greater amount of cobalt ion bound per unit of cellular material. The composition of the suspending medium with regard to the cobalt combining groups present, as well as the availability of other metallic ions, markedly affected the amount of cobalt bound by the cells. Magnesium was particularly effective in diminishing the cobalt-combining capacity of the cells. An exposure time of 15 min. was sufficient for the major portion of the ion to be taken up by the cells. In an anaerobic medium, the cells-bound approximately one-half as much cobalt as in an aerobic medium. Raising the pH value of the medium from 5.0 to 7.0 resulted in an increased uptake of the metal by the cells. Cobalt taken up by the cells could be removed to an extent of 70--80% by dilution in distilled water and almost completely by 0.1 n-HCl. A derived strain of Proteus, capable of growth in relatively high concentrations of cobalt, bound smaller quantities of the ion at each level tested than did the parent strain. However, at the growth inhibitory level peculiar to each strain, the resistant form took up a much greater quantity of the metal than did the sensitive strain. This fact indicates that resistance to cobalt cannot be explained merely on the basis of the cobalt-concentrating ability of the cells.


This paper examines the significance of intangible resources as core competences that are likely to contribute most in an uncertain, changing and unpredictable environment such as the film industry. It identifies the nature and role of these resources which are mainly knowledge-based such as creativity, experience and reputation and how these could be brokered through coproduction and collaboration with foreign film companies. The objective of this paper is to examine how local firms shape their capabilities in order to enable them to renew their resource and capability bases. This paper maintains that coproduction is adopted as a strategic alliance for local firms in Singapore in order to gain benefits of international firms' tacit knowledge and ideas and to build on accumulated memories and experiences. This approach is viewed as a way to ride on the competences and successes of the well established firms and hence gained status in the process. This paper argues that while co-production and strategic partnerships may generate valuable learning opportunities for firms to gain access to the knowledge-based resources of their partners, they do not necessarily generate equal rewards and benefits for all parties concerned. It can be a zero-sum game in which failure to gain access to partner knowledge results in unequal benefits accruing from such alliances. Such a paradox presents enormous challenges for an emerging Singapore film industry trying to break into the global circuit.


In this paper we propose an algorithm for distributed computation of Voronoi cell in a multi-robotic system. Each of the robots is assumed to know its own position and position of all other robots. The robots compute their Voronoi cells based only on this positional information, without any additional communication and cooperation with other robots.


Background Anterior and posterior circulation atherosclerosis differ in vascular risk factors and stroke mechanisms. However, few studies have compared the pathological features between these lesions. Using a series of intracranial artery specimens, we characterized the intracranial atherosclerotic lesions and compared pathological features among different arteries of the intracranial vasculature. Methods Intracranial large arteries of 32 consecutively recruited autopsy cases of Chinese adults aged 45 years or older were examined pathologically using routine histology and immunostaining, to characterize the pathological features of the atherosclerotic lesions. We analyzed middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) (both left and right), vertebral arteries (VAs) (side more affected), and basilar arteries (BAs). Results Progressive atherosclerotic lesions were present in 91(71%) of the 128 arteries examined. Features of complicated plaques were infrequently detected: plaque hemorrhage was encountered in 12%, neovasculature in 12%, lumen thrombi in 13%, macrophage infiltration in 20%, and calcification in 25% of arteries. Luminal narrowing of MCA was the most severe, followed by VA; the BA least stenotic (37 ± 25 vs. 30 ± 24 vs. 20 ± 20%, all p < 0.05). MCA had more eccentric (vs. concentric) plaques than VA (69 vs. 25%, p = 0.003) and BA (69 vs. 38%; p = 0.03). Lumen thrombi were more frequent in BA, and calcification most commonly occurred in VA atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusion Intracranial atherosclerotic plaques were commonly present in this sample, but the lesions generally lacked features of complicated plaques. MCA lesions had demonstrable differences compared with VA and BA lesions. Further studies are needed to determine whether these characteristics indicate a distinctive atherosclerotic phenotype for the intracranial vasculature.


. Soybean is one of the main oil crop resources in the United States. It can be used as edible oil or biodiesel production. Additionally, the co-products (soybean meal, soybean hulls and gums) are able to be utilized in animal feeds and food additives. Hexane extraction is the most common approach in oil industry and has higher efficiency, above 90%, more than conventional mechanical expelling process. The advantages of hexane extraction are to increase the yield of oil products and short processing time. However, chemicals remaining, recycling and disposal are still a main concern in the industry. In this work, techno-economic analysis (TEA) was applied to evaluate the cost and profits of soybean oil extraction with hexane every 10 years from 1980 to 2014. For increasing the profits of this process, the analysis considered main product, soybean oil, and all co-products as well. The analysis based on soybean oil production of 40 million kg per year. The total profit is highly dependent on the material cost, which has the majority about 60%. Hence, with the increase in prices of materials, the revenues of the hexane process has also been increased. That leads to earning profits from the process.


The antigenic determinants (or epitopes) of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) were analyzed using synthetic peptides and rabbit antibodies to their corresponding peptides. Of 12 different synthetic peptides tested, peptides A-1 (corresponding to the amino acid sequence 1-20), A-5 (81-100), and A-8 (141-160) were reactive with anti-SEA antibodies. However, all synthetic peptides were found to elicit antibodies reactive with native SEA molecule. These findings suggest that native SEA molecule contains at least 3 different antigenic determinants.


Historically, the mainstay of treatment for early-stage lung cancer has been anatomic resection via thoracotomy. Over the last two decades, there has been increasing adoption of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) techniques in this group of patients. VATS resection has been shown to reduce perioperative morbidity and hospital length of stay in multiple series (1-8). Perioperative mortality has also been shown to be lower or equivalent (1-7). While data is limited, several small studies have demonstrated similar survival and recurrence rates with VATS compared to open resection for early-stage lung cancer (9-11).


Granuloma annulare (GA) may be associated with glucose intolerance. Twenty-one patients with GA were evaluated. Four patients were found to have frank diabetes mellitus and 2 were excluded from the data analysis because of obesity. The remaining patients and 14 age- and weight-matched controls had oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests (GTT). During the oral GTT the fasting plasma glucose, the 2-h plasma glucose, the area of the glucose curve, the 1-h serum insulin, and the area of the insulin curve were all significantly greater in the GA patients than in the controls. During the intravenous GTT the immediately releasable insulin pool was intact, while the fasting plasma glucose and the area of the glucose curve were greater in the GA patients than in the controls. The data taken together suggest that glucose tolerance may be reduced in GA and that insulin resistance may exist.


The present mini-review discusses recent developments in research on interfacial phenomena of fluorinated amphiphiles, focusing on applications that exploit the unique and manifold interfacial properties associated with these amphiphiles. Most notably, fluorinated amphiphiles form stable aggregates with often distinctly different morphologies than their non-fluorinated counterparts. Consequently, fluorinated surfactants have found wide use in high-performance applications such as microfluidic-assisted screening. Additionally, their fluorine-specific behaviour at the solid/liquid interface, such as the formation of superhydrophobic coatings after deposition on surfaces, will be discussed. As fluorinated surfactants and perfluorinated materials in general pose potential environmental threats, recent developments in their remediation based on their adsorption onto fluorinated surfaces will be evaluated.


The feasibility of applying image processing techniques to metal surface inspection is demonstrated. Two methods for metal surface inspection are described. In the first method, the metal surface reflective power and the metal surface normal are related by a random surface scattering model. The metal surface profile can then be computed from the metal surface normal. The second method applies pattern recognition techniques to classify metal surfaces into classes of different roughness. Methods of feature extraction and classification have been tested experimentally and the performances of different types of classifier have been compared. A two-level tree classifier using nonparametric linear classifiers at each node gives better than 90% correct classification on the testing set.


Everyone has a soft spot for pensioners. This probably explains most peoples' unquestioning approval of pensioners' travel concessions. However, it is argued here that concessions do not make sense because pensioners would be better off with the cash equivalent of their concessions. Concessions involve inefficiencies of which the following are the main ones. First, there are good arguments for some subsidies (e.g. health and education). These arguments do not apply well to pensioner travel. For example in the case of health, many people in the absence of the National Health Service would face sudden large bills for medical treatment. In contrast, the bill for essential travel, like going to the shops, is a predictable and modest weekly expense of the same order as the weekly cost of food ( for which pensioners are not given concessions ). Second, about three quarters of the money spent on concessions is wasted in that it goes on transporting those who could afford the full fare or who are on non-essential journeys. In contrast, under a no concession scenario only about a quarter of the expenditure is wasted. Also, concessions are a poor means of supplying transport facilities to pensioners since about a third are not well served by public transport. In contrast, under a no concessions scenario, virtually all less well off pensioners get "transport subsidy money" since this money is contained in an increased state pension. Under a no concessions scenario, pensioners can spend their "subsidy money" on for example home delivery of groceries, taxi trips or subsidising relatives' car running costs where the latter do the shopping. Fourth, social exclusion is often used to justify concessions. It is shown that abolishing concessions, far from increasing social exclusion, might even reduce it.


Digital interactions are an increasingly common communication method among young adults, but little is known about whether such remote exchanges influence riskiness. The current study examined whether observing and interacting with, versus simply observing, a digital peer affect risk taking in young adults aged 18–25. Participants who remotely viewed risky behavior by a peer or computer increased risk taking; however, compared to a control condition, only exposure to risk-encouraging messages from a digital peer resulted in sustained risk-taking behavior. These findings suggest that short text-based messages from a risk-encouraging digital peer can influence risk-taking behavior in young adults. Given the rapid proliferation of digital communication among this age group, these results highlight a potentially important source of peer influence on risky behavior.


A novel application to determine stability constants from supramolecular titration experiments is presented. The focus lies on NMR titration and ITC experiments for pure 1:1 systems, as well as mixed 2:1/1:1, 1:1/1:2 and 2:1/1:1/1:2 systems. SupraFit provides global and local fitting and a global search tool. Statistical methods are implemented and can be applied to analyse the results of nonlinear regression. Monte Carlo simulations, combined with the percentile methods and F-Test approaches to calculate confidence intervals are supported. The implemented statistical approaches are illustrated and discussed on model functions. All methods are accessible through an intuitive user interface, providing charts for all (kind of) data produced. SupraFit is written in C++, using the Qt Toolkit for the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the Eigen library for nonlinear regression and is released under the GNU Public License (GPL).


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

Chordomas are rare primary bone tumors that occur along the neuraxis. Current treatment includes surgical resection and often postoperative radiotherapy. Despite treatment, local recurrence occurs in the majority of patients and metastasis is frequent. Treatment options for patients with recurrence is limited and, notably, there are no FDA approved chemotherapeutic agents. Median survival is approximately 7 years. The lack of treatment options is in part due to the paucity of preclinical model systems for this tumor. We have previously established a serially transplantable animal model directly from human chordoma tissue. Further analysis of this patient derived xenograft demonstrates that subsequent passages continue to resemble the original patient tumor histologically and immunohistochemically and maintain nuclear expression of brachyury, a marker for chordoma. Genome wide variation between the patient's tumor and xenografts continues to be more than 99% concordant. To further characterize this model, a receptor tyrosine kinase screen of more than 70 kinases was evaluated and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was found to be the most activated kinase. In vitro studies demonstrate that EGFR inhibitors, such as erlotinib and gefitinib, inhibit growth of a validated human chordoma cell line, U-CH1. In vivo studies demonstrate that erlotinib significantly inhibits growth of this patient derived chordoma xenograft. Evaluation of tumors post-treatment reveals that erlotinib reduces tumor proliferation and phosphorylation of EGFR. Taken together, these findings demonstrate targeting EGFR can inhibit chordoma growth in vivo and support further clinical evaluation of EGFR inhibitors in the treatment of this disease.

Citation Format: I-Mei Siu, Peter C. Burger, Qi Zhao, Jacob Ruzevick, Nick Connis, Christine L. Hann, Gary L. Gallia. Erlotinib inhibits growth of a patient derived chordoma tumor xenograft. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 360. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-360


BioMet®Phon is a software application developed for the characterization of voice in voice quality evaluation. Initially it was conceived as plain research code to estimate the glottal source from voice and obtain the biomechanical parameters of the vocal folds from the spectral density of the estimate. This code grew to what is now the Glottex®Engine package (G®E). Further demands from users in laryngology and speech therapy fields instantiated the development of a specific Graphic User Interface (GUI's) to encapsulate user interaction with the G®E. This gave place to BioMet®Phon, an application which extracts the glottal source from voice and offers a complete parameterization of this signal, including distortion, cepstral, spectral, biomechanical, time domain, contact and tremor parameters. The semantic capabilities of biomechanical parameters are discussed. Study cases from its application to the field of laryngology and speech therapy are given and discussed. Validation results in voice pathology detection are also presented. Applications to laryngology, speech therapy, and monitoring neurological deterioration in the elder are proposed.


This paper reports on the development of a set of techniques for assessing the innovative potential of enterprises in the hotel business. It is established that determining a set of assessment indicators is central to methodological support for assessing the innovative potential of enterprises in the hotel business. Achieving objective assessments of the size of this innovative potential requires making the right choice when choosing a system of indicators. Furthermore, it helps to have as many indicators as possible determined quantitatively. It is proven that it helps to carry out the procedure of assessing the level of innovative potential using a set of methods of taxonomic analysis – classic, modified, and unified ones. Implementing this approach by consecutively completing all of its stages enables an effective analysis of innovative activity by a studied group of hotel enterprises to assess their innovative potential. This approach also implies access to financial and economic indicators via statistical reports and enables the use in analysis of economicstatistical methods that can help assess innovative potential as effectively as possible.


Using panel data regressions, this paper analyzes the effect of imperfections in the formal export credit and insurance market on trade growth in the regions of Africa and Asia. An exclusive comparison of trade performance of the two regions with respect to export credit and insurance is novel in the literature. I employ Berne Union data on export credit insurance for the period 2005 to quarter 1 (Q1) 2012, which is the most extensive dataset of its kind at the moment. As further novelty, I extend the data specification of Auboin and Engemann (2014) to the interaction of export diversification and complexity, intermediated by an agency variable representing the existence of insurance institutions (Export Credit and Investment Guarantee Agency, or ECIGA), with trade growth, and export credit and insurance. The paper can identify a significantly positive effect from the reinforcing interaction of the export credit and insurance market, and export diversity-complexity on trade.


These two projects provide a framework for the development of process audit in Australia. The use of explicit criteria of practice performance for different purposes enabled judgments to be made about that performance. In the case of the Netherlands, the process was also shown to lead to improvement in conformity with the criteria. It is planned to use the protocols from both projects as a starting point for the development of a process audit for use by Australian general practitioners.


Background/Objectives: As u-health becomes common that monitors body condition real time in the ubiquitous environment, people are increasingly interested in promoting their health using biometric information identified by various health equipment.Methods/Statistical analysis: the concept of digital health has emerged that encompasses the followings: u-health that is expected to improve efficiency in medical service and monitor patients' condition with wireless communication through convergence of ICT and health care industry; smart health(s-health) that manages their own workout, calorie intake and sporting activities with their smart device; and, mobile health (m-health) that uses wearable and mobile devices as a means of healthcare.Findings: In this study, we aim to develop a health care platform that receives diabetes information generated from various IoT based on remote inputs, stores, analyzes, processes and provides visualized information. The purpose of this study is to develop and test IoT-based diabetes health big-data platform for diabetes mellitus patients. To achieve this goal, we suggest the development result of service and contents oriented "An IoT-based diabetes health big-data Offloading platform" that comprehensively manages healthcare products created in many IoT-based diabetes information to build a personal health management system. We also developed android 4.x-based application so that the health management service and contents provided by a third party can be checked with the client PC as well as health management service and contents offered by web-based client application and third party can be operated in the mobile environment such as smartphone or tablet.Improvements/Applications: The results of this study are verified by applying it to patients with diabetes or suspected cases. In order to increase the efficiency of real-time processing, we used off-loading technology to utilize big data related to diabetes generated from wearable IoT device. The results of this study will be used for telemedicine in two hospitals in Malaysia after various laboratory verification procedures.


Clusters and crystals are considered within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. By means of the one-particle density matrix and the pair distribution a local stress tensor is defined appropriately, the divergence of which equals the density of the force exerted on the nuclei. From this momentum balance equation follow (i) the stress theorem for clusters and (ii) a rigorous expression for the macroscopic stress tensor of a crystal involving integrations along the surface of the unit cell. In the latter case a slightly modified expression is obtained rigorously from the Kohn-Sham equation within the local density approximation.


abstract:This article asserts that post-truth is the name we have assigned to a powerful repetitive mode of discourse that legitimizes conspiracies and anxieties regarding how blackened biothreat bodies will be unleashed upon society. Post-truth signifies a kind of excess and excessiveness wherein grammars of common sense making are overrun. Post-truth indexes a desire for gratuitous violence against norms of civil society—indeed, against civil society itself. Post-truth is not a set of lies. It is a precondition for tribal war. The article sets forth post-truth as a disorienting and frightening "dissemblage" that is driven by fantasies of sovereignty, rituals of militarization, and the colonization of expertise. I outline the formal features of post-truth by examining a docudrama produced by the Discovery Channel called Zombie Preppers. In the end I speculate about how post-truth metastasizes in the social body as "brain damage."


We have previously shown that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha strongly potentiates the granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)/interleukin (IL)-3-dependent proliferation of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) through the recruitment of early progenitors with high proliferative potential. Furthermore, the combination of GM-CSF and TNFalpha allows the generation of large numbers of dendritic/Langerhans cells (D-Lc). Herein, we analyzed whether IL-3, when combined to TNFalpha would, as does GM-CSF, allow the generation of CD1a+ D-Lc. Accordingly, cultures of cord blood CD34+ HPC with IL-3 + TNFalpha yielded 20% to 60% CD14+ cells and 11% to 17% CD1a+ cells, while IL-3 alone did not generate significant numbers of CD1a+ cells. Although the percentage of CD1a+ cells detected in IL3 + TNFalpha was lower than that observed in GM-CSF + TNFalpha (42% to 78%), the strong growth induced by IL-3 + TNFalpha generated as many CD1a+ cells as did GM-CSF + TNFalpha. The CD14+ and CD1a+ cells generated with IL-3 + TNFalpha are similar to CD14+ and CD1a+ cells generated in GM-CSF alone and GM-CSF + TNFalpha, respectively. CD1a+ cells differed from CD14+ cells by (1) dendritic morphology, (2) higher expression of CD1a, CD1c, CD4, CD40, adhesion molecules (CD11c, CD54, CD58), major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules and CD28 ligands (CD80 and CD86), (3) lack of Fc receptor FcgammaRI (CD64) and complement receptor CR1 (CD35) expression, and (4) stronger induction of allogeneic T-cell proliferation. Thus, in combination with TNFalpha, IL-3 is as potent as GM-CSF for the generation of CD1a+ D-Lc from cord blood CD34+ HPC. The dendritic cell inducing ability of IL-3 may explain why mice with inactivated GM-CSF gene display dendritic cells.


Abstract. PRIMAVERA was a European Union Horizon 2020 project whose primary aim was to generate advanced and well-evaluated high-resolution global climate model datasets, for the benefit of governments, business and society in general. Following consultation with members of the insurance industry, we have used a PRIMAVERA multi-model ensemble to generate a European winter windstorm event set for use in insurance risk analysis, containing approximately 1300 years of windstorm data. To create the storm footprints for the event set, the storms in the PRIMAVERA models are identified through tracking. A method is developed to separate the winds from storms occurring in the domain at the same time. The wind footprints are bias corrected and converted to 3-s gusts onto a uniform grid using quantile mapping. The distribution of the number of model storms per season as a function of estimated loss is consistent with re-analysis, as are the total losses per season, and the additional event set data greatly reduces uncertainty on return period magnitudes. The event set also reproduces the temporally clustered nature of European windstorms. Since the event set is generated from global climate models, it can help to quantify the non-linear relationship between large-scale climate indices such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and windstorm damage. Although we find only a moderate positive correlation between extended winter NAO and storm damage in northern European countries (consistent with re-analysis), there is a large change in risk of extreme seasons between negative and positive NAO states. The intensities of the most severe storms in the event set are, however, sensitive to the gust conversion/bias correction method used, so care should be taken when interpreting the expected damages for very long return periods.


The non‐random chromosomal translocations t(10;11)(p13;q23) and t(10;11)(p13;q14–21) result in leukemogenic fusion proteins comprising the coiled coil domain of the transcription factor AF10 and the proteins MLL or CALM, respectively, and subsequently cause certain types of acute leukemia. The AF10 coiled‐coil domain, which is crucial for the leukemogenic effect, has been shown to interact with GAS41, a protein previously identified as the product of an amplified gene in glioblastoma. Using sequential synthetic peptides, we mapped the potential AF10/GAS41 interaction site, which was subsequently be used as scaffold for a library targeting the AF10 coiled‐coil domain. Using phage display, we selected a peptide that binds the AF10 coiled‐coil domain with higher affinity than the respective coiled‐coil region of wild‐type GAS41, as demonstrated by phage ELISA, CD, and PCAs. Furthermore, we were able to successfully deploy the inhibitory peptide in a mammalian cell line to lower the expression of Hoxa genes that have been described to be overexpressed in these leukemias. This work dissects molecular determinants mediating AF10‐directed interactions in leukemic fusions comprising the N‐terminal parts of the proteins MLL or CALM and the C‐terminal coiled‐coil domain of AF10. Furthermore, it outlines the first steps in recognizing and blocking the leukemia‐associated AF10 interaction in histiocytic lymphoma cells and therefore, may have significant implications in future diagnostics and therapeutics. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Aboard every U.S. piloted spacecraft, from Mercury through Apollo, NASA installed tape recorders that captured nearly every word spoken by the astronauts during their history-making flights into space. For the first time ever, NASA has digitally scanned all of the transcripts made from both the onboard tapes and those tape recordings made on the ground from the air-to-ground transmissions and placed them on this two CD-ROM set. Gathered in this special collection are 80 transcripts totaling nearly 45,000 pages of text that cover every US human spaceflight from the first human Mercury mission through the last lunar landing flight of Apollo 17. Users of this CD will note that the quantity and type of transcripts made for each mission vary. For example, the Mercury flights each had one transcript whereas the Gemini missions produced several. Starting with the Gemini flights, NASA produced a Public Affairs Office (PAO) commentary version, as well as at least one "technical" air-to-ground transcript version, per mission. Most of the Apollo missions produced four transcripts per flight. These included the onboard voice data recorder transcripts made from the Data Storage Equipment (DSE) on the Command Module (CM), and the Data Storage Electronics Assembly (DSEA) onboard the Lunar Module (LM), in addition to the PAO commentary and air-to-ground technical transcripts. The CD set includes an index listing each transcript file by name. Some of the transcripts include a detailed explanation of their contents and how they were made. Also included in this collection is a listing of all the original air-to-ground audiotapes housed in NASA's archives from which many of these transcripts were made. We hope you find this collection of transcripts interesting and useful.


The mutual separation of lanthanides has been studied by multi-stage extraction using an extractant, DGA (diglycolamide) compounds. N,N,N′,N′ -tetraoctyl-DGA (TODGA) has a high extractability to lanthanides and a relatively high separation factor (SF) between Dy and Nd (SF of over 20) from HN_3 media. Complete separation with such SF values can be achieved by multi-stage extraction. Less information on multi-stage extraction compared to batch extraction has been presented up to now. We thus conducted a basic study. By confirming the experimental data to be identical to calculations, the sample solution including both metals was employed for batchwise multi-stage extraction. Ninety-seven percent of Dy with under detection limit of Nd could be recovered into the organic phase from Nd with a ten-times higher concentration than Dy using the condition, 0.1 M TODGA/n-dodecane and 0.3 M HN_3 by the multi extraction of 9 × 9 stages for organic and aqueous phases.


Abstract The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) is a widespread raptor whose abundance and distribution fluctuates in response to the varying amplitudes of its prey, which are predominately microtines. Previous efforts to describe the seasonal movements of Short-eared Owls have been hindered by few band recoveries and the species' cryptic and irruptive behavior. We attached satellite transmitters to adult Short-eared Owls at breeding areas in western and interior Alaska in June 2009 and July 2010, and tracked their movements for up to 19 mo. Owls initiated long-distance southward movements from Alaska and most followed a corridor east of the Rocky Mountains into the Prairie provinces and Great Plains states. Four owls followed a coastal route west of the Rocky Mountains, including one owl that crossed the Gulf of Alaska. Completed autumn migration distances ranged from 3205–6886 km (mean = 4722 ± 1156 km [SD]). Wintering areas spanned 21° of latitude from central Montana to southern Texas, and 24° of longitude from central California to western Kansas. Subsequent seasonal migrations were generally northward in spring and southward in autumn; these movements were comparatively short-distance (mean = 767.5 ± 517.4 km [SD]) and the owls exhibited low site fidelity. The Short-eared Owls we tracked from two relatively local breeding areas in Alaska used a patchwork of diverse open habitats across a large area of North America, which highlights that effective conservation of this species requires a collaborative, continental-scale focus.


The design of passive lysimeters or wetting front detectors determines the tensions at which they collect a water sample from an unsaturated soil. When deployed in the field to help manage irrigation, it is necessary to know the minimum flux of water that can be sampled by a passive lysimeter and how this relates to the drainage flux at field capacity. This requires a good estimate of the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity characteristic, K(h), in the wet range (< 10 kPa). We compared various field, laboratory and theoretical approaches for obtaining the K(h) function and compared these to a reference K(h) function derived by applying inverse modelling approaches to field drainage experimental data. The Van Genuchten model and three of the pedotransfer models produced K(h) functions with a root mean square error of less than 5% compared to the reference, and appear to be simple methods of obtaining a reasonable estimate of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. However, despite the goodness of fit, there can be a 10-fold difference in conductivity at a given tension < 10 kPa estimated from the different methods. Moreover, water content at field capacity depends entirely on whether field capacity is defined as time elapsed after saturation, a set tension or a minimum flux. Keywords: inverse modelling, instantaneous profile method, pedotransfer functions, wetting front detector, field capacity, HYDRUS-2D


Lymphangiomas constitute a group of very rare diseases and occur with a frequency of 1/250,000 to 1/20,000 of hospitalizations. Even though they are benign lesions, their complications may turn into a life-threatening condition. They usually occur in children (90%), they are either congenital or they appear before the child's second birthday. Occassionally they are found in adults. Lymphangiomas are usually localized around neck, but also near armpits and in the groin area. Less than 1% of lymphagiomas are detected in the retroperitoneal space and intestinal mesentery. Vascular lesions derived from lymphatic vessels can be divided into ordinary ones, usually known as capillary, cavernous, and cystic. The cystic tumor (lymphangioma mesenteri) is the least common. It occurs mostly in the retroperitoneal space, mesentery of the colon, or extremely rarely in the mesentery of the small intestine. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult due to non-specific clinical symptoms and noncharacteristic image in the diagnostic tests. Lymphangioma complications, such as intestinal obstruction or perforation, and persistent pain, are the cause of exploratory laparotomy. Final diagnosis requires microscopic examination of material collected during an operation. This article presented the case of a 40-year-old female, operated due to the obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract, in whose case the lymphangioma was recognised in postoperative histopathological examination of the tumor from the jejunal mesentery. Since patients with these tumors have good chances of complete recovery - if there are no serious complications - it appears that the optimal therapeutic procedure should be early surgery, which reduces the possibility of complications.