Purpose

Heavy hex structural bolts have been used in a wide range of steel structures for many years. However, these structures remain susceptible to fire damage. Conducting fire experiments on full-scale steel structures is costly and requires specialized equipment. The main purpose of this research is to test, analyze and predict the behavior of ASTM A325 bolts under tension loading in simulated fire conditions and develop a reliable finite element model that can predict the response of similar bolts without the need for repeated testing.

Design/methodology/approach

The experimental work was conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where an electric furnace was custom-built to test a bolted specimen in tension under elevated temperatures. A transient-state testing method was adopted to perform a group of tests on 12.7 mm (½") – diameter A325 bolts. The tests were divided into two groups: the first one was used to calibrate the equipment and choose a final testing arrangement and the second group, consisting of four identical tests, was used to validate a finite element model.

Findings

The temperature-displacement and load-displacement response was recorded. The tested bolts exhibited a ductile fracture in which a cup-and-cone shaped failure surface was formed in the threaded section at the root of the nut. ASTM A325 bolts are widely used by engineers in building and bridge construction, the results of this research enable engineers to determine the behavior and strength of ASTM A325 bolts when such bolts when exposed to fire event.

Research limitations/implications

Structural bolts are used to connect structural members, and they are part of structural assembly. To study the behavior of the bolts, the bolts only were investigated in a fire simulated in a furnace. The bolts studied were not part of a structural assembly.

Practical implications

The results of this study enable engineers to evaluate the condition of ASTM A325 bolts when subjected to fire loading.

Originality value

Tests were conducted at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee's structures laboratory to study the effect of fire on an ASTM A325 bolts. Many tests under fire loading have been performed by researchers on different components of steel structures, this study focuses on studying the behavior of ASTM A325 bolts which are widely used in the USA.


Key messagesBoth mitigation and adaptation are of critical importance to the land sector, including forests and people depending on forests.Mitigation and adaptation are 'two sides of the same coin', but have often been treated separately, which reduces efficiency and effectiveness of policies and measures.Links between adaptation and mitigation are being made in the 2015 Paris Agreement, in the Warsaw REDD+ frameworks and by the Green Climate Fund.Research shows that there are many benefits to considering adaptation and mitigation jointly, for example in REDD+, and that an increasing number of synergistic projects are being implemented on the ground.Capacities to establish programs and projects that integrate adaptation and mitigation remain a challengePolicymakers can identify opportunities for harnessing the synergies between adaptation and mitigation and can also analyse trade-offs and put in place safeguards to reduce or avoid themIncentivizing the necessary research to further elucidate links and trade-offs between mitigation and adaptation will be important.


Purpose
This paper provides a practical framework for managers to develop a sustainable supply chain. Given that rapid globalization has increased supply disruption risk, managers have been forced to establish efficient and responsive supply chain strategies. Nevertheless, diverse uncertainty factors, such as risk perception of strategies, have made practical management difficult. Quantifying managers' risk perceptions and applying them to supply chain strategies allows the authors to propose a structural and practical model for managing supply disruption.

Design/methodology/approach
The existing structural model is refined by taking subjective factors into account using the analytic hierarchy process. The applicability of the refined model is demonstrated through a comparative case study.

Findings
Managers' risk perceptions vary not only among companies but also between managing divisions within a company, which necessitates possible changes in strategy due to environmental turbulence. The principal component analysis (PCA) characterizes managers' risk perceptions that illustrate companies' emphases on disruption risk.

Practical implications
The proposed approach quantifies risk perception, which enables practitioners to deal with subjective information in quantitative form. Comparative studies clarify differences in perception given different business backgrounds. The results provide managers with in-depth insights for establishing supply chain strategies reflecting their risk perception.

Originality/value
Quantification of managers' subjective risk perception clarifies both the trend and the individual features for uncertainties. The results allow the authors to conduct the PCA, which characterizes companies. Comparative studies generalize the results of extant work, shedding light on cross-sectional differences given different business backgrounds. The effectiveness of the approach is confirmed through retrospective interviews with practitioners.


Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have undergone significant evolution over the years, transforming the education landscape and opening up new avenues for learning. One pioneering organisation that played a crucial role in this evolution was Hello China. Hello China introduced a ground-breaking approach to education, setting itself apart from traditional university teaching methods.
This paper explores the evolution of MOOCs and examines how Hello China contributed to this process. Through its programmes - Hello English, tailor-made for Chinese youth and university graduates - the company aimed to enhance English language proficiency in China, thereby expanding access to business and employment opportunities. The innovative initiatives by Hello China and the Hello English project paved the way for the evolution of MOOCs. They showcased the potential of technology in education, demonstrating how mobile learning could enhance access to educational resources and bridge language barriers. Hello China's approach not only enabled learners to improve their English language skills but also connected them with employment opportunities, underscoring the practical applications of MOOCs.
As the educational landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial to continue exploring innovative approaches and strategies to maximise the potential of MOOCs and provide accessible, high-quality education to learners worldwide. By implementing effective strategies encompassing clear learning objectives, engaging content, social learning opportunities, personalised support, flexible scheduling, and accessible platforms, we can enhance the appeal of MOOCs, empowering learners with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the rapidly evolving educational landscape. Through an in-depth analysis of Hello China's impact and success in integrating mobile learning into MOOCs, this paper aims to provide valuable insights into the ongoing advancement of global online education.


With the advent of the usage of primary fibroblasts in comparative and evolutionary biology, it is important for researchers to know the extent to which cells might be altered during the culturing process and howmuch species might differ in response to cell culture. We compared early changes in cell size and lipid composition of primary dermal fibroblasts grown at physiologically relevant oxygen concentrations (5% O2) from wild-caught species of birds. Fibroblasts from American Robins (Turdus migratorius L., 1766) and Bobwhite Quails (Colinus virginianus (L., 1758)) increased in size early in the culture process and cells from all five species of wild-caught birds exhibited changes in lipid-class composition. The two most common phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, increased in concentration in all species between early passages and later passages of fibroblasts. Some less abundant lipid species, such as cardiolipin and sphingomyelin, exhibited similar concentrations in all three passages that wemeasured. Other lipid classes, such as cholesterol, increased in some species in later passages and decreased in others. Although results may vary with cell-culture conditions, this study points to a need for researchers comparing multiple species to take precautions when using cell culture, such as experimenting on the earliest possible passage of cells.


In this work, we present a mixed mode outphasing power amplifier, where the devices operate constantly as current sources. While the traditional theory considers two ideal voltage sources driving the outphasing combiner, in this novel approach, two ideal current sources are used instead. Nonetheless, it is proved that a similar performance can be achieved, showing that this design methodology is viable. Moreover, since the combiner is now being current driven, there is no need to saturate the devices to obtain the outphasing characteristic, with consequent advantages on the achievable linearity and possibly on the PAE, when the gain is limited. The proposed PA architecture was validated with an implementation using GaN HEMT devices in class B, which achieved 50% drain efficiency at the 6dB back-off region.


Transport costing is a widely used information source for decision making processes in companies operating in the transport or logistics sector. The traditional costing methods, however, often neglect the proper allocation of indirect transport costs, which may lead to considerable distortions in costing information. Former researches have already elaborated the principles of improved transport cost calculation eliminating these methodological shortcomings and implemented the theory in pilot applications. This paper aims to build a generalised transport costing model on the basis of these principles and determine its mathematical formulas. The conditions of the practical implementation are also analysed. The main methodological contribution of the generalised transport costing model is the formalised inclusion of technology performance relations into the accounting based approach.


Background: We evaluated and compared the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress in chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma and chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma. Methods: The messenger ribonucleic acid expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress was measured and compared between chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma and chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma according to the presence or absence of bacteria, type of hearing loss, ossicle destruction, and facial canal dehiscence. Results: The expression of immunoglobulin heavy chain-binding protein messenger ribonucleic acid was higher in the chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma group than in the chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma group, and Protein kinase RNA (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase and activating transcription factor 6 messenger ribonucleic acid expression were higher in the chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma group than in the chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma group. Conclusion: Endoplasmic reticulum stress messenger ribonucleic acids were expressed in both chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma and chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma. The levels of expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress messenger ribonucleic acids differed according to clinical features, suggesting that different endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways are involved in the pathophysiology of different types of chronic otitis media.


The Tibetan Plateau (TP), the "Water Tower of Asia", plays an important role in the water cycle. However, few studies have linked the TP's water vapor supply with the climate over North China. In this study, we found that changes in the subtropical westerly jet (SWJ) dynamically induce drought in North China, and the TP plays an important role in this relationship. During July-August for the period of 1981-2019, the SWJ center between 75°E and 105°E obviously shifted northward at a rate of 0.04° per year. Correspondingly, the zonal winds in the southern subtropics were incredibly weakened, causing the outflow of water vapor from the TP to decrease dramatically. Combined with numerical simulations, we discovered that a reduction in water vapor transport from the TP can obviously decrease the precipitation over North China. Sensitivity experiments demonstrated that if the water vapor outflow from the eastern border of the TP decreases by 52.74%, the precipitation in North China will decrease by 12.69% due to a decrease in the local cloud fraction caused by a diminished water vapor content in the atmosphere. Therefore, although less water vapor transport occurs in the upper troposphere than in the lower troposphere, the impact of transport from the TP in the former on the downstream precipitation cannot be ignored.


SUMMARY Migratory birds have been implicated in the spread of some zoonotic diseases, but how well infected individuals can fly remains poorly understood. We used western sandpipers, Calidris mauri, to experimentally test whether flight is affected when long-distance migrants are mounting an immune response and whether migrants maintain immune defences during a flight in a wind tunnel. We measured five indicators of innate immunity in 'flown-healthy' birds (flying in a wind tunnel without mounting an immune response), 'flown-sick' birds (flying while mounting an acute phase response, which is part of induced innate immunity), and a non-flying control group ('not-flown'). Voluntary flight duration did not differ between flown-healthy and flown-sick birds, indicating that mounting an acute phase response to simulated infection did not hamper an individual's ability to fly for up to 3 h. However, in comparison to not-flown birds, bacterial killing ability of plasma was significantly reduced after flight in flown-sick birds. In flown-healthy birds, voluntary flight duration was positively correlated with bacterial killing ability and baseline haptoglobin concentration of the blood plasma measured 1–3 weeks before experimental flights, suggesting that high quality birds had strong immune systems and greater flight capacity. Our findings indicate that flight performance is not diminished by prior immune challenge, but that flight while mounting an acute phase response negatively affects other aspects of immune function. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the transmission of avian diseases, as they suggest that birds can still migrate while fighting an infection.


When Spectrum launched the Amazing Micro-Mouse Maze Contest in May 1977, it scarcely anticipated the deluge of entries (some 6000 to date). Thus far, three preliminary time trials have been held, during which several contenders entered the maze and failed to negotiate it or were scratched prior to post time. Evidently the design and construction of an intelligent mouse have proved less trivial than some had thought.


Examination of 73 children of 8–12 years of age was conducted in order to study morphological characteristics of erythrocytes at undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia (UCTD). Scanning electron microscopy revealed significant alterations of surface architectonics of red blood cells, characterized by reduction in the number of discocytes and increase in the number of transformed and degenerative cell forms in the group of children with UCTD without development of anemic syndrome. The most intensive morphological presentation disorders of red blood cells were registered in children with UCTD and anemic syndrome. The article shows that structural inferiority of erythrocyte membranes is a pathogenetic anemia development factor in children with connective tissue dysplasia.


This guide will help you locate important library resources and show you how to use them to do research effectively. (This guide displays best with Firefox.) If you have problem logging in to a database or forgoet your PIN or need to contact the librar, , here are links to get help:


Emotions are postulated to be generated at the brain. To capture the brain activities during emotional processing, several neuro-imaging techniques have been adopted, including electroencephalogram (EEG). In the existing studies, different techniques have been employed to extract features from EEG signals for emotion classification. However, existing feature extraction techniques do not consider spatial and temporal neural-dynamics of emotion. Furthermore, the non-linearity of EEG and self-adaptive of neural activations are disregard. Therefore, the classification accuracy of any feature extraction technique is inconsistent when applied with different classifiers. Hence, in this study, a new feature extraction technique that inculcates the qualities of EEG signal and the behavior neural activations based on Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller (CMAC) model is proposed. Classification performance of calm, fear, happiness and sadness using Evolving Fuzzy Neural Network (EFuNN) classifiers are compared based on subject-dependent and subject-independent validations. It is observed that the proposed technique is able to yield accuracy of above 50% to above 90% for subject-dependent classification. For subject-independent approach, the highest accuracy is barely 40%. The results suggest that this approach is comparable as a feature extraction technique for classifying emotions.


Respiratory burst activity and phosphorylation of an NADPH oxidase component, p47phox, during neutrophil stimulation are mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3K) activation. Products of PI-3K activate several kinases, including the serine/threonine kinase Akt. The present study examined the ability of Akt to regulate neutrophil respiratory burst activity and to interact with and phosphorylate p47phox. Inhibition of Akt activity in human neutrophils by an inhibitory peptide significantly attenuated fMLP-stimulated, but not PMA-stimulated, superoxide release. Akt inhibitory peptide also inhibited hydrogen peroxide generation stimulated by bacterial phagocytosis. A direct interaction between p47phox and Akt was shown by the ability of GST-p47phox to precipitate recombinant Akt and to precipitate Akt from neutrophil lysates. Active recombinant Akt phosphorylated recombinant p47phox in vitro, as shown by 32P incorporation, by a mobility shift change detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and by immunoblotting with phospho-Akt substrate Ab. Mutation analysis indicated that 2 aa residues, Ser304 and Ser328, were phosphorylated by Akt. Inhibition of Akt activity also inhibited fMLP-stimulated neutrophil chemotaxis. We propose that Akt mediates PI-3K-dependent p47phox phosphorylation, which contributes to respiratory burst activity in human neutrophils.


Abstract. Data from both laboratory studies and atmospheric measurements are used to develop an empirical parameterization for the immersion freezing activity of natural mineral dust particles. Measurements made with the Colorado State University (CSU) continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC) when processing mineral dust aerosols at a nominal 105% relative humidity with respect to water (RHw) are taken as a measure of the immersion freezing nucleation activity of particles. Ice active frozen fractions vs. temperature for dusts representative of Saharan and Asian desert sources were consistent with similar measurements in atmospheric dust plumes for a limited set of comparisons available. The parameterization developed follows the form of one suggested previously for atmospheric particles of non-specific composition in quantifying ice nucleating particle concentrations as functions of temperature and the total number concentration of particles larger than 0.5 μm diameter. Such an approach does not explicitly account for surface area and time dependencies for ice nucleation, but sufficiently encapsulates the activation properties for potential use in regional and global modeling simulations, and possible application in developing remote sensing retrievals for ice nucleating particles. A calibration factor is introduced to account for the apparent underestimate (by approximately 3, on average) of the immersion freezing fraction of mineral dust particles for CSU CFDC data processed at an RHw of 105% vs. maximum fractions active at higher RHw. Instrumental factors that affect activation behavior vs. RHw in CFDC instruments remain to be fully explored in future studies. Nevertheless, the use of this calibration factor is supported by comparison to ice activation data obtained for the same aerosols from Aerosol Interactions and Dynamics of the Atmosphere (AIDA) expansion chamber cloud parcel experiments. Further comparison of the new parameterization, including calibration correction, to predictions of the immersion freezing surface active site density parameterization for mineral dust particles, developed separately from AIDA experimental data alone, shows excellent agreement for data collected in a descent through a Saharan aerosol layer. These studies support the utility of laboratory measurements to obtain atmospherically relevant data on the ice nucleation properties of dust and other particle types, and suggest the suitability of considering all mineral dust as a single type of ice nucleating particle as a useful first-order approximation in numerical modeling investigations.


CONTEXT
Although vitamin deficiency is encountered infrequently in developed countries, inadequate intake of several vitamins is associated with chronic disease.

OBJECTIVE
To review the clinically important vitamins with regard to their biological effects, food sources, deficiency syndromes, potential for toxicity, and relationship to chronic disease.

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION
We searched MEDLINE for English-language articles about vitamins in relation to chronic diseases and their references published from 1966 through January 11, 2002.

DATA EXTRACTION
We reviewed articles jointly for the most clinically important information, emphasizing randomized trials where available.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Our review of 9 vitamins showed that elderly people, vegans, alcohol-dependent individuals, and patients with malabsorption are at higher risk of inadequate intake or absorption of several vitamins. Excessive doses of vitamin A during early pregnancy and fat-soluble vitamins taken anytime may result in adverse outcomes. Inadequate folate status is associated with neural tube defect and some cancers. Folate and vitamins B(6) and B(12) are required for homocysteine metabolism and are associated with coronary heart disease risk. Vitamin E and lycopene may decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Vitamin D is associated with decreased occurrence of fractures when taken with calcium.

CONCLUSIONS
Some groups of patients are at higher risk for vitamin deficiency and suboptimal vitamin status. Many physicians may be unaware of common food sources of vitamins or unsure which vitamins they should recommend for their patients. Vitamin excess is possible with supplementation, particularly for fat-soluble vitamins. Inadequate intake of several vitamins has been linked to chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis


Due to the rise in the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), cyber-attacks, particularly data intrusions, have become an issue for security experts. In this work, we analyze the performance of traditional statistical, machine learning, and graph-based anomaly detection approaches in response to this problem. We believe that understanding intrusion patterns can aid in the prevention of future attacks. In this work, we use the ARMA model for statistical analysis. We also use several machine learning approaches such as multinomial naive bayes, ran- dom forest, neural networks, XGBClassifier, and support vector machines (SVM). However, while our experiments show that machine learning (ML) techniques have higher precision, accuracy, and F1 score than graph-based techniques, there are aspects to a graph-based approach that could aid security experts in the discovery of certain data breaches by combining the graph-based with the statistical and ML methods. Experiments also show combining different anomaly detection techniques allows for a diverse set of intrusion patterns to be discovered. By recognizing the power of both machine learning and graph-based approaches, we analyze their precision and accuracy while explaining how existing state-of-the-art methods can detect breach patterns. Finally, by identifying the characteristics of breach patterns, we present information that security experts can use to prevent future data intrusions.


itis that is refractory to previous treatment, including antiTNF agents, was recently reported in one case report (Angeles-Han S, Flynn T, Lehman T. Abatacept for refractory juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis: a case report. J Rheumatol 2008;35:1897–8) and in the 6 patients from the study by Zulian et al. Here, we report 2 new cases of JIA-related uveitis refractory to immunosuppressive drugs and anti-TNF agents and treated with abatacept. The clinical characteristics of our patients were similar to those of the patients in the study by Zulian et al, and a sustained improvement was also observed in our 2 cases. In the study by Zulian and colleagues, the followup after abatacept initiation ranged from 7–11 months. Our 2 patients remain in remission with treatment after 16 and 10 months, respectively, which suggests a sustained effectiveness of abatacept. Our 2 case reports and the cases reported by Zulian et al suggest that abatacept could be an efficient and well-tolerated treatment for patients with JIArelated uveitis refractory to anti-TNF agents. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Agents that induce an immune response against tumors by altering T-cell regulation have increased survival times of patients with advanced-stage tumors, such as melanoma or lung cancer. We aimed to characterize molecular features of immune cells that infiltrate hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) to determine whether these types of agents might be effective against liver tumors.

METHODS
We analyzed HCC samples from 956 patients. We separated gene expression profiles from tumor, stromal, and immune cells using a non-negative matrix factorization algorithm. We then analyzed the gene expression pattern of inflammatory cells in HCC tumor samples. We correlated expression patterns with the presence of immune cell infiltrates and immune regulatory molecules, determined by pathology and immunohistochemical analyses, in a training set of 228 HCC samples. We validated the correlation in a validation set of 728 tumor samples. Using data from 190 tumors in the Cancer Genome Atlas, we correlated immune cell gene expression profiles with numbers of chromosomal aberrations (based on single-nucleotide polymorphism array) and mutations (exome sequence data).

RESULTS
We found approximately 25% of HCCs to have markers of an inflammatory response, with high expression levels of the CD274 molecule (programmed death-ligand 1) and programmed cell death 1, markers of cytolytic activity, and fewer chromosomal aberrations. We called this group of tumors the Immune class. It contained 2 subtypes, characterized by markers of an adaptive T-cell response or exhausted immune response. The exhausted immune response subclass expressed many genes regulated by transforming growth factor beta 1 that mediate immunosuppression. We did not observe any differences in numbers of mutations or expression of tumor antigens between the immune-specific class and other HCCs.

CONCLUSIONS
In an analysis of HCC samples from 956 patients, we found almost 25% to express markers of an inflammatory response. We identified 2 subclasses, characterized by adaptive or exhausted immune responses. These findings indicate that some HCCs might be susceptible to therapeutic agents designed to block the regulatory pathways in T cells, such as programmed death-ligand 1, programmed cell death 1, or transforming growth factor beta 1 inhibitors.


The present study was undertaken to identify the nature of the interactive effects of chlorpyrifos (CPF) and cold stress (15 degrees and 20 degrees C) on the activities of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE), choline acetyl transferase (ChAT), Na+, K(+)-ATPase and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the cerebral cortex of 1 week, 3 weeks and 3 months of age. The results indicated an interaction of CPF with age of animal and cold exposure resulting in marked decrease in the activity levels of AChE, ChAT, Na+, K(+)-ATPase, followed by increased MDA levels. Overall, the effects of co-exposure of cold stress and CPF were appreciably different from either of the exposures. However, synergistic-action of CPF and cold stress at 15 degrees C showed a greater inhibition of AChE, ChAT, and Na+, K(+)-ATPase in comparison with CPF or cold stress alone and together at 20 degrees C. The results reveal that young animals are markedly more sensitive to interactive effects of CPF and cold stress than adults.


The transfer of data from multiple internet of things (IoT) devices requires the use of a robust and efficient multiple access (MA) solution. This paper considers the orthogonal frequency division MA (OFDMA) technique for the light-fidelity (LiFi)-based IoT uplink using infrared to transmit data from multiple mobile users to a fixed access point. The conventional schemes based on orthogonal frequency allocate distinct subcarriers to each user sharing the same time slot. We consider a new approach by allocating distinct time slots to a group of OFDMA users. Taking into account realistic opto-electronic components, we study the performance of the conventional and proposed optical-OFDMA schemes. We show that asymmetrically clipped optical-OFDMA signaling scheme outperforms direct current biased signaling in terms of electrical power efficiency. Focusing on the asymmetrically clipped signaling, We demonstrate the robustness of our proposed time multiplexed optical-OFDMA scheme against MA interference caused by signal clipping. We also show the advantages of our scheme in reducing computational complexity by a factor of 2 compared to the conventional optical-OFDMA schemes.


Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)2,which is one of the 22 members of the FGF family, functions as an extracellular molecule involved in canonical receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. It has been implicated in angiogenesis and the development of the CNS. In this article, we reveal that cytosolic low m.w. isoform (LMW) FGF2 (18 kDa), not its secreted form, plays an unexpected role in the innate immune response. Cytosolic LMW FGF2 directly associated with inactivated RIG-I under physiological conditions, which enhanced RIG-I protein stability, thereby maintaining basal RIG-I levels. However, during RIG-I activation induced by viral RNA, cytosolic FGF2 bound to the caspase recruitment domains of activated RIG-I, which blocked RIG-I–MAVS complex formation. LMW FGF2 deficiency increased type I IFN production, whereas the overexpression of LMW FGF2 exerted the opposite effect. Cytosolic LMW FGF2 functions as a negative regulator in RIG-I–mediated antiviral signaling. This work provides insight into the role of FGF2 in innate immune response.


The quantum metrological triangle experiment, which is under development at the Bureau National de Metrologie-Laboratoire Central des Industries Electriques (BNM-LCIE), consists of applying Ohm's law directly to the quantities related to the single-electron tunnelling (SET) effect, the ac Josephson effect (JE) and the quantum Hall effect (QHE). The goal of this experiment is to test, at a significant level of uncertainty of about 1 part in 108, the coherence of the constants involved in these three quantum phenomena: the Josephson constant KJ, expected to correspond to the ratio 2e/h (where e is the elementary charge and h the Planck constant); the von Klitzing constant RK, in relation to the quantum resistance h/e2; and a new constant QX, defined here as the estimate of e. Moreover, realization of the metrological triangle experiment, combined with the experiment being developed at the NIST aimed at charging a capacitor by means of a SET pump, will give information liable to be taken into account in future adjustments of the fundamental constants without requiring any hypothesis regarding the physical phenomena involved. The combination of these two experiments should yield a new value of RK in ohms of the International System of Units (SI). The broad outlines of our experimental set-up are given, along with the expected uncertainties in both the short and long terms.


Fifteen species of Plinthisus are reported from Australia, all of them previously undescribed. The new species are: P. woodwardi, P. australiensis, P. tasmaniensis, P. kangarooensis, P. acrocephalus, P. nudus, P. sericeus, P. platycephalus, P. mullewa, P. dampieris, P. reticulatus, P. tindalis, P. flindersi, P. bassianus and P. grossi. P. woodwardi is also reported from New Zealand. The species are segregated into five groups. Their distributions within Australia and relationships to Oriental, African and South American taxa are discussed. A key to species is included. Plinthisus tineoides (Distant), an Oriental species, is redescribed and Locutius atratus Distant, 1918 and Locutius pallescens Distant, 1918 placed as junior synonyms. The ecological habitats and host plant relationships of P. australiensis, P. nudus, P. bassianus and P. grossi are discussed. Descriptions of nymphs are given for P. woodwardi, P. australiensis and P. grossi. Sixty figures are included illustrating dorsal views, spermatheca, metathoracic scent gland areas, eggs, wings, aedeagus, sperm reservoirs, parameres and abdominal details.


Tracking multiple agents in a monocular visual surveillance system is often challenged by the phenomenon of occlusions. Agents entering the field of view can undergo two different forms of occlusions, either caused by crowding or due to obstructions by background objects at finite distances from the camera. The agents are primarily detected as foreground blobs and are characterized by their motion history and weighted color histograms. These features are further used for localizing them in subsequent frames through motion prediction assisted mean shift tracking. A number of Boolean predicates are evaluated based on the fractional overlaps between the localized regions and foreground blobs. We construct predicates describing a comprehensive set of possible surveillance event primitives including entry/exit, partial or complete occlusions by background objects, crowding, splitting of agents and algorithm failures resulting from track loss. Instantiation of these event primitives followed by selective feature updates enables us to develop an effective scheme for tracking multiple agents in relatively unconstrained environments.


Residues from wine and juice processing still contain about 70% of the phenolic compounds in grapes. These compounds are valued for having several bioactive properties that are explored in the pharmaceutical and food sectors. This paper aims to summarize the most recent advances in the use of enzymatic techniques for the recovery of bioactive compounds from GP for industrial application. For this, we analyzed scientific articles and patent applications from the last 20 years in the main indexed and patent databases. Among the most used enzymes in the recovery of bioactive compounds in wastes, cellulases, pectinases, tannases, glucoamylases, and proteases such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, are the most important. As a result, extracts are obtained with greater retrieval of compounds such as anthocyanins, gallic acid, catechins, epicatechins, and trans-resveratrol and the improvement of coloring, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and vasoprotective properties. Although the use of enzymes for the recovery of phenolics is an old strategy, the number of studies focusing on the functional characteristics and industrial applicability of the extracts obtained has been recently growing. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Phenolic compounds have acted as anti-inflammatories, antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and antimicrobials, being additives or relevant ingredients for various products in the food and pharmaceutical industry. Although there are several techniques for extracting/recovering phenolics from grape pomace, there is still no agreement on which method is ideal. In recent years, several extractions methods have been applied in seeking optimized conditions to recover phenolics from grape residues. Among them, the use of enzymes has been gaining attention for being considered a green and promising technology. The present study aims to carry out a review that would bring a new perspective to the recovery of bioactive compounds from grape residues by enzymatic techniques, with a view to industrial purpose.


The characteristics of organic light-emitting devices based on tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq 3 ) with NaCl thin films inserted at both anode/organic and organic/cathode interfaces are investigated. We optimize the thicknesses of NaCl at both interfaces, and we get the optimal device with the structure of ITO/NaCl(2.0 nm)/N,N'-bis(l-naphthyl)-N,N'-diphenyl-1,1' biphenyl-4,4'-dimaine (NPB)/Alq 3 /NaCl(2.0 nm)/Al. The device shows much better electroluminescent (EL) performance than that of the as-stated standard device with only LiF buffer layer. The maximal current efficiency and power efficiency is improved by 31% and 67%, the turn-on voltage is also reduced from 4.2 V for the standard device to 3.1 V for our target device. This is due to enhanced electron injection and blocked hole injection, which results in more balanced hole and electron currents.


Function theory on Euclidean domains in relation to potential theory, partial differential equations, probability, and harmonic analysis has been the target of investigation for decades. There is a wealth of classical literature in the subject. Geometers began to study function theory with the primary reason to prove a uniformization type theorem in higher dimensions. It was first proposed by Greene-Wu and Yau to study the existence of bounded harmonic functions on a complete manifold with negative curvature. While uniformization in dimension greater than 2 still remains an open problem, the subject of function theory on complete manifolds takes on life of its own. The seminal work of Yau [Y1] provided a fundamental technique in handling analysis on noncompact, complete manifolds. It also opens up many interesting problems which are essential for the understanding of analysis on complete manifolds. Since Yau's paper in 1975, there are many developments in this subject. The aim of this article is to give a rough outline of the history of a specific point of view in this area, namely, the interplay between the geometry – primarily the curvature – and the function theory. Throughout this article, unless otherwise stated, we will assume that M is an n-dimensional, complete, non-compact, Riemannian manifold without boundary. In this case, we will simply say that M is a complete manifold. One of the goal of this survey is to demonstrate, by way of known theorems, the two major steps which are common in many geometric analysis programs. First, we will show how one can use assumptions on the curvature to conclude function theoretic properties of the manifold M. Secondly, we will showed that function theoretic properties can in turn be used to conclude geometrical and topological statements about the manifold. In many incidents, combining the two steps will result in a theorem which hypothesizes on the curvature and concludes on either the topological, geometrical, or complex structure of the manifold. The references will not be comprehensive due to the vast literature in the subject. It is merely an indication of the flavor of the field for the purpose of whetting one's appetite. As examples of areas not being discussed in this note are harmonic analysis


AIM
To determine students opinions about diagnosis disclosure to the patient and other interested parties.

METHODS
During 2000/2001 academic year, an anonymous survey was conducted among the first-year (200 questionnaires) and sixth-year medical students (200 questionnaires) at the Zagreb University School of Medicine. Students were asked what they would say about the diagnosis to the patient, patients family, friend, employer, colleague from work, health insurance agent, another physician, or medical student, if the diagnosis was inoperable lung carcinoma in a 20- and 66-year-old patient vs bacterial pneumonia in patients of the same age. The possibilities were to tell the truth, lie, or refuse to disclose the diagnosis.

RESULTS
The response rate was 55%. Students would disclose the true diagnosis to the patient, patients family, friend, and employer in case of benign disease more often than in case of malignant disease (p<0.001). Patient's age did not affect students' opinions. Most students would rather refuse to say anything than lie if they would not want to say the truth. Students would more often tell the truth to the patient and patient's family then to a health insurance agent, another physician, or medical student, less often to patient's friend and employer, and rarely to the patient's colleague from work. First-year students would generally tell the truth more often than sixth-year students (p<0.001). There were almost no differences in the opinions between male and female students.

CONCLUSION
The strongest influence on students choice on whether or not to disclose the diagnosis had the severity of disease, person they would disclose the information to, and the academic year they attended, implicating that such important ethical issues should be discussed during the studies.


Author(s): Clouser, Rachel Danjczek | Advisor(s): Christie, Christina A | Abstract: This multiple methods study investigated Women Rising, a yearlong women-only leadership development program, exploring the program's impact on past participants' career trajectories and their interest in the headship, as well as investigating the current head of school hiring process to see if gender bias exists. With those goals in mind, the study sought to answer two research questions: In what ways, if any, does a yearlong women's leadership program have an impact on leadership career trajectories of participants? What impact, if any, does participation in a yearlong women's leadership program have on increasing the number of women hired as heads of school?Data were gathered from a survey sent to Women Rising past participants as well as interviews with past participants, search firm representatives, and head of school search committee chairs. Both in the surveys and interviews, Women Rising participants showed an increase in self-efficacy, to the point that they were not only applying for leadership positions, but also comfortable negotiating for changes so that the position best fit them. Women Rising provided a much-needed opportunity for women to come together and share their experiences in what they consider to be a safe space; the relationships they built in the program, specifically stated as relationships with other women in independent schools, was cited as the greatest benefit of Women Rising. The study also showed a slight increase in interest in the head of school position after women participated in Women Rising. Another finding was the vast disparity of identified qualities needed to be a head of school from search firms, search committee chairs, and Women Rising past participants. It is important that all three of these groups understand the position and what it entails. Also, the head of school position and hiring process is still seen as biased, limiting women's abilities to make it into the finalist round. Without structural changes that address these biases, women will continue to face difficulty in achieving a headship position. Recommendations include the creation of a women-only head of school program and a national mentor network that women in NAIS schools can access.


Two studies among US college students ( N 1 = 88; N 2 = 329) were conducted to examine the relationship between the order in which responses are offered on a questionnaire and the ranked importance of those responses. In both studies it was found that approximately one third (32%; 31%) of the listed attributes were ranked in the order of mention. Expanding the criteria to include adjacent categories raised the overlap to about two thirds (64%; 65%). The findings gained in both studies were independent of gender. In addition, in Study II topic importance/involvement among the respondents was measured; the results indicated it was not a factor in this trend. The factor which did influence the order of mention and rankings was the number of categories used by the respondents. When more than 7 categories were used, the stability of mention and rankings tended to become erratic.


The spatial multiplexing of local elements (SMILE) technique is a simplified array architecture which uses one RF channel to carry information from multiple RF channels by using multiplexing. Existing SMILE approaches with ordinary multiplexers offer similar performance to a regular array in an interference limited scenario. The performance degrades in a receiver noise limited environment as less signal power is captured. A distinct pulse compression technique based on a switched resonator concept is introduced. Because the circuit can compress the time duration of a modulated RF pulse without changing the phase information and without incurring significant energy loss, it is ideal to be applied as a high performance multiplexer in SMILE arrays. The pulse compression technique is demonstrated in both simulation and experiment. The SMILE array based on this novel pulse compression technique is studied in simulation, which shows superior performance to existing SMILE techniques.


In the recent years, the economic and environmental issues have increased the scientific interest in the use of lignocellulosic biomass, particularly in the discarded biomass. Agro-industrial biomass, consisting of ligno-cellulosic waste, is an abundantly available renewable energy source and an extremely cost-effective and efficient natural resource for energy generation. In this context, green biotechnology has been an extremely promising approach to converting the bulk of solid agricultural waste, especially lignocellulosic materials, into energy fuels and materials that can handle large polluting loads. There is no doubt that important steps have been taken in the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass and its position on the green energy market possesses a big proportion. In the current dissertation, barley straw is used as raw material, for the production of adsorbent materials and improved fuel.
Using the torrefaction method, the straw was thermally treated at temperatures of 200, 220 and 240 ° C and at residence times of 20, 40 and 60 minutes for each temperature. The result of this treatment is that the calorific power of the straw increased significantly in relation to its initial as well as its adsorption capacity, which was measured in a simulated adsorption process, using a methylene blue solution.


Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based cognitive radio (CR) systems suffer from the large out-of-band emission (OOBE) that interferes with other users. Among the schemes that have been proposed to reduce the OOBE, precoding techniques encode the input data vectors before the inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) process, and decode them at the receiver after the fast Fourier transform (FFT) process. They provide significant OOBE suppression and do not cause any degradation of bit error rate (BER) performance. Therefore, two existing precoding techniques, which in this paper are called SVD precoding and N-continuous precoding, are investigated in this paper. Then a combined approach which maintains the merits of these two techniques is proposed. Numerical results show that, no matter whether there is a cyclic prefix (CP) or not, the proposed method gives significant further improvement on OOBE suppression and almost no extra degradation in the system performances such as the increase of BER or peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) than either of the two original techniques.


An analysis for the mixed convection boundary layers in the stagnation-point flow toward a stretching vertical sheet is carried out via symmetry analysis. By employing Lie group method to the given system of nonlinear partial differential equations, we can obtain information about the invariants and symmetries of these equations. This information can be used to determine the similarity variables that will reduce the number of independent variables in the system. The transformed ordinary differential equations are solved numerically for some values of the parameters involved using fifth-order Improved Runge-Kutta Method (IRK5) coupled with shooting method. The features of the flow and heat transfer characteristics are analyzed and discussed in detail. Both cases of assisting and opposing flows are considered. This paper' results in comparison with known results are excellent.


This research was designed to study in vitro development of bovine nuclear transferred embryos using enucleated young in vitro matured oocytes 24 h of age as recipient cytoplasts activated prior to nuclear transfer. The oocytes were enucleated and then activated with electric pulse at 24 h of age followed by incubation with cycloheximide for 6-7 h before nuclear transfer and membrane fusion with a blastomere of the 16-32 cell stage. This new protocol effectively improved cleavage (68 vs 17%, p < 0.05) and morula/blastocyst development of reconstructed embryos (29 vs 6%, p < 0.05), compared to similar nuclear transfer procedure without prior activation of recipient oocytes. Corresponding rates of cleavage and morula/blastocyst development for oocytes activated similarly without nuclear transfer were 49 and 19%. Factors affecting nuclear transfer were also compared. Two electric pulses for fusion increased rates of fusion (76 vs 60%, p < 0.05) and subsequent development of cloned embryos (32 vs 11%, p < 0.05). Cytochalasin B treatment following nuclear transfer manipulation seemed not to be beneficial in improving development of cloned embryos (p > 0.05). Both co-culture systems with buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells and cumulus cells promoted development of cloned embryos compared to the controls (28, 21 vs 0%, p < 0.05). The BRL cell system seemed to be better for manipulated embryos by reducing embryolysis.


Feature Models are popular tools for describing software product lines. Analysis of feature models has traditionally focused on consistency checking (yielding a yes/no answer) and product selection assistance, interactive or offline. In this paper, we describe a novel approach to identify the most critical decisions in product selection/configuration by taking advantage of a large pool of randomly generated, generally inconsistent, product variants. Range Ranking, a data mining technique, is utilized to single out the most critical design choices, reducing the job of the human designer to making less consequential decisions. A large feature model is used as a case study; we show preliminary results of the new approach to illustrate its usefulness for practical product derivation.


SUMMARY: Marcescin, a thermostable polypeptide isolated from a strain of Serratia marcescens inhibits the growth of Corynebacterium diphtheriae at 0.01 μg./ml. and Staphylococcus aureus at 0.1 μg./ml. It is produced in good yield in 18–36 hr. at 24° in an aerated ammonium citrate glycerol medium. It was very toxic to mice and in sublethal doses failed to protect mice against sensitive organisms. It is very strongly adsorbed by bacteria so it is not possible to say whether it is bacteriostatic or bactericidal in high concentration.


ABSTRACT Color is not a physical quantity of an object. It cannot be measured. We can only measure reflectance, i.e. the amount of light reflected for each wavelength. Nevertheless, we attach colors to the objects around us. A human observer perceives colors as being approximately constant irrespective of the illuminant which is used to illuminate the scene. Colors are a very important cue in everyday life. They can be used to recognize or distinguish different objects. Currently, we do not yet know how the brain arrives at a color constant or approximately color constant descriptor, i.e. what computational processing is actually performed by the brain. What we need is a computational description of color perception in particular and color vision in general. Only if we are able to write down a full computational theory of the visual system then we have understood how the visual system works. With this contribution, a computational model of color perception is presented. This model is much simpler compared to previous theories. It is able to compute a color constant descriptor even in the presence of spatially varying illuminants. According to this model, the cones respond approximately logarithmic to the irradiance entering the eye. Cells in V1 perform a change of the coordinate system such that colors are represented along a red-green, a blue-yellow and a black-white axis. Cells in V4 compute local space average color using a resistive grid. The resistive grid is formed by cells in V4. The left and right hemispheres are connected via the corpus callosum. A color constant descriptor which is presumably used for color based object recognition is computed by subtracting local space average color from the cone response within a rotated coordinate system.


Two issues in linear algebra algorithms for multicomputers are addressed. First, how to unify parallel implementations of the same algorithm in a decomposition-independent way. Second, how to optimize naive parallel programs maintaining the decomposition independence. Several matrix decompositions are viewed as instances of a more general allocation function called subcube matrix decomposition. By this meta-decomposition, a programming environment characterized by general primitives that allow one to design meta-algorithms independently of a particular decomposition. The authors apply such a framework to the parallel solution of dense matrices. This demonstrates that most of the existing algorithms can be derived by suitably setting the primitives used in the meta-algorithm. A further application of this programming style concerns the optimization of parallel algorithms. The idea to overlap communication and computation has been extended from 1-D decompositions to 2-D decompositions. Thus, a first attempt towards a decomposition-independent definition of such optimization strategies is provided. >


Interventions to reduce unintended pregnancy through improved contraceptive use are a public health priority. A comprehensive process evaluation of a contraceptive assessment module intervention with demonstrated efficacy was undertaken. The 12-month process evaluation goal was to describe the extent to which the intervention was implemented as intended over time, and to identify programmatic adjustments to improve implementation fidelity. Quantitative and qualitative methods included staff surveys, electronic health record data, usage monitoring, and observations. Fidelity of implementation was low overall (<10% of eligible patients completed the entire module [dose received]). Although a midcourse correction making the module available in clinical areas led to increased dose delivered (23% vs. 30%, chi-square test p = .006), dose received did not increase significantly after this adjustment. Contextual factors including competing organizational and staff priorities and staff buy-in limited the level of implementation and precluded adoption of some strategies such as adjusting patient flow. Using a process evaluation framework enabled the research team to identify and address complexities inherent in effectiveness studies and facilitated the alignment of program and context.


The structure of ultrathin silicon layers obtained by molecular hydrophobic bonding is investigated. The twist and tilt angles between the two crystals are accurately controlled. The buried Si|Si interface is observed by transmission electron microscopy and by grazing incidence X-ray techniques. For low twist angle values (/spl psi/<5/spl deg/) plane view observations reveal well-defined dislocation networks. Cross-section observations give evidence that the dislocation networks are localized at the bonding interfacial plane with no threading dislocation. Grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering measurements confirm the good quality of the bonding interface as well as the quality of the dislocation networks. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction is also used and shows the long-range order of the periodic strain field in the silicon layer. It shows, especially, the interaction between the dislocations. X-ray reflectivity was employed and estimated that the interfacial thickness (i.e., thickness of the bonding) lower than 1 nm decreases when the twist angle increases. The nanopatterned surface is then investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray methods. To validate these substrates for long-range order self-organization, the growth of Si and Ge quantum dots is finally achieved.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Vascular endothelial growth factor-C and -D (VEGF-C, VEGF-D) are related to lymphangiogenesis. Papillary thyroid carcinoma is characterized by regional lymph node metastasis. This study was designed to determine the expression and significance of VEGF, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

METHODS
The expression of VEGF, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D in 115 specimens of papillary thyroid carcinoma and 20 specimens of nodular goiter were detected by SP immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS
Positive rates of VEGF, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D were significantly higher in papillary thyroid carcinoma than in nodular goiter (79.1% vs. 30.0%, 87.0% vs. 15.0%, and 72.2% vs. 20.0%, P<0.01). The expression of VEGF was closely related to the size of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Positive rates of VEGF were 84.7% in lymph node positive group, and 73.2% in lymph node negative group. Positive rates of VEGF-C and VEGF-D were significantly higher in lymph node positive group than in lymph node negative group (93.2% vs. 80.4%, P<0.05; 83.1% vs. 60.7%, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
VEGF is closely related to tumor growth of papillary thyroid carcinoma; while VEGF-C and VEGF-D are closely related to lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma, and may be predictors of lymph node metastasis.


This reviewer may frankly say that the whole liturgical business has for him only a curious interest. The picture of the discussions among Cyprian and others of the proper administrator of the rites and specifically of how to deal with heretical baptisma Rnd confirmations he would especially recommend to such Baptists as find so engaging the fine points in connection with , ,alien" baptisms in these days. Our author is going a little far in his use of language when he gives to "immersion" a special meaning (Ch. IV. of Part II) and adopts the term "submersion" for what is universally known as immersion. His argument against the practice of immersion in early times is one of which any scholar ought to be heartily ashamed. It is no inspiring story our author has told of the practices of Christians in their liturgical rites but the story is well presented for an introductory handbook and the work should be widely used. W. O. CARVER.


A self-consistent theoretical scheme for describing the elastic behavior of ultrathin nanofilms (UTNFs) was proposed. Taking into account the lower symmetry of an UTNF compared to its bulk counterpart, additional elastic and magnetoelastic parameters were introduced to model the elasticity rigorously. The applications of current theory to several elastic and magnetoelastic systems gave excellent agreement with experiments. More importantly, the surface elastic and magnetoelastic parameters used to fit the experimental results are physically reasonable and in close agreement with those obtained from experiment and simulation. This fact suggests that the additional elastic (magnetoelastic) constants due to symmetry breaking are of great importance in theoretical description of the mechanical properties of UTNFs. And we proved that the elasticity of UTNFs should be described by a three-dimensional model just including the intrinsic surface and bulk parameters, but not the effective surface parameters. It is believed that the theory reported here is a universal strategy for elasticity and magnetoelasticity of ultrathin films.


Background: Numerous studies have investigated the effects of the supplementation of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) on the number of bacteria in the gut that are good for health, but the results have been inconsistent. Additionally, due to its high fermentability, supplementation of FOS may be associated with adverse gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating and flatulence. Therefore, we assessed the effects of FOS interventions on the composition of gut microbiota and gastrointestinal symptoms in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Design: All randomized controlled trials published before 10 July 2022 that investigated the effects of FOS supplementation on the human gut microbiota composition and gastrointestinal symptoms and met the selection criteria were included in this study. Using fixed or random-effects models, the means and standard deviations of the differences between the two groups before and after the intervention were combined into weighted mean differences using 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Eight studies containing 213 FOS supplements and 175 controls remained in this meta-analysis. Bifidobacterium spp. counts significantly increased during FOS ingestion (0.579, 95% CI: 0.444–0.714) in comparison with that of the control group. Subgroup analysis showed greater variation in Bifidobacterium spp. in adults (0.861, 95% CI: 0.614–1.108) than in infants (0.458, 95% CI: 0.297–0.619). The increase in Bifidobacterium spp. counts were greater in the group with an intervention duration greater than 4 weeks (0.841, 95% CI: 0.436–1.247) than an intervention time less than or equal to four weeks (0.532, 95% CI: 0.370–0.694), and in the group with intervention doses > 5 g (1.116, 95% CI: 0.685–1.546) the counts were higher than those with doses ≤ 5 g (0.521, 95% CI: 0.379–0.663). No differences in effect were found between FOS intervention and comparators in regard to the abundance of other prespecified bacteria or adverse gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusions: This is the first meta-analysis to explore the effect of FOS on gut microbiota and to evaluate the adverse effects of FOS intake on the gastrointestinal tract. FOS supplementation could increase the number of colonic Bifidobacterium spp. while higher dose (7.5–15 g/d) and longer duration (>4 weeks) showed more distinct effects and was well tolerated.


Objective To compare the medium-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of Dynesys dynamic stabilization and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for treatment of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease. Methods Fifty-seven patients with multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease underwent Dynesys stabilization (n = 26) or PLIF (n = 31) from December 2008 to February 2010. The mean follow-up period was 50.3 (range, 46–65) months. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Oswestry disability index (ODI). Radiographic evaluations included disc height and range of motion (ROM) of the operative segments and proximal adjacent segment on lumbar flexion-extension X-rays. The intervertebral disc signal change was defined by magnetic resonance imaging, and disc degeneration was classified by the Pfirrmann grade. Results The clinical outcomes including the VAS score and ODI were significantly improved in both groups at 3 months and the final follow-up, but the difference between the two was not significant. At the final follow-up, the disc height of stabilized segments in both groups was significantly increased; the increase was more notable in the Dynesys than PLIF group. The ROM of stabilized segments at the final follow-up decreased from 6.20° to 2.76° and 6.56° to 0.00° in the Dynesys and PLIF groups, respectively. There was no distinct change in the height of the proximal adjacent segment in the two groups. The ROM of the proximal adjacent segment in both groups increased significantly at the final follow-up; the change was significantly greater in the PLIF than Dynesys group. Only one case of adjacent segment degeneration occurred in the PLIF group, and this patient underwent a second operation. Conclusions Both Dynesys stabilization and PLIF can improve the clinical and radiographic outcomes of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease. Compared with PLIF, Dynesys stabilization can maintain the mobility of the stabilized segments with less influence on the proximal adjacent segment and may help to prevent the occurrence of adjacent segment degeneration. Dynesys is reliable for the treatment of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease at the medium-term follow-up.


Introduction and objectives To derive quantitative regional imaging lung function parameters using hyperpolarised xenon MRI (Xe-MRI) and computed tomography (QCT), and compare these to pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in subjects with chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD). Methods Twenty patients with COPD (stage II – IV GOLD criteria classification) underwent Xe-MRI at 1.5T, QCT, and PFTs. Whole lung and lobar percentage ventilated volumes were obtained using automated segmentation of multi-slice Xe-MRI ventilation images acquired at a breath hold of FRC + 1L using in-house software. Average whole lung apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were calculated from multi-slice Xe-MRI diffusion-weighted images (b=20.855 sec/cm2). Percentage predicted PFT results were established for each participant. Whole lung and lobar QCT-derived metrics for emphysema and bronchial wall thickness were calculated from percentage of lung tissue with density of <-950 HU and Pi10 (the square root of wall area for an airway with lumen perimeter of 10 mm), respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the relationship between whole lung and lobar imaging measures and PFTs. Results Xe-MRI whole lung average ADC showed significant correlation with: whole lung QCT percentage emphysema (r = 0.79, p = 0.001), whole lung Pi10 (r = 0.68, p < 0.05), percentage predicted functional residual capacity (FRC) (r = 0.635, p < 0.05) and demonstrated significant negative correlation with percentage predicted TLCO (r= -0.81, p < 0.001). Whole lung QCT percentage emphysema showed a similar significant negative correlation with percentage predicted TLCO (r= -0.80, p < 0.001). Xe-MRI lobar percentage ventilated volume showed significant correlation with lobar QCT percentage emphysema (r= -0.51, p < <0.001). The QCT-derived metrics, percentage emphysema and Pi10 demonstrated significant correlation on a whole lung (r = 0.75, p < 0.015) and lobar basis (r = 0.29, p < 0.015). Conclusion This study demonstrates excellent correlation between Xe-MRI, QCT-derived metrics and PFTs in COPD. New quantitative whole lung and lobar functional imaging parameters have been derived that may be of value when assessing patients with COPD for regional treatment and in trialling new therapies. Although further investigation is required, this may represent the first integrated regional lung imaging technique linked to pulmonary functional outcomes. Abstract S19 Figure 1


An investigation of sediments from the littoral (shallow water) and profundal (deep water) zones of Blelham Tarn, a shallow eutrophic lake, showed marked differences in the microbial decomposition processes. These differences were due largely to differences in the degree of oxygenation, supply of electron acceptors, and mean summer temperature at the two sites. The changes in the hypolimnion (the deep water zone formed on thermal stratification, which may be treated essentially as a closed system) could be used to calculate profundal rates of aerobic respiration, NO-
3 and SO2-
4 reduction, and methanogenesis, relative to the accumulation of CO2. Laboratory measurements demonstrated that NH+
4 accumulation, SO2-
4 reduction and methanogenesis were more intense in the profundal than in the littoral zone. Anaerobic processes that occurred in the littoral sediments did so at greater depths than in the profundal sediments. The release of CH4 and N2 bubbles also provided estimates of the importance of these processes at the two sites. At both sites aerobic respiration was the most important component (about 50%) of carbon mineralization; SO2-
4 reduction was the least important, accounting for only a small percentage of carbon turnover. Pathways of NO-
3 reduction and methanogenesis accounted for approximately equal proportions (varying between 15 and 25%) of the carbon mineralized. When the results were adjusted to account for the relative areas of the profundal and littoral zones, the former was the more important site of methanogenesis and SO2-
4 reduction, whereas aerobic respiration and NO-
3 reduction were greater in the littoral zone. The major end-product of NO-
3 reduction was NH+
4 in the profundal and N2 in the littoral zone. The higher and continued levels of nitrification, which recycled the NH+
4 in the littoral sediments, were thought to contribute to this.


Purpose Diabetes increases the risk of fragility fractures. As a result, when choosing a diabetes treatment, whether the drug affects bone density should be taken into account. The goal of this study was to determine how switching from dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) influenced bone mineral density (BMD) in diabetic patients. Patients and Methods In this retrospective cohort study, diabetic patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia who used DPP-4i but not anti-osteoporosis medications were divided into two groups: those who switched to GLP-1RA (n = 132) and those who did not (control group, n = 133). We compared changes in glycemic control and BMD with and without conversion from DPP-4i to GLP-1RA. Results Prior to switching, there was no difference between the groups in terms of age, gender, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), or BMD. HbA1c was 8.7% in the participants (mean age 62.7 years, 17.4% female). Despite the fact that there was no difference in femoral neck BMD, the GLP-1RA group had a greater decrease in lumbar spine BMD (−0.028 g/cm2 versus −0.019 g/cm2, p = 0.041) than the control group. Furthermore, HbA1c levels in the GLP-1RA-treated group were considerably lower than in the control group (7.5% versus 8.0%, p = 0.027). Conclusion While switching to GLP-1RA improves glycemic control, it appears to have a less favorable effect on bone density than continuing DPP-4i. More research is needed, however, to determine whether diabetic patients with low bone density should be switched from DPP-4i to GLP-1RA.


Manganese is an essential trace element for human metabolism, but at higher concentrations it is a potent neurotoxin that presents clinical symptoms similar to those of Parkinson's disease. Since the toxicity of manganese may be related to its ability to accelerate the oxidation of catecholamines, we have examined the effect of aqueous Mn2+ on the formation and decay of the dopamine semiquinone radical ion. ESR spectroscopy was used to measure the kinetics of the disappearance of the semiquinone radical spectrum and the simultaneous appearance of the six-line spectrum of aqueous Mn2+ in Tris buffer. From the proposed mechanism for the autoxidation of dopamine to the quinone, the rate expression for semiquinone radical disappearance has the functional form -rate = k'[D(OH)2][Mn2+] at constant pH and molecular oxygen concentration, while the pH dependence is given by -log(rate) = log(constant) + (2 x pH), in agreement with the experimental results. The autoxidation of dopamine is catalyzed by manganese through the formation of a highly reactive complex. The effect of manganese is due to the fact that it can participate in a redox cycle which involves intramolecular electron transfer between manganese and the dopamine ligand.


Blazars research is one of the hot topics of contemporary extragalactic astrophysics. That is because these sources are the most abundant type of extragalactic γ-ray sources and are suspected to play a central role in multimessenger astrophysics. We have used Swift$\_$xrtproc, a tool to carry out an accurate spectral and photometric analysis of the Swift-XRT data of all blazars observed by Swift at least 50 times between December 2004 and the end of 2020. We present a database of X-ray spectra, best-fit parameter values, count rates and flux estimations in several energy bands of over 31 000 X-ray observations and single snapshots of 65 blazars. The results of the X-ray analysis have been combined with other multifrequency archival data to assemble the broad-band Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) and the long-term light curves of all sources in the sample. Our study shows that large X-ray luminosity variability on different time-scales is present in all objects. Spectral changes are also frequently observed with a 'harder-when-brighter' or 'softer-when-brighter' behaviour depending on the SED type of the blazars. The peak energy of the synchrotron component (νpeak) in the SED of HBL blazars, estimated from the log-parabolic shape of their X-ray spectra, also exhibits very large changes in the same source, spanning a range of over two orders of magnitude in Mrk421 and Mrk501, the objects with the best data sets in our sample.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of the lipid-lowering drugs in alleviating endothelial hyperplasia in the inferior vena cava (IVC) grafts in dogs.

METHODS
The Dacron grafts seeded with autologous venous fragments were implanted into the IVC of 20 dogs, including 12 dogs receiving oral lipid-lowering drugs serving as the treatment group and the other 8 without medication as the control group. The levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-ch) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-ch) in the serum were measured regularly, and all the grafts harvested to measure the thickness of the endothelium.

RESULTS
The total patency rate of the IVC were higher in the treatment group (75%) than in the control group (37.5%), and new endothelial lining was formed two weeks after the operation. Compared with the control group, the endothelial thickness of the grafts at the proximal (P<0.01), middle (P<0.05) and distal segments (P<0.05) of the IVC were all smaller in the treatment group, which also had lower serum LDL-ch and TC levels (both P<0.05) but with comparable HDL-ch levels (P>0.05).

CONCLUSION
Administration of lipid-lowering drugs may reduce the level of serum LDL-ch and TC and the endothelial thickness of the grafts to improve the patency rate of the vessels.


BACKGROUND
Dedifferentiation of acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) to undifferentiated carcinoma occurs rarely and entails a poor prognosis. Most cases of dedifferentiation occur as recurrences of a previously excised ACC. More rarely the neoplasm presents with areas of well-differentiated ACC coexisting with dedifferentiated ones.

CASE
An 85-year-old man presented with 2 nodular areas in the right parotid area. Fine needle aspiration of both nodules was performed. In both cases cytology revealed a double epithelial component in similar proportions. The first one corresponded to cohesive groups of small to intermediate-sized, polygonal cells with round, monomorphic nuclei. They were distributed in small and larger, branching groups with acinic morphology. Intermixed with this population, irregular groups of larger, pleomorphic cells with irregular nuclei, prominent nucleoli and scarce cytoplasm were present. In addition, smears showed an abundant lymphoid background. A cytologic diagnosis of "salivary carcinoma with coexisting areas of acinic cell differentiation and high grade, undifferentiated carcinoma" was given. Histopathology revealed a well-differentiated ACC with areas of high grade undifferentiated carcinoma (dedifferentiated ACC).

CONCLUSION
The current case expands the cytomorphologic spectrum of ACC. Cytology may permit the preoperative recognition of dedifferentiation, allowing a more sound therapeutic approach.


OBJECTIVE
To find a better index for detecting myocardial lesion in patients with acute ammonia poisoning.

METHODS
Cardiac troponin T (cTnT), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme (CK-MB), and electrocardiogram (ECG) were determined and compared in patients with acute ammonia poisoning and healthy controls.

RESULTS
In severe ammonia poisoning patients, the levels of cTnT [(1.285 +/- 2.650) micro g/L], CK [(257.636 +/- 362.719) IU/L], CK-MB [(20.909 +/- 19.770) IU/L] were significantly higher than those in healthy control [(0.035 +/- 0.014) micro g/L, (82.050 +/- 36.302) IU/L, (8.350 +/- 2.455) IU/L respectively, P < 0.05]. The levels of cTnT, CK and CK-MB in mild ammonia poisoning patients [(0.039 +/- 0.016) micro g/L, (78.200 +/- 28.401) IU/L and (8.467 +/- 2.669) IU/L respectively], and moderate ammonia poisoning patients [(0.054 +/- 0.043) micro g/L, (99.786 +/- 71.941) IU/L and (9.429 +/- 3.857) IU/L were not significantly different from those of healthy controls (P > 0.05)]. cTnT positive detection rate (68.2%) was significantly higher than CK (36.4%), CK-MB (31.2%) and ECG (31.2%) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
cTnT is a better index to detect myocardial lesion in severe ammonia poisoning.


Tumor Immunology
Many new cancer therapies are built around the concept of personalized medicine. This includes an emerging class of therapeutic cancer vaccines that induce the immune system to destroy tumor cells expressing patient-specific neoantigens. Such vaccines may not work well for breast cancer, a tumor type that expresses few neoantigens. Conceivably, a therapeutic vaccine could be designed to target tumor-associated antigens that are shared among breast cancer patients, assuming such shared antigens exist. Munson et al. provide evidence that they do. They analyzed T cell receptor (TCR) sequences of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in 20 breast cancer patients and found a panel of TCRs shared among patients' tumors and peripheral blood that were not present in peripheral blood of healthy controls.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 10.1073/pnas.1606994113 (2016).


P values and confidence intervals fully account for the technique we used. Matas and colleagues also misinterpreted our lifetime risk calculation, inferring that the lifetime ESRD risk of "healthy controls younger than 30 years was 0 per 10 000" rather than that ESRD risk by age 30 was 0 per 10 000 controls who entered the risk set prior to that age. Drs Kiberd and Tennankore suggest that our method of splicing together early follow-up intervals to estimate lifetime risks might have resulted in underestimation of risk. We agree that estimating lifetime risk of ESRD based on 15-year follow-up in different age cohorts is an approximation; unfortunately, it will be decades before we have follow-up long enough for better lifetime estimates. We also agree that cumulative risk will vary by donor characteristics; our cumulative risk estimates should only be interpreted as averages. Of 3 groups of researchers, 2 believe we have overestimated and 1 believes we have underestimated donor risk of ESRD. We disagree with several concerns raised about our methods, and we hope we have clarified these. We agree that our findings should not discourage kidney donation because the risks remain very low. However, better understanding and quantifying risk associated with donation remain a priority.


In this paper, we propose a method for a mobile robot to navigation in textureless environment using an omni-directional camera. The method makes an environment map consisting of 3D edge points obtained from omni-directional camera images and estimates the locations of planes by analysing these 3D edge points so that the robot can autonomously travel while avoiding walls as obstacles. The method has the advantage that it can generate a 3D map in environments constructed by textureless planes. It is important to improve robustness of obstacle detection in order to realize navigation with a long distance. The proposed method was evaluated in more complex environment such as a long corridor and a corner.


Magnetars are active X-ray and soft gamma-ray sources in the sky, and are believed to be young neutron stars powered by their ultra-high surface magnetic fields. With the all-sky monitoring capability of the Einstein Probe (EP), we expect to be able to find 3 new magnetars through their X-ray outburst activity, and will also be able to study the X-ray activities of more than 20 currently known magnetars. The EP's observations will thus help estimate the total number of magnetars in the Milky Way and understand their formation channels in stellar evolution and supernova explosions. In addition, multi-wavelength observations can be conducted once a magnetar is found to be in the active state with EP. The studies will help understand the magnetars' overall emission properties and the underlying physical processes. Although it is rare, magnetar-like activity was also seen in other classes of young neutron stars. EP will be able to monitor those neutron stars, for finding more such events and thus help determine if any intrinsic property between magnetars and other neutron stars could play a key role in inducing such activity.


We analyze the electromagnetic-gravity interaction in a pure Hořava-Lifshitz framework. To do so we formulate the Hořava-Lifshitz gravity in $4+1$ dimensions and perform a Kaluza-Klein reduction to $3+1$ dimensions. We use this reduction as a mathematical procedure to obtain the $3+1$ coupled theory, which at the end is considered as a fundamental, self-consistent, theory. The critical value of the dimensionless coupling constant in the kinetic term of the action is $\lambda=1/4$. It is the kinetic conformal point for the non-relativistic electromagnetic-gravity interaction. In distinction, the corresponding kinetic conformal value for pure Hořava-Lifshitz gravity in $3+1$ dimensions is $\lambda=1/3$. We analyze the geometrical structure of the critical and noncritical cases, they correspond to different theories. The physical degrees of freedom propagated by the noncritical theory are the transverse traceless graviton, the transverse gauge vector and two scalar fields. In the critical theory one of the scalars is absent, only the dilaton scalar field is present. The gravity and vector excitations propagate with the same speed, which at low energy can be taken to be the speed of light. The field equations for the gauge vector in the non-relativistic theory have exactly the same form as the relativistic electromagnetic field equations arising from the Kaluza-Klein reduction of General Relativity, and are equal to them for a particular value of one of the coupling constants. The potential in the Hamiltonian is a polynomial of finite degree in the gauge vector and its covariant derivatives.


This study used a combined person- and variable-centered approach to identify self-regulated online learning latent profiles and examine their relationships with the predicted and earned course grades. College students (N=177) at a Southeastern U.S. university responded to the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire. Exploratory structural equation modeling revealed four self-regulation factors: goal setting, environment management, peer help-seeking, and task strategies. Latent profile analysis yielded four latent profiles: Below Average Self-Regulation (BASR), Average Self-Regulation (ASR), Above Average Self-Regulation (AASR), and Low Peer Help-Seeking (LPHS). Compared with the AASR group, when students anticipated obtaining a higher course grade, they were less likely to engage in peer help-seeking and task strategies and more likely to adopt the LPHS self-regulation profile. Relating to LPHS, membership to all other groups predicted significantly lower course grades. AASR and LPHS predicted their performance most accurately, with non-significant differences between the predicted and the final course grades.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer delivered his lectures on Christology in the midst of his academic career but only shortly after becoming a Christian. They thus give us a window into the mind of a theologian wrestling with fundamental questions of faith and scholarship. In particular, the theme of contemporaneity with Christ in Bonhoeffer's Christology gives proper place to the 'Who?' question over the 'How?', reveals a nuanced account of the relation of historical inquiry to the rule of faith, and offers an amplification of the Reformers' emphasis on the God who is for us.


Pandemic health emergencies require timely awareness by credible information and trust in the operational system to inform, instruct, promote protective behaviour, and dismantle rumours to mitigate the impact, particularly in the absence of a vaccine during this current COVID-19 situation. Various government and non-government organizations generated an overwhelming number of communication materials (infodemic) for diverse populations around pandemic related practices. However, access to and utility of communication materials have been limited for the vulnerable populations due to social determinants of health such as linguistic or technology barriers as well as trust on communicated messages. A systematic review was conducted in June-September of 2020 adopting a scoping review framework and PRISMA-ScR model. Collecting primary data from conveniently selected relevant service providers or policy planners during the COVID-19 pandemic followed this. Social determinants of health as social marginalization and health-related complexities were found to be associated with the vulnerability of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key factors that were identified as determinants included socio-cultural attributes, language barrier, lack of trust towards public health interventions, structural and personal factors, and lack of equity-informed planning of communication strategies. The findings from the study informed the design of an equity-informed communication preparedness and strategy framework, which meant a participatory and inclusive process of planning and implementing emergency risk communication materials that aimed at reducing the barriers and in turn reducing the vulnerability of subgroups. The preparedness plan anticipates the limitations of the communication materials from an end-user perspective and reinforces the desirable practices for prevention. The strategy suggests a mode of communication for reaching out to people who are at risk to ensure increased efficacy and creating a support system to access information and act upon the recommendations. This 360-degree-approach framework emphasized the active participation of the target audience from the beginning of the process of communication material design for the pandemic.


—Data in the energy domain grows at unprecedented rates. Despite the great potential that IoT platforms and other big data-driven technologies have brought in the energy sector, data exchange and data integration are still not wholly achieved. As a result, fragmented applications are developed against energy data silos, and data exchange is limited to few applications. Therefore, this paper identifies semantic models that can be reused for building interoperable energy management services and applications. The ambition is to innovate the Institute Mihajlo Pupin proprietary SCADA system and to enable integration of PUPIN services/applications in the European Union (EU) Energy Data Space. The selection of reusable models has been done based on a set of scenarios related to electricity balancing services, predictive maintenance services, and services for residential, commercial and industrial sector.


This paper gauges the degree of fiscal vulnerability in Turkey from a Minskian perspective. Succinctly speaking, Minsky's financial stability hypothesis states that the government should apply hedge financing at least sporadically and pursue countercyclical fiscal policies to restore stability. We calculated two fiscal fragility indices based on Minsky's hypothesis to examine the recent trends in Turkish public finances. According to our findings, Turkish fiscal balances are in a deteriorating trend and heading towards (ultra)Ponzi financing which is evidenced by the plummeting values of the fiscal fragility index. The results are suggestive that currently the fiscal performance in Turkey is waning gradually and current fiscal posture is not on a par with past years. Worsening fiscal balances emit a signal for a looming fiscal crisis and it is evident that this trend should promptly be reversed by the aid of appropriate expedients. Quitting the use of procyclical fiscal policies, building up public confidence by primary balance generation, implementing full-fledged tax reform, restructuring contingent liabilities, proper scrutiny of expenditures, reducing profligacy are among the policy options available for the government. Notwithstanding the abundance of alternative fiscal policies, the current Covid-19 pandemic is quite a hindrance to attaining intended outcomes regarding fiscal stability.


This article compares sociopolitical perspectives about the law in three regions of the world: the United States, France, and Latin America. Despite their heterogeneity, these sociolegal perspectives share many practical and theoretical similarities. For this reason, this article proposes grouping them under the more general title of sociopolitical legal studies (SLS). This general label includes a collection of transdisciplinary research, theories, and studies that view law as a sociopolitical phenomenon central to the understanding of power and society. The concept of SLS reveals the existence of a transversal ground between three academic disciplines: sociology of law, legal theory, and sociolegal studies, which, in spite of multiple connections, rarely communicate with one another. Additionally, the term studies is used in a broad sense, including not just legal theories but also empirical analyses of the law.


The IR absorption spectra of superconducting and nonsuperconducting samples have been investigated. An IR absorption peak at about 447cm-1 was found. It might be caused by Cu-O localized vibration mode in the superconducting sample. A possible vibration model was proposed.


Abstract—Finding the linear and nonlinear responses of a typical single-degree-of-freedom system (SDOF) is always being regarded as a time-consuming process. This study attempts to provide modifications in the renowned Newmark method in order to make it more time efficient than it used to be and make it more accurate by modifying the system in its own non-linear state. The efficacy of the presented method is demonstrated by assigning three base excitations such as Tabas 1978, El Centro 1940, and MEXICO CITY/SCT 1985 earthquakes to a SDOF system, that is, SDOF, to compute the strength reduction factor, yield pseudo acceleration, and ductility factor.


Heat recuperation in an ISRU reactor system involves the recovery of heat from a reacted regolith batch by transferring this energy into a batch of fresh regolith. One concept for a hydrogen reduction reactor is a concentric chamber design where heat is transferred from the inner, reaction chamber into fresh regolith in the outer, recuperation chamber. This concept was tested and analyzed to define the overall benefit compared to a more traditional single chamber batch reactor. Data was gathered for heat-up and recuperation in the inner chamber alone, simulating a single chamber design, as well as recuperation into the outer chamber, simulating a dual chamber design. Experimental data was also used to improve two analytical models, with good agreement for temperature behavior during recuperation, calculated mass of the reactor concepts, and energy required during heat-up. The five tests, performed using JSC-1A regolith simulant, also explored the effectiveness of helium gas fluidization, hydrogen gas fluidization, and vibrational fluidization. Results indicate that higher hydrogen volumetric flow rates are required compared to helium for complete fluidization and mixing, and that vibrational fluidization may provide equivalent mixing while eliminating the need to flow large amounts of excess hydrogen. Analysis of the total energy required for heat-up and steady-state operations for a variety of conditions and assumptions shows that the dual-chamber concept requires the same or more energy than the single chamber concept. With no clear energy savings, the added mass and complexity of the dual-chamber makes it unlikely that this design concept will provide any added benefit to the overall ISRU oxygen production system.


In this paper we present a theoretical analysis on the determination of the scaling parameter in the complex-rotated Hamiltonian, which has served as a basis for successful applications of the rigged Hilbert space theory for resonances. Based on the complex energy eigenvalue, E(θ) = ER(θ) - iΓ(θ)/2, as a function of the scaling parameter θ, we find that for potential barrier scattering, the condition dΓ(θI)/dθ = 0 uniquely determines the scaling parameter θ. The condition dER(θR)/dθ = 0 is merely a consequence of the Virial theorem and θI = θR is not a necessary condition for a resonance state. We also provide a harmonic approximation formalism for resonances in scattering over a potential barrier.


With the evolution of technologies like Internet of Things (IoTs), there will be more and more connected devices in use around the world. This is one of the reasons why cyber security is critical to contemporary society as it makes the large majority susceptible to cyber-attacks. Such cyber-attacks not only impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability but also can cause physical damage. This is evident from cyber-attacks like Stuxnet and German steel mill. Effective security incident management plays an important role in minimising negative impact of such attacks mainly in terms of the organizations' finance, reputation, and personnel safety. Typically, the main phases of security incident management include: (i) preparation, (ii) mid-incident, and (iv) post-incident. There are diverse set of concepts like Structured Threat Information Expression (STIX) and Incident Object Description Exchange Format (IODEF) in the above-mentioned phases of security incident management. However, a comprehensive overview of different concepts and the relationships between such concepts in security incident management is missing. In this paper, we develop an ontology model with relevant concepts and their corresponding relationships between them especially in the mid-incident and post-incident phases of security incident management. Furthermore, we demonstrate the proposed ontology model using colonial pipeline example case study. The proposed model will help incident responders to operationalise concepts, by having a clear understanding on different concepts and their corresponding relationships, which in turn would also make the incident response more effective in practice.


The MASC program addresses the support of symbolic computation for Artificial Intelligence (AI), as part of the DARPA Strategic Computing Program. The work has been aimed at the fundamental questions of choosing an appropriate programming model for AI and finding efficient implementation techniques to support it on multiprocessor systems. The Strategic Computing Program is motivated by the need to provide real-time response by AI subsystems in planned or contemplated DoD systems. The authors efforts have directly supported this goal, contributing fundamental results in language design, language implementation, and application parallelism. The work has been driven by the needs of real AI applications, drawn from their substantial experience in natural language processing, knowledge representation, and expert systems. The technologies they have developed are broadly applicable, and several specific recommendations for their further development and application are presented. The most profound result is the design and demonstration of a powerful technique for the compilation of logic programs to applicative form. This brings the power of compilation and optimization techniques for functional programming to bear on logic programming languages. It is recommended that these technologies be extended and applied to current research efforts in language design for very-high-level programming and program prototyping. Othermore » results and recommendations are contained in the body of the report.« less