Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has been applied to investigate unusual phenomena observed in the photoluminescence of manganese(II)-containing zinc and cadmium sulfide materials. For manganese(II) in zinc sulfide the g value and the hyperfine splitting constant are barely dependent on the type of material (polycrystalline powder, thin film, superlattice). An anomalous emission of the polycrystalline ZnS : Mn powders calcined at 900–1000 °C in the vicinity of 520 nm is ascribed to manganese(II) in an environment with a large distortion due to oxygen impurities. For the thin films and superlattices unusual EPR spectra are observed when manganese(II) is present in cadmium sulfide: a large cubic splitting parameter of 53.8 × 10–4 cm–1 for the thin films of CdS : Mn of BaF2(111) reflects the strain due to different thermal expansions of cadmium sulfide and barium fluoride. A negative g-shift of 0.0014 for the superlattices of CdS : Mn–ZnS on BaF2(111) compared with that for the free electron implies that the covalency between manganese(II) and the environment in cadmium sulfide is affected significantly by the lattice mismatch between the alternate layers of zinc and cadmium sulfides.


The aim of this study was to ascertain the economic implications of fish landings for the national economy. The study area was stratified with a frame survey into two principal sampling units (PSU) corresponding to the two fishing communities (Ayadehe and Oku Iboku in Itu Local Government Area). Each PSU was assessed for 28 -31 days per month for seven months. The landings of 36 fishermen operating in the two fishing communities were randomly sampled. Personal interview and complete enumeration were instruments for data collection. The data collected were analyzed statistically with chi-squared at 5% significance level. The findings revealed that the fishermen were faced with numerous problems. However, it was recommended among others that the provisions of cold storage facilities, icemaking plants, landing jetties, fish processing sheds, more fishing crafts, etc would boost fishing activities and catch landings in the study area.


This study's objective was to determine how frontline physicians perceived telehealth for older adults with sensory impairments, cognitive impairments, mobility challenges, or those receiving end-of-life care. We conducted a multiple-methods study of US emergency, geriatric, and primary care physicians. Phase 1 involved semi-structured interviews with 48 physicians on their experiences using telehealth with older adults. In phase 2, we used those qualitative findings to generate a web-based survey administered to 74 physicians. In phase 3, we reintegrated qualitative data to enrich survey results. We identified 3 key findings: (1) 50% of emergency physicians, 33% of geriatricians, and 18% of primary care physicians considered telehealth to be a poor substitute for providing end-of-life care (p = .68); (2) for hearing, vision, and cognitive impairments, 61%, 58%, and 54%, respectively, saw telehealth as a good or fair substitute for providing care (p = .14); and (3) 98% indicated that telehealth was a good or fair substitute for in-person care for those with mobility impairment (p < .001). Preferences and comfort using telehealth with older adults vary by clinical context, patient population, and physician specialty, requiring tailored adaptations.


An individual-based model is presented which describes the spatial and temporal evolution of phytoplankton growth in terms of a Lagrangian ensemble of cells affected by various physical and biological forcing factors. The motion of cells develops according to a turbulent velocity field which simulates the Antarctic mixed layer during the summer. The cell growth is a function of the irradiance regime, nutrient availability and the vertical position of the individual with respect to the other cells (in order to evaluate the self-shading effect). The values of photosynthetic parameters used to simulate the photophysiological response of the organisms are derived from measurements collected in the Ross Sea. In contrast to previous individual-based descriptions, all the physical and biological processes involved are explicitly reproduced in their dynamical features. Coupling different mixing levels with photoacclimation strategies leads to a wide range of photophysiological responses which underline the role of individual physiological histories in determining the growth of the population as a whole. Simulated photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll a concentrations and integrated primary production correspond closely to in situ data and confirm that photoacclimation to low irradiance and strong mixing regimes may be considered as crucial factors in the photosynthetic performance of Antarctic phytoplankton.


Six lanthanide complexes constructed from two chiral β-diketonates (d/l-fbc = 3-heptafluorobutyryl-(+)/(−)-camphorate), the stilbene derivative (E)-N′,N′-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-4-styrylbenzoyl hydrazide (L), a trifluoroacetate anion (CF3CO2−), and one water molecule, namely [Ln(d/l-fbc)2(L)(CF3CO2)]·H2O (LnC57H54F17N4O8, Ln = La (1, d-fbc), La (2, l-fbc), Sm (3, d-fbc), Eu (4, d-fbc), Eu (5, l-fbc), and Tb (6, d-fbc), were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, 1H-NMR, elemental analysis, IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The photoisomerization reactions of these complexes were systematically studied by means of experimental and theoretical calculations. Crystals of complexes 1, 2, 3, and 4 were obtained and belong to the monoclinic crystal system and the C2 chiral space group. The Λ- and Δ-diastereomers coexist in their crystals and no apparent bisignate couplets are observed in their ECD spectra. Among the complexes, the photocyclization reaction is followed by the trans-to-cis photoisomerization reaction and competes with the trans-to-cis photoisomerization, then the photocyclization reaction continues. The photocyclization reaction is irreversible in this stilbene derivative and is delayed in the lanthanide complexes. These results provide a viable strategy for the design of promising new stilbene-attached dual-functional lanthanide-based optical-switching materials.


The factors that affect placental gas exchange are reviewed, with particular reference to recent measurements of the effect of changes in one or more of these factors on O2 delivery to the fetus and on fetal O2 uptake. Fetal or maternal placental blood flows and blood O2 capacities can be altered by 50% without any major change occurring in fetal O2 uptake: umbilical venous O2 content and fetal O2 delivery fall, but the O2 consumption of the fetus is maintained by increasing the fractional extraction of O2 from the blood. There is evidence that the fetus can also cope with a reduction in blood O2 affinity resulting from replacement of fetal with maternal blood. The critical level of O2 delivery is about 0.6 mmol.min-1.kg-1 in the fetal sheep. When O2 delivery is reduced below this level, by decreasing maternal placental blood flow, raising or lowering fetal haematocrit, decreasing maternal O2 capacity, or decreasing fetal O2 affinity, fetal O2 uptake tends to fall. The resultant tissue hypoxia and inability to maintain oxidative metabolism is reflected in a lowering of arterial blood pH and base excess. Whilst the results of short-term experiments suggest that there exists a large reserve for placental O2 transfer and fetal O2 supply, there is evidence that fetal O2 uptake is more tightly linked to O2 delivery when the latter is reduced for a period of days or weeks. In the long term, restriction of the supply of O2 and nutrients leads to a reduced rate of fetal growth and a reprogramming of tissue development.


Adipose tissue is a good source for isolation of cells with stem‐cell–like properties. The effects of undifferentiated cultured bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and omental adipose‐derived nucleated cells (OADNCs) on peripheral nerve regeneration were compared in a rat nerve regeneration model. A 10‐mm sciatic nerve defect was bridged using a vein graft. In one group, the vein was filled with BMSCs and in the other group with OADNCs. Functional study, morphometric indices, and immunohistochemistry indicated there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between groups in recovery of regenerated axons at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery. OADNCs enhanced regeneration similar to undifferentiated BMSCs. These observations suggest OADNCs represent an effective and cost‐saving cell population due to the shortened time interval from tissue collection to cell injection as well as procedural simplicity. This approach is clinically translatable toward new methods for enhanced peripheral nerve repair without the limitations of BMSC. Muscle Nerve, 2011


… Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the time to syncope in Nitroglycerine potentiated short Head-up tilt test. Study Design, Settings & Duration: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted in Armed Forces Institute of cardiology from May 2006 to May, 2007. Patients and methods: A total number of 90 patients with orthostatic intolerance both male and female were studied. Head-up tilt test protocol consisted of a Stabilization phase which lasted for five minutes Passive tilt phase: Patients were tilted at 70 ̊ for orthostatic stress for 15 minutes. In case of no symptoms the test continued with the drug provocation phase which lasted for 15 minutes. The patients were administered 400 μ g of nitroglycerine sublingually in aerosol preparation. Development of symptoms were noted at 5, 10 and 15 minutes. Results: A total number of 90 patients were examined during the study period. The tilt table test was classified as positive in 58.9 % of patients and was negative in 41.1%. The test was positive in five patients without the drug provocation (9.4%). The responses were classified as positive vasodepressor in 35.8%, 15.09% as mixed and cardioinhibitory 15.09% in patients of neurally mediated syncope. The total time to display of symptoms to positivity in HUTT was 17.89± 6.99. The mean time to syncope after the administration of nitroglycerine was 5.61± 4.17 minutes. Conclusions: Our study concludes that the drug administered phase can be reduced to 12±3 minutes.


OBJECTIVE
To study outcome from severe head injury (SHI: GCS < or = 8) and to investigate impact of prehospital factors and clinical intensive care parameters on outcome. To compare with former study results (1980-88) of our clinical setting.

METHODS
Retrospectively, the history of 228 patients with SHI treated between 1988 and 1995 was looked into. The outcome was measured with the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) post intensive care (median 9, min-max 2-77 days) and 6 months after trauma by a questionnaire. The GOS was related to age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS on the scene), prehospital hypotension and hypoxia (HH), intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), intensive therapy including Tromethamine and/or Thiopentone. The rate of infections was determined.

RESULTS
Increasing age influences outcome negatively. Prehospital GCS and HH were significantly correlated with outcome. GOS of 30 patients with HH: GOS 1: 53%, GOS 2 + 3: 27%, GOS 4 + 5: 20%. GOS of 40 patients without HH: GOS 1: 25%, GOS 2 + 3: 10%, GOS 4 + 5: 65%. During intensive care the level of CPP (not ICP) as well as tromethamine and/or thiopentone treatment for control of elevated ICP were significantly correlated with outcome. Mortality rate in 32 patients with CPP < 50 mmHq was 69%, in 29 patients with CPP > 50 mmHg only 20%. Patients treated additionally with Tromethamine and Thiopentone because of uncontrollable intracranial hypertension showed a significantly worse outcome: GOS 1: 66%, GOS 2 + 3: 6%, GOS 4 + 5: 28%, compared to those who needed neither Tromethamine nor Thiopentone: GOS 1: 27%, GOS 2 + 3: 18%, GOS 4 + 5: 55%. Thiopentone treatment was not associated with an increased rate of pulmonary and other infections. In comparison to our former outcome study, covering the years 1980-88, we have not seen any improvements in outcome, despite modifications in intensive care protocols.

CONCLUSIONS
Prehospital hypotension and hypoxia have a significant negative impact on outcome by causing secondary brain damage. Despite various modifications in intensive care therapy an unchanged portion of secondary brain damage will not prove treatable. Therefore, prevention or early aggressive treatment of hypotension and hypoxia is the most promising way of improving outcome after severe head injury at the moment.


We report the results of a herpetofauna survey carried out in the forest of Lower Moa River, Cruzeiro do Sul, state of Acre, northern Brazil. The study was carried out from February 2008 to September 2009; the species were sampled through pitfall traps with drift fences (AIQ), time-constrained search (PLT), active search (BA), sampling at breeding sites (ASR), and occasional encounters (EO). The herpetofauna was sampled in an area of approximately 256 ha located within private properties, including an open area of pastures adjacent to a forest. In the forest area, sampling was carried out in two trails with different physiognomies: terra firme (upland forest) and varzea (flooded forest). We recorded 103 species: 50 anurans and 53 reptiles (35 snakes, 17 lizards and one crocodilian). The collector's curve reached the asymptote for anurans, but not for lizards, snakes or the whole herpetofauna (all groups together). Most species of anurans and reptiles were recorded in forest areas, mainly terra firme. Most amphibians were recorded through PLT and ASR, whereas reptiles were recorded through EO and PLT. A higher number of snakes were expected for the locality than the richness actually recorded (35 species). We emphasize the importance of preserving private forests that encompass both kinds of habitat (terra firme and varzea), since they differ in herpetofauna composition due to differences in forest structure. The preservation of forests is crucial to the maintenance of amphibian and reptile biodiversity in the Amazon, which loses species due to the conversion of forests into pastures and logging.


Exact models of uniformly rotating strange stars, built of self bound quark matter, are calculated within the framework of general relativity. This is made possible thanks to a new numerical technique capable of handling the strong density discontinuity at the surface of these stars. Numerical calculations are done for a simple MIT bag model equation of state of strange quark matter. Evolutionary sequences of models of rotating strange stars at constant baryon mass are calculated. Maximally rotating configurations of strange stars are determined, assuming that the rotation frequency is limited by the mass shedding and the secular instability with respect to axisymmetric perturbarions. Exact formulae which give the dependence of the maximum rotation frequency, and of the maximum mass and corresponding radius of rotating configurations, on the value of the bag constant, are obtained. The values of T/W for rapidly rotating massive strange stars are significantly higher than those for ordinary neutron stars. This might indicate particular susceptibility of rapidly rotating strange stars to triaxial instabilities.


A new family of cuprates, Li2Cu3(SiO3)4 (1) and Na2Cu3(GeO3)4 (2), was isolated in molten salt media. The extended lattices contain ladderlike periodic arrays of [Cu3O8]10- magnetic nanostructures. Magnetic properties of the Na2Cu3Ge(4-x)SixO12 series, where x = 0, 0.86, and 1.72, were systematically studied. The geometrically induced magnetic couplings are tunable upon cation substitution.


In distance learning educational context, learner autonomy is an element of research since the decade of 1970. Consequently, there are a lot of theoretical and empirical research of learner autonomy in distance learning trying either to conceptualizing it or to measure it. There are at least eight scales for measuring learner autonomy but all of them have been developed in a different socio-educational context and although it is not a mistake to be used in different socio-educational context it is more appropriate to develop a new one for the specific context. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop a learner autonomy scale that can be used in the context of the Open University of Cyprus and provide psychometric evidence of reliability and validity of the interpretation of the scores derived from the scale. First, the concept of learner autonomy was clarified through literature review. Second information on students' beliefs and feelings about their learner autonomy was gathered. On the basis of the afore-mentioned procedures, an item pool was developed and was given to fourteen (14) university expertise of distance learning in order to evaluate the items and ensure content validity. Reliability and validity were then tested using exploratory factor analysis with a sample of two hundred and fiftyeight (258) undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Open University of Cyprus. Principal component analysis with oblimin rotation was used to determine the sufficient number of factors. The extraction of the number of factors was based on a) the theory; b) the scree plot test; c) eigenvalue-greater-than-one rule; d) the percentage of explained variance of each factor; e) the percentage of total explained variance and f) the number of factors that can be conceptually interpreted. Four dimensions of learner autonomy, namely, a) special ability to self-management, b) special psychological disposition, c) general ability to self-management and d) general psychological disposition, were revealed. The first factor explained 22.84% of the variance, the second factor 9.13% of the variance, the third factor 7.06% of the variance and the fourth factor 6.36% of the variance. Though some items in this scale were similar to those of other scales, factorial structure was different. Three different possible explanations proposed. The first was based on the differentiations of the educational environments the second on the fact that learner autonomy is a complex concept and therefore different conceptualizations of the term lead to different measurement scales and the third was based on the fact that all the scales measure perceived (form the student perspective) learner autonomy. Cronbach's alpha for the overall scale was .85, for the factor of special ability to self-management was .82, b) for the factor of specific psychological disposition was .65, c) for the factor of general self-management capacity was .76 and for the factor of general psychological disposition was .48. Finally, the Pillai's Trace showed no statistically significant gender differences in the four factors


Overview of resources & study helps. Book suggestions for writing your dissertation, tutorials on how to use the catalog, search databases,


The strawberry blossom weevil can cause great damage to strawberry plants. The weevil lays eggs inside flower buds and then sever the buds from the stems. The egg inside a bud develop into larva, pupa and adult beetle that hatch out of the bud. The insects overwinter as adult beetles and are ready to start a new life cycle when spring arrives. The strawberry blossom weevil has at several places' shown signs of resistance to pesticides. In organic production where pesticides are not allowed, there are few measures to prevent invasion by this pest. Therefore, it is desirable to develop new methods to prevent insect damage in strawberry production. To hinder the strawberry blossom weevil from entering a newly established strawberry field of 4.0 da, a 2.3 m high insect fence was mounted around the field before planting of the strawberry plants. Both on the outside and inside the fence there were mounted funnel traps with fragrances that attract the strawberry blossom weevil. The strawberry field produced strawberries for three years and the insect fence was mounted throughout the whole period. With large migrations of strawberry blossom weevils from nearby fields, the results indicate that the insect fence prevented a significant portion of the weevils from entering the field. However, beetles were detected in the field already in the first and second year of the project, weevils that damaged the strawberry plants. The weevil population within the fence developed in line with the population in the nearby field so that the insect damages on the strawberry plants were as great within the fenced field as in the nearby field without fence and traps. Based on the results of this experiment, it is not recommended to use combined insect traps and insect fences to control the strawberry blossom beetle.


Multilayered shape-memory composites composed of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-filled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) (denoted as cTPU) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were prepared through layer-multiplying coextrusion. The phase interfaces and conductive pathways in the multilayered structure which can be tailored by layer-multiplying endowed the materials with tunable thermo- and electro-responsive shape-memory effects (TSME and ESME). Compared with the conventional blending composite having the same compositions, the cTPU/PCL multilayered system with high phase continuity and abundantly continuous interfaces exhibited better TSME, which could be further enhanced with increasing the layer number. It was revealed that the strain energy stored in cTPU layers would be balanced by adjacent PCL layers via interfacial shearing effect so that each domain could endow the maximum contribution to the shape-memory performance. Besides, the confined layer space allowed for a more compact connection between the MWCNTs than in the blending composite, while the original conductive network formed in cTPU tended to be gradually broken up during layer multiplying. Moreover, an excessive conductivity may induce local overheating and even the melting of permanent domains, leading to undesired deformation. Accordingly, the multilayered composite with a proper layer number which exhibited suitable conductivity and efficient TSME achieved balanced ESME with quick recovery speed, excellent recovery ratio, and good appearance retention. This work opened an avenue in preparing outstanding shape-memory materials with both thermal and electrical actuations, which showed great potential in applications of sensors, actuators, self-deployable devices, and so forth.


The parameter estimation problem is a widespread and challenging problem in engineering sciences consisting in computing the parameters of a parametric model that fit observed data. The computer vision community has proposed the RANSAC algorithm to deal with outliers in the observed data. This randomized algorithm is efficient but non-deterministic and therefore incomplete. Jaulin et al. propose a branch-and-contract algorithm that returns all the model instances fitting at least q observations. Assuming that at least q observed data are inliers, this algorithm achieves on the observations a relaxed intersection operator called q-intersection. First, this paper presents several improvements to Jaulin et al.'s algorithm. Second, an interval branch and bound algorithm is designed to produce a model that can explain the maximum number of observations within a given tolerance. Experiments are carried out on computer vision and image processing problems. They highlight a significant speedup w.r.t. Jaulin et al.'s interval method in 2D and 3D shape recognition problems. We have also investigated how the approach scales up in dimensions up to 7 for stereovision (estimation of essential and fundamental matrices).


The interrelationship between social structure and agency is relatively unexplored in second language acquisition research, although it has been extensively studied in the field of social science. SLL has focused on agency from a postructuralist and sociocultural perspective linked to other constructs such as identity and power relations within different discourses. Agency is recognised as being creative and responsive to the sociocultural context, but also difficult to define. As a result, there has been a call for interdisciplinarity for a better understanding in SLA research (Sealey and Carter, 2004, Vitanova 2010, Norton, 2013, Block, 2013; Block, 2015). Following such a call, this study attempts to link language learners' accounts to various layers of context and social structure as proposed by Block's (2015) model of structure and agency. It explores and seeks to explain how structures can work as enablements or constraints in second language learning in a transnational touristic destination. Significantly influenced by Daniel Block's writings, the psychological angle is included. This research is underpinned by Roy Bhaskar's realist philosophy of social science and uses Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) and Margaret Archer's (1995, 2000, and 2007) key concepts to understand better what makes students shape or resist their access to EFL. These theories are deemed suitable for a study which seeks to understand how students take decisions regarding language learning. The research participants were 11 students in the undergraduate programme of Sustainable Tourism and International Business at a government university in the city of Cancun. Data sources included language learning biographies, comments, the researcher field notes and knowledge of the context. With regard to social structure, it was found that the relevance of English in Cancun contributes to students' desire to learn it. They cannot however, easily practice the language in the city until they insert themselves in the job market. Parents are seen to invest in their children's English language learning regardless of their socio-economic status given that Mexican government education is considered deficient. Students negotiate their participation in different contexts in the form of social relations, either face to face or through physical objects and digital devices, thus exercising their agency. The study also found that students deal with economic and family situations that constrain their choices. The findings suggest that students' agency is the combination of past experiences, perceived linguistic competence, and the attributed importance of English to their present and future lives, which involves interests, aspirations and expectations that relate to their identity, who they are and who they want to become.


Background and Objectives Epidural infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine is recommended by the manufacturer for labor analgesia, but lower concentrations may be effective. The objective of this study was to compare 0.1% ropivacaine with 0.2% ropivacaine and to examine the effect of addition of fentanyl. Methods In a randomized double-blind study, 58 nulliparous laboring parturients had epidural analgesia established with 0.2% ropivacaine and were then randomized to receive one of the following epidural infusions at 10 mL/h: 0.2% ropivacaine (group R2, n = 19), 0.1% ropivacaine (group R1, n = 19), or 0.1% ropivacaine with 2 μg/mL fentanyl (group RF, n = 20). Supplementary analgesia was provided on request with 5-mL boluses of 0.2% ropivacaine. Results All solutions provided effective analgesia during early labor, with all groups requiring similar numbers of supplementary top-ups. Visual analog pain scores in groups R2 and RF were equivalent and lower than in group R1 (P = .006). Hypotension was more frequent in group RF compared with groups R2 and R1 (P = .014). Patient and midwife satisfaction and obstetric and neonatal outcomes were similar among groups. Maternal venous plasma concentrations of ropivacaine were greater in group R2 compared with groups R1 and RF (P = .008), but umbilical venous concentrations were similar. Conclusions We conclude that epidural infusion of 0.1% ropivacaine alone at 10 mL/h provided adequate analgesia in the first stage of labor, and that the addition of 2 μg/mL fentanyl to that concentration improved analgesia to a quality similar to 0.2% ropivacaine alone.


The Manifold Method of Material Analysis (MM) with high-order displacement functions has been derived based on triangular meshes for the requirement of high accurate calculations from practical applications. The matrices of equilibrium equations for the second-order MM have been given in detail for program coding. The derivation of the method is made by means of approximation theory and very few new mathematical concepts are used in this paper. So, it may be understood by most engineering researchers. By close comparison with widely used Finite Element Method, the advantages of MM can be seen very clearly in the following aspects: (1) the capability of processing large deformation and handing discontinuities like block oriented Discontinuous Deformation Analysis method; (2) making element meshes easily and (3) using high-order displacement functions easily. The C program codes for the second-order MM has been developed, and it has been applied to the example of a beam bending under a central point loading. The calculated results are quite good in agreement with theoretical solutions. By contrast, the results calculated for the same model by use of the original first-order MM are far from the theoretical solutions. Therefore, it is important and necessary to develop high-order Manifold Method for the complicated deformation problems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Even though both contract failure and consumer control theories of nonprofits stress the need for monitoring the performance of the firms, these models fail to offer any guidelines on how to do so. In general, the performance of poverty-reduction projects are assessed on amounts of loan disbursement, repayment rates, area of coverage, and financial sustainability. However, performance assessment based on the efficiency of service delivery has in the past been ignored even though the importance of efficient service delivery in poverty-reduction programs is well recognized in the literature and in the theories of nonprofits. Due to this specific lacuna, benchmarking in the aspects of efficient service delivery has never been applied. Based on primary data collected from 78 villages in Bangladesh from September to December 2009, this article develops a two-dimensional multi-item service delivery index to compare the efficiency of participating organizations in the stated programs in order to set industry benchmark values for each item of the index.


Non-verbal speech cues play an important role in human communication such as expressing emotional states or maintaining the conversational flow. In this paper we investigate the effect of applying deep bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BLSTM) recurrent neural networks to the Interspeech 2013 Computational Paralinguistics Social Signals Sub-Challenge dataset requiring frame-wise, speaker-independent detection and classification of laughter and filler vocalizations in speech. BLSTM networks tend to prevail over conventional neural network architectures whenever the recognition or regression task relies on an intelligent exploitation of temporal context information. We introduce deep BLSTM models by stacking several BLSTMs and by combining non-recurrent deep neural networks with BLSTMs. We demonstrate that this new approach achieves significant improvements over previous attempts and we increase the current state-of-the-art unweighted average area-under-the-curve (UAAUC) value of 92.4% to 94.0%. This is the best result on this task reported in the literature so far.


This article reviews and evaluates the potential of laboratory experiments in public policy and management (PPM) research. We first consider reasons why laboratory experiments tend to be neglected in PPM research. These include the willingness of researchers to trade away rigor and internal validity to achieve local generalizability, the naturalistic preference for field and/or quasiexperiments, and the tendency to focus upon groups, organizations, and policies-rather than individuals-as units of analysis. Next, we provide an overview of the relatively few PPM studies which have employed laboratory experiments. We then focus on some of the methodological controversies surrounding the use of laboratory experiments and consider their implications for PPM research. We conclude with some suggestions for enhancing the potential for utilizing laboratory experiments as a method of choice for PPM researchers.


Multiple diffuse fibrosarcoma of bone is a very rare condition, with only 3 cases reported. Its presentation is like that of a multiple myeloma or a metastatic tumor, with multiple osteolytic lesions, and its extent is limited to the bones. Disseminated involvement of the vertebrae was detected in a 26-year-old man, suggesting a metastatic tumor; however, no primary organ or soft-tissue mass was identified. The histopathologic findings of the biopsy material were consistent with fibrosarcoma. Despite treatment, the patient died within 15 months.


Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the prognostic role of LDH5 expression measured by immunohistochemistry in patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with standard chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. Methods: Retrospective multicentre study, carried out at four hospitals in the Valencian Community (Spain). We investigated the immunohistochemical expression of LDH-5 in a series of 112 patients with advanced colorectal adenocarcinomas treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. Results: Histological samples for the LDH5 analysis were available for 87 of the 112 patients selected. Sixteen (18.3%) had undetectable or mild expression of LDH5 (Group 1) and 71 (87.7%) showed moderate or high expression of LDH5 (Group 2). Response rate in Group 1 was 56.2% compared to 60.8% in Group 2 (p=0.47). Progression-free survival (PFS) 11 vs. 12 months (p=0.28), and overall survival (OS) 20 vs. 24 months, (p=0.17), were numerically but not significantly higher in patients from Group 2 vs. Group 1. Patients from Group 2 who received bevacizumab presented a significantly higher PFS (13 vs. 12, p=0.039) and a numerically higher OS (27 vs. 20 months, p=0.27) than those treated exclusively with chemotherapy. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the absence or low expression of LDH5 is not associated with a better prognostic profile in patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy and bevacizumab. Patients with high expression of LDH5, benefit from the combination of chemotherapy with bevacizumab.


Ras opposite (Rop) is known to play an essential role in regulating vesicle trafficking, including synaptic transmission and general secretion. The fundamental roles of Rop have been confirmed by the observation that null mutations in many organisms generate lethal phenotypes during embryogenesis. However, the effects of Rop during the postembryonic stages, especially in non‐model organisms, remain largely unknown. Here, we provide new data that enhance our understanding of Rop's roles in the adults of multiple species of Tetranychus spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae), a class of notorious agricultural pests. Our in silico and experimental evidence demonstrated that Rop is under purifying selection and is highly conserved in Tetranychus spp. RNA interference experiments showed that Rop is required for maintaining normal fecundity but has no significant effect on survival. We further demonstrate that knockdown of Rop darkens the body color of spider mites and blocks the excretion of fecal pellets, which is likely to be related to an abnormality in the excretion of food waste in the digestive system. Overall, our findings clarify novel functions of a vesicle trafficking‐related gene in the adult stage of multiple Tetranychus species and highlight the need to evaluate the roles of essential genes in various organisms.


Objective To update the evidence of non-biological treatments for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), as a basis for the 2022 Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society-European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (ASAS-EULAR) recommendations for the management of axSpA. Methods A systematic literature review (2016–2021) on efficacy and safety of non-pharmacological and non-biological pharmacological treatments was performed, up to 1 January 2022. The research question was formulated according to the PICO format: Population: adult patients with r-axSpA and nr-axSpA; Intervention: non-pharmacological and non-biological pharmacological treatments; Comparator: active comparator or placebo; Outcomes: all relevant efficacy and safety outcomes. Type of studies included were: randomised controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies (for efficacy of non-pharmacological treatments, and safety), qualitative studies. Cohen's effect size (ES) was calculated for non-pharmacological and risk ratio (RR) for pharmacological treatments. Results Of 107 publications included, 63 addressed non-pharmacological interventions, including education (n=8) and exercise (n=20). The ES for education on disease activity, function, mobility was small to moderate (eg. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), ES: 0.06–0.59). Exercise had moderate to high ES on these outcomes (eg. BASDAI, ES: 0.14–1.43). Six RCTs on targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) showed efficacy of tofacitinib, upadacitinib and filgotinib (phase 2 only) in r-axSpA (range RR vs placebo for ASAS20: 1.91–3.10), while apremilast and nilotinib were not efficacious. Studies on conventional synthetic DMARDs (n=3), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, n=8) and other drugs (n=12) did not provide new evidence on efficacy/safety (efficacy of NSAIDs confirmed; limited efficacy of short-term glucocorticoids in one RCT). Conclusions Education, exercise and NSAIDs confirmed to be efficacious in axSpA. JAKi were proved efficacious in r-axSpA.


For the simplest kinetic model the reverse rate constants (k(-1) and k(-2)) associated with ATP binding and cleavage on purified heavy meromyosin and heavy meromyosin subfragment 1 from rabbit skeletal muscle in the presence of 5mm-MgCl(2), 50mm-KCl and 20mm-Tris-HCl buffer at pH8.0 and 22 degrees C are: k(-1)<0.02s(-1) and k(-1)=16s(-1). Apparently, higher values of k(-1) and k(-2) are found with less-purified protein preparations. The values of k(-1) and k(-2) satisfy conditions required by previous (18)O-incorporation studies of H(2) (18)O into the P(i) moiety on ATP hydrolysis and suggest that the cleavage step does involve hydrolysis of ATP or formation of an adduct between ATP and water. The equilibrium constant for the cleavage step at the myosin active site is 9. If the cycle of events during muscle contraction is described by the model proposed by Lymn & Taylor (1971), the fact that there is only a small negative standard free-energy change for the cleavage step is advantageous for efficient chemical to mechanical energy exchange during muscle contraction.


Cyclophoridae is the dominant family of operculated terrestrial snails in East Asia. The group consists of four subfamilies and approximately 300 species that are currently classified into 34 genera. The species occupy various habitatsand show a high morphological diversity. The molecular phylogenetic relationships of this group have not previously been discussed. In order to uncover the relationships within the family, we sequenced parts of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and of the 16S rRNA gene from 32 species of 10 genera of cyclophorid and established the phylogenetic tree using neighbor joining, Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses to construct phylogenetic trees. The results based on mtDNA sequences suggest that the genera Cyclophorus, Cyclotus, Leptopoma, and Cyathopoma are monophyletic while the traditional genus Japonia appeared polyphyletic and then J. zebra should be moved to the new genus Pilosphaera. In addition, Pilosphaera yentoensis n. sp. and Japonia boonkioensis n. sp. are described in this paper.


In this paper, we analyze the value of flexibility in the design of a marine dock for the loading of bulk chemicals from a riverside petrochemical manufacturing facility in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. After describing the general operating context and constraints, we investigate the output of a stochastic simulation model, comparing the expected financial impact of design approaches with and without built-in expansion flexibility. Additionally, we provide accompanying sensitivity analysis for the various uncertainties. The outcomes revealed through Monte Carlo simulation show that flexibility in the original design, combined with an option for later expansion, delivers the optimal expected net present value.


Nutritional factors are associated with at least 5 of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. Older persons are especially vulnerable for nutritional problems, usually resulting from inappropriate (usually inadequate) intake of nutrients or increased need for nutrients. Nutritional assessment and interventions are sometimes overlooked in the focus on more complicated medical care. Yet there are many ways in which nurses can intervene to improve patients' nutritional status. One resource for organizing nutritional assessment and interventions is the Nutrition Screening Initiative. This multidisciplinary initiative provides useful guidelines and tools for assessing nutritional status and for planning the most appropriate interventions.


Abstract An infant with residual severe mitral regurgitation following mitral commissurotomy developed cardiogenic unilateral pulmonary oedema and subsegmental atelectasis that resolved with mechanical mitral valve replacement.


Background Nigeria had the most AIDS-related deaths worldwide in 2014 (170,000), and 46% were associated with tuberculosis (TB). Although treatment of people living with HIV (PLHIV) with antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces TB-associated morbidity and mortality, incident TB can occur while on ART. We estimated incidence and characterized factors associated with TB after ART initiation in Nigeria. Methods We analyzed retrospective cohort data from a nationally representative sample of adult patients on ART. Data were abstracted from 3,496 patient records, and analyses were weighted and controlled for a complex survey design. We performed domain analyses on patients without documented TB disease and used a Cox proportional hazard model to assess factors associated with TB incidence after ART. Results At ART initiation, 3,350 patients (95.8%) were not receiving TB treatment. TB incidence after ART initiation was 0.57 per 100 person-years, and significantly higher for patients with CD4<50/μL (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.4–12.7) compared with CD4≥200/μL. Patients with suspected but untreated TB at ART initiation and those with a history of prior TB were more likely to develop incident TB (AHR: 12.2, 95% CI: 4.5–33.5 and AHR: 17.6, 95% CI: 3.5–87.9, respectively). Conclusion Incidence of TB among PLHIV after ART initiation was low, and predicted by advanced HIV, prior TB, and suspected but untreated TB. Study results suggest a need for improved TB screening and diagnosis, particularly among high-risk PLHIV initiating ART, and reinforce the benefit of early ART and other TB prevention efforts.


Securities are intangible goods, which are incapable of physical evaluation. Therefore, in order to assist investors in deciding whether to invest or not to invest in any security, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires that important information concerning the issuer and the securities must be provided to the investing public. This requirement is important because investors need to be protected against issuers who may easily take advantage of investors, where correct and timely information are not disclosed. The function of the Securities and Exchange Commission is to regulate investment and securities business in Nigeria. Investment and securities business in Nigeria is carried out in the capital market. The capital market plays very important role in the development of any economy. As a place where the wealth of a nation can be bought and sold, its role in accelerating the socio-economic well-being of citizens of any country and also the economic growth of a nation leaves no doubt as to its importance in nation building. To appreciate this, it will be appropriate to understand the role of Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) in public issues of securities and the structure of the Nigerian capital market. Keywords: Securities, Capital Market, Public Issues, Companies, Investment, Stock


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparin(LMWH) in prophylaxis of postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following hip and knee surgery.

METHODS
From April 1997 to October 1998, 46 patients undergoing hip and knee orthopedic procedures were randomized into 2 groups for studying. The following eligibility criteria were applied: age over 40 years old, no recently history of venous thromboembolism (over 3 months), normal result of preoperative hemostasis test and normal result of Doppler examination of the lower extremities. One group was control group and the other group received subcutaneously a low molecular weight heparin(Fraxiparine) with anti-factor X, activity of 41 IU/kg.day for three days, then 62 IU/kg.day from the 4th day to 10th day. All patients had venegraphy performed in the operated leg at 4 to 7 days after surgery.

RESULTS
eight patients(34.8%) developed DVT in the control group of 23 patients and 1 patient (4.3%) in the experimental group, also of 23 patients(P < 0.05). Two groups had no any bleeding complications.

CONCLUSION
The low molecular weight heparin is safe and effective in preventing postoperative deep vein thrombosis in patients following hip and knee surgery.


298 x 93 mm. A view looking northwards down on to the city of Cape Town and Table Bay, with the Devil's Peak appearing more prominently in the foreground.


Leadership is somewhat a daunting task in higher education. It is excessively more challenging and demanding. Truly, leader has to act consistently with great wisdom and vision to influence its distinctive group of employees and arouse level of motivation in them to contribute their best in the accomplishment of institutional goals. Accordingly, due the effective leadership, higher education in India has undergone constructive changes over the last decade or so. It has seen a phenomenal proliferation of institutions to outreach an overwhelmed student community and other stakeholders. However, this whole discourse got diluted following the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Primarily, the education system came to a total halt in India. The institutions were put off, and students were restrained from attending the institutions. Consequent upon, the students initially lost their sizable amount of time. While to the other extreme, the institutional leadership all across India was rephrasing how to deal with the situation. The thought process and collaborative institutional leadership evolved an overwhelmingly Philip -the teaching-learning system's online mode. This new education transmission approach through Covid-19 pandemic had inbuilt beauty in terms of human safety, physical distancing, and content dissemination. Nonetheless, this whole purposeful academic transaction is an outcome of many leadership strategies that were gradually put to practice to see the academic discourse virtually in execution. In this context, the paper is a modest effort to underline the design which leaders evolved through the covid-19 pandemic to push all the stakeholders of higher education to remain active for the cause they are meant for.


We study the asymptotic behavior of scroll wave turbulence in large three-dimensional excitable media modeled by FitzHugh-Nagumo equations. The focus is on the type of turbulence caused by negative tension of scroll wave filaments, which is considered to be one of the mechanisms of cardiac fibrillation. We discovered that the initial increase in turbulence complexity can be followed by intermittent self-organization, when complex filament tangles are replaced by a small number of relatively stable triple filament strands. The intermittency is the result of a competition between the destabilizing effect of negative tension and mutual attraction of filaments with similar orientation.


The Paris System (TPS) for Reporting Urinary Cytology is an international system with standardized terminology and cytomorphologic criteria that aims for better risk stratification to identify high-grade urothelial carcinoma in urinary cytology specimens. Based on TPS, the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio (N/C ratio) of the observed urothelial cells is a crucial criterion and the cutoff values of 0.5 and 0.7 are used for the diagnosis of Atypical Urothelial Cells (AUC) and High-Grade Urothelial Carcinoma (HGUC)/Suspicious for HGUC respectively. Although the N/C ratio is a clear and measurable criterion, there are still challenges for adopting TPS into clinical practice. As urine cytology mainly relies on manual microscopic examination by cytopathologists and cytotechnologists, determining the N/C ratio through the naked eyes results in intra- and inter-observer variations and therefore generates subjective, inconsistent, and unreproducible reports. To overcome the aforementioned issues, the authors developed a deep learning-based image analysis model to assist calculating the N/C ratio and classifying urothelial cells computationally. Deidentified urine cytology slides were digitalized as whole-slide images (WSIs) for analyzing. An "active learning" method was used to improve results over time with only a small amount of upfront training data required. First, a small amount of annotated WSIs were provided to train the initial computational model. Next, the experts reviewed the results predicted by the initial model, and provide feedback for the model to learn and improve. The above steps were repeated by experts reviewing the "improved model" and providing feedbacks, thus improving the initial/intermediate models continuously until a satisfactory result was achieved. Preliminary results showed that our model was able to determine the areas of cytoplasm and nucleus in urothelial cells as well as calculate the N/C ratios using the WSI. Moreover, it enumerates the AUC and HGUC cells on the WSI and provides quantification and distribution information on the whole slide scale. This computational model provides a significant advantage as an objective tool to assist urine cytology analysis of the N/C ratio with greater accuracy and reproducibility. Citation Format: Wei-Lei Yang, Chi-Bin Li, Yen-Chuan Ou, Yi-Sheng Lin, Tang-Yi Tsao, Ming-Chen Chang, Jen-Fan Hang, Tien-Jen Liu. A deep learning model assists urine cytology reporting with computational estimates of the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratios of the urothelial cells based on the Paris System [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Diagnosis, and Imaging; 2021 Jan 13-14. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(5_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-069.


West Nile virus is an arbovirus that has caused large outbreaks of febrile illness, meningitis and encephalitis in Europe, North America and the Middle East. We describe the first laboratory-confirmed human case of West Nile virus infection in Australia, in a 58-year-old tourist who was almost certainly infected in Israel. The case is a reminder of the need to consider exotic pathogens in travellers and of the risk of introducing new pathogens into Australia.


The purpose of this research was to analyze the financial performance of Kawasan Industri Candi Semarang seen from finance ratio of the corporation. The analysis devices used were liquidty, solvability, profitability and activity ratio. Liquidity ratio as measured by current ratio showed the result of 3,62, quick ratio 2,77, Net working capital 2,61 it showed the company was above standard. Solvability ratio as measured from Debt to Asset Ratio showed the result of 0,23, Debt to Equity Ratio 0,29, Equity Multiplier 1,31 it showed a good condition in the investment. Profitability Ratio as measured from Gross Profit Margin showed the result of 0,87, net profit margin 0,11, return on asset 0,16, return on equity 0,20, productivity ratio 1,36 it showed that the company was good enough to generate profit in sales operational. Activity ratiomeasured by Receivable Turn Over showed the result of 9,14, the average revenue receivable 39,8, Total Asset Turn Over 1,36 it showed the company had good performance to support company activity.


This article is a follow-up to 'Tools for the Trade' (Woolls and Coulthard, 1998). All the programs in the Vocalyse Toolkit described in that article have been developed in response to the requirements arising from particular groups of cases, some of which are used below to illustrate both the use of the tools and how they have been extended in the past four years. One application of Copycatch, the most widely used tool and that which was developed first, is described in Kennedy ([x-ref to be inserted at proof stage]), so only the latest functional changes are reported below. Because one of the central features of the current version of all the tools is their use of colour, no examples have been included in this paper. The reader is invited to visit the Copycatch web site, www.copycatch.freeserve.co.uk, where annotated examples will be found.


Introduction: Adequate biological identification is fundamental for establishing integrated pest management programs and identifying the trophic and mutualist relationships that can affect pest population dynamics. Aphids are the main pest of pepper Capsicum spp. (Solanaceae) crops in Southwestern Colombia, due to their role as vectors of viruses. However, the identification of aphid species is complex, limiting the investigations performed to address their interactions with other organisms. Ants and aphids present a facultative mutualistic relationship, that promotes the growth of hemipteran colonies, for this reason, the study of the ecological mutualistic association between aphids and ants is important. Objective: The main objective was to discriminate the aphid species present in commercial crops of Capsicum spp., and to identify the ant community that attends the aphid colonies and its effects on the size of the aphid colonies. Methods: Aphid species, and their ant mutualist, were collected from Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens, in the Cauca valley, Southwestern Colombia. We use the DNA barcoding approach to identify aphid species, and the ants were identified by morphology‐based taxonomy. To evaluate the effect of ant care on the size and structure of aphid colonies, generalized linear models were calculated using as the response variables the total number of aphids for each colony and the proportion of nymphs. Results: The aphid species that attack pepper crops, are: Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), with A. gossypii being the species that interacts with ants (19 ant species). A. gossypii colonies attended by ants had larger sizes and more nymphs per colony, than those not attended. Conclusions: Although the aphid-ant interaction is not species-specific, it is necessary to consider its role in the propagation of viral diseases in peppers and to determine how this interaction may affect regional biological control strategies.


For one week during September 2007, we deployed a temporary network of field recorders and accelerometers at four sites within two deep, seismically active mines. The ground-motion data, recorded at 200 samples/sec, are well suited to de- termining source and ground-motion parameters for the mining-induced earthquakes within and adjacent to our network. Four earthquakes with magnitudes close to 2 were recorded with high signal/noise at all four sites. Analysis of seismic moments and peak velocities, in conjunction with the results of laboratory stick-slip friction experi- ments, were used to estimate source processes that are key to understanding source physics and to assessing underground seismic hazard. The maximum displacements on the rupture surfaces can be estimated from the parameter Rv, where v is the peak ground velocity at a given recording site, and R is the hypocentral distance. For each earthquake, the maximum slip and seismic moment can be combined with results from laboratory friction experiments to estimate the maximum slip rate within the rupture zone. Analysis of the four M 2 earthquakes recorded during our deployment and one of special interest recorded by the in-mine seismic network in 2004 revealed maxi- mum slips ranging from 4 to 27 mm and maximum slip rates from 1.1 to 6:3 m=sec. Applying the same analyses to an M 2.1 earthquakewithin a cluster of repeating earth- quakes near the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth site, California, yielded similar results for maximum slip and slip rate, 14 mm and 4:0 m=sec.


We have demonstrated for the first time an inkjet fabrication of highly efficient luminescent structures based on Eu-doped ZrO2 nanocrystals (3.4 ± 0.3 nm), with a refractive index close to the one of the bulk materials. The nanoparticles were synthesised using a nonhydrolytic method in benzyl alcohol where the particles were post treated using acetic acid, leading to the formation of a stable colloid. It was shown that the non-polar methyl group of the acetic acid is responsible for its penetration through the hydrophobic layer all the way through to the surface of the ZrO2, leading to the cleavage of the Zr-OCH2C6H5 bond and the formation of surface acetate species and a concomitant decomposition of the zirconia superlattice. Hereby we show a new and efficient universal ink production through a multi-step process - starting from solvothermal synthesis, dispersion of nanocrystals in water, and adaptation of the rheological parameters of the resulting sols. Eventually, we were able to obtain inks that we used for the production of optical coatings, monolayer luminescent-protected holography and anti-counterfeiting printing. These structures, obtained at room temperature through inkjet printing, present dense xerogel structures with high optical transparency, a high refractive index and more efficient luminescence compared with the non-homogeneous structures produced as a mixture of rare-earth elements and nanocrystals.


In this article, we propose a novel factorization of the circular cone-beam (CB) reconstruction problem into a set of independent 2D inversion problems. This factorization is established in the context of modern two-step Hilbert reconstruction methods by combining the ideas of an empirically derived CB inversion approach with a firm and exact theory. We were able to accurately discretize these 2D inversion problems, which allows a detailed investigation of CB reconstruction by using the singular value decomposition and also allows efficient iterative reconstruction approaches. The introduced theory is applied for preliminary studies of the stability of circular CB tomography assuming a short object. We analyzed, how the radius of the circular scan affects the stability and investigated the effect of an additional linear scan onto the condition of the problem. Numerical results are presented for a disc phantom.


Background. Providing written corrective feedback (WCF) to learners for their writing tasks is pivotal in ESL learning process.
Purpose. This research aimed to examine the effects of a lecturer's indication of errors as implicit WCF on ESL learners' writing skills as well as to identify the learners' perceptions towards its utilisation in their essay writing tasks.
Methods. This is a mixed methods research which involved the gathering of data both quantitatively and qualitatively. By employing a purposive sampling method, 50 ESL learners from a private university in Selangor, Malaysia were selected for this study. They underwent a two-week treatment period whereby they were trained to self-correct their essays based on the indication of errors as implicit WCF by their lecturer, and a pre-test and a post-test were administered in between. Finally, 10 respondents were interviewed to generate their perceptions on the utilisation of this technique as implicit WCF in their writing tasks.
Results. The results showed that the students had achieved a slightly significant improvement in their essay writing skills after the treatment. They also perceived positively the utilisation of the lecturer's indication of errors as implicit WCF in their essay writing tasks.
Conclusion and Implications: In sum, the lecturer's error indication as implicit WCF is quite effective for enhancing writing skills, and the ESL learners perceived it positively. This present study contributes fundamental pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research. ESL instructors are encouraged to adopt and apply this technique in their composition writing lessons.


1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) is the active component of the SmartFresh Quality System. By the application of the 1-MCP compound, quality of the harvested pears can be preserved longer during the normal cold storage. In our work, the effectiveness of the SmartFresh Quality System was investigated on 'Bosc Kobak' pears (Pyruscommunis L.) harvested at different times. The rheological changes and storage losses were measured. The effectiveness of 1-MCP depends on many variables, but our results show that the optimal harvest date and the condition of the harvested fruit are the most influential factors.


Assessment of emphysema-modifying therapy is difficult, but newer outcome measures offer advantages over traditional methods. The EXAcerbations and Computed Tomography scan as Lung End-points (EXACTLE) trial explored the use of computed tomography (CT) densitometry and exacerbations for the assessment of the therapeutic effect of augmentation therapy in subjects with α1-antitrypsin (α1-AT) deficiency. In total, 77 subjects (protease inhibitor type Z) were randomised to weekly infusions of 60 mg·kg−1 human α1-AT (Prolastin®) or placebo for 2–2.5 yrs. The primary end-point was change in CT lung density, and an exploratory approach was adopted to identify optimal methodology, including two methods of adjustment for lung volume variability and two statistical approaches. Other end-points were exacerbations, health status and physiological indices. CT was more sensitive than other measures of emphysema progression, and the changes in CT and forced expiratory volume in 1 s were correlated. All methods of densitometric analysis concordantly showed a trend suggestive of treatment benefit (p-values for Prolastin® versus placebo ranged 0.049–0.084). Exacerbation frequency was unaltered by treatment, but a reduction in exacerbation severity was observed. In patients with α1-AT deficiency, CT is a more sensitive outcome measure of emphysema-modifying therapy than physiology and health status, and demonstrates a trend of treatment benefit from α1-AT augmentation.


Boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs), the boron nitride structural equivalent of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), are predicted to possess unique electronic and magnetic properties. We report the synthesis of BNNRs through the potassium-intercalation-induced longitudinal splitting of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). This facile, scalable synthesis results in narrow (down to 20 nm), few sheet (typically 2-10), high crystallinity BNNRs with very uniform widths. The BNNRs are at least 1 μm in length with minimal defects within the ribbon plane and along the ribbon edges.


The traditional Vector Autoregression (VAR) method is widely used to trace out the effects of monetary policy innovations on the economy. However, this method suffers from the curse of dimensionality, so that in practice VARs are estimated on a limited number of variables, leading to a potential missing information problem. In this article we use the method of structural factor analysis to evaluate the effects of monetary policy on key macroeconomic variables in a data rich environment. This methodology allows us to extract information on monetary policy and its impact on the economy from a much larger data set than is possible with the traditional VAR method. We propose two structural factor models. One is the Structural Factor Augmented Vector Autoregressive (SFAVAR) model and the other is the Structural Factor Vector Autoregressive (SFVAR) model. Compared to the traditional VAR, both models incorporate information from hundreds of data series, series that can be and are monitored by the central bank in setting policy. Moreover, the factors used are structurally meaningful, a feature that adds to the understanding of the 'black box' of the monetary transmission mechanism. Both models generate qualitatively reasonable impulse response functions. For the SFVAR model, both the price puzzle and the liquidity puzzle are eliminated.


The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia requires detailed neuropsychological examinations. These examinations typically yield a large number of outcome variables, which may complicate the interpretation and communication of results. The purposes of this study were the following: (i) to reduce a large data set of interrelated neuropsychological variables to a smaller number of cognitive dimensions; (ii) to create a common metric for these dimensions (z‐scores); and (iii) to study the ability of the cognitive dimensions to distinguish between groups of patients with different types of cognitive impairment.


Novel Coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, is an infectious disease that primarily affects the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. The viral spread occurs through respiratory droplets produced while coughing and sneezing. Major vaccine targets for COVID-19 are spike protein, M protein, envelope protein, receptor binding domain, nucleic acids etc. Different mechanisms through which a vaccine can be developed to evoke an immune response include virus inactivated vaccine, live attenuated vaccine, subunit vaccines, virus-like particles, replicating and non-replicating viral vectors and nucleic acid-based vaccines. The mainstay of COVID-19 treatment is supportive and symptomatic therapy with dexamethasone, hydroxychlorquine and anti-viral agents like Darunavir, Ribavirin, Remdesivir, Interferons. Maintaining social distance, personal hygiene, use of N-95 masks aids in limiting the spread of the infection. There is a vital requirement for an ideal and potent vaccine with a favorable beneFit-risk proFile to evoke an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection. There are currently 11 approved vaccines in the market of which the PFizer/ BioNTech vaccine have produced the most efFicacy (95%), followed by Moderna (94%), Sputnik (91.6%), Covaxin (90%), Janssen (90%) and Astra Zeneca (70%). Vaccine hesitancy, vaccine-related adverse reactions and the high cost of the vaccine can be a major barrier to public acceptance and global access to the vaccine.


Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and the Avatar, a single PDX mirroring an individual patient, are emerging tools in preclinical cancer research. However, the consequences of intratumor heterogeneity for PDX modeling of biomarkers, target identification, and treatment decisions remain underexplored. In this study, we undertook serial passaging and comprehensive molecular analysis of neuroblastoma orthotopic PDXs, which revealed strong intrinsic genetic, transcriptional, and phenotypic stability for more than 2 years. The PDXs showed preserved neuroblastoma-associated gene signatures that correlated with poor clinical outcome in a large cohort of patients with neuroblastoma. Furthermore, we captured spatial intratumor heterogeneity using ten PDXs from a single high-risk patient tumor. We observed diverse growth rates, transcriptional, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic profiles. PDX-derived transcriptional profiles were associated with diverse clinical characteristics in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. These data suggest that high-risk neuroblastoma contains elements of both temporal stability and spatial intratumor heterogeneity, the latter of which complicates clinical translation of personalized PDX-Avatar studies into preclinical cancer research.Significance: These findings underpin the complexity of PDX modeling as a means to advance translational applications against neuroblastoma. Cancer Res; 78(20); 5958-69. ©2018 AACR.


Total cross sections for electron-capture from the ground state of hydrogen by C6+ (40, 50, 60, 80, 100 and 120 keV/u) and O8+ (40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140keV/u) have been calculated using the classical-trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) technique. We tabulate these cross sections as a function of projectile energy for (i) capture to all product states, (ii) capture to product n-levels, and (iii) capture to product n, l-levels. The results of these calculations agree with and extend previous CTMC n, l distribution results.


The University of Valencia, in accordance with Spanish and European regulations, has implemented an Internal Quality Assurance System that establishes procedures and evidences that allow one to conduct and document the analysis, evaluation and continuous improvement in Higher Education processes.The correct monitoring of the processes and the proper storage of documentary evidences must be secured, and the most efficient way for that purpose is a computer platform using Business Process Management (BPM) tools. This work presents the design of such a Quality Assurance System,the technological details of the computer platform underneath and the experience collected during several years of usage.


In the electronics recovery business, recyclers are constantly faced with an always-changing variety of product input. The variability of this input, which has been described in previous papers by the authors, presents a challenging problem when attempting to maximize recoveries and minimize expense, especially when attempting to develop a quick and accurate cost estimate or quote for response to a customer for disposal services. This paper presents a unique approach to cost estimating that can simplify the quote determination process and that is currently used at the IBM Asset Recovery Center in Endicott, New York.


By mid-2004, Parliaments in each Australian jurisdiction will either complete or will be in the process of partial codification of the law of torts. The reforms, including those to the law of negligence, are extensive. This article focuses on codification of the law of causation as an element of the cause of action in negligence. It examines the background to "tort reform", as the process has been labelled, and discusses the common law paradigm of negligence and various approaches to causation. It then analyses and compares the causation provisions in each jurisdiction.


An introduction to the structure and properties of polymers. Solution properties, molecular weight determination and rheological behavior are studied. Manufacturing and processing techniques are considered.


In this paper, we will propose redundancy management of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs), using multihop routing to answer user queries in the existence of unreliable and malicious nodes. The key concept behind of our redundancy management is to exploit the balancing between energy consumption vs. timeliness, and security to increase the system useful lifetime. We will use an algorithm for Redundancy Management for identifying the best redundancy level to apply to multihop routing for intrusion tolerance, to increase the query success probability and system lifetime. Then we will use a voting-based distributed intrusion detection algorithm to detect and evict malicious nodes in a HWSN. We will develop a new probability model to analyze the best redundancy level in terms of path redundancy and source redundancy, and also the best intrusion detection in terms of the number of voters under which the lifetime of a HWSN is increased. We will then apply the analysis results obtained to the design of a particular redundancy management algorithm to identify and apply the best design parameter settings at runtime in response to environment changes, to increase the HWSN lifetime. A prototype implementation in the ns2click simulator will be used to demonstrate malicious attacks launched by intruder nodes .


In recent years, the application of computer techniques to various problems in biology has increased. In most cases, large general-purpose digital computers have been used, often at same cost in programming complexity. Many of these applications have been standard or unusual forms of statistical analysis, making use of input data in numerical form which in some cases was prepared by computer or electronic methods, such as analog-to-digital (A-D) converters. There will continue to be such basically statistical applications in biology and medicine, for which conventional digital computers and programming methods are suited; such applications will not be discussed here. There have also been a number of applications of analog computer technology to model and analysis problems in biology and medicine, usually in areas where such methods are particularly suitable. Most such applications, however, have been theoretical models, rather than the direct handling of biological data. Analog techniques for direct biological data reduction and experimental control have been developed in a few cases; an outstanding example is presented by Warner' in this monograph. The methods described in this paper are a combination of these analog techniques with digital methods, forming what we have called a hybrid system. The term "hybrid" as used in this paper refers to either (1) the use of both analog and digital computing techniques or computers, directly connected and used in combination on a problem; or (2) the use of special computing equipment which is neither conventional digital nor conventional analog in its representation of magnitudes. As used here, the term does not include the use of some analog equipment, such as filters, to preprocess data which are then converted to digital form, stored on magnetic tape or punch cards, and subsequently entered into a conventional digital computer which is not physically connected to analog or hybrid devices. In many areas in physiology and biology, the data produced in an experiment are relatively long records from several channels with a bandwidth of 1,000 cycles per second (cps) or more. A method which has sometimes been used is conversion of all of these data to digital form, sampling and converting each channel at an appropriate rate and accuracy, and storing the results on digital magnetic tape for entry into a computer. As an example,


AIM
To determine the glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL) and insulinemic index (II) of five starchy foods that are commonly used in Chinese diets.

METHODS
Ten healthy subjects aged between 20-30 years were recruited. Each subject was asked to consume 50 g of available carbohydrate portions of test foods and reference food. Finger capillary blood samples were collected at the start of eating and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after consumption. The GI and II of foods were calculated from the ratio of incremental area under the glucose/insulin response curves of test and reference foods. The GL for each test food was determined from its GI value and carbohydrate content.

RESULTS
The results showed that brown rice elicited the highest postprandial glucose and insulin responses, followed by taro, adlay, yam and mung bean noodles, which produced the lowest. Among the five starchy foods, brown rice evoked the highest GI and GL at 82 ± 0.2 and 18 ± 0.2, followed by taro (69 ± 0.4, 12 ± 0.2), adlay (55 ± 0.4, 10 ± 0.2), yam (52 ± 0.3, 9 ± 0.0) and mung bean noodles (28 ± 0.5, 7 ± 0.2), respectively. The II values of the test foods corresponded with GI values. Similarly, brown rice gave the highest II at 81 ± 0.1, followed by taro (73 ± 0.3), adlay (67 ± 0.3), yam (64 ± 0.5) and mung bean noodles (38 ± 0.3). All five starchy foods had lower GI, GL and II than reference bread (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
The GI, GL and II values of starchy foods provide important information for the public to manage their diet and could be useful for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes mellitus.


Abstract We encountered a paediatric case of graft failure due to antibody-mediated rejection after heart transplantation in which ivabradine was effective. Inappropriate sinus tachycardia in denervated transplanted hearts is a good indication for ivabradine administration as beta-blockers have a limited efficacy. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the effectiveness of ivabradine in a paediatric heart transplant rejection case.


Random parameter models have been found to better predict the optimum dose of fertilization than fixed parameter models. However, a major restriction of this class of models is that the random parameter components are normallydistributed. This paper introduces random parameter models of fertilizer dosing withindependent skew-normallydistributedrandom componentsusing Bayesian estimation. We compare the Linear Plateau, Spillman-Mitscherlich, and Quadratic random parameter models with random parameter componentswith different distributions, i.e. the Skew-normal, Skew-t, Skew-slash, and Skew-contaminated normal distributions and also their counterparts, i.e., the normal, Student-t, slash and the contaminated normal distributions,with the errors following symmetric normal independent distributions. The method is applied to a dataset of multi-location trials of potassium fertilization of soybeans. The results show that the Student-t Spillman-Mitscherlich Response Model is the best model for soybean yield prediction. Keywords—Bayesian estimation, Dose-response model, Random parameter model, Skew-normal independent distributions. ————————————————————


Each year, hundreds of articles in population health and nutrition, many in high‐profile journals, use standard cutoffs based on weight and height as assessments of obesity and undernutrition. These global efforts to monitor overweight and underweight often rest on the assumption that ethnic differences in underlying body form are sufficiently small to permit universal anthropometric cutoffs for comparing excess and insufficient body fat across populations. However, a century of work in human biological variation suggests that human populations can vary dramatically in underlying body form in a way that may require population‐sensitive cutoffs for monitoring. Here, we describe recently developed methods that can provide population‐sensitive assessments of both excess and insufficient energy reserves in a wide range of countries. We use this approach to illustrate how worldwide variation in human body form is far more widespread than previously thought, and that it can occur at several geographic scales, including the level of world regions, countries and populations within countries. The findings also suggest that using standard cutoffs that ignore this variation can underestimate current obesity levels in adults by more than 400–500 million while also incorrectly prioritizing high‐risk areas for undernutrition in children in key regions around the world.


The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of world air transportation until 2024 with special emphasis on the growth patterns of the number of passengers/cargo, aircrafts and maintenance repair stations that compose the industry. Commercial air transportation necessitates passengers and/or cargo to fly and serviceable aircrafts to transport them. Along with the number of passenger/cargo, number of aircrafts will increase as well during the upcoming years. Therefore, the airline operators will purchase or lease more aircrafts of the required models. Number of skilled workforce and maintenance repair stations ensuring aircrafts to be safe and airworthy will increase similarly. This paper examines how passenger and cargo traffic will grow in the next decade, aircraft orders to meet this growth and also maintenance repair and overhaul organization requirements when aircrafts are delivered. Thus, it provides a current and future outlook of the sub-sectoral interactions of the global aviation industry


This experiment was conducted to study the antiviral activities of sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and its mechanism. Anti-PRRSV activities of STS were observed on Marc-145 cells by using visualization of cytopathologic effect assay and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test, and its antiviral mechanism was determined by time-of-addition assay, adsorption inhibition assay, and virucidal assay. The results showed that STS could reduce the damage of PRRSV to Marc-145 cells, with the inhibition ratio exceeding to 100%, at the maximum non-cytotoxic concentration. The time-of-addition and virucidal assays indicated that the anti-PRRSV activities of STS could be due to inhibiting the virus replication or/and inactivating the virus directly. The inhibition of the virus attachment was not discovered in adsorption inhibition assay. The results proved that STS had strong anti-PRRSV activity and encouraged for further exploration of STS.


Clofazimine (CFZ) is a phenazine derivative used for treatment of leprosy, MDR-TB and XDR-TB. There is recent interest in understanding how CFZ works following the demonstration of its unique ability to shorten the treatment of MDR-TB. However, the target of CFZ in mycobacteria has remained elusive. Here, we show that CFZ binds to mycobacterial integration host factor (mIHF), which is an essential nucleoid associated protein in mycobacteria involved in DNA protection, chromosome organization and global gene regulation. We demonstrate that CFZ inhibits mIHF binding to DNA and interferes with mycobacterial gene expression. This mode of action is unique among all antibiotics including antimycibacterial agents and may help to explain its unusual action against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our study provides new insight about the mechanism of action of this intriguing drug and has implications for developing more effective treatment of TB.


Study Design: Retrospective review. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare distribution of hospital and operating room charges and outcomes during posterior spinal fusion for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients by high-volume (HV) and standard-volume (SV) surgeons at one institution and examine potential cost savings. Summary of Background Data: Increased surgical volume has been associated with improved perioperative outcomes after spinal deformity correction. However, there is a lack of information on how this may affect hospital costs. Methods: Retrospective study of AIS patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion between 2013 and 2019. Demographic, x-ray, chart review and hospital costs were collected and compared between HV surgeons (≥50 AIS cases/y) and SV surgeons (<50/y). Comparative analyses were computed using Wilcoxon rank-sum, Kruskal-Wallis, and the Fisher exact tests. Average values with corresponding minimum–maximum rages were reported. Results: A total of 407 patients (HV: 232, SV: 175) operated by 4 surgeons (1 HV, 3 SV). Radiographic parameters were similar between the groups. HV surgeons had significantly lower estimated blood loss (385.3 vs. 655.6 mL, P<0.001), fewer intraoperative transfusions (10.8% vs. 25.1%, P<0.001), shorter surgery time (221.6 vs. 324.9 min, P<0.001), and lower radiation from intraoperative fluoroscopy (4.4 vs. 6.4 mGy, P<0.001). HV patients had a significantly lower length of stay (4.3 vs. 5.3, P<0.001) and complication rate (0.4% vs. 4%, P=0.04). HV surgeons had significantly lower total costs ($61,716.24 vs. $72,745.93, P<0.001). This included lower transfusion costs (P<0.001), operative time costs (P<0.001), screw costs (P<0.001), hospital stay costs (P<0.001), and costs associated with 30-day emergency department returns (P<0.001). Conclusion: HV surgeons had significantly lower operative times, lower estimated blood loss and transfusion rates and lower perioperative complications requiring readmission or return to emergency department resulting in lower health care costs. Level of Evidence: Level III.


HIDRADENITIS suppurativa and the more severe types of acne, such as acne conglobata and dissecting cellulitis of the neck and scalp, not infrequently occur in the same persons. These disorders have been described as distinct entities; however, in clinical characteristics and in the course of the disease, they have many similarities which indicate a close relationship among them. They may be considered as regional counterparts in which the acne process is manifested in its extreme variants and in its more fulminating forms. Acne conglobata, dissecting cellulitis, hidradenitis, and other variants of acne have these features in common: functional glandular hyperplasia of the apocrine gland and pilosebaceous apparatus; double comedo formation and impaction of the follicular orifice; bacterial invasion with suppuration and undermining of the loose areolar tissue, and eventual healing with cicatrization and not infrequent keloid formation. This presentation is concerned with a correlation of various aspects of the


This study was carried out at the forest nursery of Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture and Regional Research Station, Wadura SKUAST-K, Sopore, Kashmir during 2006 and 2007 to examine the role of live biofertilizers in litter decomposition and nutrient release in Salix fragilis under natural Salix stands. The experiment was laid in completely randomised design with three replications which comprised five treatment combinations of 5 inoculants (no-inoculant; Azotobacter, Chroococcum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, effective microorganisms and combinations of Azotobacter chroococcum + Pseudomonas fluorescens + effective microorganisms). Higher rate of decomposition of Salix fragilis litter was recorded in June (89.29%). Lower rate of decomposition of the species was recorded in January (39.07%). Plant N, P, K, Ca, and Mg release showed an increasing trend from July onwards upto November and immobilization of above nutrients was observed in December and January. However, in the succeeding months an increasing trend in the nutrient release was observed. Highest nutrient release was recorded under combined inoculation of Azotobacter chrococcum + Psedomonas fluorescens + effective microorganisms followed by effective microorganims as compared to other treatments and control. Combined biofertilizer inoculation resulted in a significant increase in total viable bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes followed by effective microorganisms, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azotobacter chroococcum and control respectively. Thus the treatment combination of Azotobacter choococcum + Pseudomonas fluerescens + effective microorganisms proved to be the best for decomposition of Salix fragilis litter and nutrient release.


The objectives of this study were to define the magnitude, time course, and virologic and immunologic correlates of HAART-associated reconstitution of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in pediatric HAART recipients. Thirty-five HIV-infected CMV-seropositive subjects < or = 22 years on or about to receive HAART had CMV-CMI measured by responder cell frequency (RCF) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) secretion over 3 years. RCF was detected in 33, 52, 38, and 28% before HAART and at years 1, 2, and > or = 3, respectively. Corresponding percentages for IFN-gamma were 100, 85, 100, and 38%. Neither RCF nor IFN-gamma was significantly associated with CD4% before or after HAART initiation. Lower HIV replication was associated with a higher proportion of subjects with positive RCF, but not IFN-gamma. There were no clinical CMV manifestations during the study. HIV-infected children did not demonstrate a significant increase in CMV-CMI with longer HAART duration, which suggests that CMV immunereconstitution involves more complex immunologic and virologic interactions than previously anticipated.


PURPOSE
A report of the clinical features, treatment, and outcome of patients who developed hemolytic anemia (HA) temporally associated with fludarabine (Fludara; Berlex Laboratories, Richmond, CA) therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Data on 24 patients who developed HA related to fludarabine therapy were collected from the Spontaneous Reporting System of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington, DC).

RESULTS
Seventeen (71%) patients developed HA after either the first, second, or third cycle of this drug. The longest duration of fludarabine therapy before HA occurred was six cycles. The median decline in hematocrit from baseline during the hemolytic episode was 14.1 (range, 8.0 to 28.9) for the 18 patients for whom this information was available. For the 11 patients for whom transfusion requirements were known, the number of transfusions administered ranged between three and 36. Seven (29%) patients died of medical complications associated with the HA. Seven of eight patients who were re-challenged with fludarabine after an episode of HA developed recurrent HA, and three of these patients died.

CONCLUSION
HA associated with fludarabine therapy appears to be uncommon, but it can be severe and fatal, especially if a patient is re-treated with this drug after a previous episode of HA. The mechanism of this toxicity is unknown, but it may be caused by the release of a suppressed auto-antibody to a native red cell antigen.


Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-311G basis set level was performed on six new substituted Schiff base derivatives of PINH [(phenylallylidene) isonicotinohydrazide], The calculated quantum chemical parameters correlated to the inhibition efficiency are EHOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital energy), ELUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy), the energy gap [ΔE(HOMO-LUMO)], hardness (η), softness (S), dipole moment (μ), electron affinity (EA), ionization potential (IE), the absolute electronegativity (χ), Global electrophilicity index ( ) and the fraction of electron transferred (∆N), all have discussed at their equilibrium geometry and their correct symmetry (Cs). Comparisons of the order of inhibition efficiency of the Schiff bases derivatives, and local reactivity were analyzed using Mulliken population analysis. The local reactivity has been studied through condensed softness indices in order to predict both the reactive centers and to know the possible sites of nucleophilic and electrophilic attacks. Also vibration frequencies and IR absorption intensities were carried out for the calculated Schiff bases molecules. Also some physical values were studied such as heat of formation and total energy.


The spatial arrangement of tree species is a key aspect of community ecology. Because tree species in tropical forests occur at low densities, it is logistically challenging to measure distributions across large areas. In this study, we evaluated the potential use of canopy tree crown maps, derived from high-resolution aerial digital photographs, as a relatively simple method for measuring large-scale tree distributions. At Barro Colorado Island, Panama, we used high-resolution aerial digital photographs (~0.129 m/pixel) to identify tree species and map crown distributions of four target tree species. We determined crown mapping accuracy by comparing aerial and groundmapped distributions and tested whether the spatial characteristics of the crown maps reflect those of the ground-mapped trees. Nearly a quarter (22%) of the common canopy species had sufficiently distinctive crowns to be good candidates for reliable mapping. The errors of commission (crowns misidentified as a target species) were relatively low, but the errors of omission (missed canopy trees of the target species) were high. Only 40 percent of canopy individuals were mapped on the air photographs. Despite failing to accurately predict exact abundances of canopy trees, crown distributions accurately reproduced the clumping patterns and spatial autocorrelation features of three of four tree species and predicted areas of high and low abundance. We discuss a range of ecological and forest management applications for which this method can be useful. Abstract in Spanish is available in the online version of this article.in Spanish is available in the online version of this article.


The paper intended to examine the effect of the importation of used-Western woodcraft in Sekondi-Takoradi and their ramification on the woodcraft industry. It sought to enquire into the effect that these imported used-Western woodcraft have on hands-on skills, training and employment of the youth in Sekondi-Takoradi. It also enquired into the recent and widespread importation of used woodcrafts from the Western world as against the brand new woodcrafts from Sekondi-Takoradi. The analytical method was adopted to analyze the data using purposive sampling technique. The primary information was acquired through interview, interaction, observation and field survey while secondary information was obtained from literary sources. The results showed that, Woodcraft producers in the enclave lacked the state-of-the-art machinery and technological knowhow to meet the International Standard Order (ISO) and the growing western taste of their prospective patrons or buyers.The paper concludes that Sekondi-Takoradi is flooded with imported used-Western woodcrafts that are available, stylish and relatively affordable, as compared to the locally made ones. Also, the woodcraft producers in Sekondi-Takoradi have the onerous task to compete with their Western counterparts.


Assumptions about the host and stratum specificity of tropical insects are routinely incorporated into estimates of global species richness, but few empirical studies reliably assess tropical insect specificity. In French Guiana, cer-ambycid beetles in the genus Palame reproduce exclusively in trees belonging to the Brazil nut family (Lecythi-daceae). During a year-long rearing project, Palame anceps (Bates) emerged exclusively from a single host species, but P. crassimana Bates and P. mimetica Monne appeared to make seasonal changes in host affiliation. In the case of P. crassimana, dry season specimens could be distinguished from rainy season specimens by subtle differences in pubescence, but it was difficult to find diagnostic morphological characters supporting their delimitation as separate species. In order to detect genetic differentiation in Palame, 1049 bp of mitochondrial DNA (COI gene) were sequenced. The three nominal species of Palame yielded six haplotype groups, with sequence divergences among groups ranging from 8.27 to 17.56%. Species with apparent seasonal changes in host use included multiple distinct haplotype groups that I interpret to represent multiple species-level taxa. Insects considered generalized owing to temporal or geographical changes in host association may, with improved resolution in species limits, prove to be assemblages including relatively specialized cryptic species.


Abstract Background Diarrhea is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Assessing diarrhea etiology in LMICs is of great importance in order to better develop both therapeutic and public health strategies, but is hampered by the complexity of potential diarrheal pathogens, and diverse methodology needed for pathogen identification Methods Subjects 6 to 35 months old with acute, moderate severity, non-bloody diarrhea were enrolled in a diarrheal treatment trial, conducted at one rural (N = 172) and two urban sites (N = 144) in Guatemala. Diarrheal pathogens were determined in stool by multiplex PCR (FilmArray GI® Biofire) which allows simultaneous identification of 23 bacterial, viral, parasitic pathogens. Descriptive statistics on demographics, pathogen load, and differences in pathogen occurrence by site were performed; differences were assessed with t-test and chi2 test Results Nearly all (96.8%) subjects had pathogens identified, and most had multiple potential pathogens identified (mean pathogen count: 2.7 urban and 4.8 rural; P < 0.001 (Figure 1). Notable pathogen differences were observed between rural and urban populations. Bacteria (particularly E.coli pathotypes and Campylobacter) and protozoa (particularly giardia) were more common in the rural population (Figure2). Viral pathogens were either similar or more common (norovirus; P = 0.04) in the urban population; rotavirus was uncommon in both sites (10 rural and 12 urban cases). A similar pattern of pathogen evolution with patient age was noted in both settings, with a decrease in the relative number of viral and increase in parasitic pathogens (Figure 3). Important demographic and socioeconomic differences between rural and urban were noted: rural subjects had poorer nutritional status, underdeveloped water and sanitation facilities and more domestic animal exposure Conclusion Acute diarrheal episodes in Guatemalan children were associated with a complex spectrum of pathogens when determined by multiplex PCR, with distinct patterns in rural and urban populations. Future studies to precisely determine diarrheal etiologies in LMICs will need to incorporate controls to sort causative organisms from those colonizing the intestine. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.