A GPR field experiment in the Republic of Djibouti provides evidence for very low radar penetration in arid volcanic materials, in the range 100–500 MHz. This phenomenon is attributed to the high iron oxide and evaporite concentration in soils, which significantly increases the conductivity, thus leading to poor subsurface imaging performances. The geologic context in Djibouti is shown to provide a good terrestrial analogue to Mars geology. Results of this study show that the future sounding radar missions to Mars may not reach the penetration depths previously anticipated.


Adjustment in planting time is one of the effective means of improving cut flower output under open field conditions. A field experiment was carried out on Gerbera with eight different dates of planting (15 th March 15 th October) on Alfisol during 2006 to 2009. Difference in planting time induced a significant difference in performance of Gerbera, due to variation in soil moisture content (153.2 g/kg in May planting to 301.6 g/kg in August planting, coinciding linearly with rainfall received). However, the treatment with June planting produced the best response in terms of number of leaves/plant (15.96), leaf area (138.78 cm 2 ), plant height (27.09 cm), flower size (9.12 cm), stalk length (35.77 cm), number of flowers (220.1/m 2 ) and flower yield (2.95 kg/m 2 ) compared to rest of the other dates of planting. The study, hence, suggested that an effective benchmark of optimum soil moisture (201.0 g/kg, that is, 82.8% of 33 KPa soil moisture) is necessary to harness upon the benefits of suitable planting time under rainfed open field conditions.


Purpose

A whole series of food scandals indicates that misdirected incentives continue to be a source of food risks. Lacking market transparency and the opportunistic use of seemingly profitable opportunities to break the rules cause negative externalities and failure of markets. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of mandatory transparency schemes on food businesses' behavioural drivers and thus on compliance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use an adopted analytical framework developed by Hirschauer et al. (2012) as the theoretical background. The authors provide an empirical analysis of the effects of a disclosure system on businesses' behavioural drivers in three urban parts of the German capital Berlin. The authors conducted a pen-and-paper survey among food businesses to collect data and used a generalized ordered logit regression model to analyse them.

Findings

The results show that the higher the businesses assess the possible negative effects of a negative smiley on sales, the higher the probability of compliance. Considering the immaterial behavioural drivers (protective factors) the authors find the statistical significant influence of a feeling of embarrassment in case of disclosure and the feeling of a fair evaluation on compliance. Thus, the study supports the expectation that disclosure policies affect behavioural drivers and have the potential to steer food businesses' compliance.

Practical implications

The study supports the expectation that hygiene controls' disclosure positively affects food businesses' compliance. These findings should be taken into consideration in the ongoing discussion about disclosure. Nowadays, there is no mandatory transparency in Germany due to a strong opposition from businesses and their lobbying groups.

Originality/value

The authors conducted a pen-and-paper survey among food businesses in three urban districts of the German capital Berlin, namely, Pankow, Lichtenberg and Marzahn-Hellersdorf in 2014. The food authorities in these districts were the only ones in Germany that had introduced and run a mandatory disclosure system (smiley-system) for food businesses. The results of the inspections were published on the authorities' homepages in the internet, and were displayed in businesses. Thus the data mirror the unique experiences of the only German food businesses that participated in a mandatory transparency scheme.


BACKGROUND
Defective DNA repair is central to the progression and treatment of breast cancer. Immunohistochemically detected DNA repair markers may be good candidates for novel prognostic and predictive factors that could guide the selection of individualized treatment strategies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We have analyzed nuclear immunohistochemical staining of BRCA1, FANCD2, RAD51, XPF, and PAR in relation to clinicopathological and survival data among 1240 paraffin-embedded breast tumors, and additional gene expression microarray data from 76 tumors. The antioxidant enzyme NQO1 was analyzed as a potential modifier of prognostic DNA repair markers.

RESULTS
RAD51 [hazard ratio (HR) 0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70-0.94, P = 0.0050] and FANCD2 expression (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.28-1.76, P = 1.50 × 10(-7)) were associated with breast cancer survival. High FANCD2 expression correlated with markers of adverse prognosis but remained independently prognostic in multivariate analysis (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.08-1.49, P = 0.0043). The FANCD2-associated survival effect was most pronounced in hormone receptor positive, HER2-negative tumors, and in tumors with above-median NQO1 expression. In the NQO1-high subset, patients belonging to the highest quartile of FANCD2 immunohistochemical scores had a threefold increased risk of metastasis or death (HR 3.10, 95% CI 1.96-4.92). Global gene expression analysis indicated that FANCD protein overabundance is associated with the upregulation of proliferation-related genes and a downregulated nucleotide excision repair pathway.

CONCLUSION
FANCD2 immunohistochemistry is a sensitive, independent prognostic factor in breast cancer, particularly when standard markers indicate relatively favorable prognosis. Taken together, our results suggest that the prognostic effect is linked to proliferation, DNA damage, and oxidative stress; simultaneous detection of FANCD2 and NQO1 provides additional prognostic value.


Catalytic oxidation can be effectively promoted by the presence of oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface. In this study, the effect of oxygen vacancies on the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of phenol was investigated with CeO2 and MnOx–CeO2 as catalysts. CeO2 and MnOx–CeO2 catalysts with different amounts of oxygen vacancies were obtained via hydrothermal methods and applied for the CWAO of phenol. It was found that CeO2 and MnOx–CeO2 nanorods were much more active than the cubic nanorods. The physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by TEM, XRD, BET, XPS, and H2-TPR techniques. The results revealed that the presence of oxygen vacancies in CeO2 and MnOx–CeO2 catalysts could increase the oxidizing ability of the catalysts surface. The addition of Mn could greatly improve the adsorption ability of CeO2 and more efficiently oxidize phenol and its intermediates. The synergy between Mn and Ce could further improve the catalyst redox properties and produce a larger amount of active oxygen species, which is the reason why MnOx–CeO2 nanorods are the most active catalysts among the catalysts investigated in this study.


The post-copulatory sexually refractory stage in the male cricket Gryllus bimaculatus consists of the two substages: the first refractory stage (RS1, time-variable) between copulation and spermatophore preparation, and the second refractory stage (RS2, time-constant) between spermatophore preparation and the recommencement of courtship. To understand the mechanism of the timer for RS2, subcuticular or intraganglionic injection of biogenic amines (10^–2 mol l^–1) was performed immediately after spermatophore preparation. RS2 was shortened by octopamine, 5-HT, 5-HTP and NA-5-HT. Among these, 5-HTP was most potent. It shortened RS2 to maximally about 38% of the control. The shortening effect continued for 4.5 h after subcuticular injection even when the hemolymph was washed out with saline at 1 hour after injection. Simultaneous injection of 5-HTP with the inhibitor (NSD-1015) of 5-HT synthesis enzyme nullified the effect of 5-HTP, indicating that the shortening effect was caused by 5-HT synthesized from extrinsic 5-HTP. Injection of the inhibitor (CHX) of protein synthesis had no effect of on RS2. These results suggest that the reproductive timer in the TAG may be controlled by 5-HT or a second messenger mediated by 5-HT.


This article analyses the competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland in relation to selected EU countries. The competitive advantage of dairy farms was evaluated and compared based on remuneration for family labour. Two variants of  the above indicator were calculated: (1) Remuneration for  family labour (FL1) as  the relationship between farm net income and the farmer's unpaid labour input, and (2) Remuneration for family labour (FL2) as the relationship between farm net income minus the opportunity costs of own land and capital to the farmer's unpaid labour input. The calculations were performed based on EU FADN (European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network) data for an average dairy farm in 2005, 2010 and 2016. The study revealed the highest average remuneration for family labour (FL1) in Irish and German dairy farms. The value of the second indicator (FL2) was also highest in Germany, followed by France. The analysis produced interesting results regarding dairy farms in Denmark and the Netherlands which were characterised by the highest scale of production in the evaluated period (high net value added), but very low farm incomes and remuneration for family labour. The study revealed that Polish dairy farms were characterised by average competitiveness relative.


We contribute to the study of the quality of learned representations. In many domains, an important evaluation criterion for safe and trustworthy deep learning is how well the invariances captured by representations of deep neural networks (DNNs) are shared with humans. We identify challenges in measuring these invariances. Prior works used gradient-based methods to generate identically represented inputs (IRI), i.e. , inputs which have similar representations (on a given layer) of a neural network. If these IRIs look 'similar' to humans then a neural network's learned invariances are said to align with human perception. However, we show that prior studies on the alignment of invariances between DNNs and humans are 'biased' by the specific loss function used to generate IRI. We show how different loss functions can lead to different takeaways about a model's shared invariances with humans. We show that under an adversarial IRI generation process all models appear to have very little shared invariance with humans. We conduct an in-depth investigation of how different components of the deep learning pipeline contribute to learning models that have good alignment with human's invariances. We find that architectures with residual connections trained using a self-supervised contrastive loss with (cid:96) p ball adversarial data augmentation tend to learn the most human-like invariances. of DNNs' representations and human perception using IRI generation methods from these three categories, we arrive at very different conclusions. Specifically, compared to the regularizer-free IRI generation approach, the human-leaning IRI generation approach over-estimates a model's alignment with human perception, while the adversarial approach under-estimates a model's alignment with human perception. We also show how the alignment can be quantified reliably by designing simple visual perception tests that can be crowdsourced, i.e. used in human surveys.


Dithiocarbamates, xanthates, dialkyldithiophosphates and pyridinethiones are groups of compounds which can form lipophilic complexes with heavy metals. These compounds are widely used in industry and in agriculture and forestry and may pollute the aquatic environment. We have exposed fish (brown trouts) to substances belonging to these groups of compounds together with heavy metals (Cd2+, Ni2+, Hg2+, CH3-Hg+ or Pb2+) and then examined the uptake of the metals in the tissues of the fishes. Some of the examined complexing substances were found to cause highly increased tissue levels of the metals in the trouts. However, the enhancing effects varied for different complexing substances and for different metals. A facilitated penetration of the lipophilic complexes over the gill membranes and cellular membranes in other tissues may underlie the increments in the tissue levels of the metals. The lipophilicity and the stability of the complexes may be of importance for the effects of the substances on the disposition of the metals. Studies by other authors, in fishes as well as in other aquatic organisms, have also shown enhanced metal accumulation by compounds forming lipophilic complexes. It is considered that this type of interaction may have important implications for the behaviour of metals in aquatic ecosystems.


Why does support for mainstream parties decline? A growing literature points to economic loss as a source of political resentment. We bring this explanation one step further. We posit that the local economy qualifies the role of social capital in forging systemic support. When the economy thrives, social capital buffers discontent via interpersonal interactions. When the economy declines it exacerbates discontent, leading to a diffusion of grievances. We test our "networks of grievances" hypothesis in two settings. We first test our theory in Italy, which offers individual-level information together with fine-grained municipality-level social capital data. Second, we test the mechanism underlying our theory combining survey and local administrative data across 18 European countries. The results suggest that "networks of grievances" operate as channels of political discussions with peers, converting retrospective evaluations into systemic discontent bringing non-mainstream parties into voters' choice sets.


Motivated behaviors are often initiated in response to perturbations of homeostasis. Indeed, animals and humans have fundamental drives to procure (appetitive behaviors) and eventually ingest (consummatory behaviors) substances based on deficits in body fluid (e.g., thirst) and energy balance (e.g., hunger). Consumption, in turn, reinforces motivated behavior and is therefore considered rewarding. Over the years, the constructs of homeostatic (within the purview of the hypothalamus) and reward (within the purview of mesolimbic circuitry) have been used to describe need-based vs. need-free consumption. However, many experiments have demonstrated that mesolimbic circuits and "higher-order" brain regions are also profoundly influenced by changes to physiological state, which in turn generate behaviors that are poised to maintain homeostasis. Mesolimbic pathways, particularly dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and their projections to nucleus accumbens (NAc), can be robustly modulated by a variety of energy balance signals, including post-ingestive feedback relaying nutrient content and hormonal signals reflecting hunger and satiety. Moreover, physiological states can also impact VTA-NAc responses to non-nutritive rewards, such as drugs of abuse. Coupled with recent evidence showing hypothalamic structures are modulated in anticipation of replenished need, classic boundaries between circuits that convey perturbations in homeostasis and those that drive motivated behavior are being questioned. In the current review, we examine data that have revealed the importance of mesolimbic dopamine neurons and their downstream pathways as a dynamic neurobiological mechanism that provides an interface between physiological state, perturbations to homeostasis, and reward-seeking behaviors.


– The purpose of this paper is to argue that in order to remain a dynamic and important part of the university, academic librarians must embrace change and create digital libraries that offer innovative reference services and other cutting edge digital products such as podcasting and wikis., – An examination of current research in the field., – America Online Instant Messenger (AOL IM) has the potential to be used for reference chat, and more scholarship should be done in this area. Wikis and podcasting also have the potential to innovate service. Focused efforts through scholarship and implementation of new technological tools will ensure that librarians remain dynamic in the creation of digital libraries., – An in‐depth discussion of podcasting, wikis, and virtual reference in the context of the academic library.


Virtual reality systems are being increasingly used for enhancing human perception of complex
real-world or synthetic events. Serious applications outside entertainment range from education training
to science and engineering. In this paper, we present our research work concerning the use of virtual
reality in underwater robot tele-operation and training. We have proposed a novel concept of ROV safety
domain to overcome the robot sensor error issue involved in virtual environment based underwater teleoperation
approach. The detailed mathematical model of the ROV safety domain and its proof will be
presented. In addition, we will examine how ROV safety domain can be used in underwater robot teleoperation,
and present the architecture of our prototype virtual tele-operation system. Its current status
and evaluation, as well as issues involved in its practical application will also be discussed.


The article analyses the experience of teaching Ukrainian as a Foreign language (UFL) in the conditions of distance learning in higher education institutions. An analysis of the scientific achievements of researchers in the field of teaching a foreign language, including UFL, is made. UFL is considered a mean of intercultural communication and the linguocultural and sociocultural knowledge acquisition tool. The results of the survey conducted among teachers of UFL on the use of online educational resources and the education system's readiness for distance learning (online) are summarised. The most popular online platforms and resources are identified in the paper. The main features of teachers and students activity in the distance learning process, its results and problems are outlined. It is concluded that distance learning allows participants to establish cooperation and two-way communication in the educational process. An important factor of successful language learning is the motivation of international students to learn the language, mastering self-education skills, direct contact with peers. The organization of art events, the involvement of listeners of the preparatory department and students to participate in scientific conferences held online facilitate it. Simultaneously, attention is focused on the problems and shortcomings of distance learning of UFL. The technical component needs to be improved, namely, equipping with the latest software, Internet and mobile communication access, forming skills to work online, and using basic computer programs (e-textbooks, video content, online tests, etc.).


Lentinus concinnus biomass was immobilized to carboxyl derivative of cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), in the presence of FeCl 3 (0.1 mol L −1 ) via ionic cross-linking. The beads containing immobilized fungal biomass were incubated at 30 °C for three days to permit growth of the fungus. The free and immobilized fungal biomass were tested for adsorption of Disperse Red 60 (DR-60) from aqueous solution using bare CMC beads as a control system. The maximum adsorption of DR-60 on the free and immobilized fungal biomass was observed at pH 6.0. The adsorption of DR-60 by the free, and immobilized fungal biomass increased as the initial concentration of DR-60 in the medium increased up to 100 mg/L. The maximum adsorption capacity of the CMC beads, the free and immobilized fungal biomass (i.e. composite beads) were found to be 43.4, 65.7, and 92.6 mg g −1 dry sorbents, respectively. The equilibrium of the adsorption system was well described by Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models. Adsorption equilibrium was established in about 1.0 h. The adsorption of DR-60 on the fungal preparations followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. It was observed that the immobilized fungal biomass has a high potential for the removal of DR-60 as a model dye from aqueous solution.


This report addresses issues surrounding measurement of the potential productivity gains from new livestock technologies and the returns to international livestock research. The approach, applicable to many livestock production constraints and technologies, integrates a herd simulation model to measure the potential size of impact of a new technology, geographic information systems (GIS) to predict where this impact is likely to be felt, and an economic surplus model to value it. The particular problem examined is trypanosomosis in cattle in Africa, and the potential research product is a multi-component vaccine. The results suggest that the potential benefits of trypanosomosis control, in terms of meat and milk productivity alone, are worth over US$ 700 million per year in Africa. The disease is costing livestock producers and consumers an estimated US$ 1.3 billion annually, without including productivity losses associated with less manure and traction due to the presence or risk of the disease. Given an adoption period of 12 years, a maximum adoption rate of 30%, a discount rate of 5%, and a 30% probability of the research being successful within 10 years, the net present value of the vaccine research is estimated at US$ 288 million, with an internal rate of return of 33%, and a benefit:cost ratio of 34:1. The results of this study will assist in research priority setting and have highlighted the need for further research aimed at better understanding who the beneficiaries of the vaccine will be, and how it will reach them.


Calcium/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM) dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has emerged as a key nodal protein in the regulation of cardiac physiology and pathology. Due to the particularly elegant relationship between the structure and function of the kinase, CaMKII is able to translate a diverse set of signaling events into downstream physiological effects. While CaMKII is typically autoinhibited at basal conditions, prolonged rapid Ca2+ cycling can activate the kinase and allow post-translational modifications that depend critically on the biochemical environment of the heart. These modifications result in sustained, autonomous CaMKII activation and have been associated with pathological cardiac signaling. Indeed, improved understanding of CaMKII activation mechanisms could potentially lead to new clinical therapies for the treatment or prevention of cardiovascular disease. Here we review the known mechanisms of CaMKII activation and discuss some of the pathological signaling pathways in which they play a role.


Abstract This study uses the Mesoscale Compressible Community model to simulate the extratropical transition and reintensification of Hurricane Earl (1998) for the purposes of testing sensitivity to modification of the model's initial conditions. Though relatively strong "classical" cyclogenetic forcings were present in this case, operational forecasts seriously underpredicted the severity of the reintensification. Employing a piecewise potential vorticity (PV) inversion, the authors remove localized PV anomaly (PV′) maxima from the initial conditions and rebalance the fields for input to the model. Several PV′ structures in an upstream trough, and the PV′ associated with the hurricane, are removed individually and the model is rerun. Comparison of the resulting output with that of the control integration allows for a quantification of the impact of each PV anomaly on the regeneration of Earl. It is found that the existence of an upstream trough is of primary importance to the storm's reintensification, w...


The paper describes a technical strategy for implementing natural language processing applications in the cloud. Annotated corpora can be stored in the cloud and queried in normal web browsers via user interfaces implemented in the described framework. A key aim of the strategy is to exploit the free storage and processing that is available in the cloud, while avoiding lock-in to proprietary infrastructure. A half-million-word annotated corpus application is described as a working example of the strategy.


In this paper, we explore the relevance of asymmetry, long memory and fat tails in modeling and forecasting the conditional volatility and market risk for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock markets. Various linear and non-linear long-memory GARCH-class models under three density functions are used to investigate this relevancy. Our results reveal that non-linear GARCH-class models accommodating long memory and asymmetry can better capture the volatility of returns. In particular, we find that some stock returns' behaviors are well described by dual long memory in the mean and the conditional variances. Interestingly, the FIAPARCH volatility model with skewed Student distribution is found to be the best suited for estimating the value at risk and expected shortfall for short and long trading positions. This model outperforms the other competing long-memory GARCH-class models and simple GARCH and EGARCH models. Overall, long-memory, asymmetry, persistence and fat tails are important empirical facts in the GCC markets that should be taken into account when modeling and predicting volatility and assessing total risk. Our findings offer several useful implications for policy regulation, risk assessment and hedging, stock-price forecasting and portfolio asset allocations.


Dementia is becoming an increasingly important public health priority that will continue to increase due to the population aging and longevity. Appropriate national assessment of dementia prevalence is essential for properly planing the actions needed to address dementia. The purpose of this work was to identify the known prevalence of dementia in Europe and in Slovenia in the last twenty years, as well as to produce an estimation for 2018 and a projection for 2030 based on population data in Slovenia. The PubMed database search engine was used. We searched for hits in various combinations and reviewed the literature on the prevalence of dementia in Europe and in Slovenia. Estimates of dementia revalence for Slovenia were not found in the reviewed literature; we calculated it based on Slovenian data for 2018 and projections for 2030. Dementia prevalence rates in Europe have not changed significantly in most age groups in recent decades. In Slovenia, in 2018, the age-standardized prevalence rate for those aged 65 and over was 6.9%, for women 8.8% and for men twice lower, and according to the projection for 2030 it was 7.2% for men, 9.0% for women, which was twice as much as in men. The gross prevalence rate for dementia in people aged 65 and older in Europe ranges from 5.9% to 9.4%. The results of all studies show that the prevalence is increasing with increasing age, that it is higher and it is increasing earlier and faster in women (80–84 years) compared to men (85–89 years). The prevalence of dementia in women was twice as high as that of men and was increasing more rapidly with age. In Slovenia we can expect an increase in the number of people with dementia in the next ten years, primarily due to the aging of the population and extending of the life expectancy.


Hypotony and its sequelae are a frequent complication of trabeculectomies performed with mitomycin C (MMC), possibly related to intraocular toxicity of the substance. In an animal model with rabbits, we used different devices for the application of MMC and measured extra- and intraocular concentrations by HPLC. In addition, the concentrations of MMC remaining in the devices were determined. The devices were (1) a regular surgical sponge, (2) a scleral shield, (3) a presoaked soft contact lens, (4) a soft contact lens with MMC application, and (5) subconjunctival injection. Ocular concentrations of MMC were similar within the first 4 groups and were highest in the last. The measurements suggest that MMC penetrates intraocularly regardless of the device used. The variability of remaining MMC concentrations in the devices was lowest in the soft contact lenses suggesting an improved delivery system compared to the usually used surgical sponges.


The monocyte-specific (carboxyl)esterase (MSE) is a marker enzyme which is well-known to hematologists as its detection is part of the traditii.mil cytochemical stainings of leukemia cells. There are a variety of synonyms for MSE among hematologists and biochemists. Biochemically. MSE is well-chemically, but should be discerned from other esterases with similar or identical substrate specificities and other features. Intensive analysis of normal and malignant hematopoietic cells and leukemia-lymphoma cell lines using isoelectric focusing established the specificity of this enzyme for monocytes and related cells, hence its designation as monocyte-specific esterase. Cloning of the gene led to its molecular characterization and provided new opportunities to examine MSE expression also at the RNA level which confirmed the monocyte /macrophage specificity. The availability of the gene sequences of various serine esterases and lipases which also hydrolyze ester bonds allowed for the identification of identical isolates from different tissues and the construction of an unrooted dendrogram based on sequence homologies of 22 enzymes The detailed regulation of the gene and the functional role of MSE hake remained largely unknown as of yet. However, DNA binding sites for various transcription factors have already been detected. Some evidence suggests involvement in physiological detoxification processes and in the immune defense against tumor cells. A more thorough understanding of the in vivo function of function of this truly unique enzyme should be helped by characterizing the signals anti signal transduction mechanisms which lead to MSE expression.


Objectives: To determine learning-style scores of final-professional pharmacy students before and after various teaching experiences and to evaluate the relationships between scores and teaching practice variables. The outcome of study was aimed to determine better teaching experiences to improve learning skills. Method: The study was an observational cohort study design used for final professional pharmacy students. The Pharmacy inventory and learning style (PILS) model was employed for pre and post score after every teaching practice. Problem- construction practice (PCP) technique was developed and analyzed against other teaching practices. Results: Research findings show significant increase in level of knowledge after each module of teaching the majority of students fall in high level of clinical knowledge with Problem-base learning (PBL) and Problem construction practice (PCP). Two domains of PILS (Enactor and Producers) significantly cross-over the other two domains with 17.6% and 5.9% of increase in post-result score. Findings also showed the increase characteristics of Enactor and Producers with PCP, compared with Producer and director in PBL practice. Conclusion: The external environment (teaching style) has influence on the individual student learning behavior. For effective learning a variety of techniques were employed for the identification of EPI (educational personnel intellectuality). Recommendations: PILS scoring model is a unique model comprises both cognitive (constructivism) and psychological concept. Limitations: Currently the only limitation found in this research was absence of benchmark for teacher assessment.


One hundred eighty nine hours of mesopause region temperature, meridional wind, and Na density measurements were made at the Urbana Atmospheric Observatory (40°N, 88°W) during both day and night in Sep/Oct 1996. The data are used to study tidal oscillations and their relationship to mesospheric temperature inversion layers. The observations show that thermospheric forcing by UV and EUV absorption plays an important role in establishing the tidal characteristics in the upper mesosphere. Because of the large tidal amplitudes and strong thermospheric heating during the day, the general characteristics of the background temperature structure can only be established by measuring temperature throughout the diurnal cycle. When the temperature profile is averaged over the complete diurnal cycle, the mesopause is considerably warmer (196 K compared to 190 K) and lower (96 km compared to 101 km) than that observed at night. Furthermore, there is little evidence of the prominent inversion layers frequently reported in nighttime measurements. These features appear to be artifacts associated with incomplete sampling of the strong diurnal tide.


The presence of seasonal fluctuations (regular behavior along the year related to weather or institutional factors) invalidates monthly (quarterly) comparisons. In turn, since inter-annual variations depend on the comparison basis being used, they could provide very little information to the short-term analysis. The purpose of this document is, on the one hand, to underline the need of using time series adjusted for seasonality and for calendar effects in the short-term analysis and, on the other hand, to show an application of seasonal adjustment to Bills & Coins (B&C) time series of Argentina in the period 1992-2007. The main contribution of this application, if compared to seasonal adjustments made before, lies in the fact that it incorporates for the first time the local calendar into the seasonal analysis, in addition to taking advantage of other attributes of the seasonal adjustment such as the ad-hoc length of the seasonal and trend-cycle filters which provide a more appropriate adjustment to the data observed in the Argentine economy. The role of the calendar effects to explain the seasonal contribution turned out to be statistically significant though of relative economic importance, with the exception of the month of December. Regarding the seasonal component, the main source behind seasonality has not been modified in the period under analysis. However, the intensity of the seasonal component has changed. B&C seasonal factors suffered a significant reduction from 1997 to date. The reasons are strongly related to the bank service accessibility process and the introduction of new technologies into the Argentine economy since the late 1990s. It is likely that the payment of salaries to employees through bank accounts has been the most influential factor of this bank service accessibility process. As regards seasonality contribution to B&C demand for the period 2003-2007, it is close to ± 3 pp of demand, depending on whether it is a peak (i.e. an increase of demand due to seasonal factors) or a valley (i.e. a lower demand due to seasonal reasons).


This study aimed to examine the effect of discontinuation of antipsychotic medication on the relapse of psychiatric symptoms in pregnant women with schizophrenia. We investigated the medical records of all consecutive pregnant women with schizophrenia who continuously visited and delivered their children at Chiba University Hospital from January 2007 to January 2019. We retrospectively assessed the scores on the Clinical Global Impression of Change scale (CGI-C) during the period when psychiatric symptoms changed most during the pregnancy. A CGI-C score of 5 or more was defined as a relapse. Twenty-eight patients consist-ing of the maintained treatment group (n = 18) and the discontinuation group (n= 10) were recruited. During pregnancy, the relapse rate in the maintained treatment group (16.7%) was significantly lower than that in the discontinuation group (90.0%). This study demonstrates a high relapse rate in pregnant women dis-continuing their antipsychotic medication, as well as during the non-pregnancy period. Global Impression of g scale obser v ed d u rin g pre g nanc y


The seismic reflection method accounts for over 90 percent of the geophysical expenditures for oil and gas exploration. Controlled sources of seismic energy emit signals into the earth which are reflected to the earth's surface by density-velocity contrasts associated with variations in subsurface rock lithology, stratigraphy, and structure. The reflected signals detected on the earth's surface are digitized and computer processed to produce seismograms used for geological interpretation to evaluate the potential for oil or gas reservoirs. Original reflection seismology methods developed nearly sixty years ago utilized explosives for seismic sources. However, the use of earth vibratory sources has increased in recent years. The compressional wave vibrator is discussed giving a description of the electrical-hydraulic method of controlling the applied base plate force. The vibrator efficiency for transduction of hydraulic energy into seismic energy is analyzed in terms of vibrator and earth parameters. Source signal design is achieved through selection of several operational parameters specifying the temporal and spectral properties of the vibrator sweep control. Limitations on vibrator system resolution by the signal detection and registration system are considered. Methods of signal enhancement are applied in the field during data acquisition and in computer data processing. Interpretation of vibrator seismograms is optimized by analyzing the parameters influencing system resolution, understanding their interaction, and then specifying the acquisition and processing parameters which will provide the necessary data quality.


The flow direction technique, previously applied to ash-flow sheets, can be used to determine direction of movement and locate eruptive centers for lava flows. The method provides statistically stronger and more consistent flow direction data for lava than ash-flow tuff. The accuracy and reliability of the technique was established on the porphyritic basaltic andesite of Mount Taylor, New Mexico, which erupted from a known center, the Mount Taylor Amphitheater. The technique was then applied to volcanic units with unknown sources: the John Kerr Peak Quartz Latite and mid-Tertiary andesite flows in the Mogollon Mountains, both in southwestern New Mexico. The flow direction technique indicated flow patterns and suggested source areas for each rock unit. In the Mogollon Mountains flow direction measurements were supported by independent directional criteria such as dips of cross beds, stratigraphic thickening, facies changes, and megascopic textures.


Single-Brand Market Claims Are Not Dead* Modern antitrust law's focus on inter-brand competition has made it much more difficult to plead and prove single-brand market claims. The law's concern…


ABSTRACT The Streptomyces bacteriophage Abt2graduatex2 is a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) Siphoviridae isolated from soil collected in Baltimore, MD, and harvested using Streptomyces griseus subsp. griseus. Abt2graduatex2, a cluster BG phage, encodes an HicA-like toxin.


The structural and semantic properties of adverbials represent a still poorly understood area of sentential syntax and semantics in Germanic languages. The volume gives a detailed overview of the system of adverbial adjectives in German, linking the different types of adverbial usages to different syntactic positions and providing formal derivations for the different usages. The book is of interest not only to anyone working on the linguistics of German but also to all linguists investigating the syntax-semantics interface.


This study was conducted to determine the genotype of self-incompatibility of 'Manhwang' pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai). Microscopic examination of growing pollen tubes revealed that there were more than 10 pollen grains growing on each stigma in all cross combinations. Pollens of 'Okusankichi' on the stigma of 'Manhwang' showed low germination with 53.2%, while the other combinations showed relatively high germination rate from 86.4% to 99.7%. Cross-incompatibility between 'Manhwang' and 'Shinsetsu' was shown. Shinsetsu's pollen tubes stopped growth 1.3 mm under the stigma of 'Manhwang' with malformed pollen tube tips. In degree of pollen tube elongation in terms of passing rate of pollen tubes to the basal part of style, all of the pollen tubes displayed degree 2 or less in 'Shinsetsu' combination while the other combinations showed degree 5. Cross-pollinations of 'Manhwang' with other cultivars resulted in relatively high rates of fruit set from 54.3% to 82.0%, except pollen from 'Shinsetsu' that represents only 3.2% of fruiting rate. Judging from the results of microscopic examination of pollen and fruit set, 'Manhwang' appears to be cross-incompatible with 'Shinsetsu'. As result of PCR-RFLP, it could be identified that the S-allele of 'Manhwang' is S5S6, and confirmed that each allele of 'Manhwang' was derived from 'Okusankichi (S₅)' and 'Chuwhangbae (S₆)', respectively.


Reactivation of fetal hemoglobin genes has been proposed as a potential therapeutic procedure in patients with beta-thalassemia, sickle cell disease, or other beta-hemoglobinopathies. In vitro model systems based on small plasmid globin gene constructs have previously been used in human and mouse erythroleukemic cell lines to study the molecular mechanisms regulating the expression of the fetal human globin genes and their reactivation by a variety of pharmacologic agents. These studies have led to great insights in globin gene regulation and the identification of a number of potential inducers of fetal hemoglobin. In this study we describe the development of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) reporter systems based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (EBACs) to monitor the activity of the epsilon-, (G)gamma-, (A)gamma-, delta-, and beta-globin genes in the beta-globin locus. Additionally, we demonstrate that transfection of erythroleukemia cells with our EBACs is greatly enhanced by expression of EBNA1, which also facilitates episomal maintenance of our constructs in human cells. Our studies in human cells have shown physiologically relevant differences in the expression of each of the globin genes and also demonstrate that hemin is a potent inducer of EGFP expression from EGFP-modified epsilon-, (G)gamma-, and (A)gamma-globin constructs. In contrast, the EGFP-modified delta- and beta-globin constructs consistently produced much lower levels of EGFP expression on hemin induction, mirroring the in vivo ontogeny. The EGFP-modified beta-globin eukaryotic BAC (EBAC) vector system can thus be used in erythroleukemia cells to evaluate induction of the epsilon- and gamma-globin genes from the intact human beta-globin locus.


Abstract This paper presents a novel approach for the determination of True-Speed-Over-Ground for trains. Speed determination is accomplished by correlating the received signals of two side-looking radar sensors. The theoretically achievable precision is derived. Test measurements are done in two different scenarios to give a proof of concept. Thereafter a series of field measurements is performed to rate the practical suitability of the approach. The results of the measurements are thoroughly evaluated. The test and field measurements are carried out using a 24 GHz frequency modulated continuous wave radar.


To evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of methanol stem bark extract of Stereospermum suaveolens DC (Bignoniaceae) against aluminium fluoride (AlF 4 E)-induced hepatic damage in albino mice. The animals were divided into six groups of seven animals each. Group I served as normal; group II served as control, receives AlF 4 E through their drinking water; group III served as standard, receives 500 mg/kg of Liv-52. The groups IV, V and VI were treated with 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg doses of methanol extract of Stereospermum suaveolens orally. After the 24 h of the last dose of AlF 4 E, serum biochemical and liver enzymes were assessed along with histopathological studies of liver sections. The AlF 4 E-treated group showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in serum biochemical markers like SGOT, SGPT, ALP, total bilirubin, LDL-cholesterol and lipid peroxidation levels in liver homogenate along with significant reduced levels of GSH, total thiols, CAT and SOD. The pretreatment groups with different doses of extract and standard Liv-52 were significantly (p<0.05) reversed the above parameters as compared to control group. From the results it can be concluded that hepatoprotective and antioxidant activity of methanol extract may be due to presence of flavonoids and tannins.


By a famous result of K. Saito, the parameter space of the miniversal deformation of the $A_{r-1}$-singularity carries a Frobenius manifold structure. The Landau-Ginzburg mirror symmetry says that, in the flat coordinates, the potential of this Frobenius manifold is equal to the generating series of certain integrals over the moduli space of $r$-spin curves. In this paper we show that the parameters of the miniversal deformation, considered as functions of the flat coordinates, also have a simple geometric interpretation using the extended $r$-spin theory, first considered by T. J. Jarvis, T. Kimura and A. Vaintrob, and studied in a recent paper of E. Clader, R. J. Tessler and the author. We prove a similar result for the singularity $D_4$ and present conjectures for the singularities $E_6$ and $E_8$.


The time varying Hartmann flow of an electrically conducting viscous incompressible non-Newtonian power-law fluid between two parallel horizontal non- conducting porous plates is studied with heat transfer under constant pressure gradient. An external uniform magnetic field that is perpendicular to the plates and uniform suction and injection through the surface of the plates are applied. The two plates are kept at different but constant temperatures while the Joule and viscous dissipations are taken into consideration. Numerical solutions for the governing nonlinear momentum and energy equations are obtained using finite difference approximations. The effect of the magnetic field, the parameter describing the non-Newtonian behavior, and the velocity of suction and injection on both the velocity and temperature distributions as well as the dissipation terms are examined.


— This paper describes the new mission possibilities and technology requirements for a high power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system using a Taurus-class launch vehicle. A 10-kW Hall Effect Thruster with Anode Layer (TAL) running direct-drive off a high voltage solar array could produce enough thrust to enable very rapid missions with a small sciencecraft to various destinations throughout the solar system. After defining the propulsion system characteristics, a palette of different missions were studied to quantify the total wet spacecraft mass and corresponding mission trip times. The missions considered include two main-belt asteroid rendezvous (Vests and Ceres), and a comet rendezvous (Kopff), and with launches to either low Earth orbit (LEO) or Earth escape. Results show that this high power SEP system first enables LEO to escape trajectories to be performed in about 2-3 months, therefore increasing the effective mass capability of small launchers, and second can be used for very rapid transportation of small spacecraft (50 kg) to the mainbelt asteroids and short-period comets. Typical flight times for such missions vary from 1.0 to 1.5 years, which is half the time that the New Millennium DS-1 SEP system (NSTAR) technology would offer.


The structural complexity of habitats and the distance from the dispersion source are considered important determinants of species diversity. The fractal dimensions of substrates are a strong alternative measure for quantifying the structural complexity. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that structural complexity and distance from a dispersion source affect the density and diversity of macro‐invertebrates on submersed macrophytes. To test this hypothesis, we used artificial substrates with different fractal dimensions, which were incubated at different distances from a dispersion source (a stand of macrophytes) in a Neotropical floodplain lake. The relationship between the structural complexity of macrophytes and the density and diversity of invertebrates attached to artificial substrates was positive and significant. On the other hand, distance from the dispersion source negatively affected both the density and diversity of the attached invertebrates. For Oligochaeta, however, there was a significant effect of structural complexity for the artificial plants positioned further away, but it was not significant in the plants positioned closer to the dispersion source. Thus, the effects of complexity depended on the distance from the dispersion source, at least for this specific group of macro‐invertebrates. These results suggest that both structural complexity and distance from the dispersion source should be considered together to explain the diversity of invertebrates in river–floodplain systems. In addition, our results show that there is great potential for using fractal dimensions as a tool to quantify structural complexity in aquatic habitats, especially at the small spatial scales perceived by macro‐invertebrates.


Star-nosed moles and tentacled snakes have exceptional mechanosensory systems that illustrate a number of general features of nervous system organization and evolution. Star-nosed moles use the star for active touch—rapidly scanning the environment with the nasal rays. The star has the densest concentration of mechanoreceptors described for any mammal, with a central tactile fovea magnified in anatomically visible neocortical modules. The somatosensory system parallels visual system organization, illustrating general features of high-resolution sensory representations. Star-nosed moles are the fastest mammalian foragers, able to identify and eat small prey in 120 ms. Optimal foraging theory suggests that the star evolved for profitably exploiting small invertebrates in a competitive wetland environment. The tentacled snake's facial appendages are superficially similar to the mole's nasal rays, but they have a very different function. These snakes are fully aquatic and use tentacles for passive detection of nearby fish. Trigeminal afferents respond to water movements and project tentacle information to the tectum in alignment with vision, illustrating a general theme for the integration of different sensory modalities. Tentacled snakes act as rare enemies, taking advantage of fish C-start escape responses by startling fish toward their strike—often aiming for the future location of escaping fish. By turning fish escapes to their advantage, snakes increase strike success and reduce handling time with head-first captures. The latter may, in turn, prevent snakes from becoming prey when feeding. Findings in these two unusual predators emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for understanding the evolution of brains and behavior.


We report the antibody neutralization against Omicron SARS-CoV-2 after 2 and 3 doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Vaccinated individuals were serially tested for their neutralization against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (strain USA-WA1/2020) and an engineered USA-WA1/2020 bearing the Omicron spike glycoprotein. Plaque reduction neutralization results showed that at 2 or 4 weeks post-dose-2, the neutralization geometric mean titers (GMTs) were 511 and 20 against the wild-type and Omicron-spike viruses, respectively, suggesting that two doses of BNT162b2 were not sufficient to elicit robust neutralization against Omicron; at 1 month post-dose-3, the neutralization GMTs increased to 1342 and 336, respectively, indicating that three doses of vaccine increased the magnitude and breadth of neutralization against Omicron; at 4 months post-dose-3, the neutralization GMTs decreased to 820 and 171, respectively, suggesting similar neutralization decay kinetics for both variants. The data support a three-dose vaccine strategy and provide the first glimpse of the neutralization durability against Omicron.


This article comments on the record of exhibition and display of Blake's works in Britain from 1904 to 1914. It provides two check-lists: one of Blake loan exhibitions held in the UK over that period, the other a record of Blake's presence on display at the national collection of British art, the Tate Gallery (now Tate Britain) in London. These records suggest the possibility of an as-yet-unwritten account of Blake's reception history in the twentieth century, based on physical encounter with the works as well as the record of textual commentary.


The Cr-doped fibers (CDFs) were successfully fabricated employing drawing-tower technique with non-silica powder-in-tube (PIT) design. The far field pattern (FFP), transmission loss, and fluorescence intensity are measured and discussed in this paper. The achievement in CDFs may make it possible to be developed as a broadband fiber amplifier and light source.


We define and develop two-level type theory (2LTT), a version of Martin-Löf type theory which combines two different type theories. We refer to them as the 'inner' and the 'outer' type theory. In our case of interest, the inner theory is homotopy type theory (HoTT) which may include univalent universes and higher inductive types. The outer theory is a traditional form of type theory validating uniqueness of identity proofs (UIP). One point of view on it is as internalised meta-theory of the inner type theory. There are two motivations for 2LTT. Firstly, there are certain results about HoTT which are of meta-theoretic nature, such as the statement that semisimplicial types up to level n can be constructed in HoTT for any externally fixed natural number n. Such results cannot be expressed in HoTT itself, but they can be formalised and proved in 2LTT, where n will be a variable in the outer theory. This point of view is inspired by observations about conservativity of presheaf models. Secondly, 2LTT is a framework which is suitable for formulating additional axioms that one might want to add to HoTT. This idea is heavily inspired by Voevodsky's Homotopy Type System (HTS), which constitutes one specific instance of a 2LTT. HTS has an axiom ensuring that the type of natural numbers behaves like the external natural numbers, which allows the construction of a universe of semisimplicial types. In 2LTT, this axiom can be assumed by postulating that the inner and outer natural numbers types are isomorphic. After defining 2LTT, we set up a collection of tools with the goal of making 2LTT a convenient language for future developments. As a first such application, we develop the theory of Reedy fibrant diagrams in the style of Shulman. Continuing this line of thought, we suggest a definition of

$(\infty,1)$

 -category and give some examples.


There has recently been a lot of ongoing research in the areas of fairness, bias and explainability of machine learning (ML) models due to the self-evident or regulatory requirements of various ML applications. We make the following observation: All of these approaches require a robust understanding of the relationship between ML models and the data used to train them. In this work, we introduce the ML provenance tracking problem: the fundamental idea is to automatically track which columns in a dataset have been used to derive the features/labels of an ML model. We discuss the challenges in capturing such information in the context of Python, the most common language used by data scientists. We then present Vamsa, a modular system that extracts provenance from Python scripts without requiring any changes to the users' code. Using 26K real data science scripts, we verify the effectiveness of Vamsa in terms of coverage, and performance. We also evaluate Vamsa's accuracy on a smaller subset of manually labeled data. Our analysis shows that Vamsa's precision and recall range from 90.4% to 99.1% and its latency is in the order of milliseconds for average size scripts. Drawing from our experience in deploying ML models in production, we also present an example in which Vamsa helps automatically identify models that are affected by data corruption issues.


Preexcitation in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) has been reported to induce long-lasting changes in ventricular recovery properties. However, there has not been a report concerning changes in the activation-recovery interval (ARI) in 12-lead ECGs before and after catheter ablation (CA) in patients with WPW syndrome. The present study compared changes in ARIs from 12-lead ECGs with those from body surface unipolar leads before and after CA to examine whether ARIs from limb leads of 12-lead ECGs provide useful information on changes in recovery properties in addition to the ARIs from precordial leads. The study population consisted of 27 manifest WPW patients with a left- (n=18, group A) or right-sided accessory pathway (n=9, group B). ARIs in leads I, II, and III were strongly correlated with those in unipolar leads over the left lateral, left lower, and right lower chest, respectively. ARIs in leads aVR, aVL, and aVF showed a significant correlation with those in unipolar leads over the right upper, left upper, and lower anterior chest, respectively. These correlations were maintained before and after CA. Furthermore, in group A, ARIs in lead V1 tended to increase on day 7 post CA compared with before CA and on day 1. In group B, ARIs in lead III significantly decreased on day 7 compared with before CA and on day 1. These findings suggest that ARIs from the limb leads of 12-lead ECGs may represent those from unipolar leads of a particular area over the body surface, and that ARIs from 12-lead ECGs may provide useful quantitative information on changes in recovery properties before and after CA in patients with manifest WPW syndrome.


In order to understand the seismic performance and mechanism of bottom frame seismic wall masonry structure (BFSWMS) and its vulnerability in empirical seismic damage, based on the statistical and numerical analysis of the field seismic damage observation data of 2178 Dujiangyan structures in the Wenchuan great earthquake urban of China on May 12, 2008, a non-linear function model between the seismic grade and the number of field damage samples is established, and the regression curve is given. The empirical seismic vulnerability matrices in multiple intensity regions are established, and the regression model functions of each intensity region and the vulnerability curves based on seismic damage grade and exceeding probability are obtained, respectively. A vulnerability matrix model with mean damage index (MDI) as its parameter is proposed, and the empirical vulnerability matrix is embedded in it. The vulnerability matrix based on this parameter and the regression curve of MDI in Dujiangyan city are derived. The above research results can provide the necessary practical reference for the vulnerability study of BFSWMS and the seismic code of China.


ABSTRACT This article explores the degree to which journalists in Finland experience different types of external interference and how they perceive the implications of interference. For this study, external interference is defined as all active and invasive methods that external actors use to influence journalists and interfere in the journalistic processes to influence editorial content. By using Finland as a case example, this article provides new empirical evidence on how external interference manifests in the contemporary journalistic environment in a democratic Western country with strong safeguards for press autonomy. Based on the statistical analysis of survey responses from 875 Finnish journalists, the results indicate that individual-level factors of age and gender have only a marginal relation to the prevalence of external interference. Of analyzed organizational-level factors—employment type, occupational position, and media outlet used for reporting—the latter two were most significant. This article offers three important empirical contributions: (1) it highlights the existence of editorial defense shield as journalistic practice; (2) it illustrates the complex relationship between gender and external interference; and (3) it demonstrates how journalists in national and regional newspapers are more prone to interference than their colleagues in other media outlets.


While distributed applications need replication for the purposes of fault-tolerance, realistic and feasible deployments cannot afford to replicate every single component within the system. Potentially, over the lifecycle of such deployments, the consistency and fault-tolerant properties might be compromised when replicated and unreplicated components interact. We describe some of the challenges in providing endto-end fault-tolerance under the mixed semantics. Our approach facilitates communication between the unreplicated and replicated components of a distributed client-server application, without compromising the consistency of the replicated servers and without restricting any concurrent TCP semantics that unreplicated clients expect. We describe the resulting architectural and implementation enhancements to the MEAD system and provide an empirical evaluation of our new mechanisms.


Purpose In current clinical practice, early recurrence (ER) is not commonly discussed in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA), and its risk factors for this disease have not been well clarified. We carried out this study to analyze the risk factors contributing to ER and explored the prognostic factors after curative resection for pCCA. Patients and Methods A total of 335 consecutive pCCA patients were retrospectively analyzed. Risk factors contributing to ER were evaluated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Prognostic factors of the ER group were determined by univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. The overall survival (OS) rate was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The Log rank test was used for OS comparison. Results Of the 335 cases, 258 patients (77.0%) developed tumor recurrence, 136 patients (40.6%) developed ER, and 122 patients (36.4%) developed late recurrence (LR) postoperatively. The median OS of the ER and LR groups was 15 months and 36 months, respectively (P<0.001). The multivariate analysis revealed that poor pathological differentiation (P=0.006; moderate vs well, odds ratio [OR]=2.162, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.753–6.208, P=0.152; poor vs well, OR=4.839, 95% CI 1.544–15.170, P=0.007), perineural invasion (OR=4.797, 95% CI 1.586–14.510, P=0.005), and high levels of preoperative carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19-9) (OR=2.205, 95% CI 1.208–4.026, P=0.010) were independent risk factors of developing ER after resection. Adjuvant chemotherapy (HR=0.383, 95% CI 0.154–0.953, P=0.039) remained as the independent protective factor of OS in patients with ER. Conclusion It is recommended that patients with poorly differentiated tumors, presence of perineural invasion, and high levels of preoperative CA19-9 receive closer follow-up and adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery.


Summary Two group-feeding and one individual-feeding experiments were made for 112 and 182 days, respectively, with 76 cross-bred and eight Zebu bulls. Simmental, Friesian and Jersey sire breeds were mated to three Ethiopian Zebu breeds, namely Boran, Horro and Barca, while Zebu bulls were included for comparison purposes in Expt 3. The trials were conducted in confinement at Holetta Research Station, located at 2400 m elevation and having a mean maximum temperature range of 18·7–24 °C. In the group-feeding trials (Expts 1 and 2) a common diet was fed, consisting of native hay (30%) molasses (20%) and a concentrate supplement. In the third experiment, two diets containing 30 and 50% native hay were supplemented by concentrate and fed individually to eight Simmental and eight Friesian cross bulls, while eight Zebus served as a control. The average daily gains, feed intake and conversion did not differ markedly between Simmental and Friesian crosses, but lower values were generally found for Jersey crosses. Cross-breds outgained Zebus, consumed more feed and converted it more efficiently to live-weight gain. Performance differences were noted between the Zebu breeds as well as some evidence of sire × dam breed interactions. Significantly higher gains were achieved with the low than with the high roughage diet.


We propose a new form of dimensional reduction that constrains dilatation instead of a component of momentum. It corresponds to replacing toroidal compactification in a cartesian coordinate with that in the logarithm of the radius. Massive theories in de Sitter or anti de Sitter space are thus produced from massless (scale invariant) theories in one higher space or time dimension. As an example, we derive free massive actions for arbitrary representations of the (anti) de Sitter group in arbitrary dimensions. (Previous general results were restricted to symmetric tensors.) We also discuss generalizations to interacting theories.


We study the quantum dynamics of Majorana and regular fermion bound states coupled to a quasi-one-dimensional metallic lead. The dynamics following the quench in the coupling to the lead exhibits a series of dynamical revivals as the bound state propagates in the lead and reflects from the boundaries. We show that the nature of revivals for a single Majorana bound state depends uniquely on the presence of a resonant level in the lead. When two spatially separated Majorana modes are coupled to the lead, the revivals depend only on the phase difference between their host superconductors. Remarkably, the quench in this case effectively performs a fermion-parity interferometry between Majorana bound states, revealing their unique non-Abelian braiding. Using both analytical and numerical techniques, we find the pattern of fermion parity transfers following the quench, study its evolution in the presence of disorder and interactions, and thus, ascertain the fate of Majorana bound states in a Fermi sea.


BACKGROUND
A generally reported increased incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and a recent evolution in treatment strategies, as well as several clinical trials suggesting improved survival, have prompted this study to evaluate time trends in incidence and prognosis of NHL.

METHOD
NHL recorded by the population-based Registry of Hematopoietic Malignancies in Côte-d'Or (France) were considered over three 4-year periods from 1980 to 1992. A multivariate survival analysis was carried out in terms of both crude and relative survivals.

RESULTS
Overall incidence, increased over the 12 years considered, by an average of 6.8% per annum (P < 0.05). Only two cases of AIDS-related NHL were registered during this period. NHL incidence has increased slightly more for males than for females, further widening the gap in incidence between the sexes. In terms of histological grade the increase in incidence was more pronounced for low-grade and high-grade NHL than for intermediate-grade NHL. The overall 5-year relative survival rate was 69.3%. In multivariate relative survival analysis, neither sex, age, period of diagnosis nor place of hospitalization were significant prognostic factors. Only place of residence, with RR 2.2 (1.41-3.42) for people living in rural areas compared to urban areas and histological type, according to the working formulation with RR 3.8 (2.22-6.61) for high-grade tumours compared to low-grade tumours, remained informative for prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS
Although incidence of NHL has increased in Côte-d'Or, this trend has remained independent of the AIDS epidemic. Contrary to the findings of clinical trials, the patients' survival in this population-based series has not been shown to have improved over the study period.


The Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive collects and makes visible the history of women at Pembroke College in Brown University, the post-graduate lives of Brown Alumnae, and women in Rhode Island, spanning from the 19th century to the present.


Background: COVID 19 outbreak miens critical concern to global education system across the world. The closure of universities has left billions of students behind. Nursing educators and students relied on technology to continue learning online during the pandemic. However, online education is hampered by the lack of networks, power, infrastructure such as inaccessible and lack of digital skills. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID 19 outbreak on nursing education. Objectives: 1. To assess the perception regarding impact of corona pandemic on nursing education, limitations of E-learning and required modifications among nursing educators. 2. To find out the association between perception of nursing educators with their socio-demographic variables. Material and methods: Data were collected through a Google form consisting of self-structured Likert scale on perceptions of nursing educators. The Subdomains of the perception were impact of COVID-19 outbreak on Nursing education, Limitations of e-learning and essential modifications required. The data collected were analyzed and interpreted. Result: of the study revealed that the corona outbreak has adversely impacted nursing education and urgent need to implement effective e-learning teaching learning strategies of nursing educators to understand their perception and issues they are facing during eclasses to foster teaching, student's satisfaction, and achievement of educational outcomes. Conclusion: The process of imparting education has seen a sea change during the threat of the COVID pandemic. Besides, technology is affecting every side of society and changing it regularly. Challenges in the E-learning context shows the requirement for up-gradation in institutional technology infrastructure and teacher's capacity building training to improve technological expertise.


Measurements of pulmonary diffusing capacity (Dco) were made using gas chromatography. The standard breath-holding technic was employed with the modification of using neon instead of helium for the dilution-reference gas. The two basic columns, silica gel, and 13 x molecular sieves were arranged in series on a dual-column chromatograph. All analyses were performed isothermally between 75–85 C with a carrier gas flow rate of 50–60 ml/min. Quantitation of the gas components was made simply and accurately by peak height measurements of the deflection curves on the chromatogram. The normal values for Dco by this method fall well within the range of normals determined by standard technics. The eminent suitability of gas chromatography for the determination of diffusing capacity derives from its simplicity, accuracy, and rapidity of gas analysis and its use of very small volumes of alveolar gas.

breath-holding technic; neon; silica gel; 13 x molecular sieves; isothermic analysis; peak height measurements; dual-column chromatography

Submitted on September 6, 1963


Quantitative and qualitative composition of the foliar phenolic compounds were investigated in 81 individual specimens of several white oak species (Quercus spp.). The trees were growing in twelve locations in Durango, Mexico. The phenol profiles were determined by HPLC-DAD and a Folin-Ciocateu procedure. The results revealed that: (i) the foliar phenol profiles of all species analysed were complex and formed by 6 to 30 compounds, (ii) the flavonols mostly quercetin glycoside, isorhamnetin glycoside, kaempferol glycoside and phenolic acids were the main identified compounds, (iii) there was a high intra and inter-specific variability in the foliar phenol profiles both at the quantitative and qualitative levels, and (iv) the foliar phenol profiles indicated a slight species-specific tendency for phenols to be accumulated, although this was not clearly distinguished. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in the content and composition of the foliar flavonoids between species were observed due to the large environmental and soil conditions variability between localities.


The static method of allocating fixed blocks of spectrum, over a considerable period of time is gradually giving way to a more flexible method of using the spectrum. Dynamic spectrum access offers a new promising method of addressing the inefficient use of the spectrum. However, three main barriers still need to be addressed to reap the full benefit. These include the technical, economic and regulatory barriers. This thesis focuses on the technical challenges that will enhance the opportunistic use of the spectrum between two operators in a dynamic manner. The aim is to optimise the use of the scarce spectrum resource. A coordinated network based approach for spectrum allocation between two wireless operators is investigated, using the Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS) as a case study. This thesis proposes network centric algorithms to facilitate multi-operator spectrum sharing within the context of the cellular wireless network. The achievable gains in terms of the spectrum efficiency gain is compared with legacy Fixed Spectrum Allocation (FSA). The algorithms are investigated under uniform and non-uniform traffic conditions. The results show significant improvements in the spectrum efficiency gain of the network, up to thirty six percent for the non-pool algorithm (one primary earner and two secondary carriers) and ten percent for the pool based algorithm (two carriers). The gain is as a result of the improved statistical multiplexing of mobile users. The results also reveal that additional gains up to four percent could be achieved depending on the connection queuing times. Furthermore, the results show that the penalties associated with the proposed algorithms in the form of total call setup messages, can be minimised by sharing the radio resource management entity. Finally, the possible architectures to facilitate the improved spectrum sharing algorithm proposed in this thesis are also investigated.


In the cultivation of the thermophilic anaerobic organisms causing "swells" in canned foods2 difficulty was encountered in finding a suitable medium for routine cultivation. Of the usual media employed for anaerobes, liver infusion is most satisfactory for growth, but has the disadvantage of requiring some anaerobic seal or incubation in an anaerobic jar for best results. When large numbers of tubes are to be used, the time necessary for sealing becomes a limiting factor, and incubation in anaerobic jars is impractical. Semi-solid media avoid in part the necessity of sealing the inoculated tubes; corn mash (4 to 8 per cent) is a medium of this type and has been much used for anaerobes of the nitrogen-fixing butyric type. For the thermophilic anaerobes plain corn mash was not found to be a suitable medium, and, in order to enrich the medium for this group, dried liver was added. Preliminary tests with this combination showed it to be more suitable than plain corn mash. The medium is made from ordinary whole corn meal, dried liver and water. The 1 to 2 per cent liver (tissue from liverinfusion medium dried at 550 to 60°C. and finely ground) and 5 per cent corn meal are steamed one hour, cooled and tubed. The resulting, rather viscous, medium requires care in sterilizing; this may be accomplished by autoclaving for two hours at 15 to 17 pounds. If pressure is reduced slowly after sterilization, short


The loss of tropical forest cover caused by land-use change is causing a reduction in functional groups, such as trophic guilds. Phyllostomid bats (family Phyllostomidae) are essential in the Neotropics since they occupy up to six trophic guilds, and are pollinators, seed dispersers, and regulators of vertebrate and invertebrate populations. In this study, a series of meta-analyses were performed in order to analyse their response to habitat disturbance. Data were obtained through a comprehensive literature review whereby we measured the abundance of phyllostomid bats in disturbed habitats and conserved forests. We found that the abundance of phytophagous bats depends on the type of habitat disturbance and the type of forest where it occurs. On the other hand, animal-feeding bats reduce their abundance in any disturbed habitat regardless of disturbance type and forest type. No phylogenetic signal was found in the response of bats to habitat disturbance, nor was the response found to be dependent on the type of crop, the age of the secondary forest, or the distance to a conserved forest. These results demonstrate that feeding and the type of forest where the disturbance occurs are important aspects to understand the reduction of animal populations in the face of habitat destruction processes. This has implications on the conservation of species and their function in ecosystems. Highlights ⍰ No phylogenetic signal was found in the abundance of bats in disturbed habitats. ⍰ The abundance of bats in disturbed habitats depends on the trophic guild. ⍰ Forest altitude influences the abundance of bats in disturbed habitats. ⍰ Animal-feeding bats reduced their abundance in disturbed habitats regardless of disturbance type and forest type.


Leprosy is an infectious skin disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which predominantly affects the skin, peripheral nerves and mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity. In spite of today's efficient treatment, leprosy represents a public health problem in some countries of the world. It is estimated that 12 to 15 million patients are currently affected in the world. Leprosy ravaged across Europe, including Croatia, for centuries, so this paper provides a few historical facts on leprosy in Croatia. In 1956, the last case of leprosy was recorded in Blizna, a small village near Trogir, which was considered an endemic region in the Republic of Croatia. Although there is no indigenous leprosy nowadays in Croatia, there is a possibility of the disease re-emergence from tourists or crew members from large vessels, or from the infected persons returning to Croatia from abroad. Therefore, Croatian physicians, especially dermatovenereologists, must be familiar with the basics of the disease; therefore, this article points out the clinical picture, classification and basic principles of pathogenesis and treatment of the disease.


Background: Noise-induced hearing loss [NIHL] was incriminated to be the second most common sensorineural hearing loss, after age-related hearing loss. Objective: This study aimed to investigate noise induced hearing loss among employees of Khartoum international air port. Material and Methods: The study population included sixty adult male employees selected randomly from noisy sections as exposed group. Employees with any middle ear problems, those who received recently drugs that affect hearing, those with congenital hearing problems, and those who were exposed to excessive noise elsewhere in the past were excluded. The control group consisted of forty employees selected randomly from non noisy working places matched for age and sex. Audiometric measurement was done to all participants and environmental noise level was measured by noise dosimeter and sound level meter. Results: The sound level recorded in the airport was greater than the accepted level. The results showed high incidence of NIHL among employees (55%), especially those in most noisy areas and who were not wearing suitable hearing protection devices. Discussion and Recommendations: These findings indicated that sound level in the airport exceeded the accepted level and the incidence of NIHL was high .The employees should wear appropriate hearing protection devices, and the hearing conservation program should be implemented.


This study investigated the effect of stress on cognitive control in task shifting. Subjects shifted between two tasks in an explicit cuing paradigm. Shift costs (i.e., performance decrements on task shifts relative to task repetitions) were measured for a long and a short cue-stimulus interval (CSI). Stress was varied by administering low-stress and high-stress IQ scales to two groups of subjects. In the low-stress group, shift costs were reduced with an increased CSI, a result that typically indicates anticipatory and shift-specific task-set reconfiguration. In the high-stress group, however, shift costs were independent of the CSI. This result is consistent with the idea that stress induces a change in the reconfiguration strategy, possibly to adapt to depleted resources.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the expression of Myosin VI and Disabled-2 (Dab2) in the cochlea of mice at different ages.

METHOD
Forty KM mice were divided into four groups according to age, named as postnatal 2 week (P2w), P5w, P9w, P16month. The localization of protein in the basilar membrane of mice cochlea was detected by immunofluorescence staining and laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). The mRNA expression level of protein in cochlear at different ages was evaluated by real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS18.0 software.

RESULT
Myosin VI and Disabled-2 protein mainly expressed at the apical cytoplasm of hair cells. As for the inner hair cell, Dab2 labeling was abundant especially at the cuticular plate and nearby. Comparing four immunofluorescence staining images of Myosin VI, we found the fluorescence intensity of P2w and P16m were weaker than that of P5w and P9w. After setting P9w as the control group, qRT-PCR revealed that the mRNA expression of MyosinVI and Dab2 in P2w was less than that in the control group (P < 0.01), while no significant difference was found between P5w and the control group, nor between P16m and the control group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Myosin VI and Dab2, two proteins which regulated the clathrin-mediated endocytosis, expressed at hair cells of mice cochlea. In the inner hair cell, this process of endocytosis may be more efficient at the cuticular plate and nearby. The expression level of protein may change in different ages, and this probably leads to a difference of CME, it also may cause a defect of inner hair cells function.


A growing number of small and midsize organizations are using databases for relatively simple functions not requiring the complex, expensive software that vendors typically sell to large companies and government agencies. The smaller organizations are thus increasingly turning to open source databases, which tend to cost less than their proprietary counterparts, such as those sold by IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. According to analyst Paul Kirby of AMR Research, a market analysis firm, a survey of and interviews with 140 IT managers indicated that open source databases will gain widespread acceptance by 2006. The major open source databases include Firebird, MaxDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Sleepycat Software's Berkeley DB.


Allantoin is crucial for plant growth and development as well as adaptations to abiotic stresses, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the physiological indices, transcriptomes, and metabolomes of rice seedlings following salt, allantoin, and salt + allantoin treatments. The results revealed that exogenous allantoin positively affects the salt tolerance by increasing the contents of endogenous allantoin with antioxidant activities, increasing the reactive oxygen species (ROS)–scavenging capacity, and maintaining sodium and potassium homeostasis. The transcriptome analysis detected the upregulated expression genes involved in ion transport and redox regulation as well as the downregulated expression of many salt-induced genes related to transcription and post-transcriptional regulation, carbohydrate metabolism, chromosome remodeling, and cell wall organization after the exogenous allantoin treatment of salt-stressed rice seedlings. Thus, allantoin may mitigate the adverse effects of salt stress on plant growth and development. Furthermore, a global metabolite analysis detected the accumulation of metabolites with antioxidant activities and intermediate products of the allantoin biosynthetic pathway in response to exogenous allantoin, implying allantoin enhances rice salt tolerance by inducing ROS scavenging cascades. These results have clarified the transcript-level and metabolic processes underlying the allantoin-mediated salt tolerance of rice.


Effective strategic management involves the process of formulating and executing the means to create relative perceived value. Such value creation depends on successful balancing of returns to the owners and investment in growth. As industry transitions to the knowledge age, the technology centered firm must realign both the business and technology value chains to assure congruity as the business models change, the organization flattens out and a supply chain metastructure emerges. Using lessons learned from the MATI project (Management of Accelerated Technology Insertion), the means to achieve this are described.


While heavy metal pollutants are becoming more and more serious in urbanization process, it has practical value to determine the source and distribution of pollutants. Based on Kriging interpolation, This paper establishes a model to visually analyze the spatial distribution of heavy metal pollutants area with GS + software. Based on the rule of heavy metal diffusion, the classical Gaussian diffusion model and computer simulation are adopted to simulate diffusion process, and a suspicious pollutants source point is found compared with realistic observed value. The results using the model established shows that it is in accordance with the realistic observation.


Aptamers are in vitro-selected, nucleic acids with unique abilities to bind strongly and specifically to their selective targets (ligands) based on their three-dimensional structures. Target binding is generally associated with a change in aptamer structure, which provides a means of linking many output signals to the binding event. Being synthetic, aptamers are less expensive compared to antibodies. Aptamers are also more easily modified chemically or their sequence changed to optimize properties such target specificity, storability and stability. In this chapter we will discuss the potential benefits of applying aptamers to diagnostics with a focus on infectious disease and the unique challenges posed by aptamers for their successful incorporation into reliable aptasensors. A 2 ′ FY-RNA Motif defines an aptamer for Ebolavirus secreted protein.


Background Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) is considered to be suitable to monitor the efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ)-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (Ref. 1). We have recently revealed that baseline low CDAI predicts the state of remission estimated by CDAI at 1 year in patients with RA treated by TCZ (Ref. 2). Therapeutic strategy of Treat to Target (T2T) states the importance of disease activity at 3 months of the treatments considering the better clinical outcome of RA. Objectives To investigate whether CDAI at 3 months predict the disease activity estimated by CDAI at 1 year in active RA patients at baseline treated by TCZ. Methods The RA patients at Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, who had received 8 mg/kg of TCZ every 4 weeks were consecutively enrolled in this study from April 2008 to March 2011. A total of 110 RA patients were observed for 1 year from the initial infusion of TCZ. Among these 110 patients, we have selected 78 patients whose disease activities at baseline were moderate to high estimated by CDAI and the change of CDAI of these patients was evaluated every 3 months for 1 year through Last Observational Carried Forward (LOCF) method. The associations of CDAI at 3 months with that at 1 year were examined by the Cochran-Armitage test. Results The median age, disease duration, CRP, ESR, and CDAI at entry were 59.6 years old, 11 years, 2.8 mg/dL, 59 mm/hr, and 27.1, respectively. As a whole, the decrement of CDAI was significant at 3 months to 1 year. Most of the patients (forty out of 44: 91%), whose CDAI at 3 months remission or low disease activity, had continued in remission or LDA at 1 year. In contrast, the half of the patients (twelve out of 25: 48%), whose CDAI at 3 months moderate disease activity, was induced in in remission or LDA at 1 year. Furthermore, only the small of the patients (one out of 9: 11%), whose CDAI at 3 months high disease activity, was induced in in remission or LDA at 1 year. The Cochran-Armitage test revealed significant correlations of CDAI at 3 months with that at 1 year (p <0.0001). Figure 1 Conclusions Better clinical outcome of active RA patients treated with TCZ at 1 year can be predicted by the disease activity at 3 months, indicating an importance in consideration of T2T strategy toward these patients. References Kawashiri SY, et al. Disease activity score 28 may overestimate the remission induction of rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with tocilizumab: comparison with the remission by the clinical disease activity index. Mod Rheumatol. 2011;21:365-9. Kawashiri SY, et al. Baseline low Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) predicts the state of remission estimated by Clinical Disease Activity Index and MHAQ at 1 year in tocilizumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients. Clin Exp Rheum. In press. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2670


About 20 % of ruminal microbial N in dairy cows derives from purines and pyrimidines; however, their intermediary metabolism and contribution to the overall N metabolism has sparsely been described. In the present study, the postprandial patterns of net portal-drained viscera (PDV) and hepatic metabolism were assessed to evaluate purine and pyrimidine N in dairy cows. Blood was sampled simultaneously from four veins with eight hourly samples from four multi-catheterised Holstein cows. Quantification of twenty purines and pyrimidines was performed with HPLC–MS/MS, and net fluxes were estimated across the PDV, hepatic tissue and total splanchnic tissue (TSP). Concentration differences between veins of fifteen purine and pyrimidine nucleosides (NS), bases (BS) and degradation products (DP) were different from zero (P≤ 0·05), resulting in the net PDV releases of purine NS (0·33–1·3 mmol/h), purine BS (0·0023–0·018 mmol/h), purine DP (7·0–7·8 mmol/h), pyrimidine NS (0·30–2·8 mmol/h) and pyrimidine DP (0·047–0·77 mmol/h). The hepatic removal of purine and pyrimidine was almost equivalent to the net PDV release, resulting in no net TSP release. One exception was uric acid (7·9 mmol/h) from which a large net TSP release originated from the degradation of purine NS and BS. A small net TSP release of the pyrimidine DP β-alanine and β-aminoisobutyric acid ( − 0·032 to 0·37 mmol/h) demonstrated an outlet of N into the circulating N pool. No effect of time relative to feeding was observed (P>0·05). These data indicate that considerable amounts of N are lost in the dairy cow due to prominent intermediary degradation of purines, but that pyrimidine N is reusable to a larger extent.


This paper presents a comprehensive review of recent advances in micro-additive manufacturing enabled by novel optical methods with an emphasis on photopolymerization-based printing processes. Additive manufacturing, also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has become an important engineering solution to construct customized components or functional devices at low cost. As a green manufacturing technology, 3D printing has the advantages of high energy efficiency, low material consumption, and high precision. The rapid advancement of 3D printing technology has broadened its applications from laboratory research to industrial manufacturing. Generally, 3D objects to be printed are constructed digitally [e.g., via computer-aided design (CAD) programs] by connecting a 3D dot array, where a dot is defined as a voxel through mechanical, electrical, or optical means. The voxel size ranges from a few orders of magnitude of the wavelength of light to the sub-diffraction limit, achieved by material nonlinearity and precise power thresholding. In recent years, extensive research in optical additive manufacturing has led to various breakthroughs in quality, rate, and reproducibility. In this paper, we review various micro-3D printing techniques, including single-photon and two-photon processes, with a focus on innovative optical methods, e.g., ultrafast beam shaping, digital holography, and temporal focusing. We also review and compare recent technological advances in serial and parallel scanning systems from the perspectives of resolution, rate, and repeatability, where the strengths and weaknesses of different methods are discussed for both fundamental and industrial applications.


Cytoglobin was originally discovered from cultured rat hepatic stellate cells by using proteomics analysis in our laboratory in 2001. Cytoglobin is a hexacoordinate globin that is different from the traditional pentacoordinate globins like myoglobin and hemoglobin. Human cytoglobin has about 25% amino acid identity with vertebrate myoglobin and hemoglobin, and 16% with human neuroglobin that is another type of globin present specifically in the nervous system. Besides its function as O2, carbon monoxide, and nitric oxide-binding molecule, cytoglobin exhibits antioxidative properties under hypoxic condition. Recent analyses using clinical samples have indicated that cytoglobin may be a tumor suppressor gene because cytoglobin mRNA expression in cancer tissues is down-regulated through hypermethylation of cytoglobin gene promoter. In this review, the history of cytoglobin research, its current status and future prospects will be discussed.


This paper is focused on the state estimation for the Stochastic Hybrid System (SHS) which is a class of continuous-time stochastic processes with the interacting continuous and discrete dynamics. The state estimation problem considered in this paper involves computing the probability distributions of both the continuous and the discrete state of a SHS with the information given by a series of noisy discrete-time observations from sensors at each sampling time. The numerical state estimation algorithm proposed in this paper is based on a stochastic approximation approach by using a Markov Chain (MC) to approximate the dynamics of the SHS and thus estimates the state of the MC instead of the SHS. The proposed algorithm is validated through a scenario of aircraft tracking for air traffic control.


Oral mucosal disorders are frequently encountered by the practicing dentist. These lesions may represent oral manifestations of dermatologic or systemic disease, reactive lesions, or occult neoplasms. The diagnosis of these conditions is usually based on case-specific historical findings, clinical appearance, and the results of diagnostic procedures. This article will discuss the diagnosis and management of commonly occurring oral mucosal conditions such as candidosis, recurrent aphthous ulceration, herpes virus infection, and lichen planus. This manuscript represents a synthesis of the literature and the management approach utilized by the author in the treatment of his patients. This article is not intended as a comprehensive review of all the subjects discussed.


This paper challenges established visions of EU legal enforcement by testing them in the context of criminal law theory and asks to what extent EU law can be enforced against non-compliant Member States via the use of criminal law. A main theme running through this article is the basic question as to what extent the EU legislator needs criminal law provisions for the enforcement of EU law. The paper does this by looking at the effect of administrative sanctions and their link to criminal law sanctions. In addition, the paper assesses the wider theoretical implications for the enforcement of EU law through criminal law and specifically when the values of the EU and those of the Member States are in conflict. Critically, the paper asks if the EU enforcement toolkit is sufficiently nuanced when applied in a criminal law context and sets out to chart the genesis of EU law enforcement through the use of criminal law theory. This seems particularly relevant to the discussion of enforcement in general, given that the operation of EU law essentially and chiefly concerns the values to be enforced in the national arena.


Introduction. The specialists in the of physical education and the teamwork skills, the problems effectively, to think creatively etc. skills" higher bring the search for pedagogical possibilities including foreign language education potential. and implementation of effective pedagogical conditions for physical training bachelors' "soft skills" development when studying a foreign language within classroom and extracurricular work would resolve the problem. Materials and methods. The experiment on the testing of the pedagogical conditions was held in the Institute of Physical Sport, Health and Safety in the Bunin Yelets State University in 2020–2021. For the research the students of the first and second years were chosen (n=68). The estimation of the students' soft skills development level was carried out on the basis of theoretical analysis, synthesis, pedagogical observation and testing. The statistical significance of the results was approved with the χ 2 Pearson test. Research results. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative data of the experiment showed a significant improvement of physical training bachelors' "soft skills" during foreign language studying through creating special pedagogical conditions (χ 2 = 11,813> χ 20,05 ). Discussion and conclusion. For the first time pedagogical conditions for physical training bachelors' "soft skills" development during foreign language studying were justified and implemented on the basis of system and activity, subject-centered and context approaches. Pedagogical conditions imply the learners' awareness of relevance of communicative, management skills, effective thinking and self-management; structural changes in a foreign language practical lesson, classroom and independent learners' work. Under these conditions study guides can be developed; they can implement innovative pedagogical practices aimed at providing learners' personal characteristics development as a predictor of a graduate's professional success and competitiveness.


A patient who developed paraplegia subsequent to epidural analgesia is presented. The patient was further investigated and it was proved that there was spinal canal stenosis L2-4 level and epidural analgesia had precipitated the paraplegia.