Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been linked to altered gut microbiome; however, evidence from large population-based studies is limited. We compared gut microbiome profiles of 188 male and 233 female NAFLD cases with 571 male and 567 female controls from two longitudinal studies of urban Chinese adults. History of NAFLD was assessed during surveys administered in 2004–2017. Microbiota were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples collected in 2015–2018. Associations of NAFLD with microbiome diversity and composition were evaluated by generalized linear or logistic regression models. Compared with controls, male cases had lower microbial α-diversity, higher abundance of genera Dialister and Streptococcus and Bifidobacterium species, lower abundance of genus Phascolarctobacterium, and lower prevalence of taxa including order RF39 (all p < 0.05). In contrast, female cases had higher α-diversity, higher abundance of genus Butyricimonas and a family of order Clostridiales, lower abundance of Dialister and Bifidobacterium species, and higher prevalence of RF39. Significant NAFLD–sex interactions were found for α-diversity and above taxa (all false discovery rate < 0.1). In conclusion, we observed sex-specific gut microbiome features related to history of NAFLD. Further studies are needed to validate our findings and evaluate the health effects of NAFLD-related gut microbiota.


Management literature on agile software development has largely focused on the relationship between agile methods and behavioral control, particularly the role that control plays in fostering flexibility. Although the focus on control has helpfully illuminated the constraints necessary in agile projects, it has provided only a half-finished portrait of the importance of structure in this approach to software development. This paper deconstructs the customary oppositions between structure and flexibility, control and freedom, by examining the socially-governed and technologically-mediated practices that produce and sustain agility in an organization that is an exemplary practitioner of the agile approach. We find that an imbrication of social convention and material agency provides the kind of structure that nurtures those markers of 'freedom' – flexibility, creativity, improvisation, and adaptability – for which agile is touted.


Recent anthropological theories deal with conceptualizations of culture and space. This article discusses these issues in relation to material from two different periods of fieldwork among villagers and migrants from a community in the Peruvian Andes. It demonstrates that their lives can only be understood when all ties of interdependence between the two groups are included in the analysis. It concludes that in a deterritorialized culture, territory plays a crucial role in people's identity, and living a double life does not imply having a double identity.


Purpose of the work is the detailed study of the attractors of the Hopfield network and their basins of attraction depending on the parameters of the system, the size of the network and the number of stored images. To characterize the basins of attraction we used the method of the so-called stability threshold, i.e., the minimum distance from an attractor to the boundary of its basin of attraction. For useful attractors, this value corresponds to the minimum distortion of the stored image, after which the system is unable to recognize it. In the result of the study it is shown that the dependence of the average stability threshold of useful attractors on the number of stored images can be nonmonotonic, due to which the stability of the network can improve when new images are memorized. An analysis of the stability thresholds allowed to estimate the maximum number of images that the network can store without fatal errors in their recognition. In this case, the stability threshold of useful attractors turns out to be close to the minimum possible value, that is, to unity. To conclude, calculation of the stability thresholds provides important information about the attraction basins of the network attractors.


IN this study the Eastern Cape Midlands are defined as that ",rea including most of the upper and middle sections in the drainage basins of the Sundays and Great Fish rivers, the southern boundary being taken as the Klein Winterberg and Suurberg ranges. This region consists of the magisterial districts of Murraysburg, Aberdeen, Graaff-Reinet, Jansenville, Middelburg, Somerset East, Pearston, Bedford, Cradock, Maraisburg and Molteno (figure 1). The area is of considerable interest in a study of urb",n origin in South Africa since it incorporates some of the oldest inland towns in the country, Graaff-Reinet, for example, dating as far back as 1786, and it reveals some factors that were important in pioneer township formation, Furthermore, although there are som~ complicating relief features, it is a fairly homogeneous area in terms of climate, vegetation and natural resources, and therefore one in which central-place relationships can be studied with a minimum of disrupting influences.


The X-12-ARIMA software of the U.S. Census Bureau is one of the most popular methods for seasonal adjustment; the program x12a.exe is widely used around the world. Some software also provides X-12-ARIMA seasonal adjustments by using x12a.exe as a plug-in or externally. In this article, we illustrate a menu-driven X-12-ARIMA seasonal-adjustment method in Stata. Specifically, the main utilities include how to specify the input file and run the program, how to make a diagnostics table, how to import data, and how to make graphs.


The literature has frequently shown how mothers of children with blindness tend to be highly directive and overprotective with their children. This study investigated whether this maternal interactive style can have negative consequences on the psychological development of persons with acquired blindness, or whether it can be considered functional and appropriate to these individuals' needs during childhood. This aim was pursued by adopting attachment theory as a conceptual reference and administering the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to a sample of participants with early onset blindness. Results suggested that, as long as mothers are loving and are sensitive to their children's needs, their greater physical intervention and control of child exploration can play an important role in helping their severely sight-impaired children develop secure and well-balanced personalities.


Dendritic cells (DCs) are key players in the induction and re-elicitation of T helper (Th) 2 immune responses to allergens. Recent data by our group have shown that different C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) on DCs play a major role in allergen recognition and uptake. Particularly, mannose receptor (MR), through modulation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 signalling pathway, can regulate indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) activity favouring Th2 responses. IDO is the rate limiting enzyme involved in tryptophan (TRP) catabolism and it is well known for its role in modulating immune responses through TRP depletion and generation of immune-regulatory metabolites known as kynurenines (KYN). Interestingly, another CLR named dendritic cell-specific intracellular adhesion molecule 3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) has been suggested to support Th1 responses; however, the mechanisms involved are unknown. Therefore, the main objective of this project was to evaluate the role of CLRs, with focus on MR and DC-SIGN, and TLRs in modulating the IDO pathway in order to understand their involvement in regulating Th2 immune responses. In addition, it was aimed to study how regulation of IDO levels could impact immune responses in order to understand the signalling pathways involved in this process.
The data show that mannosylated allergens can down-regulate TLR4-induced IDO1 and IDO2 expressions as well as IDO activity in human DCs, most likely through binding to the MR. This correlates with data showing increased IDO activity in MRlow-DCs (generated by gene silencing) stimulated with mannan compared with control-DCs (CT-DCs). Conversely, DC-SIGN could exert a differential regulation on IDO levels depending on the antigen's sugar moieties. Mannosylated ligands could up-regulate TLR4-induced IDO activity through DC-SIGN as evidence by a significant reduction in IDO activity in DC-SIGNlow-DCs upon stimulation with mannan compared with CT-DCs. In contrast, DC-SIGN-specific fucosylated ligands, such as Lewis-X (LeX), can down-regulate IDO activity in a TLR4-dependent manner.
It was also found that allergens from diverse source can down-regulate IL-12p70 production by DC, which can further impact T helper cell polarization by reducing IFN-γ production by T cells in autologous co-cultures. Moreover, mannan was also shown to decrease CD86 expression in human DCs, which might impact the IDO pathway, as CD86 is one of the B7 family molecules involved in IDO induction. Furthermore, it was found that the LeX can potentially down-regulate IL-6 production by DCs. In addition, DCs stimulated with LeX and LPS induce lower levels of IFN-γ production by autologous T cells than DCs stimulated with LPS only. This effect was reversed in the presence of KYN, showing that the IDO pathway can regulates T helper cell polarization.
TLR4 signalling and LPS exposure have been shown to play a pivotal role in Th2-mediated inflammation and asthma. In addition, it is known that CLRs can modulate TLR-induced responses in an allergy context. Therefore, we further study the role of the TLR signalling pathway in modulating IDO levels in human DCs. TLR4 engagement on human DCs was shown to induce high levels of both IDO isoforms. DCs primed with LPS induce much higher levels of IDO than single LPS controls, inducing a cellular re-programing. This was characterized by an induction of anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10 and the transcription factor aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR); the last has been previously linked with the IDO pathway in mouse DCs. Intriguingly, TLR9 engagement with synthetic cytosine-phosphate guanosine (CpG) A motifs was able to down-regulate IDO and induce a pro-inflammatory phenotype in human DCs. Future studies should aim at evaluating their implications in immune responses under tolerance and during infection.
Finally, the study was aimed at elucidating the intracellular molecules involved in IDO regulation in human DCs. The analysis was first focused on AhR, a ligand-dependent transcription factor that have been suggested to modulate IDO levels in mouse DCs. It was shown for the first time that TLR4 induction of IDO was dependent on AhR in human DCs. In addition, AhR gene expression as well as AhR activity were reduced in DCs stimulated with mannan and LPS compared with LPS only controls. This data suggest that MR can regulate IDO levels by interfering with AhR expression. Furthermore, it was shown that the NF-κB pathway is key in regulating IDO levels through CLRs and TLRs in human DCs. Particularly, RelB, a member of the non-canonical pathway, expression correlates with the levels of AhR, suggesting that a functional and/or physical association between them might be involved in regulating IDO levels in human DCs. Future studies should aim at elucidating such interactions.
To sum up, this project has shown the pivotal role of CLRs and TLRs in modulating the IDO pathway in human DCs, which can affect DC phenotype and function and impact immune responses. In addition, we have gained some understanding into the molecular mechanisms of IDO modulation which might involve cooperation between different transcription factors such as AhR and RelB. These data give new insights into how glycosylated allergens can induce Th2 immune responses, which can pave the way to develop better therapeutic strategies to fight back allergy related diseases.


The new in situ 4D imaging tool developed on the ID16B beamline at the ESRF brought an unprecedented combination of nanometer pixel size and fast acquisition time at high temperature. The present performances of the technique will be described and illustrated through a few to examples such as the study of high temperature deformation into light alloys. Finally, new possibilities opened by the Extremely Brilliance Source upgrade program at the ESRF will be discussed.


Understanding the distribution of chemical forms of metals within certain water type, and their uptake into biota, is based on the electronic configuration of elements and the empirical classification of electron acceptors (metals) and donors (ligands) to "hard" and "soft" categories (Morgan and Stumm 1991 ; Raspor 1991). The relationship between the chemical properties of elements, their uptake and accumulation, which has implications on detoxification and food chain transfer, will be considered. Classification of trace metals to essential (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Co) and non-essential (Hg, Cd, Ag, Pb) should be done with caution bearing in mind that the former can exert beneficial effects at low concentrations and harmful ones at higher levels. There are numerous biotic and abiotic parameters, which influence metal uptake and accumulation. The abiotic factors (salinity, temperature, light, pH, Eh and ligand concentration) influence the relationship between metal species distribution and organisms. Using the available speciation techniques (this Vol. Chap.I.1 ; Raspor 1980), biological responses can often be predicted from a knowledge of the chemical properties of the metal and the complexation capacity of the surrounding media. In many instances the major features influencing biological responses can be identified despite the difficulties in quantifying the heterogenous mixtures of ligands present in natural waters (Langston and Bryan 1984). Except for Hg, other metals are not biomagnified along the food chain. The reason for that is reduced bioavailability of metals. Concentration factors tend to be the highest in the primary producers and in the organisms at lower trophic levels, for which the dominant source of metals is the uptake from water. Organisms counter the reactivity of metals and their potential toxicity by ligand binding and compartmentalisation. The bound forms include insoluble phosphates and sulphur compounds which are formed and accumulated within membrane-limited vesicles in specialised tissues like the liver and kidney. These metals are also unavailable to predators that consume the tissues because they are not absorbed by the digestive system and therefore are not transferred along the food chain (Nott 1998).


This paper describes a preliminary work carried on to assess the use of Bluetooth technology to transport MIDI data streams. The proposed approach is based on Bluetooth ACL links. Although the music field motivated the work, the results are significant for the use of Bluetooth ACL links in time critical applications such as industrial automation. In the paper, a test-bed is described and several timing measures are presented and discussed. The conclusion is that the ACL links are suited for transmitting single note MIDI commands.


Recent observations made by the Kepler space mission, combined with statistical analysis of existing ground and space-based data, have shown that planets somewhat bigger than the Earth—but substantially smaller than Jupiter—are extremely common in our Galaxy (1⇓⇓–4). These systems are typically found to be tightly packed, nearly coplanar, and have nearly circular orbits. Furthermore, these planets tend to have very short-period orbits, ranging from days to months. In contrast, our innermost planet, Mercury, orbits the Sun once every 88 d. Thus, taken at face value, these observations imply that the architecture of our Solar System is unique compared with the galactic population. In other words, why are there no short-period planets in our Solar System? In PNAS, Batygin and Laughlin (5) demonstrate that Jupiter is to blame. In particular, Jupiter's inward-followed-by-outward migration during the Solar System's early evolution could have driven a collisional cascade that would grind planetesimals to smaller size. Gas drag, which dominates these small planetesimals, may then have driven preexisting short-period planets into the Sun. Thus, Batygin and Laughlin (5) suggest that the terrestrial planets in our Solar System are in fact "second-generation planets," which formed after the first short-period planets were destroyed, in mass-dispersed, gas-depleted conditions (see Fig. 1 for the description of the scenario). The developed model suggests that systems with short-period Earth and super-Earth planets are anticorrelated with the existence of giant planets within the same system.


In this paper, we propose an improved vehicle re-identification method based on the combination between the AlignedReID and the Stochastic Weight Averaging (SWA). AlignedReID extracts a global feature and local features of a vehicle's image and performs joint learning. Local automatic alignment is achieved by computing the shortest path between the two sets of local features, so that global feature learning can benefit from local feature learning. By running an optimizer with a high constant learning rate, the SWA averages the weight of the model to ensure that a better weight combination can be found. Our improved method surpasses the most advanced methods on the VehicleID dataset and VeRi-776 dataset. In order to better solve the task of vehicle re-identification in residential area, we have made the Oeasy-Parking dataset and experimented with our methods, and achieved good results.


The Voltage Controlled Oscillator is replaced by Digitally Controlled Oscillator in the digital Phase Locked Loop systems. The Digitally Controlled Oscillator has several differences and limitations which require further study in order to compare the different circuit variations and to choose the most appropriate circuit for the application. The frequency range, frequency step and the frequency change delay are examined in this paper. The results from the testing of the different circuit variations are compared and represented in graphical form. The useful range of working frequencies is discussed.


Sparse language vectors from linguistic typology databases and learned embeddings from tasks like multilingual machine translation have been investigated in isolation, without analysing how they could benefit from each other's language characterisation. We propose to fuse both views using singular vector canonical correlation analysis and study what kind of information is induced from each source. By inferring typological features and language phylogenies, we observe that our representations embed typology and strengthen correlations with language relationships. We then take advantage of our multi-view language vector space for multilingual machine translation, where we achieve competitive overall translation accuracy in tasks that require information about language similarities, such as language clustering and ranking candidates for multilingual transfer. With our method, we can easily project and assess new languages without expensive retraining of massive multilingual or ranking models, which are major disadvantages of related approaches.


Dry storage casks are used to store spent nuclear fuel after removal from the reactor spent fuel pool. Even prior to the Fukushima earthquake of March 2011, dry storage of spent fuel was receiving increased attention as many reactor spent fuel pools near their capacity.Many different types of cask designs are used, and one representative design is the TN-24P spent fuel cask, a non-ventilated steel cask with a shielded exterior shell and lid. The cask is typically filled with an inert gas such as helium, argon or nitrogen. In this paper, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculation results for the thermal performance of the TN-24P cask using the commercial CFD software STAR-CCM+ are presented. Initial calculations employ a common approach of treating the fuel assemblies as conducting porous media with calibrated volume-averaged properties, and comparison to existing measured temperature data shows good agreement.One of the fuel assemblies is then replaced with a more accurate representation that includes the full geometric detail of the fuel rods, guide tubes, spacer grids and end fittings (flow nozzles), and the results shown are consistent with the initial analysis, but without the need for the assumptions inherent in the porous media approach. This hybrid modeling approach also permits the direct determination of important results, such as the precise location of peak fuel cladding temperatures (PCTs), which is not possible using the more traditional porous media approach.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Both the medial temporal lobe and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have been implicated in learning and memory. However, it has been difficult to ascertain the degree to which the two structures are dependent on each other or interact in subserving these cognitive functions. To investigate this question directly, we prepared two group of monkeys. First, the contralateral frontal-hippocampal split group (CFHS) received a unilateral lesion of the hippocampus and surrounding posterior parahippocampal cortices (H +), combined with a contralateral lesion of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plus transection of the corpus callosum and anterior commissure. This preparation functionally "disconnects" the remaining intact H + from the sole intact DLPFC in the opposite hemisphere. As a surgical control group, a second set of animals, the ipsilateral frontal-hippocampal split group, was prepared with a unilateral lesion of the DLPFC and an ipsilateral H + lesion together plus transection of the corpus callosum and anterior commissure. This preparation matches the locus and extent of damage in the cross-lesion group but allows the intact H + and intact DLPFC to interact ipsilaterally. Following recovery from surgery, all animals were then tested on the delayed nonmatching to sample task (DNMS), a test of recognition memory. The crossed-lesion split-brain group (CFHS) was markedly impaired on DNMS in both acquisition (rule learning) and performance over delays (recognition memory). The results provide evidence of a functionally dependent interaction between the medial temporal lobe and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in learning and memory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


The regulation of homologous recombination (HR) by p53 has been currently associated with its non-transactivating function; now the transcriptional repression of the Rad51 gene by p53 has been elucidated. This extra control by p53 involves the transcriptional down-regulation of Rad51 protein, which in turn accounts for the reduction of functional Rad51 foci. Down regulation of Rad51 protein might be relevant, considering that Rad51 is a rate-limiting factor in HR. Moreover, impaired Rad51-repression by p53 mutant proteins may contribute to malignant transformation.


Composite tuff units up to 17 m thick are exposed in strata of the Summit Creek Formation, south of Fort Norman, Northwest Territories. The age of the tuffs is bracketed between late Maastrichtian and Early Paleocene based on palynology. The geometry of the tuff beds, their consistently fine grain size (maximum particle size is 0.25 mm), their composition (less than 5% dense juvenile ash particles), and burial of plants in growth position suggest deposition by fallout from a high-altitude column of ash. Between 100 and 300 eruption–deposition events are preserved in the sequence.The nearest known volcanic source vents are located in central Yukon, about 600 km from the present exposures. Estimates of dispersal area and of volume of single ash layers and the degree of particle fragmentation compare favourably with similar parameters that have been determined from geologically recent plinian and ultraplinian eruptions.


Due to the popularity of artificial intelligence (AI), more and more AI software products are developed. Because of the lack of specialized AI knowledge, domain data and computational resource, developers are in great need of transfer learning-based AI product development. Such need is satisfied by model zoos and stores, where pretrained deep learning (DL) assets are shared. By integrating the DL assets, developers can give their product AI ability. But the activity behind this simple sentence can be non-trivial. Like traditional software products, AI products will also go through release engineering (RE) process, which is part of software development and includes steps like integration, testing, system building and deployment. Considering RE for transfer learning based AI product development is very helpful to make the products better. But the differences between AI products and traditional software products make the concerns and required efforts hard to be figured out and estimated. Unfortunately, currently few research focus has been put on RE for AI products. This research tries to fill the gap. First, we do the investigation. We look into the deployment scenarios supported by TensorFlow and PyTorch, the top 2 widely used DL frameworks. We also look into 2 model zoos, TFHub (AIHub TensorFlow module) and PyTorch Hub where DL assets developed by TensorFlow and PyTorch are shared. The family phenomenon and version issue on model zoos are investigated. Second, we figured out the concerns and efforts during the RE for AI products. We propose a best practice for the development of transfer learning-based AI products and a case study is conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed practice. This research can be helpful for AI product developers in their development activities.


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly infiltrative and invasive form of brain tumor, and often features a combination of tumor suppressor gene inactivation and multiple oncogene overactivation. The TAM (Tyro3, Axl, Mer) subfamily of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are recognized as playing prominent roles in tumorigenesis, including in gliomas, in particular in regulation of cell migration, invasion, survival and chemoresistance. In addition to signaling via homodimeric activation of RTKs, diversity in signaling may be achieved by cross-talk amongst different RTK types, including heterodimerization. In lung and breast cancers, Axl has been shown to modulate acquired resistance to EGFR inhibitors. However, the potential for RTK signaling cross-talk with TAMs in glioma is unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine such novel, unconventional activation mechanisms for the TAMs in human GBM cells. Two human GBM-derived cell lines that overexpress TAMs were cultured and studied in parallel: SNB-19 and UP007. Western blot was used to detect protein expression and phosphorylation. Both cell lines showed distinct responses in terms of Axl signaling and its inhibition. Stimulation of SNB-19 cells with the natural TAM ligand Gas6 led to concentration-dependent increases in Axl phosphorylation (threefold) and Akt kinase activation further downstream (twofold) over 60 min. However, Gas6 did not stimulate Axl phosphorylation in UP007 cells but did cause a threefold increase in Akt phosphorylation. Tyro3 RTK was not affected by Gas6 in either cell line. In both cell lines, incubation with the Axl-specific small molecule inhibitor BGB324 led to a blockade of not only basal Axl activity, but also Tyro3 phosphorylation, suggesting that Tyro3 is activated through a heterodimeric interaction with Axl. This interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation of Axl-Tyro3 complexes from GBM cell lysates. In addition, GBM cells stimulated with the growth factor EGF resulted in phosphorylation of Axl, in addition to EGFR. Furthermore, this effect was abolished by preincubation with the EGF-specific inhibitor gefitinib but not the Axl-specific inhibitor BGB324, further supporting the EGFR-Axl functional interaction. Conversely, the Axl-specific inhibitor had no effect on activation of EGFR by EGF, which was abolished by gefitinib. In addition, stimulation of cells with EGF also stimulated Axl kinase activity. In conclusion, these data show for the first time, heteroactivation to occur of (i) Axl via EGFR and (ii) Tyro3 via Axl, in human GBM cells. The exact mechanism and biological functions occurring through these new receptor associations are currently being investigated. Further studies will reveal the divergence of downstream signalling pathways to emanate from TAMs activated in different ways, and how these regulate major functional processes involved in glioma progression, such as migration and invasion. Citation Format: Mikaella Vouri, Qian An, Geoffrey J. Pilkington, Sassan Hafizi. Heteroactivation amongst TAM receptor tyrosine kinases and via EGFR in human glioma cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 119. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-119


In the title co-crystal, 2C7H4ClNO4·C4H4N2, the pyrazine molecule is located on an inversion centre, so that the asymmetric unit consists of one molecule of 4-chloro-2-nitrobenzoic acid and a half-molecule of pyrazine. The components are connected by O—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a 2:1 unit. In the hydrogen-bonded unit, the dihedral angle between the pyrazine ring and the benzene ring of the benzoic acid is 16.55 (4)°. The units are linked by intermolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a sheet structure parallel to (04). A C—H⋯O hydrogen-bond linkage is also observed between these sheets.


Trimethoprim sulfamethoxasole has been recommended for the treatment of acute otitis media. In this double tympanocentesis study, children aged 3 to 48 months with acute otitis media received trimethoprim sulfamethoxasole twice daily (40 mg/kg/d) for 10 days. All children had a baseline tympanocentesis and in culture-positive children, tympanocentesis was repeated at the on-therapy visit. Of 89 children enrolled, 51 (57%) were clinically and bacteriologically evaluable. Bacteriologic eradication was achieved in 80% (42 of 52) of children, and overall clinical response at the end of therapy was 78%. Clinical success was 69% for culture-positive children versus 91% for culture-negative children at baseline tympanocentesis (P = 0.03). In this study, trimethoprim sulfamethoxasole clinical response was unsatisfactory, especially among culture-′positive children.


In response to calling for a sustainable and carbon-neutral economy, the conversion of CO2 to useful chemicals using the solar energy is a potential tactic to relieve the global energy dilemma and environmental issues, which has been a hot topic so far. Recently, the lead halide perovskites as novel photocatalysts have attracted researchers' interests. However, they generally encounter poor stability and lead toxicity, restricting their large-scale practical applications. Here, the lead-free Cs2TeX6 (X = Cl, Cl0.5Br0.5, Br, Br0.5I0.5, and I) perovskite microcrystals with strong stability were prepared and used to realize the CO2 photocatalytic reduction efficiently. The prepared Cs2TeBr6 microcrystals delivered stronger photocatalytic ability than many previously reported photocatalysts, with the CO and CH4 yields of 308.63 and 60.42 μmolg-1, respectively, under 3 h of illumination. The presented strategy in our work provides new ideas of designing and preparing efficient and practical CO2 reduction photocatalysts based on nonleaded and high-stability halide perovskites.


The interface between ecology and esthetics does not only exist but is often vaster than thought at first sight. The implications of one for the other are diverse and often subtle, but both dimensions share a link that is as elusive as it is significant because of its influence on human behavior and on the landscape itself. Therefore, it is increasingly viewed as one of the aspects in the complex human–nature reality that should receive serious consideration to better manage the landscape. However, this relationship can be approached in different ways, and each of these perspectives will shape certain outcomes and different ways of intervening in the landscape. This article presents a generic framework of the models of analysis and intervention in the landscape from the point of view of how they address the ecological and esthetic component, with the aim of defining the limits in which each one moves, the differentiating nuances, and the repercussions they can have on the landscape. Likewise, the strategy that would best incorporate a more effective and meaningful relationship between ecology and esthetics in landscape planning is suggested.


Lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a progressive condition that exists along a continuum of pathologic processes. The disease starts as desiccation of the nucleus pulposus, to annular tearing, diffuse disc bulging, and disc space collapse, the degenerative process can occur over the course of decades, culminating in substantial debilitation. Clinically DDD presents with back pain and/or radiculopathy, can limit work and productivity. Additionally, the cost of treating this condition is especially high, and billions of dollars are spent on managing degenerative spinal processes annually. In this review, the main focus is on the recent advances in studies on the most extensively examined risk factors and genetic factors associated with DDD in humans. A number of genetic defects have been correlated with structural and functional changes within the intervertebral disc (IVD), which may compromise the disc's mechanical properties and metabolic activities. These studies have begun to shed light on the molecular basis of DDD, suggesting that genetic factors are important contributors to the onset and progression of IDD. By continuing to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of DDD, specific early diagnosis and more effective treatments for this disabling disease may be possible in the future.


Chapter 1: Introduction to Differential Equations Differential Equation Models. The Derivative. Integration. Chapter 2: First-Order Equations Differential Equations and Solutions. Solutions to Separable Equations. Models of Motion. Linear Equations. Mixing Problems. Exact Differential Equations. Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions. Dependence of Solutions on Initial Conditions. Autonomous Equations and Stability. Project 2.10 The Daredevil Skydiver. Chapter 3: Modeling and Applications Modeling Population Growth. Models and the Real World. Personal Finance. Electrical Circuits. Project 3.5 The Spruce Budworm. Project 3.6 Social Security, Now or Later. Chapter 4: Second-Order Equations Definitions and Examples. Second-Order Equations and Systems. Linear, Homogeneous Equations with Constant Coefficients. Harmonic Motion. Inhomogeneous Equations the Method of Undetermined Coefficients. Variation of Parameters. Forced Harmonic Motion. Project 4.8 Nonlinear Oscillators. Chapter 5: The Laplace Transform The Definition of the Laplace Transform. Basic Properties of the Laplace Transform 241. The Inverse Laplace Transform Using the Laplace Transform to Solve Differential Equations. Discontinuous Forcing Terms. The Delta Function. Convolutions. Summary. Project 5.9 Forced Harmonic Oscillators. Chapter 6: Numerical Methods Euler's Method. Runge-Kutta Methods. Numerical Error Comparisons. Practical Use of Solvers. A Cautionary Tale. Project 6.6 Numerical Error Comparison. Chapter 7: Matrix Algebra Vectors and Matrices. Systems of Linear Equations with Two or Three Variables. Solving Systems of Equations. Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Systems. Bases of a subspace. Square Matrices. Determinants. Chapter 8: An Introduction to Systems Definitions and Examples. Geometric Interpretation of Solutions. Qualitative Analysis. Linear Systems. Properties of Linear Systems. Project 8.6 Long-Term Behavior of Solutions. Chapter 9: Linear Systems with Constant Coefficients Overview of the Technique. Planar Systems. Phase Plane Portraits. The Trace-Determinant Plane. Higher Dimensional Systems. The Exponential of a Matrix. Qualitative Analysis of Linear Systems. Higher-Order Linear Equations. Inhomogeneous Linear Systems. Project 9.10 Phase Plane Portraits. Project 9.11 Oscillations of Linear Molecules. Chapter 10: Nonlinear Systems The Linearization of a Nonlinear System. Long-Term Behavior of Solutions. Invariant Sets and the Use of Nullclines. Long-Term Behavior of Solutions to Planar Systems. Conserved Quantities. Nonlinear Mechanics. The Method of Lyapunov. Predator-Prey Systems. Project 10.9 Human Immune Response to Infectious Disease. Project 10.10 Analysis of Competing Species. Chapter 11: Series Solutions to Differential Equations Review of Power Series. Series Solutions Near Ordinary Points. Legendre's Equation. Types of Singular Points-Euler's Equation. Series Solutions Near Regular Singular Points. Series Solutions Near Regular Singular Points - the General Case. Bessel's Equation and Bessel Functions Chapter 12: Fourier Series Computation of Fourier Series. Convergence of Fourier Series. Fourier Cosine and Sine Series. The Complex Form of a Fourier Series. The Discrete Fourier Transform and the FFT. Chapter 13: Partial Differential Equations Derivation of the Heat Equation. Separation of Variables for the Heat Equation. The Wave Equation. Laplace's Equation. Laplace's Equation on a Disk. Sturm Liouville Problems. Orthogonality and Generalized Fourier Series. Temperature in a Ball-Legendre Polynomials. Time Dependent PDEs in Higher Dimension. Domains with Circular Symmetry-Bessel Functions. Appendix: Complex Numbers and Matrices Index


Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play critical roles in cell signaling pathways, but identification of unknown PTPs for a given substrate in live cells remain technically challenging. Here, we synthesized a series of tyrosine-based irreversible PTP inhibitors and characterized by site-specific encoding on substrate proteins in cells with an expanded genetic code. By fine-tuning the chemical reactivity, we identified optimal active amino acid probes to covalently cross-link a PTP and its substrate both in vitro and in mammalian cells. Using HER2 as an example, we provide first direct evidence of HER2 Y1023 and SHP2 cross-linking in situ in living human cells. Moreover, proteomic analysis using our approach identified PTP1B as a novel phosphatase for HER2 that specifically dephosphorylated pY1221 position, which may shed light on the puzzle of PTP1B's role in HER2 positive breast cancer. This novel method provides a useful tool for dissecting tyrosine phosphoregulation in living cells.


Abstract The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and associated clinical signs in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in the first 12-24 h postpartum. A total of 202 sows of different parity and different genetic lines from 5 pig farms in RM were included in the study. The sows and their litters were clinically examined 12-24 hours after farrowing. Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome was detected in 23.3% of all clinically examined sows, while prevalence between farms ranged from 14.8% to 38.1%. Altered piglet's behavior was the most frequent clinical pattern observed in 68.1% of the PDS–affected (PDSA) sows. Regarding the clinical signs in PDSA sows detected among farms, significant differences were observed in the altered piglet's behavior (p<0.05) and hypogalactia (p<0.05). Endometritis was more often detected in older sows (90%) compared to endometritis in younger animals (44.4%). In addition, fever was also more frequently diagnosed in higher parity (≥3 parity) sows (55.0%) in contrast to other PDSA sows (22.2%). This study has demonstrated the presence of PDS in farmed sows in RM. High frequency of altered piglet's behavior found in this study could be an useful indicator for early detection of lactation problems in sows. Frequent pathological vaginal discharge in older sows indicates that endometritis plays an important role in the clinical manifestation of PDS. Further investigations should be conducted in order to identify specific risk factors associated with clinical PDS in farmed sows in RM.


The efficiency and materials cost of a linear oscillatory actuator (LOA) for a diaphragm blower depends on the design of magnetic circuit. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the magnetic circuit in order to develop a high efficiency and low price LOA by employing the magnetic field analysis method and an optimization method. In this paper, the 3-D multi-objective optimization of LOA with large magnetic force and small magnet volume is carried out using the combined 3-D finite element method (FEM), evolution strategy (ES), and particle swarm optimization (PSO).


Some asymptotic expansions non necessarily related to the central limit theorem are discussed. After observing that the smoothing inequality of Esseen implies the proximity, in the Kolmogorov distance sense, of the distributions of the random variables of two random sequences satisfying a sort of general asymptotic relation, two instances of this observation are presented. A flrst example, partially motivated by the the statistical theory of high precision measurements, is given by a uniform asymptotic approximation to (g(X + "n))n2IN, where g is some smooth function, X is a random variable having a moment and a bounded density and ("n)n2I is a sequence going to inflnity; the multivariate case as well as the proofs and a complete set of references will be published elsewhere. We next present a second class of examples given by a randomization of the interesting parameter in some classical asymptotic formulas, namely, a generic Laplace's type integral, by the sequence ("nX)n2I, X being a Gamma distributed random variable. Finally, a simulation study of this last example is presented in order to stress the quality of asymptotic approximations proposed.


With epidemiological transition over years, childhood injury appeared as a leading cause for both morbidity and mortality among Bangladeshi children. 125 kids died each day from injury in the country; drowning, road traffic injury, electrocution and falls are the leading causes (BHIS, 2016). With an objective to prevent childhood injury, Sesame Workshop Bangladesh which produces the local version of Sesame Street (Sisimpur) in Bangladesh is implementing a project titled 'Play Safe with Sisimpur' from 2016 to 2018. Based on a comprehensive injury prevention curriculum developed with extensive support from Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh, Sesame Workshop Bangladesh developed Sesame Street standard audio-visual and print content in the areas of Water Safety, Falls, Burn, Road Traffic Injury, Household Hazards, Animal Injuries, and Electrocution and Machine Injuries. This powerful audio-visual content was intergraded in popular Sisimpur show, which is watched by approximately 10 million children yearly. In addition, the outreach component integrated the content in co-curricular classes of primary schools; trained teachers on how to use those materials. It also employed a child-to-child and adult-to-adult mentorship model with 4500 trained mentors. Besides daily activities, a weekly edutainment session was organized at schools and communities. D3 System, Inc. a USA based research organization is conducting independent evaluation research to measure the impact of the project. Anecdotal change stories from the field showed that many kids have now clear understanding about critical injury prevention and pre-hospital care messages such as stop-drop-roll for flammable fire; pour tap water for burn; looking at right-left-right sides before crossing road; not to jump into water while seeing other kids falling into water. After receiving mentor training, a ten-year-old mentor saw a younger kid to fall in a pond and she called an adult instead of jumping in; eventually, the kid survived after taking him to hospital.


The super-resolution microscopy is widely used in biocell science for sub bio cell imaging through fluorescent labeling. There are so many new optical coating devices used in the super-resolution imaging system. In this talk, we would like to review the applications of optical coatings in dfferent nanoscopy.


The functionalization of surfaces with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is an effective means of imparting resistance to the adsorption of proteins and the attachment and growth of cells, properties that are critical for many biomedical applications. In this work, a new hyperthermal hydrogen induced cross-linking (HHIC) method was explored as a simple one-step approach for attaching PEO to surfaces through the selective cleavage of C-H bonds and subsequent cross-linking of the resulting carbon radicals. In order to study the effects of the process on the polymer, PEO-coated silicon wafers were prepared and the effects of different treatment times were investigated. Subsequently, using an optimized treatment time and a modified butyl polymer with increased affinity for PEO, the technique was applied to butyl rubber surfaces. All of the treated surfaces exhibited significantly reduced protein adsorption and cell growth relative to control surfaces and compared favorably with surfaces that were functionalized with PEO using conventional chemical methods. Thus HHIC is a simple and effective means of attaching PEO to non-functional polymer surfaces.


.  The need to study the current state of cenotic populations of rare plant species in nature is not in doubt for the conservation of floristic and phytocenotic diversity at the regional and world levels. The purpose of our study is to study the current state of the cenotic populations of Rare in the Middle Volga basin  Hedysarum grandiflorum  Pall. To characterize the ontogenetic structure of the cenopopulations, generally accepted demographic indicators were used: the recovery index (the ratio of growth to the generative fraction is calculated), the replacement index (the ratio of growth and the sum of generative and post-regenerative fractions), and the aging index (post-generative to the adult part of the cenotic populations). The population estimation was carried out by the criterion "delta-omega". A relatively narrow range of ecological and phytocoenotic growth conditions is characteristic of the species, for the most part a patient type of life strategy. Among the limiting factors for the development of populations of environmental factors are their location at the border of the area, uncontrolled grazing in areas, excessive recreation of territories and steppe fires (natural origin and pala) in phytocenoses with the participation of a penny, career development of limestone and Cretaceous slopes, and construction debris, the appearance of dirt roads and the construction of various objects in the points of growth of the model species. The main ways of ontogenesis of the species are identified – normal, accelerated and delayed, breaks in the development of individuals, their rejuvenation and the manifestation of quasisenity were noted. The majority of  H. grandiflorum  develop at a normal and accelerated rate. The main indicator for determining the current state of populations and their loci is the ontogenetic structure. As an example, information on the ontogenetic composition of some cenopopulations of  H. grandiflorum  at the Chubovskaya Krasnaya Gorka (High Samara Zavolzhye, Russia) is given. Populations are characterized by the predominance of generative individuals. Of the registered cenopopulations, 11 is characterized as mature, 9 – transitional, 2 – ripening, 1 – young. Aggregation is characteristic of the spatial structure of  H. grandiflorum .


Advanced endometrial cancer (EC) often recurs and has a poor prognosis. Various serum markers have been used for EC but their usefulness as biomarkers is still unclear; therefore, identifying new biomarkers is important. The present study aimed to investigate whether the tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI2) level was elevated in the preoperative serum of patients with EC and if it may be a prognostic factor. The present retrospective study included 207 patients who had a confirmed pathological diagnosis of EC and received surgical therapy as the initial treatment between January 2011 and December 2017. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival (OS) rates were 73.3 and 83.7%, respectively. The cut-off value for predicting OS for TFPI2 level was 177 pg/ml as determined from the receiver operating characteristic curve. A TFPI2 value ≥177 pg/ml was significantly associated with age ≥65 years (P<0.001), diabetes (P=0.035), stage (P<0.001), myometrial invasion (P<0.001), lymphovascular invasion (P=0.004), lymph node metastasis (P=0.010), distant metastasis (P<0.001), cancer antigen (CA) 125 ≥36 U/ml (P<0.001) and CA 19-9 ≥38 U/ml (P<0.001). In multivariate analysis, high-grade carcinoma [hazard ratio (HR), 2.439; P=0.041], lymph node metastasis (HR, 2.116; P=0.038), distant metastasis (HR, 3.604; P=0.009) and TFPI2 level ≥177 pg/ml (HR, 2.42; P=0.043) were significant prognostic factors affecting OS in patients with EC. These results suggest that the preoperative serum TFPI2 level, along with its histological type, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, was a prognostic factor for OS in patients with endometrial cancer.


Leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, plays an essential role in the maintenance of normal body weight and energy expenditure, as well as glucose homeostasis. Indeed, leptin-deficient ob/ob mice are obese with profound hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and often hyperglycemia. Interestingly, low doses of exogenous leptin can reverse the hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia in these animals without altering body weight. The hyperinsulinemia in ob/ob mice may result directly from the absence of leptin signaling in pancreatic β-cells and, in turn, contribute to both obesity and insulin resistance. Here, we acutely attenuated endogenous leptin signaling in normal mice with a polyethylene glycol (PEG)ylated mouse leptin antagonist (PEG-MLA) to determine the contribution of leptin signaling in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. PEG-MLA was either injected or continuously administered via osmotic minipumps for several days, and various metabolic parameters were assessed. PEG-MLA-treated mice had increased fasting and glucose-stimulated plasma insulin levels, decreased whole-body insulin sensitivity, elevated hepatic glucose production, and impaired insulin-mediated suppression of hepatic glucose production. Moreover, PEG-MLA treatment resulted in increased food intake and increased respiratory quotient without significantly altering energy expenditure or body composition as assessed by the lean:lipid ratio. Our findings indicate that alterations in insulin sensitivity occur before changes in the lean:lipid ratio and energy expenditure during the acute disruption of endogenous leptin signaling.


Extraction of text areas is a necessary first step for taking a complex document image for diameter recognition task. In digital libraries, such OCR'ed text facilitates access to the image of document page through keyword search. Gabor filters, known to be simulating certain characteristics of the human visual system (HVS), have been employed for this task by a large number of scientists, in scanned document images. Adapting such a scheme for camera based document images is a relatively new approach. Moreover, design of the appropriate filters to separate text areas, which are assumed to be rich in high frequency components, from nontext areas is a difficult task. The difficulty increases if the clutter is also rich in high frequency components. Other reported works, on separating text from nontext areas, have used geometrical/structural information like shape and size of the regions in binarized document images. In this work, we have used a combination of the above mentioned approaches for the purpose. We have used connected component analysis (CCA), in binarized images, to segment nontext areas based on the size information of the connected regions. A Gabor function based filter bank is used to separate the text and the nontext areas of comparable size. The technique is shown to work efficiently on different kinds of scanned document images, camera captured document images and sometimes on scenic images.


The relevance of the study is due to a set of problems that have arisen in the educational environment of the University under the influence of technological breakthrough in the life activity of modern civilization. The fundamental reasons for the transformation of the higher education system in all its segments are mainly determined by economic and technological factors. Economic factors of disruptive technologies are carried out at the expense of significant acceleration of production and increase of profit, quality of goods and services. In the context of technological factors, models of transformation of traditional educational reality with the help of virtual reality tools are used. Together, these processes creatively destroy the traditional norms and rules, values and educational reality of the University. To substantiate the theoretical and practical significance of constructing a model of the new educational reality of the University, corresponding to the principles of disruptive technologies, pedagogical modeling is used as a leading research method. The article reveals the features of disruptive technologies' development, important for the transformation of the educational reality of the University; the priorities of disruptive technologies' implementation in the virtual educational reality of the University. The structure and content of disruptive technologies' virtual model in the construction of a new educational reality of the University. The effectiveness of the structure and content of disruptive technologies' virtual model in the construction of a new educational reality of the University is proved in the process of experimental work. The materials of the article have practical application and can be useful in the development and implementation of various techniques and practices in virtual services and in the educational process. They are recommended for teachers and students of the University.


Vitamin-D receptor (VDR) mRNA is overexpressed in neuroblastoma and carcinomas of lung, pancreas, and ovaries and predicts poor prognoses. VDR antagonists may be able to inhibit tumors that overexpress VDR. However, the current antagonists are arduous to synthesize and are only partial antagonists, limiting their use. Here, we show that the VDR antagonist MeTC7 (5), which can be synthesized from 7-dehydrocholesterol (6) in two steps, inhibits VDR selectively, suppresses the viability of cancer cell-lines, and reduces the growth of the spontaneous transgenic TH-MYCN neuroblastoma and xenografts in vivo. The VDR selectivity of 5 against RXRα and PPAR-γ was confirmed, and docking studies using VDR-LBD indicated that 5 induces major changes in the binding motifs, which potentially result in VDR antagonistic effects. These data highlight the therapeutic benefits of targeting VDR for the treatment of malignancies and demonstrate the creation of selective VDR antagonists that are easy to synthesize.


Studying non-neutral plasma is a long and established field however the majority of these studies utilized cylindrical traps. The newly constructed Lawrence Non-Neutral Torus (LNT) II apparatus will study non-neutral plasmas in toroidal geometry. The LNT II features an improved toroidal magnetic field magnitude (~1 kG) and base vacuum pressure (<10−9Torr) from the previous apparatus. A segmented Au-plated Al electrode shell contributes to the reduction in field asymmetries and enables enhanced diagnostics. Additionally, the electron source is located on a retractable bellows for study of confinement dynamics in a complete torus. Confinement times on the order of 1 second would represent more than an order of magnitude improvement over measurements made with the previous apparatus.


This article reports on the experience of nurses who provided nursing care to a woman who had recently immigrated to Taiwan from Mainland China. The woman suffered from chronic lymphedema, and had previously received surgical treatment for the condition. The period of nursing care ran from June 10th through September 9th, 2008. Nursing care experience focused on the two care issues of anxiety and health seeking behavior. During the nursing process, we expressed empathy, encouraged the patient to express her feelings, and provided disease-related information. We successfully resolved the patient's anxiety problem. The patient learned to use distraction to help relieve pain. The patient also participated in a rehabilitation program to improve her blood circulation. We tracked the patient's rehabilitation progress through e-mail correspondence. We hope that this complete nursing experience can serve as reference in caring for patients facing similar problems in the future.


The ability of cloud computing to provide almost unlimited storage, backup and recovery, and quick deployment contributes to its widespread attention and implementation. Cloud computing has also become an attractive choice for mobile users as well. Due to limited features of mobile devices such as power scarcity and inability to cater computation intensive tasks, selected computation needs to be outsourced to the resourceful cloud servers. However, there are many challenges which need to be addressed in computation offloading for mobile cloud computing such as communication cost, connectivity maintenance and incurred latency. This paper presents taxonomy of the computation offloading approaches which aim to address the challenges. The taxonomy provides guidelines to identify research scopes in computation offloading for mobile cloud computing. We also outline directions and anticipated trends for future research.


[The purpose of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the origin and development of dietary regulations in Mesopotamia. The sources at our disposal bear witness to an intentional use of food and drink in medical and religious context as vehicles of sustenance and symbols used to express affiliation to a closed social group. Regulations were temporary, concerned a specific social group or individual, were effective at a particular time of the year, and sometimes affected the technique of preparation of food. Their reasons were different: among others, purity issues, self-imposed sobriety connected with ethical values, medical concerns.]


The purpose of this study is to obtain a deeper understanding of how the media frames the recent overtourism phenomenon and to theorize the impacts of such framing on policy making and mitigation by using framing theory. We conducted a content analysis of 85 media articles to compare the negative impacts of overtourism across destination types. The results revealed media reports of critical environmental impacts at national parks, beach destinations, and archaeological sites; high socioeconomic impacts at archaeological sites, island destinations, and urban destinations; and high infrastructural impacts at national parks, archaeological sites, and island destinations. Differences in the severity of impacts by destination type have implications for destination planning and management frameworks. We also used Entman's classification of frames to analyze the media's portrayal of the phenomenon. Results revealed that the media overemphasizes redefining overtourism and fails to cover a range of possible solutions for properly managing the complex issue, especially by major news sources. These findings suggest that the media continuously redefines overtourism as a new phenomenon and oversimplifies its complexity, which prevents addressing the root cause of the problem and misleads policy implications. Theoretical implications of media framing are discussed, as are remedial strategies for destination management.


One of the factors that contribute to confining corruption opportunity space is transparent lobbying as part of a broader approach to governance, based on the principles of openness, transparency, participation and disclosure. The problem of lack of transparent lobbying is closely related not only to corruption but to increased inequality of access by voices representative of a wide range of interests to public decision-making. This issue is also one of the relevant issues of Europeanisation that comes to attention in the European public space; lobbying is an important source of information for European decision-making processes, which speaks in favour of creating transparent rules for its functioning. Despite a real reluctance of national political representation to enforce statutory regulation of lobbying there is however a number of factors (besides regulation) that contribute to the transparency of lobbying. One of them is Open Government Partnership initiative which takes a more comprehensive approach to openness via seeking ways to make the government more transparent, responsive, accountable, and effective. The paper focuses on two research questions: Under what circumstances may open government affect the transparency of lobbying and thereby reduce the corruption opportunity space? Does the Czech Republic use the potential of its membership in Open Government Partnership well? The analysis is completed by data from Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Slovakia. The performed research uses descriptive, analytic, comparative and interpretive techniques.


This paper examines the dynamic nexus between non-oil taxes and economic growth in Nigeria. The volatile nature of oil prices has threatened the balance and stability of public expenditure and the budgetary system as a tool for stimulating growth in Nigeria, hence the motivation to look into the prospects of the non-oil sector as a driver of growth.  Secondary data covering the period 1994-2019 was used for this study. This period is selected to ensure that there are no missing data especially for VAT which began in 1994, therefore, using earlier periods will introduce missing data into the estimation. Standard time series econometric techniques were utilized in the study such as descriptive analysis, unit root testing, co-integration test and granger causality testing. The Autoregressive distributive lag model (ARDL) was then employed in the model estimation. The long-run results show the effect of non-oil taxes on economic growth in Nigeria and observed that the effect of log (VAT) on economic growth is negative. Specifically, the result indicates that an increase in VAT revenue by 1% results in decline in GDP by about 0.21% and the result is significant at 5%. In the case of CED, the result shows that the economic growth is impacted positively. Specifically, a 1% rise in CED revenue stimulates growth by 0.113%, and the result is significant at 10%. Also, the effect of PIT revenue on growth is negative and significant at 5% and specifically, a 1% increase in PIT revenue results in decline in economic growth by 0.599%. The result shows that CIT has a positive impact on economic growth, and it is significant at 5%. This implies that a 1% increase in CIT revenue increases economic growth by 0.5757%. The findings of the above have the following implications. First, the negative effect of PIT and VAT on growth suggests that there is a need for fiscal authorities to re-examine these taxes and hence high VAT and PIT rates may be counter-productive for growth. Secondly, CIT and CED show positive growth effects and hence there is a need for effective and accountable expenditure framework that will ensure optimization of public expenditure in this regards.


In this study, waterworks sludge ceramsite (WSC) was combined with 3% iron-carbon matrix in a denitrifying biological filter (ICWSC-DNBF) to enhance the simultaneous removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in secondary effluent of wastewater treatment plant (SE-WTP). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrogen removal, as well as phosphorus removal and the adsorbed forms of phosphorus were measured and the removal mechanism of these pollutants by the ICWSC-DNBF system for treating SE-WTP were investigated. The results showed that the ICWSC-DNBF achieved good removals of COD, NH4+-N, NO3−-N, total N and total P; effluent concentrations were 17.23 mg/L, 3.72 mg/L, 14.32 mg/L, 17.38 mg/L and 0.82 mg/L, respectively. WSC enhanced the P removal due to its high specific surface area and the high number of adsorption sites. Fe-P and Al-P were the main forms of P adsorbed by WSC, accounting for 78.53% of the total adsorbed P. WSC coupled with Fe and C improved the biodegradability of SE-WTP and promoted the removal of organic matter. The removal of N was attributed to the abundant denitrifying microorganisms in the system and the electrochemical effect produced by the internal electrolysis of Fe and C.


In this study, we examined a structural equation model in which attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with binge eating and restricted eating behaviors through distinct emotion regulation difficulties of emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff among college women (n = 744) and men (n = 200). As predicted, attachment anxiety was associated with emotional reactivity which, in turn, was associated with binge eating. Attachment avoidance was associated with emotional cutoff which, in turn, was associated with restricted eating, both in college women and men. Two gender differences were found: the association between emotional cutoff and binge eating was statistically significant only for women, and the association between emotional reactivity and binge eating was stronger for men than for women. Clinical implications are suggested, specifically the importance of addressing attachment insecurities and distinct emotion regulation difficulties related to serving college women and men with binge eating and/or restricted eating behaviors.


Article History: Effect of exogenous polyamines ( putresine, spermine and spermidine ) was examined on in vitro shoot bud proliferation, multiplication and rooting in Wrightia tomentosa. Addition of polyamines in the concentrations ranging from 0.1 mM to 1.0 mM in MS medium in combination with 5.0 mgl -1 BAP stimulated axillary shoot bud proliferation and rate of multiplication. Maximum number of bud proliferation (9.61 shoot buds/explant) was observed on 1.0 mM spd followed by 1.0 mM spm and 0.5 mM spm forming 9.59 and 9.39 shoot buds/explants, respectively as compared to 5.0 mgl -1 BAP (3.80 shoot buds/explant) which served as control. The shoot length was also improve d significantly on all the concentrations of polyamines as compared to control. Maximum shoot length (2.52 cm) was observed in explants treated with 0.5 mM spm which was significantly higher to control (1.48 cm). Addition of polyamines at various concentrations influenced the rate of multiplication significantly. Highest rate of shoot multiplication was obtained on 0.5 mM spm (3.93 -fold) as compared to 2.98-fold on control. There was no significant increase in shoot length when polyamines were added to multiplication medium as compared to control except by spd at 1.0 mM concentration. Addition of polyamines in rooting medium had no significant positive effect in terms of rooting percentage, number and length.


The Android operating system provides a rich Inter-Component Communication (ICC) method that brings enormous convenience. However, the Android ICC also increases security risks. To address this problem, a formal method is proposed to model and detect inter-component communication behavior in Android applications. Firstly, we generate data flow graphs and data facts for each component through component-level data flow analysis. Secondly, our approach treats ICC just like method calls. After analyzing the fields and data dependencies of the intent, we identify the ICC caller and callee, track the data flow between them, and construct the ICC model. Thirdly, the behavior model of Android applications is constructed by a formal mapping method for component data flow graph based on Pi calculus. The runtime sensitive path trigger detection algorithm is then given. Communicationbased attacks are detected by analyzing intent abnormity. Finally, we analyze the modeling and detection efficiency, and compare it with relevant methods. Analysis of 57 real-world applications partly verifies the effectiveness of the


Abstract Shopping was a vital part of the housewife's work in the interwar era, an activity extending from her domestic identity as homemaker but realized through economic participation in the public sphere. Directed by the consumer capitalism that sustained them, interwar women's magazines like Good Housekeeping (UK) portrayed the modern female shopper as rational, informed, and empowered by her consumer choices. This article explores responses to consumer capitalism that trouble this ideal by Winifred Holtby, Margaret Storm Jameson and Virginia Woolf in the pages of Good Housekeeping. It demonstrates the different ways these three prominent interwar women writers critiqued consumerism in essays published in this highly commercialized periodical. Jameson drew attention to the pervasive power of advertising in 'Money is not Happiness' (March 1929) and 'Advertising as a Career for Women' (August 1928), a contribution to Good Housekeeping's serial careers column. Holtby considered the relationship between consumption and social class in 'The Sable Standard' (March 1932). In 'The Docks of London' (December 1931) and 'Oxford Street Tide' (January 1932), Woolf examined the exploitative workings of imperial trade and the capitalist illusion of the democratic availability of goods. Each of these writers, I argue, urged Good Housekeeping's readers to engage critically with the politics of shopping.


The percutaneous subclavian venous catheter is used in administration of total parenteral nutrition in premature neonates. Most of the complications observed include catheter-related sepsis, cracking or obstruction of the line, and accidental removal. We encountered an unusual complication when an intravascular knot in the catheter was formed upon removal of the line. If care is taken when advancing the catheter, this complication can be avoided.


INTRODUCTION
Immunophilin ligands such as FK506 (FK) preserve erectile function (EF) following cavernous nerve injury (CNI), although the precise mechanisms are unclear. We examined whether the thioredoxin (Trx) and glutathione (GSH) redox systems mediate this effect after CNI.

AIM
To investigate the roles of Trx reductase 2 (TrxR2) and S-Nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) as antioxidative/nitrosative and antiapoptotic mediators of the neuroprotective effect of FK in the penis after CNI.

METHODS
Adult male rats, wild-type (WT) mice, and GSNOR deficient (GSNOR -/-) mice were divided into four groups: sham surgery (CN [cavernous nerves] exposure only) + vehicle; sham surgery + FK (5 mg/kg/day/rat or 2 mg/kg/day/mouse, for 2 days, subcutaneous); CNI + vehicle; and CNI + FK. At day 4 after injury, electrically stimulated changes in intracavernosal pressure (ICP) were measured. Penises were collected for Western blot analysis of TrxR2, GSNOR, and Bcl-2, and for immunolocalization of TrxR2 and GSNOR.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
EF assessment represented by maximal ICP and total ICP in response to electrical stimulation. Evaluation of protein expression levels and distribution patterns of antioxidative/nitrosative and antiapoptotic factors in penile tissue.

RESULTS
EF decreased after CNI compared with sham surgery values in both rats (P < 0.01) and WT and GSNOR -/- mice (P < 0.05). FK treatment preserved EF after CNI compared with vehicle treatment in rats (P < 0.01) and WT mice (P < 0.05) but not in GSNOR -/- mice. In rats, GSNOR (P < 0.01) and Bcl-2 (P < 0.05) expressions were significantly decreased after CNI. FK treatment in CN-injured rats restored expression of GSNOR and upregulated TrxR2 (P < 0.001) and Bcl-2 (P < 0.001) expressions compared with vehicle treatment. Localizations of proteins in the penis were observed for TrxR2 (endothelium, smooth muscle) and for GSNOR (nerves, endothelium, smooth muscle).

CONCLUSIONS
The neuroprotective effect of FK in preserving EF after CNI involves antioxidative/nitrosative and antiapoptotic mechanisms mediated, to some extent, by Trx and GSH systems.


In this report we describe the case of identical twin sisters that developed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These patients have in common major histocompatibility complex class I and class II alleles and identical red blood cell antigens, which is a clear indication of monozygotic twins. Both twins showed high titers of anti-dsDNA antibody. However, only one of them manifested signs of lupus psychosis and was positive for the LE test, rheumatoid factor, anti-Scl 70, anti-SSA, and antiribosomal P antibodies. Both sisters lived together; therefore, the environmental factors were considered to be the same. Interestingly, these patients expressed different types of autoantibodies and the manifestation of disease was also quite different. When one of the twins was diagnosed with SLE, we began to closely follow up signs of the disease in the other twin periodically. This enabled us to promptly diagnose the second twin with SLE and she was successfully treated without progression of the disease. It is important to mention that following up the subsequent history of an identical twin diagnosed with SLE allowed early detection of the disease in the other twin.


Improved animal health and alleviation of livestock diseases with high impact in developing countries have direct effects on poverty reduction as livestock has been estimated to account for 70% of the livelihoods of the world's poor. In Lao PDR 85% of the population lives in areas dependent on agriculture, and sale of livestock is estimated to account for their largest cash income. Smallholder farmers produce almost all of the livestock, and pigs are raised by 64% of the Lao households. In the low input-low output system used in Lao PDR losses due to disease are seen in pigs and Classical Swine Fever has in a recent study been pointed out as the most important disease.

During this study, four villages in the Bolikhamxay province in the central of Lao PDR were included into a surveillance programme on Classical Swine Fever set up by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). In the first part of the study, information on Lao farming systems was collected from literature and field visits. Thereafter the four villages to be included were visited with the aim to undertake a robust descriptive analysis of pig health and production and to make recommendations for future surveillance and data collection in the project. All fieldwork was done in cooperation with staff linked to the ACIAR project ASI/2003/001.

Information on pig management was collected with the help of a Baseline Questionnaire Form previously used in the ASI/2003/001 project and by village walks. The information was analysed together with data from six villages already included in the project. A qualitative analysis was conducted from the information and a quantitative analysis started using Epi Info version 2002.

The study showed major problems in pig management. A need for increased knowledge in disease prevention and action during disease outbreak was observed amongst the farmers and the animal health workers. Insufficient communication between farmers and the extension workers and difficult accessibility to the villages also showed great impact. Introduction of participatory research and extension approaches could contribute to the project and the study showed a demand for a more gender sensitive approach as pig husbandry is almost exclusively carried out by women.


Introduction
Pilonidal sinus disease is a common suppurative perianal condition.  The aim of this trial is to create an animal model of pilonidal sinus disease to study and compare the mechanism of action of numerous medications.
Methods
Ten adult Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in the study. They were separately housed in polypropylene cages.  They were fed normal chow.  The rats were anesthetized with Ketamine and Xylazine (At a ratio of 3:1) through intramuscular injection into their proximal thigh. The back of each rat was shaved, and a sample of the hair rat was obtained and labeled. After clearing the back of the animal, a vertical 1 cm incision was inflicted upon the dorsal side of each rat with a blade 15' and a tuft of hair composed of at least 20 fibers was embedded in the wound, later the wound was closed by 4.0 proline suture material in a simple interrupted fashion.  The rats were followed for a period of 4 weeks.
Results
Macroscopically, the rats showed 0.5x0.5 cm nodules at the side of the injury at the 5th week.  As there was no draining sinus, the picture in this form cannot be regarded as a typical pilonidal sinus, it was more consistent with a foreign body granuloma.  No pilonidal sinus could be reported.
Conclusion
Rat is not a suitable animal for the induction of pilonidal sinus disease.


This Working Paper traces the discursive history of the principles of benefit and legitimacy of taxation from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Drawing on the work of scholars from Adam Smith through Richard Musgrave to public choice theorists, it is observed that successful tax states – especially democratic states – seem to depend on both an acceptance by taxpayers of benefits derived under government and a fiscal constitution that limits taxing power. The benefit theory in the context of legitimate government has strengths that are lost if a purely technocratic, narrow economic analysis of public goods is taken. However, both benefit and legitimacy of government are important concepts in the current era of globalisation and fiscal authority, which pose significant challenges to democratic governments. The author argues for a renewed focus on principles of benefit and legitimacy of taxation to fund successful democratic tax states in the global era.


The growth factor progranulin (acrogranin/PC‐derived growth factor/granulin‐epithelin precursor) promotes onset of blastocyst cavitation and is required for neonatal hypothalamic sexual differentiation. Little is known, however, of the range of developmental processes in which it is involved. We used in situ hybridization to investigate progranulin expression in murine embryos. Progranulin mRNA is expressed in maternal and embryonic components during early establishment of pregnancy. Abundant expression is observed in the early decidualizing uterine stroma and glands. In the embryo, the trophoblast giant cells at the interface of placental exchange sites (both choriovitelline and chorioallantoic placenta) show strong expression. The gastrulating epiblast and mesenchyme (intraembryonic and extraembryonic mesenchyme) all revealed activity. The allantois and yolk sac mesenchyme (site of early hemopoiesis) were positive, as were later phases of active vessel formation (pia mater of brain, epicardium of the heart). In the urogenital system, it was expressed in Sertoli cells and in kidney tubules. It was highly expressed in proliferating epidermal cells. During epidermal appendage formation, the early epithelial bud was positive, but the forming duct and differentiating adjacent mesenchyme was negative. It is widely distributed during central nervous system development and the peripheral nervous system (dorsal root ganglia and sympathetic ganglia). Based on the pattern of progranulin gene expression, we propose proliferative and developmental roles for progranulin in establishing pregnancy, during gastrulation, and during embryonic development of the epidermis, nervous system, blood vessel, formation, and spermatogenesis. Developmental Dynamics 593–599, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A permuter network is used to arbitrarily change the ordering of the variables of a switching function. A new scheme for permuter arrays is discussed in this note whereby the variables are selected sequentially by a number of "selector cells" according to the required output ordering. A cellular realization of the selector cell is suggested.


Sixty-three Staphylococcus aureus strains (40 from clinical sources and 23 from food sources) were examined for toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) using PCR, phage typed using the international phage set (IPS) and tested for their susceptibility to antibiotics. Only three strains (all from clinical sources) were positive for the TSST-1 gene (tst). The majority of S. aureus strains that were typeable by IPS belonged to group II. Resistance to one or more antibiotics was detected in 47.5 and 73.9 % of clinical and food strains, respectively. This is the first time that PCR detection of tst in S. aureus has been reported from Libya, and further studies are needed on the occurrence of toxic shock syndrome in the community and the role of TSST-1-producing S. aureus in this disease in Libya.


Radio-controlled model planes are useful when carrying out photography, especially from low altitudes, and meteorological soundings (air temperatures in boundary layers). Soundings were carried out with a system which stored the measured data on board the plane pending evaluation after the flight. The payload of the plane was a camera and equipment for measuring temperature and air pressure (altitude). Data were stored so that the signals from the temperature and pressure sensors (thermistor and micro aneroid respectively) lit a combination of light-emitting diodes (BCD code) that corresponded to the actual temperature and pressure (altitude). At the instant of measurement, this combination was photographed togther with the ground surface. the camera manoeuvred by means of servo-function. The position of the plane at the instant of measurement was determined on the basis of pressure values and air photographs. Photography from model planes is not a new method. However, previous results have in general been inadequate because, for safety's sake, cheap and consequently less advanced cameras were used. The determination of temperature and other soundings from such aircraft has been little tried hitherto. Photography and sounding from model planes can be of interest in ecological, physical-geographical and meteorological contexts. The method lends itself best to a rapid and handy documentation from the air of a water or land area, e.g. a severely polluted area, or a wind-eroded ground surface, or to the sounding or sampling of aif qualities such as pollution in the smoke plumes of stacks and other types of discharge, of radioactivity in the air over leaking plants, of temperature and humidity conditions in urban boundary layers and of eolian dust in the air over wind-exposed erosion surfaces in arid areas. Radio-controlled model planes could possibly also be used for dissemination of e.g. silver iodide in order to artificially release precipitation and for pollination of forest. (Less)


Research evaluation is increasingly popular and important among research funding bodies and science policy makers. Various indicators have been proposed to evaluate the standing of individual scientists, institutions, journals, or countries. A simple and popular one among the indicators is the h-index, the Hirsch index (Hirsch 2005), which is an indicator for lifetime achievement of a scholar. Several other indicators have been proposed to complement or balance the h-index. However, these indicators have no conception of aging. The AR-index (Jin & al. 2007) incorporates aging but divides the received citation counts by the raw age of the publication. Consequently, the decay of a publication is very steep and insensitive to disciplinary differences. In addition, we believe that a publication becomes outdated only when it is no more cited, not because of its age. Finally, all indicators treat citations as equally material when one might reasonably think, that a citation from a heavily cited publication Järvelin – Persson DFC 2 should weigh more than a citation from a non-cited or little-cited publication. We propose a new indicator, the DCI-index (for Discounted Cumulated Impact), which devalues old citations in a smooth way. It rewards an author for receiving new citations even if the publication is old. Further, it allows weighting of the citations by the citation weight of the citing publication. DCI can be used to calculate research performance on the basis of the hcore of a scholar or any other publication data set. Finally, it supports comparing research performance to the average performance in the domain and across domains as well.


A tsunami earthquake is defined as a shock which generates extensive tsunamis but relatively weak seismic waves. A comparative study is made for the two recent tsunami earthquakes, and a subduction mechanism near a deep-sea trench is discussed. These two earthquakes occurred at extremely shallow depths far off the coasts of the Kurile Islands and of eastern Hokkaido on October 20, 1963, and on June 10, 1975, respectively. Both can be regarded as an aftershock of the preceding larger events. Their tsunami heights and seismic wave amplitudes are compared with those of the preceding events. The results show that the time constants involved in the tsunami earthquakes are relatively long but not long enough to explain the observed disproportionality between the tsunamis and the seismic waves. The process times are estimated to be less than 100 s. The spatio-temporal characteristics of the two events suggest that they represent a seaward and upward extension of the rupture associated with a great earthquake which did not break the free surface at the coseismic stage. The amplitude and phase spectra of long-period surface waves and the long-period P waveforms indicate that this extension of the rupture did not take place entirely along the lithospheric interface emerging as a trench axis. It rather branched upward from the interface in a complex way through the wedge portion at the leading edge of the continental lithosphere. This wedge portion consists in large part of thick deformable sediments. A large vertical deformation and hence extensive tsunamis result from such a branching process. A shallowest source depth, steepening of rupture surfaces, and a deformable nature of the source region all enhance generation of tsunamis. The wedge portion ruptured by a tsunami earthquake is usually characterized by a very low seismic activity which is presumably due to ductility of the sediments. We suggest that this portion fractures in a brittle way to generate a tsunami earthquake when it is loaded suddenly by the occurrence of a great earthquake and that otherwise it yields slowly. Upward branching of the rupture from the lithospheric interface produces permanent deformation of the free surface which is relative uplift landward and relative subsidence trenchward of the zone of surface break. This surface break zone geomorphologically corresponds to the lower continental slope between the deep-sea terrace and the trench. Such a mode of permanent deformation seems to be consistent with a rising feature of the outer ridge of the deep-sea terrace and a depressional feature of the trench. This consistency implies a causal relationship between great earthquake activities and geomorphological features near the trench.


Infection of cowpea cells with cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) is accompanied by the appearance of tubular structures containing virus-like particles which protrude from or penetrate the cell wall. Immunogold labelling of sections of infected cells using antisera against a CPMV M RNA translation products, and Protein A-gold, showed that the 58K and/or 48K tentative transport proteins of CPMV were located in or on these tubular structures. Furthermore, these proteins were detected in small electron-dense areas near the tail-end of the tubules. The possible function of these structures in virus movement from cell to cell is discussed.


Thrombosis and its complications are responsible for 30% of annual deaths. Limitations of methods for diagnosing and treating thrombosis highlight the need for improvements. Agents that provide simultaneous diagnostic and therapeutic activities (theranostics) are paramount for an accurate diagnosis and rapid treatment. In this study, silver-iron oxide nanoparticles (AgIONPs) are developed for highly efficient targeted photothermal therapy and imaging of thrombosis. Small iron oxide nanoparticles are employed as seeding agents for the generation of a new class of spiky silver nanoparticles with strong absorbance in the near-infrared range. The AgIONPs are biofunctionalized with binding ligands for targeting thrombi. Photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging demonstrate the highly specific binding of AgIONPs to the thrombus when functionalized with a single chain antibody targeting activated platelets. Photothermal thrombolysis in vivo shows an increase in the temperature of thrombi and a full restoration of blood flow for targeted group but not in the non-targeted group. Thrombolysis from targeted groups is significantly improved (p < 0.0001) in comparison to the standard thrombolytic used in the clinic. Assays show no apparent side effects of AgIONPs. Altogether, this work suggests that AgIONPs are potential theranostic agents for thrombosis.


Párraga-Montilla, JA, García-Ramos, A, Castaño-Zambudio, A, Capelo-Ramírez, F, González-Hernández, JM, Cordero-Rodríguez, Y, and Jiménez-Reyes, P. Acute and delayed effects of a resistance training session leading to muscular failure on mechanical, metabolic, and perceptual responses. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-This study explored the acute and delayed (24 and 48 hours after exercise) effects of a resistance training session leading to muscular failure. Eleven resistance-trained men completed a training session consisting on 3 sets of repetitions to failure during the back-squat exercise performed at the maximum possible speed with a load equivalent to a mean propulsive velocity (MPV) of 1 m·s (≈60% of 1 repetition maximum). A number of mechanical (number of repetitions and starting MPV of the set, MPV achieved against the 1MPV load, countermovement jump [CMJ] height, and handgrip strength), metabolic (lactate, uric acid, and ammonia concentrations), and perceptual (OMNI-RES perceived exertion) variables were measured. The results revealed (a) a decrease of 38.7% in set 2 and 54.7% in set 3 of the number of repetitions performed compared with the first set (p < 0.05), (b) a reduction in the MPV of the repetitions and an increase in lactate concentration and OMNI-RES values with the succession of sets (p < 0.05), (c) comparable decrements in CMJ height after the 3 sets (25-32%), (d) a decrease in CMJ height (p < 0.05; 6.7-7.9%) and in the MPV attained against the 1MPV load (p < 0.05; 13-14%) after 24 and 48 hours of completing the training session, but no significant changes were observed in handgrip strength (p > 0.05; <2%), and (e) uric acid and ammonia concentrations above the basal levels (p < 0.05). The large decrements in mechanical performance together with the high metabolic stress discourage the frequent use of resistance training sessions leading to muscular failure.


This study used a web-based survey and a cross-sectional design to investigate the health literacy levels of collegiate student-athletes. The survey included a demographic questionnaire and the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy Assessment, which scores an individual's ability to understand relevant health care information. We calculated descriptive statistics for demographic characteristics and Short Test of Functional Health Literacy Assessment scores. All participants (n = 160) displayed adequate health literacy (mean = 34 ± 2; range = 27–36; adequate = 160/160, 100%). The mean Short Test of Functional Health Literacy Assessment score for both White (range = 27–36; adequate = 133/133, 100%), and non-White participants (range = 28–36, adequate = 27/27, 100%) was 34 ± 2. Health care professionals should feel confident in collaborating with individual patients throughout the decision-making process.


In light of Big Data processing, which is becoming more automated and reliant on data-driven decision-making (eg via the use of AI), and the trend of outsourcing any (especially complex) data processing task, the distinction between the roles and responsibilities of data controllers and processors has become less clear.

This provocation paper provides a brief discussion of this issue for areas such as smart city policy making.


abstract:In this article, the author analyzes the life between the text and the world by comparing the evolving translational history of the poems of the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral (1889–1957) in English. She argues that comparing the Nobel laureate Mistral's "translatability" synchronically and diachronically pluralizes (un) translatability in literary systems in terms of gender, race, genre, translation, and international movements. The essay examines the role of American poets-cum-translators such as Langston Hughes and Ursula Le Guin in creating and subverting Mistral's poetics in the original and in the translation. She concludes the article by advocating that any discussion of world poetry, whether in English or otherwise, requires readers to be sensitive toward the language of translation as well as the language of the original, thereby opening avenues for a comparative poetics in world poetry.


The influences of sulfur, HNO3, and thermal treatments on the properties and Hg adsorption of activated carbon (AC) derived from bituminous coals were evaluated. These ACs were impregnated with either polysulfide or elemental sulfur at 120, 200, and 600°C. Additional ACs were treated with HNO3 at 95°C to incorporate oxygen functionalities, and then subjected to temperature-programmed desorption to 950°C to remove surface oxygen groups and create nascent active sites on the AC surface. Polysulfide and elemental sulfur impregnation at < 200°C did not improve Hg 0 adsorption. However, improvement in HgCl2 adsorption by up to 97% was observed. Elemental sulfur impregnation at 600°C enhanced Hg 0 and HgCl2 adsorption by up to 42% and 404%, respectively, for ACs derived from a low-organic-sulfur coal. Improvements in Hg 0 adsorption for ACs from high-organic-sulfur coals were not observed after sulfur impregnation. HNO3 and thermal treatments reduced Hg-active groups such as sulfur. Oxygen surface groups and the nascent carbon sites appeared to be more reactive towards other flue gas components than Hg, because HNO3 and thermal treatments led to a reduction in Hg 0 and HgCl2 adsorption. These results suggest that AC's physical and chemical properties after sulfur treatment influence Hg 0 adsorption, while HgCl2 adsorption is mainly affected by AC's chemical characteristics.


Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study the motion of a closely fitting nanometer-size solid sphere in a fluid-filled cylindrical nanochannel at low Reynolds numbers. At early times, when the particle is close to the middle of the tube, its velocity is in agreement with continuum calculations, despite large thermal fluctuations. At later times, partially wetting fluids exhibit novel adsorption phenomena: the sphere meanders away from the center of the tube and adsorbs onto the wall, and subsequently either sticks to the wall and remains motionless on average, or separates slightly from the tube wall and then either slips parallel to the mean flow or executes an intermittent stick-slip motion.


Each year an estimated 1.2 billion people suffer from fungal diseases and 1.5 - 2 million die from fungal infections - surpassing the loss from malaria and tuberculosis1-3. Due to the similarities between fungal and human cells, the lack of fungal-specific targets has become the major hurdle for antifungal discovery. Many fungi, including the deadly human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, are found in soil, where they compete with other microorganisms, including bacteria. However, most bacteria that inhibit fungal growth are pathogens and their antifungal effects strictly rely on cell-cell contact. Here we show that Myxococcus xanthus, a nonpathogenic, soil-dwelling bacterium, efficiently eliminates C. neoformans and strongly inhibits the production of fungal virulence factors. Remarkably, these antifungal activities do not require cell-cell contact. Using fluorescence microscopy, we found that M. xanthus increases the permeability of C. neoformans cells. Our results on the cross-kingdom interaction between M. xanthus and C. neoformans will reveal fundamental mechanisms for bacterial-fungal interactions and suggest novel strategies for antifungal therapies.