ABSTRACT Many enveloped viruses cause devastating disease in aquaculture, resulting in significant economic impact. LJ001 is a broad-spectrum antiviral compound that inhibits enveloped virus infections by specifically targeting phospholipids in the lipid bilayer via the production of singlet oxygen (1O2). This stabilizes positive curvature and decreases membrane fluidity, which inhibits virus-cell membrane fusion during viral entry. Based on data from previous mammalian studies and the requirement of light for the activation of LJ001, we hypothesized that LJ001 may be useful as a preventative and/or therapeutic agent for infections by enveloped viruses in aquaculture. Here, we report that LJ001 was more stable with a prolonged inhibitory half-life at relevant aquaculture temperatures (15°C), than in mammalian studies at 37°C. When LJ001 was preincubated with our model virus, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), infectivity was significantly inhibited in vitro (using the epithelioma papulosum cyprini [EPC] fish cell line) and in vivo (using rainbow trout fry) in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. While horizontal transmission of IHNV in a static cohabitation challenge model was reduced by LJ001, transmission was not completely blocked at established antiviral doses. Therefore, LJ001 may be best suited as a therapeutic for aquaculture settings that include viral infections with lower virus-shedding rates than IHNV or where higher viral titers are required to initiate infection of naive fish. Importantly, our data also suggest that LJ001-inactivated IHNV elicited an innate immune response in the rainbow trout host, making LJ001 potentially useful for future vaccination approaches. IMPORTANCE Viral diseases in aquaculture are challenging because there are few preventative measures and/or treatments. Broad-spectrum antivirals are highly sought after and studied because they target common components of viruses. In our studies, we used LJ001, a broad-spectrum antiviral compound that specifically inhibits enveloped viruses. We used the fish rhabdovirus infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) as a model to study aquatic enveloped virus diseases and their inhibition. We demonstrated inhibition of IHNV by LJ001 both in cell culture as well as in live fish. Additionally, we showed that LJ001 inhibited the transmission of IHNV from infected fish to healthy fish, which lays the groundwork for using LJ001 as a possible therapeutic for aquatic viruses. Our results also suggest that virus inactivated by LJ001 induces an immune response, showing potential for future preventative (e.g., vaccine) applications.


Current popular online multi-object tracking (MOT) solutions apply single object trackers (SOTs) to capture object motions, while often requiring an extra affinity network to associate objects, especially for the occluded ones. This brings extra computational overhead due to repetitive feature extraction for SOT and affinity computation. Meanwhile, the model size of the sophisticated affinity network is usually non-trivial. In this paper, we propose a novel MOT framework that unifies object motion and affinity model into a single network, named UMA, in order to learn a compact feature that is discriminative for both object motion and affinity measure. In particular, UMA integrates single object tracking and metric learning into a unified triplet network by means of multi-task learning. Such design brings advantages of improved computation efficiency, low memory requirement and simplified training procedure. In addition, we equip our model with a task-specific attention module, which is used to boost task-aware feature learning. The proposed UMA can be easily trained end-to-end, and is elegant – requiring only one training stage. Experimental results show that it achieves promising performance on several MOT Challenge benchmarks.


The traditional attentional reorienting hypothesis is insufficient to explain spatial and nonspatial inhibition of return (IOR). Therefore, a construction retrieval account that includes the influence of top-down attentional sets has been proposed and can explain both spatial and nonspatial IOR. However, it remains unknown whether the construction retrieval account can be applied to non-surface features of stimuli, as well as whether its construction and retrieval mechanisms are supra-modal. The present study manipulated semantic feature congruency and spatial location congruency between the prime and the target in cross-modal audio-visual and visual-audio experimental conditions, respectively, by orthogonally combining spatial and nonspatial IOR paradigms. Our results showed that there was an interaction between semantic feature congruency and spatial location congruency controlled by the attentional sets, and that this interaction was consistent in cross-modal audio-visual and visual-audio conditions. These results suggest that the construction retrieval account can be applied to abstract semantic features and that its construction and retrieval mechanisms are supra-modal. The present study extends the application scope of the construction retrieval account and promotes the interpretation of IOR under a unified theoretical framework.


Large pre-trained language models (LLMs) have been shown to have significant potential in few-shot learning across various fields, even with minimal training data. However, their ability to generalize to unseen tasks in more complex fields, such as biology, has yet to be fully evaluated. LLMs can offer a promising alternative approach for biological inference, particularly in cases where structured data and sample size are limited, by extracting prior knowledge from text corpora. Our proposed few-shot learning approach uses LLMs to predict the synergy of drug pairs in rare tissues that lack structured data and features. Our experiments, which involved seven rare tissues from different cancer types, demonstrated that the LLM-based prediction model achieved significant accuracy with very few or zero samples. Our proposed model, the CancerGPT (with ~ 124M parameters), was even comparable to the larger fine-tuned GPT-3 model (with ~ 175B parameters). Our research is the first to tackle drug pair synergy prediction in rare tissues with limited data. We are also the first to utilize an LLM-based prediction model for biological reaction prediction tasks.


Both chronic alcohol consumption and chronic use of nicotine must be considered major risk factors for carcinogenesis in the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. In the case of both noxae, increasing consumption correlates with an increase in the cancer risk in the sense of a dose-effect relationship. Smokers of non-filtertip cigarettes have a higher cancer risk than those smoking filtertip cigarettes. The alcohol-associated risk of developing cancer depends decisively on the overall daily consumption, but not on the nature of the alcoholic beverage. With respect to carcinogenesis, alcohol and nicotine consumed together develop a synergistic action and have a multiplicative effect on the cancer risk.


ABSTRACT During the Mosaico do Apuí expedition in 2006, a new species of Ancistrus was found in the rio Sucunduri, a large tributary of the rio Madeira basin in south Amazonas State. The new species has a unique color pattern for the genus and is distinguished by the presence of alternate light and dark vertical bars on the trunk. Other Ancistrini genera have species with a similar color pattern, but the new species is clearly distinguished by a lack of plates on the snout and presence of fleshy tentacles on the snout as in all Ancistrus representatives. We also provide comments on the taxonomic status of the A. bolivianus, A. heterorhynchus and A. marcapatae.


A survey was conducted in north-eastern Syria to assess the distribution of the cereal cyst nematodes (CCN). The study revealed that 62% of the fields were infested with three Heterodera species: H. latipons (76%), H. avenae (31%), and H. filipjevi (9%). Molecular identification and quantification is an accurate, rapid and sensitive method. Therefore, the actin-1 gene was successfully used to develop a species-specific PCR assay to detect H. latipons; and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was used to develop two species-specific PCR assays for the identification of H. avenae and H. filipjevi. Also, the COI gene was used to develop two qPCR assays for the identification and quantification of H. avenae and H. latipons. The use of resistant hosts for nematode management is considered cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. Hence, a total of 217 synthetic winter wheat lines were screened (phenotyped) for resistance to H. filipjevi in the growth chamber. The same lines were genotyped using the Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) technique. Phenotyping showed that some lines are promising because of a low number of newly developed cysts; those lines are considered resistant and moderate resistant and can be used for further breeding of resistant cultivars against cereal cyst nematodes.


OBJECTIVE
To study of the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in various molecular subtypes of cancer and in benign breast diseases with different risks of malignant transformation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
An immunohistochemical study of the expression of E-cadherin, collagen II, integrin 1β, cyclin D1 was carried out in breast tissue samples: 58 with invasive breast carcinoma of no special type and 17 with benign breast diseases with a high and low risk of malignant transformation.

RESULTS
Patients with a triple negative molecular subtype are characterized by lower expression of collagen II compared with individuals with luminal A and B+ subtypes. A distinctive feature of patients with the HER2+ subtype was increased expression of cyclin D1 compared with the luminal A subtype, and in patients with the luminal B+ subtype, the expression of integrin 1β is higher than in the luminal B- and HER2+ subtypes. The expression of cyclin D1 in patients of both groups with benign diseases was lower than in all groups with invasive carcinoma, but at the same time, in patients with a low risk of malignant transformation, the expression of cyclin D1 was higher than in those with an increased risk.

CONCLUSION
The study revealed the relationship between the expression of markers and molecular subtypes of breast tumors, in addition, some patients with benign diseases were found who need further more careful monitoring and may be at risk for the development of malignancy.


The authors present selected results of the analysis of medical histories of the subjects who died from complications of inflammatory aural diseases and paranasal sinus pathology in multifield city hospitals of Moscow for the period from 1993 till 2003. The character and the frequency of each intracranial complication are reported.


A comparative study of topical 5-fluorouracil (5FU) alone and 5FU with dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) therapy in the treatment of actinic keratoses of the upper limbs is described. 5 out of 10 patients had better results with a combination of the two medications, while there was no difference in the results in 4 of the patients. Complications in the form of contact dermatitis to DNCB was experienced in 5 patients. Therapy of actinic keratoses of the upper limbs is recommended for a 6- to 8-week period with 5FU alone because of the difficulties associated with DNCB usage.


This paper comprises two parts, the first deals with the conception of a class of Hybrid Granular Min-Max Fuzzy-Neuro Relational Learners, for which a learning scheme was devised that uses an exhaustive search over the fuzzy partitions of involved variables, automatic fuzzy hypotheses generation, formulation and testing, and successive approximation procedure of Min-Max relational equations. The main idea is to start learning from coarse fuzzy partitions of the involved input variables and proceed progressively toward fine-grained partitions until finding the appropriate partitions that fit the data. According to the complexity of the problem at hand, it learns the whole structure of the fuzzy system, i.e. conjointly appropriate fuzzy partitions, appropriate fuzzy production rules, their number and their associated membership functions. The fuzzy relational calculus in the context of approximation of fuzzy relations equations, constitutes a good candidate tool in machine learning, and is especially useful for dealing with inverse problems. The second part deals with verification and validation issues of such learners, validation brings us to a systematic study of value approximation performed during the inference (recall) phase. We provide a rigorous formal mathematical proof that Min-Max rule preserves the property of approximation when it is applied to entities characterized by approximately equal fuzzy values. Hence, using standard Min-Max is a suitable choice in building Hybrid Granular Fuzzy-Neuro or Neuro-Fuzzy Relational Learners, as it is accepted that generalization capability is proportional to value approximation. �


Abstract This study examined the dispute-resolution behavior of the "intravenor," a distinct third-party role in organizational dispute resolution. Unlike a mediator, whose involvement in the dispute is at the whim of the disputants, the intravenor can control the outcome of the dispute. Unlike an arbitrator, who is compelled to dictate the outcome of the dispute, the intravenor may or may not impose an outcome. The experiment reported here examined the impact of four variables on third party behavior: The third party′s role (intravenor versus mediator), the third party′s beliefs about the disputants reaching agreement (cooperative versus uncooperative disputants), the third party′s self-interest in the outcome, and the third party′s concern about the disputants′ outcome (interest in the disputant′s mutual welfare). The results suggest that intravention spawns a distinctive pattern of third-party behavior: Intravenors imposed outcomes in 66% of the cases, but more when they viewed the disputants as uncooperative than cooperative. Only 44% of the imposed outcomes reflected the disputants′ underlying interests, but this was greater when the intravenor had high compared to low concern for the disputants′ aspirations. Intravenors were more likely than mediators to use forceful, pressure tactics, and were more confident and saw themselves as more influential. Taken together, the results provide the basis for an integrated model of third-party intervention in organizational dispute resolution.


The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Phase 2+ standard specifies a new type of packet data service called General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). GPRS allows the dynamic allocation of bandwidth resources. Wireless channels are allocated to a mobile terminal based on its traffic demands. This results in better resource utilization compared to the circuit-based data services. In general, packet-based communication has more bursty traffic and longer connection time compared to its circuit-based counterpart. A communication session may last for an extended period of time with intermittent packet transmissions. This traffic behavior coupled with flexible bandwidth allocation in a GPRS network results in multiplexing gain that is not available in circuit switched data networks. This paper evaluates the throughput and buffer utilization in a GPRS network under Internet traffic models, such as WWW and E-mail. The performance of GPRS is then compared with the circuit based GSM network to demonstrate the improvement due to multiplexing gain.


Three novel Gd chelates containing on their external surface pendant phosphonate and carboxylate groups, which promote the interaction with the positively charged groups of polyornithine and polyarginine, have been synthesized. Their solution structures have been assessed on the basis of 1H- and 31P-NMR spectra of the Eu and Yb analogues. A thorough investigation of the relaxometric (1H and 17O) properties of the Gd chelates has been carried out and the observed relaxivities have been accounted for the sum of three contributions arising from water molecules in the first, second, and outer coordination layers, respectively. It has been found that the occurrence of a tight second coordination coating renders the dissociation of the water molecule directly coordinated to the Gd ion more difficult. The binding interactions between the negatively charged Gd chelates and the positively charged groups of polyornithine (ca. 140 residues) and polyarginine (ca. 204 residues) have been evaluated by means of the proton relaxation enhancement (PRE) method. Although the binding interaction decreases markedly in the presence of competitive anions in the solution medium, the affinity is strong enough that in blood serum it is possible to meet the conditions where most of the chelate is bound to the polyamino acid substrate. On this basis one may envisage a novel route for a MRI location of tumors as it is known that positively charged polyamino acids selectively bind to tumors having a greater negative charge than non-tumor cells.


The ability of Geotrichum candidum to produce fruity aroma in food grade sucrose, molasses, corn steep liquor and peptone based culture media was tested by sensory evaluation and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. A strong and sweet fruity aroma was produced from molasses, with peptone or corn steep liquor stimulating aroma production. Molasses with peptone supplemented with leucine, valine, or alanine yielded better fruity aroma production and the presence of many esters was consistent with the fruity aroma production.


Evolutionary theory lacks a term for a crucial concept—a feature, now useful to an organism, that did not arise as an adaptation for its present role, but was subsequently coopted for its current function. I call such features "exaptations" and show that they are neither rare nor arcane, but dominant features of evolution—though previously unappreciated in the context of the overly adaptationist neo-Darwinian theory. This article argues that exaptation overcomes the fallacy of human sociobiology, helps us to understand the major patterns of flexibility and contingency in life's history, revises the roles of structure and function in evolutionary theory, serves as a centerpiece for grasping the origin and meaning of brain size in human evolution, and thereby cries out for recognition as a key to evolutionary psychology. Historical origin and current utility are distinct concepts and must never be conflated.


Macroinvertebrate samples were collected for an Stream Condition Index (SCI) bioassessment of Williams Creek in order to gain further information on the biological health of the watershed for use in the administration of Florida's Ecosystem Management Water Quality Assessment (EMWQAS) and Total Maximum Daily Loads programs. A field biorecon, a rapid screening method for identification of biological impairment, was also performed. Surface water samples were collected for analysis of parameters of concern. All work conducted by EMWQAS was conducted according to established DEP standard operating procedures and quality assurances plans. The Stream Condition Index (SCI) is based on seven measurements that assess the ecological integrity of the invertebrate community. If the Index score falls between 27 and 33, it is considered 'excellent'; if it falls between 21 and 26: 'good'; between 14 and 20: 'poor'; and between 7 and 13: 'severely degraded'. Biorecons are based on three measurements of the aquatic invertebrates present in the stream: the total number of different species (Total Taxa), the number of "good water quality" indicator species (Florida Index) and the total number of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (caddisflies) species present. A stream scoring above the threshold value for all three of these measurements is considered healthy. If two of the threshold values are reached, the stream's health is considered ecologically suspect. If only one or none of the thresholds are reached, an impaired condition is concluded.


Aims Patient-reported quality of life and anxiety/depression scores provide important prognostic information independently of traditional clinical data. The aims of this study were to describe: (a) mortality and cardiac events one year after hospital discharge across cardiac diagnoses; (b) patient-reported outcomes at hospital discharge as a predictor of mortality and cardiac events. Design A cross-sectional survey with register follow-up. Methods Participants: All patients discharged from April 2013 to April 2014 from five national heart centres in Denmark. Main outcomes Patient-reported outcomes: anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale); perceived health (Short Form-12); quality of life (HeartQoL and EQ-5D); symptom burden (Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale). Register data: mortality and cardiac events within one year following discharge. Results There were 471 deaths among the 16,689 respondents in the first year after discharge. Across diagnostic groups, patients reporting symptoms of anxiety had a two-fold greater mortality risk when adjusted for age, sex, marital status, educational level, comorbidity, smoking, body mass index and alcohol intake (hazard ratio (HR) 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.52–2.42). Similar increased mortality risks were found for patients reporting symptoms of depression (HR 2.29, 95% CI 1.81–2.90), poor quality of life (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.39–0.54) and severe symptom distress (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.92–3.19). Cardiac events were predicted by poor quality of life (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.65–0.77) and severe symptom distress (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.35–1.85). Conclusions Patient-reported mental and physical health outcomes are independent predictors of one-year mortality and cardiac events across cardiac diagnoses.


In this paper, we present the preliminary findings of a study proposed to understand how interest of novices in learning programming changed during a CS0 course. This in-depth qualitative study, based on a longitudinal design, was performed over four months. Observing the learning experience of ten Brazilian freshmen students, the authors could obtain a dynamic view about how their interest in learning programming changed and why changes occurred. Six trajectories of interest were identified and the factors that had influence on them. As an example, the sense of being completing same tasks again when working on similar problems as before but in more detail was revealed as an inhibitor aspect to develop their interest. The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development was used as a theoretical framework to identify these trajectories. Looking at interest under this perspective was important to better understand how novices engage with introductory computer science and what might nurture and inhibit their interest in learning this content. This knowledge is something that CS educators could take into account when planning instructional strategies, course material and tasks.


An anti‐sunward directed azimuthal pressure gradient drives meridional currents perpendicular to the magnetic field in the dusk and dawn closed field line regions. These currents are closed through the auroral ionosphere consisting of a pair of upward and downward sheet field aligned currents cross connected in the ionosphere. Using a conjunction of FAST and Polar the intensity of the up‐down sheet FAC pair was measured in the dusk sector in typical auroral conditions. The T96 field model was used to define the geometry and it predicted that field lines at the satellites were stretched to 15 RE. The steady state pressure gradient current was calculated through a surface in the magnetosphere separating the upward and downward going FAC. With the field stretching predicted by the model a typical quiet time azimuthal pressure gradient of 0.01 nPa/Re generated sufficient current to be the source of the observed auroral current loops.


In the hydrophobic patch of azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an electric dipole was created by changing Met44 into Lys and Met64 into Glu. The effect of this dipole on the electron-transfer properties of azurin was investigated. From a spectroscopic characterization (NMR, EPR and ultraviolet-visible) it was found that both the copper site and the overall structure of the [Lys44, Glu64]azurin were not disturbed by the two mutations. A small perturbation of the active site at high pH, similar to that observed for [Lys44]azurin, occurs in the double mutant. At neutral pH the electron-self-exchange rate constant of the double mutant shows a decrease of three orders of magnitude compared with the wild-type value. The possible reasons for this decrease are discussed. Electron transfer with the proposed physiological redox partners cytochrome c551 and nitrite reductase have been investigated and the data analyzed in the Marcus framework. From this analysis it is confirmed that the hydrophobic patch of azurin is the interaction site with both partners, and that cytochrome c551 uses its hydrophobic patch and nitrite reductase a negatively charged surface area for the electron transfer.


Distinctions are rarely made between vertical and horizontal surfaces when assessing reef community composition, yet physical differences are expected because of hydrodynamic differences and sediment accumulation on flat surfaces. As sand often diminishes biotic cover, we hypothesised that vertical surfaces will support a greater biomass but have lower diversity due to domination by a few species. To test this, we quantified sessile communities on vertical and horizontal surfaces at three sites in the Delagoa Bioregion on the east coast of South Africa. Community composition consistently differed: vertical communities were dominated by various filter feeders, especially the ascidian Pyura stolonifera, whereas those on horizontal reef comprised a mixture of filter feeders and various algae. The total number of species and all diversity metrics were significantly greater for horizontal reef surfaces. Contrastingly, Simpson's dominance and biomass were significantly greater for vertical reef surfaces. Percentage cover of sand explained much of the variation in community composition whereas depth did not. Small-scale topographic differences in substratum orientation associated with differences in sand inundation will therefore influence both α and β diversity. Coastal developments and activities that alter sand movements and delivery to the coastal zone are therefore likely to have a profound influence on the maintenance and diversity of shallow subtidal communities.


Primary tumor of the optic nerve in general is rare. That arising at the intracranial portion of the optic nerve and the optic chiasm is particularly so. This usually occurs in childhood and sometimes is associated with generalized neurofibromatosis, or Recklinghausen's disease. The most significant and often the only signs are ocular. Primary atrophy of the optic nerve associated with divergent strabismus in one eye is a common finding. Occasionally there is a superimposed papilledema. Studies of the visual fields show either total blindness in one eye and hemianopia in the other, or bitemporal or homonymous hemianopia. The roentgen rays are helpful in diagnosis. The sella turcica is often deformed and the optic foramen enlarged. The growth of the tumor is slow; invasion of the orbit producing exophthalmos occurs late. Surgical intervention is not indicated. The diagnosis is often difficult, and surgical intervention is undertaken as an exploratory measure. The


As ochratoxin-producing fungi are often isolated from poultry feeds and from cereals used in compounding these feeds, a study has been made of the effects of feeding ochratoxin A (OA) to laying birds. Four groups of White Leghorn hens were fed 0, .5, 1, and 4 ppm in the feed respectively. Egg production and feed consumption declined in the three groups given OA, while egg and body weight were depressed only by feeding higher levels of OA. Fertility and hatchability were unaffected by feeding OA. Prothrombin times were increased and total serum proteins were decreased after feeding 1 or 4 ppm for six weeks. After the withdrawal of the mycotoxin-contaminated feed, OA disappeared from the muscle after 24 hr but persisted in liver and kidney for more than 48 hr. No residues were found in fat or skin.


In this paper, firstly logistics demand is introduced and indicator items are discussed. Then forecasting of logistics demand scale is illustrated. And GM(1,1) model is discussed in detail. Based on freight traffic and freight ton-kilometers, a novel forecasting model using Grey System Theory for logistics demand scale in Guangdong Province is proposed. Experiment result shows that relative error of freight traffic forcasting for 2009 is 0.8576% and that of freight ton-kilometers is 0.526%. So this model is efficient for forecasting of logistics demand in local area.


Dense coding is the seminal example of how entanglement
can boost quantum communication. By sharing an
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair, dense coding allows
one to transmit two bits of classical information while
sending only a single qubit [1]. This doubling of the
channel capacity is the largest allowed in quantum theory
[2]. In this letter we show in both theory and experiment
that same elementary resources, namely a shared EPR
pair and qubit communication, are strictly more powerful
than two classical bits in more general communication
tasks. In contrast to dense coding experiments [3–8],
we show that these advantages can be revealed using
merely standard optical Bell state analysers [9, 10].
Our results reveal that the power of entanglement in
enhancing quantum communications qualitatively goes
beyond boosting channel capacities.


A series of novel panchromatic D–D–π–A porphyrin dyes have been synthesized and applied to dye-sensitized solar cells. Three porphyrin dyes named JP1, JP2 and JP3, and their photophysical and electrochemical properties and photovoltaic performance were investigated and compared with reference dye YD2-O-C8. 2-Hexylthiophene chromophores were introduced to the donor groups, which extended the π-conjugation system effectively, then broadened the range of spectral response and improved the charge separation between the donor and acceptor moieties in the excited state. Moreover, this paper used thiophene-2-carboxylic acid instead of the traditional benzoic acid as an anchor group, which can make the molecules arrange to tilted orientation when adsorbed on the TiO2 surface, and this may effectively suppress the dye aggregation and prevent charge recombination. These dyes were clearly red-shifted when compared with dye YD2-O-C8. Especially for dye JP3, its maximum absorption peak was red shifted 20 nm with respect to dye YD2-O-C8 from 645 to 665 nm, and the molar extinction coefficient (6.2 × 104 M−1 cm−1) of JP3 is double that of YD2-O-C8 (3.1 × 104 M−1 cm−1) at the Q band. Dye JP3 extended the spectral response to 750 nm. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the electronic density of the HOMO was increased by the additional thiophene units in these dyes when compared with YD2-O-C8, and this will improve the conjugation and electron donating ability. The power conversion efficiencies of JP1, JP2 and JP3 are 5.09%, 5.62% and 6.40% respectively under AM 1.5G irradiation, which are 74.5%, 82.3% and 93.7% of the YD2-O-C8 based-device (6.83%) under the same conditions.


Simple Summary The following article studied the environment influence between island and mainland in an endemic marsupial from Chile the mouse-opossum Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839). Its important to understand that the isolated habitat could affect the pattern of morphological evolution in organism due to millions of years of being separated from the mainland. In this re-search we used two methodologies to study those effects in the mandible of this marsupial, first a biomechanical methodology which was used to correlate it with the diet, and a second called ge-ometric morphometrics which combine the geometry and biology to identify the principal changes in the morphology. Our results showed that Island populations have more disparity in the mor-phology in comparison to the mailand differences that could be related to the arid environment and other characteristic of the island. Concluding that one of the possible reason of the evolutionary history of this Chilean mouse-opossum was processes of natural selection by a process of coloniza-tion of island after vicariance denominated founder effect. Abstract Island ecosystems differ in several elements from mainland ecosystems and may induce variations related to natural selection and patterns of adaptation in most aspects of the biology of an organism. Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839) is a marsupial endemic to Chile, distributed from Loa River to Concepción. Historically, three subspecies have been described: Thylamys elegans elegans, Thylamys elegans coquimbensis and Thylamys elegans soricinus. For this research, two morphometric approaches and a biomechanical model were used to compare the mandible shapes and biomechanics between two Chilean mouse opossum populations belonging to different subspecies: one from the coastal desert of Chile (T. e. coquimbensis) and the other from the central inland region (T. e. elegans). Additionally, mandibles of insular populations found in the Reserva Nacional Pinguino de Humboldt (RNPH)), from which the subspecies association is unknown, were also included. The results showed that insular populations have differences in mandibular shapes, sizes and biomechanical characteristics compared to continental populations, which may be related to environmental variables like aridity and vegetation cover, prey type, insularity effects and/or the founder effect on micromammals, apart from vicariance hypotheses and other selective pressures.


In the present article, we investigate numerically turbulent flow of air through compound rectangular channels. Large eddy simulation(LES) is employed for unsteady turbulence modeling. LES gives better predictions for the axial mean velocity distribution than those of other turbulent models. Strong large-scale quasi-periodic flow oscillations are observed in most of the geometries investigated. Such large-scale flow oscillations in compound rectangular channels are similar to the quasi-periodic flow pulsation through the gaps between fuel rod bundle in nuclear reactor. It exists in any longitudinal connecting gap between two flow channels. The frequency of this flow oscillation is determined by the geometry of the gap. The large scale cross motions through the rectangular compound channels induce significant heat transfer enhancement of the compound channel flow.


Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy will affect the outcomes for the mother and the baby. Many analyses of the relationship between diet and outcome are often based on a single or a few food items or nutrients. However, foods are not consumed in isolation and dietary patterns can be used to assess the whole diet consumed. The use of dietary pattern analysis to understand nutritional intake and pregnancy outcome is becoming more and more popular. Many published studies have showed the association between maternal dietary patterns and pregnancy outcome. This review examined articles about the relationship between maternal dietary patterns and pregnancy outcome. As a modifiable factor, dietary patterns may be more applicable to clinical and pregnant health interventions.


The low efficiency of coupling a hollow Gaussian beam into single-mode fiber terribly decreases the transmission efficiency of an optical communication system. In this paper, a coupling system containing a shaping lens and a coupling lens is designed based on the vector theory of refraction. The simulation results show that our coupling system can improve coupling efficiency to 81.45%, and the efficiency can still reach 74.73% even though chamfering and other factors are considered. This paper may not only provide engineers with a more efficient coupling system but also provide designers with ideas of hollow-solid (or solid-hollow) beam shaping systems.


In this paper, a method to increase the forming speed of a liquid discharge system commonly employed in additive manufacturing, will be discussed. A new motion control method of a variable nozzle feeding speed will be proposed to significantly enhance the forming speed and thus productivity can be improved. By the high-resolution and high-speed forming method increasing the flow rate and the nozzle feeding speed and the variable line width forming method switching the forming resolution, the trade-off between forming speed and product quality is avoided. Various experiments are provided to prove the effectiveness of the proposed control method.


A comprehensive picture of void dynamics in connection with the critical morphological evolution has been developed in order to understand the conditions under which premature failure of metallic thin interconnects occurs. Our mathematical model on the mass flow and accumulation on void surfaces, under the action of applied electrostatic and elastostatic force fields, and capillary effects, follows an irreversible but discrete thermodynamic formulation of interphases and surfaces. This formalism also takes into account in a natural way the mass transfer process (the void growth), between bulk phase and the void region in multi-component systems, in terms of the normalized local values of Gibbs free energy of transformation with respect to the specific surface Gibbs free energy, in addition to the contribution due to local curvature of the advancing reaction front, rather rigorously.


Gastrointestinal dysfunction is one of several physiologic complications in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI can result in increased intestinal permeability resulting from apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells, which contain a large number of mitochondria for persisting barrier function. Autophagy of damaged mitochondria (mitophagy) controls the quality of the mitochondria and regulates cellular homeostasis. However, the exact mechanism of mitophagy that underlies the pathological changes induced by TBI is unknown. Here, we report that mitophagy decreases the intestinal epithelial cell damage and apoptosis that are activated in a rat model of controlled cortical impact (CCI). CCI-induced mitophagy is associated with an increase in 3-nitrotyrosine and 4-hydroxynonenal, indicating that oxidative stress may increase in response to mitochondrial disturbance. CCI also results in the expression of the tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and occludin, which may regulate the in vivo intestinal hyperpermeability induced by CCI. Additionally, CCI-induced mitophagy was shown to be mediated by the oxidative stress-related extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/nuclear factor-erythroid2-like2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling pathway, which may serve to reduce the apoptosis induced by oxidative stress. These results suggest that CCI-induced mitophagy serves to diminish apoptosis-mediated intestinal epithelial cell damage and to improve intestinal permeability, via ERK/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling. These findings may be useful in the design of rational approaches for the prevention and treatment of symptoms associated with TBI.


Postpartum depression is a disorder that is often unrecognized and undertreated. Many psychosocial stressors may have an impact on the development of postpartum depression. The greater risk of postpartum depression is a history of major depression and those who have experienced depression during past pregnancies. Untreated maternal depression can have a negative effect on child development, mother-infant bonding, and risk of anxiety or depressive symptoms in infants later in life. Management of postpartum depression is a vital part of adequate medical care. The obstetrician and pediatrician can serve important roles in screening for and treating postpartum depression. To prevent adverse outcomes associated with depression and its impact on the child, it is important that all health care professionals and nurse practitioners are aware of specific signs and symptoms, appropriate screening methods, and proper treatment. This review article covers major traits of postpartum depression.


Urinary 1,6-hexamethylene diamine (HDA) may serve as a biomarker for systemic exposure to 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) in occupationally exposed populations. However, the quantitative relationships between dermal and inhalation exposure to HDI and urine HDA levels have not been established. We measured acid-hydrolyzed urine HDA levels along with dermal and breathing-zone levels of HDI in 48 automotive spray painters. These measurements were conducted over the course of an entire workday for up to three separate workdays that were spaced approximately 1 month apart. One urine sample was collected before the start of work with HDI-containing paints and subsequent samples were collected during the workday. HDA levels varied throughout the day and ranged from nondetectable to 65.9 microg l(-1) with a geometric mean and geometric standard deviation of 0.10 microg l(-1) +/- 6.68. Dermal exposure and inhalation exposure levels, adjusted for the type of respirator worn, were both significant predictors of urine HDA levels in the linear mixed models. Creatinine was a significant covariate when used as an independent variable along with dermal and respirator-adjusted inhalation exposure. Consequently, exposure assessment models must account for the water content of a urine sample. These findings indicate that HDA exhibits a biphasic elimination pattern, with a half-life of 2.9 h for the fast elimination phase. Our results also indicate that urine HDA level is significantly associated with systemic HDI exposure through both the skin and the lungs. We conclude that urinary HDA may be used as a biomarker of exposure to HDI, but biological monitoring should be tailored to reliably capture the intermittent exposure pattern typical in this industry.


Although the motion of the three-phase contact line on a solid substrate has been extensively studied thus far, the understanding of the dynamics of the contact line of liquid/liquid/gas phases is far from complete. Here we deposit a drop of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) on water and HFE-7100 whose free surfaces are exposed to air to observe the flow field around the contact line. By combining the shadowgraph and high-speed imaging techniques, we find that vortices are spontaneously generated at the contact line, which grow in size with time. The flow is attributed to the Marangoni stress that pulls a liquid of lower-surface tension toward a liquid surface having a higher surface tension. However, it is not still clear why the entrained lower-surface-tension liquid should whirl rapidly beneath the contact line. We also visualize the flow by the particle image velocimetry (PIV) to find out that the rotational velocity reaches the order of 1 mm/s near the free surface.


To use a language properly, we of course have to know the grammatical structures of the language and their meanings ,but we also have to know what forms of language are appropriate for given situations,and for this purpose,this thesis briefly explains the social variants of English,such as (informal English), (written English)and (American English).


Worldwide efforts to depollute environments altered by human industrial activity have begun to produce an ever-increasing number of "clean" sites. "Clean" is defined by local regulatory processes and often responds to low compound concentrations or risk evaluations. Yet, these sites have been critically derailed from their historical biological activity by both the pollution event and the clean-up technology. This work explored the impact of contaminated (and remediated) sites on local microbial ecosystems. Different parcels of the same field site with the same relatively uniform microbial ecology were polluted and cleaned-up over the last 15 years. The statistical evaluation of the perturbation described changes to the local ecosystem that went back to the original baseline microbial composition although the pollution sources and the clean-up technologies affected the rate of return to the pre-disturbed condition. This rate reflected the intensity of the clean-up treatments. The role played by microbial communities on ecosystem maintenance and mitigation of pollution events lays the groundwork for predicting the microbial community responses to perturbations and the ability to reassert themselves. Predictions of ecosystem response to anthropogenic impacts could support decision-making on environmental management strategies for contaminated sites clean-up, depending on the ecosystem services desired to maintain or the risk posed to sensitive receptors.


Computer science discipline includes many research fields, which mutually influence and promote each other's development. This poses two great challenges of predicting the research topics of each research field. One is how to model fine-grained topic representation of a research field. The other is how to model research topic of different fields and keep the semantic consistency of research topics when learning the scientific influence context from other related fields. Unfortunately, the existing research topic prediction approaches cannot handle these two challenges. To solve these problems, we employ multiple different Recurrent Neural Network chains which model research topics of different fields and propose a research topic prediction model based on spatial attention and semantic consistency-based scientific influence modeling. Spatial attention is employed in field topic representation which can selectively extract the attributes from the field topics to distinguish the importance of field topic attributes. Semantic consistency-based scientific influence modeling maps research topics of different fields to a unified semantic space to obtain the scientific influence context of other related fields. Extensive experiment results on five related research fields in the computer science (CS) discipline show that the proposed model is superior to the most advanced methods and achieves good topic prediction performance.


Diamondback moth and African bollworm are serious lepidopteran pests of the Cruciferae family of crops. They are a major challenge in the production of the crops they attack. Resistance by these pests to commonly used pesticides has occasioned the need for development of alternative methods of management including the use of biological control agents. Widespread use of biological control in developing countries has been hampered by lack of cheap and efficient systems of mass producing bio-control agents. This study was, therefore, carried out to develop a system for the production of baculoviruses and to evaluate the virulence of Kenyan isolates of baculoviruses for management of Diamondback moth and African bollworm. The baculovirus isolates that were evaluated, Plutella xylostella GV (PlxyGV) and Helicoverpa armigera NPV (HearNPV), were produced within the bodies of their natural host reared on artificial diets. Rearing insects on imported diet is expensive and therefore diets were developed from locally available materials and evaluated to determine their ability to support growth of Diamondback moth and African bollworm. Three Kenyan baculovirus isolates, PlxyGV F4, PlxyGV I0 and HearNPV F1 from wild Diamondback moth and African bollworm larvae exhibiting virus symptoms were characterized. Bioassays were done to determine the lethal dose and the lethal time of the three isolates. Further, the efficacy of the PlxyGV I0 isolate was evaluated in field experiments. The average survival rates of African bollworm and diamondback moth reared on the modified multi-species southland and modified pieris diets were 95% and 97% in respectively compared to 90% survival rates of both insects on the multi-species southland diet. This revealed superiority of the modified diets over the standard. Morphology, biological activity and DNA make-up ofthe baculovirus isolated from Kenya was similar to isolates reported in literature. The size of occlusion bodies from light microscopy was approximately 0.15 x 0.35 μm for granulovirus isolates and 0.5-5 μm for nucleopolyhedrovirus indicating that they were true baculovirus isolates. The total estimated genome length of the PlxyGV isolate is 93.3 kb while there was similarity in overall pattern and size between the Kenyan HearNPV isolate and the main genotype of the Chinese isolate indicating that they were true baculovirus isolates. In field trials, the Kenyan isolates of PlxyGV caused up to 97% mortality in DBM population compared to 95% caused by a chemical standard (Tracer 480SC). The findings in this study indicate potential for utilization of the Kenyan isolates of baculoviruses in the management of Diamondback moth and African bollworm pests.


THE interest felt of late by neurologists in the import of modifications of the so-called patellar tendon-reflex is my excuse for these few remarks. The increase of this phenomenon in affections where we have reason to believe there is some release of the spinal system from the normal brain-control, or in other words, where the inhibition of reflex action is in abeyance, does not present any special difficulty. We have an example of this furnished us by the spastic or spasmodic paralysis, which has been attributed to sclerotic change in the lateral columns of the spinal cord. It might be of interest to inquire whether hysterical disease is illustrated by the same phenomenon. But when we consider the diagnostic and etiological value of the abolition of the tendon-reflex, we are met with a somewhat more complex question. The stoppage of the impulse which leads to the reflex action of the quadriceps extensor cruris may take place in the centre, or in the afferent or efferent nervous apparatus. From what we know of the absence of this phenomenon in locomotor ataxy, where it has been hitherto chiefly observed, we appear to have good reason in considering central change to be the obstacle. The reflex disappears before there is any marked sensory or motor paralysis, and morbid anatomy connects with this disease a definite lesion of the cord. It would seem that the abolition of this tendon-reflex probably points to some spinal lesion, in cases where sensation and voluntary power over the muscles still exist in the limb in question. Now, among the affections in which this phenomenon has been studied, Duchenne's palsy, or pseudo-hypertrophic paralysis, is somewhat prominent. I have noted it in two well marked cases (one of which is still in the ward) that I have lately had under my care at the East London Hospital for Children; and I find four cases with this symptom mentioned in Dr. Gowers's very valuable lecture recently published. Considering how very lately it is that attention has been directed to the knee-phenomenon, hitherto known chiefly to schoolboys, these four observed cases probably bear a larger proportion to the whole list than appears at first sight. Dr. Gowers certainly states that, early in the disease, the reflex is present; but, in support of this, he quotes no individual case. It is desirable that further observations be made on this perhaps important point; though it is but rarely that early cases of Duchenne's disease come under the notice of physicians. At first sight, however, the loss of tendon-reflex appears to have some bearing on the hitherto unwritten pathology of this malady. Although there is no positive anatomical evidence in favour of the theory of its central origin, there is not much to be said as yet for the German explanation, quoted 'and espoused by Dr. Gowers, that the disease is a congenital nutritive and formative weakness of the striated muscle-substance. There are many and important clinical points of analogy between Duchenne's disease and progressive muscular atrophy, which we are now tending to class among spinal diseases; and it can hardly be denied that, should further observation confirm the frequent occurrence of the absent knee-phenomenon in Duchenne's palsy, we should take this fact into account when discussing its-probable origin, remembering the analogy of locomotor ataxy. It may be urged by some that the absence of tendon-reflex is connected in the disease we are considering with the very muscles which are notably weakened, namely, the quadriceps extensor cruris; and that the stoppage of the reflex stimulus may take place in the motor nerve to this muscle, or in the muscle itself. But we must remember that, although these muscles are shown to have lost working strength, especially in the action of rising from the ground, yet a very fair voluntary power remains for some time of extending the leg on the thigh When the patient is lying on his back. It might be interesting, however, in this context to inquire, more accurately than has hitherto been done, into the degree of power of these extensor muscles in the stages of locomotor ataxy previous to the setting in of the general paretic condition. Further observations may settle the question as to whether the diagnosis and pathology of Duchenne's disease may gain any such light from the absent tendon-reflex, as we think we have derived therefrom iin out sttudy of locomotor ataxy. HYDATID DISEASE OF SPLEEN AND LEFT


Numerous studies show an association between particulate air pollution and adverse health effects. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of elemental carbon, ammonium, sulfates, nitrates, organic components, and metals. The mechanisms of action of particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 micro m in mean aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5)), as well as the constituents responsible for the observed cardiopulmonary health effects, have not been identified. In this study we focused on the association between the metallic component of PM(2.5) and cardiac autonomic function based on standard heart rate variability (HRV) measures in an epidemiologic study of boilermakers. Thirty-nine male boilermakers were monitored throughout a work shift. Each subject wore an ambulatory electrocardiogram (Holter) monitor and a personal monitor to measure PM(2.5). We used mixed-effects models to regress heart rate and SDNN index (standard deviation of the normal-to-normal) on PM(2.5) and six metals (vanadium, nickel, chromium, lead, copper, and manganese). There were statistically significant mean increases in the SDNN index of 11.30 msec and 3.98 msec for every 1 micro g/m(3) increase in the lead and vanadium concentrations, respectively, after adjusting for mean heart rate, age, and smoking status. Small changes in mean heart rate were seen with all exposure metrics. The results of this study suggest an association between exposure to airborne metals and significant alterations in cardiac autonomic function. These results extend our understanding of the adverse health effects of the metals component of ambient PM(2.5).


Two thousand and one lines of Cicer arietinum and 20 lines of wild Cicer spp. were tested in a plastic-house for their reaction to infestation by Heterodera ciceri. Evaluation of root infestation using a 0-5 rating scale based on the number of females and cysts of the nematode occurring on the roots revealed that none of the lines was free of the nematode. However, 20 lines of C. arietinum were rated 2; 482 were rated 3 and 14994 or 5. Among wild species the lines of C. bijugum ILWC 8 and ILWC 34 were rated 2 and ILWC 7 rated 3 while all remaining lines were rated 4 or 5.


In the world, around 30% of the total solid waste is construction and demolition waste. In India, as per the building material promotion council, 150 million tonnes of C&D waste is generated every year. In the total C&D waste, only one percent which is 6500 tonnes per day is recycled, mentioned in the report released by the Centre for science and environment, New Delhi. There is a rising gap between increasing demand and limited sources in the construction sector of India. It leads to market instability and environmental harm. Linear business model is most commonly used in present times. It is one of the main reasons for the increase of C&D wastes. This linear approach (sourcecommodity-waste) encourages the one-use of products. It leads to excessive dumping of C&D wastes in landfills, which is not a sustainable practice. Circular business models leads to closed-loop approach (source-commodity-waste-new source). The adoption of circular business models in C&D waste management is the possible solution for the decreasing resources. This study aims to discuss the implementation of various approaches including conceptual models, methods, and tools of circular business models in the C&D waste management in India, which leads to the circular economy and sustainable development. Through the study of recent literature sources, various data related to circular business models, circular economy are collected. Data analysis will be done using the literature review. This research will highlight the socio-economic, environmental benefits, improvements, and the applicability of circular business models in the C&D waste management of India. This paper is concluded that framing strict circular economy policies for India would encourage the implementation of CBM in C&D waste management which reduces the need for fresh resources and ensures sustainable development. Keywords— C&D Waste Management, Circular Business Models, Circular Economy, Indian Construction Sector, Sustainable Development


The use of technology has become important at this point in helping to meet human needs.Due to the increasing use of technology, new challenges are brought in the process of democracy as most people today don't trust their governments, making elections is very important in modern democracy . Elections have a great importance in determining who will rule a nation or an organization or it can be said as it is an event that decides the fate of any nation.

In modern democracy, elections are very important but large sections of society around the world do not trust their election system which is a major concern for democracy.

Even the world's largest democracies like India, United States, still suffer from a flawed electoral system. Vote rigging, hacking of EVM (Electronic voting machine), election manipulation, and polling booth capturing are the major issues in the current voting system

The blockchain is said as emerging, decentralized, and distributed technology that promises to enhance different aspects of many industries. Expanding e-voting into blockchain technology could be the solution to eliminate the present concerns in e-voting system

There is no doubt that the ever changing concept of the blockchain, which is the backbone of the famous cryptocurrency Bitcoin has triggered the start of a new era in the Internet and the online services. While most people focus only on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies; there are in fact, many operations, both administrative and fintech that can only be done online/offline can now safely be moved to the Internet as online services because of immutability of blockchain. What makes blockchain a powerful tool is its smarts contracts and many features which overcomes traditional systems.

Smart contracts are meaningful pieces of codes, to be integrated in the blockchain and executed as scheduled in every step of blockchain updates. E-votin, is another trending, yet critical, topic related to the online services. The blockchain with the smart contracts, emerges as a good candidate to use in developments of safer, cheaper, more secure, more transparent, and easier-to-use e-voting systems.Due to its consistency, widespread use, and provision of smart contracts logic, Ethereum and its network is one of the most suitable ones. An e-voting system must be secure, as it should not allow duplicated votes and be fully transparent, while protecting the privacy of the attendees. In this project, we have implemented and tested an e-voting application as a smart contract for the Ethereum network using the Ethereum and the Solidity language.


Bronchoscopy is currently the most commonly employed invasive procedure in the practice of pulmonary medicine. Both the rigid and flexible bronchoscopes are used to diagnose and treat various pulmonary disorders, in children the main diagnostic indications include infections, diffuse lung diseases, and airway problems. The bronchoscope is used too in application of laser therapy, placement of airway stents, and balloon dilatation to relieve airway obstruction caused by malignant and benign airway lesions. Today pediatric flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FFB) is a safe diagnostic and interventional tool, even in young or extremely premature infants. Recent series explore newer applications, delineate potential complications, and make recommendations for its future application. The technique and clinical application of bronchoscopy had their origins in 1897, when Gustav Killian used a rigid endoscope to examine the airways. Chevalier Jackson refined the rigid bronchoscope, which was the only type of instrument available for the evaluation of airways until the early 1970s, when Shigeto Ikeda developed the flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope. Flexible airway endoscopy has been used in clinical and research investigations of pediatric airway and pulmonary disorders for nearly 25 years. Not only has clinical use of the flexible bronchoscope improved our evaluation and management of a variety of airway and pulmonary diseases in children, but also research investigations using lavage and biopsy specimens obtained with the flexible bronchoscope have contributed extensively to our understanding of lung inflammation and infection. Improvements and new developments in fiberoptic endoscope technology, training of airway endoscopists, preoperative and sedative medications, patient monitoring, and airway endoscopic techniques, as well as adjunctive minimally invasive and noninvasive diagnostic modalities, continue to refine and enhance the pediatric clinical and research applications of flexible airway endoscopy. One of the fhaters of pediatrics bronchoscopy is Robert E Wood who stablish -1980sthat flexible bronchoscopy, with appropriate instrumentation and careful attention to physiological requirements of the patient, is safe and effective in pediatric patients. Over 1000 procedures an endoscopic diagnosis of direct relevance to the primary indication was established in 76% of the cases. The bronchoscope was most useful in the evaluation of patients who had stridor, atelectasis, persistent wheezing, or a suspected foreign body, and for patients who had tracheostomies. The high diagnostic yield and low complication rate strongly support the use of the flexible bronchoscope in the diagnostic evaluation of infants and children who have a variety of pulmonary problems. At the end of 1990s a colaborative study of ERS suggest that bronchoscopy in children was a wellestablished procedure at several European centres, while others are just beginning to use this technique. Fifty one European centres took part in the study. Discusión about sedation type are continued. Diagnostic BAL or extraction of mucous plugs should be accomplished with optimal control of the airway under general anesthesia. The use of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) during flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy is safe, provides excellent patient comfort, and should be utilized as an alternative to endotracheal intubation.


A detailed study has been made of the atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition
(CVD) of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) coatings on powder metallurgy (PM) BT42 grade high
speed steel (HSS) indexable cutting tool inserts. To facilitate this, a laboratory-scale CVD
reactor was initially designed and purpose-built.
The literature on the effect of process parameters on Al203 coatings chemically vapour
deposited on cemented carbide substrates was comprehensively surveyed. With reference to
deposition conditions quoted in this literature, a series of trial Al203 coating runs were then
performed using uncoated and TiN, TiC and Ti(C1N) precoated PM HSS inserts. Concurrently,
modifications to the laboratory-scale CVD reactor were made. Eventually, deposition
conditions were established under which a preliminary a Al203 coating could be deposited
on the PM HSS inserts and, in the case of the Ti(C1N) precoated inserts only, substantially
retained during the obligatory post-coating HSS substrate heat treatment. The effect of the
absence/presence and type of precoating on the CVD of AI203 coatings on the PM HSS inserts
are discussed. Subsequent coating runs were carried out only on Ti(C1N) precoated inserts.
The characteristics of the preliminary AlP, coating on the Ti(C1N) precoated PM HSS inserts
were determined, both before and after the obligatory HSS substrate heat treatment, using an
established characterisation procedure. This involved the following techniques: X-ray
diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, optical microscopy, fractography, scanning electron
microscopy, microhardness testing, profilometry and scratch-adhesion testing. Although
many of the characteristics of the preliminary AI20, coating were found to be inferior to those
presented in the literature, they were also established to be essentially unaffected by the
post-coating HSS substrate heat treatment.
To im prove upon the preliminary Al203 coating, the effect of two of the most important CVD
process parameters quoted in the literature; C02JH 2 mole ratio and Alel3 concentration, on
the characteristics of Al20, coatings chemically vapour deposited on the Ti(C1N) precoated
PM HSS inserts was investigated. Both parameters were found to have a significant effect
on Al203 coating characteristics. The reasons for this are discussed in detail.


Co-production techniques that involve student voice have been shown to empower young people and shape their learning experiences, while widening participation approaches can improve students' educational aspirations. However, there is limited literature on the impact that a combination
 of co-production and widening participation approaches might have on students' learning, aspirations and self-esteem in the UK. The Research Methods in School Education (RISE) educational course aims to: (1) create a collaborative educational activity through co-production, giving young people
 an opportunity to voice their opinions; (2) raise awareness of community health issues; and (3) increase access to higher education. This paper describes and evaluates co-producing the RISE educational course with students and teachers from a sixth-form college in south-east London, drawing
 on students' voice, and on insights from teachers and researchers. We also assess the contribution of the course to improved awareness of community health issues, students' educational or career aspirations, and self-esteem.


The abundance of lithium observed in very young stellar populations is few times larger than the primordial one estimated by recent Planck measurements. Since Lithium is easily destroyed in the stellar interiors, the search for astrophysical sources responsible for the observed lithium over-abundance was a challenge for decades. In this manuscript, we describe the results of an on-going survey dedicated to the study of nova outburst with high-resolution spectrographs at ESO/VLT, aimed at detecting beryllium-7. Our results represent a further confirmation of the occurrence of the thermonuclear runaway during nova explosions and imply that classical novae are one of the main factories of lithium in the Galaxy.


As semiconductor device features shrink into deep-submicron regime, copper metallization is taking the place of aluminum (Al)-tungsten (W) metallization because of the higher electrical conductivity and electromigration resistance of copper. However, it is very difficult for copper to be etched by dry etching method, thus copper metallization is created with damascene process. In this process, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is the key step. The wet chemical treatment in CMP makes copper corrosion to be one of the critical issues for copper metallization. This paper has addressed the three different types of copper corrosion, namely copper chemical corrosion, copper galvanic corrosion and photo assistant copper corrosion. The failure analyses for how to differentiate them and identify their root causes have been also discussed in details.


The placenta is the interface between maternal and fetal circulations, integrating maternal and fetal signals to selectively regulate nutrient, gas, and waste exchange, as well as secrete hormones. In turn, the placenta helps create the in utero environment and control fetal growth and development. The unique epigenetic profile of the human placenta likely reflects its early developmental separation from the fetus proper and its role in mediating maternal–fetal exchange that leaves it open to a range of exogenous exposures in the maternal circulation. In this review, we cover recent advances in DNA methylation in the context of placental function and development, as well as the interaction between the pregnancy and the environment.


The purpose of the paper is to present new estimates on incomplete character sums in finite fields that are of the strength of Burgess' celebrated theorem for prime fields. More precisely, an inequality of this type is obtained in Fp2 and also for binary quadratic forms, improving on the work of Davenport–Lewis and on several results due to Burgess. The arguments are based on new estimates for the multiplicative energy of certain sets that allow us to improve the amplification step in Burgess' method.


Voice over IP (VoIP) has become a popular Internet application. Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) may provide a good platform for the fast deployment of VoIP service in many application scenarios. The luck of infrastructure, flexibility and low cost are the main characteristics of MANETs. Otherwise, its present a considerable complexity that makes the transmission of real-time applications like VoIP a great challenge due to Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. This paper investigates the performances of routing protocols (AODV, OLSR) in MANETs carrying VoIP traffic. Via a simulation study we analyze and evaluate some QoS indicators like bandwidth, end- to-end delay and packet loss. Using Network Simulator (ns2), several voice codecs are studied to determine their effect on metrics QoS. We show how these codecs affect the performance of the routing protocols when varying hops number.


This paper will present the first prototypes of vortex retarders made of photo-orientable liquid crystals polymers recorded without mechanical action using only polarization holography. Vortex retarders are birefringent plates characterized by a uniform phase retard and a rotation of their fast axis along their center. Liquid crystals are anisotropic molecules possessing birefringent properties. They are locally orientable and their orientation defines the fast axis orientation of the retarder. Their alignment depends on the local orientation of the recording electric field. The superimposition of several polarized beams will be used to shape the electric field to achieve the recording of vortex retarders. The mathematical aspects of the superimposition process, as well as several numerical simulations are exposed. Finally, the first prototypes are presented, characterized and compared to the numerical simulations.


Radioactive tracers and a modified capacitance-probe technique were used to characterize the mechanisms that mediate Cl and fluid absorption across the bullfrog retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid. In control (HCO3/CO2) Ringer solution, 36Cl was actively absorbed (retina to choroid) at a mean rate of 0.34 mu eq.cm-2.h-1 (n = 34) and accounted for approximately 25% of the short-circuit current. Apical bumetanide (100 microM) or basal 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS; 1 mM) inhibited active Cl transport by 70 and 62%, respectively. Active Cl absorption was doubled, either by removing HCO3 from the bathing media or by elevating CO2 from 5 to 13%, and the increased flux was inhibited by apical bumetanide or basal DIDS. Open-circuit measurements of fluid absorption rate (Jv) and the net fluxes of 36Cl, 22Na, and 86Rb (K substitute) indicated that CO2-induced acidification stimulated NaCl and fluid absorption across the RPE. During acidification, bumetanide produced a twofold larger inhibition of Jv compared with control. Stimulation of net Cl absorption was most likely caused by inhibition of the the basolateral membrane intracellular pH-dependent Cl-HCO3 exchanger.


This paper proposes a novel blocking artifacts reduction method based on the notion that the blocking artifacts are caused by heavy accuracy loss of transform coefficients in the quantization process. We define the block boundary discontinuity measure as the sum of the squared differences of pixel values along the block boundary. The proposed method compensates for selected transform coefficients so that the resultant image has a minimum block boundary discontinuity. The proposed method does not require a particular transform domain where the compensation should take place; therefore, an appropriate transform domain can be selected at the user's discretion. In the experiments, the scheme is applied to DCT-based compressed images to show its performance.


In vivo 31P-NMR analyses showed that the phosphate (Pi) concentration in the cytosol of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells was much lower than the cytoplasmic Pi concentrations usually considered (60–80 μm instead of >1 mm) and that it dropped very rapidly following the onset of Pi starvation. The Pi efflux from the vacuole was insufficient to compensate for the absence of external Pi supply, suggesting that the drop of cytosolic Pi might be the first endogenous signal triggering the Pi starvation rescue metabolism. Successive short sequences of Pi supply and deprivation showed that added Pi transiently accumulated in the cytosol, then in the stroma and matrix of organelles bounded by two membranes (plastids and mitochondria, respectively), and subsequently in the vacuole. The Pi analog methylphosphonate (MeP) was used to analyze Pi exchanges across the tonoplast. MeP incorporated into cells via the Pi carrier of the plasma membrane; it accumulated massively in the cytosol and prevented Pi efflux from the vacuole. This blocking of vacuolar Pi efflux was confirmed by in vitro assays with purified vacuoles. Subsequent incorporation of Pi into the cells triggered a massive transfer of MeP from the cytosol to the vacuole. Mechanisms for Pi exchanges across the tonoplast are discussed in the light of the low cytosolic Pi level, the cell response to Pi starvation, and the Pi/MeP interactive effects.


Soil is a critical resource that delivers numerous ecosystem services, yet this capacity is diminished by soil erosion and further threatened by the impacts of climate change. Soil erodibility is largely overlooked when considering soils’ response to climate change. Aggregate stability is widely recognised as a key indicator of soil erodibility and is influenced by multiple physical, chemical and biological mechanisms operating simultaneously. The microbial community has been reported to respond to changing climatic conditions, yet it remains unclear how microbial change influences microbially mediated aggregation and therefore aggregate stability. The microbial community in terms of composition, activity, and growth, can change over rapid timescales in response to climate conditions. The short timescale of such microbial shifts could rapidly impact microbially-mediated soil (de)stabilisation and aggregate stability.

The aim of this work is to experimentally test whether climatic conditions, in terms of temperature and moisture content, influence the microbial community and microbially-mediated soil (de)stabilisation, in turn influencing aggregate stability and soil erodibility. A series of laboratory-controlled experiments using environmental chambers and rainfall simulation examined the effects of temperature and moisture content in both static and fluctuating treatments on two surface soils (a sandy loam and a clay loam). Treatments were conducted with single layer aggregate microcosms and multi-layered soil trays to explore aggregate-scale mechanisms and the potential upscaling to run-off processes.

Key findings from this research demonstrate that temperature and moisture content affect aggregate stability and the importance of climate induced microbial shifts influence on microbially mediated soil (de)stabilisation. Static temperature and moisture content conditions significantly affected aggregate stability, however the effects varied dependent on soil texture. Increasing temperature significantly increased aggregate stability in clay loam aggregates, while moisture content significantly decreased aggregate stability in sandy loam aggregates. Multiple regression analysis showed that aggregate stability was best predicted by soil moisture content, microbial biomass carbon, gram-negative bacterial abundance and fungal abundance in the sandy loam. Temperature was the sole significant predictor in the clay loam. Aggregate stability was significantly lower under fluctuating conditions and higher under static conditions. Aggregate stability was not significantly different between fluctuating climate treatments representing summer and winter cycles under future emission scenarios. Although, these treatments did significantly affect the microbial community. Our results have implications for our current understanding of microbial function in terms of soil stabilisation, and the relationship between climate, aggregate stability and soil erodibility.


Empirical studies have revealed the learning design processes employed by teachers in higher education institutions in developed countries (Bennett et al., 2017; Kali et al., 2011; Markauskaite & Goodyear, 2009). However, there has been limited research into the way that university teachers in developing countries design for learning and whether they adopt similar design routines – and indeed, whether there are similarities to the work of learning designers in these settings.
A multiple-case study design was developed to investigate the design processes of eight Indonesian English University Teachers (IEUTs) working in a variety of Indonesian universities in implementing blended (pre-COVID) and online (during COVID) learning in their classes. Due to the Australian travel restrictions to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in 2020, data gathered remotely included digital document analyses, online interviews and online class observations. This data was analysed and a cross-case analysis was undertaken in order to identify common themes.
It was possible to identify design processes that the IEUTs had in common with those described by Bennet et al. (2017). However, this model did not anticipate design issues caused by socio-economic and cultural context in which the IEUTs were teaching. Specifically, factors such as the technological affordances and the costs related to online or blended learning were not described. However, this study noted that these factors had a significant effect upon teachers' design work, often requiring them to redesign learning experiences – sometimes while a subject was ongoing. This challenge was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also meant that teachers were required to work with technologies with which they were not familiar. This, in turn, led to further challenges, at an institutional level, as some universities were not well prepared for online learning.
Teachers who received institutional support services such as a set of curricula, teacher training, support technologies, financial support (i.e., competitive grants to develop online modules in the university's e-learning platform) and hands-on support from IT Centre's staff experienced fewer challenges compared to teachers who were less supported. However, all participating teachers' design practices were constructed from "accidental pedagogies" (McGee & Carmean, 2012) caused by the trial-and-error approach adopted during COVID-19. These teachers faced significant obstacles including ensuring academic integrity, retaining control over the classroom, and ensuring equitable access to course content. Although these design processes might not demonstrate an effective learning design in an ongoing setting, these design practices should be "forgiven" (Dickson-Deane, 2020) as they were a response to an emergency setting. The IEUTs experienced similar design routines to those of instructional designers (Dickson-Deane, 2020) in that they were required to comprehend how an unknown or unexpected event may become known or take place, which can necessitate trial-and-error during the design process and into development and implementation.
A new model of teacher professional development for language teachers was proposed to better prepare teachers for such events and challenges (i.e., other pandemics and catastrophic weather events) by conceiving of them as designers. This model adapted the 6 C's framework for learning designers (Heggart, 2021).


In recent years there have been increasing demands for the power supplies of microprocessors to supply a high current at a low voltage while maintaining a favorable load response performance. This in turn requires inductors for use as dc-dc converters to have low winding resistance and low inductance. Consequently, these inductors now incorporate many vertical-structure parts due to low production costs. Assuming further miniaturization of electronic equipment and components, however, vertical parts are likely to be adversely affected by the expanding magnetic field that interlinks with the winding region. We performed magnetic field analysis on a new method of decreasing the interlinking magnetic fluxes in the winding region by improving the core structure and winding technique. It was found that, by providing a number of windings on a laterally structured core and by connecting them cumulatively, the magnetic fields induced in the gap areas could be removed from the winding region. This inductor proved to yield an outstanding low-loss performance when used as a dc-dc converter for high-frequency operation.


1 Bosslet GT, Carlos WG III, Tybor DJ, McCallister J, Huebert C, Henderson A, Miles MC, Twigg H III, Sears CR, Brown C, et al. Multicenter validation of a customizable scoring tool for selection of trainees for a residency or fellowship program: the EAST-IST study. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2017;14:517–523. 2 Tatem G, Kokas M, Smith CL, DiGiovine B. A feasibility assessment of behavioral-based interviewing to improve candidate selection for a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship program. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2017;14:576–583. 3 White BA, White HD, Ghamande S. Standardization of the pulmonary & critical care medicine fellowship selection process [abstract]. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2017;195:A3287. 4 Macan T. The employment interview: a review of current studies and directions for future research. Hum Resour Manage Rev 2009;19: 203–218.


The essential effects of Tocopherol are based on its antioxidative capacity. Tocopherol, however, is just one in a group of antioxidants, which are important for the organism. Established indication for therapeutical application of vitamin E in infancy is only vitamin-E-malabsorption in connection with chronic cholestasis, pancreatic insufficiency (cystic fibrosis) and short bowel syndrome. In emergency therapy vitamin E is suggested with high dosage in case of shock lung and haemolytic-uraemic syndrome. Positive effects of daily vitamin E application in connection with prophylaxis of retinopathy prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and intraventricular encephalorrhagia of premature infants of severe underweight are not established. Very questionable therapeutic or prophylactic efficiency is opposed to the risk of higher incidence of severe complications in caring for premature infants of severe underweight, such as enterocolitis necroticans and neonatal septicaemia.


This paper explores the national security implications of a potential for a WTO dispute on data flow restrictions. It proposes a basic conceptual framework to assess data flows' restrictions under GATS security exception. The paper represents a contribution to the literature because it is the first paper to address systematically the issue of data flows and national security in the context of a GATS dispute and because it provides a unique perspective that looks both at legal and technical arguments. If a case where to be brought before the WTO dispute settlement, there are certain national security concerns which can be considered essential and imminent, and that therefore the defender might bring up to support its case for invoking the security exception. These are: protection from cyber espionage, protection from cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, and access data in order to prevent terrorist threats. The paper presents both a legal and technical analysis of these three cases in order to assess the relevance of restrictions on data flows under GATS security exception. This analysis can, more generally, inform the debate on the protection of national security in the digital era. The paper finds that in the three cases, restrictions on data considered critical for national security might raise the cost of certain attacks. However, the risks would remain pervasive and national security would not be significantly enhanced both legally and technically. As a matter of fact, several studies claim that local processing requirements can have rather a detrimental impact on security. The implementation of good security standards and encryption techniques appears to be a more effective way to ensure a better response to cyber threats. All in all, it will be important to investigate on a case by case basis whether the scope of the measure (sectors and data covered) is considered proportionate and whether the measure in question in practice reduces the exposure of the country to cyber espionage, cyber attacks and terrorist threats.


BACKGROUND
The assessment and localization of hearing impairments require reliable and valid recruitment indicators. Although many diagnostic tests are available, which of these tests are most important is still the subject of controversy.

METHOD
To compare the efficacy of various diagnostic audiometric tests, 51 subjects with monaural sensorineural hearing loss were submitted to the following tests at 500 and 2000 Hz: category loudness scaling of narrowband noise bursts, alternate binaural loudness balance (ABLB), intensity difference limen test, SISI test, fixed frequency Békésy audiometry, and contralateral determination of the acoustic reflex threshold for pure tones.

RESULTS
Using the findings of the ABLB test as reference, the results of the present study revealed that category loudness scaling and acoustic reflex audiometry are reliable quantitative recruitment indicators. This holds for the intensity difference limen test to a lesser extend as well. However, the recruitment selectivity of the SISI test and Békésy audiometry turned out to be considerably poorer.

CONCLUSIONS
Category loudness scaling has proven to be a valuable element in the conventional recruitment test battery particularly for patients with symmetrical hearing loss. Therefore, category loudness scaling, ABLB test (when feasible), acoustic reflex measurement, and to a lesser extend the intensity difference limen test should be given the highest priority when selecting appropriate diagnostic audiometric tests. The efficacy of the SISI test and Békésy audiometry should be comprehensively reevaluated on the basis of expanded data. Until such material is available and a final judgement of the clinical value is possible, both these tests should be used and interpreted carefully.


The recent rapid advances in machine learning technologies largely depend on the vast richness of data available today, in terms of both the quantity and the rich content contained within. For example, biometric data such as images and voices could reveal people's attributes like age, gender, sentiment, and origin, whereas location/motion data could be used to infer people's activity levels, transportation modes, and life habits. Along with the new services and applications enabled by such technological advances, various governmental policies are put in place to regulate such data usage and protect people's privacy and rights. As a result, data owners often opt for simple data obfuscation (e.g., blur people's faces in images) or withholding data altogether, which leads to severe data quality degradation and greatly limits the data's potential utility. Aiming for a sophisticated mechanism which gives data owners fine-grained control while retaining the maximal degree of data utility, we propose Multi-attribute Selective Suppression, or MaSS, a general framework for performing precisely targeted data surgery to simultaneously suppress any selected set of attributes while preserving the rest for downstream machine learning tasks. MaSS learns a data modifier through adversarial games between two sets of networks, where one is aimed at suppressing selected attributes, and the other ensures the retention of the rest of the attributes via general contrastive loss as well as explicit classification metrics. We carried out an extensive evaluation of our proposed method using multiple datasets from different domains including facial images, voice audio, and video clips, and obtained promising results in MaSS' generalizability and capability of suppressing targeted attributes without negatively affecting the data's usability in other downstream ML tasks.


Background: An abnormal hemoglobin concentration has a substantial effect on a person's quality of life and physiology. Lack of tools that effectively evaluate hemoglobin-related outcomes leads to uncertainty regarding optimal hemoglobin levels, transfusion thresholds and treatment targets. We therefore aim to summarize reviews that assess the effects of hemoglobin modulation on the human physiology at various baseline hemoglobin levels, and identify gaps in existing evidence. Methods: We conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews. PubMed, MEDLINE (OVID), Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Emcare were searched from inception to the 15th of April 2022 for studies that reported on physiological and patient reported outcomes following a hemoglobin change. Results: Thirty-three reviews were included of which 7 were scored as of high quality and 24 of critically low quality using the AMSTAR-2 tool. The reported data generally show that an increase in hemoglobin leads to improvement of patient reported and physical outcomes in anaemic and non-anaemic subjects. At lower hemoglobin levels, the effect of a hemoglobin modulation on quality of life measures appears more pronounced. Conclusion: This overview has revealed many knowledge gaps due to a lack of high-quality evidence. For chronic kidney disease patients, a clinically relevant benefit of increasing the hemoglobin levels up until 12 g/dL was found. However, a personalized approach remains necessary due to the many patient-specific factors that affect outcomes. We strongly encourage future trials to incorporate physiological outcomes as objective parameters together with subjective, but still very important, patient reported outcome measures.


ABSTRACT Community groups are taking initiatives to adapt to a changing climate. These organizations differ from businesses and governments by being non-profit, often informal, resource limited, and reliant on volunteer labor. How these organizations facilitate collective action is not well known, especially since they do not necessarily solve common pool resource governance, but rather improve common pool resources through collective action. In fact, at first glance, community groups seem to not have the means for solving collective action problems used routinely in industry and government, such as paying people for cooperation or punishing them for lack of it. This article investigates how community groups solve collective action problems though data gathered across 25 organizations in three sites – Sitka, Alaska, USA; Toco, Trinidad; and a global site of distributed citizen science organizations. We found that community groups used positive reinforcement methods common to industry and used little punishment. Groups also engaged in mechanisms for collective action, such as relying on altruistic contributions by few individuals, that generally are not considered commonplace in businesses and governments. We conclude by discussing implications from this study for collective action theory and for how policymakers might learn from community groups to address climate change.


Evaluating is important to assure quality during design and development of interactive multimedia as well as in reviewing of the final product. This chapter presents an evaluation methodology, which is both inexpensive and timesaving. In critically evaluating three multimedia cases, it is found that systematic models and methods have a great deal to offer in the field of quality interactive multimedia. Six European business schools collaborated in the years 1998 2000 in the production of several multimedia cases on small and medium sized and large companies. Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden developed three of them and these are presented as to exemplify the evaluation methodology. The survey introduces a methodology based on four tight integrated parts for evaluation: Learning Scenario, User Interface, Content and Technique


Satellite images that illustrate the clearing of cumulus clouds downwind from snow-covered areas are presented. The cloud clearing resembles that occasionally observed with lakes during warm advection, supporting the suggestion that the thermal forcing associated with a uniform snow-covered area is comparable to that of a coldwater lake of similar size. Analysis of snow cover patterns in the central United States suggests that the climatological probability for situations conducive to the cloud clearing is at most once per month.


We present a detailed analysis of the elastic scattering and breakup channel for the reaction of Li-11 on Pb-208 at incident laboratory energies of 24.3 and 29.8 MeV, measured at the radioactive ion beam facility of TRIUMF, in Vancouver, Canada. A large yield of Li-9 fragments was detected by four charged particle telescopes in a wide angular range. The experimental angular and energy distributions of these Li-9 fragments have been compared to coupled-reaction-channel and continuum-discretized coupled-channel calculations. The large production of Li-9 fragments at small angles can be explained by considering a direct breakup mechanism, while at medium-large angles a competition between direct breakup and neutron transfer to the continuum of the Pb-208 target was observed.


In the cubic C-type rare-earth (R) sesquioxides, C-R2 O3, the trivalent R ions (R3+) occupy two different crystallographic sites with S6 and C2 symmetries. The R ions in the C2 lattice site have been studied intensively whereas the properties of the R3+ ions in the S6 site are largely unknown or the data are contradictory. Based on the spectroscopic data reinterpreted by a phenomenological crystal field (cf) analysis a new interpretation was obtained for the energy level scheme of the Eu3+ ions in the S6 site of C-R2 O3. The cf parameters obtained were then used to predict the energy level scheme of the Yb3+ ion in the same host lattices. In the prediction, the evolution of the cf parameters along the R series studied earlier in the R oxide and garnet systems was used. The relationship between the cf strength parameter and the overall splitting of the 2S+1 L J levels as well as the relationship between the barycentres of the free ion levels were used, also, to reinterpret the energy level scheme of the Yb3+ ion in the C2 site of C-Y2 O3.