A report presents the data on assessment of recommended treatment implementation in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). The source of the data of the year 2014 was multicenter Russian registry of hypertension, CAD and chronic heart failure.


This paper explores moments in which three new migrant students become constituted as particular types of learners and classmates, through the interplay of racialised, classed and gendered norms made available in one Irish school. Certainly, new migrant students' subjectivities may be constrained due to already embedded school/subcultural inequalities. Yet rather than simply being entirely subject to the exclusionary norms underpinning 'deviance', 'ordinariness' and 'popularity', we can read moments where 'Christian', 'Feyi' and 'Theresa's' subjectivities might expose, disrupt, or be reworked by them. This paper provides insight as to how the inequalities of a previously monoculturally styled context intersect with and/or elide now more tangibly local racialising processes of contemporary migration. Drawing on the critical work of Butler and Youdell, it is suggested that the means of recognising new/indigenous students as acceptable learners or classmates are unstable, thus constantly offering the possibility of contesting/jettisoning the rendering of 'undesirable' learner/classmate subjectivities.


The rise in the use of internet, secure transmission of the data has become an utmost priority. Steganography makes the data invisible by hiding it in the multimedia such as image, audio or video file and thereby covering for its existence. In this project we use prediction error (PE) technique steganography and Least Significant Bit (LSB) substitution method to hide data in the image. As we do PE expansion method it can lead to expansion of pixels like it can lead to pixel value above 255. In order to solve this problem, we restricted the pixel values between 15 and 240.The PSNR was high at low threshold values. The hiding capacity increased with increase in threshold with a reasonable decrease in PSNR. There was 2dB difference then other methods because of high data hiding capacity. Also we have used knight's tour for increasing the security of data hidden. In comparison to other methodology, this methodology proves to be better and more effective.


The aim of the study is to understand the motivations of consumer engagement behavior with negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on mobile application consumer platforms, using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as an analysis lens. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with users who provided negative comments, which allowed the construction of a corpus that was described, classified and interpreted through thematic content analysis. As an analytical generalization, it is inferred that the most influential motivators for engaging with negative eWOM are Search for Providence, Altruism, Negative Emotions, and Reciprocity. With respect to TRA constructs, Attitudes impact this engagement, but subjective Norms has little contribution to negative electronic word of mouth engagement. This research can support mobile application developers and social media analysts in formulating interaction strategies that foster consumer engagement behavior.


Among Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic (n=100), 49% (49/100) had at least one episode of sleep paralysis (SP) in the previous 12 months. The annual and monthly SP prevalences were much higher in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than in non‐PTSD patients. Among the PTSD patients, 65% (30/46) had monthly episodes of SP versus 14.85% (8/54) among non‐PTSD patients (χ2[2, n=100]=26.78, P<.001). Moreover, patients with SP in the last month (n=30) versus those without SP had much higher PTSD severity scores. In the entire sample (n=100), the PTSD severity scores correlated significantly with the rate of SP in the last month. During SP, Cambodian refugees usually hallucinated an approaching figure (90%, 44/49). The rate of SP‐associated and post‐SP panic attacks was high, indicating the great distress caused by the phenomenon. SP seems to be a core aspect of the Cambodian refugee's response to trauma. When treating Cambodian refugees, and traumatized refugees in general, clinicians should assess for its presence. Depression and Anxiety 22:47–51, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Histologic examination of the central nervous system in malignant endocarditis reveals a rather common involvement of the brain which is The present study comprises twelve cases of malignant endocarditis that were placed at my disposal by Dr. R. H. Jaffe from his necropsy material at the Cook County Hospital and one case of rheumatic endocarditis from the Research and Educational Hospitals of the University of Illinois. They all showed manifest circumscribed, as well as diffuse, lesions which, though they varied to some extent, had certain common features which will be described. REPORT OF CASES Case 1. —Malignant endocarditis of several months' duration following rheumatic endocarditis; glial nodules in the pons, optic thalamus and subcortical white matter; diffuse glial proliferation; areas of rarefaction around blood vessels; degenerative changes of ganglion cells; hyperemia and mild perivascular infiltration of the pons; hyperplasia of the leptomeninges. History. —A white man, aged 42, a goldsmith,


Endurance training induces mitochondrial biogenesis and angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. Endurance training also improves insulin sensitivity at both the skeletal muscle and whole body level. Recently, ROS have been suggested to play an important role in endurance training-induced adaptations. However, this hypothesis is not yet fully supported. To advance understanding of the role of ROS and antioxidants in endurance training-induced adaptations, efforts should be made in future studies to clarify the sites of ROS production and the influence of antioxidants on the redox status under each training condition. Effort should also be directed to identifying the signaling pathways involved. In this situation, it should be recognized that in vivo cellular signaling is redundant. Therefore, efforts to evaluate the relative importance and interactions among the multiple cellular signaling pathways involved in each training condition are required. Without elucidating the role of ROS and antioxidants in endurance training-induced adaptations, then evidence-based sound advice regarding antioxidant supplementation cannot be made.


Background Fibromyalgia (FM) can coexist with Spondyloarthritis (SpA) leading to diagnostic and treatment dilemmas, especially in the presence of enthesitis. The Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST) is a self-reported questionnaire, independent from tender points, which can be used for FM screening1. Objectives To estimate the prevalence of FM in a SpA cohort according to the FiRST, to compare the prevalence of FM with regard to the fulfilment of the ASAS classification criteria, to compare the clinical/disease features and TNFi treatment in terms of initiation and first TNFi retention rate, in patients with/without FM respectively. Methods Patients: SpA patients (according to the rheumatologist) consecutively consulting on a tertiary care hospital. FM definition: according to the FiRST questionnaire, patients answering "yes" at ≥5/6 questions were considered FM+. Data collection: All patients completed the FiRST questionnaire. Demographics, patients/disease characteristics, activity/severity and TNFi initiation as well as the retention of the first TNFi treatment, were collected. Statistical analysis: The percentage of FM+ according to the FiRST was calculated in the global population and in the different arms of the ASAS criteria. Demographics, disease characteristics, activity and severity were compared in FM+ and FM- groups. The percentage of patients ever initiating a TNFi was compared in both groups. The retention rate of the first TNFi in both groups was estimated by Kaplan-Meier curves and tested by the Log-rank test. Predisposing factors for first TNFi retention rate were estimated by Cox models. Results Of the 222 patients who completed the FiRST questionnaire, 195 were included for the analysis, among them 42 (21.5%) fulfilled the FM definition. From the total, 185 (94.8%) met the ASAS criteria with a similar % of FM in the different subgroups [e.g imaging (21.5%) and clinical (18.7%), p=NS]. Patients fulfilling the FM definition presented with more enthesitis (59.5% vs.39.5%, p=0.02), more frequent history of depression (41.0% vs.18.4%, p<0.01), higher total BASDAI [4.6 (±2.3) vs. 2.6 (±2.0), p<0.01] and BASFI [4.8 (±3.7) vs. 2.0 (±1.5), p<0.01]. Furthermore, patients in this group reported more frequently analgesics (92.7%vs.72%, p<0.01) and psychotropic medications (e.g. myorelaxant or antidepressants or anxiolytic or strong opioids) (66.7%vs.35.9%,p<0.01). Regarding TNFi treatment, TNFi were initiated in 79%vs.70% in FM+ and FM- groups, respectively (p=NS). The retention rate of the first TNFi was significantly shorter in the FM+ group. After 1 and 2 years, 55%vs.50% and 28.1%vs.41.2% of patients were still under treatment in the FM+vs.FM- groups, respectively,(Cox p=0.03). Conclusions Our study suggests the following:1) the similar percentage of FM in the imaging and clinical arms of the ASAS criteria is an argument in favor of the validity of these criteria; 2) the coexistance of FM might impact the score of the instrument used to evaluate disease activity and also the retention rate of the TNFi treatment. References Perrot S, Bouhassira D, Fermanian J. Development and validation of the Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST). Pain 150,250–256 (2010). Acknowledgements N.B wishes to acknowledge to the Spanish Rheumatology Foundation (FER) for a training bursary. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The objective of this paper is to verify the range and depth of the study on corporate governance in Russia through a comprehensive survey of 192 pioneering research works. With regard to the internal structure of Russian corporations, a great deal of research has been conducted in a relatively short time since the collapse of the Soviet Union by many highly motivated researchers, who have provided insightful perspectives. These achievements, however, place too much emphasis on the empirical analysis of the interrelation between ownership structure and corporate restructuring, leaving some critical themes open for further discussion. As the 21st Century begins, a well-balanced research base should be established in this field in order to identify the reality of Russian corporations from a multifaceted perspective. JEL Classification: D21, G30, P31


Twitter became an important channel to contribute and consume all kinds of information, especially in
times of disasters, when people feel the need for fast, real-time flows of information. Given the wealth
of information Twitter provides, that information can be used by practitioners and researchers alike to
study what people affected by a disaster talk about, e.g., to develop a situation awareness and to coordinate
disaster management accordingly. In our research, we analyze 11 million tweets that deal with
hurricane Sandy, one of the strongest hurricanes that ever hit the US east coast in 2012. First, we
extract the tweets by narrowing down the hurricane affected path along the US east coast, based on
geo-spatial information. Further, drawing on the situation awareness literature and previous coding
schemes, we analyze the nature and characteristics of the tweets. Our research reveals that there are
significantly more tweets from original sources than from secondary sources and that individuals tend
to share valuable personal experiences and observations at the time of disasters. In analyzing those
individual level perceptions, we illustrate how one can generate situation awareness at the collective
level. This situation awareness will enhance the decision-making of disaster management agencies at
the time of uncertain and volatile situations.


The ignition temperature and heat generation from oxidation of methane on a platinum catalyst were determined experimentally. A 127 micron diameter platinum coiled wire was placed crosswise in a quartz tube of a plug flow reactor. A source meter with a 4-wire measurement capability measured the resistance and current to calculate the average temperature of the surface reaction. Light-off temperatures varied from 730–780K for methane for a fuel-oxygen equivalence ratio of 0.3 to 1.0 at fuel percentages of 2–5% by volume. A model of the experimental system was created using Fluent coupled with Chemkin to combine an advanced chemistry solver with flow simulation. The experimental data was compared to the model results, which includes heat transfer and the surface reaction kinetics of methane on platinum. The heat transfer model obtained values within 4 Kelvin to experimental data for temperatures between 400K and 700K. At temperatures greater than 700K the model deviated with temperatures greater than the experimental by up to 60 Kelvin.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


: High-temperature erosion-oxidation behavior of nickel-based alloys containing 0-7 wt.% Mo in fluidized bed waste incineration conditions was studied. A stream of hot condensed air with a flow rate of 25 L/min caused hot silica sand (700 °C) mixed with 0.5 wt.% of chloride salts to hit the specimens for 250 h. By removing the erosive factor, the high-temperature oxidation behavior of the alloys in air and air-chlorine atmospheres was studied at 520 and 560 °C for 100 h. Mass gain (cid:0) due to oxidation followed by thickness loss measurement in the erosion-oxidation tests showed that an increased Mo content led to improved oxidation resistance as a result of reduced scaling rate. However, under simultaneous oxidation and erosion conditions, the lower oxidation rate of the alloy with 7 wt.% Mo caused rapid removal of the protective scale and a reduction in erosion-oxidation resistance of the alloy. Under these conditions, the alloy with 3 wt.% Mo showed the smallest removal rate. Microscopic observations and XRD analysis confirmed formation of Cr 2 O 3 /NiCr 2 O 4 scales on the surface. Mo-free alloy with lowest oxidation resistance showed a higher erosion-oxidation resistance. However, the high oxidation rate of this alloy led to a severe Cr-depletion and internal oxidation in subsurface region.


OBJECTIVE
To detect and quantify structural parameters in the entorhinal cortex (EC) of potential use in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

STUDY DESIGN
We estimated by stereologic tools the total volume of the EC and subfields EI and ER, the number of neurons and the volume-weighted mean soma volume of layer II neurons. EC morphometric parameters were also assessed in both control and AD cases.

RESULTS
In AD, EC volume decreased by 35%, while total number of neurons reached 51%. Also, neuron density had a significant decrease mainly due to change in the EI subfield (31% decrease). The EC showed a decrease in size and a morphology more elliptic and irregular. Moreover, layer II neurons soma size (volume, area, and 1-dimensional parameters) were more rounded. Thus the EC decreases in size and neuron number in AD and minor changes in number per volume were noted.

CONCLUSION
These quantitative data can be of value in volumetric MRI studies in AD patients.


Engineers are concerned with the preparation of young men to serve a civilization and culture based largely upon the results of technological developments. This fact makes necessary a multisided, better educated, and more roundly interested individual. Combined with the increasing body of fundamental technical knowledge and high standards of technical education, the adequacy of a 4 year professional educational program has been challenged. Opinions regarding the situation are summarized herein, together with the activities of the Engineers' Council for Professional Development, through whose united program there is hope for a fuller understanding leading to the consummation of an accepted philosophy and effective procedure.


To investigate possible differences in the distribution and metabolism of insulin in diabetics and normals, insulin labeled with radioactive iodine (I131) was given intravenously to 40 diabetics of varying type and severity, 15 healthy controls, and 11 other nondiabetics with various illnesses. The labeled insulin was given in tracer amounts (50 to 100 microcuries) and test doses varied between 0.5 and 5.0 units of insulin. The dose was diluted in normal physiologic saline solution and injected slowly into fasting subjects over a two-minute period. In most cases therapeutic insulin had been withheld from diabetics for 24 to 96 hours. Plasma samples were drawn at predetermined times, and the amount of protein-bound radioactivity was determined by precipitation with trichloroacetic acid (TCA). Since labeled insulin is virtually completely precipitated with TCA, the protein-bound radioactivity was assumed to represent undegraded labeled insulin, whereas the TCA-soluble radioactivity was assumed to be comprised of the degradation products of the labeled hormone. Total urinary radioactivity, of which an average of 95 per cent is TCA-soluble, was also measured during the test period. In some subjects surface measurement of radioactivity over various organ areas, such as the thyroid, liver, kidney, and muscle masses, was made.


The effects of the ionophore lysocellin on the movements of Ca2+, Mg2+ and alkali metal cations and its effect on energy utilization by rat liver mitochondria have been investigated. At a concentration of 0.05 micrometer, lysocellin induced dissociation of membrane-bound calcium, and an apparent steady state was established across the inner membrane between energy-linked calcium accumulation and the ionophore-induced depletion of calcium. No detectable efflux of intramitochondrial Ca2+ and Mg2+ was induced by 0.05 micrometer lysocellin, but the uptake of exogenously added calcium was significantly inhibited. The ionophore augmented Mg2+ release from mitochondria induced by Ca2+ addition and also caused rapid release of K+ from mitochondria preloaded with K+ by valinomycin or monazomycin. High levels (0.5 approximately 10 micrometer of lysocellin caused massive depletion of endogenous Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+ from mitochondria, resulting in disruption of mitochondrial functions including release of state 4 respiration, stimulation of ATPase and inhibition of ADP- or DNP-stimulated respiration. Structure-activity studies with chemically modified compounds of lysocellin indicated the important role of terminal carboxylic acid and C21 hydroxyl function in the activity of the ionophore, and there is a good correlation between the effect of lysocellin on mitochondrial cation movements and its ability to complex with cations determined in an organic solvent-water two-phase partition system.


The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to delineate cortical networks that are activated when objects or spatial locations encoded either visually (visual encoding group, n = 10) or haptically (haptic encoding group, n = 10) had to be retrieved from long-term memory. Participants learned associations between auditorily presented words and either meaningless objects or locations in a 3-D space. During the retrieval phase one day later, participants had to decide whether two auditorily presented words shared an association with a common object or location. Thus, perceptual stimulation during retrieval was always equivalent, whereas either visually or haptically encoded object or location associations had to be reactivated. Moreover, the number of associations fanning out from each word varied systematically, enabling a parametric increase of the number of reactivated representations. Recall of visual objects predominantly activated the left superior frontal gyrus and the intraparietal cortex, whereas visually learned locations activated the superior parietal cortex of both hemispheres. Retrieval of haptically encoded material activated the left medial frontal gyrus and the intraparietal cortex in the object condition, and the bilateral superior parietal cortex in the location condition. A direct test for modality-specific effects showed that visually encoded material activated more vision-related areas (BA 18/19) and haptically encoded material more motor and somatosensory-related areas. A conjunction analysis identified supramodal and material-unspecific activations within the medial and superior frontal gyrus and the superior parietal lobe including the intraparietal sulcus. These activation patterns strongly support the idea that code-specific representations are consolidated and reactivated within anatomically distributed cell assemblies that comprise sensory and motor processing systems.


BIM has played an important role in promoting sustainable development in the construction industry. The lack of an effective system for evaluating BIM application performance has become a major obstacle to BIM application. Therefore, this study develops an indicator evaluation framework that includes benefit factors and cost factors to systematically evaluate the BIM application performance. The evaluation indicators are determined through a scientometric literature review and expert evaluations, and the AHP method is employed to assess the weights of each indicator. A performance index is established and measured through a cost–benefit measurement. The developed evaluation framework and index are applied in a case study of a grid information modeling (GIM) system implemented in a specific UHV substation project. The sensitivity of the evaluation index is further examined. Finally, the recommendations for developing BIM applications like GIM are discussed. Accordingly, this research mainly contributes to developing the BIM application performance evaluation framework and index, which can be used to assess the application performance of digital technologies in the construction industry worldwide. The case experience and recommendations could promote BIM application in the power generation construction industry.


: The fatigue crack growth is stochastic because of the fatigue behavior having an uncertainty and a randomness. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the probability distribution of a grown crack size at a specific fatigue crack propagation life for maintenance of structure as well as reliability estimation. The essential purpose of this study is to present the good probability distribution fit for the grown crack size at a specified fatigue life in a rolled magnesium alloy under different specimen thickness conditions. Fatigue crack propagation experiments are carried out in laboratory air under three conditions of specimen thickness using AZ31 to investigate a stochastic crack growth behavior. The goodness-of-fit test for probability distribution of a grown crack size under different specimen thickness conditions is performed by Anderson-Darling test. The effect of a specimen thickness on variability of a grown crack size is also investigated.


For all his renown as a general philosopher and Christian apologist, Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977) was first and foremost a jurist. He studied law for five years at the Free University of Amsterdam and in 1917 completed his dissertation on the role of the Cabinet in Dutch public law. For three years thereafter he worked in the Dutch Department of Labour as a clerk and legislative draftsman. From 1926 until 1965 he served on the Faculty of Law of the Free University of Amsterdam, where he taught legal philosophy, legal history, and legal science. He presided over the distinguished Society of Legal (Philosophy and numerous other legal organizations. He engaged in ample and able debate with such leading jurists of his day as Giorgio del Vecchio, Georg Jellinek and Hans Kelsen, and filled his library with a vast array of legal tomes. Well over half of his 200-odd professional publications are on legal subjects. This article focuses on one small part of Dooyeweerd's jurisprudential legacy, his concept of rights. Dooyeweerd addressed the subject of rights several times in his career, each time seeking to develop a comprehensive Calvinist concept of rights. His initial efforts led him to a rather traditional Calvinist concept of political liberties, rooted in simple theological principles. His later efforts yielded an intricate modal concept of legal competences and subjective rights, rooted in a complex philosophical system. The analysis that follows will pay particular attention to the analytical stages through which Dooyeweerd passed to develop his concept.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the photopic negative response (PhNR) for the detection of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

METHODS
Fifty-two normal subjects (52 eyes) and 173 POAG patients (173 eyes) were studied. The PhNR was elicited using a white stimuli on a white background. The mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) of the visual field were measured using standard automated perimetry (SAP). Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was used to measure the mean thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL).

RESULTS
In the glaucoma group, as compared to the normal group, the amplitudes of a-waves, b-waves and PhNR were significantly smaller (P<0.001), and the PhNR implicit time was significantly longer (P=0.004). The MD, PSD and mean thickness of the RNFL were significantly correlated with the amplitude of the PhNR (P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) for the amplitudes of a-waves, b-waves and PhNR were 0.853, 0.830 and 0.918, respectively. When the specificity was ≥ 95%, the sensitivities were 60.4%, 54.2% and 85.4% respectively.

CONCLUSION
The PhNR amplitude was reduced even when the loss in visual field sensitivity was mild, which suggests that PhNR might be a useful indicator of early glaucoma disease.


Xin Liu Carlyle Compressor Division Carrier Corporation 6500 Chrysler Drive syracuse, NY 13221 Many researchers have believed and claimed that the application of non-azeotropic refrigerants would increase air conditioning or heat pump cycle efficiency. Some of them have carried out experiments in order to confirm their belief, and especially to provide an approach to air conditioner or heat pump design for improving cycle efficiency by using non-azeotropic refrigerants. However, even though there are some successful claims, the real benefits have not materialized in the air-cooled commercial products. The question is why? Air conditioning and refrigeration machines can be divided into two types. One is watercooled machines and the other is air-cooled machines. The literature and some commercial products have shown that the efficiency of a water-cooled machine is improved by a nonazeotropic refrigerant cycle as compared to a pure or azeotropic refrigerant cycle. However, the results for the air-cooled machines are mixed. A close examination of the claims of success for the air-cooled machines suggests some problems with their results. The most common problem is defining the base line for comparison. Therefore, those claims may not do fair comparisons. The basic question goes back to the fundamental cycle analysis. The water source and indoor air are normally limited and thus it represents a finite heat source or sink. The out-door air is unlimited and it represents an infinite heat source or sink. For an infinite heat source or sink theoretically the temperature of the source or sink does not have to increase or decrease. Practically, the temperature change can be very small. For an infinite heat source or sink, the temperature glide associated with non-azeotropic refrigerants does not represent a benefit but a deterioration of cycle efficiency. Therefore, a non-azeotropic refrigerant provides benefits for water-cooled machine which have a finite heat source or sink. Those benefits would be reduced or even disappear for air-cooled machines due the outdoor air as an infinite heat source or sink. INTRODUCTION The concept of using a non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture can be traced back to the U.S. patent issued to Ashley et al. (I 949). The patent claimed that a refrigerant mixture with temperature glide would offer a process that "involves no irreversible loss of thermal head since the vapor and the corresponding liquid phase are at each point in contact. There is a progressive interchange of the two components between the vapor and liquid phase which proceeds apace with the condensing action to maintain the vapor and liquid in equilibrium." After the patent, many researchers have tried to prove the claim of energy efficiency associated with nonazeotropic refrigerant mixtures and practitioners have tried to put it in work.


Graph states are quantum states (quantum codes) in qn-dimensional space (Cq)®n = Cq S ·... C (q being a power of some prime number) which can be described by graphs with edges labeled from the field of order q, Fq. Graph states are determined as a common eigenvector of independent elements of the n-fold Pauli group, on which the local Clifford group has a natural action. This action induces the natural action of the local Clifford group on graph states and hence, its action on graphs. Locally equivalent graphs can be described using this action. For q being a prime number, two graphs are locally equivalent when they are located on the same orbit of this action, in other words, when there is an element of the local Clifford group mapping one graph to the other one. When q is some power of a prime number, the definition of this action is the natural generalization of this action in the case where q is prime. We translate the action of local Clifford groups on graphs to a set of linear and quadratic equations in the field F,. In the case that q is an odd number, given two arbitrary graphs, we present an efficient algorithm (polynomial in n) to verify whether these graphs are locally equivalent or not. Moreover, we present a computational method to calculate the number of inequivalent graph states. We give some estimations on the size of the orbits of this action on graphs, and prove that when either q is equal to 2 or is an odd number, the number of inequivalent quantum codes (i.e., the number of classes of equivalency) is equal to q1 n2-(n), which is essentially as large as the total number of graphs. Thesis Supervisor: Peter W. Shor Title: Morss Professor of Applied Mathematics


The paper provides an economic model for the assessment of hydrogen production at the site of an existing thermal power plant, which is then integrated into the existing gas grid. The model uses projections of electricity prices, natural gas prices, and CO2 prices, as well as estimates of the cost of building a power-to-gas system for a 25-year period. The objective of this research is to calculate the yellow hydrogen production price for each lifetime year of the Power-to-gas system to evaluate yellow hydrogen competitiveness compared to the fossil alternatives. We test if an incentive scheme is needed to make this technology economically viable. The research also provides several sensitivity scenarios of electricity, natural gas, and CO2 price changes. Our research results clearly prove that yellow hydrogen is not yet competitive with fossil alternatives and needs incentive mechanisms for the time being. At given natural gas and CO2 prices, the incentive for hydrogen production needs to be 52.90 EUR/MWh in 2025 and 36.18 EUR/MWh in 2050. However, the role of hydrogen in the green transition could be very important as it provides ancillary services and balances energy sources in the power system.


Although it has been shown that mouse uroplakin (UP) Ia, a major glycoprotein of urothelial apical surface, can serve as the receptor for the FimH lectin adhesin of type 1-fimbriated Escherichia coli, the organism that causes a great majority of urinary tract infections, the glycan structure of this native receptor was unknown. Using a sensitive approach that combines in-gel glycosidase and protease digestions, permethylation of released glycans, and mass spectrometry, we have elucidated for the first time the native glycoform structures of the mouse UPIa receptor and those of its non-binding homolog, UPIb, and have determined the glycosylation site occupancy. UPIa presents a high level of terminally exposed mannose residues (located on Man6GlcNAc2 to Man9GlcNAc2) that are capable of specifically interacting with FimH. We have shown that this property is conserved not only in the mouse uroplakins but also in cattle and, even more importantly, in human UPIa, thus establishing the concept that UPIa is a major urothelial receptor in humans and other mammals for the mannose-specific FimH variant. In contrast, our results indicate that most terminally exposed glycans of mouse UPIb are non-mannose residues, thus explaining the failure of FimH to bind to this UPIb. In cattle, on the other hand, complex carbohydrates constituted only about 20% of the UPIb N-linked glycans. Human UPIa contained exclusively high mannose glycans, and human UPIb contained only complex glycans. The drastically different carbohydrate processing of the UPIa and UPIb proteins, two closely related members of the tetraspanin family, may reflect differences in their folding and masking due to their interactions with their associated proteins, UPII and UPIIIa, respectively. Results from this study shed light on the molecular pathogenesis of urinary tract infections and may aid in the design of glyco-mimetic inhibitors for preventing and treating this disease.


This paper describes the planning-based visual programming for sequence control in the prototype system: VIPS/S-SFCD (Visual Programming System for Sequence control program Specification Design). VIPS/S-SFCD features: 1) a rehearsal-based visual programming technique in which designers specify the goal states of machines using graphical representations, and 2) a planning method that infers machine actions and generates the control program specifications. This planning is based on the state space model and the concept of scope for efficient searches. The advantages of using VIPS/S-SFCD include: 1) the designers can reduce errors in writing the specifications because they can easily understand the actions and the states of the machines; 2) they can improve the reliability of the specifications because VIPS/S-SFCD generates the appropriate parts of the specifications by planning; and 3) they also can reduce the design time of the specifications because high level instructions are used that closely reflect their thought process.<<ETX>>


Early Spanish colonists in regions of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado sought locations where irrigation works could be constructed to make new settlements possible. Between 1867 and 1872 four Hispanic villages, based on an economy of irrigation, agriculture, and livestock grazing, were established in the middle Rio Puerco valley, northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Within a decade, overgrazing in the larger Rio Puerco watershed initiated a process of erosion and entrenchment of the Rio Puerco that eventually led to the abandonment of three of the villages. The surviving village of San Luis has kept its sense of community alive despite environmental losses that brought an end to agriculture and severely limited the possibilities for raising livestock. San Luis's institutions of agriculture once provided its unique connection to place. The community now survives on faith, as it once survived on agriculture, and draws spiritual, if not actual sustenance from the land it hopes someday to reclaim.


Study Design. A cross-sectional study. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate activity of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in response to lumbar mechanical stimulation in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Summary of Background Data. Although a modified activity of the NAc was characterized in cLBP patients, its pathological significance has yet to be determined. We hypothesized that NAc activation in response to pain might differ depending on the extent of psychiatric problems, which might be associated with the affective/motivational background of chronic pain. Methods. Twenty-one patients with cLBP (four men, 17 women) were recruited. Subjects were divided into two groups on the basis of scores on the patient version of the Brief Scale for Psychiatric problems in Orthopaedic Patients (BS-POP) scores: ≥17 (High Score, HiS group) and <17 (non-High Score, non-HiS group). Each subject was placed in the prone position on a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and stimulated by mechanical stimulation on the left lower back. Three blocks of 30-second pain stimulus calibrated at either 3 or 5 on an 11-grade numerical rating scale (NRS) were applied with intervening 30-second rest conditions during whole-brain echo-planar imaging. Functional images were analyzed using a multisubject general linear model with Bonferroni multiple comparisons. Results. Subjects in the HiS group had more intense daily pain and lower quality of life than those in the non-HiS group (P < 0.05). Catastrophic thinking in relation to pain experience did not differ between the groups. Activation at the NAc was smaller in the HiS group than in the non-HiS group (P < 0.001). Conclusion. The presence of psychiatric problems was associated with attenuated activity of the NAc in cLBP patients. Dysfunction of the NAc might potentially be involved in the affective/motivational factors in the chronification of LBP. Level of Evidence. N/A


Coffee constitutes a plant product high in economic value. Extremely abundant throughout Indonesia, different varieties can be found in each region. Coffee leaves represent a by-product of coffee production which are disposed of without being subjected to further processing. One advantage of coffee leaf waste is that it can be made into coffee leaf tea, to prevent various diseases. The caffeine and tannin content can be optimized by temperature and brewing time. Research on coffee leaf tea remains limited, with little study of Liberica coffee leaf tea. This investigation was to determine the optimal brewing time and temperature of Robusta (Coffea canephora) and Liberica (Coffea liberica) coffee leaf tea. This research used the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) method with Central Composite Design (CCD). Data analysis using RSM method was conducted incorporating two factors. The first factor was the brewing temperature with a minimum value of 91 °C and a maximum value of 99 °C. The second factor was brewing time with minimum and maximum values of three and seven minutes respectively. Identifying the optimal treatment was based on two factors, caffeine and tannin content. Optimized processes were applied to conduct organoleptic tests on 110 untrained panelists using the Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) method to highlight the majority attributes experienced by the panelists. The optimal brewing temperature and duration for robusta coffee leaf tea were 93.43 °C and 4.80 minutes which produced caffeine and tannin levels of 74.90 mg.100mL-1 and 293.01 μg.g-1 respectively. In contrast, in the case of Liberica coffee leaf tea, the optimal brewing conditions comprised a temperature of 91.65 °C and duration of 4.84 minutes which produced caffeine and tannin levels of 72.52 mg.100mL-1 and 415.87 μg.g-1. Results of sensory analysis showed that the majority produced five significant characteristics, namely: sweet flavor, fire flavor, sweet taste, bitter taste and astringent mouthfeel.


Making corpora accessible and usable for linguistic research is a huge challenge in view of (too) big data, legal issues and a rapidly evolving methodology. This does not only affect the design of user-friendly graphical interfaces to corpus analysis tools, but also the availability of programming interfaces supporting access to the functionality of these tools from various analysis and development environments. RKorAPClient is a new research tool in the form of an R package that interacts with the Web API of the corpus analysis platform KorAP, which provides access to large annotated corpora, including the German reference corpus DeReKo with 45 billion tokens.In addition to optionally authenticated KorAP API access, RKorAPClient provides further processing and visualization features to simplify common corpus analysis tasks. This paper introduces the basic functionality of RKorAPClient and exemplifies various analysis tasks based on DeReKo, that are bundled within the R package and can serve as a basic framework for advanced analysis and visualization approaches.


DURING the past 20 years, organophosphorus pesticides have become one of the important groups of pest control agents in agriculture. Parathion, O, O-diethyl-O-p-nitrophenyl thiophosphate, is one of the most commonly used of the organophosphorus insecticides and is probably responsible for more instances of accidental poisoning and death than any other organophosphorus compound. 1 Commercially, it is available as dusts, wettable powders, concentrates, and aerosols. It is very slightly soluble in water, and because it is slowly hydrolyzed, a spill or residua may remain hazardous for several weeks or even months. 2 Route of entry is through the skin, conjunctiva, by ingestion, and inhalation. The onset of symptoms and signs of toxicity after a single acute exposure varies according to the dose and the route of administration, and the time of death is usually rapid occurring within 30 minutes to 24 hours after contact. Because parathion inactivates cholinesterase enzymes in the


I argue that Bošković's (2011c) generalization concerning the island-voiding effect of incorporation can be captured naturally within minimalist bare phrase structure if head movement (a) is a syntactic operation and (b) leaves no trace/copy. É. Kiss's (2008) ''domain-flattening'' phenomena are also expected under the proposed account. Further empirical consequences are discussed.


This study examines associations between the quality of the interparental relationship and how well 68 family triads (mother, father, preadolescent son) solved salient problems which arose at home. Four aspects of the interparental relationship (marital satisfaction, parental agreement, conflict during family problem solving, and parental coalitions) were included in a regression analysis which controlled for family structure and child externalizing. A longitudinal design assessed families when mean child age was 9.7 years and 2 years later. Parental agreement consistently facilitated family problem solving. However, strong parental coalitions inhibited family problem solving, which may be attributed to frustrated autonomy needs of preadolescent males in response to the parental coalition. Stepfamilies had less effective problem solving at Time 1. The results confirm the benefits of parental agreement to child outcomes via enhanced family problem solving but show a reverse effect when agreement occurs in the context of coalitions against a preadolescent son.


The increasing demand for large antenna systems in space, providing a higher gain over a concentrated area, has led to research into deployable antenna systems due to the volume restraints imposed by currently available launch modules. A new 5. 0m aperture diameter deployable skeletal antenna system, incorporating spring loaded joints and carbon fibre/epoxy structural members manufactured by the pullwinding technique has been conceived. An engineering model of the deployable system has been manufactured and analysed experimentally and numerically. The prototype antenna was shown to offer significant advantages over previously developed skeletal systems in terms of fewer structural components and mechanical devices translating to reduced manufacturing costs and increased deployment reliability. Experimental analyses undertaken for the manufactured prototype exhibited a non-linear dynamic response due to dimensional clearances in the energy loaded joints. The structure was linearised, thereby providing a more deterministic response, using an improved joint design which removed the possibility of any dimensional clearances in the joints. Representative numerical models of the prototype antenna were successfully constructed and verified by comparison with the numerically predicted and experimentally measured natural frequencies and modes of vibration. These validated numerical models were used to model the energy supplied by the mechanical joints, to verify the deployment sequence of the antenna, to predict the stresses induced in antenna systems when the joints lock into their deployed configurations and finally to examine the dynamic response of the structure after deployment. Deployment tests, using helium balloons and roller supports to simulate a zero gravity environment, validated the numerically predicted deployment sequence and proved the design concept.


The propagation of long-wavelength gluons through a dense QCD medium at high baryon chemical potential μB is qualitatively modified by the effects of screening, arising from scatterings off the high-momentum quarks in the medium. This same screening phenomenon also impacts gluons occurring in loop corrections to the pressure of cold quark matter, leading to contributions from the parametric scale αs1/2μB, starting at next-to-next-to-leading order (N2LO) in the strong coupling constant αs. At next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N3LO), interactions between these long-wavelength gluonic modes contribute to the pressure. These interaction corrections have recently been computed in Ref [1, 2], and the inclusion of these interactions slightly improves the convergence of the equation of state of cold quark matter. In these proceedings, we present these results and provide details summarizing how this lengthy calculation was performed.


The Pongola River Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (PRESPA) project quantified the economic benefits accuring to different livelihood sectors from the water resources of the Pongola floodplain, South Africa. The floodplain carries a diverse economy and ecology which is supported by flood events that once occured naturally but are now regulated by an upstream dam. PRESPA modelled the eco-hydrology which underpins various ecosystem services to determine how this might be managed to alleviate poverty. A model was used to quantify the economic value of the available water, especially the value accruing to the poor. This model linked to three development scenarios to explore trade-offs and outcomes of (1) a status quo, 'unstructured' economy; (2) a structured diverse economy; and (3) a structured 'single sector' agricultural economy. This model gives decision makers a measure of where water is best used in terms of poverty alleviation and enables them to examine future economic and ecosystem trajectories. In summary, poor households on the floodplain currently have a diversity of income and food sources, making them less vulnerable to economic and climatic shocks, while there is a trend towards intensive agriculture which may deliver higher returns but with greater costs and increased vulnerability.


Ten K–Ar dates, including four coexisting mineral pairs, have been obtained for metamorphic rocks of the Horsethief Creek Formation (Proterozoic) of the Esplanade Range, British Columbia.The oldest date obtained is 181 m.y. on a single hornblende, but it is possible that this sample contains excess Ar. The oldest concordant biotite–hornblende date is 113 m.y.Muscovite that coexists with post-tectonic (F2 folding) biotite gave an age of 73 m.y. This age suggests that the temperature of the rocks had dropped below that for argon diffusion 73 m.y. ago.


Effects of hysterectomy, administration of uterine extract, posterior pituitary extract and aspirin on the length of pseudopregnancy were investigated in 174 virgin, female rats. Pseudopregnancy was induced by injecting a single dose of reserpine (1 mg/kg body weight) subcutaneously on the 1st day of diestrus. The mean length of pseudopregnancy in the control group was 13.8 days. There was an increase (p less than .001) in the duration of pseudopregnancy to 17.1 days following hysterectomy. The administration of uterine extract reduced the duration to 15.9 days. Administration of posterior pituitary extract reduced the duration of pseudopregnancy in the pseudopregnant hysterectomized rats to 12.4 days (p less than .001). Aspirin treatment did not effect the length of pseudopregnancy. It is concluded that there is a definite pituitary-utero-ovarian relationship. The neurohypophyseal hormones may be involved in the mechanism of regression of corpora lutea of pseudopregnancy in rats.


In ternary chalcogenide systems, a lateral compositional gradient in deposited layers could help to reduce the experimental efforts drastically. At present, no sputtering method for these sulfosalt gradient layers is described. A method was developed to deposit ternary (SnS)x(Bi2S3)1-x gradient layers by sputtering methods. Therefore, binary SnS and Bi2S3 sputter targets were prepared by uniaxial hot pressing. Halved targets were bonded together to form composite SnS/Bi2S3-targets. Layer deposition was carried out on up to 50x100 mm2 glass and glass/Mo substrates using different sputter parameters and substrate temperatures. The (SnS)x(Bi2S3)1-x gradient layers were characterised by microprobe, X-ray diffraction, and UV/Vis/NIR spectrometry. The composition of the layers is determined laterally and the film structure and optical properties were correlated via the substrate coordinates. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


In this paper the propagation of acoustic plane waves in turbulent, fully developed flow is studied by means of an experimental investigation carried out in a straight, smooth-walled duct.The presence of a coherent perturbation, such as an acoustic wave in a turbulent confined flow, generates the oscillation of the wall shear stress. In this circumstance a shear wave is excited and superimposed on the sound wave. The turbulent shear stress is modulated by the shear wave and the wall shear stress is strongly affected by the turbulence. From the experimental point of view, it results in a measured damping strictly connected to the ratio between the thickness of the acoustic sublayer, which is frequency dependent, and the thickness of the viscous sublayer of the turbulent mean flow, the last one being dependent on the Mach number. By reducing the turbulence, the viscous sublayer thickness increases and the wave propagation is mainly dominated by convective effects. In the present work, the damping and wall impedance have been extracted from the measured complex wavenumber, which represents the most important parameter used to characterize the wave propagation. An experimental approach, referred to as iterative plane wave decomposition, has been used in order to obtain the results. The investigations have been carried out at low Mach number turbulent flows, low Helmholtz numbers and low shear wavenumbers. The aim is to overcome a certain lack of experimental results found by the authors of the most recent models for the plane wave propagation in turbulent flows, such as Knutsson et al. (The effect of turbulence damping on acoustic wave propagation in tubes, Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 329, No. 22, 2010), and Weng et al. (The attenuation of sound by turbulence in internal flows, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 133(6), 2013).


Surface swelling caused by He implantation was studied for newly-developed Ti/Ta-added reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels. Post-implantation annealing at 623 K for 2 h of He-implanted RAFM-steel samples led to surface-step formation because of surface swelling induced by He bubbles formed inside the samples. Pre-implantation of a small number of H ions was found to cause an increase in the surface-step height, which was not expected. A possible mechanism for this synergistic effect of pre-implanted H is proposed.


Attempts have been made to fabricate nanofibrous scaffolds to mimic the chemical composition and structural properties of extracellular matrix (ECM) for tissue/organ regeneration. Nanofibers with various patterns have been successfully produced from synthetic and natural polymers through a relatively simple technique of electrospinning. The resulting patterns can mimic some of the diverse tissue-specific orientation and three-dimensional (3D) fibrous structure. Studies on cell-nanofiber interactions have revealed the importance of nanotopography on cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Our recent data showed that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) as well as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can rapidly and effectively attached to the functionalized nanofibers. Mineralized 3D nanofibrous scaffold with bone marrow derived MSCs has been applied for bone tissue engineering. The use of injectable nanofibers for cardiac tissue engineering applications is attractive as they allow for the encapsulation of cardiomyocytes/MSCs as well as bioactive molecules for the repair of myocardial infarction. Duplicate 3D heart helix microstructure by the nanofibrous cardiac patch might provide functional support for infarcted myocardium. Furthermore, clinical applications of electrospun nanofibers for regenerative medicine are highly feasible due to the ease and flexibility of fabrication with the cost-effective method of making nanofibers.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

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α-TEA is a nonhydrolyzable ether analogue of RRR-α-tocopherol. It has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. In our study, the apoptosis-inducing potential of α-TEA was investigated in LNCaP and PC-3 GFP human prostate cancer cells. Both cell lines were sensitive to α-TEA induced apoptosis. 72 h treatment with 40 μM α-TEA caused 95% and 68% apoptosis in LNCaP and PC-3 GFP cells, respectively. The mechanisms underlying α-TEA induced apoptosis were investigated. The activation of caspases and JNK is important for α-TEA induced apoptosis. Chemical caspase and JNK inhibitors, and dominant negative JNK inhibited apoptosis induced by α-TEA. Fas mRNA and protein levels were elevated in both LNCaP and PC-3 GFP cells treated with α-TEA. PC-3 GFP cells are sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis, while LNCaP cells are resistant. α-TEA treatment enhanced Fas-mediated apoptosis in PC-3 GFP cells and sensitized Fas-resistant LNCaP cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis. α-TEA induced apoptosis can be blocked by Fas neutralizing antibody. Supported by CA59739, ESO2784 and the Foundation for Research.


C133 Introduction: Pharmacogenomic (PG) variables have been increasingly recognized as predicting clinical outcomes for patients receiving chemotherapy in several cancers. Prior studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have assessed nucleotide excision repair capacity in cancer tissue, in patients mostly receiving chemotherapy as single-modality therapy. There is paucity of data regarding the clinical impact of germline polymorphisms in the NER and platinum detoxyfying pathways in patients (pts) with stage III NSCLC treated with chemoradiation (CRT). Historically, this treatment is associated with severe toxicities in 20-30% of pts and results in a median survival of 15-17 months.
 Methods: The study was IRB approved and signed informed consent was obtained from all patients. Pts with stage III NSCLC being followed in the oncology clinic were eligible for this study if they had completed CRT including cisplatin (at least 60 mg/m2 every 3 weeks) or carboplatin (at least AUC=2 weekly), plus concurrent radiation therapy at doses of 5000 cGy or higher. Single-nucleotide polymoprhisms (SNPs) were assessed by DNA pyrosenquencing from peripheral blood for the following genes: ERCC1(N118N), ERCC2 (K751Q and R156R)), XRCC1(R399Q) and GSTP1(I105V). Charts and CT scans were reviewed for analysis of efficacy and toxicity.
 Results: PG results for 12 eligible pts are currently available. Median age was 58.5 yrs (52-78). 11 pts were caucasians. Median FEV1: 1.4L (0.7-2.6). 4 pts received cisplatin and 8 carboplatin. 10 pts had systemic comorbidities. Median radiation dose was 6390 cGy (5000-7020). Median % of total lung volume receiving 2000 cGy or more (V20) was 28% (14-38%). 6 pts had severe toxicities during or soon after CRT and 3 pts required treatment breaks. Responses by RECIST: 2 CR, 7 PR, 3 SD. Median duration of follow-up was 16.5 months (9-61) and median DFS was 11 months (5-61). To date, 7 pts had cancer recurrence and 3 of these pts have died. PG results: ERCC1: C/C (2), C/T (3), T/T (7); ERCC2 (K751Q locus): A/A (6), A/C (4), C/C (2); XRCC1: G/G (9), G/A (3), A/A (0); GSTP1: A/A (1); A/G (9), G/G (2). Notably, evaluation of 4 pts who are alive more than 1 year, and still without recurrence, reveals that all 4 are T/T for ERCC1 and A/A for ERCC2, and 3 of 4 were G/G for XRCC1.
 Conclusions: Baseline clinical characteristics were typical for this patient population. There was substantial variability in response to treatment in this cohort of patients. The data is preliminary and does not allow definitive correlations with toxicity or survival at this time. Accrual and additional PG testing are ongoing. Updated results will be available at the meeting. A formal multivariate analysis will be performed upon larger accrual.
 Abbreviations: AUC= area under the curve; ERCC=excision repair cross complementing; XRCC= x-ray cross complementing; GSTP1= glutathione S-Transferase P1; FEV1= forced expiratory volume in 1 second; CR= complete response; PR= partial response; SD= stable disease.


A smoothing algorithm based on curvature flow is proposed to suppress noises in triangular meshes reconstructed from contours. Geometric features among the mesh are detected, according to which the original mesh is refined adaptively. An isotropic method is used to smooth the refined mesh, making the algorithm straightforward and stable while preserving important geometric features. Experimental results show that the algorithm can denoise triangular meshes constructed from contours with important geometric features preserved competently


Since Pearl's seminal work on providing a formal language for causality, the subject has garnered a lot of interest among philosophers and researchers in artificial intelligence alike. One of the most debated topics in this context regards the notion of actual causation, which concerns itself with specific - as opposed to general - causal claims. The search for a proper formal definition of actual causation has evolved into a controversial debate, that is pervaded with ambiguities and confusion. The goal of our research is twofold. First, we wish to provide a clear way to compare competing definitions. Second, we also want to improve upon these definitions so they can be applied to a more diverse range of instances, including non-deterministic ones. To achieve these goals we will provide a general, abstract definition of actual causation, formulated in the context of the expressive language of CP-logic (Causal Probabilistic logic). We will then show that three recent definitions by Ned Hall (originally formulated for structural models) and a definition of our own (formulated for CP-logic directly) can be viewed and directly compared as instantiations of this abstract definition, which allows them to deal with a broader range of examples.


We describe a mediastinal pancreatic pseudocyst treated with a catheter drainage placed under computed tomographic guidance using a newly applied approach. A needle was angled cephalad with the computed tomographic gantry tilt technique, and was inserted into the lowest portion of the cavity through the liver and through the diaphragm. The needle pathway was necessitated by the location of the pseudocyst cavity. The drainage alleviated completely the symptoms with no complications. The puncture technique should be an option for accessing mediastinal lesions percutaneously.


The durability of sealants is dictated by many factors such as joint design, surface preparation, application, formulation, joint movement, and weather. Among these factors the link between formulation (material behavior) and weathering durability is difficult to assess in short term tests. We attempt to address this challenge by monitoring changes in apparent modulus during exposure to outdoor weathering and cyclic strain. This is accomplished via custom built systems that apply cyclic strain to 16 samples simultaneously via programs that simulate wood (cold compression) and concrete=metal (hot compression) construction materials. A key finding of the research presented here is that changes in apparent modulus are primarily driven by underlying changes in the compression set, a potentially critical contributor to stress in structures during rapid temperature changes. Detection of the compression set is made possible by the in situ material property assessments used in this research. Aging tests that rely on offline evaluation of property changes may miss or underestimate this effect on the sealant's stiffness due to time delay and=or losing track of the original zero stress-zero strain state.


Virtualization is used increasingly in data centers to achieve server consolidation. More and more products (commercial and open source) are available; virtualization is even natively included in Linux distributions like in the upcoming Microsoft Windows server. In this paper we present the virtualization tests carried out by EDIT R&D since 2005 to improve the durability of industrial applications running on obsolete hardware platforms. The applications based on the Intelpsilas x86 architecture, and requiring no specific hardware, can be easily virtualized. Thus their lifetime can be extended as long as the virtualization software is adapted to the new hardware of the servers. For applications requiring specific hardware, virtualization is not easy. In this paper we present how to implement the support of a new peripheral, using the open source virtualization software QEMU. We also discuss how the IOs of the drivers are forwarded from the emulated hardware to another hardware that has the same features.


To further our understanding of the cortical deficit in strabismic amblyopia, we measured, compared and mapped functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation between the fixing and fellow amblyopic eyes of ten strabismic amblyopes. Of specific concern was whether the function of any visual area was spared in strabismic amblyopia, as recently suggested by both positron emission tomography (PET) and fMRI studies, and whether there was a close relationship between the fMRI response and known psychophysical deficits. To answer these questions we measured the psychophysical deficit in each subject and used stimuli whose relationship to the psychophysical deficit was known. We observed that stimuli that were well within the amblyopic passband did produce reduced fMRI activation, even in visual area V1. This suggests that V1 is anomalous in amblyopia. A similar level of reduction was observed in V2. In two subjects, we found that stimuli outside the amblyopic passband produced activation in visual area V3A. We did not find a close relationship between the fMRI response reduction in amblyopia and either of the known psychophysical deficits even though the fMRI response reduction in amblyopia did covary with stimulus spatial frequency.


The aims of this study were to evaluate the incidence of local argyria in patients with silver-coated megaprostheses and to identify a possible association between argyria and elevated levels of silver both locally and in the blood. Between 2004 and 2011, 32 megaprostheses with silver coatings were implanted in 20 female and 12 male patients following revision arthroplasty for infection or resection of a malignant tumour, and the levels of silver locally in drains and seromas and in the blood were determined. The mean age of the patients was 46 years (10 to 81); one patient died in the immediate post-operative period and was excluded. Seven patients (23%) developed local argyria after a median of 25.7 months (interquartile range 2 to 44.5). Patients with and without local argyria had comparable levels of silver in the blood and aspiration fluids. The length of the implant did not influence the development of local argyria. Patients with clinical evidence of local argyria had no neurological symptoms and no evidence of renal or hepatic failure. Thus, we conclude that the short-term surveillance of blood silver levels in these patients is not required.


Economic theory addresses unemployment as one of the crucial macroeconomic problems. Given the contributions to the production process, labor market integration of youth population is one of the main focuses of the labor economics literature. In this direction, a great number of studies have analyzed the dynamics of youth unemployment in the Turkish economy. However, a limited number of studies have investigated the issue in the case of Turkey with respect to gender using micro-level data. Given this knowledge, this study attempts to examine the determinants of the youth unemployment in 26 regions categorized under NUTS-2 over the period 2014-2019, and investigate whether those determinants vary by gender. Estimation results indicate that per capita income negatively affects both the total youth unemployment and youth unemployment by gender. Relative cohort size and internal migration positively affects all of the three youth unemployment categories. An increase in inflation rate increases youth female unemployment whereas youth male unemployment decreases with inflation. In addition, while an increase in age at first marriage increases youth female unemployment, it decreases youth male unemployment. Overall, the findings reveal that the impact that regional youth unemployment dynamics has on youth female unemployment is greater than on youth male unemployment. This study emphasizes that gender-based differences should be taken into account while developing policies towards the integration of youth into the labor market.


Ranking large scale image and video collections usually expects higher accuracy on top ranked data, while tolerates lower accuracy on bottom ranked ones. In view of this, we propose a rank learning algorithm, called Imbalanced RankBoost, which merges RankBoost and iterative thresholding into a unified loss optimization framework. The proposed approach provides a more efficient ranking process by iteratively identifying a cutoff threshold in each boosting iteration, and automatically truncating ranking feature computation for the data ranked below. Experiments on the TRECVID 2007 high-level feature benchmark show that the proposed approach outperforms RankBoost in terms of both ranking effectiveness and efficiency. It achieves an up to 21% improvement in terms of mean average precision, or equivalently, a 6-fold speedup in the ranking process.


Crude steel manufacturing operations are accompanied by emission of a large amount of hazardous electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) (around 20 kg of dust per each ton of produced steel). Global production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics is projected to grow to about 180 million tons in 2021. Combined treatment of both EAFD and PVC is a promising technique for extracting valuable metals from EAFD as it is a solution to minimize their environmental harmfulness. However, despite of many detailed experimental studies over the last few years; the specific underlying mechanism of the reactions between EAFD and PVC remain largely poorly understood.

This contribution provides a systematic theoretical thermo-kinetic study of the initial reactions between (Fe3O4)(111) surface, as a representative model for metal oxides in EAFD with HCl and selected chlorinated hydrocarbons, as major products from thermal degradation of PVC. Breakage of the H-Cl bond over magnetite and the formation of iron chlorides is in line with experimental findings, pointing out to degradation of organic contaminants through their reaction with magnetite. Moreover, in analogy to the well-documented role of alumina and other metal oxides, the catalytic-assisted HCl removal demonstrated herein indicates that, iron oxides serve as active catalysts in producing clean olefins streams from chlorinated alkanes. Results from this study should be instrumental to understand, on a precise atomic scale, fixation of halogens on transitional metal oxides; a viable thermal recycling approach for polymeric materials laden with halogenated constituents.


With the advent of pervasive usage of online platforms, online abusive behavior has become an indispensable part of our life demanding great attention from the research community. Accordingly, the research community is spending its effort on the demanding task, however, perhaps having much less effort on emails, even though emails are identified as a prominent source of exchanging online abusive behaviors. To fill in this gap in the literature, we conduct an in-depth study to investigate online abusive behavior having a special focus on emails. To do so, we perform a mixed-method user study consisting of formative interviews (n=15) and a survey (n=65) over user's experience, coping strategies, etc., pertinent to online abuse in Bangladesh, especially focusing on abuse over emails. We also dig into users' perspectives to analyze strengths and challenges associated with different types of abuse detection systems for online platforms, especially for emails. One of the noteworthy findings of our study is that there exists a significant demand for abuse detection systems over emailing platforms even after having a lesser frequency of abuse occurring over emails. Our findings also highlight a certain level of user preference for an automated abuse detection system potentially considering its more control and fewer privacy concerns to users, however, being challenged due to having the limitation of lesser ability to detect implicit abuse. We also identify several limiting factors associated with a human-moderator-based abuse detection system, including less comfort, less trust in different types of moderators, inhumane demands to the moderators, and time delay in detecting abuses. These findings point to opportunities for design interventions for hybrid abuse detection systems, which is the most preferred system to the users, to overcome all the limitations of automated and human-moderator-based systems.


Retinoids and interferon (IFN)‐α induce differentiation, affect cell proliferation and alter various immune parameters. In combination, their effects may be additive or even synergistic in the treatment of malignancy. We present a 53‐year‐old woman with stage IV CD30+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma with brain, lung and skin involvement. The patient had been on methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis. After a combination of oral acitretin 50 mg daily and IFN‐α 3 million units subcutaneously 3 times per week, the skin lesions cleared within 2 months, lung lesions by 5 months and brain leisons by 7 months. Although we cannot exclude that methotrexate played a role in the development of this lymphoma and that its withdrawal contributed to the clearance of lesions, we propose that the patient's disease responded to the combination of acitretin and IFN‐α.


LITIGATION PRACTICE: E-DISCOVERY AND TECHNOLOGY is a thorough introduction to the latest techniques of electronic discovery (e-discovery) and technology for use in civil cases from inception through trial. It offers extensive hands-on practice with several popular modern tools for office management, case management, discovery, graphic creation, and trial presentation. Each step and each category of tool is introduced through examples based on the fact pattern of a real case. A complete set of documents, reports, images, videos, and simulations are provided through the companion student site, MyLegalStudiesKit, and can be used to support student oral or multimedia presentations. The texts instruction, tools, and resources work together to teach core concepts that can be easily adapted to any software, civil case, or law firm.


This paper evaluates the role of reprocessability and symbol sets, two of the media capabilities identified in Media Synchronicity Theory, and different recipient characteristics on knowledge transfer. An experimental study manipulating the two specific channel interface characteristics was conducted to test the proposed model. Results indicate that symbol sets have a positive effect on knowledge possessed and knowledge applied. Motivation to learn significantly affected knowledge possessed and knowledge applied, while absorptive capacity was found to only influence knowledge possessed. The hypothesized relationships between reprocessability and knowledge internalization were marginally supported, and future research is suggested to address this issue.


Statistical methods with empirical likelihood (EL) are appealing and effective especially in conjunction with estimating equations for flexibly and adaptively incorporating data information. It is known that EL approaches encounter difficulties when dealing with highdimensional problems. To overcome the challenges, we begin our study with investigating high-dimensional EL from a new scope targeting at high-dimensional sparse model parameters. We show that the new scope provides an opportunity for relaxing the stringent requirement on the dimensionality of the model parameters. Motivated by the new scope, we then propose a new penalized EL by applying two penalty functions respectively regularizing the model parameters and the associated Lagrange multiplier in the optimizations of EL. By penalizing the Lagrange multiplier to encourage its sparsity, a drastic dimension reduction in the number of estimating equations can be achieved. Most attractively, such a reduction in dimensionality of estimating equations can be viewed as a selection among those high-dimensional estimating equations, resulting in a highly parsimonious and effective device for estimating high-dimensional sparse model parameters. Allowing both the dimensionalities of model parameters and estimating equations growing exponentially with the sample size, our theory demonstrates that our new penalized EL estimator is sparse and consistent with asymptotically normally distributed nonzero components. Numerical simulations and a real data analysis show that the proposed penalized EL works promisingly.


The present paper brings further elaboration of the methods introduced in [6] for evaluation of pseudo-random number generators. A very complex generator is constructed that can serve as canon for simulation of the true natural stochastic uniform distribution. Also, by extensive use of Monte Carlo method more precise and more complete data on the involved parameters are obtained. These data are then applied in an attempt to obtain some intuitive insight regarding certain principle that may become crucial point in founding statistical arithmetic. The main result should read: at least 950 homogeneous linear congruential generators with the smallest multiplier (i.e., 2) are needed in order that a permuting and shuffling algorithm produces a usable stochastic uniform distribution C/[0,l). The introduced canonical generator is also used to develop a more precise stochastic evaluation of PRN generators. This is accomplished by generation of large number of large samples so that approximation by normal distribution yields sufficiently close intervals of confidence.


Background Barley is a grain that is consumed in various forms in Asia. Studies on barley allergy are limited to a few case reports about hypersensitivity reactions to beer, but there is no barley allergy study in children. This study aimed to identify the phenotype and immunologic findings in Korean children with barley allergy. Methods Forty-two participants with a history of ingesting barley who underwent serum specific immunoglobulin E to barley (barley-sIgE) assay at the Department of Pediatrics in Ajou Medical Center were enrolled through a retrospective analysis of medical records from March 2008 to February 2018. The demographic characteristics, symptoms, and immunologic parameters of the patients were assessed. Results Twenty subjects presented with clinical barley allergy (B-allergic group), and 22 were atopic controls without allergic reactions after the ingestion of barley (B-tolerant group). The median ages of the B-allergic and B-tolerant groups were 1 and 3 years, respectively. In the B-allergic group, the cutaneous system (90.0%) was most frequently affected, followed by the respiratory system (40.0%). Anaphylaxis was observed in 35.0% of the B-allergic group. The median level of barley-sIgE was 13.90 kUA/L (range, 0.14–101.00 kUA/L) in the B-allergic group, and this value was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than that of the B-tolerant group (0.30 kUA/L; range, 0.01–24.40 kUA/L), with an optimal cutoff level of 1.24 kUA/L (sensitivity, 85.0%; specificity, 86.4%). A positive correlation was found between the serum levels of barley-sIgE and wheat-sIgE in the B-allergic group with clinical wheat allergy. Conclusion Barley is an important allergen for children in Korea. This study showed the clinical characteristics of barley allergy and suggested optimal cut-off levels of barley-sIgE for clinical barley allergy. Clinically, cross-reactivity or co-sensitization is often observed between barley and wheat.


Crumb rubber modification has been proven to enhance the properties of pure bitumen. This paper looks at some of the international standards for producing crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) and reviews the effect of crumb rubber to the rheology of crumb rubber modified bitumen. The review shows that the rheology of CRMB depends on internal factors such as crumb rubber quantity, particle size, and pure bitumen composition, and external factors such as the mixing time, temperature, and also the modification technique. These factors govern the swelling process of crumb rubber particles that lead to the increase of viscosity of the modified bitumen. However, the mixing temperature and duration can cause rubber particles to depolymerize and subsequently cause loss of viscosity. Crumb rubber modification also improves the properties of bitumen by increasing the storage and loss modulus and enhancing the high and low temperature susceptibility. The effect of crumb rubber to aging properties of CRMB is also discussed. Finally several techniques of chemical modification to terminal blends of CRMB and the subsequent improvement to the settling property of CRMB are explained.


This paper aims to present the computations of two geoid models for Thailand. The first model, THAI12G, is a gravimetric geoid, referenced to the geocentric WGS84 ellipsoid, computed through on e -dimensional spherical Fast Fourier Transform. The other model is THAI12H, which is a hybrid geoid that encompasses all gravimetric information of THAI12G as well as the 200 GPS ellipsoid heights (in the national WGS84 geodetic datum) co-located with orthometric heights (in the national Kolak vertical datum of 1915 (Kolak-1915)) through least-squares collocation (LSC). The non-tidal EGM2008 global geopotential model from degree 2 to 2190 and 3,949 terrestrial gravity measurements were used to contribute long- and medium-scale information of geoid structure. In the mountainous terrains devoid of gravities, the topograph y -implied gravity anomalies were simulated using the high-resolution residual terrain model (RTM) data from a three-arcsecond digital elevation model. Fits of 200 GPS/leveling reference points to THAI12G showed a 60. 6 -cm root mean square (rms) with an estimated offset of +71.5 cm around a 0.126-ppm north-south tilted plane. After applying LSC conversion surface to finally obtain THAI12H, the rms of t h e fit between the model and the same reference points reduced to 5.7 cm (no tilts and zero average).The THAI12H model was assessed using 53 GPS/leveling check points, yielding an overall rms of 16.1-cm.


Manifestations of sleep disturbances can potentially serve as external criteria for the diagnosis of specific subtypes of major depressive disorder (MDD). Depressed patients generally experience disturbances of sleep continuity and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Disturbances in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (stages III and IV) also occur. Characteristic of primary sleep disturbance in many depressed patients are shortened REM latency periods and instabilities in NREM sleep identified by increases in the number of stage shifts, decreases in the duration of stage III and IV sleep, and a shift towards lighter sleep stages (sleep efficiency disturbances). Treatment modalities for these sleep disturbances include sleep deprivation therapy and antidepressant therapy. Sleep deprivation alone has been only moderately successful, while antidepressant therapy usually results in symptomatic improvement. To restore normative sleep, REM sleep periods and stage III and IV sleep must be returned to normal. Trazodone therapy has been shown to reduce the frequency of arousals, the severity of drowsiness, and the duration of REM sleep, and increase restorative slow wave sleep and stage III and IV NREM sleep.


We propose a twin MOSFET fabrication technique to evaluate threshold voltage (Vt) fluctuations. Twin gates have been made using SiN sidewall masks that provide exactly the same gate lengths. From the difference in Vt between the twin transistors, we can evaluate the Vt fluctuation due not to a global variations across a wafer, but due to local variations. The standard deviation of the gate length difference between the twin transistors is smaller than 0.48 nm at a gate length of 95 nm.


Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important etiological agent that is responsible for the development of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) helicase is a possible target for novel drug development due to its essential role in viral replication. In this study, we identified halisulfate 3 (hal3) and suvanine as novel NS3 helicase inhibitors, with IC50 values of 4 and 3 µM, respectively, from a marine sponge by screening extracts of marine organisms. Both hal3 and suvanine inhibited the ATPase, RNA binding, and serine protease activities of NS3 helicase with IC50 values of 8, 8, and 14 µM, and 7, 3, and 34 µM, respectively. However, the dengue virus (DENV) NS3 helicase, which shares a catalytic core (consisting mainly of ATPase and RNA binding sites) with HCV NS3 helicase, was not inhibited by hal3 and suvanine, even at concentrations of 100 µM. Therefore, we conclude that hal3 and suvanine specifically inhibit HCV NS3 helicase via an interaction with an allosteric site in NS3 rather than binding to the catalytic core. This led to the inhibition of all NS3 activities, presumably by inducing conformational changes.


Objectives: Congenital cholesteatomas originate from epithelial tissue present within the middle ear in patients with an intact tympanic membrane, no history of otologic surgery, otorrhea, or tympanic membrane perforation. They are diagnosed by a pearl-like lesion on otoscopy and computed tomography (CT) scan showing an expansile soft-tissue mass. We describe a series of patients with no prior otologic history presenting with progressive unilateral conductive hearing loss and normal otoscopy. The CT scans showed ossicular erosion without obvious soft-tissue mass. Surgery confirmed incudostapedial erosion found to be cholesteatoma. In this study, we characterize the clinical course of patients diagnosed with isolated incudostapedial cholesteatoma (IIC) and review possible pathologic mechanisms. Methods: Retrospective review of IIC cases treated by the Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, 2014 to 2020. Data included patient demographics, clinical features, imaging, surgical findings, and audiologic data. Results: Five patients were diagnosed with IIC (3 [60%] female; mean age at presentation 10.7 years [range 5.5-16.0]). All patients presented with postlingual unilateral conductive hearing loss and normal otoscopy without any past otologic history; delay in diagnosis ranged from 4 months to several years. The CT scans showed ossicular chain erosion with an absent long process of the incus and/or stapes superstructure. All patients underwent middle ear exploration, revealing a thin layer of cholesteatoma in the incudostapedial region, confirmed by histopathology. Mean preoperative speech reception threshold was 55 dB and improved to a mean of 31 dB in the 4 patients who underwent ossicular chain reconstruction. Conclusion: Isolated incudostapedial cholesteatoma should be included as a possible etiology in pediatric patients with insidious onset of unilateral conductive hearing loss with normal otoscopy, unremarkable otologic history, and a CT scan showing ossicular abnormality/disruption without notable middle ear mass. These patients should be counseled preoperatively regarding the possibility of cholesteatoma and should undergo middle ear exploration with possible ossiculoplasty.


Introduction Methylchloroisothiazolinone/Methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) and methylisothiazolinone (MI) are chemical preservatives found in cosmetics, industrial and household products. There is a reported epidemic of allergic reactions to these substances in several countries (e.g. increases of 4.1% per annum over 16 years in England). Workers that come into contact with the agents may develop occupational contact dermatitis. Therefore, detecting these allergens is important to better manage workers' skin condition and exposure. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of contact dermatitis to MCI/MI and MI before and after changes in allergen testing was introduced. Methods A retrospective assessment of workers referred to the NIOH Dermatology Clinic between 2006 and 2017 was conducted. Workers with work-related dermatitis were patch tested for sensitisation to MCI/MI and/or MI using the European baseline series (Chemotechnique). Frequencies of sensitisation to the allergens (MCI/MI and MI) were calculated using Microsoft Excel. Results A total of 583 occupational referrals were seen and 413 were patch tested to determine a possible allergic aetiology for the dermatitis. Sixteen patients (3.9%) were positive to either one or both allergens (MCI/MI and MI) during the period January 2006 to June 2017. The testing concentration of the MCI/MI was doubled in 2014 and MI was introduced in 2015. More cases were identified (6/86; 7%) after changes were introduced post 2014 compared to previous allergen concentrations (10/327; 3.1%). The workers identified with sensitisation to the chemicals were from occupations such as beauticians, cleaners, a millwright, a waitress and several workers that either decanted or mixed the chemicals. Discussion MCI/MI and MI are important occupational allergens and should be tested using the correct concentration to avoid misdiagnosing cases. The importance of keeping abreast with what is happening in the field was highlighted by the changes implemented which improved the detection of these allergens.


Background: The evolutionary success of Wolbachia bacteria, infections of which are widespread in invertebrates, is largely attributed to an ability to manipulate host reproduction without imposing substantial fitness costs. Here, we describe a stage-structured model with deterministic immature lifestages and a stochastic adult female lifestage. Simulations were conducted to better understand Wolbachia invasions into uninfected host populations. The model includes conventional Wolbachia parameters (the level of cytoplasmic incompatibility, maternal inheritance, the relative fecundity of infected females, and the initial Wolbachia infection frequency) and a new parameter termed relative larval viability ( RLV ), which is the survival of infected larvae relative to uninfected larvae. Results: The results predict the RLV parameter to be the most important determinant for Wolbachia invasion and establishment. Specifically, the fitness of infected immature hosts must be close to equal to that of uninfected hosts before population replacement can occur. Furthermore, minute decreases in RLV inhibit the invasion of Wolbachia despite high levels of cytoplasmic incompatibility, maternal inheritance, and low adult fitness costs. Conclusions: The model described here takes a novel approach to understanding the spread of Wolbachia through a population with explicit dynamics. By combining a stochastic female adult lifestage and deterministic immature/adult male lifestages, the model predicts that even those Wolbachia infections that cause minor decreases in immature survival are unlikely to invade and spread within the host population. The results are discussed in relation to recent theoretical and empirical studies of natural population replacement events and proposed applied research, which would use Wolbachia as a tool to manipulate insect populations.


Organophosphorus (OP) poisoning is a worldwide public health problem. Assessment of oxidative stress and antioxidant status using many biochemical parameters has become a notable research work. In this view, the serum nitric oxide (NO) levels are checked as an indicator of oxidative stress. Serum levels of Vitamin E, Vitamin C, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase are checked as a marker of antioxidant property. Correlation of oxidative stress biomarker NO with other antioxidant parameters such as Vitamin E, Vitamin C, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase is done in the study. The results show that vitamin C and vitamin E decreased in cases of organophosphorus poisoning whereas NO, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase increased compared to controls, with statistical significance p < 0.0001. Nitric oxide shows a negative correlation between vitamin C and glutathione peroxidase and shows a positive correlation between vitamin E and glutathione reductase. But the positive correlation between vitamin E and glutathione reductase is statistically insignificant.


To know the mechanism of ammonia assimilation in non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis (L.) Makino) leaves regulated by chitosan (CTS), a CTS-binding protein was isolated from non-heading Chinese cabbage leaves using the chitosan affinity chromatography approach and this CTS-binding protein was partially characterized. The profile of the 53.1 kDa purified protein on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was compared with the native molecular weight of 106.5 kDa, which indicated that the purified protein was a dimer with identical subunits. After isoelectric focusing, a band was obtained at pH 8.25. The agglutination test and periodic acid-Schiff staining further revealed that the protein was a glycoprotein with lectin activity. Moreover, the purified protein contained 17.4 % (w/w) neutral carbohydrate and 82.56% (w/w) protein. The comparison of this protein and the 67 kDa CTS-binding protein isolated previously from Rubus culture tissue exhibited some differences in characterization. According to results of peptide mass fingerprinting analysis, the protein purified in the present study does not show any similarity with any protein in the protein data bank. Thus, it was deduced that the protein purified in the present study is a novel CTS-binding protein.


Adenosine has been implicated as a proximate mediator of escape deficits in the learned helplessness paradigm, suggesting that neuronal overactivation-a typical precursor to adenosine release-precedes the inescapable shock-induced impairment (T. R. Minor, W. C. Chang, & J. L. Winslow, 1994). In the present experiments, glutamate (100 microg) injection into the rat frontal cortex produced a deficit in escape performance. Pretest treatment with the adenosine receptor antagonist caffeine (7 mg/kg ip) reversed the effect of glutamate when infused 1 hr. but not 72 hr, after glutamate injection. Finally, microinjection of 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (5 ng) into the frontal cortex prior to inescapable shock prevented the escape deficit. These findings are consistent with the involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation in the frontal cortex in the helplessness effect.


In this research, we demonstrate inverted perovskite light-emitting devices (PeLEDs) based on zinc oxide nanorod arrays (ZnO NAs) as the electron transport layer and methylammonium lead bromide nanoplatelets (MAPbBr3 NPLs) as the emissive material for the first time. The polyethyleneimine ethoxylated (PEIE) was inserted between the ZnO NAs and the MAPbBr3 NPLs layer to reduce the energy barrier and improve the electron injection efficiency. Besides, different weight ratios of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) were blended with MAPbBr3 NPLs to make evenly dispersed nanocomposite films, thereby enhancing the performance of devices. Meanwhile, the photoluminescence of MAPbBr3 NPLs:PVK nanocomposite film was increased due to reduced self-quenching and prolonged carrier lifetime. Inverted PeLEDs with the configuration of ITO/PEIE-modified ZnO NAs/MAPbBr3 NPLs:PVK/TFB/Au were fabricated and evaluated, using TFB as the hole transport layer. The current density of the devices containing PVK matrix was significantly suppressed compared to those without PVK. Herein, the best device revealed a max brightness of 495 cd m−2 and a low turn-on voltage of 3.1 V that shows potential use in light-emitting applications.


ABSTRACT Arenaviruses can cause lethal hemorrhagic fevers in humans with few preventative and therapeutic measures. The arenaviral glycoprotein stable signal peptide (SSP) is unique among signal peptides in that it is an integral component of the mature glycoprotein complex (GPC) and plays important roles not only in GPC expression and processing but also in the membrane fusion process during viral entry. Using the Pichinde virus (PICV) reverse genetics system, we analyzed the effects of alanine substitutions at many conserved residues within the SSP on viral replication in cell culture and in a guinea pig infection model. Our data showed that the K33A, F49A, and C57A mutations abolished GPC-mediated cell entry and therefore could not allow for the generation of viable recombinant viruses, demonstrating that these residues are essential for the PICV life cycle. The G2A mutation caused a marked reduction of cell entry at the membrane fusion step, and while this mutant virus was viable, it was significantly attenuated in vitro and in vivo. The N20A mutation also reduced membrane fusion activity and viral virulence in guinea pigs, but it did not significantly affect cell entry or viral growth in cell culture. Two other mutations (N37A and R55A) did not affect membrane fusion or viral growth in vitro but significantly reduced viral virulence in vivo. Taken together, our data suggest that the GPC SSP plays an essential role in mediating viral entry and also contributes to viral virulence in vivo. IMPORTANCE Several arenaviruses, such as Lassa fever virus, can cause severe and lethal hemorrhagic fever diseases with high mortality and morbidity, and no FDA-approved vaccines or therapies are currently available. Viral entry into cells is mediated by arenavirus GPC that consists of an SSP, the receptor-binding GP1, and transmembrane GP2 protein subunits. Using a reverse genetics system of a prototypic arenavirus, Pichinde virus (PICV), we have shown for the first time in the context of virus infections of cell culture and of guinea pigs that the SSP plays an essential role in mediating the membrane fusion step as well as in other yet-to-be-determined processes during viral infection. Our study provides important insights into the biological roles of GPC SSP and implicates it as a good target for the development of antivirals against deadly human arenavirus pathogens.


Research in the violence against women area has been undertaken for more than 30 years, but individual researchers who have made these scholarly contributions have not been advantaged by adequate attention, funding, or organizational structure within the university setting. This article offers a detailed description of a model of an interdisciplinary research center designed to provide an academic architecture within which research on intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of violence against women can flourish and advance. The article describes the impetus for creation of the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women, its current mission, organizational structure, financial operations, and initiatives related to research, education, and public service. Practical strategies for establishing and sustaining a center of this type are offered.


With random network coding, network nodes between the source and receivers are able to not only relay and replicate data packets, but also code them using randomly generated coding coefficients. From a theoretical perspective, it has been recognized that network coding maximizes the network flow rates in multicast sessions in directed acyclic network graphs. To date, random network coding has seen practical and real-world applications in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, in which overlay network topologies are formed among participating end hosts, called "peers." Due to uncertainties and dynamics involved with peer arrivals and departures, these network topologies are usually randomly generated in practice, and are referred to as "random mesh" topologies. Unlike structured topologies such as trees, random mesh topologies are practical to be implemented, and are resilient to the level of volatility typically experienced in peer-to-peer networks. It has been shown, from both theoretical and practical perspectives, that random network coding leads to performance benefits in these peer-to-peer networks with random mesh topologies. This paper presents a survey of existing results with respect to practical applications of random network coding in peer-to-peer networks. We focus on bulk content distribution and media streaming systems, as well as the computational overhead introduced by random network coding in modern off-the-shelf servers and mobile devices. Throughout the paper, we also show theoretical insights on why random network coding may become beneficial in practice.