The primary purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that;Management development as it is currently understood can be transferred to the police service" Information about the current position was sought in terms of both its effectiveness and the level of understanding of the concept of management development. Questionnaires were distributed to managers of all ranks within the author's own force, an American police department and a sample from English and Welsh forces. The study examined five areas of management development. These were: the concept; succession planning; personal development; staff appraisal and training. Analysis of the data revealed that the concept of management development was not understood by many of the individuals participating in the study. As a result the significance of the other areas as elements of the overall system were lost on many of the respondents. Despite the difficulties identified by the study the author's detailed research leads him to believe that management development as it is currently understood can be transferred to the police service providing certain criteria were met. The study concludes with a number of recommendations to assist forces to implement a structured management development programme. A secondary objective of the research is to survey potential executive officers attending the most senior police management course to ascertain whether there were similarities in their career profiles which could be used to develop potential senior managers in the most appropriate manner. The author questions the validity of the current criteria for selection to the course but recognises that whilst they remain the results from this study, which identified emerging trends in both the personal and career profiles of attendees, are relevant. Consequently they should be of benefit to forces in identifying and developing future senior executives.


The biological properties of strains of Coxiella burnetti from 9 species of wild animals and 2 species of ticks collected at Hopland, in Northern California, were compared to the properties reported for the highly infectious wildlife strains isolated in Western Montana, and the comparatively avirulent strains isolated from rodents in Utah. The Hopland strains are though to be similar to the Utah strains because they were usually more infectious for hamsters and induced higher antibody responses in this host than in guinea pigs or mice. The Hopland strains did not cause a febrile response and were difficult to transfer in guinea pigs. Although a slight splenomegaly was evident in inoculated mice and hamsters, there was no exudate around the spleen nor granuloma at the site of injection, as induced by typical virulent strains of C. burnetii. The Q fever rickettsiae isolated from deer and coyotes were the most infectious of the Hopland strains. They induced higher antibody responses in guinea pigs during the primary isolation and were more easily transferred through laboratory hosts. Both the Utah and Hopland wildlife strains were isolated from animals collected in areas where livestock were present. It is not known whether the infectivity of certain strains of C. burnetti is influenced by host-parasite equilibrium in an animal population chronically exposed to the organism.


The histological results of transbronchial lung biopsies have been analysed in 109 patients with diffuse or localised lung diseases. This diagnostic procedure is relatively safe, well tolerable and can be carried out in outpatients. In diffuse lung diseases its use can replace the open lung biopsy. The efficacy of this method depends on the availability of biplanar fluoroscopy, the quality of the excisors, the quantity and size of the biopsy material and the technique of the histological handling.


A comparison study of XRF and (31)^P-NMR method for the analysis of phosphorous in lubricating oil has been described. Pure oil and water were used for the observation of matrices effect variation by different analytical methods. Quantitative analysis was carried out by XRF and (31)^P-NMR using real samples. Significant difference is observed from the slopes on the calibration curves by the XRF due to the matrices (water: 124.0, oil: 276.6). While the result obtained from XRF showed a large matrix effect, the slopes obtained from (31)^P-NMR results of two different matrices, however, are in good agreement ranged of ±9% (water: 4.9, oil: 5.3).


In a low-voltage electric distribution network, arc fault presents a high energy density electricity-discharging phenomenon between conductors, which is often caused by aging of electric facilities, loose contacts and terminals, or insulation failure due to internal and external destructions. A large amount of heat may be created during this discharging, which will further cause the risk of fire hazards to mitigate in the residential environment. Currently, many utility grid operators and electricity users are still devoted to seeking effective detection technology for arc fault protection. This paper proposes a hybrid approach that combines discrete wavelet transform (DWT), empirical mode decomposition (EMD), and dynamic time warping (DTW) methods for low-voltage AC series arc fault detection. In DWT, it uses time–frequency domain characteristics of the arc current signal to extract the occurrence of arc fault. In EMD, it decomposes the complex arc fault current signal into a finite intrinsic mode (IMF) signal; then, instantaneous amplitude of IMF signal is obtained by Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT) as a feature for arc fault identification. Firstly, the results of arc fault detections depend on the results from DWT and EMD. When both two methods detect different results, DTW method will be activated, using the similarity measurements between normal and arc fault current waveforms as an assistant measure to determine the occurrence of arc fault. The performance of the proposed approach is tested and validated using various electric appliances, and the results show that the proposed approach can effectively detect low-voltage AC series arc fault.


A hierarchical Bayesian life cycle model is presented that considers spatial covariation of marine life history traits of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) populations in the North Atlantic. The model is based on a collective analysis of the dynamics of 13 stock units (SUs) from two continental stock groups (CSGs) in North America and Southern Europe in a single hierarchical model over the period 1971–2014. The model sets up a new assessment framework for Atlantic salmon stocks. It also provides a framework to investigate the drivers of changes in Atlantic salmon population dynamics including disentangling the effects of fisheries from those of environmental factors in a hierarchy of spatial scales. It is used to test the hypothesis of a strong spatial synchrony in marine life history dynamics of Atlantic salmon populations. The trends in two key parameters associated with the early marine phase of the life cycle are estimated: (i) the marine survival during the first summer–autumn spent at sea and (ii) the proportion of fish maturing after the first winter at sea. The results provide evidence of a decline in the marine survival together with an increase in the proportion of fish that mature after the first winter at sea, common to all SUs. Our results show an increased coherence in the covariations of trends in these two marine life history traits related to geographic proximity of SUs which support the hypothesis of a coherent response of geographically proximate Atlantic salmon populations that likely share similar migration routes.


We have developed a technique of detecting and recording iris transillumination defects using an infrared sensitive video camera. This method is useful for assessing the loss of posterior iris pigment in patients with the pigmentary dispersion syndrome and pigmentary glaucoma. Some patients with no transillumination defects on slit-lamp examination were noted to have discrete defects on infrared videography. This technique is a rapid, convenient, and reproducible method of permanently recording posterior iris pigment changes. These high-quality video images can then be followed to determine the natural course and the results of therapy in these patients.


Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium graminearum (Fg) severely affects cereal crops, especially wheat and barley. FHB results in significant yield loss, reduces grain quality and contaminates grains with mycotoxin. The development of FHB-resistant cereal cultivars can be expedited through CRISPR gene editing. The Arabidopsis ethylene insensitive 2 (AtEIN2) plays a key role in ethylene signaling pathway and is critical for monitoring plant growth and defense responses. RNAi down-regulation of the wheat homolog TaEIN2 has been shown to enhance wheat FHB resistance. Here we generated site-specific mutations in AtEIN2 by CRISPR-editing. Detached inflorescence infection assays revealed that AtEIN2 knock-out (KO) mutants displayed enhanced Fg resistance and substantially reduced Fg spore production in planta. Gene expression profiling of defense genes revealed that impairment of AtEIN2 resulted in down-regulation of the ethylene signaling pathway while the salicylic acid signaling pathway was unaffected. Complementation of AtEIN2-KO plants with a barley orthologue, HvEIN2, restored Fg susceptibility, indicating that HvEIN2 is functionally equivalent to its Arabidopsis counterpart and, hence, may have a similar role in conditioning barley Fg susceptibility. These results provide insight into the defense role of EIN2 and a molecular and functional foundation for manipulating HvEIN2 to enhance FHB resistance in barley.


The potential of carabid beetles as natural control agents of slugs was investigated using a quantitative indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The crop contents of two species, Abax parallelepipedus (Piller & Mitterpacher) and Pterostichus madidus (Fabricius) collected between May and December 1990, were analysed using an anti-mollusc haemolymph antiserum. The mass, immunological reaction and calculated mollusc content of each beetle crop was determined. Mollusc content was calculated as 'fresh mollusc equivalent', and the probable quantities of degraded material present are discussed in relation to predator and prey species. 89.5% of A. parallelepipedus and 42% of P. madidus were found to contain mollusc proteins. Although approximately the same proportion of male and female A. parallelepipedus tested positive, females contained greater quantities of mollusc remains. Approximately 39% of male and 45% of female P. madidus tested positive, and overall female crops contained significantly more material. The calculated amount of mollusc remains found in females was also greater. Over time, the immunological reactivity of A. parallelepipedus crop samples varied significantly. However, when crop weight was taken into consideration, the calculated quantity of mollusc found in strongly reacting samples was not significantly different between months in either species. Neither the immunological response nor the quantity of mollusc remains varied over time in P. madidus , although significant differences were found in overall crop weights. A significant correlation was found between the proportion of mollusc in beetle crops and crop mass in A. parallelepipedus , but not in P. madidus . Correlations between soil temperatures and crop mass, immunological reactivity and mollusc content were not significant in either species. The improved methods of quantifying predation from ELISA data, employed in this study, were an important part of a larger on-going investigation of the role of predation in slug population dynamics within agricultural systems.


In this article the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is evaluated against three main criticisms. The first concerns the conception of truth underlying the work of the TRC. The second concerns the difficult issue of reconciliation and its concomitant manifestations of amnesty and forgiveness. The third criticism concerns the question about the nature of the justice established through the work of the TRC. This is then theologically evaluated with reference to the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dietrich Ritschl.


Spiraling costs of cancer treatments have become a major concern for the payers in the health care system and for individual patients suffering from the cancer drugs' financial toxicity. This article discusses possible solutions from an ethical perspective. First, it gives some orientation about what constitutes a fair price for innovative anticancer agents. While a definitive answer remains difficult, there are good reasons to enter into price negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies to align the price with the R&D costs and the added value of the product. Information about the drug's cost-effectiveness should be available, a fixed threshold, however, seems ethically problematic. Rather, a 'signal cost-effectiveness threshold' should indicate when the drug price requires special justification. Further strategies include an improved benefit assessment after market authorization by independent publicly financed studies, which will provide a valid basis for price negotiations and clinical decision-making at the micro level. Last but not least, cancer treatments should be tailored not only to the biology of the tumor but also to the preferences of the patient. Primarily mandated by the respect for autonomy, promoting patient-centered care has the potential to improve quality of care and enable a wise use of scarce health care resources.


The continental marginal extension concept developed by Chinese geologists recently may be applied to the explanation about the Cenozoic extension and divergent movement of the Eastern Asian continental margin. From the viewpoint of continental marginal extension, this paper discusses the deep tectonothermal mechanism of the tectonic extension of the Eastern Asian continental margin. The Eastern Asian continental margin is an extensional belt with intensive magmatism and structural deformation, geophysically characterized by continual earthquakes and obvious geothermal anomaly. Seismic tomographical results about the Eastern Asian continental margin imply that the Pacific Plate is subducted toward the Eurasian Plate at a low angle and the diving Pacific Plate lies on the surface of the 670-km phase transitional zone. We interpret this feature to be resulted from retrogressive subduction followed by continental marginal extension. Our thermal modeling and geodynamical computation results suggest that the retrogressive subduction occurred at about 76Ma and the withdrawal of the trench served to supply the volume for the continental growth, which led to the formation of the growing front of the Eastern Asian continental margin. The growth width of the Eastern Asian continental margin is about 700 km.


Although subphthalocyanines (SubPcs) possess advantageous fluorescence properties and serve as an amazing tool to attach a recognition sensor moiety to the axial position, a limited number of switchable SubPcs have been described so far. Isosteric aza-replacement is known to improve sensing properties in closely related phthalocyanine families; however, pyrazino[2,3-b,g,l]subporphyrazines (SubPyzPzs) have not yet been investigated for use in sensing applications. Therefore, this project focuses on the synthesis and sensing abilities of pH-sensitive SubPcs and SubPyzPzs on the principle of photoinduced electron transfer (PET). 4-Dimethylaminophenoxy (for acidic pH) or 4-hydroxyphenoxy (for basic pH) groups were employed as pH-sensitive axial ligands. Electrochemical studies revealed improvements in the electron-accepting properties of SubPyzPzs (Ered -0.56 V vs. SCE) in comparison to those of SubPcs (Ered -1.0 V vs. SCE). Hydroxy groups on the axial phenoxy ligands of SybPyzPzs and SubPcs have been found to act as donors for PET. The sensing properties under basic conditions could not be studied, since all the SubPcs and SubPyzPzs decomposed under basic conditions, SubPyzPzs were more susceptible to this process. On the other hand, compounds with 4-dimethylaminophenoxy groups as axial ligands showed great potential for sensing applications. These compounds were nonfluorescent (ΦF < 0.01) in acetone due to efficient PET, while their fluorescence steeply increased by two orders of magnitude upon the addition of trifluoroacetic acid, reaching a ΦF value of up to 0.17 (λem range of 563-590 nm). These compounds maintained their sensing properties in aqueous medium after incorporation into microemulsions. The most basic derivative showed pKA = 2.95 with ΦF = 0.10 in the ON state (fluorescence enhancement factor = 46, λem = 577 nm).


Your pen, your ink, I know, but somehow the pen becomes mine while I write with it. as though growing out of my hand.1 J. M. Coetzee's 1986 novel, Foe, presents itself as a 'source' or earlier version of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Its fictional premise, which places Susan Barton on the same island Crusoe and Friday inhabited, uses names and other recognizable details from Defoe to signal the complex literary relationship between the two novels.2 Foe is a parody of Robinson Crusoe in the sense in which Linda Hutcheon defines parody as 'imitation characterized by ironic inversion', or 'repetition with critical distance, which marks difference rather than similarity'. 3 By including 'critical distance' in the very definition of parody, Hutcheon shows that she views all parodies as in some sense critical of their source texts, although in practice there is a great range to the amounts and types of criticism suggested by different parodic texts. Whether a given parody is socially or politically subversive, however, This journal article is available in Kunapipi: https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol17/iss3/17 86 David E. Hoegberg


In this study, the sensitivity of annoyance was investigated by the subjective jury test for the variations of the frequency components along with various sound pressure levels of sixteen environmental noise sources. Annoyance was, also, evaluated for the road traffic noises. Sound pressure levels were $54{\sim}84\;dB$ which individually divided frequency components with eight bands of equally three bark bands. The results show that vehicle traffic noise is recognized as the most serious environment noise source. The sensitivity of human perception of annoyance in frequency bands is quite different from A-weighting curve. The annoyance found out to be more sensitive in high frequency region and reached its maximum in 3.4 kHz.


Abstract Acarospora badiofusca has an irregularly areolate thallus with an uninterrupted algal layer; it is a montane species and occurs in Asia, North America and Europe. Acarospora boulderensis differs from A. badiofusca in having a squamulose thallus, an interrupted algal layer and a higher hymenium. Acarospora boulderensis was considered a synonym of A. badiofusca by North American taxonomists, but is here recognized as a distinct species occurring in North America. Acarospora asperata H. Magn. is revised as a synonym of A. boulderensis. Acarospora irregularis from central Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia), as well as Greece and Italy (Sardinia), was considered a synonym of either A. badiofusca by Weber or of A. nitrophila by Clauzade and Roux. It differs, like A. boulderensis, from A. badiofusca in having a squamulose thallus, an interrupted algal layer and usually a higher hymenium. However, A. irregularis differs from A. boulderensis in having wider hyphal bundles interrupting the algal layer and distinct algal palisades. Acarospora badiofusca var. lepidioides is synonymized with A. irregularis.


Tuberculous liver abscesses are rare. Paradoxical response in tuberculosis is common and occurred between 2 weeks and 12 weeks after anti-tuberculous medication. We report here a case of tuberculous liver abscess that developed in a paradoxical response during chemotherapy for tuberculous peritonitis in a 23-year-old male. He was hospitalized, complaining of ascites, epigastric pain. He was diagnosed tuberculous peritonitis by expiratory laparoscopic biopsy and took medication for tuberculosis. After 2 months, a hepatic lesion was detected with CT scan incidentally. Chronic granulomatous inflammation was seen in ultrasound-guided liver biopsy, and tuberculous liver abscess was diagnosed. It was considered as paradoxical response, rather than treatment failure or other else because clinical symptoms of peritoneal tuberculosis and CT scan improved. After continuing initial anti-tuberculous medication, he was successfully treated. Herein, we report a case of tuberculous liver abscess as paradoxical response while treating peritoneal tuberculosis without changing anti-tuberculous treatment regimen.


Preventing the biological activity of SARS-CoV-2 main protease using natural compounds is of great interest. In this context, using a combination of AutoDock Vina and fast pulling of ligand simulations, eleven marine fungi compounds were identified that probably play as highly potent inhibitors for preventing viral replication. In particular, four compounds including M15 (3-O-(6-O-α-l-arabinopyranosyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-1,4-dimethoxyxanthone), M8 (wailupemycins H), M11 (cottoquinazolines B), and M9 (wailupemycins I) adopted the predicted ligand-binding free energy of −9.87, −9.82, −9.62, and −9.35 kcal mol−1, respectively, whereas the other adopted predicted ligand-binding free energies in the range from −8.54 to −8.94 kcal mol−1. The results were obtained using a combination of Vina and FPL simulations. Notably, although, AutoDock4 adopted higher accurate results in comparison with Vina, Vina is proven to be a more suitable technique for rapidly screening ligand-binding affinity with a large database of compounds since it requires much smaller computing resources. Furthermore, FPL is better than Vina to classify inhibitors upon ROC-AUC analysis.


As the complexity of cutting edge products increases with advances in technology, there is a need to include activities in the undergraduate curriculum that allow students to learn basic systems engineering concepts, that promote the development of their systems thinking skills, and that allow them to practice these skills. To this end, the aim of this work was to impact students' systems thinking skills at an early stage of their mechanical engineering curriculum, develop assessment tools to measure sophomore-level mechanical engineering students' system thinking skills, and observe trends in measured systems thinking skills both before and after exposure to a new sophomore design course.
 This paper provides an overview of the new course, gives details about an Engineering Systems Thinking Survey (ESTS) that was developed to assess systems thinking skills in specific areas, and presents the results of the ESTS from implementation of the course during two separate semesters. The specific areas that were targeted were identification of customer needs, setting target product specifications, concept generation, and systems architecture. The survey results showed that the course was successful in improving students' self-efficacy on each of the four topics, particularly in setting target specifications and systems architecture. In addition, comparisons of pre- and post-ESTS results showed improvements in student answers on the technical questions related to identification of customer needs, setting target product specifications, and concept generation, with a slight decrease in the area of systems architecture.
 While the newly developed course was successful in the dissemination of fundamental systems thinking and systems engineering concepts among students, the survey results indicated the need to strengthen students' awareness of concept implementation. Future work will explore how to improve the course activities to help students learn how to apply the concepts, particularly for the topics of setting target specifications and systems architecture.


High-level triggering is a vital component of many modern particle physics experiments. This paper describes a modification to the standard boosted decision tree (BDT) classifier, the so-called bonsai BDT, that has the following important properties: it is more efficient than traditional cut-based approaches; it is robust against detector instabilities, and it is very fast. Thus, it is fit-for-purpose for the online running conditions faced by any large-scale data acquisition system.


Natural products, such as plants extract, either as pure compounds or as standardized extracts, provide unlimited opportunities for new drug discoveries because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. In the last few decades there has been an increasing interest in the study of medicinal plants, as knowledge on ethnopharmacology, its holistic system approach, supported by the experiential base, can serve as an innovative and powerful discovery engine for newer, safer, and affordable medicines. This review is an attempt to assess the available scattered literatures and compile them under different categories in a systematic way, to provide the pharmaceutical prospective of genus Nymphaea. It is expected that many novelties will rapidly enlarge the current knowledge about genus Nymphaea, their constituents and corresponding pharmacological effects.


It is generally agreed that the experimental observation most relevant for both fundamental problems of axon behavior and molecular problems of excitation is the negative slope conductance region of the current-voltage characteristic of axons. Cole,' for example, has emphasized that the first and necessary goal of any membrane theory is to produce a region of steady-state or quasi-steady-state negative conductance. The quantitative and empirical description of squid axon behavior developed by Hodgkin and Huxley2 has proved to be valuable, but attempts to get at the underlying fundamental variables have not been successful. Most theoretical models have been based on the liquid junction theory of Planck,3 but in none of these models does a negative conductance region appear. This difficulty has done much to delay progress in understanding axon behavior. The purpose of this communication is to present the elements of a very simple but apparently not unreasonable electrochemical hypothesis which produces in a quantitative way both a negative slope conductance for the sodium ion and a high rectification for the potassium ion. Transient phenomena are not yet included, but the apparent agreement with a wide range of steady-state and short time observations suggests that the ideas may be potentially useful. The aim has been to isolate those assumptions which appear necessary to account for experimental observations. Theory.-An electric current, whether it be a total current or a partial current for a particular ion species, is defined as the product of a charge density and a velocity. If current is restricted to one dimension, all terms are scalar, and for a positively and singly charged species:


This work demonstrates quasi-vertical GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on 6-inch Si substrate with a breakdown voltage (BV) over 1 kV, the highest BV reported in vertical GaN-on-Si SBDs to date. The deep mesa inherently in quasi-vertical devices is leveraged to form a self-aligned edge termination, and the mesa sidewall is covered by the p-type nickel oxide (NiO) as a reduced surface field (RESURF) structure. This novel termination enables a parallel-plane junction electric field of 2.8 MV/cm. The device also shows low turn-on voltage of 0.5 V, and low specific on-resistance of 1.1 $\text{m}\Omega \cdot $ cm2. Moreover, the device exhibits excellent overvoltage robustness under the continuous 800 V stress in the unclamped inductive switching test. These results show the good promise of the low-cost vertical GaN-on-Si power diodes.


Background: Several studies have reported that two promoter variants (c.-3279T>G and c.-3156G>A) in UDPglucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A1) gene may contribute to neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. However, these variants have not been investigated in Iranian neonates. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine if the UGT1A1 promoter variants are significant risk factors associated with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Methods: A total of 178 unrelated neonates, including newborns with neonatal jaundice (n=95) and healthy controls (n=83), were included in this study. Each individual was genotyped by the PCR-RFLP and COP-PCR at nucleotides 3279 and -3156, respectively, using fresh blood DNA. Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association of UGT1A1 promoter variants with the presence of significant hyperbilirubinemia. Anthropometric indices and clinical variables were also compared between the different genotype groups. Results: Allele and genotype analysis of the c.-3279T>G and c.-3156G>A variants showed no significant association with the risk of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia neither in the crude nor after adjustment for gestational age, gender, and birth weight in different genetic models (P>0.05). However, in haplotype-association analysis, only one haplotype (AT) was found to be associated with the risk of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (OR=0.19, 95% CI; [0.18–0.20], P=0.001). Conclusion: This study failed to demonstrate that c.-3279T>G and c.-3156G>A variants alone might contribute to the risk of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Iranian neonates. However, the A-T haplotype may play a significant role in increasing the risk of hyperbilirubinemia.


A coded modulation scheme for deep-space optical communications is studied, which is a serial concatenation of an outer low-density parity-check (LDPC) code, an interleaver, a bit-accumulator, and pulse-position modulation (PPM). It is referred as LDPC-APPM. It is decoded with an iterative demodulator-decoder using standard turbo-decoding techniques. Simulation results show that the LDPC-APPM with an outer LDPC code of medium code length suffers a loss of about 0.7 dB at a bit-error rate of relative to the serially concatenated PPM (SCPPM) of similar parameters, which consists of the serial concatenation of an outer convolutional code, an interleaver, a bit-accumulator, and PPM; however, it has better code rate flexibility especially for high rates and simpler implementation structure than SCPPM. Further, it can achieve better performance than the LDPC-PPM of the same rate and length, which consists of the serial concatenation of an LDPC code and PPM.


In the present study, we contrast oscillatory brain activity during the production of subjectively more versus less original ideas. A sample of 26 participants worked on two verbal creativity problems and subsequently rated the produced ideas with respect to their originality. On the basis of these self-ratings, ideas were divided into a more and a less original list within each participant. Cortical activity was assessed by means of event-related changes in EEG power (synchronization and desynchronization) and phase locking in two alpha bands. Analyses revealed that more, as compared with less, original ideas elicited a stronger event-related synchronization of alpha activity (power increases from the pre-stimulus reference to the activation interval) and higher phase coupling in the right hemisphere. These findings corroborate the importance of right-hemispheric cortical networks in creative idea generation.


The subfamily Olivinae encompasses six species and one subspecies in the Alum Bluff Group (lower to middle Miocene) of northwestern Florida. Of these, three species and one subspecies previously described are reviewed. The subspecies is raised to specific rank, and two of the three species receive a new subgeneric or generic assignment. Two new species are described: Oliva blowi, from the Chipola and Oak Grove faunas, and Oliva vokesorum, from the Chipola only. A new subspecies, Oliva waltaniana calhounensis, is named from the Chipola and Oak Grove units. Thus, there is a total of five species of Oliva in the Chipola Formation, four of which also occur in the Oak Grove Sand. One species of Oliva is confined to the Shoal River Formation, and one specimen of a second species has been collected there. The genus Jaspidella is limited to a single species in the Chipola Formation.


A method of the synthesis of permeable refractory material with corundum and mullite-corundum composition with a total porosity of up to 76 % and an average pore size of 12‒20 μm (with the addition of aluminum-magnesium spinel) based on the technology of chemical expansion of ceramic slip is proposed. To implement this method, a complex organic blowing agent and a stabilized expanded ceramic slurry are proposed, which burns out during the firing process and does not pollute the refractory material.


Pregnancy data have been analyzed in 71 women between the ages of 15 and 39 years, all of whom had proved melanoma. All pregnancies occurring within 1 year before diagnosis and 5 years after diagnosis were noted, and survival of these women was plotted. Thirty patients were pregnant within the 6-year period defined; 31 were not pregnant during this period, and for 10, no history of pregnancy could be obtained. Five-year survival was slightly higher in the pregnant group than in the nonpregnant. Comparing 5-year survival in pregnant and nonpregnant women, with age and stage of disease taken into account, survival was equal in the 2 groups. No deleterious effect of pregnancy on survival of a group of women with melanoma was demonstrated.


The success of an accounting information system in managing regional finances of government agencies is very important to note. Especially if there is a phenomenon of switching from one system to another. The success or failure of the system used can have an impact on employee performance. The purpose of this study is to assess the successful use of the SIPKD based on the DeLone & McLean Model (2003). The study was conducted at the Regional Secretariat of the Regency of Buleleng. This study uses non-probability sampling method with saturated sample technique. The analysis technique used is partial least square analysis. The results of the analysis found that there was a significant influence between the variables of information quality on system use, information quality on user satisfaction, system use on individual performance, and user satisfaction on individual performance. The level of success of the system measured at this level of effectiveness found that the implementation of SIPKD in the Regional Secretariat of Buleleng Regency was classified as successful.
Keywords : DeLone & McLean Model; SIPKD; SIA Succes; Individual Performance


This study aims to improve logical intelligence through media kolak (collage numbers) based on local wisdom in early childhood in PAUD Mawar Al Barokah, Padang Serai Village, Kampung Melayu District, Bengkulu City. The procedure for carrying out this research was carried out using two cycles. Each cycle consists of four stages, namely planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Each cycle also consists of two meetings, where each meeting has three assessments 1). Know the shape of objects, 2). Know the concept of numbers, and 3). Calculate the number of objects. The results showed an increase that the end of the second cycle was higher than the end of the first cycle in the category of Very Good Developing Children (BSB), namely at the stage of recognizing the shape of objects by 84%, knowing the concept of numbers by 64%, and at the stage of calculating the number of objects of 72 %. In addition, from the learning process it seems fun by using natural materials that are easily available, students become more active, enthusiastic, and creative. Thus, learning through media kolak (collage numbers) based on local wisdom can be used by teachers to improve logic intelligence in early childhood.


Persistent and reversible optical phase control has been achieved in a manganite thin film through a careful choice of the composition of Pr1-x(Ca1-ySr(y))xMnO3 near a multicritical point. Pulsed laser light brings the lower temperature metallic phase out of the higher temperature charge-ordered insulator, while a cw light reverses the effect by heating. We clearly demonstrate the two competing roles played by light, heating, and excitation across the charge gap, which are important in both the application and the understanding of the physics of electron correlation.


Rat kidney plasma membranes prepared by the method of FITZPATRICK et al. (J Biol. Chem. 244, 3561, 1969) show protein kinase activity as well as specific cAMP binding activity (diss. const. 1.3 x 10-9 M). However, no stimulation of kinase activity by cAMP is observed in presence of exogenous substrates (e.g. histone) and only poor stimulation with endogenous substrates in the membrane could be shown. At high ionic strength (1 M NaCl) cAMP independent protein kinase activity can be solubilized. Low ionic strength buffer (1 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.4 1 mM EDTA) and non-ionic detergents (Lubrol PX, Lubrol WX and Triton X 100) are able to solubilize both protein kinase activity and cAMP binding activity. Protein kinase activity seemed to be only loosely associated with the membrane, whereas cAMP binding protein appears to be more firmly fixed into the membrane structure. In addition we have found that membranes serve as a good substrate for cytosol protein kinase (s) and Ca-ion concentration influences the effect of cAMP on protein kinase activity. Dependent on the increase of Ca-ion concentration the effect of cAMP on protein kinase changes from activation to inhibition.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the association between genetic polymorphisms of TGF-beta (TGF-beta) and susceptibility to pneumoconiosis.

METHODS
One hundred and seventeen patients with pneumoconiosis were selected as case. The control group was workers exposed to dust but without pneumoconiosis who had the same sex, nationality, and workshop or work site as case. The differences in the age and cumulative exposure time between the case and control group were not move than five years and two years, respectively. The case matched with the control according to 1:1. Polymerase chains reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was used to determine the frequencies of TGF-beta genes in the two groups.

RESULTS
The frequencies of this TGF-beta (-509) genotypes were CC (22.2%), CT (43.6%) and TT (34.2%) in cases, which was significantly different from the control group, respectively (OR = 1.390, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference for frequency of TGF-beta+869 genotypes and allelic between case and control (P > 0.05). The frequencies of the TGF-beta (+915) genotypes in case [GG (70.9%), GC (29.1%)] were significantly different from the control group (OR = 1.455, P < 0.05). The frequency of TGF-beta (+915) * C allele in the case and control was 14.5% and 8.5%, respectively (P < 0.05). The frequencies of carrying TGF-beta (-509) CC and (+915) GG genotypes were 12.8% and 29.9% in case and control. The frequencies of carrying TGF-beta (-509) * T and (+915) * C alleles were 9.8% and 5.1% in pneumoconiosis and control (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
TGF-beta (-509)CC genotype may be the protective factor for the pneumoconiosis. TGF-beta (+915)GC genotype may be a susceptible factor for the pneumoconiosis. The workers of carrying TGF-beta (-509) * T and (+915) * C alleles are more susceptible to pneumoconiosis.


The article analyses the problems and limitations associated with the concept of theory application embedded in the current training model of teacher preparation in Singapore, and in so doing, argues for a better way of understanding the role of theory in teacher preparation. It contends that relating theory to practice is inferentially complex and cannot be straightforwardly construed as a technological application as the concept implies, and that apart from the instrumental use, there are non‐direct yet basic uses of theory which are highly significant if pre‐service teachers are to become well‐informed and morally‐sensitive professionals. The role of theory is not only to assist in the training of pre‐service teachers in skills and procedures, but more importantly, to educate them more widely about the complexities, intellectual and moral nature of classroom practice.


The Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 lays down the procedures for bringing complaints against the clergy. These procedures can only be commenced in relation to specified acts or omissions and the article explores the difficulties that arise in relation thereto. It not only considers the case when a complaint is one involving doctrine, ritual or ceremonial, but also the overlap between the laws ecclesiastical; neglect or inefficiency in the performance of the duties of a cleric's office; and conduct unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in holy orders.


We studied the relationship between the absolute insulin response during the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) and both the fractional glucose disposal rate (KG) during the IVGTT and the degree of insulin resistance as measured by a separate infusion study, the pancreatic suppression test (PST), in normal adults. Insulin response during the IVGTT was analyzed in four ways: (1) early (area under the one, three and five minute response curve); (2) middle (ten minute insulin value); (3) late (area under the twenty to sixty minute response curve); and (4) total (area under the entire response curve). Only weak to modest correlations existed between the four measures of insulin response and KG, and the only statistically significant correlation (r = .39, p < .05) existed between the middle insulin response and KG. However, significant correlations were found between the degree of insulin resistance measured during the PST and the early (r = .40, p < .05), middle (r = .59, p < .005), late (r = .71, p < .001) and total (r = .66, p < .001) insulin responses. Whereas the height of the insulin response during an IVGTT has only a modest correlation with the KG, it correlates quite well with the degree of insulin resistance.


Fault diagnosis of analog circuit is of essential importance for guaranteeing the reliability and maintainability of electronic systems. Taking into account the requirements and characteristics of analog circuit fault diagnosis, two-level diagnostic structure for analog circuit is proposed in this paper. Analog circuit fault diagnosis can be regarded as a pattern recognition issue and addressed by multi-class SVM. Aiming at the uncertainty of the node arrangement and the error accumulation phenomenon, the improved directed acyclic graph support vector machine (DAGSVM) based on fisher separability measure in high dimensional feature space and margin of SVM is proposed. In order to eliminate redundant fault features and the impact of measure noise on the diagnostic accuracy, simultaneously taking into account lightening the workload of the classifier, the separability promotion algorithm based on kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) plus linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is proposed. Then the separability promotion algorithm is used to extract the nonlinear fault features of analog circuit and the two-level structure based on improved DAGSVM is applied to diagnose faults in analog circuit. The unbalanced classification model based on SVM is adopted in the first level. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the experimental results.


This study examines the consequences of managerial succession in the banking sector of a highly interventionist and autarchic economy that has then attempted to move towards liberalization and internationalization. Results, as hypothesized, show that immediate outcomes of succession were more negative in the extremely turbulent conditions of politico-economic transition than in the controlled and stable environment. Likewise, relative to the immediate aftermath of succession managerial longevity was associated with less positive outcomes in the former conditions than in the latter.


Fifty-one patients with penetrating wounds of the thorax at or below the 4th intercostal space were evaluated with peritoneal aspiration and lavage. Nineteen gunshot wound and 32 stab wounds were studied and there was a 22% incidence of diaphragmatic penetration and/or intra-abdominal injury. There were ten true positive and one false positive study. There were 39 true negative and one false negative lavage. Peritoneal aspiration and lavage is a test of high sensitivity (91%) and specificity (98%). It has proven to be a useful screening technique in patients with penetrating wounds of the thorax. Peritoneal aspiration and lavage identify the patients with diaphragmatic penetration and intra-abdominal injury and minimize negative exploration.


The microwave signal and noise matrix analysis techniques are the basis of representation of the microwave network, and are the important tools of the radio frequency (RF) and microwave semiconductor modeling and parameter extraction. RF and microwave device, circuit and components can be classified as one-, two-, three-, and N-port networks. A majority of circuits under analysis are two-port networks. Therefore, we focus in this chapter primarily on two-port characterization and study its representation in terms of a set of parameters that can be cast into a matrix format. The definition of a two-port network is that a network that has only two access ports: one for input or excitation and one for output or response. This chapter introduces the important linear parameters (including signal and noise parameters) that are currently used to characterize two-port networks. These parameters enable manipulation and optimization.


Animal tuberculosis remains a great source of socioeconomic and health concern worldwide. Its main causative agents, Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae, have been isolated from many different domestic and wild animals. Naturally occurring tuberculosis is extremely rare in rabbits and implication of M. caprae has never been reported earlier. This study describes a severe tuberculosis outbreak caused by M. caprae in a Spanish farm of rabbits raised for meat for human consumption. The disease was first identified in a cachectic dam and then it was confirmed in ten does with similar clinical signs. Subsequently, a depopulation operation was ordered for public health, animal welfare and environmental reasons. To broaden knowledge of spontaneous tuberculosis in rabbits, a study focused on pathological, epidemiological and diagnostic aspects was carried out on 51 does and 16 kittens after receiving the necessary authorizations. These animals were subjected to a modified intradermal test. After being euthanized, rabbits were examined for the presence of visible tuberculosis-compatible lesions. Lung, kidney, cecal appendix and sacculus rotundus samples underwent microbiological and anatomopathological analysis. Infection was revealed by at least one of the methods used in 71% of dams and in 44% of kittens. The intradermal test was shown to be a good indicator of infection. Lung was the tissue for which more animals were positive but renal and intestinal tissues were also affected in many cases. Apparently, M. caprae spread mainly through the aerogenous route. Infection was pathologically characterized by the absence of evident fibrous capsules surrounding granulomas. A spoligotype (SB0415) frequently found in this area was considered responsible for the outbreak but the source could not be established. Regardless of the exceptional nature of animal tuberculosis in this host, rabbit industry might not escape from its effects and therefore, current biosafety and surveillance strategies should also consider this disease.


The study aimed to describe the role of prison officers to the prevention of STIs and HIV/AIDS in the Correctional Institution inmates Class II-A Jember conducted a qualitative approach using snowball technique. Indepth interviews was done in six prison officers to obtain a more indepth information about the variables studied. These variables include the characteristics, knowledge, attitudes and the role that prison officers against STIs and HIV / AIDS on prisoners. Results showed that at the last general prison officer education is a high educational level (graduate degree) and secondary education level (high school graduate or equivalent) with a length of work <15 years. Average prison officer knowledge about STIs and HIV / AIDS are at moderate and high categories, with the attitude of support. In general, prison officers have a good role in the prevention of STDs and HIV / AIDS, but in certain respects is still room for improvement. Keywords : Prison officer, Prisoner, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), HIV / AIDS


A blood pressure-lowering effect of increased prostaglandin synthesis via polyunsaturated fatty acids has been demonstrated in animal experiments. To our knowledge, for the first time an attempt was made to lower elevated blood pressures in adolescents (age 15-18 years) through a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids. This community-based dietary trial involved 30 students in the diet group and 20 students in the control group without any dietary intervention. Within 6 weeks the systolic blood pressure decreased by almost 11 mm Hg in the diet group and by 6 mm Hg in the control group. Diastolic blood pressure fell by 2 and 1 mm Hg, respectively. The effect on blood pressure was markedly different in normal weight adolescents. Systolic blood pressure in the diet group decreased by 14 mm Hg but only by 5 mm Hg in the control group. Diastolic blood pressure levels fell by 4 mm Hg in the diet group and increased by 4 mm Hg in the control group. Unfortunately, the numbers in these two comparison groups were rather small. The majority (70%) of adolescents with high blood pressure was overweight (greater than or equal to 20% above normal weight). However, for the small group of normal weight adolescents, the diet enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids may be suitable to reduce elevated blood pressure levels.


Abstract BACKGROUND The peanut burrower bug, Pangaeus bilineatus is a major crop pest of peanuts in the southern United States. Peanuts infested by P. bilineatus exhibit weight and quality losses and could be discounted by ≤50% of the prevailing market price. Control of this pest is difficult because it attacks peanut pods underground, thus rendering foliar pesticide applications ineffective. Integration of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes (EPF/EPNs) with chemical insecticides in the management of P. bilineatus was investigated as a potential integrated pest management containment tool. RESULTS The nymphs were less susceptible than adults of P. bilineatus to EPNs. Comparison of six strains of both Heterorhabditis spp. and Steinernema spp. demonstrated that Steinernema carpocapsae (All) was the most virulent EPN, causing 75.54% mortality of P. bilineatus adults after 7 days postinoculation (dpi), whereas the mortality generated by the application of the rest of the nematodes ranged between 17.03% (H. bacteriophora ‐ Lewis) and 50% (H. bacteriophora VS). Application of imidacloprid by itself at ½FR (field rate) did not result in any significant mortality of P. bilineatus adults but application of chlorpyrifos at 1/8FR caused significant mortality (27.41–61.35%) at 7–14 dpi. However, combined applications of S. carpocapsae and imidacloprid resulted in significant mortality starting at 3 dpi. The interactions between S. carpocapsae and imidacloprid were synergistic at 3–5 dpi, but became additive at 7–14 dpi. Both chlorpyrifos and imidacloprid did not negatively impact the reproduction of S. carpocapsae. CONCLUSION The compatibility between S. carpocapsae and imidacloprid makes a case for the combination to be used for the management of P. bilineatus. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.


The relation of competition and cost accounting has been the subject of conflicting prescriptions, theories, and empirical evidence. Practitioner literature and textbooks argue that higher competition generally requires more accurate product costing. Theoretical economic analysis, in contrast, predicts that the optimal level of product-costing accuracy is sometimes higher at lower levels of competition. Results of survey research are inconsistent, suggesting a need for further identification of conditions under which higher competition leads to more accurate product costing. This study shows experimentally that individuals' choices of the level of product-costing accuracy depend not only on the current level of competition but also on the previous level of competition-that is, on an interaction between market structure (monopoly, duopoly, and four-firm competition) and market history (increasing versus decreasing competition). In the experiment, subjects decide on the quantity of data to collect at a pre-set price per datum to support more accurate product-cost estimates. Subjects collect the most cost data (i.e., choose the most accurate product costing) in monopoly, collect the least in duopoly, and an intermediate amount in the four-firm market, consistent with the pattern of optimal cost-data collection in Hansen's (1998) model. The process of convergence to the optimum differs significantly across market types and market histories, however. Subjects who begin with four-firm competition adapt more successfully to change than those who begin in monopoly. The lowest levels of decision performance occur when ex-monopolists face their first competitor: they overreact to this first encounter with competition and overspend on cost data.


Various wireless communication standards have been introduced and multi-standard wireless devices are highly in demand to accommodate different wireless communication standards. Due to the different frequency bands and bandwidths, existing multi-standard wireless devices use separate chipsets or separate signal paths for the different standards on the same chip. Low and Zero-IF receiver architectures with high integration and high level of component share are proposed for Bluetooth and WLAN applications. The overall system requirements are analyzed and the design specifications for individual receiver components are determined using Simulink models. The system design targets implementation in deep submicron CMOS technology, e.g. 0.18 /spl mu/m process.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the changes in anterior corneal topography induced by short-time wear of scleral contact lenses (SLs) in keratoconic subjects with and without a history of corneal cross-linking (CXL).

METHODS
Nine keratoconic patients (14 eyes) were fitted with 18.5 mm SLs for optical rehabilitation. Subjects were divided into 2 groups: 7 eyes without a history of CXL (Non-CXL group) and 7 with a history of CXL (CXL group). Corneal topography was performed at baseline and after 2 and 5 hours of lens wear. The differences for simulated flat (Kflat), steep (Ksteep) and maximal (Kmax) corneal curvatures, central corneal astigmatism (CCA), and central cornea thickness were evaluated.

RESULTS
No statistically significant difference was detected between Non-CXL and CXL groups in any of these measures. Statistically significant flattening was detected in Ksteep Repeated measures analysis of variance ([RM-ANOVA), F (2,24) = 11.32, P < 0.0001], CCA [RM-ANOVA, F (2,24) = 15.34, P < 0.0001], and Kmax [RM-ANOVA, F (2,24) = 19.10, P < 0.0001). From baseline to 5 hours of SL wear, Ksteep decreased on average from 53.1 to 52.4 D, Kmax decreased from 56.7 to 55.8 D, and CCA decreased from 7.2 to 6.3 D. Kmax showed a trend toward more flattening in the Non-CXL group. Central cornea thickness showed significant thickening over time from baseline (451 μm) to 5 hours (458 μm) of SL wear [RM-ANOVA, F (1,12) = 319.3, P < 0.0001].

CONCLUSIONS
Short-term scleral lens wear in keratoconic patients may cause flattening of the anterior cornea. A history of CXL treatment does not guarantee corneal shape stability after scleral lens wear. Practitioners should be aware of these changes because scleral lens wear may mask the signs of keratoconus progression.


Quantitative data are presented to illustrate the infrared spectral radiance of the sky under a variety of situations. A qualitative discussion of the dominant spectral features is given to show the importance of the emission and scattering processes, the effect of angle of elevation, angle of azimuth, sun angle, and cloud cover.


A novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19) is a major problem for many countries in the world. Brunei is also affected by this COVID-19 pandemic in many ways. To alleviate the burden on the health ministry, we developed a low-cost, reliable Internet of Things (IoT) based real-time health monitoring system to diagnose early COVID-19 symptoms for patients at home. This diagnosis includes the three important physiological parameters such as body temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation level (SpO2) in the blood. This system comes with an OLED LCD to display the three parameters. Apart from that, these parameters are also displayed on a mobile dashboard using the Cayenne IoT platform for easy access. This system was evaluated against many people, and the results were compared against the industry-standard pulse oximeters which are remarkably close and dependable.


In this article, I establish the need for educational programs that teach the processes needed for critical thinking. Thinking processes are conceptualized as being either primarily incidental (nonconscious and effortless) or deliberate (conscious and effortful). Instruction that is designed to help students improve their ability to think must be based on deliberate instruction on the processes that underlie complex, reasoned thought. Separate critical-thinking courses based on these principles show considerable improvement in students' critical-thinking abilities, and these abilities spontaneously transfer to novel settings. I urge all colleges to offer courses designed to improve how students think.


The low level of reliability and high cost of assembly equipment do not secure the possible economical efficiency. Thаt is why it is very important to optimize the assembly unit performance at the designing stage. The main aim of this work is to choose the required performance of assembly modules using the proportional allotment of unit components reliabilities to increase the automotive production efficiency. This method will make it possible to analysis the most varied combinations of unit reliability to get the required production efficiency.


This study aims to determine the assessment of ethical leadership in Islamic High School principal; determine the relationship among ethical leadership constructs; and investigates the influence of ethical leadership in terms of value, serve, act justly, and do right to build the community for a common goal. Eight Islamic secondary schools and 80 teachers were selected as respondents for the study. Quantitative data obtained through a questionnaire which is modified from ethical leadership Perceived Leader Instrument Integrity Scale (LIS). The questionnaire was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, Pearson correlation, and path analysis with multiple regressions. The findings show that the assessment of ethical leadership matched with empirical data. It also found that leadership principals in the service of others was developed at the level of an ethical community, and in terms of respect for others is at unethical level. Then, the finding showed that each construct correlated at a moderate level. It also found that the constructs of ethical leadership (serve and act) provided direct influence on the establishment of a community development effort. The study recommended the elements of ethical leadership of respect for others.


In this paper, we devise a new method for transparent fault tolerance of distributed programs running on a cluster of networked workstations. We use the concept of alternative schedules for this purpose. Such schedules are generated from static task graphs at compile-time. At run-time a distributed program can use these alternatives to switch from one schedule to another if some machine/s become faulty. We have devised fast but efficient mechanisms for switching among schedules at run-time. This enables fault recovery from any number of simultaneous machine faults any number of times. The correctness of the resultant algorithm is ensured through prevention of direct data sharing among local tasks on a machine. Such a transparent fault tolerant strategy is easily implementable on a network of workstations running PVM-like softwares.


An automatic buffer capacity model building algorithm was developed. The objective of this algorithm is to characterize multiple buffer systems from experimental titration curves. Starting from a simple mathematical model that incorporates the available prior knowledge on the buffer system, the model is sequentially extended by incorporating additional monoprotic buffer equations. To select the most appropriate model from the resulting set of automatically built models, a model structure selection technique was constructed from existing methods.


The problem of sequentially scanning and predicting data arranged in a multi-dimensional array is considered. We introduce the notion of a scandictor, which is any scheme for the sequential scanning and prediction of such data. The scandictability of a probabilistic data-array is defined as the best achievable expected "scandiction" performance on that array. We derive a lower bound on scandiction performance that is shown to be tight for various cases of interest.


An all-transistor lowpass biquad based on an active inductor for operation up to several gigahertz is presented. A convenient parasitic notch near the passband edge sharpens the transition band. The filter can be tuned via biasing and on-chip varactors. Higher order filters can be constructed by simple direct cascading of the second-order blocks. A fifth-order filter example is designed and simulated in TSMC 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, with cutoff frequency at 4.57 GHz and passband ripple less than 1 dB.


Oil depletion, global warming and CO2 gas emissions have become a concern and have motivated the development of an efficient and extendable energy management system (EMS) using renewable energy sources for light vehicles. In this paper, a state-based logic control algorithm is developed for a multi-source EMS for light electric vehicle, i.e., electric scooters. The multiple sources of energy, such as a battery, fuel cell (FC), and super-capacitor (SC), EMS and power controller are designed and modeled using MATLAB. The developed control strategies continuously support the EMS of the multiple sources of energy for a scooter under normal load conditions. The performance of the proposed system is analyzed and compared with that of the ECE-47 test drive cycle in terms of vehicle speed and load power. The results show that the designed vehicle's speed and load power closely match those of the ECE-47 test driving cycle under normal conditions. This study results suggest that the proposed control algorithm provides an efficient and feasible EMS for light electric vehicles.


ABSTRACT A thorough understanding of the role of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) intrahost evolution in AIDS pathogenesis has been limited by the need for longitudinally sampled viral sequences from the vast target space within the host, which are often difficult to obtain from human subjects. CD8+ lymphocyte-depleted macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) provide an increasingly utilized model of pathogenesis due to clinical manifestations similar to those for HIV-1 infection and AIDS progression, as well as a characteristic rapid disease onset. Comparison of this model with SIV-infected non-CD8+ lymphocyte-depleted macaques also provides a unique opportunity to investigate the role of CD8+ cells in viral evolution and population dynamics throughout the duration of infection. Using several different phylogenetic methods, we analyzed viral gp120 sequences obtained from extensive longitudinal sampling of multiple tissues and enriched leukocyte populations from SIVmac251-infected macaques with or without CD8+ lymphocyte depletion. SIV evolutionary and selection patterns in non-CD8+ lymphocyte-depleted animals were characterized by sequential population turnover and continual viral adaptation, a scenario readily comparable to intrahost evolutionary patterns during human HIV infection in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. Alternatively, animals that were depleted of CD8+ lymphocytes exhibited greater variation in population dynamics among tissues and cell populations over the course of infection. Our findings highlight the major role for CD8+ lymphocytes in prolonging disease progression through continual control of SIV subpopulations from various anatomical compartments and the potential for greater independent viral evolutionary behavior among these compartments in response to immune modulation. IMPORTANCE Although developments in combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) strategies have successfully prolonged the time to AIDS onset in HIV-1-infected individuals, a functional cure has yet to be found. Improvement of drug interventions for a virus that is able to infect a wide range of tissues and cell types requires a thorough understanding of viral adaptation and infection dynamics within this target milieu. Although it is difficult to accomplish in the human host, longitudinal sampling of multiple anatomical locations is readily accessible in the SIV-infected macaque models of neuro-AIDS. The significance of our research is in identifying the impact of immune modulation, through differing immune selective pressures, on viral evolutionary behavior in a multitude of anatomical compartments. The results provide evidence encouraging the development of a more sophisticated model that considers a network of individual viral subpopulations within the host, with differing infection and transmission dynamics, which is necessary for more effective treatment strategies.


Winston Churchill called the French and Indian War ( also called The Seven Years War) the first world war. This guide will be about the causes, battles, personalities and final outcome of the war for the control of North America


To investigate an adequate infusion rate of propofol for total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) in horses, the minimum infusion rate (MIR) comparable to the minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) of inhalation anesthetic was determined under constant ventilation condition by intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV). In addition, arterial propofol concentration was measured to determine the concentration corresponding to the MIR (concentration preventing reaction to stimulus in 50% of population, Cp(50)). Further, 95% effective dose (ED(95)) was estimated as infusion rate for acquiring adequate anesthetic depth. Anesthetic depth was judged by the gross purposeful movement response to painful stimulus. MIR and Cp(50) were 0.10 +/- 0.02 mg/kg/min and 5.3 +/- 1.4 microg/ml, respectively. ED(95) was estimated as 0.14 mg/kg/min (1.4MIR).


In France the absence of a comprehensive soil protection system was in part compensated by public policies issued by the Ministry for Environment and environmental authorities. The effect of these policies was to establish pollution prevention and monitoring criteria as well as public registers for (potentially) polluted industrial sites. The industrial regime (Installations Classees pour la Protection de l'Environment, 'ICPE') has been a key instrument in the development of soil protection, not only in the context of prevention but also in terms of liability for soil contamination which, in the absence of specific legislation, has relied on other liability regimes. The last fifteen years has also seen a rash of often contradictory case law, in particular concerning the definitions of liable persons and remediation levels. However, these definitions, in particular concerning liable persons, appear to have been settled by recent case law.


Rotational relaxation effects in a cw chemical laser amplifier or a line-selected oscillator are examined in terms of a simple analytical model. Three rotational levels in each vibrational level of the lasing transitionare taken to have finite rotational relaxation rates. The results.indicate the effects are likely to be significant, lowering the available power and leading to an optimum level of the line intensity for maximum power output, apart from consideration of optical losses at mirrors, windows, etc. While the model accounts for Deltaj = +/-1 transitions only, the collisional transition probability was augmented in the computations in an attempt to provide high estimates for the rotational relaxation rates, including factors such as Deltaj > 1 transitions.


The human class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene family consists of ADH1, ADH2, and ADH3, which are sequentially activated in early fetal, late fetal, and postnatal liver, respectively. Analysis of ADH promoters revealed differential activation by several factors previously shown to control liver transcription. In cotransfection assays, the ADH1 promoter, but not the ADH2 or ADH3 promoter, was shown to respond to hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 (HNF‐1), which has previously been shown to regulate transcription in early liver development. The ADH2 promoter, but not the ADH1 or ADH3 promoter, was shown to respond to CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein α (C/EBPα), a transcription factor particularly active during late fetal liver and early postnatal liver development. The ADH1, ADH2, and ADH3 promoters all responded to the liver transcription factors liver activator protein (LAP) and D‐element‐binding protein (DBP), which are most active in postnatal liver. For all three promoters, the activation by LAP or DBP was higher than that seen by HNF‐1 or C/EBPα, and a significant synergism between C/EBPα and LAP was noticed for the ADH2 and ADH3 promoters when both factors were simultaneously cotransfected. A hierarchy of ADH promoter responsiveness to C/EBPα and LAP homo‐ and heterodimers is suggested. In all three ADH genes, LAP bound to the same four sites previously reported for C/EBPα (i.e., —160, — 120, — 40, and — 20 bp), but DBP bound strongly only to the site located at —40 bp relative to the transcriptional start. Mutational analysis of ADH2 indicated that the —40 bp element accounts for most of the promoter regulation by the bZIP factors analyzed. These studies suggest that HNF‐1 and C/EBPα help establish ADH gene family transcription in fetal liver and that LAP and DBP help maintain high‐level ADH gene family transcription in postnatal liver.


The fitness consequences of mating system variation (e.g. inbreeding) have been studied for at least 200 years, yet the ecological consequences of this variation remain poorly understood. Most plants are capable of inbreeding, and also exhibit a remarkable suite of adaptive phenotypic responses to ecological stresses such as herbivory. We tested the consequences of experimental inbreeding on phenotypic plasticity in resistance and growth (tolerance) traits in Solanum carolinense (Solanaceae). Inbreeding reduced the ability of plants to up-regulate resistance traits following damage. Moreover, inbreeding disrupted growth trait responses to damage, indicating the presence of deleterious mutations at loci regulating growth under stress. Production of the phytohormones abscisic and indole acetic acid, and wounding-induced up-regulation of the defence signalling phytohormone jasmonic acid were all significantly reduced under inbreeding, indicating a phytohormonal basis for inbreeding effects on growth and defence trait regulation. We conclude that the plasticity of induced responses is negatively affected by inbreeding, with implications for fragmented populations facing mate limitation and stress as a consequence of environmental change.


We investigate whether the Wigner semi-circle and Marcenko-Pastur distributions, often used for deep neural network theoretical analysis, match empirically observed spectral densities. We find that even allowing for outliers, the observed spectral shapes strongly deviate from such theoretical predictions. This raises major questions about the usefulness of these models in deep learning. We further show that theoretical results, such as the layered nature of critical points, are strongly dependent on the use of the exact form of these limiting spectral densities. We consider two new classes of matrix ensembles; random Wigner/Wishart ensemble products and percolated Wigner/Wishart ensembles, both of which better match observed spectra. They also give large discrete spectral peaks at the origin, providing a theoretical explanation for the observation that various optima can be connected by one dimensional of low loss values. We further show that, in the case of a random matrix product, the weight of the discrete spectral component at $0$ depends on the ratio of the dimensions of the weight matrices.


ABSTRACT Labour markets of oil-exporting regions will be impacted by a global transition to low-carbon energy as oil demand reduces to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement. Together with direct job losses in the oil and gas industry, indirect employment effects on other sectors should also be considered to ensure a just transition. We explore these direct and indirect employment impacts that could result from the low-carbon transition by analysing the effect of oil price fluctuations on the labour market of Alberta, a Canadian province economically reliant on oil sands extraction. We employ a mixed methods approach, contextualizing our quantitative analysis with first-hand experiences of career transitions using interviews with oil sands workers. We estimate a vector autoregression for province-wide insights and explore sector-specific dynamics using time series regressions. We find that the price discount on Canadian oil sands, which is determined by local factors like crude oil quality and pipeline capacity, does not significantly affect employment, while the global oil price does. This finding puts in doubt claims of long-term employment benefits from new pipelines. We find that at a provincial scale, oil price fluctuations lead to employment levels also fluctuating. Our analysis at the sectoral level shows that these job fluctuations extend beyond oil and gas to other sectors, such as construction and some service sectors. These findings suggest that the province's current economic dependence on oil creates job precarity because employment in various sectors is sensitive to a volatile oil market. Furthermore, due to this sectoral sensitivity to oil price changes, workers in these sectors may be especially at risk in a low-carbon transition and warrant special attention in the development of provincial and national just transition policies. Transitional assistance can support workers directly, while economic diversification in Alberta can reduce reliance on international oil markets and thereby ensure stable opportunities in existing and new sectors. Key policy insights Decreased global oil demand is likely to create employment risks for workers in Alberta and other fossil fuel producing regions of the world. Current economic dependence on oil sands extraction in Alberta leads to job precarity across sectors, including in those seemingly unrelated to extraction. Proactive economic diversification in anticipation of the low-carbon transition could reduce precarity by mitigating the effects of oil price fluctuations on employment levels in the long term. Workers in sectors with higher oil price sensitivity (i.e. oil and gas, construction, professional services, manufacturing, accommodations, and food services sectors) could be prioritized in coordinated just transition policies at the local, provincial, and national scales. The details of career transitions gleaned from our interviews suggest that tripartite social dialogue would contribute meaningfully to just transition policy development.


Method of side\|sliding on scaffolding the PC girders atop high piers used in urban interchange bridge construction is introduced. Compared with the conventional construction of casting\|in\|situ girders, the method in question overcomes the poor ability of the former to resist interruption during construction and high consumption of manpower, machinery, equipment and materials, and the method has fairly good economic benefits.


In practice, we observe a desire to use ever more sophisticated, more developed accounting instruments. This paper tries to answer the question of whether it is likely, feasible and desirable that the accounting instruments of growing and ageing organisations (i.e. organisations that get larger and become older) get more sophisticated. In order to answer this question, it combines Van Loon's model of the dynamics of financial management with Mintzberg's model of organisational structure. The resulting theoretical analysis shows that, indeed, it is likely that the accounting instruments of growing and ageing organisations get more sophisticated. However, it also shows that in some circumstances the use of instruments that are very sophisticated may not be feasible or desirable. This occurs, for example, when managers do not have enough time available to use such instruments or when decision makers attach more importance to professional performance indicators than to financial performance indicators.


The rapid development of technology eases people to do many things such as shopping, paying bill, transferring money, and so on. This study is intended to discover consumers' motives and gratifications in using online marketplace website through uses and gratification theory (UGT). This study employed quantitative method. The population in this study is the undergraduate students' of business and economy faculty of Universitas Sumatera Utara who have ever made a purchase at tokopedia.com and bukalapak.com. Accidental and purposive samplings were utilized to determine the samples totaling to 66 respondents. The methods employed to collect the data were survey and questionnaire. Validity and reliability was tested by using SPSS 17.0 Program, and to test the significance level, t-test was employed. The results elucidate the users' got gratified in information, entertainment, and social interaction motives. Meanwhile, in economic and convenience motives, the users' gratification was not achieved. Then, there is no difference in the gratification level of Tokopedia.com and Bukalapak.com users. The discrepancy level between motives and users' gratification in the information, comfortability, entertainment, social interaction, and economic dimension yields not significant score.


Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise and GnRH agonist on the levels of apelin and insulin resistance index in girls with central precocious puberty. Materials and Methods: In this study, twenty-five girls (7.44±0.34 years) with precocious puberty were included. They were randomly divided into three groups (drug, n=10, exercise+drug, n=8, and exercise, n=7) and one control group (healthy, n=10). In the experimental group, aerobic exercise for 12 weeks, 3 days/week was done, duration intensity of exercise gradually increased 5 minutes and 5% respectively every 2 week. Also, the GnRH agonists were used as medicine. BMI, the apelin and insulin resistance index were assessed before and after exercise. Results: Insulin resistance index and apelin serum levels in experimental group (exercise and exercise+ drug) were significantly decreased(p=0.05), while these factors were unchanged in control group (p=0.05). Additionally, BMI in exercie groups was significantly decreased (p=0.000), while it was increased in experimental group (drug group) (p=0.06). Conclusion: Considering to current data, it could demonstrate that aerobic training and GNRH agonists at the same time can lead to a decrease in BMI and apelin and an improvement in insulin resistance index.


Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity, especially in children. Rotavirus, norovirus, and adenovirus are the most common viral AGE agents in Turkey. We aimed to investigate of rotavirus and adenovirus antigens in children between 0-14 years old with acute gastroenteritis admitted to the Bolu Abant Ýzzet Baysal University Training and Research Hospital. Rotavirus and adenovirus antigens were investigated by a combo rapid immunochromatographic diagnostic test (Eco test®, United Kingdom) in a total of 2,675 stool samples. One or more viruses were detected in 238 (8.9%) stool samples. Rotavirus antigen was detected in 191 (7.14%) stool specimens and adenovirus antigen were detected in 47 (1.75%) stool specimens. Both virus antigens were detected positive in 13 (6.8%) the stool samples. The detected rotavirus antigen positivity was higher under the age of 5 than other age groups; a statistically significant difference was found between age groups (p< 0.05; p< 0.00). In conclusion, rotavirus and adenovirus-associated AGE were most commonly found in the age group between 0–5 in this study. Also, the prevalence rates of viral AGE were found to be lower in the authors' region when compared to other regions, probably due to the higher rates of rotavirus vaccination.


Abstract We construct a 'structure invariant' of a one-ended, finitely presented group that describes the way in which the factors of its JSJ decomposition over two-ended subgroups fit together. For hyperbolic groups satisfying a very general condition, these invariants completely reduce the problem of classifying such groups up to quasi-isometry to a relative quasi-isometry classification of the factors of their JSJ decomposition. Under some additional assumption, our results extend to more general finitely presented groups, yielding a far-reaching generalisation of the quasi-isometry classification of some 3–manifolds obtained by Behrstock and Neumann. The same approach also allows us to obtain such a reduction for the problem of determining when two hyperbolic groups have homeomorphic Gromov boundaries.


Interaction path analyses for pi-conjugated organic systems were performed at the ab initio molecular orbital level to examine the relationship between inter-radical interactions and the high-spin stability of the system. It was found that the high-spin stability results from through-bond interactions between radicals, not from through-space interactions, in relation to the stabilization of a low-spin state due to the effects of electron correlation. L(ij)(min) value for estimating the mixing of nonbonding molecular orbitals well predicted the relationship between the through-bond interactions and the high-spin stability. Furthermore, molecular orbital calculations revealed that the all-trans type interaction path between radicals produces long-range exchange interactions, and the additivity of high-spin stability is observed by keeping short-range through-bond interaction paths.


By means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), the conformational structures of the circular double-stranded Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) (2.96 kilobase pairs) on step-controlled silicon surface are studied. The DNA molecules observed on the terrace region maintain the supercoiled structure. On the other hand, the DNA molecules observed on the step-bunched region have a modified higher-order structure. Thus, we clarify that the conformations of long DNA are affected by the surface morphology of the substrate.


It is proposed to use for finishing the aerated concrete composition with limy binder. Composition includes limy binder, ground aerated concrete and additives based on a mixture of silicate and calcium aluminum silicates. It has been shown, that the introduction in lime composition ground aerated concrete in an amount of 20% by weight of the lime can improve the strength of lime composites. It is shown, that the combined use of lime, ground aerated concrete and additives based on a mixture of calcium silicate and silica-alumina allows to obtain limy composition, characterized by an accelerated set of plastic strength. The finishing composition on the basis of the developed formulation is characterized by high water-holding capacity, good workability.


Global climate change, its implications for agriculture, and the complex scenario presented by the scientific community are of worldwide concern. Drought is a major abiotic stress that can restrict plants growth and yields, thus the identification of genotypes with higher adaptability to drought stress represents one of the primary goals in breeding programs. During abiotic stress, metabolic adaptation is crucial for stress tolerance, and accumulation of specific amino acids and/or as secondary metabolites deriving from amino acid metabolism may correlate with the increased tolerance to adverse environmental conditions. This work, focused on the metabolism of branched chain-amino acids (BCAAs) in durum wheat and the role of branched-chain amino acid aminotransferases (BCATs) in stress response. The role of BCATs in plant response to drought was previously proposed for Arabidopsis, where the levels of BCAAs were altered at the transcriptional level under drought conditions, triggering the onset of defense response metabolism. However, in wheat the role of BCAAs as a trigger of the onset of the drought defense response has not been elucidated. A comparative genomic approach elucidated the composition of the BCAT gene family in durum wheat. Here we demonstrate a tissue and developmental stage specificity of BCATs regulation in the drought response. Moreover, a metabolites profiling was performed on two contrasting durum wheat cultivars Colosseo and Cappelli resulting in the detection of a specific pattern of metabolites accumulated among genotypes and, in particular, in an enhanced BCAAs accumulation in the tolerant cv Cappelli further supporting a role of BCAAs in the drought defense response. The results support the use of gene expression and target metabolomic in modern breeding to shape new cultivars more resilient to a changing climate.


Plant Science
Many plants emit signals to augment their defenses against attack by insects; some of these signals are known to work by attracting predators of the attackers. Maize roots under threat from larvae of the western corn rootworm normally emit the terpene caryophyllene, which serves to mobilize nematodes that then kill these larvae. However, most cultivated maize has lost the capacity to produce this terpene.

Degenhardt et al. have engineered transgenic maize plants that carry a caryophyllene synthase gene from oregano. This manipulation restored the production of this compound, with the consequence that nematodes reduced the number of rootworms by more than half, resulting in much less root damage. This finding confirms that nematodes can be recruited effectively by caryophyllene and provides the basis for a pest biocontrol strategy to improve cultivated plants.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106 , 13213 (2009).


The $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry breaking threshold in discrete realizations of systems with balanced gain and loss is determined by the effective coupling between the gain and loss sites. In one dimensional chains, this threshold is maximum when the two sites are closest to each other or the farthest. We investigate the fate of this threshold in the presence of parallel, strongly coupled, Hermitian (neutral) chains, and find that it is increased by a factor proportional to the number of neutral chains. We present numerical results and analytical arguments for this enhancement. We then consider the effects of adding neutral sites to $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric dimer and trimer configurations and show that the threshold is more than doubled, or tripled by their presence. Our results provide a surprising way to engineer the $\mathcal{PT}$ threshold in experimentally accessible samples.


The effect of resveratrol on the growth of human breast cancer cells was examined. Resveratrol inhibited the growth of estrogen receptor-positive MCF-7 cells cultivated in the presence of estradiol in a dose-dependent fashion. At 10(-5) M, resveratrol maximally inhibited the growth stimulatory effect mediated by 10(-9) M estradiol without affecting cell viability. At the molecular level, resveratrol in a dose-dependent fashion antagonized the stimulation by estradiol of an estrogen response element reporter gene construct and of progesterone receptor gene expression in MCF-7 cells. Resveratrol also inhibited the proliferation of the estrogen-receptor negative human breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-468. These later data suggest that resveratrol can also inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation by another mechanism besides estrogen receptor antagonism. We show here that resveratrol altered the expression of several autocrine growth modulators and their receptors in MCF-7 cells. Resveratrol at 10(-5) M inhibited the expression of the autocrine growth stimulators transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), PC cell-derived growth factor, and insulin-like growth factor I receptor mRNA. In addition, resveratrol significantly elevated the expression of the growth inhibitor TGF-beta2 mRNA without changes in TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta3 expression. These data suggest that resveratrol inhibits proliferation by altering autocrine growth modulator pathways in breast cancer cells.


MnO2 films were hydrothermally grown directly onto stainless-steel substrates and used as supercapacitor electrodes. MnO2 with a cube-like structure was observed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The measured sizes of the cubes were in the range of 270–820 nm. The specific capacitance (SC) of the 5-hour hydrothermallygrown MnO2 films was ~20.2 F/g, which was slightly higher than that of the 3-hour films (~13.8 F/g). The low values of the SC of the hydrothermally-deposited MnO2 films are attributed to their high series resistances of 1.73–2.06 Ω measured by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. However, the specific capacitance was greatly increased, up to ~226 F/g, after a polyaniline polymer had been added into the MnO2 hydrothermal reaction, there by producing a composite of the MnO2 and the polyaniline polymer. This SC improvement was attributed to presence of two active materials (polyaniline and MnO2) and the reduction of the electrode series resistance to 0.93 Ω.


This article is focusing on the problem of path following for an articulated vehicle under varying velocities and slip conditions. The proposed control architecture consists of a switching control scheme based on multiple model predictive controllers, fine tuned for dealing with different operating speeds and slip angles. In the presented analysis for the non-holonomic articulated vehicle, the corresponding kinematic model is being transformed into an error dynamics model, which is linearized around multiple nominal slip angle cases and various operating speeds. The existence of the slipping and varying speed has a significant effect on the vehicle's path following capability and can significantly deteriorate the performance of the overall control scheme. Based on the derived multiple dynamics modeling, the current slip and vehicle's speed are being considered as the signal selector for the proposed switching model predictive control scheme. The efficacy of the proposed controller is being evaluated by an extended set of simulation results.


Within a constantly changing market and an uncertain environment for business, knowledge has become one of the valued intangible resources appreciated by firms. For this, more and more firms are applying managerial strategies to promote the development of knowledge, both tacit and implicit, in such a way that allows them to achieve expected success. Also, an important number of companies, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, are getting involved with knowledge management as part of their daily activities, seeking to improve higher growth. Thus, the value of knowledge is increasing, to such a measure that firms are hiring the most brilliant minds in each specialty. In this sense, this paper aims to analyze the relationship between knowledge management and growth, starting from a sample of 125 SMEs from the State of Aguascalientes (Mexico). The results obtained show that knowledge management has positive and significant effects on the growth of SMEs, which can constitute a competitive advantage


Abstract This study aims to examine the effect of entrepreneurial knowledge and environmental support on student entrepreneurship intentions. This study is a causal associative research with a quantitative approach. The variables of this study are entrepreneurial knowledge and environmental support as independent variables, entrepreneurship intentions as the dependent variable. This study is a research with 105 student respondents. Data collection techniques use questionnaire. Data analysis method used is regression. The results of this study indicate that (1) Entrepreneurial knowledge has a positive effect on entrepreneurial intentions and (2) Environmental support has a positive effect on entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, the findings are that the knowledge and support of the environment has a positive effect on student entrepreneurship intentions.


We examined the feeding behavior and nutritional ecology of one of the smallest species of avian herbivores (ca. 44 g), the Rufous-tailed Plant cutter Phytotoma rara (Phytotomidae). This species inhabits forests and scrublands, as well as crop fields and orchards in central Chile. Field and laboratory data revealed that P. rara is a herbivorous bird with marked preferences for leaves in comparison to fruits and insects. When P. rara eats a highly diluted plant material (such as lettuce), a shorter digesta retention time and a lower apparent digestibility was observed in comparison to a high-quality diet. Wet-mass daily intake of plant material was 5.4 times body mass, two times higher compared with the high-quality diet. The larger proportion of water and refractory materials in lettuce diet may explain the variation in ingestion rates. Feeding bouts were longer with lettuce diet, because birds spent more time handling and chewing previous in gesta. Chewing may increase overall digestibility through physical breakdown of cell walls, making available the highly digestible cell contents. These strategies may allow P. rara to maintain body mass balance when feeding on highly diluted plant material.


Accumulation of lipids in nonadipose tissues can lead to cell dysfunction and cell death, a phenomenon known as lipotoxicity. However, the signaling pathways and mechanisms linking lipid accumulation to cell death are poorly understood. The present study examined the hypothesis that saturated fatty acids disrupt endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis and promote apoptosis in liver cells via accumulation of ceramide. H4IIE liver cells were exposed to varying concentrations of saturated (palmitate or stearate) or unsaturated (oleate or linoleate) fatty acids. ER homeostasis was monitored using markers of the ER stress response pathway, including phosphorylation of IRE1alpha and eIF2alpha, splicing of XBP1 mRNA, and expression of molecular chaperone (e.g., GRP78) and proapoptotic (CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein) genes. Apoptosis was monitored using caspase activity and DNA laddering. Palmitate and stearate induced ER stress, caspase activity, and DNA laddering. Inhibition of caspase activation prevented DNA laddering. Unsaturated fatty acids did not induce ER stress or apoptosis. Saturated fatty acids increased ceramide concentration; however, inhibition of de novo ceramide synthesis did not prevent saturated fatty acid-induced ER stress and apoptosis. Unsaturated fatty acids rescued palmitate-induced ER stress and apoptosis. These data demonstrate that saturated fatty acids disrupt ER homeostasis and induce apoptosis in liver cells via mechanisms that do not involve ceramide accumulation.


A recent case report described the radiological features of a suspected COVID-19 necrotising haemorrhagic encephalopathy.1 We present here a description of clinical, biological, radiological and immunological features of a COVID-19 patient case, evocative of virus-associated acute necrotising encephalopathy (ANE) possibly mediated by antibodies. Patient's representative consent has been obtained in agreement with the journal's policy.

A 51-year-old man without personal or family history of neurological disease was hospitalised after 10 days of fever and cough. COVID-19 was diagnosed by reverse-transcriptase PCR on nasal swab and bilateral ground-glass opacities on thoracic CT scan. At day 12, he was admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) for non-invasive ventilation. The result of the neurological examination was normal. At day 21, while the patient had been weaned off oxygen, he became unresponsive and rapidly comatose (Glasgow Coma Scale 6: E1, V1, M4) with a disconjugated gaze. The patient was groaning and showing rhythmic movements of the right upper limb. An urgent brain MRI, including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and MR angiogram, ruled out vertebrobasilar ischaemic stroke; gradient echo T2*-weighted images excluded haemorrhage and thrombus in the venous system. It revealed only subtle hyperintensities in bilateral thalami on FLAIR sequence (figure 1). Consciousness impairment required tracheal intubation. He was hyperthermic (39°C) without shock. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples revealed thrombopenia and lymphopenia, mild inflammatory response (C reactive protein, ferritin and fibrinogen), CSF albumin-cytological dissociation with increased CSF IgG antibodies (91.9 mg/L, normal 10–30 mg/L) and altered blood–brain barrier integrity (CSF/serum albumin index=17.3, normal <6.5) (online supplementary material). An electroencephalogram revealed symmetrical background activity of low-voltage delta waves without spatial organisation, triphasic waves or paroxysmal activity. He showed unresponsive coma (Glasgow Coma Scale=3), pyramidal syndrome, right-sided sixth nerve palsy and no corneal reflex. A second brain contrast-enhanced MRI at day 22 revealed progressing lesions with diffuse hyperintense …