E clectus parrots (Ee/ecrus roratus) are prolific breeders so be careful what you wish for when setting up pairs for breeding. This parrot species breeds year round in captivity and most pairs do not voluntarily take the rest breaks necessary for continued good health. One or two Eclectus pairs can keep an owner busy year round raising chicks. There are several Eclectus subspecies from which to choose and care must be taken to pair birds of the same subspecies. Crossbred Eclectus parrots, often referred to as hybrids, are so prevalent in aviculture that one cannot easily find a proven pair of same subspecies birds for sale. A first-time Eclcctus buyer can make numerous costly mistakes in  selecting birds for breeding so the help of someone who is knowledgeable about the identifying characteristics of each subspecies is invaluable. Some Eclectus experts have predicted that in the near future, pure subspecies specimen will exist only in the wild, and the habitat of wild Eclectus is disappearing as quickly as the special characteristics of the individual Eclectus subspecies in captivity. It is especially difficult for the novice to determine subspecies identity of Eclectus males. In fact, subspecies identification of the male Eclectus is sometimes a challenge for experienced Eclectus breeders. The differences between Eclecrus males are subtle and one must observe numerous males of the various subspecies to become adept at  recognizing the subtle clues. Because of this difficulty, Eclectus pairs are sometimes matched on the basis of an educated guess at the male's subspecies identity. By the time a mismatched pair matures and produces female offspring (by which subspecies purity can be judged), the pair is likely to have been together for several years. Some owners are reluctant to break the pair bond, and unable or unwilling to obtain new mates of the appropriate subspecies for each bird. Choosing a Subspecies The difficulty of locating pure subspecies birds is sometimes the factor that determines a new breeder's choice. The last shipments of wild Eclectus parrots imported into the United States were Solomon Island Eclectus, so it is believed to be easier to acquire pure birds or this subspecies. Another factor that attracts breeders to the Solomon Island subspecies is that the smaller subspecies are capable of reproducing at an earlier age. Solomon Island can reproduce as early as eighteen months to two years of age. The larger subspecies such as the Vosmaeri Eclectus can take two to three years longer to mature. Aviculturists in the United States who breed Eclectus parrots on a large scale often choose to breed all four of the commonly available subspecies. Breeders who maintain only a few Eclectus pairs might choose to specialize and breed only one subspecies. This is advantageous to the breeder because any unrelated birds can be paired when one member of a pair is lost or the bond is broken within a pair.


Background During adolescence there is an emergence of groupings sharing the same identity and reflecting social status (such as popular, academic or athletic 'crowds'). Studies have demonstrated gender differences both in the importance of appearance for adolescent status and in associations between overweight and attractiveness ratings. There is also evidence that overweight/obese females are less likely to be nominated by others as friends. Objectives To examine: (1) how both individual self-report measures of school-based social status and group-level data derived via social network analysis are associated with adolescent obesity; and (2) whether there are gender differences in these associations. Methods We obtained data from 15-year olds (N=3,194; 81% of those eligible) in a representative sample of 22 schools. We defined obesity using UK90 criteria, based on measured height and weight. Pupils rated their own social status, compared to their school year-group via images of 10-rung ladders. Analyses suggested three subjective social status dimensions: 'peer', 'scholastic' and 'sports' (saved as factor scores). Pupils also named up to six friends. We imported friendship data (based on reciprocated links) into the social network analysis software (SNA) Ucinet 6 and Netdraw software packages. A partitioning algorithm identified discrete groups. We inspected the resulting school sociograms (charts of friendship relations) in conjunction with participant descriptions of their group, and corrected obvious misclassifications. We categorised groups as isolate (1 member), dyad (2), small (3-5), average (6-11) or large (12+). At the group-level, we represented gender as all-female, mixed, or all-male and socio-economic status as the percentage from non-manual backgrounds. Group-level peer-, scholastic- and sports-status were the average of each of these dimensions across all group members. Multilevel regression analyses adjusted for individual gender, social class, family structure and parental care/control. Results 15% of the sample were obese. In mutually adjusted analyses, obesity was lower among females, those in mixed (compared with all-male) groups (OR=0.68; 95% CI=0.45 to 1.05) and those with greater peer (OR=0.88, 95% CI=0.75 to 1.02), scholastic (OR=0.83; 95% CI=0.71 to 0.97) and particularly sports (OR=0.62; 95% CI=0.53 to 0.72) status. Obesity was not associated with group size, but was lower among those in groups with greater peer (OR=0.84; 95% CI=0.67 to 1.05) and sports (OR=0.81; 95% CI=0.64 to 1.04) status, and higher among those in groups with greater scholastic status (OR=1.23; 95% CI=0.98 to 1.55). There were no significant interactions between gender and either individual or group social status. Conclusions These results suggest that adolescent obesity may impact on adolescent social status, with possible consequences for assortative friendships and longer-term social marginalisation.


Resolving fast events, such as electron dynamics, requires short light pulses. To this date the shortest available light pulses are created using High-order Harmonic Generation (HHG) and have a duration of a few hundred attoseconds (1 as = $10^{-18}$ s). When used for pump-probe experiments, these pulses are generated in an interferometer, which needs to be stable for the experiment to yield high quality data.

In this project the effect of interferometer stability (seen as uncertainty in the time delay, $\Delta\tau$) on the possibility to extract a phase with high precision from data has been investigated. This was done by simulations in MATLAB. It was found that even with a large error in the time delay ($\sigma_{\Delta\tau} = 0.20T$) it is possible to extract a phase with a small error ($\sigma_{\phi}<0.001T$), if the number of data points is sufficient ($N = $100 000).

Furthermore the effect of some aspects of interferometer design on the stability of interferometers was investigated by simulations in the ray tracing program FRED. An interferometer design was modified in one aspect at the time and the stability, in terms of spatial and temporal drift, was measured for each modification. In this way it was found that an interferometer should 1) be small, 2) have equal parity of the number of focusing lenses and mirrors, respectively, in its two arms, 3) have focusing lenses of equal focal length in its arms, and 4) have its mirrors perfectly aligned, to be as stable as possible. For short: a stable interferometer is small and symmetric.


Abstract In the selection of basketball players, the determination of the selection index system and the weight of each index is an important prerequisite for whether the selection is scientific or not. Only when the index system is determined and the importance of each index is sorted reasonably can it be guaranteed that the basketball tactics scoring work went smoothly. This research introduces a method of X fuzzy mathematics, called analytic hierarchy process, or AHP for short. The AHP method can be used in regional planning, resource allocation, program selection, policy analysis, conflict analysis, forecast estimation, decision research, etc. The AHP method schematises the thinking process of the human brain analysis program, which can simply, comprehensively, effectively and clearly deal with complex problems restricted by many factors; it is also a quantitative tool that can be used for the measurement of the sports evaluation system.


Abstract Objective: This study examined seven topics relating to neuropsychological assessment following sport-related concussion: (i) traditional vs. computerized tests; (ii) the value of baseline, pre-season testing; (iii) invalid baseline scores and poor effort; (iv) when to assess following injury; (v) the reliability of neuropsychological tests; (vi) reliable change methodology; and (vii) new methods for identifying cognitive impairment. Main results: Baseline testing can be helpful for quantifying cognitive deficits following injury and for assessing recovery. At present, however, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that having baseline test results is clearly superior to not having baseline test results. Although invalid baseline test performance can be detected in some athletes, validity indicators cannot determine the extent to which the results were due to deliberately poor performance, confusion or misunderstanding regarding some aspect of the test, distractions in group testing environments or some combination of factors. When interpreting baseline and post-injury data, sophisticated psychometric methods (e.g. reliable change, multivariate base rates) are available to assist with more accurate identification of cognitive impairment and the serial monitoring of recovery. Conclusions: The value of neuropsychological assessment in the management of sport-related concussion has a strong empirical foundation. Additional research is needed, however, to refine its use.


The majority of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) have feeding difficulties, which result
in chronic malnutrition and respiratory disease, reducing quality of life for caregiver and
child, and causing early child mortality. In well-resourced countries, high and low-tech
medical interventions, ranging from gastrostomy tube-feeding to parent training, are
available. In Bangladesh the former is not viable and the latter is both scarce and its
effectiveness not evaluated.
The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a training programme to improve the
feeding practices of carers of children with CP, observing the impact on level of
nutritional intake, risk of aspiration and distress caused to both during feeding.
Thirty-seven caregivers and their children aged 1-11 with moderate-severe CP and
feeding difficulties were invited to a six-session training programme. Pre and post
measures (quantitative and qualitative) were taken during home visits in addition to
giving brief advice. A control phase was evaluated for 12 of the participant pairs whilst
awaiting training.
A minimum of four training sessions was successful in significantly improving children's
nutritional intake and chest health, maximising independence in feeding, improving the
experience of mealtimes for both child and caregiver, decreasing caregiver stress
regarding their child's feeding difficulties and improving child levels of cooperation.
Catch-up growth was observed in 26% of the children. A significant difference in the
outcomes between advice only and groups was observed.
In conclusion, carers in Bangladesh, who have minimal formal education and live in
abject poverty are able to change care-giving practices significantly after four training
sessions, with positive consequences for both child and caregiver. Methods of
providing affordable food supplementation need to be investigated and further steps
must to be taken to lobby policy-makers in order to ensure that services have the
motivation and capacity to address this area of need.


Chronopharmaceutical drug delivery systems are gaining a lot of interest as they deliver the drug at the right site of action, right time and right amount, as per the pathophysiological needs of the diseases. These systems are basically time-controlled drug delivery systems in which the system controls the lag time independent of environmental factors like pH, enzymes, GIT motility, etc. These systems are designed for chronopharmacotherapy which is based on the circadian rhythm of the body. The effectiveness and toxicity of many drugs vary depending on dosing time associated with 24 hr. rhythms of biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes under the control of circadian clock. The chronobiology of the various common 24-hour BP profiles seen in hypertensive patients in relation to cardiovascular risk and end-organ injury and ultimately the control and normalization of abnormal BP throughout daytime activity and night time sleep. Chronopharmacotherapy provides a means of individualizing the treatment of hypertension according to the circadian BP profile of each patient, and constitutes a new option to optimize BP control and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Various latest and upcoming marketed technologies of Chronopharmaceutical drug delivery used in treatment of hypertension diseases like OROS®, CODAS®, CEFORM®, DIFFUCAPS®, PULSINCAP® etc.


During 1994, 129 specimens of chub (Leuciscus cephalus L.) from two localities, polluted--Bolelouc, 80th river kilometer, near the city of Olomouc, and unpolluted--Brodské, 225th river kilometer, near the Lanzhot on the Morava river, were examined for metazoan parasites. Altogether 38 metazoan parasite species including helminths, leeches and glochidia belonging to 14 genera were found, 34 in the case of unpolluted locality (Brodské) and 28 in the polluted one (Bolelouc). In both localities, 24 parasite species (Dactylogyrus folkmanovae, D. naviculoides, D. prostae, D. vistulae, D. vranoviensis, Gyrodactylus carassii, G. gasterostei, G. gracilihamatus, G. scardiniensis, G. vimbi, Gyrodactylus sp., Paradiplozoon ergensi, P. homoion, P. megan, Paradiplozoon sp., Caryophyllaeus brachycollis, Diplostomum spathaceum--larval stage, Philometra abdominalis, Acanthocephalus anguillae, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Glochidium sp.) were found, 10 (D. crucifer, D. nanoides, G. hemibarbi, G. lamberti, G. leucisci, G. lomi, P. rutili, C. fennica, A. imitans, S. bramae) were identified solely in the unpolluted locality Brodské and 4 (D. fallax, G. laevis, P. ovata, G. kearni) parasite species were found only in the polluted locality Bolelouc. Differences in parasite species richness, the level of dominance, the structure of core and in satellite species were observed. Current methods of statistical evaluation were used.


Purpose: As to January 11, 2021, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused more than 2 million deaths worldwide. Mainly diagnostic methods of COVID-19 are: (i) nucleic acid testing. This method requires high requirements on the sample testing environment. When collecting samples, staff are in a susceptible environment, which increases the risk of infection. (ii) chest computed tomography. The cost of it is high and some radiation in the scan process. (iii) chest X-ray images. It has the advantages of fast imaging, higher spatial recognition than chest computed tomography. Therefore, our team chose the chest X-ray images as the experimental dataset in this paper. Methods: We proposed a novel framework-BEVGG and three methods (BEVGGC-I, BEVGGC-II, and BEVGGC-III) to diagnose COVID-19 via chest X-ray images. Besides, we used biogeography-based optimization to optimize the values of hyperparameters of the convolutional neural network. Results: The experimental results show that the OA of our proposed three methods are 97.65% ± 0.65%, 94.49% ± 0.22% and 94.81% ± 0.52%. BEVGGC-I has the best performance of all methods. Conclusions: The OA of BEVGGC-I is 9.59% ± 1.04% higher than that of state-of-the-art methods. © 2021 Tech Science Press. All rights reserved.


The in situ distribution of the major histocompatibility (HLA) class II (DR) antigens was studied in 113 liver biopsy specimens and five livers obtained at necropsy, using monoclonal antibody CR3/43. In 20 normal livers HLA-DR antigens were not detected in bile duct epithelium, hepatocytes, or portal vein endothelium. Normal arteriolar, sinusoidal and central venous endothelium often expressed HLA-DR. Kupffer cells always expressed these antigens. HLA-DR positive spindle cells were identified in the connective tissue of portal tracts, large hepatic veins, and liver capsule: most shared antigens common to all leucocytes and reacted with the histiocytic maker EBM11. Bile duct epithelium expresses HLA-DR in primary biliary cirrhosis, large duct obstruction, and drug induced cholestasis, indicating that HLA-DR positive spindle cells are phenotypically similar to histiocytes.


The exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums and medical benefits reduced federal tax revenues by $268 billion in 2011 alone-by far the largest federal tax expenditure. Moreover, the exclusion disproportionately subsidizes those with higher incomes. In this brief, we provide estimates of the revenue potential and distributional consequences of limiting the exclusion from income and payroll taxes at the 75th percentile of 2013 premiums, indexing by GDP. The policy would produce $264.0 billion in new tax revenues over the coming decade while preserving 93 percent of the tax subsidies available under the current policy.


The paper considers software development issues for large-scale enterprise information systems (IS) with databases (DB) in global heterogeneous distributed computational environment. Due to high IT development rates, the present-day society has accumulated and rapidly increases an extremely huge data burden. Manipulating with such huge data arrays becomes an essential problem, particularly due to their global distribution, heterogeneous and weak-structured character. The conceptual approach to integrated Internet-based IS design, development and implementation is presented, including formal models, software development methodology and original software development tools for visual problem-oriented development and content management. IS implementation results proved shortening terms and reducing costs of implementation compared to commercial software available.


For much of the past century, mutagenesis has gained popularity in plant genetics research as a means of inducing novel genetic variation. Induced mutations have been applied for the past 40 years to produce mutant cultivars in sunflower by changing plant characteristics that significantly increase plant yield and quality. The present study is focused on generating baseline data to elucidate the role of genotypic differences in the response of sunflower to induced mutagenesis with the aim of expanding the applicability of the use of induced mutant stocks in the genetic improvement of the crop and in its functional genomics. The strategy adopted was to estimate the optimal treatment conditions (doses of mutagens) through relating the extent of damage in seedling progeny to the exposure levels of the initiating propagates to mutagens. Seeds of fifteen elite sunflower genotypes of commonly used as breeding stocks and grown on commercial scales were treated with a range of mutagens: gamma rays (γ rays); fast neutrons and with ethyl-methane-sulphonate (EMS) at different treatment doses. The three mutagenic agents affected seedling height, reducing it with increasing dosage. Based on the mutagen damage on seedling height, the 50% and 30% damage indices (D50 and D30, respectively) were estimated for the 15 sunflower genotypes for the three mutagens. The D50 (D30) values for the sunflower lines ranged from 120 to 325 Gy (5 to 207 Gy) for gamma irradiation; 9 to 21 Gy (0.1 to 10 Gy) for fast neutrons and 0.69 to 1.55% (0.01 to 0.68%) concentration of EMS.


One goal of a network operator is to provide end-to-end managed products to its customers. When the end-to-end path includes a satellite link, integration of the satellite link with the terrestrial links in the path is essential to achieving that goal. In order to achieve this integration, the network management system must have two basic functions; firstly to monitor and configure the platform and secondly to monitor and configure the services running over the platform. With this in mind, we have begun to develop network management components, such as management information bases (MIBs) and proxy agents, to operate with Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) on the commercial Hewlett Packard OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM). This allows us to monitor and configure the platform, including the satellite link elements, from one workstation, thereby achieving a measure of integration. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is used as the link-layer protocol since this allows multiplexing of different traffic types over the same satellite channel. This paper first describes the test platform, which was developed largely under the sponsorship of a part-EU funded project called VANTAGE. Then results from ATM trials over satellite are presented, in order to establish a performance benchmark, in terms of cell transfer delay, delay variation and loss ratio. This sets the scene for a description of the network management architecture that has been developed so far, together with results of measurements of management traffic intensity. Finally the paper draws some conclusions and points the way forward. (9 pages)


In this paper, we propose a single RF-chain multiantenna full-duplex (FD) relay build with b-bit analog phase shifters. Assuming only passive self-interference cancellation at the FD relay, we derive the achievable data rate of a system comprised of a source, the proposed FD relay, and a destination. Next, we compare the data rate of the proposed FD relaying system with the data rate of the same system but with the FD relay replaced by an ideal intelligent reflecting surface (IRS). Our results show that the relaying system with 2-bit quantized analog phase shifters can significantly outperform the IRS system.


The research theme was chosen within a topic of interest to Practising managers, a theme in Which little research had been published. Managerial Effectiveness had been researched extensively by behavioural scientists, but few had given attention to getting Managerial Effectiveness in organisations through using applied management systems over the manufacturing organisation as a whole, in terms other than behaviouraI. Few had really given thought to the simple question, for instance, of what were the few and key management systems of manufacturing organisations which needed integrating to improve performance. From this basic question and slender indication from the literature the researcher mooted that the important company systems would be those which gave direction, policy and strategy, those Which offered a transmission mechanism for vertical and lateral communication throughout the organisation, those which offered a capability of feedback and calculation of projection data to answer ''what-if' questions and offer logistic Profiles, and those team resources that assisted organisations to develop and change, These were four distinct fields and are recognised separately in the literature, namely, Long Range Corporate Planning, Management by Objectives, Computerised Management Information Systems, Organisation Development, (LRCP, MbO, MIS, OD). A key Point of research interest was how these four distinct areas could be integrated and then applied to improve organisationaI Performance. It Was envisaged that much action research would be needed to Give this research credibility. Thus the research would be developed from the viewpoint of a business consultant undertaking General management assignments. The central thrust of the research became one of developing a consultancy methodology arising from use of these management systems and a knowledge of the significant Points of interface revealed from the action research. The research sequence begins with a wide ranging review of the literature to encapsulate the essential features of each of the four designated areas, LRCP, MbO, MIS, OD. Next is taken an action research sequence from the Honeywell Residential Division USA, which is Perceived as a major success manifestation, in which all four management system models were utilised. This yielded a definition of the elusive Points of interface and offered a strategy for implementation of the systems together and synergetically. Further action research sequences within the Honeywell organisation were reported on ,which had an aim of repIicating the approach of Residential Division USA within other Divisions of the UK, Holland and Germany. This provided a set of ''Good Practice' norms and models ready for General replication by a consultant in other organisations. The nature and application of the theory of Organisation Development was Perceived as Particularly difficult, so a critical analysis was undertaken as an action research study following Lupton and Warmington at a large manufacturer in the West Midlands, and many useful insights were reported. An outline consultancy methodology was now defined and ready for experimental use. An 18 month study was accomplished at 'West of Scotland Manufacturer' and this action research yielded credible data for the diagnostic Phase of consultancy. A further two action research sequences were completed in other organisations to validate the Phase of intervention and treatment of organisations for their manifestations of ineffectiveness. Progress was reported within the short Period of 8 weeks. The research ends with the Provision of 12 conclusions, a statement of research limitations and some tentative suggestions of further research topics from this research theme. At many Points in the research there are offerings of 'good Practice' supportable suggestions, relating with management systems and their contribution to Managerial Effectiveness.


Introduction:  Prescribing, administration and monitoring of drugs are complex and error sensitive processes. Physicians have to take into account many drug- and patient specific characteristics continuously during therapy. Appropriate use of information technology, especially the introduction of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can substantially reduce medication error rates and improve patient safety [1, 2]. Strategies for the development of clinical rules used in these CDSS systems are not available.

Purpose:  The aim of this study was: (1) to evaluate a strategy for the development of clinical rules and (2) to determine the potential impact on medication safety of these clinical rules. Lithium therapy was chosen as a test concept.

Methods:  For the development of clinical rules we followed a Plan – Do – Check – Act (PDCA) cycle with a panel of experts. Standard literature sources were screened for patient characteristics, monitoring parameters and other characteristics that have to be taken into account during lithium therapy. We translated this information into clinical rules for the CDSS system Gaston®# (plan). These rules were retrospectively tested on patients admitted to the Catharina-hospital Eindhoven in 2004 and 2005 using lithium (do). Signals were checked in the electronic patients record on: (1) appropriateness and (2) the action undertaken by the physician compared to the action warranted by the CDSS. For every rule the Positive Predictive Value (PPV) was determined: number of appropriate signals produced /total number of signals. When the action undertaken was not right according to the clinical rules we scored this as a Potential Adverse Drug Event (PADE) (check). Results were discussed with an expert panel and the clinical rules adjusted according their consensus (act).

Results:  The PDCA strategy with an expert panel resulted in a package of clinical rules for patients starting with, or using lithium therapy. To design the definite clinical rules the input of the expert team was essential, because literature left to much room for interpretation in clinical practice. The clinical rules were tested on 38 patients starting with and 93 patients using lithium in 2004 or 2005. The PPV's of these clinical rules varied from 0.2 to 1.0 (mean 0.8). We identified 81 PADE's in 71 patients, that could have been prevented when the CDSS would have been active. Most important PADE's were: 1) omitted determination of lithium plasma levels after reduction of creatinin clearance < 50 ml/min (4 times) and starting or stopping of an interacting drug (17 times); 2) determination of lithium, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), leucocyte and calcium plasma levels every 3 or 6 months (resp. 17, 6, 2 and 4 times). An important limitation for the creation of higher PPV's and for the identification of PADE's was the lack of outpatient data. Further research is needed to show that this system is clinically applicable.

Conclusion:  A strategy of PDCA combined with an expert panel is a prerequisite for the development of clinical rules for drugs in a CDSS. We demonstrated that a CDSS is able to identify patients with potential adverse drug events. Therefore we conclude that application of CDSS can have a relevant impact on medication safety in clinical practice.


In a field setting, male passersby (N = 120) were asked by a female confederate to indicate the direction of Valentine Street (Martin Street in the control group). Thirty meters ahead, the participant encountered another female confederate who asked for help, claiming that a group of four disreputable-looking male confederates had taken her mobile telephone and refused to give it back. Participants primed with the cognition of "Valentine" helped the female confederate get her mobile phone back more frequently than those primed with the cognition of "Martin." Results are explained in light of the gender role theory of helping, mood maintenance effects, and mood-elicited depth of information processing.


The room-temperature Raman and infrared (IR) spectra of caesium thiocyanate (CsNCS) and the temperature (T) dependence of the various thermo-sensitive bands are presented. On the basis of these detailed experimental studies the orthorhombic-cubic transition in CsNCS at Tc approximately=470 K has been spectroscopically characterised as an order-disorder transition and to be first order in nature. Typical changes in the integrated intensity Inu (C-N) of the nu C-N-2042 cm-1 mode of the Raman spectrum below Tc are represented as Inu (C-N) varies as ( mod T-Tc mod )2 beta , with an order-parameter exponent beta approximately=0.35. These results are discussed in the context of a theory developed by Bruce et al. (1980) to describe the Raman activity of hard modes near a structural phase transition. A remarkably consistent value of beta approximately=0.35+or-0.02 is obtained by expressing the squares of the frequency shifts of the NCS- librational mode in the temperature range 300-453 K in terms of ( nu R2- nu 02) varies as mod T-Tc mod 2 beta , where nu 0= nu R(Tc)=125 cm-1 and nu R is the frequency of the in-plane rotatory mode. The anomalous increase in the band widths of many modes in the IR and Raman spectra closer to Tc may be attributed to increased anharmonicities as precursor effects to the transition. Above Tc the Raman spectrum due to the external modes is replaced by a broad-band spectrum and the fine structure ( nu C-N+or-external modes) in the nu C-N region of the IR spectrum is smeared off. These results have been related to the loss of translational invariance and the emergence of dynamic near Tc as both ions (Cs+, NCS-) are in motion.


This paper argues that a proper understanding of the epistemological and metaphysical issue of dualism can only be attained through a thoroughgoing analysis of human emotion. Indeed, it is no coincidence that three main thinkers on dualism, whether they were apparent proponents (Descartes), opponents (Spinoza), or had a somewhat ambiguous status (Sartre), were also heavily involved in understanding emotion. Ultimately, a proper comprehension of emotion shows the issue of dualism to be moot when it comes to our pre-reflective, everyday lives; dualism is a theoretical interest that shows how we must necessarily posit two essential realms – one of nature and one of consciousness – that are nevertheless always already entwined in prereflective and immediately lived experiences like emotion. In this manner, a proper understanding of emotion shows that dualism is not an issue on the everyday lived level, but certainly is on epistemological and metaphysical ones. On these levels, dualism is an essential tool that must be understood and used properly if one is to give a thoroughgoing account of human nature from a theoretical standpoint, where avoiding conflations between immediate and reflective experiences, as well as firstperson and third-person standpoints, is crucial. Here, one needs to be aware not only of our dual nature of matter and mind, but also of our dual – which is to say scientific and phenomenological ways – of tackling theoretical problems. In short, one may give a proper, dynamic account of human emotion and simultaneously recognize the advantage of thinking in dual – but not "dualistic" – registers.


In this work topology optimization is used to optimize the compliance or the eigenfrequencies of prestressed plates. The prestress is accounted for by including the force equivalent to the prestressing and adding the initial stress stiffness matrix to the original stiffness matrix. The calculation of the sensitivities is complicated because of the initial stress stiffness matrix, but the computational cost can be kept low by using the adjoint method. The topology optimization problem is solved using the SIMP method (Simplified Isotropic Material with Penalization) in combination with MMA (Method of Moving Asymptotes). Numerical examples of minimizing compliance or maximizing the first eigenfrequency of plates are given. The example is a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) application involving a backplate used in a microphone for a hearing aid.


ABSTRACT Herein is presented nesting information on the communal ground-nesting Argentinian bees Rhophitulus xenopalpus Ramos and R. mimus Ramos, which is compared with what is known concerning the closely related Brazilian bee Cephalurgus anomalus Moure and Lucas de Oliveira. The mature larvae of all three taxa are described, illustrated, and compared with one another and with those of other Protandrenini. While larvae of the three species share many similarities, those of R. xenopalpus and R. mimus, though each distinctive, are quite similar, and those of C. anomalus differ from the others in mandibular features and in dorsal body ornamentation. Male and female pupae of R. xenopalpus are also described.


We studied the polarity-induced changes in the nanoindentation response of GaAs{111}. The nanoindentations were made under a large range of loads ( F _max between 0.2 mN and 50 mN) at room temperature on {111} faces of A (Ga) or B (As) character. The loading–unloading curves were compared first, with special attention addressed to pop-in events and hardness values (reported previously for microindentation). Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the nanoindentation structures generated at the two polar surfaces. The size of the dense plastic zone generated around the indent site was found to increase linearly with √ F _max and similarly for both polar surfaces. The indentation rosettes possess a threefold symmetry with arms developed along the <110> directions parallel to the surface. Sizes were found to be very close for both polar surfaces and the entire load range. For an A-polar face, the rosette arms are constituted by two arms: a long arm (LA, α dislocations) and a short arm (β dislocations). At the B surface, only the LA (β dislocations) are formed. Furthermore, microtwinning was observed only for an A-polar face, similar to previous observations of anisotropic microtwinning at GaAs(001) surfaces.


This paper touches on the subject of whether light really needs a medium, which is termed the luminiferous ether, for its transmission as is in the case of sound which requires a fluid such as air or liquid as the medium for its transmission, and the subject of the velocity of light.


The purposes of this paper are to discuss the history of racial profiling; analyze the courts' positions on the topic; define racial profiling; review related literature on the theme; analyze Nebraska's law enforcement data between 2002 and 2007; draw appropriate conclusion and in the end make policy recommendations. It tests the hypothesis that race is a predictor or determinant of who (which motorist) and passengers the police in Nebraska would stop, search, arrest, detain or prosecute. Empirical data available is expected to show that there exists strong evidence that there is disparity in police stops, searches, arrests and detentions, and prosecutorial decisions and actions based on race. Put succinctly, more black (African American) motorists will be stopped, searched, arrested, detained and prosecuted because of their race than their white counterparts. The paper concludes that high incidents of arrest of minorities (black/African American, Hispanic and Native Americans) in comparison to their white counterparts in Nebraska was driven by targeted racial profiling (biased law enforcement) initiated by the Drug Enforcement Agency in its "operation pipeline" which had nothing to do with the propensity of members of minority groups to commit crime at a higher rate than whites in similarly situated positions. This disparate and stereotypical method of law enforcement or crime fighting was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme in the famous landmark case, Whren V. U.S.A (1996) thereby expanding much further, police latitude, pretext, and discretionary power of law enforcement. The study, recommends serious reform of the law enforcement establishment to include, public education, community policing, sensitivity training, race-based diversity recruitment and information gathering to improve law enforcement as well as enhance community-police relations in the state of Nebraska and beyond.


Three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems are most dominant in power system distribution applications. The LC filters are commonly employed in the PV grid-connected inverters. This paper presents a new adaptive fuzzy control for an inverter connected to the grid through an LC filter. The proposed controller exploits the concept of input-output feedback linearization and the approximation capability of fuzzy systems. The control objective is to control the inverter current components to prescribed reference values. The closed-loop system stability and the updating laws of the controller parameters are determined via Lyapunov analysis. Finally, the proposed controller is simulated, and results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the designed controller under different system disturbance and parameter uncertainties.


Advance Passenger Information ('API') and Passenger Name Record ('PNR') are an increasingly prevalent phenomenon in the international aviation industry. In the absence of mandatory content and transmission requirements, an increase in the number of countries requiring such data has resulted in significant complexity and expense associated with compliance. Simultaneously, the transfer of API and PNR data runs directly counter to privacy rights of residents of the European Union and other countries with strict privacy legislation, rendering compliance even more difficult. This article explores the background of API and PNR, the international guidance materials regarding content and transmission, the lack of harmonization between the different API and PNR regimes currently in effect, privacy and data protection philosophies and prioritization in the United States and the European Union and the interplay between privacy and API/PNR, the current reality facing airlines, and the emerging trend towards increased data transfers at the expense of privacy.


Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin involved in the survival of neurons and growth and differentiation of dendrites and axons. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate plasma levels of BDNF of leprosy patients at different stages of multidrug therapy (MDT) in comparison with non-infected individuals. Plasma levels of BDNF were measured by ELISA in 30 healthy controls and 37 leprosy patients at diagnosis, during and after MDT. Plasma levels of BDNF tended to be higher in control subjects in comparison with leprosy patients, but this difference does not reach statistical significance. Interestingly, BDNF levels changed following MDT, achieving statistical difference only at the 2(nd) dose of MDT. These results indicate that BDNF may not be a surrogate marker of leprosy infection and/or related neuropathy. Further research is needed to investigate the meaning of BDNF level changes following leprosy treatment.


This book highlighted the methods used for the syntheses of curcumin compounds. The activity of curcuminoids and their synthetic importance were investigated. It also reported a good introduction for the literature survey of the inhibitors that used to reduce the corrosion of alpha-brass alloy in acid medium. In this context, we reported herein the behavior of curcumin towards some active reagents as a facile and convenient route to some heterocyclic derivatives containing a curcumin moiety. The methods of synthesis and the synthetic mechanisms of the aforementioned reactions were well presented and the structures of these compounds were assessed by analytical and spectral data. This book evaluated the inhibition efficiency of a series of curcumin dyes for alpha-brass alloy in acid medium by two different techniques. The investigated compounds exhibited excellent antitumor activities against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells viability and have a direct cytotoxic effect on it.


Two-dimensional (2D) materials are attracting explosive attention for their intriguing potential in versatile applications, covering optoelectronics, electronics, sensors, etc. An attractive merit of 2D materials is their viable van der Waals (VdW) stacking in artificial sequence, thus forming different atomic arrangements in vertical direction and enabling unprecedented tailoring of material properties and device application. In this chapter, we summarize the latest progress in assembling VdW heterostructures for optoelectronic applications by beginning with the basic pick-transfer method for assembling 2D materials and then discussing the different combination of 2D materials of semiconductor, conductor, and insulator properties for various optoelectronic devices, e.g., photodiode, phototransistors, optical memories, etc.


The mechanism of the formation of "molecular" hydrogen in the ethane radiolysis at 300 Torr has been studied with ethane-ethane-d6-ethylene mixtures. The G-value of the hydrogen has been found to be 3.3. The addition of electron and positive ion scavengers scarcely affected the formation of the hydrogen at all. From the isotopic composition of the hydrogen, it was demonstrated that most of the hydrogen is formed by molecular detachment from the ethane molecule, while the rest is formed by the abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the ethane molecule by a hot hydrogen atom, the G-value being estimated to be 0.6.


Flexible piezoresistive sensors (FPSs) have the advantages of compact structure, convenient signal acquisition and fast dynamic response; they are widely used in motion detection, wearable electronic devices and electronic skins. FPSs accomplish the measurement of stresses through piezoresistive material (PM). However, FPSs based on a single PM cannot achieve high sensitivity and wide measurement range simultaneously. To solve this problem, a heterogeneous multi-material flexible piezoresistive sensor (HMFPS) with high sensitivity and a wide measurement range is proposed. The HMFPS consists of a graphene foam (GF), a PDMS layer and an interdigital electrode. Among them, the GF serves as a sensing layer, providing high sensitivity, and the PDMS serves as a supporting layer, providing a large measurement range. The influence and principle of the heterogeneous multi-material (HM) on the piezoresistivity were investigated by comparing the three HMFPS with different sizes. The HM proved to be an effective way to produce flexible sensors with high sensitivity and a wide measurement range. The HMFPS-10 has a sensitivity of 0.695 kPa−1, a measurement range of 0–14,122 kPa, fast response/recovery (83 ms and 166 ms) and excellent stability (2000 cycles). In addition, the potential application of the HMFPS-10 in human motion monitoring was demonstrated.


Background The accessory submaxillary gland is a very uncommon anatomical variant, and incidence in the general population has not yet been quantified. The presence of pathology in these glands is rarer still, thus often going unnoticed. Material and Methods We describe two accessory submaxillary gland cases, one asymptomatic and the other with chronic sialadenitis in the main and accessory gland caused by sialolithiasis. Although our diagnosis was by computerized tomography, magnetic resonance sialography is helpful to understand and describe this entity with greater precision. Results The first case report is an incidental finding and no intervention was required. However, case report number two had clinical symptoms and required a first intervention in which the main submaxillary gland was resected, and a second intervention in which the accessory submaxillary gland was removed. Both patients are asymptomatic to date. Conclusions Awareness of the possible presence of accessory submaxillary glands and of potential variations of the excretory ducts is useful in diagnosis, as well as leading to more precise treatment for salivary pathology, and allowing surgeons to avoid complications or injuries during surgery. Key words:Accesory, submaxillary gland, submandibular gland, salivary gland, sialolithiasis, head and neck pathology.


In the article we discussed the processes of awareness of the place of elderly people in modern society, elaboration of adequate relation to global aging and elderly themselves are still going in social sciences. These processes are expressed in a clash of archaic stereotypes and new approaches which changed social and age structure requires. Not only elderly people are providers of archaic stereotypes, but scientific institutions and practices as well. Reorientation of science, media and social policy towards study and realization of «postponed aging» opportunities is needed.


The study examined the influence of support fabrics on strength, elongation and time taken to complete the test for acetate, linen, rayon, and wool fabrics. ASTM D1683 was used with superimposed seams, 1⁄2 inch seam allowance and 301 stitch. It was hypothesized that support fabrics will increase breaking strength and time taken for break and elongation will decrease. Hypotheses were tested by t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings revealed that addition of lining enhanced breaking strength. Differences were noted for warp and weft directions. Mixed results were found for the time taken and elongation. So was true for the impact of interfacings. Even though this exploratory is needed beginning in the area of determining compatibility between and among the fabrics used in layered garments, there is need to repeat the research with other structural variables for refined understanding of these relationships. Some of the existing assumptions were supported and some were refuted.


Abstract : Chemical vapor deposition of niobium aluminides, niobium silicides, metal-rich compositions containing dispersed metallic phases, and ternary compositions in the titanium-niobium aluminum system was performed by several techniques. Process chemistry models were used to select deposition conditions and for correlation with experimental results on deposit compositions. Conditions were identified which permitted direct chemical vapor deposition of small samples of intermetallic foils.


The investigation includes experimental and phenomenological studies of the catalytic activity of lead and copper oxides, (with a constant ratio of basic lead-stearate, calcium carbonate and carbon - black) in the process of burning of double base propellants of different energies. The catalytic activity ratio is used as a measure of catalytic activity, and it represents the ratio of the burning rate of double base propellants with a catalyst referent model to the burning rate of double base propellants without a ballistic catalyst referent model.


Ten shallow (<20 m) reefs at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, southeastern Cuba, were surveyed during July-August 1996 to evaluate topographic complexity and community structure with respect to depth-related zonation and potential sedimentation impacts from the Guantanamo River. While the methods employed were not novel, coral reefs in the study area had not been previously studied and, because of low human population density, may provide useful comparisons to more disturbed reefs in the Caribbean. On leeward and windward sides of the Bay, four shallow (5 m) and four deeper (10 m) spur-and-groove reefs were surveyed, along with two reefs within the mouth of the Bay. On each reef, four 25-m transects were oriented perpendicular to shore on four haphazardly selected spurs and used to randomly select 1 m x 1 m quadrat locations. Benthic coverage using point-intercept counts and topographic complexity using the chain-length method were quantified within quadrats. All sampled reefs were dominated by algae, especially algal turfs, and stony corals. Mean percent algal cover among reefs ranged from 50 to 78%, while coral cover ranged from 11 to 49%. Analysis of variance showed that depth was more important than location in explaining the variability in mean coral cover. Cluster analysis using percent coverage of all bottom types and relative coral cover confirmed that reefs at the same depth were more similar in benthic composition. Several species considered to be less tolerant of sedimentation, however, were more abundant on windward reefs, suggesting that differences in sedimentation between windward and leeward areas may affect relative species abundance, but not total coral cover. Percent coral cover estimates from 9 of the surveyed reefs were well above recent values reported for other wider Caribbean reefs. The predominance of corals on these reefs is surprising, given the low abundance of herbivores (due to mass mortality and overfishing) and possible disease outbreaks affecting acroporid corals. These disturbances appear to have had less severe consequences than for other wider Caribbean reefs such as those in Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles, potentially due to the relative rarity of destructive storm events.


The relative efficacies of vitamin K1 emulsion and several water-soluble derivatives of vitamin K1 were determined in dogs rendered hypoprothrombinemic by Dicumarol and Dipaxin.

In short term experiments equimolar intravenous doses of the disodium salt of 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1,4-naphthohydroquinone-1,4-diphosphate and of vitamin K1 emulsion exhibited like activity in reversing Dicumarol- and Dipaxin-induced hypoprothrombinemia. By this route, the 4-monophosphate derivative showed comparable activity to the 1,4-diphosphate, but the 1-propionate-4-phosphate derivative was less potent.

At equimolar dosage levels, the water-soluble diphosphate derivative was found to possess oral activity equivalent to that of vitamin K1 emulsion. It was appreciably more effective than the emulsion, however, by the intramuscular route.

With both K1 emulsion and the water-soluble diphosphate derivative, the most rapid effect followed intravenous administration. Oral treatment was less rapid and intramuscular the slowest.

Data obtained in prophylactic and therapeutic studies indicate that water-soluble vitamin K1 has a shorter duration of action than vitamin K1 emulsion. Because of this property, it should be possible to control treatment more precisely with water-soluble vitamin K1 and also to effect a rapid reversal of excessive hypoprothrombinemia with less liability of including refractoriness to reinstitution of anticoagulant therapy.


Product classification is the key issue in e-commerce domains. Many products are released to the market rapidly and to select the correct category in taxonomy for each product has become a challenging task. The application of classification model is useful to precisely classify the products. The study proposed a method to apply clustering prior to classification. This study has used a large-scale real-world data set to identify the efficiency of clustering technique to improve the classification model. The conventional text classification procedures are used in the study such as preprocessing, feature extraction and feature selection before applying the clustering technique. Results show that clustering technique improves the accuracy of the classification model. The best classification model for all three approaches which are classification model only, classification with hierarchical clustering and classification with K-means clustering is K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) model. Even though the accuracy of the KNN models are the same across different approaches but the KNN model with K-means clustering had the shortest time of execution. Hence, applying K-means clustering prior to KNN model helps in reducing the computation time.


The study was conducted to investigate the different effects of cement-sawdust ash and cement on a clayey soil sampled from Mandate Lodge, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Nigeria. The binder mix of cement sawdust ash (CSDA) was mixed in a ratio of 1:1. The CSDA and cement were added to the soil samples at varying percentages of 1.5, 3.0, 4.0, and 7.0% by weight of the soil. Atterberg limits and strength tests (unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and direct shear (DS) test) were performed on the samples to determine the suitability of the stabilized soil as a construction material in highway pavement. Atterberg limit test result showed that the addition of 7% cement decreased the liquid limit from 58% to 42% and plasticity index from 18% to 3%, while the addition of 7% CSDA decreased the liquid limit from 58% to 48% and plasticity index from 18% to 4%. The Atterberg limit test results also showed that the stabilized clayey soil samples met the requirements of the Nigerian General Specifications of maximum plasticity index (PI) of 30% and liquid limit (LL) of a maximum of 50% when used as a subgrade material in highway construction. The strength test result showed that the strength values of the samples increased with binder addition and met with the requirement for use as a subgrade material in highway construction.


tiently exclaimed when I recounted my experience of nearly fainting in Charleston's City Market during a middleschool fi eld trip. In preparation for the trip, we received information about the numerous historic homes and museums that make up a part of Charleston's rich heritage. Upon arrival, we went to the Battery on Charleston Harbor, the place where Charleston residents witnessed the fi rst shots of the Civil War at nearby Fort Sumter. It was not my fi rst time visiting downtown Charleston, but I was fascinated by the cobblestone streets and captivated by the feeling that I had stepped back in time. That sense of being a part of history remained with me for the duration of the excursion. The experience of recognizing my own place in historical time became an especially distinct reality, however, when we visited the City Market. Built between 1804 and the 1830s, the City Market had always been utilized as a space for the public selling and trading of goods. Comprising three buildings located between four crossstreets, the City Market continues to be a tourist hotspot in the downtown area today, and is open 365 days a year. Each corner within the City Market contains more than one hundred openair sheds fi lled with clothing, jewelry, antiques, toys, souvenirs, food items, paintings, and crafts of all kinds for sale. For those without a vendor's permit for space inside the City Market proper, stands also take up considerable space between the A, B, and C Buildings. In addition to being close to historic hotels like the Andrew Pinckney Inn and the Planters Inn, as well as such contemporary lodging as prologue


The plant cell wall is a complicated network that is mainly constituted of polysaccharides, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Many noncellulosic polysaccharides are further acetylated, which confers these polymers flexible physicochemical properties. Due to the significance of cell wall in plant growth and development, the analytic platform has been the focus for a long time. Here, we use internodes/culms, an important organ to provide mechanical support for rice plants, as an experimental sample to explore the method for cell wall composition analysis. The method includes preparation of cell wall residues, sequential extraction of polysaccharides, and measurement of cellulose. The procedure for acetate examination is also described. This method is applicable to determine the composition of individual cell wall polymers and the modifier acetates, and is suitable to identify cell wall relevant mutants based on the advantages in high throughput, precision and repeatability.


Sprouting is one of the popular methods used to prepare legumes for human consumption. In this study, the effect of sprouting on selected macronutrients (crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and ash) and physical properties (hydration capacity after 24 hrs and equilibrium hydration capacity) of four common bean Zambian varieties were investigated. The varieties studied were Lyambai parent, Lyambai 4-4-B, Lundazi and Carioca-38. The crude protein values ranged from 17.6-24.4% before sprouting to 28.0-30.72% at day 6 of sprouting. Crude fibre content ranged from 4.1-5.9 before sprouting to 6.0-7.8% at day 6 of sprouting. Crude fat content ranged from 1.5-3.1% before sprouting to 3.8-6.3% at day 6 of sprouting. Ash content ranged from 4.1-4.8% before sprouting to 7.2-8.1 after 6 days of sprouting. Hydration capacity ranged from 0.210 to 0.475 g/seed among the four varieties after 24 hrs of soaking. Equilibrium hydration capacity was reached at different times among the four varieties. Carioca 38 was first at 72 hrs and Lundazi was last at 120 hrs. Sprouting was found to have a positive effect on crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and ash contents of the selected common bean varieties investigated. Further, these common bean varieties demonstrated varying hydration patterns.


Space orbital stations operations support consists an adoption of meaningful measures to protect space station against impacts of space debris and meteoroids. This goal can be reached by using multilayered protection shields that are made with the fabric material layers. Shields designing and modeling requires specific characteristics that define energy absorbed volume by the fabric destruction under impact. The paper describes the methodology and experimental determination method for absorbed energy volume results by using multilayer fabrics of orbital manned stations shielding constructions under distributed impulse loading caused by the space debris impacts. The energy absorbed volume by the multilayer fabrics is obtained from the experiments by analysis of specimen and flat metal projectile impact. Projectile was accelerated by the air gas gun. The obtained experimental determination results of energy absorbed volume in pressure range up to 1,5 GPa are given. Using the model of fabric as a porous material its energy absorption volume dependence in pressure range up to 10 GPa and compared with experimental data. It is shown that for materials with high porosity absorbed energy volume against pressure dependence is close to linear. Corresponding asymptotic dependence for materials with high porosity under the high pressure is obtained.


Aims : Leaf removal in the cluster-zone has proved to be an efficient option to reduce grey mould infestation. The aim of the present work was to determine the optimal timing of this measure in practical viticulture. Methods and results : Manual leaf removal in the cluster-zone was carried out at six time points between pre-bloom (BBCH 57) and veraison (BBCH 81) on the white varieties Sauvignon blanc (2009), Auxerrois (2009), Pinot gris (2010) and Riesling (2010). Leaf removal conducted between bloom and berries-touching led to a decreased number of interior clusters as well as a reduced cluster compactness and disease severity of B. cinerea . Pre-bloom and late (at veraison) leaf removal turned out to be less efficient. Conclusion : Leaf removal between bloom and berries-touching proved to be very efficient to control bunch rot due to (i) the disaggregation of the cluster structure and (ii) the improved microclimatic conditions and can be recommended in integrated as well as organic viticulture. Significance and impact of the study : The outcome of the present study constitutes an important tool for improving grape health status and, in consequence, wine quality under cool climate winegrowing conditions.


Background and objective: The dentate nucleus, which is the largest of the cerebellar nuclei, plays a critical role in movement and cognition. The aim of our study was to assess any changes in dentate functional connectivity (FC) in adult relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients and to investigate possible clinical correlates. Materials and methods: In all, 54 patients and 24 healthy subjects (HS) underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), three-dimensional-T1-weighted and resting state (RS) functional images; they also underwent a cognitive evaluation, that is, attention and information processing speed, by means of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT). Patients were also scored according to Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). RS-MRI data were analysed using FMRIB Software Library (FSL) tools, with the seed-based method to identify dentate FC. Results: When compared with HS, patients exhibited brain atrophy and widespread DTI abnormalities, as well as greater FC between the dentate nucleus and cortical areas, particularly in the frontal and parietal lobes. Within these areas, FC in patients correlated inversely with clinical impairment. Finally, FC correlated inversely with lesion load and microstructural brain damage. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that dentate FC at rest is altered in MS patients. Whether these functional changes are induced by the disease and play a compensatory role remains to be established.


The grey relational grade is a similarity measure. On the basis of the grey relational grade, an adaptive resonant theory (ART) type network, GreyART, has been developed. When the GreyART is used to classify a dataset with varying amount of data, the measurement between two specific data in the dataset may vary since the measurement is affected by new added data. In this case, the grey relational grade is not a global measure. As the measurement varies, in the GreyART, it is hard to use a fixed vigilance threshold value for determining whether the current input data belong to one of the existing clusters or become the template of a new online-created cluster. A method to solve this problem has been proposed and then applied to develop an electrocardiogram (ECG) beat classifier. The proposed ECG beat classification involves two phases. One is the off-line learning phase. With the proposed performance index, the product of the classification accuracy and the partition quality, an optimal value for the vigilance threshold and the corresponding cluster centres from the learning results can be determined. The other is the online examining phase, which classifies the input ECG beats. In this phase, the vigilance threshold value and the initial cluster centres are the optimal ones obtained in the learning phase. Under these conditions, the GreyART network enables real-time classification of ECG beats. Simulation results show that the proposed network achieves a good accuracy with a good computational efficiency for ECG beat classification problems.


SUMMARY Objective: To assess the role of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody detection in synovial fluid (SF) of RA patients compared to OA patients. Methods: We evaluated in 25 RA subjects and 14 OA patients, presenting a knee-joint effusion, the main clinical and laboratory parameters including the number of painful and/or swollen joints, Ritchie index, morning stiffness, ESR, CRP and analysis of SF obtained by therapeutic arthrocentesis. IgG anti-CCP (ELISA), rheumatoid factor (RF) and total IgG (nephelometry method) were measured in SF and paired serum samples. Results: We found anti-CCP antibodies and RF in 64% (16/25) and 60% (15/25) of RA sera, respectively; 72% (18/25) of RA patients were positive for anti-CCP antibodies or RF. We found a higher SF/serum ratio for anti-CCP (p<0.004) compared to that for total IgG. The calculation of anti-CCP concentration as IgG anti-CCP (units)/total IgG (g L -1 ) revealed higher values in SF than in serum (p<0.046) in RA patients. Among these, correlation analysis showed that anti-CCP/total IgG values in SF correlated with the relative concentration of serum anti-CCP/total IgG (rs=0.842; p<0.00001) and serum anti-CCP antibody levels (rs=0.799; p<0.0001). We did not find any correlation between SF anti-CCP levels and the main characteristics of SF as well as the clinical or laboratory parameters. Conclusion: Our study give evidence for a preferential production of anti-CCP antibodies at RA joint level, confirming the pathogenetic role of these autoantibodies. Moreover, SF determination of anti-CCP, corrected for the total amount of the corresponding immunoglobulin, may be helpful as diagnostic tool in selected cases.


A lattice Boltzmann model of KdV-Burgers equation is derived by using the single-relaxation form of the lattice Boltzmann equation. With the present model, we simulate the traveling-wave solutions, the solitary-wave solutions, and the sock-wave solutions of KdV-Burgers equation, and calculate the decay factor and the wavelength of the sock-wave solution, which has exponential decay. The numerical results agree with the analytical solutions quite well.


The early transmembrane glycoprotein E19 of adenovirus‐2 binds to class I antigens of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The association is initiated in the endoplasmic reticulum of infected cells and abrogates the intracellular transport of the class I molecules. To examine which parts of the E19 molecule are responsible for the association with the class I antigens and which parts confine the protein to the endoplasmic reticulum we have constructed a series of mutated E19 genes, which have been expressed in an improved mammalian expression vector. By various manipulations the membrane anchoring and the cytoplasmic domains were removed from the protein. The biosynthesis of the mutant protein was examined. All mutant proteins were secreted from the cells suggesting that the transmembrane and/or cytoplasmic portions of the E19 molecule are responsible for its confinement to the endoplasmic reticulum. The ability to associate with class I antigens was retained by the lumenal domain of the E19 protein.


Organic solar cells (OSCs) have demonstrated considerable potential in utilizing renewable solar energy because of their distinct advantages of light weight, low cost, and good flexibility. In the past decade, tremendous development in power conversion efficiency (PCE) from ∼7% to more than 17% has been witnessed. Among the various strategies of improving the PCE of OSCs, tandem structure is one of the most effective ways. In this Spotlight on Applications, we first introduce active-layer materials that we developed and selected for tandem OSC construction. We then emphasize an interconnecting layer (ICL) that we developed based on polymeric electron-transport layers. Benefiting from the organic nature of polymeric materials, the electron extraction ability and charge-transport ability of the organic electron-transport layer can be easily tuned by modifying the molecular structure or using a binary strategy, which enables us to obtain highly efficient tandem OSCs. Moreover, an ICL composed of a polymeric electron and hole-transport layer offers intrinsic advantage in obtaining a flexible tandem device and is compatible with the printing technique for fabricating large-area devices. After that, the application of the transfer matrix modeling method in predicting the best tandem OSCs architecture is introduced. Lastly, the possible research interests of tandem OSCs in the future from our point of view is discussed.


AIM: To construct a pEgr-IFNγ plasmid and to investigate its expression properties of interferon-γ (INF-γ ) induced by irradiation and the effect of gene-radiotherapy on the growth of melanoma.

METHODS: A recombined plasmid, pEgr-IFNγ , was constructed and transfected into B16 cell line with lipofectamine. The expression properties of pEgr-IFNγ were investigated by ELISA. Then, a B16 melanoma-bearing model was established in mice, and the plasmid was injected into the tumor tissue. The tumor received 20 Gy X-ray irradiation 36 h after injection, and IFN-γ expression was detected from the tumor tissue. A tumor growth curve at different time points was determined.

RESULTS: The eukaryotic expression vector, pEgr-IFNγ , was successfully constructed and transfected into B16 cells. IFN-γ expression was significantly increased in transfected cells after X-ray irradiation in comparison with 0 Gy group (77.73-94.60 pg/mL, P < 0.05-0.001), and was significantly higher at 4 h and 6 h than that of control group after 2 Gy X-ray irradiation (78.90-90.00 pg/mL, P < 0.01-0.001). When the transfected cells were given 2 Gy irradiation 5 times at an interval of 24 h, IFN-γ expression decreased in a time-dependent manner. From d 3 to d 15 after IFNγ gene-radiotherapy, the tumor growth was significantly slower than that after irradiation or gene therapy alone.

CONCLUSION: The anti-tumor effect of pEgr-IFNγ gene-radiotherapy is better than that of genetherapy or radiotherapy alone for melanoma. These results may establish an important experimental basis for gene-radiotherapy of cancer.


Twelve known and nine new species of Leptolaimus are described from bottom sediments collected in marine habitats of Sweden, including the Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay, the Baltic Sea proper, Gullmarn Fjord and the Skagerrak. Three of these species have been previously recorded in Sweden while nine are new records for the Swedish fauna. The following known species are redescribed: Leptolaimus papilliger de Man, 1876, L. cupulatus Lorenzen, 1972, L. danicus Jensen, 1978, L. donsi (Allgén, 1946) comb. n., L. mixtus Lorenzen, 1972, L. pellucidus (Southern, 1914) comb. n., L. venustus Lorenzen, 1972, L. lorenzeni (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n., L. alatus Vitiello, 1971, L. macer Lorenzen, 1972, L. septempapillatus Platt, 1973, L. elegans (Schuurmans Stekhoven & De Coninck, 1933) Gerlach, 1958. Leptolaimus primus sp. n. is characterised by the 319-472 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 7.0-11.5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 18.5-28.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 35 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male without tubular and with four alveolar supplements, alveolar supplements without sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 13.5-16.0 µm long. Leptolaimus secundus sp. n. is characterised by the 576-645 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2.0 µm long; amphid located 6.5-7.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 23.0-28.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 18.0-23.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with single tubular and 9-15 alveolar supplements, tubular supplement weakly arcuate with blunt tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized lining; spicules arcuate and 23.0-26.5 µm long. Leptolaimus tertius sp. n. is characterised by the 576-579 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2 µm long; amphid located 4-5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 21.0-23.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26-29 µm from anterior end; male with four tubular and 7-10 alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with blunt tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 25-26 µm long. Leptolaimus quartus sp. n. is characterised by the 597-686 mm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2.0-3.5 µm long; amphid located 5.0-7.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 23.5-27.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 19.0-27.0 µm from anterior end; male with three tubular and 8-9 alveolar supplements, tubular supplements straight with blunt expanded tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 23.0-25.0 µm long. Leptolaimus quintus sp. n. is characterised by the 443-528 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.0-2.0 µm long; amphid located 7.0-10.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 18.0-28.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 25.0-41.0 µm from anterior end; female with two tubular supplements (one just posterior to cardia and one in front of anus), vagina without pars refringens, vulva right-sublateral; male with 8-10 tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with anchor-like tips; spicules arcuate and 17.0-22.0 µm long. Leptolaimus sextus sp. n. is characterised by the 626-728 µm long body; truncated labial region offset from body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 8.0-12.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 41.0-48.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 28.0-41.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with five (rarely six) tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped with bifid tips; spicules arcuate and 39.0-46.0 µm long. Leptolaimus septimus sp. n. is characterised by the 679-850 µm long body; truncate labial region offset from body contour; cephalic setae 2.5-3.5 µm long; amphid located 8.5-11.5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 37.0-44.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26.5-37.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with four (rarely five) tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped, with bifid or blunt tips; spicules arcuate and 31.0-33.5 µm long. Leptolaimus octavus sp. n. is characterised by the 541-638 µm long body; truncate labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 8.5-12.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 31.5-41.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26.0-40.0 µm from anterior end and expanding into bursa-like structures along the tail; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with four tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped with dentate tips; spicules arcuate and 30.0-31.5 µm long. Leptolaimus nonus sp. n. is characterised by the 403-633 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-3.0 µm long; amphid located 8.0-10.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 16.5-29.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 47.0-99.0 µm from anterior end and expanding into bursa-like structures along the proximal part of the tail; female without supplements, vagina with bacilliform pars refringens, vulva right-subventral; male with 4-5 tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with dentate tips; spicules arcuate and 17.0-26.0 µm long. The following nomenclatorial changes are proposed: Eutelolaimus donsi Allgén, 1947 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. donsi (Allgén, 1947) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus cangionensis Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. cangionensis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus harpaga Boucher & de Bovée, 1972 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. harpaga (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus lorenzeni Boucher & de Bovée, 1972 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. lorenzeni (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus pellucidus Southern, 1914 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. pellucidus (Southern, 1914) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus rivalis Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. rivalis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus marinus Kamran, Nasira & Shahina, 2010 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus as L. marinus (Kamran, Nasira & Shahina, 2010) comb. n. and considered a junior synonym of Leptolaimus rivalis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus sergeevae Ürkmez & Brennan, 2013 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus as L. sergeevae (Ürkmez & Brennan, 2013) comb. n.; Leptolaimus vitielloi nom. nov. is proposed for Leptolaimus minutus Vitiello, 1971 nec L. minutus (Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1942) comb. n.; Polylaimium exile Cobb, 1920 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. exilis (Cobb, 1920) comb. n. and is considered species inquirendae. A taxonomic review, tabular compendium and identification key for species of the genus Leptolaimus are also given.


Aim The aim of this study was to review efficacy, tolerability and quality of life (QoL) in children with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) treated with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) alfa2a and ribavirin in 3national specialised referral centres in the UK. Method Demographic, laboratory and clinical outcome data on children up to 18 years of age treated for HCV with PEG-IFN alfa2a and ribavirin were reviewed. Information gathered from QoL questionnaires (CHQ-PF28) completed by parents during their children's treatment was also available for one of the centres. Sustained viral response (SVR) was defined as undetectable HCV RNA at 24 weeks following end of treatment. Results The study sample comprised 75 children of whom 38 were males. The median age at the start of the treatment was 10 years (3.0–17.2 years). The most common mode of infection (83%) was via maternal transmission. Thirty-four patients were Genotype 1 (G1); 39 Genotype 2&3 (G2&3); 2 Genotype 4 (G4). SVR was achieved in 47 (73.4%); 53% G 1; 90% G 2&3; 100% G 4. There was no significant difference between baseline ALT and/or AST levels in those who achieved SVR compared to the non-responder group. However the first group had at least 30% lower ALT and /or AST levels at 24 weeks post-treatment compared to the latter group p=0.003 and p=0.001, respectively. Children starting treatment <5 years of age had higher SVR compared to older age groups, however this was not statistically significant p=0.7. Low viral load at the start of the treatment (<500 000 IU/mL) did not have significant effect on viral response p=0.5. Early viral response (EVR) at 12 weeks of treatment was achieved in 46 and sustained in 40/46 (87%). Data on rapid viral response (RVR) at 4 weeks of treatment were available in 25; 17/25 (68%) achieved response which was sustained in 16 (94%). There was no significant change in the z scores for weight and height from start of treatment compared to 24 weeks post treatment follow-up (p 0.2 and 0.5, respectively). Data on QoL were available for 31/75 children and their families. At 12 weeks of treatment the child's general health was perceived to be poorer with limitation of physical activity and higher frequency of pain compared to other stages of treatment with values returning to baseline at the end of treatment and at follow up. There were no serious side effects reported and none discontinued treatment due to side effects. Conclusion HCV treatment with PEG-IFN and ribavirin is well tolerated by children with minimal negative impact on the quality of life of a cohort of the studied children and no significant effect on growth. EVR and RVR are good predictors of treatment response.


Significant reduction in size was obtained in 12 of 14 renal cysts treated by the instillation of iophendylate. The advent of noninvasive methods has increased the number of renal cysts detected radiologically and has limited the indication for diagnostic puncturing to problematic cases only. However, if it is decided to perform diagnostic puncture of a renal cyst, the combined instillation of iophendylate into the cyst seems to be therapeutically rewarding.


The p urpose of this study was to examine the potential application of Sorbitol, Sucrose and Gelatin in combination with glycerol in order to Theileria annulata infected cell line cryo-preservation. The efficiency of the freezing methods was compared by assessing the viability and plating efficiency of cells after resuscitation, dilution and equilibration in cell culture medium. As a result, the conventional cryopreservative medium containing 5% PEG treated Bovine Serum and 10% glycerol successfully cryopreserved cell as efficiently as the standard medium containing 80% FBS and 10% glycerol and was superior to all thirteen different experimental cryo-preservative media. A crucial result was obtained among the thirteen different serum-free media which showed that the 0.2M sorbitol+10% glycerol method yielded cells with viability of 54% and good plating efficiency results. It was concluded that the conventional method would be the best and ideal for the cryo-preservation and storage of Theileria annulata-infected cells for vaccine purposes to date.


2660 Firstly, in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines, we had tried to identify if there is any relationship between up-regulated cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and abnormal gap junctional intracellular communication (GJIC). Although it was observed the possibility that expression of some connexins might be abnormally regulated in HNSCC cells, any positive relationship between COX-2-induced prostaglandins and GJIC was not identified. Instead, we found that among several COX-2 specific inhibitors, the only celecoxib seemed to activate GJIC through COX-2-independent mechanism in tested HNSCC cells. Next, considering our previous findings, we tested the effect of celecoxib on connexin26 (Cx26) and connexin43 (Cx43) which were identified to be expressed in our cell models and found that celecoxib activated GJIC through up-regulation of Cx26 expression but not Cx43. Celecoxib-induced Cx26 expression and GJIC activation seemed to be mediated through ERK and p38 activation. The pre-treatment of ERK and/or p38 inhibitor(s) as well as Cx26 siRNA inhibited celecoxib-induced GJIC activation. Also, the Cx26 siRNA treatment reversed the growth-inhibitory effect of celecoxib by 30-50%. These imply that Cx26-up-regulated GJIC activation might be one of cancer killing mechanisms of celecoxib in HNSCC cells. In conclusion, our study suggests that celecoxib might show outstanding anti-cancer effects in cancer cells through unexpected mechanisms of a variety of COX-2-independent actions like our findings.


It is clear that city must be part of the solution if an urbanizing world is to grapple successfully with ecological challenges such as energy depletion and climate change. A system dynamics model was developed in this study using STELLA platform to model the energy consumption and CO2 emission trends for the City of Beijing over 2005–2030. Results show that the total energy demand in Beijing is predicted to reach 114.30 million tonnes coal equivalent (Mtce) by 2030, while that value in 2005 is 55.99 Mtce, which is 1.04 times higher than the level in 2005. Accordingly, the total CO2 emissions in 2030 will reach 169.67 million tonnes CO2 equivalent (Mt CO2-eq), 0.43 times higher than that of 2005. The change of energy structure from carbon rich fuel as coal to low-carbon fuel as natural gas will play a very essential O2 emissions TELLA role in carbon emission reduction activities of Beijing. The modeling results also shows that the service sector will gradually replace the industrial dominant status in energy consumption as the largest energy consuming sector, followed by industrial and transport sector. The sensitive analysis suggests that change of economic development mode and control of rational population growth will have a far-reaching influence on energy consumption and on carbon emissions. All these results will provide essential information for Beijing's future energy and carbon emission profiles.


The national language Bangla (Bengali), which is spoken by 98% of the people, is foundational to the nation of Bangladesh as a nation. Language played a crucial role in the struggle for independence from Pakistan which was finally successful in 1971. The medium of instruction in state‐provided basic education is Bangla. Nevertheless, as in the colonial period a significant part of the elite is educated in English medium schools and subject to British‐determined curriculum and assessment. English medium private education carries the highest prestige, and the private sector is dominant in secondary education. The role of English is now being enhanced by globalization, which threatens a cultural recolonization of Bangladesh, and by World Bank strategies designed to promote the private school sector. The article discusses these problems and explores elements of a language policy that might be able to enhance both Bangla literacy and competence in English.


Abstract. Identification of a geomorphic index to represent lower thresholds for minor flows in ephemeral, alluvial streams in arid environments is an essential step as a precursor for reliable flash flood hazard estimations and establishing flood warning systems. An index, termed Alluvial wadi Flood Incipient Geomorphologic Index (AFIG), is presented. Analysis of data from an extensive field survey in the arid ephemeral streams in southern and eastern Israel was conducted to investigate the AFIG and the control over its value across the region. During the survey we identified distinguishable flow marks in the lower parts of streams' banks, such as niches, vegetation line, and change in bank material, which are indicative of low flows. The cross-sectional characteristics of the AFIG were studied in relationship with contributing drainage basin characteristics such as lithology, topography, and precipitation. Drainage area and hardness of the exposed lithology (presented as a basin-wide index) are the preferred descriptors to be used in estimating a specific AFIG in unsurveyed sites. Analyses of discharge records from seven hydrometric stations indicate that the recurrence interval of the determined AFIG is equal to or more frequent than 0.5 yr.


We consider network flow congestion management modelled after electricity distribution networks. The desired consumption or production of the agents that populate such networks are determined by a higher-level (e.g. national) market mechanism, but this can lead to congestion locally. We first consider congestion solutions in the form of curtailment independent of the price set by the higher-level market. Congestion solutions of this type that satisfy properties of fairness are described in the literature. We contrast these fair solutions with curtailment solutions that maximize total welfare, and we present an algorithmic mechanism that computes such maximal welfare solutions. We then combine the two approaches to compute hybrid congestion solutions where agents can choose to either claim their fair share or to participate in a welfare-maximizing aftermarket. We incentivize aftermarket participation with an individually rational pricing scheme, while offering agents' fair shares at the higher-level price. Our aftermarket solution provides a budget balanced alternative to locational marginal pricing that gives agents the choice to claim their fair share at a fair price.


The study documented the medicinal plants used in the treatment of influenza and common cough and established efficacy of some plants locally used against bacteria causing upper respiratory tract infections in Uganda. It involved an ethnobotanical survey and laboratory experimental investigation to determine the bioactivity against selected bacteria that cause upper respiratory tract infections. Data on medicinal indigenous knowledge was collected with the aid of questionnaires, direct observations, key informant interviews and field excursions and voucher specimen collection. The plants were identified by a botanist at Makerere University Herbarium (MHU), Department of Biological Sciences and voucher specimen were deposited in the herbarium. Methanol and diethyl ether extracts of the commonly used plants were screened for antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumonia and Klebsiella pneumonia using agar well diffusion and agar well dilution methods. Ethno botanical survey showed that 43 plants were commonly used and the most commonly used plant was Momordica feotida. Three out of four extracts assayed had activity against S. pneumonia and K. pneumonia, while one showed activity against K. pneumoniae. Hence, plants extracts showed broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. There is need for further development and standardization of products to treat respiratory diseases at household level in the study area.

 Key words: Indigenous knowledge, medicinal plants, bioactivity, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), upper respiratory infections.


Hyperfine interactions for Ta impurities in a polycrystalline nickel matrix produced by quenching from the melt have been studied using the perturbed-angular-correlation technique. An effective hyperfine field of -89.8 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1.6 kOe was measured for substitutional atoms. The fraction of the impurities occupying various lattice positions, and the respective hyperfine fields have been determined, and changes in lattice location and hyperfine field after annealing of the source have been studied.


This is a commentary on educating leaders within the constraints of a highly technical curriculum. The U.S. Naval Academy's mission is to produce leaders for the nation. Many things compete for the time and attention of Midshipmen (the Academy's students). Greater attention must be paid to interpersonal communications skills in the formal and informal curriculum.


Recommender systems have been subject to an enormous rise in popularity and research interest over the last ten years. At the same time, very large taxonomies for product classification are becoming increasingly prominent among e-commerce systems for diverse domains, rendering detailed machine-readable content descriptions feasible. Amazon.com makes use of an entire plethora of hand-crafted taxonomies classifying books, movies, apparel, and various other goods. We exploit such taxonomic background knowledge for the computation of personalized recommendations. Hereby, relationships between super-concepts and sub-concepts constitute an important cornerstone of our novel approach, providing powerful inference opportunities for profile generation based upon the classification of products that customers have chosen. Ample empirical analysis, both offline and online, demonstrates our proposal's superiority over common existing approaches when user information is sparse and implicit ratings prevail.


Liver cancer is one of the most lethal cancers in the world, mainly owing to the lack of effective means for early monitoring and treatment. Accordingly, there is considerable research interest in various clinically applicable methods for addressing these unmet needs. At present, the most commonly used biomarker for the early diagnosis of liver cancer is alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), but AFP is sensitive to interference from other factors and cannot really be used as the basis for determining liver cancer. Treatment options in addition to liver surgery (resection, transplantation) include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. However, even more expensive targeted drug therapies have a limited impact on the clinical outcome of liver cancer. One of the big reasons is the rapid emergence of drug resistance. Therefore, in addition to finding effective biomarkers for early diagnosis, an important focus of current discussions is on how to effectively adjust and select drug strategies and guidelines for the treatment of liver cancer patients. In this review, we bring this thought process to the drug resistance problem faced by different treatment strategies, approaching it from the perspective of gene expression and molecular biology and the possibility of finding effective solutions.


Our work in the area of non-photo-realistic rendering (NPR) focuses on visualising 3D models in a cartoon rendering style: the geometrical objects are internally coloured using two or three colours, while simultaneously using an explicit outline. Many NPR techniques are timeconsuming processes, whereas we aim at real-time rendering performance on mainstream graphics PC hardware without losing a high image quality. Particular emphasis is also put on getting smooth transition borders between the bi-tonal cartoon-colours by applying an object precision triangle subdivision technique. Rapidly finding these transition borders as well as silhouette edges is a topic of a new algorithm. As silhouette lines and light effects are useful indicators for computer vision, this algorithm also looks interesting for applications in that field.


Context. The ionized solar wind interacts directly with the interstellar neutrals which flow into the heliosphere. These neutrals are ionized, mainly by charge exchange, then accelerated to the solar wind speed with the momentum and energy removed from the bulk flow of the solar wind. Thus, by measuring the solar wind slowdown, one can estimate the interstellar neutral density. Aims. In July 2005, Ulysses at 5 AU and Voyager 2 near 80 AU were at the same heliolatitude. We use this alignment to determine the solar wind speed decrease between these two spacecraft. Methods. Ulysses data are used as input to a 1-D MHD model which includes the effects of pickup ions. We removed a section of data contaminated by an ICME directed toward Voyager 2. Results. Comparison of the Voyager 2 speeds with the model results shows that the solar wind speed decreased by 67 km s −1 between Ulysses and Voyager 2, consistent with an interstellar neutral density at the termination shock of 0.09 cm −3 .


The effect of trypsin on the morphology of the rat liver microsomal fraction isolated by differential centrifugation has been investigated. The microsomes were incubated at 37°C and centrifuged thereafter under the conditions of their initial isolation. The trypsin-treated microsomes and the untreated controls were fixed in unbuffered osmium tetroxide and embedded first in gelose and then in methacrylate. In the trypsin-treated microsomes, there was a removal of the ribosomes from the rough vesicles. Parallel chemical determinations showed that the total nitrogen and total phosphorus of the pellet were lowered. Particles, densely stained with phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and homogeneous in appearance, were found within microsome smooth vesicles in a fluffy layer which collects on the top of the microsome pellet. The morphology of these PTA-stained particles remained unchanged after incubation with trypsin.


Madagascar hissing cockroaches (MHC, Gromphadorhina portentosa) are members of the Blaberidae (giant cockroaches) family of the Insecta class. They are native to the African island of Madagascar where they live within leaf litter on the rainforest floor. Due to their large size, relative tameness, and general easy keeping, they have become popular in classrooms, zoological collections, museums, research laboratories, and as private exotic pets; however, descriptions of diseases of MHC in the literature are rare. The objective of this study is to describe and characterize postmortem histological findings in 18 captive MHC from a single zoological collection. In this retrospective study, 18 (4 females and 14 males) adult MHC necropsies were submitted to Northwest ZooPath between 2016 and 2020 for evaluation. The main organs with histological lesions were chitinous gut (foregut and/or hindgut; n = 17), tracheae (n = 15), fat body (n = 14), ventriculus (midgut) (n = 13), body wall (n = 12), Malpighian tubules (n = 12), and hemolymphatic sinuses (n = 12). All animals had inflammatory lesions affecting various organs. Inflammatory lesions typically consisted of aggregates of hemocytes with variable amounts of melanization and/or encapsulation. Bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections were common and variably associated with hemocytic inflammation. Many of these organisms may represent symbiotic organisms of the MHC that cause opportunistic infections. This study contributes to the current knowledge of pathological findings and disease response of MHC and reviews diseases reported in multiple cockroach species.


The paper compares the medical device registration system between China and FDA in U.S.A., with the main focus on the problems of design default of supervision and management in Chinese system. It analyzes the primary elements of substantial equivalence approval in medical device registration, and points out the design defaults of our medical device registration system and the basic points which need to be handled.