Inducing a user's behavior through social interaction is a goal that a social robot aims to achieve. It has been argued that empathy has a strong effect on behavior inducement. In human-human interaction, it has been verified that the influence of a nonverbal cue on empathy outweighs that of a verbal cue when those are used in a combined way. The objectives of this study are to explore if such outweighing effect of nonverbal cues is maintained in human-robot interaction (HRI) and to investigate the mechanism of communication cues' effects by analyzing the mediation structure with the following mediator variables: perceived emotion, perceived intentionality, perceived malfunction, and empathy inducement. To this end, we conducted 2 (verbal type: positive verbal cue vs. negative verbal cue) × 2 (nonverbal type: positive nonverbal cue vs. negative nonverbal cue) within-participant experiment (N = 48). The experiment created a situation in which the social robot was harshly criticized during a conversation. The analysis of experiment results showed the outweighing effect of a nonverbal cue was maintained. When a nonverbal cue conveyed a negative, situation-accordant emotion, it had a decisive effect on perceived emotion, empathy, and behavior inducement. In contrast, a verbal cue induced participants' empathy and behavior when it conveyed a positive, situation-discordant emotion. This inconsistency between verbal cue and nonverbal cue made the combination of positive verbal cue and negative nonverbal cue have the strongest effect. It implies that participants had different expectations for each of the two communication cues, just as they did in social interactions with human beings. It implies that participants might have applied normative expectations for social interaction with human beings to the social robot.


BACKGROUND
Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is an advance care planning tool that is designed to document end-of-life (EoL) care wishes of those living with limited life expectancies. Although positive impacts of POLST program has been studied, variations in state-specific POLST programs across the nation remain unknown.

OBJECTIVE
Identify state variations in POLST forms and determine if variations are associated with program maturity status.

DESIGN
Environmental scan.

MEASUREMENTS
Using the national POLST website, state-specific POLST program characteristics were examined. With available sample POLST forms, EoL care options were abstracted.

RESULTS
Of all 51 states (50 United States states and Washington, D.C examined), the majority (n = 48, 98%) were actively participating in POLST; 3 states (5.9%) had Mature status, 19 states and District of Columbia (39.2%) were Endorsed, 24 states were in the developing phase (47.1%), and 4 states (7.8%) were nonconforming. Forty-five states (88.2%) had forms available for review. Antibiotic and intravenous fluid options were identified in 32 (71.1%), and 33 (73.3%) POLST forms, respectively. Hospital transfer and use of oxygen were mentioned in all forms. Use of respiratory devices (i.e., continuous positive airway pressure and bi-level positive airway pressure) were mentioned on 27 (60%) forms, whereas ventilator or intubation use were mentioned in 36 POLST forms (80%). No associations were found between POLST maturity status and provision of treatment options.

CONCLUSIONS
Variations in integration of infection and symptom management options were identified. Further research is needed to determine if there are regional factors associated with provision of treatment options on POLST forms and if there are differences in actual rates of infection or symptoms reported.


Skilled teachers of mathematics, with years of training and experience, will look with scepticism on a series of books which 'can be used by any teacher and requires no specialist skills' to teach mathematics to slow learners and remedial pupils. Yet it is a regrettable fact that the national shortage of mathematics teachers has produced a situation where such a series is necessary. Geoffrey Wroe, who was responsible for developing materials for slow learners at the Birmingham Structured Mathematics Centre, has produced a total of thirty-eight booklets which move from Counting On at the start of Level One to Measurement Problems in Level Three. The booklets need not be used in strict order and this gives the course a welcome flexibility. The target group is the least able 25% of pupils aged 11-13, although the slow development of each topic is perhaps more suited to remedial classes where the smaller size of the groups would be essential for the sections which are recommended by the author to be taught on a one-to-one basis. The format of each page is 'Copy and complete', which can lead to time-wasting, but little reading skill is needed and the attention given by the author to vocabulary is an excellent feature, backed up by a section on Language in the Teacher's Book which stresses the need for pupils to be able to verbalise a process before they can reach a full understanding of it. This introduction to the weighty Teacher's Book contains a first-class analysis of the problems of the slow learner which many experienced mathematics teachers would benefit from reading. The Copymasters and Tests form a useful supplement to this book. The printing of the pupils' books is clear, except where the second colour has been superimposed inaccurately in some booklets. There are plenty of questions, although the pages are not overcrowded. A major inconvenience on certain topics is the absence of answers, but this does little to detract from the feeling that the author has performed a difficult task well, and mathematics specialists and non-specialists should find this series of booklets useful in the teaching of basic mathematics to small remedial classes.


Frequently the cause of raised intracranial pressure remains unresolved and rarely is related to spinal tumours, moreover less to spinal medulloblastoma without primary brain focus. An 18-year-old woman had a 3-month history of headache and impaired vision. Neurological examination revealed bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsies with bilateral papilloedema of grade III. No focal brain or spine lesion was found on imaging. Consecutive lumbar punctures showed high opening pressure and subsequent increasing protein level. Meningeal biopsy was negative. At one point, she developed an increasing headache, vomiting and back pain. Spine MRI showed diffuse nodular leptomeningeal enhancement with the largest nodule at T6–T7. Malignant cells were detected in cerebrospinal fluid. She underwent laminectomy with excisional biopsy, and pathology showed medulloblastoma WHO grade IV. She was treated with chemotherapy and craniospinal irradiation and made a good recovery.


A new electronic method for electric energy measurement is described. The suggested method makes possible the construction of watthour meters without directly employing an electronic multiplier. The method is based on the utilization of a V/F converter with an inverse F/V conversion in the feedback loop. The input voltage and current signals modulate the basic frequency in such a way as to produce, in a given time interval, a number of pulses proportional to the energy present during the interval. The principal advantage of the system is the significant component reduction, enabling the construction of domestic watthour meters compatible in cost with the Ferraris type solutions.


Although it is known that circulating levels of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) fluctuate in response to changes in nutritional status, there is little information regarding either relative contributions from different dietary components or regulation by insulin in nondiabetic subjects. To define dietary contributions to IGF regulation, the authors examined the effects of fasting and hypocaloric diets of differing nutritional composition on serum IGF-1 and a IGFBP-1 in 16 healthy, obese adult women. Subjects received an isocaloric diet for 6 days, followed by 14 days of calorie restriction (fasting or a hypocaloric diet enriched in either protein, fat, or carbohydrate), and by 4 days refeeding. All diets produced 6-8% weight loss over 14 days with little difference between groups. The "protein-sparing" diet sustained nitrogen balance (+1.2 g/d, versus -4.5 g/d for the other three groups; p < 0.05). Serum IGF-1 levels decreased during calorie restriction with fasting or with diets high in fat or carbohydrates (CHO; combined mean 40 +/- 7%) but showed little change with the high protein regimen (3 +/- 16%; p < 0.05 compared to the other diets). In contrast, IGFBP-1 increased during calorie restriction in all four groups but significantly less with the high CHO diet (43 +/- 17% above baseline) than with the other diets (168 +/- 31%; p < 0.05). Levels of IGF-1 were correlated with nitrogen balance (r = 0.51; p < 0.05) but levels of IGFBP-1 were not. Although IGFBP-1 levels inversely correlated with measures of insulin secretion, IGF-1 levels did not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In this article, we introduce a new metric for driving the serving cell selection process of a swarm of cellular connected unmanned aerial vehicles (CCUAVs) located on aerial highways when served by a massive multiple input multiple output (mMIMO) terrestrial network. Selecting the optimal serving cell from several suitable candidates is not straightforward. By solely relying on the traditional cell selection metric, based on reference signal received power (RSRP), it is possible to result in a scenario in which the serving cell can not multiplex an appropriate number of CCUAVs due to the high correlation in the line of sight (LoS) channels. To overcome such issue, in this work, we introduce a new cell selection metric to capture not only signal strength, but also spatial multiplexing capabilities. The proposed metric highly depends on the relative position between the aerial highways and the antennas of the base station. The numerical analysis indicates that the integration of the proposed new metric allows to have a better signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) performance on the aerial highways, resulting in a more reliable cellular connection for CCUAVs.


This paper offers some possible definitions, purposes and motivations for a system of income support defined by the presence of a Basic Income. In particular, it discusses the motivations assigning to this income transfer programme an important role for Welfare State reform. After a survey of the main proposals in the literature, where there is room to highlight the different rationales, objectives, and qualifications of the Basic Income, some relevant connections between two alternative framework of policy and two alternative Welfare State - Basic Income regimes are presented and described. Finally, it proposes a first definition of one of them, that is, the regime described by a pure and universal Basic Income vis-a-vis to a policy strategy characterised also by the presence of fundamental uncertainty (i.e., not conform to the usual notion of risk).


The transient operation of submicrometer floating body SOI NMOSFETs is studied and measured down to a nanosecond time scale. We emphasize the role of the overall hole charge in the body of the device, for a global understanding of the transient phenomena: drain current overshoot or undershoot, memory effect, dynamic instabilities... . This charge integrates the device history, with a strongly bias dependent time constant, and influences the drain current, mainly by electrostatic action. The resulting transient current instability has to be considered to avoid anomalous circuit operation.


mRNA capping entails GMP transfer from GTP to a 5′ diphosphate RNA end to form the structure G(5′)ppp(5′)N. A similar reaction involving AMP transfer to the 5′ monophosphate end of DNA or RNA occurs during strand joining by polynucleotide ligases. In both cases, nucleotidyl transfer occurs through a covalent lysyl‐NMP intermediate. Sequence conservation among capping enzymes and ATP‐dependent ligases in the vicinity of the active site lysine (KxDG) and at five other co‐linear motifs suggests a common structural basis for covalent catalysis. Mutational studies support this view. We propose that the cellular and DNA virus capping enzymes and ATP‐dependent ligases constitute a protein superfamily evolved from a common ancestral enzyme. Within this superfamily, the cellular capping enzymes display more extensive similarity to the ligases than they do to the poxvirus capping enzymes. Recent studies suggest that eukaryotic RNA viruses have evolved alternative pathways of cap metabolism catalysed by structurally unrelated enzymes that nonetheless employ a phosphoramidate intermediate. Comparative analysis of these enzymes, particularly at the structural level, should illuminate the shared reaction mechanism while clarifying the basis for nucleotide specificity and end recognition. The capping enzymes merit close attention as potential targets for antiviral therapy.


The stability of conventional constant on-time control buck converter is constrained by the time constant, which is the product of the output capacitor and its equivalent series resistance (ESR). Specialty polymer capacitor which is mostly used as output capacitor for such a consideration although it limits the performance of converter. On the other hand, the multilayer ceramic capacitors are widely used in commercial power management ICs due to the advantages of low cost and ESR. However, the stability often confronts with the subharmonic problem caused by small time constant. A differential-zero compensator with the noise margin enhancement (DZC-NME) technique in constant on-time control buck dc-dc converter with output ceramic capacitor is proposed in this paper. Thus, the proposed DZC-NME technique not only eliminates the limit of large time constant but also tolerates the existence of equivalent series inductor (ESL) effect. Experiment results demonstrate small output ripple of 10 mV and high efficiency of 91% when ESR is smaller than 1 mΩ and large interference from ESL effect is 40 mV.


A novel quinonoid terpenoid, (-)- alpha-tocospirone, a new chromanone, (-)-gynuraone, as well as three new steroids, (22 E,24 S)-7 alpha-hydroperoxystigmasta-5,22-dien-3 beta-ol, (22 E,24 S)-stigmasta-1,4,22-trien-3-one, and (24 R)-stigmasta-1,4-dien-3-one, together with 15 known components, were isolated from the rhizome of Formosan Gynura japonica. Structures of the new compounds were determined through spectral analyses and chemical evidence. Several of the isolated compounds, caryophyllene oxide, 6-acetyl-2,2-dimethylchroman-4-one, vanillin, 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, and benzoic acid exhibited significant anti-platelet aggregation activity in vitro.


Atomistic simulations have become useful tools for exploring new insights in materials science, but the length and time scale that can be handled with atomistic simulations are seriously limiting their practical applications. In order to make meaningful quantitative predictions, atomistic simulations are necessarily combined with higher-scale modeling. The present research is thus concerned with the development of a multi-scale model and its application to the prediction of the mechanical properties of body-centered cubic(BCC) iron with an emphasis on the coupling of atomistic molecular dynamics with meso-scale discrete dislocation dynamics modeling. In order to achieve predictive multi-scale simulations, it is necessary to properly incorporate atomistic details into the meso-scale approach. This challenge is handled with the proposed hierarchical information passing strategy from atomistic to meso-scale by obtaining material properties and dislocation mobility. Finally, this fundamental and physics-based meso-scale approach is employed for quantitative predictions of the mechanical response of single crystal iron.


Twentieth Century Fox's Myra Breckinridge (Michael Sarne, 1970) is perhaps the most notorious studio-backed motion picture of its generation. This article adduces the reasons behind the film's initial failings, discusses its subsequent reevaluations by various cult fan communities, analyzes key scenes, and examines the "campy" critical rhetoric that has contributed to its shifting cultural status over the years. Despite its initial failure to connect with mainstream viewers, Myra Breckinridge has done much to destabilize taste-based assumptions of "trash" and "art" while collapsing distinctions between Old Hollywood and New Hollywood through a radical, transgressive textuality.


In the last decade, there has been rapid growth in interest in alternative binders, as part of the toolkit of cement technologies needed to mitigate the carbon footprint associated with the construction industry. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs), including geopolymer binders and other related systems, have been identified as a key component of this move to lower CO2 cements and concretes. These are clinker-free cements which can exhibit comparable performance to conventional portland/blended cements, when they are adequately formulated and cured. However, AAMs have a somewhat limited record of durability in service, and this is one of the main limitations facing their commercial adoption at present. To provide the best possible answers to the question of long-term durability within an experimentally accessible timeframe, standardized accelerated degradation testing methods have been widely adopted, in an attempt to simulate natural processes. It has been identified that the interactions between material and environment, which take place on microstructural and nanostructural levels, have a very significant influence on the outcomes of the durability tests. Here, we present an overview of the results obtained when AAMs are exposed to aggressive testing conditions such as elevated concentrations of CO2, sulfates or chlorides. The key outcome of this article is a broader synthesis of the available data regarding the interactions between these new materials and their surrounding environment, which is then available to be used in the design, development, and implementation of environmentally sustainable, high-performance cements and concretes for the 21st century.


Nuclear landmarks and biochemical factors play important roles in the organization of the yeast genome. The interaction pattern of budding yeast as measured from genome-wide 3C studies are largely recapitulated by model polymer genomes subject to landmark constraints. However, the origin of inter-chromosomal interactions, specific roles of individual landmarks, and the roles of biochemical factors in yeast genome organization remain unclear. Here we describe a multi-chromosome constrained self-avoiding chromatin model (mC-SAC) to gain understanding of the budding yeast genome organization. With significantly improved sampling of genome structures, both intra- and inter-chromosomal interaction patterns from genome-wide 3C studies are accurately captured in our model at higher resolution than previous studies. We show that nuclear confinement is a key determinant of the intra-chromosomal interactions, and centromere tethering is responsible for the inter-chromosomal interactions. In addition, important genomic elements such as fragile sites and tRNA genes are found to be clustered spatially, largely due to centromere tethering. We uncovered previously unknown interactions that were not captured by genome-wide 3C studies, which are found to be enriched with tRNA genes, RNAPIII and TFIIS binding. Moreover, we identified specific high-frequency genome-wide 3C interactions that are unaccounted for by polymer effects under landmark constraints. These interactions are enriched with important genes and likely play biological roles.


Information security and privacy in general are major concerns that impede enterprise adaptation of shared or public cloud computing. Specifically, the concern of virtual machine (VM) physical co-residency stems from the threat that hostile tenants can leverage various forms of side channels (such as cache covert channels) to exfiltrate sensitive information of victims on the same physical system. However, on virtualized ×86 systems, covert channel attacks have not yet proven to be practical, and thus the threat is widely considered a "potential risk". In this paper, we present a novel covert channel attack that is capable of high-bandwidth and reliable data transmission in the cloud. We first study the application of existing cache channel techniques in a virtualized environment, and uncover their major insufficiency and difficulties. We then overcome these obstacles by (1) redesigning a pure timing-based data transmission scheme, and (2) exploiting the memory bus as a high-bandwidth covert channel medium. We further design and implement a robust communication protocol, and demonstrate realistic covert channel attacks on various virtualized ×86 systems. Our experiments show that covert channels do pose serious threats to information security in the cloud. Finally, we discuss our insights on covert channel mitigation in virtualized environments.


Branched actin networks polymerized by the Arp2/3 complex are critical for cell migration. The WAVE complex is the major Arp2/3 activator at the leading edge of migrating cells. However, multiple distinct WAVE complexes can be assembled in a cell, due to the combinatorial complexity of paralogous subunits. When systematically analyzing the contribution of each WAVE complex subunit to the metastasis-free survival of breast cancer patients, we found that overexpression of the CYFIP2 subunit was surprisingly associated with good prognosis. Gain and loss of function experiments in transformed and untransformed mammary epithelial cells, as well as in prechordal plate cells in gastrulating zebrafish embryos, revealed that lamellipodium protrusion and cell migration were always inversely related to CYFIP2 levels. The role of CYFIP2 was systematically opposite to the role of the paralogous subunit CYFIP1 or of the NCKAP1 subunit, which determines levels of WAVE complexes. CYFIP2 showed no difference from CYFIP1 in assembling WAVE complexes or binding to active RAC1. CYFIP2-containing WAVE complexes, however, were less able to activate the Arp2/3 complex in response to RAC1 binding. CYFIP1-and CYFIP2-containing WAVE complexes thus compete for active RAC1 and produce different outcomes. Therefore, cell migration, lamellipodium protrusion and Arp2/3 activity are controlled by relative levels of CYFIP1 and CYFIP2.


The in vitro antifungal properties of chitosan and its role in protection of tomato from early blight disease were evaluated. Chitosan inhibited the radial and submerged growth of Alternaria solani at 1 mg/ml and control tomato plants from blight pathogen. Chitosan was able to induce the level of chitinase activity and new isoforms of chitinase, resulting in the reduction of early blight disease severity in tomato leaves. These results suggested the role of chitosan in activation of defence responses as well as protecting tomato plants from A. solani infection.


The non-living being with a Buddha nature is an important thought that originated with the concept of Buddha nature. There is much controversy about whether a non-living being has a Buddha nature, whose interpretation is the focus of the disputes. Through some delicate reasoning, we suggest that whether a non-living being has a Buddha nature depends much on the definition of the concept Buddha.


The discrete accretion is often realized in technological processes such as laser surfacing, gas-dynamic deposition, and vapor phase deposition. Mathematical modeling of the deformations and temperature fields arising in these processes allows one to optimize the technological processes and is a topical problem of mechanics of deformable body. In present paper an illustrative example an initial boundaryvalued problem for thermoelastic growing parallelepiped is studied. Full coupling of mechanical and thermal fields as well as relaxing of the heat flux are taken into account. A closed form solution is constructed for a body under "smoothly rigid" heatinsulated fixation conditions for the stationary faces and the growing load-free face. The temperature field on the growing face is analyzed numerically for various accretion scenarios. An analysis of the temperature behavior on the growth boundary shows that, depending on the accretion rate, the boundary can be considered as an isothermal (for high values of the accretion rate) boundary or a boundary with variable effective temperature determined in the process of solving the problem.


In planning a multi-regional clinical trial including Japan, the sample size for Japanese patients is often considered based on the probability of obtaining a consistent result between Japanese subpopulation and the overall study population, as recommended in the Japanese guideline "Basic Principles on Global Clinical Trials." We review the commonly used existing method for Japanese sample size calculation based on obtaining a consistent result for survival endpoint. Through simulations, we note that Japanese sample size based on the existing method tended to have less actual power than the nominal power for consistency, especially when there is a large treatment effect. We propose alternative methods based on the delta method and numerical integrations. Our proposed methods give similar Japanese sample sizes, and our simulation studies show that our proposed methods provide the actual power close to the nominal power for consistency.


Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the part of carbon (C) in the soil that is derived from living organisms and plays an important role in the C cycle (Paustian et al. 1997). Soil is a major reservoir of soil C, at 3.3 times the size of the atmospheric pool of 760 pentagrams (Pg) and 4.5 times the size of the biotic pool of 560 Pg (Lal 2004). Soils act as a reservoir of SOC and the level of storage within an ecosystem is mainly dependent on the soil type, climate, land use history, and current management practices. The quantity of SOC stored in a particular soil is dependent on the quantity and quality of organic matter returned to the soil matrix, the soil's ability to retain SOC (a function of textrue and cation exchange capacity), and abiotic influences of both temperature and precipitation (Grace et al. 2005). SOC is essential for amintaining fertility, water retention, and plant production in terrestrial ecosystems with diffenent land sues (Grace et al. 2006). Soild organic matter (SOM) maintains soil structure and productivity in agroecosystems (Lal 2010). Maintaining high levels of SOM is beneficial for all agriculture and crucial in improving soil quality. SOM has been widely used as an effective indicator of the functional response of soils to land use intensification.


INTRODUCTION
Practice guidelines advise caution on the use of metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This review aims to examine the evidence for the benefits and risks of metformin use in patients with T2DM and CKD.

METHODS
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and PubMed were searched; the references of selected papers were hand searched. Systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case series and case-control studies were included. The full text of selected articles was reviewed. The outcomes studied were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular complications, lactic acidosis and worsening of renal function. Recommendations were graded according to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network system.

RESULTS
A total of 139 unique articles were identified, 14 of which met the inclusion criteria and were selected for full-text review. Four cohort studies reported an association between metformin use and improved all-cause mortality in CKD stage 4 and better. Two cohort studies reported improved cardiovascular outcomes with metformin use. Four cohort studies, 1 case series and 1 case-control study reported no significant association between metformin use and an increased risk of lactic acidosis in CKD. There is a moderate level of evidence to support reduced mortality, improved cardiovascular outcomes and a low risk of lactic acidosis with metformin use in patients with T2DM and with CKD stage 4 and above.

CONCLUSION
Existing recommendations to restrict metformin use in diabetes patients with CKD need to be reviewed in light of emerging evidence supporting its overall benefits in these patients.


Abstract Thermal expansivities for the MgSiO3 phases of orthoenstatite, high clinoenstatite, ilmenite, and majorite; and for stishovite were estimated using the thermodynamic Maxwell relation (∂S/∂P)T = -(∂V/∂T)P where the entropies at high pressures were derived using a statistical method and spectroscopic data. The spectroscopically determined thermal expansivities for all minerals are in excellent agreement with previously determined volumetric data, where available. A value of 3.25(10) × 10-5K-1 for orthoenstatite at room temperature was obtained; this value is situated in the middle of the large spread of reported values and is in excellent agreement with the two latest volumetric determinations. For high clinoenstatite, α at room T is estimated as 2.56(9) × 10-5K-1. This method provides good high temperature estimates of α for the high-pressure polymorphs, where data are scanty or unavailable. Included in this report are previous data for the Mg2SiO4 phases and MgO for completeness. The following equations may be used to extrapolate a to higher temperatures at 1 atm in 10-5K-1: a(majorite) = 2.95 + 0.000521x; α(γ-Mg2SiO4) = 2.70 + 0.000648x; α(ilmenite) = 2.64+ 0.000537x; α(perovskite) = 2.51 + 0.000805x; and α(stishovite) = 2.19 + 0.000485x, where x is (T/K-750)


Over the past decade, the Arctic Ocean and Beaufort Sea ice pack has been less extensive and thinner than has been observed during the previous 35 years [e.g., Wadhams and Davis, 2000; Tucker et al., 2001; Rothrock et al., 1999; Parkinson and Cavalieri, 2002; Comiso, 2002]. During the summers of 2007 and 2008, the ice extents for both the Beaufort Sea and the Northern Hemisphere were the lowest on record. Mechanisms causing recent sea ice change in the Pacific Arctic and the Beaufort Sea are under investigation on many fronts [e.g., Drobot and Maslanik, 2003; Shimada et al., 2006]; the mechanisms include increased ocean surface warming due to Pacific Ocean water inflow to the region and variability in meteorological and surface conditions. However, in most studies addressing these events, the impact of sea ice dynamics, specifically deformation, has not been measured in detail.


The aims of the research are to show that: 1. Training program is effective to prepare kindigarten teachers professionally mastering method, material, making preparation, conducting and evaluating teaching learning process especially to develop creative drawing potential for golden age students optimally. 2. By using free expression method will very support condusive situation for drawing activity the golden age students to develop optimally. 3. By preparing a training model of free expression method that is based on children for kindigarten teachers that is conducted professionally with closed attention to training management principals accurately and measurable, so that it will guarantee the formed of kindigarten teachers professionally. Therefore, the development of it needs more ideas and opinion from kindigarten teachers/members of training for material and everything that are needed for training. The existing training model to be based for development as in line with field needed. For innovation of training management model we need Research and Development (R&D). This research is for developing, resulting product and examining the qualified product. Longitudinally, stages multi years, to applicate descriptive method. a. Need analysis, b. Evaluative, c. Experiment. Study result showed that the existing drawing training model has not handled professionally, it did not applicate management principal correctly, such as: planning, organizing, conducting, evaluating and follow up. It conducted insidentally, top down, no inisiative from training participants, no pretest and pos test and no monitoring/follow up. The research result showed that kindigarten teachers are badly needed the existing of training model of free expression method based on children that is managed professionally. It needed quality process and training result, mainly its procedure and conducting. Training media should be practical and can be used easily. Training target should be clear for creative drawing with conservation topic that is supported by qualified literatures for traning and teachers.


Reversible logic is gaining significant consideration as the potential logic design style for implementation in modern nanotechnology and quantum computing with minimal impact on physical entropy. Recent advances in reversible logic allow schemes for computer architectures using improved quantum computer algorithms. Significant contributions have been made in the literature towards the design of reversible logic gate structures and arithmetic units, however, there are not many efforts directed towards the design of reversible ALUs. In this work, a novel programmable reversible logic gate is presented and verified, and its implementation in the design of a reversible Arithmetic Logic Unit is demonstrated. Then, reversible implementations of ripple-carry, carry-select and Kogge-Stone carry look-ahead adders are analyzed and compared. Next, implementations of the Kogge-Stone adder with sparsity-4, 8 and 16 were designed, verified and compared. The enhanced sparsity-4 Kogge-Stone adder with ripple-carry adders was selected as the best design, and its implemented in the design of a 32-bit arithmetic logic unit is demonstrated.  Index Terms – Arithmetic Logic Unit; Carry Look-Ahead Adder; Carry-Select Adder; Emerging Technologies; Low Power; Nanotechnology; Reversible Logic; Ripple-Carry Adder; Quantum Computing


Squid, known with scientific name Loligo sp, is a group of cephalopods or a type of Mollusca living in the sea, with horizontal distribution area from coast to open sea and vertical distribution area from sea surface to thousands of meters under sea surface in water column. Until now, squid production still depends on the natural stock since there is no study on technology for its culture, thus it is a concern that if the production keeps increasing, the resource preservation will be threatened. Therefore, for the purpose of sustainable management, it is necessary to study the parameter of population and biomass of squid resource through an analysis on the dynamics of population, including age, growth, mortality and yield per recruit. This research was conducted for 3 months from June August 2020 aiming at analyzing the parameter of population of squid resource and the exploitation rate in Ternate Island waters using observation method, stock study and population analysis. The research result finds that the squid resource in Ternate Island waters still has stable growth parameters, including maximum length (L∞) 97.13 mm, growth coefficient (K) 0.23 per month, t0 1.26 with total, natural mortality, and catch respectively 0.74, 0.50, 0.24 and exploitation rate 0.32 in which these values show lower exploitation rate than expected utilization value of 46.0%.


This abstract relates to the following paper: RichardsS. J., CurrieI. D. and RitchieG. P.A Value-at-Risk framework for longevity trend risk.British Actuarial Journal, doi:10.1017/S1357321712000451


Introduction. The increase in tension and complexity of the naval personnel work is naturally accompanied by an increase in the risk of formation of unacceptable functional states and a critical decrease in professional reliability. Timely detection and prevention of such states is impossible without the implementation of dynamic monitoring of naval personnel working capacity in the process of professional activity. Purpose of research — substantiation of complex technology of functional state and working capacity control of naval personnel. Materials and methods. During performance of work 215 ship experts of various profile of activity were examined. The studies were carried out using an automated functional state screening control system designed on a modular basis and implemented on a number of Navy orders. The results of research. The systems of dynamic control available at the Navy are an effective tool for early detection of borderline functional States of seafarers; determination of the working capacity stage in which the specialist is currently located; development of recommendations for the implementation of corrective measures. However, in real life, these systems are practically not used, there are no guiding documents regulating their application. Implementation of such automated systems on other ship projects requires adaptation and improvement of such systems. In addition, the Navy has no technical means to monitor the functional status of personnel directly during the performance of particularly complex tasks, the struggle for survivability and other extreme situations. Conclusion. The basic concept of screening control and monitoring of the naval personnel functional state in the process of professional activity is proposed.


Table eggs from poultry farms sometimes take weeks before consumption during which period they are either in-transit to consumers or are stored until purchased. Microbial contamination during this period being the cause of spoilage, determines the shelf-life of eggs. Garlic is known to possess antimicrobial activities. Its potential at improving the shelf-life of table eggs was investigated. Three hundred and fifty-one Isa Brown pullets separated into four groups A, B, C and D of 90, 81, 90 and 90 birds, were placed on garlic-meal feed additive at 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 0%, respectively. At 53 week-old, sixty eggs/group were kept at room temperature (26-27.5 o C), from which 8 eggs/group were selected on the day of lay and weekly for 4 weeks. One ml of vortex mixed albumin and yolk pooled from 4 eggs was diluted 1:10, inoculated on Plate Count Agar-PCA, Salmonella-Shigella Agar-SSA, Eosin-Methylene Blue Agar-EMBA and Saborand Dextrose Agar-SDA by pour plate method in duplicates and incubated at 36 o C for 72 hours. Discrete colonies were sub-cultured in Nutrient agar and identified using cellular morphology and biochemical characteristics. Bacterial growths were observed in groups A, C and D (75, 0 and 0 cfu/ml in EMBA, 100, 125 and 225 cfu/ml in PCA and 0, 25 and 25 cfu/ml in SSA, respectively, at 2 weeks of storage. At 3 weeks, all groups had bacterial growth except B, while at 4 weeks, all groups had bacterial growth with B having a load of 25.5 cfu/ml on PCA only . Escherichia coli , Enterobacter cloacae , Klebsiella pneumonia , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Citrobacter amalonaticus were isolated. Garlic-meal in feed of chicken layers at 0.25% delayed bacterial egg contamination, thereby prolonging the shelf-life and reducing the possibility of food poisoning in consumers, as well as, egg wastage with associated economic loss. Keywords: Bacterial contamination, commercial chicken layers, garlic meal, table eggs, shelf-life


OBJECTIVE
To describe one case of advanced prostate cancer first presenting with binocular diplopia due to retroorbital metastasis.

METHODS
We present the case of a 54-year-old patient with the diagnosis of disseminated prostate cancer treated by complete androgen blockade.

RESULTS
After the start of hormonal treatment, the patient initially improved although survival was limited.

CONCLUSIONS
Orbital metastasis is an infrequent site for prostate cancer dissemination which implies a limited survival oscillating between 7,5-30 months. In our case survival was 10 months from diagnosis.


We present what is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of guided-wave phase-matched frequency mixing and harmonic conversion in gases. Broad-bandwidth ultrafast pulses, tunable around 270 nm, were generated from an ultrafast Ti:sapphire amplifier system using 2? + 2? - ? parametric wave mixing in a capillary waveguide. We achieved nonresonant phase matching by coupling both the fundamental and the second-harmonic light into the lowest-order mode. The output 3? pulses have an energy of >4muJ at a 1-kHz repetition rate. Simple extensions of this method can generate higher-energy 10-20-fs pulses tunable throughout the vacuum ultraviolet.


The widespread use of chemical control agents and pesticides for plant-pathogen control has caused many human health and environmental issues. Plant extracts and biocontrol agents have robust antimicrobial activity against different plant pathogens. However, their antiviral activities are still being investigated. In the present study, the methanol extract of Paronychia argentea was characterized and evaluated for its protective activity against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) infection in tomato plants under greenhouse conditions at 21 days post-inoculation. The results showed that the foliar application of P. argentea extract (10 µg/mL) enhanced tomato plant growth, resulting in significant increases in shoot and root parameters and total chlorophyll contents. Moreover, a significant reduction in TMV accumulation level in P. argentea-treated plants of 77.88% compared to non-treated plants was reported. Furthermore, induction of systemic resistance with significant elevation in production of antioxidant enzymes (PPO, CAT, and SOD) and transcriptional levels of the pathogenesis-related proteins (PR-1 and PR-7) and polyphenolic genes (CHS and HQT) were also observed. Out of 16 detected compounds, HPLC analysis revealed that the most abundant polyphenolic compounds found in P. argentea extract were gallic acid (5.36 µg/mL), kaempferol (7.39 µg/mL), quercetin (7.44 µg/mL), ellagic acid (7.89 µg/mL), myricetin (8.36 µg/mL), and ferulic acid (8.69 µg/mL). The findings suggest that the use of P. argentea extract as an effective and safe source for the production of bioactive compounds may offer a solution for a promising approach for the management of plant viral infections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the protective activity of P. argentea extract against plant viral diseases.


For studying the interactions of the cholinergic and noradrenergic systems in the central nervous system rats were given muscarine or nicotine and the peripheral receptors were blocked with atropine or pempidine. After killing the animals the level of biogenic amines was determined in various parts of the brain. Evident changes were found in the levels of biogenic amines after stimulation or blockade of muscarinic or nicotinic receptors.


Background: Proficiency in self-help and mutual aid skills is correlated with the prognosis of injured patients, and this study aims to create treatment simulation software for war injuries that reflect the physical constitution of Chinese people and study its application in first aid training on the battlefield. Methods: Based on thin-sectional, highly precise Chinese Visible Human (CVH) data with high resolution, combined with self-help and mutual medical aid measures such as digital pressure hemostasis, cricothyroid membrane puncture, pneumothorax puncture and bone marrow puncture for battlefield first aid, useing Amira and other softwares to building the simulation software for the technical training of military medical students and basic medical officers was constructed. Eighty medical service students were trained on battlefield first aid technology, and a new training mode for the treatment of war injuries was developed and optimized. Results: Simulation software of hemostasis and puncture for battlefield first aid that was suitable for the technical training of military medical students and its supporting teaching materials 3D-PDF were established. The software included modules of hemostasis of the vertex, face, head-shoulder, shoulder-arm, forearm, upper forearm, lower limb and foot and puncture of the cricothyroid membrane , pneumothorax, and bone marrow cavity. Collaborating with interactive 3D-PDF, it was successfully used for on-site first aid training of military medical students. The questionnaire results showed that the trainees had a high recognition of the human-computer interactive performance of the software with a clear interface and easy operation. The accuracy and richness of the three-dimensional model structure, knowledge of hemostasis and puncture and applied anatomy contained in this software were high, helping trainees to quickly master the knowledge points and operation techniques related to hemostasis and puncture. Conclusion: The system can effectively mobilize the learning enthusiasm of students and fully improve the learning efficiency of the basic materials and applied anatomy of battlefield first aid, as well as the teaching efficiency of teachers. The training simulation of battlefield first aid, comprising a combination of various modes, effectively complemented each other, met many training needs, and achieved satisfactory training results. Additionally, this software could be used in the emergency training of traffic accident injuries and disaster-related injuries.


In the context of the NASA CNES FIREBALL balloon borne experiment, we present the design of a semi-kinematic mount to hold the 1 meter class mirrors of this mission. To maintain these large optics in a reasonable mass and price budgets we choose thin ULE mirrors with a thickness over diameter ratio of 1/16. Such thin mirrors require a multi support mount to reduce self weight deflection. Classical multi support mount used for ground based telescope would not survive the level of shock observed in a balloon experiment either at parachute opening or landing. To firmly maintain these mirrors in several points without noticeably deforming them we investigated the design of a two stages semi-kinematic mount composed of 24 monopods. We present the detailed design of this innovative mirror mount, the finite element modeling with the deduced optical wavefront deformation. During the FIREBALL integration and flight campaign in July 2007 at CSBF, we confirmed the validity of the mechanical concept by obtaining an image quality well within the required specifications. Variants of this approach are potentially applicable to large thin mirrors on ground-based observatories.


ABSTRACT In this article, we perform Bayesian estimation of stochastic volatility models with heavy tail distributions using Metropolis adjusted Langevin (MALA) and Riemman manifold Langevin (MMALA) methods. We provide analytical expressions for the application of these methods, assess the performance of these methodologies in simulated data, and illustrate their use on two financial time series datasets.


The films composed of carbon nanowalls and diamond nanoplatelets, respectively, can be simultaneously formed on graphite substrate by controlling the hydrogen etching rate during microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. To modulate the etching rate, two kinds of substrate design were used: a bare graphite plate and a graphite groove covered with a single crystal diamond sheet. After deposition at 1200°C for 3 hours, we find that dense diamond nanoplatelets were grown on the bare graphite, whereas carbon nanowalls were formed on the grooved surface, indicating that not only reaction temperature but also etching behavior is a key factor for nanostructure formation.


Of late there is an utmost need for providing higher data rate and better Quality of Service(QoS) for ever increasing number of users in wireless communication systems. The Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one of the leading candidates for future wireless communication systems. This paper gives a brief introduction about OFDMA and discusses in depth about allocation of power resource to all the active users present in a cellular network in an optimum way using the Load Matrix approach. Load Matrix approach is used to calculate the average interference within the cells based on RoT (Rise over Thermal noise) and distribute minimum required SINR to each user thereby enhancing the Quality of Service (QoS) of the network. The approach is first experimented on a single carrier communication system and then it is extended to multi-carrier systems. This paper also deals with the performance of a communication link in terms of BER for various digital modulation techniques. From simulations it is observed that performance of QAM is better than QPSK in systems implementing OFDMA.


A focus on the past 20 years has shown an evolution in International Higher Education from the concept of teaching to the concept of learning. As universities in developing nations make the transition to become regional and international in quality it is important to the university administrators and the ministries of education to develop strategies to support this evolution from teaching to learning. This paper argues that an integral piece of this transition is the presence of a center for teaching and learning excellence.


The analysis of residue-residue contacts in protein structures can shed some light on our understanding of the folding and stability of proteins. In this paper, we study the statistical properties of long-range and short-range residueresidue contacts of 91 globular proteins using CSU software and analyze the importance of long-range contacts in globular protein structure. There are many short-range and long-range contacts in globular proteins, and it is found that the average number of long-range contacts per residue is 5.63 and the percentage of residue-residue contacts which are involved in longrange ones is 59.4%. In more detail, the distribution of long-range contacts in different residue intervals is investigated and it is found that the residues occurring in the interval range of 4-10 residues apart in the sequence contribute more long-range contacts to the stability of globular protein. The number of long-range contacts per residue, which is a measure of ability to form residue-residue contacts, is also calculated for 20 different amino acid residues. It is shown that hydrophobic residues (including Leu, Val, Ile, Met, Phc, Tyr, Cys and Trp) having a large number of long-range contacts easily form long-range contacts, while the hydrophilic amino acids (including Ala, Gly, Thr, His, Glu, Gin, Asp, Asn, Lys, Ser, Arg, and Pro) form long-range contacts with more difficulty. The relationship between the Fauchere-Pliska hydrophobicity scale (FPH) and the number of short-range and long-range contacts per residue for 20 amino acid residues is also studied. An approximately linear relationship between the Fauchere-Pliska hydrophobicity scale (FPH) and the number of long-range contacts per residue CL is found and can be expressed as CiL= a + b x FPHwhere a = 5.04 and b = 1.23. These results can help us to understand the role of residue-residue contacts in globular protein structure.


Throughout its Republican history, Turkey has attempted to formulate a "non-interventionist" foreign policy toward its neighbouring countries. Since the onset of the Arab Uprisings, however, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has abjured the traditional policy of "non-military engagement", adopting instead an assertive and security-oriented foreign policy that has paved the way for the securitization of the Syrian conflict in terms of its Kurdish component and of wider geopolitical aspects. This article aims to explore why and in what ways this abrupt shift toward securitization has occurred while discussing its broader implications on Turkish domestic politics as well. Using the Copenhagen School's securitization theory, the article will unpack and analyse the internal and external dimensions of threat construction and otherization processes underlying Ankara's securitization policy toward Syria to make the case for the obsolescence of Turkey's traditional non-interventionist policy, which, we argue, results from an ontological insecurity approach toward the Syrian conflict. The article finds that Turkey's securitization policy (i.e. interventionist approach) was chiefly driven by the fear of Kurdish autonomy and the growing Russo-Assad-Iranian alliance in Syria; and by the grand ambition of bringing the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Syria and consolidating Turkey's agential importance in Western security architecture under the aegis of the US.


Method: A sixty patients with COVID-19 were randomly selected to conduct an experimental study to investigate the benefits of prostrate position and coughing exercises upon cardiopulmonary parameters among non-intubated patients with COVID-19. Results: two-thirds of participants were ˃60 years old, 60% and 46.7% of the experimental and control group respectively were males, 36.7% of participants did not have any chronic diseases, but asthma was present in a third of them. The bilateral-peripheral and central area was the affected part of the lung in more than 40% of patients. More than 45% of the lung volume was affected in 80% of the experimental group and 50% of the control group. Finally, 96.7% of the experimental group and 90% of the control group did not take the COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found between the mean of cardiopulmonary parameters for the experimental group, while there was no statistical significance difference that was shown in the control group. Conclusion: the application of prostrate position and coughing exercises have a positive effect on improving cardiopulmonary parameters among COVID-19 patients lasting for more than four hours. Keywords: Prostrate Position, Coughing Exercises, Cardiopulmonary Parameters, COVID-19.


Cu salts have been found to promote the cycloaddition reaction of sydnones and terminal alkynes, providing significant reduction in reaction times. Specifically, the use of Cu(OTf)2 is found to provide 1,3-disubstituted pyrazoles, whereas simply switching the promoter system to Cu(OAc)2 allows the corresponding 1,4-isomers to be produced. The mechanism of the Cu-effect in each case has been investigated by experimental and theoretical studies, and they suggest that Cu(OTf)2 functions by Lewis acid activation of the sydnone, whereas Cu(OAc)2 promotes formation of reactive Cu(I) acetylides.


A wideband multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna was designed and fabricated for a wireless device at the operating frequency bands 2.1/2.3/2.6 GHz for LTE and 2.4GHz for Wi-Fi. The designed MIMO antenna has single element with quad-ports wideband for portable devices. The MIMO antenna involves a symmetrical four port microstrip feedline monopole patch antenna with single radiating component and a frame-shaped partial ground plane. The designed MIMO antenna was modeled and simulated using CST's simulation software and then the antenna prototype was fabricated and measured. The results indicated that the measurement results were found to be in a reasonably fair agreement with simulation results. Both simulation and measurement results were used to verify the MIMO antennae's performance parameters; the operating bandwidth was found to be 2–3.0 GHz with reflection coefficients lower than −10dB and isolation below −12 db. An envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) smaller than 0.2 and diversity gain of about 10 dB were achieved.


Purpose
Cosmopolitanism and xenocentrism denote distinct individual orientations toward cultural outgroups. The former considers an individual's openness to cultural diversity and ability to navigate through intercultural environments, whereas the latter describes an individual's feelings of admiration or preference for specific cultural outgroup(s), over his/her ingroup. Few studies have simultaneously examined these constructs and fewer still have considered these within a nomological framework of key predictors (i.e. basic psychological needs) and practical outcomes (e.g. influentialness and friendships across different groups). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors hypothesized a series of relationships of various antecedents and outcomes of cosmopolitanism and xenocentrism, and tested these conjectures using survey data from Canadians (n=238) and Americans (n=239).

Findings
The findings support the psychometric robustness of our tripartite operationalization of xenocentrism, and clearly distinguish this construct from cosmopolitanism. Beyond confirming earlier findings, the authors illuminate several novel relationships (e.g. between basic psychological needs, cosmopolitanism and xenocentrism), and elucidate the role played by a key personality dimension, neuroticism, in mediating the relationships between basic psychological needs and the two outgroup orientations.

Research limitations/implications
Samples of this study are drawn from North America and a cross-sectional research design is used.

Originality/value
Whereas for xenocentric consumers admiration of one or more foreign culture(s) displaces customary preferences for one's own cultural group, cosmopolitan consumers are able to embrace outside cultures without disaffection from their sociocultural ingroup. Given the obvious repercussions of these differences for targeting international consumer segments and for positioning brands across borders, our research has numerous practical applications as well as theoretical implications.


On time scales of tens of millions of years, climate is known to undergo massive changes. Previous evidence has suggested a link between natural atmospheric COvariability and these long-term climatic oscillations, but some recent studies have found discrepancies. In their Perspective,
 Crowley and Berner
 assess the evidence. They conclude that the COmodel is valid for high-latitude glaciations but that for low latitudes, altered tectonic settings and problems with interpreting climate indicators complicate the picture.


Quantum networks are considered as a promising future platform for quantum information exchange and quantum applications, which have capabilities far beyond the traditional communication networks. Remote quantum entanglement is an essential component of a quantum network. How to efficiently design a multi-routing entanglement protocol is a fundamental yet challenging problem. In this paper, we study a quantum entanglement routing problem to simultaneously maximize the number of quantum-user pairs and their expected throughput. Our approach is to formulate the problem as two sequential integer programming steps. We propose efficient entanglement routing algorithms for the two integer programming steps and analyze their time complexity and performance bounds. Results of evaluation highlight that our approach outperforms existing solutions in both served quantum-user pairs numbers and the network expected throughput.


Michigan's Felony Firearm Statute (Gun Law) imposed a two-year mandatory add-on sentence for defendants convicted of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The Law was widely advertised with proponents claiming that it would introduce greater equity in sentences, ensure certainty of punishment, and decrease violent crime in the state. We examine the processing of these Gun Law cases in Detroit Recorders Court, as well as the effects of the law on crime, and find that most of the goals of the Law's proponents are not met. Notwithstanding a rigid prosecutorial policy which prohibited plea bargaining in these gun cases, alternative mechanisms developed to mitigate the Law's effects and, in most instances, to preserve the "going rate" for various crime categories. Similarly, using an interrupted time-series model, we are unable to uncover effects of the law, or the associated publicity campaign, on violent crime.


Several plant-derived drugs are used in medical oncology (1-3). The thiophosphoric acid-alkaloid derivative from the plant Chelidonium majus L. (Ukrain) has been produced since 1978 by Nowicky. (Austrian Patent No. 354644, Vienna, 25 January 1980). It has been reported that this drug may exert therapeutic effects in cancer patients by modulating their immune systems (4, 5-8). The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the possibility that Ukrain may influence the phenotype of lymphocyte subpopulations isolated from healthy donors.


Temporal response of side-mode injection-locked semiconductor lasers is studied using a small signal analysis of multimode rate equations. The relaxation oscillation frequency and the decay rate are shown to be sensitive to the choice of the injection target mode. Modes with shorter wavelengths have higher relaxation frequencies due to their larger differential gain. Maximum enhancement of the relaxation frequency occurs within that group of target modes. The analysis, together with the previously predicted enhancement of stable locking range, suggests feasibility of applying the side-mode injection technique to increase the modulation bandwidth of semiconductor lasers and hence the transmission speed in optical communication systems, while preserving the usual benefits of injection locking.


: In this paper the theoretical basis and the algorithm of new method of electronic integrated circuit analysis and optimization in the frequency domain based on the multiparameter, large-change sensitivity conception and symbolic description of chosen two-ports have been presented. The method consists in determination increments in value of network functions caused by admittance changes of reactance elements as well as chosen two-ports, resulting from the frequency changes. The admittance two - ports, embedded in the main integrated circuit, have been divided into two groups: one - element two - ports and multi - element two - ports. For faster computer processing, the last ones have been described, symbolically. The main idea of the method proposed relies on it, that in first step the value of the network function is calculated at the first frequency, and then for every consecutive frequencies its increment, caused by admittance vector change of electronic circuit, is determined, only. It was shown, that its effectiveness is greater than traditional methods, especially in the case of circuits, in which the number of nodes of a network exceeds the number of the reactive elements as well as is growing together with the growing of number of frequency points. It was shown that numerical efficiency of this method can be speed up significantly by using special acceleration algorithm. Thanks to the symbolic description of some two-ports the effectiveness of this method has been increased considerably. Basing on this method the optimization task has been formulated and the example of optimization of integrated acoustic corrector with passive subcircuits described symbolically has been also included.


We seek to automate the design of molecules based on specific chemical properties. Our primary contributions are a simpler method for generating SMILES strings guaranteed to be chemically valid, using a combination of a new context-free grammar for SMILES and additional masking logic; and casting the molecular property optimization as a reinforcement learning problem, specifically best-of-batch policy gradient applied to a Transformer model architecture. This approach uses substantially fewer model steps per atom than earlier approaches, thus enabling generation of larger molecules, and beats previous state-of-the art baselines by a significant margin. Applying reinforcement learning to a combination of a custom context-free grammar with additional masking to enforce non-local constraints is applicable to any optimization of a graph structure under a mixture of local and nonlocal constraints.


With limited intracultural ethical research in evidence this paper contributes to the theoretical discussion of expatriate ethical acculturation. Of particular interest to this study are the ethical attitudes of subcultural groups, particularly managers, who because of overseas assignment or immigration, are operating outside their usual national location. Research was undertaken to investigate whether ethical divergence or convergence, through acculturation, exists with ex patriate managers, and over what time period. Two locations, Hong Kong and Canada, were chosen for comparative study and the results indicated an interesting dichotomy. Ethical convergence, the adopting of host country ethical values, is evident with Hong Kong Chinese expatriate managers in Canada but did not occur with North American expatriates in Hong Kong. For the expatriate Chinese manager the research findings indicate that Hong Kong Chinese managers now residing in Canada develop a unique set of ethical attitudes that are significantly different from those of local managers in Hong Kong yet also significantly different from the attitudes held by local Canadian managers. A subtle form of ethical convergence is occurring. No significant relationship was found between ethical acculturation and the length of time being an expatriate Hong Kong Chinese manager in Canada except on two issues. For these issues the longer the time spent in Canada the greater the rise in ethical attitudes. A heterogeneous group of expatriate managers in Hong Kong was also evaluated and while predicate similarities existed between expatriates from China and Macau, statistically significant differences in ethical perceptions were found between the general population of expatriate managers (i.e. American, Australasian, British etc.,) and local Hong Kong Chinese managers.


Previous animal studies have suggested that mild reductions in renal function, even before the development of clinically recognized chronic kidney disease (CKD), are associated with hypertension. However, few studies have examined this hypothesis in humans. We therefore examined the association between serum cystatin C levels and hypertension among subjects without clinically recognized CKD in a large multiethnic sample of US adults. We examined the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002 participants >20 years of age (n ¼ 2583, 54.5% women) without clinically recognized CKD (defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate 0.97 mg/L). Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP)-reducing medication use or having systolic BP � 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP � 90 mm Hg. Higher serum cystatin C levels were found to be associated with hypertension in women, but not men. After adjusting for age, race-ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol intake, body mass index, diabetes, total cholesterol and C-reactive protein, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of hypertension comparing quartile 4 of cystatin C to quartile 1 (referent) was 2.04 (1.13–3.69); P trend ¼ .02 in women and 0.86 (0.53–1.41); P trend ¼ .51 in men. In a representative sample of US adults, mild reductions in kidney function as measured by higher serum cystatin C levels among subjects without clinically recognized CKD are associated with hypertension in women, but not men. J Am Soc Hypertens


A series of shape memory polyurethanes were synthesized from poly(tetramethylene glycol), 4,4-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, and 1,3-butanediol. The prepolymers with different molecular weights (Mc) were capped with 2-hydroxyl ethylacrylate or 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and crosslinked by UV curing or a sol–gel reaction. Variations of the crosslinker functionality (f), subchain density (N), and hard segment content (HSC) produced systematic variations of the glass transition temperature (6–45 °C), accompanied by changes in the mechanical, dynamic mechanical and shape memory properties. More than 95% of shape fixity and 98% of shape recovery up to the fourth cycles were obtained with APTES crosslinked 3000Mc with 30% of HSC. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1473–1479


Circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) is mainly derived from lymphocytes. The serum BDNF level in SLE is decreased, and BDNF may be involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). Our aim is to determine whether BDNF affects the differentiation of CD4+T cells into regulatory T(Treg) or T helper 17(Th17). 30 patients were selected. TGF-β and IL-6 were added to induce differentiation of Treg and Th17. After co-cultured with BDNF, the percentages of CD4+CD25+CD127low and CD4+IL-17A+ were detected by Flow cytometry, and the expression of Foxp3mRNA and RORγtmRNA were detected by Rt-PCR. Under the condition of Th17 and Treg polarization, after co-cultured with BDNF and TrkB IgG, the phosphorylation of Akt, mTORC1 and ERK1/2 were detected by western-blot, the percentages of CD4+CD25+CD127low and CD4+IL-17A+ were detected by Flow cytometry. Under the condition of Th17 polarization, with the increase of BDNF concentration(60ng/ml, 120ng/ml, 350ng/ml), the percentages of CD4+IL-17A+ and the expression of RORγtmRNA were decreased(p<0.01; p<0.001). Under the condition of Treg polarization, the percentages of CD4+CD25+CD127low and the expression of Foxp3mRNA were increased(p<0.001). Regardless of Th17 or Treg polarization, the phosphorylation of Akt, mTORC1 and ERK1/2 in the BDNF group were reduced(p<0.001), and the phosphorylation of Akt, mTORC1 in the TrkBIgG group were enhanced(p<0.001). BDNF down-regulates the differentiation of Th17 and promotes the differentiation of Treg in SLE through inhibiting the activation of PI3K-Akt-mTORC1 axis and ERK1/2 pathway. BDNF could play a certain role in maintaining the balance of Treg/Th17 ratio in SLE.


Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed on high velocity plane shock compression of sodium chloride MgO along [100] lattice direction using a long-range coulombic potential. It was found that the shock compressions of MgO revealed three distinct regions depending on piston velocities, i.e., single elastic shock wave, two-wave structure consisting of an elastic wave followed by a plastic deformation wave, and single plastic deformation shock wave. The critical pressure of 120 GPa was obtained for the transition from elastic to plastic deformation under the high strain rate of 1010 s−1. For getting a better understanding the experimental results, we also investigated the effects of Schottky defects in MgO single crystal on the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL), the velocity of shock wave and the critical piston velocity (CPV) resulting in plastic deformation. Our results demonstrated that the HEL decreases from 120 GPa to 100 GPa, and the CPV decreases a little from 2.8 km s−1 to 2.2 km s−1. Significantly, a double yielding phenomenon occurs for shock wave propagating in MgO sample with Schottky defects, i.e., homogeneous nucleation of dislocations accompanied by vacancy emission of dislocations, which has never been reported before. This work helps to clarify the contradictory results of HEL of MgO in the literature and to understand the plastic deformation mechanism of MgO.


Article history: The depleting fossil fuel reserves and increasing environmental concerns have continued to stimulate research into biodiesel as a green fuel alternative produced from renewable resources. In this study, Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) oil methyl ester was produced by using microwave-assisted technique. The optimum operating conditions for the microwave-assisted transesterification of Kapok seed oil including temperature, catalyst loading, methanol to oil molar ratio, and irradiation time were investigated by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Central Composite Design (CCD). A maximum conversion of 98.9 % was obtained under optimum conditions of 57.09 °C reaction temperature, 2.15 wt% catalyst (KOH) loading, oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:9.85, and reaction time of 3.29 min. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy was performed to verify the conversion of the fatty acid into methyl esters. The properties of Kapok oil methyl ester produced under the optimum conditions were characterized and found in agreement with the international ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214 standards.


Population signals from neuronal ensembles in cortex during behavior are commonly measured with EEG, local field potential (LFP), and voltage-sensitive dyes. A genetically encoded voltage indicator would be useful for detection of such signals in specific cell types. Here we describe how this goal can be achieved with Butterfly, a voltage-sensitive fluorescent protein (VSFP) with a subthreshold detection range and enhancements designed for voltage imaging from single neurons to brain in vivo. VSFP-Butterfly showed reliable membrane targeting, maximum response gain around standard neuronal resting membrane potential, fast kinetics for single-cell synaptic responses, and a high signal-to-noise ratio. Butterfly reports excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in cortical neurons, whisker-evoked responses in barrel cortex, 25-Hz gamma oscillations in hippocampal slices, and 2- to 12-Hz slow waves during brain state modulation in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that cell class-specific voltage imaging is practical with VSFP-Butterfly, and expand the genetic toolbox for the detection of neuronal population dynamics.


Currently, Indonesia's health development began to emphasize on improving the quality of health care, where service quality should be oriented to customer satisfaction. Departement of Pharmacy at X Hospital Jakarta is one of the medical support required to deliver a quality service that oriented to patient satisfaction. This research was descriptive study using primary data that obtained from the questionnaire that distributed to 400 patients at outpatient pharmacy, which was the patient who secured by insurance (A and B) and cash (F). The category of patients at outpatient pharmacy are patient that secured by corporate, corporate pensioner in Jabodetabek, patient that secured by other insurance and cash patient. The sampling technique used is nonprobability sampling, which was the quota sampling. The level of satisfaction of patients seen by SERVQUAL method and the dimension of service quality was mapped in a Cartesian Diagram.In general, patients were not satisfied with the performance of Outpatient Pharmacy at X Hospital Jakarta. The results showed that the gap between patients' expected service and perceived service of outpatient pharmacy at X Hospitals was negative. The sequence of the biggest negative gap felt in responsiveness (-0.7100), empathy (-0.6550), reliability (-0.5800), assurance (-0.4975) and tangible (-0.4200). The sequence of the greatest dissatisfaction felt by corporate pensioner in Jabodetabek (30.59%), cash patients (29.08%), patient that secured by other insurance (22.22%) and patient that secured by corporate (18.11%). The sequence of the biggest dissatisfaction perceived by the patient for services in outpatient pharmacy F (37.49%), outpatient pharmacy A (32.47%) and outpatient pharmacy B (30.04%). Based on the mapping of Cartesian Diagram, Outpatient Pharmacy at X Hospital Jakarta should pay more attention to the dimensions of responsiveness, especially regarding speed of service and providing more crew at peak hours. Keywords : Quality of Service, Satisfaction, SERVQUAL, Cartesian Diagram


Restorative justice is an alternative to the formal criminal justice system which focuses on repairing the harm caused to the victim of the offence, effecting reconciliation between victim and offender, and the re-integration of the offender. Its use is widespread in national youth justice systems. This article will analyse the use of restorative justice in connection with offending by children. It will be argued that despite evidence of endorsement by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the fundamental concepts of restorative justice are at odds with a children's rights model of youth justice as required by international standards. Not only do similar concerns about due process rights exist for children as for the adult system, it is difficult to reconcile the best interests of the child standard with the victim focused approach of restorative justice, and there are doubts as to whether children have sufficient maturity for remorse and reintegration.


The detailed composition description of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) pyrolysis products still remains a challenge due to the complexity of the obtained mixture. In this context, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analyses by negative ion electrospray ionization (−) ESI and positive ion laser desorption ionization (+) LDI were performed for characterizing waxy products and solid residues, respectively. (−) ESI FT-ICR MS revealed that the DBE of waxy compounds ranges from 5 to 20 and the carbon number from 7 to 30. Terephthalic acid was the dominant peak in the low m/z range, and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-ethanediyl ester was evidence at higher m/z value. Based on the oxygen atom number, the waxy products displayed seven class compounds. The most significant contributions were observed for O₄ and O₈ species. van Krevelen plots revealed that the most abundant aromatic species followed a monotonous behavior (alignment according to a straight line), highlighting the presence of homologous series. The analysis of the solid residue by (+) LDI FT-ICR MS showed that three classes of compounds were observed: oxygenated compounds, carbonaceous materials, and hydrocarbons. As the temperature increased, the solid residue tended to be associated to a homogeneous structure consisting of fullerene clusters Cₙ (with n ranging from 30 to 96 at 410 °C and from 50 to 106 at 480 °C). C₆₀ was systematically the most abundant fullerene.


A reference time, instead of a reference voltage, is generated used to compare stored "0" and "1" in a race of bitlines towards reaching a threshold voltage in a 1T1C FeRAM. The reference time is adaptive, tracking process variations, aging, and fatigue of ferroelectric capacitors. This scheme is implemented in a 256/spl times/128-bit testchip in a 0.35 /spl mu/m ferroelectric process and achieves a 40 ns access time at 3 V.


Background
Orbital cavernous hemangiomas (OCH) is a common benign orbital tumor in adult, and accurate localization and diagnosis before operation supports the significant premise for surgical safety and success of tumor extraction.

Objective
This study was to research the clinical characteristics, preoperative diagnosis, the selection for different surgical approaches, therapeutic effectiveness and complication prevention of OCH.

Methods
The clinical data of 117 eyes of 117 patients with OCH who received surgery were retrospectively analyzed. The patients received surgery in Henan Eye Institute, Henan Eye Hospital from January 2011 to December 2014 and followed-up for 3 months to 5 years. The visual acuity, exophthalmos, ocular movement, orbital A/B ultrasound, color Doppler image, CT and MRI were examined before and after surgery.

Results
The primary clinical manifestations of OCH were gradual exophthalmos and impaired vision. The accordance rate of preoperative diagnosis and pathological diagnosis was 100% in the group of patients. The surgical approachs included conjunctival approach in 52. 14% (61/117), lateral orbitectomy in 30. 77% (36/117), anterior approach in 16. 24% (19/117) and lateral combined with medial approach in 0. 85% (1/117). At the end of followed-up, visual acuity was significantly improved in 30. 77% (36/117), declined in 8. 55% (10/117) and unchanged in 60. 68% (71/117). Temporary complications after surgery were pupil dilatation in 14. 53% (17/117), emorrhoea in 1. 71% (2/117), ocular motility disorders in 16. 24% (19/117) and ptosis in 4. 27% (5/117). The permanent complications after operation were pupil dilatation in 2. 56% (3/117), visual loss in 0. 85% (1/117) and permanent abduction imitation in 0. 85% (1/117).

Conclusions
Accurate qualitative and site-specific diagnosis and correct choice of surgeries for OCH depend on clinical and iconographical examinations. Suitable surgical approach and operative skill are helpful to the therapeutic outcome and safety of OCH.

Key words:
Hemangioma, cavernous/diagnosis; Hemangioma, cavernous/surgery; Orbital neoplasms; Ophthalmologic surgical procedures; Intraoperative complications/prevention & control; Medical imageology; Retrospective studies; Humans


The aim of this thesis was to understand the enormous processes of building and rebuilding of housing in Turkey with strong state involvement, targeting squatter housing neighbourhoods, whilst also considering the effects of redevelopment processes on the residents of squatter settlements Ankara, Turkey. In order to understand the overall social, economic, and spatial change of the Turkish cities, three theoretical perspectives were used: urban, state, and built environment and housing theories. Most of the existing literature on squatter settlements' redevelopment examined the eviction of the inner city squatting settlement areas through gentrification theories. However, in the case of Ankara, thousands of hectares of squatter settlement neighbourhoods have been redeveloped since 1980s and gentrification theories account for only a small part of the phenomenon. Massive redevelopments have not always led to displacement and the current redevelopment projects cover 30 percent of the population and 40 percent of the existing city. Therefore, this thesis sought to fill a gap in the literature explaining squatter settlement redevelopment in Turkey. In addition, in many developing countries there have been similar levels of intervention to the urban space by different level of state agencies, and the current findings may also aid to understand redevelopments in developing countries
A qualitative methodology was used, undertaking an extensive review of the academic literature, policy and official documents regarding three case studies selected. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 63 different actors involved in the redevelopment projects and 2 focus groups with gecekondu residents in each case study area.
The findings of this research suggest that role of the governments in the neoliberal period since the 1980s has been conceptualized as purely disciplinary in terms of class relationships. However, in fact most governments implemented cooperative policies as well. The two key concepts in order to theorise the intervention to the urban space in the period of post 2000 are rescaling the state
ii
and financialisaiton of the built environment and housing. After 2000, the integration of housing credits and upward scaling of state intervention led to a dramatic increase in housing production. The findings of the Altindag and Mamak case studies showed that from the gecekoundu owners' perspective, the overall housing material quality increased. However, the redevelopments also created various difficulties for the owners and substantially changed their social and cultural lives. Moreover, gecekondu tenants have gained little from the redevelopments.
Overall, these findings demonstrate that the role of the central state and city-wide municipalities in relation to the built environment has increased enormously since the 1980s in contrast with the downward scaling of the state as found in many European countries. This shows the importance of understanding state scaling in relation to the economy, society, urbanisation and politics of particular countries.


ABSTRACT: This paper outlines the methodology for mainstreaming biodiversity developed by the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project (BFN), a multi-country initiative led by Brazil , Kenya , Sri Lanka and Turkey . BFN explored the nutritional properties of traditional and/or neglected native edible species, both wild and cultivated (including varieties and landraces), and used this knowledge to incorporate local agricultural biodiversity into national and global policy instruments that address food and nutrition security through the promotion of healthy, diversified and sustainable diets. Across the four countries, the project adopted a three-pillar approach for mainstreaming biodiversity for food and nutrition into policies and practices by: 1) Providing Evidence, 2) Influencing Policy, and 3) Raising Awareness. Case study examples from Brazil , Kenya , Turkey , and Sri Lanka demonstrate how the approach can be adapted to suit specific country contexts and how a multi-level, cross-sectoral partnership-based approach can create an enabling environment for mainstreaming biodiversity to improve nutrition.


This report is part of the ongoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) trial, 167 patients were enlisted, but current analysis was restricted to 107 patients that were about a year old on the programme. The baseline weight, CD4 + cell count and serum albumin of 59 males and 48 females age 15-60 years, were compared with values at 12 months of administration of HAART. Patients mean weight, CD4 + count and serum albumin increased significantly (p-value + count was less than 116.8/uL (RR= 3.36, 95%CI=1.86– 6.06, P-value = 0.000048). TB/HIV co-infection raised the chance of death twice (RR= 2.33, 95%CI=1.31-4.15, P- value=0.005). In conclusion, the use of triple-drug combination of HAART has led to improved CD4 + cell count and resolution of clinical symptoms in HIV/AIDS patients. These resulted in increased survival. Key Words: HAART, AIDS, CD4 + cells count and survival. Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. Vol.6(1) 2005:34-39


In recent years, new physiological functions of vitamin A have been identified in addition to its role in vision, namely its role in immune defence reducing morbidity of measles, of respiratory and possibly HIV infections, in gene regulation, in cell differentiation and morphogenesis. With the discovery of nuclear receptors for retinoic acid additional functions are likely to be found. The recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for vitamin A, including provitamin A carotenoids, vary greatly between countries. This may be explained by difficulties in establishing needs: Homeostatic mechanisms tightly control absorption, storage, release and transport of vitamin A to target tissue, and plasma concentrations do not reflect status unless there is vitamin A deficiency or excess. In the United States RDAs were established on the basis of vitamin A depletion-repletion studies with radio-labelled retinol. Intake requirements were calculated to amount to 1,000 micrograms retinol equivalents (RE) for men, 800 micrograms RE for non-pregnant as well as pregnant women and 1,300 micrograms RE for lactating women. Dietary intake studies in different countries have shown that it is in principle possible to obtain these values from the diet either as preformed vitamin A or in the form of provitamin A carotenoids or both. Risk groups for inadequate intakes include low-income groups and younger persons following weight-reducing and other unbalanced diets. Since experience with recommended intake values in the United States has been excellent, attempts at reducing these levels are unjustified and should be resisted. At intakes of up to three RDA values (approximately 3,000 micrograms RE) no unwanted side-effects are to be expected. Even higher doses, if not taken chronically, have been well tolerated, e.g. in deprived populations with low liver reserves. The suggestion derived from a case-control study that vitamin A taken at supplemental doses of 2,400 micrograms RE may be teratogenic have not been confirmed by several other studies. But it is judicious to follow the recommendations of the American Pediatric Society that women should not exceed a total daily intake of 3,000 micrograms RE. In developing countries where acute and chronic vitamin A deficiency is endemic causing xerophthalmia and blindness and increasing the prevalence of infectious diseases and death in children, special efforts are being made by WHO/UNICEF to provide programs for the eradication of vitamin A deficiency by immediate treatment and by long-term changes in dietary practices.


The passing of Sir Hubert Wilkins on November 30 means the loss of one of the most colourful figures of polar aviation and exploration. Sir Hubert was born in South Australia on October 31, 1888. He received his education as a mining engineer in Adelaide, and in his younger years worked as electrical engineer, meteorologist, and movie photographer. It was this last vocation that started him on his career of adventure and exploration. In 1912-13 he followed the Turkish Army as a movie photographer in the Balkan War. He was second in command of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18. He then joined the Royal Australian Flying Corps, learned to fly in 1917, and saw war service as a photographer and in the intelligence services. He was mentioned twice in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross with Bar. After the war he served as navigator on one of the England-Australia flights in 1919, was second in command of the British Imperial Antarctic Expedition 1919-20, naturalist with the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition 1921-22, leader of the Australian Islands Expedition 1922-25 and leader of the Detroit Arctic Expeditions 1925-28. During these expeditions some very important pioneering flights were made in the Arctic, the most outstanding of which was the flight from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Green Harbour, Spitzbergen, April 15 to 21, 1928, which Wilkins and his pilot, Carl Ben Eielson, undertook in a single-engined Lockheed Vega. On this flight they crossed large areas of the Arctic Ocean in which other explorers had claimed to have seen land, but where Wilkins and Eielson found none. For this flight he was knighted on June 14, 1928. Sir Hubert then became leader of the Wilkins-Hearst Antarctic Expedition 1928-30 during which he discovered more than 500 miles of new coastline in the Graham Land sector. In 1931 he was leader of the Ellsworth Nautilus Submarine Expedition to the Arctic, and from 1932 to 1939 manager of the Ellsworth Antarctic Expeditions. The highlight of these was the trans-Antarctic flight from the Weddell Sea to Little America by Lincoln Ellsworth and Herbert Hollick-Kenyon in November 1935. Sir Hubert headed the search expedition for the lost Soviet flyer Levanevsky in 1937-38 and during the search covered about 170,000 sq. miles of the Arctic Ocean never previously seen. From 1942 he served as consultant to the U.S. Armed Forces on arctic problems. During his many flights and travels in the Polar regions Sir Hubert acquired a great store of knowledge of these environments, that provided invaluable help for later expeditions. He was the recipient of numerous honours from all over the world and was recognized by the American Geographical Society and the Royal Geographical Society. He was the author of many books, and active as scientist and lecturer. Sir Hubert was a man of the type that you always looked forward to meeting again. His memory will be cherished by those of us who had the privilege of being with him on polar expeditions and we shall always remember him as the finest companion one could wish for. He had courage and daring but was always even-tempered, kind and modest.


This article describes the use of a near-field electromagnetic pulse EMP injection technique in order to perform a hardware cryptanalysis of the AES algorithm. This characterization technique is based on the fact that conductors, such as the rails of a Power Distribution Network PDN which is one of the primary EMI risk factors, act as antennas for the radiated EMP energy. This energy induces high electrical currents in the PDN responsible for the violation of the integrated circuit's timing constraints. This modification of the chip's behavior is then exploited in order to recover the AES key by using cryptanalysis techniques based on Differential Fault Analysis (DFA).


We study the link between crime and extreme traffic congestion to estimate the psychological costs of traffic. Our empirical analysis combines police incident reports with observations of local traffic data in Los Angeles from 2011 to 2015. This rich dataset allows us to link traffic with criminal activity at a fine spatial and temporal dimension. Our identification relies on deviations from normal traffic to isolate the impact of abnormally high traffic on crime. We find that extreme traffic increases the incidence of domestic violence, a crime shown to be affected by emotional cues, but not other crimes. The result is robust to a variety of specifications and falsification tests. The results represent a lower bound of the psychological costs of traffic congestion, since most drivers stuck in traffic do not commit domestic violence but still bear some emotional costs.


Objective To describe the chest computed tomography (CT) findings in immunocompetent children under 36 months of age with pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and Methods This was a descriptive case series conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between January 2004 and July 2013, involving 20 young children who underwent CT after undergoing chest X-rays that did not provide a definitive diagnosis. Results All of the participants had lymph node enlargement and consolidations. In 15 cases (75%), the consolidations were accompanied by atelectasis. Pulmonary cavitation was seen in 10 cases (50%), and cavitation within consolidations was seen in 7 (35%). The areas of cavitation and parenchymal destruction were not seen on conventional chest X-rays. Conclusion The radiological presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis in young children differs from that described in older children and adults. CT is an effective method for the early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in immunocompetent infants, allowing the rapid institution of specific treatment, which is crucial for halting disease progression, as well as for preventing local and systemic complications.


This paper presents a noncoherent subspace detection approach based on oblique projections for DS-CDMA systems, which performs complete rejection of interfering signals. The synchronous and asynchronous subspace detectors are introduced and examined. The transmission delays in asynchronous CDMA channels are not known to the receiver in practice. The effect of code acquisition errors on the performance of the noncoherent subspace detector is investigated. A robust noncoherent subspace detector in the presence of acquisition errors is presented, which shows reliable performance even under worse condition than the code acquisition algorithms may support.


Matching phenology with favourable abiotic and biotic conditions is a prerequisite for good varietal adaptation. That is particularly important in a context of climate change because the temperature increase is likely to modify the precocity of the varieties. The forecast of the phenology of photosensitive cereals is complex because flowering depends on both temperature and day length. The effects of photoperiod and temperature can be studied by trials in phytotron, but, high cost prohibits the use of this technique where large numbers of varieties are handled. The day length varies with latitude. Multilocation field trials can be employed for creating a range of environments, but in this type of trials, the great variability of the environments (mainly photoperiod x temperature interaction) often masks the photoperiodic effect. The maturity of the photoperiodic varieties is especially very variable according to the sowing date. Trials comprising of several sowing dates facilitate the study of the effect of small variations of photoperiod on phenology. The objectives of this work are to compare these two last approaches by precisely measuring the effect of the latitude on the development of selected varieties of sorghum sown at staggered planting dates and to verify the precision of our models to predict sorghum maturity. A field experiment in Mali was conducted at the experimental sites of Cinzana (13°15' N), Sotuba (12°39' N) and Farako (11°13' N) in 2009 and 2010. Six sorghum cultivars representing the diversity cultivated sorghum in Mali were sown on three dates (10th June, July and August). The study is related to the phenology and the phyllochrone on the main stem. The effect of latitude on the phenology was underestimated by the existing models. Although the day length difference between Cinzana and Farako is less than 8 minutes, for some varieties we observed a variation in the duration of the crop cycle of up to two weeks. Thus comparable small latitudinal differences highly affected on photosensitivity. However, some varieties respond non-photosensitive in Farako and photoperiodic in Cinzana. To determine the optimal areas for the varieties in West Africa and to forecast the effects of climate change, it is necessary to develop a new model that is able to predict the effects of both, sowing date and latitude. Further research is needed to understand physiological response mechanisms of the pronounced latitude effects on phenology of sorghum.