A method for college planning using alternative futures scenarios is explained, and a case atudy is used to illustrate its use in institutional research. The alternative futures approach addresses the uncertainty associated with strategic decision making. It differs from the traditional long-range planning models used on a single set of environmental assumptions about the future by recognizing that the future is subject to modification by a wide range of possible events with some probability of occurrence. In the model, the issues or concerns that may require attention are identified through environmental scanning, and defined in terms of trends or events. Univariate forecasts of trends and events are generated and interrelated through cross-impact analysis. The most likely future is written in scenario format, and alternative scenarios are generated by computer from the cross-impact matrix. In turn, these scenarios stimulate development of appropriate policies, which are analyzed for their robustness across scenarios. The purpose of the exercise is to produce a final list of policies that effectively address the issues and concerns initially identified. These policies are then implemented in action plan.... The case study concerns planning for an affirmative action program. Contains 190


Purpose: To describe a concept of a compact electron accelerator for external radiation therapy with variable energy in the range of 6 - 20 MeV, based on linotron principle. Methods: Beam dynamics simulation using the CST and MAD-X code. Various optimization methods of multi-parameter problem. Results: Our accelerator differs from the Reflexotron in a number of essential details: a much more compact and more efficient C-band accelerating structure, optimized for the high capture efficiency, narrow energy and phase spectra, and low transverse emittance; magnetic mirror with fixed field based on rare-earth permanent magnets; three-electrode electron gun with off-axis placement of the cathode with a current regulated in the range of two orders of magnitude. These improvements allow the possibility to: adjust the accelerated beam current in a wide range in accordance with the required energy; reduce parasitic losses of the beam current and the associated parasitic radiation; eliminate the risk of setting an erroneous energy value; significantly reduce the dimensions of the accelerator and simplify its operation. Conclusions: We presented the results of calculation of the electron accelerator for external radiation therapy in the energy range of 6 - 20 MeV. The accelerator is based on the principle of double beam acceleration in the same accelerating structure, which allows to control the beam energy in a wide range, reduce RF power consumption and the dimensions of the accelerator, and, therefore, reduce its cost. The results can be used to develop the design of the accelerator on the platform of the KLT-6 complex created by ROSATOM.


In order to elucidate the relationship between cyclic AMP and the Ca2+-calmodulin system in the steroidogenic response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), the effects of calmodulin inhibitors (trifluoperazine and W-7) on cortisol production and cellular cholesterol ester hydrolysis induced by ACTH or dibutyryl cyclic AMP in bovine adrenocortical cells were examined in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. These calmodulin inhibitors inhibited not only the cortisol production and the cholesterol ester hydrolysis induced by ACTH in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, but also inhibited the dibutyryl cyclic AMP-induced cortisol production and the cholesterol ester hydrolysis in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. These results suggested the possibility that cyclic AMP action was mediated by the Ca2+-calmodulin system in the activation process of cellular cholesterol ester hydrolysis in the steroidogenic response to ACTH.


The public's declining trust in health advice from traditional outlets has long been noted by scholars. But what makes alternative sources for health information appear more trustworthy to some audiences? In this analysis, the author traces the use of expertise and experience as forms of multivocality in the textual artifacts of Gwyneth Paltrow and her enterprise, Goop—specifically those that promote clean eating and detox diets. The analysis illustrates how Goop creates a superficially neutral platform for different voices that make the texts seem polyphonic and by extension more trustworthy given that readers can choose which health plan is right for them. But upon further analysis the author illustrates that Goop blends each voice so that they "move in step" as a choir, combining with Paltrow's own voice, and ultimately creating an illusion of polyphony and masking a dominant homophonic message that ties together mandates to "ask questions," empower ourselves, and embrace the assumption that young, slender bodies are signifiers of health and wellness.


Information about production and consumption impacts on the workers, the consumers, the local communities, the society and other shareholders represents the most mentioned environmental and social impacts of production processes. Many companies in metallurgy solve environmental tasks of company's production processes, introduces Environmental management systems (EMS) to improve material, energy and economic flows, but social tasks and impacts are often underestimated. Consumers are more and more asking themselves questions about not only environmental but also the social circumstances under which a product is made and companies should improve their processes to ensure the products are produced in a sustainable way. End-consumers as well as the consumers who are part of each step of the supply chain represent important group of stakeholders and social impacts related with consumers must be adequately considered. Social impacts like: Health & Safety, Feedback Mechanism, Consumer Privacy, Transparency or End of life responsibility must be identified and evaluated. The contribution deals with identification and evaluation of relevant social impacts of metallurgical products or metallurgical materials production on consumers. The main objective is to determine possible industry specific social impacts and discuss whether suitable indicators for their measurements can be found. Application of indicators offered by Social Life Cycle Assessment method will be closely tested and discussed.


In order to elucidate a possible self-regulation for hCG synthesis in placenta, effects of estradiol on hCG production and secretion were evaluated by culturing early placental tissue in the presence or absence of estradiol. The cellular level of mRNAs encoding hCG (alpha, beta) and hPL were estimated by mean grain count per syncytial nucleus on the placental sections hybridized in situ with labeled cDNA probes corresponding to these mRNAs. Immunoreactive hCG, hCG alpha and hPL in the media and explanted tissues were measured by the homologous RIAs. Addition of estradiol at concentration of 1 approximately 10 ng/ml into the medium caused an increase in the cellular levels of hCG alpha mRNA after 24-hour cultured, and exhibited significant increases in immunoreactive hCG alpha levels in the media and explanted tissues after 72-hour culture. The addition of estradiol neither affected the cellular levels of mRNA encoding hCG beta and hPL nor immunoreactive hCG and hPL levels in the media and tissues. The appropriated concentration of estradiol (1 approximately 10 ng/ml) used in above experiments was found to be similar to the tissue concentration in normal placenta. These findings suggest that the physiological concentration of estradiol selectively stimulates hCG alpha synthesis and secretion by normal placenta. Thus, estradiol in placenta may be a factor responsible for the increase of hCG alpha in maternal serum and placental tissue with the progress of gestation.


Summary

Squid pen β-chitosans prepared under various deacetylation conditions (30%, 35%, 40% and/or 45% NaOH for 15, 30 and/or 60 min) were characterised. β-Chitosans (deacetylated with 35–45% NaOH for 15–60 min) had 87.1–96.2% degree of deacetylation (DD), 93.5–96.7% solubility and 120.5–654.9 mPa s viscosity. Treatment with 30% NaOH for 15–60 min yielded inadequately deacetylated β-chitosans (DD = 51.9–80.2%). Two chitosans prepared under 35% NaOH for 15 min and 45% NaOH for 30 min (designated as 35%–15 and 45%–30, respectively) were further compared. Drying (sun-drying vs. oven-drying) methods did not affect DD. 35%–15 chitosan exhibited lower nitrogen, DD and bulk density, but higher viscosity compared with 45%–30 chitosan. Higher water- and fat-binding capacity but lower DPPH radical scavenging activity were observed for 35%–15 chitosan compared with 45%–30 chitosan. Compared with 45%–30 chitosan, 35%–15 chitosan exhibited higher antibacterial activity against Salmonella Enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes, but lower antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli.


How do physical digital inequalities persist as technology becomes commonplace? We consider this question using surveys and focus groups with U.S. college students, a group that has better than average connectivity. Findings from a 748-person nonrepresentative survey revealed that ownership and use of cellphones and laptops were nearly universal. However, roughly 20% of respondents had difficulty maintaining access to technology (e.g., broken hardware, data limits, connectivity problems, etc.). Students of lower socioeconomic status and students of color disproportionately experienced hardships, and reliance on poorly functioning laptops was associated with lower grade point averages. Focus group and open-ended data elaborate these findings. Findings quantitatively validate the technology maintenance construct, which proposes that as access to information and communication technology peaks, the digital divide is increasingly characterized by the (in)ability to maintain access. Data highlight overlooked nuances in digital access that may inform social disparities and the policies that may mitigate them.


Of all the known pillared layered clays (PILC), Al-PILC is the most studied. In spite of that, its use on a commercial scale is not yet possible due to the large amount of water required for its synthesis. The aim of the present work was to take advantage of the beneficial effects of ultrasound radiation for reducing intercalation time, and to optimize the synthesis parameters in order to find a viable industrial means of preparing Al-PILC.A comprehensive study of the effect of ultrasonic radiation on the parameters which have a direct effect on the amount of water used in the synthesis was conducted, specifically on the effects of: (1) mmol of Al/g of clay ratio (R) by decreasing the volume of A1 solution and keeping the amount of clay constant, (2) the concentration of clay in the initial suspension (or not suspending the clay at all), and (3) the concentration of the A1 precursor solution. The use of ultrasonic radiation produced the expected reduction in exchange time which was attributed to a decrease of the clay-particle size. This decrease of particle size gave rise to an improvement in the diffusion of the A1 precursor towards the core of the clay grain leading to solids with increased surface areas, basal spacing and X-ray diffraction peak definition. By optimizing the synthesis parameters directly involved in the consumption of water, it was possible to decrease the amount used by >60%.


Describes the development and testing of an extrinsic sapphire fiber-based sensor design intended for use in high-temperature environments, including the processing environments of advanced high-temperature materials and the in-situ operational environments of high-temperature adaptive materials and structures. In this sensor, a length of uncoated, unclad, single-crystal optical-quality multimode sapphire fiber is fusion-spliced to a single-mode silica fiber. Another sapphire fiber is placed end-to-end with the first sapphire fiber, so that the two adjacent end-faces of the sapphire fibers form a low-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity. This sensor is demonstrated to be useful for both strain and temperature measurement, with a 10-microstrain resolution over a range of 0-1150 microstrain, and a 3.5 degrees C temperature resolution over a range from 150 to 650 degrees C.


We propose a molecular setup for the physical implementation of a barrier global quantum computation scheme based on the electron-doped π-conjugated copolymer architecture of nine blocks PPP-PDA-PPP-PA-(CCH-acene)-PA-PPP-PDA-PPP (where each block is an oligomer). The physical carriers of information are electrons coupled through the Coulomb interaction, and the building block of the computing architecture is composed by three adjacent qubit systems in a quasi-linear arrangement, each of them allowing qubit storage, but with the central qubit exhibiting a third accessible state of electronic energy far away from that of the qubits' transition energy. The third state is reached from one of the computational states by means of an on-resonance coherent laser field, and acts as a barrier mechanism for the direct control of qubit entanglement. Initial estimations of the spontaneous emission decay rates associated to the energy level structure allow us to compute a damping rate of order 10-7 s, which suggest a not so strong coupling to the environment. Our results offer an all-optical, scalable, proposal for global quantum computing based on semiconducting π-conjugated polymers.


This paper presents an overview of diverse extrusion techniques and, in particular, a focused discussion about the rheoextrusion pro- cess for semi-solid casting (a novel casting pro- cess for the fabrication of high quality metals). The review reveals a wealth of interesting rhe- ological and microstructural features, illustrating qualitative and quantitative data. The analysis is supported by relevant numerical results and ex- amples. It is shown how numerical studies can lead to significant insights into these processes by providing more detailed information on the fundamental mechanisms of morphology devel- opment (during phase change) and profile form- ing. The die filling and solidification behaviours within extrusion dies are simulated numerically. The extrusion forming process is also investigated and compared with experimental results. The nu- merical results show that the profiles of velocity and solidified front of semi-solid metals (SSM) within the die will influence the final microstruc- ture of casts, both in the interior and on the sur- face. Finally, an industrial application employing a special patented concept design is presented and analysed. Keyword: Rheoextrusion, semi-solid metals, die filling, metal forming, solidification


Ability of ferroelectric materials to generate high voltage under shock compression is fundamental physical effect that makes possible to create miniature autonomous explosive-driven pulsed power systems. As the result of shock induced depolarization, an electric charge is released at the electrodes of the ferroelectric element and a high electric potential and a high electric field appears across the element. We performed systematic studies of electric breakdown field, Eb(d), as function of ferroelectric element thickness, d, for Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 (PZT 95/5) and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT 52/48) ceramics compressed by transverse shock waves (shock front propagates across the polarization vector) and established a relationship between these two values: Eb(d) = const·d-0.25. This law was found to be true in wide range of voltages from 4 to 150 kV and ferroelectric element thicknesses varied from 4.7 to 51 mm. This result makes it possible to predict the ferroelectric generator (FEG) output voltage and it forms the basis for design of ultrahigh voltage FEG systems.


Abstract Coagulation diagnostic testing in pediatric patients currently requires large volume blood sampling and is performed on analyzers that are not well-suited for multiplexed assays on a given sample. For patients who require serial testing at regular intervals, repetitive phlebotomy leads to iatrogenic anemia and need for blood transfusions. Over the past decade, novel microfluidic platforms have been developed that allow for complex multiplexed assays to be performed on small sample volumes, near patient, with high fidelity. In the next few years, these devices will be introduced into clinical trials, and offer the promise of reliable, rapid, multiplexed coagulation assays for pediatric patients who require coagulation diagnostic testing.


Next-generation DNA sequencing is rapidly becoming a powerful tool for food animal management. One valuable use of this technology is to re-examine long-standing observations of performance differences associated with animal husbandry practices to better understand how these differences may be modulated by the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome. The influences of environmental parameters such as air temperature and relative humidity on broiler chicken performance have commonly been observed, but how the GI microbiome may respond to seasonal environmental changes remains largely unknown. The purposes of this study were therefore to: (1) characterize the cecal microflora of commercial broilers (N = 87) collected at harvest across all 4 seasons, and (2) identify any significant changes of the GI microbiome and specific taxa according to season and Campylobacter status. Finding taxa with significant positive or negative correlations with Campylobacter could be useful by identifying indicator or antagonistic taxa and could also inform inferences regarding the ecological niche of Campylobacter. Whole GI tracts were removed from commercial broilers representing 87 independent flocks between April 2013 and May 2014 in the U.S. state of Georgia. Intact ceca were separated, cultured for Campylobacter and cecal contents were frozen. The cecal microbiome was characterized using barcoded sequencing of 16S rRNA genes on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The composition of the microbiome measured at processing was generally not affected by Campylobacter status but was most significantly affected by season of grow-out. Significantly fewer bacterial genera were found in winter than spring or summer. Bacterial genera with prior evidence for both positive or negative influences on gut health outcomes were significantly less abundant in the fall. Identifying specific members of the GI microbiota that vary according to season may help develop novel interventions to improve husbandry practices and growth performance.


This paper describes the ways in which encounter data from the family practice teaching units of the Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, have been used for teaching, service, and research. The fact that family physicians may deal with several problems at one visit is emphasized, as is the need to report morbidity in terms of the population at risk, so that comparisons can be made with other work. The value of encounter data in studies of patient utilization and resident experience is noted. The validity of the data has been examined and the extent of underrecording assessed. The system has helped to encourage the spirit of inquiry in its users.


Non-stoichiometric nickel oxide (NiOx) is attracting growing attention due to its characteristics of p-type transparent conductive layer and to the possibility to tailor its optical and electrical properties. NiOx could also be employed as the electron blocking layer in silicon-based heterojunction solar cells. However, at present not much work has been done in this direction. In this paper we investigate the optoelectronic characteristics of NiOx thin films and demonstrate the usability of NiOx as emitter layer in silicon based heterostructure solar cells due to its hole collection selectivity. Test heterojunctions show a rectifying behaviour, even if their characteristics are still limited by the density of defects at the c-Si/NiOx interface, as deduced by comparing the experimental results with numerical simulations. This suggests that the quality of the interface between NiOx and c-Si needs to be improved, either by optimizing the deposition process of NiOx or by depositing a buffer layer able to carefully passivate the silicon surface and helpfully allow the growth of oxide layer. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Volume survey for earthwork is conducted periodically at every month at large scaled construction sites for request payment for the construction. Currently, the earthwork volume is calculated on the overlapped drawing for two cross sections which were created by new and previous surveying data observed by GPS and TS. However the survey is required lots of time and expenses as it is a pin-point surveying method thus surveyors intend to get data only for the heavy undulated topographic features chosen by himself to save time and expenses. Consequently, it causes poor results due to low dense measurement as well as it`s not matched with the results by another surveyors. As a result, the conflicts related in earthwork volume calculation often arises among the owner, contractors and sub contractors. In this study, we developed a method to get surveying data for fast and accurate volume calculation using 3D Mobile Laser System and conducted an application test. Also we carried out experiments for topographic survey using MLS to judge for the application additionally. The results showed that we could reduce a time for cross section survey from 48 hours to 2 hours and collected high dense data which have 0.2m interval instead of 3m interval compare with existing method. Also we could make a map which has high accuracy within 10cm in horizontal through topographic survey using MLS.


The idea is to change the perception of remote controls for actuating manually operated Robotic-Hand. Well, this paper provides a way to eradicate the buttons, joysticks and replace them with some other more different technique, that is, controlling the complete Robotic Hand by the users hand movement or motion or gesture. In this paper we deal with the design and development of a Five Fingered Robotic Hand (FFRH) using Arduino board, sensors and wireless feedback. The design of the system is based on a simple, flexible and minimal control strategy. The Robotic Hand has some independent commands for all the five fingers open and close, wrist up and down, base clockwise and counter clockwise, movement of bot, Pick and Place and Home position to move the fingers. Implementation of pick and place operation of the different object using these commands are discussed. The Sensor based human hand replication system is a system that can help and secure the human presence to be put under harmful situations such as radioactive and biohazardous. The technology can also be helpful in very precise instrumentation workings like a doctor operating a patient by a robot without its own hands. The technology has its many useful applications in the field of robotics, surgical operations, humanoid robots, etc.


Yacon [Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. et Endl.) H. Robinson, Asteraceae] is a perennial herb originally cultivated in South America and now introduced and cultivated in several other countries. The productivity and other valuable agronomic traits of yacon strongly suggest that it is a species with a great potential and recently, the attention on it is grown up, also due to its nutritional characteristics and its phytoterapic use. It is cultivated for its tuberous roots that have exceptional qualities for low-calorie diets thanks to its abundant content of fructooligosacharide and for the absence of starch. Otherwise leaves extract is very rich in phenolic components with strong antioxidant activities and, recently, it was demonstrated that it also possess hypoglycaemic properties. The aim of this work is to investigate total phenolic content and genetic distance among five different yacon landraces collected in different countries. Total phenolic content was measured in the five clones and it resulted to be undoubtedly different among landraces analysed from 34,94 mg g-1 to 68,49 mg g-1. Results obtained were compared with those shown applying RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) markers for the analysis of genetic diversity. Using 61 RAPD primers, 85 information bands were identified, corresponding to 28.7 % of polymorphism. In comparison, only six selected AFLP primer pairs produced 84 information bands, with a similar percentage of polymorphism (23.4%). Polymorphic markers were analysed separately. Cluster obtained for each molecular marker showed two main groups that include the same genotypes but with different clustering. It is interesting to underline that the two branches divide landraces in two groups that include landraces with the higher and the lower phenolic content, respectively. Moreover, the two groups respect some phenotypic characters but they do not reflect faithfully their geographical origin. Data obtained suggest that the two molecular markers applied are useful to investigate intraspecific genetic variability in Smallanthus sonchifolius. The dendrograms based on these data sets graphically depicted the ability of both methods to differentiate all the cultivars studied and as results reflect their phenolic content.


Purpose: The objectives of this study were to investigate the knowledge and attitudes towards leprosy of physiotherapists in Nigeria. Method: A cross-sectional survey of 330 physiotherapists, with minimum one year work experience in public hospitals in the 6 geo-political zones of Nigeria, was carried out. A pre-tested, self administered questionnaire with open and close ended questions was employed. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics of Chi-square tests with Alpha level at 0.05. Results: The respondents' mean and range of years of job experience was 8.6 +5.51 and 1 to 27 years respectively. Close to half (44.5%) of the physiotherapists had only a fair knowledge about leprosy and 165 (50%) had poor attitudes towards leprosy and persons with leprosy. There were significant associations between the schools of training and each level of knowledge (χ2 = 45.04; p= 0.0001) and attitudes of physiotherapists to leprosy and to persons who have suffered from leprosy (χ2 = 20.26; p = 0.009). There was, however, no significant association between years of job experience and each of knowledge (χ2 = 4.76; p = 0. 312), or attitudes of the physiotherapists to leprosy (χ2 =4.55; p = 0.337). Conclusions and Implications: It was concluded that a substantial number of physiotherapists in Nigeria had fair knowledge but poor attitudes towards leprosy. The institution of training appears to have an influence on their knowledge and attitudes. It is therefore recommended that educational and training programmes on leprosy should be organised and emphasised at the basic training institutions for physiotherapists. doi 10.5463/DCID.v24i1.202


In last 20 years segment of electric drives with permanent magnet synchronous motors has increased. This type of motors has better technical characteristics compared to induction motors, but has problems in actual implementation, one of which is the requirement of rotor position data. It is possible to implement with use of sensors or without them by means of motor state observer. The paper describes problems of sensorless vector control system for permanent magnet synchronous motors. The vector control system with state observer for permanent magnet synchronous motors is described. Synthesis of sliding mode observer for rotor speed and position is presented. The algorithm is implemented by development of model in Matlab Simulink environment with support by Texas Instruments processors support blocks. Experimental comparison of results of rotor angle state calculation and the data obtained by rotor position sensors was conducted. Research objective is a development of control algorithm, which has required precision for calculation of rotor start angle, high range of speed regulation and resistance to drift of motor parameters.


In this study, the putative mutant strains of Bacillus megaterium Y6, B. subtilis K8, B. sphaericus X3 and B. firmus G2 were studied for their poly--hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production capacities. Mutations were induced by using UV light, acriflavin and 5-bromourasil. Total cell proteins were extracted from 59 strains and compared using SDS-PAGE. For each strain, percentage yield of PHB according to cell dry weight was determined in a range of 1.46-63.45%. PHB production of 8 mutant strains were found to increase in comparison with parental strains. However, no increase in PHB production of mutant strains of B. sphaericus X3 was found. It was also determined that the protein profiles of the mutant strains with high PHB yield generally differed from the protein profiles of parental strains.


The paper deals with the risk associated with the application of contrast medium in CT. The risk is to be seen in intolerance reactions, such as allergic or circulatory reactions and neurotoxic side-effects. In this paper the problems of renal failure caused by the injection of contrast medium are given special attention. Furthermore an iodine-induced hyperthyreosis might result. Especially the possible disturbance of the kidney function means that contrast medium should not be applied arbitrarily and that the examination should be done only by experienced staff. Furthermore the indication for the application of contrast medium in CT should be strictly qualified.


Despite growing interest in urban vulnerability to climatic change, there is no systematic understanding of why some urban centers have greater social vulnerability than others. In this article, we ask whether the social vulnerability of Amazonian cities to floods and droughts is linked to differences in their spatial accessibility. To assess the accessibility of 310 urban centers, we developed a travel network and derived measures of connectivity and geographical remoteness. We found that 914,654 people live in roadless urban centers (n = 68) located up to 2,820 km from their state capital. We then tested whether accessibility measures explained interurban differences in quantitative measures of social sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and an overlooked risk area, food system sensitivity. Accessibility explained marked variation in indicators of each of these dimensions and, hence, for the first time, we show an underlying spatial basis for social vulnerability. For instance, floods pose a greater disease risk in less accessible urban centers because inadequate sanitation in these places exposes inhabitants to environmental pollution and contaminated water, exacerbated by poverty and governance failures. Exploring the root causes of these spatial inequalities, we show how remote and roadless cities in Amazonia have been historically marginalized and their citizens exposed to structural violence and economic disadvantage. Paradoxically, we found that places with the highest social vulnerability have the greatest natural and cultural assets (rainforest, indigenous peoples, and protected areas). We conclude that increasing accessibility through road building would be maladaptive, exposing marginalized people to further harm and exacerbating climatic change by driving deforestation.


Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS), a famous Chinese herbal formula, has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases. Previous studies have shown that DSS produces antidepressant-like effect in rodents. This study aims to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying the antidepressant-like action of DDS. The results showed that DSS treatment significantly antagonized reserpine-induced ptosis in mice. In addition, DSS treatment significantly increased sucrose consumption in chronic unpredictable stress- (CUS-) treated mice. DSS treatment also markedly attenuated CUS-induced decreases in noradrenaline and dopamine concentrations in mouse brain. Furthermore, DSS treatment significantly reversed CUS-induced increase in serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content and decrease in serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in mice. The results suggest that the antidepressant-like activity of DSS is probably mediated by the modulation of central monoamine neurotransmitter systems and the reduction of oxidative stress.


Assessing the importance of transportation facilities is an increasingly growing topic of interest to federal and state transportation agencies. This work proposes an optimization based model that uses concepts and techniques of complex networks science to assess the importance of transportation facilities. The criticality is addressed using an economic quantitative measure - the impact on total travel time by examining the negative effect on travel time if the facility is destroyed or disrupted accounting for changes in user decisions consequent to the disruption. The authors developed an application using TransCAD's GISDK language and they present the results in a built-up network to assess the criticality of the major infrastructures that are used to access Manhattan in an AM peak hour.


in various sites, including the gastrointestinal tract (85%) in particular, the appendix, rectum and ileum and the lungs (10%), larynx, thymus, kidney, ovary, prostate and the skin.? The primary site in our patient is unknown. Despite being a relatively benign neoplasm, carcinoid tumours can be malignant, especially if they are larger than 2 cm (80% of tumours of this size are associated with metastatic disease) and if the primary tumour originated in the small intesrine.v' Frequent sites of carcinoid metastasis are lymph nodes (89.8%), liver (44.1 %), lung (13.6%), peritoneum (13.6%), pancreas (6.8%), skin and the nervous system." Treatment involves surgical removal or debulking of any tumours that are operable. Other options include embolisation of the hypervascular metastases and medical treatments (such as somatostatin analogues, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy)." Fortunately, carcinoid tumours tend to be slow growing and affected patients have a relatively good prognosis. The five-year survival rate is 99% for carcinoids of the appendix (regardless of stage), 75% for localised small tumours of the intestine, and 54% for all stages of small bowel carcinoid tumours.! Five-year survival rates are poorer if metastases, particularly of the liver, are present (21 %-42%),6 although survival may be better if the metastases are resectable.


Curcumin is the major bioactive compound isolated from the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric). Despite its high margin of safety (no dose-limiting toxicity at doses up to 10 g/day in human) and efficacy against various types of cancers, the potential utility of curcumin as a chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic drug is compromised by its low bioavailability and poor selectivity. To circumvent these problems, more potent and selective curcumin analogues have been introduced. In the current study, we investigated one such synthetic analogue, FLLL-12, which was reported to exhibit potent anti-tumor activity against prostate, colon and breast cancer cell lines. However, its mechanism of growth inhibition has yet to be elucidated. Methods: MSK-Leuk1 is an oral premalignant cell line. Other cell lines used in the study are fully transformed head and neck cancer cell lines isolated from cancer patients. Genotyping was conducted to confirm the identity of the cells. SRB assay was used for measuring growth inhibition. Annexin V staining was conducted for apoptosis assay. Expression of mRNAs and proteins were measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Result: IC50 values and apoptosis assay results suggested that FLLL-12 was 10-25-fold more potent than natural curcumin against head and neck cancers. FLLL-12 also strongly inhibited the expression of p-EGFR, p-AKT, and Bcl-2. Overexpression of constitutively active AKT or Bcl-2 significantly inhibited FLLL-12 induced apoptosis. Interestingly, FLLL-12 not only inhibited phosphorylated EGFR and AKT but also total EGFR and AKT proteins. Mechanistic studies revealed that FLLL-12 had an insignificant effect on mRNA expression of EGFR, AKT and Bcl-2 as compared to protein expression. Pretreatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 failed to rescue the expression of EGFR, AKT and Bcl-2 proteins inhibited by FLLL-12 treatment. Moreover, FLLL-12 failed to inhibit EGFR and AKT protein expression or induction of apoptosis when global protein synthesis was inhibited by cyclohexamide pretreatment. These results suggest that FLLL-12 inhibited the expression of EGFR, AKT and Bcl-2 at the translational level. Finally, FLLL-12 strongly inhibited phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream targets pS6 and p-4E-BP1 which are important for cap-dependent protein translation. Conclusion: Our results strongly suggest that FLLL-12 is a potent curcumin analog which induced apoptosis of head and neck cancer cell lines by inhibiting cap-dependent translation of survival proteins including EGFR, AKT and Bcl-2 by inhibiting mTOR-mediated protein translational pathways. Future in vivo studies using appropriate animal models are warranted for further development of this promising compound for cancer prevention and treatment. (Dr. Amin9s research is supported by R03CA159369 and Robbins Scholar Award). Citation Format: A.R.M. Ruhul Amin, Mohammad A. Rahman, Dongsheng Wang, Fadlo R. Khuri, James R. Fuchs, Zhuo G. Chen, Dong M. Shin. Potent curcumin analogue FLLL-12 targets protein translational pathways to inhibit EGFR, AKT and Bcl-2: potential role in apoptosis induction. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3189. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3189


The displacement or strain at low frequency in an inhomogeneous soft tissue could be directly applied to clinical diagnosis as a dynamic visualized palpation for internal living tissues. However, for this dynamical imaging the lateral displacement on tissue cross section should be evaluated with excellent accuracy by using a conventional B-mode array transducer. By using 2-dimensional complex echo signals which are compressed to 1-bit this small displacement estimation was realized. Furthermore, by successively processing the rf echo frames that are taken at real time, dynamic imaging of 2-dimensional strain was realized.


In times of increasing skills shortage, regions and particularly non-core regions, need to attract highly-skilled workers. It is better for these regions to (re)-attract highly-skilled workers that gained knowledge and contacts elsewhere and because they once lived in the region for study have already ties to the university region than trying to attract outsiders without such ties. In general, social networks can contribute to nurturing a "warm place" perception among potential workers. This paper looks at special kinds of social networks. It focuses on higher education alumni networks and discusses their role in retention and (re)-attraction for increasing the highly skilled workforce in their university regions. Being part of a university community means that alumni networks are able to maintain continuous contact with their alumni and have a positive effect on students remaining in the region. This can occur through co-operation with the regional economy. However, the current study found that the analysed alumni networks were set up primarily as communication instruments for graduates and alumni and not for regional economy purposes. If elements of retention and (re)-attraction are found in the network activities, this is more an unintentional side effect than a purposeful attempt to contribute to the regional economy. This paper argues that alumni networks could take on such a retention and (re)-attraction function if they broadened their scope of activities and reorganized their management structure. Alumni networks are an untapped potential, which can be activated for regional purposes.


In order to be able to test the effectiveness and verify proposed techniques for enhanced availability based on field data from systems it is important to have reliability data of the components and the information necessary to characterize or model the system. This includes inter alia the type and number of components, their protection and dependency relations as well the automatic recovery mechanisms built into the system. An important benefit of making system models and logs available to the research community in a standard format is that it opens up the possibility for creating tools to assess and optimize deployed as well as hypothetical system configurations. Specialized tools for on-line and off-line analysis and classification of reliability data also become viable. Availability modeling tools could be benchmarked against actual data. Depending on the usefulness of such tools and the level of adoption of standard models and formats in the industry a market for reliability data analysis tools could emerge over time. These tools could be used during the design, deployment and operation phases of a system in order to predict or enhance the availability of the services it provides


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase with elevated expression in most human cancers, most notably in invasive metastasis. FAK is involved in cell adhesion, motility, and apoptosis, and it is a target for oncology therapeutics. FAK activation occurs by phosphorylation at Tyr397 in response to integrin clustering caused by cell adhesion. The development of a sensitive and specific immunohistochemical assay for phosphorylated FAK (pFAK) is important for pharmacodynamic biomarker studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate 4 commercially available anti-pFAK antibodies in human tissues and cell lines. Antibodies included 3 rabbit monoclonals (EP2160Y, 141-9, and 31H5L17) and 1 rabbit polyclonal. Antibody specificity was evaluated in a variety of cell lines (BxPC3, HCT-116, LOVO, MDA-MB-231, and MiaPaca2) treated with 2 FAK inhibitors: TAE226 (NVP-TAE226) and PF-562271. Decreased immunohistochemical staining for pFAK was observed in post-treatment samples of cell lines with baseline pFAK expression. TAE226 was more potent at inhibiting pFAK staining. Membrane staining was observed with the rabbit polyclonal and rabbit clone EP2160Y only. Each of the 4 antibodies was tested in human breast cancer tissues using tissue microarrays created by Mosaic Laboratories. The percentage of breast cancer samples that were pFAK positive was 96% with clone EP2160Y, 83% with clone 141-9, 92% with clone 31H5L17 and 96% with the polyclonal. The percentage of cells that were positive within each breast cancer sample ranged from 63% to 83%, depending on the antibody used (standard deviations between 30% and 44%). Immunohistochemistry with the polyclonal and clone EP2160Y antibodies demonstrated membrane and cytoplasmic staining, while clones 141-9 and 31H5L17 demonstrated primarily cytoplasmic staining. Based on reduction of pFAK staining in treated cells and acceptable performance in human cancer tissues, pFAK immunohistochemistry is "fit for purpose" for evaluation of FAK inhibitor activity in pre- and post-treatment clinical trial tissue biopsies.

Citation Format: Lisa M. Dauffenbach, Gela C. Sia, Patricia A. Cash, Sherif K. Girees, Ryan S. Lim, Jianping Zheng, Eric P. Olsen, Rana Richeh, Christopher A. Kerfoot. Optimization of an assay for the detection of phosphorylated FAK by immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human tissue and cell lines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3745. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3745


Any team's success depends on effective communication and collaboration. The team's organizational structure is a major component that may have an impact on collaboration and communication. The division and assignment of duties within a team is referred to as organizational structure. Communication inside an organization can be impacted in several ways. For example, teams with a hierarchical organization may have communication barriers since information may need to travel through numerous tiers before it reaches the intended recipient. As team members have greater direct access to one another, teams with flat organizational structures could experience fewer communication hurdles. The organizational structure can also affect how well people collaborate. Teams having a functional structure—in which individuals are grouped according to the function or area of expertise—may have a more specialized knowledge base, but they might have trouble working across functions. Teams with a cross-functional structure, in contrast, may have more potential for cross-functional collaboration but may encounter difficulties coordinating efforts across several domains of knowledge. To emphasize, organizational structure is essential for promoting teamwork and communication. Teams may choose the optimal strategy for the needs and realize the full potential for communication and collaboration by understanding the advantages and disadvantages of various organizational structures.


Trace driven simulation is a well-established method of performance analysis for single processor computer systems. However, efficient and accurate memory address tracing for parallel computer systems is not well understood. The authors present a critical survey of recently implemented approaches to address tracing and highlight the issues specific to collection of traces for both shared and distributed memory parallel computers. These issues include potential distortion of the relative ordering of events by the address tracing activity, realistic interleaving of addresses generated by multiple processors, and I/O and storage problems associated with collecting traces for large parallel systems. The strengths and weaknesses of the parallel tracing approaches are described.<<ETX>>


Abstract: The article aims to contribute to the political participation field of study from a materialist dialectical perspective, more specifically, with reference to the Vigotskian psychology and the Gramscian thought. The categories for the development of the proposal are: political praxis, drama and catharsis. The text is based on a research conducted with the "Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra" (MST) in Ribeirao Preto (SP). The theoretical construct dialogues with the empirical corpus created from semi?structured individual interviews with four (4) militants of the social movement. The corpus analysis argues that the political praxis is understood as a specific form of political participation, a complex process that articulates different social and subjective dimensions. The involvement with the social movement is interpreted as a cathartic process in which there is a reorganization of the subjective drama of the subjects, in their cognitive, affective and volitional aspects. Keywords: political participation; Vigotski; Gramsci; catharsis; MST.


The present study was done to develop a useful experimental model for analysis of the effects of physiologically active substances on atrophy and regeneration of salivary gland acinar cells. Resection wounds (diameter, 3 mm) were made in the submandibular glands of 8-week-old Wistar rats (n = 24) for histochemical examination on Days 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21 after implantation of a gelatin-based hydrogel sheet. The results showed that the sheet had nearly disappeared by Day 10. Regions around the resection wounds were classified as normal, atrophic, or necrotic. In atrophic regions, acinar cells atrophied after resection, and few acinar cells were observed on Day 7. On Days 5-7, striated and granular ducts resembled duct-like structures. On Day 10, newly formed acinar cells were confirmed by increased periodic acid-Schiff staining, and a greater number of mature cells was present thereafter. In necrotic regions, acinar and ductal cells were destroyed, and scattered enucleated acinar cells and duct-like structures were present, on Day 3; newly formed acinar cells were observed on Day 10. Thus, the experimental model demonstrated atrophy and regeneration of the submandibular gland and enabled analysis of the effects of sustained release of physiologically active substances contained within an implanted sheet.


Amphibian mortality caused by rail traffic has not attracted much attention in comparison to road mortality. Density of railways in landscape, as well as traffic intensity, is usually much lower than in case of roads. As a consequence, their overall effect on amphibian populations is tacitly assumed to be less negative. To test whether very intensive rail traffic can cause substantial mortality in population of a small amphibian, we investigated a Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris population located in the city of Poznan, W Poland, where tram tracks border isolated breeding ponds. We performed controls during the peak of autumn migratory activity along the tracks. Less than 1% of all individuals found during the survey were killed by rail traffic. Observed mortality was very low despite large number of individuals present on the track and intensive tram traffic. As negative effects of traffic are low, rail or tram embankments can provide an important terrestrial habitat for small European newts.


In frequency selective channels, some frequencies may be in deep fade. Inherent frequency diversity in multilevel frequency shift keying is exploited by a coding technique called permutation code, which ensures that the frequencies occur equally often. Information bits are uniformly spread over the frequency band. The performance of permutation codes and 4FSK in terms of bit error rate is compared with convolutional codes over 50 ns and 100 ns delay spread channel.


There was a period of time, from the late 1980s until the early/mid-2000s, when interest in adult literacy in Canada was strong among the public, in the media, and with policymakers, and a policy window opened for the mainstreaming of literacy. Against this background, it is surprising that the Canadian literacy infrastructure was subsequently largely dismantled. Drawing on theories of policy formation, and recent and previous research, including interviews with key stakeholders, we argue that mainstreaming literacy has failed and explore the reasons for this failure. The paper is structured in three sections. First, we report on the construction of an adult literacy infrastructure in Canada over two phases: i) the period from the 1970s up until the launch of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1994; ii) the story of IALS and changes occurring up until around 2005. Second, we examine the reasons for the failure of the mainstreaming of literacy in Canada. We conclude with further reflections on the present situation in which adult literacy has been largely reduced to employability skills which are under-supported.


Wetting phenomena and superhydrophobic surfaces are ubiquitous in nature and have recently been explored widely in scientific and engineering applications. The understanding and control of surface superhydrophobicity are not only fundamentally intriguing but also practically important to provide unique and regulated functionalities to natural species and industrial applications. Here, the fundamentals of wetting phenomena are critically reviewed that especially apply to superhydrophobicity, putting an emphasis on the clarification of contact angles, the quantification of droplet retention force, and the role of contact line. The fundamentals of how the droplet retention is determined by the surface features are discussed and advanced analytical models for the prediction of contact angles and retentive forces are introduced. Applications are further discussed whose functionalities largely depend on the droplet retention, including directional droplet transport, anti‐icing, and water harvesting.


International watercourses, transcending the boundaries of nation states, are of great importance for the socioeconomic development of societies but are, at the same time prone to international collective action problems calling for cooperative international solutions. This paper reviews the existing literature on the governance of international watercourses. In a first part, the origins of hydropolitics, that is, the study of conflict and cooperation in international watercourses, are introduced. The following sections then focus on the emergence as well as on the effectiveness of institutionalized mechanisms that have been established for the governance of international watercourses. In addition, an outlook on emerging and future fields of study is provided in the last chapter of the paper. It is argued that only an integrated theoretical approach that goes beyond disciplinary divides and the sole focus on case studies can provide adequate theoretical means and thus policy concepts and strategies to cope with persistent collective action problems in international river and lake basins.


Nowadays, artificial intelligence applications invade all of the fields including medical applications field. Deep learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, in particular, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), have quickly become the first choice for processing and analyzing medical images due to its performance and effectiveness. Diabetic retinopathy is a vision loss disease that infects people with diabetes. This disease damages the blood vessels in the retina, hence, leads to blindness. Due to the sensitivity and complications involved in managing diabetics, designing and developing automated systems to detect and grade diabetic retinopathy is considered one of the recent research areas in the world of medical image applications. In this paper, the aspects of deep learning field related to diabetic retinopathy have been discussed. Various concepts in deep learning including traditional Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm, ANN drawbacks in context of computer vision and image processing applications, and the best algorithm to overcome ANN drawbacks, CNN, have been elucidated along with the architecture. The paper also reviews an extensive summary of some works in the current research trend and future applications of the DL algorithms in medical image analysis for DR detection and grading. Furthermore, various research gabs related to building such automated systems for medical image analysis have been conferred – such as imbalance dataset which is considered one of the main performance issues that should be handled, the need of high performance computational resources to train deep and efficient models and others. This is quite beneficial for researchers working in the domain of medical image analysis to handle DR.


Fifty-one migraine patients and 19 control subjects were examined by steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) procedure. The aim of this study was to develop a discriminant analysis and an artificial neural network (NN) classifier in order to discriminate between migraneurs during attack-free periods and normal subjects. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 72.5% of migraine patients with a false positive rate of 36.8%. The NN method had a sensitivity of 100% with a false positive rate of 15%. The results of this study confirm SSVEP pattern as a marker of migraine and demonstrate that NNs could be a useful method in the statistical analysis of topographic EEG data.


Purpose: To determine the psychometric properties of a reduced version of the Glaucoma Treatment Compliance Assessment Tool (GTCAT), which was translated to Brazilian Portuguese. Patients and Methods: We translated into Portuguese the GTCAT using validated techniques and administered it to a group of glaucoma patients using at least 1 ocular hypotensive eye drop medication. We used principal components analysis to determine construct validity, Rasch analysis, and Cronbach &agr; for internal consistency reliability, frequency analysis for floor and ceiling effects, and Spearman &rgr; for test-retest reliability. Results: We included 76 glaucoma patients. Principal component analysis loaded 14 questions into 7 components that were consistent with the Health Belief Model. The components were related to "barriers due to lack of drops," "self-efficacy," "experience of negative effects of the disease," "well-being," "general glaucoma knowledge," "glaucoma symptoms," and "cues-to-action." No statements had floor or ceiling effects, and all statements had acceptable test-retest reliability. Components had internal consistency Cronbach &agr; reliability between 0.125 and 0.794. and average Spearman &rgr; reliability was 0.73, ranging from 0.44 to 1.00. According to Rasch analysis, the mean (±SD) of the person measures was 0.24±0.15 logits, person separation index was 0.58, and person reliability 0.25. Conclusions: The Portuguese-translated version of the GTCAT showed acceptable psychometric properties. With further refinement, clinicians and researchers could use it to better investigate glaucoma adherence issues in the Brazilian population.


This is a cross-sectional, multicenter, controlled study aiming to evaluate changes of actual dietary nutrient intake in 94 stable hemodialysis patients in respect to 52 normal subjects and guideline recommendations, and to assess the prevalence of signs of malnutrition. Energy and nutrients intake assessment was obtained by a three-day period food recall. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters of nutrition, bioelectric impedance vector analysis, and subjective global assessment (SGA) have been performed to assess nutritional status. SGA-B was scored in 5% of the patients. Body mass index < 20 Kg/m2, serum albumin <35 g/L, nPNA < 1.0 g/Kg, and phase angle <4.0° were detected in 16.3%, 16%, 23%, and 8.0 % of patients, respectively. HD patients showed a lower energy and protein intake in respect to controls, but no difference occurred when normalized per ideal body weight (29.3 ± 8.4 vs. 29.5 ± 8.4 Kcal/Kg i.b.w./d and 1.08 ± 0.35 vs. 1.12 ± 0.32 Kcal/Kg i.b.w. /d, respectively). Age was the only parameter that inversely correlates with energy (r = −0.35, p < 0.001) and protein intake (r = −0.34, p < 0.001). This study shows that in stable dialysis patients, abnormalities of nutritional parameters are less prevalent than expected by analysis of dietary food intake. Age is the best predictor of energy and protein intake in the dialysis patients who ate less than normal people, but no difference emerged when energy and protein intakes were normalized for body weight. These results recall the attention for individual dietetic counseling in HD patients, and also for a critical re-evaluation of their dietary protein and energy requirements.


Abstract: Intracranial microdialysis was used to measure changes in extracellular amino acids within the rat brain during local osmotic alteration of the extracellular micro‐environment or during systemic water intoxication. Increased cellular hydration produced by either of these methods was accompanied by a marked increase in extracellular taurine levels without affecting the other amino acids measured. With local osmotic alteration, this increase was osmolarity dependent and reversible. The specificity, sensitivity, and reversibility of the increase in extracellular taurine strongly suggest a functional role in osmoregulation in the brain under normal as well as pathological conditions.


Solving partially-observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) is critical when applying deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to real-world robotics problems, where agents have an incomplete view of the world. We present graph convolutional memory (GCM)1 for solving POMDPs using deep reinforcement learning. Unlike recurrent neural networks (RNNs) or transformers, GCM embeds domain-specific priors into the memory recall process via a knowledge graph. By encapsulating priors in the graph, GCM adapts to specific tasks but remains applicable to any DRL task. Using graph convolutions, GCM extracts hierarchical graph features, analogous to image features in a convolutional neural network (CNN). We show GCM outperforms long short-term memory (LSTM), gated transformers for reinforcement learning (GTrXL), and differentiable neural computers (DNCs) on control, long-term non-sequential recall, and 3D navigation tasks while using significantly fewer parameters.


Impingement jets are used in different cooling applications where it is required to remove large amounts of heat. Heat transfer in the stagnation point for a single jet impinging on an isothermal plate is investigated with four turbulence models. Two models are RANS (Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes): Transition SST and Transition κ–κl–ω. The other two models are URANS (Unsteady Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes): SAS and DES-SST. This paper explores the best turbulence model for thermal design and cooling purposes. Results are validated with experimental data reported by Gardon & Akfirat. These four turbulence models are available in the commercial CFD software package ANSYS FLUENT 18.1. Special attention is paid to the heat transfer in the impingement region through evaluation of Nusselt number in the stagnation point. Different dimensionless nozzle-to-plate distances are considered in this work (z/b = 14 to z/b = 40), and two different Reynolds numbers are used Re = 11,000 y Re = 22,000. Three turbulence models are within reasonable accuracy (10%) of the experimental data, but some turbulence models have problems with convergence and grid independence, especially the URANS models. Based on these results, the best turbulence model for applications in heating and cooling systems where impingement heat transfer is critical is the Transition κ–κl–ω.


The proteome is the study of the protein content of a definable component of an organism in biology. However, the tissue-specific expression of proteins and the varied post-translational modifications, splice variants and protein–protein complexes that may form, make the study of protein a challenging yet vital tool in answering many of the unanswered questions in medicine and biology to date. Indeed, the spatial, temporal and functional composition of proteins in the human body has proven difficult to elucidate for many years. Given the effect of microRNA and epigenetic regulation on silencing and enhancing gene transcription, the study of protein arguably provides more accurate information on homeostasis and perturbation in health and disease. There have been significant advances in the field of proteomics in recent years, with new technologies and platforms available to the research community. In this review, we briefly discuss some of these new technologies and developments in the context of respiratory disease. We also discuss the types of data science approaches to analyses and interpretation of the large volumes of data generated in proteomic studies. We discuss the application of these technologies with regard to respiratory disease and highlight the potential for proteomics in generating major advances in the understanding of respiratory pathophysiology into the future.


An explicit model à la Thomas-Fermi is built which, after being regularized at the origin, is used to illustrate the perturbative nature of the semiclassical density functional series and its connection with the 1/Z expansion.


Urban heat islands increase the demand for cooling energy and accelerate the formation of smog. They are created when natural vegetation is replaced by heat-absorbing surfaces such as building roofs and walls, parking lots, and streets. Through the implementation of measures designed to mitigate the urban heat island, communities can decrease their demand for energy and effectively "cool" the metropolitan landscape. In addition to the economic benefits, using less energy leads to reductions in emissions of CO2 a greenhouse gas as well as ozone (smog) precursors such as NOx and VOCs. Because ozone is created when NOx and VOCs photochemically combine with heat and solar radiation, actions taken to lower ambient air temperature can significantly reduce ozone concentrations in certain areas. Measures to reverse the urban heat island include afforestation and the widespread use of highly reflective surfaces. To demonstrate the potential benefits of implementing these measures, EPA has teamed up with NASA and LBNL to initiate a pilot project with three U.S. cities. As part of the pilot, NASA will use remotely-sensed data to quantify surface temperature, albedo, the thermal response number and NDVI vegetation of each city. This information will be used by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) along with other data as inputs to model various scenarios that will help quantify the potential benefits of urban heat island mitigation measures in terms of reduced energy use and pollution. This paper will briefly describe this pilot project and provide an update on the progress to date.


The direct reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by hydroiodic acid is an established method to produce iodine functionalized reduced GO (I-rGO). However, the stability of the iodine species within I-rGO upon heating and dispersing into different solvents, as required for many applications, has not been examined. Herein we examined the stability of I-rGO and utilized it to promote self-assembled nanoenergetic composites. I-rGO intercalated with polyiodide was found to be unstable at elevated temperature and when dispersed in organic solvents. The I-rGO exhibited excellent dispersion in dimethylformamide but resulted in a loss of iodine content as exfoliation released weakly-bound intercalated iodine species. The dispersed I-rGO was utilized as a scaffold to self-assemble I-rGO/Al and I-rGO/Al/Bi2O3 nanoenergetic composites. The I-rGO both prevented the phase separation of Al and Bi2O3 particles and provided a source for reactive iodine to etch the alumina shell surrounding Al fuel nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the use of the I-rGO assembly template reduced the temperature of initiation and peak reaction and produced 70% greater energy release than randomly mixed Al/Bi2O3 nanoenergetic powder. In fact, 95% of the exothermal energy released by the reaction occurred while Al was in the solid state, suggesting that the reaction between free iodine and alumina was significant enough to greatly reduce the diffusion barrier between solid Al fuel and surrounding oxidizer. Further, the underlying conductive I-rGO scaffold reduces electrostatic discharge sensitivity of the nanoenergetic composite by almost four orders of magnitude.


Background: Cowden's disease is a rare disorder, characterized by a multiple harmatoma-neoplasia syndrome. Germline mutations in the Phosphatase and Tensin homolog (PTEN) gene have been identified in some individuals with Cowden's disease. The present study aimed to evaluate abnormalities of PTEN and p53 genes in a patient with Cowden's disease. Methods: Eleven family members including the patient with Cowden's disease were examined in this study. Sequencing analyses were performed on these people and on the normal control group to identify mutation in PTEN and p53 genes. Results: DNA sequencing of PTEN gene showed no mutation in the patient and the family members. The G to C germline mutation was identified only in the patient of Cowden disease at 38th base of intron 2 of p53 gene. Conclusions: Although the exact role of mutation in p53 gene was not identified in the Cowden's disease, the conformational change of the gene would result in the dysfunction of the tumor suppressor effect of p53 gene. Otherwise, an epigenetic silencing can be a mechanism of disease development in a patient without genetic abnormality.


In-hospital mortality rates after hepatectomy for HCC have been greatly improved due to advances in surgical techniques and perioperative management [1-4]. However, relatively high morbidity rates remain problematic, and bile leakage and organ/space surgical site in‐ fection (SSI) are still common causes of major morbidity after hepatectomy for HCC [5-13]. Various types of hepatectomy in many centres have recently been performed based on the degree of hepatic functional reserve and the location of the HCC. Anatomic hepatectomy for HCC, including subsegmentectomy, reportedly contributes to the prognosis for patients with HCC [14-16]. In addition, the rate of repeat hepatectomy for recurrent HCC has recent‐ ly increased from 10% to 31% as the prognosis for patients with HCC has improved [17-22]. In our institution, anatomic and repeat hepatectomies for HCC have been performed aggres‐ sively [12, 16, 22]. We investigated risk factors for bile leakage and organ/space SSI follow‐ ing hepatectomies for HCC in the present series, which included a large number of patients with a high proportion of anatomic or repeat hepatectomy. Furthermore, causes, manage‐ ment and outcomes of intractable bile leakage and organ/space SSI were investigated and strategies to reduce major morbidity were considered.


Background & Objective: Bullying behavior in adolescence as a global and a public health problem is of great interest in adolescence due to mental illness, violence, and tobacco addiction in adulthood. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of both bullying and victim behaviors at all educational levels in Kerman. Methodology: This is a survey study, in which the study population are all students at three educational levels in Kerman. Multi-stage sampling method is used. To investigate the prevalence of bullying behavior, the Iranian version of the questionnaire is used, which is based on the Olweus bullying questionnaire. Results: The bullying rates at elementary, middle school, and high school are estimated at 25.1%, 17.8%, and 39.7%, respectively. Bullying rate is 7.13% among girls and 14.72% among boys. The results of our study show that the most important factors affecting bullying are gender, parental literacy, living with parents, type of school, economic and social status, educational level, and school size. Conclusion: Due to the impact of policies at different educational levels, policymakers should pay special attention to perform bullying control programs at the school level based on the school environment variables, and policies in this area should be designed, reviewed, and modified.


The bayt al-mal or public treasury was established during the reign of Umar al- Khattab, the second rightly-guided Caliph. It originated during the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. time but not as an institution. Its main function is to administer wealth contributed and acquired by Muslims through various sources. Under the Islamic law of succession, the bayt al-mal may constitute a recipient of a deceased Muslim's estate. It would exhaust the estates after being allotted to quranic heirs, in the absence of any asabah. A question arises in what capacity the bayt al-mal
receives the property, as an heir or because of no ecipient. Moreover, is a Muslim who leaves behind no heir, allowed to bequeath all his properties to whomever he wishes without obtaining a prior consent from the bayt al-mal? This article
examines the entitlement of the bayt al-mal and the possibility of a Muslim to bequeath all his properties without the consent of the former.


A life-threatening disease such as breast cancer with its pervasive nature of uncertainty can lead to feelings of disempowerment. Nonetheless, survivors may reconstruct their identity within optimism and a celebration of a new self. In this qualitative constructionist study, we explored survivors' experiences, meaning-making, and identity transformation. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 11 women who identified as breast cancer survivors. Participants were aged 35 years old or above and were in post-diagnosis for at least 3 years. Interview data were collected and analyzed using thematic techniques. We identified three master themes: Diseased Self, focused on emotional distress and the presentation of a façade; Coping Self, explored resilience and post-traumatic growth; and Transformed Self, engaged in presentations of self-image, meaning-making, and psychological ownership addressing survivorship and empowerment. The findings may be used to inform guidelines and support for cancer survivors considering the impact of diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment experiences on self-identity.


We investigated the population status and habitat association of the endemic Swayne's Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei (Sclater, 1892)) in Maze National Park, Southern Ethiopia, in 2018 and 2019. Sample count method line-transect was used for the population estimation, while habitat association was made based on the abundance of individuals counted in each habitat. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and compared with χ2 test. The total estimated populations of Swayne's Hartebeest (SHB) in the study period were 1456 and 1492 during wet and dry seasons, respectively showing no seasonal variation. Among the total estimated population, 31% were adult males, 38.46% adult females, 13.97% sub adult males, 15.94% sub adult females and 1.07% young. The number of adult females was higher than the other age groups followed by adult males in both seasons. Significant differences were reported among age and sex structure of population size during both seasons (wet season: χ2= 58.423, df =3, P < 0.05; dry season: χ2=534.079, df= 4, P < 0.05). The maximum group size was 36 and the minimum was 1. The ratio of adult males to adult females was 1:1.24 and 1:1.24, sub-adult males to sub adult females was 1:1.16 and 1:1.12, adult males to sub-adult males was 1:0.36 and 1:0.56, adult females to sub-adult females was 1:0.33 and 1:0.49 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. The male to female ratio was 1:1.22 and 1:1.19 during wet and dry seasons as well. The population trend among ten years were significantly differed (χ2 = 1.708, df= 9, P< 0.05). The SHB was distributed into three types of habitat (riverine forest, open grassland and scattered tree) with significant differences (χ2=1109.937, df = 3, P < 0.05). The savannah grass land was most preferable habitat followed by scattered tree habitat. Maintaining its critical habitat was highly recommended for sustainability of current population status.


This paper proposes a pose-based algorithm to solve the full Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) problem for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), navigating in an unknown and possibly unstructured environment. A probabilistic scan matching technique using range scans gathered from a Mechanical Scanning Imaging Sonar (MSIS) is used together with the robot dead-reckoning displacements. The proposed method utilizes two Extended Kalman Filters (EKFs). The first, estimates the local path traveled by the robot while forming the scan as well as its uncertainty, providing position estimates for correcting the distortions that the vehicle motion produces in the acoustic images. The second is an augmented state EKF that estimates and keeps the registered scans poses. The raw data from the sensors are processed and fused in-line. No priory structural information or initial pose are considered. Also, a method of estimating the uncertainty of the scan matching estimation is provided. The algorithm has been tested on an AUV guided along a 600 m path within a marina environment and is compared against previous work from the authors, showing the viability of the proposed approach.


In this paper we explore the general conditions in order that a 2-dimensional natural Hamiltonian system possess a second invariant which is a polynomial in the momenta and is therefore Liouville integrable. We examine the possibility that the invariant is preserved by the Hamiltonian flow on a given energy hypersurface only (weak integrability) and derive the additional requirement necessary to have conservation at arbitrary energy (strong integrability). Using null complex coordinates, we show that the leading order coefficient of the polynomial is an arbitrary holomorphic function in the case of weak integrability and a polynomial in the coordinates in the strongly integrable one. We review the results obtained so far with strong invariants up to degree four and provide some new examples of weakly integrable systems with linear and quadratic invariants. Published as: Journal of Math. Phys., 46, 052902 (2005)


This article evaluates the intensity of competition by estimate a bank-specific and time varying Lerner Index as a measure of market power by Zambian banks in the post-reform period. Using a model of oligopolistic conduct, we show that Zambian banks exercised market power in setting prices. Furthermore, market concentration, efficiency performance, diversity in revenue sources and regulatory intensity accounted for much of the banks' exercise of market power. However, the results indicate that credit risk and macroeconomic uncertainty had a weakening effect on the banks' exercise of market power. The policy lesson from the analysis is that regulatory authorities should continue with the policy of opening up the financial sector to more players in order to foster contestability in the banking industry. JEL Classifications: C33, D43, G21


Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major health risk factor that affects people from all ethnic and socioeconomic groups. IPV defined as the use of actual or threatened physical, sexual, and psychological violence, by current husband, is a significant public health problem. This paper reports the prevalence of IPV as well as individual, socioeconomic, and family function characteristics associated with IPV among women attending public health services in Marivan County, Iran.
Materials and Methods: Multistage cluster sampling was employed to recruit 770 women to participate in the study. This descriptive, cross-sectional study took place from May to November 2009. Data were collected, using a survey questionnaire, which was developed by the researchers. The statistical analysis of data included ANOVA, t-test, bivariate correlations, and binary logistic regression.
Results: The majority of the women (94.3%) had experienced psychological violence, followed by sexual violence (64%), and physical violence (60%). There was a positive significant relationship between IPV and education level of women, level of religious commitment in both women and husbands. Husband's smoking, addiction to drugs, mental illness, and weakness in religious persuasion were statistically significant predictors of IPV and accounted for 36% of the variation.
Discussion: The study suggests that major strategies for prevention of IPV may be empowering women by establishing economic basis for job creation for them and also increasing their level of education. Further research, especially in developing countries, is suggested to enhance our understanding of IPV against women.


The presence of stagnant zones in porous media is often used to explain the
observations of self-contradictory redox chemistry once the possibilities of borehole
mixing are ruled out. As an example, methane is found in very small amounts in many
suboxic groundwaters, though methanogenesis requires very reduced conditions (high H2
levels) in order to be thermodynamically feasible. This feature has been produced in
a previous model using a simple dual-porosity 1-D PHREEQC model (Jakobsen, 2002),
implying a stagnant domain containing organic matter diffusively exchanging with
water moving by. In other words the diffusive exchange occurs on the scale of the
model. This paper tries to asses whether actual inter/intra granular stagnant zones
containing organic matter can sustain adequately reduced conditions in a system
closer to reality, given the importance of diffusive exchange on the pore scale. The
model tool PHAST is used to set up a simple 2-D flow system of active and non-active
dead-end channels and pores in a pore scale grid. Simple Darcian flow is assumed,
implying a simple constant velocity across a pore. Dead-end pores and channels are
set up to contain solid organic matter. Fe-oxides are placed in the active channels
with flow and suboxic water containing sulfate enters the model flow system. The
partial equilibrium model used by Jakobsen (2002) is used to control the redox
processes, implying that the reduced equivalents released by adding the organic
matter in the stagnant domains are used for the processes that release enough energy
for sustaining microbial activity. This also implies that methane formed can only be
reoxidized if the energy available for the process is adequate. Using this setup the
model can produce a system where sulfate reduction and Fe-oxide reduction occurs in
the parts with active flow and methanogenesis occurs in the stagnant zones, and the
water in the water leaving the system contains small amounts of methane. This
indicates that detoxifying processes, such as the dechlorination of vinylchloride,
requiring rather reduced conditions, may take place in stagnant intergranular voids,
of an apparently not adequately reduced system. The process may occur slowly in this
manner, but may still produce the conditions necessary for hosting the microorganisms
capable of carrying out the process, implying that they are present if a reductant is
added as a remedial measure.
Jakobsen R. (2002) Including stagnant zones in order to model overlapping redox
processes occurring in a shallow sandy aquifer. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 66 (15A):
A362-A362 Suppl. 1 AUG 2002


Background SB4, SB2, and SB5 are biosimilars of the reference etanercept (ETN), infliximab (INF), and adalimumab (ADA), respectively. Radiographic progression using the modified Total Sharp Score (mTSS) at week 0 and final week (week 52 for etanercept and adalimumab and week 54 for infliximab) was measured in phase III randomised, double-blind studies comparing efficacy and safety of biosimilar to its reference product. Objectives Assess and compare radiographic progression by disease activity states at week 24 (for etanercept and adalimumab) or week 30 (for infliximab) in terms of DAS28 from a pooled analysis of three biosimilar studies.1–3 Methods Patients with radiographic data from each phase III study were pooled and grouped based on their disease activity state (remission, low disease activity [LDA], moderate disease activity [MDA], and high disease activity [HDA]) at week 24 or 30 in terms of DAS28. The mean change in mTSS and the proportion of radiographic non-progressors of higher disease activity groups (LDA, MDA, and HDA) in reference to remission were summarised descriptively and odds ratios (OR) were compared using 95% confidence interval (CI) obtained from logistic model with baseline DAS28. Results A total of 1263 patients from phase III studies had radiographic assessment available and the results are summarised in table 1. Across all treatment groups, radiographic progression was the highest in HDA followed by MDA, LDA, and remission. In all treatments combined, the mean change in mTSS was 0.03, 0.38, 0.27, and 1.27 and the proportion of non-progressors was 79.7% (181/227), 78.1% (125/160), 74.1% (473/638), 58.4% (139/238) in remission, LDA, MDA, and HDA groups, respectively. In all treatments combined, compared to remission group, the estimated difference in mTSS was greater in HDA (1.15, 95% CI: 0.63–1.66) than MDA (0.20, 95% CI: −0.22–0.62) and LDA (0.36, 95% CI: −0.20–0.91) groups and the OR of the proportion of the non-progressors was the smallest in HDA (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.26–0.61) followed by MDA (OR 0.76, 95% CI: 0.52–1.10) and LDA (OR 0.90, 95% CI: 0.55–1.49) (figure 1). This trend was similarly observed in other treatment groups.Abstract THU0201 – Table 1 Summary of Change in Mean mTSS and a Proportion of Non-progressors Treatment Change in mTSSMean±SD Non-progressors n/n'(%) All Treatments Combined 0.43±2.78 918/1263 (72.7%) Biosmilars Combined 0.33±2.40 523/702 (74.5%) Reference Products Combined: 0.55±3.18 395/561 (70.4%) SB4+ETN 0.59±2.94 324/477 (67.9%) SB2+INF 0.38±2.83 313/422 (74.2%) SB5+ADA 0.28±2.46 281/364 (77.2%) SB4 0.45±2.50 174/249 (69.9%) ETN 0.74±3.36 150/228 (65.8%) SB2 0.38±2.15 157/213 (73.7%) INF 0.37±3.39 156/209 (74.6%) SB5 0.17±2.49 192/240 (80.0%) ADA 0.50±2.40 89/124 (71.8%)Abstract THU0201 – Figure 1 Odds Ratios of Non-progressors in Reference to Remission (vs. Remission) Conclusions A pooled radiographic assessment data from three different biosimilar studies showed that radiographic progression was greater as disease activity worsened. References [1] Emery, et al. Rheumatology2017Dec;56(12):2093–2101. [2] Smolen, et al. Ann Rheum Dis2018Feb;77(2):234–240. [3] Weinblatt, et al. Arthritis Rheumatol2018Jan;70(1):40–48. Disclosure of Interest J. Smolen Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Astro-Pharma, Celgene, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Medimmune, MSD, Novartis-Sandoz, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Samsung Bioepis, Sanofi and UCB, M. Weinblatt Grant/research support from: Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Crescendo Bioscience, and Sanofi, Consultant for: AbbVie, Amgen, Novartis, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Samsung, Crescendo Bioscience, and AstraZeneca, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Pfizer, P. Emery Consultant for: Pfizer, MSD, AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, UCB, Roche, Novartis, Samsung, Sandoz and Lilly, E. Keystone Consultant for: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Crescendo Bioscience, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Genentech, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, UCB, Samsung Bioepis, M. Genovese Consultant for: Samsung, Merck, Abbvie, Amgen, BI, J. Vencovsky Consultant for: Samsung Bioepis, Biogen, G. Myung Employee of: Samsung Bioepis, E. Hong: None declared, I. Baek Employee of: Samsung Bioepis, S. Lee Employee of: Samsung Bioepis, J. Ghil Employee of: Samsung Bioepis


Abstract We used our knowledge of the factors that determine the nutrient concentrations in Florida lakes to develop a strategy for establishing numeric nutrient criteria for lakes in the State of Florida. Based on previous findings that natural factors were most important in determining the current nutrient concentrations in Florida lakes, we used current distributions of nutrients as a basis for setting criteria. We started with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Florida Lake Regions and grouped similar regions into 6 total phosphorus (TP) zones and 5 total nitrogen (TN) zones that were used to set numeric nutrient criteria for each zone. We propose criteria that will identify the lakes in each zone with the highest concentrations of TP and TN for subsequent investigation to determine the degree anthropogenic sources or natural backgrounds are responsible for their trophic status. To provide special protection to Florida's oligotrophic lakes, site-specific criteria are proposed, with oligotrophic lakes defined as those lakes that have (1) a long-term average of not more than 6 μg/L of chlorophyll and (2) less than 30% coverage by surface area of submersed aquatic macrophytes. The site-specific criteria for TP and TN will be the long-term (7 year) average concentrations. These proposed criteria are protective of the designated uses of Florida lakes and prevent the misclassification of many naturally eutrophic lakes as impaired when they are not undergoing cultural eutrophication. The proposed numeric standards can be implemented immediately in the State of Florida.


This presentation and analysis of the nucleotide sequence for the Dunlop strain of human papovavirus BKV, BKV(Dun), derives from the study described by Seif et al. (1979a). The Dunlop strain of BKV was isolated by K. Takemoto and colleagues (Howley et al. 1975) from a patient with the immunologic disorder described as the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. The sequence of 5153 nucleotides of BKV (Dun) differs slightly from other isolates, such as prototype BKV (Gardner et al. 1971) and the BKV(MM) (Takemoto et al. 1974). The latter strain represents the equivalent of a large, naturally occurring, early viable deletion mutant of BKV (Yang and Wu 1979). By analogy to the presentations of the SV40 and polyoma virus (Py) sequences in Appendixes A and B, respectively, the numbering of the BKV(Dun) nucleotide sequence (Section 1) begins at a point near the origin for viral DNA replication and proceeds in a clockwise direction through the late region. It should be noted that an alternative numbering scheme was used in the original presentation of this sequence (Seif et al. 1979a), and it is this original numbering system that appears in other sections of this appendix. Like SV40 and polyoma virus, BKV contains an early region and a late region (Sections 1 and 2) expressed at a different times during infection of the lytic host, which for BKV is usually a human embryonic kidney cell culture. As in SV40, two early and three late polypeptides have been defined. Their putative protein sequences, based on analysis of...


INTRODUCTION
There is some controversy about the possible relation between HLA-DR2 (DRB1*1501-DRB5*0101-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602) and the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS), which could be due, at least in part, to methodological differences among the different studies dealing with this subject and/or to a lack of phenotypic homogeneity within the series of patients.

AIMS
This study aims to contribute information about the possible relation between DR2 (more specifically the HLA-DRB1*1501 allele) and the severity of MS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We conducted a study of 43 individuals with clinically defined MS, whose degree of severity was determined using Kurtzke's EDSS, and 107 controls from a similar ethnic origin. DETERMINATIONS: HLA typing by PCR-SSO and PCR-SSP, analysis of oligoclonal IgG bands in CSF by isoelectric focusing, and quantification of the intrathecal synthesis of IgG (IgG index, IgG ratio, Reiber's formula and Tourtellotte's formula).

STATISTICS
Chi2 test, Mann-Whitney test and Kendall correlation coefficient.

RESULTS
DRB1*1501 is associated with the presence of MS only in females and with lower severity of the disease only in males. These associations do not appear to depend on any kind of effect exerted by DRB1*1501 on the intrathecal synthesis of IgG that differs between the two sexes.

CONCLUSIONS
The absence of a relation between DRB1*1501 and the severity of MS reported in many studies could be due to not stratifying the patients according to sex. Our findings emphasise how important it is in genetic studies of complex traits to reduce the phenotypic heterogeneity of patients as much as possible.


The aims of this article were to (a) investigate whether practicing Tai Chi has an effect on stress, self-esteem, and perceived life expectancy and (b) contrast a structural model of relation between the three latter variables taking into account age. One scale to assess stress, another scale to assess perceived life expectancy, and the 10-item Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale were administrated to a nonprobability sample of 86 Tai Chi practitioners and 91 sedentary persons. Tai Chi practitioners had a lower level of stress, a greater self-esteem, and a greater perceived life expectancy than sedentary persons. Self-esteem had an effect on stress and perceived life expectancy, and stress had an effect on perceived life expectancy in both Tai Chi practitioners and sedentary persons. Age was correlated to self-esteem among sedentary persons, but not among Tai Chi practitioners. Age had a direct effect on perceived life expectancy among Tai Chi practitioners, but not among sedentary persons. It is concluded that Tai Chi practice has a beneficial effect on stress, perceived life expectancy, and self-esteem.


High-space-resolving information of hotspot electron temperature is a foundation for further research on physical processes of implosion in inertial confinement fusion. This work proposed a novel high-space-resolving electron temperature detector, which is based on the bremsstrahlung radiation mechanism of the implosion hotspot and uses two-channel Kirkpatrick-Baez microscopes. In this novel detector, an optical quasi-coaxis method was used to eliminate the strong impact of the view field difference on the high space resolution and correctness of the electron temperature diagnosis, and a compound KB microscope method was proposed to reduce the number of spherical reflectors and save space.


Additive manufacturing (AM) extensively has been at the center of attention of studies and industry. The AM process involves gradual build-up in layers, and capability in the fabrication of complex shapes with low cost. Advances in the processing of polymers and polymer composites with this method are in the domain of this journal which can provide a vital resource for anyone involved in additive manufacturing. This Special Issue will cover but is not limited to original reviews and research articles dedicated to: