A thermostable amylase, possibly a beta-amylase from Thermoactinomyces sp. no. 2 isolated from soil, is reported. The enzyme was purified 36-fold by acetone precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, and the molecular weight was estimated at 31,600. The enzyme was characterized by demonstration of optimum activity at 60 degrees C and pH 7 and by retention of 70% activity at 70 degrees C (30 min). It was stimulated by Mn and Fe but strongly inhibited by Hg. Maltose was the only detectable product of hydrolysis of starches and was quantitatively highest in plantain starch hydrolysate.


Zoonoses are infections acquired from animals. The most worrying are those that jump the species barrier and then pass from human to human, such as swine flu. The human animal infections and risk surveillance group was set up in 2004 to improve the process of spotting infections, assessing risk and responding. The Health Protection Agency is working with veterinary colleges to prepare for newer and unrecognised infections.


This is a report of a modification to one design of laryngoscope to increase the angle between blade and handle, to facilitate intubation in cases of difficult access, such as in obstetric practice or in patients in whom neck flexion is limited, for example by skull traction. The modification offers the unique advantage of two useful blade angles in one instrument. The first type described would be suitable for use in small units where it is thought that a laryngoscope solely for use in rare cases of difficult access would not be justified. It would also be suitable for inclusion in resuscitation kits for use both within and outside hospital. The second type would be more suitable for the maternity or spinal injuries unit, or the difficult intubation box of a general operating theatre suite.


The amount of waste produced increases globally, and valuable resources are lost if materials contained in wastes are not recycled. One such important material group is plastics, but it is typically mixed in municipal solid waste. In this paper, the effect of maleic compatibilizer on the melt properties of mixed waste plastic is studied in order to evaluate the effect of compatibilization on the processability of reclaimed plastics. The results indicate, that compatibilization has significant effect on both melt flow rate and melt volume index. Both are decreased notably, suggesting that compatibilization may impair the processability of mixed waste plastic, even though it is expected to improve other properties.


IEEE 802.11 e medium access control (MAC) is an emerging supplement to the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard to support quality-of-service (QoS). The 802.11e MAC is based on both centrally-controlled and contention-based channel accesses. In this paper, we evaluate the contention-based channel access mechanism, called enhanced distributed coordination function (EDCF), in comparison with the 802.11 legacy MAC. The ECDF provides differentiated channel access to frames with different priorities. We also consider an optional feature of the EDCF, called contention-free burst (CFB), which allows multiple MAC frame transmissions during a single transmission opportunity (TXOP). Through our simulation study, we conclude that the EDCF can provide differentiated channel access for different traffic types. Furthermore, the CFB is found to enhance the EDCF performance by increasing the overall system throughput and achieving more acceptable streaming quality in terms of frame losses and delays.


Adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern strongly reduces type 2 diabetes risk on average, but there is substantial heterogeneity in the long-term glycemic and inflammatory response to dietary changes, likely due in part to genetic factors. Using a genome-wide interaction association analysis in the UK Biobank (UKB) cohort, we sought to prioritize and characterize genes contributing to this heterogeneity in the Mediterranean diet-risk factor relationship. We studied an unrelated, multi-ancestry UKB subset who completed at least one 24-hour diet questionnaire, had available glycemic (hemoglobin A1c; HbA1c) and inflammatory (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; hsCRP) biomarkers measured in blood, and were free of major disease at baseline (N = 136,880). A nine-item, point-based Mediterranean diet score (MDS) based on food group and nutrient intakes was calculated. We conducted a series of genome-wide interaction studies (GWIS) to test for significant variant-diet interactions: one for the MDS itself and one for each sub-component. Variant-level results were aggregated by gene using the MAGMA tool. Gene-level MDS interaction results revealed two genes with false discovery rate < 0.1 for HbA1c: LRRC24 (p = 3.2×10−6) and CCDC40 (p = 3.3×10−6). Gene-level sub-component-specific analysis showed that these two interactions were primarily driven by alcohol and fish intake, respectively, and further prioritized an interaction between intake of nuts and LIN9 gene variants impacting HbA1c (p = 8.8×10−8). Follow-up analysis at the top variant in LIN9, rs9729447, showed a substantial attenuation of the negative nut intake-HbA1c association in major allele carriers and revealed a stronger interaction effect size in individuals who completed at least two dietary questionnaires. Our GWIS analysis suggests that there are locus-specific interactors with Mediterranean diet patterns influencing glycemic and inflammatory health.

 K.E.Westerman: None. J.B.Meigs: Consultant; Quest Diagnostics. A.Manning: None.

 National Institutes of Health (K01DK133637)


Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour, with few available therapies providing significant improvements in mortality. Biomarkers, which are defined by the National Institutes of Health as 'characteristics that are objectively measured and evaluated as indicators of normal biologic processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention', have the potential to play valuable roles in the diagnosis and treatment of GBM. Although GBM biomarker research is still in its early stages because of the tumour's complex pathophysiology, a number of potential markers have been identified which can be measured in either brain tissue or blood serum. In conjunction with other clinical data, particularly neuroimaging modalities such as MRI, these proteins could contribute to the clinical management of GBM by helping to classify tumours, predict prognosis and assess treatment response. In this article, we review the current understanding of GBM pathophysiology and recent advances in GBM biomarker research, and discuss the potential clinical implications of promising biomarkers. A better understanding of GBM pathophysiology will allow researchers and clinicians to identify optimal biomarkers and methods of interpretation, leading to advances in tumour classification, prognosis prediction and treatment assessment.


The observation of quantum-dot resonance fluorescence enabled a new solid-state approach to generating single photons with a bandwidth approaching the natural linewidth of a quantum-dot transition. Here, we operate in the small Rabi frequency limit of resonance fluorescence--the Heitler regime--to generate subnatural linewidth and high-coherence quantum light from a single quantum dot. The measured single-photon coherence is 30 times longer than the lifetime of the quantum-dot transition, and the single photons exhibit a linewidth which is inherited from the excitation laser. In contrast, intensity-correlation measurements reveal that this photon source maintains a high degree of antibunching behavior on the order of the transition lifetime with vanishing two-photon scattering probability. Generating decoherence-free phase-locked single photons from multiple quantum systems will be feasible with our approach.


In the course of post-mortem histological examination of the adrenals of tumor-bearing patients numerous areas of infiltrating cells have frequently been observed. In the medullary portion of the adrenal the infiltrating elements consist primarily of small lymphocytes, plasma cells, and to a lesser extent neutrophilic leukocytes. The cells appear in fairly large numbers within the medullary vessels and between the epithelial cells (Figs. 1 and 2). In the adrenal cortex, particularly the zona fasciculata, the same blood elements have been encountered in still greater proportions (Figs. 3 and 4). Aside from these leukocytes, there have been observed flat, angular forms with an eccentrically located nucleus and basophilically stained cytoplasm. These are probably histiocytes.


Cultures were grown in campus tend to imitate the western culture, so that the local culture is ruled out. The local culture is considered ancient culture, so it does not show up in the form of creativity. Though Indonesia is rich with culture can be preserved in the campus. One of them is a manuscript poem, which is one form of the local culture of our nation. The text of the poem can be in the form of creative songs, drama, dance and others. One solution is to develop student creativity with the revitalization (revive) the text of the poem and developed through programs of student organizations in the field of arts and culture. So it is the first step to develop a sense of love of local culture


This paper describes a Verification Methodology Manual (VMM) based constrained random verification of a SoC block.The SoC block taken into consideration is Camera interface module (CIM). The environment of verification, which is created by means of verification methodology manual (VMM) for System Verilog, is scalable, predictable and reusableand can reduce verification time. Using this environment of verification, we can not only know whether there are bugs in the design under test (DUT) or not, butalso can easily locate design errors and corner cases with the help of constraints.


We report the case of 19-year-old man with pituitary gigantism due to growth hormone-producing pituitary macroadenoma. The patient complained of recurrent headache and excessive growth spurt since age 15. Octreotide administration was initiated following transsphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy. Octreotide injection for 4 years efficaciously reduced the size of remnant adenoma as well as serum growth hormone levels. Notably, octreotide exhibited a potent analgesic effect on his intractable cluster headache that has continued even after reduction of the adenoma volume. The analgesic effect lasted 2 to 6 hours after each injection and no tachyphylaxis to octreotide appeared during 4-year treatment. To characterize the headache and the pain intensity, analgesic drugs including octreotide, lidocaine, morphine and thiopental were tested using a visual analogue scale (VAS) evaluation, with the result that octreotide exhibited a prompt and complete disappearance of the headache. Headache relief was in part reproduced by morphine injection (56% reduction) but not by lidocaine or thiopental. The present case suggests that the intractable headache associated with pituitary gigantism is possibly related to the endogenous opioid system. Thus, the headache control by octreotide is clinically helpful for continuation of the self-injection regimen.


The feces in chicken farms and in cattle raising causes accumulations of manure that are an excellent substrate for the proliferation of Diptera. To control these insects, a management program must integrate cultural, chemical, and biological methods. This study reports the occurrence of Aleochara notula Erichson, 1839 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in chicken and cattle feces in Brazil. Manure samples, collected at two-week intervals, were taken to the laboratory and the pupae were extracted by water flotation. Each pupa was placed in colorless gelatin capsules until the appearance of the flies or their parasitoids. Percentages of parasitism in chicken and cattle feces were 0.33% and 0.3%, respectively.


The article presents a letter to the editor in response to the June 1967 article "The Universality of Management," by William V. Muse.


We argue that diagnostics of excess dissolved calcium carbonate (TA*) above the saturation horizon cannot be unambiguously interpreted in terms of local in situ dissolution. We examine a three‐dimensional numerical model of global ocean circulation and biogeochemistry with explicit representation of the formation and dissolution of calcium carbonate. In particular, dissolution is only allowed to occur below the saturation horizon. The model qualitatively captures the observed basin‐ and global‐scale patterns of alkalinity and TA* as well as the relationship between TA* and chlorofluorocarbon age in the thermocline. The existence of TA* above the saturation horizon in the model can only be explained in terms of transport subsequent to dissolution. The model study does not rule out the possibility of shallow‐depth calcium carbonate dissolution but suggests that dissolution rates derived from tracer observations have not adequately accounted for the influence of transport.


ABSTRACT One-year-old pine needles collected from residential and industrial locations in Kentucky were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls. For comparison, pine needle samples from the highly contaminated Linden Chemicals and Plastics (LCP) Superfund site in Brunswick, Georgia, also were analyzed. PCB concentrations in residential Kentucky ranged from 1.91 ng/g dry wt. to 12 ng/g dry wt. These sites were comparatively less polluted than those from the Superfund site, that had concentrations ranging from 15 ng/g dry wt. to 34 ng/g dry wt. Finger printing of PCB contamination sources was possible using pine needle PCB profiles. PCB-28 and PCB-52, PCB-101, PCB-153 and PCB-138 in pine needles indicated uptake of Aroclors −1016 and −1242, −1254, −1260 in Kentucky sites. Pine needles from the Superfund site and its vicinity contained higher chlorinated PCBs especially, PCB-196, PCB-199, and PCB-206 characteristic of Aroclor 1268. When the toxic equivalencies (TEQs) of PCBs were compared, Kentucky pine needles were only slightly lower (0.03–0.17 pg/g dry wt) than pine needles from the Superfund site (0.24–0.48 pg/g dry wt). Considering the homologue distribution of PCBs in pine needles from Kentucky and the Superfund site, lower chlorinated PCBs seem to have traveled farther than the higher chlorinated PCBs.


An academic researcher is using ideas from artificial intelligence and other types of computer science, as well as narrative theory, in an effort to make video games more engaging. R. Michael Young, assistant professor of computer science at North Carolina State University, is studying various ways to use technology to generate games that react to players and provide different challenges and situations based on users' actions, interests, and preferences. This would create a new experience every time they play. Typically, designers determine all choices players might make in a game and establish in advance a set number of playing paths that will be entertaining. However, this limits the playing options and story lines. In contrast, much of Young's research focuses on ways to provide an initial story and then on-the-fly plots that a game can customize as it unfolds for a particular player. The researcher said he is working with AI planning: "the process of representing and reasoning about action and how you might piece together action to achieve a set of goals." Young said a game can use this technique to build abstract models of all appropriate actions available. The program then searches for action sequences that could provide a narrative that fits in with what has happened so far. This has been difficult to implement, Young said, because there is no computational model of narrative structure. He is thus using techniques such as computational linguistics to figure out how best to tell a story created by an AI planner. Analyst Jay Horwitz at Jupiter Research, a market analysis firm, said AI has already been used in some games to bring to life characters not controlled by players. However, he said, "I don't think AI is the key business factor when it comes to producing games. It's one of many elements of developing a game that are very important." Nonetheless, Young expressed hope his research will be commercialized in the next few years. He said this will be more likely as processing power increases and can better handle his techniques. In addition, he noted, a lot of past game development has focused on improving graphics. Now, Young said, graphics are much better and faster than in the past, so developers can consider how they might improve other aspects of the games, such as the content. —Linda Dailey Paulson Mediator


This study was conducted in order to determine the effect of autoclave and microwave treatments on cookies. Wheat dough was treated in an autoclave (30 min), a microwave (1 min), and both autoclave and microwave (30 min/1 min). The treated dough was baked or non-baked and cookies quality was assessed. The pH, moisture content, color, and texture were measured, and sensory evaluation was performed. The pH showed a slight increase when dough was treated in a microwave (before baking) and decreased in both the autoclave and autoclave/microwave (after baking) treatments. The moisture content showed a significant increase, compared to the control, in autoclave treatments. Regarding surface color of cookies, lightness was decreased in all treatments and redness was higher compared with the control, except for microwave (before baking), and yellowness was lower compared to the control, except for microwave treatment (after baking). Hardness, gumminess, chewiness, and shear force showed a significant increase when dough was treated in an autoclave/microwave (after baking) compared to the control. In the sensory evaluation, color, taste, texture, shape, and overall preference of cookies treated with an autoclave/microwave (after baking) showed a low score. These results suggest that autoclaving and microwaving may reduce the quality of bread and that preparation of countermeasures is necessary.


This correspondence presents an algorithm for compensation of I/Q imbalance for a direct-conversion packet-switched orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) communications system, which accounts for transmitter I/Q imbalance, receiver I/Q imbalance, phase/frequency error, and dispersive multipath fading. The proposed estimation algorithm is then presented, which operates within the framework of existing multiuser OFDM radio standards (802.11a). It is shown that this algorithm accurately estimates and corrects transceiver I/Q imbalance on a packet-by-packet basis, all within the receiver's digital baseband.


The lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) has been shown to be an important prognostic marker for various tumors. However, the prognostic value of LIPI among non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with systemic therapy remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate survival status according to LIPI among NSCLC patients receiving different forms of systemic therapy at our institution. We also performed a meta-analysis of articles from PubMed and Embase to illustrate this question. For our cohort, we found that good LIPI was associated with better overall survival (OS) among 91 patients on immunotherapy, 329 patients on targeted therapy, and 570 patients on chemotherapy. For the meta-analysis, a total of eight studies with 8,721 patients were included. Pooled results showed that a higher LIPI (those with 1 or 2 factors) was associated with poor overall progression-free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio [HR], 1.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45−1.71) and OS (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.75−2.31). Subgroup analyses showed that a higher LIPI was related to poor survival among patients prescribed different systemic therapies: immunotherapy (OS HR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.99–3.13; PFS HR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.56–2.01), chemotherapy (OS HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.34–1.86; PFS HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.23–1.55), and targeted therapy (OS HR; 2.15, 95% CI, 1.57–2.96; PFS HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.25–2.06). The study shows that the LIPI is a clinically significant prognostic factor for NSCLC patients receiving systemic therapy. Systematic Review Registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD420209009.


Some new domain decomposition methods (DDM) based on optimal control approach are introduced for the coupling of first- and second-order equations on overlapping subdomains. Several cost functionals and control functions are proposed. Uniqueness and existence results are proved for the coupled problem and the convergence of iterative processes is analyzed.


BACKGROUND
There is little evidence about the management and course of chronic low back pain in primary care.

OBJECTIVES
Our aim was to describe the course of chronic low back pain and the performed diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for patients with chronic low back pain in general practice.

METHODS
Twenty-six GPs involved in the Registration Network Family Practices participated in this prospective follow-up study. All patients and GPs were asked to complete questionnaires at baseline and at 4, 8 and 12 months follow-up.

RESULTS
The GPs provided information about diagnostic and therapeutic procedures concerning 524 patients with chronic low back pain. Diagnostic tests other than history-taking and physical examination were not frequently used. Medication, mostly NSAIDs, was the most frequently used type of treatment (21.6%). The most frequent referrals concerned physiotherapy (16.3%) and neurology or neurologic surgery (6.3%). Information about the course of their chronic low back pain was provided by 368 patients participating in our study. The course of chronic low back pain appeared to be quite stable, as there was only a slight improvement in pain intensity and physical functioning over the 12 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
A variety of options for the treatment and referral of chronic low back pain patients is available for and used by GPs. Efforts should be made to establish which diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are the most effective for chronic low back pain.


This study contributes to the literature on pension reforms by evaluating the Turkish case within a theoretical framework drawing on financialisation as extensive and intensive accumulation of finance assets. Financialisation refers to the expansion of finance into ever more areas of economic and social life while increasing its depth through more sophisticated financial operations. The Turkish pension reform, which has been run under the influence of global policy actors, illustrates the integration of finance with social policy. The intensification of dependence upon finance is demonstrated by the Turkish pension funds that stimulate innovation of financial instruments through demand-side impacts on capital markets. The critical analysis of financialised pensions reveals that the social policy advice of international financial institutions, with motives to extend financial markets, exacerbates class and gender inequalities. JEL Classification: G230 Pension funds; J140 Ageing, Pension; N2 Financialisation


Different seismic source models are used to estimate regional seismic hazard. Commonly used point, line, and area seismic sources are considered in addition to a new method which is obtained by modifying the line source model to take into account the uncertainty associated with the exact location of the line (i.e., fault). The results are presented in terms of cumulative functions of peak ground acceleration for major sites in the Azerbaijan Province of northwest Iran. Iso-acceleration maps for two different return periods are also developed for each seismic source model and a comparison is made among the results of the models.

The point source model is shown to be unrealistic when used to model large shocks ( Ms > 6.5), which correspond to long ruptures. The model cannot incorporate the fault length, thus ignoring possible spatial migration of seismicity along the fault. In addition, the actual attenuation of ground motion departs considerably from that associated with point source assumption.

The conventional line source model, while providing a good representation of vertical strike-slip faults, cannot accurately model the seismicity in other cases, such as reverse faults in general, and thrust (low angle reverse) faults in particular. Epicenters for these latter cases do not lie along a line, as they do in case of vertical strike-slip faults.

The area source model is used for those cases where the distribution of earthquake epicenters in a region does not follow any identifiable geological fault pattern. The spatial migration of seismicity along an active fault during a given exposure time is of vital importance in seismic hazard analysis. An analysis based on an area source model corresponds to assuming this migration will be equal in all directions. The theory of plate tectonics, however, suggests an elongated narrow zone corresponding to each fault.

A fault line model is developed which exhibits less sensitivity of near-field ground motion to precise fault location than the line source model. This model is referred to as the strip source model. According to this model, the seismicity on a fault is spatially distributed in a long and narrow zone along the margins of the corresponding plates or microplates, and decreases with distance from the fault on either side. It is believed that this kind of modeling closely represents the seismicity corresponding to interplate earthquakes, especially when the type of faulting is thrust. Uncertainties due to the location and orientation of faults will be considerable, particularly for the buried faults, and these uncertainties can be incorporated in the strip source model.


Active networking is one of the suggested technologies to introduce additional intelligence and programmability in the network and its services. In this paper, the use of active networking to support advanced multicast services providing media transcoding inside the network is investigated. In the multicast service different versions of the streamed data are made available and customers can select a specific version according to their wishes or their capabilities. Based on the active networking facilities of the underlying framework the different versions of the streamed data can be created inside the network, through transformations or transcodings of the original data. Both design and performance issues of the detailed service are discussed. A new multicast tree set-up protocol, taking into account the required transcodings, is introduced. A number of different strategies are discussed optimizing the location of the transcodings as well as the use of bandwidth in the network, while considering the availability of sufficient processing power in the nodes. The performance analysis is done for a voice stream multicast service, addressing the efficiency of the tree set-up strategies, the optimization of network resource utilization, the use of processing power for transcodings, and the resulting quality of streamed voice signals after multiple transcodings.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

The Mena protein has been shown to be critical for breast cancer metastasis, and, in pre-clinical models two of its isoforms MenaINV and Mena11a are expressed in invasive and non-invasive tumor cell subpopulations, respectively. We have previously developed a quantitative immunofluorescence approach to assess the fraction of Mena protein lacking Mena11a called Menacalc as a method to infer presence of invasive tumor cells. Menacalc is determined by subtracting the population-based Z-score (quantifies the relationship to the mean) for Mena11a quantitative expression score from the population-based Z-score for total Mena quantitative expression score. The resulting Menacalc scores range from -4 to +4 with high scores reflecting tumors with relatively high total Mena (all isoforms) but low Mena11a. We showed that high MENAcalc scores associated significantly with poor disease-specific survival in breast cancer patients, including node-negative and positive cases. A recent study reported that a semi-quantitative approached to Mena assessment shows prognostic value in early Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) (Bria et. al 2014). Here, we asked whether the quantitative Menacalc assay has prognostic value in NSCLC and if it can predict metastatic disease. We determined Menacalc on a cohort of 201 predominantly early-stage NSCLC cases using multiplexed quantitative immunofluorescence (MQIF) and then assessed Menacalc with respect to clinical and pathological features, as well as disease-specific survival. There was no significant difference in Menacalc by stage, sex, or age. However, Menacalc was significantly higher (P = 0.001) in squamous cell carcinoma (N = 32) as compared to other histological subtypes. High levels of Menacalc were associated (10% significance level) with decrease 5-year disease specific survival in all patients [HR = 1.78 (95%CI: 0.92-3.43); P = 0.08], and were significantly associated with survival when either corrected for histological subtype [HR = 2.10 (95%CI: 1.04-4.26); P = 0.04] or in the squamous-only population [HR = 6.60 (95%CI: 1.22-53.75); P = 0.04]. There was no difference in survival as a function of stage nor in adenocarcinomas. Furthermore, consistent with Mena isoform status being associated with the metastatic phenotype, Menacalc was 2-fold higher (P = 0.09) in metastatic patients, but the sample size with available clinical data was limited (N = 9). Taken together, these data demonstrate that Menacalc has potential prognostic value especially in squamous cell carcinoma patients. These data also preliminarily suggest that Menacalc can predict the metastatic phenotype. Further studies examining Mena isoform expression in squamous and later-stage metastatic NSCLC patients is thus warranted and currently ongoing.

Citation Format: Mark Gustavson, Wendy Davis, Oscar Bronsther, Frank Gertler. Menacalc as an independent prognostic factor and predictor of metastasis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4331. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4331


We present a review of the recent characterizations of the flow behaviour of high-molecular-weight polymer melts, with special emphasis on situations in which slip at the wall appears. These characterizations are based on direct measurements of the local velocity of the fluid, in the immediate vicinity of the solid wall, through near-field velocimetry techniques. The results demonstrate the importance of polymer molecules anchored on the solid surface, either by strong adsorption or by chemical grafting, and entangled with the bulk polymer, to produce a strong friction at low shear rates and to lead to a shear rate threshold above which strong slip at the wall and low friction develop. The evolution of the shear rate threshold and of the flow characteristics (the length of the extrapolation of the velocity profile to zero, the critical slip velocity for the onset of strong slip, ...) with the molecular parameters of the system (the molecular weights of the bulk and surface chains, and the surface density of anchored chains) is analysed and compared with the predictions of recent theoretical models.


This research presents an overview of the evolution of regional economic studies in Peru. After a brief introduction, the document presents a summary of the different conceptions of space in Regional Economics through time. In addition, the document shows the origins of Regional Economics, as well as the factors that explain the interest in the development of regional studies in the Latin American context. This document also explains the importance of the geographical space of Peru for regional research. Indeed, the country is the perfect setting because Peru has a wide geographic diversity (ecosystems, microclimates) throughout its territory, it has implemented a variety of public policies to propose economic growth measures, and it has many social issues to propose territorial policies (migration, crime, health, employment, among others). Despite these characteristics, regional research in Peru is relatively less than in other Latin  American countries. Finally, the document offers the contributions and criticisms of the regional studies in the Peruvian context.


There's nothing new about medicalising relationship problems. From Donizetti's opera L'Elisir d'Amore to Leiber and Stoller's song "Love Potion No 9," romantics have long been in search of a magic pill to turn indifference into passion.

But is this a proper objective for a drug company? In a debate on 4 October organised by the BMJ , many objections were raised to the idea that female sexual difficulties could be treated with a pill, and the drug companies that are trying to achieve such a drug were given only muted and minority support.

Held to coincide with the publication of Ray Moynihan's new book, Sex, Lies and Pharmaceuticals , and the development by Boehringer Ingelheim of a drug, flibanserin, for female sexual dysfunction, the debate plunged into murky …


Summary

Prototype sand-worm filtration beds were constructed at two prawn farms and one fish farm to assess and demonstrate their polychaete (marine worm) production and wastewater remediation capacities at semi-commercial scale. Wastewater treatment properties were monitored and worms produced were assessed and either sold for bait or used by the farms' hatcheries as broodstock (prawn or fish breeder) feed.

More than 34 megalitres of prawn- and fish-pond water was beneficially treated in the 116-319-d trial. The design of the polychaete-assisted sand filters (PASFs) constructed at each farm affected their water handling rates, which on average ranged from 315 to 1000 L m-2 d-1 at the three farms. A low profile design incorporating shallow bunded ponds made from polyethylene liner and timber stakes provided the easiest method of construction. This simple design applied at broad scale facilitated the highest quantities of treated water and the greatest worm production. Designs with higher sides increased the head pressure above the sand bed surface, thus increasing the amount of water that could be treated each day.
Most water qualities were affected in a similar way to that demonstrated in the previous tank trials: dissolved oxygen, pH, total suspended solids and chlorophyll a levels were all consistently significantly lowered as pond water percolated through the sand bed, and dissolved forms of nitrogen and phosphorus were marginally increased on several occasions. However, unlike the previous smaller-scale tank trials, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) levels were both significantly lowered by these larger-scale PASFs. The reasons for this are still unclear and require further research. Maximum TN and TP removals detected in the trial were 48.8% and 67.5%, respectively, and average removals (in unfed beds) at the three farms ranged from 20.0 to 27.7% for TN and from 22.8 to 40.8% for TP. Collectively, these results demonstrate the best suspended solids, chlorophyll and macronutrient removal capacities so far reported for any mariculture wastewater treatment methodology to date.

Supplemental feeding of PASFs with fish meal was also investigated at one farm as a potential means of increasing their polychaete biomass production. Whilst fed beds produced higher biomass (152 ± 35 g m-2) compared with unfed beds (89 ± 17 g m-2) after 3.7 months of operation, the low number of replicates (2) prevented statistically significant differences from being demonstrated for either growth or survival. At harvest several months later, worm biomass production was estimated to be similar to, or in slight excess of, previously reported production levels (300-400 g m-2). Several qualities of filtered water appear to have been affected by supplemental feeding: it appeared to marginally lower dissolved oxygen and pH levels, and increased the TN and TP levels though not so much to eliminate significant beneficial water treatment effects.
Periodic sampling during an artificial-tide demonstrated the tendency for treated-water quality changes during the first hour of filtration. Total nitrogen and ammonia peaked early in the tidal flow and then fell to more stable levels for the remainder of the filtration period. Other dissolved nutrients also showed signs of this sand-bed-flushing pattern, and dissolved oxygen tended to climb during the first hour and become more stable thereafter. These patterns suggest that the routine sampling of treated water undertaken at mid-inflow during the majority of the wider study would likely have overestimated the levels of TN and dissolved nutrients discharged from the beds, and hence underestimated the PASFs treatment efficacies in this regard.

Analyses of polychaete biomass collected from each bed in the study revealed that the worms were free from contamination with the main prawn viruses that would create concerns for their feeding to commercial prawn broodstock in Australia. Their documented proximal and nutritional contents also provide a guide for hatchery operators when using live or frozen stock. Their dry matter content ranged from 18.3 to 22.3%, ash ranged from 10.2 to 14.0%, gross energy from 20.2 to 21.5 MJ kg-1, and fat from 5.0 to 9.2%. Their cholesterol levels ranged from 0.86 to 1.03% of dry matter, whilst total phospholipids range from 0.41 to 0.72%.

Thirty-one different fatty acids were present at detectable (≥0.005% of dry matter) levels in the sampled worm biomass. Palmitic acid was by far the most prevalent fatty acid detected (1.21 ± 0.18%), followed by eicosapentaenoic (EPA) (0.48 ± 0.03%), stearic (0.46 ± 0.04%), vaccenic (0.38 ± 0.05%), adrenic (0.35 ± 0.02%), docosadienoic (0.28 ± 0.02%), arachidonic (AA) (0.22 ± 0.01%), palmitoleic (0.20 ± 0.04%) and 23 other fatty acids with average contents of less than 0.2% of dry matter. Supplemental feeding with fish meal at one farm appeared to increase the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content of the worms considerably, and modify the average AA : EPA : DHA from 1.0 : 2.7 : 0.3 to 1.0 : 2.0 : 1.1. Consistent with previous results, the three most heavily represented amino acids in the dry matter of sampled worms were glutamic acid (8.5 ± 0.2%), aspartic acid (5.5 ± 0.1%) and glycine (4.9 ± 0.5%).

These biomass content results suggest that worms produced in PASF systems are well suited to feeding to prawn and fish broodstock, and provide further strong evidence of the potential to modify their contents for specific nutritional uses. The falling wild-fishery production of marine bloodworms in Queensland is typical of diminishing polychaete resources world-wide and demonstrates the need to develop sustainable production methods here and overseas. PASF systems offer the dual benefits of wastewater treatment for environmental management and increased productivity through a valuable secondary crop grown exclusively on waste nutrients.


The risk of fossil fuels escalating the discussion of renewable-energy sources (RES) for a cleaner environment coupled with campaigns to promote it. Therefore, the focus of this article is twofold. First, in this article, we propose a model to investigate the mediating role of awareness in the intention to accept RES. The study consists of a unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology and a set of four hypotheses. Second, an integrated MCDM method is applied based on the entropy TOPSIS to select the optimum RES alternative. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of the weight shows the robustness of the proposed integrated model and the public perception of RES is analyzed using sentiment analysis. As a part of a sufficient survey, data were collected from 300 plus people in an urban area of Malaysia and online global reports. The results indicate that awareness plays a mediating role leading to public opinions and performance expectancy for the acceptance of RES. Besides, the results reveal that biomass is the most appropriate clean energy source, having the highest score value assessed. The research in the field is lacking; however, utilizing public feedback and sentiments, the findings of this article will help effective policy and decision making.


Research-based learning,a product of innovative concept of our country's quality education,issues great challenges to the teachers' teaching concepts and methods.To apply this new teaching method,teachers should make sure that teaching contents are prepared in advance,teaching activities are organized flexibly,teaching forms are informationized,instructions are controlled,all kinds of relationships are harmonized and ways of evaluation are diversified.The roles of teacher have the characteristic of diversification.


This paper studies the (BER) performance of synchronous coded minimum shift keying/multi-channel code division multiple access (MSK/MC-CDMA) systems in the presence of multi-access user interference (MUI), and carrier frequency offset (FO). The theoretical effect of MUI on the BER performance was considered assuming the standard Gaussian approximation (GA) in AWGN channel. Furthermore, explicit simulations were carried out in AWGN and frequency selective Rayleigh fading channels for various parameters. The un-coded MSK/MC-CDMA system under investigation outperforms the corresponding system with BPSK modulation. Furthermore, a careful choice of coded MSK/MC-CDMA system parameters can achieve a better performance than the theoretical performance in AWGN channel for a single user and with no frequency offset or extra bandwidth requirements.


Mobile learning (M - learning) emerges as the essential mark of technological revolution 4.0 and the great development of modern technology. It has proved that their smart functions were accompanied by the rapid expansion of mobile devices to support learning of learners everywhere and every time. Although mobile technology is expected to apply suitably to teaching and learning, the capacity of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students to use mobile devices to support their English learning needs to be thoroughly evaluated. This paper is to present how EFL learners at a Vietnam University can exploit mobile technology by questionnaire through a survey of 300 EFL students. The investigation took place during the second semester of the 2018 - 2019 school year. The quantitative approach has been used to gather and analyze data, and results have shown that EFL students are confident of learning English through mobile devices through their use of mobile technology. This shows that learning English by mobile devices is feasible and has got positive perceptions from the students. Furthermore, the research results are expected to contribute as a theoretical background as reference for future researches related to mobile learning applications.


Due to the surprising growth of mobile subscribers, GSM networks have been experiencing congestion, especially in their data services. Pricing of network resources could help resolve congestion. However, due to the absence of an accurate user demand estimation, determining suitable congestion prices for the mobile networks can be problematic. In this paper, we propose an auction-based pricing approach for resource allocation in mobile data networks, specifically GPRS networks. In addition, the impact of the reserve prices of the auction mechanism on the mean system delay of the networks is investigated. The numerical results show that, by increasing the auction reserve price, the level of network congestion is significantly reduced, as indicated by the reduction of the mean system delay of the network. The tradeoff between performance improvement, due to the proposed model, and revenue optimization is also investigated.


Accurate maps of the wildland–urban interface (WUI) are critical for the development of effective land management policies, conducting risk assessments, and the mitigation of wildfire risk. Most WUI maps identify areas at risk from wildfire by overlaying coarse-scale housing data with land cover or vegetation data. However, it is unclear how well the current WUI mapping methods capture the patterns of building loss. We quantified the building loss in WUI disasters, and then compared how well census-based and point-based WUI maps captured the building loss. We examined the building loss in both WUI and non-WUI land-use types, and in relation to the core components of the United States Federal Register WUI definition: housing density, vegetation cover, and proximity to large patches of wildland vegetation. We used building location data from 70 large fires in the conterminous United States, which cumulatively destroyed 54,000 buildings from 2000 through to 2018. We found that: (1) 86% and 97% of the building loss occurred in areas designated as WUI using the census-based and point-based methods, respectively; (2) 95% and 100% of all of the losses occurred within 100 m and 850 m of wildland vegetation, respectively; and (3) WUI components were the most predictive of building loss when measured at fine scales.


The effects of an additional strategy or character called loner in the snowdrift game are studied in a well-mixed population or fully-connected network and in a square lattice. The snowdrift game, which is a possible alternative to the prisoner's dilemma game in studying cooperative phenomena in competing populations, consists of two types of strategies, C (cooperators) and D (defectors). In a fully-connected network, it is found that either C lives with D or the loners take over the whole population. In a square lattice, three possible situations are found: a uniform C-population, C lives with D, and the coexistence of all three characters. The presence of loners is found to enhance cooperation in a square lattice by enhancing the payoff of cooperators. The results are discussed in terms of the effects in restricting a player to compete only with his nearest neighbors in a square lattice, as opposed to competing with all players in a fully-connected network.


We have demonstrated a monolithic grid oscillator that shows 1 watt of effective transmitter power at 38 GHz. Use of a wire twist reflector as an external feedback element added to a successful monolithic grid amplifier allows a tuning range from 37.5 GHz to 41 GHz. Impedance matching is accomplished by a double-slug tuner and the movable back-short of the twist reflector.


Today, nucleic amplification plays a key role in modern molecular biology allowing fast and specific laboratory diagnostics testing. An ultrafast microfluidic module (allowing 30 polymeric chain reaction (PCR) cycles in 6 minutes) based on an oscillating fluid plug concept was previously developed[1]. This system allows the amplification of native genomic deoxyribonucleic acid molecules (DNA) even from whole blood samples but still lacks some functionality compared to commercial bench top systems. This work presents the actual status of the renewed and advanced system, permitting the automated optical detection of not only the fluid plug position but also fluorescence detection. The system uses light emitting diodes (LED) for illumination and a low cost CMOS web-camera for optical detection. Image data processing allows the automated process control of the overall system components. Therefore, the system enables the performance of rapid and robust nucleic acid amplifications together with the integration of real time measurement technology. This allows the amplification and simultaneous quantification of the DNA molecules. The possibility to integrate swift nucleic amplification and optical detection into complex sample-to-answer analysis platforms opens up new pathways towards fast and transportable low-cost point of care devices.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the kinetics of platelet reconstitution and its prognostic significance in patients received unmanipulated haploidentical stem cell transplantation (Haplo-HSCT) without in vitro T cell depletion.

METHODS
A total of 291 patients received Haplo-HSCT without in vitro T cell depletion between January 2007 to December 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. They were categorized into 3 groups according to the platelet count on day 30, day 60 and day 90: (1) persistent thrombocytopenia (Group A) was defined as the platelet count never reached 50×10⁹/L on the three time points; (2) unstable thrombocytopenia (Group B): the platelet count recovered to a level of 50×10⁹/L by day 30 or 60 or 90, yet did not reach a level of more than 100×10⁹/L; (3) non-thrombocytopenia (Group C): the platelet count was higher than 100×10⁹/L on day 90. The kinetics of platelet reconstitution, overall survival (OS) and treatment related mortality (TRM) were compared between 3 groups.

RESULTS
Of the 291 consecutive patients, 288 cases engrafted successfully and 262 cases were platelet transfusion independent. The median intervals of neutrophil and platelet engraftment were 13 (9-29) days and 17 (7-180) days, respectively. The cumulative incidence of grade III-IV acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) on day 100 and chronic GVHD at 3 years were 14.7% and 56.4% respectively. OS and TRM at 3 years were 64.6% and 22.3% respectively. At the end of the follow-up, 266 cases were platelet transfusion independent: including 71 (24.4%) cases in Group A, 147 (50.5%) in Group B and 73 (25.1%) in Group C. OS in group A, B and C was 38.0%, 69.4% and 80.8% (P<0.05) respectively. TRM in Group A, B and C was 53.5%, 17.7% and 1.4% (P<0.05) respectively. Persistent thrombocytopenia was related with lower OS and higher TRM in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION
Persistent thrombocytopenia was common after Haplo-HSCT without in vitro T cell depletion, and patients with persistent thrombocytopenia have poor OS and higher TRM.


This study seeks to understand the current level of e-learning and to investigate the challenges to the successful implementation of e-learning at a major Jordanian higher education institution from the perspectives of faculty members. Analyses of emailed survey data from 157 faculty members showed that the level of faculty knowledge of e-learning was good (M = 3.049) on the 4-point Likert scale. The usage of e-learning by the faculty members was often (M = 3.640) on the 5-point Likert scale. Ratings of the policy and support barriers indicated that Yarmouk University faculty members benefit from the technical support that their departments offer to implement e-learning, but the overall responses to the policy and support barriers were undecided (M = 3.567). Also, overall Yarmouk University faculty members' responses to the infrastructure and resources barriers were undecided (3.482). Attitude item responses showed that Yarmouk University faculty members have positive attitudes and a willingness to implement e-learning in their teaching (M = 3.913). Also, responses showed a degree of satisfaction of faculty members with the development plans and strategies associated with e-learning (M = 3.668). They showed that they did not have obstacles in preparation and development and that they benefited from their plans and strategies. The results showed that there were no differences between males and females on e-learning knowledge, usage, and barriers.


In the period of this grant I worked on three main areas: (1) Symmetries in inviscid flow equations in one, two, and three dimensions and related nonlinear stability theorems for these flows; (2) applications of Hamiltonian mechanics to the problems of shallow water equations and internal wave dynamics in oceanic flows; and, (3) analysis of signals from chaotic systems with an eye toward learning how to build models of chaotic systems in nature.


Aims: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of regorafenib as a treatment for patients with advanced (metastatic and/or unresectable) gastrointestinal stromal tumor (AGIST) after developing resistance to imatinib and sunitinib. Methods: A literature search of databases such as PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library was conducted up to February 2017. The pooled percentages and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the Stata 11.0 software. Results: Four studies involving 243 patients with AGIST were included. Results revealed that approximately 49% (95% CI 30–67), 14% (95% CI 5–23), and 41% (95% CI 21–61) of patients with AGIST showed clinical benefit (including complete response), partial response, and stable disease, respectively, after regorafenib treatment, which was given after failure with imatinib and sunitinib treatments. No complete response was found in the included studies. Pooled progression-free survival was 6.58 months (95% CI 4.62–8.54). Hypertension (20%; 95% CI 7–33), hand–foot skin reaction (22%; 95% CI 17–27), and hypophosphatemia (18%; 95% CI 5–41) were common grade ≥3 regorafenib-related adverse events in patients treated with regorafenib after failure with imatinib and sunitinib treatments. Conclusions: Forty-nine per cent of patients with AGIST benefited after regorafenib treatment after the development of resistance to imatinib and sunitinib. More studies should be performed to improve the clinical survival of patients with AGIST. Close monitoring and appropriate management of grade ≥3 regorafenib-related adverse events should be considered during treatment.


We examined a design approach for a PID controller for a nonlinear ball and beam system. Main objective of our research was to establish a nonmodel based control system, which would also not be dependent on a specific ball and beam hardware setup. The proposed PID controller setup is based on a cascaded configuration of an inner PID ball velocity control loop and an outer proportional ball position control loop. The effectiveness of the proposed controller setup was first presented in simulation environment in comparison to a hardware dependent PD cascaded controller, along with a more comprehensive study on possible design approach for optimal PID controller parameters in relation to main functionality of the controller setup. Experimental real time control results were then obtained on a laboratory setup of the ball and beam system on which PD cascaded controller could not be applied without parallel system model processing.


Silicon carbide (SiC) is nowadays a major material for applications in high power electronics, quantum optics, or nitride semiconductors growth. Mastering the surface of SiC substrate is crucial to obtain reproducible results. Previous studies on the 6H-SiC(0001) surface have determined several reconstructions, including the (√ 3× √ 3)-R30 • and the (3×3). Here, we introduce a process of progressive Si enrichment that leads to the formation of two reconstructions, the giant (12×12) and the (4×8). From electron diffraction and tunneling microscopy completed by molecular dynamics simulations, we build models introducing a type of Si adatom bridging two Si surface atoms. Using these Si bridges, we also propose a structure for two other reconstructions, the (2 √ 3×2 √ 3)-R30 • and the (2 √ 3×2 √ 13). We show that five reconstructions follow each other with Si coverage ranging from 1 and 1.444 monolayer. This result opens the way to greatly improve the control of 6H-SiC(0001) at the atomic scale.


Nonlinear interaction of two radio frequency (RF) sources in a magnetized Ar/C/sub 2/F/sub 6/ capacitively coupled plasma discharge is investigated using a computational model. Results show that application of a radial magnetic field enhances charged and neutral species densities in the plasma reactor due to reduction in electron loss to surfaces and trapping of secondary electron emission generated electrons. Amplitude of RF currents at electrodes also increases with magnetic field strength and source frequency for a given RF voltage. Due to nonlinear nature of plasma sheath, higher harmonics of applied frequencies and source interaction generated harmonics can be observed in electrode currents. Application of magnetic field decreases electron mobility and makes the system less nonlinear, which reduces higher harmonics relative to primary components. Magnetic field also tends to make the RF sources more isolated. Increase in source frequency moves the plasma from electrode edge to the center of the chamber, which redistributes current through the electrodes. If frequencies of the two RF sources are commensurate, nonlinear interaction of RF sources generates subharmonics of primary frequencies.


Dependency theory in the tradition of Ruy Mauro Marini emphasized the super-exploitation of labor and helped direct attention to capital's quest to further expropriate part of the consolidated consumption fund historically won by labor. Marini's work represented a significant departure from the ECLAC conception of vulnerabilities exhibited by developing countries, opting instead to take Lenin's theory of imperialism as the key point of departure for analyzing dependency. Marini was critiqued on intellectual grounds by more conservative dependency theorists such as Cardoso, Serra and Cueva, consequently blunting the critical leading edge of dependency theory. This exploration of Marini's critical Marxist formulation helps contextualize the continuing relevance of dependency theory for comprehending the ongoing class struggle in 21st century Latin America.


Over the past 3 yr, 100 carcasses (64 steers, 24 bulls, and 12 heifers) were fabricated into closely trimmed (6 mm maximum fat cover), boxed beef and further evaluated for percentage of retail yield at the Iowa State University Meat Laboratory. Hot carcass weight ranged from 235 to 399 kg with a least squares mean (LSM) and standard error across all sex classes of 318 +/- 3 kg. Additionally, fat cover ranged from .30 to 1.78 cm with an average of .91 +/- .05 cm. The LSM for longissimus muscle area (LMA) across all sex classes was 81.6 +/- 1.0 cm2. Bulls had significantly less subcutaneous fat (P less than .01) and greater LMA (P less than .01) than did either steers or heifers. Retail yield from the boxed chuck, expressed as a percentage of cold carcass weight, was 19.2 for bulls and 14.8 for steers. This difference was due primarily to a reduction of intermuscular fat. Similarly, bulls had a greater yield (P less than .01) of the boxed round than did steers. When cattle of differing frame sizes were compared, only percentage of retail yield of the boxed round was significant (P less than .01): large-framed cattle yielded 14.3 +/- .2%, compared with 12.8 +/- .2% for the small-framed cattle. When all possible regression analyses were run, sex class differences accounted for 25.7% of the variation in retail yield. The current USDA retail yield equation accounted for only 37.2% of the variation. Percentage of closely trimmed, boneless round had an R2-value of .57.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


It is unclear whether coronary endothelial function is linked to the pathogenesis of coronary spastic angina (CSA), so the present study examined the coronary vasomotor responses to acetylcholine (ACh) and bradykinin (BK) in 23 patients with CSA, 26 patients with CSA+coronary artery disease (CAD), and 21 control patients. Acetylcholine induced vasospasm of the left coronary artery in all of the patients with CSA, but not in any of the control patients. The changes in dilatation of the left coronary artery in response to bradykinin at doses of 0.2, 0.6 and 2.0 microg/min in the CSA group were significantly greater than those in the other 2 groups. The ratio of epicardial coronary vasodilations induced by BK to those induced by nitroglycerin did not differ among any of the groups. Bradykinin caused a similar increase in coronary blood flow in the control group and CSA group, but had less of an effect in the CSA+CAD group. In conclusion, the vasorelaxing effect of BK was preserved not only in epicardial spasm coronary arteries induced by ACh, but also in resistance coronary arteries distal to the spasm arteries in patients with CSA. The coronary vasodilation response induced by BK may not deteriorate until coronary atherosclerosis advances in patients with CSA.


Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have insulin secretion disorders and resistance to insulin effects, that is responsible for the development of cardiovascular events. Vaspin is an adipocytokine that regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. We aimed to determine the serum vaspin levels and its relationship with insulin resistance in CKD patients. Methods: In the study groups, serum vaspin levels, anthropometric parameters and routine blood tests were measured. The serum vaspin levels were examined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and insulin resistance was determined by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) formula. Results: The serum vaspin, HOMA-IR index and insulin levels were observed significantly high in the CKD group in comparison with the control group. No correlation was found between the serum vaspin level and the anthropometric and metabolic values. The serum vaspin level was positively correlated with the fasting plasma glucose and age but without statistical significance. Conclusion: Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia contribute to the development of cardiovascular complications in CKD. We consider that the increase in the serum vaspin level is a consequence of the reduced renal excretion in the CKD and increases in response to insulin resistance.


The accuracy of EEG forward models partially depends on the conductivity values of the head tissues. Yet the influence of the conductivity parameters on the model output is still not well understood. In this paper, we apply a variance-based sensitivity analysis method to the EEG forward model. This method has the advantage to be a global sensitivity analysis, meaning that the influence of each parameter is quantified with all the parameters varying at the same time. This gives much more information than one-at-a-time sensitivity analysis and local analysis using derivatives or perturbations. In particular, it helps to understand the interaction between parameters, which can be very important in non-linear models, and can not be taken into account with other sensitivity analysis. By performing a variance-based sensitivity analysis of the scalp potential topographies on a three-layer EEG forward model (brain, skull, scalp), we found out several results. For a superficial dipolar source, the influence of the brain conductivity is negligible and the influence of skull and scalp conductivities appears mainly via their interaction. This means that for such a model, almost all the variance of the scalp topographies is driven by one parameter, which is a function of skull and scalp conductivities. Results are also presented in the case of skull anisotropy and with a scalp current injection (EIT). This global sensitivity analysis gives new information about EEG forward models : it identifies the main input factors among conductivities which need further modelization refinment, and gives directions on how to calibrate these parameters.


This book provides a broad overview of both the technical challenges in sensor network development, and the real-world applications of distributed sensing. Important aspects of distributed computing in large-scale networked sensor systems are analyzed in the context of human behavior understanding, including topics on systems design tools and techniques. Additionally, the book examines a varied range of applications. Features: contains valuable contributions from an international selection of leading experts in the field; presents a high-level introduction to the aims and motivations underpinning distributed sensing; describes decision-making algorithms in the presence of complex sensor networks; provides a detailed analysis of the design, implementation, and development of a distributed network of homogeneous or heterogeneous sensors; reviews the application of distributed sensing to human behavior understanding and autonomous intelligent vehicles; includes a helpful glossary and a list of acronyms.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of various depths of anesthesia monitored using Narcotrend on cognitive function in elderly patients after video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy. Methods: A total of 73 elderly patients who underwent VATS lobectomy were selected and divided into a control group (n=36) and an observation group (n=37) using a random number table. Both groups received general anesthesia. The Narcotrend index (NTI) of the control group was maintained at 50-59 and that of the observation group was maintained at 30-39. Results: The heart period (HP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) from both groups were decreased first, and then were increased during T1-T5; the MAP levels at T2, T3, and T4 were lower in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The propofol dosage was higher and the awake to extubation time was greater in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was lower in the observation group than in the control group at 6 h and 12 h after surgery (P < 0.05). The left and right regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) at T3-T4 was higher in the observation group and the cerebral oxygen extraction ratio (CERO2) was lower in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The anesthetic depth that maintained an NTI of 30-39 as monitored using Narcotrend could improve cerebral oxygen metabolism, inhibit the inflammatory reaction, and reduce the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in patients after VATS lobectomy.


High amounts of manual labor are needed to control volunteer potato plants in arable fields. Due to the high costs, this leads to incomplete control of these weed plants, and they spread diseases like Phytophthora infestans to other fields. This results in higher environmental loads by curative spraying of crop protection chemicals, which is in contradiction to the required decreased use of crop protection chemicals to save the environment. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis was "to develop a system for automated detection and control of volunteer potato plants". A systematic design approach was used to define a program of requirements and to identify and order possible solutions to accomplish the detection and control. The main requirements were a travel speed of up to 2 m s-1, resolution of control at least 10×10 mm, work under variable natural light conditions, control of volunteer plants > 95%, and undesired control of sugar beet plants < 5%. The design strategy resulted in color and near-infrared machine vision as detection method and a micro-sprayer for application of glyphosate as a result. Furthermore, issues were identified that required further investigation to successfully come to a proof of principle machine. The research was then focused on: - Detection of volunteer potato plants, - Control of volunteer potato plants, - Real-time implementation of integrated detection and control on a proof of principle machine. For the purpose of detection of volunteer potato plants, the narrow band spectral reflectance properties of volunteer potato plants and sugar beet plants were analyzed. Narrow band spectral measurements were done in 2006 and 2007 on two different fields. This resulted in 15 datasets on clay and sand soil. Discriminating wavebands were selected and classified with neural networks and statistical discriminant analysis. A neural network with two hidden neurons performed best for classification. Two sensors were used covering the range from 450 to 900 nm and from 900 to 1650 nm. Both visible and near infra-red wavebands were responsible for discrimination. From the analysis 450, 765, and 855 nm from sensor 1 and 900, 1440, and 1530 nm from sensor 2 were identified as important discriminative wavebands. However, the discriminative wavelengths depended on field and crop status and could not be generalized. Ten wavebands that were optimally adapted to the datasets gave 99% true negative classification of volunteer potato plants. On the other hand, a fixed set of three wavebands that was not adapted to the individual datasets gave 80% true negative classification of volunteer potato plants. This indicates that adaptive feature sets are required for classification. The development of the machine vision detection system started with measurements in 2005. Color based detection showed that the difference in classification results was larger between fields than the difference between a static neural network and static Bayesian classification. Then, machine vision measurements in 2006 with a color camera under changing and constant natural light conditions showed that crop and weed properties change within a field. An adaptive instead of static classification increased classification accuracy from 34.9% to 67.7% under changing light conditions. Under constant natural light conditions, the classification accuracy increased from 84.6% to 89.8%. So, adaptive classifiers are required and were implemented in the further research as these gave significantly higher classification results. As a next step, besides a color camera also a near-infrared camera was used for imaging within the proof of principle machine, as this gave a better feature set for classification. Additionally, the field of view of the cameras was shielded and artificial light was used to maintain constant light conditions. For the real-time implementation, an unsupervised adaptive Bayesian classifier was used. The crop row position and crop row width were determined and a Kalman filter improved tracking of the rows, to adapt to the varying properties of the crop in the field. Data from between the crop rows was trained as the volunteer potato class and data from within the crop row was trained as the sugar beet class. This resulted in good quality training data for the Bayes classifier. The system was unsupervised, as it learned and trained itself based on row recognition. The features that were used for training and classification were: blue, hue, saturation, excessive green, red minus blue, near-infrared and near-infrared difference vegetation index (NDVI). These feature values within the training data were continuously locally adapted, in two first-in-first-out buffers both with an area of 500 cm2 for sugar beet and volunteer potato plants. Measurements were done on seven days in 2007 and 2008. The results showed a trade-off between the percentage of correct classified volunteer potato plants and the percentage of misclassification of sugar beet plants. In one of the fields 96.6% volunteer potato classification and 8.0% sugar beet misclassification was achieved. Connected to the detection system was a micro-sprayer that applied glyphosate in gel to the volunteer potato plants. Spraying gel through a micro-sprayer was innovative. This proved to work in the application of glyphosate on plants. As knowledge of the dose response of glyphosate on potato was outdated and could not be used for plant specific application, a dose-response study was done with flat fan nozzles on 120 potato plants to determine the efficacy of glyphosate. The effect parameters tuber weight and photosynthesis activity were analyzed with log-logistic nonlinear regression methods. This resulted in an amount of 843 μg a.e. per plant for reduction of tuber weight and photosynthesis with 90%. This amount was applied on plants with a height of 6.1±1.39 cm and an area of 53.3±19.6 cm2. As glyphosate was to be applied with a micro-sprayer, the dose-response study was extended to 500 greenhouse grown potato plants. Five application methods were used: 1) flat fan water application, 2) flat fan gel application, 3) micro-sprayer low density distribution, 4) micro-sprayer medium density distribution, and 5) micro-sprayer high density distribution. As effect parameters again tuber weight, photosynthesis activity, and in addition shoot dry weight were used. They were analyzed with ANOVAs and box-plots. The micro-sprayer dense distribution with 3022 droplets m-2 and 3.3 mg per droplet had the best efficacy. The micro-sprayer controlled the volunteer potato plants with less glyphosate compared to flat fan nozzles. Furthermore, it had a centimeter precision resolution and low risks of unwanted crop damage. With real-time hardware, machine vision detection and micro-sprayer were integrated to a proof of principle machine. A travel speed of 0.8 m s-1 was reached with the proof of principle machine and it had an approximated capacity of 2.5 hrs ha-1. This was the maximum that could be realized as the micro-sprayer valve actuation frequency was maximally 80 Hz. The image processing time for one image of 0.2 m length was 195 ms. At this travel speed automated feedback systems on the operation of the system are required to support and replace human surveillance. Therefore, the Frechet distance measure between multivariate distributions was introduced as quality indicator of classification performance. The Frechet distance measure was significantly smaller when the classification performance was low, as identified on ground truth determined classification results afterwards. This proves that the performance could be predicted with a distance measure between multivariate distributions. In case of poor predicted classification performance, the application of glyphosate with the micro-sprayer can be halted to prevent unwanted crop damage and economic losses. The accuracy of application was ±1.4 cm in longitudinal direction and ±0.75 cm in transversal direction. During a field trial, up to 84% of the volunteer plants were controlled with 1.4% unwanted controlled sugar beet plants. To sum up, within this research a proof of principle machine for automated detection and control of volunteer potato plants in sugar beet fields has successfully been developed. The system performed closely to the requirements that were set in the start-up of the project. The percentage of 95% controlled volunteer potato plants can be reached. On the other hand, the travel speed still has to be increased from 0.8 m s-1 to 2.0 m s-1. The system is an example of new technology that can be developed for practical applications to reduce the amount of required labor and to reduce the crop protection inputs for weed control in arable farming.


As global digitization continues to grow, technology becomes more affordable and easier to use, and social media platforms thrive, becoming the new means of spreading information and news. Communities are built around sharing and discussing current events. Within these communities, users are enabled to share their opinions about each event. Using Sentiment Analysis to understand the polarity of each message belonging to an event, as well as the entire event, can help to better understand the general and individual feelings of significant trends and the dynamics on online social networks. In this context, we propose a new ensemble architecture, EDSA-Ensemble (Event Detection Sentiment Analysis Ensemble), that uses Event Detection and Sentiment Analysis to improve the detection of the polarity for current events from Social Media. For Event Detection, we use techniques based on Information Diffusion taking into account both the time span and the topics. To detect the polarity of each event, we preprocess the text and employ several Machine and Deep Learning models to create an ensemble model. The preprocessing step includes several word representation models, i.e., raw frequency, TFIDF, Word2Vec, and Transformers. The proposed EDSA-Ensemble architecture improves the event sentiment classification over the individual Machine and Deep Learning models.


Specialist associations and teachers' unions are usually studied separately, a fact that tends to lend credence to the assertion that these categories of groups have separate functions. The history of the Franco-Ancienne, an association of teachers of French and classical letters, from its reconstitution in 1946, until it became the "Association des Professeurs de Lettres" in 1978, reveals intricate and overlapping functions, reflecting the leading role of "multi-positional" stake-holders, as well as the strategy used to protect and promote classical studies. By claiming that humanities and traditional secondary education were inseparable, the Franco-Ancienne's leaders effectively defended the teaching of Latin for a long time. However, after being one of the Franco-Ancienne's strengths, this stance became a weakness after educational reforms and changes in the teaching corps meant that this traditional conception of secondary education was a minority viewpoint.


Private ownership is a significant issue. In England the concept of a school existing for the benefit of the local community looks uncertain in the face of forced transfer to Academy status and partnerships with external private sponsors against the will of parents and teachers. Who profits from for-profit education and what impact does semi-privatisation have on the experiences of art teachers and students in schools? This article suggests that artist educators can act intentionally to create art experiences that counter the sterilising nature of the corporate school environment. Through adopting strategies used by contemporary artists to critique ideas of ownership and profit, art teachers can use the site of the classroom and the school itself in ways that ultimately reclaim a sense of belonging for both teachers and students. © 2013 NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.


This paper reports on two elements of work on qualitative simulation which extend on the basic Qsim algorithm [Kuipers 85] . The work has grown from attempts to examine the limits of current qualitative simulation techniques, specifically a reimplemented Qsim, when applied to models of the heart . The first 'Pragmatics to control simulation' presents ideas which extend the concept of Quality Space which is used in the Qsim system, and argues for a module to control the explosion of state space which occurs when no consideration is given to the meaning of splitting the existing quality space by adding a new landmark . 'Procrastination as a solution to the Qualitative simulation frame problem' presents work on better techniques for navigating the qualitative search space and 'Time to control simulation', reports on work to enhance the basic algorithm by use of temporal information, which is made available as states are generated and by examining previous state chains .


Recent development of novel therapies has improved mobility and quality of life for people suffering from inheritable neuromuscular disorders. Despite this progress, the majority of neuromuscular disorders are still incurable, in part due to a lack of predictive models of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) breakdown. Improvement of predictive models of a human NMJ would be transformative in terms of expanding our understanding of the mechanisms that underpin development, maintenance, and disease, and as a testbed with which to evaluate novel therapeutics. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are emerging as a clinically relevant and non‐invasive cell source to create human NMJs to study synaptic development and maturation, as well as disease modeling and drug discovery. This review will highlight the recent advances and remaining challenges to generating an NMJ capable of eliciting contraction of stem cell‐derived skeletal muscle in vitro. We explore the advantages and shortcomings of traditional NMJ culturing platforms, as well as the pioneering technologies and novel, biomimetic culturing systems currently in use to guide development and maturation of the neuromuscular synapse and extracellular microenvironment. Then, we will explore how this NMJ‐in‐a‐dish can be used to study normal assembly and function of the efferent portion of the neuromuscular arc, and how neuromuscular disease‐causing mutations disrupt structure, signaling, and function.


Background It has been suggested that individuals with generalized osteoarthritis (GOA) represent a large subgroup of patients with OA1. However, the effectiveness of a non-pharmacological intervention in the management of GOA is unknown as research has mainly focused on a specific localization of OA (e.g. hip, knees or hands). In addition, there is lack of evidence concerning the optimal treatment intensity and mode of treatment delivery. Objectives To compare the effectiveness of a non-pharmacological fully supervised group-based multidisciplinary treatment program with a telephone monitored treatment program for patients with GOA on daily function six weeks and six months after treatment2. Methods In this parallel group, single blind randomized clinical trial, individuals with a clinical diagnosis of GOA were randomly allocated to either a six week fully supervised multidisciplinary group-based treatment program or a six week telephone monitored treatment program. Both programs aimed to improve daily function and to enhance self-efficacy to control the disease. The programs had comparable content but differed in mode of delivery and intensity. Primary outcome (daily function measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI)) and secondary outcome measures were assessed at six weeks and six months. Differences in mean change scores between both treatment groups were analysed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusting for baseline levels. T-test statistics were performed to assess changes within groups. Results Of 158 randomized patients (mean (SD) age 60 (8); female 85%), 147 (93%), 137 (87%) and 132 (84%) patients completed the baseline, six weeks and six months follow-up measurements respectively. No difference in effectiveness between both treatment groups was found on the HAQ-DI. Statistical significant differences between both groups were found in favour of the group-based intervention for pain after six weeks (adjusted mean difference (95%CI): -1.77 (-3.49 - -0.07), p=0.04). However, no differences between groups on other secondary outcomes were found. In both groups, there was no significant improvement (p>0.05) in daily function after treatment measured with the HAQ-DI, whereas significant improvements on the Patient Specific Functioning Scale (PSFS) were shown after six weeks (4 points (on a scale ranging from 0-100) for both treatment programs) and after six months (5 points for the telephone monitored program; 11 points for the group-based intervention). In addition, the group-based intervention showed significant improvements (p<0.05) for pain and fatigue. Conclusions In this trial we found no differences in effect between two modes of delivery of non-pharmacological treatment for patients with GOA, except for pain. Therefore, our results imply that the choice of mode of treatment delivery i.e. fully supervised versus telephone monitored could be based on patients' preferences and/or costs. References Nelson et al. (2013). Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (in press) Hoogeboom et al. (2010). BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders;11:142 Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.3507


We present a comprehensive structural investigation of the Ge wetting layer (WL) and island growth on Si(001) substrates by a combination of AFM, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and the energy-differential coherent Bragg rod analysis (COBRA) x-ray method. By considering the influence of the initial Si surface morphology on the deposited Ge, these techniques provide quantitative information on the Ge content and its distribution, in particular within the WL which plays a crucial role in the formation of epitaxial nanostructures. In the WL, the Ge content was found to be above 80% for our growth conditions. Furthermore, from the digital analysis of high-resolution transmission electron microscope images, quantitative information on the strain relaxation is obtained, which complements the COBRA analysis of the Ge distribution and content in these nanostructures.


Attention is focused on low-damping-rubber base-isolators. Instead of thinking in terms of intelligent materials, this paper pursues the definition of conditions of behaviour which result intelligent in view of a coupling with an active control device (hybrid control). In particular, situations which show a chaotic behaviour of the dynamic response to external excitations are promising in terms of control efficiency. The regions of chaotic behaviour are identified by evaluation of the corresponding Lyapunov exponents.


In November 2015, the Government of Alberta proposed the Climate Leadership Plan (CLP). It aims to reduce carbon emissions while diversifying Alberta's economy and protecting the health and the environment. In this research, the possibility of the contribution of CLP and using Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) in different biomass concentration to sequester CO2 in the domestic wastewater effluent as the Medium is assessed. Wastewater is an appropriate, renewable, economical medium, which contains enough nutrients. After cultivation of stock solution to 5% (v/v) CO2 the CO2 sequestration rate by C. vulgaris was measured in the presence of 20% (v/v) CO2 in the total volume of photobioreactor headspace. C. vulgaris illustrated the ability of fixation of 20% CO2 in the total gas volume of the photobioreactor headspace in optimal physical conditions in 35 hours. The CO2 fixation rate was higher in the middle and end of the exponential growth phase compared to other growth phases.


Optineurin (OPTN) is a causative gene in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with transactivation response element DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) protein pathology. Here, we report multiple proteinopathies in familial ALS cases with OPTN mutations. We examined the TDP-43, tau, and α-synuclein pathology of ALS cases with OPTN mutations including 2 previously reported cases (Cases 1 and 2) and 1 newly autopsied case (Case 3) that was clinically diagnosed as ALS and Parkinson disease with a heterozygous E478G OPTN mutation. Pathologic examination of Case 3 showed motor neuron degeneration and depigmentation of the substantia nigra. Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were seen in the hippocampus, pontine tegmentum, and spinal cord. Accumulation of multiple proteins including phosphorylated TDP-43-positive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions, phosphorylated tau (AT8)-positive NFTs, and α-synuclein-positive Lewy bodies were observed in the substantia nigra. The other 2 cases had a similar distribution of tau pathology, but lacked synuclein pathology. Consecutive sections of Case 3 revealed pTDP-43, AT8, and α-synuclein-positive inclusions in the same neuron and double immunofluorescence staining showed aggregation of different proteins (tau and α-synuclein, or tau and TDP-43) in the same neuron. Our results support the notion that OPTN mutations may lead to multiple proteins aggregation and neuronal degeneration.


Abstract Insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) and type B insulin resistance syndrome (B-IRS) are rare autoimmune dysglycemia syndromes, but their treatment and prognosis are different. This study aimed to provide a basis for the clinical differential diagnosis of IAS and B-IRS. This was a retrospective study of the medical records of all patients diagnosed with IAS or B-IRS between January 2006 and March 2018 at the Chinese PLA General Hospital. Demographic, clinical, biochemistry, treatment, and follow-up data were examined. There were several different biochemical parameters between IAS (n=13) and B-IRS (n=6): white blood count (WBC, 7.05±3.06 vs. 2.70±0.73×109/l, p=0.004), platelet (249±56.6 vs. 111±68.0×109/l, p<0.001), serum creatine (59.0±17.8 vs. 43.1±7.05 μmol/l, p=0.013), serum albumin (42.3±5.17 vs. 33.6±3.40 g/l, p=0.002), triglyceride (median, 1.33 (1.01, 1.93) vs. 0.56 (0.50, 0.79) mmol/l, p=0.002), plasma IgG (1183±201 vs. 1832±469 mg/ml, p=0.018), IgA (328±140 vs. 469±150 mg/ml, p=0.018), and C3 (128±23.4 vs. 45.3±13.5 mg/l, p<0.001). Fasting insulin in the IAS and B-IRS patients was high (299–4708 vs. 118–851 mU/l, p=0.106), and there was a difference in 2 h oral glucose tolerance test insulin (4217–8343 mU/l vs. 274–1143 mU/l, p=0.012). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the B-IRS patients was higher than in IAS patients (114±14.4. vs. 40.6±8.89 mmol/mol, p<0.001). Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) was lower in all B-IRS patients (25±0.00 vs. 132±52.7 ng/ml, p<0.001). Although IAS and B-IRS are autoimmune hyperinsulinemic dysglycemic syndromes, several clinical parameters (body mass index, HbA1c, WBC, platelet, albumin, triglyceride, IgG, C3, and IGF-1) are different between these two syndromes.


Background Numerous researchers have documented associations between neighborhood food environments and residents' diets. However, few quantitative studies have examined the food shopping behaviors of residents in low-income neighborhoods, including the types of stores patronized and frequency of visits. This study presents findings on the food shopping behaviors of residents in the Bronx neighborhoods of West Farms and Fordham. Methods Street-intercept surveys were conducted in spring 2012 with residents of West Farms and Fordham as part of a broader program evaluation. The survey included questions on general food shopping behaviors including visits to neighborhood bodegas (corner stores) and supermarkets, mode of transportation to the supermarket most commonly frequented, and the primary source for purchases of fruits and vegetables. Results The survey was conducted with 505 respondents. The sample was 59% Hispanic and 34% black, with a median age of 45 years. Thirty-four percent of respondents had less than a high school education, 30% were high school graduates or had their GED, and 36% had attended some college. Almost all respondents (97%) shopped at supermarkets in their neighborhood; 84% usually shopped at a supermarket within their neighborhood, and 16% usually shopped at a supermarket outside of their neighborhood. Most respondents (95%) shopped at bodegas in their neighborhood, and 65% did so once per day or more. Conclusions Residents of these neighborhoods have high exposure to local food stores, with the vast majority of respondents shopping at neighborhood supermarkets and bodegas and almost 2 in 3 respondents going to bodegas every day. These findings demonstrate the important role of supermarkets and bodegas in local residents' shopping patterns and support the inclusion of these stores in efforts to create food environments that support and promote healthy eating.


A new concept, called inductive noise thermometer, for measuring temperature of electrically conductive materials without any physical contact was realized in practice. In the method a low‐loss coil is placed close to the electrically conductive material. The increase in the noise voltage of the coil is related to the temperature of the material. Results from laboratory experiments on steel up to temperatures of 1300 K showed an agreement with conventional thermocouple recordings within an uncertainty of 1%. The thermometer built was also tested on a continuous casting machine of a steel mill. The preliminary experimental results were encouraging although at times external rf disturbances disrupted the measurement.


Geotrichum candidum ATCC34614 produces a major (I) and three minor (II, III and IV) forms of lipase with similar molecular masses, but different positional and fatty acid specificities. The major and one of the minor (II) forms were confirmed to cleave both the inside and outside ester bonds of triolein indiscriminately. The non-positional specificity was also retained on 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP) hydrolysis. In contrast, the remaining two forms (III and IV) showed unusual positional specificity; they cleaved the inside (2-position) ester bond of triolein at nearly twice the rate of cleavage at the 1(3)-position. The preference for the inside ester bond was increased upon POP hydrolysis.


! Religious coping and spiritual well-being were found to be culturally important resilience factors for African American women suffering from abuse and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate whether: (1) spiritual well-being and its two components of existential and religious well-being mediate the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)-Depressive Symptoms (DS) link; (2) positive and negative religious coping moderate the IPV-DS association; and (3) the mediating effect of spiritual well-being in the IPV-DS link is moderated by level of religious coping (i.e., moderated mediation). The study utilized data from 208 low income, suicidal and abused African American women, ages 18-55. Only the existential component of spiritual wellbeing was found to fully mediate the IPV-DS link. This indirect effect weakened at higher levels of negative religious coping. As predicted, higher levels of negative religious coping were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Surprisingly, higher levels of negative religious coping were also associated with increases in existential well-being which, in turn, led to decrease in depressive symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of addressing existential well-being and religious coping in clinical interventions and in training for mental health professionals. Clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed and future directions recommended.


Video-on-demand service in wireless networks is one important step to achieving the goal of providing video services anywhere anytime. Typically, carrier mobile networks are used to deliver videos wirelessly. Since every video stream comes from the base station, regardless of what bandwidth sharing techniques are being utilized, the media stream system is still limited by the network capacity of the base station. The key to overcome the scalability issue is to exploit resources available to mobile clients in a peer-to-peer setting. We observe that it is common to have a carrier mobile network and a mobile peer-to-peer network co-existing in a wireless environment. A feature of such hybrid environment is that the former offers high availability assurance, while the latter presents an opportunistic use of resources available at mobile clients. Our proposed videoon-demand technique, PatchPeer, leverages this network characteristic to allow the video-on-demand system to scale beyond the bandwidth capacity of the server. Mobile clients in PatchPeer are no longer passive receivers, but also active senders of video streams to other mobile clients. Our extensive performance study shows that PatchPeer can accept more clients than the current state-of-the-art technique, while maintaining the same Quality-of-Service to clients.


Bentonite has been chosen as a buffer material by several national nuclear-waste management companies because of its swelling capacity and low water permeability, and because it retards the transport of radionuclides and corrosion products toward the geosphere. The aim of the present study was to develop a magnetic material that has the ability to detect changes in groundwater compositions in an underground nucleardeposit facility through variation in its magnetic properties with time. The present study has investigated the effect of the corrosion of NdFeB magnets on the Na-bentonite buffer under different environmental conditions. Seven different aqueous solutions were used for long-time exposure tests (708C, 5 months) with fragments of NdFeB magnets and powdered Na-bentonite. The corrosion of NdFeB alloy had no detectable effect on the mineralogy of the clay minerals, and any change on the bentonite matrix, measured through X-ray diffraction analysis, was related to the different initial chemistry of the solutions.


Air-silica honeycomb fiber with a modified core design is introduced. The core has a concentrated high-index region. Such core design helps defect core mode stay in the cladding's photonic bandgap for a longer wavelength range (>1000 nm) as compared to conventional design. We further point out the importance of our core design in reducing the number of defect modes supported by the fiber structure.


Data repositories such as the USGS' National Water Information System (NWIS), EPA's Storage and Retrieval System (EPA STORET) offer a considerable volume of data for researchers and engineers in the United States through their websites. While accessible through a web browser, data from these sources can not be directly ingested by modeling or analysis tools without human intervention. Different input/output formats, syntax and terminology make data discovery and retrieval a major time sink. This paper examines the web services developed as a part of Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) Hydrologic Information System (HIS) project as a means to standardize access to hydrologic data repositories, facilitate data discovery and enable direct machine-to-machine communication.


The ethanolic root extract of Cissampelos mucronata was investigated for sedative activity. Phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of alkaloids: sterols/triterpenes, tannins, carbohydrates, glycosides, and flavonoids. Acute lethality test gave an LD50 of 282.84 mg/kg. The study of the effect of the extract on the behavioural pattern of mice showed changes indicative of central nervous system depression. The results further revealed that the extract progressively reduced ephedrine-induced spontaneous motor activity in rats, and prolonged pentobarbitone-sleeping time in mice. Pre-treatment of mice with the extract also protected 40% of the animals against pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsions. The mechanism of action is not precisely known but may probably be attributed to central nervous system depressant action.


Seventy-seven subjects underwent the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Mean latency to the first response (L) and square-root-transformed error score (T) on the MFFT were normally distributed in the sample. T was correlated positively with age and negatively with IQ; L was not significantly correlated with either. Orthogonal 'impulsiveness' (I) and 'efficiency' (E) indices were derived from the standard scores for L (zL) and T (zT) using the formulae I = zT - zE, and E = -(zT + zL). The interpretation of I and E, and the potential usefulness of the MFFT as a neuropsychological test, are discussed.