Stool culture for Clostridium difficile, while necessary for strain typing and antimicrobial surveillance, cannot determine toxin production. We prospectively tested in triplicate 91 C difficile cultured isolates for toxin production by 2 enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) (Meridian Premier Toxins A&B, Meridian Bioscience, Cincinnati, OH; and TechLab Tox A/B II, TechLab, Blacksburg, VA) and cytotoxin neutralization bioassay (CTN). By CTN, 88% (80/91) were toxigenic. Reproducibility was 93% (85/91) for CTN, 80% (73/91) for Meridian EIA, and 79% (72/91) for TechLab EIA. Compared with CTN, sensitivities were 87.1% and 89.2% for the Meridian and TechLab EIAs, respectively. In an additional 115 stool specimens, CTN detected toxin more frequently from cultured isolates (96/115) than stool (84/115). For C difficile toxin detection from isolates, EIA was less reproducible than CTN. EIA methods can be falsely negative in 10% to 12% of isolates, and these should be tested by CTN or polymerase chain reaction. When positive, EIA is fast and reliable for detecting C difficile toxin from culture.


Background: Targeting ovarian cancer vasculature by humanized VEGFA neutralizing antibody bevacizumab has been demonstrated effective in multiple randomized phase III clinical studies to improve standard chemotherapy in patients with primary (GOG-0218, ICON-7) and recurrent (OCEANS, AURELIA) ovarian cancer. Nevertheless, potential benefits observed in these randomized bevacizumab clinical trials are modest, which has stimulated the search for predictive molecular biomarkers which would identify those women with ovarian cancer who would likely benefit from bevacizumab treatment, while reducing toxicity and expense for those patients who are unlikely to benefit. Methods and Results: In this study, we evaluated prognostic and predictive values of post-surgery, pre-treatment circulating levels of 13 angiogenesis biomarkers (ANG1, ANG2, Tie-2, FGF2, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, VEGFR3, ICAM1, IL8, PDGFC, E-selectin, VEGFA and VEGFC) in 922 plasma samples from GOG-0218 randomized phase III clinical trial. Prognostic and predictive associations of each biomarker with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed by proportional hazards models on 2.5% winsorized values while adjusting for FIGO stage, initial performance status, and study treatment. Holm-Bonferroni stepwise procedure was used to control the family-wise type I error at 5%.Increased overall risk of first progression or death (PFS) was significantly associated with higher pretreatment levels of IL8, ANG2 or lower levels of VEGFR2. IL8, ANG2 and VEGFR2 were each associated with overall survival also (p Conclusions: We provide a comprehensive evaluation of the circulating levels of angiogenesis biomarkers in ovarian cancer. Angiogenesis biomarkers do not exhibit clinically appreciable predictive power for outcome after bevacizumab in ovarian cancer patients, probably due to the complex biology of ovarian cancer. ANG2, IL8 and VEGFR2 are prognostic markers for ovarian cancer and may serve as candidates for targeted therapy. Citation Format: Wei Wei, Mark F. Brady, Tsun-Yee Tsang, Vinod Vathipadiekal, Robert A. Burger, Robert S. Mannel, Parviz Hanjani, Warner K. Huh, Elizabeth M. Swisher, Thomas J. Rutherford, Janos L. Tanyi, Julian C. Schink, Shashikant B. Lele, Paul A. DiSilvestro, Michael J. Birrer. An assessment of the prognostic and predictive associations of 13 angiogenic biomarkers in women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer treated with chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Angiogenesis and Vascular Normalization: Bench to Bedside to Biomarkers; Mar 5-8, 2015; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PR05.


Aim: The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the synergistic effect of chemical degradation (erosion) and three-body abrasion (mechanical degradation) on the surface roughness (Ra) and hardness (KHN) of two nanorestorative materials and two conventional materials. Methods: Discshaped specimens (5 mm in diameter, 2 mm thick) of Filtek Z350TM and TPH SpectrumTM composites and Ketac NanoTM and VitremerTM light-curing glass ionomer cements, nanomaterials and conventional materials were prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions. After 24 h, polishing procedures were performed and initial measurements of Ra and KHN were taken in all specimens. The specimens were divided into 12 groups (n = 10) according to material and storage media: artificial saliva, orange juice, and Coca-Cola®. After 30 days of storage, the specimens were submitted to mechanical degradation and re-evaluated for Ra and KHN. Data were tested for significant differences by repeated-measure three-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests (p<0.05). Results: Erosion and abrasion wear significantly decreased hardness of all materials. Only Filtek Z350 roughness, however, was not affected by erosion and abrasion. All materials showed a significant increase in surface roughness after erosion and abrasion, except for Filtek Z350. After chemical and mechanical degradation, the KHN of all samples had decreased significantly. After mechanical degradation, the acidic drinks (Coca-Cola® and orange juice) were more aggressive than artificial saliva to all materials. Conclusions: A synergistic effect was observed by the increase in roughness for all materials, except for Filtek Z350; hardness values decrease for all materials, regardless of whether they were nanofilled or not. The RMGICs were more susceptible to degradation than the composites, considering both hardness and roughness surface parameters.


In theoretical and computational chemistry, it is an important goal to develop functional molecules prior to or in cooperation with experiment. Thus, new bonds and structures provided by heavier atoms are investigated together with the reactivities. In addition, chemical modification and properties of nanocarbons are investigated to develop functional nanomolecular systems. Efficient computational methods are also developed to perform reliable quantum chemistry calculations for small and large molecular systems.


The h index was introduced by Hirsch to quantify an individual's scientific research output. It has been widely used in different fields to show the relevance of the research work of prominent scientists. I have worked out 26 practical cases of physicists which are not so prominent. Therefore this case study should be more relevant to discuss various features of the Hirsch index which are interesting or disturbing or both for the more average situation. In particular, I investigate quantitatively some pitfalls in the evaluation and the influence of self‐citations.


This paper presents methods and tools which can be used within the framework of diagnostics and prognostics to accommodate imprecision of real systems. We outline the advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques and show how they can be used in a hybrid fashion to complement each other. We conclude the paper with a number of successful real world examples.


This paper investigates trends in intergenerational patterns of educational attainment over time and space in China. Drawing on the Rural-Urban Migration in China and Indonesia (RUMiCI) Survey for 2008, which provides unique access to data on the educational attainments of up to three generations of people within the same household across China's rural, urban and migrant populations, we find that inter-generational "mobility", as reflected in low regression and correlation coefficients between child's and parent's education levels, is lower in rural and migrant populations than in urban ones. A closer look the sources of this correlation reveals that the low values observed in rural and migrant China stem from the fact that the vast majority of these children complete only junior high, with some children in the youngest cohorts actually moving down the education ladder relative to their parents. In contrast, for urban children, the only way is up, a combination of results that has clear and undesirable implications for China's rural-urban divide. JEL Codes: I24 (Education and inequality), R00 (Urban, Rural, Regional, general), R20 (Household in ROO).


Purpose: One of the most well-known multimodality techniques is the integration of EEG and fMRI datasets. Convolution of EEG signals with hemodynamic response function is one of the most important methods to consider the effect of HRF in the fusion of EEG and fMRI data. However, the latencies and amplitudes of ERPs and fMRI spatial components are affected by the low pass filtering effect of HRF in each trial. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we have proposed a new method based on Advanced Coupled Matrix Tensor Factorization model to jointly factorize the EEG tensor and fMRI matrix while we simultaneously remove the effect of HRF through decomposition of fMRI dataset. Results: Applying the proposed method to an auditory oddball paradigm of simultaneous EEG-fMRI recording, the well-known ERP of oddball paradigm and the corresponding fMRI spatial maps are estimated. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that our proposed approach is strongly capable of extracting the ERPs and their corresponding fMRI spatial components, while simultaneously estimates the trial to trial variations of these factors with accurate amplitude and latency in each trial.


CdTe/CZT is an attractive and consolidated material with which to realize detectors with good efficiency and energy resolution, operating at room temperature and suitable for a large variety of applications such as medical imaging, nuclear security, and astrophysics. Right in this last field several spectro-imagers based on these CdTe/CZT detectors were mounted onboard space missions such as INTEGRAL, Swift, and NuSTAR for hard X and gamma-ray astrophysics. Much effort has been expended in the development of CZT spectroscopic imagers for obtaining sub-millimeter spatial resolution in three dimensions (3D) and high energy resolution up to 1 MeV. The motivations are mainly related to the possibility to perform simultaneous measurements of energy, timing, and 3D positioning of X and gamma rays. This kind of 3D detector is particularly suitable to realize scattering polarimeters and Advanced Compton detectors. In this paper, we present the performance of high-resolution CZT drift strip detectors, recently realized at IMEM-CNR (Parma, Italy) in collaboration with due2lab company (Scandiano, Italy). The detectors are operated in the Planar Transverse Field (PTF) configuration, in which photons hit the detector orthogonally to the direction of the electric field established between the two electrodes, as well as in the standard configuration. They are able to determine the 2D position thanks to the strips deposited on electrodes orthogonally, while the third coordinate is derived from the Cathode/Anode ratio and/or drift time. We report the experimental results in terms of energy resolution, peak-to-valley ratio, threshold, and gain, as well as charge collection efficiency for 2 different samples and several energies of calibration. We also report the results obtained by using a novel correction technique based on the analysis of collected-induced charge pulses from anode and drift strips.


BACKGROUND
Because poverty is difficult to measure, its association with outcomes for serious illnesses such as hematologic cancers remains largely uncharacterized. Using Medicaid enrollment as a proxy for poverty, we aimed to assess potential disparities in survival after a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in a nonelderly population.

METHODS
We used records from the New York (NY) and California (CA) state cancer registries linked to Medicaid enrollment records for these states to identify Medicaid enrolled and nonenrolled patients aged 21-64 years with incident diagnoses of AML or HL in 2002-2006. We compared overall survival for the two groups using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards analyses adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical factors.

RESULTS
For HL, the adjusted risk for death for Medicaid enrolled compared with nonenrolled patients was 1.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.47-2.68) in NY and 1.89 (95% CI, 1.43-2.49) in CA. In contrast, for AML, Medicaid enrollment had no effect on survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.84-1.19 in NY and hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.89-1.16 in CA). These results persisted despite adjusting for race/ethnicity and other factors.

CONCLUSIONS
Poverty does not affect survival for AML patients but does appear to be associated with survival for HL patients, who, in contrast to AML patients, require complex outpatient treatment. Challenges for the poor in adhering to treatment regimens for HL could explain this disparity and merit further study.


Construction of earthen flood control embankments is an established practice in Bangladesh for protecting people's lives and homes, agriculture and infrastructures. The paper reports the results of recent status of river and flood control embankments in Bangladesh based on the field visits to embankments site, collected data and information on failure and on-service embankments during field visits, necessary data related to embankments construction practice obtained from available publications and news paper information reported in the year 2007. It studies the basic features and characteristics of floods and flood hazards, and reviews the design & construction practices followed. Several cases of successful and unsuccessful river and flood control embankments are investigated and analyzed. Based on the results of analyses and discussion, it shows that the present method of embankments in Bangladesh, although requires huge amount of money for its construction and repair every year, fails to solve the flood problem effectively and permanently rather it brings many other new problems. It not only increases the siltration on the floodplains and river beds but also creates a risky situation for the inhabitants inside the boundary of embankments. On the basis of overall present situation in Bangladesh, the paper also suggests a proper design and construction method of embankments to control and minimize the extent of flood hazards in the long run.


Geophysical technologies are used to mitigate geological hazard caused by adverse geological conditions in front of a tunnel face. The prevailing method for forward probing for tunnels constructed by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) for advance prediction is based on seismic detection. Conventional tunnel seismic prediction technology uses P- and S-waves with sources fired on the tunnel wall or face and layout receivers on the tunnel wall to acquire the reflected waves. However, the results show that most of these methods have different deficiencies that are in either low detection accuracy, short detection depth, and/or multiplicity in imaging. This paper proposes a new high resolution tunnel advance prediction technology on the face based on 3D seismic wave detection. It arranges the 3D high-density source and recording geometry on the tunnel face to receive reflected P-waves for 3D imaging. By using the 3D numerical simulation, we first analyze the energy distribution and propagation characteristics of the wave field, which proves that our method is feasible. Compared with the conventional technologies, the seismic energy propagating towards the tunnel face is stronger and produces rich reflected information. The reflected wave has the advantages of bandwidth, strong energy and little interferences from surface wave, so that the seismic phases are easy to be identified. On this basis, we present the high resolution true 3D prediction technology to obtain more comprehensive and abundant azimuth information. Our approach is further validated by an application experiment in a real-world engineering project of water conveyance tunnel. The results show that the new technique has a greater detection length, higher detection accuracy and more reliable imaging results.


Central pattern generators (CPGs) produce motor patterns that ultimately drive motor outputs. We studied how functional motor performance is achieved, specifically, whether the variation seen in motor patterns is reflected in motor performance and whether fictive motor patterns differ from those in vivo. We used the leech heartbeat system in which a bilaterally symmetrical CPG coordinates segmental heart motor neurons and two segmented heart tubes into two mutually exclusive coordination modes: rear-to-front peristaltic on one side and nearly synchronous on the other, with regular side-to-side switches. We assessed individual variability of the motor pattern and the beat pattern in vivo. To quantify the beat pattern we imaged intact adults. To quantify the phase relations between motor neurons and heart constrictions we recorded extracellularly from two heart motor neurons and movement from the corresponding heart segments in minimally dissected leeches. Variation in the motor pattern was reflected in motor performance only in the peristaltic mode, where larger intersegmental phase differences in the motor neurons resulted in larger phase differences between heart constrictions. Fictive motor patterns differed from those in vivo only in the synchronous mode, where intersegmental phase differences in vivo had a larger front-to-rear bias and were more constrained. Additionally, load-influenced constriction timing might explain the amplification of the phase differences between heart segments in the peristaltic mode and the higher variability in motor output due to body shape assumed in this soft-bodied animal. The motor pattern determines the beat pattern, peristaltic or synchronous, but heart mechanics influence the phase relations achieved.


Burkholderia cepacia complex infections contribute significantly to mortality and morbidity in persons with cystic fibrosis (CF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a novel typing method, multilocus restriction typing (MLRT), for investigation of the global epidemiology of B. cepacia complex genomovar III, the species most commonly encountered in CF. In the MLRT method, variation at several loci is indexed by restriction analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified genes. Data obtained by MLRT and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis of a large number of B. cepacia genomovar III isolates (including isolates belonging to epidemic lineages and environmental isolates) show a strong correlation. MLRT extends the utility of isolate genotyping by allowing comparisons of isolates collected in studies of larger scale (both temporal and spatial). The portability of MLRT data will facilitate comparison of data obtained in different laboratories. In addition, data obtained with MLRT can be used in studies of bacterial population structure.


The records of 228 patients with acute leukemia admitted to Roswell Park Memorial Institute from 1967 through 1971 were reviewed. One hundred twenty patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and 108 with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) were studied. Ten major abdominal or thoracic procedures were performed in 9 patients with AML. Five patients were markedly thrombocytopenic. One had severe bleeding at the time of surgery and died within 12 hours. Another patient developed an undiagnosed hemothorax after a thoracotomy and died in 1 week. A third patient succumbed with severe bronchopneumonia 6 days following an operation for an abdominal infection. Six of the 9 patients survived longer than 1 month postoperatively. Proper operative procedures and supportive care should facilitate major surgery, when indicated in patients with acute myelocytic leukemia.


raditionally conceived as a singular, differentiated policy insulated from public debate, foreign policy in democratic political systems has gradually drawn closer to other public policies. Mechanisms for channelling the demands of different political actors and even for direct participation in developing and executing foreign policy, as well as mechanisms of control and accountability, have been established and have moved the democratisation of foreign policy forward to a greater or lesser degree, according to the context. However, an examination of the literature shows that in foreign policy the democratic deficit is invariably perceived as greater than in domestic policies. To what can this be attributed? To the inertia of tradition or to a real specificity of foreign policy, in which debate might not be advisable? In the words of Christopher Hill (2003), this specificity is related to the "long-debated issue of how far foreign policy can or should be accountable to citizens who are probably ignorant of the issues but who may ultimately be asked to die in its name" (2003, p.17). For many, the tension between two types of Weberian rationality (purposeful rationality and value-oriented rationality) is particularly important in foreign policy.If the topic of the democratisation of foreign policy is of universal interest, it is particularly interesting in contemporary Brazil. As Ambassador (and former Minister of External Relations) Celso Amorim states in the book's prologue, Brazilian foreign policy is increasingly present in public debate in Brazil and has therefore become another field of party conflict. At the same time, several institutional changes, within and without the Itamaraty (Ministry of External Relations), have assuaged the traditional insulation of the bureaucracy responsible for conducting Brazil's foreign policy.That is why Dawisson Belem Lopes's work, based on his Ph.D thesis defended at IUPERJ (


Moral education of preschool children is a focused process of their initiation of moral values of mankind (humanism, kindness, humanity, justice, mercy and altruism) and stimulation of manifestations of empathy, sympathy and support in people' world. Moral education is of great importance in the modern, very dynamic and constantly changing world. There is an urgent necessity to understand that human community is a family, where everyone is a part of the universal whole. It is necessary to avoid conflicts and wars in unity and live in peace. To overcome disputes and solve common problems at the negotiating table rather than by means of armed conflicts. To provide political, economic and social development of society constructively. To overcome any obstacles for free, democratic communication and human interaction. Moral education of preschoolers is based on specially developed content presented in educational programmes. The development and improvement of programmes is carried out throughout the entire period of development of national preschool education. Every document of the programme is created at a certain historical stage of development of society, reflecting its political, economic and social status as well as the level of development of the theory and practice of preschool education. At the present stage of the development of national preschool education, there is a need to study the history of development of the content of moral education of preschool children in national and foreign (Russian) educational programmes, which has not been studied specifically before. This has become the goal of our study and helped to set the objectives and content of moral education of preschoolers for the new edition of the program "Child" (2016)


Researchers often expose participants to a series of words (e.g., religion, God, faith) to activate religious concepts and observe their subsequent effects on people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This research has revealed many important effects of experimentally manipulated religious cognition in domains ranging from prosocial behavior to prejudice. However, it is not exactly clear what constitutes a "religious cognition," and no research has yet investigated conceptual distinctions between different kinds of religious prime words. In the present research we used a card-sorting task to examine laypeople's subjective understanding of religious prime words, and the central categories or dimensions of these religious concepts. Using multidimensional scaling, property fitting, and cluster analysis methods to analyze the proximities among the words, we find evidence for the mental representation of three relatively distinct kinds of religious concepts: agents (e.g., God, angel), spiritual/abstract (e.g., faith, belief), and institutional/concrete (e.g., shrine, scripture). Theoretical and methodological impli-cations for religious priming research are discussed.


In this paper, a parallel analysis of the enjoyment derived from humor and insight problem solving is presented with reference to a "general" Theory of the Pleasures of the Mind (TPM) (Kubovy, 1999) rather than to "local" theories regarding what makes humor and insight problem solving enjoyable. The similarity of these two cognitive activities has already been discussed in previous literature in terms of the cognitive mechanisms which underpin getting a joke or having an insight experience in a problem solving task. The paper explores whether we can learn something new about the similarities and differences between humor and problem solving by means of an investigation of what makes them pleasurable. In the first part of the paper, the framework for this joint analysis is set. Two descriptive studies are then presented in which the participants were asked to report on their experiences relating to solving visuo-spatial insight problems (Study 1) or understanding cartoons (Study 2) in terms of whether they were enjoyable or otherwise. In both studies, the responses were analyzed with reference to a set of categories inspired by the TPM. The results of Study 1 demonstrate that finding the solution to a problem is associated with a positive evaluation, and the most frequent explanations for this were reported as being Curiosity, Virtuosity and Violation of expectations. The results of Study 2 suggest that understanding a joke (Joy of verification) and being surprised by it (Feeling of surprise) were two essential conditions: when they were not present, the cartoons were perceived as not enjoyable. However, this was not enough to explain the motivations for the choice of the most enjoyable cartoons. Recognizing a Violation of expectations and experiencing a Diminishment in the cleverness or awareness initially attributed to the characters in the cartoon were the aspects which were most frequently indicated by the participants to explain why they enjoyed the joke. These findings are evaluated in the final discussion, together with their limitations and potential future developments.


Dysphagia can be caused by a number of disorders, benign or malignant, that involve either the oropharynx or the esophagus. The cause of dysphagia can be determinated with an accuracy on the basis of a careful history alone in most cases. In patients without endoscopic abnormality, eosinophilic esophagitis must be suspected. Esophageal manometry is especially useful for the diagnosis of achalasia. There are no specific treatment for motility disorders other than achalasia and its variants.


PurposeState-owned enterprises (SOEs) are essential tools to further policy objectives across the world. However, in the past few decades, heated debates on the performance of SOEs vis-à-vis private sector enterprises have surfaced. In India, SOEs have long played an important role in the economy and only recently have undergone the trend of privatization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze existing research and to conclude whether private enterprises perform better than SOEs.Design/methodology/approachA review of available literature on performance comparisons of public and private sector enterprises is carried out, and differences between public and private enterprises are studied. Finally, theoretical propositions on the differences in objectives of public and private enterprises in the Indian context are enumerated. Three propositions are tested using data on Indian SOEs available in the public domain.FindingsPerformance comparisons of public and private enterprises have focused merely on technical productivity or financial aspects and have thus left out the wide scope of social, economic and political objectives of SOEs. Literature on the nature of SOEs indicates that there are certain fundamental differences in the objectives of public and private sector enterprises. Further, the basic theoretical assumptions tested have been found to be, prima facie, valid in the Indian context. The paper thus establishes a case for further research to develop a comprehensive technique for the comparison of public and private sector enterprises in the Indian context.Originality/valueExtant research on the subject of comparing public and private entries has limited itself to technoeconomic considerations and has not taken into account the different objectives/nature of these enterprises. The study established a case for diverging from the present discourse privatization and private sector supremacy. The same could have far-reaching consequences for policymakers, especially in developing countries.


Objective To study the effect of a diterpenoid 5F (ent-11α-hydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid) isolated from Pteris semipinnata on the expressions of NF-κB (P65), Smad3 protein and NF-κB (P65), ETS-1 mRNA, and to investigate the antitumor mechanisms of 5F. Methods MTT assay was used to examine the effect of 5F on proliferation of HO-8910PM cells. The expressions levels of NF-κB (P65) and Smad3 proteins were assessed by Western blot analysis. RT-PCR assay was used to assess the expression levels of NF-κB (P65) and ETS-1 mRNA. Results The proliferation of HO-8910PM cells can be inhibited by 5F in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of NF-κB (P65) and Smad3 proteins decreased obviously in HO-8910PM cells after treatment with 25—100 μmol/L 5F for 24 h, and the effects appeared in a dose-dependent manner. 5F down-regulated significantly the expression of NF-κB (P65) mRNA, down-regulated gently the expression of ETS-1 mRNA. Conclusion The antitumor activity of 5F is involved in the expression of NF-κB (P65), Smad3 protein and NF-κB (P65), ETS-1 mRNA.


Background: The headache profile of patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papilledema (IIHWOP) may be indistinguishable from that of migraine. Bilateral transverse sinus stenosis (BTSS) has been found in the majority of patients with IIHWOP. The frequency of BTSS associated with IIHWOP in patients with migraine is unknown. Objective: To detect the frequency of BTSS in adult patients with migraine and to investigate whether the presence of BTSS identifies patients with IIHWOP. Methods: In a prospective study from December 2000 to November 2005, 724 consecutive patients with recurrent headaches who fulfilled International Headache Society diagnostic criteria for migraine underwent cerebral MR venography (MRV). A portion of these patients underwent a lumbar puncture (LP) to measure CSF pressure. MRV and LP were also performed in 70 age-matched control subjects. Results: Six hundred seventy-five of the 724 patients with migraines had normal MRV. Seventy of these 675 patients underwent LP, and all of them had normal CSF pressure. Forty-nine (6.7%) of the 724 patients with migraine had BTSS. Twenty-eight of these 49 patients with BTSS underwent LP, and 19 (67.8%) had IIHWOP. The headache profiles of patients with BTSS and IIHWOP did not differ from those of patients with normal MRVs and CSF pressures within normal limits. CSF pressure was normal in both patients and controls with normal MRV. Conclusions: Of patients with migraine, 6.7% had bilateral transverse sinus stenosis; 67.8% of these patients had idiopathic intracranial hypertension without papilledema (IIHWOP). These results suggest that patients with migraine who present bilateral transverse sinus stenosis on cerebral MR venography should undergo lumbar puncture to exclude IIHWOP.


Marine stock-enhancement programs should use information on population structure to optimize enhancement strategies and to design and implement operations so as to protect the genetic character and diversity of existing wild stocks, thereby maintaining their productivity and evolutionary potential. Genetic methods of stock identification allow direct tests of reproductive isolation and gene flow among populations, and most use naturally occurring marks (= genotypes) and so avoid the cost and difficulty of applying physical tags. Protein electrophoresis (used to generate extensive population data for numerous species for over 20 yrs) requires fresh or frozen tissue samples, is relatively inexpensive, and resolves well-characterized Mendelian gene markers. Newer nuclear and mitochondrial DNA-based methods often reveal more genetic variation and have considerably less stringent tissue requirements. Their disadvantages, which include higher costs per locus, less mature technology, and a paucity of established databases, are diminishing as techniques develop. Restriction-enzyme analysis of mtDNA and length polymorphism analysis of nuclear mini- and microsatellites are particularly promising for stock identification. Genetic analyses of protein and/or DNA variation in marine species have revealed the existence of multiple species in many cases where only one was previously recognized, as well as the presence of numerous, reproductively isolated stocks in many fish and shellfish species. The review of selected allozyme and DNA studies of various species in the Australia-New Zealand and the southeastern U.S.-Gulf of Mexico regions and of Atlantic cod and chum salmon provides examples of the power and limitations of these genetic approaches and illustrates the varied levels and patterns of population subdivision exhibited by marine organisms.


The use of Socio-scientific Issues (SSI) in science education aiming at fostering critical thinking and decision-making capacities is known to develop the quality of students' socio-scientific argu ...


Since the early 1970s, there have been attempts – largely under the banner of a so-called European Social Model (ESM) – to introduce a social dimension to European Union (EU) integration. Over time, and despite frequent UK opposition, these attempts have resulted in the creation of a patchwork of European labour laws. However, this has not altered the status quo which prioritizes economic over social integration. This article analyses the way in which the ESM has attempted to 'europeanize' national labour law systems between 1973 and 2016, with due regard to the UK. The article concludes that it is difficult to speak of a clearly defined ESM which develops a social dimension to European integration that has had a significant positive influence on the UK. This became evident in the run-up to and outcome of the 'Brexit' referendum when rhetoric on the EU's contribution to workers' rights in the UK appeared insufficient to encourage a majority to support 'Remain'


The influence of structural defects in the active layer of GaN-on-Si substrates on the vertical leakage current was studied. The structural defects were analyzed by analytical scanning electron microscopy by means of cathodoluminescence (CL). The leakage current was determined by vertical I-V measurements.Two possibilities were found, which give potential explanations for the variations of the vertical leakage current: i) Threading dislocations, which may partially form leakage paths, were detected by CL imaging. ii) Variations of the carbon doping, which is used to tune GaN to a semi insulating material were revealed by CL spectroscopy.


Population dynamics of the planktonic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens was investigated at the Zhelin Bay, China, between May 2000 and December 2004. Monthly or seasonal plankton samples were collected from nine stations along the inner to outer bay gradient. Among the 1045 samples collected, P. pungens on average accounted for 2.9% of the total phytoplankton cells, with densities ranging from 0 to 50.94 × 104 cells l−1 and a grand mean of 1.43 × 104 cells l−1. Two hundred and fourteen samples (20.5%) had densities of P. pungens above 104 cells l−1 and 40 samples (3.8%) had densities that were above 105 cells l−1. Results of the grey incidence–regression analysis show that water temperature, zooplankton and salinity were the most important among the 13 environmental factors influencing population density of P. pungens. Water temperature has a highly significant linear relationship with the population density, with 23.8°C or higher being an essential condition for the algal bloom. Grazing by zooplankton was probably the most important factor controlling the algal bloom. With continued decreasing of richness and organism size of the zooplankton community at the Zhelin Bay, P. pungens blooms may become more frequent. The bay has a large-scale mariculture operation, therefore it is important to carefully examine and monitor the potential impacts of toxin-producing P. pungens on human health as well as ecosystem health of the bay.


The applicability of a massively parallel processing (MPP) paradigm to the simulation of charge transport in semiconductor devices through the Monte Carlo method is investigated. A unique mapping of Monte Carlo simulation to a data-parallel software model has been developed in which the problem is decoupled into multiple computational domains, thereby increasing the locality of computation. The target machine for the Monte Carlo simulator is the Connection Machine CM-2, a massively parallel SIMD architecture. Enhancement of convergence rates for Monte Carlo estimators are achieved through the development of methods for efficient carrier flight time generation and importance sampling. The computational efficiencies of the algorithms are analyzed, and applications of the simulator are shown.


BackgroundMelon seeds as an excellent supply of protease inhibitors may have a protective role against tumor progression and angiogenesis. However, its effects on angiogenesis and the mechanism of its motion on cancer progression remain elusive. This study aimed to investigate the effect of bioactive compounds of melon seed on the expression of angiogenesis genes in breast cancer cell lines.MethodsTrypsin inhibitor (TI) was purified from the seed powder of Cucumis Melo. Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was determined for TI, extract of melon seed powder (EXT), and tamoxifen (TAM) by MTT test. Also, breast tumor was induced by subcutaneous injection of MC4-L2 cell line in blab-c inbreed mice breast tissue. After tumor growth, mice were treated with TI, EXT, and TAM to examine their effects on the tumor characteristics and the expression of the angiogenesis-related genes including MMP-2, MMP-9, and VEGF using the RT-PCR method.ResultsTI, EXT, TAM, and adjuvant treatment of TI+TAM resulted a reduction in expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and VEGF. All treatments improved the breast tumor characteristics and the necrosis. The Real Time-PCR method verified the positive effects of the treatments on the breast cancer cell line and tumors.ConclusionThe results indicated that treatments with trypsin Inhibitor Purified from Cucumis Melo Seeds and also combination therapy of trypsin inhibitor and tamoxifen can be considered as an alternative therapy in breast cancer patients. Further studies are warranted.


In this work, a two-dimensional (2D) position-detection device using a single axis magnetic sensor combined with orthogonal gradient coils was designed and fabricated. The sensors used were an induction coil and a GMR spin-valve sensor GF807 from Sensitec Inc. The field profiles generated by the two orthogonal gradient coils were analyzed numerically to achieve the maximum linear range, which corresponded to the detection area of the tracking system. The two coils were driven by 1-kHz sine wave currents with a 90° phase difference to generate the fields with uniform gradients along the x- and y-axis in the plane of the tracking stage. The gradient fields were detected by a single-axis sensor incorporated with a digital dual-phase lock-in detector to retrieve the position information. A linearity correction algorithm was used to improve the location accuracy and to extend the linear range for position sensing. The mean positioning error was found to be 0.417 mm, corresponding to the relative error of 0.21% in the working range of 200 mm × 200 mm, indicating that the proposed tracking system is promising for applications requiring accurate control of the two-dimensional position.


This brief presents findings from a baseline study of resilience using data from two Development Food Security Activities (DFSAs) in Uganda. The DFSAs cover seven districts in Karamoja and are implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Mercy Corps (MC). The research examines what elements help households mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in ways that reduce chronic vulnerability and facilitate inclusive growth.1 Specifically, this study assesses which resilience capacities are associated with positive well-being outcomes (expenditures, poverty, dietary diversity, and recovery from shock), which are drivers of positive well-being outcomes, and which coping strategies households use based on their level of resilience capacity.


Conformance checking is a subarea of process mining that studies relations between designed processes, also called process models, and records of observed processes, also called event logs. In the last decade, research in conformance checking has proposed a plethora of techniques for characterizing the discrepancies between process models and event logs. Often, these techniques are also applied to measure the quality of process models automatically discovered from event logs. Recently, the process mining community has initiated a discussion on the desired properties of such measures. This discussion witnesses the lack of measures with the desired properties and the lack of properties intended for measures that support partially matching processes, i.e., processes that are not identical but differ in some steps. The paper at hand addresses these limitations. Firstly, it extends the recently introduced precision and recall conformance measures between process models and event logs that possess the desired property of monotonicity with the support of partially matching processes. Secondly, it introduces new intuitively desired properties of conformance measures that support partially matching processes and shows that our measures indeed possess them. The new measures have been implemented in a publicly available tool. The reported qualitative and quantitative evaluations based on our implementation demonstrate the feasibility of using the proposed measures in industrial settings.


ATOM OPTICSResearchers at the University of Innsbruck in Austria have gained a new mastery of atoms with current-carrying wires that can guide atoms just as optical fibers guide light. The technique, described in the 8 March issue of Physical Review Letters , could be used in small nanostructures that would manipulate atoms as handily as integrated circuits guide electrons. Ultimately such "atom optics" might even provide components for quantum computers.


Lexitropsins are small molecules that bind to the minor groove of DNA as antiparallel dimers in a specific orientation. These molecules have shown therapeutic potential in the treatment of several diseases; however, the development of these molecules to target particular genes requires revealing the factors that dictate their preferred orientation in the minor grooves, which to date have not been investigated. In this study, a distinct structure (thzC) was carefully designed as an analog of a well-characterized lexitropsin (thzA) to reveal the factors that dictate the preferred binding orientation. Comparative evaluations of the biophysical and molecular modeling results of both compounds showed that the position of the dimethylaminopropyl group and the orientation of the amide links of the ligand with respects to the 5'-3'-ends; dictate the preferred orientation of lexitropsins in the minor grooves. These findings could be useful in the design of novel lexitropsins to selectively target specific genes.


The authors presented the case of an 82-year-old man with primary nodular melanoma of the skin on the back (Breslow 3 mm) which repeatedly metastasized five times to the cervical lymph nodes. Metastases were excised. The aim of this report was to demonstrate changes in the phenotype and immunophenotype during tumour progression. Originally round and oval melanoblasts had a characteristic immunophenotype. They were S100 protein, HMB45, Malan A, MITF positive. From the second biopsy the immunophenotype began to change, and the amount of positive cells declined. In the succeeding biopsies the morphology was also changed. There were spindle cells which formed mutually intermingled bundles in places with large multinucleate cells. The histological pattern assembled malignant mesenchymal tumour - type malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The immunophenotype was also changed. The second to fifth metastases in the cervical region were only S100 protein positive. The other above-mentioned melanoma markers were negative. Differential diagnosis includes neurotropic-desmoplastic malignant melanoma, Bednár tumour (pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans; storiform neurofibroma), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (neurogenic sarcoma) and malignant fibrous histiocytoma.


Background. Ongoing research shows an increase in mortality in patients with low levels of serum cholesterol, which is caused by decreasing the fraction of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). Objective. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between the CETP gene TaqI polymorphism and concentrations of selected parameters of lipid metabolism in patients with overweight and obesity. Materials and method. The study involved 73 people aged 24-68 years. Android obesity was found in 90.4% of women, including 66.7% in the HDL-C levels above 50 mg / dL. Results. Most of abdominal obesity was the B1B2 heterozygotes (38.1%). Abdominal obesity was present in 48.4% of men, including 25.8% in B1B2 heterozygotes and in 67.7% of HDL> 40mg/dl. It was found statistically insignificant higher levels of TG, TC, LDL-C, the percentage of fat mass (% FM)in patients with genotype B2B2 compared to those with genotype B1B1 and B1B2. In women, higher levels of TC, LDL-C and HDL-C were found in the presence of B1B2 genotype, whereas a higher concentration of all lipid fractions studied showed the men with the B2B2 genotype, who also had the highest % FM. Conclusions. The results indicate that in obese men TagIB polymorphism may be an independent factor influencing HDLcholesterol.


This paper presents a novel technique - Multi-Channel Ratio (MCR) Decoding, which aims at providing an anti-jamming wireless communication capability for multi-antenna wireless devices. The basic idea of MCR decoding is to fully leverage the repeated preamble signals and the multi-channel characteristics in MIMO communications to detect and recover the desired transmission signals under constant and reactive jamming attacks. This paper also reports the analysis, implementation, and experimental evaluations of MCR decoding on a software-defined radio platform - GNURadio and USRP, which show that the proposed MCR decoding can detect the desired transmission reliably under the jamming attack and remove jamming signals effectively in the real world environment.


This paper examines the amenity value of legalized marijuana by analyzing the impact of marijuana legalization on migration to Colorado. Colorado is the pioneering state in this area having legalized medical marijuana in 2000 and recreational marijuana in 2012. We test whether potential migrants to Colorado view legalized marijuana as a positive or negative local amenity. We use the synthetic control methodology to examine in- and out-migration to/from Colorado versus migration to/from counterfactual versions of Colorado that have not legalized marijuana. We find strong evidence that potential migrants view legalized marijuana as a positive amenity with in-migration significantly higher in Colorado compared with synthetic- Colorado after the writing of the Ogden memo in 2009 that effectively allowed state laws already in place to be activated, and additionally after marijuana was legalized in 2013 for recreational use. When we employ permutation methods to assess the statistical likelihood of our results given our sample, we find that Colorado is a clear and significant outlier. We find no evidence for changes in out-migration from Colorado suggesting that marijuana legalization did not change the equilibrium for individuals already living in the state.


In recent years, along with the development of nanometer material and technology, it is raising the upsurge of researching the craft of electroless composite plating with nanometer particles in domestic and foreign. However the nanometer material because its big relative surface proportion, the increase of superficial atomicity, insufficient of atomic coordinate, and the high surface energy, make these superficial atoms to have the higher activeness, they are extremely unstable and very easy to reunite with each other and become the big reunion body with some connection interfaces. Therefore, in order to make the nanometer particles suspend evenly in the bath to obtain the composite coating of symmetrical distribution of nanometer particles, the question of dispersion of nanometer particles appears important especially. The orthogonal test method has been used to study the effects of the concentration of SiC, the speed of mixing, the temperature and the surfactants on depositing rate and micro-hardness, and obtained the optimized technological scheme and fine Ni-P-SiC composite coating. The results showed that using citric acid-acetic acid as complexing agents can obtain high speed of depositing and homogeneous coating with SiC well-distributed. Among the technological parameters, the effects of temperature on depositing rate is biggest, and the surfactants is next; the effects of the concentration of SiC particles on micro-hardness is biggest, and the surfactants is next. Give consideration to depositing rate and stability of the liquid, the temperature should be controlled at 82±2℃, the concentration of SiC particles and surfactants should be controlled in 4g/L and 60mg/L. The influence to micro-hardness value of coating with ultrasonic disperser craft also has been studied.


A country's political stability and trends in economic growth are important factors to attract foreign investment. Most developing countries struggle to achieve political stability and high levels of growth. Due to these issues, developing countries attract limited foreign investment. Applying the Bounds test for cointegration, an ARDL model was utilized using time series data from 1995 to 2016, this study examined the potential impact of political risk and gross domestic product (GDP) on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to the South Africa. Findings of the study revealed that in both short and long run, political risk and economic growth affect the level of foreign direct investment. The political risk rating was found to have a higher impact on FDI flow if compared to GDP. The lower the political risk level (resulting in a highly rated index), the higher the level of FDI inflows. Using the Granger causality approach, empirical results indicated a bi-directional causal relationship between FDI and economic growth, while it was found that political risk causes changes in FDI. In other words, individually, political risk and gross domestic product cause changes in FDI. Based on the study findings, it is imperative for the South African government to reduce the level of political risk in order to increase foreign investment into the country which, in return, could assist in economic growth and welfare.


Background: A nocebo effect occurs when inactive factors lead to worsening of symptoms or reduce treatment outcomes. Believing that one is or has been infected with COVID-19 may act as a nocebo. However, not much is known about potential nocebo effects associated with the reporting of COVID-19 symptoms. Aim: An online survey investigated whether certainty of being infected with COVID-19, age, sex, cognitive, emotional and personality factors were associated with perceived severity of COVID-19 symptoms. Methods: Participants (N=375) filled out an online survey containing 57 questions asking about symptoms resembling COVID-19, certainty of being infected with COVID-19, anxiety, stress and personality dimensions. Results: Certainty of being infected with COVID-19 and anxiety predicted 27% of the variance in reporting of COVID-like symptoms. The mediation analysis showed that both higher certainty of being infected and anxiety independently predicted increased reports of COVID-like symptom. Females had higher anxiety and stress levels, and reported more COVID-like symptoms than males did. Older age was not associated with reporting COVID-like symptoms. Conclusions: Believing to be infected with COVID-19, along with anxiety, can enhance the severity of COVID-like symptoms. Thus, the nocebo effect was due to both cognitive and emotional factors and was higher in females.


Brush DC motor is being replaced by brushless DC motors on every area of application. My diploma thesis is a presentation of brushless DC motor, how it works and its application. Within first part we describe various electric motors and their application. There are several types of electric motors division. Last to be added is a brushless motor. Within second part of thesis we look into a brushless DC motor, how it works, its application and control. In the third part of thesis we construct a brushless model and test it. We also analize primary and secondary school curricula and try to approach brushless DC motor to curriculum of technical subjects.


Iterative wavefront shaping is a powerful tool to overcome medium scattering and enable focusing of diffusive light, which has exciting potentials in many applications that desire localized light delivery at depths in tissue-like complex media. Unsatisfactory performance and efficiency, however, have been a long-standing problem, and the large discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results has hindered the wide applications of the technology. Currently, most algorithms guiding the iterative search of optimal phase compensation rely heavily on randomness to achieve solution diversity. The lack of clear guidance on the new solution generation process considerably affects the optimization efficiency. Therefore, we propose a probability-based iterative algorithm that the new solutions are generated based on a probability map. With the clearer guidance provided by the probability map and less involvement of randomness, we can obtain optimization results that efficiently approach the theoretical optimal value. Moreover, with the proposed algorithm, we demonstrate higher adaptability in an unstable scattering environment and more spatially uniform optical focusing in the field of view. This study advances the state of the art in the practice of iterative wavefront shaping and can potentially inspire or open up wide applications that desire localized and enhanced optical delivery in situ.


This research investigates compression techniques as applied to input from a digitizing tablet. The representations we consider are either drawn from the literature or developed within this thesis; they involve selecting relevant points along the trajectory of the writing pen, and using an interpolating function for reconstruction. The two dimensional parametric polynomial interpolator (e.g linear, quadratic, cubic ) is used for regenerating the trajectory of the pen. Several techniques for selecting relevant points , i.e control points are discussed. We determine our best representation by weighting the criteria, analyzing the experimental results, examining the theoretical considerations and, making where necessary, justifiable tradeoffs. The techniques tested are objectively evaluated in terms of accuracy, efficiency and compactness. The information characteristics (i.e signal entropy) of the handwriting and drawing signals, are estimated from the original and approximated data. Results are discussed and conclusions drawn. The research has been carried out on static data.


Evidence that the bond paths of the quantum theory of atoms-in-molecules (QTAIM) signal preferred quantum-mechanical exchange channels is presented. We show how bond paths between an atom A and the atoms B in its environment appear to be determined by competition among the A-B exchange-correlation energies that always contribute to stabilize the A-B interactions. These pairwise additive stabilizations depend neither on the attractive or repulsive nature of the classical electrostatic interaction between the atoms' charge densities, nor on the change in the self energies of the atoms involved. These other terms may well cause an overall molecular-energy increase in spite of a possibly large A-B exchange-correlation stabilization. After our proposal, bond paths, both at and out of equilibrium geometries, are endowed with a specific energetic meaning that should contribute to reconcile the orthodox QTAIM interpretation with other widely accepted views, and to settle recent controversies questioning the meaning of hydrogen-hydrogen bonding and the nature of the so-called "steric interactions", the role of bond paths in endohedral complexes, and the generality of the results provided by the QTAIM. Implications for the nature of more general closed-shell interactions are also briefly discussed.


Bullying in Irish schools is a behavioural problem which affects the lives of thousands of children and their families. The humiliation, fear, frustration, social isolation and loss of self-esteem which children can experience when bullied results in absence from school, poor school work, personality changes, sickness, depression and, unfortunately, sometimes suicide. As a post-primary teacher of Religious Education, I am aware that the development of a young person relies greatly on his/her experience in school. Religious Education is concerned not only with intellectual knowledge but also emotional and affective learning (RECD, 2012 p. 4). In recent years, a new phenomenon of bullying has become a major issue in schools, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying, defined by Belsey (2005), is "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm others" (cited in Butler et al., 2008, p. 21). I need to be mindful, as an educator, of these ongoing bullying-related issues that could negatively affect the young people I will teach throughout my career. Therefore, for this Independent Study, I have chosen the area of cyberbullying, from a professional perspective, to enhance my knowledge of this modern issue.


The near-field flow structure of a wing tip vortex behind a sweptback and tapered NACA 0015 wing was investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code at Re of 1.81 x 105. In this paper, Numerical simulations of the tip vortices was carried out at a geometric angle of attack 8° and the numerical results of tangential velocity of tip vortex is compared with the experimental result done by P. Gerontakos and T. Lee at McGill University low speed wind tunnel at the velocity equal to 35 m/s. The numerical result that was obtained by using CFD code shows a good agreement with the experimental result. The coordinates of the vortex-core location are closely captured along the downstream of flow and the variation of the vortex flow quantities with different angle of attack are investigated. Also circulation at three different downstream location of the trailing edge are calculated.


Background/Aims: Diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes are closely associated with visceral obesity. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a novel sex-specific index, indirectly expressing visceral adipose function. Our aim was to determine the associations of VAI with dysglycemia (the combination of diabetes and pre-diabetes) and to compare the predictive ability for dysglycemia between VAI and traditional obesity indices. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the data of 2,754 Chinese community-dwelling people who participated in the health checkup. Sex-specific VAI tertile cut-off points were used as follows: 1.70, 2.77 in males and 0.98, 1.75 in females. Binary logistic regression models were performed to estimate the association of the higher values of all the obesity indices with pre-diabetes and diabetes. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to compare the predictive potential for dysglycemia among the obesity indices. Results: VAI was the only index significantly associated with both pre-diabetes and diabetes in both sexes after adjusting for potential confounders. The results of ROC analysis and AUC showed that VAI possessed the largest AUC, followed by other obesity indices. Conclusions: Higher VAI values are positively associated with the presence of pre-diabetes and diabetes in Chinese adults.


One simple method of data compression relies on the approximation of the source output by polynomial segments or "interpolators." The parameters of each polynomial are transmitted in place of the original data. This paper presents a method of theoretically analyzing such techniques. Straight line interpolation is considered specifically although the ideas can he readily generalized. It is shown that the class of compression methods considered may or may not perform well depending on the data and, thus, that in some cases more complex techniques, including possibly adaptive methods, might he used, depending on the knowledge of the data statistical model.


Blood and bone marrow morphology were studied sequentially in dogs during experimental inflammation induced by intramuscular injection of turpentine. Depletion of the bone marrow storage pool of mature neutrophils and an increase in mitotic activity and number of early granulocyte precursors were evident within 24 hours. During the next three days, intense granulocytic hyperplasia resulted in replenishment of the bone marrow storage pool. Neutrophils with foamy vacuolation and increased basophilia of the cytoplasm (toxic neutrophils) were present in the blood by eight hours postinjection. The number of toxic neutrophils paralleled the intensity of clinical signs and changes in rectal temperature but not the number of band neutrophils. This indicates that changes in number of toxic neutrophils in sequential leukograms can be a prognostic indicator in dogs with severe inflammation.


The purpose of our research is to build a system for mutual adaptation between a user and assistive devices for restoration of motor function. To build such system, it is necessary to know human's motion patterns. In this paper, as the first step, we investigated human motion characteristic on human-machine system like EMG (electromyogram) prosthetic hand and EMG to motion classifier system. In the experiment, we measured the EMG signals and investigated a difference between motion patterns of teaching motion, i.e. user's intended motion, and that of actual motion using the proposed criteria. As results, it is clear that these criteria are useful to analyze changes of human motion patterns


Our architecture program mission statement establishes that we "value design excellence centered in the poetic merging of the arts and technology". This objective frames current curriculum and pedagogical strategies being implemented which aim to integrate the building technology sequence with architectural design studios at key moments in our undergraduate and graduate programs. Described as a "multifaceted integration model" in a recent publication by the author, a summary of strategies focused on our undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree program was presented. These included introducing design thinking in materials and methods and the structural systems one-year sequence, integrating structures and building assemblies in design studios, industry partnerships to enhance courses, and research initiatives at the program and college levels. This paper takes a more in depth look at the specific initiatives developed to expand curriculum and pedagogical strategies aiming towards better integrating and coordinating the Integrative Design Studio and the Technical Integration Seminar in the first semester of our NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture degree program. Both courses are taught during the same semester at each of our campus locations. Changes in faculty teaching the courses have provided a varied set of approaches and resources introduced to recent generations of students. Challenges and opportunities of delivering the two courses and their relationships as corequisites are discussed. Collaborations among faculty teaching these courses in each location (or both through distance learning) have explored focused areas as themes for the design projects such as mass timber structures and assemblies, or lighting and green design strategies. This paper describes the integration strategies implemented in our curriculum and pedagogical approaches, collaboration models between faculty, initiatives engaging industry and academic research partnerships to strengthen theme-based directions in our courses and program (e.g. wood), and ongoing discussions on learning outcomes and evaluation criteria at this level.


ObjectivesOver the last 30 yr, the average hot carcass weight (HCW) has consistently increased by approximately 0.5 kg per yr. This trend toward increased HCW causes engineering challenges for aging facilities designed when average HCW was 85 kg, in contrasts to today's average HCW of 95 kg. The rate of carcass chilling is among the primary concerns. Larger carcasses have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, and almost certainly do not reach desired internal temperatures at the same rate as smaller carcasses. However, differences in rate have not been routinely reported, and to the authors' knowledge, no such model has been reported for a large-scale, blast-chilled pork abattoir. Therefore, the objective of this study was to model the effect of HCW on temperature decline of a contemporary population of pork carcasses slaughtered at a commercial abattoir that used a blast-chilling method. Additionally, carcasses were sorted into HCW classes and the effect of HCW group was tested on the rate of temperature decline of the longissimus dorsi and semimembranosus. Materials and MethodsHot carcass weight, internal temperature of the loin muscle (at the 10th rib) and ham, as well as ambient temperature, were recorded from 40 to 1,320 min postmortem (45 time points) on 754 pork carcasses. An exponential decay model based on Newton's Law of Cooling, was fit to temperature decline of the ham and loin of the whole population using PROC MODEL of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). The initial models for the decline of both ham and loin temperature displayed significant autocorrelation of errors based on evaluation of the autocorrelation function plots and Durbin-Watson test (P < 0.0001). Therefore, second and third order autocorrelation parameters were tested. Based on Durbin-Watson tests, the use of second order autocorrelation model with lags of 1 and 2 were deemed adequate and were therefore included in all subsequent models. This base model and its respective parameter estimates were all significant (P < 0.01) for the whole population. Carcasses approximating (± 1 kg) 85, 90, 95, 100, and 105 kg were selected and binned into their respective weight classes. Dummy variables were used to compare the effect of HCW class on parameter estimate of ham and loin models. ResultsThe developed model significantly fit all weight classes (P < 0.01) for both ham and loin temperature decline. For both loin and ham models, estimates of the rate constant (k) generally decreased as HCW increased. For loin temperature, k estimate for 105 kg carcasses was 0.00124 less (P = 0.02) than 85 kg carcasses, with the intermediate HCW classes not differing from the 85 kg class. For ham temperature, estimates of k for 90, 95, 100, and 105 kg HCW were all significantly and successively less than the k estimate for 85 kg class. For perspective, loins of 95 kg carcasses were estimated to reach 2°C in 17 h; whereas, loins from 105 kg carcasses would not reach 2°C until 27 h. For hams, 95 kg carcasses were projected to reach 2°C in 21 h; whereas, those from 105 kg carcasses would take 28 h. These estimates generally agreed with observed values. ConclusionOverall, HCW significantly affects the rate of temperature decline of pork hams, but not loins from pork carcasses weighing between 85 and 100 kg. This method of analysis can be used to model temperature decline in individual facilities.


This practice-led PhD research explores the nature of embodied knowledge acquired and practised through the rhythms and patterns of hand-stitching processes, such as embroidery, plain sewing and patchwork quilting, undertaken by individuals
alone and in dedicated groups as recreational craft, artistic expression and social life. The scale and pace of hand-stitching match those of the body, grounding cognitive and emotional experience in a tangible process. The hand-eye-mind coordination required cultivates a distinctive form of attention to the self, which has renewed importance in the context of the anti-
haptic experiences of screen technologies that infiltrate our daily routines in the home and the workplace. Working with the premise that skilled hand-stitching concerns more than technical ability, I examine how these activities articulate dimensions of subjective experience. In turn, I explore ways in which the relationship between an individual and a group is constructed through their crafting skills.
My previous experiences of textile crafting as a social activity drew me to this question, and my interest as a practitioner and teacher in the contemporary and future relevance of skilful work motivates me to better understand what it is that I, and many other stitch practitioners, do. With the tacit knowledge of a practitioner I know how to stitch, and from my investigations into the history and theory of textile art, craft and material culture I know about stitch. However, my view is that when absorbed
in the process of making other more immediate and personal sensations take over. An exploration of haptic sensations relative to these processes underpins the investigation, and I focus instead on the dynamic relationship between practical skill, the body and its proximity to tools, materials and other people during actual experiences of making – the repeated gestures, coordinated hand movements and the skilled precision of tool use and fingertip manipulation – to provide a new context for the study of embodied knowledge known in and through hand-stitching.
In order to explore this I have used a combination of ethnographic, auto-ethnographic and creative research methods including interviews, observation, video recording of a patchwork quilting group, participation in practical stitching sessions with a village embroidery group, undertaking workshops with students, and my own reflective stitching practice.
It has emerged from the research that patterns of hand-stitching processes share characteristics with certain modes of social interaction sought by participants in order to experience sensations of participation, belonging or interdependence. Similarly to other oral traditions, an embodied knowledge of the practice includes patterns of interaction and particular attitudes and behaviours that are inseparable from the practical skills.
However, people also stitch on their own; as a private, contemplative activity, hand-stitching allows a person to carve out time and space for introspective reflection. Whilst this could be thought of as a different kind of experience altogether, I suggest that mastery of these skills enables control over when and how to use them, which, I have found, allows a practitioner to adjust the type of experience sought: participation in a shared conversation or activity can be exchanged for isolated contemplation and a sense of self-reliance.
I conclude that hand-stitching surpasses its technical or artistic attributes when considered as a material practice that offers particular metaphors for other processes of joining, collaboration, integrity – or even separation and isolation. Practising these skills is possibly the only way to acquire this embodied knowledge, which needs to be understood as a mode of interaction if it is not merely trivialised as quaint, as domestic labour or archived as ethnographic curiosity or as art object.


The amount of procollagen I carboxyterminal propeptide (PICP) in crevicular fluid (CF) was measured in three periodontitis patients. Samples were collected from 29 sites before treatment (scaling, root planing, and curettage) and 2, 5, 10, 20, and 40 days after treatment, by placing two paper strips in periodontal pockets for 5 s. The amount of fluid in strips was measured by the Periotron device. Control samples were collected from subjects with minimal gingival inflammation. PICP was extracted into saline solution and determined by a radioimmunologic method. Plaque index, papilla bleeding index, and pocket depth were recorded before and 40 days after treatment. The CF PICP mean concentration was 4.2 mg/l in the pretreatment samples. Five days after treatment a statistically significant increase in PICP concentration was seen in all subjects. The peak appeared on days 5 or 10 in 27 sites. The mean peak PICP concentrations of the subjects were 5-10 times higher than the pretreatment values. Twenty days after treatment, mean PICP concentration decreased to pretreatment level. PICP concentrations did not correlate with the clinical parameters. In control samples PICP amounts were below the detection limit. CF PICP is a new marker of type I collagen metabolism in periodontal tissues. It was concluded that elevated PICP concentrations in CF after periodontal treatment reflected increased type I collagen synthesis in periodontal tissues and that the peak in type I collagen synthesis takes place 5-10 days after treatment.


In this research, we suggest a novel Fully/Convolutional/Neural/Network/(F-C-N) engineering meaning to help the identification of variations from the norm, for example, polyps, ulcers, also blood, in gastrointestinal (G/I) endoscopy pictures. The projected engineering, termed Look-Behind/MFCN/(LB-MFCN), is fit for removing multi-scale picture includes through utilizing squares of similar convolutional coatings with various channel sizes. These squares are associated through Look-Behind (LB) associations, so the highlights they produce remain joined through highlights removed since behind layers, accordingly protecting the particular data. Besides, it has fewer open, limitations than regular Convolutional/Neural/Network-(C/N/N) structures, which creates it reasonable on behalf of preparing through littler datasets. This is especially valuable in restorative picture examination subsequently information accessibility is generally restricted payable to ethicolegal limitations. The presentation of LB-MFCN is assessed on together adaptable also remote case endoscopy datasets, arriving at 99.82% as well as 95.50%, as far as Area Beneath accepting working Characteristic individually.


ABSTRACT: Edge effect is the change in forest structure and composition from the forest edge to the interior and has many conservation implications. We investigated whether sapling density, size, shade tolerance, and species composition, as well as microclimatic conditions, varied depending on proximity to, and aspect of, the forest edge. Across a small (2.25 ha), roughly square, forest fragment surrounded by agriculture, we measured density, size, and species composition of saplings less than 8.3 cm dbh, as well as light intensity, temperature, percent soil moisture, and relative humidity. To test for possible nutrient enhancement on the edges due to agricultural practices, we analyzed soil samples for differences in soil nutrients and pH between the edges and the interior. Both north and south edges had significantly higher sapling density and light intensity and lower average sapling size than the interior of the forest. Average shade tolerance of saplings was lowest on the south edge. Temperature was greatest on the south edge and relative humidity was greatest in the interior. Percent soil moisture, nutrient concentrations, organic matter, and pH showed no significant trends. Our results suggest that light is the most important environmental factor in determining species composition, density, and size of saplings across edge-interior gradients. Our results also show that species compositional edge effects do not penetrate deeply into this mature forest fragment at present, but that they likely penetrated deeper in the forest when the edge was young and narrowed as the edge matured.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have seen a tremendous growth in various application areas despite prominent performance and availability challenges. Although researchers continue to address these challenges, the type of distributions for arrivals at the cluster head and intermediary routing nodes is still an interesting area of investigation. The general practice in published works is to compare an empirical exponential arrival distribution of WSNs with a theoretical exponential distribution in a Q-Q plot diagram. In this paper, we show that such comparisons based on simple eye checks are not sufficient since, in many cases, incorrect conclusions may be drawn from such plots. After estimating the maximum likelihood parameters of empirical distributions, we generate theoretical distributions based on the estimated parameters. By conducting Kolmogorov-Smirnov test statistics for each generated inter-arrival time distributions, we find out, if it is possible to represent the traffic into the cluster head by using theoretical distribution. Empirical exponential arrival distribution assumption of WSNs holds only for a few cases. The work is further extended to understand the effect of delay on inter-arrival time distributions based on the type of medium access control (MAC) used in WSNs.


Sensitive detection of somatic copy number alterations (SCNA) in cancer genomes is confounded by "waviness" in read depth data. We present dryclean, a signal processing algorithm to optimize SCNA detection in whole genome (WGS) and targeted sequencing platforms through foreground detection and background subtraction of read depth data. Application of dryclean to WGS demonstrates that WGS waviness is driven by replication timing. Re-analysis of thousands of tumor profiles reveals that dryclean provides superior detection of biologically relevant SCNAs relative to state-of-the-art algorithms. Applied to in silico tumor dilutions, dryclean improves the sensitivity of relapse detection 10-fold relative to current standards. dryclean is available as an R package in the GitHub repository https://github.com/mskilab/dryclean


The reconstruction of a 3D model from range images can be conveniently split into two stages. The first stage consists basically in the extraction of geometrical information, e.g. the depth and the orientation of image points, and the second stage concentrates on the transformation of these data to a 3D model. We focus on the second stage. Our approach is based on a deformable model, which offers more flexibility to mould a 3D model according to several geometrical constraints. Moreover, instead of looking for a global functional that carries out the deformation, we opted for establishing discrete local correspondences between 3D surface point data extracted from images and 3D model points.


The ability to learn is a potentially compelling and important quality for interactive synthetic characters. To that end, we describe a practical approach to real-time learning for synthetic characters. Our implementation is grounded in the techniques of reinforcement learning and informed by insights from animal training. It simplifies the learning task for characters by (a) enabling them to take advantage of predictable regularities in their world, (b) allowing them to make maximal use of any supervisory signals, and (c) making them easy to train by humans.We built an autonomous animated dog that can be trained with a technique used to train real dogs called "clicker training". Capabilities demonstrated include being trained to recognize and use acoustic patterns as cues for actions, as well as to synthesize new actions from novel paths through its motion space.A key contribution of this paper is to demonstrate that by addressing the three problems of state, action, and state-action space discovery at the same time, the solution for each becomes easier. Finally, we articulate heuristics and design principles that make learning practical for synthetic characters.


ABSTRACT Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common digestive malignant tumors globally. Focally amplified lncRNA on chromosome 1 (FALEC) is a novel lncRNA that has been reported to be involved in many biological processes during carcinogenesis. However, its role in CRC remains poorly understood. Methods Gene expression at mRNA or protein level was measured by qRT-PCR or western blot, respectively. In vitro experiments including EdU, colony formation, flow cytometry, wound-healing and transwell assays, as well as in vivo xenograft experiment, were utilized to determine the functional role of FALEC in CRC. Relevant mechanical assays were performed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism. Results FALEC was aberrantly up-regulated in CRC. FALEC knockdown could impair CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas facilitate cell apoptosis. MiR-2116-3p was revealed to be sponged by FALEC. PIWIL1 was identified as the target of miR-2116-3p. Mechanically, FALEC restored the expression of PIWIL1 via absorbing miR-2116-3p. MiR-2116-3p inhibition and PIWIL1 enrichment could counteract the anti-tumor impact induced by silenced FALEC on the oncogenic behaviors of CRC cells. Conclusion Our study revealed that FALEC promoted CRC progression via restoring the expression of miR-2116-3p-targeted PIWIL1, suggesting the potential application of targeting FALEC in the treatment of CRC.


In this paper, we extend the traditional CAPM theory by introducing a new concept of risk-reward measurement based on view bias adjustment under imperfect information. Within that general framework, people might only know the possible results of an uncertainty, they do not know the exact probabilities of each state, but just have a vague assessment. Consequently they are not view neutral anymore, but have either pessimistic or optimistic view bias. The main conclusion is that the generalized expectation of the excess rate of return can still be described in a single beta representation, except that the systematic risk is now the weighted average of exposed risk and potential risk. Meanwhile imperfect information can induce instantaneous profit by repackaging portfolios, and we name it information premium. Empirical study indicates that this new concept can help to explain the equity premium puzzle in a way that people have pessimistic view bias, when there is no perfect information in the postwar US, and it explains the momentum by the fact that view bias reciprocates from pessimism to optimism, and it might be a mean reversion process. Further more, since there is no existing econometrics method to test VCAPM (view bias based CAPM), we develop VOLS (we make this name in accordance with the mathematical model VCAPM), including resetting the assumptions, looking for new estimators, developing the appropriate asymptotic tools to do hypothesis test. At last, we try to use GMM integrated with VOLS method to do VCAPM empirical analysis. That would be another contribution of this research.


Deforestation is one of the major global conservation issues. Solutions are being sought to tackle this ongoing
forest loss, including establishment of initiatives to provide new sources of income for local communities that
promote the sustainable use of forests in the interest of biodiversity conservation. One such project 'Iwokrama',
demonstrates how tropical forests and associated habitats can be sustainably used. In the central Guyana wetlands of the Rupununi, illegal fishing of arapaima Arapaima gigas, had led to a huge
reduction in its numbers. Iwokrama responded by initiating the Arapaima Management Plan in 2002. This
highlighted the need for another source of local income from fisheries, and a business that undertakes sustainable harvest
of fish for the aquarium trade was developed. Harvesting of a few selected fish species is carried-out by
members of the local community who are paid a daily wage. Fishing methods target individual species to avoid
incidental by-catch. Four species are primarily caught as they are numerous in the Rupununi and are of high trade
value. To ensure ecological and economical sustainability, catch per unit effort is monitored; where this begins to
drop for any given species, harvesting is suspended and the population is allowed to recover before harvesting
resumes. The project has developed into a self-sustaining business, managed by the community themselves. During
2005, the project reached financial sustainability with current profits of over US$3,000 feeding back into local
community initiatives.


A review is presented of the electrical characteristics of high-density, high-performance interconnections used in digital and communication applications. These interconnections behave as lossy transmission lines for the frequency range of interest. A brief theoretical explanation of the key properties of lossy, coupled transmission lines is given. A new short-pulse propagation technique used for characterizing a large category of wiring is described. A detailed description is made of each of the major interconnect types encountered namely, shielded cables, printed circuit boards, ceramic carriers, thin-film wiring, and on-chip wiring. Representative examples are given in each case to highlight the key performance-limiting parameters. The modeling and measurement techniques used are explained and examples are given. Future technological directions and their effect on performance are discussed.


The NASA and NSF-funded Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science® Professional Development Program (MS PHD'S PDP) initiative provides professional development and mentoring experiences that facilitate the advancement of persons of color committed to achieving outstanding Earth system science (ESS) careers. The three MS PHD'S PDP phases are connected by virtual community-building activities that occur through asynchronous/synchronous web-based dialogues. The purpose of this case study is to investigate virtual team building methods as tools for engaging and developing sustainable communities of students of color in ESS.


Abstract Chimney sweeps have higher incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease (CVD), likely related to their exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In order to identify underlying mechanisms of PAH-related CVD, we here investigated whether PAH exposure was associated with levels of putative CVD-related proteins in serum among currently working chimney sweeps. We enrolled 116 chimney sweeps and 125 unexposed controls, all nonsmoking male workers from Sweden. We measured monohydroxylated PAH metabolites in urine by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and a panel of 85 proteins in serum using proximity extension assay. Linear regression analysis adjusted for age and body mass index showed that 25 proteins were differentially expressed between chimney sweeps and the controls (p < .05, adjusted for false discovery rate). Of the 25 proteins, follistatin (FS), prointerleukin-16 (IL-16), and heat shock protein beta-1 (HSP 27) showed positive associations with the monohydroxylated metabolites of PAH in a dose-response manner (p < .05). Pathway and gene ontology analyses demonstrated that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in inflammatory response and immunological functions, such as leukocyte migration, cell movement of leukocytes, and adhesion of immune cells. In conclusion, we found a number of putative CVD-related proteins differentially expressed, between PAH-exposed and unexposed individuals, and mainly involved in inflammation and immune function. Our data warrant protective measures to reduce PAH exposure and longitudinal investigations of the protein profile in chimney sweeps and other occupational groups exposed to PAH.


Continuous improvements in printer resolution place greater demands on toner performance. As the pel size becomes smaller, the requirements for edge definition and the elimination of hot offset increasingly become limiting factors in determining print quality. Edge definition, resolution, and offset can be addressed to some extent by improved charge control for narrower charge distribution and elimination of wrong size toner. Another contribution to the offset lies in the adhesion of toner to the fuser roll and subsequent redeposition on the paper where it is not intended. This study evaluates wax internal release agents to determine which combinations of waxes and additives, including block copolymers and polydimethylsiloxane oils, provide the best release properties. Primarily the focus is on polyethylene and polypropylene waxes. There is little effect of polyethylene wax molecular weight on peel strength. Lowest peel strength is with polyethylene wax and polydimethylsiloxane oil. Lowest offset with little effect on tribocharging is with polypropylene wax and polydimethylsiloxane oil. Release properties are controlled by the distribution of release agent between surface and bulk as well as the dynamics of migration from the bulk to the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is suggested as a sensitive means for further analysis of these effects.


A set of Sc, Nd, Sm, Eu, Ho, Gd, Er, Yb complexes with perfluorinated 2-(benzothiazol-2-yl)phenolate ligands Ln(SONF)3(DME) were synthesized by the reactions of silylamides Ln[N(SiMe3)2]3 with phenol H(SONF). The structure of the initial phenol, Sc, and Er complexes was established using X-ray analysis, which revealed that the obtained compounds are mononuclear, in contrast to the binuclear non-fluorinated analogues [Ln(SON)3]2 synthesized earlier. All the obtained complexes, both in solid state and in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solutions, upon excitation by light with λex 395 or 405 nm show intense luminance of the ligands at 440–470 nm. The Eu complex also exhibits weak metal-centered emission in the visible region, while the derivatives of Sm luminesces both in the visible and in the infrared region, and Nd, Er, and Yb complexes emit in the near IR (NIR) region of high intensity. DFT (density functional theory) calculation revealed that energy of frontier orbitals of the fluorinated complexes is lower than that of the non-fluorinated counterparts. The level of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) decreases to a greater extent than the lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level.


Previous investigations indicate that using the open crack model for vibration analysis of cracked structures may lead to incorrect results. Such a simple model can only be used as a rough approximation for predicting the dynamic behavior of the cracked structures. Therefore, in order to predict the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of the structures with a fatigue crack more accurately, one has to consider the nonlinearity of the crack. In this paper, the nonlinear behavior of the free vibration of a cantilever beam with a Fatigue Crack is investigated. To this end, first, the lateral vibration of the cracked beam in its first mode is modeled as an SDOF system with an equivalent mass and stiffness. Then, a new model is introduced for the bilinear stiffness of the beam with a breathing crack. Using this model, the governing differential equation of motion is converted to the standard form that can be analyzed by LindstedtPoincare's method. The results show that the response is composed of two parts. The main part is the response of a system with the mean equivalent stiffness of the systems corresponding to the closed crack and the open crack cases. The second part is composed of the first and second order correction terms, which reflects the effect of opening and closing of the crack on the vibration response. In fact, the correction terms consist of the higher harmonic components of the spectrum. The results have been validated by the experimental tests.


We develop and analyze a model of random choice and random expected utility. A decision problem is a finite set of lotteries that describe the feasible choices. A random choice rule associates with each decision problem a probability measure over choices. A random utility function is a probability measure over von Neumann-Morgenstern utility functions. We show that a random choice rule maximizes some random utility function if and only if it is mixture continuous, monotone (the probability that a lottery is chosen does not increase when other lotteries are added to the decision problem), extreme (lotteries that are not extreme points of the decision problem are chosen with probability 0), and linear (satisfies the independence axiom). Copyright The Econometric Society 2006.


Copper plays a key role in several processes of skin formation and regeneration. Copper has been shown to be absorbed through intact skin. We hypothesized that sleeping on fabrics containing copper‐impregnated fibres would have a positive cosmetic effect on the skin. The aim of this study was to confirm our hypothesis. A 4‐week, double blind, parallel, randomized study was carried out in which 57 volunteers aged 40–60 years used either copper oxide containing pillowcases (0.4% weight/weight) or control pillowcases not containing copper. Photographs were taken by a professional photographer of each participant at the beginning of the study and at 2 and 4 weeks after the commencement of the study. Two expert graders (a dermatologist and a cosmetologist) evaluated the pictures for the effect on several cosmetic facial skin characteristics. The copper‐containing pillowcases had a positive effect for the following facial characteristics: reduction of wrinkles (P < 0.001) and crow's feet/fine lines (P < 0.001) and improvement of general appearance (P < 0.001) at both 2 and 4 weeks. The differences were statistically significant (Wilcoxon scores and chi‐squared tests). Consistent sleeping for 4 weeks on copper oxide containing pillowcases caused a significant reduction in the appearance of facial wrinkles and crow's feet/fine lines and significant improvement in the appearance of facial skin. In most trial participants, this effect was already noticeable within 2 weeks of using the copper oxide containing pillowcases.


Outcrops of old strata at the shelf edge resulting from erosive gravity‐driven flows have been globally described on continental margins. The reexposure of old strata allows for the reintroduction of aged organic carbon (OC), sequestered in marine sediments for thousands of years, into the modern carbon cycle. This pool of reworked material represents an additional source of 14C‐depleted organic carbon supplied to the ocean, in parallel with the weathering of fossil organic carbon delivered by rivers from land. To understand the dynamics and implications of this reexposure at the shelf edge, a biogeochemical study was carried out in the Gulf of Lions (Mediterranean Sea) where erosive processes, driven by shelf dense water cascading, are currently shaping the seafloor at the canyon heads. Mooring lines equipped with sediment traps and current meters were deployed during the cascading season in the southwestern canyon heads, whereas sediment cores were collected along the sediment dispersal system from the prodelta regions down to the canyon heads. Evidence from grain‐size, X‐radiographs and 210Pb activity indicate the presence in the upper slope of a shelly‐coarse surface stratum overlying a consolidated deposit. This erosive discontinuity was interpreted as being a result of dense water cascading that is able to generate sufficient shear stress at the canyon heads to mobilize the coarse surface layer, eroding the basal strata. As a result, a pool of aged organic carbon (Δ14C = −944.5 ± 24.7‰; mean age 23,650 ± 3,321 ybp) outcrops at the modern seafloor and is reexposed to the contemporary carbon cycle. This basal deposit was found to have relatively high terrigenous organic carbon (lignin = 1.48 ± 0.14 mg/100 mg OC), suggesting that this material was deposited during the last low sea‐level stand. A few sediment trap samples showed anomalously depleted radiocarbon concentrations (Δ14C = −704.4 ± 62.5‰) relative to inner shelf (Δ14C = −293.4 ± 134.0‰), mid‐shelf (Δ14C = −366.6 ± 51.1‰), and outer shelf (Δ14C = −384 ± 47.8‰) surface sediments. Therefore, although the major source of particulate material during the cascading season is resuspended shelf deposits, there is evidence that this aged pool of organic carbon can be eroded and laterally advected downslope.