This paper is about how the uses of computer software's are such valuable tools for undergraduate engineering education, specifically in the design and analysis of renewable energy systems. Right now, there are many programs in the area of design of renewable energy systems, some more complexes, others user-friendlier and others too simple. For this work, the software HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable) has all the tools necessarily to make a good work and it is not too complicated for undergraduate engineering students without previous knowledge in the area of energy systems. As part of this work, three educational modules were developed. The first module is about how to use and interact with HOMER. Second, how to design a residential photovoltaic system to lower energy cost. The last module can be considered as a guide on how to use renewable energy to secure a sustainable grid. The paper presents the technical skills gained by the students using the software HOMER. Finally, undergraduate students had the exposure to non-technical engineering skills, like economic feasibility, logistic and decision on energy security.


OBJECTIVE
Studies have shown that scleroderma (systemic sclerosis, SSc) and normal fibroblasts respond differently to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), SSc fibroblasts being less responsive than normal fibroblasts in mitogenic assays in vitro, bFGF also stimulates the expression of platelet derived growth factor-alpha (PDGF-alpha) receptors in normal fibroblasts, but not in SSc fibroblasts. Conversely, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) stimulates PDGF-alpha receptor expression in SSc fibroblasts, but not in normal fibroblasts. Since bFGF has been shown to inhibit collagen gene expression in several cell types, we examined responses of SSc and normal fibroblasts to bFGF alone and in combination with TGF-beta with regard to collagen alpha 2(I) (COL1A2) expression.

METHODS
Fibroblasts were obtained by skin biopsy from affected areas of patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc and from healthy donors and propagated in vitro. The effects of bFGF and TGF-beta on the COL1A2 mRNA expression levels in SSc and healthy fibroblasts were analyzed by Northern blot. The effects of bFGF on the COL1A2 promoter activities in both cell types were analyzed by transient transfection assays. The effects of bFGF and TGF-beta on collagen protein synthesis were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography.

RESULTS
While bFGF diminished COL1A2 mRNA in both SSc and normal cells, COL1A2 mRNA quantities in the SSc fibroblasts were not depressed to the levels expressed by normal controls. As anticipated, TGF-beta strongly induced COL1A2 mRNA levels in normal fibroblasts, and to a lesser degree in SSc fibroblasts. When cells were incubated with both TGF-beta and bFGF, the stimulatory effect of TGF-beta was completely suppressed in both cell types. bFGF decreased COL1A2 promoter activity in both cell types, suggesting that COL1A2 inhibition by bFGF occurs at least partially at the transcriptional level. The effects of bFGF and TGF-beta on the collagen protein synthesis correlated well with mRNA data, in that TGF-beta stimulated, while bFGF strongly inhibited, collagen synthesis.

CONCLUSION
bFGF is a potent inhibitor of basal and TGF-beta stimulated collagen expression in human fibroblasts, and this effect is not different between SSc and healthy fibroblasts.


Introduction Little is known about undergraduate gastroenterology teaching in the UK. This project aims to inform how the BSG could assist with undergraduate teaching, and ultimately inspire future doctors to choose a career in gastroenterology. Methods A survey of 27 questions related to undergraduate gastroenterology training was compiled on surveymonkey.com. It was disseminated via the BSG newsletter and through emails to gastroenterology champions involved in undergraduate teaching. In 10 weeks, 91 representatives from 26 medical schools filled out the survey. Results Students per year group ranged from 30–400. 49% had an integrated curriculum, 44% had traditional (preclinical then clinical) and 7% unsure. 43% medical students undertook at least one block on a gastroenterology/hepatology firm, 43% didn't and 14% unsure. Gastroenterology blocks lasted between 1 to 10 weeks, were usually undertaken from year 3 onwards and some medical schools had them in several years. Only 13% mandated a minimum number of observed procedures- on average OGD 2, colonoscopy 1, liver biopsy 4 and US/CT 4. Gastroenterology training took place in: Primary care 26% Secondary care (wards) 95% Secondary care (clinics) 95% Secondary care (endoscopy) 72% Others (clinical skills lab/seminars) 30% There were extra-curricular opportunities for gastroenterology training- Electives 76%, SSMs 81, BSc 35% and others (Research project, MSc) 16%. Was gastroenterology training integrated with surgical training? Yes 37% No 58% Unsure 5% 88% responded that there was a copy of the Gastroenterology syllabus/set of learning objectives within the MBBS curriculum and of those, 91% had read them. Knowledge of gastroenterology was usually assessed with combination of OSCEs, knowledge based exams (SBA/MCQs) and medical finals. Asked in what year, gastroenterology is assessed: 1 3% 2 3% 3 15% 4 6% 5 or 6 (final) 18% All years 29% Mixture of years 26% Did the medical school have a student gastroenterology society? Yes 11% No 63% Unsure 26% Only 60% were willing to send out a questionnaire to their medical students. Conclusion Some students did not have a dedicated gastroenterology block and some blocks were only for 1 week. It is unclear whether this is sufficient time to build up an interest in gastroenterology so this is an area where the BSG can assist in developing gastroenterology training. There were questions skipped by doctors completing the survey, reflecting the fact that they may not be aware of the specifics of curriculum development. This emphasises the importance of involving these trainers in curriculum development at a university level if change is to happen. Some respondents expressed an interest in how to start a student gastroenterology society and this may be an avenue for BSG to develop links and attract students towards a career in gastroenterology. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


A laser-stripe system for the automation of welding processes in heavy industries is presented. Conventional methods use human intervention. A new solution using only common usage computer components has been developed, offering at least the same quality of performance at a low price, making laser systems without human intervention attractive for cost sensitive applications in heavy industries. A new system that guarantees satisfactory tracking results even when the welding gap geometry varies strongly or is distorted by noise has been developed.


The first spectroscopic observation of the previously unknown species HSiNCO has been reported. HSiNCO was generated by the fragmentation of trimethylsilylisocyanate with a high-voltage discharge source. The 0(0)(0) band of the A (1)A(")-X (1)A(') transition has been recorded with full rotational resolution using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and ground and excited state rotational and centrifugal distortion constants determined. Ten additional vibrational bands belonging to HSiNCO have also been observed in the laser-induced fluorescence spectrum and have been assigned based on predicted anharmonic vibrational frequencies. Due to the large change in geometry upon excitation, a number of axis-rotation peaks have been observed in the 0(0)(0) band and the axis-rotation angle (theta(T)) has been estimated to be 0.6 degrees +/-0.2 degrees. Dispersed fluorescence spectroscopy has been carried out and nu(8) (the N-C-O out-of-plane bending mode) and a number of overtones of nu(4) (the Si-H wagging mode) have been observed in the ground electronic state.


Introduction StartReact is the acceleration of reaction time by a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS). The SAS is thought to release a pre-prepared motor program. Here, we investigated whether the StartReact effect is applicable to the very first trial in a series of repeated unpractised single-joint movements. Methods Twenty healthy young subjects were instructed to perform a rapid ankle dorsiflexion movement in response to an imperative stimulus. Participants were divided in two groups of ten. Both groups performed 17 trials. In one group a SAS (116 dB) was given in the first trial, whereas the other group received a non-startling sound (70 dB) as the first imperative stimulus. In the remaining 16 trials, the SAS was given as the imperative stimulus in 25% of the trials in both groups. The same measurement was repeated one week later, but with the first-trial stimuli counterbalanced between groups. Results When a SAS was given in the very first trial, participants had significantly shorter onset latencies compared to first-trial responses to a non-startling stimulus. Succeeding trials were significantly faster compared to the first trial, both for trials with and without a SAS. However, the difference between the first and succeeding trials was significantly larger for responses to a non-startling stimulus compared to responses triggered by a SAS. SAS-induced acceleration in the first trial of the second session was similar to that in succeeding trials of session 1. Discussion The present results confirm that the StartReact phenomenon also applies to movements that have not yet been practiced in the experimental context. The excessive SAS-induced acceleration in the very first trial may be due to the absence of integration of novel context-specific information with the existing motor memory for movement execution. Our findings demonstrate that StartReact enables a rapid release of motor programs in the very first trial also without previous practice, which might provide a behavioural advantage in situations that require a rapid response to a potentially threatening environmental stimulus.


Polymer was synthesized from the polymerization of 8-hydroxyquinoline 5-sulphonic acid and catechol with formaldehyde (8-HQ- 5- SACF) by solution condensation in an acid medium. The polymer was characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Visible spectra, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy The thermal stability of the polymer was determined by TGA. In addition, the activation energy for the formation of polymer was calculated using TGA data by Freeman-Carroll method and Sharp-Went-worth method. The surface features of the polymer was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermodynamic parameter such as free energy change (ΔF), entropy change (ΔS) , Apparent entropy change( S*) and frequency factor Z are also determined on the basis of TGA curve and by using data of Freeman-Carroll method .


Various aspects of protein metabolism were studied in T. tetragyna roots grown at various levels of salinity. Salinity in the growth medium as well as salinity present in the reaction mixture interfered with uptake and incorporation of L-[14C]leucine into a fraction insoluble in trichloroacetic acid. Uptake did not appear to limit incorporation, although both processes were affected by salinity. Growing the roots in – 3 atm NaCl increased their ability for uptake and incorporation of the externally supplied amino acid. Salinity during growth resulted in both quantitative and qualitative changes in the natural amino acid composition of the fraction insoluble in trichloroacetic acid. The amount of proline and hydroxyproline increased considerably, while valine and methionine decreased. Methionine sulphoxide and another unidentified substance were found only in the proteins of roots grown in the presence of high levels of salinity. Salinity also induced an increase in the hydroxyproline content of the cell wall fraction and modified the metabolism of exogenously supplied labelled proline. The results are compared with the effects of salinity on protein metabolism of pea roots, and the differences noted.


Abstract:  The early to middle Eocene Green River Formation consists of continental strata deposited in Laramide ponded basins in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. This study (1) documents fluvial and lacustrine strata from the Douglas Creek and Parachute Creek members of the middle Green River Formation, southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah, and (2) uses new interpretations of the link between climate and fluvial sedimentary expression to interpret the terrestrial evolution of early Eocene climate. The stratigraphy was analyzed via outcrops along a 10 km transect in Main Canyon on the Tavaputs Plateau, and is divided into three distinct, stratigraphically separated depositional settings: (1) the lowermost Interval 1 is dominated by amalgamated sandstone channels that contain 70–100% upper-flow-regime sedimentary structures. The channels are interpreted to represent fluvial deposits controlled by a highly seasonal climate, where most deposition was limited to seasonal flooding events. (2) Interval 2 is dominated by alternating siliciclastic and carbonate lacustrine deposits, interpreted as local pulsed fluvial siliciclastic input into shallow Lake Uinta, and periods of fluvial quiescence represented by littoral carbonate deposition. (3) The uppermost Interval 3 is dominated by erosionally-based, trough cross bedded sandstone channels interbedded with littoral lacustrine and deltaic deposits. The Interval 3 sandstone channels are interpreted as perennial fluvial deposits with relatively little variation in annual discharge, akin to modern humid-temperate fluvial systems. The stratigraphic transition from seasonally controlled (Interval 1) to perennial (Interval 3) fluvial deposits is interpreted to represent a fundamental shift in Eocene climate, from the peak hyperthermal regime of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) to a more stable post-EECO climate.


The behaviour of an inviscid gravity current released from a lock and propagating over a horizontal boundary at the base of a stratified ambient fluid is considered in the framework of a one-layer shallow-water formulation. Solutions for two-dimensional rectangular and axisymmetric geometries, with emphasis on the rotation of the latter, were obtained by a Lax–Wendroff scheme. Box-model approximations are also discussed. The axisymmetric and rotating case admits steady-state lens structures, for which approximate and numerical solutions are presented. In general, the stratification reduces the velocity of propagation and enhances the Coriolis effects in a rotating system (in particular, the maximal radius of propagation decreases). Comparisons of the shallow-water results with Navier–Stokes simulations and laboratory experiments indicate good agreement, at least for the initial period of propagation. The major deficiency of this shallow-water model is the lack of incorporation of internal waves. In particular, if the propagation is at subcritical speed, the applicability of the model is restricted to the time prior to the first effective interaction between the head of the gravity current and the lowest-order internal wave; an estimate of this position is presented.


Background/Objectives: This article justifies a methodical approach and develops a model to evaluate competitive power of companies and industries for optimum allocation of corporate resources for monitoring, governmental program measures, stimulating growth of competitive positions of individual industries and economy as a whole. Methods: The basic theory of corporate function is a methodical ground for competitive power of companies and industries. Resource efficiency is presented by production, financial and investment indicators. A multiplicative model for companies and industries' competitive power evaluation and static and dynamic alternatives have been provided. This model has been appraised using Russian processing industry as an example, based on the statistical database of the Russian Federation Federal State Statistics Service. Findings: This approach differs in understanding the competitive power of companies and industries as a way of optimized utilization of national economic resources. For the state, this means a tool of financial stimulation of industrial areas of high competitive power. The suggested model of competitive power evaluation allows performing industrial diagnosis of utilization of production, financial and investment resources of a company. Identification of company's positions and comparison of resource efficiency provide the basis for distinguishing between the impact of internal and external conditions on any changes in positions of the company and industry as a whole over the short and long term. Applying the suggested method one can determine causes of any shifts in companies' competitive advantages and discover resource limitations of the competitive power. An integral competitive power indicator for companies and industries provides a basis for creating a monitoring database of competitive power ratings for industries, enhancing transparency of national companies' success, as compared with similar foreign industrial companies; governmental support of the best companies on a competitive basis. Improvements: The article broadens importance of the resource-oriented approach to evaluation of competitive power. The suggested evaluation model can be used as a tool for stimulating best companies and industries for governmental regulations of the economy's competitive power.


Kristoffersson, A. 2015. Study Design and Dose Regimen Evaluation of Antibiotics based on Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Modelling. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Pharmacy 206. 85 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9381-3. Current excessive use and abuse of antibiotics has resulted in increasing bacterial resistance to common treatment options which is threatening to deprive us of a pillar of modern medicine. In this work methods to optimize the use of existing antibiotics and to help development of new antibiotics were developed and applied. Semi-mechanistic pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) models were developed to describe the time course of the dynamic effect and interaction of combinations of antibiotics. The models were applied to illustrate that colistin combined with a high dose of meropenem may overcome meropenem-resistant P. aeruginosa infections. The results from an in vivo dose finding study of meropenem was successfully predicted by the meropenem PKPD model in combination with a murine PK model, which supports model based dosage selection. However, the traditional PK/PD index based dose selection was predicted to have poor extrapolation properties from pre-clinical to clinical settings, and across patient populations. The precision of the model parameters, and hence the model predictions, is dependent on the experimental design. A limited study design is dictated by cost and, for in vivo studies, ethical reasons. In this work optimal design (OD) was demonstrated to be able to reduce the experimental effort in time-kill curve experiments and was utilized to suggest the experimental design for identification and estimation of an interaction between antibiotics. OD methods to handle inter occasion variability (IOV) in optimization of individual PK parameter estimates were proposed. The strategy was applied in the design of a sparse sampling schedule that aim to estimate individual exposures of colistin in a multi-centre clinical study. Plasma concentration samples from the first 100 patients have been analysed and indicate that the performance of the design is close to the predicted. The methods described in this thesis holds promise to facilitate the development of new antibiotics and to improve the use of existing antibiotics.


When an investor wants to make an investment, investor should consider the things that can affect the return. The technical and fundamental analysis has become a solution for the investor to predict the stocks' price. Specifically, this study discusses about fundamental analysis by appraising the companies' performance which is depicted on the companies' financial report with ratio as a tool to analyze the financial report. This study aimed to analyze the influence of Return On Assets (ROA), Return On Equity (ROE), Earning Per Share (EPS), Price to Book Value (PBV) and Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) either partially or simultaneously toward Stock's return on property & real estate companies sector listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange period 2012 -2016. The data used in this analysis is the reference point secondary data in the form of financial report published by IDX. The samples in this study were 33 property and real estate sub-sector companies. Analysis technique used in this research are simple and multiple linear regression.Results of the study stated that partially ROA, ROE, and EPS have significant effect on stock return. PBV and DER has no significant effect on stock return, and simultaneously there was significant influence between ROA, ROE, EPS, PBV, and DER to stock return and it is found that EPS has dominant influence to the stock return.It is recommended that property and real estate sub-companies can maintain returns by improving strategy and cost efficiency in order to increase profitability, and using earning per share ratios in performing company performance analysis.


Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to determine the response of corn (Zea mays), barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), large crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), and yellow foxtail (Setaria lutescence) to RPA 201772. Barnyardgrass, large crabgrass, velvetleaf, and common lambsquarters were more susceptible than yellow foxtail to RPA 201772. Velvetleaf was the most susceptible species and rates above 18 g ai/ha of RPA 201772 controlled 100% of the population 4 wk after treatment (WAT). Percent control of all the weed species increased with increased RPA 201772 rates. In the field, the dry weights of yellow foxtail decreased as the rate of RPA 201772 increased from 0 to 210 g/ha. However, a 60% reduction of dry weight of yellow foxtail was recorded at 140 g/ha of RPA 201772 compared to the untreated check 6 WAT, whereas at 12 WAT the dry weight of yellow foxtail was reduced to only 15% because of intraspecific competition. Yellow foxtail was moderately susceptible to RPA 201772. Corn was tolerant to RPA 201772; the GR80 value was 435 g/ha in the greenhouse. The bleaching injury to corn in the field was less than 10%, and it was found only with the 210 g/ha rate of RPA 201772. This injury was temporary and the plants recovered within 2 to 3 wk. Based on the GR80 values, velvetleaf was the most susceptible, followed by common lambsquarters, large crabgrass, barnyardgrass, and yellow foxtail.


This symposium is co-sponsored by the Human Performance Modeling Technical Group (HPM-TG) of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society. Three Research Talks and a Panel Discussion were presented. Each talk used a different style of cognitive modeling and addressed a different problem of interest to the human factors community. For the Panel Discussion, three additional members of the HPM-TG joined with our three speakers in a round table discussion of the similarities and differences between cognitive modeling in applied versus basic science.


Microplastics (MPs) occurrence in greater pipefish Syngnathus acus was assessed in the Black Sea for the first time. MPs were found in 21 % of total pipefish examined. MPs were mainly fibres in shape (89 %), black in colour (52 %) and 0.2- 1 mm (52 %) in size. The mean MP concentration was 0.30 mp. fish-1 (considering all the fish analysed) and was 1.38 mp. fish-1 (considering the fish that ingested them). The frequency of MP occurrence in male pipefish was higher (23.5 %) compared to females (20.7%) and immatures (16.7 %). 91.7 % of the polymers found were synthetic with the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (29%) being the most common polymers. FTIR spectroscopy also confirmed the presence of the plastic-related compounds, butyl stearate (BS) and glyceraldehyde unnatural form (GA) in the analysed samples. Our results show that S. acus, which is an ecologically important demersal fish, is contaminated by MPs in the Black Sea and that there is an urgent assessment to better understand the environmental fate of MPs in the Black Sea and taking necessity measures to reduce the amount of plastics entering this basin.


The concept of "metabolic mark" is proposed, which consists in the fact, that any integrity disruption in bone leads to formation of a new metabolic condition in it and in organism on the whole, and the condition reactivity in case of repeated bone damage is increased.


In this study, clathrate of 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde tetracyanonickel-dioxane, given by the formula M(4-Pyridinecarboxaldehyde)Ni(CN)4 nG (m = Ni, Cd and G = 1,4-dioxane), is obtained for the first time through chemical methods. The FT-IR spectroscopic data in the region of (3000–400) cm -1 was recorded and the IR vibrational modes frequencies were given and explained in detail. The spectral analyzes results of the newly synthesized clathrate of 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde tetracyanonickeldioxane suggests that these clathrates are new examples of the Hofmann-type dioxane clathrates. In our study, the Hofmann-type dioxane clathrates formed by bounding electrons of nitrogen-donor atom of pyridine ring and electrons of oxygen-donor atom of aldehyde group (-CH=O) of 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde ligand molecule to transition metal atoms consist of the corrugated |M–Ni(CN)4| polymeric layers which are held in parallel through the chain of (–M–4PCA–M–).


Abstract Almost one-third of the seabed off the coastline north and south of Sydney comprises a planated bedrock surface, evident from sidescan surveys over the inner continental shelf. In seismic records, this rock surface extends up to 23 km offshore from the sea cliffs along 300 km of the coast. The rock surface dips offshore to as much as 180 m below sea level, where it merges with a major unconformity in the shelf sediment wedge. The surface is eroded into Mesozoic and Palaeozic rocks and is heavily dissected by sediment-filled, palaeo-valley incision and structural jointing. The sediment-fills comprise sand wedges that thicken landwards to form beaches and estuarine flood-tide deltas, respectively, in smaller and larger palaeo-valleys incised to below present sea level. At the base of the cliffs, the planated surface is buried by shelf sand bodies up to 30 m thick in places. The seaward edge of the surface is everywhere buried by the onlapping continental-shelf sediment wedge. The contiguity of the abrasion surface with the unconformity in the shelf sediment wedge suggests that marine planation began in the Mid-Oligocene, indicating time-average rates of gross cliff retreat at about 1 mm a−1.


Si-O-C-H composite films were deposited using a radio frequency inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICPCVD) system with a BTMSM precursor and oxygen gases. FTIR spectroscopy and XPS spectra were used to investigate the bonding configurations such as Si-O-Si, Si-O-C and Si-CH/sub 3/ bonds in the films. From the changes in the FTIR and XPS spectra between the as-deposited and annealing film, we infer that the attachment of the Si-O-Si ring link with CH/sub 3/ groups is useful for forming a nano-sized void in the film. It can be explained to obtain a lower dielectric constant (k=2.3).


The dependence of the pseudoscalar meson masses and decay constants on sea and valence quark masses is compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT). The numerical simulations with two light dynamical quark flavors are performed with the Wilson-quark lattice action at gauge coupling β = 5.1 and hopping parameters κ = 0.176, 0.1765, 0.177 on a 164 lattice. O(a) lattice artifacts are taken into account by applying chiral perturbation theory for the Wilson lattice action. The values of the relevant combinations of Gasser-Leutwyler constants L4, L5, L6 and L8 are estimated.


OBJECTIVES
This study examines the relation between internalized racism and self-esteem in a sample of students of Color while controlling for depressive symptoms. Internalized racism has been demonstrated to contribute to negative mental health outcomes in people of Color, however the nuanced relations between these interrelated outcomes and internalized racism are unclear.

METHODS
Participants were 140 students of Color (83% female; mean age = 26.11, SD = 7.21) who self-identified as African American (45.7%), Asian (18.6%), Latino (16.4%), Multiracial (16.4%), Native American (1.4%), and Middle Eastern (1.4%). Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression.

RESULTS
Internalized racism was inversely related to self-esteem when controlling for depressive symptoms, with devaluation of one's racial group being the largest contributor to this relation.

CONCLUSIONS
Psychological responses to internalized racism can include non-pathological states such as lowered self-esteem. Given the strong contribution of devaluation, for students of Color, the promotion of racial pride could be an important intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


Empowerment of diabetic patients can be promoted by the use of blood glucose self-monitoring. Community nurses play an important role in teaching effective and accurate techniques.


Flowslides and stability issues have occurred periodically within stockpiles of coking (metallurgical) coal at coal processing plants and export terminals in Queensland's Bowen Basin, and to a lesser degree in New South Wales, since the early 1970s. A description of the issue and summary of research at James Cook University from 1973 to 2000 was published in ACARP Report C4057. Despite this work, coal stockpile flowslides remain a significant risk at mine and port stockpiles due to their initiation without warning and dramatic consequences. To be able to adequately model the redistribution of moisture that leads to collapse of a stockpile and then conduct realistic stability analyses for design of preventative measures remains an elusive prospect. This paper therefore updates the previous work with results from SEEP/W transient seepage modelling within a 12m high 14,700 tonne coal stockpile constructed at Hay Point in late 1991 for which initial moisture content, pore pressures at the stockpile base, outflows from subsoil drains and final density and moisture profiles were measured. The model was based on results of laboratory permeability and column drainage tests on specimens taken from a composite bulk sample obtained at the time of stockpile construction. The coking coal product was from an operation with a known history of stockpile instability. Results were found to correspond well with pore pressures measured at the stockpile base and the stockpile's final moisture profile provided account was taken of a thin higher permeability zone just above the subgrade. The approach adopted and parameters developed provide a significant advance in modelling of moisture movements within production coal stockpiles, with a view to subsequent slope stability analyses.


Had I, before the road crash that killed our daughter, pushed my imagination to the limit I might, just might, have got a sense of the devastating impact of losing a loved one in such a way; a life crushed and gone without so much as a goodbye. But I could never have imagined just how long the effects of that day would last. Eight and a half years after our young daughter died, the lives of my wife and me have still not returned to normal. And I can now say with certainty that they never will.

> Police investigations of road death are often indifferent and court sanctions are usually paltry

There has been a massive shift in how we view the world. Our whole frame of reference has moved: what was once funny is no longer amusing, what was once enjoyable is best avoided and friends and …


Twenty four indigenous autosomal dwarf hens were selected and divided equally into 3 groups. Rhode Island Red, White Leghorn and Fayoumi Cocks, 2 for each were placed to each group respectively for breeding. Sixty eggs were selected from each group and hatched in a forced draft incubator. Among those, 36 healthy day-old chicks from each group were selected and reared up to 20 weeks of age. The chicks were identified as normal and dwarf genetic groups at 8 weeks of age. The aim of this study was to observe the reproductive parameters of crosses and parameters related to the meat yield of normal and dwarf genetic group of crossbred chicken under farm condition. Fertility, hatchability on total eggs and hatchability on fertile eggs of cross B (95.57; 68.71; 72.41) were higher (p<0.01) than cross A (93.44;63.44;67.62) and cross C (90.92;60.89;67.19). Dead-in-germ and dead-in-shell were statistically higher (p<0.01) in cross C than cross A&B. Reduced adult body size, improved feed conversion and higher livability were found in all genetic groups of dwarf crossbred. Among those, White Leghorn was found as the best one also considering its different dressing yields. Advantages of adw gene in terms of a good scavenger could better be exploited by introgressing in exotic smaller breeds like White Leghorn from indigenous dwarf chicken.


The most important of which is to stimulate the mammary glands to produce milk (lactation). Increased serum concentrations of PRL during pregnancy cause enlargement of the mammary glands of the breasts and increases the production of milk. However, the high levels of progesterone during pregnancy act directly on the breasts to stop ejection of milk. It is only when the levels of this hormone fall after childbirth that milk ejection is possible. Sometimes, newborn babies (males as well as females) secrete a milky substance from their nipples. This substance is commonly known as Witch's milk. This is caused by the fetus being affected by PRL circulating in the mother just before birth, and usually stops soon after birth. Another effect is to provide the body with sexual gratification after sexual acts. The hormone represses the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual arousal, thus causing the sexual refractory period. The amount of PRL can be an indicator for the amount of sexual satisfaction and relaxation. On the other hand, high amounts are suspected to be


Abstract : Webb Research Corporation (WRC) and Rutgers University (RU) plan to provide an important advance in regional-scale coastal ocean observation programs by operating a coordinated fleet of glider AUVs in an intelligent adaptive network. Slocum autonomous underwater vehicle Gliders (AUVGs) are uniquely mobile network components capable of moving to specific locations and depths, occupying controlled spatial and temporal grids, and will conduct their third annual test this July during the final ONR-sponsored Coastal Predictive Skill Experiment (CPSE) at Rutgers' local-scale (30 km x 30 km) Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO). Over the following year, a fleet of second-generation Slocum Gliders will be constructed by WRC and utilized at RU for operation within the developing regional-scale (300 km x 300 km) New Jersey Shelf Observing System (NJSOS). The challenge ahead is to determine how best to operate a coordinated fleet of Gliders beneath the spatially-extensive regional remote sensing systems given cues from multiple real-time datasets and model forecasts. This requires the development and testing of (a) new compact and low-power physical, chemical, and bio-optical sensors for the Gliders, (b) ocean feature detection software to provide the cues and response on an individual and fleet scale, (c) new bi-directional robust communications systems, and (d) a networked autonomous Glider command/control center.


The rapid growth of location-based social networks (LBSNs) invigorates an increasing number of LBSN users, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study human mobile behavior from spatial, temporal, and social aspects. Among these aspects, temporal effects offer an essential contextual cue for inferring a user's movement. Strong temporal cyclic patterns have been observed in user movement in LBSNs with their correlated spatial and social effects (i.e., temporal correlations). It is a propitious time to model these temporal effects (patterns and correlations) on a user's mobile behavior. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive study of temporal effects on LBSNs. We propose a general framework to exploit and model temporal cyclic patterns and their relationships with spatial and social data. The experimental results on two real-world LBSN datasets validate the power of temporal effects in capturing user mobile behavior, and demonstrate the ability of our framework to select the most effective location prediction algorithm under various combinations of prediction models.


Recent studies suggest that of the molecules postulated to function as inhibitors of the NADPH oxidase family of enzymes iodonium analogs known to broadly interfere with flavin dehydrogenase function demonstrate mechanistic validity as NADPH oxidase poisons. In recent work, we have produced a series of novel iodonium compounds as putative inhibitors of these oxidases. To evaluate the potential utility of two novel molecules with favorable chemical properties, NSC 740104 and NSC 751140, we compared effects of these compounds to the two standard inhibitors of this class, diphenyleneiodonium and di-2-thienyliodonium, with respect to antiproliferative, cell cycle, and gene expression effects in human colon cancer cells that require the function of NADPH oxidase 1. Both new agents blocked NADPH oxidase-related reactive oxygen production, inhibited tumor cell proliferation, produced a G1/S block in cell cycle progression, and inhibited NADPH oxidase 1 expression at the mRNA and protein levels at low nM concentrations in a fashion similar to or better than the parent molecules. These studies suggest that NSC 740104 and NSC 751140 should be developed further as mechanistic tools to better understand the role of NADPH oxidase inhibition as an approach to the development of novel therapeutic agents for colon cancer.


Gene expression is time-consuming, and the delay from transcription activation to produced proteins is sequentially longer from bacteria to yeast and to humans. How human cells bypass the delay and attain operational efficiency, i.e., quick proteomic response to signals, is not well understood. The computer has endured the same system latency issue due to much slower information retrieval (hard drive (HD) to memory and to CPU) than CPU execution, and mitigated it via efficient memory management, namely, the spatiotemporal locality principles that control specialized user functions and the permanent caching of core system functions, the operating system (OS) kernel. Thus, in this study, we unified gene expression and HD-memory-CPU information flow as instances of the Shannon information theory, both supporting the respective system operations and consisting of three components: information storage, the execution/decoding step, and the channel for the dynamic storage-to-execution information flow; the gene expression machinery and their regulators, and the OS kernel, were deemed as the respective channels. This abstraction prompted a multi-omic comparative analysis, generating experimental evidence that transcriptome regulation shares the computer memory management principles. First, the temporal locality principle explains the mRNA stabilization-by-translation regulatory mechanism and controls specialized cellular functions. Second, the caching principle explains cytoplasmic mRNA sequestration and the defiance of the locality principle by highly sequestered mRNAs. Third, strikingly, in both systems, the caching principle controls the information channels; similar to permanent caching of OS kernel, basic translation/transcription machinery and their regulators are the top most sequestered mRNAs. Summarily, the locality and the caching principles differentially regulate specialized functions and core system functions, respectively, integrating the complexity of transcriptome regulation with cellular operational latency mitigation.


Abstract In nineteenth-century Europe, local and regional marriage markets turned into national marriage markets as a result of modernisation. However, the question is whether this applied also to Belgium, a nation that became increasingly divided over a language dispute between French-speaking Walloons and Dutch-speaking Flemings. To answer this question, this study examines trends and determinants of mixed marriages in municipalities in which Flemings and Walloons lived in close proximity of each other. The results show that marriages between Flemings and Walloons had always been rare and became even rarer over time, suggesting a strong and growing divide in the marriage market.


This review summarizes features of professional development programs that aim to prepare in-service teachers to improve students' academic language proficiency when teaching subject areas. The 38 studies reviewed suggest that all of the profiled interventions were effective to some extent. The programs share many characteristics considered important in successful teacher professional development across different subject areas. They also include some features that appear to be specific to teacher training in this particular domain. This review supports the idea that professional development helps change teachers' thinking and practice and benefits students, if certain features are taken into consideration in its design and implementation.


Neuropeptide Y (NPY) biomarker levels have a close association with the diagnosis of Major Depression Disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders. Quantifying NPY in correlation to self-reported symptoms will be an important measure to ensure a relatively uniform diagnosis and help with disease prognosis of these disorders. The work presented is a novel, passive eccrine sweat based, electrochemical detection platform for quantification of NPY biomarker levels. The paper offers a comparison between non-porous and porous sensor platforms using various electrochemical detection techniques. This work uses a novel strategy towards designing an optimal nanobioelectronic interface to measure NPY. The portability aspect of this detection platform is discussed by the demonstration a novel, portable EmStat Pico based electronic platform. The detection limit of the sensor is 10 pg mL−1 and its range is 20–500 pg mL−1. The NPY detection platform is envisioned to be a wearable point-of need monitoring system for management of chronic anxiety disorders and MDD.


As the visual effect and movie industries are striving for realism and high fidelity images, physically based lighting, global illumination, realistic materials, and highly tessellated geometry are gradually accepted and used in movie and game industries. Modern computer graphics has reached an unprecedented level of complexity. As a result, brute-force rendering methods become prohibitively expensive. For decades, computer graphics researchers have been tackling the complexity in rendering by introducing more advanced Monte Carlo integrators, efficient sampling and reconstruction algorithms, effective filtering techniques, sophisticated data structures, and new hardware architectures. In this thesis, we focus on deriving better sampling algorithms to improve the rendering efficiency under complex scene settings. In this context, we explore several areas in computer graphics where sampling algorithms play an important role in improving the overall performance of the renderer: (1). We introduce progressive rendering algorithms as alternatives of full-quality, final rendering under complex settings. We then conduct a user study to evaluate the effectiveness of several progressive rendering algorithms in the context of appearance design tasks. (2). We conduct an investigation into high-quality rendering algorithms for scenes with complex lighting, and propose an efficient many-light algorithm, which renders a few hundred thousand virtual ii point lights for global illumination, based on matrix slice sampling and light clustering. (3). We investigate importance sampling algorithms for bidirectional scattering distribution functions (bsdfs), and present an importance sampling algorithm for hair bsdf, which can drastically reduce the number of samples required for high quality hair rendering. (4). We look into the problem of out-of-core rendering with massive datasets which cannot fit in the main memory at one time. First, we present an efficient approach to construct out-of-core bounding box hierarchy (BVH). Then, we propose a simple level-of-detail (LOD) model based on point sampling which is inexpensive to compute and compact to store. Finally, we propose a few improvements to the virtual cone tracing algorithm, and present an out-of-core path tracing implementation based on our improved virtual cone tracing algorithm.


Text extraction is a key issue in sealing clay research. The traditional method based on rubbings increases the risk of sealing clay damage and is unfavorable to sealing clay protection. Therefore, using digital image of sealing clay, a new method for text segmentation based on Radon-like features and adaptive enhancement filters is proposed in this paper. First, adaptive enhancement LM filter bank is used to get the maximum energy image; second, the edge image of the maximum energy image is calculated; finally, Radon-like feature images are generated by combining maximum energy image and its edge image. The average image of Radon-like feature images is segmented by the image thresholding method. Compared with 2D Otsu, GA, and FastFCM, the experiment result shows that this method can perform better in terms of accuracy and completeness of the text.


A case study is presented in which a pregnant diabetic is risking injury to her fetus by failing to follow her physician's instructions on controlling her disease. The physician tells her that unless she complies, he will obtain a court order to keep her in the hospital. Three commentators discuss whether the doctor's response is legally justifiable. Mackenzie and Nagel answer affirmatively, after determining that the physician has an obligation to the fetus, that there is a definite relationship between the patient's behavior and risk of harm to the fetus, and that controlling her diabetes would not endanger the woman's health. Rothman argues that using the law to control a pregnant woman's behavior is not justified because the cost to her civil liberties is too high. Language: en


My thesis, Identity and Plurality: Medicine in Ptolemaic Egypt, examines the various
ways in which medicine was practised in Egypt between 332 and 30 BCE, the period
when Egypt was ruled by the Greek family of the Ptolemies and there was a large
Greek emigration into Egypt.
The first chapter summarises the characteristics of Greek and Egyptian medicine
before the Ptolemaic period. I show how the ideas and practices of both societies are
affected by their cultural context. I then analyse the position of the Greek medical
practitioner in Ptolemaic Egypt, and argue that institution of the medical tax assumed
that Greek medicine was a distinctive part of Greek culture. I examine the numbers
of practitioners in the countryside and towns, and their relationships with the
governing administration. Finally I consider the role of folk medicine in GrecoEgyptian
societies and possible interactions between Greek and Egyptian
practitioners.
The second chapter explores temple medicine. I investigate the practice of incubation
in Egyptian temples, and show that while Greek and Egyptian preconceptions in this
area were generally compatible there were also subtle differences in their
expectations. The Greek perceptions of Egyptian cults and gods, in particular the
Greco-Egyptian god Sarapis are investigated, and I analyse the numbers and social
status of pilgrims. Finally I show that there may have been limited interest in Greek
medicine on the part of the Egyptian temples, but that overall Greeks reacted and
adapted t9 Egyptian institutions and practices.
The third chapter analyses the Alexandrian anatomists Herophilos and Erasistratos
and the Empiricist, Herophilean and Erasistratean 'sects'. Having analysed trends in
the history of Greek theoretical medicine I demonstrate how Herophilos' and
Erasistratos' views can be seen as developments of these trends to the point where
they became exclusive alternates, and how this led to the development of the medical
sects. Finally I examine the proposed candidates for Egyptian influence on the
Alexandrian anatomists, and propose that the visible monuments of pharaonic culture
may have indirectly affected Alexandrian mechanical and medical discourse.
The fourth chapter explores the perceptions of healing and the healer in Qreek
society. In particular it analyses how poisons, power and the discovery of plants were
used to construct Hellenistic models of the good and bad king; how Hellenistic poets
and writers used medical images and ideas; and how the advice and warning of the
Hippocratic writers and the stereotypes of popular literature about the behaviour of
physicians clarify the concerns of Greek society about medical power.
In conclusion I argue that the study of medicine in the ancient world ancient offers the
opportunity to examine societies though the plurality of approaches and attitudes to a
subject of inescapable importance. This is particularly so in Ptolemaic Egypt, where
healing was not simply part of two cultures but a means by which they interacted.
Ethnic, social, intellectual and moral identity was partially constructed through the
choices of patients and healers, and medicine was an arena of competitive cultural and
individual expression.


Machine learning has had a significant impact on the value of spectroscopic characterization tools, particularly in biomedical applications, due to its ability to detect latent patterns within complex spectral data. However, it often requires extensive data preprocessing, including baseline correction and denoising, which can lead to an unintentional bias during classification. To address this, we developed two deep learning methods capable of fully preprocessing raw Raman spectroscopy data without any human input. First, cascaded deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) based on either ResNet or U-Net architectures were trained on randomly generated spectra with augmented defects. Then, they were tested using simulated Raman spectra, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) imaging of chemical species, low resolution Raman spectra of human bladder cancer tissue, and finally, classification of SERS spectra from human placental extracellular vesicles (EVs). Both approaches resulted in faster training and complete spectral preprocessing in a single step, with more speed, defect tolerance, and classification accuracy compared to conventional methods. These findings indicate that cascaded CNN preprocessing is ideal for biomedical Raman spectroscopy applications in which large numbers of heterogeneous spectra with diverse defects need to be automatically, rapidly, and reproducibly preprocessed.


While a number of classical pragmatists crafted their philosophies in conjunction with a careful study of Hegel's works, others saw their philosophies emerge in antagonism with proponents of Hegel. In this paper, we offer an instance of the latter case. Namely, we show that the impetus for Charles S. Peirce's early articulation and avowal of realism (the claim that some generals are real) was William Torrey Harris's claim that the formal laws of logic lacked universal validity. According to Harris, the leading representative of Hegelism in the United States, the universal validity of the laws of logic rested on a nominalistic metaphysics that a Hegelian-realism showed to be false. In response to this charge, we articulate how Peirce's attempt to prove the universal validity of the laws of logic resulted in avowing a realism that differed from both nominalism and Harris's Hegelian-realism.


Neural Machine Translation (NMT), a neural network based approach for language translation, has been shown to be more e'ective than traditional approaches like statistical machine translation. Inspired by NMT, we propose Neural Sensor Translation (NST), a process of translating data sequences from one or a set of sensors to another using neural networks. NST is a data-driven approach for creating virtual sensors that have useful applications in sensor networks and internet of things. We present a neural network based approach for sensor translation and demonstrate the potential of the approach using sensor data from a home.


This thesis investigates the automation of different auction methods using computer technology. There are many auction methods. However, four methods are considered for automation. They are First Price Sealed-bid (FPSB), Vickrey, English (e.g. antique and cattle auctions) and Dutch (e.g. flower and tobacco auctions). Since these auctions have well defined bidding and selling rules, it is feasible that the whole process of bidding and selling could be automated. In particular, this thesis investigates automating these auctions using software agents and the Internet. The main aim of this thesis was to create an Internet Auction System (IAS) where users can auction items on their own computer and find and bid in remote auctions held on other users' computers. Adaptable (Seller) agents are used to automate selling and Adaptable Mobile (Bidder) Agents (AMA) are used to find these remote auctions and to automate the bidding process once they arrive there. The actual items auctioned are not important, though it is intended that agents can only sell or bid for one item at a time. Developing the IAS is important for two reasons. Firstly, by demonstrating that AMA(s) can automate decentralised auctions illustrates how they could make effective tools to automate other electronic commerce and trading systems. Secondly, by effectively embedding intelligence into agents, users would have greater confidence in allowing agents to operate in these markets on their behalf. There are four parts to this thesis: (i) the investigation of existing agent-based auction systems; (ii) the development of AMA(s); (iii) the utilisation of these agents to build an IAS and (iv) an evaluation of the IAS using AMA(s). Researching existing agent-based auction systems highlighted the lack of fully automated auction systems. Most Internet or Web-based auctions do not use agents. They require users to submit bids via e-mail or web page forms. Fewer still give users any control over where or when the auction is conducted or what auction method is used. Therefore, in this thesis agent scripts were implemented as finite automata that were both mobile over the Internet and self-modifiable. Within each script, the agent's intelligence was encoded using fuzzy-genetic strategies. This enabled users to evolve their agents in an auction simulator that used Fuzzy-Genetic Algorithms (FGA). These tools and concepts were then used to design the IAS. The IAS was assessed by how well the AMA(s) automated various auction methods and by how well the auction simulator evolved rational bidding and selling strategies. Three specific research contributions were made to agent-based auction systems. Firstly, novel AMA(s) were developed that used self-modifying SGML-based scripts with embedded fuzzy-genetic adaptable strategies. Secondly, AMA(s) were successfully used to automate various auction methods over the Internet. Thirdly, an auction simulator was developed that enabled users to evolve profitable (and in many cases rational) bidding and selling strategies for their respective Bidder and Seller agents to use in the IAS auctions.


The causative agent of human and animal melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei is a saprophytic organism that is widely distributed in various environmental niches such as soil and water in endemic regions. Infection results from exposure to environments containing B. pseudomallei through direct skin inoculation or contamination of wounds, and inhalation of aerosolised bacteria. The infection is usually treatable with antibiotics but the treatments are becoming difficult, because these bacteria demonstrate a high level of intrinsic resistance against most common clinically relevant antibiotics. There are various mechanisms involved in B. pseudomallei antimicrobial resistance, four among which have been established; expression of multiple drug efflux pumps of the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) superfamily, production of hydrolytic enzymes, β-lactamases, deletion of antibiotic target and reduced drug uptake due to outer membrane protein (Omp), BpsOmp38. Most of these mechanisms were established among clinical strains of B. pseudomallei such information among the veterinary and environmental isolates is limited. However there appears to be no distinction between antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance pattern amongst the strains isolated from human and those isolated from animal or environmental sources. The emergence of resistance particularly to ceftazidime, carbapenems, Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, has serious clinical implications, for therapeutic efficacy of both initial and eradication phase drugs are compromised. There is need for more investigation into clinical, veterinary and environmental isolates of B. pseudomallei to determine the antibiotic susceptibility and resistance pattern and characterization of the various antimicrobial resistance genes recognized in the B. pseudomallei genome to elucidate their role in conferring resistance to antimicrobial agents. The information about the resistance mechanisms is imperative in future efforts in design of antimicrobial agents targeting these mechanisms.


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

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in US. Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Almost 60% of patients with TNBCs develop chemo-resistance, leading to early relapse and shorter survival. The family of NADPH oxidases (NOX) enzymes is more abundant source of reactive oxygen species, which generally over expressed in a wide range of cancers including breast cancer. Over expression of NOX family of proteins in the tumor cells and stroma results in the activation of several intracellular pathways that promotes neoplastic transformation. Moreover, NOX is an important metabolic enzyme that plays a critical role in supporting increased glycolysis in cancer cells by generating NAD+, a substrate for one of the key glycolytic reactions. The constitutive upregulation of glycolysis is thought to confer significant growth advantage to cancer cells leading to uncontrolled proliferation and increased invasion. This is especially true for TNBC that shows a strong association with the Warburg effect. Herein we evaluated first time the role of imipramine blue (IB), a NOX inhibitor and a derivative of the FDA approved antidepressant imipramine in TNBC cells growth and progression. Our results demonstrated that imipramine blue inhibits TNBC, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and Bt-549 cells growth without affecting normal mammary epithelial (MCF-10A) cells. Notably, our studies revealed that imipramine blue targets multiple NOX family members, which are highly expressed in breast tumors when compared to adjacent normal tissue. Imipramine blue treatment also reduced migration and invasion and inhibited the self-renewal capability of MDA-MB-231 cells. Importantly, imipramine blue treatment significantly reduced experimental lung metastasis of MDA-MB-231 cells in athymic nude mice without induce apparent toxicity. Our gene microarray results further showed that IB treatment significantly altered an array of genes, including FOXM1, Aurora kinase A (AURAK) and Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), which play important roles in cancer growth and progression as well as in mediating sensitivity/resistance of paclitaxel (PTX), a chemotherapy drug that is routinely used as a first line treatment for breast cancer patients. Taken together, our findings propose NOX inhibitor imipramine blue as a novel therapeutic agent with less toxicity to treat triple negative breast cancers.

Citation Format: Subapriya Rajamanickam, Panneerdoss Subbarayalu, Santhosh Timilsina, Michael T. Drake, Zhenze Zhao, Hung I Harry Chen, Yidong Chen, Jack L. Arbiser, Manjeet K K. Rao. Imipramine blue: a novel NOX inhibitor as potent therapeutic agent to treat triple-negative breast cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1787. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1787


The efficiency of optical sideband generation with a microring resonator modulator as a function of modulator parameters is studied taking into account the photon dynamics inside the resonator. The best achievable modulation efficiency is determined for any choice of the resonator intrinsic quality factor, and analytic solutions for the optimum modulator parameters, namely the coupling coefficient and the detuning between the frequencies of the input laser light and the microring resonance, are provided. This analysis is carried out both for a narrowband RF signal, in which case the modulator is optimized for the center frequency of this signal, and for wideband signals, when high conversion efficiency over a wide range of RF frequencies is desired. The obtained results are expected to be useful coherent optical links, direct detection RF receivers, and optical wavelength converters.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance training with protein supplement on the body composition and the immune response in male college student. The subjects of this study were divided two groups: resistance exercise with protein supplement group(n=7) and resistance exercise group(n=7). The body composition, growth hormone, insulin, cortisol and the immunogloblin A, G, M were not significantly different between resistance with protein supplement group and resistance training group before training. The changes of body weight(p<.05) and muscle mass(p<.001) in resistance and protein supplement group were higher than resistance group after 12weeks program. Growth hormone(p<.05), insulin(p<.01), cortisol(p<.05) significantly increased after training, but not significantly different between groups. The change of immunogloblin A, immunogloblin G, immunogloblin M and white blood cell were not significantly different after training. However, the changes of the immune globulin G(p<.05) and M(p<.05) in resistance with protein supplement group were higher than resistance group significantly. The change of insulin hormone was positively correlated with the change of the immunogloublin G(p<.05). As the results, resistance training with protein supplement showed more effective changes on the muscle mass included weight and immune response after 12weeks resistance training.


The industrially manufactured low-noise GaAs FET noise and gain parameters were experimentally investigated in the temperature range of 80-300 K at frequency 12 GHz. The process of cooling down to the 80 K permits to reduce the minimum noise figure of the studied samples to - 1 dB; simultaneously the associated gain increases up to ~ 2 -2.5 dB. The comparative analysis of minimum noise figure changing in temperature range in accordance to the semiconductor physical parameters was carried out. It was established that the noise figure minimum under the cooling depends essentially on the carrier concentration of epitaxial structure.


The importance of person identification techniques is increasing for visual surveillance applications. In social living scenarios, people often act in groups composed of friends, family, and co-workers, and this is a useful cue for person identification. This paper describes a method for person identification in video sequences based on this group cue. In the proposed approach, the relationships between the people in an input sequence are modeled using a graphical model. The identity of each person is then propagated to their neighbors in the form of message passing in a graph via belief propagation, depending on each person's group affiliation information and their characteristics, such as spatial distance and velocity vector difference, so that the members of the same group with similar character- istics enhance each other's identities as group members. The proposed method is evaluated through gait-based person identification experiments using both simulated and real input sequences. Experimental results show that the identi- fication performance is considerably improved when compared with that of the straightforward method based on the gait feature alone.


Abstract—The Center for Information and Communication Technology Services of Gadjah Mada University runs a kind of formal office communication system called PLO (stands for PaperLess Office). Developed to serve ad hoc needs of the center, the system evolves for several years without proper documentation. Several attempt store write the system failed due to the lack of the documentations. Judging from the fact that it has been serving the institution well for several years, the system can be treated as a user requirement. A formal specification is written based on it. Keywords—formal specification; paperless office; information system


With the growth in banking bailout programs has come a growing need to understand the potential effectiveness of these policies. In particular, a "bad bank" created by regulatory authorities uses funds to buy troubled loans from its selected banks and commits additional capital to them. This paper develops a two-stage call-put pricing framework that is used to study the selected bank's interest margin determination with the bad bank's help. We find that the selected bank's call option-based interest margin is positively related to its troubled loans bought by the bad bank, and to its equity capital inflow from the bad bank. We also show that the call-put option-based value of the bad bank's equity return increases with the selected bank's equity volatility.

Even though psychological evidence and casual intuition predict that weather may lead to changes in equity returns, little attention has been paid to these changes through asset pricing mechanisms. This paper fills this gap by examining the effects of sunny weather enhanced upbeat mood on bank spread management and default risk. An option-based model of bank spread behavior is developed to study these closely related phenomena. The model is designed to indicate the fat tails of loan repayments caused by mood effects induced by good weather. With the good mood influences on bank lending, this paper shows that sunshine is negatively correlated with the default risk in equity returns.

Less is known about how equity returns allocated between current and new shareholders are altered to react to chief executive officer (CEO) overconfidence. This paper uses a nonlinear constrained contingent claim methodology of Black and Scholes (1973) and Merton (1974) to explore interest conflicts between current and new shareholders when an overconfident bank CEO overestimates returns on investment projects, and sequentially raises too much in external funds when internal resources become scarce. We show that low levels of bank interest margins or equity returns, which decrease the claims of current shareholders, are associated with investment distortions; but high levels of bank equity returns, which dilute the claims of current shareholders, are associated with external financing distortion.


In this paper, we study the solvability of a second-kind Volterra integral equation. By replacing the right-hand side and the unknown function, the integral equation is reduced to an integral equation, the kernel of which is not «compressiblek. Using the Laplace transform, the obtained equation is reduced to an ordinary first-order differential equation (linear). Its solution is found. The solution of the homogeneous integral equation corresponding to the original nonhomogeneous integral equation found in explicit form. Special cases of a homogeneous integral equation and its solutions are written for different values of the parameter k. Classes are indicated in which the integral equation has a solution. Singular integral equations were considered in works [1–3]. Their kernels were also «incompressiblek, but kernels had an another form. In this connection, the weight classes of the solution existence differ from the class of the solution existence for the equation considered in this work.


Introduction: Dairy products contain hormones which can be absorbed by the human body. These compounds are naturally found in milk but they are also given as supplements to increase the production of milk. The hormones with most significant effects on the human body are prolactin, IGF-1 (insulin growth factor-1), progesterone, estrogen, prostaglandins, and glucocorticoids. Materials and methods: The information was gathered from several articles and researches on the topic from the database PubMed and NCBI by using the following key words: hormones, dairy products, biological effects, metabolism, carcinogenesis. Then the information was analysed and summarized. Results: The effects mainly depend on the secretion of the hormones in the milk, their persistence after processing, absorption in the human body, metabolic bioactivity and the receptors they target in different organs. It is also worth considering the concentration of the hormones in different kinds of milk and the age in which they are consumed. Some hormones like prolactin have an impact only on neonates affecting their neuroendocrine, reproductive and immune systems. Others are thought to cause carcinogenesis in different organs - IGF-1 in the colon, pancreas, endometrium and prostate, and estrogen - in testis, prostate and breast. Due to their low oral bioavailability and inactivation in the liver, hormones like progesterone and prostaglandins are not considered to have any major biological effects. Conclusions: There is still no clear information about the impact of hormones in dairy products on the human body. Further analytic researches should be conducted in order to take proper measures for protecting public health.


The people of Darfur are caught up in a conflict resulting from years of marginalization, resource-based disputes over land and water, and political/military engagement. The marginalization of the conflict affected population already deprived of their original livelihood sources has only increased, pushing them to the edge of the food insecurity. The conflict in 2003 has only further aggravated the stressed livelihood situations in Darfur. Never before in the history of Darfur has there been such a combination of factors causing the failure of livelihood strategies and the loss of assets. These factors include systematic asset-stripping, production failures, market failures, failures to access of natural resources and constraints on the remittances of the migrant workers. This study tries to investigate the impacts of the current conflict in Darfur on livelihood of Abushouk IDPs women and the new livelihood strategies they adopt. Also to identify the challenges Abushouk IDPs women face The method used: - 1. Literature review and secondary data related to the theme. 2. Own researcher field observation, interviews through questionnaires for the primary data. 3. Discussions with individuals and groups. The main results are: Aboshouk IDPs women depends mainly on agriculture as a main source of livelihood before the conflict beside trade and animal raring, trade ( especially petty trade) is the main source of income post conflict. As a result of conflict on their income61.7% of the respondent their income was decreases, and 29.2% their income change and decrease. The negative effects of the civil strife on IDPs Women in Abushouk includes: losses of housing and assets, losses of markets and source of income, destruction of basic infrastructure, losses of economic livelihood opportunities, displacement and family dislocation, pressure on services. Women may turn to illegal activities, which provide lucrative opportunities, but can carry a high risk of violence. High level of insecurity persists around the IDP camps, make IDPs afraid of attacks and fear losing their lives causing the IDPs to remain confined to the IDP camps affecting their livelihood activities, the challenges that Abushouk IDPs women faced during conflict and after displacement related to: Providing staple food for their families, Finding suitable work (job opportunities), Difficulty in access to services due to the large number of IDPs (crowded) and limit of the services and insecurity in and outside the camp (security is the basic dimension in livelihood sustainability). Through discussions the study found that the youth women have the desire to change and high ability to forget sad memories to cope with the new situation more than older ones. The study recommended 1.Providing security in and outside the camp help IDPs to return to their home land voluntary.2Ensuring security of livelihoods, access to economic activities, provide adequate training on survival skills, health issues, leadership, introduce and support vocational training opportunities3.Improvement of credit system helps IDPs women to create new income generating activities to improve their livelihoods (there is entrepreneurial spirit and desire for self-reliance).


Cyber-Physical Systems refer to systems that have an interaction between computers, communication channels and physical devices to solve a real-world problem. Towards industry 4.0 revolution, Cyber-Physical Systems currently become one of the main targets of hackers and any damage to them lead to high losses to a nation. According to valid resources, several cases reported involved security breaches on Cyber-Physical Systems. Understanding fundamental and theoretical concept of security in the digital world was discussed worldwide. Yet, security cases in regard to the cyber-physical system are still remaining less explored. In addition, limited tools were introduced to overcome security problems in Cyber-Physical System. To improve understanding and introduce a lot more security solutions for the cyber-physical system, the study on this matter is highly on demand. In this paper, we investigate the current threats on Cyber-Physical Systems and propose a classification and matrix for these threats, and conduct a simple statistical analysis of the collected data using a quantitative approach. We confirmed four components i.e., (the type of attack, impact, intention and incident categories) main contributor to threat taxonomy of Cyber-Physical Systems.


31P NMR spectroscopy was utilized to evaluate intracellular pH in erythrocytes from normotensive (n = 15) and from untreated (n = 16) and treated (n = 24) human essential hypertensive individuals. Intracellular erythrocyte pH was also measured in normotensive rats on different dietary calcium intakes as well as in volume-dependent deoxycorticosterone/saline and renin-dependent, 2 kidney, 1 clip (2K-1C) Goldblatt hypertensive rat models. Untreated essential hypertensives had significantly lower intracellular pH values compared with normotensive subjects [7.17 +/- 0.02 vs. 7.28 +/- 0.02 (mean +/- SEM), significance level = 0.01]. Treated hypertensives had intracellular pH values indistinguishable from normotensives [7.27 +/- 0.02 (mean +/- SEM)]. Similarly, pH values for each rat model varied inversely with blood pressure, regardless of whether increased dietary calcium intake lowered pressure (normotensive and deoxycorticosterone/saline hypertensive rats) or elevated it (2K-1C Goldblatt hypertensive rats). These results demonstrate that lower intracellular pH values are commonly observed in various hypertensive states and suggest that they may contribute to the pathophysiology of the hypertensive process. Alterations in intracellular pH may also underlie the clinically observed linkage of hypertension with other disease syndromes, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity.


Most future industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology practitioners and researchers initially enroll in an introductory I-O psychology course during their junior or senior year of undergraduate studies, making introductory textbooks their first in-depth exposure to the field and an important knowledge base. We reviewed and analyzed the 6,654 unique items (e.g., journal articles, book chapters) published in 1,682 unique sources (e.g., scholarly journals, edited books, popular press publications) and authored by 8,603 unique individuals cited in six popular I-O psychology textbooks. Results showed that 39% of the top-cited sources are not traditional academic peer-reviewed journals, 77% of the top-cited articles were published in cross-disciplinary journals, and 58% of the top-cited authors are affiliated with business schools and not psychology departments. These results suggest that the science–practice divide in I-O psychology may develop later—perhaps after graduates obtain employment as either practitioners or researchers. Also, results suggest I-O psychology is closer to business and management than social psychology and psychology in general. We discuss additional implications for the science–practice divide, how to define and measure scholarly impact, and the future of I-O psychology as a field, including the movement of I-O psychologists to business schools and the sustainability of I-O psychology programs in psychology departments.


Recurrence of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections is common in immunosuppressed patients. Thymidine kinase mutations conferring resistance to the antiviral agent aciclovir have been observed in such patients. Recommended second-line therapeutic agents against HSV are associated with significant side effects contributing to disease burden. We present a case of aciclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) in an immunosuppressed (HIV negative) allogenic peripheral blood stem cell transplant (SCT) recipient which was refractory to second-line therapy. Compassionate acquisition of the novel oral helicase-primase inhibitor pritelivir provided both symptomatic and virological control for the duration of its use. We believe this to be the first clinical use of this therapeutic agent in the United Kingdom


Aconiti Radix is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine( TCM) herb in clinic,with the effects in expelling wind and removing damness,warming menstruation and relieving pain. With a long medicinal history and high medicinal value,it was used for anemofrigid-damp arthralgia,arthralgia,cold hernia and anesthesia analgesia. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Aconiti Radix has a good therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis,neuropathic pain and hypertension. As a well-known toxic TCM herb,its main pharmacodynamic and toxic components are alkaloids,which can lead to neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity while exerting anti-inflammatory,analgesic,anti-tumor and other pharmacodynamic effects. Therefore,it is often processed to reduce its toxicity or combined with Paeoniae Radix Alba and Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix to achieve the purpose of reducing toxicity and increasing efficacy in clinic.In recent years,with the deepening of the study on the incompatibility of TCM represented by " eighteen incompatible herbs",there have been new findings about TCM incompatibility. It has been found complementary effect,rather than no obvious toxic and side effects after the combination with incompatible herbs of Aconiti Radix. To provide the basis for further study and clinical application of Aconiti Radix,this paper reviewed chemical components,pharmacological action,toxicity and compatibility of Aconiti Radix by consulting relevant literatures published in recent years at home and abroad. Meanwhile,this paper also described the relationship between chemical constituents,as well as anti-inflammatory,analgesic,anti-tumor and other pharmacological effects and toxicity.


Water is considered to be one of the main mechanisms through which people will experience climate change, with the number of people estimated to become exposed to water scarcity projected to increase sharply in the future. Water resource managers in the UK have access to a range of meteorological and hydrological indicators of drought. However these data are limited in their utility to directly forecast how systems should be managed to reduce impacts on water users. At present there is no generically applicable method to provide such an outlook.

We are working with practitioners and regulators in the UK water industry to demonstrate the use of seasonal forecasts to support decision-making during drought. The work is funded by Copernicus through the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with the aim of showing how Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data can be used in sectoral contexts. C3S data are combined with both operational practices and the latest UK water resources planning developments to provide metrics of value tailored to the needs of water resource managers. National and industry stakeholders have been fully engaged from the outset, co-creating a tool to evaluate, visualise, and communicate the potential impact of emerging droughts in a meaningful way.

The tool reads water supply system information presented by water companies including drought response surfaces, operational decisions, and demand. The water supply system is simulated using seasonal forecasts, and an assessment of drought likelihood and vulnerability is provided along with an estimate of the associated uncertainty. Impacts are presented in terms of consequences for stakeholders and contextualised in terms of system vulnerabilities and the historic record. This tool supports operational decision-making, in particular when deliberating the timing of supply and demand-side interventions as a drought develops, and communicating such risks to stakeholders.


Background: Collaborative care management (CCM) has been shown to have superior outcomes to usual care (UC) for depressed patients with a fixed end point. This study was a survival analysis over time comparing CCM with UC using remission (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9] score <5) and persistent depressive symptoms (PDSs; PHQ-9 score ≥10) as end points. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 7340 patients with depression cared for at 4 outpatient primary care clinics was conducted from March 2008 through June 2013. All adult patients diagnosed with depression (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision [ICD-9], codes 296.2–3) or dysthymia (ICD-9 code 300.4) with an initial PHQ-9 score ≥10 were included. CCM was implemented at all clinics between 2008 and 2010. Kaplan-Meyer survival curves for time to remission and PDSs were plotted. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to adjust for expected differences between patients choosing CCM versus UC. Results: Median time to remission was 86 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 81–91 days) for the CCM group versus 614 days (95% CI, 565–692 days) for the UC group. Likewise, median duration of PDSs was 31 days (95% CI, 30–33 days) for the CCM group versus 154 days (95% CI, 138–182 days) for the UC group. In the Cox proportional hazards model, which controlled for covariates such as age, sex, race, diagnosis, and initial PHQ-9 score, CCM was associated with faster remission (hazard ratio of the CCM group [HRCCM], 2.48; 95% CI, 2.31–2.65). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that patients enrolled in CCM have a faster rate of remission and a shorter duration of PDSs than patients choosing UC.


The paper focuses on the development of the global economy in the context of sustainable development as a key imperative of contemporary macroeconomics. The analysis is combined with a look at classic macroeconomic issues such as economic growth, inflation, unemployment, and the balance of payments in foreign trade. An added value of the paper is that it looks at the problem from the perspective of various schools of thought in contemporary macroeconomics. The authors seek to validate the hypothesis that sustainable development is a powerful paradigm for the development of modern economies and that various macroeconomic trends make it possible to adapt this paradigm to the needs of economies at different stages of development.


This article presents a case-study to illustrate the crucial importance of an effective data protection law in the fight against pandemics, and critically assess the extent to which the absence of such framework may amount to a violation of the American Convention of Human Rights. The analysis focuses on Brazil as an emblematic example, as the country has been facing the pandemic without being able to rely on a comprehensive and properly supervised data protection law, while also failing to adopt data-driven responses which could have helped to raise awareness and prevent the spread of the virus. Although the relationship between the adopted policies and the unwavering rise of contagions and deaths is one of correlation, and not necessarily causation, it is argued that an examination of the facts through the lenses of the Convention and its case-law could give sufficient grounding to a claim of responsibility for failure to ensure sufficient protection to the right to privacy, life and integrity. To substantiate such claim, the article begins by describing the Brazilian government´s approach towards the health risks raised by the pandemic (Section 2), and highlighting the privacy and data protection questions raised by technological solutions that are dependent on the collection and use of personal data (Section 3). It follows with an overview of the troubled process of entry into force of a general data protection law in the country, and of a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the government´s attempt to make use of personal data in order to gather evidence for the adoption of economic measures (Section 4). Finally, having explained the nature of the positive obligations assumed by States that are parties to the Convention, the article examines whether the Brazilian data protection framework has proven fit for purpose during the pandemic (Section 5), and concludes with lessons learned from this case-study (Section 6).


Hechuan area is located in the gentle slope of Central Sichuan Uplift in Sichuan Basin. It belongs to a gas-bearing structure of gentle anticline; the major gas layer is Triassic Xujiahe Member 2 sandstone, which is consisted of multistage stacked braided river and delta sand bodies. The characteristic is the wide spread of sand body and the good lateral connection. But the porosity and permeability is low, mostly between 2~7% and 0.001~1mD. The gas reservoirs with porosity more than 4% only developed in very limited local areas, with severe heterogeneity and poor lateral connectivity. Geologic, seismic, and well logging data are used in this paper to predict the distribution of large-scale tight gas reservoirs by three steps and three methods. Firstly, the core, casting slices, well log data and production performance test results are studied to determine the controlling factors and limit values of gas reservoirs. The results show that the micro-facies and diagenesis are the dominant factors controlling the distribution of favorable gas reservoirs. Fractures can improve local petrophysical properties. Higher porosity and permeability can be found in coarse sandstone of channels, with dissolved vugs and fissures, which means favorable gas reservoir zones in large area of tight sandstone. The lower limit values of permeability, pore-throat size, and porosity for gas-bearing reservoirs in Xujiahe Member 2 sandstones are respectively 0.05mD, 0.2μm, and 4.5%. Secondly, considering micro-facies, diagenetic facies, and fractures as three key factors in controlling development of reservoirs, three methodologies are used in comprehensive prediction of gas reservoirs, which are the facies controlled stochastic simulation method, the logging lithological facies interpretation method, and the fractures indication technique by the stress-strain relation of rocks. The thickness of gas-bearing sandstones and the distribution of higher porosity and permeability are predicted, while the thickness of dissolved sandstone and general distribution of fractures are predicted. Thirdly, applying the above results, the images obtained through these three methods are stacked to synthetically predict and evaluate the distribution of favorable reservoirs. The results show that the gas-bearing reservoirs in Member 2 Xujiahe Formation are located in the structural axis or tectonic hinges, and areas where main channel or sand bars micro-facies, and fractures are well developed. In summary, the prediction of large scale tight gas sandstone reservoirs should be conducted following major controlling factors, and comprehensive research should be carried out using optimized prediction technique methods, which are applicable in the geological setting of the studied area. Anna XU* , Zecheng WANG ,Congsheng BIAN, Zhaohui XU,Xiufen ZhAI Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina May 2013 *firstname.lastname@example.com The National Oil and Gas Special Project No. 2011ZX05004 Presentation Outline 1. Background 2. Methods and Results 3. Conclusion and Discussion


Notoginsenoside R1 (NGR1) is isolated from the panax notoginseng which is a kind of Traditional Chinese Medicine and edible plant with good healthful effect that using range is very wide for medical treatment and health care. It had been demonstrated to inhibit various tumors proliferation, but whether it inhibited cervical cancer cells proliferation and its mechanism was not unclear. In this study, we showed that NGR1 could inhibit cervical cancer cells to proliferate with a time and dose dependent manner, induce cervical cancer cells apoptosis and arrest cervical cancer cells in G1/S-phase . We also found that NGR1 could make H2AX phosphorylation and inhibit PHF6 expression with a time and dose dependent manner. Furthermore, when over expression PHF6 gene, the γH2AX haven't any change , but silenced PHF6 gene with siRNA, the γH2AX increased significantly. That mean PHF6 has negative correlation with γH2AX. Subsequently , we added NGR1 to intervene, something interesting happened that PHF6 protein fell even more, but the γH2AX more up regulation in the siPHF6 and NGR1 group. In the PEGFP-C1-PHF6 plasmid vector and NGR1 group, inversely , the PHF6 protein declined, and the γH2AX still up regulation . All those results indicate d that NGR1 caused DNA injury by inhibiting PHF6 activity pathway and arrested cervical cancer cells in G1/S-phase.


Multi-Access Heterogeneous Networks introduced a step forward in modern communication networks allowing the provision of reliable and efficient broadband services. However, heterogeneous networks imply a burden of complexity in the integration, coordination and QoS management processes thus complicating the satisfaction of users' requirements. The aim of the present work is to address the above-mentioned issues by developing a mathematical framework for optimizing resource usage in 5G heterogeneous networks. More in detail, the optimization will take into account both the network's load and energy consumption simultaneously. The proposed approach, based on Model Predictive Control, will be compared with other control strategies for validation and performance comparison.


We are starting to see a fundamental transformation in how we interact with computers and what we can do with them. Consumerization of IT and the popularity of mobile devices have further changed the internet landscape. These trends and technological advances in natural user interface, mobile internet, and cloud computing will drive the next wave of innovation and growth for Asia and the world. Dr. Zhang will show us compelling demos and discuss how these technologies can help us take on more complex challenges and drive innovation.


Effects of plastic mulch types (transparent - T1, white - T2, black T3, silvercoated black plastic- T4), organic mulch (T5) and nonmulching (T6) were evaluated on growth parameters of drip irrigated summer peppers ( Capsicum annuum L. cv. Cubanelle) in the semi-arid southem coast of Puerto Rico. Growth parameters (plant height, secondary and tertiary branches, number of nodes and buds on the primary branch) versus days after transplanting relationships were exponential. Transparent plastic caused lowest plant height and fruit weight. T2, T3, and T4 plots increased pepper yield by 28, 46 and 132%, respectively compared with non-mulched plots and accelerated flowering and fruit set. Relationships among plant height versus fresh pepper weight and growth parameters versus nutrient uptake were linear and the correlation coefficient varied from 0.90 to 0.99.


Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, the causal agent of bacterial shot holes in stone fruits, was known to have a low population diversity. To investigate the genetic characteristics of X. arboricola pv. pruni isolated in Korea, three strains which have identical 16S rDNA sequences - including type strain (LMG852), Japanese isolate (MAFF301420) and Korean isolate (XWD1) - were analysed based on the nucleotide sequences of three DNA regions and RAPD pattern. No sequence diversity among the three strains was found within the ITS, glnA and atpD gene sequences. However, five of 756 nucleotides of the atpD gene determined (accession number FJ429319) were different from those of the French strain available from the Genbank database. RAPD analyses performed with 40 different arbitrary primers revealed that two strains isolated from Korea and Japan showed similarity in their band patterns distinguished by type strain. These results suggest that Korean and Japanese strains are very close and belong to a population with a low genetic diversity, and might have a different origin from strains found in West Europe.


【Emergency room process is very important in the whole hospital processes because it is first diagnosis for patient. Above all, triage is important activity which quickly diagnose the status of emergency patient and sets the priority for treatment. This paper analyzes the treatment process pattern by triage type. The results show that the treatment process after triage such as residence time, diagnosis and checkup type, and joint treatment are dependent on triage types. We can use these analysis results for improving the current triage system and developing the new triage system considering a domestic emergency medical service environment.】


Advances in information technologies (IT) are one of the driving forces of change in Higher Education. As colleges and universities attempt to more aggressively pursue distance education as a means in search of increasing revenue, enrollment and visibility, they must identify the current and perspective students and their needs. There have been continuous research and debate on open source learning management systems. Meanwhile the opportunities entail challenges including how to use emerging information technologies, such as Web 2.0 tools to improve online teaching and learning.


Apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) and concomitant proliferation of the underlying vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in large arteries are the key features of atherosclerosis and restenosis. However, the mechanisms underlying endothelial cell death and abnormal smooth muscle cell proliferation during the development of vascular lesions remain unclear. We have previously demonstrated that treatment with inhibitors of the aldehyde-metabolizing enzyme and aldose reductase (AR) attenuates restenosis of balloon-injured rat carotid arteries. The inhibition of AR also prevents the apoptosis of VECs induced by the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Apoptosis of the VECs was determined by the incorporation of [3H]-thymidine and the activation of caspase-3. Stimulation of the VECs with TNF-alpha led to an increase in the DNA-binding activity of the transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappa binding protein (NF-kappaB) and the induction of the adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1. Treatment of VECs with the AR inhibitor, tolrestat, prevented the activation of NF-kappaB and diminished ICAM-1 induction stimulated by TNF-alpha. These results indicate an obligatory requirement of AR activity in the transduction of intracellular signaling initiated by the ligation of the TNF-alpha receptors leading to the activation of NF-kappaB. Although the specific signaling events interrupted by AR inhibition remain unknown, our results suggest that product(s) of AR catalysis may be essential for NF-kappaB activation. These observations could form the basis of future investigations into the therapeutic utility of AR inhibitors in preserving endothelial function and integrity during atherosclerosis and diabetes.