The present paper aims at analyzing the sources of labor productivity in Europe at regional level. We study the productivity performance in a sample of twenty European regions belonging to four countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Exploiting the increasing availability of disaggregated data at regional level, we propose both a descriptive statistics and an econometric analysis of productivity sources since 1995. Our main finding is that the levels and sources of labor productivity are rather heterogeneous across the sample. This heterogeneity is found to be associated with disparities both across sectors and regions.


Dr. J. A. R. BICKFORD (Kingston upon Hull) introduced the two speakers, Professor A. D. B. Clarke, professor of psychology, University of Hull, who took the theme of "potential," and Professor J. Tizard, of the University of London Institute of Education and the Thomas Coram Foundation Research Centre, who was to talk on the organization of care for the mentally handicapped. Professor CLARKE described the two distinct subpopulations which together form the group of mentally subnormal. The mildly subnormal (I.Q. 50-70) constituted three-quarters of the whole, and the severely subnormal (below I.Q. 50) the remainder. Many of the mildly subnormal were not identified or helped in any special way in childhood. They performed badly at school, but later on their outlook was quite good. The prevalence in later age groups showed a substantial decline, and three reasons had been suggested for this: (1) camouflage in society, (2) the gradual acquisition of social skills, and (3) delayed maturation. On average in adult life those individuals made a tolerable adjustment to society. Hence it was misleading to estimate potential based on performance before maturity. The problems associated with severe subnormality (I.Q. 25-50) were very different. In the past most such children were institutionalized and were considered unteachable. Present-day research showed that such pessimism was unjustified and that with appropriate training 80 % of youngsters were able to work in sheltered workshops and even in the community, living throughout at home or in hostels. Studies on learning of perceptual motor skills in subnormal patients showed that, though initial performance was extremely poor, learning was good, and the final level of achievement was as good as that of the average industrial worker. The main difference then between the ability of these subjects and normal people was not so much the end result as the time taken to achieve it.


We have employed echistatin, a 5.4 kDa snake venom disintegrin, as a model protein to investigate the paradox that small ligand-mimetics can bind to the resting alphaIIbbeta3 integrin while adhesive macromolecules cannot. We characterized the interactions between purified human alphaIIbbeta3 and two recombinant echistatin variants: rEch (1-49) M28L, chosen for its selectivity toward beta3-integrins, and rEch (1-40) M28L, a carboxy-terminal truncation mutant. While both contain an RGD integrin targeting sequence, only rEch (1-49) M28L was an effective inhibitor of alphaIIbbeta3 function. Electron microscopy of rotary shadowed specimens yielded a variety of alphaIIbbeta3 conformers ranging from compact, spherical particles (maximum dimension 22 nm) to the classical "head with two tails" forms (32 nm). The population of larger particles (42-56 nm) increased from 17% to 28% in the presence of rEch (1-49) M28L, indicative of ligand-induced oligomerization. Sedimentation velocity measurements demonstrated that both full length and truncated echistatin perturbed alphaIIbbeta3's solution structure, yielding slower-sedimenting open conformers. Dynamic light scattering showed that rEch (1-49) M28L protected alphaIIbbeta3 from thermal aggregation, raising its transition mid-point from 46 degrees C to 69 degrees C; a smaller shift resulted with rEch (1-40) M28L. Sedimentation equilibrium demonstrated that both echistatin ligands induced substantial alphaIIbbeta3 dimerization. van't Hoff analysis revealed a pattern of entropy/enthalpy compensation similar to tirofiban, a small RGD ligand-mimetic that binds tightly to alphaIIbbeta3, but yields smaller conformational perturbations than echistatin. We propose that echistatin may serve as a paradigm for understanding multidomain adhesive macromolecules because its ability to modulate alphaIIbbeta3's structure resides on an RGD loop, while full disintegrin activity requires an auxiliary site that includes the carboxy-terminal nine amino acid residues.


Secure software engineering is a big challenge. This is mainly due to the increasing complexity, openness and extensibility of modern applications, which make a complete analysis of security requirements very hard. The overall problem space is consequently no longer easily comprehensible for developers. This paper is an attempt to explore some of these issues underlying secure software engineering. We propose a secure software engineering framework, which suggests considering secure software engineering along four different, but complementary, views. Each view is capturing a particular relevant aspect of secure software engineering. Our motivations for developing this framework are to: (a) help understand and clarify the secure software engineering domain, (b) guide in classifying and comparing both secure software and securing approaches and (c) help researchers to identify new research axes.


To the extent that RDS is primarily a disease of premature infants, we would agree that prematurity itself may thus be a factor in the pathogenesis of the cases reported in our paper. However, we can only record and report the experiences that occurred in our institution where a group of infants with repeated attacks of bronchiolitis occurring at a relatively early age and of sufficient severity to require both multiple hospital admissions and in some instances respirator management was associated with an alarmingly frequent antecedent history of RDS in far greater proportion than had been anticipated from the known incidence figures for RDS in premature infants.1Moreover, as noted in the paper, the only three children requiring mechanical ventilatory support in our hospital during this entire period for bronchiolitis were all RDS survivors, suggesting a more than just fortuitous relationship between the two.


LEXUS provides a flexible framework for the maintaining lexical structure and content. It is the first implementation of the Lexical Markup Framework model currently being developed at ISO TC37/SC4. Amongst its capabilities are the possibility to create lexicon structures, manipulate content and use of typed relations. Integration of well established Data Category Registries is supported to further promote interoperability by allowing access to well established linguistic concepts. Advanced linguistic functionality is offered to assist users in cross lexica operations such as search and comparison and merging of lexica. To enable use within various user groups the look and feel of each lexicon may be customized. In the near future more functionality will be added including integration with other tools accessing lexical content.


Semantic Web technologies are being applied more and more in business context applications. The domain of Business Process Management (BPM) is no exception. Additionally, Linked Data principles become interesting to apply in this context as well to enrich processes with information from more diverse sources. We aim to apply Semantic Web technologies and Linked Data principles to enhance Business Process modelling of Swiss e-Government public processes. To favour the reuse of processes from a process repository, the modelling tool will assist the user while modelling through auto completion, process translation, decomposition and annotation. Annotations on processes will allow linking those processes to ontology concepts related to the cyber administration standards. This paper will focus on translating processes to Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the creation of the data links, as well as process translation from German to French.


ABSTRACT Evidence that humans play a dominant role in most ecosystems forces scientists to confront systems that contain factors transgressing traditional disciplinary boundaries. However, it is an open question whether this state of affairs should encourage interdisciplinary exchange or integration. With two case studies, we show that exchange between ecologists and economists is preferable, for epistemological and policy-oriented reasons, to their acting independently. We call this "exchange gain." Our case studies show that theoretical exchanges can be less disruptive to current theory than commonly thought. Valuable interdisciplinary exchange does not necessarily require disciplinary breakdown.


Surgical tissue damage and the accompanying inflammatory response lead to proteasome activation, initiation of damaged protein degradation, and induction of acute-phase inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of change in proteasome chymotrypsin-like (ChT-L) activity and C-reactive protein concentration depending on the degree of tissue damage and their correlation with prealbumin concentrations in children before and after abdominal surgery. This experimental study included children who underwent abdominal surgery between 2015 and 2017. Plasma prealbumin concentrations and C-reactive protein levels (CRP) were determined by standard biochemical laboratory procedures. Proteasome activity was assessed using a Suc-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-AMC peptide substrate. Elevation of plasma proteasome activity was noted in children after laparoscopic and open abdominal surgeries. However, 20S proteasome activity in children undergoing conventional open surgery was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in patients subjected to laparoscopy. At the same time, an increase in the CRP level was observed. However, there was no correlation between C-reactive protein concentrations and the type of abdominal surgery while there was a correlation observed in the case of proteasomes. Proteasome activity correlates with the degree of surgical tissue damage and prealbumin concentrations. More invasive surgery leads to a stronger activation of the proteasome involved in removing proteins that were damaged due to the surgical procedure. Proteasomes are more specific markers because there is a correlation between proteasome activity and the type of abdominal surgery in contrast to C-reactive protein concentrations which are not different in response to surgery performed in regard to ovarian cysts or cholelithiasis.


The electronic fuel injection system has severe problems with heavy hydrocarbon (HC) emission generated by non-uniform spray droplets and insufficient air-fuel mixture. Therefore, various atomization techniques are being developed in order to reduce HC emission. One of these techniques is the air-shrouded injector, which has better atomization ability and demands less power loss than other atomizers. Thus, the development of this air-shrouded injector may be a major topic to cope with international emission regulations. Nevertheless, there are few studies that deal with the characteristics of air-shrouded injectors. In this study, the spray characteristics and atomization mechanism of an air-shrouded injector that was designed and manufactured are analysed using a PDPA system. Also the characteristics of the spray atomization breakup modes and distribution function of the SMD for the air-shrouded injector are discussed.


Objectives: Vein thrombosis is a major public health issue that has a significant human and economic toll on the country. Venous thrombosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalised patients, and it is potentially preventable. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has become a more well-known and potentially preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalised patients over the last decade. The goal of this study was to look at inflammatory markers in venous thrombosis.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of patients admitted to tertiary hospitals was done. The research looked at 59 occurrences of venous thrombosis that had been confirmed by radiography. For involvement in the study and the conduct of investigations, written informed consent was obtained. The research was carried out between November 2017 and September 2019.
Results: The study group's average age was 43.6 years (SD=16.4), with a range of 20 to 72 years. There were 48 males (81.4%) and 11 females among the 59 patients (18.6 percent). The mean Body mass index of the patients was 24.33 ± 2.84 kg/m2. Among 59 patients, 48 patients (81.3%) had elevated CRP. 46 patients (77%) had elevated Serum Homocysteine levels (>15 \(\mu\)mol/L). 74.6 percent of the 59 participants had low HDL, 61 percent had high LDL, and 45 percent had high Triglycerides. The total cholesterol level had increased by 40.7 percent. D dimer levels were elevated in 98. 3%.
Conclusion: We find that unprovoked venous thrombosis is a common concern among individuals aged 20 to 29, who are male and have a BMI of more than 25 kg/m2. Inflammatory markers were found to be considerably higher in patients with venous thrombosis.


Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) based on Steady State Visual EvokedPotential (SSVEP) can provide higher information transfer rate thanother BCI modalities. For the sake of safety and comfort, the frequency of the repetitive visual stimulus (RVS) necessary to elicit an SSVEP, should be higher than 30 Hz. However, in the frequency rangeabove 30 Hz, only a limited number of frequencies can elicit sufficiently strong SSVEPs for BCI purposes. Consequently, the conventionalapproach, consisting in presenting various repetitive visual stimuli having different frequency each, is not practical for SSVEP basedBCI functioning. Indeed this would bring low communication bitrates.In order to increase the number of possible repetitive visual stimuli, we consider modulating the phase of the stimulus instead of thefrequency. Thus, several stimuli, sharing the same frequency, but with different phase can be presented to the user. The approach presented in this document, to detect the phase of the stimulus is termedphase synchrony. It consists in using as feature, to identify a subject's focus of attention, the phase difference between the SSVEP and the stimulus. The phase is extracted through the Hilbert transformapplied on an univariate signal resulting from spatially filteringthe electroencephalogram. We have conducted experiments with seven subjects to estimate the information transfer rate that can be achieved using the phase synchrony analysis method.


BACKGROUND
Changes in refraction follow surgery on the extraocular muscles. We examined corneal topography before and after medial or lateral rectus muscle recession using a computer-assisted topographic analysis system.

METHODS
A total of 36 patients (52 eyes) were examined. Measurements were taken 1 day before surgery and 1, 15, and 30 days after surgery.

RESULTS
A significant change in astigmatic power was detected 1 day after surgery in the meridian of the recessed muscle, evidencing a localized flattening of the cornea. Induced astigmatism decreased over time. At 30 days following surgery, 6% of patients evidenced a residual change higher than 1 diopter (D); 12% evidenced a residual change higher than 0.5 D.

CONCLUSION
The increase of astigmatic power recorded 1 day after surgery is higher for medial rectus muscle recession than for lateral rectus muscle recession. Corneal topography changes, located mainly in the meridian of the recessed muscle and the optical zone, are greatly reduced or gone within 1 month of surgery.


Aluminum conductors are increasingly replacing copper because Al has lower cost and lighter weight, and consequently the demand for Al-Cu joints for industrial applications is growing. However, an intermetallic compound is known to grow at the Al-Cu interface, and will result in fracture if it grows above a critical thickness. It has been reported that the thickness of this intermetallic compound layer significantly increases when alternating current flows through the Al-Cu interface. For long distance power transmission, direct current is preferred because it reduces energy losses. In the present study, the formation and growth of the intermetallic compound under direct current was investigated using FE-SEM and EPMA. The thickness of the intermetallic compound was measured and compared based on the direction of the electron flows. It was thus confirmed that under commercial conditions below 10A/㎟ the electric current accelerates the growth of the intermetallic compound, with distinct effect from electromigration. In addition, an empirical equation to predict the thickness of the intermetallic compound was obtained, to estimate the life time of the Al-Cu joint. (Received December 8, 2016; Accepted January 3, 2017)


Tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptors (TNFR-55 and TNFR-75) were inserted into retrovirus derived vector. They were transfected into a packaging cell line. The high titer of transfectants, which produced virus containing TNFR-55 or TNFR-75, was obtained. TNFR-55 and TNFR-75 negative human colon cancer cells were infected with this virus as a model experiment of gene therapy. Although the original colon cancer cell line did not express TNFR-55 or TNFR-75, the colon cancer cells, which were infected by recombinant virus, expressed a high level of TNFR-55 or TNFR-75. TNFR-55 or TNFR-75 transformed colon cancer cells were killed by recombinant TNF.


BACnet is an international standard communication protocol especially designed for building automation and control systems. BACnet uses the Master-Slave/Token-Passing (MS/TP) protocol as one of its field-level networks. A BACnet MS/TP field controller prototype and MS/TP network monitoring system are developed in this study. This report introduces the design and implementation methodology of a BACnet MS/TP field controller hardware, firmware and protocol stack. This report also presents the implementation methodology of BACnet MS/TP network monitoring system using VTS (Visual Test Shell). The methodologies introduced in this report will facilitate the develop and implementation of the BACnet-based control systems in building automation area.


Hong Kong's surface visibility has decreased in recent years due to air pollution from rapid social and economic development in the region. In addition to deteriorating health standards, reduced visibility disrupts routine civil and public operations, most notably transportation and aviation. Regional estimates of visibility solved operationally using available ground and satellite-based estimates of aerosol optical properties and vertical distribution may prove more effective than standard reliance on a few existing surface visibility monitoring stations. Previous studies have demonstrated that such satellite measurements correlate well with near-surface optical properties, despite these sensors do not consider range-resolved information and indirect parameterizations necessary to solve relevant parameters. By expanding such analysis to include vertically resolved aerosol profile information from an autonomous ground-based lidar instrument, this work develops six models for automated assessment of surface visibility. Regional visibility is estimated using co-incident ground-based lidar, sun photometer, visibility meter, and MODerate-resolution maging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol optical depth data sets. Using a 355 nm extinction coefficient profile solved from the lidar, MODIS AOD (aerosol optical depth) is scaled down to the surface to generate a regional composite depiction of surface visibility. These results demonstrate the potential for applying passive satellite depictions of broad-scale aerosol optical properties together with a ground-based surface lidar and zenith-viewing sun photometer for improving quantitative assessments of visibility in a city such as Hong Kong. Implications: The study presents methods to estimate surface level visibility using remote sensing techniques, thus reducing the cost and effort required to estimate visibility at regional level. This helps to address environmental and health effects of ambient air pollution related to visibility for areas with no existing air quality monitoring stations. Policy regulation and hazard assessments impacting transportation and navigation can be improved by integrating the remotely estimated surface visibility with a real-time environmental data network.


Abstract Assisted living (AL) communities with memory care licenses are disproportionately located in affluent and predominantly White communities and Black older adults are underrepresented in AL. But little is known about characteristics of AL that care for Black residents. We estimated the association of facility-level characteristics as proxy measures for AL resources, such as memory care designations and percentage of dual-eligible residents, across low (0-5%), medium (5-10%) and high (>10%) percentages of Black residents. We found broad differences among communities in the three levels of Black-resident prevalence. High percentage of Black residents was associated with large differences in the percentage of Medicaid-enrolled residents (high 54% duals [s.d.=34], med 28% [31], low=13% [22], p<0.001). ALs with high Black populations were less likely to have a memory-care designation than ALs with medium and low percentages of Black residents (high 4.7% memory care, med 11%, low 17%).


Short-term load forecast plays an important role in the safe and economic operation of power system. Its prediction accuracy affects the power system's security, profit and quality directly. And meteorological factor is one of the key factors that affect the accuracy of load forecasting. In this paper, we put forward enterprise electric load forecasting method combined with grey relational degree algorithm and multivariate linear regression forecasting method. The example shows that this method can get better prediction accuracy.


We analyzed Ficus perforate seed removal by canopy ants under four treatments: syconia seeds; howler monkey‐defecated washed seeds; syconia seeds with howler dung; and defecated seeds with howler dung. Ants removed more defecated washed seeds in the wet season, while during the dry season, removal was greater for syconia seeds and defecated washed seeds. Our results suggest that ants tended to remove more seeds when they were not embedded in feces; however, even seeds set on howler dung were still attractive to ants.


We present a theoretical study of guided-mode-resonance filters made of two sub-wavelength metallic gratings and a dielectric waveguide, with lateral geometries compatible with the size of infrared focal plane array pixels. Contrary to most of the studies described in the literature, we consider here a focused beam on finite-sized filters, and we investigate the optical properties of a mosaic of 30 μm-long filters. We demonstrate the spectral filtering ability and low crosstalk of such components. We also study the impact of an oblique beam onto a filtering mosaic. We finally discuss the opportunities offered by these results for a new generation of multispectral infrared cameras, and we give an example of a simple architecture.


Photonic memories as an emerging optoelectronic technology have attracted tremendous attention in the past few years due to their great potential to overcome the von Neumann bottleneck and to improve the performance of serial computers. Nowadays, the decryption technology for visible light is mature in photonic memories. Nevertheless, near‐infrared (NIR) photonic memristors are less progressed. Herein, an NIR photonic memristor based on MoS2–NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+ upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) nanocomposites is designed. Under excitation by 980 nm NIR light, the UCNPs show emissions well overlapping with the absorption band of the MoS2 nanosheets. The heterostructure between the MoS2 and the UCNPs acting as excitons generation/separation centers remarkably improves the NIR‐light‐controlled memristor performance. Furthermore, in situ conductive atomic force microscopy is employed to elucidate the photo‐modulated memristor mechanism. This work provides novel opportunities for NIR photonic memory that holds promise in future multifunctional robotics and electronic eyes.


The objective of this research is to improve operational flood forecasting through the assimilation of observed discharge records into a process-based water and energy balance model in the model spin-up period. An extended Kalman filter is used as assimilation algorithm. The research is conducted at the Zwalm catchment in Belgium. In order to assess the impact of the data assimilation on the model results, a continous, five-year model run was first applied. It was found that the assimilation procedure has a strong effect on the modeled water table levels, while the modeled soil moisture contents are less influenced by the assimilation procedure. It was also found that the improvement in the modeled discharge is stronly limited by the quality of the precipitation data. The algorithm was then applied in a flood-forecasting mode, in which a two-month spin-up period preceeds the forecasting period. It was found that assimilating discharge records during the spin-up period has a beneficial effect on the modeled discharge peaks. The main conclusion from this research is that there is potential to improve modeled discharge peaks through the assimilation of discharge records during the model spin-up period, but that this potential is strongly limited by the quality of the precipitation data used to drive the model. 1 Objectives 1.To develop a framework for the improvement of flood forecasts through the assimilation of observed discharge data in the period preceding the forecast period. 2.To assess the impact of the assimilation of discharge observations on the


The majority of historical and heritage structures around the world consist of unreinforced masonry walls. A masonry structure is composed of masonry units, such as brick or marble blocks, with or without a joint filling material, such as mortar. A masonry with a joint material is usually made of two different materials (i.e. masonry units and mortar), representing a non-homogeneous and anisotropic structural component. In other words, masonry is a discontinuous structural component whose deformations and failure mechanism are governed by its blocky behavior. Some ancient masonry structures, such as ancient columns and colonnades, are constructed without any form of joint material between the individual blocks. Therefore, the isotropic elastic continuum-based models are not suitable for the simulation of the real nonlinear behavior of masonry walls under applied load.


Twenty-first century chemistry education researchers reported challenges in chemistry education pertaining to high school chemistry teaching-learning outcomes. Even though all studies intended to improve chemistry teaching-learning outcomes, unfortunately the impact of chemistry education research found not to be much encouraging. A few of these studies were compared to identify a possible missing link which is to be addressed under present context of chemistry education research (CER). The issue of students' attitude, perception and a link of performance in chemistry with attitude and perception drew the attention and found to be missing in the present CER studies. The need to address the issue within the context of existing school environment was felt. This communication is prepared based on an analysis of students' performance of eleventh grade students from a rural school of South Africa in a chemistry end-of- year test.


The spread of the AIDS pandemic urgently requires that we succeed in preventing HIV infection among the young. Much has been accomplished in information dissemination, sometimes leading to a sense of saturation. But the needs and request are still substantial when it comes to reflection, dialogue and action, both with and by the young, that is, through adult relays and peer leadership. The article presents a series of themes to be addressed with adolescents beyond the reductive equation "AIDS prevention = condom use." These are questions touching on the choice of lifestyles and relationships, and the concepts of risk, protection and responsibility.


The effects of the porosity and pore size distribution of catalyst carbon support on the proton conduction and electrode performance have been studied by comparing two carbon supports [Vulcan XC 72 (V) and Ketjenblack (KB)]. Differences in the H 2 /O 2 cell performance of the two catalysts are shown to be consistent with differences in the electrodes' proton resistivity and the area of the Pt catalysts available for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at a similar area specific activity. For the same ionomer-to-carbon weight ratio (I/C) and relative humidity (RH), the electrode with KB-supported catalyst exhibits higher proton resistivity than the one with Vulcan-supported catalyst. The cumulative surface area and cumulative volume distributions of the two catalysts were obtained from N 2 BET measurements. It is concluded that the difference in surface area and pore volume for these two catalysts comes from pores smaller than 4 nm. The extent of ionomer captured within these small pores is substantial for Pt/KB and minor for Pt/V. It is shown that the ionomer captured within these small pores of the primary carbon particles does not contribute to the proton conductivity across the electrode. If the total electrode I/C-ratio is corrected for the amount of ionomer captured within the primary carbon particles, the dependence of the proton resistivity of Pt/KB and Pt/V on the effective I/C-ratio becomes identical. Since Pt/KB contains more pores smaller than 4 nm, higher total I/C-ratio is needed for Pt/KB to achieve the same proton resistivity as Pt/V based electrodes. Pt particles are more uniformly dispersed on higher surface-area carbon supports, resulting in a higher Pt area available to ORR. The selection of the proper carbon support depends on the porosity and its effect on cathode proton conduction, ORR kinetics and electrode durability.


The effects of sunlight in the production of melanomata of the skin is not mentioned. In the rather complete list of skin manifestations accompanying Internal. cancer, exfoliative dermatitis in association with it does not find a place. Though this has been reported in the Australian dermatological literature quite recently, most authorities do not now use arsenicals in the treatment of syphilis, being quite satisfied to rely upon antibiotics for extermination of this disease. One other criticism in therapy that could be made is the omission of smallpox vaccination repeated at two-monthly intervals in the treatment of herpes simplex recurrens, which has been found quite an effective means of treatment.


Summary. A technique for quantitating mononuclear cells expressing E, EA(IgG), EAC receptors, immunoglobulin carrying cells and phagocytic cells in normal human venous blood is described; normal values for each of these classes of mononuclear cell are established. The effects of different methods of cell preparation have been considered: these were found not to have a significant effect on the final values. In addition, we describe a second category of 'fluorescent non‐capping' cells and show that these are numerically equivalent to cells which ingest neutral red.


Background: Best dose distribution in target volume and control of Organ at Risk (OAR) dose are the two main goals in brachytherapy. Materials and Methods: In this study in vivo dosimetry in 4 rectal points was performed by Transillumination Dosimeter (TLD) s and the measured doses were compared in different patients. One point was reported to have the maximum dose in each patient and the very dose was considered as rectal dose according to ICRU-38 prescription; however, the next higher dose was also considered the same as the highest point when the difference was not more than 10% of the highest value. Results: In more than 50% of the cases the 1st and 2 nd highest points were in the same range with less than 10% variation. There were 3 points in approximately equal dose in 7% of cases. Conclusion: These findings are challenging with the ICRU-38 recommendations reporting the existence of a sole maximum rectal dose. So it seems wise to consider an isodose plate of maximum doses instead of one point only. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2009; 6 (4): 189194


Long-term transition pathways to a low-carbon energy system are analysed by applying the energy system model REMod. All in all, the paper contributes to the current research through an innovative scenario approach, using assumptions for societal trends and quantitative results for scenarios, analysing the paths towards climate neutrality and defossilization in 2050. In the case study of Germany, these trends and drivers influence the results and the technology composition in each consumption sector (buildings, transport, and industry). Across all scenarios, it can be observed that the electrification of all sectors is important for the defossilization of the energy system, as the direct use of electricity from renewable energy is more efficient than the consumption of carbon-neutral synthetic energy carriers. However, different consumer behavior (e.g., non-acceptance or resistance against specific technologies) influences not only the efficient use of (green) electricity, it also changes the optimal pathways of the transition to paths with greater efforts. One potential societal trend—sufficiency—could be an important cornerstone for reaching the targets, as the required expansion and exchange of technologies are lower and thus facilitate the transition.


Abstract:This essay argues that Dawoud Bey's photograph series Night Coming Tenderly, Black (2017) inventively engages the mechanics and metaphors that shape the medium of photography and its material and social history. The work is about the Underground Railroad, and Bey's dark prints are especially appropriate to his subject, bearing witness to the relative obscurity of the Underground Railroad and intervening in the compulsory exposures of slavery. Night Coming Tenderly, Black draws into view the darkness without which photography cannot exist in the analog forms Bey prefers, and refuses one of the central mythos about photography, namely, that it is "light writing." Situating Bey's work in the African American social, historical, and photographic contexts that his installation at the Art Institute of Chicago invited, the essay explores the photographic evidence of the Underground Railroad that does exist, and the ways in which fugitives negotiated their relationship to property and self, and property in self, through the photograph. Finally, the essay considers Bey's work in relation to the "general strike" of enslaved African Americans that W. E. B. Du Bois argues won the US Civil War. In this context, Bey's dark images of the Underground Railroad might be said to perform a "general strike" against the conditions through which Black subjects have come into photographic visibility.


Summary Quick-clays in Nordic countries seriously affect building settlements safely, especially essential infrastructure. The detection of safe building ground for top priority infrastructure buildings is therefore essential in areas prone to quick-clay liquefaction. In 2015 the administration of the central hospital of Tonsberg (Sykehuset I Vestfold, SIV), Norway, intended expansion towards an area prone to quick-clay. Former drilling investigation indicated a dubious bedrock topography below soil, with clay, silt, and anthropogenic infills estimated up to 25 m thickness. A dense drilling grid would be required to analyze the depth to bedrock for pile foundation, but could not be realized due to the building density and the installations at and below the surface. Since Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) failed in the area due to high soil conductivity and seismic refraction did not provide the resolution required, high-resolution shear wave reflection seismic was suggested combined with a focused geotechnical drilling campaign, to expand the drilling results in the area. This unique experiment was realized in June 2016 and led to a comprehensive interpretation of the bedrock topography and the soil thickness above. It strongly improved the planning process regarding the foundation construction and reduce the financial risk compared to conventional foundation construction.


ABSTRACT Uncontrolled diabetes and/or hyperglycemia is associated with severe COVID-19 disease and increased mortality. It is now known that poor glucose control before hospital admission can be associated with a high risk of in-hospital death. By achieving and maintaining glycemic control, primary care physicians (PCPs) play a critical role in limiting this potentially devastating outcome. Further, despite the hope that mass vaccination will help control the pandemic, genetic variants of the virus are causing surges in some countries. As such, PCPs will treat an increasing number of patients with diabetes who have symptoms of post–COVID-19 infection, or even have new-onset type 2 diabetes as a result of COVID-19 infection. However, much of the literature published focuses on the effects of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, with few publications providing information and advice to those caring for people with diabetes in the primary care setting. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge of the risk and outcomes of individuals with diabetes who are infected with COVID-19 and provides information for PCPs on the importance of glucose control, appropriate treatment, and use of telemedicine and online prescription delivery systems to limit the potentially devastating effects of COVID-19 in people with hyperglycemia.


Goal To compare hepatic lipid peroxidation and cytochrome P-450 2E1 (CYP2E1) protein content in liver biopsies from children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and 2 control groups. Background Elevated hepatic lipid peroxidation resulting from increased hepatic CYP2E1 enzyme activity is involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in adults, but studies in children are lacking. Study Liver biopsies from 59 children with NAFLD (49 with NASH), 10 children with normal liver histology, and 9 children with mild chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection were examined. Hepatic malondialdehyde (a measure of lipid peroxidation) levels and CYP2E1 protein content were quantitated, as a percentage of the total area, by immunohistochemical staining of liver biopsy material followed by digital image quantitation. Results Lipid peroxidation was significantly greater in NAFLD liver biopsies (46.7±20.8%) compared with biopsies from children with normal liver histology (7.6±9.4%; P<0.001) or HCV infection (7.7±7.6%; P<0.001). However, hepatic CYP2E1 expression was not different across the NAFLD, normal liver histology, and HCV groups (60.7±8.7%, 53.5±10.7%, and 60.0±11.9%, respectively; P=0.116). Among children with NAFLD, lipid peroxidation and CYP2E1 protein content did not differ between biopsies with and without NASH. Body mass index was independently associated with hepatic lipid peroxidation levels (r=0.549; P<0.001). Conclusions Hepatic lipid peroxidation is increased in children with NAFLD but this is not related to hepatic CYP2E1 expression. No difference in lipid peroxidation in pediatric NAFLD versus NASH argues against a role in disease progression.


In Italy, globe artichoke production is prevailingly concentrated in the South and islands, where it provides an important contribution to the agricultural economy. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in this crop as a promising source of polyphenols, a heterogeneous class of secondary metabolites characterized by various healthy properties well-documented in literature. The phenolic fraction, present in the different artichoke plant parts, varies widely in relation to biotic and abiotic factors. Therefore, the present study aimed at evaluating the variation of phenolic content in globe artichoke in relation to biological, technical and environmental factors. Two field-experiments were carried out in Sicily (South Italy) in two representative cultivation areas, in order to examine the effects of genotype, head fraction, season conditions, planting density and arrangement on the globe artichoke phenolic concentration. Both the total polyphenols and the individual phenolic compounds detected were notably genotype- dependent. Particularly, the high level of caffeoylquinic acids (chlorogenic acid, among others) and apigenin 7- O-glucuronide, reported respectively by "Violetto di Sicilia" and "Romanesco clone C3", could be used to encourage globe artichoke fresh consumption. Total polyphenols content also resulted more abundant in specific accumulation sites within the inflorescence, such as the floral stem and receptacle, and for most of genotypes it decreased during the second year in response to the different meteorological conditions. Additionally, total polyphenols content significantly and linearly increased as plant density increased from 1.0 to 1.8 plant m-2 and it significantly increased by 13% passing from single to twin rows plant arrangement.


Monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been applied for radioimmunoscintigraphy of breast cancer (1) and are within the important categories of molecules used in targeted therapy of cancers (2). An ideal antibody for radioimmunoscintigraphy should target an antigen that is tumorspecific, generously expressed on all the cancer cells and is not shed into the blood circulation (3). MUC1 is high molecular weight glycoprotein as an antigen that is expressed on the apical membrane of the epithelial cells in the ducts and acini of the breast tissue (4,5). Cancerous MUC1 is structurally different from normal MUC1, exposing novel regions of the protein core (6). MUC1 expression causes anchorage independent growth and tumor formation, and is a useful marker for the prognosis of the patients with carcinoma (7,8). This antigen is aberrantly overexpressed in 80% of the breast cancers and is an attractive target for radioimmunotherapy and radioimmunoscintigraphy. Recently several anti-MUC1 mAbs against the human breast carcinoma has been reported for Abstract PR81 is a monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to MUC1 that over expressed on breast tumors. PR81 is considered a suitable targeting molecule that was radiolabeled using Cu-64 for positron imaging studies. The monoclonal antibody was conjugated with DOTA moiety and after purification was evaluated for radiochemical purity, immunoreactivity, cell toxicity and structure integrity as well as biodistribution study in normal rats. The radiolabeled antibody prepared with acceptable radiochemical purity (> 93.2 ± 0.6 %, ITLC; specific activity; 4.6 μCi/μg), protein structure integration, significant cytotoxicity and significant immunoreactivity retention was assessed by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Animal biodistribution of the 64 Cu-DOTA-PR81 was consistent with other radiolabeled antibodies. The results showed that 64 Cu-DOTA-PR81 may be considered for tumor imaging for ultimate diagnosis and follow-up of MUC1 expression in oncology.


OBJECTIVE
Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a heterogeneous group of genetic disorders characterized by developmental abnormalities of tooth enamel. The AI is also seen as part of multi-organ abnormalities, e.g. with cone-rod dystrophy, hypothalamo-hypophyseal insufficiency and renal failure. The present patient with AI and nephrocalcinosis exhibited a phenotype different from previous cases with renal failure. To highlight the characteristics of this rare case, extensive analysis that included histological, biochemical and genetic examinations was performed.

PATIENT
The present Japanese male patient exhibited dentition with AI and bilateral cleft lip and palate. Ground sections of his extracted tooth showed that it was hypomaturation-type AI, unlike previous cases with nephrocalcinosis were hypoplastic-type. He showed nephrocalcinosis and hematuria at 15 years of age but these symptoms appeared to be secondary to polycystic kidney disease. He showed skeletal Class II pattern with a retrognathic profile and retroclined incisors of both arches. A dolicofacial appearance was seen with an enlarged gonial angle. Biochemical makers including serum alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, calcium, and phosphate, were all in the normal range. Sequence analysis of the genes encoding amelogenin and enamelin, which are known to be responsible for hypoplastic-type AI, did not reveal any mutations. Since mouse null mutant of homeobox transcription factor, Msx2, exhibits a phenotype resembling AI, the human homolog of this gene, MSX2, was sequenced. There was a missense mutation of T447C that resulted in the conversion of methionine to threonine at 129.


The classical algorithm for testing unique decipherability of codes is improved by using McCreight's algorithm for constructing suffix trees. The complexity of the algorithm is O(nm) where n is the number of codewords and m is their total length. Efficiency is gained by avoiding repeatedly comparing subwords of the codewords.


There is growing evidence that digital peer-support networks can have a positive influence on behaviour change and wellbeing outcomes for people who harm themselves and others. However, making and sustaining such networks are subject to ethical and pragmatic challenges, particularly for perpetrators of domestic violence whom pose unique risks when brought together. In this work we report on a ten-month study where we worked with six support workers and eighteen perpetrators in the design and deployment of Fragments of the Past; a socio-material system that connects audio messages with tangible artefacts. We share how crafting digitally-augmented artefacts - 'fragments' - of experiences of desisting from violence can translate messages for motivation and rapport between peers, without subjecting the process to risks inherent with direct inter-personal communication. These insights provide the basis for practical considerations for future network design with challenging populations.


Does culture play a role in successful revolutionary collective action? In rational choice theory revolutionary movements are paradoxical because each potential revolutionary faces a "participation problem", and a "first mover or leadership problem." In previous rational choice models, revolutions succeed where participants deliberately designed institutions that increased individuals' incentive to participate. This paper extends the framework of the existing rational choice models to account for the role of culture in each participant's cost-benefit calculation of revolutionary participation. I explore the case of The Singing Revolution in late 1980's Soviet Estonia, and find that ethnic Estonians used ostracism, and their ancient cultural traditions and beliefs to overcome the two collective action problems when they successfully organized mass singing protests against the Soviet regime in the summer of 1988.


Plessy v. Ferguson. Buck v. Bell. Korematsu v. United States. Together, these three decisions legitimated 'separate but equal,' sanctioned the forced sterilization of thousands, and ratified the removal of Japanese Americans from their homes during World War II. By Erwin Chemerinsky's measure in The Case Against the Supreme Court, all three are Supreme Court failures — cases in which the Court should have protected vulnerable minorities, but failed to do so. Considered in historical context, however, a dramatically different impression of these cases, and the Supreme Court that decided them, emerges. In two of the cases — Plessy and Buck — the Court's ruling reflected the progressive view at the time, and in the third — Korematsu — the extralegal context of the case was strong enough to draw the support of Justices Black and Douglas, two of the Court's most staunch civil liberties defenders. Plessy, Buck, and Korematsu are potent reminders of how historical context can constrain the Supreme Court's proclivity to protect, limiting what the Court can realistically do. But this is not to say that an overinflated view of the Court's protective capacity is all bad. However historically inaccurate, the Supreme Court's image as a countermajoritarian hero also has a curious upside, setting in motion forces that can, over time, enable and inspire the Court's protection. In the end, our expectations of the Supreme Court as a countermajoritarian savior both give rise to a rhetoric of failure and pave the way for future protection. What is vastly underappreciated is the connection between the two — how within the rhetoric of failure lies a larger, and largely untold, story of Supreme Court success.


Abstract. In the analysis and visualization of spatial information, quite often a data classification is applied. The choice of different methods, together with the choice of a different number of classes, the consideration of open classes and the treatment of outliers, can produce very different results. Hence, it is desirable to quantify the uncertainties that inevitably arise in this process. So far, almost only non-spatial properties have been considered. In addition to an extension of this set of statistical measures, this article also aims to define those which are concerned with the preservation of spatial patterns (e.g., local extreme values) as well as with visual perception. An empirical study will investigate the behavior of all these measures, for example depending on the classification method used or the number of classes. Also, correlations between the uncertainty measures and between the measures and statistical properties of the input data are examined. Finally, is will be shown that the uncertainty measures can not only be used individually or combined for pure evaluation purposes, but also for a-posteriori improvement of classification methods.


Progesterone, an agonist for the progesterone receptor (PR), can be an efficacious and well tolerated oral treatment for subsets of women with endometrial cancer. Clinically, progesterone is under-utilized as reliable predictors of response are not available. Although progesterone has been used for decades in treatment of endometrial neoplasia, its mechanism and site of action remain unknown. Our study aims to determine how and through which tumor cell types does progesterone exert its anti-tumor effects. To address these questions we first established an in vivo endometrial cancer model based on the two most common genetic mutations seen in human endometrial carcinoma: cell autonomous loss of PTEN with or without activation of Kras. Importantly in this model we can genetically manipulate the tumor epithelium and stroma independently. Mouse endometrial tumors generated in this system closely resemble human disease. The progesterone hormone with or with out estrogen was administered to tumor bearing mice. When both hormones were co-administered to mice bearing PTEN null endometrial tumors complete resolution of the cancer was achieved. Abundant expression of PR was detected in the tumor stroma throughout this therapeutic time-course. When progesterone was administered without estrogen, PTEN-null tumors persisted and stromal expression of PR diminished. Conditional stromal-specific deletion of PR in PTEN-null tumors was sufficient to convert these hormone sensitive cancers to a progesterone resistant tumor despite estrogen and progesterone co-administration. These results suggest that stromal expression of PR is necessary for anti-tumor effects of progesterone and dual hormone administration is critical for achieving a therapeutic response. Cell-autonomous activation of K-ras is commonly detected in the context of PTEN loss and this genetic combination in our model resulted in a hormone refractory endometrial cancer. A significant reduction in stromal PR expression was found in the PTEN-null/Kras hormone refractory tumors compared to PTEN-null sensitive cancers. Loss of stromal PR in all cases was coupled with diminished phosphorylation of estrogen receptor α at serine 118. We demonstrate that anti-tumor effects of progesterone are exerted through stromal PR signaling. The loss of PR expression in the tumor microenvironment confers progesterone resistance; therefore pharmacologic restoration of stromal PR should be investigated as a therapeutic intervention in hormone refractory tumors. Regulation of PR in the tumor stroma may be modulated by estrogen signaling. Defining mechanisms of resistance and sensitivity to hormonal therapy will facilitate individualization and wider application of hormonal therapy in patients suffering from endometrial cancer. Citation Format: Deanna M. Janzen, Miguel A. Rosales, Daniel Y. Paik, Daniel A. Smith, Donghui Cheng, Owen N. Witte, Luisa Iruela-Arispe, Sanaz Memarzadeh. Signaling through the progesterone receptor in the tumor microenvironment regulates hormonal sensitivity in endometrial carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4964. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4964


SimRank is a popular link-based similarity measure on graphs. It enables a variety of applications with different modes of querying (e.g., single-pair, single-source and all-pair modes). In this paper, we propose UISim, a unified and incremental framework for all SimRank modes based on a scheduled approximation principle. UISim processes queries with incremental and prioritized exploration of the entire computation space, and thus allows flexible tradeoff of time and accuracy. On the other hand, it creates and shares common "building blocks" for online computation without relying on indexes, and thus is efficient to handle both static and dynamic graphs. Our experiments on various real-world graphs show that to achieve the same accuracy, UISim runs faster than its respective state-of-the-art baselines, and scales well on larger graphs.


Research on the intersection of the areas
of aviation and management information systems is sparse. Just as within other
economic sectors, members of the aviation sector must incorporate new and
existing technologies as they grow to maintain their competitive edge whether
in aircraft systems, airports or other aerospace and aviation related
industries. A proper classification is a prerequisite to systems alignment.
This paper reviews landside airport information management systems, and their
connections and interoperability with other systems and who the key airport
users are. The information presented in this paper is based on interviews and
data collection at a number of representative airports across the United
States. Airport size and function are key considerations in the acquisition of
information management system airside or land side. The implication is that
not all airports are equipped in the same manner and therefore these systems
can only be considered as representative of what exists "on the ground". This
paper represents a point of departure or a reference for those researchers
interested in a more indepth study of airport information systems on the
landside.


In breast cancer, an uncontrolled cell proliferation leads to tumor formation and development of a multifactorial disease. Metastasis is a complex process that involves tumor spread to distant parts of the body from its original site. Metastatic dissemination represents the main physiopathology of cancer. Inter- and intracellular communication in all systems in vertebrates is mediated by cytokines, which are highly inducible, secretory proteins, produced not only by immune system cells, but also by endocrine and nervous system cells. It has become clear in recent years that cytokines, as well as their receptors are produced in the organisms under physiological and pathological conditions; recently, they have been closely related to breast cancer metastasis. The exact initiation process of breast cancer metastasis is unknown, although several hypotheses have emerged. In this study, we thoroughly reviewed the role of several cytokines in breast cancer metastasis. Data reviewed suggest that cytokines and growth factors are key players in the breast cancer metastasis induction. This knowledge must be considered with the aim to development of new therapeutic approaches to counter breast cancer metastasis.


I. A LOOK BACK AT MIRANDAA decade after the Supreme Court decided Miranda v. Arizona,1 Geoffrey Stone took a close look at the eleven decisions the Court had handed down "concerning the scope and application of Miranda."2 As Stone observed, "[i]n ten of these cases, the Court interpreted Miranda so as not to exclude the challenged evidence."3 In the eleventh case, the Court excluded the evidence on other grounds.4 Thus, Stone noted, ten years after the Court decided the case, "the Court ha[d] not held a single item of evidence inadmissible on the authority of Miranda."5 Not a single item. To use baseball terminology, in Miranda's first eleven "at bats," it went zero for eleven.For those of us who welcomed Miranda, this turned out to be deeply disappointing. But it would not have come as much of a surprise to those who remember the four Justices President Nixon appointed to the Supreme Court during his first term of office: Chief Justice Burger, Justice Blackmun, Justice Powell, and Justice Rehnquist.6Before being appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, then-Judge Burger of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit leftno doubt, both in his dissenting opinions7 and in public speeches,8 that he was extremely unhappy with the Warren Court's criminal procedure cases.9Chief Justice Burger may have been the most police-friendly Supreme Court Justice of all time-only with the possible exception of another Nixon appointee, William Rehnquist.10 In fact, shortly after Rehnquist became Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, he urged the President to appoint a commission to consider whether such cases as Miranda needed to be corrected by a constitutional amendment.11As for Justice Blackmun and Justice Powell, neither one's appointment to the Court should have come as much of a surprise either. Chief Justice Burger had recommended then-Judge Blackmun, a close friend since their childhood days, to President Nixon for a nomination to the Court.12 It was widely assumed that Justice Blackmun would follow the new Chief Justice's lead.13 As for Justice Powell, when the National Crime Commission issued its report in 1967, the future Justice turned out to be one of seven members of the Commission to sign a supplemental statement underscoring the need to return to the pre-Miranda "voluntariness" test14-even "[i]f, as now appears likely, a constitutional amendment is required."15In retrospect, I think it is fair to say that Miranda never recovered from Nixon's four Supreme Court appointments.16II. THE THREE DISSENTS IN MIRANDAReturning to the case itself, four Justices wrote three separate dissenting opinions in Miranda.17 In one way or another, each dissent assumed that Miranda would be a criminal justice disaster-that very few suspects, if any, would waive their rights.Justice Clark was the most senior Justice to dissent in Miranda, but he spoke only for himself. Justice Clark maintained that there was "no significant support" for the view that "the Fifth Amendment privilege, in effect, forbids custodial interrogation."18 This is an odd statement about Miranda-the majority never said anything like that-and it is unsupported by any plausible interpretation of the case. Rather, the majority in Miranda took some time spelling out what is, and what is not, "custodial interrogation."19 Shortly after Miranda was decided, it remained to be seen what impact it would have on custodial interrogation. But Miranda did permit some still-to-be-determined interrogation to take place.20Justice Harlan, joined by Justices Stewart and White, wrote a long dissent.21 At one point, Harlan claimed (without any explanation) that "to suggest or provide counsel for the suspect simply invites the end of the interrogation."22 It is not at all clear what Justice Harlan meant.23But, before getting to the final dissent, another word about the police and the right to a lawyer. …


Since 12 October 1979, Typhoon Tip has officially remained the tropical cyclone associated with the lowest atmospheric pressure measured at sea level: 870hPa. The average winds over 1min were estimated at 165kn. On 7 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan was the first cyclone to have been estimated at 170kn from satellite imagery. In the absence of aircraft reconnaissance, the minimum pressure has been estimated at 895hPa using the wind–pressure relationship. Using data observed at Guiuan meteorological station in the Philippines, we have estimated the minimum surface pressure in the eye of Haiyan. On the basis of the last pressure measurement of 910hPa at Guiuan, which was located at the outer edge of the eyewall, we estimated the pressure gradient for the 11km of the eyewall. This estimation was made using a comparison with the pressure gradient of the eyewall of two of the most intense tropical cyclones for which the pressures were precisely measured by aerial reconnaissance. During these airborne missions, Hurricane Patricia (23 October 2015), which formed in the eastern North Pacific, had a pressure of 879hPa, and Typhoon Megi (17 October 2010), which formed in the western North Pacific, had a pressure of 890hPa. At the time of the aircraft reconnaissance, the sustained winds of 180kn for Patricia (6h before the maximum wind of 185kn) and 160kn for Megi were comparable to the 170kn of Haiyan. Based on the pressure gradient calculated inside the eyewall of Patricia and Megi, we distinguished three scenarios for Haiyan. Each of them gives a minimum pressure at sea level below the 870hPa of Typhoon Tip, which was the world record holder.


ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between descriptive representation, patrimonial voting, turnout, and voting patterns in small ethnic groups. It argues that the combination between patrimonial voting and descriptive representation marginalizes the importance of substantive representation, leading to a decline in turnout, but simultaneously to cliental loyalty networks among voters that shape voting preferences. It utilizes the case of the Druze in Israel and analyzes their voting patterns in order to establish the argument that the mechanism that leads to party preferences among minority voters, namely, clientalistic accountability, is the same mechanism that renders descriptive over-representation devoid of substantive impact on state policies directed towards the minority. Our aim is to enrich the literature on the affinity between minority descriptive representation, patrimonial voting, clientalist accountability, and political efficacy. We demonstrate that Druze candidates in Zionist parties, especially those close to decision-making circles by being part of the governmental coalition, establish a broad network of supporters based on family ties, personally benefiting voters by integrating them or their relatives into high-income jobs, making their cliental preferences rational. This creates the gap between mere descriptive representation of minority groups and the substantial representation of their communal interests in "patronage democracy."


Nontraumatic intracranial dissecting aneurysms have rarely been reported as the cause of acute infantile and childhood hemiplegia. The present case is unique because dissecting aneurysms occurred bilaterally in two clinically distinct episodes. A recent dissecting aneurysm of the right intracranial internal carotid artery was present with a healed dissecting aneurysm of left internal carotid artery in an 8-year-old boy.


Biblical Hebrew (BH) has traditionally been taught using the so-called "grammar-translation" method. This method, however, has been shown to be ineffective in bringing most students to spoken or reading fluency. Communicative language teaching (CLT) has been the dominant teaching method of modern languages since the 1980s. In modern language teaching, spoken fluency is the primary goal of the language teaching. The goal of most students studying BH, however, is not spoken fluency, but reading with comprehension. The thesis of this article is threefold: 1) that CLT can be used to help students reach their goal of reading with comprehension, 2) that it can be implemented with success in a first-year classroom, and 3) that students find it more effective and enjoyable than the grammar-translation method. After a brief overview of the history of language teaching, the first part of the body of the article substantiates the claim that CLT is effective in helping students read with comprehension and not just speaking fluently. The second part shows how CLT can be implemented in a first-year classroom. The various techniques that we use in our curriculum are described in some theoretical detail, after which their application in the curriculum is described. Finally, we consider some feedback that we have received from students.


Objective: To investigate the possibility of utilizing the ratio of the methadone metabolite, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), to urine creatinine to develop a regression model that would predict drug adherence in patients prescribed methadone for either pain management or drug addiction. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Marshfield Clinic-Lakeland Center, one of 41 regional centers that make up Marshfield Clinic, a large, private, multi-specialty healthcare institution in central Wisconsin. Participants: Patients receiving methadone treatment for substance abuse or chronic pain. Group 1 was an initial pilot group consisting of 7 patients who were followed for a 4-month period. Group 2 consisted of 33 patients who were followed over a 28-month period. Methods: Age, gender, weight, height, methadone dosage, quantitative urine creatinine and EDDP levels, reported compliance/non-compliance, and relevant clinical cofactors were retrospectively abstracted from the patients' medical records. Log-log regression analyses were used to model EDDP and the EDDP/creatinine ratio from urine screening results as functions of methadone dose, and in the larger cohort (group 2), body size, gender and age. The coefficient of determination adjusted for the number of predictor terms (Radj2) was reported as a measure of model fit. Results: For group 1 data, there was a significant positive relation (P<0.001) but also substantial variability (Radj2 = 0.49). Adjustment for creatinine through the EDDP/creatinine ratio provided a tighter relation (Radj2 = 0.95). Similarly, for group 2 data, there was a significant positive relation (P=0.001) and substantial variability (Radj2 = 0.53). Adjustment for creatinine through EDDP/creatinine ratios provided a substantially stronger relation (Radj2 = 0.73). Gender and age showed no evidence of association with the EDDP/creatinine ratio (P=0.60 and P=0.51, respectively). Body size was significant in the model, both when measured by body surface area and by lean body weight, and improved the prediction when added to our model (Radj2 = 0.80). Conclusion: For the first time, urine analyses may be used to monitor methadone over- or under-use in a clinical setting, regardless of the state of patient hydration or the manipulation of a sample by addition of another substance, such as bleach, soap, or even methadone, which could render an appropriate sample inappropriate or an inappropriate sample appropriate. A similar approach may prove useful for other drug treatments, allowing for more accurate monitoring of commonly abused prescription medications.


Objectives: Food safety has become one of the major public-concerning issues in Korea. In order to set guidelines to create manuals for the response to a food safety crisis by food industry, this paper classified food safety crises and suggested techniques to determine crisis level. Methods: This study clarified common terminologies and definitions including in food safety crises. It reviewed various food safety crises and described characteristics, types, and states of crises. Results: The results of this study suggested that a food safety crisis implied a situation in which hazards/risk spreading in the food supply chain was widely described, causing strong public concern followed by a socioeconomic impact, and therefore, requiring the implementation of a prompt and full response regarding the situation. In terms of seeking response plans, food safety crises might be classified according to the penalties resulting from violations of laws and regulations, causative substances, stages of the food supply chain, and first contact point for incidents. The crisis level for a food safety crisis could be classified according to its severity parameters. The guideline matrix was divided into four major stages: Blue/guarded, Yellow/elevated, Orange/high, and Red/severe. This study also suggested several methods for determining the crisis level, such as the simple judgement method, scoring methods using a check-list and a weighted check-list. Conclusion: The severity of related parameters might be of great importance in understanding a crisis and determining response options/challenges for crisis levels.


Why are we so concerned with belonging? In what ways does our belonging constitute our identity? Is belonging a universal concept or a culturally dependent value? How does belonging situate and motivate us? Joseph E. David grapples with these questions through a genealogical analysis of ideas and concepts of belonging. His book transports readers to crucial historical moments in which perceptions of belonging have been formed, transformed, or dismantled. The cases presented here focus on the pivotal role played by belonging in kinship, law, and political order, stretching across cultural and religious contexts from eleventh-century Mediterranean religious legal debates to twentieth-century statist liberalism in Western societies. With his thorough inquiry into diverse discourses of belonging, David pushes past the politics of belonging and forces us to acknowledge just how wide-ranging and fluid notions of belonging can be.


We propose a strategic approach to generate synthetic data in order to improve machine learning algorithms such as Deep Neural Networks (DNN). Utilization of synthetic data has shown promising results yet there are no specific rules or recipes on how to generate and cook synthetic data. We propose imitation training as a guideline of synthetic data generation to add more underrepresented entities and balance the data distribution for DNN to handle corner cases and resolve long tail problems. The proposed imitation training has a circular process with three main steps: First, the existing system is evaluated and failure cases such as false positive and false negative detections are sorted out; Secondly, synthetic data imitating such failure cases is created with domain randomization; Thirdly, we train a net-work with the existing data and the newly added synthetic data; We repeat these three steps until the evaluation metric converges. We validated the approach by experimenting on object detection in autonomous driving.


Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is an emotional disorder that has a negative effect on patients' studies and daily lives. A great number of studies have found that miRNAs play an important role in the development of MDD and that they can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of MDD. However, there have been few investigations on nerve-immunity interaction therapy for MMD patients' brains.Methods: We attempted to evaluate MDD in the gene expression matrix database and miRNAs in plasma samples from healthy controls using bioinformatics methods. Four plasma miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) samples were found from MDD patients. Funrich planned the transcription factors and target genes of miRNAs, and the enrichment of TF and GO was examined. The intersecting mRNAs were discovered by comparing the various expressions of the projected target genes and 5 mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) samples. In the end, 34 DE-miRNAs, 386 DE-mRNAs, and 17 intersecting mRNAs were detected. Intersecting core genes were then investigated using GO and KEGG enrichment analysis to find the intersecting mRNA. Identify particular candidate genes and pathways in neurology and immunology that may be associated with MDD for further investigation.Results: We discovered 17 important HUB genes by the advance of a miRNA-mRNA network, and 5 HUB DE-MRNAs were derived following CytoNCA topology.Conclusion: Our findings from a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of miRNAs and mRNAs in MDD show that DE-miRNAs like miR-338-3P and miR-206 may be excellent biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of MDD via nerve-immunity interaction.


Produced within Defra project FD1905 (EstProc).
Calculations and numerical modelling of the erosion, transport and deposition of sediments in estuaries and coastal areas rely heavily on expressions that contain the bed shear-stress, representing the friction exerted by the flowing water on the bed. In general the bed shear-stress is generated by the combined effects of waves and currents, whose turbulent boundary layers interact non-linearly. The flow is usually considered to be hydrodynamically rough turbulent for sand and gravel beds, and hydrodynamically smooth turbulent for freshly-deposited mud beds. Most existing theories and models for the wave-current-interaction have considered only the rough bed case, and they have generally been too complicated and computer-intensive to be usable in whole-estuary (or coastal) models.
This report produced within Defra project FD1905 (Est Proc) describes the development and testing of a new method of calculating the mean, maximum and root-mean-square bed shear-stresses due to combined waves and currents. The method caters for rough turbulent and smooth turbulent (and also laminar) flows, with the greatest emphasis on the less well-researched smooth turbulent case. Tests of the new method against published data for smooth flows gave better agreement than existing methods. The new method is also simpler, being expressed as explicit algebraic equations that are computationally fast. A detailed algorithm giving the "recipe" to implement the method is given in an appendix.


Outcome studies of revision surgical treatment for recurrent or persistent neuropathy of the ulnar nerve at the elbow are relatively rare and none involves patient self-assessment. In this study of 40 patients (41 elbows), a clear discrepancy is shown between clinical assessment and the patient's own view. From clinical assessment, 20% of patients had an excellent result, whereas only one (2.5%) patient self-reported a complete cure. More reports using patient self-assessment and validated scores are required.


Employee empowerment is considered as an important human resource management practice because of its assumed relationship with job satisfaction. This research paper reviews the literature related to the relationship between employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Various definitions, approaches and dimensions of employee empowerment and job satisfaction are considered for the period 2000 –2015. Studies pertaining to individual level, work unit level and organizational level have been included in order to examine the relationship between them. Literature shows positive relationship between employee empowerment and job satisfaction in different sectors like hospitality, BPO, banking, and educational sector. It can be concluded that employee empowerment is positively related to job tenure while negatively with the emotional exhaustion, while job satisfaction is negatively related with both job tenure and emotional exhaustion. The paper also vindicates that public sector employees are more satisfied with their jobs as compared to private sector employees. The study indicates that the factors, which contribute to Job satisfaction, are gender specific in nature. Finally it can be concluded that in order to provide job satisfaction to the employees, employee empowerment can be used as a powerful tool. This paper helps the practitioners and other researchers to enhance their knowledge about empowerment and its impact on job satisfaction.


This paper is concerned with the use of the sampled-data H∞ servo controller with generalized hold for the track-following control of hard disk drives (HDDs). Conventional input multi-rate control normally utilizes a fast zero order hold that is uniformly time-divided piecewise constant function. However, there is no need to assume such an uniformity in hold duration. Elimination of this assumption increases the design degree-of-freedom. In this paper, we propose to invoke the sampled-data H∞ servo control theory to have an optimal piecewise continuous hold function. The derived function is used as a basis of our proposed nonuniformly time-divided piecewise constant function, which is introduced to implement it on standard systems with digital-toanalogue conversion devices. We conducted a set of simulations as well as experiments, and confirmed that the proposed method can improve the control performance.


Pairs trading is considered as a profitable Wall Street strategy. We analyse the influence of K-Means clustering using EPS and book-value per share ratios on pairs trading returns in the formation period, before coupling pairs, while using 3 different ranking methodologies which include the one proposed by Gatev et al. (2006). We use data from the Russel 2000 index from January 2003 to the end of June 2013, on 3.711 stocks. We find that a strategy based on the orthogonal regression approach outputs an impressive 4.35% statistically significant average excess monthly return and a Sharpe ratio of 3.23 if the K-Means clustering is applied and 20 pairs are selected, which compares to the Gatev's strategy holding -0.54% without clustering for the same sample. We also find that the orthogonal regression method outputs on average 94 b.p. higher monthly excess returns than the average squared deviation methodology and that using the Pearson correlation coefficient for ranking pairs outputs permanently negative returns, independently of the clustering and number of pairs. Likewise, we find that the profitability of the pairs trading strategy is not dependent on the utilities sector.


Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely used in various vision tasks, e.g. image classification, semantic segmentation, etc. Unfortunately, standard 2D CNNs are not well suited for spherical signals such as panorama images or spherical projections, as the sphere is an unstructured grid. In this paper, we present Spherical Transformer which can transform spherical signals into vectors that can be directly processed by standard CNNs such that many well-designed CNNs architectures can be reused across tasks and datasets by pretraining. To this end, the proposed method first uses locally structured sampling methods such as HEALPix to construct a transformer grid by using the information of spherical points and its adjacent points, and then transforms the spherical signals to the vectors through the grid. By building the Spherical Transformer module, we can use multiple CNN architectures directly. We evaluate our approach on the tasks of spherical MNIST recognition, 3D object classification and omnidirectional image semantic segmentation. For 3D object classification, we further propose a rendering-based projection method to improve the performance and a rotational-equivariant model to improve the anti-rotation ability. Experimental results on three tasks show that our approach achieves superior performance over state-of-the-art methods.


Using data from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey of Employees, this article employs structural equation modelling in order to trace the effects of employee involvement and participation on the extent to which British workers trust reciprocally in management. The results point to a series of organizational benefits of participation, including increased job influence, a greater sense of job satisfaction and improved levels of commitment and trust in managers. However, increased job influence was paradoxically linked to lower levels of organizational commitment and trust. The findings generally confirm that employee voice is 'good' in principle for building trust, but that the effects of employee voice may work against trust development.


The cingulum, connecting the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe, involves in diverse cognition functions including attention, memory, and motivation. To investigate the relationship between the cingulum injury and cognitive impairment in patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury, we evaluated the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain using diffusion tensor tractography in 73 patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury (39 males, 34 females, age 43.29 ± 11.42 years) and 40 healthy controls (22 males, 18 females, age 40.11 ± 16.81 years). The patients were divided into three subgroups based on the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain on diffusion tensor tractography: subgroup A (n = 19 patients) – both sides of the anterior cingulum were intact; subgroup B (n = 36 patients) – either side of the anterior cingulum was intact; and subgroup C (18 patients) – both sides of the anterior cingulum were discontinued. There were significant differences in total Memory Assessment Scale score between subgroups A and B and between subgroups A and C. There were no significant differences in diffusion tensor tractography parameters (fractional anisotropy, apparent diffusion coefficient, and fiber volume) between patients and controls. These findings suggest that the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain, but not diffusion tensor tractography parameter, can be used to predict the cognitive function of patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury. This study was approved by Yeungnam University Hospital Institutional Review Board (approval No. YUMC-2014-01-425-010) on August 16, 2017.


In the operation of short-wave radiotelephone circuits selective fading is observed which is a result of the combination at the receiving antenna of waves which have arrived from the transmitter over paths of different lengths. The poor quality resulting from this fading may be mitigated by increasing the directivity of the receiving antenna in the vertical plane so as to favor the waves arriving at one angle to the exclusion of others. Friis and Feldman have described an experimental system designed to accomplish this end which they call a "musa" receiving system. This system was found under certain transmission conditions to give an improvement in the grade of circuit which could be obtained. A commercial installation of this type has now been constructed for use on the single-sideband circuits of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company from England. Two receivers have been provided for the operation of four radiotelephone circuits. The antenna system consists of a row of 16 rhombic antennas two miles long, each antenna connected by a separate transmission line to receivers located near the center of the row of antennas. In each receiver the signals from the antennas are combined in the proper phase to permit simultaneous reception from three adjustable vertical angles. The three signals are then added through delay-equalizing circuits or discretely selected on the basis of amplitude to obtain diversity reception.


Many polymers form disordered structures resembling tangled spaghetti, but recent advances in polymer synthesis have increasingly enabled researchers to control their molecular and supramolecular arrangements. In their Perspective,
 Bucknall and Anderson
 highlight some of these advances, focusing specifically on block copolymers (which consist of two or more linear polymers of different chemical composition joined end-to-end). Through controlling the polymer architecture, optical and other properties may also be manipulated, with many potential applications from solar cells to drug delivery.


Monte Carlo method was a new numerical method different from traditional method. It was based on probability and statistics theory, so it was also called as random sampling or statistical test method. In this paper, on the basis of Monte Carlo method, a new way to solve initial value problem of ordinary differential equations was presented. The authors have given the calculating process in detail. Some calculation samples, such as one-order ordinary differential equations, implicit second order differential equation and Vander Pol equation, showed the exactitude and efficiency of the method. And all the relative errors were less than 1%.


Microfluidic devices promise to automate wetlab procedures by manipulating small chemical or biological samples. We are developing a full-stack microfluidic automation platform that allows and allows users to scale up the complexity of microfluidic programming, encouraging them to mix fluidic manipulations with traditional programming. Puddle is a runtime system that provides a high-level API for microfluidic manipulations. It manages fluidic resources dynamically, allowing programmers to freely mix regular computation with microfluidics, resulting in more expressive programs. It also provides real-time error correction through a computer vision system, allowing robust execution on cheaper digital microfluidic hardware. We have been running Puddle on PurpleDrop, a new digital microfluidic device that is affordable and has novel features such as fully automated input/output of fluids. With this combination, we have demonstrated PCR with automated replenishment, a DNA sequencing preparation protocol, and the complete retrieval of digital data stored in dehydrated spots of DNA on the device's surface. Going forward, we see Puddle and PurpleDrop as part of a platform for further research. PurpleDrop is affordable and extensible, which makes a compelling case for adding new periferials or even scaling out by connecting multiple devices. And Puddle provides a flexible and abstract programming model that could enable microfluidic programs to run on different hardware targets (DMF or liquid handling robots), or even a combination thereof.


A method and apparatus for defining the location of a medical instrument relative to features of a medical work Space including a patient's body region are described. Pairs of two-dimensional images are obtained, preferably by means of two Video cameras making images of the work Space along different sightlines which interSect. A fiducial Structure is positioned in the WorkSpace for defining a three dimensional coordinate framework, and a calibration image pair is made. The calibration image pair comprises two 2D projections from different locations of the fiducial Structure. After the calibration image pair is made, the fiducial Struc ture is removed. A Standard projection algorithm is used to reconstruct the 3D framework of the fiducial structure from the calibration image pair. Appropriate image pairs can then be used to locate and track any other feature Such as a medical instrument, in the WorkSpace, So long as the cam eras remain fixed in their positions relative to the WorkSpace. The computations are desirably performed with a computer WorkStation including computer graphics capability, image processing capability, and providing a real-time display of the WorkSpace as imaged by the Video cameras. Also, the 3D framework of the workspace can be aligned with the 3D framework of any selected volume scan, such as MRI, CT, or PET, so that the instrument can be localized and guided to a chosen feature. No guidance arc or other apparatus need be affixed to the patient to accomplish the tracking and guiding operations.


High-molecular weight heparins promote the protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) inhibition of factors Xa (FXa) and XIa (FXIa) by a template mechanism. To map the heparin-binding site of ZPI, the role of basic residues of the D-helix (residues Lys-113, Lys-116, and Lys-125) in the interaction with heparin was evaluated by either substituting these residues with Ala (ZPI-3A) or replacing the D-helix with the corresponding loop of the non-heparin-binding serpin α(1)-proteinase inhibitor (ZPI-D-helix(α1-PI)). Furthermore, both the C-helix (contains two basic residues, Lys-104 and Arg-105) and the D-helix of ZPI were substituted with the corresponding loops of α(1)-proteinase inhibitor (ZPI-CD-helix(α1-PI)). All mutants exhibited near normal reactivity with FXa and FXIa in the absence of cofactors and in the presence of protein Z and membrane cofactors. By contrast, the mutants interacted with heparin with a lower affinity and the ~48-fold heparin-mediated enhancement in the rate of FXa inhibition by ZPI was reduced to ~30-fold for ZPI-3A, ~15-fold for ZPI-D-helix(α1-PI), and ~8-fold for ZPI-CD-helix(α1-PI). Consistent with a template mechanism for heparin cofactor action, ZPI-CD-helix(α1-PI) inhibition of a FXa mutant containing a mutation in the heparin-binding site (FXa-R240A) was minimally affected by heparin. A significant decrease (~2-5-fold) in the heparin template effect was also observed for the inhibition of FXIa by ZPI mutants. Interestingly, ZPI derivatives exhibited a markedly elevated stoichiometry of inhibition with FXIa in the absence of heparin. These results suggest that basic residues of both helices C and D of ZPI interact with heparin to modulate the inhibitory function of the serpin.


Automated answering of frequent email inquiries can be implemented as a text categorization task with narrow text categories, where all messages in 1 text category have the same answer. Such email categorization should be optimized for high precision and at least acceptable recall. One such high‐precision email categorization method is matching of surface text patterns to incoming email messages. In order to assess the upper performance limits of text‐pattern matching, we conducted extensive tests with almost 10,000 messages. Our results show that automated email answering with precision around 90% and recall 50–75% is feasible. In order to achieve this, however, the system must work with multiword expressions rather than stand‐alone words. Furthermore, we argue that the system has to distinguish the context of an email inquiry from the actual need that created the inquiry—a question, request, or complaint. We have discovered and analysed 12 reasons why text‐pattern matching may fail.


Summary Aqueous extract of rat aorta wall (NAE) induces gradual and sustained elevation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in rats made hypotensive by inhibitors of protein synthesis, actinomycin D and acetoxycycloheximide. The pressor response is obtained only from extracts of arterial and not other smooth or striated muscle tissue. NAE has no significant effect on normal or other hypotensive rats. It apparently replaces a specific deficiency of a vasoactive factor induced by these antimetabolites. This factor differs physiologically from other pressor agents by acting apparently on arterial tone rather than phasic contractility. Preliminary data suggest it may be a polypeptide.


Molecular data is increasingly used in the study of the origin of modern humans. Several molecular markers are available for study, however the most widely used is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In 1987 Rebecca Cann, Allan Wilson and Mark Stoneking published the seminal paper demonstrating the power of mtDNA as a tool for analyzing human origins. Since then, a large body of literature has been published disputing their findings. Most commonly cited points of disagreement concern sample size, sample sources, molecular markers and lack of adequate statistical tests. In this study, human mtDNA diversity is considered. A large sample of mtDNA sequences from the D-loop region of individuals from diverse origins will be selected from MitBase (a database available on the World Wide Web). It is the aim of this research to use this data to reanalyze Cann, Wilson and Stoneking's work. Through the use of a separate data set, the attempt will be made to generate similar conclusions as previous studies such as Cann, Wilson and Stoneking's.


A large research program in economics has established a persuasive link between institu tions and economic development. But what does this imply for development policymaking? Can a political leader or aid agency seeking to pro mote development readily change institutions? This article starts off wildly general, and then moves to specifics.


In Mumbai the sonic dimensions of place-making and religious life are deeply connected to the right to the city. For Twelver Shi'i Muslims, who are marginal to both the city and the nation, public religious rituals and processions have long played very important roles in staging claims to the city. Investigating the sonic aspects of urban place-making, including its religious dimensions, this essay draws on an analytic of atmospheres in order to capture the powerful emotive dimensions of place-making through sonic performances. Through its coupling with the feltbody, the sonic plays a privileged role in giving urban locales a specific feel as belonging to particular groups, investing this feel with an air of facticity that is largely immune to discursive critique. This article focuses on ritual performances and processions among Twelver Shi'i Muslims during the Islamic month of Muharram in order to analyze nondiscursive and atmospheric forms of citizenship.


IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in and IL10 pathways elicit functionally opposing cell fates, however, these two stimuli activate common transcription factors like STAT1 and STAT3 (S/1/3). How the two stimuli regulate the dynamics of S/1/3 activa tion remains less understood. Here, we experimentally measured the signaling dynamics of S/1/3 in response to IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in and IL10 and found that STAT3, in particular, exhibits a bell-shaped response to both stimuli with maximal activation in an intermediate dose. We built a mathematical model, which quantitatively captured the S/1/3 dynamics and by model analysis, we identified the primary regulators controlling the bell-shaped STAT3 responses in both pathways. As the STATs are activated in response to both stimuli, in a scenario when cells are subjected to co-stimulation of IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in and IL10, an interpathway competition to activate the common substrate is plausible. Additionally, a strong transcriptional induction of SOCS1 (a negative regulator of IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in pathway) was observed upon IL10 stimulation, suggesting that IL10 pathway can potentially inhibit the IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in pathway via SOCS1 induction. To quantitatively understand the S/1/3 responses to co-stimulation we next simulated the same which predicted STAT3 activation and SOCS1 induction dynamics would robustly remain IL10 driven. Subsequent experiments validated the model predictions. Further, the model analysis identified the primary regulators controlling the robustness of IL10-STAT3 axis in co-stimulation. Together, our data-driven model quantitatively captured the dynamics of the STATs in response to both pro (IFNγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and inγ) and anti (IL-10) inflammatory pathways and in) and anti (IL10)-inflammatory stimuli and identifies dis tinct regulatory elements controlling STAT3 signaling in individual and co-stimulation conditions.


The paper presents the results of a case study that was prepared as a basis for decision-making processes in the context of the impacts of global climate change. The article is focused on a very important part of the urban environment, namely urban forests. When taking planning measures in periurban forests, two realities must always be addressed, i.e., adaptation measures to mitigate the effects of climate change on the forest complex in question and its use to mitigate the effects of climate change in its surroundings must both be considered. It is a well-known fact that forest communities (of any kind) are on the one hand affected by the impacts of climate change, but on the other hand are able to mitigate its effects on their surroundings. The case study was of land near the town of Mladá Boleslav. The aim was to analyse the hydrological regime of the Štěpánka Forest Park, nicknamed "the lungs of Mladá Boleslav". Modelling of the runoff coefficient was made for the whole park area, as well as for the part on the left bank of the Klenice River (forested part). The runoff conditions of the site and their subparameters are addressed in the study by comparing the current state with the modelled state after deforestation of the site, e.g., due to drought. As far as the spatial layout of the forest is concerned, it is absolutely essential to maintain an integrated stand on the site with a lower stem cover (fewer individuals per plot) and a lower regeneration period. These aspects of a growing matrix forest stand will ensure its sustainability, in particular the sustainable water management of the trees in the context of lower water reserves in the rhizosphere and the greater ability of younger individuals to adapt to changes in site conditions (replacement of stress-resistant types by resilient types).