On March 6, 2017 President Trump signed Executive Order 13780: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into The United States. This effectively lowered the refugee admissions cap by more than half and thus had an impact on the work of local refugee resettlement organizations. This change is especially relevant to Buffalo, as the city has a significant refugee population which relies on these organizations for various services. There are many components which must be taken into consideration in order to understand how this public policy has tangible impacts on local resettlement organizations. International refugee law and domestic refugee policy set the framework for how these organizations interact with one another and with government. The U.S. federal government is responsible for adhering to the 1951 United Nations Convention Related to the Status of Refugees. The Refugee Act of 1980 formalized the domestic policy towards refugees which before was primarily ad hoc in nature. The nature of the relationship between government and nongovernmental resettlement agencies is cooperative, with government relying on organizations to provide services and organizations relying on government for funding. Because of this, NGOs must embrace strategies to remain sustainable during hard times when funding is cut. This research includes a qualitative and quantitative study of the local resettlement organizations in Buffalo: The International Institute of Buffalo, Journey's End Refugee Services, Catholic Charities, and Jewish Family Services. These organizations undoubtedly felt the impact of President Trump's Executive Order and the subsequent loss in funding. An analysis of their funding information along with open-ended interviews with organizational administrators revealed the relationship that from mission drift to staffing cuts, they have had to find ways to cope with the changes. Moving forward, new strategies need to be embraced while the organizations continue to prepare themselves for future policy changes under the Trump administration.


Experiments that are run with few experimental subjects are often considered not to be very reliable and deemed, as a result, to be useless with a view to generating new knowledge. This belief is not, however, entirely correct. Today we have tools, such as meta-analysis, that we can use to aggregate small- scale experiments and output results that are equivalent to experiments run on large samples that are therefore reliable. The application of meta-analysis can overcome some of the obstacles that we come up against when running software engineering experiments (such as, for example, the practitioner availability problem).


The article and its argument are based on a hitherto unexplored Ethiopian chronicle, which offers a uniquely detailed description of a series of enthronement rites. The article explores and deciphers symbolism displayed in these acts, which was drawn from the past and remodelled to form ideological underpinning for the monarchy of Yoḥannǝs IV (1872–89) and to legitimise his imperial project. The article argues that despite the fact that the record of these events is likely to have been 'adjusted' by Ethiopian chroniclers, their writings still points to what they thought should happen during a ritual in order for it to be effective. Consequently, the authors of the chronicle revealed to us the role of ritual in the legitimising project of late 19th-century Ethiopia.


Ninety-eight male cocaine-dependent patients who completed an intensive outpatient program (IOP) were randomly assigned to either standard group counseling (STND) or individualized relapse prevention (RP) aftercare. Heavier cocaine and alcohol use during IOP and low self-efficacy predicted more cocaine use during the treatment phase of the study, whereas lifetime diagnoses of alcohol dependence, major depression, and any anxiety disorder predicted less cocaine use. Rates of complete abstinence during the 6-month study period were higher in STND than RP, whereas RP was more effective in limiting the extent of cocaine use in those who used during Months 1-3. Matching analyses indicated patients who failed to achieve remission from cocaine dependence during IOP and those with a commitment to absolute abstinence did better in RP than in STND, whereas patients with other abstinence goals did better in STND than RP. Several differences in experiences before cocaine use and "near-miss" episodes were also identified.


For understanding of the Lena River valley evolution geomorphological and geological structure of the valley in the area from the mouth of the Buotama river to the mouth of the Aldan river (Yakutian bend) studied. Transverse geomorphological profiles through the valley, a map of ruggedness relief density, a geomorphological scheme of the investigated area were constructed. The structure of the terraces was studied, and the sediments were dated by the method of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon method. Spore-pollen spectra of terraces and the content of diatom algae in sediments were studied. In the valley we fixed a low and high floodplain up to a height of 10–12 m, two terraces, the height of which varies along the river (5–20 and 30–70 m), and Abalakh plain at an altitude of 100–140 m above the river. Near Yakutsk, the first terrace is called the Sergelyakh and the second terrace is called the Bestyakh. The low floodplain has an age of the first hundred years; the first terrace is dated by 10,000 radiocarbon years, datings of the bestyakh terrace belong to the end of Karginsky time and Sartan time of the Late Pleistocene. The most ancient OSL-datings were obtained from the deposits of the erosion scarp of the Abalakh plain (234–182 thousand years ago). The surface of the bestyakh terrace is decreasing downstream from 60 m at the mouth of the Buotama River to 40 m downstream from the confluence with Aldan River. The deposits of the terrace downstream from the mouth of Aldan River consists of silt mainly by contrast with sand compositions of Lena deposits upstream from the confluence of two rivers. The height of terraces and floodplains varies on the investigated segment of the valley in such a way that the same surface can be worked out in sediments of different ages, or the same age can be distinctive to geological bodies, in which terraces with different altitudes have been developed.


Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin holding) is an intervention that meets development care criteria by fostering neurobehavioral development. The five dimensions of neurobehavioral development are autonomic, motor, state, attention/interaction, and self-regulation. Kangaroo care promotes stability of heart and respiratory function, minimizes purposeless movements, improves behavioral state profiles, offers maternal proximity for attention/interaction episodes, and permits self-regulatory behavior expression. Kangaroo care satisfies in part the handling, self-consoling/soothing, nonnutritive sucking, and parenting interventions recommended by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses' Infant and Family Centered Developmental Care Guidelines.


The article discusses the challenges and opportunities faced when integrating participatory methods into human rights-based research. It describes the development of a participatory action research approach designed to fulfil the aim of undertaking advocacy-focused research grounded in human rights and community participation. It reflects the principles of anti-oppressive social work and the ethics of undertaking research with vulnerable populations. In line with other contributions to this special issue, the article explores questions such as: 'Where does knowledge about the story come from and how is it passed on?'; 'What spurs ethical thinking at an individual and organizational level?'; and 'How can ethical sensitivity and strategic effectiveness be combined?'


The genetic algorithm (GA) paradigm is a well-known heuristic for solving many problems in science and engineering. As problem sizes increase, a natural question is how to exploit advances in distributed and parallel computing to speed up the execution of GAs. This paper proposes a new distributed architecture for GAs, based on distributed storage of the individuals in a persistent pool. Processors extract individuals from the pool in order to perform the computations and then insert the resulting individuals back into the pool. Unlike previously proposed approaches, the new approach is tailored for distributed systems in which processors are loosely coupled, failure-prone and can run at different speeds. Proof-of-concept simulation results are presented indicating that the approach can deliver improved performance due to the distribution and tolerates a large fraction of crash failures.


Abstract:In recent years, much research has shown that the first language (L1) is being used in the majority of foreign language classrooms. However, these findings have often failed to include secondary foreign language teachers and their teaching context. The current mixed-methods study explores Spanish teachers' use of and beliefs about first and target language usage. A survey was completed by 96 middle and high school Spanish teachers, which included questions related to when the first or target language should be used as well as beliefs about usage. This survey found that teachers report similar reasons for using the L1 as post-secondary teachers; however, they have cited added reasons to use the first language such as exhaustion and fears of losing their program or students. In addition, the respondents demonstrate divided beliefs regarding the appropriate use of the first language in class, thus suggesting disagreement about when the L1 is truly a resource in the foreign language classroom.


BACKGROUND
Central venous catheterization (CVC) is an indispensable route of venous access in management of critically ill patients. Potential CVC related complications include mechanical and infectious complications.

OBJECTIVE
To determine type, incidence and risk factor of CVC related complications in pediatric patients.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
Prospective observational study of all patients who underwent CVC in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, over a 1-year period.

RESULTS
The study included 137 patients, of whom 63.5% were males. The mean age was 36.7 ± 4.4 months. There were 204 CVC attempts with total indwell time of 2,002 days. The rate of mechanical complication was 19%, including failure to place catheter (9.3%), hematoma (4.9%), arterial puncture (2%) and pneumothorax (1.5%). Patient body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m2, internal jugular venous catheterization, and longer insertion time (> 30 minutes) were associated with high mechanical complication rates. The incidence density of catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) was 7.5/1,000 catheter-days. Femoral vein placement had significant higher incidence of CRBSI.

CONCLUSION
CVC related complications are comparable to previous studies. Risk factors of mechanical complications include high BMI, internal jugular venous catheterization and longer insertion time. Femoral venous catheterization is the only risk factor for CRBSI.


Glioblastomas (GBM) are lethal brain tumors where poor outcome is attributed to cellular heterogeneity, therapeutic resistance, and a highly infiltrative nature. These characteristics are preferentially linked to GBM cancer stem cells (GSCs), but how GSCs maintain their stemness is incompletely understood and the subject of intense investigation. Here, we identify a novel signaling loop that induces and maintains GSCs. This loop consists of an atypical metalloproteinase, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-like protein decysin 1 (ADAMDEC1), secreted by GSCs. ADAMDEC1 rapidly solubilizes fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) to stimulate FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) expressed on GSCs. This signaling axis induces upregulation of Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) that regulates ADAMDEC1 expression, creating a positive feedback loop. Genetic or pharmacological targeting of components of this axis attenuates self-renewal and tumor growth. These findings reveal a new signaling axis for GSC maintenance and highlight ADAMDEC1 and FGFR1 as potential therapeutic targets in GBM. Statement of Significance Cancer stem cells (CSC) drive tumor growth in many cancers including glioblastoma. We identified a novel sheddase, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-like protein decysin 1, that initiates a fibroblast growth factor autocrine loop to promote stemness in CSCs. This loop can be targeted to reduce glioblastoma growth.


The differential and total cross sections for single electron capture in fast collisions of a proton with helium are examined within the four-body distorted-wave formalism. A special emphasis is given to a proper inclusion of dynamic electron-electron correlation effects. For this purpose, a new four-body quantum-mechanical model termed the Continuum Distorted Wave - Born Initial State (CDW-BIS) approximation is introduced. With regard to a previous work of Mancev [J.Phys.B 36, 93 (2003)], where the prior form of one-channel distorted wave transition amplitude was used for describing charge exchange, in the present model the dielectronic interaction V$_{12}$=1/r$_{12}$=1/|\vec r r$_1$− \vec r$_2$| explicitly appears in the perturbation potential of the post transition probability amplitude. The inclusion of the potential V$_{12}$ is essential for the description of the Thomas projectile - $_1$ - e$_2$ scattering. Specifically, we consider asymmetric p+He collisions and the total cross sections are carried out at a large energy range from 20 to 10000 keV. The differential cross section are calculated at impact energies 400 and 630~keV. The theoretical results are compared with the available experimental data and very good agreement is found.


This study expected to find out the effectiveness of teaching pronunciation through jazz chants and the students' response toward the implementation of jazz chants method in teaching pronunciation at the eight grade of MTsN Parepare. The result of this research was expected to be useful information in the English teaching and learning process especially in the pronunciation teaching. This research applied pre-experimental method, with two group pre-test and post-test design. The samples of the research were consisted of 27 students from five classes taken from the population at the eight grade students of MTsN Parepare first semester in Academic Year 2018/2019.The result of the data analysis showed that the students' pronunciation abilitywas improved. It could be showed from the result of the t-obtained value (7.698) was higher than t-table value (1.706). Those indicated that H0 was rejected and Ha was accepted. It meant that the students' pronunciationwas able increased by using jazz chants method. Besides that, the result of the questionnaire showed that most of the students agree and had a positive response in learning pronunciation by using jazz chants method. It could be showed from the result of the cumulative percentage on the fifteen items of the questionnaire was 89,28 (very strong), while the cumulative score that they got the questionnaire was 1808 (strongly agree). Based on the result of data analysis above, the researcher then concluded that the students' pronunciation ability was improved and it is effective to teaching pronunciation through jazz chants at the eight grade of MTsN Parepare.


The selection of optimal camera configurations (camera locations, orientations, etc.) for multi-camera networks remains an unsolved problem. Previous approaches largely focus on proposing various objective functions to achieve different tasks. Most of them, however, do not generalize well to large scale networks. To tackle this, we propose a statistical framework of the problem as well as propose a trans-dimensional simulated annealing algorithm to effectively deal with it. We compare our approach with a state-of-the-art method based on binary integer programming (BIP) and show that our approach offers similar performance on small scale problems. However, we also demonstrate the capability of our approach in dealing with large scale problems and show that our approach produces better results than two alternative heuristics designed to deal with the scalability issue of BIP. Last, we show the versatility of our approach using a number of specific scenarios.


Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the management of severely ill patients with COVID-19 has been reported in more than 5,827 cases worldwide according to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Several pre-existing conditions have been linked to an increase in COVID-19 mortality risk including obesity. The purpose of this research is to review the clinical experience from a cohort of 342 COVID-19 patients treated with ECMO in which 61.7% (211/342) are confirmed obese. Following institutional review board approval, we reviewed all 342 COVID-19 patients supported with ECMO between March 17, 2020 and March 18, 2021, at 40 American institutions from a multi-institutional database. Descriptive statistics comparing survivors to non-survivors were calculated using chi-square, Welch's ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test as appropriate. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the odds of survival while adjusting for age, gender, chronic renal failure, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and pre-ECMO P/F ratio. Descriptive analysis showed that obese patients were more likely to be hypertensive (58.1% vs. 32%, p < .001), diabetic (42% vs. 30%, p < .05), and female (35% vs. 21%, p < .05), and had longer median days from intubation to cannulation (4.0 vs. 2.0, p < .05). Obese patients appeared to also have a slightly lower median age (47.9 vs. 50.5, p = .07), higher incidence of asthma (17.8% vs. 10.2%, p = .09), and a slightly lower pre-ECMO PaO2/FiO2 ratio (67.5 vs. 77.5, p = .08) though these differences were slightly less statistically reliable. Results from the logistic regression model suggest no statistically reliable association between BMI and odds of survival. Age had a moderately large and statistically reliable negative association with survival; the relative odds of survival for a 59-year-old patient were approximately half those of a 41-year-old patient (OR = .53, 95% CI: .36-.77, p < .001). Obesity does not seem to be a major risk factor for poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients supported with ECMO; however, age was moderately negatively associated with survival. The potential influence of other comorbidities on odds of survival among these patients warrant further investigation.


The problem of partial model matching is studied for the case of multi-input/multi-output (MIMO) linear time-invariant systems. Using a regular static state feedback law, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the problem to have a solution are established, the general analytic expressions of the controller matrices are derived. For the case of single-input/single-output systems sufficient conditions are derived for the solution of the partial model matching problem with simultaneous stabilizability. For the same type of systems the necessary and sufficient conditions for the solution of the partial model matching problem with simultaneous regulation of the free response of the closed loop system are established. Finally, the problem of partial model matching, via regular static measurement output feedback, is solved for the case of MIMO systems.


There are two emerging trends in distributed computing: the evolution of client/server architectures into multi-tiered systems and advances in distributed shared memory (DSM). The convergence of these two trends yields a new structure we call virtual distributed objects (VDOs). The first trend is evolving because of the difficulties involved in programming high-performance client/server applications. Client/server architectures must be designed from the ground-up for good performance. Increasingly, we are seeing new client/server topologies that improve server performance. The second converging trend associated with the transition from client/server to peer-to-peer distributed objects is the rapid advances in techniques for DSM. In the past, DSM has been used primarily for support of scientific applications. While DSM was once envisioned as a means to support an entire paged virtual address space, systems like Mirage and Mirage+ began support for sharing smaller entities called segments that, combined with RPCs (remote procedure calls) and RMIs (remote method invocations), can support VDOs. VDOs allow systems designers to improve system performance by making use of idle machines rather than requiring expensive upgrades to a server or extremely expensive upgrades to all client machines. We describe why high-performance VDOs will become the predominant paradigm for distributed computing in the next decade. We describe why VDOs, supported with DSM and other technologies, could potentially supplant strict client/server structures whose scalability and extensibility are inherently limited.


Abstract Ascites can cause pleural effusions when the peritoneal fluid crosses the diaphragm through a pleuroperitoneal shunt in the setting of hepatic cirrhosis (hepatic hydrothorax) or malignant ascites. Scintigraphic imaging for pleuroperitoneal shunt requires intraperitoneal injection of 99mTc-SC or 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin followed by planar imaging of the chest and abdomen. Pleuroperitoneal shunt is confirmed by identifying radiotracer crossing the diaphragm from the peritoneal to pleural space. An atlas of pleuroperitoneal shunt imaging pitfalls is presented to facilitate optimal performance and interpretation of nuclear pleuroperitoneal shunt examinations. Examples include cases of nondiagnostic radiotracer injections, processing errors, and nontarget uptake.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Objectives: There is virtually no treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As such novel targets need to be identified to develop effective therapies to combat this fatal disease. The oncogene Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is overexpressed in more than 90% of human HCC patients and plays a seminal role in hepatocarcinogenesis. AEG-1 is localized on the cell membrane as well as in the cytoplasm, nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum. In each location AEG-1 interacts with specific proteins thereby modulating diverse intracellular processes which contributes pleotrophic oncogenic properties to AEG-1. Identification of AEG-1 interacting proteins would facilitate better understanding of AEG-1 function and help develop novel and targeted therapies for HCC.

Methods: Yeast two-hybrid assay and co-immunoprecipitation (co-ip) followed by mass spectrometry were used to identify AEG-1-interacting proteins. Co-ip and double immunofluorescence analyses were performed to confirm protein-protein interaction. A Renilla luciferase reporter plasmid containing a miRNA-recognition site in the 3'-untranslated region was used in a transfection based assay to monitor RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) activity. Immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray was performed to check protein expression. Nude mice xenograft studies were done to check tumorigenesis.

Results: We identified Staphylococcal nuclease domain containing 1 (SND1), a nuclease functioning in the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), as an AEG-1 interacting protein. We documented that AEG-1 interacts with SND1 and Argonaute 2 (Ago2), the major nuclease in RISC, and thus AEG-1 itself is a component of RISC. Knocking down AEG-1 or SND1 abrogates and overexpression of AEG-1 or SND1 augments RISC activity in human HCC cells. In 109 human HCC samples SND1 was overexpressed in ∼74% cases compared to normal liver. Correspondingly, significantly higher RISC activity was observed in human HCC cells compared to normal hepatocytes. We hypothesized that increased RISC activity, conferred by AEG-1 or SND1 overexpression, might facilitate function of oncomiRs resulting in increased degradation of tumor suppressor mRNAs. Indeed, overexpression of AEG-1 or SND1 downregulated while knockdown of AEG-1 or SND1 upregulated the mRNA level of tumor suppressor PTEN, a target of several oncomiRs overexpressed in HCC. Inhibition of SND1 enzymatic activity significantly abrogated cell growth and proliferation of human HCC cells. Stable overexpression of SND1 augmented while stable knockdown of SND1 inhibited tumor growth by human HCC cells in nude mice xenograft assay.

Conclusion: We unravel a novel mechanism that overexpression of AEG-1 and SND1 leading to increased RISC activity might contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis. Targeted inhibition of SND1 enzymatic activity might be developed as an effective therapy for HCC.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4706. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4706


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

We have recently developed a non-invasive assay that combines protein and DNA biomarkers for triaging bladder cancer patients and demonstrated that this multi-analyte approach improves clinical performance. This assay combines detection in urine of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) protein, hypermethylation of two DNA markers (Twist1 and Nid2) and mutation detection of the FGFR3 gene. To eliminate the need to perform separate analytical procedures for protein and DNA, and to decrease assay complexity and cost while increasing assay throughput, we are now developing a method for simultaneous detection of protein and DNA biomarkers on a qPCR platform. To this end, we have identified and characterized six DNA aptamers that specifically bind Matrix Metalloprteinase-2 (MMP-2). DNA aptamers are single stranded DNA oligos that can bind specifically to their target molecules, including proteins. Once bound to the protein, these aptamers can then be used as templates for quantitative PCR-mediated protein detection. We have developed qPCR assays for each of the six MMP-2-specific aptamers, and demonstrate detection limits for each aptamer as low as 5x102 copies. Kinetic and equilibrium analysis was used to determine the KD constant for the aptamers. High affinity interactions were observed for all aptamers, with two aptamers having the highest affinity and calculated KD values of 15 and 10nM. Using one of these aptamers, we bound MMP-2 protein to the aptamer in solution and then immunoprecipitated the protein/aptamer complexes using biotin-labeled MMP-2-specific antibodies. Immunoprecipitated complexes were then quantitated using the aptamer-specific qPCR assay. In this study, we show that by qPCR, we can efficiently detect 10-12 mol/L of MMP-2 using the aptamer as the detection molecule. This level of MMP-2 protein detection is equivalent to commercially available ELISA assays. To further improve performance and to take advantage of the known specificity of aptamers, we intend to develop a system that uses one aptamer for detection and a second biotin-labeled aptamer for immunoprecipitation. We subsequently demonstrate the ability to multiplex the aptamer qPCR assay with our qPCR assay for FGFR3 and intend to add the other DNA markers into this multiplex system in the future. This is the first demonstration of simultaneous detection of protein and DNA biomarkers using a single analytical platform.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-457. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-457


This paper describes an Active Character Recognition methodology, henceforth referred to as ACR. We present in this paper a method that uses an active heuristic function similar to the one used by A* search algorithm that adaptively determines the length of the feature vector as well as the features themselves used to classify an input pattern. ACR adapts to factors such as the quality of the input pattern, its intrinsic similarities and differences from patterns of other classes it is being compared against and the processing time available. Furthermore, the finer resolution is accorded to only certain "zones" of the input pattern which are deemed important given the classes that are being discriminated. Experimental results support the methodology presented. Recognition rate of ACR is about 96% on the NIST data sets and the speed is better than traditional classification methods.


The development of "new" media and the financial investment in football since the early 1990s have dramatically changed the football club–media relationship. A number of clubs changed ownership and organizational structure for financial gain or financial survival while the increasing demand for immediate information led to clubs' recognizing the importance of external communication. Drawing on 47 semistructured interviews with media personnel and 827 questionnaires completed by supporters at 4 football clubs, this article assesses the organizational structure of clubs in dealing with the media and supporters and the level of dependence between clubs and the external media. The results highlight changes in the organizational structure of clubs and their strategies for external communication, as well as the contrasting relationships between football clubs and the external media. As ownership and personnel changes occur, clubs should remember the importance of the 2-way relationships they are in with supporters and the media.


This work addresses a gap in semantic scene completion (SSC) data by creating a novel outdoor data set with accurate and complete dynamic scenes. Our data set is formed from randomly sampled views of the world at each time step, which supervises generalizability to complete scenes without occlusions or traces. We create SSC baselines from state-of-the-art open source networks and construct a benchmark real-time dense local semantic mapping algorithm, MotionSC, by leveraging recent 3D deep learning architectures to enhance SSC with temporal information. Our network shows that the proposed data set can quantify and supervise accurate scene completion in the presence of dynamic objects, which can lead to the development of improved dynamic mapping algorithms.


Abstract Pennsylvania smartweed [Persicaria pensylvanica (L.) M. Gómez] is a common weed of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the midsouthern United States and has recently become a concern for farmers because of reduced tillage systems. Acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors have been extensively used for controlling smartweeds in imidazolinone-resistant and conventional rice. In the present study, we confirmed resistance to commonly used ALS inhibitors in rice and characterized the underlying resistance mechanism in a P. pensylvanica biotype from southeast Missouri. A dose–response experiment was conducted in the greenhouse using bensulfuron-methyl, imazethapyr, and bispyribac-sodium to determine the resistance index (resistance/susceptibility [R/S]) based on GR50 estimates. The target-site ALS gene was amplified from R and S plants, and sequences were analyzed for mutations known to confer ALS-inhibitor resistance. The P. pensylvanica biotype in question was found to be resistant to bensulfuron-methyl (R/S=2,330), imazethapyr (R/S =12), and bispyribac-sodium (R/S=6). Sequencing of the ALS gene from R plants revealed two previously known mutations (Pro-197-Ser, Ala-122-Ser) conferring resistance to sulfonylureas and imidazolinones. This is the first report of ALS-inhibitor resistance in P. pensylvanica.


Resource discovery is a fundamental problem in grid systems. Original approaches to provide grid resource discovery services are either centralized or hierarchical and proved to be inefficient when the scale of grid systems rapidly increases. A P2P network is a distributed system with the attributes of dynamicity and scalability. P2P systems have the same goal as grid systems: to share and exchange various resources. With their development, P2P systems and grid systems can be combined into a new system which has their attributes. In this paper, a novel hierarchical P2P based grid model based on the existing grid resource discovery models is discussed. In our model, Chord and Gnutella are selected as the typical protocols to form the virtual P2P layer. Through the experiment results, we argue that the 3C-2G model performs better than the other models in resource discovery among grids oriented to the same application field.


Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cell malignancy resulting in osteolytic lesions. Pathological fracture of the vertebral body resulting in spinal cord compression is a common complication and accounts for approximately 5% of patients with MM. To date, there are no definitive guidelines for the treatment of spinal cord compression as a consequence of MM. Radiotherapy has frequently been the preferred form of treatment. Some surgeons, however, feel that spinal lesions in multiple myeloma should be treated in the same manner as spinal metastases from solid organs. I report the management of a 46-year-old gentleman with multiple myeloma that had resulted in neural compression in the lumbar and thoracic areas. Initial emergent treatment in this patient consisted of spinal decompression and stabilisation.


Abstract This paper is about a documentary that formed one component of a project to draw attention to and contest the redevelopment of Sydney's Waterloo public housing estate. There Goes Our Neighbourhood is a strategic impact documentary that chronicles residents' efforts to resist or reshape the redevelopment project. It was part of, and followed, the #WeLiveHere2017 campaign – a campaign which also involved the collective production of a protest artwork via the illumination of two towers with LED lights, and digital storytelling via social media. Following reflections from both the filmmaker and a participant in the campaign, we interrogate the impacts of There Goes Our Neighbourhood, including how it challenges the stigmatisation of public housing tenants and estates, and critically discuss the producers' approach to engaging different audiences and navigating competing interests. We conclude by suggesting that while There Goes Our Neighbourhood and #WeLiveHere2017 may not have changed the course of the redevelopment, they have had – and may yet have – positive impacts in other ways.


In children, the quality and muscle function are altered in many pathologic conditions, including temporomandibular disorders. Although several methods have been used to evaluate muscle tonus, none became a golden standard. Moreover, the masseter muscle characteristics in children have not been investigated to date. This study aimed to measure the stiffness of the masseter muscle using shear-wave elastography in healthy children. We enrolled 30 healthy children (mean age 10.87 ± 3.38 years). The stiffness of masseter muscles was measured with shear wave elastography. Stiffness for the total sample was 6.37 ± 0.77 kPa. A comparison of the measurements did not show significant differences between the right and the left masseter muscles (left—6.47 ± 0.78 kPa; right—6.24 ± 0.76 kPa; p = 0.3546). A significant difference was seen between boys and girls (boys—5.94 ± 0.50 kPa; girls—6.63 ± 0.80; p = 0.0006). Shear-wave elastography is a promising diagnostic tool. It may help to detect changes in the stiffness of the masseter muscle and draw attention to pathological processes within the jaw muscles. Directions for further research shall include determining stiffness values in pathological conditions and the impact of biological and functional factors on the stiffness of the masseter muscle.


Drugs that inhibit the low-Km, cGMP-inhibitable form of phosphodiesterase III (PDE III) are associated with arterial lesions in the extramural coronary arteries of dogs following oral and intravenous administration at high doses. Acute coronary arterial lesions have been investigated following administration to the dog of SK&F 95654, a potent PDE III inhibitor, and the progression of the lesion defined. Groups of 3 male beagle dogs received a single 2-hr infusion of SK&F 95654 at 8 mg/kg/hr and the characteristics of the coronary arterial lesions were evaluated at 1, 3, 10, and 34 days postdosing by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. At 24 hr postdosing, the arterial lesion was characterized by segmental or circumferential necrosis of medial smooth muscle cells and hemorrhage; adventitial hemorrhage was also noted, particularly in the right atrial artery. Ultrastructural evaluation showed extensive medial necrosis, characterized by loss of smooth muscle cells and their replacement by cellular debris with ingress of erythrocytes, platelets, and inflammatory cells into the media. Associated with medial changes, significant endothelial effects were observed consisting of widening of intercellular boundaries, loss of normal elongated cellular appearance, and the attachment of numerous leukocytes and platelets. During the 10-34-day postdosing period, substantial repair of the arterial lesions occurred such that by day 34 all sections of extramural coronary artery were normal. The lesions induced in the dog are consistent with a hemodynamic effect induced by the pharmacological action of SK&F 95654.


Background Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is characterized by the combination of inflammation, excessive bone formation, and bone loss in the axial skeleton. This excessive bone loss may lead to the occurrence of vertebral fractures (VF). Objectives To investigate the prevalence and distribution of VF and their relation to clinical and radiological outcome in AS patients with active disease. Methods All consecutive patients from the Groningen Leeuwarden AS (GLAS) cohort who visited the outpatient clinic between November 2004 and June 2011 with active disease (Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) ≥4 and/or expert opinion) and available spinal radiographs were included. Patients fulfilled the modified New York criteria for AS. Radiographs of the thoracic and lumbar spine were scored using the method of Genant et al., a semiquantitative technique evaluating anterior, middle, and posterior heights of vertebrae Th4 to L4. VF were defined based on reduction in vertebral height: grade 1 (mild): 20-25% reduction; grade 2 (moderate): 25-40% reduction; and grade 3 (severe): >40% reduction. Radiographs of the cervical and lumbar spine were scored for spinal radiographic damage using the modified Stoke AS Score (mSASSS). All radiographs were scored by two independent readers blinded for patient characteristics. Results 205 AS patients were included; 67% were male, mean age was 42±11 years, median symptom duration was 15 years (range 1-53), 80% were HLA-B27 positive, mean BASDAI was 6.1±1.6, mean ASDAS was 3.8±0.8, and median mSASSS was 11.2 (range 0-72). In total, 2518 vertebrae could be scored and 110 VF (4.4%) were found. Of these VF, 74 were scored grade 1, 34 grade 2, and 2 grade 3. 84% of VF occurred in the thoracic spine (Figure 1). The average number of VF per patient was 1.8. Sixty of 205 patients (29%) showed at least 1 VF, of which 33 patients had 1 VF, 16 patients 2 VF, and 11 patients more than 2 VF. Patients with VF were older (mean age 46 vs. 41 years, p<0.01), were more frequently male (77% vs. 63%, p=0.066), had larger occiput to wall distance (median 5.0 vs. 3.5 cm, p<0.05), and had significantly more spinal radiographic damage (median mSASSS 15.6 vs. 9.9, p<0.05) compared to patients without VF. Figure 1. Locations and severity of 110 vertebral fractures in patients with AS. Conclusions In our cross-sectional observational cohort, the prevalence of VF is 29% in AS patients with active disease. Most VF are located in the middle and low thoracic spine. The presence of VF is associated with older age, male gender, increased thoracic kyphosis, and more spinal radiographic damage. Further longitudinal research is needed to investigate the influence of treatment (e.g. NSAID's, TNF-α blockers) on the development of new VF in AS. Acknowledgements The GLAS cohort was supported by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer. Pfizer had no role in the design, conduct, interpretation, or publication of this study. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4298


Physics is the Segre family business, and Gino's enthusiasm for science is very natural and infectious. This book takes the reader on a surprising tour of the cosmos, starting within the human body and ending at the limits of the universe - using the concept of temperature as a guide.


Recurrent neural networks and sequence to sequence models require a predetermined length for prediction output length. Our model addresses this by allowing the network to predict a variable length output in inference. A new loss function with a tailored gradient computation is developed that trades off prediction accuracy and output length. The model utilizes a function to determine whether a particular output at a time should be evaluated or not given a predetermined threshold. We evaluate the model on the problem of predicting the prices of securities. We find that the model makes longer predictions for more stable securities and it naturally balances prediction accuracy and length.


This study examined the effects of teacher`s self-efficacy on children`s sociality through the mediating effects of job-satisfaction and the quality of teacher-child interaction. The participants in this study consisted of 27 teachers working at child care centers and 71 children(4-5 years old) in their charge in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do province, Korea. Data were analyzed by means of a Hayes`s PROCESS(2012) program to identify the serial multiple mediating effects and the relationships which exist among the various factors. The present study found that teacher`s self-efficacy had significant indirect effects on children`s sociality through job-satisfaction and the quality of teacher-child interaction. These results suggest that a higher level of teacher`s self-efficacy leads to greater job-satisfaction and better quality of teacher-child interaction and this in turn has an influence on children`s sociality.


Tactile feedback is of great significance for amputees to improve the controllability of prosthetic hands and obtain tactile information regarding the interacting objects, which remains a significant challenge for neuroprosthetic hands. In this study, we present a method to restore finger-specific tactile sensations on the projected finger map of a unilateral forearm amputee with a sensory soft neuroprosthetic hand through electrotactile stimulation. On this basis, five soft touch sensors embedded in the fingertips are first adopted to measure the pressure changes of the soft neuroprosthetic hand with the touched objects. The measured pressure information is then accordingly encoded into electrotactile stimulation patterns to trigger an electrical stimulator that outputs programmable electrical pulses on the projected finger map of the amputee. In this manner, the finger tactile sensation can be elicited, which can help the amputee to distinguish the finger press state and discriminate the curvature and hardness of the touched objects. Experimental results show that, based on the different stimulation regions, the amputee subject can instantaneously distinguish the tactile sensation of a single finger or multiple fingers with an accuracy of 98.57% and 91.71%, respectively. By programming the frequencies of the electrical pulses, the amputee subject can successfully discriminate the touching objects with different curvatures and hardnesses with an accuracy of 97.26% and 97.93%, respectively. Finally, we demonstrate that the amputee subject can achieve closed-loop control of the sensory soft neuroprosthetic hand by integrating a myoelectric control interface and electrotactile feedback to achieve multilevel perception.


Aspartyl-(Asparaginyl)-β-Hydroxylase (AAH ) promotes cell motility by hydroxylating Notch. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor, type 1 (IGF-I) stimulate AAH through Erk MAP K and phosphoinositol-3-kinase-Akt (PI3K-Akt). However, hypoxia/oxidative stress may also regulate AAH . Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1α) regulates cell migration, signals through Notch, and is regulated by hypoxia/oxidative stress, insulin/IGF signaling and factor inhibiting HIF-1α (FIH) hydroxylation. To examine cross-talk between HIF-1α and AAH , we measured AAH , Notch-1, Jagged-1, FIH, HIF-1α, HIF-1β and the hairy and enhancer of split 1 (HE S-1) transcription factor expression and directional motility in primitive neuroectodermal tumor 2 (PNET2) human neuronal cells that were exposed to H2O2 or transfected with short interfering RNA duplexes (siRNA) targeting AAH , Notch-1 or HIF-1α. We found that: (1) AAH , HIF-1α and neuronal migration were stimulated by H2O2; (2) si-HIF-1α reduced AAH expression and cell motility; (3) si-AAH inhibited Notch and cell migration, but not HIF-1α and (4) si-Notch-1 increased FIH and inhibited HIF-1α. These findings suggest that AAH and HIF-1α crosstalk within a hydroxylation-regulated signaling pathway that may be transiently driven by oxidative stress and chronically regulated by insulin/IGF signaling.


We introduce a helium ion beam lithography and liftoff process to fabricate arbitrary nanostructures. Exploiting existing high-resolution positive tone resists such as poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), the process offers three significant advantages over electron beam lithography: (a) the exposing helium ion beam produces a high secondary electron yield leading to fast patterning, (b) proximity effects are negligible due to the low count of backscattered helium ions from the substrate, and (c) the process is transferrable with minimal alteration among different types of substrates (e.g. silicon, fused silica). The process can be used to pattern any material compatible with liftoff such as evaporated metals or dielectrics, and allows overlay of nanostructures precision-aligned to microstructures realised beforehand on the same substrate. The process is demonstrated for several PMMA thicknesses to liftoff different thicknesses of deposited material. Resolution trials are conducted to determine the limits of the process for each PMMA thickness. Isolated lines as narrow as 14 nm, and line-space gratings of 40 nm pitch (50% duty cycle), are produced as resolution tests by lifting off a 20 nm thick Au film. Nanostructures of aspect ratio up to ∼3:1 have been realised. Plasmonic nanoantenna arrays overlaid to microscale contacts are produced as device demonstrators, for which optical measurements are in excellent agreement with theory.


Caffeine increases resting calcium influx approximately threefold in normally polarized and in potassium-depolarized fibers of frog sartorius muscles. It does not affect the transient rapid increase in calcium influx that occurs at the beginning of a potassium depolarization. Calcium outflux in Ringer's solution, in zero calcium Ringer's solution, and in zero calcium Ringer's solution plus 0.004 M EDTA is also markedly increased by caffeine. The increased outflux reaches a rate which is approximately the same as the increased calcium influx. One interpretation of the findings is that caffeine reduces the binding of calcium both in the membrane and in the myoplasm; this increases the "permeability" to calcium and the ionic activity of calcium in muscle. This interpretation is consistent with the view that the contractile state of muscle is dependent at least in part on the thermodynamic activity of calcium in the muscle fibers.


The paper presents the findings of a literature review of the empirical studies on the social and environmental information (SEI) disclosure that were carried out in Lithuanian companies in 2000–2015 with the aim to identify determinants of the phenomenon and trends of its development. Having reviewed 14 papers included in the national database of scientific journals, Lituanistika, the authors identify both qualitative and quantitative studies which present the results of content analysis of SEI or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Content-wise they tend to explore the relationship between SEI disclosure and company profile such as industry sector, company size, financial leverage, profitability, and pollution. The findings are of a mixed character except for the industry sector, which is an unambiguous determinant of SEI disclosure in Lithuanian companies. Disclosed information by Lithuanian companies is less numerous and includes fewer stakeholders (i.e. employees, society and environment) compared to the reports of multinational companies or enterprises operating in advanced economies. As Lithuania is a post-Soviet society with a long tradition of presenting a better reality in reports, the contents of SEI could be analysed through the integrity perspective which would inevitably draw researchers' attention not only to the text in annual or CSR reports, company websites or press releases, but also to the practices as perceived by the companies' stakeholders.


This article takes interest in descendants of white migrants in Sweden and their experiences of racialization. Although research on descendants in this category is rare, they are sometimes assumed to be unproblematically integrated into Swedish whiteness. The article contributes with an empirically based investigation of the subject by analysing in-depth interviews with an up till now almost non-researched group: people who grew up with Polish parents in Sweden. Inspired by critical race- and whiteness studies, it explores how they express being racialized, how the norms of Swedish whiteness surface in their narrations and how they negotiate these norms. The article makes visible a Swedish version of whiteness that requires on the one hand possession of materialized, physical whiteness, and on the other hand performative abilities, performative whiteness. It shows how these whiteness norms works for people in the special position of descendants to white migrants and that they–in contrast to their migrant parents–possess both these levels of whiteness. Still, they navigate a radar that could make them involuntarily visible and question their inclusion into Swedish whiteness. These results indicate that the Swedish version of whiteness is narrow and also raises questions regarding its change over time.


In this paper we describe the current state of the art in equipment, software and methods for transferring large scientific datasets at high speed around the globe. We first present a short introductory history of the use of networking in HEP, some details on the evolution, current status and plans for the Caltech/CERN/DataTAG transAtlantic link, and a description of the topology and capabilities of the research networks between CERN and HEP institutes in the USA. We follow this with some detailed material on the hardware and software environments we have used in collaboration with international partners (including CERN and DataTAG) to break several Internet2 land speed records over the last couple of years. Finally we describe our recent developments in collaboration with Microsoft, Newisys, AMD, Cisco and other industrial partners, in which we are attempting to transfer HEP data files from disk servers at CERN via a 10Gbit network path to disk servers at Caltech's Center for Advanced Computing Research (a total distance of over 11,000 kilometres), at a rate exceeding 1 GByte per second. We describe some solutions being used to overcome networking and hardware performance issues. Whilst such transfers represent the bleeding edge of what is possible today, they are expected to be commonplace at the start of LHC operations in 2007.


The quality of a delay test set hinges not only on test patterns and the distribution of the delay defects but on the variations in process parameters as well. Process variations result in the same delay test set displaying differences from die to die in the detection of particular delay defects at the identical circuit node. The application of an identical test set to all devices independent of process variations consequently results in delivering inefficiencies in test time utilization. This paper proposes a delay test technique that adaptively changes the size of the test set based on the position of the device in the process variation space in order to maximize test quality within a given test time.


Three carbamate insecticides (propoxur, methomyl, and aldicarb) were evaluated for their ability to induce micronuclei (MN) in vitro using cultured Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, and in vivo in mouse bone marrow erythrocytes. In vitro, all three insecticides induced a significant increase in micronucleated binucleate cells, which was generally both dose and sample time dependent. The in vivo studies involved treating male BALB/c mice by different routes, either once or on 3 consecutive days, followed by multiple or single sampling. Treatment by intraperitoneal injection or oral gavage induced a significant increase in micronucleated reticulocytes (MNRETs) in peripheral blood. For all three chemicals, the MN response depended on sample time and the number of treatments, while for aldicarb, the response depended also on the route of exposure. These positive results demonstrate that propoxur, methomyl, and aldicarb are capable of inducing structural and/or numerical chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells either in vitro or in vivo. Furthermore, based on the results obtained, an optimal in vivo MN protocol for carbamate insecticides is a single treatment followed by blood sampling at 24 and 48 hr after treatment. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 29:386–393, 1997 © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Marketing practitioners consider packaging as a promising marketing tool, but current academic research covers mostly regular packages. Filling this gap, this paper aims to analyze why and how companies use limited edition packaging (LEP), which is defined as a scarcity product tactic, using the package exclusively to create a limited offer.,This study adopted a grounded theory methodology and used a qualitative collective case study design by analyzing 175 LEP launches in the beverage sector between 2000 and 2019.,The empirical-based conceptualization of LEP tactics provided here describes the crucial marketing dimensions in which strategic decisions are made regarding objective of release, implementation and related marketing mix decisions. Results show that LEP tactics serve parallel brands, sales and product strategy-related goals; LEPs are characterized by intensity, theme (occasion) and design characteristics, such as typicality, and marketers use various marketing mix combinations (i.e., pricing, distribution and advertising) in relation to the LEP offer.,To the best of author's knowledge, it is the first conceptualization of this special type of scarcity tactic. This study also assists academics by providing an agenda for future research in this domain.


O-4'-nor-2', 3'-dideoxy-2', 3'-didehydronucleoside 5'-triphosphates are shown to be effective termination substrates of DNA biosynthesis catalyzed by human placental DNA polymerases alpha and epsilon, rat liver DNA polymerase beta, reverse transcriptases of human immunodeficiency virus and avian myeloblastosis virus, and calf thymus terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. These compounds do not interact only with the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I (Klenow fragment). The probable reasons of interaction of acyclo-d4NTP with the DNA synthesizing complexes are discussed.


Adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) is a potent strategy to boost the immune response against cancer. ACT is an effective treatment for blood cancers, such as leukemias and lymphomas, but faces challenges treating solid tumors and cancers in locations like the brain. A critical step for success of ACT immunotherapy is achieving efficient trafficking of T cells to solid tumors, and the non-invasive and quantitative tracking of adoptively transferred T cell biodistribution would accelerate its development. Here, we demonstrate the use of Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) to non-invasively track ACT T cells in vivo. Labeling T cells with the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle tracer ferucarbotran did not affect T cell viability, phenotype, or cytotoxic function in vitro. Following ACT, ferucarbotran-labeled T cells were detected and quantified using MPI ex vivo and in vivo, in a mouse model of invasive brain cancer. Proof-of-principle in vivo MPI demonstrated its capacity to detect labeled T cells in lungs and liver after intravenous administration and to monitor T cell localization in the brain after intraventricular administration. Ex vivo imaging using MPI and optical imaging suggests accumulation of systemically administered ferucarbotran-labeled T cells in the brain, where MPI signal from ferucarbotran tracers and fluorescently tagged T cells were observed. Ex vivo imaging also suggest differential accumulation of nanoparticles and viable T cells in other organs like the spleen and liver. These results support the use of MPI to track adoptively transferred T cells and accelerate the development of ACT treatments for brain tumors and other cancers.


Author(s): Gulzar, Muhammad Ali | Advisor(s): Kim, Miryung | Abstract: The prevalence of big data analytics in almost every large-scale software system has generated a substantial push to build data-intensive scalable computing (DISC) frameworks such as Google MapReduce and Apache Spark that can fully harness the power of existing data centers. However, frameworks once used by domain experts are now being leveraged by data scientists, business analysts, and researchers. This shift in user demographics calls for immediate advancements in the development, debugging, and testing practices of big data applications, which are falling behind compared to the DISC framework design and implementation. In practice, big data applications often fail as users are unable to test all behaviors emerging from interleaving dataflow operators, user-defined functions, and framework's code. "Testing based on a random sample" rarely guarantees the reliability and "trial and error" and "print" debugging methods are expensive and time-consuming. Thus, the current practice of developing a big data application must be improved and the tools built to enhance the developer's productivity must adapt to the distinct characteristics of data-intensive scalable computing. By synthesizing ideas from software engineering and database systems, our hypothesis is that we can design effective and scalable testing and debugging algorithms for big data analytics without compromising the performance and efficiency of the underlying DISC framework. To design such techniques, we investigate how we can build interactive and responsive debugging primitives that significantly reduce the debugging time, yet do not pose much performance overhead on big data applications. Furthermore, we investigate how we can leverage data provenance techniques from databases and fault-isolation algorithms from software engineering to pinpoint the minimal subset of failure-inducing inputs efficiently. To improve the reliability of big data analytics, we investigate how we can abstract the semantics of dataflow operators and use them in tandem with the semantics of user-defined functions to generate a minimum set of synthetic test inputs capable of revealing more defects than the entire input dataset.To examine the first hypothesis, we introduce interactive, real-time debugging primitives for big data analytics through innovative and scalable debugging features such as simulated breakpoint, dynamic watchpoint, and crash culprit identification. Second, we design a new automated fault localization approach that combines insights from both the software engineering and database literature to bring delta debugging closer to a reality in the big data applications by leveraging data provenance and by constructing systems optimizations for debugging provenance queries. Lastly, we devise a new symbolic-execution based white-box testing algorithm for big data applications that abstracts the implementation of dataflow operators using logical specifications instead of modeling their implementations and combines them with the semantics of any arbitrary user-defined function. We instantiate the idea of an interactive debugging algorithm as BigDebug, the idea of an automated debugging algorithm as BigSift, and the idea of symbolic execution-based testing as BigTest. Our investigation shows that the interactive debugging primitives can scale to terabytes---our record-level tracing incurs less than 25% overhead on average and provides up to 100% time saving compared to the baseline replay debugger. Second, we observe that by combining data provenance with delta debugging, we can identify the minimum faulty input in just under 30% of the original job execution time. Lastly, we verify that by abstracting dataflow operators using logical specifications, we can efficiently generate the most concise test data suitable for local testing while revealing twice as many faults as prior approaches. Our investigations collectively demonstrate that developer productivity can be significantly improved through effective and scalable testing and debugging techniques for big data analytics, without impacting the DISC framework's performance. This dissertation affirms the feasibility of automated debugging and testing techniques for big data analytics---techniques that were previously considered infeasible for large-scale data processing.


Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling from the primary cilium drives cerebellar granule cell precursor (GCP) proliferation. Mutations of hedgehog (Hh) pathway repressors could cause medulloblastoma, the most prevalent and malignant childhood brain tumor that arises from aberrant GCP proliferation. We demonstrate that brain-specific knockout of a Shh pathway repressor Rab23 in mice caused mis-patterning of cerebellar folia and elevated GCP proliferation during early development, but with no prevalent occurrence of medulloblastoma at adult stage. Strikingly, Rab23-depleted GCPs exhibited up-regulated basal level of Shh pathway activities despite reduced ciliation, and were desensitized against stimulations by Shh and Smoothened (Smo) agonist in primary GCP culture. These results illustrate dual functions of Rab23 in repressing the basal level of Shh signaling, while facilitating Shh signal transduction via Shh/Smo on primary cilium. Collectively, our findings unravel instrumental roles of Rab23 in GCP proliferation and ciliogenesis. Rab23's potentiation of Shh signaling pathway through the primary cilium and Smo, suggests a potential new therapeutic for Smo/primary cilium-driven medulloblastoma. Author Summary C.H.H conceived, designed, lead, and performed all in vitro and in vivo experiments, analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. W.Y performed QPCR experiments and primary GCP cultures and analyzed data. E.L.G conceived and directed the study.


To determine the postantibiotic effect of aminoglycosides, two methods are currently being used to remove the test drug: repeated washing and dilution. An enzymatic inactivation method of removing gentamicin and tobramycin was developed and compared with the dilution method. This enzymatic method provides a rapid and simple alternative method of removing aminoglycosides which results in reliable postantibiotic-effect values.


Abstract A well known fact is that every Lebesgue measurable set is regular, i.e., it includes an F σ set of the same measure. We analyze this fact from a metamathematical or foundational standpoint. We study a family of Muchnik degrees corresponding to measuretheoretic regularity at all levels of the effective Borel hierarchy. We prove some new results concerning Nies's notion of LR-reducibility. We build some ω-models of RCA0 which are relevant for the reverse mathematics of measure-theoretic regularity.


The fluctuations of the strained layer in a superlattice or quantum well can broaden the width of satellite peaks in double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) pattern. It is found that the width of the 0(th) peak is directly proportional to the fluctuation of the strained layer if the other related facts are ignored. By this method, the Ge-Si atomic interdiffusion in Ge nano-dots and wetting layers has been investigated by DCXRD. It is found that thermal annealing can activate Ge-Si atomic interdiffusion and the interdiffusion in the nano-dots area is much stronger than that in the wetting layer area. Therefore the fluctuation of the Ge layer decreases and the distribution of Ge atoms becomes homogeneous in the horizontal Ge (GeSi actually) layer, which make the width of the 0(th) peak narrow after annealing.


BACKGROUND
First-time donation is among recognised risk factors for vasovagal reactions to blood donation and reactions are known to reduce donor return. We assessed associations between potential risk factors and vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications in first-time whole blood donation in comparison to repeat donation and analysed the impact of complications on donor return.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We performed a cohort study on whole blood donations in The Netherlands from 1/1/2010 to 31/12/2010 using data extracted from the blood service information system. Donation data up to 31/12/2011 were used to ascertain donor return.

RESULTS
In 2010 28,786 donors made first whole blood donations and there were 522,958 repeat donations. Vasovagal reactions occurred in 3.9% of first donations by males and 3.5% of first donations by females compared to in 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively, of repeat donations. Associations of vasovagal reactions with other factors including age, body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were similar in first-time and repeat donors. Needle-related complications occurred in 0.2% of male and 0.5% of female first-time donations and in 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, of repeat donations. Among first-time donors, the return rate within 1 year was 82% following an uncomplicated first donation, but 55% and 61% following vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications, respectively; the corresponding percentages among repeat donors were 86%, 58% and 82%.

DISCUSSION
Among first-time donors, females suffered less than males from vasovagal reactions. Other risk factors had similar associations among first-time and repeat donors. Vasovagal reactions and needle-related complications in both first-time and repeat donors are followed by reduced donor return.


Introduction: Previous studies have shown that smoking has a significant impact on the success of dental implants. Therefore, the present study was aimed to compare the health of soft and hard tissues surrounding dental implants in smokers and non-smokers in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study included 30 smokers and 30 non-smoker patients who received dental implant treatment. The health of soft tissue around the dental implant (by probing the depth index), soft tissue health (with the gingivitis index), bleeding on probe (BOP), plaque index and the health of hard tissue (bone loss) of two groups of smokers and non-smokers were studied and compared. The data were collected and entered into SPSS version 24 and were analyzed using chi-square, Mann Whitney test, and t-test. The analyses were performed at a significant level of P < 0.05. Results: The mean value of the gingival health index in the smokers and non-smokers was 2.17 ± 0.63 and 1.77 ± 0.87, respectively (P < 0.001), the mean of PD index in the smokers and non-smokers was 2.83 ± 0.73 and 7.2 ± 0.7 mm, respectively (P = 0.31). Of the 72 dental implants for the smokers and 71 for the non-smoker 40.3% and 16.9% had severe plaque around their dental implants and the plaque severity was significantly different in the two groups (P = 0.008). The bone loss rates in the smokers and non-smoker groups were 1.57 ± 0.44 and 1.39 ± 0.44 mm, respectively, which were significantly different (P = 0.015). Conclusion: The health of soft and hard tissues around the dental implant is lower in smokers than non-smokers. Considering patients' expectations for the cost of treatment for dental implants, patients who need dental implant therapy should receive proper care, training, and encouragement to quit smoking before their dental implant treatment.


Abstract This is part two of the essay exploring the activities of strikers at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL over a 14 day-period in the early spring of 2018. These days were part of the 2018 University and College Union (UCU) Pension Strike, one of the largest strikes of university academics in recent times, which occurred over a four-week period, with strike days increasing from two days in the first week, to five by the final week. This was a strike to protect the pensions of university workers as a defined benefit scheme rather than a defined contribution one. This essay is structured as a two-stranded diary, weaving together textual materials taken from the Strike chronicle and website produced at the time, with critical reflections written in the present, concerning the current state of the neo-liberal university, discussing issues relating to pensions – namely institutional critique, ethics and equity, labor and work, precarity and care.


This paper reports on the accomplishments of the IEEE 1584/spl trade/ Working Group. This working group raised money for testing, oversaw a significant amount of testing, analyzed the data, developed a new model for incident energy calculation and wrote IEEE 1584/spl trade/ IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. The paper discusses: the working group's starting point; the need for laboratory testing; the test and analysis methods employed; the discovery from the testing; the development of the model and the guide; and the need for further work. IEEE 1584/spl trade/-2002 significantly updates prior information on conducting an arc flash hazard analysis in accuracy, usability, and depth. The guide offers a new empirically derived model for enclosed equipment and some open lines for voltages from 208 volt to 15 kilovolts and a theoretically-derived model for applications involving higher voltages or large gaps between conductors. Included with this guide are programs with embedded equations, which may be used to determine incident energy and the arc flash protection boundary.


The influence of root exudates on colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi was evaluated. Root exudates of cucumber (Cucumis sativus ) and carrot (Daucus carota ) were supplied to each of the seedlings grown in soil containing AM fungi. AM colonization was significantly suppressed in C. sativus treated with root exudates from D. carota as well as in D. carota treated with root exudates from C. sativus . Detection (%) of AM fungi belonging to Glomus and Acaulospora and/or Entrophospora was remarkably reduced in C. sativus and D. carota treated with root exudates from D. carota and C. sativus , respectively.


ABSTRACT

Asian megacities are undergoing rapid population and infrastructure growth, which is resulting in significant air quality problems linked to atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5). This study focuses on characterizing carbonaceous aerosols in an urban area of Bangkok, Thailand. The Microclimate and Air Pollutants Monitoring tower is located on the edge of Kasetsart University campus and was used to perform vertical measurements. Mass concentration data were collected using area dust monitors (ADR1500) at different levels above the ground (30 m, 75 m, and 110 m) during two time periods, daytime (08:00–19:00) and nighttime (20:00–07:00), throughout the monsoon season in 2015. All relevant micrometeorological parameters were simultaneously monitored. Backward air mass trajectories were calculated using HYSPLIT to assess the possible external pollution contributions. The thermal optical transmittance (TOT) method following the NIOSH 870 protocol was used to determine amounts of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) in samples. A data analysis showed average PM2.5 values at observation heights of 30 m, 75 m, and 110 m of 6.21 ± 2.45, 8.12 ± 3.65, and 9.03 ± 3.93 µg m–3, respectively; corresponding OC concentrations of 4.13 ± 2.65, 4.01 ± 4.07, and 4.11 ± 3.58 µg m–3, respectively, and EC concentrations of 1.02 ± 0.84, 1.07 ± 0.95, and 0.50 ± 0.70 µg m–3, respectively. The results show distinct gradients of increasing concentrations of PM2.5 with increasing elevation in contract with the OC and EC concentrations which decrease with height.


RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Public reporting of performance data is one of the most popular topics in health care field. The aim of this study was to investigate the transparency mechanism, that is, how public reporting influenced general practitioners' (GPs) prescribing practices.

METHOD
GPs who had the license to prescribe medicine of all 10 primary care institutions were surveyed. Data were collected by an instrument, which exhibited satisfactory reliability and validity (Cronbach's alpha > 0.7; average variance extracted > 0.5; composite reliability > 0.7). Data analysis was conducted by structural equation model.

RESULTS
The results showed that GPs' perceived value (GP's overall assessment of the worth of the public reporting) and attitude (the psychological reaction to public reporting) had a significantly direct effect on behavioural intention (r = 0.28; r = 0.36), and were affected by information accessibility (r = 0.63; r = 0.32). Attitude had a significant effect on perceived value(r = 0.45). Perceived risk (the perceptions of the possible loss due to public reporting, e.g. decreasing their income) did not have a significant relationship with information accessibility, attitude and behavioural intention(r = -0.09; r = 0.01; r = -0.07).

CONCLUSION
The information accessibility, perceived value and attitude have strong effects on prescribing practices of GPs, whereas perceived risk did not play a role in influencing the prescribing practices. Policymakers need to improve the accessibility of prescription quality indicators and pay attention to the perceived values and attitudes of GPs. Policymakers also need to strengthen the risk education of GPs and attach incentives to transparent regulation.


Nineteen bryophytes (all of them mosses), one alga and seven vascular plants were found in 26 irrigation channels of the river Iregua basin (La Rioja, northern Spain), a kind of aquatic environment not previously investigated regarding bryophytes. The species richness, the cover, and the Shannon's diversity (when calculated including bare soil - areas with no bryophyte - as an additional species) of the communities were correlated negatively with the dryness period in the channels, and positively with the water flow and velocity. Hence, high values of those variables were found in refuge sites, such as the main control-gates through which the river water enters the irrigation channels, whereas low values were typical of frequently dry terminal channels. The diversity values were comparable to those found in the lower course of rivers (which might be systems equally adverse for bryophytes), but only half of those recorded for streams. In the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), Cratoneuron filicinum and Rynchostegium riparioides prevailed in channels with a higher water availability, whereas Amblystegium riparium was dominant in channels with harder waters and slower currents. A wider spatial sampling, including different channel types and systems, would be needed to analyse the usefulness of bryophytes as bioindicators of the water quality in irrigation channels.


The human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (hRSV) is the most frequent agent of respiratory infections in infants and children with no currently approved vaccine. The M2-1 protein is an important transcriptional antitermination factor and a potential target for viral replication inhibitor development. Hesperetin (HST) and hesperidin (HSD) are flavonoids from the flavanone group, naturally found in citrus and have, as one of their properties, antiviral activity. The present study reports on the interactions between hRSV M2-1 and these flavanones using experimental techniques in association with computational tools. STD-NMR results showed that HST and HSD bind to M2-1 by positioning their aromatic rings into the target protein binding site. Fluorescence quenching measurements revealed that HST had an interaction affinity greater than HSD towards M2-1. The thermodynamic analysis suggested that hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions are important for the molecular stabilization of the complexes. Computational simulations corroborated with the experimental results and indicated that the possible interaction region for the flavonoids is the AMP-binding site in M2-1. Therefore, these results point that HST and HSD bind stably to a critical region in M2-1, which is vital for its biological function, and thus might play a possible role antiviral against hRSV.


Synchronization of time is essential for correlation of sensor data. For body area network the sensors are distributed over multiple sensor nodes located on different parts of the body. When collecting sensor data using wireless sensor networks, the delay variation can be up to 1000 milliseconds. Physiological sensors, like ECG, accelerometer and gyroscopes, require a timing accuracy in the millisecond range. This paper describes a generic method to provide synchronized timestamps. The method is tested in a Wireless sensor network using Bluetooth and Bluetooth Smart sensor nodes. Results show that the method is usable for correlating sensor data with 50ms sample rate.


In this paper we argue that the surge in world trade over the two decades preceding the global downturn of 2008-09 can be partly explained by the export-magnification effect of offshoring. In a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous firms we show analytically that a fall in variable offshoring costs boosts trade in differentiated final goods through an intra-industry reallocation of resources towards the more productive firms. More specifically, lower barriers to offshoring reduce the input costs of incumbent offshoring firms and allow more firms to source cheap foreign intermediates, which improves firm-level price competitiveness. This, in turn, translates into higher export quantities of incumbent exporters (intensive margin) and entry of new exporters (extensive margin), thereby fostering trade in final goods. † University of Tübingen, ‡European Central Bank This paper should not be reported as representing the views of the European Central Bank(ECB). The project has benefited from financial support from the German Research Foundation (BU 1256/6-1). Corresponding author: Nico Zorell (email@example.com). © 2010 by J. Kleinert and N. Zorell


Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation exceeding the capacity of mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants is a major problem for most municipalities in Thailand. The problem is serious for the Saraburi Provincial Administration Organization (SPAO) as the high daily volumes of MSW sent to the SPAO greatly exceeds the MBT plant capacity of 20 ton d-1. This results in accumulation and ultimately, open-dumping of MSW. Transition from a small (< 50 ton d-1) to a medium-sized cluster (50 - 300 ton d-1) is under consideration to address this problem. Therefore, this study evaluated pre-feasibility information, comparing two possible transition models. Model 1 proposes modification of the existing MBT plant to enlarge its capacity to 50 ton d-1, while Model 2 would require establishing a new medium-sized MBT plant (50 - 70 ton d-1). Results from field data collection as well as mass balance calculation and financial modelling indicate that without additional income from tipping or MSW management fee as well as sale of recyclable materials and scrap metals, both models exhibit negative net present value (NPV) or are not economically feasible due to high initial investment in machinery. However, sensitivity analysis based on an expected fall in future machinery prices indicates that the NPV for both models become positive if prices fall by a minimum 20 %. Due to the much higher initial investment, but the higher capacity with higher separation technology and the higher environmental benefits as well as higher ratings for sustainable development indicators, Model 2 is recommended for a long-term transition. Model 1 can still be recommended for a short - to medium-term transition. Results from in-depth interviews also confirm that Model 1, which offers additional local employment and incomes from selling recyclable materials and scrap metals would be the more feasible option owing to familiarity with the process and its lower initial investment requirement.


BACKGROUND: Obstructive failure of implanted shunts is the most common complication in the treatment of hydrocephalus. Biological material and debris accumulate in the inner walls of the valve and catheters block the normal flow of the drained cerebrospinal fluid causing severe symptoms with high morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, at present, there is no effective preventive protocol or cleaning procedure available. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether externally applied, focused ultrasound beams can be used to resuspend deposits accumulated in brain shunts safely. METHODS: A computational model of an implanted brain shunt was implemented to test the initial design parameters of a system comprising several ultrasound transducers. Under laboratory conditions, configurations with 3 and 4 transducers were arranged in a triangle and square pattern with their radiation axis directed towards a target model of the device, 2 catheters and a brain shunt filled with water and deposited graphite powder. The ultrasound beams were then concentrated on the device across a head model. RESULTS: The computational model revealed that by using only 3 transducers, the acoustic field intensity on the valve was approximately twice that on the brain surface suggesting that acoustic cavitation could be selectively achieved. Resuspension of graphite deposits inside the catheters and the valve were then physically demonstrated and video-recorded with no temperature increase. CONCLUSION: The technology presented here has the potential to be used routinely as a noninvasive, preventive cleaning procedure to reduce the likelihood of obstruction-related events in patients with hydrocephalus treated with an implanted shunt.


In this paper we have pursued the initial vertex partioning methodology for a graph (digraph) isomorphism testing problem using lexicographic ordering of vertex codes. The newly introduced vertex codes (which may be of fixed length or of variable length) incorporate order independent parameters of a graph in relation to a vertex and can be computed efficiently. The vertex partitioning obtaned by the lexicographic ordering of vertex codes is shown to yield the most refined initial vertex partioning known. Examples are presented for the illustration of our method. Specifically, we demonstrate that our approach of using refined vertex oodes for vertex partitioning indeed distinguishes the nonisomorphic cases of strongly regular gaphs of 28 vertices. Our results suggest that the methodology Is powerful in the context of isomorphism testing for large classes of graphs. Further research needed in this area is indicated.


Abstract Micro-Raman spectra of carbonates, silica and amorphous plagioclase, and both micro-Raman and IR reflectance spectra of phosphates in ALH84001 are reported. Data from these vibrational techniques combined with electron microprobe analyses show that (1) the carbonates exhibit complex compositional heterogeneity on a sub-micrometer scale, (2) the phosphates, chlorapatite and merrillite, are largely anhydrous, (3) amorphous silica and plagioclase experienced peak shock pressures >32 GPa and >50 GPa, respectively, and (4) vitreous plagioclase was quenched from a shock- induced melt after relaxation of the peak shock pressure. The observed general Raman band broadening of lattice and internal modes of carbonates in ALH84001 indicates complex sub-microscopic compositional heterogeneity and possibly structural disorder. Any search for biogenic markers in ALH84001 must recognize the complex shock and thermal history of these minerals.


Increasing knowledge of intestinal inflammatory processes in inflammatory bowel diseases has been obtained in the last five years based on clinical, immunologic and biochemical studies. The intestinal inflammatory response presently is believed to evolve in three stages, the first being heralded by immunologic events, the second being characterized by the production of inflammatory mediators with amplification of this response, the third being led by destructive interactions of activated inflammatory cells with the gut epithelium. Pharmacologic intervention at each of these stages is regarded a desirable therapeutic goal in the absence of a known etiology. Phospholipase-A2 and lipoxygenase inhibitors, radical scavengers, mediator receptor antagonists or modification of mediators with less active derivatives are examples of recent developments. The next future, however, will show us, which of these concepts may be realized clinically.


This study aims to determine the profile of students' thinking in solving mathematical problems and to find out the results of the application of Brunerd's theory in solving the problem of building a Limas room in junior high school students.Retrieval Techniques The subjects in this study were seen from the results of tests with high, medium, low categories. High categories were seen from the test results if the answers to the tests were all correct, the categories were seen from the test results if the answers to the tests still had errors, while the categories were low seen from the test results if the answer to the test is still wrong. This technique is used because researchers have a specific purpose for several considerations, namely to find out whether the application of bruner theory can be applied in mathematics subjects, considering that mathematics is considered a difficult subject for students. The subjects of this study were 6 students. Data collection techniques in this study used test, interview and documentation methods while the data validity techniques in this study used triangulation techniques which included 3 elements, namely sources, methods, theories. In this study researchers used data analysis techniques with 3 components, namely: data reduction, data presentation, conclusion drawing.The results showed that subjects with a high category tended to have high-thinking profiles, they had no difficulty in doing tests and interviews. The subjects with the medium category were more likely to have thinking profiles, while they had a little difficulty in doing tests and interviews, while the subjects with the lower category were more likely to have low-thinking profiles, they had difficulty doing tests and interviews. This is what causes a difference between them. Based on the discussion, it can be concluded that junior high school students in their profile think in solving problems in the building of a limiter junior high school students are able to describe the building of Limas space means that SMP students are able to understand pyramid material shown to the sensitivity of students in learning to build Limas space so that junior high school students in their imagination are able to mention 1 example of a pyramid building and all junior high school students are able to mention the types of Limas indicated by the independence of junior high school students who are able to mention various types of building> 1 in terms of bases, and junior high students are able to say> 1 element the building elements of the Limas space means that junior high school students are able to understand the pyramid material shown to the sensitivity of junior high school students to be able to mention the Limas parts properly and correctly.


Purpose - – The paper aims to explore the internationalisation decision-making of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner/managers. Specifically, structural alignment theory (SAT) and regulatory focus theory (RFT) are utilised to examine the concept of opportunity recognition in the context of internationalisation choices. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper is conceptual in nature, and an integrative cognitive model of internationalisation choice decisions is developed based on SAT and RFT, underpinned by a critical review of the international entrepreneurship (IE) literature. Findings - – Scenarios are identified in which the structure of available information may affect the decision-evaluation process in terms of cognitive resource requirements. Further, the SME owner/manager's motivational goal orientation is suggested to moderate the role of the information structure in line with IE literature. A conceptual model and propositions are presented. Research limitations/implications - – The conceptual model and the propositions arising from the discussion in this paper offer new directions of research to explore SME internationalisation. Originality/value - – This paper offers a cognitive perspective of SME internationalisation. This paper offers insights for policymakers, SME owner/managers, practitioners and researchers alike. For internationalisation decisions, this paper highlights the potential impact of the structure of information that is made available to SME owner/managers by industry or policy bodies; further, the moderating influence of motivational goal orientation may inform policy on how information should be presented to SME owner/managers to aid their decision-making.


The infusion of glucosamine causes insulin resistance, presumably by entering the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway; it has been proposed that this pathway plays a role in hyperglycemia-induced insulin resistance. This study was undertaken to determine if glucosamine infusion could influence exercise-stimulated glucose uptake. Male SD rats were infused with glucosamine at 0.1 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1) (low-GlcN group), 6.5 mg x kg(-1) x min(-1) (high-GlcN group), or saline (control group) for 6.5 h and exercised on a treadmill for 30 min (17 m/min) at the end of the infusion period. Glucosamine infusion caused a modest increase in basal glycemia in both experimental groups, with no change in tracer-determined basal glucose turnover. During exercise, glucose turnover increased approximately 2.2-fold from 46 +/- 2 to 101 +/- 5 pmol x kg(-1) x min(-1) in the control group. Glucose turnover increased to a lesser extent in the glucosamine groups and was limited to 88% of control in the low-GlcN group (47 +/- 2 to 90 +/- 3 pmol x kg(-1) x min(-1); P < 0.01) and 72% of control in the high-GlcN group (43 +/- 1 to 73 +/- 3 pmol kg(-1) 1 min(-1); P < 0.01). Similarly, the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) in the control group increased 72% from 6.1 +/- 0.2 to 10.5 +/- 0.7 ml kg(-1) x min(-1) in response to exercise. However, the increase in MCR was only 83% of control in the low-GlcN group (5.2 +/- 0.5 to 8.7 +/- 0.5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1); P < 0.01) and 59% of control in the high-GlcN group (4.5 +/- 0.2 to 6.2 +/- 0.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1); P < 0.01). Neither glucosamine infusion nor exercise significantly affected plasma insulin or free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations. In conclusion, the infusion of glucosamine, which is known to cause insulin resistance, also impaired exercise-induced glucose uptake. This inhibition was independent of hyperglycemia and FFA levels.


Web 2.0 tools offer both corporate training and online education in general the possibility of developing and applying new educational approaches. Its eminently social and participative orientation favors networking and aids the establishment of informal teaching-learning processes. This way of working and of learning can be channeled in organizations through 2.0 corporate training systems. In this paper, we set out a participative intervention method geared towards each organization defining, developing and applying its own model, while at the same time acquiring the necessary skills to consolidate it and allow it to evolve.


Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) has gained attention as an anti-hypertensive agent. In the present study, we hypothesized that anthocyanins from HS may attenuate salt-induced hypertension in rats by suppressing the components of renin-angiotensin-aldoslestrone system (RAAS). Hypertension was induced in the rats by adding 8% NaCl in their diet for six weeks. Wistar rats (n=5 each) were randomly divided into seven groups. Group 1 was the normentensive control group and was fed with normal rat chew and water ad libitum; groups 2 and 3 served as hypertensive control (negative untreated and positive treated with captopril 30mg/kg respectively); groups 4, 5, and 6 served as treatment groups and were administered with graded doses of anthocyanins( 50, 100, 200mg/kg respectively) while group 7 received both 100mg anthocyanins and 30mg captopril per day for 4 weeks. Using HPLC, anthocyanins were isolated from HS calyx following standard protocol. Anthocyanins significantly (p<0.05) reduced blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensive rats in a dose dependent manner. The blood pressure reduction by anthocyanins was associated with a reduction in serum ACE and plasma aldosterone in the hypertensive rats. The effects of anthocyanins on blood pressure and on biomarkers of RAAS were similar to those of captopril, a reference anti-hypertensive drug. The results suggest that anthocyanins exerts a significant (p<0.05) anti-hypertensive potency on rats, probably mediated by the reduction in components of the RAAS. Keywords: hypertension, anthocyanins, renin, aldosterone, rats.


The drilling and completion of wells between 15,000 and 20,000 feet vertical depth has been actively pursued since the early 1950's because of the increased production capacities associated with these deeper wells. The high temperatures and high pressures inherent to this type environment, however, require special equipment to withstand the demands of the severe conditions to which the equipment will be subjected. Selecting seals or sealing systems for oil and gas production necessitates a comprehensive knowledge of the chemistry of both the seal material(s) and the conditions of the environment in which the seals will be used. Understanding the unique characteristics of viscoelastic response is the key to understanding elastomers in general and applying them to specific uses. This paper will discuss elastomer usage as sealing media in the oilfield ; specifically, the use of polymeric seal materials will be followed from their usage in the oilfield from 1977 to the present and their evolution to the elastomeric element packages that have been developed for today's needs in traditional as well as in severe service and high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) applications. Of particular interest will be testing to which the newly developed seal element packages have been subjected. including the testing that was conducted in a deep well simulator. Case histories will support the enhanced capabilities of the new generation of polymeric seal assemblies. In addition to the new generation of elastomeric sealing packages, composite sealing materials have also been developed for certain applications in which elastomeric materials have not been able to provide long-term integrity. Progress being made in this area will also be discussed.


Efficient Light-emitting-diode (LED) constructed of CdSe/Si CdSe nano particles were synthesized through thermal evaporation method using tube furnace and Ar as carrier gas. The synthesized nanoparticles were subjected to structural, optical, morphological, and electrical investigation. The nanoparticles structural properties studied by X-Ray diffraction, confirm the formation of hexagonal structure of CdSe (NPs). The preferred growth direction toward (100) orientation. Crystallite size was calculated by Scherrer's equation. The surface morphology formation studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and average grain size also has been calculated. FESEM images revel sheets and tetra pods constructed of nano particles with average size 15-40 nm. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectrum showed the absorption peak of CdSe at 350 nm. PL measurements show the emission peaks at 641 and 678 nm. The results of (I-V) measurements show the large ratio between the darkness and light state, which shows the correct behavior of LEDs. The ideality factor was estimated at the optimum conditions and it has been found (1.18).


In this study, the purpose of energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions of existing public building by green remodeling. We propose a cost-effective proceeding method of green remodeling by energy performance analysis considering the investment and energy saving cost. As results, with selection of the most effective energy saving factor, the energy cost of the target public building could be economically reduced by about 30%.


Dependence logic and its many variants are new logics that aim at establishing a unified logical theory of dependence and independence underlying seemingly unrelated subjects. The area of dependence logic has developed rapidly in the past few years. We will give a short introduction to dependence logic and review some of the recent developments in the area.