This paper reports on a study commissioned byTe Puni Koldri, based on a larger data base mainly from the 1991 Population Census. As well as demonstrating and extending the standard conclusion that Maori are in markedly inferior positions in the labour force compared to the non-Maori, the paper reports an econometric study which suggests that this is primarily due to some 'Maoriness' factor. An example would be that since social networks are the main means by which people obtain jobs, the individual Maori is disadvantaged by her or his network being more jobless. The study goes on to develop the relevance of dual labour market theory to an understanding of Maori labour force performance, and proposes a more elaborate model of the labour market than that which is usually used. The main findings are reported below, and suggested future research directions complete the paper.


plemented by further evidence. Twenty-three species and varieties are recognized as frequenting this curious habitat, of which Diploicia canescens is most abundant. Some of Miss MELLOR'S conclusions have been called in question by HEATON, 5 who regards the decay of the glass of old stained glass as the cause of the presence of lichens, ratherthan the reverse. This criticism brings a reply from Miss MELLOR,'6 whose contention that lichens cause disintegration of the surface of stained glass and the production of pits seems to be well supported by her evidence.-GEO. D. FULLER.


Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were intraperitoneally challenged with the bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri (the causative agent of enteric septicemia of catfish), and the expression of genes presumed to function in the inducible innate defense was evaluated. End-binding protein 1 (EB1), beta1-integrin, natural-resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp), heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), serum amyloid P (SAP), and transferrin gene expression profiles were determined using quantitative reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction on liver, anterior kidney, spleen, and gut. Fish were subsampled at 0, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after bacterial or phosphate-buffered-saline injection. Posterior kidney sampling demonstrated increasing bacterial counts at 24-48 h postinjection (hpi), followed by a plateau to 96 hpi. The transferrin and SAP transcripts were liver specific. The other genes were expressed in all four tissues. In bacterially infected fish, expression of EB1 (anterior kidney, spleen, and liver), Hsp70 (anterior kidney and spleen), and Nramp (spleen and gut) significantly increased by 48 hpi. Transferrin was strongly up-regulated and SAP was downregulated by 72 hpi, indicating positive and negative acute-phase reactants, respectively. The data indicate a substantial response of innate immunity effector cells by 48 hpi, followed by suppression of bacterial growth and induction of the acute-phase response. This suggests that the 48-72-hpi time frame is critical in our model for evaluating the effectiveness of innate defenses.


The integration of time dependent media in applications requires the synchronization of media streams. The problem of synchronization is more important if we consider multimedia data presented in distributed systems. The specification of synchronization is supported by the synchronization editor, the creation and the transport of synchronization objects are managed by the synchronization coordinator, and the execution of multimedia presentations is performed by the synchronizer. We use a Petri nets model for the specification of synchronization, and propose a method using by the Normalized Relative Time Stamps (NRTS) to synchronize multimedia objects. We also use two policies, aggressive and conservative, for execution of synchronization presentations. We believe that a best synchronization scheme must be adaptive to various applications, i.e., the performance of synchronization among various media streams is dependent on the applications. On the view of resources utilization, we try to propose a scheme that can tune the accuracy of detecting the asynchrony. Thus, we can get the balance on the tradeoff between the performance of presentation and utilization of resources.


A rapid, high-throughput screening methodology has been developed for the determination of transaminase activity. This pH based, colorimetric assay can also be used to scale reactions directly from 100 microL screening scale to 25 mL development scale. Additionally, three techniques have been developed to drive transamination reactions toward complete conversion. The first method uses lactate dehydrogenase to remove the inhibitory pyruvate keto acid by-product from the reaction and drive reaction equilibrium toward the desired amine. The second method is a single enzyme system, and uses a large excess of isopropylamine to drive the transamination. Method three requires only a catalytic amount of amine donor, as an amino acid dehydrogenase is employed to regenerate the amine donor in situ using ammonia. All three systems have been demonstrated for the production of optically pure methylbenzylamine from acetophenone. An enantiomeric excess of >99% was achieved for both the R- and S-methylbenzylamine products.


A synopsis of the available data on the radiosensitivity of female germ cells is provided, the reader being referred to recent comprehensive reviews for detailed information. The effects of ionizing radiations are considered in terms of age; germ cell stage and follicular development; type, quality, and physical factors of the exposure; and criterion chosen to assess the effect (cell killing, reproductive capacity, genetic effects, etc.). A number of conclusions are drawn which might have a bearing on studies in which the effects of chemicals and drugs on mammalian species are assessed.


Vacations enable people to help one another, spend time together in pleasant contexts, and renew relational resources. Reasoning that these shared activities spread social and psychological benefits through social networks, we hypothesized that increase in the number of vacationing workers engenders nonlinear decline in psychological distress at the population level. We applied time-series methods to aggregate data on monthly dispensation of antidepressants to the Swedish population for the 147 months starting January 1993. We obtained the data from the pharmacy corporation allied with the national health care system and from governmental sources. Dispensation of antidepressants declined logarithmically with increase in the number of vacationing workers, for men and women alike. The associations held among people beyond retirement age as well as people of working age, further evidence that vacation benefits spread beyond vacationing workers. The results bear on the social regulation of time for restoration as a general determinant of population health.


Introduction REIMS permits real time analysis of tissue specific molecular information contained within an electrocautery smoke plume.1This study validated its diagnostic accuracy in colorectal cancer (CRC) and developed a novel endoscopic methodology. Method Patients undergoing elective surgery for CRC were recruited at St. Mary's hospital London. 1. A standard electrosurgery handpiece using monopolar diatheramy on 30 W cutting mode (ValleylabTM) was modified to allow aspiration of the electrosurgical aerosol to a Xevo G2-S iKnife QTof mass spectrometer (Waters Corporation). Ex-vivo analysis was performed and H&E staining and histological examination was carried out for validation. Multivariate analysis was performed using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. Classification of each tissue type was performed using leave-one-patient-out cross-validation and receiver operating curves were generated. 2. Ex-vivocolorectal tissue was sampled using an endoscopic snare (Olympus Medical) modified to allow aspiration of the electrosurgical aerosol. Results 40 consecutive patients were recruited (22 male, median age 68 y, range 47–90). 23 tumour samples were analysed: 10 rectal adenocarcinomas and 13 colonic adenocarcinoma were analysed with TNM stages T2 (8), T3 (11) T4 (4), N0 (12), N1 (6) N2 (5), M0 (22), M1 (1). Distinction of malignant colorectal tissue was achieved with a classification accuracy of 94.4% and a sensitivity of 92.4%, Specificity 96.8% (ROC AUC 0.98). The diagnostic accuracy for dysplasia was 93.7% (Specificity 95.1%, sensitivity 85.7%, AUC 0.97). Distinction of tissue histology was possible based on membrane lipid ratios. Increases in glycerophospholipids (p = 0.0027), and triacylglycerols (p = 0.0004) were seen in healthy mucosa and increased prostaglandin D2 was found in malignant tissue (p = 0.0002). Endoscopic analysis was technically feasible and could identify colonic wall sub layers with a tissue classification accuracy of 88%. Discrimination of healthy colorectal tissue, adenomatous polyps and cancerous tissue (12 patients) was achieved with a tissue classification accuracy of 87.5%. Conclusion REIMS is able to diagnose dysplasia and malignant colorectal tissue with a high degree of accuracy in real time. This technology could improve the efficacy and safety of the endoscopic treatment of colon cancer. Disclosure of interest L. Muirhead: None Declared, J. Kinross Grant/ Research Support from: Imperial College BRC funding, Conflict with: Director of getwell media, R. Preece: None Declared, A. Speller: None Declared, O. Golf: None Declared, R. Goldin: None Declared, A. Darzi: None Declared, Z. Takats: None Declared. Reference Balog J, Sasi-Szabo L, Kinross J, et al. Intraoperative tissue identification using rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry. Sci Transl Med. 2013;5(194):194ra93


The very common seismological observation that the P waveform is enriched in high-frequency motion relative to the S waveforms of the same earthquake manifests itself, in spectral studies of the earthquake mechanism, as the "corner frequency shift," the general although not ubiquitous tendency for the P -wave corner frequency f o( P ) to be greater than the S -wave corner frequency f o( S ). In point source, time-domain modeling studies of the earthquake mechanism which follow the recipe of D. V. Helmberger and C. A. Langston that explicitly suppresses the corner frequency shift, it is an equally common result that the synthetic S waves are systematically enriched in high-frequency motion relative to the observations. Almost three dozen spectral analysis and time-domain modeling studies are recapitulated in this one to conclude: (1) the corner frequency shift is a very common condition of the far-field body waves of earthquakes, with no discernible dependence on earthquake source strength, hypocentral distance or depth, or recording device; and (2) the corner frequency shift is the manifestation of an intrinsic property of earthquakes, source finiteness. Anelastic attenuation estimates for shear waves determined on the basis of a source model derived from P waves are likely to be strongly biased to high values of Q -1, if the shear excitation is estimated directly from the equivalent far-field compressional excitation, i.e., with no allowance for source finiteness. The corner frequency shift, moreover, places strong constraints on admissible earthquake source models; point-source and Haskell-type dislocation models will not be among them.


Today many different technologies and products are available for the application field of Internet of Things (IoT) and the development continues. Before launching a new product on the market, a market analysis may be used to develop a specific business model (BM) recommendation. This includes not only the classical analysis according to the BM CANVAS (e.g., stakeholders involved, key resources, revenue streams, and cost), but also the analysis of socio-economic aspects up to the identification of sustainability aspects and measures from a Business-to-Business and Business-to-Customer view. Thus, this paper proposes a generic-applicable 4-step tool-chain combining well-established methods with new ones to develop a strong and valid BM for IoT products including the identification of essential sustainability items. This tool-chain is applied to an IoT scenario EduCampus, which forms as a concrete instantiation of the methodology developed.


The 35 year history of phosphoric acid fuel cell stack development at United Technologies Corporation is traced through three generations of power plants that culminated in the 200 kW ™PC-25 fuel cell power plant. The evolution of stack materials and designs for the electrolyte retaining matrix, electrode substrate, electrolyte reservoir plates, separator plates and coolers are described. Electrolyte management issues relating to water management, electrolyte distribution between cell components, freeze prevention, acid evaporation, and acid transfer by electrochemical pumping are reviewed. Corrosion issues relating to separator plates, anode corrosion, edge seal corrosion and operation at low power levels are discussed. Thoughts on potential improvements to reduce the cost and double the life of the phosphoric acid fuel cell stack are presented.

Keywords:

phosphoric acid fuel cells;
stack materials;
electrolyte retaining matrix;
electrode substrates;
electrolyte reservoir plates;
edge seals;
separator plates;
coolers;
acid evaporation;
acid transfer;
corrosion


Total body irradiation is the popular treatment of lymphopoietic malignancies and preparation for bone marrow transplantation. Hyperfractionated radiation regimen was to deliver a total dose of 1200 cGy in 8 fractions, 3 fractions a day for 2.5 days. One HVL (half value layer) alloy lung shield is being used to minimize pulmonary toxicitiy. Acute toxic effects included reversible gastroenteritis, mucositis, and myelosuppression. Delayed toxic effects include interstitial pneumonitis, cataract formation and GVHD. Interstitial pneumonitis is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality after bone marrow transplantation. Pulmonary toxicity occurred in 26 (56.5%) cases and 16 of them died from IP. In 15 infected cases, 5 were classified as IP with infectious agent of cytomegalo-virus. The other cases without infectious agent were classified as idiopathic IP (IIP), which occurred in 23.9% of the TBI patients.


OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate radiation dose, effective dose, and image quality of different low-dose abdominal CT protocols in a swine model and an anthropomorphic phantom using a third-generation dual-source CT scanner. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Four different abdominal low-dose protocols were established using a swine model and were regarded as diagnostic by two experienced radiologists on the basis of clarity and sharpness of anatomic structures. General image conditions such as noise and spatial resolution as well as diagnostic acceptability and artifacts were evaluated. Objective image quality was determined by measuring signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in different anatomic locations. To evaluate the effective dose, thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) measurements were repeated in a phantom. RESULTS. Diagnostic acceptability, spatial resolution, and noise were rated as optimal in all four protocols, which were therefore regarded as diagnostic. We found no statistically significant differences in SNR or CNR for the four low-dose protocols. Effective dose determined from the phantom measurements did not exceed 0.33 mSv for any protocol. Overall evaluation of the 86 TLD measurements for the four low-dose protocols revealed a statistically significant difference in radiation dose (p < 0.0001), showing that the dual-source protocol had the lowest radiation dose. CONCLUSION. Submillisievert abdominal CT is feasible with good image quality and doses even lower than conventional abdominal radiography. Our dual-source protocol achieved the lowest dose, which further shows that dual-source imaging is possible in the submillisievert range without additional dose.


Cribriform adenocarcinoma of the tongue (CAT), also called cribriform adenocarcinoma of the tongue and minor salivary gland (CATMSG) is a rare, locally invasive, and poorly recognized tumor, typically occurring on the base of the tongue. There are many aspects that are not clear about it. Many surgeons, oncologists and even pathologists do not know enough or lack of understanding of it. In order to help clinicians raise awareness of the disease, we recorded the diagnosis and treatment of a 73-year-old woman with a tumor located in the tongue base. We discuss the differential diagnosis of related diseases in combination with the existing literature and our previous case, and summarize the clinical experience.


We define stem cells broadly as those cells that give rise to progeny with more than one differentiated phenotype and that may be greatly expanded in an undifferentiated form. This differs from a "progenitor cell," which gives rise to a single cell lineage only. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are isolated from bone marrow and expanded ex vivo. Flow cytometry using many different surface markers has demonstrated the expanded population to be >98% homogeneous and in defined in vitro assays these cells readily differentiate to multiple connective tissue lineages, including osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes (Fig. 1) (Pittenger et al. 1999). In vivo implantation of these cells at orthotopic sites will also yield tissues in these lineages. Additionally, cultured hMSCs either produce, or can be induced to produce, cytokines for support of hematopoietic cells (Majumdar et al. 1998; Cheng et al. 2000). Cocultures of the MSCs with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) demonstrated that hMSCs or adipogenic hMSCs can support the in vitro maintenance, and even expansion, of HSCs, suggesting hMSCs serve as functional stroma (Thiede et al. 2000). In addition, conditions that produce myogenic differentiation of rat MSCs have been reported (Saito et al. 1995), and hMSCs show similar behavior but perhaps less efficiently. MSCs with similar potential have been isolated from other species as well, and those isolated from rabbits differentiated to tenocytes to produce a suitable replacement for severed tendon with excellent biomechanical stability (Young et al. 1998). The rabbit MSCs were also shown to form suitable cartilaginous grafts...


In this study, the use of flexographic printing was investigated for low cost, high volume production of devices incorporating nanowires through the printing of zinc acetate precursors on a substrate used to form zinc oxide (ZnO) seeds for the growth of nanowires using a hydrothermal growth technique. The printing of precursors allows the selective area growth of ZnO nanowires, which has implications in high-yield production of devices incorporating ZnO nanowires. The work presented here achieved printed line widths of <60 μm with low edge distortion (<3 μm) using a printing plate with a line width of 50 μm. The hydrothermally grown ZnO nanowires show uniform density of growth over the printed area with nanowire diameters between 40 and 60 nm on both silicon and polyimide substrates. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectra showed contamination-free crystals with a 1:1 (zinc to oxygen) stoichiometry. Crystal orientation is along the c-axis with high quality crystalline structure shown using x-ray diffraction spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. A ZnO nanowire gas sensor, fabricated using the flexographic printing technique, is demonstrated. Such a printing-assisted fabrication offers low cost, high volume production of devices incorporating ZnO nanowires, ranging from gas sensors to field emission devices.


We present a compact 1.3 × 4 μm2 Germanium waveguide photodiode, integrated in a CMOS compatible silicon photonics process flow. This photodiode has a best-in-class 3 dB cutoff frequency of 45 GHz, responsivity of 0.8 A/W and dark current of 3 nA. The low intrinsic capacitance of this device may enable the elimination of transimpedance amplifiers in future optical data communication receivers, creating ultra low power consumption optical communications.


Along with the growth of multi-disciplinary collaborative design demand of complex product, it has put forward higher requirements for collaborative environment and function interoperation of product design, aimed at enterprise demand and digital development trend, the study of interoperation methods between digital systems has important realistic significance to the improvement of multi-disciplinary collaborative design efficiency and information sharing degree. This paper expounds ontology design and study of interoperation integrated system in digital system, applies ontology to function interoperation mechanism of digital system, uses ontology and its modeling tools to construct local ontology and designs the shared ontology of various digital systems. Meanwhile, this paper uses ontology mapping mode to organize the whole interoperation framework.


It is our hope this afternoon to maintain as high a level of performance as that of this morning's session. In this we have a good start: among our speakers we have not only family physicians and clinical investigators, but also a basic scientist, Dr. Robert Moe from the Pharmacology Department of Hoffmann-La Roche in Nutley, New Jersey. Thc other members of our panel are Dr. Williani Likoff, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Hahnemaiin lLledicsl College and Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Irwin H. Ardam, Clinical Instructor in Medicine a t the George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D. C., Dr. Robert Green, Department of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Medical School, and Dr. W. Proctor Harvey, Associate Professor of Medicine at, Georgetown 7Jniversity, Washington, D. C.


Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a source of high quality low-allergenic natural rubber. The effort to commercialise this plant has intensified in the last decade. That guayule can survive extreme environmental conditions makes it more attractive to farmers, especially under conditions of moisture stress. Recent research has indicated that guayule grows well in Australia producing high rubber and resin yield. Efficient seed production technology resulting in high quality seed is vital to full commercialisation of this crop. The main objective of this research was to investigate production, harvesting and processing of guayule seed. This included investigation on flowering nature of guayule, determination of optimum seed maturity, effect of plant population on seed yield and quality and the development of harvesting and seed processing technology. Guayule was established in the field at four plant populations. A seed harvester was developed and tested over two production seasons. A seed threshing and cleaning machine was also developed and evaluated. Flowering behaviour of guayule was studied over three years with the objective of determining when peak flowering occurs and to investigate factors affecting flower initiation and pattern of flowering. The results indicated that photoperiod is the likely main trigger for flower initiation with soil moisture and temperature also having some influence. With rainfall as the only source of moisture, flowering peaks occurred in mid-spring (October) and in Summer (February) in Southeast Queensland, Australia. After initial flowering, the flowering pattern was mainly affected by soil moisture. High summer temperatures reduced the number of flowers. The optimum harvest maturity and indicators of maturity for guayule were investigated by harvesting seed sequentially after flowering and comparing seed quality parameters. Heat units expressed as growing degree days after flowering were calculated and related to seed development stages and quality. Seed quality was assessed by germination test, capitulum dry mass, 1000-seed mass and percentage of filled seeds. Results indicated that guayule seed can safely be harvested at about 329 growing degree-days (GDD) or 28 days after flowering under south-east Queensland climatic conditions. At this date seed quality was better and seedhead colour was comparable to cinnamon (code 165C) on the Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S) standard colour chart. Of all the parameters, GDD, 1000-seed mass and percentage of filled seeds provided more rapid and reliable measures of optimum seed maturity. The effect of plant population on seed yield and quality was studied by planting guayule at 4444, 8300, 12500 and 25000 plants/ha. Data were collected at 16 and 28 months after planting. Seed was harvested manually multiple times over 4 weeks each year following the main flowering period in spring. Harvested seed was threshed and clean seed yield was compared among different plant populations. Seed quality was also compared in terms of 1000-seed mass and seed size. Lowest plant population of 4444 plants/ha provided the highest yield at 28 months but produced the lowest yield at 16 months from planting when the plants had not yet reached full size to compensate for wider spacing. However, at both ages this treatment produced heavier and larger seeds. The difference in yield or seed quality between plant populations ranging from 8300 to 25000 plants/ha was not significant. Overall results of the study demonstrated that seed yield and seed size, which is important in direct seeding, can be affected by plant population. A single-row guayule seed harvester was developed after investigating different methods of seed dislodgement and collection. The harvester consisted of a seed dislodgement mechanism that removes seeds by vibration of spring steel rods. An axial flow fan placed directly over the vibrating rods catches the seed before it falls to the ground. The seed is then conveyed by the air stream through an inflatable canvas tube to a collection bin. The design and selection of the seed catching system was based on terminal velocity of the unthreshed seed. Vibration frequencies ranging from 9.9 to 14.5 Hz and amplitude from 4 to 5.5 cm were used to test the harvester in the field. Harvested seed was analysed for percentages of clean seed in the harvested material, seed loss and immature seeds harvested. The performance of the machine was evaluated based on harvesting capacity and efficiency. Guayule seed harvested by the machine ranged from 1.73 to 7.18 kg/ha and harvest efficiency varied from 77 to 91%. The percentage of immature seeds removed from the crop during mechanical harvesting was as low as 0.1%. Although there was a trend for better efficiency from higher vibration frequencies, the variation was not statistically significant. Nearly 21% of clean seed was obtained in the harvested material which was much higher than that reported by other researchers. The harvester can be converted into a multiple row machine to increase its capacity. A guayule seed processing system consisting of a belt thresher, a vibrating screen separator and horizontal air grading unit was developed and evaluated. The machine efficiency was up to 77% with little seed injury. Seed purity reached 98% and germination 76%. Of the 3 grades of seed collected from the machine, up to 63.5% of the seed processed was first grade with 1000-seed mass achieving 764 mg; this is highly desirable for direct seeding. The processing capacity of the threshing unit can easily be upsized by increasing belt width. Threshing clearance and belt speed affected seed quality and grade as well as overall efficiency of the machine. The greatest efficiency was obtained with a combination of clearance between 0.75 and 1 mm and belt speed of 9 m/s.


Psoriasis is a cutaneous disease with systemic involvement. Tissue damage is considered to be immune-mediated, and etanercept currently provides effective treatment. Kidney injury arising from this condition has not yet been fully explained in the literature. We present a case of membranous nephropathy with C1q deposits followed by development of psoriasis. In this article we will review the possible association between these conditions and the response to this biological molecule.


The development of
the Global Navigation System and wireless networking technologies have changed
the way we live, communicate, share information and even the collection of
geospatial data in the field. Along with wireless networking technologies, the
improvement in computational power of handheld devices such as smartphones,
tablet PCs, ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPCs) and netbook computers allow
field users to connect, store and stream large amounts of geospatial data from
the web-server. Nowadays, geospatial data collection is more flexible and
timely manner. In this paper we discuss field data collection using a
smartphone and web-based GIS system, which collects, integrates, visualizes and
analyzes the collected data in real-time. We built a web-GIS system for
creating a user account, acquiring coordinates from GPS embedded devices or
wireless access points, and providing a user-friendly survey form. The
collected data can be visualized and analyzed by performing thematic mapping,
labeling, symbolizing, querying and generating a summary report. We tested this
system on a university campus management system, in which we collected
information on illegal disposal sites and parking events within the university
campus.


This paper examines Hermann Cohen's idiosyncratic construction of a medieval Jewish philosophical tradition, focusing primarily, though not exclusively, on his Charakteristik der Ethik Maimunis. This construction, not unlike modern accounts, is filtered through the central place of Maimonides. For Cohen, however, Maimonides' centrality is defined not by his systematization of Aristotelianism, but by his elevation of ethics over metaphysics. The ethical and pantheistic concerns of Maimonides' precursors, according to this reading, anticipate his uniqueness. Whereas Shlomo ibn Gabirol's pantheistic doctrine of emanation, for example, assigned little weight to ethics, Abraham ibn Daud rebelled against such a doctrine. Ibn Daud—much like Bahya ibn Paquda and Abraham ibn Ezra—becomes part of a Jewish philosophical tradition that culminates in Maimonides' rejection of Aristotelian metaphysics. In particular, this paper examines the way in which Cohen envisaged the pre-Maimonidean philosophical tradition, putting his highly critical reading of Shlomo ibn Gabirol and his pantheistic obsession with prime matter in counterpoint with his more favorable readings of Abraham ibn Daud and Bahya ibn Paquda.


The need for transparent conductors (TCs) that are capable of withstanding high mechanical deformation in comparison to the brittle indium tin oxide (ITO) films is paramount for roll‐to‐roll production of flexible and stretchable displays, signage systems, lighting devices and solar panels with stringent weatherability requirements. This paper reports a highly stretchable TC comprising of a web of core‐shell nanofibers, which mimics the fibrous structure of natural systems such as veins of a leaf or nerve systems. The TC web demonstrates high transparency, low sheet resistance, and unprecedented stretchability and stability over repeated stretching. The nanofiber TC web can be transferred to different substrates, which is manifested by the transfer onto an organic solar cell, demonstrating a photovoltaic performance comparable to that of a device with an ITO electrode. This work presents a technological platform, scalable for the manufacturing of large area transparent conductors for flexible and stretchable displays, electronics and solar cells on unconventional substrates such as rubber, fabric and paper.


Ocrelizumab is a humanized CD20 monoclonal antibody which was approved for management of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) and Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) in 2017. We present 2 patients, a 67-year-old woman with history of PPMS and a 42-year-old woman with RRMS, who were started on ocrelizumab and were diagnosed with invasive ductal cell breast carcinoma after 2 years of ocrelizumab infusion followed by discontinuation of the drug. Large trials conducted for ocrelizumab showed malignancies in a total of 4 cases with RRMS in OPERA 1 trial conducted over 2 years from 2011 to 2013 (breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and melanomas) and in 11 cases with PPMS seen in ORATORIO trial conducted in 2017. There are currently no other published case reports of breast cancer in setting of ocrelizumab use for MS outside of large trials on literature review.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the influence of implant size and configuration on osseointegration in implants immediately placed into extraction sockets.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Implants were installed immediately into extraction sockets in the mandibles of six Labrador dogs. In the control sites, cylindrical transmucosal implants (3.3 mm diameter) were installed, while in the test sites, larger and conical (root formed, 5 mm diameter) implants were installed. After 4 months of healing, the resorptive patterns of the alveolar crest were evaluated histomorphometrically.

RESULTS
With one exception, all implants were integrated in mineralized bone, mainly composed of mature lamellar bone. The alveolar crest underwent resorption at the control as well as at the test implants. This resorption was more pronounced at the buccal aspects and significantly greater at the test (2.7+/-0.4 mm) than at the control implants (1.5+/-0.6 mm). However, the control implants were associated with residual defects that were deeper at the lingual than at the buccal aspects, while these defects were virtually absent at test implants.

CONCLUSIONS
The installment of root formed wide implants immediately into extraction sockets will not prevent the resorption of the alveolar crest. In contrast, this resorption is more marked both at the buccal and lingual aspects of root formed wide than at standard cylindrical implants.


Karstic springs are important habitats for maintaining freshwater biodiversity. However, little is known about Odonata larvae assemblages in karstic springs, and studies about the ecological factors that determine species distribution in these habitats are still lacking. In this study the composition of Odonata larvae communities from 91 springs located in the central part of Montenegro was investigated. The richest fauna was found in sublacustrine springs, followed by limnocrenes, while that of the rheocrenes was less rich. The results obtained confirm the main research hypothesis that Odonata larvae assemblages in the karstic springs in the central part of Montenegro were comparably influenced by the environmental parameters acting on the level of individual springs as well as the factors acting at the landscape level. Odonata larvae assemblages divided springs into four groups. On the other hand, the springs could be divided into three groups based on habitat and landscape characteristics. CCA indicates that disturbance factors such as the permanence and directness of human influence on springs for use as drinking water sources are foremost in determining Odonata assemblages at the level of individual springs. The habitat scale considered several factors that influence Odonate assemblages, including altitude and riparian vegetation. This study proves that further odonatological studies in springs should include both types of factors and their interactions.


In August 2003, record-breaking temperatures raged across much of Europe. In France, maximum temperatures of 37°C (99°F) persisted for 9 days straight, the longest such stretch since 1873. About 40,000 deaths (14,000 in France alone) were attributed to the extreme heat and low humidity. Various climate conditions must come into alignment to produce extreme weather like the 2003 heat wave, and despite a concerted effort, forecasting models have so far been unable to accurately reproduce the event—including the modern European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble modeling system for seasonal forecasts, which went into operation in 2007. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2010GL046455, 2011)


Membrane phospholipids attack by oxygen free radicals, i.e. lipidoperoxidation, occurs in normal cellular life. This free radicals attack is controlled by a protective system, both enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutahione peroxidase) and non enzymatic (vitamine E). Imbalance between attack and defense can explain many pathological events. In these events, the oxidation products of unsaturated fatty acids are of fundamental importance, in particular those derived from arachidonic acid (prostaglandins, prostacyclins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes).


Susceptibility to oxygen toxicity was studied in three inbred and two hybrid strains of mice. Because in vitro studies have shown that the cytochrome P-450 enzymes can produce oxygen radicals and H2O2, we tested the hypothesis that inducibility of these enzymes might play a role in oxygen toxicity. Mice responsive to hepatic microsomal enzyme induction by aromatic hydrocarbons [C3H/HeJ, C3H/HeN, C3H/HeJ X DBA/2J (designated C3D2F1/J), C3H/HeN X DBA/2J (designated C3D2F1/N)] were more sensitive to the toxic effects of 100% oxygen exposure than were genetically unresponsive mice (DBA/2J). DBA/2J mice survived significantly longer exposure periods with less lung damage. Lung and liver cytochrome P-450 levels increased 2-to 3-fold in C3H and F1 mice during 100% oxygen exposure (maximum levels at 72-96 hr) and subsequently fell prior to death. No increases were seen in cytochrome P-450 levels in DBA/2J mice. Metabolic pathways involving cytochrome P-450 enzymes may initiate or modulate oxidative damage due to oxygen radicals. The difference in responsiveness of mice to microsomal enzyme induction may imply genetic differences in susceptibility to oxidative stress, may help to explain species differences in susceptibility, and may have long-term implications in therapeutics and patient care if similar inherited differences exist in humans.


We investigate the possibility of doubly heavy $qq^\prime \bar Q \bar Q^\prime$ tetraquark bound states using $n_f=2+1$ lattice QCD with pion masses $\simeq 164$, $299$ and $415$ MeV. Two types of lattice interpolating operator are chosen, reflecting first diquark-antidiquark and second meson-meson structure. Performing variational analyses using these operators and their mixings, we determine the ground and first excited states from the lattice correlators. Using non-relativistic QCD to simulate the bottom quarks and the Tsukuba formulation of relativistic heavy quarks for charm quarks, we study the $ud\bar b \bar b$, $\ell s\bar b \bar b$ as well as $ud\bar c \bar b$, channels with $\ell=u,d$. In the case of the $ud\bar b \bar b$ and $\ell s\bar b \bar b$ channels unambiguous signals for $J^P=1^+$ tetraquarks are found with binding energies $189(10)$ and $98(7)$ MeV below the corresponding free two-meson thresholds at the physical point. These tetraquarks are therefore not only strong-interaction, but also electromagnetic-interaction stable, and can decay only weakly. So far these are the first exotic hadrons predicted to have this feature. Further evidence for binding is found in the $ud\bar c \bar b$ channel, where the binding energy broadly straddles the electromagnetic stability threshold.
We also study the dependence of the tetraquark binding on heavy quark mass by considering the channels $ud\bar b' \bar b'$, $\ell s\bar b' \bar b'$ as well as $ud\bar b' \bar b$, $\ell s\bar b' \bar b$ involving a heavy $b'$ quark with mass between roughly $0.6$ and $6.3$ times the physical $b$ quark mass. The observed mass dependence of these four flavor channels is shown to follow closely a phenomenological form expected on simple physical grounds.


OBJECTIVES Despite improved nutrition and intensive treatment, subjects with cystic fibrosis have difficulty in maintaining anabolism during intercurrent infections, which can result in reduced body mass index and impaired skeletal growth. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its binding protein IGFBP3 are sensitive to changes in nutritional status. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between circulating concentrations of these peptides, body mass index, and clinical status in cystic fibrosis. METHODS Serum concentrations of IGF-I and IGFBP3 were measured in 197 subjects (108 males, 89 females; mean age 9.69 years, range 0.41-17.9 years) and these data were analysed with respect to body mass index, pubertal stage, and clinical status as assessed by Shwachman score and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 ). RESULTS The mean height SD score of the children studied was −0.2 (SD 1.14) and the body mass index SD score −0.26 (1.4). The body mass index SD score declined with increasing age (r=−0.18) and paralleled changes in IGF-I concentrations, which also declined. The IGF-I SD score (calculated from control data) correlated with age (r=−0.53). The abnormalities were most obvious during late puberty, when IGF-I and IGFBP3 concentrations were significantly reduced compared with those in control subjects matched for pubertal stage. The IGF-I SD score correlated with height SD score (r=0.14) and the decline in IGF-I concentrations with the fall in body mass index SD score (r=0.42). IGF-I SD scores also correlated with the Shwachman score (r=0.33) and FEV1(r=0.17). CONCLUSIONS The close relation between declining IGF-I and IGFBP3 concentrations and body mass index in patients with cystic fibrosis may simply reflect poor nutritional status and insulin hyposecretion. Nevertheless, IGF-I deficiency could also contribute towards the catabolism observed in these patients, and IGF-I SD scores correlated with other measures of clinical status such as the Shwachman score and FEV1. Key messages • The fall in body mass index with increasing age in children with cystic fibrosis parallels the decline in concentrations of IGF-I and its principal binding protein, IGFB3 • The close relation between body mass index and IGF-I concentrations in cystic fibrosis may reflect poor nutrition or insulin hyposecretion • Nevertheless, low IGF-I concentrations may contribute directly to the fall in body mass index with increasing age


Objective: The increasing incidence of resistance among pathogen towards synthetic fungicides is a cause of serious problem. For this, the fight against fungi is directed to the use of natural products. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the chemical composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil against two post harvest pathogenic fungi: fusarium. sp and Aspergillus. sp and then compare it with the effect of two fungicides (Vapcotop and Propineb) on the same stem. Methods: Essential oil samples of Satureja calamintha nepeta were analyzed using a Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. The in vitro antifungal activity of the essential oils was done by the poisoned food technique. Results: The GC–MS analysis of the essential oil identified 35 components accounting for 99.40% of the total oil composition. The most abundant components were Menthone (26.46%), piperitone oxide (22.26%), and pulegone (14.04%). Essential oil was found effective against all the tested fungi, and was more potent then the two fungicides with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 2 µl/ml. Conclusion: The essential oil exhibited a significant reduction in mycelial growth with the two fungi species, and has a higher biological activity than those of the two fungicides. This study suggests that essential oil represents a good alternative to eliminate fungi that can be pathogens for plants.


The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) popularly called as COVID-19, is a pandemic having affected >200 countries. Globally, quarantine measures have been implemented to slow down the spread of the virus. Yet, the available vaccines and drugs for treating COVID-19 are still in design and developmental stage, requiring clinical validation. This review is focused on the progress in the development of medicines against SARS-CoV-2. As an alternative approach, both conventional and traditional biomedicines are also reported to be in practice, to treat the SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. Considering the therapeutic values of the folk medicines, this review focuses on the usage of high value added products from plants, against COVID-19 in managing the symptoms like fever, cough, cold, sore throat, respiratory disorders and kidney dysfunctions enlisting a few used since time immemorial. It is ardently hoped that scientific intervention of such traditional plants can be integrated to harmonise with modern medicine, to ensure its dosage and safety in augmenting disease management.


In the present study, CD34+ human umbilical cord blood stem cells (UCBSCs) were engineered to express interleukin-21 (IL-21) and then were transplanted into A2780 ovarian cancer xenograft-bearing Balb/c nude mice. The therapeutic efficacy of this procedure on ovarian cancer was evaluated. The findings from the study indicated that UCBSCs did not form gross or histological teratomas until up to 70 days postinjection. The CD34+ UCBSC-IL-21 therapy showed a consistent effect in the ovarian cancer of the treated mice, delaying the tumor appearance, reducing the tumor sizes, and extending life expectancy. The efficacy was attributable to keeping CD34+ UCBSC-IL-21 in the neoplastic tissues for more than 21 days. The secreted IL-21 not only increased the quantity of CD11a+ and CD56+ NK cells but also increased NK cell cytotoxicities to YAC-1 cells and A2780 cells, respectively. The efficacy was also associated with enhancing the levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, and TNF-α in the mice as well as the high expressions of the NKG2D and MIC A/B molecules in the tumor tissues. This study suggested that transferring CD34+ UCBSC-IL-21 into the nude mice was safe and feasible in ovarian cancer therapy, and that the method would be a promising new strategy for clinical treatment of ovarian cancer.


Companies still need methods and tools that support them to reach sustainable development. The beginning of the discussion about sustainability can be dated back to 1732, but nowadays the expectation that companies are sustainable is more and more relevant to the companies. To develop the right methods, which are really helpful for the companies it is necessary to understand the current state of the art. What do companies already do, where do they have problems, and which barriers do they see when integrating sustainability. To investigate these questions we conducted an online-survey with German companies. Our study showed that companies are still at its beginning and that the level of sustainability integration in Germany is not very high. Especially the integration into business process management and the use of information and communication technology need more focus. The biggest problems companies see when trying to integrate sustainability are the missing resources and the missing methodological skills, which supports our assumption that companies still need support. The next step will be the development of these methods and tools.


Earthquakes are among the most destructive of natural hazards known, and lead to considerable loss of life and property world-wide every year. In spite of the large impact that earthquakes have on society, little is known about the mechanisms through which earthquakes nucleate and dynamic ruptures propagate. This hampers earthquake hazard assessments and forecasting attempts, which are at present largely based on statistical inferences rather than physical principles. Laboratory studies of fault friction may contribute to the accuracy of earthquake hazard assessments by detailed investigation of the mechanisms involved in fault rock deformation. However, the spatial- and temporal scales of a typical laboratory experiment are dwarfed by those of natural faults and earthquakes, and so upscaling of the laboratory results is required. This is often performed through a mathematical framework called rate-and-state friction. This framework is empirical in nature, and so predictions made through the rate-and-state friction framework must be interpreted with great care. In this thesis, alternative means of upscaling are explored that are based on physical principles and have a micro-mechanical origin, as opposed to being empirical. This is done by conducting laboratory friction experiments, and interpreting the results in terms of micro-scale processes that constitute deformation, such as frictional grain sliding (granular flow) and pressure solution creep. Constitutive relations describing these micro-scale processes are subsequently implemented into numerical models, and the model predictions are tested against laboratory results. Finally, the microphysically based numerical models are used to extrapolate the laboratory observations to natural scales and conditions, and to make predictions pertaining to the natural seismic cycle. The outcomes of this thesis demonstrate that microphysically based models can explain a wide variety of laboratory and natural observations, and are a suitable means for the extrapolation of laboratory results to nature. This offers new opportunities for future studies of earthquake hazard and risk by providing a physical basis for making long-term predictions.


The term "melanoma" is given to any abnormal collection of melanin-pigmented cells whether in the skin, in the eye or elsewhere. Malignant melanomas embrace tumors of widely diversified histologic structure. Malignant melanomas may occur in many situations; the skin, the mucous membrane and the eyes are the most common sites. Rarely the meninges, ovary, epididymis and gallbladder may be involved. As a rule, malignant melanomas arising on the skin originate in pigmented moles or nevi, although there are many authentic cases on record in which melanomas have started at the sites of puncture wounds and in the absence of any apparent congenital abnormality. Rare origins of malignant melanomas are the blue nevus of Jadassohn and the Mongolian spot. The Mongolian spot is a bluish lesion found in the sacral region. These lesions contain melanin and are devoid of nevus cells. When malignancy develops it is of a sarcomatous nature. Another


On February 11, Congressman George E. Brown, Jr., Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, together with the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and state and local officials, helped inaugurate the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) on the campus of the University of Southern California. SCEC is one of 14 new NSF Science and Technology Centers and includes a substantial commitment from the USGS for FY91. The center is a consortium of seven core academic institutions-USC (coordinating institution), Caltech, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of California at Santa Cruz, and University of California at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography-in partnership with the USGS's Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering (OEVE). The center grew out of an April 3-5, 1989, workshop at Lake Arrowhead, Calif., convened by the USGS to discuss the need for an expanded effort in earthquake research in southern California.


The gas sensing characteristics of ZnO nanowires (NWs) coated with different thickness of CuO film have been investigated. ZnO NWs were grown on Si/SiO2 by hydrothermal method and CuO films were deposited by thermal evaporation. It has been found that ZnO NWs exhibit characteristic n-type behavior upto a CuO thickness of 50 nm; whereas at higher thickness the samples show p-type behavior (typical of CuO). At a CuO thickness of 10 nm the sensitivity towards H2S was 500% more as compared to pure ZnO NWs films. In addition, the operating temperature was reduced to 200°C.


Background: Patient-reported outcomes in cleft lip and palate treatment are critical for patient care. Traditional surgical outcomes focused on objective measures, such as photographs, anatomic measurements, morbidity, and mortality. Although these remain important, they leave many questions unanswered. Surveys that include aesthetics, speech, functionality, self-image, and quality of life provide more thorough outcomes assessment. It is vital that reliable, valid, and comprehensive questionnaires are available to craniofacial surgeons. Methods: The authors performed a literature review to identify questionnaires validated in cleft lip and palate patients. Qualifying instruments were assessed for adherence to guidelines for development and validation by the scientific advisory committee and for content. Results: The authors identified 44 measures used in cleft lip and palate studies. After 15 ad hoc questionnaires, eight generic instruments, 11 psychiatric instruments, and one non-English language questionnaire were excluded, nine measures remained. Of these, four were never validated in the cleft population. Analysis revealed one craniofacial-specific measure (Youth Quality of Life–Facial Differences), two voice-related measures (Patient Voice–Related Quality of Life and Cleft Audit Protocol for Speech–Augmented), and two oral health–related measures (Child Oral Health Impact Profile and Child Oral Health Quality of Life). The Youth Quality of Life–Facial Differences, Child Oral Health Impact Profile, and Child Oral Health Quality of Life questionnaires were sufficiently validated. None was created specifically for clefts, resulting in content limitations. Conclusions: There is a lack of comprehensive, valid, and reliable questionnaires for cleft lip and palate surgery. For thorough assessment of satisfaction, further research to develop and validate cleft lip and palate surgery–specific instruments is needed.


This thesis is concerned with array processing for wireless communications. In particular, cooperation between the transmitter and receiver or between systems is exploited to further improve the system performance. Based on this idea, three technical chapters are presented in this thesis. Initially in Chapter 1, an introduction including array processing, multipleinput multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems and the background of cognitive radio is presented. In Chapter 2, a novel approach for estimating the direction-of-departure (DOD) is proposed using the cooperative beamforming. This proposed approach is featured by its simplicity (beam rotation at the transmitter) and e¤ectiveness (illustrated in terms of channel capacity). Chapter 3 is concerned with integration of spatio-temporal (ST) processing into an antenna array transmitter, given a joint transmitter-receiver system with ST processing at the receiver but spatial-only processing at the transmitter. The transmit ST processing further improves the system performance in convergence, mean-square error (MSE) and bit error rate (BER). In Chapter 4, a basic system structure for radio coexistence problem is proposed based on the concept of MIMO cognitive radio. Cooperation between the licensed radio and the cognitive radio is exploited. Optimisation of the sum channel capacity is considered as the criterion and it is solved using a multivariable water-…lling algorithm. Finally, Chapter 5 concludes this thesis and gives suggestions for future work.


Recent demographic changes caused by labor migration and by the larger number of retirement-aged people, as well as unstable economic conditions are the reason for analyzing the incidence of osteoarthritis (OA) in the adult population of the Russian Federation in the light of changing socioeconomic factors. Objective: to analyze the incidence of OA in the regions of the Russian Federation in terms of key socioeconomic factors. Material and methods. Trends in OA prevalence and incidence were retrospectively analyzed using the data of annual statistical reports of the Ministry of Health of Russia (Form No. 12) in the period 2011–2016. The above parameters were studied among three population cohorts: adult, able-bodied, and retirement-aged (pensioners) people. Data on the execution of consolidated budgets of the regions of the Russian Federation, territorial compulsory health insurance funds (TCHIFs) were analyzed to identify substantial socioeconomic factors influencing the trends in statistical parameters. The findings were subjected to a comparative analysis of these parameters for Russia as a whole, 85 regions, and 8 federal districts. Results and discussion. During the period from 2011 to 2016, the prevalence of OA in Russia increased from 32.2 per 1,000 population in 2011 to 35.7 in 2016. The highest prevalence of OA is observed among the retirement-aged population and averages 33.2% of the number of registered patients per the total population in this age group during 6-year follow-ups. The maximum prevalence is seen in the retirement-aged population (70.4 per 1,000 corresponding age population; which is more than 3.8 times greater than that in the able-bodied one). There is a steady increase in the prevalence and incidence of OA in the population of Russia as a whole. According to official statistics, patients with OA make up one quarter of all patients with musculoskeletal system diseases and OA is detected in 4% of the entire adult population. Over 20 years, the number of patients with OA increased by 260%. The investigation has shown that the population's income growth is associated with lower incidence and prevalence rates among pensioners. During 6 years, there is a decline in budget funding for health care in 30 regions of Russia. The share of expenditures in the consolidated regional budgets has been established to be directly associated with the incidence and morbidity of OA. There was an average 183% increase in the expenditures of TCHIFs in Russia. The expenditures of TCHIFs in the regions were directly related to the higher incidence of OA among adults and pensioners, but were unassociated with those among the able-bodied population.


Objective Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are common worldwide and pose a challenge to public health. We conducted this study to assess the annual incidence of five common STIs, including syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and genital herpes at the global, regional, and national levels. Materials and Methods We obtained detailed data on STIs excluding HIV from 1990 to 2019 from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 database. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify trends in age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) of STIs, stratified by gender, sociodemographic index (SDI) region, and pathogenic microorganism. Results Globally, incident cases of STIs increased by 58.15% from 486.77 million in 1990 to 769.85 million in 2019, but the annual change in ASR was only −0.04% (95% CI −0.09 to 0.01) per year. EAPC was 0.16 (0.06 to 0.26) for syphilis, 0.09 (0.05 to 0.13) for genital herpes, 0.06 (0.03 to 0.09) for trichomoniasis, −0.21 (−0.36 to −0.06) for chlamydia, and −0.14 (−0.19 to −0.08) for gonorrhea. High SDI regions reported significant increases in ASR of syphilis and chlamydia. Conclusions The burden of disease from STIs remains large, though control of STIs has contributed to the decreasing incidence in most regions, especially in the low-SDI regions. Globally, over the past 20 years, the ASR has remained stable for trichomoniasis and genital herpes decreased for chlamydia and gonorrhea, and increased for syphilis.


. Despite progress in moisture control analysis, repairing moisture damage is still a considerable cost factor in the building sector. While there are many reasons for the lack of improvement during the last decades, inadequate moisture control standards are certainly also to blame. In many countries, interstitial condensation calculations according to Glaser are the sole means for assessing moisture control design, neglecting other important moisture loads such as driving rain, construction moisture and air infiltration. To overcome this lopsided focus on vapour diffusion, the update of the German moisture control standard has restricted the applicability of the Glaser method and introduced a normative Annex on performance evaluation by hygrothermal simulation. Recently, a new project has started to develop advanced models helping to evaluate the simulation results. Currently, it is already possible to assess the risk of mould growth, rot, and critical moisture accumulation by methods referred to in this standards. Also addressed in the standard is the selection of critical indoor and outdoor boundary conditions. Thus, it is officially encouraged to perform hygrothermal simulation, giving architects and engineers the chance to design more moisture tolerant and ultimately more durable constructions. Considering the necessity to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, the application of hygrothermal simulation provides the opportunity to use more innovative renewable and recycled materials that could not adequately be judged by the Glaser method. Another benefit presents the analysis of construction resilience in case of natural disaster such as flooding or extreme rain events.


Textile Graphics is a computer-aided technique for developing a textile design and textile patterning mechanism information from an artist's drawing. The computer is operated by a textile designer-technician who understands the particular textile machinery for which he is adapting the original drawing. The designer-technician inputs the original drawing by a combination of graphical input devices; tracing on an on-line digitizing tablet, drawing free-hand with light-pen on the screen of the IBM 2250 and manipulating the design with function keys.


Abstract. Pancreatic autoantibodies were determined in 49 patients with Sjögren's syndrome and related to functional parameters. Pancreatic duct autoantibodies (PDA) were detected in the sera of three patients, and all showed abnormal exocrine pancreatic function. Islet cell antibodies (ICA) were not detected in the sera of the 49 patients, including two individuals with diabetes mellitus. In conclusion, PDA occur in patients with Sjögren's syndrome, and may be associated with exocrine pancreatic dysfunction.


This paper presents a novel and accurate method of estimating the toggle rates of signals in field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based logic circuits without the use of simulation vectors. Compared to previous vectorless techniques, our approach provides improved accuracy-of-results, especially for individual signals, which could be leveraged by computer-aided design (CAD) tools for performing power optimization of logic circuits. Increased accuracy is achieved by using stochastic methods that estimate the transition densities at FPGA logic elements while accounting for both spatial and temporal correlation of logic signals. Spatial correlation is calculated by leveraging a unique XOR-based decomposition technique that provides both accurate results and fast computation times. We also consider the delay information of implemented circuits, providing for a comprehensive treatment of glitches, including the effects of inertial limits on power dissipation. Our toggle-rate estimation approach has been tested on a commonly used set of Microelectronic Center of North Carolina circuits, as well as a set of industrial circuits targeted to Altera Stratix II FPGAs. Results show that our techniques provide a three times lower percent error, while maintaining a low processing time, when compared to two existing techniques: the vectorless estimation tool shipped with the commercial Quartus II 8.0 CAD tool, and the ACE v2.0 academic tool produced from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.


The authors, after autologous and heterologous recombination of alkylated and nonalkylated H and L chains of IgG myeloma proteins belonging to different subclasses, studied the sensitivity to papain of reassociated molecules. They found that the coupling of chains by noncovalent bonds is not sufficient for the restoration of papain resistance characteristic of subclasses IgG 2 and IgG 4 and that disulfide bridges between the chains are also necessary for this. The results obtained by them for the heterologous recombination of chains demonstrate the importance of heavy chains to the development of molecular conformation, throwing light upon the possible role of the variable part of L chains in this particular respect. They also discussed the possibility of preferred linkage of light and heavy chains obtained from IgG molecules belonging to the same subclasses and showed that those heterologous chains which are derived from IgG myeloma proteins belonging to the same subclasses preferably link up with each other. The authors, in the light of the results obtained by them, then discuss the importance of "randomness" and "nonrandomness" in the coupling of H and L chains.


To more efficiently manage the highly complex electrical networks in a competitive environment, many applications of the state-of-the-art information technology have been developed to integrate different corporate information systems. In order to evaluate the performance of an integrated SCADA-AM/FM-OMS system in distribution system operations, an off-the-shelf simulation package using discrete event simulation techniques is used in this paper. This paper shows a thorough analysis of the overall performance of the integrated system under realistic conditions and the changes in the response times of SCADA functions due to the integration are investigated. Test results have indicated that an integrated SCADA-AM/FM-OMS system with data file transfer schemes could maintain the performance requirement of each system and concurrently enhance the performance of emergency cases handling and trouble management.


Six heat flow values have been obtained from measurements made in the sediments of thermally-stable lakes in four major structural belts of northwestern Ontario. Each heat flow is the average of measurements from 3–6 neighbouring lakes. Corrections for the thermal history, lateral heat flow, sedimentation, and refraction effects have been applied. High heat flows which were measured in the Quetico gneiss superbelt (77 mW/m2) and on the Indian Lake intrusion in the Wabigoon superbelt (64 mW/m2) are related to above-average heat productivities at these locations, but the extent in depth of the sources is shown to be very different in the two cases. The consistency of the lake results with borehole measurements, on a heat flow – heat productivity plot, strongly suggests that the former are not perturbed by recent climatic variations.


The present paper intends to be a brief historical analysis of the conditions for the development of Human and Medical Genetics in Brazil.


An immunoadsorbent method has been developed for the direct analysis of normal and variant plasma factor VIII. Using this method, the molecular defect responsible for mild hemophilia A has been identified for a patient whose plasma factor VIII activity is 0.05 unit/ml, even though the factor VIII antigen content is 3.25 units/ml. Although the variant factor VIII has an apparently normal molecular mass and chain composition, the 92-kDa heavy chain accumulates when the variant protein is incubated with thrombin and the 44-kDa heavy chain fragment cannot be detected. In contrast, thrombin cleavage of the 80-kDa light chain to the 72-kDa fragment is normal. As these data indicate a loss of factor VIII cleavage by thrombin at arginine-372, the genetic defect was determined by polymerase-chain-reaction amplification of exon 8 of the factor VIII gene and direct sequencing of the amplified product. A single-base substitution (guanine----adenine) was identified that produces an arginine to histidine substitution at amino acid residue 372. These data identify the molecular basis of an abnormal factor VIII, "factor VIII-Kumamoto," that lacks procoagulant function because of impaired thrombin activation.


Historically, road vehicle operating costs have tended to dominate highway economic appraisals in developing countries, due to the poor road surfaces that can occur there. The operating costs of railways and ports are also substantial, and form key components of cost benefit analyses of their associated infrastructure. The definition of operating costs for Bank projects is therefore important in obtaining a reliable economic appraisal. In this Note, Section 1 introduces the key issues associated with operating costs, whilst the following sections discuss the components and sources of operating costs by mode. Road vehicle operating costs are presented in Section 2, railway operating costs in Section 3, and port operating costs in Section 4.


Hypophysectomized and pituitary-intact rats were tested for their expression of salt hunger under a variety of experimental conditions. The results show that hypophysectomized rats ingest less salt in response to salt hunger induced by sodium depletion, captopril or angiotensin in comparison to pituitary-intact rats. In contrast, both groups ingest the same amount of salt in response to mineralocorticoid-induced salt hunger. While sodium excretion and plasma sodium levels were comparable in the two groups, the angiotensinogen mRNA was reduced by hypophysectomy in several limbic brain regions as well as in the liver. These results suggest that reduced salt intake in response to manipulations of the body sodium and renin-angiotensin system in hypophysectomized rats may result from decreased angiotensinogen mRNA levels.


Device improvement with strain engineering is considered a way to enhance the carrier mobility. Several stress-transfer techniques (such as etch-stop liner, stress transfer technique, e-SiGe) using extra integration process into an existing baseline process is demonstrated. In addition, new preparation techniques of strained-Si surface (e.g. biaxial tensile stress) and different substrate orientation to enhance mobility are introduced. The challenges and vitality of each method are discussed and compared. In addition, we highlight how the stress oriented from the layout geometry affects the device electrical behavior. The issues and improvement in the circuit level device modeling are discussed.


Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in breast cancer development. We recently reported that a higher expression of miR-374b in tumor tissues was associated with a better disease-free survival of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the functional significance and molecular mechanisms underlying the role of miR-374b in breast cancer are largely unknown. In this current study, we evaluated the biological functions and potential mechanisms of miR-374b in both TNBC and non-TNBC. We found that miR-374b was significantly downregulated in breast cancer tissues, compared to adjacent tissues. MiR-374b levels were also lower in breast cancer cell lines, as compared to breast epithelial cells. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that miR-374b modulates the malignant behavior of breast cancer cells, such as cell proliferation in 2D and 3D, cell invasion ability, colony forming ability, and tumor growth in mice. By using bioinformatics tools, we predicted that miR-374b plays a role in breast cancer cells through negatively regulating cyclin D1 (CCND1) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGFA). We further confirmed that CCND1 and TGFA contribute to the malignant behavior of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Our rescue experiments showed that overexpressing CCND1 or TGFA reverses the phenotypes caused by miR-374b overexpression. Taken together, our studies suggest that miR-374b modulates malignant behavior of breast cancer cells by negatively regulating CCND1 and TGFA genes. The newly identified miR-374b-mediated CCND1 and TGFA gene silencing may facilitate a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer progression.


The taxonomic placement of Polyalthia florulenta C.Y.Wu ex P.T.Li has not been clarified. Phylogenetic analyses of eight chloroplast regions ( matK , ndhF , ndhF-rpl32 , psbA-trnH , rbcL , rpl32-trnL , trnL-F and ycf1 ; ca. 9.2 kb, 66 taxa) unambiguously placed Polyalthia florulenta in a subclade of tribe Miliuseae, sister to Wangia saccopetaloides. Polyalthia flourulenta shares several diagnostic characters with Wangia saccopetaloides , including leaf-opposed inflorescences, sepaloid outer petals and saccate inner petals with basal glandular tissue. It differs from Wangia saccopetaloides in having membranous leaf laminas, single-flowered inflorescences, subglobose single-seeded monocarps, and spiniform endosperm rumination. On the basis of the combined molecular phylogenetic and morphological data, we propose a new combination, Wangia florulenta (C.Y.Wu ex P.T.Li) B.Xue. As the protologue description was based on material lacking mature flowers, we provide a detailed description of flower morphology. A key to species in the genus Wangia is also provided.


The intestinal epithelium is a significant barrier to oral absorption of hydrophilic compounds, and their passage through the intercellular space is restricted by the tight junctions. In this study we found that hyperosmosis is a significant factor altering paracellular transport in Caco-2 cell monolayers. Osmotic regulators, such as sodium chloride, mannitol, and raffinose, decreased transepithelial electrical resistance and enhanced lucifer yellow permeability. The effect of these osmotic regulators on Caco-2 cell monolayers was not likely to be caused by gross cytotoxicity. Although certain amino acids and oligosaccharides have been reported to have specific tight junction-modulating activity, we found that the increased paracellular permeability of Caco-2 monolayers induced by these compounds was at least partly due to the increased osmotic pressure of the test solutions. These findings provide a new potential precaution in the evaluation of paracellular permeability-modulating substances using the Caco-2 cell monolayer system.


Rapid increases in network performance, coupled with the dynamic nature of modern cloud workloads, has led to calls for memory disaggregation within the datacenter. In a memorydisaggregated machine, compute nodes contain only a limited amount of local memory, but are able to utilize free memory elsewhere in the machine over a network connection. This broad definition of memory disaggregation allows for a great diversity of techniques to actually provide that interface. In this paper, we present an overview of these techniques and lay out a few dimensions of the disaggregated memory interface design space. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions and challenges.


The oral route is the best and most popular route for the administration of drugs in the systemic circulation. There are number of drugs which are given through the oral route. Gastro-retentive drug delivery system is very important system for the drug delivery system. The gastro-retentive drugs prolonged the drug time in the git and also improve their their bioavailability. These are widely used for site specific for the treatment of git disorders and diseases. There are number of approaches for gastro retentive drug delivery system such as floating system, mucoadhesive system, swelling system, high density system etc. In this review we discussed about approaches and various perspectives of gastro retentive drug delivery system.


The purpose of the present research is to find areas of organizational and economic mechanisms that enhance the efficiency of regional utilities. A systematic approach to the analysis of the organizational and economic mechanism of Housing in the region, provides a systematic, comprehensive and effective investigation. Strategic Imperatives in the management of regional utilities are defined taking into account the crisis tendencies in the process of its development. Case utilities management is seen as the realization of the objectives of its development in different scenario conditions. With the help of mathematical modeling methods and parameters are determined by the structure of the control actions. The article proposes a methodology for calculating the article options strategy utilities management in the region, the results of modeling the trajectory of housing and communal services of the Republic of Adygea. Keywords: housing and communal services of the region, organizational and economic mechanism, management system, the trajectory of the development process JEL Classifications: L51; O18; R58


Complex negotiations between large socio-political groups tend to rely on distributive negotiation. This article explores how the human security approach could be used as the basis for selecting 'standard objective criteria' to foster more constructive integrative negotiations between the People's Alliance for Democracy, also known as 'Yellow Shirts,' and the National United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship, or the 'Red Shirts,' in Thailand. The complexity of the conflict between the two groups in Thailand and the importance of the outcome make it a good representative case study on how to transcend realist/distributional methods of negotiation and conflict resolution. In conclusion, human security provides an ethical yet flexible framework to guide negotiations between large social movements. Finally, the study develops a tentative Human Security Theory of Integrative Negotiation for sociopolitical conflicts.


Sunlight may have many effects on the skin, and one of the most important both clinically and cosmetically is aging. Many laymen, unaware of the fact that exposure to the harmful ultraviolet rays of sunlight causes aging, are becoming sun fadists. Gross changes in actinically damaged skin are a dry, coarse, leathery appearance, laxity with wrinkling, and various pigmentary changes. Frequently in elderly and even in some relatively young white adults there is a striking difference between light-exposed regions and those protected by clothing. A weather-beaten farmer often appears considerably older than a physician of comparable age. 1 Since Negro skin has natural protection in its high melanin content, elderly Negroes often appear deceptively young. According to Blum, the thickness of the corneal and granular layers is very important in determining the skin's response to the ultraviolet radiation which strikes its surface. 2 That these layers must play an important


The use of conservation translocations to mitigate human effects on biodiversity is increasing, but how these efforts are allocated remains unclear. Based on a comprehensive literature review and online author survey, we sought to determine the goals of translocation efforts, whether they focus on species and regions with high threat and likelihood of perceived success, and how success might be improved. We systematically searched the ISI Web of Knowledge and Academic Search Complete databases to determine the species and regions of conservation translocations and found 1863 articles on conservation translocations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean published from 1974 to 2013. We questioned 330 relevant authors to determine the motivation for translocations, how translocations were evaluated, and obstacles encountered. Conservation translocations in North America were geographically widespread (in 21 countries), increased in frequency over time for all animal classes (from 1 in 1974 to 84 in 2013), and included 279 different species. Reintroductions and reinforcements were more common in the United States than in Canada and Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean, and their prevalence was correlated with the number of species at risk at national and state or provincial levels. Translocated species had a higher threat status at state and provincial levels than globally (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categorization), suggesting that translocations may have been motivated by regional priorities rather than global risk. Our survey of authors was consistent with these results; most translocations were requested, supported, or funded by government agencies and downlisting species at national or state or provincial levels was the main goal. Nonetheless, downlisting was the least reported measure of success, whereas survival and reproduction of translocated individuals were the most reported. Reported barriers to success included biological factors such as animal mortality and nonbiological factors, such as financial constraints, which were less often considered in the selection of release sites. Our review thus highlights discrepancies between project goals and evaluation criteria and between risk factors considered and obstacles encountered, indicating room to further optimize translocation projects.


With regard to this topic, the authors first consider the concept of tax neutrality and its domestic and international implications. They next focus on the rules that each Member State has for a corporate group to adopt group taxation. As a result of the diversity of the national group taxation regimes within the European Union, the authors then suggest a typology for these systems as well as examining the intrinsic features of tax consolidation systems.


This study compared the downstream hydraulic geometry relations for stable channel design derived by other investigators with the equations derived from the data gathered from Iranian rivers based on the at-a-station method. For these rivers measurements of 425 velocity profiles and nearly 6,000 point velocities for 85 cross sections were employed to accurately determine flow discharge at a specified river section. For at-a-station method, grain size and the Shields parameter were not important for the determination of width and depth of a stable channel. It was found that the dominant or at-a-station discharge did not affect the discharge exponent in the depth equation, but it affected the discharge exponent in the width equation. Furthermore, discharge was not the controlling variable for the prediction of slope of stable channels, but grain size and the Shields parameter were.


Traditionally, optimization of diamond interchange timings has been done with PASSER III for standard and special diamond phasing sequences. PASSER III is limited because it is designed for undersaturated conditions. It applies vertical stacking of queues and is not capable of modeling queue spillback conditions in its current form. This deficiency is addressed by the arterial signal coordination software (ASCS), whose capabilities in timing diamond interchanges in under-saturated and oversaturated conditions are presented here. ASCS consists of three modules: (a) input module, a user interface through which volume and geometry inputs can be provided to the program; (b) optimization module, a genetic algorithm-based optimization routine that can optimize signal timings; and (c) analysis module, which consists of a bandwidth analysis routine and a delay analysis routine (DAR). The DAR is a mesoscopic simulator that applies a second-by-second analysis of flows for modeling flows accurately. DAR applies horizontal stacking of queues and shock wave analysis to estimate the performance of traffic operations. Validation of ASCS for oversaturated arterial links against PASSER III and CORSIM was conducted. The results indicate that delay and throughput estimation in ASCS are realistic. The genetic algorithm-based optimization routine in ASCS was applied to estimate diamond interchange timings for three scenarios. Where queue spillback occurred, ASCS clearly outperformed PASSER III. ASCS produced near-optimal results for all scenarios studied.


The production of biofuels is strongly supported all over the world as a renewable energy source for reducing dependence on the unstable oil market. Bioethanol, the main biofuel produced in the world, is widely used to power vehicles in both the USA and Brazil, but concerns exist in both places regarding its sustainability. In Brazil, it is produced from a by-product of the sugar cane industry, while in the USA it is manufactured from food crops. The production of biogas and biodiesel is growing rapidly, but neither has outpaced the production of bioethanol. The European Union (EU) is greatly interested in this issue, and in 2011 adopted an extensive strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions related to transport by 60% by the year 2050. In order to achieve this result, the current European transportation system must be transformed. This ambitious goal will require the implementation of complex measures including the reduction of fossil fuels in favor of renewable fuels. This program has various options regarding the development of biofuels (e. g., biogas, bioethanol and biodiesel) and their related technologies, which are still on trial (mainly regarding the bioethanol production), and must also analyze their sustainability from a social and economic standpoint. The paper discusses the use of biofuels for transport in the European setting, and shows that their sustainability may result in relevant negative social effects due mainly to the use of land for energy crops (e.g., change of food price and world food shortage).


Numerical analysis of electronic component transient heat transfer has generally been confined to nonconjugate methods. This study discusses the need for conjugate (conduction/convection) analysis, both for component temperature and thermo-mechanical behavior prediction in operational, assembly and reliability qualification environments. The capability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to predict component transient conjugate heat transfer is investigated using an industry-standard CFD code for the thermal analysis of electronics. The test cases are based on a single board-mounted, 160-lead plastic quad flat pack (PQFP) component, subjected to dynamic power- and air temperature conditions, in still-air and forced airflows. Benchmark criteria are based on component junction temperature and component-printed circuit board (PCB) surface temperature, measured using thermal test dies and infrared thermography respectively. Using both nominal component/PCB geometry dimensions and material properties, component junction temperature is found to be accurately predicted. The results suggest that CFD analysis could play an important role in providing critical boundary conditions for component electrical performance and thermo-mechanical behavior analyses, optimizing accelerated life test (ALT) parameters and convective assembly processes.


Abstract Background Healthcare personnel (HCP) knowledge and attitudes toward Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures are important determinants of practices that can protect them from acquisition of infectious diseases from patients. We aimed to describe HCP knowledge and attitudes concerning IPC measures over time in the context of a clinical trial. Methods ResPECT was a multi-center, multi-season cluster randomized clinical trial designed to compare the effectiveness of medical masks (MM) and N95 respirators (N95) for preventing acute respiratory illnesses in HCP employed in outpatient clinical settings. At the beginning of each respiratory virus season, participants completed a survey instrument to measure IPC knowledge. At the beginning and end of each season participants completed a survey to assess attitudes and beliefs about IPC measures, especially MM and N95. Results A pre-study and post-study survey pair was available for 88.1% of participant seasons. There were no significant differences in demographic variables or job assignment between survey respondents and nonrespondents for each participant season. Participants correctly identified 59.8% to 63.4% of IPC measures that should be used by HCP when exposed to patients with symptoms of acute respiratory illness, or at high risk of infection. There was modest improvement in the knowledge score over time among providers who participated for multiple years in the study. In the first pre-study survey of IPC attitudes and beliefs, 88.5% and 87.9% of participants identified at least one reason to avoid using either MM and N95, respectively (Figure 1). At the post-season survey, the proportion of participants reporting a reason to avoid MM fell to 39.6% (IRR for pre- vs. post-season 0.15, 95% CI 0.13–0.17) and 53.6% reported a reason to avoid N95 (IRR 0.57, 95% CI 0.51–0.66). Conclusion HCPknowledge of IPC precautions was poor, suggesting a need for better IPC education and accountability in the outpatient setting. When given incentives to comply with processes toward which they had negative attitudes at baseline, HCP realized that medical masks and N95 respirators were comfortable enough to wear for patient encounters and interfered with their work processes less than expected. Disclosures Trish M. Perl, MD; MSc, 7–11: Advisory Board; medimmune: Research Grant.


Febrile convulsions are the most frequent neurological disorder of early childhood. One third of children with febrile convulsions will have a recurrence, and only a small number will develop afebrile convulsions with epilepsy variation. The aim of the work was to establish the frequency of convulsion recurrence through the retrospective study with regard to age, type of recurrence, and applied prophylaxis in children in Tuzla Canton in a two-year period after the first febrile convulsion. Amongst 716 patients, 21.9% had a recurrence. Recurrence of simple febrile convulsions occurred in 124 (78.9%), complex in 18 (11.5%), and 14 (9.8%) patients had afebrile convulsions. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence appearance between patients who received continuous and intermittent prophylaxis or different type of continuous prophylaxis. Knowledge of recurrence frequency according to age groups opens the possibility of recurrence prevention with adequate therapeutic measures, especially in home care conditions. Good parent education would represent the first step in recurrence prevention.


Background and Objectives: The occurrence of hemolysis due to transfusion of ABO plasma-incompatible platelets (PLTs) is challenging. There has been no consensus for critical antibody titers in the transfusion community. This study was conducted to understand the trends of anti-A and anti-B antibody titer levels in O group donors and to identify any specific patterns of distribution in relation to age and gender. Materials and Methods: A total of 1635 Group O PLT donors were randomly selected for this prospective study. Serial 2-fold doubling dilutions were prepared for each sample to calculate the titer of anti-A and anti-B in a standard 96 well micro-plate. Tube technique was used for comparison with the microplate method for 100 samples. Results: Out of 1635 donors, 1430 (87.46%) were males and 205 (12.54%) were females. The median titer for anti-A and anti-B was 128 with range from 4 to 2048. Spearman's correlation coefficient for microplate versus tube technique was estimated to be 0.803 (P < 0.01, two-tailed). 57.12% and 51.19% of all donors had titers ≥128 for anti-A and anti-B, respectively. The geometric mean of anti-A and anti-B was 155.7 and 137.28, respectively. The titers were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in female donors. An inverse relation between titer levels and age was seen. Conclusion: Microplate can be used to perform titers in resource-constrained settings. Screening for critical titers in O group donors is essential as they are more implicated in hemolytic transfusion reactions. In the absence of a global consensus on this topic, institutes may need to formulate their own guidelines on handling ABO plasma-incompatible PLT transfusions.


Gerber and Chopin combine SMC with RQMC to accelerate convergence. They apply RQMC as in the array-RQMC method discussed below, for which convergence rate theory remains thin despite impressive empirical performance. Their proof of o(N −1/2) convergence rate is a remarkable contribution. Array-RQMC simulates an array of N dependent realizations of a Markov chain, using RQMC so the distribution of the N states has low discrepancy D t with respect to its theoretical distribution, at any step t. If x t = Γ t (x t−1 , u t), where x t−1 ∼ U([0, 1)) and u t ∼ U([0, 1) d), array-RQMC approximates the (+ d)-dimensional integral E[D t ], using N RQMC points. It matches each state to a point whose first coordinates are near that point, and uses the next d coordinates for u t. The matching step is crucial. If = 1, just sort the states and points by their (increasing) first coordinate. If > 1, one can map the states x t ∈ [0, 1) → [0, 1), then proceed as for = 1. Gerber and Chopin do exactly this, using a Hilbert curve mapping. But the map [0, 1) → [0, 1) is not essential. E.g., if = 2, one can sort the states and the points in N −1/2 groups of size N −1/2 by their first coordinate, then sort each group by the second coordinate. This extends to > 2. With this multivariate sort, L'Ecuyer et al. (2009) observed an O(N −2) variance when pricing an Asian option with array-RQMC. I wonder what rate the Hilbert curve map can achieve for this example. When X ⊆ R instead of [0, 1) , Gerber and Chopin map x t → [0, 1) using a logistic transformation. The choice of transformation and its parameters may have a significant impact on the overall convergence. For the multivariate sort, no transformation is needed, it works directly in R. The Hilbert sort could also be adapted to work directly in R .


Literatures on open innovation have two major limitations. First, either on a firm level or on an industry level did they analyze the open innovation issues. The results of a firm's innovation can be diffused through the whole network and the firm can learn back from the network knowledge. Prior literatures did not consider the feedback loop among firms and network in which the firms are involved. Second, most open innovation research had a static perspective on firm's innovation performance. Since the diffusion, spill-over and learning among network members are involved over time, the open innovation is intrinsically dynamic. From the dynamic perspective, we can appreciate the funda-mental attributes of the open innovation network which involves diverse firms, research institutes, and universities. In order to overcome the limitations, we suggest a dynamic model for open innovation network. We build an agent-based model which consists of heterogeneous firms. The firms are connected through a scale-free network which is formed by preferential attachment. Through the diverse scenario of simulation, we collect massive data on the firm level and analyze them both on firm and industry level. From the analysis, we found that, on industry level, the overall performance of open innovation increases as the internal research capability, absorptive capacity, and learning curve coefficient increase. Noticeably, as the deprecation rate of knowledge increases, the variability of knowledge increases. From the firm level analysis, we found that the industry-level variables had a significant effect on the firm's innovation performance lasting through all the time, whereas the firm-level variables had only on the early phase of innovation.


Thirty-one Debouillet ewe lambs were exposed to elevated dietary copper (Cu) after being fed pelleted alfalfa from two separate feed mills which contained 33 and 45 ppm Cu. After consuming about 5.5 lb/day of this diet for approximately 50 days, signs of Cu poisoning became apparent (hemoglobinemia, hemoglobinuria). Cu toxicity was confirmed by a liver Cu concentration of 439 ± 36 (mean± SE) ppm in five dead animals. During the course of Cu exposure, eight of 31 ewe lambs died. Serum was collected from 10 ewe lambs showing extreme signs of Cu poisoning. Total, direct, and indirect bilirubin, and creatine kinase ( CK) were elevated in ewes consuming Cu. Ten extremely affected ewe lambs that had stopped consuming any feed received gelatin capsules (gavage) containing about 2 oz of a livestock salt/gypsum (76% calcium sulfate) mixture (2:1, weight basis) daily for 10 days. After 10 days of calcium sulfate treatment, serum bilirubin and CK were at or near normal concentrations and neither hemoglobinemia nor hemglobinuria were observed. Calcium sulfate administered in gelatin capsules appears to aid in the treatment of acute Cu toxicosis in sheep.