We calculate differential cross sections for Higgs boson and/or two-photon production from intermediate (virtual) Higgs boson within the formalism of $k_t$-factorization. The off-shell $g^* g^* \to H$ matrix elements are used. We compare results obtained with infinite top fermion (quark) mass and with finite mass taken into account. The latter effect is rather small. We compare results with different unintegrated gluon distributions from the literature. Two methods are used. In the first method first Higgs boson is produced in the $2 \to 1$ $g g \to H$ $k_t$-factorization approach and then isotropic decay with the Standard Model branching fraction is performed. In the second method we calculate directly two photons coupled to the virtual Higgs boson. The results of the two methods are compared and differences are discussed. The results for two photons from the Higgs boson are compared with recent ATLAS collaboration data. In contrast to a recent calculation the leading order $g g \to H$ contribution is rather small compared to the ATLAS experimental data ($\gamma \gamma$ transverse momentum and rapidity distributions) for all unintegrated gluon distributions from the literature. We include also higher-order contribution $g g \to H (\to \gamma \gamma) g$, $g g \to g H g$ and the contribution of the $W^+ W^-$ and $Z^0 Z^0$. The $gg\to Hg$ mechanism gives similar cross section as the $gg\to H$ mechanism. We argue that there is almost no double counting when adding $gg\to H$ and $gg\to Hg$ contributions due to different topology of Feynman diagrams. The final sum is comparable with the ATLAS two-photon data. We discuss uncertainties related to both the theoretical approach and existing UGDFs.


The development of vertical canopy gradients of leaf N has been regarded as an adaptation to the light gradient that helps to maximize canopy photosynthesis. In this study we report the dynamics of vertical leaf N distribution during vegetative growth of wheat in response to changes in N availability and sowing density. The question of to what extent the observed vertical leaf N distribution maximized canopy photosynthesis was addressed with a leaf layer model of canopy photosynthesis that integrates N-dependent leaf photosynthesis according to the canopy light and leaf N distribution. Plants were grown hydroponically at two amounts of N, supplied in proportion to calculated growth rates. Photosynthesis at light saturation correlated with leaf N. The vertical leaf N distribution was associated with the gradient of absorbed light. The leaf N profile changed during crop development and was responsive to N availability. At high N supply, the leaf N profiles were constant during crop development. At low N supply, the leaf N profiles fluctuated between more uniform and steep distributions. These changes were associated with reduced leaf area expansion and increasing N remobilization from lower leaf layers. The distribution of leaf N with respect to the gradient of absorbed irradiance was close to the theoretical optimum maximizing canopy photosynthesis. Sensitivity analysis of the photosynthesis model suggested that plants maintain an optimal vertical leaf N distribution by balancing the capacity for photosynthesis at high and low light. # 2000 Annals of Botany Company


Infrared and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies were made on hydrotalcite-like materials, Mg6Al2(OH)16(NO3)2·4H2O, anion exchanged in aqueous solution of K3Fe(CN)6, K4Fe(CN)6·3H2O, or Na2Fe(CN)5NO·2H2O. The material anion-exchanged in aqueous solution of K3Fe(CN)6 gave infrared (IR) absorption bands at 2120 and 2040 cm-1 in the C≡N stretching region, suggesting that part of the ferrate(III) complex was reduced to ferrate(II) complex on the intercalation chiefly because pure K3Fe(III)(CN)6 and K4Fe(II)(CN)6·3H2O gives bands at 2120 and 2040 cm-1, respectively. On the intercalation of Fe(CN)64-, no change in the oxidation state of iron was observed. These features were confirmed by Mössbauer spectroscopy. In the IR spectra of material anion-exchanged in aqueous solution of Na2Fe(CN)5NO·2H2O, the intensity of bands due to N≡O (1940 cm-1) and C≡N stretching was much less than that observed for Na2Fe(CN)5NO·2H2O, indicating that most of N≡O ligand was eliminated during the intercalation. Four bands were observed in the C≡N stretching region: a band at 2143 cm-1 was assigned to C≡N groups in Fe(CN)5NO2-; a band at 2120 cm-1 was tentatively assigned to Fe(CN)5H2O2-; bands at 2040–2050 cm-1 were assigned to Fe(CN)5H2O3-.


ABSTRACT Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival, neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity by activating the receptor tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB, also known as NTRK2). TrkB has been shown to undergo recycling after BDNF stimulation. We have previously reported that full-length TrkB (TrkB-FL) are recycled through a Rab11-dependent pathway upon BDNF stimuli, which is important for the translocation of TrkB-FL into dendritic spines and for the maintenance of prolonged BDNF downstream signaling during long-term potentiation (LTP). However, the identity of the motor protein that mediates the local transfer of recycled TrkB-FL back to the plasma membrane remains unclear. Here, we report that the F-actin-based motor protein myosin Va (Myo5a) mediates the postendocytic recycling of TrkB-FL. Blocking the interaction between Rab11 and Myo5a by use of a TAT-tagged peptide consisting of amino acids 55–66 of the Myo5a ExonE domain weakened the association between TrkB-FL and Myo5a and thus impaired TrkB-FL recycling and BDNF-induced TrkB-FL translocation into dendritic spines. Finally, inhibiting Myo5a-mediated TrkB-FL recycling led to a significant reduction in prolonged BDNF downstream signaling. Taken together, these results show that Myo5a mediates BDNF-dependent TrkB-FL recycling and contributes to BDNF-induced TrkB spine translocation and prolonged downstream signaling.


INTRODUCTION
Young adults with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) are the fastest increasing demographic contributing to liver-related deaths; their outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) are understudied.

METHODS
Using the United Network for Organ Sharing registry, we performed sex-specific analyses because of a significant interaction between sex and the explanatory variable, age. Cox regression was used with overall post-LT death as the primary outcome, adjusted for survival characteristics and center clustering. We calculated the absolute difference in adjusted 5-year post-LT survival between patient groups. Causes of death were supplemented by manual review of free-text entries.

RESULTS
Among 42,014 LT recipients, 16,190 women (2,782 with ALD and 13,408 without ALD) and 25,824 men (9,502 with ALD and 16,322 without ALD), age of 40-50 years had the lowest risk of death. Women with ALD younger than 40 years had incrementally lower adjusted 5-year survival (95% confidence interval): 74% (63%-88%) for those aged 18-29 years, 82% (78%-87%) for those aged 30-39 years, and 90% (88%-92%) for those aged 40-49 years. Among women without ALD, men with ALD, and men without ALD, adjusted 5-year survival for ages 18-29, 30-39, and 40-49 years was similar. Among women, not men, there were significant interactions between younger age and ALD. Adjusted hazard for mortality for women with ALD vs without ALD was greater for those who aged 18-29 years (2.82 vs 1.09, P = 0.002) and 30-39 years (1.83 vs 1.09, P = 0.007 [reference age 40-49 years]). Among women with ALD, those aged 18-29 and 30-39 years had an absolute 17.7% and 9.5% excess in adjusted 5-year mortality vs similarly aged women without ALD.

DISCUSSION
Young women (age < 40) with ALD have excess mortality beyond one-year post-LT. Recurrent disease or explicit mention of alcohol was the most common identified cause of death in this demographic.


Sleep plays a critical role in the development of adolescents. Identifying the factors influencing adolescent sleep duration is a critical public health concern. Our study was designed to look for associations that may affect sleep duration in adolescent students. A cross-sectional research method was used to evaluate a dataset of thousands of adolescent students who were polled. The study assessed whether there was a correlation between exercise and length of sleep. The research showed a statistically significant positive correlation between the studied variables. We found that while demographic variables modify this association, a positive correlation exists even after controlling for these confounders. Our findings suggest that promoting physical activity can increase the quantity of sleep among adolescents.


This study aims to intuitively identify trends in public interest by performing visualization analysis on unification economic cooperation using social network user opinion big data. For the "Unification Economic Cooperation" big data, the related big data were extracted using the Textom analysis tool, and text mining was performed. The results were expressed as a visualization figure.The results showed that, first, social network users were interested in North Korea's regional agricultural planning and education by the US and the government. Additionally, North Korea's rural villages existed in connection with pastoral and missionary words. An interest in how North and South Korea cooperate in investment and development in rural areas was identified. Second, there was an issue of interest in housing exchange and cooperation in North Korean villages by the community of club members as words such as club members → housing, common → housing, village → community exchange → cooperation were connected. Third, users were interested in culture and art. It would be useful to find and implement economic cooperation, a link between culture and art connected with North Korea's economic cooperation. Fourth, words such as technology, research, development, and dissemination were drawn as issues of interest. From the perspective of an integrated process, it is of interest to the general public to identify ways to implement it so that it can be pursued with economic benefits for both South and North Korea. Fifth, social network users were interested in the content of dot-com sites. The importance of the promotion of unification economic cooperation through these dot-com sites was confirmed.


Phylogenies based on four loci confirmed the relatedness of all nine validly published species type strains within the Pseudomonas syringae species complex. To further establish the phylogenetic structure within the complex, all 67 pathovar type strains (with defined host ranges) were sequenced using a 578-nucleotide rpoD locus. Since this locus encompassed that used in a previous seven-locus study, it was possible to relate these strains to the existing phylogroup, genomospecies and binomial classifications. All species type strains were distinguished by relatively long branch lengths with all four loci, except for P. savastanoi, P. ficuserectae, P. meliae, P. amygdali and P. tremae, which were attributed to phylogroup 3. The grouping of P. tremae with these genomospecies-2 species was surprising since this species was previously designated as the sole representative of genomospecies 5. The oat pathogen P. syringae pv. coronafaciens was also distinguished by relatively long branch lengths with all four loci. The rpoD phylogeny grouped all the pathovar type strains into major clades that corresponded to previously defined phylogroups, except for two genomospecies-7 strains and P. caricapapayae, which were identified as a new phylogroup (6). There was good correlation between phylogroup and genomospecies classifications, except that two genomospecies-8 strains (P. avellanae and P. syringae pv. theae) were found as a distinct clade within phylogroup 1 along with P. syringae pvs morsprunorum and actinidiae. The rpoD locus will provide a common reference framework to improve monitoring and surveillance of these important pathogens.


This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of curing time and color shade of bulk fill composite resins on their diametral tensile strength (DTS). Two commercially available bulk fill composite resins, Beautifil Bulk Restorative® (Shofu, Japan; shade A and Universal) and Tetric NCeram® bulk-fill (Ivoclar-Vivadent, Liechtenstein; shade IVA and IVW) were investigated. The discshaped specimens (3 mm of thickness; 6 mm of diameter) were divided into 3 subgroups for each shade according to curing time (10 s, 15 s, and 20 s). All specimens were polymerized using LED curing unit (Bluephase Style, 1200 mW/cm) and tested using Universal Testing Machine (Shimadzu, Japan) to determine the DTS. Data were statistically analyzed using Two Way ANOVA and Post Hoc Tukey HSD tests. The results showed that bulk fill composite resins with brighter color shades were statistically significant different (P<0,05) than darker shades in DTS. There was an increase in DTS with increased curing time and was statistically different (P<0,05). However, there was no statistically different interaction between curing time, and color shade. It can be concluded that color shade and increased curing time influence the diametral tensile strength of bulk fill composite resins. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2018; 11(2): pp. 441-444)


Objective : To discuss and analyze the clinical effects and changes of ovarian function after GnRH-α combined with Mirena treatment in patients with adenomyosis. Methods: The research subjects in this study were all adenomyosis patients (60 cases) who were admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to June 2022. They were randomly divided into control group (30 cases, receiving Mirena treatment) and observation group (30 cases, receiving GnRH-α combined with Mirena treatment). Compare the relevant indicators of the two groups. Results: After treatment, the uterine volume of the observation group and the control group were smaller than before treatment, the thickness of endometrium was thinner than before treatment, the VAS score, PBAC score, serum FSH, LH, E2 levels were all lower than before treatment, the serum AMH level, and various FSFI scores were higher than before treatment, and the trend of the former was more obvious. The comparison of the total incidence of adverse reactions between the observation group and the control group showed that the former was lower (all P < 0.05 ). Conclusion: The application of GnRH-α combined with Mirena in patients with adenomyosis can reduce the amount of menstrual bleeding, reduce the volume of the uterus, relieve pain, promote the recovery of ovarian function, improve the quality of sexual life, and have high safety. It is worthy of extensive follow-up application.


Abstract The conservation laws governing the multiphase flows in porous media are often convection‐dominated and have a steep fronts that require accurate resolution. Standard discretization methods of the convection terms do not perform well for such problems. The main aim of this work is to analyze the use of upwind and high‐ resolution schemes in such cases. First, we use a first differential approximation method to perform a theoretical analysis of a standard upwind approximation and different time stepping schemes for the linear hyperbolic equations in 1‐ and 2D. Next, we present a popular approach to reduce the amount of numerical diffusion introduced by upwind approximation ‐ high‐resolution schemes. We compare our implementation of one of the recently proposed central‐upwind schemes against the upwind schemes on several test problems based on Buckley‐Leverett equation and discuss the results. Finally, a parallel version of central‐upwind scheme in 2D is presented. It was implemented using our C++ ...


"This study presents an investigation and development of a construction performance measurement model. A literature review indicated that researchers have offered a variety of models in an attempt to examine construction performance but existing models may not be adequate to embrace a comprehensive measure. Literature reviews were used to develop a working structure for the development of a new conceptual model.

 There are generally four areas by which individual performance may best constitute overall construction effectiveness: Time, Cost, Quality and Safety. Various conceptual and application models are reviewed and their limitations are highlighted. A psychology-based measurement mechanism (ProMES) is proposed as the modelling environment. Basic components of the model were determined by questionnaire surveys and a review
 of literature. It was concluded that project progress variation, time delay, variances of labour and material cost, plant utilisation, quality procedure approval, non-conformance of products, and accident occurrence and investment index will be used in the evaluation model as performance indicators.

 To address the issues of reliability and feasibility, the model was computerised using Visual Basic on objective-hierarchical mechanisms and implemented in five participating construction sites. Results from a comparative study between the model and subjective measurement indicated that an output based on the newly developed model produces significantly better results."


Data acquisition systems in bioprocesses have distinct working specification. These processes normally involves microbial cells, vegetable cells, mammalian cells, microalgae cells or even enzymatic biochemical reactions, which implicates in time required for biochemical transformations and biomolecules production. Monitoring bioprocesses do not require real time monitor, because low times intervals (minutes or seconds) do not present significant differences on process parameters values. Bioprocesses are important area in the biotechnology and they are applied in many industries. It has many reaction routes available at any time, each one permitting a different distribution of biomolecules and products based on the conditions under which the fermentation process takes place. Control techniques are indicated to improve the productivity, yield and efficiency of the biotechnological processes. In the bioprocesses, it is very important to have a real time analysis of the process for creating a product with high speed, quality and economy. Knowing the parameters which affect biomolecule formation as well as the concentration of the nutrients, and develop or chose a cheap and simple system capable of on line measurements are required for bioprocesses control.


Thanks to joint funding, a day care abortion clinic has opened at the South London Hospital for Women. Sally Burningham finds that the unit is working very much as the people who proposed it had envisaged and the care given to the women concerned is by no means diminished by the short time spent under supervision.


Background: The understanding of colon cancer stem cell (CSC) biology is essential to developing new treatments, however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the acquisition of colon CSC properties. Furthermore, the similarity of the predisposition, including the surface markers, between colon CSCs and normal colon stem cells makes it difficult to develop a practical approach that targets colon CSCs. MicroRNA (miRNA) is one of the important factors regulating CSC properties. In addition, doublecortine-like kinase 1 (DCLK1), a microtubule-associated kinase, has been proposed to be a distinctive marker for colon CSCs. In the present study, we aimed to identify miRNAs that potentially target DCLK1 and unveil the role of the miRNA/DCLK1 axis in colon CSC properties. Material and Methods: Human colon cancer and normal colon specimens were dissociated into single cells and sorted by flow cytometry to separate the stem cell enriched population (EpCAM+/CD44+/CD66a-) and stained with anti-DCLK1 antibody. The expression profile of 384 miRNAs and the expression of DCLK1 in the colon CSC and normal colon stem cell populations were determined using a qRT-PCR. A luciferase activity assay and Western blotting were performed to evaluate the relationship between the miRNA and DCLK1. A lentiviral expression system was designed to investigate the miRNA phenotypes. We adopted an organoid assay and in vivo tumorigenicity assay to examine the influence of the miRNA on CSCs. Results: MiRNA-137 was highly expressed in the normal colon stem cell population whereas the DCLK1 mRNA expression was significantly upregulated in the colon CSC population. Actually, DCLK1-positive colon cancer cells were widely distributed in the colon cancer specimens, while DCLK1-positive epithelial cells were rarely detected in normal colon tissues, including the crypt bottoms. We confirmed that the activity of the luciferase gene linked to the 3'UTR of DCLK1 was decreased and that the protein level of DCLK1 was suppressed in the miRNA-137 transduced SW480 cells. The transduction of exogenous miRNA-137 suppressed the organoid development of colon cancer cells as well as shRNAs against DCLK1. The defect in organoid development by the transduction of miR-137 or shRNAs were substantially rescued by co-expression of the exsogenous DCLK1. Although miRNA-137 overexpression did not affect the organoid development of the normal intestine, miRNA-137 knockdown promoted the organoid development of normal colon cells. Xenograft tumor formation and growth were markedly suppressed in the miRNA-137-transduced SW480 cell-injected mice. Conclusion: These results suggest that miRNA-137 has the potential to suppress the tumorigenicity of colon CSCs through the inhibition of DCLK1 and that the dysregulation of the miRNA-137/DCLK1 axis plays an important role in colon CSCs. Citation Format: Masazumi Sakaguchi, Shigeo Hisamori, Nobu Oshima, Yoshiharu Sakai. microRNA-137/DCLK1 axis: A novel mechanism regulating tumorigenicity of colon cancer stem cell. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1898.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the efficacy and safety of a topical formulation of 2% diclofenac in lecithin organogel in the treatment of pain associated with mild to moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

METHODS
Seventy patients completed a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, parallel group design 2 week clinical trial. Patient responses to disease-specific (WOMAC VA3.0) and quality of life (Medical Outcome Survey SF-36) health status measures were assessed. Global assessments were also made at baseline and post-treatment. The physician conducted a global assessment and range of motion of the knee at baseline and post-treatment.

RESULTS
T tests on the aggregated WOMAC total score and aggregated subscale scores revealed significant improvement (p<0.05) on the aggregated total score and the pain, stiffness, and physical function subscales from baseline to post-treatment for the active treatment group versus the placebo group. Analysis of gain scores from the aggregated WOMAC total score and aggregated subscale scores also revealed that this improvement was significantly greater than the improvement recorded by the placebo treatment group on the aggregated total and the pain and physical function subscale scores. Other efficacy measures exhibited no significant differences between or within treatment groups.

CONCLUSION
A topical formulation of 2% diclofenac in a lecithin organogel appears to have therapeutic value in patients with mild to moderate OA of the knee as determined by responses from the WOMAC (VA3.0) osteoarthritis health status measure.


A variational R-matrix approach from first principles-the selected states R-matrix (SSRM)-is proposed for the study of electron scattering off polyatomic, non-linear molecules. Cartesian Gaussian-type orbitals are used exclusively to represent both valence and continuum orbitals. The two-electron integrals along with the nuclear-attraction integrals are evaluated over the entire space. In a subsequent step these integrals are effectively confined to the R-matrix sphere by subtracting their contributions from outside the sphere using a multipole expansion which approximates the projectile-target interaction in the outer region. This approach allows the use of efficient integral codes available for the calculation of molecular bound states. Correlation and polarization effects are only taken into account for selected, energetically low-lying (n+1)-particle CI roots, corresponding to the R-matrix poles. Higher-lying roots are approximated by a static exchange calculation. In order to test this method, electron scattering off N2 is considered in detail for both resonant (2 Pi g) and non-resonant (2 Sigma g+) scattering symmetries. Good accordance is found between the eigenphase sums from the SSRM calculations and results obtained with a standard R-matrix package for linear molecules as well as with reference data from the literature.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical features of congenital ectropion uvea (CEU) and the relationship between CEU and secondary glaucoma.

METHODS
This is a retrospective case series. Clinical features and treatments of 11 patients with CEU were summarized. Combined with the literatures review of CEU, the pathogenesis and therapeutic results of secondary glaucoma were analyzed.

RESULTS
Among these 11 patients, there were 10 patients with secondary glaucoma and one patient with ocular hypertension. There were 4 patients complicated with congenital ptosis, 2 patients with ocular proptosis, 1 patient with congenital cataract, 1 patient with lens subluxation, 3 patients with ankylodactylia and 1 patient with Rieger's syndrome. The intraocular pressure of 9 patients was controlled after the trabeculectomy.

CONCLUSIONS
CEU is a rare, nonprogressive anomaly accompanied other ocular abnormalities and various systemic disorders. The pathogenesis of secondary glaucoma is related to iridotrabecular dysgenesis. It is essential to detect and to treat the secondary glaucoma as early as possible.


Abstract. A dumbbell-shaped fiber laser with dual-functional pulsed outputs is demonstrated using a filmy polyvinyl alcohol-based gold nanorods (GNRs) saturable absorber (SA), which can deliver mode-locked soliton and multiwavelength Q-switched pulse. The GNRs-SA is fabricated by seed-mediated method with a modulation depth of 4.1% and nonsaturable loss of 32.9%. When the fiber laser operates in mode-locked regime, stable fundamental solitons with a temporal width of 910 fs and repetition rate of 2.88 MHz are directly generated from the laser cavity. The corresponding spectrum is located at 1560.1 nm with a 3-dB bandwidth of 3.08 nm. When the laser operates in Q-switched regime, more than 5-wavelength oscillation is achieved. The repetition rate of Q-switched monotonically increases from 13.4 to 31.7 kHz and the pulse duration can be significantly narrowed from 6.07 to 3.12  μs by varying the pump power from 128 to 154 mW. The results further expand the applications of GNRs-SA to obtain versatile pulse sources in ultrafast laser field.


Feature location is the activity of identifying an initial location in the source code that implements functionality in a software system. Many feature location techniques have been introduced that automate some or all of this process, and a comprehensive overview of this large body of work would be beneficial to researchers and practitioners. This paper presents a systematic literature survey of feature location techniques. Eighty‐nine articles from 25 venues have been reviewed and classified within the taxonomy in order to organize and structure existing work in the field of feature location. The paper also discusses open issues and defines future directions in the field of feature location. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We investigate the rapid internationalization of many multinationals from emerging economies through acquisition in advanced economies. We conceptualize these acquisitions as an act and form of entrepreneurship, aimed to overcome the 'liability of emergingness' incurred by these firms and to serve as a mechanism for competitive catch-up through opportunity seeking and capability transformation. Our explanation emphasizes unique asymmetries (and not necessarily advantages) of emerging multinationals due to their historical and institutional differences with advanced economy multinationals, as well as a search for advantage creation when firms possess mainly ordinary resources. The argument shifts the central focus from advantage to asymmetries as the starting point for internationalization.


The paper studies theoretical aspects of one dimensional linear hybrid cellular automata over a finite (Galois) field. General results concerning the characteristic polynomials of such automata are presented. A probabilistic synthesis algorithm for determining such a linear hybrid cellular automaton with a specific characteristic polynomial is given, along with empirical results and a theoretical analysis. Cyclic boundary cellular automata are defined and related to the more common null boundary cellular automate. An explicit similarity transform between a cellular automaton and its corresponding linear feedback shift register is derived.


Experiments were carried out on 400 Swiss female mice to determine the effect of continuous, long-term absorption of stilbestrol on the incidence of skin tumors induced with 3-methylcholanthrene and the neutral fraction of tobacco tar. The incidence of carcinoma in the methylcholanthrene-plus-stilbestrol group was 39 per cent, whereas in the methylcholanthrene-only group the incidence was 17 per cent. Induction times in the two groups were similar. There was no enhancement of malignant tumor formation by stilbestrol among the animals painted with tobacco tar. After 15 months of application there were nine carcinomas among mice given tobacco tar only. Four papillomas occurred in the tobacco tar-plus-stilbestrol group. Keratoacanthomas were observed in several animals.


This study aims to shed light on the reasons that influence Saudi students' learning experiences, self-esteem, and attitudes in English language education in the EFL context as linked to their language proficiency. However, Saudi students' experiences differed in the ESL context, as the study's findings revealed. This study was conducted to understand the students' perspectives about their different language learning experiences in ESL and EFL settings. The participants in this study were ten students who had learned English in both EFL and ESL classrooms, which gave the study a clear understanding of the English language learning circumstances in both environments. A qualitative approach was used in this study to enable the researcher to discover the participants' English language learning experiences and to assist the researcher to learn extensively about those experiences. Moreover, the data analysis revealed that the students' experiences were influenced by certain factors in the EFL context. The data findings showed that the Saudi students' experiences in EFL differed from those in ESL in terms of their self-esteem, attitude. The students reported that each learning context contributed to their learning in a different manner. EFL contributed to their basic English to some extent, regardless of its accompanying negative factors; however, ESL contributed more effectively to their language acquisition, with positive factors that they found more relevant to their success in the language.


America's retirees are faced with a potential financial disaster. Economic security in retirement has long depended on Social Security, private savings and employer provided retirement plans. While much attention has been paid to the financial problems of Social Security and the lack of private saving for retirement, little attention has been paid to an alarming development in employer provided retirement plans: the likely inability of retirees during the long years of their retirement to successfully manage their retirement funds accumulated in 401(k) and similar accounts. We as a society have set up a funding system for retirement that assumes retirees will be able to successfully manage their IRAs for the 20 or 30 years of retirement. We know, however, that most will not. Some will lack the basic intelligence or knowledge of finance take on the risk, oversight and planning. Some will be fine managing an IRA at age 65, but lose the ability due to physical decline. Finally, millions of aging IRA owners will lose the ability to manage their finances because of the lost of mental capacity, primarily because of dementia. Asking individuals to husband a lump-sum payout from a 401(k) retirement account for the 20 to 30 years of retirement as they physically and mentally decline is a recipe for disaster. Unless we provide a more secure way to stretch retirement dollars into the twilight of retiree lives, we can expect to see more and more elderly retirees slide into poverty. The solution is to create federally guaranteed life-time annuities that retirees can purchase with the funds accumulated in their 401(k) retirement accounts.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ethanol on pancreatic blood flow and interstitial pH in chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND
Ethanol is known to contribute to the development of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. However, it is unclear how ethanol precipitates episodes of acute pancreatic inflammation in the setting of chronic pancreatitis. In a model of chronic pancreatitis in cats, it is known that pancreatic blood flow is abnormally low and decreases further after ethanol ingestion. Because it is possible that this reduction in blood flow might be damaging to the pancreas, we investigated the effects of ethanol on pancreatic interstitial pH, an index of pancreatic ischemia.

METHODS
In normal cats and cats with obstructive chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic blood flow and interstitial pH were measured using the hydrogen gas clearance technique and pH microelectrode, respectively.

RESULTS
In normal cats, intragastric, but not intravenous, ethanol reduced both pancreatic blood flow by 62% (p < 0.05) and interstitial pH (7.38 +/- 0.03 to 7.20 +/- 0.03, p < 0.05). In cats with chronic pancreatitis in which basal pancreatic blood flow was already only 60% of normal flow, both intragastric and intravenous ethanol decreased both pancreatic blood flow (intragastric, 40% decrease, p < 0.05; intravenous, 34% decrease, p < 0.05) and interstitial pH (intragastric, 7.24 +/- 0.04 to 7.08 +/- 0.04, p < 0.05; intravenous 7.20 +/- 0.08 to 7.07 +/- 0.07, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
This profound decrease in pH, lasting up to 2 hours after ethanol exposure in the chronic pancreatitis animals, suggests the possibility of ischemic cellular damage to the pancreas. These findings may explain the pathogenesis of bouts of acute pancreatic inflammation after ethanol ingestion in the setting of chronic disease.


38 cases with systemic embolism were studied with transthoracic echocardiography. Patients with previous history of neurologic manifestations or intermittent claudication were excluded. Only patients with good quality echocardiographic studies were included. The goals of the study were: to diagnose intracardiac masses responsible for the embolic episode and to evaluate the study as a guide for medical or surgical therapy in this group of patients in order to prevent new embolic events. In 9 patients an intracardiac mass was identified as responsible for the embolic event, 5 cases located in the left atrium, 2 cases of left ventricular thrombus, 1 case of left atrial myxoma and 1 case of marantic endocarditis. The later two were resected surgically and 3 cases of rheumatic mitral valve disease and 1 case of left ventricular aneurism were corrected surgically. It is concluded that transthoracic echocardiography is a valuable study in this patients not only as a diagnostic tool but as a guide to surgical and medical management.


We investigate structural properties of statistical zero knowledge (SZK) both in the interactive and in the non-interactive model. Specifically, we look into the closure properties of SZK languages under monotone logical formula composition. This gives rise to new protocol techniques. We show that interactive SZK for random self reducible languages (RSR) (and for co-RSR) is closed under monotone Boolean operations. Namely, we give SZK proofs for monotone Boolean formulae whose atoms are statements about an SZK language which is RSR (or a complement of RSR). All previously known languages in SZK are in these classes. We then show that if a language L has a non-interactive SZK proof system then honest-verifier interactive SZK proof systems exist for all monotone Boolean formulae whose atoms are statements about the complement of L. We also discuss extensions and generalizations.<<ETX>>


A dedicated set of fibers elaborated via the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) technique is used to study the influence of composition and drawing parameters on their responses to an X-ray pulse representative of the radiation environments associated with Megajoule class lasers. These canonical fibers were designed to highlight the impact of these parameters on the amplitude and kinetics of the transient pulsed X-ray Radiation Induced Attenuation (RIA) at room temperature. From preforms differing by their core composition, three optical fibers were elaborated by varying the tension and speed during the drawing process. No or only slight RIA change results from the tested variations in drawing process parameters of Ge-doped, F-doped, and pure-silica-core fibers. This study reveals that the drawing process is not the main parameter to be optimized in order to enhance the radiation tolerance of MCVD specialty optical fibers for the LMJ harsh environment. From the hardness assurance point of view, a specialty fiber sufficiently tolerant to this environment should be robust against changes in the drawing process. The origins of the RIA observed in the different fibers are discussed on the basis of spectral decomposition of their measured RIA spectra, using sets of defects from the literature and related to the different core dopants. This analysis highlights the limits of the well-known defect set to reproduce the RIA above 1 μm for Ge-doped fibers whereas self-trapped holes and chlorine-related species seem responsible for the transient responses of pure-silica-core and F-doped fibers.


The folding dynamics of small single-domain proteins is a current focus of simulations and experiments. Many of these proteins are 'two-state folders', i.e. proteins that fold rather directly from the denatured state to the native state, without populating metastable intermediate states. A central question is how to characterize the instable, partially folded conformations of two-state proteins, in particular the rate-limiting transition-state conformations between the denatured and the native state. These partially folded conformations are short-lived and cannot be observed directly in experiments. However, experimental data from detailed mutational analyses of the folding dynamics provide indirect access to transition states. The interpretation of these data, in particular the reconstruction of transition-state conformations, requires simulation and modeling. The traditional interpretation of the mutational data aims to reconstruct the degree of structure formation of individual residues in the transition state, while a novel interpretation aims at degrees of structure formation of cooperative substructures such as alpha-helices and beta-hairpins. By splitting up mutation-induced free energy changes into secondary and tertiary structural components, the novel interpretation resolves some of the inconsistencies of the traditional interpretation.


In 2015, the European Union passed the PSD2 regulation, with the aim of transferring ownership of bank accounts to the private person. As a result, Open Banking has become an emerging concept, which provides third-party financial service providers open access to bank APIs, including consumer banking, transaction, and other financial data. However, such openness may also incur many security issues, especially when the data can be exposed by an API to a third party. Focused on this challenge, the primary goal of this work is to develop one innovative web solution to the market. We advocate that the solution should be able to trigger transactions based on goals and actions, allowing users to save up money while encouraging positive habits. In particular, we propose a solution with an architectural model that ensures clear separation of concern and easy integration with Nordea's (the largest bank in the Nordics) Open Banking APIs (sandbox version), and a technological stack with the microframework Flask, the cloud application platform Heroku, and persistent data storage layer using Postgres. We analyze and map the web application's security threats and determine whether or not the technological frame can provide suitable security level, based on the OWASP Top 10 threats and threat modelling methodology. The results indicate that many of these security measures are either handled automatically by the components offered by the technical stack or are easily preventable through included packages of the Flask Framework. Our findings can support future developers and industries working with web applications for Open Banking towards improving security by choosing the right frameworks and considering the most important vulnerabilities.


The wide application of pepper is mostly related to the content of capsaicin, and phenylpropanoid metabolism and its branch pathways may play an important role in the biosynthesis of capsaicin. The expression level of MYB24, a transcription factor screened from the transcriptome data of the pepper fruit development stage, was closely related to the spicy taste. In this experiment, CcMYB24 was cloned from Hainan Huangdenglong pepper, a hot aromatic pepper variety popular in the world for processing, and its function was confirmed by tissue expression characteristics, heterologous transformation in Arabidopsis thaliana, and VIGS technology. The results showed that the relative expression level of CcMYB24 was stable in the early stage of pepper fruit development, and increased significantly from 30 to 50 days after flowering. Heterologous expression led to a significant increase in the expression of CcMYB24 and decrease in lignin content in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants. CcMYB24 silencing led to a significant increase in the expression of phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway genes PAL, 4CL, and pAMT; lignin branch CCR1 and CAD; and capsaicin pathway CS, AT3, and COMT genes in the placenta of pepper, with capsaicin content increased by more than 31.72% and lignin content increased by 20.78%. However, the expression of PAL, pAMT, AT3, COMT, etc., in the corresponding pericarps did not change significantly. Although CS, CCR1, and CAD increased significantly, the relative expression amount was smaller than that in placental tissue, and the lignin content did not change significantly. As indicated above, CcMYB24 may negatively regulate the formation of capsaicin and lignin by regulating the expression of genes from phenylpropanoid metabolism and its branch pathways.


Hysteresis current-controlled pulsewidth modulation (PWM) is very robust but it possesses nonconstant switching frequency, and it is difficult to use for high-performance position servo applications. This paper presents a robust hysteresis current-controlled PWM scheme for a magnetic suspended positioning system driven by an inverter-fed linear permanent-magnet synchronous motor having improved performance in these two areas. In the proposed control scheme, the conventional hysteresis PWM mechanism is augmented by a robust harmonic spectrum-shaping controller. The error signal, which represents the switching frequency deviated from the set one, is detected using a notching filter inverse model. Then, the current command is adjusted by a robust compensation signal. The hysteresis band can be equivalently varied to let the dominant harmonic frequency of inverter output be constant, wherein the frequency can easily be changed by tuning the center frequency of the notch filter. The gating signal of switches is not needed to be sensed for making the proposed control. The constant-frequency control performance yielded by the proposed controller is rather insensitive to the system disturbances and the neutral voltage variation due to isolated Y connection. Through applying the proposed PWM inverter, satisfactory position control requirements can be achieved by properly setting the dominant harmonic frequency according to the electromechanical model of the positioning system.


SIR,-Drs. D. J. Eggleston and F. F. Nally (15 August, p. 407) report that dental pain can be the presenting symptom of herpes zoster. Personal experience of zoster sine herpete shows that this too can be encountered by dental surgeons. In my own case spasms of pain developed in a localized part of the lower jaw on the 12th day of the illness. Other features were dermatomal pain and hyperalgesia within the distribution of the first and third divisions of the trigeminal nerve, paraesthesia within that of the first division of the nerve, spasms of pain in the nasopharynx and ear, and upper deep cervical lymphadenopathy. The diagnosis of zoster was established by a serological method.' In the case of herpes zoster reported by Dr. R. J. West (25 July, p. 222) the eruption developed three days after dental extraction. Both Dr. West and Dr. G. D. W. McKendrick (5 September, p. 587) presume that the disease was an effect of dental treatment but, if treatment was sought because of pain, the converse is much more probable.-I am, etc., H. G. EASTON. Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow N.W. REFERENCE 1 Ross, C. A. C., Sharpe, J. H. S., and Ferry, P., Lancet, 1965, 2, 708.


Resonably good agreement among the photoluminescence, absorption, in-plane photocurrent and theoretical calculation demonstrates the effect of GaAs barrier width on the strain in In0.20Ga0.80As/GaAs single quantum wells. The strain of each sample has been deduced.


As the world turns increasingly towards knowledge economies, the integration of innovation, higher education (HE) and research policies continues to gain importance. In 2006, the Portuguese government and MIT launched the MIT-Portugal Program (MPP) as an integrative, university-centered innovation strategy that aims at reorienting Portuguese engineering education and research around the issues of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology management, serving as an incubator to establish missing links between universities and industry. The program was conceived as a targeted response to Portugal's specific innovation challenges. These challenges derive both from the country's specific socio-economic trajectory as well as general European reform pressure, and include for example the creation of strong graduate programs in engineering and science to address a critical lack in human resources, greater internationalization of Portuguese education and research, the achievement of critical research mass and international competitiveness in some designated key areas, and a greater involvement of external stakeholders and particularly industry in the universities. This thesis provides a real-time assessment of the MIT-Portugal Program one year prior to the completion of its current 5year funding cycle. The thesis finds that MPP indeed represents an apposite, effective and comprehensive policy response to Portugal's imminent innovation challenges. The concerted combination of multiple policy tools has yielded important and visible successes, most notably in the creation of strong and international education programs, an unprecedented degree of networking and collaboration among Portuguese researchers and institutions, and the re-orientation of engineering education around innovation and industry needs. Secondly, the assessment has revealed significant opportunities for program improvement as well as some persistent barriers to implementation, in particular in the domains of industry linkages, program outreach and communication, and certain systemic and legal challenges that frame MPP's operation within the Portuguese system. Based on the thesis findings, thirdly, a continuation of the program beyond the current cycle is strongly recommended in order to extract the maximum benefit from the collaboration, to strengthen sustainable long-term bonds between the participating institutions, to include the lessons from the first period, and to ensure the retention and dissemination of the program achievements throughout the system. While such a renewal is highly uncertain due to the current economic constraints on Portugal and Europe as well as the substantial degree of politicization surrounding the Program, MPP should be viewed as a long-term strategic investment with great spillover potential into the Portuguese higher education and innovation system that is worth harnessing and expanding. Finally, the thesis argues that MPP does in fact provide a generalizable framework that could serve as a model strategy for other catching-up countries facing similar challenges. Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Daniel Roos Professor of Engineering Systems and Civil and Environmental Engineering Director, MIT-Portugal Program


Researchers interested in the history of the Indo-European family of languages have used a variety of methods to estimate the phylogeny of the family, and have obtained widely differing results. In this paper we explore the reconstructions of the Indo-European phylogeny obtained by using the major phylogeny estimation procedures on an existing database of 336 characters (including lexical, phonological, and morphological characters) for 24 Indo-European languages. Our study finds that the different methods agree in part, but that there are also several striking differences. We discuss the reasons for these differences, and make proposals with respect to phylogenetic reconstruction in historical linguistics.


BACKGROUND:
Finding manual skills for special circumstances would be important both for the urologist and the patient. In this study a simple technique was examined to facilitate the removal of ureteral stent by vaginal examination in some female patients under special condition.

METHODS:
Overall, 32 female patients (37 ureteral stent) underwent Stent Removal by Vaginal (SVR) examination technique. The patient was positioned in lithotomic position and was asked to keep her bladder semi-full. The ureteral stent in the ureteral orifice was touched by the index finger between the anterior vaginal wall and the bladder trigone; then the grasping forceps held by the other hand entered the bladder through the urethra to reach the end of the stent and pull it gently and completely.

FINDINGS:
The technique was done successfully in stents. No significant side effect was observed after using SRV technique, but gross hematuria was seen in eight patients (23%).

CONCLUSION:
S.R.V. technique is a simple and effective procedure that dose not require additional equipments or personnel. was more useful in elderly women with atrophic vaginitis and without cystocele.

KEY WORDS:
Ureteral stent, vaginal examination, cystocele


Energy Dissipation Caused by Asphalt Roadway Gouges For Use in Accident Reconstruction Charles L. Crosby Department of Mechanical Engineering Master of Science In reconstruction of on-roadway vehicle accidents, roadway surface gouges and the forces and energy attributed to the related vehicle components become important keys to resolving an accurate accident reconstruction. These roadway gouge forces vary depending upon such factors as surface temperature and the velocity and geometry of the gouging mechanism. Accounting for the forces applied to vehicle components and the energy dissipated from such forces can be helpful in accident reconstruction where supporting data exists. This research documents the force necessary to create a given roadway gouge geometry. Controlled pavement gouging tests were performed using roadway surface temperature and gouging velocity as main factors. The results of this testing and analysis are useful in quantifying gouge forces and energies for use in accident reconstruction. The findings show that the temperature of the roadway surface that is being damaged significantly affects the amount of force required to cause the damage. A summary of experiments and techniques as applied to accident reconstruction are presented.


In recent years, a lot of researches have done by domestic and foreign scholars to enhance and improve the
development of man-made board production that based on natural fiber and agricultural residues. Due to a worldwide
shortage of forest resources which have been excessive cutting, man-made board production has become one of the
alternative ways to solve wood supply problems. Particle board is a panel product manufactured under pressure from
particles of wood or other ligno-cellulosic materials and an adhesive. In Malaysia, the demand and trend of uses wood
panel product such as particle board is increasing in the market. The purpose of this study is to identify the potential use of
cassava root as a raw material for bio-composite development. In this research, cassava root from different ages (6, 9 and
12 months) were used for production of bonded particle boards by using polyester as a binder. Constant resin content,
temperature, time pressing and pressure were applied during boards' production. Moisture content, density, water
absorption and thickness swelling test were carried out to determine dimensional stability of the boards while static
bending tests were carried out to assess the mechanical strength of the boards. Particleboard from 12 month cassava root
gave the best results in term of physical and mechanical properties. But, particleboard from 12 month cassava root did not
meet the ANSI/A208.1-1999 standard for general-purpose boards. For this reason, additional research needs to be done on
improving the physical and mechanical properties produced from different ages of the cassava root.


AUTOMATIC dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) [1,2] is widely implemented in modern commercial aircraft and will become mandatory equipment in 2020. Flight state information such as position, velocity, and vertical rate are broadcast by tens of thousands of aircraft around the world constantly using onboard ADS-B transponders. These data are identified by a 24-bit International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) address, are unencrypted, and can be received and decoded with simple ground station set-ups. This large amount of open data brings a huge potential for ATM research. Most studies that rely on aircraft flight data (historical or real-time) require knowledge on the flight phase of each aircraft at a given time [3–7]. However, when dealing with large datasets such as from ADS-B, which can contain many tens of thousands of flights, exceptions to deterministic definitions of flight phases are inevitable, due to large variances in climb rate, altitude, velocity, or a combination of these. In this case, instead of using deterministic logic to process and extract flight data based on flight conventions, robust and versatile identification algorithms are required. In this paper, a twofold method is proposed and tested: 1) a machine learning clustering step that can handle large amounts of scattered ADS-B data to extract continuous flights, and 2) a flight phase identification step that can segment flight data of any type of aircraft and trajectory by different flight phases.


ABSTRACT Group II nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum (gIICb) strains are an important concern for the safety of minimally processed ready-to-eat foods, because they can grow and produce botulinum neurotoxin during refrigerated storage. The principles of control of gIICb by conventional food processing and preservation methods have been well investigated and translated into guidelines for the food industry; in contrast, the effectiveness of emerging processing and preservation techniques has been poorly documented. The reason is that experimental studies with C. botulinum are cumbersome because of biosafety and biosecurity concerns. In the present work, we report the construction of two nontoxigenic derivatives of the type E gIICb strain NCTC 11219. In the first strain, the botulinum toxin gene (bont/E) was insertionally inactivated with a retargeted intron using the ClosTron system. In the second strain, bont/E was exchanged for an erythromycin resistance gene using a new gene replacement strategy that makes use of pyrE as a bidirectional selection marker. Growth under optimal and stressed conditions, sporulation efficiency, and spore heat resistance of the mutants were unaltered, except for small differences in spore heat resistance at 70°C and in growth at 2.3% NaCl. The mutants described in this work provide a safe alternative for basic research as well as for food challenge and process validation studies with gIICb. In addition, this work expands the clostridial genetic toolbox with a new gene replacement method that can be applied to replace any gene in gIICb and other clostridia. IMPORTANCE The nontoxigenic mutants described in this work provide a safe alternative for basic research as well as for food challenge and process validation studies with psychrotrophic Clostridium botulinum. In addition, this work expands the clostridial genetic toolbox with a new gene replacement method that can be applied to replace any gene in clostridia.


EU–Russia relations constitute an interesting case through which to examine the way the EU affects how member states operate in external relations with third countries, and to what extent the member states can shape EU policy. All 27 member states partake in EU decision-making, and all of them also maintain bilateral relations with Russia. This article examines why it is that EU member states struggle to speak with one voice. In particular it investigates whether a convergence of member states' individual policies has developed into an EU policy or, alternatively, if their bilateral relations with Russia prevent a common policy from developing. Different avenues through which individual states' national preferences can shape EU policy towards Russia are examined in the first part of this article, while the second part addresses the perennial debates about the trade-off between the 'shared values' and the individual national interests of member states. It is argued that member states are split on matters of principle, effectively supporting contrasting approaches which are intrinsically difficult to reconcile. This study of the EU's relationship with its most important neighbour on the continent opens a window onto whether the EU is developing as a viable foreign policy actor.


This study aimed to find out the Comparison of the Maguindanaon Traditional Marriage and the Islamic form of Marriage. Specifically, the study seeks to find out the Socio-demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, Marital Status and educational attainment.  The Requisites of the Maguindanaon Traditional form of Marriage and the Requisites of Islamic forms of Marriage are identified in this study. Also, the factors to a successful marriage in terms of Cultural / familial, Economic, Spiritual factor and the difference between the Maguindanaon Marriage and that of the Islamic Marriage system are the focused of this study.
This study made use of expost facto research design particularly descriptive ethnographic in approach. This study was conducted in the thirty four barangays of municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The respondents of this study were individuals who have sufficient information on Traditional Marriage of the Maguindanaon and Islamic form of Marriage. There were 200 respondents for the entire municipality. 100 respondents are those members of the Al-Hiqma organization, and one hundred (100) respondents were from Maguindanaon local folk who had sufficient information about Maguindanaon traditional marriage, and used the simple random sampling procedures. A survey questionnaire was used for the respondents who can read and write and for the respondents who have no knowledge on reading and writing used interview method.

Based on the findings of the study, the beliefs and practices of the Maguindanaon in terms of marriage were handed to them by their forefathers through series of generations down to present. These beliefs and practices were counted as legacies of the past that remained a living heritage of the present generations. The Maguindanaon tradition on marriage is still primitive in many aspects like the negotiation of third parties, imposition of dowry, man's servitude to his in-laws and many of the rituals of the past are still seen in the present time. Education, both Islamic and Western have influenced the marriage practices of some Maguindanaons in the urban society as some of their marriage ceremony are held in hotels and restaurants. The augmentation of the materialistic nature of maguindanaon traditional marriage has been maintained and increased due to the devaluation of the Philippine currencies.

Key words: Comparative Study, Maguindanaon, Traditional Marriage, Islamic Marriage System


Carbon dots (CDots) are generally defined as small-carbon nanoparticles with surface organic functionalization and their classical synthesis is literally the functionalization of preexisting carbon nanoparticles. Other than these "classically defined CDots", however, the majority of the dot samples reported in the literature were prepared by thermal carbonization of organic precursors in mostly "one-pot" processing. In this work, thermal processing of the selected precursors intended for carbonization was performed with conditions of 200 °C for 3 h, 330 °C for 6 h, and heating by microwave irradiation, yielding samples denoted as CS200, CS330, and CSMT, respectively. These samples are structurally different from the classical CDots and should be considered as "nano-carbon/organic hybrids". Their optical spectroscopic properties were found comparable to those of the classical CDots, but very different in the related photoinduced antibacterial activities. Mechanistic origins of the divergence were explored, with the results suggesting major factors associated with the structural and morphological characteristics of the hybrids.


Many terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by intermittent production of abundant resources for consumers, termed pulsed resources. The impact of resource pulses on populations downwind of the initial pulse are only beginning to be characterized, while the relationship between the frequencies of pulses and the long-term growth rate of affected species is unknown. I monitored the reproductive success of veeries (Catharus fuscescens) breeding in oak-dominated forest in southeastern New York State from 1998 to 2002. During this time veeries experienced high interannual variability in growth rates as a consequence of trophic cascades stemming from pulsed production of acorns. Rodent populations that benefited from acorns also depredated veery nests, while raptors that increased in response to rodent outbreaks are major predators on adult and juvenile birds. Veeries may recoup losses following low to moderate acorn crops that lead to rodent population declines. Thus, veeries fluctuate between years of positive and negative growth rate, however, long-term population trends, and thus true source-sink designation, cannot be made until the frequency of various year types is characterized. 1 simulated long-term growth rates using reproductive parameters estimated from field studies and survivorship data from the literature. Simulations suggest that variability in the frequency of masting events in oaks can lead to ∼ 10% fluctuation in long-term growth rates in veeries. These studies suggest that temporal variability in masting dynamics has the potential to substantially influence songbird population trends. Furthermore, spatial variability in masting characteristics (e.g. the frequency of masting events and/or the size of seed crops) may greatly contribute to regional differences in songbird population trends. Because even less is known about the relationship between sizes of acorn crops and songbird populations, the influence of pulses in seed production on songbird population dynamics is likely to be underestimated.


Four new complexes [MnII(L1OO)(H2O)][ClO4]·2H2O (1), [ZnII(L1OO)][ClO4]·2H2O (2), [CuII(L3OO)][CF3SO3]·H2O (3), and [ZnII(L3OO)][ClO4] (4) (L1OO– = 3-[(2-(pyridine-2-yl)ethyl){2-(pyridine-2-yl)methyl}amino]propionate; L3OO– = 3-[(2-(pyridine-2-yl)ethyl){(dimethylamino)ethyl}amino]propionate) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and UV/Vis spectroscopy. Structural analysis revealed that 1, 3, and 4 are one-dimensional chain-like coordination polymers. In 1 distorted octahedral MnN3O3 and in 3 square-pyramidal CuN3O2 coordination is satisfied by three nitrogen atoms and an appended carboxylate oxygen atom of the ligand, and an oxygen atom belonging to the carboxylate group of an adjacent molecule. In 4 trigonal bipyramidal ZnN3O2 coordination environment is provided by two nitrogen atoms and an appended carboxylate oxygen atom of the ligand in the equatorial plane, and the two axial positions are satisfied by a tertiary amine nitrogen and an oxygen atom belonging to the carboxylate group of an adjacent molecule. In 1 the MnII center is coordinated by an additional water molecule. In these complexes each monomeric unit is sequentially connected by syn-anti carboxylate bridges. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibilities for 1 and 3 are measured, revealing antiferromagnetic interactions through syn-anti carboxylate bridges between the MII centers. Analysis of the crystal packing diagram reveals that in 1 extensive π–π stacking involving alternate pyridine rings of adjacent 1D chain exists, which eventually lead to the formation of a 2D network structure. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)


A small fraction of patients diagnosed with obesity or diabetes mellitus has an underlying monogenic cause. Here, we constructed a targeted gene panel consisting of 83 genes reported to be causative for monogenic obesity or diabetes. We performed this panel in 481 patients to detect causative variants and compared these results with whole-exome sequencing (WES) data available for 146 of these patients. The coverage of targeted gene panel sequencing was significantly higher than that of WES. The diagnostic yield in patients sequenced by the panel was 32.9% with subsequent WES leading to an additional three diagnoses with two novel genes. In total, 178 variants in 83 genes were detected in 146 patients by targeted sequencing. Three of the 178 variants were missed by WES, although the WES-only approach had a similar diagnostic yield. For the 335 samples only receiving targeted sequencing, the diagnostic yield was 32.2%. In conclusion, taking into account the lower costs, shorter turnaround time, and higher quality of data, targeted sequencing is a more effective screening method for monogenic obesity and diabetes compared to WES. Therefore, this approach could be routinely established and used as a first-tier test in clinical practice for specific patients.


Graft-versus-host reaction has been induced in unirradiated adult (C57BL x CBA) F1 hybrid mice by intravenous injection of parent-line spleen cells, and the capacity of the injected animals to react to first-set and second-set grafts of A-line skin, and to Salm. typhi H antigen, has been investigated. Injection of CBA cells resulted in little or no loss of weight, a low mortality, little or no impairment of the recipient's capacity to react to A skin or to the bacterial antigen when encountered for the first time, and no loss of pre-existing immunity to A skin. Injection of (40 to 100) x 106 C57BL cells on the other hand resulted in severe loss of weight and diarrhoea, often culminating in death. Surviving non-immunized animals reacted feebly to the bacterial antigen and some were slower than normal in rejecting first-set grafts of A skin. Pre-existing immunity to A skin was lost except in the special case when the spleen cell donor had itself been immunized against A skin. It is concluded that severe graft-versus-host reaction depresses the host's immunological reactivity, but that the foreign cells may enable the host to muster a variety of immunological reactions by proxy.


OBJECTIVE
Examine associations between patient experiences with care and service use across markets.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) and managed care (Medicare Advantage [MA]) beneficiaries in 306 markets from the 2003 Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys. Resource use intensity is measured by the 2003 end-of-life expenditure index.

STUDY DESIGN
We estimated correlations and linear regressions of eight measures of case-mix-adjusted beneficiary experiences with intensity of service use across markets.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION
We merged CAHPS data with service use data, excluding beneficiaries under 65 years of age or receiving Medicaid.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Overall, higher intensity use was associated (p<.05) with worse (seven measures) or no better care experiences (two measures). In higher-intensity markets, Medicare FFS and MA beneficiaries reported more problems getting care quickly and less helpful office staff. However, Medicare FFS beneficiaries in higher-intensity markets reported higher overall ratings of their personal physician and main specialist. Medicare MA beneficiaries in higher-intensity markets also reported worse quality of communication with physicians, ability to get needed care, and overall ratings of care.

CONCLUSIONS
Medicare beneficiaries in markets characterized by high service use did not report better experiences with care. This trend was strongest for those in managed care.


Older adults use public and private services, as well as personal resources, to meet nutritional needs. In-depth interviews conducted with 73 service providers and community experts in two rural North Carolina counties were analyzed for these experts' perceptions of barriers to adequate nutrition for older adults. Perceived barriers included characteristics of the county and programs, transportation, and kin, as well as older adult medical and economic conditions, food habits, knowledge, and attitudes. The importance given each of these domains varied by respondents' area of expertise. Community experts and providers may not see the connection between their services and nutritional well-being of older adults.


One of the big uncertainties when estimating the CO2 storage capacity of a geological formation stems from the effect of geological heterogeneity, which can e.g. cause fast flow paths and counteract gravity segregation. Furthermore, in particular the horizontal continuity of layering and/or the horizontal correlation length of the permeability fields are difficult to determine, as the investigation boreholes by necessity are far apart. We present results from a simulation study of CO2 injection into a reservoir layer where the statistical properties such as standard deviation, correlation lengths of the permeability field are systematically varied. Capillary heterogeneity is linked to the heterogeneous permeability field according to the Leverett scaling function. In all cases a predefined injection pressure is applied and the spreading of CO2 is simulated until the plume reaches a spill point, representing a fracture or other leaking features. The storage capacity of CO2 following such scheme is defined as the reservoir volume behind the plume front that is occupied by CO2. For each set of statistical parameter values a large number of realizations are run to allow convergence of the output statistics. From the results the storage capacities are determined; the dependence of the term and its particular 'heterogeneity capacity factor' is related to the statistical characteristics of the permeability field.


The mixture of factor analyzers model was first introduced over 20 years ago and, in the meantime, has been extended to several non-Gaussian analogues. In general, these analogues account for situations with heavy tailed and/or skewed clusters. An approach is introduced that unifies many of these approaches into one very general model: the mixture of hidden truncation hyperbolic factor analyzers (MHTHFA) model. In the process of doing this, a hidden truncation hyperbolic factor analysis model is also introduced. The MHTHFA model is illustrated for clustering as well as semi-supervised classification using two real datasets.


Purpose of review: The popularity of farmers' markets is increasing, yet little is understood about their contribution in developing social or economic benefits for the farmers who use them. This paper reviews the literature on farmers' markets and the contributions that they make, not only to the rural community but also the urban centres within which they operate, and the various challenges associated with their operation. Main findings: Although there are many advantages of farmers' markets, the review identifies a clear gap in the research literature relating to the potential impact of farmers' markets on urban areas and tourism. While most studies have been undertaken in developed countries, research in developing countries is equally if not more important, given the potential role of farmers' markets in enhancing the economic wellbeing of smallholder producers. Directions for future research: Future research should guide policy makers by providing more evidence on the economic impact of farmers' markets and the potential for tourism and urban development.


Ethical questions lie at the very heart of all philosophy, and no one is better equipped to untangle the many facets of ethical theory than respected thinker and professor Jan Narveson. Drawing from theoretical notions as well as everyday applications, Narveson simplifies these nuanced ideas for any beginning ethicist. Discussing theoretical elements ranging from intuitionism to naturalism, emotivism to metaethics, Narveson's approach to this complex topic is one that any reader will find accessible.


The turnover-dependent inhibition of the Halobacterium saccharovorum ATPase is dependent on two parameters: pH and the concentration of the divalent cation present. At pH 6 and 1 mM Mn2+ the inhibition is small, but increases steeply with 6 mM Mn2+. In contrast, at pH 8.5 the inhibition is more than 90% at 1 mM Mn2+, and higher concentrations have little additional effect. A relationship between the occupation of a second metal ion binding site and turnover-dependent inhibition was postulated previously [Schobert, B. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 10252-10257]. The results lead to a model where this site (X-) can alternatively bind protons (XH), depending on the pH and the free metal ion concentration. The pKa of XH is estimated to be 9. The turnover-dependent inhibition is diminished by bisulfite, whereas sulfite is ineffective. The kinetics show that bisulfite and metal ion compete for the same site. In the proposed model, bisulfite binds via its negative charge to the site from which Pi was released and is arranged such as to interact with X- via its protonated group (X-HSO3-). In this way, formation of the inhibited enzyme species XMe is prevented. Inhibitory anions like nitrate, which carry a permanent dipole as a common feature, show uncompetitive inhibition vs metal ions. The data are compatible with a model in which these inhibitors bind to the vacant Pi site and position their positive charges near XH. As a consequence, the pKa of XH is decreased and X- is stabilized, which in turn favors the formation of XMe. The downshift in pKa was calculated to be 0.7 pH unit.


The Schrodinger equations of diatomic molecules with empirical potential functions are solved approximately by means of the hypergeometric series method. The potential functions may fit the experimental Rydberg-Klein-Rees curve more closely than the Morse function. Rigorous solutions of Schrodinger equations are also obtained with a similar method for zero total angular momentum. The eigenfunctions of diatomic molecules, expressed in terms of Jacobi polynomial, are employed as the orthonormal basis sets, and analytic expressions of matrix elements for the position and momentum operators are given in closed form.


A novel blind equalization method based on a subgradient search over a convex cost surface is examined under a noisy channel and a modification is proposed. This is an alternative to the existing iterative blind equalization approaches such as constant modulus algorithm (CMA) which mostly suffer from the convergence problems caused by their non-convex cost functions. The proposed method is an iterative algorithm, for both real and complex constellations, with a very simple update rule that minimizes the l/sub /spl infin// norm of the equalizer output under a linear constraint on the equalizer coefficients. The subgradient based algorithm has a fast convergence behavior attributed to the convex l/sub /spl infin// cost surface. A moving window based approach is used in this algorithm to both decrease the algorithm's complexity and increase its immunity to noise.


Increased levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in the models of sepsis, pulmonary edema, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) suggest its potential role in the modulation of acute lung injury. We have recently described ANP-protective effects against thrombin-induced barrier dysfunction in pulmonary endothelial cells (EC). The current study examined involvement of the Rac effector p21-activated kinase (PAK1) in ANP-protective effects in the model of lung vascular permeability induced by bacterial wall LPS. C57BL/6J mice or ANP knockout mice (Nppa(-/-)) were treated with LPS (0.63 mg/kg intratracheal) with or without ANP (2 μg/kg iv). Lung injury was monitored by measurements of bronchoalveolar lavage protein content, cell count, Evans blue extravasation, and lung histology. Endothelial barrier properties were assessed by morphological analysis and measurements of transendothelial electrical resistance. ANP treatment stimulated Rac-dependent PAK1 phosphorylation, attenuated endothelial permeability caused by LPS, TNF-α, and IL-6, decreased LPS-induced cell and protein accumulation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and suppressed Evans blue extravasation in the murine model of acute lung injury. More severe LPS-induced lung injury and vascular leak were observed in ANP knockout mice. In rescue experiments, ANP injection significantly reduced lung injury in Nppa(-/-) mice caused by LPS. Molecular inhibition of PAK1 suppressed the protective effects of ANP treatment against LPS-induced lung injury and endothelial barrier dysfunction. This study shows that the protective effects of ANP against LPS-induced vascular leak are mediated at least in part by PAK1-dependent signaling leading to EC barrier enhancement. Our data suggest a direct role for ANP in endothelial barrier regulation via modulation of small GTPase signaling.


This article provides a nursing perspective on psychosis. It looks at how psychotic behaviour is often no more than an exaggerated version of normal behaviour and explains that many people can have a psychotic experience, albeit temporarily, in unusual or exceptional circumstances. This article looks at how nurses can help people to make some sense of the phenomenon and begin the process of integrating it into their life experience. The importance of building a therapeutic relationship and maintaining a consistent clinical approach is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the stress-vulnerability model as a means of understanding the experience while looking at potential triggers and the prevention of relapse.


During a germinal center reaction, random mutations are introduced into immunoglobulin V genes to increase the affinity of antibody molecules and to further diversify the B cell repertoire. Antigen-directed selection of B cell clones that generate high affinity surface Ig results in the affinity maturation of the antibody response. The mutations of Ig genes are typically basepair substitutions, although DNA insertions and deletions have been reported to occur at a low frequency. In this study, we describe five insertion and four deletion events in otherwise somatically mutated VH gene cDNA molecules. Two of these insertions and all four deletions were obtained through the sequencing of 395 cDNA clones (∼110,000 nucleotides) from CD38+IgD− germinal center, and CD38−IgD− memory B cell populations from a single human tonsil. No germline genes that could have encoded these six cDNA clones were found after an extensive characterization of the genomic VH4 repertoire of the tonsil donor. These six insertions or deletions and three additional insertion events isolated from other sources occurred as triplets or multiples thereof, leaving the transcripts in frame. Additionally, 8 of 9 of these events occurred in the CDR1 or CDR2, following a pattern consistent with selection, and making it unlikely that these events were artifacts of the experimental system. The lack of similar instances in unmutated IgD+CD38− follicular mantle cDNA clones statistically associates these events to the somatic hypermutation process (P = 0.014). Close scrutiny of the 9 insertion/deletion events reported here, and of 25 additional insertions or deletions collected from the literature, suggest that secondary structural elements in the DNA sequences capable of producing loop intermediates may be a prerequisite in most instances. Furthermore, these events most frequently involve sequence motifs resembling known intrinsic hotspots of somatic hypermutation. These insertion/deletion events are consistent with models of somatic hypermutation involving an unstable polymerase enzyme complex lacking proofreading capabilities, and suggest a downregulation or alteration of DNA repair at the V locus during the hypermutation process.


OBJECTIVE
To explore syndrome and treatment laws for treating diseases of the pulmonary system by establishing database based on clinical works by modern famous veteran doctors of Chinese medicine (CM).

METHODS
Clinical experience and literature of medical records in clinical works by modern famous veteran doctors of CM were taken as data source. Database was established by fields and program design. On these bases, data mining methods such as frequency analysis, cluster analysis, factor analysis, and correlation laws were performed in syndrome and treatment laws for treating diseases of the pulmonary system.

RESULTS
Established were database capable of literature searching, information statistics, data mining of modern famous veteran doctors of CM. A total of 34,414 data were input, including medical records and notes 28,045 items (81.49%) and clinical experience 6,369 items (18.51%). In medical records and notes, there were 14,048 items (50.09%) in male and 9,466 items (33.75%) in female, and the ratio of male to female was 1.48:1. There were 4,531 items (16.16%) with no marked gender in medical records or notes. Data mining such as correlation analysis, cluster analysis, factor analysis, correlation laws in more fields could be realized.

CONCLUSIONS
Medical records and notes were dominated in data collected in this paper. The prevalence of pulmonary diseases was obviously higher in males than in females. The trend of concentrated manifestations in related fields for pulmonary diseases could be surfed by this database. Diagnosis and treatment laws for treating diseases of the pulmonary system could be found by various adaptive data mining targeting different fields. Multi-variables of symptoms, syndromes, prescriptions, and herbal drugs could be data mined in large samples of clinical literatures.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate the scholar–practitioner research development scale (SPRDS), an instrument to assess research competencies of students enrolled in professional doctoral programs.

Design/methodology/approach
In this instrument development study, an expert panel established the content valid. A factor analysis and internal consistency analysis was used to examine the validity and reliability of the instrument.

Findings
An expert panel deemed the scale as content valid. Results of a factor analysis and internal consistency analysis demonstrated that the scale is both valid and reliable, consisting of five subscales.

Research limitations/implications
The current study provides evidence that the scholar–SPRDS is a valid and reliable instrument to assess research characteristics professional doctorate students' research competencies, which can be used to extend research on the development of doctoral students in professional doctorate programs.

Practical implications
The instrument can be a useful tool to assess and inform the faculty and administrators about their students, the curriculum and program resources.

Social implications
Equipped with an instrument such as this, faculty and administrators are better armed to assess students' growth thought out the program, and, in turn, design and deliver research curriculum and mentorship that assists students in developing as scholar–practitioners, which may ultimately lead to success in the program and beyond, impacting the society.

Originality/value
There is not a formal or standardized scale to evaluate if professional doctoral students are progressing and developing as practitioner-scholars through their professional doctoral programs. There is not a standardized or universally adopted assessment to determine if professional doctoral programs are meeting the goals and objectives they have set forth. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop and to determine the validity and reliability of a scale to measure a scholar–practitioner's research competencies in a professional doctoral program.


This work intends to analyze the use of the qualitative method in studies related to solid waste management. A systematic literature review of the articles published between 2014 and 2019 was made in the Scielo databases (Scientific Electronic Library Online), in the CAPES Journal Portal and Web Of Science. In addition to searching for reference journals in the area of waste (Waste Management and Waste Management and Research) through the descriptors "Qualitative Research" and "Solid Waste"; "Interview", "Solid Waste" and "Perception" (Interviews, Solid Waste and Perception) and 598 articles were found, and after applying the selection criteria the universe was reduced to a total of 42 publications. The selected articles were analyzed and categorized according to the most relevant aspects such as work objectives, study sample and main results. Qualitative research has been found to be a viable tool and can be employed on a large scale in waste-related studies. It was also found that many studies that use the term "qualitative research" do not have the necessary methodological rigor to be named. It was found that qualitative research is adequate to answer questions in the field of waste studies such as the relationship between waste and public health problems, difficulties in selective collection and other management / treatment actions, environmental impacts, irregular waste disposal and problems in the management of special waste


Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a rare arrhythmogenic disorder, which may cause sudden death and whose relationships with mutations in cardiac ryanodine receptor gene have been recently established. The present article reports a catecholaminergic polymorphic VT case of a 9-year-old girl, without any previous history of syncope, who has been found unconscious while playing and referred comatose to pediatric intensive care unit. The electrocardiogram pattern showed runs of bidirectional and polymorphic VT degenerating into ventricular fibrillation, without QT interval abnormalities. Various attempts of cardioversion, lidocaine, and magnesium sulfate intravenous infusions were only partially effective. Owing to catecholaminergic polymorphic VT highly suggesting electrocardiogram pattern, intravenous propranolol was administered, achieving immediate VT interruption. Long-term nadolol therapy effectively prevented further arrhythmias, with no relapses up to 10 months later; a good neurologic recovery was also obtained. Genetic evaluation revealed in this patient-but not in relatives-a mutation in ryanodine receptor gene on chromosome 1.


CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN SUBCLINICAL HYPOTHYROIDISM Aim of the study: The aim of the present study was to assess the Cardiovascular Risk in subclinical hypothyroidism by analyzing the levels of Lipid profile, Homocysteine, C-Reactive Protein and Platelet count in comparison with Euthyroid controls and also to correlate the thyroid hormones with Blood pressure and body composition parameters such as Body Mass Index and Waist Hip Ratio. Materials and Methods: Forty newly diagnosed Subclinical hypothyroid female patients in the age group of 30 – 60 years and forty sex and age matched Euthyroid healthy controls were included in the study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria mentioned below. Diagnosis of SCH was based mainly on the mild elevation of TSH level (≤ 10μIU/ml) with normal free T4 level. All participants were subjected to investigate Blood pressure, BMI, Waist Hip ratio, Thyroid profile, Lipid profile, CRP, Homocysteine & Platelet count. This study was conducted at the Department of Physiology, Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur. The Study and control group were from the general community in and around Thanjavur. The protocol of study was approved by the Research Ethical Committee of our Institution after a clear explanation of the study Protocol. Patients with Heart disease, Renal disease, Bone disease and treated patients of Hypothyroidism were excluded from this study. Informed written consent was obtained from the study and control group. The study period was from May 2016 to May 2017. The results obtained in this study were analyzed statistically. RESULT: All the parameters showed statistically significant results (P < 0.05) by student's t test. In lipid profile LDL-C was found to be higher in subclinical hypothyroid female subjects when compared with the control group and no statistically significant difference was obtained. A positive correlation was reported between altered body composition parameters such as Body mass index, Waist hip ratio, Disordered lipid profile, Homocysteine, C Reactive Protein, and Blood pressure with TSH dysfunction except Platelet count.


In this paper I am concerned with the problem of applying the notion of rigidity to general terms. In Naming and Necessity, Kripke has clearly suggested that we should include some general terms among the rigid ones, namely, those common nouns semantically correlated with natural substances, species and phenomena, in general, natural kinds -'water', 'tiger', 'heat'- and some adjectives - 'red', 'hot', 'loud'. However, the notion of rigidity has been defined for singular terms; after all, the notion that Kripke has provided us with is the notion of a rigid designator. But general terms do not designate single individuals: rather, they apply to many of them. In sum, the original concept of rigidity cannot be straightforwardly applied to general terms: it has to be somehow redefined in order to make it cover them. As is known, two main positions have been put forward to accomplish that task: the identity of designation conception, according to which a rigid general term is one that designates the same property or kind in all possible worlds, and the essentialist conception, which conceives of a rigid general term as an essentialist one, namely, a term that expresses an essential property of an object. My purpose in the present paper is to defend a particular version of the identity of designation conception: on the proposed approach, a rigid general term will be one that expresses the same property in all possible worlds and names the property it expresses. In my opinion, the position can be established on the basis of an inference to the best explanation of our intuitive interpretation and evaluation, relative to counterfactual circumstances, of statements containing different kinds of general terms, which is strictly analogous to our intuitive interpretation and evaluation, relative to such circumstances, of statements containing different kinds of singular ones. I will argue that it is possible to offer a new solution to the trivialization problem that is thought to threaten all versions of the identity of designation conception of rigidity. Finally, I will also sketch a solution to the so-called 'over-generalization and undergeneralization problems', both closely related to the above-mentioned one.


In this paper, a new numerical implementation and a test of the modified variational multiconfigurational Gaussian (vMCG) equations are presented. In vMCG, the wave function is represented as a superposition of trajectory guided Gaussian coherent states, and the time derivatives of the wave function parameters are found from a system of linear equations, which in turn follows from the variational principle applied simultaneously to all wave function parameters. In the original formulation of vMCG, the corresponding matrix was not well-behaved and needed regularization, which required matrix inversion. The new implementation of the modified vMCG equations seems to have improved the method, which now enables straightforward solution of the linear system without matrix inversion, thus achieving greater efficiency, stability and robustness. Here the new version of the vMCG approach is tested against a number of benchmarks, which previously have been studied by split-operator, multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) and multilayer MCTDH (ML-MCTDH) techniques. The accuracy and efficiency of the new implementation of vMCG is directly compared with the method of coupled coherent states (CCS), another technique that uses trajectory guided grids. More generally we demonstrate that trajectory guided Gaussian based methods are capable of simulating quantum systems with tens or even hundreds of degrees of freedom previously accessible only for MCTDH and ML-MCTDH.


In developed countries the population of elderly people with Down syndrome expands resulting in an increasing incidence of age-related diseases, including dementia. The assessment of dementia in individuals with intellectual disability is often complicated due to large intra-individual variability in cognitive functioning prior to dementia and to lack of standardised measures to detect dementia. Structured observations of symptoms of dementia and assessment techniques tailored for people with intellectual disability are increasingly needed.


Identity derived from group membership is termed social identity (SI; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), and is often conceptualized as involving three components: in-group ties (feelings of closeness and belonging), cognitive centrality (importance of membership), and in-group affect (feelings associated with membership; Cameron, 2004). Preliminary research in youth sport has demonstrated that the degree to which adolescents identify with their teams can influence both cognitions (e.g., perceptions of cohesion) and behaviours (e.g., pro- and anti-social behaviour; Bruner et al., 2014). In the current study, we sought to extend this literature by determining its predictability for cognitions (e.g., self-worth), intentions (e.g., commitment), and behaviours (e.g., effort) in youth athletes. In total, 303 athletes (Mage = 14.89, SD = 1.77; 133 females) from 26 interdependent sport teams (e.g., football, rugby, basketball, baseball, volleyball) completed questionnaires at two time points (T1 – social identity; T2 – self-worth, commitment, effort) during their athletic season. Multilevel analyses indicated that at level one (i.e., individual level), in-group ties predicted perceived effort (b = 0.14, p = .01) and commitment (b = 0.14, p < .001), whereas in-group affect predicted commitment (b = 0.25, p = .001) and self-worth (b = 0.96, p = .04). At level two (i.e., team level), team means for in-group ties predicted commitment (b = 0.32, p < .001) and self-worth (b = 2.40, p = .03). Social identity accounted for an overall variance of 3% for self-worth, 4% for effort, and 15% for commitment. Results indicate the influential role that identifying with a team can have on individual cognitions, intentions, and behaviours.Acknowledgments: Funding from the Alberta Centre for Child, Family, and Community Research


Employing cereal genetic variation in breeding programmes for organic farming is one of the ways to create varieties with higher stability and adaptability. The aim of the study was to compare and evaluate grain yield, quality and other traits of barley pure lines, hybrid populations, variety mixtures, as well as winter wheat hybrid populations and parental varieties, in organic and conventional farming systems. Significant evidence for advantages of using barley mixtures and populations under organic and conventional management systems was not observed. More advantages with respect to yield, adaptability to unfavourable environments and TGW were observed for breeding lines selected for suitability to organic conditions. Combination of distinctive genotypes may result in a fairly stable mixture with average yield above the components. The study confirmed that resistance of winter wheat genotypes to abiotic stress is one of the significant traits that is closely connected with limitation of the wheat productivity in both growing conditions. Yield and grain quality value of winter wheat genotypes was lower under organic conditions compared to a conventional growing system. Advantages of populations were not observed under organic conditions, but significantly higher yield, in comparison to parental varieties, was obtained for two populations in conventional conditions. In general, the yield of populations was intermediate to that of the parents.