Mediation is, both in common law and civil law countries, one of the main instrument to stem the crisis of civil justice and to deflate the workload of the courts. However, despite the regulations introduced at the state level, the statistical studies over the use of this institute not always appear positive. A recent study sponsored by the European Parliament identifies the lack of adequate «pro-mediation policies, whether legislative or promotional» as the central factor of the modest use of the mediator's activity and suggests to promote its use through the introduction of procedures based on a «mitigated form of mandatory mediation». In this regard, the Italian regulatory experience is indicated as a positive example of "mitigated compulsory", able to promote the use of mediation. A global examination of the Italian statistics shows, nevertheless, some problems such as the lack of participation of the parties to the proceedings and the difficulty of reaching an agreement even in front of a mediator. The implementation of the sanctions, the extension of the reporting duty of the mediator, the identification of new ways of conducting information session and writing the verbal mediation are some of the possible reforms to bring to Legislative Decree no. 28/2010.


Research objective: to study an arterial rigidity depending on accompanying arterial hypertension and BMI in patients with bronchial asthma. We estimated parametres of rigidity of an aorta by means of an indirect arteriography (TensioMed, Hungary). Patients were divided into 2 groups to specify impact of arterial hypertension on bronchial asthma progression. The 1st group included 95 patients with bronchial asthma and arterial hypertension, women – 74 (77,8±4,3%); men – 21(22,2±4,3%); median of age 53 [48; 57] years. 105 people are included in the 2nd group, without an arterial hypertension, women – 74 (70,5±4,4%); men – 31(29,5±4,4%); median of age 41[30; 49] year. We have shown that in the 1st group changes of Pulse Wave Velocity (PWVao) and augmentation index (AIx) were more significant than in patients without arterial hypertension. At the same time, the rising of PWVao was observed in both groups in comparison with control whereas the AIx statistically significantly exceeded values of control only in group of patients with bronchial asthma and an arterial hypertension (p 25 kg/sq.m on an arterial rigidity. We found that when BMI is higher than 25 kg/sq.m development of an arterial rigidity in patients with asthma is promoted (elevation of AIx(-33[-49,8; -10,1]) and PWVao (9,1[7,4; 12]) in comparison with AIx parameters (-46,5[-62,6; -23,9]) and PWVao (7,3[6,5; 9,8]) in patients with normal BMI (p=0,002 and p 25 kg/sq.m.


Small and intermediate-sized congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) are relatively common birthmarks, occurring in approximately 1% of the population. The presence of small CMN as a familial trait has seldom been reported. 1 We describe two families in which a grandparent and grandchild each had an intermediate-sized congenital melanocytic nevus at the identical site on the body. Report of Cases. Case 1 . An 8-month-old infant was referred for evaluation of an intermediate-sized congenital melanocytic nevus present on the right forearm, without significant change since birth. The family of this infant was particularly concerned about this birthmark because her 47-year-old maternal grandmother had a CMN located in the identical location since birth. Shortly after the birth of her granddaughter, the grandmother's nevus began to change in color and become more elevated ( Figure ). This lesion, measuring 3X2.8 cm, was excised and found to be a malignant melanoma, Clark's level 2, invasive to 0.4


ABSTRACT Sindbis virus (SINV) is an alphavirus that causes infection of neurons and encephalomyelitis in adult immunocompetent mice. Recovery can occur without apparent neurological damage. To better define the factors facilitating noncytolytic clearance of SINV in different regions of the central nervous system (CNS) and the roles of innate and adaptive immune responses at different times during infection, we have characterized SINV infection and clearance in the brain, brain stem, and spinal cords of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and C57BL/6 (wild-type [WT]) mice and mice deficient in beta interferon (IFN-β) (BKO), antibody (μMT), IFN-γ (GKO), IFN-γ receptor (GRKO), and both antibody and IFN-γ (μMT/GKO). WT mice cleared infectious virus by day 8, while SCID mice had persistent virus replication at all sites. For 3 days after infection, BKO mice had higher titers at all sites than WT mice, despite similar IFN-α production, but cleared virus similarly. GKO and GRKO mice cleared infectious virus from all sites by days 8 to 10 and, like WT mice, displayed transient reactivation at 12 to 22 days. μMT mice did not clear virus from the brain, and clearance from the brain stem and lumbar spinal cord was delayed, followed by reactivation. Eighty-one days after infection, μMT/GKO mice had not cleared virus from any site, but titers were lower than for SCID mice. These studies show that IFN-β is independently important for early control of CNS virus replication, that antiviral antibody is critical for clearance from the brain, and that both antibody and IFN-γ contribute to prevention of reactivation after initial clearance.


The rise of SYRIZA, Greece's Coalition of the Radical Left, in the May elections and in polls since, has electrified the left globally. The election on 6 May revealed that the mass of the Greek people rejected the austerity programme imposed under the Memorandum of Understanding between their government and the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). SYRIZA's leader, Alex Tsipras, has denounced the programme as 'barbarous' and his refusal to form a coalition with the parties that support the Memorandum has forced Greece into a second election on 17 June.


Plasma-waveguide discharges produced in a diffusion-controlled regime by azimuthally symmetric surface wave propagation at weak collisions are studied. The widely discussed problem for the axial variation of the electron density in the discharges, which reflects the nonlinear self-consistent behaviour of wave and discharge properties, is solved analytically in the whole region of wave existence by analysing the behaviour of the space damping rate of the waves. The proper normalizing parameters used for presenting the behaviour of the surface wave characteristics in the different regions of their existence are extrapolated to electrodynamical similarity relations of the discharges.


Soft sensors are attracting much attention from researchers worldwide due to their versatility in practical projects. There are already many applications of soft sensors in aspects of life, consisting of human-robot interfaces, flexible electronics, medical monitoring, and healthcare. However, most of these studies have focused on a specific area, such as fabrication, data analysis, or experimentation. This approach can lead to challenges regarding the reliability, accuracy, or connectivity of the components. Therefore, there is a pressing need to consider the sensor's placement in an overall system and find ways to maximize the efficiency of such flexible sensors. This paper proposes a fabrication method for soft capacitive pressure sensors with spacer fabric, conductive inks, and encapsulation glue. The sensor exhibits a good sensitivity of 0.04 kPa−1, a fast recovery time of 7 milliseconds, and stability of 10,000 cycles. We also evaluate how to connect the sensor to other traditional sensors or hardware components. Some machine learning models are applied to these built-in soft sensors. As expected, the embedded wearables achieve a high accuracy of 96% when recognizing human walking phases.


Author(s): Carpano, Daniela | Advisor(s): Madsen, Richard | Abstract: Ever since the "Battle of Seattle" halted the World Trade Organization meeting in November of 1999, social movement scholars have debated whether the transnational activists who protested in Seattle and in subsequent international summits constitute a unified global movement with a shared identity, values and goals, or if they are an ad hoc, heterogeneous collection of people from separate movements. This study suggests that it may be useful to distinguish between a "negative" –or reactive –and a "positive" –or proactive –convergence. Studies that focus on the negative convergence see participants as protestors who are simply resisting market- driven forces. In contrast, in a positive convergence approach, participants are seen as sharing common values and working together to build an alternative future.This study focuses on the Alter-Globalization Movement to investigate whether there is an empirical basis for the positive convergence approach. Most of the research done on the Alter-Globalization Movement has focused on the participants at protest sites, which tends to overemphasize individual grievances at the expense of finding a shared common vision. I employ an alternative methodology by carrying out fieldwork across sixteen disparate communities in both the global North and South. Only by studying community practices in day to day life can we state whether a shared identity really exists. Following Karl Polanyi's "double movement theory", I look at how these communities are decommodifying man and nature by employing Standing's formula of decomodification. Specifically, I analyze how Social Income increases by increasing Self Production and Community Benefits.I find that all the communities and organizations studied employ most of the following decomodification practices: subsistence farming, organic agriculture, composting, seed saving, Fair Trade, Community Supported Agriculture, sharing goods and services and community currencies. I argue that these decomodification practices produce a new lifestyle that removes the self from the artificiality of consumer culture, creating a new self. The ecological identity of the new self, centers on relationships rather than acquisition, constructing a new world of meaning and a social imaginary that may be more powerful than political movements in bringing about large scale social change.


In this work, manganese dioxide/carbon nanotube (MnO2/CNT) have been synthesized by sonochemical-coprecipitation method and demonstrated that it could be an effective electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Moreover, the effect of CNT inclusion with MnO2 was also investigated for ORR. The physical and electrochemical properties of the MnO2/CNT were examined by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray (FESEM/EDX), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), Mott-Schottky and Rotating Disk Electrode (RDE) analysis. CV showed higher currents for the ORR in MnO2/CNT than CNT; however, ORR current dropped when the MnO2 loading was increased from 20–40 %. The EIS analysis showed that charge-transfer resistance for MnO2/CNT was significantly lower compared to the MnO2 indicating that MnO2 has good contact with CNT and the composite possess high electrical conductivity. Mott-Schottky results demonstrated that incorporation of CNT into MnO2 resulted in producing larger electron density in n-type MnO2/CNT compared to MnO2 which is liable for efficient electron donation from the Mn3+ to adsorbed oxygen in the rate determining step. RDE results showed that MnO2/CNT follows 4e− transfer pathway, indicating its ability to act as an effective ORR electrocatalyst.


The PhEDEx Data Service provides access to information from the central PhEDEx database, as well as certificate-authenticated managerial operations such as requesting the transfer or deletion of data. The Data Service is integrated with the "SiteDB" service for fine-grained access control, providing a safe and secure environment for operations. A plug-in architecture allows server-side modules to be developed rapidly and easily by anyone familiar with the schema, and can automatically return the data in a variety of formats for use by different client technologies. Using HTTP access via the Data Service instead of direct database connections makes it possible to build monitoring web-pages with complex drill-down operations, suitable for debugging or presentation from many aspects. This will form the basis of the new PhEDEx website in the near future, as well as providing access to PhEDEx information and certificate-authenticated services for other CMS dataflow and workflow management tools such as CRAB, WMCore, DBS and the dashboard. A PhEDEx command-line client tool provides one-stop access to all the functions of the PhEDEx Data Service interactively, for use in simple scripts that do not access the service directly. The client tool provides certificate-authenticated access to managerial functions, so all the functions of the PhEDEx Data Service are available to it. The tool can be expanded by plug-ins which can combine or extend the client-side manipulation of data from the Data Service, providing a powerful environment for manipulating data within PhEDEx.


Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to participate in regulating many biological processes, including immune response to influenza A virus (IAV). However, the association between lncRNA expression profiles and influenza infection susceptibility has not been well elucidated. Here, we analyzed the expression profiles of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs among IAV-infected adult rat (IAR), normal adult rat (AR), IAV-infected junior rat (IJR), and normal junior rat (JR) by RNA sequencing. Compared with differently expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) between AR and IAR, 24 specific DElncRNAs were found between IJR and JR. Then, based on the fold changes and P value, the top 5 DElncRNAs, including 3 upregulated and 2 downregulated lncRNAs, were chosen to establish a ceRNA network for further disclosing their regulatory mechanisms. To visualize the differentially expressed genes in the ceRNA network, GO and KEGG pathway analysis was performed to further explore their roles in influenza infection of junior rats. The results showed that the downregulated DElncRNA-target genes were mostly enriched in the IL-17 signaling pathway. It indicated that the downregulated lncRNAs conferred the susceptibility of junior rats to IAV via mediating the IL-17 signaling pathway.


The adsorption of C.I. direct red 73, a bisazo direct dye at the mercury/solution interface from 1 M solutions of NaCl, NaNOJ and NazS04 has been investigated using capillary electrometer. Thermodynamic parameters like charge on the metal surface (qM), the surface excess of organk molecule adsorbed (foil)' surface coverage (8) and free energy of adsorption (-AG) are evaluated and presented. The adsorption of C.I. direct red 73 obeys Langmuir's adsorption isotherm in all the three base electrolytes.


The complication of intracranial placement of a nasogastric tube in patients with complex facial and skull base fractures is rarely seen. A case report of a patient with complex craniofacial injury after trauma in whom a computerized tomogram scan showed passage of a nasogastric tube via a fracture of the anterior cranial fossa floor into the skull vault is presented. This case stresses the caution to be exercised in the emergency room resusitation of patients with craniofacial injury requiring nasogastric tube placement.


We present data on the accumulation of carbon and nitrogen into an open oceanic ombrotrophic bog, SW Sweden, with high levels of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. The aim was to investigate if this peatland currently acts as a sink for atmospheric carbon. Peat cores were sampled from the top peat layer in five different vegetation types. Small pines were used to date the cores. The cores bulk density and carbon and nitrogen content were determined. A vegetation‐classified satellite image was used to estimate the areal extent of the vegetation types and to scale up these results to bog level. The rate of current carbon input into the upper oxic acrotelm was 290 g m−2 yr−1, and there were no significant differences in accumulation rates among the vegetation types. This organic matter input to the acrotelm was almost completely decomposed before it was deposited for storage in the deeper peat layers (the catotelm) and only a small fraction (≪1%) or 0.012 g m−2 yr−1 of the carbon would be left, assuming a residence time of 100 years in the acrotelm. Nitrogen accumulation rates differed between the vegetation classes, and the average input via primary production varied from 5.33 to 16.8 g m−2 yr−1. Current nitrogen input rates into the catotelm are much lower, 0–0.059 g m−2 yr−1, with the highest accumulation rates in lawn‐dominated communities. We suggest that one of the main causes of the low carbon input rates is the high level of nitrogen deposition, which enhances decomposition and changes the vegetation from peat‐forming Sphagnum‐dominance to dominance by dwarf shrubs and graminoids.


Vasopressin affects behavior via its two brain receptors, the vasopressin 1a and vasopressin 1b receptors (Avpr1b). Recent work from our laboratory has shown that disruption of the Avpr1b gene reduces intermale aggression and reduces social motivation. Here, we further characterized the aggressive phenotype in Avpr1b −/− (knockout) mice. We tested maternal aggression and predatory behavior. We also analyzed the extent to which food deprivation and competition over food increases intermale aggression. We quantified defensive behavior in Avpr1b −/− mice and later tested offensive aggression in these same mice. Our results show that attack behavior toward a conspecific is consistently reduced in Avpr1b −/− mice. Predatory behavior is normal, suggesting that the deficit is not because of a global inability to detect and attack stimuli. Food deprivation, competition for food and previous experience increase aggression in both Avpr1b +/+ and −/− mice. However, in these circumstances, the level of aggression seen in knockout mice is still less than that observed in wild‐type mice. Defensive avoidance behaviors, such as boxing and fleeing, are largely intact in knockout mice. Avpr1b −/− mice do not display as many 'retaliatory' attacks as the Avpr1b +/+ mice. Interestingly, when territorial aggression was measured following the defensive behavior testing, Avpr1b −/− mice typically show less initial aggressive behavior than wild‐type mice, but do show a significant increase in aggression with repeated testing. These studies confirm that deficits in aggression in Avpr1b −/− mice are limited to aggressive behavior involving the attack of a conspecific. We hypothesize that Avpr1b plays an important role in the central processing that couples the detection and perception of social cues (which appears normal) with the appropriate behavioral response.


In collaborative applications, participants agree on certain level of secure communication based on communication policy specifications. Given secure communication policy specifications of various group members at design time, the minimum set of resources for a pair, called resolved policy level agreement (RPLA) is translated into appropriate security service implementations, for the pair-wise communication to take place. We propose a novel idea that the members may extend pair-wise communication quality through other trusted nodes whose communication resources offer more security. We propose a heuristic algorithm which finds the best quality of protection (QoP), a measure of the resistance to an attack, path through coalition of trusted nodes. The results from our experiments indicate a significant improvement in QoP in the range of 13% to 48% over pair-wise communications.


Purpose: The treatment of vulvar cancer remains surgical; however, as surgical treatment has evolved the surgical morbidity has decreased with the use of minimally invasive technology. Sentinel lymph node biopsy, which has been validated in breast cancer and melanoma, has been similarly investigated in vulvar cancer. This review summarizes the current evidence supporting sentinel lymph node biopsy in vulvar cancer.
Findings: Compared to inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy sentinel lymph node biopsy has a sensitivity of 87-92% for the detection of vulvar cancer and a false negative predictive value of 2.0% in tumors ≤ 4 cm. Nodal recurrences following sentinel lymph node biopsies are comparable to recurrence rates following inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy. However complications after sentinel lymph node biopsy, including lymphedema, cellulitis and wound breakdown, are much lower.
Conclusions: Sentinel lymph node dissection is safe and feasible in select patients with vulvar cancers measuring ≤ 4 cm with bilateral SLN dissection for midline lesions. Procedures should be performed at centers with sufficient volume and with radiologists, surgeons and pathologists trained in a sentinel lymph node protocol.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in US men; statistical estimates for 2012 indicate 241,740 new PCa cases and 28,170 associated deaths. Epithelial cancers including PCa are now recognized as generated and maintained by a small sub-set of undifferentiated cells known as cancer stem cells (CSC) or tumor initiating cells. Importantly, CSC are inherently resistant to chemo- and radio-therapies, and that has been the major reason for the failure of most of the current therapies. Since an early event in carcinogenesis involves expansion of CSC pool, interventions inducing apoptosis or differentiation with a loss of self-renewal capacity of CSC, represent a rational approach for PCa prevention and treatment. In this regard, the present study was aimed to determine whether grape seed extract (GSE), a natural non-toxic chemopreventive agent and its active constituent Procyanidin B2 3,3"-di-O-gallate (B2G2), have the potential to target CSC in PCa. For this, we determined the effect of these agents on the self-renewal capacity of the CSC population of PCa cell lines. The CSC cell populations were isolated and purified based on CD44+ α2β1highsurface markers in PCa cell lines LNCaP, C4-2B, 22Rv1, PC3, and DU145, and then subjected to sphere cluster formation assays, in the absence or presence of (a single or multi-treatments) GSE (5-125 μg/ml) or B2G2 (25-100μM). The percentage of floating spheroids (prostaspheres) generated in the sphere cluster assays after 1-2 weeks were determined. Results indicated that while a single treatment of GSE is not sufficient to reduce either the number or size of generated spheres in the PCa cell lines, multiple treatments with GSE at low dose was sufficient to cause a significant reduction in the number and size of generated spheres. On the other hand, single treatment of PCa cells with B2G2 significantly reduced the number and size of prostaspheres. As formation of spheroids under specific in vitro conditions is a measure of stemness, these results indicate the potential of GSE and B2G2 to target the self-renewal of CSC in PCa cell lines, though B2G2 was found to be more potent in its efficacy. Subsequent mechanistic studies revealed that both agents strongly decreased the constitutive as well as Jagged1 (Notch1 ligand)-induced protein levels of cleaved Notch and its transcriptional target Hes-1 in PCa cells. The implications of such an effect could be important, since the modulation of Notch signaling among stem cells and progenitor cells in PCa results in the expansion of CSC pool together with an increase in proliferative cell population. Together, our results are significant as they show that both GSE and B2G2 interfere with kinetics of CSC pool expansion via targeting Notch-1 regulatory signals, which eventually could help control PCa growth and progression.

Citation Format: Alpna Tyagi, Komal Raina, Sushil Kumar, Rajesh Agarwal, Chapla Agarwal. Procyanidin B2 3,3″-di-O-gallate causes strong efficacy towards prostate cancer stem cells via targeting Notch1 signaling. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2593. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2593


Abstract The main objective of this paper is to apply the correlations to evaluate the risk of soil swelling in the area of the north-west part of Algeria. On this basis, 84 soil samples were collected from laboratories in the region, plus a reading of the main publications on swelling soils in the area of the north-west part of Algeria, and then different types of regressions were applied to this data. The results show that the plasticity index has a high degree of influence on the swelling pressure; the swelling potential and the swelling coefficient compared to the clay content. New empirical relationships were found between the swelling pressure and swelling potential; these correlations are good concordances with the literature. Cubic; quadratic and multiple models of regression seem are in good concordances better adapted compared to simple linear regression models in the presented study.


Vermiculite is a common layered silicate clay mineral which has good adsorption and ion-exchange properties, and which is used to remove pollutants from groundwater. The adsorption by vermiculite from Heibei Province, China, of low-concentration ammonium in water was assessed here to evaluate the effects of adsorption time, particle size, adsorbent dose, pH, and temperature. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the concentration of NH4+ at 1430 cm−1 was evaluated after ammonium was adsorbed by vermiculite. Based on Langmuir-model analysis, the adsorption capacity ofthe Chinese vermiculite (in the particle-size range 0.025–0.075 mm) for ammonium was 18 mg/g after 3 h of equilibration. Optimal adsorption occurred at pH 6–7 and 60°C, which is different from that at high ammonium concentrations. Smaller particle-size fractions showed greater degrees of adsorption. Increase in Mg2+, K+, or Na+ concentrations influenced ammonium adsorption and, therefore, indicated that cation exchange was the mechanism for ammonium uptake from low-concentration solutions.


In the current paper, a kinetic model was developed to study the entrapment of inclusions in the molten steel flowing through a Submerged Entry Nozzle (SEN) during billet continuous casting process. The trajectory of inclusions was calculated by considering the drag force, lift force and gravitational force. The entrapment locations of inclusions on SEN wall were predicted. The effects of nozzle diameter, casting speed, billet dimension, and inclusion diameter on SEN clogging were quantitatively discussed. The results indicate the inclusions with diameter larger than 100 μm are not able to be entrapped by the nozzle wall; and the entrapment probability will increase quickly with decreasing size of inclusions. The distribution of the entrapped inclusions along the nozzle length is non-uniform and the volume fraction of inclusions in the clogging materials should be considered in order to more precisely predict the accumulated weight of molten steel that can be poured before the nozzle is fully blocked by clogging. Under the conditions assumed: 150 mm×150 mm billet, 2.0 m/min casting speed, approximately 25°C superheat, 1 m length of the SEN (Al2O3–C materials), 20 μm inclusions diameter in a single size, 30 ppm T.O and 40 mm nozzle diameters, the prediction shows that ~351 ton steel can be poured for the current billet continuous caster.


Author(s): Georgopoulos, Nicholas | Advisor(s): Philip, Thomas M | Abstract: This dissertation examines mainstream online discourses about school reform in the English-speaking world. Based on mythological theories of Barthes, Li?½vi-Strauss, and V. Propp as well as W. L. Bennett's theory of news, I develop a method for reading mythic structures in news articles: how authors construct crises and lost objects. My findings reveal discourses centered around 1. the mythic figure of the ineffective teacher and its eradication, and 2. the school that can satisfy a student's educational needs (including their need to enter the 21st century job market) and "learning style." In these discourses, the lost objects generate infinite activity for actors through their perpetual failure to achieve these objects. I show how a deliberately crafted myth can offer an alternative to the "bad infinite" dynamics of school choice and Standards and Accountability. My example for this is Sugata Mitra's project, School in the Cloud, a low-cost network of Internet stations in which children around the world teach themselves through the online encouragement of educated volunteers. While Mitra and his commentators partake liberally of prevailing discourses of "digital education," the School in the Cloud cannot be reduced to just another form of it. The underexplored human facilitator ("granny") reveals novel pedagogical possibilities and challenges, both in the Third World and universally. In dealing with myths of school choice, ineffective teachers, and the School in the Cloud, my goal is not to debunk the myths or engage with them on the level of their "factuality." Debunking discourses will merely strengthen the frame of the myth. The point is to make the frame visible, so that we, a collective subject, may select a new frame. I end by outlining how an "endemic" myth can provide a pedagogic project for a new American education.


PT. Natra Raya company is licensed by Catterpillar Inc. to produce the Caterpillar heavy equipment. The challenge in seizing market share requires companies to provide competitive prices. The increase in raw material prices, employee wages, transportation costs, charges the company more. The use of Balanced Scorecard on performance measurement helps companies create a comprehensive performance measurement system to measure company performance to be more efficient. This study uses two methods of analysis. The process of making a balanced scorecard design uses quantitative analysis while qualitative used to calculate process, measuring Key performance Indicators weight and performance range. The results of the survey with the balanced scorecard approach show that the performance of PT. Natra Raya is good with an index number of 103.4% (green code). The balanced scorecard method shows that the performance of PT. Natra Raya cannot only be measured in a limited way. This method can show that there are parts of the indicator that need special attention, namely KPIs with poor performance evaluation results shown in the sub-KPI of employee capability due to the KPI's focus on resources getting a bad score. The sub-KPI, when completing the project, gets a poor performance evaluation result, but outside of the three sub-KPIs, the results of PT. Natra Raya is good and very good.


This paper describes the contents and results of a program designed to improve the experience of students in the freshman engineering curriculum. The Integrated Curriculum in Engineering (ICE) placed freshmen engineering student volunteers into specifically designed sections of the foundation courses required of all engineering students. These include the calculus sequence, the physics sequence, the humanities sequence, social sciences, and introductory engineering courses. The assessment of this program includes informal and formal components and longitudinal assessment of the program, as to the effect it had on the students' success in their upper level courses. The formal and longitudinal assessment measures include attitudinal surveys about use of teams, use of active learning, use of computer technology, use of software, adjustment to the university, and a variety of other topics.


Measurements were made of the 4He(40,44,48Ca,α) resonant scattering reactions at 180° and up to Ec.m. ~ 11.5MeV, using the Thick Target Inverse Kinematics technique. These measurements are discussed, with a focus on assessing their usefulness for investigating α-clustering in medium mass 44,48,52Ti nuclei


Purpose It is well known that obesity is related to vitamin D deficiency (VDD). We investigated the response to vitamin D replacement in normal-weight and overweight children. Methods This was a prospective study including 62 Korean children with VDD. VDD was defined as a serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D) concentration <20 ng/mL. Overweight was defined as a body mass index (BMI)≥the 85th percentile (n=21), and normal weight as a BMI between the 5th and 84th percentiles (n=41). All participants received vitamin D3 supplementation (2,000 IU/day) for 8 weeks. The serum levels of 25(OH)D, PTH and biochemical parameters were measured before and after treatment. Results The mean age was 10.0±1.4 years in normal-weight children and 10.0±2.1 years in overweight children (P=0.93). After 8 weeks of treatment, 61.9% of normal-weight children and 47.6% of overweight children achieved vitamin D sufficiency (P =0.30). The mean serum 25(OH)D levels after vitamin D replacement were 33.8±7.6 ng/mL and 30.3±6.6 ng/mL in normal-weight and overweight children, respectively (P =0.10). The mean calcium/creatinine ratios after treatment were 0.09±0.07 and 0.08±0.06 in the normal-weight and overweight groups, respectively, and no hypercalciuria was found. In multiple regression analysis, the response to vitamin D replacement was influenced by the BMI (β=-1.0, P=0.03) and sex (β=-4.0, P=0.04). Conclusions Eight weeks of vitamin D replacement (2,000 IU/day) is sufficient to overcome vitamin D deficiency in normal-weight and overweight children without any complications.


Speech recognition for Chinese relied very much on the recognition of Chinese syllables and there are altogether 1345 [7] syllables in it. If we take tones into considerations, the number of syllables can reduce to 408 base syllables, with different tones, in which it can further divided into 38 confused set. Among those sets, the Chinese An-set is considered as one of the major confused syllable set. Thus, the recognition of Chinese An-set syllables is very important to the Chinese recognition. In this paper, we proposed a new training approach based on maximum model distance (MMD) for HMMs to train the Chinese An-set syllables. Both the speaker-dependent and multi-speaker experiments on the confused Chinese An-set showed that significant error reduction can be achieved through the proposed approach.


Ammoniation of oil palm frond (OPF) with non-protein nitrogen (N) sources has been shown to improve the nutritional value and digestibility of OPF in ruminants. This study evaluated the effect of treating OPF without (control) or with different urea levels (1%-5%) on chemical composition and in vitro gas production, digestibility and fermentation properties using goat rumen fluids. The results showed that the treated OPF with urea (1%-5%) had significantly lower (p < 0.05) dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and ash contents than that of the control. The crude protein (CP) content of treated OPF increased (linear p < 0.05; quadratic p < 0.05) with increasing levels of urea inclusion (1%-5%), whereas the contents of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. The CH4 (ml/500 mg DM incubated) production decreased (linear p < 0.05) with increasing levels of urea inclusion in treated OPF silage. However, in vitro DM and OM degradability were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by higher inclusion levels of urea (4% and 5%). OPF treated with 4% or 5% urea also revealed significantly (p < 0.05) higher total volatile fatty acids and ammonia-N than the control and OPFs treated with 1%-3% urea. Ammoniation of OPF with urea improved its nutritional value and in vitro rumen fermentation profiles in goats. The impact was more pronounced for 4% or 5% urea-treated OPF.


This paper considers the nature of a digital library in terms of definitions and its technical environment It also explores some of the problems and issues involved in demanding and supplying information So current publishing systems and the library resources were investigated. The relative advantages of both electronic and paper journals are also briefly considered and it is suggested that research relating to build the full text database is required. Finally it considers the innovative management technology such as TQM, Business Process Reengineering to innovative library itself


This paper investigates the feasibility of using Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for classical motion planning problems. Planning algorithms that search through discrete spaces as well as continuous ones are studied. This paper proposes using GNNs to guide the search algorithm by exploiting the ability of GNNs to extract low level information about the topology of a planning space. We present two techniques, GNNs over dense fixed graphs for low-dimensional problems and sampling-based GNNs for high-dimensional problems. We examine the ability of a GNN to tackle planning problems that are heavily dependent on the topology of the space such as identifying critical nodes, learning a heuristic that guides exploration in $\text{A}^*$, and learning the sampling distribution in Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT). We demonstrate that GNNs can offer better results when compared to traditional analytic methods as well as learning-based approaches that employ fully-connected networks or convolutional neural networks.


The purpose of the study was to investigate the psychological status and pain sensitivity by the pupillometric method in dental patients during preoperative antistress drug therapy. Materials and methods. In 100 patients, during their initial examination, signs of psychological stress were detected in them in social conditions during the last month before surgical interventions, using the PSM-25 scale of Lemoureux-Tessier-Fillion. The level of anxiety and depressive symptoms were determined using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Pain sensitivity in patients was studied by measuring the reaction of the pupil of the eye to the action of an algogenic mechanical factor using the developed proprietary technique of digital pupillometry. Depending on the applied schemes of antistress drug therapy, patients were divided into two clinical groups. The control group included 50 people with different levels of psychological stress. During premedication, they were given Gidazepam for sedation. The main group included 50 patients who were under psychological stress. At the stage of preoperative preparation (for 7 days), they were prescribed a course of antistress therapy: enterally the drug "Antistress" (which contains L-tryptophan) and endonasally – dalargin solution. Results and discussion. Psychological stress acquired by patients in social conditions is a favorable background for the appearance of clinical manifestations of anxiety and depression before the start of operations. The use of Gidazepam by stress-labile dental patients of the control group during premedication made it possible to provide antistressor protection only in 8 cases. These patients had a moderate level of psychological stress. The results of psychological testing and pupillo-algometry confirm the need to use alternative medication schemes of antistressor protection for emotionally labile dental patients during their preparation for planned surgical interventions. In patients of the main group with an average level of psychological stress before surgical interventions, antistressor protection was achieved in 100% of cases. The effectiveness of the applied medicinal scheme was statistically significant in comparison with the standard scheme of treatment of psychoemotional tension used by patients of the control group – χ2 - 15.771 (р<0.001). Preoperative antistress therapy was not sufficiently effective for only 16.7% of patients in the main group with a high level of psychological stress. When comparing the results of stress-protective therapy with those of patients in the control group, statistically significant differences were also found – χ2 - 16.875 (р<0.001). Conclusion. In dental patients who are in a state of chronic psychological stress, psychoemotional tension (reactive anxiety) increases and pain sensitivity increases before the start of planned surgical interventions, which is confirmed by psychological tests and digital pupillo-algometry. One-time use of Gidazepam by stress-sensitive patients during premedication is not effective enough to normalize their psycho-emotional state. Prescribing a course of drug antistress therapy (L-tryptophan and dalargin) to dental patients diagnosed with chronic psychological stress allows to statistically reliably normalize their psychoemotional state and reduce pain sensitivity before the start of surgical interventions


This study was carried out to identify a high-resolution marker for a gene conferring resistance to brown planthopper (BPH) biotype 1, using japonica type resistant lines. Bulked segregant analyses were conducted using 520 RAPD primers to identify RAPD fragments linked to the BPH resistance gene. Eleven RAPDs were shown to be polymorphic amplicons between resistant and susceptible progeny. One of these primers, OPE 18, which amplified a 923 bp band tightly linked to resistance, was converted into a sequence-tagged-site (STS) marker. The STS marker, BpE18-3, was easily detectable as a dominant band with tight linkage (3.9cM) to Bph1. It promises to be useful as a marker for assisted selection of resistant progeny in backcross breeding programs to introgress the resistance gene into elite japonica cultivars.


Lowering the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) has gained
much attention in research nowadays. Recently, research on cathode materials
focused on composite cathode carbonate with Argentum (Ag) addition which allows
outstanding performance at low operating temperature. This study focused on the
effect of Ag on development and properties of composite cathode Lanthanum
Strontium Cobalt Ferrite-Samarium Doped Ceria Carbonate-Argentum (LSCFSDCC-
Ag) for low temperature SOFC (LTSOFC) applications. Composite cathode
powders LSCF-SDCC-Ag with Ag addition of 1-5 wt.% has been developed via high
energy ball milling (HEBM) technique and sintered at 500-600˚C. The
characterisation of the composite cathode powders involved the XRD analysis to
determine the chemical compatibility and crystallite structure of the composite
cathode powders. The morphology and distribution of elements in powder were
observed via FESEM and EDS respectively. Analysis to investigate the physical
properties such as particle size, crystallite size, porosity and cross section of pellets
were employed. Thermal properties such as TEC and TG were also identified. The
resistance of composite cathode pellets were measured via two-probe electrical test at
temperature 400-600˚C. All the composite cathode powders with Ag addition from
1-5wt.% and sintered between 500-600˚C exhibited good chemical compatibility as
there were no secondary constituent was detected via XRD sensitivity. The carbonate
phase managed to maintain their phase as confirmed via FTIR and TG analysis. The
crystallite size and particle size was increase with increasing of Ag amount
meanwhile the porosity decrease with increasing amount of Ag and sintering
temperature. LSCF-SDCC-Ag 5wt.% sintered at 600˚C, 2wt.% sintered at 550˚C and
3wt.% sintered at 600˚C recorded the nearest average TEC value with SDCC with
percentage difference of 0.3%, 3.0% and 4.5% respectively, while the sintering
temperature of 550˚C shows consistency and nearly TEC value of composite cathode
LSCF-SDCC-Ag towards electrolyte SDCC. Composite cathode LSCF-SDCC-Ag (2
wt.%) sintered at 550˚C yielded the lowest resistance amongst all. Hence, it was
concluded that the composite cathode LSCF-SDCC-Ag with Ag addition of 2 wt.%
sintered at 550˚C in which demonstrate lowest resistance (0.61Ω) and within
acceptable average TEC value (9.74±4.98 (10-6/K)) with electrolyte SDCC
(10.20±6.27(10-6/K)) potentially to be served as composite cathode for low
temperature SOFC applications.


Bees are mobile organisms that seek food and nesting opportunities from a range of habitats. It is important to understand the way they move in agricultural landscapes if we are to conserve them and benefit from their activity as pollinators. We surveyed bees using directional flight interception (Malaise) traps over a 1-year period in two agricultural landscapes in south-east Queensland, Australia. We placed traps at the ecotone between crops and remnant vegetation to establish the pattern of movement between these habitats. Species richness in these landscapes (70) was high relative to that in comparable studies. Some bees were active year round, but most were caught in the period September to March. Across the whole assemblage there was a significant pattern where more species were detected leaving rather than entering remnant vegetation. The same bias was true for the number of individuals of the two most abundant species (Homalictus urbanus and Apis mellifera). Species exclusively found in crops were smaller on average (and therefore have smaller foraging range) than their non-crop counterparts. Together, these patterns indicate that while bees are abundant in crop habitat, the remnant vegetation is important as the point of origin for bee movements, and the riparian remnant in particular is richer than the dry native remnant. Compositional similarity among samples was significantly explained by landscape but also movement direction (i.e. to or from the riparian remnant) because different species showed different patterns of response. The landscape with greater native vegetation cover supported more species in and around crops than the landscape with less native vegetation.


OBJECTIVES
The 2-hour accelerated diagnostic protocol (ADAPT) is a decision rule designed to identify emergency department (ED) patients with chest pain for early discharge. Previous studies in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrated high sensitivity (97.9% to 99.7%) for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 30 days. The objective of this study was to determine the validity of ADAPT for risk stratification in a cohort of U.S. ED patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHODS
A secondary analysis of participants enrolled in the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) PA 4005 trial was conducted. This trial enrolled 1,369 patients at least 30 years old with symptoms suggestive of ACS. All data elements were collected prospectively at the time of enrollment. Each patient was classified as low risk or at risk by ADAPT. Early discharge rate and sensitivity for MACE, defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction (MI), or coronary revascularization at 30 days, were calculated.

RESULTS
Of 1,140 patients with complete biomarker data, MACE occurred in 31 patients (2.7%). Among 551 of the 1,140 (48.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 45.4% to 51.3%), ADAPT identified for early discharge; five of the 551 (0.9%, 95% CI = 0.3% to 2.1%) had MACE at 30 days. ADAPT was 83.9% (95% CI = 66.3% to 94.5%) sensitive, identifying 26 of 31 patients with MACE. Of the five patients identified for early discharge by ADAPT with MACE, there were no deaths, one patient with MI, and five with revascularizations.

CONCLUSIONS
In this first North American application of the ADAPT strategy, sensitivity for MACE within 30 days was 83.9%. One missed adverse event was a MI, with the remainder representing coronary revascularizations. The effect of missing revascularization events needs further investigation.


We examined the feasibility of applying the Dental Prescale Occluzer System to the evaluation of occlusion in orthodontic patients. The patients were classified according to the type of malocclusion or facial pattern. The values of occlusal contact area and occlusal force obtained from these individuals differed depending on the type of occlusion or facial pattern. These values were higher in individuals with normal occlusion than in patients with malocclusion and higher in patients with the Brachyo facial pattern than in those with the Dolico facial pattern. Because this system can very easily analyze the occlusal contact area, the mean pressure on each occlusal contact point, and the occlusal force during the process of orthodontic treatments, it can be useful as an aid for the initial diagnosis of occlusal problems, the observation of the changes in occlusion during treatment, and the establishment of the final goal of orthodontic treatments.


Summary

The objective of this study was to establish statistically based associations among macroscopic symptoms of crown dieback, cankers due to Chalara fraxinea, and symptoms caused by other pathogens and pests on Fraxinus excelsior. A total of 454 trees were observed in two plots of a 15-year-old experimental stand. The symptoms included: (i) overall extent of crown dieback; (ii) dieback of upper parts of the crown; (iii) canker in upper parts of the crown; (iv) wilting foliage; (v) cankers and bark proliferations at the lower part of the stem; and (vi) discolouration at stump or stem base. The analysis suggested that the observed symptoms of crown dieback are caused by a primary disease. The macroscopic symptoms attributed to dieback and canker in the crown were strongly associated. Moreover, the disease was associated with symptoms of Armillaria gallica, but no associations were found for symptoms of Neonectria galligena, Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi pv. fraxini, Hylesinus fraxini or H. varius when considered collectively. Dieback was more frequent on trees of average or below-average size, suggesting that individual tree resistance decreased with decreasing growth potential or tree vigour. The extent of canker in the crown depended on site conditions and possibly on silvicultural practices. The development of phytosanitary prescriptions for silviculture should primarily be targeted towards young stands as these represent the most critical phases of stand development.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the changes in blood pressure and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) level after heat stroke in rats and to observe the protective effect of pretreatment with aspirin against heat stroke.

METHODS
Rat models of heat stroke were established and randomly assigned into control (n=10) and aspirin groups (n=10). Arterial blood pressure, colonic temperature (T(co)), and electrocardiograph (ECG) were monitored and blood samples taken at 0 and 60 min after heat exposure for determining the plasma IL-1beta levels in the two groups.

RESULTS
From 0 to 50 min after heat exposure, the mean arterial blood pressure MAP was not significantly different between the two groups, but at about 55-60 min, the MAP significantly decreased in the control group in comparison with the aspirin group (P<0.01). The K value and the height of the dicrotic notch (h(D)/H) were gradually decreased, especially at 40 min after heat exposure, and the control group showed greater reduction in the K value. T(co) of both groups were increased after heat exposure, without significant difference between groups. The time of the onset of heat stroke was similar in the two groups, but rats in the aspirin group had significantly longer survival time (P<0.05). ECG showed that the heart rate and QT intervals of both groups were increased, while PR intervals were decreased after heat exposure. Plasma IL-1beta levels in the two groups were significantly elevated at 60 min in comparison with the basal level (P<0.05), which was more obvious in the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Pretreatment with anti-inflammatory dose of aspirin can provide protection against heat stroke in rats, which may be associated with the inhibition of elevation of plasma IL-1beta levels by aspirin.


This paper concerns the numerical simulation of electrified jets with application to the electrospinning process for the fabrication of fibers with controllable size, diameter, and cross section shape. Most numerical models used to simulate electrospinning rely on the Upper Convected Maxwell model (UCM) which is fit to model polymer melts. However, in most electrospinning processes the fluid is a polymer solution with a Newtonian solvent that evaporates after the fiber is deposited on the collector. In this work we propose to describe the fluid rheology using Giesekus model, which predicts the properties of polymer solutions more accurately, and show the impact of the rheological model on the prediction of the fiber radius and size.


A three-dimensional model for release and diiusion of glutamate in the synaptic cleft was developed and solved analytically. The model consists of a source function describing transmitter release from the vesicle and a diiusion function describing the spread of transmitter in the cleft. Concentration prooles of transmitter at the postsynaptic side were calculated for diierent transmitter concentrations in a vesicle, release scenarios and diiusion coeecients. From the concentration prooles the receptor occupancy could be determined using AMPA receptor kinetics. It turned out that saturation of receptors and suuciently fast currents could only be obtained if the diiusion coeecient was one order of magnitude lower than generally assumed, and if the postsynaptic receptors formed clusters with a diameter of roughly 100 nm directly opposite the release sites. Under these circumstances the gradient of the transmitter concentration at the postsynaptic membrane outside the receptor clusters was steep with minimal crosstalk among neighboring receptor clusters. These ndings suggest, that to each release site a corresponding receptor aggregate exists, subdividing an individual synapse into independent functional subunits without the need for speciic lateral diiusion barriers.


A flexible self-standing film with layered nanostructures was obtained by in situ photopolymerization of a new smectic liquid-crystalline monomer containing a tetra(oxyethylene) moiety, which forms a macroscopically oriented complex with lithium salts. The resultant films show two-dimensional ionic conductivity.


This paper discusses the development of sensor node circuit design for the use of Real Time Flood Detection System for Traffic Diversion Assistance in Urban City. The step of designing the sensor circuit and the technical explanation can be found in further section of this paper. The experiment is conducted to evaluate the performance of each sensors and their durability and reliability. The step of designing the solar power system and the method used to develop the charge controller is explained in detail in this paper. The experiment is conducted to evaluate the designed system performance. The cost of the development of device is presented.


On taking a positive operator-valued measure (POVM), we introduce nonclassical measurements, together with nonclassical phenomena, in a manner similar to that applied to nonclassical states. The quantitative measure of nonclassicality for the measurements is also defined, and any projective measurement is shown to be nonclassical. When the regularization process is applied to a projective measurement, it becomes a POVM measurement, and its nonclassical measure decreases to vanish at the end.


We provide high-probability sample complexity guarantees for exact structure recovery and accurate Predictive Learning using noise-corrupted samples from an acyclic (tree-shaped) graphical model. The hidden variables follow a tree-structured Ising model distribution, whereas the observable variables are generated by a binary symmetric channel, taking the hidden variables as its input. This model arises naturally in a variety of applications, such as in physics, biology, computer science, and finance. The noiseless structure learning problem has been studied earlier by Bresler and Karzand (2018); this paper quantifies how noise in the hidden model impacts the sample complexity of structure learning and predictive distributional inference by proving upper and lower bounds on the sample complexity. Quite remarkably, for any tree with p vertices and probability of incorrect recovery δ > 0, the order of necessary number of samples remains logarithmic as in the noiseless case, i.e., O(log(p/δ)), for both aforementioned tasks. We also present a new equivalent of Isserlis' Theorem for sign-valued tree-structured distributions, yielding a new low-complexity algorithm for higher order moment estimation.


Translations from the Zapotec By David Shook David Shook is finishing his graduate thesis at Oxford. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Oxford Magazine, PEN International, PN Review, Poetry, World Literature Today, on the Poetry Translation Centre website, and elsewhere. He spends most of his time in Los Angeles. Bilingual recordings of these three poems can be heard on the WLT website (www. worldliteraturetoday.com).


. Optically polarized light micrographs of isothermally melt-textured DyBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 − δ compounds (with 15 wt% Dy 2 O 3 addition) are presented to show evidence for pattern formation of DyBa 2 Cu 3 O 5 particles in DyBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 − δ grains. Different types of pattern were observed and were understood as arising from the crystal growth mechanism of 123 melt-textured materials. In an appendix, the case of patterns in magnetically textured samples is discussed.


Listeners must accommodate acoustic differences between vocal tracts and speaking styles of conversation partners-a process called normalization or accommodation. This study explores what acoustic cues are used to make this perceptual adjustment by listeners with normal hearing or with cochlear implants, when the acoustic variability is related to the talker's gender. A continuum between /ʃ/ and /s/ was paired with naturally spoken vocalic contexts that were parametrically manipulated to vary by numerous cues for talker gender including fundamental frequency (F0), vocal tract length (formant spacing), and direct spectral contrast with the fricative. The goal was to examine relative contributions of these cues toward the tendency to have a lower-frequency acoustic boundary for fricatives spoken by men (found in numerous previous studies). Normal hearing listeners relied primarily on formant spacing and much less on F0. The CI listeners were individually variable, with the F0 cue emerging as the strongest cue on average.


Aim Soil pH is considered an important driver of fine-scale plant species richness in terrestrial ecosystems. However, it is unclear to what extent this relationship is influenced by precipitation, which often directly affects both soil pH and species richness. We asked: (1) what is the relationship between fine-scale vascular plant species richness and soil pH in regions with different levels of precipitation and (2) what are the relative effects of soil pH and precipitation on species richness? Location Dry grasslands in eight regions of northern Eurasia. Methods Species richness and soil pH were measured in 1055 10 m × 10 m plots and precipitation values were derived from global datasets. Relationships between variables were explored using general linear models, mixed-effect models and partial regressions. Variation partitioning was used to assess the relative effect of each predictor on species richness. Results In wetter regions, soil pH range was broader, mean species richness was higher and the richness–pH relationship was unimodal. In drier regions, mean soil pH was higher and its range narrower, species richness was on average lower and less variable, and the richness–pH relationship was negative or absent. The richness–pH relationship persisted after controlling for the effect of precipitation, but precipitation, uniquely or together with soil pH, explained more variation in species richness in most regions than did pH alone. Main conclusions The relationship between plant species richness and soil pH in dry grasslands changes from unimodal, through negative, to none with decreasing regional precipitation in Eurasia. However, it seems that the species richness–soil pH relationship in dry grasslands over broad areas is substantially influenced and confounded by precipitation either indirectly, by shortening and shifting the pH gradient, or directly, by decreasing the negative effects of drought stress on richness.


High specific mechanical properties of composites are the reason for their use in various fields, e.g., the aerospace industry. Mechanical joints are still used in the aerospace industry to assembly large aircraft structures. The properties of laminate around the hole can be, however, weakened, compared to their nominal values as a result of a drilling process or cyclic loading. This paper aims at the classification and analysis of imperfections affecting mechanically fastened joints in a laminate structure. A method of modeling the hole vicinity, a gradient material model, as well as the numerical and experimental estimation of laminate deterioration in this area, were proposed and analyzed. Comparative analysis of numerical and experimental results based on displacements of the testing machine grip and the extensometer length confirmed the aforementioned results as consistent in linear ranges. Therefore, joint characteristics obtained based upon measurement of the grip displacement and the ratio of stiffness in linear ranges are sufficient to determine the parameters of a gradient material model. Some imperfections resulting from, e.g., asymmetry, were included in the gradient material model; thus, the obtained weakening of laminate properties in the hole vicinity can be overestimated. Therefore, further analyses of the gradient material model for laminate structures are necessary.


This paper focuses on the links between migration and sustainable livelihoods looking in particular at the institutional factors that connect the two. It argues that much of the development literature makes the false assumption that sedentary patterns in society are the norm instead making the case that migration is often the rule rather than the exception. It concludes that migration should be seen as just one of the livelihood strategies open to households that it is often combined with other strategies and that it is frequently a two-way process in which migrants maintain close links with their areas of origin over a much longer period than is frequently assumed. Pointing out the range of different types of migration ranging from voluntary to forced the paper highlights the complex institutional factors involved in determining who is able to migrate and who benefits most from it. (authors)


Position sensorless control of reluctance and permanent magnet synchronous machines at zero and low speed is possible using HF voltage injection and proper demodulation. The so-called saliency position, which is tracked by the HF sensorless scheme, is different from the actual rotor position: the difference contains both offset and rotor-position-varying components, which may be explained by carefully considering the HF behavior of the machine and the effect that fundamental excitation and rotor position have upon it. This paper gives insight into the HF behavior of synchronous machines and serves as a practical guide for implementation of stable and robust position estimation at zero and low speed.


African-American (AA) women with breast cancer have worse overall survival compared with European-American (EA) women with breast cancer for reasons that are incompletely understood. A primary risk factor for breast cancer-specific mortality is disease recurrence, yet racial distinctions in recurrence patterns remain poorly characterized. Evaluation of the risk of recurrence upon initial diagnosis is crucial for clinicians to customize an optimal treatment plan. Prognostic factors associated with recurrence include lymph node involvement, larger tumor size, earlier age at diagnosis, and triple-negative receptor status. These poor prognostic indicators have been associated with AA race. In this study, we examined rates and patterns of recurrence in a large cohort of breast cancer patients (n=10504) treated from 2005-2015 at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, GA. We observed that AA breast cancer patients (n=1850) exhibited a higher frequency of recurrences than EA breast cancer patients (n=7931) (p=0.047). Moreover, AA breast cancer patients exhibited a trend towards regional and distant recurrences, which are more fatal, whereas EA breast cancer patients displayed a higher inclination towards local recurrences that show a better prognosis. However, while these trends were robust, they did not achieve significance perhaps owing to the small number of patients in recurrence location subcategories. Importantly, overall survival was worse among AA patients with distant recurrences (n=26) than EA breast cancer patients with distant recurrences (n=80) (p=0.01). Furthermore, among patients who underwent lymph node surgery, regional recurrence was more likely among AAs (n=1030) than EAs (n=5252) (p=0.045). Among patients who received radiation, there was a non-significant trend towards AAs (n=874) exhibiting a greater propensity toward disease recurrence than EAs (n=3734). This study illuminates striking differences in recurrence patterns among AA and EA breast cancer patients by exposing that AA patients are more likely to experience more aggressive non-local recurrences, and are at a greater risk of mortality from distant recurrences. Collectively, these findings help to explain the accelerated progression of the disease and lower survival rates in AA breast cancer patients compared with their EA counterparts, underscoring the urgent need for clinicians to consider race in screening programs and when devising treatment plans. Citation Format: Nikita Wright, Pranay Neema, Remus Osan, Jun Xia, Stephen Wells, Josef G. Venable, Mildred Jones, Padmashree Rida, Ritu Aneja, Guilherme Cantuaria. Breast cancer recurrence patterns among ethnically distinct populations: A single institution large cohort study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr A02.


There is a large and rapidly growing body of literature on the importance of calcium and magnesium in biochemical and physiological processes. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of serum lipid profile to the macro metals calcium and magnesium. Recent findings suggest that both calcium and magnesium play a vital role in many disease states notably in cardiovascular disease. Both calcium and magnesium intake is directly related to cardiovascular disorders. Magnesium acts as a mild calcium antagonist on vascular disease. Prospective studies involving both calcium and magnesium has given inconsistent results. This study done on 50 patients (25 males & females) attending cardiac clinic has shown good correlation between lipid profile and calcium and magnesium suggesting that along with the gold screening test of lipid profile in the diagnosis of cardio vascular disease (CVD), Calcium and magnesium should also be investigated to decide an appropriate supplementation therapy.


1 - Phytoplankton populations and environmental parameters were analysed seasonally in the lagoon of Nador (Morocco) over an annual cycle (2006-2007) at six stations. Seven phytoplankton Classes were observed: Diatomophyceae, Dinophyceae, Raphidophyceae, Prasinophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Dictyochophyceae and Cyanophyceae. Seven taxa were identified that may present a risk of inducing harmful blooms i.e. Alexandrium minutum, Pseudonitzschia delicatissima and P. fraudulenta, Prorocentrum minimum, Prorocentrum rhatymum, Dinophysis sacculus, Gymnodinium catenatum and Karenia mikimotoi. Physico-chemical analyses were carried out on water samples: Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and nutrients (NH4 +, NO3-, PO4 3- and SiO2).2 - Favourable and unfavourable factors for bloom development were identified. The possible relations between environmental parameters and the occurrence of potentially harmful phytoplankton blooms were investigated through a Factorial Discriminant Analysis. The proliferation of potentially harmful phytoplankton was linked to the availability of various nutrients (N, P, Si). Prorocentrum minimum tolerated waters with high nitrate contents, while Alexandrium minutum tolerated nutrientpoor waters. The most frequently observed taxa, Pseudonitzschia species and Dinophysis sacculus, were adapted to variations of water quality. Excessive levels of nutrients appeared as inhibiting for proliferation of potentially harmful phytoplankton which disappeared for the benefit of a very dense bloom of Tetraselmis sp. (Prasinophyceae).3 - A risk of toxicity was observed during all samplings throughout the lagoon, it was particularly pronounced during the summer sampling in the northern continental part of the lagoon with proliferation of Pseudonitzschia species.


Desires are usually presented as simple states whose contribution to action, choice, and deliberation are understood simply in terms of motivational strength and object. The challenge of temptation is to give an account of desires that explains why temptations should not be treated on a par with other desires in rational deliberation. Desires qua simple states fail this challenge as ex hypothesi what it is to be tempted to do some thing is for doing that thing to be your strongest motivation. I examine the nature of desire through the lens of temptation, and create a more complex picture of desires identifying and defending various properties of desires. These properties are: an account of how desires may be more or less stable with respect to reflection and new information; the emotional component of desires (desire responses), in variously forming and undermining our reflectively stable desires (considered preferences); how it is that we are psychologically disposed to value goods over time (hyperbolically), and the way in which it is rational to value goods over time (exponentially); finally an account of the difference between warranted and unwarranted changes in the strength of desires. Temptation is a consequence of a pervasive natural tendency to discount the future hyperbolically. If you discount the future hyperbolically, then the proximity of the good causes the comparative strength of your desire responses to reverse. Desire responses are produced by a perception-like system within the agent, the conative system. This reversal occurs because proximity constitutes abnormal operating conditions for the conative system, thus producing unreliable desire responses. As the visual system produces misleading visual perceptions under abnormal conditions, the conative system can produce misleading desire responses under abnormal conditions—temptations. We can identify and compensate for these misleading desire responses by paying attention to the relative stability of our desires. Thus desires are not simple states which contribute to deliberation solely in terms of object and strength, but rather more complex states that contribute to deliberation in terms of their stability and emotional components, as well as their object and motivational strength.


This report summarizes the experimental and theoretical status of hadronic molecules, which are weakly-bound states of two or more hadrons. We begin with a brief history of the subject and discuss a few good candidates, and then abstract some signatures for molecules which may be of interest in the classification of possible molecule states. Next we argue that a more general understanding of 2 → 2 hadron-hadron scattering amplitudes will be crucial for molecule searches, and discuss some of our recent work in this area. We conclude with a discussion of a few more recent molecule candidates (notably the f 0 (1710)) which are not well established as molecules but satisfy some of the expected signatures.


We study the spin alignment of galaxies and haloes with respect to filaments and walls of the cosmic web, identified with DisPerSE , using the Simba simulation from z = 0 − 2. Massive haloes' spins are oriented perpendicularly to their closest filament's axis and walls, while low-mass haloes tend to have their spins parallel to filaments and in the plane of walls. A similar mass-dependent spin flip is found for galaxies, albeit with a weaker signal particularly at low mass and low-z, suggesting that galaxies' spins retain memory of their larger scale environment. Low-z star-forming and rotation-dominated galaxies tend to have spins parallel to nearby filaments, while quiescent and dispersion-dominated galaxies show preferentially perpendicular orientation; the star formation trend can be fully explained by the stellar mass correlation, but the morphology trend cannot. There is a dependence on HI mass, such that high-HI galaxies tend to have parallel spins while low-HI galaxies are perpendicular, suggesting that HI content may trace anisotropic infall more faithfully than the stellar component. Finally, at fixed stellar mass, the strength of spin alignments correlates with the filament's density, with parallel alignment for galaxies in high density environments. These findings are consistent with conditional tidal torque theory, and highlight a significant correlation between galactic spin and the larger scale tides that are important e.g., for interpreting weak lensing studies. Simba allows us to rule out numerical grid locking as the cause of previously-seen low mass alignment.


Sir, Recently, we were involved in the management of a patient who presented to us with renal failure due to venom-induced rhabdomyolysis as a result of multiple bee stings. Severe allergic reactions subsequent to hymenoptera sting is a well-documented emergency.' Optic neuritis, vasculitis, generalized polyneuropathy, myasthenia gravis and rhabdomyolysis are some of the unusual reactions following a sting. We report such an unusual case. A 43 year old South Indian male was exposed to multiple bee stings while rescuing some school girls who had been on a trekking expedition. The school girls were discharged after first aid and none suffered from any major systemic reactions. On admission the patient complained of tightness over the throat, face and swelling over the site of sting. Clinical examination revealed severe angioedema of face, periorbital region, neck and arms. He had sustained 1,600-1,650 sting marks on the face, arms, chest, trunk and tongue. Barbed stings present on the skin were removed. Blood pressure was 120/ 70 mmHg. Systemic examination was essentially normal. After 16 hours ofadmission he complained ofgeneralized aches and pains, and passed 200 ml of cola-coloured urine. Thereafter he remained oliguric for 2 days. After one week he complained of partial deafness. Two honey bees were extracted from his right external ear and were sent for identification. They were identified as Indian rock bees or great honey bees of the order Hymenoptera, family Apidae, genus Apis, species dorsata. Investigations showed Hb 14.5 g/dl, blood urea 24.9 mmol/l (3.3-6.6 mmol/1), serum creatinine 388.96 pmol/l (44,2-132.6ytmol/1), sodium 142 mmol/l, potassium 5.6 mmol/l, creatine kinase 1,721 IU/l (0195 IU/l) and lactic acid dehydrogenase 1,200 IU (230-560 IU). Urinalysis was normal. Skeletal muscle biopsy was taken from right deltoid muscle, which showed features of muscle damage, with loss of striations and swelling of fibres. Prominent inflammatory reaction was present. Acute renal failure was managed by mannitol, sodium bicarbonate and optimal intravenous fluids. The cutaneous local reaction was treated by antihistamines, glucocorticoids and local applications. The patient made an uneventful recovery with muscle enzymes and renal function becoming normal in 3 and 5 weeks, respectively. Each year in the United States twice as many people die as a result of stings by hymenoptera insects as from poisonous snakes.2 There are three distinct genera of hymenoptera capable of causing sting reactions, namely, Apidae (various species of bee), Vespidae (hornet, yellow jackets and wasps) and Solenopsis (fire ants). The bees have barbed stingers that remain in skin after a sting. The stingers have to be removed to prevent further envenomation from the attached gland. We removed 103 stings from our patient. Acute renal failure following rhabdomyolysis has been reported due to hornet,34 vespid wasps' and honey bee.2 The muscle necrosis is due to the presence in the venom of toxic amines and peptides, such as phospholipases, histamines, polypeptidases, serotonin and kinins. Acute renal failure can also occur due to the direct nephrotoxicity of the venom. The generalized myalgia, colacoloured urine, raised muscle enzyme and skeletal muscle biopsy favours rhabdomyolysis as the cause ofacute renal failure in our patient. Successful management of rhabdomyolysis depends upon early diagnosis and therefore a high index ofclinical suspicion. The mainstay for prevention and treatment of myoglobunuric acute renal failure is sodium bicarbonate. The object is to maintain an alkaline urine and prevent dissociation of myoglobin to its nephrotoxic metabolite ferrihemate. Diuretics, notably, mannitol, have a role by promoting diuresis thereby diluting the nephrotoxic substance and flushing through blocked renal tubules.6 Our patient was managed on the above principles, resulting in diuresis and resolution of renal failure. Sujata Hiran Tarun K. Pande Siddhartha Pani Rewati Gupta K.A. Vishwanathan Department of Internal Medicine, JLN Hospital and Research Centre, Bhilai 490 006 (M.P.), India.


Recently, we reported that chlorcyclizine (CCZ, Rac-2), an over-the-counter antihistamine piperazine drug, possesses in vitro and in vivo activity against hepatitis C virus. Here, we describe structure–activity relationship (SAR) efforts that resulted in the optimization of novel chlorcyclizine derivatives as anti-HCV agents. Several compounds exhibited EC50 values below 10 nM against HCV infection, cytotoxicity selectivity indices above 2000, and showed improved in vivo pharmacokinetic properties. The optimized molecules can serve as lead preclinical candidates for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection and as probes to study hepatitis C virus pathogenesis and host–virus interaction.


Background Digital biomarkers are defined as objective, quantifiable, physiological, and behavioral data that are collected and measured using digital devices such as portables, wearables, implantables, or digestibles. For their widespread adoption in publicly financed health care systems, it is important to understand how their benefits translate into improved patient outcomes, which is essential for demonstrating their value. Objective The paper presents the protocol for a systematic review that aims to assess the quality and strength of the evidence reported in systematic reviews regarding the impact of digital biomarkers on clinical outcomes compared to interventions without digital biomarkers. Methods A comprehensive search for reviews from 2019 to 2020 will be conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane Library using keywords related to digital biomarkers and a filter for systematic reviews. Original full-text English publications of systematic reviews comparing clinical outcomes of interventions with and without digital biomarkers via meta-analysis will be included. The AMSTAR-2 tool will be used to assess the methodological quality of these reviews. To assess the quality of evidence, we will evaluate the systematic reviews using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. To detect the possible presence of reporting bias, we will determine whether a protocol was published prior to the start of the studies. A qualitative summary of the results by digital biomarker technology and outcomes will be provided. Results This protocol was submitted before data collection. Search, screening, and data extraction will commence in December 2021 in accordance with the published protocol. Conclusions Our study will provide a comprehensive summary of the highest level of evidence available on digital biomarker interventions, providing practical guidance for health care providers. Our results will help identify clinical areas in which the use of digital biomarkers has led to favorable clinical outcomes. In addition, our findings will highlight areas of evidence gaps where the clinical benefits of digital biomarkers have not yet been demonstrated. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/28204


Multiple processes are involved in gene expression including transcription, translation and stability of mRNAs and proteins. Each of these steps are tightly regulated, affecting the final dynamics of protein abundance. Various regulatory mechanisms exist at the translation step, rendering mRNA levels alone an unreliable indicator of gene expression. In addition, local regulation of mRNA translation has been particularly implicated in neuronal functions, shifting 'translatomics' to the focus of attention in neurobiology. The presented method can be used to bridge transcriptomics and proteomics. Here we describe essential modifications to the technique of polyribosome fractionation, which interrogates the translatome based on the association of actively translated mRNAs to multiple ribosomes and their differential sedimentation in sucrose gradients. Traditionally, working with in vivo samples, particularly of the central nervous system (CNS), has proven challenging due to the restricted amounts of material and the presence of fatty tissue components. In order to address this, the described protocol is specifically optimized for use with minimal amount of CNS material, as demonstrated by the use of single mouse spinal cord and brain. Briefly, CNS tissues are extracted and translating ribosomes are immobilized on mRNAs with cycloheximide. Myelin flotation is then performed to remove lipid rich components. Fractionation is performed on a sucrose gradient where mRNAs are separated according to their ribosomal loading. Isolated fractions are suitable for a range of downstream assays, including new genome wide assay technologies.


The present research examines the measured morphometric values of monogenetic cinder cones in the Tolbachik volcanic field, Kluchevskaya volcanic group, Kamchatka. The cones were measured from digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from satellite data (ASTER, ALOS PALSAR, and SRTM) and from digitized topographic maps. GPS measurements of 85 locations were performed in the field to provide geodetic reference for DEM processing and to assess the accuracy of the DEM. A methodology for morphometric measurements on a DEM is proposed. The morphometric parameters derived from a DEM include the main characteristics that control the rate of degradational evolution of the cone, namely height, width, and slope. The measured morphometric values were compared and accuracy assessment was carried out. Our study analyzes the morphometric values of four recent cinder cones formed during the last basaltic eruption in 1975–1976 and five older cinder cones formed during the last 2000 years. We show that morphometric values obtained from a DEM are affected by the resolution change, and characteristics of the same cinder cone may vary among DEMs of different resolutions. Our results indicate that the morphometry of the cinder cones can be well characterized by a DEM derived from remotely sensed data. The calculated morphometric parameters showed a correlation with the spatial resolution of the DEM and relative age of the cinder cones. All DEMs studied (including coarse-resolution SRTM) were found to provide reliable morphometric parameters, although the calculated values varied as a function of spatial resolution.


High energy density, lithium secondary cells are very attractive for use on future spacecraft. However, a number of technical challenges remain. Specifically, the ability of lithium secondary cells to achieve the high cycle life and long calendar life required for use on high-reliability spacecraft, as well as the difficulties in scaling up the available small cell technology to larger sizes required for spacecraft power systems. The purpose of this paper is to summarize efforts being undertaken by Eagle-Picher Industries (EPI) to develop lithium-ion (Li-Ion) technology for spacecraft applications. The intent is to keep the satellite community abreast of recent developments at the cell level and to help direct sound decisions in power system design variations from the current nickel-hydrogen (NiH/sub 2/) and nickel-cadmium (NiCd) technologies. The focus of this paper is the summation of past, present and future work with direct emphasis upon the development of cycle life and related components. Other covered issues include: cell design, operational temperature variations, rate capability and energy density. Accelerated performance will be characterized both in GEO and LEO "on-orbit" profiles. To support findings and authenticity of the test data being presented, details of the test configuration and test parameters will be covered as applicable. In addition, future endeavors will be discussed, encompassing expected performance improvements and developmental planning. With a significant improvement over existing cell technology, the Li-Ion system will someday provide tremendous savings in launch cost as well as package flexibility. There are, of course, technological advances needed before this product will be available to the aerospace community. The EPI technology will meet most qualification loads with a C rate capability. The energy density at the C rate is better than 70 Wh/Kg and exceeds 100 Wh/Kg at lesser rates. The cycle life of the large cell Li-Ion technology has yet to prove itself. On-going high rate tests have a current cycle life of >620 cycles at 100% DOD, >1360 cycles at 25% and >8550 cycles at 10%.


University, Egypt firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract The design of podcast in electronic environments to develop English language skills is one of the innovative trends. Hence, the Ubiquitous of the technology-based learning is an endeavor due to the availability of mobile devices and smart phones of various types among students on campus. Yet, the dilemma lies in shortage of activating them to achieve the students' academic factors. It is very difficult either for the lack of skills of the learners themselves or for the absence of teachers' skills in designing and employing these technologies to benefit from them on the university campus. The difficulties are crystalized in the lack of specialists in educational technology, as it requires an understanding of design standards, models and strategies of teaching within these environments. For this goal, integration between researches in such disciplines seems necessary. Regarding the weakness of academic skills among the students themselves, this may be due to students' preoccupation with technological tools that are not related to the development of their academic performance. Consequently, specialists from faculty members in universities should guide students to benefit from e-learning environments professionally and personally from such environments such as ubiquitous learning and podcasting for developing academic skills such as English language skills associated with speaking. The environment should be linked to improving user collaboration to interact with the provided content to achieve the greatest possible benefit from such environments in which the performance of learners must be documented. In effect, the research aims at identifying the mechanisms of Designing of Podcast Ubiquitous Technology-Based, and measuring the impact of this design on the development of some English language skills, which were challenged in the research with the skill of speaking due to its close association with voice podcasting. This has been illustrated in the student achieving the following skills (Good pronunciation, choosing words to express the situation, organizing the content of the dialogue, choosing the appropriate time to speak, choosing the appropriate pauses, and a good conclusion). In addition, it aims at identifying the extent to which the design of Designing of Podcast Ubiquitous Technology-Based. In addition, it provides opportunities for students to achieve high collaboration, which was described in the research with user collaboration. The following set of skills are such as (the student's collaboration in linking the course content, the student's collaboration in the course's learning activities and tasks, and the student's collaboration in helping others in the environment) and these skills represent aspects of the learner's personality


Continued adverse remodeling of myocardium after infarction may lead to progressive ventricular dilation and heart failure. We tested the hypothesis that exercise training in a healed myocardial infarction-dysfunction rat model can favorably modify the adverse effects of ventricular remodeling including attenuation of abnormal myosin gene expression. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either proximal LAD ligation or sham operation. At 5 wk after the operation, animals were randomly assigned to sedentary conditions or 6 wk of graduated swim training, creating four experimental groups: infarct sedentary (IS), infarct exercise (IE), sham sedentary (SS), and sham exercise (SE). At 11 wk all rats were sacrificed and analyzed. Compared to sedentary infarct controls, exercise training attenuated left ventricular (LV) dilation and allowed more hypertrophy of the non infarct wall. The exercise-trained hearts also showed a reduction in the estimated peak wall tension. Northern blot analysis showed an increase in beta-myosin heavy chain expression in the hearts of the sedentary infarction group soon after infarction when compared to sham controls. However, with exercise training, there was a significant attenuation of the beta-myosin heavy chain expression in the myocardium. Exercise training in a model of left ventricular dysfunction after healed myocardial infarction can improve the adverse remodeling process by attenuating ventricular dilation and reducing wall tension. The abnormal beta-myosin expression was also attenuated in the exercise trained group. This is evidence that abnormal gene expression following severe myocardial infarction dysfunction can be favorably modified by an intervention.


This paper attempts to implement Monte Carlo simulations in order to price and hedge exotic options. Many exotic options have no analytic solutions, either because they are too complex or because the volatility specification is wrong. Consequently, numerical solutions are a necessity. We discuss the advantages and the drawbacks of such a pricing approach for the main exotic options. Given the strong assumptions of the Black-Scholes world, we attempt to relax them and, in particular, we focus on stochastic volatility models. After a review of the literature, we analyze via simulations the impact of stochastic volatility on the valuation of Asian and spread options. Next we construct and evaluate a dynamic hedging strategy for an exchange option under discrete rebalancing, stochastic volatility and transaction costs. We study the effect of each of these market imperfections on the hedge performance. Finally, we shortly discuss possible hedging approaches for various exotic options and compare static and dynamic hedging.


This essay claims that the declared war on drugs has failed, it has caused more harm than good, and that a new approach is necessary. The focus of analysis lays especially on the implemented drug policies of Mexico and the United States. The goal is to point out the flaws of the current policy based on prohibition and persecution by analyzing its origins and comparing the current approach with the failures of the alcohol prohibition in the 1920s in the United States. One of the main points therefore discussed is that suppression and prosecution by state authorities create a black market that is too profitable to abandon and as a consequence cause the devastating dynamics of the drug war, leading to destabilization of the region, an undermined state and human losses. In conclusion, any escalation will only lead to a new circle of violence with the local population in the crossfire. The essay further explains in greater detail the effects of the drug war on the population and how recent economic policies, such as the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, have involuntarily created a new pool of recruits for the cartels and the narcoeconomy, where the income of regular people depends on the cartel's fortune. Furthermore, the cultural effects on the population are described and analyzed. The conclusion is made that the legalization of narcotic drugs could offer a solutions to problems such as violence and corruption by eliminating the black market.


OBJECTIVE
Adolescent emotional-eating, referring to eating in response to negative affective states, is frequently reported by those with loss of control (LOC) eating. Although LOC eating has been shown to predict exacerbated disordered eating and excess weight/adiposity gain, the extent to which emotional-eating, either alone or in combination with LOC, predicts adverse outcomes has not been determined. Thus, we examined associations of baseline emotional-eating with changes in disordered eating, BMI, and adiposity over 1-year, and to what degree the presence or absence of baseline LOC moderated these associations.

METHODS
189 non-treatment-seeking youth (15.4 ± 1.4y; 66% female; 67% non-Hispanic White, 38% overweight [BMI ≥ 85th %ile]) completed the emotional-eating Scale for Children/Adolescents and the Eating Disorder Examination interview at baseline and again at 1-year. Air displacement plethysmography assessed adiposity at both time points.

RESULTS
Baseline emotional-eating alone was not significantly associated with the development of objective binge eating or changes in disordered eating attitudes, BMI or adiposity 1-year later. However, baseline emotional-eating interacted with the presence of baseline LOC in the prediction of 1-year outcomes. Among adolescents with LOC eating, greater baseline emotional-eating was related to increased disordered eating attitudes (p = .03), BMI (p = .04), and adiposity (p = .04) at 1-year, after correcting for false discovery rate.

DISCUSSION
Emotional-eating among youth also reporting LOC was associated with adverse outcomes over 1-year. Adolescents who report both behaviors may represent a subset of individuals at especially high risk for exacerbated disordered eating and excess weight gain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.(Int J Eat Disord 2017; 50:551-560).


Specific activity curves of expired air were obtained after the injection of NaHC14O3 into normal and alloxan diabetic rats in the postabsorptive and fasted state. The curves were analyzable into three constituent simple exponential functions. This suggested a pool system with three conjoined compartments. The rate of CO2 output being known, pool sizes and rates of carbon movement could be calculated by mathematical treatment of slopes and intercepts. The primary space within which injected C14 equilibrated very rapidly was treated as a single complex pool. Its size was compatible with that of extracellular fluid. Two side-pools were included in the model. The slower moving one had a rate of turnover and size which were greater in the fasted than in the postabsorptive state. This suggests that organic carbon participates in the HCO3– interchange and that CO2 fixation is increased during fasting. No systematic differences between normal and diabetic animals were encountered.


A theoretical formula is derived for the joint statistics of cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) and rain attenuation for a microwave link. This formula is then applied to the prediction of the distribution of XPD conditional on the copolar rain attenuation and also to the prediction of the distribution of XPD during a rain fade. Application is also made to the estimation of outage time of a dual-polarization communication system. Theoretical results are compared with experimental data from the eastern USA and southern England, and the agreement has been found to be quite good.