Background. The work uses the results from two field experiments on mixed sowings carried out in the years 2005–2012 at the experimental station in Mochelek (53o 13' N; 17o 51' E). The aim of the studies was to find the response of yellow lupine to the neighbouring occurrence of oats and spring triticale, as well as the effect of Fabaceae on spring cereals and an estimation of the production effects of strip intercropping of those species.
Material and methods. The experimental factor was the position of a plant row on the plot: four rows into the plot away from the neighbouring species. The first row (contact row) was situated 12.5 cm away from the first row of the neighbouring species. The experimental unit was the subsequent plant rows, each 4 meter-long. The proximity of yellow lupine and oat plants was studied in the first experiment and yellow lupine and spring triticale in the second experiment.
Results. The proximity of oats was unfavourable to yellow lupine plants, and the effect was statistically confirmed in the row directly adjacent to oats. A negative effect also occurred in the subsequent row, although it was smaller and in most cases not significant. The proximity of spring triticale was also unfavourable to yellow lupine plants, but to a smaller extent than in the case of oats and was limited only to the first, directly adjacent row of yellow lupine. On the other hand spring triticale, and especially oats, responded positively to the proximity of yellow lupine, but the effect occurred only in the first plant row.
Conclusion. It was estimated that in strip intercropping of oats with yellow lupine and of spring triticale with yellow lupine, with 3 meter-long strips, up to 13.9% higher oat yields and 5.57% triticale yields may be obtained, but at the same time lower, by 0.62-2.13%, yellow lupine yields may be obtained than in pure sowing.


Current study assesses whether deficits and usability of ergonomics impair the functionality of a university website. The concepts of functionality, usability and ergonomics were foregrounded by contextualizing them within a university profile. Later, a satisfaction survey was proposed to users to measure the satisfaction in the use of the website and to map the problems in usability. In addition, an ergonomic inspection was performed on the site by applying Bastien and Scapin´s ergonomic criteria. After analyzing results by descriptive statistics and content analysis, the ergonomic and usability problems were detected, or rather, feedback deficits, minimum action (navigation), flexibility and experience impaired the excellence of website´s functionality, causing dissatisfaction or abandonment of the website by the users. After the analysis of the results, ergonomic adjustments were suggested for the website. They may be a help in new website projects or adjust products in which usability has not been incorporated to the development process.


Sridharan, Vaikunth. M.S., Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Wright State University, 2018. Sensor Data Streams Correlation Platform for Asthma Management. Asthma is a high-burden chronic inflammatory disease with prevalence in children with twice the rate compared to adults. It can be improved by continuously monitoring patients and their environment using the Internet of Things (IoT) based devices. These sensor data streams so obtained are essential to comprehend multiple factors triggering asthma symptoms. In order to support physicians in exploring causal associations and finding actionable insights, a visualization system with a scalable cloud infrastructure that can process multimodal sensor data and Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD) is necessary. In this thesis, we describe a cloud-based asthma management and visualization platform that integrates personalized PGHD from kHealth1 kit and outdoor environmental observations from web services2. When applied to data from an individual, the tool assists in analyzing and explaining symptoms using "personalized" causes, monitor disease progression, and improve asthma management. The front-end visualization was built with Bootstrap Framework and Highcharts. Google's Firebase and Elasticsearch engine were used as back-end storage to aggregate data from various sources. Further, Node.js and Express Framework were used to develop several Representational State Transfer services useful for the visualization. 1http://wiki.knoesis.org/index.php/Asthma 2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web service iii


This paper is one of the discourse that holistically evaluate the perspectives of tutors in integrating ICTs into their teaching. There is universal recognition of the need to use information and communication technology (ICT) in education as we are in the era of globalization where the free flow of information via satellite and the internet holds power in global information dissemination of knowledge. The study investigated the pedagogical underpinnings of ICTs in education in the colleges of education in Ghana against the 21st century teaching utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings indicated that majority of the respondents agreed that the colleges use variety of teaching methods and again few tutors of Arts employ technology to their advantage in making sure that students understand concepts they impart through the appropriate means. The study conjectures that currently, there is a slight mix in the colleges of education as many of the members of the colleges lack that technical support and know-how, impeding professional development on how to integrating ICTs into their teaching. Keywords: ICTs, ICT Tools, Technology, Tutor, Student-teachers, Perception, Education DOI : 10.7176/ADS/77-02 Publication date :October 31 st 2019


It was Milgram, Takemura, Utsumi, and Kishino who introduced the Virtuality Continuum in 1995 and highlighted that the distinction between real and virtual was increasingly not a hard boundary but one in which both the real and the virtual coexisted. However, in the intervening years our experience of this continuum has increasingly taken place through flat glass screens that primarily addresses our senses of sight and touch. With the emergence of the so called Internet of Things as a global infrastructure of networked physical objects, or 'things', that are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable, and/or controllable via the Internet, designers will be able to consider interactions that can encompass all of our senses relating to the real and the virtual aspects of these objects as they are constructed from both 'Atoms and Bits'.


Background: The World Health Organization in 2009 revised categories of dengue fever severity into classes A, B, and C based on the presence or absence of warning signs. The quantum of oral and intravenous fluids (IVF) in hospitalised patients with Group B (warning signs) has, to our knowledge, not been studied. Oral fluids in hospitalised patients and monitoring administration with the help of patients' relatives have not been assessed. Methods: Consecutive patients with dengue fever and warning signs were studied for 48 hours after hospitalisation. Patients were asked to consume 4-5 l of fluids. Maintenance and bolus IVF were administered depending upon the presence of compensated or hypotensive shock. Intake and urinary output were monitored by the patient's attendant. Total fluids (oral and intravenous) were divided by a number of anthropometric measurements. The significance of warning signs, compensated and hypotensive shock, thrombocytopenia, bleeding episodes and the need for transfusions, and organ impairment were considered in relation to the total amount of fluids received daily. Results: In total, 43 patients were studied. Patients with obesity and hypotensive shock received significantly more fluids on Day 1; taller patients and those with tachycardia, higher haematocrit and elevated creatine kinase correspondingly received more on Day 2. Hypotensive shock was significantly correlated with fluids/BSA, fluids/weight and fluids/BMI, while laboratory parameters correlated most strongly with fluids/BMI. Conclusions: Most adults with dengue and warning signs seem to require >100 ml/kg/day of fluids during their stay. Advising a similar amount of fluids at home during epidemics may further reduce the need for admissions. Participation of patients and their relatives in the bedside management of fluid administration may go a long way in preventing morbidity and mortality. Adults probably need a better anthropometric measurement to decide on the quantum of fluids to be given.


We investigate the optimal job design in a repeated principal-agent relationship with multiple tasks where the performance measurement is distorted, aggregated, and nonverifiable. We compare task bundling, where all the tasks are assigned to a single agent, with task separation, where the tasks are split and assigned to two agents. Compared to task bundling, task separation mitigates misallocation of effort among the tasks but tightens the self-enforcing constraint due to dispersion of informal bonuses to multiple agents. Consequently, task separation is better than task bundling if and only if the discount factor of the parties is high. We also consider an extended model in which the principal combines explicit incentive pays based on a verifiable and distorted signal. In such cases, task separation is optimal if the discount factor is sufficiently high or sufficiently low.


As part of a survey of mammal and bird nests, new species, new male stages, and some feeding observations have been collected from what was formerly called the Androlaelaps ulysses group. As many features of this group are consistently different from Androlaelaps, and also from Haemolaelaps where it was formerly placed, this group is here elevated to Ulyxes new genus, and U. autolycus, U. euryclea, and U. theoclymenus are described as new species. This genus has a broad range of feeding behaviour spanning intranasal parasitism, nidicolous parasitism, and at least one species is a nidicolous predator. Its host range is broad; two new species are shown here to cohabit with parrots while most remaining species associate with mammals. In contrast to the variation in feeding behaviour, Ulyxes spp are associated with a narrow range of nest types, being confined to arboreal nests, usually tree hollows (rarely fallen logs), and on the parrot or mammal hosts that use them. Ulyxes spp show a remarkable variability in male cheliceral development, which assorts according to feeding behaviour. There is a strong contrast between male chelicerae of predatory and parasitic species that has not been previously observed in such a compact dermanyssine genus. Previously male cheliceral morphology was thought to be conservative enough to provide diagnostic characters at suprageneric rank. For systematics, these findings complicate previous attempts to recognise male mouthparts as reliable features marking higher-level natural groups that include dermanyssoid vertebrate parasites. For evolutionary studies, this may be relevant in seeking examples of transitions to, or away from, parasitism.


This study considers the emergence of Public Private Policing Partnerships (PPPPs) in England and focuses on two increasingly common partnership bodies in particular: Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Town Center Management (TCM) schemes. It argues that in order to fully understand the operations of these partnerships, research must pay attention to their introduction, evolution, and social relationships. Through comparative case studies of local TCM schemes and BIDs in Coventry, Plymouth, and Reading, it reflects on the ways in which policing services are speculatively used to improve the "experience"' of being downtown, and increase the likelihood of consumers and investors spending more in their district. It also sheds light on the evolving policing "portfolios" the partnerships have developed and the roles that socio-technologies (e.g., CCTV, circulars) play in shaping the performance and relations of the partnerships.


Football is now a big industry worth studying in its own right: but it is also an excellent laboratory for studying success. The author argues that this is partly because, in contrast to say, American Football, there is less
equalisation of resources between the clubs and English football is a highly competitive market. This article discusses one of the most successful clubs ever and argues that the reasons behind its success do not characterise
football generally. It discusses how the different kinds of success in the English football industry are related to business success generally.


This review focuses on the properties that an RNase H-activating antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drug must have to function effectively in animals, as well as on medicinal chemistry strategies to achieve these properties. The biochemistry and structural requirements for activating RNase H are briefly summarized, as well as chemical modifications that can effect activation of RNase H when an ASO is bound to target RNA. The key modifications available to the medicinal chemist to engineer desired properties of the ASO are briefly reviewed, as are ASO design strategies to achieve optimal activity in animal systems. Lastly, the interactions of ASOs with proteins and strategies to control these interactions to improve the profile of ASOs are discussed.


For Europe, maritime transport has always been a catalyst for economic development and prosperity throughout its history. The European Union (EU) has adopted one of the most stringent maritime safety and marine environment legislation in the world. Its aim is to ensure a high level of safety, prevention of pollution and a level playing field, where all shipping operators, who follow good practices, are not put at a commercial disadvantage compared to those taking shortcuts in ship safety or pollution prevention. As part of this effort, the European Commission ensures that EU Member States correctly implement the EU maritime acquis, to lower the risk of serious maritime accidents and to minimise the impact of maritime transport on human health and the environment. In this context, the EU's European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) provides technical support to the European Commission and EU Member States in developing a uniform and consistent implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety, prevention of pollution from ships and security. A useful technique to assess and improve the implementation and enforcement of the EU maritime acquis is a cost-effectiveness analysis of all the related implementation measures put in place by Member States. This paper describes the background, the framework and preliminary results of a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of Member States' measures to implement Directive (EU) 2016/802, also referred to as the Sulphur Directive. The Sulphur Directive aims to reduce harmful health effects and environmental damage caused by sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions resulting from the combustion of some liquid fuels, including marine fuels. The outcome of this CEA may be used by the EU institutions and Member States to share relevant best practice and trigger discussion on common issues, possible ways forward and dissemination of good working practices for a more effective and efficient implementation of the Sulphur Directive at the European and national levels.


The purpose of the volume is to summarize the existing knowledge concerning the distribution and abundance of select species of finfish and shellfish along the coasts of the United States. The appendices to this report present annotated bibliographies of studies related to the distribution and abundance of these species and of studies concerning the potential impacts of OCS oil and gas activities on fisheries.


Although Jews constituted the largest minority in medieval Europe, they tend to be largely ignored in general studies of the Middle Ages, with the result that their history and culture are both overlooked and misunderstood. Jews and Judaism in the Middle Ages attempts to correct that situation by presenting, in clear and accessible language, an introduction to Jewish thought as well as to medieval Jewish history and texts.
 This volume examines the everyday life of medieval Jews in both Christian and Muslim environments, looks at the causes of medieval anti-Semititism and anti-Judaism, and includes a brief history of the persecutions to which medieval Jews were subjected. Despite popular opinion today, medieval Jewish life consisted of far more than persecution and suffering, and the volume examines Jewish accomplishments in the fields of biblical commentary, literature, philosophy, and mysticism, demonstrating that Jewish life, while often difficult, also had its creative and glorious side. Because the Talmud was the most important Jewish text throughout the Middle Ages, this volume introduces readers to the intricacies of that long and involved work, which helped to shape medieval Christianity.


Chromenes are the one of the important class of het erocyclic compounds which poses wide range of pharm aceutical and biological importance. Different functional gro ups at different positions in the core structure of chromene deliberately yields novel derivatives which play a prominent role in in the field of medicinal chemi stry. In this work one pot synthesis of a few new series of 2-amino- 3-cyano-4H-chromene derivatives were designed, syn thesized , characterized and biological activity like anti-bac terial and anti-fungal studies were screened, where most of the compounds have shown good growth inhibition acti vity.


This article examines Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī's (d. 606/1210) epistemology and his understanding of syllogistic reasoning through a consideration of Meno's paradox. It focuses on later works, namely, al-Maṭālib al-ʿāliya, Kitāb al-Jabr, and al-Tafsīr al-kabīr as well as his treatment of the subject in al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī l-ḥikma. Informed by the theories of epistemology developed through the philosophical tradition of Meno's paradox and first principles, Rāzī views all knowledge formed through syllogistic reasoning as dependent on axiomatic truths (al-badīhiyyāt), a concept with roots in both the philosophical and theological traditions. These first principles are formed immediately upon the presence of the requisite concepts in the mind, and thus comprise Rāzī's implicit response to the paradox in that all subsequent knowledge does indeed require previous fundamental knowledge that is not sought nor acquired voluntarily. Finally, the article discusses a separate paradox implicit in Rāzī's works, namely that he both asserts in sections treating divine determinism that no knowledge can in fact be acquired whatsoever while elsewhere emphasizing the fundamental importance of knowledge acquisition.


LO~Z-lEVEL IONIZIN(l RADIATION Jacob I . Fabti kant April ··1979 U. s. Department Contract W-?405-ENG-48 TWO-WEEK LOAN COPY This is a Librar!) Circulating opy which may be borrowed for two weeks. For a personal retention copy, call Tech. Info. Division, Ext. 6782


We have no difference of opinion with Mez et al. regarding the statistical power issues, and their description of the relevant limitations is an accurate recapitulation of our own.1 We did not intend to suggest, with a cohort of this size, that there could not be some small differences in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) risk based on position; of course, smaller differences might be found with larger sample sizes. Whether differences <50% would have practical relevance for elite collision sport athletes is an open question. With respect to career duration measurement, we also analyzed career duration at the highest level played, but this analysis was removed from the article in response to reviewers' reasonable suggestions that the information was redundant to the age of retirement data. However, a summary line remains in table 1.1


I have spent more than the last 40 years at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), studying T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. I was blessed with supportive mentors, an exceptionally talented group of trainees, and wonderful collaborators and colleagues during my journey who have enabled me to make significant contributions to our understanding of how the TCR initiates signaling. TCR signaling events contribute to T cell development as well as to mature T cell activation and differentiation. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Immunology, Volume 42 is April 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


In the present study the effect of ascorbate (0.8 mM)/iron (2.5 microM) on lipid and protein oxidation, in Synaptosomes isolated from rat brain cortex, was evaluated. Vitamin E, idebenone and reduced glutathione were used as free radicals scavengers, in order to analyze the mechanism involved in ascorbate/iron-induced oxidative stress. An increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cytosol and in the mitochondria was observed, in ascorbate/iron treated synaptosomes. Idebenone (50 microM) prevented the increased formation of ROS in both synaptosomal compartments, vitamin E (150 microM) protected partially this formation in mitochondria, whereas reduced glutathione (250 microM) (GSH) was ineffective. After ascorbate/iron treatment an increase in lipid peroxidation occurred as compared to control, which was completely inhibited by idebenone. A decrease in protein-SH content was also observed, and it was prevented by Vitamin E, idebenone and GSH. When synaptosomes were treated with ascorbate/iron the levels of GSH decreased, and the levels of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) increased as compared to controls under these conditions. Glutathione peroxidase activity was unchanged, whereas an inhibition of glutathione reductase activity was observed. These data suggest that the increased formation of free radicals in synaptosomes leads to lipid and protein oxidation, the role of the endogenous GSH being essential to protect protein thiol-groups against oxidative damage in order to maintain enzyme activity.


Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) were solution blended in chloroform and cast into films on mercury surface. Some mechanical properties of the films were studied with the Instron Testing Machine. Tensile strength (TS), initial modulus (IM) and elongation at break of the films were found to depend highly on blend composition, and increased above the values for the pure polymers, each showing a peak at about 20% PEMA. The peak values of TS, IM, and elongation at break depended on an important factor, (Mv)rc the ratio of the molecular weights of (PEMA) to (PVAc). Improvements to the mechanical properties of the polymers due to blending were considered to be as a result of the presence of favorable and strong (PVAc-PEMA) intermolecular interactions which reveal miscibility and compatibility of the polymers. A lower critical value (Mv)rc of 4.9 was found, above which no phase separation would be expected on blending these two polymers to the extent of 20% by weight of PEMA.


A series of 6-halo-(F-, Cl-, Br-, I-) and 6-alkoxy-(OMe-, OEt-) 9-(2,3-dideoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-threopentofuranosyl) purines (F-ddN) have been synthesized and characterized with the objective of finding compounds which might be superior to existing drugs for the treatment of HIV in the central nervous system. These compounds, which contain lipophilic 6-substituents, were chosen as acid-stable prodrugs for the anti-HIV-active F-ddN, 9-(2,3-dideoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-threo-pentofuranosyl) hypoxanthine (F-ddI), because of their potential to increase blood-brain-barrier penetration relative to F-ddI. All the new compounds were more lipophilic than the currently approved anti-AIDS drugs. Partition coefficient increases of 30- and 110-fold were achieved, relative to didanosine (ddI), for the 6-chloro- and 6-ethoxy analogues. 2'-Fluoro substitution abolished the pH 1, acid-catalyzed cleavage of the nucleoside glycosylic bond. However, pH 1, acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the 6-fluoro substituent to produce F-ddI was observed to occur at a rate (t1/2 0.54 h) which was ca. 40-170 times faster than that of the other prodrugs. The utility of the F-ddNs as prodrugs for F-ddI depends upon their ability to act as substrates for adenosine deaminase. The relative rates of adenosine deaminase-catalyzed prodrug hydrolysis to F-ddI varied by a factor of > 25,000 with the 6-fluoro- and 6-ethoxy analogues reacting the fastest and slowest, respectively. All of the prodrugs possessed anti-HIV activity in the phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell test system and a qualitative correlation exists between prodrug anti-HIV activity and adenosine deaminase hydrolysis rates.


To explore the processing mechanism of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces used in Guangdong province and Hong Kong by analysing the chemical variation between raw and processed Aurantii Fructus with different methods based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The total ion chromatograms detected in positive and negative ion modes, and ion peak area ratio before and after processing were taken as variation indexes in the comparison. The results indicated that fermented Aurantii Fructus could produce three new ingredients, namely eriodictyol-7-glucoside, hesperetin-7-O-glucoside and 5-demethylnobiletin. At the same time, it could significantly increase the content of naringenin and hesperetin components, and could increase the content of such limonin derivatives as sudachinoid A, obacunoic acid and limoninand nomilinic acid. This suggests that the fermentation processing method of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces used in Guangdong province and Hong Kong is of important significance for enhancing biological activity and bioavailability, and improving the clinical efficacy of Aurantii Fructus decoction pieces, and so is worth further protection and promotion.


Today's systems for content based image retrieval (CBIR) suffer from several drawbacks: first, user interfaces are much too complicated for average users; second, the quality of results tends to be low; finally, querying performance with often long reply times is unsatisfactory. We have developed a model for CBIR searches intended to overcome these drawbacks where the user has to select only one or more example images to initiate a query. Out of the examples, the actual query including feature selection and weighting is generated automatically. The results of the first query may later on be refined by relevance feedback. We discuss the major components necessary for our approach and the results achieved in our test environment.


Topiramate (Topamax®) is one of the most widely used modern anti-epileptic drugs (AED) in Russia. This is primarily due to the broad spectrum of activity of this drug. Its mechanism of action is complex and includes several components. It was shown that all main mechanisms of epilepsy development are within the pharmacological targets of this drug, which makes it distinguished among other AED. The drug is efficient in both focal and generalized forms of epilepsy. The following adverse effects of treatment may possibly develop: fatigability, thought disorder, headache and confused mental state. It should be borne in mind that the majority of adverse effects disappeared spontaneously in the course of treatment. Such adverse effects as reduction of body weight and nephrolithiasis generally occurred as long-term side effects of treatment.


This article reviews the regulation of production of red blood cells at several levels: ( 1 ) the ability of erythropoietin and adhesion to a fibronectin matrix to stimulate the rapid production of red cells by inducing terminal proliferation and differentiation of committed erythroid CFU‐E progenitors; ( 2 ) the regulated expansion of the pool of earlier BFU‐E erythroid progenitors by glucocorticoids and other factors that occurs during chronic anemia or inflammation; and ( 3 ) the expansion of thehematopoietic cell pool to produce more progenitors of all hematopoietic lineages. © 2010 IUBMB IUBMB Life 62(7): 492–496, 2010


Southern Australia's Cenozoic Eucla basin contains world-class strandline heavy mineral deposits. This study links detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and heavy mineral compositions from four mineral sand prospects, and a suite of published deposits, to bounding Archean to Neoproterozoic crustal areas. A variable number of distinct sediment sources is recorded from each prospect's detrital zircon age spectrum. This variability in zircon ages, quantified using a Shannon-Weaver test, serves as a metric of source region heterogeneity. Greater zircon age heterogeneity correlates with heavy mineral enrichment. Enhanced heavy mineral yields reflect retention of resistate over labile minerals—a function of greater sediment transport, reworking, and upgrading processes that parallel those that result in detrital zircon age polymodality. In this case study, greater reworking in intermediate storage sites and transport by longshore processes, eastward along the ~1,000 km spanned by the study sites, corresponds to the direction of progressive heavy mineral enrichment identified in zircon ages and mineral compositions. This approach is a proxy for the duration minerals have spent in the sedimentary system and provides an important perspective for understanding heavy mineral sands.


We investigate optimal posteriors for recently introduced \cite{begin2016pac} chi-squared divergence based PAC-Bayesian bounds in terms of nature of their distribution, scalability of computations, and test set performance. For a finite classifier set, we deduce bounds for three distance functions: KL-divergence, linear and squared distances. Optimal posterior weights are proportional to deviations of empirical risks, usually with subset support. For uniform prior, it is sufficient to search among posteriors on classifier subsets ordered by these risks. We show the bound minimization for linear distance as a convex program and obtain a closed-form expression for its optimal posterior. Whereas that for squared distance is a quasi-convex program under a specific condition, and the one for KL-divergence is non-convex optimization (a difference of convex functions). To compute such optimal posteriors, we derive fast converging fixed point (FP) equations. We apply these approaches to a finite set of SVM regularization parameter values to yield stochastic SVMs with tight bounds. We perform a comprehensive performance comparison between our optimal posteriors and known KL-divergence based posteriors on a variety of UCI datasets with varying ranges and variances in risk values, etc. Chi-squared divergence based posteriors have weaker bounds and worse test errors, hinting at an underlying regularization by KL-divergence based posteriors. Our study highlights the impact of divergence function on the performance of PAC-Bayesian classifiers. We compare our stochastic classifiers with cross-validation based deterministic classifier. The latter has better test errors, but ours is more sample robust, has quantifiable generalization guarantees, and is computationally much faster.


Inchworm crawling allows for both quasistatic and dynamic gaits at a wide range of actuation frequencies. This locomotion mechanism is common in nonskeletal animals and exploited extensively in the bio-inspired field of soft robotics. In this work we develop and simulate the hybrid dynamic crawling of a three-link robot, with passive frictional contacts. We fabricate and experimentally test such robot under periodic inputs of joints' angles, with good agreement to the theoretical predictions. This allows to comprehend and exploit the effects of inertia in order to find optimal performance in inputs' parameters. A simple criterion of robustness to uncertainties in friction is proposed. Tuning the inputs according to this criterion improves the robustness of low-frequency actuation, while increasing the frequency allows for gaits with both high advancement velocity and robustness. Finally, the advantages of uneven mass distribution are studied. Time-scaling technique is introduced to shape inputs that achieve similar effect without reassembling the robot. A machine-learning based optimization is applied to these inputs to further improve the robot's performance.


How hard is it to change a constitution that was drafted by an authoritarian regime? What strategies might democratic actors adopt to change such a constitution, and what risks may they face? These dilemmas face democratic actors in Myanmar who seek to change the 2008 Constitution. In this chapter I introduce the contours and practice of Myanmar's Constitution as a political order set in place by the former military regime. I identify and explore the different strategies that have been used to change the 2008 Constitution – formal constitutional amendment proposals in 2013-2015; informal constitutional change through judicial interpretation in the Constitutional Tribunal; and informal constitutional change in the form of the legislative innovation of the Office of the State Counsellor. These attempts at constitutional reform come with particular risks to democratic actors, personal, political and institutional. I suggest that the risks of constitutional change are heightened during the first period of a constitution, particularly if the constitution has been designed to protect the interests of the former authoritarian regime.


INTRODUCTION
Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) administered in neoadjuvant setting before radical prostatectomy (RP) represents an ideal in vivo human model to test the efficacy of hormonal treatments in prostate cancer (PCa). This review summarizes the findings from published studies specifically focused on the biological effects of ADT assessed on specimens from RP. The aim is to provide a base of knowledge that might be used to design future studies on neoadjuvant therapy for PCa.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
A systematic review of the literature was performed according to the PRISMA statements. Search protocol identified published studies including a detailed analysis on specimen from RP to assess the biological effects of neoadjuvant ADT. In November 2017, Medline, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched using the terms "neoadjuvant" AND ("hormone therapy" OR "androgen deprivation therapy") AND "prostate cancer" in the "Title/Abstract" fields. Effects of ADT were classified according to four pathways - suppression of cellular proliferation, induction of apoptosis, alteration of immune response and onset of hormonal refractoriness - and relative markers of response were identified.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
From 1856 papers initially retrieved, 19 studies were finally selected and included into the present review. ADT was constituted by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonist alone in two, peripheral anti-androgen alone in one, both in 10, abiraterone acetate in one, unspecified in five. According to the above-mentioned four pathways, the following markers of response were identified: transcription of the oncogene TMPRSS2:ERG, translation of Aurora-A, coding of β1C integrin gene, translation of Ki-67, expression of nerve growth factors TrkA and p75NGFR, anti-angiogenic activity and micro-vessel density were involved into suppression of proliferation; mRNA transcription of bcl-2, expression of cleaved caspase-3 and translation of insulin growth factor binding protein 3, into induction of apoptosis; expression of IL-7 gene, programmed death-ligand 1, and increase of intra-prostatic T-cell population were related to alteration of immune response; finally, expression of heat shock protein 27 and de-differentiation of PCa to neuroendocrine cells, influenced the onset of hormonal refractoriness.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite a potential high interest, unexpectedly, only 19 heterogeneous studies investigated the effects of ADT through the analysis of specimens from RP. The present review summarizes the available evidences on this topic showing that ADT interferes on PCa at different levels that can be investigated by specific biological markers.


We present integrated optical phased arrays with cascaded phase shifting architectures for easy and effective electronic control. The input light is distributed to N emitters equally through a cascaded 1 × 2 splitter network with log2-N stages and with identical phase shifters on each stage, which enables continuous beam steering using log2-N voltages or one voltage. A 32-element SiN OPA with one input voltage was measured to exhibit 16° continuous steering at 13-V bias with 0.7° beam width. The same design can be easily adjusted for large element OPAs with easy and effective electronic control. © 2019 The Author(s)


To meet current and expected future demand for genome sequencing in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), adjustments to traditional service delivery models are necessary. Effective programs for the training of non-genetics providers (NGPs) may address the known barriers to providing genetic services including limited genetics knowledge and lack of confidence. The SouthSeq project aims to use genome sequencing to make genomic diagnoses in the neonatal period and evaluate a scalable approach to delivering genome sequencing results to populations with limited access to genetics professionals. Thirty-three SouthSeq NGPs participated in a live, interactive training intervention and completed surveys before and after participation. Here, we describe the protocol for the provider training intervention utilized in the SouthSeq study and the associated impact on NGP knowledge and confidence in reviewing, interpreting, and using genome sequencing results. Participation in the live training intervention led to an increased level of confidence in critical skills needed for real-world implementation of genome sequencing. Providers reported a significant increase in confidence level in their ability to review, understand, and use genome sequencing result reports to guide patient care. Reported barriers to implementation of genome sequencing in a NICU setting included test cost, lack of insurance coverage, and turn around time. As implementation of genome sequencing in this setting progresses, effective education of NGPs is critical to provide access to high-quality and timely genomic medicine care.


The aim of this paper is to introduce endogenous housing consumption in an efficiency wage model in which two cases are considered: very high and zero relocation costs. First, in both cases, we are able to totally characterize the efficiency wage for any preferences that are quasi-linear with respect to the composite good consumption. Second, in each case, we show how endogenous housing consumption affects the value of the efficiency wage (compared to the case of fixed housing consumption) and demonstrates the existence and the uniqueness of a steady-state equilibrium. Finally, we compare the two models and show how mobility costs affect the efficiency wage setting.


Introduction: Different methodologies for estimating total energy expenditure (TEE) are currently used. Objective: To know which tool is most useful to estimate TEE in healthy subjects: SenseWearArmband (SWA) or Harris-Benedict (HB). Methodology: Cross-sectional study in 32 volunteers. SWA was placed for 24 hours and TEE was estimated with HB and the activity factor calculated with a 24-h activity questionnaire. Results: The difference between both estimates of TEE was 351.9 (95% CI 222.2 to 481.6) kcal/day (p < 0.001). This difference was associated with obesity, but not with sex. The value of ICC was 65.0% (95% CI 7.8% to 86.2%) being statistically significant (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in the estimation of the activity between both techniques [0.4 (CI 95% 0.1 to 0.7) hours (p = 0.007)]. Conclusions: A significant difference in the estimation of TEE using HB and SWA has been found.


The conformational propensity of amino acid residues is determined by an intricate balance of peptide-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. To explore how the systematic replacement of water by a cosolvent affects the solvation of both the amino acid backbone and side chains, we performed a combined vibrational spectroscopy and NMR study of cationic glycylalanylglycine (GAG) in different ethanol/water mixtures of between 0 and 42 mol percent ethanol. Classical model peptide N'-methylacetamide was used as a reference system to probe solvent-induced spectroscopic changes. The alanine residue of GAG in water is known to exhibit a very high propensity for polyproline II (pPII). Adding up to 30 mol % ethanol at room temperature leads only to minor changes in the Ramachandran distribution of alanine, which mostly changes within the individual conformational subspaces. A further increase in the ethanol fractions leads to a destabilization of pPII and a stabilization of β-strand conformations. At higher temperatures, different degrees of enthalpy-entropy compensations lead to a much stronger influence of ethanol on the peptide's conformational distribution. Ethanol-induced changes in chemical shifts and amide I wavenumbers strongly suggest that ethanol replaces water preferentially in the solvation shell of the polar C-terminal peptide group and of the alanine side chain, whereas the N-terminal group remains mostly hydrated. Furthermore, we found that ethanol interacts more strongly with the peptide if the latter adopts β-strand conformations. This leads to an unusual positive temperature coefficient for the chemical shift of the C-terminal amide proton. Our data suggests a picture in which GAG eventually accumulates at water-ethanol interfaces if the ethanol fractions exceed 0.3, which explains why the further addition of ethanol eventually causes self-aggregation and the subsequent formation of a hydrogel.


The correlation function between two speckle patterns produced by different incident waves is studied by means of stochastic approaches. The angular-frequency memory effect, which includes the angular memory effect as a special case, is discussed, and the concept of the conjugate memory effect is introduced, which implies the interference of a complex-conjugate pair of scattering processes in the intensity.


The FIDO UAF strong authentication framework enables online services and websites, whether on the open Internet or within enterprises, to transparently leverage native security features of end-user computing devices for strong user authentication and to reduce the problems associated with creating and remembering many online credentials. The FIDO UAF Reference Architecture describes the components, protocols, and interfaces that make up the FIDO UAF strong authentication ecosystem. Status of This Document This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current FIDO Alliance publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the FIDO Alliance specifications index at https://www.fidoalliance.org/specifications/. This document was published by the FIDO Alliance as a Proposed Standard. If you wish to make comments regarding this document, please Contact Us. All comments are welcome. Implementation of certain elements of this Specification may require licenses under third party intellectual property rights, including without limitation, patent rights. The FIDO Alliance, Inc. and its Members and any other contributors to the Specification are not, and shall not be held, responsible in any manner for identifying or failing to identify any or all such third party intellectual property rights. THIS FIDO ALLIANCE SPECIFICATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This document has been reviewed by FIDO Aliance Members and is endorsed as a Proposed Standard. It is a stable document and may be used as reference material or cited from another document. FIDO Alliance's role in making the Recommendation is to draw attention to the specification and to promote its widespread deployment. Table of


Abstract : Because of their versatility, advanced composite materials are being used at an increasing rate in the manufacturing of aircraft, as well as other products, such as autos, sporting goods, and medical products. Airframe structure materials used throughout aerospace manufacturing processes consist of significantly greater percentages of advanced composite materials. However, these manufacturing processes and the associated reduction in part counts are not considered in the aircraft procurement and life cycle cost (LCC) management processes in the United States Air Force (USAF) community or the Department of Defense (DoD). This situation led the leaders of USAF and DoD to restudy the LCC models that estimate the cost for most weapon systems. Most of the present LCC models and procurement processes were developed and established when the metals were used in airframe structures. Over the last three decades, a series of composite affordability initiatives (CAI) has culminated in a better quantifying system for calculating the influence of advanced composite materials in airframe structures. This research finds that significant relationships exist between part counts, touch labor hours of development, and production cost. The reduction in the part counts led to corresponding reductions in touch labor hours. This research effort was undertaken to update the cost estimating relationships (CERs) for airframes by including the part count percentage reduction (PCPR) cost factors of the above mentioned relationships. The results suggest that the reduction in part counts forces a related percentage reduction in touch labor hours cost categories. The output of this research is the recommendation that the present LCC estimation models for advanced composite aircraft be upgraded.


Industrial districts, flexible specialization or "Third Italy" represent a well known phenomenon of successfully cooperating chains of small businesses, mostly in northern Italy and especially in the Veneto region. The phenomenon of small business collaboration is not limited to Italy and certainly not to geographical districts. Networks of small and medium enterprises (SME) is becoming a respected and rich field of concentration in the era of Network Economy. "SME Networks" is not only a concern of business and management, but also of information technology, regional economics, self-organization and global competitiveness. Current special issue of HSM explores the phenomenon of Italian industrial districts through the original research of of people most intimately knowledgeable of the phenomenon of Terza Italian Italian economists. The issue has been edited by Professor Lucio Biggiero, HSM Guest Editor. The following seven papers have been selected to form the special issue:


The present invention provides a catalyst and a preparation method and application having a catalytic hydrogenation, the catalyst comprising a carrier, and a load on the carrier at least one Group VIII metal element and at least one Group VIB metal element the group VIII metal and the group VIB metal elements each element is non-uniformly distributed along the radial cross-section of the catalyst, wherein the radial cross section of the catalyst, the carrier is hydrated alumina molded article, containing at least one hydrated alumina, at least one magnesium compound and at least one cellulose ether starting material is made. The present invention further provides a method for hydrotreating a hydrocarbon oil. The reaction in the hydrogenation demetallization of hydrocarbon oils (in particular heavy hydrocarbon oil) of the catalyst according to the present invention exhibits higher catalytic activity and better stability and longer catalyst life.


Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene identified as one of the strongest genetic factors contributing to the risk determinant of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), may also contribute to the risk of cancer. However, no pan-cancer analysis has been conducted specifically for the APOE gene. In this study, we investigated the oncogenic role of the APOE gene across cancers by GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) and TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas). Based on the available data, we found that most cancer types overexpress APOE, and clear associations exist between the expression level of APOE and prognosis in tumor patients. The expression of APOE also correlates with certain gender-associated tumors including, ovarian cancer, uterine carcinosarcoma, and breast cancer. However, there is a significant negative association between cancer-associated fibroblast infiltration levels and the expression level of APOE in testicular germ cell tumors. Moreover, acute inflammatory response and protein-activation cascade-associated functions play an important role in the functional mechanisms of APOE. The present pan-cancer analysis of APOE shows that the protein phosphorylation, DNA methylation, and genetic alterations of APOE have a significant clinical relevance for survival prognosis and immune cell infiltration. This novel pan-cancer study outlines the current understanding of APOE oncogenic roles across thirty-three cancers and highlights the complex association between AD and cancers.


Lines of formation and decomposition of the hcp (ε) molybdenum deuteride in the T–P phase diagram of the Mo–D system are constructed via the measurement of isotherms of the electrical resistance of molybdenum in a deuterium atmosphere at temperatures up to 550 °C and pressures up to 6 GPa. The diagram is compared to that of the Mo–H system studied earlier. The pressure of phase equilibrium in both systems is shown to be much closer to the decomposition pressure than to the formation pressure. A new explanation is suggested for this asymmetry in the hysteresis loop that seems to be characteristic of many metal–hydrogen systems. From the position of the decomposition lines, the standard entropy, enthalpy and Gibbs energy of formation are estimated for molybdenum deuteride and hydride.


Results of clinical, morphological and biochemical studies of the nasal mucosa in 16 fibrocystic children are reported. On the basis of clinical examination and the histopathological picture, alterations of nasal mucosa fell into three degrees: normal or mild catarrhal involvement (grade 1); vasomotor or edematous rhino-pathy (grade II); rhinosinusal polyposis (grade III). Biochemical data revealed in nasal secretion an increase in Na+ and Cl- comparable to that in the sweat, confirming the systemic nature of the electrolytic unbalance present in cystic fibrosis. An increased protein content in nasal secretions was also observed correlated with ultra-structural aspects of higher proteic synthesis. Possible pathogenic factors of frequent rhinosinusal involvement in CF are discussed.


3D flower models are important components for impressive virtual reality environments. However, flowers' leaves or petals are 3D free curved-surfaces and they are very difficult to model. We present a user interface with which the user can easily model flowers using freehand sketches. The user interfaces for generation, transformation, and copy are specialized to model leaves and petals, and thus it is more intuitive and flexible compared with rulebased modeling systems or library-based approaches.


Low temperature heat sources inherently result in lower cycle efficiencies, which can be improved by means of combined power and cooling generation. In order to produce power and cooling, appropriate thermodynamic cycles and working fluids must be used. Goswami cycle is a combined cycle that produces power and refrigeration by using ammonia-water mixture for low temperature heat sources. In the present study, a scroll expander is modeled specifically for the cycle operating conditions and a theoretical investigation is conducted to determine the cycle performance. A scroll expander design suitable for the operating conditions improves the power output and thereby overall thermal efficiency. The scroll expander efficiency varied between 0.05 and 0.61 for the pressure ratio between 2.2 and 8.6, with a maximum efficiency of 0.697 achieved at a pressure ratio of about 4.4. An internal heat recovery from the rectifier is proposed along with a flow split in the strong solution and analyzed for overall cycle energy efficiency improvement. Internal heat recovery from the rectifier increased the first law effective efficiency and the effective exergy efficiency by 7.9% and 7.8%, respectively, over the basic configuration.


A parallel reading of Franz Grillparzer's "The Poor Musician" and Immanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment occasions reflections on the possibility of defining community in aesthetic terms. While aesthetic judgment remains subjective for Kant, even as it formulates a universal claim, Grillparzer shows how a faulty interpretation of universality can disfigure a work of art and deprive unwary readers of their freedom to interpret by charming them with a simulacrum of community. Grillparzer does not merely deplore this, but also sets in the text points of resistance against such invasive interpretations, thus forcing the readers to reflect on both the work and their own judgment. Moreover, the novella's focus on music asks for a reappraisal of Kant's classification of the fine arts, which is based on a quasi-linguistic criterion of communicability and thus restricts their postulated universality.


It being the festive season firstly can we take this opportunity to wish all our readers the very best in 2015. It being a time for reflection both on the past year (on action), but more importantly looking forward to what we might want to do differently next year (for action). – can we as the editors thank all our contributors and referees for the work they do for the journal. If you would like to help in this regard please get in touch with one of us.


Advances in the rational design of semiconductor–electrocatalyst photoelectrodes provide robust driving forces for improving energy conversion and quantitative analysis, while a deep understanding of elementary processes remains underwhelming due to the multistage interfaces involved in semiconductor/electrocatalyst/electrolyte. To address this bottleneck, we have constructed carbon-supported nickel single atoms (Ni SA@C) as an original electron transport layer with catalytic sites of Ni–N4 and Ni–N2O2. This approach illustrates the combined effect of photogenerated electron extraction and the surface electron escape ability of the electrocatalyst layer in the photocathode system. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal that Ni–N4@C, with excellent oxygen reduction reaction catalytic activity, is more beneficial for alleviating surface charge accumulation and facilitating electrode–electrolyte interfacial electron-injection efficiency under a similar built-in electric field. This instructive method enables us to engineer the microenvironment of the charge transport layer for steering the interfacial charge extract and reaction kinetics, providing a great prospect for atomic scale materials to enhance photoelectrochemical performance.


Animal research focused on chronic tinnitus associated with noise-induced hearing loss can be expensive and time-consuming as a result of the behavioral training required. Although there exist a number of behavioral tests for tinnitus; there have been few formal direct comparisons of these tests. Here, we evaluated animals in two different tinnitus assessment methods. CBA/CaJ mice were trained in an operant conditioning, active avoidance (AA) test, and a reflexive, gap-induced pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle (GPIAS) test, or both. Tinnitus was induced in awake mice by unilateral continuous sound exposure using a 2-kHz- or 12 octave-wide noise centered at 16 kHz and presented at 113- or 116-dB SPL. Tinnitus was assessed 8 weeks after sound overexposure. Most mice had evidence of tinnitus behavior in at least one of the two behaviors. Of the mice evaluated in AA, over half (55%) had tinnitus positive behavior. In GPIAS, fewer animals (13%) were positive than were identified using the AA test. Few mice were positive in both tests (10%), and only one was positive for tinnitus behavior at the same spectral frequency in both tests. When the association between tinnitus behavior and spontaneous activity recorded in the inferior colliculus was compared, animals with tinnitus behavior in AA exhibited increased spontaneous activity, while those positive in GPIAS did not. Thus, it appears that operant conditioning tests, like AA, maybe more reliable and accurate tests for tinnitus than reflexive tests.


Rural buildings play a central role on the environmental characteristics of the extra-urban land. They accompanied in the centuries the development of agricultural activities by humans, who was so able to breed cattle, to grow and yield crops, and to store, transform and process agricultural products in a functional and efficient way, working into intensive conditions, so being unaffected by the external climate. On the other hand, constructions built by the farmer-man marked the territory, influencing and steering the spontaneous development of nature, while leading to production that enabled humanity to get food. Vernacular farm buildings, often used as seasonal settlements, are in some cases organised in areas of mountain pasture for summer cattle grazing. Even if in most case they were abandoned during recent years - since people living there moved to more comfortable residences within urban settlements - their contemporary potential for preserving traditional cattle-raising procedures and dairy products, rich cultural-historical heritage and perspectives of organised tourism activities, appears a very intriguing task to be approached. Rural tourism - including agro-, eco- and cultural tourism - offers indeed new opportunities for enjoying the extra-urban land in close contact with naturally untouched landscapes. It enables to appreciate some traditional aspects that the new industrialised modern society may have forgotten. The opportunities offered by rural tourism could help in the development of environmentally friendly tourism, which is growing three times faster than those choosing mainstream trips. With the aim to valorise the vernacular rural buildings in some mountain areas of the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region, in the present paper a first approach was proposed, through the implementation of a geographical information system aimed to survey the current situation into two different mountain areas within this macro-region, located in Southern Italy and Montenegro. This first step could pave the way for future possible planning the restoration of these buildings, within the general framework of a concerted approach aimed to their safeguard and the general sustainability of their landscape inclusion, fighting the progressive abandonment of rural land. The exploitation of their unexpressed potential in the sector of tourism usage, together with cultural and historical heritage, rich tradition and old infrastructure, would therefore reveal an interesting profitable way for their valorisation.


Most, but not all cnidarian species in the classes Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa and Anthozoa have a life cycle in which a colonial, asexually reproducing hydroid phase alternates with a free-swimming, sexually reproducing medusa phase that, in the hydrozoans, is usually microscopic. Hydrozoan medusae were collected by zooplankton tows in Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean near Newport Beach, California, and hydroid colonies were collected from solid substrates in the same areas. Specimens were documented by videomicroscopy, preserved in ethanol, and sent to the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada for DNA barcoding. Among the order Anthomedusae (athecate hydroids), DNA barcoding allowed for the discrimination between the medusae of eight putative species of Bougainvillia, and the hydroid stages were documented for two of these. The medusae of three putative species of Amphinema were identified, and the hydroid stages were identified for two of them. DNA barcodes were obtained from medusae of one species of Cladonema, one adult of the By-the wind Sailor, Velella Velella, five putative species of Corymorpha with the matching hydroid phase for one; and Coryne eximia, Turritopsis dohrnii and Turritopsis nutricula with the corresponding hydroid phases. The actinula larvae and hydroid for the pink-hearted hydroid Ectopleura crocea were identified and linked by DNA barcoding. Among the order Leptomedusae (thecate hydroids) medusae were identified for Clytia elsaeoswaldae, Clytia gracilis and Clytia sp. 701 AC and matched with the hydroid phases for the latter two species. Medusae were matched with the hydroid phases for two species of Obelia (including O. dichotoma) and Eucheilota bakeri. Obelia geniculata was collected as a single hydroid. DNA barcodes were obtained for hydroids of Orthopyxis everta and three other species of Orthopyxis. The medusa of one member of the family Solmarisidae, representing the order Narcomedusae, and one member (Liriope tetraphylla) of the order Trachymedusae were recognized as medusae. In the Scyphozoa, DNA barcoding confirmed the planktonic larval stage (ephyra) of the Moon Jelly, Aurelia aurita, the adult medusa of which is occasionally common in and around Newport Bay. In the Anthozoa, antipathula larvae were identified from the Onion Anemone, Paranthus rapiformis and a cerinula larva was identified from the Tube-dwelling Anemone, Isarachnanthus nocturnus. We have yet to find the adults of these species locally.


Background: Axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is quite common. Tofacitinib (TOFA) is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor. There is no data on the use of TOFA in PsA patients (pts) with axial involvement, nor is there any data on its effect on active MRI sacroiliitis (MRI-SI). There are only preliminary results of a randomized clinical trial on TOFA efficacy on active SI in AS (1). Objectives: To study the effect of TOFA therapy on active MRI-SI in PsA pts. Methods: 40 pts (F/M – 23/17) with active PsA fulfilling the CASPAR criteria were examined. No patients with inflammatory back pain (IBP) were specifically selected. Median (Me) age 41.0 [35.0; 50.0] yrs, Me PsA duration 6.0 [3.0; 10.0] yrs. Pts underwent a standard clinical examination of PsA activity: Me tender joint count 19 [12; 24], swollen joint count 11 [8; 16], patient's global disease activity measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 70 [50; 80], patient's pain VAS 65 [50; 75], Me activity indixes: DAPSA 44.2 [37.8; 55.3], BASDAI 6.0 [4.2; 7.0], ASDAS 3.8 [2.8; 4.4]. Me CRP 21.3 [3.2; 72.3] mg/L, ESR 28 [12; 52] mm/h. Enthesitis was observed in 65.9% of pts, dactylitis in 53.7% of pts. Apart from a standard clinical examination, all 40 pts underwent sacroiliac joint (SIJ) MRI on scanner Siemens General Electric 1.5 TESLA. Bone marrow edema/osteitis on MRI (STIR) with one lesion on two consecutive slices or at least two lesions on a single slice, was considered active MRI-SI. MRI results were evaluated by 2 independent readers (radiologist and rheumatologist). TOFA was given in 5 mg tablets bds over a period of 6 months, after which 35 patients underwent SIJ MRI. Me [Q25; Q75], Pierson-χ2 tests were performed. All p Results: Prior to TOFA therapy, active MRI-SI was detected in 14 of 40 (35%) pts: bilateral in 9 pts, unilateral in 5 pts. At the end of 6 months therapy, active MRI-SI was detected in 4 of 35 (11.4%) pts observed: in 1 pt with baseline bilateral MRI-SI and in 2 pts with unilateral MRI-SI. 1 pt showed negative dynamics, that is, development of active MRI-SI (absent at baseline). The decrease in number of active MRI-SI patients is statistically significant (p = 0.017; Pearson-χ2). At baseline, inflammatory changes were detected in 23 of 80 (28.8%) SIJs, after 6 months of therapy they were found in 5 of 70 (7.1%) SIJs observed. Decrease in number of SIJs with active inflammation is statistically significant (p = 0.001; Pearson-χ2). At baseline, Me BASDAI 6.0 [4.2; 7.0], Me ASDAS 3.8 [2.8; 4.4]. After 6 months of treatment, Me BASDAI 1.4 [0.6; 3.2], Me ASDAS1.5 [1.0; 2.1] (p = 0.001 for both comparisons). Conclusion: JAK inhibition using TOFA therapy shows high efficacy in reducing active MRI-SI and decreasing activity of axial involvement in PsA. More extensive studies are needed. References: [1]van der Heijde D. et al. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2017;76:1340–47 Disclosure of Interests: ELENA GUBAR: None declared, Tatiana Korotaeva Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Consultant of: Abbvie, BIOCAD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Novartis-Sandoz, Pfizer, UCB, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, BIOCAD, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Novartis-Sandoz, Pfizer, UCB, Yulia Korsakova: None declared, Elena Loginova Speakers bureau: Janssen, Polina Karpova: None declared


Summary
Rice bran protein concentrate (RBPc) was hydrolysed by 0.5 N aqueous HCl at 95 °C for 12 h. The liquid hydrolysate obtained was prepared as hydrolysate powder by spray drying. Aroma volatile compounds in liquid hydrolysate and its hydrolysate powder were tentatively identified by GC-MS. Furfural and vanillin were found in both hydrolysates with high concentration, and vanillin showed the highest odour activity value. Hexanal was present in only liquid hydrolysate. Concentrations of carboxylic acids and heterocyclic compounds, especially 2-methoxy-6-methylpyrazine, increased after drying. Amino acid composition of the hydrolysate powder showed high aspartic acid and glutamic acid. Aroma volatile compounds of hydrolysate powder prepared by the addition of proline at pH 6.0 (Pro6.0-H) and pH 7.5 (Pro7.5-H) before drying were investigated. Furaneol was found only in Pro6.0-H, but it was not detected in Pro7.5-H and hydrolysate powder without proline addition. Pro7.5-H had higher furfural and vanillin concentrations than Pro6.0-H.


The butylselanyl propargyl alcohols reacted with iodine to afford 3-iodoselenophenes. The change of nucleophile position from propargyl to homopropargyl was crucial for the aromatization and formation of selenophene rings. The experiments revealed that bromine and N-bromosuccinimide were not able to cyclize the butylselanyl propargyl alcohols; however, when the bromine source was copper(II) bromide the corresponding 3-bromoselenophenes were obtained in good yields. In addition, the reaction of butylselanyl propargyl alcohols with diorganyl diselenides catalyzed by copper(I) iodide gave the 3-(organoselanyl)selenophenes. The reaction took place with aromatic rings substituted by either electron-donating or -withdrawing groups in the alkynes and propargyl positions. The steric effects of substituents were dominant in determining the yields, whereas electronic effects had only a minor influence. Furthermore, by monitoring the reaction by 1H NMR, we were able to identify the key intermediate, which supported the elaboration of a proposed reaction mechanism. The 3-iodoselenophenes prepared allowed the synthesis of multifunctional selenophenes via application in metal-catalyzed coupling reactions, such as Sonogashira, Ullmann and Suzuki type reactions.


The total syntheses of the potent glycosidase inhibitors castanospermine ((+)-1), 6-epicastanospermine ((+)-2), australine ((+)-3), and 3-epiaustraline ((+)-4) are described. The syntheses of indolizidine alkaloids (+)-1 and (+)-2 were accomplished in eight steps and in 18% and 24% overall yields from 2,5-dihydrofuran while the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (+)-3 and (+)-4 were obtained in a nine-step sequence in 17% and 22% overall yields from the same starting material. These four natural products are derived from a single common intermediate, nitroso acetal (−)-31, which is created in the key step by the asymmetric tandem [4 + 2]/[3 + 2] cycloaddition between silaketal nitro olefin 18 and chiral vinyl ether (+)-23. The ability to access both 5,5- and 5,6-fused bicyclic systems was a result of a successful in situ N-alkylation strategy during the hydrogenolysis of four highly functionalized nitroso acetals. A novel silaketal tether provided exceptional levels of diastereocontrol and the ideal combination of p...


Information Links Flood Control Resources and Quick LinksDigital TopographyCounty Flood Zone Look up2011 2012 Annual Routine Maintenance PlanIntegrated Regional Water Management ProgramLas Vegas San Pedro Creeks Capacity Improvement Project Final Mitigated Negative DeclaraionSanta Maria River Levee Reinforcement Project Information PageSanta


Abstract: Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino is a rich source of the herb in Vietnam. The gypenosides in this herb are triterpenoid saponins that have been shown to have moisturizing, antioxidant, and anti-aging effects on the skin. However, gypenosides are hydrophilic and have a large molecular weight with a bulk molecular structure which prevents them from penetrating and absorbing into the skin. To apply the natural active ingredients from herbs into skin care cosmetics, this research developed self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) containing Gynostemma pentaphyllum dry extract and applied them to emulgel skin care cosmetics. Prepared SNEDDS could self-emulsify in the water to form nanoemulsions with dispersed droplet sizes less than 20 nm with PDI < 0.3. The proportion of saponin entrapped in the oil droplets of nano emulsification was more than 90%. When combined with emulgel excipients, the obtained cosmetic products had nano-sized dispersed droplets less than 200 nm with uniform droplet size distribution, which are promising for application when further research is carried out.
Keywords: Self-nano-emulsifying Drug Delivery System (SNEDDS), Gymnostemma pentaphyllum dry extract, cosmetic, emulgel, nano-emulsion.


The cataractous lens of the Fraser strain mouse was studied electron microscopically in its early developmental stage. Cytologic abnormalities were found in the cells of the invaginating ectodermal cell of the early optic cup. Morphogenetically degenerating cells were more numerous in this stage. In general, cells of the posterior layer of the developing lens elongated normally. However, they contained great numbers of dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, vacuoles, and mitochondria, but less amounts of crystalline substance and polysomes. During the further differentiating stage (thirteenth and fourteenth fetal day), apical portions of these cells began to swell and the lens became opaque. The swollen lens cells degenerated after this stage.


Effective decision support assist greatly in many control and management processes. Many business processes may be easily formalized and simulated, allowing automated assistance in decision making. The paper describes research on current decision support systems with the self-developed system BPsim.DSS, based on multi-agent simulation of resource conversion processes, extended with additional functionality, including agent coalitions consideration, simulation experiment design, and assistance in model design. Process definition apparatus allows such approach to be applied to various kinds of business processes in many spheres of life. Some examples of deployment within different kinds of enterprises are provided, including economical effect estimation.


American Religious Leaders traces the history of American religion through the lives of its leaders. More than 250 entries explore America's religious and spiritual leaders from colonial times to today. The book focuses on those who have occupied the spotlight of historical attention in one way or another: the founders, the pioneers, the heretics, and the saints, among others. All have summoned some measure of historical interest and left some record, either through journals and autobiographies of their own or through biographies written by others. Notable figures and leaders from many of the major churches and religious groups in America are covered, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, Black Muslims, Jews, and Mormons along with leaders from smaller and lesser-known but no less important religions. They have established schools, founded humanitarian and social welfare organizations, led movements concerned with social equality and civil rights, and proceeded to voice economic, political, and social ideas based on their commitment to their respective religions and the beliefs of their followers. Broadly inclusive, this volume profiles many women, Native Americans, African Americans, and leaders from other traditionally underrepresented groups within American society. - James Lloyd Breck: Episcopal missionary - Edgar Cayce: psychic - Dorothy Day: cofounder of the Catholic Worker movement - Louis Farrakhan: Nation of Islam leader - Henry Highland Garnet: Presbyterian minister, abolitionist - Anne Hutchinson: Puritan lay leader - Pat Robertson: founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network


Therapeutic trials utilizing animal models of prion disease have explored a variety of compounds and a number of approaches with varying success, including several immunotherapeutic strategies, such as passive immunization through the delivery of viruses carrying nucleic acid inserts encoding prion protein-specific immunoglobulin. Targeted, organ-specific cellular production of therapeutic proteins is a relatively unexplored approach in the treatment of neurodegeneration despite many successful experimental outcomes in animal models and human trials of other diseases of the CNS. Emphasizing studies utilizing mouse models of disease, this review outlines developments and limitations of immunological approaches to the treatment of prion diseases. In addition, the authors discuss the potential of an experimental therapeutic strategy, utilizing hybridoma cells injected directly into the CNS to establish long-term production of anti-prion antibodies in vivo within the organ associated with the greatest pathogenic change in prion disease, the brain.


Author(s): Davies, Frederick B; Furlanetto, Steven R | Abstract: Extremely large opaque troughs in the Lyman-alpha forest have been interpreted as a sign of an extended reionization process below z~6. Such features are impossible to reproduce with simple models of the intergalactic ionizing background that assume a uniform mean free path of ionizing photons. We build a self-consistent model of the ionizing background that includes fluctuations in the mean free path due to the varying strength of the ionizing background and large-scale density field. The dominant effect is the suppression of the ionizing background in large-scale voids due to "self-shielding" by an enhanced number of optically thick absorbers. Our model results in a distribution of 50 Mpc/h Lyman-alpha forest effective optical depths that significantly improves agreement with the observations at z~5.6. Extrapolation to z~5.4 and z~5.8 appears promising, but matching the mean background evolution requires evolution in the absorber population beyond the scope of the present model. We also demonstrate the need for extremely large volumes (g400 Mpc on a side) to accurately determine the incidence of rare large-scale features in the Lyman-alpha forest.


Background and aims Temperament in very preterm infants (VPI) has been rarely studied. We used a short version of the Bates Infant Characteristic Questionnaire (ICQ) to explore maternal reported child difficultness in an area-based cohort of Italian VPI. Methods Study population included 1196 infants (response rate 85%). A medical examination was carried out to assess infants' health and presence of disabilities. A postal maternal questionnaire was used to measure development and temperament. We used the sections corresponding to 'Fussy-difficult' and 'Unadaptable', with 12 items rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Higher scores indicate more problematic temperament. Statistical analysis included factor analysis and calculation of Cronbach alpha. To assess validity, comparisons with sleep and eating problems reported by mothers independently from ICQ were carried out. Results For this study only singletons born from Italian mothers were considered (n. 586); 55% were males, and 21% were below 28 weeks gestation. Forty infants (7%) had at least one severe disability. Mean ICQ score was 34.1 (SD 10.1), and median 33 (range 13–69). Factor loadings were comparable to the original English version, and internal consistency was satisfactory (alpha 0.88 for fussy-difficult and 0.71 for Unadaptable). Infants with difficulties getting to sleep, frequent night awakenings, and 'picky eaters' had significantly higher ICQ scores (p values <0.01). Conclusion The short version of the ICQ may represent a quick and easily administered tool for the identification of difficult temperament traits in clinical and research settings. Acknowledgements Action follow-up study was funded by Italian MoH and Chiesi Spa.


Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) will be examined by looking at the ability between pomegranate extracts or fractions, which are more effective in lowering total blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels in mice. This study aims to determine the active pomegranate fraction that can reduce the total cholesterol levels and triglyceride in mice. The research method used was an experimental method with a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) which was divided into 6 treatment groups, and test animals divided into 6 treatment groups namely negative control given aquades, positive control fed a high-fat diet, given simvastatin, given 25 mg/grBB of pomegranate methanol fraction, given 50 mg/grBB of pomegranate methanol fraction, given 100 mg/grBB of pomegranate methanol fraction, each treatment group will be divided into 4 male mice.Based on the results of this study that the active fraction that has an effect in reducing blood cholesterol levels and mice triglycerides is the treatment given 100mg/grBB of pomegranate water methanol fraction.


Medical images and videos are utilized to discover, diagnose and treat diseases. Managing, storing, and retrieving stored images effectively are considered important topics. The rapid growth of multimedia data, including medical images and videos, has caused a swift rise in data transmission volume and repository size. Multimedia data contains useful information; however, it consumes an enormous storage space. Therefore, high processing time for that sheer volume of data will be required. Image and video applications demand for reduction in computational cost (processing time) when extracting features. This paper introduces a novel method to compute transform coefficients (features) from images or video frames. These features are used to represent the local visual content of images and video frames. We compared the proposed method with the traditional approach of feature extraction using a standard image technique. Furthermore, the proposed method is employed for shot boundary detection (SBD) applications to detect transitions in video frames. The standard TRECVID 2005, 2006, and 2007 video datasets are used to evaluate the performance of the SBD applications. The achieved results show that the proposed algorithm significantly reduces the computational cost in comparison to the traditional method.


This study explores the concept of critical ontology and how it informs the being, work, and advocacy of three Latin@ educators in the San Marcos community who span three generations. Two Latin@ educators and myself, are the primary unit of analysis although, secondary and tertiary units of analysis which include citizens' stories of schooling and community are presented. This qualitative inquiry employs critical microethnography and autoethnography. Social cartography is the genre used to present our findings, which culminate in a museum titled San Marcos Desde Adentro; it presents a map of our lives at the micro and macro context. The findings reveal the development of critical ontology as a fluid process that has been marked by the awakening of our critical consciousness. The development of our critical ontology has an impact on our identity, our work in schools, and our role as activists in the community; it serves as a moral compass guiding our work ethic, agenda, and advocacy.
This study informs us that understanding the role of critical ontology for Latin@ educators working in traditional white stream institutions becomes a tool for resistance contributing to the participants' identity formation and critical awareness. Implications of this study inform us on the importance of Latin@s educators' understanding of the self and the impact education has on community change. Additional implications for education and community development include the historical stories of the district and community which can be utilized to inform future Latin@ educators and school leaders.


A stroke occurring in young patients in the absence of common risk factors needs a thorough investigation of the underlying cause to prevent its recurrence. Herein, we discuss a case of stroke with rare etiology in a 28-year-old male presenting within 30 minutes of speech difficulty and right-sided weakness. The initial triage workup showed an abnormal configuration of the P wave in the 12 lead echocardiograph (ECG) and his chest x-ray (CXR) showed mediastinal widening. His echocardiogram and chest computed tomography (CT) confirmed bilateral enlargement with restrictive cardiomyopathy and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, raising a suspicion of sarcoidosis. A cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) scan confirmed the diagnosis by showing a non-caseating granuloma. The patient was put on intravenous (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) and his National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) came down from 14 on admission to zero within 48 hours. Cardiac involvement in sarcoidosis is not uncommon but it presenting as stroke is extremely rare. For a young, previously healthy patient presenting as a stroke without risk factors, sarcoidosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis.


In order to easily realize real-time computing power of multimedia courseware of PowerPoint, a multimedia courseware design method of is presented. This method designs the courseware based on the technology combining PowerPoint and MATLAB. This technology can realize data exchange of PowerPoint and MATLAB by ActiveX automation. By this technology, data of PowerPoint can sent to MATLAB workspace, complex calculation is completed by MATLAB, and then calculated data sent back PowerPoint again. Practice demonstrates that multimedia courseware designed by this technology has real-time computing power, friendly user interface, good interaction and its programming is very simple.


Tropaeolum majus  is widely cultivated both as an ornamental and as a medicinal plant. All parts of the plant are edible and highly nutritive and it was evaluated for its antifungal, anti-oxygenic and anti-aflatoxin activity. T. majus leaves were collected and let to dry in a shady place then grinded. Total of 100g of dry plant was extracted successively with 250 ml of Absolute ethanol. The plant extracts' anti-fungal activity were tested against aflatoxigenic Aspergillus spp. isolates by disc diffusion method and the MIC, MFC was determined using microdilution method. The microplate fluorescence imaging procedure was used for antiaflatoxin activity test. The ethanoilic extract of T. majus showed high antifungal activity against most selected aflatoxigenic Aspergillus isolates at 100mg/ml of MIC and MFC. The ethanoilic extract of T. majus showed high influence on the inhibition and depression of AFs production genes at MIC of 50mg/ml and MDC at 25mg/ml. The concurrent addition of the ethanoilic extract of T. majus (2 to 0.25mg/ml) to the RBC suspension cased a significant reduction in AFB1-induced hemolysis in a concentration-dependent effect manner. The results showed that 1.5mg/ml of T. majus ethanoilic extract was the best concentration that prevented aflatoxin-induced hemolysis with 100% AFB1 elimination. As a first report, T. majus leaves extract is highly recommended as an additive to the food and feedstuffs as a nutritive, antifungal and antitoxin agent. Keywords : Tropaeolum majus , Antifungal, Antiaflatoxigenic, Antiaflatoxin.


Innovative techniques that seek to minimize the costs of production and the laboriousness of certain operations are one of the great challenges in the sugar-energy sector nowadays. Thus, the objective of the present study was to estimate the Pol values of sugarcane juice as a function of °Brix and wet cake weight (WCW) using artificial neural network (ANN) modeling. A database was organized consisting of 204 technological analyses from a field experiment with 15 treatments and 2 years of evaluation. 75% of the data were used for the calibration of the model and 25% for its validation. Multilayer Perceptron ANNs were used for calibration and validation of the data. Before calibration, the variables were normalized. The training algorithm used was backpropagation and the activation function was the sigmoid. The ANNs were established with two hidden layers and the number of neurons ranging from 4 to 20 in each. The 15 ANNs with the lowest root mean square errors were randomly presented by the software, among which 6 were chosen to verify the accuracy. The ANNs had a high accuracy in the estimation of sugarcane juice Pol, both in the calibration phase (R2 = 0.948, RMSE = 0.36%) and in the validation (R2 = 0.878, RMSE = 0.41%), and can replace the standard method of analysis. Simpler networks can be trained to have the same accuracy as more complex networks.


NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF AIRLIFT PUMPS OPERATING UNDER TWO-PHASE FLOW CONDITIONS FOR AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS Mohammad Shallouf University of Guelph, 2018 Advisor: Dr. Wael Ahmed The airlift pump has been around since the late 18 century, yet it is rarely seen or used in industry. Recently, the aquaculture industry has shown great potential for the use of airlift pumps operating under two-phase flow conditions to increase the operating efficiency of such facilities. This thesis presents both numerical and experimental investigations of the operation and performance characteristics of an airlift pump system. Experimental verification was also performed of an airlift pump that was integrated with a fish farm raceway in an aquaculture facility. Utilizing the Volume of Fluid (VOF) multiphase model along with the K-ε turbulence model, a numerical study using ANSYS Fluent 19.0 was performed for the two-phase flow hydrodynamics in airlift pump injectors. The study was carried out for both the two-phase flow in the pump riser, and for the flow in an open channel raceway. Also, the performance of the airlift pump was evaluated experimentally for a 2.54 cm dimeter airlift pump in the lab. The numerical results were found to be in agreement with the experiments within ±20%. These simulation results were used to scale an airlift pump to operate in a 3.5 m raceway system. The numerical results had an average RMS agreement of ±15% with the experimental results. The present study was found to present a great tool for optimizing the airlift pump performance, as well as modifying the design of future aquaculture systems or other twophase flow applications.


Laurentian University Library, with financial support from the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, through the Environmental Youth Corps, and the Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) programs has developed an on-line Mining Environment Database. The database provides references and abstracts to journal articles, books and government reports dealing with land reclamation and abandoned mines. The database, created in 1988, now contains over 4,000 citations on reclamation planning, design and costs; tailings; heavy metals; disposal of hazardous wastes, including acid mine drainage, sulphide-based tailings and asbestos particles; leaching; radioactive hazards of uranium tailings; soil and water contamination; soil stabilization; liming; fertilizers; seeding techniques; mine closure techniques and other related topics. Subject coverage is international in scope, focusing on areas of hard rock mining. Laurentian has purchased or obtained copies of all the materials cited in the database. Access to the on-line database is free of charge, with the exception of long distance costs and copy, delivery or fax charges for requested material. Suggestions for materials not found in the database and donations of pertinent research information from individuals, corporations, institutions, and government departments are welcomed. Private consulting reports (with the appropriate client approval) are especially welcomed, because this category of research literature cannot be purchased or obtained using normal methods. The process of building a comprehensive research database requires a continuing partnership of information specialists and research users to develop a world class research literature database on mining environment and reclamation.


Background Postmenopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are in the risk of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) and osteoporosis. Extensive corticosteroid therapy is also very important factor for bone mineral loss. Objectives To determine the prevalence of osteoporosis and VDD in postmenopausal women with SLE and its relationship with corticosteroid therapy. Methods BMD on lumbar spine and/or hip (DEXA) and serum 25(OH)D in 33 postmenopausal women with SLE has been tested. Patients were consecutively visited the Institute of Rheumatology, Belgrade, during fall/winter season. Patients data (age, gender, menopausal status, disease duration, corticosteroid treatment) were collected. Examinees were not used vitamin D supplements. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 16.0. Results The study included 33 postmenopausal females with SLE, mean age 50.55±10.32 years, average disease duration 9.5±6.3 years. There were only 4 (12.1%) women with normal BMD, 21 (63.6%) with osteopenia and 8 (24.2%) with osteoporosis. There were no statistical differences in disease duration between these groups (p>0,05, N.S.). However, estimated cumulative prednisone dose was 13.05 vs. 22.54 vs. 35.35 grams in females with normal BMD vs. osteopenia vs. osteoporosis, resulting in statistically significant diferences in corticosteroid cumulative dose between ostoporosis and osteopenia (p=0.033) and osteoporosis and normal BMD (p=0.044). Mean value of vitamin D has been 14.02ng/ml in females with normal BMD, 13.42ng/ml in females with osteopenia, and 18.59 ng/ml in women with osteoporosis (p>0,05, N.S.). Prevalence of VDD was high - serious vitamin D deficiency (<10 ng/ml) has been found in 12 (36.4%), vitamin D insufficiency (10-30 ng/ml) in 19 (57.6%), and normal 25(OH)D values in only 2 (6.1%) women. Conclusions Bone mineral loss and vitamin D deficiency are very common in SLE. There were no relationship of serum 25(OH)D level and disease duration with bone mineral density. However, extensive corticosteroid therapy was associated with osteoporosis. Considering high prevalence of osteoporosis and VDD in these group of patients, supplementation with vitamin D should be recommended to all postmenopausal women. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Seven of the 20 former species of the Phreodrilidae have been examined. Information derived from a study of this material has necessitated a re-assessment of the interpretations of some of the anatomical features formerly employed in the separation of genera. As a result, all of the known species are merged in the single genus Phreodrilus with seven subgenera, 17 species and two taxa recognizable only as unidentifiable phreodrilids.


The Aim of this study is with to acquire the description of the degree of academic Self-Regulation capabilities on third grade students of psychology faculty in "Y" University- Bandung. The variable in this research was measured by using a questionnaire that had constructed by the researcher, based on Zimmerman theory (1995). The questionnaire consist of 69 items self-report. The result of validity test is in the midst of 0.3-0.87, and the reliability score is 0.74. Using the purposive sampling as the sampling technique, the researcher obtained 163 students as respondents in this research. The results of this study showed that some of the respondents have a low degree of academic self-regulation capabilities. Almost all respondents that have a high degree and a low degree of academic self-regulation capabilities, don't have the ability to do all three phases – forethought phase, performance/volition phase, and self-reflection phase. From the results of this study, the submission is the guardian lectures should give supervisions and supports to the third grade students of psychology faculty in "Y" University, to develop the capacities of academic self regulation, instance: with supervising students to make plans in deciding the subject in every semesters. The other suggestion is for the next study, should consider the influence of internal and external factors to academic self-regulation capabilities. Keywords : Academic Self-Regulation, Psychology students in "Y" University-Bandung


This dissertation examines the influence of lexical-semantic representations, conceptual similarity, and contextual fit on the processing of coordinated verb phrases. The study integrates information gleaned from current linguistic theory with current psycholinguistic approaches to examining the processing of coordinated verb phrases. It has been claimed that in coordinated phrases, one conjunct may influence the processing of a second conjunct if they are sufficiently similar. For example, The likelihood of adopting an intransitive analysis for the optionally transitive verb of a subordinated clause in sentences like Although the pirate ship sank the nearby British vessel did not send out lifeboats may be increased if the ambiguous verb (sank) is coordinated with a preceding, intransitively biased verb (halted and sank). Similarly, processing of the second conjunct may be facilitated when coordinated with a similar first conjunct. Such effects, and others in this vein have often been designated "parallelism effects." However, notions of similarity underlying such effects have long been ill-defined. Many existing studies rely on relatively shallow features like syntactic category information or argument structure generalizations, such as transitive or intransitive, as a basis for structural comparison. But it may be that deeper levels of lexical-semantic representation and more varied, semantic or conceptual sources of information are also relevant to establishing similarity between conjuncts. In addition, little has been done to xi integrate parallelism effects to theories of the processing architecture underlying such effects, particularly for studies involving syntactic ambiguity resolution. Using two word-by-word reading and three eyetracking while reading experiments, I investigate what contribution detailed lexical-semantic representations, as well as conceptual and contextual information make towards establishing parallel coordination in the online processing of coordinated verb phrases. The five studies demonstrate that parallelism effects are indeed sensitive to deeper representational information, conceptual similarity, and contextual fit. Furthermore, by controlling for deeper representational information, it is demonstrated that expected facilitatory patterns arising from coordination of similar conjuncts may be disrupted. Implications for the architecture of the processing system are discussed, and it is argued that constraintbased/ competition models of processing best accommodate the pattern of results. (Less)


The routine pathological analysis of therapeutically resected traumatic or postoperative neuroma specimens to confirm diagnosis and rule out occult malignancy remains a controversial issue. Some experts advocate histological analysis of all specimens, and others rely on institutional policy. A retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent excision of clinically diagnosed neuroma over a 6-year period at one institution by a single surgeon was initiated. The correlation of preoperative diagnoses with histological analysis and cost of analyzing specimens individually and over the 6-year period was calculated. Of 515 neuromas resected, 100 were sent for pathological review. Every submitted specimen was histologically confirmed to be a traumatic neuroma, and none of the specimens harbored occult malignancy. Ultimately, no treatment plan was altered after final histology was confirmed. The cost to analyze each specimen (Current Procedural Terminology code 88305) was $495, expressed in U.S. dollars. If every specimen was analyzed, a total cost of $254,925 would have be incurred over the 6-year period. Routine pathological analysis of clinically and intraoperatively confirmed neuromas must be questioned in terms of standard of care requirements given its failure to aid in treatment plans as well as its significant cost to health care systems.


We explore the cross-sectional pricing of volatility risk by decomposing equity market volatility into short- and long-run components. Our finding that prices of risk are negative and significant for both volatility components implies that investors pay for insurance against increases in volatility, even if those increases have little persistence. The short-run component captures market skewness risk, which we interpret as a measure of the tightness of financial constraints. The long-run component relates to business cycle risk. Furthermore, a three-factor pricing model with the market return and the two volatility components compares favorably to benchmark models. Copyright (c) 2008 The American Finance Association.