The education of future business leaders is centred in the many MBA programmes in the world. Most of these are based on the idea of managers acting as agents of capital whose task is then to be the agents of economic efficiency. This idea, taken from liberal market theory, is limited to a particular ideological stance. Provides a critique of that and other ideological stances from Christian conceptions of love and freedom, ethical and ecological grounds and argues that neither liberal market capitalism nor state centralism is acceptable. Argues that a changing understanding of both social and physical eco‐systems leads to a need to open up leadership education to a wider array of ideologies, including social democracy, democratic socialism and ecological conservationism. Otherwise the next generation of leaders will be less able to cope with the wider array of values in the global economy and unable to acknowledge their role of citizens as of equal importance with their organizational roles.


Monitoring of the effects of interventional and treatment trials requires the use of objective outcome measurement instruments (OMI), with criteria endorsed by healthcare professional experts and validated on relevant prospective studies. Moreover, the validity of meta-analysis and data comparison from different studies is dependent on OMI quality. On the other hand, there is concomitantly increasing interest on patient-reported outcome measures (PROM), with criteria endorsed by patients, to assess the quality of life (QoL) along the course of the disease and its modification by treatment, especially in chronic diseases. Hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa (HS) exhibits the highest reduction in QoL among skin diseases, and it does not seem to improve at a similar magnitude as other aspects of the disease over time despite the emergence of effective treatments. In contrast to the establishment of validated, robust, HS-specific, severity classification criteria and OMI, such as the International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System (IHS4), disease-specific PROM were lately developed and dermatologyspecific and generic tools were only partially validated for HS in the last 2 years (Table 1), with the latter often been not sensitive enough to reflect HS-related changes in QoL and even showing a poor correlation with OMI. This has been a major obstacle for studies on QoL in HS, and therefore, there is still a lack of high-quality clinical trials in HS patients where QoL instruments have been used as outcome measures. Many national and international guidelines recommend QoL assessment in dermatology, and some of them contain detailed recommendations on treatment goals and changes of treatment approaches based on Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score banding and minimal clinically important difference (MCID). The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology task forces on QoL and Patient-Oriented Outcomes and on Acne, Rosacea and Hidradenitis Suppurativa have recommended the use of the dermatology-specific DLQI questionnaire for use in HS patients, whereas the DLQI's MCID may be applied as a marker of minimal treatment efficacy. On the other hand, the two task forces have encouraged the further development, validation and use of other HS-specific PROM. The recently developed Hidradenitis Suppurativa QoL (HiSQOL) is a 17-item questionnaire with 1-week recall period that contains HS-specific items, such as drainage and odour, in addition to more general skin-specific items. In this issue, Kursawe Larsen et al. provide further convergent validity of HiSQOL by comparing it to DLQI and Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure-Revised 2 (PRISM-R2) instruments in a cross-sectional study with 103 participants. PRISM-R2 is designed to measure suffering and reports illness perception measure and self-illness separation. Strong correlation was found between HiSQOL and DLQI and a moderate correlation between HiSQOL and self-illness separation. The advantages of HiSQOL are its validation as a HS-specific PROM and its additional capability to measure cumulative suffering. The current disadvantages of still lacking of experience of its use and responsiveness in longitudinal studies should be eliminated by the assessment of HiSQOL in future clinical studies.


The way to improve the accuracy and reliability of automatic unscrambling and identification technology on X-ray fluorescence spectrometer spectrum is studied in this essay. Accordingly, two different automatic identification methods based on Fast Fourier Transform and Wavelet Transform are presented. By the tool LabVIEW, such two methods are applied to the qualitative analysis on X-ray fluorescence spectrums, and the features of such two methods are compared. Based on the experiments and analysis on amount of samples, it can be concluded that the automatic identification method based on the Wavelet transform theory is better than the other method for the former has a better local resolution. Therefore, the characteristic values of the singular points are more clearly recognized by the method based on the Wavelet transform. Through the study in this essay, theories on automatic identification are enriched, which set a foundation for further studied in future.


Bioengineered Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), which secrete antigens fused to a fragment of listeriolysin O (LLO) have been shown to be effective cancer immunotherapeutics in several mouse models of cancer, and are currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for HPV-associated dysplasia and malignancies. Treatment with Lm-LLO immunotherapies results in a marked increase in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, in particular CD8+T cells. The antigen-specific CD8+T cells have been observed to kill tumor cells in vitro, showing the functionality of the Lm-stimulated T cells. Lm-LLO immunotherapies also have an impact on suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment. In various tumor models, treatment results in a decrease in the ratio of regulatory T cells (Tregs) to effector T cells in the tumors. Here, we report a corresponding decrease in the ratio, and number, of monocyte-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) after Lm-LLO immunotherapy. These change are only seen in the tumor microenvironment. Further, both Tregs and MDSCs isolated from the tumor have a decreased ability to suppress the division of T cells after Lm-LLO immunotherapy. However, there is no change in functional ability of splenic Tregs or MDSCs. Thus, the efficacy of Lm-based immunotherapies on tumors is likely due to a combined increase in antigen-specific effector cells and a tumor specific decrease in the numbers and function of suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment.


Managing demand for electrical energy allows generation facilities to be run more efficiently. Current systems allow for management between large industrial consumers. There is, however, an increasing trend to decentralize energy resource management and push it to the level of individual households, or even appliances. In this work we investigate the suitability of using adaptive clustering to improve the scalability of decentralized energy resource management systems by appropriately partitioning resources. We review the area of distributed energy resource management and propose a simple yet realistic model to study the problem. Simulations using this model show that straightforward clustering and distributed planning methods allow systems to scale, but may be limited to only a few hundred- thousand appliances. Results indicate that there is an opportunity to apply adaptive clustering techniques in order to discover more advanced grouping criteria that would enable groups to change as appliances' behavior changes. The simulations further suggest that even an extremely limited exchange of information between clusters can greatly improve management solutions.


The authors quantify the relationship between the location of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the atmospheric heat transport across the equator (AHTEQ) in climate models and in observations. The observed zonal mean ITCZ location varies from 5.38S in the boreal winter to 7.28N in the boreal summer with an annual mean position of 1.658N while the AHTEQvaries from 2.1 PW northward in the boreal winter to 2.3 PW southward in the boreal summer with an annual mean of 0.1 PW southward. Seasonal variations in the ITCZ location and AHTEQ are highly anticorrelated in the observations and in a suite of state-of-the-art coupledclimatemodelswithregressioncoefficientsof22.78and22.48PW 21 respectively.Itisalsofoundthat seasonal variations in ITCZ location and AHTEQ are well correlated in a suite of slab ocean aquaplanet simulations with varying ocean mixed layer depths. However, the regression coefficient between ITCZ location and AHTEQ decreases with decreasing mixed layer depth as a consequence of the asymmetry that develops between the winter and summer Hadley cells as the ITCZ moves farther off the equator. The authors go on to analyze the annual mean change in ITCZ location and AHTEQ in an ensemble of climate perturbation experiments including the response to CO2 doubling, simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum, and simulations of the mid-Holocene. The shift in the annual average ITCZ location is also strongly anticorrelated with the change in annual mean AHTEQ with a regression coefficient of 23.28 PW 21 , similar to that found over the seasonal cycle.


: The research work presents a personality identification system for the identification of human behavior/personality using the anatomical structure of human foot. The human foot basically belongs to the physiological constituent of biometric trait with unique characteristics suitable to identify human behavior, genealogy and personality. Notable application areas of the trait include forensic investigation, affection determinant, security checks at religious places, airports and more uniquely, its application is very useful in the maternity wards of hospitals for identification of infants to prevent baby swap. Key identification attributes of human foot are the geometric patterns and the minutiae features. For the purpose of this work, the geometric pattern is considered, specifically the toe shape and length of human foot was used. Foot images from 65 adults were captured using a digital image scanner. The data captured were labelled with their corresponding feature descriptors. Automatic identification algorithm based on classification rule learning was deployed to match the foot feature descriptors with their personality/behavior template in the knowledge base. The results from the system implementation and percentage behavior match showed that the system is quite suitable for identifying personality/behavior of an individual with performance accuracy of 89%.


Cysticercus cellulosae, the larva of the pork tapeworm, has a predilection to encyst within the central nervous system. It is common in endemic areas, such as Central and South America, but rare in Australia. The clinical and radiological findings in two patients with fourth ventricular cysts are described.


BACKGROUND
Several studies have shown an association between achieving decompression of the spinal cord within a few hours and neurological recovery, even in patients with complete paralysis due to cervical spine dislocation. This study aimed to clarify the impact of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMSs) and craniocervical traction on the rapid reduction of lower cervical spine dislocation in rural Japan.

METHODS
The success rate of and factors inhibiting closed reduction, the time from injury to reduction and the functional prognosis of lower cervical spine dislocations treated between July 2012 and February 2020 were retrospectively analysed.

RESULTS
Fourteen patients were transported by HEMS (group H), seven by ambulance (group A) and two by themselves. Although the average traveled distance and injury severity score were significantly higher in group H (64.5 km, 28.0) than in group A (24.7 km, 18.6), there was no significant difference in the average time to admission or the time to initiation of craniocervical traction after admission between groups H (159.4 min, 52.2 min) and A (163.6 min, 53.2 min). The success rate of closed reduction was 95%, and neurological deterioration was not observed in any cases. The average traction time and weight for reduction were 30.3 min and 16.3 kg, respectively. Body size and fracture-dislocation type did not significantly affect the traction time or weight. The rate of reduction within 4 h after injury was higher in group H (79%) than in group A (33%). Inner fixations were treated an average of 5.7 days after admission. After treatment, three of nine AIS A patients recovered the ability to walk, and all three patients underwent successful closed reduction within 4 h after injury.

CONCLUSION
HEMS and highly successful closed reduction contributed to the early reduction of cervical spine dislocation and can potentially improve complete paralysis.


Traditional process‐oriented system development methods often result in fragmentary user interfaces with information presented in various windows without considerations of requirements for simultaneous viewing. Opening, closing, moving and resizing these windows attracts the users' attention away from the actual work. User interface design according to the workspace metaphor could provide skilled professional users with an efficient, customised user interface to administrative information systems. This can improve work performance and facilitate efficient navigation between workspaces. A case study in co‐operation with the Swedish National Tax Board (RSV) describes practical use of the workspace metaphor.


Chromomycosis (chromoblastomycosis), or dermatitis verrucosa, presents a confusing picture at times and consequently a diagnostic problem. The clinical similarity of this disease to syphilis, tuberculosis, neoplasms and other specific and nonspecific granulomas is well known. Although considered to be a disease of the extremities presenting a nodular, verrucoid, papular or granulomatous appearance, reports have shown that the face, neck, chest, shoulders and buttocks also may be affected. Two cases are reported here first because of the varied diagnostic possibilities that they presented and second because of the unusual location of the lesion in 1—the helix of the ear. Phialophora verrucosa was isolated from the first case, which was of several years' duration. Owing to the smallness of the infected area on the ear in the second case and because of a clinical diagnosis of carcinoma, the whole lesion was removed and placed in a fixative. Consequently the organism could not


As times change, consumption behavior is entering a new phase, especially in the technological era. It's hard to guess what products or services are in demand. Even consumption models or styles change, making things more difficult. Of course this impact, already felt. The number of closed shops, malls, supermarkets is evidence that the digital era provides a space for consumer democracy. Then there is only one way, namely marketing reform. This research was conducted to identify and analyze consumption behavior in the digital age, in order to increase sales. Of course, the immediate expected effect is to be able to make new marketing policies as a logic to thinking. A qualitative approach was chosen to describe the purchase behavior in real terms. By asking a few random questions to respondents about online retail purchases. Approximately 100 respondents were selected through certain criteria to see the symptoms. The results show that consumers in this era are ready with an online purchasing model. The basic reason is convenience. The convenience referred to relates to marketing attributes such as being able to be done anywhere, saving time and money, lower prices, flexible payment methods, and more friendly service


This book seeks to fill an important gap in Richardson studies, as well as studies of Enlightenment culture, by identifying the mid-century English novelist as much more than a founding father of the novel genre. Taking his cue from recent studies such as Margaret Cohen and Carolyn Dever's The Literary Channel: The Inter-National Invention of the Novel (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002), James Fowler aims to restore Richardson to his proper place in an Enlightenment that resisted stratification along national lines, and one in which Enlightenment and counter-Enlightenment ideals intersected productively to engender the ideological dynamism we associate with the second half of the eighteenth century. More particularly, Fowler suggests that Richardson's sentimental Christian fiction became a whetstone for French philosophes such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot, who sought to capture the capacious reading public created by the spectacularly successful Pamela and Clarissa in order to propagate fundamentally anti-Richardsonian sentiments — above all, a critique of revealed religion. Fowler acknowledges that Richardsonian ideology is not reducible to Christian belief and highlights the convergence between Richardson and the philosophes on the merits of meritocracy — the 'Pamelaesque problem of "birth versus worth"' (p. 68) — but his emphasis falls on Richardson's and his French interlocutors' divergent beliefs about revelation and the afterlife. After a brief discussion of the religious framework of Richardson's novels in Chapter 1, Fowler moves in Chapters 2 to 5 to detailed readings of the philosophes ' creative adaptations of Richardson. Voltaire, we are told, rewrote Pamela as Nanine, challenging Richardson about the importance of chastity as an index of female virtue. His critique of chastity became more ambiguous after reading Clarissa, as is evidenced by L'Ingénu and Les Lettres d'Amabed; these, Fowler argues, are thereby 'particularly difficult to classify as "Enlightenment literature" ' (p. 172). No such difficulty exists in the case of Rousseau's Julie, ou, La Nouvelle Héloı̈se, which, Fowler suggests, is straightforwardly 'anti-Clarissa' (and hence pro-Enlightenment) because of its heroine's deistic beliefs, anathema to devout Christians such as Richardson. Diderot, too, wrote an anti-Clarissa in La Religieuse, 'not only anti-conventual, but fundamentally anti-Christian' (p. 172). Fowler's readings are illuminating of the cross-Channel eighteenth-century milieu in many respects. His interpretation of Voltaire's relationship with Frederick of Prussia as analogous to that between Pamela and her master is especially engaging. But Richardson himself, the novelist who gives occasion to this study, remains a somewhat simplified figure. Fowler's contention that 'we should give Richardson his due as a writer who fought against Enlightenment tendencies' (p. 4) ignores the ideological complexity of the novels, which are straightforward in neither their religion nor their politics. Fowler elides, for example, the rhetoric of self-determination that substantially informs Richardson's sexual politics, against which thinkers such as Rousseau appear decidedly sexist and 'counter-Enlightenment'. Fowler initiates an important conversation about Richardson's influence on the Continent; we can advance it by acknowledging, more fully, the ideological multivalence of works such as Clarissa, and by treating religion as one among several variables that define Enlightenment and counter-Enlightenment platforms.


The Cashless Nigeria Project initiated under the Lamido Sanusi reform as governor of Central Bank of Nigeria since 2010 has been a trial and error experiment in futility and an economic drain pipe of national resources that has not yielded any notable result. Several revised versions of the policy have been experimented with in the trial and error process, yet none of them yielded any positive results. Some state governments in the country and the federal government have ignorantly expected the Sanusi's experiments to benefit their financial management for the economy and efficiency of the payment system, to manage government payment systems of all sorts including revenue generation. Rather than achieve any efficiency and cost savings, they have encountered unprecedented failures, in the systemic revenue collection drives, troubles and woes of payment system outcomes, for salaries, contracts etc. Many payments never get to the beneficiaries after three to five months of dispatch. The banking system has also cued behind the Central Bank in the failure dynamics of frustrating the Nigerian banking public by driving them out of the banking halls to be scorched in the hot sun and drenched in the rains in kilometers of cue on the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) that fail the customers more often and send back home frustrated without delivering required services. Point of sales (POS) machines are equally not better options as internet network failures make them perpetually unattractive to both customers and traders or shop owners. The Cashless Nigeria Project as a proposition to better the lot of the Nigeria public is a total failure after three years of comatose and lacklustre implementation process. How can such a project benefit government revenue generation? The Nigeria governments in total betrayal of the banking public and businesses have been part of the conspiracy to further frustrate their banking and financial service delivery, so the need to walk along the isles with Lamido Sanusi in pretence that he is or about to succeed. This is the presentation of this professionally based academic work.


The drainage behaviour of sports pitches has traditionally been designed from experience with hydraulic performance rarely measured in detail. Within the wider industry and regulatory bodies there is a perception that storm water and increased drainage rates from sports pitches contribute to local flood risk. Empirical observations have suggested that in reality pitch drainage systems may discharge water at low volumes and rates and there is often limited surface run-off. Furthermore it appears that lack of technical guidance on sport pitch drainage may have led to misunderstanding their drainage behaviour and possible benefits they could bring to water management as opposed to perceived dis-benefits. This paper summarises selected results of a case study which included field measurements of weather and discharge behaviour on a range of natural turf sports pitches in England. The findings from this study indicate that natural turf sports pitches can provide resistance to flow and hence advantageous attenuation of rainfall and storm water. Additionally they can store large volumes of water within the pervious materials used in their design. The study has confirmed that sport pitches demonstrate the key functions that are reflected in the design requirements of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDs) such as pervious pavements providing source control of surface rain water.


Motivational processes shape our actions, adjusting effort according to anticipated reward size. The current knowledge about the neurocognitive bases and dynamics of such mechanisms in humans is still fragmentary. An important limitation is that objective detection of reward-related signals in human subjects is difficult with existing methods. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is emerging as a potentially valuable research tool in this context. A recent study published in this journal showed, for the first time, that reward modulated TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), an index of motor cortex excitability (Kapogiannis et al., 2008). Specifically, the authors showed greater cortical inhibition during reward expectation, using a task that simulated a slot machine. This approach opens a new window for the study of reward signals through the motor cortex with TMS, quantitatively and noninvasively. In this issue of EJN, new evidence is provided in this area, demonstrating MEP modulation by reward value (Gupta & Aron, 2010). TMS pulses were delivered during a task in which participants had to rate food items and, in a second experiment, select monetary amounts. Gupta and Aron found that stimuli that were more strongly wanted elicited an increase in motor cortex excitability (larger MEPs), as compared with less desired or neutral ones. The time resolution of TMS allowed the authors to show that this occurred at a specific time before action was taken. Collectively, these two studies suggest that reward signals modulate motor output in the cortex and that MEPs could be used as objective correlates of motivation, at least in controlled experimental settings. The origin of these effects on motor cortex excitability is intriguing. One possibility is that they could reflect influences from related brain areas that are also involved in reward circuits, such as the basal ganglia (Pessiglione et al., 2007). Alternatively, they could arise from direct projections of midbrain dopaminergic neurons to the motor cortex, which are known to be present in the primate brain (Gaspar et al., 1992). The latter pathway has been proposed to explain the reported reward-related changes in intracortical inhibition (Kapogiannis et al., 2008). In this regard, an advantage of the approach taken by Gupta and Aron is that their food-rating paradigm was similar to the one used in a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study showing that activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex correlated with reward value (Hare et al., 2009). This suggests, at least indirectly, that this area could be linked to the observed facilitation of motor cortex excitability. However, the limited time resolution of fMRI as compared with TMS leaves many questions still open. To find more answers, future studies should consider simultaneous TMS ⁄ fMRI experiments, the study of patients with brain damage, and the effects of centrally acting drugs. The application of TMS to the study of reward in humans has largely been focused on offline repetitive TMS to disrupt underlying brain areas and examine behavioral consequences, (e.g. Knoch et al., 2006). Complementary to this approach, the application of single and ⁄ or paired-pulse TMS in carefully controlled paradigms that allow separation of cognitive processes is a novel and promising strategy in this research area. The use of MEP changes as objective correlates of motivation also has implications for translational and clinical neuroscience. Future studies should explore how these reported modulations differ in patients with obesity, eating disorders and gambling, as well as their sensitivity and specificity, and how well they perform longitudinally. These are critical steps before these new approaches can be validated and ultimately used as biomarkers, for example in drug discovery.


The 12th edition of this textbook, originally edited by Cecil in 1927, then in collaboration with Loeb, and now edited by Beeson and McDermott, maintains its high standards. One hundred and sixty-nine authorities have contributed to this edition, which should be on every ophthalmologist's book shelf. Not only are there multiple references to ophthalmic complications of systemic disease, and even rather extensive discussions of such eye diseases as trachoma and inclusion blennorrhea, but also the book serves as a ready reference for current information on most systemic disorders likely to be encountered by the ophthalmologist. A helpful table of normal laboratory values concludes the volume.


Polymer composites with increased utility properties are becoming competition for conventional materials, in conjunction with additive manufacturing techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate tribological characteristics of fibrous composites produced in fused deposition modeling (FDM) with the use of an innovative head with symmetrical feeding of the matrix material. Analysis of the influence of composite-forming temperature on their tribological properties allowed the determining of the optimal printing process parameters for this group of composites. Significant differences in the friction process of the same reinforced materials were observed in dry and wet environments. Fibrous composites showed 10 times lower wear intensity as well as two times lower friction value in water than in air. Research shows friction in the water environment ensures more even wear of the surface of the composites involved in the work. The article contains 3D microscopic imaging of the friction plane of the tested composites and a description of a typical course of material wear is described.


Abstract : Whole blood from living subjects is a convenient matrix to use as a source of RNA for microarray experiments with human subjects especially when subject material is collected at a location other than the collaborating site conducting the microarray work. Collection methods for whole blood that include stabilization of the RNA are known but suffer from issues of decreased sensitivity due to the large amount of globin RNA present from reticulocyte lysis. The experiments presented here were designed to test a globin-RNA reduction protocol in conjunction with three different amplification methods. Statistical analysis of the six different protocols, coupled with post-hybridization quality assurance methods, revealed that an amplification protocol that yielded a fragmented biotin-labeled cDNA product resulted in the highest Percent Present calls from the Affymetrix analysis software and the least methodology based variability. Based on these results, this amplification protocol is expected to lead to the greatest sensitivity and accuracy for differential expression testing of the six amplification methods tested.


Input nonlinearities such as saturation can severely degrade closed-loop performance due to integrator windup and other effects. For positive real plants with positive real controllers, we propose a nonlinear controller modification that effectively counteracts the effects of arbitrary input nonlinearities. For this class of problems, we prove global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system and demonstrate closed-loop performance by means of system simulation. >


Biochar (BC) application to agricultural soils has become a promising strategy for mitigation of soil-borne greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, i.e., carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), but little is known about the effects on nitric oxide (NO) and dinitrogen (N2) fluxes. We conducted a short-term field experiment to evaluate the effects of BC with compost and additional fertilizer on different soil GHG fluxes. Application of 1% BC-compost showed no significant effect on CH4 and CO2 fluxes but lowered NO and N2O fluxes compared to the control without BC-compost. The addition of N to BC-compost (0.5% BC-compost + 175 kg N) showed a small mitigation potential for CH4 whereas N2O and NO fluxes significantly increased for one week after the application. The N2:N2O ratio shifted towards N2O production after the application of N-enriched BC-compost. During storage of pure N-enriched BC-compost, high gaseous losses in the form of NO (71.2 ± 2 µg N g−1 h−1), N2O (1319 ± 101 µg N g−1 h−1), and N2 (337.8 ± 93 µg N g−1 h−1) were measured. Approximately 31% of applied N was lost in gaseous form even in the presence of BC. To avoid this, an optimized strategy to balance easily available N from compost and fertilizer with the amount of BC should be developed.


March 12-17 PITTCON: Science for the 21st Century. New Orleans, LA. The Pittsburgh Conference, Dept. CFR 300 Penn Center Blvd., Ste. 332, Pittsburgh, PA 15235-5503 (412-825-3220; fax: 412825-3224; e-mail: pittconinfo@pittcon. org; www.pittcon.org/) March 14-16 Aquatech Asia 2000: 4th Asian Trade Exhibition of Drinking Water, Process Water and Waste Water Technology. Singapore. Jenny Ong, RAI Exhibitions Singapore Pte, Ltd., 1 Marchitime Square, #09-20, World Trade Center, Singapore 099523 (65272-2250; fax: 65-272-6744; e-mail: email@example.com)


A catalytic membrane nanoreactor (CMNR) with Cu-Agx (where x is the millimolar concentration of AgNO3) bimetallic catalysts immobilized in membrane pores has been fabricated via coupling flowing synthesis and replacement reaction. Surface characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) gives obvious evidence of the formation of Cu-Ag bimetallic core-shell nanostructures with Ag islands deposited on the Cu core metal. An apparent high shift phenomenon for the Cu element and a low shift phenomenon for the Ag element was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), indicating a close interaction with the transfer of electron density from the Cu atom to the Ag atom. The hydrogenation catalysis of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) was tested to evaluate the catalytic performance. During the catalytic process, the Cu core acts as an electron-deficient site to adsorb and activate the -NO2 group for p-NP, and the Ag shell is beneficial for enhancing active H spilling to the Cu surface and then performing hydrogenation. A volcano-shaped apparent reaction rate constant can be achieved, which rises initially with the increasing Ag content and subsequently drops with a further increase in the Ag content. The highest value of 1071 min-1 can be achieved for CMNR immobilized with Cu-Ag2 owing to the suitable adsorption activation behavior and the best hydrogen spillover behavior.


Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a condition presenting with non-specific symptoms like nausea, vomiting and headache along with neurological manifestations like altered mental status, seizure, visual impairment and even coma. These symptoms are coupled with characteristic radiological findings of vasogenic edema in the bilateral parieto-occipital lobe which is usually reversible. We present here, a young 30 years old male, with dizziness, vomiting, generalized weakness, altered mental status with cortical blindness and focal and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in the background of first presentation of type 2 diabetes mellitus with ketonuria. Characteristic findings in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and reversal of the symptoms helped to reach the diagnosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in our patient. The patient was discharged in stable condition after reversal of the symptoms and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.


Facing the challenges of urban form and space quality in a high-density environment, the paper puts forward the development trend of three-dimensional and multi-functional design for an urban high-rise complex, and analyzes the design methods of establishing an urban landmark, including multi-functional composition, three-dimensional space integration, three-dimensional traffic organization and energy flow programming. Meanwhile, combined with the specific design case of Yiwu World Trade Center, the practical experience of designing a high-rise complex in China's medium-sized cities is analyzed.


ABSTRACT This article analyses a form of diasporic activism that breaks the seeming duality between diasporic imaginaries and colonial realities, diasporas and refugees. By focusing on the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) it analyses a diasporic standpoint which is not confined to identity politics, nor to the Palestinian nationalist struggle of territorial liberation, but conceives of Palestine as one of the most visible, present-day materialisations of Western colonial modernity. The condition of this diasporic political subjectivity lies in what we call here an "intersectional 'space of appearance'": an affective multi-sited political space that exposes and makes visible the continuum of systems of subjugation and expropriation across liberal democracies and settler-colonial regimes, and the whiteness of mainstream activist spaces. This space encompasses key sites of Black, Indigenous, Arab and Muslim mobilization: from Ferguson to Standing Rock, from the Mexico-US border to Palestine and Palestinian camps, from Tunis to Paris.


This article reports the crystal growth behavior of biodegradable polylactide (PLA)/poly[(butylene succinate)-co-adipate] (PBSA) blend thin films using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Currently, polymer thin films have received increased research attention due to their important role in a variety of technological applications, and crystallization plays a pivotal role in controlling the properties of thin films. Thin films of biodegradable PLA/PBSA blends were prepared on a silicon wafer substrate with a spin coater. The morphology and crystal growth behaviors of films, which were crystallized at different temperatures, were visualized with AFM. The results indicated that the size and distribution of the dispersed phase were directly related to the blend composition. The crystal growth behaviors indicated the presence of both homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation, and the nature of nucleation was directly related to the blend ratio and the temperature at which crystallization occurred. Therefore, this study will facilitate the understanding of crystal growth behavior in a confined environment and will allow us to modulate the blend properties.


Determination of dam construction for sure will be closely related to the dam constructing criteria.
These criteria can be technical and non-technical. The selection of best location/types of dams
requires a thorough consideration of the characteristics of each type, as it relates to the physical
features of the location (geology) and the adaptation to the objectives of dam that it should serve,
security, economy, and other related limitations. Proper dam construction is closely related to
water resources management and depends on a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria. This is
because: (1). Some criteria are unmeasurable/qualitatively complex; and (2). One criterion has a
lot of information (eg geological criteria have complex information). Such problems can be solved
by using the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach. MCDM is a sub-disciplinary
research operation that explicitly evaluates several conflicting criteria in decision making.
MCDM is expressed as a decision-making method to establish the best alternative of a number of
alternatives based on certain criteria. Some of models included that popular in MCDM until today
are: Scoring Model, Analytic Herarchy Process (AHP), Analytic Network Process (ANP), Utility
Model, Out Ranking Method, Technique for Others Reference by Similarity to Ideal Solution
(TOPSIS) and others.
The MCDM application in relation to the analysis of priorities for dam construction has been
widely developed. So it can be concluded that MCDM can be to determine the decision of dam
constructing in general. Otherwise there are still some models in the MCDM family that have not
been used so it needs to be done studies or related research. From the literature search results,
there is no specific research to discuss ANP method for determining priority of dam construction,
so this dissertation research will discuss in detail about ANP method for that purpose. The
research is carried out by inventorying all the dam development criteria in the longlist, and
together with the expert determining the criteria that have a strong influence on the determination
of dam construction in Indonesia, and the finding is to develop an appropriate ANP method to
determine the dam construction in Indonesia.
This research determines 2 (two) main criteria for dam construction namely technical and non
technical criteria. Technical criteria are the dominant criteria by having 5 (five) sub-criteria below:
geology, topography, effectiveness of implementation, hydrology and environment. Nontechnical

criteria have 2 (two) sub-criteria below: economic and social. Each sub-criterion has
sub sub-criteria below until there are 27 sub sub-criteria. The most dominant sub-criteria are the
geological sub-criteria, which affects up to 32.17%. And the lowest is the economic sub-criteria
of 9.45%. The ANP method can be used as a method for prioritizing dams by involving experts
as an assessment of the relationships of each criterion, sub-criteria, and sub-criteria. This research
also raises a new path, among others, need to examine other criteria outside the observed object
such as: politics, culture, or other technical criteria and need to develop model calibration methods
and validation.
Keywords: ANP, Dam, Decision making, MCDM, and Multy-criteria.


Successful cooperative efforts among board, administration, and medical staff are a blend of efficient formal organization and informal personal and professional relationships. Efficient formal organization is an important key to physician participation. Medical staff bylaws frequently can be streamlined to good effect, and the efficiency and productivity of medical staff committees often can be improved.


Many contour-based image corner detectors are based on the curvature scale-space (CSS). We identify the weaknesses of the CSS-based detectors. First, the ldquocurvaturerdquo itself by its ldquodefinitionrdquo is very much sensitive to the local variation and noise on the curve, unless an appropriate smoothing is carried out beforehand. In addition, the calculation of curvature involves derivatives of up to second order, which may cause instability and errors in the result. Second, the Gaussian smoothing causes changes to the curve and it is difficult to select an appropriate smoothing-scale, resulting in poor performance of the CSS corner detection technique. We propose a complete corner detection technique based on the chord-to-point distance accumulation (CPDA) for the discrete curvature estimation. The CPDA discrete curvature estimation technique is less sensitive to the local variation and noise on the curve. Moreover, it does not have the undesirable effect of the Gaussian smoothing. We provide a comprehensive performance study. Our experiments showed that the proposed technique performs better than the existing CSS-based and other related methods in terms of both average repeatability and localization error.


Abstract Established in 1994 through the amalgamation of several teacher training colleges, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) is the major multidisciplinary teacher education provider in the Hong Kong SAR. Despite this, the Institute does not have a particularly high research profile when compared with its peer institutions in Hong Kong and around the world. Its research publishing achieves modest exposure and impact in international educational research literature. The Institute has a goal to attain the title of a "university of education" and has identified an improvement in its research output and profile as critical to achieving this. In this context the HKIEd Library embarked on the redevelopment of its institutional repository, changing its direction from being an archive of institutional publications to one which brought together and offered access to the sum total of published output of the Institute since its foundation, in a deliberate effort to promote Institute research. This paper explores the particular approach taken by the Library to the development of the institutional repository, how the repository contributes directly to and aligns with the research strategies of the Institute, and the impact the Repository has had so far on improving the profile of research at HKIEd.


Within an effective Dirac theory the low-energy dispersionf monolayer graphene in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling and spin-degenerate bilayer graphene are described by formally identical expressions. We explore implications of this correspondence for transport by choosing chiral tunneling through pn and pnp junctions as a concrete example. A real-space Green's funct ion formalism based on a tight-binding model is adopted to perform the ballistic transport calculations, w hich cover and confirm previous theoretical results based on the Dirac theory. Chiral tunneling in monolayer gra phene in the presence of Rashba coupling is shown to indeed behave like in bilayer graphene. Combined ef fects of a forbidden normal transmission and spin separation are observed within the single-band n ↔ p transmission regime. The former comes from realspin conservation, in analogy with pseudospin conservatio n in bilayer graphene, while the latter arises from the intrinsic spin-Hall mechanism of the Rashba coupling.


There is a growing body of ecomarxist and ecosocialist literature in the English-speaking world, which signals the beginning of a significant turn in radical thinking. Some Marxist journals, such as Capitalism, Nature and Socialism, Monthly Review and Socialism and Democracy have been playing an important role in this process, which is becoming increasingly influential. The two books discussed here—very different in style content and purpose—are part of this "Red and Green" upsurge.


BACKGROUND
A dark pigmentation of the ocular fundus presents in degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa; this disease must be distinguished from others whose evolution is not progressive, in order to estimate the functional prognosis of the patient.

OBJECTIVE
To analyze the features which distinguish spontaneously reattached retinal detachment from other causes of ocular fundus pigmentation, in order to be able to identify it even in bilateral cases.

CLINICAL CASE
A case of a female with chronic visual loss is presented, who was referred for evaluation with the diagnosis of a pigmented retinopathy. Clinical exploration discarded causes as retinitis pigmentosa, retinal inflammatory diseases or trauma. Based on the clinical features, on the topography of pigmentation and in the information provided by electroretinography, a bilateral spontaneous reattachment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment was diagnosed made. Clinical features of this entity are discussed, as well as the diagnostic approach to distinguish it from other pigment retinopathies.

CONCLUSION
Clinical features of spontaneously reattached retinal detachment allow the explorer to distinguish it from other causes of bilateral pigmentation, despite presenting bilaterally. Since the prognosis of the attached retina is better than that of a degenerative disease, the correct diagnosis makes rehabilitation easier.


This study evaluates commonly used geostatistical methods to assess reproduction of hydraulic conductivity (K) structure and sensitivity under limiting amounts of data. Extensive conductivity measurements from the Cape Cod sand and gravel aquifer are used to evaluate two geostatistical estimation methods, conditional mean as an estimate and ordinary kriging, and two stochastic simulation methods, simulated annealing and sequential Gaussian simulation. Our results indicate that for relatively homogeneous sand and gravel aquifers such as the Cape Cod aquifer, neither estimation methods nor stochastic simulation methods give highly accurate point predictions of hydraulic conductivity despite the high density of collected data. Although the stochastic simulation methods yielded higher errors than the estimation methods, the stochastic simulation methods yielded better reproduction of the measured In (K) distribution and better reproduction of local contrasts in In (K). The inability of kriging to reproduce high In (K) values, as reaffirmed by this study, provides a strong instigation for choosing stochastic simulation methods to generate conductivity fields when performing fine-scale contaminant transport modeling. Results also indicate that estimation error is relatively insensitive to the number of hydraulic conductivity measurements so long as more than a threshold number of data are used to condition the realizations. This threshold occurs for the Cape Cod site when there are approximately three conductivity measurements per integral volume. The lack of improvement with additional data suggests that although fine-scale hydraulic conductivity structure is evident in the variogram, it is not accurately reproduced by geostatistical estimation methods. If the Cape Cod aquifer spatial conductivity characteristics are indicative of other sand and gravel deposits, then the results on predictive error versus data collection obtained here have significant practical consequences for site characterization. Heavily sampled sand and gravel aquifers, such as Cape Cod and Borden, may have large amounts of redundant data, while in more common real world settings, our results suggest that denser data collection will likely improve understanding of permeability structure.


Abstract The influence of hexamine formed as byproduct during the UF cure was ignored in the past. However, with the increasing interest on low formaldehyde emission boards, this issue has become more pertinent. Formaldehyde release from hexamine degradation is extensive and could limit the success of the development of low formaldehyde emission adhesives if the conventional latent catalysts remain in use. In this study, formaldehyde released from recycled wood, hexamine and cured UF resin was assessed. Citric and oxalic acid, in solid form, were used as catalysts for UF resin in the production of particleboard. Mats with solid acids are less susceptible to resin pre-cure than with a latent catalyst. However, they can have higher formaldehyde emissions than latent catalyst. When both catalysts were used, combined with an ultra-low formaldehyde to urea molar ratio resin the internal bond was improved and formaldehyde content was below 4 mg per 100 g of oven dry board.


Genetic psychologists who have long been studying the periods of growth in the ages of Man, endeavoring to determine their average durations, set the limits separating these periods empirically, and do not pursue their study beyond childhood and adolescence. In my book published in Paris (1986) I propound a new, radically different approach which takes into account Man's whole lifespan, without separating the various ages, and without separating old age from those that precede it. According to my theory, the Ages of Man, nine in number, all follow the same mathematical law, which determines their respective durations on the basis of a geometrical progression, ratio two. Their durations would be of three and six months for gestation, one, two, four, and eight years for childhood and early adolescence, sixteen for youth, thirty-two for adult maturity, sixty-four for old age. This amounts to a theoretical potential lifespan of 127 years.


The objective of this work was to statistically optimize the cultural and nutritional parameters for L-ascorbic acid by the submerged fermentation of Xanthomonas campestris MTCC 2286 using sucrose as the sole carbon source.  After studying the potential parameters that influence the bioprocess by "one variable at a time" approach, we found that the Sucrose, yeast extract, and Dipotassium phosphate (K 2 HPO 4 ) were the most critical parameter for the production of L-ascorbic acid.  Sucrose, a cheap carbon source supports the biomass, yeast extract, an enriched nitrogen source, and K 2 HPO 4 acts as a stimulator for growth and production.  The central composite design (CCD) of the RSM was employed to evaluate the interactive effects of these three variables.  This is the first report on L-ascorbic acid production by Xanthomonas campestris using statistical experimental design and RSM in submerged fermentation with sucrose as the sole source of carbon.  In this study, the production and optimization of L-ascorbic acid from Xanthomonas campestris MTCC 2286 was investigated using optimized nutritional and cultural conditions in a medium containing sucrose as the carbon source in fully aerobic batch fermentation (180 rpm).Using statistical design and optimization approach, the L-ascorbic acid production was enhanced to 135.5mg/Las compared to the fermentation using non-optimized medium (95 mg/L).


Quantitative properties of timed regular languages, such as information content (growth rate, entropy) are explored. The approach suggested by the same authors is extended to languages of timed automata with punctual (equalities) and non-punctual (non-equalities) transition guards. Two size measures for such languages are identified: mean dimension and volumetric entropy. The former is the linear growth rate of the dimension of the language; it is characterized as the spectral radius of a max-plus matrix associated to the automaton. The latter is the exponential growth rate of the volume of the language; it is characterized as the logarithm of the spectral radius of a matrix integral operator on some Banach space associated to the automaton. Relation of the two size measures to classical information-theoretic concepts is explored.


This study builds an integrated model to simulate dynamic exposure to floods in urban areas during flood events. The model is applied in a real-world case study area for demonstrating its usefulness. In general, the work is interesting and has potential from both theoretical analysis and engineering implementation perspectives. However, there are some confusing and unclear parts in the paper that need further explanation or clarification. Below are some specific comments.


In this paper, using a best proximity theorem, we will prove a basic existence theorem of equilibrium pair for a free 1-person game which generalizes both xed point theorems and equilibrium existence theorems in best proximity settings. Mathematics Subject Classication: 47H10, 91A06


Introduction: We ascertained whether plasma chromogranin A enhances the power of serology assessing prostate cancer (PC). Materials andMethods: We studied 56 PC and 83 benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. In the sera we measured total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) and calculated the ratio between fPSA and tPSA (f/tPSA). In plasma samples the levels of chromogranin A (CgA) were also assayed. Results: PC patients had higher CgA (p < 0.005) and tPSA (p < 0.05) levels, and a lower f/tPSA ratio (p < 0.001), than BPH patients. When f/tPSA and CgA were combined, the diagnostic sensitivity was enhanced (57–73%), while the specificity had only an 8% reduction (from 89 to 80%). CgA was only correlated to the Gleason PC score (p < 0.05). Conclusions: CgA determination in PC may enhance the diagnostic accuracy of the f/tPSA assay and provides useful information on the tumor grade.


A complex random vector is called improper if it is correlated with its complex conjugate. We introduce a measure for the degree of impropriety, which is a function of the canonical correlations between the vector and its complex conjugate (sometimes called the circularity spectrum). This measure is invariant under linear transformation, and it relates the entropy of an improper Gaussian random vector to its corresponding proper version. For vectors with given spectrum, we present upper and lower bounds on the attainable degree of impropriety, in terms of the eigenvalues of the augmented covariance matrix.


Study Design: Retrospective radiographic review. Objectives: Investigate and quantify transverse pedicle angle (TPA), the medial-to-lateral pedicle angulation, and its potential association with pelvic incidence (PI) in patients with isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis (ISLS) and compare to those with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DSLS) and controls. Methods: A total of 200 patients (64 ISLS, 70 DSLS, 66 control) were included. TPA was calculated at the L3-5 vertebral levels using axial computed tomography slices. PI was measured on lateral radiographs. Two independent observers completed the measurements. As a sensitivity analysis, TPA was also measured at the most cranial and caudal aspects of the L3-5 vertebral levels of a subset of participants (29 ISLS, 31 DSLS, 35 control) and the cranial to caudal change (ΔTPA) was calculated. Results: TPA values (mean ± SD) at L4 and L5 for ISLS (L4: 17.3° ± 3.7°, L5: 26.0° ± 5.2°) were significantly higher than those for the DSLS (L4: 14.3° ± 3.8°, L5: 22.2° ± 5.0°) and control (L4: 14.5° ± 3.9°, L5: 20.7° ± 3.8°) groups. TPA in the DSLS group was significantly higher than controls at L5, but not L4. High PI predicted wider TPA at L5 in both DSLS and ISLS. ΔTPA (mean ± SD) increased sequentially proceeding through the L3-5 spinal levels for the ISLS (L3: 6.8° ± 4.4°, L4: 8.7° ± 5.2°, L5: 15.6° ± 9.0°), DSLS (L3: 8.2° ± 6.0°, L4: 8.3° ± 5.9°, L5: 18.3° ± 7.2°), and control (L3: 6.8° ± 4.4°, L4: 8.2° ± 4.7°, L5: 17.7° ± 7.0°) groups. Conclusions: TPA was significantly increased in ISLS compared with DSLS and controls. High PI significantly predicted high TPA at the L5 vertebral level in ISLS and DSLS. ΔTPA increased sequentially proceeding through the lumbar spine across groups.


In this paper we construct a graph-based normalisation al- gorithm for non-linear data analysis. The principle of this algorithm is get, in average, spherical neighborhood with unit ray. In a first paragraph we show why this algorithm can be useful as a preliminary for some neu- ral algorithms as those that need to compute geodesic distance. Then we present the algorithm, its stochastic version and some graphical results. Finally, we observe the effects of algorithm on reconstruction of geodesic distance by running Dijksrta's algorithm (1).


We review our theoretical approach to the optical response of low-dimensional semiconductor structures. The method is based on the density-matrix formalism and can treat low-density (excitonic) and high-density (gain) regimes on the same footing while retaining the full complexity of realistic nanostructures. We discuss in particular its generalization for studying the combined effects of dielectric and quantum confinement, as well as novel developments aimed at the analysis of local absorption spectra. We examine the main effects of electron-hole Coulomb correlation on the optical spectra of semiconductor quantum wires, where it determines the suppression of band-edge singularities and the peculiar scaling properties of excitonic binding and non-linearities. On the basis of our recent results on different types of nanostructure, we present a critical discussion of possible strategies for tailoring electron-hole Coulomb interaction, and predicting its influence on near-field spectra.


Graph classification is an important data mining task, and various graph kernel methods have been proposed recently for this task. These methods have proven to be effective, but they tend to have high computational overhead. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to graph classification that is based on feature vectors constructed from different global topological attributes, as well as global label features. The main idea is that the graphs from the same class should have similar topological and label attributes. Our method is simple and easy to implement, and via a detailed comparison on real benchmark datasets, we show that our topological and label feature‐based approach delivers competitive classification accuracy, with significantly better results on those datasets that have large unlabeled graph instances. Our method is also substantially faster than most other graph kernels. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining, 2012


Mice lacking the erythroid Kruppel-like factor (EKLF) die in utero at embryonic day 15 (E15) from severe anemia. EKLF(-/-) embryos display a marked deficit in beta-globin gene expression. To test whether beta-globin deficiency was solely responsible for the anemia and intrauterine death, we corrected the globin chain imbalance in EKLF(-/-) embryos by breeding with a strain of mice that express high levels of human gamma-globin. Despite efficient production of hybrid malpha(2)-hgamma(2) hemoglobin in the fetal livers of EKLF(-/-) animals, hemolysis was not corrected and survival was not prolonged. We concluded that deficiency of nonglobin EKLF target genes is a major contributor to the definitive red blood cell abnormalities and prenatal death in EKLF(-/-) embryos. These results suggest that strategies designed to antagonize EKLF function in adults with hemoglobinopathy, in an attempt to reactivate gamma-globin gene expression, may adversely affect other essential aspects of red blood cell physiology. (Blood. 2000;95:1827-1833)


Bakground - It has been suggested that disruption of the gut microbiota can be significant with respect to pathological intestinal conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastric catarrh (GC), and heartburn (HB). Through history, an essential part of the colonization of the human gut took place by ingestion of food preserved by fermentation. The natural replenishment of microbes via food and beverage is today low because food is "sterilized" through boiling, broiling and pasteurization. Modulating the gut microbiota with fermented food products may hence be considered as a strategy to treat such conditions. Fermented Baltic Sea herring (FBSH) is an example of a Lactobacillus-fermented food product, which was tested in the present study.

Methods - A 30-day open study was performed in 42 volunteers with IBS, GC, or HB. Volunteers were recruited by advertisements in daily newspapers. The volunteers were provided with gelatin capsules for the study, each containing approximately 100 mg freeze dried FBSH. They were also provided with forms that contained columns and rows for every test day where the volunteers were ask to fill in number of capsules taken, and to report possible improvements according to a 0-10 scale, where 10 stands for full recovery.

Results - The most reported common disorder symptom was IBS and 7of 14 of these volunteers reported recovery, with a mean recovery of 4.4. Nine of 9 volunteers reported recovery from GC, with a mean recovery of 8.4. Five of 6 volunteers reported recovery from HB, with a mean recovery of 6.8.

Conclusion - Although the present study is a small open study, the overall results are exciting and merits further studies in volunteers, ideally in a double-blind placebo-controlled manner.


Background: Chronic kidney disease patients usually experience several comorbid conditions including cardiovascular disorders and at final end-stage renal disease (ESRD) stage, cardiovascular mortality accounts for about 50% of total mortality. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients commonly have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than general population. Objective: The aim of the work was to detect the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in hemodialysis patients for six months. Patients and Methods: The study was a prospective cohort study for six months included 250 adult patients with end stage renal diseases on regular hemodialysis sessions in National Institute of Urology and Nephrology in Cairo, Egypt for at least six months with no past history suggestive of any arrhythmias and normal holter ECG at the start of the study. Results: The study included 250 patients, of them 37 patients refuse follow up after 6 months and 18 patients were died before our follow up holter ECG so mortality rate 14.4%. For the current study population, there were 102 male patients (52.3%) and 93 female patients (47.7%) with mean age 54.39 ± 9.98 (19:73) and BMI 29.01±1.28 (24.5:34). In study population 96 patients were diabetic (49.2%), 84 patients were hypertensive (43.1%), 100 patients were with ischemic heart diseases (51.3%) with median renal replacement duration 4 (3 – 6) with range (1 – 13). The main etiological causes of dialysis were diabetes mellitus, hypertension and analgesic nephropathy and other different causes of dialysis 35 patients (45%).The study showed association between incidence of AF in hemodialysis patients and different factors as increased BMI (0.006), prolonged duration of renal replacement therapy (0.017), diabetes mellitus (0.005), hypertension (0.000), ischemic heart diseases (0.02) and left atrium dilation (0.000). Conclusion: It could be concluded that the incidence of AF in patients with ESRD is 16.4% .The risk factors for increased incidence of AF in hemodialysis are; increased BMI, increased duration of renal replacement therapy, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart diseases and left atrium dilation by echocardiography.


Alternative splicing (AS) generates multiple types of mRNA from a single type of pre-mRNA by differential intron splicing. It can result in new protein isoforms or down-regulation of gene expression by transcript decay. The evolutionary conservation of AS events in plants is largely unexplored and only a small number of AS events have been identified as conserved between divergent species. We performed a large-scale analysis of cDNA data from Brassica and Arabidopsis to identify and further characterize conserved AS events. We identified 537 conserved AS events in 485 genes. Alternative donor and acceptor events are significantly overrepresented among conserved events, whereas intron retention and exon skipping events are underrepresented. Conserved AS events are significantly shorter, less likely to be in the 3'UTR, and they are enriched for genes whose products function in the chloroplast. AS modified a functional domain for about half of the genes with conserved events. We further characterized three genes with conserved AS events. This study identifies many AS events that are conserved between Brassica and Arabidopsis, revealing features of conserved AS events. Many of the conserved AS events may have important, but uncharacterized, functions.


The issues including excessive pesticide residues and heavy metal contamination have become the bottle-neck in the development of Chinese herbal medicines. Compared with traditional chemical pesticides, biological pesticides, especially botanical pesticides, are more safe and environment-friendly, which were beneficial to the quality improvement Chinese medicinal materials. Though there exists a weak basic research and it is hard for promotion and regulation, the policy of good and the desire for botanical pesticides will accelerate its development, and replace traditional chemical pesticides gradually. This paper reviews the current situation of botanical pesticides, and gives some pertinence suggestions according to the existing problems and challenges. Research on botanical pesticides will become the key point to solve the problem of excessive pesticides residues and heavy metal contamination, and promote the healthy development of Chinese materia medica.


BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Different fatty acids exert different health benefits. This study investigated the potential protective effects of perilla, olive, and safflower oils on high-fat diet-induced obesity and colon inflammation. MATERIALS/METHODS Five-week old, C57BL/6J mice were assigned to 5 groups: low-fat diet (LFD), high-fat diet (HFD) and high-fat diet supplemented with-perilla oil (HPO), olive oil (HOO), and safflower oil (HSO). After 16 weeks of the experimental period, the mice were sacrificed, and blood and tissues were collected. The serum was analyzed for obesity- and inflammation-related biomarkers. Gene expression of the biomarkers in the liver, adipose tissue, and colon tissue was analyzed. Micro-computed tomography (CT) analysis was performed one week before sacrifice. RESULTS Treatment with all the three oils significantly improved obesity-induced increases in body weight, liver weight, and epididymal fat weight as well as serum triglyceride and leptin levels. Treatment with perilla oil (PO) and safflower oil (SO) increased adiponectin levels. The micro-CT analysis revealed that PO and SO reduced abdominal fat volume considerably. The mRNA expression of lipogenic genes was reduced in all the three oil-supplemented groups and PO upregulated lipid oxidation in the liver. Supplementation of oils improved macroscopic score, increased colon length, and decreased serum endotoxin and proinflammatory cytokine levels in the colon. The abundance of Bifidobacteria was increased and that of Enterobacteriaceae was reduced in the PO-supplemented group. All three oils reduced proinflammatory cytokine levels, as indicated by the mRNA expression. In addition, PO increased the expression of tight junction proteins. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our data indicate that the three oils exert similar anti-obesity effects. Interestingly, compared with olive oil and SO, PO provides better protection against high-fat diet-induced colon inflammation, suggesting that PO consumption helps manage inflammation-related diseases and provides omega-3 fatty acids needed by the body.


Arterial catheterization is often employed in carrying out certain diagnostic studies upon the heart, and upon the aorta and its branches. Though the retrograde passage of a catheter from the femoral or brachial artery is attended with few mishaps, complications may arise which require recognition and proper surgical treatment. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the surgical management of such complications. Report of Cases Case 1. —The patient was a 32-year-old woman in whom the diagnosis of mitral and aortic regurgitation was established by cardiac catheterization and cineangiography. These procedures were carried out on Jan. 4, 1960. They included right heart catheterization, transbronchial left atrial puncture and pressure, and angiographic studies performed after retrograde passage of a catheter into the aorta and left ventricle. The catheter was introduced through the right femoral artery by the Seldinger technique using a size 14 thin-walled needle for arterial puncture followed


The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization
Experiment (MOXIE) represents the first time that NASA is
demonstrating In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the surface of
another planetary body. MOXIE will produce oxygen from atmospheric
CO 2 on Mars. It is being developed for NASA's 2020 Mars Rover and
will produce greater than 99.6% pure oxygen through solid oxide
electrolysis. MOXIE is roughly 0.5% of the scale that would be
necessary to produce oxygen for breathing and use as a propellant
for a human Mars mission. Tests are being performed on MOXIE in the
laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At the same time, a
model is being developed to simulate and predict the performance of
MOXIE. The ability to predict the performance of MOXIE on Mars is a
critical step in preparation for surface operations. Without the
ability to estimate inefficient or unsafe operating conditions,
MOXIE operations on Mars run a spectrum of risk ranging from loss
of efficiency to the loss of the entire mission. Therefore, to
predict performance and thus avoid subjecting flight hardware to
unsafe conditions, a dynamic model has been developed that
simulates MOXIE's operation. Simulink, a package contained within
the MATLAB programming language, was chosen as a convenient way to
build a dynamic representation of MOXIE. The model was built as a
combination of theoretical and empirical values regarding the gas
flows, thermal transfers, electrochemistry, and control loops that
are representative of the true MOXIE system. The results of this
model have been validated against data from JPL's MOXIE testbed
laboratory. Continued model validation will occur as JPL acquires
new data throughout 2018. This thesis gives an overview of how
MOXIE works and how it has been modeled. MOXIE is the first
instrument of its kind to leave the Earth, and the modeling of this
instrument is similarly unique. As the dynamic model continues to
evolve with new data, it becomes a fast and inexpensive way to test
MOXIE without subjecting expensive hardware to hazardous
conditions. In addition, this thesis covers the development of a
Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allows users to easily control
the model and view its outputs. Finally, the design and results of
construction of a vacuum chamber for testing of MOXIE components
are presented. These tests will help to further validate the model
and will pave the way for extensibility studies of the MOXIE
system.


Pt nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesised by a modified polyol method with the addition of silver nitrate. The results showed that the specific shapes of Pt NPs were influenced by the relevant factors, which are the contents of silver nitrate, synthetic time and temperature. A small content of silver nitrate has played an important role in determining their final shapes of platinum NPs. We observed that Pt NPs in the forms of very sharp shapes such as Pt cubes, octahedrons, cuboctahedrons and tetrahedrons have been obtained. In addition, the shape growth mechanisms and formation of Pt NPs have been studied. They exist in both cubic and octahedral shapes. Importantly, Pt nanocrystals can grow into main cubic and octahedral shapes for a short time less than 15 min. Moreover, Pt nanocrystals can also grow into different shapes from cubic and octahedral into spherical ones for several hours. Especially, they exhibited interesting shapes of multiple-branched Pt nanostructures because of their overgrowth and aggregations. Clearly, large cubic and octahedral Pt NPs of 160 nm diameter were observed. The growth and formation of large cubic and octahedral Pt NPs were due to the aggregation of Pt clusters or initial Pt seeds, even small Pt nanocrystals.


have neural structures that allow them to anticipate environmental changes and then regulate physiological and behavioral functions in response to these alterations. The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (SCN) is the main circadian pacemaker in many mammalian species. This structure synchronizes the biological rhythm based on photic information that is transmitted to the SCN through the retinohypothalamic tract. The aging process changes the structural complexity of the nervous system, from individual nerve cells to global changes, including the atrophy of total gray matter. Aged animals show internal time disruptions caused by morphological and neurochemical changes in SCN components. The effects of aging on circadian rhythm range from effects on simple physiological functions to effects on complex cognitive performance, including many psychiatric disorders that influence the well-being of the elderly. In this review, we summarize the effects of aging on morphological, neurochemical, and circadian rhythmic functions coordinated by the main circadian pacemaker, the SCN.


In agricultural biotechnology, the key technologies protected as intellectual property are highly concentrated in the hands of a small number of large, multinational corporations based in North America and Western Europe ("the North"). Although many developing countries ("the South") lack the capacity to adopt these technologies, a system of international and national agricultural research centers has used them to make genetic improvements benefiting the vast majority of poor consumers. Concern is arising in the worldwide agricultural research community that the very intellectual property rights (IPRs) that have been associated with the surge of private research in biotechnology now threaten to block access to new developments to public and nonprofit researchers. This concern about current developing-country access to essential intellectual property is exaggerated and largely misdirected. The relationship between IPRs and agricultural research in developing countries is poorly understood. International and national agricultural research centers currently have far greater freedom to operate—the ability to practice or use an innovation—in agricultural research on food crops for the developing world than is commonly perceived.


Abstract Glutathione (GU), an endogenous antioxidant tripeptide, is frequently transferred in the human brain through N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), profusely expressed at the blood–brain barrier (BBB) junction. GU, also modifies the characteristics of tight junction proteins (occludin and claudin) at the site of BBB by depolarizing the enzyme, protein tyrosine phosphatase that manifests its usefulness for passive delivery of nanocarriers to the brain. GU, thus, represents itself as an ideal ligand for the surface decoration of nanocarriers to successfully administer them across the brain via receptor-mediated drug delivery pathway. Hence, we have employed here, in-silico approaches to identify the potential GU-like molecules, as appropriate ligand(s) for surface engineering of nanoconstruct with the purpose of attaining targeted drug delivery to the brain. Structure-based virtual screening methods was used to filter PubChem database for the identification of bioactive compounds with >95% structure similarity with GU. We have further screened the compounds against NMDAR using molecular docking approach. Top hits were selected based on their high binding affinities and selectivity towards NMDAR, and their binding pattern was analysed in detail. Finally, all atom molecular dynamics simulation for 100 ns was carried out on free NMDAR and in-presence of the selected GU-like compound, gamma-l-glutamyl-l-cysteine to evaluate complex stability and structural dynamics. In conclusion, gamma-l-glutamyl-l-cysteine may act as potential binding partner of NMDAR which can further be evaluated in drug delivery system to brain across the BBB. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


In this paper, we provide a systematic study to the prevailing ResNet architecture by showing a connection from a general deeply-fused net view to ensembling. We start by empirically demonstrating the resemblance between the expanded form of the deeply-fused net and an ensemble of neural networks. Our empirical results uncover that the deepest network among the ensemble components does not contribute the most significantly to the overall performance and instead it provides a manner to introduce many layers and thus guarantee the ensemble size. Guided by the above study and observation, we develop a new deeply-fused network that combines two networks in a merge-and-run fusion manner. It is less deep than a ResNet with the same number of parameters but yields an ensemble of the same number of more-capable component networks, thus improving the classification accuracy. We evaluate the proposed network on the standard recognition tasks. Our approach demonstrates consistent improvements over the ResNet with the comparable setup, and achieves the state-of-the-art results (e.g., 3.57% testing error on CIFAR-10, 19.00% on CIFAR100, 1.51% on SVHN).


We report herein the development and preliminary mechanical characterization of fully-dense multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-reinforced ceramics and glasses based on a completely new methodology termed High Shear Compaction (HSC). The tubes are introduced and bound to the matrix grains by aid of polymeric binders to form flexible green bodies which are sintered and densified by spark plasma sintering to unprecedentedly high densities of 100% of the pure-matrix value. The strategy was validated across a PyrexTM glass / MWCNT composite while no identifiable factors limit application to other types of matrices. Nondestructive evaluation, based on ultrasonics, of the dynamic mechanical properties of the materials including elastic, shear and bulk modulus as well as Poisson's ratio showed optimum property improvement at 0.5 %wt tube loading while evidence of nanoscalespecific energy dissipative characteristics acting complementary to nanotube bridging and pull-out indicate a high potential in a wide range of reinforcing and multifunctional applications. Keywords—Carbon nanotubes, ceramic matrix composites, toughening, ultrasonics.


A low-power, integrated 1.8 GHz nested-loop frequency synthesizer for GSM at 1.8 GHz in a 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS technology is presented. The synthesizer consists of two voltage-control oscillators (VCOs) and uses band switching MIM capacitors and analog tuning circuits using pMOS capacitors. Both VCOs and loop-filters are integrated on-chip. The IF VCO phase noise is -131 dBc/Hz@600 kHz from a 450 MHz carrier and the RF VCO phase noise is -121 dBc/Hz@600 kHz from a 1.8 GHz carrier. The power consumption of this nested-loop frequency synthesizer is 36 firstname.lastname@example.com V and has a die size of 3000 /spl mu/m /spl times/ 2000 /spl mu/m.


Abstract - Ozone is the most important phytotoxic air pollutant in the United States. and Asclepias spp. (milkweeds) are among the most ozone-sensitive plants. Ten milkweed species were exposed to ozone in chambers within a greenhouse during 2018 and 2019. Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) developed the greatest level of ozone-induced leaf injury ("stipple") in both studies. Asclepias viridis (Green Antelopehorn) and A. eriocarpa (Woolypod Milkweed) exhibited moderate levels of ozone-induced stipple. Asclepias latifolia (Broadleaf Milkweed), A. fascicularis (Mexican Whorled Milkweed), A. arenaria (Sand Milkweed), A. viridiflora (Green Comet Milkweed), A. cordifolia (Heartleaf Milkweed), A. asperula (Spider Milkweed), and A. labriformis (Utah Milkweed) were tolerant, showing minimal or no stipple following exposure to ozone. Results were entered into a master database, which now lists the relative ozone-sensitivity or resistance of 22 of 76 (29%) milkweed species.


During the late 1990s and early 2000 the Central London and South East office markets witnessed increasing levels of occupier activity. Most of this activity came on the back of continued strong economic growth, rising stock markets and a belief that growth would continue. Occupiers in sectors including Investment banking, technology and telecommunications, expanded to meet growing demand, and accommodating for future growth, leading to numerous pre-lettings of space in excess of 46,450 sq m. Following the collapse of the equity markets and economic slowdown, in what can now be considered as irrational exuberance, occupiers have been left as accidental landlords holding significant amounts of space, now surplus to requirements. In previous markets Investors and developers have controlled much of the space on the market. The current situation is somewhat different, with occupiers within City and Docklands controlling in excess of 70% of prime space on the market. As a consequence, this paper will review the market trends over the past two decades and consider the differences between the previous market cycles. This paper will then consider the reasons behind the release of space by occupiers, before investigating in more detail how this cycle differs from those in the past and the specific reasons for this. Finally, the paper will review the current and likely changes in business practice and the consequences of this for the market, both now and in the future.


An improved design of the U-shaped stub rectangular slot antenna with a tuning pad for enhancing the impedance bandwidth is proposed. By properly tuning the physical size of the copper pad, a wide impedance bandwidth of the antenna can be achieved for UWB applications. For 10 dB return loss, a impedance bandwidth of the antenna is covered from 2.3 to 12 GHz (135.7%). A gain variation from 2 to 6.82 dBi is obtained.


A test generation method for linear analog circuits is presented. The method is based on frequency domain analysis. The faults considered are abnormal value changes of elements, e.g., resistors, capacitors and inductors. The effect of design tolerance is considered in test generation. A procedure to determine the output ranges for acceptance or rejection is also proposed. The proposed method has been applied to several circuits at board level to generate test conditions for all elements to be tested. The method is also able to indicate which elements in the circuit are hard to test.


Over the last 20 years, digitalization has been advancing at an extremely rapid pace in all sectors of the economy, with rail being no exception. In today's world, digital technologies manage the railways – the ERTMS system, the ETCS system, the train operation management system, ticket reservations, the exchange of information between railway administrations – are technologies that offer much more added value to the sector. Digitalization and ecology are the key to the competitiveness of rail transport compared to other modes of transport. Improving the efficiency of the organization of the transport process and customer service are the challenges that will be overcome with the implementation of digitalization and its application.
The research of the quality of the offered transport service is fundamental for the sustainable development of the railway industry and its impact on the modal shift to railway transport. Whether national, international, suburban passenger or freight, the latter has significant environmental advantages over other modes of transport. Strategic planning through the introduction of digital technologies will enhance the modal shift to rail transport, which is key to the decarburization of the entire transport industry. The sustainable development of railway transport through the digitalization of the offered transport services contributes to the growth of other industries in the economy.


Changes in connectivity between pairs of neurons can serve as a substrate for information storage and for experience‐dependent changes in neuronal circuitry. Early in development, synaptic contacts form and break, but how these dynamics influence the connectivity between pairs of neurons is not known. Here we used time‐lapse imaging to examine the synaptic interactions between pairs of cultured cortical pyramidal neurons, and found that the axon–dendrite contacts between each neuronal pair were composed of both a relatively stable and a more labile population. Under basal conditions, loss and gain of contacts within this labile population was well balanced and there was little net change in connectivity. Selectively increasing the levels of activated CaMKII in the postsynaptic neuron increased connectivity between pairs of neurons by increasing the rate of gain of new contacts without affecting the probability of contact loss, or the proportion of stable and labile contacts, and this increase required Calcium/calmodulin binding to CaMKII. Our data suggest that activating CaMKII can increase synaptic connectivity through a CaM‐dependent increase in contact formation, followed by stabilization of a constant fraction of new contacts. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008


The number of Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (FPSOs) operating worldwide has been increasing due to the fact that they are well recognized as one of the most economical systems to develop offshore (ultra) deep water areas lacking infrastructure. In order to comply with the regulations, especially the Classification Society rules, and to monitor the hull integrity, all the cargo tanks must be submitted to periodical surveys on a continuous base. Eventually during this survey, some anomalies may be found, such as cracks and thickness loss in structural elements that will require repairs.This study provides a brief review of the methodology provided by the Guidelines for Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) proposed by IMO (2002) and its application to the activities performed to survey and repair a cargo tank of an operating FPSO. A detailed description of these activities is provided in order to define the scope and frontiers of this study. Special attention is paid to the first step of the FSA methodology and the "Preliminary Hazard Analysis" technique is applied to the mentioned activities.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Exposure of outdoor workers to high levels of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses significant, well-known health risks including skin cancer and eye diseases. In South Africa, little is known about how many workers are potentially overexposed to solar UVR and what the associated impacts on their health might be. In this overview, the geography and solar UVR environment in South Africa are considered, as well as the different outdoor occupational groups likely to be affected by excessive solar UVR exposure. Sunburn, pterygium, cataract, keratinocyte cancers, and melanoma are discussed in the context of outdoor workers. Few studies in South Africa have considered these health issues and the most effective ways to reduce solar UVR exposure for those working outside. Several countries have developed policies and guidelines to support sun safety in the workplace which include training and education, in addition to the provision of personal protective equipment and managerial support. Several gaps in occupational sun protection and workplace sun safety for South Africa are identified. Legislation needs to recognize solar UVR exposure as an occupational health hazard, with sun safety guidelines and training provided for employers and employees.


THE EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS in this paper of the factors underlying the recent acceleration of price inflation in Germany was made in order to see whether price expectations give a satisfactory explanation of recent price behavior in Germany. Specifically, the hypothesis is tested that price expectations exercise at least a partially independent influence on actual price behavior. The paper differs from earlier analyses in that it uses a method for quantifying price survey results to derive an explicit time series of price expectations. Section I describes the method used and shows the derived series of expected price increases. Section II tests several expectations hypotheses, and Section III presents an assessment of the influence of price expectations on actual price behavior in the recent past. Some conclusions are set out in Section IV. The pace of price inflation in Germany has recently accelerated strongly. In the case of industrial producer prices, the acceleration began with the first signs of a new upswing in the beginning of 1972. In earlier business cycles industrial producer prices showed a distinct pattern of at least slow rises, if not declines, during the downswing and even after the lowest point of the cycle was reached. Chart 1 shows the development of industrial producer prices during the cyclical downswings and at the beginning of upswings for the past three cycles. While the increase of the index of industrial producer prices during the downswing of the earlier two cycles, which lasted for over two years, amounted to about 2 per * Mr. Knobl, an economist in the Central European Division of the European Department, is a graduate of the Hochschule fir Welthandel, Vienna, and was a scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies and Scientific Research, Vienna.


Purpose: Azacitidine is the mainstay of high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) therapy, but molecular predictors of response and the mechanisms of resistance to azacitidine remain largely unidentified. Deregulation of signaling via Stat3 and Stat5 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with aggressive disease. Numerous genes involved in cell signaling are aberrantly methylated in MDS, yet the alterations and the effect of azacitidine treatment on Stat3/5 signaling in high-risk MDS have not been explored. Experimental Design: We assessed longitudinally constitutive and ligand-induced phospho-Stat3/5 signaling responses by multiparametric flow cytometry in 74 patients with MDS and low blast count AML undergoing azacitidine therapy. Pretreatment Stat3/5 signaling profiles in CD34+ cells were grouped by unsupervised clustering. The differentiation stage and the molecular properties of the CD34+ G-CSF–inducible Stat3/5 double-positive subpopulation were performed by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR in isolated MDS progenitors. Results: The pretreatment Stat3/5 signaling profiles in CD34+ cells correlated strongly with response and cytogenetics and independently predicted event-free survival. We further identified a CD34+ G-CSF–inducible Stat3/5 double-positive subpopulation (DP subset) whose pretreatment levels were inversely associated with treatment response and cytogenetics. The kinetics of the DP subset followed the response to azacitidine and the disease course, whereas its molecular characteristics and cellular hierarchy were consistent with a leukemia propagating cell phenotype. Conclusions: Our findings provide a novel link among Stat3/5 signaling and MDS pathobiology and suggest that the Stat3/5 signaling biosignature may serve as both a response biomarker and treatment target. Clin Cancer Res; 22(8); 1958–68. ©2015 AACR.


THE Neotropical family Cotingidac contains a number of bizarre and highly specialized types such as bellbirds, umbrellabirds, and the Barenecked Fruitcrow. The morphological diversity within the family suggests that the group may be a relatively old one within which the connecting links between many elements have been eliminated, perhaps as members of the family have given way in the face of competition with such eminently successful Neotropical passerinc groups as the Tyrannidae and Thraupidae. The possibility that the family Cotingidac, as presently constituted, contains forms that should be allocated elsewhere may also account for some of its heterogeneity. Warter (1966) has recently demonstrated that the mourners (Rhytipterna) definitely belong in the Tyrannidae, and he further recommends that the Attilinae likewise be transferred to that family. Despite the recognized diversity in the cotingas, we were nevertheless surprised when our 1964-65 Mcllhenny Peruvian Expedition turned up two female specimens of a cotinga that could not be placed in any known genus. For one thing they possessed ense patches of powderdown that were immediately apparent to us when we each skinned one of the first two specimens. We knew that powderdown had been previously reported in only three passefine species. Consequently, an all-out effort was made to obtain more specimens, even though to do so necessitated another journey by O'Neill to a remote jungle outpost. Fortunately, 13 additional specimens were procured, including additional skins of both sexes, skeletons, and specimens preserved in alcohol. A subsequent study of this material, along with representatives of all previously known genera and species of cotingids, has revealed that our bird is, indeed, not only a new species but a member of a new genus as well (see frontispiece).


In this era of tightening budgets, librarians are increasingly turning to usage data from licensed resource providers to support difficult collection development decisions. The most recent release of the Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources (COUNTER) code of practice for usage data reporting and the Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) Extensible Markup Language (XML) protocol further support this decision-making process. COUNTER reports are designed to primarily measure usage of textual resources. However, for multimedia resources, the usage patterns and terminology are different than textual materials and the COUNTER reports do not yet adequately address these differences. This article explores the unique challenges of reporting and effectively evaluating the usage of multimedia resources and identifies gaps in the existing COUNTER code of practice.


This paper presents a new robust dynamic programming (DP)-based recognition algorithm that is quite suitable for menu-driven recognition applications with small vocabulary size (typically less than 50). When compared to the conventional dynamic time warping (DTW)-based recognizer, the proposed algorithm shows significantly improved recognition accuracy in speaker-independent cases. In addition, when compared to the conventional hidden Markov model (HMM)-based recognizer, the proposed algorithm requires smaller computational amount and parameter file size, while maintaining almost the same recognition rate for command recognition applications with small vocabulary size in hand-held consumer devices.


The Willmore energy of a surface, ∫(H2 - K) dA, as a function of mean and Gaussian curvature, captures the deviation of a surface from (local) sphericity. As such this energy and its associated gradient flow play an important role in digital geometry processing, geometric modeling, and physical simulation. In this paper we consider a discrete Willmore energy and its flow. In contrast to traditional approaches it is not based on a finite element discretization, but rather on an ab initio discrete formulation which preserves the Möbius symmetries of the underlying continuous theory in the discrete setting. We derive the relevant gradient expressions including a linearization (approximation of the Hessian), which are required for non-linear numerical solvers. As examples we demonstrate the utility of our approach for surface restoration, n-sided hole filling, and non-shrinking surface smoothing.


To develop the identification of species for fermentative biohydrogen-producing bacterium, scholars have found a method which is based on PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA)-23S rDNA intergenic regions. In the study, a large fragment of the rDNA operon, including the 16S rDNA, the intergenic spacer region (ISR) and approximately 2000 bases of the 23S rDNA, were polymerasechain reaction (PCR) amplified. The PCR amplification of the genomic DNA of Leptonema ilk strain 3055 using primers directed against conserved regions of the rRNA operon provided evidence that the 16S and 23S rRNA genes were linked via an intergenic spacer region. The sequencing of the intergenic spacer region indicated that it was 435 nucleotides in length and sequence similarity searches revealed that it bore no homology to any known sequences including tRNA available in databases.