Cameroon plans to double its cocoa production in the coming decade in line with international requirements for sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa. Private certification, which has developed considerably in recent years, should help achieve this objective. Based on a literature review and 63 individual interviews with farmers, we identified four archetypes of cocoa production using the criteria of plantation size, degree of shade, and support from public or private extension services. We analyzed the average operating accounts of the four archetypes. Our findings show that the net profit rates obtained by small-scale certified producers are 14% (in the savannah zone) and 24% (in the forest zone). These rates are much higher than for the other two production models. Certification schemes provide technical and financial support, which has a positive influence on the practices of many small-scale producers and compensates for the lack of public services, which are now almost non-existent. A hybrid governance of the cocoa sector in Cameroon could clarify and improve the organization of the interactions between public regulation and private certification systems.


The phonon dynamics of the spin ladder calcium vanadium oxide is studied using Raman spectroscopy under high pressure up to 13.5 GPa. Twelve Raman modes, which are observed and assigned at low pressures, disappear at around 9 GPa. With further pressure increase, three broad modes appear at about 325, 750 and 810 cm−1, indicating the transition of the layered structure into the disordered phase. No scattering activity is found above 13 GPa. The comparison between the vibrational properties of CaV2O5, α′-NaV2O5 and V2O5 indicates that anomalous 448 cm−1 mode hardening in α′-NaV2O5 under pressure is also due to structural changes. The intercalation of Ca atoms results in a higher compressibility and stability of the CaV2O5 crystal structure in comparison with V2O5.


Polymerization degree theory and traditional charge compensation theory are the most fundamental principles to understand the structure and properties of oxide melts. It can well explain the behavior characteristics of acidic oxides and basic oxides in a melt. However, the amphoteric behavior of oxides cannot be explained well by these two theories. Herein, the octahedral connection mode and the behavior of the amphoteric transition of TiO2 are analyzed by molecular dynamics simulation, and then, a calculation model which can quantitatively calculate the amphoteric transition of the oxide is established by analyzing a large number of data. On the basis of the model, a novel theory of supply and demand is put forward, which can explain the amphoteric transition behavior of oxides very well. To a great extent, the supply and demand theory makes up for the deficiency of the atomic structure theory of oxide melts and provides mechanism explanation and model prediction for the oxide amphoteric transformation behavior.


The concept of spondyloarthropathies in childhood is emerging. It should now be more easily recognized since more specific diagnostic criteria are available for young patients. It probably accounts for about 20% of the whole group of chronic arthritides seen in paediatric rheumatology clinics. Juvenile ankylosing spondylitis stricto sensu is very rare in childhood. Most children who present with peripheral arthritis at onset meet the diagnostic criteria of undifferentiated spondylo-arthropathies such as those of the SEA syndrome, or those of the ESSG or Amor criteria. At follow-up, quite a large proportion of children may develop axial involvement. Psoriatic arthritis differs from the other spondyloarthropathies with a different sex ratio, and an earlier onset. The role of immunogenetic, environmental and ethnic factors are important for a better understanding of these diseases.


The current form and transformation of artistic practice in the 20th and 21st century caused some estrangement of the recipient and the art. The current discourse is therefore dominated by some distrust in defining the criteria of (not only) contemporary art, or even the dilemma of whether or not art has to be defined at all, mostly under the influence of Morris Weitz. Arthur Danto very aptly reminds that there is currently no way to distinguish art from objects that are not art, even though many theorists have tried to come up with a (normative) solution. The need to distinguish different objects in order to carry out the theoretical examination or to have a functional defining apparatus for criticism, or the exhibition practice is not necessary only on the semantic level. The aim of the submitted paper is therefore to offer a brief cross-section of theories, which, over the past sixty years, dealt with the problem of the definition of art and (re)appreciate/re-think the need for a functional definition of art as the determinant of adequate aesthetic theory.


Burn-area products from remote sensing provide the backbone for research in fire ecology, management, and modelling. Landsat imagery could be used to create an accurate burn-area map time series at ecologically relevant spatial resolutions. However, the low temporal resolution of Landsat has limited its development in wet tropical and subtropical regions due to high cloud cover and rapid burn-area revegetation. Here, we describe a 34-year Landsat-based burn-area product for wet, subtropical Hong Kong. We overcame technical obstacles by adopting a new LTS fire burn-area detection pipeline that (1) Automatically uniformized Landsat scenes by weighted histogram matching; (2) Estimated pixel resemblance to burn areas based on a random forest model trained on the number of days between the fire event and the date of burn-area detection; (3) Iteratively merged features created by thresholding burn-area resemblance to generate burn-area polygons with detection dates; and (4) Estimated the burn severity of burn-area pixels using a time-series compatible approach. When validated with government fire records, we found that the LTS fire product carried a low area of omission (11%) compared with existing burn-area products, such as GABAM (49%), MCD64A1 (72%), and FireCCI51 (96%) while effectively controlling commission errors. Temporally, the LTS fire pipeline dated 76.9% of burn-area polygons within two months of the actual fire event. The product represents the first Landsat-based burn-area product in wet tropical and subtropical Asia that covers the entire time series. We believe that burn-area products generated from algorithms like LTS fire will effectively bridge the gap between remote sensing and field-based studies on wet tropical and subtropical fire ecology.


Background: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a strong neutrophil chemotactic factor with essential roles in both pathogenesis and prognosis of several diseases. Several pathological conditions lead to alterations in the level of IL-8. Objectives: The aim of the study was to examine the significance of IL-8 and hematological parameters in the diagnosis of acute leukemia in a Pakistani population. Methods: The study comprised of 140 individuals. The serum IL-8 concentrations were measured using enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay (EASIA) and the hematological parameters were determined using automated hematology analyser. Results: IL-8 concentrations were significantly higher in patients (509.6 ± 261.4 pg/ml) than in controls (326.6 ± 95.6 pg/ml). Within the patient group, AML patients had significantly higher serum levels of IL-8 (546 ± 278.7 pg/ml)  compared to ALL patients (352.7 ± 106.7 pg/ml). Hematological parameters such as hemoglobin, platelets and white blood cell count were assessed. The white cell count was significantly higher in leukemic patients compared to the control group (t = 11.5; P < 0.001) while the hemoglobin of the patient group was significantly lower compared to the control group (P = 0). On the other hand, the difference in platelet count of the groups was insignificant (P = 0.07). Conclusions: The results of the study showed that IL-8 concentrations were significantly higher in AML group when compared with ALL group and control group, suggesting that IL-8 may serve as an important biomarker for serum-based detection of acute leukemia especially AML.


Optimizing highway alignments is a very complex engineering problem. None of existing methods has totally solved the problem In this paper we build an optimization model for highway 3D alignment based on two-stage dynamic programming, in which the comprehensive cost and design constraints are embedded. In the first stage: we formulate the optimization of alignment as a network problem by establishing a three-dimensional grid representation for the study area. Then dynamic programming is used to find the best corridor alignment. In order to obtain a group of scenarios, we propose a bidirectional searching strategy in dynamic programming. In the second stage: we put forward an improved direction acceleration method considering constraints to refine the corridor alignments for resulting the alignment deviate from the grid points and reaching the global optimum. Experimental results show that the global optimal alignment with good diversity was ultimately obtained.


Inkjet etching has been identified as a potential route to formation of micro via holes in polymer dielectrics. Such vias could facilitate three-dimensional integration and sequential build-up fabrication in printed electronics. In the research reported in this paper, ethanol droplets were jetted onto a poly(4-vinyl phenol) (also known as PVP or PVPh) layer at different frequencies in order to observe the effect of droplet ejection frequency on the diameters of the via holes produced. The results demonstrate that via holes remain the same diameter at a low drop ejection frequency, while they enlarge at a relatively high frequency. A mechanism for this behaviour is proposed for which high speed photography provides evidence.


A sexual history should be routinely obtained from all travellers. Those whose symptoms indicate a sexually transmitted disease may need to be investigated for unusual infections. Resistant strains of gonorrhea are becoming a major concern. Chancroid should be considered in the differential diagnosis of genital ulcer disease. The possiblility of human immunodeficiency virus infection should be discussed with all these patients.


The third generation sources of soft X-rays, ALS and ELETTRA, have been producing data in surface and interface science for over two years. The impact of their ultrahigh brightness is quite evident, particularly as far as photoemission techniques are concerned. We illustrate this point with a short review of very recent examples from ELETTRA, in the specific domains of time resolution, high lateral resolution and high energy resolution.


The objective of this study was to compare the fine structure of presumptive preneoplastic hepatocytes at various times during liver carcinogenesis with that of normal, developing, and regenerating liver and of hepatocellular carcinomas, using transmission and scanning electron microscopy. A new model of liver carcinogenesis was used in which several of the early steps are quite well synchronized. A single initiating dose of diethylnitrosamine induced isolated islands of altered hepatocytes. The cells were characterized by persistence of glycogen despite starvation, increase in smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and hypertrophic nucleoli. Following intense selection of the altered hepatocytes by dietary 2-acetylaminofluorene plus partial hepatectomy, the affected hepatocytes proliferated rapidly to produce basophilic foci. These early hyperplastic lesions revealed stellate-shaped dilated bile canaliculi lined by blebs and abnormally thick elongated microvilli, a decreased number of microvilli on the sinusoidal surface, a marked increase in smooth endoplasmic reticulum, large nucleoli, and bundles of pericanalicular microfilaments. A majority of the proliferating lesions reacquired a normal organizational pattern within several weeks after partial hepatectomy and could not be distinguished from normal liver. A small number continued to grow and become typical persistent hyperplastic nodules. These showed significant widening of intercellular spaces between hepatocytes, elongated microvilli over large regions of the cell surface, many invaginations of the cell membrane, and irregularly shaped bile canaliculi. Sequential changes in focal hyperplastic hepatocytes during carcinogenesis could be distinguished from normal, developing, and regenerating liver. The major differences involved the cell surfaces and cytoplasmic organelles. The findings are compatible with the hypothesis that a carcinogen may act by inducing alterations in a small number of hepatocytes and that hepatocellular carcinomas arise through stepwise evolutional changes in these cells.


Disagreements about normative aspects of social time preferences have led to estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC) that differ by orders of magnitude. We investigate how disagreements about the SCC change if planners are nondogmatic, that is, they admit the possibility of a change in their normative views and internalize the preferences of future selves. Although nondogmatic planners may disagree about all the contentious aspects of social time preferences, disagreements about the SCC reduce dramatically. Admitting the possibility of a change in views once every 40 years results in a fivefold reduction in the range of recommended SCCs.


WHEREAS malignant transformation may occur in longstanding pharyngo-esophageal diverticula, this occurrence is relatively rare, with only 15 previously reported authenticated cases.1-16Because of its rarity, and, more important, since grossly invasive carcinoma appears to be preceded by an in situ phase, the following case is reported. Report of Case Patient No. 54318 was first admitted to Beth Israel Hospital in early 1959 at age 76 when he underwent sigmoid colotomy and polypectomy for removal of a large adenomatous polyp. At this time, because of the complaint of dysphagia with heavy expectoration, a barium swallow was performed which disclosed a Zenker's pulsion diverticulum (Fig 1,Left). In ensuing years, he had the sensation of food "being caught and sticking in the throat" and experienced increasing difficulty in swallowing both food and saliva. Regurgitation of food occurred frequently. He refused operation, and on one occasion he developed an aspiration pneumonia. For


In this paper, on the basis of an overview of the evolution of diesel fuel subsidy policy in China's fishery, we perform an economic analysis of the existing diesel fuel subsidy policy, and believe that it is fishing shareholders rather than fishermen who benefit most from the diesel fuel subsidy policy. The diesel fuel subsidy policy is not conducive to fishery resources protection, it will cause no fluctuation in the supply price of aquatic products, and it can not effectively increase the income of all fishermen. It is necessary to focus on subsidy method, subsidy links and subsidy level to improve diesel fuel subsidy efficiency, lower production costs, stabilize fishery production, and increase the income of fishermen.


PURPOSE
Leukemia causes tremendous human mortality especially in children and young adults. This study was undertaken to investigate the anticancer effects of Solanine against the normal human NCI-H526 and human leukemia AML-193 cell lines.

METHODS
Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay. DAPI and annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) assays were used for the determination of apoptosis. The expression analysis was done by qRT-PCR. Protein concentrations were determined by western blot analysis.

RESULTS
DAPI staining showed that Solanine causes nuclear morphological changes. The annexin V/PI staining showed that Solanine increased the leukemia apoptotic cell death dose-dependently. The expression of Bax was increased while of Bcl-2 was decreased. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that microRNA (miR)-16 was significantly (p<0.05) downregulated in leukemia AML-193 cells as compared to normal NCI-H526 cells.

CONCLUSION
Taken together, these results showed that Solanine inhibits the proliferation of leukemia cells via induction of apoptosis and modulation of miR-16/Bcl-2 axis.


Sandia National Laboratories hosted a workshop on the future of infrastructure security on February 27-28, 2013, in Albuquerque, NM. The 17 participants came from backgrounds as diverse as federal policy, the insurance industry, infrastructure management, and technology development. The purpose of the workshop was to surface key issues, identify directions forward, and lay groundwork for cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary collaborations. The workshop addressed issues such as the problem space (what is included in infrastructure' problems?), the general types of threats to infrastructure (such as acute or chronic, system-inherent or exogenously imposed) and definitions of secure and resilient' infrastructures. The workshop concluded with a consideration of stakeholders and players in the infrastructure world, and identification of specific activities that could be undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other players.


The distribution of temporal scale-dependent streamwise velocity increments is investigated in turbulent boundary layer flows at laboratory and atmospheric Reynolds numbers, using the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory wind tunnel and the Surface Layer Turbulence and Environmental Science Test dataset, respectively. The third-order moments of velocity increments, or asymmetry index $A(a,z)$ , is computed for varying wall distance $z$ and time scale separation $a$ , where it was observed to leave a robust, distinct signature in the form of a hump, independent of Reynolds number and located across the inertial range. The hump is observed in wall region limited to $z^{+}<5\times 10^{3}$ , with a tendency to shift towards smaller time scales as the surface is approached ( $z^{+}<70$ ). Comparing the two datasets, the hump, and its location, are found to obey inner wall scaling and is regarded as a genuine feature of the canonical turbulent boundary layer. The magnitude cumulant analysis of the scale-dependent velocity increments further reveals that intermittency is also enhanced near the wall, in the same flow region where the asymmetry signature was observed. The combination of asymmetry and intermittency is inferred to point at non-local energy transfer and scale coupling across a range of scales. From a turbulent structure perspective, such non-local energy transfer can be seen as the result of strong scale-interaction processes between outer scale motions in the logarithmic layer impacting and distorting smaller scales at the wall, through abrupt energy transfer across scales bypassing the typical energy cascade of the inertial range.


Abstract The aim of this study was to examine early cognitive performance after a delirium in elderly general hospital patients. Patients were divided into a delirium (n = 47) and a control (n = 25) group. One week before discharge and after delirium had cleared in the first group, all patients completed a neuropsychological test battery (The Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Revised [CAMCOG-R]). Group differences in cognitive performance were analyzed adjusting for differences in baseline sociodemographic and clinical variables. Adjusting for group differences in baseline variables, the delirium group performed significantly worse than the control group on CAMCOG-R; its subdomains language, praxis, and executive functioning; and on Mini Mental State Examination derived from CAMCOG-R. The occurrence of delirium in hospital thus detrimentally affects early cognitive performance.


Malignant brain tumors are highly lethal and aggressive. Despite recent advances in the current therapies, which include the combination of surgery and radio/chemotherapy, the average survival rate remains poor. Altered regulation of ion channels is part of the neoplastic transformation, which suggests that ion channels are involved in cancer. Distinct classes of calcium-permeable channels are abnormally expressed in cancer and are likely involved in the alterations underlying malignant growth. Specifically, cytosolic Ca2+ activity plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, and Ca2+ signaling is altered in proliferating tumor cells. A series of previous studies emphasized the importance of the T-type low-voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC) in different cancer types, including gliomas, and remarkably, pharmacologic inhibition of T-type VGCC caused antiproliferative effects and triggered apoptosis of human glioma cells. Other calcium permeable channels, such as transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, contribute to changes in Ca2+ by modulating the driving force for Ca2+ entry, and some TRP channels are required for proliferation and migration in gliomas. Furthermore, recent evidence shows that TRP channels contribute to the progression and survival of the glioblastoma patients. Likewise, the purinergic P2X7 receptor acts as a direct conduit for Ca2+-influx and an indirect activator of voltage-gated Ca2+-channel. Evidence also shows that P2X7 receptor activation is linked to elevated expression of inflammation promoting factors, tumor cell migration, an increase in intracellular mobilization of Ca2+, and membrane depolarization in gliomas. Therefore, this review summarizes the recent findings on calcium channels and associated receptors as potential targets to treat malignant gliomas.


Today, soldiers returning from war with severe nervous deterioration are labeled as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. While much remains unknown about PTSD, the symptoms of this disorder have been familiar to society since the outbreak of World War I in 1914.  Soldiers returning from the front with seemingly mental difficulty were labeled with what was then known as "shell shock."  In Rebecca West's novella, The Return of the Soldier (1918), Captain Chris Baldry is sent home from the front with amnesia, unable to remember the past fifteen years after a shell explodes near him on the battlefield.  The doctors and his family members are unable to make sense of this persistent lack of memory, at times wondering if Chris is feigning amnesia to stay at home away from battle. By questioning how society of the early 1900s viewed those afflicted with shell shock and how those views affected families' and soldiers' opinions about national and individual responsibilities in the wartime effort, society today may hope to be able to understand current thoughts, confusions, and treatments of PTSD.  Between the years of 1914 and 1940 newspapers such as The Times of London , The Washington Post , and The New York Times overflowed with society's panic concerning shell shock.  Month after month, reports appeared in the news about soldiers cured of their afflictions by sudden loud noises or retirement in the country as the best treatment for a "nervous" soldier.  West accurately portrays the confusion, frustration, and ethical dilemmas involved in helping a soldier recover from shell shock as Chris's family tries to cope with his lack of memory and the fear of his return to the front. The comparison between real newspaper articles of the time and the evidence West provides in her literature shows that even when the war is won on the front, there is no resolution among soldiers and society; shell shock is still an enigma waiting to be solved.


With customer relationship management (CRM) companies move away from a mainly product-centered view to a customer-centered view. Resulting from this change, the effective management of how to keep contact with customers throughout different channels is one of the key success factors in today's business world. Company Web sites have evolved in many industries into an extremely important channel through which customers can be attracted and retained. To analyze and optimize this channel, accurate models of how customers browse through the Web site and what information within the site they repeatedly view are crucial. Typically, data mining techniques are used for this purpose. However, there already exist numerous models developed in marketing research for traditional channels which could also prove valuable to understanding this new channel. In this paper we propose the application of an extension of the Logarithmic Series Distribution (LSD) model repeat-usage of Web-based information and thus to analyze and optimize a Web Site's capability to support one goal of CRM, to retain customers. As an example, we use the university's blended learning web portal with over a thousand learning resources to demonstrate how the model can be used to evaluate and improve the Web site's effectiveness.


Abstract: Cyclin Dependent Kinase (CDKs) regulates cell cycle commitment and DNA synthesis. Cell division in mam-malian cells is driven by protein kinase that regulates progression through the various phases of cell cycle. The activity of cyclins and their associated CDKs are frequently deranged in human cancers. For this reason, Cyclin-CDK complexes have been considered as very promising therapeutic targets in human malignancies. An obvious concern whether, block-ing cyclin-CDK function would preferentially affects cancer cells but not normal and non-transformed cells. The cell cy-cle represents a series of tightly integrated events that allow the cell to grow and proliferate. Critical part of the cell cycle machinery is the CDK, which, when activated, provide a means for the cell to move from one phase of the cell cycle to next. The cell cycle also serves to protect the cell from DNA damage. Thus, cell cycle arrest represents a survival mecha-nism that provides tumour cell, to repair its own damaged DNA Thus, abrogation of cell cycle checkpoints, before DNA repair is complete can activate the apoptotic cascade leading to cell death. Misregulation of CDK is one of the most fre-quent alterations in human cancer. CDK are critical regulators of cell cycle progression and RNA transcription. A series of targeted agents that directly inhibit the CDKs, inhibit unrestricted cell growth, and induce growth arrest. Recent atten-tion has also focused on these drugs as inhibitors of transcription. In this review we are summarizing that why CDK is important target for cancer chemotherapy and why finding out the best and potent kinase inhibitor is essential.


In newly-Federated Australia the focus of civil engineering turned gradually away from railways and towards roads. In 1908 J. M. and H. E. Coane published Australasian Roads, the first truly Australian text on road construction. This book ran to a number of editions and was updated and heavily revised by B. M. Coutie in 1927. A theme of every edition was the introduction of mechanisation in road making. As William Calder (M.Inst.C.E.) wrote in the preface to the fourth edition: ... we are now in the midst of a new era in Road Transportation - an era as far reaching in its effects, commercially and socially, as that brought about by the invention of the steam engine. Protective measures introduced by the new Commonwealth government in 1907 encouraged the manufacture of local equipment to build new roads for the young nation. This paper examines steam roller manufacture in Victoria from 1890 to 1940, with up to 36 steam rollers built by five Victorian firms during this period. These steam rollers were used by the Victorian Country Roads Board as well as Shires and Cities throughout Victoria in the creation and maintenance of a modern road network. (One of these Victorian-built steam rollers was purchased by the Department of Home Affairs in 1913 specifically for the construction of the Federal Capital, and is preserved there today). The five firms concerned were the Phoenix Foundry of Ballarat, Austral Otis of South Melbourne, Jaques Brothers of Richmond, Thompsons of Castlemaine, and Cowley's Eureka Ironworks of Ballarat. Of these, Cowley's produced almost half of the total output of Victorian-built steam rollers. In a revolution paralleling that of the civil engineers as they turned their focus from railways to roads, these mechanical engineering firms were turning their focus from the support of gold mining to general engineering. The paper will give a brief history of each firm with the emphasis on Cowley's as the principal producer of steam rollers in Victoria and, indeed, Australia.


The abundance of primordial light nuclei at the beginning of the Universe, during the so called Big Bang Nucleosynthesis era (BBN), can be estimated by means of Cosmology, Particle and Nuclear Physics. The first two give the environmental conditions and information about nucleons present at that time. The last one describes how those primordial nucleons fused themselves in order to produce the first light elements: helium, lithium and beryllium. The measurement of the nuclear fusion cross sections at energies of interest for BBN are thus very important. These cross sections are generally very low (from pb to fb and even smaller) and often impossible to be measured at laboratories on the Earth's surface due to the presence of cosmic rays. The only possibility is going deep underground where this kind of background is suppressed. Today, the only facility in the world able to do this is LUNA (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics), located in the LNGS (Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy) laboratory. Thanks to the background suppression provided by about 1400 meters of rock and to the high current 400 kV accelerator, LUNA is able to investigate cross sections at energies of astrophysical interest (< 400 keV in the lab system), giving us the unique possibility to reproduce reactions that, in the past, produced the primordial elements now visible in astrophysical environments such as metal poor stars. In this paper an overview on nuclear astrophysics and BBN will be given, focusing on the latest measurements obtained at LUNA.


The objective of this study was to synthesize liquid crystals compounds with fluorosubstituted and containing azobenzene moieties. The starting material, ethyl-4- aminobenzoate was undergone diazonium coupling reaction with 2-fluorophenol to give 4-(4-hydroxy-3-fluorophenylazo) ethyl benzoate. The second step of the reaction was Williamson ether synthesis on the diazonium salt to give 4-(4-hexyloxy-3- fluorophenylazo) ethyl benzoate. This compound was then hydrolyzed to yield 4-(4- hexyloxy-3-fluorophenylazo) benzoic acid. The final step was the esterification reaction
of carboxylic acid with resorcinol, DCC and DMAP. The final compound formed was a bent-shape liquid crystal, 1 ,3-phenylene-bis-[ 4-( 4-hexyloxy-3-fluorophenylazo)
benzoate]. The structure and characteristic of the intermediates and final compound were confirmed by spectroscopic analysis with FT-IR, ¹H NMR and DSC. FT-IR spectrum for intermediate and final compound indicated the presence of functional groups included alkyl, aryl, ester, ether, carboxylic acid, amines etc. ¹H NMR spectrum showed the molecular structure of the final compound but with some impurities. Thermogram DSC showed the phase transition temperature of crystalline to mesophase (Cr-M) at 62.68°C
and mesophase to isotropic (M-I) at 138.60°C in endothermic while in exothermic isotropic to measophase (I-M) and mesophase to crystal (M-Cr) phase appeared at 130.34°C and 59.90°C, respectively. These analyses had showed that the compound synthesized were liquid crystals but a the pure compound as projected.


Prospect theoretic hypotheses about the value function are considered in the context of morning commutes. After a review of the formulations of utility functions in the past analyses of commuter departure time choice, this study adopts a formulation where the desirability of an arrival time at work is determined based on decision frames defined in terms of reference points. Probit models are applied to the data collected from randomly selected commuters of a bedroom community in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area of Japan, in order to estimate value functions empirically. Two alternative decision frames are compared based on the results of estimation and the empirical validity of the basic properties of the value function is examined.


This letter is to present a new defected ground structure (DGS), which is useful for mounting an active device, and its application to a microwave oscillator. The newly proposed DGS circuit is useful for mounting a transistor such as a BJT or field effect transistor (FET) on ground plane. In order to bias dc to a transistor, it is necessary to implement the dc isolated circuit in a practically applied active device with a DGS. For dc isolation, each branch of DGS should be isolated from ground. However, the proposed DGS structure with dc isolations introduces a degradation of gain performance for a transistor and changes the matching point. In order to overcome these limits, we have investigated a coupling method by using the simple coupling capacitor without degradations in RF performances. This letter displays the comparison of several measurements for the fabricated DGS circuits including the case that compensates the degradations due to the dc isolation. Furthermore, a design example of a microwave oscillator with the proposed DGS is demonstrated to show the validity of this letter.


The term regulation has been used in very different ways. There is a variety of meanings, approaches, and objectives, sometimes interrelated, sometimes divergent. A review of the concepts of regulation was conducted by means of the following disciplines: life sciences, law, economics, sociology, and political science. The term regulation has multiple meanings and it has been used in several disciplines. It is noticed that the evolution of the notion of regulation did not occur in a linear way, since the ideas related to this term did not take place in successive stages of development and improvement. However, what makes the concepts of regulation different from each other is precisely the definition of various intervention ways. Finally, any conscious intervention project to improve the health situation requires grounded concepts of regulation. Precisely to break with potential interpretation monopolies. By means of this critical reflection, it is possible to get closer both to the polysemous context that constitutes the concepts of regulation and its consequences for analyzing public policies.


In order to promote ACM SIGSPATIAL and corresponding research area in China, and encourage collaboration between SIGSPATIAL researchers in China and researchers worldwide, in October 2009, we have established ACM SIGSPATIAL China chapter, with the strong support of SIGSPATIAL executive committee.


Gold electrode quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) were used as transducing platform to detect and sense elemental mercury (Hg) in gas phase. The enhanced sensitivity, resulting form the electro-deposition of gold nano-structures on the surface is shown to increase the response magnitude (RM) of the sensors in the presence of ammonia and humidity interference. The concentration of NH3 and H2O was varied in the range 590 to 1770mg/m3 and 4.2 to 10.4mg/m3, respectively. A constant gas flow of 200sccm, balanced in nitrogen was used as the carrier gas. The RM for Hg was enhanced by creating nanostructures on the sensorpsilas gold electrodes via electro-deposition of gold in a lead acetate electrolyte. The results presented are a critical step in the development of a cheap regenerable and reliable sensor for measuring Hg in the presence of interferents gases commonly found in industrial applications.


It is accepted that sliding or friction base isolation systems effectively protect structures subjected to severe earthquakes. Precise modeling of the sliding connection is, however, still difficult since various parameters influence the friction coefficient. Simplified models, such as those based on a constant friction coefficient, are convenient to understand the behavior of sliding structures and to identify general trends. However, this article shows that for final structural designs (and in particular if the building enters in the nonlinear range) these trends should be used carefully. The purpose of the article is to discuss the general behavior of structures supported on sliding connections and to describe a simple numeric model to take into account variations in the friction coefficient. The numeric model enables to represent complex force-displacement relationships for the sliding bearings. The model is used to perform a preliminary evaluation of the influence in the response caused by changes in the friction coefficient for elastic and elasto-plastic structures. The variations in the friction coefficient are obtained from experimental testing for a class of teflon-based connections.


In this paper, we describe a low power memory design procedure that optimizes memory bandwidth in VLSI sytems. We develop the procedures of loop transformation to optimize the memory cost for the required storage bandwidth. Next, we develop memory assignment based on ILP model that is derived from mapping graph (MG) such that we can find (i) the best memory configuration (minimum-area memory configuration if power is bound or minimum-power memory configuration if area is bound) and (ii) the power/area efficient array assignment to given memory library (the number of memory banks, the number of ports, and the total memory size).


A general synthetic approach to vinylogous 4-carboxy- and 4-keto-2,3-dihydropyrroles is reported using Ni(ClO4)2·6H2O as a Lewis acid catalyst for nucleophilic amine ring-opening cyclizations of donor-acceptor (D-A) cyclopropanes. This methodology provided good to excellent yields of functionalized 2,3-dihydropyrroles under milder reaction conditions than previously reported and is amenable to a variety of D-A cyclopropanes and primary amines.


of protections through the The paper presents a short review of pilots schemes, which are available in modern line distance protection relays, and example results of common pilot schemes tests with the testing methods description. Some differences in implementations of selected pilot schemes have been shown for comparison reasons. Distance protection coordination functions have been tested for GE Multilin UR-series devices. Every type of available pilot scheme has been checked in synthetic test and during the real coordination between D60 and D90Plus devices. For POTT scheme, coordination between two L90 protections has been realized by a sort of available different telecommunication link types, for comparison reasons too.


The complex permeability and EM-wave absorption properties of hybrid polymer-based composite magneticmaterials (with MnZn and LiZn ferrite fillers and PVC matrix) prepared with constant total filler content (65 vol%) andparticle size (0-250 mm) have been investigated in the 1-1000 MHz frequency range. Within this filler concentrationthe permeability of composites changed continuously with the change of ferrite filler content ratio between two types offerrite fillers. The observed relaxation type of permeability dispersion was due to the domain wall and natural ferromagneticresonance phenomena and was also attributed to the high damping of spin motion. Measured values of permeability wereused to determine the EM-wave absorption properties (return loss RL, matching frequency fm, matching thickness dm andbandwidth Df for RL £ -20 dB). The calculation of these properties was based on a model of single-layered absorber backedby a perfect conductor using transmission-line and EM-field theory. The composite with the volume fraction ratio of hybridMnZn:LiZn ferrite filler set to 0.5:0.5 has shown a return loss of -57 dB (> 99 % power absorption) at fm = 714 MHz with the-20 dB bandwidth of Df = 232 MHz for an absorber thickness of 7.79 mm.


Stereochemistry is one of the important and difficult contents in fundamental organic chemistry. Based on the teaching of many years, this essay analyzed some problems in the teaching of tereochemistry and introduced some effective methods to solve these problems.


As a contemporary communications medium, the museum has undergone significant reinvention and reorientation of purpose within the past several decades. While the late twentieth century saw the rise of a fundamental reimagining of the museum as a visitor-oriented space where questions of representation, ownership, and voice were of paramount concern, the early twenty-first century has seen a repositioning of museums as market actors with a role to play in the economic aspects of social life. This article considers the growing disconnect between the corporatization of museums as a consequence of marketization policies and the paradigm shift within the museum profession emphasizing equity, inclusiveness, and community engagement. My aim here is both to reflect on the potential consequences of increasing museum marketization, as well as draw attention to several of the key issues that are emerging as foci for investigation and debate. Beginning with a discussion of the shift towards new museology in the latter half of the twentieth century, this article then explores how the ambitions of museum professionals are being sidetracked and corralled by the pressures of corporatization and a policy environment dedicated to the reduction of state subsidies and organizational restructuring. Particular attention is paid to the shifting basis of museum finance, emergent processes of commodification in museums, and finally, the role of museums in polices for economic regeneration around notions of cultural economies and the 'creative city'.


The cooperative effort of three groups of investigators made it possible to study the clinical course and the metabolic and hormonal derangement of a patient with adrenal carcinoma and the responsiveness of the tumor to hormone stimulation and Amphenone (1,2-bis[ p -aminophenyl]-2-methylpropanone-1-dihydrochloride) t h e r a p y. 1-5 This study covers a period of four years during which three stages of the course of Cushing's syndrome were investigated. The first stage illustrates the presence of significant hormonal and metabolic aberrations, although there was a paucity of clinical signs and symptoms. The second stage, which followed the removal of an adrenal tumor, illustrates the reversibility of Cushing's syndrome in both clinical and biochemical parameters. This remission, considered to be a "cure," lasted, however, only approximately three and one-half years. It was interrupted by the sudden emergence of pronounced virilization associated with significant hormonal and metabolic aberrations. This third stage


Background Congenital chloride diarrhea (CCD), a rare autosomal recessive disorder, is characterized by sustained watery diarrhea (due to defect of active Chloride/HCO3 exchange in the ileum and colon) with high fecal chloride. The estimated incidence of CCD was 1 in 14000 in Kuwait reported in 1989. Aim of our study was to spotlight the common presentation of infants with CCD which appears not to be uncommon disorder in Kuwait for early management and prevention of complications. Subjects and methods Reviewing the inpatient database of Pediatric department of Al-Adan Hospital, Kuwait for patients who were admitted as chronic diarrhea in the first year of life, 12 patients diagnosed as CCD (7 females and 5 males). The diagnosis of CCD was based on antenatal and early infantile presentation and confirmed by laboratory finding of excess chloride loss in stool and low serum chloride level. Results All 12 patients were born to consanguineous parents, had antenatal history of IUGR, polyhydramnios and distended hypoechoic fetal bowel and presented with abdominal distension, hypotonia and muscle wasting. Whereas, 10 patients (90%) were delivered prematurely, 8 patients (66.6%) had maternal hypertension, 9 patients (75%) had absence of normal meconium at birth. Our patients showed significant decrease in serum sodium, potassium, chloride & urine chloride compared with the average for age. Conclusions High index of suspicious and awareness should be considered for early diagnosis of CCD in this population especially in the presence of consanguineous marriage.


Alteration in the river flow regime due to intermittent hydropower production (i.e., hydropeaking) leads to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation worldwide. Due to the increasing shear of volatile green energy (i.e., wind and solar), hydropeaking frequency is deemed to increase in the coming decades. However, our mechanistic understanding of how the frequency of repeated hydropeaking (i.e., series of multiple events) affects ecological processes is still limited. Here, we reflect on the impacts of altered flow frequency and relative duration on the persistency of aquatic habitats. We focus on the habitats at patch‐scale, being this the scale representing what organisms perceive when interacting with their environment. With a showcase we explore a temporally explicit approach to quantify altered habitat dynamics at patch‐scale due to hydropeaking. We then review how changes in habitat dynamics and persistency may affect ecological processes. Our findings suggest that (i) a time‐series approach allows to account for the inherent multi‐event nature of hydropeaking; (ii) hydropeaking can increase the dynamics of single habitat patches by at least one order of magnitude if compared to unregulated rivers; (iii) altered habitat dynamics at the patch scale can affect the survival of more sessile species and life cycle stages (e.g., invertebrates) or the energy budget of mobile species and life cycle stages (e.g., adult fish). However, the ecological significance and potential environmental thresholds of patch‐scale dynamics and persistency are still poorly investigated and need further attention. Moreover, methods for the aggregation of habitat dynamics and persistency from the patch to the reach‐scale are not available yet.


Since the 1970s, distributed computing over the Internet, the practice of dividing various tasks to multiple computers on a public network, has been possible. For the past 20 years, technologies such as " Web 2.0 " (JavaScript, Ajax, Dynamic HTML, as well as Java applets), have been used to improve the look and feel of web sites. However, this same technology can be used to create powerful distributed computing networks, harnessing the nearly endless supply of desktop machines to solve computationally difficult problems while they browse web pages.


AIMS
The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy profile of new-generation, SYNERGY everolimus-eluting stents (S-EES) as compared to XIENCE everolimus-eluting stents (X-EES) with a durable polymer coating in "complex patients".

METHODS AND RESULTS
We included 2,001 consecutive patients treated with S-EES (n=400) or X-EES (n=1,601) at two Italian centres between May 2013 and May 2015. We used propensity score matching to obtain two cohorts of patients with similar baseline risk profiles. Patients were stratified according to baseline complexity based on the EVOLVE II trial exclusion criteria. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiac events (MACE), defined as the composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularisation (TLR), at one year. Among 391 matched pairs of patients treated with S-EES or X-EES, we identified 253 (63%) as complex. At one-year follow-up, among "complex" patients, MACE rates did not differ between the S-EES and X-EES groups (9.9% vs. 9.5%, p=0.830, HR 1.04, CI: 0.72-1.48). Similarly, death, MI, and TLR, stratified for complexity, were comparable between S-EES and X-EES treated patients at one year. Of note, no definite ST was observed in either the S-EES or the X-EES cohort.

CONCLUSIONS
New-generation S-EES with a bioresorbable polymer coating appear to be safe and effective irrespective of patient complexity as compared to X-EES.


In this study, the water surface elevations in gradually varied flows are calculated by Differential Quadrature Method (DQM) which is recently used in Hydraulics Engineering. Water surface profiles can be calculated by solving the systems of equations that are linear at uniform channel, nonlinear at nonuniform channel. A uniform channel is selected as on illustrative example. The obtained results are compared with those of Direct Step Method. Gradually varied flow is calculated for M and S profiles in a trapezoidal channel. The differences between the results are negligibly small.


During the past twenty-five years or so, a number of factor-analytic studies have identified a group of tests as belonging to a category which is frequently called Spatial Relations. However, continued use of a single experimental technique may lead to diminishing returns, and new techniques may be needed to develop new kinds of information. The present study was undertaken to find what information could be gained by relatively intensive and extended interviewing. Five subjects took part in about two hours of testing and six hours of interviews and discussion. The purpose of this investigation included studying the uses of interviewing as a method as well as studying the nature of spatial relations tests and the abilities they measure. It was observed that the subjects expected the test directions to serve a different purpose than the one they were designed to serve. It was also found that there were differences in the degree to which these subjects treated the problems as exercises in logic or exercises in perception; and it was found that the units of thought and perception varied with the subjects, the problems, and with the subjects' purposes.


A four-module PEM fuel cell stack was electrochemically characterized prior to its incorporation to a hybrid power plant of an electrical utility vehicle. The 3 kW fuel cell stack, comprised of 4 units of 100 membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) in an open-cathode and air-cooled configuration, was characterized in order to identify its optimum operational parameters. The open cathode configuration is a common approach to reduce parasitic loads and increase energy efficiency in fuel cells; however, the forced convection derives frequently to internal dehydration. Voltage reversal caused by lack of reactants, many times due to dehydration at the reaction sites (membrane-electrode interface) is a common failure source for this kind of configuration especially at high current demands. Therefore, water management becomes crucial for preventing fuel cell's performance decrease and permanent failure. Subsequently, a smart water management strategy had to be established prior to the power plant integration into the vehicle for the fuel cell's performance to be guaranteed during the vehicle duty cycle. For this purpose, a testing protocol was established for testing each module based on linear voltammetries, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and thermal images in order to observe cell's voltage and resistance as indicators of internal hydration, reactants concentration, and heat distribution during the stack operation. Polarization curves were obtained for each module and from them, the point (voltage, current, temperature and air vent) for steady operation was identified as the recommended condition for nominal performance during the fuel cell operation in the hybrid power plant of the electrical vehicle.


A widely used sealed-bid auction is the first-price auction. In this auction, the highest bidder wins the item and pays the price submitted; the other bidders get and pay nothing. The all-pay auction is similar to the first-price auction, except that losers must also pay their submitted bids. The Nash equilibria of this game involve the use of randomized strategies, which protect bidders from being overbid by a small amount. This paper generalizes the standard Nash equilibrium analysis of the all-pay auction to allow for endogenously determined decision "errors". Such errors may either be due to mistakes or to unobserved random variation in payoff functions. The error distributions depend on equilibrium expected payoffs, which in turn determine the error distributions as a fixed point. A striking result derived in this paper is that for any structure of the error terms the generalized Nash equilibrium and the Nash equilibrium of the all-pay auction are equivalent if the error terms are identically and independently distributed.


Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural society characterized by distinct values and norms about many issues including the role of women in society. Since Malaysia gained independence in 1957, Malaysian women have participated and contributed towards the social and economic development of the country. This was made possible by the policy standpoint of the Malaysian government which considers women are an important pool of resource that can be mobilized towards achieving the national development agenda. After fifty-two years of independence, Malaysia is one of the most developed countries in Southeast Asia. She has seriously geared its effort toward information and communication technology (ICT) by establishing the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996 with the widespread use of computer in Malaysia women have been found to have benefited from the modern technologies. They enjoy greater access to computers and Internet. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes accessibility, delivering access to the computers and internet info-structure to women in Malaysia. A framework for analyzing Malaysian women accessing computers and the internet is presented and discussed.


Robotic manipulation of cloth remains challenging for robotics due to the complex dynamics of the cloth, lack of a low-dimensional state representation, and self-occlusions. In contrast to previous model-based approaches that learn a pixel-based dynamics model or a compressed latent vector dynamics, we propose to learn a particle-based dynamics model from a partial point cloud observation. To overcome the challenges of partial observability, we infer which visible points are connected on the underlying cloth mesh. We then learn a dynamics model over this visible connectivity graph. Compared to previous learning-based approaches, our model poses strong inductive bias with its particle based representation for learning the underlying cloth physics; it is invariant to visual features; and the predictions can be more easily visualized. We show that our method greatly outperforms previous state-of-the-art model-based and model-free reinforcement learning methods in simulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate zero-shot sim-to-real transfer where we deploy the model trained in simulation on a Franka arm and show that the model can successfully smooth different types of cloth from crumpled configurations. Videos can be found on our project website.


Newborn mice inoculated sc with a minimally lethal strain of Ross River virus had severe paralysis from days 5 to 6, but only 25% died. Small foci of infection in ependyma and very few infected neurons in the cerebral cortex were detected, but there were no other evidences of acute infection in the central nervous system. From day 10, there was thinning of the cerebral cortex, with appearance of fluidfilled spaces by day 18. Paralysis was apparently due to severe necrosis of muscle; mice recovered and appeared normal by days 25-35, despite persistent cortical lesions still present in apparently healthy mice surviving for one and a half years. Intracerebrally inoculated newborn mice had necrosis of infected ependymal cells; in many instances this resulted in aqueductal stenosis and hydrocephalus. Semliki Forest virus, in contrast to Ross River virus, produced widespread infection and necrosis in the central nervous system, including foci in the retina. Death was attributed to neuronal destruction. Extraneural tissues were also infected, but mice died before there had been time for evolution of pathologic changes seen with Ross River virus.


Unstable angina generally is a serious condition which often requires hospital treatment. In this review article, we shall describe our therapeutic approach to unstable angina. It is almost identical worldwide. This attitude is based on the evidence provided by well controlled clinical trials. It is therefore a good example of Evidence-Based Medicine.


This paper proposes a framework based on automated machine learning for the classification of candidate solutions for logistic and industrial discrete event simulation models. The proposed framework aims to augment the capabilities of a decision-maker to make critical yes-no decisions quickly with confidence and nearly perfect accuracy. The framework is based on a combination of artificial neural networks and a genetic algorithm. Such that the genetic algorithm orchestrates both neural architecture search and hyperparameter optimization. The paper demonstrates that the classifiers obtained through the proposed procedure can learn and generalize complex nonlinear relations within the discrete-event simulation models of subsystems vitally crucial for food supply chains and classify a candidate solution as profitable or not.


This paper focuses on the modelling and simulation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Gas Turbine (GT) hybrid systems for Distributed Generation. Independent dynamic models of the main components of the systems have been realized and implemented in the Matlab-Simulink environment. The models have been used to simulate the behaviour of two plant configurations. Control methodologies have been analyzed and numerical results are provided.


In this paper, we model a Stackelberg game in a simple Gaussian test channel where a human transmitter (leader) communicates a source message to a human receiver (follower). We model human decision making using prospect theory models proposed for continuous decision spaces. Assuming that the value function is the squared distortion at both the transmitter and the receiver, we analyze the effects of the weight functions at both the transmitter and the receiver on optimal communication strategies, namely encoding at the transmitter and decoding at the receiver, in the Stackelberg sense. We show that the optimal strategies for the behavioral agents in the Stackelberg sense are identical to those designed for unbiased agents. At the same time, we also show that the prospect-theoretic distortions at both the transmitter and the receiver are both larger than the expected distortion, thus making behavioral agents less contended than unbiased agents. Consequently, the presence of cognitive biases increases the need for transmission power in order to achieve a given distortion at both transmitter and receiver.


Anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) are useful for simulating human damage during traffic accidents. For large accidents such as train accidents, experiments using full-size ATDs are not feasible because of cost, space, and time requirements. However, it is difficult to develop small-scale ATDs because changes in geometry are not necessarily accompanied by commensurate changes in mass or force. In this study, we designed and developed small-scale human dummies using the similarity rule. We determined the similarity ratio and focused on the neck, chest, and abdomen, which are important for protecting organs and nerves. Drop, impact, and sled tests based on ISO TR9790 indicators were used to evaluate the ATD. The first ATD scored 4.69, which indicates "fair biofidelity"; the neck and chest delivered low scores during the sled and impact tests, respectively. We simulated the behavior of the ATD using finite element analysis; the experimental and analytical values were consistent. We modified the neck and chest parameters using simulation results and evaluated the optimized ATD using impact and sled tests. The optimized ATD scored a 6.56, which indicates "good biofidelity." In conclusion, we developed a small-scale ATD capable of satisfactorily simulating human behavior. Using the proposed ATD, we can reduce the opportunities for full-scale experiments.


Although the concept of ecosystem services has drawn a prolific amount of recent research, little work has been done on the links between marine ecosystem services and coastal human well-being at a regional scale. Key questions in this context are that of appropriate categories for assessing human well-being and how to link different determinants of human well-being to specific ecosystem services supplied in adjacent marine areas. This paper presents the results of a case study that links tangible and intangible ecosystem benefits to a range of material and immaterial factors constituting human well-being. Determinants of human well-being were defined and indicators selected to make these linkages traceable. Ecosystem services were assessed for the offshore environment along the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, based on the assumption of strong future development of offshore wind farming and considering the environmental and socio-economic impacts of such developments on the coastal region. This paper illustrates some conceptual problems in linking ecosystem benefits to human well-being. Based on an economic analysis and a questionnaire survey, two examples are presented where an evidence-based link could be demonstrated between an ecosystem service impacted by offshore wind farming and change in human well-being. The results presented should be understood as an analytic framework and precondition for gathering empirical data.


The concept of cooperative diversity promises to offer the benefits of spatial diversity gains to handheld wireless devices with single antennas. So far the research has focused on special modulation or space-time coding in order to allow the cooperating terminals transmit simultaneously during the relay phase. In this paper, we proposed a joint relay selection and ARQ scheme in the cooperative diversity wireless networks. The simulation comparison of the direct transmission scheme, decode- and-forward scheme (DF) and joint relay selection and ARQ scheme showed that the proposed scheme can always achieve the highest throughput.


This article deals with the reburial of Bishop Joseph Dupont in Zambia in December 2000, 88 years after he left the country. After a brief precis of the burial itself, I examine the different presentations of Bishop Dupont by scholars, White Fathers, oral literature and the Bemba Catholics in Zambia, exploring the question of who kept his memory alive and for what purposes. It is not sufficient to view Dupont's funeral as an historical oddity, but rather as a manifestation of what Ranger called 'popular Christianity'. To understand this attachment to Dupont by local Catholics, one has to go beyond the official documents and academic literature and consider the historical reconstruction on the ground. As will become clear, this is the only way to explain Bishop Dupont's current heroic status.


One characteristic of non-volatile memory (NVM) is that, even though it supports non-volatility, its retention capability is limited. To handle this issue, previous studies have focused on refreshing or advanced error correction code (ECC). In this paper, we take a different approach that makes use of the limited retention capability to our advantage. Specifically, we employ NVM as a file cache and devise a new scheme called amnesic cache management (ACM). The scheme is motivated by our observation that most data in a cache are evicted within a short time period after they have been entered into the cache, implying that they can be written with the relaxed retention capability. This retention relaxation can enhance the overall cache performance in terms of latency and energy since the data retention capability is proportional to the write latency. In addition, to prevent the retention relaxation from degrading the hit ratio, we estimate the future reference intervals based on the inter-reference gap (IRG) model and manage data adaptively. Experimental results with real-world workloads show that our scheme can reduce write latency by up to 40% (30% on average) and save energy consumption by up to 49% (37% on average) compared with the conventional LRU based cache management scheme.


This study investigates the empirical analysis of advanced managerial accounting techniques on decision support system in small and medium enterprises in Jordan. The crucial role played by small and medium-sized companies have a major impact on the economies of countries. Therefore, working at maximum cost-effectiveness is vital to both survival and competitiveness because most SMEs in developing countries operate in crowded and competitive markets. To obtain the objectives of the study, the researcher conducted a questionnaire survey, a sample was of 100 managers and 200 employees' respondents was purposefully sampled, in SMEs in Amman capital city of Jordan. The purpose of the sample is to see the effect of accounting management techniques and decision support system in small and medium enterprises and the researcher take the demographic variables; gender, management level, age, education, and use of technology and financial controlling systemare taken as moderating variables. The statistical tests were applied to analyze the data. The results of the study showed the significant impact of advanced managerial accounting techniques and decision support on SMEs. The study also found that financial controlling system and the use of technology has a positive impact on performance. In light of the results the researcher has made a number of recommendations that will help the Jordanian enterprises, in order to be able to interact and respond to economic, environmental and social variables and respond to economic, environmental and social variables.


Stage 1 (pre-malignant) and stage 2 (malignant) cells derived from mice infected with Friend murine leukemia virus or polycythemia-inducing Friend virus complex were examined and compared for the expression of a transformation-related cellular protein, p53. Stage 2 cells were found to express high levels of p53, whereas stage 1 cells did not express detectable levels of this protein. These results indicate that p53 may be a marker for transformed cells present in the second stage of diseases induced by Friend murine leukemia virus or polycythemia-inducing Friend virus complex.


A series of nanosized NiPB amorphous alloy catalysts with various concentrations was prepared by chemical reduction of nickel acetate with sodium hypophosphite and sodium borohydride in aqueous solution at 298 K under N 2 curtain gas with vigorous stirring. The catalysts were characterized with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, nitrogen sorption, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The catalysts were tested for liquid-phase hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene at 1.2 MPa hydrogen pressure, 353 and 393 K reaction temperature, absolute ethanol as a reaction medium, 500 rpm stirring speed, 0.2 M p-CNB, and 2 mmol of Ni catalyst. The initial Ni/P/B molar ratio of starting materials affected the concentration of boron and phosphorus bound to the nickel metal, resulting in a change of surface area, amorphous structure, and hydrogenation activity of the catalyst. The XPS results revealed that boron combined with nickel metal in the NiPB powder donates electrons to nickel metal and that phosphorus withdraws electrons from nickel metal. The sample NiPB(1:3:3) (the values in parentheses are Ni/P/B ratios in the starting materials) prepared at 298 K under N 2 flow with vigorous stirring had the highest surface area of 28.2 m 2 /g. The BET surface area increased with an increase of phosphorus content in the sample. The XPS results revealed that boron could donate electrons to the nickel metal and that phosphorus could accept electrons from the nickel metal in the NiPB catalysts. By regulating the concentrations of boron and phosphorus, one could regulate the electron denisity of nickel, which in turn could influence the activity of the catalyst. The order of activity per weight of the catalyst was NiPB(1:0.3:3) > NiPB(1:1:3) > NiB(1:3) > NiPB (1:3:3). The activities per surface area and turnover frequencies of the catalysts also decreased in the same order. NiPB catalysts prepared with suitable Ni/P/B ratios in the starting materials had higher activities than the NiB catalyst. Small amounts of phosphorus in the NiB catalyst can increase the surface area and turnover frequency. Both are beneficial for promoting the reaction. However, an overdose of phosphorus became a poison for the Ni catalyst.


Adam-christology; and finally that Paul's soteriological themes such as justification and reconciliation are likewise derived from the original Christophany. These arguments are plausibly presented, and the monograph contains a lot of useful background information (especially on the subject of the epiphanic visions related in Jewish literature and the OT). Perhaps the chapter on soteriology tends to turn into a rather general discussion less directly related to the Damascus event, and one wonders whether Paul's doctrine of the Spirit ought to have received more attention. Nor do I find what is said about the derivation of the idea of the church as the Body of Christ very convincing. But these are comparatively minor criticisms. This is a valuable contribution to Pauline studies, and its basic thesis deserves serious consideration.


The question of what people are expected to live on raises many issues, foregrounding the rather metaphysical question of how people are viewed as people. To argue for the implementation of a really viable living wage one would have to argue against the dehumanization of bodies, of construction of personhoods that demean humans, and to visualize a change in worldview and perceptual categories. Living wage discussions on India must go beyond economies to address the cultural/cosmological factors that mark power relations and shape social categories, and this must be done against the backdrop of overpopulation and abject poverty.


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

Introduction

The antibiotic salinomycin (SM) represents a selective potassium ionophore. It has recently attracted considerable attention due to its stem-cell specific mode of action that has been elucidated in a breast cancer stem cell model [1]. Further studies revealed additional benefits, e.g. the triggering of apoptosis in resistant cancer cell lines and reversal of multidrug resistance [2,3]. In budding yeast, we discovered that this agent prominently causes mitochondrial damage as revealed by the emergence of respiration-defective cells ("petites"), similar to nigericin. We also noted the frequent occurrence of SM-resistant clones - a possible obstacle in therapy.

Methods

We used the collection of systematic gene deletions in haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae to characterize genes whose deletion confers SM sensitivity or resistance if a carbon source is provided (glycerol) that requires active respiration for growth. In parallel, the emergence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by flow cytometry. With this toxicogenomics approach in a model organism, we attempt to elucidate cancer-stem cell specific therapy targets and suggest strategies to avoid the development of salinomycin resistance.

Results and Conclusions

Among SM-sensitive deletion mutants, mutants that compromise vacuole/Golgi function and autophagy dominate. Novel genes which confer SM sensitivity if deleted were also uncovered, such as CAJ1, a heat shock protein of the dnaJ family. In almost all cases, a strong correlation between SM and nigericin sensitivity was observed.

Among the most SM-resistant mutants were deletions of the E2-ubiquitin conjugating enzymes Ubc13 and Mms2 as well as deletions of TOR pathway components Sch9 and Tco89. In the presence of SM, Sch9 (homolog of human Akt) underwent dephosphorylation; a deletion of Sch9 was shown to improve growth in glycerol media and to counteract petite induction in glucose media in SM-treated cells. The observed mitochondria-dependent ROS production by SM, however, was unaltered and we suggest that, while initial damage is not affected, cells acquire resistance to the consequences of such damage.

[1] Gupta PB, Onder TT, Jiang G, Tao K, Kuperwasser C, et al. (2009) Cell 138: 645-659. [2] Fuchs D, Heinold A, Opelz G, Daniel V, Naujokat C (2009) Biochem Biophys Res Commun 390: 743-749. [3] Fuchs D, Daniel V, Sadeghi M, Opelz G, Naujokat C (2010) Biochem Biophys Res Commun 394: 1098-1104.

Supported by Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Citation Format: Donald Rozario, Sammer Zeglam, Wolfram Siede. Exploring the mechanisms of resistance to Salinomycin, a cancer stem cell-specific agent, in budding yeast as a model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-100. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-100


Serotonin (5-HT) regulates peristaltic and secretory reflexes in the gut. The serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT; SLC6A4), which inactivates 5-HT, is expressed in the intestinal mucosa and the enteric nervous system. Stool water content is increased and colonic motility is irregular in mice with a targeted deletion of SERT. We tested the hypotheses that 5-HT plays a role in regulating intestinal inflammation and that the potentiation of serotonergic signaling that results from SERT deletion is proinflammatory. Rectal installation of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) was used to induce an immune-mediated colitis, which was compared in SERT knockout mice and littermate controls. Intestinal myeloperoxidase and histamine levels were significantly increased, whereas the survival rate and state of health were significantly decreased in TNBS-treated mice that lacked SERT. Deletion of SERT thus increases the severity of TNBS colitis. These data suggest that 5-HT and its SERT-mediated termination play roles in intestinal immune/inflammatory responses in mice.


Microemulsion systems were used to remove chromium from an aqueous solution obtained from acid digestion of tannery sludge. The systems were composed by: coconut oil soap as surfactant, 1-butanol as cosurfactant, kerosene as the oil phase, and chromium solution as the aqueous phase. Twoand three-phase microemulsion extraction methods were investigated in the experiments. Viscosity, effective diameter of the droplets, and extraction and re-extraction efficiencies were evaluated for each system. Twoand three-phase systems showed small variations in droplet diameter, which can be attributed to the formation of micellar structures. Chromium recovery efficiencies for the studied systems were over 96%. The re-extraction step showed that the stripping solution used can release more than 96% of the chromium from the microemulsion phase. Experimental results confirm that chromium can be recovered efficiently using microemulsion systems.


Sharp features such as edges and corners play an important role in the perception of 3D models. In order to capture them better, we propose quadric loss, a point-surface loss function, which minimizes the quadric error between the reconstructed points and the input surface. Computation of Quadric loss is easy, efficient since the quadric matrices can be computed apriori, and is fully differentiable, making quadric loss suitable for training point and mesh based architectures. Through extensive experiments we show the merits and demerits of quadric loss. When combined with Chamfer loss, quadric loss achieves better reconstruction results as compared to any one of them or other point-surface loss functions.


This paper presents the distribution of heavy metals in a groundwater system at a solid waste disposal site in Taiping, Perak. In this study several boreholes were constructed within the solid waste disposal site. Soil samples were collected from the alluvial deposits at 1 m intervals between 6 and 30 m depths from 6 boreholes using a down-hole hammer. The pore water content of the samples and the ground water was extracted in order to determine the concentrations of heavy metals, such as lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and cadmium, (Cd) using the Inductively Couple Plasma Spectrometer (ICP-MS). From the profiling results, the penetration of heavy metals into the groundwater system was obtained. A profile of heavy metal concentrations in the pore water of the core samples at several boreholes within the study area, and heavy metals concentration in groundwater under different conditions were obtained. Some of the heavy metals concentration such as Pb, Mn, Zn and Fe were high. These high concentrations exceed the maximum permissible concentration as specified in the Drinking Water Standard. Based on contour diagrams, the heavy metals can be detected down to 25 m depth towards the southeast of the landfill and appear to be localized.


Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of alcoholic severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Clinical data of 166 cases of SAP in Fujian Provincial Hospital from January 2001 to December 2008 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Cases were divided into alcoholic SAP group (43cases) and control group ( 123 cases) depending on deoholic intake volue whithin 12~48 hours. Age, gender,CT scores, APACHE Ⅱ score, serum glucose, serum triglyceride (TG), serum calcium, serum albumin,morbidity, later infection rate and mortality rate of the two groups were compared. Results There was no significant difference in terms of age, but the proportion of male in alcoholic SAP group (39/43) was higher than that in control group (58/123, P<0.01 ). CT score, serum glucose and calcium were not significantly different between the two groups. The APACHEⅡ score and serum TG in alcoholic SAP group [19.16±5.38,(5.06±4.03)mmol/L] were significantly higher than those in control group [16.02±5.09, (3.12±2.95)mmol/L]. The albumenjolevel in alcoholic SAP group (25.23±7.12)g/L) was lower than that in control group [(30.68±8.35 ) g/L, P<0.01]. The incidences of ARDS and upper gastroenterologic bleeding were not significantly different between the two groups. But the incidences of acute kidney failure (44.2%), liver failure (41.9%), heart failure (37.2%), shock (39.5%), infection (27.9%) and mortality (30.2%) in alcoholic SAP were significantly higher than those in control group (26.0%,30.9%, 20.3%, 16.3%,16.3%, 7.3%, P<0.05 or<0.01). Conclusions Males predominates alcoholic SAP patients with high mortality and morbidity. Alcohol abstinence is effective to prevent alcoholic SAP ocurrence.

Key words:
Alcoholic pancreatitis;  Disease attributes;  Retrospective studies;  Complication


Environmental Management Initiatives (EMI), as part of the sustainability management movement, have become an integrated part of the organisational management practices and of the current research. Since the implementation of Environmental Management System (EMS), there have been many studies analysing this relationship with the environmental performance. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) also gained a great importance for the organisations' performance, including their performance in the environmental area. However, previous studies analysed the direct link between those variables and environmental performance, while the mediating effect of those variables has not been tested yet because using a mediator in the relationship between two variables is a rather new approach in the research area used in the behavioural sciences area. This research analyses the role of EMI in defining the Environmental Performance (EP) of hotel industry, given the strong relationship between those two variables and the importance of the tourism sector for the economic development, both in the developed, but especially in the developing countries. It also investigates the CSR authenticity as mediator between EMI and EP link. Data was collected through a questionnaire of managers of the hotels in Pakistan. Correlation, Structural Equation Model and linear regressions were applied for testing the hypotheses and for checking the viability of the model. Findings revealed that EMI and CSR authenticity are important and significant determinants of EP in the hotel industry. Findings show that CSR authenticity acts as a mediator for the EMI and EP link. The stakeholder pressures and customers' environmental awareness have forced the hotel industry to implement environmental standards and this shift of focus is more important in the hotel industry. The current research demonstrates that efforts of EMI is a prerequisite for enhancing CSR authenticity in the environmental area, and this, in its turn, contributes to the increase of the EP of hotel and tourism sector in a developing country. Given the lack of large financial resources of the developing countries, this model is an important outcome for the tourism industry that helps hotels to become green, to attract more clients and to gain competitive advantages.


Vanadium oxides (1 - 5 wt%) doped porous TiO 2 using tetrabutyltitanate and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as Ti precursor and template, respectively was successfully synthesized via sol-gel method. All the samples crystallined in anatase phase as indicated by X-ray diffraction analysis. The results of diffused reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy analysis showed that the band gap energy of TiO 2 reduced from 3.02 to 2.72 eV after introduction of 5 wt% V. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis revealed that the surface area of samples increased with the amount of V dopant. These materials contained of disorder mesopores with particle size ranged 5 – 56 nm. Amongst, sample 4V-TBT-p-TiO 2 recorded the highest percentage of phenol degradation (62.2%) under visible light irradiation


A 4-year grazing experiment was carried out in south-western Victoria to compare the effect of tactical stocking with continuous stocking on the persistence of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and the productivity of sheep used for prime lamb production. Tactical stocking consisted of variable length summer, autumn and winter rotations and continuous stocking in spring. The 2 grazing strategies were compared on 2 contrasting pastures: an upgraded pasture, sown with newer cultivars of perennial ryegrass and subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) with 26 kg phosphorus/ha.year, and a naturalised perennial ryegrass pasture receiving 6 kg phosphorus/ha.year. Paddocks were grazed by Border Leicester x Merino ewes, which were mated to a terminal sire to lamb in September. In this final paper of the series, the effects of the grazing systems and pasture treatments on animal production and herbage quality are presented. The liveweights of the ewes were similar across all treatments during autumn and winter, but the tactically stocked ewes were 3–6 kg lighter than continuously stocked ewes during spring and summer. The lower liveweight was attributed to the lower (P<0.001) herbage quality on the tactically stocked pastures in spring (P<0.001). Both digestibility and crude protein concentration were about 4 percentage units lower with tactical stocking in spring. This lower quality was associated with the higher herbage mass (by 500–900 kg dry matter/ha) on the tactically stocked pastures, which presumably had a higher stem:leaf ratio and showed reproductive growth earlier than the continuously stocked pastures. Although there were differences in ewe liveweight, this did not affect individual lamb weaning weight or ewe fleece weight. There were significant increases in production per hectare from tactically stocked or upgraded pasture treatments due to the higher stocking rates that could be carried, 9 and 51%, respectively. In 1998, 544 kilograms of lamb per hectare was weaned from continuously stocked paddocks and 607 kg/ha from tactically stocked paddocks (P<0.05), and 449 and 702 kg/ha from the typical and upgraded pastures, respectively. This study reinforces the view that soil fertility and pasture improvement have a much greater impact on animal productivity than changes to grazing method with little effect on per head productivity. The negative impact of rotational stocking on herbage quality reinforces the need to use these systems strategically when benefits from increased herbage mass are expected to increase animal production or overcome sustainability or pasture persistence problems.


This article aims to describe the process of language development.
Efforts made the linguist and psychologist in studying the problems
of language learning from a variety of viewpoints and the theory is
that a lot of benefits for language development so that today we can
enjoy the results of studies on the language more familiar with
psycholinguistics. There are two processes that occur when a person
obtains his first language, which is a process of competence and
performance process. These processes are different processes,
competence is the process of mastery of grammar (phonology,
Jurnal Komunikasi dan Pendidikan Islam, Volume 6, Nomor 2, Desember 2016 117
Alam Budi Kusuma : Pemerolehan Bahasa Pertama
morphology, syntax and semantics) unconsciously. It needs to be
questioned is how the strategy of the child in gaining his first
language and whether each child has the same strategy in gaining
his first language


Land degradation is one of the major challenges in agricultural production in many parts of the world, especially in developing nations like Ethiopia. Even though a number of soil and water conservation method were introduced to combat land degradation . This study was conducted at Haro Bake kebele, Yabello woreda, Borana zone. The objective of the study was to assess the community based soil and water conservation practice and to evaluate how well implemented measures address to specification and to describe tradition and  improved concentration measure. In the study field survey, questionnaire an interviews were conducted to collect the necessary data from 35 sample households; which were selected via simple random sampling and purposively from Haro Bake kebeles. To address the stated objective  both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Data collection tools included questionnaire, focus group discussions,and field observation. The result shows that farmers of the study area were not participating on SWC activities by their interest (voluntary) but by the force of community leader, DAs, and district administrative order they are participate on the practices. The study revealed that factors such as; slope of the area, tenure status, age, gender, education status of households, land size, lack of information, level of contact with DA, lack of awareness, length of food secured months etc; are influence the practices of soil and water conservation structure. The farmer destruct the SWC method because of searching fertile soil, to join their plot of land, for need to avail more land, to destroy hiding places of rodent pests, removing a bund about to collapse etc. Soil bund, micro basin, terraces, water way and cut off drain are the soil and water conservation structure practiced by farmers and DAs on small farm land to conserve water and soil. As the result of the study indicates to decrease the challenges of SWC in the study area of Yabello district, the DAs, and experts of the natural resource of the area advice farmers as it is not important to destroy the terrace bench, soil bunds etc;. They advise, as it would be better to redevelop the existing terraces and supporting them with other soil fertility and SWC methods and train the farmers to change the low awareness they have on SWC practices. Therefore, the most important factors that require immediate consideration for SWC activities in the study area are participation of the household farmers has to be through their own conviction regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of the soil conservation structures. Keywords : Soil and water conservation structures; soil erosion; improve soil fertility


The main purpose of this study is to investigate the in vitro toxic effects of 5 Bothrops spp. snake venoms, which are part of the antigenic mixture used for the production of Brazilian antivenom, and evaluate their correlation with the in vivo toxic activities of Bothrops spp. venoms. The correlation analysis could be helpful for the replacement of living animals experimentation for in vitro bioassay. Cytotoxicity, L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO), proteolitic (serine and metalloproteinase), hyaluronidase (Hyal), and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activities were estimated and the correlation coefficient was determined for each activity in relation to lethality, edema, hemorrhage and necrosis induced in live animals by B. jararaca, B. alternatus, B. jararacussu, B. neuwiedi, and B. moojeni venoms. The lethal activity in mice was highly related to Hyal activity (r = 0.94, p < .05), edema related to PLA2 activity (r = 0.94, p < .05), whereas the necrotizing activity showed high correlation with LAAO activity (r = 0.83, p < .05). A very significant correlation between in vitro cytotoxicity and LAAO activities was also observed (r = 0.97, p < .05).


Data Leakage is characterized as the unplanned or inadvertent appropriation of private or sensitive information to an unapproved subject. Sensitive information in organizations and associations incorporate protected innovation (IP), money related data, understanding data, individual credit card information, and other data relying upon the business. Data Leakage represents a major issue for organizations as the quantity of occurrences and the cost to those encountering them keep on increasing. Data Leakage is improved by the way that transmitted information (both inbound and out-bound), including messages, texting, site structures, and document exchanges among others, are to a great extent unregulated and unmonitored on their way to their goals. The potential harm and antagonistic outcomes of an Data Leakage occurrence can be characterized into two classes: Direct and Indirect Losses. Coordinate misfortunes allude to substantial harm that is anything but difficult to quantify or to gauge quantitatively. Backhanded misfortunes, then again, are considerably harder to evaluate and have a substantially more extensive effect as far as cost, place, and time. Direct losses include violations of regulations (such as protecting privacy information, files data) resulting in fines, settlements or customer enumerations fees litigation involving lawsuits loss of future sales costs of investigation and remedial or restoration fees. Indirect losses include varying share price as a result of negative publicity damage to a company's goodwill and reputation customer abandonment and exposure of intellectual property to competitors.


Background: Addressing the high prevalence of tobacco use experienced by people with severe mental illness (SMI) requires consideration of the influence of wider cultural, socioeconomic and environmental factors. This qualitative study aimed to examine the impact of social and living environments on tobacco use and cessation by people with SMI accessing community managed mental health services. The perspectives of both staff and consumers with SMI were explored. Methods: Semi-structured focus groups were undertaken with a purposive sample of community mental health staff and consumers from three sites in three major cities in NSW, Australia. Two sites provided outreach support, and one site provided residential support. Data were collected (2017–2018) until saturation was reached. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed, and thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Thirty-one staff and 17 consumers participated separately in six focus groups. Themes identified by staff included a degree of fatalism, conceptualising tobacco use as choice rather than addiction and tensions between cessation support and broader models of care. Staff viewed smoke-free home and mental health service policies as effective at promoting quitting but contradictory to recovery-oriented models of care. Consumers identified smoking as an integral part of life and social networks, as a way of maintaining control and lack of social support to quit as key themes. While many consumers reported smoking inside the home, others described enforcing smoke-free rules. Conclusion: Social and living environments played an integral role in tobacco use and cessation for both staff and consumers. The role of community managed mental health organisations in addressing tobacco use within social and living environments was not strongly supported by staff and sometimes seen as antithetical to recovery-oriented models of care. Potential ways to address this include education and training for prospective and current community mental health organisation staff highlighting the synergy between the recovery-oriented model and provision of preventive health support.


Stained cytological specimens from eight canine ceruminous adenomas and eight canine ceruminous carcinomas were analysed by computer-assisted nuclear morphometry. Three carcinomas had metastases in regional lymph nodes at the time of the diagnosis. The morphometric parameters evaluated in this study were mean nuclear area (MNA, µm(2) ), mean nuclear perimeter (MNP, µm), mean nuclear diameter (D mean, µm), minimum nuclear diameter (D min, µm) and maximum nuclear diameter (D max, µm). The study aimed to evaluate (1) the possibility of using nuclear cytomorphometry as an auxiliary diagnostic method to differentiate between canine ceruminous adenomas and adenocarcinomas, and (2) the prognostic value of nuclear morphometry in canine ceruminous carcinomas. The results indicated that (1) MNA, MNP, D mean, D min and D max could be used as effective auxiliary tools for differential diagnosis between canine ceruminous adenomas and adenocarcinomas, and (2) MNA, MNP, D mean and D max are reliable prognostic indicators for canine ceruminous adenocarcinomas.


Solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS), electronic nose, and electronic tongue were used to characterize the sensory profiles of cider vinegars from Korea (K1-2), China (C1-2), Japan (J1-2), and US (U1-2). SPME-GC/MS detected acetic acid as the common volatile compound in all vinegars, in addition to isovaleric acid, octanoic acid, and phenethyl acetate. Acids and acetic esters were the major components of Korean and US vinegar samples, respectively. Chinese vinegars had high ethyl acetate content, while Japanese samples were characterized by a low content of acetic acid. Principal component analysis (PCA) pattern provided a clear categorical discrimination of Chinese vinegars by E-nose and E-tongue analyses. The instrumental sensory scores and the taste attributes for flavor (r²=0.9431), sourness (r²=0.9515), and sweetness (r²=0.8325) were highly correlated. Therefore, SPME/GC-MS, E-nose, and E-tongue analyses may be useful tools to discriminate the sensory profiles of cider vinegars of different origins.


The ability to trap and rotate magnetic particles has important applications in biophysical research and optical micromachines. However, it is difficult to achieve the spin rotation of magnetic particles with optical tweezers due to the limit in transferring spin angular momentum of light. Here, we propose a method to obtain controlled spin rotation of a magnetic microparticle by the phoretic torque, which is originated from inhomogeneous heating of the microparticle's surface. The microparticle is trapped and rotated nearby the laser focus center. The rotation frequency is several Hertz and can be controlled by adjusting the laser power. Our work provides a method to the study of optical rotation of microscopic magnetic particles, which will push toward both translational and rotational manipulation of the microparticles simultaneously in a single optical trap.


Depressive disorder has no single cause. Arguably, in old age it is a more heterogeneous condition than in earlier adult life, in both clinical presentation and causation. A broad distinction is often made between early- and late-onset depression in later life. The aetiology of these may differ and is currently the subject of new research. Aetiology is often subdivided into risk factors (vulnerability to depression), precipitating factors and perpetuating factors (features which maintain depression). Perpetuating factors overlap with management issues and will not be discussed in detail. Lastly, there are factors which protect (or 'buffer') against depression.


This study examined whether travelers are using the new Katy Freeway managed lanes (MLs) in Houston, Texas, as people stated that they would in their responses to a survey conducted in 2008, before the MLs opened. To check the veracity of intended behaviors, a new stated preference survey was given to Houston's Katy Freeway travelers in 2010. The 2010 survey yielded 3,325 respondents, of whom approximately 869 respondents had likely been participants in the 2008 survey. Mixed logit models were developed from the 869 responses, and their value of travel time savings were compared with the 2008 survey estimates. The implied mean value of travel time savings based on the 2010 survey was found to be about 48% of the sample mean hourly wage rate, similar to values estimated for the 2008 surveys. The value of travel time reliability was estimated as 56% of the sample mean hourly wage rate. Combining both the value of time and the value of reliability for these travelers results in a combined value of $61/h. This value is close to the value travelers are giving their travel time for their actual recent trips on the Katy Freeway (an average of $51/h). Thus it appears that travelers are factoring in (consciously or subconsciously) some additional value for the reliability of MLs when they choose to use these lanes. The percentage of travelers from the 2010 survey who actually used the MLs was similar to the percentage of 2008 survey respondents who indicated that they might or would definitely use MLs. These findings suggest that travelers are actually using and paying for MLs as they said they would. The results also suggest that the maximum willingness to pay for travel did not change much from before to after the opening of the MLs.