Background: Despite the survival advantage, not all metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients achieve a long-term benefit from immunotherapy. Moreover, the identification of prognostic biomarkers is still an unmet clinical need. Methods: This multicenter retrospective study investigated the prognostic role of peripheral-blood inflammatory indices and clinical factors to develop a novel prognostic score in mRCC patients receiving at least second-line nivolumab. The complete blood count before the first cycle of therapy was assessed by calculating neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived NLR (dNLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI). Clinical factors included pre-treatment International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) score, line of therapy, and metastatic sites. Results: From October 2015 to November 2019, 571 mRCC patients received nivolumab as second- and further-line treatment in 69% and 31% of cases. In univariable and multivariable analyses all inflammatory indices, IMDC score, and bone metastases significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). The multivariable model with NLR, IMDC score, and bone metastases had the highest c-index (0.697) and was chosen for the developing of the score (Schneeweiss scoring system). After internal validation (bootstrap re-sampling), the final index (Meet-URO score) composed by NLR, IMDC score, and bone metastases had a c-index of 0.691. It identified five categories with distinctive OSs: group 1 (median OS – mOS = not reached), group 2 (mOS = 43.9 months), group 3 (mOS = 22.4 months), group 4 (mOS = 10.3 months), and group 5 (mOS = 3.2 months). Moreover, the Meet-URO score allowed for a fine risk-stratification across all three IMDC groups. Conclusion: The Meet-URO score allowed for the accurate stratification of pretreated mRCC patients receiving nivolumab and is easily applicable for clinical practice at no additional cost. Future steps include its external validation, the assessment of its predictivity, and its application to first-line combinations.


Equalizer in communication system plays an important role for reducing ISI (inter-symbol-interference) which is caused by multi-path fading and Doppler shift. The author introduce BP neural network as an equalizer, one is the same as traditional adaptive LMS in methodology but having more complicated character in detail. Firstly, we study the performance in training sets and find LMS behave more rapid in convergence with lower percentage of error for our considering system. But as the taps (the number of input layer nodes) increasing, NNE (neural network equalizer) show more robust. Then, effects caused by number of nodes in input layer and hidden layer are studied by introducing overshoot zero line. We find that the hidden nodes are more susceptible to it. Finally, we simulate and compare the BER (bit error ratio) performance in different SNR, it shows that lower BER caused by NNE although one is inferior to LMS in training. Furthermore, a mathematic expression is derived both for NNE and LMS because of an approximately Iinearly relationship between BER performance with SNR in log-field.


Background Toll-like receptor 4 plays a role in pathogen recognition, and common polymorphisms may alter host susceptibility to infectious diseases. Purpose To review the association of two common polymorphisms (TLR4 896A>G and TLR4 1196C>T) with infectious diseases. Data Sources We searched PubMed and EMBASE up to March 2013 for pertinent literature in English, and complemented search with references lists of eligible studies. Study Selection We included all studies that: reported an infectious outcome; had a case-control design and reported the TLR4 896A>G and/or TLR4 1196C>T genotype frequencies; 59 studies fulfilled these criteria and were analyzed. Data Extraction Two authors independently extracted study data. Data Synthesis The generalized odds ratio metric (ORG) was used to quantify the impact of TLR4 variants on disease susceptibility. A meta-analysis was undertaken for outcomes reported in >1 study. Eleven of 37 distinct outcomes were significant. TLR4 896 A>G increased risk for all parasitic infections (ORG 1.59; 95%CI 1.05-2.42), malaria (1.31; 95%CI 1.04-1.66), brucellosis (2.66; 95%CI 1.66-4.27), cutaneous leishmaniasis (7.22; 95%CI 1.91-27.29), neurocysticercosis (4.39; 95%CI 2.53-7.61), Streptococcus pyogenes tonsillar disease (2.93; 95%CI 1.24-6.93) , typhoid fever (2.51; 95%CI 1.18-5.34) and adult urinary tract infections (1.98; 95%CI 1.04-3.98), but was protective for leprosy (0.36; 95%CI 0.22-0.60). TLR4 1196 C>T effects were similar to TLR4 896 A>G for brucellosis, cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, typhoid fever and S. pyogenes tonsillar disease, and was protective for bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy (0.55; 95%CI 0.31-0.98) and Haemophilus influenzae tonsillar disease (0.42; 95%CI 0.17-1.00). The majority of significant associations were among predominantly Asian populations and significant associations were rare among European populations. Conclusions Depending on the type of infection and population, TLR4 polymorphisms are associated with increased, decreased or no difference in infectious disease. This may be due to differential functional expression of TLR4, the co-segregation of TLR4 variants or a favorable inflammatory response.


A sparse but important collection of conodonts recovered from four boreholes in north-eastern and central Syria contains Neogondolella mombergensis, which is the first record of Triassic conodonts from Syria. The Carboniferous rocks are characterised by species of Gnathodus which indicate the presence of late Tournaisian to late Viséan strata.


Marketers are always looking for more effective ways to entice consumers, with the goal to build a brand and sell more products and services. Long ago, armed with the knowledge that people enjoy winning prizes, savvy promoters began offering promotional contests and sweepstakes, which encourage consumers to participate in a marketing initiative in exchange for the chance to win certain giveaways. Winners of sweepstakes are chosen by luck of the draw, while contest prizes are typically awarded to entrants who best perform a given task. When administered effectively, these promotions can create buzz around a particular product or service, drive traffic to a storefront, produce user-generated advertising content and build marketing lists. As time progressed, sponsors began redeploying the age-old concepts of promotional contests and sweepstakes on the Internet through the use of high-tech websites and social media platforms. However, as promotions have become more interactive and publicly accessible, sponsors become more susceptible to certain legal risks surrounding intellectual property (or "IP�?) – including images, names, symbols, designs, written text, inventions and other materials. This article explores many of these IP-related legal concerns and considers some steps that sweepstakes and contest sponsors may take in an effort to minimize risk.


The transformative power of education is widely recognised. A more robust national evidence base for effective policy and program development will assist in meeting national education objectives and lift national productivity. Yet, collecting the data and building the evidence base with meaningful information to support decision making is mired in complexity. The panel will reference a small scale pilot in a regional Tasmanian community to facilitate engagement in a discussion of the broader challenge for research centres, policy makers, and education systems. A multidisciplinary panel of senior government and university leaders, as well as experienced and early career researchers will share their perspectives on the impediments and opportunities to leverage data to develop a robust evidence base in Australia. Rather than a series of formal presentations we will encourage a constructive dialogue and discussion between participants and panel members to examine how to drive an improvement agenda across education sectors.


In the last decade, there have been reports on the prevalence of glaucoma from the Vellore Eye Survey, Andhra Pradesh Eye Diseases Survey, Aravind Comprehensive Eye Survey, Chennai Glaucoma Study and West Bengal Glaucoma Study. Population-based studies provide important information regarding the prevalence and risk factors for glaucoma. They also highlight regional differences in the prevalence of various types of glaucoma. It is possible to gather important insights regarding the number of persons affected with glaucoma and the proportion with undiagnosed disease. We reviewed the different population-based studies from India and compare their findings. The lacunae in ophthalmic care that can be inferred from these studies are identified and possible reasons and solutions are discussed. We also discuss the clinical relevance of the various findings, and how it reflects on clinical practice in the country. Since India has a significantly high disease burden, we examine the possibility of population-based screening for disease in the Indian context.


The dynamics of design teams play a critical role in product development, mainly in the early phases of the process. This paper presents a conceptual framework of a computational model about how cognitive and social features of a design team affect the quality of the produced design outcomes. The framework is based on various cognitive and social theories grounded in literature. Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) is used as a tool to evaluate the impact of design process organization and team dynamics on the design outcome. The model describes key research parameters, including dependent, independent, and intermediates. The independent parameters include: duration of a session, number of times a session is repeated, design task and team characteristics such as size, structure, old and new members. Intermediates include: features of team members (experience, learning abilities, and importance in the team) and social influence. The dependent parameter is the task outcome, represented by creativity and accuracy. The paper aims at laying the computational foundations for validating the proposed model in the future.


Abstract The pattern of recurrences after surgical treatment of 276 patients with stage T3 and T4 laryngeal carcinoma was reviewed. Nodal recurrence was the commonest site and occurred mainly in patients with supraglottic and transglottic carcinoma. Distant metastasis was the second commonest site of recurrence, and the most distant metastases developed without locoregional recurrence. Local recurrence alone was uncommon in patients treated with primary surgery.


Following an intense bushfire in December 1972, small mammals were sampled from November 1973 to June 1976 on a few hectares of unburnt, grassy river flat in the Nadgee Nature Reserve, New South Wales. Hindsight shows the importance of these small unburnt patches as refuges for small mammals. A surprising proportion of wildlife survives a large bushfire, but the post-fire population is in extremis, confronted by famine and exposed to increased predation. All small-mammal species on a forest plot burnt in the '72 fire disappeared. On the unburnt flat, five species were encountered and continued to survive. There was a common theme to all five populations in the refuge; incessant flux, many births and disappearances, virtually static overall population. The oft-cited ideas of T. Robert Malthus, although seen by some as old-fashioned and wrong when applied to human populations, lend power to our understanding of population events in the small refuge surviving the '72 fire. The theme is clear: the populations of small mammals on the flat survived, but barely, as the small numbers in each year's winter show, and it is only by the operation of the "Malthusian Guillotine" that they are able to do so. The guillotine is an apt metaphor for the survival process; its operation is stark, but it is efficient, and it is mercifully brief. The conservation implications from this study are striking. The most important being the vital role played by refuges following an extensive and intense fire. In an era of global warming and increasing predictions of the likelihood of bushfires rising, such matters will loom even larger.


Recently, highly stretchable strain sensors have attracted considerable attention. Identifying alternatives to sensitive unit materials and flexible substrates is critical in the fabrication of sensors. Herein, a trinary hybrid carbon material consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and fullerene was chosen due to its dense interconnections and robust mechanism. Additionally, the cost-effective fabrication of styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS) provides a platform for the strong adhesion of substrates, which contributes to the strong interaction between the substrates and the sensitive unit materials. Furthermore, the intrinsically high elasticity of SEBS allows the sensors to endure large stretching ranges. Owing to the above-mentioned merits, the fabricated sensor based on CNT/graphene/fullerene-SEBS has a high conductivity of 5.179 S m−1, a moderate gauge factor (GF) of 15, an optimum stretching range of 203%, a linearity of 136% (R2 = 0.998), and adaptive-rate repeatability, which reveals its potential in the fields of human motion monitoring and scalable applications.


The brain of the Agnatha, especially of the hagfish, is discussed from the viewpoint of the telencephalon and the olfactory, visual, trigeminal, and vestibulolateral sensory systems. Myxiniformes and Petromyzontiformes, which were an independent group in the Ordovician, are thought to represent some parallels of ancestral vertebrate brains. It is interesting to study the brain of the Agnatha to investigate the process of the evolution of the vertebrate brain. In comparison with the lamprey, the hagfish has subcutaneous eyes under an unpigmented patch of skin, 4 paired tentacles at the rostral tip of the head, one semicircular canal on each side, a regressed ventricular system, a "primordium hippocampi" of unresolved homology in the telencephalon, no pineal body, fusion of the habenula of both sides, a tectum opticum with unclear laminations, no macroscopical cerebellum, and optic decussation within the hypothalamus. The arrangements of the trigeminal subnuclei of the descending tract are different from each other, unlike those of other gnathosomata. In the hagfish, the distribution of fibers carrying input of the vestibulum and lateral line system within the area vestibulo-lateralis differs from that of the lamprey, which resembles the teleosts and cartilaginous fish in this respect. These differences may be caused by an independent origin within the Agnatha. The basic organization of the brain of the Agnatha, such as the prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon are common to the gnathostomata, although some variations in development are included in the sensory centers and higher centers of information processing. The sensory neurons within the brain are found in the medulla oblongata in the Agnatha, whereas in the gnathostomata the mesencephalic nucleus of the trigeminal nerve has been formed in connection with the development of the mandibula.


Different models of speciation predict contrasting patterns in the relationship between the dispersal ability of lineages and their diversification rates. This relationship is expected to be negative in isolation-limited models and positive in founder-event models. In addition, the combination of negative and positive effects of dispersal on speciation can result in higher diversification rates at intermediate levels of dispersal ability. Using molecular phylogenies to estimate diversification rates, and wing morphology to estimate dispersal ability, we analysed the influence of dispersal on diversification in the avifauna of Australasian archipelagoes. Contrary to expectations given the fragmented nature of island systems, the relationship between dispersal ability and diversification rate was monotonically negative. While multiple mechanisms could generate this pattern, they all share a phase of range expansion that is decoupled from speciation.


Background: Accurate population estimates of disease incidence and burden are needed to set appropriate public health policy. The capture-recapture (C-R) method combines data from multiple sources to better estimate prevalence than is possible using single sources. This study used the C-R method to estimate influenza cases using research and administrative databases to calculate county-wide influenza hospitalization burden. Methods: Data were derived from a database of clinical virology test results and research data from an influenza vaccine effectiveness study from seasons 2015-2016 to 2018-2019. Missed influenza cases were estimated using C-R method. These estimates were used to calculate disease burden using the multiplier method to correct for underreporting due to curtailing data collection before the end of influenza circulation. Results: Over all seasons, 422 influenza cases were reported in the administrative database and 382 influenza cases in the research database. Seventy-five cases (18%) reported in the administrative database were not captured in the research database, and 35 (9%) cases in the research database were not captured in the administrative database. Completeness of the influenza hospitalization was estimated to be 76%. Influenza hospitalizations were higher among unvaccinated (32%) than vaccinated (22%) in the current season and among unvaccinated (28%) than vaccinated (23%) in the previous year. The incidence rates for influenza hospitalizations varied by age and season and averaged 421 cases/100,000 population annually. Conclusion: The capture-recapture method offers a more accurate method for estimating influenza hospitalization than relying on a single data source. Using the multiplier method with adjustments improves the detection of influenza disease burden through a matched database. The incidence rates are consistent with national estimates.


Striking regional differences in the prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) have been observed but not fully understood. This study investigated the early biological responses of primary lung cells to treatment with coal dusts from various seams. High-density oligoarray technology (GeneChip, Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) was used to compile gene expression profiles of primary human bronchial epithelial cells to low concentrations (2 w g/cm 2 ) of coals for 6 h or 24 h of treatment. Data showed that a total of 1050 out of 12,000 genes on the chip were altered by 2 coal dusts. The coal from the Pennsylvania (PA) coal-mine region with a high prevalence of CWP altered 908 genes, many more than the coal from Utah (UT) with a low prevalence of CWP, which affected 356 genes. Many genes decreased their expression levels in response to the PA coal at 6 h and/or 24 h of treatment. For example, transferrin receptor, a gene known to control cellular iron uptake, was downregulated in the cells treated with the iron-containing PA coal in order to protect cells from iron overload. The UT coal without bioavailable iron had no such effect. The downregulation patterns of genes were confirmed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This study is one of the first in profiling gene expressions of primary bronchial epithelial cells treated with coals from various seams, which may set stages for future studies on specific genes.


TiO2 has some unique photocatalytic functions and some of them have been utilized industrially, and further functional enhancement and performance enhancement of TiO2 have been required. Under such circumstances, this study aims to clarify the influence of surface topography on the photocatalytic reaction of TiO2 film surface. As the first step, the optimum mixing ratio in film preparation by using TiO2 powder was examined and the films with several kinds of surface roughnesses were prepared. And, the influence of surface topography on the wettabilty, which is one of the photocatalytic functions of TiO2 was evaluated. As a result, it was confirmed that the wettability of TiO2 films could be improved by increasing both the surface roughness and actual surface area under the ultraviolet rays irradiation environment.


Gaussian process (GP) is a staple in the toolkit of a spatial statistician. Well‐documented computing roadblocks in the analysis of large geospatial datasets using GPs have now largely been mitigated via several recent statistical innovations. Nearest neighbor Gaussian process (NNGP) has emerged as one of the leading candidates for such massive‐scale geospatial analysis owing to their empirical success. This article reviews the connection of NNGP to sparse Cholesky factors of the spatial precision (inverse‐covariance) matrix. Focus of the review is on these sparse Cholesky matrices which are versatile and have recently found many diverse applications beyond the primary usage of NNGP for fast parameter estimation and prediction in the spatial (generalized) linear models. In particular, we discuss applications of sparse NNGP Cholesky matrices to address multifaceted computational issues in spatial bootstrapping, simulation of large‐scale realizations of Gaussian random fields, and extensions to nonparametric mean function estimation of a GP using random forests. We also review a sparse‐Cholesky‐based model for areal (geographically aggregated) data that addresses long‐established interpretability issues of existing areal models. Finally, we highlight some yet‐to‐be‐addressed issues of such sparse Cholesky approximations that warrant further research.


The present paper deals with the development of stability indicating reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for leflunomide, a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug in presence of its degradation products formed during forced decomposition studies. Forced degradation studies were performed on the bulk drug by using acid (0.1 N hydrochloric acid), base (0.1 N sodium hydroxide), water (neutral hydrolysis), 3% v/v hydrogen peroxide (oxidation), dry heat (60°C) and UV light (254 nm). Degradation was observed for leflunomide in acidic and basic media only and the formed degradation products were found to be 5-methylisoxazole-4-carboxylic acid (degradation product-1) and 4-(trifluoromethyl)-aniline (degradation product-2). Successful separation of the drug from the degradation products formed under different stress conditions was achieved on a Novapak C18 column (150 mm × 3.9 mm, 4 µm particle size) using methanol- phosphate buffer (pH 5.3; 20 mM) (7:3, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 260 nm. The developed method was completely validated and proved to be robust. As the method could effectively separate the drug from its degradation products, it can be employed for analysis of the samples of stability study.


To satisfy the demands of society, the scholar-practitioner in today's complex world of education must juggle various factors that are related to one another: practice, poiesis, or the creative act, culture, knowledge, and learning. These demands include adherence to education, law, politics, economics, ethics, equity, and social dynamics. The scholar-practitioner in the field of visual arts education also has the duty to validate the arts as a viable and necessary component of education, and this is done through examples of scholarly practice. The scholar-practitioner as leader should be grounded in the works of John Dewey, including Art as Experience, Experience and Nature, and Experience and Education. With Dewey's conception of the scholar- practitioner as a public intellectual engaged in educational practice to transform society, there is the fostering of a learning environment for educators, students, and community that is balanced with the basic needs of daily living. This article provides a closer look at the history of visual arts education, a review of Dewey's philosophy of art experience, and an exploration of why there may be a need for Dewey's philosophy within K–12 art education in the United States.


BACKGROUND
Acitretin is a systemic retinoid used for psoriasis. It normalizes cellular differentiation and maturation and is also used as a chemopreventive agent against cutaneous malignancies. However, it is not used frequently because of its side-effect profile.

OBJECTIVE
Safety and efficacy of acitretin was evaluated as monotherapy, as well as in combination with other systemic agents.

METHODS
Medical literature from 2005 to 2008 was reviewed. The most scientifically rigorous clinical trials were selected for Psoriasis Area and Severity Index. Articles were limited to case reports or clinical trials, human subjects and English language journals.

RESULTS/CONCLUSION
Acitretin is effective as monotherapy for pustular and erythrodermic psoriasis and for plaque psoriasis (with other systemic agents). Side effects of acitretin use occur more commonly with high doses. Hence, acitretin is safe and effective for psoriasis.


Hospital readmissions are common and expensive, and there is little information on the problem in Colombia. The objective was to determine the frequency of 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions and associated factors. This was a retrospective analytical cohort study of 64,969 hospitalizations from January 2008 to January 2009 in 47 Colombian cities. 6,573 hospital readmissions, prevalence: 10.1% (men 10.9%, women 9.5%), 44.7% > 65 years of age. Hospital readmissions was associated with higher mortality (5.8% vs. 1.8%). There was an increase in the Hospital readmissions rate in patients with diseases of the circulatory system. Hospital readmissions was more likely in hematological diseases and neoplasms. Mean length of stay during the first readmission was 7 days in patients that were readmitted and 4.5 in those without readmission. Greater total cost of hospital readmissions (USA 21,998,275): 15.8% of the total cost of hospitalizations. Higher prevalence rates in referred patients (18.8%) and patients from the outpatient clinic (13.7%). Hospital readmissions is common and is associated with longer length of hospital stay and higher mortality and cost. Increased risk of hospital readmissions in men > 65 years, patients referred from other institutions, and in hematological diseases and neoplasms.


There is an urgent need for structured surgical training and assessment due to the reduction in the training duration with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). We propose a model for objective skill assessment, the PAR-Diagonal Operating Matrix (PAR-DOM) which breaks down the task of vascular anastomosis into clearly defined skills. The PAR-DOM is made up of a 3x5 table and progress is made along vectors defined on the x-axis as PAR and on the y-axis as four levels. PAR defines three skills at each level. Each skill is graded from 1-3 (this may be taken as below average, average, above average). The skills at various levels are: Level 0 - Posture, Address, Relaxation; Level 1 - Pick-up, Airtime, Rotation; Level 2 - Placing, Angles, Rhythm; Level 3 - Precision, Adaptability, Reproducibility; Level 4 - Pace, Awareness, Relations. The PAR-DOM matrix provides a graphic representation of the progress of trainees over their training period assigned for them to stay with the trainer and also help identify individual strengths and weaknesses.


In research on Creoles, historical written texts have in recent decades been fruitfully employed to shed light on the diachronic development of these languages and the nature of Creole genesis. They have so far been much less frequently used to derive social information about these communities and to improve our understanding of the sociolinguistics and stylistic structure of these languages. This paper surveys linguistic research on early written texts in the anglophone Caribbean and takes a critical look at the theories and methods employed to study these texts. It emphases the sociolinguistic value of the texts and provides some exemplary analyses of early Creole documents.


Abstract Fitness, and specifically body composition of football referees requires attention in order to achieve the highest possible standards. The aim of the present study was to describe body composition of elite Spanish football referees over 11 years. Data from 2001 to 2012 pre-seasons were analyzed from a total of 470 referees of 1st and 2nd categories in Spanish male football (1C and 2C respectively). Body mass index (BMI), sum of 6 skinfolds (6SS) and percentage of body fat (%BF) were assessed. 2-independent samples Student's t-test between categories, and ANOVA tests with Bonferroni post-hoc analyses among seasons were applied. Overall, 1C referees were older than 2C in every season, and both 1C and 2C showed a decrease in 6SS, BMI and %BF throughout seasons (all p<0.05; from 82.5 to 62.9 mm, from 23.7 to 22.4 kg/m2 and from 13.7 to 11.7%). No differences were observed between categories in any season. Since football referees at the highest levels need to have a low %BF for the intense matches nowadays, an improvement in their body composition profile has been observed in a highly competitive league as 'La Liga' in Spain over the last decade.


The IEC 61968 standard is being developed to facilitate integration of applications related to distribution management, i.e. the management of power distribution networks. As an important baseline the standard contains an interface reference model (IRM). IRM contains functions that define the scope of distribution management. This paper presents a study that was conducted regarding the use of the IRM as a base for evaluating functionality of commercial asset management solutions. The subset of the IRM related to asset management was studied, and based on this subset a refined reference model was created. In addition to the IRM-subset, the refined functional reference model also incorporated functions present in actual asset management solutions. The model was also validated and refined by means of an extensive case study at a large Nordic distribution utility. The study shows that the IRM, with some adaptations, serves the purpose of functionally evaluating asset management applications


The paper examines the willingness of Israeli Jews and Arab Palestinians for intergroup contacts during daily activities in diverse functional spaces and spatial organisational contexts within the metropolitan area of Tel†Aviv, Israel. Semi†structured interviews were conducted among visitors to public spaces in three mixed Arab†Jewish areas: a mixed city; two adjacent Jewish and Arab suburban townships; and two relatively distant Jewish and Arab towns. The research findings indicate that higher†order functional spaces (e.g. shopping mall), municipal separation and relatively large geographic distance between Jewish and Arab towns enhance willingness for inter†group contacts, feelings of comfort and security and a shared ethnic identity of sites. We relate this tendency to the unique geographic distribution of Jewish and Arab localities in Israel which allows the separation between functional and residential spaces and thus a reduction of feelings of threat and discomfort experienced upon inter†group exposure and contact.


This paper presents a handwriting recognition (HWR) system that deals with online character recognition in real-time. Our sensor-enhanced ballpoint pen delivers sensor data streams from triaxial acceleration, gyroscope, magnetometer and force signals at 100 Hz. As most existing datasets do not meet the requirements of online handwriting recognition and as they have been collected using specific equipment under constrained conditions, we propose a novel online handwriting dataset acquired from 119 writers consisting of 31,275 uppercase and lowercase English alphabet character recordings (52 classes) as part of the UbiComp 2020 Time Series Classification Challenge. Our novel OnHW-chars dataset allows for the evaluations of uppercase, lowercase and combined classification tasks, on both writer-dependent (WD) and writer-independent (WI) classes and we show that properly tuned machine learning pipelines as well as deep learning classifiers (such as CNNs, LSTMs, and BiLSTMs) yield accuracies up to 90 % for the WD task and 83 % for the WI task for uppercase characters. Our baseline implementations together with the rich and publicly available OnHW dataset serve as a baseline for future research in that area.


The tensile behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and linear low-density polyethylene composites containing a titanate coupling agent and silicone-oil-treated magnesium hydroxide [Mg(OH)2] was studied. The increase in the extent of the ultimate elongation of the composites was affected by the yield stress and the strain-hardening tendency of the polymer matrix in the composites. Ethylene–propylene–diene rubber and octane–ethylene copolymer were introduced to adjust the yield stress of PP and HDPE. Although the ultimate elongation of PP/elastomer and HDPE/elastomer blends was higher than that of virgin PP or HDPE, the ultimate elongation of the filled composites dropped at a high content of Mg(OH)2. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the difference in the uniformity of the interface exfoliation decreased with the yield stress of the matrix. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 3248–3255, 2003


England and Wales have some of the highest incarceration rates in the developed world. Recent policy reforms have focused on developing alternatives to custody that offer credible protection for the public, and justice for victims of crime. This article uses unique detailed panel-level data acquired from the Ministry of Justice for all Police Force Areas from 2002 to 2013 in England and Wales to analyse the effects of custodial and non-custodial sentences on recorded crime. Our results suggest that non-custodial sentences can be an effective alternative to custody at reducing property crime but their effect is less consistent for violent crime. This suggests that non-custodial sentences are credible, cost-effective substitutes to incarceration.


Coastal grazing marsh is flat, low lying pasture which has been reclaimed from tidal salt marsh by the construction of sea walls. The Thames Estuary grazing marshes are known for the occurrence of nationally uncommon plants and invertabrates, and their ability to support nationally significant populations of breeding and wintering birds. In view of the importance of the Thames Estuary grazing marsh for nature conservation, a study was initiated to examine changes in extent of the habitat and the prevailing land use pressures. Historical data sources were used to estimate and map the extent of grazing marsh in 1935, 1968, 1972 and 1981. Field survey was undertaken in 1989 to provide up-to-date data.


This research project is designed to examine why timber should be used for the future development of educational buildings in the UK. There is a need for new educational buildings in the UK as the demand on education is rising due to the increase in population. This research will investigate why timber should be used for the development of schools in the UK, outlining the sustainable benefits of the material, and the learning environment created. It is argued that timber is the most environmentally friendly building material, as it not only removes carbon from the atmosphere but stores it within the structure throughout its lifetime. If timber was chosen to regenerate the UK's educational buildings, the country would ultimately be more sustainable.

Two modern timber schools were visited to obtain the necessary data required. In addition to this an 'Online Software Survey and Questionnaire Tool' was used to acquire primary and secondary research. The two timber schools visited were the Open Academy located in Norwich and St Luke's C.E Primary School located in Wolverhampton. These visits helped towards understanding how sustainable the construction process is during developing an educational timber structure as well as the level of learning environment created. The research also aimed to identify the availability for the United Kingdom's construction industry, mainly looking at where the best resources can be found.


This volume concerns the application of high-resolution coastal records to developing and testing tectonics models. The case studies are at scales ranging from global to regional and local, and deal with glacio-isostasy, relative sea-level changes and seismic and aseismic crustal deformation at a variety of time scales. Data are drawn from a wide variety of disciplines, including geology, seismology, geodesy, geomorphology, geochronology and archaeology. The contributions within the book are from leading practitioners of field, laboratory and theoretical aspects of coastal tectonics. They provide a multidisciplinary, international review at a time when satellite monitoring, advanced modelling and sophisticated dating are transforming the subject from a descriptive historical branch of Earth science into a predictive tool addressing real societal needs. The book will be of interest to a wide audience including academics with an interest in tectonics and/or Quaternary science and professionals involved in seismic hazard or coastal development/protection.


In order to ensure a good prognosis, malignant melanoma needs to be diagnosed whilst the level of invasion of the tumour within the dermis is small. As an aid to clinicians undertaking this diagnosis a noninvasive system is presented which through the acquisition of a number of images recovers various internal histological information. The efficacy of this approach is assessed through a comparison of the predicted histology with that found through biopsy. The results show that useful histological information can indeed be recovered with particularly sensitive information regarding the dermal invasion of melanocytes.


Since a manual of standardized scoring system for sleep stage was reported by APSS, the sleep researches remarkable advanced. But it took sleep researchers many times and effort to analysis of numerous data. The digital and computer technique were advanced about 10 years, so that, paper polysomnography(PSG) has been replaced with computerized polysomnography(PSG). The computerized PSG is useful for sleep stage scoring and storage of data. It is pointed out that the correctness of computerized analysis unfortunately is less than visual. Generally, computerized analysis is performed to apply the manual of APSS. This manual is not able to computerized analysis. Because this manual was developed for visual. In 1999, Japanese sleep research society was reported a manual of sleep stage scoring for computerized analysis which was modified the manual of APSS. It is expected to development of computerized PSG system which is able to yield the result similar to that obtained with visual.


Ore and mineral extraction by underground mining often causes ground subsidence phenomena, and may induce severe damage to buildings. Analytical methods based on the Timoshenko beam theory is widely used to assess building damage in subsidence regions. These methods are used to develop abacus that allow the damage assessment in relation to the ground curvature and the horizontal ground strain transmitted to the building. These abacuses are actually developed for building with equivalent length and height and they suppose that buildings can be modelled by a beam with isotropic properties while many authors suggest that anisotropic properties should be more representative. This paper gives an extension of analytical methods to transversely anisotropic beams. Results are first validated with finite elements methods models. Then 72 abacuses are developed for a large set of geometries and mechanical properties.


Cartilage from the medial femoral condyle of chicken was sectioned and imaged using second harmonic generation microscopy. Using image analysis techniques based on the Fourier transform we derived quantitative threedimensional data of the fiber direction and dispersion of the collagen fiber network in the superficial layer. These data can be used directly in biomechanical models to enhance the fidelity of these models.


An enhancement of the index of refraction accompanied by vanishing absorption is shown to be possible is an ensemble of phase-coherent atoms (phaseonium). A survey of various possible schemes in which coherence is established by certain coherent or incoherent methods is given, and the main results are compared and contrasted. In particular, the influence of processes such as Doppler broadening that degrade coherence is discussed


The sequential changes occurring with cancer progression are now being harnessed with therapeutic intent. Yet, there is no understanding of the chemical thermodynamics of proteomic changes associated with cancer progression/cancer stage. This manuscript reveals a strong correlation of a chemical thermodynamic measure (known as Gibbs free energy) of protein-protein interaction networks for several cancer types and 5-year overall survival and stage in patients with cancer. Earlier studies have linked degree entropy of signaling networks to patient survival data, but not with stage. It appears that Gibbs free energy is a more general metric and accounts better for the underlying energetic landscape of protein expression in cells, thus correlating with stage as well as survival. This is an especially timely finding because of improved ability to obtain and analyze genomic/proteomic information from individual patients. Yet, at least at present, only candidate gene imaging (FISH or immunohistochemistry) can be used for entropy computations. With continually expanding use of genomic information in clinical medicine, there is an ever-increasing need to understand the thermodynamics of protein-protein interaction networks.


Intracranial metastases represent 7-17% of all brain tumors. Renal cell carcinoma, thyroid cancer, choriocarcinoma, melanoma, retinoblastoma, lung cancer and breast cancer have a propensity for producing hemorrhagic brain metastases. Leukemias have also been rarely reported to cause hemorrhagic brain metastases. We describe an 18-year-old girl diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting with multiple hemorrhagic brain metastases. MRI demonstrated high signal intensity lesions on both T1- and T2-weighted images which were characteristic for extracellular methemoglobin and consistent with hemorrhagic metastases.


Despite the impressive results of autologous CAR-T cell therapy in refractory B lymphoproliferative diseases, CAR-NK immunotherapy emerges as a safer, faster, and cost-effective approach with no signs of severe toxicities as described for CAR-T cells. Permanently scrutinized for its efficacy, recent promising data in CAR-NK clinical trials point out the achievement of deep, high-quality responses, thus confirming its potential clinical use. Although CAR-NK cell therapy is not significantly affected by the loss or downregulation of its CAR tumor target, as in the case of CAR-T cell, a plethora of common additional tumor intrinsic or extrinsic mechanisms that could also disable NK cell function have been described. Therefore, considering lessons learned from CAR-T cell therapy, the emergence of CAR-NK cell therapy resistance can also be envisioned. In this review we highlight the processes that could be involved in its development, focusing on cytokine addiction and potential fratricide during manufacturing, poor tumor trafficking, exhaustion within the tumor microenvironment (TME), and NK cell short in vivo persistence on account of the limited expansion, replicative senescence, and rejection by patient's immune system after lymphodepletion recovery. Finally, we outline new actively explored alternatives to overcome these resistance mechanisms, with a special emphasis on CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genetic engineering approaches, a promising platform to optimize CAR-NK cell function to eradicate refractory cancers.


Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) residents are particularly vulnerable to infection and showed increased mortality during the COVID-19 epidemic. The pandemic presented multiple new challenges for LTCFs including considering and implementing new practices to protect residents and staff, and figuring out how to minimize the adverse effects of such practices. There are, however, very few reports addressing which public and private entities helped LTCFs meet these challenges. We examined the most important needs of Israeli LTCFs as the COVID-19 pandemic developed, the extent to which their needs were addressed, and by whom, using a survey specifically designed for this study, including open- and close-ended questions. Fifty-two LTCFs participated in the study. Shortages of nursing aids and personal protective equipment were often reported, as was the need for augmented budgetary support. Charitable organizations and the Israeli Army's Home Front Command were reported to provide significantly more assistance than the Israel Ministry of Health, the regulator of LTCFs. The most common type of support provided was distribution of personal protective equipment, followed by provision of training materials or training, and help in maintaining visiting policies. Findings highlight the need for a more coordinated, systematic and comprehensive approach to assist facilities.


The introduction of novel methodologies in the past decade has advanced research on mechanisms of change in observational studies. Time-lagged panel models allow to track session-by-session changes and focus on within-patient associations between predictors and outcomes. This shift is crucial, as change in mechanisms inherently takes place at a within-patient level. These models also enable preliminary casual inferences, which can guide the development of effective personalized interventions that target mechanisms of change, used at specific treatment phases for optimal effect. Given their complexity, panel models need to be implemented with caution, as different modeling choices can significantly affect results and reduce replicability. We outline three central methodological recommendations for use of time-lagged panel analysis to study mechanisms of change: a) Taking patient-specific effects into account, separating out stable between-person differences from within-person fluctuations over time; b) properly controlling for autoregressive effects; c) considering long-term time-trends. We demonstrate these recommendations in an applied example examining the session-by-session alliance-outcome association in a naturalistic psychotherapy study. We present limitations of time-lagged panel analysis and future directions.


The disproportionation constants for the Hg22+\ightleftarrowsHg(aq)+Hg2+ reaction have been measured in dilute mercury (I) perchlorate solutions over the temperature range from 15 to 30 °C. The technique was based on a simple kinetic method which made use of a characteristic property of the elemental mercury in aqueous solutions. The disproportionation constant at 25 °C and μ=0.1 was found to be 1.1±0.1×10−8 M, and the associated thermodynamic parameters were ΔH=13.2±0.2 kcal/mol and ΔS=8.0 e.u. The reliability of the method was discussed with relation to the reported values in the literature.


This paper presents a portable compression algorithm applied to raster data images properly triangulated by using DDT (Data Dependent Triangulation). In particular the input source data are encoded to be rendered by standard SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) engine. The proposed compression strategy works reducing the overall entropy implementing some heuristic strategies to properly re-code the redundancy inside the mesh representation. The compressed data are enclosed into an SVG player able to both decompress and show the original image. Results show the effectiveness of the approach.


AT THE 1961 American Anthropological Association meeting, in recognition that ours was now a single, interconnected biological species threatened with the possibility of extinction, it was resolved that we devote our scientific resources as anthropologists in cooperation with our colleagues in other parts of the world and with international associations to ease the immediate crisis and to develop "social institutions which will enable all peoples to live and work, however great their differences." (CA 3:78). The intent of the Association was not to support any particular political position in the name of anthropology, but rather to urge anthropologists to devote their efforts to the crucial problems raised by the threat of nuclear war and to make clear the humanistic attitude of our profession. To those involved in passing the resolution, this humanistic attitude itself speaks in favor of survival. At the 1962 meeting, a Peace Luncheon under the chairmanship of Margaret Mead was held for persons interested in this question, and at a later informal meeting, a series of conferences was planned to be held across the country to implement the initial resolution. Subsequently some support was secured for these conferences from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. To provide a framework for discussion, the following plan was adopted. Sol Tax, in collaboration with Ruth Adams, editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, prepared a booklet containing -papers by strategy thinkers formulating alternative policies. This was circulated to potential participants with the request that each read the papers and write a statement of his position with respect to arguments current in strategy thinking on the grounds of his anthropological background. As characterized by Sol Tax, the booklet was to serve as a "Rorschach test"; the intention was to find out what consensus, if any, a group of anthropologists would reach when confronted with the thinking and world view of the strategy thinkers who are influential in shaping national policy. The results were analyzed by Robert Wolfe of the Department of Philosophy of the University of Chicago, who did, indeed, find a high degree of consensus, though not about any particular strategy choice. Among the alternatives presented (minimal secondstrike strategy, counterforce, and "the Mix") only 7 of the 45 persons who wrote papers were willing to make choices (4 for minimal second-strike strategy, 1 for both this and counterforce, and 2-1 facetious-for the Mix). The consensus was rather to reject the framework of thinking and the value system of the strategy thinkers. For many, this rejection took the form of immediate revulsion to, or, at least, a vague distaste for ideas such as the Doomsday machine which Herman Kahn describes. The psychological response was like that of the anxious patient to -the vague.-gray and black bearskin-rug card in the Rorschach series which appears just plain unpleasant. 13 respondents were quite explicit in rejecting the language and concepts of the deterrence strategists as unreal, unnatural, impossible to take seriously, or useless. There was also a considerable degree of agreement about the specific reasons for rejecting deterrence strategy thinking and, on the positive side, about alternatives we can propose. Most anthropologists reject a purely ethnocentric or American point of view; most are aware of the increasing importance of the non-Western world and most insist on the holistic and long-term approach to socio-cultural phenomena. This attitude was reflected in specific criticisms of the assumptions underlying the current cold war framework of national policy: the strategy thinkers consider only the United States and the Soviet Union; they often reduce conflict to pure power terms without considering the socio-cultural setting; they become lost in purely technical details of the weapons systems, to the neglect of human motivations; etc. These criticisms led to specific research proposals for anthropologists and to formulations of alternative views. For example, we might analyze conflict resolution mechanisms in a variety of societies, to emphasize the complexity of nontechnological determinants of conflict, and to show that cold war conflict is not simply a two-handed "game" with "gain" or "victory" for one side or the other. These and other ideas were discussed and elaborated in the conferences described below.


Objective: To compare dental arch relationship outcomes following 3 different 2-stage palatal repair protocols. Design: Retrospective, cross sectional. Setting: Three cleft palate centers (A, B, C) in Japan. Patients: Ninety (A: 39, B: 26, C: 25) consecutively treated Japanese patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate. Interventions: In A, the soft palate and the posterior half of the hard palate were repaired at a mean age of 1 year 7 months. In B, the soft palate and hard palate were closed separately at a mean age of 1 year 6 months and 5 years 8 months, respectively. In C, the soft palate and hard palate were closed at a mean age of 1 year and 1 year 5 months, respectively. Main Outcome Measures: Dental arch relationships were assessed using the 5-Year-Olds' (5-Y) index by 5 raters and the Huddart/Bodenham (HB) index by 2 raters. Results: Intra- and inter-rater reliabilities showed substantial or almost perfect agreement for the 5-Y and HB ratings. No significant differences in mean values and distributions of 5-Y scores were found among the 3 centers. The mean HB index scores of molars on the minor segment were significantly smaller in C than those in A and B (P < .05). Conclusions: There were no significant differences in dental arch relationships at 5 years among the times and techniques of hard palate closure. However, further analysis of the possible influence of infant cleft size as a covariable on a larger sample size is needed.


This paper presents a genetic algorithm (GA) with specialized encoding, initialization, and local search operators to optimize the design of communication network topologies. This NP-hard problem is often highly constrained so that random initialization and standard genetic operators usually generate infeasible networks. Another complication is that the fitness function involves calculating the all-terminal reliability of the network, which is a computationally expensive calculation. Therefore, it is imperative that the search balances the need to thoroughly explore the boundary between feasible and infeasible networks, along with calculating fitness on only the most promising candidate networks. The algorithm results are compared to optimum results found by branch and bound and also to GA results without local search operators on a suite of 79 test problems. This strategy of employing bounds, simple heuristic checks, and problem-specific repair and local search operators can be used on other highly constrained combinatorial applications where numerous fitness calculations are prohibitive.


Antioxidant is a substance that can inhibit or slow down the oxidation process and is able to counteract the negative effects of oxidants in the body that are beneficial to health. Antioxidants can be found in vegetables, fruits, tea and chocolate. Antioxidants can be obtained by extraction. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of long extraction and ethanol concentration on the extraction yield results, antioxidant activity and calculate the mass balance process. The materials used are cocoa (Theobroma cacao L). Research compiled using Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two factors: the long process of extraction by maceration namely (8,12,16,20 and 24 hours) and ethanol concentration of 70% and 80%. The results showed that the best treatment was obtained from the 20-hour long extraction and ethanol concentration of 80% for the antioxidant activity IC50 of 82 ppm and a yield of 8.63%. Keywords: Antioxidants, Extraction, Ethanol, Cocoa, Old Extraction.


The article is devoted to the analysis of research approaches and attitudes to the study of the a priori in the philosophy of science. In the first part, I outline the basic premises of this study: (a) scientific knowledge as the highest manifestation of rationality; (b) the normative nature of scientific knowledge. In the second part, I turn to the difference in the subject of philosophical research on the history of science – the history of science as a "history of facts" vs the history of science as a history of scientific thought. The third part discusses the main theoretical and technical difficulty associated with changing the subject of research – the possibility of a transition from historical fact to "scientific thought at the time of its birth" (in Helene Metzger terminology). The forth part is devoted to the analysis of the "model approach" (Arianna Betti, Hein van den Berg) in philosophy as a possible way to overcome this difficulty and includes both theoretical and technical aspects of the future direction of research. In conclusion, consequences are drawn about the possibility of using the "model approach" for reconstruction a priori in the history of science as "constitutive elements of scientific knowledge" (David Stump).


Abstract This paper presents the effects of elimination of current oscillations within the coaxial plasma accelerator during IPD deposition process on the morphology, phase structure and properties of synthesized TiN coatings. Current observations of waveforms have been made by use of an oscilloscope. As a test material for experiments, titanium nitride TiN coatings synthesized on silicon and high-speed steel substrates were used. The coatings morphology, phase composition and wear resistance properties were determined. The character of current waveforms in the plasma accelerator electric circuit plays a crucial role during the coatings synthesis process. Elimination of the current oscillations leads to obtaining an ultrafine grained structure of titanium nitride coatings and to disappearance of the tendency to structure columnarization. The coatings obtained during processes of a non-oscillating character are distinguished by better wear-resistance properties.


As a delivery carrier, the nanoparticles are broadly applied in various fields for excellent infiltration characteristics. In recent years, there has been new rearch was investigated in the medical area, but the research of influence on a living body is seldom studied. In this study, the influence on the living body as new transdermal carrier system using magnetic nanoparticles was investigated. The application of magnetic nanoparticles coated medication on the mice model investigated that the effect of treatment on the atopic dermatitis. The skin tissues were stained, and the section of skin tissues was observed by the optical Microscope. In vivo efficacy studies in mice model revealed highly efficient improvement of AD-like skin lesions. Furthermore the magnetic nanoparticles are useful as novel delivery drug carrier via human dermal papilla cell experiment. The results indicated that the magnetic nanoparticles are useful as new the transdermal carrier , and it proved that it is a highly efficient system useful as novel medicine delivery system.


The 2011 volume of The Year in Cognitive Neuroscience presents leading scientists current thinking on topics including: challenges and opportunities in social neuroscience; the neurobiological basis of seeing words; bayesian models of uncertainty, behavior, and the brain; behavioral and neural evidence for the porous boundaries between explicit and implicit memory;perception of auditory signals; human category learning 2.0; animal emotion; and the human connectome. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please click here. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.


The aim of the current study was to describe the incidence of respiratory symptoms and allergic sensitisation and the sequence of events leading to respiratory symptoms among Danish baker apprentices (BA). A total of 114 BA were surveyed over a 20-month period. Questionnaires were completed along with spirometric analysis and skin-prick tests to common and work-related allergens. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) was determined at baseline and at the end of the follow-up period. The incidences of work-related rhinitis and asthma-like symptoms were 22.1 and 10.0 cases·100 person-yrs−1, respectively. At 20 months the cumulative incidence proportion was 40.2 and 20.5% for rhinitis and asthma-like symptoms, respectively. The cumulative incidence of occupational sensitisation was 6.1%. An increased risk of asthma-like symptoms was found in both atopic subjects and in females. In the BA with new onset respiratory symptoms, an increase in BHR from baseline was observed. Forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity did not change during the follow-up period. No relationship was observed between new sensitisation and new symptoms. In conclusion rhinitis- and asthma-like symptoms were found to develop commonly in Danish baker apprentices. The mechanism by which symptoms arose was perceived to reflect the development of an inflammation rather than the production of a specific immunoglobulin E pathway, as sensitisation to occupational allergens was rarely observed. Hence, respiratory symptoms and allergy may develop through separate pathways.


Abstract Physiologic activity and community structure of planktonic and biofilm microbial communities in an urban river were analyzed using 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) staining, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified 16S rDNA fragments. Respiring bacteria estimated by CTC reduction were higher in biofilms (20%) than in stream water samples (12%). FISH analysis revealed that bacterial populations in both stream water and biofilms were dominated by beta-Proteobacteria and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster. Microbial community changes determined by multidimensional scaling analysis from DGGE patterns showed that microbial community structures in biofilms matured within 3-7 days of their formation and did not change further, while those in stream water changed continuously.


The aim of this work is to show, through analyzing some incorrect results in the literature, (i) the internal layer structure is not so predictable for the linear parabolic differential equations with constant coefficients; and (ii) the location of the viscous shock of Burgers' equation in the quarter plane depends on the viscosity, but not in the half plane. Our methods are based on asymptotics of integrals together with special functions to unveil these distinguished features. Contrary to the exponential function as the sole building block of boundary layer functions for differential equations and partial differential equations near the outflow boundary, the class of the complementary error function and its iterated integrals becomes fundamental in this investigation.


With the increase in cybersecurity vulnerabilities of software systems, the ways to exploit them are also increasing. Besides these, malware threats, irregular network interactions, and discussions about exploits in public forums are also on the rise. To identify these threats faster, to detect potentially relevant entities from any texts, and to be aware of software vulnerabilities, automated approaches are necessary. Application of natural language processing (NLP) techniques in the Cybersecurity domain can help in achieving this. However, there are challenges such as the diverse nature of texts involved in the cybersecurity domain, the unavailability of large-scale publicly available datasets, and the significant cost of hiring subject matter experts for annotations. One of the solutions is building multi-task models that can be trained jointly with limited data. In this work, we introduce a generative multi-task model, Unified Text-to-Text Cybersecurity (UTS), trained on malware reports, phishing site URLs, programming code constructs, social media data, blogs, news articles, and public forum posts. We show UTS improves the performance of some cybersecurity datasets. We also show that with a few examples, UTS can be adapted to novel unseen tasks and the nature of data


Rat pancreatic islet yields obtained with dextran gradient purification were compared after suspending the digest into either the top or the bottom layer of the gradient. A 5-layer discontinuous gradient was used, which consisted of 16 ml 31% dextran as bottom layer, overlayered with 25%, 23%, 20% and 11% dextran (4 ml each). When the digest of 1 rat pancreas was suspended into the top layer of the gradient, the total number of islets obtained from the 11-20, 20-23 and 23-25% interfaces was 862 +/- 38, 240 +/- 39 and 54 +/- 5, respectively. From this gradient, also 1409 +/- 81 islets were retrieved from the bottom layer (i.e., exocrine pellet). In contrast, when the pancreas digest was suspended into the bottom layer of the gradient, 1964 +/- 63, 435 +/- 42, and 177 +/- 34 islets were obtained from the successive interfaces, and only 50 +/- 20 islets from the exocrine pellet. The total islet volume obtained from the two uppermost interfaces was 3.46 +/- 0.31 microliters after top-loading, and 4.93 +/- 0.16 microliters after bottom-loading (n = 7, p < 0.01). When the islets retrieved from one bottom loaded gradient were transplanted into either 1 (n = 6) or 2 (n = 9) diabetic recipients, glucose levels normalized in all instances. We therefore conclude that a bottom-loaded dextran gradient separates islets from exocrine tissue effectively, resulting in significantly higher islet yields than obtained with a top-loaded dextran gradient.


In this article we offer a new look at the dynamic nature of teaching and learning as we investigate everyday language-brokering events in immigrant families. We consider how children and adult interlocutors collaborate in the construction of knowledge and examine language-brokering activities as socially situated learning tasks that take place in dynamic zones of proximal development in which knowledge and authority are dynamically reassigned among participants. We present a mixed-method analysis of everyday cognition entailed in language brokering engaged in by three children from Mexican families living in the Midwestern United States. [Zone of Proximal Development, language brokering, bilingualism, childhood]


This article is part of a series about evidence-based practice (EBP) that builds on AJN's award-winning previous series-Evidence-Based Practice, Step by Step-published between 2009 and 2011 (to access the series, go to https://links.lww.com/AJN/A133). This follow-up series features exemplar success stories, in which authors describe how initiatives using an implementation framework or evidence-based strategy resulted in a successful practice or program change. Column coordinators Sharon J. Tucker and Lynn Gallagher-Ford alternate in providing commentary at the end.


The disease is characterized by a painless tender and mainly worm-like lesion which partly or totally encircles the distal penis, proximal of the sulcus coronarius. Usually, there are no local or regional inflammatory signs of the glans, preputium, or the inguinal lymph nodes. The anatomic target is a lymphatic collecting vessel. The pathologic process is morphologically based on three major features: lymphostasis, coagulation thrombus formation, and vessel wall thickening. We therefore propose the term lymphangiofibrosis thrombotica occlusiva. Men 20-40 years of age are most commonly affected. A therapeutic measure is not necessary, unless there is no spontaneous regression which one can except in 90% of the patients within 2 months. Mechanical and unknown microbiologic insults are discussed as etiological factors. Furthermore, the topographical distribution of blood and lymphatic vessels of the distal penis region is delineated. Six patients are presented with the clinical data.


Abstract Under the regime established by the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, decision-making remains exclusively with the limited number of states that are entitled to appoint representatives to participate in Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. Whereas the 12 original signatory states have a permanent right to attend these meetings, acceding states may gain consultative status only during the time they carry out substantial scientific research in the Antarctic. This paper addresses three issues: the first relates to the problems arising out of the 'admission procedure' adopted by the original signatory states when faced with the first application of an acceding state to become an Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party, a procedure that has been applied ever since to similar cases. The second looks at the forms of scientific research activities an acceding party ought to conduct in Antarctica in order to meet the requirements laid down in the Antarctic Treaty. The third deals more generally with the issue of limited participation in the Antarctic Treaty decision-making process, which has come under severe criticism from non-Consultative Parties and states that have not acceded to the Treaty.


This paper presents preliminary investigations into modelling the variation in human decision making. The relationship between the uncertainty introduced to the membership functions (mfs) of a Fuzzy Logic System (FLS) and the variation in decision making is explored using two separate methods. Initially uncertainty is introduced to a type-1 FLS by adding noise to its mfs and the effect on decision making is examined. Secondly an interval type-2 FLS is developed by representing the terms used in the FLS with interval type-2 fuzzy sets and the variation in decision making is studied using the FLS's interval outputs. The variations in ranking of umbilical acid-base assessments by six experts is compared to the simulation results from the developed FLSs. It is shown that there is a direct relationship between the variation in decision making and the uncertainty in the linguistic terms used, and the level of variation is proportional to the magnitude of uncertainty.


To the Editor.— The occasional association of von Recklinghausen's disease (VRD) with visceral tumors, such as neurofibromas, meningiomas, gliomas, and pheochromocytomas, is well documented 1 ; however, its association with gastrointestinal (GI) carcinoids is limited to only a few case reports. 1,2 The purpose of this letter is to document further this association. Report of a Case.— A 53-year-old woman with VRD since adolescence was admitted to the hospital for right-sided upperquadrant abdominal pain of 24 hours' duration. Physical examination showed several fleshy pedunculated cutaneous tumors, cafe-au-lait skin lesions, and a right-sided peroneal palsy. Moderate right-sided upper quadrant abdominal tenderness and guarding were observed. Total serum bilirubin value was 1.9 mg/dL (normal, 0.2 to 1.0 mg/dL) and serum alkaline phosphatase value, 129 units mU/ mL (normal, 30 to 105 mU/mL). Both ultrasonography and an upper GI series examination demonstrated a small tumorlike lesion in the second portion of the duodenum. Exploratory


OBJECTIVE To analyze cervical and breast cancer mortality in Brazil according to socioeconomic and welfare indicators. METHODS Data on breast and cervical cancer mortality covering a 30-year period (1980-2010) were analyzed. The data were obtained from the National Mortality Database, population data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics database, and socioeconomic and welfare information from the Institute of Applied Economic Research. Moving averages were calculated, disaggregated by capital city and municipality. The annual percent change in mortality rates was estimated by segmented linear regression using the joinpoint method. Pearson's correlation coefficients were conducted between average mortality rate at the end of the three-year period and selected indicators in the state capital and each Brazilian state. RESULTS There was a decline in cervical cancer mortality rates throughout the period studied, except in municipalities outside of the capitals in the North and Northeast. There was a decrease in breast cancer mortality in the capitals from the end of the 1990s onwards. Favorable socioeconomic indicators were inversely correlated with cervical cancer mortality. A strong direct correlation was found with favorable indicators and an inverse correlation with fertility rate and breast cancer mortality in inner cities. CONCLUSIONS There is an ongoing dynamic process of increased risk of cervical and breast cancer and attenuation of mortality because of increased, albeit unequal, access to and provision of screening, diagnosis and treatment.


ABSTRACT This paper analyses indigenous ecotourism in the Indian district of Wayanad, Kerala, using a conceptual framework based on a PATA 2015 study on indigenous tourism that includes the criteria: human rights, participation, business and ecology. Detailed indicator sets for each criterion are applied to a case study of the Priyadarshini Tea Environs with a qualitative research approach addressing stakeholders from the public sector, non-governmental organisations, academia, tour operators and communities including Adivasi and non-Adivasi. In-depth interviews were supported by participant and non-participant observations. The authors adapted this framework to the needs of the case study and consider that this modified version is a useful tool for academics and practitioners wishing to evaluate and develop indigenous ecotourism projects. The results show that the Adivasi involved in the Priyadarshini Tea Environs project benefit from indigenous ecotourism. But they could profit more if they had more involvement in and control of the whole tourism value chain.


The usage of strong cation exchange (SCX) chromatography in proteomics is limited by its poor resolution and nonspecific hydrophobic interactions with peptides, which lead to peptide overlap across fractions and change of peptide retention, respectively. The application of high concentration of salt (up to 1000 mM) in SCX also restricted its use in online 2D SCX-RP LC. In the present research, we first exploited the chromatographic ability of online 2D SCX-RP LC by combination of acid, salt, and pH gradient, three relatively independent modes of eluting peptides from SCX column. 50% ACN was added to elution buffer for eliminating hydrophobic interactions between SCX matrix and peptides, and the concentration of volatile salt was reduced to 50 mM. Acid/salt/pH gradient showed superior resolution and sensitivity as well as uniform distribution across fractions, consequently leading to significant improvements in peptide and protein identification. 112 191 unique peptides and 7373 proteins were identified by acid/salt/pH fractionation, while 69 870 unique peptides and 4536 proteins were identified by salt elution, that is, 62.5 and 60.6% more proteins and unique peptides, respectively, identified by the former. Fraction overlap was also significantly minimized by acid/salt/pH approach. Furthermore, acid/salt/pH elution showed more identification for acidic peptides and hydrophilic peptides.


Tuberculosis is one of the most dangerous infections. First of all it strikes socially unprotected part of the population. The migrants which number grows in St. Petersburg, represent stress expressive category of the people reducing protective forces of immunity. Incidence of tuberculosis among migrants usually significantly exceeds incidence of permanent residents of the city. There are the difficulties connected with problems of adaptation, shortcomings of lows, finance. Thus, the influencing on ecological system of the city more than one million arrived migrants undoubtedly. It is necessary to prevent development of tuberculosis epidemic among migrants by providing with preventive inspection and complete treatment of all new cases of tuberculosis irrespective of their legal and social status.


Identification and use of yeast strains that are unable to consume one or more otherwise fermentable substrate types could allow a more controlled fermentation process with more flexibility regarding fermentation times. In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with different capacities to consume substrates present in wheat were selected to investigate the impact of substrate limitation on dough fermentation and final bread volume. Results show that fermentation of dough with maltose-negative strains relies on the presence of fructan and sucrose as fermentable substrates and can be used for regular bread making. Levels of fructan and sucrose, endogenously present or added, hence determine the extent of fermentation and timing at the proofing stage. Whole meal is inherently more suitable for substrate-limited fermentation than white flour due to the presence of higher native levels of these substrates. Bread making protocols with long fermentation times are accommodated by addition of substrates such as sucrose.


The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in perceived time pressure between employed and non-employed married women in Korea. The sample of married couple from the Korean Time Use Survey 2009 (n = 6,948 couple diaries) was used to examined the difference in the level of perceived time pressure over the life cycle of two group. This study also investigated the married women's time use, husband's time use as well as hour of domestic outsourcing and whether such factors are associated with lowering perceived time pressure of married women. Results showed employed wives felt almost 3 times more time pressed than non-employed wives, and the gap mostly remained over different life cycles. Total work hours were associated with increasing the time pressure of both groups of women, while regenerating time was associated with ameliorating time pressure. The result suggests that the time pressure gap between employed and non-employed wives can be partly due to the relative length of total labor hours and regenerating time among the two groups. Ordered logit analysis revealed that husband's paid work hours were not associated with wive's feeling rushed, but husband' unpaid work hours were positively linked with time pressure of their wives. Results indicated if employed or non-employed wives are feeling very busy, there is a high chance that husband might give them some help. We found employed wives spend more hours on housework outsourcing, and purchasing goods for housework was not associated with lowering the feeling of pressure of employed wives. There were both similarity and difference in factors associated with women's feeling pressed among employed and non-employed wives. It implies that social process and it's strategies to alleviate the time pressure can be different by women's employment status.


A psychosomatic study was made of eight children with Sydenham's chorea. The children ranged in age from 7 to 16 years. Three patients had a history of rheumatic fever and three had no evidence of rheumatic disease; in two patients the evidence for rheumatic fever was equivocal, one probably having had it and the other probably not.
 The eight children were found to be emotionally quite disturbed. Their personality structure was characterized by a triad of (a) marked passivity, (b) schizoid withdrawal from people, with two of the children being frankly schizophrenic, and (c) much underlying anxiety. Obsessive, phobic and depressive features were separately present in some of the children. In five cases the onset of Sydenham's chorea closely followed an episode of marked emotional stress, and in two others the correlation of chorea with emotional stress was equivocal.
 The literature was reviewed, and it was pointed out that in over half of all reported cases of Sydenham's chorea evidence of rheumatic fever could not be found.
 It is felt that Sydenham's chorea can be understood only as a psychosomatic illness potentially caused by a number of agents acting individually or jointly, and varying in their respective importance from case to case. Severe personality disorder and rheumatic fever are two such etiologic agents which may be operative in Sydenham's chorea. The importance of further psychosomatic study and experimental psychotherapy in the comprehensive medical study and management of children with this disorder is emphasized.


Remote procedure call (RPC) is a simple and useful programming construct to provide communication services among programs that are cooperating on a computer network. The authors describe an environment for the rapid development of distributed applications using RPC on distributed systems. The model has three layers and each layer is supported by a very high level language for application specification. Tools are developed to generate program prototypes from each specification file. Then these tools are analyzed and evaluated, and finally a new prototyping method is proposed for extending an existing prototyping system to a distributed environment. The proposed methodologies allow distributed programs written using the remote procedure call paradigm to be developed systematically and provide a higher simplicity and better network transparency.<<ETX>>


A highly sensitive and specific two-site immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for hCG has been developed and applied to the detection of the hormone in the urine of normal nonpregnant and pregnant individuals. The IRMA uses a solid phase coupled monoclonal antibody to the hCG beta-subunit for extraction of hormone from urine. The hCG extracted is then directly quantified by the binding of an affinity purified and radiolabeled rabbit antibody that reacts with the unique COOH-terminal peptide region of the hCG beta-subunit. The assay is capable of reliably and accurately measuring as little as 0.01 ng hCG/ml urine without interference from hLH. Assays of urine from normal men and nonpregnant women of reproductive age indicated that most individuals did not have detectable levels of hCG immunoreactivity, although a minority had minute amounts, with a mean value of approximately 0.01 ng hCG/mg creatinine. In contrast, all normal menopausal women studied had easily detectable levels of hCG immunoreactivity in their urine, with a mean value of 0.123 ng hCG/mg creatinine. A study of the excretion of hCG from three men injected with hormone for treatment of infertility indicated that after the first 24 h, hCG was cleared with a single exponential rate and was detectable to a level of 0.01 ng/ml. Application of the IRMA to measurements of hCG in the urine of two artificially inseminated patients indicated that the method was capable of detecting pregnancy as early as 9 days postovulation. The extreme sensitivity and specificity of the IRMA for urinary hCG in conjunction with the simplicity of assay performance and specimen collection should provide a substantial advantage over currently available methods for detection of early pregnancy and tumor monitoring.


This paper provides an overview of the features and capabilities of state-of-the-art SiGe devices and BiCMOS technology for applications such as high-data-rate communications and pro-active safety systems like car-radar, identification and e-safety. The capabilities offered by SiGe-BiCMOS and microwave packaging enable the integration of complete transceivers on a chip or in a package even including the antenna. The criteria and trade-off's for the technology selection and system partitioning are described in the introduction. In addition to the electrical components performance, major criteria are addressed such as high reliability, long lifetime and high yield fabrication. Advanced packaging technologies are addressed as well, including embedded passive components and package co-design. Existing circuit design examples and future solutions for 77 GHz automotive radar are presented, followed by a multichannel receiver and a multichannel transmitter for mm-wave people scanners for airport security.


This guide will point you to resources that focus on Gross, Head & Neck and Dental Anatomy, Physiology, and Histology Commonly used physiology resources


Aims: This research was conducted to measure the concentration of asbestos fibers in the ambient air of high traffic areas of Isfahan and to evaluate their spatio-temporal variation during summer 2015. Materials and Methods: Air samples were collected from eleven points covering traffic areas of the Isfahan city including Enghelab square, Azadi square, Bozorgmehr bridge, Ghods square, Ahmedabad square, Artesh square, Emam Hossein square, Nazar junction, Vafaei junction, Felezzi bridge, and Tayyeb fork during 3 months of summer 2015. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray system was utilized to count and identify the asbestos fibers. Results: Seasonal average concentration of airborne asbestos fibers in the studied region was 10.04 ± 4.90 SEM f/l. The results of this study showed that the highest concentration of asbestos fibers was measured in Azadi square (18.08 ± 3.863 SEM f/l) and that the lowest was found in Nazar junction(3.92 ± 1.749 SEM f/l). There was a significant correlation between the concentration of asbestos fibers and atmospheric temperature and humidity (P < 0.05). The mean concentration in September was higher than August and July (11.08 ± 4.66). Conclusion: Heavy traffic in the dense areas of the city, and topographical and meteorological features of the city have a major contribution in asbestos fiber emission which resulted in its exceeded levels from the WHO guideline (2.2 SEM f/l). Therefore, effective strategies such as traffic management, industrial movement, and products replacement can be effective in reducing airborne asbestoses fibers concentrations.


PURPOSE
To establish normal values for lumbosacral dural sac dimensions with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to use these values to assess the sensitivity and specificity of dural ectasia as a marker for Marfan syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
MR imaging was performed to measure dural sac diameter (DSD) from L1 through S1 in 44 adult patients with Marfan syndrome and in 44 matched control subjects. DSD values were corrected for vertebral body size, yielding dural sac ratios (DSRs). The control subjects served to establish the upper limit of normal DSR values at the L1 through S1 levels.

RESULTS
Cutoff values for normal DSRs for L1 through S1 were 0.64, 0.55, 0.47, 0.48, 0.48, and 0.57. Significant DSR differences were shown at all levels between patients with Marfan syndrome and control subjects (P <.001 at all levels). At L1 through S1, the sensitivity of dural ectasia as a marker for Marfan syndrome was 45%-77%, and the specificity was 95% or greater. By combining levels L3 and S1, dural ectasia as a marker for Marfan syndrome yielded a sensitivity of 95% (42 of 44 patients) and a specificity of 98% (43 of 44). The presence of dural ectasia excelled, compared with the presence of other Marfan syndrome manifestations in the patient population.

CONCLUSION
Abnormal DSR values at L3 or S1 can be used to identify Marfan syndrome with 95% sensitivity and 98% specificity.


In today's scenario Business sustainability is the core value of many fortune companies in thelong run in order to maximize their opportunities and to minimize their negative impact in theeconomy. "Going Green" and environmentally conscious business is the ultimate target of manyprivate as well as public sector enterprises. "Green way" of business is to integrate the greeninitiatives with people, process, and technology. Now a day, the go green policies are adopting invarious environment management techniques. In India, the corporate world is going global; it'sbecome essential to explore green practices in the business as well as in an environment. Thisstudy focuses on various green HRM practices followed in the organization. The paper largelyfocuses on the various green HRM practices and the relationship between corporate socialresponsibility and the green human resource management. And the study extended givingsuggestions to the human resource department about initiatives to make the organization greenand utilization from those values.


Genomic exclusion, an unusual cytogenetic sequence during mating in Tetrahymena pyriformis, results in the production of homozygous germinal nuclei by the diploidization of haploid nuclei following meiosis. A method is presented for selecting cells that have made new somatic nuclei from these homozygous germinal nuclei, a step necessary for phenotypic expression of new mutations; this variation of the normal set of events is termed short-circuit genomic exclusion. The utility of thisapproach for obtaining induced mutations is demonstrated by the isolation and analysis of a strain homozygous for a recessive mutation conferring resistance to 2-fluoroadenosine. Occurring in about 5% of the unmutagenized pairs in specific crosses, short-circuit genomic exclusion should be of general use for the isolation of dominant or recessive induced mutations in this protozoan.


The aim of this study was to reduce the antigenicity of tracheal allografts by detergent treatment. We attempted to apply these grafts to tracheal immunosuppressant-free allotransplantation. Fresh tracheal grafts were harvested from donor beagle dogs and treated with a detergent at 4°C for 48 hours. By using treated grafts, we have performed tracheal immunosuppressant-free transplantation in six dogs at an intrathoracic five-ring defect. Implanted grafts were covered with an omental pedicle. In five of the six grafts, complete removal of the epithelium and mixed glands was recognized with both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The appearance of the cartilage cells in the grafts was similar to those in fresh trachea. Five dogs that received detergent treated grafts survived uneventfully. The grafts had been incorporated by the host trachea without stenosis. On the one tracheal graft in which removal of the epithelium was incomplete (noted after implantation), moderate stenosis occurred 1 month after placement. These results suggest that removal of the tracheal epithelium and mixed glands can remarkably reduce tracheal antigenicity. A tracheal graft that has its epithelium and mixed glands removed can be used in tracheal immunosuppressant-free allotransplantation.


There has not been an accurate assessment made of the number of practicing neonatologists, attrition rate of neonatologists, or geographic distribution of neonatologists; therefore, a telephone survey was conducted to assess these issues. The basic conclusion of this study is that numbers and distribution of neonatologists, as well as ratio to patient population, are not deficient or disproportionate when analyzed on a nationwide basis.


The posttectonic St. Lawrence and Francois granites have long been regarded as the youngest Paleozoic plutonic suites of the Newfoundland Appalachians. Their U–Pb ages of 374 ± 2 and 378 ± 2 Ma, respectively, define a Middle to Late Devonian magmatic event. Mid-Carboniferous magmatic and (or) rifting events, suggested on the basis of earlier Rb–Sr dating of the St. Lawrence Granite, are not supported by these new data. Both granites intrude major ductile and brittle structures that were active during the early Paleozoic, and they provide a younger age limit for major tectonic activity in the Avalon Zone and on the south coast of Newfoundland. The granites may correlate with plutons of closely similar age reported from the Aspy and Mira terranes of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.


We have investigated experimentally the performance of an SBS suppression fiber with a nonuniform dopant concentration along its length fabricated by the VAD method. We have achieved an SBS threshold of 15 dBm against a continuous wave at 1.55 /spl mu/m. This is 7 dB larger than that of conventional fiber. We have confirmed experimentally that the increase in the SBS threshold can be estimated from the ratio of the Brillouin frequency shift change over the effective interaction length to the intrinsic Brillouin gain bandwidth. Moreover, we have confirmed that there is no BER degradation after a transmission of 138 km through a 2.5 Gb/s intensity modulation direct detection system when the SBS suppression fiber is used with an input power of 16 dBm.


Photographic print. Black and white. Portrait of the John and Betty Bosch family. Image of a man, woman, and two young women. Man and woman are in the front with the two young women in the back. Young woman at the back left is wearing a pearl necklace. Young woman at the back right is wearing two insect pins. Identified as the John and Betty Bosch family. (Back row, left to right): Florence Bosch and Bernice Bosch. (Font row, left to right): Betty Bosch and John Bosch. Circa late 1940s to early 1950s. Inscribed on the back: "John & Betty Bosch + Bernice & Florence. Daughters." Courtesy of Walter & Elizabeth (Bosch) Miltenberger Collection, 2009.07, GRHC.


We have studied the planar-type single-layer second-order high-Tc SQUID gradiometer that detects the transverse field gradient, d2Bz/dx2. The gradiometer consists of three parallel-connected rectangular pickup loops that are directly coupled to a SQUID. The pickup loops are designed in such a way that the SQUID measures the difference in the differential screening currents of neighbouring pickup loops. The SQUID has either step-edge or bicrystal Josephson junctions. The gradiometer was made from a single layer of YBa2Cu3O7 film on a 1 cm × 1 cm chip. The response of the gradiometer was tested in various flux distributions generated by three identical multiturn film coils patterned on the same chip in parallel with each pickup loop. The balanced gradiometer responded sensitively only to the second-order field gradient. Reduction of the inductive coupling between loops improved the intrinsic balance.


This study investigated the antifungal effect of chlorine dioxide (ClO 2 ) dipping on Botrytis cinerea , the causal agent of gray mold, on cut rose flowers ( Rosa hybrida L.). In vitro , the spore germination of gray mold was inhibited 100% by instant dipping with ClO 2 solution (5 to 10 μL·L −1 ). In particular, ClO 2 at 5 μL·L −1 was found to be ideal for hindering spore activity without causing any damage to the petals. This ClO 2 antifungal effect on cut flowers was investigated in a white cultivar 'Beast' with different treatments: dipping (one second), spraying (4.8 mL), or gassing (two hours) with 5 μL·L −1 ClO 2 . Six days after ClO 2 treatment, the incidence of gray mold in the artificially-inoculated flowers was 2.5% (dipping), 9.4% (spraying), or 8.4% (gassing), respectively, which were all significantly lower than the control incidence of 17.6%. Especially, ClO 2 dipping reduced the incidence of gray mold by up to 26.1% compared to the control in five other rose cultivars ('Antique Curl', 'Green Beauty', 'Feel Lip', 'Pink Heart', and 'Venus Berry'). No petal discoloration was detected, and petal color values (chroma or hue) were maintained regardless of ClO 2 dipping. This result suggests that immediate ClO 2 dipping is applicable to inhibit gray mold on cut rose flowers at a level of 5 μL·L −1 just before postharvest storage.


There are many distractions that happen in our daily lives, throwing us off course or making us forget what we were doing completely. Even though we feel as if we are paying attention to the subject at hand, distractions can cause us to forget about it. According to a study conducted by McNab, Zeidman, Rutledge, Smittenaar, Brown, Adams, and Dolan, when people are distracted while completing a task they are less likely to remember what they were doing (McNab, et al., 2015). Technology has become an increasing part of our lives every day. For a majority of people it seems like they have at least one technological device with them anywhere they go. Not only are people tempted to look at them whenever they have a free minute, but they get notified whenever they have a new message so that they are able to instantly respond. This study was completed using random assignment and was a convenience sample for a class assignment. The study had 20 participants, 10 in the control group and 10 in the experimental group. The study looked at the difference between memory recall of 20 images when participants were listening to nothing and when they were listening to a podcast. This study was close to significance and had a high effect size and lower power, showing that my hypothesis was supported. When people are listening to something while trying to remember images, they are more likely to remember fewer images than those who were listening to nothing.


We investigate the relaxation of holographic superfluids after quenches, when the end state is either tuned to be exactly at the critical point, or very close to it. By solving the bulk equations of motion numerically, we demonstrate that in the former case the system exhibits a power law falloff as well as an emergent discrete scale invariance. The later case is in the regime dominated by critical slowing down, and we show that there is an intermediate time-range before the onset of late time exponential falloff, where the system behaves similarly to the critical point with its power law falloff. We further postulate a phenomenological Gross-Pitaevskii-like equation that is able to make quantitative predictions for the behavior of the holographic superfluid after near-critical quenches. Intriguingly, all parameters of our phenomenological equation which describes the non-linear time evolution may be fixed with information from the static equilibrium solutions and linear response theory.