Modern models that perform system-critical tasks such as segmentation and localization exhibit good performance and robustness under ideal conditions (i.e. daytime, overcast) but performance degrades quickly and often catastrophically when input conditions change. In this work, we present a domain adaptation system that uses light-weight input adapters to pre-processes input images, irrespective of their appearance, in a way that makes them compatible with off-the-shelf computer vision tasks that are trained only on inputs with ideal conditions. No fine-tuning is performed on the off-the-shelf models, and the system is capable of incrementally training new input adapters in a self-supervised fashion, using the computer vision tasks as supervisors, when the input domain differs significantly from previously seen domains. We report large improvements in semantic segmentation and topological localization performance on two popular datasets, RobotCar and BDD.


This article explores the values and challenges of an archaeological approach to illicit drug use, based on the study of discarded drug paraphernalia. It builds upon recent archaeological studies of homeless people, refugees and other marginalised communities that have used participative methods to challenge societal stigma and erasure. Following a critique of previous archaeological studies of drug use, the core of the article is a detailed analysis of an assemblage of drug paraphernalia in Oxford, UK. In interpreting this assemblage and its material and emotional contexts we draw on our respective contemporary archaeological and drug user activist experience and expertise. By providing a critical overview of previous studies and a detailed case study, this article aims to provide a practical and conceptual foundation for future archaeological studies of illicit drug use.


Mathematical models in systems biology can use quantitative techniques to study the integrated behaviors of biological systems in macro level. Agent-based modeling provides a qualitative framework, focusing on how each individual molecule behaves in micro level. We are motivated to combine their features together to describe the gene regulatory networks, in particular the emergence of macro phenomena from micro interactions. An agent-based model will be well defined as general as possible, including of many agents of various molecular species interacting in it. The mathematical premises, which are grounded in the micro behaviors of agents, can derive the chemical master equations and the stochastic differential equations for modeling the integrated behaviors of systems in macro level. Combing agent-based models with stochastic differential equations affords a more complete perspective on gent regulatory networks. In addition, the sources and magnitudes of deterministic dynamics and random noises are explicitly characterized.


A method is described which combines radiotracer techniques with paper electrophoresis to investigate the optimal decomposition conditions for zinc and selenium in rice leaf and grain samples. After administration of the respective nuclides of 65Zn and "Se solutions to the rice, samples of the tested rice are harvested and decomposed with a nitric and sulfuric acid mixture. The completeness of decomposition is investigated by measuring the respective radionuclidecontaining species in the decomposed samples by electrophoretic analysis. The results indicate that the Se-containing rice samples are more easily decomposed than those containing Zn under our conditions. Different decomposition effects are observed between a nitric and sulfuric acid mixture and one which includes hydrogen peroxide. Decomposition may be connected with the analytical error.


In fresh water resources Ground water as well as river water is the important resources of our nation. The quality of water depends on many factors like physical, chemical, biological and hydrological. Contamination of groundwater is due to many land use activities that leads to potential treats to ground water quality. Manmade activities are categorized as residential, industrial or commercial and agricultural activities. The South-east area of Satara is under residential and agricultural activities. Residential activities include un sewer sanitation, land and stream discharge of sewage, sewer leakage, solid waste disposal etc. and in agricultural activities cultivation with agrochemicals, irrigation with wastewater. To understand more about quality of water used in study region Water Quality Index (WQI) is developed. Water Quality Index is the single scoring number which gives us idea about overall quality of water. Parameters selected for calculation of WQI are pH, Nitrates (NO3), Chlorides, Total Hardness, Alkalinity, Turbidity, TDS, and Fluoride. These are the physical & chemical parameters and help to find present scenario of study area. Total 10 station points are taken for analysis purpose.


This paper presents SMD inductors composed of soft-magnetic metal powder compacts based on newly developed materials and processes. High saturation magnetization of the core materials results in high DC-Bias characteristics and downsizing inductors, which can never be achieved by conventional ferrite core inductors. These SMD inductors can realize high efficiency in a circuit due to low loss characteristics in comparison with metal composite type inductors as well as ferrite inductors.


In this paper a review of recent progress on wideband guided -wave acoustooptic Bragg deflectors is made. The engineering aspects of guided -wave acoustooptic Bragg deflectors such as materials, design considerations and fabrication techniques are first reviewed. Design, evaluation and performance characteristics of several wideband deflectors which employ multiple surface acoustic waves in Y -cut LiNb03 substrate are then described. Finally, a number of potential applications using such wideband deflectors are discussed together with some performance figures.


The discovery of new polymorphs opens up unique applications for molecular materials since their physical properties are predominantly influenced by the crystal structure type. The deposition of molecules at surfaces offers great potential in the variation of the crystallization conditions, thereby allowing access to unknown polymorphs. With our surface crystallization approach, four new phases are found for an oligoethylene glycol-benzothienobenzothiophene molecule, and none of these phases could be identified via classical polymorph screening. The corresponding crystal lattices of three of the new phases were obtained via X-ray diffraction (XRD). Based on the volumetric considerations together with X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy data, the phases are identified as solvates containing one, two or three solvent molecules per molecule. The strong interaction of dichloromethane with the oligoethylene glycol side chains of the molecules may be responsible for the formation of the solvates. Temperature-dependent XRD reveals the low thermal stability of the new phases, contrary to the thermodynamically stable bulk form. Nevertheless, the four solvates are stable under ambient conditions for at least two years. This work illustrates that defined crystallization at surfaces enables access to multiple solvates of a given material through precise and controlled variations in the crystallization kinetics.


The alleviation of heating (in winter), cooling (in summer), artificial lighting and electricity use in office facilities is defined as a bioclimatic trend that offers sustainable building practice through a semi-transparent building integrated photovoltaic thermal envelope as a photovoltaic airflow window system. This thesis aims to produce synthesised design and strategies for the use of a proposed airflow window unit in office building in any given location and to maximise use of the renewable energy. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), namely ANSYS Fluent 14.0, and ECOTECT have been employed to model the mechanical and natural ventilation of an office building integrated with a semi-transparent photovoltaic airflow window and the daylighting impact of various PV transparent degrees (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 per cent) on the interior space, respectively, for winter and summer conditions.
The use of such software has urged to establish a validation analysis a priori in order to ascertain the applicability of the tools to the targeted examination. The validation process involved a comparison of the results of CFD turbulence models, first, against benchmark and, second, against results of literature for identical component. The results of ECOTECT, in terms of daylight factor and illuminance level, were also compared against the results of Daysim/radiance, Troplux and BC/LC found in the literature. Excellent agreement was attained from the comparison of the results with errors less than 10 per cent.
The study presents results of modelling of the airflow window system integrated into an office room for energy efficiency and adequate level of thermal and visual comfort. Results have revealed that the combination of mechanical and buoyancy induced flow spreads the heat internally warming the space to be thermally acceptable during the heating season whilst the mechanical convection is a main force for the cooling season. The thermal and visual comfort was compared for different PV airflow window transparent levels to determine the optimum PV transparency for the office space. Moreover, time-dependant and steady state conditions were imposed to predict the thermal and air behaviour for more elaborate investigation. The transient analysis was carried out, in sequential and individual base, according to the solar irradiance of each minute of working period, 8am-4pm (winter) and 5am-7pm (summer). The results obtained from transient and steady state, for both seasons, were compared and revealed negligible impact of transient effect.
The PV electricity output was calculated from each transparency level under each condition, summer and winter (transient and steady). The predicted flow patterns, temperature distribution and the daylight factors in the room have been used to determine the most appropriate opening locations, sizes and system specifications for maintaining a comfortable indoor environment. The simulation investigation show that, for the proposed window model, optimum thermal and visual performance can be achieved from the PV transparency level of 20 per cent, during the heating season, and from the PV transmittance of 15 per cent, during the cooling season, where the PV output is highest. However the PV transparencies of 25, 30 and 35% can be reliable under altered conditions of operation.


In the Original Investigation titled "Adverse Events and Patient Outcomes Among Hospitalized Children Cared for by General Pediatricians vs Hospitalists,"1 published December 7, 2018, some of the P values comparing physician characteristics reflected the full sample (1423 hospitalizations); instead, they should have been calculated off of the ratios of physicians demonstrating those characteristics. In addition, a few of the comparisons have been updated with more appropriate statistical tests (χ2 and Fisher exact tests). These modifications to the abstract, the Methods and Results sections, and Table 1 do not change the central findings or the main results of the study. All coefficients for main effects (independent variables) and outcomes remain the same, as do their significances. Only a few of the descriptive statistics related to physician characteristics between hospitalists vs general pediatricians are no longer significant, but these are unadjusted numbers and not part of the more critical findings of the study. This article was corrected online.1


Twenty adult dogs weighing between 1·4 and 53·5 kg and aged between six months and nine years were anaesthetised and the brachial plexus was localised with the aid of a nerve stimulator. In 10 of the dogs a brachial plexus block was induced with a mixture of lidocaine and bupivacaine and the other 10 each received 0·25 ml/kg saline as a control. The end-tidal isoflurane concentration was maintained between 1·3 and 1·4 per cent during surgery for carpal arthrodesis or a fracture of the radius or ulna. Acute heart rate or blood pressure increases of 20 per cent or more were treated with 1 µg/kg fentanyl intravenously. Postoperatively, signs of pain were scored by a single blinded observer at hourly intervals until eight hours after the block had been induced, on a scale from 0 to 18. Dogs with pain scores above 5 received 0·1 to 0·2 mg/kg methadone intravenously, repeated as necessary. During surgery the control dogs received significantly more fentanyl (median 0·05 µg/kg/minute, range 0·02 to 0·20 µg/kg/minute) than the group given local anaesthetic (median 0 µg/kg/minute, range 0 to 0·02 µg/kg/minute). Postoperatively, the control group required significantly more methadone (median 0·2 mg/kg, range 0·1 to 1 mg/kg) than the treated group (median 0 mg/kg, range 0 to 0·13 mg/kg).


Posttransplantation alloantigen-dependent and alloantigen-independent processes are both mediated by cytokines and chemokines. Recently cytokines and chemokines, as well as their receptors, have been shown to be highly polymorphic. The cytokine and chemokine gene polymorphisms are associated with variable production, activity, expression, or ligand-receptor affinity. The aim of our study was to analyze the relation between selected cytokine and chemokine gene polymorphisms in kidney donors and recipients as a function of donor-recipient match and posttransplantation outcome. Polymorphisms transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta); tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha); interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10; monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1); and RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted) genes were determined using DNA polymerase chain reaction technology in 268 healthy volunteers, 345 kidney transplant recipients (1997 to 1999), and 298 cadaveric donors. Patients were followed up for 4 to 6 years. The distribution of alleles of selected genes was identical in control subjects, cadaveric donors, and recipients. Low TGF-beta production in both the donor and recipient genotypes was associated with risk for early rejection (6 months) and worse graft function at 4 years. The only tendency for worse graft outcome was observed among donor-recipient combinations mismatched for TGF-beta genotype. Genetic determination of TNF-alpha and IL-10 production was associated with delayed graft function and rejection. IL-6 gene polymorphisms had no effect on the incidence of early acute rejections, but was associated with worse 5-year outcomes. Determinations of MCP-1 overproduction and RANTES-109 TT allele were associated with significant deterioration of graft function. Our data support the hypothesis that the strength of the alloimmune response after transplantation is in part genetically determined. Donor-recipient matching of cytokine gene polymorphisms has a marginal effect.


The effects of various concentrations of extracellular K+ (3.6 - 13 mM) on the steroid (corticosterone and aldosterone) and cyclic AMP outputs of capsular cells (95% zona glomerulosa) of the rat adrenal cortex were studied at different concentrations of extracellular Ca2+. Small amounts of EGTA (50 μM) were added to reduce the free Ca2+ concentrations effectively to zero at the lowest possible total Ca2+ concentration. At a total extracellular concentration of 2.5 mM Ca2+, in 27 experiments the mean values of the steroid and cAMP outputs showed a maximum at 8.4 mM K+. The increase in steroid and cAMP outputs at 5.9, 8.4 and 13 mM K+ compared with that at 3.6 mM were highly significant (p < 0.01). The overall correlation of either corticosterone or aldosterone with cAMP outputs was also highly significant and was even better from 3.6 to 8.4 mM K+. Lowering the effective free concentration of Ca2+ to zero decreased the steroid and cAMP outputs significantly at all K+ concentrations, and no output was then significantly higher than at 3.6 mM. With the pooled data on outputs at all total Ca2+ (2.5, 0.5, 0.25, 0.10, 0.05 and 0.0 mM) and K+ (3.6, 5.9, 8.4 and 13 mM) concentrations, the correlation of either steroid with cAMP outputs was highly significant (but again optimally from 3.6 to 8.4 mM K+). Nifedipine (10-6 to 10-4 M) was added to the incubations with the aim of specifically inhibiting Ca2+ influx at total extracellular Ca2+ concentrations of 2.5, 1.25 and 0.25 mM and with the usual K+ concentrations. The cAMP outputs were reduced at all K+ concentrations above 3.6 mM K+. The effect was highly significant at 10-4 M nifedipine and a total Ca2+ of 1.25 mM, which with the incubation conditions used, corresponds to the free Ca2+ concentrations in vivo. These results indicate that cAMP plays a significant role in the stimulation of steroid output by K+ particularly between 3.6 and 8.4 mM K+. In this range of K+ concentrations the stimulation of cAMP seems to be controlled by increases in Ca2+ influx. The correlation of steroid and cAMP output at the higher K+ concentrations (between 8.4 and 13 mM K) and at the various total Ca2+ concentrations is less significant. Also, with all concentrations of added nifedipine there is an 'anomalous' increase in steroid output at 13 mM K+ and at total Ca2+ concentrations of 2.5 and 1.25 mM. However, at the same K+ concentrations and at 0.25 mM Ca2+, nifedipine decreases steroid outputs. Our previous data, obtained after addition of maximally effective amounts of cAMP, indicated that there were also non-cAMP mechanisms involved in the stimulation of steroidogenesis by K+ in z. g. cells. The present data confirm this conclusion, particularly at K+ concentrations above 8.4 mM. They also indicate that at these higher K+ concentrations, by non-cAMP mechanisms increasing intracellular Ca2+ concentrations probably inhibit steroidogenesis. We conclude, however, that in the physiological range of K+ concentrations, the role of cAMP in zona glomerulosa cells is at least comparable in importance to that of non-cAMP mechanisms.


Despite the efforts of a large number of investigators, the role of GnRH in clinical gynecology is uncertain. At present, its greatest utility is in research directed toward the understanding of hypothalamic-pituitary interrelationships. However, a clear understanding of the hypothalamic control of gonadotropin secretion awaits the actual measurement of the secretion of GnRH by the hypothalamus. In addition, a better understanding of the ability of the pituitary to secrete gonadotropins in various disorders of menstruation and maturation will probably be achieved through the determination of the capacity of the pituitary to synthesize as well as release gonadotropins in response to GnRH. Such determinations will probably utilize repeated or continuous infusions of GnRH rather than the currently more popular single injection technique. Finally, GnRH may be useful in the induction of ovulation. A definition of its role in ovulation induction awaits the results of additional clinical studies. Understanding of the nature of hypothalamic control of the pituitary is as yet incomplete. The availability of hypothalamic releasing factors will make it possible to study in greater detail the mechanisms by which the fine regulation of the endocrine system is achieved.


The effects of laser bandwidth and Doppler broadening on the population dynamics of the ladder configuration which consists of three levels of Gd such as 9D50 (999.121 cm-1), 5d6s6p 9F4 (17973.611 cm-1) and 5d6s7s 9D40 (33534.095 cm-1) are studied numerically using the Bloch equation. In particular, for the examination of the bandwidth effect we choose a finite-bandwidth quasi-monochromatic laser and describe its field as a set of phase-independent modes. The remarkable fact is noted that the laser bandwidth of 1 GHz causes radiation-atom interactions to be very strongly incoherent, so the three-level populations are the same throughout almost all the interaction-time region.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Chemoembolization in the presence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is thought to be hazardous and such patients are regarded as prognostically poor.

METHODOLOGY
One hundred sixty two patients with biopsy-proven and unresectable HCC were treated with chemoembolization (TACE). We retrospectively analyzed these patients according to presence or absence of PVT.

RESULTS
We found the 2 groups were similar with respect to tumor and liver parameters. Survival was 22.3 months in responders and 6.6 months in non-responders, p < or = 0.0001. Patients with PVT who responded had a 24 mo median survival and without PVT who responded had a 30 month median survival. These 2 groups were thus similar, p = 0.817. Patients who did not respond had a survival of only 5 and 7 months, for presence or absence of PVT, respectively. Responders had significantly lower blood AFP and GGTP levels, lower DCP levels and better liver function.

CONCLUSIONS
In this series, response was a major determinant of survival, regardless of the presence or absence of PVT. Thus, branch PVT was not a contraindication to chemoembolization.


BACKGROUND
Distinguishing merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) metastatic to the skin, and atypical basal cell carcinoma (BCC) can be problematic in some cases. Significant differences in the biology of these tumors necessitate that they need to be distinguished from one another.

METHODS
We evaluated the immunophenotypic characteristics of 22 MCCs, nine SCLCs, and 19 BCCs using antibodies to cytokeratin 20 (CK20), thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), CD117, and DNA topoisomerase II-alpha (topo II).

RESULTS
Nineteen of 22 MCCs stained with the antibody to CK20, none stained with anti-TTF-1, and 13 stained with anti-CD117. No SCLC stained with anti-CK20, all stained with anti-TTF-1, and eight stained with anti-CD117. No BCC stained with any of the three markers. The proliferative index (PI), determined by the expression of topo II, was similar for SLCLs (mean 58.5 +/- 9.0%) and MCCs (mean 45.2 +/- 12.4%) and was lowest in BCCs (mean 25.0 +/- 8.7%).

CONCLUSIONS
CK20 and TTF-1 appear to be reliable in distinguishing MCC from SCLC. CD117 is expressed in both MCC and SCLC, limiting its diagnostic utility. CK20, TTF-1, and CD117 are not expressed in BCC. The high PI seen in MCCs suggests a role for topoisomerase II inhibitors in their treatment.


The review is devoted to the analysis of the latest data on research of hygienic aspects of influence of firm and gaseous components of car exhausts on human and environmental health in modern cities. The history of studying of impact of motor transport exhausts components on human health and environment from 1930 to 2014 has been considered. According to literature data, the most dangerous components of exhausts have been separated: gases (SO3, NOx), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (pyrene, phenantrene, acenaptilene and fluorantene), firm particles of PM1 and PM25 (soot, ashes, oxides and salts of metals). It has been shown that motor transport conversion to new types of fuel (biodiesel, hybrid electric installations, bioethanol) didn't reduce harmful effects of exhausts on ecology. The mechanism of negative effects of engine exhausts, according to literature, consists of induction of a local inflammatory reaction in airways, and then - in a system inflammatory response. The materials of the articles in the Scopus database (www.scopus. com), Web of Science (http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com), Biological Abstracts were used (http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jloptions.cgi? PC=BA), PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/). The review of literature has shown that despite numerous foreign and domestic studies, solutions of the problem of a decrease in negative impact of motor transport exhausts on city ecology and human health was not developed.


Silver stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR) have revealed differences in the biological behavior of certain entities. This study involves a morphometric analysis of AgNOR in 6 central, classic osteosarcomas and 6 parosteal osteosarcomas. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of AgNOR per nucleus between central and parosteal osteosarcomas. Single AgNOR volume was smaller in central osteosarcomas as compared to parosteal osteosarcomas. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance. The parameter AgNOR number per nucleus revealed a cut off value such that 100% of central osteosarcoma cases lay above this value and 100% of parosteal osteosarcoma cases lay below this value. AgNOR demonstration involves a simple technique which can be performed on formalin fixed, paraffin embedded file material. Thus, it may be prudent to routinely assess AgNOR as a contributor to the determination of the pathophysiology of osteosarcomas.


Millions of small-scale farmers around the world irrigate with marginal-quality water, often because
they have no alternative. There are two major types of marginal-quality water: wastewater
from urban and peri-urban areas, and saline and sodic agricultural drainage water and
groundwater. Around cities in developing countries, farmers use wastewater from residential,
commercial, and industrial sources, sometimes diluted but often without treatment. Sometimes
farmers in deltaic areas and tailend sections of large-scale irrigation schemes irrigate
with a blend of canal water, saline drainage water, and wastewater. Still others irrigate with
saline or sodic groundwater, either exclusively or in conjunction with higher quality surface
water. Many of those farmers cannot control the volume or quality of water they receive.
Wastewater often contains a variety of pollutants: salts, metals, metalloids, pathogens,
residual drugs, organic compounds, endocrine disruptor compounds, and active residues
of personal care products. Any of these components can harm human health and the environment.
Farmers can suffer harmful health effects from contact with wastewater, while
consumers are at risk from eating vegetables and cereals irrigated with wastewater. Application
of wastewater has to be carefully managed for effective use.
In contrast to wastewater, saline and sodic water contains salts that can impair plant
growth but rarely contains metals or pathogens. However, it can lead to soil salinization
and waterlogging, which impair productivity on millions of hectares of agricultural land.
Irrigating
successfully with saline or sodic water requires careful management to prevent
near-term reductions in crop yield and long-term reductions in productivity.


We develop a visible light-promoted divergent cycloaddition of α-diazo esters with hexahydro-1,3,5-triazines, leading to a series of aziridine and imidazolidine frameworks in average good yield, by simply changing the reaction media used. It is noteworthy that the reaction occurs under sole visible light irradiation without the need for exogenous photoredox catalysts. More significantly, a reasonable reaction mechanism was proposed on the basis of the control experiments and density functional theory calculation results.


Owing to the applications provided more convenient and less expensive, 3G network service are getting popular than ever. In addition to the WLAN infrastructures are built ubiquitously. The integration between these two systems is unavoidable. 3GPP defines a node, PDG (packet data gateway) to be the entry point for user in WLAN to access 3G PS services. The PDG is suggested to be composed of TTG and GGSN. To build a connection from WLAN UE to the node within 3G PS domains, IPSec tunnel is established between the WLAN UE and TTG via IKEv2 protocol. TTG has to transfer the IPSec tunnel to GTP tunnel toward GGSN. The first issue we addressed in this paper is how to do the translation between IPSec tunnel and GTP tunnel. We observe the mapping relation between the TS pay load and TFT packet filter. Vertical handoff is another issue in this heterogeneous network. In order to minimize packet loss and handoff latency when UE moves to 3G networks, we propose a practical mechanism to reuse the PDP context which was created when UE was in WLAN


It is well known in the educational literature that public and private-voucher schools show different production technologies and present differences in the productivity of their educational inputs due to management issues. On the one hand the students attending public schools differ in their socioeconomic characteristics from students in the private-voucher (private management and funded by the government) ones. In this paper we propose a new non-parametric Educational Malmquist index approach in order to analyse total factor productivity changes and divergences between publicly financed schools when only a pseudo-panel database is available. To do this we use the Basque Country data from PISA 2003 and 2006. The results suggest a higher productivity change for public schools, due to technical efficiency improvements, whereas the technology progress is higher in private-voucher schools within 2003-2006.


Background Measurement of lung volumes across the life course is critical to the diagnosis and management of lung disease. The aim of the study was to use the Global Lung Function Initiative methodology to develop all-age multi-ethnic reference equations for lung volume indices determined using body plethysmography and gas dilution techniques. Methods Static lung volume data from body plethysmography and gas dilution techniques from individual, healthy participants were collated. Reference equations were derived using the LMS (lambda-mu-sigma) method and the generalised additive models of location shape and scale programme in R. The impact of measurement technique, equipment type and being overweight or obese on the derived lung volume reference ranges was assessed. Results Data from 17 centres were submitted and reference equations were derived from 7190 observations from participants of European ancestry between the ages of 5 and 80 years. Data from non-European ancestry populations were insufficient to develop multi-ethnic equations. Measurements of functional residual capacity (FRC) collected using plethysmography and dilution techniques showed physiologically insignificant differences and were combined. Sex-specific reference equations including height and age were developed for total lung capacity (TLC), FRC, residual volume (RV), inspiratory capacity, vital capacity, expiratory reserve volume and RV/TLC. The derived equations were similar to previously published equations for FRC and TLC, with closer agreement during childhood and adolescence than in adulthood. Conclusions Global Lung Function Initiative reference equations for lung volumes provide a generalisable standard for reporting and interpretation of lung volumes measurements in individuals of European ancestry. The GLI Network has developed all-ages reference equations for lung volumes for populations of European ancestry. The unification of GLI lung function reference equations will improve the interpretation of lung function in patients with lung disease. https://bit.ly/3hHZR1N


This chapter contains a list of biblical verses that occur in the book Johannine Sectarianism in Perspective: A Sociological, Historical, and Comparative Analysis of Temple and Social Relationships in the Gospel of John, Philo and Qumran. The book evaluates the claim that the Gospel of John was a product of a 'sectarian' milieu. Fuglseth discusses in particular the 'cult'-model as an alternative to 'sect', and compares the Johannine texts with texts from two contemporary milieus: Philo and the Dead Sea Scrolls.Keywords: Dead Sea Scrolls; Gospel of John; Philo of Alexandria


There are many cases that a nonlinear fractional programming, generated as a result of studying fractional stochastic programming, must be solved. Sometimes an approximate solution may be sufficient enough to start a new process of calculations. To this end, this author introduces a new linear approximation technique for solving a fractional chance constrained programming (CCP) problem. After introducing the problem, the equivalent deterministic form of the fractional nonlinear programming problem is developed. To solve the problem, a fuzzy goal programming model of the equivalent deterministic form of the fractional chance constrained programming is provided and then the process of defuzzification and linearization of the problem is started. A sample test problem is solved for presentation purposes.


Giant petrels are the chief scavenging seabirds in the Southern Ocean. Quantitatively analysed regurgitations from chicks of both Macronectes halli and M. giganteus at Bird Island, South Georgia throughout the chick rearing period consisted predominantly of adult Macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus. Significant quantities of burrowing petrels and krill were taken but the amount varied in different years. Only male M. halli fed regularly at fur seal carcases. Although 10 species were found in regurgitations, squid were unimportant in the diet. Fish are possibly more important during the winter.

Intersexual differences in diet were of greater significance than interspecific ones with males taking more carrion and females more crustaceans. Chicks were fed during both day and night and in both species males received significantly more food than females during the fledging period. M. giganteus chicks received more than M. halli at all ages.

Despite their extensive reliance on carrion both species take a variety of prey and this may be especially important during the winter when penguin and seal carrion is scarce.


This paper proposes that children who are especially vulnerable to parental suicide have not resolved earlier developmental issues of separation-individuation. Five children, ages 6 to 12, were studied intensively. Parental suicide during the child's latency age period has profound influences on children's ego development and character formation because during this time childhood ego functioning is rapidly maturing and superego functions are developing. The trauma of parental suicide is heightened when difficulties for the surviving parent in mourning interfere with open discussion between the parent and child about the death. Parental suicide may stimulate childhood suicidal impulses if the child identifies with and idealizes the dead parent and has wishes of reuniting with the deceased.


Modern microprocessor capabilities permit the control designer to consider using relatively complicated nonlinear control algorithms, which would have been considered impractical in the past. The paper presents the results of a study of the potential usefulness of nonlinear decoupling algorithms for the design of excitation and governor controllers for a power system using state-variable feedback. A control law for decoupling rotor angle and field flux is derived. For the rejection of load disturbance, the design of a servocompensator consisting of strings of integrators in the outer ioop around the decoupled inner loop is proposed. The closed-loop system is shown to be asymptotically stable. The system can be transferred to a new operating condition corresponding to any desired terminal voltage Vt and tie-line power Ptie The simulation results using a first-order compensator show that system asymptotically tracks the desired Vt and Ptie under unknown piecewise constant disturbances. Results show good transient and steady-state responses in rotor angle, field flux and frequency. Steady-state errors in Vt and Ptie owing to parameter uncertainty are reduced to zero by changing the command inputs using an external loop. The effect of stochastic load on the response is small.


As a basis for genetic improvement of willow (Salix spp.) for use in wood biomass production, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for resistance to herbivores have been identified in a tetraploid hybrid F2 population originating from a cross between Salix dasyclados (Wimm.) and Salix viminalis (L.) (Salicaceae). Symptoms of herbivory, caused by various insects and game, and, in addition, leaf rust, were assessed in three field locations with varying soils and climates. Eleven damage traits (lost leaf area, leaf discoloration, leaf blisters, leaf‐mite symptoms, leaf‐margin cuts, and various estimates of shoot‐tip damage by a gall midge, game, and lepidopterans) were submitted to QTL analysis. A composite interval mapping approach was used to estimate the number of QTLs, the magnitude of the QTLs, and their position on genetic linkage maps. Most of the identified QTLs were specific for each trait and location, but a few QTLs common across the locations were also detected. Each QTL explained between 8 and 24% of the phenotypic variation, depending on damage trait and field location. Clusters of QTLs for different traits were found at several linkage groups, indicating either a common genetic base or tightly linked QTL. Our results emphasize the need for verification of QTL studies over different environments.


To elucidate the role of circulating hypertensive factors in the spontaneously hypertensive rat and the effects of antihypertensive treatment on the circulating hypertensive factor, cross circulation was performed in 54 couples of spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive rats. In normotensive rats cross-circulated with untreated spontaneously hypertensive rats mean arterial pressure increased by 20.9 +/- 12.2 mm Hg (p less than 0.01). Increases in mean arterial pressure were also obtained by cross-circulation with spontaneously hypertensive rats pretreated with propranolol, furosemide, and nifedipine. Mean arterial pressure was not changed by cross circulation after pretreatment of the spontaneously hypertensive rats with alpha methyldopa. It is concluded that in this strain of spontaneously hypertensive rats a circulating hypertensive factor exists, the secretion of which can be suppressed by the centrally acting drug, alpha methyldopa. Therefore either the central nervous system may take part in the regulation of the factor or the factor may be synthetized in the central nervous system.


&NA; Scant information is available about the outcomes of patients with synchronous bilateral lung cancers (SBLC) treated with radiation. We report on 32 patients with SBLC who were treated for palliation by external beam irradiation during a 19‐year period. The overall median survival was 7 months; 20 individuals (63%) survived at least 6 months. Among the evaluable patients, the complete/partial subjective and objective response rates were 100% and 60%, respectively. Survival was not significantly influenced by the total dose applied. Radiotherapy is effective for palliation of symptoms associated with SBLC. However, the dismal prognosis of SBLC managed by nonradical radiotherapy alone warrants investigation of treatment using curative doses of radiotherapy or chemotherapy with radiotherapy.


Betacellulin (BTC) is a peptide ligand that belongs to the epidermal growth factor family, the members of which have been implicated in skin morphogenesis, homeostasis, repair, and angiogenesis; however, the role of BTC in the regulation of the skin barrier remains unknown. To examine the role of BTC in skin barrier function, we analyzed atopic dermatitis (AD) transcriptomic data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets, performed BTC immunohistochemistry using human skin tissues, and evaluated the effects of BTC on primary human keratinocytes by real-time PCR, Western blotting, and assay of the transepidermal electrical resistance (TER), a functional parameter to monitor the tight junction barrier. We found that the gene expression of BTC was downregulated in skin lesions from patients with AD, and this downregulated expression recovered following biological treatments. Consistently, the BTC protein levels were downregulated in the lesional skin of AD patients compared with the normal skin of healthy participants, suggesting that the BTC levels in skin might be a biomarker for the diagnosis and therapy of AD. Furthermore, in human keratinocytes, BTC knockdown reduced the levels of skin-derived antimicrobial peptides and skin barrier-related genes, whereas BTC addition enhanced their levels. Importantly, in human skin equivalents, BTC restored the increased tight junction permeability induced by Th2 cytokine IL-4/IL-13 treatment. In addition, specific inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and protein kinase C (PKC) abolished the BTC-mediated improvement in skin barrier-related proteins in keratinocyte monolayers. Collectively, our findings suggest that treatment with BTC might improve the Th2-type cytokine-mediated impairment of skin barrier function through the EGFR/PKC axis and that BTC might be a novel potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the treatment of skin conditions characterized by the overproduction of Th2 cytokines and dysfunctional skin barriers, such as AD.


The growth rates of Appendicularia sicula, Fritillaria borealis sargassi, Fritillaria haplostoma, Oikopleura dioica and Oikopleura longicauda were determined from microcosms incubated in situ at 28°C in Jamaican waters. Experiments were conducted from oligotrophic offshore waters, through mesotrophic Lime Cay and eutrophic Kingston Harbour in both natural and nutrientenhanced phytoplankton communities. Length-weight relationships were calculated for two of these species: O.longicauda log W = 2.47 log TL 6.10 and F.haplostoma log W = 2.44 log TL 7.37, where weight (W) is in micrograms and trunk length (TL) is in micrometres. Instantaneous growth rates averaged 1.7-2.5 day* for the five species and were observed as high as 3.3 day-'. These instantaneous rates are equivalent to daily specific growth rates averaging 4.6-11.4 and ranging up to 28. In larger genera, growth rates were related positively to picoplankton and nanoplankton concentration, and negatively to the biomass of larvaceans, but in the smallest species growth was unrelated to these factors. However, because the variability in these two factors within microcosms exceeded their natural range of variability, growth rates of larvaceans may normally be unlimited by resources or population density effects.


Wumei San (WMS) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been widely applied in the treatment of piglet diarrhea (PD). However, the mechanism of WMS in PD has not been investigated. In this study, the main active compounds of WMS and the target proteins were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology, PubChem, and SwissTargetPrediction databases. The molecular targets of PD were identified using GeneCards, OMIM, and NCBI databases. The common targets of WMS and PD were screened out and converted into UniProt gene symbols. PD-related target genes were constructed into a protein-protein interaction network, which was further analyzed by the STRING online database. Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were performed to construct the component-target gene-disease network. Molecular docking was then used to examine the relationship between the core compounds and proteins. As a result, a total of 32 active compounds and 638 target genes of WMS were identified, and a WMS-compound-target network was successfully constructed. Through network pharmacology analysis, 14 core compounds in WMS that showed an effect on PD were identified. The targets revealed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were associated with the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and other pathways and physiological processes. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the active compounds in WMS spontaneously bind to their targets. The results indicated that WMS may regulate the local immune response and inflammatory factors mainly through the TNF signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and other pathways. WMS is a promising treatment strategy for PD. This study provides new insights into the potential mechanism of WMS in PD.


An improved hybrid unified power flow controller (IHUPFC) is developed in this paper to control the power flow and increase the utilization rate of the existing transmission lines. The IHUPFC is composed of an improved "Sen" transformer (IST) and a small capacity unified power flow controller (UPFC). After a detailed introduction of the structure and voltage regulation performance of the IST, this paper derives the capacity relationship between the IST and the UPFC. Then, this paper introduces the technology of the IHUPFC in power flow regulation and transmission capability improvement. Besides, the advantages of the IHUPFC in performance and structure are analyzed. The IST has simpler structure and larger power flow control area than a "Sen" transformer, and the IHUPFC provides a continuous active and reactive power flow control. Simulation and experiment studies are used to verify the practicability and superiority of the IHUPFC.


Xylaria arenicola, X. brasiliensis, X. escharoidea, X. furcata, X. nigripes, X. piperiformis and X. rhizomorpha represent ancient names of fungi known to inhabit abandoned termite nests. We attempt to redescribe them and to reduce the confusion among them. Xylaria tanganyikaensis and X. readeri, species that might be associated with termite nests, are described. We describe a new variety, X. furcata var. hirsuta, and discuss an unnamed fungus that probably represents a new species. Photographs and a key are presented to aid the identification of these taxa.


What do we really know about mobile phone culture? This provocative and comprehensive collection explores the cultural and media dimensions of mobile phones around the world.

An international team of contributors look at how mobiles have been imagined through advertising and social representations - tracing the scripting and shaping of the technology through gender, sexuality, religion, communication style - and explore the locations of mobile phone culture in modernity, urban settings and even transnational families.

This book also provides a guide to convergent mobile phone culture, with fresh, innovative accounts of text messaging, Blackberry, camera phones, moblogging and mobile adventures in television. Mobile Phone Culture opens up important new perspectives on how we understand this intimate yet public cultural technology.


Cloud computing is getting involved in almost every technological field to serve customers in a more efficient way. The shared resources (pool) with different configurations according to the user's needs are provided by cloud vendors. Users stores their data on the cloud, data can be personal, or organizational, and data of every type must be secure on clouds. Making the data secure and reducing the integrity of data during transfer through public channels. In this paper, we will try to make data secure using image steganography. Using the steganography technique, we use encryption-decryption of data into images and make data invisible.


The full-length sequence of a second IL-1beta gene (IL-1beta2) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) has been obtained. As with the first IL-1beta gene, IL-1beta2 is organized into six exons/five introns. There are only small differences in their intron/exon sizes, with the exception of intron 3, which is 334 bp smaller in IL-1beta2. The transcript encoded by the IL-1beta2 gene contains a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 121 bp, followed by a 762-bp open reading frame and a 518-bp 3'UTR. The 3'UTR contains seven instability attta motifs, typical of inflammatory genes, and a polyadenylation site 11 bp upstream of a 17-bp poly(A) tail. The predicted 254 amino acid sequence of the second IL-1beta gene has 82% similarity to the first gene, 45% similarity to carp IL-1beta, and 40% similarity to human IL-1beta. Comparison of the two trout genes reveals that the IL-1beta2 gene has a deletion of 9 bases in exon 3 and an altered splicing site at the 5' end of exon 4 giving rise to a further 9-bp deletion in the resulting cDNA. As with other nonmammalian IL-1beta genes, no interleukin-converting enzyme (ICE) cut site has been found but the alignment of the amino acid sequence with other species shows a possible cut site between Arg89 and Ala90 that would give arise to a 165-amino acid mature peptide. Expression studies performed by RT-PCR using primers specific for the IL-1beta2 transcript revealed a clear dose-dependent induction of this gene in cultured trout leukocytes by stimulation with lipopolysaccharide.


This paper details the key outputs of the U.K.'s first feasibility study of implementing the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables in electricity distribution networks to solve capacity issues. This project is mainly aimed at studying the technical and economic aspects of using superconducting cables and comparing them with the existing approaches, to determine whether a demonstration project of the superconducting solution is feasible. The University of Bath in collaboration with Western Power Distribution (WPD) has conducted this study, considering a previous capacity issue in WPD's network using both conventional and superconducting solutions. The first part of the study investigated the different aspects (installation procedures, power capacity, capital, and operational costs, etc.) of superconducting cables, comparing them with conventional cables. This identified the unique benefit of the high power density of HTS cables, which could allow the usage of a low-voltage superconducting cable in place of a high-voltage conventional cable. In the second part of the study, a 132-kV site in WPD's network that required reinforcement has been chosen for performing the feasibility study. As part of this study, a detailed cost benefit analysis (CBA) was conducted, comparing the superconducting solution with the conventional solution. The outputs from the present value analysis that has been carried out as part of the CBA are discussed. The results of the CBA power system studies performed are presented, evaluating the impact that each solution has on the network power flows, losses, and fault levels. Finally, based on the outputs from the CBA and future projections in the costs of superconducting cables, recommendations were made for the usage of superconducting cables in U.K. electricity distribution networks to solve network capacity issues.


Two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is explored by means of numerical simulation. Previous analytical theory, based on non-dissipative constants of the motion in a truncated Fourier representation, is verified by following the evolution of highly non-equilibrium initial conditions numerically. Dynamo action (conversion of a significant fraction of turbulent kinetic energy into long-wavelength magnetic field energy) is observed. It is conjectured that in the presence of dissipation and external forcing, a dual cascade will be observed for zero-helicity situations. Energy will cascade to higher wave numbers simultaneously with a cascade of mean square vector potential to lower wave numbers, leading to an omni-directional magnetic energy spectrum which varies as k-113 at lower wave numbers, simultaneously with a buildup of magnetic excitation at the lowest wave number of the system. Equipartition of kinetic and magnetic energies is expected at the highest wave numbers in the system.


Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) MEAM1 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), two important invasive species, are serious agricultural pests. In this study, a one‐step, single tube, duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure was developed to allow rapid, specific, and sensitive identification of B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis in predator guts. The system and conditions used for the duplex PCR were optimized. The species specificity of the duplex PCR determined by comparison against non‐targets that might interact with B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis showed that oligonucleotide primers amplified nuclear gene target sequences present only in B. tabaci MEAM1 or F. occidentalis. The limits of detection were 9.53 ng μl−1 for B. tabaci MEAM1 and 8.94 ng μl−1 for F. occidentalis. Within a field cage study, in which predators Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Orius sauteri (Poppius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were allowed to feed on B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis for 10 h, the B. tabaci MEAM1 DNA was detectable in 100% of H. axyridis and O. sauteri, and F. occidentalis DNA was detectable in 80% of H. axyridis and 90% of O. sauteri; this implicated that B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis remains could be detected in native predator guts simultaneously. The accuracy and reliability of the assay suggested strongly that the duplex PCR optimized for B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis is sensitive and specific for both invasive insects and is therefore useful in early diagnosis and monitoring of B. tabaci MEAM1 and F. occidentalis infections, and can be used to identify domestic predator species and food web relationships.


In order to estimate the adaptability of the diesel combustor, the combustion characteristics of pure diesel and emulsions of bio-oil and diesel (with 5wt% and 50wt% bio-oil contents) were investigated by numerical simulation method. The factors including ignition delay, temperature distribution and combustion components distribution in the combustor were studied. The combustion characteristics of 5wt% bio-oil emulsion were nearly consistent with those of pure diesel. The only minor difference was that its ignition delayed slightly to the upstream. In contrast, 50wt% bio-oil emulsion had different performences in the combustor, whose ignition was shortly delayed.


In this paper, we present a study on stability of popular biopolymer poly(lactide acid) (PLA) under degradation process. As a main objective of this study we investigate an influence of polymer decomposition on decrease of its two physicochemical parameters – dynamic viscosity and molecular mass. To include the molar mass distribution we calculate three various mass averages: the number, the weight and the viscosity molar mass. To simulate the polylactide behavior at the atomic level we use molecular dynamics method in conjunction with reactive force field ReaxFF. To provide degradation conditions similar to human interior system we operate in the MD-NVT conditions at the temperature 310K. Based on reported in literature values of polylactide density we develop computational model of its amorphous structure. We achieve full compliance with expectations – obtained values of PLA viscosity and mass are steadily dropping. Determined trends confirm progressive polymer decomposition resulting in deterioration of polymer durability. The obtained results may be use in a future to predict a lifetime of biomedical polymer implants.


In this article the process of unification within the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM of SA) is described, using the minutes from the different councils of the respective Sections of the AFM and the reminiscences of its leaders. The process was completed in April 1996, leading to a unified AFM. This happened only after many years and endeavours at different levels. At first the so-called black churches united before unity with the White Division became feasible. Many hurdles had to be overcome, not the least of which were the political prejudices and attitudes of white people. The role played by various leaders is emphasised and the question is asked whether the unification of the AFM has become a practical reality at the level of local assemblies.


We carried out an experimental study of an Er:YAG laser that is passively Q-switched by Cr:ZnSe saturable absorbers and pumped at 1470 nm by a 14 W laser diode. The 1617 nm emission is selected by an appropriate combination of transmissions of the saturable absorber and of the output coupler. With an accurate comparison between actively Q-switched and passively Q-switched operations and with Cr:ZnSe transmission measurements, we demonstrated by experiments and by simulations that the output energy is strongly dependent on the Cr:ZnSe temperature. With a better cooling of the Cr:ZnSe crystal heated by residual pump and signal absorption, the energy per pulse can be doubled, from 110 to 220 μJ, at a repetition rate of 800 Hz.


Intel SGX provisions shielded executions for security-sensitive computation, but lacks support for trusted system services (TSS), such as clock, network and filesystem. This makes \textit{enclaves} vulnerable to Iago attacks~\cite{DBLP:conf/asplos/CheckowayS13} in the face of a powerful malicious system. To mitigate this problem, we present Aurora, a novel architecture that provides TSSes via a secure channel between enclaves and devices on top of an untrusted system, and implement two types of TSSes, i.e. clock and end-to-end network. We evaluate our solution by porting SQLite and OpenSSL into Aurora, experimental results show that SQLite benefits from a \textit{microsecond} accuracy trusted clock and OpenSSL gains end-to-end secure network with about 1ms overhead.


This paper presents a complete methodology to control the quality of electromagnetic field computation using the finite element method. An error estimate is built up using the error in the constitutive relation. Proof is made that this estimate relates to the exact error in some cases. Both problems of control of quality and mesh optimisation are then discussed.


Wind-US is a computational platform which may be used to numerically solve various sets of equations governing physical phenomena. Currently, the code supports the solution of the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations of fluid mechanics, along with supporting equation sets governing turbulent and chemically reacting flows. Wind-US is a product of the NPARC Alliance, a partnership between the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) dedicated to the establishment of a national, applications-oriented flow simulation capability. The Boeing Company has also been closely associated with the Alliance since its inception, and represents the interests of the NPARC User's Association. The "Wind-US User's Guide" describes the operation and use of Wind-US, including: a basic tutorial; the physical and numerical models that are used; the boundary conditions; monitoring convergence; the files that are read and/or written; parallel execution; and a complete list of input keywords and test options.


In this project, a Ground Control Station (GCS) for a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) has been designed, developed and built from scratch. The GCS is part of a larger System called Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) formed by the RPAS in the air segment, the communications link and the Ground Control Station. First of all, a brief study has been done in order to know the different types of GCS that currently exist. There are lots of GCS types, depending on the scope of the RPAS that has to be controlled, the project budget or the mission requirements. Given these characteristics, the scope of the GCS will be defined. Once stablished the scope of the GCS, its different components will be determined. From the microprocessor to the Liquid Cristal Display (LCD) controller, the components will be listed and described, as well as its characteristics and advantages against other options. Also, the process followed to design some of the parts such as the power system will be explained. Apart from the hardware the Ground Control Station also needs software to operate. The different software and operating systems installed and used will be described onwards, as well as installation methods. Once the different parts are defined, Solid Works® 3D design program will be used for stablishing the physical design of the GCS. Considering the available space given by the scope of the project and the amount of elements to be fitted and connected, a realistic design will be made. This design will be used later on to build the actual GCS. The building process will be briefly shown and the GCS will be tested. Finally, a conclusion will be made in order to stablish the viability of the project, taking into account the already existing platforms currently used as well as the power consumption and battery endurance, weight, price and technical performances.


Elmidae, riffle beetles, have both adult and immature stages that show specializations for water environments. Fossils of adults of Elmidae are already known from amber, however a record of immatures was so far lacking. We report here the first fossil larva of Elmidae, preserved in Baltic amber. To be able to access details of the body hidden by inclusions and "Verlumung" we conducted, in addition to optical documentation methods, micro-CT and synchrotron documentation methods. The larva is characterised by prominent dorso-lateral and lateral processes and a plate-like ventral operculum at the end of the abdomen. The new fossil has similarities in the general body shape and the prominent characters with some modern larvae of Elmidae. The posterior protrusions on the trunk end possibly represent gills, which would imply that fossil larvae of Elmidae also led a water-related life style similar to modern representatives.


Paul Lauterbur, co-recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work in MR imaging of the body, died March 27, 2007. A native of Sidney, Ohio, Lauterbur received a BS in chemistry from Case Institute of Technology in 1951 and went from there to employment at the Mellon Institute. He was drafted in 1953, spending most of his service at the Army Chemical Center, where he established a new nuclear MR (NMR) laboratory. In 1955, he returned to the Mellon Institute, setting up another NMR laboratory and attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, from which he received a PhD in chemistry in 1962. The following year he joined the State University of New York at Stony Brook as an Associate Professor of Chemistry. It was here in 1971 that he began the research that developed into MR imaging of the body. Lauterbur discovered the possibility of creating a 2D picture by introducing gradients in the magnetic field. By analyzing the characteristics of the emitted radio waves, he could determine their origin. This made it possible to build 2D pictures of structures that could not be visualized by other techniques. In 1973, he described how the addition of gradient magnets to the main magnet made it possible to visualize a cross-section of tubes with ordinary water surrounded by heavy water. Lauterbur left Stony Brook in 1985 for the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he served until his death as a Professor in the College of Medicine and the Department of Chemistry and Director of the Biomedical Magnetic Resonance Laboratory, as well as in several other programs. The author or coauthor of more than 300 publications, he was recognized with numerous honorary degrees and awards, including membership in the National Academy of Sciences, the National Medal of Science, the Albert Lasker Clinical Research Award, the Eduard Rhein Foundation Technology Award, and the Bower Prize. He was named an ASNR Honorary Member in 2003 for his contribution to the development of MR as a body imaging technique.


Abstract : A key factor for responsive space operations is the availability of standardized payload accommodations that can simplify integration tasks and reduce costs. Several such standards are beginning to emerge in the very small end of the payload market that is characterized by the so-called CubeSat class of spacecraft. These also happen to be compatible with proposed nanosat launch vehicle (NLV) concepts that are intended to enable dedicated CubeSat missions that are free from the operational constraints associated with traditional secondary payload manifest opportunities. The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) under development by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is one such system that is now transitioning to flight status. The viability and merits of such dedicated CubeSat missions was highlighted recently during flight testing of the Prospector 7 NLV-sized prototype reusable launch vehicle that was developed by Garvey Spacecraft Corporation and California State University, Long Beach. In this case, an engineering prototype of the P-POD unit manifested and then deployed a set of three simulated CubeSats twice within a period of just 3.5 hours. The entire program took only six months. Future plans envision extending the operational environments that the P-POD will be evaluated under as NLV development transitions to higher-performance vehicles. Besides the evaluation of refined payload accommodations and integration techniques, CubeSat payloads will help monitor and characterize NLV environments. Concurrently, participating students will continue to gain valuable experience with flight hardware integration and operations.


Division of Food and Culinary Science, Howon University, Jeonbuk 573-718, KoreaAbstractCompetitive displacement of methylcellulose (MC) absorbed at the oil-water interface was investigated by interfacial composition, surface shear viscosity, or surface tension measurements. It was found that all emulsifiers could competitively displace the interfacial MC from the oil-water interface but their behaviors were different from each other. With Tween 20 added to MC emulsion (1 wt% MC, 10 wt% n-tetradecane, 20 mM bis-tris, pH 7), MC load was steadily decreased with increasing concentrations of the emulsifier, as confirmed by surface shear viscosity measurements; moreover, there was complete MC displacement from the emulsion droplet surface at high concentration (0.1 wt%). The oil-soluble Span 80 was found to show a synergism with MC at the interface, which resulted in higher MC load at relatively low emulsifier concentrations (≤0.05 wt%). At a higher emulsifier concentration (0.1 wt%) limited MC displacement was observed. These results were well supported by surface shear viscosity measurements. With water-soluble SDS, MC load was decreased with increasing concentrations of the emulsifier. Unlike Tween 20, however, it was found that at high concentrations (>0.1 wt%), there was still some MC remaining at the droplet surface. Surface tension measurements are suggestive of an interfacial complex between MC and SDS.Key words: methylcellulose, competitive displacement, Tween 20, Span 80, SDS


This paper deals with the study of multiband printed antenna coated with silver nanomaterial to obtain better performace in the antenna characteristics. The techniques adopted in the study are etcing of novel patch with definitive dimensions as the fucntion of chosen operating wavelength at 8 GHz as the design constraint along with defective ground layer to minimize the propogation losses in the antenna. From the results, it is clear that, the antenna obtained 61.20% improvement in bandwidth for the fabricated Multiband Printed Antenna with Defected Ground Structure (MPA DGS) and 32.10% bandwidth improvement for Nanomaterial Coated Multiband Printed Antenna with Defected Ground Structure (NCMPA-DGS)(NCMPA-DGS) with quad-band characteristics suitable for Wireless applications. The proposed antennas are compact in nature which has also achieved good radiation characteristics.


Objectives Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is a kind of unfermented tea that retains the natural substance in fresh leaves to a great extent. It is regarded as the second most popular drink in the world besides water. In this paper, the phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of green tea are reviewed systematically and comprehensively. Key findings Green tea has been demonstrated to be good for human health. Nowadays, multiple pharmacologically active components have been isolated and identified from green tea, including tea polyphenols, alkaloids, amino acids, polysaccharides, and volatile components. Recent studies have demonstrated that green tea shows versatile pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, hypoglycemic, antibacterial, antiviral, and neuroprotective. Studies on the toxic effects of green tea extract and its main ingredients have also raised concerns including hepatotoxicity and DNA damage. Summary Green tea can be used to assist the treatment of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, oral cancer, and dermatitis. Consequently, green tea has shown promising practical prospects in health care and disease prevention.


Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is one of the important outcomes in cancer control trials and has increasingly become the one of the primary foci. Obtaining informed consent from participants is essential for participation in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), but the participation in these RCTs may directly influence HRQoL, because treatment options are determined according to the allocation schedule. To date, only a few studies have compared HRQoL between clinical trial participants and decliners. Patients and Method: The National Surgical Adjuvant Study of Breast Cancer 07 (N-SAS BC 07) is a randomized controlled trial in women with HER2-positive primary breast cancer who are over 70 years of age. The primary aim was to investigate the benefit of trastuzumab monotherapy compared with combination therapy using trastuzumab and chemotherapy. The study concept and design were published in concept paper (Sawaki M. et al., Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2011). In this study, patients were randomized to receive either trastuzumab plus chemotherapy or trastuzumab monotherapy. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival, and the secondary endpoints were overall survival, relapse-free survival, safety, HRQoL, comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and cost effectiveness (protocol ID; NCT01104935). HRQoL and CGA were assessed at registration (baseline), 2 month, 1 year, and 3 years after the start of protocol treatments using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), EuroQol 5 Dimension (EQ-5D), Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) index of competence, and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center (PGC) Morale Scale. The patients who declined to participate in N-SAS BC 07 were registered in a cohort study to prospectively evaluate the subsequent treatment options and prognosis (07-Cohort). The same questionnaire that was used in N-SAS BC 07 was used in 07-Cohort to evaluate HRQoL and CGA at entry. Results: Patients were enrolled from October 2012 to October 2016. During this period, 275 and 123 patients were registered in N-SAS BC 07 and 07-Cohort, respectively. The mean age at entry of the patients in the N-SAS BC 07 and 07-Cohort groups was 73.9 and 74.6 years, respectively. The questionnaire response rates at baseline in the patients in N-SAS BC 07 and 07-Cohort groups were 89% and 82%, respectively. There were no significant differences in FACT-G, HADS, EQ-5D, or TMIG index of competence at baseline between the groups, but the mean (standard deviation) scores of PGC Morale Scale in N-SAS BC 07 and 07-Cohort groups were 10.8 (3.3) and 9.9 (3.7), respectively, with the scores being significantly greater in the N-SAS BC 07 group (p=0.020, t-test). Conclusion: The PGC Morale Scale provides a multidimensional approach to assess the psychological state of older people. This study indicated that participation in the RCT did not affect the baseline QoL of elderly patients but suggested that the baseline QoL of the RCT participants was better than decliners. Citation Format: Saito T, Sawaki M, Hozumi Y, Sagawa N, Iwata H, Kashiwaba M, Kawashima H, Kobayashi K, Taira N, Takashima T, Takahashi M, Tsuneizumi M, Nakayama T, Baba S, Bando H, Mizuno T, Yamaguchi M, Yamamoto Y, Uemura Y, Ohashi Y, Mukai H. A randomized controlled trial of postoperative adjuvant therapy for elderly breast cancer patients: Comparison of health-related quality of life between clinical trial participants and decliners. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-09.


INTRODUCTION
Antihypertension, intensive glucose control (IGC), and lipid lowering were the main therapeutic strategies in diabetes mellitus. However, the comparative effects of them on renoprotection remain unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We searched the PubMed, EMBase, and Cochrane Library up to May 18, 2017, for studies with comparative interventions on regression, end-stage renal disease and all-cause death in diabetes mellitus. Statistical analysis was done using the Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA). The surface under the cumulative ranking area and median rank were calculated to rank the interventions.

RESULTS
A total of 73 randomized controlled trials with 13 3703 participants were included for the comparisons of 14 interventions. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor plus angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI-ARB) ranked first in regression (odds ratio, 62; 95% confidence interval, 5.2 to > 999); ACEI-ARB also ranked first in end-stage renal disease decline (odds ratio, 0.58, 95% confidence interval, 0.39 - 0.85), followed by IGC hemoglobin A1c less than 6.5% (odds ratio, 0.58, 95% confidence interval, 0.36 - 0.90). The ACEI plus calcium channel blocker reduced all-cause death leaving other interventions insignificant (odds ratio, < 0.001; 95% confidence interval, < 0.001 to 0.30). ). The surface under the cumulative ranking area analyses also matched the result ranks.

CONCLUSIONS
Compared with antihypertension interventions, IGC including IGC hemoglobin A1c less than 6.5% and lipid lowering, ACEI-ARB showed the best renoprotective effects.


1382 Calando Pharmaceuticals is developing siRNA-containing nanoparticle formulations and its leading formulation that will enter the clinic in 2008 contains the human transferrin protein as a targeting ligand and siRNA targeting the M2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (RRM2). As part of the pre-clinical investigations, a number of in vivo studies of this formulation in mice have been performed to determine the effects of dose level, dose schedule, and tumor type (e.g., HCC, melanoma, etc.) on efficacy. The results of these studies will be presented and include evidence of tumor growth delay and tumor regression. Efficacy is only obtained when the targeted version of the nanoparticles are employed. Results from numerous studies will be provided to support the claim that RRM2 inhibition by the RNAi mechanism (RACE analyses) is the cause of the tumor growth suppression rather than other off target effects.


The paper describes clinical signs in dyschronosis, appearing during the development of toxicomania (alcoholism), the consideration of which enhances the significance of diagnosis at the initial stages of the disease. The study demonstrates a temporary shift and discoordination of emotional sphere functions, general psychophysical tone, sleep, appetite and thirst. The possibility of detecting specific for toxicomania circadian changes during clinico-chronobiological studies is discussed. Such studies can promote not only diagnosis but also an understanding of the pathogenesis of drug dependence.


This thesis presents a study of competence and knowledge needs of project engineers to be able to manage projects successfully. The aim of the thesis is to identify how to feedback competences and experiences into the project management process. The guidebook provides guidance to what a project engineer needs to focus on to become more skilled and to become a more effective project manager.A literature study was performed to get a better understanding of the project manager's role. A detailed study was performed on the duties of project engineers and project managers. The literature study was based on books and reports as well as an information research by the Internet. An interview with five project managers and five project engineers was conducted to compare theory with practice. Based on the respondents' answers and the results from the literature study a handbook outlining what the project engineer can do to improve their project management skills.The thesis concludes that competence development depends on individual motivation. Every individual have their own goals and they are stimulated by different motivational factors. Some aims high to become CEO for a company, while other are satisfied with their positions and it doesn't mean that all project engineer / project manager strives for continuous development.The main question of the thesis was: "What skills are needed for project engineers to develop their skills in project management?". The results of the thesis show that without learning from their mistakes and problems that were made in previous project and by making their own mistakes the project engineer will not develop or become a more efficient project manager. By learning from experiences from previous projects the project engineer can save significant time when facing similar problems in new projects. Recording and using this knowledge may contribute to more effective solutions and thus reducing time lost unnecessarily.


now days society's need for clean water increases over time. many new buildings requiring new water connection makes the drinking water local
enterprise (PDAM) of Surakarta City have many customers; for that reason, the PDAM of surakarta cityattemted to meed costumer's need and to cater them well.the cash revenue for pdamwater payment is optain through many
counters, one of which is mobile subsidiary cash of PDAM. The cash revenue
system from the good account payment becomes very important because the
account payment derives from many counters that have not been fully online so
that some double payment occurs that can harm the customers. This final project
writing aimed to find out the accounting system of cash revenue from the water payment in water subsidary cash of surakarta city's drinking water lokal
enterprise (PDAM) and to find out the strength and the weakness in the
accounting system of cash revenue from the water payment in Mobile Subsidiary cash of surakarta city's drinking water lokal enterprise
The cash revenue system from the water account payment in Mobile subsidary cash surakarta city's
drinking water local enterprise (PDAM) had
some strengths and weaknesses. The strengths included the document with printed
sequenced number and authorized by the competent party, SIPDAM can only be
opened using password, the cash received in the end of day was deposited to the
bank, the existing cash was matched to the recording, and suddenly inspection
was carried out by the internal supervision division. The weaknesses included: the system in surakarta sity's PDAM had not fully online PDAM of Surakarta cityhad not special room yet for document adn scadule of PDAM's
Mobile Subsidiary Cash had not been arranged well and had not been published
yet.
The writer concluded that the accounting system of cash revenue from the
Mobile Subsidiary Cash of surakarta city's PDAM hda been good despite some
weaknesses. The writer recommended to apply the on-line system fully, to have
special room to store the document and to have a well-organized schedule for the Mobile Subsidiary Cash of Surakarta's city PDAM and to published it to the
public.
Keywords: Accounting System of Cash Revenue, PDAM, Surakarta City


The collection and analysis of Anglo-Saxon and early medieval healing charms has long generated an active interest in their content and application. However, despite the quite extensive ethnographic evidence concerning the content of healing charms in use from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, there has been no attempt, so far, to make an extensive collection of charm formulae from this period. This paper seeks to begin that task. It is hoped that this inventory, not only serves to highlight an important aspect of the English and Welsh tradition of folk medicine, but also serves to indicate the long history of that tradition. An examination of these charms also provides an illustration of the importance of the written word in the transmission of popular knowledge.


Background:  Venous thromboembolic (VTE), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), cause significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Direct oral anticoagulant which has been demonstrated in clinical trials, anaesthetists need to be careful of how to minimize the risks of bleeding complications when treating patients who are taking an anticoagulant. Rivaroxaban, non-vitamin K antagonist direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), was shown to be more effective regimens for the prevention of VTE after orthopaedic surgery. Aims and objectives: To look for the influence of timing of the first thromboprophylactic dose and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery Method: Patients aged ≥18 years, with planned orthopaedic surgery or fracture-related orthopaedic surgery and in whom thromboprophylaxis has been indicated. Out of 324 patients selected for the study 164 received rivaroxaban 10 mg once daily and 160 received standard-of-care (SOC) pharmacological prophylaxis. Incidences of symptomatic thromboembolic events and bleeding events were analysed. Bleeding events and thromboembolic events recorded and calculated for the rivaroxaban and SOC groups.  Results: Overall major bleeding events observed in rivaroxaban group was  9 (5.49%) was much lower than the SOC group which was 13 (8.13%).The percentage of patients using mechanical methods alongside pharmacological thromboprophylaxis was slightly higher in   the rivaroxaban as compared to  SOC groups ( 64% and 55%). Overall thromboembolic effect was lower in rivaroxaban as compared to SOC group. Conclusion: Comparison of rivaroxaban & SOC shows the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery in clinical practice. Major bleeding events & thromboembolic with rivaroxaban were less as compared to SOC group.


In the present work, an attempt has been made to study the influence of process parameters of the wire electric discharge machining (WEDM) process on the machining characteristics. The commercially pure titanium is machined by WEDM using brass wire as an electrode. The input parameters in this work were pulse on-time (Aon), pulse off-time (Aoff), servo voltage (SV) and wire tension (WT). On the other hand, dimensional accuracy (DA), average surface roughness (Ra) and maximum surface roughness (Rz) were chosen as the response parameters. The empirical relations developed for response characteristics were solved collectively using Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The optimized setting for minimizing the surface irregularities while machining titanium alloy on WEDM is predicted as Aon: 8 μs; Aoff: 13 μs; SV: 45 V; and WT: 8 N. Moreover, the predicted solution at the optimized parametric settings came out as DA: 95%; Ra: 3.163 μm; Rz: 22.99 μm; WL: 0.0182 g; and DR: 0.1277 mm. The validation experiments at the optimized setting showed the close agreement between predicted and experimental values. The morphological study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at the optimized setting revealed a significant reduction in surface defects such as micro cracks, micro cavities, globules and sub-surfaces, etc. In a nutshell, the study justified the effectiveness of EDAS-PSO in efficiently predicting the results for machining of pure titanium (Grade 2) using the WEDM process.


SARS-CoV-2 propagation in the world has led to rapid growth and an acceleration in the discoveries and publications of various interests. The main focus of a consistent number of studies has been the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in binding the virus and its role in expression of the inflammatory response after transmission. ACE2 is an enzyme involved in the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), whose key role is to regulate and counter angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), reducing the amount of angiotensin II and increasing angiotensin 1–7 (Ang1–7), making it a promising drug target for treating cardiovascular diseases. The classical RAS axis, formed by ACE, angiotensin II (Ang II), and angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1), activates several cell functions and molecular signalling pathways related to tissue injury and inflammation. In contrast, the RAS axis composed of ACE2, Ang1–7, and Mas receptor (MasR) exerts the opposite effect concerning the inflammatory response and tissue fibrosis. Recent studies have shown the presence of the RAS system in periodontal sites where osteoblasts, fibroblasts, and osteoclasts are involved in bone remodelling, suggesting that the role of ACE2 might have a fundamental function in the under- or overexpression of cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-7 (IL-7), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), associated with a periodontal disorder, mainly during coinfection with SARS-CoV-2, where ACE2 is underexpressed and cannot form the ACE2–Ang1–7–MasR axis. This renders the patient unresponsive to an inflammatory process, facilitating periodontal loss.


Summary form only given. Pulsed power gas switches operate under extreme conditions holding off voltages at millions of volts and greater, conducting currents at 100's of kiloamps, and can reliably trigger with less than 10ns of jitter at optimal operating conditions. However as Martin and Braginskii had noted the impedance of these switches is dynamic and a function of many parameters such as gas pressure, current, and the number of channels. In systems such as PROTOGEN or URSA MINOR many gas switches are utilized to enable optimal performance and pulse shaping. A challenge with either system is that, if the switches are tightly coupled and one switch triggers early, then the fields on the second switch change dramatically and can move the second switch into a new operating regime that will result in a different dynamic resistance. This paper presents a least squares approach to extracting the Martin and Braginskii dynamic resistance from measured data. Results from this approach are compared to previous approaches utilizing piecewise nonlinear least squares.


Since industrialization, manufacturing has been an important pillar of a country's economic development. Under the dual pressure of the new trend of global manufacturing development and the loss of competitive advantage of manufacturing industry, it is especially important to accelerate the enhancement of national high technology innovation capacity and the optimization of high technology policy innovation management mechanism driven by advanced evolutionary Internet of Things (IoT) arithmetic. The main of this paper thus introduces the effective method of optimization of high technology policy innovation management mechanism driven by advanced evolutionary IoT arithmetic. To study the optimization of high technology policy innovation management mechanism, a conceptual analysis of currently popular information technologies, such as big data technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, and Internet of Things technologies, and an overview of the application of these technologies in microgrids are given. In the paper, all factors are studied using the STP innovation management mechanism-based approach, and finally, all factors are classified into two categories of cause and effect factors by this approach, and the importance of all factors is ranked. Secondly, a wind power prediction algorithm based on data mining technology and an improved algorithm and a PV power prediction algorithm based on a deep neural network were established with the technical support of high-tech information technology such as big data and artificial intelligence. Finally, the majorization of high technology policy innovation management mechanism driven by advanced evolutionary IoT arithmetic is proposed.


As one of the most typical ancient cultural relics in southern China's minority regions near Changsha in Hunan province, the magnificent Laosicheng ruins excavated recently have been included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Tentative List. Urgent conservation of excavated Laosicheng ruins brings about the need for a study of the formulation and properties of construction materials used, including earth, stone, mortar, and brick. In the present study, comprehensive analyses were carried out to determine their raw material compositions, mineralogical, and microstructural properties using sheet polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometer, thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Special attention was paid to mortars, which were the most widely used in building the Laosicheng. Results show that mortar used as external render of the city wall is mainly built up from inorganic CaCO 3 and MgCO 3 based hybrid materials produced by the carbonation of Ca(OH) 2 and Mg(OH) 2 with a small amount of sticky rice. In contrast, mortar used to bond stones of the city walls is a traditional mortar that does not contain sticky rice. This study is a part of a huge interdisciplinary project aimed to clarify the role of organics in ancient China's organic-inorganic hybrid mortar, which can be considered as one of the greatest invention in construction material history. The results provide valuable basic data and restoration strategies that can be used in the conservation of the ruins as well.


Penetrating brain injury caused by a nail gun is an uncommon clinical scenario reported in the literature. A 36-year-old male presented with a nail that had penetrated through the occipital bone. He was alert and neurologically intact except for visual disturbance. Computed tomography (CT) of the brain showed the nail lodged at the occipital lobe and the parietal lobe, with minimal intracerebral hemorrhage. The nail was placed in the occipital lobe close to the superior sagittal sinus. We removed the nail with craniotomy since the entrance of the nail was close to the superior sagittal sinus. There were no newly developed neurological deficits postoperatively. Immediate postoperative CT showed no newly developed lesions. The patient recovered well without any significant complications. Two weeks postoperatively, magnetic resonance imaging showed no remarkable lesions. The visual disturbance was followed up at the outpatient department. To summarize, we report a rare case of penetrating head injury by a nail gun and discuss relevant aspects of the clinical management.


Introduction:
 Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) has been increasingly a subclinical marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, no study has examined the association between IMT and mortality in non-Western peoples. We assessed the hypothesis that carotid IMT was a predictor for mortality in a general Asian population.

 Methods:
 We studied 5,330 Japanese individuals (mean age 59.8 years, without CVD at the baseline) who completed a baseline survey and carotid atherosclerosis in the Suita Study, and were then followed for 13.7 years on average. Carotid IMT was evaluated by high-resolution ultrasonography with atherosclerotic indexes of IMT in the common carotid artery (CCA) and carotid artery bulb (Bulb). Mean CIMT and BIMT were defined as the averages of the IMT of both proximal and distal walls for both sides of the CCA at points 10 mm proximal and 5 mm distal, respectively, to the beginning of the dilation of each Bulb. Max-CIMT and BIMT was defined as the maximum IMT in the CCA and Bulb scanned areas, respectively. The risks of all-cause mortality across carotid IMT were compared by the use of Cox proportional-hazards models adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, total and HDL cholesterol, antihyperlipidemic drug use, diabetes mellitus, smoking and drinking status.

 Results:
 In 72,923 person-years of follow-up, we documented 972 all-cause mortality (including 66 strokes and 233 CVD). The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs, 95% confidence intervals, CIs) for all-cause mortality and stroke were 1.11 (1.06-1.18) and 1.01 (0.81-1.25), 1.07 (1.05-1.09) and 1.10 (1.00-1.20), 1.04 (1.02-1.07) and 1.06 (0.95-1.17), and 1.04 (1.03-1.05) and 1.06 (1.01-1.11) with 0.1 mm increases in mean-CIMT, mean-BIMT, Max-CIMT, and Max-BIMT, respectively. The adjusted HRs (95% CIs) in the 4th quartiles of mean-CIMT (≥0.95 mm), mean-BIMT (≥1.15 mm), Max-CIMT (≥1.10 mm), and Max-BIMT (≥1.55 mm) for all-cause mortality were 2.05 (1.45-2.91), 1.57 (1.08-2.28), 2.02 (1.27-3.22), and 2.11 (1.38-3.23), compared with their 1st quartiles (<0.775 mm, <0.85 mm, <0.85 mm, and <0.90 mm), respectively.

 Conclusions:
 Carotid IMT is a strong predictor for all-cause. Especially, Mean- and Max-BIMT are good predictors for stroke mortality in general Asian population.


In this paper, a method is developed to employ vowel duration properties in a hidden Markov model (HMM)‐based large vocabulary speaker trained recognition system. It is found that each of the vowel phonemes spoken in isolated words can be divided into three allophones, each corresponding to a largely distinctive range of vowel durations. Such a division is based upon the phonetic context where the vowel occurs. In order to incorporate the durational information, each vowel's HMM is trained using a maximum‐likelihood method with three separate sets of transition probabilities, corresponding to the three allophones. The output distributions of the HMM are assumed to be the same for all three allophones and trained jointly, to make best use of the limited number of available training tokens. The duration‐specific HMMs for vowel allophones have been evaluated in isolated word recognition experiments for two male speakers. The results show that the performance of the recognizer is improved, reducing the error rate by approximately 14% compared with recognition results without the use of the vowel durational models. The performance improvement resulting from use of the vowel durational models is due to reduction of postvocalic consonant errors arising from their contextual correlation with vowels of different durations, as well as to improved discrimination between vowel phonemes.


In the paper, the loading test of jointed rock mass is simulated by the finite element software. The numerical simulation experiment was completed on the intact rock mass, and results are compared with the laboratory test. Results show that numerical simulation method to study mechanical characteristics of jointed rock mass is feasible. Based on numerical simulation results on jointed rock mass, four types of failure of jointed rock mass are put forward, which are rock mass loading failure, joint loading failure, shear failure and approximate shear failure. Relative the joint thickness, the joint angle has more influence for shear strength properties of jointed rock mass. The elastic modulus of jointed rock mass is greatly influenced by the joint thickness and joint angle. With the different joint thickness, the elastic modulus of jointed rock mass is basically reached the minimum value when the joint angle is 10°~25°.


A novel magnetic responsive Ni-based metal-organic framework material was developed to efficiently separate and immobilize thermal enzymes with high catalytic performance. Ni-based metal-organic framework nanorods (Fe3O4/Ni-BTC) with high magnetic responsiveness are prepared conveniently by a one-pot hydrothermal process. With the characterization, it was confirmed that Ni-based metal-organic framework nanocomposites were synthesized as nanorods mounted with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the surface. Although Fe3O4/Ni-BTC showed a preference for histidine-tagged enhanced green fluorescent protein (His-eGFP), we found that a variety of forces played roles in enzyme immobilization, including affinity between Ni2+ and histidine tags, electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic forces. After understanding the mechanism of the as-prepared nanocomposites, a new immobilization strategy for thermostable S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (SAMS) was further evaluated. As a result, SAMS from cell lysate achieved about 95% activity recovery in the biosynthesis of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) under high temperature conditions (70 °C) with a simple mixing step. At the same time, the immobilized enzyme was more stable against temperature variation (by nearly 8-fold in an 80 °C water bath after 2 h) and extreme pH (by nearly 1.3-fold at pH 3) and exhibited excellent reusability after immobilization. This work indicates that magnetic responsive Ni-based nanorods are highly promising for thermostable enzyme immobilization with high efficiency and stability.


Mike Leeder's Sedimentology: Process and Product (Allen & Unwin, 1982) has proved a reliable and popular textbook for undergraduate teaching. However, the waves of new observation and theory inevitably combine with the tides of fashion to erode the topicality of even the best texts. Rather than produce a second edition, Leeder has wisely decided to offer us a successor text with a substantially altered focus as well as an update of the previous content. Coverage of diagenesis is sacrificed in favour of chapters linking sedimentology with climate, sea-level change, tectonics and basin architecture.

This change in …