Introduction: Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. The problem is global and is steadily affecting many lowand middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings. Risk factors for obesity in this context have not been explored. The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with childhood obesity/overweight among young children and adolescents 5-15 years of age in urban Bangladesh. Methods: A scoping review based on York methodology was performed. This methodology involves a comprehensive search of published academic articles, conference proceedings and grey literature through PubMed, Bangla JOL, Google and Google scholar, limited to English-written papers. Results: Findings revealed that having at least one overweight parent and engaging in sedentary activities for more than 4 h a day were independent risk factors for childhood overweight and/or obesity.Children who spent ≥ 30 min each day in outdoor games at home that involved physical exercise had decreased odds (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.1–0.8) of being overweight or obese compared to children who did not exercise at home. Conclusion: Spending much time seated or somewhat inactive were key risk factors for childhood obesity and overweight. More research, prevention and management of childhood obesity/overweight in young children and adolescents in urban Bangladesh should be a policy priority.


As a superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin C2 (SEC2) has commonly been used as an antitumour immunotherapy agent in China. However, the clinical application of SEC2 has been hampered by its pyrogenic toxicity and the presence of neutralizing antibody in patients. Thus, an improvement in its superantigen-based immunotherapy is highly needed. In this study, a truncated SEC2 mutant, SEC(14-128), was constructed without the N-terminal 13 and C-terminal 111 aa. This mutant retained T-cell proliferation and antitumour activities in in vitro experiments. However, it induced a significantly decreased release of the main inflammatory cytokines inerleukin-2 and gamma interferon. Moreover, SEC(14-128) exhibited reduced toxicity and affinity to anti-SEC2 IgG compared with native SEC2. Based on the considerable antitumour activity and low toxicity, it is proposed that the mutant SEC(14-128) could be a potential candidate for cancer treatment.


We study a model for default contagion in intensity-based credit risk and its consequences for pricing portfolio credit derivatives. The model is specified through default intensities which are assumed to be constant between defaults, but which can jump at the times of defaults. The model is translated into a Markov jump process which represents the default status in the credit portfolio. This makes it possible to use matrix-analytic methods to derive computationally tractable closed-form expressions for single-name credit default swap spreads and kth-to-default swap spreads. We "semicalibrate" the model for portfolios (of up to 15 obligors) against market CDS spreads and compute the corresponding kth-to-default spreads. In a numerical study based on a synthetic portfolio of 15 telecom bonds we study a number of questions: how spreads depend on the amount of default interaction; how the values of the underlying market CDS-prices used for calibration influence kth-th-to default spreads; how a portfolio with inhomogeneous recovery rates compares with a portfolio which satisfies the standard assumption of identical recovery rates; and, finally, how well kth-th-to default spreads in a nonsymmetric portfolio can be approximated by spreads in a symmetric portfolio.


This article looks at the representation of Darfur in Kenya from 2003 to 2008. Using Pierre Bourdieu's field theory and Rodney Benson's habitus affinity and habitus disaffinity, this article highlights the pitfalls of using 'African media' as an analytical category when studying media representations of atrocities by Africa's press. The evidence presented here suggests the need for an approach that is nuanced when analysing representation of issues of political or social import, especially considering, in the case of Kenyan news organizations, the willingness to lift news reports from Western organizations. By lifting such a large number of stories from wire agencies, the Kenyan media field privileges narratives employed by these organizations. This parsing out of articles is necessary if scholars are to confidently understand how the press in Africa represents Africa to local/national audiences.


This paper presents an in-depth cross-case analysis of three high-achieving young adolescent girls who had contrasting mathematics learning experiences during the first year of middle school. In particular, this study examines the foundation for their motivation, as well as the dominant mode of learning and academic engagement in relation to three sociocultural factors, family background, the role of peers, and the level of teachers' understanding of the students and instructional support provided. Our data analysis revealed that the three girls possessed motivation structures and learning dispositions that are more or less prone to conceptual or procedural understanding in mathematics. This resulted in a significant variation in the mode of their academic engagement with the subject, and this provided a different set of challenges in each girl's pursuit of higher level of mathematics learning.


Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant and aggressive brain tumor, and survival of patients affected by GBM has remained virtually unchanged over numerous years. GBM is only minimally responsive to aggressive standard therapies including radical surgery and concurrent chemo-radiation treatment with temozolomide (TMZ). Seneca Valley virus (SVV-001) is a non-pathogenic oncolytic virus that can be systemically administered and can pass through the blood-brain barrier. In this study, we developed a new panel of patient derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) models to examine the therapeutic efficacy of SVV-001 combined with irradiation. In addition, we explored the mechanism of tumor cell infection with SVV-001 in malignant gliomas. Material and Methods: Surgical GBM tumor samples were obtained from 17 patients and directly implanted into the right cerebrum of NOD/SCID mice (1×105 cells suspended in 2 uL growth medium). Once tumor formation was confirmed, we performed HE 4 of these samples have since been serially sub-transplanted for a total of 5 generations, while 4 intracerebral xenografts are in generation 2. The tumorigenicity of 8 additional samples is pending. These xenograft models precisely replicated histopathologic characteristics of their parental human tumors. SVV-001 at a multiplicity of infection of 0.5 to 25 replicated in and effectively killed primary cultures, pre-formed neurospheres, and monolayer glioma cells derived from adult glioma xenograft models in vitro. A single I.V. injection of SVV-001 (1 ×1011 viral particles/kg) administered immediately after radiation or 1 week after radiation led to the infection of orthotopic xenografts without harming normal mouse brain cells and resulted in significantly prolonged survival in permissive mouse models. Additionally, SVV-001 injected immediately after radiation significantly improved the overall survival of animals compared to administration of the virus 1 week after radiation, indicating that dose timing was crucial for full efficacy of the combinatory therapy. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that SVV-001 possesses potent anti-tumor activity against adult malignant high-grade gliomas. Because this study was performed in a panel of patient tumor-derived orthotopic xenograft models, it provides a pre-clinical rationale that supports the consideration of SVV-001 for clinical trials against adult gliomas. Citation Format: Huiyuan Zhang, Lin Qi, Yuchen Du, Mari Kogiso, Frank K. Braun, Sibo Zhao, Holly Lindsay, Nabil Ahmed, Akash J. Patel, Patricia A. Baxter, Jack M. Su, Xiao-nan Li. SVV-001 prolongs animal survival in PDOX adult GBM models. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4390.


Thermography is a diagnostic method which is totally non-invasive, painless and safe for both a patient and a diagnostician. It enables to define the physiological condition of the examined tissues or organs basing on the emission of the infrared radiation. Thermography examination has its application in almost every branch of medicine. For a few years in cardiology, there has been an intensive research on introducing the new methods of identifying the high risk atherosclerotic plaques which is largely based on evaluating the degree of escalation of the inflammation process within the atherosclerotic changes. Thanks to applying thermography within the vessels, it is possible to measure the temperature of the wall of the vessel in order to detect the high risk atherosclerotic plaques and evaluate the potential risk of occurrence of the acute coronary syndrome.


Objectives The aim of the study was to assess the influence of obesity on the effect of treatment in patients with non-specific subacute low back pain. Methods Prospective study included 100 out-patients (40 male and 60 female), aged 48,1 ±10,9 years with subacute non- specific low back pain. Patients were treated at the Institute of Rheumatology, Belgrade, year 2010/12. The body fat was demonstrated as body mass index (BMI), as recommended by the World Health Organisation. According to BMI, patients were divided into three groups: patients with normal weight, overweight and obese patients. All patients underwent the same medication (paracetamol 1500mg/day) and physical therapy (transcutaneus electrical nerve stimulation and exercise) during the two weeks. The intensity of low back pain was measured with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS mm), spinal mobility with finger- floor test (F-F cm) and the functional status with Quebec Back Pain Disability Score (QBPDS). All measurements were done before and after the treatment. Analyses were carried out using SPSS 16.0 (descriptive methods: mean, standard deviation and analytic methods: Kruskal Wollis, Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney test). Results There were 36 patients with normal weight in Group A (BMI 22,7±1,8), 43 overweight patients in Group B (BMI 27,5±1,3) and 21 obese patients in Group C (BMI 34,5±3,5). Mean pain intensity was 71,7±11,9 before and 25,6 ± 22,5 after the treatment in Group A, 75,3±11,8 before and 29,5±19,9 after the treatment in Group B, and 71,9±11,8 before and 41,9±23,4 after the treatment in Group C. Mean F-F test was 44,2±16,0 before and 19,4 ± 14,9 after the treatment in Group A, 42,9±14,9 before and 22,3±13,8 after the treatment in Group B and 46,7±17,7 before and 28,7±16,4 after the treatment in Group C. Mean QBPDS was 64,0±15,0 before and 27,3±21,8 after the treatment in Group A, 62,3±15,5 before and 29,6±15,9 after the treatment in Group B and 60,0±8,9 before and 38,7±12,9 after the treatment in Group C. Statistically significant differences were registered in pain intensity (VAS), spinal mobility (FF test) and the functional status (QBPDS) for every of the investigated patient groups before and after the treatment (p<0.001). After the treatment, comparison between A and B group did not show differences concerning pain intensity (p=0.262), spinal mobility (p=0.289) and functional status (p=0.247), but differences were found between A and C groups in relation to pain intensity (p=0.012), spinal mobility (p=0.036) and functional status (p=0.019). Conclusions Our study of patients with non-specific subacute low back pain confirmed different response to treatment between patients with normal weight and obese patients. Therapy effect is lower in patients with obesity than in patients with normal weight. References Jitendra Mangwani, Claire Giles, Mark Mullins, Tuncar Salih, Colin Natali. Obesity and recovery from low back pain: a prospective study to investigate the effect of body mass index on recovery from low back pain. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2010; 92: 23–26. Shaw WS, Tveito TH, Woiszwillo MJ, Pransky G. The effect of body mass index on recovery and return to work after onset of work-related low back pain. J Occup Environ Med.2012 Feb;54(2):192-7. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are biodegradable polyesters accumulated intracellularly as energy resources by bacterial species. In this study, fermentation process for production of PHA is carried out using sesame oil as carbon source. We studied recovery of poly(3-hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB) from Staphylococcus epidermidis by sodium hypochlorite digestion method. Recovered PHB sample was estimated by UV spectrophotometer. PHB from S. epidermidis was characterized and by these findings, we examined purified PHB by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), a thermo gravimetric analyzer (TGA), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The results of our analysis of PHB while comparing with commercial source suggest that in DSC melting temperature of PHB was 173.36°C, TGA thermo grams of PHB sample was at 296.91°C, on TLC plate; Rf value was calculated as 0.71 and finally IR spectrum of the compounds showed characteristics bands for the groups CH, C=O and C-O, indicating the presence of PHB in the production medium.


The bounds safeguarding the steady-state voltage stability of a power system must resist a wide variety of operating conditions. While the upper voltage magnitude bound is given by hardware restrictions, the lower bound must ensure that the loadability limit of the system is not exceeded. Capturing this limit for different load and generation patterns in a single voltage magnitude value is complex. In this work, the operating point which leads to the optimal lower voltage bound is first determined, and an iterative method for identifying this operating point is proposed. The method traces the transfer limit surface, which separates the feasible from the infeasible region of the parameter space, such that the minimum voltage magnitude at the maximum loading point increases. Both saddle-node bifurcations and limits caused by generators reaching their reactive power limits are taken into account. The method is validated on an IEEE 9-bus test case and then applied to the actual Swiss transmission grid with more than 300 buses.


Osteopenia is frequently found among calcium stone forming (CSF) patients with hypercalciuria. We investigated the effect of a 2-year therapeutic course of etidronate, a bone-sparing agent, in 7 young male CSF patients. The treatment consisted of a cyclic intermittent administration of phosphate followed by sodium etidronate and calcium supplementation every 74 days. Bone mineral density (BMD) measured at 12-month intervals and bone biopsies performed at baseline and after 2 years were the primary efficacy parameters. Mean lumbar spine BMD increased significantly after the 1st year by 2.6 ± 1.0% (mean ± SE, p < 0.05) and nonsignificantly after the 2nd year by 5.6 ± 2.6%. Nonsignificant changes were observed for femoral neck mean BMD after either the 1st or the 2nd year (decrease of 2.0 ± 1.0% and 2.0 ± 3.0%, respectively). Mean histomorphometric parameters showed that bone volume, osteoid volume, and eroded surfaces did not differ from baseline (13.9 ± 2.2 vs. 12.2 ± 1.1%, 1.2 ± 0.7 vs. 2.6 ± 0.7%, and 20.7 ± 6.2 vs. 13.7 ± 1.3%, respectively). Osteoid surface was significantly lower than baseline values (9.5 ± 5.2 vs. 18.8 ± 5.3%, p < 0.05). These data suggest that etidronate given to young male CSF patients presenting with hypercalciuria and osteopenia led to a significant amelioration of BMD, evident only in the lumbar spine after 1 year of treatment. There was no histological evidence of long-term improvement in bone remodeling.


A comprehensive comparison is provided between an air-inflated seat cushion designed for truck seats and a commonly used foam cushion. Using a single-axis test rig, each cushion type is evaluated under both transient and steady-state conditions over a twelve-hour period – in four-hour intervals – measuring the effects of long-term sitting. The tests indicated a greater stiffening of the foam over time and higher-pressure concentrations at the bony prominences, as compared with the air-inflated cushion. Other objective methods used for evaluating the dynamic properties of the two seat cushions included those recommended by past studies, as well as new techniques that were developed based on previous research in the field of ride comfort. The new techniques, named Seat Pressure Distribution (SPD%;) and Area Pressure Change (aPcrms) for the purpose of this study, are formulated to highlight the relative dynamics between different types of seat cushion, and their effect on driver comfort. The results show that the air-inflated seat cushion can provide significant improvements in pressure distribution between the seat cushion and the driver, therefore providing a more comfortable ride.


Liang Bua 1 (LB1) exhibits marked craniofacial and postcranial asymmetries and other indicators of abnormal growth and development. Anomalies aside, 140 cranial features place LB1 within modern human ranges of variation, resembling Australomelanesian populations. Mandibular and dental features of LB1 and LB6/1 either show no substantial deviation from modern Homo sapiens or share features (receding chins and rotated premolars) with Rampasasa pygmies now living near Liang Bua Cave. We propose that LB1 is drawn from an earlier pygmy H. sapiens population but individually shows signs of a developmental abnormality, including microcephaly. Additional mandibular and postcranial remains from the site share small body size but not microcephaly.


Existing commercially available microcarriers are very efficient at encouraging cell attachment and proliferation. However, recovery of the cells is problematic as it requires the use of proteolytic enzymes which are damaging to critical cell adhesion proteins. From this perspective, temperature responsive polymers appear to be a valid option. The current innovative study is to produce and engineer microcarriers in terms of particle size, surface coating and properties, as well as thermo-responsiveness for cell release. All these benefits are based on particle production by membrane emulsification to provide a highly controlled particle size. The polymer of choice is poly N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM) because of the sharpness of its phase transition, biocompatibility and transition temperature close to the physiological value. These characteristics make pNIPAM a very attractive material for Tissue Engineering applications. Cells are cultured on the hydrophobic surface at 37°C and can be readily detached without using proteolytic enzymes from the surface by lowering the temperature to room temperature.
The Dispersion Cell (MicroPore Technologies Ltd, UK) was successfully employed for the production of W/O emulsions. The generated monomer droplets were additionally solidified by applying a free radical polymerisation to manufacture solid pNIPAM microspheres. Additionally, calcium alginate particles were also generated and further functionalised with amine terminated pNIPAM to form temperature responsive core-shell particles by simply taking advantage of the electrostatic interactions between the carboxyl groups of the alginate and amino groups of the modified pNIPAM. Controlled particle production was achieved by varying process parameters and changing the recipe formulation (e.g. monomer concentration, surfactant concentration, pore size and inter-pore spacing, injection rate, shear stress applied at the membrane s surface). The manufactured particles were then analysed in terms of particle size and size distribution, chemical composition, surface analysis, shrinkage ratio and thermo-responsiveness and further sterilised and used for cell culture and release experiments.
Swiss Albino 3T3 fibroblastic cells (ATCC, USA) were utilised to show proof-of-concept for this technology. Cell attachment and proliferation were assessed and successfully demonstrated qualitatively and quantitatively. pNIPAM solid particles, uncoated and with different protein coatings were shown to allow a limited degree of cell attachment and proliferation compared to a commercially available microcarrier. On a different approach, uncoated core-shell structures demonstrated improved capabilities for cell attachment and proliferation, similar to commercially available microcarriers.
Having in mind the potential of temperature responsive polymers and the aim of this innovative study, cell detachment from the generated microcarriers was evaluated and compared to a commercially available temperature responsive surface. Necessary time for detachment was recorded and detached cells were recovered and reseeded onto tissue culture plastic surfaces in order to evaluate the replating and reattachment capabilities of the recovered cells. Successful cell detachment was achieved when using the core-shell structures as cell microcarriers, but the necessary time of detachment was of an order higher than that for the commercial temperature responsive surface.


A C program for fitting parameters in enzymatic rate equations is presented. The DerivFit program employs the reaction scheme in the form of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The kinetic parameters are fitted to the experimental data by minimizing the sum of squared deviations of experimental points from theoretically predicted progress curves. In the minimization process we use the Gradient, Newton, and Marquardt algorithms. The gradients are calculated explicitly by solving a set of additional ODEs that are automatically attached by the program, taking advantage of a general formulation of the basic ODEs that determine the reaction's time course. The program is applied to simple enzymatic systems including slow tight-binding inhibition.


ABSTRACT Introduction Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a potentially symptomatic disease with an eventual lethal outcome. Novel pharmaceutical agents are continuously studied with encouraging results in CRPC. Areas covered In this perspective, the authors present established and promising pharmacotherapeutic strategies for the management of CRPC; both with and without metastases. Apart from the different treatment strategies, the authors present the relevant sequence of treatment through disease progression. Expert opinion Usually, docetaxel should be considered the first line treatment in mCRPC. Abiraterone acetate (AA) plus prednisone or enzalutamide (ENZ) could be alternative treatments in chemotherapy naïve patients. Sipuleucel-T has been approved for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic mCRPC. Ra-223 has been approved for patients with mCRPC with symptomatic bone metastases (not visceral metastases). Cabazitaxel has been approved as the second line treatment to docetaxel in mCRPC. No differences in the overall survival has been observed between sequences starting with docetaxel versus AA/ENZ. Between AA-to-ENZ and ENZ-to-AA sequence, the AA-to-ENZ sequence appeared to be more favorable than the ENZ-to-AA regarding progression-free survival but not overall survival. Carbazitaxel seemed to retain its activity regardless of the treatment sequence. Of note, ENZ and apalutamide have been approved in non-metastatic CRPC.


Guiding Change Journeys, a title in The Practicing Organization Development Series, takes you on a cross-cultural odyssey of personal and organization transformation. Inspired by science, mythology, and real-life lessons, this hands-on resource offers eight compelling transformation cycles that will help you connect with the universal creative spirit within and around us. Each of the change cycles focuses on a specific practice in global organization development (OD) and gives you the insights and methods to guide transformation through uncharted territory. By applying the book's eight practices--awakening, pathfinding, adventuring, dancing with dragons, compassion, epiphany, synergy, and community--you can effect powerful change. Author Rebecca Chan Allen tells stories of change leaders and facilitators, confronted by business volatility and organization diversity, who use timeless techniques to transform impasse into innovation and conflicts into creativity. Guiding Change Journeys invites you to embrace the unknown and venture into new territory with clarity and confidence. "Rebecca Chan Allen has created an exciting road map for a journey of change. Her landscape is complete with dragons, deep pits, and pathfinders to stimulate both the guide and the process of organization change."--T. Don Stacy, corporate director, Noble Affiliates, Hydril Co, AEC Ltd, and Agrium; former chair, Amoco Canada and Amoco Eurasia


Ebp1, an ErbB3 receptor-binding protein, inhibits the proliferation and induces the differentiation of human cancer cells. Ebp1 binds nuclear Akt and prevents DNA fragmentation by inhibiting caspase-activated DNase. Here, we show that Ebp1 possesses two different isoforms, p48 and p42, which differentially mediate PC12 cell survival and differentiation. The longer-form p48 localizes in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus and suppresses apoptosis, whereas the shorter-form p42 predominantly resides in the cytoplasm and promotes cell differentiation. EGF strongly stimulates p42 to bind ErbB3, and the association depends on PKC-mediated phosphorylation of Ebp1. By contrast, p48 does not bind to ErbB3 regardless of EGF treatment. Overexpression of p48 provokes cell proliferation, which is inhibited by p42. Moreover, nerve growth factor elicits extensive sprouting in p42 stably transfected PC12 cells, whereas p48 cells reveal modest neurite outgrowth. Although mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade remains similar in both cells, Akt is more active in p48 cells than in p42 cells. Thus, Ebp1 might regulate cell survival and differentiation through two distinctive p48 and p42 isoforms.


Double-radionuclide scintigraphy for the differentiation between inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the joint ought to be performed with a radiopharmaceutical that remains within the intravascular space as an indicator of blood flow, and an osteotropic radiopharmaceutical. The former ought not to leave the intravascular space even in inflammatory disease. This condition is, however, not met by 113mIn-labelled transferrin as shown by measurements of plasma volumes as well as of its local kinetics. On the other hand, the biological behavior of 99mTc-labelled red cells does not, up to 30 min p.i., differ from that of 51Cr-labelled red cells so that they may be used as an intravascular tracer even in inflammatory disease. In that case, the osteotropic radiopharmaceutical to be employed should be 113mIn-EDTMP.


Entrepreneurship course at UiTM and UMT offers the students an educational experience based on active teaching and learning concept. The success of the course in improving the graduates' intention and interest towards entrepreneurship is being studied. This research attempted to identify the contents of Entrepreneurial course that emphasize active teaching and learning approaches and their relationships towards enhancing students' entrepreneurial
intention and interest. Critical aspects of the course's seven main contents are being tested. The course contents include business plan initial preparations, business plan developmental stage, business plan presentations, lectures and tutorial, learning materials, seminar, and examinations. Results of the test conducted with one hundred and thirty five respondents, show high validity and
reliability of the questionnaire. All course contents have strong correlations with entrepreneurial intention and interest. However, Independent T-test and Oneway ANOVA indicated that the whole demographics background of respondents do not shows any significant differences with active teaching & learning, entrepreneurial interest and intention accept under institution categories and CGPA score levels with entrepreneurial interest. By the ways, respond given by respondents shown that 92 per cent supported the statement about attending entrepreneurship course will able to promoting entrepreneur profesion to them. Though, the findings could help in identifying the core element considered to have strong relationship towards developing entrepreneurial intention and interest among graduates. It is recommended that greater focus are given to
these core contents particularly in fine-tuning the course syllabus and in allocating the necessary educational resources for entrepreneurial educations at higher learning institutions.


Porous silicon structures were observed in laser-assisted etching in a TMAH solution. The porous structures significantly increase the active surface areas and therefore are of great interest to the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industry, in the areas of high throughput drug discovery, reaction optimization and process development. Laser-assisted etching of silicon using a Nd:YAG laser with a TMAH solution is rarely studied but desirable as the solution is nontoxic. To the best of our knowledge, the porous structures directly produced this way have not been reported previously. In this paper, we discuss our experimental results and the possible mechanism of formation of the porous structures. A dummy micro-reactor was fabricated with selective porous surface structures to demonstrate its potential industrial applications.


The S matrix of e-e scattering has the structure of a projection operator that projects incoming separable product states onto entangled two-electron states. In this projection operator the empirical value of the fine-structure constant α acts as a normalization factor. When the structure of the two-particle state space is known, a theoretical value of the normalization factor can be calculated. For an irreducible two-particle representation of the Poincare group, the calculated normalization factor matches Wyler's semi-empirical formula for the fine-structure constant α. The empirical value of α, therefore, provides experimental evidence that the state space of two interacting electrons belongs to an irreducible two-particle representation of the Poincare group.


This research was done to make the Dashboard System Operational Information Office PT Telkomsel Branch demang Lebar Daun Palembang using PHP and Mysql. In this research Dashboard System Operational Information Office can manage the data generated work routines include vehicle data, vehicle operational data, telephone data, the data USAge of telephone, electrical data and electricity USAge data in the PT. Telkomsel Branch demat Lebar Daun Palembang. Office Operational Information System Dashboard is made also to support the bookkeeping of the cost which is issued by the office of PT. Telkomsel Palembang Branch demang Lebar Daun in the form of reports that the operational facility at the office of PT. Telkomsel Branch demang Lebar Daun Palembang. In the development of the Office of Operations Information System Dashboard using waterfall development method comprising the steps of planning, analysis, design, implementation and testing.

Keywords: dashboard, operational,waterfall.


Vernonia amygdalina leaves is consumed fresh or dried after removal of bitter taste by the peoples of the South-Eastern Nigeria, especially the Igbos. It is also widely used in cooking and serves as a vegetable and ethno-medicinal herb against many ailments. Not much is known of its in vitro antioxidant potentials, especially the major saponins and those of its fractions. In this study, the 80 % methanol extract of the leaves was fractionated by analytical TLC-guided column chromatography, preparative TLC and further purified with HPLC using gradient concentrations of solvent mixtures of chloroform, n-butanol, methanol and distilled water yielding VASC, VASB, VASM70, VASM65 and VASM50. Quantitative phytochemical analysis gave their % total saponin content as 55.8, 64.6, 21.4, 78.8 and 33.8 respectively. The 5 saponin-rich fractions (VASC, VASB, VASM70, VASM65 and VASM50) showed no significant signs of toxicity in mice at oral doses of 1500 mg/kg although VASM50 at 1500 mg/kg caused increased urination and watery fecal deposits which disappeared after 18hrs. The saponin-rich fractions of Vernonia amygdalina were evaluated for in vitro free radical scavenging properties using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay, hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, ABTS radical cation scavenging activity assay, anti-lipid peroxidation assay, B-carotene bleaching assay and superoxide anion using ascorbic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), catechin and gallic acid as reference standards. The results showed that the saponin-rich fractions from Vernonia amygdalina leaves had a potent DPPH radical scavenging and FRAP activities comparable to those of reference standards used. The IC50 values were also comparable to those of standards especially that of VASM65. Vernonia species are known to contain abundant saponins and flavonoids which are polar compounds and readily soluble in methanol. Most saponins and their derivatives of plant origin are known to possess great antioxidant potentials. This may explain the above observed antioxidant activities and thus, the use of the leaves in different traditional curative therapies in Eastern Nigeria, and as vegetable.


Experimental results on excitation of a nitrogen laser by means of a nanosecond microwave discharge in a wave beam are presented. The possibility of producing an atmosphere laser with remote microwave pumping is demonstrated. The numerical model for the nitrogen laser excited by a nanosecond discharge in a cylindrical TE wave in a tube and in free space is constructed. It is shown that, by changing the pressure of the laser mixture, the diameter of the gas discharge tube and the value of incident microwave power one can efficiently control the discharge parameters and achieve total absorption of microwave radiation and high efficiency of laser generation.


A new class of models for inhomogeneous spatial point processes is introduced. These locally scaled point processes are modifications of homogeneous template point processes, having the property that regions with different intensities differ only by a scale factor. This is achieved by replacing volume measures used in the density with locally scaled analogues defined by a location-dependent scaling function. The new approach is particularly appealing for modelling inhomogeneous Markov point processes. Distance-interaction and shot noise weighted Markov point processes are discussed in detail. It is shown that the locally scaled versions are again Markov and that locally the Papangelou conditional intensity of the new process behaves like that of a global scaling of the homogeneous process. Approximations are suggested that simplify calculation of the density, for example, in simulation. For sequential point processes, an alternative and simpler definition of local scaling is proposed.


Membrane processes are currently essential for seawater desalination, and their implementation in sustainable separations in the chemical industry is rapidly growing. The sustainability of the membrane manufacture itself has been frequently questioned, however, and needs to be improved. Ionic liquids are promising alternative solvents for membrane manufacture. We discuss general aspects of toxicity and recyclability in comparison to common organic solvents and take advantage of their unique capability of dissolution of polymers such as cellulose, a natural and biodegradable polymer. Cellulose membranes were prepared from solutions in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as flat sheets and hollow fibers. The membrane performances were evaluated for oil and water separation, with analysis of the influence of anionic, cationic, and neutral surfactants added to emulsions with different oil contents.


Janssen Pharmaceuticals has acquired the selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist CERC-501 from Cerecor for $25 million plus a possible $20 million milestone payment. Baltimore-based Cerecor acquired CERC-501 from Eli Lilly & Co. in early 2015 and was developing the drug as a treatment for depression and substance use disorders. Late last year, Cerecor announced that CERC-501 failed in a trial as a treatment for nicotine withdrawal.


Cytogenetic examination of four Japanese hagfish species belonging to the order Myxinida (Eptatretus okinoseanus, E. burgeri. Paramyxine atami, and Myxine garmani) revealed differences in chromosome number between germ cells (spermatocytes and spermatogonia) and somatic cells (liver, blood, gill, and kidney). The differences in chromosome number between spermatogonia (54, 52, 48, and 16) and somatic cells (34, 36, 34, and 14) were 20, 16, 14, and 2 in E. okinoseanus, E. burgeri, P. atami, and M. garmani, respectively. The amount of DNA in a somatic cell (2C) relative to that in a germ cell (2C) averaged 54.6% (E. okinoseanus type A), 44.9% (E. okinoseanus type B), 79.1% (E. burgeri), 60.0% (P. atami), and 70.2% (M. garmani). These results clearly indicate that chromosome elimination takes place during early cleavage in the four hagfish species of Myxinida living in Japanese waters, except in the ancestral germline cells. C-banding of metaphase chromosome preparations of germline and somatic cells from each hagfish species revealed that the C-band-positive chromatin in the ancestral somatic cells had been almost completely eliminated. Three patterns of elimination of this chromatin are discussed.


Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) are known to be excellent computation accelerators. However, their approach to data processing is very different from regular CPUs. This makes it harder for a regular developer to program these devices. In the past few years, several frameworks were introduced to simplify the programming of GPU devices. Accelerate and Obsidian are two of these frameworks, written in Haskell. Both present an Embedded Domain Specific Language (EDSL) to represent GPU computations. They try, at different levels, to abstract GPU details away. In this paper we will assess different aspects of these EDSLs to see how usable they are for programmers. We will assess CUDA as well, to see how these EDSLs compare to plain CUDA. We will investigate a matrix multiplication use case, to see how well Accelerate and Obsidian perform.


: Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) was utilized to investigate the genomic profile of Vibrio cholerae O1 strains, isolated from symptomatic patients in a low-income urban area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Comparative genomics using bioinformatics tools were applied to identify major virulence factors, biotype and antimicrobial resistance genes in three V. cholerae O1 strains (VC-1, 2 and 3) isolated from two case patients. A phylogenetic SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) based analysis was conducted to infer the relatedness to V. cholerae O1 strains isolated elsewhere. The V. cholerae strains were the El Tor variant carrying ctxB 1 (standard classical genotype). SNP based global phylogeny revealed that the three isolates were strictly clonal and the closest neighboring genomes were epidemic clones of V. cholerae O1 isolated in 2010 from cholera patients in Pakistan. All strains harbored the integrase gene of the SXT element (int SXT ), antimicrobial resistance genes for aminoglycosides, phenicol, sulphonamide, and trimethoprim except VC-1 that lacked sulphonamide resistance genes. The Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) revealed that the strains belonged to sequence type, ST69 . The study provides knowledge on current genetic traits of clinical V. cholerae O1 circulating in urban household clusters of Bangladesh which may help in predicting emergence of new pandemic strains in Bangladesh. than


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of prior intermittent running at VO2max on oxygen kinetics during a continuous severe intensity run and the time spent at VO2max.

METHODS
Eight long-distance runners performed three maximal tests on a synthetic track (400 m) whilst breathing through the COSMED K4 portable telemetric metabolic analyser: i) an incremental test which determined velocity at the lactate threshold (vLT), VO2max and velocity associated with VO2max (vVO2max), ii) a continuous severe intensity run at vLT+50% (vdelta50) of the difference between vLT and vVO2max (91.3+/-1.6% VO2max)preceded by a light continuous 20 minute run at 50% of vVO2max (light warm-up), iii) the same continuous severe intensity run at vdelta50 with a prior interval training exercise (hard warm-up) of repeated hard running bouts performed at 100% of vVO2max and light running at 50% of vVO2max (of 30 seconds each) performed until exhaustion (on average 19+/-5 min with 19+/-5 interval repetitions). This hard warm-up speeded the VO2 kinetics: the time constant was reduced by 45% (28+/-7 sec vs 51+/-37 sec) and the slow component of VO2 (deltaVO2 6-3 min) was deleted (-143+/-271 ml x min(-1) vs 291+/-153 ml x min(-1)). In conclusion, despite a significantly lower total run time at vdelta50 (6 min 19+/-0) min 17 vs 8 min 20+/-1 min 45, p=0.02) after the intermittent warm-up at VO2max, the time spent specifically at VO2max in the severe continuous run at vdelta50 was not significantly different.


Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in deep geological formations can lead to significant reductions in anthropogenic CO2 emissions if large amounts of CO2 can be stored. Estimates of the storage capacity are therefore essential to the evaluation of individual storage sites as well as the feasibility of the technology. One important limitation on the storage capacity is the radius of review, the lateral extent of the pressure perturbation, of the storage project. We show that pressure dissipation into ambient mudrocks retards lateral pressure propagation significantly and therefore increases the storage capacity. For a three‐layer model of a reservoir surrounded by thick mudrocks, the far‐field pressure is approximated well by a single‐phase model. Through dimensional analysis and numerical simulations, we show that the lateral extent of the pressure front follows a power law that depends on a single dissipation parameter M∝log10(RkRSRl2) , where Rk and RS are the ratios of mudrock to reservoir permeability and specific storage, and Rl is the aspect ratio of the confined pressure plume. Both the coefficient and the exponent of the power law are sigmoid decreasing functions of M . The M values of typical storage sites are in the region where the power‐law changes rapidly. The combination of large uncertainty in mudrock properties and the sigmoid shape leads to wide and strongly skewed probability distributions for the predicted radius of review and storage capacity. Therefore, if the lateral extent of the pressure front limits the storage capacity, the determination of the mudrock properties is an important component of site characterization.


Sustainable development goal number five of the 2030 agenda aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The Kamunge Commission report of 1988 recommends that schools and universities provide guidance to university applicants to enable them make rightful choices. The paper objectively looks at the forms (processes, programmes and activities) of career guidance used in secondary schools and its effect on girls' performance and career choice. The study embraced a mixed methods approach. Form four girls of 2012 in mixed and girls' secondary schools in Vihiga County formed the target population. Thirty (30) schools were selected from the 112 mixed and girls' secondary schools in the county by stratified sampling using the 4 constituencies as strata. Purposive sampling was then used to select 30 principals, 30 career guidance teachers, 4 district quality assurance officers and one county director of education. One hundred and eighty (180) students were randomly sampled. Data was collected using questionnaires, content analysis and interview schedules. Quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies, means, standard deviations, and Pearson's product moment correlation while qualitative data was analyzed thematically.  For all statistical tests, the alpha (significance) level was set at .05. The result of the analysis indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between career  guidance and, academic performance and career choice, r = 0.513, p< 0.05.The major forms of career guidance identified were class counseling, group counseling involving subject choices, and filling of joint admission board forms. The study found out that schools that were better equipped and staffed, with more career guidance programs had better performance and sent more students to public universities for admission into a variety of careers than the understaffed schools with no equipment. The study concluded that career guidance is essential yet many schools are not adequately funded, equipped and staffed for it. It recommends that career guidance be incorporated into mainstream curricular. The study has practical implications for the ministry of education and school administrators to provide a broad range of career guidance activities and programs to help learners make sound career choices. Key Words: Career guidance, Career choice, Academic performance, High school, Girls.


Incipient faults detection on underground power cables mitigate the high cost of reparation and the economic losses caused by the interruption in the supply of electrical energy if a fault occurs. On the other hand, with the ability to detect incipient flaws it is possible to establish a program of corrective actions in a scheduled way, which reduces extra cost and prevents overtime while accelerates repairs. Partial discharges (PD's) measurement is a tool of great utility for underground cables on-site diagnosis that we apply extensively together with the power supplied by a portable resonant power supply. To realize this measurement one needs a resonant system with the reactive power necessary to evaluate installed cables lengths to its working voltage. These resonant systems are designed to tune in resonance with the cable capacitancia, according to its length. The application of this diagnostic technique on-site represents a challenge for the testing engineer because it has to face such problems like electromagnetic interference that affects measurement sensibility, inadequate ground systems and do forth. Acquired experience on underground cable diagnostics has allowed us to correlate PD plots to different deterioration mechanisms. On the other hand, cable diagnosis requirement allowed us to develop resonant systems that fulfill the requested conditions of power and voltage. In this article, some design and testing experiences are presented for cables rating from distribution 15 kV to transmission level 161 kV.


Cultures responded to the COVID-19 pandemic differently. We investigated cultural differences in mental health during the pandemic. We found regional differences in people's reports of anxiety in China over two years from 2020 to 2021 (N = 1186). People in areas with a history of rice farming reported more anxiety than people in wheat-farming areas. Next, we explored more proximal mechanisms that could help link the distal, historical factor of rice farming to people's modern experience of anxiety. Rice areas scored higher on collectivism and tight social norms than wheat areas, and collectivism, rather than norm tightness, mediated the rice-anxiety relationship. These findings advance our understanding of the distal sources of cultural differences, the proximal mechanisms, and mental health problems during the pandemics.


Defects are real and observable indicators of software quality that can be analyzed and modelled to track the quality and reliability of software system during development and testing. A number of software reliability growth models (SRGMs) have been introduced and evaluated which are based on different family of distributions such as exponential, Weibull, Non-Homogeneous Poisson Process etc. There exist no standard way of selecting the most appropriate SRGMs for given defect data and further the distribution of defect inflow for real software projects from different industrial domains is also not well documented. In this paper we explore the defect inflow distribution of four large software projects from the automotive domain. We evaluate six standard distributions for their ability to fit the defect inflow data and also assess which information criterion is practical for selecting the distribution with best fit. Our results show that beta distribution provides the best fit to the defect inflow data from all projects with different distribution characteristics. Finding the underlying distribution of defect inflow not only help applying the appropriate statistical techniques for data analysis but also to select the appropriate SRGMs for modelling reliability. The information about defect inflow distribution is further useful for modelling the prior beliefs or experience as prior probabilities in Bayesian analysis.


Ultraviolet light of wavelengths 280-320 nm (UVB) can induce transcription of cytokine mRNAs and increase expression of the corresponding proteins in the epidermis. In particular, UVB can stimulate keratinocyte synthesis of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). Several of these cytokines can influence the growth of tumour cells as well as the host response to these tumours. In this study we examined the effect of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha and TGF-beta on the growth of melanoma in vivo and in vitro, using the murine B16 melanoma and its syngeneic host, the C57BL/6 mouse. Mice were injected with 0.1-1.5 micrograms of recombinant cytokine subcutaneously every other day following a subcutaneous injection of 1 x 10(5) B16 cells (F-10 clone). In this model, tumours appeared within 12-14 days, and IL-1 and IL-6 stimulated tumour growth in vivo. TNF-alpha, TGF-beta, IL-2 and IL-8 had no significant effect. In contrast to the in vivo effects, TNF-alpha inhibited B16 cell growth in vitro and IL-6 stimulated B16 cell growth. The in vivo IL-1 effect on tumour growth in mice was examined in greater detail. IL-1-treated animals showed tumours approximately 5-fold greater in size than those of the control animals. The IL-1-treated animals also showed highly vascularized tumours that invaded underlying muscle tissue more rapidly than controls. These tumors also showed a strong positive reaction with antibody to intercellular adhesion molecule-1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Suez Canal is artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt which connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, offers the shortest maritime path between Europe and the lands surrounding the Indian and western Pacific oceans. Maritime transport is the most cost-effective mode of transportation, with waterways carrying more than 80% of global trade volume


Based on a large sample of 5,756 Russian‐speaking freelancers from an international online labour market, this study provides rare quantitative evidence of the external labour market where freelancers act under constant threat of client‐side opportunism. We explore how the formalization of agreements, social embeddedness and mode of communication are associated with the incidence of opportunism and further possibilities of resolving problems caused by agreement violations. Social ties and face‐to‐face contact appear to be better safeguards against opportunism in freelance contracting, which is largely informal. The study has important implications for the debates about non‐standard work, online labour markets and job quality in the new economy.


Circulating cytotoxic CD4+ T cells are absent in healthy individuals, but have been reported in autoimmune and inflammatory states. Cytotoxic CD4+ T cells arise largely as a result of chronic viral infection, such as CMV. These cells are characterized by the loss of CD28/CD27, their memory differentiation status (TEM/EMRA), and a phenotype primed towards the targeting of viral antigens. While cytotoxic CD4+ T cells are speculated to complement cytotoxic CD8+ T cell activity, they may also contribute to MHC class II-directed immunopathogenic states (e.g., vascular complications resulting from endothelia damage). The molecular mechanism of how cytotoxic CD4+ T cells are propagated remains elusive. Recently, tetraspanins have been shown to influence the cytotoxic potential of immune cells- CD63 aids in mast cell degranulation whereas CD53 modulates NK cell cytotoxicity. Here, we report that the tetraspanin CD151 is elevated on circulating CD4+ T cells with enhanced cytotoxic potential. We observed that CD151+ frequencies were most elevated on CD28neg and TEM/TEMRA CD4+ T cells. Importantly, CD151+ frequencies were robustly enriched on CD4+ T cells containing preformed granzyme B (GzmB) (51 ± 18% vs. 14 ± 6%)- cell populations reported as elevated after primary CMV infection. Within CMV-seropositive donors, CD151+ frequencies were robustly enriched on IFN-γ+GzmB+ CD4+ T cells responding to overlapping peptides from CMV pp65 (60 ± 21% vs. 17 ± 8% baseline). In summary, the tetraspanin CD151 is a cell surface molecule that demarcates circulating CD4+ T cells with enhanced cytotoxic potential, particularly against CMV antigen. Tetraspanins may therefore be a class of molecules that tunes the effector cell response to persistent antigens.


A two Tesla test facility was designed, built, and operated to investigate the performance of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) seawater thrusters. The results of this investigation are used to validate MHD thruster performance computer models. The facility test loop, its components, and their design are presented in detail. Additionally, the test matrix and its rational are discussed. finally, representative experimental results of the test program are presented, and are compared to pretest computer model predictions. Good agreement between predicted and measured data has served to validate the thruster performance computer models.


To the Editor.— One of the distressing conditions of actinic reticuloid (AR) is its persistence for long durations without any demonstrable contact with the photoallergen. It is hypothesized that autoreactive cells are activated in the skin lesion of AR.1We report a case of AR with the immunohistochemical study of the affected site. Report of a Case.— A 75-year-old Japanese man had a four-year history of pruritic rash that first appeared on the sun-exposed areas of his body and then extended to the covered areas within two years. There was no family history of dermatoses. Physical examination showed scattered, violaceous papules on the face (Figure) and moderate lichenification of the skin over the light-exposed area of the neck, the hands, and the nape. Of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Scattered papules on cheek and chin. Composition of Dermal Infiltrating Cells* % Reactive Cells in Interstitium Site of Biopsy Leu-1 Leu-2a


Potential applications of InP and related compound semiconductors for the realization of micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems are presented. Specific features and advantages of InP and related material based micromachining show that the optical capabilities of InP-air based microcavities can be considerably enhanced.


In care for older adults, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) like agitation and aggression are distressing for patients and their caretakers, often resulting in premature institutionalization with increased costs of care. To improve mood and mitigate symptoms, as a non-pharmaceutical approach, emotion-oriented therapy like reminiscence work is adopted in face-to-face communication. Telecommunication support is expected to be provided by robotic media as a bridge for digital divide for those with dementia and facilitate social interaction both verbally and nonverbally. The purpose of this case study is to explore the conditions in which robotic media can effectively attract attention from older adults with dementia and promote their well-being. As a pilot study, we introduced the pillow-phone Hugvie, a huggable humanly shaped communication medium to five residents with dementia at a care facility, to investigate how the following conditions work for the elderly when they use the medium; 1) no sound, 2) radio, non-interactive, 3) daily conversation, and 4) reminiscence work. As a result, under condition 4, reminiscence work, the five participants kept concentration in interacting with the medium for a longer duration than other conditions. In condition 4, they also showed larger amount of utterances than under other conditions. These results indicate that providing topics related to personal histories through robotic media could affect communication positively and should, therefore, be further investigated. In addition, the issue of ethical implications by using persuasive technology that affects emotions and behaviors of older adults is also discussed. Keywords—BPSD, reminiscence, tactile telecommunication, utterances.


Objective: The prevalence of anemia during pregnancy is as high as 80% in some sections of the Indian population. Iron therapy in different forms has been found to alleviate anemia and yield good fetomaternal outcome. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous iron sucrose (IVIS) versus oral iron in treating anemia among the antenatal mothers attending a tertiary care center of Northeast India. Materials and Methods: One hundred women between 18 and 28 weeks of gestation with diagnosed iron-deficiency anemia and hemoglobin (Hb) of 7–10.9 g/dL were enrolled to be administered either oral ferrous sulfate 200 mg twice daily or requisite dose of IVIS 100 mg in 100 ml normal saline on alternate days. Hb and hematocrit were measured at the time of enrollment, 4th week, and 8th week of therapy. Acceptability of both the drugs based on like and dislike after interviewing the study participants was recorded. Adverse drug reactions, gestational age at delivery, and neonatal birth weight were also noted in both the groups. The results were analyzed by Student's t-test and Chi-square test. Results: Hb and hematocrit values were found to be increased in both the groups at 4th and 8th weeks. When both the groups were compared, the rise in the values was higher in the iron sucrose group (at 4th week P = 0.01 and at 8th week P = 0.00). The number of participants who reached target Hb levels at 4 weeks was 41 (82%) with oral iron and 48 (96%) with iron sucrose. In the iron sucrose group, no adverse effects were observed, suggesting its safety, and the acceptability and newborn birth weight were noted to be higher. Conclusion: IVIS was found to be more effective than oral iron therapy in treating antenatal anemia with no serious adverse drug reactions.


The present paper describes an experiment with two stormwater control devices, an infiltration and a detention trench, carried out in Belo Horizonte, a Brazilian city with 2.4 million of inhabitants. The experiments focus on assessing the efficiency of these devices on runoff control and wet weather pollution abatement in the particular context of a city from a developing country, located at a tropical climate environment. The devices receive runoff flow from a 3,600 m contributing area composed by a stretch of a 4-way avenue. The runoff generated in this road is drained through gutters till an inlet where it is collected and conveyed to the experimental area. The experiment monitoring protocol comprises rainfall, inflows to the devices, storage and water quality monitoring by means of inflow and outflow composed samples: conductivity, pH, temperature, turbidity, total suspended soils, metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Mg). The paper describes and evaluates the first hydrologic year of the experiment operation, comprising rainfall events of different characteristics. The performance of the devices is evaluated in terms of runoff control and wet weather pollution abatement for each observed event. During the first year of operation, the devices presented acceptable performance and suggest their interest for runoff and diffuse pollution control.


This paper compares two approaches to context-sensitive phoneme-level hidden Markov modelling for vocabulary-independent automatic speech recognition. The first is an existing method based on the use of binary decision trees to identify equivalence classes of contexts which induce the same effect on the acoustic realisation of a given phoneme. The second is a novel method, called context adaptive phone modelling, which is based on the use of 'context-independent generalised phones-in-context'. In the first method equivalence classes of contexts are derived from a direct analysis of the acoustic patterns, whereas the second approach utilises a symbolic transcription of the training corpus. The paper presents an experimental and methodological comparison of the two methods.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT The emergence of the Ediacara biota soon after the Gaskiers glaciation ca. 580 million years ago (Ma) implies a possible glacial fuse for the evolution of animals. However, the timing of Ediacaran glaciation remains controversial because of poor age constraints on the ∼30 Ediacaran glacial deposits known worldwide. In addition, paleomagnetic constraints and a lack of convincing Snowball-like cap carbonates indicate that Ediacaran glaciations likely did not occur at low latitudes. Thus, reconciling the global occurrences without global glaciation remains a paradox. Here, we report that the large amplitude, globally synchronous ca. 571–562 Ma Shuram carbon isotope excursion occurs below the Ediacaran Hankalchough glacial deposit in Tarim, confirming a post-Shuram glaciation. Leveraging paleomagnetic evidence for a ∼90° reorientation of all continents due to true polar wander, and a non-Snowball condition that rules out low-latitude glaciations, we use paleogeographic reconstructions to further constrain glacial ages. Our results depict a 'Great Ediacaran Glaciation' occurring diachronously but continuously from ca. 580–560 Ma as different continents migrated through polar–temperate latitudes. The succession of radiation, turnover and extinction of the Ediacara biota strongly reflects glacial–deglacial dynamics.


To the Editor: —The conclusion of the Committee on Anesthesia that the use of chloroform is no longer justifiable in major operations (The Journal, June 15, 1912, p. 1909), is so extreme that I wonder at finding no protest. If this conclusion is to stand unchallenged, it follows that thousands of surgeons (mostly of the south) will be obliged to give up their favorite anesthetic; not always because they agree with the committee, but because they fear censure or suit for malpractice in the event of a fatality. Chloroform is used in Texas more than ten times as much as ether, and I feel sure that the same ratio exists in many other southern states. I feel sure that there are in Texas more than one hundred surgeons, whose experience would duplicate my own, viz., more than one thousand administrations of chloroform without a death. Induced Pneumothorax in Treatment of


Continued dependence on crude oil and natural gas resources for fossil fuels has caused global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to increase to record-setting proportions. There is an urgent need for efficient and inexpensive carbon sequestration systems to mitigate large-scale emissions of CO2 from industrial flue gas. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) has shown high potential for enhanced CO2 capture applications compared to conventional absorption-based methods currently utilized in various industrial settings. This study aims to understand structural aspects that contribute to the stability of CA enzymes critical for their applications in industrial processes, which require the ability to withstand conditions different from those in their native environments. Here, we evaluated the thermostability and enzyme activity of mesophilic and thermophilic CA variants at different temperature conditions and in the presence of atmospheric gas pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. Based on our enzyme activity assays and molecular dynamics simulations, we see increased conformational stability and CA activity levels in thermostable CA variants incubated week-long at different temperature conditions. The thermostable CA variants also retained high levels of CA activity despite changes in solution pH due to increasing NO and SO2 concentrations. A loss of CA activity was observed only at high concentrations of NO/SO2 that possibly can be minimized with the appropriate buffered solutions.


Recent studies indicated that leptin, a 16 kDa hormone, is a regulatory signal in human and rodent male reproduction. This work was designed to investigate the expression of leptin and its receptor in testes and epididymides from immature and mature pigs. Immunolocalization revealed that leptin and its receptor were confined only in the interstitial compartment of immature testes, whereas both proteins were detected in Leydig cells and within seminiferous tubules of mature gonads. The immunostaining of epididymal tissues showed that leptin was absent in the epithelial cells of immature pigs but it was present in all the three regions of mature epididymides, although with a minor signal in the cauda. Conversely, leptin receptor was observed in all the epithelial cells of both immature and mature epididymides. Western blot analysis of tissue extracts detected a 16 kDa band for leptin and five/six isoforms, ranging from 120 to 40 kDa, for leptin receptor. In conclusion, this work has identified, for the first time, leptin and leptin receptor in the testis and in the epididymis of the pig showing a differential cell‐type expression pattern of the two proteins in young and adult animals. Therefore, our findings suggest a possible involvement of leptin in endocrine or autocrine/paracrine control of porcine male reproductive structures. Anat Rec, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


BACKGROUND
Blunt diaphragmatic rupture (BDR) is a rare event and represents a diagnostic challenge. The purpose of our study was to review our experience with BDR at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Sunnybrook), the largest trauma centre in Canada, and to highlight recent changes in the diagnosis and management of the condition.

METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the cases of patients with BDR who were admitted to Sunnybrook between January 1986 and December 2003 using our trauma registry. We performed Student t and Fisher exact tests to compare our findings on patients with BDR with those on the entire cohort of blunt trauma patients admitted to our centre.

RESULTS
Most patients with BDR were men (64.4%) with a mean age of 42 years. Left-sided tears were most common (65.0%). Patients with BDR had a very high Injury Severity Score (38) and very high mortality (28.8%). Of those who were injured as a result of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs), a significantly greater percentage of patients in the BDR group than in the entire cohort of blunt trauma patients were drivers or front-seat passengers. Patients with BDR were also significantly less likely to be pedestrians, to have experienced a fall or to be involved in a motorcycle collision. Patients with BDR had a higher chest, abdomen, pelvis and extremity Abbreviated Injury Scale score than all blunt trauma patients in general. Most of our patients underwent laparotomy (93.3%). The most common causes of death among patients with BDR were head injury (25.0%), intra-abdominal bleeding (23.3%) and pelvic hemorrhage (18.3%).

CONCLUSION
Blunt diaphragmatic rupture is rare and difficult to diagnose; however, certain MVC characteristics along with severe associated injuries should raise the index of suspicion. These associated injuries include injuries to the head, chest (including the aorta), abdomen and pelvis. Computed tomographic angiography is essential to rule out associated aortic injury and to increase the diagnostic accuracy of BDR.


This technical note compares two coding (quantization) schemes for random projections in the context of sub-linear time approximate near neighbor search. The first scheme is based on uniform quantization while the second scheme utilizes a uniform quantization plus a uniformly random offset (which has been popular in practice). The prior work compared the two schemes in the context of similarity estimation and training linear classifiers, with the conclusion that the step of random offset is not necessary and may hurt the performance (depending on the similarity level). The task of near neighbor search is related to similarity estimation with importance distinctions and requires own study. In this paper, we demonstrate that in the context of near neighbor search, the step of random offset is not needed either and may hurt the performance (sometimes significantly so, depending on the similarity and other parameters).


Experimental and numerical observations of oscillatory instability of melt flow in a Czochralski model are compared, and a disagreement observed at small crystal dummy rotation rates is addressed. To exclude uncertainties connected with flow along the free surface, the latter is covered by a no-slip thermally insulating ring. Experiments reveal an appearance of oscillations at temperature differences smaller than the numerically predicted critical ones. At the same time, a steep increase of the oscillations amplitude is observed just beyond the computed threshold values. By increasing the dummy rotation gradually, we are able to qualitatively confirm the numerically predicted flow destabilization. A good quantitative comparison is reached only with a rather strong rotation of the crystal dummy. Focusing on the disagreement in the non-rotating case, we argue that the experimentally observed instability is triggered by an external excitation that results from low-amplitude temperature oscillations in thermostatic baths. This argument is supported by a numerical simulation of the parametrically excited model.


Background Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) can be the first symptom of a connective tissue disease in children, in particular juvenile systemic scleroderma (JSSC) or systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE). However, the prevalence of RP in healthy school children has been shown to be as high as 15%[1]. There are currently no guidelines or agreed management strategies amongst Paediatric Rheumatologists on how to differentiate primary from secondary RP or how often patients require evaluation. Objectives To develop consensus standards for good clinical practice for children with RP. Methods A consensus meeting was organized in the frame of the PRES scleroderma working group. A nominal group technique was used. 75% consensus was defined as agreement. Results The following agreements were reached: All patients with RP should be screened with an ANA test. All ANA positive patients should be screened for scleroderma-specific antibodies (e.g. anti-SCL 70 and anti-centromere antibodies). All patients with RP should be investigated by capillaroscopy. Capillaroscopy will be classified into "normal", "aspecific changes" or "scleroderma pattern". All patients who have additional symptoms pointing to a definite connective tissue disease should be evaluated according to disease specific guidelines. ANA-negative and capillaroscopy-negative patients should be followed-up at least every 6 months. ANA positive patients without disease-specific antibodies and with negative capillaroscopy findings should be followed-up at least every 6 months. ANA and disease-specific antibody positive patients should have organ specific evaluation according to symptoms, examination and relevant to that particular disease e.g. patients who are ANA and Scl-70 positive may need organ specific evaluation for JSSC as per the Juvenile systemic sclerosis inception cohort protocol (www.juvenile-scleroderma.com). ANA-positive patients, who have no disease specific antibody but have positive capillaroscopy results, should be followed-up at least every 3 months. ANA-negative patients with positive capillaroscopy result should be followed-up at least every 6 months. The group could not reach an agreement regarding treatment, due to a lack of data for the paediatric age group. The group agreed that implementation of adult recommendations for paediatric care might be reasonable, but robust paediatric trials are needed. Conclusions The group made a suggestion for a standard of good clinical practice for RP in children. Our aim is that this will facilitate a large multicentre prospective follow-up study of children with RP. References Jones, G.T., et al., Occurrence of Raynaud's phenomenon in children ages 12-15 years: prevalence and association with other common symptoms. Arthritis Rheum, 2003. 48(12): p. 3518-21. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


The article is an attempt at genre analysis of online journals by three Polish writers (Sylwia Chutnik, Jarosław Klejnocki, Jerzy Sosnowski) in both literary-studies and technological perspective. I argue that this specific commingling of a personal document and electronic discourse results in a new form of writing, which functions in a secondary-orality environment. The uniqueness of this form, in comparison with traditional personal documents, stems from the participation of the audience, which co-authors the text and influences its shape. Blog is a result of the personalization culture, in which the reader influences the writer.


Federated learning is a widely used distributed deep learning framework that protects the privacy of each client by exchanging model parameters rather than raw data. However, federated learning suffers from high communication costs, as a considerable number of model parameters need to be transmitted many times during the training process, making the approach inefficient, especially when the communication network bandwidth is limited. This article proposes RingFed, a novel framework to reduce communication overhead during the training process of federated learning. Rather than transmitting parameters between the center server and each client, as in original federated learning, in the proposed RingFed, the updated parameters are transmitted between each client in turn, and only the final result is transmitted to the central server, thereby reducing the communication overhead substantially. After several local updates, clients first send their parameters to another proximal client, not to the center server directly, to preaggregate. Experiments on two different public datasets show that RingFed has fast convergence, high model accuracy, and low communication cost.


A method for generating high speed FIR filters with low complexity for FPGAs is presented. The realization is split into two parts. First, an adder graph is obtained using an existing multiple constant multiplication (MCM) algorithm. This adder graph describes the required multiplier block of the FIR filter using only additions/subtractions and shifts. Secondly, a novel FPGA-specific combined schedule and pipeline optimization is performed to gain the maximum speed while using a minimal performance penalty. FPGA-specific characteristics are exploited during optimization including the reduction of pipeline registers by duplicating adders in later stages. The optimization is formulated as binary integer linear programming (BILP) problem. It is shown that the generated number of pipelined operations based on the Hcub MCM algorithm is reduced up to 29.1% on average compared to an as-soon-as-possible (ASAP) scheduling using cut-set retiming. Synthesis results are obtained by generating VHDL code, showing that the proposed method outperforms the recently proposed Add/Shift method in resource complexity (54.1% reduction on average) while a competitive performance is achieved (88.2% speed of Add/Shift on average).


Advances in psychiatry have paralleled rather closely the advances achieved in other branches of medicine. The initial descriptive phase gave recognition to the principal clinical entities to be dealt with in the field. This was accompanied and followed by a period concerned with psychodynamics and the relation of man to his environment. More recently, however, physiologic and biochemical advances have given a new impetus to psychiatry, in common with almost every other branch of medicine. Shock therapies have achieved dramatic results, and further experience has indicated the potentialities and limitations of these measures. Psychosurgery has also produced beneficial therapeutic effects and has proved to be a valuable tool in exploring the relation of neurophysiology to psychiatry. Still more recently a new field that may properly be designated as psychopharmacology has emerged and is advancing rapidly as the effects of various pharmacologic and endocrine preparations on psychiatric conditions are determined. The


The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological resilience of fathers with mentally handicapped children. The study utilized the relational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research models. The unit of analysis of the study was the fathers of children with special educational needs. "The Resilience Scale for Adults" was implemented to construct survey questionnaire and measure the psychological resilience of fathers, as the data collection tool. The study findings depict that the fathers with mentally handicapped children have the highest social competence among the 26-35 age group. The results provide that the group with the highest level of psychological resilience is the group having college or vocational school graduation grade in terms of the educational status of the participants. As for the variable of the job status of fathers, the findings postulate that the future perception level of the employed group is higher than the non-employed group. As a result of the analysis, no statistically significant relationship was found between the psychological resilience levels of total and other sub-dimensions and the total number of children in the family.


Thin film electroluminescent devices made from ZnS:Mn can be designed to exhibit an inherent hysteresis in the luminance versus applied voltage characteristics. This memory behavior offers attractive advantages for efficient operation of displays with very large information content. Additionally, such memory devices can also be switched by light or electron beams, making possible such applications as image storage and a CRT with an active faceplate. In view of its importance, the hysteresis phenomenon will be reviewed from both an experimental and a theoretical point of view. The switching characteristics of memory devices and some of the empirical requirements for observing the hysteretic behavior will be described. This background will then be used to discuss the ac device operation in terms of a phenomenological model which accounts for the necessary negative resistance required for the bistability of a microscopic region termed a filament. The observed voltage range for hysteresis in the device can then be explained as an ensemble effect since most of the emitted light comes from a dense array of localized filaments. Finally, some technological difficulties associated with memory devices will be illustrated by choosing the recent electroluminescent storage CRT as an example of a particularly demanding implementation.


Presented are results of modern immunological and culture medium techniques for the salmonella isolation from chicken trunks compared with those obtained by standard technique (ST). By using fluorescent antibody technique (FAT), enriched serum techniques (ES) and immune stain-reaction (ISR) a larger number of positive samples was detected (31%-41%) in comparison with standard culture medium techniques (ST) (25%). Statistically significant differences were obtained by FAT. By both Rappaport-Vassiliadis (RV) and modified semi-solid Rappaport-Vassiliadis (MSRV) culture medium techniques about thrice higher percentage of salmonella positive findings were obtained than in comparison with the standard techniques. Compared to RV, the MSRV culture media technique reduces the salmonella isolation period for 48.


Rowell syndrome describes the occurrence of erythema multiforme-like lesions in patients with cutaneous lesions of lupus erythematosus. The clinical picture of atypical erythema multiforme-like lesions, presence of chilblains, speckled ANA pattern, anti-Ro/SSA, or anti-La/SSB antibodies, and absence of infectious or pharmacologic triggers in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus are some of the classic clinical and serologic features. Histopathologic and serologic findings can help differentiate this process from erythema multiforme. We present a case of young woman with systemic lupus erythematosus, end-stage renal disease due to lupus nephritis, and a remote history of Steven–Johnson syndrome due to sulfa allergy who presented to the hospital with a recurrent, progressive, targetoid erythematous rash involving more than 60% of her body surface area. Our patient had several hospitalizations in the recent past for this erythematous rash and had failed oral therapy with prednisone 1 mg/kg and hydroxychloroquine. In view of the minimal improvement and increasing severity and patient exhibiting early features of mast cell activation syndrome, the patient was treated with pulse intravenous glucocorticoids followed by rituximab with an excellent response. We highlight a unique case report of progressive Rowell syndrome refractory to standard of care with an excellent response to rituximab.


The sensitivity of short electromagnetic flowmeters may be reduced if they are connected to pipes of high electrical conductivity or if they are immersed in large volumes of conducting liquid. The reduction in sensitivity has been calculated for industrial and physiological meters. The magnetic fields are almost uniform, their uniformity being limited only by their finite length. Where the results predict no appreciable change of sensitivity with such fields, there will be no change with most fields produced by coil systems of the same length. Physiological meters of overall length equal to the tube diameter and with much shorter magnetic fields may suffer sensitivity reductions of 1·2 to 3·2%, depending on the type of field. Industrial meters 1·5 diameters long with fields 0·8 diameters long suffer reductions between 0·9 and 2·0%.


Human x mouse myeloid cell hybrids were obtained after fusion of human leucocytes and the murine myeloid cell line WEHI-TG. The hybrids were tested for reactivity with a panel of monoclonal antibodies with a known myelocytic, monocytic, or myelomonocytic specificity. Twenty antibodies, all of which bind specifically to the surface of human myeloid cells, exhibited very similar reactivity patterns with the hybrid clones. Chromosomal analysis of hybrid cell metaphases revealed that the gene(s) involved in the expression of the antigen(s) recognized by these antibodies must be located on human chromosome 11 in the region q12-qter. These results are compatible with the evidence obtained from other studies that several, if not all, of the myeloid-specific antibodies used are reactive with a similar antigenic determinant present on human myeloid cells.


The authors report a case of propofol infusion being mistaken for chyle during a two stage thoracic spinal fusion. Propofol is commonly used during spine surgery to facilitate neuromonitoring and there are no reported cases of these observations in the spine literature. We describe the positioning, timing, and treatment in a patient that required prolonged care to rule out a chylothorax. Chyle and the pharmacologic and physiologic effects of propofol are discussed. This review outlines our reasoning and steps used to rule out a chyle leak in the setting of propofol-based anesthesia.


A new formulation of the MNDIF method is introduced to extract highly accurate natural frequencies of concave plates with arbitrary shape. Originally, the MNDIF method cannot yield accurate natural frequencies for concave plates. To overcome this weak point, a new approach of dividing a concave plate into two convex domains is proposed and the validity and accuracy is shown in a verification example.


This paper proposes a dynamic economic model with endogenous technological change, physical capital and renewable resources. The model is a synthesis of the neoclassical growth theory, Arrow's learning by doing, and some traditional dynamic models of renewable resources with an alternative approach to household behavior. The model describes a dynamic interdependence between technological change, physical accumulation, resource change, and division of labor under perfect competition. Because of its refined economic structure, the model analyzes some interactions between economic variables which are not found in the existing literature of economic growth. We simulate the model to demonstrate existence of equilibrium points and motion of the dynamic system. Our comparative dynamic analysis shows, for instance, that a rise in the capacity of the renewable resource increases the stock and reduces the price of the resource of the resource over time; the output levels of the two sectors, the total capital stock, and capital inputs of the two sectors are all increased; the labor distribution between the two sectors is slightly affected initially but is not affected in the long term; the rate of interest rises initially rise and is almost not affected in the long term; the per capita consumption levels of the good and the resource and the wage rate are increased.


A Penning ion source with self-heated cathodes has been applied in a miniature cyclotron. Optimizing the formation of negative hydrogen ions in the ion source needs the knowledge of plasma parameters. Optical emission spectroscopy is introduced as a noninvasive and in situ diagnostic tool for line-of-sight averaged plasma parameters in this paper. The relative intensities of neutral atomic hydrogen emission spectral lines are used to evaluate the electron temperature of hydrogen plasma. The experimental results show that the relative intensities of Balmer lines (Hα, Hβ, and Hγ) display significant dependence on gas flow rate, not sensible to arc current and magnetic field. The calculated electron temperature is in the range of 4000-7000 K in the experiments. The correlations of electron temperature with arc current, gas flow rate, and magnetic field are discussed, respectively.


It is an increasingly accepted fact that software development is a non-linear activity with inherently feedback driven processes. In such a development environment, however, it is important that major structural changes in the design and/or architecture of a software system under development are introduced with care and documented accordingly. In order to give developers appropriate tools that can identify such changes, we need to have a good understanding how software systems evolve over time so that evolutionary anomalies can be automatically detected. In this paper, we present recurring high-level structural and evolutionary patterns that we have observed in a number of public-domain object-oriented software systems and define a simple predictive model that can aid developers in detecting structural changes and as a consequence, improve the underlying development processes.


The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of smoking on different parameters in woman treated by in vitro fertilization. Twenty-seven patients undergoing IVF were classified as smokers and 32 as non-smokers on the basis of medical history. Smokers had decreased number of retrieved oocytes compared with non-smokers (p < 0.05). Our study demonstrates that active cigarette smoking increases the zona pellucida thickness of oocytes and decreases a quality of oocytes. Cigarette smoking is associated with reduced number of embryo obtaining after classical in vitro fertilization in smokers compared to non-smokers, There was no significant difference in number embryos obtained after ICSI treatment in both groups. Women who smoked had also statistically significantly lower quality of embryos versus non-smokers patients. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle in smokers was significantly lower.


ABSTRACT Forty-five ovine and caprine nonenterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains producing F17-related fimbriae were characterized with respect to the fimbrial structural subunit and adhesin subtypes produced. In addition, several characteristics related to the virulence of strains producing F17 fimbriae were studied. Most of the strains (73%) possessed the f17cA structural subunit gene, whereas the f17aA and f17dA genes were detected only on three (6%) and two (4%) strains, respectively. The f17bAgene was not detected. All but one of these strains possessed thef17G genes of the adhesin subfamily II. The only strain having the f17G gene of subfamily I possessed the structural subunit gene f17dA. Sequencing of thef17A and f17G genes of four selected strains confirmed the association of f17cA and f17dAstructural subunit genes with the f17G genes of the adhesin subfamily II. These results indicated that adhesins of the subfamily II are prominent among ovine and caprine isolates and that they are indistinctly associated with the F17 structural subunit subtypes on these field strains. CS31A- and CNF2-related genes were not detected. Most of the strains adhered in vitro to ovine intestinal brush borders (36 of 45) and agglutinated the erythrocytes of different species in the presence of d-mannose (39 of 45). F17-positive strains produced colicin V (57%) and were resistant to the bactericidal effect of serum (91%) in significantly higher percentages than F17-negative strains (34% produced colicin V, and 66% were serum resistant). Thus, most of the studied ovine and caprine strains showed phenotypic characteristics of septicemic strains.


Several studies in Norway have shown large differences in risk factors for arteriosclerotic heart disease among municipalities. Today it is difficult to show specific differences in the standard of living between the various municipalities to explain these findings. However, such differences have previously existed, and were expressed by, for example, the variations in infant mortality from one municipality to another. In this work a significant positive correlation is shown between the cholesterol values among men and women aged 35-49 years and the infant mortality rate previously present in the municipalities for the same cohort. The findings indicate that poverty in childhood and adolescence, followed by later prosperity, results in high cholesterol values. The findings are related to previous work where a significant positive correlation was shown between infant mortality rates and later mortality rates from arteriosclerotic heart disease.


A model-free methodology is used for the first time to estimate a daily volatility index (VIBEX-NEW) for the Spanish financial market. We use a public data set of daily option prices to compute this index and show that daily changes in VIBEX-NEW display a negative, tight contemporaneous relationship with IBEX daily returns, contrary to other common volatility indicators, as an implied volatility indicator or a GARCH(1,1) conditional volatility model. This relationship is approximately symmetric to the sign on VIBEX-NEW changes and asymmetric to the IBEX-35 returns sign, which make it clearly a suitable volatility index for the Spanish stock market. We also examine the relationship between current VIBEX-NEW and future IBEX-35 volatility. Our results suggest that VIBEX-NEW can be used to produce IBEX-35 volatility forecasts at least as good as historical and conditional volatility measures. A feasible volatility correction methodology is proposed to achieve it.


US Federal legislation is a hot topic for discussion and advocacy on the web. Yet legislative bills present a significant challenge for both experts and average citizens to navigate and understand. To explore solutions to this problem, we have created DocBlocks: a prototype visualization and website that enables users to explore the content of congressional bills and communicate their findings to others. Our technique enables us to take any document from a categorized corpus, classify its sections, and visualize its topic structure. With the launch of this service, we hope to provide a valuable tool for open governance and learn from our users at this critical intersection of visualization, advocacy, social software, and civil society.


A detailed field study reveals a gradual transition from high‐grade solid‐state banded orthogneiss via stromatic migmatite and schlieren migmatite to irregular, foliation‐parallel bodies of nebulitic migmatite within the eastern part of the Gföhl Unit (Moldanubian domain, Bohemian Massif). The orthogneiss to nebulitic migmatite sequence is characterized by progressive destruction of well‐equilibrated banded microstructure by crystallization of new interstitial phases (Kfs, Pl and Qtz) along feldspar boundaries and by resorption of relict feldspar and biotite. The grain size of all felsic phases decreases continuously, whereas the population density of new phases increases. The new phases preferentially nucleate along high‐energy like–like boundaries causing the development of a regular distribution of individual phases. This evolutionary trend is accompanied by a decrease in grain shape preferred orientation of all felsic phases. To explain these data, a new petrogenetic model is proposed for the origin of felsic migmatites by melt infiltration from an external source into banded orthogneiss during deformation. In this model, infiltrating melt passes pervasively along grain boundaries through the whole‐rock volume and changes completely its macro‐ and microscopic appearance. It is suggested that the individual migmatite types represent different degrees of equilibration between the host rock and migrating melt during exhumation. The melt topology mimicked by feldspar in banded orthogneiss forms elongate pockets oriented at a high angle to the compositional banding, indicating that the melt distribution was controlled by the deformation of the solid framework. The microstructure exhibits features compatible with a combination of dislocation creep and grain boundary sliding deformation mechanisms. The migmatite microstructures developed by granular flow accompanied by melt‐enhanced diffusion and/or melt flow. However, an AMS study and quartz microfabrics suggest that the amount of melt present did not exceed a critical threshold during the deformation to allow free movements of grains.


Response Based Analysis (RBA) aims at prediction of the long term distributions of critical responses such as motions, accelerations, wave loads, which have significant impact on the design of a floating system. As compared with the conventional analysis, which predicts the responses of the facility to the N-year return period metocean conditions, RBA provides directly the N-year return period responses by analysing the statistics of their long term time histories. Another outcome of RBA is the Design Metocean Conditions (DMCs) which are combinations of sea state, wind and current causing the corresponding N-year response. The knowledge of the DMCs enables the more detail time domain analysis and model tests to be performed for a set of critical combinations of metocean parameters. It also enables all the associated responses to be determined. The RBA framework is generally well addressed in the literature, but the DMC identification methods are not necessarily clearly established. The objective of this paper is to present the theoretical background, numerical method and an example for the determination of the N-year return period responses and the associated DMCs for a floating facility. The method includes prediction of the N-year response, identification of the metocean combinations within the available time history which produce this response, determination of the required percentile of the short term response to match the N-year response, and the search for the most probable DMC within the joint probability density of the metocean parameters. Features of the method are discussed and results are presented for several critical responses of a weather vaning vessel.


Both leucine and citrulline stimulate muscle protein synthesis, in part through a common mechanism of action mediated by the mTOR signaling pathway. Both leucine- and citrulline-enriched diets improve nutritional status in various experimental models of injury. However, in the context of intensive care unit (ICU) patients, there is conflicting data on leucine and no data at all on citrulline. Therefore, beyond a strong rationale, large clinical studies are required before any reliable recommendations can be issued on the use of leucine- or citrulline-enriched diets in ICU patients.