Clustering of data sets is a standard problem in many areas of science and engineering. The method of spectral clustering is based on embedding the data set using a kernel function, and using the top eigenvectors of the normalized Laplacian to recover the connected components. We study the performance of spectral clustering in recovering the latent labels of i.i.d. samples from a finite mixture of nonparametric distributions. The difficulty of this label recovery problem depends on the overlap between mixture components and how easily a mixture component is divided into two nonoverlapping components. When the overlap is small compared to the indivisibility of the mixture components, the principal eigenspace of the population-level normalized Laplacian operator is approximately spanned by the square-root kernelized component densities. In the finite sample setting, and under the same assumption, embedded samples from different components are approximately orthogonal with high probability when the sample size is large. As a corollary we control the fraction of samples mislabeled by spectral clustering under finite mixtures with nonparametric components.


Five transportable Zener-diode dc voltage standards have been developed, fabricated and investigated at the NPO VNIIFTRI. The standards were designed to transfer the unit of electromotive force (emf) from Josephson reference standards to measuring instruments. Following the results of these investigations, standard N 02 has been used for intercomparison of the Russian Josephson reference standards.


Background: Cow milk allergy (CMA) is the most common food allergy in breastfed infants. The aim of this study is to verify whether certain perinatal factors may influence the development of CMA immunoglobulin E (IgE)+. Methods: A retrospective, observational study of case and control groups was carried out. Information was collected of patients with CMA IgE+ from our department during the years 1990-2013. Patients of the same age and sex were recruited for the control group. Information on the following variables was collected: sex, age, pregnancy tolerance, duration of pregnancy, type of delivery, isolated doses of formula feeding in hospital (FFH), duration of breastfeeding, and family history of allergy (defined as ≥1 first-degree family member with allergic disease). Statistical analysis was performed using multivariate logistic regression techniques. Results: A total of 211 cases were included in this study. Multivariate analysis showed an influence of duration of breastfeeding, FFH to be a risk factor (OR 4.94; 95% CI 2.68-9.08), especially in caesarean delivery (OR 11.82; 95% CI 2.64-47.50), and prematurity (OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.09-0.92) to be a protective factor. Conclusions: Perinatal factors play a key role in the development of CMA IgE+, with an influence of breastfeeding duration, FFH and caesarean delivery as risk factors and prematurity as a protective factor. While family history had no important role, environmental factors were more decisive.


The article published on Int J Clin Exp Med (1), raises very interesting issues regarding the surgical treatment of left pulmonary artery sling (LPAS) associated with congenital tracheal stenoses (CTS). CTS are rare anomalies characterized by the presence of complete cartilaginous rings along a variable length of trachea. In most cases, the complete rings extend for more than half of tracheal length. LPAS can be associated with CTS (the so-called ring-sling complex), with an incidence reported of about 50% of cases with CTS (2). Conversely, complete rings have been described in 50–65% of the patients with LPAS, as reported by old reports cited by the authors (3,4). This is the first issue for discussion, the real association of CTS in patients with LPAS. While ruling out a LPAS in a CTS patient is very simple with an angio CT scan, to be sure that a LPAS patient does not have any complete ring is more demanding. We cannot assume that the reported incidence of 50–65%, reported more than 30 and 40 years respectively (3,4), is correct. In those years, the diagnosis of CTS was probably based more on clinical symptoms than on bronchoscopy, so in our opinion this should be studied more precisely.


Analysis of efficiency of the algorithm BOADICEA using and Manchester scoring system to predict the carrier of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Ukranian patients with breast cancer was performed. Materials for this study were the results of clinical, imunogistological, pathogistological, genealogical, molecular genetic researches of 146 patients with breast cancer. Calculations of mutations risk were performed using BOADICEA algorithm and Manchester scoring system. In the total group of patients the area under the curve while predicting BRCA1 mutations with algorithm BOADICEA was 0.86, with Manchester scoring system - 0.84, and in calculation of the combined risk of BRCA mutations - 0.83 and 0.84, respectively. However, statistical difference between the areas of algorithms has not been established (p> 0.05), it indicates to the same discriminatory power of the test models. Better sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of results of BOADICEA algorithm was reached in 6% of BRCA1 probability and in 8% threshold of BRCA1/2 mutations. The Manchester scoring system has showed the best operating characteristics with 6 and 13-point probability of BRCA1 and BRCA1/2 mutations respectively. Patients with probability of mutations with such thresholds may be offered molecular study of pathogenic alleles.


A numerical method for the fully adaptive sampling and interpolation of PDE with random data is presented. It is based on the idea that the solution of the PDE with stochastic data can be represented as conditional expectation of a functional of a corresponding stochastic differential equation (SDE). The physical domain is decomposed subject to a non-uniform grid and a classical Euler scheme is employed to approximately solve the SDE at grid vertices. Interpolation with a conforming finite element basis is employed to reconstruct a global solution of the problem. An a posteriori error estimator is introduced which provides a measure of the different error contributions. This facilitates the formulation of an adaptive algorithm to control the overall error by either reducing the stochastic error by locally evaluating more samples, or the approximation error by locally refining the underlying mesh. Numerical examples illustrate the performance of the presented novel method.


A population-based case-control study of lung cancer was performed in New Mexico to explain the differing patterns of lung cancer occurrence in the state's "Hispanic" Whites and other Whites. From 1980 through 1982, interviews were completed with 521 cases and 769 controls. In the male controls, the prevalence of current and previous cigarette usage was similar in the two ethnic groups, but Hispanics smoked fewer cigarettes daily. In the female controls, a lower percentage of Hispanics had ever smoked and their usual consumption was less than that of other White women. Older Hispanic female smokers had used hand-rolled cigarettes for an average of 8.8 years, whereas other White women of the same age had used this type for less than one-half year. Both stratified and multiple logistic analysis showed comparable risks of lung cancer in Hispanic White and other White smokers. There was no evidence of interaction between ethnicity and cigarette smoking. These analyses imply that the differences in lung cancer incidence between New Mexico's Hispanic Whites and other Whites are largely explained by the patterns of cigarette smoking of these two groups.


Background: The most common surgical approaches in hip arthroscopy are interportal and T-capsulotomy. However, these methods may introduce capsular instability. Puncture capsulotomy preserves capsuloligamentous integrity by avoiding iatrogenic transection of the iliofemoral capsular ligament. Purpose: To present minimum 2-year functional outcomes for patients who underwent arthroscopic treatment for acetabular labral tears and concomitant femoroacetabular impingement using the puncture capsulotomy technique. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective review of prospectively collected data on patients who underwent arthroscopic acetabular labral tear treatment between December 2013 and May 2019. Included were patients aged ≥18 years who underwent hip arthroscopy by a single surgeon and completed a minimum of 2 years of patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) surveys. Intraoperatively, patients underwent hip arthroscopy via puncture capsulotomy to treat labral tears and any concomitant femoroacetabular impingement. Clinical outcome data consisted of PROMs. Results: A total of 163 hips were included; the mean patient follow-up was 30.4 months (range, 24-60 months; 95% CI, 28.5-32.3 months). Patients had a mean age of 37.9 years (range, 36.1-39.6 years), with a mean body mass index of 25.9 (range, 25.2-26.5). There were significant improvements in mean [95% CI] baseline to final follow-up scores for the 33-Item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-33) (39.6 [36.8-42.4] vs 76.1 [72.7-79.6]), Hip Outcome Score–Activities of Daily Living (70.0 [67.0-73.0] vs 89.3 [87.3-91.3]), modified Harris Hip Score (60.1 [57.9-62.4] vs 84.9 [82.5-87.2]), and Hip Outcome Score–Sports Specific Subscale (41.8 [37.9-45.6] vs 75.7 [71.7-79.7]) (P < .001 for all). Additionally, the mean [95% CI] visual analog scale pain scores were noted to significantly improve throughout the duration of the postoperative period (from 6.3 [5.9-6.7] to 2.2 [1.8-2.6]; P < .001). There were no incidences of infection, avascular necrosis of the femoral head, dislocation/instability, or femoral neck fracture. At the 2-year follow-up, 81.0%, 62.0%, and 58.9% of hips achieved previously published clinically meaningful iHOT-33 thresholds for minimally clinically important difference, Patient Acceptable Symptom Score, and substantial clinical benefit, respectively. Conclusion: Puncture capsulotomy demonstrated significantly improved functional and clinically meaningful outcomes at a minimum 2-year follow-up, along with a minimal complication rate.


4-aminobutyrate (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that is widely distributed throughout the biological world. In animals, GABA functions as the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system by acting through the GABA receptors. The neuromuscular system enables animals to escape from environmental stresses. Being nonmotile, plants have evolved chemical responses to mitigate stress. Mechanisms by which GABA may facilitate these responses are discussed in this review. Environmental stresses increase GABA accumulation through two different mechanisms. Stresses causing metabolic and/or mechanical disruptions, resulting in cytosolic acidification, induce an acidic pH-dependent activation of glutamate decarboxylase and GABA synthesis. Extremely marked declines in cytosolic pH occur under oxygen deprivation, which is the primary stress factor in flooded soils, and this stress induces the greatest accumulation of GABA. Other stresses, including cold, heat, salt, and mild or transient environmental factors, such as touch, wind, rain, etc. rapidly increase cellular levels of Ca2+. Increased cytosolic Ca2+ stimulates calmodulin-dependent glutamate decarboxylase activity and GABA synthesis. A review of the kinetics of GABA accumulation in plants reveals a stress-specific pattern of accumulation that is consistent with a physiological role for GABA in stress mitigation. Recent physiological and genetic evidence indicates that plants may possess GAB A-like receptors that have features in common with the animal receptors. The mechanism of action of animal GABA receptors suggests a model for rapid amplification of ion-mediated signals and GABA accumulation in response to stress. Metabolic pathways that link GABA to stress-related metabolism and plant hormones are identified. The survival value of stress-related metabolism is dependent on metabolic changes occurring before stress causes irreversible damage to plant tissue. Rapid accumulation of GABA in stressed tissue may provide a critical link in the chain of events leading from perception of environmental stresses to timely physiological responses.


The decoupling hypothesis is the idea that business cycles in emerging market economies have become more independent from business cycles in advanced economies in recent years. Decoupling essentially amounts to a structural break in the degree of business cycle interdependence between the two groups of economies, and it can be tested as such. We develop an innovative measure of business cycle interdependence based on the Euclidean distance, available at the annual frequency, which allows for a proper test for a structural break in a graphical setup. We also make use of a standard econometric test. Both approaches point to the same conclusion: there has been no decoupling in recent years. If anything, the degree of business cycle interdependence has become stronger.


Bishop, C, Read, P, Lake, J, Loturco, I, and Turner, A. A novel approach for athlete profiling: The unilateral dynamic strength index. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-The Dynamic Strength Index (DSI) provides a ratio of the peak force an athlete can produce in both isometric and ballistic tasks. Although the DSI measured during bilateral tests has been examined, unilateral DSI scores have not been reported to date and thus was the aim of the present study. Twenty-eight recreational sport athletes performed 3 trials of a unilateral isometric squat and countermovement jump (CMJ) to measure peak force in each task across 2 separate test sessions. The unilateral DSI was calculated using both left vs. right and dominant vs. nondominant limbs. Good to excellent reliability was shown in the isometric squat (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.86-0.96; coefficient of variation [CV] ≤ 5.7%) and the CMJ (ICC = 0.83-0.93; CV ≤ 5.8%) on both limbs. The DSI showed moderate to good reliability (ICC = 0.71-0.79; CV = 7.54-11.9%). Dynamic Strength Index scores of 0.52-0.55 and 0.55-0.59 were reported on the left and right limbs, respectively, with no significant differences reported between limbs. A significant difference (p = 0.04) was seen for the CMJ between left and right during the second test session only. The dominant and nondominant limbs reported mean DSI scores of 0.53-0.57, and significant differences were evident between limbs in both the isometric squat and CMJ (p < 0.01). This study provides normative data for the unilateral DSI and indicates acceptable levels of reliability, whereas the consistency of individual measures of peak force can be considered good when quantified unilaterally.


Genetic and environmental factors are essential in occlusal variations and malocclusion and have been of considerable interest to orthodontists. Studies on twin pairs are one of the most effective methods for investigating genetically determined occlusal variables. Many studies have focused on distances between first molars or between canines but malocclusions can also occur in other regions of the dental arch. Aim: To evaluate the characteristics of the dental arch between pairs of Monozygotic (MZ) and Dizygotic (DZ) twins from Southern India. Methods: A random sample of 51 twin pairs (12–18years old) participated in this study. The zygosity of twin pairs was recorded by facial appearance. The occlusion of the first permanent molars was recorded according to Angle's classification. Study models were prepared to assess dental arch characteristics (i.e., arch form, arch perimeter, arch length; intercanine, intermolar width, and teeth size discrepancy). The obtained data was statistically analyzed using SPSS software 19.0. The student's t-test (two-tailed, independent) and Chi-square test was used to determine the significance of studied parameters. Results: Angle's Class I molar relation was more commonly observed followed by the Class II molar relationship among twins. The measured dental arch dimensions did not show a statistically significant difference among twin pairs. The ovoid arch form was commonly observed among Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins. There was a similarity among MZ and DZ twins in the anterior and overall Bolton's ratio. Conclusion: There were similar occurrences of measured parameters among twins, which showed genetic predominance in the expression of measured dental arch traits. to evaluate the characteristics of the dental arch between pairs of Monozygotic (MZ) and Dizygotic (DZ) twins from Southern India.


Study Design. A controlled randomized clinical trial was performed. Objective. To investigate the effect of a light mobilization program on the duration of sick leave for patients with subacute low back pain. Summary of Background Data. Early intervention with information, diagnostics, and light mobilization may be a cost-effective method for returning patients quickly to normal activity. In this experiment, patients were referred to a low back pain clinic and given this simple and systematic program as an outpatient treatment. Methods. In this study, 457 patients sick-listed 8 to 12 weeks for low back pain, as recorded by the National Insurance Offices, were randomized into two groups: an intervention group (n = 237) and a control group (n = 220). The intervention group was examined at a spine clinic and given information and advice to stay active. The control group was not examined at the clinic, but was treated with conventional primary health care. Results. At 12-month follow-up assessment, 68.4% in the intervention group had returned to full-duty work, as compared with 56.4% in the control group. Conclusions. Early intervention with examination, information, and recommendations to stay active showed significant effects in reducing sick leave for patients with low back pain.


Current models of DNA origami folding can explain the yield of the assembly process and the isomerization of the structure upon the application of mechanical forces. Nevertheless, the role of the sequence in this conformational transformation is still unclear. In this work, we address this question by performing a systematic thermodynamic study of three origami domains that have an identical design but different sequence contents. By comparing the thermal stability of the domains in various settings and measuring the extent of isomerization at equilibrium (both at the global and single-molecule levels), we extract the contribution to folding given by the sequence and propose thermal criton maps of the isomers to rationalize our findings. Our data contribute to a deeper understanding of DNA origami assembly by considering both the topological- and thermal-dependent properties of the sites of initial folding. While the former are responsible for the mechanical aspects of the process, the latter justify the observed sequence-dependent conformational preferences, which appear evident in simple origami structures but remain typically undisclosed in large and more intricate architectures.


Abstract. Detection of Building edges is crucial for building information extraction and description. Extracting structures from large-scale aerial images has been utilized for years in cartography. With commercially available high-resolution satellites, many aerial photography usages can now employ satellite imagery. Edge detection is focused on pinpointing distinct transitions between greyscale image regions and attributing their origins to underlying physical processes. Detecting building boundaries from very high-resolution (VHR) remote sensing data is essential for many geo-related applications, such as urban planning and management, surveying and mapping, 3D reconstruction, motion recognition, image registration, image enhancement and restoration, image compression, and more. The rapid evolution of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has led to substantial breakthroughs in edge detection in recent years. Sharp, localized changes in brightness characterize edges in digital images. In most cases, edge detection requires some kind of image smoothing and separation. Differentiation is an ill-conditioned problem, and smoothing leads to information loss. It is challenging to create an edge detection method that works everywhere and adapts to any future processing stages. Therefore, throughout the development of digital image processing, numerous edge detectors have been created, each with its own unique set of mathematical and algorithmic properties. Several edge detectors have been developed due to application needs and the subjective nature of edge definition and characterization. We propose a deep learning technique, particularly convolutional neural networks(CNNs), that offers a promising approach to automatically learn and extract features from very high-resolution remote sensing imagery, leading to more accurate and efficient building edge detection.


Allowing cycles in a logic circuit can be advantageous, for example, by reducing the number of gates required to implement a given Boolean function, or a set of functions. However, a cyclic circuit may easily be ill behaved. For instance, it may have some output wire oscillation instead of reaching a steady state. Propositional three-valued logic has long been used in tests for good behavior of cyclic circuits; a symbolic evaluation method known as ternary analysis provides one criterion for good behavior under certain assumptions about wire and gate delay. We revisit ternary analysis and argue for the use of four truth values. The fourth truth value allows for the distinction of undefined and underspecified behavior. Ability to under specify behavior is useful, because, in a quest for smaller circuits, an implementor can capitalize on degrees of freedom offered in the specification. Moreover, a fourth truth value is attractive because, rather than complicating (ternary) circuit analysis, it introduces a pleasant symmetry, in the form of contra-duality, as well as providing a convenient framework for manipulating specifications. We use this symmetry to provide fixed point results that clarify how two-, three-, and four-valued analyses are related, and to explain some observations about ternary analysis.


Leptin is a pleiotropic adipokine that is critical for regulating food intake and energy expenditure and also participates in functions of the immune system, including those of antigen-presenting cells. Here, we assess the effect of leptin deficiency on the function splenic dendritic cells (sDC). sDC from leptin-deficient mice (Lep(ob)) were evaluated ex vivo for phenotype, ability to respond to inflammatory stimuli, to acquire and process antigens and to activate T cells. The data show that Lep(ob) sDC express activation markers similar to controls and respond similarly to LPS activation or anti-CD40 cross-linking. In addition, antigen acquisition and processing by Lep(ob) sDC was similar to controls. However, Lep(ob) sDC elicited higher production of IFN-γ in mixed lymphocyte reactions and increased production of IL-2 by antigen-specific T-cell hybridoma relative to controls. To assess Lep(ob) sDC activation of T cells in vivo, Lep(ob) and control mice were infected systemically with Mycobacterium avium. Lep(ob) mice were significantly better at neutralizing the infection as measured by splenic bacterial load over time. This was mirrored with an increased percentage of activated T cells in M. avium-infected Lep(ob) mice. Thus, although no changes were detected in sDC phenotype, activation, antigen processing or presentation, these DC surprisingly presented an enhanced ability to activate T cells ex vivo and in vivo. These data demonstrate that leptin can modulate DC function and suggest that leptin may dampen T-cell responsiveness in the physiological setting.


Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have recently been generated by Yamanaka's group, and then followed by others. iPS cells are expected to have clinical applications including an important role in regenerative medicine. This study focused on the cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) for differentiation or functional application of iPS cells, because several transduction domains can deliver a large size-independent variety of molecules into cells. Two CPPs, Texas Red-R8 and Rhodamine-TAT, were generated as representative CPPs and these CPPs were tested to determine their ability to penetrate the membrane of iPS cells. Both CPPs were transduced in iPS cells through macropinocytosis classified in endocytosis within 2 h in a manner consistent with many other cells, and no cytotoxicity and influence on their undifferentiated state was observed. In conclusion, CPPs can be utilized for their differentiation or functional application in iPS cells.


Our research has endeavoured to exploit recent analyses of products and market diversity in terms of the plurality of worlds of production. We show that there are severals ways to be profitable and there is no hierarchie between them. This study is conducted using a sample data of 1354 French companies from the Banque de France Sheet Data Centre that are active in the intermediate goods and business equipment sectors and have fewer than 2.000 employees. We demonstrate that the diversity of products ( generic or dedicated ) and of organisation ( specifics or not specifics assets ) does not create differences of capital structure or profitabilities. In fact this homogeneity express the difficulties for lenders to evaluate firms and appreciate their capacities to manage their own word. That means the capacities to manage the coherence of their action system, i.e. a choice of products and of organisation which allow them to be profitable.


Consistent with an increasing number of comparisons between crop plants and their wild ancestors, a previous study showed that in the field, maize [Zea mays ssp. mays L. (Poaceae)] suffers more herbi‐vory by larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda JE Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) than its ancestor Balsas teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis Iltis & Doebley). This study addressed plausible causes of the differing herbivory levels between maize and Balsas teosinte, specifically whether host plant selection by adult females is biased for either host plant depending on larval performance—i.e., the preference‐performance hypothesis—or risk of mortality by parasitoids and predators—i.e., the natural enemy‐free space hypothesis. Field observations showed that performance of S. frugiperda larvae was superior on maize compared with Balsas teosinte, a result partially explainable by the greater toughness of teosinte compared with maize tissue, but not by a difference in inhibition of protein digestion by larvae. Additional field observations showed that the mortality risk of S. frugiperda larvae is higher on Balsas teosinte, as indicated by higher parasitism (ca. four‐fold) and predation (ca. three‐fold) rates on the teosinte compared with maize. However, laboratory observations showed that S. frugiperda females did not discriminate between maize and Balsas teosinte for oviposition. Overall, the study's results were consistent with prior observations that direct and indirect defenses of maize against S. frugiperda larvae were weakened with domestication. In contrast, the results were inconsistent with predictions of the preference‐performance and natural enemy‐free space hypotheses, because selection of maize or Balsas teosinte plants by S. frugiperda females was independent of their offspring's performance and risk of mortality by natural enemies. On the one hand, this study's results partially explained differing herbivory levels between a crop and its wild ancestor, and on the other hand they suggested that host selection by S. frugiperda may be mediated by larval dispersal behavior and host choices.


Proceedings: AACR 107th Annual Meeting 2016; April 16-20, 2016; New Orleans, LA

MicroRNA (miR) dysregulation alters the expression of cancer related genes and contributes to disease states in many cancers. For example, ectopic miR-186 expression leads to enhanced cell proliferation and migration in pancreatic cancer. However, the role of miR-186 in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. Previously, we observed significant upregulation of miR-186-5p in PCa patient serum (stage III/IV) compared to controls. Furthermore, miR-186 was significantly up-regulated in metastatic PCa (PC-3) compared to normal prostate epithelial cells (RWPE1). We hypothesized miR-186 inhibition will reduce aggressive PCa in vitro.

Consequently, miR-186 was transiently and stably inhibited in PC-3 cells. Cell proliferation and colony formation were evaluated for 7 and 21 days via Trypan Blue exclusion and soft agar assays. Aberrant gene expression was evaluated in transfected cells to identify miR-186 targets. Candidate miR-186 targets were selected using published reports on 'miR-186 and cancer', availability of robust antibodies, and statistical filtering (false discovery ≥0.05 and ±1.2 fold change).

Mir-186 inhibition in PC-3 cells significantly repressed proliferation and colony formation by 34-64%. Following miR-186 inhibition in PC-3 cells, 2,343 identified mRNA targets were differentially expressed compared to scramble controls (p < 0.05). The target list was reduced to 11 up-regulated candidates. Predicted miR-186 targets are undergoing validation via qRT-PCR, western blots, and luciferase reporter assays. In addition, other studies are in progress to evaluate the impact of miR-186 on cellular proliferation, migration and invasion. Such efforts may lead to the identification of novel biomarkers to improve detection and clinical management strategies for aggressive PCa.

Citation Format: Dominique Z. Jones, M. Lee Schmidt, Katharine R. Hobbing, Geoffrey Clark, LaCreis R. Kidd. Inhibition of miR-186 and repression of aggressive prostate cancer phenotype using a metastatic cell model. [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 1906.


Pneumothoraces are classified as spontaneous, traumatic and iatrogenic. Spontaneous pneumothoraces that occur without recognized lung disease are termed primary spontaneous pneumothoraces (PSP), whereas those that occur due to an underlying lung disease are termed secondary spontaneous pneumothoraces. The aetiology of secondary, traumatic or iatrogenic pneumothoraces is not usually debated. However, the aetiology of PSP is potentially controversial and often debated. Therefore, PSP is the focus of this article. There are several purported causes, which include blebs, bullae, emphysema‐like changes (ELC) and pleural porosity. The controversy is valid because of the importance of recurrence prevention. This article reviews the current available evidence for the causes of PSP. The causes of PSP are likely a combination ELC, pleural porosity and other potential factors.


Since the application of high‐throughput technologies to investigate complex microbial communities, alterations in the human gut microbiota have been associated with an increasing number of diseases and conditions. This field of research has developed into an area of intense study which is quite different to the microbial investigations that have preceded it in terms of both the broadness of the area of research and the complexity of the analyses. In this review, we discuss gut microbiota changes observed in ageing in the context of the physiological changes that accompany senescence, examine what correlations can be established or inferred, and we discuss what key questions remain to be answered in the field. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2015, 7:131–138. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1293


We consider solutions of the 2-d compressible Euler equations that are steady and self-similar. They arise naturally at interaction points in genuinely multi-dimensional flow. We characterize the possible solutions in the class of flows L^\infty-close to a constant supersonic background. As a special case we prove that solutions of 1-d Riemann problems are unique in the class of small L^\infty functions. We also show that solutions of the backward-in-time Riemann problem are necessarily BV.


Thailand was initially cautious with its bilateral investment treaties (BITs), consistently eschewing investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). From 1989 it began agreeing to ISDS, but only if both states were party to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States, which Thailand signed in 1965 but never ratified. From 1993, BITs increasingly provided for ad hoc arbitration. Major disputes emerged from the 1990s instead under contracts with foreign investors containing arbitration clauses. From 2004 concession contracts required Cabinet pre-approval. This limitation was extended to all public contracts from 2009, after the first treaty-based ISDS award against Thailand, although two further claims have been filed recently. A 2002 Model bit was revised in 2013 to incorporate more pro-host-state provisions, but Thailand had net foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows in 2011 and still concludes treaties with ISDS. These patterns suggest 'more than bounded' rationality.


This review analyses the different gesture recognition systems through a timeline, showing the different types of technology, and specifying which are the most important features and their achieved recognition rates. At the end of the review, Leap Motion sensor possibilities are described in detail, in order to consider its application on the field of sign language. This device has many positive characteristics that make it a good option for sign language. One of the most important conclusions is the ability of the Leap Motion sensor to provide 3D information from the hands for due identification.


In several classes of modified gravity theories, extra degrees of freedom are not completely screened in the interiors of stellar and substellar objects. In such theories, the hydrostatic equilibrium condition inside these objects is altered. Moreover, the interior structures of these objects might have a small pressure anisotropy induced by several physical phenomena, including rotation and magnetic fields. All these effects, both individually and collectively, induce changes in predicted stellar observables. Such changes have an impact on different phases of the stellar life cycle, starting from its birth to its death, covering almost all the branches of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The aim of this work is to systematically review the current literature on the topic. We discuss the main results and constraints obtained on a class of modified gravity theories.


Objective This report will present the case of an elderly woman with rapidly declining health admitted to hospital from a nursing home. It will discuss benefits of advance care planning for residents of aged care facilities who have expressed opinions/wishes regarding their end‐of‐life care, and identify barriers, varying legal status, the need for documentation of discussion outcomes specifying residents' wishes, and the importance of education and expert support for nursing staff. Setting Nursing home and acute tertiary referral hospital. Subject Female resident of a nursing home, aged 97 years, with acute onset of abdominal pain and multiple co-morbidities. Primary Argument The majority of nursing home residents do not have advance care planning initiated, nor is this routinely raised by nursing staff. While wishes may be discussed with family, they may not be fully respected if undocumented. Acutely ill residents are frequently hospitalised, especially when death is imminent, and often die alone in unfamiliar surroundings, tended by strangers. Many of these admissions could be avoided with Advance Care Planning, as could the resultant medical interventions which may cause the resident acute pain and discomfort. Conclusion Advance Care Planning can lead to avoidance of non‐essential hospital transfers and their inherent risks and is likely to facilitate a dignified, peaceful death in familiar surroundings for nursing home residents, averting medical interventions which may cause needless pain and prolonged suffering.


Federated learning systems that jointly preserve Byzantine robustness and privacy have remained an open problem. Robust aggregation, the standard defense for Byzantine attacks, generally requires server access to individual updates or nonlinear computation -- thus is incompatible with privacy-preserving methods such as secure aggregation via multiparty computation. To this end, we propose SHARE (Secure Hierarchical Robust Aggregation), a distributed learning framework designed to cryptographically preserve client update privacy and robustness to Byzantine adversaries simultaneously. The key idea is to incorporate secure averaging among randomly clustered clients before filtering malicious updates through robust aggregation. Experiments show that SHARE has similar robustness guarantees as existing techniques while enhancing privacy.


This paper addresses, from the Brazilian perspective, the main problems with Joint Implementation/Activities Implemented Jointly (JI/AIJ) between industrialized (Annex I) and developing (non-Annex I) countries, as defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Four possible GHG emissions abatement measures are presented for Brazil: forest protection, reforestation projects for carbon sequestration or charcoal manufacturing, use of ethanol produced from sugar cane as a car fuel, and electrical energy conservation through an increase in end-use efficiencies. These four case studies form the basis of a discussion regarding the validity of developing countries' concerns about JI/AIJ. Recommendations are offered for overcoming the present shortcomings of JI/AIJ in developing countries. The primary conclusion is that Annex I countries' funding of JI/AIJ projects in developing countries in return for GHG emissions credits is not the best means to implement the UNFCCC. However, JI/AIJ projects can be a productive means of preventing global climate change if combined with other measures, including GHG emissions reduction targets for all countries involved in JI/AIJ projects and limits on the percentage of industrialized countries' emissions reductions that can be met through projects in developing countries.


Although often neglected by legal and policy analysis of the Eurozone crisis, an increasingly central dimension of that crisis and its management is dramatic changes to a very broad range of social rights and entitlements. These include rights relating to work as well as rights relating to a wide range of welfare entitlements such as rights to housing, health, food and social assistance. The aim of this research project is accordingly two-fold. It analyses, firstly, what has happened to social rights in a number of the Eurozone Member States most affected by the crisis: Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Secondly, it looks at the content, location and background of any fundamental rights' challenges made to crisis-imposed changes to work and welfare rights in those state.


A mild template-free aqueous route was successfully established to synthesize well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays, which were proved to exhibit high optical property by PL spectra.


A large diameter diaphragmless shock tube has been recently developed and designed to perform detailed studies of CO2-N2 gas-dynamic laser (GDL). This large diameter diaphragmless shock tube offers various advantages over the conventional shock tubes (diaphragm-type) as longer test times, higher degree of reproducibility of shock-tube data, and especially low-impurity operation condition. The latter advantage is experimentally demonstrated herein, which is very critical issue in the CO2-N2 GDL studies. A supersonic nozzle section was mounted at the end wall of the shock tube and instrumented for simultaneous measurement of laser output power and energy. The GDL action in a CO2-N2 mixture under low impurity condition has been obtained by using the large diameter diaphragmless shock tube for the first time.


Abstract Do men and women exhibit different attitudes and behaviors toward COVID-19 public health measures? Is there a gender gap in support for and compliance with government recommendations during a public health crisis? While the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on women suggests that they would oppose burdensome quarantine measures, theories of gender differences in prosocial and communion attitudes indicate that women should be more likely to conform with public health measures designed to protect the most vulnerable. We test hypotheses about a gender gap in attitudes toward public health recommendations through an original, nationally representative survey implemented in Peru, one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, and the construction of a representative matched sample that allows us to make comparisons between women and men. We find that women are more likely than men to endorse lockdown measures and to support the continuation of a nationwide quarantine. We also find evidence of a gender gap in compliance with public health recommendations about avoiding crowded areas and social gatherings. Our findings have important policy implications. The results suggest that public health recommendations to fight COVID-19 should be framed in a way that maximizes compliance by both men and women.


The milling of thermally modified wood is a very broad topic that deserves attention. The acquired knowledge concerning the geometry of the tool and milling process may assist manufacturers in designing new tools and thus improving the efficiency and quality of the process. This article focuses on finding the differences in the roughness of wood surfaces after surface milling of native beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) and thermally modified beech wood at 190 °C and differing technological conditions, cutting speeds (20, 30, and 40 m/s), feed speeds (4, 8, and 11 m/min), and rake angles of the tool (15°, 20°, and 25°). In comparison with natural wood, thermal treatment had a positive effect on the quality of the wood surface after milling. The results also demonstrated an increased quality of surface finish with a decrease in feed speed and increase in cutting speed.


This study compared reactive strength indices and electromechanical delay in muscle of competitive sprint and endurance athletes. Reactive strength indices were obtained from five sprinters and six endurance athletes who completed drop jumps on a force-sledge apparatus at various drop heights. Electromechanical delay times were also obtained 011 the ankle plantar flexors while performing a simple heel raise activity. The results indicated that sprinters had significantly higher RSI scores at all drop heights. Sprint athletes also had significantly shorter electromechanical delay times indicating a capacity for generating force more rapidly and the likelihood of stiffer musculotendinous structures.


Agribusiness Development Center (ADC) is farmers support institution to produce and distribute top grade horticulture products. The purpose of this study is to formulate strategic planning for ADC. The methods used are internal and external factors analysis, IE matrix, SWOT and QSPM. The result shows five strategies prioritized as follows: expanding Greater Jakarta market, increasing organic products yield, collaborating with research institutes, increasing promotion and adding new distribution channels.


1. The nerve-supply to the regenerating anterior pleopods of Asellus aquaticus influences the rate of regeneration but not the character of the regenerate. 2. The tissues of the locality of the blastema determine the character of the regenerate and also influence the rate and extent of regeneration. 3. In contrast to the thoracic limbs these appendages are very sensitive to the induction of abnormalities of regeneration. 4. The complete suppression of regeneration of a limb is the most common induced abnormality. An all-or-none effect is evident. 5. The development of supernumerary structures is the next most common abnormality. 6. The re-emergence of the endopodite of the first pleopod, suppressed in normalontogeny, is the most frequent supernumerary. It often shows homoeotic differentiation. 7. A tendency towards bilateral symmtery is evident in all abnormalities, in spite of asymmetry in experimental treatment. 8. Fusion of individual blastemae is not uncommon. There is no fusion with homoplastic embryonic tissue. 9. There is no substance with the properties of a 'wound hormone'. 10. The regeneration of PI. 2 in the male is more easily suppressed than that of PI. 1.


A series of explosions destroyed several houses at Al-Ahmadi Town in southeast Kuwait during 2010 and 2011; they were initially attributed to gas leakages from discarded old domestic gas supply system. The incidents led Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to commission a surface geochemical survey of one of KOC's Al-Ahmadi housing blocks which was affected by the explosions. A serious gas explosion in Al-Ahmadi on the 18th of May 2015 prompted an evacuation of a number of Al-Ahmadi houses, followed by a prolonged investigation of the source(s) of the recurrent gas leakages. This paper is a review of the published surface geology, subsurface stratigraphy, seismic structural motives and consequences of prolonged production operations of Greater Burgan Oil Field (with special focus on the surface and subsurface stratigraphy and structure of the Al-Ahmadi Ridge of Greater Burgan Oil Field, which is situated beneath the afflicted Al-Ahmadi Town) in search of natural seepage(s) rather than man-made leakage(s) of the exploding gas. The review revealed that the gas explosions were not likely caused by trapped gas in the discarded domestic gas supply network, and argue for an imperfect Greater Burgan oil trap, with inherent ancient oil and gas seepages propagated by environmental side effects of prolonged oil production operations, which attained recurrent cycles in response to climatic seasons, and probably amplified by the occasional regional earthquake seismic waves. The review concludes that under current environments and production practices, the historic trend projects an increase in the volume and number of gas seepages sites over and beyond the footprint of Greater Burgan Oil Field. Furthermore, the review recommends some habitat gas seepage mitigation measures and the deployment of mobile technologies for regular surveying and monitoring of Methane and H2S build-up in the air, and in the shallow subsurface reservoirs below the Ahmadi Town as routine risk management procedures.


Males are the heterogametic sex in salmonid fishes. In brown trout (Salmo trutta) the sex-determining locus, SEX, has been mapped to the end of linkage group BT-28, which corresponds to linkage group AS-8 and chromosome SSA15 in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We set out to identify the sex chromosomes in brown trout. We isolated Atlantic salmon BAC clones containing microsatellite markers that are on BT-28 and also on AS-8, and used these BACs as probes for fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. SEX is located on the short arm of a small subtelocentric/acrocentric chromosome in brown trout, which is consistent with linkage analysis. The acrocentric chromosome SSA15 in Atlantic salmon appears to have arisen by a centric fusion of 2 small acrocentric chromosomes in the common ancestor of Salmo sp. We speculate that the fusion process that produced Atlantic salmon chromosome SSA15 disrupted the ancestral sex-determining locus in the Atlantic salmon lineage, providing the impetus either for the relocation of SEX or selection pressure for a novel sex-determining gene to arise in this species. Thus, the sex-determining genes may differ in Atlantic salmon and brown trout.


Mitigation of Volcanic disaster Basic and applied research Convener:*Kazutaka Mannen(Hot Springs Research Institute of Kanagawa Prefecture), Shinji Takarada(Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), Eisuke Fujita(National research Instituite for Earth science and Disaster prevention, Volcanic research department), Hisashi Sasaki(Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.), Chair:Yasuo Hattori(Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry), Kae Tsunematsu(Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University) Mon. Apr 28, 2014 11:00 AM 12:45 PM 416 (4F) Volcanic disaster is caused by wide range of volcanic phenomena including ash fall, lava flow, pyroclastic flow, debris flow, mud flow and etc. To mitigate volcanic disaster, wide range of technologies such as simulation technology, data processing on GIS, communication technique are required. This session invites talks and broad reviews related to these topics. Talks on database technology, case example of social and school educations, and specific examples of eruption crisis are also encouraged.


The hidden layer problem in seismic refraction work has been studied for three velocity configurations – the intermediate layer having (a) lower, (b) intermediate and (c) higher velocity than the underlying and overlying beds. It has been shown that conventional methods fail to locate the presence of the intermediate layer for the cases (a) and (c) and lead to errors in calculating the depth to the bedrock. For the case (b), it is possible to interpret the first arrival travel time analytically as an alternative to Green's graphical approach. It has been suggested that the hidden layer may be detected in all the three cases if converted S waves are also recorded in the seismogram.


The problem of global illumination in computer graphics is described by a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Due to the complexity of this equation, Monte Carlo methods provide an efficient tool for the estimation of the solution. A new approach, using quasi-Monte Carlo integration, is introduced and compared to Monte Carlo integration. We discuss some theoretical aspects and give numerical evidence for the faster convergence of the quasi-Monte Carlo methods.


Ent-11α-hydroxy-15-oxo-kaur-16-en-19-oic-acid (5F), a compound isolated from Pteris semipinnata L. (PsL), inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in several cancer lines. We found that 5F induced apoptosis and G2 phase cell cycle arrest in the CNE-2Z nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, accompanied by a decrease of NF-κB expression. 5F suppressed the viability of CNE-2Z cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. 5F induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, but did not induce p21. Further analysis revealed that CNE-2Z cells harbored two p53 mutations. 5F treatment resulted in mitochondrial apoptosis, associated with increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, upregulation of cytochrome c in the cytosol, decreased NF-κB-p65 and increased IκB. Of note, 5F significantly sensitized CNE-2Z cells to cisplatin. 5F did not increase ROS, but reduced ROS production alone or in combination with cisplatin. Our data suggest that 5F is a potential anti-NPC drug for the development of single agent therapy and therapy in combination with cisplatin.


There are 35 verses in Al Quraan that refer to succession. A daughter always inherits half the share of a son in terms of the Islamic law of intestate succession. (See Khan The Noble Qur'an – English Translation of the Meanings and Commentary 1404H (4) 11 where it states that "Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…"). The reason why females (at times) inherit less favourably than males in terms of the Islamic law of intestate succession is not clearly stated in the primary sources of Islamic law. This note analyses the question as to whether the discrimination against females is consistent throughout the Islamic law of intestate succession. It also analyses the possible rationale behind the unequal distribution. The note concludes with an overall analysis and concluding remarks.


Features unique to a transfer-RNA are recognized by the corresponding tRNA-synthetase. Keeping this in view we isolate the discriminating features of all archaeal tRNA. These are our identity elements. Further, we investigate tRNA-characteristics that delineate the different orders of Archaea.


The authors report their preliminary experience with the use of a new CT reconstruction program: Denta-Scan. Tomodensitometric studies of both the maxillary and the mandibular bones are actually mandatory for the planning of the correct implantation techniques. Denta-Scan, usually employed for CT studies in implantology and maxillo-facial surgery, suits to both pre- and postoperative evaluations. It provides accurate anatomical imaging, identifying details and landmarks which are helpful for surgical planning. Moreover, it allows TDM evaluation of bone structures, showing the presence of pathologic conditions potentially affecting the result of implantology. In the postoperative follow-up Denta-Scan allows to verify the correct positioning of the prosthetic implant, testing its integration in the bone structure as well as the rate of surgical failure.


Wood colonizing fungi are specialists that exploit the lignocellulose of cell wall components in host wood cylinders as a carbon sources. Some of these specialized fungi, including Fomitiporia mediterranea (Fmed) and Phaeomoniella chlamydospora (Pch), cause the disease Esca of grapevine. This disease complex includes grapevine leaf stripe disease (GLSD) of canopies and white rot and black wood streaking in trunks. The present study gained insights into the activity of Esca pathogens in host xylem of the trunk tissues at an anatomical level. Lesions with white rot and brown wood streaking were microscopically analyzed, and the structures of affected tissues were compared with intact xylem. In trunks with white rot, demarcation zones separated intact tissues from the lesions. Immediately adjacent to the demarcation zones, cell wall decomposition initiated in the xylem. At this initial stage, cavities appeared in the secondary cell walls of libriform fibres, which expanded and closely resembled the degradation pattern of soft rot. In the advanced stage, the fibre cell walls were completely decomposed, and the vessels were attacked with a degradation pattern similar to white rot. Only remnants of the xylem elements remained, forming amorphous matrices. These decomposition patterns occurred in field samples and in wood cores artificially infected with Fmed. The obvious compartmentalization of the tissue affected by Fmed indicated a defense reaction in the xylem, according to the CODIT model. In contrast, brown wood streaking affected only small groups of vessels, adjacent libriform fibres and parenchyma. Dark inclusions in cells and tyloses in vessels indicate a defense reaction against the pathogens causing brown wood streaking. Artificial inoculation of sterile wood cores with Pch confirmed the contribution of this pathogen to brown wood streaking. This research provides insights into the structural and functional anatomy of intact and infected tissues of grapevines, which clarify the etiology of Esca, and provide new knowledge for developing new approaches to control of this disease complex.


This study uses World Trade Center Health Registry data, based on Andersen's health-care model, to investigate 2,557 Asians' mental health service use and associated factors 5–6 years after the World Trade Center attack, compared against 32,111 non-Hispanic white participants. We find that Asians had a lower proportion of service use (15.76 vs. 26.60 percent) than white people. A previous mental health diagnosis and perceived and evaluated mental health needs strongly predicted Asians' mental health service use, as did having routine medical checkups, being female, and being married or cohabiting. These factors, in addition to other socioeconomic predictors that were nonsignificant among Asians, were significant among white people, as well. Our findings suggest that service providers need to provide clear diagnoses to service users, explore mental health needs during medical checkups, and provide postdisaster mental health education and free treatment.


The authors discuss the requirements of learning for generalization, where the traditional methods based on gradient descent have limited success. A stochastic learning algorithm based on simulated annealing in weight space is presented. The authors verify the convergence properties and feasibility of the algorithm. An implementation of the algorithm and validation experiments are described. >


Most communication research concerning women's magazines addresses the negative implications these popular culture artifacts have on women's identities in terms of constructing specific notions of femininity and appropriating feminist ideals. However, there has been little research on popular culture artifacts that explicitly contradict the messages of most contemporary women's magazines. This study applies and extends radical feminist Mary Daly's philosophical and rhetorical theories to a radically unique artifact, Bust magazine, to uncover the ways this magazine contributes to today's feminine and feminist transformation. The application of Daly's theoretical principles facilitates this study's conclusion: that Bust is situated in a new space that uses humor as a means of resistance and control, and employs the power of language to combat patriarchal social control. This exploration of Bust also extends Daly's theories to generate transformative strategies to address the specific demands of particular contexts, especially for the newest generation of young women.


The next generation of flexible, electrically active implants, such as brain implants or retina chips require a flexible, biostable as well as biocompatible passivation, ensuring a degradation-free usage for long time periods on the order of several years. Until today, these passivations are prepared mostly by polyimides or parylene, both of which are water vapor permeable to a certain degree. To remedy this deficiency, Atomic Layer Deposited (ALD) thin films are characterized regarding their electrical passivating features under conditions of accelerated aging, such as elevated temperatures in a liquid environment. The initial electrical passivation by various ALD deposited multilayers, combining alternating thin Al2O3 and TiO2 layers is the goal of this research as well as the stability of these layers under induced degradation. Such layers, in combination with a parylene passivation, would ensure a water vapor impermeable and biocompatible coating.


Using a unique longitudinal survey from Budapest, Hungary, this paper analyzes the role of extraversion in studying towards higher education and working. Extraversion is found to have no effect on higher education for young women but a significant negative effect for young men. Results from a more structural model suggest that, conditional on IQ and various measures of other personality traits, as well as past schooling experience and past behavioral problems, more extraverted men expect lower returns to higher education. These results are new in the literature and are unlikely to be caused by the specificity of the survey.


Training even moderately-sized generative models with differentially-private stochastic gradient descent (DP-SGD) is difficult: the required level of noise for reasonable levels of privacy is simply too large. We advocate instead building off a good, relevant representation on an informative public dataset, then learning to model the private data with that representation. In particular, we minimize the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) between private target data and a generator's distribution, using a kernel based on perceptual features learned from a public dataset. With the MMD, we can simply privatize the data-dependent term once and for all, rather than introducing noise at each step of optimization as in DP-SGD. Our algorithm allows us to generate CIFAR10-level images with $\epsilon \approx 2$ which capture distinctive features in the distribution, far surpassing the current state of the art, which mostly focuses on datasets such as MNIST and FashionMNIST at a large $\epsilon \approx 10$. Our work introduces simple yet powerful foundations for reducing the gap between private and non-private deep generative models. Our code is available at \url{https://github.com/ParkLabML/DP-MEPF}.


To investigate the effects of the inclined ribs on internal flow structure in film hole and the film cooling performance on outer surface, experimental and numerical studies are conducted on the effects of rib orientation angle on film cooling of compound cylindrical holes. Three coolant channel cases, including two ribbed cross-flow channels (135° and 45° angled ribs) and the plenum case, are studied under three blowing ratios (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0). 2D contours of film cooling effectiveness as well as heat transfer coefficient were measured by transient liquid crystal measurement technique (TLC). The steady RANS simulations with realizable k-ε turbulence model and enhanced wall treatment were performed. The results show that the spanwise width of film coverage is greatly influenced by the rib orientation angle. The spanwise width of the 45° rib case is obviously larger than that of the 135° rib case under lower blowing ratios. When the blowing ratio is 1.0, the area-averaged cooling effectiveness of the 135° rib case and the 45° rib case are higher than that of the plenum case by 38% and 107%, respectively. With the increase of blowing ratio, the film coverage difference between different rib orientation cases becomes smaller. The 45° rib case also produces higher heat transfer coefficient, which is higher than the 135° rib case by 3.4–8.7% within the studied blowing ratio range. Furthermore, the discharge coefficient of the 45° rib case is the lowest among the three cases. The helical motion of coolant flow is observed in the hole of 45° rib case. The jet divides into two parts after being blown out of the hole due to this motion, which induces strong velocity separation and loss. For the 135° rib case, the vortex in the upper half region of the secondary-flow channel rotates in the same direction with the hole inclination direction, which leads to the straight streamlines and thus results in lower loss and higher discharge coefficient.


Previous studies have shown that significant K isotope fractionation is found in continental weathering, oceanic crust subduction, and plant growth, suggesting that K isotopes could be a potentially important tracer. However, the complicated separation method and analytical conditions limit the precise analysis of potassium isotopes via MC-ICP-MS under "cold" plasma conditions. Here, an improved separation method (single column) permits the complete purification of K from the matrix elements. This method is efficient and convenient and achieves a high yield (99.5 ± 0.6%) and low blank (<10 ng K) under complex matrix extraction conditions. The high-resolution mode with a desolvating nebulizer system was used to increase the signal intensity of 41K+ and 39K+ and reduce 38ArH+, 40ArH+, and some oxide/nitride interference. To eliminate scattered ions or secondary electrons, we used a new dummy bucket to collect high intensity 40Ar+ beams. Besides, potassium isotopes for the standard SRM 3141a and new geological, environmental and biological reference materials such as DNC-1a, JMS-2, and GSB-14 were determined on a Nu Plasma 3 MC-ICP-MS instrument. Overall, the reproducibility of K isotope analysis was better than ±0.06‰ (2SD) that reported in most laboratories around the world. The measured δ41K values of the rock samples are homogeneous, consistent with the previous published data. However, the K isotope composition in soils, sediments, and plants is inhomogeneous and varies greatly from −0.85‰ to −0.25‰. These results show that potassium isotopes have great application potential in the geological, environmental, and biological fields.


: Background : The radial artery in the human forearm is a significant artery. It is near the surface of the forearm's bottom; as the hand's palm points up, so is the radial artery. The radial artery provides oxygenated blood from the lungs to the arm and hand. This is the most prevalent artery used to assess the pulse of a patient due to the size of the radial artery and its closeness to the surface of the arm. At the wrist, where the radial artery is nearest to the surface, the pulse is verified. The radial artery is also frequently used for "Arterial Blood Gas" (ABG) measurement when drawing arterial blood. This is done for three reasons: first, it isn't the arm's only blood provider. The ulnar artery will take over if the radial artery is damaged. Second, access is simple. Third, the radial artery is a superficial artery; this implies that the patient can be readily repaired and is rarely endangered. Study Morphological Variations Of The Radial The


An efficient approach to handle localised states by using spectral methods (SM) in one and three dimensions is presented. The method consists of transformation of the infinite domain to the bounded domain in (0, π) and using the Fourier sine series as a set of basis functions for the SM. It is shown that with an appropriate choice of transformation functions, this method manages to preserve the good properties of original SMs; more precisely, superb computational efficiency when high level of accuracy is necessary. This is made possible by analytically exploiting the properties of the transformation function and the Fourier sine series. An especially important property of this approach is the possibility of calculating the Hartree energy very efficiently. This is done by exploiting the positive properties of the sine series as a basis set and conducting an extinctive part of the calculations analytically. We illustrate the efficiency of this method and implement it to solve the Poisson's and Helmholtz equations in both one and three dimensions. The efficiency of the method is verified through a comparison to recently published results for both one- and three-dimensional problems.


Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCC) ranks 4th in incidence of all cancers in the developed world, yet the mechanisms of its origin and progression remain poorly understood. There are a few commercially available urine‐based tests for screening and surveillance for bladder cancer, but none of these can detect premalignancy. We have combined a transgenic mouse model for invasive bladder cancer (UPII‐SV40Tag mice) with DNA microarray technology, in order to determine molecular mechanisms involved in early TCC development and to identify new biomarkers for detection, diagnosis and prognosis of TCC. We have identified genes that are differentially expressed between the bladders of UPII‐SV40Tag mice and their age‐matched wild type (WT) littermates at 3, 6, 20 and 30 weeks of age. These are ages which correspond to premalignant, carcinoma in‐situ, and early and later stage papillary TCC, respectively. There were approximately 1,900 unique genes differentially expressed (>= 3‐fold difference at one or more time points) between WT and UPII‐SV40Tag urothelium during the time course of tumor development. Among these, there were a high proportion of cell cycle regulatory genes and proliferation signaling genes that are more strongly expressed in the UPII‐SV40Tag bladder urothelium. We have tested several of the genes upregulated in UPII‐SV40Tag urothelium, including autocrine motility factor (AMFR), hyaluronan‐mediated motility receptor (Hmmr), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Rac GTPase activating protein 1 (RacGAP 1) and others as biomarkers for premalignancy, in urine samples from a recently completed Phase II, randomized, placebo controlled chemoprevention trial (N01 CN85186, PI: A. Sabichi) that was designed to test whether celecoxib can prevent recurrence in patients successfully treated by TUR for non‐muscle invasive bladder cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A16.


The electrochemical-poroelastic bending behavior of conducting polymer actuators is an attractive feature, considering their potential applications such as artificial muscles or MEMS. In the present study, a computational modeling is presented for the bending behavior of polypyrrole-based actuators. The one-dimensional governing equation for the ionic transportation in electrolytes given by Tadokoro et al. is combined with the finite element modeling for the poroelastic behavior of polypyrroles considering the effect of finite deformation. The validity of the proposed model has been illustrated by comparing the computed results with experimental results in the literatures.


Volatile components in Olive Flounder fed diets containing 0, 2,5, 5.0, and 7.5% yuza (Citrus junos Sieb ex Tanaka) for 4 months were investigated. Samples were extracted by solid-phase microextraction and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Among 89 compounds detected, 82 were positively identified. Volatile compounds of Olive Flounder fed the unsupplemented diet comprised 12 acids, 10 alcohols, eight aldehydes, five aromatic compounds, nine esters, 12 hydrocarbons, four ketones, two monoterpenes, and one miscellaneous compound. Compounds identified in Olive Flounder fed the yuza-supplemented diets consisted of 10 esters, 11 monoterpenes, 13 sesquiterpenes, and two miscellaneous compounds, with the other compounds being the same as in the control. The most abundant class of compounds in flounders fed the yuza-supplemented diet was the monoterpenes, which included limonene, β-terpinene, β-trans -ocimene, and α-terpinolene. Of the 13 sesquiterpenes identified in flounder fed the yuza-supplemented diet, bicyclogermacrene was the major volatile compound followed by allo-aromadendrene, trans-caryophyllene, and δ-cadinene. Bicyclogermacrene and germacrene D content increased significantly as the yuza supplementation increased.


Change projects put a high demand on people's ability to change mindset. It requires motivation and commitment to take on another perspective than the existing one. Common methods like BPR, and TQM, tend to fail in motivating and engaging people sufficiently to reach the goals. In this paper we outline an alternative method for driving change management. We propose the use of myths, tales, and stories as triggers in change projects in order to create a creative and dynamic atmosphere in which change can be achieved. Even though there is by now a rather substantial literature on narratives in organization theory, very little research has focused on narrative as a vehicle for change and organizational development. Myths are interesting because they serve as a tool for formulating and recapturing a worldview; they integrate people into organizational culture and they can guide people in their individual psychological development.


Anticoagulation is vital in hemodialysis (HD) to maintain adequate dialysis. The use of anticoagulating agent is, however, limited in patients with high risk of bleeding. To evaluate the effect of Fractionated heparin(FH) in HD patients with high risk of bleeding, 19 patients(10 major surgery, 7 gastric bleeding, 1 each of renal cyst bleeding and pericardial effusion) were included in this study. Four consecutive HD sessions using single intravenous injection of FH(0.2ml in patients with body weight 40-70kg and 0.3ml for over 70kg) followed by 4 consecutive HD sessions with low dose or no heparin(LH) were performed in 9 patients and in reverse order in 10 patients. Major hemorrhagic episodes were recorded and pre and post HD body weight, blood pressure, activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), hemoglobin(Hb), hematocrit (Hct), and platelet count(Plt) were obtained. Clots in venous air trap and/or artificial kidney was given scores: 0, none,' 1, fibrin ring', 2, fibrin ring requiring saline flush; 3, complete obstruction. The color of dialyser after completion of dialysis was given the following scores' 0, pale', 1, pale pink; 2, pink. Time of compressing needling site to prevent vascular access bleeding was recorded. Hypotensive episode was not observed during HD. Recurrence of gastric bleeding in 3 patients(5 episodes with FH and 4 episodes with Control) and renal cyst bleeding(1 episode with FH) were observed during the study period. No bleeding complications were observed in the other 15 patients. No significant differences in pre-and post APTT, Hb, Hct, and Plt were observed between FH and Contro!. Significantly fewer coa- gulation episodes in venous air traps and/or artificial kidneys was observed during HD with FH than Control(0.07±0.19 vs. 0.79±0.91). No significant dif- ference was observed in hemodialyser color at the end of dialysis and time of compressing needling site between FH and Control. Tubing system was changed due to complete obstruction of extracorporeal system in 4 episodes in 3 patients in Control group, but not in FH group. In conclusion, Fraxiparine was effective in preventing coagulation in the extracorporeal circulation and did not increase bleeding complications during HD in high risk patients and is recommended for use in HD patients with high risk of bleeding.


Despite new aggressive therapeutical options for advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), benefits to survival remain limited. Moreover, deleterious effects of high-dose chemotherapy and aggressive surgery are well-known. Outcomes of untreated patients are usually not reported, and whether a treatment can be delayed or avoided is still an open question. We discuss here two clinical cases and with conservative (palliative) management alone for advanced MPM [corrected].


Oxidation of cycloalkan[b]indoles (3) with iodine pentoxide (1205) in 80% aqueous tetrahydrofuran (THF) at room temperature regioselectively afforded 6-oxocycloalkan[b]indoles (4) in various yields. The yield of this oxidation depends on the size of the ring fused with the indole nucleus. The essential reaction species is I2O5, not HIO3, which might be generated by hydrolysis of 1205 in the aqueous reaction medium. Oxidation of 1-hydroxytetrahydrocarbazole (5) under the above conditions afforded spiro oxindoles 6 and 7 in 36 and 39% yields, respectively, accompanied with only a trace of 1-oxotetrahydrocarbazole (4a).


DURING the period covered by this REVIEW there has been an increase in the number of careful studies that relate social forces to school life. Many of these were conducted by educators and appeared in the literature of professional education. As has been true in the past, studies of economic and social forces made during this period have added to our understanding of the wider social context of education. Data on technological and eco nomic changes, population changes, and the types of social stratification found in the United States provide important leads to both the guidance and the curriculum worker. Studies that provide such data and studies that attempt to relate social forces to education have been reviewed in this chapter.


Postirradiation examinations were begun of a series of unrestrained dilute uranium alloy specimens irradiated to exposures up to 13,000 MWD/T in NaK-containing stainless steel capsules. This test, part of a program of development of uranium metal fuels for desalination and power reactors sponsored by the Division of Reactor Development and Technology, has the objective of defining the temperature and exposure limits of swelling resistance of the alloyed uranium. This paper discusses those test results.


Summary We identified two novel dinucleotide polymorphisms in intron A at nucleotide 192 (FIX 192) and in the 5' flanking region at nucleotide -793 (FIX-793) of the factor IX gene, which are present in normal Japanese. The Hha I restriction fragment length polymorphism (FIX-Hhal) located 8 kb 3' to the factor IX gene was also found to be an efficient marker for detecting carriers in a Japanese family with hemophilia B. Each of these polymorphisms was able to be rapidly ascertained by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. In 22 Japanese families with hemophilia B, 18 families (81.8%) were heterozygous for at least one of these polymorphisms, whereas 11 (50%) were informative for the extragenic DXS99/Sac I RFLP which was previously reported as a useful gene marker for Japanese hemophilia B. Using all 4 polymorphisms together, the informative rate improved to 86.4%. Carrier detection and, possibly, the prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia B can be achieved effectively and rapidly in Japanese with these polymorphisms.


Plant nucleotide-sugar transporters (NSTs) are responsible for the import of nucleotide-sugar substrates into the Golgi lumen, for subsequent use in glycosylation reactions. NSTs are specific for either GDPor UDP-sugars, and almost all transporters studied to date have been isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana L. In order to determine the conservation of the import mechanism in other higher plant species, here we report the identification and characterisation of VvGONST-A and VvGONST-B from grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Thompson Seedless), which are the orthologues of the GDP-sugar transporters GONST3 and GONST4 in Arabidopsis. Both grapevine NSTs possess the molecular features characteristic of GDPsugar transporters, including a GDP-binding domain (GXL/VNK) towards the C-terminal. VvGONST-A and VvGONST-B expression is highest at berry setting and decreases throughout berry development and ripenolgi apparatus ucleotide sugar transporter itis vinifera ing. Moreover, we show using green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged versions and brefeldin A treatments, that both are localised in the Golgi apparatus. Additionally, in vitro transport assays after expression of both NSTs in tobacco leaves indicate that VvGONST-A and VvGONST-B are capable of transporting GDPmannose and GDP-glucose, respectively, but not a range of other UDPand GDP-sugars. The possible functions of these NSTs in glucomannan synthesis and/or glycosylation of sphingolipids are discussed. © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.


A little something buried deep in the fine print of the new Kassebaum-Kennedy health insurance portability law is causing an uproar among advocates for senior citizens. It received no public debate before its passage, and no one in Congress even admits to knowing how it got in there but it could send granny to jail Scared? You should be.


Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is a microsomal rate-limiting enzyme in the cellular synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), mainly oleate (18:1) and palmitoleate (16:1), which are the major MUFA of membrane phospholipids, cholesterol esters and triglycerides. Three well-characterized isoforms of SCD, SCD1, SCD2 and SCD3, exist in mice. To investigate the physiologic functions of SCD1, we generated SCD1 null (SCD1-/-) mice. The skin and eyelid of SCD1-/- mice are deficient in triglycerides and cholesterol esters, and the eyelid also is deficient in wax esters. Furthermore, the eyelid and skin of SCD1-/- mice have higher levels of free cholesterol. SCD1-/- mice develop cutaneous abnormalities and narrow eye fissure with atrophic sebaceous and meibomian glands. Consumption of diets containing high levels of oleate, failed to restore the levels of triglycerides, cholesterol esters and wax esters in SCD1-/- mice to the levels found in the eyelid of wild-type mice. These results reveal a physiologic role of SCD in cholesterol homeostasis as well as in the de novo biosynthesis of cholesterol esters, triglycerides and wax esters required for normal skin and eyelid function.


Abstract #2091 Purpose: Patients with triple negative breast tumors (TNTs) have high recurrence and poor survival rates. African-American (AA) women have a higher prevalence of TNTs and worse outcomes than Caucasian (CA) women. The addition of a taxane to anthracycline-based chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting appears to improve outcome to a greater extent in estrogen receptor (ER)- compared to ER+ cancers. There is insufficient data examining currently approved adjuvant chemotherapy regimens in AA. We evaluated the outcomes associated with different chemotherapy regimens in a largely AA group with early stage breast cancer. Methods: The Surveillance Epidemiology End Results (SEER) registry identified 509 AA or CA female breast cancer patients (Stages I-III) diagnosed during 2003-2004 at 3 Atlanta-based hospitals who were residents of Fulton/DeKalb counties. SEER data was augmented by medical record abstraction. Frequency distributions, chi-square tests of independence, logistic regression, and Cox models were used to assess recurrence and mortality by tumor subtype and chemotherapy regimen. Results: The mean follow-up was 3.2 years. Of 509 patients, 66.2% were AA. TNTs represented 17.1% (N=87), with a higher proportion in AA (20.2%) than CA (11.0%) women. Compared to ER+PR+HER2- tumors, patients with TNTs were more likely to experience a recurrence (HR=3.1, 95% CI 1.3, 7.0) and to die (HR=2.9, 95% CI 1.3, 6.3) after adjusting for receipt of chemotherapy, age, race, socioeconomic status, stage, and grade. Among chemotherapy-treated women with ER+PR+HER2- cancers, AA had higher recurrence (27.1% v. 8.3%) and death (21.3% v. 3.7%) rates than CA women; however, similar recurrence (42.2% v. 33.3%) and death (28.0% v. 35.7%) rates were found in the chemotherapy-treated AA and CA patients with TNTs. Among women treated with adriamycin-based regimens, the addition of a taxane did not appear to impact recurrence or survival in the ER+PR+HER2- or TNT subgroups. Conclusions: This data supports prior data demonstrating a two-fold increase in TNTs in AA compared to CA women. TNTs in this majority AA population were associated with a higher likelihood of short-term recurrence and mortality than other subtypes. Chemotherapy was not as beneficial for AA women with ER+PR+HER2- tumors compared to CA women. No statistically significant differences in outcome were noted for AA or CA women with TNT treated with chemotherapy. The addition of a taxane to adriamycin-based chemotherapy did not improve recurrence or survival rates for women with ER+PR+HER2- or TNTs. Clinical trials with consideration of racial diversity are needed to further assess the effectiveness of chemotherapy regimens on reducing recurrence and mortality in breast cancer patients. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 2091.


In this sharp, intricate first volume of an anticipated graphic-novel series, World War I is over and the elite wealthy are gathered at Jekyll Island (an actual Georgia island where the wealthy and powerful summered) to figure out what will happen in the country and the world next. The rich already know that you can have things happen to you or you can make things happen, so they're funding experimentation to produce real heroes to battle the mysterious, nefarious Zeno (a person or group, they're not sure) and give ordinary citizens something to believe in again after the heavy losses of war. There's a bit of superhero comics, steampunk, war story, and alternate history narrative all thrown in together here, but for the most part the ambitious mix is successful, if a bit dense. Vivid, almost garishly bright colors reinforce the shock value of the action scenes, while comic-book-style sound effects amp up the drama. The authors play fast and loose with paneling as needed to emphasize key scenes, which is helpful given the zippy pace—it's useful to be forced to slow down on occasion to take in a large spread instead of the smaller panels. Heroism here is not just about might but also about justice, humility, and compassion. This is particularly intriguing given that some of the people making decisions hold few of these traits, other than the might of the wealthy. There's interesting backstory in the creation of this graphic novel coming out of a class at the Savannah College of Art and Design, but readers don't need to know that—it's just nice flavor verifying that this is a fantasy pulled out of a real Southern location with quite the history. AS


Ornament and object-ornament as object Review of: Alina Payne, From Ornament to Object: Genealogies of Architectural Modernity, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012, 360 pages, 62 color + 108 b/w illus, ISBN: 9780300175332, Cloth: $65.00During the mid nineteen-thirties, the art and architectural historian Hans Hildebrandt (also the author of the first survey of modern architecture and German editor of Le Corbusier's Vers une Architecture) was working towards a book project on a 'World History of Adornment' to be published by Propylaen Verlag as part of its well-known series on Kunstgeschichte.1 Over a period of several years, the scholar compiled massive bibliographies (some of them listing more than two thousand items), made a great number of notes and sketches, and corresponded extensively with museum administrators to obtain photographic reproductions. But in spite of the Sisyphean effort and although the manuscript and illustrations were more than half complete, the book never materialized. While there were insurmountable political reasons (such as the fact that the author's wife was Jewish, which cost Hildebrandt his academic position at Stuttgart), the publication also folded from the sheer enormity of the research endeavour. Hildebrandt was collecting not only ornaments around the world, but also the massive literature on the same objects - an army of books, journals, treatises, folios, and countless exhibition catalogues on bodily adornment that had been published over the course of a century, mainly in German, French, and English. Hildebrandt's unfinished history stands as a testament to the unique bond between ornament and historiography: a form of history that not only describes the development of decorative artefacts but also attempts to replicate their wealth, luxury, and variety, however arduous it may be to transcribe such qualities on paper. It is as if the massive quantities of ornament discovered in the nineteenth century during several archaeological and ethnographic expeditions were eventually buried by the books that were piled onto them. Could this mountainous literature be one of the contributing factors to what we customarily perceive as the ostensible disappearance of ornament from twentieth-century practice? The very profusion of historiography that enhances ornament with the allure of textual criticism also presages its demise and replacement by unornamented objects. This may be an instance of Victor Hugo's 'ceci tuera cela,' in which the book on ornament does not exactly 'kill' ornament but helps bury it following a fittingly ornate funerary oration.This gradual eclipse of ornament that captures art historiography's negative dialectics is the main subject of Alina Payne's From Ornament to Objects. In sum, the book describes the transition from the endless stylistic iterations of architectural ornamentation in the late nineteenth-century to the unornamented household objects of early twentieth-century modernism, smooth sculptural artefacts that carry over the rhetorical function previously allotted to ornamentation. Payne begins her account with Adolf Loos's well-known lecture Ornament and Crime, a powerful invective against the use of adornment in buildings and furniture, which, due to its virtuosic rhetorical delivery, is itself a fine specimen of verbal ornamentation. Another architect, Le Corbusier, who, next to Loos, figures both at the starting point and the conclusion of Payne's story, rehearses the trajectory from ornament to object in his own writing and design practice. Once a jewellery and watch engraver (the profession of his father) as well as a careful reader of ornamental motifs (as evidenced in his careful copying of ornaments from Owen Jones's Grammar of Ornament and Alois Riegl's Altorientalische Teppiche), the young designer would fully ornament his first building commission, the Villa Fallet at his native La Chaux-de- Fonds (1906), with the stylized pattern of a pine tree rhythmically repeated throughout the facade and the interior of the house. …


Epithelial cells remodel cell adhesion and change their neighbors to shape a tissue. This cell rearrangement proceeds in three steps: the shrinkage of a junction, exchange of junctions, and elongation of the newly generated junction. Herein, by combining live imaging and physical modeling, we showed that the formation of myosin-II (myo-II) cables around the cell vertices underlies the exchange of junctions. The local and transient detachment of myo-II from the cell cortex is coupled with the junction shrinkage and elongation via an interplay between the LIM domain-containing protein Jub and the tricellular junction protein M6. Furthermore, we developed a mechanical model based on the wetting theory and clarified the way by which the physical properties of myo-II cables are integrated with the junction geometry to induce the transition between the attached and detached states and support the unidirectionality of cell rearrangement. Collectively, the present study elucidates the orchestration of geometry, mechanics and signaling for exchanging junctions.


There is a growing number of observation-based measures
of sea level related patterns with the advent of the Argo floats
(since the early 2000s) and satellite altimeters (since 1993).
These measures provide a valuable means to evaluate aspects
of global model simulations, such as the global ocean-sea ice simulations run as part of the interannual Coordinated Ocean-
ice Reference Experiments Griffies et al. (2009), Danabasoglu
et al. (2013). In addition, these CORE-II simulations provide
a means for evaluating the likely mechanisms causing sea
level variations, particularly when models with different skill
are compared against each other and observations. We have
conducted an assessment of CORE-II simulations from 13
model configurations Griffies et al. (2013), with a focus on their
ability to capture observed trends in ocean heat content as well
as the corresponding dynamic sea level over the period 1993-
2007. Here, we provide a synopsis of the assessment.


An ankle-foot orthosis(AFO) is a brace for persons with gait disabilities to support or replace the function of ankle joint. Ankle-foot orthoses(AFO's) are usually prescribed to alleviate the drop-foot by constraining the excessive plantar flexion. The shape and the strength of the AFO are often based on 'trial and error' due to a lack of knowledge of the stress distribution in the AFO. In this study, an improved stress-freezing method was proposed to measure the stress distribution characteristics in the AFO. As a result, a photoelastic material with low freezing temperature was developed to measure the stresses under a person's direct contact loading condition. The three-dimensional stress-1rozen photoelastic models of AFO's for five stages of stance phase such as heel contact, foot flat, mid stance, heel off, and toe off were produced. The results of photoelastic analysis revealed that the stresses developed in the AFO were varied considerably from tensile to compressive or vice versa, during walking. At the posterior part of ankle joint in the AFO, the maximum compressive stress of 1.81MPa was observed in the mid stance, and the maximum tensile stress of 0.74MPa was observed during heel contact. The overall stress levels in the AFO's were low in the toe off phase. The results suggested that the posterior part of ankle joint might be the most fragile part in the AFO.


This article uses insights from an empirical study of music-users to explore the assumptions and expectations which everyday music is likely to create within a Western Christian congregation. It identifies the desire to be happy, the search for a safe space, a concern about personal identity and a willingness to use music to acknowledge negative emotions as four key emphases of the practice of contemporary listening. These four emphases are explored in relation to the practice of contemporary worship. It is shown that whilst it could be argued that everyday music dulls the expectations of the non-musical – for the musical may gain much through performance and participation in music-making – it is nevertheless vital that theological attention is paid to what is happening to congregation-members. The potentially salvific work to which music contributes is in need of further exploration and articulation in contemporary theology.


This paper describes the ADAPT Centre's submission to the Adap-MT 2020 AI Translation Shared Task for English-to-Hindi. The neural machine translation (NMT) systems that we built to translate AI domain texts are state-ofthe-art Transformer models. In order to improve the translation quality of our NMT systems, we made use of both in-domain and outof-domain data for training and employed different fine-tuning techniques for adapting our NMT systems to this task, e.g. mixed finetuning and on-the-fly self-training. For this, we mined parallel sentence pairs and monolingual sentences from large out-of-domain data, and the mining process was facilitated through automatic extraction of terminology from the in-domain data. This paper outlines the experiments we carried out for this task and reports the performance of our NMT systems on the evaluation test set.


SUMMARY This case describes an arterial injury that remained unrecognised for 3 days, when a sudden secondary bleed caused acute compartment syndrome of the forearm. We have been unable to find another case of compartment syndrome presenting in this manner. The importance of thorough wound exploration is highlighted and the diagnosis and treatment of the syndrome discussed.


Tropical Africa is known to be lagging far behind the rest of the world in its fertility transition. Many attempts have been made to specify the factors responsible for its resistance to fertility decline; however, no systemic explanation of the mechanisms sustaining its high fertility has been presented in cross-cultural perspective. In this article, we show how a set of anthropological factors provides both social and economic foundations for the preservation of high fertility in tropical Africa. Cross-cultural tests imply that the most important obstacles to tropical Africa's fertility transition are (a) a high ideal family size, (b) a large potential to absorb increases in the female labor force participation rate without any substantial decreases in fertility due to ample child care readily available through extended family structures, (c) a large potential to increase fertility at the early stages of economic development through the abolition of postpartum sex taboos, and (d) a low potential for increases in birth spacing to contribute to fertility decline. In the last section, we discuss how the results obtained could be useful for policy recommendations aimed at accelerating the fertility decline in tropical Africa, and mitigating the forecasts of explosive population growth.


ABSTRACT This study evaluated the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model for landslide susceptibility mapping in Xing Guo County, China. In this study, 16 conditioning factors, such as slope, aspect, altitude, topographic wetness index, stream power index, sediment transport index, soil, lithology, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), landuse, rainfall, distance to road, distance to river, distance to fault, plan curvature, and profile curvature, were analyzed. Chi-square feature selection method was adopted to compare the significance of each factor with landslide occurence. The GWR model was compared with two well-known models, namely, logistic regression (LR) and support vcector machine (SVM). Results of chi-square feature selection indicated that lithology and slope are the most influencial factors, whereas SPI was found statistically insignificant. Four landslide susceptibility maps were generated by GWR, SGD-LR, SGD-SVM, and SVM models. The GWR model exhibited the highest performance in terms of success rate and prediction accuracy, with values of 0.789 and 0.819, respectively. The SVM model exhibited slightly lower AUC values than that of the GWR model. Validation result of the four models indicates that GWR is a better model than other widely used models.


Brass alloys, like most materials, suffer from the inevitable effect of corrosion. The CW625N (CuZn35Pb1) alloy is called a lead-free alloy because it contains a maximum of 1.6% Pb in its composition. It is suitable for hot forging, and is a new type of alloy. In this study, CW625N brass alloy test samples were shaped by hot forging. Heat treatment of some of the formed test samples and the effect of these processes on hardness, microstructure, and dezincification resistance were investigated. Forging temperature was kept constant at 750 ◦C and forging pressure was 70 bar and 90 bar. The samples from the hot forging were cooled in calm air. A portion of the test samples cooled in calm air were heat treated at 550 ◦C for 2.5 h. The heat treated test samples were compared with the non-heat treated test samples. When the hardness values of the heat treated samples were examined, it was seen that they were harder than the non-heat treated samples. Metallographic examination showed that the grain sizes of the heat treated samples decreased and the dezincification resistance was high. When the microstructures were examined, it was seen that needle-shaped structures were formed in the samples which were forged under 90 bar and heat treated. Increase of forging pressure enhanced the hardness and the grain size. However, there were no direct effect on dezincification resistance.