In an age where citizens are constantly moving between different places, transport demand is extremely high, and so, it is important to have sophisticated public transportation systems in place to ensure a sustainable development of urban areas and meet the needs of citizens. Public transport operators consequently need to provide reliable services in order to minimize disruption events that can affect the vehicles and their drivers, such as breakdowns, accidents or illnesses. The project here described focuses on the type of events and approaches related with the vehicle drivers and the identification of both their performance profiles and health condition while in operation. For that purpose, existing nonintrusive technologies present on the vehicle are leveraged, able to collect data related to physiological measurements taken in realtime. Such sensitive data will be processed, stored and shared in a secure manner, using blockchain-based technologies, so that only authenticated and authorized parties will be able to access the data, according to their clearance level, through an Application Programming Interface (API) designed for that purpose. The architecture of the system will be microservices-based, with components deployed at different infrastructure levels—from On Board Units (OBUs) in vehicles up to cloud-based subsystems.


The ambitious development plans for the Lancang-Mekong River Basin (LMRB) could have serious environmental, social, cultural and even geopolitical ramifications that could in turn destabilise the Mekong Subregion (MS). On the premise that frameworks for regional cooperation offer a viable route through which to manage such complex issues in a sustainable and mutually satisfactory manner, this NTS Policy Brief discusses existing and potential arrangements, elaborating on how they can leverage on each other's strengths to contribute to durable cooperation and peace. [Policy Brief No. PO13-01]. URL:[http://www.rsis.edu.sg/nts/HTML-Newsletter/Policy-Brief/pdf/PO1301.pdf].


The concept of cognitive radio pioneered by Mitola promises to change the future of wireless communication especially in the area of spectrum management. Currently, the command and control strategy employed in spectrum assignment is too rigid and needs to be reviewed. Recent studies have shown that assigned spectrum is underutilized spectrally and temporally. Cognitive radio provides a viable solution whereby licensed users can share the spectrum with unlicensed users opportunistically without causing interference. Unlicensed users must be able to sense weather the channel is busy or idle, failure to do so will lead to interference to the licensed user. In this paper, a neural network based prediction model for predicting the channel status using historical data obtained during a spectrum occupancy measurement is presented. Genetic algorithm is combined with LM BP for increasing the probability of obtaining the best weights thus optimizing the network. The results obtained indicate high prediction accuracy over all bands considered.


The publication of sensational news is argued to bring harmful consequences in the long run. Going against journalistic standards, it has the tendency to form a negative public perception. However, the effectiveness of sensationalism has amplified with the aid of digital media. Therefore, this study is conducted to find out how online sensational news impacts public perception of the Malaysian news industry. Survey questionnaires were distributed to 150 Malaysian online news readers via purposive sampling. In the end, it is suggested that negative perception alone would not pose significant threats to the survival of media outlets. Still, there is a price to pay – that is the reputation and public perception of the industry itself.


listeners were indeed frightened or embarrassed by their own gullibility, tales of widespread panic have become a matter of legend rather than verifiable fact. This fascinating episode loses nothing for having some of the wilder myths debunked, and the takeaway lesson in thoughtful media consumption emerges effortlessly from this cautionary tale. Themed "More to Explore" lists, source notes, bibliography, index, and plenty of photos from the time are included. EB


Due to the feature of vertically chip-to-chip or chip-to-wafer stacking, the properties and characterization of through-hole vertical interconnects, microbumping, and bonding technologies will be the core competences to achieve a high reliable stacking results. ITRI mainly focuses on the investigation of the quality of low cost interconnect fabrication technology to meet the reliability requirement for 3D chip stacking interconnects. In this paper, we elucidate the interconnect technology for a stacked System in Package (SiP) test vehicle. Compared to the vertical interconnects developed recently, we provide a lower cost solution for both of TSV and microbumping. Based on the result of void-free TSVs, and reliability test, the low resistance of 20-chips stacking feature can be found and thermal dissipation and thermal-mechanical study during this work are discussed. The chip thickness used here is less than 100 mum and ITRI's test vehicles showed the outstanding interconnect reliability during bending and thermal cycling test. We demonstrated that the newly low cost 3D interconnects results are potentially candidate for 3D stacking systems.


Stacks of different quantum dot (QD) structures were adopted and characterized for broadband superluminescent diodes (SLDs). Each QD structure in the stacked QD structures exhibited a unique peak in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, showing ground-state peaks of ∼1272, ∼1185 and ∼1090 nm for InGaAs-capped InAs QDs, InAs QDs, and InGaAs QDs, respectively. Two SLD structures, one with the stack of InGaAs-capped InAs QDs, InAs QDs, and InGaAs QDs and the other with the stack of InGaAs-capped InAs QDs and InAs QDs, were grown and fabricated into devices. The SLDs with a stack of three different QD structures and with a stack of two different QD structures showed spectral bandwidths of 173.6 nm and 188.2 nm, respectively, in the electroluminescence (EL) measurements. The larger spectral bandwidth of the SLD with three different QD structures is thought to be due to the addition of the short-wavelength-emitting InGaAs QD structure. We analyzed the sub-peaks in the EL spectra of the SLD structures and suggested the stacking of QD structures to get broadband SLDs.


When a host is connected to multiple multicast capable routers, each
of these routers is a candidate to process the multicast flow for that
LAN, but only one router should be elected to process it. This
document proposes a generic multicast router election mechanism using
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener
Discovery (MLD) that can be used by any Multicast Overlay Signalling
Protocol (MOSP). Having such generic election mechanism removes a
dependency on Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM).


A new class of high-efficiency amplification is introduced. It based on the reduction of time-average dissipation in transistor power instead of state-of-the-art reduction of instantaneous dissipated power. This becomes possible due the influence of capacitance currents that produce a negative collector current swing during a part of AC-period. In this case, along with an always-positive collector-emitter voltage, the instant dissipated power also is negative. A high-efficiency BJT power amplifier was simulated in order to demonstrate the new class features.


We combine the tanh function method with the symmetry group method to construct new type of solutions of Davey–Stewartson equation and implemente it in a computer algebraic system. As a result, some new types of solutions are obtained. This method is also applied to other differential equations if the nonlinear evolution equations admit nontrivial one-parameter group of transformation.


Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is an ultra-rare disorder with devastating sequelae resulting in early death, presently believed to stem primarily from heart failure secondary to central arterial stiffening. We analyze novel longitudinal cardiovascular data from a mouse model of HGPS (LmnaG609G/G609G) using allometric scaling and advanced computational modelling and show that a late-stage increase in pulse wave velocity, with associated diastolic dysfunction but preserved systolic function, emerges with a loss of aortic function, independent of sex. Specifically, there is a dramatic late-stage loss of smooth muscle function and cells and an excessive accumulation of proteoglycans along the entire aorta, which result in a loss of biomechanical function (contractility and elastic energy storage) and marked structural stiffening despite a distinctly low intrinsic material stiffness that is consistent with the lack of functional lamin A. Importantly, vascular function appears to be normal within the low stress environment of development, only to succumb progressively to pressure-related effects of the lamin A mutation and become extreme in the peri-morbid period. Because the dramatic life-threatening aortic phenotype manifests during the last quarter of life there may be a therapeutic window in maturity that could alleviate concerns with therapies administered during early periods of arterial development. Disclosures D.T.B is an equity holder in, and receives research and consulting support from, Inozyme Pharma, Inc. for therapeutics for ENPP1 deficiency. None of the other authors declare any conflict, financial or otherwise.


The essay addresses in detail the legal institution of the time extension of the elected bodies of the Regions: which, even if it is not expressly regulated by the Republican Constitution or by primary legislation, needs – according to the Author – to be taken into account also at a regional level in order to ensure that the renewal of offices takes place through truly democratic voting. In particular, after having re-established who has the legislative competence in the matter, as well as the conditions and limits to be respected so that the instrument in question – albeit still of exceptional nature – can be legitimately used. The contribution analyzes certain legislative provisions contained in the decree-law n. 26 of 2020: through which, inter alia, the Government has specifically ordered the time extension of the term of office of the elected bodies of no less than six ordinary Regions.


To understand cybercrime and its various forms, one must be familiar with criminality in general. How individuals perceive crime, and how much they fear it is further influenced by news media (Crawford, 2007). Van Duyne (2009), who monitored criminality, wrote about changes which started to be noticed twenty years ago and have shaped a new Europe, a territory without inner borders, and so with more mobility and opportunities for the Europeans. But these novelties and changes in the way we work have also caused certain new problems. It can be said that perpetrators of crimes, who are no longer hindered by state borders, now know no geographical limitations. Vander Baken and Van Daele (2009), for example, have researched mobility in connection to transnational criminality. Von Lampe (2007) has established that perpetrators no longer act individually, but frequently work in cooperation with one another. Crime and mobility are being "greased" by money, and have become a part of everyday life (Van Duyne, 2009). An individual's perception and understanding of criminality is also biased on certain cultural myths in regard to crime (Mesko and Eman, 2009).


ABSTRACT: Rely on the history and physical findings when you evaluate a hand injury. After you control any active bleeding, test the motor and sensory functions of the radial, ulnar, and medial nerves. Use the rule of the 5 P's-pulses, pallor, pain, paresthesia, and paralysis-to guide the vascular examination. Assess the muscles and tendons by testing their flexion and extension functions against mild resistance. After anesthetizing any wound sites, apply high-pressure saline irrigation to remove debris and reduce bacterial contamination to prevent infection. To repair skin injuries, use a closure method appropriate to the condition of the wound. Infection-prone wounds-such as crush, grossly contaminated, and bite injuries-may require antibiotic prophylaxis and possibly delayed closure.


ABSTRACT Mr. Tompkins-Rosenblatt's (TR) and Dr. VanderVen's (VV) article: "Perspective on Point and Level System in Residential Care: A Responsive Dialogue," in Residential Treatment for Children and Youth (2005, 22 [3], 1–18), which consisted of an exchange of letters, is a critique of my article: "The Application of a Reinforcement/Level System in the Residential Treatment of Adolescents." (2003, 21 [1], 17–32). Included in their diatribe are exaggerations and the taking of my ideas out-of-context, thereby distorting the debate. Their argument that all reinforcement and level systems are destructive to any young person-in-care is problematic, because they do not provide empirical evidence, nor offer a meta-analysis of the literature, to support their assertion. This paper addresses their position and counters their assertions.


city was operating under a modernized budget procedure. Since that date the idea has spread rapidly in state and city governments, and to some extent in counties-but always with variations in procedure and considerable deviation from accepted principles. Professor Taylor's book is a study of this budget procedure with its variations as' found in seventy-five American cities, as gleaned from material recently collected by the New York Bureau of Municipal Research.


Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) and related exotoxins are important virulence factors produced by Staphylococcus aureus as they cause human diseases such as food poisoning and toxic shock. These toxins bind directly to cells of the immune system resulting in hyperactivation of both T lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages. The excessive release of proinflammatory cytokines from these cells mediates the toxic effects of SEB. This study examined the inhibitory activities of an anti-inflammatory drug, sulfasalazine, on SEB-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Sulfasalazine dose-dependently inhibited tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1 (IL-1) β, IL-2, IL-6, interferon γ (IFNγ), and various chemotactic cytokines from SEB-stimulated human PBMC. Sulfasalazine also potently blocked SEB-induced T cell proliferation and NFκB activation. These results suggest that sulfasalazine might be useful in mitigating the toxic effects of SEB by blocking SEB-induced host inflammatory cascade and signaling pathways.


We demonstrate enhanced light emission in the orange and red regions from regularly arrayed InGaN/GaN nanocolumns due to the surface plasmon (SP) coupling. A maximum photoluminescence (PL) enhancement ratio of 5.2 is observed by coating the nanocolumns with an Au thin film. In addition, a 2.1-fold increase in the internal quantum efficiency is obtained. Comparison of an electromagnetic field simulation and a theoretical calculation based on the SP dispersion indicates that the SP originates from a standing wave mode arising from the periodic Au/dielectric interface. The column-diameter dependence of the PL enhancement ratio can be reasonably explained by considering the simulated electric field intensity. The periodic plasmonic nanostructure is effective for improving the emission efficiencies of InGaN-based light emitters in the orange and red regions.


The paper proposes an expectation-maximization approach to channel identification and equalization in OFDM. The algorithm exploits the natural constraints imposed by the channel (sparsity, maximum delay spread, and a priori statistical information) and those imposed by the transmitter (pilots, cyclic prefix, and the finite alphabet constraint). These constraints are used to reduce the number of pilots needed for channel and data recovery and also to perform this task within one packet.


Brain tumor is a collection of cells that grow in an abnormal and uncontrollable way. It may affect the regular function of the brain since it grows inside the skull region. As a brain tumor can be possibly led to cancer, early detection in Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanned images are crucial. Thus, this paper proposed a forthright image processing approach towards detection and localization of brain tumor region The approach consists of a few stages such as pre-processing, edge detection and segmentation. The pre-processing stage converts the original image into a greyscale image, and noise removal if necessary. Next, the image is enhanced using image enhancement techniques. It is then followed by edge detection using Sobel and Canny algorithms. Finally, the segmentation is applied to highlight the tumor with morphological operations towards the affected region in the MRI images. The in-depth analysis is measured using a confusion matrix. From the results, it signifies that the proposed approach is capable to provide decent segmentation of brain tumor from various MRI brain images.


Using new scalingmethods and a comprehensive public opinion dataset, we develop the first surveybased time-series–cross-sectional measures of policy ideology in European mass publics. Our dataset covers 27 countries and 36 years and contains nearly 2.7 million survey responses to 109 unique issue questions. Estimating an ordinal group-level IRT model in each of four issue domains, we obtain biennial estimates of the absolute economic conservatism, relative economic conservatism, social conservatism, and immigration conservatism of men and women in three age categories in each country. Aggregating the group-level estimates yields estimates of the average conservatism in national publics in each biennium between 1981–82 and 2015–16. The four measures exhibit contrasting cross-sectional cleavages and distinct temporal dynamics, illustrating themultidimensionality ofmass ideology inEurope. Subjecting ourmeasures to a series of validation tests, we show that the constructs theymeasure are distinct and substantively important and that they perform as well as or better than one-dimensional proxies for mass conservatism (left–right self-placement and median voter scores). We foresee many uses for these scores by scholars of public opinion, electoral behavior, representation, and policy feedback.


A101 Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi-potent cells with many potential clinical applications due to their capacity to be expanded in vitro and differentiate into several lineages. Although stem cells for therapeutic purposes can be managed safely, MSCs can undergo spontaneous transformation following long-term in vitro culture and genetic manipulations.
 We evaluated spontaneous transformation in culture of bone marrow derived murine mesenchymal stem cells that were used for magnetic resonance imaging and tracking in tumor models. We report that loading of MSCs with the Bangs particles containing iron oxide and long-term culture of genetically modified stem cells (transfected with the reporter gene) lead to their spontaneous transformation.
 We used established mouse mesenchymal stem cell line developed by the group of Dr.Prockop, Tulane University. These cells were originally derived from femurs and tibiae of C57BL mice. Differentiation assay performed with Passage 5 cells demonstrated that they maintain pluripotency. For transformation assay, we used MSCs transiently labeled in vitro with iron-oxide Bang's particles (diameter 0.9 μm) or engineered MSCs expressing a unique cell surface receptor with GFP reporter.
 Our results indicate that transformation frequency (number of transformed foci per cell number) in iron oxide labeled MSCs was 5 times higher than in unlabeled MSCs. Incidence of transformation was also significantly higher in cells transfected with plasmid DNA (pEF1a-GFP-IRES-CD4), probably, due to increased genome instability in transfected cells.
 Normal stem cells and cancer stem cells share certain features, such as self- renewal and differentiation potential. These clear similarities suggest that some cancer stem cells could derive from adult stem cells. Our findings support the hypothesis of cancer stem cell origin and indicate the importance of bio-safety studies for efficient clinical applications of stem cells.


Aciculosporium take causes continuous shoot growth but maintains normal leaf-arrangement and branching patterns in the host plant, which eventually resulting in witches' broom disease of bamboo. An in situ hybridization technique with a species-specific oligonucleotide probe was recently used to demonstrate that endophytic mycelia of A. take is predominantly distributed in the intercellular spaces of the shoot apical meristem of the host. Endophytic hyphae in meristematic tissues, which may produce auxin, are responsible for continuous primordium initiation within the shoot apex. Here I examine another bamboo witches' broom causal fungus, Heteroepichloë sasae. Both species are biotrophic and belong to family Clavicipitaceae: however, H. sasae does not cause continuous shoot growth. Histological study showed that H. sasae mycelia were distributed superficially, even on shoot apical meristems. These observations suggest that when their stromata develop, endophytic A. take destroys shoot apical meristem and epiphytic H. sasae chokes the shoot apex of the host. Stromata formation consequently causes lateral bud outgrowth because of release from apical dominance. This process repeats and eventually results in the witches' broom symptoms.


Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, recreational, public, and commercial uses have expanded significantly in recent years. In the construction industry, UAVs are used primarily for monitoring of construction workflow and job site logistics, inspecting construction sites to assess structural integrity, and for maintenance assessments. As is the case with other emerging technologies, occupational safety assessments of UAVs lag behind technological advancements. UAVs may create new workplace hazards that need to be evaluated and managed to ensure their safe operation around human workers. At the same time, UAVs can perform dangerous tasks, thereby improving workplace safety. This paper describes the four major uses of UAVs, including their use in construction, the potential risks of their use to workers, approaches for risk mitigation, and the important role that safety and health professionals can play in ensuring safe approaches to the their use in the workplace.


Routine sonographic examination of the gallbladder is performed in the supine, right anterior oblique, and erect positions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prone view for examination of the gallbladder. To obtain prone views, the gallbladder is scanned through the right lateral intercostal spaces in the mid‐axillary line, with the patient in the prone position. Prone views can be helpful in the diagnosis of stones, sludge, or polyps in the gallbladder. Occasionally, stones or sludge in the gallbladder can be demonstrated best or exclusively on prone views. The mobility of the stones can be demonstrated best by turning the patient from prone to supine position. Prone views are frequently helpful to avoid reverberation artifacts from the abdominal wall or bowel residue. Therefore, addition of the prone view to the routine supine and erect views is suggested for sonographic examination of the gallbladder.


The servomotor drive turret punch press is attracting more attentions and being developed more intensively due to the advantages of high speed, high accuracy, high flexibility, high productivity, low noise, cleaning and energy saving. To effectively improve the performance and lower the cost, it is necessary to develop new mechanisms and establish corresponding optimal design method with uniform performance indices. A new patented main driving mechanism and a new optimal design method are proposed. In the optimal design, the performance indices, i.e., the local motion/force transmission indices ITI, OTI, good transmission workspace good transmission workspace(GTW) and the global transmission indices GTIs are defined. The non-dimensional normalization method is used to get all feasible solutions in dimensional synthesis. Thereafter, the performance atlases, which can present all possible design solutions, are depicted. As a result, the feasible solution of the mechanism with good motion/force transmission performance is obtained. And the solution can be flexibly adjusted by designer according to the practical design requirements. The proposed mechanism is original, and the presented design method provides a feasible solution to the optimal design of the main driving mechanism for servo punch press.


The cultivation
knowledge about the Cerrado native fruits is incipient. These plants are found
in wild conditions and its fruits are obtained through extraction, as the case
of araticum (Annona crassiflora Mart.), which is a species with the great economic potential. This plant
propagation by grafting, among other methods, has proved problematic. Possible
incompatibility causes were investigated using histochemical and anatomical
studies. Transverse and longitudinal stems sections were analyzed in the
araticum grafting area on rootstocks of araticum-de-terra-fria (Annona emarginata (Schltdl.) H. Rainer "Terra-fria"),
biriba (Annona mucosa (Jacq.) Baill), and soursop (Annona muricata L.).
Araticum graft survival rate was low with these rootstocks, which seems to be
associated with anatomical and histochemical factors. The periderm and pith are
more developed in araticum than in the other plants, which affects the
alignment and juxtaposition of the cambium and vascular bundles in the graft
area, hindering a successful graft. The histochemical reactions for phenolic
compounds detection were very strong in cortical parenchyma, pith and xylem
fibers of araticum (A. crassiflora).
The presence of phenolic compounds is increased depending on the cut for
grafting and the formation of these compounds is evidenced as an important
limiting factor for successful grafting. It is recommended practices for
reducing these compounds and a larger diameter of the graft, as a mean to
overcome these anatomical difficulties.


To perform research and experiment in enhancing the timeliness and efficiency of providing healthcare service in e-Healthcare, a modeling approach is designed and implemented to integrate a parking guidance system (PGS) with an electronic health record (EHR) system. The integrated system provides advanced services for two healthcare groups: 1) patients who need immediate urgent care, and 2) healthcare providers who perform emergency medical services and operations. By entering a zip code of a selected area and patient's basic data, the system would return the three most optimal urgent care providers in the selected area, from which the user of the system can choose and submit essential patient's data to; the system would then return three progressive levels of navigation information: 1) from home to hospital, 2) at hospital's parking facility, and 3) inside hospital; furthermore, the system would reserve a parking space and complete registration prior to the patient's arrival at the hospital's urgent care facility. To provide efficient and convenient e-healthcare services, the integrated system must be available on mobile devices; hence, the server has been implemented as a web service server, and a mobile web service client, along with its desktop counterpart, is a part of the integrated system. Lastly, this integrated system addresses various security issues in privacy, integrity and confidentiality of the patient's medical record data.


In the 1970s, herring stocks in the Northeast Atlantic were nearly fished to extinction. This collapse is usually attributed to technological advances. We investigate the empirical impact of technological shocks on herring stocks. We show evidence that the power block was the principal factor in the demise of the stock. We also look at the sensitivity of catch to stock size and technological shocks. We measure a significant stock effect in the 1950s, contrary to what we expect. A simulation model indicates that this could have been caused by an increasing range of the fishing fleet due to ongoing technological progress. (JEL C53, Q22)


To discover chemical probes to further under-stand the function of individual DNA polymerases, we established a generally applicable high-throughput screening. By applying this technique we discovered three novel inhibitor classes of human DNA polymerase λ (DNA Pol λ), a key enzyme to maintain the genetic integrity of the genome. The rhodanines, classified as an excellent drug scaffold, were found to be the most potent inhibitors for DNA Pol λ. Importantly, they are up to 10 times less active against the highly similar DNA polymerase β. We investigated basic structure activity relationships. Furthermore, the rhodanines showed pharmacological activity in two human cancer cell lines. So the here reported small molecules could serve as useful DNA Pol λ probes and might serve as starting point to develop novel therapeutic agents.


This paper shows application results of a high gain adaptive output feedback control to a magnetic levitation system. Usual high gain output feedback control can not be applied to the magnetic levitation system, since it is an unstable system with a relative degree greater than one and uncertain nonlinearities in control input term. In the applied method, a high gain adaptive output feedback controller is designed by introducing two different virtual filters and using backstepping strategy. The application results are shown in the numerical simulations and experiments.


Atherosclerosis and vascular calcification often co-exist in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Although the former has been recently recognized as an active inflammatory process, atherosclerosis-related calcification of the intima is still viewed as a passive epiphenomenon. Recent experimental data showed that ossification of the internal vascular wall might also be an active inflammatory process interrelated to atherosclerosis. Factors like RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor ĸB ligand), RANK and osteoprotegerin modulate vascular calcification and at the same time are involved in the process of atherosclerosis. Moreover, basic calcium phosphate crystals could interact with and activate monocytes-macrophages that produce proinflammatory cytokines capable of initiating – via endothelial activation and leukocyte adhesion – the atherosclerotic process. Thus, vascular calcification might be an active player and not simply an epiphenomenon in atherosclerosis. Should the above-mentioned data be confirmed in future studies, calcification of the internal vascular wall and atherosclerosis might be viewed and treated as tightly interconnected and linked by inflammation processes in CKD patients.


AIM
To investigate the efficacy of alveolar-decortication, in addition to surgical eposure, in reducing the time taken to align palatally impacted canines.

NULL HYPOTHESIS
There is no difference in the velocity of tooth movement, whilst aligning an impacted canine, following the conventional or alternative surgical technique.

DESIGN
Prospective Parallel Group Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial.

METHOD
Ethical approval was obtained. Participants were randomly allocated to control or test groups. Measurements to record the distance from the tip of the canine to the line of the dental arch, and the time to various clinical endpoints were recorded to determine the velocity of tooth movement. Any pain and adverse events were recorded.

RESULTS
29 subjects participated. The addition of alveolar-decortication reduced the time to eruption, which was 34 and 21 weeks in the control and test groups respectively. There was little difference in the velocity from impaction to line of the arch, at 0.39mm/wk and 0.35mm/wk in the control and test groups. Alveolar-decortication is not associated with additional pain or discomfort.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of alveolar-decortication does not reduce the treatment time to align palatally impacted canines. Alveolar-decortication does not increase the duration of surgery, and is not associated with increased pain or need for analgesics.


Recently, Prussian blue analogues (PBAs)-based anode materials (oxides, sulfides, selenides, phosphides, borides, and carbides) have been extensively investigated in the field of energy conversion and storage. This is due to PBAs' unique properties, including high theoretical specific capacity, environmental friendly, and low cost. We thoroughly discussed the formation of PBAs in conjunction with other materials. The performance of composite materials improves the electrochemical performance of its energy storage materials. Furthermore, new insights are provided for the manufacture of low-cost, high-capacity, and long-life battery materials in order to solve the difficulties in different electrode materials, combined with advanced manufacturing technology and principles. Finally, PBAs and their composites' future challenges and opportunities are discussed.


Good brand will provide quality assurance for the company, because brand is not just a name but a brand is an asset of the company. Prenagen Junior, a brand extension of Prenagen products for pregnancy and lactation, is a fictitious experiment in this study. The aim of the research was to analyze consumer attitudes towards brand extension. The method used pre-experiment_one shot case study. The population was taken from respondents who had used  Prenagen products either Prenagen Esensis, Prenagen  Emesis,  Prenagen  Mommy,  or  Prenagen  Lactamom  within  last  6 months. A sample of 154 respondents was drawn from that population. The results obtained were analyzed using multiple regression analysis method. The results simultaneously showed that the similarity, brand reputation of origin, perceived risk, and innovativeness delivered a significant influence on consumers' attitude towards brand extension (R2 : 0.556; p 0.05). Keywords :  Brand  Extension,  Similarity,  Reputation  Of  The  Parent  Brand, Perceived Risk, Innovativeness, Consumer Attitudes


Rather than serving as a mere onlooker, adipose tissue is a complex endocrine organ and active participant in disease initiation and progression. Disruptions of biological processes operating within adipose can disturb healthy systemic physiology, the sequelae of which include metabolic disorders such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. A burgeoning interest in the field of adipose research has allowed for the elucidation of regulatory networks underlying both adipose tissue function and dysfunction. Despite this progress, few diseases are treated by targeting maladaptation in the adipose, an oft-overlooked organ. In this review, we elaborate on the distinct subtypes of adipocytes, their developmental origins and secretory roles, and the dynamic interplay at work within the tissue itself. Central to this discussion is the relationship between adipose and disease states, including obesity, cachexia, and infectious diseases, as we aim to leverage our wealth of knowledge for the development of novel and targeted therapeutics. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, Volume 18 is January 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


In light of the interest in the transport of single photons in arrays of waveguides, fiber couplers, photonic crystals, etc., we consider the quantum mechanical process of the tunneling of photons through evanescently or otherwise coupled structures. We specifically examine the issue of tunneling between two structures when one structure already contains few photons. We demonstrate the possibility of both photon-aided and photon-inhibited tunneling of photons. The bosonic nature of photons enhances the tunneling probability. We also show how the multiphoton tunneling probability can be either enhanced or inhibited due to the presence of photons. We find similar results for higher-order tunneling. Finally, we show that the presence of a squeezed field changes the nature of tunneling considerably.


We demonstrate that, by undersampling scanning object with a reconstruction algorithm related to compressed sensing, an image with the resolution exceeding the finest resolution defined by the numerical aperture of the system can be obtained. Experimental results show that the measurements needed to achieve sub-Rayleigh resolution enhancement can be less than 10% of the pixels of the object. This method offers a general approach applicable to point-by-point illumination super-resolution techniques.


Female orgasmic disorder (FOD) is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision, as a persistent or recurrent delay in, or absence of, orgasm following a 'normal' sexual excitement phase. FOD is a common problem affecting sexual function in a substantial proportion of women. Studies suggest that it is prevalent in 11-41% of women worldwide and can have a tremendous impact on the individual's quality of life, relational satisfaction and general well-being. The etiology of FOD tends to be multifactorial as it relates to genetics, medical conditions, medications, alcohol and drug use, other sexual dysfunctions, mental illness, life stressors, communication deficits and relationship issues. It is critical that sexual functioning in patients is assessed frequently through interview and/or validated questionnaires to aid in treatment strategy and/or referral. Currently, there are no approved medications to treat FOD. However, there are medications and psychological treatments that have shown promise in either treating FOD or thwarting the side effects of medications that can cause FOD. This chapter discusses the epidemiology and etiology of FOD and provides a comprehensive critical review of the literature on assessment and treatment of FOD.


Understanding transgression of business ethics in developed Western economies is different from that in developing economies where the institutional matrix that frames the market and transactions is in the process of fundamental change. This is particularly so when entrenched historical practices of close business and government interaction continue into the new era. In this environment the study of ethical forbearance may be more illuminating than transgression. Seen from a New Institutional Economics' perspective on the sociocognitive, our empirical study of Shibusawa Eiichi and Dan Takuma shows that ideology can play an important role in shaping ethical business practice.


Autonomous grasping is a key requisite for the autonomy of robots. However, grasping of unknown objects in domestic environments is difficult due to the presence of unpredictability and clutter. In this paper, a novel algorithm capable of finding an unobstructed grasping pose on unknown regular object shapes in cluttered environments is proposed. At first, an Axis Aligned Bounding Box (AABB) is fitted around the target object point cluster, proposing a limited set of possible grasps. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) is trained to take the decision of the preferred grasp via supervised Machine Learning. Such decision is based on the distribution of obstacles around the target object, inferred by sampling the OctoMap of the scene. Four different versions of the algorithm have been trained, tested and validated with simulation and real data, with known and unknown target object shapes, in more than 120 different scenarios. The best performing algorithm version returned an unobstructed grasping position in more than 90% of the cases. Thanks to the the use of the OctoMap representation, significant results are achieved with a limited set of training examples, with a 10 to 10.000 fold reduction of training examples amount with respect to comparable state-of-the-art algorithms. The algorithm also proved itself capable to generalise to novel object shapes and from simulation to real data. Master of Science Thesis Enrico Liscio


A synthesized functionalized pillared porous phosphate heterostructure (PPH), surface functionalized phenyl group, has been used to remove the dye Acid Blue 113 from wastewater. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy XPS and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to study its structure. The specific surface area of this was 498 m2/g. The adsorption capacities of PPH and phenyl surface functionalized (Φ-PPH) were 0.0400 and 0.0967 mmol/g, respectively, with a dye concentration of 10−5 M when well fitted with SIPS and Langmuir isotherms respectively (pH 6.5, 25 °C). The incorporation of the dye to the adsorbent material was monitored by the S content of the dye. It is suggested as an alternative for Acid Blue 113 remediation.


The study examines the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Business Process Management (BPM) and Small Medium Bank performance in Nigerian banking industry. We carried out a large scale survey of organizations in financial sector and applied a rigorous research methodology. We found out five critical success factors (CSFs) of BPM implementation, which are IT investment, volume of financial activities, personnel commitment, strong capital base, and effective reward system. Among these factors, IT investment, personnel commitment and volume of financial activities have significant relationship with overall organizational performance (cost reduction, customer service management and operational efficiency performance), while effective reward system is only significant with cost reduction performance and strong capital base is significant with customer service management only. The study contributes to the research by identifying the success factors of business process management adoption in Primary Mortgage finance and Microfinance bank.


A typical problem with relationship management in a B2B environment is that implementing companies often see the relationship only from their own perspective. In other words, the supplier decides which customer is worth treating as a key customer, without involving the customer in this decision, or vice versa. As a result, even resource-consuming key account customers might move to competitors if they do not value the relationship in the same way as the supplier and see an opportunity to save costs by switching sources. This study develops a better understanding of value in B2B relationships. It investigates the segmentation methods currently used in relationship management and develops a new approach that brings the value perspectives from buyer and seller together. The major contribution of the research, however, is to test the proposition that congruency of the value expectations of buyer and seller will optimize the relationship strength. In the literature there seem two general approaches, the hard and the soft. This research combines these measures to form a single, cohesive measurement of congruency of relationship value, from the perspective of both partners in the relationship. There is a lacuna in the burgeoning literature on relationship management, where trust is often inadequately represented in the research, and where reciprocity of value between relationship partners is often omitted. This research addresses this critical, yet underresearched, issue. It also provides a useful, practical, guide to companies desirous of setting up strong relationships with other organizations by explaining the importance of soft value measures and focusing on shared value expectations in these relationships. The quantitative survey was conducted among buyers and sellers in small and medium sized companies in Germany that are operating on an international level. The empirical results strongly support the research thesis. Implications for theory and practice are provided as well as recommendations for further research.


A formula for age-specific dementia prevalence is derived using data from a New Zealand study. Six other studies of dementia prevalence selected according to certain criteria are analyzed and their results shown to be not significantly different from those expected on the basis of the formula. Moreover, the small standard error estimate for the studies in aggregate indicates that the observed results are in close agreement with those expected. Dementia prevalence is estimated in both current and projected Australian aged populations using the age-specific prevalence formula. Comparison of the number of confused persons in institutions with the estimated number in the total population suggests that almost half of the moderate or severe dementia cases may be institutionalized, a much higher proportion than reported in other studies. Variations in overall levels of institutionalization are suggested as the main reason for such differences.


SUMMARY Deep-sea Calyptogena clams harbor thioautotrophic intracellular symbiotic bacteria in their gill epithelial cells. The symbiont fixes CO2 to synthesize organic compounds. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) from the host catalyzes the reaction CO2 + H2O ↔ HCO3− + H+, and is assumed to facilitate inorganic carbon (Ci) uptake and transport to the symbiont. However, the localization of CA in gill tissue remains unknown. We therefore analyzed mRNA sequences, proteins and CA activity in Calyptogena okutanii using expression sequence tag, SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS. We found that acetazolamide-sensitive soluble CA was abundantly expressed in the gill tissue of C. okutanii, and the enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography. Mouse monoclonal antibodies against the CA of C. okutanii were used in western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining of the gill tissues of C. okutanii, which showed that CA was exclusively localized in the symbiont-harboring cells (bacteriocytes) in gill epithelial cells. Western blot analysis and measurement of activity showed that CA was abundantly (26–72% of total soluble protein) detected in the gill tissues of not only Calyptogena clams but also deep-sea Bathymodiolus mussels that harbor thioautotrophic or methanotrophic symbiotic bacteria, but was not detected in a non-symbiotic mussel, Mytilus sp. The present study showed that CA is abundant in the gill tissues of deep-sea symbiotic bivalves and specifically localizes in the cytoplasm of bacteriocytes of C. okutanii. This indicates that the Ci supply process to symbionts in the vacuole (symbiosome) in bacteriocytes is essential for symbiosis.


Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can be induced to differentiate into neuron-like cells under appropriate conditions often involving toxic reagents that are not applicable for clinical transplantation. The present study investigated whether tea polyphenol (TP), a native nontoxic antioxidant, could induce mouse neuron-like cell differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. BMSCs, dissected from mouse femur bone marrow, were amplified in culture and treated with TP or beta-mercaptoethanol (BME, control). Morphological changes were observed under light microscopy. After 12 h treatment with 50 microg/ml TP or 5 mM BME, most cells differentiated into neuron-like cells exhibiting neuronal morphological characteristics, cellular shrinkage and neurite growth. Immunocytochemistry and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR results demonstrated neuronal marker expression in the induced cells with no glial fibrillary acidic protein expression. Taken together, TP induced mouse BMSCs to differentiate into neuron-like cells in vitro. These findings provide a potential source for the treatment of various neurological diseases.


Due to the complex nature of climate change, interdisciplinary research approaches involving knowledge and skills from a broad range of disciplines have been adopted for studying changes in the climate system as well as strategies for mitigating climate change (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions reductions) and adapting to its impacts on society and natural systems. Harnessing of renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels is widely regarded as a long‐term mitigation strategy that requires the synthesis of knowledge from engineering, technology, and natural and social sciences. In this study, we examine how the adoption of interdisciplinary approaches has evolved over time and in different geographic regions. We conducted a comprehensive literature survey using an evaluation matrix of keywords, in combination with a word cloud analysis, to evaluate the spatiotemporal dynamics of scholarly discourse about interdisciplinary approaches to climate change and renewable energy research and development (R&D). Publications that discuss interdisciplinary approaches to climate change and renewable energy have substantially increased over the last 60 years; it appears, however, that the nature, timing, and focus of these publications vary across countries and through time. Over the most recent three decades, the country‐level contribution to interdisciplinary research for climate change has become more evenly distributed, but this was not true for renewable energy research, which remained dominated by the United Sates and a few other major economies. The research topics have also evolved: Water resource management was emphasized from 1990s to 2000s, policy and adaptation were emphasized from the 2000s to 2010–2013, while vulnerability became prominent during the most recent years (2010–2013). Our analysis indicates that the rate of growth of interdisciplinary research for renewable energy lags behind that for climate change, possibly because knowledge emanating from climate change science has motivated the subsequent upswing in renewable energy R&D. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:49–56. doi: 10.1002/wene.180


Patient awareness and concern regarding the potential health risks from ionizing radiation have peaked recently (Coakley et al., 2011) following widespread press and media coverage of the projected cancer risks from the increasing use of computed tomography (CT) (Berrington et al., 2007). The typical young and educated patient with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may in particular be conscious of his/her exposure to ionising radiation as a result of diagnostic imaging. Cumulative effective doses (CEDs) in patients with IBD have been reported as being high and are rising, primarily due to the more widespread and repeated use of CT (Desmond et al., 2008). Radiologists, technologists, and referring physicians have a responsibility to firstly counsel their patients accurately regarding the actual risks of ionizing radiation exposure; secondly to limit the use of those imaging modalities which involve ionising radiation to clinical situations where they are likely to change management; thirdly to ensure that a diagnostic quality imaging examination is acquired with lowest possible radiation exposure. In this paper, we synopsize available evidence related to radiation exposure and risk and we report advances in low-dose CT technology and examine the role for alternative imaging modalities such as ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging which avoid radiation exposure.


Acute iliac adenitis, or inflammation in the iliac lymph glands, presents a clinical picture which is not as uncommon as its lack of recognition would indicate. The disease usually occurs in children or in young adults. It is characterized by a history of cutaneous infection or of trauma of the lower extremity or abdomen which precedes by two or three weeks the appearance of a large, hard, tender, fixed mass in the iliac fossa. There are pain, fever, leukocytosis and spasm of the psoas muscle producing flexion deformity of the thigh. The purpose of this study is (1) to review the scanty literature, (2) to present the report of a series of 18 cases and (3) to give a clear and comprehensive description of this seldom correctly diagnosed clinical entity. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Abrille 1 in 1854 reported 8 cases of suppuration in the retroperitoneal tissues. At that time


BACKGROUND: It is said that when things take a turn for the worse they try to teach us a lesson. What can be a better example than the ongoing series of events about SARS COV-2, the Novel Corona virus.History is observing a new lesson for Human lifetime, a very strange pandemic andits fight with a microscopic enemy.
SUMMARY: The Coronavirus outbreak was first reported on 17 Nov 2019 in the city of Wuhan in china and was declared a pandemic by the WORLD HEATH ORGANIZATION on February 11, 2020. The response from countries have been different at different levels. The virus threw us into an introspective loop, coerced us to look at the things that really matter in life, a jolt that actual life isn't all about 9-5 work and constant hustle where you are lost into the rat race. It has taught us to be prepared for the challenges in life. Like the saying goes "a lesson learned the hard way is the lesson learned for a lifetime".
CONCLUSION:The COVID-19 pandemic has brought devastating health and social consequences. But it has delivered a chance to learn valuable moral lessons that could benefit all of humanity.


Inspiration is a widely recognized phenomenon in everyday life. However, researchers still know very little about what the process of inspiration entails. This paper investigates designers' approaches when selecting inspirational stimuli during the initial phases of a design process. We conducted a think-aloud protocol study and interviews with 31 design Masters students while generating ideas for a design problem. The results indicate that searching for and selecting stimuli require different levels of cognitive effort, depending on whether there is unlimited or limited access to stimuli. Furthermore, three important stages of the inspiration process were identified: keyword definition, stimuli search and stimuli selection. For each of these stages, we elaborate on how designers define keywords, which search approaches they use and what drives their selection of stimuli. This paper contributes to an understanding of how designers can be supported in their inspiration process in a more detailed manner.


The etiology of idiopathic scoliosis is still unsolved, despite extensive research. This paper analyzes the different factors of relevance. Recent investigations have convincingly demonstrated the hereditary traits of idiopathic scoliosis. In the adolescent group a specific growth pattern has also been demonstrated, while muscular factors and biochemical changes of connective tissues are somewhat more uncertain. A significant number of patients demonstrate asymmetries in the vestibular apparatus and electroencephalographic abnormalities. Because of the essential role of the vestibular and central nervous systems in the postural equilibrium, functional asymmetries or minor pathologic changes in these structures might also be factors of importance. It is our view that adolescent idiopathic scoliosis should be regarded as a multifactorial disease. Combining the findings in recent investigations, a possible model for the pathogenesis of the disease is outlined.


A 38-year-old female was hospitalized with complaints of progressive motor weakness and numb ness of all four extremities. The neurological findings were right accessory nerve palsy, tetraparesis, sensory impairment below the level of the C3 dermatome, and positive Romberg's sign. There was no evidence of von Recklinghausen's disease. Myelography, metrizamide computed tomography (CT) myelography, and enhanced CT revealed an intradural, extramedullary mass lesion at the C2 spinal level. Laminectomy was performed from C1 through C3. The tumor was located in the right C2 subarachnoid space lateral to the spinal cord and was connected to the right spinal accessory nerve trunk. It was totally removed. Histological examination revealed an Antoni type B neuri noma. The postoperative course was uneventful.
 Spinal accessory nerve neurinoma is very rare; only 10 cases have been reported in the literature and, to the authors' knowledge, there have been no reports of such tumors confined entirely to the spinal canal. The authors believe this to be the first reported case.


The helical organization of cholesteric liquid crystals is omnipresent in living matter. Achieving control over the structure of the cholesteric helix consequently holds great potential for developing stimuli-responsive materials matching the level of sophistication of biological systems. In particular, inversion of a cholesteric helix is associated with inversion of the circular polarization of the light it reflects. While control over the cholesteric period has been thoroughly investigated, reports on helix inversion are scarcer. Predicting which systems display helix inversion also remains a challenge because of the subtle balance of contributions underlying this phenomenon. Here we provide an overview on recent advances in controlling and understanding helix inversion in cholesteric liquid crystals.


The editors have again produced an excellent text with their second edition of The Practice of Pediatric Neurology . This multiauthored, two-volume book draws on the experience of many well-known child neurologists. Topics are covered with detail and numerous references are cited. On the whole, the text is well written and well organized, and it is augmented by good-quality pictures, diagrams, and tables. The organization of the text is much like that of the first edition. The first section discusses history, physical examination, and laboratory testing as they pertain to children with neurologic problems. This section is high-lighted by an excellent presentation of the neuro-ophthalmologic examination and abnormalities in children—a new feature of the second edition. A good discussion of CSF examination is again included. The section on EEG has been considerably expanded and covers many aspects of neonatal EEGs, and a chapter on neuroradiology has been added. The second


A novel design methodology is proposed for ultrafast time-division demultiplexers. The circuit consists of three stages: the retiming stage, the AND processing stage and the reshaping stage. None of them has any feedback, so the maximum speed of the circuit is not limited by the loopback delay, unlike the conventional transistor-based demultiplexer (DEMUX). Each circuit is configured in a distributed fashion and operates by managing the induced propagation modes. The authors discuss the design concept, the circuit configuration, an analytical estimation of circuit performance of the proposed DEMUX.


The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the relationships between social support and depression and the amount of social support used by 31 widows and 35 widowers. Participants completed the Personal Resource Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and a demographic questionnaire. A significant negative relationship was observed between perceived social support and depression. There was no difference in the amount of depression experienced by widows and widowers. There were no significant differences in the two groups' perceptions of support received from their environment or in the number of supportive contacts identified in their social networks.


The authors expose the infectious complications after the accomplishment of surgical techniques in the foot as well as the antimicrobial treatment of election.


This paper examines industry-based doctoral dissertation research in a professional computing doctoral program for full time working professionals through the lens of different machine learning algorithms to understand topics explored by full time working industry professionals. This research paper examines machine learning algorithms and the IBM Watson Discovery machine learning tool to categorize dissertation research topics defended at Pace University. The research provides insights into differences in machine learning algorithm categorization using natural language processing.


This article focuses on individuals' willingness to attribute rape effects to pornography. Using General Social Survey data from 1975 and 1986, the paper examines (1) the attitudinal and experiential variables that shape acceptance of this causal attribution; (2) the impact of elite-level efforts to reframe the pornography issue to incorporate this causal attribution; and (3) interaction effects. The analysis shows the following: 1. Both experience with X-rated movies and a number of other attitudinal and social location variables are significant predictors. 2. There is no evidence of media effects, thus suggesting the limitations of re-framing efforts. 3. There are substantial interaction effects involving gender and both religiosity and exposure to X-rated movies.


The South West of Western Australia (SWWA) is widely known as one of the world's most biodiverse regions and a recognised biodiversity hotspot. However, since European colonisation approximately 200 years ago, this landscape has been cleared, fragmented and degraded at large and small scales, a problem magnified by being one of the planet's most vulnerable locations to climate change. This region also hosts one of the world's longest continuous cultures, the Nyungar people, who have lived in the SWWA for at least 38,000 years. However following colonisation Nyungar land management practices – that once connected the region's Traditional Owners with place, including firestick farming and seasonal movement – have been mostly lost with consequences not only for the biological makeup and diversity of the region but also for their culture. Fortunately, a range of contemporary projects, policies and plans have emerged that endeavour to address both the region's environmental challenges – including ecological fragmentation and species extinction – as well as aiming to reconnect the Nyungar peoples and traditional landscape practices with place. These projects provide a holistic vision to the challenge of improving landscape health and central to this practice is the continued maintenance of walking linkages across the landscape, through vegetated corridors or pathways, sometimes referred to as 'songlines'. This research will introduce three SWWA project examples that at varying scales explore the intersection of Indigenous knowledge, culture and practice with green infrastructure planning across challenging, complex and contested urban and regional environments. This range of Greenways promote the experience of traversing landscapes on foot as a critical step toward the simultaneous healing of self, culture, community and landscape embracing both ecological restoration as well as cultural and spiritual health. These emerging projects thereby propose an expanded and diverse spectrum of mutual benefits, offer greater buy-in from broad sectors of community and offer an additional tool toward implementation. While this research could appear specific to this part of the world, it offers contemporary examples for how to plan, design and visualise Greenways in order to deliver the widest diversity of benefits across landscapes in question; as well as a potential novel contribution to the Greenway typology, highlighting a new chapter in the everexpanding and rich greenway (and green infrastructure) narrative.


It is proposed to produce a number of exotic systems in the charge-exchange reactions using overlapping storage rings as sources of initial particles. The high efficiency of this method is provided by using, in collisions, the appropriate ions and the absence of losses in the medium due to in-flight production. The yields of the positronium, protonium, antihydrogen and ions of the antiprotonic helium isoelectronic sequence are estimated and some possibilities for measurements on the beam of the produced particles are discussed.


The extrinsic causes of dental erosion can be grouped under the headings of environmental, diet, medications and lifestyle. Environmental factors mainly involve exposure to acid fumes by workers in factories without proper safeguards. Swimming pools with low pH due to inadequate maintenance have also been implicated. Dietary factors have received the most attention and are likely to affect the broadest segment of the population. Most acidic foods and drinks have the potential to cause dental erosion in the human mouth. The total acid level (titratable acid) of dietary substances is considered more important than their pH, because it will determine the actual H+ available to interact with the tooth surface. Other constituents of foods and beverages will also have a modifying effect, including the calcium, phosphate and fluoride concentration, the acid type, and physical and chemical properties that influence the clearance rate from the mouth. It is not appropriate to assign relative degrees of risk to the different dietary substances except in general categories, because of the many human biological and behavioral factors that influence the clinical expression of dental erosion. The types of foods and beverages consumed, and the frequency and time of consumption are lifestyle factors that are considered most important regarding the clinical development of dental erosion. Low pH medications and oral hygiene products have also been suggested as potential causes of erosion. The combination of frequent consumption of acidic substances and overzealous oral hygiene practices may be another high risk lifestyle factor.


The hammerhead ribozyme undergoes a well-defined two-stage conformational folding process, induced by the binding of magnesium ions. In this study, we have used isothermal titration calorimetry to analyze the thermodynamics of magnesium binding and magnesium ion-induced folding of the ribozyme. Binding to the natural sequence ribozyme is strongly exothermic and can be analyzed in terms of sequential interaction at two sites with association constants K(A) = 480 and 2840 M(-1). Sequence variants of the hammerhead RNA give very different isothermal titration curves. An A14G variant that cannot undergo ion-induced folding exhibits endothermic binding. By contrast, a deoxyribose G5 variant that can undergo only the first of the two folding transitions gives a complex titration curve. However, despite these differences the ITC data for all three species can be analyzed in terms of the sequential binding of magnesium ions at two sites. While the binding affinities are all in the region of 10(3) M(-1), corresponding to free energies of Delta G degrees = -3.5 to -4 kcal mol(-1), the enthalpic and entropic contributions show much greater variation. The ITC experiments are in good agreement with earlier conformational studies of the folding of the ion-induced folding of the hammerhead ribozyme.


In a male patient with recurring lung metastases of infiltrating breast carcinoma (T2NOMO), primary treatment mastectomy, axillar dissection and local irradiation) the tumor metastases developed progressively despite of repeated surgical removement, polychemotherapy, and antiestrogen treatment. Active unspecific immunotherapy with a Nocardia opaca cell-wall extract, started in the final stage of the disease with deterioration of the performance status, resulted within several months in a complete remission without serious side effects. The reported result suggest that is is worth while to try such bacterial immunomodulators in therapy of advanced cancer in spite of many disappointing clinical trials.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate the seasonal relationship of macrobenthos richness and abundance with sediment characteristics (i.e. texture and organic material) for the coastal Budi Lagoon in southern Chile. Physicochemical measurements and macrobenthos samples were taken over the course of a year at nine sampling stations. Sandy-muddy sediment was the most common, and high percentages of organic material were registered, varying significantly between seasons and stations. The recorded organic material was related to natural (resident wild birds) and anthropogenic (agriculture) sources. Regarding fauna, 28 benthonic taxa and 7092 individuals were identified, with temporal and spatial variations. The most abundant taxa year-round were the molluscs Littoridina cumingii and Kingiella chilenica and the bristle worm Prionospio patagonica. Together, the obtained results evidence the important impact of organic material on the macrobenthos, with macrobenthic richness and abundance decreasing in conditions of high organic material content. The recorded variations for different taxa may indicate a response to the land use around the Budi Lagoon, which is intensely subjected to agricultural and tourist activities.


Leucine (Leu) participates in the activity of cationic amino acid (aa) transporters. Also, branched-chain aa [Leu, isoleucine (Ile), and valine (Val)] share intestinal transporters for absorption. We conducted an experiment with 16 young pigs (body weight of about 16 kg) to determine whether Leu and Ile affect expression of aa transporters b(0,+) and CAT-1 in the jejunum and expression of myosin in muscle, as well as serum concentration of essential aa, and growth performance in pigs. Dietary treatments were: wheat-based diets fortified with Lys, Thr, and Met; basal diet plus 0.50% Leu; basal diet plus 0.50% Ile, and basal diet plus 0.50% Leu and 0.50% Ile. After 28 days, the pigs were sacrificed to collect blood, jejunum, and semitendinosus and longissimus muscle samples. The effects of single and combined addition of Leu and Ile were analyzed. Leu alone or combined with Ile significantly decreased daily weight gain and reduced feed conversion. Leu and Ile, alone or in combination, significantly decreased expression of b(0,+) and significantly increased CAT-1. Ile alone or combined with Leu significantly decreased myosin expression in semitendinosus and significantly decreased it in longissimus muscle. Leu alone significantly decreased Lys, Ile and Thr serum concentrations; Ile significantly decreased Thr serum concentration; combined Leu and Ile significantly decreased Thr and significantly increased Val serum concentration. We conclude that dietary levels of Leu and Ile affect growth performance, expression of aa transporters and myosin, and aa serum concentrations in pigs.


Introduction Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating pulmonary condition in the critically ill patient. A therapeutic intervention is yet to be found that can prevent progression to ARDS. We recently demonstrated that the interaction between podoplanin expressed on inflammatory alveolar macrophages (iAMs) and its endogenous ligand, platelet C-type lectin-like 2 (CLEC-2), protects against exaggerated lung inflammation during a mouse model of ARDS. In this study, we aim to investigate the therapeutic use of a crosslinking/activating anti-podoplanin antibody (α-PDPN, clone 8.1.1) during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung inflammation in mice. Methods Intravenous administration of α-PDPN was performed 6 hours after intratracheal LPS in wildtype, C57Bl/6 mice. Lung function decline was measured by pulse oximetry as well as markers of local inflammation including bronchoalveolar lavage neutrophilia and cytokine/chemokine expression. In parallel, alveolar macrophages were isolated and cultured in vitro from haematopoietic-specific podoplanin-deficient mice (Pdpnfl/flVAV1cre+) and floxed-only controls treated with or without LPS in the presence or absence of α-PDPN. Results Lung function decline as well as alveolar neutrophil recruitment was significantly decreased in mice treated with the crosslinking/activating α-PDPN in vivo. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, in vitro, activation of podoplanin on iAMs regulates their secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Conclusions These data confirm the importance of the CLEC-2–podoplanin pathway during intratracheal (IT)-LPS and demonstrate the beneficial effect of targeting podoplanin during IT-LPS in mice possibly via modulation of local cytokine/chemokine expression. Moreover, these data suggest that podoplanin-targeted therapies may have a beneficial effect in patients at risk of developing ARDS.


Since the beginning, Islam has promised universal and global goodness (raḣmah li al-'ālamīn). It's just that in reality the goodness was still particular and local. This imbalance is caused by an unequal understanding between the dimensions of exoteric fiqh (body) and esoteric sufism (mind) which represents the human condition which consists of body and mind. Thus, this research is aimed at explaining the universality of Islam for global goodness through integration between both dimensions. This research is a library research. The method used is the thematic method, to explore and confirm a theory to its deepest intent. The analytical tool used for this purpose is content analysis. The results of the analysis show that the fiqh-exoteric dimension will produce physical goodness (maqāṣid al-sharī'ah), and the sufism-esoteric dimension will produce spiritual goodness (maqasid al-ṣūfiyyah), so that with the integration of the two, the goal of Islamic universality (maqasid al-dīniyyah) will be born.


Despite decades of rigorous scientific endeavors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug development, massive failures in clinical trials is continuously posing healthcare and societal burden. Currently recommended single targeted drugs including rivastigmine with limited bioavailability can alleviate AD symptoms only for a limited period of time but unable to reverse the disease progression. Recent evidences consider poly-pharmacological and multi-targeted agents aiming at amyloid and tau burden, neuroinflammation, neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement as potential treatment options. In this regard, bioactive herbal compounds with holistic action and minimal adversities have gained prominence, though lacunae in their scientific validation and limited bio-permeability to cross BBB represent major hurdles. Previously, we showed that lactoferrin conjugated PEG-S-S-PLA-PCL-OH efficaciously delivered herbal compounds to brain and such nano-herbal formulation of bacosides-lauric acid (BAN-LAN) attenuated neuronal damages induced by scopolamine in vitro. Here, we tested the preclinical potential of BAN-LAN in reversal of AD pathologies in 5XFAD transgenic mice. Our nano-herbal formulation substantially reduced amyloid burden by clearing Aβ plaques in the hippocampus of 5XFAD mice and also attenuated aβ42 induced alterations in AD associated gene expression in hippocampal neurons in vitro. It showed neuroprotection by rescuing neuronal damage and promoting neurogenesis in the hippocampus of AD transgenic mice. Anti-neuroinflammatory properties were also exhibited by the formulation as evident from inhibition of hippocampal astrocytic and microglial activation in 5XFAD mice. BAN-LAN showed cognitive efficacy by restoring memory impairment in AD transgenic mice and effects were more pronounced than unconjugated natural form and rivastigmine. These findings suggest that BAN-LAN may serve as a promising therapeutic agent for AD with better brain penetration and targeting multiple AD pathways.


The adaptive weights of a frequency domain adaptive recursive filter in the line enhance mode are investigated for their ability to rapidly detect and identify a weak tonal in the presence of additive broadband noise. The investigation utilizes both Monte Carlo computer simulations and first order theory to obtain an approximate analytic solution. In the simulation, rapid identification meant within one minute. For the case considered, frequency was determined for SNR \geq -32 dB and amplitude was determined for SNR \geq -37 dB. The analytic results show the limiting factors. Some of the results apply to the LMS transversal filter.


The putative transcriptional regulator protein YvoA (BSU35030) from Bacillus subtilis was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The protein was purified by immobilized metal-affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography and subsequently crystallized. A complete native data set was collected to 2.50 A resolution. The crystals belonged to the monoclinic space group C2 and preliminary analysis of the diffraction data indicated the presence of approximately 12 molecules per asymmetric unit.


Summary Objectives: An important feature of SNOMED CT is post-coordination, which is enabled by the SNOMED CT representation specifying whether a relationship is a defining or a qualifier relationship. In this paper the use of qualifier relationships in SNOMED CT is analyzed, as well as the extent to which qualifiers interact with defining relationships, so that pre-coordinated concepts can also be post-coordinated. Methods: The July 2007 release of SNOMED CT was imported into a database. Analyses were performed by querying this database. Results: Qualifier relationships occur in 10 out of 61 types of attribute relationships, and it is shown that generally pre-coordinated concepts cannot be constructed by applying post-coordination using qualifier relationships. Most of the qualifier relationships have generic target concepts, making it possible to construct concepts which are not clinically sensible. A logic-based representation is proposed to overcome the drawbacks of the current model. Conclusions: Defining and qualifier relationships both enable post-coordination in SNOMED CT. Introducing qualifiers for more types of relationships, and using qualifier relationships with more specific target concepts will further improve post-coordination in SNOMED CT.


A pressure-induced phase transition of Mg2Sr intermetallics from the low-pressure C14-type phase to an orthorhombic phase (space group Cmcm, Z = 4) at a high pressure of 21.0 GPa was firstly predicted using first-principles calculations combined with unbiased swarm structure searching techniques. The phase transition was identified as a first-order nature with a volume drop of 4.7%, driven by the softening of elastic behavior at high pressure. Further phonon calculations indicate that the newly predicted orthorhombic phase is dynamically stable at high pressure and ambient pressure. The mechanical properties including the elastic anisotropy of this orthorhombic phase were thus fully studied at ambient pressure. The elastic anisotropy behavior of this orthorhombic phase was investigated by the distributions of elastic moduli. The evidence of the bonding nature of Mg–Sr was also manifested by density of states (DOS) and electronic localization function (ELF) calculations.


ABSTRACT A study examined the effects of factors (including television, family, peers, age, and socioeconomic status) on consumer socialization, the process by which individuals develop consumption-related cognitions and behaviors. The specific criterion variables studied included consumer affairs knowledge, puffery filtering, consumer finance management, and brand preferences. Initial questionnaires were administered to 556 subjects in grades six through twelve, and a second wave of questionnaires was given to a subsample of 230 students 14 months later. The results indicated that the amount of television viewing was related positively to adolescents' discontent with the consumption processaand with their attitudes toward the marketplace. It was negatively related to puffery filteriag. The family appeared to play a relatively minor role in the development of consumer skills. Peer communication about consumption was associated positively with consumer discontent. The more money the youths had available, the more likely they were to expect to purchase major items in the near future. Upper class adolescents were more likely than their lower class counterparts to be able to filter puffery in advertising, as were first born youths. Age was positively associated with brand preference, ability to manage consumer finances, and level of consumer affairs knowledge. (HTH)


Background: Forensic odontology is a branch of science in the field of dentistry, where the legal system and dentistry meet. Forensic examination is needed in cases where the chronological age of an individual is unknown because real identity does not exist or there is an indication of identity falsification, forensic testing is needed to estimate age. Chronological age is age based on date, month and year of birth. Dental age is an age calculation that is calculated by assessing human growth and development. The pulp on a tooth can be used as an indicator in determining age based on its size because as we get older the secondary dentine deposition occurs, therefore it can be used continuously as a parameter of age estimation. This study was used to present a method for assessing chronological age based on the relationship between age and tooth-coronal index measurement (TCI). Objective: To determine the correlation between chronological age and dental age using the Coronal Pulp Cavity Index (CPCI) method on panoramic radiographic data and to determine the narrowing of the pulp chamber size in increasing age. Method: This study used accidental sampling. Samples were selected according to those who met the criteria for patients referred to the Dental Hospital Hasanuddin University and Denta Medica Care Center to take panoramic photographs. All radiographs were printed by one examiner and used the CPCI method to obtain dental age. Subsequent scores were analyzed to see the difference between chronological age and dental age. Results: Based on the results of the Linear Regression test, a p value: 0.02 (p <0.05), which means that there was a significant correlation between chronological age and dental age. Conclusion :The difference between chronological age and dental age can be analyzed from the results of panoramic radiographs to determine dental age using the CPCI Method.


available to a larger audience. Spindler and Brooks' Selections is a carefully crafted and well chosen anthology. It includes a chronology as well as an introduction and explanatory notes. Hence it may safely and profitably be assigned to undergraduates in Latin American history or literature. And inasmuch as Montalvo was a political philosopher or pensador concerned with Western, not just Ecuadorian, problems, Spindler and Cook's Selections is also of interest to scholars and students of comparative history or thought.


We present a simple cue-based method for camera calibration aimed at 3-D shape measurement with a single domestic camera. This method performs both camera calibration and measurement of the 3-D shape simultaneously by projecting objects of measurement along with a cue object having feature points onto one image plane while moving the single camera by hand. Our proposed method requires only four coplanar points, and hence the use of a simple geometrical structure such as A4 size paper as the cue object allows us to perform measurement of the 3-D shape easily without special equipment. Furthermore, the method modifies the observed feature points' coordinates with the optimization method which formulates the orthogonality constraint between coordinate axes given by the camera calibration.


Falls are a major public health problem among older adults because they lead to premature mortality, loss of autonomy, and increased dependence on others. However, these associations have not been explored using procedures that analyze the sequential effects between risk factors of falling. The present study aimed to examine the effects of muscle strength, agility, and fear of falling on risk of falling using path analysis in community-dwelling older adults. In total, 49 elderly (female = 33, male = 16) participants aged between 65 and 76 years (M = 68.38 years; SD = 6.22) were included for analysis. Muscle strength, agility, fear of falling, and risk of falling were assessed using validated instruments for the older adult population. The proposed model shows that muscle strength was negatively associated with agility. Consequently, agility was negatively associated with fear of falling. The same trend appeared between fear of falling and risk of falling. The effect sizes were between small and medium for agility (R2 = 0.16), fear of falling, (R2 = 0.29), and risk of falling (R2 = 0.03). The main finding of the present study was that muscle strength was significantly correlated with agility, which, in turn, predicted fear of falling. Consequently, lower scores for fear of falling explained lower risk of falling in community-dwelling older adults. While muscle strength is a crucial component of physical fitness, only with adequate levels of agility can older adults possess the efficacy and ability to perform daily tasks.


This thesis is concerned with an investigation of the thermodynamic parameters of complexation of calix[4]resorcarene and calix[4]arene with metal cations and with anions, aiming at the removal of polluting ions from contaminated sources (such as the re-use of processed water) and for the extraction of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Synthesis of 5, 11, 17, 23 ethylthiomethylated calix[4]resorcarene (L2), 5, 17 ethylthiomethylated calix[4]resorcarene (L3) and 25, 27-bis[N-(2-hydroxy-1,1 bis-hydroxymethyl-ethyl)aminocarbonylmethoxy] calix[4]arene-26, 28-diol (L4) and their characterisation by different techniques such as NMR and elemental analysis was accomplished. Partition experiments were carried out to determine that L2 and L3 are predominantly in their monomeric state in the solvents in interest. NMR technique was used for the characterisation of the ligands based on calixarene and resorcarene and for the investigation of the active site of complexation between the ligand and metal cations or anions in different solvents at 298 K. From the 1H NMR in MeCN, it can be inferred that the resorcarene ligand (L2) is interacting with Hg2+, Pb2+ and Ag+ while L3 showed interaction with Hg2+. In MeOH, both L2 and L3 showed interaction with Hg2+ and Ag+. As far as L4 is concerned, it was inferred that L4 interacts with alkaline-earth metal cations, Zn2+ and Pb2+ between the cations and with fluoride and dihydrogen phosphate in acetonitrile. Conductometric titrations in solution were carried out to determine the composition of the chemical species formed. Thermodynamic parameters of complexation of L2 and L3 with the appropriate cations reveal that L2 is selective for Ag+ and L3 possesses high stability with Hg2+. X-ray crystallography of the L2-Hg2+ complex reflects the decomposition of the ligand and the formation of polymers containing mercury and sulphur chains. Thermodynamic parameters of complexation of L4 with metal cations and anions of interest reveal the following selectivity trends at 298.15 K. L4: Mg2+ > Zn2+ > Ca2+ > Sr2+ > Pb2+ > Ba2+ (MeCN) L4: F-> H2PO4- (MeCN, DMF) Finally, conclusions and suggestions for further work in the area are given.


The Williston basin is a structural and sedimentary basin which covers 51,600 square miles in North Dakota and contains sedimentary rocks of every geologic period from the Cambrian through the Tertiary. The maximum known thickness is 15,128 feet in a well in McKenzie County in Western North Dakota. The Upper Cambrian to Lower Ordovician Epochs are represented by the Deadwood Formation which represent stable shelf deposits extending eastward from the Cordilleran geosyncline. The Williston structural basin began in Middle Ordovician time with a relatively thin clastic sequence (Winnipeg Group) followed by predominantly carbonate deposition (Red River, Stony Mountain and Stonewall Formations). Carbonate deposition continued through Lower and Middle Silurian (Interlake Formation) followed by a period of erosion marked by a major unconformity. During the Middle and Upper Devonian Epochs the Williston basin was a part of the larger western Canada basin of deposition which was marked by predominantly carbonate deposition with a thick evaporite in the lower part (Prairie Formation) and cyclical carbonates with some thin clastic and evaporite beds in the upper part End_Page 1881------------------------------ (Duperow, Nisku, Three Forks). Deposition was continuous or nearly continuous into the Mississippian, but the center of the Madison depositional basin was nearly coincident with the present Williston basin. It began with predominantly carbonate deposition with increasing evaporites in the upper part. The evaporites are mostly halite in the central basin area with anhydrite toward the flanks of the basin. Predominantly clastic deposition (Big Snowy Group) followed the evaporites and this was followed by another unconformity. The Pennsylvanian and Permian periods are represented by clastics with minor carbonates (Minnekahta Formation) and some evaporites. This was a time of slight subsidence with the Williston basin area being part of a larger depositional area extending to the south and west. Similar conditions continued through the Triassic with fine grained clastics and some evaporites being deposited, followed by some non-marine redbeds and another unconformity. The Williston structural basin had little effect on Jurassic or Cretaceous sedimentation so these periods are represented by eastward extensions of the predominantly fine grained clastics from the Rocky Mountain area seas. The Tertiary Period is represented by a wedge of predominantly non-marine beds which thickens westward toward the Rocky Mountain area. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1882------------


The improvement in energy efficiency is recognized as one of the significant parameters for achieving our net-zero emissions target by 2050. One exciting area for development is conventional carbon capture technologies. Current amine absorption-based systems for carbon capture operate at suboptimal conditions resulting in an efficiency loss, causing a high operational expenditure. Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative speciation of CO2-loaded alkanolamine systems and their interactions can improve the equipment design and define optimal operating conditions. This work investigates the potential of Raman spectroscopy as an in situ monitoring tool for determining chemical species concentration in the CO2-loaded aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solutions. Experimental information on chemical speciation and vapour-liquid equilibrium was collected at a range of process parameters. Then, partial least squares (PLS) regression and an artificial neural network (ANN) were applied separately to develop two Raman species calibration models where the Kent–Eisenberg model correlated the species concentrations. The data were paired and randomly distributed into calibration and test datasets. A quantitative analysis based on the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean squared error (RMSE) was performed to select the optimal model parameters for the PLS and ANN approach. The R2 values of above 0.90 are observed for both cases indicating that both regression techniques can satisfactorily predict species concentration. ANN models are slightly more accurate than PLS. However, PLS (being a white box model) allows the analysis of spectral variables using a weight plot.


Public-private dialogue (PPD) is a structured engagement mechanism that aims to bring together all relevant stakeholders, in a balanced and inclusive manner, to assess, prioritize, and achieve sustainable results. Sector-specific PPD can provide an integrated response to factors constraining sector growth and improve the pace of sector reform. It can be particularly helpful in improving competitiveness and provide a highly valued platform for collaboration along the supply chain and across governments, businesses, and communities. Sector-specific PPD can also be implemented at a subnational or regional level.


A recent surgeon general's report and various studies document racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care, including gaps in access, questionable diagnostic practices, and limited provision of optimum treatments. Bias is a little studied but viable explanation for these disparities. It is important to isolate bias from other barriers to high-quality mental health care and to understand bias at several levels (practitioner, practice network or program, and community). More research is needed that directly evaluates the contribution of particular forms of bias to disparities in the area of mental health care.


This article surveys troubadour poetry connected to the Empordà lands, mainly by gathering the relevant placeand person-names we have detected while creating a map of troubadour courts for the project Trob-Eu. We have aimed at defining the context that accounts for the Empordà presence in each poem, sometimes offering new interpretations of the composition, for instance those of Guillem de Berguedà and Cerverí de Girona. The courtly networks highlighted by this survey reveals the channels of circulation of troubadour lyric, while the mentions of magnates, castles and other enclaves in the Empordà complement the details afforded by documentary sources when analysing these circles of power as well as the tensions and changes occurred between mid-12thC and early 14hC in this area.


In this paper, we develop a mathematical framework for data inversion in reservoir models. A general formulation is presented for the identification of uncertain parameters in an abstract reservoir model described by a set of nonlinear equations. Given a finite number of measurements of the state and prior knowledge of the uncertain parameters, an iterative representer-based scheme (IRBS) is proposed to find improved parameters. In this approach, the representer method is used to solve a linear data assimilation problem at each iteration of the algorithm. We apply the theory of iterative regularization to establish conditions for which the IRBS will converge to a stable approximation of a solution to the parameter identification problem. These theoretical results are applied to the identification of the second-order coefficient of a forward model described by a parabolic boundary value problem. Numerical results are presented to show the capabilities of the IRBS for the reconstruction of hydraulic conductivity from the steady-state of groundwater flow, as well as the absolute permeability in the single-phase Darcy flow through porous media.


ABSTRACT A flow-sorting technique was developed to determine unperturbed metabolic activities of phylogenetically characterized bacterioplankton groups with incorporation rates of [35S]methionine tracer. According to fluorescence in situ hybridization with rRNA targeted oligonucleotide probes, a clade of α-proteobacteria, related to Roseobacter spp., and aCytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster dominated the different groups. Cytometric characterization revealed both these groups to have high DNA (HNA) content, while the α-proteobacteria exhibited high light scatter (hs) and the Cytophaga-Flavobacteriumcluster exhibited low light scatter (ls). A third abundant group with low DNA (LNA) content contained cells from a SAR86 cluster of γ-proteobacteria. Cellular specific activities of the HNA-hs group were 4- and 1.7-fold higher than the activities in the HNA-ls and LNA groups, respectively. However, the higher cellular protein synthesis by the HNA-hs could simply be explained by their maintenance of a larger cellular protein biomass. Similar biomass specific activities of the different groups strongly support the main assumption that underlies the determination of bacterial production: different bacteria in a complex community incorporate amino acids at a rate proportional to their protein synthesis. The fact that the highest growth-specific rates were determined for the smallest cells of the LNA group can explain the dominance of this group in nutrient-limited waters. The metabolic activities of the three groups accounted for almost the total bacterioplankton activity, indicating their key biogeochemical role in the planktonic ecosystem of the Celtic Sea.


In this paper we develop a novel classification approach for high and very high resolution polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) amplitude images. This approach combines the Markov random field model to Bayesian image classification and a finite mixture technique for probability density function estimation. The finite mixture modeling is done via a recently proposed dictionary-based stochastic expectation maximization approach for SAR amplitude probability density function estimation. For modeling the joint distribution from marginals corresponding to single polarimetric channels we employ copulas. The accuracy of the developed semiautomatic supervised algorithm is validated in the application of wet soil classification on several high resolution SAR images acquired by TerraSAR-X and COSMO-SkyMed.


In a presentation to the American Economics Association, McCloskey (1998) argued that "statistical significance is bankrupt" and that economists' time would be "better spent on finding out How Big Is Big". This abbreviated survey is devoted to methods of determining "How Big Is Big". It is concerned with a rich body of literature called selection procedures, which are statistical methods that allow empiricists to attach confidence levels to statements about the relative magnitudes of population parameters (i.e., How Big Is Big). Despite their prolonged existence and common use in other fields, selection procedures have gone relatively unnoticed in the fields of economics, and, perhaps, their use is long overdue. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief survey of selection procedures as an introduction to economists and econometricians and to illustrate their use in economics by discussing a few potential applications. Both simulated and empirical examples are provided.