The objectives were to investigate the effects on fluid balance, digestion and exercise response in Standardbred horses in race training when feeding silage, haylage or hay-only diets. In experiment (exp) 1, five Standardbred geldings were fed forage-only diets: hay (82% dry matter, DM) and silage (45% DM) for 23 days in a crossover design. Total collection of faeces and urine was performed. In exp 2, six Standardbred geldings were fed forage-based diets: haylage (68% DM) and silage (41% DM) for 17 days in a crossover design. On day 17, an incremental interval exercise test was performed on an oval racetrack. In exp 1, horses drank more on the hay than on the silage diet, but total water intake (drinking þ water in feed) was higher and resting values of total plasma protein (TPP) was lower on the silage diet. Total water output per day did not differ and therefore the estimated evaporation was larger on the silage than the hay diet. The apparent digestibility was higher on the silage than the hay diet. In exp 2, heart and respiratory rate, TPP and lactate and blood pH did not differ between the haylage and silage diets during and after the exercise test. In conclusion, feeding silage did not affect faecal water content, but apparent digestibility and estimated evaporative fluid loss were higher on the silage diet compared with the hay diet. The silage did not adversely affect the response to intensive exercise compared with haylage. However, the estimated higher evaporative fluid loss on the silage diet compared with the hay diet might cause an unnecessary challenge during more prolonged exercise.


The flow of international change is characterized by the growing strongness of the globalization trend in all lines including in the trade sector. This has an impact on the birth of international trade organizations. One such organization is Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). TPP is a cross-national economic cooperation centered in the Asia Pacific region. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact if Indonesia joined the organization. This research uses SWOT analysis method. The result of the study recommends that Indonesia to review the desire to join in the organization's container. This is due to the contraindications to the values brought by the organization with the original values of Indonesia one of which is the spirit of NAWACITA. In addition, it is still necessary to more prepare supporting facilities and infrastructures in order to compete with other TPP organization members


A model describing the time constant of a transmission-line integrator is presented. By representing the formulations of integrators in the discrete-time (or Z) domain, we implement the integrators with equal-length transmission lines. Three integrators with different time constants and frequency bands are built and tested. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical values.


The effects of thermal conditions of coastal and estuarine nurseries, both in the pre- sent and in the near future, on juvenile fish were compared. The response of the European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax was investigated through a long-term experiment in captivity, where 0-group juveniles were exposed to temperatures that reflect the average summer temper- ature that they encounter in coastal (18°C) and estuarine nurseries (24°C), and also the tempera- ture that they endure inside estuaries during heat waves (28°C). The combined expression of 2 heat shock proteins (Hsc/Hsp70) in white muscle was assessed throughout a long-term experi- ment (30 d). Growth and condition were determined at the end of the experiment. Hsc/Hsp70 lev- els were constant throughout the first 15 d at 18°C, and then decreased steeply. At 24 and 28°C, Hsc/Hsp70 levels increased considerably after 15 d, particularly at 28°C, and decreased at the end of the experiment. Daily growth was 0.20 mm d �1 at 18°C, it increased to 0.34 mm d �1 at 24°C, and was lowest at 28°C, at 0.16 mm d �1 . Condition, assessed by Fulton's K, was 0.95 at 18°C, 1.00 at 24°C and 0.83 at 28°C. The Hsc/Hsp70 increase at 24 and 28°C is an indication that molecular reparation processes were underway. The peak growth and condition values registered at 24°C suggest that estuarine average summer temperatures are more bene ficial for this species' juve- niles than coastal temperatures. Acclimation was observed at 24°C, yet growth rates and condition values indicate that prolonged heat waves (28°C) may result in lower fitness.


We examined the effect of presenting unknown policy statements on German parties' election posters. Study 1 showed that participants inferred the quality of a presented policy from knowledge about the respective political party. Study 2 showed that participants' own political preferences influenced valence estimates: policy statements presented on campaign posters of liked political parties were rated significantly more positive than those presented on posters of disliked political parties. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 with an additional measure of participants' need for cognition. Need for cognition scores were unrelated to the valence transfer from political parties to policy evaluation. Study 4 replicated the findings of Studies 2 and 3 with an additional measure of participants' voting intentions. Voting intentions were a significant predictor for valence transfer. Participants credited both their individually liked and disliked political parties for supporting the two unknown policies. However, the credit attributed to the liked party was significantly higher than to the disliked one. Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, participants evaluated political clubs that were associated with the same policies previously presented on election posters. Here, a second-degree transfer emerged: from party valence to policy evaluation and from policy evaluation to club evaluation. Implications of the presented studies for policy communications and election campaigning are discussed.


Abstract The National Games of 1961 and 1964 transformed the theatrics of state power in postcolonial Laos. While using modern sporting spectacle to promote national unity and progress in a context of Cold War division, the games were also embedded in an existing theatrics of power, which dramatised the status of their founder, General Phoumi Nosavan. The modern motifs of national unity and progress were not only a device of state legitimation; they were also the currency of status display, an end in itself. Combining the theory of spectacle in modern societies with a modified reading of Geertz's "theatre state", this article questions the modernising impact of sport, arguing instead that twentieth-century technologies of performance have transformed the theatrics of power in postcolonial Southeast Asia.


A method for constructing stable Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD)/Galerkin reduced order models (ROMs) for compressible flow is described. The proposed model reduction technique differs from the approach taken in many applications in that the Galerkin projection step is applied to the continuous system of partial differential equations (PDEs), rather than a semi-discrete representation of these equations. It is demonstrated that the inner product used to define the Galerkin projection is intimately tied to the stability of the resulting model. For linearized conservation laws such as the linearized compressible Euler and linearized compressible Navier-Stokes equations, a symmetry transformation leads to a stable formulation for the inner product. Preservation of stability for the discrete implementation of the Galerkin projection is made possible using piecewise-smooth finite element bases, and a weak enforcement of the boundary conditions. The stability and accuracy of the proposed model reduction approach is studied in the context of two test cases: the problem of an inviscid pressure pulse in a uniform base flow, and a viscous laminar cavity problem. For the second inherently non-linear test case, the non-linear dynamics of the flow are captured in the POD reduced basis modes, but not in the equations projected onto these modes, as the ROM equations are based on a local linearization of the full non-linear flow equations.


Introduction and aim: To develop a protocolized monitor schedule in microvascular free flap reconstruction, we investigated a possible correlation between the outcome and the interval between clamp release and start of revision. Materials and methods: All the charts of patients treated between 2000 and 2006 with a free flap were evaluated. The patients who underwent a flap revision were further analyzed. Results: A total of 608 free flaps were evaluated; 69 of these flaps were revised. Most vascular complications took place within the first 24 h; the latest complication was observed 8 days after surgery. After 6 days post surgery, the number of revisions decreased considerably. With regard to the salvaged flaps the mean time to start the revision was 46.5 h (SD 39). With regard to the failed revisions, the mean time to start the revision was 82.0 h (SD 47). This difference proved significant (P = 0.006). Conclusion: Our data shows that the majority of anastomotic failures occur within the first 24 h. Thereafter, the frequency of failures decreases. We also found that the time between initial reconstruction and start of the salvage procedure influences the outcome of the revision negatively. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2007.


We examine the task of spoken term detection in Chinese spontaneous speech with a lattice-based approach. We compare lattices generated with different units: word, character, tonal syllable and toneless syllable, and also look into methods of converting lattices from one unit to another one. We find the best system is with toneless-syllable lattices converted from word lattices. Further improvement is achieved by lattice post-processing and system combination. Our best system has an accuracy of 80.2% on a keyword spotting task.


A general purpose software system for computerized materials testing is described, and although the software was specifically developed for materials testing applications, it has been used in other real time data acquisition and reduction applications with success (for example, the system was used to reduce data stored in a transient recorder). The software is core resident and allows one to control materials tests in real time and record and reduce data from these tests in the high level, conversational BASIC language. Previous software for such applications usually required the user to have extensive computer programming skills. The system described greatly reduces the time necessary to write and debug programs for computerized materials test systems. The simplicity of the overall system makes the computerized materials test system available to a broader range of users.


Health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process, understand, and communicate about health-related information needed to make informed health decisions and is an important factor in patient health outcomes and resulting health care costs. Because of its importance across many areas of health, specific attention has been given to studying and measuring health literacy in recent years; however, the field lacks consensus on how health literacy should be defined and measured. As a result, numerous definitions and measures of health literacy exist. This fragmentation and inconsistency creates a barrier to conceptualizing, measuring, and understanding health literacy across health domains and fields. A directed literature search reveals a substantial body of work on health literacy; however, findings from studies often emphasize health literacy within specific health domains, populations, contexts, and languages, which makes the comparison of findings across studies difficult. While there is recognition that the measurement of health literacy should be improved, it is important to take into consideration what can be gained from a general health literacy focus and how this could be applied across domains.


Defining the pharmacological target(s) of currently used drugs and developing new analogues with greater potency are both important aspects of the search for agents that are effective against drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Thiacetazone (TAC) is an anti-tubercular drug that was formerly used in conjunction with isoniazid, but removed from the antitubercular chemotherapeutic arsenal due to toxic side effects. However, several recent studies have linked the mechanisms of action of TAC to mycolic acid metabolism and TAC-derived analogues have shown increased potency against M. tuberculosis. To obtain new insights into the molecular mechanisms of TAC resistance, we isolated and analyzed 10 mutants of M. tuberculosis that were highly resistant to TAC. One strain was found to be mutated in the methyltransferase MmaA4 at Gly101, consistent with its lack of oxygenated mycolic acids. All remaining strains harbored missense mutations in either HadA (at Cys61) or HadC (at Val85, Lys157 or Thr123), which are components of the β-hydroxyacyl-ACP dehydratase complex that participates in the mycolic acid elongation step. Separately, a library of 31 new TAC analogues was synthesized and evaluated against M. tuberculosis. Two of these compounds, 15 and 16, exhibited minimal inhibitory concentrations 10-fold lower than the parental molecule, and inhibited mycolic acid biosynthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, overexpression of HadAB HadBC or HadABC in M. tuberculosis led to high level resistance to these compounds, demonstrating that their mode of action is similar to that of TAC. In summary, this study uncovered new mutations associated with TAC resistance and also demonstrated that simple structural optimization of the TAC scaffold was possible and may lead to a new generation of TAC-derived drug candidates for the potential treatment of tuberculosis as mycolic acid inhibitors.


In a survey on the edaphic mesostigmatic mites in mangrove forests of Qeshm Island, eastern of the Persian Gulf, two species of the family Ascidae were collected in broken cockleshells and sand in littoral zone: Leioseius sepidehae sp. nov. and Protogamasellus mica (Athias-Henriot, 1961). This is the first record of the genus Leioseius from Iran. Leioseius sepidehae sp. nov. is described from adult females. Intraspecific variations of some characters of P. mica are discussed, and based on those, P. primitivus machadoi Genis, Loots & Ryke, 1967 and P. primitivus similis Genis, Loots & Ryke, 1967 are herein synonymized under P. mica. Finally, the occasional presence of the gland pores gv1 in Ascidae is reviewed, and a key to the Iranian genera and species of Ascidae is presented.


Hydrogenated polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H) is a material consisting of a small volume fraction of nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. pm-Si:H solar cells demonstrate interesting initial degradation behaviors such as rapid initial change in photovoltaic parameters and large macroscopic structural change during light-soaking. The precise dynamics of the light-induced degradation was studied in a series of light-soaking experiments. Complementary studies reveal that the initial degradation of pm-Si:H solar cells originate from the modification of silicon-hydrogen bonding on the surface of silicon nanocrystals in pm-Si:H.


Summary form only given. When a quantum-well exciton transition is resonant with a single mode of a high-Q microcavity the linear reponse of the coupled system may be described in terms of normal modes ("cavity polaritons"), which arise as a result of the interplay of absorption and dispersion of the exciton transition within the cavity. The nonlinear response of these systems has often been discussed in terms of "polaritonic nonlinearities". It is desirable to investigate the nonlinearities of normal-mode microcavities (NMC's) at the same level and to determine if the microscopic theory accounting for the bare-QW response also quantitatively accounts for the normal-mode nonlinear response. We report here an extensive series of pump-probe experiments, investigating the time-resolved reflectivity of an NMC as a function of pump and probe polarization and pump fluence.


Commercial Gasoline available in the market always has a tendency to form deposits known as "gum". Solvent washed gum can contribute to deposits on the surface of carburetors, fuel injectors, intake manifolds, ports, valves and valve guides. Thus, to avoid these problems, standard limit is given for maximum allowable gum formed by gasoline fuel. Now-a-days, alcohol blended gasoline fuel is used. The impact of solvent washed gum on malfunctions of modern engines that can operate on ethanol fuel blends has not been fully established. An attempt has been made to determine the trend of gum formation tendency of ethanol blended fuel. Keywords: Fuel, Gasoline, Alcohol, Ethanol Blended Fuel, Gum Formation.


Polygon meshes, which are used in most graphics applications, require considerable amounts of storage, even when they only approximate precise shapes with limited accuracy. To support Internet access to 3D models of complex virtual environments or assemblies for electronic shopping, collaborative CAD, multi-player video games, and scientific visualization, representations of 3D shapes must be compressed by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, several closely related methods have been proposed in recent years to smooth, de-noise, edit, compress, transmit, and animate very large polygon meshes, based on topological and combinatorial methods, signal processing techniques, constrained energy minimization, and the solution of diffusion differential equations. This is an overview of some of my recent results in this area: linear anisotropic mesh filtering, bi-level isosurface compression, space-optimized texture maps, and volume warping for adaptive isosurface extraction.


Most active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exhibit a narrow Fe Kα line at ~6.4 keV in the X-ray spectra, due to the fluorescent emission from cold material far from the inner accretion disk. Using XMM-Newton observations, Page et al. found that the equivalent width (EW) of the narrow Fe Kα line decreases with increasing luminosity (EW ∝ L-0.17±0.08), suggesting a decrease in the covering factor of the material emitting the line (presumably the torus). By combining the archival Chandra HETG observations of 34 type 1 AGNs with XMM observations in the literature, we build a much larger sample with 101 AGNs. We find a similar X-ray Baldwin effect in the sample (EW ∝ L-0.2015±0.0426); however, we note that the anticorrelation is dominated by the radio-loud AGNs in the sample, whose X-ray spectra might be contaminated by the relativistic jet. Excluding the radio-loud AGNs, we find a much weaker anticorrelation (EW ∝ L-0.1019±0.0524). We present Monte Carlo simulations showing that such a weak anticorrelation can be attributed to the relative short timescale variations of the X-ray continuum.


Abstract Despite wide variation in form and function of vertebrate feeding strategies, convergent acquisitions of functionally analogous systems are seen across taxa, often driven by the medium (air or water) in which the animal lives. As the majority of fish rely on suction for aquatic prey capture, tetrapods that exhibit this mode prove especially valuable for functional morphological analysis of vertebrate response to medium constraints. The dwarf African clawed frog, Hymenochirus boettgeri, is unique among anurans as an inertial suction feeder. High-speed video recordings indicate that kinematic variables of food capture always proceed in a rostrocaudal sequence, as is conserved among suction-feeding vertebrates. However, maximum hyoid depression differs from most vertebrates studied in that it follows (rather than precedes) mouth closure. Suction events are preceded by a body lunge toward the food item and followed by recoil of the body with lateral spreading of the forelimbs. It is proposed that the abducted forelimbs decelerate the frog's capture lunges and delayed hyoid depression acts to prolong a caudal flow of water to effectively entrain prey.


This is a case study of Benchmark School, which educates 6- to 15-year-olds with a history of school failure. Grounded theory methodology was employed to generate a theory about how the school promotes achievement. Many elements potentially promoting academic achievement were identified, including ones informed by psychological theory and research (e.g., evidence-based literacy instructional practices, strategies instruction, conceptually focused content instruction, many mechanisms to motivate students) but also, selective admissions, human resources (i.e., well-trained teachers, supportive parents, skilled counselors), small class size, and a supportive physical context. The theory that emerges is that many elements must be articulated to remediate struggling elementary students, although some are more important than others.


We studied seasonal and diurnal variation of singing activity in a single-song repertoire species, the savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), to explore the possible functions of the song. We observed a total of 47 territorial males (11 over three years, 28 over two years) on a daily basis. For all paired and unpaired males, and across all stages of the breeding season, we recorded total number of songs produced (singing persistence), the number of instances of aggression per 10-minute period in each focal male, and the number of songs per 3-minute period (singing intensity). Male savannah sparrows showed different singing activity in different behavioural contexts: 1) unpaired males sang more persistently, but less intensely than paired males; 2) paired males markedly reduced their singing persistence, but showed higher singing intensity, especially in the evening; 3) singing intensity of paired males peaked during the egg-laying period. The different patterns of singing activity in relation to time of day, nuptial status, and female breeding stage suggest that though the birds each possess only a single song type, the differential activities may play important roles in intra- and inter-sexual communication systems: it is argued that 1) intense singing by paired males in the evening plays a role in territory defense, while persistent singing by unpaired males in the morning plays a role in mate attraction; 2) especially high evening singing activity during the egg-laying period may relate to changed female behavior at the nest associated with the onset of incubation.


A methodology that may be applied to help in the choice of a continuous reactor is proposed. In this methodology, the chemistry is first described through the use of eight simple criteria (rate, thermicity, deactivation, solubility, conversion, selectivity, viscosity, and catalyst). Then, each reactor type is also analyzed from their capability to answer each of these criteria. A final score is presented using "spider diagrams." Lower surfaces indicate the best reactor choice. The methodology is exemplified with a model substrate nitrobenzene and a target pharmaceutical intermediate, N-methyl-4-nitrobenzenemethanesulphonamide, and for three different continuous reactors, i.e., stirred tank, fixed bed, and an advanced microstructured reactor. Comparison with the traditional batch reactor is also provided.


Knowledge Graph (KG) embedding projects entities and relations into low dimensional vector space, which has been successfully applied in KG completion task. The previous embedding approaches only model entities and their relations, ignoring a large number of entities' numeric attributes in KGs. In this paper, we propose a new KG embedding model which jointly model entity relations and numeric attributes. Our approach combines an attribute embedding model with a translation-based structure embedding model, which learns the embeddings of entities, relations, and attributes simultaneously. Experiments of link prediction on YAGO and Freebase show that the performance is effectively improved by adding entities' numeric attributes in the embedding model.


A simple sticking probability model is used for deducing a kernel capable to describe the kinetics of computer-simulated irreversible aggregation processes. Not only the diffusion- and reaction-limited aggregation regimes were fitted but also the whole transition region. The deduced kernel establishes λ = 0 for the entire range of sticking probabilities and helps to understand how irreversible cluster-cluster aggregation works.


Background: The risk of hyperkalemia is elevated in chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, the initial and recurrent risk among older individuals is less clear. Objectives: We set out to examine the initial and 1-year recurrent risk of hyperkalemia by level of kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate, eGFR) in older adults (≥66 years old). Design: Population-based, retrospective cohort study Settings: Ontario, Canada Participants: 905 167 individuals (≥66 years old) from 2008 to 2015. Measurements: Serum potassium values Methods: Individuals were stratified by eGFR (≥90, 60-89, 30-59, 15-29 mL/min/1.73 m2) and examined for the risk of incident hyperkalemia (K ≥ 5.5 mEq/L) using adjusted Cox proportional hazards models. The 1-year risk of recurrent hyperkalemia was examined using multivariable Andersen-Gill models. Results: Among a population of 905 167 individuals (15% eGFR ≥ 90, 58% eGFR 60-89, 25% eGFR 30-59, 3% eGFR 15-29) with a potassium measurement, there were a total of 18 979 (2.1%) individuals with hyperkalemia identified. The event rate (per 1000 person-years) and adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of hyperkalemia was inversely associated with eGFR (mL/min; eGFR >90 mL/min: 8.8, referent, 60-89 mL/min: 11.8 HR 1.41; eGFR 30-59: 39.8, HR 4.37; eGFR 15-29: 133.6, 13.65) and with an increasing urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR, mg/mmol; ACR< 3: 14, referent, ACR 3-30: 35.1, HR 1.98; ACR >30: 93.7, 4.71). The 1-year event rate and adjusted risk of recurrent hyperkalemia was similarly inversely associated with eGFR (eGFR ≥ 90: 10.1, referent, eGFR 60-89: 14.4, HR 1.47; eGFR 30-59: 54.8, HR 4.90; eGFR 15-29: 208.0, HR 12.98). Among individuals with a baseline eGFR of 30 to 59 and 15 to 29, 0.9 and 3.8% had greater than 2 hyperkalemia events. The relative risk of initial and recurrent hyperkalemia was marginally higher with RAAS blockade. Roughly 1 in 4 individuals with hyperkalemia required hospitalization the day of or within 30 days after their hyperkalemia event. Limitations: Limited to individuals aged 66 years and above. Conclusions: Patients with low eGFR are at a high risk of initial and recurrent hyperkalemia. Trial registration: N/A


The literature concerning the management of pulmonary disease caused by Mycobacterium xenopi is scanty and consists of retrospective reports, mostly of small series of patients. Our aim was to document the clinical features and response to treatment of this rare but challenging disease. Patients were treated in a randomised, multi-centre trial with either rifampicin plus ethambutol or rifampicin, ethambutol and isoniazid. Clinical, bacteriological and radiological progress was monitored at set intervals for 5 years. As no differences emerged between the two groups, the results have been combined to provide this prospective survey. Forty-two patients were studied. Mean age was 65 years, three-quarters were male and two-thirds had other lung disease(s). Sputum was positive on direct smear in 62%. Cavitation was present in 81%, mostly large cavities, and disease was extensive in 38%. Despite good clinical response and little toxicity the death rate was high (69%), but less than 10% died primarily because of the M. xenopi disease. The failure of treatment/relapse rate was 12%. Only 11 (26%) were known to be alive at 5 years of whom seven (17%) were known to be cured. There was no correlation between failure of treatment/relapse and in vitro resistance. Better methods of susceptibility testing and more effective regimens are needed, but it is also evident that improved management of concomitant diseases and better general health will play a major part in increasing survival.


Human disturbances affect the macroinvertebrate populations in coastal regions. They respond to disturbances by altering their density and behaviour. Therefore, many of them are used as bioindicator species of human disturbance. Here, we pioneer the use of fiddler crabs to examine whether they alter their behaviour under human disturbance. Male fiddler crabs possess one large claw used for courting (waving) and fighting, and one small feeding claw, whereas females have two feeding claws. They show several surface activities. This study investigates (1) the effects of human disturbance on density and sex-ratio, and (2) the effects of human disturbance, and sex on behavioural time allocations in Austruca annulipes. Their density, sex-ratio, and time allocations were investigated in human-disturbed area (DA) and nondisturbed area (NDA). They showed feeding, feeding and walking, walking, running, standing/vigilance, inside burrows, burrowing, grooming, fighting, and waving. The results showed that crab density was higher and the sex ratio was more male biased in NDA than in DA. Human disturbance and sex affected time allocations but their interaction had no effect. Crabs in DA spent more time running, standing, and inside burrows but less time walking, burrowing, fighting, and waving than crabs in NDA. Between sexes, males spent more time standing, burrowing, grooming, and fighting but less time feeding, and walking than females. This indicates that human disturbances force the crabs to spend more time on anti-predator and escape behavior (standing/vigilance, running, inside burrows) rather than courting (waving) and constructing burrows (mating/breeding sites), which are important for breeding.


Seven cases of Histiocytic necrotizing Lymphadenitis (HNL) were studied. They constituted 0.56% of all lymph nodes biopsies. The condition primarily affects young women causing cervical lymph node enlargement and leukopenia. The basic lesion is characterized by proliferation of lymphocytes and histiocytes with nuclear debris in the para cortex and cortex. This study examined various bacterial, viral and immunological factors which could possibly be responsible for this condition. However, it failed to find positive association with any of them. The existence of this disease in Pakistan is documented.


Background Dense deposit disease (DDD) is a rare glomerulonephritis caused by uncontrolled stimulation of the alternative complement pathway. Allograft survival after kidney transplantation is significantly reduced by the high rate of disease recurrence. No therapeutic interventions have consistently improved outcomes for patients with primary or recurrent disease. Eculizumab may represent an alternative for these patients but the reported data are limited. Purpose To describe a case of a patient with DDD treated with eculizumab after failure of renal transplantation. Material and methods 66-year-old male patient, with chronic renal failure due to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis type I, who received a kidney transplant in November 2009. In December 2010 the patient had to resume heamodialysis because of disease recurrence. In February 2015 he received the second kidney transplant, with corticosteroid-resistant failure in December 2016. The deteriorating graft function and increasing proteinuria were evident. A transplant biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of recurrent DDD. Results After diagnosis, intravenous cyclophosphamide was administered and six sessions of plasmapheresis were performed with important leucopaenia and without evidence of improvement. Creatinine and urea values were 2.57 and 94 mg/dL, respectively. Treatment with eculizumab was requested, as an off-label use. The patient received a loading dose of 900 mg weekly for 4 weeks, continuing with a maintenance dose of 1,200 mg every other week during 2 months. Renal function progressively worsened (creatinine: 4.3 and urea 233 mg/dL) with haematuria and severe proteinuria (>4 g/24 hour), so it was thought that eculizumab could be excreted in the urine. Considering this, it was decided to increase the dose of eculizumab to 1,500 mg to assess response. After two additional doses, therapeutic failure was confirmed. The patient had acidosis and creatinine, and urea values of 4.5 and 250 mg/dL, so haemodialysis was resumed. Conclusion Eculizumab has been used without strong evidence and had no results in this case. Dose increase to 1,500 mg is not described in the literature. As a drug of high economic impact, it seems necessary to establish strict criteria of use to select the patients who can really benefit from treatment with eculizumab, particularly as off-label use. References and/or Acknowledgements 1. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol2012May;7(5):748–56. No conflict of interest


ABSTRACT This paper examines the contributions made by the International Committee in Support of the Transition (CIAT), a diplomatic mechanism representing fifteen states and international organizations that was mandated by the peace agreements signed between the warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2002. The paper argues that CIAT played an essential managing role in the extremely complex transition process. Not only did CIAT manage the spoilers and facilitate the organization of the elections, it also provided for the much-needed coordination among the multiple international actors involved in the peace and reconstruction process. The experience of CIAT shows that diplomatic mechanisms can be important and effective tools in the transitional architecture. However, it also demonstrates that the success of such a diplomatic mechanism is highly dependent on the parameters set in the peace agreement and the overall strategy of the international community in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


Background Intra-articular knee injections are routinely performed in clinical practice without documenting intra-articular placement. Hypothesis A small amount of air to an intra-articular knee injection produces an audible "squishing" sound with range of motion. Study Design Prospective nonrandomized clinical trial. Methods The study group (20 knees from 20 patients) received an intra-articular injection with a mixture of local anesthetic, corticosteroid, contrast dye, and 1 to 2 cc of air. The control group (10 knees from 5 patients) received extra-articular injections of a mixture of local anesthetic, contrast dye, and 2 cc of air. All knees were examined immediately after injection for a squishing sound with range of motion. Postinjection arthrographic radiographs were taken to verify the actual placement. Result All study group knees and no control group knees had intra-articular contrast by radiograph. Clearly audible squishing sounds were heard in 17 of 20 study knees (sensitivity of 85%). Squishing sounds were audible in none of the control knees (specificity of 100%). Conclusion Adding 1 to 2 cc of air to knee injections provides a no-cost, reliable, sensitive, and specific method of confirming accurate placement. Clinical Relevance This simple method is easily reproduced, can confirm accurate placement, and can eliminate extra-articular injection as the reason for clinical response failure.


The conventional wisdom, backed by legitimacy research, is that most people obey most of the laws, most of the time. This turns out to not be the case in a study of state-local participation in immigration law enforcement. Two enforcement programs involving the use of immigration detainers, a vehicle by which the federal government (through ICE) requests that local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) detain immigrants beyond their scheduled release upon suspicion that they are removable, demonstrate the breakdown of conventional wisdom. In the five years following initiation of the Secure Communities program, a significant and growing number of states and localities have declined to cooperate with federal immigration detainer requests or enacted sanctuary policies -- ultimately leading to the demise of the Secure Communities program and a reworking of federal-local partnerships in immigration enforcement through the Priority Enforcement program that replaced it in November 2014. The balance of crime control and community trust in immigration enforcement is being reset as the political pendulum swings as Congress considers legislative reforms to curb local resistance to detainers following the killing of Kathryn Steinle in July 2015.This Essay finds that state and local non-cooperation in immigration enforcement -- a timely example of uncooperative federalism -- is influenced by attitudes toward the legitimacy of executive action -- distinct from attitudes toward the law's legality, morality, or politics. Both cooperation and noncooperation contribute to a policymaking feedback loop in ways more complicated than existing theories of cooperative federalism and executive action presage.


Acute myeloid leukemia patients with complex karyotype (CK-AML) account for approximately 10–15% of adult AML cases, and are often associated with a poor prognosis. Except for about 70% of CK-AML patients with biallelic inactivation of TP53, the leukemogenic mechanism in the nearly 30% of CK-AML patients with wild-type TP53 has remained elusive. In this study, 15 cases with complex karyotype and wild-type TP53 were screened out of 140 de novo AML patients and the expression levels of MDM4, a main negative regulator of p53-signaling pathway, were detected. We ruled out mutations in genes associated with a poor prognosis of CK-AML, including RUNX1 or FLT3-ITD. The mRNA expression levels of the full-length of MDM4 (MDM4FL) and short isoform MDM4 (MDM4S) were elevated in CK-AML relative to normal karyotype AML (NK-AML) patients. We also explored the impact of MDM4 overexpression on the cell cycle, cell proliferation and the spindle checkpoint of HepG2 cells, which is a human cancer cell line with normal MDM4 and TP53 expression. The mitotic index and the expression of p21, BubR1 and Securin were all reduced following Nocodazole treatment. Moreover, karyotype analysis showed that MDM4 overexpression might lead to aneuploidy or polyploidy. These results suggest that MDM4 overexpression is related to CK-AML with wild-type TP53 and might play a pathogenic role by inhibiting p53-signal pathway.


The article presents data on the conditions of use and efficacy of botulinum toxin preparations, oral muscle relaxants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and a glutamatergic transmission modulator in post-stroke neurorehabilitation, and provides recommendations for their rational and safe use. The clinical efficacy of Mexidol, which has a polymodal effect on a wide range of post-stroke disorders, especially in long-term sequential therapy, is discussed. A complex use of post-stroke rehabilitation methods with the determination of individual tactics based on the clinical picture of the patient and the defined rehabilitation goals is recommended. The inclusion of Mexidol in the complex therapy of patients with stroke consequences for tasks related to improving motor, affective and cognitive functions and self-care and quality of life looks promising. It is necessary to continue high-quality clinical studies to assess the pharmaceuticals efficacy in relation to post-stroke disorders.


CD4+ T cells are critical orchestrators of immune responses against a large variety of pathogens, including viruses. While multiple CD4+ T cell subtypes and their key transcriptional regulators have been identified, there is a lack of consistent definition for CD4+ T cell transcriptional states. In addition, the progressive changes affecting CD4+ T cell subtypes during and after immune responses remain poorly defined. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we characterized the diversity of CD4+ T cells responding to self-resolving and chronic viral infections in mice. We built a comprehensive map of virus-specific CD4+ T cells and their evolution over time, and identified six major cell states consistently observed in acute and chronic infections. During the course of acute infections, T cell composition progressively changed from effector to memory states, with subtype-specific gene modules and kinetics. Conversely, in persistent infections T cells acquired distinct, chronicity-associated programs. By single-cell T cell receptor (TCR) analysis, we characterized the clonal structure of virus-specific CD4+ T cells across individuals. Virus-specific CD4+ T cell responses were essentially private across individuals and most T cells differentiated into both Tfh and Th1 subtypes irrespective of their TCR. Finally, we showed that our CD4+ T cell map can be used as a reference to accurately interpret cell states in external single-cell datasets across tissues and disease models. Overall, this study describes a previously unappreciated level of adaptation of the transcriptional states of CD4+ T cells responding to viruses and provides a new computational resource for CD4+ T cell analysis.


The teleparallel gravity theory, treated physically as a gauge theory of translations, naturally represents a particular case of the most general gauge-theoretic model based on the general affine group of spacetime. On the other hand, geometrically, the Weitzenb\"ock spacetime of distant parallelism is a particular case of the general metric-affine spacetime manifold. These physical and geometrical facts offer a new approach to teleparallelism. We present a systematic treatment of teleparallel gravity within the framework of the metric-affine theory. The symmetries, conservation laws and the field equations are consistently derived, and the physical consequences are discussed in detail. We demonstrate that the so-called teleparallel GR-equivalent model has a number of attractive features which distinguishes it among the general teleparallel theories, although it has a consistency problem when dealing with spinning matter sources.


An understanding of the dynamics of hydrogen on Si(001) is crucial to understanding gas-source growth, as the presence of hydrogen on the surface during gas-source growth of silicon and germanium dramatically changes the kinetics of growth and the morphology of the growth surface. We have used a combination of hot scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments and computational modelling, with the two techniques inter-relating, to investigate this system. By comparison with experimental and ab initio results, we have shown that our semi-empirical tight-binding code is sufficiently accurate to calculate diffusion barriers on the surface, while being efficient enough to be used in large simulations, such as that of the interaction of hydrogen with step edges. The behaviour of hydrogen has been investigated for diffusion along dimer rows, from one end of a dimer to the other, across dimer rows, down steps and away from a defect, with good agreement being found between measured and modelled diffusion barriers. We can now give a full account of the behaviour of hydrogen on the Si(001) surface.


Abstract Purpose: Professionalism is a core physician competency and identifying students at risk for poor professional development early in their careers may allow for mentoring. This study identified indicators in the preclinical years associated with later professionalism concerns. Methods: A retrospective analysis of observable indicators in the preclinical and clinical years was conducted using two classes of students (n = 226). Relationships between five potential indicators of poor professionalism in the preclinical years and observations related to professional concerns in the clinical years were analyzed. Results: Fifty-three medical students were identified with at least one preclinical indicator and one professionalism concern during the clinical years. Two observable preclinical indicators were significantly correlated with unprofessional conduct during the clinical years: Three or more absences from attendance-required sessions (odds ratio 4.47; p=.006) and negative peer assessment (odds ratio 3.35; p=.049). Conclusions: We identified two significant observable preclinical indicators associated with later professionalism concerns: excessive absences and negative peer assessments. Early recognition of students at risk for future professionalism struggles would provide an opportunity for proactive professional development prior to the clinical years, when students' permanent records may be affected. Peer assessment, coupled with attention to frequent absences, may be a method to provide early recognition.


Applications for laser patterning in Si photovoltaics include (i) patterning SiO2 or SiN layers with openings for local contacts and (ii) laser-doped selective emitter (LDSE) processes, in which the contact open is accompanied by the diffusion of dopants into a locally melted Si area. While contact open processes are best performed with UV wavelengths that can be strongly absorbed by the SiN or SiO2 (allowing layer ablation with a minimum of Si heating), the Si melt depth required by LDSE requires irradiation at longer laser wavelengths where these antireflection coatings (ARCs) no longer absorb well. An optimized LDSE process must thus produce Si melting as well as the least amount of Si vaporization sufficient to lift off the overlying ARC. In this work, we investigate the mechanisms for lifetime degradation in Si(p-type, 100-oriented)/ARC samples resulting from 20 ns pulsed laser irradiation at 532 nm at fluences near the threshold for ARC removal. To differentiate between lifetime degradation induced by changes in the passivation layer vs. changes in the Si itself, samples were lifetime mapped after patterned laser irradiation and then again after a wet ARC strip and repassivation. Samples with ARCs of thermal SiO2 and PECVD SiN typically showed some residual Si damage after irradiation at fluences sufficient for contact open. Interestingly, irradiation of the SiO2 samples at lower fluences, between the threshold for Si melting and ARC removal, showed damage to the SiO2 passivation, but no residual Si damage. Explanations for these observations and related results will be discussed.


Sample-time error between channels degrades resolution of time-interleaved analog-to-digital converters (TIADCs). A calibration method implemented in mixed circuits with low-complexity and fast-convergence is proposed in this paper. The algorithm for detecting sample-time error, which is widely applied to wide-sense stationary input signals, is based on correlation. The detected sample-time error is corrected by a voltage-controlled sampling switch. Experimental result of a 2-channel 200-MS/s 14-bit TIADC shows that the signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio improves 19.1 dB, and the spurious-free dynamic range improves 34.6 dB for a 70.12MHz input after calibration. The convergence time of the calibration is about 20000 sampling intervals.


Buoyancy modules are widely used ancillary equipment aiming to shape riser systems to resist harsh offshore environments. Due to their thermoset polymeric nature, they are sensitive to the manufacturing parameters as well as subject to water absorption along their service life. To overcome the challenges of polymer-based buoyancy module, this paper explores the design of metallic buoyancy modules that can be 3-D metal printed.
 An initial material selection is performed to identify suitable material candidates for the optimization algorithm. Steel and aluminum materials are considered and evaluated on a representative case combining density, mechanical stress and buckling criterion.
 Then a topology optimization algorithm called 'Adaptative Bone Mineralization' is applied on the best candidate material, adapting their modulus of elasticity at each iteration according to the current stress distribution, load case definition and boundary conditions. The optimized design incorporates additional requirements related to additive manufacturing processes.
 Results of the optimization algorithm are presented in a progressive order of complexity starting from the optimization of an angular section of 11.25 degrees opening with symmetrical boundary conditions up to a quarter of half-shell buoyancy module fully optimized in 3D. The optimization process log, capturing the volume fraction and the maximum stress at each iteration, is presented and compared with the selected set of criteria. Impact of the manual reconstruction process of the buoyancy module is assessed and the buckling stability is evaluated as a post-treatment. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional topologically optimized buoyancy modules are presented and comply with the strict mass requirement, stress criterion and buckling stability achieving deep water depth.
 This novel design approach to create deep water metallic buoyancy modules achieves the tailoring of the buoyancy module's internal structure to maximize the buoyancy performance while ensuring its structural integrity.


Access to clean water is Human Rights. However, insufficient protection of water sources, non-existent water quality monitoring system or use of water quality monitoring system with considerable delays, as well as inadequate treatment of water puts the community at risk of different infectious diseases. To ensure the quality of drinking water, real-time monitoring of the supply water is necessary. This paper presents a Real-time Water Quality Monitoring System based on Internet of Things (IoT) where the water supplier and consumers can directly monitor the quality of the water through android, and web-based application and the administrator, as well as the end-user, can get an alert if there is any problem in the quality of the water to take necessary action. The IoT setup connected with several online sensors which measure the physical and chemical parameters of water such as Temperature, Conductivity, pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Dissolve Oxygen (DO) and Turbidity. The measured parameters can push to the cloud layer of the IoT through the edge controllers. By sending a request an end-user and administrator can check the quality of the water through web-based as well as android based Applications with the help of cloud for real-time monitoring. An automatic alert comes to the water supplier through android application when the sensor value deviates from its normal drinkable range of water as Mentioned by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Index Terms—Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Edge Controller, cloud server, Android, Water Quality Parameters.


1,2-Dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol (2-50 microM) was found, like phorbol myristate acetate (greater than or equal to 3 nM) to stimulate phospholipase A-type cleavage of phosphatidylinositol and the release of arachidonic acid from macrophage phospholipids. The 1,3 isomer of dioctanoylglycerol was inactive, whereas racemic 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol was half as potent as the 1,2-sn enantiomer. Dioctanoylglycerol-induced deacylation of phosphatidylinositol was only partly dependent on extracellular calcium but was more severely inhibited by depletion of intracellular calcium. Chlorpromazine inhibited the deacylation of phosphatidylinositol, whereas inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase were ineffective. Since both phorbol myristate acetate and 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol are known to activate protein kinase C, the results suggest that this kinase is involved in the sequence of events leading to release of arachidonic acid in macrophages.


Cardiac transplant patients are cared for using the latest advances in medicine and technology, yet many patients have difficulties that modern technology alone cannot resolve. During the initial hospitalization these patients depend on nurses to diagnose and intervene in the psychosocial realm and to teach them how to cope with this unpredictable experience.


Rig costs account for a substantial part of the total cost of an offshore field development project. Systems and methods that can reduce the non-productive time are therefore of interest to operators. In deep and ultra-deep waters, the duration of drilling campaigns with multiple, closely located wells may potentially be reduced by optimizing equipment-retrieving procedures between moving from one drilling location to another. This may be achieved by not retrieving the whole drilling riser and the BOP to the surface. Instead, retrieving just a few joints and navigating the drilling rig with the drilling riser and BOP suspended may save several days of rig time.
 Previous works on this topic have investigated the riser response during the move and delineated under which environmental conditions (waves and current) this operation may be safely executed. The axial displacement of the riser column may be of concern, and it has been presented that the hang-off condition may substantially influence the response of the riser. Instead of looking at the riser hanging either from the spider-gimbal or from the tensioners, this work proposes to use the active heave compensation system of the drillstring to more efficiently decouple motions of the rig from the riser during the move. Thus, mitigating the riser response and enabling the navigation with the suspended riser and BOP to take place under broader environmental conditions.
 A commercial program for computational simulations of the riser dynamic responses was used in the study presented in this paper. A representation of the active heave compensation drilling system and the tool used to achieve this purpose were added to the model. The responses of a typical riser used in deep water were determined under several environmental conditions, and the responses of different hanging systems were compared. Results indicate that the proposed approach for suspending the riser may decrease the dynamic forces and stresses during the rig move. The ability of the modeled rig equipment to withstand the move was also investigated.


A nanodrug that can effectively combat cisplatin-resistant A549/CDDP cells was developed by protecting cisplatin from glutathione (GSH) detoxification trough a host-guest interaction between cisplatin and p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene. The enzymatic activity of glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) was also regulated by loaded 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).


The waging of 'patent wars' - in which the focal point is the assertion of patents that are essential to the implementation of technical standards ('essential patents' or 'SEPs') - is among the prominent features of today's litigation landscape. In line with this development, competition authorities strive to ensure that the market power obtained by holding SEPs is not abused to the detriment of effective competition. It has indeed been shown that a single SEP is sufficient to block third parties from implementing the standard to which it relates, thus effectively excluding competitors from the market. This systematic analysis lucidly details the role played by competition law in ensuring that holders of SEPs do not unduly exploit their advantage. The author describes how market power, often amounting to dominance, is obtained by proprietors of SEPs, and then proceeds to set out the framework under which the legality of standardization agreements must be assessed, finally highlighting the role of competition law in preventing patent-related abuse arising after a standard is adopted. Among the often complex issues clearly explained are the following: technical standards as drivers of innovation and consumer welfare; conditions governing the standard-setting process; the concepts of 'patent hold-up' and 'patent ambush'; refusal to license; establishing deception ex ante and abuse ex post; and availability of injunctive relief. In addition to drawing on all relevant EU competition laws and the Commission's guidelines, the analysis extends when applicable to case law of EU Member States and to pertinent US sources, including literature, case law, and Federal Trade Commission documents. This book achieves a number of important goals. It explores how Articles 101 and 102 TFEU have been applied, and how it is likely that they will be applied, to prevent, identify, and sanction patent-related abuse in the context of technical standards. It underscores the necessity for a sound legal framework capable of guiding the conduct of patentees and providing an incentive to participate in formal standard-setting activities in order to unlock the economic potential of standardization. It provides guidance to stakeholders, policymakers, and courts on how the current competition law regime applies to technical standards and, where gaps exist, suggests the most likely interpretation of the applicable law. For these reasons and more it will prove to be of great value to lawyers, business persons, and officials working at this crucial nexus of competition law and patent law.


We present a physically accurate low-order elastic shell model that incorporates active material response to dynamically changing stimuli such as heat, moisture, and growth. Our continuous formulation of the geometrically non-linear elastic energy derives from the principles of differential geometry, and as such naturally incorporates shell thickness, non-zero rest curvature, and physical material properties. By modeling the environmental stimulus as local, dynamic changes in the rest metric of the material, we are able to solve for the corresponding shape changes by integrating the equations of motions given this non-Euclidean rest state. We present models for differential growth and shrinking due to moisture and temperature gradients along and across the surface, and incorporate anisotropic growth by defining an intrinsic machine direction within the material. Comparisons with experiments and volumetric finite elements show that our simulations achieve excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement. By combining the reduced-order shell theory with appropriate physical models, our approach accurately captures all the physical phenomena while avoiding expensive volumetric discretization of the shell volume.


OBJECTIVE
It is crucial to understand long-term leisure time physical activity (LTPA) patterns of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) as the challenges of living with this disability heavily influence LTPA levels. The purpose of this study was to explore emerging LTPA patterns in a sample of persons with SCI over an 18-month period. In addition, the study aimed to investigate the influence of pressure ulcers, demographic variables, and theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs on the emerging LTPA trajectories.

METHOD
Participants (N = 541) were enrolled in the SHAPE-SCI study and responded to questionnaires assessing LTPA, TPB constructs and demographic variables. Latent Class Growth Modeling was used to detect emerging LTPA patterns and to test the influence of important demographic and theoretical variables.

RESULTS
Four LTPA patterns emerged: inactive, increaser, decreaser, and stable active, representing 22%, 14%, 32%, and 32% of the sample, respectively. The presence of pressure ulcers resulted in a decline in LTPA among participants with a stable active trajectory. Finally, LTPA intentions were higher in all patterns compared to the inactive group. Injury severity, age, and years postinjury also distinguished the trajectories.

CONCLUSION
Interventions should focus on increasing individuals' intentions and should be directed toward people who are older, have more severe injuries and have been injured for longer.


We characterize chaos for the translation semigroup, with a sector in the complex plane as index set, defined on a weighted function space. The results are stated in terms of the integrability of the weight function, and in terms of the existence of periodic points. We generalize previous results of
[8, 15]. Some examples are also provided to complete the study.


A laminated composite consisting of an ultrahigh carbon steel (UHCS) and an 8Ni-2Si iron interleaf material can be selectively heat treated without carbon diffusion between adjacent layers. This desirable attribute leads to a low ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) of about 163K ( − 110°C) after selective heat treatment. This result is a consequence of notch blunting from the presence of the sharp interlayer boundary and the tough interleaf material. Based on Charpy notch impact results of selectively heat-treated UHCS composites containing 8Ni-2Si iron and other interleaf materials, it is concluded that the DBTT is principally a function of the notch-toughness of the interleaf material.


This paper describes the use of high density plasma etch systems for the fabrication of long wavelength optoelectronic devices based on InP. In particular it is shown that the combination of a high density inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and a high temperature electro-static chuck (ESC) may be used for both shallow optical waveguides and for deep optical mirrors in InP-based epitaxial layers. It is also shown that a very high density magnetic zero resonant induction (M0RI) plasma at lower temperatures offers the flexibility and control required for hard-mask open and sidewall 'spacer' etch processes involving dielectric materials.


Concrete structures undergo different forms of damage during their service life. The aim of this study is to identify the most common forms of concrete damage in field conditions. A number of concrete elements and structures were visually inspected and the damage was photographed. The damage phenomena covered are delamination, popout, spalling, scaling, drying shrinkage cracking, corrosion-induced cracking, map cracking, rust and salt stains, discoloration, and mold and moss growths. The probable reasons for these damage phenomena are discussed in this study. Moreover, this study highlights how concrete structures can be protected from the aforementioned forms of damage by using sealer and coating systems as surface treatments. Different sealer and coating systems, emphasizing their selection for specific uses, installation on concrete substrate, effects on concrete durability, performance criteria, and performance evaluation methods have been discussed. Furthermore, some recommendations are given to improve the performance of concrete sealer and coating systems for the protection of concrete structures in field conditions.


To assess the alerting effects of caffeine after normal and restricted nocturnal sleep, 36 healthy, nonsmoking men, 19 to 35 years old, who reported normal sleep and daytime alertness received 0, 75, or 150 mg caffeine twice daily after 8 and 5 hours in bed the previous night. Sleep restriction reduced average daily sleep latency measured by the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) and slowed auditory vigilance reaction time in the latter half of the 40-minute task. Caffeine (75 and 150 mg) increased average daily sleep latency and improved vigilance reaction time. However, sleep restriction did not alter the alerting effects of caffeine. The data show that, unlike ethanol, basal level of sleepiness/alertness does not interact with the effects of caffeine.


Abstract:No document is more central to the scholarly historiography of kabbalah's "origins" than a unique letter written by R. Isaac the Blind. Since its discovery, scholars have made it the foundation for an elaborate narrative about the transmission of kabbalistic traditions from Provence to Gerona at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Scholars have not only used the letter to help reconstruct the ties between these two centers, but even to reconstruct their purported theological concerns about the transmission, composition, and dissemination of esoteric lore.The present study offers a fresh and thorough explication of this cryptic, and partly encrypted, document, which is here translated and critically edited. Whereas previous scholars focused on its exoteric opening, neglecting the esoteric central portion that spans nearly half of the letter, the author elucidates this difficult section, with the assistance of traditions attributed to Isaac and the writings of his own trustworthy nephew, Asher b. David. Particular attention is paid to Isaac's quotations from Sefer yetsirah, which reveal the central pillar of theology supporting Isaac's doctrine of mystical intentions (kavanot). This decipherment yields a new understanding of the exoteric section and of the entire correspondence between the kabbalists: they were debating the mystical-contemplative significance of certain liturgical kavanot and religious rituals (especially taking an oath by the Tetragrammaton).


Urticaria is a skin condition characterized by lesions of papules and / or erythematous and edematous plaques fleeting, that persist for minutes or hours, and which appear and disappear in different locations of tegument. Intense itching it´s usually associated. We report the case of a girl preschool, 2 years and 10 months, who presented erythematous, pruritic lesions on the extensive right hemifacial, forearms, chest and abdomen after ingestion of coconut shells and juicebox. The diagnosis was established only after the evidence of elimination of Ascaris lumbricoides through the mouth and anus was then treated with albendazole with complete resolution.


Multicell base station cooperation can improve sum-rates and reduce outage in cellular system by sharing user channel state information (CSI). On the basis of inter-cell interference nulling (ICIN) at the transmitter sides of cooperative base stations, we propose an adaptive feedback bit allocation scheme to minimize the rate loss due to limited feedback. Furthermore, we investigate the scaling law of the total number of bits per user to maintain a constant rate loss. Simulation results show that the proposed feedback bits allocation strategy provides significant gain compared to equal bits allocation.


External strengthening of reinforced concrete haunched beams with and without shear reinforcement has been investigated by using carbon and basalt fiber reinforced polymer fabrics. In addition, the flexural behavior of reinforced haunched beams which are partially and entirely produced from engineered cementitious composite has been tested. The samples, which were produced from self-compacting concrete, engineered cementitious composite, and a combination of them, were prepared and tested via four-point loading tests. Reinforced haunched beams were divided into two strengthening groups. Group 1 included the shear strengthening of self-compacting concrete reinforced haunched beams (beams without stirrups) by the consideration of various strengthening configurations with both fiber-reinforced polymer fabric types. Group 2 included the flexural strengthening of reinforced haunched beams via fiber-reinforced polymer fabrics and/or engineered cementitious composite. The obtained results were depended on the ultimate load capacities, load-displacement curves, crack patterns, and failure modes of strengthened reinforced concrete haunched beams. Experimental results show that the strengthening material and strengthening configuration influence the mechanical behavior of reinforced concrete haunched beams considerably. However, the effect of strengthening configuration was higher. The highest increase in load capacity was 72.8% for shear strengthening (group 1), while the highest increase was 28.8% for the flexural strengthening group (group 2). Furthermore, the U-shaped anchorage with fiber-reinforced polymer fabrics prevented the premature failure of engineered cementitious composite layer and fiber-reinforced polymer fabrics covering the bottom face of reinforced haunched beams and increased the load capacity of reinforced haunched beams, while some losses were observed in ductility. The replacement of the concrete with engineered cementitious composite on the tension side increased the load capacity of reinforced concrete haunched beams.


Recently we have developed a track-nanodosimetric counter, which is a gas detector that measures the distributions of electrons induced by a charged particle in nanometric volumes of tissue equivalent matter, positioned at different distances from the track. Sites equivalent to 20 and 24 nm were defined by means of an electron collector, which is a system of electrodes enclosing an almost wall-less cylindrical volume. In this paper, we present the design of a new electron collector that is able to simulate a volume as small as 10 nm in diameter.


We examine the occupational attainment of recent immigrants at 2 years post migration in order to study their early stage assimilation into the labour market in Australia. Human capital endowments and country-of-origin effects are examined for six occupational groups. We also study transitions across occupations from source to host country. The empirical approach utilizes the Ordered Generalized Extreme Value (OGEV) model which embodies differing utility functions across occupational outcomes, as well as accounting for any ordering in these outcomes. The results suggest that the transferability of knowledge and skills is affected by cultural and social backgrounds, and that non-Western immigrants are disproportionately channelled into inferior jobs post migration. The investigation of the country-of-origin effect on the skilled migrants' occupational transition process is especially apt in the context of skill shortages in many host countries.


This study aims to test whether the price, design, and quality of products influence the decision to buy cloth masks during a pandemic. This research uses quantitative methods. The sample in this study amounted to 100 respondents obtained by non-probability sampling method with purposive sampling technique. The data obtained is processed using multiple linear analysis techniques through SPSS software. The results of the analysis in this study showed that (1) price variables have a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions, (2) design variables have a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions, (3) product quality variables have a positive and significant effect on purchasing decisions.


In vitro regenerative potential of protocorm like bodies (PLBs) of Dendrobium barbatulum were assessed. The formation of secondary PLBs from the primary PLBs that formed from the callus, it is derived from a few larger injured protocorm like bodies. The injured larger PLBs were cultured on half strength MS supplemented with different concentrations of BAP (0.32, 1.62, 3.23 and 16.15 μM), Zn (0.46, 2.28, 4.56 and 22.80 μM) and Kn (0.47, 2.33, 4.65 and 23.25 μM). The highest percentage of secondary PLBs (66.33%) were obtained on half strength MS medium supplemented with BAP 3.23 μM, after 5 weeks of culture. Then these clumps of PLBs were subcultured on half strength MS fortified with coconut water (CW), cane juice (CJ), peptone (P) and casein hydrolysate (CH) for regeneration. Among the complex organic additives 20% CW and 2.0 g/l P to half strength MS resulted in the development of plantlet 78.31 and 62.60%, respectively. Well developed plantlets were successfully acclimatized in the community pots having brick pieces, charcoal, decaying litter and coconut husk (1 : 1 : 1 : 1) gave maximum survival rate of 87.03%.


Double U-pipe boreholes are the second most used type of ground heat exchangers after single U-pipe boreholes. The borehole thermal resistance is a key design and performance parameter for the double U-pipe boreholes. Another parameter that is particularly important for double U-pipe boreholes is the internal thermal resistance between the U-pipes. There is, however, a general lack of methods that can be used to calculate the thermal resistances of the double U-pipe boreholes. This article presents explicit multipole formulas for calculating thermal resistances of double U-pipe boreholes with symmetrically positioned pipes. The presented formulas include zeroth- and first-order expressions for the borehole thermal resistance and the internal thermal resistance. The internal thermal resistance formulas cover various possible flow configurations of the heat carrier fluid in the double U-pipes. The accuracy of the presented zeroth- and first-order formulas is established by comparing them to the original 10th-order multipole method. The article also presents thermal network models for computing effective borehole thermal resistance of double U-pipe boreholes from the multipole resistances. Formulas for calculating effective borehole thermal resistance of double U-pipe boreholes are presented for two idealized cases of uniform heat flux and uniform average wall temperature along the borehole.


Pulmonary TB is a contagious disease caused by the bacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium is rod shaped and is acid resistant so it is known as Acid Resistant Basil (BTA). Most pulmonary TB germs often attack lung parenchyma and cause Lung TB, but can also attack other organs (extra-pulmonary TB) such as pleura, lymph nodes, bones and other extra-pulmonary organs.The pulmonary of this study was to determine the effect of giving Belut Abon on the levels of albumin and BMI of pulmonary TB patients in the working area of Petumbukan Health Center, Deli Serdang Regency in 2019 for 30 days. This type of research was Quasi Experiment with a design before and after the intervention using one group or called one group pre and post test design. Data analysis used paired t test to determine the effect of the intervention on albumin and BMI levels.The population in this study were all patients of disease as many as 22 people and entire population used as research samples.The results and conclucions of this study indicated the effect of Belut Abon/shredded on albumin and BMI levels (p = 0.005, 0.005 < 0.05).


We study a probabilistic variant of binary session types that relate to a class of Finite-State Markov Chains. The probability annotations in session types enable the reasoning on the probability that a session terminates successfully, for some user-definable notion of successful termination. We develop a type system for a simple session calculus featuring probabilistic choices and show that the success probability of well-typed processes agrees with that of the sessions they use. To this aim, the type system needs to track the propagation of probabilistic choices across different sessions.


Protein is the main limiting factor and the second most expensive feed component of poultry ration after energy. In many developing countries, poultry feed prices are consistently increasing because of the dependency on imported soybean meal. In order to decrease the dependency of the poultry feed sector on soybean meal it is necessary to find sustainable alternative protein sources. This review summarises recent findings on the nutritive value of maggot meal, earth worm meal, meal worms and silkworm meal and discusses their potential as an alternative protein source for poultry feed sector.


In this study, an essential application of remote sensing using deep learning functionality is presented. Gaofen-1 satellite mission, developed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for the civilian high-definition Earth observation satellite program, provides near-real-time observations for geographical mapping, environment surveying, and climate change monitoring. Cloud and cloud shadow segmentation are a crucial element to enable automatic near-real-time processing of Gaofen-1 images, and therefore, their performances must be accurately validated. In this paper, a robust multiscale segmentation method based on deep learning is proposed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cloud and cloud shadow segmentation from Gaofen-1 images. The proposed method first implements feature map based on the spectral-spatial features from residual convolutional layers and the cloud/cloud shadow footprints extraction based on a novel loss function to generate the final footprints. The experimental results using Gaofen-1 images demonstrate the more reasonable accuracy and efficient computational cost achievement of the proposed method compared to the cloud and cloud shadow segmentation performance of two existing state-of-the-art methods.


MIMO technology has become one of the most promising techniques for enhancing the quality of services in many applications. For WLANs, the issue of MIMO technology has been officially addressed by the IEEE 802.11 n standard. In this standard, five MIMO operations - including spatial multiplexing, transmitting beamforming, space-time block coding, low-density parity-check encoding, and antenna selection - were described. Among these operations, the beamforming MIMO has the benefits of a low complexity with the highest improvement in signal-to-noise ratio. However, it is still requires high computational processing for estimating knowledge of the channel and for finding an appropriate steering vector. To reduce such computations, a selection of a fixed number of formed beams is proposed. In this paper, an experimental study of practically switched beamforming for WLAN applications is presented. Two types of antenna configurations, including 4×1 linear and 2×2 planar arrays, were considered. The results indicated the benefit of switched beamforming by improving average signal power strength by 10.25 dB. In addition, to reduce the burden of estimating the channel, the concept of selecting the best steering vector from the received signal strength instead of the channel information is proposed for low-profile beamforming MIMO systems. The prototype was completely constructed and practically tested. The results confirmed the successful improvement of the proposed prototype over using an omnidirectional antenna for WLAN applications.


Through an experiential, field-based investigative opportunity in the anthropology of climate change, this project introduced college and university students from the United States and Guinea-Bissau through active research encounters. This article examines one part of the larger project, perceptions of natural environment futures via 287 drawings collected by three United States-based undergraduate students from 145 college and university students and alumni (ages 18–53) in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Guinea-Bissau is a climate change hotspot. This study's specific focus was on how participants represent natural environmental change over time. Participants were asked to produce two drawings, one depicting their natural environment hundreds of years in the past (pre-European contact) and one representing their natural environment twenty years in the future. Using content analysis, descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, and McNemar's test, the study finds that (1a) participants' depictions of the future contain statistically significantly more pollution, scarcity, deforestation, desertification, and less biodiversity than those in the past, and (1b) these depictions of environmental change hazards highly correlate; (2) participants draw the natural environment statistically significantly more in the past than in the future; (3a) women are statistically significantly more likely than men to draw environmental management in the past and future, and (3b) men are statistically significantly more likely than women to draw commercialization in the past and future; and (4) environmental sciences and teaching professionals are statistically significantly more likely than business professionals to draw environmental management in the past and future. The study found no differences in perceptions of the natural environment based on age, place of birth, or religion. Results indicate that people perceive real differences between their past and future natural environments, especially related to future environmental change hazards. Furthermore, gender and professional differences in participant drawings of environmental management suggest that women and non-business professionals are likely ecoallies. This concept is important from an applied perspective because through this research project, United States- and Guinea-Bissau-based undergraduate students and alumni are able to recognize in each other their shared advocacy capacities, acknowledge the systematic nature of the climate change problem, and establish a common cause around sustainable environmental management.


This research study explores the role of mediation in enhancing transformative learning and in fostering an integrative vision for higher online education. Three different models will be explored: 1) Theoretical mediation models facilitate the development of transformative learning skills. 2) Effective mediation and (aml) technology are both equally needed in online graduate programs.3) Transformative learning (defined as: centrality of experience, critical reflection, and rational discourse) is significant to the learning process.The study also focuses on the potential impact of peer mentors, facilitators, and formative assessment tools (such as Knowledge Checks) in online graduate courses. Retention needs of Institutions of Higher Education are served best when students' motivation can be maintained through continuous connections with at least one instructor and/or one classmate. Empirical studies indicate transformative learning is significant to the learning process. Research suggests ambient intelligence (AML) enhanced by trained, experienced, and effective faculty may foster transformative learning and deepen the relationship between chair, committee members, faculty members, and peers. For the purpose of this study the perception of online faculty on the potential of AML and effective mediation (WICS, SCM) as a vision of 21st century online learning environments will be explored. Insights gained from this study may explain some of the needs and attitudes of online doctoral students and may help online colleges and universities identifying strategies that can address them. Application of this model may improve doctoral students' transformative learning experience in online graduate classes.


Nonfuel mineral production for Idaho in 1992 was valued at $306 million, an increase of 3% from that of 1991, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Increased production values for molybdenum, construction sand and gravel, industrial sand and gravel, crushed stone, and vanadium more than offset a drop in the value for lead and silver. Idaho ranked 33d nationally for total mineral production value, unchanged from 1991.


The combination of patient blood management (PBM) modalities and multicomponent apheresis permits us to administer even safer transfusions than those using the "safer‐than‐ever" blood components distributed in the beginning of the 21st century. PBM identifies a patient at risk of transfusion and formulates a multidisciplinary and multimodal—yet individualized—plan for reducing the need for allogeneic transfusion. Multicomponent apheresis can collect any combination of red blood cells, platelets, and plasma from the same donor during the same donation, and it should eventually reserve all components harvested from the same donation for transfusion to the same recipient. Together, PBM and multicomponent apheresis represent a new paradigm—the patient‐centric paradigm—of transfusion medicine whose purpose is to reduce the transfusion risk for each individual patient to the level of the ALARA (as‐low‐as‐reasonably‐achievable) risk. PBM and multicomponent apheresis can meet a patient's transfusion needs with at least twofold fewer allogeneic donor exposures, thereby reducing the risk of infectious and immunologic complications of transfusion by at least twofold. The reduction in risk includes the leading cause of transfusion‐related mortality (transfusion‐related acute lung injury) and the cardinal threat to transfusion safety (the next "HIV‐like" pathogen to emerge in the future). Once it is determined that PBM and multicomponent apheresis can replace the current blood‐procurement system at a "reasonable" cost and without jeopardizing the supply of blood and components, the patient‐centric paradigm should replace the current, component‐centric paradigm of transfusion medicine to reduce the transfusion risk to the level of the ALARA risk.


The present study investigated the anti-oxidative and hepatoprotective effects of Glossogyne tenuifolia (GT) Cassini, against acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury in BALB/c mice. The extracts of GT by various solvents (hot water, 50% ethanol and 95% ethanol) were compared for their 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, reducing power, total phenolic content, and total anti-oxidant capacity. The results showed that hot water (HW) extracts of GT contained high levels of phenolics and exerted an excellent anti-oxidative capacity; thus, these were used in the animal experiment. The male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group, acetaminophen (APAP) group, positive control group and two GT groups at low (GT-L) and high (GT-H) dosages. The results showed that mice treated with GT had significantly decreased serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). GT-H increased glutathione levels and the ratios of reduced glutathione and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) in the liver, and inhibited serum and lipid peroxidation. This experiment was the first to determine phenolic compounds, chlorogenic acid and luteolin-7-glucoside in HW extract of GT. In conclusion, HW extract of GT may have potential anti-oxidant capacity and show hepatoprotective capacities in APAP-induced liver damaged mice.


We introduce an atomistic description of the kinetic Mass Action Law to predict concentrations of defects and complexes. We demonstrate in this paper that this approach accurately predicts carbon/oxygen related defect concentrations in silicon upon annealing. The model requires binding and migration energies of the impurities and complexes, here obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Vacancy-oxygen complex kinetics are studied as a model system during both isochronal and isothermal annealing. Results are in good agreement with experimental data, confirming the success of the methodology. More importantly, it gives access to the sequence of chain reactions by which oxygen and carbon related complexes are created in silicon. Beside the case of silicon, the understanding of such intricate reactions is a key to develop point defect engineering strategies to control defects and thus semiconductors properties.


The Quran is a significant religious text, followed by the 1.5 billion believers of the Islamic faith worldwide. The text dates to 610–632 CE and is written in Quranic Arabic, the direct ancestor language of modern standard Arabic in use today. This paper presents the Quranic Arabic Dependency Treebank (QADT) and reports on the approaches and solutions used to apply Natural Language Processing to the unique and challenging language of the Quran. This project differs from other Arabic treebanks by providing a deep computational linguistic model based on historical traditional Arabic grammar($$$$). The treebank is part of the Quranic Arabic Corpus (http://corpus.quran.com), a popular free Arabic resource developed at the University of Leeds. Motivated by the importance of the Quran as a central religious text, we also report on how online collaborative annotation was used to bring together Quranic scholars and Arabic language experts to ensure a high level of accuracy for grammatical analysis of the entire Quran.


Public education is a State responsibility. Public Education also has a considerable amount of Federal interest. The Federal interest stems from the Federal responsibility to assure and support a civil society, a functioning democracy and a strong economy. As such, Federal policy has a heavy influence on State educational programs. Today, education is faced with many challenges as the public has become aware of an overall decline in student performance in the core academic areas such as math, science, and English. Basic academic skills are necessary for functioning in the workplace and in society in general. The lack of academic mastery coupled with the changing nature of work causes more concern when one understands that 85% of our workforce needs a postsecondary credential if workers are to achieve a sustainable wage. Additional concern comes from understanding that poor academic performance in secondary schools generally assures a poor postsecondary performance and thus the need for remediation. Not only is this time consuming and costly, poor student performance places into question the ability of the future workforce to withstand the rigors of international competition. More concern is generated when one considers the evidence related to the US losing its educational edge when compared with other countries. Hans Meeder, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, US Department of Education has stated that in the decade of the 90's China increased their postsecondary enrollment by 258%, India by 92% compared to the US at 19% (UNESCO, 2003). When comparing the percent of population stratified by age groups, the U.S. ranks 1st in the world in the percentage of 55 to 64 year olds who have completed secondary and postsecondary education. However, among 25 to 34 year olds, the U.S. ranks 8th in secondary completion, and 4th in postsecondary completion (Meeder Presentation, 2004). If these indicators are correct, the US ability to compete in the world markets is diminished along with our domestic economy. Federal policy makers view this with great concern. It is safe to say that the Federal interest in education is here to stay and the domestic and international trends and comparisons will be the source of influence in determining the direction of Federal policy on education. Educational Accountability National, State and local leaders, as well the general population, believe that effective public education is essential in achieving a solid, internationally competitive economy. The public wants to be assured that schools are performing to World-class standards and that students will be successful in the future. As a result, local, state and national leaders are faced with developing policies and systems to support reliable measurement of student performance for the purpose of holding schools accountable for student achievement. Developing student performance measurement systems is extremely difficult. However, Federal education policy is making an attempt to hold States and local schools accountable for student performance. Strong accountability provisions are included in the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 to assure that students in vocational and technical education attain academic and technical skills needed for success. The most famous Federal authority is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. In general, NLCB requires State Agencies and LEA's to focus on academic achievement for all students and removing the achievement gap between groups of students. In order for States and local education agencies (LEA's) State education agencies to monitor progress, they must have academic standards and an assessment system to measure student progress. Federal policy does not mandate specific educational standards. However, it does require States to have a standards/assessment system to monitor LEA's and generate reportable evidence of student achievement to the Federal level and to the general population. …


The formation of syllable margins does not always give preference to onsets over codas. In the three cases analyzed here, coda formation overrides onset formation, preventing high sonority segments from being parsed as onsets, often resulting in violations of the maximal onset principle. In Taimyr Pidgin Russian and in some childrens' acquisition of Japanese, rhotics are allowed only in coda position, driving epenthesis and neutralization, respectively. In Lama, metathesis and obstruent sonorization work together to maximize sonority in codas while minimizing sonority in onsets.


6509 Background: The study objective was to examine the impact of routine Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) use on overall survival among adult cancer patients. We hypothesized that patients exposed to ESAS would have better overall survival rates than those who didn't have ESAS. Methods: The effect of ESAS screening on survival was evaluated in a retrospective matched cohort study. The cohort included all Ontario patients aged 18 or older who were diagnosed with cancer between 2007 and 2015. Patients completing at least one ESAS assessment during the study were considered exposed. The index date was the day of their first ESAS assessment. Follow up time for each patient was segmented into one of three phases: initial, continuing, or palliative care. Exposed and unexposed patients were matched 1:1 using hard (birth year ± 2 years, cancer diagnosis date ± 1 year, cancer type and sex) and propensity-score matching (14 measures including cancer stage, treatments received, and comorbidity). Matched patients were followed until death or the end of study at Dec 31, 2015. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression were used to evaluate the impact of ESAS on survival. Results: There were 128,893 pairs well matched on all baseline characteristics (standardized difference < 0.1). The probability of survival within the first 5 years was higher among those exposed to ESAS compared to those who were not (73.8% vs. 72.0%, P-value < 0.0001). In the multivariable Cox regression model, ESAS assessment was significantly associated with a decreased mortality risk (HR: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.48-0.49) and this protective effect was seen across all phases. Conclusions: ESAS exposure is associated with improved survival in cancer patients, in all phases of care. To the extent possible, extensive matching methods have mitigated biases inherent to observational data. This provides real world evidence of the impact of routine symptom assessment in cancer care.


The present experiments have shown that the activity of organic pyrophosphatase from microsomes of wheat seedlings is strongly inhibited by alpha, beta-methylene and gamma-thio-ATP derivatives, which inhibit the hydrolysis of both ATP and ADP. It has been found that the main products of ATP hydrolysis are not ADP but AMP and orthophosphate. The rate of hydrolysis of ATP is not increased by addition of ADP to the incubation medium. The ratio of the reaction products, Pi and AMP, amounts to 1.7-1.8 with ATP as substrate and is close to 1.0 with ADP.


We use abstract interpretation to abstract a compositional trace semantics for a simple imperative object-oriented language into its projection over a set of program points called watchpoints. We say that the resulting watchpoint semantics is focused on the watchpoints. Every abstraction of the computational domain of this semantics induces an abstract, still compositional, and focused watchpoint semantics. This establishes a basis for developing static analyses obtaining information pertaining only to the watchpoints. As an example, we consider three domains for class analysis of object-oriented programs derived from three techniques present in the literature, namely, rapid type analysis, a simple dataflow analysis, and a constraint-based analysis. We obtain three static analyses which are provably correct and whose abstract operations are provably optimal. Moreover, we prove that our formalization of the constraint-based analysis is more precise than that of the other two analyses. We have implemented our watchpoint semantics and our three domains for class analysis. This implementation shows that the time and space costs of the analysis are actually proportional to the number of watchpoints, as a consequence of the focused nature of the watchpoint semantics.


This article explores the global circulation of a commodity — African wax-prints, manufactured since the late 19th century in Europe for the West African market and increasingly reproduced today in China — by way of focusing on the idea of the `authentically African'. Exploring the biography of wax fabric, this article seeks to cross-examine what serves as a parameter of authenticity, both in international markets, in which the African signifier appears as a source of the renewal of identity, and in Africa, where wax fabric's integration into local structures of consumption as a status symbol is informed by the principles of simulation and imitation. I suggest that the notion of `Africanity' is a conceptual construction whose validation depends more on the observer's gaze than on the object of that gaze in the context of western consumption practices. I propose that the trajectory of wax-cloth, not only in Africa, but also in international markets, is based on the principle of reproduction and imitation which determines the notion of authenticity.


Light emitting devices based on high-efficiency photoluminescence (PL) fluorescent nanocrystals have been investigated in terms of the generation of light from the structure using a variety of deposition methods. An automated modified layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly technique has been employed to produce multilayers of thiol-capped red fluorescing CdTe nanocrystals. Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) and aluminium electrodes were used as the electrodes. Morphological characterization was carried out through Schottky field effect (SFEG) SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The structures built presented clear red electroluminescence (EL) to the naked eye. Turn on voltages were found to be in the range of 3-6 volts while the onset current was in the order of tens of microamperes. The role of structure homogeneity, the presence of pinholes and lifetime extension were features addressed during this investigation. Samples with a lifetime of continuous operation in air longer than 60 minutes and highly stable EL spectra were achieved; EL was visible to the unaided eye, although the brightness was still below the commercial standards and has not yet been qualified.