While there is currently no clear consensus regarding optimal maintenance therapy after autologous stem cell transplant (autoSCT), the early post-transplant setting is a potential site of augmentation to improve post-transplant outcomes. We previously characterized stem cell graft lymphocytes in association with progression free survival (PFS) after autoSCT in multiple myeloma (MM), and showed that there was an inverse correlation between NKG2A expression on CD56dim NK cells and PFS. Therefore, we aimed to investigate a potential role for NKG2A modulation, especially in the post-transplant setting with maintenance chemotherapy. We performed immunophenotypic analyses of NK cells from patients in the immediate post-transplant setting as well as from patients at various time points after transplant on lenalidomide maintenance therapy. In the immediate post-transplant setting (mean time since transplant=13 days) NKG2A was upregulated on NK cells when compared with KIR2DL1 (p=0.001) and KIR2DL2 (p=0.002). Additionally, in immunophenotypic analyses of PBMC from MM patients on various treatments, patients receiving lenalidomide maintenance therapy that recently underwent stem cell transplant (mean time since transplant=0.53 years) had elevated NKG2A expression compared to patients receiving no treatment (p=0.029). Conversely, patients receiving lenalidomide maintenance therapy over years (mean time since transplant=4.21 years) after transplant showed reduced NKG2A expression compared to patients receiving no treatment (p=0.0161). In bone marrow aspirates from patients with MM, primary CD138-positive myeloma cells in the bone marrow express HLA-E, the cognate antigen for NKG2A, which makes the overexpression of NKG2A biologically relevant. These data suggest that the NKG2A/HLA-E checkpoint axis may be more biologically relevant than KIR in myeloma, particularly in the post-transplant setting. This has important potential implications for treatment, as it demonstrates that NKG2A could serve as a potential target for modulation in the immediate post-transplant setting to improve survival, especially in the setting of maintenance chemotherapy. Further investigation should be aimed delineating the potential effect of NKG2A modulation on immune recovery and tumor surveillance to increase survival in the post-transplant setting. Citation Format: Jennifer Cooperrider, Paul D. Ciarlariello, Tiffany Hughes, Nita Williams, Craig Hofmeister, Robert Baiocchi, Don M. Benson. A potential role for NKG2A to influence post-transplant outcomes in multiple myeloma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5663. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5663


Demotivation plays a key role in foreign language learning. However, studies in this field mostly focused on the factors influencing the learners' motivation positively instead of the factors causing demotivation. In this regard, this study aims to identify the sources of demotivation towards learning English for the students of social sciences high schools. For this study, data was collected by means of Demotivation Scale developed by Sakai and Kikuchi (2009). 4073 students, chosen according to the stratified sampling method, compose the sample of the study. As a result of the research, it is found out that the main source of demotivation in English classes among students is factors related to class environment. It is also observed that course materials are as effective as characteristics of class on student demotivation towards English. While factors related to experience of failure was the forth source of demotivation for students, teacher related factors are found to be the weakest demotivator. Furthermore, as a result of this study, it is revealed that there is a correlation between demotivation and gender, academic level and proficiency.


The knowledge of sorption-desorption processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in natural solids is essential to predict the fate, transport, and environmental risks of these pollutants. In this study, the effect was investigated of temperature on the sorption-desorption of three PAHs (naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) in two natural solids with different organic carbon contents. In all cases, the sorption isotherms obtained could be well described by the linear sorption model. The analysis based on the measured isotherms and the corresponding equilibrium partition coefficients ( k p ) revealed that (1) the sorption of PAHs increased with organic carbon content of the solid and PAH hydrophobicity in the order: sediment < soil and naphthalene < phenanthrene < pyrene, respectively, and (2) the extent of PAH sorption decreased with increasing temperature from 4°C to 27°C on average by 27.3, 17.0, and 27.4% for naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene, respectively. The enthalpies of sorption ( ∆H s ) calculated by van't Hoff equation were negative, relatively small, and in the range of weak forces such as van der Waals forces (0-9 kJ/mol), consistent with hydrophobic interactions and partitioning of the PAHs into soil/sediment organic matter. The desorption of naphthalene and phenanthrene showed significant hysteresis, i.e. great fraction of PAHs was resistant to desorption and somewhat increased with temperature.


In this research, motion and deformation of a red blood cell (RBC) in a microchannel with stenosis is investigated by combined Lattice Boltzmann-Immersed Boundary method. The fluid flow occurs due to the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of the microchannel. The immersed boundary algorithm guaranteed that there is no relative velocity between the RBC and fluid. Therefore, mass transfer along the immersed border does not occur. It can be seen that the healthy RBC has more deformation and passes the stenosis easier while the sick one passes the stenosis with less deformation and returns to its initial state faster. Increasing the pressure gradient (i.e., increasing Reynolds number) would cause more deformation of the RBC. It is found that a healthy RBC moves faster than a sick one along the microchannel. Blood pressure increases due to the presence of stenosis and low deformable RBCs.It is the reason of many serious diseases including cardiovascular diseases. The results of this paper were compared to the previous valid results and good agreements were observed. AMS subject classifications: 74F99, 76M25


The change of hadron properties in dense matter based on various theoretical approaches are reviewed. Incorporating these medium effects in the relativistic transport model, which treats consistently the change of hadron masses and energies in dense matter via the scalar and vector fields, heavy-ion collisions at energies available from SIS/GSI, AGS/BNL and SPS/CERN are studied. This model is seen to provide satisfactory explanations for the observed enhancement of kaon, antikaon and antiproton yields as well as soft pions in the transverse direction from the SIS experiments. In the AGS heavy-ion experiments, it can account for the enhanced ratio, the difference in the slope parameters of the and transverse kinetic energy spectra and the lower apparent temperature of antiprotons than that of protons. This model also provides possible explanations for the observed enhancement of low-mass dileptons, phi mesons and antilambdas in heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies. Furthermore, the change of hadron properties in hot dense matter leads to new signatures of the quark - gluon plasma to hadronic matter transition in future ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC/BNL.


The complexity of deep neural network algorithms for hardware implementation can be much lowered by optimizing the word-length of weights and signals. Direct quantization of floating-point weights, however, does not show good performance when the number of bits assigned is small. Retraining of quantized networks has been developed to relieve this problem. In this work, the effects of retraining are analyzed for a feedforward deep neural network (FFDNN) and a convolutional neural network (CNN). The network complexity is controlled to know their effects on the resiliency of quantized networks by retraining. The complexity of the FFDNN is controlled by varying the unit size in each hidden layer and the number of layers, while that of the CNN is done by modifying the feature map configuration. We find that the performance gap between the floating-point and the retrain-based ternary (+1, 0, -1) weight neural networks exists with a fair amount in 'complexity limited' networks, but the discrepancy almost vanishes in fully complex networks whose capability is limited by the training data, rather than by the number of connections. This research shows that highly complex DNNs have the capability of absorbing the effects of severe weight quantization through retraining, but connection limited networks are less resilient. This paper also presents the effective compression ratio to guide the trade-off between the network size and the precision when the hardware resource is limited.


A single piezoelectric quartz crystal coated with one kind of crown ether was applied to the simultaneous determination of binary acid and amine vapor mixtures. From the adsorption and desorption curves of analytes, which were somewhat different in shape, frequency shifts from ten time windows were taken as inputs for artificial neural networks (ANN). Prediction results were satisfactory for ANN in both sample sets. The average relative errors, for formic acid and acrylic acid were 5%, for n-butylamine and aniline, they were 3% with ANN respectively. The effects of number of neurons in the hidden layer of ANN on the performance of the network are also discussed.


IntroductionIn today's society, advertising has a profound impact on how people understand life, the world and themselves, especially in regard to their values and their ways of choosing and behaving. The field of advertising is extremely broad and diverse. In general terms, an advertisement is simply a public notice meant to convey information and invite patronage or some other response. Over the years, advertising and marketing communication messages have created a lot of debatable ethical issues, due to public belief that advertisements nowadays deeply affect the way people perceive themselves and the world surrounding them, inclu ding cru c i a l a c t i ons and beh a viors (Foley1999). For these reasons, moral issues in marketing are important, given the fact that marketing is expected to identify, predict and satisfy customer requirements profitably (Carrigan et al, 2005). Due to the difficult equation between both ends of the marketer's responsibility, some actions (like certain Ads), have led to the creation of new laws and regulations regarding the world of advertising (Clow & Baack, 2007).In order to have a better understanding of the situation, the researchers need to further explore the world of advertisements, the appeals used, the targeted decision-making components and the effects of Ads on the targeted consumer as a whole Advertising also has an indirect but powerful impact on society through its influence on media. Many publications and broadcasting operations depend on advertising revenue for survival. This often is true of religious media as well as commercial media. For their part, advertisers naturally seek to reach audiences; and the media, striving to deliver audiences to advertisers, must shape their content so to attract audiences of the size and demographic composition sought. Advertisers resort to various kinds of tactics to get people to buy their products or patronize their services, e.g. humor, selfesteem, peer pressure, etc. However, the one that is assumed to be the most popular and the most effective is the use of sex in advertising.Sex in advertising is the use of sexual attraction as a tool of persuasion to draw interest to a particular product for the purpose of sale. Nudity in advertising falls in this category, even if it is often only suggestively so. Over the past few years, the use of increasingly explicit sexual appeals in consumer-oriented print advertising has become almost commonplace. Sexuality is considered one of the most powerful tools of marketing and particularly advertising.Robbie Duschinsky (2013), proposed the term 'sexualisation', indicating the innocence and desirability of the young females to intensify the demands of the opposite gender. The term 'sexualisation' has been used as an interpretive theory of contradictory gender norms, using the figure of the 'girl'. Use of sexual imagery in advertising has been criticized on different grounds. Conservatives, especially religious ones, often consider it obscene. Some feminists feel it objectifies women, as women are more often portrayed in a sexual manner than men. In recent years ads for jeans, perfumes, and many other products have featured provocative images that were designed to elicit sexual responses from as large a cross section of the population as possible, to appeal to repressed sexual desires, which are thought to carry a stronger emotional load.Sex appeal is one of the seven different appeals used in advertising. It can be defined as messages, whether as brand information in advertising contexts or as persuasive appeals in marketing contexts, which are integrated with sexual information. It can also be defined as the degree of nudity or sexual explicitness in an Ad, It can be found in visual, audio, and verbal elements of advertisements (Liu & Li & Cheng 2006).Maddy Coy et al. (2010) has suggested that glamour embeds confidence in communication and attracts the audience effectively. …


The eurozone crisis presented the opportunity to reform European economic policies. In spring 2010, a new technocratic knowledge regime developed in the form of the Troika that consisted of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This article provides new, previously understudied, knowledge on the internal dynamics of the Troika. As the prevailing austerity paradigm had been questioned during the preceding years also within the IMF, this study analyses the role of IMF's expertise during the negotiations that led to the first Greek loan package and created a path-dependent crisis management scheme. It traces how the IMF acted as a source of expertise and its role in the persistence of the austerity paradigm. The analysis is based on a unique set of interviews with decision-makers. The IMF's role in the negotiations was very important, but unexpectedly the Commission ruled on most of the content. In contrast to some earlier research, this analysis argues that even if the IMF had become more open to new economic-policy ideas, it did not truly challenge the European austerity policy. Reasons for this include the perceived lack of fiscal space, constraints from the EU, pessimism towards Greek growth, and the gap between research and policy departments of the IMF. This partly explains why the crisis did not lead to a change in eurozone policies. The analysis contributes also to identifying intra-institutional autonomy and fragmentation as reasons for the stability of economic paradigms despite apparent challenges even within hegemonic institutions such as the IMF.


We are very thankful for the opportunity offered to us to have our book discussed in such a remarkable forum and get such excellent comments. The book centers on one of the most prominent elements of global constitutionalism, which is the doctrine of proportionality, and compares it to its corollary in US constitutional law-balancing. The two concepts began their careers as local doctrines, but one of them, proportionality, has witnessed since WWII an overwhelming success and has spread practically to every legal system except the American one. The main thesis in the book is that these concepts are quite similar analytically, but that nevertheless, owing to their different historical, cultural and political settings, they differ in important ways: in meaning, in use, and in centrality. They were shaped by two quite different constitutional cultures - one American and the other European lead by Germany, and have accordingly played different roles in these cultures. Our aim was therefore to present an account that stresses the way these two concepts are embedded in these two different cultures, and one central lesson of the book is that culture matters a lot.The comments are centered on two main claims - the one descriptive and the other conceptual and normative. On the descriptive side, all three comments argue, in one way or another, that our book inflates the differences between American constitutional culture and German/European constitutional culture. On the conceptual and normative side, Moller objects to our attempt to distinguish between American style purpose review and proportionality. We will hereby address these two types of claims as we respond to the three commentators, as well as to their other points and critiques.


A concise synthesis of the core structure of the macrolide neopeltolide was developed featuring a Prins cyclization to fashion the pyran ring. Key steps in the synthesis of aldehyde 16 were a Leighton allylation and a Feringa-Minnaard asymmetric methyl cuprate addition to an unsaturated thioester. For lactonization, a classical Yamaguchi macrolactonization was used. The longest linear sequence consists of 17 steps providing lactone 26 with an overall yield of 23%.


White blood cell infiltration across an activated brain endothelium contributes to neurologic disease, including cerebral ischemia and multiple sclerosis. Identify-ing mechanisms of cerebrovascular activation is therefore critical to our under-standing of brain disease. Platelet accumulation in microvessels of ischemic mouse brain was associated with endothelial activation in vivo. Mouse platelets expressed interleukin-1 (cid:1) (IL-1 (cid:1) ), but not IL-1 (cid:2) , induced endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1), and enhanced the release of CXC chemokine CXCL1 when incubated with primary cultures of brain endothelial cells from wild-type or IL-1 (cid:1) / (cid:2) – deficient mice. A neutralizing antibody to IL-1 (cid:1) (but not IL-1 (cid:2) ) or application of IL-1 receptor antagonist inhibited platelet-induced endothelial activation by more than 90%. Platelets from IL-1 (cid:1) / (cid:2) –deficient mice did not induce expression of adhesion molecules in cerebrovascular endothelial cells and did not promote CXCL1 release in vitro. Conditioned medium from activated plateletsinducedanIL-1 (cid:1) –dependentactiva-tion of mouse brain endothelial cells and supported the transendothelial migration of neutrophilsinvitro.Thus,wehaveidentified platelets as a key source of IL-1 (cid:1) and pro-posethatplateletactivationofbrainendothe- liumviaIL-1 (cid:1) isacriticalstepfortheentryof white blood cells, major contributors to inflammation-mediated injury in the brain.


A 22-year-old woman who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease experienced diarrhea and bloody stool. She was suspected of have aggravated Crohn's disease and was transferred to our hospital. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed multiple esophageal ulcers and erosive gastritis, while colonoscopy revealed multiple ulcers in the rectum to the sigmoid colon. Initially, the evidence suggested that the Crohn's disease had worsened, and consequently, prednisolone (PSL) therapy was initiated. However, the patient's condition was determined to be atypical inflammatory bowel disease, which was indicated by endoscopic findings and skin symptoms and because various test results did not meet the diagnostic criteria for Crohn's disease. As a result, her diagnosis was changed to granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Here, we report a case of granulomatosis with polyangiitis with gastrointestinal symptoms similar to Crohn's disease, both of which have been suggested to involve Th1/Th17 cells.


Wave digital filter principles can be applied to the numerical solution of many kinds of differential equations. But, while passivity of the resulting algorithms ensures a lot of desirable numerical stability properties, exactly the same attribute limits the approximation accuracy attainable with linear multistep methods. It will be shown that, by merging the wave digital concept with Runge-Kutta methods, algorithms of higher accuracy can be found which preserve passivity and the stability properties induced herewith.


We study reward poisoning attacks on online deep reinforcement learning (DRL), where the attacker is oblivious to the learning algorithm used by the agent and the dynamics of the environment. We demonstrate the intrinsic vulnerability of state-of-the-art DRL algorithms by designing a general, black-box reward poisoning framework called adversarial MDP attacks. We instantiate our framework to construct two new attacks which only corrupt the rewards for a small fraction of the total training timesteps and make the agent learn a low-performing policy. We provide a theoretical analysis of the efficiency of our attack and perform an extensive empirical evaluation. Our results show that our attacks efficiently poison agents learning in several popular classical control and MuJoCo environments with a variety of state-of-the-art DRL algorithms, such as DQN, PPO, SAC, etc.


This paper addresses the problem of determining the number of pure chemical components in a mixture by applying the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of intrinsic dimension. The application here is to Raman spectroscopy data, although the method is general and can be applied to any type of data from a chemical mixture. We show that the MLE produces superior results compared to other methods on both simulated and real chemical mixtures, and is accurate even when minor components are present. Even if the signal‐to‐noise (SN) ratio is very low, accurate estimates can still be obtained by smoothing the data before applying the estimator, this approach is illustrated on two real datasets with high noise levels. Since the MLE is computed locally at every data point, we also show how the local estimates can be used for other applications, such as segmenting the specimen into homogeneous regions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Multiple myeloma(MM) as one of the most common tumors of hmatologic system, is characterized by malignant proliferation of plasma cells, and the chemotherapy is the main therapeutic method. MM is an incurable disease because of drug-resistance of MM cells. Although the pathogenesis of MM remains unknown, the chromosome abnormalities exit in half of the patients, particularly the highly expressed gene C-MYC. Furthermore, plenty of clinical researches indicated a high expression level of C-MYC implied worse progression and/or poor prognosis of MM. Recently, the work exploiting the compounds targeting MYC has made substantial progress, even in the MM therapy. In this article, briefly the recent advances of the research on C-MYC proto-oncogene in multiple myeloma are reviewed.


0 3 5 Discussed rationale for project Methods – Student discussed procedure Students discussed importance of the study Acknowledgements (expert mentioned) Title Question Hypothesis Organization Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information Audience has difficulty following presentation because student jumps around. Student presents information in logical, interesting sequence that audience can follow.


Bacterial cell division is guided by FtsZ treadmilling precisely at midcell. FtsZ itself is regulated by FtsZ associated proteins (Zaps) that couple it to different cellular processes. ZapA is known to enhance FtsZ bundling but also forms the synchronizing link with chromosome segregation through ZapB and matS bound MatP. ZapA exists as dimers and tetramers in the cell. Using the ZapAI83E mutant that only forms dimers, this paper investigates the effects of ZapA multimerization state on its interaction partners and cell division. By employing (fluorescence) microscopy and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer in vivo it is shown that; dimeric ZapA is unable to complement a zapA deletion strain and localizes diffusely through the cell but still interacts with FtsZ that is not part of the cell division machinery. Dimeric ZapA is unable to recruit ZapB, which localizes in its presence unipolarly in the cell. Interestingly, the localization profiles of the chromosome and unipolar ZapB anticorrelate. The work presented here confirms previously reported in vitro effects of ZapA multimerization in vivo and further places it in a broader context by revealing the strong implications for ZapB localization and ter linkage.


SUMMARY African trypanosomes are parasitic protozoa causing sleeping sickness in humans and related diseases in domestic animals against which no entirely satisfactory forms of chemotherapy are yet available. It was previously shown that related species of trypanosomes, as well as procyclic (insect) forms of Trypanosoma brucei are extremely sensitive to the action of phenothiazine neuroleptic drugs in vitro. In this work, we have carried out a more detailed investigation of the effects of thioridazine, one of the most potent neuroleptic phenothiazine drugs known, on the morphology of the infective bloodstream forms of T. brucei, with particular reference to the parasite's prominent pellicular membrane complex. Our data show that this drug induces rapid changes in cell shape that appear to involve some reorganization of the microtubular membrane skeleton, but does not affect the structural integrity of the microtubular complex. Another early consequence of drug action involved damage to nuclear and cytoplasmic membranes and the appearance of tubular arrays of coated membrane within the flagellar pocket. It was also revealed that the drug induces a rapid release of the variant-specific glycoprotein (VSG) which makes up the surface coat protecting bloodstream forms of the parasite against the host immune system. Our evidence suggests that this release of VSG involves cleavage of the protein's glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor by endogenous GPI-specific phospholipase C, probably as a consequence of minor damage to the parasite plasma membrane induced by the drug.


Separate opinions in the European Court of Human Rights have been pivotal for the development of the Court's jurisprudence and for shaping the Court's judicial style. The paper focuses on the separate opinions of the Vice-President of the Court, judge Christos Rozakis. It shows that judge Rozakis's separate opinions have consistently urged for substantive scrutiny of the necessity of state interference with the applicant's rights, while being critical of granting states a margin of appreciation. The paper argues that Rozakis's critique of the margin of appreciation, as found in his separate opinions, will be one of the Court's most important legacies in the years to come.


This article is about Factors Associated with hypertension among Adult Patient perspective. The main purpose of this study was to assess risk factors of hypertension. Hospital based case-control research design was used for this study. The study was conducted at Western Regional Hospital in Pokhara. Non probability purposive sampling technique was used. The total sample size was 192. An interview schedule consisting semi – structured questionnaires was used to measure the risk factors of hypertension. The data was analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistic such as frequency, Percentage, Mean, standard deviation according to nature of variables. Inferential statistics as univariate analysis was used to determine the association between risk factors and hypertension. The finding this study revealed that more than (29.2%) cases and controls was age 5160 years. Majority of (59.4%) cases and controls were female. Above (45.8%) cases and (42.7%) controls were overweight. Major ity of cases (84.4%) and controls (28.8%) had past smoker. Majority of cases (81.3%) had past alcoholic whereas only (9.4%) cases had past alcoholic. Hypertension was statistically significant association between obesity (p= 0.030, OR=1.881, CL; 1.060-3.339), family history (p=< 0.001, OR= 4.33, CL; 2.25-8.39), smoking (p=< 0.001, OR=33.61, CL; 11.08-133.60), alcoholism (p= < 0.001, OR= 55.09, CL; 20.48-160.055) and exercise (p= 0.009, OR= 2.14, CL; 1.15-3.97).In light of the results concluded that hypertension is statistical significant association with family history of hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption and doing light exercise.


Anomerization of glycosides were rarely performed under
basic condition due to lack of efficiency. Here an imidazole promoted anomerization of β-D-glucose
pentaacetate was developed; and reaction could proceed in both organic
solvents and solid state at room temperature. Although mechanism is not yet clear, this unprecedent
mild anomerization in solid state may open a new promising way for stereoseletive anomerization of broad
glucosides and materials design in the future..


A treatment of the heavy particle collision dynamics in a form of molecular orbital coupled channel approach, emerging from the hidden crossings topology of the complex adiabatic eigenenergy surface, is proposed. We show how this can be self-consistently adjusted for application in the nearly adiabatic limit of collision energies. The method is tested for the charge transfer process in He2++H collisions, in a range of 10–400 eV/u collision energies. Excellent agreement of the partial and total cross sections with other accurate theories and experiments is shown, and comparative advantages of the method are discussed.


Abstract. Lindiani P, Sundawati L, Suwarna U. 2023. Effect of biophysical conditions on standing and soil carbon storage in various land uses in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24: 4493-4502. One of the human activities that accelerates climate change is degradation and deforestation, which can lead to new land use in the form of palm oil plantations and agroforestry. Both of these land uses have the potential to store carbon, which can be optimized if the influencing factors are known. This study aims to estimate the potential for carbon storage in palm oil and agroforestry plantations in Gunung Mas, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, and to analyze the effect of biophysical conditions such as topography, soil fertility, and stand density on the potential for carbon storage. The research was conducted in palm oil plantations (POP) and agroforestry areas categorized as agroforestry with forestry and palm oil plantation commodities (AG-SS), as well as agroforestry consisting of forestry, palm oil, and fruit crops (AG-SSB). Sample plots were determined through purposive sampling with 30 plots for each land use. The research results show significant differences in aboveground carbon (AGC), soil organic carbon (SOC), and total carbon storage among the three land uses. The largest total AGC was in AG-SS (66.24 ton.ha-1), while the lowest AGC was observed in POP (48.15 ton.ha-1). The greatest SOC was recorded in AG-SSB (2163.21 ton. ha-1), followed by POP (1922.12 ton.ha-1) and AG-SS (1846.72 ton.ha-1). The highest total carbon storage was measured in AG-SSB (2223.36 ton.ha-1), followed by POP (1970.27 ton.ha-1), and the lowest in AG-SS (1912.96 ton.ha-1). Biophysical factors, including topography, soil fertility, and stand density, influenced carbon storage in each land use. Topography and stand density factors significantly influenced AGC, while soil fertility factors significantly affected SOC and total carbon storage in all three land uses.


A highly resolved primate cladogram based on DNA evidence is congruent with extant and fossil osteological evidence. A provisional primate classification based on this cladogram and the time scale provided by fossils and the model of local molecular clocks has all named taxa represent clades and assigns the same taxonomic rank to those clades of roughly equivalent age. Order Primates divides into Strepsirhini and Haplorhini. Strepsirhines divide into Lemuriformes and Loriformes, whereas haplorhines divide into Tarsiiformes and Anthropoidea. Within Anthropoidea when equivalent ranks are used for divisions within Platyrrhini and Catarrhini, Homininae divides into Hylobatini (common and siamang gibbon) and Hominini, and the latter divides into Pongina for Pongo (orangutans) and Hominina for Gorilla and Homo. Homo itself divides into the subgenera H. (Homo) for humans and H. (Pan) for chimpanzees and bonobos. The differences between this provisional age related phylogenetic classification and current primate taxonomies are discussed.


Abstract : This study examines the productivity of Navy enlisted recruiters and makes recommendations for improving Production per Recruiter (PPR). Specifically, this research focuses on two areas. First, the study reviews the initial assignment and training process for recruiters. Typically this process, known as the on-boarding process, takes eight months after initial assignment to basic ENlisted Recruiter Orientation (ENRO). The study evaluates how that process might be shortened by altering when a recruiter reports to initial training. The analysis examines whether it is possible to increase individual productivity with minimal to no increase in cost to the Navy. Second, the study examines the differences in recruiter productivity across Navy enlisted ratings to see whether sailors in some ratings tend to perform better than those in other ratings, in an effort to maximize labor efficiency. The results of the study suggest that some of the ratings that require higher cognitive ability, based on Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) sub-scores, generally perform at a slightly higher level (PPR) than other ratings with lower cognitive ability requirements. Further research is recommended to fully quantify the cost of a rating screening process and understanding the differences in cognitive ability, the different cultures of each rating, and their correlation to recruiting performance.


As the Gene Ontology (GO) plays more and more important roles in bioinformatics research, there has been great interest in developing objective and accurate methods for calculating semantic similarity between GO terms. In this chapter, the authors first introduce the basic concepts related to the GO and then briefly review the current advances and challenges in the development of methods for calculating semantic similarity between GO terms. Then, the authors introduce a semantic similarity method that does not rely on external data sources. Using this method as an example, the authors show how different properties of the GO can be explored to calculate semantic similarities between pairs of GO terms. The authors conclude the chapter by presenting some thoughts on the directions for future research in this field. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-625-1.ch009


ABSTRACT In the shipping industry, staffing expenses have become a vital competition parameter. In this paper, an approach and a software tool are presented to support decisions on the staffing of merchant ships. The tool is implemented in the form of a Web user interface that makes use of discrete-event simulation and allows estimation of the workload and of whether different scenarios are successfully performed taking account of the number of crewmembers, watch schedules, distribution of competencies, and others. The software library 'SimManning' at the core of the project is provided as open source. The tool is conceived as a support for the maritime authorities, certifying bodies and shipping companies to assess whether a ship is safely manned.


Abrupt aggregation of misfolded proteins is the underlying molecular cause of numerous pathologies including diabetes type 2 and injection amyloidosis. Although the exact cause of this process is unclear, a growing body of evidence suggests that protein aggregation is linked to a high protein concentration and the presence of lipid membranes. Endosomes are cell organelles that often possess high concentrations of proteins due to their uptake from the extracellular space. However, the role of endosomes in amyloid pathologies remains unclear. In this study, we used a set of biophysical methods to determine the role of bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP), the major lipid constituent of late endosomes on the aggregation properties of insulin. We found that both saturated and unsaturated BMP accelerated protein aggregation. However, very little if any changes in the secondary structure of insulin fibrils grown in the presence of BMP were observed. Therefore, no changes in the toxicity of these aggregates compared to the fibrils formed in the lipid-free environment were observed. We also found that the toxicity of insulin oligomers formed in the presence of a 77:23 mol/mol ratio of BMP/PC, which represents the lipid composition of late endosomes, was slightly higher than the toxicity of insulin oligomers formed in the lipid-free environment. However, the toxicity of mature insulin fibrils formed in the presence of BMP/PC mixture was found to be lower or similar to the toxicity of insulin fibrils formed in the lipid-free environment. These results suggest that late endosomes are unlikely to be the source of highly toxic protein aggregates if amyloid proteins aggregate in them.


Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) provides a source for transplant in the setting of the deceased donor organ shortage. Seeing as living donors do not derive any medical benefit from the procedure, fully understanding the impact of donation on donor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is essential. A systematic search of the MEDLINE database was performed from 2008–2020, using relevant Medical Subject Headings. Articles were evaluated for study design, cohort size and follow-up time and excluded if they contained significant methodological flaws. A total of 43 articles were included: 20 (47%) were cross-sectional and 23 (53%) were longitudinal. The mean number of donors per study was 142 (range:8–578) with follow-up ranging from 12–132 months. Forty-two unique HRQOL metrics were implemented across the 43 studies, the majority of which were questionnaires. Of the 31 studies that used the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 questionnaire, 9.1% of donors reported physical QOL did not return to pre-LDLT levels for at least 2 years after donation. Mental QOL remained stable or improved after LDLT, with mean mental composite scores increasing from 50 to 52 at 3 months post-LDLT in one study. The predicted probability of poor sexual desire decreased at 1-year post-LDLT (male: 0.08, female: 0.26) relative to pre-LDLT (male: 0.44, female: 0.76; P<0.001) and three months post-LDLT (male: 0.35, female 0.69; P=0.001). Forty percent of donors found LDLT to be financially burdensome at 3 months and 19% at 2 years post-LDLT. Female gender and obesity were consistent predictors of worse HRQOL. Laparoscopy-assisted donor hepatectomy was associated with shorter hospitalizations than open donor hepatectomy (10.3 vs. 18.3 days, P=0.02). No studies used the National Institutes of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures of HRQOL. Our review demonstrates that LDLT can have a long-lasting negative impact on physical QOL in 9.1% of donors and can cause both sexual dysfunction and significant financial strain. Future studies should consider using standardized and extensively validated patient reported outcomes measures, such as PROMIS, in order to directly compare outcomes across studies and gain further insight into the impact of LDLT on D-HRQOL.


We attempted to characterize a spinal neuronal correlate of painful neuropathy induced by diabetes mellitus (DM). Pain behavior and response properties of spinal dorsal horn neurons were determined in rats with a streptozocin-induced DM. A catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor with potent antioxidant properties, nitecapone, was used in an attempt to attenuate neuropathic symptoms. Behaviorally DM induced mechanical hypersensitivity that was markedly attenuated by oral treatment with nitecapone. The antihyperalgesic effect of nitecapone was not reversed by naloxone, an opioid antagonist, or atipamezole, an alpha-2-adrenoceptor antagonist. Electrophysiological recordings performed in pentobarbitone-anesthetized animals revealed that the most distinct abnormality in response properties of spinal dorsal horn wide-dynamic range (WDR) neurons was the increase in their spontaneous activity observed in untreated but not in nitecapone-treated DM rats. Conditioning electrical stimulation and a lidocaine block of the rostroventromedial medulla (RVM) had a similar modulatory effect on evoked responses of spinal dorsal horn WDR neurons in all experimental groups. The response properties of spinal dorsal horn nociceptive-specific or low-threshold mechanoreceptive neurons were not markedly different between the experimental groups. The results indicate that increased spontaneous activity in spinal dorsal horn WDR neurons may be causally related to behaviorally observed mechanical hypersensitivity in DM. Attenuation of the increased spontaneous activity in WDR neurons may explain the antihyperalgesic effect by nitecapone, due to naloxone- and alpha-2-adrenoceptor-insensitive mechanisms. DM or nitecapone treatment did not produce significant changes in phasic or tonic descending pain regulation originating in the RVM.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the antitumoral effect of indirubin on androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells and its possible mechanisms.

METHODS
We measured the inhibitory effect of indirubin on the proliferation of prostate cancer PC-3 cells using MTT assay, detected their cell cycles by flow cytometry, and determined the expressions of the cell cycle regulatory protein cyclin D1 and its related downstream gene c-myc by Western blot.

RESULTS
The viability of the PC-3 cells was significantly decreased by indirubin in a concentration-dependent manner, reduced to 52. 2% and 13. 6% at 5 and 10 µmol/L, respectively. The cell cycle of the PC-3 cells was markedly inhibited by indirubin at 5 µmol/L, with the cells remarkably increased in the G0 and G1 phases and decreased in the S and G2/M phases. Meanwhile, indirubin also inhibited the expressions of cyclin D1 and c-myc in the Wnt signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION
Indirubin can suppress the proliferation of androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells, which may be associated with its inhibitory effect on the cell cycle and Wnt signaling pathway.


Salmonella pullorum is a common disease in local poultry industry, which causes severe economic impact on the industry. Whole blood agglutination test (WBAT) is a screening test done to individual birds in a poultry breeder flock. It is compulsory to maintain a free status of this disease in line with the regulation declared by the Department of Animal Production and Health (2010). It is believed that of all the different methods used for reading whole blood agglutination tests, which can be misleading, prolonged treatment with antibiotics was the most. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of antibiotics on the results of whole blood agglutination tests in commercial chicken. This study was carried out with different antibiotics which are widely used in the field, such as Enrofloxacillin, Amoxycillin, Sulpa-Trimethoprim combination and Enro-Amoxycillin combination. The result indicated that antibiotics had no direct and significant effect on the reading of WBAT, although they were indirectly involved in the reading. In the field, antibiotics may flush out microflora, including Salmonella, from the GIT and prevent the development of high antibody titer in chicken. The study concluded that the isolation of S. Pullorum from the organs failed when the birds were infected at adult stage.

 Key words: Salmonella, antibiotic, agglutination test.


Abstract Temperature may regulate seed dormancy and germination and determine the geographical distribution of species. The present study investigated the thermal limits for seed germination of Polygonum ferrugineum (Polygonaceae), an aquatic emergent herb distributed throughout tropical and subtropical America. Seed germination responses to light and temperature were evaluated both before (control) and after stratification at 10, 15 and 20°C for 7, 14 and 28 d. Germination of control seeds was ~50% at 10 and 15°C, and they did not germinate from 20 to 30°C. The best stratification treatment was 7 d at 10°C, where seed germination was >76% in the dark for all temperatures, except at 30°C, and < 60% in light conditions. A thermal time approach was applied to the seed germination results. Base temperature (Tb) was 6.3°C for non-dormant seeds and optimal temperature (To) was 20.6°C, ceiling temperature (Tc (<50)) was 32.8°C, and thermal time requirement for 50% germination was 44.4°Cd. We concluded that a fraction of P. ferrugineum seeds is dormant, has a narrow thermal niche to germinate (10 and 15°C) and that cold stratification (10°C) alleviated dormancy and amplified the thermal range permissive for germination of the species. Consequently, P. ferrugineum is expected to occur in colder environments, for example, at high altitudes. Higher temperatures decrease the probabilities of alleviate dormancy and the ability of their seeds to germinate.


Petri nets are a suitable modeling formalism to specify concurrency, making them appropriate to model distributed embedded systems and embedded systems with concurrent processes. To make a distributed implementation of a system specified by a Petri net model, is required to make the partition/distribution of the model into a set of distributed and interacting sub-models. This paper presents a model transformation to allow the distributed execution of Petri net conflicts, enabling this way the distribution of processes in conflict. This transformation has some constraints and introduces some minor behavioral changes, otherwise it would not be possible to distribute Petri net conflicts (it is known that conflicts must be locally solved). This transformation was applied to a specific non-autonomous Petri net class (IOPT-nets), which together with its tool chain framework (IOPT-tools), allows the development of embedded systems. IOPT-tools (online available at http://gres.uninova.pt/) include an editor, a model-checking tool, and automatic code generators tools for software and hardware platforms.


Integrating family nursing into a busy mental health urgent care setting is a challenge given the high acuity of patients and the demands of delivering service 7 days/week, 14 hours/day. In this article, the authors describe the development of a Mental Health Urgent Care Practice Framework that incorporates four elements: mental health/psychiatric assessment, physical health assessment, family nursing, and integrated behavioral health care. Sample family nursing skills and ladders for mental health urgent care practice are highlighted.The framework and ladders have implications for recruitment and hiring, orientation, peer mentoring, performance appraisals, and continuing education and supervision. A clinical vignette illustrates sample conceptual/ perceptual and executive skills used to apply the framework and ladders in practice. Family nursing is conceptualized as an integral component of nursing care provided to individual and families in this unique setting.


Most corrected seismic data assume a 2nd order, single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF)
instrument function with which to de-convolve the instrument response from the ground motion.
Other corrected seismic data is not explicitly de-convolved, citing as reason insufficient instrument
information with which to de-convolve the data. Whereas this latter approach may facilitate ease of
processing, the estimate of the ground motion cannot be entirely reliable and therefore methods of deconvolution
have been suggested and described in [1, 2, 4 ,5]]. This paper reviews a relatively
straightforward implementation of the well-known recursive least squares (RLS) algorithm in the
context of a system identification problem [4]. The paper then goes on to discuss the order in which
implementation of the RLS algorithm should be applied when correcting seismic data. Noise
reduction is typically achieved by de-noising using the discrete wavelet transform [8, 9] or filtering
the resulting de-convolved seismic data. De-noising removes only those signals whose amplitudes are
below a certain threshold and is not therefore frequency selective. Standard band-pass filtering
methods on the other hand are frequency selective, but different cut-off frequencies for band-pass
filters are applied in different parts of the world when correcting seismic events. These give rise to
substantial differences in power spectral density characteristics of the corrected seismic data.


The Correlation Network model serves as a framework for models of auditory processing for pitch, timbre, localization and sound segregation. It comprises three modules. The first module calculates arrays of running correlation coefficients (two autocorrelation arrays, one crosscorrelation array). Each array is two dimensional, indexed in time measured relative to a sliding origin (the "present"), and lag. If peripheral frequency analysis is taken into account, the arrays have a third dimension: tonotopy. Integration over a sliding window in the correlation calculation removes most of the fine time structure, so the output of the first module consists of slowly varying values. The second module calculates a weighted sum of its inputs. The third module controls the weights of the second module while monitoring its output, and is responsible for producing the behavior expected from the model. Based upon the Correlation Network model, a wide range of models of pitch, timbre and binaural processing can be implemented, in particular those involving correlation and cancellation. It offers a uniform basis for these operations with a simple mapping to known anatomy (module I to the brainstem, modules II and III to midbrain and beyond). It allows complex models (such as multi-stage cancellation) to be cast in relatively simple and plausible terms. It provides useful inspiration for signal processing tasks such as F0 estimation, spectral estimation and source separation.


This book presents the proceedings of an international conference organised jointly by specialist groups in information retrieval (IR) with the BCS and ACM, and held at King's College, Cambridge in July 1984. The book covers both basic research ideas in information storage and retrieval and interesting new applications. The topics examined by contributors include automatic indexing, natural language processing, integration of IR with other information systems, IR in the context of office automation, system modelling and evaluation, user interfaces, the complexity problem, cognitive models, knowledge based IR systems, hardware design to enhance IR, file organisation, and mathematical and linguistic models for IR.


The poor performance of students in chemistry is often blamed on inadequate practical exposure during the teaching of chemistry due to hazardous nature of some chemistry experiments. Consequently, the search for teaching method that will be used to overcome this practical constraint has continued to engage researchers. Specifically, the main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of computer simulation on academic achievement of students in chemistry. Quasi experimental research design, specifically, non–equivalent control group design was used. The sample consisted of 78 which is made up of 38 experimental group (18 males and 20 females) while control group was 40 students (16 males and 24 females) drawn from two coeducational secondary school in Awka Education zone of Anambra State. Instruments used for data collection was Chemistry Achievement Test which was pilot tested for the period of one week in another zone. Scores obtained was used to estimate the instrument reliability which was found to be 0.78 Kuder Richardson formulas 20. Two research assistants were trained in carrying out the teaching using computer simulations. Pretest was given to the students before treatment. After four weeks of teaching, a posttest was given. Mean gain was used to answer the research question while hypotheses was tested with ANCOVA to determine the significance difference. The result revealed that computer simulation was more effective in enhancing students' achievement in chemistry than lecture method; there was no significant difference on students' achievement due to gender. It was recommended that computer simulation should be adopted for teaching hazardous chemistry concepts. Based on the findings, it was concluded that computer simulation should be employed in chemistry teaching as a means of improving students' achievement in the subject and providing a real life experiment for dangerous chemistry practicals.


Understanding the classic doctor-patient relationship has entered a crisis in medicine today. Communication difficulties, underestimation of empathy, or bringing economic criteria are leading to care styles that facilitate the objectification of patients, contempt for doctors, and indifference of both to collective measures of health. Basic principles of this relationship such as quality, justice, patient autonomy and beneficence may appear weak content. We intend to apply the concept of "reciprocal recognition" from philosophy to "recharge" content different aspects of the clinical relationship: a look "inside", dealing with the identity of the protagonists seek to promote it by using reciprocal recognition of both patient and the professional. In one aspect "external", focusing on the quality of care, a key objective of the clinical relationship. With reciprocal recognition, issues of justice and equity are reinforced through public health, building an identity of citizens with rights.


Success in vascular surgery is often more a product of persistence than of brilliance. To the overworked intern on a vascular service, it must seem that three fourths of all vascular patients have to undergo multiple operations. With more experience, one's estimate goes down somewhat. Actually, Dr DePalma says the true figures are in the 12% to 25% range, but the impression is accurate. If it offends you to take a patient back again and again, stay out of vascular surgery. In this compact book, 31 surgeons discuss the management of patients who require reoperation. The material deals with complications as well as with progression of disease. Each chapter briefly discusses the reasons for reoperation and then concentrates on operative management of the problem. This is, then, a highly technical book, intended for the vascular specialist. The material ranges from the mundane to the esoteric. There is a really fine


Conventional Generational Accounting only includes future benefits and burdens from the government. This paper's contribution is to include past benefits and burdens as well, and in this way to provide a full lifetime account of how much current and future generations benefit from government, in net terms, under various future policy lines. The calculations are carried out for the Netherlands and for the cohorts born as from 1946. The more complete picture may be helpful for political decision making on equitable intergenerational policies. A second contribution of this paper is that it uses a more comprehensive benefit concept than other such studies by including non-cash benefits as well. The results point out that the lifetime net benefits are positive for almost all of the cohorts considered. Only the very first of the post war cohorts have negative net benefits. Net benefits rise sharply for the younger cohorts, mainly due to increasing benefits from education, health care and general government. They reach a peak for those born between 1960 and 1990. Due to austerity measures that are necessary to restore sustainability of public finances, they decline again for the cohorts after 1990. Technical appendix This technical appendix serves two purposes. The first describes the procedure of the calculations in details. This may be helpful to those who want to replicate the results or who want to perform similar calculations for other countries. The second purpose is that it records exactly where the data and the calculating procedures are stored. It contains links to the inputfiles and the outputfiles (both in Excel). If the hyperlinks doesn't work, please access the files working with the accompanying article . It also contains a file that presents how the present value calculations are carried out. However, these calculations are carried out in a model solving program used at CPB and may not be transferable. It serves as an aid for those who want to replicate the calculations but cannot be readily used by other institutions.


Abstract The study attempted to assess the changes in shoreline and erosion-accretion of newly formed island at the mouth of the Meghna river estuary in Bangladesh using multi temporal satellite images and GIS techniques. The current study used NDWI an MNDWI to delineate land and water boundary to extract the shoreline and also used some overlay analysis to measure the erosion-accretion. DSAS extension is used for analyzing the shifting of the shoreline. The results (1990-2015) show that the island has 1192 hectares of land accreted during this time period, and about 1 km of its shoreline lost during this time period as it has broken in few places. Most accretion found in the northwestern part and erosion in southeastern and southwestern part. The study area was divided into four different segments and about 115 transects were constructed, of which about 74 shows the seaward movement and 44 shows landward movement. Seaward movement and rate of shoreline shifting is higher in the northwestern part where net shoreline movement (NSM) is +1897 meters and end point rate (EPR) is +73 m/year. Landward movement and the rate of shoreline shifting are higher in southeastern and southwestern part of which net shoreline movement (NSM) is about -2680 meters and end point rate (EPR) is about -129 m/year. The highest landward movement is found as -2680 meters and highest seaward movement as +1897 meters. Accretion process is dominant while erosion process discontinued the shoreline in some places.


We examine the role of demographics on the housing market in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA) using the Mankiw and Weil (1989) approach. First, we estimate housing demand for each age group in HMA using cross section data and find that it increases from childhood to the age 70-74 years. This profile differs from those estimated for the US and Sweden. Next, we construct time series data of housing consumption and demographic housing demand for HMA in 1962-97. In the latter, we use population statistics and the results of our cross section analysis. We also estimate a housing price model, but our main interest is in housing demand which is explained by demographic demand, real income, user costs of housing and unemployment rate in HMA. One percent increase in demographic demand leads to almost one percent growth in total housing demand. Our income elasticity is quite low, about 0.1. Finally, our cross section and time series results, together with population prognoses, are used in forecasting housing demand in HMA for the years 1997-2015.


Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was developed to detect aluminum in nickel-based superalloys (K417, GH4033, DZ125L, Э Π742y) using a non-intensified, non-gated, low-cost detection system. The precision of LIBS depends strongly on the experimental conditions. The calibration curves of Al(I) 394.4 nm and Al(I) 396.2 nm under the optimum experimental parameters are presented. Finally the limit of detection (LOD) for aluminum is calculated from the experimental data, which is in the range of 0.09% to 0.1% by weight.


Dracunculiasis or guinea-worm infection is a water-borne, parasitic disease that can cause major morbidity. Dracunculiasis in patients with diabetes can be misdiagnosed as a diabetic foot abscess, which is a common complication of poorly controlled diabetes. This is a report of guinea-worm disease (GWD) in a 57-year-old man with diabetes from a rural area of Kerala. There is need for awareness among physicians about the occurrence of GWD in people with diabetes and the need to ensure supply of safe drinking water to prevent its re- emergence. Though WHO has declared India free of GWD, a few cases have been reported from the country.


A major performance limiter in amplify-and-forward (AF) full-duplex (FD) relaying is the high level of residual self-interference (SI) due to the imperfect estimation of the effective self-interfering channel. One primary obstacle that contributes to the ineffectiveness of estimating the effective SI channel is the transceiver's radio-frequency (RF) impairments. In this paper, we consider the effect of in-phase/quadrature imbalance (IQI) on the process of SI cancellation in FD AF transceivers. We model the cumulative SI as a function of IQI, and thoroughly analyze the stability of the performance of the relay by analyzing the different transmission parameters and configurations that guarantee the stability of the system. In particular, depending on the RF impairments of the relay's transceiver, the wireless channel conditions, and the channel estimation accuracy, the relay's maximum amplification factor and transmission power that limit the residual SI power and prevent the system oscillations are analytically derived and verified by Monte-Carlo simulations. Finally, we show that the average SI power is bounded by a sum of scaled Gamma functions.


With distribution industrial control system, the use of low cost to achieve a highly reliable and safe system in real time distributed embedded application is proposed. This developed intelligent node is based on two microcontrollers, one for the execution of the application code, also as master controller for ensuring the real time control & the logic operation with PLD and other for communication task and the easy control execution, i.e., I/O digital input, digital output and interrupting. This paper also presents where the case NCS(Networked control system) with LonTalk protocol is applied for the filtration process control system of a small water treatment plant.


Airports facilitate the fastest mode of transportation and connect local communities and businesses with national and international destinations. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 infrastructure report card rated the aviation infrastructure category with a D+. This highlights the need for frequent monitoring and performing timely preservation techniques to ensure the optimal performance of the asset. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) periodically inspects the regional airports in Texas through visual surveys and estimates the pavement condition index (PCI) for each airport on a network scale. These ratings are used to assess the need for rehabilitation in a timely manner. In this study, an attempt was made to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) mounted with an optical camera to inspect and evaluate the condition of various airport assets. Several observations were outlined to conduct a safe inspection of airport assets using UAVs. A comparison of PCI values, grouped into three categories, obtained from traditional and aerial inspections was made to understand the feasibility of using this new technology for airport asset management. It was observed that both inspections classified most of the airport assets similarly. The traditional inspection was observed to be quicker as it requires inspection of only sampled units, however, UAV data processing takes a relatively long time to offer a comprehensive digital footprint and immersive visualization experience of the whole airport assets. Overall, UAVs are identified to have a great potential as a data collection tool supplementary to the current traditional practices.


This review assesses the development of oral health habits and status in European adults (35–44 years old) and senior citizens (65–74 years old) over the period of 1996–2016. There seem to be good opportunities for improving oral health habits by brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste among adults, as only 33–85% reported doing so. Caries experience was extensive among adults (≥92%). In adults of 23 countries, the mean DMFT score ranged from 6.6 to 17.6 (median 12.1). In senior citizens of 21 countries, the mean DMFT score varied from 14.7 to 25.5 (median 22.0). Repeated cross-sectional studies on caries trends in adults revealed a reduction of the DMFT value by 20%, referring to country-wide data. Among senior citizens, the corresponding reduction was 13%, with a shift in the DMFT components, i.e., with lower MT and higher FT scores. Edentulousness in the age group of 35- to 44-year-olds started disappearing in Europe from the year 2000, and had been markedly reduced in some countries during the last decade. However, the eradication of edentulousness among 65- to 74-year-olds has not yet been reported. Further epidemiological surveys should apply caries diagnostic criteria that, besides representing our contemporary understanding of oral health care, allow comparisons with previous surveys using the WHO criteria. In conclusion, in the last two decades, a decline in caries was observed among European adults, and to a lesser extent among senior citizens. It is expected that the decline in caries will contribute to better oral health of individuals.


The role of eugenics in family planning motivation in China is considered. The author suggests that if a family objective is to have fewer, "better quality" children, then eugenic factors have to be taken into consideration. An outline of eugenics is presented, and the author states that greater knowledge of eugenic factors will lead to increased motivation to practice family planning.


Introduction : The development of resistance in mosquitoes to the insecticide used against them as larvicides and adulticides is an important issue to be considered as difficulty with control would be encountered due to the emergence of insecticide -resistant mosquitoes. Resistance to Organophosphates and Pyrethroids, widely  used to control Mosquitoes is  widespread in Nigeria  . Objectives: This study therefore evaluates the effect of insecticide resistance on the larvicidal activity of Skeeter Abate and Spintor a biopesticide, on Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti . Methods: Mosquito larvae were collected from five populations where insecticide resistance have been reported in Lagos and Oyo States in Nigeria. They were evaluated at a temperature of 27± 2 o c and R.H. of 70± 10% and a photoperiod of 12:12 (LD). Insecticide resistance was confirmed in the areas by adult susceptibility test using World Health Organization standard procedures. The larval bioassay was conducted at different concentrations of Skeeter Abate and Spintor insecticides. Results: There is a positive correlation between resistance to permethrin in adult mosquitoes and the concentration of Spintor and Skeeter Abate required to effect 99% mortality in the larval samples. All Aedes aegypti species collected from the study sites were 100% susceptible to permethrin. Resistance to permethrin in Anopheles gambiae were low in three sites (Yaba, Ikorodu and Iwo Road) while resistance is suspected in two sites (Lekki and Ojoo). Spintor and Skeeter Abate were effective in the control of the Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti larvae. Conclusion: Insecticide susceptibility tests and resistance surveillance should be conducted before embarking on mosquito control programmes. Keywords: Insecticide resistance Mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti , Anopheles gambiae , biopesticide, Spintor and Skeeter Abate.


Background: Single-stage procedure for the treatment of choledocholithiasis by laparoscopy is associated with high success rate in most cases. Difficult common bile duct stones are an exception to this rule. Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the results obtained with the management of difficult common bile duct stones. Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a consecutive series of cases of difficult common bile duct stones treated between 2018-2020. Results: Eight patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of the 5 patients managed with single-stage approach through video-assisted laparoscopy, 60% required conversion to open surgery. The other 3 cases were initially managed with endoscopic cholangiography due to severe cholangitis and were solved with elective transcystic instrumentation. Conclusion: This initial experience suggests that the two-stage approach could be better to treat difficult common bile duct stones with a minimally invasive approach.


In elite studies, some elites – such as political and economic elites – tend to be more indisputable than others, while especially cultural elites hold a more ambiguous position. The reluctance to define the cultural elite as an elite among others can be related to different factors, e.g. the self-definition of cultural elites as opponents to temporal powers and the methodological problems of defining the cultural elites. In our contribution, we set the self-definition of cultural elites aside and try to tackle the problem of defining one specific cultural elite, successful artists, by employing Bourdieu's notion of field. After having carved out a sociological definition of the elite artists, i.e. the artist occupying the most dominant positions within the field, we investigate the social origin of the group, and thereby, reveal the 'secular' basis for this 'spiritual' elite power. By using a large historical source material, presenting a wide number of dominant positions in the Swedish art field in the period 1945–2004, and prosopography as the main method, comprising a compilation of more than 645 artists' career paths, we can both analyze structures at different times and change over time. Our main results suggest that Swedish leading artist mainly come from more privileged backgrounds and that popular classes are underrepresented. Furthermore, a shift has occurred in the recruitment patterns, where artists from cultural fractions of the middle and dominant classes are increasing their share, while the economic fractions are decreasing.


Students in Brazil are typically assigned to classes based on the age ranking in their cohort. I exploit this rule to estimate the effects on maths achievement of being in class with older peers for students in fifth grade. I find that being assigned to the older class leads to a drop in Math scores of about 0.4 of a standard deviation for students at the cut-off. I provide evidence that heterogeneity in age is an important factor behind this effect. Information on teaching practices and student behaviour sheds light on how class heterogeneity harms learning.


Deep underground mines have high energy consumption due to the need to overcome the confining pressure. This study investigates the characteristics of the roadheader used for breaking rock containing a different number and size of holes under different confining pressures. A series of simulations were conducted using the LS-DYNA software to study the cutting torque, thrust force, specific energy, and failure mode during the rock-breaking process. Following this, the results were further validated with experimental data. It was found that the decrease in energy rates of rock containing different numbers (1, 5, 9, and 13) of holes are 12.7%, 19.3%, 25.9%, and 38.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the decrease in energy rates of rock with different hole diameters (35, 45, 55, and 65 mm) are 10.5%, 19.3%, 24.6%, and 28.1%, respectively. Under the confining pressure of 10 MPa, the increase in the torque of the rock without holes is 23.5%, while this increase in the rock with five holes is 7.9%. This indicates that the high torque and energy consumption caused by the confining pressure can be reduced by drilling holes in the rock.


THE FATE OF PHOSPHORUS ALONG ESTUARINE SALINITY GRADIENTS Jeanne L. Hartzell, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2009 Dissertation Co-Directors: Drs. Thomas E. Jordan and Donald P. Kelso Determining the fate of particulate phosphorus (PP) in estuaries is essential for addressing the widespread problem of estuarine eutrophication, and is key for developing accurate global P budgets. We used a sequential extraction technique and 210 Pb dating to determine the form and amount of P that is retained with burial in 1-meter long sediment cores collected along the salinity gradients of four Chesapeake Bay subestuaries with contrasting physiographic provinces: the Patuxent River, the Potomac River, the Choptank River, and Bush River. We found that citrate-dithionite-bicarbonate (CDB) extractable P was the most important fraction of PP in regulating P bioavailability in the sediments. We refer to this fraction as Fe-P because the CDB extraction targets P bound to iron oxyhydroxides, but CDB may dissolve other P compounds as well. In all four subestuaries, changes in Fe-P controlled down-core profiles of total PP. Declines in Fe-P also accounted for 90% of observed declines in total PP with increased salinity. In the freshwater sediments of all four subestuaries Fe-P persisted with depth allowing for efficient sequestration of PP. In the Fe-rich Patuxent subestuary, Fe-P was the dominant sink for PP even in the most saline and deepest sediments, in spite of the fact that the Fe was in the form of Fe(II). Solubility calculations indicate that CDB-extractable ferrous phosphate minerals, such as vivianite, may be sequestering P in the Patuxent. In contrast to the Patuxent, Fe-P concentrations declined to near zero with depth in the sediments of the most saline cores in the Potomac and Choptank, indicating that Fe-P is not a long-term sink for P in the saline portions of those subestuaries. Fe dynamics also controlled an increase in pore water PO4 3concentrations along the salinity gradient of each subestuary affecting a shift in pore water N:P ratios from greater than 16 (the Redfield ratio) in the freshwater sites to less than 16 in the saline sites. The shift in the Redfield ratio occurred at remarkably similar salinities of 1 – 4 in each subestuary. Our findings indicate that Fe regulation of P can contribute to the generally observed switch from P limitation of primary production in freshwater to N limitation in mesohaline waters, and can control the long-term burial of PP in estuaries. Thus the amount and form of particulate Fe in estuarine sediments may be a key factor in controlling P bioavailability.


The inverted metamorphic solar cell has highly tunable bandgaps, in part due to the metamorphic subcells. Using phosphide-based compositionally graded buffers, we show a wide variety of GaInAs solar cells, ranging in bandgap from 1.2 to 0.7 eV. These metamorphic subcells are all high quality and can be used for a wide variety of multijunction designs. GaInAs solar cells with 0.70 eV bandgaps are developed using an InAsP buffer that extends beyond the InP lattice constant, allowing access to an additional 2 mA/cm2 of photocurrent at AM1.5D and 25 °C. This subcell is implemented into a four-junction inverted metamorphic solar cell combined with an appropriate antireflective coating, which increases the series-connected multijunction current by 0.5 mA/cm2 with respect to designs using 0.74-eV GaInAs. However, the optimal design depends on the spectrum and operating temperature. We show how the device flexibility can be used to fine-tune the design for various spectra in order to maximize energy yield for a given operating condition. One-sun devices achieve 35.3 ± 1.2% efficiency under the AM0 spectra and 37.8 ± 1.2% efficiency under the global spectra at 25 °C. Concentrator devices designed for elevated operating temperature achieve 45.6 ± 2.3% peak efficiency under 690× the direct spectrum and 45.2 ± 2.3% efficiency at 1000× and 25 °C. Device optimization is performed for the direct spectrum on 1-sun devices with 2% shadowing, which achieve 39.8 ± 1.2% efficiency under the direct spectrum at 1 sun, highlighting the excellent performance and bandgap tunability of the four-junction inverted metamorphic solar cell.


Intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) relationship of rainfall amounts is one of the most commonly used tools in water resources engineering for planning, design and operation of water resources projects. The Intensity-Duration-Frequency relationship is a mathematical relationship between the rainfall intensity, duration and return period. This relationship is determined through statistical analysis of recorded rainfall data. The objective of this study is to derive IDF relationship of rainfall at Kumulur region. A total durations ranging from 10 minutes to 24 hr (10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 60 min, 120 min, 180 min, 360 min, 720 min and 1440 min) for return periods of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years were analyzed. In this study, Yearly maximum rainfall data for Kumulur (1991–2014) was used. Empirical reduction formula of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has been used to estimate the short duration rainfall intensity from yearly maximum rainfall data. Gumbel and Log Pearson Type III (LPT III) Distribution method was used to construct IDF curves and equations. The results obtained using Gumbel method is somewhat higher than the outcomes obtained using the LPT III distribution method. The chi-square goodness of fit test was used to determine the best fit probability distribution. This study will be helpful in many design problems related to watershed management, such as runoff disposal and erosion control, it is necessary to know the rainfall intensities of different durations and different return periods.


What explains a state's decision to intervene in ongoing interstate conflicts? Intervention is a risky proposition, potentially incurring audience costs if the effort is unsuccessful or if casualties and other costs mount. Various domestic political factors and features of the international environment certainly shape the risks surrounding intervention, but recent work in political psychology suggests that individual leaders' risk-taking propensity, as measured by their locus of control (LOC), greatly influences their willingness to engage in potentially risky actions. In this paper, we examine the link between US presidents' risk propensity and the frequency with which they intervene internationally. Our analysis of the period 1946–2001 reveals that presidents with an internal LOC are generally more likely to intervene in ongoing conflicts. Moreover, such leaders are specifically more likely to engage in unilateral interventions and those geared toward harming the interests of interstate rivals, indicating a particular predilection toward risk-taking in their decision-making surrounding interventions.


In this paper, we study how well packet and flow level measurements can differentiate application types from the traffic mix. The results of this work show that we are able to divide traffic into three classes without any a priori knowledge of the traffic types. These classes closely resemble the three categories of traffic that are found in the Internet today. The externally controlled unidirectional traffic flows, the long held adaptive reliable traffic flows and the short duration transactions. Results indicate that it may be feasible to build a system where the network is given responsibility to classify traffic independently.


Congenital cervical stenosis appears to predispose athletes to episodes of spinal cord concussion. Torg et al. 1 referred to this temporary disruption of spinal cord function as "transient neurapraxia." They showed that the smaller the spinal canal, the greater the likelihood that an athlete would sustain repeated episodes of this phenomenon. Retrospectively, Torg et al. reported that none of seventy-seven athletes who were rendered permanently quadriplegic while playing high-school or college football had experienced previous episodes of transient spinal cord concussion, and none had congenital spinal stenosis. Conversely, they also found that none of forty-five high-school, college, and professional athletes who presented with symptoms of temporary spinal cord concussion became quadriplegic, although some athletes elected to retire from collision sports. In 2002, they summarized their findings and conclusions, stating, "Although it is controversial, we do not believe that individuals who experience uncomplicated cervical cord neurapraxia are at risk of incurring permanent neurologic sequelae." 1

We report an exception to the conclusion of Torg et al.: the case of a professional football player who had occasional symptoms and known congenital cervical stenosis. Two years before he sustained the permanent injury, the patient had experienced tingling in all four extremities when he flexed his neck but had no evidence of instability, disc herniation, osteophytes, or other abnormality. The athlete sustained a permanent spinal cord injury two years later, again with no evidence of fracture, dislocation, or disc herniation. Two years after the permanent injury, the patient continued to have dysesthesias and mild upper-extremity weakness and numbness. A follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scan made twelve months after the injury revealed no evidence of residual injury. Our patient was informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication.

A healthy twenty-two-year-old National Football League (NFL) linebacker presented in December 1998 with a …


Synopsis Studies of surface geology and of the results of recent gravity and magnetic surveys have yielded limited information about the development of the Clyde Plateau Lavas south-west of Glasgow. Seismic reflection velocity surveys linked by continuous reflection profiles were carried out to determine the depth of the base of the lavas, the recognition of which is based on the probability of a velocity reversal below it and on correlation with borehole and surface geological evidence. Operational methods, results and interpretation of the surveys are described. The survey was designed to discriminate between two models of the lava pile: post-extrusion folding of a fairly uniform pile and an original maximal development of the lavas along their NW.–SE. trending outcrop. The results of the survey support the latter model, with compaction dips of later sediments banked against the pile and the whole modestly accentuated by later folding. More rapid, but smaller-amplitude variations of thickness occur across NE.–SW. trending faults with long histories of repeated movement. The survey provides further evidence of the gradual diminution of activity of NE.–SW. faults, allied to the emergence of increasingly significant NW.–SE. trending, extensional structures. The inferred change of stress during Carboniferous times is thought to be related to the initiation of Atlantic rifting.


The article is focused on the infrared measurement method in the air in small closed areas. This method is based on the visualization of temperature fields on an auxiliary material which is inserted into the non-isothermal air flow in a research area. In small closed spaces where is impossible to put the measuring equipment due to various reasons, it is necessary to visualize the temperature fields through a window. This window must be permeable for infrared radiation of known properties, especially the transmissivity. As an auxiliary material for the visualization of temperature fields in these experiments, the ordinary office paper with high emissivity value was chosen and the viewing window was made of a polyethylene. The presented method for the measurement of temperature fields in the air can be applied mainly in closed spaces where is difficult to situate the infrared camera (due to field of view), in spaces where the infrared camera restricts the flowing air or where is aggressive or too hot environment (a potential damage of infrared camera), etc. In this article the parameter analysis, which is important for a particular application, is performed and an example of temperature fields measurement in closed space is presented. This method can be used in cooling and heating design of means of transport, mostly for cabins of cars and trucks.


Value creation is an area with long-standing importance in the marketing field, yet little is known about the value construct itself. In social marketing, value can be regarded as an incentive for consumers to perform desirable behaviours that lead to bother greater social good and individual benefit. An understanding of customer value in the consumption of social products is an important aspect of designing social marketing interventions that can effectively change social behaviours. This paper uses qualitative data, gathered during depth interviews, to explore the value dimensions women experience from using government-provided breast screening services every two years. Thematic analysis was used in discovering that emotional functional, social and altruistic dimensions of value were present in womens' experiences with these services as well as in the outcomes from using them.


The four-plate test (FPT), Premi test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods were used for screening oxytetracycline residues in fish samples. FPT is a microbiological inhibition test which uses three media seeded with Bacillus subtilis at different pH values (6, 7.2 or 8.0), and a fourth medium seeded with Micrococcus luteus. Fish fed with pellets containing antibiotics: the inhibition zones increased according to duration of feed application. Fish fed with pellets containing antibiotics: at day 1, the inhibition zone was found to be 2.5 mm wide; at day 4, the zones increased to 12.25 mm wide. The concentration of the residues accumulated and reached a plateau after 4 days. At day 15, the antibiotics were still detectable, but 5 days later (at day 20), they were no longer detectable in the fish samples. According to the Premi test, results of fish samples: fish samples of the control group were found negative, from days 1 to 20; the samples were found positive, at day 25; the samples were found negative. The results showed us that the Premi test and ELISA test were more sensitive than the European Economic Community FPT. In contrast to the FPT, 10 days after discontinuing the medicated diet, there were still residues detectable by the Premi test and ELISA test (at day 20). Data presented show the FPT, Premi test and ELISA test methods are very suitable for screening oxytetracycline residues in trout.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The use of antibiotics above the maximum residue limits could result in unsafe antibiotic residues in food products. Therefore, monitoring antibiotic residues in food products are necessary to prevent unapproved uses of antibiotics. The aim of the present study was to determine the most useful method for screening oxytetracycline residues in trout.


Although the implementation of computerized information systems in developing countries has been ongoing for decades, the diffusion process has been slow to achieve a state of active use in organizational settings, and examples of cross-sector sharing and learning remain very limited. This paper aims at demonstrating aspects that can be shared across sectors within the same socio-economic and political implementation context, and the potential benefits that can be achieved. Empirically, the paper draws upon experiences from the study of information systems implementation within the health and land management sectors respectively in Mozambique. The concept of "translation" drawn from Actor-Network-Theory (ANT) is used as a lens to analyse both experiences, and the similarities and differences are analyzed to draw specific inferences on potential domains of crosslearning. Specific learning concerns the issues around managing the scalability and sustainability of the implementation of egovernment initiatives. Four key areas of learning identified through this analysis are: use of participatory and action research development; enrolment of the government; enrolment of local universities; and use of joined top-down and bottom-up implementation approach.


The erythrocyte membrane, a lipidic-proteic structure, conserves its architecture thanks to interactions that involve the protein-SH-groups and enzymatic activities that keep the phospholipid asymmetry stable. This peculiar organization is essential for the physiological fluidity of the red blood cells and helps to avoid microcirculatory alterations.


In RATIONING THE CONSTITUTION: HOW JUDICIAL CAPACITY SHAPES SUPREME DECISION-MAKING, Professor Andrew Coan makes the provocative argument that judicial capacity is the most determinative factor in the Supreme Court's constitutional interpretation, especially regarding such critical realms as equal protection, takings, and the separation of powers. He contends that the Court's legitimate anxiety over managing workflow to the federal bench operates more powerfully to shape its responses to questions raised in these areas of law than any alternative theory of constitutional interpretation, including doctrinal models popular most among legal academics and strategic models more popular among political scientists.

Some readers will be more persuaded than others on different parts of Coan's argument, but I was interested in the way that his theory of judicial capacity intersects with my own theory of negotiated governance within Balanced Federalism, which recognizes the interpretive value of bilaterally negotiated outcomes in federalism contexts where judicial capacity is low. Coan and I share the deep concern that the Court's federalism jurisprudence sometimes misuses categorical rules in contexts where they are necessarily under- or over-inclusive, failing to account for critical nuances in complex cases, controversies, and policy dilemmas. His critique of how capacity constraints cause the Court to reach sub-optimal solutions in the federalism context provides theoretical support for my claim that federalism interpretation should be shared among all three branches, according to the distinctive capacity each brings to the interpretive enterprise.

This article assesses strengths and weaknesses in Coan's book and explores the support his capacity theory provides for my own analysis of the role of interpretive intergovernmental bargaining in contexts of jurisdictional overlap. Part I provides an overview of Coan's book, paying homage to the explanatory power of his model; the good advice he provides litigants advocating around capacity constraints; and the admonitions he offers about how the limits of judicial capacity should temper expectations about the role of the courts in a legal system within which courts are only one component. Part II considers the intersection between Coan's work and mine on Negotiating Federalism, starting with our shared skepticism of the Court's use of "bright-line" categorical rules in this arena and its implications for judicial competence. I argue that his analysis buttresses use of intergovernmental bargaining in certain federalism disputes.

Part III nods to some of the limits of Coan's theory, suggesting that in his robust critique of categorical rules, he nevertheless applies one himself, conflating important differences between the bright-line categorical deference the Court applies in some contexts and the deferential but discretionary review it applies in others. It suggests that the capacity model is already accounted for within the predominant models of judicial interpretation from which Coan distinguishes it. Finally, it encourages Coan to think more seriously about a systemic remedy for the problem he identifies, in which limited judicial capacity leads to sub-optimal decision-making. It presses for clarification whether the solution is to alleviate capacity constraints by expanding the judiciary or reducing its demands by shifting power to the political branches.


A 3D porous architecture of Si/graphene nanocomposite has been rationally designed and constructed through a series of controlled chemical processes. In contrast to random mixture of Si nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets, the porous nanoarchitectured composite has superior electrochemical stability because the Si nanoparticles are firmly riveted on the graphene nanosheets through a thin SiOx layer. The 3D graphene network enhances electrical conductivity, and improves rate performance, demonstrating a superior rate capability over the 2D nanostructure. This 3D porous architecture can deliver a reversible capacity of ∼900 mA h g−1 with very little fading when the charge rates change from 100 mA g−1 to 1 A g−1. Furthermore, the 3D nanoarchitechture of Si/graphene can be cycled at extremely high Li+ extraction rates, such as 5 A g−1 and 10 A g−1, for over than 100 times. Both the highly conductive graphene network and porous architecture are considered to contribute to the remarkable rate capability and cycling stability, thereby pointing to a new synthesis route to improving the electrochemical performances of the Si-based anode materials for advanced Li-ion batteries.


This project analyzed six videos from the "National Nursing English Music Videos (MVs) Competition in Taiwan" to identify key characteristics of optimal nurse-patient role-play videos. Nursing English teachers emphasized factors like vividness, linguistic fluency, humor, teaching tools, N-P interaction, dramatic effect, gender balance, and empathy. Nursing experts identified additional factors including physical assessment, nursing diagnosis, nursing procedures, nursing plan, and nursing evaluation as crucial. The study aimed to serve as a reference for nursing students creating professional nursing English videos, provide guidance for nursing English teachers supporting video production, and offer insights for nursing English for General Purposes (EGP) teachers enhancing teaching materials, particularly in terms of authenticity.


In this paper, we present a short account of some recent developments of self-interaction-free density-functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) for accurate and efficient treatment of the electronic structure, and time-dependent quantum dynamics of many-electron atomic and molecular systems. The conventional DFT calculations using approximate and explicit exchange-correlation energy functional contain spurious self-interaction energy and improper long-range asymptotic potential, preventing reliable treatment of the excited, resonance, and continuum states. We survey some recent developments of DFT/TDDFT with optimized effective potential (OEP) and self-interaction correction (SIC) for both atomic and molecular systems for overcoming some of the above mentioned difficulties. These DFT (TDDFT)/OEP-SIC approaches allow the use of orbital-independent single-particle local potential which is self-interaction free. In addition we discuss several numerical techniques recently developed for efficient and high-precision treatment of the self-interaction-free DFT/TDDFT equations. The usefulness of these procedures is illustrated by a few case studies of atomic, molecular, and condensed matter processes of current interests, including (a) autoionizing resonances, (b) relativistic OEP-SIC treatment of atomic structure (Z=2-106), (c) shell-filling electronic structure in quantum dots, (d) atomic and molecular processes in intense laser fields, including multiphoton ionization, and very-high-order harmonic generation, etc. For the time-dependent processes, an alternative Floquet formulation of TDDFT is introduced for time-independent treatment of multiphoton processes in intense periodic or quasiperiodic fields. We conclude this paper with some open questions and perspectives of TDDFT.


Equations governing flow and transport in randomly heterogeneous porous media are stochastic and scale dependent. In the moment equation (ME) method, exact deterministic equations for the leading moments of state variables are obtained at the same support scale as the governing equations. Computable approximations of the MEs can be derived via perturbation expansion in orders of the standard deviation of the random model parameters. As such, their convergence is guaranteed only for standard deviation smaller than one. Here, we consider steady‐state saturated flow in a porous medium with random second‐order stationary conductivity field. We show it is possible to identify a support scale η∗ , where the typically employed approximate formulations of MEs yield accurate (statistical) moments of a target state variable. Therefore, at support scale η∗ and larger, MEs present an attractive alternative to slowly convergent Monte Carlo (MC) methods whenever lead‐order statistical moments of a target state variable are needed. We also demonstrate that a surrogate model for statistical moments can be constructed from MC simulations at larger support scales and be used to accurately estimate moments at smaller scales, where MC simulations are expensive and the ME method is not applicable.