When antenna arrays are placed on platforms, antenna patterns and antenna characteristics change significantly. Calibration of antenna arrays becomes an inevitable and important task to correct the imperfections due to the antenna surroundings. In this paper, a time-gating method is proposed to calibrate the direction finding antenna array on a UH-60 helicopter on ground. The helicopter is placed above the ground plane whereas the source antenna is further away to account for the reflections from the helicopter appropriately. It is shown that the proposed approach can be used effectively to eliminate the ground reflections and obtain accurate calibration data. This technique is both effective and a cost cutting approach for array calibration.


The 1999 Annual Report of the Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee (RICMRC) is presented. Our Regional (Minnehaha, Lincoln, and Turner Counties) incidence for Sudden Infant Death (SIDS) continues to significantly exceed the national rate. In this study, SIDS is strongly associated with prone sleeping and sleeping on soft surfaces or bedding. The Back-to-Sleep campaign that has been an important part of lowering the national SIDS rate appears to have been less successful in our region. The Regional Infant Child Mortality Review Committee therefore has elected to serve not only as a data collection committee, but has also actively engaged in community education programs directed towards providing a safer environment for our children.


As high-performance computing systems continue to grow in scale and complexity, the study of faults and errors is critical to the design of future systems and mitigation schemes. Fault modes in system DRAM are a frequently-investigated key aspect of memory reliability. While current schemes require offline analysis for proper classification, current state-of-the-art mitigation techniques require accurate online prediction for optimal performance. In this work, we explore the predictive performance of an online machine learning-based approach in classifying DRAM fault modes from two leadership-class supercomputing facilities. Our results compare the predictive performance of this online approach with the current rule-based approach based on expert knowledge, finding a 12% predictive performance improvement. We also investigate the universality of our classifiers by evaluating predictive performance using training data from disparate computing systems to achieve a 7% improvement in predictive performance. Our work provides a critical analysis of this online learning technique and can benefit system designers to help inform best practices for dealing with reliability on future systems.


In the last decade, implications of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a component of ribonucleoprotein telomerase in aging, senescence, and stem cell are highly evident. Besides, the activation of hTERT is also being documented several cancer types including carcinoma. The awakening of telomerase during carcinoma initiation and development is being seen with different perspectives including genetic and epigenetic tools and events. In view of several tumor progenitors genes (also referred as epigenetic mediators), telomerase is placed as key enzyme to achieve the carcinoma phenotype and sustain during the progression. It is true that swaying of telomerase in carcinoma could be facilitated with dedicated set of epigenetic modulators and modifiers players. These epigenetic alterations are heritable, potentially reversible, and seen as the epigenetic signature of carcinoma. Several papers converge to suggest that DNA methylation, histone modification, and small non-coding RNAs are the widely appreciated epigenetic changes towards hTERT modulation. In this review, we summarize the contribution of epigenetic factors in the telomerase activation and discuss potential avenues to achieve therapeutic intervention in carcinoma.


Stable angina is one of the main manifestations of coronary artery disease. The presence of angina symptoms, a positive exercise test for myocardial ischaemia and confirmation of coronary artery atherosclerosis by coro¬nary angiography are the bases of diagnosis of chronic stable angina. Present research however has yet not completely determined the helpfulness of invasive treatment of the coronary arteries with percutaneous coronary intervention in comparison with medication. Percutaneous coronary intervention is recognized to reduce the incidence of death and myocardial infarction in patients who suffer from acute coronary syndrome, the same benefit however does not appear to extend to patients who have stable coronary artery disease. Although some studies have shown improvement in survival for the patients with stable angina undergoing PCI but most have shown that PCI does not show any improvement in mortality or risk of myocardial infarction in these patients.


This investigation was carried out to study auditory cortical responses that could be recorded from the scalp, dura and brain of the rhesus monkeys.In the alert monkey the averaged cortical response with the early wave components (P1 and N1) being the largest and most consistent, could be recorded from the scalp near the vertex and was maximally recorded from the precentral dura.During anesthesia the averaged cortical response could be maximally recorded from the dura over the middle portion of the superior temporal lobe. Compared with the alert state the P1 and N1 waves greatly diminished in amplitude during anesthesia, but did not change significantly in latency. On the other hand, the P2 and N2 waves greatly increased in amplitude and became longer in latency.In the alert state, scalp response thresholds were poorer than intracranial ones. Intracranial response thresholds were lowest during sedation with phencyclidine hydrochloride and progressively became worse during the anesthetized state and highest in the alert state.


OBJECTIVE
Care for chronic diseases may compete with preventive health care. To test this hypothesis, we examined the association between diabetes-related processes of care and preventive care in women.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Using data from a prospective cohort study of diabetes care in managed care settings, we reviewed the care 540 diabetic women received from 355 primary care providers within 14 provider groups from one health plan. Of the 540 women, 278 were eligible to receive mammograms and 314 were eligible to receive Pap smears. Mammography performance was measured as at least one mammogram over a 2-year period and Pap performance was measured as at least one Pap smear over a 3-year period. To assess the association between diabetes-related processes of care and preventive services, we used hierarchical logistic regression models, accounted for clustering within provider groups, and adjusted for patient age, race, income and education level, diabetes treatment and duration, and health status, as well as physician age, sex, years of practice, and specialty. Diabetes-related processes of care were defined as dilated retinal examinations, urine microalbumin/protein testing, foot examinations, lipid and HbA(1c) testing, recommendations to take aspirin, and influenza vaccinations received over a 1-year period.

RESULTS
In this cohort, 73% of eligible women received mammograms and 56% received Pap smears. After adjustment of models, better diabetes-related processes of care, better health status, and non-Medicaid insurance were associated with mammography performance. Better diabetes-related processes of care, younger patient age, and any visit to a gynecologist were associated with Pap performance.

CONCLUSIONS
Better processes of diabetes care were associated with better women's preventive health care. Diabetes management did not compete with sex-specific screening.


Introduction: This study aimed at assessing the protective mechanisms of Kolaviron (KV) on the cerebellum in a rat model of demyelination. Methods: Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were used in the present study. They were randomly divided into 4 groups of 7 rats. Group A (control) received corn oil (0.5 mL/kg/d); group B received 0.2% Cuprizone (CPZ); group C was treated with 200 mg/kg/d of KV, and group D received 0.2% CPZ and 200 mg/kg/d KV for 6 weeks. CPZ powder was mixed with the regular diet while KV was dissolved in corn oil and administered orally. A behavioral test was conducted at the termination of the experiment. Thereafter, the animals were sacrificed and their brains were removed with the excision of the cerebellum. A part of the cerebelli underwent tissue processing with a series of 5 μm thick sections cut from paraffin blocks for histological and immunohistochemical assessment. Besides, the remaining cerebellar tissues were homogenized for the spectrophotometric assays of Oxidative Stress (OS) parameters. Results: The current research findings revealed minimal weight gain following CPZ treatment, but significant weight increase in KV-treated rats. CPZ treatment was associated with a reduction in the number of the line crossed, rearing frequency, rearing duration, center square entry, and center square duration; however, it increased the freezing time, i.e. significantly reversed in the KV-treated animals. Oxidative markers, such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and GPx were reduced in CPZ-treated rats with elevated MDA levels. However, these data were significantly reversed by the co-administration of CPZ and KV. At the tissue level, the cerebellar cortex was characterized by poorly defined layers, cryptic granules, as well as chromatolysis and pyknotic Purkinje cells with the evidence of hypertrophic astrogliosis. Conclusion: CPZ treatment significantly depressed locomotor and exploratory activities. Furthermore, it increased OS and cerebellar toxicity. However, KV intervention significantly enhanced behavioral functions and ameliorated CPZ-induced cerebellar degeneration. Moreover, it considerably regulated OS markers in the cerebellum of the rat model of demyelinating diseases.


Abstract Nowadays food can be categorized as one of the most important aspect of human right. Regarding to that condition, state should provide food accessibility and availability for the society. Due to big number of its population, Indonesia faces complex problem in order to fulfill of food need of its people. In this respect food security policy becoming focuses of Indonesian development policy especially its agriculture development policy. One of the most considerable provinces in Indonesian national agriculture is Central Java, by reason of its 17% contribution on national rice production. Further, in contrast to national food condition that experienced rice import dependency, Central Java"s food security currently experiencing steady condition. This condition raised up interesting research question: is there any correlation between central java"s steady food condition and Central Java Governor Candidate Bibit-Rusri"s Campaign slogan "Bali Ndeso Mbangun Deso" in the Central Java Governor Election on 2008. Using qualitative method and type of descriptive research, this inquiry showed that the moral movement "Bali Ndeso Mbangun Deso" has contributed positively on food security in Central Java. Key words : food security, bali ndeso mbangun deso, rice production.


Constant-volume (pressure-gain) combustion cycles show much promise for further increasing the efficiency of modern gas turbines, which in the last decades have begun to reach the boundaries of modern technology in terms of pressure and temperature, as well as the ever more stringent demands on reducing exhaust gas emissions. The thermodynamic model of the gas turbine consists of a compressor with a polytropic efficiency of 90%, a combustor modeled as either a pulse detonation combustor (PDC) or as an isobaric homogeneous reactor, and a turbine, the efficiency of which is calculated using suitable turbine operational maps. A simulation is conducted using the one-dimensional reacting Euler equations to obtain the unsteady PDC outlet parameters for use as turbine inlet conditions. The efficiencies for the Fickett–Jacobs and Joule cycles are then compared. The Fickett–Jacobs cycle shows promise at relatively low compressor pressure ratios, whereas the importance of the harvesting of exhaust gas kinetic energy for the cycle performance is highlighted.


Recently, deep learning based natural language processing techniques are being extensively used to deal with spam mail, censorship evaluation in social networks, among others. However, there is only a couple of works evaluating the vulnerabilities of such deep neural networks. Here, we go beyond attacks to investigate, for the first time, universal rules, i.e., rules that are sample agnostic and therefore could turn any text sample in an adversarial one. In fact, the universal rules do not use any information from the method itself (no information from the method, gradient information or training dataset information is used), making them black-box universal attacks. In other words, the universal rules are sample and method agnostic. By proposing a coevolutionary optimization algorithm we show that it is possible to create universal rules that can automatically craft imperceptible adversarial samples (only less than five perturbations which are close to misspelling are inserted in the text sample). A comparison with a random search algorithm further justifies the strength of the method. Thus, universal rules for fooling networks are here shown to exist. Hopefully, the results from this work will impact the development of yet more sample and model agnostic attacks as well as their defenses.


Anomalous concentrations of Ir have been found in upper Eocene sediments from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 1090B. Clear and dark-colored spherules that are believed to be microtektites and clinopyroxene-bearing microkrystites, respectively, were found in the samples with highest Ir. The peak Ir concentration in Sample 1771090B-30X-5,105-106 cm (954 pg/g) and the net Ir fluence (14 ng/cm2) at this site are higher that at most other localities except for Caribbean site RC9-58. The Ir anomaly and impact debris are probably correlative with similar deposits found at ODP Site 689 on the Maude Rise and at other localities around the world.


Objectives : This study was carried out to find the effects of Changchuldoin-tanggamibang (hereinafter referred to CDIT) on the inhibition of arthritis induced by collagen on DBA/1J mouse. Methods : The experimental mice were divided into four groups: normal group (Nr), control group (CIA-CT), methotrexate group (CIA-MTX), and Changchuldoin-tanggamibang group (CIA-CDIT). Cytotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, arthritis index, value of immunocytes in draining lymph node and paw joint, and rheumatoid factor (IgG, IgM) in serum were measured in vivo. Results : 1. Cytotoxicity against hFCs was not shown in any concentration. 2. Hepatotoxicity was low in the CDIT-treated group compared with the MTX group. 3. The arthritis index decreased significantly. 4. In total cell counts of DLN and paw joint, the cells in DLN increased significantly while there was a significant decrease in paw joint. 5. In lymph nodes, CD19+, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD3+/CD8+, CD3+/CD69+, CD4+/CD25+, CD3+/CD49b+, and CD4+/CD44+ cells increased significantly, while B220+/CD23+, and CD11c+/MHCⅡ+ cells decreased significantly. 6. In joints, CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD25+, and CD11b+/Gr-1+ cells decreased significantly. 7. The level of IgG decreased and the level of IgM significantly decreased compared with the control. 8. Anti-collagen Ⅱ in serum decreased compared with the control. 9. Around the joint of the CDIT group, infiltration of inflammation, synovial hyperplasia, invasion of cytokine,of cartilage, deposition of collagen and synovial injury decreased compared with the control in histopathologic observation (HE, MT staining). Conclusions : Comparison of the results for this study showed that CDIT had immunomodulatory effects. We expect that CDIT could be used as a effective drug for not only rheumatoid arthritis but also another auto-immune diseases. Therefore, we have to survey continuously, looking for effective substances and mechanisms in the future.


The design project is the most important component of the senior capstone design course. To best prepare students for careers in biomedical engineering, they should be given the opportunity to work on projects with teams that reflect the team environment in an industrial setting. Team composition is important in providing as much of a multidisciplinary team experience as possible. The type of project to which students are assigned should be based on the student's interests and career goals, and the experience and skills they bring to the project


Coronal waves are an important aspect of the dynamics of the plasma in the corona. Wavefront dislocations are topological features of most waves in nature and also of magnetohydrodynamic waves. Are there dislocations in coronal waves? The finding and explanation of dislocations may shed light on the nature and characteristics of the propagating waves, their interaction in the corona and in general on the plasma dynamics. We positively identify dislocations in coronal waves observed by the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP) as singularities in the Doppler shifts of emission coronal lines. We study the possible singularities that can be expected in coronal waves and try to reproduce the observed dislocations in terms of localization and frequency of appearance. The observed dislocations can only be explained by the interference of a kink and a sausage wave modes propagating with different frequencies along the coronal magnetic field. In the plane transverse to the propagation, the cross-section of the oscillating plasma must be smaller than the spatial resolution, and the two waves result in net longitudinal and transverse velocity components that are mixed through projection onto the line of sight. Alfv\'en waves can be responsible of the kink mode, but a magnetoacoustic sausage mode is necessary in all cases. Higher (flute) modes are excluded. The kink mode has a pressure amplitude that is smaller than the pressure amplitude of the sausage mode, though its observed velocity is larger. This concentrates dislocations on the top of the loop. To explain dislocations, any model of coronal waves must include the simultaneous propagation and interference of kink and sausage wave modes of comparable but different frequencies, with a sausage wave amplitude much smaller than the kink one.


Background: Biomedical waste management is integral part of medical microbiology and infection control program in any healthcare institute. Proper management of the waste generated in the healthcare facilities needed to carried out in accordance with the BMWM Rules, 2016. Any loophole in this management can lead to hazardous consequences. Material and Method: more than 100 health care workers participated in this study. A pre formed questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of all study participants. Also major demographic and occupational variables were recorded and analyzed in this study. Result: most of the participants were having average and good knowledge of BMW. Mean score recorded for this study was 17.82 out of 30 with standard deviation of 5.61. Also majority of participants including housekeeping staff knows about colour coding in BMW management. Conclusion: In conclusion, BMW training should be integral part of continuous medical education in each health care facility.


SH2-containing inositol 5'-phosphatase (SHIP) modulates the activation of immune cells after recruitment to the membrane by Shc and the cytoplasmic tails of receptors. A novel SHIP isoform of approximately 104 kd expressed in primitive stem cell populations (s-SHIP) is described. It was found that s-SHIP is expressed in totipotent embryonic stem cells to the exclusion of the 145-kd SHIP isoform expressed in differentiated hematopoietic cells. s-SHIP is also expressed in primitive hematopoietic stem cells, but not in lineage-committed hematopoietic cells. In embryonic stem cells, s-SHIP partners with the adapter protein Grb2 without tyrosine phosphorylation and is present constitutively at the cell membrane. It is postulated that s-SHIP modulates the activation threshold of primitive stem cell populations.


Objectives To assess the feasibility of off-clamp laparoscopic partial nephrectomy using microwave scissors. Methods We performed transperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, without hilar clamping or renorrhaphy, using only microwave scissors for renal resection in a porcine model. For each kidney, 2 types of procedures were performed: a middle pole resection excising an area of 2-cm diameter and approximately 1-cm depth and a lower pole resection at the level of the lower polar line. The renal calyces exposed during renal resection were sealed and transected using microwave scissors. After 3 days of follow-up, the pigs were reoperated to inspect for postoperative complications. Euthanasia was performed to collect the remaining kidneys for histopathological examination. Results Ten procedures were successfully performed, without hilar clamping or suturing of the renal calyces and parenchyma, in 5 kidneys from 3 pigs. The median resecting time, blood loss, and lateral thermal injury were 23.2 min, 47.1 mL, and 6.8 mm in the middle pole resection, and were 15.1 min, 26.5 mL, and 6.9 mm in the lower pole resection, respectively. No complications were noted during reoperation, such as postoperative hemorrhage and major urine leakage. Extravasation occurred in 2 middle pole resections and 3 lower pole resections during retrograde pyelogram. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed thermal injury characterized by tissue microwave fixation in the near zone and acute coagulative necrosis in the intermediate zone. Conclusions Microwave scissors-based off-clamp laparoscopic partial nephrectomy is feasible in pigs and can be used for clinical applications.


ABSTRACT The "spacing effect" refers to the fact that longer intervals between exposures (such as successive presentations of online pop-ups) result in better learning than shorter intervals. This article offers nine empirical generalizations (EGs) about the overall size of the spacing effect and the conditions that make a difference. Our EGs are based on results of a meta-analysis of laboratory experiments in cognitive psychology and marketing. We make several propositions about the implications of our results for planning advertising schedules for the new media as well as more traditional media.


We have developed a reliable procedure for the purification of envelope membranes from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) bud plastids and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) cell amyloplasts. After disruption of purified intact plastids, separation of envelope membranes was achieved by centrifugation on a linear sucrose gradient. A membrane fraction, having a density of 1.122 grams per cubic centimeter and containing carotenoids, was identified as the plastid envelope by the presence of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase. Using antibodies raised against spinach chloroplast envelope polypeptides E24 and E30, we have demonstrated that both the outer and the inner envelope membranes were present in this envelope fraction. The major polypeptide in the envelope fractions from sycamore and cauliflower plastids was identified immunologically as the phosphate translocator. In the envelope membranes from cauliflower and sycamore plastids, the major glycerolipids were monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, and phosphatidylcholine. Purified envelope membranes from cauliflower bud plastids and sycamore amyloplasts also contained a galactolipid:galactolipid galactosyltransferase, enzymes for phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol biosynthesis, acyl-coenzyme A thioesterase, and acyl-coenzyme A synthetase. These results demonstrate that envelope membranes from nongreen plastids present a high level of homology with chloroplasts envelope membranes.


PURPOSE
The ideal taper recommended for a full-veneer crown is 4° to 14°, but this is very difficult to achieve clinically, and studies on taper achieved by dental students have found mean taper measurements ranging from 11° to 27°. The objective of this study was to examine and compare the taper of teeth prepared for full-veneer crowns by dental students on typodonts in the laboratory and on patients, and also to compare the results with those of other dental schools.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Preparations were scanned by specialized metrology equipment that gave the taper of the preparation in a buccolingual (BL) and mesiodistal (MD) plane.

RESULTS
No undercut was detected on any of the laboratory specimens; however, 12.5% of clinical specimens were undercut. The mean taper of the laboratory anterior specimens were 26.7° BL and 14.9° MD, and the laboratory posterior specimens were 18.2° BL and 14.2° MD. The mean taper of the clinical anteriors were 31.6° BL and 16.8° MD, and the clinical posteriors were 16.8° BL and 22.4° MD.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that although the taper achieved by dental students in the University of the West Indies when preparing teeth for full-veneer crowns was outside the ideal range of 4° to 14°, it is comparable to those achieved by dental students in other schools.


Previous Participatory design (PD) and HCI work have discussed the outcomes of research and design projects, their processes, technology innovations, methods, and users. Researchers have also examined the phases of collaborative research projects, including the 'before', 'during' and 'after' stages. There are however substantially more papers describing aspects of participation and collaboration in the during and after stages of a design research project compared with papers discussing collaborative activities before the formal project starts, during the pre-project activities where a project is negotiated, and its finances secured. This paper uses two municipal co-design research projects to explore participatory and collaborative processes as they unfolded before the actual projects started. By mainly considering the before-stage of these projects, this paper sheds light on a less studied aspect of many co-design projects, and research projects in general – how they came into being and the role of participation in designing the project-to-be.


At 3-week intervals during their first term at the university, 84 male and female freshman completed questionnaires regarding their relationships with two same-sex individuals whom they had just met. Results showed that dyads which successfully developed into close friendships by the end of the fall school term differed behaviorally and attitudinally from dyads that did not progress. As the friendships developed, the intimacy level of dyadic interaction accounted for an increasing percentage of the variance in ratings of friendship intensity beyond that accounted for by the sheer quantity of interaction. Ratings of relationship benefits were consistently positively correlated with friendship intensity and increased as the relationship progressed. There were no differences in ratings of relationship costs between close and nonclose friends. Dyadic behavior patterns and attitude ratings at the end of the fall school term were good predictors of friendship status 3 months later. Motivational and situational factors were also correlated with friendship outcomes.


This article considers how Aboriginal Australian bodily remains were procured and understood in British anatomical and phrenological circles from the beginning of Australian colonization in 1788 to the early 1830s. These years saw an important shift in European thinking about race. The idea that racial differences were the result of humanity's diversification from one ancestral type through environmental modification came to be challenged by "transmutationist" theories that conceptualized racial characteristics as markers of biological peculiarities between different human-like beings, quite possibly of primordial origin. The article shows how comparative anatomical analysis of Aboriginal Australian remains – often procured in violent circumstances – served to reinforce received environmentalist explanations of the nature and origins of human variation. However, the article also shows how in what they made of Aboriginal remains, subscribers to the concept of environmental degradation could be as fatalistic in their prognosis of the natural capacity of Aboriginal Australians to be progressively brought to embrace civilization as the transmutationist critics they began to encounter in earnest from the mid-1830s. In the hands of metropolitan British anatomists and phrenologists, Aboriginal bones were used so as to generate knowledge that had a pernicious impact on Australia's Indigenous inhabitants.


This study aimed to investigate the concept of self-control in association with engagement in daily activities of professional soccer players and its relationship with soccer performance. Findings indicated that self-control scores of male professional soccer players (N = 639), representing the first squad of every club playing in the (Norwegian) Premier and Second League, were associated with their lifestyle and practice time. A small, positive relationship between self-control and soccer performance was found. In terms of expert performance, a possible explanation of our findings is that self-control helps individuals stay on track on their pathways to excellence.


The geometric structure of MgO deposited on Fe(001) in ultrahigh vacuum by electron evaporation was determined in detail by using surface x-ray diffraction. In contrast to the common belief that MgO grows in direct contact on the Fe(001) substrate, we find an FeO interface layer between the substrate and the growing MgO structure which has not been considered thus far. This result opens new perspectives for the understanding of the Fe/MgO/Fe(001) interface and the tunneling magnetoresistance effect in general.


Evolutionary theory predicts a disadvantage to sexual reproduction. This manifests itself either by the higher growth rate of asexual females in a dioecious species, or by the higher transmission rate of a gene conferring asexual female function to its carriers in a hermaphrodite species. The disadvantage to sexual reproduction may be as high as two-fold provided all else is equal. This phenomenon is known as the 'two-fold cost of sex'. Since most higher organisms nevertheless rely on sexual reproduction, it has been presumed that sex has some advantage that outweighs its cost. However, despite much effort to identify such an advantage, no single hypothesis has received unequivocal empirical support. Moreover, most theories have largely ignored situations in which there is within-population genetic variation for the balance between sexual and asexual reproduction. Also, experimental studies have yet to determine to what extent genetic variation for the degree of sexuality and asexuality exists in natural populations, and the importance of the two reproductive modes in partly asexual organisms. The fact that most organisms capable of asexual reproduction simultaneously retain sexual capacity underscores the importance of these issues for understanding the evolutionary significance of sex.

This thesis addresses some of these questions. A theoretical model was set up from which it was concluded that the maintenance of a genetically determined polymorphism for the proportion of sexually produced offspring is possible. It is dependent upon temporal fluctuations in the relative fitness of sexually and asexually produced propagules and/or in sexual versus asexual fecundity. A study of natural populations of the partly asexual plant Allium vineale (wild garlic) revealed that genetic variation for the allocation to sexual and asexual reproduction exists under field conditions. Moreover, considerable fluctuations in the proportions of sexually and asexually produced propagules occurred between years, a state of affairs likely to be instrumental in maintaining a balance between the two reproductive modes. An investigation of genetic variation in A. vineale populations across Europe showed asexual reproduction to be more important for the recruitment of offspring over the short term. Recombination turned out to have played a significant role in introducing new genotypes, but at a rate that may well be lower than one sexually produced offspring per generation. How a balanced reproductive system can be maintained when sexual recruitment occurs at such a low rate is at present unclear. In A. vineale a greenhouse study showed that the genetic correlation between the allocation to sexual and to asexual reproduction differed among sexually and asexually produced offspring. Thus, selecting for an increase in the allocation to one mode of reproduction may give a different response in the allocation to the other mode, depending on whether selection acts among sexually or asexually produced individuals. This may explain why the capacity of sexual reproduction has persisted in this species despite its apparently low 'effective' rate.


The present review concentrates on the fabrication of metal nanoparticles in sapphire matrix by ion implantation and their modification by laser annealing. This approach is promising for the development of optical composite materials in the optoelectronics production technology. Composite layers were fabricated in sapphire by implantation of 40-keV Cu + ions at a dose of 1.0 . 10 17 ion/cm 2 and an ion beam current density varying from 2.5 to 10 μA/cm 2 . The composites were examined by different methods: Rutherford backscattering (RBS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical spectroscopy. It is shown that ion implantation is suited for creation of copper nanoparticles in the near-surface sapphire layer. However, the nanoparticle size distribution in this layer is nonuniform. An interaction of high power excimer laser pulsed with fabricated com- posite layer aimed to modify the sizes and the size distribution of copper particles. It is found that the laser annealing diminishes nanoparticles in the sapphire. Experimental data on laser modi- fication may be explained by photofragmentation and/or melting of the nanoparticles in the sap- phire matrix.


Structure-based approaches to diagnosis provide useful computational guarantees based on a device structure. In particular, these approaches can identify device structures for which the complexity of model-based diagnosis is guaranteed to be linear. Structure-based approaches, however, can fail to answer even the simplest diagnostic queries if the device structure is not well behaved (strongly connected). We show in this paper that this deeciency can be addressed to a reasonable extent by utilizing non-structural properties of a device (its component models in particular) which are typically ignored by structure-based approaches. Speciically, we present a structure-based algorithm for diagnosis which takes advantage of device non-structural properties. We then present experimental results indicating that our algorithm can lead to signiicant (orders-of-magnitude) savings over pure structural approaches when applied to strongly connected devices.


In order to successfully apply laboratory tests to the solution of clinical problems, a clinician needs to select tests that are appropriate to the suspected disease, collect and submit the necessary specimens, and recognize sources of variation that affect test results. The clinician must have confidence in the accuracy and precision of analytical methods used to produce results. An understanding of reference ranges and test performance in healthy and diseased animals is necessary for accurate interpretation and clinical decision making.


Midwives care for all women, those who are well, informed, have a chronic illness or disability and those who are vulnerable. Vulnerable women especially those who are pregnant and use illicit drugs however are often seen as challenging and can be cared for poorly, often stigmatised and marginalised. Illicit drug use especially in women who are at reproductive age is increasing, with poly-drug use being most common. Successive Australian governments have a harm minimisation stance towards drug use, but in the social media punishment and distain are still prevalent towards illicit drug users. The wombat in the room is a metaphor for the non-acknowledgement of the issue of pregnant women and illicit drug use. The midwives who work with these women have been silent on how they manage and care for these women. This study aimed to examine and develop an understanding of the phenomenon of midwives experiences of caring for pregnant women who use illicit drugs. Hermeneutic phenomenology underpinned by Heidegger's philosophy and Gadamer's methodology was chosen to frame this research. The researcher was seeking a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon. Heidegger specifically encouraged the consideration of our own 'Dasein', so that the 'other' and 'others' were seen and, thereby, 'others' lived experiences were illuminated. Data was generated with twelve participants, who shared stories of their experiences of caring for pregnant women who used illicit drugs. The researcher used an approach developed by Lindseth and Norberg (2004) inspired by Ricoeur (1976) to thematically analyse the data. Three fundamental themes emerged from the study that provided empathic interpretations of what it is like to be a midwife who cares for a pregnant woman who uses illicit drugs. These are: Making a difference, Establishing partnerships and Letting go and redefining practice. This study demonstrated that midwives want to be able to 'make a difference' in their work and show the importance of the relationships they established in order to provide care to women. This phenomenon is not new, however was extremely strong in the midwives participating in this study. Although the midwives often saw the vulnerable women as strong and streetwise when dealing with adversary in their social circle, the midwives also observed that the women became more vulnerable and powerless against organisational systems and the societal norms that marginalised them. The participants found that 'Establishing partnerships' with women who used illicit drugs were in most cases rewarding and satisfying for both women and midwives. These partnerships were required to be built on trust, honesty and understanding. The midwives had the ability to meet the individual needs of the women as well as facilitate other service providers to provide timely resources. The women in these midwives' care appeared to find satisfaction and developed skills to make changes in their lives. However, to sustain working with women, with complex and tangled lifestyles the midwives described the need for 'letting go and redefining practice'. This theme consisted of establishing boundaries and developing competences that are required to maintain the work and the enthusiasm to provide opportunities for all women. The midwives found working with women who also used illicit drugs was very emotional work and they expressed a range of emotions, such as love, anxiety, compassion, sadness, respect and admiration. However for the midwives to maintain this emotional connection with the women they also had to learn to let go and redefine their practice. 'Letting go and redefining practice' was experienced by the participants as two fold, on one hand they needed to ensure that there were boundaries in place to keep safe the women, themselves as midwives and their own families safe. On the other hand they needed to develop the competence to let go, the capacity to be resilient and bounce back, acknowledge disappointments, and be realistic in their expectations of others. They had to develop an acceptance and patience towards the women who used illicit drugs and go at their pace, as well as have the tolerance towards other staff member's attitudes and behaviours towards the pregnant women who use illicit drugs. The aim of hermeneutic phenomenological research is enhanced only when mutual understandings are revealed through the telling and the listening of stories that resonate with others. This reciprocal understanding then enables shared possibilities for living and understanding midwifery practice. Overall, these findings add to the body of knowledge about midwifery practice and the unique challenges faced by midwives in their daily work. Whilst the findings relate specifically to midwives, many of the themes may resonate across the many professions who work with vulnerable populations. These findings also have implications for educationalists and curriculum developers, to ensure students of the relevant health disciplines have the skills to develop relationships and competencies to manage the challenges to achieve positive outcomes for these women. Additionally, these outcomes would be a useful inclusion for organisational education programs, to ensure clinicians develop understanding of this vulnerable population, enhance their skills and construct professional boundaries that will ensure improved working relationships with pregnant women who use illicit drugs.


This paper defines the social factors that determine sustainable behavior and identifies the elements that promote such behavior. These factors are external from the individual and causal regarding sustainable behavior, an area that receives little attention in literature. It uses a theoretical model, based on existing research, which is tested through a questionnaire with 26 indicators adapted to the Spanish context. In an initial analysis, this model proposed, as determining social factors in the CCS, aspects such as government action, social pressure, influence of the social environment, demographic variables (age, gender, education level), education and information, and market conditions. Finally, it was concluded that 43.4% of the variance of the endogenous latent variable (SCC) can be explained only by three exogenous latent constructions: environmental influences (in particular the influence of family and friends, as well as that generated by cultural factors such as traditions), education and information (specifically related to information on sustainability and the effects of personal consumption on the environment), and market conditions (referring to the positive perception of sustainable products by consumers, including their willingness to pay higher prices than those of conventional products). The rest of the exogenous variables did not have a significant relationship with the endogenous variable. These results are very useful for government institutions, companies that operate in the sector and pro-environmental and pro-social groups, that knowing what motivates people to adopt this form of behavior can design relevant strategies to get positive answers about the environment, the economy and the society.


Background : Health-related quality of life is an important aspect of cancer research. Studies in the Philippines documenting this among survivors are limited in scope and number. Objective : To document quality of life indicators of Filipino cancer survivors starting at 12 months from diagnosis and identify predictors of these changes. Methods : The ACTION study is a prospective longitudinal study examining the economic and health impact of cancer in the Southeast Asian Region. A country-specific analysis for Filipino patients was conducted. Results : Of the 909 Filipinos included in the study, 462 survived month 12 and had health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data. HRQoL data showed significant improvement from baseline (0.73, SD: 0.15) to month 12 (0.79, SD: 0.24) as measured by the EQ-5D weight score. Similar trends were seen in the EQ5D VAS Scores and the QLQ30 Global function scores. There was, however, an increase in the proportion of respondents experiencing significant problems related to EQ5D domains by month 12. Data disaggregated according to cancer type showed a decrease in QLQ30 GF scores from baseline to month 12 for all types except breast cancer. Individuals at risk of anxiety and depression increased from 15.37% to 25.54% and 18.83% to 32.25%, respectively. Predictors of worsening HRQOL include experiencing economic hardship, progression of disease, and higher stage at baseline. Conclusion : HRQOL scores were found to increase despite experiencing more difficulties in function among Filipino cancer survivors one year after diagnosis.


Fraud is a problem that is often faced, one of which is the Village Credit Institution. This study wants to examine the effect of whistleblowing and the application of the law of karma phala on fraud prevention. This research was conducted on 34 LPDs in Denpasar City. Research respondents used 84 LPD employees who were determined by the non-probability sampling method. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the research hypothesis.
The results showed that whistleblowing and the application of the law of karma phala had a positive effect on fraud prevention in the Denpasar City LPD. KNKG (2008) states that the effectiveness of whistleblowing will increase the participation of the community and company employees to dare to act in the context of preventing fraud and corruption by reporting to the authorities. Individuals who believe in the law of karma phala will avoid unlawful acts.


Objective: Under diabetic conditions, glucose is converted to sorbitol via aldose reductase, whose process could contribute to diabetic vascular complications. However, effects of aldose reductase inhibitors are modest in diabetic patients. This may be attributed to weak inhibitory activity of aldose reductase inhibitors. We compared effects of ranirestat on endothelial cell damage with those of epalrestat. Materials and methods: Intracellular formations of sorbitol and superoxide were measured by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry–mass spectrometry and dihydroethidium staining, respectively. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 gene expression was analysed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. THP-1 cell adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells was evaluated using a fluorescent probe. Results: High glucose significantly increased sorbitol levels, superoxide generation and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 mRNA levels in, and THP-1 cell adhesion to, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, all of which were prevented by 500 nM ranirestat, but not epalrestat except for superoxide production. Conclusion: Our present results suggest that ranirestat has a stronger inhibitory activity on aldose reductase than epalrestat and suppresses inflammatory reactions in high glucose–exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells.


In this paper, it is reported that the result of isolated EHF virus R36 strain directly from the antigen positive lung by using Vero-E6 cell. Morphological identification is corresponding to EHF virus by EM and it is found that typical particle EHF virus inclusion bodies and size similar EHFV-like particle. By EHFV monoclonal antibody assay this virus strain was different from that of R22 in China. It has rattus R22-like antigenic determinant and apodemus 5H5 antigenic determinant.


Environmentalism is a contest about the meaning of nature and the social construction of activism, deviance and harm. The contests that are the subject of this book are fought on the margins, in spaces where what is deviant and what is criminal are fluid concepts. Forest activists engaged in Tasmania's old-growth forests, and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists campaigning in the Southern Ocean to protect whales tell powerful and moving stories about their encounters with nature. These are profound experiences that fundamentally alter how they understand themselves and their world. What emerges in this book is a perspective that recognises the personhood of non-humans and which gives rise to a strong moral obligation to defend nature from harm.

Providing a unique account of environmentalism, one that highlights the voices of the activists and the nature they defend, Radical Environmentalism: Nature, Identity and More-than-human Agency will be of great interest to students and academics of green criminology, environmental sociology and nature–human studies more broadly.


Abstract Objective Eating less frequently is associated with increased obesity risk in older children but data are potentially confounded by reverse causation, where bigger children eat less often in an effort to control their weight. Longitudinal data, particularly in younger children, are scarce. We aimed to determine whether eating frequency (meals and snacks) at 2 years of age is associated with past, current or subsequent BMI. Design Cohort analysis of a randomised controlled trial. Eating frequency at 2 years of age was estimated using 48 h diaries that recorded when each child ate meals and snacks (parent-defined) in five-minute blocks. Body length/height and weight were measured at 1, 2 and 3·5 years of age. Linear regression assessed associations between the number of eating occasions and BMI Z-score, before and after adjustment for potential confounding variables. Setting Prevention of Overweight in Infancy (POI) study, Dunedin, New Zealand. Subjects Children (n 371) aged 1–3·5 years. Results On average, children ate 5·5 (sd 1·2) times/d at 2 years of age, with most children (88–89 %) eating 4–7 times/d. Eating frequency at 2 years was not associated with current (difference in BMI Z-score per additional eating occasion; 95 % CI: −0·02; −0·10, 0·05) or subsequent change (0·02; −0·03, 0·06) in BMI. Similarly, BMI at age 1 year did not predict eating frequency at 2 years of age (difference in eating frequency per additional BMI Z-score unit; 95 % CI: −0·03; −0·19, 0·13). Conclusions Number of eating occasions per day was not associated with BMI in young children in the present study.


The impact of environmental influences on depression has been well established by research. In particular, it is known that receiving/perceiving adequate social support has a protective influence on depression. Less is known about the protective benefits of providing support to others, namely in the form of altruistic, empathetic, or prosocial behavior. While research has shown that having altruistic attitudes and engaging in altruistic behaviors has a positive impact on physical health and mental well-being, studies on the association between altruistic attitudes and/or behavior and depression are limited. The present study examined the relationship between altruism and depression, and hypotheses were tested that allow for explanation of why altruism may protect against depression. A sample of 303 participants was recruited from the University of North Texas and the surrounding community. Participants completed an online survey that examined their altruistic activities, details regarding these activities, their prosocial attitudes, and their current level of depression. Results did not support that level of involvement in altruistic activities is directly related to depression severity. However, outcomes from involvement in altruistic activities, including sense of overburden from participating in altruistic activities, level of social interaction with other helpers and those helped during altruistic activities, and sense of life satisfaction and purpose gained from participating in altruistic activities, were significantly related to depression severity. These results suggest that participating in altruistic activities that are not perceived as overburdening may lead to outcomes that could positively impact depression. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.


The Qaidam Basin is a larger sedimentary basin in western China where the thickness of the Quaternary deposits is in the range of 2000-3000 m at its subsiding center. This paper first dates palaeomagnetically the cores obtained from the five continuously sampled intervals and those from a typical profile, determineds the age of the index fossil zones, and calculates the deposition rates for the varve deposits based on the sedimentological analysis. As a result, we can calculate the ages of the various characteristic beds (including fossil zones, seismic reflection beds, and marker layers of electrical properties) for any given borehole-section when it was divided into facies, and check the validity of the chronology. According to all those studies, the stratigraphic and geochronologic analysis program of the Quaternary deposits in the Qaidam Basin has permitted a detailed discussion to be made in this paper.


The exceptional pandemic due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has obliged all Italians to stay at home. In the literature, there are evidences that traumatic global events, such as natural catastrophes and pandemic, have negative effects on the physical and psychological health of the population. We carried out a survey to analyze the physical and psychological conditions of Italians during the pandemic. Due to the severe limitations in moving during the phase one lockdown, the survey was administered by internet. Results show that Italians followed the provisions established by the Italian government to avoid contamination, but 43% of them declared to have suffered from physical symptoms, in particular migraine, sleep disorders, persistent exhaustion, and difficulty of concentration. They have great fear to be contaminated or that relatives or friends can be contaminated, and they actively take actions to avoid contamination. Participants declared that they had suffered a lot of inconveniences due to restrictions in their movements, and that their life habits were strongly changed. They spent their time at home in different activities, but their psychological well-being was strongly impaired by the lockdown. The level of anxiety tripled, in relation to the prepandemic period, and 30% of males and 41% of females declared to have severe levels of depression. Participants with high levels of optimism and hopefulness show a stronger resilience against anxiety and depression. In addition, there is a negative correlation between anxiety and depression and the five factors of personality. These results show that psychological diseases must not be neglected, and that people in lockdown do need support for their psychological health, also with the help of internet and communication technologies.


Background: Air conditioners (AC) have become indispensable in the contemporary World. However, their effects on respiratory health need to be explored further using dynamic and static lung functions. Objectives: The objectives were: 1. To evaluate and compare dynamic parameters (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, PEFR, and FEF25-75) in AC users and non-users of Bengaluru. 2. To evaluate and compare airway resistance and specific airway conductance as additional parameters. Materials and Methods: After applying ATS-ERS criteria for lung disorders, 30 AC users and non-users of Bengaluru, aged 18-40 yrs were assessed using body plethysmography. A significant association of restrictive pattern was seen in AC users (9 AC users out of 60 participants, Chi-square 8.37, P = 0.0038) having an Odd's ratio of 26.95 (CI: 1.4876 to 488.3558, Z = 2.229, P = 0.0258). Airway resistance (Raw) was comparable in both groups further indicating a non-obstructive pathology. Conclusion: AC users had a significant decrease in flow rates (PEFR and FEF25-75) as well as an association with restrictive lung disorder suggesting the need for proper ventilation and hygiene. It is crucial to develop policies to maintain indoor air quality.


This article discusses how and why the locus of the tensions brought about by new information and communications technology ("ICT") in the global inter-networked society have gone beyond territory, sovereignty and law and why this shift changes the focus of the discussion initially from government to governance, and then ultimately to participation. Free and open source software ("FOSS") developer communities are used both as case studies and as a critique of existing regulatory approaches to ICT. By showing the profound and sometimes disruptive impact hybrid active subjects like FOSS communities have had on matters relating to regulation, governance and culture, this article explains why there is a need to expand what democracy means and entails in the digital networked environment.


Although journal entries are an important component of modern accounting, existing research and practice in auditing and fraud detection have not fully exploited the information made available by the double-entry mechanism. This paper proposes a theory-based methodology, accounting graph topology, to visualize journal entries and explicate within- and between-entry relationships. Grounded in cognitive fit theory and graph theory, this methodology can help auditors identify potential internal control issues and problematic transactions for further investigation. We illustrate the benefits of accounting graph topology by applying it to a case study.


Six types of hat stiffened composite panels were manufactured with different bonding methods and stiffener section shapes and compression testing of these panels were performed. The panels showed similar behaviors in bucking and postbuckling region before a skin-stiffener separation failure occurred. Although all the separation failures occurred at the same locations of stiffener flanges close by skin buckling-crests, the separation loads, separation failure growth behaviors and final collapse loads were different with respect to bonding methods and stiffener section shapes. As the separation failure initiated early and propagated larger area, collapse loads and structural efficiency of the panels decreased.


The objective of this study was to assess indirectly the existence of X imprinting and its potential role in a number of clinical characteristics of Turner syndrome patients. Highly polymorphic X linked microsatellite markers were used to determine the origin of the single X chromosome in 13 patients with Turner syndrome. Ten (77%) patients retained the maternal X chromosome (Xm), while only three patients (23%) retained the paternal X chromosome (Xp). Fisher exact statistical test was used for the association of X chromosome origin with the clinical phenotype. No significant difference was found between the two groups of patients regarding the following phenotype characteristics: lymphoedema at birth, short neck, low posterior hairline, eye anomalies (ptosis, epicanthal folds, hypertelorism, strabismus), multiple pigmented naevi, cardiac and renal anomalies. Absence of association between the X chromosome origin and Turner phenotype was confirmed by a meta-analysis combining five studies, including this one. It was only neck webbing that showed a trend of association with Xm.


Demand function, inverse demand function or market equilibrium condition has been used to estimate the empirical models that explain the movement of hotel room rates. However, hotels generally face excess supply of rooms. Th is research paper develops a simple theoretical model to link hotel room rates to excess supply of hotel rooms. Th e annual data of Singapore from 1991 to 2017 is used to test this framework. Due to small sample size, with only 27 observations, the bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied on the annual data of hotel industry in Singapore because the obtained estimators are super-consistent. It is found that average hotel room rate and average hotel occupancy rate are cointegrated to confi rm hotel room rates and excess supply of hotel rooms are inversely correlated. In order to avoid model mis-specifi cation, major crises are captured by dummy variables which are treated as fi xed regressors in the bounds testing approach to cointegration. Th e empirical and theoretical frameworks used in this study suggest that when hotel occupancy rate is used as an independent variable in modelling the determination of hotel room rates, a researcher is adopting excess supply framework developed in this paper. Furthermore, this framework teaches students in tourism a simplifi ed way to explain the movement of hotel room rates, while still reminding students about the complexity of hotel industry.


Multiple-beam Fizeau fringes in transmission have been applied to investigate the optical dispersion properties of blue Cashmeline fibres. The refractive indices were determined at different wavelengths for light vibrating parallel and perpendicular to the fibre axis. It was observed that both n/sub /// and nperpendicular to follow Cauchy's dispersion relation over the visible range of the spectrum. The constants A and B of Cauchy's formula were estimated. The observed results were interpreted in terms of the axial symmetry of the fibre.


This paper evaluates Caesar Alimsinya Atuire's essay "African Perspectives of Moral Status: A Framework for Evaluating Global Bioethical  Issues". Atuire's essay aims to contribute to global ethical discourse by articulating a systematic account of an African ethical perspective,  specifically focusing on the themes of personhood, moral status and the legal question of abortion. We make three  objections against Atuire's essay. Firstly, we argue that a plausible approach to African personhood must consider both its individualistic  and relational features, rather than merely emphasize the relational component. The second objection focuses on the theory of moral status, and it has two parts: (a) we insist that a correct understanding of the concept of moral status must construe it as a moral patiency rather than a moral agency term. We believe that Atuire's view errs in regarding it as the latter. (b) we argue that contrary to Atuire's assertions, Thaddeus Metz's friendliness theory of moral status does a better job than Atuire's object moral status (OMS) and subject  moral status (SMS) views of moral status. The final objection is that maybe before we reflect on the legal status of abortion, as ethicists,  we should begin by considering the ethical status of abortion in light of African axiological resources. In the final analysis, the paper  appreciates Atuire's contribution to African ethical theory, but it argues that much work still needs to be done before it can be suitable to  provide a global framework for evaluating global bioethical issues.


Human isolated bilaterally perfused placental lobules were employed to study the Ca++ dependence of materno-fetal transfer of the non-metabolisable amino acid, alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB). Bilateral perfusion with Ca(++)-free Krebs' solution containing 2 mmol/l EDTA for 60 min resulted in a significant reduction in materno-fetal AIB transfer compared to controls perfused with normal Krebs' solution. However, bilateral perfusion with Krebs' solution containing: 2.5 mmol/l Ca++ and 2 mmol/l EDTA; 3.8 mmol/l Ca++ with no EDTA; or Ca(++)-free Krebs' solution alone did not produce significantly different materno-fetal AIB transfer compared to placentae perfused with normal Krebs' solution. The reduction in AIB transfer during perfusion with Ca(++)-free Krebs' solution with EDTA was partially restored with subsequent reperfusion with normal Krebs' solution for 90 min. These results suggest that AIB transfer in human perfused placental lobules is at least partially Ca(++)-dependent.


As the Internet is changing the world dramatically, an initiative is being proposed within NASA and in the military to expand the Internet into space and for network-centric warfare using network protocols. An end-to-end effective data transport protocol is critical to the reliable transfer of information in space and for a battlefield environment. Consequently, a reliable and efficient acknowledgment mechanism is required to accommodate these unreliable communication conditions. In this article we conduct a comparative investigation of existing data transport acknowledgment mechanisms for possible adoption in the unreliable environment of space or a similarly stressed communication environment. We also introduce the selective negative acknowledgment (SNACK), which is designed as a reliable retransmission mechanism for space and stressed tactical communications, followed by a brief performance evaluation of the effectiveness of SNACK compared to the standard SACK mechanism.


Research plots in Vojířov were established in a spruce stand and in a mixed stand. They are situated south of Jindřichův Hradec, near the border with Austria, on the ridge sloping to the Třeboň basin, exposed to western winds. The soils (Haplic Podzols) have developed on deep overlaps of eolian sands, between boulders of mica granite. Since summer 1991, the chemistry of precipitation water and run-off water from the O-humus horizon has been studied. Bulk deposition has been measured in the open area by the hunter's cottage Dubovice, where the chemistry of water in a local spring has also been studied. During the investigation the deposition of air pollutants in throughfall water was higher in the spruce stand than under beech trees in the mixed stand. In 1996, an increased deposition of pollutants was observed due to long-term winter period and high precipitation. This load of the ecosystem influenced soil water chemistry, mainly the chemistry of water in the spring, expressed by decreased pH, increase in SO4–2, F–, Al, Mn, only slowly disappearing in the subsequent years. At the end of the nineties the emissions of H+ , S/ SO4–2, F–, N(NO3–+ NH4+) decreased more significantly under the spruce stand than under beech. On the contrary, pH of precipitation water decreased in the open area. Soil analyses, carried out in 1991 and 1999, confirmed certain improvement of bio-genous supply in the humus horizons and decrease in sorbed basic cations in the surface horizons of mineral soil, and increase in the supply in deeper horizons, but it still remains at a low level.


The Individual Monitoring Service of the Helmholtz Zentrum München is currently using the BeOSL dosimetry system for monitoring ∼15 000 persons per month. This dosimetry system has a modular structure and represents a complete new concept on handling dosemeters in a large-scale dosimetry service. It is based on optically stimulated luminescence dosemeters made of beryllium oxide. The dosimetric and operational properties of the system are shown and discussed.


The Controllable Variational Autoencoder (ControlVAE) combines automatic control theory with the basic VAE model to manipulate the KL-divergence for overcoming posterior collapse and learning disentangled representations. It has shown success in a variety of applications, such as image generation, disentangled representation learning, and language modeling. However, when it comes to disentangled representation learning, ControlVAE does not delve into the rationale behind it. The goal of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of ControlVAE in learning disentangled representations, including the choice of a desired KL-divergence (i.e, set point), and its stability during training. We first fundamentally explain its ability to disentangle latent variables from an information bottleneck perspective. We show that KL-divergence is an upper bound of the variational information bottleneck. By controlling the KL-divergence gradually from a small value to a target value, ControlVAE can disentangle the latent factors one by one. Based on this finding, we propose a new DynamicVAE that leverages a modified incremental PI (proportionalintegral) controller, a variant of the proportional-integralderivative (PID) algorithm, and employs a moving average as well as a hybrid annealing method to evolve the value of KL-divergence smoothly in a tightly controlled fashion. In addition, we analytically derive a lower bound of the set point for disentangling. We then theoretically prove the stability of the proposed approach. Evaluation results on multiple benchmark datasets demonstrate that DynamicVAE achieves a good trade-off between the disentanglement and reconstruction quality. We also discover that it can separate disentangled representation learning and re-construction via manipulating the desired KL-divergence.


Research was conducted to assess the practical use of an ATP bioluminescence assay to evaluate the bacteriological quality of raw milk. Filtration was used to precondition samples before ATP determination, which was measured in relative light units (RLUs). The Lumac ATP bioluminescence assay results were compared with standard plate counts (SPCs) of samples to estimate the microbial load for 246 raw milk samples that were split and either tested immediately or subjected to two preliminary incubation temperatures, 12.8 and 15.6 degrees C, for 18 h. Linear regression analysis procedures were used to analyze the data. Preincubation treatments were analyzed separately. For all treatments, linear regression coefficients were significantly different from zero (P < 0.01). The R2 values calculated using log10-transformed SPC and log10-transformed RLUs for samples tested immediately and samples preliminarily incubated at 12.8 and 15.6 degrees C were 0.58, 0.78, and 0.80, respectively. The R2 for all samples combined was 0.78. Differences in regressions among treatments were tested using a multiple slope and intercept model. Treatment intercepts and slopes were significantly different (P < 0.01). A linear regression equation was used to predict SPC from ATP values. Comparison of predicted values with actual SPCs indicated that ATP could be useful in predicting SPC in raw milk.


We report idiopathic intranuclear inclusion bodies in the renal tubular epithelia of two cases of among the 960 Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) in the course of the acute oral toxicity and dietary toxicity test. Basophilic inclusion bodies were seen only in the nuclei of renal tubular epithelia. We could not classify our case into any adenovirus infection by clinical signs and lesions. The inclusion bodies were only identified as adenovirus-like particles based upon the electronmicroscopical features.


This chapter provides a critical and comprehensive review of internationalisation models and strategies in higher education and offers a conceptual model for internationalising the curriculum, taking educational administration and leadership as an example of its implementation. The chapter starts with an introduction and overview of globalisation and how higher education institutions respond to its increasing effects by adopting different internationalisation strategies. This is followed by a discussion on the different forces and rationales involved and the various models and strategies adopted by higher education institutions as well as the many challenges and obstacles they encounter when implementing these strategies. The third section focuses on ways of internationising the curriculum and how it is a complex, dynamic and developmental process that requires the implementation of most internationalisation strategies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the IHEC model which is created for internationalising the higher education curriculum, focusing on educational administration and leadership as an example. The IHEC model aims to provide students with a universal and holistic learning experience that prepares them for the increasingly competitive and diversified working environment. It also attempts to overcome the Westernisation indigenisation debate by adopting a holistic approach to knowledge and cultural practices that appreciates and integrates different perspectives, knowledge traditions and work practices into the curriculum.


This article addresses the issue of how to monitor and develop the quality of teaching in schools by identifying the international lessons of teacher appraisal, monitoring and support systems and by interrogating the recently introduced South African Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS). The aim is to show why teacher monitoring and appraisal systems work differently, depending on their purposes, forms and conceptual framework about how they contribute to teacher development. The article argues that the educator component of the IQMS makes problematic assumptions about educator quality and improvement in South African schools. It is not aligned with the status and work of most educators, and over-estimates the implementation readiness of the majority of schools as well as the appraisal and support capacity of senior school and district management. The challenge is to make educators behave and be treated as professionals, as well as to manage the inevitable tensions of appraisal systems. It concludes that a systemic approach to teacher monitoring and development is not sufficient because it also requires changes in the beliefs and attitudes of educators and appraisers alike. A more realistic system of educator appraisal is needed. Education departments should fund and implement a professional development plan, which involves educators and is supported by a high quality professional development staff.


This study was conducted to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions on local government levels from 1990 to 2010 using 2006 IPCC guideline methodology. To calculate greenhouse gas emissions based on the 16 local governments, emission factor and scaling factor were used with default value and activity data came from the food, agricultural, forestry and fisheries statistical yearbook of MIFAFF (Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries). The total emissions in crop sector gradually decreased from 1990 to 2010 due to a decline in agricultural land and nitrogen fertilizer usage. The annual average emission of greenhouse gas was the highest in Jeonnam (JN) with 1,698 Gg CO₂-eq and following Chungnam (CN), Gyungbuk (GB), Jeonbuk (JB) and Gyunggi (GG). The sum of top-six locals emission had occupied 83.4% of the total emission in cropland sector. The annual average emissions in 1990 by applying 2006 IPCC guideline were approximately 43% less than the national greenhouse gas inventory by 1996 IPCC guideline. Jeonnam (JN) province occupied also the highest results of greenhouse gas emission estimated by gas types (methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide) and emission sources such as rice cultivation, agricultural soil, field burning of crop residue and urea fertilizer.


By carrying out content analyses of three Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Twitter accounts, this study examines their messaging to the world in 2020 through Twitter (N=1,276).  In doing so, the impact and reach of specific, targeted audiences are further analysed to better understand engagement with the most-mentioned and most-followed users (N=353). The results suggest significant correlations between content category as well as the diplomatic language of the tweets versus other countries and users that Vietnam MOFA directs messages towards. In addition, it has thus far been observed that the Vietnam MOFA tends to communicate and interact with governmental/intergovernmental organizations and political users via tweets. Practical and theoretical implications of twiplomacy are discussed in terms of uses and gratifications.


The rise of populism coincides with a new wave of anti-intellectualism, articulated in the "War on Science." This paper argues that there is no empirical evidence that the global surge of populism is accompanied by a general anti-science trend. However, there are similarities between the dissemination of scientific falsehoods in mass media and social media and the ways populist politicians use media to their end. First, this paper analyzes the history and the underlying sociological, psychological and cultural causes of the anti-science dispositions. Then, through the case studies of the U.S., Russia, Turkey and Hungary, the attitudes populist leaders exhibit towards science is discussed. Finally, the paper synthesizes the applicable scholarly literature from various disciplines to create an adequate framework for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary communication strategy for the pro-science camp.


Rocket observations of ion number densities in the E-region show that the relative concentration of its major constituents, n(NO+)/n(O2+), varies drastically with solar activity and depends on the electron and the nitric oxide concentrations. A simple steady-state model is presented in which, by means of the electric quasi-neutrality condition, the continuity equations of both ions have been uncoupled and a one-to-one relationship between the electron and nitric oxide concentrations has been obtained. This model is applied to the calculation of the relative ion number densities and the nitric oxide concentration at middle latitudes, near noon under quiet geomagnetic and low solar activity conditions and a good agreement with the observation is found.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by degeneration of
nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurons. The primary drug used to treat PD symptoms
is L-DOPA, but side effects such as dyskinesias limit its use. Previous
findings show that L-DOPA treatment induces extracellular signal-regulated
kinase (ERK1/2), a MAP-kinase protein. γ-aminobutyric
acid (GABA) is intimately involved in basal ganglia function. Our previous
study using a unilaterally lesioned rat model of PD indicated that elevating
GABA levels by GABA transaminase inhibitor, aminooxyacetic acid significantly attenuated
L-DOPA-induced ERK phosphorylation in the striatum and substantia nigra (SN).
The aim of the present study was to assess the role of GABA-A and GABA-B
receptor by using a selective agonists, muscimol and baclofen respectively,
on L-DOPA-induced ERK phosphorylation in the striatum and SN. Unilaterally 6-OHDA-lesioned
rats were prescreened by apomorphine induced rotation test for the extent of DA
loss. Lesioned rats were treated with L-DOPA alone or after muscimol or
baclofen pretreatment. Appropriate control groups were used. Phospho-ERK
levels, tyrosine hydroxylase (to ascertain DA loss) and substance P (an
indirect marker for DA loss) levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry
using coronal slices at the level of striatum and SN. L-DOPA administration
induced a robust increase (>300%) in phospho-ERK1/2 levels in the striatum
and SN. Muscimol as well as baclofen pretreatment attenuated the L-DOPA-induced
increase in phospho-ERK1/2 levels by >60% in the striatum and SN. Muscimol
and baclofen pretreatment also greatly reduced the number of L-DOPA induced
phospho-ERK1/2 stained cells in the striatum as well as the contralateral
rotational behavior. The present data taken together with our previous study
indicate that the L-DOPA induced increase in ERK1/2 is attenuated by GABA via a
GABA-A and GABA-B receptor linked mechanism. The study provides further insight
into a dopamine-GABA-ERK interaction in the therapeutic and/or side effects of
L-DOPA in the basal ganglia.


Similar to many teleost fish, squirrelfish (family Holocentridae) produce vocalizations by the contraction of muscles that lead to vibration of the swimbladder. We used biotinylated compounds to identify the position and extent of vocal motor neurons in comparison to additional motor neuron groups, namely those of red and white dorsal epaxial muscle and opercular muscle that are located adjacent to or near the sonic muscle. The sonic motor nucleus (SMN) was located in the caudal medulla and rostral spinal cord in a ventrolateral position with dendrites extending dorsally in a dense bundle along the lateral edge of the medulla and axons exiting via ventral occipital nerve roots. Transneuronal transport of biocytin identified premotor neurons within the SMN and in the medially adjacent reticular formation that projected to the contralateral SMN and more rostrally to the octavolateralis efferent nucleus and nucleus praeeminentialis, suggesting interactions between vocal and octavolateralis systems as seen in other teleosts. Motor neurons innervating the red and white dorsal muscle formed a loose aggregate in the dorsal motor column, adjacent to the medial longitudinal fasciculus, sending fibers bilaterally throughout the spinal cord with axons exiting via ventral spinal nerve roots. Opercular motor neurons were located within the facial motor nucleus. The anatomical characteristics of the SMN of squirrelfish, a representative member of the order Beryciformes, are similar to those of representative members of the closely related order Scorpaeniformes, but diverge from the SMN of more distantly related orders of paracanthopterygiian and ostariophysan teleosts. These results therefore suggest a possible homology among the SMNs of acanthopterygiian fishes.


BACKGROUND
An increased serum glucose level is a common finding among patients admitted to hospital with acute illness, including the intensive care unit (ICU), even without a history of previous diabetes mellitus (DM). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is not only a diagnostic tool for DM but may also has prognostic value for diabetic and non-diabetic populations.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the relationship between HbA1c level on admission and clinical outcome among patients admitted to the ICU due to cardiopulmonary disorders with hyperglycemia.

METHODS
Patients consecutively admitted to the ICU due to cardiopulmonary disorders who presented with hyperglycemia at admission were evaluated during a 6-month period. HbA1c and serum glucose levels were tested on admission and during the first 24-48 hours of hospitalization. Patients were divided according to HbA1c and compared in term of demographics. We evaluated the effect of HbA1c levels at admission on the clinical outcomes.

RESULTS
Of patients with cardiopulmonary disorders who presented with hyperglycemia at admission to the ICU, 73 had HbA1c levels ≥ 6%, 92 had HbA1c levels < 6%: 63/165 (38.2%) known as diabetic patients. The 30-day all-cause mortality was higher in the group with high HbA1c levels; 38/73 vs. 32/98 (P = 0.02). Increased length of stay in the ICU and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score were associated with HbA1c ≥ 6% (P < 0.022 and P < 0.026), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
HbA1c ≥ 6% has an important clinical prognostic value among diabetic and non-diabetic patients with cardiopulmonary disorders and hyperglycemia.


Measuring coshrmer s*isftction level has become
standart of all kind of industries in order to know their effective
work By deing so, the industy could find out the pres€nt
satisfaction level emerge from the mind of the customer, also as the
early stage of futrne development Higher Education as an educdion
industry provide the educational senrice. Their consumers tre not
limited to the student, but also to the indlstrial world- Industrid
Fngineering as one of the welllmown departuent in ITS has become
the smallest business units in the department level which ftIy is to
provide educationt o the sfirdenLO ne of the key performancein dex
which is being mmsure are the alumni level of satisfaction md the
company or institution they work at ( end-user). This research is
about measuring the satisfaction level of IndusEial Engineering
alumni from regular or extension program, when they ae entering
the indusfiial worl4 also discussing the satisfaction level of the
alumni enployer (end-useD of ITS Industrial Fngineering
Departuent This research shows the movem€nt of the satisfaction
level of the dumni after they entering theh work environment also
show the end-user's response to the capability of indusnial
e,ngineoingd epartment'sa lumni. The goals is to showsf te point of
weaknesseso f the alumni which also shows tle weaknesso f the
educational system of indusrial engineering deparhent Besides
that, this researcha lso bring up the higher quality of the alumni. This
higher quality are intend to be maintained and broaden up, and the
weaknessw il be tr@ted in a cause and consequencese valuation
analysis. After thaq it will b€ given the recommendationfo r future
improvement


The purpose of this study is: 1) knowing the sequence of audit procedure which most often signed off by auditor 2) testing effect of external and internal factors on premature signed off of audit procedure. The sample of this study are auditors of the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK RI) in the head office and the representative office. Sampling technique used is convenience sampling. Survey method for this study by distributing questionare. Data analysis uses Friedman test and regression logistic analysis with significance level (α) 5%.Friedman test result indicates that there are sequence of priority of audit procedure tend to be signed off. The most audit procedure which often to be signed off is internal auditor judgment and audit procedure which seldom to be signed off is substantive test. Logistic regression test shows that audit risk, materiality, professional commitment, and locus of control affect premature sign off of audit procedure, meanwhile time budget pressure, time deadline pressure, and role overload do not affect premature sign off of audit procedure.


CONTEXT
- Intradepartmental consultation is a routine practice commonly used for new diagnoses. Expert interinstitutional case review provides insight into particularly challenging cases.

OBJECTIVE
- To investigate the practice of breast pathology consultation at a large tertiary care center.

DESIGN
- We reviewed breast pathology cases sent for private consultation and internal cases reviewed by multiple pathologists at a tertiary center. Requisitions and reports were evaluated for diagnostic reason for consultation, rate of multiple pathologist review at the tertiary center, use of immunohistochemistry, and, for private consultation cases, type of sender and concordance with the outside diagnosis.

RESULTS
- In the 985 private consultation cases, the most frequent reasons for review were borderline atypia (292 of 878; 33.3%), papillary lesion classification (151 of 878; 17.2%), evaluating invasion (123 of 878; 14%), subtyping carcinoma (75 of 878; 8.5%), and spindle cell (67 of 878; 7.6%) and fibroepithelial (65 of 878; 7.4%) lesion classification. Of 4981 consecutive internal cases, 358 (7.2%) were reviewed, most frequently for borderline atypia (90 of 358; 25.1%), subtyping carcinoma (63 of 358; 17.6%), staging/prognostic features (59 of 358; 16.5%), fibroepithelial lesion classification (45 of 358; 12.6%), evaluating invasion (37 of 358; 10.3%), and papillary (20 of 358; 5.6%) and spindle cell (18 of 358; 5.0%) lesion classification. Of all internal cases, those with a final diagnosis of atypia had a significantly higher rate of review (58 of 241; 24.1%) than those with benign (119 of 2933; 4.1%) or carcinoma (182 of 1807; 10.1%) diagnoses. Immunohistochemistry aided in diagnosis of 39.7% (391 of 985) and 21.2% (76 of 359) of consultation and internally reviewed cases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
- This study confirms areas of breast pathology that represent diagnostic challenge and supports that pathologists are appropriately using expert consultation.


—We consider the problem of finding efficiently a high quality k -clustering of n points in a (possibly discrete) metric space. Many methods are known when the point are vectors in a real vector space, and the distance function is a standard geometric distance such as L 1 , L 2 (Euclidean) or L 22 (squared Euclidean distance). In such cases efficiency is often sought via sophisticated multidimensional search structures for speeding up nearest neighbor queries (e.g. variants of kd-trees). Such techniques usually work well in spaces of moderately high dimension (say up to 6 or 8). Our target is a scenario in which either the metric space cannot be mapped into a vector space, or, if this mapping is possible, the dimension of such a space is so high as to rule out the use of the above mentioned techniques. This setting is rather typical in Information Retrieval applications. We augment the well known furthest-point-first algorithm for k- center clustering in metric spaces with a filtering step based on the triangular inequality and we compare this algorithm with some recent fast variants of the classical k-means iterative algorithm augmented with an analogous filtering schemes. We extensively tested the two solutions on synthetic geometric data and real data from Information Retrieval applications. The main conclusion we draw is that our modified furthest-point-first method attains solutions of comparable within a fraction of the used by the fast k-means real time constraints of highlight the poor scalability of traditional clustering


39 experiments were carried out in baboons using continuous intravenous infusion of alphaxalone-alphadolone as an anaesthetic for periods of up to 6 h. This steroid anaesthetic was found to be safe and reliable, with smooth, rapid induction, uneventful recovery, and no evidence of cumulative effect.


Gutta percha cones are well known biomaterials used for dental root canal filling. Solutions such as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) are used to disinfect these materials. However, it has been demonstrated that NaOCl is a strong oxidizing agent that can cause surface deterioration. Variations in surface roughness can be accessed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The aim of this work was to evaluate how different image acquisition methods with AFM determine the reliability of the calculated roughness parameters. Gutta percha cones were placed on the AFM and topographic images were recorded. Images in different areas and sizes were obtained in order to assess full information about the surface of the sample. One of these locations was selected and images in different sizes were made to find the saturation roughness. Two different acquisition approaches were used: Images of a same area, 40 ?m x 40 ?m, were acquired using 512 x 512 and 256 x 256 points. Images smaller were made in the same way. After that, another 40 ?m x 40 ?m image obtained with 512 x 512 points was used to make digital zooms and to obtain the smaller ones. The results show that in larger images there is no significant difference between RMS and Ra measured on 512 x512 and on 256 x 256 images. Image processing procedure, can lead to images with similar overall appearance at larger scales but smaller details of the surface structure are lost after higher magnifications. This work shows that a thorough investigation of the sample is important to determine the more appropriate approach to carry out the analysis.


ABSTRACT Disseminated neoplasia is reported for the first time in Ameghinomya antiqua (Veneridae) from Chile on the southeastern Pacific coast. A total of 710 clams were collected in winter 2019 and summer 2021 from five sites in three regions: Coquimbo, Biobio, and Los Lagos; all clams were processed by histology. The disease was only detected in clams from the Biobío region. It was characterized by the presence of numerous neoplastic cells with enlarged nuclei and high nuclear to cytoplasmic volume ratios and the almost absence of normal hemocytes. The prevalence did not vary between seasons (7% in winter and 9% in summer).


Abstract 4634 Background. T-cell transcription factor NFAT1 (NFATc2) has been reported to regulate cell cycle regulatory proteins including cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), and p21. MicroRNA-184 (miR-184) has been noted to have close sequence homology to the 3' UTR of NFAT1 and to regulate NFAT1 mRNA translation in human adult and umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD3+CD4+ T-cells. In this study, we are characterizing the functional role of NFAT1 in T-ALL cells to determine whether its dysregulation may alter normal cell cycle regulation and thereby may contribute to T-ALL leukemogenesis. Materials/Methods. In this study we used MOLT-4 cell line to investigate the role of NFAT1 in T-ALL, since MOLT-4 represents early stage of human T-ALL (CD4+CD8+ double positive) compared with other T-cell lines including Jurkat. We developed two distinct approaches to explore NFAT1 signalling, either by manipulating the expression level of NFAT1 protein by blocking miR-184, or by overexpressing a constitutively active form of NFAT1 (caNFAT1) holding a HA-tag (Addgene plasmid 11792, A. Rao, PhD, Harvard University). caNFAT1 was introduced into gateway system expression vector pEF-DEST51. MOLT-4 cells were maintained in complete RPMI 1640 medium according to ATCC guidelines. Electroporation transfection was performed on Amaxa Nucleofector I using program C-05. 200 nM of anti-miR-184 miRNA inhibitor (Dharmacon) or 2 μ g of plasmid containing caNFAT1 was transfected into 2×10e6 MOLT-4 cells in each sample. Transfection efficiency was tested using pmaxGFP (Lonza). Proteins were extracted at various time points after transfection using RIPA buffer (PIERCE) with protease inhibitor cocktail and tested for the expression of NFAT1 (BD Biosciences), phosphorylated NFAT1 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), HA (Roche), and beta-actin (Sigma-Aldrich). Cell cycle was measured at various time points by pelleting down 0.5–1 X10e6 cells, followed by ethanol fixation, and incubation in propidium iodide (PI) (10 μ g/ml) staining solution and flow cytometric measurement for PI incorporation. Cell apoptosis was measured by PE-conjugated annexin V staining (BD Biosciences) in transfected MOLT-4 cells including empty plasmid controls. Results/Discussion. The over-expression of caNFAT1 in MOLT-4 led to increased proportion of cells in G2 phase than in controls (10.8% vs. 7.3% on day5, and 11.8% vs. 8.1% on day6). In addition to these cell cycle changes in MOLT-4 treated with caNFAT1 plasmid, higher rates of apoptosis were noted on day 2 (28.3% vs. 15.5%), which notably leveled off from day 3 to day 6 potentially attributed to compensatory cellular responses. Previous work by this group has shown higher expression of miR-184 in MOLT-4 by 56 fold compared with normal human CD4/8 double positive T-cells. Here, miR-184 knockdown was also notable for a larger proportion of MOLT-4 cells in G2 cell cycle phase and higher apoptosis, albeit modest changes compared with that exerted by caNFAT1. Conclusion. In MOLT-4 cell line, this preliminary data suggests that increasing active non-phosphorylated NFAT1 is associated with enhanced proportion of cells in G2 phase as well as enhanced resultant apoptosis. Taken together, regulation of NFAT1 may be exploited as potential T-ALL targeted therapy. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Carboxylate-bridged high-spin diiron(II) complexes with distinctive electronic transitions were prepared by using 4-cyanopyridine (4-NCC(5)H(4)N) ligands to shift the charge-transfer bands to the visible region of the absorption spectrum. This property facilitated quantitation of water-dependent equilibria in the carboxylate-rich diiron(II) complex, [Fe(2)(mu-O(2)CAr(Tol))(4)(4-NCC(5)H(4)N)(2)] (1), where (-)O(2)CAr(Tol) is 2,6-di-(p-tolyl)benzoate. Addition of water to 1 reversibly shifts two of the bridging carboxylate ligands to chelating terminal coordination positions, converting the structure from a paddlewheel to a windmill geometry and generating [Fe(2)(mu-O(2)CAr(Tol))(2)(O(2)CAr(Tol))(2)(4-NCC(5)H(4)N)(2)(H(2)O)(2)] (3). This process is temperature dependent in solution, rendering the system thermochromic. Quantitative treatment of the temperature-dependent spectroscopic changes over the temperature range from 188 to 298 K in CH(2)Cl(2) afforded thermodynamic parameters for the interconversion of 1 and 3. Stopped flow kinetic studies revealed that water reacts with the diiron(II) center ca. 1000 time faster than dioxygen and that the water-containing diiron(II) complex reacts with dioxygen ca. 10 times faster than anhydrous analogue 1. Addition of {H(OEt(2))(2)}{B}, where B(-) is tetrakis(3,5-di(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)borate, to 1 converts it to [Fe(2)(mu-O(2)CAr(Tol))(3)(4-NCC(5)H(4)N)(2)](B) (5), which was also structurally characterized. Mossbauer spectroscopic investigations of solid samples of 1, 3, and 5, in conjunction with several literature values for high-spin iron(II) complexes in an oxygen-rich coordination environment, establish a correlation between isomer shift, coordination number, and N/O composition. The products of oxygenating 1 in CH(2)Cl(2) were identified crystallographically to be [Fe(2)(mu-OH)(2)(mu-O(2)CAr(Tol))(2)(O(2)CAr(Tol))(2)(4-NCC(5)H(4)N)(2)].2(HO(2)CAr(Tol)) (6) and [Fe(6)(mu-O)(2)(mu-OH)(4)(mu-O(2)CAr(Tol))(6)(4-NCC(5)H(4)N)(4)Cl(2)] (7).


We present a purely affine gravitational model in four dimensions built up entirely on the bases of full diffeomorphism invariance, and power-counting renormalizability. We show that its non-relativistic limit around a homogeneous and isotropic spacetime yields to a Newtonian gravity.


Mobile P2P content distribution is a promising solution to offload overwhelming growing mobile data traffic and improve the end-user experience. We study optimal distributed caching problem for mobile peer-to-peer data dissemination that leverages local cache of mobile nodes and their mobility. The problem accounts for finding the assignment of proportion of nodes to forward a set of data channels so as to maximize the global performance. As the key assumption that facilitates the analysis, we derive a close-form approximation between dissemination time of a data channel and proportion of nodes forwarding that channel. We show optimal distributed caching problem is equivalent to optimization of aggregate dissemination time over all channels whose solution can be obtained by convex optimization. Simulations based on real user mobility trace show that optimal distributed caching outperforms other data caching heuristics, especially when the number of channels is large or when the cache size is small.