To survive in today competitive environment, companies need to improve customer service while reducing costs. One way to address this challenge is to effectively and efficiently managing inventory. Companies carry inventory to ensure the level of customer service and avoid lost sales. However, holding inventory comes with costs such as inventory carrying cost and opportunity cost. There are several inventory policies proposed in the literature which aim to manage the difficult trade-off between minimizing the costs of holding inventory and satisfying customer demand. Unfortunately, these policies tend to be generic and work well under assumptions. Some assumptions may be contradicted to real-world practice, for example, stable and deterministic customer demand. In addition, certain policy that works well in one industry may not be appropriate for other industry under different environment. As a result, there is a need to develop a simulation model to determine a suitable inventory policy and explore the effect of inventory policy on supply chain performance, including cost and service level (fill rate) for a particular company or supply chain. In this paper, a case study of a beverage distribution center was used to illustrate the use of simulation to identify the most suitable inventory policy. Simulation model and simulation optimization can serve as a guiding tool to develop appropriate inventory policy. Furthermore, experimenting with the simulation model can also help manager to understand the effect of change in environment/condition on the effectiveness of the inventory policy.


An increasing number of consumers, in recent times, have reported feeling busier than ever. The current research examines how the subjective perception of busyness—which is referred to as a busy mindset in the current research —impacts consumers' decision-making. Building on different streams of research in sociology and self-view, the current research proposes that a busy mindset bolsters people's sense of self-importance, which, in turn, can increase self-control. Thus, a busy mindset is predicted to facilitate people's ability to exert self-control. Seven studies, including a field study, provide support for this busy mindset hypothesis across various self-control domains. Findings from these studies provide support for the underlying process related to self-importance in multiple ways, while also addressing alternative accounts related to stress and the desire for productivity. Finally, findings from the current research delineate important managerially relevant boundary conditions for the proposed busy mindset effect.


After infection of the upper respiratory tract with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus in immunized cattle, a drop in specific serum-neutralizing antibody activity was observed. Vaccinated cattle with high preexposure serum antibody titers had a precipitous drop for the first 4 days after virus exposure, followed by a rise in titer. This drop was also seen in passively immunized cattle with high preexposure titers; however, their antibody titers decreased for 5 to 7 days after exposure to virus. Some vaccinated and passively immunized cattle with low preexposure antibody titers showed fluctuations in their titers shortly after exposure. These data suggest that the course of infection with FMD virus in immunized cattle depends on the rapidity of new antibody formation as well as on the level of neutralizing antibody titer at the time of exposure.


For a variety of signal processing applications polynomials are implemented in circuits. Recent work on polynomial datapath optimization achieved significant reductions of hardware cost as well as delay compared to previous approaches like Horner form or Common Sub-expression Elimination (CSE). This work 1) proposes a formal model for single- and multi-polynomial factorization and 2) handles optimization as a constraint solving problem using an explicit cost function. By this, optimal datapath implementations with respect to the cost function are determined. Compared to recent state-of-the-art heuristics an average reduction of area and critical path delay is achieved.


ABSTRACT Information regarding deformations in large and complex systems is necessary in the prediction of structural failures caused by un-natural flexural occurrences. Sensing systems which are used to predict shapes, in order to develop a global surface picture require high precision and lower time lag. In this work, a unique bio-inspired training mechanism for support vector regression is presented for shape sensing in structures mounted with Fiber Bragg Gratings. Experimental validation was carried out on a simply supported beam, loaded at different positions and an aircraft wing model for different types of bending. The resulting deflections at specified locations along the length of the beam and on both surfaces of the wing were interpreted from the wavelength shifts of the corresponding Fiber Bragg Gratings through the specially modified Support Vector Regression. The method has shown high accuracy, low computational requirements and enhanced prediction times. The proposed bio-inspired training method has also been compared with two conventional training methodologies.


An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to measure immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM type 3 antipneumococcal capsular polysaccharide antibodies. The use of Fab2 fragments of rabbit antipneumococcal IgG antibody in the antibody-antigen sandwich increased the sensitivity for measuring IgM antibodies and decreased background activity in antigen-free cuvettes. This methodology detected type 3 IgM antibody responses in six of six subjects vaccinated with polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine and detected type 3 IgG antibody responses in three subjects. Results of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and radioimmunoassay procedures were concordant, and postvaccination enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay IgM titers showed a stronger correlation with total radioimmunoassay antibody than did postvaccination ELISA IgG titers.


Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a particular threat to the patient with AIDS. Retinitis that may progress to blindness is one of the most distressing manifestations of CMV. DHPG (Ganciclovir) has been used with some success in the treatment of CMV retinitis. This article discusses the pathophysiology of CMV in patients with AIDS, current protocols for DHPG therapy, problems experienced by the patient with CMV retinitis, and nursing actions in response to these problems.


Abstract data types are a helpful framework to formalise analyses and make them more transparent, reproducible and comprehensible. We are revisiting an approach based on the space, time and theme dimensions of remotely sensed data, and extending it with a more differentiated understanding of space-time representations. In contrast to existing approaches and implementations that consider only fixed spatial units (e.g. pixels), our approach allows investigations of the spatial units' spatio-temporal characteristics, such as the size and shape of their geometry, and their relationships. Five different abstract data types are identified to describe geographical phenomenon, either directly or in combination: coverage, time series, trajectory, composition and evolution.


Correction for 'Genetic variation for an aphid wing polyphenism is genetically linked to a naturally occurring wing polymorphism' by Christian Braendle, Ilvy Friebe, Marina C. Caillaud and David L. Stern (Proc. R. Soc. B 272, 657–664. (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2004.2995)). Figure 2 in the print version of this paper is incorrect; the correct figure is as follows.


AIM
The problem of family care for people dependent on another person has only recently become a focus of research. As demand for health and social services has not been adequately met by public service providers, growing attention has been given to informal care and the integration of families within systems of health and social care at the community level. This paper presents the results of a survey on informal carers' views and opinions under the current conditions of social support in the Czech Republic. The survey was based on theoretical concepts of caring societies, deinstitutionalization, refamilization, and integrated community care, and aimed to shed light on caring families' experiences and needs in the Czech Republic.

METHODS
Family lay carers completed an original self-administered questionnaire. A convenient sample of 200 family carers was selected.

RESULTS
The survey collected information about the most influential factors in determining whether the families continue to provide care for their relatives in the household. More than 50% of the caregivers provide care from moral and emotional reasons. Financial problems, risk of losing their jobs, and further deterioration of health of the person they care for emerged as key risk factors, but overall, determination among carers to continue providing care "at any cost" was high (53%).

CONCLUSIONS
Involving local communities and services, e.g. general practitioners (GPs) to a greater extent in the coordination of various social and health services, and in support mechanisms at the juncture between informal and formal care would make it easier for family carers to continue providing long-term care.


This is the sequel to Pelzer's Planter and peasant, published in 1978. It lacks a final chapter, having been left unfinished at Pelzer's death in 1980, but a useful survey of the issues is given in an Introduction written by Clifford Geertz at the invitation of the publishers. The work is essentially a detailed narrative based on Dutch and Indonesian primary sources, giving its main attention to the period 1950-57, although at times (e.g. pp. 35 ff.) it looks as far forward as 1965. It emphasizes political and legal issues, especially those relating to the problem of squatting on plantation lands.


The effects of casing shape on the performance and interaction between the impeller and casing in a small-size turbo-compressor are investigated. Numerical analysis is conducted for the compressor with circular and single volute casings from inlet to discharge nozzle. In order to predict the flow pattern inside the entire impeller, vaneless diffuer and casing, calculations with multiple frames of reference method between the rotating and stationery parts of the domain are carried out. For compressible turbulent flow fields, the continuity and three-dimensional time-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are employed. To evaluate the performance of two types of casings, the static pressure and loss coefficients are obtained with various flow rates. Also, static pressure distributions around casings are studied for different casing shapes, which are very important to predict the distribution of radial load. To prove the accuracy of numerical results, measurements of static pressure around casing and pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the compressor are performed for the circular casing. Comparisons of these results between the experimental and numerical analyses are conducted, and reasonable agreement is obtained.


Background: The introduction of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI) in the management of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) has been a paradigm shifting phenomenon, yet the prognosis of CML still relies on pre-TKI era methods. Recently, European Treatment and Outcome Study (EUTOS) for CML has proposed a novel scoring system to prognosticate the outcome of treatment with TKIs that only relies on spleen size and basophil count. Although the validity of the newly proposed score has been tested in various populations worldwide, such a study is yet to be performed in the Indian population. We have looked at all three prognostic scores, namely Sokal score, Hasford/Euro score and EUTOS score, in 377 patients initiated with Hydroxyurea but later transitioned to Imatinib when it was available in India.

Methods: A cohort of 377 patients who were diagnosed as Philadelphia chromosome positive CML over the period of 5 years (Jan, 2003 - Dec, 2008) in Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical College, Kolkata had been included in the study. All the patients were primarily treated with Hydroxyurea but received Imatinib Mesylate at a later time point. All patients received Hydroxyurea for 6 months or more and received Imatinib for at least 1 year at the time of final follow-up. No patient was treated with second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We divided the patients using all three scores: Sokal, Hasford and EUTOS. The prognostic power of each of the scores were tested based on Overall Survival (OS) and Event Free Survival (EFS). Survival probabilities were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by pair-wise log rank, Breslow (Generalized Wilcoxon) test and Tarone-Ware test. The pair-wise method was applied in order to detect distinguishing capacity of each test among different groups.

Results: Only EUTOS score stood out as informative as it was able to distinctly separate high and low risk group patients significantly ( p < 0.01). The other two scores, namely Sokal and Hasford could not discriminate between the low and intermediate risk group of patients in terms of OS. When we considered EFS instead of OS for the same analysis, the superiority of EUTOS score over its counterparts again became obvious ( p < 0.01).

Conclusion: EUTOS score was able to significantly discriminate between high and low risk patients both in terms of 5 year OS and EFS, while Sokal and Hasford/Euro score failed to discriminate between low and intermediate risk patients. We found EUTOS score to be valid in terms of predicting the outcome of CML patients who transitioned from the pre-imatinib era to Imatinib therapy in our population.

Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


We study the evolution of the number of retweets received by Twitter users over the course of their 'careers' on the platform.
 We find that on average the number of retweets received by users tends to increase over time.
 This is partly expected because users tend to gradually accumulate followers.
 Normalizing by the number of followers, however, reveals that the relative, per-follower retweet rate tends to be non-monotonic, maximized at a 'peak age' after which it does not increase, or even decreases.
 We develop a simple model of the process behind this phenomenon, which assumes a constantly growing number of followers, each of whom loses interest over time.
 We show that this model is sufficient to explain the non-monotonic nature of per-follower retweet rates, without any assumptions about the quality of content posted at different times.


. This paper seeks to place the phenomenon of technology within the context of everyday practices using the logic of practical rationality. We draw some insights from our ethnography of young professionals and shed light on their everyday technological practices by invoking the concept of entwinement from hermeneutic phenomenology. Our findings reveal that the new generation users are becoming intimately entwined with information technologies in their everyday practices. Our study contributes toward the ongoing debate concerning theorizing of technology and its relationship to practice.


Enforcing e-commerce contracts is difficult because an enterprise may be concurrently bound by a very large number of commercial agreements, and because these agreements are likely to change in time or to be annulled. We argue that it is not feasible to establish a dedicated server for each contract; nor it is possible to construct a composition of such commercial agreements. To deal with these problems we propose to embed contracts in certificates. We show that disseminating contracts as certificates facilitates deployment, annulment and revision of contracts. We propose a language for stating contract terms, and present several formal examples. We describe here our implementation, which can be used as an extension to a web server, or as a separate server with interface to application. The proposed model does not require any modification of the current certificate infrastructure, and only minor modifications to servers.


A new method for separating isotropic and anisotropic chemical-shift interactions in magic-angle-spinning NMR is presented. The new method is based upon manipulation of the phases of spinning sidebands using sequences of five π pulses. A two-dimensional pulse scheme separates the spinning sidebands by order. The amplitudes of the spinning sidebands may be analyzed to obtain the principal values of the chemical-shift anisotropy. For sites with many sidebands, it is possible to improve the signal-to-noise ratio considerably by skew projection of the two-dimensional spectrum. Experimental demonstrations are presented.


: In this activity students will study a linear, first order, one-dimensional ordinary differential equation (ODE) and learn how it can be used to understand basics of neural dynamics. The modeling framework is known in the mathematical neuroscience literature as the "integrate-and-fire" neuron. The form of the model is equivalent to the linear ODE used to describe the RC circuit. This activity assumes familiarity with solving linear first order ODEs, for instance using the integrating factor method. Students are asked to set up and solve a homogeneous version of the equation and a nonhomogeneous version (constant forcing term). Students are asked to set up ODEs (select initial values), solve the ODEs, and perform some related algebraic calculations. Throughout, students are asked to interpret their results in light of biological experiments and biological terms that are explained in the activity. There is a focus throughout on solving the ODE in the presence of unspecified parameters and interpreting how parameter values may affect response characteristics of biological neurons. Outcomes of the project include: improved skill setting up and solving linear first order ODEs (including with unspecified parameters) and demonstrating how mathematical models can improve understanding of dynamic biological systems. There is no requirement or expectation that students have experience with biology or neuroscience.


In real settings, natural body movements can be erroneously recognized by whole-body input systems as explicit input actions. We call body activity not intended as input actions "background activity." We argue that understanding background activity is crucial to the success of always-available whole-body input in the real world. To operationalize this argument, we contribute a reusable study methodology and software tools to generate standardized background activity datasets composed of data from multiple Kinect cameras, a Vicon tracker, and two high-definition video cameras. Using our methodology, we create an example background activity dataset for a television-oriented living room setting. We use this dataset to demonstrate how it can be used to redesign a gestural interaction vocabulary to minimize conflicts with the real world. The software tools and initial living room dataset are publicly available (this http URL).


To adequately model mathematical arguments the analyst must be able to represent the mathematical objects under discussion and the relationships between them, as well as inferences drawn about these objects and relationships as the discourse unfolds. We introduce a framework with these properties, which has been used to analyse mathematical dialogues and expository texts. The framework can recover salient elements of discourse at, and within, the sentence level, as well as the way mathematical content connects to form larger argumentative structures. We show how the framework might be used to support computational reasoning, and argue that it provides a more natural way to examine the process of proving theorems than do Lamport's structured proofs.


New unified linear preceding and decoding techniques are presented in this paper, which are suitable for block transmission systems such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, synchronous code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, single carrier systems and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems. First, a linear precoder that achieves minimum symbol-error-rate (MSER) is proposed and analyzed. Motivated by the fact that the conventional and the MSER precoders achieve a diversity order of one, a new method of applying linear preceding over subchannels, named multichannel precoding (MP), is developed to exploit the diversity gain. It is shown that even if a suboptimal linear decoder is used, MP improves the SER performance significantly. Given the block and linear nature of the linearly preceded system, lattice decoding is a suitable and efficient method for optimally detecting data symbols. Some analytical results are presented for the linearly preceded system with lattice decoding. The SER performance of different linearly preceded systems are also compared numerically.


Background: Tuberculosis (TB) incidence in Denmark is 7/100.000. However ongoing transmission of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MT) is still seen among risk groups i.e. homeless. Active case finding using mobile chest x-ray screening and contact tracing have not been sufficient to stop this transmission and mobile x-ray screening would not be available after 2011.

Aim: To evaluate whether "mobile" screening by sputum among TB-risk groups is:

1) feasible on a large scale.

2) cost effective.

And can:

3) Identify TB cases at an early stage defined as positive by culture and negative by microscopy.

Methods: A nurse with a long experience in handling TB patients visited 9 places (homeless shelters etc.) in Copenhagen. She collected one "good" sputum sample from each person. During a 12 month period we performed this screening 3 times and encouraged the participants to be re-examined on these occasions.

Results: We collected 907 sputum samples from 665 persons. Cultures were positive for MT in 21 persons (3,2% of the participants). Two were positive by microscopy (smear) and one of these two samples was negative by culture. Genotyping showed that all TB cases found by sputum screening were clustered and belonged to 3 of the most common 24 loci MIRU VNTR genotypes identified in Denmark.

Conclusion: "Mobile" screening by sputum among TB-risk groups is possible. We found a surprisingly high TB incidence among the participants. Of the culture positive TB cases found all but one were smear-negative, indicating that microscopy is not sufficient to identify TB-cases in this population and that the cases found were early and probably non-contagious cases.


Social network embeddedness lowers the transaction costs for firms' entrepreneurs and enables them to obtain access to information and resources at a price below market-costs. We argue that the access to and use of this entrepreneurial social capital entails a complex interplay of structural, relational and mobilization dimensions both at the local and extended level. By grouping types of entrepreneurs based on these multiple dimensions we show the unequal distribution of social capital across entrepreneurial populations and identify distinct social capital configurations to affect specific entrepreneurial outcomes.


Asymptotically best possible lower bounds for separable approximations are obtained for the function . The method used for the derivation of such bounds is based on the generalization of the maximal volume principle for low-rank approximations. Bibliography: 10 titles.


The results of an experimental investigation of the effects of the degree of cementation on the mechanical behaviour of a porous artificial rock with crushable grains are presented. The studied material is an analogue of real cemented granular materials, such as pyroclastic weak rocks, carbonate sands, calcarenites and compacted decomposed granite. The present study aims to clarify the role of the degree of cementation in the relative importance or the sequential nature of mechanisms in natural material, i.e., granular rearrangement and breakage are expected to appear after de-bonding of particles. Cemented samples with different cement content were investigated. To understand the influence of the cementation, uncemented samples were reconstituted from a mixture of crushable grains and cement (not hydrated) in the same percentage by weight as the cemented (hydrated) samples, in order to obtain the same fraction of fines. Preliminary results show that, for the same confining stress, the cemented sample are more compressible than uncemented ones during isotropic compression; while, during axial loading, the cemented samples show a more rigid behaviour and a lower resistance.


Recent animal studies have indicated that overexpression of the elongation of long-chain fatty acids family member 6 (Elovl6) gene can cause insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. These are the major factors involved in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). To identify the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of ELOVL6 and T2DM pathogenesis, we conducted a case-control study of 610 Han Chinese individuals (328 newly diagnosed T2DM and 282 healthy subjects). Insulin resistance and islet first-phase secretion function were evaluated by assessment of insulin resistance in a homeostasis model (HOMA-IR) and an arginine stimulation test. Three SNPs of the ELOVL6 gene were genotyped with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, with DNA sequencing used to confirm the results. Only genotypes TT and CT of the ELOVL6 SNP rs12504538 were detected in the samples. Genotype CC was not observed. The T2DM group had a higher frequency of the C allele and the CT genotype than the control group. Subjects with the CT genotype had higher HOMA-IR values than those with the TT genotype. In addition, no statistical significance was observed between the genotype and allele frequencies of the control and T2DM groups for SNPs rs17041272 and rs6824447. The study indicated that the ELOVL6 gene polymorphism rs12504538 is associated with an increased risk of T2DM, because it causes an increase in insulin resistance.


Kokusaihosenreiishu(Collection of International Law Precedents, CILP) 2, published by the Bureau of Treaty, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described the recognition and logic of Japanese government on 7 cases of occupation of islands in foreign countries. By looking into the recognition process and logic of Japanese government on these seven cases, this paper attempts to get clues for finding desirable solutions for Dokdo question. First, regarding dispute over Clipperton Island between France and Mexico, Japanese government reserved its recognition under the judgement that it would take a pretty long time for Mexico to finish the approval precess, even though Mexico accepted in March 1909 the arbitration made by Italian Emperor that gave France the title of the island. And Japan understood that Mexico consented the arbitration court for the strategic purpose of reapplying the case to the title of Chamizal, on which Mexico is disputing with the United States. Second, though Japanese people were engaged in business in Midway Island and Wake Island, Japan renounced its territorial claims on those islands and strived to secure vested interests of Japanese people Japanese people when the United States took a firm stand. This measure of Japanese government looks similar to Pratas Islands case, but contrasts with the cases of Diaoyudao Islands(Uotsurijima) and Dokdo. The mutual concession of the United States and Japan on these islands and Minamitorisima reveals the process of territorial expansion by imperialistic countries. Third, Japan attempted to incorporate Pratas Islands under the principle of occupation of terra nullius but failed due to strong opposition from China and tried to protect the property rights of Japanese people. This policy of "first economic activity, then territorial incorporation" was the typical measure of terra nullius and applied to Diaoyudao Islands and Dokdo. The fact that CILP conceals and distorts the facts unfavorable to Japan reveals that the purpose of its publication was to justify the wrongful occupation of terra nullius. Fourth, Jan Mayen Island remained an uninhabited island after it was discovered by a Hollander. But Japan recognized Norwegian dominium on the island when Norway proclaimed dominium on the island, to which no country raised an objection. Compared with Dokdo, this case is similar in the sense that the principle of terra nullius preceded historical origin. The fundamental difference is that Japan justified its occupation one-sidedly under the pretext of no objection from foreign countries without officially notifying its dominium to related countries. Fifth, Japan used prudence and caution in recognizing Norwegian dominium on Bouvet Island, on which there was dispute between England and Norway. Later Japan knew that England decided to yield the island for the promotion of friendship. But Japan recognized 4 months after the notice of Norwegian dominium on this island. This England case can be an important example in settling the Dokdo case. Sixth, Japan looked into the ground of Norwegian claim of the dominium on Peter I Island in details and recognized it with the final judgement that recognition would be benefitial to Japan. In making its final decision, Japan attached great importance to occupation of terra nullius, effective administration, and the recognition of other countries rather than the theory of inherent territory. Compared with Japan"s position on Dokdo, this case has both common and different points. Seventh, when Denmark claimed dominium on Greenland in May 1920, Japa looked into the views of other countires and reported its recognition conforming to the announcement of the United States. When Denmark entered a lawsuit against Norwegian claim of dominium at the International Court of Justice, Japan withheld its final response to any of the disputing countries under the pretext of a very "delicate" matter. This means that Japan can reverse its prior position any time when circumstances change. Japan recognized Danish dominium after Norway announced that it would accept the decision of the International Court of Justice. The analysis of the above cases indicates that Japan responded to the occupation of islands in other countries differently in consideration of Japan"s direct or indirect interests. For the cases that are not relevant to Japan"s interest, Japan prudently expressed its recognition after investigation of the positions of relevant countries or the acceptance ofthe decisions of Arbitration Court or International Court of Justice. When Japan faced strong opposition to its attempt to incorporate uninhabited islands, it renounced territorial occupation and instead sought to maximize its interests.


The U. S. Army Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, Arizona has tested a new type of theodolite using pulsed light for ranging and tracking of meteorological balloons. The pulsed-light theodolite (PLT) electronically computes the slant range to an airborne free balloon. The time required for a pulse of light to go to the balloon and back determines the range. By using the slant range and azimuth and elevation angles, the equipment computes the elevation, wind speed and wind direction and automatically prints the data on paper tape. The tests indicate that the PLT system is an accurate and fast method of measuring low-level winds. It could provide wind data without delay to such activities as rocket launchings.


The objective of this research was to analyze the relations among communicative ability, the degree of knowledge and the position within the makers' sociocultural system with the presence of noise in the elaboration process of accounting information. To this end, a questionnaire was applied with 233 professionals active in the labor market and the analyzes were conducted using logistic regression techniques and tests of difference between groups. As results, it was possible to verify that communicative ability and the degree of knowledge influence the presence of noise in the elaboration process, intended for the observation of positive and negative relations, respectively, for the academic education and professional experience proxies. These results contribute with evidences that there is a greater propensity for noise incurring by the makers with a higher degree of academic education, while the makers with greater professional experience or who work in the field of Financial Accounting incur a lower degree of noise.


Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are passive electronic components that are used in almost every electronic application and affect the product's life span. The most important goal of capacitor development is to extend the lifetime of electronics by improving the basic electrical parameters of the capacitor, the equivalent serial resistance (ESR), impedance (Z), and leakage current (LC). The development process is very complex, requiring many measurements and tests on the electrolyte and the capacitor.


This research studies the problem of finite-time chaos synchronization between two different chaotic systems with uncertain parameters and external disturbances. A nonsingular terminal sliding mode and super-twisting sliding mode control methods are proposed to solve this problem. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, the proposed control schemes can ensure the finite-time synchronization between the master and the slave chaotic systems under parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed control techniques.


Recent advances in cancer therapy are based on agents that specifically target the products of the genes mutated in cancer cells. Development of companion diagnostic tests for these agents can simplify the drug-discovery process, make clinical trials more efficient and informative, and be used to individualize the therapy of cancer patients. Companion diagnostic development has many challenges. Examples include the reluctance of drug companies to restrict the use of their drugs through biomarker tests, difficulties of developing companion diagnostics from discovery to clinical validation, and the regulatory challenges in developing effective mechanisms to synchronize reviews of therapeutics with diagnostic devices used to personalize treatment. This article addresses the various challenges in developing companion diagnostics along with the US FDA's approach to regulation of companion diagnostic devices.


The G-protein involved in alpha 1-adrenergic receptor signaling was identified using two different approaches. First, purified rat liver membranes were incubated with [alpha-32P]GTP in the absence or presence of the adrenergic agonist (-)-epinephrine, or in the presence of GTP. After UV irradiation, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and autoradiography, covalent labeling of a number of proteins was apparent and could be blocked by unlabeled GTP. In the preparation treated with (-)-epinephrine alone, labeling of a 74-kDa species was markedly enhanced. Enhanced labeling of 40-50-kDa species was also observed. Labeling of the 74-kDa protein was also evident in similarly treated membranes prepared from FRTL-5 thyroid cells, which contain abundant alpha 1-adrenergic receptors, but not in those prepared from turkey erythrocytes or NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, which are essentially devoid of alpha 1-receptors. Second, alpha 1-agonist-receptor-G-protein ternary complex formation was induced by incubating purified rat liver membranes with (-)-epinephrine. Rauwolscine (10(-7) M) and (+/-)-propranolol (10(-6) M) were included to prevent activation of alpha 2- and beta-adrenergic receptors by (-)-epinephrine. The ternary complex of hormone, receptor, and G-protein was solubilized, partially purified using heparin- and wheat germ agglutinin-agarose, and reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. The vesicles displayed agonist-stimulated guanosine 5'-O-3-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S) binding that was blocked by phentolamine (10(-4) M). By contrast, stimulation of GTP gamma S binding was not evident when the vesicles were incubated with the beta-agonist, isoproterenol. Incubation of the vesicles with [alpha-32P]GTP or [alpha-32P]azido-GTP in the presence of (-)-epinephrine, followed by photolysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and autoradiography, resulted in the covalent labeling of a 74-kDa protein. Labeling of this protein could be blocked by preincubation with phentolamine or unlabeled GTP. These findings provide direct evidence for the coupling of the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor to a previously uncharacterized G-protein (termed Gh), which has an apparent molecular mass of approximately 74 kDa.


Meiotic DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) initiate genetic recombination in discrete areas of the genome called recombination hotspots. DSBs can be directly mapped using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq). Nevertheless, the genome-wide mapping of recombination hotspots in mammals is still a challenge due to the low frequency of recombination, high heterogeneity of the germ cell population, and the relatively low efficiency of ChIP. To overcome these limitations we have developed a novel method—single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) sequencing (SSDS)—that specifically detects protein-bound single-stranded DNA at DSB ends. SSDS comprises a computational framework for the specific detection of ssDNA-derived reads in a sequencing library and a new library preparation procedure for the enrichment of fragments originating from ssDNA. The use of our technique reduces the nonspecific double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) background >10-fold. Our method can be extended to other systems where the identification of ssDNA or DSBs is desired.


We report on the bistability of a self-standing thin film caused by photothermal displacement. The sample consisted of a self-standing thin film placed in front of a mirror. By irradiating the self-standing thin film with continuous wave laser light, the self-standing thin film deflected with thermoelastic bending moment. Since a standing wave of the laser light was generated by the reflection of the mirror, the bending moment generated on the film was periodic along the optical axis. The displacement of the film was found to be bistable with the laser light intensity. Simultaneously, the light intensity reflected from the sample was also bistable. These phenomena are explained by the photothermal displacement of thin film in the standing wave of laser light.


: Antibody-dependent cytotoxicity (ADC) of peripheral blood blast cells in vitro was studied in 16 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 6 patients with acute monoblastic leukemia (AMonL), and 13 patients with acute myelomonoblastic leukemia (AMmL). It was found that monoblasts have a higher degree of ADC activities with respect to target cells than myeloblasts. Functional differences between monoblasts and myeloblasts may be used as criteria for differential diagnosis of acute leukemia variants.


Plasmonic nanoparticles have been demonstrated to enhance photocatalysis due to their strong photon absorption and efficient hot-carrier generation. However, plasmonic photocatalysts suffer from a short lifetime of plasmon-generated hot carriers that decay through internal relaxation pathways before being harnessed for chemical reactions. Here, we demonstrate the enhanced photocatalytic reduction of gold ions on gold nanorods functionalized with polyvinylpyrrolidone. The catalytic activities of the reaction are quantified by in situ monitoring of the spectral evolution of single nanorods using a dark-field scattering microscope. We observe a 13-fold increase in the reduction rate with the excitation of d-sp interband transition compared to dark conditions, and a negligible increase in the reduction rate when excited with intraband transition. The hole scavenger only plays a minor role in the photocatalytic reduction reaction. We attribute the enhanced photocatalysis to an efficient charge separation at the gold–polyvinylpyrrolidone interface, where photogenerated d-band holes at gold transfer to the HOMO of polyvinylpyrrolidone, leading to the prolonged lifetime of the electrons that subsequently reduce gold ions to gold atoms. These results provide new insight into the design of plasmonic photocatalysts with capping ligands.


We measured the 14( content of atmospheric methane at a 200-m-high sampling station in The Netherlands. Combined with trajectories and a transport model, it is possible to estimate the 14CH4 emissions from nuclear power plants in northwestern Europe. We demonstrate here two different methods of analyzing the data: forward modeling and an inverse method. Our data suggest that the emissions from pressurized water reactors are 260 ± 50 GBq per GW installed power per year, ca. 1.6 ± 0.4 times higher than generally assumed. We also find that, in addition to the known nuclear sources of 14CH4 (pressurized and boiling water reactors), there are two very strong sources of 14CH4 (520 ± 200 and 1850 ± 450 GBq yr-1, respectively), probably two test reactors near the sampling station.


Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) covers up to a third of all venous thromboses (VTs) detected in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It usually hampers patients' lives and may also endanger efficient leukemia treatment. Although many factors have been suggested to account for an elevated risk of VTs in patients with ALL, there still is a lack of studies focusing on CVTs and especially in the setting of adult ALL patients. We studied in our retrospective population‐based cohort the occurrence, characteristics, as well as risk factors for VTs in 186 consecutively diagnosed Finnish adult ALL patients treated with a national pediatric‐inspired treatment protocol ALL2000. In the risk factor analyses for VTs we found a distinction of the characteristics of the patients acquiring CVT from those with other kinds of VTs or without thrombosis. In contrast to previous studies we were also able to compare the effects of asparaginase in relation to CVT occurrence. Notably, more than half of the CVTs were diagnosed prior the administration of asparaginase which accentuates the role of other risk factors on the pathophysiology of CVT compared to truncal or central venous line (CVL) VTs in adult ALL patients.


ABSTRACT: This study aims to analyze the processes on the IP Radio assurance business process that contribute to the value of MTTR Radio IP and evaluate business process that meet the MTTR target of IP Radio with simulation design. This study uses theoretical approach to Business Process Rengineering and Business Process Simulation. This research uses Arena simulators to carry out the design simulation of the IP Radio assurance business process. The results of this study indicate that the dominant processes on the IP Radio assurance business processes are toubleshooting, spare parts request, travel time directly to site, location permission, technical tlosed, and analysis. The assurance business process that can meet the MTTR Radio IP targets is the IP Radio assurance business process that eliminates spare part request process and simplifies the troubleshooting process, spare part request, direct travel time to site, location permission, technical closed, and analysis


Deformation and fracture of brittle materials, especially crack propagation, have drawn wide attention in recent years. But dynamic crack propagation under impact loading was not well understood. In this paper, we experimentally tested Brazilian disk (BD) fine sandstone specimens containing pre-cracks under cyclic impact loading by the Φ 74mm diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test device. -e pre-cracked specimens were named central straight through crack flattened Brazilian disk (CSCFBD). By using the low air-pressure loading conditions (0.1MPa, equal to the impact velocity of 3.76m/s), a series of dynamic impact tests were detected successfully, and the effects of pre-cracks on dynamic properties were analyzed. Experimental results show that the multiple cracks mostly initiate at/or near the pre-crack tips and then propagate in different paths and directions varying by inclination angles, leading to the ultimate failure. Compared to static or quasi-static loading, dynamic crack propagation and fracture behavior are obviously different. Furthermore, we characterized the crack propagation paths, directions, and fracture patterns and discussed the influences of the pre-cracks during the breakage process. We concluded that the results obtained are significant in investigating the failure mechanism and mechanical properties of brittle materials under impact loading.


An investigation of the stress around a buried hemispherical excavation, using finite-element methods, was undertaken to analyze and compare the effect of orientation relative to an assumed in situ stress field. Measured values for physical properties of the rock and for the assumed in situ stress were obtained from nearby locations. This analysis deals only with stress considerations and does not include geologic factors such as joints, joint frequency, and joint orientation. The most stable orientation of the hemispherical excavation is that in which the base is perpendicular to the direction of the minimum principal stress axis of the assumed in situ stress field. For this orientation the base strikes N. 15/sup 0/ E and dips 78/sup 0/ NW and the curved portion of the hemispherical excavation could be located on either side of the base.


In this paper, American multinational corporations (MNCs)
website positioning was examined in Poland and the Czech
Republic, in terms of (1) the standardization of visual
components, (2) the localization of textual information, and
(3) the enhancement of corporate website functions. Using
website content analysis techniques, we evaluated the
similarity between the home (US) and host sites, as well as the
existence of a series of website functions. The findings
suggest that American MNCs tend to apply a high level of visual
components in Poland and Czech sites, while the level of
standardization in textual messages is notably low in both
countries.


We show that multilayer microstructures consisting of loop resonators exhibit characteristics for broadband-stop filters. The parameters describing the resonators have been varied to optimize their influences on the performances of the band-stop filters. By investigating near-field distributions and employing the coupled Drude-Lorentz-type resonance model, the mechanism for the broadband attenuation is attributed to longitudinal coupling between each layer and reinforced resonance within the planar microstructures. The multilayer microstructures can be modulated for tuning bandwidths and center frequencies as well as ensuring the same filtering effect regardless of the polarization.


The worldwide challenge of stroke is massive with 16 million new cases each year, about six million of which result in death (1,2). The greatest burden is in the developing world with 60% of the global burden, where the incidence is rising and compounded by the increased challenge of advances in life expectancy (2,3). The annual World Stroke Day (WSD) promotes stroke awareness to the international community. It is part of our World Stroke Campaign (WSC), which provides education, support and advocacy for stroke survivors, families and healthcare professionals involved in all aspects of stroke treatment and rehabilitation. The mission statement of the World Stroke Organization (WSO) is to reduce the global burden of stroke through prevention, treatment and long-term care. We have numerous strategies in place aimed at achieving this vision, by fostering best practice worldwide. These involve increasing stroke awareness amongst health professionals, influencing policies for stroke prevention and improved health services, providing education in collaboration with private and public organizations, facilitating stroke research and advocacy for people with stroke and fostering the development of systems and organizations for the long-term support of stroke survivors and their families. The structure of the WSO is inclusive, represents all world regions and involves doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, scientists, representatives of professional stroke organizations and stroke support organizations. The WSD was launched at the instigation of Vladimir Hachinski, as part of a call to action (4). It is held on October 29 each year and provides a focus for the many global and regional projects of the World Stroke Campaign. Activities have increased exponentially in the last few years. It currently has a '1 in 6' theme, representing the one in six people in the world who will have a stroke in their lifetime and uses the slogan 'Because I care'. It is aimed at educating people about the best ways to minimize their risk of stroke, facilitate access to the best possible treatment, care and support along the pathway to recovery. The WSO has a universal symbol representing the connectivity between clinicians, patients and carers, the stroke solidarity string, which is prominently featured on our WSD. This indigocolored string, worn around the wrist, is an international symbol of global solidarity, analogous to the pink ribbon for breast cancer. WSD awards are also a highlight. Recent awards in 2012 to centers of excellence in Mexico, Brazil and Mongolia recognized statewide campaigns to raise stroke awareness, evaluation of the role of primary care physicians, promotion of the '1 in 6' message in sporting events, and other public educational and advocacy activities. Stroke support organizations play a key role in the WSO, but are lacking in many developing regions. We have developed a WSO toolkit, which teaches people how to set up stroke support organizations in any setting. This helps to address the concerns of stroke survivors and their care givers, represents their views, facilitates the organization of services and support in the community, raises awareness and allows stroke survivors to share stories. The toolkit also supports regional government initiatives. The WSO is developing a global Bill of Rights for stroke patients and carers, who will lead in writing this document and determine their priorities. It will consider survivor rights across the continuum from prevention, to acute care, rehabilitation and long-term support, in line with the WSO mission. It will be launched at the World Stroke Congress in Istanbul in October 2014. Stroke prevention is the most cost-effective way of reducing the global burden of stroke and the WSO is closely affiliated with the non-communicable disease (NCD) alliance, partnering with other organizations including those representing heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The target is to reduce the world burden of NCDs by 25% by 2025. Many strategies are common to all NCDs. We have recently formed an alliance with the World Hypertension League and are also involved in promotion of salt and tobacco reduction. We strongly advocate organized care in stroke units. These are cost-effective, proven to be effective in developing regions in low-income countries, as well as in resource rich settings (5). Post-stroke care is another plank of the WSO. The many millions of stroke survivors in the world are at risk of recurrent stroke and the majority of them have some degree of disability. We have therefore assisted in the development of the post-stroke checklist, which identifies 11 complications that can occur after stroke and should be considered by healthcare professionals looking after stroke patients (6). These domains include secondary stroke prevention, activities of daily living, mobility, mood, spasticity, cognition, pain, incontinence, communication, life after stroke, and relationships with family. Finally, the WSO has a major focus on global policy, working in our official partnership with the World Health Organization. This partnership will also be prominently featured on WSD, underpinning our efforts to reduce the global burden of stroke. We encourage all those involved in stroke, both individual and member societies of the WSO, to be involved and contribute to the success of WSD. Together we can make a change.


Background: Total en bloc spondylectomy (TES) for the treatment of spinal tumors decreases local recurrence and improves survival compared with intralesional resection. TES approaches vary in both the number of stages to complete the procedure and instruments with which osteotomies are performed. Methods: We describe a 2-stage technique that employs the use of threadwire saws. We performed a retrospective review of cases of primary tumors and solitary metastases involving the thoracic or lumbar spine treated with use of our modified technique at our institution between 2010 and 2016, identifying eligible patients by searching for specific phrases in operative reports found in our oncologic database. Clinical notes, operative notes, imaging reports, and pathology reports were reviewed for all patients. Results: Thirty-three patients underwent our modified technique, in which we pass a threadwire saw between the vertebral body and the thecal sac. The most common tumor type was chordoma (64%), and tumors were most commonly located in the lumbar spine (61%). There were no intraoperative injuries to the spinal cord or great vessels. One patient experienced a dural tear secondary to the passage of a saw. Seventeen (52%) of the patients had perioperative complications, with 1 death. Seven (22%) of the patients had complications occurring within 90 days after discharge, and 8 (25%) had complications occurring >90 days after discharge. Instrumentation failure was observed in 8 cases (25%). Negative margins were obtained in 94% of the cases. Local recurrence was observed in 2 cases (6%). The majority of patients had normal motor function at the time of the most recent follow-up. Conclusions: Our modified en bloc spondylectomy represents an effective technique for the resection of spinal tumors in selected patients, allowing for visualization of vessels anterior to the spine and the avoidance of spinal cord injury. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


A data access architecture is provided that includes a mapping architecture for mapping data as may be used by an application to data as persisted in a database. The mapping architecture makes use of two types of mapping views-a query view that helps in translating queries and an update view that helps in translating updates. Incremental view maintenance can be used to translate data between the application and database.


Deep neural networks are parameterised by weights that encode feature representations, whose performance is dictated through generalisation by using large-scale feature-rich datasets. The lack of large-scale labelled 3D medical imaging datasets restrict constructing such generalised networks. In this work, a novel 3D segmentation network, Fabric Image Representation Networks (FIRENet), is proposed to extract and encode generalisable feature representations from multiple medical image datasets in a large-scale manner. FIRENet learns image specific feature representations by way of 3D fabric network architecture that contains exponential number of sub-architectures to handle various protocols and coverage of anatomical regions and structures. The fabric network uses Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling (ASPP) extended to 3D to extract local and image-level features at a fine selection of scales. The fabric is constructed with weighted edges allowing the learnt features to dynamically adapt to the training data at an architecture level. Conditional padding modules, which are integrated into the network to reinsert voxels discarded by feature pooling, allow the network to inherently process different-size images at their original resolutions. FIRENet was trained for feature learning via automated semantic segmentation of pelvic structures and obtained a state-of-the-art median DSC score of 0.867. FIRENet was also simultaneously trained on MR (Magnatic Resonance) images acquired from 3D examinations of musculoskeletal elements in the (hip, knee, shoulder) joints and a public OAI knee dataset to perform automated segmentation of bone across anatomy. Transfer learning was used to show that the features learnt through the pelvic segmentation helped achieve improved mean DSC scores of 0.962, 0.963, 0.945 and 0.986 for automated segmentation of bone across datasets.


A key consideration for development of energy and climate policy affecting the forestry and agricultural sectors is that the selection of specific mechanisms implemented to achieve bioenergy production and/or greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation targets may have substantial effects on landowner incentives to adopt alternative practices. For instance, the prices of allowances and offsets are expected to diverge under some policies being considered where there is a binding cap on the quantity of offsets from the agricultural and forest sectors. In addition, provisions that limit or exclude specific practices from receiving carbon payments will affect the quantity and cost of GHG mitigation opportunities available. In this study, the recently updated Forest and Agriculture Sector Optimization Model with GHGs (FASOMGHG) was used to estimate GHG mitigation potential for private land in the contiguous U.S. under a variety of GHG price policies. Model scenarios suggest that U.S. forestry and agriculture could provide mitigation of 200 – 1000 megatons carbon dioxide equivalent per year (Mt CO2e/year) at carbon prices of $15 to $50/tCO2e. Binding limits on offsets have increasingly large effects on both the total magnitude and distribution of GHG mitigation across options over time. In addition, discounting or excluding payments for forest sinks can reduce annualized land-based mitigation potential 37-90 percent relative to the full eligibility scenario whereas discounting or excluding agricultural practices reduces mitigation potential by less than 10 percent.


During cellular stress, protein synthesis is severely reduced and bulk mRNA is recruited to stress granules (SGs). Previously, we showed that the SG-recruited IGF2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1) interferes with target mRNA degradation during cellular stress. Whether this requires the formation of SGs remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the sustained inhibition of visible SGs requires the concomitant knockdown of TIA1, TIAR and G3BP1. FRAP and photo-conversion studies, however, indicate that these proteins only transiently associate with SGs. This suggests that instead of forming a rigid scaffold for mRNP recruitment, TIA proteins and G3BP1 promote SG-formation by constantly replenishing mRNPs. In contrast, RNA-binding proteins like IGF2BP1 or HUR, which are dispensable for SG-assembly, are stably associated with SGs and the IGF2BP1/HUR-G3BP1 association is increased during stress. The depletion of IGF2BP1 enhances the degradation of target mRNAs irrespective of inhibiting SG-formation, whereas the turnover of bulk mRNA remains unaffected when SG-formation is impaired. Together these findings indicate that the stabilization of mRNAs during cellular stress is facilitated by the formation of stable mRNPs, which are recruited to SGs by TIA proteins and/or G3BP1. Importantly, however, the aggregation of mRNPs to visible SGs is dispensable for preventing mRNA degradation.


It is my purpose to describe an improved type of scleroplasty. It has been developed at the University of Oregon Medical School during the past decade for the treatment of those types of retinal detachment which ordinarily do not respond to conventional transcleral diathermy. This operation has been named scleral imbrication, because the outer layers of the sclera are undermined and then overlapped in one or more quadrants of the globe. The technique was described briefly at the 1953 meeting of the Section of Ophthalmology of the American Medical Association. 1 Since that time others have recognized the scleral imbrication. 2,3 As compared with other types of lamellar scleroplasty, scleral imbrication has several advantages. In the course of the procedure, the deeper layers of the sclera are exposed over a wide area. This permits accurate localization of retinal breaks before any diathermy is applied. This is possible because the choroid


A visible image-based face recognition system can be seriously degraded in real-life environments by various factors including illumination changes, expression changes, occlusion, and disguise. In this paper, a novel feature descriptor for robust face recognition, Eigen Directional Bit-Plane (EDBP), is introduced to address these issues. It is observed that Local Binary Pattern (LBP) can be decomposed into 8 directional bit-planes (DBP), each of which represents certain directional information of the facial image. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is then applied to the DBP space to obtain a more compact feature, the EDBP. For face recognition, the proposed EDBP is integrated into conventional state-of-the-art classification methods. Simulation results demonstrate that classifiers with EDBP outperform those with existing feature descriptors under illumination changes, expression changes, occlusion, and disguise.


Various compositional photovoltaic cells based on the blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as donors and TiO2 nanocrystals as acceptors are fabricated and investigated. It is demonstrated that the blend ratio of P3HT and TiO2 nanocrystals could greatly influence the performance of the photovoltaic cells. The maximum of 0.411% in power conversion efficiency under AM 1.5, 100mW/cm2, and 44.4% of fill factor are obtained in the solar cell with the blend weight ratio 1:1 of P3HT and TiO2 nanocrystals. The function of nanocrystal composition is discussed in terms of the results of photoluminescence spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and charge transport I–V curve.


Motivation: Cross-country growth regressions indicate that institutions are important for growth. Some institutions are created, protected and enforced by the government — they are the institutions of state. The most important for economic growth are: economic freedom and protection of property rights, political freedom (or democracy), quality of governance and the rule of law. Institutions are especially important in transition countries. Two questions arise: were institutions important for economic growth in transition countries during the financial crisis? What happened to the institutions of state during the financial crisis? Aim: The aim of the second part of this article is to verify two hypothesis about institutions and economic growth in transition countries, which were put forward in the first part of this article. In order to estimate the relationship between institutions and economic growth in transition countries during the crisis, a cross-sectional regression was conducted. Additionally the Granger causality test was conducted. Results: The obtained results indicate that during the recession, in countries were before the crisis the institutions were worse, the pace of the economic growth was greater (hypothesis 1 should be rejected). In order to verify hypothesis 2 that the economic growth contributes to changes in state institutions in such a way that the faster the pace of growth the greater the improvement in state institutions a cross-sectional regression was used and the Granger causality test was conducted. Obtained results do not confirm the hyORIGINAL ARTICLE received 13.10.2015; revised 18.06.2016; accepted 31.12.2016 Citation: Piątek, D. (2016). Institutions and economic growth in transition countries — new experiences and implications from financial crisis 2007–2010 (Part 2). Ekonomia i Prawo. Ecomomics and Law, 15(4): 527–545. doi:10.12775/EiP.2016.036. EKONOMIA I PRAWO. ECONOMICS AND LAW, 15(4): 527–545 528 pothesis 2. The estimates of parameters were in line with the expectations but statistically insignificant.


The success of aloe vera as business commodity in co-partnership pattern, like that between PT Kavera Biotech and the collective work cluster (KUB) of aloe vera farmers in Kecamatan Beji, Depok, needs an accurate evaluation. The objective of this research were to (1) investigate the co-partnership business, (2) analyze the feasibility, and (3) analyze the development strategy. The data were collected by observation, interview, and questionnaire. The location selection was done purposively based on the consideration that the location had been used as sampling for aloe vera cultivation. The feasibility of business was valued using the methods of PBP, NPV, BCR, IRR, and BEP. Analysis of enterprise development strategy using the Input Stage (EFE and IFE), Matching Stage (SWOT and IE), and Decision Stage (QSPM). The result of this study showed that the aloe vera business with co-partnership pattern based on Analysis I was feasible to be managed in 6 KUBs; while the one based on Analysis II was feasible to be managed in 5 KUBs. Analysis I on the farmers with house-yard cultivation field or pot cultivation resulted that it was feasible to be managed, while the Analysis II on the farmers in KUB Tanah Baru and Kemiri Muka resulted that they were not feasible to be managed. In the meantime, the aloe vera cultivation in abandon field in KUB Pondok Cina and Tanah Baru were feasible to be managed based on Analysis I and II. The farmers with house-yard cultivation field or pot cultivation in small scale ( 500 plants) on Analysis I and II that it was feasible to be managed. The best result of the development strategies is the need to increase the productivity in utilizing the increasing demand of aloe vera materials. The implementation of the strategy is performed by advancing the work cluster along with its supporter effectively and efficiently. Key words: aloe vera, collective work cluster (KUB), co-partnership strategy, feasibility study


BACKGROUND
Undergraduate degree projects have currently been introduced into courses in the four Swedish dental schools. The rationale for research projects is that they enable students to develop research expertise skills and to show their ability to apply and develop knowledge relevant to professional practice. This paper reports a qualitative analysis of the curriculum documents and handbooks including the criteria used to assess the students' research reports. The aim was to investigate commonalities and differences in the design of degree projects between the four Swedish dental schools and to explore any inconsistencies within the documents.

METHODS
The documentary analysis was based on the constant comparison method.

RESULTS
Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis: (i) developing scientific expertise, (ii) developing professional expertise, (iii) following rules and (iv) fostering creativity.

CONCLUSIONS
The documents from the four dental schools revealed similar views on the purposes of the projects and provided similar assessment criteria. The students were requested to formulate an odontological problem, apply a relevant scientific method, analyse texts and empirical data, express critical reflections and write a short thesis. The students were free to choose topics. There were differences between the dental schools on the emphasis placed on practical uses of the projects and theoretical background of the projects. Two of the schools insisted on rigid rules of completing and writing the project yet paradoxically emphasised creativity. There were wide variations in the required length of the project report. The report may prove useful to dental schools in other countries who are about to design undergraduate research projects.


In Ciphertext Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE) system, a set of attributes is associated with the private keys of each user. Also, the ciphertext is attached with a policy which is defined over that set of attributes. A user can decrypt the ciphertext if the ciphertext's policy is satisfied by the attributes associated hith her private key. Traditional CP-ABE schemes, based on number theoretic problems, rely on a trustworthy central authority. But in many distributed applications it is expected that such authorities should be decentralized to avoid the risks of single-point failure. While the number theory-based hardness problems are prone to quantum attacks, lattice-based hardness problems can resist such attacks. In this paper, we construct a Decentralized Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (DCP-ABE) scheme. Under this scheme, any participating entity can act as an authority by creating a public key. The athority utilizes the users' attributes to generate the private keys for them. Any user can encrypt data in terms of any monotone access structure over attributes issued from any chosen set of authorities. Hence the protocol does not depend on any central authority. We utilize Learning With Errors over Rings (R-LWE) as the underlying hardness assumption for te protocol. The proposed post-quantum protocol achieves security under selective-set model whereby adversaries are allowed to corrupt any authority only statically through adaptive key queries. Keyword: Security, CP-ABE, Decentralized, Lattice


Evolved stars and planetary nebulae are rich and varied sites of molecule and dust formation. These objects undergo dramatic mass loss which ultimately enriches the interstellar medium. In this thesis, a number of studies, outlined below, have been undertaken to better understand the chemical and physical properties of these diverse objects. A molecular line survey of a sample of evolved stars and planetary nebulae has been carried out using the Mopra radio telescope, Australia. Transitions with hyperfine structure have been fitted to constrain optical depths. The population diagram method was applied to determine the rotation temperatures of molecules which had multiple transitions available. Column densities have been calculated for all detected species and isotopic ratios measured where possible. The results include the corroboration of the classification of II Lup as a J-type star. The 89.087 GHz HCN maser was detected in IRAS 15082-4808 for the first time from the aforementioned survey, bringing the total number of detections of this maser to ten. The velocity shift of this maser has been measured at ?2.0+/-0.9 km/s. Drawing on literature data in addition to the survey data, the variation of maser intensity with pulsation phase has been investigated across all sources for the first time. Comparing these masers with model atmospheres constrains the formation region to between 2 and 4 stellar radii. CO in the circumstellar envelope of II Lup has been modelled using the radiative transfer codes GASTRoNOoM, and ComboCode. The models have demonstrated that a ?standard? smooth model does not satisfactorily reproduce the combined CO observations of PACS, JCMT, Mopra and APEX. Two potential solutions are proposed: a discontinuous temperature model, requiring the presence of an efficient cooling molecule that is most effective in the region 75-200 R*, or a variable mass loss model that requires a factor of ten increase inmass loss in the same region. Zinc abundances, a proxy for iron abundances, have been determined for a sample of Galactic planetary nebulae using the [Zn IV] 3.625 ?m line. O++/O has been shown to be a reliable ionisation correction factor for Zn3+ from Cloudy photoionisation models. The majority of the sample are sub-solar in [Zn/H] and enriched in [O/Zn]. Zinc abundances as functions of Galactocentric distance have also been investigated and no evidence for a trend has been found.


Astronomical widefield imaging of interferometric radio data is computationally expensive, especially for the large data volumes created by modern non-coplanar many-element arrays. We present a new widefield interferometric imager that uses the w-stacking algorithm and can make use of the w-snapshot algorithm. The performance dependencies of CASA's w-projection and our new imager are analysed and analytical functions are derived that describe the required computing cost for both imagers. On data from the Murchison Widefield Array, we find our new method to be an order of magnitude faster than w-projection, as well as being capable of full-sky imaging at full resolution and with correct polarisation correction. We predict the computing costs for several other arrays and estimate that our imager is a factor of 2-12 faster, depending on the array configuration. We estimate the computing cost for imaging the low-frequency Square-Kilometre Array observations to be 60 PetaFLOPS with current techniques. We find that combining w-stacking with the w-snapshot algorithm does not significantly improve computing requirements over pure w-stacking. The source code of our new imager is publicly released.


Entrepreneurial culture has emerged as a powerful means of development in many countries of the world and can be regarded as a source of innovation and as a key to sustainable unemployment.The national economic outlook, which was established by the High Commission for Planning, predicts economic growth of only 2.6% in 2016, this growth will not provide sufficient employment.Morocco seeks to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of young Moroccans in order to encourage the creation, development of enterprises and the remuneration of investment in the service of employment through various policies that promote the " innovation.Students and university graduates (including students from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez) are the most involved social group. Through this research, we will try to describe the entrepreneurial culture of students through a field study.Our article is structured in the following way. In the first part, we try to treat the entrepreneurial culture by trying to take a general look, first of all, on its definition, then on the myths of entrepreneurship. In our second part, we talk about the entrepreneurial culture at the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University and the promotion of this culture among students through a field survey.Since 2011, the university has also initiated the program "innova project", whose mission is to organize training courses for business creation and innovation for the benefit of students from different institutions.


The Second Language Learning Processes of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties is the only recent book available to offer a detailed and in-depth discussion of the second language learning processes of students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs). It summarizes research advances in the fields of cognitive andeducational psychology and integrates them with recent studies in the area of second language acquisition (SLA). Thus the book is relevant not only to readers who are particularly interested in the role of specific learning difficulties in learning additional languages, but also to those who would like to understand how individual differences in cognitive functioning influence SLA. The book focuses on four important areas that are particularly relevant for language learners with SpLDs: the processes of SLA in general and the development of reading skills in particular, the effectiveness of pedagogical programmes, the assessment of the language competence of students with SpLDs and identifying SpLDs in another language. The book also views learners with SpLDs in their social and educational contexts and elaborates how the barriers in these contexts can affect their language learning processes. This is an excellent resource for language teachers, students and researchers in the areas of second language acquisition and applied linguistics.


The Human Genome Project is rapidly producing insights into the molecular basis of human genetic disorders. The most immediate clinical benefit is the advent of new diagnostic methods. Molecular diagnostic tools are available for several genetic renal disorders and are in development for many more. Two general approaches to molecular diagnosis are linkage-based testing and direct mutation detection. The former is used when the gene has not been cloned but has been mapped in relation to polymorphic loci. Linkage-based testing is also helpful when a large diversity of mutations makes direct detection difficult. Limitations include the need to study multiple family members, the need for informative polymorphisms, and genetic heterogeneity. Direct mutation detection is limited by genetic heterogeneity and the need to distinguish nonpathogenic allelic variants from pathogenic mutations. Molecular testing raises a number of complex ethical issues, including those associated with prenatal or presymptomatic diagnosis. In addition, there are concerns about informed consent, privacy, genetic discrimination, and technology transfer for newly developed tests. Health professionals need to be aware of the technical and ethical implications of these new methods of testing, as well as the complexities in test interpretation, as molecular approaches are increasingly integrated into medical practice.


This publication is a digest of press releases and other announcements issued by partners across the aviation industry from May October 2011. It is not fully comprehensive, but provides a snapshot of the work being undertaken around the world by all parts of the aviation industry. Readers are encouraged to visit http://newswire.enviro.aero for the latest environmental news. Environmental news from across the aviation industry


In a patient treated with intravenous streptokinase, inflammation developed at the infusion site followed by permanent ulnar and median neuropathy. Although adverse streptokinase infusion site reactions have been reported to the Food and Drug Administration, no other cases have been reported in the medical literature. We suggest that extravasated streptokinase may produce permanent ulnar and median neuropathy.


We consider a single‐band approximation to the random Schrodinger operator in an external magnetic field. The random potential is taken to be constant on unit squares and i.i.d. on each square with a bounded distribution. We prove that the eigenstates corresponding to energies at the edges of the Landau band are localized. This is an important ingredient in the theory of the Quantum Hall Effect.


[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Breastfeeding confers numerous health benefits upon both nursing infants and their mothers, many of which increase as breastfeeding duration increases. These benefits have led to recommendations that mothers exclusively breastfeed their infants six months, continuing through at least the first year of life with the addition of complementary foods. Current breastfeeding rates fall short of these recommendations, and a growing disparity exists between women of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Although many factors contribute to breastfeeding cessation, little is understood about the ways in which women make weaning decisions. This study explored the process of weaning from the perspective of low-income women within the context of their own breastfeeding experiences. Low-income women who were in the process of weaning or who had recently weaned a breastfed child were theoretically sampled from rural communities in northeast Missouri. Individual interviews were conducted with 15 mothers who collectively had breastfed 30 children. Grounded theory method and constant comparative analysis were used to gather and analyze data. The resulting theory explains the psychosocial process through which women are empowered through breastfeeding and weaning. Throughout this process women actively build a base of support and information, make their own decisions, and discover much about themselves. Implications for nursing practice and research are discussed.


Background: Proteinases control all metabolic processes involved in neurotransmitter receptor signalling in coordinating the process of fibrinolysis, hemocoagulation, activation of the complement system. In critical conditions there is an infringement of dynamic equilibrium between the proteases and their inhibitors, which is an important link in the pathogenesis of many diseases. In literature there is no data on patterns of change proteases and their inhibitors in the bloodstream after esophagus burning injuries. These experimental data would allow to assess the nature of reparation process in case of esophagus burning, and accordingly develop effective methods of proteolysis targeted correction. Aim: To investigate features of proteolytic enzymes system and their inhibitors in the pathogenesis post burning process. Methods: Chemical burns in animals were experimentally modeled in the following way: alkaline esophageal burn was caused by 20% NaOH and acid esophageal burn was caused by 30% CCl3COOH. The total proteolytic activity analyzed by method of caseinolytic activity with modifications. The level of α1-AT and α2-MG were determined using the method Nartykova. Results: The result of the research it's shown that the development of alkali burn there was observed increased activity of MMP and serine proteases on 15 th and 21 st day against a background of increased levels of α2-MG. However when modelling acid burn, decrease of proteolytic enzymes on 15 th and 21 st day and increased α1-AT level during experiment was observed. Conclusion: As a result of the research there were showed different dynamics of changes in alkaline and acid burns of the esophagus. Thus, the results may indicate inflammation at the latest experiment terms in modelling the esophagus alkali burns.


This paper presents an approach to enhance semantic interoperability between semantic resources for the construction sector. It extends the approach developed by the FUNSIEC project through a set of propositions intended to increase the quantity and the quality of semantic mappings. The evaluation of the semantic mappings targets two directions, i.e. to assess the quality of the mappings using fuzzy logic techniques and to calculate how much a specific mapping is appropriate to a user context. Conclusions and further work are also discussed here.


The healthcare section of the 2008-2012 Alzheimer plan allowed for the creation and development of cognitive-behaviour units for patients suffering from productive behaviour disorders linked to Alzheimer's disease or related diseases. While still not widely known among professionals, these units meet precise specifications and offer specific forms of nursing care.


CoVID-19 pandemic forced a countrywide lockdown in the Philippines from March 16, 2020 to May 15, 2020 and extended to May 31, 2020 in Metro Manila and some parts of Central Luzon. Because of these forced restrictions, the air pollution level in Metro Manila drastically slowed down just a few weeks upon the implementation of the lockdown. Therefore, this study aimed to establish a preliminary case review on the implications of the lockdown to the air quality in the country's capital with the aid of data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Airtoday.ph station. The empirical analysis revealed that when Metro Manila was under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), tropospheric nitrogen oxide (NO2) dropped by approximately 52% compared to the 2019 levels in the same period. The city also registered the lowest PM 2.5 air pollution levels during the first 30 days of the lockdown with an average of 11.59 ug/m3. Moreover, the satellite image from the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM), UP Diliman showed a lower Atmospheric Optical Depth (AOD) of 0.01, which means that the air is clean during the lockdown period when compared with the AOD value during the same period in 2018 and 2019. At the Lung Center of the Philippines, a comparison of pre-ECQ and ECQ air quality levels showed that PM2.5 is reduced from 80% to 180%, particularly during evenings and early mornings. A similar trend along EDSA Munoz, where 70-90% reduction of PM 2.5 was observed since the ECQ. Overall, the study revealed that lockdown measures, fortunately, have brought the opportunity to rationalize human impact on the environment. Although we could say those travel restrictions or lockdown is an unconventional measure to air pollution prevention and control, it is possible to improve air quality by reducing nonessential individual movements by highlighting the importance of fuel-free activities or implementing short-term lockdowns (3-5 days).


The exceptional resonances excited by symmetry-protected quasi-bound states in the continuum (QBICs) have provided significant potential in high-sensitive sensing applications. Herein, we have proposed a type of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) absorbers supported by QBIC-induced resonances, and the ideal Q-factors of QBIC-induced resonances can be enhanced up to 105 in the THz regime. The coupled mode theory and the multipole scattering theory are employed to thoroughly interpret the QBIC-induced absorption mechanism. Furthermore, the refractive index sensing capacities of the as-presented absorbers have been investigated, where the maximum values of the sensing sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) can reach up to 187 GHz per refractive index unit and 286, respectively. Therefore, it is believed that the proposed absorbers enabled by QBIC-induced resonances hold promising potential in a broad range of highly demanding sensing applications.


Typically, genome scans for complex disease have produced linkage peaks which have proved difficult to replicate in additional independent studies. Here we confirm that this may be due to the large variance in magnitude and position of the linkage statistics when maximized across a region. Simulations suggest that for genes of moderate effect (locus‐specific sibling relative risks λsin the range 1.23–1.39), sample sizes of less than 500 affected sib pairs will give unacceptably large standard errors in the magnitudes and locations of significant linkage results. For genes of small effect (λs≤ 1.13), sample sizes in the region of 1000–2000 pairs may be required to achieve consistency of results between different studies. These figures have important implications for our confidence in location estimates for disease genes obtained from linkage studies of modest size. In particular, collection of larger data sets and/or analysis strategies such as conditioning or narrowing the phenotype definition, in order to increase the relative effect size, may be required before embarking on positional cloning.


One of the most significant challenges in performing infrared (IR) polarimetery is the focal plane array (FPA) nonuniformity (NU) noise that is inherent in virtually all IR photodetector technologies that operate in the midwave IR (MWIR) or long-wave IR (LWIR). NU noise results from pixel-to-pixel variations in the repsonsivity of the photodetectors. This problem is especially severy in the microengineered IR FPA materials like HgCdTe and InSb, as well as in uncooled IR microbolometer sensors. Such problems are largely absent from Si based visible spectrum FPAs. The pixel response is usually a variable nonlinear response function, and even when the response is linearized over some range of temperatures, the gain and offset of the resulting response is usually highly variable. NU noise is normally corrected by applying a linear calibration to the data, but the resulting imagery still retains residual nonuniformity due to the nonlinearity of the photodetector responses. This residual nonuniformity is particularly troublesome for polarimeters because of the addition and subtraction operations that must be performed on the images in order to construct the Stokes parameters or other polarization products. In this paper we explore the impact of NU noise on full stokes and linear-polarization-only IR polarimeters. We compare the performance of division of time, division of amplitude, and division of array polarimeters in the presence of both NU and temporal noise, and assess the ability of calibration-based NU correction schemes to clean up the data.


The reaction dynamics of vibrationally excited vinyl bromide have been investigated using classical trajectory methods on a neural network potential surface that is fitted to an ab initio database of 12 122 configuration energies obtained from electronic structure calculations conducted at the MP4(SDQ) level of theory using a 6-31G(d,p) basis set for the carbon and hydrogen atoms and Huzinaga's (43334334) basis set augmented with split outer s and p orbitals (4332143214) and a polarization f orbital with an exponent of 0.5 for the bromine atom. The sampling of the 12-dimensional configuration hyperspace of vinyl bromide prior to execution of the electronic structure calculations is accomplished by combining novelty-sampling methods, chemical intuition, and trajectory sampling on empirical and neural network surfaces. The final potential is obtained using a two-layer feed-forward neural network comprising 38 and 1 neurons, respectively, with hyperbolic tangent sigmoid and linear transfer functions in the hidden and output layers, respectively. The fitting is accomplished using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm with early stopping and Bayesian regularization methods to avoid overfitting. The interpolated potentials have a standard deviation from the ab initio results of 0.0578 eV, which is within the range generally regarded as "chemical accuracy" for the purposes of electronic structure calculations. It is shown that the potential surface may be easily and conveniently transferred from one research group to another. The files required for transfer of the vinyl bromide surface can be obtained from the Electronic Physics Auxiliary Publication Service. Total dissociation rate coefficients for vinyl bromide are obtained at five different excitation energies between 4.50 and 6.44 eV. Branching ratios into each of the six open reaction channels are computed at 24 vibrational energies in the range between 4.00 and 6.44 eV. The distribution of vibrational energies in HBr formed via three-center dissociation from vinyl bromide is determined and compared with previous theoretical and experimental results. It is concluded that the combination of ab initio electronic structure calculations, novelty sampling with chemical intuition and trajectories on empirical analytic surfaces, and feed-forward neural networks provides a viable framework in which to execute purely ab initio molecular-dynamics studies on complex systems with multiple open reaction channels.


This is a paper about pricing the Internet. The focus is the use of pricing for usage of the infrastructure for transmitting and receiving IP packets, rather than of services such as WWW, FTP, Archie, Gopher, etc. In this we propose subscription based pricing, and a mechanism based on dynamic host address allocation drawn from a set of separately routed addresses to give priority levels. The idea of subscriptions here is not that all service pricing should be achieved through subscriptions per se. They are seen as a way of policing priority access to service bottlenecks, and thus can be deployed incrementally at weak interconnection points in a network, or between ISPs. Users of these subscriptions could easily be entire organisations (represented by network numbers, or CIDRized collections of network numbers, or ASs and so on). These organisations could employ refinement techniques to provide more usage oriented charging if needed.


The word 'poison' has been evolved from the Latin word 'potion' i.e. 'to drink for health', but in the due
course of time the definition of 'poison' has changed reversibly to its present form i.e. any substance which
when administered, inhaled or ingested is capable of acting deleteriously on the human body. In the current
study we have aimed at determining the demographic profile of poison cases reporting to our institute. This
prospective study was carried out involving 353 cases of poisoning admitted in Sri Ramachandra Medical
College & Research Institute, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai, during the period of June 2014-
June 2015. Age-wise distribution of poisoning cases revealed that the maximum cases are in the age group
of 20-29 years and the incidence decreased as the age increases. It is evident that the incidence of poisoning
is more in case of females when compared to males. Occupation-wise distribution revealed poisoning is
more common among people who are skilled workers contributing 167 cases. Socio economic status wise
distribution revealed poisoning is more common among the people who belong to Upper middle (52%),
followed by 33% of cases belong to Middle class. Poisoning is more common among married people when
compared to unmarried people. Out of 353 cases, 203 cases were married, which accounts for 58%, 150
cases were unmarried, which accounts for 48%. Distribution of the study population based on the type of
family revealed that out of total 353 cases, 299 cases belonged to nuclear family. Persons who belong to joint
family were 46 in number.


Eight 4-carboalkoxyvalerolactones (CRVLs), varying in the composition of their alkyl (R) side chains, were synthesized from malic acid and subjected to ring-opening transesterification polymerization (ROTEP) using diphenyl phosphate [DPP, (PhO)2PO2H] as a catalyst. Each CRVL produced a semicrystalline poly(4-carboalkoxyvalerolactone) (PCRVL), and the nature of the R group impacted the thermal transitions of these polyesters. Bulk polymerizations at 70 °C allowed for preparation of high molar mass samples that contained small amounts of branching, as evidenced by 1H NMR spectroscopy, MALDI spectrometry, size-exclusion chromatography, and eliminative degradation. Tensile testing of these lightly branched, high molar mass samples revealed that these polyesters are tough (tensile toughness values up to 88 ± 33 MJ•m-3) and have Young's moduli (E) up to 186 ± 13 MPa. The acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolytic degradation of the PCRVLs was quantitatively monitored using total organic carbon analysis, and effect of the alkyl chain length on PCRVL hydrolysis rate was determined. Finally, the methyl ester variant of these malic acid-derived thermoplastics is known to be chemically recyclable.


Exposure of tumor cells to ionizing radiation causes compensatory activation of multiple intracellular survival signaling pathways to maintain viability. In human carcinoma cells, radiation exposure caused an initial rapid inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase function and the activation of ERBB receptors and downstream signaling pathways. Radiation-induced activation of extracellular regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 promoted the cleavage and release of paracrine ligands in carcinoma cells which caused re-activation of ERBB family receptors and intracellular signaling pathways. Blocking ERBB receptor phosphorylation or ERK1/2 pathway activity using small-molecule inhibitors of kinases for a short period of time following exposure (3 h) surprisingly protected tumor cells from the toxic effects of ionizing radiation. Prolonged exposure (48-72 h) of tumor cells to inhibition of ERBB receptor/ERK1/2 function enhanced radiosensitivity. In addition to ERBB receptor signaling, expression of activated forms of RAS family members and alterations in p53 mutational status are known to regulate radiosensitivity apparently independent of ERBB receptor function; however, changes in RAS or p53 mutational status, in isogenic HCT116 cells, were also noted to modulate the expression of ERBB receptors and ERBB receptor paracrine ligands. These alterations in receptor and ligand expression correlated with changes in the ability of HCT116 cells to activate ERK1/2 and AKT after irradiation, and to survive radiation exposure. Collectively, our data in multiple human carcinoma cell lines argues that tumor cells are dynamic and rapidly adapt to any single therapeutic challenge, for example, radiation and/or genetic manipulation e.g. loss of activated RAS function, to maintain tumor cell growth and viability.


An environmental assessment of a proposed marine farming zone extension at Lippies Point, in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, was conducted in February 2014. Following discussions between the Industry and the Marine Farm Planning division, an amendment to the initial proposal was considered. The amendment is detailed in this report. The area of the site covered 4.11 km 2 (411 ha) and was orientated in a north easterly direction perpendicular to the coastline. The benthic habitats within the zone assessment area comprised of sand (60.8 %) and silty sand (39.2 %).
Environmental data on substrate type, habitat distribution, bathymetry, and benthic flora and fauna were assessed. Within the proposed zone the substrate was characterized by sand and silty sand. The bathymetry ranged from 34 m to 49 m and was characterized by a channel to the northern end of the site. The resolution of the bathymetry in this report varies due to the amended section of the proposed region to the north being mapped with single beam acoustics and the southern end being mapped with multibeam acoustics.
The amended zone to the north of the site was dominated by silt. Live and dead New Zealand screwshells (Maoriculpus roseus) were found across the whole survey site. Brittle stars (Amphiura sp.), a heart urchin (Echinocardium cordatum) and Polychaete worms were common in all the sediment samples. The native screwshell, Gazameda gunii, was not observed in any of the sediment grabs. All of the sediment samples were odourless.
The video surveys reported on in this report are for the amended region to the north of the proposed region. For details on the substrate in the southern end of the region, please refer to the report by Lucieer and Pender 2014. The majority of the amended site was characterised by rippled silty sand with high degrees of bioturbation, New Zealand screwshells (Maoricolpus roseus) sponge fragments and shell grit. The video data highlighted a large number of sites hosting squat lobsters, both live and dead New Zealand screwshells (Maoriculpus roseus) and drift algae (Ecklonia radiata and Phyllospora comosa). On video transect 5 a heart urchin (potentially Echinocardium cordatum) was noted.