The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the second largest marine oil spill in history, contaminated over a thousand kilometers of coastline in the Louisiana salt marshes and seriously threatened this valuable ecosystem. Measuring the impacts of the oil spill over the large and complex coast calls for the application of remote sensing techniques. This study develops a method for post-Deepwater Horizon oil spill monitoring of the damaged marsh vegetation using Landsat imagery. This study utilizes 10 years of Landsat data, from 2005 to 2014, to examine the longevity of the oil spill's impacts on the marsh vegetation. AVIRIS data collected between 2010 and 2012 are used to validate the Landsat results. Landsat imagery documents the significant effect of oiling on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the marsh vegetation in 2010 and 2011 (p < 0.01 in both cases). These results are corroborated by the AVIRIS data, which recorded the most severe impact in May 2011 followed by progressive recovery in October 2011 and October 2012. The Landsat imagery, combined with relevant environmental information and appropriate statistical tools, provides a robust and low-cost method for long-term post-oil spill monitoring of the marshes, revealing that the major aboveground impacts (at 30 m scale) of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Louisiana salt marshes lasted for two years. The method presented is applicable for other hazardous events whenever pre-event referencing and long-term post-event monitoring are desired, thereby offering an effective and economical tool for disaster management.


In gymnastics, the final landing position represents a key determinant of safety and exercise quality. Previous findings on the biomechanics of landing indicated that knee flexion correlates strongly with ground reaction forces. However, it remains unclear how this relationship is affected by landing training. We conducted a randomized controlled study to assess the effect of systematic landing training on knee kinematics and ground reaction forces in young adult beginner gymnasts. The study included three-dimensional motion analysis of knee flexion and measurement of ground reaction forces for landings from heights of 37 and 87cm. Of the 28 beginner gymnasts who participated in the study, 14 underwent five weeks of landing training, whereas 14 served as controls (no intervention). A significant pre-post difference (-11.2°) was observed only for the control group, and only regarding maximum knee flexion after landings from heights of 37cm. Although no significant effects were noted overall for the training group, systematic landing training seems effective for correcting those landings that deviated strongly from the target position prior to training initiation (37cm, r=-0.74; 8cm, r=-0.77; both with p< 0.01). Thus, while landing training appears to minimize peak forces at ground contact, our findings cannot be explained solely in terms of knee kinematics, warranting muscle activity analysis. Article visualizations:


In the near future, 3D video is likely to be used to enhance video applications, as it offers a greater sense of immersion. When 3D video is compressed and transmitted over error prone channels, the associated packet loss leads to poor visual quality. Hence, error resilience techniques for 3D video are needed. This thesis aims to improve the error robustness of the compressed 3D video in error prone transmission scenarios. Firstly, this thesis describes how 3D video can be represented using 2D video information, and depth information. This format can be compressed using tools available in some video coding standards, including Multiple Auxiliary Component (MAC) tool in MPEG-4 version 2, and the use of reduced resolution coding for depth compression. It is observed that the reduced resolution depth compression provides improved 2D video performance. However, the quality of the depth information is limited at high bit rates due to the distortion introduced by down-sampling and up-sampling (DSUS). Secondly, Multiple Description Coding (MDC), based on even and odd frames is proposed for error resilient 3D video. Improvements are made to the original scheme by adding a controllable amount of side information to improve frame interpolation at the decoder and compression efficiency. The side information is also sent according to the video sequence motion for further improvement. The performances of the proposed MDC algorithms are found to be better than single description coding (SDC) and the original scheme at high error rates with reduced error free coding efficiency. Finally, the combination of Scalable Video Coding (SVC) and MDC (scalable MDC) for 3D video is investigated for error robustness and scalability. A scalable MDC scheme based on even and odd frames is proposed for H.264 based SVC. Reduced resolution depth compression is then applied to improve the performance. The proposed algorithms provide better 3D video performance than the original SVC in error prone environments and for low bit-rate video. Key words: stereoscopic 3D video coding, 2D and depth, error resilience, multiple description video coding, scalable multiple description video coding.


We study the evolution of Glauber opinion dynamics with abstaining and tunable threshold on random graphs. The phase diagram shows plentiful features in the space of the two parameters of the model, the threshold and the abstaining probability. It is found that the threshold that limits the agents to be stable plays an important role in the emerging of abstaining in a wide spread. And it can be obtained that the observables stay the same in frozen state whatever the initial density of 0 is. We also use the mean field calculations to verify the fact of linearity between the density of 0 and the abstaining probability.


Applying an open-economy macroeconomic model, incorporating the monetary policy reaction function and uncovering interest parity, this paper finds that the expected real exchange rate and real output exhibit an inverted J-shape relationship, suggesting that expected real depreciation increases real output during 1999.Q2-2001.Q3 whereas expected real appreciation raises output during 2001.Q4-2009.Q1. Other findings show that a higher real financial stock price, a higher world real interest rate, or a lower expected inflation rate would increase real output. Fiscal prudence may be needed as the coefficient of the government borrowing/GDP ratio is insignificant at the 10% level.


Shown symptoms in digestive diseases might be similar, resulting in patient's suspected diseases before and after diagnosis attempt might turn out to be different. This paper aims to build a design of an expert system for digestive disease identification using Naïve Bayes methodology for iOS-based applications. The result from this paper helps medical interns to increase the accuracy in predicting patient's suspected digestive disease. A precise prediction in suspected disease identification can minimalize unnecessary diagnosis attempts, which saves time and reduces cost. Naïve Bayes is chosen because it has a higher accuracy level than other classification methods. This research includes collecting data through literature reviews on digestive diseases and their symptoms, processing the data to be turned into a knowledge base for the expert system, conducting data training using Naïve Bayes by the designed expert system application through this research. The result from the conducted data training using Naïve Bayes methodology shows that the expert system application has a higher accuracy level, which is 84%.


Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of lower energy flux density (EFD) extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in the early stage of avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head. Methods Nineteen patients and 30 hips were enrolled. All subjects received 4 weekly sessions of ESWT, at different energy levels; group A (n=15; 1,000 shocks/session, EFD per shock 0.12 mJ/mm2) and group B (n=15; 1,000 shocks/session, EFD per shock 0.32 mJ/mm2). We measured pain by using the visual analog scale (VAS), and disability by using the Harris hip score, Hip dysfunction and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS), and the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). To determine the effect of the lower EFD ESWT, we assessed the VAS, Harris hip score, HOOS, WOMAC of the subjects before and at 1, 3, and 6 months. Results In both groups, the VAS, Harris hip score, HOOS, and WOMAC scores improved over time (p<0.05). Conclusion Lower EFD ESWT may be an effective method to improve the function and to relieve pain in the early stage of AVN.


The traffic carrying capabilities of demand assigned multiple access (DAMA) systems in which requests for communication circuits are transmitted over shared collision type channels to a master controller are investigated. The circuit request protocol permits both busy and blocked responses in addition to circuit allocations. The theoretically maximum traffic capacity is determined and it is shown that even very simple systems of this type can achieve efficient bandwidth utilization in realistic situations.


This paper describes a novel video coding scheme that can be considered as a generalization of the block-based hybrid video coding approach of H.264/AVC. While the individual building blocks of our approach are kept simple similarly as in H.264/AVC, the flexibility of the block partitioning for prediction and transform coding has been substantially increased. This is achieved by the use of nested and pre-configurable quadtree structures, such that the block partitioning for temporal and spatial prediction as well as the space-frequency resolution of the corresponding prediction residual can be adapted to the given video signal in a highly flexible way. In addition, techniques for an improved motion representation as well as a novel entropy coding concept are included. The presented video codec was submitted to a Call for Proposals of ITU-T VCEG and ISO/IEC MPEG and was ranked among the five best performing proposals, both in terms of subjective and objective quality.


The relationship between the structural characteristics and photocatalytic reaction mechanisms of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) still remains unclarified at the molecular level, which severely hinders the further development of this field. The present study addresses this issue by employing an innovative strategy to investigate the relationship between the H-containing structures of g-C3N4 and its water splitting properties. The exchangeable and unexchangeable protons of the H-containing groups of g-C3N4 were differentiated by selective deuteration, providing a way to distinguish the hydrophilic and relatively non-hydrophilic H-containing groups of g-C3N4. A combination of advanced solid-state NMR approaches reveals that amino group defects (CN2(NHx)) on the C–N skeleton of the photocatalyst likely serve as hydrophilic active sites for facilitating the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. Accordingly, the newly synthesized g-C3N4 sample having a high concentration of CN2(NHx) by design demonstrates an enhanced H2 yield by a factor of 17 compared to that of pure g-C3N4.


Introduction: Land use change, deforestation, grazing, intentional and unintentional fire and invasive pests and diseases are all the major cause of damage to the Zagros forest ecosystem. The green oak leaf roller (Tortrix viridana L.) is one of the important pests of Zagros forests. Larvae of the pest significantly damage the oak forests with feeding on leaves and buds of different species of oaks each year. Larvae enter 2'd instar after eating the internal contents of oak buds, then the third and 4th instars larvae consume whole buds and even oak leaves. After development to the 5th larval instar, they roll the leaves and enter the pupal stage. The attacked trees revitalize by creating new leaves from early May onwards. New leaves, pale green and are smaller than normal leaves. Continuation of the pest activity on Quercus species causes gradual weakness the trees and readiness to accept a variety of secondary pests and diseases in later years. Based on the status of Zagros forests and their importance in the conservation of soil and water sources, the nutritional indices of Tortrix viridana larvae of two species of Oak i.e. Quercus infectoria and Q. libani were determined to get a better understanding of this pest.
Materials and Methods: Since early April, with regular visits, last instar larvae (5th instar) of T. viridana in oak forests in Perdanan areas (around the village Ghabr Hossein) were collected and transferred to the laboratory chamber. The larvae were fed on the two oak species. The leaves of these species were collected and transported to the laboratory in a room at a temperature of 25°C and suitable photoperiod conditions. The larvae were fed individually or in a group. In a grouping method, 10 larvae in two replicates and in individually method 40 larvae (one larva per replicate) for each host were considered. Larval weight, amount of consumed food and weight of feces were estimated by using a sensitive digital Carriage scale (0.001 gr). Relative consumption rate (RCR), relative growth rate (RGR), the efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), the efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) and approximate digestibility (AD) were also calculated. For statistical analysis t-test and SPSS17 software were used to compare the mean of the data.
Results and Discussion: Results of t-test (α=5%) indicated that the larval biomass, RGR, ECI, and AD were significantly different among the hosts in both methods of grouping and individually rearing of the larvae. In this study, Q. libani showed the lowest rate of digestibility. The larvae fed on Q. infectoria have the higher rate of AD than Q. libani because of high RCR, RGR, ECD and ECI. Also, the results related to the comparison of two methods (grouping and individually rearing of the larvae), on nutritional indices were significantly different and in both host trees, the rate of RGR, ECI and ECD in grouping method was more than individually rearing method. RCR is the indication of the insect's exploitation speed of food. In the other words, it shows feeding rate regarding insect's weight at the specific point of time depending on the amount of water and other nutrition physicochemical characteristics in insects. The result showed that this index rate in group rearing method on two host species is equal, but in individual rearing method on Q. infectoria, it is more than Q. libani. The possible reasons are more feeding of larvae in individual rearing method due to the lack of competition stress, the more likelihood of the desirability of Q. infectoria compared to Q. libani, the probability of the existence of antixenosis in Q. libani. The similar study investigating individual and group rearing methods in one insect species is not available. This result confirms that T. viridana larvae's has a tendency toward social life and in the group situation, they eat effectively. In fact, although larvae in individual form feed more because of lack of competition stress, but in the group they make use of that little food in the best way.
Conclusion: In this study, Q. libani had low food quality. As a result, its relative consumption rate, relative growth rate, the efficiency of conversion of ingested food and efficiency of conversion of digested food was less than Q. infectoria. According to the results, Q. infectoria is an appropriate host for this pest. Also, it shows that the larvae were more considering the rate of larval biomass, RCR, RGR, ECI and ECD in grouping method than the single method.


The electronic and magnetic behaviour of transition metal impurities is simulated by performing ab initio band structure calculations assuming ordered supercells with the composition Pd31TM (TM=Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). The results show the formation of narrow spin-split impurity bands originating from the TM with magnetic moments MTM deviating from the Slater-Pauling curve. Due to the high susceptibility of the Pd host the TM atom polarizes the surrounding Pd atoms (with MPd) causing the 'giant moments' when all the magnetic moment is attributed to the TM impurity. This polarization is described by a covalent polarization (CP) model, which the authors use for explaining both the change in sign of the Pd polarization in the TM series between Cr and Mn, and the linear dependence of the ratio MPd/MTM on the number of valence electrons of the TM. In addition, they estimate the Curie temperature by treating the localized TM moments in terms of a Weiss mean-field model and the itinerant electrons of the Pd host having spin fluctuations.


A 39-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) at exacerbation stage underwent dilatation and curettage. MS is characterized by chronic inflammation, demyelination, and gliosis in the central nervous system. Surgical stress often induces exacerbation of MS symptoms. Therefore, deep anesthesia is required for anesthetic management in cases of MS. We monitored electroencephalograph (EEG), spectral edge frequency 90 (SEF 90), spectral median frequency (SMF) and delta-amplitude for depth of anesthesia using pEEG (Dräger, Germany). In this case, anesthesia was induced with sevoflurane and gradually increased to 5% in oxygen 4 l.min-1 and maintained with sevoflurane 2-3% in 2 nitrous oxide l.min-1 and 2 l.min-1 oxygen. Surgery was completed and no spike wave was observed by pEEG monitoring during surgery. In conclusion, sevoflurane anesthesia was useful for a patient with MS during exacerbation stage.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be potentially discovered from abdominal computed tomography (CT) studies under varied clinical scenarios, e.g., fully dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) studies, non-contrast (NC) plus venous phase (VP) abdominal studies, or NC-only studies. We develop a flexible three-dimensional deep algorithm, called hetero-phase volumetric detection (HPVD), that can accept any combination of contrast-phase inputs and with adjustable sensitivity depending on the clinical purpose. We trained HPVD on 771 DCE CT scans to detect HCCs and tested on external 164 positives and 206 controls, respectively. We compare performance against six clinical readers, including two radiologists, two hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) surgeons, and two hepatologists. The area under curve (AUC) of the localization receiver operating characteristic (LROC) for NC-only, NC plus VP, and full DCE CT yielded 0.71, 0.81, 0.89 respectively. At a high sensitivity operating point of 80% on DCE CT, HPVD achieved 97% specificity, which is comparable to measured physician performance. We also demonstrate performance improvements over more typical and less flexible non hetero-phase detectors. Thus, we demonstrate that a single deep learning algorithm can be effectively applied to diverse HCC detection clinical scenarios.


Goals To determine the safety and tolerance of methotrexate for treating patients with Crohn's disease in clinical practice. Background Methotrexate is effective for treating patients with Crohn's disease. However, concerns about potential toxicity, particularly to the liver, have limited its use. Study A retrospective chart review was performed of Crohn's disease patients in our practice treated with methotrexate. Data related to the safety and tolerance of methotrexate was extracted and analyzed. Results Of 92 patients treated with methotrexate, there was enough data for 79 patients for analysis (49 women and 30 men; mean age 28.8 y). Forty-two patients (53%) had previously received azathioprine. Overall, 40 patients (51%) achieved and maintained remission on methotrexate, including 13 of 30 (43%) who concomitantly received anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy. The mean total accumulated dose of methotrexate was 1727 mg [SD 1572 mg], with a mean total duration of methotrexate use of 25.4 months (SD 43.1 mo). The most common adverse events were nausea (22%) and elevated liver enzymes (10%). Only 6% of patients stopped methotrexate therapy because of persistently abnormal liver enzymes. No patients underwent liver biopsy. Conclusions This retrospective study showed that methotrexate is safe and well-tolerated in treating patients with Crohn's disease in clinical practice.


In a learning process with regards to parameter estimation of item response theory (IRT), which has been related to quite intricate mathematical equations, software use should be an urgent matter. The study was to describe the learning trajectory of item response theory that had been integrated to the use of multiple software and obstacles of advanced IRT course. The study was validation study-type of design research with qualitative approach. The participants in the study were the graduate school students of Educational Research and Evaluation Study Program who concentrated on Educational Measurement. The learning trajectory that had been hypothesized was based on the researcher's experience in lecturing and in identifying the necessary requirements for each chapter in the course. The data were gathered by means of observation during learning, course activities documentation and graduate school students' learning results documentation. The data were analyzed qualitatively. By formulating and testing the hypotheses of learning trajectory, the researcher found that multiple software use in course might assist the students in understanding and improving the students' skills in terms of implementing IRT although they might encounter with several obstacles. Keyword: item response theory (IRT), software, obstacles in courses


Multi-label learning studies the problem where an instance is associated with a set of labels. By treating single-label learning problem as one task, the multi-label learning problem can be casted as solving multiple related tasks simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a novel Multi-task Gradient Descent (MGD) algorithm to solve a group of related tasks simultaneously. In the proposed algorithm, each task minimizes its individual cost function using reformative gradient descent, where the relations among the tasks are facilitated through effectively transferring model parameter values across multiple tasks. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed algorithm is convergent with a proper transfer mechanism. Compared with the existing approaches, MGD is easy to implement, has less requirement on the training model, can achieve seamless asymmetric transformation such that negative transfer is mitigated, and can benefit from parallel computing when the number of tasks is large. The competitive experimental results on multi-label learning datasets validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.


Recent evidence suggests that many economic time series are subject to structural breaks. In the presence of breaks, including historical data prior to the most recent break to estimate a forecasting model will lead to prediction errors that are biased but also may have a smaller variance. This paper examines the trade-off between the bias and variance of forecast errors and proposes a new set of reversed Cusum procedures to determine the window size that minimizes mean squared forecast error. This window size varies over time and depends on the size of the break, the distance to the break and the squared correlation coefficient between predicted and realized values. The forecasting performances of several procedures for determination of window size are compared in a simulation experiment and in a recursive prediction exercise using data on US stock returns. We find evidence that out-of-sample forecasting performance can be improved by explicitly accounting for breaks and adopting the proposed method for optimally determining the window size


Nebivolol due to its unique properties e.g. cardioselectivity, vasodilatation action, protective
endothelial effects, neutral metabolic influence is considered as β -adrenolytic with potential.
According to current guidelines of scientific associations nebivolol is advantageous
therapeutic option particularly for: young patients with hyperkinetic hypertension, patients
with hypertension and ischemic heart disease, diabetic patients, patients with sexual problems
and patients with systolic and/or diastolic heart failure. ( Forum Zaburzen Metabolicznych
2011, vol. 2, no 3, 169–176)


Although extensive clinical data have established that the loss of Ikaros tumor suppressor activity via genetic inactivation is a major contributor to leukemogenesis leading to B-cell ALL, less is known about the role of Ikaros in T-cell leukemia. The T-cell malignancies observed in Ikaros-deficient mice suggest that Ikaros is likely to function as a tumor suppressor in T-cells. In human, multiple studies have identified genetic inactivation of Ikaros (deletion or mutation) to be associated with ~5% of T-ALL cases. Additional studies provide evidence that the functional inactivation of Ikaros due to defects in signal pathways that normally regulate Ikaros activity is likely to be a critical factor in the development of Tcell malignancies. These studies provide a rationale for new chemotherapeutic strategies in the treatment of T-cell leukemia. In this chapter, we summarize the newest advances that shed light on the role of Ikaros in T-cell leukemia.


The Couette flow of 0005, 001, 0025 and 005% (w/w) solutions of polyacrylamide in water and of 5% (w/w) solutions of glycerol in water, has been compared with that of water. The coaxial cylinder apparatus used was very similar to that designed by Donnelly. At low rotational speeds of the inner cylinder, the torque on the outer cylinder was proportional to the shear viscosities of the liquid and to the speed of rotation. At a definite value of the Taylor number (Ta) = (Ta)c instabilities occurred; then for (Ta)>(Ta)c drag reduction in the polymer solutions was such that the torque on the outer cylinder was the same as that for the solvent (water). Furthermore (Ta)c (polymer solutions)<(Ta)c (water) = (Ta)c (glycerol solution) = 3390. Equations derived to account for destabilization and drag reduction in tubes are applied to the Couette flow.


As extreme events increase in frequency, flow-disrupting large-scale structures become ever more susceptible to collapse due to local scour effects. The objective of this study was to validate the functionality of passive, flow-excited scour sensors that can continue to operate during an extreme event. The scour sensors, or piezo-rods, feature continuous piezoelectric polymer strips embedded within and along the length of slender cylindrical rods, which could then be driven into the soil where scour is expected. When scour erodes away foundation material to reveal a portion of the piezo-rod, ambient fluid flow excitations would cause the piezoelectric element to output a voltage response corresponding to the dynamic bending strains of the sensor. The voltage response is dependent on both the structural dynamic properties of the sensor and the excitation fluid's velocity. By monitoring both shedding frequency and flow velocity, the exposed length of the piezo-rod (or scour depth) can be calculated. Two series of experimental tests were conducted in this work: (1) the piezo-rod was driven into sediment around a mock pier to collect scour data, and (2) the piezo-rod was used to monitor its own structural response by collecting vortex-shedding frequency data in response to varied flow velocities to establish a velocity–frequency relationship. The results showed that the piezo-rod successfully captured structural vortex-shedding frequency comparable to state-of-practice testing. A one-dimensional numerical model was developed using the velocity–frequency relationship to increase the accuracy of voltage-based length prediction of the piezo-rod. Two-dimensional flow modeling was also performed for predicting localized velocities within a complex flow field. These velocities, in conjunction with the velocity–frequency relationship, were used to greatly improve length-predictive capabilities.


We have developed a simple technique to gate positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in synchronization with respiratory motion to reduce image blurring caused by breathing and improve quantification of tracer uptake in lesions in the chest and abdomen, especially in very high-resolution PET systems. Taking advantage of the temperature differences in the air flow in a nostril due to inhalations and exhalations, a simple solid thermometer was used to construct a respiratory gating system to monitor the respiratory cycles. The gating system provided trigger signals synchronous with respiration and 40 Hz timing marks. These trigger signals and timing marks were inserted into the data stream in real-time while the PET camera was taking data. The gating trigger signals represent a particular phase of respiratory motion, and the evenly cycled timing marks were designed for motion-image frame registration. This gating system was implemented and tested with our MDAPET, a very high-resolution (2.7-mm resolution) PET camera developed at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. A volunteer with 2 spherical lesion phantoms (diameters 3 mm and 5 mm) placed on the abdomen close to the navel was scanned in the gated mode. The respiration-gated images of the lesion phantoms were compared and studied. The simple respiratory gating system worked well in terms of detecting the breathing cycle and providing gating trigger signals and timing marks. Image blur and errors in the measurements of the lesions' volumes in the gated PET images were reduced, compared with those of the non-gated PET images.


The tribal people are undoubtedly the storehouse of accumulated experiences and knowledge of vast flora and fauna. A knowledge test has been defined by Bloom et al. (1958) as a test which refers to that behaviour and test situation which emphasizes the remembering by the recall of ideas, materials or phenomena. The knowledge of dairy innovations in the present study has been operationalized as the extent to which the recommendations pertaining to dairy informations, namely, breeding, feeding, health care, management and overall dairy farming practices are known to the dairy farmers. The present study was carried out in Nilgiris District of Tamilnadu. A total sample of 306 tribal households for the six tribes namely; Todas, Kotas, Kurumbas, Irulas, Paniyas and Kattunaickas was studied.


ColiGene is an object-centered knowledge base for the study of gene expressivity in Escherichia coli by DNA sequence analysis. This system was developed with the knowledge base management system SHIRKA. Objects represented in ColiGene are biological structures such as genes or regulatory signals. They are organized in a hierarchical structure of classes, subclasses and instances. Navigation through the knowledge base and the building of queries are made using a graphical interface. The base is coupled with the data base ACNUC which structures a specialized collection of sequences: EcoSeq. Several tools are also associated to ColiGene, either for sequence analysis or for a more general purpose. Some biological results have been obtained using ColiGene which are summarized here.


The normal collisions between alpha particles and atomic nuclei are known from scattering experiments to be approximately elastic. The only cases in which inelastic nuclear collisions have been established with certainty are those in which a proton is ejected from a light nucleus. In the case of nitrogen this is known to be associated with the capture of the alpha particle. It is, however, possible that inelastic nuclear collisions do occur, in which a nucleus is deformed but not disintegrated. Smekal has suggested the occurrence of inelastic collisions of this type. Again, it is possible that an appreciable amount of energy might be radiated by the two rapidly accelerated nuclei during a close collision. For although calculation shows that, if the inverse square law is obeyed at all distances, the energy radiated classically by the accelerated particles will be extremely small (of the order of 10-4 of the total kinetic energy), it might conceivably reach a detectable amount if the forces near the nucleus vary as a very high power of the distance. The existence of such forces is required by the rigid ellipsoidal model of the alpha particle proposed by Chadwick and Bieler. There is some experimental evidence of the excitation of radiation by the impact of alpha particles on matter. These various possibilities make the detailed study of the elasticity of nuclear collisions of considerable interest. The use of the Wilson method for the purpose has been described by Blackett. The method will be discussed here in greater detail and some new results will be given.


The seismic Receiver Function (RF) technique is widely used as an economic method to image earth's deep interior in a large number of seismic experiments. P-wave Receiver Functions (RFs) constrain crustal thickness and average Vp/Vs in the crust by analysis of the Ps phase and multiples (reflected/converted waves) from the Moho. Regional studies often show significant differences between the Moho depth constrained by RF and by reflection/refraction methods. We compare the results from RF and controlled source seismology for the Baikal Rift Zone by calculating 1480 synthetic RFs for a seismic refraction/reflection velocity model and processing them with two common RF techniques (H-κ and Common Conversion Point (CCP) stacking). We compare the resulting synthetic RF structure with the velocity model, a density model (derived from gravity and the velocity model), and with observed RFs. Our results demonstrate that the use of different frequency filters, the presence of complex phases from sediments, and gradual changes in the properties of crustal layers can lead to erroneous interpretation of RFs and incorrect geological interpretations. We suggest that the interpretation of RFs should be combined with other geophysical methods, in particular in complex tectonic regions and that the long-wavelength Bouguer gravity anomaly signal may provide effective calibration for the determination of the correct Moho depth from RF results. We propose and validate a new automated, efficient method for this calibration.


Studies on the international identity of the EU have stressed the normative feature of European foreign policy. At the same time, scholars have pointed out that the inconsistency between the EU's rhetoric and behaviour and the lack of reflexivity undermines its credibility. How does reflexivity affect collective identity? To what extent does the EU's utopian rhetoric affect its credibility as a normative power? In order to address these questions, we investigate the self-representation of the EU as an international actor, the extent to which this self-representation provides a basis for reflexivity and, finally, the impact of the EU's identity narratives on its credibility. We focus on the normative power of the EU in the institutionalization of the International Criminal Court and in the elaboration and ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.


Deep-level mining in open pits involves increased volumes of overburden. It is difficult to operate heavy-duty dump trucks at bottom levels of deep open pit mines due to limited size of working areas and high angles of roads. In this case, it is expedient to use more maneuverable crawler dumps or articulated dump trucks of comparatively low capacity and to rehandle mined rocks to larger capacity dump truck at bin trestles with forced discharge constructed on accumulation horizons. This article discusses mined rock discharge from an accumulating bin of the rehandling point by a set of vibratory feeders representing the bottom of the bin. These vibratory feeders are to provide reliable operation under high static and dynamic loads.


This paper analyses the organisation of wage bargaining in multiproduct firms since it affects the distribution of power between workers and firms. We assume that each firm has two plants and chooses who bargains the wage with the workers: either the head of the firm or the manager of each plant. Similarly, in each firm, its workers choose whether they set up plant unions or a single union.


since she's a child actor in a new television sitcom. At school, her new teacher, Mr. Santorini, has a card-turning behavior system (everyone starts on green but turns their card on a class chart to another color for each infraction) that has Jules and her friends worried about getting into trouble. Then there's the Wax Museum project, which requires Jules to decide what figure to impersonate. On the set, Jules is challenged by slapstick physical comedy. Mr. Santorini eases Jules' problems by introducing her to Lucille Ball's work (which solves both the Wax Museum choice problem and the acting difficulties), and adding his own name to the behavior chart, holding himself accountable as well as his students. Many kids will identify with Jules' school dilemmas, especially the ubiquitous card-based class behavior system, and they'll be intrigued by the sitcom details. Ain's writing is snappy and dynamic, while Jules herself is an amusing and likable ("It took me almost an hour to lay out my first-day-of-school clothes all because it is going to be 300 degrees outside, which isn't corduroy weather at all. . . . It is very hard to get in a backto-school mood without corduroy"). The large font, frequent illustrations (the monochromatic art is inviting if unexceptional), and quick pace will also help keep young chapter-book readers focused and engaged. Hand this to budding thespians and Judy Moody fans. JH


The research idea of this paper is the diagnosis of the disparity among Romania's developing regions and the issuing of economic policy measures for the polycentric development. The product of the research, thought as a diagnosis model, will be able to support the decision process, on the local and regional level, of the actors in different fields of the economic and social life. The research's field of interest suggested by the paper complies with the concerns deriving from the new cohesion policy developed on the european level – "Regions for Economic Change", the research proposed having the aim to provide solutions for the regional restructuring that depend on the traditional industries through developing some mechanisms of economic policy to support the cluster formation on regional or local level. The knowledge mobilization represents the solution that was accepted and developed within the paper for intelligent social network setting up, structures that use intensively the knowledge management, distributed technologies and competencies of the human resources within organizations and from outside. Concrete knowledge structuring and mobilization defined as expertise will allow to work out effectively and efficiently the objectives based on some dynamic learning processes, strategic planning and decision making, developing in this respect a system of knowledge management. the entire knowledge mobilizing approach will be made designing a social network of experts for the creation of knowledge in the shape of a generic knowledge model for every region (RGKM). The assessment of these models will be made on one hand by their comparison on the base of instantiation for every region and on the other hand by using all these instances in a case-based system that will aim at supporting the macro-regional diagnosis and will constitute a support in decision-making (formulation of some measures of economic and social policies).


Credit is important because economic agents in the agriculture sector who are constrained by liquidity problems may produce sub-optimal outputs. This paper reviews the past and present Philippine agricultural credit and banking policies. It identifies the principal issues in rural credit markets and discusses the present status of agricultural finance and the government's role in rural credit markets. It also suggests certain courses of action to improve both efficiency and access issues in rural financial markets.


Abstract 1. The study aimed to investigate the influences on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of an anti-malarial drug 97/78 in rats pretreated with orally administered rifampicin and bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). 2. In-situ intestinal absorption studies were conducted on rats pretreated with rifampicin and LPS or both to estimate effective permeability (Peff) of 97/78. In-vivo studies were then conducted to explore 97/78 PK profile under these conditions. In-situ studies revealed that Peff value decreased to 64% (2.7 ± 0.6) × 10−4 cm/s in rats pretreated with rifampicin. This decrease was further enhanced very significantly to 4.5% (0.19 ± 0.03) × 10−4 cm/s in rats pretreated both with rifampicin and LPS (p<0.05). For PK studies, it was found that relative bioavailability (RB) was decreased to 22.56% in rifampicin-pretreated rats and to 8.02% in rats pretreated both with rifampicin and LPS. About five-fold decrease was observed in systemic exposure (AUC) of 97/78 in rifampicin-pretreated rats. This decrease was further augmented to 12-fold upon rifampicin and LPS pretreatment. 3. Orally administered rifampicin decreased the concentration of 97/78 in circulation. This decrease was further enhanced significantly to a very low level by LPS-induced intestinal sepsis.


Paracoccidioides spp., which are temperature-dependent dimorphic fungi, are responsible for the most prevalent human systemic mycosis in Latin America, the paracoccidioidomycosis. The aim of this study was to characterise the involvement of elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis-host interaction. Adhesive properties were examined using recombinant PbEF-Tu proteins and the respective polyclonal anti-rPbEF-Tu antibody. Immunogold analysis demonstrated the surface location of EF-Tu in P. brasiliensis. Moreover, PbEF-Tu was found to bind to fibronectin and plasminogen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and it was determined that the binding to plasminogen is at least partly dependent on lysine residues and ionic interactions. To verify the participation of EF-Tu in the interaction of P. brasiliensis with pneumocytes, we blocked the respective protein with an anti-rPbEF-Tu antibody and evaluated the consequences on the interaction index by flow cytometry. During the interaction, we observed a decrease of 2- and 3-fold at 8 and 24 h, respectively, suggesting the contribution of EF-Tu in fungal adhesion/invasion.


We report a case where a 64-year-old woman treated with dabigatran developed life-threatening bleeding due to lack of dose adjustment following identification of acute renal failure. Many commonly used drugs, e.g. new oral anticoagulants, digoxin, ACE-inhibitors, antibiotics, are eliminated by the kidneys. The case illustrates that lack of medication reconciliation can lead to serious adverse events in case of deteriorating organ function. The use of medication reconciliation should be performed on a daily basis and special attention should be exercised in case of reduced kidney function.


The stretching and folding of fluid element during chaotic mixing field is studied using numerical method. The chaotic mixing process is caused by periodic secondary flow in a twisted curved pipe. Using the nonlinear discrete velocity field as the dynamical system, the present study connects the fluid particle's stretching along its trajectory in one period to a linearized time-varying variational equation. After numerical approximation of the variational equation, fluid stretching is calculated on the whole cross section. The stretching distribution shows an exponential fluid stretching and folding, which indicates an excellent mixing performance.


ferences in policy can be reduced only by the publication of large numbers of records so that there may be a wide knowledge as to what are the differences in practice. This is especially important in view of the increasing number of case work agencies and the growing complexity of their work. The medical social case worker is only one of an increasing number of social workers whose services are conditioned by their association with another highly developed professional group. There is also the social worker in the courts who must adapt her professional skill to conditions fixed by the legal system; and the visiting teacher, who is a social worker within the educational organization. In other words, it is of very great importance that there should be general discussion and an increasing understanding of the principles common to social work and characteristio of social work under whatever conditions it is practiced. Until the medical social worker, the legal social worker, the educational social worker, can do her work sustained by a clear understanding of social case work principles and the professional contribution she makes to the problem under consideration; social work will remain a Cinderella among the professions. This understanding must ultimately be based on the opportunity to examine, I compare, criticize, and agree upon methods used with satisfactory results, honestly and intelligently recorded, and submitted to the judgment of the whole professional group. M. ANTOINETTE CANNON


In this paper, simple numerical procedures are proposed, which use the Routh test to determine the relative stability and strict aperiodicity of linear time-invariant systems.


Across the globe, the expansion of large‐scale commodity agriculture is occurring not into empty space but over existing social systems. An understanding of the dynamics of expansion and associated impacts of commodity agriculture thus fundamentally requires examining how existing control regimes are dissolved and, simultaneously, how novel ones are assembled in order to make way for the changes in resources use that characterize these transitional moments. With this in mind, in this article, I provide a broad review of the strategies used to secure control over land prospected for agricultural commodity production, distinguishing between the tactics that are applied by agro‐interested actors in order to 'break down' forms of existing land control, those they apply in parallel to 'build up' new control structures, and those strategies that are applied by actors (often smallholders) wishing to 'hold on to' the control that they have. I then present a framework for examining the dynamics of control transfer that builds on this analytical structure of 'breaking down', 'building up', and 'holding on to' control.


Louise Jermy's autobiography, Memories of a Working Woman (1934), has been described as 'a record of ill-luck, ill-health, poverty and disaster met with courage'. This article discusses Jermy's memoir both for the individual narrative and as a starting-point for consideration of the wider issues that surrounded the making of this 'domestic life'. While Jermy's life in domestic service was bound by home (her own and other people's), her story tempers our understanding of the limited choices open to working-class women. It provides insight into the regional disparities in female employment: Jermy's life journey took her from the Broadlands Estate in Hampshire to extended periods of urban life (in London and Birmingham), concluding in rural Norfolk. There, Jermy ended her working life as her maternal grandmother had done, laundress to the 'big house'. Yet whereas the grand mother spent her final years in the workhouse, Jermy died in her own home, leaving modest savings. A member of the largest women-only organization in interwar England, the Women's Institute, which encouraged her to tell her story, she identified with its view of domestic work as skilled work. Although she did not challenge her position in the social or gender hierarchy, she developed a strong sense of self-worth throughout her working life


Mine closure and acid mine drainage (AMD) are major interrelated challenges facing South Africa's Witwatersrand gold mines. As a result of mining, the East, West and Central Rand compartments of the Witwatersrand Basin are interconnected, making AMD a regional problem. Consequently, the South African National Department of Mineral Resources recommends regional mine closure strategies. Unfortunately, the mismanagement of Grootvlei Gold Mine and its AMD problem resulted in premature and unplanned closure of the mine; massive job losses; pollution of a river and its Ramsar wetland site, as well as a significant setback for regional mine closure. Although directors were held civilly liable for damages to the mine, to date no one has been held liable for the water pollution, creating an impression that environmental laws can be flouted with impunity.


Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) performance may be adversely affected by passive component tolerances, such as submodule capacitance and arm inductance variations. Depending on control strategies, the differences in equivalent capacitances and/or inductances of the upper and lower arms of one phase-leg can cause unequal power distribution between upper and lower arms. Assuming passive component tolerances ranging between ±10%, this paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the internal/external coupling effects due to the passive component tolerances within one phase-leg, under the control of common MMC balancing methods. A novel control strategy is proposed to suppress the fundamental component that arises in the dc-link current due to such tolerances, and its effectiveness is demonstrated via simulation and experimentation. The investigation shows that voltage-based common and differential mode balancing control provides effective ac offset suppression while the proposed method offers superior performance in terms of dc-link fundamental current ripple suppression.


The X-ray crystal structures of the aquo-met and cyano-met derivatives of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) myoglobin have been determined at 2.0 A resolution (R = 0.182, and 0.178, respectively). The results here reported, representing the first reptile globin solved by X-ray crystallography, have been analyzed in parallel with data for related monomeric hemoproteins, and indicate a strong overall structural similarity between the loggerhead sea turtle and mammalian myoglobins, reflected by the 63% amino acid identity of their primary structures. The root-mean-square deviation between the entire polypeptide backbones of loggerhead sea turtle and sperm whale myoglobins, after structure superposition, is 0.83 A. Upon cyanide binding to the protein distal site, the iron-bound water molecule present in the aquo-met form is displaced by the incoming ligand. Cyanide is oriented towards the inner part of the heme distal site forming a Fe-C-N angle of 133 degrees.


Objectives The aim of this study is to explore physiotherapist's preferences for framing of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) Choosing Wisely recommendations, thereby indicating aspects of the wording that could increase acceptance. Method We will conduct an online discrete choice experiment with ~400 physiotherapist members of the APA who are currently registered and practicing. Participants will indicate their agreement with the initial six APA Choosing Wisely recommendations (strongly agree/agree/unsure/disagree/strongly disagree). Recommendations will then be re-worded according to the following attributes: i) solution (3-level): alternative not provided (1), mentioned at the beginning (2), or mentioned at the end (3); ii) directness (2-level): 'don't' or 'do' vs 'consider avoiding' or 'don't routinely'; and iii) action (2-level): 'don't do' vs. 'do'. Participant will be given 18 scenarios (3 pairwise comparisons for each recommendation) and select which recommendations they would be most willing to follow. Descriptive statistics will identify recommendations participants are most willing to follow. Mixed logit models (using NLOGIT software) will identify attribute levels important for acceptance and the probability a participant will adopt a recommendation. Results The protocol for this study will be presented at this conference. Conclusions Choosing Wisely recommendations are intended to reduce low-value care by facilitating open patient-therapist communication. However, the wording of these recommendations could either support or prevent adoption. For example recommendations to 'avoid low-value care' could threaten clinicians and prevent adoption, while recommendations to 'replace low-value care with high-value care' could do the opposite. Further, research has demonstrated that specific recommendations can reduce inappropriate test ordering from physicians managing people with low back pain, while vague recommendations can do the opposite. Globally, over 1200 Choosing Wisely recommendations are published across numerous health disciplines, but no one has investigated how the wording of these recommendations could increase acceptance and adoption. Understanding how the wording of Choosing Wisely recommendations influences acceptance is the first step towards implementation activities to reduce low-value physiotherapy and potentially low-value care across the 200+professional societies with Choosing Wisely lists worldwide.


In Pharmacokinetic (PK) studies, inference is made on the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) of an externally administered compound within the body. This is done by measuring the concentration of the compound in some form of bodily tissue (such as whole blood or plasma) at a number of time points after administration. There are two approaches to PK analysis, modelling and non-compartmental (NCA). The modelling approach uses assumptions of the behaviour of the compound in the body to fit models to the data in order to approximate the concentration versus time curve. Whereas in NCA, no such assumptions are made, and numerical methods are used to approximate this curve. The PK behaviour is summarised by PK parameters that are derived from this approximation, such as the area under the curve (AUC), the maximum concentration (Cmax) and the time at which this maximum occurs (tmax). In this thesis, three separate topics in the area of PK studies are explored. The first two are motivated by the new blood sampling method of microsampling, which requires a smaller sample volume than traditionally used. Firstly, a methodology is introduced for comparing microsampling to traditional sampling using the derived PK parameters from PK modelling, to find evidence of equivalence of the two sampling methods. The next topic establishes an algorithm for choosing an optimal sparse sampling scheme for PK studies that use microsampling using NCA, developing a two-stage procedure that minimizes bias and variance of the PK parameter estimates. The final topic concerns how PK analysis can be conducted when some measurements are too low to be reliably detected, again using NCA. Seven methods are explored, with the introduced method of using kernel density estimation to impute values onto censored responses using an iterative procedure showing.


Cost-effectiveness analysis is rarely used in education. When it is used, it often fails to meet methodological standards, especially with regard to cost measurement. Although there are occasional criticisms of these failings, we believe that it is useful to provide a listing of the more common concerns and how they might be addressed. Based upon both previous projects on the subject and a recent project that attempted to construct cost-effectiveness comparisons from the What Works Clearinghouse of the Institute of Educational Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, we have identified a set of recommendations for practice that should have high priority if we are to construct valid cost-effectiveness comparisons for policy uses when choosing among alternative educational interventions.


This work consists of compilation of the clinical experience gained by the United States Army Medical Department at three Zone of the Interior Vascular Centers in the management of vascular injuries and disease during and following World War II. A major portion of the text concerns the surgical treatment of 2471 arterial injuries, of which there were 593 arteriovenous fistulae and 221 traumatic arterial aneurysms. This surgical experience is concisely presented and well illustrated by numerous case reports and illustrations. With but few exceptions, the patients were treated surgically in an era which preceded the use of arterial homotransplants. A remarkably low morbidity and mortality are recorded. Portions of the text dealing with the emergency management of patients whose injuries include serious vascular trauma will be found especially valuable to those interested in traumatic surgery and civilian defense preparations. In addition, an extensive experience with nontraumatic vascular disorders is presented


The spatial organization of cell types in tissues fundamentally shapes cellular interactions and function, but the high-throughput spatial mapping of complex tissues remains a challenge. We present сell2location, a principled and versatile Bayesian model that integrates single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to map cell types in situ in a comprehensive manner. We show that сell2location outperforms existing tools in accuracy and comprehensiveness and we demonstrate its utility by mapping two complex tissues. In the mouse brain, we use a new paired single nucleus and spatial RNA-sequencing dataset to map dozens of cell types and identify tissue regions in an automated manner. We discover novel regional astrocyte subtypes including fine subpopulations in the thalamus and hypothalamus. In the human lymph node, we resolve spatially interlaced immune cell states and identify co-located groups of cells underlying tissue organisation. We spatially map a rare pre-germinal centre B-cell population and predict putative cellular interactions relevant to the interferon response. Collectively our results demonstrate how сell2location can serve as a versatile first-line analysis tool to map tissue architectures in a high-throughput manner.


Abstract. Change detection in urban area is an active topic in remote sensing. However, well-dealt subject in optical remote sensing, this research topic is still at an early stage and needs deeper investigations and improvement in what concerns SAR and InSAR remote sensing. Due to their weather and daylight-independency, SAR sensors allow an all-time observation of the earth. This is determining in cases where rapid change detection is required after a natural – or technological – disaster. Due to the high resolution that can be achieved, the new generation of space-borne radar sensors opens up new perspectives for analysing buildings in urban areas. Moreover, due to their short revisiting cycle, they give rise to monitoring and change detection applications. In this paper, we present a concept for change detection in urban area at building level, relying only on SAR- and InSAR data. In this approach, interferometric and radargrammetric SAR data are merged in order to detect changes. Here, we present the overall workflow, the test area, the required data as well as first findings on the best-suited stereo-configurations for change detection.


We present CHARCUT, a character-based machine translation evaluation metric derived from a human-targeted segment difference visualisation algorithm. It combines an iterative search for longest common substrings between the candidate and the reference translation with a simple length-based threshold, enabling loose differences that limit noisy character matches. Its main advantage is to produce scores that directly reflect human-readable string differences, making it a useful support tool for the manual analysis of MT output and its display to end users. Experiments on WMT16 metrics task data show that it is on par with the best "un-trained" metrics in terms of correlation with human judgement, well above BLEU and TER baselines, on both system and segment tasks.


Background Tetanus remains a significant public health issue in China, with the approach of anti-tetanus prophylaxis in the emergency department resulting in both overuse, particularly of human tetanus immune globulin (TIG), and underuse with the tetanus vaccine. This is largely due to the absence of updated guidelines on tetanus prophylaxis before 2018. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of the 2018 Chinese tetanus guidelines on the knowledge and practices of emergency physicians about tetanus prevention in trauma patients. Methods From November 2019 to April 2020, we conducted a web-based survey involving 499 emergency physicians. The survey included a questionnaire covering knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to tetanus. We assessed the influence of the 2018 tetanus guidelines on the knowledge and practices of emergency physicians related to tetanus prevention for patients with trauma using multiple regression analysis. Results The survey results showed that only 45.3% of the participants had received formal training on tetanus immunization, despite 53.3% reporting the availability of tetanus vaccines at their institutions. Physicians typically prescribed tetanus antitoxin or human TIG instead of tetanus toxoid (TT) to treat injuries, regardless of the patient's TT vaccination history. Among the respondents, those who were aware of the 2018 tetanus guidelines had higher mean scores on the general knowledge, risk knowledge, and treatment knowledge scales, with increases of 6%, 13%, and 9%, respectively, compared to those who were unaware of the guidelines. Awareness of the 2018 tetanus guidelines was associated with a high level of knowledge, as indicated by the general knowledge score, recommendation knowledge score, and total knowledge score, after adjusting for the effects of all variables on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the participants. A high level of education was also associated with a high level of knowledge indicated by the recommendation knowledge score and total knowledge score. Conclusions Our study highlights a substantial gap in the attitudes, knowledge, and practices of emergency physicians in China regarding tetanus immunization. The results suggest an urgent need to promote the Chinese Expert Consensus Guidelines on tetanus to improve emergency physicians' knowledge and competence in tetanus prophylaxis. The findings underscore the importance of enhancing physicians' awareness of the latest guidelines to ensure appropriate and effective treatment for patients with tetanus-prone injuries.


Research on sequence effects on learning visual categories has shown that interleaving (i.e., studying the categories in a mixed manner) facilitates category induction as compared to blocking (i.e., studying the categories one by one), but learners are unaware of the interleaving effect and prefer blocking. However, little attention has been paid to sequence effects in perceptual learning across further sensory modalities. The present (preregistered) research addresses this shortcoming by using auditory (birdcalls), olfactory (tealeaves), gustatory (ingredient mixtures), and tactile (stones) stimuli across four analog experiments. The number of participants per experiment was determined based on a medium effect size of interleaving. Participants studied six categories (with six exemplars, respectively) either interleaved or blocked. No single experiment showed a significant effect of interleaving. We ran a comprehensive meta-analysis based on the data from all experiments, which revealed a significant small effect of interleaving, demonstrating its applicability to perceptual learning across all sensory modalities. Learners in the interleaved condition underestimated their classification performance. Overall, learners did not rate interleaving as less effective than blocking, which is at odds with previous studies that consistently demonstrated a metacognitive preference of blocking. Our findings suggest that learners rely less on conventional beliefs about the effectivity of study sequence when dealing with unfamiliar (blindfolded) perceptual learning tasks.


An alternative scheme is proposed for generating the Greenberg–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) and W types of the entangled states with multiple superconducting quantum-interference device (SQUID) qubits in a single-mode microwave cavity field. In this scheme, there is no transfer of quantum information between the SQUIDs and the cavity, the cavity is always in the vacuum and thus the requirement on the quality of cavity is greatly loosened. In addition, during the process of the generation of the W entangled state, the present method does not involve a real excitation of intermediate levels. Thus, decoherence due to energy relaxation of intermediate levels is minimized.


This paper is concerned to account for the concept of subsidiarity's broad topicality. What is the overall significance of the simultaneous development of the subsidiarity theme across a number of fields, EU law in particular, but also the ECHR, general international law and the shifting internal dynamics of many federal states? Just why has subsidiarity emerged as an important term within the lexicon of contemporary legal theoretical reflection and institutional design? The answer - or at least the beginning of the answer - lies in the way in which, and the reasons for which, 'subsidiarity' presents itself as what Jeremy Waldron calls a 'solution concept' rather than an 'achievement concept.' A solution concept is one, quite simply, that is defined by the solution it seeks rather than by the result it achieves. That is to say, what joins inquiry into a solution concept is a shared sense that the problem to which it is directed is one of significance and of broad application, even if the answer remains elusive. From this baseline, I argue three things. I argue, first, that the emergence of subsidiarity as a candidate term has to do with broader and endemic problems and puzzles associated with changes in the scale and patterning of global political forms and institutions; secondly, that subsidiarity's response to this operates through an attempt to think of political community and the relationship between political communities in a manner that looks beyond familiar ideas of their rootedness in territory, ethnicity, culture and conceptions of peoplehood associated with popular sovereignty. The invocation of the idea of subsidiarity, in other words, implies a more deracinated understanding of political community. And I want to argue thirdly, that while in some respects it may seem a vain or overstated ambition to seek to rethink political community in such a manner, there are nevertheless good and pressing reasons - pertaining to fundamental questions of the very sustainability of new forms of political architecture in the EU and elsewhere - why we should persevere with the theme of subsidiarity within our political discourse.


Aminopeptidase N is a zinc‐dependent metalloprotease which is involved in cancer invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis, and considered as a suitable target for anti‐cancer drug design. This in vitro study demonstrates a role of APN in the activation of J1, a prodrug of the alkylating agent melphalan, and subsequently, its cytotoxic activity. J1 (melphalanyl‐L‐p‐fluorophenylalanyl ethyl ester) is currently in a phase I/II clinical trial. Previous studies have shown that J1‐mediated cytotoxicity is dependent on hydrolytic activity of tumor cells. In this report we have analyzed potential peptidases and esterases of importance for release of free melphalan from J1. Exposure of tumor cell lines to J1 resulted in a significant increased level of free intracellular melphalan, at least ten‐fold at Cmax, compared to exposure to melphalan at the same molar concentration. This efficient intracellular delivery could be inhibited in both magnitude and in time by bestatin, a broad spectrum inhibitor of the aminopeptidases, including the metalloproteinase aminopeptidase N (APN) and ebelactone A, an esterase inhibitor. These effects resulted, as expected, in decreased cytotoxic effects of J1. A specific role of APN in hydrolyzing J1 releasing free melphalan was demonstrated in vitro with pure APN enzyme. By using plasmid‐based overexpression of APN or down regulation of endogenous APN with siRNA in different tumor cell lines we confirmed the involvement of APN in J1‐mediated cytotoxic and apoptotic signaling. Given that APN is shown to be overexpressed in several solid tumors our data suggest that J1 may be activated in a tumor selective manner. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):B187.


A chaotic approach was applied to the quantitative analysis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Finger tapping tests were performed to analyze the degree of bradykinesia in PD patients. The voltage variation obtained from the tapping tests was sampled at 200 Hz, and the data for 15 seconds were used in the analysis. Sampled data were embedded into the phase space with various combinations of the dimension and delay time. The embedding dimension and the delay time used in this study were 16 and 13, respectively. Fractal dimension of 5 PD patients was calculated in the phase space and compared with those of 5 volunteers.


OBJECTIVE
The effectiveness of the arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) estimation method to set tourniquet inflation pressures was assessed in patients undergoing lower limb surgery.

METHODS
One hundred ninety-eight operations were performed in 224 lower extremities of 193 patients. Tourniquet inflation pressures were set using the AOP estimation formula and adding 20 mmHg of safety margin to AOP value. Primary outcome measures were the amount of tourniquet pressure and its effectiveness. The quality of the surgical field and complications were assessed by the surgical team in a blinded fashion. Secondary measures included the time required to set the tourniquet pressure and complications.

RESULTS
The initial and maximal tourniquet pressures used were 168.4±14.5 and 173.3±15.6 mmHg, respectively. The performance of the tourniquets was assessed as "excellent" and "good" in all stages of the procedure in 97.76% of cases. The time required to measure AOP and set the tourniquet cuff pressure was 19.0±2.6 sec. No complications occurred during or after surgery until discharge.

CONCLUSION
Clinical utilization of the AOP estimation formula is a practical and effective way of setting tourniquet pressures for lower limb surgery. Its usage allows achievement of a bloodless field with inflation pressures lower than those previously recommended in the literature for lower limb tourniquets.


Non-invasive measurement of pulmonary blood flow by acetylene rebreathing was performed in patients with pulmonary diseases. Cardiac output measurement by thermodilution method was also used simultaneously. A fast computation system was coupled with the measurement. Fourteen emphysema patients and 7 pulmonary fibrosis patients were the subjects. Ten patients with normal lung function were normal controls. After the measurement of cardiac output, the subjects rebreathed mixed gas containing acetylene and argon from the end tidal level. The inspiratory and expiratory gas was measured by mass-spectrometer. A lung model made of two compartments connected in series, a compartment of the rebreathing bag and a compartment of the lung were used for the analysis, while taking account of the volume reduction due to O2 and CO2 exchange and the fluctuation of end tidal gas concentration until equilibrium between the bag and the lung was reached. Values in 9 emphysema cases and 6 fibrosis cases were within or near the 90% confidence limits of control. Five emphysema cases were obviously out of the range, and their pulmonary blood flow was less than the cardiac output and their mean arterial PCO2 was higher than that of the other emphysema cases. These cases were considered to have blood flow to the sites with low alveolar ventilation per unit volume.


The article looks at women self-led organisations as embodied infrastructures (Clisby & Holdsworth, 2016) supporting the lives of victim-survivors of con fl ict-related sexual violence in Colombia. Focusing on three elements that form the concept of women as embodied infrastructures namely, i) the roles women play as mentors and role models for other women, ii) women ' s work in women ' s services, networks, and organisations, iii) radical care, I argue that women as embodied infrastructures provide important listening and learning safe-spaces where victim-survivors can regain self-love, a political understanding of their victimization, access peer support, gain citizenship skills, and began to heal. By enabling victims-survivors to become agents in the process of rebuilding their lives, their liveli-hoods, and their wider ecologies the work of these organisations promotes gender-transformative change and is central for peacebuilding and transitional justice processes.


Gossypiboma (GP) or retained surgical sponge is one of the rare surgical complications which can happen despite precautions. It is an avoidable surgical complication which can lead to increased patient Morbidity and profound Medicolegal implications. Abdominal textiloma may be asymptomatic or present serious gastrointestinal complications such as intestinal obstruction, perforation or fistula formation because of misdiagnosis, it may mimic abscess formation in early stage or soft tissue masses in chronic stage.


Analyzing diverse seismic catalogs, we have determined that the probability densities of the earthquake recurrence times for different spatial areas and magnitude ranges can be described by a unique universal distribution if the time is rescaled with the rate of seismic occurrence, which therefore fully governs seismicity. The shape of the distribution shows the existence of clustering beyond the duration of aftershock bursts, and scaling reveals the self-similarity of the clustering structure in the space-time-magnitude domain. This holds from worldwide to local scales, for quite different tectonic environments and for all the magnitude ranges considered.


Administration of 14C-leucine and delta-[3,5-3H]-aminolevulinic acid to immature male rats leads to the incorporation of radioactivity into microsomal protein, including the hemoprotein cytochrome P-450. Non-hepatic regional ischemic trauma results in an increase in the half-life of total microsomal protein, but does not exert the same effect on microsomal heme-associated protein. Loss of radioactivity from microsomal hemoprotein, primarily cytochrome P-450, from traumatized animals exhibits a biphasic pattern similar to that in control animals. The half-life of both the fast-phase component and the slow-phase component is unchanged by trauma. Trauma does, however, increase the ratio of the fast- to slow-phase components of microsomal heme. A significant increase in heme oxygenase activity after trauma suggests that the fast-phase component of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 is more extensively degraded.


This paper aims to present solutions to Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) using techniques of Machine Learning (ML). In the research about Distance Education (DE), in spite of having a expressive growth in the last years it was found that the students don't realize the proposed activities by instructors/tutors/teachers, and one of the main reasons is the lack of interest from the student whether by subject or the system itself is not so attractive. An alternative is motivated the students interest on DE courses, so that they attend, learn throughout the course consequently improve their performance and interest.


A pupil's academic, technical and social capacity will set the limits to their success or failure. Therefore, educational outcomes and well-being for young people across emerging and developed economies and the crucial role of education and leaders of education has never been more important. Schools are under pressure to think more clearly about their place in children's lives, their relationship with civic institutions and their contribution to community. The pressure translates into a requirement for high quality learning in classrooms and more besides. The processes inside schools, the organisation of school systems and the relationship between communities and educators are critical elements in a complex mix that must balance correctly if it is to benefit school children properly. Using the term "high leverage leadership" to describe leadership that is associated with higher outcomes than would normally be found in similar contexts, this timely book: - Provides an overview of the development of educational leadership research - demonstrates how successful educational leaders apply contextual, social and professional expertise to the three distinctive leadership tasks of navigation, management and partnership - offers an insight into the complexity of the educational leadership and practices of teachers who, against the odds, produce high outcomes for young people - validates the idea that a renovation of educational leadership is necessary to maximise educational outcomes. High Leverage Leadership will be an indispensible text for school leaders, public sector officers, post-graduate students and researchers in leadership, policy, school improvement and educational change.


The requirement to increase inspection speeds for non-destructive testing (NDT) is common to many manufacturers. The prevalence of complex curved surfaces in modern products provides motivation for the use of 6 axis robots in these inspections. The techniques and issues associated with conventional manual inspection techniques and automated systems for the inspection of large complex surfaces were reviewed. This paper presents a new MATLAB based software solution (RoboNDT), aiming to fulfil the requirements of robotized NDT inspection. RoboNDT enables flexible trajectory path planning to be accomplished for the inspection of complex curved surfaces. This newly developed software is capable of complex path planning, obstacle avoidance, and external synchronization between robots and connected NDT systems. Comparative accuracy experiments were undertaken to evaluate the path accuracy produced by the software when inspecting a curved 0.5 m2 and a 1.6 m2 surface using a KUKA KR16 L6-2 robot. The advantages of this software over conventional off-line-programming approaches are highlighted. By implementing full external control of the robotic hardware, it has been possible to synchronise the NDT data collection with positions at all points along the path. This approach facilitates the future development of additional functionality, suited to both fixed and mobile robot NDT inspection solutions.


Background: ARDS is a severe condition that necessitates immediate medical intervention. Airway pressure release ventilation mode (APRV) has been an increasingly accepted means of supporting ARDS patients. However, recent data from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) regarding the effectiveness of using APRV among patients with ARDS is still conflicting. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine whether APRV mode is more effective in improving oxygenation and reducing hospital mortality compared to conventional ventilation (CV) among ARDS adult patients. Methods: We conducted this study following PRISMA guidelines. We searched for RCTs in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane library until April 2019. We considered for inclusion all studies that compared APRV and other CV modes among adult ARDS patients. Our primary outcomes were oxygenation status (defined as PaO2/FIO2 ratio) and hospital mortality. Risk of bias was assessed independently using appropriate tools. Results: In the initial search, we identified 118 potentially eligible studies in which 6 RCTs studies met our inclusion criteria with total of 375 patients. In all studies the effect of using APRV on oxygenation and mortality was assessed. PaO2/FIO2 ratio was similar between patients treated with ARPV and CV, mean difference = 0.62 mm Hg, (95%CI 0.05-1.3,I2=86%,P = 0.07). Mortality was lower among patients who received ARPV than patients who treated with CV (risk difference -0.05 days(95%CI -.13-0.03 days, P=0.02). Conclusions: In this study, using APRV mode was associated with reducing mortality among ARDS patients, without any improvement in oxygenation status. However, there is still a need for well-planned RCT to address the issue of improving oxygenation and safety of using APRV in clinical practice.


This article take Juye County and its nearby re-gion as an example,briefly introduced the application of 3S technology in the topography research,proposed the technical method and the route for the research of the Juye plain micro-topography,has established the Juye plain micro-topography classifying system and the inter-pretation symbol of remote sensing image,and accord-ing to the record of the on-the-spot investigation,has made the Juye plainmicro-topographymaps,andcarried on an analytical research to the region's topography char-acteristics.


Objectives Contextual components of treatment previously associated with patient outcomes include the environment, therapeutic relationship and expectancies. Questions remain about which components are most important, how they influence outcomes and comparative effects across treatment approaches. We aimed to identify significant and strong contextual predictors of patient outcomes, test for psychological mediators and compare effects across three treatment approaches. Design Prospective cohort study with patient-reported and practitioner-reported questionnaire data (online or paper) collected at first consultation, 2 weeks and 3 months. Setting Physiotherapy, osteopathy and acupuncture clinics throughout the UK. Participants 166 practitioners (65 physiotherapists, 46 osteopaths, 55 acupuncturists) were recruited via their professional organisations. Practitioners recruited 960 adult patients seeking treatment for low back pain (LBP). Primary and secondary outcomes The primary outcome was back-related disability. Secondary outcomes were pain and well-being. Contextual components measured were: therapeutic alliance; patient satisfaction with appointment systems, access, facilities; patients' treatment beliefs including outcome expectancies; practitioners' attitudes to LBP and practitioners' patient-specific outcome expectancies. The hypothesised mediators measured were: patient self-efficacy for pain management; patient perceptions of LBP and psychosocial distress. Results After controlling for baseline and potential confounders, statistically significant predictors of reduced back-related disability were: all three dimensions of stronger therapeutic alliance (goal, task and bond); higher patient satisfaction with appointment systems; reduced patient-perceived treatment credibility and increased practitioner-rated outcome expectancies. Therapeutic alliance over task (ηp2=0.10, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.14) and practitioner-rated outcome expectancies (ηp2=0.08, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.11) demonstrated the largest effect sizes. Patients' self-efficacy, LBP perceptions and psychosocial distress partially mediated these relationships. There were no interactions with treatment approach. Conclusions Enhancing contextual components in musculoskeletal healthcare could improve patient outcomes. Interventions should focus on helping practitioners and patients forge effective therapeutic alliances with strong affective bonds and agreement on treatment goals and how to achieve them.


Abstract. Using refinements of quantitative histochemistry, i.e. oil‐well technique, enzymatic Pi analysis and NADP/ NADPH cycling, the activity of NaKATPase (E.C. 220.127.116.11), an enzyme involved in transmembrane ion transport, was measured in single dissected segments of the proximal and distal tubule of male rats 10 min., 30 min., 60 h and 14 days after folate administration (250 mg/kg body weight). 10 min. after injection the onset of acute renal failure was already apparent by an increase in blood urea of 45 per cent and cessation of urine flow. 60 h after folate the rats became polyuric. The kidney wet weight rose by 40 per cent in a few minutes after the injection due to universal tubular dilatation. During the first hours numerous folate casts were localized, mainly in the thick ascending iimb of Henle's loops. In addition precipitates were found intracellularly in the distal part of the proximal convoluted tubules. The straight portion of the proximal tubules was free of precipitates. 10 min. after the injection tubular segments containing folate material did not show Na K ATPase activity, whereas the folate free tubular segments revealed a residual activity of 30 per cent. Only 15 per cent of the tubules within one lyophilized section had collapsed proximal portions with control activity values. However, the less collapsed segments of the distal tubules revealed a loss of Na K ATPase activity of 55 per cent. Thus folate seems to affect the distal tubule first of all. 60 h after folate administration, when kidney growth reached its maximum, the whole nephron lost its Na K ATPase activity. No tubular cell degeneration or necrosis could be detected during the development stage or the sustained phase of renal failure. After addition of folate to renal homogenate, Na K ATPase exhibited activation (+ 35 per cent) and inhibition (–42 per cent and more) of activity plotted against folate concentration. A careful evaluation of the available evidence led to the conclusion that the acute renal failure induced by folate differs markedly from other models by a directly altered tubular cell metabolism in the development stage of oliguria. Acute tubular obstruction may initiate oliguria. However it seems unlikely that tubular obstruction will be the unique pathogenic factor for this syndrome, especially for the development of the tremendous kidney growth. The inhibition of tubular Na K ATPase activity after folate may indicate an impaired tubular active reabsorption capacity which would be involved in the acute renal failure. The most important finding is that glomerular filtration does not seem to be a primary factor in the development of oliguria after folate administration.


In discussing secularization, it has become conventional to note that the concept refers to various processes, of which three are particularly prominent. First, the gradual delegitimation of natural and revealed religion's truth-claims in the face of rational critique. We can call this intellectual secularization. Second, the process by which some states have constitutionally disengaged from their citizens' religious beliefs and institutions. We can call this state secularization. Third, the increase across society of knowledge, activities, values, tastes, and activities which lack religious content, as well as the extent to which, increasingly, people involve themselves with these non-religious forms. We can call this social secularization. [extract]


As one of the key techniques for futuristic man-machine interface, facial expression analysis has received much attention in recent years. This paper proposes a hierarchical approach to facial expression recognition in image sequences by exploiting both spatial and temporal characteristics within the framework of hierarchical hidden Markov models (HHMMs). Human faces are automatically detected in the maximum likelihood sense. Gabor-wavelet based features are extracted from image sequences to capture the subtle changes of facial expressions. Four prototype emotions; i.e. happiness, anger, fear and sadness, are investigated using the Cohn-Kanade database and an average of 90.98% person-independent recognition rate is achieved. We also demonstrate that HHMMs outperform HMMs for modeling image sequences with multilevel statistical structure.


Electron cloud instabilities affect the performance of many circular high-intensity particle accelerators. They usually have a fast growth rate and might lead to an increase of the transverse emittance and beam loss. A peculiar example of such an instability is observed in the Fermilab Recycler proton storage ring. Although this instability might pose a challenge for future intensity upgrades, its nature had not been completely understood. The phenomena has been studied experimentally by comparing the dynamics of stable and unstable beam, numerically by simulating the build-up of the electron cloud and its interaction with the beam, and analytically by constructing a model of an electron cloud driven instability with the electrons trapped in combined function dipoles. Stabilization of the beam by a clearing bunch reveals that the instability is caused by the electron cloud, trapped in beam optics magnets. Measurements of microwave propagation confirm the presence of the cloud in the combined function dipoles. Numerical simulations show that up to 10{-2} of the particles can be trapped by their magnetic field. Since the process of electron cloud build-up is exponential, once trapped this amount of electrons significantly increases the density of the cloud on the next revolution. In a combined function dipole this multi-turn accumulation allows the electron cloud reaching final intensities orders of magnitude greater than in a pure dipole. The estimated fast instability growth rate of about 30 revolutions and low mode frequency of 0.4 MHz are consistent with experimental observations and agree with the simulations. The created instability model allows investigating the beam stability for the future intensity upgrades.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect and mechanism of leptin (LEP) on the osteoblastic differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro.

METHODS
Whole bone marrow culture method was applied to culture hMBSCs and hBMSCs at passage 3 were divided into groups A, B, C, D, E and F, and when cell attachment was evident, 400, 200, 100 and 50 ng/mL LEP, 100 ng/mL BMP and common nutrient medium were added into each group, respectively. ALP staining and mineralized nodules staining were conducted at 7 and 21 days after culture, respectively. And inverted phase contrast microscope observation was performed. ALP activity and osteocalcin (OCN) level of hBMSCs in each group was detected at 7, 14 and 21 days after culture to select the best induced concentration of LEP on osteoblastic differentiation. For groups of B, E and F at 7 days after culture, RT-PCR was adopted to detect the expression of such osteogenesis-related genes as core-binding factor alpha 1 (Cbf alpha 1), ALP, Col I and OCN mRNA.

RESULTS
At 7 days after induced culture, the ALP staining result showed that the endochylema in groups A, B, C, D and E were stained blue and the endochylema in the group F was slightly positive. At 21 days after induced culture, the mineralized nodules staining showed that cells in groups A, B, C, D and E were stained positively and cells in group F were negative. At 7, 14 and 21 days after culture, ALP and OCN activities in group B were less than that of group E (P < 0.05), but significant higher than that of groups A, C, D and F (P < 0.05), the optimal concentration of LEP was 200 ng/mL. At 7 days after culture, group F witnessed no expression of Cbf alpha 1, ALP, Col I and OCN mRNA, while groups B and E witnessed expressions of all those indexes, but the expressions in group B were less than those of group E.

CONCLUSION
LEP can stimulate osteoblastic differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro, and the possible mechanism is its role of promoting the expression of osteoblastic related genes.


Adult neurogenesis (i.e., proliferation and differentiation of neuronal precursors in the adult brain) is responsible for adding new neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and in the olfactory bulb. We describe herein that adult mice mutated in the cell cycle regulatory gene Ccnd2, encoding cyclin D2, lack newly born neurons in both of these brain structures. In contrast, genetic ablation of cyclin D1 does not affect adult neurogenesis. Furthermore, we show that cyclin D2 is the only D-type cyclin (out of D1, D2, and D3) expressed in dividing cells derived from neuronal precursors present in the adult hippocampus. In contrast, all three cyclin D mRNAs are present in the cultures derived from 5-day-old hippocampi, when developmental neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus takes place. Thus, our results reveal the existence of molecular mechanisms discriminating adult versus developmental neurogeneses.


BACKGROUND
Vegetable oils are yearly produced in large amounts generating solid by-products, the oilseed cakes (OC). OC are lignocellulosic materials that have been used for animal feed with some limitations due to high fiber content from the plant cell walls. Biotechnological processes can help to overcome these limitations and contribute to up-grading such by-products, enhancing their nutritional value as feed ingredients.

RESULTS
All fungal species were able to decrease neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber in all by-products. Additionally, relevant enzymes were produced by the three fungi studied resulting in an improved antioxidant capacity of all fermented OC. Aspergillus niger led to the highest activity of cellulase (109 U g-1 ), xylanase (692 U g-1 ) and protease (157 U g-1 ) per dry OC matter and to the recovery of an extract rich in antioxidants, with the highest scavenging potential of free radicals and superoxide anion, iron chelation ability and reducing power. Rhyzopus oryzae produced the highest activity of β-glucosidase (503 U g-1 ) and led to the highest liberation of total phenolic compounds (TPC). Principal components analysis showed that extracts with high antioxidant potential were obtained in SSF with high enzymatic activity. A positive correlation was established between the action of β-glucosidase and TPC.

CONCLUSION
Within the same bioprocess it was possible to improve the nutritional value of oilseed cakes and to obtain relevant bioactive compounds such as lignocellulosic enzymes and phenolic compounds with antioxidant potential, resulting in a significant improvement of already valuable by-products with commercial interest for animal feed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Field studies were conducted at five locations in North Carolina and Virginia in 1996 and 1997 to evaluate weed control and peanut (Arachis hypogaea) response to diclosulam that was applied preemergence (PRE) and in systems with commercial standards. All plots received a preplant incorporated (PPI) treatment of ethalfluralin at 840 g ai/ha. Diclosulam controlled common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), eclipta (Eclipta prostrata L.), entireleaf morningglory (Ipomoea hederacea var. integriuscula Gray), ivyleaf morningglory [Ipomoea hederacea (L.) Jacq.], pitted morningglory (Ipomoea lacunosa L.), and prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.) as well as and frequently better than the commercial standards of acifluorfen plus bentazon applied postemergence (POST), paraquat plus bentazon early POST followed by (fb) imazapic POST, or imazapic POST. Systems with ethalfluralin PPI plus diclosulam PRE at 26 g ai/ha fb acifluorfen plus bentazon POST controlled a broader spectrum of weeds and yielded greater than systems of ethalfluralin PPI fb imazapic POST or ethalfluralin PPI fb acifluorfen plus bentazon POST. Peanut exhibited excellent tolerance to diclosulam PRE at 17, 26, or 35 g/ha.


Nutritional research covers different fields, two of which are of particular interest: evaluation of the nutritional status, and epidemiology of food consumption. For many years, studies in these fields have been promoted by our research group, which bases its methodology on anthropometric measurements, bioelectrical impedance measurements, and check of nutritional habits. Our studies involve more than 2500 subjects from pre-school age to adolescence. This work represents the basis for an educational approach with the ultimate aim of improving life styles. One of our first studies on school meals during nursery period and composition and application of "dietary tables" showed inadequacies of energy intakes and macronutrients distribution. In another study, aimed to evaluate the intake of soluble sugars, more than 2/3 of participating school children were found to consume more than 70 g of soluble sugars per day, while 10% of them exceeded 150 g/day. Results of the following study, in which special attention was given to salted and sweet snacks, showed that snacks can account for 34% of the total daily energy intake; although its adequacy, the energy distribution per macronutrients showed a clear imbalance. As for adolescence, a very critical age, the evaluation of weight self-perception revealed that only 62% of them had a correct perception of their weight. This research also devoted special attention to home prepared breakfast, which is consumed by the vast majority of enrolled subjects, although only rarely it is nutritionally adequate. A double age-related trend could thus be drawn: on one side, there is the tendency of the "overweight status" to decrease (from a starting-point of about 20%); on the other side, this tendency is unfortunately compensated by the increasing trend of "obesity" (which almost reaches 30%).


Exciton diffusion in organic materials provides the operational basis for functioning of such devices as organic solar cells and light-emitting diodes. Here we track the exciton diffusion process in organic semiconductors in real time with a novel technique based on femtosecond photoinduced absorption spectroscopy. Using vacuum-deposited C_{70} layers as a model system, we demonstrate an extremely high diffusion coefficient of D≈3.5×10^{-3}  cm^{2}/s that originates from a surprisingly low energetic disorder of <5  meV. The experimental results are well described by the analytical model and supported by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The proposed noninvasive time-of-flight technique is deemed as a powerful tool for further development of organic optoelectronic components, such as simple layered solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and electrically pumped lasers.