Nine patients with metastatic seminoma who had received no prior chemotherapy were induced with a combination containing cis-platinum 120 mg/m2 I.V. and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 I.V. for three to six treatments at 4-6 weeks intervals, and then received maintenance with cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 I.V. every 3-4 weeks to complete 2 years of chemotherapy. Eight patients entered complete remission: five with chemotherapy alone and three with chemotherapy and radiation or resection of residual disease. Seven patients remain in CR with a minimum follow up of 17 months. Chemotherapy is effective in treatment of metastatic seminoma.


Numerous published studies on the non-wettable surfaces with surface texture and slip conditions have been reviewed comprehensively to evaluate the performance of hydrodynamic bearings from last two decades. The recent numerical and experimental studies have been explored to observe the individual and combined influence of surface texture and slip. A variety of texture shapes and optimized slip zone profiles have also been discussed in this article. It has been observed from the literature that a suitable combination of modified slip and the conventional no-slip zone is effective in improving dynamic and static performance of hydrodynamic bearings. Many experimental studies also revealed that micro-scale textures are significantly capable of improving the tribological performance. Moreover, slip boundary condition is more beneficial at low and medium eccentricity ratios.


Simulated screening of DNA encoded libraries indicates that the presence of truncated byproducts complicates the relationship between library member enrichment and equilibrium association constant (these truncates result from incomplete chemical reactions during library synthesis). Further, simulations indicate that some patterns observed in reported experimental data may result from the presence of truncated byproducts in the library mixture and not structure-activity relationships. Potential experimental methods of minimizing the presence of truncates are assessed via simulation; the relationship between enrichment and equilibrium association constant for libraries of differing purities is investigated. Data aggregation techniques are demonstrated that allow for more accurate analysis of screening results, in particular when the screened library contains significant quantities of truncates.


The weight and girth of a muscle belly denervated in the three-week-old rabbit eventually grows to about 30%, its total collagen content to almost 300% and the thickness of its tendon to approximately 75% of those of the controls. There is, as occurs during normal growth, the same increase from 0.7 to 1.25 in the ratio of the thickness of the tendon of peroneus brevis to that of tibialis anterior. If a muscle is completely excised at three weeks, its tendon, which is subjected only to passive tensions during movement, grows to as much as 85% of the girth of its control. If, however, such passive tensions are eliminated as far as is possible, the isolated tendon may grow no more in thickness.


There are few epidemiological data to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenia, nor is there a standard of morbidity that defines the degree of disability and consequently the seriousness of this problem. This article reviews data on prevalence, examines different aspects of measurements, and discusses the policy ramifications of establishing a specific definition of sarcopenia.


The city of Valparaiso, Chile, was declared on July 2, 2003, World Heritage Site.
The privilege of this designation implies official recognition and universal that it constitutes
a wealth of great significance for all humanity. This mobilized the Chilean authorities in the
allocation of resources for the restoration of historic buildings and spaces of the city, as
Spain has done. But the big difference is the type of heritage education promoted
In this communication, we discuss the current state of the heritage of Valparaiso, the main
proposals developed in the subject, the general deficiencies exist with regard to: economic
policies, including teaching in museums, the role of culture in offices municipalities, educational
work and the limited role that has had the political and educational development and
assessment of the good of humanity. Also, will these issues in relation to progress in this
area has Spain, the challenges faced today, and see the possibilities of achieving them in
Chile, in order to generate debate around the need for all generations value their own history
and cultural heritage that they are present.


An exposure of Pleistocene sand at Gay Head, on Marthas Vineyard, has yielded a small molluscan fauna. The 11 forms which may be positively identified are conspecific with mollusks living at the present time in the Marthas Vineyard area. The ecology of the modern species is used in an attempt to interpret the paleoecology of the Pleistocene assemblage. The situation is unusually favorable for this type of analysis and the study is used therefore, as a testing ground for the basic method of using species distribution as a paleoecological tool. Few tangible results are produced by the study, however. The failure of the analysis is due principally to the complexity of the relationships which control the environmental distribution of an organism and to the impossibility of justifying several assumptions required by the method.


Author(s): Preciado, Mariana Alejandra | Advisor(s): Peplau, Letitia A; Johnson, Kerri L | Abstract: Sexual orientation has two key aspects: actual sexual experiences (e.g., attraction, fantasy, and behavior) and beliefs about those sexual experiences (self-perceived sexual orientation). It is self-perceived sexual orientation that is most often measured and used to understand the mental, physical, and behavioral correlates of sexual orientation. While evidence suggests that features of the social context (e.g., social norms) are related to self-perceived sexual orientation, to date there is no theoretical model which explains the psychological mechanisms by which the social context influences these two aspects of sexual orientation. I draw from basic social psychological theory of motivated cognition to propose a novel approach to understanding both between-person and within-person variability in self-perceived sexual orientation (Chapter I). I propose that individuals are motivated by various social contextual, cultural, and individual factors to hold a particular conception of their sexual orientation, prompting them to interpret their sexual experiences in a way that is consistent with that motivated self-perception. For instance, a man from a socially conservative family who has a same-sex experience at a party might be motivated to avoid interpreting that same-sex experience as relevant to his sexuality. He might state that it only happened because he was drunk, allowing him to maintain the self-perception that he is exclusively attracted to women. Critically, I propose that the impact of motivation on self-perceived sexual orientation is contingent on an individual's ability to interpret their sexual experiences in a way consistent with those beliefs. Thus, a man who has only ever been attracted to men and has only experienced sexual behaviors with men will have a difficult time interpreting his sexual experiences to support the motivated belief that he is heterosexual. The central tenets of this approach are tested in the studies described in Chapters II and III. In the three studies described in Chapter II, I tested whether heterosexually identified men and women who are exposed to cues likely to motivate particular beliefs about their own sexual orientation would show differences in their self-perceived sexual orientation. Across three studies using both explicit and implicit manipulations, different measures of self-perceived sexual orientation, and both adult and college-aged participants, I found that participants exposed to cues indicating that same-sex sexuality was stigmatized in their social environment reported less self-perceived same-sex sexuality than did participants exposed to cues indicating that same-sex sexuality was supported in their social environment. In the study described in Chapter III, I tested whether the relationship between a motivational cue (i.e., the perception that significant others experience same-sex sexuality) and self-perceived sexual orientation was moderated by the amount of same-sex experience participants had. I found that heterosexually identified male and female participants with at least some same-sex experience (e.g., same-sex fantasies, kissing) showed a positive relationship between their perceptions of the amount of same-sex attraction experienced by significant others in their life (e.g., mothers, average citizen from their hometown) and their self-perceived same-sex sexual attraction. However, those participants with no same-sex experience showed no relationship, indicating that they had no same-sex experiences to interpret as indicating they experienced same-sex attraction. Finally, in the study described in Chapter IV, I tested two important implications of the proposed motivated cognition approach: that self-perceived sexual orientation is weakly predictive of future sexual experience and that more specific measures less likely to be influenced by motivational factors are better predictors of future sexual experience. Among a sample of heterosexually identified men and women, I found that self-perceived sexual orientation predicted only 18% of the variance in future same-sex sexual experience. However, more specific measures of the likelihood of engaging in specific same-sex experiences predicted between 51% and 69% of the variance in future same-sex sexual experience. In conclusion, the theoretical paper and accompanying studies offer a novel, social psychological perspective on between-person and within-person variability in self-perceived sexual orientation. Self-perceived sexual orientation, like other beliefs about the self, is subject to the influence of motivational factors. The influence of those factors is contingent on an individual's ability to interpret their sexual experiences in a motivated fashion. This approach offers insights into the psychological mechanisms underlying variability in self-perceived sexual orientation; highlights the weak relationship between self-perceived sexual orientation and actual sexual experience; and offers empirically testable predictions for future research.


The computationally demanding dynamic programming (DP) algorithm is frequently used in academic research to solve the energy management problem of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). This paper is exclusively focused on how the computational demand of such a computation can be reduced. The main idea is to use a local approximation of the gridded cost-to-go and derive an analytic solution for the optimal torque split decision at each point in the time and state grid. Thereby, it is not necessary to quantize the torque split and identify the optimal decision by interpolating in the cost-to-go. Two different approximations of the cost-to-go are considered in this paper: 1) a local linear approximation and 2) a quadratic spline approximation. The results indicate that computation time can be reduced by orders of magnitude with only a slight degradation in simulated fuel economy. Furthermore, with a spline approximated cost-to-go, it is also possible to significantly reduce the memory storage requirements. A parallel plug-in HEV is considered in this paper, but the method is also applicable to an HEV.


BACKGROUND
Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia (previously T. forsythensis), which are regarded as the principal periodontopathogenic bacteria, exist as a consortium in subgingival biofilms. We aimed to examine quantitative relationships between P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia in subgingival biofilms and the relationship between the quantity and prevalence of these three bacteria and site-specific periodontal health.

METHODS
This study was cross-sectional. The study population consisted of 35 adult subjects who visited the Kyushu Dental College Hospital. Plaque samples were collected from 105 periodontal pocket sites. Quantitative analyses of each of the three periodontopathogenic bacteria were performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction with species-specific primers and hybridization probes.

RESULTS
The plaque samples were divided into four groups based on the presence or absence of a periodontal pocket (probing depth [PD] > or =4 mm) and bleeding on probing (BOP), regardless of attachment loss. The proportions of all three target bacteria detected in samples from sites of periodontal disease (with PD and BOP) were markedly higher than those in the other sample groups. Cell numbers of P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia in the subgingival plaque of each sampling site were significantly mutually correlated and were increased in the plaque of sites of periodontal disease with PD > or =4 mm and BOP.

CONCLUSION
The symbiotic effects of P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia, which coaggregate and exist concomitantly in subgingival biofilms, may be associated with the local development of periodontitis.


A number of depositional systems and sub-systems have been recognized within the Lower Jurassic clastic deposits of the Polish Lowlands. These are: fluvial, deltaic, swampy (with swampy-lacustrine and swampy-lagoonal sub-systems) and siliciclastic shelf system (with shallower and deeper shelf sub-systems -the former includes brackish shelf facies). On the basis of their vertical succession and lateral changes, the Lower Jurassic sediments have been subdivided into five transgressive-regressive cycles. The lower-most deposits are included into the regressive phase of the last Triassic cycle. These cycles have been compared with the eustatic curves of B. U. Haq et al. (1988) and A. Hallam (1988).


We perform a detailed comparison between a recently proposed parameter-free velocity-dependent one-scale model and the standard parametric model for the cosmological evolution of domain wall networks. We find that the latter overestimates the damping of the wall motion due to the Hubble expansion and neglects the direct impact of wall decay on the evolution of the root-mean-square velocity of the network. We show that these effects are significant but may be absorbed into a redefinition of the momentum parameter. We also discuss the implications of these findings for cosmic strings. We compute the energy loss and momentum parameters of the standard parametric model for cosmological domain wall evolution using our {non-parametric} velocity-dependent one-scale model in the context of cosmological models having a power law evolution of the scale factor a with the cosmic time t (a ∝ tλ, 0 < λ < 1), and compare with the results obtained from numerical field theory simulations. We further provide simple linear functions which roughly approximate the dependence of the energy loss and momentum parameters on λ.


This experiment aimed to investigate the influence of pulsed extremely-low-frequency-magnetic fields on free radical metabolism of mice. Thirty-two mice were randomly divided into four groups and were exposed to 0 T, 0.25 T, 0.34 T and 0.64 T intensity pulsed magnetic fields of 20 Hz for 40 min. The 0 T exposed group was the control group. The free radical metabolism, SOD's activity and MDA, of mice were measured respectively. The result showed the SOD's activity and MDA of the 0.34 T exposed group were both significantly lower (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) than that of the control group, while the 0.25 T and 0.64 T exposed groups were not significantly different from the control group. This demonstrates that the biological effect of pulsed extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields on free radical metabolism of mice varies and depends on the intensity of the fields. The "window" effect may exist.


The explosion in sophisticated experimental techniques and hence in the potential biological information they provide has led to a paradigm shift in molecular biology. Pre-genomic biology followed, in general, a traditional hypothesis-driven approach, in which qualitative methods were applied to small sub-systems. In contrast to this modern post-genomic molecular biology takes a more holistic approach which is intrinsically data-driven and increasingly relies on quantitative methods. In this sea of data bioinformatics has emerged as an essential part of making sense of information in molecular life-sciences. At the very deepest levels, biology is changing from a qualitative to a quantitative science. This talk will concentrate on analysis; and on analysis of gene microarrays in particular. We will consider this as a case study in data-driven inference. We look at the issues of representation, gene selection and inference.


Racism is the belief that groups of human being possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance, and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It also includes prejudice, discrimination, antagonism, nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking and supremacism. In this paper through To Kill a Mockingbird an attempt has been made to depict the racism prevailed in American society. The novel presents racism in Maycomb society where most of the people belong to different races.


Abstract Many large organizations have developed ambitious programs to build reliability databases by collecting field failure data from a large variety of components. To make the database concise, only the number of component replacements in a component position during an operation time interval is reported in these databases. This leads to time-censoring in the aggregate failure data. Statistical inference for the time-censored aggregate data is challenging, because the likelihood function based on some common lifetime distributions can be intractable. In this study, we propose a general parametric estimation framework for the aggregate data. We first use the gamma distribution and the Inverse Gaussian (IG) distribution to model the aggregate data. Bayesian inference for the two models is discussed. Unlike the gamma/IG distribution, other lifetime distributions involve multiple integrals in the likelihood function, making the standard Bayesian inference difficult. To address the estimation problem, an approximate Bayesian computation algorithm that does not require evaluating the likelihood function is proposed, and its performance is assessed by simulation. As there are several candidate distributions, we further propose a model selection procedure to identify an appropriate distribution for the time-censored aggregate data. A real aggregate dataset extracted from a reliability database is used for illustration.


ABSTRACT An essential step in the replication of all retroviruses is the capture of a cellular tRNA that is used as the primer for reverse transcription. The 3′-terminal 18 nucleotides of the tRNA are complementary to the primer binding site (PBS). Moloney murine leukemia virus (MuLV) preferentially captures tRNAPro. To investigate the specificity of primer selection, the PBS of MuLV was altered to be complementary to different tRNAs. Analysis of the infectivity of the virus and stability of the PBS following in vitro replication revealed that MuLV prefers to select tRNAPro, tRNAGly, or tRNAArg. Previous studies from our laboratory have suggested that tRNA primer capture is coordinated with translation. Coincidentally, a cluster of proline, arginine, and glycine precedes the Gag-Pol junction of MuLV. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), which prefers \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{tRNA}_{3}^{\mathrm{Lys}}\) \end{document} as the primer, can be forced to utilize tRNAMet, \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{tRNA}_{1,2}^{\mathrm{Lys}}\) \end{document}, tRNAHis, or tRNAGlu, although these viruses replicate poorly. Codons for methionine, lysine, histidine, or glutamic acid are found prior to the Gag-Pol frameshift site. HIV-1 was mutated so that the 5 lysine codons prior to the Gag-Pol frameshift region were specific for \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{tRNA}_{1,2}^{\mathrm{Lys}}\) \end{document}. HIV-1 forced to use \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{tRNA}_{1,2}^{\mathrm{Lys}}\) \end{document} as the primer, with the mutation of codons specific for \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(\mathrm{tRNA}_{1,2}^{\mathrm{Lys}}\) \end{document} prior to the Gag-Pol junction, had enhanced infectivity and replicated similarly to the wild-type virus. The results demonstrate that codon preference prior to the Gag-Pol junction influences primer selection and suggest a coordination of Gag-Pol synthesis and acquisition of the tRNA primer required for retrovirus replication.


The behavior of three-dimensional boundary layer on swept wings is an important research subject for the future high-speed airplane. The purpose of the present paper is to study controllability of boundary layer transition by suction. Experiments are done by using a closed circuit wind tunnel at Tokai University. The swept wing model with a latch for variable sweep angle at a root is mounted vertically in the 1.5m×1.0m test section. Suction is applied through the perforated surface, and flow velocity of the suction is variable. Two velocity components measured by the twodimensional hot wire anemometer with computer controlled three-dimensional traverse system. At various sweep angles, the velocity inside the boundary layer is measured, and the data are investigated to obtain the relation between the sweep angle and the effect of suction.


In order to adequately assess the effectiveness of manager and leadership in the construction industry one must first look to define from whose perspective project success is considered. Firstly, the researcher looked into existing literature to establish project success factors and attributes of the project manager. Secondly, a survey approach is adopted to collect data regarding various construction industry professional's opinions on project success and their assessment of the significance of various management competencies. From the data gathered, it was proven that the perception of project success is varies for different stakeholders. It was also shown how stakeholders perceive different significance of various management competencies. To conclude, it is shown that project managers are exposed to the continuing change of the construction industry and must look to update their qualities and competence levels in order to satisfy all stakeholders involved in the project and ensure the success of the project.


This chapter examines how and why poststructuralism engaged International Relations (IR) from the 1980s to today. It begins by analysing the interdisciplinary context of social and political theory from which poststructuralism emerged, along with the misconceptions evident in the reception of the poststructuralist approach among mainstream theorists. It then considers what the critical attitude of poststructuralism means for social and political inquiry and draws on the work of Michel Foucault to highlight the importance of discourse, identity, subjectivity, and power to the poststructuralist approach. It also discusses the methodological features employed by poststructuralists in their readings of, and interventions in, international politics. The chapter concludes with a case study of images of famines and other kinds of humanitarian crises that illustrates the poststructural approach.


Received January 16, 2003 Abstract Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a common vasculitic disease in children. Renal involvement in HSP is not uncommon and accounts for major morbidity. There are a lot of controversies in the management of patients with Henoch-Schönlein nephritis. After reviewing the literatures, our group conclude that (a) The presenting renal histology, which reveals the severity of kidney damage, is by far the most useful, although not entirely reliable prognosticator. (b) Patients with minor urinary abnormalities at presentation do not need any form of intervention, however follow up for subsequent renal impairment may be necessary. (c) Patients with moderate renal involvement may warrant treatment and (d) renal biopsy is indicated in order to guide the treatment and give a better prediction of outcome. (e) Patients with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis deserve aggressive intervention so as to halt the progression of renal damage and subsequent renal failure. Corticosteroid in combination with immunosuppressive agents is the commonly used treatment option and plasmapheresis could be an adjuvant therapy.


Empowerment activities to improve the ability of coffee farmers in Kerinci Regency are very important to be implemented. The purposes of this study are to describe the empowerment activities undertaken by coffee perfume agroindustry practitioners towards coffee farmers in Kerinci Regency and to explain the empowerment potentials of coffee farmers performed by coffee perfume agroindustry practitioners in Kerinci Regency. This research was designed qualitatively with descriptive methods. Data was collected using a focus group discussion (FGD) method with the informants selected in this study as many as 16 coffee farmers and  Kerinci Coffee Perfume entrepreneurs themselves. Data analysis was performed using the Miles and Huberman method. The results showed that the empowerment activities carried out by coffee perfume agroindustry practitioners for coffee farmers in Kerinci Regency were still not available, because kerinci coffee perfume agroindustry practitioners only provided training to coffee farmers working in coffee farms owned by the agroindustry entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, the potential for empowerment of coffee farmers by coffee perfume agro-industry prractitioners in Kerinci Regency is very high, because the characteristics of coffee farmers that have a sense to develop and easily receive information to improve their abilities and skills in producing high quality coffee beans. Based on this, henceforth, this research can be directed at the strategy of empowering coffee farmers in Kerinci Regency by kerinci coffee perfume agro-industry practitioners and the impact of empowerment that has been done.


Effects of UV and butylated hydroxanisol (BHA) on the activities of antioxidant enzymes were studied on the leaves of winter wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L. Yildirim). Fifteen days old wheat seedlings were treated with UV radiation (240 nm, 3 day) before they are treated with BHA (20°C). Supplementary UV-B radiation and UV-B+BHA significantly decreased chlorophyll and total phenol contents. The activities of enzyme extracts; polyphenol oxidase, catalase, paraoxonase and peroxidase were determined in the leaves under normal, UV-B (<315 nm) and UV-B + BHA conditions for 4 days. The antioxidant enzymes affected and showed enhanced activities in peroxidase, paraoxonase and polyphenoloxidase (except catalase) in UV-B and then BHA irradiated seedling. UV-B and then BHA-treated winter wheat seedling tries to counteract high level of reactive oxygen species that are produced under UV-B stress through the increased activities of antioxidant enzyme. It brings to mind that BHA tries to counteract high concentrations of oxygen species produced under UV-B radiation stress through increase in UV absorbing compound and antioxidant enzymes. In this study, the changes in quantities of polypeptide in wheat was investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). While the accumulation and pattern of the polypeptides unchanged in UV-treated leaves, they increased in UV+BHA-treated leaves compared to the control. It is concluded that BHA can be involved in UV radition tolerance by regulating antioxidant enzyme activities.

 Key words: Oxidative damage, butylated hydroxanisol (BHA), peroxidase, catalase, polyphenol oxidase, paraoxonase, UV, winter wheat.


We dissected disadvantages of the existing transmission protocols and improved its performance of dada communication security. We have proposed a security communication protocol, called as RTUSec, for remote terminal units. RTUSec adds a security layer to the existing three layer model, so that the data security is improved. After analyzing advantage and disadvantage of the present algorithms of cryptography and authentication for data communication, we have designed a security mechanism with DES and HMAC to deal with security problems like spoofing during the communication between Remote Terminal Units and controlling centers.


The extractability of /sup 237/Np, /sup 239/Pu, /sup 241/Am, and /sup 244/Cm from widely different kinds of soils as a function of pH was determined using an equilibrium batch technique. Hydrochloric acid or NaOH was used to adjust the pH. The sorption and extractability of the transuranics studied varied considerably with pH and the kind of soil. A general pattern of extractability that is common to all of the transuranics studied was exhibited to a varying degree by each mineral soil (except the calcareous soil). Typically the extractability was relatively high under strongly acidic condition, particularly below pH 2. Then, as the pH increased, there was a zone of rapid decrease, which was followed by a zone of relatively low extractability. Above the latter zone, there was an increase to a peak with increasing pH and then a decline. The organic soil used differed from this general pattern in that it showed a progressive increase of extractability in the alkaline pH range instead of peaking and declining. Among the mineral soils, the extractability of /sup 237/Np was markedly greater than those of /sup 239/Pu, /sup 241/Am, or /sup 244/Cm in the pH range below pH 6. Above this pH, themore » relative extractability of the radionuclides depended on the soil. The extractability of /sup 244/Cm was practically the same as that of /sup 241/Am over the entire pH range. The relative magnitudes of the distribution coefficient, K/sub d/, values around the pH levels of the soils were /sup 237/Np < /sup 239/Pu < /sup 241/Am, /sup 244/Cm. Soil organic matter and hydrous oxides of Al, Fe, and Mn appeared to influence the sorption and extractability of the transuranics studied.« less


Iron catalysts for ammonia synthesis/nanocrystalline iron promoted with oxides of potassium, aluminum and calcium were characterized by studying the nitriding process with ammonia in kinetic area of the reaction at temperature of 475 °C. Using the equations proposed by Crank, it was found that the process rate is limited by diffusion through the interface, and the estimated value of the nitrogen diffusion coefficient through the boundary layer is 0.1 nm2/s. The reaction rate can be described by Fick's first equation. It was confirmed that nanocrystallites undergo a phase transformation in their entire volume after reaching the critical concentration, depending on the active specific surface of the nanocrystallite. Nanocrystallites transform from the α-Fe(N) phase to γ'-Fe4N when the total chemical potential of nitrogen compensates for the transformation potential of the iron crystal lattice from α to γ; thus, the nanocrystallites are transformed from the smallest to the largest in reverse order to their active specific surface area. Based on the results of measurements of the nitriding rate obtained for the samples after overheating in hydrogen in the temperature range of 500–700 °C, the probabilities of the density of distributions of the specific active surfaces of iron nanocrystallites of the tested samples were determined. The determined distributions are bimodal and can be described by the sum of two Gaussian distribution functions, where the largest nanocrystallite does not change in the overheating process, and the size of the smallest nanocrystallites increases with increasing recrystallization temperature. Parallel to the nitriding reaction, catalytic decomposition of ammonia takes place in direct proportion to the active surface of the iron nanocrystallite. Based on the ratio of the active iron surface to the specific surface, the degree of coverage of the catalyst surface with the promoters was determined.


School burnout is linked to relevant adverse consequences for students' academic careers. Thus, several authors have focused on the internal and external factors that reduce burnout, highlighting the role of teachers' support. Nonetheless, few studies addressed how students' perception of teachers' emotional support protects them from school maladaptive behaviors. The present study aimed to longitudinally investigate in a final sample of 295 Italian high school students (F = 78.6%; M = 15.78, SD = 1.48) the protective role of students' perception of teachers' emotional support dimensions on school burnout across a school year. We expected that teachers' emotional support dimensions had a significant inverse effect on students' burnout. We preliminarily investigated the study variables' associations and whether the mean levels of burnout dimensions increased throughout the school year. Correlation analysis supported the associations among the study variables, and repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses highlighted that the mean levels of school burnout dimensions increased over time. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analyses have shown that at the beginning of the school year (T1), the teacher sensitivity dimension significantly and inversely affected emotional exhaustion by the end of the school year (T2). Our findings shed light on the role played by teacher emotional support and give suggestions on which specific facet should have to be improved to shield students from later burnout-related exhaustion.


Background and Aim of Study: Determination of sensorimotor function is an important area of psychophysiological features study of the athletes' body, which are essential for the analysis of cognitive processes, assessment of the central nervous system functional state, sensory sensitivity, development of motor skills, psychophysiological and neurophysiological parameters of brain. The aim of the study: to define the changes of indexes of the central regulation of sensorimotor function of highly skilled sportsmen at forming of the cardiovascular system overstrain. Material and Methods: On results research of the cardiovascular system with the use of spiroarteriocardiorhythmography before, after load and a next morning in 19 sportsmen of men, which the overstrains of the cardiovascular system was forming, were determine: at 10 – on a sympathetic type, at 9 – on a parasympathetic type. In parallel was determination of index of switching of central settings (SCS) which received from data of research of the sensorimotor system with the use of device the "Computer motion meter". Results: Right after intensive physical activity the meaningful acceleration of SCSl (p<0.05) and meaningful deceleration of SCSr (p<0.05) is marked at an overstrain on a sympathetic type, and also meaningful deceleration of SCSl (p<0.05) and meaningful acceleration of SCSr (p<0.01) at an overstrain on a parasympathetic type. In the period of recovery deceleration of SCSl and SCSr (p<0.05) at a sympathetic overstrain, and also stability of index of SCSl by comparison to afterload and meaningful dynamics of SCSr (p<0.05) is marked at a parasympathetic overstrain. Conclusions: At a sympathetic and parasympathetic overstrain the characteristic asymmetric changes of indexes of SCS that can testify to the primary flow of ergotrophic and trophotrophic processes in the organism of sportsmen are marked.


Antimony/bismuth-based lead-free hybrid halide defect 2D perovskites have been generating enormous research interest due to their inherent excellent optical properties. Exploration of new phases and understanding of their structural and optoelectronic properties are of paramount importance in the process of developing materials for practical solar cell applications. In this article, we have reported a structural transition from the 0D hexagonal phase containing isolated [M2I9]3- (M = Bi/Sb) units to the 1D orthorhombic phase via a new monoclinic phase with novel isolated trimeric [M3I12]3- units in (C2H5NH3)3Bi2-2xSb2xI9. The hexagonal phase is stable up to 2x = 0.6 in (C2H5NH3)3Bi2-2xSb2xI9. With gradual substitution of Sb, the cation-cation repulsion increases, which destabilizes the [M2I9]3- unit, and hence, the hexagonal phase becomes unstable. At intermediate composition, 2x = 0.8-1.6, a new monoclinic phase (S.G.: C2/m) with the composition (C2H5NH3)2Bi2-2xSb2xI8 is formed, containing isolated [M3I12]3- units. The symmetry reduction resulted in larger distortion, which relaxes the strain and stabilizes the trimeric unit in the intermediate compositions. Finally, at higher Sb compositions (2x = 1.9-2.0), the compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic 1D phase. In all three phases of (C2H5NH3)3Bi2-2xSb2xI9, the cationic ethylammonium units are completely disordered over the whole unit cell. Raman study clearly shows the phase transition in (C2H5NH3)3Bi2-2xSb2xI9 and also the structural distortion in (C2H5NH3)2Bi2-2xSb2xI8. Optical property study shows that all the compounds are of indirect band gap type. Furthermore, PL study shows better emission properties of the 1D orthorhombic Sb compounds as compared to the 0D hexagonal and monoclinic phases.


This paper addresses the problem of access control in the context of unified distributed architectures, in which a local authorization policy is not able to recognize all the terms applicable to the authorization decision requests. The approach is based on semantic interoperability between the different services of the architecture. More specifically, we present the ontologybased interoperation service (OBIS), which calculates the matching of security concepts extracted from access requests and local authorization policies. This service is then validated in an employability use case scenario.


ABSTRACT Jails serve a valuable role in the American correctional system. Historically, the quick turnover in population and limited resources that plague jails create impediments to the delivery of programming content for inmates. A large Midwestern jail facility has sought to increase inmate exposure to evidence-based cognitive behavioral programming through the use of a facility-wide CCTV system, known as Jail TV. This outcome evaluation discusses the program's effects on the short-term goals of the facility and program administrators. Facility data suggests that the use of Jail TV increases the amount of programming delivered to more inmates, as well as increasing inmate awareness of facility and community resources that are beneficial upon reentry into the community. Finally, researchers discuss the implications Jail TV has for changing the way correctional facilities think about the delivery of treatment and programming options.


ABSTRACT Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus), the major prey fish for Lake Ontario, contain thiaminase. They are associated with development of a thiamine deficiency in salmonines which greatly increases the potential for developing an early mortality syndrome (EMS). To assess the possible effects of thiamine deficiency on salmonine reproduction we measured egg thiamine concentrations for five species of Lake Ontario salmonines. From this we estimated the proportion of families susceptible to EMS based on whether they were below the ED20, the egg thiamine concentration associated with 20% mortality due to EMS. The ED20s were 1.52, 2.63, and 2.99 nmol/g egg for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), respectively. Based on the proportion of fish having egg thiamine concentrations falling below the ED20, the risk of developing EMS in Lake Ontario was highest for lake trout, followed by coho (O. kisutch), and Chinook salmon, with the least risk for rainbow trout (O. mykiss). For lake trout from western Lake Ontario, mean egg thiamine concentration showed significant annual variability during 1994 to 2003, when the proportion of lake trout at risk of developing EMS based on ED20 ranged between 77 and 100%. Variation in the annual mean egg thiamine concentration for western Lake Ontario lake trout was positively related (p < 0.001, r2 = 0.94) with indices of annual adult alewife biomass. While suggesting the possible involvement of density-dependent changes in alewives, the changes are small relative to egg thiamine concentrations when alewife are not part of the diet and are of insufficient magnitude to allow for natural reproduction by lake trout.


We calculate the shift in the critical temperature of Bose–Einstein condensation for a dilute Bose–Fermi mixture confined by a harmonic potential, to lowest order in both the Bose–Bose and Bose–Fermi coupling constants. The relative importance of the effect on the critical temperature of the boson–boson and boson–fermion interactions is investigated as a function of the parameters of the mixture. The possible relevance of the shift of the transition temperature in current experiments on trapped Bose–Fermi mixtures is discussed.


The current processes by which telecommunications standards are adopted are flawed. Certain companies are able to exploit these flaws to extract hundreds of millions of dollars in patent royalties from the telecommunications industry. In particular, companies can: (1) word their patent statements to appear to comply with the bylaws of an organization while not actually doing so; (2) interpret their statements to provide a basis to refuse to offer licenses to certain parties; and (3) hide their intellectual property until after a standard has been adopted and has gained widespread acceptance. Exposure of these strategies may enable contributors to better analyze the patent statements of standard committee members and generate improved organization bylaws.


Previous investigations of membrane penetration mainly focused on uniform sandy soils, and few studied gravelly soils. A common problem in most previous investigations was that unverified assumptions were made to evaluate or mitigate the membrane penetration of a cylindrical specimen in triaxial test. In this study, a simple measurement of the membrane penetration of gravelly soils was proposed, based on small-amplitude cyclic confining pressure Δσ3 loading, in which the cyclic membrane penetration amplitude ΔVm is recoverable, and the cyclic soil skeleton volume deformation amplitude ΔVk gradually decreases with increasing number of cycles and becomes elastic. The accuracy in the proposed method is related to the accuracy in measuring ΔVk. Because of the natural limitations in measurements of the radial strain of a cylindrical specimen, ΔVk is calculated based on the isotropic assumption. The proposed method provides sufficiently accurate ΔVm values for gravelly soils because of the small portion of ΔVk in the total cyclic volume change amplitude ΔVc (=ΔVm+ΔVk), and the accuracy increases as the coarse fraction increases. Furthermore, the method can be easily implemented for individual specimens to remove inconsistences in specimen preparation. The test results indicate that ΔVm values corresponding to the same Δσ3 exponentially decrease with the confining pressure σ3. Membrane penetration increases with increases in the void ratio and coarse fraction, but the trend is becoming weak with decreasing coarse fraction and void ratio, respectively. It also demonstrated that there exists a clear difference between the results of Nicholson's empirical formula and the test results.


Software and digital logic are encroaching further on analogue territory in mobile radio. Cambridge Consultants built what appears to be the first true software radio. Developed from off-the-shelf programmable logic and very little else, the device is a transmitter that can send data at rates of gigabits per second at carrier frequencies up to 14 GHz, switching between different carrier frequencies almost instantaneously.


SUMMARY Fourteen dogs reared in a breeding kennel where an outbreak of canine brucellosis was identified were shown to be positive for anti- Brucella canis antibodies by microtiter agglutination (MA) and ELISA. After being isolated from antibody-negative dogs, they were administered doxycycline hydrochloride and marbofloxacin. The positive rates of both tests declined until 8 weeks after the start of administration, after which they ele-vated again to 27.3% in the MA and 63.6% in the ELISA at week 16. These results demonstrate the usefulness of antibody tests for monitoring therapeutic efficacy and also suggest ELISA has high sensitivity in antibody detection. Meanwhile, 66 dogs at the same kennel found to be negative were treated with single-agent admin-istrations of doxycycline hydrochloride, and both antibodies remained negative during the 32-week observa-tion period. On the basis of these results, we concluded that tetracycline monotherapy can provide sufficient prevention of infection in antibody-negative dogs when other appropriate measures are immediately taken, such as isolation of infected dogs and disinfection of the facility.


In this article the solution of the problem of oil-extracting production efficiency and safety raise by the information systems constructed on the Data mining technology basis application is offered. The description of new Database knowledge discovery methods, so as the oilfield equipment state diagnostics and forecasting methods is provided. The architecture and the main functionality of automated software system applied for oilfield objects state online monitoring, developed on new methods and algorithms basis, is described.


This study evaluated the possible effects of peer, unit staff, and quality management staff survey administrators on item means of the inpatient version of the Consumer Assessment of Care, a 14-item mental health service satisfaction survey developed by the New York State Office of Mental Health and administered at South Beach Psychiatric Center. Of 511 inpatients who completed the survey, 215 were administered by unit staff, 156 by consumers, and 140 by quality management staff. Each subgroup used a mixed-mode administration method for consecutive 6-mo. periods. Reliability and factor analysis indicated the survey was psychometrically robust. Item means for the types of administrator were significantly different. Tukey HSD multiple-comparisons indicated that item means were significantly higher for unit staff administrators than peer and quality management staff administrators, which did not differ from each other. Response set, acquiescence, or socially desirable responding may elicit higher item means for unit staff administrators.


This paper addresses the immediate impacts of the China-Africa trade on Africa's informal traders and its longer term impact on urban poverty, based on a comparison of the major cities of two West African countries and drawing on semi-structured interviews with traders and on schedule-based interviews with key informants in government, business and the informal trade sector. Findings are that the increase in imports from China initially broadened access to trading for the poor, creating short-term improvements in livelihoods, but competition is driving down profit margins and restricting the trade to a survival mechanism for many today. Thus it has provided limited long-term potential as an economic platform for national development and poverty reduction. The findings are discussed in terms of structuration theory and in terms of alternative conceptualizations of informal trade in Africa.


Three-dimensional Pd polyhedron networks (Pd PNs) have been fabricated for the first time through a one-step, Cu(2+)-assisted, solution-chemical approach. These as-prepared 3D Pd PNs exhibit high stability and remarkably improved electrocatalytic activity toward formic acid oxidation over commercially available Pd black.


This work is focused on the design and development of a middleware software layer which will enable real-time communication among different embedded avionics modules through an ARINC 429 bus. The implemented layer is based on a C++ object-oriented (OO)-based structure and it has been designed in accordance with middleware concepts. It makes each specific avionics application independent from the bus, from the manufacturers' hardware and finally, from the avionics hardware board model.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Solid waste collectors are constantly exposed to high physical demands and precarious ergonomic conditions at work. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of osteomuscular disorders and associated factors among solid waste collectors of two middle-sized cities from Southern Brazil. METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional census study. Population was made up of all solid waste collectors of the cities of Pelotas and Rio Grande, RS. Data were collected through a questionnaire with sociodemographic, economic, nutritional and behavioral variables. Prevalence of osteomuscular disorders was evaluated with the Nordic Questionnaire for Osteomuscular Symptoms. RESULTS: All 127 solid waste collectors were interviewed. Prevalence of osteomuscular disorders in the last 12 months was 88.2%. Among affected workers, 94.5% reported no pain before starting collecting solid waste. Most affected body regions were legs, knees and lumbar spine, respectively. After multivariate analysis, only body mass index remained associated to osteomuscular disorders. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of osteomuscular symptoms among solid waste collectors in Southern of Brazil is high. Adequate prevention strategies are needed.


In plants, defensive proteins secreted to leaf aerial surfaces have not previously been considered to be a strategy of pathogen resistance, and the general occurrence of leaf surface proteins is not generally recognized. We found that leaf water washes (LWW) of the experimental plant Nicotiana tabacum tobacco introduction (TI) 1068 contained highly hydrophobic, basic proteins that inhibited spore germination and leaf infection by the oomycete pathogen Peronospora tabacina. We termed these surface-localized proteins tobacco phylloplanins, and we isolated the novel gene T-Phylloplanin (for Tobacco Phylloplanin) and its promoter from N. tabacum. Escherichia coli–expressed T-phylloplanin inhibited P. tabacina spore germination and greatly reduced leaf infection. The T-phylloplanin promoter, when fused to the reporter genes β-glucuronidase and green fluorescent protein, directed biosynthesis only in apical–tip cell clusters of short, procumbent glandular trichomes. Here, we provide evidence for a protein-based surface defense system in the plant kingdom, wherein protein biosynthesis in short, procumbent glandular trichomes allows surface secretion and deposition of defensive phylloplanins on aerial surfaces as a first-point-of-contact deterrent to pathogen establishment. As yet uncharacterized surface proteins have been detected on most plant species examined.


Operators of complex systems, such as are found in aerospace, electric power networks, automated manufacturing, or the railways industry, impose ever more stringent availability performance constraints. At the same time, increasing attention is being paid to life-cycle cost (LCC). ALSTOM Transport Information Solutions' URBALIS automated mass transit system is confronted with this situation. This has led the RAM Department to investigating some key factors which impact availability and LCC, in order to provide designers and maintainers with guidelines for reaching availability targets at lowest cost. Redundancy needs to be managed: in particular it is crucial to be able to detect a partial loss of redundancy before the function is completely lost. This is where testability and maintenance policy come into play. In a first model, constant failure rate and perfect maintenance are assumed and Markov modelling is used. In order to contemplate the non-constant failure rate case, as well as the deterministic aspect of scheduled maintenance inspections, simulations are then run with Petri nets. Imperfect maintenance models (based on Kijima's virtual age) are also considered so that the impact of maintenance-related ageing can be taken into account. .Recommendations are thus formulated depending on relative unit costs of investment, corrective and preventive maintenance, and sensitivity analyses of system availability are performed with respect to failure rate, test coverage rate as well as percentage of perfect maintenance.


This study focuses on read stability after reset in 50nm AlxOy ReRAM. Unstable behaviors are characterized and a 2-part solution to reduce instability from 64 to 6% and read error from 8 to 0.2% is proposed. After conventional reset including verify, (i) a block-level low voltage sealing operation is followed by (ii) a stability check loop.


Nugroho D, Patria MP, Supriatna J, Adrianto L. 2017. The estimates spawning potential ratio of three dominant demersal fish species landed in Tegal, north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 18: 844-849. Java Sea is one of the important marine waters for fisheries purpose in Indonesia. The rich diversity of marine fish has been exploited for decades. Among them, demersal fish resource was commercially targeted by coastal fishers. The sustainability of demersal fishery is a crucial concern given the substantial economic contribution and its significant dependence of small-scale fishers for their livelihoods. The fishing intensity is considerable growing and tends to become threats their habitats. Three dominant species (Priacanthus tayenus, Scolopsis taeniopterus and Upeneus sulphureus) were selected in this study. To evaluate the vulnerability of these species to their bio-exploitation level, the spawning potential ratio (SPR) approach were applied. The calculation based on estimated length of first capture (Lc) indicates that SPR those demersal species occurred at less than 20%. These values indicate that existing fishery can be categorized as nearly fully exploited. Across broad range of species, 40% SPR is generally accepted as a proxy for Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) for recruitment overfishing in less resilience fish population.


This paper presents an original exact analysis on the downlink spectral efficiency of DS/CDMA cellular systems in Rayleigh fading. We derive a new expression for the probability distribution function of signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) which accordingly leads us to propose explicit closed forms of he spectral efficiency and average bit error rate in Rayleigh fading environment. The proposed closed forms are used to accurately investigate the effects of orthogonality, propagational condition, and channel noise on the overall efficiency.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy. The current standard of care in the treatment of EOC patients is surgical debulking and combination chemotherapy usually with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel. Although effective in majority of the cases, more than 20% of patients do not respond. Moreover, more than 80% of patients present with recurrent disease within 5 years. Therefore, there is an underlying biology that results in the differential response to treatment as well as the occurrence of recurrent disease. Tumors are heterogeneous and consist of multiple types of cancer cells, which exhibit different chemoresponsiveness. Our group previously described the characterization of CD44+/MyD88+ EOC stem cells and demonstrated their tumor-initiating properties. An important characteristic of these cells, which differentiate them from the CD44-/MyD88- EOC cells, is the presence of a functional TLR4-MyD88-NFkB pathway. This pathway confers Paclitaxel resistance to these cells. We hypothesize that a cause for recurrence following Paclitaxel treatment is the selective survival of cancer stem cells capable to recreate the tumor. In this study, we demonstrate that Paclitaxel enriches for the CD44+/MyD88+ EOC stem cells thus promoting recurrence. Methods: In vitro model: co-culture system consisting of (50%:50%) GFP+ CD44+/MyD88+ and RFP+ CD44-/MyD88- cells treated with 0.2 uM Paclitaxel. In vivo model: Ovarian tumors implanted s.c in Nude mice treated with 10 mg/kg Paclitaxel q3d for 21 days. Levels of GFP+ and CD44+ cells were determined by flow cytometry. Klf-4, Nanog, MyD88, and ALDH1 were determined by qPCR or western blot. Results: Control co-cultures were characterized by overgrowth of CD44-/MyD88- EOC cells while the Paclitaxel treated co-cultures had mainly CD44+/MyD88+ EOC stem cells. Similarly in vivo results show enrichment in CD44+ cells with Paclitaxel (49% CD44+ in control vs 88% CD44+ with treatment). Analysis of genes associated with stemness showed upregulation of Klf-4, Nanog ALDH1, and MyD88 in the cultures treated with Paclitaxel compared to control. Conclusion: We demonstrate that Paclitaxel selectively induce cell death in CD44-/MyD88- EOC cells but has a pro-survival effect and enhances self-renewal in the pleuripotent and chemoresistant CD44+/MyD88+ EOC stem cells. Based on these data, we propose that the mode of management for EOC patients should take into consideration the tumor's molecular phenotype. Our results highlight the need to identify patients that should not receive Paclitaxel - not only because they are resistant, but more importantly, because it can enrich for the more aggressive cancer stem cells.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3471. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3471


Intensity and pure polarization holographic gratings in silica-based sol-gel thin films, containing carbazole group and Disperse Red 1, are obtained by photoisomerization at 488 nm and are investigated by means of the moving grating technique (MGT). General equations relating the modulated MGT signal to amplitudes and phase shifts of the index and absorption gratings are derived for thin films in the case of different polarization configurations. It is shown that the technique, commonly used to characterize photorefractive gratings, is a powerful tool to investigate the orientation mechanisms responsible for the holographic polarization gratings formation.


BACKGROUND
Anti-CD3 immunotoxin (IT), a T-cell-depleting agent, prolongs survival of renal allografts in a rhesus monkey model without the need for long-term immunosuppression. In this study we sought to further prolong allograft survival by giving short-term conventional immunosuppression simultaneous with IT administration.

METHODS
MHC class II mismatched, juvenile rhesus monkeys were paired as donor and recipient for renal transplantation. Recipients received two to three daily doses of IT starting on the day of transplantation. Additional immunosuppression was given for no more than 60 days. Graft function was monitored by serum creatinine and renal biopsies. Flow cytometry was used to monitor T-cell recovery.

RESULTS
Graft survival time (GST) in animals receiving IT was prolonged compared with controls with 50% of IT-treated monkeys surviving >100 days. Animals treated with IT plus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and steroids had significantly enhanced GST (mean GST, 305 days) compared with those treated with IT alone (mean GST, 94 days). In contrast, addition of cyclosporine or 40-O-[2-Hydroxyethyl]rapamycin did not significantly increase graft survival time. A comparison among animals from all treatment groups with short (<100 days) and long (>100 days) GST demonstrated that those with the shorter GST had a higher blood T-cell count 2 weeks after transplantation. Full recovery of CD4+ T cells required longer than 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS
A combination with MMF and steroids given for 4 days after renal allograft transplantation significantly increases GST in IT-treated monkeys. We hypothesize that MMF and steroids suppress the initial T-cell activation mediated by IT.


Bearing in mind the importance of negotiation processes in today's business world and how often they take place, this study focuses on the analysis of behaviour that can be adopted by negotiating parties, considered in the literature to be a key factor in the success or failure of negotiations. The aim is to propose a typology of behaviour that can be applied to any situation involving negotiation. From a purposely critical perspective, the existing ambiguity surrounding the nature of negotiation behaviour in current literature is made clear. By putting forward four types of negotiation behaviour, the intention is to shed light on and unify the different theories presently circulating, whilst defending the exclusively tangible and visible nature of negotiation behaviour and the possibility of adopting intermediate types of behaviour, in contrast with the majority of previous studies.


Large numbers of people use Social Networking Services (SNS) for easy access to various news, but they have more opportunities to obtain and share ``fake news'' carrying false information. Partially to combat fake news, several fact-checking sites such as Snopes and PolitiFact have been founded. Nevertheless, these sites rely on time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks. Moreover, their available languages are not extensive. To address these difficulties, we propose a new fake news collection system based on rule-based (unsupervised) frameworks that can be extended easily for various languages. The system collects news with high probability of being fake by debunking tweets by users and presents event clusters gathering higher attention. Our system currently functions in two languages: English and Japanese. It shows event clusters, 65\% of which are actually fake. In future studies, it will be applied to other languages and will be published with a large fake news dataset.


The microtubule-associated protein tau is produced from a 6-kb mRNA expressed primarily in neurons. A 2-kb tau mRNA has also been characterized, which produces a tau isoform that localizes to the nucleus, and an 8-kb mRNA is expressed in the PNS. Mapping and sequencing of the human tau gene start showed that it has an unusually GC-rich 5'-untranslated region coded by a single untranslated exon (designated -1). Primer extensions and expression assays indicated that upstream of exon -1 is a promoter that is not neuron specific. This region contains consensus binding sites for transcription factors AP2, Sp1, and GCF.


The essay takes the restricted stock incentive scheme of Huamai Technology Company as the research object, and the feasibility of stock incentive scheme of Huamai Technology Company has been studied and analyzed by using exploratory case study method. It is found that the restricted stock scheme of the company has a single setting condition, which fails to reflect the management level of the enterprise. Therefore, considering the setting of restricted stock of listed companies will affect the company's future performance, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions for the conditional diversification of restricted stock of listed companies.


The 'Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend in the Boyne' (usually known as Bru na Boinne) is one of only two current UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Ireland and arguably its best known archaeological landscape, which contains the great Neolithic mounds of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange. This chapter outlines what is known of the area and discusses analysis of lidar coverage of approx. 90 km2 acquired in 2006 to better inform management of the WHS and to further research in this important landscape. Detailed analysis of this dataset using multiple visualisation techniques (standard analytical hillshade; multi-direction hillshade; Sky View Factor; Local Relief Modelling) was undertaken in 2010–11, revealing a range of new features of potential archaeological interest, including apparent route ways, hollow-ways, embanked enclosures and quarries, as well as providing significant new detail to some already well-known monuments. The applicability of these techniques in this landscape of subtle relief and low earthen banks, is critiqued below. Selected areas, including two previously unrecorded large enclosures (> 100 m in diameter) were targeted through geophysical survey, corroborating and enhancing the lidar-based picture. The use of viewshed analysis is explored, highlighting the importance of tomb visibility against views from the tombs, demonstrating that a Neolithic boat traveller's first view of the ritual landscape is likely to have been of Newgrange, while all three great tombs would only have been visible from the very apex of the Bend. Finally, while lidar data have provided a wealth of new information regarding the landscape of Bru na Boinne attention is also drawn to significant recent discoveries which exhibit no topographic expression.


needs the team efforts of psychologists, educationists, paediatricians and others. As in this country, although the child guidance clinics were initially interested, they later turned their backs on the problem. Life in the big institutions is described as "¿ an unmitigated herd existence―. "¿ The standard fare is the big dayroom with benches (and in the luxury institutions, tables and chairs) . . ."Despite these low standards it is estimated that "¿ the admission of every 30 patients to the institution for retardates means an eventual expenditure by the taxpayers of one million dollars at minimum―.The author points out that the expenditure of a fraction of this sum on preventive research or on helping to keep retarded persons in the community would be sensible on financial grounds alone.


In recent years, flash memory has been widely used in embedded systems, portable devices, and high-performance storage products due to its non-volatility, shock resistance, low power consumption, and high performance natures. To reduce the product cost, multi-level-cell flash memory (MLC) has been proposed; compared with the traditional single-level-cell flash memory (SLC) that only stores one bit of data per cell, each MLC cell can store two or more bits of data. Thus MLC can achieve a larger capacity and reduce the cost per unit. However, MLC also suffers from the degradation in both performance and reliability. In this paper, we try to enhance the reliability and reduce the product cost of flash-memory based storage devices from a totally different perspective. We propose a half-level-cell (HLC) management scheme to manage and reuse the worn-out space in solid-state drives (SSDs); through our management scheme, the system can treat two corrupted pages as a normal page without sacrificing performance and reliability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research that reclaims free space by reviving the corrupted pages. The experiment results show that the lifetime of SSD can be extended by 48.54% for the trace of general users applications with our proposed HLC management scheme.


This paper deals with the optimisation of the operation of a hybrid energy system used in a remote area power supply. Remote area power supply (RAPS) systems are chosen as economic alternatives to the extension of grid supply to consumers in remote areas. A system consisting of a diesel generator, solar source and battery backup is investigated. A fuzzy logic algorithm is used to determine the diesel generator schedule and the battery charge/discharge strategy. The method is used to schedule the operation of the generator and the battery for the next 24 hours on an hourly basis. The simulation of the algorithm is tested on a system operating at a remote site in the Northern Territory in Australia. The results are found to be more cost efficient than the existing operation strategy.


Automatic speech recognition performance tends to be degraded in noisy conditions. Spectral subtraction is a simple, popular approach of noise compensation. In conventional spectral subtraction [1, 2], noise statistics are updated during speech gaps and subtracted from a corrupt signal during speech intervals. Some means of explicit speech, non-speech detection is therefore essential. Recent proposals have avoided the problem of speech, non-speech detection [3, 4, 5, 6, 7] by continually updating noise estimates whether speech is present or not. In this paper, we evaluate two such approaches of noise estimation and compare their performance with standard noise estimation in hand-labelled speech gaps. Experimental results are reported with the conventional spectral subtraction framework on a 1500 speaker database. Results confirm that such approaches of noise estimation which do not rely on explicit speech, non-speech detection compare favourably with conventional noise estimation approaches.


Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has for decades stood at the forefront of tests of gravitational physics, including tests of the equivalence principle (EP). Current LLR results on the EP achieve a sensitivity of Δa/a ≈ 10−13 based on few-centimeter data/model fidelity. A recent push in LLR, called APOLLO (the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation) produces millimeter-quality data. This paper demonstrates the few-millimeter range precision achieved by APOLLO, leading to an expectation that LLR will be able to extend EP sensitivity by an order-of-magnitude to Δa/a ∼ 10−14, once modeling efforts improve to this level.


Child maltreatment constitutes a notoriously large problem within the healthcare field and is associated with significant biological, psychological, and social consequences across the lifespan. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to examine the biopsychosocial outcomes of an adult population who reported a history of child maltreatment. Method: Data from the Midlife Development in the United States 2 Biomarker Project were used. The analytic sample in the present study included 1228 adults. AMOS 23 was used to conduct structural equation modeling and fit two separate models in order to examine the relationships between childhood maltreatment and biopsychosocial variables for both men and women. Results: Childhood maltreatment had a direct association with cortisol levels, subjective well-being, positive life events, depression, and physical symptoms and conditions for both men and women. Discussion: The present study offers unique contributions toward the examination of biopsychosocial outcomes following maltreatment. Practical implications and future directions are addressed.


We have synthesized a new indole functionalized rhodamine derivative L(1) which specifically binds to Cu(2+) in the presence of large excess of other competing ions with visually observable changes in their electronic and fluorescence spectral behavior. These spectral changes are significant enough in the NIR and visible region of the spectrum and thus enable naked eye detection. The receptor, L(1), could be employed as a resonance energy transfer (RET) based sensor for detection of Cu(2+) based on the process involving the donor indole and the acceptor Cu(2+) bound xanthene fragment. Studies reveal that L(1)-Cu complex is selectively and fully reversible in presence of sulfide anions. Further, fluorescence microscopic studies confirmed that the reagent L(1) could also be used as an imaging probe for detection of uptake of these ions in HeLa cells.


Advice is a mechanism, widely used in aspect-oriented languages, that allows one program component to augment or modify the behavior of other components. When advice and other components are composed together they become tightly coupled, sharing both control and data flows. However this creates important problems: modular reasoning about a component becomes very difficult; and two tightly coupled components may interfere with each other's control and data flows.
 This paper presents EffectiveAdvice, a disciplined model of advice, inspired by Aldrich's Open Modules, that has full support for effects. With EffectiveAdvice, equivalence of advice, as well as base components, can be checked by equational reasoning. The paper describes EffectiveAdvice as a Haskell library in which advice is modeled by mixin inheritance and effects are modeled by monads. Interference patterns previously identified in the literature are expressed as combinators. Parametricity, together with the combinators, is used to prove two harmless advice theorems. The result is an effective semantic model of advice that supports effects, and allows these effects to be separated with strong non-interference guarantees, or merged as needed.


Most of multi-scale segmentation algorithms are not aiming at high resolution remote sensing images and have difficulty to communicate and use layers' information. In view of them, we proposes a method of multi-scale segmentation of high resolution remote sensing images by integrating multiple features. First, Canny operator is used to extract edge information, and then band weighted distance function is built to obtain the edge weight. According to the criterion, the initial segmentation objects of color images can be gained by Kruskal minimum spanning tree algorithm. Finally segmentation images are got by the adaptive rule of Mumford–Shah region merging combination with spectral and texture information. The proposed method is evaluated precisely using analog images and ZY-3 satellite images through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The experimental results show that the multi-scale segmentation of high resolution remote sensing images by integrating multiple features outperformed the software eCognition fractal network evolution algorithm (highest-resolution network evolution that FNEA) on the accuracy and slightly inferior to FNEA on the efficiency.


Stress‐constrained topology optimization requires techniques for handling thousands to millions of stress constraints. This work presents a comprehensive numerical study comparing local and global stress constraint strategies in topology optimization. Four local and four global solution strategies are presented and investigated. The local strategies are based on either the augmented Lagrangian or the pure exterior penalty method, whereas the global strategies are based on the P‐mean aggregation function. Extensive parametric studies are carried out on the L‐shaped design problem to identify the most promising parameters for each solution strategy. It is found that (1) the local strategies are less sensitive to the continuation procedure employed in standard density‐based topology optimization, allowing achievement of better quality results using less iterations when compared with the global strategies; (2) the global strategies become competitive when P values larger than 100 are employed, but for this to be possible a very slow continuation procedure should be used; (3) the local strategies based on the augmented Lagrangian method provide the best compromise between computational cost and performance, being able to achieve optimized topologies at the level of a pure P‐continuation global strategy with P=300 , but using less iterations.


—Developing accurate models and efficient repre- sentations of multivariate trajectories is important for understanding the behavior patterns of mobile agents. This work presents a dictionary learning algorithm for developing a part-based trajectory representation, which combines merits of the existing Markovian-based and clustering-based approaches. In particular, this work presents the augmented semi-nonnegative sparse coding (ASNSC) algorithm for solving a constrained dictionary learning problem, and shows that the proposed method would converge to a local optimum given a convexity condition. We consider a trajectory modeling application, in which the learned dictionary atoms correspond to local motion patterns. Classical semi-nonnegative sparse coding approaches would add dictionary atoms with opposite signs to reduce the representational error, which can lead to learning noisy dictionary atoms that correspond poorly to local motion patterns. ASNSC addresses this problem and learns a concise set of intuitive motion patterns. ASNSC shows significant improvement over existing trajectory modeling methods in both prediction accuracy and computational time, as revealed by extensive numerical analysis on real datasets.


Habitat suitability index (HSI) models rarely characterize the uncertainty associated with their estimates of habitat quality despite the fact that uncertainty can have important management implications. The purpose of this paper was to explore the use of Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) for representing and propagating 3 types of uncertainty in HSI models—uncertainty in the suitability index relationships, the parameters of the HSI equation, and measurement of habitat variables (i.e., model inputs). I constructed a BBN–HSI model, based on an existing HSI model, using Netica™ software. I parameterized the BBN's conditional probability tables via Monte Carlo methods, and developed a discretization scheme that met specifications for numerical error. I applied the model to both real and dummy sites in order to demonstrate the utility of the BBN–HSI model for 1) determining whether sites with different habitat types had statistically significant differences in HSI, and 2) making decisions based on rules that reflect different attitudes toward risk—maximum expected value, maximin, and maximax. I also examined effects of uncertainty in the habitat variables on the model's output. Some sites with different habitat types had different values for E[HSI], the expected value of HSI, but habitat suitability was not significantly different based on the overlap of 90% confidence intervals for E[HSI]. The different decision rules resulted in different rankings of sites, and hence, different decisions based on risk. As measurement uncertainty in habitat variables increased, sites with significantly different (α = 0.1) E[HSI] became statistically more similar. Incorporating uncertainty in HSI models enables explicit consideration of risk and more robust habitat management decisions. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.


Purpose
In the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, technology developers have difficulties in fully understanding user needs due to the high domain knowledge threshold and the lack of effective and efficient methods to minimise information asymmetry between technology developers and AEC users. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach
A synthetic approach combining domain knowledge and text mining techniques is proposed to help capture user needs, which is demonstrated using building information modelling (BIM) apps as a case. The synthetic approach includes the: collection and cleansing of BIM apps' attribute data and users' comments; incorporation of domain knowledge into the collected comments; performance of a sentiment analysis to distinguish positive and negative comments; exploration of the relationships between user sentiments and BIM apps' attributes to unveil user preferences; and establishment of a topic model to identify problems frequently raised by users.

Findings
The results show that those BIM app categories with high user interest but low sentiments or supplies, such as "reality capture", "interoperability" and "structural simulation and analysis", should deserve greater efforts and attention from developers. BIM apps with continual updates and of small size are more preferred by users. Problems related to the "support for new Revit", "import & export" and "external linkage" are most frequently complained by users.

Originality/value
The main contributions of this work include: the innovative application of text mining techniques to identify user needs to drive BIM apps development; and the development of a synthetic approach to orchestrating domain knowledge, text mining techniques (i.e. sentiment analysis and topic modelling) and statistical methods in order to help extract user needs for promoting the success of emerging technologies in the AEC industry.


Previous studies have found out that educational applications using the Augmented Reality (AR) technology have provided immersion, motivation, fun and high level of engagement. However, designing and developing of the AR courseware with these characteristics while ensuring the effectiveness in teaching and learning process can be quite challenging. The increasingly use of AR has called for the creation of more usable products of high quality, which in turn, makes the Usability Evaluation testing an essential process. Previous researchers stressed that until very recently, where the Usability Evaluation of AR interfaces had not been systematically examined. Furthermore, nowadays usability is a fundamental factor to consider when developing educational courseware. Therefore, a good design for the usability evaluation methodology is needed which is best suited for Down Syndrome (DS) learners in early reading. This paper describes the review of usability evaluation in learning courseware and presenting the usability evaluation that has been successfully applied to previous AR applications. Next, we will present several existing usability evaluation methods as a guideline in conducting the usability evaluation for AR BACA SindD. Lastly, this paper proposed a Design of Usability Evaluation Methodology Framework for AR BACA SindD, especially for the DS children in this case study. Hopefully, the methods that were used for the evaluation as well as the suitable usability evaluation methodology proposed, can be deployed to evaluate the effectiveness of the courseware to disabled children as general and primarily to the DS children.


Abstract. The aim of this article is to analyse some of the particular features that presents the reflexivity of social nets in Mexico and its importance to the process of self-construction of the civil society in Mexico. A review is offered of the most important theoretical bearings on the social networks in the country, which also makes use of a diagram that presents the three reflexivity types: self-conscience, selfreference and constitutive, as specific ways to the differentiation of the case study.


This paper addresses the consequences of the privatization of extension services on the collective procedures for the accumulation of technical knowledge in the agricultural sector. It is based on a comparison between North and South, thanks to the contributions from two disciplines: an economic institutional analysis of the agricultural knowledge system in the Netherlands, and a sociological study based on field investigations in Benin. They were focused on the contribution of extension services to the settlement and/or the dismantlement of collective actions amongst farmers or stakeholders for the production of knowledge. From a methodological point of view, we compared the outcomes of two historical analyses, based on empirical and secondary qualitative and quantitative data. Our study shows 1) that extension services played historically an important role in the settlement of collective procedures for the accumulation of knowledge; 2) that these procedures and their effectiveness highly depended on social context of rural areas and were negatively affected by the privatization of extension services. The comparison between Benin and the Netherlands highlights the fact that this deconstruction can affect the formal procedures for the accumulation of knowledge (investments in experiments, construction of data bases, etc.), as well as the informal ones (exchanges between farmers, etc.). In designing privatization reforms, it is worth planning mechanisms that could ensure such procedures, in North and South countries. In this process, it is important to take the social context specific to each country into consideration.


Background: Smoking and obesity are rising worldwide in an epidemic manner being common risk factors associated with the increase in the overall mortality. Smoking generates oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in the lungs, and the same mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of obesity. Aim: To assess the relationship between cigarette smoking, spirometry parameters and some anthropometric and inflammatory variables, as well as their association with the levels of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 94 smokers without any chronic diseases (mean age 52.7±6.4 years), divided into four groups according to their pack years. We performed a questionnaire, anthropometry, spirometry and biochemical tests. The erythrocyte activities of cellular SOD and GPx were measured. Results: We found that pack years correlated positively with body mass index (BMI) (p=0.002, r=0.323), waist circumference (WC) (p 1 (p=0.047, r= -0.205). BMI and WC were significantly associated with CRP. GPx concentrations were influenced by BMI (p=0.017, β= -0.358) and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (p=0.025, β= -0.398). SOD was also negatively influenced by BMI and WC (p 1 was related negatively with WC (p=0.047, β= -0.31). Conclusion: There is an increased oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in heavy smokers with long smoking history. These processes are closely linked with obesity, which along with smoking increase the risk of early decline in lung function.


We have analyzed wood from three archaeological sites in Croatia. The samples of wood were in various conditions (charcoal, wet wood, and waterlogged wood). This paper presents the preparation of archaeological wood for identification and dendrochronological analysis and the results of wood identification. We identified 14 samples of fir (Abies alba Mill.), 4 samples of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and 10 samples of oak (Quercus sp.). We analyzed dendrochronologically 16 samples that contained more than 45 tree-rings and attempted to date them with the Slovenian reference chronologies. Dendrochronological dating was not successful, because there were not enough samples from individual sites and the samples had not enough tree-rings or were not well preserved. Dating without local chronologies, which have not been developed for Croatia yet, is less probable, especially if a small number of badly preserved samples is analyzed. This paper also presents instructions as how to collect, prepare and store samples of wood from archaeological and cultural-historical sites so as to provide optimal use of
their research potential.


In image retrieval with relevance feedback, the strategy employed by the system for selecting the images presented to the user at every feedback round has a strong effect on the transfer of information between the user and the system. Using SVMs, we put forward a new active learning selection strategy that minimizes redundancy between the images presented to the user and takes into account assumptions that are specific to the retrieval setting. Experiments on several image databases confirm the attractiveness of this selection strategy. We also find that insensitivity to the scale of the data is a desirable property for the SVMs employed as learners in relevance feedback and we show how to obtain such insensitivity by the use of specific kernel functions.


This article focuses on the controversy between Reinhold Niebuhr and John Dewey about the function of religion and religious institutions in a democratic society. It shows how Dewey positions his concept of a "common faith" within his project of democratic experimentalism, before revisiting Niebuhr's criticism of this concept and particularly its anthropological inclinations. Subsequently, the article highlights the affinity of Niebuhr's interpretation of Dewey's A Common Faith to Eric Voegelin's concept of political religions and compares the different concepts of transcendence involved in Dewey's and Niebuhr's thinking (with special focus on Niebuhr's The Nature and Destiny of Man). Niebuhr's accusation of a shallow progressivism against Dewey is refuted with reference to Dewey's concept of immanent transcendence. Finally, the potential of Dewey's A Common Faith for the clarification of the concept of civil religion is discussed against the backdrop of Robert Bellah's use of this concept.


[1] The present-day velocity of true polar wander (TPW) and the displacement of the axis of rotation of the Earth in response to ice ages, resulting from stratified, viscoelastic Earth models, are sensitive to the nonadiabatic density gradient in the mantle. Previous studies, based on a fully nonadiabatic, or chemically stratified mantle, overestimated the present-day TPW for lower mantle viscosities in the range 1021–1022 Pa s. For a density profile in agreement with the reference seismological model, where nonadiabaticity is confined to the transition zone between 420 and 670 km, the predicted present-day TPW for viscosities on the order of 1021 Pa s is 0.65–0.9 deg/Myr, substantially lower than the 3.0 deg/Myr obtained for the chemical mantle. This decrease is due to the lack of an isostatic restoring force in the adiabatic case or to a global reduction of the buoyancy, which favors the attainment of rotational equilibrium. The correctness of this physical interpretation is demonstrated by the behavior of a fully adiabatic phase change that can be satisfactorily modeled by deleting the buoyancy restoring modes due to chemical density contrasts. This finding provides quantitative support to the procedure used in previous studies to simulate the rotational behavior of an adiabatic transition zone by simply deleting the buoyancy modes triggered by the (chemical) density contrasts at 670 km, as done by Mitrovica and Milne [1998] for present-day TPW and by Ricard and Sabadini [1990] for long-term TPW driven by mantle density anomalies. The reduction of present-day TPW induced by the Pleistocenic deglaciation, for an adiabatic mantle with nonadiabatic density gradients due to phase changes localized in the transition zone, impacts the inversion of the lower mantle viscosity. Predictions based on such a model are characterized by two best fit values in proximity of 1021 and 1022 Pa s, resembling the behavior of the time derivative of the second-degree component of the gravity field. The reduction of predicted present-day TPW due to Pleistocene deglaciation suggests that other mechanisms, such as present-day ice mass instability in Antarctica and Greenland, are presently contributing to the drift of 0.9 deg/Myr of the axis of rotation toward Newfoundland. The secular drift of the adiabatic mantle model during the continuous occurrence of ice ages is increased by 50% with respect to the chemically stratified one, showing a longer decay time after termination of the ice cycles. This mantle model confirms that ice cycles cannot be the major source of TPW for timescales of 106–107 years.


An algorithm to encode 15-KHz bandwidth audio at 128 kb/s has been developed which has important applications in ISDN, digital audio recording, and the broadcasting industry. The algorithm uses subband ADPCM coding combined with adaptive bit allocation over multiple subbands to achieve high audio quality at a net data rate of 4 b per sample. Subband coders are generally found to perform better than the equivalent full-band coder in subjective tests, even though the full-band coder may achieve a higher SNR rating. This is due to perceptual masking effects which cause the band-limited quantization noise below a certain threshold in each subband to be masked by the signal. Dynamic allocation of bits to subbands on a sample-by-sample basis, together with a simple multiplexing strategy, eliminates the need for side information and makes the algorithm robust in the presence of network bit errors.<<ETX>>


The detection of X-ray emission from Ap stars can be an indicator for the presence of magnetic activity and dynamo action, provided different origins for the emission, such as wind shocks and close late-type companions, can be excluded. Here we report on results for gamma Equu, the only roAp star for which an X-ray detection is reported in ROSAT catalogs. We use high resolution imaging in X-rays with Chandra and in the near-infrared with NACO/VLT that allow us to spatially resolve companions down to ~1" and ~0.06" separations, respectively. The bulk of the X-ray emission is associated with a companion of gamma Equu identified in our NACO image. Assuming coevality with the primary roAp star (~900 Myr), the available photometry for the companion points at a K-type star with ~0.6 M_sun. Its X-ray properties are in agreement with the predictions for its age and mass. An excess of photons with respect to the expected background and contribution from the nearby companion is observed near the optical position of gamma Equu. We estimate an X-ray luminosity of log L_x [erg/s] = 26.6 and log(L_x/L_bol) = -7.9 for this emission. A small offset between the optical and the X-ray image leaves some doubt on its association with the roAp star. The faint X-ray emission that we tentatively ascribe to the roAp star is difficult to explain as a solar-like stellar corona due to its very low L_x/L_bol level and the very long rotation period of gamma Equu. It could be produced in magnetically confined wind shocks implying a mass loss rate of ~10^(-14) M_sun/yr or from an additional unknown late-type companion at separation ~0.4". If confirmed by future deeper X-ray observations this emission could point at the origin for the presence of radioactive elements on some roAp stars.


Adolescents are the future adults of the world. While adolescence is typically regarded as a period of life relatively free from health problems, adolescents are actually in need of the attention of health professionals and health services, especially with regard to sexual health. A trend of decreasing age at menarche and increasing age at marriage presents adolescents with a substantial number of years in which they will experiment with their developing reproductive organs and sexuality. Substantial psychological and physical change takes place during this period. Inconsistent and suboptimal users of contraception, youths are at high risk for reproductive health problems and sexually transmitted diseases. Substance abuse, unintentional and intentional injuries and their sequelae, academic underachievement and illiteracy, and obesity may also be problematic for adolescents. Adolescents are, however, most damaged by internalized and externalized homophobia. The authors point out that adolescents may be persuaded to learn and change their behaviors more readily than adults. Appropriate messages could be conveyed through targeted information, education, and communication strategies to complement medical and health care services which are available, accessible, and acceptable.


At the vertebrate neuromuscular junction ATP is known to stabilize acetylcholine in the synaptic vesicles and to be co-released with it. We have shown previously that a nucleotide receptor, the P2Y1 receptor, is localized at the junction, and we propose that this mediates a trophic role for synaptic ATP there. Evidence in support of this and on its mechanism is given here. With the use of chick or mouse myotubes expressing promoter–reporter constructs from genes of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) or of the acetylcholine receptor subunits, P2Y1 receptor agonists were shown to stimulate the transcription of each of those genes. The pathway to activation of the AChE gene was shown to involve protein kinase C and intracellular Ca 2+ release. Application of dominant-negative or constitutively active mutants, or inhibitors of specific kinases, showed that it further proceeds via some of the known intermediates of extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation. In both chick and mouse myotubes this culminates in activation of the transcription factor Elk-1, confirmed by gel mobility shift assays and by the nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated Elk-1. All of the aforementioned activations by agonist were amplified when the content of P2Y1 receptors was boosted by transfection, and the activations were blocked by a P2Y1-selective antagonist. Two Elk-1 binding site sequences present in the AChE gene promoter were jointly sufficient to drive ATP-induced reporter gene transcription. Thus ATP regulates postsynaptic gene expression via a pathway to a selective transcription factor activation.


Introduction: The success of Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) hinges on balanced flexion-extension gaps. This paper aims to evaluate the correlation between imbalanced gaps and clinical outcomes, and hence help quantify the imbalanced gap in navigation-assisted total knee arthroplasty. Methods: We studied 195 knees with an average follow-up of two years. Flexion-extension gaps were obtained from computer calculation upon cementation of implants in both flexion (90°) and extension. The gap difference (GD) was defined as the measured difference between the gaps in flexion and extension. Results: At 2 years after surgery, the mean ROM in the balanced group, with GD less than or equal to 2 mm, was 115.1° ± 16.6° and the mean ROM in the imbalanced group was 116.7° ± 12.1°. This was not statistically significant with p-value 0.589. Balanced flexion-extension gaps also did not show significant difference in terms of mechanical alignment, with 0.29 ± 0.89 in the balanced group at 2 years, and 0.65 ± 1.51 in the imbalanced group with p-value 0.123. Balanced gaps however, were associated with improved outcomes in terms of physical functioning, bodily pain, social functioning, Oxford and Knee scores at 6 months and improved social functioning scores at 2 years. Conclusions: Computer navigation is a useful tool for assessing the gap balance in TKA. Balanced flexion-extension gaps, with gap differences of less than or equal to 2 mm, is associated with improved clinical outcomes at 6 months.