Image captioning model is a cross-modality knowledge discovery task, which targets at automatically describing an image with an informative and coherent sentence. To generate the captions, the previous encoder-decoder frameworks directly forward the visual vectors to the recurrent language model, forcing the recurrent units to generate a sentence based on the visual features. Although these sentences are generally readable, they still suffer from the lack of details and highlights, due to the fact that the substantial gap between the image and text modalities is not sufficiently addressed. In this work, we explicitly build a Modality Transition Module (MTM) to transfer visual features into semantic representations before forwarding them to the language model. During the training phase, the modality transition network is optimised by the proposed modality loss, which compares the generated preliminary textual encodings with the target sentence vectors from a pre-trained text auto-encoder. In this way, the visual vectors are transited into the textual subspace for more contextual and precise language generation. The novel MTM can be incorporated into most of the existing methods. Extensive experiments have been conducted on the MS-COCO dataset demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed framework, improving the performance by 3.4% comparing to the state-of-the-arts.


High chromium ODS alloy has been developed for application as structural material in high temperature nuclear reactor. In the present study, Fe-25Cr-Y2O3 with dispersed 0.5 wt.% Ytria (Y2O3) were synthesized and characterized by means of various techniques as a function of milling time 1, 2 and 3 hours. The alloy synthesis was carried out by the Mechanical Alloying (MA) process and subsequent sintering by means the new plasma technique using the APS apparatus. Scaning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted for morphology and phase analysis. Evaluation of the mechanical properties was studied based on the Vickers hardness measurement. SEM examination revealed that the sample after sintering by APS method at different milling duration exhibited some particle aglomeration and homogenized oxide dispersion that obviously strengthened the alloy. The XRD test, however, proved the formation of the main phase Fe-Cr. The alloy showed exceptionally high hardness of 193 VHR which is mainly due to the grain refining that increase by the increasing of the milling time.


Ethacrynic acid, a chemically different diuretic, has been evaluated in 82 patients. The drug was remarkably potent when administered intravenously (0.5 to 1 mg./Kg.) or by mouth (doses to 50 mg. four times per day). It proved particularly effective in patients with refractory edema, and in edematous states accompanied by azotemia or electrolyte disturbances. Its natriuretic effects added to those of other diuretics and potentiation actually appeared to occur when it was combined with a carbonic-anhydrase inhibitor.Renal clearance data indicated that ethacrynic acid has a unique mode of action. There was little effect on glomerular filtration or renal plasma flow and its major action was to block sodium and chloride reabsorption probably in both proximal and distal portions of the renal tubules.Ion exchange mechanisms seemed little affected by the drug because it characteristically increased both hydrogen and potassium ion excretion. In general the degree of induced potassium loss correlated well with the rate of endogenous aldosterone secretion. Furthermore, ethacrynic acid did not cause potassium loss in one adrenalectomized subject nor in another subject pretreated with an aldosterone antagonist.Diuresis induced by ethacrynic acid was often accompanied by the development of systemic metabolic alkalosis. Factors in the development of this alkalosis were (1) urinary K+ loss with hypokalemia, (2) urinary H+ loss, and (3) in edematous patients the rapid large loss of relatively HCO3--free fluid from the extracellular fluid space. The systemic alkalosis was found to be accompanied by compensatory alveolar hypoventilation. These studies of the mechanisms of the alkalosis point to the occasional importance ofthe administration of chloride, of potassium, or of saline as corrective measures.Diuresis with ethacrynic acid, like other diuretic agents, produced marked increases in the rate of aldosterone secretion of normal subjects. More variable effects were observed in patients with heart disease, possibly because improvement in their circulatory status operated to lower hormone secretion activity.Ethacrynic acid had effects on urate excretion that resembled thiazide diuretics. Higher blood levels of intravenous administration were uricosuric. Lower blood levels of oral therapy caused renal urate retention and hyperuricemia.Most of the problems associated with the use of ethacrynic acid appeared to be related more to its pharmacologic potency than to any truly toxic effect. Because of this it is suggested that the sensitivity and response pattern of each patient be determined in stepwise fashion. In most patients with edema an intermittent dosage schedule provides a more efficient diuretic response and allows time intervals for correction of any electrolyte imbalance. If used with a thorough understanding of its pharmacologic effects ethacrynic acid promises to be a most useful agent in the therapy of patients with difficult or refractory edema.


Against the Grain is both a wide-ranging voyage of discovery and a regionally focused study of the trajectory of agriculture from its earliest appearance until historical times, coupled with discussion of the mechanisms that maintained early states. For Scott, the state is a fragile entity (pp. 21, 23, 118, 125) based on the production of grain, along with water transport, city walls, tax collection, specialized administrators, monumental centres, kings, social hierarchy, filth, epidemic disease and an insatiable demand for enslaved labour. With such a definition, there is a little hope that the societies of Eurasian pastoral nomads can be seen as anything other than 'barbarians' living outside the laws and hierarchies of agricultural states. It is these Eurasian nomadic pastoralists and their relations with the state that will form the focus of this commentary.


Customer satisfaction is one of the key factors in modern marketing and customer's behavior analysis. Banking industry is one of the numerous services in which the customer satisfaction has had an ever increasing importance in the corresponding research areas. The problem here is the complexity of dealing with customer satisfaction due to super abundant factors engaged in it. In this paper the applications of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM's), as a decision making tool, in banking industry, a very vital part of a country's economy, has been discussed. The paper focuses on the development of customers' satisfaction model in banking sector using fuzzy cognitive map. A questionnaire assessing customer's opinions to give a clear perception of factors affecting customer satisfaction in banks was designed based on Complaint handling, Service quality, Service feature, Competiveness and Convenience, which are the five major factors considered. The questionnaire was administered to bank managers, other bank staff and the customers within selected banks (First bank, Polaris bank and Wema bank) in Ogbomosho environ, Oyo state South-West Nigeria. The opinions from the administered questionnaires were quantitatively analysed using descriptive statistic in Statistical Package of Social Sciences. The analysis on five factors considered which are: Complaint handling, Service quality, Service feature, Competiveness and Convenience and defining the relationship between the factors were then used to develop the FCM model with the use of mental modeler software. The nodes of the FCM model represent the main factors affecting customer satisfaction in banking sector and running of 'what if' scenario to determine how the model might react under possible change. The simulated results show that Service quality and Complain handling has a degree of effect on Customer satisfaction while other factors has no effect on customer satisfaction which could be positive and negative impact on customer satisfaction in banking sector. This implies that Service quality and Complain handling are important factors in predicting the customer satisfaction in banking sector. Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM), Model, Banks and Decision. DOI: 10.7176/JIEA/10-4-06 Publication date: September 30 th 2020


The aim of this study was evaluate the utilization of tools for pain perception assessment in 41 hospitalized pre-school children submitted to painful procedures: care of wounds or blood extraction. The utilized tools were the faces scale, behavioral indicators and words which describe the pain. Most of the pre-schoolers understood and correctly answered to the faces scale, which can be noticed by the crescent movement 0 (no pain) 4 (maximum pain) during the choice of faces before and after the painful procedure. Crying, immortality and forehead wrinkling were the predominant behavioral indicators, intensified during the procedure. Pre-schoolers verbalizations about their pain showed up to be concrete terms or evaluative-indicative nature, resulting in variable or weakly precise concepts.


Inflammaging refers to a continuous, low-grade inflammation associated with aging. Such chronic inflammatory response could build up with time and gradually causes tissue damage. It is considered as one of the driving forces for many age-related diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and skin aging. There is mounting evidence that indicates aging is driven by the pro-inflammatory cytokines and substances produced by our body's innate immune system. The macrophage and complement system, two important components of innate immune system, have attracted more and more attention since they appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of several inflammaging-associated diseases, such as AMD and atherosclerosis. This paper will review what we know about these two innate immune systems in the pathogenesis of AMD, atherosclerosis and skin aging.


To represent the high concentration of recovery rates at the boundaries, we propose to consider the recovery rate as a mixed random variable, obtained as the mixture of a Bernoulli random variable and a beta random variable. We suggest to estimate the mixture weights and the Bernoulli parameter by two logistic regression models. For the recovery rates belonging to the interval 0,1, we model, jointly, the mean and the dispersion by using two link functions, so we propose the joint beta regression model that accommodates skewness and heteroscedastic errors. This methodological proposal is applied to a comprehensive survey on loan recovery process of Italian banks. In the regression model, we include some macroeconomic variables because they are relevant to explain the recovery rate and allow to estimate it in downturn conditions, as Basel II requires. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


S u m m a r y. New algorithm of the least-squares approximation of the spectrum of relaxation frequencies by the fi nite series of Hermite functions using discrete-time noise corrupted measurements of relaxation modulus obtained in stress relaxation test has been proposed. Since the problem of relaxation spectrum identifi cation is ill-posed, the inverse problem of Tikhonov regularization with guaranteed model approximation is used to achieve the stability of the scheme. The linear convergence of approximations generated by the scheme is proved for noise measurements. It is also indicated that the accuracy of the spectrum approximation depends both on measurement noises and regularization parameter and on the proper selection of time-scale parameter of the basis functions. The validity and effectiveness of the method is demonstrated using simulated data of Gaussian relaxation spectrum. Applying the proposed scheme, the relaxation spectrum of an unconfi ned cylindrical specimen of the beet sugar root is determined. K e y w o r d s : relaxation spectrum, identifi cation algorithm, regularization, Hermite functions


The fluorescence spectra of a two level atom interacting with amplitude modulated intense fields are presented. The spectra are multipeaked and can be in general described as a superposition of triplets. The incoherent spectra for the fully amplitude modulated field and those under conditions of parametric resonance are predicted to have a width that depends on the modulation intensity. This feature is different from the known intensity-independent widths of the peaks in the Mollow spectrum. The transient spectra for an atom placed in the dressed state of a partially amplitude modulated field are found to show variation in the peak height. In some cases, one of the peaks of each triplet is suppressed while in another situation, all the peaks lying to one side of the spectral centre are absent.


Introduction:
 After an allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), analysis of donor chimerism (DC) is routinely used to monitor engraftment. In patients with myeloid malignancies, loss of a complete donor chimerism (CC) may indicate graft failure, but more often imminent leukemic relapse. Especially in patients without a valid marker for minimal residual disease (MRD), chimerism analysis may prompt reduction of immunosuppression or therapeutic interventions such as donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) or hypomethylating agents (HMA). We retrospectively analyzed DC data and outcomes of 255 consecutive patients (pts) transplanted for an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at our center. Aims of our study were to evaluate the impact of (i) a falling DC, (ii) the first chimerism-guided intervention, and (iii) the application of DLI on survival and incidence of acute and chronic (a/c) GvHD.
 Patients and Methods:
 255 pts that received a first SCT between 2005 and 2016 were monitored regularly (approx. every two weeks from day +14 to +100, then monthly) for DC using a validated, CE-labeled multiplex-STR PCR at a single laboratory (AgenDix GmbH, Dresden, Germany). CC was defined as ≥99% and mixed chimerism (MC) as <99% donor cells. Overall survival (OS), GVHD-free, relapse-free survival (GFRS) and the cumulative incidence (CI) of GVHD was analyzed for the whole cohort, OS and CI GVHD were analyzed for pts with MC and pts that received DLI with a prophylactic/preemptive (pDLI) vs. therapeutic (tDLI) indication.
 245 pts (median age 53 years (range 19-73), 136 male) with AML (n=222) or MDS (n=23) achieved a CC within 60 days post SCT and were eligible for our analysis, 10 pts were excluded due to refractory disease (n=9) or early death (n=1). 101 out of 222 AML pts (45%) had intermediate (int)-2 or adverse cytogenetics according to ELN guidelines, and 10 out of 23 MDS pts (43%) had IPSS int-2 or high risk. 121 pts (49%) were transplanted in first complete remission (CR), 107 (44%) with active disease. For SCT, 96 pts (39%) had received myeloablative (MAC) and 149 (61%) reduced intensity conditioning regimens (RIC). Donors were HLA-matched siblings (MRD, n= 60) or unrelated donors (MUD, n=149), mismatched related (MMRD, n= 1) or unrelated donors (MMUD, n=27), or haploidentical family members (n=8).
 Results:
 A MC was detected in 95 pts (39%) at a median of 104 (range, 28-1764) days post SCT, of whom 18 pts (32%) had aGVHD G2-4. Pts with MC had received RIC significantly more often compared to pts with continued CC (69% vs 55%, p=0.046), the two groups did not differ regarding high risk cytogenetics/IPSS and remission status at SCT.
 MC prompted reduction of immunosuppressive therapy (IST, n=35), DLI (n=7), HMA (n=16), DLI+HMA (n=7), chemotherapy and/or 2ndSCT (n=7), small molecules (n=10) or best supportive care (BSC, n=13) as deemed appropriate by the treating physician. Median OS and GFRS were significantly better for pts with CC (OS not reached; GFRS 46 months (mths)) compared to pts with MC (OS 15.7 mths; Hazard ratio (HR) 0.25, 95%-CI 0.17-0.37, p<0.001, GFRS 3.7 mths; HR 0.39, 95%-CI 0.26-0.58, p<0.001, figures 1,2). 3-year survival was 75% for the CC group vs 31.7% for the MC group. For the 95 pts with MC, median OS was 27.4 and 35.8 mths following IST reduction or DLI+HMA, respectively, and 12, 8.8, 5.1 and 1.2 mths for pts treated with chemo/2ndHSCT, HMA, small molecules or BSC. Treatment of MC induced aGVHD G2-4 in only 2 additional pts (G3-4: n=1). CI of cGVHD requiring systemic IST was 27% at 1-year for all pts with MC compared to 13.9% for pts in the CC group.
 In the whole cohort, 46 pts (19%) received a median of 2 DLIs (median dose 0.5x106CD3+cells/kg). PDLIs were administered to 33 pts (72%) and tDLIs to 13 pts with relapsed disease (28%). The pDLI group had a 3-year survival of 82.9% and did not reach median OS, compared to 24.6% 3-year survival and 22 mths median OS in the tDLI group. Median GRFS was 91.4 vs 6.6 mths for the pDLI and tDLI group, respectively. No pt developed aGVHD G2-4 after DLI administration, 1 pt (8%) in the tDLI and 4 pts (12%) in the pDLI group developed cGVHD requiring systemic IST.
 Conclusion
 Occurrence of MC seems predictive of an inferior outcome, but early intervention such as careful reduction of IST if feasible or administration of DLI with or without HMA may effectively prolong OS and GRFS. Administration of pDLI after discontinuation of IST starting with low doses is safe and results in low rates of cGvHD.

 Lang: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Research Funding. Toenges:Bayer: Research Funding. Schetelig:Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Roche: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Serve:Bayer: Research Funding. Thiede:AgenDix: Other: Ownership; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Bug:Astellas Pharma: Other: Travel Grant; Novartis Pharma: Honoraria, Research Funding; Neovii: Other: Travel Grant; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Other: Travel Grant; Janssen: Other: Travel Grant; Celgene: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria.


We determine the band structure and spin texture of ${\mathrm{WTe}}_{2}$ by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (SARPES). With the support of first-principles calculations, we reveal the existence of spin polarization of both the Fermi arc surface states and bulk Fermi pockets. Our results support ${\mathrm{WTe}}_{2}$ to be a type-II Weyl semimetal candidate and provide important information to understand its extremely large and nonsaturating magnetoresistance.


In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government implemented the largest expansion in eligibility to federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in history through the creation of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. This program expanded eligibility to self-employed workers, gig workers, independent workers and others not previously eligible for UI or who were unable to work for a variety of COVID related reasons. Once implemented, the PUA program accounted for roughly 40 percent of total claims through expiration (Figure 1) and $80 Billion (20%) of the $400 Billion spent on UI expansions in 2020 (DOL IG, 2021). The PUA program officially ended on September 6, 2021, and 21 states opted to terminate the program in June or July of 2021. When the Omicron surge hit the U.S. in December 2021, it resulted in disruptions in dependent care, widespread quarantines, and a return of virtual school or school cancellations for many children. According to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, the number of individuals who reported not working due to having or caring for someone with COVID-19 increased from 3 million in the first half of December 2021 to almost 9 million between December 29 2021 and January 10 2022, the highest level ever recorded by the survey. With PUA no longer in place in 2022, workers had fewer means of receiving income supports if they lost earnings as a result of these circumstances. What policy lessons can be learned from the "PUA experiment" for policymaking going forward? Specifically, the PUA program marked an important departure in the UI eligibility framework. States would normally rely on employers to verify whether a worker is ineligible for UI if they were fired for cause, did not respond to a recall, or started working in a new job. The PUA program enabled self-employed and other workers to become eligible for UI for many reasons beyond involuntary job loss. The central question when evaluating the PUA program – what was the tradeoff between expanding benefit eligibility versus work disincentive effects or overpayments, as compared to traditional UI recipients?


Enhancing yield during bacterial enzyme production could have positive economic and environmental impacts. For cell factories, such improvements in yields could potentially be obtained by fine-tuning the metabolic processes and their regulatory mechanisms for gene candidates. In pursuit of such candidates, we performed RNA-sequencing of two α-amylase producing Bacillus strains and predict hundreds of putative novel non-coding transcribed regions. Complex operons that are regulated by a wide variety of transcription factors, non-coding and structured RNAs add to the challenge of finding yield-affecting candidates. Surprisingly, we found that non-coding genomic regions are proportionally undergoing the highest changes in expression during fermentation (75% of novel RNA predictions had absolute logFC > 2). Since these classes of RNA are also understudied, we targeted the corresponding genomic regions with CRIPSRi knockdown to test for any potential impact on the yield. From differentially expressed annotations, including both novel candidate and prior annotated ncRNAs, we selected 53 non-coding candidates. The targeting with CRISPRi knockdowns transcription in a genomic region on both the sense and the antisense strand. Thus, the CRISPRi experiment cannot link causes for yield changes to the sense or antisense disruption. Nevertheless, we observed on several instances with strong changes in enzyme yield. The knockdown targeting the genomic region for a putative antisense RNA of the 3' UTR of the skfA-skfH operon led to a 21% increase in yield. In contrast, the knockdown targeting the genomic regions of putative antisense RNAs of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (ctaD), the sigma factor sigH, and the uncharacterized gene yhfT decreased yields by 31 to 43%.


A decomposition technique is applied to address the simultaneous scheduling and optimal control problem of multigrade polymerization reactors. The simultaneous scheduling and control (SSC) problem is reformulated using Lagrangean decomposition as presented by Guignard and Kim. The resulting model is decomposed into scheduling and control subproblems, and solved using a heuristic approach used before by Van den Heever et al. in a different kind of problem. The methodology is tested using a methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerization system, and the high impact polystyrene (HIPS) polymerization system, with one continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), and with a complete HIPS polymerization plant composed of a train of seven CSTRs. In these case studies, different polymer grades are produced using the same equipment in a cyclic schedule. The results of the heuristic decomposition technique are compared against those obtained by solving the problem without decomposition, whenever both solutions were available. The presence of a duality gap for the decomposed solution is observed as expected when integer variables and other nonconvexities are present. Computational times in the first two examples were lower for the decomposition heuristic than for the direct solution in full space, and the optimal solutions found were slightly better. The example related to the full scale HIPS plant was only solvable using the decomposition heuristic. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2008


We present XBOS, an eXtensible Building Operating System for integrated management of previously isolated building subsystems. The key contribution of XBOS is the development of the Building Profile, a canonical, executable description of a building and its subsystems that changes with a building and evolves the control processes and applications accordingly. We discuss the design and implementation of XBOS in the context of 6 dimensions of an effective BAS – hardware presentation layer, canonical metadata, control process management, building evolution management, security, scalable UX and API – and evaluate against several recent building and sensor management systems. Lastly, we examine the evolution of a real, 10 month deployment of XBOS in a 7000 sq ft office building.


Nowadays Air Conditioner (AC) has become a more important appliance in our life. Gas leakage, blockage in the evaporator and compressor coil, pipelines as well as dust in the air filters, are the major reasons behind AC explosion. Many people have been injured over the years due to AC blasts. In this paper a system is developed that uses sensor technology and smart devices to reduce AC blast. As a result, pipeline leaks or blockage fault detection system is planned and constructed using MQ-02, TTC 103, optical dust sensors for gas detection, temperature detection and for detecting dust density respectively. Also bacteria can be detected through MQ-3 gas sensor as it combines with AC refrigerant and produces ethanol. This system is also digitally connected to smart devices (cellphones) and a control device (RM MINI 3) so that user can receive a detection notification at any time and operate AC from any location. By implementing these sensors, the initial target was achieved. The work is low cost and environment friendly.

Index Terms— Explosions, blockage, leakage, RM MINI 3, cellphone, refrigeration cycle, sensor, safety


Magnesium silylamido complexes 1 ~ 7 bearing non-symmetric β -diketiminate ligands were synthesized via the reactions of corresponding proligands HL 1 ~ 7 with one equivalent of Mg[N(SiMe 3 ) 2 ] 2 at 80 ℃ in toluene. All complexes were characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and elemental analysis. The monomeric nature of complexes 1 and 5 in the solid state was further confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies. In both complexes, the metal center is tri-coordinated by the β -diketiminate ligand and one silylamido group. The very close bond lengths of two Mg — N bonds as well as close C — N distances of the chelate ring indicate significant delocalization. The apparent deviation of the magnesium center from the ligand backbone plane suggests a certain η n -coordination nature of the ligand to the metal center. These magnesium silylamido complexes showed good catalytic activities for the ring-opening polymerization of rac -lactide under ambient conditions, and could polymerize 300 equivalents of rac -lactide to high molecular weight polymers within short time in THF. The solvent effect played a critical role during the polymerization process. All complexes showed higher catalytic activity in THF than in toluene. Taking complex 2 as an example, a monomer conversion of 96% could be achieved within 10 min in THF, whereas a conversion of 80% could only be achieved within extended polymerization time of 210 min in toluene (Table 1, Entries 6 and 9, [LA] 0 /[Mg] 0 = 100). Upon the addition of isopropanol, the activities of magnesium silylamido complexes 1 ~ 7 increased significantly. For instance, when the polymerization runs were carried in THF in the presence of isopropanol, the reaction time could be reduced to 10 ~ 20 min even with a high molar ratio of [LA] 0 /[Mg] 0 = 300. Moreover, the type and location of the substituent(s) on the N -aryl group of the β -diketiminate ligand exerts a significant influence on the catalytic activity of the corresponding complex toward the polymerization of rac -lactide. In the absence of excess isopropanol, the introduction of sterically demanding substituent to the ortho -position of N -aryl ring leads to a decrease of the polymerization activity; but the influence of electron-withdrawing group is different in different solvents (toluene or THF). These magnesium complexes could produce heterotactic polymers in THF ( P r = 0.64 ~ 0.80) and atactic polymers in toluene ( P r = 0.45 ~ 0.58). Magnesium complexes 1 ~ 7 also displayed high catalytic activities for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε -caprolactone, among them complexes bearing β -diketiminate ligand with bulky ortho -substituted N -aryl rings showed higher activities. Generally, the ROPs of ε -caprolactone initiated by these magnesium silylamido complexes were not well-controlled, giving moderately distributed polymers ( M w / M n = 1.37 ~ 1.67). Additionally, diblock copolymers of L -lactide and ε -caprolactone were obtained by using 2 as the initiator via both sequential feeding of two monomers (in either order) and the one-pot method. The for-mation of diblock copolymers were verified by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, DSC and GPC analysis.


Test case generation based on design specifications is an important part of testing processes. In this paper, Unified Modeling Language activity diagrams are used as design specifications. By setting up several test adequacy criteria with respect to activity diagrams, an automatic approach is presented to generate test cases for Java programs. Instead of directly deriving test cases from activity diagrams, this approach selects test cases from a set of randomly generated ones according to a given test adequacy criterion. In the approach, we first instrument a Java program under testing according to its activity diagram model, and randomly generate abundant test cases for the program. Then, by running the instrumented program we obtain the corresponding program execution traces. Finally, by matching these traces with the behavior of the activity diagram, a reduced set of test cases are selected according to the given test adequacy criterion. This approach can also be used to check the consistency between the program execution traces and the behavior of activity diagrams.


The NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 produces different effects on timing tasks. In particular, MK-801 produces an underestimation of duration when animals are tested with the differential reinforcement of low rate of responding (DRL) schedule and an overestimation of duration when animals are tested with the peak-interval (PI) procedure. The goal of this study was to develop a model-based explanation for this discrepancy. Two computer simulations were conducted via an implementation of scalar expectancy theory (SET). In Simulation 1, SET was used to provide a quantitative account of PI timing data. Simulation 2 used parameter estimates from Simulation 1 to predict effects of MK-801 on the DRL task. DRL predictions provided a close match to previous empirical data. Results of the simulations suggest that differences in the literature are likely due to inherent differences between PI and DRL tasks, rather than fundamental differences in timing. Overall, the role of NMDA receptors in timing appears to be multifaceted, impacting perception, memory, and decision processes.


Dynamical models allow us to connect the motion of a set of tracers to the underlying gravitational potential, and thus to the total (luminous and dark) matter distribution. They are particularly useful for understanding the mass and spatial distribution of dark matter (DM) in a galaxy. Globular clusters (GCs) are an ideal tracer population in dynamical models, since they are bright and can be found far out into the halo of galaxies. We aim to test how well Jeans-Anisotropic-MGE (JAM) models using GCs (positions and line-of-sight velocities) as tracers can constrain the mass and radial distribution of DM haloes. For this, we use the E-MOSAICS suite of 25 zoom-in simulations of L* galaxies. We find that the DM halo properties are reasonably well recovered by the JAM models. There is, however, a strong correlation between how well we recover the mass and the radial distribution of the DM and the number of GCs in the galaxy: the constraints get exponentially worse with fewer GCs, and at least 150 GCs are needed in order to guarantee that the JAM model will perform well. We find that while the data quality (uncertainty on the radial velocities) can be important, the number of GCs is the dominant factor in terms of the accuracy and precision of the measurements. This work shows promising results for these models to be used in extragalactic systems with a sample of more than 150 GCs.


Background: Yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae meal (TM), one of seven approved insect species used in aquafeeds, is a frequently investigated candidate for fish diets. Results: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary defatted TM on production performance, serum biochemistry, nutrient digestibility, fillet traits, intestinal microbiota, and environmental impacts of perch (Perca fluviatilis). Four experimental diets, characterized by defatted TM inclusion levels of 0, 6.8, 13.5 and 20.3%, respectively, or 0, 25, 50, and 75% at the expense of fishmeal (TM0, TM25, TM50, and TM75, respectively) were fed to juvenile perch (bodyweight 20.81 ± 3.36 g, total length 117.7 ± 7.2 mm) (quadruplicated per diet) for 105 days. Inclusion levels of 6.8% or 25% fishmeal replacement by defatted TM did not show a significant effect on specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio (P > 0.05), while further levels of 13.5 and 20.3%, or 50 and 75% fishmeal replacement with defatted TM, respectively, displayed a significant delay in these indices compared to the control diet (P < 0.001). The aspartate aminotransferase activities in perch's serum increased with increasing dietary TM (P = 0.044). Nutrient digestibility of perch exhibited TM-dose dependent (P < 0.05). Dietary defatted TM did not lead to any significant changes in the fillet composition of perch (P > 0.05). Defatted TM did not modify diversity of fish gut microbiota (Chao1 index, P = 0.742; Shannon index, P = 0.557; and observed species, P = 0.522), but significantly reduced abundance of Lactobacillus (P = 0.018) and Streptococcus (P = 0.013) while fed TM75 relative to TM0. TM-containing diets generated a comparable amount of total solid waste and solid phosphorus waste with TM0, except TM25, whereas solid nitrogen waste significantly increased with elevated TM levels (P < 0.001). Perch fed TM25 was comparable with TM0 for global warming potential, acidification, and land use (P > 0.05), whereas TM50 and TM75 exerted heavier burdens on energy use, eutrophication, and water use than TM0 (P < 0.001). Fishmeal replacement by TM significantly reduced economic fish-in fish-out (P < 0.001).Conclusion: The inclusion of 6.8% or 25% fishmeal replacement by defatted insect meal (T. molitor) in European perch diets resulted in comparable production performance but entailed heavier burdens associated with solid outputs waste and environmental impacts. The present study underlined the major bottleneck of a substantial inclusion of defatted insect meal (T. molitor) in fish diets associated with solid nitrogen waste and environmental consequences associated with one unit of farmed perch produced. Our multidisciplinary study suggested important aspects while formulating diets for fish, using insect meals regarding production performance and environmental issues.


We agree with Rachlin's aim to account for altruism within existing theory. However, his argument is implicitly dependent on social and cognitive constructs that are explicitly identified in other social-psychological theories. The account does not advance theory beyond available constructs (e.g., self-categorizations, motives, values, role-identities, and social structure), and Rachlin's implicit use of these strains the behaviorist account.


Intrinsic carbon-nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs) have been shown to have superior performance over silicon transistors. In this letter, we provide an insight how the parasitic fringe capacitance in state-of-the-art CNFET geometries impacts the overall performance of CNFET circuits. We show that unless the device (gate) width can be significantly reduced, the effective gate capacitance of CNFET will be strongly dominated by the parasitic fringe capacitances, and the superior performance of intrinsic CNFET over silicon MOSFET cannot be achieved in circuit.


Abstract The purpose of this article was to analyze the amendment of Fugitive Offenders Ordinance & Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, which caused widespread controversy in Hong Kong recently. This amendment stemmed from a murder case that occurred in Taiwan, which led the Hong Kong government to decide to fill the legal loopholes in the extradition law. The amendment abolished the prohibition of extradition of China and made the fundamental changes to the vetting procedure for extradition. However, based on the question to the judicial environment in China and the unequal relationship between Hong Kong and China, many Hong Kong people believed that the amendment would seriously threaten their personal safety. The amendment mattered important because people it affected were not only Hong Kong citizens, but also foreigners staying in Hong Kong. And as an important international financial center, the influence of Hong Kong couldn't be underestimated. Therefore, the amendment had triggered a high degree of international concern. This article will analyze the contents of the amendment and the supports and the oppositions to clarify the dispute and discuss whether the amendment is good or bad.


The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious education's demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one of which religious education practitioners appear to endorse and associate with religious education, and one of which they reject and associate with citizenship education.


Objective. To analyze the presence of concomitant pathology in patients of different age categories who underwent hip arthroplasty by different methods.
Materials and methods. The study retrospectively analyzed 555 case histories of patients (282 men and 273 women) for the presence of concomitant pathology in different age groups (from 20 to 95 years). The age category was determined according to the 2015 World Health Organization age classification. Statistical processing was performed according to StatPlus programs, the differences were considered significant at p<0,05.
Results and discussion. By age, patients were distributed as follows: juvenile (up to 25 years) – 2 patients (percentage of the total was 0,36 %); young (from 25 to 44 years) – 36 patients (6,49 %); middle-aged (from 45 to 59 years) – 132 patients (23,78 %); elderly (from 60 to 74 years) – 236 patients (42,52 %); senile (from 75 to 90 years) – 145 patients (26,13 %) and long-lived (over 90 years) – 4 patients (0,72 %). The average age of patients was 65.18±0.55 (M±m). Concomitant pathology was diagnosed in 484 patients (87,22 %). Depending on the existing concomitant pathology, patients were distributed as follows: no concomitant pathology – 71 patients (percentage of the total was 12,79 %); with hypertension – 38 patients (6.85 %); with diabetes – 11 patients (1.98 %); with coronary heart disease (CHD) – 104 patients (18,74 %); CHD + hypertension – 316 patients (56,94 %); with myocardial infarction – 3 patients (0,54 %); with a stroke – 2 patients (0,36 %); patients with encephalopathy of various genesis – 2 patients (0,36 %); with respiratory pathology – 3 patients (0,54 %); patients with systemic connective tissue diseases – 5 patients (0,90 %). Studies to date have shown a significant increase in comorbidities associated with the age of patients. One of the important predictors and unmodified risk factors for postoperative complications is the age of patients. The influence of age on the result of hip arthroplasty can be explained by a number of factors: the formation of endothelial dysfunction with impaired blood flow, changes in the blood coagulation system and more.
Conclusions. With the development of medical practice, the average life expectancy of the population increases, the methods of arthroplasty and the anesthesiological support of operations are improved, the duration of surgical interventions is reduced. These factors contribute to the steady increase in the number of total joint arthroplasty, in the average age of patients undergoing arthroplasty and, accordingly, in the total comorbid load. That is why stratification of the degree of operative risk continues to be one of the most pressing problems in orthopedic patients.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the amount of shift in position of the neutral zone and the centre of alveolar ridge crest in different edentulous periods.

STUDY DESIGN
Observational study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
The study was carried out on edentulous patients reporting in Prosthodontics Department of Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, from August 2006 to December 2008.

METHODOLOGY
Patients with edentulous period for at least 6 months exhibiting normal range of maximal mouth opening (40-50 mm) and normal temporomandibular joint movements were included and allocated into two groups, according to period of edentulism. Patient with any intra oral soft tissue or bony pathology and reduced intermaxillary space were excluded. The neutral zone was clinically recorded for all patients with impression compound. The shift between neutral zone and ridge crest in different edentulous periods was analyzed radio graphically and compared statistically.

RESULTS
In longer edentulous period (> 2 years), neutral zone was lingually shifted by an average of 1.06 mm in anterior, premolar and molar regions.

CONCLUSION
Neutral zone may be lingually shifted in relation to alveolar ridge crest in patients with prolonged edentulous period. This may help in arranging the teeth according to the clinical situation.


John F. Kippleys Couple to Couple League in addition to providing instruction in the natural family planning (NFP) method conducts a series of 4 classes for couples who want to learn about health care breastfeeding prepared childbirth and continence. The parents learn the philosophy and practice of the "ecology of natural mothering". Like prepared childbirth NFP is based on scientific principles and is an art which must be mastered through study and practice. "Ecological mothering" means total breastfeeding and physical closeness between mother and infant. The basic principle is that the babys frequent sucking will provide the mother with a period of natural infertility. The concept of total breastfeeding is radically different from the cultural nursing as is often seen in this society. "Ecological mothering" means: no solid foods for the 1st 6 months of the babys life no artificial pacifiers or nipples no schedules and mother baby closeness day and night. The vast majority of women will have extended natural infertility with ecological breastfeeding and there will be a menstrual period after childbirth before ovulation occurs again. After the 1st menstrual period postpartum a couple should assume that fertility has returned. Then it is time for them to use their awareness of a womans body signals to determine fertility. The Couple to Couple League maintains that a woman can "read" her body through the symptothermal changes that are observed and then recorded. Actually interpreting these bodily changes accurately allows a couple to detect ovulation before the 1st menstrual period postpartum. A chart outlines the theory of the symptothermal system. The observations of body changes can help a couple either to planor avoid conception. The symptoms and temperature changes are charted and intercourse is avoided during peak fertility if the couple wants to avoid conception. Kippley notes that the philosophy behind NFP has brought many couples closer together.


Exposure to grain dust may induce acute and chronic respiratory, nasal, and ocular symptoms. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms, atopic status, and lung function changes, as measured by pulmonary function tests (PFT) over the week in 582 grain mill workers and 153 control subjects not exposed to grain dust were studied in Cape Town. Atopic status, smoking habits, and baseline PFT did not differ significantly between grain workers and control subjects. Grain workers showed significant deterioration in lung function values over the week, with forced expiratory volume in one second declining on average by 4.8% compared with an increase of 3.3% in control subjects (p less than 0.001). Forced expiratory flow during the middle half of the forced vital capacity declined by 14.8% in grain workers and by 0.8% in control subjects (p less than 0.0001). Grain workers had significantly higher prevalences than did control subjects of regular cough (46 versus 30%), expectoration (35 versus 17%), wheeze (25 versus 11%), and watery eyes (25 versus 10%) (p less than 0.01 for all). These symptoms were not related to the duration of employment. A dose-response relationship, independent of smoking habits, was demonstrated between reported dust exposure and symptoms as well as between dust exposure and PFT. These results have important implications for the grain mill industry in South Africa where there is insufficient legislation and worker compensation.


This article discusses the organizational commitment from a new attitude behavioral scale - the scale of behavioral intention of the commitment toward the organization - EICCO. This scale is based on the behavioral intention. The universe of the research is composed by 124 individuals. The data collection was carried out through questionnaire. 47 of these questionnaires were properly filled out and returned. The intensities related to the individual commitment toward the organization were analyzed and the justification of the decisions made considering the weight of the instrumental and the affectionate basis. The research was carried out in an enterprise in the it field located in Belo Horizonte – MG. The results point out that the employees of the organization studied show high level of commitment.

Key-Words: organizational behavior; behavioral intentions; IT


Coastal overdevelopment in the United States is a persistent issue. Climate change continues to increase the risk of flooding and other damage from natural disasters facing many coastal communities. Yet, development in some of the most at-risk areas has not slowed. Policies at the federal government level have encouraged such development by shifting costs of flood-related property damage from the property owner to taxpayers. At the same time, government actors at all levels are actively trying to protect their coastlines through coastal resilience projects. However, there are not enough funds to protect coastal property, especially at the state and local levels. Thus, coastal development continues to put more and more private investment at risk with no hope of governmental protection.

This note proposes a risk-based tax on coastal development to counter incentives to overdevelop coastline while raising revenue for resilience projects. By utilizing a risk-based tax, the government that levies the tax can charge the property owner for the risk that has been shifted to the federal government through programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program. Further, a tax is preferable because it would be easier to administrate than other methods of slowing coastal development, like direct regulation. Finally, this note concludes that such a tax would encounter the fewest administrative and legal roadblocks if implemented at the state level.


Abstract A mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, bor1-1 (Noguchi et al. 1997: Plant Physiol., 115, 901–916) requires high levels of boron (B) for normal growth. We analyzed the B-deficiency symptoms of bor1-1 mutant plants in detail. A low B supply retarded the growth of the mutant plants more evidently in leaves than in roots. In particular, cell expansion and formation of air spaces were severely impaired by B deficiency in young rosette leaves. Such defects in growth were correlated with the reduced contents of B in leaves. These defects were not observed when a sufficient amount of B was supplied. Uptake experiments with 10B-enriched tracer B demonstrated that B taken up through roots was preferentially transported to young leaves compared to old leaves in the wild-type plants under a low B supply. Such a preferential transport to young leaves was not evident in the mutant plants. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that in A. thaliana plants B is preferentially transported to young organs under a low B supply and that this transport process is controlled at least in part by the BOR1 gene.


Previous studies investigating multi-sensor fusion for the collection of soil information have shown variable improvements, and the underlying prediction mechanisms are not sufficiently understood for spectrally-active and -inactive properties. Our objective was to study prediction mechanisms and benefits of model fusion by measuring mid-infrared (MIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectra, texture, total and labile organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) content, pH, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) for n = 117 soils from an arable field in Germany. Partial least squares regression models underwent a three-fold training/testing procedure using MIR spectra or elemental concentrations derived from XRF spectra. Additionally, two sequential hybrid and two high-level fusion approaches were tested. For the studied field, MIR was superior for organic properties (ratio of prediction to interquartile distance of validation (RPIQV) for total OC = 7.7 and N = 5.0)), while XRF was superior for inorganic properties (RPIQV for clay = 3.4, silt = 3.0, and sand = 1.8). Even the optimal fusion approach brought little to no accuracy improvement for these properties. The high XRF accuracy for clay and silt is explained by the large number of elements with variable importance in the projection scores >1 (Fe ≈ Ni > Si ≈ Al ≈ Mg > Mn ≈ K ≈ Pb (clay only) ≈ Cr) with strong spearman correlations (±0.57 < rs < ±0.90) with clay and silt. For spectrally-inactive properties relying on indirect prediction mechanisms, the relative improvements from the optimal fusion approach compared to the best single spectrometer were marginal for pH (3.2% increase in RPIQV versus MIR alone) but more pronounced for labile OC (9.3% versus MIR) and CEC (12% versus XRF). Dominance of a suboptimal spectrometer in a fusion approach worsened performance compared to the best single spectrometer. Granger-Ramanathan averaging, which weights predictions according to accuracy in training, is therefore recommended as a robust approach to capturing the potential benefits of multiple sensors.


Neil Altman and Rachael Peltz have written forceful and important papers on manic defenses and the loss of "social security" in American society. My own experience underscores the value of their project, which I view as a response to changes and differences that have grown over decades and accelerated in recent years. The emergence of the theory of manic defenses leads back to the crises of the 1930s, and psychoanalytically informed cultural critics have recognized similar patterns since the 1970s. I suggest evidence for their views, while also expressing skepticism about their more prescriptive ideas. The crisis they begin to analyze has even deeper roots in the ultimate fears generated in the mid-20th century.


A study of the ways in which Japanese, Korean & American companies operate. American companies follow traditional competitive strategies of carving out defensible niches where no competition exists and in the process get flabbier and flabbier, so that when the Japanese and Koreans bring their businesses to the US, they are able to take control in one industry after another. In this book Lee Perry presents a three-pronged attack. Companies can compete by being the most opportunistic, the most visionary, or the best managed. Using examples from well-known companies including Kodak, Fuji, Harley Davidson, British Airways and Micron the author offers a prescription for regaining the leadership role.


The article analyzes the current situation in the world from the standpoint of the spread of such a negative phenomenon as transnational organized crime. It has been proven that by reducing the time of entry into another country, and in EU countries also by eliminating the need for customs control, it is easier for criminals not only to quickly and unhindered to get, so to speak, to another part of the hemisphere, but also to move, hide or hide goods, weapons, etc. In addition, a powerful impetus to criminal activity was given by globalization, the development of modern technologies, in particular, methods, techniques, programs used in modern banking, facilitated the implementation of international criminal agreements, and the electronics revolution gave criminals, including criminal organizations, access to new means and methods of obtaining funds.It is substantiated that transnational organized crime is one of the highest levels of criminal evolution, a qualitatively new form of crime organization, their antisocial, illegal activities go beyond the territory and jurisdiction of one state, and the subjects are sustainable criminal organizations, whose activities and spheres of influence applies not to one but to several countries, neighboring states, regions, etc. They operate in different regions of the world, have a certain specialization, use various methods, techniques (blackmail, intimidation, corruption schemes), and are united by a common goal - to obtain a very high (maximum) profit while ensuring minimal risk.


We propose an experiment which consists of pulling a card and use it to decide restrictions on the running of L.H.C. at CERN, such as luminosity, beam energy, or total shut down. The purpose of such an experiment is to look for influence from the future, backward causation. Since L.H.C. shall produce particles of a mathematically new type of fundamental scalars, i.e. the Higgs particles, there is potentially a chance to find hitherto unseen effects such as influence going from future to past, which we suggest in the present paper. 1 On leave of absence to CERN, Geneva from 1 Aug. 2007 to 31 May 2008. 2 Also working at Okayama Institute for Quantum Physics, Kyoyama 1, Okayama 700-0015, Japan.


Validities derived from test-free variables were obtained for final grades in ten community college courses. The variables included self-reports of high school performance, self-ratings on four factors presumably related to good grades, and informed self-estimates of future performance in a course. Validities for the same students were also obtained using the Comparative Guidance and Placement test battery and the results compared. For five of the courses the non-test validities were as high as or higher than the test validities, and in the other five the differences were modest. These findings suggest that non-test approaches to prediction are satisfactory alternatives to tests, at least for purposes of guidance. They also suggest that courses hard to predict through tests may be predictable with non-test methods. Benefits of a test-free program to the college, students, and faculty are discussed.


Flooding attack is a network attack that sends a large amount of traffic to the victim networks or services to cause denial-of-service. In Software-Defined Networking (SDN) environment, this attack might not only breach the hosts and services but also the SDN controller. Besides, it will also cause a disconnection of links between the controller and the switches. Thus, an effective detection and mitigation technique of flooding attacks is required. Statistical analysis techniques are widely used for the detection and mitigation of flooding attacks. However, the effectiveness of these techniques strongly depends on the defined threshold. Defining the static threshold is a tedious job and most of the time produces a high false positive alarm .In this paper, we proposed the dynamic threshold which is calculated using modified adaptive threshold algorithm (MATA). The original ATA is based on the Exponential Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) formula which produces the high number of false alarms. To reduce the false alarms, the alarm signal will only be generated after a minimum number of consecutive violations of the threshold. This, however, has increased the false negative rate when the network is under attack. In order to reduce this false negative rate, MATA adapted the baseline traffic info of the network infrastructure. The comparative analysis of MATA and ATA are performed through the measurement of false negative rate, and accuracy of detection rate. Our experimental results show that MATA is able to reduce false negative rates up to 17.74% and increase the detection accuracy of 16.11%over the various types of flooding attacks at the transport layer.


The early postoperative and long term results of 4 acute (3 toxic megacolon, 1 life threatening bleeding from colon diverticulitis) and 32 elective (16 colitis ulcerosa, 10 familiar polyposis, 4 diffuse Crohn disease, 2 total colon diverticulosis) total colectomies and continence reconstruction has been discussed. In the acute cases the continence has been restored in two steps with Kock reservoir, or with immediate ileorectostomy. In the elective cases the continence was ensured with 16 ileoanal anostomies and pouch formation (4 "S" and 12 "J" pouch), 12 ileorectostomies and two Kock reservoir, the operation has been finished only in 2 cases, with definitive Brooke type ileostomy. The operative lethality was 4/1 and 32/1, the serious postoperative complication rate 4/2 and 32/5 respectively. The long term results of 11 pouch operations and 13 ileorectostomies are discussed. A whole continence were achieved on 11/9 and 13/12 patients respectively. The nocturnal soiling and daily defecation frequency was 75% and 25% higher and the whole rehabilitation time was twice so long after pouch operation then after ileorectostomies. 11/3 and 13/8 patients could return to his or her original occupation. The importance of operations planed and carried out according to the patients personal interest is emphasized. Some special complications and the results of their treatment are discussed.


Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous mycosis with a variable course caused by a fungus of the genus Sporothrix. We present the case of 67-year-old white patient of rural origin with a history of myelofibrosis that had evolved for ten years and was treated with thalidomide and prednisone. He was admitted to the University General Hospital of Cienfuegos in August 2013 because of skin lesions on the left cheek, chest and forearms. During his stay in the Hematology ward due to his underlying disease, we consulted with the specialists of the Dermatology Department. Several diagnoses were established and multiple antimicrobial treatments were prescribed. No clinical improvement of the lesions was observed. A mycological study showed the presence of Sporothrix schencckii; hence, the patient underwent treatment for sporotrichosis. Given the rarity of this diagnosis in our institution, we decided to present this case.


1. A pathway for the synthesis of hexose from succinate by Rhodospirillum rubrum is proposed. 2. With 2,3-(14)C(2)-labelled succinate and fumarate as substrates in experiments with chromatophores and a soluble enzyme fraction of R. rubrum it was found that the products of succinate metabolism by the extracts were the same as in whole cells. It was also found that the light-dependent oxidation of succinate was catalysed by the chromatophores, but that all the other enzymes involved were in the soluble fraction. 3. By using specific assays the presence of all the enzymes required for the proposed pathway was demonstrated in the extracts and their specific activities were measured. 4. The overall rate of succinate assimilation was measured manometrically. The activities of the enzymes assayed were sufficient to account for the overall rate of assimilation. It is concluded that the proposed pathway represents the major mechanism for synthesis of hexose from succinate in R. rubrum. 5. The formation of alanine and aspartate was observed in experiments with isotopically labelled substrates, and possible synthetic pathways for these compounds are discussed.


ABSTRACT The permanence of cardiovascular stents and orthopedic fixation devices often cause problems; thus, it would be advantageous to make them biodegradable to prevent or minimize the issues caused by their long-term use. Magnesium is a biodegradable and biocompatible metal that is an excellent candidate for these implants, but it's rapid degradation in vivo poses issues about its use. In order to slow down the rate at which magnesium corrodes, polymer coatings are being investigated however understanding of polymer attributes and capabilities and its subsequent impact on materials design in controlling the degradation of magnesium is lacking. In this manuscript we report the effect of polymer coating characteristics (polymer structure, molecular weight and thickness) on the biodegradation and biocompatibility behavior of magnesium alloy. Polyester based coating with varying thickness and molecular weights were dip coated on magnesium alloy. The samples were characterized and evaluated using thickness gauge, microscopic techniques, electrochemical corrosion analysis and biocompatibility studies respectively. Within the parameters chosen (molecular weight, thickness and polymer structure) results indicated coating thickness and polymer structure to have the greatest impact on controlling biodegradation of magnesium. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


The effect of ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ) on shoot bud induction and proliferation from nodal explants of Dianthus caryophyllus L. was investigated. Shoot buds were induced on MS medium supplemented with 2.2µM BAP and 2.7µM NAA. The induced shoot buds were sub-cultured on medium with same hormonal composition for their proliferation. Both shoot bud induction and proliferation media were supplemented with different levels of NH 4 NO 3 ( 0, 5.15, 10.3, 20.61*, 41.20 mM ). NH 4 NO 3 highly influenced the shoot bud formation and their subsequent proliferation. In the present investigation, NH 4 NO 3 at one-fouth of MS level was found to be beneficial for controlling the hyperhydricity of regenerated shoots whereas the number of shoots was comparable to the control cultures. The MS or higher levels of NH 4 NO 3 were observed to suppress healthy morphogenesis and resulted in increased hyperhydricity. The physiological disorder of hyperhydricity, commonly observed in carnation micropropagation, was also controlled with 100 % efficiency by reducing NH 4 NO 3 at one-fouth of MS level. Antioxidant enzyme activity was minimum in normal and healthy shoots. The activity increased with increase in the number of hyperhydric shoots.


Iron plays a key role in wine oxidation. Polyphenols that contain catechol systems are the main reductants, and it has been proposed that the oxidation of these substances is mediated by the redox cycling of the Fe(III)/Fe(II) couple. At any time, the Fe(II):Fe(III) concentration ratio should depend on the rate of Fe(II) oxidation by oxygen relative to that of Fe(III) reduction by polyphenols. Fe(III) oxidation of polyphenols, although facilitated by sulfite, is somewhat slower than the reaction of Fe(II) with oxygen, which is strongly accelerated by Cu. Alongside this process, Fe(III) inhibits is own formation. Therefore, the Fe(II):Fe(III) concentration ratio is determined by the interplay of a number of competing reactions. However, because of the relative speed of Fe(II) oxidation, oxygen should be a major determinant of this ratio. A simple spectroscopic method involving ferrozine is used to measure Fe(II) concentration in wines collected under nitrogen with minimal disturbance so as to determine Fe(II) levels in the original wine container. However, Fe(III), which becomes a strong oxidant in the presence of ferrozine, oxidizes catechols in wine conditions. Therefore, Fe(II) concentration, which increases as a result of catechol oxidation, was monitored over time and extrapolated back to the moment of ferrozine addition. Total Fe concentration was determined by adding ascorbic acid to reduce the Fe(III). As expected, the Fe(II):Fe(III) ratio was higher in wines bottled with screw caps than in those bottled with natural cork or filled in boxes. Exposure of wines to oxygen lowered the ratio, which reached equilibrium after some days of aerial saturation. However, the ratio attained differed in the different wines, and this difference likely depends on wine constituents that alter the relative rate of Fe(II) oxidation to that of Fe(III) reduction.


Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) represent an excellent platform to study processes of developmental biology, model disease in vitro and in vivo or perform drug discoveries. In the last few years, the development of precise genome engineering tools based on the RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease from the type II prokaryotic clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) adaptive immune system, has enabled efficient and easy to engineer targeted genome modifications in mammalian cells. Using this technology, we generated a highly controlled doxycycline-inducible Cas9 mESC line, which harbor one single copy of Cas9 located in the type I collagen gene. Lentiviral delivery of small guide RNAs (sgRNAs) in doxycycline-treated mESCs demonstrated to be a very efficient manner to generate specific knockout mESCs lines. Therefore, we generated mESC libraries of knockout cells by using a lentiviral library of 80000 sgRNAs designed against 20000 mouse genes to perform forward genetic screenings. As a proof of concept, we investigated the existence of genes providing resistance to the absence of the ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) function by incubating the mESC libraries with lethal doses of ATR inhibitor. We here report the identification of CDC25A as a major determinant of sensitivity to ATR inhibition. CDC25A deficient cells resist high doses of ATR inhibitors, which we show is due to their failure to prematurely enter mitosis in response to the drugs. Forcing mitotic entry with WEE1 inhibitors restores the toxicity of ATR inhibitors in CDC25A deficient cells. In addition, we have adapted the CRISPR-based SAM (Synergistic Activation Mediators) system to develop a doxycycline-inducible nuclease-dead Cas9 mESC line to induce gene expression at will. We generated mESC cell libraries by using a lentiviral library of 70000 sgRNAs designed against the proximal promoter of 20000 mouse genes to perform a gain-of-function screening with lethal doses of ATR inhibitor and results will be presented. With ATR inhibitors now entering the clinic, our work provides a better understanding of the mechanisms by which these compounds kill cells, and reveals genetic interactions that could be used for their rational use. Taking together, our loss-of-function and gain-of function cell libraries in mESCs represent an excellent platform to systematically identify genes involved in mediating resistance against chemotherapeutic agents. This abstract is also being presented as Poster A35. Citation Format: Sergio Ruiz, Cristina Mayor-Ruiz, Vanessa Lafarga, Matilde Murga, Maria Vega, Sagrario Ortega, Oscar Fernandez-Capetillo. Cas9/RNA-based forward genetic screenings in mouse embryonic stem cells uncovered the role of genes mediating resistance to ATR inhibitors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on DNA Repair: Tumor Development and Therapeutic Response; 2016 Nov 2-5; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2017;15(4_Suppl):Abstract nr PR15.


The solid dispersion system of meloxicam-hydroxypropyl methylcelluloce (HPMC) 6 centipoise (cps) had been studied. The solid dispersion system was prepared by solvation method with several combination of meloxicam and HPMC were 1:1, 1:3 and 1:5. The physical mixture of meloxicam and HPMC with similar composition were used as standard. The powder of solid dispersion system and physical mixture were evaluated by X-ray powder diffraction, thermal (DTA), SEM and FT-IR spectroscopy analysis. The dissolution studies were carried out in USP type II apparatus. The result of X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed that the solid dispersion of  meloxicam with HPMC decreased the drug crystallinity. The endothermic peak of meloxicam from solid dispersion products shifted to lower temperature and peak intensity decreased significantly. X-ray powder diffraction and DTA indicated transformation of crystalline state of meloxicam to amorphous one by solid dispersion with HPMC. SEM results showed the solid dispersion of meloxicam and HPMC has agglomerates form. FT-IR spectra indicated no chemical interaction between meloxicam and HPMC in the solid dispersion. The highest in dissolution rate was observed with solid dispersion products of meloxicam and HPMC with ratio 1:5 (94,083 %) compared to pure meloxicam and its physical mixture.


− National Institute of Metrology Thailand (NIMT) has designed and developed suspended-fulcrum torque standard machine. The main design is to replace air bearing with the 30-μm-sheet metal as a fulcrum. The advantages of the design are the lower cost and maintenance than air bearing-fulcrum type. The experiment was done to evaluate the sensitivity of the suspended fulcrum, which is directly affected by the bending stiffness of the thin metal sheet. Also, the different between left and right arm length is calculated from the trimmed mass used for equilibrium balancing at each applied torque. Finally, all the uncertainty of fulcrum, weight set and arm length are used to calculate the relative expanded uncertainty of torque measurement, which is 5×10.


Experiments were conducted on rainbow trout to determine the impact of dietary salt on arterial blood pressure. After 4-6 wk, fish fed a salt-enriched diet exhibited a 37% elevation of dorsal aortic pressure (from 23.8 +/- 1.2 to 32.6 +/- 1.4 mmHg) and an 18% increase in ventral aortic pressure (from 33.0 +/- 1.5 to 38.9 +/- 1.3 mmHg). The hypertension presumably reflected the increase in cardiac output (from 31.0 +/- 0.8 to 36.4 +/- 2.2 ml.min(-1).kg(-1)) because systemic and branchial resistances were statistically unaltered by salt feeding. The chronic hypertension was associated with a decrease in the pressor responses of the systemic vasculature to catecholamines and hypercapnia in the salt-fed fish. The reduction in alpha-adrenergic responsiveness of the systemic vasculature is consistent with desensitization or loss of functional alpha-adrenoceptors (alpha-ARs). In support of this idea, the salt-fed fish exhibited significantly decreased levels of alpha(1D)-AR mRNA in the dorsal aorta and the afferent (ABA) and efferent branchial arteries (EBA). In contrast, however, the results obtained from norepinephrine dose-response curves for EBA and ABA vascular rings in vitro did not provide evidence for loss of function of branchial artery alpha(1)-ARs in the salt-fed fish. Indeed, the EC(50) for the EBA norepinephrine dose-response curve was significantly reduced (from 3.75 x 10(-7) to 2.12 x 10(-7) M) in the salt-fed fish, indicating an increase in the binding affinity of the alpha(1)-ARs.


Foreword, Mo Therese Hannah Preface, Diane Sollee Introduction to PAIRS, Rita DeMaria Part One: The PAIRS Program in Context1. An Overview of the PAIRS Program, Rita DeMaria 2. The Saga of the Development of PAIRS, Lori H. Gordon 3. The Voices of the PAIRS Leaders, Barbara Bogartz Part Two: The PAIRS Program: Through the Voices of the Leaders4. The PAIRS Relationship Road Map, Robin Temple 5. Emotional Literacy and Healthy Relationships, Ann Ladd 6. Communication and Conflict Resolution, J. Thomas DeVoge and Joyce B. DeVoge 7. PAIRS and Family Systems, Bonnie Gordon-Rabinowitz and Marc D. Rabinowitz 8. Bonding and Emotional Literacy, Carlos Durana 9. Sensuality and Sexuality, Don Adam and Don Azevedo 10. Contracting: Clarifying Expectations, Ellen B. Purcell 11. Spirituality and the PAIRS Program, Teresa Adams 12. PAIRS Research, Carlos Durana Part Three: Special Populations and Adaptations13. Stepfamilies, Bill and Linda Wing 14. PEERS: Programs for Youth, Seth Eisenberg 15. PAIRS Short Programs, Kelly Simpson Part Four: Practical Realities16. Exploring Gender Issues in the PAIRS Program, Elaine Braff 17. PAIRS: Health and Wellness-Preliminary Considerations, Christine Hibbard and David Hibbard 18. Ethics, J. Thomas DeVoge Epilogue: Spiritual Partnership, Rabbi Morris Gordon Closing, Rabbi Morris Gordon Appendix Contributors Index


Abstract Kidnapping, a socio-political phenomenon, and its impact on the relationship and paradigms of 32 families was investigated. Colombia holds the highest kidnapping rates worldwide. They were observed after liberation. The research combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Results suggested: families' unity was the main resource with which to face kidnapping. Relationships reflected closeness, although 28% had a subsystem under stress. Religiousness and negotiation abilities were strengthened. Families lost State credibility. The majority faced kidnapping successfully, although 85% connoted it negatively. There were two significant associations: family treatment and conflictive or distanced relationships and individual treatment and a person with low life engagement.


NASA's Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) builds on the foundation and the architecture of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) concept and extends it broadly to other domains, such as Advanced / Urban Air Mobility (AAM/UAM) and Upper Class E Traffic Management (ETM). These xTM concepts assume the ability to fly in airspace that is authorized to operate solely under xTM services and mostly without any air traffic control (ATC) support. However, they also assume circumstances in which the xTM vehicles would need to operate in conventional ATC-managed airspace, both during nominal and off-nominal scenarios. Due to the vast differences in the xTM vehicle performances and missions, there is a concern that ATC may have difficulty in safely managing the xTM traffic and providing appropriate services to all vehicles, unless a consistent set of roles, procedures, and data exchange requirements are defined across the diverse set of xTM vehicle operations. In this paper, we describe a set of use cases that have been identified in UTM, AAM/UAM, and ETM operations that are related to ATC interactions, and we propose to categorize these use cases across xTM domains based on common trigger events. Organizing the use cases from the perspective of ATC roles per each trigger event is expected to provide the first step in discovering common procedures and data requirements across xTM domains that could help ease the controllers' cognitive task load and allow them to manage these interactions more safely.


Abstract A central discussion in the theory of deliberative democracy in recent decades has focused on whether democratic deliberation, and consequently those participating in it, should aim, at least ideally, for political consensus. Thus, pluralist deliberative democrats have criticized the consensualist approach to deliberative democracy for neglecting the moral importance of political disagreement because of their fixation with reaching consensus. The debate between these two positions, initiated in the 1990s, has evolved in recent years toward more precision and sophistication. However, some vagueness and ambiguities remain in many of the contributions and prevent us from getting an exact idea of the object of discussion. This article starts making further distinctions about several types of agreement and disagreement in order to clarify much more precisely the exact niche of dispute between these two views. They do not need to disagree on the value of many forms of disagreement and consensus. Their dispute consists only in a controversy about the relative value of post-deliberative, operative, substantive, legislative, regulatory, or adjudicative reason-based consensus as opposed to the corresponding reason-based disagreement. Finally, the article argues that this relatively small niche is made smaller by certain considerations. The most important of them is that this controversy remains at a high theoretical level and lacks practical importance: it only affects the kind of personal ideal commitment or aspiration that virtuous deliberators should have when entering into a deliberative process, and has no concrete consequent institutional implications.


Introduction
 The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG)-frailty index (IMWG-FI) and revised myeloma comorbidity index (R-MCI) are multiple myeloma (MM)-specific frailty scoring systems, which the European Myeloma Network advocates to assess patient frailty, and to select goals and treatments including autologous stem cell therapy (ASCT).
 In Japan, patients <65 years old are recommended to receive ASCT under the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Hematology, The Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, and Japanese Society of Myeloma. However, some Japanese institutes perform ASCTs on MM patients ≥65 years old, although the eligibility criteria and the ASCT methods are variable, or depending on the attending physicians' experience and preference, and doctor-patient relationships.
 In our institute, 17 MM patients ≥65 years old received ASCT and their frailty at the time of ASCT was retrospectively analyzed.
 Methods
 We performed 51 ASCTs on 43 MM patients between April 2017 and June 2019. Seventeen patients were elderly, and 34 were younger. The conditioning regimens were melphalan 200 mg/m2 for younger and 140 mg/m2 for the elderly patients. Both groups received the same supportive therapy.
 Frailty was compared using the IMWG-FI, R-MCI, and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI), and the toxicity and efficacy of ASCT were retrospectively analyzed.
 Results
 The patients' ages at the time of ASCT were statistically different between groups (67.8 vs 57.8 years old, p<0.001). The number of fit and intermediate-fit patients by IMWG-FI were 14 and 3 in the elderly group, and 28 and 6 in the younger group, respectively (p=1.0). Fit and intermediate-fit patients by R-MCI were 13 and 4 in the elderly group, and 27 and 7 in the younger group, respectively (p=1.0) (Table 1). No patients were classified as frail in either group by the IMWG-FI and R-MCI.
 The median scores (ranges) of HCT-CI were 1 (0-5) in the elderly group, and 1.5 (0-5) in the younger group (p=0.93).
 The number of CD34 positive cells harvested from peripheral blood was lower in the elderly than in the younger group (3.8 vs 5.4×106/kg, p=0.0027). For the elderly and younger groups, the infused CD34 positive cell count (2.4×106 vs 2.4×106/kg, p=0.87), days for neutrophil (11 vs 11 days, p=0.87) and platelet engraftments (15 vs 15 days, p=0.7), and the hospitalization periods (26 vs 27 days, p=0.27) were not statistically different.
 Both groups had no transplantation-related deaths, similar rates of the non-hematologic adverse events (grade ≥3), an improvement in response (≥very good partial response (VGPR); 49% vs 74%, p=0.003) before vs after ASCT. Post-ASCT ≥VGPR rates were similar between the elderly and younger groups (73% vs 75%, p=1.0).
 Discussion
 We safely performed ASCT for elderly MM patients. The frailty status of the younger and elderly groups were the same, as evaluated by the IMWG-FI, R-MCI, and HCT-CI. Our eligibility criteria for MM patients for ASCT was by biological and not chronological age. Thus, the prospective assessment of elderly MM patients by these tools may enable us to evaluate the risks of elderly ASCT, through which elderly ASCT-eligible cases can be selected.
 Eleven of the 17 elderly patients were termed fit by the IMWG-FI and R-MCI, and scored 0-3 by HCT-CI, 6 of whom were 0-1. Five patients were intermediate-fit by either IMWG-FI or R-MCI, with 0-3 by HCT-CI. Only 1 patient was intermediate-Fit by both IMWG-FI and R-CMI, and was 5 by HCT-CI (Table 1).
 Based on our data, we propose a stratification system that can determine ASCT eligibility in elderly MM patients. The elderly patients regarded fit by IMWG-FI and R-MCI with 0-1 by HCT-CI could be stratified as Low Risk for elderly ASCT. In addition, the frail patients by IMWG-FI or R-MCI or >3 by HCT-CI could be stratified as High Risk ineligible for elderly ASCT. Other patients could be Intermediate-Risk for elderly ASCT.
 Further studies are needed to determine the adequate melphalan dosage such as 200 mg/m2 for 65-69 year-old patients, and 140 mg/m2 for 70-
 Conclusion
 We retrospectively analyzed the elderly patients receiving ASCT using two MM-specific frailty indices and HCT-CI. We propose a new stratification system to select elderly patients eligible for ASCT. ASCT issues for the elderly MM patients should be examined prospectively.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The lifetime of the tau lepton is measured using data collected in 1994 by the L3 detector at LEP. The precise track position information of the Silicon Microvertex Detector is exploited. The tau lepton Iifetime is determined from the signed impact parameter distribution for 30322 tau decays into one charged particle and from the decay length distribution for 3891 tau decays into three charged particles. Combining the two methods we obtain TV = 290.1 f 4.0 fs.


This paper re-examines the international evidence on the sources of growth in less developed countries (LDCs) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Although EFA was first used in the development context by Adelman and Morris (1967) it has rarely been used since, despite being ideally suited to a context in which a large number of latent factors have been hypothesized to determine growth, and in which an even greater number of imperfectly measured and multicollinear proxies have been used to measure these latent factors. This paper uses EFA to minimize these problems of omitted variables biases, multicollinearity and measurement error, by reducing a large array of hypothesized growth determinants into a parsimonious and non-collinear set of composite indices. The paper then provides theoretical interpretations of the derived indices, tests their statistical significance and quantitative importance in otherwise conventional growth regressions, and uses these results to reappraise the usefulness of cross-country empirics in deriving robust, policy-relevant knowledge of the principal components of growth in LDCs, including the so called 'economic miracles'. Copyright 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


AIMS
The study aimed to identify the risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection among hospitalized patients. We also tried to explore its potential effect on patient outcomes if possible.

BACKGROUND
Catheter-associated urinary tract infection accounts for a large proportion of healthcare-associated infections and remains a considerable threat to patient safety worldwide.

DESIGN
A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

DATA SOURCES
We conducted an electronic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for studies published between January 2008-January 2018.

REVIEW METHODS
Two reviewers searched the articles and extracted the data independently. The quality of the studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RevMan 5.3 was used to perform the meta-analysis.

RESULTS
Ten studies involving a total of 8785 participants with or without catheter-associated urinary tract infection were included. The average incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infection was 13.79 per 1000 catheter days, with a prevalence rate of 9.33%. The meta-analysis demonstrated that patients at high risk for catheter-associated urinary tract infection were female, had a prolonged duration of catheterization, had diabetes, had previous catheterization, and had longer hospital and ICU stays. Additionally, catheter-associated urinary tract infection was also accompanied by an increase in mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
Healthcare staff should focus on the identified risk factors for catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Further research is needed to investigate the microbial isolates and focus on the intervention strategies of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, so as to reduce its incidence and related mortality.


One of the main challenges in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is real-time processing. High-computational loads linked to data acquisition and processing complicate this task. This article presents an efficient feature extraction approach for mapping structured environments. The proposed methodology, weighted conformal LiDAR-mapping (WCLM), is based on the extraction of polygonal profiles and propagation of uncertainties from raw measurement data. This is achieved using conformal M bius transformation. The algorithm has been validated experimentally using 2-D data obtained from a low-cost Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) range finder. The results obtained suggest that computational efficiency is significantly improved with reference to other state-of-the-art SLAM approaches.


BACKGROUND/AIM
It is known that the increased growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) have mitogenic and antiapoptotic properties in breast cells in acromegaly. Our study aims to evaluate breast findings in patients with acromegaly by comparing them to the control group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sixty-one patients followed with acromegaly diagnosis and 180 healthy controls were included in our study. Demographic data, laboratory results, Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scores, and breast density evaluated via mammography, malign and benign breast lesions evaluated via mammography, breast ultrasonography (USG), and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients were compared to the control group.

RESULTS
While BI-RADS scores were similar in patient and control groups, breast density in acromegaly patients was found out to be higher compared to the control group (p=0.754, p=0.001, respectively). In acromegaly patients, the breast calcification rate was higher than controls (p=0.021). t was observed that mass frequency in USG in acromegaly patients increased when GH level increased as well (p=0.021). No difference was detected benign and malign breast lesions diagnosed histopathologically (p=0.031, p=0.573, respectively). There was not any difference in terms of BI-RADS scores, breast types, and breast lesions in acromegaly patients that were in remission and not in remission (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION
Benign and malign breast lesions were found out to be similar to the control group, although breast density rate was detected to be higher in acromegaly patients. A regular follow-up is required in these patients via suitable breast visualization techniques considering their age and clinical status due to mass formation risk derived from increased GH level and extreme breast density despite the absence of any detected breast lesion frequency in acromegaly patients.


Abstract This study utilized 2003 to 2006 school enrollment data from the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to examine school desegregation trends and interracial exposure among learners from different race groups. Descriptive analyses revealed findings consistent with the literature wherein a majority of schools served mainly homogeneous populations. African and White learners experienced limited or no opportunity for interracial contact at school level, whereas Coloured learners experienced moderate levels of interracial contact. The exception was the Indian learner group whose migration from schools formerly reserved for Indian learners into schools formerly reserved for White learners as well as independent schools contributed to increased diversity albeit in a relatively small group of schools. New schools are emerging as a preferred destination for African learners.


Nitrogen (N) supplying capacity of soils in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-based cropping systems has been reported to be in decline in some sites in Asia. Studying the relationship between N mineralization, rice cropping intensity and soil properties may help us understand changes in N supplying capacity. We conducted short- and long-term laboratory incubations in flooded, anaerobic conditions to measure N mineralization in a range of rice–rice and rice–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropped soils. Our objectives were to determine: (1) what soil properties affect potential anaerobic N mineralization, and (2) whether potential anaerobic N mineralization is affected by rice cropping system. Several soil properties, especially total organic N (TON) and total organic C (TOC), were positively correlated with N mineralization potential at 30°C (N0) and with 7-d production of NH4 at 40°C (N-7-d). Nitrogen mineralization was only weakly correlated with TON or TOC if the initial large flush during the first 14 d was ignored. Rice–rice soils on average had greater N mineralization than rice–wheat soils, mostly due to higher TON concentrations. Seven-day production of NH4 at 40°C was so similar to N0 estimated after 84 d of anaerobic incubation at 30°C that the 7-d incubation could possibly substitute for the long-term one in developing N fertilizer recommendations.


Spontaneous rupture of a hepatocellular carcinoma is a rare and lethal complication in the emergency department. A cau-date lobe hepatoma rupture is even rarer. It can be treated with vascular embolization, surgical intervention or supportive care. A 70-year-old woman with underlying hepatocellular carcinoma presented to our emergency department with severe abdominal pain encompassing the entire region for half a day. Abdominal computer tomography scans with and without contrast medium revealed a large hematoma confined to the lesser sac of the abdomen. It was initially diagnosed as a ruptured aneurysm. A ruptured caudate lobe hepatoma with acute hemorrhage into the lesser sac was diagnosed after reviewing and discussing the imaging findings with the radiologist. The patient was treated with supportive care without vascular embolization or surgical intervention because there was no imaging evidence of active contrast extravasation and the vital signs were within the normal range. After reviewing the literature, our case appears to be the second only case treated with supportive care and discharged without complications.


On the basis of a comprehensive medico-social and sociopsychological examination of a populational sample in the city of Kiev, the authors analyze the characteristics of the mode of life of the people before retirement and retired on pension. The causes of the disadaptation of elderly people to this period of life and the ways to eliminate them are discussed. The interrelations between the marital status, mode of life and the state of health are outlined. Prophylactic measures aimed at preventing the disadaptation of old people and the pension disease are recommended.


In the crystal structure of the title complex, [Tb(C6H4NO2)(C2O4)(H2O)2]n, the TbIII cation is coordinated by four O atoms from two oxalate ligands, two O atoms from two isonicotinate ligands and two O atoms from water molecules within a distorted square–antiprismatic coordination. The TbIII cation, the isonicotinate anion and the two crystallographically independent water molecules occupy general positions, whereas one of the two crystallographically independent oxalate anions is located on a center of inversion, and the second oxalate anion is located on a twofold rotation axis. The TbIII cations are linked by the oxalate and isonicotinate anions into layers, which are connected via intermolecular hydrogen-bonding and π–π stacking [with centroid-to-centroid distances of 3.509 (2) and 3.343 (3) Å] interactions into a three-dimensional network.


UMAP (User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization) is the premier international conference for researchers and practitioners working on systems that adapt to individual users, to groups of users, and that collect, represent, and model user information. UMAP is the successor to the biennial User Modeling (UM) and Adaptive Hypermedia and Adaptive Web-based Systems (AH) conferences that were merged in 2009. It is sponsored by ACM SIGCHI and SIGWEB, and organized under the auspices of User Modeling Inc. The proceedings are published by ACM and will be part of the ACM Digital Library.


Assessments of fish fauna in the World Biosphere Reserve of Cu Lao Cham - Hoi An were based on analyses of data of visual censuses and samples collected at 5 sites of nipa palm, 9 sites of seagrass beds and 15 sites of coral reefs in June 2016, 200 samples from 25 fishing gears in wet and dry seasons (November 2015 and June 2016), and species composition gathered from previous (1994, 2004 and 2008) and recent studies (2017). A total of 356 species of 186 genera and 81 families of fishes were found in the waters of the Biosphere, in which some families were the most common including wrasses (Labridae: 42 species), damselfishes (Pomacentridae: 35), butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae: 24), jack and travellies (Carangidae: 17), groupers (Serranidae: 14), surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae) and gobies (Gobiidae) with 11 species for each family, snappers (Lutjanidae: 10). The number of species in Cu Lao Cham waters (253 species) was 2.8 times higher than that in the Thu Bon estuary (91 species) and 4.2 times higher than that in transitional waters between the Thu Bon estuary and Cu Lao Cham (60 species). The coral reefs contributed 249 species and this was 8.6 times higher than that in the nipa palm (29 species), 6.5 times higher than in the seagrass beds (38 species) and 3.5 times higher than in the soft bottoms (71 species), however there were no significant differences between the nipa palm and the seagrass beds in the Thu Bon estuary. Among them, there were 10 valuable species of fishes found both in the Thu Bon estuary and Cu Lao Cham islands, and this indicates a high potential connectivity of these species among marine habitats in the two locations mentioned above.


Active volcanoes are globally distributed and pose societal risks at multiple geographic scales, ranging from local hazards to regional/international disruptions. Many volcanoes do not have continuous ground monitoring networks; meaning that satellite observations provide the only record of volcanic behavior and unrest. Among these remote sensing observations, thermal imagery is inspected daily by volcanic observatories for examining the early signs, onset, and evolution of eruptive activity. However, thermal scenes are often obstructed by clouds, meaning that forecasts must be made off image sequences whose scenes are only usable intermittently through time. Here, we explore forecasting this thermal data stream from a deep learning perspective using existing architectures that model sequences with varying spatiotemporal considerations. Additionally, we propose and evaluate new architectures that explicitly model intermittent image sequences. Using ASTER Kinetic Surface Temperature data for $9$ volcanoes between $1999$ and $2020$, we found that a proposed architecture (ConvLSTM + Time-LSTM + U-Net) forecasts volcanic temperature imagery with the lowest RMSE ($4.164^{\circ}$C, other methods: $4.217-5.291^{\circ}$C). Additionally, we examined performance on multiple time series derived from the thermal imagery and the effect of training with data from singular volcanoes. Ultimately, we found that models with the lowest RMSE on forecasting imagery did not possess the lowest RMSE on recreating time series derived from that imagery and that training with individual volcanoes generally worsened performance relative to a multi-volcano data set. This work highlights the potential of data-driven deep learning models for volcanic unrest forecasting while revealing the need for carefully constructed optimization targets.


Introduction: The countries all over the world are experiencing COVID-19 pandemic This has led to a change in the operational guidelines in all trauma centres Lockdown, limiting vehicle traffic, has affected trauma patterns everywhere Aim: To study the effect of lockdown on orthopaedic trauma in hilly areas of Northern India Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional retrospectively study collected the data of patients admitted in the emergency trauma ward like age, gender, mechanism of injury, fracture type, number of emergency admissions, and number of surgeries pertaining to the complete lockdown period (25th March to 3rd May 2020 i e , 40 days) at our hospital situated in the hilly areas of North India This was compared with the trauma cases dealt during the same time period last year (2019) Results: More than 50% decrease in the outpatient load did not parallel to decrease in admissions in emergency department (164 in 2019 vs 169 in 2020) However, operated trauma cases did decline from 62 in 2019 to 51 in 2020 Some injuries like fracture proximal tibia, cut injuries of hand with sharp object increased while incidence of fragility fractures has remained the same Conclusion: The trauma pattern in and around the hilly places in our area of Northern India portrays a unique picture where one does not see a foreseeable decline in trauma despite the lockdown With the lockdown in effect, some patterns have emerged which may prove to be useful adjuncts in our efforts to improve public health and the trauma burden