This study investigated the content of selected minerals (P, Ca, K, Na, Mg, Fe and I) in local feed ingredients used by tilapia fish farmers in Tanzania. Analyses were performed on 26 local feed ingredients collected at four different geographical locations in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Mbeya and Mwanza). The samples were taken randomly from fish farmers, fish feed producers, fingerling producers and animal feed shops or centers near fish farms in each region. The results showed a wide range of mineral concentrations. The highest levels of P was found in fish skeletons (17.8 g kg-1), of Ca in limestone (107.3 g kg-1), of K in gallant soldier (51.0 g kg-1), of Na in marine shrimp (Exhippolysmata oplophoroides) (11.7 g kg-1), of Mg in prawn head waste (4.2 g kg-1), of Fe in azolla (2355 mg kg-1) and of I in full fat soybean (447 mg kg-1). The data on mineral content in feed ingredients can be used as a platform for better-targeted feed formulation for tilapia farming systems. In conclusion, the data suggest that if more than two ingredients are used in the diet, this may be sufficient to meet the mineral requirements of all cultured tilapia species and their hybrids, without inclusion of any mineral premix.


Beam-type structures have wide applications, for example civil or mechanical engineering. A simply supported beam is widely used in many areas like bridges and double-beam structures. Excessive vibration in such structures especially at the resonance can cause the structural failure. There are two techniques for suppressing the vibration in the beam-structures that have been studied previously; conventional and continuous vibration absorbers. A beam-type vibration absorber is one of the continuous vibration absorber applications and it is used to suppress the vibration of the main beam. Solving the vibration problem of such kind of structure is difficult and complicated, because the motion equations of the system are coupled. The equations cannot be analytically solved before decoupling them. Therefore, some mathematical transformation and variables variation methods were considered to solve this problem, but it is still under the limitation of identical beams. This means that the analytical method is valid just for identical beams. The main objective of this research study is to propose an easy and efficient method to solve the problem of the beam absorber system. In addition, there are sub-objectives have been achieved in this thesis; to study the effect elasticity ration of the main and absorber beams, to study the effect of the moving mass inertia on the main beam response, and finally to find the optimum design for the absorber system. The objectives have been achieved by developing the damping factor formulation of dynamic vibration absorber, and by using Time integration method in aided MATLAB. That was in the theoretical study. An experimental test has been performed by using LMS software to observe the performance of the absorber beam in suppressing the main beam vibration. The numerical results showed good agreement with the literature. That means the proposed method has been successfully developed. The experimental results showed good agreement with the numerical results. In other hand, it was found from the results that the effect of the moving mass inertia on the main beam response can be reduced by increasing the layer stiffness. Also, it has been noted that the elasticity ratio can be improved to find the optimum design of the absorber beam system by increasing its value and decreasing the mass ratio of the main and absorber beams. Finally, the numerical results proved that the proposed method is more effective than the methods used in previous works, because it valid for identical and non-identical beams.


This paper is an attempt to explain the form and components of Iranian female painters artworks in the 70s and80s hijri. It seeks to assess women's paintings of two decades ago in comparison with current Iranian artworks. Undoubtedly, the growth in the number of those who produce artworks motivates the researcher to study women's produced paintings to identify Iran's current art field. To achieve this goal, the theory of Paul Gay and his method in text analysis are used. Our study sample consists of 10 current female artists (five from the 70s and five from the 80s). From each artist 10 works are chosen to analyze. Our research findings show that the components and structure of current female works can be interpreted as a tendency to urban and industrial system of the contemporary world, individual identity, religious beliefs and femininity. On the other hand, the important position of the feminine gender identity and the appearance of female's life environment in today's world are revealed. In addition, it can be said that Iranian art in the 70's hijri , has changed gradually and it has moved towards existing reality. These changes are dependent on the relation with the international art and a close attention to the society. Beside these processes, women's art has been grown considerably since two decades ago. Furthermore, the existed structure and components in the paintings under study reveal the identification and direction of the art among contemporary women painters. There are almost common structures in the paintings which are derived from the common experiences of the Iranian society at large. Female artists in these two contemporary decades have moved toward their personal and individual dialogue. The female group of artists is gradually questioning the dominance of male group to reach their own personal language and individual concerns.


This paper presents a human-robot interaction (HRI) exploratory study of a dedicated Mission Specialist interface for micro unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Current HRI findings from the micro UAS literature suggest that a Mission Specialist role requires a small, mobile, and visual interface that is dedicated and software-based. A literature survey of humanrobot team modeling, human-machine interaction technologies, and interaction principles applicable to micro UAS, resulted in an identified HRI investigation framework, five synthesized design guidelines, and a system architecture for a dedicated Mission Specialist interface. The interface was implemented and evaluated through an exploratory field study involving 16 specialized emergency responders. Observations from the study suggested that with refinements, a dedicated Mission Specialist interface could be a useful tool for future HRI studies to explore role performance in micro UAS.


Abstract The functions of long (>200 nt) non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) have only been investigated in cancer biology. We found that plasma LncRNA SNHG1 was down-regulated in postmenopausal than in premenopausal females. Among postmenopausal females, the ones with postmenopausal osteoporosis showed much lower expression levels of plasma lncRNA SNHG1. A 6-year follow-up study on postmenopausal females revealed that plasma lncRNA SNHG1 decreased in females with postmenopausal osteoporosis but not in healthy postmenopausal females. Levels of plasma lncRNA SNHG1 at 12 months before diagnosis is sufficient to distinguish postmenopausal osteoporosis patients from healthy controls. After treatment, plasma lncRNA SNHG1 were significantly up-regulated. Therefore, lncRNA SNHG1 was down-regulated after menopause and plasma level of lncRNA SNHG1 may serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.


Over the past twenty years or so, historians of science have become increasingly sensitized to issues involved in studying and interpreting scientific and medical instruments. The contributors to this Focus section are historians of science who have worked closely with museum objects and collections, specifically instruments used in scientific and medical contexts. Such close engagement by historians of science is somewhat rare, provoking distinctive questions as to how we define and understand instruments, opening up issues regarding the value of broken or incomplete objects, and raising concerns about which scientific and medical artifacts are displayed and interpreted in museums and in what manner. It is hoped that these essays point historians of science in new directions for reengaging with scientific objects and collections.


Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) is a type of ventricular preexcitation with the presence of accessory pathway which connects atria and ventricles to each other in the conduction tissue, and is seen by 01.% to 3% in general population. The syndrome was described for the first time by Wolff, Parkinson and White as a syndrome accompanied by paroxysmal tachycardia episodes, short PR interval and bundle branch block in young healthy persons with normal heart structure [1]. Typical electrocardiographic (ECG) finding of WPW include short PR interval ( < 120 msn), wide QRS complex ( > 120 msn) and delta wave. When sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, life threatening tachyarrhythmias such as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT), atrial fibrillation, and ventricular fibrillation [2].


English is a required university course in China and is a long-standing and consistent undergraduate-level course in China's universities. It uses English as the medium and language of instruction to promote general education. As the most important content of undergraduate foreign language education, college English has di"erent characteristics from other courses. It is only when its objectives, content, teaching activities, and assessment system fully re†ect its unique requirements that it can truly achieve the ultimate goal of teaching this subject. With the advent of the information age, global economic integration and international exchange are deepening in various industries and ‰elds. It is increasingly common for countries to require professionals to have foreign language skills, especially English as an international language. As a result, the demand for deeper English pro‰ciency has become more prominent. In international communication, the English intercultural communication ability of key personnel directly a"ects the process of international communication, science and technology exchange, and the smooth transition of cultural con†icts in various ‰elds and even determines the ultimate success of project cooperation. In this context, the e"ective use of English and cross-cultural communication skills is very important. erefore, our higher education institutions are mainly responsible for training foreign language talents. However, the core problem facing English teaching in Chinese universities is the teaching value orientation. In particular, it seriously restricts the e"ectiveness of university English teaching. First, the value orientation of university English teaching deviates from the teaching objectives. It emphasizes the basic knowledge and skills of the English language, whichmakes teachingmainly stay on the foundation of the language. In other words, it is still limited to learning English for the sake of learning English, and the examination-oriented education is obvious, with a preference for instrumental teaching. Secondly, university English teaching focuses too much on the accumulation of English grammar rules and imitation drills, and the teaching style is dull and the teaching context is empty. is approach deviates from the characteristics of English intercultural communication, which makes the gap between the actual university English teaching and the real intercultural communication more and more obvious. ird, university English teaching lacks integration with other teaching values, especially with the humanistic orientation of university English teaching. Nowadays, a single teaching value orientation dominates university English teaching. As a result, the teaching around various English examinations has become a strange phenomenon in college English teaching.


In this paper, we apply the framework of set-membership filtering (SM) to the Affine Projection-Like algorithm (APL), aiming to decreasing the update rates and the computational complexity. In addition, we propose an evolutionary method that adjust the projection order in each iteration. The resulting algorithm is the Set-Membership Affine Projection-Like algorithm with evolving order. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithm in terms of good convergence behavior, final misadjustment, reduced number of updates and low computational burden.


. The Medical Internet of Things, a recent technological advancement in medicine, is incredibly helpful in providing real-time monitoring of health metrics. This paper presents a non-invasive IoT system that tracks patients' emotions, especially those with an autism spectrum disorder. With a few affordable sensors and cloud computing services, the individual's heart rates are monitored and analyzed to study the effects of change in sweat and heartbeats per minute for different emotions. Under normal resting conditions of the individual, the proposed system could detect the right emotion using machine learning algorithms with a performance of up to 92% accuracy. The result of the proposed approach is comparable with the state-of-the-art solutions in medical IoT.


ABSTRACT The yeast strain Yarrowia lipolytica IPS 21 was tested for its ability to degrade potentially toxic chrome-tanned leather shavings (CTLS) in a liquid environment. Biological and chemical parameters were monitored during a 48-h period of biotransformation of the protein-rich waste. CTLS was added at a concentration of 0.1–4% (wt/wt) to a modified YPG medium (15 g L−1 yeast extract and 5 g L−1 NaCl). Biodegradation and bioconversion were performed in a one-step process. It was found that the higher degradation rate depended on the activity of the proteases and the pH of the medium, but not on the initial inoculum ratio and the activity of the dehydrogenase. The highest efficiency of the process was obtained for 4% (wt/wt) CTLS on day 2 (degradation rate 58–67%, biomass production 2.11–2.20 g L−1, protease activity 312 U mg−1 protein, and pH 9.20). Our results showed that total chromium was probably not transported across the cytoplasmic membrane of Y. lipolytica IPS21 and that chromium (III) was not oxidized to chromium (VI). The phytotoxicity of selected amino acid supernatants [2.5% (vol/vol)] was tested after the bioconversion process. It was found that the supernatants had a stimulating effect on the plants tested. The root elongation was 29–28% higher than that of the reference samples. This result makes Y. lipolytica IPS21 a potential candidate for safely converting potentially toxic protein-rich wastes into valuable products without enzyme isolation, e.g., amino acid fertilizers. IMPORTANCE Enzyme technologies have the greatest practical relevance to environmental trends. Overcoming the barrier of the high cost of carbon substrates used for biotransformation is the main challenge of these methods. The huge potential of the use of extracellular proteases of Yarrowia species or amino acids in various industries indicates the need for the extension of basic research on waste as a carbon source for this yeast. The experiments demonstrated that it is possible to use Y. lipolytica IPS21 for bioconversion of chrome-tanned leather shavings (CTLS) in a single-step process and to produce high-value amino acid supernatant without having an isolated enzyme. In our study, we show the effect of 2.5% (vol/vol) CTLS supernatant obtained from Y. lipolytica IPS21 on the elongation of the root system of selected plants and provide information on the effect of environmental factors on the efficiency of the bioconversion and the migration of chromium. Enzyme technologies have the greatest practical relevance to environmental trends. Overcoming the barrier of the high cost of carbon substrates used for biotransformation is the main challenge of these methods. The huge potential of the use of extracellular proteases of Yarrowia species or amino acids in various industries indicates the need for the extension of basic research on waste as a carbon source for this yeast. The experiments demonstrated that it is possible to use Y. lipolytica IPS21 for bioconversion of chrome-tanned leather shavings (CTLS) in a single-step process and to produce high-value amino acid supernatant without having an isolated enzyme. In our study, we show the effect of 2.5% (vol/vol) CTLS supernatant obtained from Y. lipolytica IPS21 on the elongation of the root system of selected plants and provide information on the effect of environmental factors on the efficiency of the bioconversion and the migration of chromium.


Among many industries, air travel is impacted by the COVID pandemic. Airlines and airports rely on public sector information to enforce guidelines for ensuring health and safety of travelers. Such guidelines can be policy amendments or laws during the pandemic. In response to the inception of COVID preventive policies, travelers have exercised freedom of expression via the avenue of online reviews. This avenue facilitates voicing public concern while anonymizing / concealing user identity as needed. It is important to assess opinions on policy amendments to ensure transparency and openness, while also preserving confidentiality and ethics. Hence, this study leverages data science to analyze, with identity protection, the online reviews of airlines and airports since 2017, considering impacts of COVID issues and relevant policy amendments since 2020. Supervised learning with VADER sentiment analysis is deployed to predict changes in opinion from 2017 to date. Unsupervised learning with LDA topic modeling is employed to discover air travelers' major areas of concern before and after the pandemic. This study reveals that COVID policies have worsened public perceptions of air travel and aroused notable new concerns, affecting economics, environment and health.


This paper details an investigation into the educational applicability of adventure games. Adventure games are defined and their characteristics analysed. Those making claims about the educational viability of adventure games are identified and the claims are discussed. The current status of adventure games in the classroom, and the need for further research into their educational viability and research possibilities are discussed.


This study examined the mechanism of action of a local anesthetic, lidocaine·HCl. Energy transfer between the surface fluorescent probe, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid, and the hydrophobic fluorescent probe, 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl) propane, was used to determine the effect of lidocaine·HCl on the thickness (D) of the synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles (SPMV) isolated from the bovine cerebral cortex, and liposomes of the total lipids (SPMVTL) and phospholipids (SPMVPL) extracted from the SPMV. The thickness (D) of the intact SPMV, SPMVTL and SPMVPL were 1.044±0.008, 0.914±0.005 and 0.890±0.003 (arbitrary units, n=5) at 37℃ (pH 7.4), respectively. Lidocaine·HCl decreased the thickness of the neuronal and model membrane lipid bilayers in a dose-dependent manner with a significant decrease in the thickness, even at 0.1 mM. The decreasing effect of lidocaine·HCl on the membrane thickness might be responsible for some, but not all of its anesthetic action.


(1) It is shown that the number of cartilage elements in an experimentally produced reduplicated limb depends on the width of competent tissue between pieces of flank tissue. (2) Seventy well formed reduplications were examined on the assumption that the difference in the number of elements between them results from small differences in graft position. (3) All the reduplications are symmetrical along their entire length. (4) All possess the most posterior structures at both edges with other elements arranged in between in the correct serial order. (5) The existence of vestigial and of branched elements in the midline suggest that the cases examined come from a potentially continuous series. (6) All these characteristics can readily be explained by assuming the existence of a continuous U-shaped anteroposterior gradient, and of threshold responses by the cells which together control the pattern of cell differentiation. (7) It is suggested that the gradient "deepens" as more distal levels of the limb are laid down. (8) Most but not all of the cases can be arranged in a single series in which proximal and distal levels expand coordinately. (9) Possible mechanisms for the establishment and maintenance of the gradient are discussed.


The customer satisfaction is a field which is not fully explored, especially in its transposition to non-profit services like health-care systems. As shown in many researches, in the service area, the satisfaction can be approached with the service quality concept. The customer satisfaction is an important aspect of the business performance. In health-care systems, medical services managers, public institutions, practitioners and employees are interested in knowing and evaluating the patient satisfaction. This can be a dimension of the patient satisfaction in the health-care " industries " and a performance indicator. Researchers have identified the dimensions of satisfaction and work on its measurement. Thus scales can be used to measure the customer satisfaction and the ability to deliver a good service quality. The researches showed that a direct link exists between satisfaction and service quality. We propose in this article a reflection on the possible transposition of these scales to evaluate the patient satisfaction. For that we have used a qualitative approach (semi-conducted interviews on patients, doctors and nursing staffs), then we have proposed an ad-hoc scale to measure both patient satisfaction and service quality. Finally a model has been created. Design, study and management of hospital systems are increasingly difficult and expansive areas existing multiple and complex system. A hospital can be defined such as an Health care Supply Chain (Chabrol et al., 2006). Health care Supply Chain is an opened set, crossed by human, material, informational and financial flows, composed of autonomous entities (suppliers, hospital departments, logistic services and external medical services…) which use restricted resources (time, material, capital, …) and coordinate their actions thanks to an integrated logistic process to improve firstly their collective performance (patient's satisfaction) and secondly their individual performance. Most part of the studies in patient satisfaction is done for Operation Research models and does not deal with qualitative approach. Linking patient satisfaction and customer satisfaction is one of the goal of this


The "chronic" effect of exercise on blood pressure has been controversial and the debate has been confused by a large number of studies with inadequate methodology. Recent consistent findings in epidemiological, experimental and longitudinal intervention studies have suggested that a true antihypertensive effect which is independent of confounding effects of sodium intake, weight, etc. is more likely than not. Unlike some other measures of lowering blood pressure such as sodium restriction, alcohol moderation and some drugs, regular exercise is associated with beneficial effects on several risk factors and probably has an independent effect on cardiovascular mortality. The magnitude of the effect in previously sedentary subjects is greater than that of dietary measures which lower blood pressure except for weight reduction in the obese. Long-term effects on blood pressure are supported by evidence of a favourable influence on left ventricular hypertrophy. The mechanisms involved in the antihypertensive effect of exercise are unclear, but sympathetic withdrawal is one factor involved. Present evidence appears sufficient to include regular exercise amongst the useful therapies for hypertension.


We previously reported that withdrawal from chronic cocaine produces supersensitivity of serotonin 2A receptors. We report here the minimum cocaine exposure necessary to produce withdrawal-associated increases in serotonin 2A receptor signaling in the frontal cortex. Rats withdrawn from cocaine treatments of 1, 3 or 7 days exhibited increases in G protein-stimulated and serotonin 2A receptor-stimulated phospholipase C activity in the frontal cortex. A single cocaine injection produced withdrawal-induced changes comparable to that produced by repeated exposure. None of these cocaine treatment paradigms are associated with changes in the levels of serotonin 2A receptors, G&agr;q or G&agr;11 proteins. These data demonstrate that only a single exposure to cocaine can produce unique withdrawal-associated neuroadaptations in serotonin 2A receptor signaling in the frontal cortex, which may be clinically relevant with respect to drug relapse.


The study for the passenger`s comfortableness of vehicles and the arousal of car drivers has been done widely. On the other hand, there are few studies for the locomotive engineers. Human error means that the mistakes made by human, recently it receives attention in the field of safety engineering and human engineering. Comparing the operating condition of train with car, because of the simplification of the visual stimulus, the arousal level on the train goes down easily. The arousal level down makes judgement down, the accident risk from human error is getting bigger. In this study, we measured bio-signals(ECG, EDA, PPG, respiration and EEG) from 6 locomotive engineers to evaluate their arousal state while they operated the train. Also we recorded the 3 axes acceleration signal showing the vibration state of train. Also, the existence of tunnels were simultaneously measured. At the station section where the train speed goes down, the size of vector`s sum decreases because of reduced vibration. Beta component in EEG tends to increase at the entering point of each station and tunnel. It is due to the arousal reaction and tension growth. The mean SCR(skin conductance response) was more increased in neutral section. As the button control movement (body movement) increases in the neutral section, it is appeared that SCR increase. RR interval tends to gradually increase during train operation for 1 hour 40 minutes. However, It tends to sharply decrease at the stop station because strong concentration needed to stop train on the exact point. The engineer`s arousal reaction can be checked through analysing the bio-signal change during train operation. Therefore, if this analysing result is adopted to the sleepiness prevention caution system, it will be useful for the safety train operation.


The possibility of using squeezed states and balanced homodyne detection of gravitational waves is discussed. It is shown that the quantum noise due to high laser intensities in Michelson interferometer for gravitational waves detection can be reduced by sending squeezed vacuum states to the 'dark' port of the interferometer. The present analysis describes photon statistics measurements effects related to quadrature balanced homodyne detection showing the advantage of using this scheme for detecting gravitational waves.


In this article, we compared hospital efficiency using a multiple input-output approach in two ways: one way used a straightforward count of inpatient days and outpatient services as outputs; and the second used a case mix-adjusted count of inpatient services and outpatient care as outputs. Our results show that there was no difference when we incorporated the case-mix index, either as a weighting device or as a separate output. However, this result may be due to our having a relatively homogeneous sample, (i.e., large metropolitan hospitals). Variations using this approach may occur when using a more heterogeneous sample, such as comparing hospitals of all sizes or rural versus urban hospitals.


IAS 40 (adopted in PSAK 13, 2012) about investment properties allowing companies to choose the method of measuring their investment properties, namely the cost method and the fair value method. Side that oppose fair value method argue that fair value is unreliable and costly. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the relevance of the fair value accounting choice method and determinants that affect of fair value accounting choice method for investment property. This  research is using secondary data observation technique which acquired from annual financial reports  for real estate, manufacturing, and trading sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the 2012-2016 period. By using judgment sampling method, the research sample tested were 48 companies (19 real estate companies, 15 manufacturing companies, and 14 trading companies). The results of this research shows that fair value accounting choice method has a positive significant on firm value. In that case shows that fair value accounting choice have a value relevance so it can help investor to make a investment decision. For determinants of fair value accounting choice, that firm size variables has significant positive and leverage significant negatively with determinants of fair value accounting choice while big four has no effect on determinants of fair value accounting choice.
Keywords:
Value relevance, Investment property, Firm size, Leverage, Big four.
References:
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Ahmad, F. B., & Mohammad, A. (2015). The Effect of Fair Value Accounting on Jordanian Investment Properties. International Journal of Financial Research, 6(4), 99–113.
Al-Khadash, H. A., & Ahmad, K. (2014). The Effects of the Fair Value Option under IAS 40 on the Volatility of Earnings. Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, 4(5), 95–113.
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Summary. Two classes of bijections of its point universe are correlated with every affine structure. The first class consists of the transformations, called formal isometries, which map every segment onto congruent segment, the second class consists of the automorphisms of such a structure. Each of these two classes of bijections forms a group for a given affine structure, if it satisfies a very weak axiom system(models of these axioms are called congruence spaces); formal isometries form a normal subgroup in the group of automorphism. In particular ordered affine spaces and affine spaces are congruence spaces; therefor e formal isometries of these structures can be considered. They are called positive dilatations and dilatations, resp. For convenience the class of negative dilatations, transformations which map every "vector" onto parallel "vector", but with opposite sense, is singled out. The class of translations is distinguished as well. Basic facts concerning all these types of transformations are established, like rigidity, decomposition principle, introductory group-theoretical properties. At the end collineations of affine spaces and their properties are investigated; for affine planes it is proved that the class of collineationms coincides with the class of bijections preserving lines.


This presentation creates and applies a computational model of irrigation agriculture in order to study the effects of salinization in Mesopotamia. The model applies a distributed and parallel computational approach that spreads a batch workload to multiple computer nodes within a cluster environment. Benefits of this approach not only allow large-scale testing of many simulation runs, but problems of larger spatial scales are better addressed by using a distributed approach. In this paper, some initial results and discussion are presented showing the benefits to archaeological methods and insights into archaeological theory achieved. Applying some of the modeling results with a larger discussion on how parallel, distributed, and high performance computing could alter and transform how archaeologists approach research problems will also be presented.


Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have greatly improved the Face Recognition (FR) performance in recent years. Almost all CNNs in FR are trained on the carefully labeled datasets containing plenty of identities. However, such high-quality datasets are very expensive to collect, which restricts many researchers to achieve state-of-the-art performance. In this paper, we propose a framework, called SeqFace, for learning discriminative face features. Besides a traditional identity training dataset, the designed SeqFace can train CNNs by using an additional dataset which includes a large number of face sequences collected from videos. Moreover, the label smoothing regularization (LSR) and a new proposed discriminative sequence agent (DSA) loss are employed to enhance discrimination power of deep face features via making full use of the sequence data. Our method achieves excellent performance on Labeled Faces in the Wild (LFW), YouTube Faces (YTF), only with a single ResNet. The code and models are publicly available on-line (this https URL).


Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been used to characterize the interface between the organic and inorganic components of "core-shell" colloidal nanocomposite particles synthesized by in situ aqueous (co)polymerization of styrene and/or n-butyl acrylate in the presence of a glycerol-functionalized silica sol. Polymer protons are in close proximity (<5 A) to surface silanol sites in all the nanocomposites studied, indicating that either styrene or n-butyl side groups extend between the glycerol-functional silane molecules toward the surface of the silica particles. For the poly(styrene-co-n-butyl acrylate)/silica nanocomposite n-butyl acrylate residues are located closer to the surface of the silica particle than styrene residues, suggesting a specific interaction between the former and the glycerol-functionalized silica surface. The most likely explanation is a hydrogen bond between the ester carbonyl and the glycerol groups, although this cannot be observed directly. For the Bindzil CC40 glycerol-functionalized silica sol the relative intensities of (29)Si NMR lines corresponding to T and Q(3) environments imply that there are approximately twice as many unreacted silanol groups on the silica surface as attached silane molecules.


The hepatitis C viral (HCV) DNA fragment coding for the core and two glycoproteins E1 + E2/NS1 were inserted into vaccinia virus vector pJSA1175, under the control of the promoter 7.5K. 143TK- cells transfected with the HCV recombinant plasmid pJSA1175CE in the presence of infectious TK+ vaccinia virus (Tiantan stain) yielded recombinant vaccinia virus and expressed an approximately 90 kDa polyprotein. Southern blot hybridization showed that the inserted HCV cDNA was located at the vaccinia virus TK+ gene, J fragment. One polypeptide band between 106 and 80 kDa was revealed in SDS-PAGE which reacted with anti-core murine serum. The polypeptide could be secreted into the medium, the total amount was about the same as in the cells.


The drawbacks of sliding mode control in terms of high control gains and chattering are overcome by incorporating fuzzy control to the switching logic. This hybrid system increases the complexity in design and, at present, there exists no effective design tools due to the lack of analytical and numerical approaches. This paper develops an automated design approach to this design problem, using tournament and rank-based genetic algorithms to replace the trial-and-error designs. The method is illustrated through the design of a near-optimal fuzzy-sliding mode controller for a nonlinear liquid-level control system. The control strategy gives a relatively low overshoots with smooth control action and retains robustness of the sliding mode approach.


We consider the variable Generalized Chaplygin gas (VGCG) proposal for unification of dark matter and dark energy with p = pde and ρ = ρdm+ρde. The equation of state of the VGCG is given by p = −A0a−n/ρα, where a is the scale factor. Some cosmological quantities such as the fractional contributions of different components of the universe Ωi (i respectively denotes baryons, dark matter and dark energy) to the critical density, the deceleration parameter q are all obtained. The transition from deceleration to acceleration is described in this model. In addition, we find the behaviour of variable Generalized Chaplgin gas is similar to dust-like matter at early times and will be quiessence or phantom at late stage.


CONTEXT
Epidemiologically, levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and its major protein constituent, apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), are inversely related to risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD).

OBJECTIVE
We tested whether common genetic variation in the apolipoprotein A1 gene (APOA1) contributes to apoA-I and HDL cholesterol levels and risk of IHD in the general population.

DESIGN
We resequenced the regulatory and coding regions of APOA1 in 190 individuals from the Copenhagen City Heart Study with the lowest 1% (n=95) and highest 1% (n=95) apoA-I levels. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were subsequently genotyped in the Copenhagen City Heart Study (n=10,273) and in 2361 cases with IHD (the Copenhagen Ischemic Heart Disease Study).

RESULTS
In total, 13 genetic variants were identified. Three SNPs, g.-560A→C, g.-151C→T, and *181A→G, determined a haplotype that differed between high and low apoA-I groups (6 vs. 1%, P=0.002). Genotype combinations of two SNPs, the g.-560A→C (tagging the g.-560A→C/g.-151C→T/*181A→G haplotype) and g.-310G→A (situated near a potential functional promoter site), were associated with increases in apoA-I and HDL cholesterol levels of up to 6.6 and 8.5%, respectively, resulting in theoretically predicted reductions in risk of 9 and 8% for IHD and 14 and 12% for myocardial infarction (MI). Despite this, these same genotype combinations were not associated with decreased risk of IHD or MI.

CONCLUSION
Common genetic variation in APOA1 associated with increased apoA-I and HDL cholesterol levels did not associate with decreased risk of IHD or MI.


In Reply. —We appreciate Dr Schwartz's comments. The gentamicin dosing schedule outlined in our article is intended as the initial dose. In any patient, gentamicin dosing should be adjusted after determining appropriate serum levels. Dr Johns and colleagues point out that in their opinion vancomycin trough levels are more valuable than peak levels for correlation with clinical responses. The study they cite, 1 where a correlation between vancomycin serum concentration and outcome of patients with endocarditis was not observed, is retrospective, reports only 15 patients, and uses improperly timed specimens for the determination of peak concentration (30 minutes after infusion). We do not consider these data adequate to justify any recommendation regarding vancomycin dosing. In a more recent study from the same institution, 2 vancomycin was administered in the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis to achieve a median peak concentration (specimen drawn 30 minutes after infusion) of 34.5 μg/mL and


The automatic plaque selection and culture inoculation robot (APSCIR) is a prototype machine vision directed system that will select a particular set of biological specimens from a mixed random array and harvest each in turn for discrete location in a predetermined spatial format for further processing. The authors describe the image processing aspects of APSCIR, which was originally designed to automate plaque harvesting during the cloning step of the DNA sequencing process. In this device a modified histogram-based segmentation technique is combined with a feature extraction algorithm and rapid classification scheme. This results in a trainable image processing system that will select from petri dishes white plaques growing in a disordered array on a mixed bacterial lawn of blue and white plaques. The candidate plaque coordinates are passed to an XYZ robot that performs sampling and transfer of the selected specimens discretely into separate containers for further culturing.


Design ground shaking intensity, based on probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) maps, is most commonly used as a triggering condition to analyze slope stability under seismic loading. Uncertainties that are associated with expected ground motion levels are often ignored. This study considers an improved, fully probabilistic approach for earthquake scenario selection. The given method suggests the determination of the occurrence probability of various ground motion levels and the probability of landsliding for these ground motion parameters, giving the total probability of slope failure under seismic loading in a certain time interval. The occurrence hazard deaggregation technique is proposed for the selection of the ground shaking level, as well as the magnitude and source-to-site distance of a design earthquake, as these factors most probably trigger slope failure within the time interval of interest. An example application of the approach is provided for a slope near the highway in the south of Sakhalin Island (Russia). The total probability of earthquake-induced slope failure in the next 50 years was computed to be in the order of 16%. The scenario peak ground acceleration value estimated from the disaggregated earthquake-induced landslide hazard is 0.15g, while the 475-year seismic hazard curve predicts 0.3g. The case study highlights the significant difference between ground shaking scenario levels in terms of the 475-year seismic hazard map and the considered fully probabilistic approach.


Solar UV radiometers with spectral responsivities that are close to the erythemaVcarcinogenic action spectrum of skin have been installed at several centers of population in New Zealand, including Auckland, 37°S, Wellington, 41°s and Christchurch, 43.5°S. The data set covers the period from the time the radiometry program commenced in 1988/1989 to the end of the southern summer, March 1995. The radiometers were recalibrated annually and the data were corrected for changes in the absolute responsivity of the radiometers. Erythemally effective UV irradiances at solar zenith angles of 30° and 45° were then extracted from the data set. No monotonic trend in these data is apparent, although there are statistically significant differences in mean irradiances from one year to the next. An example of this is the decrease observed in all sites following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in June 1991. The maximum erythemally effective insolations at solar zenith angles of 30° and 45° were consistently lower in Christchurch than in the other two New Zealand sites. This could arise from higher levels of atmospheric turbidity andlor tropospheric ozone at this location. Also, a seasonal increase in erythemally effective UV insolation from spring to autumn was observed each year in all three New Zealand sites.


This review article with 239 references describes recent developments in capillary electrophoresis of proteins, and covers the two years since the previous review (V. Dolník, Electrophoresis 2006, 27, 126–141) through spring 2007. It includes topics related to CE of proteins, such as sample pretreatment, wall coatings, improving separation, various forms of detection, and special electrophoretic techniques including ACE, CIEF, capillary ITP, and CEC. The paper describes applications of CE to analysis of proteins in real‐world samples including human body fluids, food and agricultural samples, protein pharmaceuticals and recombinant protein preparations.


Internet services in distributive organization are normally built on an open network environment. In the environment internet service provisioning cannot be expected executing in a single close organization [1]. Identity management in cross-organization becomes an issue for handling Internet service and distributive business process. The "identity" in cross-organization web service is defined as global identity rather than private identity from client. Global identity searching table that registers all related service organization is the normal way we used to [2]. Through global identity searching table the target service organization can be looked up directly. For some business program, however, global identity is not necessary registered in specific service organization, e.g. IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identification) registration in NP (Number Portability) Service [3], for instance. In NP Service each IMSI can be re-assigned to different mobile service provider if the IMSI apply the re-assignment. In the example about IMSI in NP service mentioned above, if there is an internet service will be executed according to identity management with IMSI, then it will be a challenge to find the organization for available IMSI in very short response time. To dynamically re-assign a IMSI in different mobile service provider, the traditional global identity searching table will not be practical due to frequently changing the registration of IMSI in different service provider. To give an intelligent searching model for cross-organization global identity management is a better way than a static global identity searching table management in Web service. In this article the XCS (eXtended Classifier System) classifier system [4] will be proposed as the kernel system. With the characteristics in machine learning and rules management, the XCS-based intelligent searching model can help to predict where the web service can find the global identity in the open and cross-organization environment.


Purpose
This paper aims to explore how social media can be used strategically for delivering new services in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) context.

Design/methodology/approach
Single case study: CONSULT+ (pseudonym), a consulting firm specialized in change management. Consultants use a social media network to develop their new services.

Findings
To take on the challenges of heightened competition, CONSULT+ has created thematic business units to encourage new service development. This research explored strategies, practices and benefits associated of using social media network by intrapreneurs at all levels of new service idea trajectory (idea generation, elaboration, championing and implementation).

Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a single case study. Further research should be conducted to establish the generalization of the results.

Practical implications
This paper highlights the key success factors in making such an approach successful: raising awareness of the benefits of using social media; analysing of complementarities of tools; accompanying the development of advanced practices; capturing the valuable potential for the organization and avoiding negative effects of individual practices.

Originality/value
The research provides a unique approach that can be practically implemented within knowledge-intensive SMEs to leverage social media network to deliver new services (best practices and insights for managerial support schemes).


Background: Use "Women's questionnaire" will allow the healthcare professional to meet previously an area in which a woman gets better care during labour and delivery, enabling thus an implementation of strategies for the care and promotion humanized childbirth. On exposed, this research aims to adapt the "Women's Questionnaire" to the reality of assistance in Ceara.
Method: methodological study adopted the procedures recommended in psychometric of face and content validation by seven judges, semantic analysis by 30 mothers and a pre - test involving 30 postpartum women interned in rooming hospital from April to September 2013. It has been considered necessary to have the agreement of at least 80% of the judges for validation, for pertinence and Content Validation Index.
Results: This paper shows that most items have been considered clear, comprehensive and relevant by the judges. The final Content Validity Index of the questionnaire was 0.88. The suggestions of the mothers were accepted.
Conclusion: The questionnaire finished with 21 items showing up adapted to the reality of the assistance of Ceara, being considered in the context of assistance as a tool to evaluate the care provided to women during labor, delivery and postpartum.


CST (Crop Statistics Tool) is a standalone freeware for predicting crop yield statistics using indicators derived from crop models, weather or remote sensing data. The principle of CST is that years similar to the target year (e.g. the current year) should have similar yields, or similar yield deviations from a technological time trend. In practice, CST guides the crop analyst through standard steps: after data screening to identify possible outliers and analysis of time trend, the crop analyst has the choice between the following two approaches to forecast yield: (1) multiple regression analysis in which a linear relationship is calibrated between historical yield data and yield indicators, while accounting for a time trend if present; (2) scenario analysis, whereby CST looks for the years most similar (according to the indicators) to the current year to estimate a yield deviation from the time trend or the average yield. CST allows to assess models with standard statistics and tests as well as warnings, which is especially useful when many indicators are available. Moreover, thanks to batch processing, the crop analyst can test a given model for various dekads, regions or crops. This paper illustrates the interest of CST with two case studies made over Africa and based on the regression approach between crop yields and NDVI or cumulated rainfall at a given dekad. In the first one, South African maize yields at province level over 1987–2015 were found to be well correlated with Vegetation/ProbaV NDVI or CHIRPS rainfall for two of the three main maize producing provinces; for each province, we tested indicators from the 15 dekads between January and May. In the second study, we regressed the 1999–2014 maize yields from the main 26 crop production zones against also NDVI and cumulated rainfall with two different start dates (April and June); we tested 3000 models (26 zones, 15 dekads, 3 single indicators without and with time trend, all indicators together, and finally trend alone) and obtained mixed results: a strong dominance of the time trend and for the indicators, unstable relationships and sometimes wrong slope signs. Beyond these contrasting results that could be partly due to the quality of yield statistics or the relevance of the selected indicators, CST combined with the SPIRITS tool for extracting indicators at region level from raster time series, should help crop analysts predict crop yield, in particular where many indicators derived from remote sensing data or crop models are to be tested.


Background: There is substantial donor-to-donor variability in the post-transfusion survival of stored human RBCs. RBCs from different strains of inbred mice also store differently; RBCs from C57BL/6 (B6) mice store well, whereas RBCs from FVB/NJ (FVB) mice store poorly, as defined as 24-hr post-transfusion RBC recoveries (24hr-recoveries). We hypothesized that observed differences in RBC storage between inbred mouse strains are heritable and can be mapped using mouse genetic tools. Methods: B6 and FVB mice were crossed to generate F1 mice, which were then intercrossed to generate 156 F2 animals. RBCs from single donor mice were stored for 7 days, followed by transfusion into B6xFVB F1 recipients that were transgenic for GFP, which is expressed in essentially 100% of F1 RBCs. 24hr-recoveries were measured by bleeding recipients 24 hours post-transfusion and enumerating non-fluorescent donor RBCs. The use of F1 recipients avoided crossing allo-antigenic barriers. Prior to transfusion, a sample of each donor RBC unit was frozen at -80oC; all frozen samples were subjected to LC-MS/MS to generate an untargeted metabolomics profile. DNA from each mouse was applied to a 1,414 SNP Illumina BeadChip. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis was performed for 24hr-recoveries and also for each LC-MS/MS analyte identified, by means of fitting a linear model at each SNP, and adjusting for the number of tests using a false discovery rate (FDR) procedure. For each LC-MS/MS analyte, correlation coefficients were calculated to 24-hr recoveries. Correlations of LC-MS/MS metabolites to 24hr-recoveries were combined with QTL mapping and referenced to known metabolic pathways to generate a blood storage metabolomics profiles associated with an RBC storage phenotype and linked to genotype. Additional genetic mapping resolution was obtained by backcrossing F2 mice with poor storage to B6 parents, and selecting poor-storing progeny to breed for each next generation. Results: 24hr-recoveries exhibited a Gaussian distribution in F2 mice. LC-MS/MS quantified 554 analytes in each stored RBC sample. QTL analysis of the 24hr-recoveries using 813 informative SNPs identified a significant QTL (maximum peak p=2.09x10-31), that we have termed Rbcstor1, spanning a ~149 Mb interval on chromosome 1 (rs13475827 to rs13476300). Fine mapping using backcrossed populations refined Rbcstor1 to a 9.5 Mb interval containing 64 genes. Filtering for coding genes harboring nonsynonymous B6-FVB SNPs identified 5 genes (Gli2, Steap3, Ccdc93, Rab3gap1, Tli). Steap3 is a functional enzyme in erythroid cells, in which it is the primary ferrireductase converting Fe3+ to Fe2+, both mitigating oxidative stress as well as allowing transferrin-dependent iron uptake. Steap3 harbors two FVB-B6 non-synonymous SNPs (p.A350V and p.N455S). Metabolomics analysis revealed that oxidized products of lipid metabolism strongly correlated with post-transfusion RBC survival, including the bioactive lipids Leukotriene B4 (r=0.71, p=1.7x10-25) and Prostaglandin E2 (r=0.81, p=2.6x10-37). In addition, a wide variety of dicarboxylic fatty acids (e.g. dodecanedioate (r=-0.81, p=1.1x10-44) and octanedioate (r=-0.85, p=3.4x10-53)) strongly correlated with RBC storage. Based upon additional QTL analysis of products of lipid peroxidation, a significant QTL was identified, which we have termed Rbcstormet1. Rbcstormet1 overlaps extensively with Rbcstor1. Conclusion: We have identified Rbcstor1 on chromosome 1 as a QTL strongly associated with 24hr-recoveries. Within this region, Steap3 is a strong candidate gene. Steap3 has been previously implicated in erythroid phenotypes: mice lacking Steap3 are profoundly anemic, and a human family carrying a STEAP3 nonsense mutation has been reported to exhibit a congenital hypochromic anemia. However, to the best of our knowledge, Steap3 has no known function in mature RBC biology or RBC storage. We hypothesize that the FVB Steap3 allele is a hypomorphic variant, which adversely impacts RBC storage biology by decreasing the ability of RBCs to handle oxidative stress, leading to lipid peroxidation that generates inflammatory lipids, lysolipids, and dicarboxylic acids. In addition to identifying a novel genetic locus associated with 24hr-recoveries of stored RBCs, these studies suggest that polymorphisms in Steap3 or in related proteins could contribute to human blood donor variability. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Creativity is a primary and essential part of the engineering design process. So, multiple support tools are developed to aid engineers and designers in the creative design process. The use of visual displays is seen as a helpful and encouraging tool in design problem solving. The paper concludes a brief literature on the engineering design process, activities performed during its stages and various methods that can stimulate creativity in different steps of this process. This study describes analogy as a supportive and powerful tool mentioned in the literature for creative design. It helps to explain new problems in terms of familiar ones and involves the transfer of relational information between two situations. So, analogy can help designers to use visual displays in a new and creative way. The study presents the process of using visual displays in design and the results suggest that practicing with a large and diverse number of visual displays can help engineering designers in general, to spontaneously retrieve significant information, and to enhance their design abilities. It's especially crucial in generating creative ideas and therefore creative products.


Modern FPGA synthesis tools typically apply a predetermined sequence of logic optimizations on the input logic network before carrying out technology mapping. While the "known recipes" of logic transformations often lead to improved mapping results, there remains a nontrivial gap between the quality metrics driving the pre-mapping logic optimizations and those targeted by the actual technology mapping. Needless to mention, such miscorrelations would eventually result in suboptimal quality of results. In this article, we propose PIMap, which couples logic transformations and technology mapping under an iterative improvement framework for LUT-based FPGAs. In each iteration, PIMap randomly proposes a transformation on the given logic network from an ensemble of candidate optimizations; it then invokes technology mapping and makes use of the mapping result to determine the likelihood of accepting the proposed transformation. By adjusting the optimization objective and incorporating required time constraints during the iterative process, PIMap can flexibly optimize for different objectives including area minimization, delay optimization, and delay-constrained area reduction. To mitigate the runtime overhead, we further introduce parallelization techniques to decompose a large design into multiple smaller sub-netlists that can be optimized simultaneously. Experimental results show that PIMap achieves promising quality improvement over a set of commonly used benchmarks, including improving the majority of the best-known area and delay records for the EPFL benchmark suite.


S ince the start of the pandemic and the related major disruptions introduced to all aspects of university work and life, one invariable focus has been on students and the effects of dislocation, lockdown, illness, and isolation, not only on their academic performance and career advancement but also on their physical well-being and mental health. In departure from this focus, this editorial turns attention to faculty members and analyzes the different paths and management strategies that universities around the globe took through the pandemic. Bringing perspectives from Australia, Canada, and the United States, from online only, oncampus only, and hybrid programs, this editorial highlights the gamut of experiences with and views on navigating the pandemic in higher education from the faculty perspective. Some reflections are personal and program-bound (Garner, Thompson), whereas others are analytical and span the entire academic realm (Caidi, Dali). We introduce a series of vignettes that, together, compose a picture of faculty struggles and triumphs during the pandemic. We also touch on the administrative and managerial context in which the events of 2020–21 in academia unfolded. We call these vignettes "tales." These tales address the differences and striking commonalities in experiences of faculty across institutions and geographic borders, pointing to new challenges, successful innovations, and surprising constants—positive and negative—that came to the fore and were accentuated during the time of crisis and change.


Phosphate mining in Florida produces waste products of phosphatic colloidal material and quartz sand. Quartz sand-tailings disposal areas cover 20–60 ha and support no vegetation. A split-plot field experiment was conducted to study the production, quality, and nutrient concentration of five tropical grasses: (i) 'McCaleb' stargrass (Cynodon aethiopicus Clayton et Harlan), (ii) 'Transvala' digitgrass (Digitaria decumbens Stent.), (iii) 'Pensacola' bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge), (iv) 'Ona' stargrass (Cynodon niemfuensis Vanderyst var. niemfuensis), and (v) 'Callie' bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon var. aridus Harlan et deWet), grown on four amended sand-tailing treatments. These treatments were: (i) sand-tailing control (SC), (ii) colloidal phosphate (CP) at 336 metric tons/ha, (iii) CP at 336 metric tons/ha + oven-dry sewage sludge (SS) at 45 metric tons/ha, and (iv) CP at 336 metric tons/ha + top soil (TS) at 1,460 metric tons/ha. Generally all grasses produced highest dry matter yields when grown on CP + SS and CP + TS amended sand-tailing treatments during the first 2 years of the experiment; however, during the 3rd year no difference (P <0.05) was obtained among amendment treatments. Highest forage production during all 3 years was obtained from Callie bermudagrass (average of 14.4 metric tons/ha). Amendment treatments had no effect on forage quality (in vitro organic matter digestion [IVOMD] and crude protein) of perennial grasses, with Transvala digitgrass usually averaging the highest percentage IVOMD and crude protein. Transvala digitgrass also contained the highest nutrient concentrations (P, 0.39%; K, 1.55%; Ca, 0.62% and Mg, 0.26%).


Although the distributed file system is a widely used technology in local area networks, it has seen less use on the wide area networks that connect clusters, clouds, and grids. One reason for this is access control: existing file system technologies require either the client machine to be fully trusted, or the client process to hold a high value user credential, neither of which is practical in large scale systems. To address this problem, we have designed a system for fine-grained access control which dramatically reduces the amount of trust required of a batch job accessing a distributed file system. We have implemented this system in the context of the Chirp user-level distributed file system used in clusters, clouds, and grids, but the concepts can be applied to almost any other storage system. The system is evaluated to show that performance and scalability are similar to other authentication methods. The paper concludes with a discussion of integrating the authentication system into workflow systems.


Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with an increased risk of stroke and mortality. Effective stroke prevention leads to an improved quality of life and a lower economic disease burden. Anticoagulants such as the oral vitamin K antagonist and non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants can be used to reduce the stroke risk. In this thesis, Maartje Jacobs describes different aspects of AF treatment with a focus on stroke prevention. The research emphasizes on disease detection, drug treatment and how to handle specific subgroups. This thesis captures the aspects that are relevant from a clinical perspective as well as a payer's and societal perspective. Important factors in stroke prevention are early detection of AF using screening, optimized prescription of the oral anticoagulants and appropriate use by the patient. Jacobs showed in this thesis that screening for AF can be a cost-effective, and even cost-saving, approach to detect new patients and to initiate stroke prevention. Specific subgroups would require a tailored approach for stroke prevention. Subpopulations with more challenges in AF treatment are for example critically ill patients, patients undergoing surgery and patients with co-existing coronary artery disease. Jacobs concludes that healthcare should be delivered in a way that best fits the patient, meaning: individualized treatment choices to optimize the AF risk management leading to improved patient outcomes. Since stroke induces a high economic burden to society, AF detection and stroke prevention are a good starting point for healthcare optimization.


An indirect method is described for the determination of free cyanide in industrial waste effluent samples by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). In an alkaline medium, cyanide forms a stable complex species [Cu(BPTC)(CN)] (BPTC = 2-benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazone), which can be extracted into a mixture of isobutyl methyl ketone-isopentyl alcohol (7 + 1) with an efficiency of greater than 98.5%. The extract can be analysed directly for copper (and hence indirectly for cyanide) by flame AAS. The calibration graph is linear up to 5.7 micrograms of cyanide per millilitre of solvent mixture and the limit of detection is 4.8 ng ml-1. A large number of foreign ions were found not to interfere with the proposed method.


Background: School age children are at particular risk of morbidity caused by schistosomiasis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and intensity of infection; and identify associated risk factors for Schistosoma mansoni infection.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Merebmieti elementary school around Hizaty Wedicheber Microdam in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. A total of 469 school children were selected at random. For each selected subject clinical and stool examination was done. Each subject was also interviewed. Stool samples were examined for Schistosoma eggs by Kato-Katz technique. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0 statistical packages software.

Results: The overall prevalence of S.mansoni was 42.4% and the mean (GM) intensity of infection was 86.7 eggs per gram (EPG). The prevalence and intensity of infection was higher in males. The highest prevalence was in the 10-14 year age group (49.2%) while intensity reached peak in the 15-19 years of age (107 eggs per gram). Of the 199 positive cases, about 34% harbored moderate (101-399 eggs per gram) and only 2% harbored heavy infection. The strongest predictors for S.mansoni infection using multiple regressions were proximity to microdam. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that children 5-9 years old and pipe water use for domestic purpose were protective factors.

Conclusion: On the basis of these results, it can be concluded that S. mansoni infection is an important health problem among school children of Merbmieti contributing to the transmission of the disease in the community. Hence, integrated control programme including periodic deworming, improving sanitation, provision of safe water supply are needed to have a lasting impact on transmission of S. mansoni.


T he initial requirement for implanted ventricu-lar pacing was the provision of a stable, regular, reliably paced ventricular rate and rhythm more rapid than the idioventricular rate.' This combination eliminated the potentially lethal episodes of ventricular asystole and escape tachycar-dias that characterized the unprotected, atrially dissociated idioventricular rate characteristic of complete heart block.2,3 It was soon recognized that increased cardiac output resulted from an increase in ventricular rate but that above a rate of 60-80 beats/min, increased physiological need, usually as a result of exercise, was necessary to further increase cardiac output.4 5 Research during the past 5 years has further clarified the central role that ventricular rate plays in cardiac output control.6 The role of atrial contraction , ventricular preload, and atrioventricular (AV) synchrony remain controversial, as they have for many years.78 Atrial synchrony may be more important at the lower end of the "normal" rate range (i.e., between 50 and 90-100 beats/min), whereas at more rapid ventricular rates (i.e., 120-180 beats/min), heart rate appears more important and AV syn-chrony appears less so.9 The establishment of a rate proportional to need was initially dependent on atrial sensing.10 However, in the presence of severe sinus node dysfunction and arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation or flutter with a slow ventricular response or sinus bradycardia, atrial sensing does not provide the rate modulation required to increase cardiac output." The effect of rate-modulated ventricular pacing differs, depending on the rhythm being paced. In complete antegrade and retrograde heart block, such pacing may provide a satisfactory result, whereas in the presence of sinus bradycardia with retained ret-rograde conduction, ventricular pacing may produce retrograde atrial contraction and the "pacemaker syndrome.'12 The consequences of making the right ventricular apex the overriding "pacemaker" of the heart and the potential reversal of the sequence of cardiac contraction remain uncertain in some patients and detrimental in others.13 Because the incidence of retrograde conduction decreases with ventricular rate increases, patients may be symptomatic at one rate and not at another. This issue can now be resolved with the introduction of dual-chamber, rate-modulated pacing, which of course retains the normal AV sequence.'4 Each pacing circumstance, whether atrial, ventricular, or dual chamber, and each rhythm, whether AV nodal disease , sinoatrial (SA) nodal disease, or a combination in the presence or absence of retrograde conduction, should be judged during pacemaker implantation and when the selection of a pacing mode is being made.15 …


Introduction: Development of bone metastases continues to be the main source of morbidity and mortality in prostate cancer patients. Determining the mechanism(s) by which how prostate cancer cells utilize the bone microenvironment to survive and ultimately grow is key to developing strategies to prevent metastasis. Such approaches could affect disease morbidity and mortality, as nearly 80% patients have bone metastases at the time of death. The finding that disseminated cancer cells can be detected in 72% of patients prior to prostatectomy led to the realization that prostate cancer cells can disseminate early in the course of disease and persist in the bone for extended periods of time prior to detection (Melchior et al. 1997; William J Ellis et al. 2003; Morgan et al. 2009). However, not all patients with detectable tumor cells in the bone marrow will develop metastases (Morgan et al. 2009). It is now appreciated that this may be, in part due to factors within the metastatic microenvironment that restrict cancer cell growth. We speculate that one mechanism used by cancer cells to evade these growth suppressive effects is to modify the both the microenvironment and themselves such that they can survive and thrive.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that in order to form bone metastases, CWR22Rv1 and C4-2B human prostate cancer cells induce transcriptional changes in host cells that alter the cellular composition of the bone microenvironment to favor growth. In response, cancer cells up-regulate a 65 gene pro-colonization signature recently identified by our laboratory (Bainer et al. 2012), which enables metastatic outgrowth.

Methods: A critical first step toward testing our hypothesis is to quantitate the size, number and location of metastases formed at specific time intervals after intracardiac injection. To this end, CWR22Rv1 and C4-2B cells were engineered to express the synthetic firefly luciferase luc 2, and injected into the left ventricle of intact male, 8 week old NOD/SCID mice. Immediately post-injection, delivery of the cells into the circulation was assessed using the Xenogen IVIS 200. Tumor growth was assessed weekly from two to six weeks post injection.

Results: After injection, CWR22Rv1 cells lodge in the skeleton where they persist for approximately two weeks. The cells then undergo progressive growth (as indicated by increasing signal intensity), culminating in overt metastases at the experimental endpoint (6 weeks post injection). The 145-fold increase in luciferase signal was accompanied by osteoblastic-lesions in the skeleton, most notably calvarial lesions. Several animals developed additional metastases in the hind limbs.

Conclusions: This baseline data serves as a starting point for additional studies to more precisely define the kinetics of metastatic growth in this model system. Future work will identify molecular changes that occur in the prostate cancer cells and the bone microenvironment both during and prior to metastatic outgrowth.

Funding: DOD Award W81XWH-09-1-0415; DOD W81XWH-09-1-0449, NCI/NIH 2RO1CA089569; Section of Urology Research Funds.

Citation Format: Erin N. Howe, Venkatesh Krishnan, Kristen Otto, Russell Z. Szmulewitz, Carrie Rinker-Schaeffer. Examining reciprocal temporal interactions between human prostate cancer cells and the bone microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Invasion and Metastasis; Jan 20-23, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B95.


Network coding is a novel concept for improving network capacity. This additional capacity may be used to increase throughput or reliability. Also in wireless networks, network coding has been proposed as a method for improving communication. We present our experience from two studies of applying network coding in realistic wireless sensor networks scenarios. As we show, network coding is not as useful in practical deployments as earlier theoretical work suggested. We discuss limitations and future opportunities for network coding in sensor networks.


This paper reports on a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) where mothers at risk of maltreating their infants were randomly assigned to either a widely used parenting training known as Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP), a 12-week once weekly session (n=35), or the Group Attachment-Based Intervention (GABI), a multi-family 26-week treatment (n=43). ANCOVA results compared STEP versus GABI groups' end-of-treatment scores, with intake scores controlled for, on standardized measures of children's exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences, social isolation, and difficulties with impulse control, were considered. Mothers in both groups reported no significant increase in children's exposure to ACEs, and significant decreases in self-reported social isolation and impulse control difficulties. Discussion focuses on self-reported benefits of both treatment arms, and the need for future intervention studies to include observational measures of maternal sensitivity and of the overall quality of the mother-toddler relationship. Three Practitioner Points i. Self-report indices from mothers re their social isolation, self-esteem, and poor impulse control (positive symptoms, SCL-90, all showed improvements from intake to end-of-treatment in both arms of the RCT, both sharing parenting groups as a central if not the only part of treatment. ii. For both arms of the RCT mothers reported no significant increase in their children's exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences. iii. Future intervention studies aimed at preventing child maltreatment must include observational measures of maternal sensitivity, and the overall quality of the mother-child relationship.


Balanced activation of the PI3K pathway by antigen and other stimuli is required for effective humoral immunity while avoiding autoimmunity and lymphoproliferative disease. The critical regulatory phosphatase SHIP dephosphorylates the PIP3 generated by PI3K to produce a distinct molecule PI(3,4)P2. A number of key signaling molecules bind to PIP3, including the protein kinase Btk; however much less is known about the function of PI(3,4)P2. The inositol phosphatase INPP4A can specifically hydrolyze PI(3,4)P2; however the functions of this phosphatase in B cell activation are unknown. We hypothesized that INPP4A can provide a tool to deplete PI(3,4)P2 and determine its range of functions. Human B lymphocytes over-expressing active or phosphatase-dead INPP4A were generated, and the cells expressing active enzyme were found to generate lower levels of PI(3,4)P2 upon chemokine or BCR stimulation. Chemokine-induced migration responses were inhibited by active, but not inactive INPP4A. An assessment of BCR signaling was carried out that compared BCR-stimulated cells expressing active versus inactive INPP4A in a screen encompassing over 800 protein phosphorylation sites. The results indicate that active INPP4A can suppress phosphorylation of Akt and known Akt targets. We are currently assessing whether PDK1, a major kinase upstream of Akt which also directly binds PI(3,4)P2, is regulated by INPP4A. Interestingly, other kinases known to interact with PDK1 (PKCdelta, RSK) or to be directly phosphorylated by PDK1 (PKCgamma) showed decreased phosphorylation in cells expressing active INPP4A. We are currently testing the hypothesis that PDK1/Akt and Btk/PLCγ2 signal osomes are differentially regulated by INPP4A.


Interest in essential oils and their food applications has grown due to the negative reaction of consumers to synthetic chemical additives intentionally added in industrialized products in order to increase their shelf life. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the chemical profile, toxicity to Artemia salina Leach and antibacterial activity in vitro of essential oils obtained from natural condiments on bacteria of clinical and food importance. Plant material was obtained in the municipality of Sao Luis-MA. The essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation at 100 °C/3 h. Folin Ciocalteau methodology was performed for the determination of total phenolics. The toxicity assay was performed using the artemia salina Leach lethality bioassay. Antimicrobial activity followed the methodology described by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute using the Broth Disc Diffusion and Dilution Method for the action of essential oils against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. The presence of bioactive classes in the plant materials used in this research was identified and the essential oils obtained were classified as nontoxic in the toxicity assay, presenting low lethality to the micro crustacean Artemia salina Leach. In the bactericidal activity assay, the essential oils of O. vulgare, T. vulgaris, C. zeylanicum showed significant results, classified as efficient against the microorganisms tested. Finally, the use of essential oils classified as active and nontoxic is highlighted in this study as alternatives in the control and combat of pathogenic microorganisms presenting a proposal of natural product with low cost of obtaining and high market potential.


A monitoring system comprises a module having at least one sensor and preferably skin and ambient temperature sensors within a housing. The device may be durable or disposable. The housing may be provided with certain surface features and shapes to facilitate mounting on and interface with the skin of the wearer for more accurate temperature measurement. A receiver may be provided to obtain and display data from the module. The module may also display the output data. The output data comprises both detected and derived data relating to physiological and contextual parameters of the wearer and may be transmitted directly to a local recipient or remotely over a communications network. The system is capable of deriving and predicting the occurrence of a number of physiological and conditional states and events and reporting the same as output data.


The increasing demand for cloud computing has shifted business toward a huge demand for cloud services, which offer platform, software, and infrastructure for the day-to-day use of cloud consumers. Numerous new cloud service providers have been introduced to the market with unique features that assist service developers collaborate and migrate services among multiple cloud service providers to address the varying requirements of cloud consumers. Many interfaces and proprietary application programming interfaces (API) are available for migration and collaboration services among cloud providers, but lack standardization efforts. The target of the research work was to summarize the issues involved in semantic cloud portability and interoperability in the multi-cloud environment and define the standardization effort imminently needed for migrating and collaborating services in the multi-cloud environment.


In this paper we analyze and solve eigenvalue programs, which consist of the task of minimizing a function subject to constraints on the"eigenvalues"of the decision variable. Here, by making use of the FTvN systems framework introduced by Gowda, we interpret"eigenvalues"in a broad fashion going beyond the usual eigenvalues of matrices. This allows us to shed new light on classical problems such as inverse eigenvalues problems and also leads to new applications. In particular, after analyzing and developing a simple projected gradient algorithm for general eigenvalue programs, we show that eigenvalue programs can be used to express what we call vanishing quadratic constraints. A vanishing quadratic constraint requires that a given system of convex quadratic inequalities be satisfied and at least a certain number of those inequalities must be tight. As a particular case, this includes the problem of finding a point $x$ in the intersection of $m$ ellipsoids in such a way that $x$ is also in the boundary of at least $\ell$ of the ellipsoids, for some fixed $\ell>0$. At the end, we also present some numerical experiments.


In this paper, computational aeroacoustics (CAA) method is used for flow-noise analysis and flow-noise visualization. High order high resolution scheme of optimized high order compact is used to resolve the small acoustic quantities and large flow quantities at the same time. An adaptive nonlinear artificial dissipation model and generalized characteristic boundary condition are also used. Aeolion tone noise, cavity noise, and jet noise are investigated. The visualizations of flow-noise are successful and characteristics of noise are studied. It is observed that the propagation directivity of noise is different with that of flow. With the help of CAA method, the visualization of noise is possible.


ATP-binding cassette(ABC) transporters are one of the largest protein families in organisms, with important effects in regulating plant growth and development, root morphology, transportation of secondary metabolites and resistance of stress. Environmental stress promotes the biosynthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites, which determines the quality of medicinal plants. Therefore, how to improve the accumulation of secondary metabolites has been a hotspot in studying medicinal plants. Many studies have showed that ABC transporters are extremely related to the transportation and accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants. Recently, with the great development of genomics and transcriptomic sequencing technology, the regulatory mechanisms of ABC transporters on secondary metabolites have attached great attentions in medicinal plants. This paper reviewed the mechanisms of different groups of ABC transporters in transporting secondary metabolites through cell membranes. This paper provided key theoretical basis and technical supports in studying the mechanisms of ABC transporters in medicinal plant, and promoting the accumulation of secondary metabolites, in order to improve the quality of medicinal plants.


The purpose of the paper is to study the application of statistical methods of logistics process quality management at a large industrial enterprise and testing the theoretical studies. The analysis of the publications shows that a significant number of works by both Ukrainian and foreign authors has been dedicated to the research of quality management, while statistical methods of quality management have only been thoroughly analyzed by a small number of researchers, since these methods are referred to as classical, that is, those that are considered well-known and do not require special attention of modern scholars. In the authors' opinion, the logistics process is a process of transformation and movement of material and accompanying flows by ensuring management freedom under the conditions of sequential interdependencies; standardization; synchronization; sharing information, and consistency of incentives, using innovative methods and models. In our study, we have shown that the management of logistics processes should use such statistical methods of quality management as descriptive statistics, experiment planning, hypotheses testing, measurement analysis, process opportunities analysis, regression analysis, reliability analysis, sampling, modeling, maps of statistical process control, specification of statistical tolerance, time series analysis. The proposed statistical methods of logistics processes quality management have been tested at the large industrial enterprise JSC "Dniepropetrovsk Aggregate Plant" that specializes in manufacturing hydraulic control valves. The findings suggest that the main purpose in the sphere of logistics processes quality is the continuous improvement of the mining equipment production quality through the use of innovative processes, advanced management systems and information technology. This will enable the enterprise to meet the requirements and expectations of their customers. It has been proved that the increase in intensity of the hydraulic control valve production affects the quality of the products; to reduce the number of complaints, the company needs to improve the skills of workers in all their changes. Prospects for further research in this direction are systematization of theoretical knowledge and practical approaches, which should be aimed at improving the product quality and obtaining unique competitive advantages.


Marketing, which is a method and function to link up enterprise with external circumstance, develops with and responses dynamically to the changing of the environment. Under the Internet environment, e-marketing changes the basis of traditional marketing tactics and expands the concept of marketing. The paper discusses the innovation of E-marketing combination tactics from four aspects: product tactics innovation, price tactics innovation, marketing channel innovation and promotion tactics innovation.


Single-crystal films of gold in (111) orientation, and 500 to 2000 Å in thickness, have been prepared by an evaporation technique. A device has been constructed to allow these films to be strained in a controlled manner while under observation inside the electron microscope (Siemens Elmiskop I). It is shown, by the absence of observable plastic deformation, that the films deform elastically up to abnormally high strain values. This is confirmed, in the case of 500 Å films, by precision electron diffraction measurements, which indicate elastic strains as high as 1 to 1·5%. This represents a tensile strength several times that of hard-drawn gold wire. The high tensile strength occurs despite the presence of a high density of dislocations. Failure occurs once the elastic limit is exceeded. Detailed examination of the fractured specimens reveals that highly localized plastic deformation occurs immediately before fracture. The nature of the fracture process has been deduced from the micrographs, and it is shown that the catastrophic failure occurs as a result of the high stress level which exists when plastic deformation occurs, coupled with the stress concentrations which occur as localized thinning takes place.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Early gastric cancer (EGC) has a relatively long natural course compared to advanced gastric cancer (AGC). But, few studies about the natural course of EGC are currently available in the literature. In this study we investigated the natural course of EGC in patients who did not receive any treatment.

METHODS
All patients diagnosed with gastric cancer on endoscopy at Kosin University Gospel Hospital between January 2001 and December 2010 were reviewed. Those among them who had EGC and did not receive any treatment were enrolled, and an analysis was performed.

RESULTS
Twenty seven patients were enrolled. Nine of the enrolled patients were women and the median age was 73 years (range, 38-95). Initial endoscopic findings revealed 11 cases of protruded type, 16 cases of flat and depressed type. Histopathologic analysis indicated that there were 14 cases of well and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, 6 cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma. Twelve patients underwent follow-up endoscopy and three of them developed AGC within a mean of 9.6 months (range, 5-12 months). Overall median survival time was 40 months and the 5-year survival rate was 45%.

CONCLUSIONS
Although there were some differences in EGC progression, patients who did not receive any treatment progressed eventually. We were unable to identify specific factors predictive of median survival time in these patients.


The aim of this research is to develop a new method, Hybrid Printing System (HPS) to explore digital craft methods to create surface patterns for printed textile design. This novel method of creating 'handcrafted' prints is a result of the integration of two technologies such as motion-capture (MOCAP) and digital textile printing (DTP). The research towards such an innovation required a current, historical, contextual and experimental study of use of motion capture in Art &Design. The research contextualises the hand and its relationship to digital crafting methods in printed textile design, the digital medium and the process of audience participation in printed textile design to create a new conceptual framework balanced in practice and theory. The practical research then develops three new methods of motion capture such as, motion tracing, motion sensing and motion tracking to generate gestural motifs and gestural patterns. This thesis and the accompanying set of experimental work demonstrates that HPS culminates in developing new aesthetics through a new mode of creation in a new medium, which will impact the user, the designer and the product as a part of the cyclical process. HPS is an advancement of printed textile design, centred in active participation of its audience at the generative stage of design. This results in a shifting role of a designer and subverts the current model of printed textile design practice. HPS is a democratic design process where the participants design for themselves, have their own voice, which induces a sense of community, togetherness and harmony in the creative process.


There is currently quite a lot of scientific interest in carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and valorization with ionic liquids (ILs). In this manuscript, we analyze the influence of the potential applied, the nature of the cathode and the electrolyte using different organic mediators, such as nitro or cyano aromatic derivatives, to promote the electrochemical activation of CO2. An electrocatalytic process using a homogeneous catalysis is seen when nitroderivatives are used, yielding to oxalate in organic electrolytes and ILs. Turnover frequency (TOF) values and Farafay efficiencies were slightly higher in N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) than in ILs probably due to the viscosity of the electrolyte. The use of cyano derivatives allows to tune the electrochemical reactivity in function of the reduction potential value applied from electrocarboxylated products (via a nucleophile-electrophile reaction) to oxalate. These electrochemical reactions were also performed using three different cathodes, organic electrolytes and ionic liquids. The use of copper, as a cathode, and ionic liquids, as electrolytes, would be a cheaper and greener alternative for activating carbon dioxide.


The banking sector, like other service sector, improves in accordance with the customer's needs. Therefore, to know the needs of customers and to predict customer behaviors are very important for competition in the banking sector. Data mining uncovers relationships and hidden patterns in large data sets. Classification algorithms, one of the applications of data mining, is used very effectively in decision making. In this study, the c4.5 algorithm, a decision trees algorithm widely used in classification problems, is used in an integrated way with the ensemble machine learning methods in order to increase the efficiency of the algorithms. Data obtained via direct marketing campaigns from Portugal Banks was used to classify whether customers have term deposit accounts or not. Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines as Traditional Artificial Intelligence Methods and Bagging-C4.5 and Boosted-C.45 as ensemble-decision tree hybrid methods were used in classification. Bagging-C4.5 as ensemble-decision tree algorithm achieved more powerful classification success than other used algorithms. The ensemble-decision tree hybrid methods give better results than artificial neural networks and support vector machines as traditional artificial intelligence methods for this study.