Abstract. The lake-rich Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has significant impacts on regional and global water cycles and monsoon systems through heat and water vapor exchange. The lake-atmosphere interactions have been quantified over open-water periods, yet little is known about the lake ice thermodynamics and heat and mass balance during ice-covered season due to a lack of field data. Modeling experiments on ice evolution and energy balance were performed in a shallow lake with a high-resolution snow and ice thermodynamic model. The bottom ice growth and decay dominated the seasonal evolution of the thickness of lake ice. Strong surface sublimation was a crucial pattern of ice loss, which was up to 40 % of the maximum ice thickness. Simulation results matched well with the observations with respect to ice mass balance components, net ice thickness, and ice temperature. Strong solar radiation, consistent freezing air temperature, and low air moisture were the major driving forces controlling the seasonal ice mass balance. Energy balance was estimated at the ice surface and bottom, and within the ice interior and under-ice water. Particularly, almost all heat fluxes showed significant diurnal variations including short- and long-wave radiation, turbulent heat fluxes, water heat fluxes at ice bottom, and absorbed and penetrated solar radiation. The calculated ice surface temperature indicated that the atmospheric boundary layer was consistently stable and neutral over the ice-covered period. The turbulent heat fluxes between the lake ice and air and the net heat gain by the lake were much lower than those during open-water period. Ice surface sublimation (vapor flux) was demonstrated to be a vital seasonal water balance component, accounting for 41 % of lake water loss during the ice seasons.


This work evaluate the influence of waste pure water sachet (WPS) as a modifier in Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). The properties of the constituent materials were determined. Modified HMA samples were prepared at varying concentration of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% WPS content by weight of the Optimum Binder Content (OBC). The properties of the modified HMA were determined using Marshall Method of mix design. The properties of the constituent materials showed that they are suitable for HMA production. The modified bitumen showed an increase in softening point (61 – 73.5%), flash point (258 – 2820C), fire point (289 – 3110C) and ductility (92.67 –118.67cm) as the WPS content increases from 2% to 10% while decrease in penetration (62.33 – 56.5mm) as WPS content increases from 2% to 6%. Stability and Bulk density increases from 4.64kN to 8.84kN and 2.21g/cm3 to 2.34g/cm3 respectively while flow, voids in mineral aggregates (VMA) and Air voids decreases from 3.6 to 2.98mm, 23.85 to 20.16% and 19.73 to 13.97% respectively as the WPS content was increased from 2 to 8%. An optimum polyethylene from WPS modifier content of 8% by weight of the OBC is  recommended for use in the HMA.
Keywords: Bitumen, Hot Mix Asphalt, Pure Water Sachet, modified bitumen, Marshall Properties, Polyethylene.


SUMMARY Library services have changed dramatically in recent years due to the rapid developments in both information technology and electronic resources. The behavior and expectations of users have changed as well. Users expect to find full-text information online that is retrievable with a minimum of effort. The information literacy movement is influencing the approaches of many instruction librarians, but this influence is often realized in generic materials geared to reach the greatest number of students, materials that do not suit the specific needs of science and engineering library customers. Librarians must re-envision instruction for an environment where a "one size fits all" approach is not appropriate.


Background and purpose Carotid intima–media thickness (IMT), a valid measure of atherosclerotic disease, has been proposed to be included in the algorithms for cardiovascular risk stratification. However, assessment of carotid IMT is still not easily performed in an office setting. In the present study, we evaluated the reproducibility of a standardized protocol for carotid artery atherosclerosis screening. Methods Carotid arteries of 30 patients were scanned twice (interval 1–10 days) by six trained sonographers, using portable ultrasound systems. A screening protocol was adapted from methods used in clinical trials in which carotid IMT was the primary outcome measure. To test the reproducibility of the method, variability between the two scans was analyzed. Results A high level of agreement was found between the scans for measurement of mean common carotid IMT [mean difference −0.002, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.011 to 0.006, P = 0.435], maximum region common carotid IMT (mean difference −0.002, 95% CI −0.017 to 0.014, P = 0.779) and mean maximum IMT including the common, bifurcation and internal carotid arteries (mean differences 0.021, 95% CI −0.006 to 0.047, P = 0.166). No significant differences were found between scans with regard to the average number of carotid segments visualized, the number of atherosclerotic plaques or plaque burden. Conclusion Reliable IMT measurements can be obtained using a standardized protocol performed by trained sonographers using a digital portable ultrasound system in an office setting.


Author(s): Curtis, Katherine A. | Abstract: This dissertation examines spawning behavior and habitat in Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) in the Southern California Bight (SCB). The fine-scale horizontal and vertical distributions of anchovy and sardine eggs are characterized and their potentials for interaction with the predator Euphausia pacifica are assessed under varying environmental conditions.In Chapter 2, fine-scale horizontal pattern of sardine and anchovy eggs is characterized. Variograms for anchovy eggs have a higher nugget effect than those for sardine eggs, indicating that spatial structure of the distribution of sardine eggs is better resolved at the scales sampled. In light of other spatial studies of eggs of Sardinops sagax and Engraulis spp., I propose that the pattern is a function of species specific life history, population size and age structure, spawning intensity, and physical scales of the spawning habitat.Chapter 3 presents a model for vertical distribution of anchovy and sardine eggs, based on vertical mixing and ascent velocities of the eggs. The vertical mixing model that best predicts observed vertical distributions of anchovy eggs is different than that for sardine, and addition of a random error term to the terminal ascent velocity affects predictions of anchovy eggs, but not sardine eggs. Observed vertical distributions of sardine eggs are highly variable, perhaps due to horizontal patchiness or true vertical variability. The model does not improve prediction of integrated abundances from samples at 3-m depth over a simple regression of 3-m on integrated abundances.In Chapter 4, distributions of sardine and anchovy eggs and adult and juvenile Euphausia pacifica, an abundant euphausiid predator on ichthyoplankton, are examined in geographic and T-S space in the SCB for 1953-1959 and 1995-2002. Variability in the relative distributions of the three species shows concordance with environmental change. Occurrence of significantly complementary distributions of anchovy eggs and E. pacifica provides supporting evidence for interaction between anchovy and euphausiids.Spatial pattern in sardine and anchovy eggs is shown to be relevant to relationships between spawning behavior, spawning habitat, and population size. The potential importance of the dominant euphausiid species in influencing recruitment and spawning habitat selection is also supported.


Prediction from medical images is a valuable aid to diagnosis. For instance, anatomical MR images can reveal certain disease conditions, while their functional counterparts can predict neuropsychi-atric phenotypes. However, a physician will not rely on predictions by black-box models: understanding the anatomical or functional features that underpin decision is critical. Generally, the weight vectors of clas-sifiers are not easily amenable to such an examination: Often there is no apparent structure. Indeed, this is not only a prediction task, but also an inverse problem that calls for adequate regularization. We address this challenge by introducing a convex region-selecting penalty. Our penalty combines total-variation regularization, enforcing spatial conti-guity, and 1 regularization, enforcing sparsity, into one group: Voxels are either active with non-zero spatial derivative or zero with inactive spatial derivative. This leads to segmenting contiguous spatial regions (inside which the signal can vary freely) against a background of zeros. Such segmentation of medical images in a target-informed manner is an important analysis tool. On several prediction problems from brain MRI, the penalty shows good segmentation. Given the size of medical images, computational efficiency is key. Keeping this in mind, we contribute an efficient optimization scheme that brings significant computational gains.


How do U.S. International Military Education and Training programs affect the recipient states` behavior in militarized interstate disputes? While the relationship between U.S. military aid in the form of arms and equipment transfer and MID involvement has been studied extensively in international relations literature the effects of U.S. IMET programs on the same phenomena has been largely ignored. This study intends to fill some of this gap. This paper proposes that American educated and trained foreign military personnel return home with a better understanding about the role of the military as an instrument of national power, civil-military relations, and the cost of war. These military personnel advise their political masters against the use of military force during international disputes leading to a decreased probability of both MID initiation and escalation. To test this argument the analysis employs a merged dataset from the Correlates of War Projects and the most prominent U.S. IMET and coups data. Using logistic regression analysis this study finds that more U.S. IMET support a country receives the less likely it initiates MIDs. The analysis also finds that countries that receive U.S. IMET support are less likely to escalate ongoing MIDs to higher levels of hostility.


Abstract:"We endeavoured with some tools our servants had, to carry some pieces of it with us," Caroline Powys wrote of her visit to Stonehenge in 1759. "Tho' our party were chiefly female," she remarked, "we had no more curiosity than the learn'd gentlemen of the Royal Society." Carolyn was not alone in challenging the gendered demarcation of scientific observation. From the second half of the century, British women travelers carefully packed minerals in cases, filled bags with botanical specimens, and roamed the shores in search of shells and seaweed. This article proposes that British women of the late eighteenth century used the empirical approach promoted by their polite scientific education to turn their leisured travels into knowledgefinding pursuits. The specimens and observations that they brought home played an overlooked role in allowing them to shape themselves as authoritative observers within the larger scientific knowledge-building enterprise that drew from the diffusion of Enlightenment classificatory systems, overseas exploration, and trade. This article brings to light four understudied eighteenth-century female empiricists: the mistress of Hardwick House, Whitchurch, Oxfordshire, Caroline Lybbe Powys (1738–1817); the first woman to publish a Grand Tour account, Lady Anna Miller (1741–81) of Batheaston, Somerset; the unmarried daughter of the rector of Thornton in Craven, Yorkshire, Dorothy Richardson (1748–1819); and the Whig political salon hostess, Lady Elizabeth Holland (1732–95). Each woman is of interest in her own right, but together, as I will argue, their scientific contributions add significantly to the ongoing investigation of the role that women played in developing Enlightenment science.


We present a constructive approach to torsion-free gradings of Lie algebras. Our main result is the computation of a maximal grading. Given a Lie algebra, using its maximal grading we enumerate all of its torsion-free gradings as well as its positive gradings. As applications, we classify gradings in low dimension, we consider the enumeration of Heintze groups, and we give methods to find bounds for non-vanishing $\ell^{q,p}$ cohomology.


The current study investigated the impact of a severe environmental stressor and the role that declining social integration played in mediating its effect on loneliness and immune status. Increased loneliness and decreased social support in the months following the stressor (storm) were significantly associated with increased HHV-6 antibody titers, reflecting poorer control over the virus. Poorer social integration mediated the relationship between loneliness and HHV-6, even after controlling for nonspecific polyclonal B-cell activation, disease status (CD3+CD4+ cell counts), living arrangements, acute social losses (bereavement), and potential disruptions in social-support resources. These findings suggest that specific elements of social support may explain the oft-noted negative effects of loneliness on the immune system, and generalized to a medically vulnerable population.


Supraventricular tachycardia is a documented feature of Marfan syndrome. The safety and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation in this population of patients, however, has not been reported. We report on the successful use of radiofrequency ablation utilizing a trans-septal approach for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia produced by an accessory muscular atrioventricular connection in a patient with Marfan syndrome.


In the present study we examined the role of 'Murraya koenigii' in diabetic wound healing, whether its hypolipidemic activity plays a vital role in cytokine production, as local cytokines production fluctuate during Cutaneous wound, diabetes and in hyperlipidemia. The activity of 'Murraya koenigii' was compared with Pravastatin and Glibenclamide. In blood parameter study Murraya koenigii aqueous extract showed significant (p<0.001) anti-hyperglycemic activity and anti-hyperlipidemic activity in diabetic hyperlipidemic rats when compared to the diabetic hyperlipidemic control group. Murraya koenigii was found to be more potent for its hypolipidemic activity as compare to hypoglycemic activity because the Murraya koenigii showed no significant (p>0.05) difference for its hypoglycemic activity (decreasing fasting blood glucose level) at dose level 400mg/kg in diabetic hyperlipidemic rats when compared to the normal control group rats and in the case of its hypolipidemic activity (decreasing lipid level) it showed no significant difference at dose level 300 mg/kg only. In the excision wound model, animals treated with Murraya koenigii (200mg/kg, 300mg/kg and 400mg/kg) leaves aqueous extract showed significant reduction in period of epithelisation and wound contraction 50% when compared to the diabetic hyperlipidemic control group rats. In this wound model very significant(p<0.001) result was found with 300mg/kg dose level because the effect was dose dependent up to 300mg equivalent of extract. The groups treated with Murraya koenigii and Pravastatin showed more significant effect for excision wound healing than Glibenclamide treated group. These results clearly indicate that the hypolipidemic property of Murraya koenigii and Pravastatin may promote the epithelization and rate of wound contraction.


Abstract Piscivorous birds in aquatic ecosystems exert predation pressure on fish populations. But the site‐specific impact on fish populations, including stocked and commercially used fish species, remains disputed. One of the key questions for the management of piscivorous birds and fish is determining the origin of prey and thus which fish populations are targeted by the birds. We addressed this question by provenancing otoliths (earstones) of fish obtained from regurgitated pellets of piscivorous birds by otolith microchemistry analysis. We retrieved otoliths from regurgitated pellets of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) collected every 2 weeks for 2 years from breeding and roosting colonies at Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany, and classified them according to family or species. We collected water samples from Chiemsee and potential surrounding foraging grounds. We measured the strontium (Sr) 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio and Sr mass fraction of water and otoliths using (laser ablation) inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. We assigned otoliths from regurgitated pellets to habitat clusters of origin by comparing the Sr isotopic and elemental composition of otoliths and waterbodies. In 36% of cormorant pellets collected at Chiemsee, prey was assigned to waterbodies distinct from Chiemsee. Furthermore, cormorants used different foraging sites during 1 day. Microchemical provenancing of prey remains can contribute to identifying foraging sites of piscivorous birds and to what extend the birds switched among foraging sites.


We consider a nearest-neighbor four state hard-core (HC) model on the homogeneous Cayley tree of order $k$. The Hamiltonian of the model is considered on a set of "admissible" configurations. Admissibility is specified through a graph with four vertices. We first exhibit conditions (on the graph and on the parameters) under which the model has a unique Gibbs measure. Next we turn on some specific cases. Namely, first we study, in case of particular graph (diamond), translation-invariant and periodic Gibbs measures. We provide in both cases the equations of the transition lines separating uniqueness from non--uniqueness regimes. Finally the same is done for "fertile" graphs, the so--called stick, gun, and key (here only translation invariant states are taken into account).


A population genetic study was carried out on six populations (two Li populations, two Miao populations, one Hui population, and one Han population) in Hainan Island, Southern China. Allele frequency data for these six populations and those for some other Asian populations were used to estimate genetic distances between populations, and genetic affinity dendrograms and networks were constructed by using UPGMA and the neighbor-joining method, respectively The two Li populations showed a close relationship, while the two Miao populations were relatively distant from each other. These six populations of Hainan Island showed a close affinity with Zhuang of Southern China, Thailanders, and Javanese, but they are distant from populations around northern China (Japanese, Mongolian, and Korean). Divergence time between the Li-Miao group and Japanese was estimated to be roughly 19, 000-26, 000 years.


This paper presents recent extensions to our ongoing effort in developing speech recognition for automatic mispronunciation detection and diagnosis in the interlanguage of Chinese learners of English. We have developed a set of context-sensitive phonological rules based on cross-language (Cantonese versus English) analysis which has also been validated against common mispronunciations observed from the learners interlanguage. These rules are represented as finite state transducers which can generate an extended recognition network (ERN) based on arbitrary canonical pronunciations. The ERN includes not only standard English pronunciations but also common mispronunciations of learners. Recognition with the ERN enables the speech recognizer to phonetically transcribe the learner's input speech. This transcription can be compared with the canonical pronunciations to identify the location(s) and type(s) of phonetic differences, thus facilitating mispronunciation detection and diagnoses. We have developed a prototype implementation known as the CHELSEA system and have validated the approach based on a new, annotated test set of 600 utterances recorded from 100 Cantonese learners of English. The approach achieves a false rejection rate (i.e. system identifies a phone as incorrect when it is actually correctly pronounced) of 13.6%; as well as a false acceptance rate (i.e. system identifies a phone as correct when it is actually mispronounced) of 44.7%. Among the detected errors, the system can correctly diagnose 54.8% of the mispronunciations.


Intense seismicity in the Long Valley caldera area of California last summer may have been hydrothermally driven and triggered by escalating magmatic unrest in the resurgent dome area, results from the MAMMOTH 97 Seismic Experiment suggest. The experiment involved enhanced seismic monitoring in an area that is already closely watched for earthquake activity. Sophisticated instruments were placed in the caldera's south moat section, Mammoth Mountain, and the Casa Diablo geothermal area (Figure 1). In early July, just as the enhanced network became fully operational, there was a major increase in seismic activity.

Preliminary analysis has yielded new insights into the structure and tectonics of the south moat and suggests the activity occurred above a vertical, east-west trending, dike-like structure beneath the moat. A series of vigorous swarms was accompanied by accelerated inflation of the resurgent dome (Figure 2). The permanent network in the area, using single-component analog instruments, recorded more than 1,600 earthquakes of magnitude up to 3.5 during July and August, but the MAMMOTH network, with three-component digital instruments, located about six times as many (Figure 3). About 63 "long period" (LP) earthquakes west of Mammoth Mountain were also recorded (Figures 1 and 4).


Aim. The paper presents prevalence and disturbances of cardiac rhythm and conduction in children with a single ventricle (SV) at different stages of hemodynamic defect correction. It also analyzes risk factors of arrhythmia.Materials and methods. A total of 70 patients with SV was performed all stages of hemodynamic correction of defect. To assess disorders of rhythm and conduction, echocardiography, pulseoxymetry, cardiac catheterization, pulmonary angiography, ECG, and Holter monitoring were performed before and after surgery on all children at every stage of hemodynamic correction.Results. Absence of heart rhythm disturbances (HRD) at 1st stage of hemodynamic correction was 98.1%, at 2nd – 80%, at 3rd – 48.6% and at 4th – 41.5%. Sinus node dysfunction is the most often HRD from the second stage of hemodynamic correction. Statistical analysis showed significant decrease of saturation ((73 ± 12) и (81 ± 4)% correspondingly, p < 0.05) and increase of average pressure in the pulmonary artery after TCPC ((9.6 ± 4.2) and (11.5 ± 5.8)% correspondingly, p < 0.05) in children with heart rhythm disturbances in comparison to children without arrhythmias. The average age of children with arrhythmias after TCPC and after fenestration closure, correspondingly, was significantly higher than in the group of children without arrhythmias ((72 ± 43) mon and (52 ± 27) mon correspondingly, p < 0.05). Studies of arrhythmias in children with SV require follow-up as they significantly influence on the disease and life quality.


ABSTRACT The takeoff-mass of a two-stage-to-orbit Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Engine-Rocket (RBCC-RKT) launch vehicle is a crucial factor in its comprehensive performance. This paper optimizes the takeoff-mass together with the trajectory by reformulating it to a nonlinear optimal control problem. The range of the second stage rocket mass is considered as a process constraint. When the scopes of initial and terminal states are specified, the problem can be solved by using the Gauss pseudo-spectral method (GPM). In order to reduce the convergent difficulty caused by using table data, the data in different stages are utilized by employing an integrated interpolation strategy through the optimization. Simulation results show that the mass can be effectively optimized to meet the inertia mass ratio constraint of the first-stage, and the separation of Mach number and altitude can be optimized at the same time.


The common action of oxytocin on the smooth musculature of the uterus and on the renal excretion of sodium, potassium, and water suggests a relationship between the two effects. In order to investigate this possibility, the action of oxytocin treated with chymotrypsin and with sodium thioglycollate on sodium, potassium, and water excretion was studied. These agents greatly reduce the uterotonic activity of the hormone as well as its effect on electrolyte and water excretion in rats. Equivalent uterotonic doses of oxytocin, Val3-oxytocin, and Phe2-Tyr3-oxytocin were assayed on the excretion of electrolytes and water. Excretion of sodium and potassium produced by Val3-oxytocin was less than that produced by oxytocin. Phe2-Tyr3-oxytocin was approximately one-ninth as active as oxytocin in this respect. In studies with low doses of oxytocin it was established that 0.25 mU was necessary to increase sodium excretion while 0.5 mU had to be administered in order to increase potassium as well.


Abstract Roost use by bats is likely affected by their water balance and thermoregulatory abilities. To test this hypothesis, we explored the relationship between 4 traits of different species of bats (body size, general food habits, taxonomic group, and thermoregulatory pattern) and microclimates at roosts (temperature and humidity). We recorded roost variables and presence of bats in 18 caves from 5 contrasting biomes in central Mexico. There was little evidence of microclimatic specificity among the 23 species studied, but maternity colonies used warmer roosts and hibernating bats used cooler roosts. Heterothermic species (Vespertilionidae) used colder caves with the widest temperature range (1.6–29.8°C), whereas homeothermic species (Emballonuridae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, and Natalidae) occupied warmer roosts (14.5–37.5°C). Within these caves, precise (narrow body temperature range) homeotherms occupied slightly cooler roosts than more labile homeotherms. Body size alone was not associated with cave use patterns. However, when homeotherms and heterotherms were examined separately, body size and temperature were negatively correlated. The smallest homeothermic insectivorous species (<10 g) consistently occupied roosts with temperatures >20°C (more often >25°C), whereas only the largest homeothermic insectivores were found as low as 16°C. Frugivorous, nectarivorous, and sanguivorous bats were found in a wide range of temperatures (14.5–37°C), but often at <20°C. Humidity in roosts was highly variable for most species and we did not detect any trend regarding this factor. Our data suggest that the thermoregulatory ability resulting from the complex interaction of body size, type of food, and taxonomic affiliation constrains species with respect to types of roosts that they can successfully exploit. Our results support the hypothesis that temperature is the most important physical factor influencing roost selection in bats.


Presenilins (PSs) are part of the γ-secretase complex that produces the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) from its precursor [β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP)]. Mutations in PS that cause familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) increase Aβ production and trigger p53-dependent cell death. We demonstrate that PS deficiency, catalytically inactive PS mutants, γ-secretase inhibitors, and βAPP or amyloid precursor protein-like protein 2 (APLP2) depletion all reduce the expression and activity of p53 and lower the transactivation of its promoter and mRNA expression. p53 expression also is diminished in the brains of PS- or βAPP-deficient mice. The γ- and ε-secretase-derived amyloid intracellular C-terminal domain (AICD) fragments (AICDC59 and AICDC50, respectively) of βAPP trigger p53-dependent cell death and increase p53 activity and mRNA. Finally, PS1 mutations enhance p53 activity in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and p53 expression in FAD-affected brains. Thus our study shows that AICDs control p53 at a transcriptional level, in vitro and in vivo, and that FAD mutations increase p53 expression and activity in cells and human brains.


Left ventriculography with simultaneous pressure micromanometry was performed in 11 normal control subjects and 17 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Left ventricular silhouettes in the right anterior oblique projection were divided into eight areas, and regional wall stress was computed by Janz's method in each area excluding the two most basal areas. Wall stress was higher in DCM patients than in control subjects (p less than 0.01). The percent area changes from end diastole to end systole in each area were lower in DCM patients than in control subjects (mean for six areas, 22 +/- 14% versus 54 +/- 9%, respectively, p less than 0.01), but the coefficient of variation for the percent area changes in the six areas of the left ventricle in DCM patients was greater than that in control subjects (32 +/- 17% versus 15 +/- 4%, respectively, p less than 0.01), indicating regional differences in hypokinesis. There was a significant negative correlation between end-systolic regional wall stress and percent area change (r = -0.60 to -0.86, p less than 0.05) in each area. Thus, excessive regional afterload may play an important role in causing regional hypokinesis in DCM.


High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) are used to study the ion induced effects in Au, Ag nanostructures grown on Si and thermally grown SiO2 substrates. Au and Ag films (~2 nm) are prepared by thermal evaporation under high vacuum condition at room temperature (RT). These films were irradiated with MeV Au ions also at RT. Very thin films of Au and Ag deposited on silicon substrates (with native oxide) form isolated nano-island structures due to the non-wetting nature of Au and Ag. Ion irradiation causes embedding of these nanoislands into the substrate. For Ag nanoislands with diameter 15 - 45 nm, the depth of the embedding increases with ion fluence and the nano particles are fully submerged into Si and SiO$_2$ substrate at a fluence of 5*10^14 ions /cm^2 without any mixing. Au nanoparticles (diameter 6 - 20 nm), upon ion irradiation, forms embedded gold-silicide in the case of Si substrate and show lack of mixing and silicide formation in the case of SiO2 substrate system.


Rapid, local drainage of surface meltwater to the base of the Greenland ice sheet is thought to result in surface velocity variations as far inland as the equilibrium zone (Zwally and others, 2002). Ice-penetrating radar surveys throughout this region allow us to characterize englacial drainage features that appear as vertically stacked diffraction hyperbolae in common-offset profiles. These data are used with a radar-simulation model, which allows for variations in geometry, penetration depth and infill material, to understand the characteristics of these hyperbolae and the likelihood that they are produced by moulins. We find only a moderate correlation between the locations of these possible moulins and supraglacial lakes, indicating that many lakes drain over the surface of the ice sheet, or do not contain sufficient water to reach the bed through moulin formation. We find a strong correlation between moulin location in the ablation region and elevated along-flow tension (due to flow over rough bedrock), which generates surface crevassing and provides an entry point for meltwater. Although theory suggests that moulins may form anywhere on the ice sheet given sufficient meltwater input, our data suggest that they are far more common in the ablation zone than near, or inland from, the equilibrium line.


This study attempts to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interrelationships among chief financial officers' (CFOs') professional qualifications, SOX Section 404 internal control weakness, CFOs' turnover, CFOs' qualification improvement, and correction of material weaknesses. We find that firms receiving initial adverse SOX 404 opinions for 2004 have less qualified CFOs. Adverse SOX 404 opinion recipients experience more CFO turnover in 2005, and these firms are more likely to hire CFOs having improved qualifications. Results show that simply hiring a new CFO is not associated with SOX 404 opinion improvement. Opinion improvement requires hiring a better qualified CFO.


In insects, lipase enzymes have key roles in utilizing, storing and transmitting lipids. Experimental compounds such as metal salts like potassium phosphate, magnesium nitrate and NaCl, buffers like EDTA and Tris, SDS and ethanol are commonly used in laboratory studies, and lack of knowledge to their possible effects on enzyme activity can lead to inaccurate conclusions in studies involve these enzymes. In this study, effects of these compounds on midgut lipase activity of Galleria mellonella that is an ideal insect for physiologic researchs for It's simple rearing and large larvae, are evaluated. In order to this, The last instar larvae were dissected, samples were obtained and the effects of these compounds on enzyme activity were measured spectrophotometrically in 5 different concentrations. As obtained results, enzyme activity was reduced by 75% ethanol, 5 mMol magnesium nitrate and various concentrations of SDS, and was increased by NaCl and potassium phosphate in 5 mMol concentration. Concentrations up to 4 mMol of NaCl, potassium phosphate and magnesium nitrate, and also concentrations of 25, 50, 85 and 96 % of ethanol had no effect on enzyme activity.


The species composition of dung beetles in primary forest and secondary forest at Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary, Songkhla province, southern Thailand, was compared. Traps baited with pig dung were placed along line transects running through the two forest types. Species diversity and abundance of dung beetles were examined every 2 months from April 1999 to May 2000. Species diversity of dung beetles was significantly higher in the primary forest than in the secondary forest. Seven out of 20 species were found exclusively in the primary forest, namely Microcopris reflexus, Oniticellus tessellatus, Onthophagus near pilularius, O. taeniatus, O. ventralis, O. sp.3 and O. sp.4. Differences in forest structure, native animals present, and physical factors were suggested to be the factors determining species composition in the two forests. More individuals were trapped in the dry season than in the wet season in both forest types. However, seasonal effects on species diversity were not found. Tiniocellus sarawacus and Microcopris reflexus, were recorded for the first time in Thailand. Onthophagus sp.1 and O. sp.2 are expected to be new to science.


There has been much discussion in the literature about applying the radiative electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) requirement to GUT models with supergravity. We motivate and discuss the application of the EWSB requirement to the low $\tan\beta$ fixed-point region and describe the solutions we find.


The notion of a martyr, or martys, has undergone a significant conceptual shift since its first attestation in the Iliad, where the martyroi are those witnesses who punish oath-violators with gruesome deaths rather than those who suffer gruesome deaths, as in later usage. This essay traces the conceptual shift of the Greek term martys from the Homeric precedent through the Book of Revelation. Then it explores the visual focus on dying in the Iliad and in ancient martyr texts, as well as some rhetorical means for conveying it. It concludes with a glance at some common ritual features between the Iliad's oath-sacrifices and Christian martyr spectacles.


We consider the challenging problem of entity typing over an extremely fine grained set of types, wherein a single mention or entity can have many simultaneous and often hierarchically-structured types. Despite the importance of the problem, there is a relative lack of resources in the form of fine-grained, deep type hierarchies aligned to existing knowledge bases. In response, we introduce TypeNet, a dataset of entity types consisting of over 1941 types organized in a hierarchy, obtained by manually annotating a mapping from 1081 Freebase types to WordNet. We also experiment with several models comparable to state-of-the-art systems and explore techniques to incorporate a structure loss on the hierarchy with the standard mention typing loss, as a first step towards future research on this dataset.


Hyperparameter optimization (HPO) is a well-studied research field. However, the effects and interactions of the components in an HPO pipeline are not yet well investigated. Then, we ask ourselves: can the landscape of HPO be biased by the pipeline used to evaluate individual configurations? To address this question, we proposed to analyze the effect of the HPO pipeline on HPO problems using fitness landscape analysis. Particularly, we studied the DS-2019 HPO benchmark data set, looking for patterns that could indicate evaluation pipeline malfunction, and relate them to HPO performance. Our main findings are: (i) In most instances, large groups of diverse hyperparameters (i.e., multiple configurations) yield the same ill performance, most likely associated with majority class prediction models; (ii) in these cases, a worsened correlation between the observed fitness and average fitness in the neighborhood is observed, potentially making harder the deployment of local-search based HPO strategies. Finally, we concluded that the HPO pipeline definition might negatively affect the HPO landscape.


A representative sample of 310 long-term unemployed in Norway was followed for 2 years with clinical examinations and the AUDIT questionnaire. 30% of the men and 8% of the women scored over the cut-off point for an alcohol use disorder. This gives a probable prevalence of 16%. The test predicted return to employment in this sample. The AUDIT answers were also used as a basis for dividing into three groups: 'normal', 'hazardous' and 'harmful'. At 2 year follow-up, 27% had changed group, 32 respondents to the worse and 24 to the better. This 'unstable' group was characterized by weaker social network and more frequent drinking. The AUDIT was judged as a useful instrument both in a routine health examination and as an epidemiological tool.


Metabolism of the anabolic steroidal hormone methandrostenolone in Wistar rats was studied by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and redioisotope techniques. The conditions for isolation of methandrostenolone metabolites by HPLC were developed. Reduction of the double bonds was shown to be an early stage in methandrostenolone biotransformation. The main portion of the metabolites was excreted with urine as glucuronide conjugates. No sulfoesters were found.


Mercury (Hg) in some Arctic marine mammals has increased to levels that may be toxic to Northern peoples consuming them as traditional food. It has been suggested that sunlight-induced atmospheric reactions called springtime atmospheric Hg depletion events (AMDEs) result in the loading of -150-300 tons of Hg to the Canadian Arctic archipelago each spring and that AMDEs are the ultimate source of Hg to Arctic foodwebs. AMDEs result from the oxidation of gaseous elemental Hg0 (GEM) in Arctic atmospheres to reactive gaseous Hg (RGM) and particulate Hg (pHg), both of which fall out of the atmosphere to snowpacks. We studied the springtime cycling of Hg between air and snowpacks near Churchill, Manitoba, for 2 years to determine the net input of Hg to Hudson Bay from AMDEs. In 2004, we monitored atmospheric concentrations of GEM, pHg, and RGM while simultaneously measuring concentrations of total Hg (THg) in surface snow collected over the sea ice on Hudson Bay. During numerous springtime AMDEs, concentrations of THg in surface snow increased, often to over 60 ng/L, demonstrating that AMDEs resulted in deposition of oxidized Hg (Hg(II)) to snowpacks. However, immediatelyfollowing AMDEs, average concentrations of THg in snow declined drastically from between 67.8+/-7.7 ng/L during AMDEs to only 4.25+/-1.85 ng/L four or more days following them. In 2003, we measured THg in surface snow collected daily over the sea ice and total gaseous Hg (TGM) concentrations in the interstitial airspaces of snowpacks. When concentrations of THg in the surface snow decreased, concentrations of TGM in interstitial airspaces of the snowpack increased sharply from between approximately 1.4-3.4 ng/m(3) to between approximately 20-150 ng/m(3), suggesting thatthere was a reduction of deposited Hg(II) to GEM, which then diffused out of snowpacks. At snowmelt in both 2003 and 2004, average concentrations of THg in meltwater collected over Hudson Bay were only 4.04+/-2.01 ng/L. Using concentrations of THg in meltwater and snow water equivalent, we estimated a net springtime loading of only 2.1+/-1.7 mg/ha of Hg to Hudson Bay from AMDEs, indicating that only a small portion of the Hg(II) deposited during AMDEs enters Hudosn Bay each spring.


From the polynomial approach to the definition of opetopes of Kock et al., we derive a category of opetopes, and show that its set-valued presheaves, or opetopic sets, are equivalent to many-to-one polygraphs. As an immediate corollary, we establish that opetopic sets are equivalent to multitopic sets, introduced and studied by Harnick et al, and we also address an open question of Henry.


The digital revolution has advanced human society in undeniably profound ways. But not all the changes have been improvements. The collateral damage acknowledged as consequences of the Digital Age includes the emboldened threat of invasion of privacy, the development and proliferation of online deception, and the tragedies of cyberbullying and perpetual harassment, among others. And while sexting converts hormonal teenagers into self-pornographers, the world wide web's permanent memory banks rob young and old users of the chance to erase the scarlet letters of their digital pasts. As for human memory, it has eroded as its technological supplements have become its substitutes.


For the HLS-bunch current measurement system,in order to obtain the absolute value of bunch current,the calibration factor should be determined by using DCCT.At the HLS storage ring,the stretch efect of bunch length is observed and the change rate is about 19% when the bunch current decays over time and this will afect the performance of bunch current detection.To overcome the bunch stretch influence in the HLS-bunch current measurement,an evaluation about pickup type and signal processing is carried out.Strip-line pickup and button pickup are selectable,and the theoretical analysis and demonstration experiment are performed to find out an acceptable solution for the bunch current measurement system at HLS-.The experimental data analysis shows that the normalized calibration factor will change by about 27% when the bunch length changes by about 19% if using the button pickup and processing by peak value of bunch signal;the influence will be reduced to 2% less if adopting the strip-line pickup and integral.


Between the 'home' territory of the Roman people in the Italian peninsula and the tribes of Gaul and Germany lay two provinces – Cisalpine Gaul, most of whose population were actually already Roman citizens or in possession of Latin rights, and Transalpine Gaul, a province only since 121 B.C., but already in Caesar's time displaying a developed urban civilization based on the Greek model, under the influence of Massilia. By the end of the first century B.C. well-to-do Romans considered the schools of Massilia an acceptable alternative to those of Athens for their sons' higher studies (Strabo 4.1.5). On the fringes of the Province, however, and beyond in Gaul proper were the 'long-haired' Gauls (hence Gallia Comata) and beyond them the German tribes. Only occasionally had these presented any real and immediate threat to the security of the Italian peninsula. Nevertheless, they were present in Roman consciousness as a kind of bogeymen. In 44 B.C., the founding charter of Urso, a Julian colony in southern Spain, included a provision that certain minor public officials should be exempt from military service except tumultus Italici Gallicive causa (ILS 6087). Events of this nature were hardly likely to necessitate conscription in southern Spain, but this clause was clearly taken over from the standard charter of an Italian municipality, where these were seen as possible emergencies.


Abstract Case reports suggest a link between anticoagulant use and improved migraine symptoms, and a role for platelet-induced cerebral vasoconstriction in migraine pathobiology. Hence, we investigated the mechanism by which warfarin may affect migraine symptoms and whether there is a change in migraine symptomology in patients initiating oral anticoagulants, most commonly warfarin. The effects of warfarin on human platelet aggregation and secretion as well as platelet-induced rat cerebral artery vasoconstriction were studied. A survey of migraine and symptom change after starting or stopping oral anticoagulants was also conducted. Warfarin inhibited platelet aggregation and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. Warfarin-inhibited platelet secretion products constricted middle cerebral arteries from male but not from female rats. For the survey, patient demographic information, migraine and medical history, and Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS) changes were collected. Out of 175 consenting, 40 respondents met the criteria for migraine and completed the survey. A total of 11 patients reported migraine symptom change, all coinciding with starting warfarin. Of those having symptom and MIDAS improvement, most were female with migraines with aura, whereas those worsening were male with fewer having migraine with aura. Of those reporting migraine symptom change with warfarin, female sex may be associated with improved MIDAS, and those experiencing an aura component are more likely to report a symptom change. Warfarin-mediated symptom improvement in females may occur due to inhibition of platelet 5-HT secretion and a lower sensitivity of female cerebral blood vessels to platelet-derived 5-HT-induced vasoconstriction.


Background: Brain relaxation and prevention from cerebral edema are essential in craniectomy. Osmotherapy with 20% mannitol are generally used to withdraw fluid from the brain parenchyma, however may cause hemodynamic fluctuation, due to increase diuresis. On the other hand 0.5 M hypertonic sodium lactate (HSL) appeared as an alternative of osmotherapy. This study  aimed to observe the effect of hypertonic sodium lactate (HSL) on brain relaxation, blood glucose level and hemodynamic variables in craniectomy due to moderate brain injury. Methods: A randomized controlled study of 42 cases with moderate brain injury, aged 18 - 65 years, ASA 1 - 3, between September-November 2012, was carried out. The patients were divided into group M (n = 21) that received 2.5 mL/kg 20% mannitol and group HSL that received 2.5 mL/kg 0.5M HSL. Mean arterial pressures (MAP), central venous pressures (CVP) and urine output were measured after induction, and at 15, 30, 45, 60 min after infusion. Brain relaxation was assessed at a four-point scale after opening the duramater. Blood glucose levels were measured before induction and at 60 min after the infusion. Appropriate statistical tests were used for comparison. Unpaired t-test was used to compare hemodynamic and blood glucose level, and chi-square was used to compare brain relaxation. Results: MAP at 60 minute was significantly higher in HSL group than M group (81.66 ± 7.85 vs 74.33 ± 6.18 mmHg; p = 0.002). There was no difference in brain relaxation (p = 0.988). A significant increase in blood glucose level was observed in group HSL (17.95 ± 11.46 mg/dL; p = 0.001). Conclusion: Half-molar HSL was as effective as 20% mannitol in producing brain relaxation, with better hemodynamic stability and gave significant increase in blood glucose level. Keywords: brain relaxation, hemodynamic, hypertonic sodium lactate, mannitol, traumatic brain injury


Stationary complex-valued functionals are discussed and seen to have unique stationary points if they are analytic, which corresponds to analyticity of functions in complex-valued function theory. As an application, the problem of wave propagation in a circular waveguide with an impedance boundary and the corresponding two-dimensional resonator are discussed. It is seen that the variational method for nonstandard eigenvalue problems, introduced a few years ago, can be generalised to complex-valued functionals if the functional is analytic. The method can be applied to result in simple analytic formulas for the waveguide with impedance boundaries.


A clinico-cytochemical examination of 47 patients with mycosis pedis is presented. The author established that these patients showed an inhibition of the phagocytic activity of neutrophils due to imbalance of acid and alkaline phosphatases. It is considered justified to use diuciphon as a means of unspecific immunocorrection.


The location of carcinogen-modified nucleobases (DNA adducts) within DNA sequences is a critical factor affecting their promutagenic properties and persistence in DNA. We now report the use of controlled exonuclease digestion followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to directly map modified nucleobases within DNA. The DNA sequence is determined by mass spectral analysis of the DNA ladders produced by sequential removal of nucleotides with either 5'-->3' or 3'-->5' exonuclease. Individual mononucleotides are identified from the mass differences between adjacent peaks corresponding to singly charged ions of the products of enzymatic cleavage. Chemically modified nucleotides are detected and identified by their molecular weight. The resolution and mass accuracy of this approach are sufficient to identify nucleobase modifications differing in mass by as little as 2 Da. No a priori information on the DNA sequence or adduct type is required. We demonstrate the general applicability of this method by sequencing synthetic oligonucleotides containing a range of nucleobase modifications: O(6)-methylguanine, peroxynitrite-induced oxidative lesions (oxaluric acid, oxazolone, cyanuric acid), and the N(2)-guanine adduct of (+,-)-7r,8t-dihydroxy-9t,10t-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydribenzo[a]pyrene. Sequence information is also obtained for DNA oligodeoxynucleotides containing O(6)-pyridyloxobutylguanine, despite the ability of this lesion to block 3'-phosphodiesterase.


We study basic geometric properties of some group analogue of affine Springer fibers and compare with the classical Lie algebra affine Springer fibers. The main purpose is to formulate a conjecture that relates the number of irreducible components of such varieties for a reductive group $G$ to certain weight multiplicities defined by the Langlands dual group $\hat{G}$. We prove our conjecture in the case of unramified conjugacy class.


This paper presents the state of the art of high-Q TE01 mode DR cavity filters for PCS wireless base station applications. In order to have TE01 mode filter to be competitive with other high-Q cavity technologies, employment of nonadjacent coupling to implement advanced filter features and easy filter machining and integration are essential. The quadruplet and trisections are regarded as basic blocks to implement symmetric and asymmetric transmission zeros in filter stop band. The relative alignment of the magnetic mode field across the coupled adjacent cavities is analyzed to identify the sign of nonadjacent coupling. A direct cascading of a wide band combine filter to a TE01 mode dielectric resonator (DR) filter is proposed to suppress the spurious response of the DR cavity filter. This approach simplifies the integration between the DR filter and the spurious suppression device and has been proved to be very cost effective. Experimental eight- and six-pole quasi-elliptic function filters show the typical performances. To take advantage of the special property of magnetic mode field alignment across the adjacent cavities, a five-pole canonical asymmetric filter with three transmission zeros in low side is implemented. We believe this filter is a new design for high-Q cavity filter, while a three-pole elliptic function filter is new for DR filter technology.


We explore the vexing question of whether family firms are more likely to survive than nonfamily firms, focusing on the role of board composition. Utilizing a unique data set of over 700,000 private family and nonfamily firms in the U.K. during 2007–2010, we find that family firms are significantly less likely to fail than nonfamily firms. We identify the board characteristics associated with survival/failure in all firms and determine that it is these characteristics that are important in explaining the lower failure probability of family firms. We conclude with an agenda for further research on boards and family firm survival.


In various multi-terminal communication scenarios, contrary to point-to-point communication, characterization of fundamental limits such as capacity and error exponent is still an open problem. We study such fundamental limits and the structure of optimality achieving codes. This thesis consists of two parts: in the first part, we investigate the role of algebraic structures in multi-terminal communications. We show the necessity of various types of algebraic structure in capacity achieving codes and argue that the lack of such structures in the conventional random codes leads to their sub-optimality. We develop a new class of partially structured codes called quasi-structured code (QSC). Such codes span the spectrum from completely structured to completely unstructured codes. It is shown that the application of QSCs leads to improvements over the current coding strategies for many problems including distributed source coding and multiple-access channel (MAC) with feedback. In the second part of the thesis, we study the optimal error exponent in various multi-terminal communication scenarios. We derive a lower and upper bound on the error exponent of discrete memoryless MAC with noiseless feedback and variablelength codes (VLCs). The bounds increase linearly with respect to a specific Euclidean distance measure defined between the transmission rate pair and the capacity boundary. The bounds are shown to be tight for specific classes of MACs.


The objective of this study was to optimize the extraction conditions for phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity from Deglet-Nour variety. The extraction of active components from natural sources depends on different factors. The knowledge of the effects of different extraction parameters is useful for the optimization of the process, as well for the ability to predict the extraction yield. The effects of extraction variables, namely types of solvent (methanol, ethanol and acetone) and extraction time (1h, 6h, 12h and 24h) on phenolics extraction yield were evaluated. It has been shown that the time of extraction and types of solvent have a statistically significant influence on the extraction of phenolic compounds from Deglet-Nour variety. The optimised conditions yielded values of 80.19 ± 6.37 mg GAE/100 g FW for TPC, 2.34 ± 0.27 mg QE/100 g FW for TFC and 90.20 ± 1.29% for antioxidant activity were methanol solvent and 6 hours of time. According to the results obtained in this study, Deglet-Nour variety can be considered as a natural source of phenolic compounds with good antioxidant capacity. Keywords—Deglet-Nour variety, Date palm Fruit, Phenolic compounds, Total flavonoids, Antioxidant activity, Extraction, Optimization.


Lindane is a toxic and bioaccumulative organochlorine pesticide. Its extensive use resulted in environmental contamination and need for bioremediation. In the present study bacterium identified as Ochrobactrum sp. strain A15 exhibited highest percentage degradation (83.7% of 10 mg L–1 lindane) within 15 days. Lindane biodegradation efficiency of this strain increased by 10.7% in the presence of root exudates of Acorus calamus. Also, the average lindane biodegradation rate increased and its half-life decreased, when supplemented with root exudates. Ochrobactrum sp. A15 showed indole acetic acid production, hydrogen cyanide production, ammonia production, phosphate solubilization and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity. Presence of pesticide had a negative effect on hydrogen cyanide production ability and decrease in indole acetic acid production and phosphorus production. No effect on 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity and ammonia production activity by bacteria was observed in the presence of lindane. Therefore, the combination of A. calamus and Ochrobactrum sp. strain A15 has the intrinsic capability to remove lindane and to support plant growth in the existence of lindane and this combination can be exploited for bioremediation of lindane.


The aim of this paper is to study the dynamics of renewable energies in the Arab countries by using statistical tools through the analysis of the international move to renewable energies as an alternative to the traditional energies in the first axis.The second part will analyze and compare the evolution of renewable energies in the Arab countries through dividing them into oil producing countries and non-oil producing ones .In the third axis, tools of econometrics are used to predict the international trend and that of the Arab countries , both oil and non-oil to renewable energy . The last part estimates the standard model about the possible impact of moving energies on economic growth rates in the Arab countries. The study concluded that the growing renewable energies will be different in the constituent countries of the study sample, in addition to the weak impact of the move towards renewable energies on economic growth in the Arab countries.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in anxiety and depressive symptoms between older adult pet owners and non-pet owners after accounting for various correlates. Research findings on the anxiety-relieving and antidepressant effects of late-life pet ownership are mixed and limited. This may be due in part to various characteristics that impact the likelihood of owning a pet. Propensity score matching was used to pair 169 pet owners with 169 non-pet owners aged 70–91 years who participated in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging. One set of propensity scores was created using age, sex, race, rurality, marital status, and income, as well as self-reported health, difficulty with activities of daily living, and difficulty with instrumental activities of daily living. A second set of scores was created using age, sex, race, rurality, marital status, and income. Multiple linear regression analyses were then used to explore the relation between pet ownership status and anxiety or depressive symptoms, controlling for the other symptoms. Pet ownership was significantly associated with lower self-reported anxiety symptoms (β = –0.14) but not depressive symptoms (β = –0.03) in the data matched without health variables. When propensity score matching included health variables, pet ownership was related to neither symptoms of anxiety (β = –0.08) nor depression (β = 0.05). These results suggest that owning a pet in later life is related to fewer anxiety symptoms, over and above the impact of depressive symptoms, even after accounting for various demographic and economic covariates. However, general and functional health appear to be critical to this relation, but the direction of this relation could not be determined from our analyses (i.e., it is not clear whether the relation between pet ownership and anxiety symptoms is confounded by, mediates, or is mediated by health). This study is the first large-scale analysis to find a significant relation between pet ownership and fewer anxiety symptoms in older adults.


The role of PMNL lysosomes was studied in some lesions of the central nervous system with speical regard to multiple sclerosis patients. The significant decrease of acid hydrolases was observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) peripheral blood PMNL lysosomal granula and, in parallel, the increase of lysosome proteins mitogenic potency. The other lesions of the central nervous system such as apoplexy, brain tumors, brain trauma and epilepsy have not shown the MS-like activities of PMNLs. The role of PMNLs in pathogenesis of MS and in the stimulation of immunocompetent cells is suggested.


In this report, we present the technical details of our submission to the EPIC-KITCHENS-100 Unsupervised Domain Adaptation (UDA) Challenge for Action Recognition 2022. This task aims to adapt an action recognition model trained on a labeled source domain to an unlabeled target domain. To achieve this goal, we propose an action-aware domain adaptation framework that leverages the prior knowledge induced from the action recognition task during the adaptation. Specifically, we disentangle the source features into action-relevant features and action-irrelevant features using the learned action classifier and then align the target features with the action-relevant features. To further improve the action prediction performance, we exploit the verb-noun co-occurrence matrix to constrain and refine the action predictions. Our final submission achieved the first place in terms of top-1 action recognition accuracy.


A method is presented to compare the L1c products (calibrated radiance spectra) of the two IASI (In- frared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) instruments on board the two Metop satellites Metop-A and Metop-B. After defining categories of homogenous geophysical/geographical conditions (day/night, ocean/night, clear/overcast), one can produce grand average spectra with the corresponding statistical diagnostics on the L1c spectral grid (8461 channels between 645 and 2760 cm-1 with a spacing of 0.250 cm-1 ). The corresponding spectra are generated monthly for the 30 scan positions (SP) of the scene acquisition mirror and for the 4 pixels (PN or IFOV) of the two IR sounders. These average spectra (with a much reduced noise as compared to one individual IASI spectrum) and the corresponding uncertainty on a channel-by-channel basis (with a Gaussian character check) can then be used to compare the two instruments on the short time scale (month or shorter periods). A pixel-by-pixel comparison of IASI-A and IASI-B is not possible because the two instruments can never "see" the same footprint at the same time, since they are flying 50 min apart on the same orbit. But due to this small time difference, the set of sampled IFOVs used for generating the averages (over given homogeneous categories) should obey the approximation ≅ - . The left term of the equation would be the hypothetical pixel-by-pixel spectral radiance difference of the two sounders if they were sampling the same footprint at the same time. The right hand side term is the difference calculated from the mean of the individual sounders calculated for the various categories over a given time period. A status on the efforts to implement this tool in the EPS monitoring environment and the potential for instrument as well as climate monitoring is presented.


Health behavior change is a long and difficult process that persuasive technology supports through persuasion and social influence. Designers, oftentimes, do not distinguish the different social influence factors, one of which is social comparison (the comparison of an individual's data to that of others). Social comparison is tested by psychologists on health, coping, and wellbeing. However, design guidelines for social comparison features are almost inexistent. This paper explores - through semi-structured interviews - healthcare professionals' perspectives on technology supporting behavior change, and social comparison. The results present five categories the designers can look into and get inspired. Finally, design implications are presented: three design components for a holistic persuasive design, and three questions related to the social comparison features' design in order to help with brainstorming and reflection.


Background: Melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the overall most common type of malignancy. Despite this fact, the use of sunscreen as a primary preventative measure for skin cancer is not ubiquitous.
Objective: To review the literature regarding efficacy and safety of sunscreens and to process and condense data into overarching principles to provide guidance to the general public and improve outcomes for melanoma NMSC.
Methods: A systematic review of the literature pertaining to sunscreen efficacy in the primary prevention of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, safety in humans and environmental impact was conducted. Following a thorough review of the literature, the Skin Cancer Prevention Working Group (SCPWG), an expert panel consisting of dermatologists with specialized training in melanoma and NMSC diagnosis and management, employed a modified Delphi technique to reach consensus over the development of statements regarding the current level of evidence for sunscreen efficacy and safety. Final statements were only adopted after achieving a supermajority vote >80%.
Results: 96 articles were identified for further review and discussion. The SCPWG developed 7 consensus statements regarding the efficacy and safety of sunscreens and their role in the prevention of melanoma and NMSC.
Conclusion: The proven benefits of primary skin cancer prevention outweigh the potential/hypothetical risks of sunscreen use, especially given insufficient real-world, prospective data for the discussed risks. As experts in skin health and skin cancer pathophysiology, the SCPWG believes dermatologists are uniquely qualified to lead future studies investigating sunscreen efficacy and safety and should counsel patients and the public on skin cancer primary prevention strategies.


A cigarette comprises a tobacco rod and a carbon-on-tow filter comprising a fiber tow with flavored or unflavored carbon particles distributed throughout the tow. The carbon particles have high activity in the range of 90 to 115%, preferably 95%. As mainstream smoke is drawn through the filter, gas phase smoke constituents are removed and flavor is released when the particles are flavored. Ventilation is provided to limit the amount of tobacco being combusted during each puff and such ventilation is arranged at a location near the downstream end of the carbon-on-tow filter to lower mainstream smoke velocity through the filter. The filter achieves significant reductions in gas phase constituents of mainstream smoke, including 90% reductions or greater in at least one of 1, 3 butadiene, acrolein, isoprene, propionaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzene, toluene, and 80% reductions or greater in acetaldehyde over extended shelf life of the cigarettes.


Imre Madach's dramatic poem The Tragedy of Man (Az ember tragididja), as Dieter Lotze points out in his outstanding essay on the poet and the drama, "holds a special place in Hungarian culture" and is seen by Hungarians "as the most outstanding combination of philosophy and literature in their culture." It is also, Lotze notes, one of the least nationalistic works in a literature whose basic premise was, and still is, the existence and survival of the nation amidst the historical and political storms of Central Eastern Europe, and whose poets, not coincidentally, assumed the role of tribal shamans, biblical prophets, and opposition politicians over the centuries and became gradually central, though often powerless, characters in the drama of history. Though Madach was a Hungarian patriot and a romantic, his masterful The Tragedy of Man is a unique and enduring testimony of his allegiance to man rather than to nation. Even the influences on his work show his separation from the main currents of romantic and populist Hungary in the nineteenth century: instead of following Herder, Saint-Just, Shelley, or Hugo, Madach turns to Goethe and Hegel for an understanding of man and perception of history. It is all the more surprising that his dramatic and poetic piece has remained virtually unknown in the West, while the names of most of his contemporaries entered the scholarly, and perhaps even the literary, consciousness of the Western world. Lotze's remarkable book, therefore, is a welcome and successful attempt to introduce this curious poet and his strange masterpiece to wider audiences. The development of the poet is clearly etched against the social, historical, and political background and integrated gracefully with the problems of his personal life. The reader becomes acquainted with Madach's roots in antiquity and romanticism as well as with his philosophical interest in Hegel, Schopenhauer, even Feuerbach. We are also introduced to works written before and after The Tragedy of Man, giving us a full view of the inception, development, and implications of this central composition. In an extraordinary chapter Lotze discusses the levels of action in Madach's Tragedy, and one can safely say that this is the best and deepest analytical treatment of the work in either Hungarian or English. Finally, linking the drama with the Faust tradition as well as with European romanticism, Lotze places it in a wider, more complex, and worthier context, as an integral part of Goethe's Weltliteratur. Lotze has written an important and essential introduction to the work of an important and essential poet.


Political developments in Ceylon during the 1950's drew attention to the forward thrust of a social formation in the Sinhala districts which has been described variously as "the rural middle classes," "the lower middle-class traditionalists," a "new village leadership" and so on. The political antecedents of this "group" were not traced beyond the 1930's, though several writers recognized that it was part of a social category which existed in British times. In recent articles it has been argued that the political activities of individuals drawn from this social category date back to the late nineteenth century. Be that as it may, it is obviously of value to clarify the lines of differentiation between this middle-level social category and the indigenous elite placed hierarchically above them. The former can be described as a "sub-elite," a "subordinate elite," an "intermediate elite," or a "local elite." The latter can be described as a "macro-elite," a "central elite" or a "national elite." Though convenience dictates the choice of one of these combinations, a reference to the alternatives is necessary because each captures a facet which the other labels do not convey.


In order to determine the copper status and correlation between the ceruloplasmin and copper of serum and among the copper of serum, liver and kidney of slaughtered goats in Shahrekord, blood, liver and kidney samples (10 gr) from 100 goats were gathered. The amounts of ceruloplasmin and copper of serum, liver and kidney were measured by Sunderman - Nomoto and Shimadzu atomic absorption method, respectively. Results were analyzed by Pearson correlation test, Chi square test. The mean serum ceruloplasmin value of goats was 190±40.2 mg/L. The corresponding value for the copper of serum was 14.32±2.42 μmol/L. Mean liver and kidney copper levels were respectively 4596.08±1967.5 and 271.98±59.81 μmol/Kg. There was a significant correlation (p<0.05) between the level of ceruloplasmin and copper of serum (r = 0.85). There was also a correlation (p< 0.05) between copper of serum and liver (r =0.56), copper of serum and kidney (r = 0.36) and copper of liver and kidney (r =0.22). Kidney copper concentration in 7% of goats were lower than 199.89 μmol/Kg and serum copper level in 4% of goats were between 6.29-11.01 μmol/L. They indicated that between 4 to 7 percent of goats had marginal copper deficiency. Data shows low correlation among variables and only correlation between serum copper and ceruloplasmin was high. It could be concluded that copper deficiency can occur under certain conditions in Shahrekord.


The article is devoted to the study of the problem of autocephaly of Orthodox Churches in Russia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Interest in this aspect of aspect of Orthodox ecclesiology and canon law intensified not only because of the development of Orthodox theology in Russia, but also due to the fact that this problem acquired political significance. It was connected with some matters of domestic and foreign policy of the Russian Empire. The annexation of Georgian in the early nineteenth century and liquidation of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church by the decision of the secular authorities provided the enduring source of the anti-governmental mood among Georgian elite, traditionally closely connected with the local clergy. The foreign policy interests of the empire in the Near East and Asia Minor also contributed to the intensification of research in the field of ecclesiastic history and the modern structure of ancient patriarchates. The greatest factor that contributed to an increase in such research interests was the emergence of new autocephalous churches: the Greek and Bulgarian churches separated from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Separation of the Bulgarian Church provoked an aggressive polemic in the Russian press. The problem of nationalism was highlighted, which is significant for the Orthodox tradition. As an attachment to the article, the authors include the text of a report on the possibility of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church composed by Vladimir Beneshevich in 1917. The report was made upon request of the Provisional Government and it is preserved in the collection of Beneshevich at the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences.


Although microbes are frequent sources of clinically useful enzymes, there are certain biocatalysts which appear to be enriched in, or more naturally available from nonmicrobes. This paper highlights several of these enzyme reagents, and illustrates their potential or actual clinical diagnostic uses. These reagents include: an enzyme extract containing both glucose oxidase and mutarotase activities from peppers; a bilirubin-degrading enzyme from orange peels; a gentisic acid metabolizing activity from onions; and enzymes from snails which catalyze the detoxification of cyanide by divergent mechanisms.


Bronchiectasis is a long-term respiratory disease in which there is permanent bronchial dilatation, and it is associated with recurrent cough, sputum production and respiratory tract infections. The incidence and prevalence of bronchiectasis is rising, but it can be challenging to identify and manage this disease. The British Thoracic Society published its latest guideline for bronchiectasis in adults in 2019. This article outlines the main recommendations of this guideline to enable nurses to provide evidence-based care for adult patients with bronchiectasis.


Background Published data on the prognostic value of hypoxia-inducible factor-1&agr; (HIF-1&agr;) expression in cervical cancer are conflicting and heterogeneous. We aimed to derive a more precise estimation of them. Methods We conducted a clinicopathologic study in 74 patients with early-stage cervical cancer treated through surgery and performed a meta-analysis among patients with cervical cancer of all stages to estimate the prognostic importance of HIF-1&agr; expression for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Expression of HIF-1&agr; was evaluated through immunohistochemistry. Results A positive nuclear expression of HIF-1&agr; was found in 94.6% of all specimens. There were significant associations between HIF-1&agr; expression and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (P = 0.024), tumor size (P = 0.003), and anemia (P = 0.010), respectively. Log-rank tests revealed significant correlations between HIF-1&agr; expression, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages, tumor grade, tumor size and DFS/OS, respectively. The multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed HIF-1&agr; overexpression and high tumor grade to be independent predictors for impaired DFS (HIF-1&agr; overexpression: hazard ratio [HR], 2.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–6.47; high tumor grade: HR, 5.56; 95% CI, 1.47–21.13) and OS (HIF-1&agr; overexpression: HR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.06–6.23; high tumor grade: HR, 6.23; 95% CI, 1.49–25.97). The results of 10 studies indicated that HIF-1&agr; overexpression predicted poor DFS (HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.22–3.21) and OS (HR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.86–3.56) for cervical cancer. Conclusions The present clinicopathologic study and meta-analysis showed that HIF-1&agr; overexpression is associated with poor survival of cervical cancer and emphasized the importance of HIF-1&agr; as a predictor for cervical cancer.


This article focuses on two examples of interactive research (IR) in vocational education and training. IR is a process which brings together practitioners and researchers with the aim to implement an innovation. This innovation in the first project meant to create a hybrid learning environment; in the second it supported introducing digital media in a training centre. The process of innovating thereby turned into a learning process for all concerned persons: original ideas of the concerned concepts matured, boundaries between research and practice were crossed and new, sometimes surprising ideas for further development emanated. These experiences point attention towards the processes of research and innovation instead of only documenting results in the sense of summative evaluation. They also show that IR requires a certain framework in order to enable important learning cycles.


Objective To establish an international patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) study among prostate cancer survivors, up to 18 years postdiagnosis, in two countries with different healthcare systems and ethical frameworks. Design A cross-sectional, postal survey of prostate cancer survivors sampled and recruited via two population-based cancer registries. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) evaluated patients for eligibility to participate. Questionnaires contained validated instruments to assess health-related quality of life and psychological well-being, including QLQ-C30, QLQ-PR25, EQ-5D-5L, 21-question Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Decisional Regret Scale. Setting Republic of Ireland (RoI) and Northern Ireland (NI). Primary outcome measures Registration completeness, predictors of eligibility and response, data missingness, unweighted and weighted PROMs. Results Prostate cancer registration was 80% (95% CI 75% to 84%) and 91% (95% CI 89% to 93%) complete 2 years postdiagnosis in NI and RoI, respectively. Of 12 322 survivors sampled from registries, 53% (n=6559) were classified as eligible following HCP screening. In the multivariate analysis, significant predictors of eligibility were: being ≤59 years of age at diagnosis (p<0.001), short-term survivor (<5 years postdiagnosis; p<0.001) and from RoI (p<0.001). 3348 completed the questionnaire, yielding a 54% adjusted response rate. 13% of men or their families called the study freephone with queries for assistance with questionnaire completion or to talk about their experience. Significant predictors of response in multivariate analysis were: being ≤59 years at diagnosis (p<0.001) and from RoI (p=0.016). Mean number of missing questions in validated instruments ranged from 0.12 (SD 0.71; EQ-5D-5L) to 3.72 (SD 6.30; QLQ-PR25). Weighted and unweighted mean EQ-5D-5L, QLQ-C30 and QLQ-PR25 scores were similar, as were the weighted and unweighted prevalences of depression, anxiety and distress. Conclusions It was feasible to perform PROMs studies across jurisdictions, using cancer registries as sampling frames; we amassed one of the largest, international, population-based data set of prostate cancer survivors. We highlight improvements which could inform future PROMs studies, including utilising general practitioners to assess eligibility and providing a freephone service.


Introduction: Delivering a drug specifically into the tumor cell past its membrane and then releasing the drug into the tumor cells without affecting the normal cells remains a formidable challenge. Unlike any other nanoparticles, magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENs) display a non-zero magnetoelectric (ME) effect and thus present a unique capability to use external magnetic fields to control intrinsic electric fields associated with cell membranes and the interaction between MENs and therapeutic loads. Because cancer and normal cells of the same type have different electric properties, MENs is used for high-specificity targeted delivery. An a.c. magnetic field is used to trigger drug release off the nanoparticles. Brief Methods: 30-nm CoFe 2 O 4 -BaTiO 3 core shell MENs, with a magnetization of 1 emu/g, a coercivity of 300 Oe, and a ME coefficient of 10-100 mV cm -1 Oe -1 were prepared with a coprecipitation process. MENs were coated with fluorescein isothiocyanate to monitor their intra-cellular transport through a high-contrast confocal microscopy. Three cancer cell lines including Skov-3 (Ovarian adenocarcinoma), U87-MG (Glioblastoma), and MCF-7A (Breast adenocarcinoma), and two normal cell lines including brain endothelial cells (Brain EC) and ovarian cells HOMEC were cultured at 37°C. The transport of MENs loaded with drugs, peptides, and RNAs through the cell membranes and the consequent release of the load under different d.c. and a.c. magnetic fields were studied through confocal microscopy and photoabsorption spectroscopy, respectively. Trypan-blue viability count was used to assess cell growth inhibition under different study conditions. Atomic force microscopy of the cell membranes was conducted to understand the interaction between the nanoparticles and the cells. Summary of new data: Comparison of MENs with purely magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles showed that the penetration through the cancer cell membrane could be achieved only with MENs. It took d.c. fields of 100 Oe and over 1000 Oe to nanoelectroporate the membranes of SKOV-3 and HOMEC cell lines, respectively. An a.c. magnetic field with a strength of 50 Oe and a near-d.c. frequency of 100 Hz was sufficient to enable release of a therapeutic load off MENs. All the cancer cell lines under study showed membrane penetration threshold d.c. fields at least a factor of ten smaller compared to their normal counterparts. Conclusion: MENs displayed unique capabilities for externally controlled high-specificity targeted anticancer drug delivery and release on demand via application of d.c. and a.c. magnetic fields, respectively. Because MENs rely on a physical mechanism rather than antibody-mediated delivery, they can be used for high specificity delivery and high-efficacy controlled release of a broad range of therapeutic loads including drugs, peptides, and RNAs to treat many different cancers. Citation Format: Emmanuel Stimphil, Abhi Nagesetti, Tiffanie S. Stewart, Alexa Rodzinski, Rakesh Guduru, Ping Liang, Carolyn Runowicz, Sakhrat Khizroev. Magnetoelectric nanoparticles for high-specificity treatment of cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2199. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2199


The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (APIC) is a multidisciplinary, voluntary, international organization of professionals who practice infection control and the application of epidemiology in all health settings. APIC is an international leader in prevention and control of infection transmission.


Fifteen male schizophrenic patients between the ages of 18 and 40 were compared with 15 matched control subjects on their performance on the Facial Affect Recognition Task and on the O'Brien-Epstein Sources of Self-Esteem Inventory. As has been previously reported, schizophrenic subjects score significantly lower than normals in the recognition of emotion in the human face, particularly on the 'negative' emotions of anger, fear and disgust. Significant differences were found between groups on self-esteem domains of 'competence' and 'personal power', with normal subjects scoring higher. However, on the self-esteem scale of 'defensive self-enhancement', schizophrenic patients scored higher than the control group. Thus, the schizophrenic patients do not have uniformly lower self-esteem than normals but, rather, specific domains of self-esteem are affected. In addition, a significant negative correlation was found between affect recognition and defensive self-enhancement. The clinical-theoretical implications of working with schizophrenia are discussed in the light of these findings.


To increase understanding of the mechanisms causing syncope in patients over the age of 60, hemodynamic and hormonal responses to 60 minutes of 60 degree head‐up tilt were examined in 10 patients with recurrent syncope of unknown origin and five controls with no history of syncope. Nine of 10 patients and all five controls experienced orthostatic intolerance on the tilt table. Syncope or pre‐syncope occurred later in controls than in those syncope patients who had exact reproduction of their clinical symptoms (median time 52 versus 22 minutes, P = 0.05). Three different mechanisms of orthostatic intolerance were identified in the 14 subjects: (1) vasovagal syncope, n = 9 (sudden hypotension ± bradycardia); (2) dysautonomic syncope, n = 3 (immediate and gradual parallel declines in both systolic and diastolic pressures with blunted increase in heart rate); (3) psychogenic or vestibular reaction, n = 2 (orthostatic intolerance without hemodynamic changes). Vasovagal syncope patients showed a significant increase in plasma norepinephrine from baseline to maximum level during tilt (100 ± 39% increase, P = 0.03) and a subsequent decrease at the time of syncope (30 ± 5% decrease, P = 0.01), while plasma epinephrine increased markedly from baseline to the time of syncope (827 ± 154% increase, P = 0.0003). Dysautonomy syncope patients had lower supine levels of norepinephrine compared to vasovagal syncope patients (182 ± 30 versus 614 ± 146 pg/mL, P = 0.008) and no significant change in norepinephrine over time; epinephrine levels increased significantly less than in vasovagal patients (net change 38 ± 8 versus 189 ± 56 pg/mL, P = 0.008). Psychogenic and vestibular reactions were distinguished by rising levels of norepinephrine at the time of symptoms. The 50% (5 of 10) prevalence of vasovagal reactions found in the syncope patients suggests that vasovagal syncope may be more common among the elderly than previously recognized.


Introduction: Upper Gastro Intestinal (UGI) bleed is major cause of mortality and admissions in cirrhotics. Timely initiation of prophylaxis reduces the burden of disease. Few endoscopists at periphery are compelled to look at other options to identify at risk patients. This study explores Portal Vein Diameter (PVD) as an option while taking clues and corrections from past studies. Aim: To identify any association between increases in portal pressure with appearance of oesophageal varices. Materials and Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study on 75 patients of cirrhosis of liver, from November 2018 to June 2019. Baseline characteristics were noted and assessment of the severity of disease was done. Endoscopy and Portal Vein (PV) Doppler was performed in same time frame. ANOVA and unpaired t-tests were used for analysis of the collected data. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant in both the tests. Results: Grade of varices was found to have a direct relationship with portal diameter and a statistically significant inverse relationship with Portal Venous flow Velocity (PVV) (p-value 0.037). Total 28 patients had active bleed or history of UGI bleed and showed higher mean portal diameter and lower average portal velocity compared to patients without any history of variceal bleeding. A statistically significant relation was found between diameter of Portal Vein (PV) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) grade from A to C. Patients with grade C had on an average, the biggest portal diameter and lowest PVV. Patients with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores values higher than 14 and had higher mean PV diameter and a lower mean PVV. Also, hepato-fugal flow was recorded with advanced cirrhosis. Conclusion: In advanced cirrhosis, the PV Doppler can be thought of as a substitute to endoscopy in starting primary medical prophylaxis, though more extensive study needed to arrive at a definitive conclusion.


Introduction: Older adults experience a change in their nervous system that influences cognitive function, including the abilities of orientation, registration, attention-calculation, memory and language. These changes affect the independence of the elderly when carrying out their daily activities. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of cognitive stimulation group activity memory game therapy on elderly cognitive function. Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental pre-post approach with a control group design. The population in this study was the elderly who were aged >60 in Nursing Home Blitar, totaling 20 older patients. The data retrieval for this research was conducted between April and May 2012. The elderly in the treatment group were given flash card stimulus to practice their perceptual abilities 8 times (1 month). The measurement of elderly cognitive function used the Mini Mental State Examination questionnaire. The data was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Sign Rank test. Results: The results showed that elderly cognitive function increased from 10,3 (pre test) to 14,65 (post test) with p=0,005 (p<0,05). This result shows that cognitive stimulation group activity memory games have a significance influence on elderly cognitive function. Conclusion: Practical nurses can use this therapy to improve elderly cognitive function not only in Elderly Social Institutions but also in the community or through public health.


Quality of life assessment is increasingly acknowledged as an important component in selecting optimal health interventions for persons with cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that cardiac out-patients have the same perception of what comprises quality of life as do their health care providers. A list of items was compiled from all quality of life measures and quality of life research. Staff members, cardiac out-patients and family members were asked what they considered important to the patients' quality of life by rating the relative importance of each item on the list. The three groups differed in their ratings. Of the top ten items ranked by patients, only three items appeared on the staff top ten list, and five on the family member's list. The patients, in contrast with staff and family, chose aspects of QL that reflected the positive aspects of life. These differences were more marked in the physical, psychological, and activity domains than in the social domain. The study suggests that QL measures developed from the perspective of primary caregivers are probably invalid and therefore QL measures should be developed from a patients perspective.


Ideal decision-makers should constantly assess all sources of information about opportunities and threats, and be able to redetermine their choices promptly in the face of change. However, perpetual monitoring and reassessment impose inordinate sensing and computational costs, making them impractical for animals and machines alike. The obvious alternative of committing for extended periods of time to limited sensory strategies associated with particular courses of action can be dangerous and wasteful. Here, we explore the intermediate possibility of making provisional temporal commitments whilst admitting interruption based on limited broader observation. We simulate foraging under threat of predation to elucidate the benefits of such a scheme. We relate our results to diseases of distractibility and roving attention, and consider mechanistic substrates such as noradrenergic neuromodulation.


This talk contains a summary of our work on dynamical CPT invariance and spontaneous CPT violation in string theories, including the possibility that stringy CPT violation could occur at levels detectable in the next generation of experiments. In particular, we present here an estimate for values of parameters for CPT violation in the kaon system.


The objectives of this study were (1) to describe navel healing in male and female neonatal Holstein calves over a 14-d observation period, and (2) to determine the associations of dam parity, calving factors, and calf factors with navel measurements and time to healing. A total of 68 Holstein calves (43 female and 25 male) were enrolled. Navel healing outcomes (cessation of navel discharge, navel cord remnant drying, navel cord remnant drop-off) and navel stump measurement outcomes (proximal diameter, distal diameter, length) were recorded every 24 ± 1 h for a 14-d observation period. Data were also collected for dam parity, calving factors (time of birth, calving ease), and calf factors (calf sex, calf vitality at birth, birth weight, average daily gain, serum total protein, and medical treatment or treatments). The mean time to navel cord remnant drying was 2 d, and all calves had dry navels by d 5. A total of 56% of calves retained their navel cord remnant beyond the end of the observation period, and calves began to shed their navel cord remnants as early as d 2. In addition, at least once during the observation period, 85% of calves had a proximal navel diameter measurement over a 13-mm threshold recently proposed to identify navel infections. For distal navel diameter measurements, 72% of calves had a diameter over the 13-mm threshold at least once during the observation period. No associations were identified between navel healing outcomes and dam, calving, and calf factors. Navel measurement outcomes were associated with calving and calf factors. Specifically, proximal navel stump diameter was associated with the day of observation (decreased from d 5 to 14), calf sex (smaller in female calves), time of birth (larger in calves born overnight or unobserved, compared with the morning), and birth weight (larger in birth weights >44.1 kg compared with <38.5 kg). Distal navel stump diameter was associated with calf sex, medical treatment, and day of observation; however, we observed an interaction between sex and day of observation (larger in male calves on d 3 to 7, d 9, and d 12, compared with female calves), and sex and medical treatment (larger in untreated male calves, no difference between treated male and female calves). Navel stump length was associated with time of birth (longer in calves born overnight or unobserved compared with any other time) and the interaction of birth weight and day of observation (longer in birth weights >44.1 kg compared with 38.6-41.5 kg on d 3, 8-10, and 13, and 41.6-44.0 kg on d 3, 5, 7-8, and 13). The wide range in time to navel cord remnant drying and drop-off suggest that these measures may not be adequate indicators of calf age on their own. More research on navel healing is required to improve our understanding of factors that influence navel measurements and time to healing, as well as how this information could be used in an objective assessment of navel health.


Context. Spectral analysis of X-ray emission from ejecta in supernova remnants (SNRs) is hampered by the low spectral resolution of CCD detectors, which typically creates a degeneracy between the best-fit values of chemical abundances and the plasma emission measure. The combined contribution of shocked ambient medium and ejecta to the emerging X-ray emission further complicates the determination of the ejecta mass and chemical composition. This degeneracy leads to big uncertainties in mass estimates and can introduce a bias in the comparison between the ejecta chemical composition derived from the observations and the yields predicted by explosive nucleosynthesis models.
Aims. We explore the capabilities of present and future spectral instruments with the aim of identifying a spectral feature that may allow us to discriminate between metal-rich and pure-metal plasmas in X-ray spectra of SNRs.
Methods. We studied the behavior of the most common X-ray emission processes of an optically thin plasma in the high-abundance regime. We investigated spectral features of bremsstrahlung, radiative recombination continua (RRC), and line emission, by exploring a wide range of chemical abundances, plasma temperatures, and ionization parameters. We then synthesized X-ray spectra from a state-of-the-art 3D hydrodynamic simulation of Cas A, by using the response matrix from the Chandra ACIS-S charged-coupled device detector and that of the XRISM/Resolve X-ray calorimeter spectrometer.
Results. We found that a bright RRC shows up when the plasma is made of pure-metal ejecta, and a high spectral resolution is needed to actually identify this ejecta signature. We tested and verified the applicability of our novel diagnostic tool and we propose a promising target for the future detection of such spectral feature: the southeastern Fe-rich clump of Cas A.
Conclusions. While there is no way to unambiguously reveal pure-metal ejecta emission with CCD detectors, X-ray calorimeters will be able to pinpoint the presence of pure-metal RRC and to recover correctly absolute mass and the chemical composition of the ejecta, opening a new window on the link between progenitor star, supernova and SNRs.