As various populations are rapidly becoming an aging society worldwide and interest in health issues has increased, demand for functional foods including herbal products has increased markedly to maintain a healthy state which has led to safety issues about their intake as an inevitable result. The objective of this study was to identify the safety profile of a Korean red ginseng and Salvia plebeia R. Br. extract mixture (KGC-03-PS) which is a valuable ingredient that can be used as a functional food. In the present study, the subacute oral toxicity and bacterial reverse mutagenicity of KGC-03-PS were evaluated. Sprague Dawley rats were administered KGC-03-PS orally for 28 days by gavage. Daily KGC-03-PS dose concentrations were 0, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day. Bacterial reverse mutation test with KGC-03-PS dose levels ranging from 312.5 to 5,000 µg/plate was carried out by OECD test guideline No. 471. Five bacterial strains ( Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537, and Escherichia coli WP2) were tested in the presence or absence of metabolic activation by plate incorporation method. There were no toxicological effects related with test substance in the clinical evaluation of subacute oral toxicity test including clinical signs, body weight, and food consumption. Moreover, no toxicological changes related to KGC-03-PS were observed in the hematological and serum biochemical characteristics as well as in the pathological examinations, which included organ weight measurements and in the gross- or histopathological findings. KGC-03-PS did not induce an increase in the number of revertant colonies in all bacterial strains of the bacterial reverse mutation test. The no-observed-adverse-effect level of KGC-03-PS is greater than 2,000 mg/kg bw/day, and KGC-03-PS did not induce genotoxicity related to bacterial reverse mutations under the conditions used in this study.


The potential and effectiveness of a hybrid intelligent PSS controller combining the advantages of both differential evolution (DE) and tabu search (TS) is assessed in this paper. The controller is incorporated in a single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system with a synchronous generator. An analysis is also carried on the quality of results if various parameters of the differential evolution like crossover, mutation and population size of the algorithm is varied. At the end a comparison is made between the controller based totally on differential evolution and the one designed with the hybrid technique. Index Terms—Differential Evolution, Hybrid controller, SMIB, PSS controller, Tabu Search


The influence of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) on the corrosion of L245NS carbon steel was investigated in a medium containing H2S by various surface characterizations and electrochemical measurements. The addition of H2S will totally inhibit the planktonic SRB in the medium. However, the sessile SRB in the corrosion crust can survive under the protection of the biofilm. Pitting corrosion is found under the corrosion crust, which is caused by the sessile SRB. The pitting corrosion rate is 1.1 mm/a. Additionally, the corrosion rate increases with the corrosion time. The SRB influenced corrosion mechanism of the steel is discussed.


Bilaterality in acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) is more generally recognized than that in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Subjects were 274 patients diagnosed with ALHL based on criteria of a study group of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, i.e., total of 3 low tone hearing of 70dB or more and, a total of 3 high-tone hearing of 60dB or less, and treated at the departments of otolaryngology at Yamanashi University and Suwa Central Hospital. ALHL involving bilateral ears symptoms and/or bilateral hearing impairment conforming to diagnostic criteria was selected and summarized. Clinical ear symptoms, clinical test results, and hearing levels (total 3 low tone hearing, 1kHz, and total of 3 high-tone hearing) were statistically analyzed. We also reviewed Japanese clinical reports of ALHL that include bilateral cases. In 32 cases (11.7%) of 274 cases, both ear symptoms and hearing impairment were bilateral. In 22 (8.0%) of the 274, bilateral ear symptoms were present, but showed unilateral hearing loss conforming to diagnostic criteria. Another 22 (8.0%) out the 274 reported unilateral ear symptoms, but hearing tests indicated bilateral ALHL. A total of 76 cases (27.7%) of the 274 had bilaterality in either ear symptoms or hearing loss. Our review indicated that 9.0% (162 of 1803) ALHL patients were bilaterally affected, possibly indicating that AIHL includes a larger number of bilateral cases than currently assumed, if the opposite side were given a especially detailed clinical interview. Statistical analysis (Mann Whitney test, P<0.01) of hearing of unilateral cases indicated that 3 low tone hearing was more affected than 3 high-tone hearing, even on the normal side. These results indicate that ALHL tends to be bilateral, possibly due to the mechanism of pathogenesis, and also that the mechanism may include both local and general conditions. This more closely resembles Meniere's disease than idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Both sides of bilateral cases were not usually the same in hearing patterns, glycerol test results, or prognosis. A statistically significant difference (Mann Whitney test, P<0.01) in total of 3 low tone hearing was seen between worse and better sides in bilateral cases. The degree of disease on both sides in bilateral cases thus was not always the same. Bilateral cases may result from both the influence of general conditions such as fatigue, stress, and lack of sleep and local conditions such as pathogenesis of endolymphatic hydrops that may cause differences in both ears. No clear difference was seen in clinical symptoms, hearing levels, and clinical examination, e.g., Schellong and glyceol tests, between unilateral and bilateral cases. Bilateral cases had a poorer prognosis (lower complete recovery ratio; chi2 test P<0.01) than unilateral cases. Our results indicated that cautious evaluation of opposite ear is necessary in diagnosis, treatment, and prognostication of ALHL.


Russian ethnic German writer Andreas Saks (1903–1983) played a big part in the development of the Volga German Autonomous Republic and also German culture in the 1920– 1930s. Before the Great Patriotic War, he headed the Republic's Union of Soviet Writers but as the war broke out he was forced to move to Siberia together with other German habitants of the Republic. During the war and post-war years of Stalinism he went through repression, the expulsion from the Bolshevik party and the USSR Union of Writers, endured forced labor in the hardest physical and moral conditions. In the late 1950s during de-Stalinization and the "Thaw", Andreas Saks was reinstated in the CPSU and the USSR Union of Writers. He was also allowed to move from the Krasnoyarskii Krai to the city of Astrakhan. The article covers his public and cultural activities during his first years back in Astrakhan (1964– 1966). The hitherto unknown archival documents from the Astrakhan Writers' Organization were used as a source for the article. Their analysis shows that Andreas Saks has always remained faithful to his socialist ideals. He pursued his own strategies for coping the psychological trauma inflicted upon him by Stalinist violations and repressions, and for consolidating his position as a


This paper presents the first silicon-proven stochastic LDPC decoder to support multiple code rates for IEEE 802.15.3c applications. The critical path is improved by a reconfigurable stochastic check node unit (CNU) and variable node unit (VNU); therefore, a high throughput scheme can be realized with 768 MHz clock frequency. To achieve higher hardware and energy efficiency, the reduced complexity architecture of tracking forecast memory is experimentally investigated to implement the variable node units for IEEE 802.15.3c applications. Based on the properties of parity check matrices and stochastic arithmetic, the optimized routing networks with re-permutation techniques are adopted to enhance chip utilization. Considering the measurement uncertainties, a delay-lock loop with isolated power domain and a test environment consisting of an encoder, an AWGN generator and bypass circuits are also designed for inner clock and information generation. With these features, our proposed fully parallel LDPC decoder chip fabricated in 90-nm CMOS process with 760.3 K gate count can achieve 7.92 Gb/s data rate and power consumption of 437.2 mW under 1.2 V supply voltage. Compared to the state-of-the-art IEEE 802.15.3c LDPC decoder chips, our proposed chip achieves over 90% reduction of routing wires, 73.8% and 11.5% enhancement of hardware and energy efficiency, respectively.


Computer programs for electric energy production based on the Monte Carlo simulation technique are discussed. A method for estimating confidence bounds on simulation results is proposed. These confidence bounds are expressed as functions of the outage parameters of generating units and can be easily calculated. The method can also be used to determine the number of simulation realizations needed to achieve a specified degree of precision, which can result in savings in computing time and cost. >


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide an extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and examine how institutional infrastructure and two social factors – peer effect and gender discrimination – determine entrepreneurial intention in emerging economies such as India.

Design/methodology/approach
Using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach, the proposed model is tested on a sample of 265 post-graduate students from the Indian Institute of Management campuses in India. Perceived gender discrimination is used as a grouping variable to test its impact in the model.

Findings
The study found that peer effect has positive association with an individual attitude towards entrepreneurship. It also found positive moderating effect of institutional infrastructure on entrepreneurial intention in a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, but in case of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, the result is non-conclusive. Further, our results establish that gender discrimination has varying influence but remains a significant factor to choose entrepreneurial career in emerging countries such as India.

Research limitations/implications
The study adds to the understanding of drivers or antecedents to entrepreneurial intention, especially in emerging economy context and finds its usefulness in country such as India. It contributes to the existing model by empirically proving the role of peer effect and institutional infrastructure in emerging economies which are characterised by weak institutions and inadequate access to resources to start and sustain any entrepreneurial activity.

Practical implications
The results make several implications for academic institutions, entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders and policy makers in emerging economies. The academic institutions, universities and incubation hubs can consider promoting a peer-group culture that strengthens individual's EI in emerging economies. Policy makers and stakeholders should build an encouraging entrepreneurial ecosystem with adequate institutional infrastructure to promote entrepreneurship.

Originality/value
The authors extend research on entrepreneurial intention beyond individual factors (personal-level variables) and examine the contingent role of institutional infrastructure and socio-cultural factors (peer effect and gender discrimination). Whilst TPB successfully predicted entrepreneurial intention in Western settings, this study provides strong empirical evidence to this research in emerging countries.


In this paper, we consider the problem of solving semantic tasks such as `Visual Question Answering' (VQA), where one aims to answers related to an image and `Visual Question Generation' (VQG), where one aims to generate a natural question pertaining to an image. Solutions for VQA and VQG tasks have been proposed using variants of encoder-decoder deep learning based frameworks that have shown impressive performance. Humans however often show generalization by relying on exemplar based approaches. For instance, the work by Tversky and Kahneman suggests that humans use exemplars when making categorizations and decisions. In this work, we propose the incorporation of exemplar based approaches towards solving these problems. Specifically, we incorporate exemplar based approaches and show that an exemplar based module can be incorporated in almost any of the deep learning architectures proposed in the literature and the addition of such a block results in improved performance for solving these tasks. Thus, just as the incorporation of attention is now considered de facto useful for solving these tasks, similarly, incorporating exemplars also can be considered to improve any proposed architecture for solving this task. We provide extensive empirical analysis for the same through various architectures, ablations, and state of the art comparisons.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

The inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) are important regulators of cell death. Over-expression of IAPs, including XIAP, cIAP1 and cIAP2, predicts poor patient outcome in several types of cancer. XIAP binds to and inhibits caspases 3, 7 and 9. Inhibition of IAP function can enhance cell death in tumor cells. Inhibition of IAPs is being explored clinically with XIAP anti-sense ([AEG35156][1]) and small molecule inhibitor (HGS1029) strategies.

We describe small molecule inhibitors of the IAPs that have been designed to bind to the homologous BIR3 domains on the IAPs, which is the site of binding of second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (SMAC). Structure-activity trends of IAP inhibitors were evaluated for binding potency and selectivity towards IAP BIR domains and analyzed for their ability to sensitize cancer cells to death alone or in conjunction with the agonistic TRAIL receptor 1 monoclonal antibody, mapatumumab, or chemotherapeutic agents.

Bridging selected compounds at various sites led to compounds with binding affinities for IAPs in the picomolar range. In cellular assays, IAP inhibitor compounds caused rapid and robust loss of cIAP1, consistent with stimulation of E3 ligase activity. In vitro cytotoxicity assays demonstrated sensitization of tumor cell lines to co-treatment with mapatumumab or chemotherapy at low nanomolar concentrations.

In vitro ADME studies were conducted in multiple species to select stable molecules which were negative in CYP and hERG binding assays. Selected compounds had high protein binding in plasma from multiple species. IV administration in mice resulted in Cmax values in excess of the EC50 required for cancer cell death in vitro.

Efficacy of lead compounds was demonstrated against several xenograft tumor models as single agents and in combination with either mapatumumab or conventional chemotherapeutics. This led to the identification of a highly potent compound series from which a clinical development candidate, HGS1029, was selected.

Solid tumor and lymphoid malignancies Phase 1 cancer trials with HGS1029 have been initiated.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 139.

 [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=GENPEPT&access_num=AEG35156&atom=%2Fcanres%2F70%2F8_Supplement%2F139.atom


In the research field of anxiety, previous studies generally focus on emotional responses following threat. A recent model of anxiety proposes that altered anticipation prior to uncertain threat is related with the development of anxiety. Behavioral findings have built the relationship between anxiety and distinct anticipatory processes including attention, estimation of threat, and emotional responses. However, few studies have characterized the brain organization underlying anticipation of uncertain threat and its role in anxiety. In the present study, we used an emotional anticipation paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the aforementioned topics by employing brain activation and general psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) analysis. In the activation analysis, we found that high trait anxious individuals showed significantly increased activation in the thalamus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), as well as decreased activation in the precuneus, during anticipation of uncertain threat compared to the certain condition. In the gPPI analysis, the key regions including the amygdala, dmPFC, and precuneus showed altered connections with distributed brain areas including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), inferior parietal sulcus (IPS), insula, para‐hippocampus gyrus (PHA), thalamus, and MTG involved in anticipation of uncertain threat in anxious individuals. Taken together, our findings indicate that during the anticipation of uncertain threat, anxious individuals showed altered activations and functional connectivity in widely distributed brain areas, which may be critical for abnormal perception, estimation, and emotion reactions during the anticipation of uncertain threat.


Reinforcement learning has achieved tremendous success in recent years, notably in complex games such as Atari, Go, and chess. In large part, this success has been made possible by powerful function approximation methods in the form of deep neural networks. The objective of this paper is to introduce the basic concepts of reinforcement learning, explain how reinforcement learning can be effectively combined with deep learning, and explore how deep reinforcement learning could be useful in a medical context.


The article generalizes the experience in surgical treatment of Fallot's tetrad in 20 infants. Radical correction of the anomaly was carried out under extracorporeal circulation and deep hypothermia with reduced volume rate of perfusion. Plastics of the conus arteriosus alone was performed in 6 patients, transanulus and the pulmonary trunk in 4 patients. Two patients died, the hospital lethality was 10%. A clinical effect was produced in all the other patients. The relation of systolic pressure in the left ventricle to that in the right ventricle was 0.56 +/- 0.1, the systolic pressure gradient between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery was 18 +/- 4.2 mm Hg. Various degree of regurgitation at the pulmonary valve was revealed after the operation in all patients. It was maximum (34 +/- 10%) in transanulus plastics.


To investigate the effect of feeding the fermented food wastes (FFW) on meat quality, twenty pigs produced from four treatments with different mixing rates of FFW [100% concentrate (control), 25% replacement with FFW (25% FFW), 50% replacement with FFW (50% FFW) and 100% fermented food wastes (100% FFW)] were slaughtered. Carcass characteristics were differentiated if FFW replacement rate was higher than 50%. The proximate compositions of hams and loins in control pigs were not different from (p>0.05) those of the FFW replacements, regardless of mixing rate of FFW replacement. Drip loss of pork loin increased (p0.05) when replaced with lower than 25% FFW. With replacing more than 50% FFW, redness values tended to be decreased, while yellowness values increased. Aerobic plate counts (APC) were rapidly increased 12 d for the control and 8 d for FFW replacement, and microbial stability seemed to be lowered when the rate of FFW replacement rate was more than 50%. These results indicated that the replacement of concentrate diets with FFW was still nutritious feedstuffs for pig diet, however, no more than 50% FFW replacement was recommended to have similar effect to those with the control (100% concentrate).


Because of discrepancies among U.S. states regarding how they assess school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teacher performance and program quality, little knowledge has existed regarding how these differences might influence critical decisions regarding hiring, pay, promotion, and dismissal. In response, the purpose of our study was to examine commonalities and differences in state-level program quality standards of teacher and program performance expectations for SBAE in the U.S. To accomplish this, we analyzed documents containing teacher and program standards used by state SBAE leaders. Using cognitive sensemaking as our lens, we found states that measured SBAE teacher and program standards using a variety of formats and methods, emphasizing teacher engagement in professional development, organization of course syllabi and lesson plans, program safety, and health protocol adherence. We also found little mention of instructional practice as a prominent metric for success and no delineation regarding standards for teachers' years of experience. We discuss the merits of these documents and encourage practitioners to critically examine their intent and use them moving forward.


textabstractSince its introduction in late 2013, the EU Justice Scoreboard allows the
European Commission to obtain information on the performance of
national judicial systems. This article argues that despite being a technical policy instrument, the EU Justice Scoreboard has the long-term
potential to affect the division of competences between member states
and supranational institutions in the domain of rule of law. Drawing on
three meta-theories of EU integration, neofunctionalism, new intergovernmentalism and governance, this article investigates which theoretical approach best explains the functioning of this policy instrument.
Although it is considered that in the case of the EU Justice Scoreboard,
insights from both neofunctionalism and new intergovernmentalism
have better explanatory power, this article stresses the need to combine
various theoretical accounts for a more comprehensive understanding of
EU policy processes.


Individual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), typically delivered in 12-16 weekly sessions, is the most effective treatment available for SAD. However, CBT for SAD often demonstrates lower effect sizes than seen in other anxiety disorders. Intensive treatments, consisting of multiple sessions per week, have been found to be effective for other anxiety disorders but have been studied in group format only for SAD. This study investigated the effect of intensive individual CBT (IICBT) delivered in three 60-minute sessions per week, over four consecutive weeks (total 12 sessions). Participants were eight outpatients (Mean age = 28 years, 87.5% female) with a primary diagnosis of SAD. Large within-group effect sizes were found at post-treatment on the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN; d= 1.61; p = .02), the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS; d= 1.14; p = .03), and Social Phobia Scale (SPS; d= 0.99; p=.12). At three months post treatment, large effect sizes were reported on the SPIN (d= 1.94; p = .001), the SIAS (d= 2.18; p = .002), and SPS (d= 1.70; p=.002). Despite a small sample size, this study provides preliminary data to suggest that IICBT is effective for outpatients with a primary diagnosis of SAD, with results similar or superior to standard treatments. This method provides an additional treatment option, and may be attractive for individuals with severe SAD symptoms, those who need to travel to treatment, and clients or psychologists wishing to reduce the timeframe of treatment. Larger and more rigorous studies are needed to confirm these findings.


Genome-scale sequencing methods such as whole exome sequencing (WES) have provided significant insight into the pathogenesis of cancer. However, experience with the use of these tests in the clinical care of cancer patients remains limited. Sequencing of tumor and matched normal samples can reveal multiple types of results with implications for clinical practice. The identification of somatic (tumor-specific) mutations has the potential to offer diagnostic and prognostic information and inform selection of therapies. Detection of germline mutations in cancer susceptibility genes may prompt further genetic testing and guide cancer surveillance strategies for both the patient and family members. Germline mutations may also explain non-cancer phenotypes, predict drug responses, or provide reproductive counseling information for parents. The goal of the BASIC3 (Baylor College of Medicine Advancing Sequencing into Childhood Cancer Care) study is to determine the clinical impact of incorporating clinical tumor and constitutional WES into the care of children with newly diagnosed solid tumors. This study follows pediatric patients with newly diagnosed CNS and non-CNS solid tumors at Texas Children9s Cancer Center for two years after performing CLIA-certified WES of blood and frozen tumor samples. Results are deposited into the electronic health record and disclosed to families by their oncologist and a genetic counselor. The potential impact of tumor exome findings on clinical decision-making is assessed through review of the medical record over the two year follow-up period as well as through surveys of the oncologists regarding prioritization of treatment options in the hypothetical event of tumor recurrence before and after receiving tumor exome results. Preferences of patient families and oncologists for reporting this complex information are obtained by interviews and audio recording of the WES result disclosure visits. Since the study opened in August 2012, more than 210 subjects have been enrolled (~80% of potentially eligible patients), representing the expected distribution of both CNS and non-CNS tumors. WES results have been reported for 170 subjects, revealing potentially-clinically relevant germline and somatic mutations in cancer genes known to be related to pediatric solid tumors as well as others known to be mutated primarily in adult cancer patients. Data will be presented regarding the diagnostic yield of combined tumor and germline WES for children with newly-diagnosed solid tumors. These results demonstrate the feasibility of routine tumor WES in the pediatric oncology clinic and a significant level of parental interest in receiving WES results and have significant implications for the treatment of children with relapsed and refractory solid tumors and the design of clinical trials using precision oncology approaches for these patients. Further analyses of the clinical utility of the WES data and the preferences of oncologists and parents for reporting of these results are under study. The BASIC3 study is a Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) program project supported by NHGRI/NCI 1U01HG006485. Citation Format: D. William Parsons, Angshumoy Roy, Yaping Yang, Tao Wang, Sarah Scollon, Katie Bergstrom, Robin A. Kerstein, Stephanie Gutierrez, Abhishek Bavle, Frank Y. Lin, Dolores H. Lopez-Terrada, Federico A. Monzon, Jed G. Nuchtern, Uma Ramamurthy, Amy L. McGuire, Susan G. Hilsenbeck, Jeffrey G. Reid, Donna M. Muzny, David A. Wheeler, Stacey L. Berg, Murali M. Chintagumpala, Christine M. Eng, Richard A. Gibbs, Sharon E. Plon. Clinical genomics for children with solid tumors: Current realities and future opportunities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Integrating Clinical Genomics and Cancer Therapy; Jun 13-16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(1_Suppl):Abstract nr IA16.


I shall only report the histories of a few cases that have recently come under my care and not undertake to give an extensive digest of the history of appendicitis and its treatment. Case 1. —T. R., male, aged 17 years, a farm hand, had been taken at about 8 A.M. with severe cramp-like pains in the abdomen, on the right side, low down, two days before coming to the Cooper Hospital. On the day I first saw him he was suffering great pain in the right iliac region. There was some distention of the abdomen, a history of constipation, a tendency to lie with the right thigh flexed on the abdomen, marked tenderness over the region of the appendix, together with tension of the abdominal muscles of the right side, and a mass could be outlined beneath the muscular wall in this region. There was some rise of temperature


In this work, I make some preliminary reflections about the transformations in the world of work and health. For this purpose, I start this study discussing essential dimensions of the work like the central category to analyse the society based on the Marxist conception. Following, I investigate transformations in the world of work and the specificity of health to the related reflection about care and the organization of health workers.


To the Editor.— Allergic contact dermatitis is a rather frequently observed and sometimes disabling disorder for the affected individual, in particular in the chronic stage. Avoidance of the allergen is not always possible; in such cases the main therapeutic strategy includes corticosteroids, applied either locally or systemically, with the possibility of long-term side effects. Thus, nonsteroidal drugs influencing the effector phase of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) appear to be of benefit but are not available, at present. Recently, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) has been demonstrated to be a critical mediator in the effector phase of CHS.1In particular, injection of TNFα antibodies before challenge abrogated the ear-swelling response in sensitized mice. Although these observations contribute to the understanding of the pathomechanisms involved, the therapeutic implications are limited, because injection of TNFα antibodies cannot be considered to be practical for the treatment of contact dermatitis. Pentoxifylline is a xanthine derivative


In Switzerland, the main responsibility for education and culture lies with the 26 cantons. In 2006 it was decided that some cornerstones of the Swiss education system has to be harmonized nationally. The Swiss national objectives in education are some of these cornerstones. They describe which competencies students in all cantons should have obtained after 2, 4 and 9 years of school. In 2016 first surveys about the national objectives in education were conducted. More are planned for 2017. For the management of these surveys software tools will be developed which support documentation with DDI for the questionnaires. Further metadata standards are currently in discussion to be used because no current standard alone seems to meet all demands. In our presentation we would like to present where DDI can be supportive in the area of educational assessments and where gaps within DDI has to be filled for this special field.


We propose a new algorithm to derive the anisotropic conductivity of the cerebral white matter (WM) from the diffusion tensor MRI (DT-MRI) data. The transportation processes for both water molecules and electrical charges are described through a common multicompartment model that consists of axons, glia, or the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The volume fraction (VF) of each compartment varies from voxel to voxel and is estimated from the measured diffusion tensor. The conductivity tensor at each voxel is then computed from the estimated VF values and the decomposed eigenvectors of the diffusion tensor. The proposed VF algorithm was applied to the DT-MRI data acquired from two healthy human subjects. The extracted anisotropic conductivity distribution was compared with those obtained by using two existing algorithms, which were based upon a linear conductivity-to-diffusivity relationship and a volume constraint, respectively. The present results suggest that the VF algorithm is capable of incorporating the partial volume effects of the CSF and the intravoxel fiber crossing structure, both of which are not addressed altogether by existing algorithms. Therefore, it holds potential to provide a more accurate estimate of the WM anisotropic conductivity, and may have important applications to neuroscience research or clinical applications in neurology and neurophysiology.


Stigmatizing attitudes toward persons with mental syndromes are prevalent in the general population and even among mental health professionals, a problem that may result easily in public avoidance, constant discrimination, and declined help-seeking behavior. The effect of stigma is twofold: Public stigma is the response that the public has to people with mental disorder. Self-stigma is the bigotry which persons with mental disorder turn against themselves. The WHO has advised that stigma is one of the largest barricades to treatment engagement, even if management is operative, even in low-income nations. While before and according to a series of researches the outcome of severe mental illness is generally better in developing societies than in developed countries, and it has been suggested that stigma is less severe or non-existent in unindustrialized nations, the current studies and observations do not confirm such an optimistic hint and the idea that stigma attached to mental illness is a global phenomenon seems a reasonable inference. In the present article, the issue of stigmatization, deinstitutionalization, national goal setting, and real situation of various modules of psychiatric rehabilitation, in the context of social or public psychiatry, especially in developing countries, is discussed, from a practical point of view.


Optical fibre has become the preferred terrestrial transmission medium for telecommunications. The single-mode fibre, which has superior transmission quality due to the absence of modal noise and low loss, offers an enormous bandwidth, in the order of thousands of gigahertz. Various access techniques have been proposed to tap this bandwidth by introducing concurrency among users in the network. Concurrency may be provided in one of three ways: 1) in wavelength or frequency (wavelength-division multiplescing (WDM)); 2) in time (time-division multiple access (TDMA)); 3) in wave shape (spread spectrum or code-division multiple access (CDMA)). Using the available technology to construct optical-fibre networks leads to the definition of two different classes of networks. The first class contains the single-hop networks, which can use either WDM, TDMA, or CDMA. All optical TDMA requires node synchronization to within one time slot; at the same time the modularity of "tell-and-go" flexibility does not exist, rendering this approach not viable. Consequently, attention has been focused on WDM and CDMA for single-hop networks. The second class consists of the multihop networks, which are specially designed to achieve efficient use of the channel bandwidth.


This paper describes an interface IC that maintains the recording car-crash conditions, processes the crash-accident data, and provides the interface between the sensors and microcontroller. The monolithic multichannel Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) has four regular channels to monitor a dual axes acceleration sensor, an LC-oscillator based compass circuitry, and a speed signal detector. Each channel has a second-order Σ - Δ modulator implemented in switched-capacitor circuits and digitally implemented multi-stage filters with 3-dB bandwidth selectable of 100Hz and 360Hz. A fifth channel is used for system tests and for continuous calibration of temperature drift. Other circuits included are bandpass shock detectors, real time clock, battery check and emergency power management including high voltage MOS transistors. The circuits work in different modes to meet the low power requirement. This IC has been fabricated in a 0.7µm CMOS double poly double metal process and has an area of 32 mm2. Experimental results of the complete system indicate proper operation over full temperature and supply voltage. The absolute achieved precision of the ADC channels are 12 bits of full scale from V SS to V DD . The power dissipations are 3µA@3.3V in stand-by mode, 500µA@5V in sleep mode and 12.5mA@5V in active mode.


In this paper, we present a scalable algorithm, capable of finding a single-path traffic-engineered solution for routing traffic in a Differentiated Services network by means of explicit paths. Additional supported features are preemption, fast restoration, with a choice of protection scheme, oversubscription and resource class affinity. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by means of statistical simulations on randomly generated network topologies.


Summary

The objective of this study was to compare phospholipase production between fluconazole-resistant and fluconazole-susceptible strains of Candida albicans in order to explore the relationship between resistance to antifungal drugs and virulence of C. albicans. Fifteen each of fluconazole-resistant (MIC ≥ 64 μg ml−1) and fluconazole-susceptible (MIC ≤ 8 μg ml−1) strains of C. albicans were incubated on egg yolk agar to detect phospholipase activity. Virulence of C. albicans was assessed by the average survival time of infected mice. Expression of phospholipase B1 mRNA and protein were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot method. Significant differences between the two groups of Candida strains were observed in phospholipase activity and average survival time of infected mice. The expression of phospholipase B1 mRNA and protein (both of secreted and intracellular forms) were higher in resistant strains than in susceptible strains. The results indicate that the phospholipase activity of C. albicans may be related to its resistance to antifungal drugs.


2 Baruch relies on the familiarity of its audience with biblical Ezra and his efforts to restore Israel after the Jews returned from their exile. In text and in characterization, 2 Baruch finds much to imitate in Ezra. In the popular imagination of the late Second Temple period, Ezra directed his coreligionists toward the systematic teaching of the law; just so 2 Baruch imagines its hero "Baruch" doing for his contemporaries. 2 Baruch therefore seeks to revitalize Israel in terms of law, community identity, Scripture, and even national expansion in an age of Jewish disenfranchisement.


Due to accurate preoperative imaging techniques, early diagnosis and effective chemotherapy, many tumors arising in the metaphyseo-diaphyseal regions of long bones can be segmentally resected with joint preservation. The intercalary resection of malignant bone tumor results in a bone defect which can represent a challenging reconstructive problem. The most commonly used surgical reconstructive options for these defects include biologic reconstructions such as allografts, vascularized fibular grafts, autogenous extracorporeally devitalized tumor bearing bone graft, combination of allografts or devitalized autografts with vascularized fibular grafts, segmental bone transport, or induced membrane technique. Nonbiologic reconstructions, on the other hand, use intercalary endoprostheses. Every patient should be carefully evaluated and the reconstructive option should be individually selected. The aim of this article is to discuss the surgical options of reconstruction of bone defects after intercalary resection of malignant bone tumors with reviewing of their indications, advantages, disadvantages and complications.


The growing number of Internet users brought forth an increase in the search for Brazilian online pharmacy services. Aiming at evaluating the validity of information disseminated in these websites, a descriptive study was carried out in 18 virtual pharmacies concerning legal aspects, accessibility, sources of information and drug advertising. It was found 15 pharmacies did not have authorization of the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency; the manager pharmaceutical officer's name could not be found in 17 of them; 17 pharmacies marketed drugs with no registration, especially herbal medicines, and did not show either information on adverse drug reactions or this agency's alerts and health recommendations. Since health control and drug commerce in Brazilian online pharmacies have not been yet regulated by proper government agencies, these gaps found in the sites can pose risk to the users' health.


Abstract : The objectives of this demonstration are to (1) provide a full-scale validation of the low volatile organic compound (VOC) barrier coating (LVBC) for use as an architectural and industrial maintenance (AIM) coating, (2) assist in the transition of a nonaircraft topcoating using the zero- VOC topcoat (ZVT) (MIL-PRF-85285D, Type III, Class W), and (3) enable the transition of this very low VOC AIM coating system directly into the hands of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) end users who require aboveground storage tank (AST) maintenance painting. Corrosion of AST steel exterior surfaces is a perennial and costly problem. To protect against corrosion, AST exterior surfaces typically receive a three-coat system consisting of the following: 1) A zinc-rich epoxy primer (Military Detail Standard [MIL-DTL]-24441, Formula 159, Type III); 2) An epoxy intermediate (MIL-DTL-24441, Formula 152, Type IV); and 3) A polyurethane topcoat (Military Performance Standard [MIL-PRF]-85285D, Type II). These coats are commonly formulated with about 304 grams per liter (g/l) (2.5 pounds per gallon [lbs/gal]), 340 g/l (2.8 lbs/gal) and 340 g/l (2.8 lbs/gal) of VOCs, respectively. Exterior AST maintenance painting is often required at around 8 to 10 years of service. However, the original three-coat system described above is not appropriate for use over aged and weathered coatings. When the original system has been used as an overcoat system, it has contributed to costly premature coating failures. These overcoat failures typically occur as a result of high levels of residual cure stress (curing of the overcoat system) combined with the daily thermal cycling (daily temperature extremes). Therefore, typical maintenance consists of making spot repairs to visibly corroded areas or waiting until the existing coating is fully removed and a reapplication is necessary.


OBJECTIVES
Mini-PCNL is a potentially less invasive technique than standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). We present our experience and results comparing both approaches in large burden complex renal calculi.

METHODS
Prospective non randomized study comparing PCNL (24/26F nephroscope; Group A) and Mini-PCNL (15/18F; Group B) perioperative and postoperative results, in 40 (20 each group) consecutive patients between 2013 and 2014. We analyze demographic data, hemoglobin drop, urine culture, stone characteristics, operative time, puncture, number and size of the tract, disintegration energy sources, nephrostomy placement, hospital stay, stone free rate and Clavien-Dindo complications.

RESULTS
Evolution has shown growth for Mini-PNL, with the last 17 consecutive cases performed by this approach. No preoperative differences in laterality, age, gender or ASA were found; but there were differences in BMI (median Group A: 26.35 kg/m2; Median Group B: 33.05 kg/m2, p = 0.008). Median calculi surface area (SA = length × width × π × 0.25) was higher for mini-PNL (6.69 cm2 vs 14.14; p=0.003). The operative time was longer for mini-PNL (120 vs 162.5 min, p = 0.03). Only one case (5%) required transfusion in NLP 24/26F. Mini-PCNL was associated with tubeless technique (55%) (p = 0.022), which explains lower 24 h postoperative pain, after surgery, measured by VAS (p =0.0004). The hospital stay was equivalent (median: 2 days; p=0.8). Both techniques showed efficacy (SFR at 3 months 80%). There were no statistically significant differences between the number and severity of complications between groups (Group A: 15%, 66.7% Clavien II, Group B: 15%; 66.7% Clavien II, p = 1).

CONCLUSIONS
Mini-NLP can manage kidney stones and even large staghorn calculi without nephrostomy in a high percentage of patients. The technical evolution towards a small caliber approach maintains the effectiveness of the procedure without impacting its safety, with benefits perceived by patients such as less postoperative pain.


We present two new ternary alloy silicides with tunable work function ranging between 4.27eV to 4.7eV and 4.8eV to 5.0eV respectively for dual metal gate CMOS applications. NixTa1-xSi gates were investigated for NMOS and NixPt1-xSi gates were investigated for PMOS applications on SiO2, HfO 2 and HfSiOx dielectrics. A large degree of tuning was observed on SiO2 however the tuning range decreased as Hf content of the dielectric increased. It was also found that the thermal stability of nickel silicide was enhanced due to the incorporation of tantalum. Device results demonstrate thermally stable characteristics at 900degC, making them eligible candidate for gate first application. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed presence of alloy silicide phases that were responsible for the work function tuning


Abstract Depressive disorders occur in up to 50% of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Prevalence estimates are generally 2–3-times higher than those of the general population. Myriad aetiologic factors may contribute to the aetiology of depression in MS including biological mechanisms (e.g. hippocampal microglial activation, lesion burden, regional atrophy), as well as the stressors, threats, and losses that accompany living with an unpredictable and often disabling disease. Some prominent risk factors for depression such as (younger) age, (female) sex, and family history of depression are less consistently associated with depression in MS than they are in the general population. Management of depression in MS has not been well studied, but available data on detection and treatment align with general principles of depression management. While the validity of standard measurement scales has often been questioned, available evidence suggests that standard scales provide valid ratings. Evidence for the effectiveness of depression treatments in MS is limited, but available evidence supports the effectiveness of standard treatment approaches, including both cognitive behavioural therapies and antidepressant medications.


This article analyzes the changes in the global garlic business between 1960 and 2014, addressing both the global supply, concentrated in Asia especially since the 1990s, and the demand, the latter, although also led by Asia, much more dispersed in geographical terms, in line with the greater presence in the import trade of some European and American economies. In this context, Spain has managed to maintain its share in the world market, currently positioning itself as the second largest exporting country in the world, being surpassed only by China.


In the design of electronic solutions in areas as diverse as automotive, communications, automation, electronics, entertainment, industrial automation, medical applications, PC peripherals, consumer products and lighting among others, comes the need for integrated circuits that meet specific functions. This is where the designer must choose from a wide variety of options between manufacturers and between families called integrated circuit manufacturer. This article aims to provide elements for discussion on the criteria according to a particular need determine the choice of a microcontroller and the powers that result, the University should seek to develop in the professional electronics.


New software protection product called "Obfuscation Studio" is presented in the paper. Several obfuscating modules that are already implemented are described. Some theoretical data is presented, that shows the potency and effectiveness of described obfuscation methods. "Obfuscation Studio" is being implemented for protecting programs written for .NET platform, but the described methods can also be interesting for other applications. Keywords—Coupling, obfuscation, predicates, renaming.


Globally, energy consumption has been considered the significant factor that affects economic management and needs the focus of recent studies and regulators. Hence, the present article examines the impact of renewable energy consumption (REC), fossil fuel energy consumption (FFEC), energy use, electric power consumption (EPC) and energy import on the economic management of the Indonesian economy. The present research has taken the data from world development indicators (WDI) from 1991 to 2020. The present article used the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to test the linkage among the variables and executed the Granger causality test to examine the causality association between variables. The results revealed that REC, FFEC, energy use, EPC and energy import have significant and positive linkage with the economic management of the Indonesian economy. The current article has guided the regulators that they should develop the regulators related to the economic management using effective energy consumption.


ABSTRACT An experimental respiratory model was used to investigate the interaction between Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and swine influenza virus (SIV) in the induction of pneumonia in susceptible swine. Previous studies demonstrated that M. hyopneumoniae, which produces a chronic bronchopneumonia in swine, potentiates a viral pneumonia induced by the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). In this study, pigs were inoculated with M. hyopneumoniae 21 days prior to inoculation with SIV. Clinical disease as characterized by the severity of cough and fever was evaluated daily. Percentages of lung tissue with visual lesions and microscopic lesions were assessed upon necropsy at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days following SIV inoculation. Clinical observations revealed that pigs infected with both SIV and M. hyopneumoniae coughed significantly more than pigs inoculated with a single agent. Macroscopic pneumonia on necropsy at days 3 and 7 was greatest in both SIV-infected groups, with minimal levels of pneumonia in the M. hyopneumoniae-only-infected pigs. At 14 days post-SIV inoculation, pneumonia was significantly more severe in pigs infected with both pathogens. However, by 21 days postinoculation, the level of pneumonia in the dual-infected pigs was similar to that of the M. hyopneumoniae-only-infected group, and the pneumonia in the pigs inoculated with only SIV was nearly resolved. Microscopically, there was no apparent increase in the severity of pneumonia in pigs infected with both agents compared to that of single-agent-challenged pigs. The results of this study found that while pigs infected with both agents exhibited more severe clinical disease, the relationship between the two pathogens lacked the profound potentiation found with dual infection with M. hyopneumoniae and PRRSV. These findings demonstrate that the relationship between mycoplasmas and viruses varies with the individual agent.


This paper reports the measurement of electroweak production of single top quarks in lepton plus jets final state by the DO and CDF collaborations. At Fermilab's 1.96 TeV proton-antiproton collider, events are selected from several inverse femtobarns of data in the W+jets topology consistent with the signature of an isolated charged lepton (electron or muon), large missing transverse energy from the W boson decay and two or more jets, at least one of them is required to be identified as originating from a bottom quark. Sophisticated multivariate analysis techniques are employed to separate the small single top quark signal from background. Both experiments measure the single top production cross section in s-channel, t-channel and s + t-channel. The data is also used to extract limits on the CKM matrix element |Vtb|.


The recent phenomenon of brand ambassador has been recognized as a marketing tool in business industry. However, the conceptualization of Korean brand ambassador impacted on impulse buying behavior has not been addressed. The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying the connection between brand ambassador, brand image, brand awareness, and impulse buying behavior. Research model developed by comprehensive set of hypotheses were formulated and a methodology for testing them was outlined. These hypotheses were tested empirically to demonstrate the applicability of the research model. Using purposive sampling method, out of 541 questionnaires distributed, 489 were selected as samples. This research analysis is using PLS-SEM (Partial Least Square). With confidence level 95%, the result of this study showed that brand ambassador significantly influenced impulse buying behavior directly through brand image and brand awareness. These findings provide essential implications for marketers in business industry. For further research, researchers can use a wider range of respondents and many factors that influence impulse buying behavior, such as FOMO and hedonic shopping motivation..


Agricultural drainage ditches accumulate high urea-nitrogen (N) concentrations even in the absence of urea fertilizer applications to adjacent crop fields. The accumulated urea, and other bioavailable forms of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), can be flushed downstream during substantial rainfall events altering downstream water quality and phytoplankton communities. Sources of urea-N supporting its accumulation in agricultural drainage ditches is poorly understood. A ditch flooding event was simulated using mesocosms with N treatment solutions and monitored for changes in N concentrations, physicochemical properties, dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition, and N cycling enzymes. N concentrations were also monitored in field ditches after two rainfall events. Urea-N concentrations were higher with DON enrichment, but the treatment effects were temporary. The DOM released from the mesocosm sediments was dominated by terrestrial-derived, high molecular weight material. The lack of microbial-derived DOM and evidence from the bacterial gene abundances in the mesocosms suggests that urea-N accumulation after rainfall may not be associated with fresh biological inputs. The urea-N concentrations after spring rainfall and flooding with DON substrates indicated the urea from fertilizers may only temporarily affect urea-N concentrations in drainage ditches. Because urea-N concentrations increased with a high degree of DOM humification, sources of urea may derive from the slow decomposition of complex DOM structures. This study provides further insights of sources contributing to high urea-N concentrations and the types of DOM released from drainage ditches to nearby surface waters after hydrological events. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Post-Ottoman temporal topologies—cases where the past,
present, and future may be bent around one another rather than ordered linearly—may produce uncanny histories. The uncanny is activated, as Freud noted, when something secret comes to light, but also
when the expectations of a given genre are exceeded. In these cases,
the genre of historicism has been violated. Rather than contending that
the post-Ottoman world is entirely different from Western Europe, the
examples here alert one to the presence of uncanny histories in many
other places since historicism has nowhere managed to eradicate its
alternatives. Unsettled pasts of violence and displacement and presents
beset by ongoing tensions (political, economic, religious/ethnic) do
contribute, however, to a particular vitality and saliency of uncanny
histories in the post-Ottoman sphere.


This review covers recent advances in applying data assimilation techniques to problems in physical oceanography. The introduction and appendices provide the non-specialist reader with background in ocean circulation and observing methods. The 4D variational assimilation approach is covered in depth showing how model - data misfits can be minimized using Lagrange multipliers in an unconstrained variational problem. Applications to modelling tropical Pacific temperatures, sea surface heights and circulation in the North Atlantic, and tomographic (sound travel time) data are all presented. The use of variational methods for deriving average climatological circulation patterns is also described as well as applications to error growth during numerical forecasting. The paper then focuses on three important topics in physical oceanography, the evolution of ocean mesoscale eddies in middle latitudes, the development of El Nino events in the tropical Pacific, and the evolution of ocean surface waves. Recent improvements in data acquisition and modelling in these areas mean that data assimilation is practical and is providing new insights and forecasting capabilities to varying degrees. Results using a variety of assimilation techniques are presented, concluding with a forward look to a time when routine forecasting of ocean developments will be possible with important implications ranging from understanding climate change to fishing and pollution control.


Individual, unaided human abilities are constrained. Media have helped us to transcend boundaries in thinking, working, learning, and collaborating by supporting distributed intelligence. Wireless and mobile technologies provide new opportunities for empowering humans, but not without potential pitfalls. We explore these opportunities and pitfalls from a lifelong-learning perspective and discuss how wireless and mobile technologies can influence and change conceptual frameworks such as the relationship between planning and situated action, context awareness, human attention, distances in collaborative design activities, and the trade-off between tools for living and tools for learning. The impact of wireless and mobile technologies is illustrated with our research projects, which focus on moving "computing off the desktop" by "going small, large, and everywhere." Specific examples include human-centered public transportation systems, collaborative design, and information sharing with smart physical objects.


Neutron fluxes in different spatial locations in biological shield are obtained with TORT code (TORT-Three Dimensional Oak Ridge Discrete Ordinates Neutron/Photon Transport Code). Libraries used with TORT code were BUGLE-96 library (coupled library with 47 neutron groups and 20 gamma groups) and VITAMIN-B6 library (coupled library with 199 neutron groups and 42 gamma groups). BUGLE-96 library is derived from VITAMIN-B6 library. 2-D and 3-D models for homogeneous type of problem (without inserted beam port 4) and problem with asymmetry (non-homogeneous problem; inserted beam port 4, filled with different materials) were of interest for neutron flux calculation. The main purpose is to verify the possibility for using 2-D approximation model instead of large 3-D model in some calculations. Another purpose of this paper was to compare neutron spectral constants obtained from neutron fluxes (3-D model) determined with smaller BUGLE-96 library with new constants obtained from fluxes calculated with bigger VITAMIN-B6 library. These neutron spectral constants are used in isotopic calculation with SCALE code package (ORIGEN-S). In past only neutron spectral constants determined by neutron fluxes from BUGLE-96 library were used. Experimental results used for isotopic composition comparison are available from irradiation experiment with selected type of concrete and other materials in beam port 4 (irradiation channel 4) in TRIGA Mark II reactor. These experimental results were used as a benchmark in this paper.


The automation of internal logistics and inventory-related tasks is one of the main challenges of modern-day manufacturing corporations since it allows a more effective application of their human resources. Nowadays, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) are state of the art technologies for such applications due to their great adaptability in dynamic environments, replacing more traditional solutions such as Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV), which are quite limited in terms of flexibility and require expensive facility updates for their installation. The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase AMRs capabilities has been contributing for the development of more sophisticated and efficient robots. Nevertheless, multi-robot coordination and cooperation for solving complex tasks is still a hot research line with increasing interest. This work proposes a Multi-Agent System for coordinating multiple TIAGo robots in tasks related to the manufacturing ecosystem such as the transportation and dispatching of raw materials, finished products and tools. Furthermore, the system is showcased in a realistic simulation using both Gazebo and Robot Operating System (ROS).


The total emission current in a vacuum tube can be expressed by the familiar space-charge equaion. This paper shows theoretically that the ratio of plate current to total current should be a function only of the ratio of grid to plate voltage, and introduces experimental data to show that the function can be represented by a single exponential term. The exponential function is combined with the space-charge equation to obtain an empirical equation for the positive-grid plate-current characteristic. A simple, experimental method of obtaining the constants in this equation is described.


Corinne Saunders, Ulrika Maude, Jane Macnaughton. Published by Palgrave Macmillan 2009 9780230552043

Anyone who saw the advertisements or handled the literature relating to the recent AMH conference in Durham will be familiar with the cover illustration of this volume. It is taken from Antony Gormley's iconic Domain field (2003), an installation of 287 sculptures that filled an entire floor of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. The bodies of volunteers aged from two to 85 were moulded in plaster and the casts then used to construct individual representations by welding steel elements within each mould. The end result appears as a field of metal fragments marking out the space normally contained within the skin of each person, and translates this series of three dimensional 'singularities' into an 'energy field' around and through which visitors may walk and engage. But this is not simply an instance of borrowing an eye-catching picture. The renowned sculptor is one of the panoply of excellent contributors. And indeed the illustration is a fitting representation of the contents within. It invites us to consider the human form in relation to its physical surroundings, and the book encourages an inspection of the body in the evolving context of history and culture.

The body and the arts is an arrangement …


Various surveys have shown that pregnant women frequently take mild analgesics. The most widely used nonprescription analgesics are aspirin, acetaminophen, and its precursor phenacetin. Acetaminophen has been detected in the urine of ten out of 250 women attending an antenatal clinic in Australia.1 We have recently studied and reported on the kinetics of salicylate elimination by newborn infants of mothers who ingested aspirin before delivery, either in single small doses2 or regularly in large doses.3


The aim of this article is to draw some lines about the application of proximity analysis in business relations, be there face to face exchanges or distant relations, with a peculiar attention to innovative behaviors, whether they imply local interactions, virtual exchanges or mobility of white collars and engineers. We first give a broad definition of various types of proximity relations, especially the most important ones: geographical proximity, organized proximity, and temporary geographical proximity, and then provide some developments about the theoretical origins and the development of the proximity analysis. The third part of the paper is devoted to a summary of the main applied studies and to the design of a core model of proximity relations for business firms, involving different types of proximity links, be there local or abroad. We then apply this model to the analysis of the local and external relations of the firms in the optics cluster in the greater Paris Region, and identify four types of firms and their proximity figures.


The refinement results in optimum positioning of atoms in the density in most cases, and the juxtaposition of positive and negative density leads to high contrast in the maps and rapid convergence of the refinement. The real-space technique is particularly useful in handling the problem of peak overlap, which is difficult in the neutron case. All refinements to date have been done on the original map, which was phased without hydrogen and deuterium atoms, but the next series of refinements will contain H and D atoms, hydrogen exchange information, and structured water molecules. Comparison of the refinements of CO, Mb and met Mb have shown the iron atom to move nearly into the heme plane. No deuterium atom exists to bond the distal histidine to the CO ligand. Atomic coordinates of all atoms and water molecules will be published on completion of the refinements.


Background It remains unclear whether or not a positive family history of affective disorders predicts the effectiveness of antidepressant treatment of depression. Aims Assess the relationship of a family history of affective disorders to the efficacy of duloxetine in the treatment of depressive disorder. Methods Seventy-seven patients with depressive disorder (as defined by the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10) were enrolled in the study and treated with standard doses of duloxetine for 12 weeks. Among these patients 37 had a family history of affective disorder in first-degree relatives and 40 did not. The Hamilton Depression rating scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety rating scale (HAMA), Side Effects Rating Scale (SERS), Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were assessed at baseline and at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 12th week after enrollment. Repeated measures analysis of variance and logistic regression were used to analyze the association between a family history of affective disorders and the efficacy of duloxetine. Results Patients with a positive family history of affective disorders had an earlier age of onset, a longer duration of illness, a higher level of psychic anxiety, and more prominent anhedonia. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant improvement in the severity of depression over the 12 weeks but no differences in the magnitude or speed of improvement between the two groups. Treatment was considered effective (i.e., drop in baseline HAMD-17 total score of ≥50%) in 75.7% of those with a family history of affective disorders and in 77.5% of those without a family history (X2=0.04, p=0.850). Conclusions Family history of affective disorders is not associated with the effectiveness of duloxetine in the acute treatment of depressive disorder.


The aim of work is the use of a cheap adsorbent; sawdust (SD), for the adsorption of anionic dye, acid red57 (AR57), and cationic dye, basic fuchsin (BF). The adsorption of AR57 and BF on SD increased by increasing contact time and adsorbent dosage, while decreased with the increase of temperature and initial dye concentration. The increase in pH decreased the adsorption of AR57 and increased the adsorption of BF. The effective pH, adsorbent dose, and contact time on the AR57 removal efficiency were found to be 3, 0.1 g and 50 min, respectively. While for BF it was found to be 6, 0.2 g and 50 min, respectively. Fitting equilibrium data to Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms showed that Freundlich model is the most suitable to describe the acid red57 and basic fuchsin. The kinetic studies indicate that the adsorption of AR57 and BF follows a pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption of both AR57 and BF is spontaneous (ΔG = -3.97, -3.27 kJ/mol) and exothermic (ΔH = -22.9, -8.3 kJ/mol) with negative values of ΔG and ΔH. The negative values of ΔS of both AR57 and BF (ΔS = -64.6, -16.7 J/mol. K) showed that the randomness decreases through the adsorption process.


A novel peptide was extracted from wheat germ globulin and purified using ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and semi-preparative reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The sequence of the peptide was found to be Glu-Cys-Phe-Ser-Thr-Ala (ECFSTA). Its immunomodulatory effects were evaluated, and the results showed that ECFSTA could enhance phagocytosis of RAW 264.7 cells and significantly increase their secretion of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). ECFSTA activated macrophages mainly through the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and the production of ROS simultaneously stimulated macrophages to produce TNF-α. Thus, ECFSTA could be used as an immunomodulator and might be a promising component of functional foods.


The purpose of this paper is to incorporate semiparametric alternatives to maximum likelihood estimation and inference in the context of unordered multinomial response data when in practice there is often insufficient information to specify the parametric form of the function linking the observables to the unknown probabilities. We specify the function linking the observables to the unknown probabilities using a very general flexible class of functions belonging to the Pearson system of cumulative distribution equations. In this setting we consider the observations as arising from a multinomial distribution characterized by one of the CDFs in the Pearson system. Given this situation, it is possible to utilize the concept of unbiased estimating functions (EFs), combined with the concept of empirical likelihood (EL) to define an (empirical) likelihood function for the parameter vector based on a nonparametric representation of the sample's PDF. This leads to the concept of maximum empirical likelihood (MEL) estimation and inference, which is analogous to parametric maximum likelihood methods in many respects.


Solving lossy multiconductor transmission line (MTL) equations is of fundamental importance for the design and signal integrity verification of interconnections in VLSI systems. It is well established that the critical issue is the efficient and accurate electrical characterization of the MTLs through the determination of their per-unit-length parameters. In this respect, the so-called complementarity has the potential to become a fast and accurate method for the extraction of these parameters. Besides the value of the parameters, in fact, complementarity provides rigorous error bounds for them. Despite this important feature, commercial software do not use complementarity yet, due to the fact that there are unsolved theoretical issues related to the nonstandard formulation based on the electric vector potential. Some attempts to fill this gap have been already reported. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by introducing a general formulation based on the electric vector potential highlighting the advantages of complementarity with respect to the standard first- and second-order finite element formulations.


Background: Share our experiences with a series of surgical removal of cerebellopontine angle with retrosigmoid suboccipital procedure.
Materials and Methods: It was a retrospective study of 48 patients (mean age, 45 years) with Cerebellopontine Angle tumors (predominantly acoustic schwannoma) who underwent surgical removal and one year post-operative follow up.
Results: Hearing improvement about 50% of patient. Facial nerve function as measured by the House Brackmann system was recorded in all patients 1 year following surgery: 35% had a score of 1 or 2; 25% had a score of 3 or 4; and 8% had a score of 5 or 6. Rest of the patient full recover Two death occurred during this study. There was one cerebrospinal fluid leak, and two patients were diagnosed as having bacterial meningitis. Complete gross tumor removal was not achieved in five patients (10%). Two cases had wound infections.
Conclusion: The retrosigmoid suboccipital procedure was used in our series for removal CPA tumors, and outcome was good in this series.
Bang. J Neurosurgery 2020; 9(2): 117-220


This article considers the results of investigation of the effect of parameters of the torsional damper of a composite flywheel on the amplitude of torque on the primary shaft of a gearbox. It is shown that it is reasonable to install a torsional damper with minimal rigidity.


Abstract. We use a four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4D-VAR) algorithm to observe the growth of 2-D plumes from a point heat source. In order to test the predictability of the 4D-VAR technique for 2-D plumes, we perturb the initial conditions and compare the resulting predictions to the predictions given by a direct numerical simulation (DNS) without any 4D-VAR correction. We have studied plumes in fluids with Rayleigh numbers between 10 6 and 10 7 and Prandtl numbers between 0.7 and 70, and we find the quality of the prediction to have a definite dependence on both the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers. As the Rayleigh number is increased, so is the quality of the prediction, due to an increase of the inertial effects in the adjoint equations for momentum and energy. The horizon predictability time, or how far into the future the 4D-VAR method can predict, decreases as Rayleigh number increases. The quality of the prediction is decreased as Prandtl number increases, however. Quality also decreases with increased prediction time.


Kernel machines have recently been considered as a promising solution for implicit surface modelling. A key challenge of machine learning solutions is how to fit implicit shape models from large-scale sets of point cloud samples efficiently. In this paper, we propose a fast solution for approximating implicit surfaces based on a multi-scale Tikhonov regularization scheme. The optimization of our scheme is formulated into a sparse linear equation system, which can be efficiently solved by factorization methods. Different from traditional approaches, our scheme does not employ auxiliary off-surface points, which not only saves the computational cost but also avoids the problem of injected noise. To further speedup our solution, we present a multi-scale surface fitting algorithm of coarse to fine modelling. We conduct comprehensive experiments to evaluate the performance of our solution on a number of datasets of different scales. The promising results show that our suggested scheme is considerably more efficient than the state-of-the-art approach.


Seventeen global models of terrestrial biogeochemistry were compared with respect to annual and seasonal fluxes of net primary productivity (NPP) for the land biosphere. The comparison, sponsored by IGBP‐GAIM/DIS/GCTE, used standardized input variables wherever possible and was carried out through two international workshops and over the Internet. The models differed widely in complexity and original purpose, but could be grouped in three major categories: satellite‐based models that use data from the NOAA/AVHRR sensor as their major input stream (CASA, GLO‐PEM, SDBM, SIB2 and TURC), models that simulate carbon fluxes using a prescribed vegetation structure (BIOME‐BGC, CARAIB 2.1, CENTURY 4.0, FBM 2.2, HRBM 3.0, KGBM, PLAI 0.2, SILVAN 2.2 and TEM 4.0), and models that simulate both vegetation structure and carbon fluxes (BIOME3, DOLY and HYBRID 3.0). The simulations resulted in a range of total NPP values (44.4–66.3 Pg C year–1), after removal of two outliers (which produced extreme results as artefacts due to the comparison). The broad global pattern of NPP and the relationship of annual NPP to the major climatic variables coincided in most areas. Differences could not be attributed to the fundamental modelling strategies, with the exception that nutrient constraints generally produced lower NPP. Regional and global NPP were sensitive to the simulation method for the water balance. Seasonal variation among models was high, both globally and locally, providing several indications for specific deficiencies in some models.


The results of 223 patients with fractures of the femoral neck treated by AO osteosynthes were evaluated. The series consisted of 140 women and 83 men, 114 femoral neck fractures and 109 trachanteric fractures. One year after the operation the nailing results were poor in 22.9 per cent of the femoral neck fractures and in 2.7 per cent of the trochanteric fractures. The reasons of the poor results were mainly the perforation of the nail. Pseudoarthrosis were founded in 3 cases and in one case the AO nail was broken. The mortality after 2 weeks was 3.1 per cent, after one month 6.3 per cent, after 6 months 15.7 per cent and after 12 months 20.6 per cent. Infection and thrombosis were founded both in 3.1 per cent.


Main Objectives: To investigate the types of traumatic events that lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and whether personality disorder (PD) acts as a possible exacerbating factor in the experience of PTSD and other Axis-I disorders from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association; APA, DSM-IV, 1994), and also to establish differences in the prevalence of particular PD s among participants with PTSD and those without PTSD. Design and Setting: The study employed a retrospective, comparative between and within groups design. Participants were recruited from Army and RAF military outpatient psychiatric settings (Department of Community Psychiatry; DCP) around the UK. Participants: Participants were a U K sample population of active duty armed forces personnel presenting for treatment at a DCP. Of the sample population (n = 46), 21 met criteria for PTSD on the Posttraumatic stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS; Foa, 1995) and were assigned to the experimental PTSD group. As the remaining 25 participants did not meet PTSD diagnostic, they formed the N on-PTSD group. All female personnel were excluded from the study, as were males presenting with an organic or psychotic disorder. Main outcome measures: Each participant completed the PDS and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Ill (MCMI-III; MQlon, 1994) and was interviewed by the Trainee Clinical Psychologist using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II disorders (SCID-II; First, Gibbon, Spitzer, Williams & Benjamin, 1997). Results: No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding the presence of PD or types of PDs identified. Participants with PTSD were found to have more Cluster A PDs and participants in the Non-PTSD group had more Cluster B PDs. In this study, the presence of PD made no difference to PTSD symptom severity. Alcohol dependence was not observed to be a significant comorbid Axis-I disorder in either group. The comorbid PTSD-PD group had higher MCMI-III mean BR scores for anxiety, dysthymia, major depression, somatoform and delusional disorder compared with the other groups. No difference was observed between the groups on the number or types of traumas experienced. Participants who just failed to meet PTSD diagnostic criteria may have influenced the results, although this finding was not statistically significant Conclusion: PTSD may be underdiagnosed when trauma is not the obvious presenting problem; therefore the disorder should be screened for during routine psychiatric interviews. Relying on cut-off scores on PTSD diagnostic tools may result in those individuals with subthreshold levels of PTSD being misdiagnosed. Diagnostic measures should not be used in isolation of other clarifying information.


Stimuli-responsive polymers adapt to their surrounding environment. These polymers are capable of responding to a variety of external stimuli, which include optical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, redox, pH, chemical, environmental and biological signals. They are encountered in many environments. They can have a variety of architectures (e.g., copolymers, blocks, stars). They may be present as isolated macromolecules in a medium, as supramolecular assemblies, as smart coatings, as networks or some combination of these possibilities. This paper is concerned with the process of forming such polymers by radical polymerization with reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT). RAFT polymerization has an advantage over most processes for reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) in its tolerance of a wide range of unprotected functionalities. Three basic strategies for forming stimuli-responsive polymers are considered: RAFT polymerization of functional monomers (a "grafting through" approach), the post-polymerization modification of RAFT-synthesized polymers (some combination of "grafting through", "from" and "to"), and the use of functional RAFT agents and RAFT end-group transformation (often "grafting from"). Other syntheses involve combinations of these processes and of RAFT polymerization with other processes. We also consider the responsiveness of the thiocarbonylthio-functionality of macroRAFT agents in terms of their ability to directly initiate and control RAFT polymerization and to regulate the properties of RAFT-synthesized polymers.


Development is said to be a predictor that determines whether a country is progressing or not. A vital evaluation of Nigeria's development regardless of her abundance in human, natural and material resources reveals that the country is yet to attain the desired prospects as clamored by her citizens. The purpose of this cram is to recognize the challenges to development in Nigeria. In order to obtain data for the research, the work adopted qualitative research method through textual analysis. The findings of this study revealed that despite the country's attempt to advance development, numerous challenges have posed a great threat to the nation sustainable growth. These setbacks range from insecurity of life on her citizens, imposition of policies on her citizens, capital to implement development plans/policies, corruption and lack of credible leadership among others. The paper concludes that once the identified setbacks are tackled then development will be realized in the country.


Robotics in rehabilitation provide considerable opportunities to improve the quality of life for physically disabled people. However, practical results are limited, mainly due to the need for developing new robotics concepts where people are working together with robots, as opposed to industrial robots where they are working in separated areas. The authors reveal some of the developments needed and present two projects currently underway at Lund University. The first one is concerned with end-effector design for a robotic workstation for office-based tasks, while the second is concerned with a mobile robotic system for use in medical and chemical laboratories by disabled people. Both projects show promising results. There is also a need for further research in developing new robotic systems for use in rehabilitation with new mechanical features, as well as programming and control suitable for any user. >


Abstract : One approach to minimizing toxic wastes is to eliminate the use of cyanide plating baths. Non-cyanide zinc plating baths have been successfully developed and have found widespread use. An investigation was conducted in an attempt to accomplish similar results with cadmium plating baths. The focus of this study was on additives to a near neutral cadmium bath, free of complexing agents. A Hull cell was used to enable visualization of deposits over a broad range of cathode current densities. Experimental design (Taguchi Method) was used to optimize bath parameters and constituent concentrations. Bath have been developed which indicate promise for producing dense deposits with good covering power, and relatively low tendency for hydrogen embrittlement.


The PANGAEA information system (http://www.pangaea.de) is operated to a long-term archive and publication unit of the World Data Center for Marine Environmental Sciences (WDC-MARE, http://www.wdc-mare.org) and efficiently distributes geological, biological, hydrophysical and meteorological data as well as any other georeferenced results from Earth system research. The system provides the data in consistent standard formats with search and access capabilities via Internet. The data are always stored with related meta-information necessary for their understanding. The system is designed as a network using client/server technology in a three-tiered architecture. The challenge of managing heterogenic and dynamic data was met through a flexible data model consisting of a relational data structure open to any kinds of scientific variables.The PANGAEA information system is operated by the AWI and MARUM institutions as an Open Access Library for any kinds of georeferenced data and also is used by individual scientists as well as by international and domestic programs as a repository. The data can be stored as supplements related to publications or stand-alone data collections. Each data set is published with a citation including a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for reliable access. The data are presented according to OAI-PMH standards for harvesting and thus can be accessed and distributed by portals.WDC-MARE was founded in 2001 as a member of the World Data Center System. By the beginning of 2008 WDC-MARE stored more than 4 billions data items in about 600 thousands data sets from more than 150 projects. Major geological project examples, served by PANGAEA, are ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling) and the European part of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program). Within the project ARCOD (Arctic Ocean Sediment Database) geological data from the Arctic are retrodigitized and made available to the international scientific community by means of the PANGAEA technology. EUR-OCEANS funding program for hydrobiological, hydrophysical, and biogeochemical data rescue and integration results is also worth mentioning.


Aim. To study the effect of eplerenone on the activity of free radical oxidation and renal function in rats with experimental diabetes mellitus induced by streptozotocin. Materials and methods . Experiments were carried out on 36 male Wistar rats. Diabetes mellitus (DM) was simulated by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin at a dose of 65 mg/kg. Eplerenone was injected into the stomach at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Results. It was found that eplerenone in experimental diabetic nephropathy (DN) significantly attenuated proteinuria: the concentration of protein in the urine became 4 times lower than in untreated DN ( p < 0.001). In the kidneys, eplerenone therapy normalized the structure and function of renal glomeruli and restored the podocyte number, which was reduced by 37.8% in the DN model. Free radical oxidation (FRO) in the kidneys of rats treated with eplerenone increased – the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances rose by 1.5 times ( p = 0.009), and changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (a decrease by 2.4 times, p = 0.002), catalase (an increase by 1.8 times, р < 0,001), and glutathione peroxidase (an increase by 1.5 times, р < 0.001) were observed, as opposed to the values in the controls. Conclusion. In streptozotocin-induced experimental diabetic nephropathy in rats, eplerenone had a nephroprotective effect, but increased oxidative stress in the kidneys. The increase in FRO could be determined by the nongenomic effect of aldosterone, which accumulates under conditions of prolonged mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blockade. The nephroprotective effect of eplerenone can be associated with the weakening of the genomic effects of aldosterone, realized with the participation of MR.


A new control paradigm using angular momentum and foot placement as state variables in the linear inverted pendulum model has expanded the realm of possibilities for the control of bipedal robots. This new paradigm, known as the ALIP model, has shown effectiveness in cases where a robot's center of mass height can be assumed to be constant or near constant as well as in cases where there are no non-kinematic restrictions on foot placement. Walking up and down stairs violates both of these assumptions, where center of mass height varies significantly within a step and the geometry of the stairs restrict the effectiveness of foot placement. In this paper, we explore a variation of the ALIP model that allows the length of the virtual pendulum formed by the robot's stance foot and center of mass to follow smooth trajectories during a step. We couple this model with a control strategy constructed from a novel combination of virtual constraint-based control and a model predictive control algorithm to stabilize a stair climbing gait that does not soley rely on foot placement. Simulations on a 20-degree of freedom model of the Cassie biped in the SimMechanics simulation environment show that the controller is able to achieve periodic gait.


Abstract:Inspired by the works of her British and continental contemporaries, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and George Eliot, Emily Dickinson joined others of her generation in seeking details of their lives. Few critics to date have considered the impact of the cult of literary celebrity on Dickinson's memorializing of other writers. Poetic and biographical tributes to Barrett Browning and George Eliot were carried in the popular newspapers and journals Dickinson read, such as the Atlantic Monthly and Springfield Republican. Likewise, the distribution of their photographs further expanded their renown and created a sense of fictional intimacy between readers and writers. As I hope to demonstrate, Dickinson's letters and three elegies about Barrett Browning, "Her - last Poems -" (Fr600), "I think I was enchanted" (Fr627), and "I went to thank Her -" (Fr637), suggest that the construction of the poet's life and her posthumous fame unfairly superseded her work. In a similar way, her letters about George Eliot portray Dickinson as a literary fan and, simultaneously, problematize the relationship between the dead poet and her living readers.


The synthesis, antibacterial activity and oral absorption of the 7 beta -[(Z)-2-aryl-2-carboxymethoxyiminoacetamido]-3- vinylcephalosporins are described. Of these cephalosporin derivatives, 7 beta-[(Z)-2-(2-amino-4-thiazolyl)-2-carboxymethoxyiminoacetamido]- 3-vinylcephalosporin exhibited the highest activity against Gram-negative bacteria and showed also good excretion after oral administration to rats. In addition, the effects on the antibacterial activity and oral absorption of the amino function on the thiazole ring are discussed.


The traveling salesman problem is difficult to solve by traditional genetic algorithms because of the requirement that each node must be visited exactly once. In response to this critical requirement, many researchers used specialized operators to adapt traditional genetic algorithms. Although some of these operators are useful, they are ad hoc. We propose a priority-based encoding scheme instead. We assign priorities to all the edges and then perform a greedy algorithm to find a suboptimal solution. The greedy algorithm constructs a legal tour and the priority encoding makes it possible to follow traditional genetic evolution. This approach retains generality in applications and also gains remarkable experimental results.


A laboratory investigation was carried out to study the effects of various compaction technologies on moisture susceptibility, rutting resistance, and fatigue characteristics of various asphalt mixtures. The methodologies used in this study included three technologies such as common hot mix asphalt (HMA), warm mix (WMA), and half-warm mix asphalt (HWMA) technologies. In addition, in terms of WMA and HWMA mixtures, a foaming technology was used to produce the samples. The experimental design for WMA and HWMA included one aggregate moisture contents (� 0.5 % by weight of the dry mass of the aggregate), three lime contents (0 %, 1 % and 2 % lime by weight of dry aggregate), and 2 % foaming water content. For HMA, 1 % lime content and completely dried aggregate were used. Three aggregate sources (designated as A, B, and C) and one PG 64-22 binder were used in this study. A total of 9 Superpave mix designs and 21 mixtures were completed. A total of 84 indirect tensile strength (ITS) samples, 126 asphalt pavement analyzer (APA) samples, and 30 fatigue beams were tested in this research. The major properties such as gyration number, ITS, tensile strength ratio (TSR), rut depth, deformation, toughness, as well as fatigue life were measured and computed for all mixtures. The test results indicated that various compaction technologies would slightly affect the Superpave mix design and obviously have an influence on gyration number, ITS values, rut depth, flow, toughness, and fatigue life of various mixtures regardless of aggregate source and lime content. In addition, the aggregate source significantly affected the ITS and rutting resistance in this study.


For pt.I see ibid., vol.39, p.1121, 1993. The common randomness (CR) capacity of a two-terminal model is defined as the maximum rate of common randomness that the terminals can generate using resources specified by the given model. We determine CR capacity for several models, including those whose statistics depend on unknown parameters. The CR capacity is shown to be achievable robustly, by common randomness of nearly uniform distribution no matter what the unknown parameters are. Our CR capacity results are relevant for the problem of identification capacity, and also yield a new result on the regular (transmission) capacity of arbitrarily varying channels with feedback.


Abstract
 Background Inflammatory Bowel Disease includes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn´s disease (CD) of unknown etiology. The expression of ATP Binding Cassette Family proteins (ABC) has been associated with drug resistance and development of UC. The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) or also known as ABCC7 is involved in the inflammatory chronic response. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of ABCC7/CFTR in UC patients and normal controls without inflammation. Results A total of 62 patients with UC and normal controls were included. We found a significant downregulation of CFTR gene expression in patients with active UC compared to remission UC and normal controls without inflammation (P<0.004 and P<0.0001 respectively) even the gene expression of CFTR was decreased in remission UC patients compared to normal controls (P=0.047). The CFTR gene expression was associated with persistent activity of UC and young age at diagnosis before 40 years. The protein expression of CFTR was decreased in severe active UC patients compared to normal controls without inflammation. Conclusion The CFTR gene and protein expression were significantly decreased in active UC patients and it was also associated with clinical outcomes.


This work was supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01- 0145-FEDER- 007569) through FCT I.P. and by ERDF through COMPETE2020 - POCI. The authors are grateful for funding from FCT (project "FunBioPlas" ERA-IB-2-6/0004/2014) and a fellowship to RM (SFRH-BPD/86470/2012). The authors also thank support from the COST Action MP1206.


This paper describes a Bayesian analysis of impulse response functions. We show how many common priors imply that posterior densities for impulse responses at long horizons have no moments. Our results suggest that impulse responses should be assessed on the basis of their full posterior densities, and that standard estimates such as posterior means, variances or modes may be very misleading.


Dragonfly wings are of great interest to researchers investigating biomimetic designs for antiwetting and antibacterial surfaces. The waxy epicuticular layer on the membrane of dragonfly wings possesses a unique surface nanoarchitecture that consists of irregular arrays of nanoscale pillars. This architecture confers superhydrophobic, self-cleaning, antiwetting, and antibiofouling behaviors. There is some evidence available that suggests that lifestyle factors may have influenced the evolution of the wing nanostructures and, therefore, the resulting properties of the wings; however, it appears that no systematic studies have been performed that have compared the wing surface features across a range of dragonfly species. Here, we provided a comparison of relevant wing surface characteristics, including chemical composition, wettability, and nanoarchitecture, of seven species of dragonfly from three families including Libellulidae, Aeshnidae, and Gomphidae. The characteristic nanopillar arrays were found to be present, and the chemical composition and the resultant wing surface superhydrophobicity were found to be well-conserved across all of the species studied. However, subtle differences were observed between the height, width, and density of nanofeatures and water droplet bouncing behavior on the wing surfaces. The results of this research will contribute to an understanding of the physical and chemical surface features that are optimal for the design of antiwetting and antibacterial surfaces.