India being a developing country mainly depends on livestock sector for its economy. However, nowadays, there is emergence and reemergence of more transboundary animal diseases. The existing diagnostic techniques are not so quick and with less specificity. To reduce the economy loss, there should be a development of rapid, reliable, robust diagnostic technique, which can work with high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Loop mediated isothermal amplification assay is a rapid gene amplification technique that amplifies nucleic acid under an isothermal condition with a set of designed primers spanning eight distinct sequences of the target. This assay can be used as an emerging powerful, innovative gene amplification diagnostic tool against various pathogens of livestock diseases. This review is to highlight the basic concept and methodology of this assay in livestock disease.


Administration of grid resources is a time consuming and often tedious job. Most administrative requests are predictable, and in general, handling them requires knowledge of the local resources and the requester. In this paper we discuss a system to provide automated support for administrative requests, such as resource reservation and user account management. We propose using trust metrics to help judge the merits and suitability of each request. We outline how these metrics can be implemented using trust management techniques into a practical system we call GridAdmin.


Summary Breeding values of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra subsp. laricio (Poir.) Maire) plus-trees were estimated according to Best Linear Unbiased Predictor techniques, as well as the same simple techniques used in estimating Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carr.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) breeding values. Progeny tests had been established over a 20-year period during which time test-design and assessment procedures varied considerably. Although over 1000 Corsican pine plus-trees were originally selected, the complete suite of breeding values for early height, stem straightness and branching quality could only be estimated for 367 plus-trees. Estimates of heritabilities for growth rate and stem straightness were found to be lower than other species for which there are breeding programmes in Britain. These low heritablities coupled with relatively low selection intensities result in modest estimates of genetic gains from production populations. The two methods of estimating breeding values and variance components compared favourably, giving further confidence in breeding value estimates presented in earlier studies for Sitka spruce and Scots pine.


Between May and August 2009 sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the eastern equatorial Atlantic dropped 5°C, from 1°C above normal to 1°C below normal. The magnitude of this cooling is unprecedented since satellite SST measurements began in 1982. In this study, observations and a linear equatorial wave model are used to examine the causes of the sharp decrease in SST. It is found that the anomalous cooling along the equator can be traced to an anomalous meridional gradient of SST and associated northwesterly anomalous winds that developed in the equatorial Atlantic the preceding spring. The anomalous winds forced upwelling equatorial Rossby waves that propagated westward during boreal spring and reflected at the western boundary into upwelling Kelvin waves during late spring and summer. The upwelling Kelvin waves propagated eastward along the equator, anomalously decreasing sea level and SST during May–August.


This article sets out to compare visions of the female body and its processes found in Chinese medicine and in a Daoist tradition called nudan, or female alchemy. This tradition, developed fully in the late Ming and Qing periods, describes the female body in ways very similar to those of Chinese medicine. However, despite the fact that loci, fluids and processes are described in a similar manner in the two textual traditions, the goals to reach are strikingly different. In the case of medicine, the goal is health, well-being, regularity, and the production of children, while in the case of female alchemy, the main goal is transcendence, achieved through the reversal of natural female processes like menstruation, gestation and childbirth.


Abstract Smart metering infrastructures collect data almost continuously in the form of fine-grained long time series. These massive data series often have common daily patterns that are repeated between similar days or seasons and shared among grouped meters. Within this context, we propose an unsupervised method to highlight individuals with abnormal daily dependency patterns, which we term evolution outliers. To this end, we approach the problem from the standpoint of High Dimensional Functional Time Series and we use the concept of functional depth to exploit the dynamic group structure and isolate individual meters with a different evolution. The performance of the proposal is first evaluated empirically through a simulation exercise under different evolution scenarios. Subsequently, the importance and need for an evolution outlier detection method are shown by using actual smart-metering data corresponding to photo-voltaic energy generation and circuit voltage records. Here, our proposal detects outliers that might go unnoticed by other approaches of the literature that have demonstrated to be effective capturing magnitude and shape abnormalities.


ABSTRACT We show that, when the integration time of the single photon detectors is longer than the correlation time of the biphoton, the attainable spatial resolution in ghost imaging with entangled signal-idler pairs generated in type II spontaneous parametric down conversion is limited by the angular spread of single-frequency-signal-idler pairs. If, however, the detector integration time is shorter than the biphoton correlation time, the transverse k-vectors of different spectral components combine coherently in the image, improving the spatial resolution.


SUMMARY
1 Variation in abundances of stream fauna across a range of spatial scales has been neglected, yet such variation can have important implications for experimental and descriptive work. We tested the hypothesis that the abundances of stream animals living on stones vary between sites within the same stream order, riffles within the same site and groups of stones within the same riffle. We also examined how epilithon and water depth and velocity varied over these spatial scales.
2 Thirty stones were sampled from each of three sites in a fourth-order section of the Taggerty and Steavenson Rivers, south-eastern Australia. At each site, fifteen stones were taken from each of two riffles; within each riffle, the fifteen stones were collected as five groups of three stones within 0.5m of each other. For each stone, we measured water depth and velocity, took samples of epilithon to estimate chlorophyll a concentrations, organic biomass and bacterial and algal cell densities, and collected all macroinvertebrates.
3 Hierarchical analyses of variance revealed that species richness did not vary over any of the spatial scales, but densities of individuals varied substantially between riffles and groups of stones. Of the thirty-five most abundant taxa, three-quarters (twenty-seven) varied over one or more of the spatial scales, with variation between riffles being particularly common. DECORANA analyses confirmed that two of the three sites had riffle faunas that were dissimilar to each other, whereas the third site had riffle faunas that were very similar. Significant spatial variation was observed also in water velocities and depths and chlorophyll a and organic biomass concentrations.
4 Overall, we have demonstrated that significant variation in faunal densities may occur over small spatial scales, such as those represented by groups of stones. Moreover, such variation was not consistent between taxonomically or functionally related species within the assemblage.
5 The results emphasize the need for stream ecologists to be aware of the ramifications of such variation. Neglect of small-scale variation has produced spatially confounded designs in both surveys and experimental studies. Additionally, the assumption that variation over small scales does not occur or is trivial seems to have been responsible for the virtual enshrinement of certain large-scale models of community organization.


Three quinary polar intermetallic compounds in the (Eu1−xCax)9In8(Ge1−ySny)8 (x = 0.66, y = 0.03) and the (Eu1−xCax)3In(Ge3-ySn1+y) (x = 0.66, 0.68; y = 0.13, 0.27) phases have been synthesized using the molten In-metal flux method, and the crystal structures are characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffractions. Two orthorhombic structural types can be viewed as an assembly of polyanionic frameworks consisting of the In(Ge/Sn)4 tetrahedral chains, the bridging Ge2 dimers, either the annulene-like "12-membered rings" for the (Eu1−xCax)9In8(Ge1−ySny)8 series or the cis-trans Ge/Sn-chains for the (Eu1−xCax)3In(Ge3−ySn1+y) series, and several Eu/Ca-mixed cations. The most noticeable difference between two structural types is the amount and the location of the Sn-substitution for Ge: only a partial substitution (11%) occurs at the In(Ge/Sn)4 tetrahedron in the (Eu1−xCax)9In8(Ge1−ySny)8 series, whereas both a complete and a partial substitution (up to 27%) are observed, respectively, at the cis-trans Ge/Sn-chain and at the In(Ge/Sn)4 tetrahedron in the (Eu1−xCax)3In(Ge3−ySn1+y) series. A series of tight-binding linear muffin-tin orbital calculations is conducted to understand overall electronic structures and chemical bonding among components. Magnetic susceptibility measurement indicates a ferromagnetic ordering of Eu atoms below 5 K for Eu1.02(1)Ca1.98InGe2.87(1)Sn1.13.


Applied anthropologists commonly work overseas, particularly in the areas of international development and humanitarian assistance. The competencies or skill sets they bring to this work make them exceptionally well-suited to succeed. At the same time, their training does not fully prepare them either to compete successfully for international assignments with other nonanthropologist candidates, or for some of the challenges they may face in the field. This article outlines the qualifications needed for employment in international development and humanitarian assistance, and breaks down these qualifications into categories. I then look in detail at how students, even in a very traditional anthropology program, can prepare themselves for employment as practitioners in the international arena. The article provides an outline of the structure of today's "development industry" and describes how development organizations identify and hire candidates. I describe how to use a simple Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique to establish one's own areas of particular strength before entering the job market. I then describe a simple and straightforward approach to job-hunting, interviewing, and evaluating job offers. Throughout this article, I stress that although the strength and quality of anthropology's contribution to overseas work can be considerable, academic preparation alone is not enough—anthropologists who work overseas in development or humanitarian assistance must have more to offer than research skills alone, and must be able to work effectively with others, many of whom will come from different cultural and/or disciplinary backgrounds. I conclude by reminding practitioners in the field to maintain strong connections with their academic roots and to contribute to the transformation of anthropology from a discipline into a true profession.


The focus of this study is upon the Corpus Christi plays, supplemented by other performance practices such as festive and social entertainments, civic parades, funeral processions and public punishments. The main argument relates to the traditional approaches to women's non-performance in the Corpus Christi dramas, but other factors are considered and analysed, including the semiotics of the cross-dressed actor and the significance of the visual and spatial language of the processional stage to gender debates. In conclusion, there is a series of readings which reassess the dramatic portrayal of a selection of holy and vulgar women - the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mrs Noah and Dame Procula. The emphasis throughout the book is upon a performance-based analysis. Evidence from Records of Early English Drama, social, literary and cultural sources are drawn together in order to investigate how performances within the late Middle Ages were both shaped by, and shaped, the public image of women. KATIE NORMINGTON is Lecturer in Drama, Royal Holloway, London.


The 1976 case of a successful implantation of a blastocyst which was cultivated from the oocyte of a woman being treated for tubular infertility after having been artificially fertilized by the husbands sperm in vitro is presented. The operation was performed by R.G. Edwards and P.C. Steptoe at the Oldham Hospital in Lancashire England. The oocyte was fertilized in vitro and cultivated for 4 1/4 days to the blastocyst stage after which it was implanted 13 days after the final menstruation (ll 1/2 weeks after taking the occyte) a right-sided tubular pregnancy was determined by a laparoscope It is not clear why the blastocyst did not take hold in the uterus. It is thought that in this particular case the hormonal treatments being undertaken for sterility may have altered the normal state of the tubes.


The advantages of microelectronics can be found in the biomedical industry, where the technology is used in neuroscience, surgical procedures etc. An example of these advantages is wireless communication for biomedical purposes. Wireless communication offers the possibility to enhance the functionality of the implantable device. The work presented is the follow up of a sub-GHz UWB transceiver design for wireless, biomedical communication, of which the receiver aspect of the design was not completed. The primary goal in this work is the design of a suitable receiver architecture, thereby completing the transceiver design. A correlation receiver is presented, which can make use of a pulse generator (that was previously designed for the transmitter in the transceiver design) as its reference. The receiver is thoroughly tested in a test environment in Matlab, and compared with other UWB receiver designs. Research was done on negative influences on the communication link (such as noise and narrowband interference), in order to build a reliable test environment. Simulation results show that the correlation receiver performs better than other receiver architectures (such as an energy detector and a quadrature autocorrelation receiver). Finally, a MOS-only, four-quadrant, low power, 1 GHz multiplier circuit is designed using AustriaMicroSystems 0.18 µm High-Voltage CMOS technology. Its average power consumption is 153.2 uW on a 1.2 V power supply. The circuit design is embedded into the system design of the correlation receiver, where the receiver is again tested for robustness. Simulation results show that the designed multiplier is suitable for the correlation receiver.


Abstract Non-governmental organizations play a vital role in the economy of every country. They are not only providers of special type of services that public sector is not capable of providing in full quality and quantity, and private sector is not interested in, but they are also watch dogs of the society and builders of active citizenship. Thus they have become an object of many research studies. The divergence in their goals, sizes, roles, types of services provided, and ways of funding make NGOs an interesting subject. As a goal for our research we therefore chose a comparison of the development and state of the Slovak and Austrian non-profit sector in the view of historical development of both countries. Consequently, we want to evaluate the funding of NGOs in Slovakia and Austria. In the paper we map the development of non-profit sector in Slovakia and Austria and in the context of a common historical development we assess a current state and a potential of economic strength of NGOs in both countries. The output is comparison of funding of NGOs in Slovakia and Austria based on statistical data evaluation. Subsequently, we propose recommendation for suitable diversification of the funding sources.


A patient with breast cancer received radiation therapy to the upper chest wall. Twenty-two years later, she presented with repeated severe bleeding through a left lower neck ulcer. She was taken to surgery for hemostasis, which was not successful because the carotid artery was surgically inaccessible. To manage for explosive carotid blowout, we performed common carotid artery ligation and endovascular coil embolization after contralateral-external-carotid to ipsilateral-common-carotid artery bypass with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft. The patient has experienced no ischemic events or bleeding since this treatment.


We propose a general model of monopolistic competition and derive a complete characterization of the market equilibrium based on an Arrow-Pratt measure of concavity of the utility, interpreted as the relative love for variety. When the relative love for variety increases with the consumption level, the market displays standard competitive effects. On the contrary, when it decreases, the equilibrium price increases with the number of firms and the market size, while the CES is the borderline case. Finally, we apply our setting to trade theory and uncover several new properties hindered by the CES, such as dumping and reverse dumping.


Any discussion of federalism necessarily runs headlong into concepts of sovereignty, with both terms being subject to Tocqueville's statement that, in discussing federalism, "the human understanding more easily invents new things than new words." Thus, just as systems previously considered to have been "federal" at the dawn of the United States of America were something much different from what was developed for our nation at that time, so is the "federal" system of today's United States different from anything to which we make comparisons.This article reviews a paper by Professor Peter Tettinger's, and extends his analysis. As Professor Tettinger indicates, the German Basic Law incorporates both divisions of competence internally and opportunities for granting competence externally that set it apart from most other systems. In particular, the role of Germany in the European Union ("ED") and the resulting opportunity for consideration of levels of federalism provide special grist for discussion.From the provisions of the German Basic Law, we can make helpful comparisons with federalism in the United States, as well as with each other countries. This chapter provides specific focus on some specific aspects of the allocation of competence for internal "sovereign" functions within Germany, and external sovereign functions on behalf of the German people.


The clinical features and neurobiology of pain and opioid use disorder (OUD) are inextricably linked. Despite emerging evidence supporting the negative impact of ongoing pain in the treatment of OUD, the pharmacological management of pain in the presence of OUD has received limited attention. We sought to systematically review the studies investigating pharmacotherapies for pain among persons with OUD. Eligible studies had participants with OUD and outcomes including evoked or spontaneous pain. We searched Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medline, and Embase. Out of 1,097 studies that met the search criteria, 12 studies provided data relevant to the research question—five laboratory studies and seven clinical trials. Random effects pooled estimates suggested no significant difference between groups at baseline but a response favoring the active treatment group over placebo, with nonsignificant heterogeneity between studies. Findings from these studies provide preliminary evidence for analgesic and antihyperalgesic effects of gabapentin, GABA agonists, and NMDA antagonists among persons with OUD. To establish the tradeoffs between the analgesic effects and abuse liability of these compounds, further well‐controlled clinical trials are required among persons with OUD. This review also underscores the need for methodological enhancement in drug development for pain in OUD. Future research should address the clinical and neurobiological overlap between pain‐ and addiction‐related phenomena. Transdisciplinary approaches may identify biomarkers of these shared phenomena and their neural substrates. The development of novel therapeutics for pain in OUD may be accelerated by such integration of pain and addiction research.


Hydroxyethylcellulose-g-methoxypoly (ethylene glycol) (HEC-g-PEG) graft copolymers were synthesized through the etherification reaction between the hydroxyl group of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) and iodinated methoxypoly (ethylene glycol) (PEG-I), which was prepared on the basis of two-step reaction. Fourier transforms infrared spectrum (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and iodide oxidation method were used to prove the success of synthesis of graft copolymer. Furthermore, the comparative studies of electro-osmotic flow (EOF) and protein separation in bare-fused silica, HEC and HEC-g-PEG-coated capillary were performed in capillary electrophoresis (CE). The results showed that HEC-g-PEG-coated capillary presented efficient EOF suppression ability and excellent resisting protein adsorption ability. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013


ABSTRACT Objective Social cognitive deficits are prevalent after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite this, few remediation studies exist. This study aimed to demonstrate 'proof of concept' for a novel group treatment that comprehensively targeted the core processes of social cognition. Design Pre-post case study with two participants, "Greg" and "Aaron", living with severe TBI, with three assessment time points. Method Participants were screened at baseline to confirm social cognitive deficits: Greg exhibited difficulties with emotion perception and detecting hints; Aaron with detecting sarcasm and hints. Both reported everyday social problems. Participants then completed the 14-week group treatment program (SIFT IT). Feasibility and outcome measures were repeated post-group and at three-month follow-up. Results The study procedure was implemented with 100% assessment and 89% SIFT IT session attendance, albeit with a lack of proxy-report measures. Both participants described procedures as acceptable, although suggested more group participants could be beneficial. They both demonstrated reliable improvements (RCI > 1.96) on relevant social cognitive measures. Qualitative feedback corroborated findings: Greg reported generalization of therapeutic gains, Aaron reported increased self-awareness but nominal generalization. Conclusion Feasibility and limited efficacy outcomes established 'proof of concept' of SIFT IT. Findings will inform the study protocol for a larger randomized-controlled trial.


We have studied the TCR mediated signal transduction pathways involved in transcriptional regulation of the mouse IL-4 gene. The sequences extending from base pair -766 to +63 of the IL-4 gene were inserted upstream of a luciferase indicator gene. Transcriptional activity was observed when the construct, [pIL-4(-766)], was transfected into either the IL-4 producing cell line, EL-4, or the IL-4 non-producing T cell hybridoma, 68-41, but not in the L929 fibroblast cell line. By analysis of deletion mutants of pIL-4(-766), we identified a transcriptional regulatory element that is tightly associated with a signal coming from the TCR and which controls inducible activation of the IL-4 promoter. By analysis of deletion mutants of pIL-4(-766), this latter element was found between base pairs -147 to -17. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that expression of a nuclear binding protein with binding sites between base pairs -84 and -55 could be induced. By competition and mutation analysis, the binding motif of this protein was determined to be AAAATTTTCC. Stimulation with ionomycin alone was sufficient to induce activity in pIL-4(-766). Cyclosporin A inhibited both the IL-4 promoter activity and activation of the inducible nuclear protein. Transient over-expression of a constitutively active form of the Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatase, calcineurin was sufficient to cause activation of pIL-4(-766) without any additional stimulus. These results indicate that the signaling requirements for activation of upstream positive regulatory elements of the IL-4 gene are distinct from those of the IL-2 gene. Ca2+ mobilization is sufficient to activate the IL-4 promoter, whereas IL-2 gene transcription requires both Ca2+ mobilization and protein kinase C activation.


Energy in the form of warmed water is available from condenser cooling water from fossil fuel or nuclear-electric power-generating facilities, geothermal power plants, geothermal fluids, or spent steam and cooling water from industrial processes. A re-analysis of the characteristics of possible agricultural uses of warmed water has revealed the need to decouple considerations of warmed water sources from those of warmed water users. Conflicting objectives and managerial requirements seem to preclude an integrated system approach. Rather an interface must be established with separate costs and benefits identified for a reliable warmed water source and for its various potential uses. These costs and benefits can be utilized as a basis for decisions separately by the energy supplier and the prospective energy users. A method of classifying uses of warmed water according to need, volume, objective, temperature, and quality is presented and preliminary classifications are discussed for several potential agricultural uses of warmed water. Specific uses for soil warming, space heating in greenhouses, and irrigation are noted. Specific uses in aquaculture for catfish, lobster, and prawn production are discussed. Warmed water use in animal shelters is mentioned. Low-quality heat is required for methane generation from biomass and warmed water heating could bemore » utilized in this industry. 53 references. (MCW)« less


Lithuanian folk awakening games for babies and young age children are classified as dancing folklore genre. These are syncretic musical compositions of low volume, intended for infants and small children, which are performed vocalising and in action. This is child-friendly interactive action, which has a playful nature and is based on intensive movement. A rich range of possibilities is noticeable in Lithuanian folk awakening games, necessary for versatile child's education / learning. Purpose of article: to disclose the application possibilities of awakening games in work with children, who have special needs: 1) achieving the training goals; 2) achieving the therapeutic goals. Research method: analysis suitability of children awakening games for education and therapy. Literature of different areas has been reviewed: ethnic culture, music therapy, dance-movement therapy, ethno therapy, developmental psychology, education and special education. It is also based on manuscripts material from the Archives: of Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, Ethnomusicology Archive of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and on its expedition manuscripts material as well. Drawn conclusions: Lithuanian folk awakening games belong to minor genre of dancing folklore, which is expressed in syncretic musical compositions of low volume, has "encoded", not yet been researched, broad options of educational and therapeutic content, and can be purposefully used trying to respond to various individual or special needs of a child. Awakening games can be used in a child's education / self-training process for numerous, complementary factors, which stimulate development of a child: training of communication and language, promotion of environmental knowledge and acceptance of changes, shaping of positive behaviour, training of motility, development of playfulness and creativity skills. Lithuanian folk awakening games can be used in therapeutic process as an effective means of communication formation with a child and activation of its ability to imitate. While playing with a child, conditions are created naturally for its psychological security, self-esteem and confidence; self-expression, self-realization; reducing of its fears; relaxation and experience of pleasure and other. Awakening games are still important in contemporary culture for versatile child's development / self-formation and recommended to apply in Lithuanian families, as well as in working methodologies of a special educator, physical therapist, speech therapist, ergotherapist, psychologist and art therapist. Keywords: ethnic culture, Lithuanian folk dance, awakening games, special education, dance & movement therapy. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/p.2015.044


1. The relation between the physiological pattern of ocular dominance and the anatomical distribution of geniculocortical afferents serving each eye was studied in layer IV of the primary visual cortex of normal and monocularly deprived cats. 2. One eye was injected with radioactive label. After allowing sufficient time for transeuronal transport, micro‐electrode recordings were made, and the geniculocoritcal afferents serving the injected eye were located autoradiographically. 3. In layer IV of normal cats, cell were clustered according to eye preference, and fewer cells were binocularly driven than in other layers. Points of transition between groups of cells dominated by one eye and those dominated by the other were marked with electrolytic lesions. A good correspondence was found between the location of cells dominated by the injected eye and the patches of radioactively labelled geniculocortical afferents. 4. Following prolonged early monocular deprivation, the patches of geniculocortical afferents in layer IV serving the deprived eye were smaller, and those serving the non‐deprived eye larger, than normal. Again there was a coincidence between the patches of radioactively labelled afferents and the location of cells dominated by the injected eye. 5. The deprived eye was found to dominate a substantial fraction (22%) of cortical cells in the fourth layer. In other cortical layers, only 7% of the cells were dominated by the deprived eye. 6. These findings suggest that the thalamocortical projection is physically rearranged as a consequence of monocular deprivation, as has been demonstrated for layer IVc of the monkey's visual cortex (Hubel, Wiesel & Le Vay, 1977).


Abstract : We show that recent results in [3] on risk bounds for regularized least-squares on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces can be straight-forwardly extended to the vector-valued regression setting. We first briefly introduce central concepts on operator-valued kernels, then we show how risk bounds can be expressed in terms of a generalization of effective dimension.


Spheroid-based systems have been developed as alternatives to two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures for understanding 3D cell behaviour and conducting in vitro drug screening tests. However, spheroids get easily disrupted while handling and do not mimic the presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. To address that, we have developed a cost-effective, polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and gelatin methacryloyl (GELMA) based semi-synthetic cryogel matrix system, which can be used to grow spheroids and conduct studies while providing architectural support and mimicking in vivo ECM components. These matrices are macroporous and support formation of tumor-like spheroids of breast tumor epithelial (MCF-7) cells in the absence of additional growth factors otherwise required for spheroid formation. Difference in morphology of cells as a function of matrix composition and increase in size and number of spheroids as a function of time was observed. Spheroids grown in cryogel matrices showed more drug resistance than their 2D counterparts which can partially be explained by the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) observed in spheroids. We believe that spheroids formed through these PEGDA-GELMA cryogel matrices better represent in vivo pathological conditions and can help develop cost-effective in vitro assays for screening new pharmacological drug candidates and performing cell mechanistic studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Objective: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), previously reserved for patients of intermediate to prohibitive surgical risk, has now been expanded to patients of any surgical risk with severe aortic stenosis. Bioprostheses are prone to structural valve degeneration (SVD), a progressive and multifactorial process that limits valve durability. As the population undergoing TAVR shifts toward a lower-risk and younger profile, long-term durability is a crucial determinant for patient outcomes. Our objective was to determine the incidence and risk factors of SVD at midterm follow-up in a veteran TAVR population. Methods: Patients undergoing TAVR at our federal facility were retrospectively evaluated for SVD and other endpoints with standardized consensus criteria. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to evaluate risk factors for mortality and SVD. Results: From 2013 to 2020, 344 patients (median age, 78 years) underwent TAVR. Survival from all-cause mortality was 91.3% at 1 year, 75.1% at 3 years, and 61.7% at 5 years. Cumulative freedom from SVD was 98.2% at 1 year, 96.5% at 3 years, and 93.7% at 5 years. All 13 patients with SVD met hemodynamic criteria, and 1 required intervention. Median time to hemodynamic SVD was 1.04 years. Independent risk factors for SVD included age (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86 to 0.99) and valve size (HR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.89). Conclusions: SVD was evident at a low but detectable rate at 5-year follow-up. Further understanding of TAVR biomechanics as well as continued longer-term follow-up will be essential for informing patient-specific risk of SVD.


The beam-foil method and the computation of oscillator strengths with correlated wave functions both had their beginning in the late 1960s. The stimulating interplay between theory and experiment will be reviewed. With the power of todays computers, great progress has been made in computation. The current state of spectrum calculations using the multiconfiguration Hartree–Fock method will be described and the importance of relativistic effects mentioned.


Abstract The bubble concept is here put on a more quantitative basis by approximating the buoyant bubble in a cloud by a spherical vortex. The approximate solution of the equations of motion is made with the aid of "Hill's Spherical Vortex" as described by Lamb (1932). In the solution as presented here, two arbitrary parameters representing the aerodynamic interaction and the mass exchange of the bubble with the surrounding air are introduced. Qualitative features of the motion are independent of the parameter values. The effects of entrainment on the motion are determined by a refined application of Stommel's method (1947, 1951) of computing entrainment. The solution of the problem, therefore, is given in terms of integrated differential equations which for given values of the arbitrary parameters, environmental potential temperature and specific humidity, and initial conditions yield the bubble velocity and potential temperature as a function of height. Specific applications of the solution are made to ...


Objective and reliable information on the investment results, as well as the methodology for their comprehensive assessment are necessary to make effective investment decisions. The conducted analysis of modern investment ratings revealed numerous methodological problems. Thus, the present study aims to develop a new and promising tool for examining the investment attractiveness of Russian regions and assessing the effectiveness of their investment policy. Kaplan and Norton's balanced score-card model is used as the main research method. The configuration of the balanced scorecard was determined in accordance with the key investment factors; it includes four components: development; natural resource; political, economic and social; production and financial. The study identified main assessment indicators connected with the key investment factors and information needs of investment actors (pubic authorities, private investors, population). Additionally, the article proposed assessment methods and a measuring system based on the target values of indicators, depending on the objectives of regional investment policy. To determine the achievement of these objectives, the target and actual (showing the investment results) values of indicators were compared. The significant deviation of these values allowed us to establish priorities of regional investment policy. Based on the data from the Federal State Statistics Service, the developed methodology was tested on regions of the Russian Arctic. The natural resource component positively influences the investment attractiveness of these regions, while the development component has a negative impact. The revealed differentiation and multidirectional dynamics of integral indicators indicate an imbalance in certain areas of the investment policy of these regions (excluding the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)), limiting the realisation of their investment potential. Based on the research results, ways to increase regional investment attractiveness were described.


Deep neural networks achieve superior performance in challenging tasks such as image classification. However, deep classifiers tend to incorrectly classify out-of-distribution (OOD) inputs, which are inputs that do not belong to the classifier training distribution. Several approaches have been proposed to detect OOD inputs, but the detection task is still an ongoing challenge. In this paper, we propose a new OOD detection approach that can be easily applied to an existing classifier and does not need to have access to OOD samples. The detector is a one-class classifier trained on the output of an early layer of the original classifier fed with its original training set. We apply our approach to several low- and high-dimensional datasets and compare it to the state-of-the-art detection approaches. Our approach achieves substantially better results over multiple metrics.


Nowadays, there are some problems exist in remote monitoring of IoT fire control system, such as bad real-time performance, difficulty access of massive nodes, the security problems arisen due to the lack of standardized authentication and registration mechanism. In view of the problems above, this paper proposes a networking mechanism of fire monitoring system based on IoT. This mechanism uses public IoT cloud hosting service to meet the needs of mass nodes access. System architecture is Publish/subscribe mode based on lightweight MQTT protocol, so it can meet the real-time data transmission. We add the node certification mechanisms in the process of node registration and encrypt the message in the process of transmission. This standardized network-access mechanism improves the security of the whole system. Through short-term testing, this network mechanism can well solve the above problems in the current fire monitoring system. Due to its scalability and high stability, this network mechanism can be widely used in online monitoring of large-scale public places and buildings. Keywords—Network Mechanism; MQTT; registration; authentication


The study of tumours inoculated into the brain is of interest for several reasons. In the first place, the histologic structure of the nervous system permits sharp differentiation of its own elements from the components of the neoplasm, so that the process of tumour growth, as well as the reaction which this excites in the host tissue, can be interpreted with precision. The normal and pathological features of the various cellular constituents of nervous tissue are sufficiently well known to allow some biological characteristics of a neoplasm to be deduced from a study of the changes resulting from its growth. Also, the physico-chemical properties of the nervous tissue and its abundance of blood vessels permit the ready development of all kinds of grafts from normal or pathological tissues.

The first studies on this question were those of Da Fano (1), who made intracerebral transplantations of different strains of tumours in rats, mice, and dogs. The transplants developed readily, but at a slower rate than in the usual sites of inoculation. The tumours spread through the brain, sometimes throughout the perivascular spaces and sometimes as diffuse infiltrations. Da Fano studied, also, the reaction of the cellular elements of the brain tissue, and noted the hypertrophy of the neuroglia and the absence of a mesodermal reaction.


: Although there has been notable progress in modeling cascading failures in power grids, few works included using machine learning algorithms. In this paper


This article examines the key features of state failure that have adversely affected the goal of state-building and peace-building in South Sudan. Drawing on interviews with sections of local and international stakeholders in South Sudan, the article analyses the major areas of state reconstruction and peace building that the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM) government has failed to address proactively, areas and issues that seem directly or indirectly linked to the political crisis that started in December 2013 and the relapse into armed conflict. The paper also analyses the recent political developments and ongoing peace process in South Sudan and proffers some complementary policy intervention measures that could be implemented to strengthen the peace process.


Here we present the case of a patient affected with a unique association of Sweet's syndrome, idiopathic myelofibrosis, spindle-cell thymoma, myasthenia gravis and Good's syndrome (a rare form of thymoma-related, combined immunodeficiency presenting with recurrent respiratory infections). Conventional therapies (corticosteroids, colchicine, DDS, clofazimine) were ineffective or were contraindicated. Treatment with etretinate (50 mg/day) proved effective on skin lesions. Moreover, the patient's general condition unexpectedly improved, with long-lasting (11 months) suppression of respiratory infections and a slight but consistent improvement of hematological parameters such as Hct, MCV, Hb level, RBC, WBC and lymphocyte absolute counts.


Abstract:Roland Barthes's position regarding doxa is subtle yet full of personal and political tensions. He understands doxa as public opinion, as bourgeois ideology, which always threatens to invade and pervert his own thinking—to the point that his main concern, at times, seems to be his desire and need to escape doxa. Nevertheless, he is fully aware that, as a human being, there is no avoiding the doxic situation. Thus, Barthes's position regarding doxa is inherently paradoxical.My aim in this short article is to provide a critical commentary on, and try to explicate, Barthes's use of doxa through a close reading of some passages from Roland Barthes par Roland Barthes (1975). In doing so, I also hope to make amends for my earlier, perhaps rather shallow and bleak, understanding of the role of doxa in Barthes's text.


Our courts have played strange games in recent years with the elements of delict, the most frequent being that of changing the order of negligence and wrongfulness in the case of an omission and testing for the former before deciding on the latter. (Eg, including, but, not limited to, Gouda Boerdery Bk v Transnet 2005 5 SA 490 (SCA); Eskom Holdings Ltd v Hendricks 2005 5 SA 503 (SCA); Coetzee v Fourie 2004 6 SA 485 (SCA); Minister of Safety and Security v Van Duivenboden 2002 6 SA 431 (SCA); Sea Harvest Corporation (Pty) Ltd v Duncan Dock Cold Storage Ltd 2000 1 SA 827 (SCA); Mkwatsha v Minister of Defence 2000 1 SA 1 1004 (SCA); and Goldstein v Cathkin Park Hotel 2000 4 SA 1091 (SCA).) The latest addition to the conceptual confusion emanating from the Supreme Court of Appeal is that of equating the test for wrongfulness with that of negligence, because of the objective nature of both these tests. This approach, it is submitted, is incorrect because it seems to ignore the fact that these two elements fulfil different conceptual functions. Wrongfulness is concerned with determining the reasonableness of the conduct, whereas fault looks at the blameworthiness of the perpetrator (see the discussion by Neethling, Potgieter and Visser Law of Delict 5ed (2006) 141-143 of the distinction between these two elements).


Extremely large-scale massive MIMO (XL-MIMO) has been reviewed as a promising technology for future wireless communications. The deployment of XL-MIMO, especially at high-frequency bands, leads to users being located in the near-field region instead of the conventional far-field. This letter proposes efficient model-based deep learning algorithms for estimating the near-field wireless channel of XL-MIMO communications. In particular, we first formulate the XL-MIMO near-field channel estimation task as a compressed sensing problem using the spatial gridding-based sparsifying dictionary and then solve the resulting problem by applying the Learning Iterative Shrinkage and Thresholding Algorithm (LISTA). Due to the near-field characteristic, the spatial gridding-based sparsifying dictionary may result in low channel estimation accuracy and a heavy computational burden. To address this issue, we propose a novel sparsifying dictionary learning-LISTA (SDL-LISTA) algorithm that formulates the sparsifying dictionary as a neural network layer and embeds it into LISTA neural network. The numerical results show that our proposed algorithms outperform non-learning benchmark schemes, and SDL-LISTA achieves better performance than LISTA with ten times atoms reduction.


Introduction The world is all-abuzz nowadays about mindfulness. This is a wonderful thing because we are sorely lacking, if not starving for some elusive but necessary element in our lives. (Kabat-Zinn 2011 p. 9). The buzz Kabat-Zinn referred to shows no sign of dying down. If anything, it is growing and more and more large organizations appear to be including one or more elements of mindfulness training in their offering to employees (Gelles 2012). What an extraordinary journey the practice of mindfulness has made from the monasteries of Asia where it resided almost exclusively for 2,500 years to the "Mindful Leadership" sessions led by Janice Marturano at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Marturano 2013). The concept of mindfulness as it is being used in this chapter emerges from the Buddhist tradition, but the mindfulness-based approaches and interventions that are found in organizational contexts today generally take an entirely secular approach. The aim of this chapter is to explore how mindfulness training has evolved from being set within traditional religious contexts to a more secular and modern approach. Emphasis is given to mindfulness programs derived from Buddhist teachings, in particular the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course, which is currently the most prevalent and well-researched mindfulness intervention used in organizational contexts. A brief overview of major current theories and programs on mindfulness is provided along with suggestions for future research. Our aim is to provide a description of the most widely used approach to mindfulness training and to help the reader understand why it is designed as it is. We contend that it is critical to understand where ideas and practices associated with mindfulness have come from in order to understand where the mindfulness movement might be going, particularly in relation to organizational life. The word "mindfulness" can be used to describe both an outcome – mindful awareness; and a process – mindful practice (Shapiro and Carlson 2009).


The concept of insight into psychosis has received scant attention in the psychiatric literature. Various types of insight are described after drawing on such sources as phenomenology, clinical observation and experimental psychology. It is proposed that insight is far from an all or none phenomenon but comprises three overlapping dimensions, namely, the recognition that one has a mental illness, compliance with treatment and the ability to re-label unusual mental events (delusions and hallucinations) as pathological.


Urban areas have distinct features (e.g. impervious surfaces) which modify the energy-water balance at the upper subsurface, lower atmosphere, and over the land surface. Moreover, the atmosphere and groundwater are strongly coupled in places with shallow groundwater. To improve the understanding of urban atmospheric-hydrological processes, their interconnections, and their impacts on other environmental processes, a new fully-coupled urban atmosphere-surface-subsurface hydrometeorological model was developed. The new model brings together WRF-PUCM (Princeton Urban Canopy Model) with ParFlow (a 3D variably saturated groundwater model with an integrated 2D overland flow component) to build WRF-PUCM-PF. The new model and the original non-coupled WRF-PUCM were both applied to a small watershed (10.64 km2) in a heavily urbanized area in the Baltimore metropolitan region as a demonstration test case. To capture atmospheric-hydrological processes at scales closer to urban heterogeneous land cover, models were run at a 90-m horizontal resolution using the LES mode in WRF. The analysis period after the two models were spun up to an identical initial condition spanned 96 hours from July 19 to July 23, 2008. The period was selected as it started with a drydown period for 40 hours followed by several intense rain events. This period allowed evaluation of both models' responses to dry-down and rain events. First the models were run with homogeneous similar hydrogelogic input to isolate the effect of terrestrial hydrology implementations in each model. In response to rain events, the homogeneous WRF-PUCM model output gained and retained a 40% greater amount of soil moisture (area-averaged) compared to the homogeneous WRF-PUCM-PF case. WRF-PUCM performed poorly in lateral distribution of water due to its 1D implementation of subsurface hydrology and lack of overland flow parameterization. The spatial distribution of soil moisture at the end of the simulation in a homogeneous WRF-PUCM model looked similar to the cumulative spatial distribution rain at the end of the simulation with no indication of surface topography impact on soil moisture distribution. On the other hand, lateral movement of water in WRF-PUCM-PF resulted in a more realistic distribution of soil moisture following topography. To further analyze the impact of urban areas, results of WRF-PUCM-PF simulations incorporating heterogeneous subsurface hydrogeology  were compared with WRF-PUCM with its 2D implementation of hydrogeology units for the region. The heterogeneous WRF-PUCM model generated a 10-fold greater area-averaged soil moisture increase compared to the heterogeneous WRF-PUCM-PF case. Influenced by lateral hydrology and impervious surfaces, the heterogeneous WRF-PUCM-PF model output, generated lower latent heat flux, resulting in half of the domain having higher land surface temperatures (2-10 ◦C), compared to the heterogeneous WRF-PUCM model. Overall, the new model provides a tool that can enhance simulation of urban areas by combining ParFlow’s representation of terrestrial hydrology, PUCM’s improved representation of the urban heterogeneous energy and water balance, and incorporation of higher-resolution urban heterogeneous microclimatic variations.


In this paper, a new multi-purpose switched reluctance machine drive with charging capabilities is introduced. This topology satisfies propulsion requirements and allows single phase as well as three-phase AC charging. In charging mode, the machine windings are used as inductors and the zero torque condition is maintained by canceling out all tangential forces. Every component of the SRM drive is used during charging and no additional components are needed. The proposed topology is theoretically analyzed, and its validity is verified by simulation software.


The provision of training and development for those working for, and within, the UK substance misuse sector has, in recent years, grown rapidly. Particularly influential has been the introduction of the Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards (DANOS 2003) which are aimed at increasing the competence of the broad workforce involved with the sector.

Additionally, nationally recognised qualifications were introduced across both England and
Wales during 2005. Training and development has always been prominent and valued within the sector. Indeed, in the past, a significant amount of training was developed and undertaken at a local level. However, it has been recognised that a national model of training is needed to ensure that organisations have the necessary competence to implement the National Drug Strategy.

This document contains tools and forms relevant to the UK services system.


We present a very general geometrico-dynamical description of physical or more abstract entities, called the 'general tension-reduction' (GTR) model, where not only states, but also measurement-interactions can be represented, and the associated outcome probabilities calculated. Underlying the model is the hypothesis that indeterminism manifests as a consequence of unavoidable fluctuations in the experimental context, in accordance with the 'hidden-measurements interpretation' of quantum mechanics. When the structure of the state space is Hilbertian, and measurements are of the 'universal' kind, i.e., are the result of an average over all possible ways of selecting an outcome, the GTR-model provides the same predictions of the Born rule, and therefore provides a natural completed version of quantum mechanics. However, when the structure of the state space is non-Hilbertian and/or not all possible ways of selecting an outcome are available to be actualized, the predictions of the model generally differ from the quantum ones, especially when sequential measurements are considered. Some paradigmatic examples will be discussed, taken from physics and human cognition. Particular attention will be given to some known psychological effects, like question order effects and response replicability, which we show are able to generate non-Hilbertian statistics. We also suggest a realistic interpretation of the GTR-model, when applied to human cognition and decision, which we think could become the generally adopted interpretative framework in quantum cognition research.


A new class of plug in classiication techniques have recently been developed in the statistics literature. A plug in classiication technique (PaCT) is a method that takes a standard classiier (such as LDA or nearest neighbors) and plugs it into an algorithm to produce a new classiier. The standard classiier is known as the Plug in Classiier (PiC). These methods often produce large improvements over using a single classiier. In this paper we investigate one of these methods and give some motivation for its success.


ABSTRACT Purpose Under-desk pedaling devices could help reduce health risks associated with the global decline in work-related energy expenditure. However, the optimal pedaling work rate to facilitate concurrent work performance among physically inactive adults is unclear. We examined the effects of two light-intensity pedaling work rates on physically inactive adults' work performance. Methods We recruited equal numbers of older (45–65 yr) versus younger (20–44 yr), male versus female, and overweight/obese (body mass index [BMI], 25–35 kg·m−2) versus normal weight (BMI, 18.5–24.9 kg·m−2) participants. Using a Graeco-Latin square design, participants (n = 96) completed a laboratory experiment to evaluate the effects of using an under-desk pedaling device at two seated light-intensity work rates (17 and 25 W), relative to a seated nonpedaling condition on objectively measured typing, reading, logical reasoning, and phone task performance. Ergonomic comfort under each pedaling work rate was also assessed. Equivalence tests were used to compare work performance under the pedaling versus nonpedaling conditions. Results Treatment fidelity to the 17- and 25-W pedaling work rates exceeded 95%. Mean work performance scores for each pedaling and nonpedaling condition were equivalent under alpha = 0.025. Age, sex, and BMI did not significantly moderate the effect of pedaling on work performance. Participants reported greater ergonomic comfort while completing work tasks at the 17-W relative to the 25-W work rate. Conclusions Physically inactive adults obtained similar work performance scores under the 17- and 25-W pedaling and the nonpedaling conditions, suggesting that either pedaling work rate could help reduce health risks of sedentary work time. The 17-W work rate yielded greater ergonomic comfort and may be an appropriate starting point for introducing diverse inactive workers to under-desk pedaling.


The tendency to hear a sequence of alternating low (L) and high (H) frequency tones as two streams can be increased by a preceding induction sequence, even one composed only of same-frequency tones. Four experiments used such an induction sequence (10 identical L tones) to promote segregation in a shorter test sequence comprising L and H tones. Previous studies have shown that the build-up of stream segregation is usually reduced greatly when a sudden change in acoustic properties distinguishes all of the induction tones from their test-sequence counterparts. Experiment 1 showed that a single deviant tone, created by altering the final inducer (in frequency, level, duration, or replacement with silence) reduced reported segregation, often substantially. Experiment 2 partially replicated this finding, using changes in temporal discrimination as a measure of streaming. Experiments 3 and 4 varied the size of a frequency change applied to the deviant tone; the extent of resetting varied with size only gradually. The results suggest that resetting begins to occur once the change is large enough to be noticeable. Since the prior inducers always remained unaltered in the deviant-tone conditions, it is proposed that a single change actively resets the build-up evoked by the induction sequence.


Abstract From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, free jazz was the subject of considerable public interest in France. The present article examines the conditions that fueled enthusiasm for American avant-garde jazz, focusing on the politicization of discourse surrounding the 'new thing.' Critics hostile to the movement felt that it undermined jazz9s claim to universality, a cornerstone of postwar attempts to valorize the genre in the French cultural sphere. Yet the tendency to identify free jazz with various forms of African American political radicalism presented no less of a challenge for the movement9s advocates. By constructing an image of free jazz that stressed its irremediable difference from the norms and values of European culture, writers were compelled to find alternative ways of relating it to contemporary French concerns. A reading of Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli9s text Free Jazz Black Power shows how the authors9 attempt to reinscribe African American cultural nationalism as an expression of transnational anticolonial struggle not only helped bring free jazz closer to the French experience, but also served as a way of working through the unresolved legacies of colonialism.


This research concerns mobile system adoption and use among home care nurses at one home care organization in Finland. The aim was to get insights on somewhat poor adoption and utilization of a mobile system they use. 12 nurses were interviewed and observed at home visit to gain insights on how the system could better facilitate their work routines. A requirement analysis was produced based on the results and is to be discussed with the management of the organization and the service provider.


Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or say drones, are envisioned to support extensive applications in next-generation wireless networks in both civil and military fields. Empowering UAVs networks intelligence by artificial intelligence (AI) especially machine learning (ML) techniques is inevitable and appealing to enable the aforementioned applications. To solve the problems of traditional cloud-centric ML for UAV networks such as privacy concern, unacceptable latency, and resource burden, a distributed ML technique, i.e., federated learning (FL), has been recently proposed to enable multiple UAVs to collaboratively train ML model without letting out raw data. However, almost all existing FL paradigms are server-based, i.e., a central entity is in charge of ML model aggregation and fusion over the whole network, which could result in the issue of a single point of failure and are inappropriate to UAV networks with both unreliable nodes and links. To address the above issue, in this article, we propose a novel architecture called SELF-UN (SErverLess FL for UAV Networks), which enables FL within UAV networks without a central entity. We also conduct a preliminary simulation study to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the SELF-UN architecture. Finally, we discuss the main challenges and potential research directions in the SELF-UN.


Chinese medicines (CM) have been attracting interest and acceptance in many countries. Quality control is vital for ensuring the safety and efficacy of CM. Usually, CM are used as whole plant and/or combination of several herbs, and multiple constituents are responsible for the therapeutic effects. Therefore, quality control of CM is very difficult. To date, the valid method for quantitatively evaluating the quality of CM vailable online 16 December 2010


A set is an unordered collection of unique elements--and yet many machine learning models that generate sets impose an implicit or explicit ordering. Since model performance can depend on the choice of order, any particular ordering can lead to sub-optimal results. An alternative solution is to use a permutation-equivariant set generator, which does not specify an order-ing. An example of such a generator is the DeepSet Prediction Network (DSPN). We introduce the Transformer Set Prediction Network (TSPN), a flexible permutation-equivariant model for set prediction based on the transformer, that builds upon and outperforms DSPN in the quality of predicted set elements and in the accuracy of their predicted sizes. We test our model on MNIST-as-point-clouds (SET-MNIST) for point-cloud generation and on CLEVR for object detection.


Connection and service request scheduling affects the performance of a mobile relay node (MRN) in a relay-assisted long-term evolution network in terms of crucial quality-of-service (QoS) metrics such as the blocking probability and the system's response time. In this paper, a novel Deadline-constrained Connection and service Request Scheduling (DCRS) scheme is proposed with the objective of improving an MRN's performance in terms of the above-mentioned metrics. In this paper, a stochastic queueing model is formulated for the purpose of capturing the MRN's behavioral dynamics and evaluating its performance as it operates under DCRS. Simulations are conducted in order to verify the model's results' validity and accuracy. Moreover, the MRN performance achieved under DCRS is compared to that achieved under the typically adopted first-come-first-service (FCFS) scheme. Results indicate that DCRS remarkably outperforms FCFS.


Research on rare-earth fluorides is of urgent and critical importance for the preparation and emerging applications of high-purity alloys. The fluorination of Sc2O3 by NH4HF2 to fabricate ScF3 is investigated. The effects of the fluorination temperature, time and mass ratio of reactant on the fluorination rate and fluoride are discussed in this work. The fluorination reaction was first confirmed using thermodynamic calculation. The thermal and mass stability of the fluorination process were analyzed by thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric (TG-DSC). The as-obtained products at different fluorination temperatures were characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results indicated that the fluorination began at room temperature (RT) with the formation of (NH4)3ScF6. With the increase of temperature, the reaction proceeded sequentially through the formation of NH4ScF4, (NH4)2Sc3F11, and finally ScF3. The fluorination rate increased with the increase of fluorination temperature and holding time. ScF3 with a purity of 99.997 wt.% could be obtained by fluorination at 400 °C for 2 h.


Summary

South American catfish, barred surubim (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) juveniles (117.6 ± 11.8 mg individual weight; 28.3 ± 2.5 mm total length) were fed various diets: one live (Tubifex worms), two commercial (Aglo Norse and Bio Kyowa), and one semi-purified formulated diet (75% peptide based protein) over a 2-week period. Fish fed the Aglo Norse diet showed the highest growth performance, but cannibalism also was very high (42%). Fish fed peptide based formulated diet demonstrated the lowest growth rate, with no cannibalism. The highest survival was achieved with fish fed Tubifex worms (100%). Lipid level in the whole body of the fish fed four different experimental diets did not differ significantly, averaging 3.6 ± 0.7%. Fatty acid composition of neutral and phospholipid fractions of whole body lipids of fish reflected the fatty acid composition of the diets. The high level of 20:4n-6 in Tubifex worms resulted in a high level of this fatty acid in the tissue of fish fed this diet. It remains uncertain how high survival and no cannibalism is related to dietary lipids/fatty acids. In all cases, the increasing ratio of n-3 HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids)/n-6 HUFA in phospholipid fractions suggested the elongation and desaturation of 18:3n-3 to 22:6n-3 via 20:5n-3. Moreover, in respect to the 20:4n-6 levels in the diets, an increase in the concentration of this fatty acid in phospholipid fraction suggests that South American catfish can transform linoleate into arachidonate.


Metformin is the most commonly prescribed antidiabetic oral agent. It has also been used off-label for polycystic ovarian syndrome, steatohepatitis, and HIV-associated metabolic abnormalities. However, this oldie is a newbie for the oncologist. Population studies have suggested that metformin decreased the incidence and mortality rates of cancer in diabetic patients. With better understanding of its mechanisms of antitumor activity, metformin may become a new drug for cancer in combination with chemotherapy or targeted therapy.


M et ho ds a nd to ol s Social housing projects and policies in Vienna Introduction Housing policies in Vienna: continuity in innovation and perspectives Places and policies. Social housing under observation Innovative housing projects: theme and places Frauen-Werk-Stadt. From women to women: a project to daily living AutoFreien Mustersiedlung. The car-free housing settlements The residential complex Alte Busgarage and redevelopment of the station Nordbahnhof


We propose a simple model of human motion as a switching linear dynamical system where the switches correspond to contact forces with the ground. This significantly improves the modeling performance when compared to simpler linear systems, with only marginal increase in complexity. We introduce a novel closed-form (non-iterative) algorithm to estimate the switches and learn the model parameters in between switches. We validate our model qualitatively by running simulations, and quantitatively by computing prediction errors that show significant improvements over previous approaches using linear models.


This report for first quarter 1992 contains sanitary landfill groundwater monitoring data for the Savannah River Plant. The data tables presented in this report are copies of draft analytical results and therefore do contain errors. These errors will be corrected when the finalized data is received from the laboratory.


Addressing the need to identify distinctive skills for social entrepreneurs, we conducted an exploratory, qualitative study based on interviews with social entrepreneurs. We identified seven skills, three out of which have not been previously mentioned by entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship scholars. These skills include an ability to induce behavioral change and educate target groups; co-creation with multiple stakeholders; and developing solutions that aim to address the root cause of a social problem. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for further research, as well as how the identified skills can be taught in experiential learning format.


into aseptic bone necrosis of different localizations are described in the literature, however, without demonstrating structural and functional results for Kienbeck ' s disease. Objective. To establish functional and radiological changes at injection of concentrat ed bone marrow aspirate into lunate bone in combination with scaphoid-trapezoid-trapezius joint temporary fixation in patients with idiopathic lunate bone necrosis. Methods. The procedure was performed in 11 patients. Age 18–46 years (28,9 ± 9,5) 6 women, 5 males. Kienbeck's disease stage II — 4 patients, IIIa — in 2, IIIb in 5 patients. Bone marrow aspirate concentration from the ili-ac bone was obtained using Arthrex-Angel technique, injection of 2–3 ml of the concentrate with intraosseous needle under X-ray control into the focus of aseptic necrosis of the lunate bone, STT-fixation of the wrist joint in the position of rotational correction of the scaphoid. Immobilization followed for 2 months, than remo-val of the K-wires and rehabilitation. X-ray, CT control and DASH testing before the procedure and in a year. Results. Five patients (45 %) had a distinct positive clinical and radiological dynamics, definite positive changes on CT (pathological fracture consolida tion, lunate bone remodeling), as well as DASH scale improvement, maintenance of wrist joint radiometric parameters and an increase in strength and range of motions in the wrist. Four patients had no significant dynamics, and in two patients there was a distinct decline in function, advance lunate bone destruction, and an in creased wrist joint instability. Conclusions. The technique requires advance revision of the conditions under which it demonstrates its effectiveness. Today it can be recommended in addition to other surgical procedures (shortening of the radius, STT arthrodesis), which have more predicted effectiveness.


Abstract Through an examination of East Asian economies, this paper proposes two new capitalist ideal types: family market economies and state market economies. In contrast to coordinated and liberal market economy types, the new capitalist ideal types proposed here display alternative forms of hierarchical coordination. These ideal types are also genuinely novel models of capitalism because they exhibit distinct and stable institutional structures and comparative advantages.


Abstract This paper examines whether CEO stock-based compensation has an effect on the market's ability to predict future earnings. When stock-based compensation motivates managers to share their private information with shareholders, it will expedite the pricing of future earnings in current stock prices. In contrast, when equity-compensated managers attempt to temporarily manipulate the stock price to maximize their own benefit rather than that of shareholders, the market may not fully anticipate future performance. We find that a CEO's stock-based compensation strengthens the association between current returns and future earnings, indicating that more information about future earnings is reflected in current stock prices. In addition, we find that the positive effect is weaker for firms that have a high level of signed discretionary accruals or a low management forecast frequency. Overall, our study suggests that on average, equity-based compensation improves the informativeness of stock prices about future earnings, while opportunistic discretionary accruals or lowered earnings guidance hamper this improvement.


Since the appearance of the Agile Manifesto for more successful software development, the agile concept of thinking in management has evolved and today we have far more developed forms of agile management, agile tools and methods that have helped many teams and companies to adopt and apply agile practices. The aim of this paper is to review the different levels of implementation of agile management and show the main advantages that the implementation of agile management has. Through the literature review, the concept of agile project management, organizational agility and business agility as the highest stage of implementation of the agile concept in companies are presented. The paper analyzes the classic and agile concepts of project management, shows the process of agile project management as well as the main roles and benefits. Organizational agility is shown through roles and organizational structure, as well as through the most common ways of agile work management. Finally, business agility is explained and the main areas where changes need to be made to establish it at the company level are discussed.


Introduction: There is no clear consensus on the time of interpretation of the bronchodilator effect. The interval between administration of bronchodilator type β2-agonist short-acting and the practice of post bronchodilator spirometry remains a controversial issue. Our objective was to define the optimal time of bronchodilator responsiveness in assessing the reversibility or otherwise of an obstructive respiratory disorder (ORD). Materials and Methods: Analytical study prospectively over a period of 8 months, performed in the pneumology service of FSI Hospital Security. The study included patients with ORD defined by an FEV / FVC Results: 58 patients were included in the study, mean age 54 ± 15 years with a majority of men. Our study was conducted in patients with asthma and COPD whose airway obstruction was moderate (FEV = 2 liters, or 62 ± 15% predicted). (1) The maximum response after bronchodilator occurred at the 20th and 30th minutes respectively for FVC and FEV. (2) The number of reversible patients was guideline depending. (3) The maximum number of reversible patients was obtained in the 20th minute with a significant difference compared to that observed at the 5th and 10th minute. Conclusion: The interpretation of the response to bronchodilator in the 20th minute after was the ideal time to assess the reversibility of ORD.


In the last few years a large amount of data has been collected on the anatomical structure of the cat visual system. The system is composed of many distinct areas, each of which is interconnected with many others. These anatomical data reflect the fact that the system is formidably complex, and their complexity has prompted the search for effective methods of data analysis. Connections between visual cortical areas can be classified as `ascending', `descending' or `lateral' according to the pattern of their terminations and origins within the cortical layers. This categorisation has led to 63 pairwise hierarchical relations for 22 visual areas. Some of the hierarchical constraints are, however, inconsistent with others and the presently available anatomical data are by no means complete. For these reasons, and since the number of possible orderings for 22 areas is very large, we analysed the overall structure of the data with the help of an optimisation procedure. This procedure employed a modified annealing algorithm, which was integrated into a network processing environment, CANTOR, and searched for optimal hierarchical orderings, that is, those with a minimal number of hierarchical constraint violations. Starting from an arbitrarily chosen structure, it proceeded by cumulative modification and subsequent cost evaluation of candidate solutions.


Raga refers to melodic modes used in Indian Classical Music. It's a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made. Note identification forms the basis for Raga Identification in Music. Characterisation of a note in Carnatic Music is challenging due to the extensive use of Gamakas. In this paper, we propose a System that takes a wav file as input, analyses the frequency characteristics and performs note mapping. The prominent notes in the Raga are selected by a Statistical T Test based on the duration of occurrence of a note. A Test data of around 15 raga alapanas was used. The renditions ranged from 3 – 8 minute clips of various artistes, both male and female. The System performs with an accuracy of 90%.


Objectives: Pediatric Scintigraphy images and their findings are often challenging to perform and interpret. Here, a preliminary teaching atlas of unusual and interesting pediatric abdominal Scintigraphy findings is presented to serve as a reference guide. Methods: Congenital abdominal Scintigraphy images from interesting and unusual pediatric cases gathered during daily imaging interpretation sessions were selected over the past two years. Results: Seventeen interesting cases of congenital renal anomalies and choledocal cyst are presented. Conclusion: This imaging atlas can be used as a teaching file. Poster presentation at 53 rd Annual meeting at San Diego, CA June 3-7, 2006 BACKGROUND Pediatric scintigraphic images and their findings are often challenging to perform and interpret. Among the congenital abdominal anomalies, renal anomalies are most common 1 . Renal Duplication, Renal Ectopia, Solitary kidney, Horseshoe Kidney Polycystic and Multicystic kidneys are the common renal anomalies. Prune-Belly syndrome and Vater syndrome are also associated with renal anomalies. Choledocal cyst is another rare congenital anomaly of extra hepatic biliary tree. METHODS AND MATERIALS Images from interesting and unusual abdominal pediatric cases gathered during daily imaging interpretation sessions were selected over the past two years. RESULTS Seventeen interesting and unusual case studies are presented. There were 9 girls and 8 boys, ages ranging 3 days to 17 years. The disease entities encountered were various renal anomalies to choledocal cyst as described in cases 1-17. CASE #1 A 4-month-old baby girl presented with left hydronephrosis. Tc99m MAG-3 renal scintigraphy with lasix demonstrated left kidney duplication with dilated and tortuous ectopic ureter from the upper pole and obstruction in the lower pole with a possible ectopic attachment to the urinary bladder (Figs. 1 a, b). Figure 1 Figure 1: Left Renal Duplication Duplication of the ureter and renal pelvis is one of the most common urinary tract abnormalities. It is bilateral in 25 to 30% of patients. The upper pole ureter tends to insert more caudally and medially. Lower pole ureter generally inserts normally. Reflux is more common in the lower pole ureter and obstruction is more common in upper pole ureter. Tc99m DMSA study is useful to demonstrate the relative function of the duplicated system and Tc99m MAG-3 is helpful to evaluate the obstructive component. CASE #2 An 11-year-old female with developmental delay presented Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 2 of 7 with urinary tract infection. Tc99m DMSA renal cortical scintigraphy demonstrated a Horseshoe kidney associated with pyelonephritis and scarring (Fig. 2). Figure 2 Figure 2: Horseshoe Kidney Fusion in Horseshoe kidneys is usually in lower poles. Children with Horseshoe kidneys usually present with infection, hypertension and hematuria. Radionuclide study with Tc99m DMSA is useful to assess the function, scarring and pyelonephritis of the fused kidney. CASE #3 An 8-year-old male with renal ectopia and bilateral vesicoureteral reflux had a Tc99m DMSA scintigraphy demonstrating crossed fused left kidney with decreased function, scarring and pyelonephritis (Fig. 3). Figure 3 Figure 3: Crossed Fused Left Kidney Renal ectopia can be unilateral or bilateral. It can present as a crossed fused solitary kidney. Pelvis is one of the locations for ectopic renal kidney. Pelvic kidney requires anterior imaging. CASE #4 A 9-year-old male with Vater syndrome and a solitary left kidney demonstrating scarring in upper and lower poles by a Tc99m DMSA study (Fig. 4). Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 3 of 7 Figure 4 Figure 4: Solitary Left kidney Vater Syndrome is associated with various non cardiac abnormalities including vertebral, anal, tracheoesophageal, radial and renal anomalies. CASE #5 A 3-day-old neonate baby boy with right Multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK) and left hydronephrosis demonstrated on Tc99m MAG-3 study (Figs. 5 a, b). Figure 5 Figure 5: Right Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney MCDK is the most frequent cystic disorder of infants and children. MCDK varies in size and shape and contains non communicating cortical and medullary cysts. Other urogenital abnormalities are common. Tc99m DMSA and Tc99m MAG-3 usually demonstrate no radiotracer uptake in MCDK. CASES # 6-9 Multiple cases of MCDK are demonstrated on Tc99m MAG-3. (Figs. 6 a, b) is a left MCDK. Figure 6 Figure 6: Left Multicystic Dysplastic Kidney CASE #10 A 2-month-old baby boy with malrotated kidney in utero. Tc99m MAG-3 study demonstrating a small atrophic left kidney with poor perfusion, function and excretion (Figs. 7 a, b). Figure 7 Figure 7: Atrophic Left Kidney CASE # 11 A 1-year-old baby boy with Vater Syndrome and Grade II right Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) demonstrating dilated and tortuous ureters (Figs. 8 a, b). Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 4 of 7 Figure 8 Figure 8: Bilateral Dilated and Tortuous Ureters Vater Syndrome is associated with major cardiovascular manifestation of Ventricular septal defect and other minor non cardiac abnormalities including vertebral anomalies, anal atresia, tracheo-esophageal fistula, radial and renal anomalies. CASE # 12 A one-month-old baby boy with Prune Belly Syndrome demonstrating bilateral hydronephrosis on Tc99m MAG-3 study (Figs. 9 a, b). Figure 9 Figure 9: Bilateral Hydronephrosis Prune-Belly Syndrome occurs in male infants. It manifests as dilatation of the urinary bladder and ureters with a flabby abdominal wall due to muscular deficiency of unknown etiology. If severe, the neonates die soon after birth or may be still born. The abnormalities associated with the syndrome include pulmonary hypoplasia,renal dysplasia, urethral obstruction, weak chest wall muscles, vesicoureteric reflux, and undescended testes. Dynamic renal imaging demonstrates various findings ranging from normal to dilated pelvicalyceal systems with or without obstruction. Renal cortical imaging asseses the function and scarring. CASE # 13 A 2-day-old baby girl with solitary left kidney on Tc99m DMSA study (Fig. 10). Displacement of one or both kidneys associated with renal malformations is one of the renal anomalies. Figure 10 Figure 10: Solitary Left Kidney CASE #14 A 3-year-old boy with history of Oxalosis and obstructive nephropathy had large kidneys with decreased function and poor excretion from both kidneys, right worse than left on a Tc99m MAG-3 study (Fig. 11). Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 5 of 7 Figure 11 Figure 11: Oxalosis and Obstructive Nephropathy Oxalosis is one of the storage diseases of aminoacid metabolism inherited as autosomal recessive trait. Oxalosis is due to widespread deposition of Calcium oxalate in renal and extrarenal tissues. It may manifest during first year of life. Renal colic or hematuria can develop between ages 2 and 10 and uremia can develop before age 20. Large doses of pyridoxine may reduce urinary oxalate temporarily. A diet rich in phosphate may reduce the frequency of renal colic. CASE # 15 A 2-year-old baby girl with poorly functioning ectopic left kidney demonstrated on Tc99m MAG-3 study (Figs. 12 a, b). Figure 12 Figure 12: Ectopic Left Kidney CASE #16 An 18-month-old baby girl with right renal duplication demonstrated on Tc99m MAG-3 study. (Figs. 13 a, b). Figure 13 Figure 13: Right Renal Duplication CASE # 17 A 17-year-old female presented with jaundice and abdominal pain. Ultrasonography suggested possible Type IV-a choledocal cyst. A hepatobiliary scintigraphy demonstrated a large photon deficient area in the right lobe of liver with slow filling supporting the diagnosis of choledocal cyst with delayed biliary to bowel transit (Figs 14 a, b, c, d). Figure 14 Figure 14: Type IV – a Choledocal Cyst Choledocal cyst is a rare abdominal congenital anomaly 2 . It is a congenital dilatation of the extrahepatic biliary tree. There are 5 types of choledocal cysts by Todani Classification . Type I is fusiform dilation of the extrahepatic bile duct. Type II is single secular dilation or diverticulum of the extrahepatic bile duct. Type III is dilation of the intraduodenal portion of the bile duct. Type IVa demonstrates intra and extrahepatic biliary duct dilatation. Type IVb demonstrates multiple dilations of the extrahepatic bile duct. Type V is isolated or diffuse dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary ducts and is called Caroli's disease when associated hepatic fibrosis 3 . About 15% of these patients have biliary atresia. Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 6 of 7 CONCLUSION Various congenital renal anomalies and choledocal cyst with scintigraphic findings are presented. This preliminary imaging atlas may be useful in developing a large atlas in diagnosing and managing congenital pediatric abdominal anomalies and can be used as a teaching file. CORRESPONDENCE TO Vani Vijayakumar, MD Chief of Nuclear Medicine Department of Radiology University of Mississippi Medical Center 2500 North State Street Jackson, Mississippi 39216-4505 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com References 1. Treves ST. Pediatric Nuclear Medicine. Second Edition. Springer-Verlag 1995, PP 378-379 and 478-479. 2. Weyant MJ, Maluccio MA, Bertagnolli MM, Daly JM. Choledochal cysts in adults: a report of two cases and review of the literature. American Journal of Gastroenterology. 1998; 93:2580-83. 3. Caroli J. Diseases of intrahepatic bile ducts. Isr J Med Sci.1968; 4:21-35 Congenital Pediatric Anomalies: A Collection of Abdominal Scintigraphy Findings: An Imaging Atlas 7 of 7 Author Information V. Vijayakumar Nuclear Medicine Section, Department of Radiology, University of Mississippi Medical Cen


Silicone elastomers were surface modified by oxygen microwave plasma under different conditions and the elemental composition was followed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The changes in elemental composition were mapped by a method based on ternary XPS diagrams that we have recently developed. Already at the shortest treatment times, 5 s, the change in surface composition is more than one-half the maximum change obtained on prolonged exposure. After this initial change, the surface gradually oxidizes toward the final composition. Curve resolutions of C1s and Si2p XPS data showed that the initial jump in surface composition is caused by an oxidation of silicon where one of the two methyl groups are replaced by an oxygen. The second methyl group appears to be more difficult to remove, but as the treatment progresses, the number of oxygen bonded to silicon gradually increases. The dominating form of carbon acts as unoxidized methyl groups throughout the process, but the total carbon percentage decreases as the treatment progresses. This indicates either that the methyl groups are removed without prior oxidation or that the methyl groups are removed shortly after oxidation. A silica-like surface layer was formed on prolonged plasma treatment under all the investigated conditions.


In "Estimation of Secondary Organic Aerosol Viscosity from Explicit Modeling of Gas-Phase Oxidation of Isoprene and α-pinene," Galeazzo et al. present the use of GECKO-A modeling on isoprene and α-pinene SOA to model the chemical composition and calculate the viscosity at various relative humidities. Though experimental samples, either from realworld conditions or from controlled conditions in a chamber, can lead to measurements of viscosity, global climate models will not be accurate solely using viscosity data from a small number of locations or test chambers. Numerous factors, including environmental (e.g. T, RH), chemical (e.g. compound structure, functional group contribution, atomic ratios), and physical (e.g. partitioning) processes, can contribute to large variance in aerosol behavior, e.g. glass transition temperature and viscosity. Recent progress made in parameterizing the prediction of viscosity has reduced the necessary inputs to elemental composition, stopping short of functional group analysis, thus providing a different pathway for viscosity prediction through high-resolution mass spectrometry.


In their response to our paper, Amihud and Lev (1999) and Denis, Denis, and Sarin (1999) claim that disciplinary differences don't matter and that methods and evidence should speak for themselves. In contrast, we argue that important differences exist between financial economics and strategic management, leading to differing beliefs, norms, methods, and interpretations of empirical results. Using a strategic management perspective to review the evidence presented by Amihud and Lev in their earlier study (1981) and in their and Denis et al.'s critiques of our work (1999), we find no reason to revise our original conclusion: there is little theoretical or empirical basis for believing that monitoring by a firm's principals influences its diversification strategy and acquisition decisions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Employment-related health coverage is the predominant form of health insurance in the nonelderly, US population. Developing sound policies regarding the tax treatment of employer-sponsored insurance requires detailed information on the insurance benefits offered by employers as well as detailed information on the characteristics of employees and their familes. Unfortunately, no nationally representative data set contains all of the necessary elements. This paper describes the development of the Employer-Sim model which models tax-based health policies by using data on workers from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS HC) to form synthetic workforces for each establishment in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS IC). This paper describes the application of Employer-Sim to estimating tax subsidies to employer-sponsored health insurance and presents estimates of the cost and indcidence of the subsidy for 2008. The paper concludes by discussing other potential applications of the Employer-Sim model.


Neuronal survival during the developmental period of naturally occurring cell death is mediated through a successful competition for limiting concentrations of neurotrophic factors, and the deprived neurons will die. New results show that induced death through the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)), a member of the p55TNF/Fas family of cell death receptors, may also influence survival during development. We find that eliminating p75(NTR) or neurotrophin 4 (NT4) in mice leads to a marked attenuation of apoptosis during the programmed cell death period of the trigeminal ganglion neurons, suggesting that NT4 can induce the death of these neurons through the p75(NTR). These in vivo findings were reproduced in primary cell cultures, where NT4 was found to induce death in a p75(NTR)-dependent pathway. Analysis of p75 deficient and wild-type cells revealed two separate cell death pathways, a p75(NTR)- and caspase-3-independent pathway activated by trophic factor deprivation, and a p75(NTR)- and caspase-3-dependent pathway initiated by NT4. Crossing in the NT4 null alleles in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) null mutant mice led to a rescue of a large proportion of BDNF-dependent neurons from excessive cell death, indicating that trophic factor deprivation is not sufficient for the death of many neurons and that additional death inducing signals might be required. Our results suggest that NT4 competitively signals survival and death of sensory neurons through trkB and p75(NTR), respectively.


The transition from Al to Cu for advanced ULSI interconnects involves changes in architecture and deposition technique that will influence the microstructure and texture of the metal. Cu interconnects are typically formed within the confines of pre-patterned trenches and vias using an electroplating process with a sputtered Cu conduction layer deposited over a refractory metalbased diffusion barrier layer. In this paper, we focus on the influence of the barrier layer (PVD Ti/TiN, Ta, TaN, CVD TiN) and the effect of a vacuum break between barrier and conduction layer depositions, on the texture of the Cu lines, as examined by X-ray diffraction pole figure analysis. A preferred (111) orientation was observed for all samples. The samples with no vacuum break between barrier and conduction layer deposition exhibited in plane anisotropy that was particularly pronounced for the Ta and TaN samples compared with the Ti/TiN sample. Focused ion beam images and transmission electron micrographs showed Cu grain size to be on the order of the trench width with a high degree of twinning, and no boundary could be distinguished between the PVD Cu conduction layer and the electroplated Cu.


This study describes the mismatch between required knowledge and efforts by scientists and stakeholders in the Lake Naivasha basin, Kenya. In the basin, integrated water resources management (IWRM) suffers from the absence of critically relevant knowledge. This study further presents a spatial integrated assessment framework for supporting IWRM in the basin. This framework resulted from an ongoing debate between stakeholders and scientists studying the basin's issues. It builds on jointly identified indicators for sustainable governance, and their interdependency, and knowledge gaps. For IWRM in the basin this is a first important step towards a more structured debate on the implementation of IWRM.


In recent years, because of the coming up of Financial Tsunami, most enterprises pay more attention on raising organization's morale and promoting organization's performance. Besides, Relevant to leadership research has shown that how a leader acts and communicates with his followers during a challenging period can create the foundation of trust in the leader in the future (Kasper-Fuehrer and Ashkanasy, 2001). This study aims to examine how to develop trust relationship between subordinates and leaders through authentic leadership, and then influence on subordinates' behavior outcomes in the organization? Namely, whether authentic leaders can obtain subordinates' trust or leaders will let subordinates perceive more trust? This point becomes one of the research motivations. Moreover, perceptions of organizational politics was put into this research, to examine its moderating effect on the correlation between authentic leadership and trust, and the correlation between trust and subordinate's work performance or organizational citizenship behavior.
This study is taking the object of study by three companies' employees, and questionnaires were used anonymous and convenient sampling targeting the perception of employees on leaders' style and the climate in the organizations. This study collects 326 questionnaires in total, 20 questionnaires were excluded as incomplete responding or answering consistently reasons, left 306 valid questionnaires in total. This study conducts the relevant statistic analysis, such as descriptive statistics, reliability analysis and validity analysis, CFA, and SEM, etc.
This study shows that (1) authentic leadership has a positive effect on subordinates trust in leaders and subordinates perceived being trusted by their leaders (2) subordinates trust in leaders doesn't have significant effect on work performance and organizational citizenship behavior (3) subordinates perceived being trusted by their leaders has positive and significant effect on work performance and organizational citizenship behavior (4) the moderating effect of the perceptions of organizational politics on the relationship between authentic leadership and trust is not significant (5) the moderating effect of the perceptions of organizational politics on the relationship between trust and the behavior outcomes is not significant. However, in the analysis of Taiwan and China's samples, this study finds that China's POP is higher than Taiwan's. Besides, the moderating effect of the perceptions of organizational politics on the relationship between trust and the behavior outcomes is significant. Finally, this study's final goal is want to let every leaders know, the relationship between leaders and subordinates and organizational climates are the most important factors to influence organizational performance.