The recent Cox Review highlighted the issue that many more of our product design graduates should possess experiences and skills in, or at least have empathy with, techniques and methods from other areas [1]. With this in mind, this paper presents a series of projects concerned with the role of anthropological techniques and approaches in product design and development. In particular, the anthropological method of ethnography has been used here to support the creative process in the discovery of cultural patterns and subsequently developing products to meet or address those patterns [2]. In this way, ethnography can be viewed as a front-end design research method to investigate everyday social life and culture as a tool for promoting and developing innovation and creativity. This paper presents a brief overview of how ethnography has influenced product development over the last two decades and will show some of the future opportunities where ethnography can influence the design of products and the organisation of design processes. Specifically, the paper will describe recent case studies where ethnography has been used in engineering and product design education within Napier University's MDes Interdisciplinary Design programme and across a range of undergraduate programs within the University of Strathclyde's DMEM department. The authors will report on the contrasting styles of both institutions and attempt to draw out best practice to show how emerging ethnographic methods can inform new perspectives in product design education.


Semi-intensive shrimp production in Honduras is based upon use of formulated diets to supply nutrients for shrimp growth. Unconsumed feed contributes nutrients to pond water, which when discharged may deteriorate water quality in receiving waters. Estuaries are the water source and sink for shrimp farms in Honduras, and many farms have been established along individual estuaries. A key element in achieving sustainable shrimp culture in Honduras is to ensure that the carrying capacity of each estuary is not exceeded because of overdevelopment of farms or uncontrolled intensification of production practices, both of which could result in significant increases in nutrient load entering estuaries due to farm discharges. Nutrient budgets are developed to assess the fate of nutrients added to a system and to rank importance of nutrient sources and sinks. In addition, the potential pollution impact of a specific pond management system could be evaluated using nutrient budgets. The objective of this experiment was to develop budgets for nitrogen and phosphorus in semiintensively managed shrimp ponds receiving a low or high protein feed.


We here use our site-specific base analog mapping approach to study the interactions and binding equilibria of cooperatively-bound clusters of the single-stranded DNA binding protein (gp32) of the T4 DNA replication complex with longer ssDNA (and dsDNA) lattices. We show that in cooperatively bound clusters the binding free energy appears to be equi-partitioned between the gp32 monomers of the cluster, so that all bind to the ssDNA lattice with comparable affinity, but also that the outer domains of the gp32 monomers at the ends of the cluster can fluctuate on and off the lattice and that the clusters of gp32 monomers can slide along the ssDNA. We also show that at very low binding densities gp32 monomers bind to the ssDNA lattice at random, but that cooperatively bound gp32 clusters bind preferentially at the 5′-end of the ssDNA lattice. We use these results and the gp32 monomer-binding results of the companion paper to propose a detailed model for how gp32 might bind to and interact with ssDNA lattices in its various binding modes, and also consider how these clusters might interact with other components of the T4 DNA replication complex.


Aims The aim of this study was to identify any progression between benign osteofibrous dysplasia (OFD), OFD‐like adamantinoma and malignant adamantinoma, and to investigate the rates of local recurrence, metastases and survival, in order to develop treatment algorithms for each. Patients and Methods A single institution retrospective review of all patients presenting with OFD, OFD‐like adamantinoma and adamantinoma between 1973 and 2012 was undertaken. Complete data were available for 73 patients (42 with OFD; ten with an OFD‐like adamantinoma and 21 with an adamantinoma). The mean follow‐up was 10.3 years (3 to 25) for OFD, 9.2 years (3.0 to 26.3) for OFD‐like and 11.6 years (0.25 to 33) for adamantinoma. Results The mean age at diagnosis for OFD was 13.5 years (1 to 49), 10.5 years (6 to 28) for OFD‐like and 34 years (14 to 86) for adamantinoma. A total of 24 of the 42 patients with OFD (57%) have not required any treatment and have been managed with observation. A total of 18 of the 42 patients with OFD underwent surgery, 13 with curettage and five with resection. In all, three patients developed recurrence following curettage (23%) but none following resection. All these patients were cured with further limited surgery. A total of six patients initially diagnosed with OFD were subsequently found to have OFD‐like adamantinoma. Of the ten patients initially diagnosed with OFD‐like adamantinoma, three (30%) were managed with observation alone and seven underwent surgery, two with curettage and five with resection. Local recurrence arose in two patients, one each after curettage and resection. No patients with either OFD or an OFD‐like adamantinoma developed metastases or had progression to adamantinoma. All patients with an adamantinoma were treated by surgery, three with curettage, six with amputation and 12 with excision. In all, two of the three treated with curettage developed local recurrence, requiring further surgery. Late development of both local recurrence and metastases led to a ten year disease specific survival of 93% which had dropped to 39% by 20 years. Conclusion We found no evidence of progression from OFD to adamantinoma. Conservative management with observation or curettage is often successful for patients with OFD and OFD‐like adamantinoma. Resection with clear margins is required for patients with adamantinoma. Late tumour recurrence is not uncommon in adamantinoma and prolonged follow‐up should be considered.


Electrical properties of mercury vapor and monatomic gases are discussed from a theoretical standpoint in this article. In the first part of the article, the author discusses briefy the elementary processes of excitation and ionization of atoms upon which the electrical properties of gases depend. With this insight into the fundamental processes as a 1, ackground, the author discusses in Part lIthe electrical conductivity of gases under various conditions. This is the eleventh in a series of special articles prepared under sponsorship of the A.I.E.E. committee on education.


The calcium-activated proteolytic enzyme calpain is one of the key proteins that can directly or indirectly drive neurons into apoptosis. The indirect way is through cyclin dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), a non-mitotic kinase, which is upregulated through calpain overactivation and followed by a subsequent increase in p53 and active caspase-3 levels under neurodegenerative conditions. The direct way is the upregulation of p53 by calpain itself, since p53 is a substrate for it. SpeedyRINGO is an atypical cell cycle regulator that has been shown to have protective effects in mitotic cells against apoptosis by inhibiting caspase-3 activation when p53 is present. Our aim was to reveal possible protective effects of SpeedyRINGO against calpain-induced caspase-3 activation in neurons which is crucial in terms of providing novel insights in preventing the caspase-3 activation cascade in neurodegeneration. For this reason, mRNA and protein levels were analyzed by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence. We show that calpain overactivation leads to the upregulation of p53 and a subsequent increase in active caspase-3 level, indicating activation of apoptotic machinery in neurons. This calpain-directed caspase-3 activation upon upregulation of p53 is inhibited by the expression of SpeedyRINGO in rat hippocampal neurons. Therefore, SpeedyRINGO acts as a savior for neurons that are under apoptosis due to caspase-3 activation.


We consider the problem of when the matrix equation X + A*X-'A = Q has a positive definite solution. Here Q is positive definite. We study both the real and the complex case. This equation plays a crucial role in solving a special case of the discrete-time Riccati equation. We present both necessary and sufficient conditions for its solvability. This result is obtained by using an analytic factorization approach. Moreover, we present algebraic recursive algorithms to compute the largest and smallest the solution of the equation, respectively. Finally, we discuss the number of solutions.


Density functional theory is used to investigate the surface structures and the energies of two possible terminated LaAlO3 (001) surfaces with oxygen vacancies, i.e. LaO- and AlO2-terminated surfaces. The large displacements of ions, deviated from their crystalline sites, can lead to the formation of the surface rumpling. From thermodynamics analysis, the AlO2-terminated surface with oxygen-vacancies is less stable than the LaO-terminated one. Some states in the gap lie under the Fermi level by about -1eV in the LaO-terminated surface with oxygen vacancies. For the AlO2-terminated oxygen-vacancy surface, some O 2p states move into the mid-gap region and become partially unoccupied. The two types of termination surfaces exhibit conduction related to oxygen vacancies. Our results can contribute to the application of LAO films to high dielectric constant materials.


Fractional topological insulators (FTIs) are electronic systems that carry fractionally charged excitations, conserve charge, and are symmetric to reversal of time. In this review, we introduce the basic essential concepts of the field and then survey theoretical understanding of FTIs in two and three dimensions. In between, we discuss the case of "two and a half dimensions," the FTIs that may form on the two-dimensional surface of an unfractionalizedthree-dimensionaltopologicalinsulator.Wefocusonelectronicsystems and emphasize properties of edges and surfaces, most notably the stability of gapless edge modes to perturbations.


Opioids have been accepted as appropriate analgesic treatment for pain associated with cancer. However, controversy exists about their use for chronic noncancer pain. Reasons for reluctance are concerned about efficacy and potential adverse effects such as respiratory depression, addiction, physical dependence or intolerance. Many physicians worry about liability and legal restrictions. Nevertheless, pain management of chronic severe pain with opioids can be the only help when alternative methods are too risky of fail to be effective. This article briefly reviews the published literature on this topic and discusses some practical guidelines for the use of opioids in the treatment of non-cancer pain.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the therapeutic effects of Jiazhu decoction (JZD) in combination with cyclophosphamide (CTX) on the growth of breast cancer in mice and to explore the possible molecular mechanisms of action.

METHODS
BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups of 10 (untreated model group, JZD group, CTX group, and JZD + CTX group) and subcutaneously injected with 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells. Tumors were allowed to establish for ~7 d before initiation of treatment with CTX (100 mg/kg every week by intraperitoneal injection) and/or JZD (0.015 mL of 1.65 g/mL crude drug, administered daily by gavage). The model group received equivalent volumes of vehicle on the same schedules. Tumor volumes were measured every 3 d. Mice were sacrificed after 3 weeks of treatment, and tumors were excised and subjected to RT-qPCR and western blot analysis to evaluate expression of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway components β-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1 at the mRNA and protein levels.

RESULTS
The mean tumor volume was smaller and the growth rate was slower in the CTX and JZD + CTX groups compared with the model group (P < 0.05), and in the JZD + CTX group compared with the CTX and JZD groups (P < 0.05). Tumor growth was inhibited by 35.4% and 48.1% by CTX and JZD + CTX treatment, respectively (P < 0.001). The expression of β-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1 mRNA and protein in tumors was significantly lower in mice treated with JZD or JZD + CTX compared with the untreated mice (P < 0.05), and was significantly lower in mice treated with JZD + CTX compared with either JZD or CTX alone (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
JZD inhibited the growth of mouse breast cancer cells in vivo, possibly by reducing the expression of β-catenin, c-Myc, and cyclin D1. Combination therapy with JZD plus CTX had a more potent inhibitory effect on breast cancer growth compared with either agent alone.


Parallel-processing inverter-based uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems have advantages over the conventional rectifier-inverter systems. Control is more complex and design tools are not readily available. The modeling, control and performance of a typical system are analyzed, and important parameters are identified. This UPS consists of an inverter-battery subsystem in shunt between the AC mains and the load. Two control loops are employed to fully exploit the advantages of the proposed UPS system: (1) a fast load voltage regulation loop; and (2) a slower battery charging loop. Mathematical models are developed to design the required regulators and compensation networks for both loops. The predicted performance characteristics are verified by simulation. Experimental results on a 5 kVA unit confirm the theoretical analyses.<<ETX>>


For a sustainable development of the energy sector - in the future - an additional potential of energetic flexibility as well as storage capacities will be required to compensate for fluctuating renewable energy production. The operation of energy systems will change and flexibility in energy generation and consumption will rise to become a valuable asset. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with anaerobic sludge digestion are capable of providing that needed flexibility, not only with their energy generators but also in terms of their energy consuming aggregates on the plant. Under these circumstances a methodical approach has been developed that can be used to select, evaluate and safely implement typical aggregates on WWTPs for flexible plant operation and the provision of energetic flexibility. Relevant key figures have been developed that reconcile requirements of the purification processes with technical-physical necessities as well as the demands of the energy market. Furthermore, restrictions and control parameters have been established which complement the developed key figures to ensure effluent quality. It was demonstrated that WWTPs are able to adapt their operation mode to external and internal requirements under controlled conditions. The existing flexibility is suitable for a variety of uses, and WWTPs in general are able to participate in today's and in future energy supply products and new business models. The results show that WWTPs have a significant potential to produce renewable energy and to provide energetic flexibility, which is needed to stabilize future renewable-energy-driven energy grids.


Cellular behavior is strongly influenced by the architecture and pattern of its interfacing extracellular matrix (ECM). For an artificial culture system which could eventually benefit the translation of scientific findings into therapeutic development, the system should capture the key characteristics of a physiological microenvironment. At the same time, it should also enable standardized, high throughput data acquisition. Since an ECM is composed of different fibrous proteins, studying cellular interaction with individual fibrils will be of physiological relevance. In this study, we employ near-field electrospinning to create ordered patterns of collagenous fibrils of gelatin, based on an acetic acid and ethyl acetate aqueous co-solvent system. Tunable conformations of micro-fibrils were directly deposited onto soft polymeric substrates in a single step. We observe that global topographical features of straight lines, beads-on-strings, and curls are dictated by solution conductivity; whereas the finer details such as the fiber cross-sectional profile are tuned by solution viscosity. Using these fibril constructs as cellular assays, we study EA.hy926 endothelial cells' response to ROCK inhibition, because of ROCK's key role in the regulation of cell shape. The fibril array was shown to modulate the cellular morphology towards a pre-capillary cord-like phenotype, which was otherwise not observed on a flat 2-D substrate. Further facilitated by quantitative analysis of morphological parameters, the fibril platform also provides better dissection in the cells' response to a H1152 ROCK inhibitor. In conclusion, the near-field electrospun fibril constructs provide a more physiologically-relevant platform compared to a featureless 2-D surface, and simultaneously permit statistical single-cell image cytometry using conventional microscopy systems. The patterning approach described here is also expected to form the basics for depositing other protein fibrils, seen among potential applications as culture platforms for drug screening.


Collaborative software development allows developers to contribute to the same project simultaneously performing different activities. Although this might increase development productivity, it also brings conflicts among developers contributions. Different kinds of conflicts can arise, but previous studies have often focused on merge conflicts. So we aim to further investigate build and test conflicts occurrence, that are conflicts revealed by failures when building and testing integrated code, respectively. For that, we intend to study the causes of build and test conflicts, their adopted resolution patterns, and the factors that are associated with the conflict occurrence. Based on these results, we plan to develop a tool for helping developers when resolving build and test conflicts. Our initial results, analyzing Java projects, show that most build conflicts are caused by missing declarations removed or renamed by one developer but referenced by the changes of another developer. We also verified these conflicts are often resolved by removing the dangling reference. Based on such finding, we developed a prototype that recommends fixes for these build conflicts.


Steam reforming of commercially available LPG using Ru/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3 catalysts has been studied at temperatures between 573 and 773 K. Ru/Al2O3 catalyst showed higher rates of reaction and lower activation energies of the three main components of LPG, compared with Ni/Al2O3. However, Ni/Al2O3 catalyst showed a better H2:CH4 selectivity. The activation energy of n-butane was the lowest over Ru/Al2O3, whereas over Ni/Al2O3, propane had the lowest activation energy. The activation energy of i-butane was always the highest over both catalysts, which suggests that both catalysts performed better with unbranched molecules. A slight increase in activation energy was observed, when each component of the LPG mixture was studied separately as a pure gas, compared with being mixed in LPG. At a constant temperature of 773 K, hydrogen production yield and H2:CH4 selectivity were determined using Ru/Al2O3 at different steam:carbon (S:C) ratios and LPG flow rates. It was found that the yield and selectivity increased with the increase in S:C ratio and the decrease in the flow rate. The highest yield of 0.64 was achieved using S:C ratio of 6.5 and a LPG flow rate of 50 mL min−1. The work provides valuable information on steam reforming of pure components of LPG, compared with when they are in the mixture. The comparison is done using conventional steam reforming catalyst, Ni/Al2O3, and compared with Ru/Al2O3. The observed trends and variations in reaction rates, in pure and mixed gases, indicated that the mechanism of steam reforming of a hydrocarbon mixture depends on its composition.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the radiomorphometric parameters of mandibular trabecular and cortical bone of females with and without cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD).

METHODS
A retrospective cross-sectional paired study was conducted. Digital panoramic radiographs were obtained from females diagnosed in a public service of Oral Medicine. The participants were divided into two groups of 50 subjects each: females with a diagnosis of COD (COD group) and females without a diagnosis of COD (non-COD group), randomly chosen from the image database and paired for age. The radiomorphometric parameters analyzed were: mandibular cortical width (MCW), fractal dimension (FD) and mandibular cortical index (MCI). The paired t-test and Wilcoxon test were used to compare MCW and FD values and the McNemar-Bowker test compared the MCI.

RESULTS
The mean age of both groups was 46.84 ± 11.38 years. The median MCW index was 3.12 mm (2.15-4.55) for the COD group and 3.52 mm (1.90-4.70) for the non-COD group (p = 0.034). The mean FD value of the COD group (1.2039 ± 0.0926) was lower than that of the non-COD group (1.2472 ± 0.0894) in the anatomical region of the interest of mandibular cortical bone (p = 0.031), while no difference was detected in alveolar trabecular bone. The C3 degree of MCI was more frequent in the COD group (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION
Females with COD had lower values of radiomorphometric parameters in mandibular cortical bone than females of the same age without COD. These results suggest that, in addition to the dental care recommended in the literature, COD females also require more attention and screening for low bone mineral density.


We developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect flounder herpesvirus (FHV), the causative agent of viral epidermal hyperplasia of larval Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. The developed PCR method was specific to FHV and no PCR products were obtained in other fish-pathogenic herpesviruses and flounder-pathogenic viruses tested. FHV was detected by the PCR test with a sample containing 100 or more epidermal cells, which were derived from flounder larvae with epidermal hyperplasia. Four samples of diseased flounder larvae, which were collected from natural mass mortalities and diagnosed as viral epidermal hyperplasia by conventional methods, were positive by the PCR test for FHV. These results show that the present PCR method is useful for rapid and reliable diagnosis of fish clinically or subclinically infected with FHV.


The authors describe a rare case of central auditory dysfunction induced by cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A 55-year-old woman who was admitted after aneurysmal SAH developed cerebral vasospasm on Day 3 affecting mainly the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) and partly the left MCA. The vasospasm became refractory to conventional therapy and was ultimately improved by intraarterial infusion of nimodipine in the right MCA and angioplasty. Severe auditory dysfunction was apparent from Day 10 as the patient was not reactive to speech or environmental sounds. Brain MRI on Day 17 demonstrated infarcted areas mainly in the right hippocampus, medial occipital lobe, and thalamus. The patient underwent further examination using audiometry, speech testing, auditory evoked potentials, functional MRI, and cerebral PET. The initial diagnosis was extended nonverbal agnosia and total pure word deafness. The central auditory dysfunction improved over 6 months, with persisting hyperacusis, tinnitus, and amusia. Central auditory dysfunction is a rare complication after SAH. While cortical deafness may be associated with bilateral lesions of the temporal cortex, partly reversible central auditory dysfunction was observed in this patient after prominently unilateral right temporal lesions. The role of the interthalamic connections can be discussed, as well as the possibility that a less severe vasospasm on the left MCA could have transiently impaired the left thalamocortical auditory pathways.


Dogs with biliary fistulas metabolized triiodothyronine rapidly to inorganic iodide, as did normal dogs. The amount and distribution of I131 compounds in the urine were not greatly altered by withdrawal of the bile, which contained about one-fourth of the I131 administered. Dogs with biliary obstruction excreted more of compounds b, iodide and the conjugate than normal dogs. The absence of enterohepatic circulation of metabolic products of triiodothyronine usually excreted in the bile did not appreciably alter the products or rate of metabolism of triiodothyronine. Some of the same products of triiodothyronine appeared in both bile and urine but there was very little inorganic iodide in the bile and much more of the glucuronide and the water-soluble, column residual fraction.


In this paper we approach the solution of large instances of the distribution design problem. The traditional approaches do not consider that the instance size can significantly reduce the efficiency of the solution process. We propose a new approach that includes compression methods to transform the original instance into a new one using data mining techniques. The goal of the transformation is to condense the operation access pattern of the original instance to reduce the amount of resources needed to solve the original instance, without significantly reducing the quality of its solution. In order to validate the approach, we tested it proposing two instance compression methods on a new model of the replicated version of the distribution design problem that incorporates generalized database objects. The experimental results show that our approach permits to reduce the computational resources needed for solving large instances by at least 65%, without significantly reducing the quality of its solution. Given the encouraging results, at the moment we are working on the design and implementation of efficient instance compression methods using other data mining techniques.


This paper provides a methodology for the application of a machine learning-based framework for fused deposition modelling manufacturing. The approach was developed to take into account the influence of the material, the part geometry, the process parameters on the maximum part warpage defined by the user. The results showed the effectiveness of machine learning for both classification and regression purposes so that the printability of the part is firstly provided, based on the selected warpage threshold, and secondly, the part warpage can be predicted within the problem design space variables, i.e. part material, part height, part length, and layer thickness. The limitations of the use of the analytic equation as a data-points generator are widely discussed, along with the future research based on the obtained preliminary results. In conclusion, the described methodology represents a concrete step towards a first-time-right strategy in the field of manufacturing processes.


In June of 2009, indigenous protest over the Peruvian government's natural resource policies erupted, tragically, in a violent confrontation where 33 Peruvians lost their lives. Conflicts over natural resources are bound to increase, especially in developing countries, as governments development ambitions collide with indigenous peoples' territorial claims. This article, within the context of Peru's natural resource development agenda, examines the government's hydrocarbon development policies against indigenous resistance and protest. Turning to an alternative theoretical framework, modernity/coloniality, I argue that the government's development logic misrepresents indigenous perspectives on development, undermines indigenous territorial rights, and suppresses indigenous participation in Peru's natural resource agenda. A more complex reading of indigenous perspectives reveals a more sustainable approach to development, one that does not reject modern development, but does challenge the Eurocentric predilections of development.


RFID, a core technology that can be used to create a ubiquitous society, is a non-contact recognition system in which a small chip attached to various types of a product transmits and processes information regarding the product and the surrounding environment via wireless frequency. As a wireless recognition technology, RFID consumes little power, is small, and allows one to communicate in virtually any environment. It is thus expected to offer much convenience. Due to these characteristics of the RFID system, however, it may also pose a serious threat to privacy. A number of studies are currently being conducted to address this problem. Most of these studies use secure communication channels between a database and a reader, and insecure communication channels between a reader and a tag. This paper, however, proposes a secure authentication protocol to provide information to an authorized entity by applying the recognition technology in the insecure communication channel even for the communication between the database and the reader.


South Africa's path toward sustainable economic development requires a sound legal structure for governance of its businesses - a structure that complements and supports the continuing development of a diverse, equitable political system and respects South Africa's distinct social needs. With the Companies Act of 2008, South Africa has established a model of corporate regulation that can substantially improve its business climate while supporting essential broader economic and social aims. In this chapter, we compare the new Companies Act governance provisions to those in comparable statutes in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. We also compare Companies Act rules to securities market listing standards, codes applicable to publicly traded companies, and other statements of corporate governance 'best practices', including those set out in the King Reports. The comparative analysis addresses protection of stakeholder rights; board duties, governance, and independence; appointment and removal of directors; director and management compensation; board supervision of management; and shareholder rights. Our analysis confirms that, in line with tested standards in other major economies and current international trends in corporate governance, the Companies Act sets out a modern, enabling model of regulation. In providing for flexibility and simplicity of company formation, transparency of governance, and effective exercise of shareholder rights, the Act creates a secure environment for entrepreneurship and investment. At the same time, it establishes standards of corporate responsibility distinctly appropriate to South Africa.


The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transformation of digital interactions, a development that has been growing in the last decade. Digital platforms have become indispensable in the institutional communication of public and private organizations. The magnitude of this change was evident during the pandemic at a time when several countries implemented social distancing measures to contain the contagion. This situation caused a certain degree of user dependence on information and communication technologies. The objective of this research is to analyze the time of use, the changes, and habits of digital consumption at the beginning and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Access to both social networks and digital entertainment platforms was examined during the period in which Internet users had resumed a large part of face-to-face activities, and 1500 questionnaires were conducted considering the current data of the population of the urban area according to what was reported by the INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography). The results indicate that after COVID-19, a digital transformation was accelerated, and, in that period, social media helped to build trust according to the users consulted in the Monterrey metropolitan area. However, trust was given at an interpersonal level due to motivations such as the prior user relationships in offline spaces and not so much because of the institutional campaigns that were behind the digital transformation.


Background: To elucidate the role of c-Met signaling and its involvement with ErbB signaling as a cancer driver, a new assay using an impedance biosensor, the CELx multi-pathway signaling function (CELx MP) test, was developed. The CELx MP Test measures ex vivo real-time live cell response to specific ErbB and c-Met agonists to diagnose breast tumors with hyperactive HER1, HER2, HER3, HER4, and c-MET signaling activity. A recent study quantified c-MET and ErbB-driven signaling activity in epithelial cell samples derived from fresh breast tumor specimens obtained from 74 HER2- breast cancer patients. Of the cell samples tested, 20 of 74, (27.0%; 95% CI=18%-38%) had both hyperactive c-MET signaling and at least one hyperactive ErbB-family receptor signaling. Using primary breast cancer cells with hyperactive c-MET and ErbB signaling and the CELx MP test, the current study set out to: 1) determine the IC50 values of six pan-HER and five c-MET inhibitors; and 2) characterize the efficacy of combinations of each pan-HER inhibitor with each c-MET inhibitor. Methods: Epithelial cells from six HER2- tumor specimens with hyperactive c-MET and ErbB-driven signaling were obtained. Real-time live cell response to specific ErbB and c-Met agonists (NRG1b, EGF, or HGF) alone and in combination, with or without one of six pan-HER antagonists (neratinib, lapatinib, ibrutinib, dacomitinib, sapitinib, poziotinib) or one of five c-MET antagonists (tepotinib, cabozantinib, crizotinib, capmatinib, or savolitinib) was quantified using an xCELLigence RTCA impedance biosensor. Each individual drug IC50 was determined using a 1000-fold, 5-point, dose response curve with a single fixed concentration of a corresponding agonist. For the drug combination efficacy studies, fixed concentrations of the agonist mixture and clinically relevant concentrations of combinations of the antagonists were used to determine the percentage inhibition of the ErbB and c-MET signaling. Results: The IC50 values for the individual c-MET and pan-HER inhibitors ranged from 3.10nM - 28nM and 2.67nM – 137.27nM, respectively. In the drug efficacy studies, an average of at least 80% of the ErbB and c-MET signaling activated by NRG1, EGF, and HGF co-stimulation was inhibited by each combination of c-MET and pan-HER inhibitors. Conclusions: The CELx MP test using live cells measures IC50 values comparable to those derived using cell-free methods. Every combination of pan-HER and c-MET inhibitors provided comparably high (at least 80%) levels of inhibitory effect ex vivo. This suggests the sub-group of HER2- breast cancer patients diagnosed with coincident hyperactive c-MET and ErbB signaling by the CELx Test may respond to virtually any pan-HER and c-Met inhibitor combination. Studying combinations designed to minimize drug toxicities without sacrificing efficacy should thus be possible. Citation Format: Laing LG, Burns DJ, Khan S, MacNeil IA, Rich BE, Kharbush SM, Soltani SM, Sullivan BF. Evaluation of pan-HER and c-MET inhibitors tested ex vivo in primary HER2- breast cancer cells with hyperactive c-MET and ErbB family signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-05-05.


Due to the varied ideas of lean philosophy adopted in the construction industry, it is challenging to trace the development of lean philosophy in terms of how the field evolved by adopting the lean ideas and how the topic shifted. However, it is challenging to extract useful information from the massive body of literature and to trace the development of Lean Construction in Building Projects. Previous studies have conducted longitudinal analyses of scientific areas depending on the authors' interpretation and explanation, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To address this concern, this study proposes a data-driven approach integrating N-gram extraction, citation analysis, and a global key-route algorithm to trace the development. Based on the collected literature of Lean Construction in Building Projects, N-grams were extracted as topics from the raw texts of titles, abstracts, and keywords, and the shifts in topics were measured. Then, the references were extracted from the literature to create a citation network to represent the knowledge flows, and the global key-route algorithm was used to identify the most valuable flows reflecting the main paths of the development. The results illustrate how Lean Construction in Building Projects evolved and how the topics shifted, providing an exciting opportunity to reveal this development by using a data-driven approach rather than personal judgments. The findings can help us to understand that the field of Lean Construction in Building Projects was driven and motivated not only by the "lean theory", but also by problems in the practice of building projects. Moreover, lean theory leads to flourishing research on informatization, and BIM will be an important tool to better achieve lean thinking in construction.


Abstract In response to the 2011 Tunisian elections and the uncertainty surrounding Tunisia's future, we offer an empirical explanation of the election's results using socioeconomic and demographic variables. We aggregate many political analyses to describe the main parties and give insights into their strengths and weaknesses. We also examine common misconceptions advanced during the elections. Finally, we include a proposed electoral map that could be used by politicians to plan their future political strategies.


In Sri Lanka, women do not have access to legal abortion except under life-saving circumstances. Clandestine abortion services are, however, available and quite accessible. Although safe specialist services are available to women who can afford them, others access services under unsafe and exploitative conditions. At the time of this writing, a draft bill that will legalize abortion in instances of rape, incest, and fetal abnormalities awaits approval, amid opposition. In this article, I explore the current push for legal reform as a solution to unsafe abortion. Although a welcome effort, this amendment alone will be insufficient to address the public health consequences of unsafe abortion in Sri Lanka because most women seek abortions for other reasons. Much broader legal and policy reform will be required.


One of Japan's most renowned intellectuals, Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801) is perhaps best known for his notion of mono no aware, a detailed description of the workings of emotions as the precondition for the poetic act. As a poet and a theoretician of poetry, Norinaga had a keen eye for etymologies and other archaeological practices aimed at recovering the depth and richness of the Japanese language. This volume contains his major works on the Yamato region - the heartland of Japanese culture - including one of his most famous poetic diaries, "The Sedge Hat Diary" ("Sugagasa no Nikki"), translated into English here for the first time. Written in 1772 while Norinaga journeyed through Yamato and the Yoshino area, "The Sedge Hat Diary" was composed in the style of Heian prose and is interspersed with fifty-five poems. It offers important insights into Norinaga the poet, the scholar of ancient texts, the devout believer in Shinto deities, and the archaeologist searching for traces of ancient capitals, palaces, shrines, and imperial tombs of the pre-Nara period. In this piece Norinaga presents Yoshino as a "common poetic space" that readers must inhabit to develop the "common sense" that makes them live ethically in the poet's ideal society. Norinaga's ideal society is deeply imbued with the knowledge of poetry and the understanding of emotions as evidenced in the translation of Norinaga's twenty-six songs on aware (pathos) also included here. The rest of the volume offers translations of several essays by the poet that shed further light on the places he visited in Yoshino and on the main topic of his scholarly interests: the sound of the uta (songs) from his beloved Yamato. An introductory essay on Norinaga's poetics serves as a guide through the dense arguments he developed both practically in his poems and theoretically in his essays.


Through much of the history of the Americas, political life took place in two spheres: the colonial realm, in which a complex population of Indians, Africans, and Iberians interacted within the civic framework of European institutions; and the extra-colonial realm, in which largely indigenous populations beyond the reach of imperial authority maintained separate political systems. Encounters across this divide were sometimes peaceful and symbiotic, but at other times violent. Many historical discussions of interethnic conflict presume a general and persistent difference in power between these two groups. On Mexico's northern frontier of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, the relative advantage enjoyed by colonial versus extra-colonial peoples shifted radically depending on the moment and place of encounter. This article proposes that differences in topography and ecology, often between places not far removed in absolute distance, produced inversions in the relative power enjoyed by indigenous and settler populations. The cultivation of maize was common to the refuge zones of settlers and northern Indians alike: unassimilated Indian bands concealed and protected their crops in difficult-to-find mountain valleys; settler communities, both Spanish and Indian, protected crops close to their respective concentrations of population and militiamen. Both colonial and extra-colonial peoples subsisted on cattle, and the demand for vast pasture spaces produced inevitable conflict. Thus, the geography of the north produced areas of security and vulnerability for all parties.


Summary

Agroindustrial by-products derived from fruit processing are an important source of biocompounds that can be used as functional food ingredients. The objective of this work was to evaluate cactus pear and pineapple peel flours as an alternative carbon source during fermentation using bacteria with probiotic potential. The total fibre content of both flours was over 60%, with total soluble carbohydrate content around 20%, indicating a good carbon source for lactic acid bacteria. Kinetic parameters indicate that peel flours are a suitable carbon source because the lactic acid bacteria grow (mean growth rate constant, k, values close to glucose, 1.52 h) and acidify the culture media (maximum acidification rate, Vmax, approximately 1.60 pH × 10−3 min−1). There was no difference in prebiotic potential or prebiotic activity score for both the peel flours. Pediococcus pentosaceus performs better during fermentation. In this respect, cactus pear and pineapple peel flours can be used as functional ingredients due to their fermentable properties.


ALICE, as well as the other experiments at the CERN LHC, has been building a distributed data management infrastructure since 2002. Experience gained during years of operations with different types of storage managers deployed over this infrastructure has shown, that the most adequate storage solution for ALICE is the native XRootD manager developed within a CERN - SLAC collaboration. The XRootD storage clusters exhibit higher stability and availability in comparison with other storage solutions and demonstrate a number of other advantages, like support of high speed WAN data access or no need for maintaining complex databases. Two of the operational characteristics of XRootD data servers are a relatively high number of open sockets and a high Unix load. In this article, we would like to describe our experience with the tuning/optimization of machines hosting the XRootD servers, which are part of the ALICE storage cluster at the Tier-2 WLCG site in Prague, Czech Republic. The optimization procedure, in addition to boosting the read/write performance of the servers, also resulted in a reduction of the Unix load.


Renal function has to do in general terms with the preservation and maintenance of an optimum environment for body cells. In the unicellular organism where the entire body is in contact with its environment, the process of excretion is a simple matter of diffusion, but in multicellular body masses it becomes necessary that certain specialized cells excrete the waste products of metabolism, excessive water, and salts in order that the chemical composition of the body fluid and cells may remain constant. Specifically, the kidney excretes the waste products of nitrogen metabolism and the excessive inorganic salts, exercising, however, a certain amount of selective action in regard to those salts necessary for the animal economy and excreting others which have no threshold in toto. Therefore, these functions are of prime importance in maintaining the viscosity or tonicity of the blood and body fluids and are directly concerned in the maintenance of the hydrogen ion concentration of the body within the narrow limits of fluctuation consistent with health. The kidney undoubtedly acts in accordance with nervous and probably hormonal influences and is profoundly affected by disturbances of endogenous metabolism in other portions of the body. Metabolic disturbances incident to general infections of the body and surgical operations increase the renal load and may be factors which cause insufficiency. Thus some method which will be an index of renal reserve is highly desirable.


Advancing age is the dominant risk factor for most of the major killer diseases in developed countries. Hence, ameliorating the effects of ageing may prevent multiple diseases simultaneously. Drugs licensed for human use against specific diseases have proved to be effective in extending lifespan and healthspan in animal models, suggesting that there is scope for drug repurposing in humans. New bioinformatic methods to identify and prioritise potential anti-ageing compounds for humans are therefore of interest. In this study, we first used drug-protein interaction information, to rank 1,147 drugs by their likelihood of targeting ageing-related gene products in humans. Among 19 statistically significant drugs, 6 have already been shown to have pro-longevity properties in animal models (p < 0.001). Using the targets of each drug, we established its association with ageing at multiple levels of biological actions including pathways, functions and protein interactions. Finally, combining all the data, we calculated a comprehensive ranked list of drugs that predicted tanespimycin, an inhibitor of HSP-90, as the top-ranked novel anti-ageing candidate. We experimentally validated the pro-longevity effect of tanespimycin through its HSP-90 target in Caenorhabditis elegans. Author Summary Human life expectancy is continuing to increase worldwide, as a result of successive improvements in living conditions and medical care. Although this trend is to be celebrated, advancing age is the major risk factor for multiple impairments and chronic diseases. As a result, the later years of life are often spent in poor health and lowered quality of life. However, these effects of ageing are not inevitable, because very long-lived people often suffer rather little ill-health at the end of their lives. Furthermore, laboratory experiments have shown that animals fed with specific drugs can live longer and with fewer age-related diseases than their untreated companions. We therefore need to identify drugs with anti-ageing properties for humans. We have therefore used computers to search for drugs that affect components and processes known to be important in human ageing. This approach worked, because it was able to re-discover several drugs known to increase lifespan in animal models, plus some new ones, including one that we tested experimentally and validated in this study. These drugs are now a high priority for animal testing and for exploring effects on human ageing.


Background: Coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 started in Wuhan and caused a global outbreak, including Indonesia. Indonesia is ranked fourth as the most populous country globally, with disparities in health, socioeconomic, and education. In this review, the authors intend to report the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia. Methods: We collect the relevant information from various resources such as government official data and press releases news outlets, as well as COVID-related studies based in Indonesia. Results: Indonesia does not have a uniform and one-way disaster preparedness system; this problem can be seen at the beginning of the pandemic where policy changes often occur and confuse the public. This situation has an impact on the high rate of transmission and death due to COVID-19. In addition, the pandemic is forcing people to implement social restrictions that affect people's income. Various efforts have been made by the government to deal with COVID-19, but the results are still not satisfactory. Conclusion: The pandemic of COVID-19 affects all Indonesians, physically, mentally, and economically. Fighting the pandemic is not one man's job; the Indonesian government is required to collaborate with the citizens to conquer the disaster of COVID-19 pandemic.


Three commercial kit methods for the estimation of free thyroxine (FT4) (Clinical Assays, Corning Medical, Damon Diagnostics) were evaluated. The effects of changes in thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) and FT4 concentrations in these systems were assessed. Measurements were made in serum samples from hyperthyroid, hypothyroid, and euthyroid patients with different TBG concentrations, and results were correlated with functional thyroid status. The Clinical Assays and Damon Diagnostics assays were found to be essentially independent of binding-protein concentration effects and responded appropriately to changes in FT4 concentration. The method of Corning Medical does not measure FT4 directly but yields an FT4 index calculated from a TBG-dependent T4 uptake and the total T4 concentration. This corning index yields falsely elevated results in patients with marked elevation in TBG concentration.


Site test interferometers (STIs) have been deployed at two locations within the NASA Deep Space Network tracking complex in Goldstone, California. An STI measures the difference of atmospheric delay fluctuations over a distance comparable to the separations of microwave antennas that could be combined as phased arrays for communication and navigation. The purpose of the Goldstone STIs is to assess the suitability of Goldstone as an uplink array site and to statistically characterize atmosphere‐induced phase delay fluctuations for application to future arrays. Each instrument consists of two ~1 m diameter antennas and associated electronics separated by ~200 m. The antennas continuously observe signals emitted by geostationary satellites and produce measurements of the phase difference between the received signals. The two locations at Goldstone are separated by 12.5 km and differ in elevation by 119 m. We find that their delay fluctuations are statistically similar but do not appear as shifted versions of each other, suggesting that the length scale for evolution of the turbulence pattern is shorter than the separation between instruments. We also find that the fluctuations are slightly weaker at the higher altitude site.


Reutealis trisperma plant is widely used for nature conservation and the oil seeds have been studied for biodiesel production. The press cake is a solid waste which contains 34.03% protein, 18.56% total sugar, 15.58% lipid, 6.32% moisture and 25.51% others. Since its high content of protein, the cake is used as additional nitrogen source for xylanase production using Trichoderma reesei. Xylanase has a wide range of applications such as in pre-bleaching of pulp, improving the digestibility of animal feed stocks, bioconversion of lignocellulosic material to fermentable products and clarification of fruit juices. In pulp and paper industries, pre-bleaching of pulp by xylanase can save 35-40% of chlorine used which would reduce the potential hazard to environment. T. reesei is a mesophyllic, filamentous fungus which has been well studied for its ability to produce extracellular enzymes capable of degrading cell wall polysaccharides. The aims of the study are: 1) to formulate media at various C/N ratio in defined medium and various initial pH, and to formulate media containing ground press cake at both optimum C/N ratio and initial pH from defined medium. 2) to calculate xylanase activity in both media. In this study, T.reesei was cultivated in shake flask at 28oC in defined medium at various C/N ratio and initial pH and in the culture medium contained ground press cake at optimum C/N ratio and initial pH. The defined medium composition contained cellulose as carbon source at various concentration; organic and inorganic nitrogen sources and mineral salts. Ground cake was used to replace some inorganic nitrogen used in defined medium for media containing ground cake. Sample was withdrawn periodically to measure the pH and xyalanse activity. The best C/N ratio and initial pH in defined medium were 7.8/1 and 6.0 respectively which resulted in 66.93 U/mL of xylanase activity. The xylanase activity was 30.75 U/mL in media containing ground press cake.


Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVMs) are state-of-the-art learning algorithms that have been widely used for pattern recognition. The solution for an LS-SVM is found by solving a system of linear equations, which involves the computational complexity of O(N3). When datasets get larger, solving LS-SVM problems with standard methods becomes burdensome or even unfeasible. The Tensor Train (TT) decomposition provides an approach to representing data in highly compressed formats without loss of accuracy. By converting vectors and matrices in the TT format, the storage and computational requirements can be greatly reduced. In this thesis, we develop a Bayesian learning method in the TT format to solve large-scale LS-SVM problems, which involves the computation of a matrix inverse. This method allows us to include the information we know about the model parameters in the prior distribution. As a result, we are able to obtain a probability distribution of the parameters, which enables us to construct confidence levels of the predictions. In the numerical experiment we show that the developed method performs competitively with the current methods. Master of Science Thesis Chenxu Wang


Cross-layer design, by way of joint optimizing the overall network layers in wireless sensor networks, provides an efficient alternative to traditional layered protocol architectures. This paper provides an introduction and comparison of three typical cross-layer frameworks from several aspects such as the targeted problems, major features and advantages, special functionalities, as well as possible drawbacks and shortcomings. Based on the analysis, special design considerations are classified and possible research directions are discussed.


OBJECTIVE
The status of axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) is the most important prognostic factor in breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of ALN involvement by means of positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) compared with breast sonography and mammography in patients with early breast cancer.

METHODS
This study involved 108 breast cancer patients with non-palpable ALNs. All patients had PET-CT, breast sonography and mammography imaging before sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. After SLN biopsy, all patients underwent complete ALN dissection. ALNs were evaluated by standard hematoxylin and eosin staining techniques. The findings of PET-CT, breast sonography and mammography imaging of 108 patients were compared with pathologic findings after surgery. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of individual diagnostic modalities were compared. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated applying receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve areas.

RESULTS
The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PET-CT imaging were 48.5%, 84% and 73.2%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of breast sonography were 51.5%, 89.3% and 77.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of mammography were 33.3%, 96% and 76.9%, respectively. For involvement of ALNs, PET-CT imaging, breast sonography and mammography had areas under the ROC curve of 0.662, 0.704 and 0.647, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Compared with the combination of breast sonography and mammography, PET-CT was less sensitive and had less accuracy in detecting ALN metastasis. Consequently, PET-CT is not a reliable non-invasive modality for assessing ALN involvement that can replace ALN dissection or SLN biopsy before decisions are made on appropriate systemic interventions.


A broad outline is presented of forest distribution in Turkey during the last 15,000 years, based upon palynological evidence. The history of some selected taxa is given in more detail and compared with present day distributions. Considerable differences in forest composition were found between the mountain ranges N of the Anatolian plateau, the ranges S and SW of the plateau and the area SE of the eastern (Cilician) Taurus. Pinus dominated the northern part during most of the Late Glacial and the Holocene. In southwestern Anatolia a strong increase of Pinus halted SE of the Konya plain and this taxon did not cross the eastern Taurus. Cedrus and Abies fluctuated in relative importance during the period under discussion, but no marked shifts in the distribution are suggested by the pollen record. After c. 9000 BP, oak started to move into the treeless interior, especially in the SE where this tree settled on higher elevations in the steppe area. On the edges of the Anatolian plateau, oak acted as a pioneer, to be replaced by pine in the course of the Holocene. Birch, nowadays restricted mainly to higher elevations in eastern Turkey, was common in the Konya area during the last phase of the Late Glacial and the early Holocene. Beech increased in numbers during the second half of the Holocene. After the Late Glacial, mixed deciduous forest, rich in tree species, developed in the mountains of NW Turkey. It is assumed that in the Pleniglacial most of these species were present along the Black Sea coast, at lower elevations


The class III histone deacetylase sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) modulates numerous functions in the cell by deacetylating histone lysine residues. Interestingly, SIRT6's efficiency in in vitro experiments is far greater against substrates carrying long-chain fatty acyl modifications such as myristoylated lysine compared with acetylated counterparts, but the deacetylase activity can be stimulated by fatty acids and small-molecule allosteric modulators. A new study helps to explain this puzzling activation using a novel activator, thorough kinetic investigation, and mutagenesis studies. These data help elucidate the molecular requirements for activation of SIRT6 and provide a foundation for development of activators for therapeutic purposes.


Weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPS) are among the wide range of candidates for the dark matter (DM) that dominates the mass content of the universe. In some scenarios these WIMPs are self-annihilating. In regions of high dark matter density (such as our own Galactic Center) this self-annihilation is expected to produce a characteristic gamma-ray radiation signature that cuts off at the WIMP mass. Observations of these regions of high dark matter density with very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray telescopes can constrain a unique phase space of heavy WIMP masses. However, in the case of the Galactic Center gamma-ray emission arising from more conventional astrophysical sources complicates the interpretation of such observations. We provide an update on deep observations of the Galactic Center with VERITAS, an array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes sensitive to VHE gamma rays with energies between 85 GeV and 30 TeV.


BACKGROUND
Personality assessment has its own bright and dark sides, especially in the military setting. It is at play since the emergence of clinical psychology and its application in the recruitment process during World War I and II. Change in personality assessment trends, the evolution of complex personality traits, and changing geopolitical settings across the world necessitate the development of cost-effective, time-efficient, and reliable assessment measures that overcome issues in current assessment measures and fulfil the needs of present timesOBJECTIVE:The objective of this paper is to explore the evolution of personality assessment measures and their uses in military settings along with the comparison of self-report and non-self-report measures. It would give directions for the development of new measures to overcome the issues and drawbacks associated with current measures of research.

METHODS
The research question was formulated using the most valid SPIDER technique for a comprehensive search. PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycNet databases were searched. 19 articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria out of 775 articles.

RESULTS
Thematic analyses show that personality assessment in the military is done to a) detect psychopathology, b) detect aberrant responses, c) recruit new personnel, d) predict training and performance outcomes, and e) predict leadership. The research contributes to the body of knowledge by showing an integrated picture of the most widely used assessment tools and the purpose it serves.

CONCLUSION
There is a need to develop assessment measures that are culture free and can assess more complex personality attributes.


The aim of this study was to analyze the association between dental anxiety, dental attendance, health status and social factors. Our previous studies have shown that dental anxiety declines with age and is associated with poor oral health. In addition, correlations between dental anxiety, dental utilization and dental status have been revealed. However, the association of these factors with general health and social factors has not been analyzed in our previous studies. In a study of women's health in Göteborg, Sweden in 1992, 1.017 urban women aged 38 to 84 years took part in a series of investigations including clinical examinations, interviews and questionnaires. In addition to descriptive and simple inference statistics, a two-part multiple logistic regression model was utilized to investigate dental anxiety and dental utilization. Dental fear was less prevalent among older women, dentate or not, although 10% of females 62 years of age and older still reported high dental anxiety (DAS > or = 12). 94% of the younger (< or = 62 yr) and 76% of the older (> or = 70 yr) women reported regular dental attendance. When separating all women into dentate and edentulous groups, 94% of the dentate and 11% of the edentulous respondents reported regular dental care. Due to the large difference in dental attendance between dentate and edentulous women, these groups were analyzed separately. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the following factors were associated with irregular dental utilization among dentate women: high dental anxiety, fewer teeth and restorations, more caries, poorer chewing ability and dissatisfaction with dental esthetics. In the multiple regression for dental anxiety, high fear was shown to be associated with irregular dental care, age (younger), fewer teeth, dissatisfaction with dental esthetics and lower scores on the SF-36 mental health scale. A separate analysis showed that individuals with high fear and regular, as opposed to irregular, dental attendance had more teeth at a statistically significant level, which were less often decayed and more often restored. In spite of the group with high fear and irregular attendance having fewer teeth, their level of decay was seven times higher. Overall, the results indicate a strong association between dental fear and dental attendance. Weak associations were found among socio-economic, dental health and general health factors.


Objective This study aims to evaluate whether smartphone addiction (SA) is associated with social media use and alexithymia levels in university students. Methods A group of 935 students aged between 18 and 45 years (509 females and 426 males) was recruited from different universities in Istanbul. SAs, alexithymia and social media use were assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version (SAS-SV), Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), and ad-hoc questions regarding social media use. Results The mean age of participants was 21.89±3.27 years and 509 of participants were female (54.4%). 455 (48.6%) participants were placed in the "SA" and 198 (21.2%) in the "alexithymia" categories. The study found a high level of positive correlation (p<0.001) between both subscale and total TAS-20 scores and SAS-SV scores. Gender (OR=1.496, 95% CI 1.117–2.002, p=0.007) and number of social media by participants (OR=1.221, 95% CI 1.134–1.315, p<0.001) and TAS (OR=1.074, 95% CI 1.059–1.090, p<0.001) were found to be an independent predictors for SA. Conclusion The study revealed a positive correlation between alexithymia and smartphone use severity, and alexithymia was a significant predictor of SA. Future studies focusing on the causal aspect of this relationship will be useful in planning strategies for treatment.


The field of metabolic engineering encompasses a powerful set of tools that can be divided into (a) methods to model complex metabolic pathways and (b) techniques to manipulate these pathways for a desired metabolic outcome. These tools have recently seen increased utility in the medical arena, and this paper aims to review significant accomplishments made using these approaches. The modeling of metabolic pathways has been applied to better understand disease-state physiology in a variety of cellar, subcellular, and organ systems, including the liver, heart, mitochondria, and cancerous cells. Metabolic pathway engineering has been used to generate cells with novel biochemical functions for therapeutic use, and specific examples are provided in the areas of glycosylation engineering and dopamine-replacement therapy. In order to document the potential of applying both metabolic modeling and pathway manipulation, we describe pertinent advances in the field of diabetes research. Undoubtedly, as the field of metabolic engineering matures and is applied to a wider array of problems, new advances and therapeutic strategies will follow.


We identified and cloned a novel human protein that contains FADD/Mort1 death effector domain homology regions, designated FLAME-1. FLAME-1, although most similar in structure to Mch4 and Mch5, does not possess caspase activity but can interact specifically with FADD, Mch4, and Mch5. Interestingly, FLAME-1 is recruited to the Fas receptor complex and can abrogate Fas/TNFR-induced apoptosis upon expression in FasL/tumor necrosis factor-sensitive MCF-7 cells, possibly by acting as a dominant-negative inhibitor. These findings identify a novel endogenous control point that regulates Fas/TNFR1-mediated apoptosis.


Floating offshore wind Tension-Leg-Platform (TLP) concepts benefit from a reduced hull tonnage and limit response in vertical modes of motion through the use of pre-tensioned mooring lines to resist aero-hydrodynamic forces. However, this design choice requires an accurate prediction of extreme loadings in the mooring cables such as those generated from slack-line events. Literature shows that slacking events are better predicted when including higher-order hydrodynamic loading as these can generate high-frequency resonant responses in TLPs referred to as springing and ringing for second-order and third-order sum-frequency responses respectively. Therefore, understanding the amplitudes and phases of the various harmonics of the forces on TLP platform's hulls can be an important aspect of their design.
 This paper compares two common engineering methods for computing second-order loads, the strip theory and second-order potential flow approaches to be applied for a TLP type Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWT). Whilst the strip theory approach is computationally efficient for second-order force calculation on cylinders, its accuracy decreases with high radius to wavelength ratio. On the other hand, commercial BEM solvers compute second-order forces with a much higher degree of accuracy but they suffer from high computational time.
 Therefore, a third method is proposed in this paper, aiming at combining better accuracy than with strip theory while keeping computational time low, by using semi-analytical equations in the form proposed by Huang & Eatock Taylor [1]. The harmonics of the force signal generated by unidirectional monochromatic waves on a truncated vertical cylinder in finite depth are compared with BEM and strip theory models to understand the difference of force amplitudes and phases between the various models and their exact domain of application. The comparison is then extended by applying the same method on the transition piece of an academic TLP while modelling the remainder of the structure with strip theory. The harmonics of motions and line tensions are then compared for the three models with particular attention given to springing response.
 The results suggest the viability of applying semi-analytical potential flow solution as an alternative to the traditional strip theory methods for the estimation of springing response in TLP FOWTs in early design optimisation loops. However, the paper highlights the issues of their use on complex structures and proposes further work to determine their full potential.


People perceive patterns in representations, patterns that may nothave been initially intended. This phenomenon of emergence is deemed toplay an important role in design. Computer based design assistants canand should support this human perceptual ability, using patternrecognition to anticipate human designers' perception of emergent shapesand supporting the subsequent manipulation of and reasoning with theseshapes as part of the design. Freehand drawing programs with gesturerecognition are well positioned to implement shape emergence. Supportfor emergent shapes in the Back of an Envelope system is described.


A major step in the graph minors theory of Robertson and Seymour is the transition from the Grid Theorem which, in some sense uniquely, describes areas of large treewidth within a graph, to a notion of local flatness of these areas in form of the existence of a large flat wall within any huge grid of an H-minor free graph. In this paper, we prove a matching theoretic analogue of the Flat Wall Theorem for bipartite graphs excluding a fixed matching minor. Our result builds on a a tight relationship between structural digraph theory and matching theory and allows us to deduce a Flat Wall Theorem for digraphs which substantially differs from a previously established directed variant of this theorem.


We investigated the effect of age and sex on the serum activity of hexosaminidase (HEX) and -glucuronidase (BGLU) in 275 normal term infants aged 12 h to 12 months. Up to six weeks of life, HEX was significantly higher in boys (P<=0.023). During the age period of 1-26 weeks, BGLU was also higher in boys, but differences were significant only at 2-6 and 7-15 weeks (P<=0.016). The developmental pattern of HEX and BGLU was sex dependent. HEX activity increased in both sexes from 4-7 days of life, reaching a maximum of 1.4-fold the birth value at 2-6 weeks of age in boys (P<0.001) and a maximum of 1.6-fold at 7-15 weeks in girls (P<0.001). HEX activity gradually decreased thereafter, reaching significantly lower levels at 27-53 weeks than during the first three days of life in boys (P = 0.002) and the same level of this age interval in girls. BGLU increased in both sexes from 4-7 days of age, showing a maximum increase at 7-15 weeks (3.3-fold in boys and 2.9-fold in girls, both P<0.001). Then BGLU decreased in boys to a value similar to that observed at 4-7 days of age. In girls, BGLU remained elevated until the end of the first year of life. These results indicate a variation of HEX and BGLU activities during the first year of life and a sex influence on their developmental pattern. This observation should be considered in the diagnosis of GM2 gangliosidosis and mucopolysaccharidosis type VII.


Human judgements underlie all assessments regarding the quality of students' understandings, and such judgements are conceptually complex and elusive. The study of the complexity of the judgement process is in its infancy but clearly warrants further critical investigation. However, what is demonstrated from the wide variety of international teacher judgement practices presented in this volume is that teacher judgement requires a lot more than a set of standards, criteria and annotated examples. Understandings of assessment theory by pre-service teachers through to more experienced teachers, and opportunities for all to critically reflect and consider their judgements of student work, are vital. Teachers are struggling to maintain their interpretive freedom at the local, professional level in contexts where central policies promote standardisation or 'regulation' of judgement practice, for accountability purposes.


Purpose: To develop a measure of student-perceived teacher relation-inferred self-efficacy (RISE) support in physical education in terms of the Teacher RISE Support Scale, through a series of three studies. Methods: In Studies 1 and 2, interviews, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to develop a conceptually sound and psychometrically robust measure for teachers' RISE-supporting behaviors. In Study 3, the authors examined the concurrent validity of teachers' RISE support construct in relation to students' RISE and relevant student outcomes. Results: The three-factor, second-order structure of the Teacher RISE Support Scale was confirmed, with results supporting construct validity and providing evidence of factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Furthermore, structural equation modeling supported concurrent validity, showing that students' perceptions of teacher RISE support correlated positively with RISE and responsibility. Conclusions: Overall, the results provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the Teacher RISE Support Scale as a measurement for teacher RISE-supporting behaviors in physical education.


We give a derivation of the gravitational Hamiltonian starting from the Einstein - Hilbert action, keeping track of all surface terms. This derivation can be applied to any spacetime that asymptotically approaches a static background solution. The surface term that arises in the Hamiltonian can be taken as the definition of the `total energy', even for spacetimes that are not asymptotically flat. (In the asymptotically flat case, it agrees with the usual ADM energy.) We also discuss the relation between the Euclidean action and the Hamiltonian when there are horizons of infinite area (e.g. acceleration horizons) as well as the usual finite area black hole horizons. Acceleration horizons seem to be more analogous to extreme than nonextreme black holes, since we find evidence that their horizon area is not related to the total entropy.


Significant reductions in sea ice in the Pacific Arctic have occurred over the last 2 decades. Comparing the results of similarly conducted studies, but from different time periods, can increase our understanding of how marine mammals are responding to this change. We modeled the habitat selection and movement behavior of juvenile bearded seals Erignathus barbatus tagged with satellite transmitters in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas during 2014-2018, a period of rapid decline in sea ice cover. We compared our results to an earlier study of juvenile bearded seals tagged in the Chukchi Sea during 2004-2009, a period of relatively stable sea ice coverage, and found differences. Seals in the earlier period strongly selected habitat near the ice edge and intermediate ice concentrations (50-60%) in both winter and spring. Seals in the later period strongly selected habitat away from the ice edge, showed no selection for any ice concentration in winter, and weakly selected low ice concentrations in spring (<50%). The likely explanation for these differences is changes in sea ice habitat because the shift away from the ice edge corresponds with a shift in the distribution of intermediate ice concentrations that seals prefer. During the later period, seals still used intermediate ice, which occurred farther from the ice edge and was now the average ice concentration available to them, masking any preference for intermediate ice in the habitat selection model. This change in sea ice conditions, although significant, may not currently be detrimental for juvenile bearded seals.


While a magnetic antivortex state can be created in ring structures, much effort has been devoted to stabilizing a magnetic antivortex as the ground state in a single island. Among many proposals, less attention has been paid to the role of magnetocrystalline anisotropy because most magnetic microstructures are made of polycrystalline materials. By patterning epitaxial Fe/Ag(001) films along different in-plane directions, we show that the Fe magnetocrystalline anisotropy plays a very important role in stabilizing different types of vortex/antivortex states. In particular, we find that an Fe island in the shape of an elongated hexagon favors vortex array formation when the long edge is parallel to the Fe easy magnetization axis, and favors the vortex-antivortex array formation when the long edge is parallel to the Fe hard magnetization axis.


Dating low‐grade metamorphism is challenging since such rocks commonly lack suitable target minerals for acquiring pressure–temperature–time–deformation (P–T–t–d) data. Herein a new geochronological method termed 'bulk inclusion dating' is applied to a chloritoid‐bearing schist from the Staufen‐Höllengebirge Nappe (SHN, Austroalpine Unit, Eastern Alps, Austria) for which Cretaceous metamorphism is imprecisely constrained. Thermodynamic modelling of the phase relations and mineral chemistry predicts the stability of the equilibrium assemblage in a P–T field between 450–490℃ and 0.5–0.7 GPa, which agrees with peak temperature constraints ~490℃ derived from Raman spectroscopy of carbonaceous material. Chemical zoning of, and the zonation of inclusions within, chloritoid confirm porphyroblast growth at these conditions. High‐resolution imaging reveals thousands of minute (length: 0.1–3 µm), euhedral micro‐zircon crystals included in chloritoid porphyroblasts and in the matrix. The morphological and microstructural characteristics of micro‐zircon as well as the crystal size distributions indicate that it nucleated and grew at greenschist facies conditions most likely from a Zr‐saturated fluid. In situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy bulk inclusion dating of metamorphic zircon in the chloritoid rim using a laser spot diameter of 120 μm yields a U–Pb age of 116.7 ± 9.1 Ma (MSWD: 1.5, n: 79). We interpret zircon precipitation and progressive coarsening coeval with chloritoid growth during prograde metamorphism and thus link the age to the late prograde part of the P–T evolution. The contribution of other U‐bearing phases (apatite, epidote, rutile) does not significantly disturb the U–Pb age. The data provide clear evidence for Early Cretaceous metamorphism in the SHN and indicates that metamorphism started at least 20 m.y. before the formation of eclogites in the Austroalpine Unit. The method introduced here allows integration between metamorphic conditions and age constraints in low‐grade metamorphic rocks and opens up new potential applications in petrochronology.


Purpose
3D printing for objects whose size exceeds the scope of the printer is still a tough challenge in application. The purpose of this paper is to propose a visual stitching large-scale (VSLS) 3D-printing method to solve this problem.

Design/methodology/approach
The single segmentation point method and multiple segmentation point method are proposed to adaptively divide each slice of the model into several segments. For each layer, the mobile robot will move to different positions to print each segment, and every time it arrives at the planned location, the contours of the printed segments are captured with a high-definition camera by the feature point recognition algorithm. Then, the coordinate transformation is implemented to adjust the printing codes of the next segment so that each part can be perfectly aligned. The authors print up layer by layer in this manner until the model is complete.

Findings
In Section 3, two specimens, whose sizes are 166 per cent and 252 per cent of the scope of the 3D-printing robot, are successfully printed. Meanwhile, the completed models of the specimens are printed using a suitable traditional printer for comparison. The result shows that the specimens in the test group have basically identical sizes to those in the control group, which verifies the feasibility of the VSLS method.

Originality/value
Unlike most of the current solutions that demand harsh requirement for positioning accuracy of the mobile robots, the authors use a camera to compensate for the lost positioning accuracy of the device during movement, thereby avoiding precise control to the device's location. And the coordinate transformation is implemented to adjust the printing codes of the next sub-models so that each part can be aligned perfectly.


An accurate determination of the landing trajectory of Chang'e-3 (CE-3) is significant for verifying orbital control strategy, optimizing orbital planning, accurately determining the landing site of CE-3 and analyzing the geological background of the landing site. Due to complexities involved in the landing process, there are some differences between the planned trajectory and the actual trajectory of CE-3. The landing camera on CE-3 recorded a sequence of the landing process with a frequency of 10 frames per second. These images recorded by the landing camera and high-resolution images of the lunar surface are utilized to calculate the position of the probe, so as to reconstruct its precise trajectory. This paper proposes using the method of trajectory reconstruction by Single Image Space Resection to make a detailed study of the hovering stage at a height of 100 m above the lunar surface. Analysis of the data shows that the closer CE-3 came to the lunar surface, the higher the spatial resolution of images that were acquired became, and the more accurately the horizontal and vertical position of CE-3 could be determined. The horizontal and vertical accuracies were 7.09 m and 4.27 m respectively during the hovering stage at a height of 100.02 m. The reconstructed trajectory can reflect the change in CE-3's position during the powered descent process. A slight movement in CE-3 during the hovering stage is also clearly demonstrated. These results will provide a basis for analysis of orbit control strategy, and it will be conducive to adjustment and optimization of orbit control strategy in follow-up missions.


This Review covers design strategies, synthetic challenges, host-guest chemistry, and functional properties of interlocked supramolecular cages. Some dynamic covalent organic structures are discussed, as are selected examples of interpenetration in metal-organic frameworks, but the main focus is on discrete coordination architectures, that is, metal-mediated dimers. Factors leading to interpenetration, such as geometry, flexibility and chemical makeup of the ligands, coordination environment, solvent effects, and selection of suitable counter anions and guest molecules, are discussed. In particular, banana-shaped bis-pyridyl ligands together with square-planar metal cations have proven to be suitable building blocks for the construction of interpenetrated double-cages obeying the formula [M4 L8 ]. The peculiar topology of these double-cages results in a linear arrangement of three mechanically coupled pockets. This allows for the implementation of interesting guest encapsulation effects such as allosteric binding and template-controlled selectivity. In stimuli-responsive systems, anionic triggers can toggle the binding of neutral guests or even induce complete structural conversions. The increasing structural and functional complexity in this class of self-assembled hosts promises the construction of intelligent receptors, novel catalytic systems, and functional materials.


We give a short proof of Manin-Mumford in the multiplicative group based on the pigeon-hole principle and the so-called structure theorem for anomalous subvarieties. The arguments appear to be new and perhaps applicable in other situations.


The persistent underrepresentation of women in engineering continues to be a complex and difficult challenge. The interactions of young women and their parents during early, family-oriented engineering design experiences can provide girls with opportunities to express agency during an engineering activity, which can ultimately contribute to the development of sustained interest and self-efficacy in engineering. However, few studies have examined these parent-child interactions to date, and none have specifically focused on moments when girls express agency during an engineering design process. In this paper, we examine one such setting: a museum exhibit that engages visitors in engineering design activity. A qualitative content analysis was performed on transcripts from a total of 39 family groups videotaped at the exhibit, each involving a daughter between the ages of 5-12 and at least one parent. Qualitative codes describing the ways children expressed agency and led interactions with their parents included directing, proposing design ideas, and asking questions. Interestingly, the analysis also suggests that the young women in this study tended to direct their mothers more than their fathers. Although focused specifically on parent-child interactions, this study can inform both formal and informal engineering educators who engage young students in engineering activities.


The HIV-1 protease is one of several common key targets of combination drug therapies for human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). During the progression of the disease, some individual patients acquire -drug resistance due to mutational hotspots on the viral proteins targeted by combination drug therapies. It has recently been discovered that drug-resistant mutations accumulate on the 'flap region' of the HIV-1 protease, which is a critical dynamic region involved in non-specific polypeptide binding during invasion and infection of the host cell. In this study, we utilize machine learning assisted comparative molecular dynamics, conducted at single amino acid site resolution, to investigate the dynamic changes that occur during functional dimerization and polypeptide binding of the main protease. We use a multi-agent machine learning model to identify conserved dynamics of the HIV-1 main protease that are preserved across simian and feline protease orthologs (SIV and FIV). We also investigate changes in dynamics due to common drug-resistant mutations in many patients. We find that a key functional site in the flap region, a solvent-exposed isoleucine (ILE50) and surrounding sites that control flap dynamics is often targeted by drug-resistance mutations, likely leading to malfunctional molecular dynamics affecting the overall flexibility of the flap region. We conclude that better long term patient outcomes may be achieved by designing drugs that target protease regions which are less dependent upon single sites with large functional binding effects.


To measure the effects of a collaborative care model that emphasized the role of clinical pharmacists in providing drug therapy management and treatment follow‐up to patients with depression, we conducted a randomized controlled trial at a staff model health maintenance organization. We compared the outcomes of subjects treated in this collaborative care model (75 patients, intervention group) with subjects receiving usual care (50 patients, control group). After 6 months, the intervention group demonstrated a significantly higher drug adherence rate than that of the control group (67% vs 48%, odds ratio 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.04–4.51, p=0.038). Patient satisfaction was significantly greater among members randomly assigned to pharmacists' services than among controls, and provider satisfaction surveys revealed high approval rates as well. Changes in resource utilization were favorable for the intervention group, but differences from the control group did not achieve statistical significance. Clinical improvement was noted in both groups, but the difference was not significant. Clinical pharmacists had a favorable effect on multiple aspects of patient care. Future studies of this model in other health care settings appear warranted.


This article argues for the importance of studying life after mental illness. A significant proportion of people who experience mental illness recover, but the experience continues to affect their lives. Historical examination of the birth of mental after-care through the Mental After-Care Association (MACA) highlights the challenges faced by those who were discharged recovered from English and Welsh lunatic asylums between 1879 and 1928. This research demonstrates the relationship between ideas regarding psychiatric recovery and citizenship. Throughout the period, certification of insanity for institutional treatment stripped patients of the status and rights of citizenship. Discharge on account of recovery restored a patient's legal access to citizenship, yet suspicions about their right and ability to particate in society lingered. The MACA designed after-care to facilitate restoration to full citizenship. The MACA was a product of the active citizenship movement, according to which, one's right to identify as a citizen depended on the performance of certain duties to the community. These duties varied according to socio-economic position and sex, meaning that each individual was prescribed a gendered personal citizenship role. MACA personnel saw their endeavours as part of their own citizenship roles, and designed their treatments accordingly. The MACA used a patient's assumption of a citizenship role to indicate recovery, and believed that supporting the performance of that role had mentally healing effects for patients who had been discharged recovered. MACA workers thus imbued the psychiatric innovation of after-care with the liberal political and social values of active citizenship.


Surface Brillouin scattering (SBS) has been used to study the thermally induced surface vibrations (phonons) and thereby obtain the elastic properties of the nickel-based superalloy CMSX-4. SBS spectra have been acquired for a range of wavevector directions in the (001) surface in the single-crystal specimen to determine the angular variation of SAW velocities and the nature of the various excitations. Rayleigh and pseudo-surface acoustic waves as well as the details of the Lamb shoulder are studied, and the elastic constants and engineering moduli are determined using different, but self-consistent, methods at ambient and high temperatures. Calculations of the SBS spectra using surface Green function methods are in good agreement with the experimental results.


Three soluble type two peroxiredoxins (PRXIIB, C, D) and two glutathione peroxidase-like enzymes (GPXL2, 8) reside in the cytosol of Arabidopsis thaliana cells and function both as thiol-dependent antioxidants and redox sensors. Their primary substrate is H2 O2 , but they also accept other peroxides with a distinct preference between PRXII and GPXL. Less known is their regeneration specificity in the light of the large set of thiol reductases, namely eight annotated thioredoxin h isoforms (TRXh1-5, 7-9), a few TRX-like proteins, including CxxS1 (formerly TRXh6) and several glutaredoxins (GRX) associated with the cytosol. This study addressed this open question by in vitro enzyme tests using recombinant protein. GPXL2 and 8 exclusively accepted electrons from the TRX system, namely TRXh1-5 and TDX, while PRXIIB/C/D were efficiently regenerated with GRXC1 and C2 but not the TRX-like protein Picot1. They showed significant but low activity (<3% of GRXC2) with TRXh1-5 and TDX. A similar reduction efficiency with TRX was seen in the insulin assay, only TDX was less active. Finally, the reduction of oxidized cytosolic malate dehydrogenase 1, as measured by regained activity, showed an extremely broad ability to accept electrons from different TRXs and GRXs. The results demonstrate redundancy and specificity in the redox regulatory network of the cytosol.


We provide here a demonstration of 12-mu m-pitch nanoelectromechanical resonant infrared sensors with fully integrated capacitive transduction. A low-temperature fabrication process is used to manufacture torsional resonator arrays. An H-shaped pixel with 9-mu m-long nanorods and (250 x 30)-nm(2) cross section is designed to provide high thermal response whose experimental measurements reach up to 1024 Hz/nW. A mechanical dynamic range of over 113 dB is obtained, which leads to an Allan deviation of sigma(A) = 3 x 10(-7) at room temperature and 50-Hz noise bandwidth (sigma(A) = 1.5 x 10(-7) over 10 Hz). These features allow us to reach a sensitivity of (8-12)-mu m radiation of 27 pW/root Hz leading to a noise-equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 2 K for a 50-Hz noise bandwidth (NETD = 1.5 K at 10 Hz). We demonstrate that the resolution is no more set by the phonon noise but by the anomalous phase noise already encountered in flexural nanoresonators. By both improving the temperature coefficient of frequency of a factor 10 and using a readout electronics at the pixel level, these resonators will lead to a breakthrough for uncooled infrared detectors. We expect that the NETD will rapidly drop to 180 mK with electronics close to the pixel. As a result of the features of our torsional resonators, an alternative readout scheme of pixels is suggested.


A new type of external fields violating the particle number preservation is studied in one-dimensional strongly correlated systems by the Density Matrix Renormalization Group method. Due to the U(1) symmetry breaking, the ground state has fluctuation of the total particle number, which implies injection of electrons and holes from out of the chain. This charge fluctuation can be relevant even at half-filling because the particle-hole symmetry is preserved with the finite effective field. In addition, we discuss a quantum phase transition obtained by considering the symmetry-breaking fields as a mean field of interchain-hopping.


There are no reported spontaneous cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and there are few reports about chemically-induced PDAC in rats. We encountered a PDAC in a Wistar Hannover GALAS rat that had been subjected to a medium-term multiorgan carcinogenicity bioassay. This article describes the histological and histochemical findings of the tumor. The tumor was located in the pancreatic tissue and had not invaded the liver parenchyma or the mucosal layer of the alimentary tract. The tumor cells were atypical and were mainly arranged in small tubules. In addition, abundant stroma and mucus production were observed in the tumor. In an immunohistochemical examination, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin, Sox9 and pancreas duodenum homeobox 1 and negative for amylase 2A and insulin. Therefore, the tumor was diagnosed as a PDAC based on its histological and histochemical findings. We considered that the tumor was caused by the carcinogens administered during the abovementioned bioassay.


The Limpopo Province is the location of 31% of South Africa's geothermal springs. The springs at Siloam and Tshipise are among those springs which fall into the 'scalding category' with average temperatures of 67.7°C and 54.6°C, respectively. The aim of this study was to determine the horizontal variation in trace element concentrations and soil indicators in surface soil associated with the geothermal springs at Siloam and Tshipise. Results show that, in general, the trace element concentrations present in the soil decrease with horizontal distance from the springs. Water and soil samples were collected from May to July 2014, with the soil sampled at 0–15 cm depth at 5 m intervals in the horizontal distance from the geothermal spring. The physicochemical parameters of the water were determined as well as the trace elements. The soil samples were digested using microwave digestion and trace elements were determined using an inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Soil indicators – pH, soil organic matter (SOM) and soil water retention (SWR) – were also determined. The resulting data were subjected to both descriptive and factor analyses. Results showed only one factor determining the variation in geothermal water, attributed to the rock–water interaction in the deep aquifer (geology); two factors were obtained for variation in soil indicators and trace element concentrations, attributed to spring geology and the soil pedogenesis. There was a strong correlation between the trace elements and soil indicators at the 95% confidence level. There is generally a positive correlation between the trace elements and soil indicators if the soil pH, SOM and SWR are high; in these instances most of the trace elements in the soil will also be relatively high. A two-factors-without-replication ANOVA ( p ˂ 0.05) showed that there is a significant difference in trace element concentrations at different distances. Keywords: geothermal springs, trace metals, soil indicators, rock-water interactions, soil pedogenesis