Title of Document: LOCAL ECONOMIC INVESTMENT AND CRIME: NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE IN WASHINGTON, DC Mauri J. Matsuda, Master of Arts, 2009 Directed By: Professor Alex R. Piquero, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice The purpose of this analysis is to shed light on the relationship between largescale economic investment and crime in Washington, DC neighborhood clusters (N=39) from 2001 to 2007. Using panel data and a two-way fixed effects analytic strategy, results indicate that investment in large scale economic development projects (in millions of dollars) and crime rates (per 1,000) are inversely related controlling for disadvantage and time effects. Further analyses indicate that the relationship is dependent on a number of investment related factors, including major use of investment project (e.g. industrial, retail), financing source (public versus private), construction type (new versus renovation), as well as outcome variable (i.e. violent versus property crime). Residential investment has the strongest and most consistent relationship with both violent and property crime suggesting that the changes which accompany residential investment may be responsible for reduced crime. Theoretical mechanisms and future research directions are discussed. LOCAL ECONOMIC INVESTMENT AND CRIME: NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE IN WASHINGTON, DC


Ten years ago in THE JOURNAL, I-1 presented evidence that cervical discography was without diagnostic value and was prompting overdiagnosis and serving as an excuse for unnecessary surgical treatment. Evidence has accumulated to uphold this view, and, in my opinion, unless some modification of method and interpretation of the test is forthcoming, it should be abolished.


Modern hyperspectral sensors provide a huge volume of data at spectral and spatial domains with high redundancy, which requires robust methods for analysis. In this study, 2D and 3D CNN models were applied to hyperspectral image datasets (ROSIS and Jilin-1 GP01) using varying patch and sample sizes to determine their combined impacts on the performance of deep learning models. Differences in classification performances in relation to particle and sample sizes were statistically analysed using McNemar's test. According to the findings, raising the patch and sample size enhances the performance of the 2D/3D CNN model and produces more accurate results in the classification of hyperspectral imagery. To be more specific, the thematic maps produced with 400 and 600 samples resulted in a notable increase in overall accuracies (approximately 10%) compared to 50 and 100 samples per class. Statistical test results confirmed the importance of patch size selection for the case of limited training data and the maximum number of samples required for deep learning. It could be also mentioned that an appropriate patch and sample size should be selected considering the characteristics of the dataset and the type of deep learning algorithms.


Background: Pain in critically ill infants alters clinical stability, and there are few studies that relate the binomial: physiotherapy and production of pain in children, although the application of intra-hospital respiratory physiotherapy is already a routine. Objective: To evaluate pain response to maneuvers of thoracic vibrocompression (VC) and suction of secretion (SS) in children under one year with acute respiratory infections. Methods: Were evaluated 20 children, of both genders, admitted to the Pediatrics Ward of HC-UFU requiring respiratory physiotherapy. The variables heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) and Neonatal Infant Pain Scale – (NIPS), were analyzed before, during and after the execution of the techniques previously randomized. For statistical analysis, were used two-way ANOVA, post hoc test, and Spearman9s correlation with a significance level of 5% (p Results: There were significant differences between techniques (p=0.01) in the variable HR, while the RR showed no significant changes related to techniques, and moments of evaluation. The SpO 2 showed significance between techniques during application, being on average 90.9% SS and VC of 95.6% (p=0.01). NIPS had also no significant difference between techniques during the execution, and the SS average was 5.90 points while VC average was 1.85 points (p=0.01). All variables with changed values during the execution of the techniques returned to baseline at the end. Conclusion : The VC showed variation only in HR during its execution, while SS altered HR, SpO 2 and NIPS, but the children quickly returned to baseline levels and clinical stability with rest.


In a University dominated, as are most, by the notion of science as the heart of knowledge, I find NYU's position on unions and collegiality not only politically dubious, but analytically spurious. Let's leave to one side ideological issues and focus on methodology and truth-claims. How does anybody know that there is collegiality at NYU? How would they know if it were absent?


In this paper we consider a nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation with asymptotically small parameters. It describes the diffusion of finite-size particles in the presence of a fixed distribution of obstacles in the limit of low-volume fraction. The equation does not have a gradient flow structure, but can be interpreted as an asymptotic gradient flow, that is, as a gradient flow up to a certain asymptotic order. We use this scalar equation as a simple testbed model for more complicated systems of this kind. We discuss several possible entropy-mobility pairs, illustrate their dynamics with numerical simulations, present global in time existence results and study the long time behavior of solutions.


This paper discusses a means for automatically supporting humans in information and task prioritizing. A new generic method based on the Competitive Task Model is described. Its implementation is able to calculate priorities of competing information entities, which provides a way of allocating tasks to the process operator. Due to a combination of dynamic states and information entities, it is usable as an adaptive control mechanism for attention and task allocation.


This study develops a method to evaluate the influence of local geography on respondents values for land conservation programs. The study employs a choice experiment to evaluate alternative conservation plans. Results indicate that residents local landscapes do matter to the estimated values for such conservation programs. Our results also provide information about the divergence of political and economic jurisdictions for land conservation programs in Florida.


Abstract Workplace involvement in rehabilitation for patients with musculoskeletal pain may improve work ability. Convergence Dialogue Meeting (CDM) is a model aimed at helping the patient, the care giver, and the employer to support work ability and return-to-work. Our aim was to study the effect on work ability when adding a workplace dialogue according to CDM in physiotherapy practice for patients with pain in ordinary primary care. We conducted a prospective pairwise cluster randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02609750) in primary care involving 20 primary care rehabilitation units with 1-year follow-up. Adult patients with acute/subacute neck and back pain, worked ≥4 weeks past year and not currently on sick leave or no more than 60 days of sick leave and considered at-risk of sick leave were included (n = 352). All patients received structured physiotherapy and the intervention was the addition of CDM, delivered by the treating physiotherapist. The main confirmatory outcome, work ability (defined as working at least 4 consecutive weeks at follow-up), was assessed by a weekly short text message question on number of sick leave days past week. Work ability was reached by significantly more patients in the intervention group (108/127, 85%) compared with the reference group (127/171, 74%) (P = 0.02). The intervention increased the odds of having work ability at 1-year follow-up, also after adjustment for baseline health-related quality of life (odds ratio 1.85, confidence interval 1.01-3.38). We conclude that an early workplace dialogue in addition to structured physiotherapy improved work ability significantly.


This paper presents an analysis of socioeconomic data for a cluster of three counties in central Michigan. These adjacent counties (Gratiot, Mecosta, and Montcalm) are part of a three-year rural development project. Data for individual counties as well as averages for the cluster are given. Topics covered include population growth, age of residents, educational attainment, unemployment, employment/jobs, sources of personal income, household income, poverty rates, and household composition. An executive summary is also provided.


Although Tor has state-of-the art anticensorship measures, users in heavily censored environments will not be able to connect to Tor if they cannot configure their connections. We perform the first usability evaluation of Tor Launcher, the graphical user interface (GUI) that Tor Browser uses to configure connections to Tor. Our study shows that 79% (363 of 458) of user attempts to connect to Tor in simulated censored environments failed. We found that users were often frustrated during the process and tried options at random. In this paper, we measure potential usability issues, discuss design constraints unique to Tor, and provide recommendations based on what we learned to help more users connect to Tor while reducing the time they take to do so. Tor Browser incorporated the changes proposed by this study.


The article examines the phenomenon of creolization and presents the results of an analysis of creolized texts (CT) in modern Russian entertainment media publications. It is stated that a CT in the entertainment media appears to be a complex textual formation, in which verbal and iconic elements form one visual, structural, semantic, and functional whole aimed at a complex pragmatic impact on the addressee. A modern CT is standardized in its structure, prone to increase visual information, multifunctional, and manipulative. The meaningful interaction between the verbal and visual components of a CT demonstrates a great variety; however, the key meanings of its message are predominantly duplicated in order to exclude the addressee's misinterpretation. The impact on the addressee is most noticeable in the headings of the analyzed CTs, which most often contain imperative or modal constructions, rhetorical questions, elliptical constructions (as features of oral speech), colloquial words and phrases, involving precedent units and numerous word-play techniques to create some implications or ironic effects. Our work was based on an integrated (structuralfunctional, communicative and discursive-stylistic) approach, which allowed us to consider the examined phenomenon from the above-mentioned perspective. For the study, we used the following methods: descriptive analysis, continuous sampling, contextual analysis, structural-component analysis, and content analysis. The descriptive-analytical method, including observation, comparison, generalization and interpretation of the obtained facts, made it possible to obtain a clear idea of the linguistic subject under study, develop a descriptive sequence, organize and systematize the linguistic material. Using the discursive-stylistic and communicative analyses, we were able to consider the phenomenon of creolization within the mass communication system, taking into account various press formats, and highlight shades of meaning in the semantic structure of specific CTs; the structural-component analysis made it possible to consider the CT components separately in order to study the characteristics of each of them and their interaction. The theoretical provisions of our study were verified by the content analysis method using factual material, including: data on the frequency of use of various types of creolization, their functions and ways of Proceedings of INTCESS 20196th International Conference on Education and Social Sciences, 4-6 February 2019Dubai, U.A.E. ISBN: 978-605-82433-5-4 130 interaction in various media formats. Applied together, the above-listed scientific approaches and methods make it possible to comprehend the existence of CTs in the entertainment media not abstractly but in specific manifestations of their actual functioning in publications for a targeted audience. The analysis of the factual material showed that modern CTs in the media are complete and targeted; they are creolized to varying degrees and tend to the extensive use of visual tools that simplify perception, keep attention and increase the impact on the addressee. Such CTs have a standard structure expected by the readers, their verbal and visual components are almost equivalent and aimed at forming certain opinions and desired preferences and evaluations; they have abstract and specific contents, figurativeness and high associative potential.


A modified Pagano method is developed for the three-dimensional (3D) free vibration analysis of simply-supported, multilayered functionally graded material (FGM) circular hollow cylinders with a constant rotational speed with respect to the meridional direction of the cylinders. The material properties of each FGM layer constituting the cylinders are regarded as heterogeneous through the thickness coordinate, and then specified to obey a power-law distribution of the volume fractions of the constituents, and the effects of centrifugal and Coriolis accelerations, as well as the initial hoop stress due to rotation, are considered. The Pagano method, which was developed for the static and dynamic analyses of multilayered composite plates, is modified in that a displacement-based formulation is replaced by a mixed formulation, the complex-valued solutions of the system equations are transferred to the real-valued solutions, a successive approximation method is adopted to extend its application to FGM cylinders, and a propagator matrix method is developed to reduce the time needed for its implementation. These modifications make the Pagano method feasible for multilayered FGM cylinders, and the computation in the implementation is independent of the total number of the layers, thus becoming less time-consuming than usual.


Participation in physical activity (PA) provides young people significant health benefits, including improved well-being. However, large percentages of children and adolescents do not meet the recommendations for PA. Given that PA patterns are established during childhood and adolescence, and evolve within the context of the family, the current study explores the relationship between perceived parent–adolescent relationships and adolescents' PA levels, body mass index (BMI), and subjective well-being. The study was conducted in Israel, and the sample included 233 participants (126 girls, 107 boys) aged 13 to 18 years. Participants self-reported the following measures: demographic information, BMI, the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Personal Well-Being Index, and parent–adolescent relationship. The data were analyzed using Pearson analyses, t tests, and regressions. A clear difference emerged in strenuous PA activity by sex [t(223) = 2.1, p < .01]; the average strenuous PA was greater for boys (M = 3.9, SD = 2.4) than for girls (M = 1.8, SD = .2.4). Furthermore, different predictors of strenuous PA by sex were found: for boys, parent–adolescent relationship was a significant predictor; for girls, subjective well-being was a predictor. The findings can shed light on the need for different intervention programs for adolescent boys and girls to increase their involvement in PA.


The gastrointestinal tract contains a vast and diverse microbial reservoir composed of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that contribute positively to human health. There is growing evidence that perturbation of the normal microbiota can promote a variety of human disease states that include tumorigenesis. Whether the fungal component of the gut microbiota (i.e., the mycobiota) can influence tumor development has not been investigated in detail. In the recent issue of the Theranostics, Zhong et al (2021) shed light on an association between mycobiota dysbiosis and gastric cancer. These findings implicate the mycobiota in gastric carcinogenesis and set the stage for future mechanistic studies to explore whether fungal dysbiosis is a cause or consequence of gastric carcinogenesis, with important implications for preventative strategies.


Purpose: To develop and assess the anti-aging potential of a cosmetic W/O emulsion containing an extract of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. Fabaceae. Methods: This single-blind placebo-controlled study was performed in 11 healthy male human volunteers. A formulation comprising of 4 % of concentrated extract of soybean was prepared by loading the extract in the internal aqueous phase of the emulsion. A control (base), consisting of the emulsion without the extract, was also prepared. Both formulations were applied to the cheeks of all volunteers for 12 weeks and their effect on different skin parameters, i.e., moisture contents, elasticity and surface evaluation of living skin (SELS) were assessed. Results: The formulation containing 4 % soybean extract showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) effects on skin elasticity and moisture contents but the base showed insignificant effect (p > 0.05). There was significant (p ≤ 0.05) decline in SELS, i.e., SEsc (skin scaliness, from 1.73 ± 0.05 to 1.66 ± 0.06), SEw (skin wrinkles, from 71.74 ± 1.52 to 68.51 ± 1.64), SEsm (skin smoothness, from 109.01 ± 4.77 to 102.03 ± 4.23), and SEr (skin roughness, from 4.04 ± 0.09 to 3.82 ± 0.08) parameters after application of the extract formulation for 12 weeks. Conclusion: Topical application of the cosmetic emulsion containing soybean extract exerts potential skin anti-aging effects.


This paper is about safety assessment for the pre-hydrogenation reactor with a surface crack. The pre-hydrogenation reactor contains a weld-crack defect. Safety assessment of in-service pressure vessel is based on the principle of "fit-for-service". The author has safety assessment in accordance with Chinese national standard Safety Assessment for In-service Pressure Vessels Containing Defects (GB/T 19624-2004 ). The pre-hydrogenation reactor with crack defect is in the margin of safety through the safty assessment and result analysis.


As the technology scales down, shrinking geometry and layout dimension, on- chip interconnects are exposed to different noise sources such as crosstalk coupling, supply voltage fluctuation and temperature variation that cause random and burst errors. Hence, error correction codes integrated with noise reduction techniques are incorporated to make the on-chip interconnects robust against errors. Single error correction (SEC) codes are widely used to protect data stored in memories and registers. In some applications, such as networking, a few control bits are added to the data to facilitate their processing. For example, flags to mark the start or the end of a packet are widely used. Therefore, it is important to have SEC codes that protect both the data and the associated control bits. It is attractive for these codes to provide fast decoding of the control bits, as these are used to determine the processing of the data and are commonly on the critical timing path. In this brief, a method to extend SEC codes to support a few additional control bits is presented.


Abstract Electron probe microanalysis of tourmaline from late-stage aplites and mineralized (Sn-W) pegmatites from the Hub Kapong batholith of peninsular Thailand has revealed considerable chemical variation, and has shown that skeletal tourmaline crystals predominate within the pegmatites. The tourmalines show substitution towards the schorl end-member of the schorl-dravite series, as well as substitution towards alkali-free or proton deficient tourmaline. The extent of both substitutions increases (a) from aplites to pegmatites and (b) from core to rim within a single grain and so is believed to become greater with increasing degrees of differentiation of the aplite-pegmatite system. The development of skeletal crystals within the pegmatites and non-skeletal crystals within the aplites is believed to be due to the different kinetics of crystal growth obtaining within a hydrous, pegmatitic, fluid (viz. heterogeneous nucleation and comparatively rapid crystal growth rates) which in turn arise from differences in the structure of the aplitic magma and pegmatitic fluid. The observed chemical and morphological variation shown by the tourmalines is used to discuss the petrogenesis of the aplites and pegmatites, and associated ore deposits. During differentiation, the volatile content of the aplite magmas increased, leading to water saturation and the separation of a hydrous pegmatitic fluid. After a period of coexistence, possibly in chemical equilibrium, the crystallization of the pegmatites continued once the aplite magma had completely consolidated.


I.T. organization design and security are mission oriented activities towards goals achievement and business success. With the development of successful design of I.T. organization the management can shape collective effort of staff and administrative members. The process of design starts with strategies, guidelines and development of implementation plan .The book possesses security architecture of I.T. organizations taking in account, their weaknesses and strengths. Book also presents the analysis of I.T. security in organizations. Aim is to summarize the existing knowledge of organization security and attempt to apply how new framework are developed and form models for it. The objectives of this Book are mainly covering the nature and designs of organizations, applied practice to observe I.T. security and develop models.


Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, and effective interventions for addressing PPH are urgently needed. Uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) is a technique to control PPH. Commercially available UBT devices are expensive and frequently require imaging technology to ensure placement. Condom-catheter uterine tamponade (C-UBT) is a technique appropriate for low-resource settings. Testing of the C-UBT is needed to better understand and optimize this technique for use in a variety of clinical settings including low-resource contexts. We describe here the design, development, and bench-top validation of a reusable C-UBT device optimized for low-resource settings. The device was tested in three differently sized uterine models using a variety of condom balloon configurations. Intrauterine wall pressure application was measured to evaluate the device capacity to apply pressure of at least 90 mmHg, estimating the mean arterial pressure within the uterine vasculature. Bench-top experimental validation of pressure exerted in uterine models demonstrated the device's capability of reaching hemostatic pressure in uterine volumes ranging from 170 to 1740 mL. Device adaptability and versatility were shown through its ability to reach the target pressure of 90 mmHg in different uterine sizes by varying balloon parameters, including condom thickness and condom configuration. The results of this study show the potential of a low-cost, reusable C-UBT device optimized to treat PPH in a variety of clinical settings, including low-resource contexts.


Opal, once believed to be amorphous silica, was shown by Levin and Ott (1932, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 54, 828-829) to give an x-ray powder pattern of the high-temperature form of cristobalite. The early explanation of this anomalous existence of a phase below its high-low transition temperature is now known to be untenable. One of us suggested that the tiny sizes of the component cristobalite crystals might explain the anomaly; if so, the transition might be expected below ambient temperatures. The record of a du Pont 900 Thermoanalyzer indeed revealed heat effects in opal below ambient temperatures, with an exotherm having a maximum at about -40 degrees on cooling and an endotherm that began about -50 degrees on heating. This was not a latent-heat effect due to the high-low transition of cristobalite, however, for the low-cristobalite pattern persisted to below -50 degrees . Opal normally contains 4-9% water, which is tenaciously held; water loss is nearly linear with temperatures up to about 422 degrees , when water loss is abruptly complete. Water-free opal does not display the thermal effect, but the same opal rehydrated does display it. Water is housed in minute voids, judged to be a few hundred Angströms across, between minute particles of cristobalite. This water behaves differently from water in bulk, for its begins to melt at about -50 degrees .


In the evasion attacks against deep neural networks (DNN), the attacker generates adversarial instances that are visually indistinguishable from benign samples and sends them to the target DNN to trigger misclassifications. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-view adversarial image detector, namely Argos, based on a novel observation. That is, there exist two "souls" in an adversarial instance, i.e., the visually unchanged content, which corresponds to the true label, and the added invisible perturbation, which corresponds to the misclassified label. Such inconsistencies could be further amplified through an autoregressive generative approach that generates images with seed pixels selected from the original image, a selected label, and pixel distributions learned from the training data. The generated images (i.e., the "views") will deviate significantly from the original one if the label is adversarial, demonstrating inconsistencies that Argos expects to detect. To this end, Argos first amplifies the discrepancies between the visual content of an image and its misclassified label induced by the attack using a set of regeneration mechanisms and then identifies an image as adversarial if the reproduced views deviate to a preset degree. Our experimental results show that Argos significantly outperforms two representative adversarial detectors in both detection accuracy and robustness against six well-known adversarial attacks. Code is available at: https://github.com/sohaib730/Argos-Adversarial_Detection


We have selected designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) from a synthetic library by using ribosome display that selectively bind to the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 2) in either its nonphosphorylated (inactive) or doubly phosphorylated (active) form. They do not bind to other kinases tested. Crystal structures of complexes with two DARPins, each specific for one of the kinase forms, were obtained. The two DARPins bind to essentially the same region of the kinase, but recognize the conformational change within the activation loop and an adjacent area, which is the key structural difference that occurs upon activation. Whereas the rigid phosphorylated activation loop remains in the same form when bound by the DARPin, the more mobile unphosphorylated loop is pushed to a new position. The DARPins can be used to selectively precipitate the cognate form of the kinases from cell lysates. They can also specifically recognize the modification status of the kinase inside the cell. By fusing the kinase with Renilla luciferase and the DARPin to GFP, an energy transfer from luciferase to GFP can be observed in COS-7 cells upon intracellular complex formation. Phosphorylated ERK2 is seen to increase by incubation of the COS-7 cells with FBS and to decrease upon adding the ERK pathway inhibitor PD98509. Furthermore, the anti-ERK2 DARPin is seen to inhibit ERK phosphorylation as it blocks the target inside the cell. This strategy of creating activation-state–specific sensors and kinase-specific inhibitors may add to the repertoire to investigate intracellular signaling in real time.


This paper presents simulation and measurement results of fully distributed tunable coplanar bandpass filters (BPFs) with center frequencies around 6 GHz that make use of ferroelectric Barium Strontium Titanate (BaxSr1−xTiO3 or BST-x) thin film as tunable material. The two experimental bandpass filters tested are based on a novel frequency-agile structure composed of cascaded half wavelength slow-wave resonators (2 poles) and three coupled interdigital capacitors (IDCs) optimized for bias voltage application. Devices with gap dimensions of 10 and 3 μm are designed and fabricated with a two-step process on polycrystalline Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films deposited on alumina substrate. A frequency tunability of 9% is obtained for the 10 μm gap structure at±30 V with 7 dB insertion loss (the BST dielectric tunability being 26% with 0.04 loss tangent for this gap size). When the structure gap is reduced to 3 μm the center frequency shifts with a constant 9 dB insertion loss from 6.95 GHz at 0 V to 9.05 GHz at ±30 V, thus yielding a filter tunability of 30% (the BST dielectric tunability being 60% with 0.04 loss tangent for this gap size), a performance comparable to some extent to localized or lumped element BPFs operating at microwave frequency (>2 GHz).


Natural autoantibodies to the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R-aAb) have been described in relation to Graves' ophthalmopathy. Other physiological roles of natural IGF1R-aAb are not known. We hypothesized that IGF1R-aAb may be related to muscle development. Serum samples (n = 408) from young overweight subjects (n = 143) were collected during a lifestyle intervention study. Anthropometric parameters, along with leptin, IGF1 and IGF1R-aAb concentrations, were analyzed, and the subjects were categorized into positive or negative for IGF1R-aAb. Eleven out of 143 subjects (7.7%) were positive for IGF1R-aAb. Identified IGF1R-aAb were molecularly characterized and showed antagonistic activity in vitro impairing IGF1-mediated IGF1R activation. Mean body weight, height or age were similar between IGF1R-aAb-positive and -negative subjects, but IGF1 concentrations differed. Jumping ability, as well as right and left handgrip strengths, were lower in the IGF1R-aAb-positive as compared to the IGF1R-aAb-negative subjects. We conclude that natural IGF1R-aAb are detectable in apparently healthy subjects and are capable of antagonizing IGF1-dependent IGF1R activation. Moreover, the presence of IGF1R-aAb is associated with poor physical strength. Although the causality of this association is unclear, the data imply a potential influence of IGF1R autoimmunity on muscle development.


A number of epidemiological investigations have identified asthma prevalence in cleaners around 1.5–2.0 times those of reference populations. There are around 700,000 cleaners in the UK, asthma prevalence is around 8%, and that suggests a high burden of work-related disease. However, a clinical diagnosis of occupational asthma in cleaners is established relatively rarely. We have investigated the hypothesis that this discrepancy occurs because cleaner's asthma is a form of low dose irritant asthma that is visible to epidemiologists but does not have the typical clinical features of occupational asthma. A questionnaire was sent to 1400 cleaners working in local hospitals and universities. 14% had a previous diagnosis of asthma, and in 32% of these the asthma started after they began work as a cleaner. Investigations for possible occupational asthma comprised paired measurements of airway responsiveness at and away from work (n = 13), serial PEF analysed using OASYS-2 (n = 13) and a structured clinical history (n = 10). 5 subjects had a greater than 3 fold improvement in PD20 away from work, and 2 subjects had OASYS score >2.5 indicating a probable occupational effect. 1 subject had both. The clinical histories were sent to 9 physicians with an interest in occupational asthma who were asked to score them for the likelihood of occupational asthma on a scale 0 to100% with and without the OASYS scores and the airway responsiveness measurements. Before seeing the investigation results, 7 of the 90 individual scores (9 physicians x 10 subjects) were above 50% indicating that the diagnosis of occupational asthma was thought likely. After seeing the investigation results, 29 of the 90 scores were above 50%. The mean probability score based on the history alone did not exceed 50% for any cleaner but was above 50% for 2 cleaners when the investigations were taken into account. These findings support the view that cleaner's asthma has features that make it difficult to identify from the clinical history.


Non-timber forest product (NTFP) governance is a recent concept denoting the process of rule and decision-making concerning production and marketing. This paper reviews the multiple dimensions of and recent trends in NTFP governance. It emphasises that NTFP governance is more than rule-making and includes a broader societal process based on social practices, values and principles. This process is characterised by the coexistence of formal and informal institutions based on plural statutory, customary and market norms; the combination of forestry and agrarian regimes; multilevel and multi-actor involvement in many – but usually not all – of these arrangements; and largely separate institutions that govern access to resources and markets. NTFP governance is characterised by an increasingly complex and dynamic hybrid of institutional arrangements, norms and collective social practices and by cross-scale dynamics in space and over time.


In this paper, we document a link between interest-on-excess-reserves (IOER) and global banks' internal capital markets. We find that foreign bank affiliates in the U.S. receive less funding from their parent banks when their home Central Bank increases the rate paid on excess reserves. We find a negative and statistically significant effect of IOER on the affiliate bank lending: a 100 basis points increase in the home Central Bank's rate on excess reserves is linked to a 2.3 percentage points decline in the U.S. credit provided by foreign bank affiliates. We exploit different organizational forms and IOER eligibility for identification. We also control for demand-side factors in a loan-level data in which borrowers have multiple lending relationships. We find that within a banking organization, the credit supply response is stronger in the affiliates that are smaller, have ex ante less profitable loans, and rely on parent bank funding. Taken together, these results are consistent with a novel channel of unconventional monetary policy where IOER crowds out global credit supply. We argue that the type of monetary policy framework matters.


The purpose of this study is to profile the personalities of patients with social phobia. Sixteen patients with social phobia were compared with a normative population of 55,971, and with 24 hospitalized Major Depressive Disorder inpatients, using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, a popular personality survey, divides individuals into eight categories: Extroverts versus Introverts, Sensors versus Intuitives, Thinkers versus Feelers, and Judgers versus Perceivers. Social phobia patients were significantly more often Introverts (93.7%) than were subjects in the normative population (46.2%). In addition, using continuous scores, the social phobia patients scored as significantly more introverted than did the patients with Major Depressive Disorder, who also scored as Introverted. Introversion is a major component of social phobia, and this observation may have both etiological and therapeutic significance. Depression and Anxiety 11:121–125, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Sinonasal inverted papillomas (SNIPs) are derived from the benign tumors of the epithelial cells and have the potential to recur and exhibit malignant characteristics. The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with malignant transformation of SNIP. A total of 32 consecutive cases, who were patients at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Tianjin Huanhu Hospital from January 1991 to January 2008, were retrospectively reviewed. Survival rates and prognostic factors were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox model survival analysis. The malignancy accounted for 8.99% of all types of SNIP. There were 25 males and seven females, and the median age of onset was 56.5 years. The sites of tumor included 22 in the nasal cavity and ethmoid sinuses, and 10 in the maxillary sinus. The tumors included 21 high-grade tumors, eight intermediate-grade tumors and three low-grade tumors. The number of patients with T1, T2, T3 and T4 stage disease was three, 10, 16 and three, respectively, according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging method. Based on the percentage of malignant cells in the entire tumor tissue, five patients had grade I tumors, five had grade II, eight had grade III and14 had grade IV. Among the 32 patients, three cases exhibited distant metastasis, and 19 patients underwent surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy, 10 underwent surgery alone and three underwent radiotherapy alone. The 5-year survival rate was 72.5% and the median overall survival time was 62.2 months. Kaplan-Meier univariate survival analysis indicated that the clinical stage and treatment method were prognostic factors, and multivariate Cox model survival analysis confirmed that the clinical stage and treatment method were independent factors for overall survival (relative risk: 4.211 and 0.312, respectively; P<0.05 for both). T3 and T4 staging and mono-treatment were associated with poor patient survival. Overall, the present study identified that the morbidity of SNIP-associated malignancy was low, the clinicopathological features were not specific, and the prognosis was improved compared with other types of sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma. The clinical stage and treatment method were found to affect the prognosis, and surgery plus postoperative radiotherapy was the predominant form of treatment. The present study may improve the understanding of the prognosis for patients with malignant SNIP in the future.


why version: answers the question "Why are you going on vacation?" I feel like a long vacation, somewhere far away. I love to travel. Mexico has places where I can relax and also see some amazing natural landscapes. That's why I choose Mexico as the destination. There are great beaches and many important cultural sites Clark, Semin / Conversational Relevance 165


The role of complement was examined in a model of antiglomerular basement membrane nephritis in the mouse, induced by intravenous injection of goat anti-mouse glomerular basement membrane serum, and characterized by early glomerular lesions and a dose-dependent albuminuria. We compared the reaction after injection of the antiserum in complement-normal B10.D2 new mice with that in congenic, congenitally C5-deficient B10.D2 old mice, and in both strains after C3 depletion by treatment with cobra venom factor. The dose-dependent albuminuria was not affected by the absence of complement activation. Also, deficiency of C3 and/or C5 had no inhibitory effect on the histologic glomerular lesions: it did not reduce the influx of polymorphonuclear granulocytes in the glomerular capillary vessels, nor prevented the eventual intravascular coagulation. We conclude that complement-independent mechanisms are involved in the development of the heterologous phase of antiglomerular basement membrane nephritis in the mouse.


We consider the asymmetric formulation of quantum hypothesis testing, where two quantum hypotheses have different associated costs. In this problem, the aim is to minimize the probability of false negatives and the optimal performance is provided by the quantum Hoeffding bound. After a brief review of these notions, we show how this bound can be simplified for pure states. We then provide a general recipe for its computation in the case of multimode Gaussian states, also showing its connection with other easier-to-compute lower bounds. In particular, we provide analytical formulas and numerical results for important classes of one- and two-mode Gaussian states.


Polymer is the main substance of plastic. Monomers are the 'building blocks', polymer is the completed plastic and the reaction is called polymerization. During production processes, as well as oil-based chemicals, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, fluorine, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur are the substances used. Nearly all plastics include additives like plasticizers, pigments, stabilizers against solar radiation, preservatives and perfumes. Plastic is a substance that contains natural or synthetic high molecular organic material which can be liquefied and thereby cast in specific moulds. Quality can be defined as the appropriateness level of a product to the desires of the consumer. The quality of a product or a complete building or other construction is the totality of its attributes. Quality enables to perform a stated task or to fulfil a given need satisfactorily for an acceptance period of time. If the material has low level of quality, durability of the material will be shortened. Plastic building materials are used in floors, roofs and walls. It is difficult and expensive to repair or replace them. Plastics should have a functional life-span at least 50 years equivalent to other materials in the building. It is unlikely that any of today's plastics can satisfy such conditions. In this paper, the meaning of quality will be defined again through the view of polymer based (plastics) building materials. Quality properties which will enable the durability of polymer based materials with a more functional life span will be discussed. The last developments in plastics industry and their effects on durability will also be reported.


CT findings in ten patients with bilateral adrenal enlargement (six cases of adrenal metastasis, two cases of malignant lymphoma, one case of pheochromocytoma and one case of adrenal hemorrhage) reviewed. Four of six cases of adrenal metastasis showed asymmetrical adrenal enlargement on initial CT scans. Ring enhancement on postcontrast CT was recognized in one case of adrenal metastasis and one case of adrenal hemorrhage (subacute stage). Ring enhancement in the case of adrenal hemorrhage was more clear and smooth than that in the case of adrenal metastasis. One case of malignant lymphoma and one case of adrenal hemorrhage had Addison's disease.


Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the general characteristics, oral health knowledge and oral health behavior of elderly people and the relationship of their oral health knowledge to practice of the knowledge in an attempt to provide information on the development of the senior oral health care system. Methods : The subjects in this study were 324 elderly people who used five different social welfare centers in the regions of Sooncheon and Yeosoo. Results : 1. The oral health knowledge of the elderly people investigated was at a low level. Among different sorts of oral health knowledge, they had the best knowledge on the cause of dental caries, and they were most ignorant about the right time for regular dental checkup. 2. Regarding connections between general characteristics and oral health knowledge, the elderly people who never went to a dentist had a better knowledge on oral health, and those who cared about oral health had a better knowledge than the others who didn't. 3. As to practice of oral health knowledge, the best oral health behavior they did was to clean the tongue during toothbrushing, and oral health behavior was not to have an unbalanced diet. The second best one was to be well-nourished, and the third best one was to refrain from drinking, smoking and eating sugar-containing food. The fourth best one was to get a regular dental check-up and teeth cleaned. 4. There was a positive correlation between oral health knowledge and oral health behavior. A better oral health knowledge led to a better oral health behavior. Conclusions : The better oral health knowledge of the elderly people was followed by a better oral health behavior, and the development and implementation of customized oral health education programs geared toward the elderly are urgently required. Oral health professionals should direct their energy into providing sustainable and systematic oral health education, and institutional measures should be taken to make it happen.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal roles in growth, development, and stress responses. However, the regulatory function of miRNAs in early weaned goats remains unclear. Deep sequencing comparison of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles showed that 18 miRNAs and 373 genes were differentially expressed in pre- and post-weaning Chongming white goats. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that these differentially expressed genes are involved in cellular processes, developmental processes, and growth in terms of biological process analysis. KEGG analysis showed that downregulated genes were enriched in salivary secretion, bile secretion, vascular smooth muscle contraction, and calcium signaling pathways. Additionally, a miRNA-mRNA co-expression network of the 18 dysregulated miRNAs and their 107 target mRNAs was constructed using a combination of Pearson's correlation analysis and prediction by miRanda software. Among the downregulated miRNAs, two (chi-miR-206 and chi-miR-133a/b) were muscle development-related and the others were cell proliferation associated. Further RT-qPCR analysis confirmed that downregulated miRNAs (chi-miR-99b-3p, chi-miR-224, and chi-miR-10b-5p) were highly expressed in muscle tissues (heart, spleen, or kidney) of the rapid growth period (7-month old) in Chongming white goats. The results of the present study suggested that weaning induced cell proliferation repression in post-weaning goats, providing new insight into the mechanism of muscle development of goats, although additional details remain to be elucidated in the future.


A novel hand-held drilling tool devoted to orthopedic surgery is presented in this paper. The starting point of the study is the conjecture that the invasiveness of interventions might be reduced by adding sensing, reasoning, and control capabilities to existing tools, in order to obtain controlled penetration in the patient's body and automatic discrimination among layers of different tissues. Due to the particular environment in which the tool is to work, the requirements in terms of human friendliness and safety impose a careful design of the human-machine interface. The proposed approach to the development of a mechatronic tool for surgery is discussed, with emphasis on the functionality and performance of the device and the limited-usage expertise required. New applications for the proposed concepts in nonsurgical environments requiring hand-held tools are foreseen.


Background: Methods based on metabolic activity and cell viability, such as XTT reduction assay and counting colony-forming units (CFU), have been frequently used for biofilm evaluation.
The association between the metabolic activities experiments with counting CFU is labor-intensive that need to be done separately. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of XTT salt, and other compounds used to XTT reduction assay on the cell viability of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans biofilms.
Material and Methods: C. albicans or S. mutans was formed on a microtiter plate. After 48 h, the mature biofilm, to evaluate the effect of these different compounds of XTT on cell viability, the biofilms were divided into five experimental groups (n = 5). The plates were incubated for 3 h in dark conditions at 37°C. The cell viability was evaluated by counting the number CFU mL−1.
Results: The results obtained for C. albicans and S. mutans showed differences between the incubation solutions for both microorganisms, however, the differences remained >106 CFU mL1.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that the XTT salt and the compounds used for the XTT reduction assay did not exhibit any effect on cell viability of the microorganisms tested.


Cynodon dactylon × Cynodon transvaalensis is one of the most important turfgrasses. Sequencing the C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis mitochondrial genome can help us learn more about its genomic composition and allow further study of the population genetics, taxonomy, and evolutionary biology of Poaceae plants and other related species. Here the C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis mitochondrial genome was sequenced using Illumina HiSeq combined with PacBio sequencing technology, and the map of the mitochondrial genome was constructed after de novo assembly and annotation. The C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis mitochondrial genome has 366,612 bp and contains 53 genes, including 31 protein-coding genes, 3 rRNA genes, and 16 tRNA genes. The result of relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) showed an A or U preference at the third position of the codons. Thirty-three chloroplast DNA fragments were found in C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis mitochondrial DNA, ranging from 72 to 3003 bp. Phylogenetic trees built based on the chloroplast genome were congruent with the plant taxonomy and NCBI taxonomy common tree, while the phylogenetic trees built based on 9 mitochondrial genes showed some differences from the common tree.


The high computation and visualization power now available at the control engineer's desk opens the perspective of embedding CACSD Technology into a virtual engineering environment. This enables concurrent interaction of control engineering with multidisciplinary high-fidelity system dynamics modeling, and supports a fundamental change of the conventional control design tuning process in a computation framework of fast nonlinear simulation, automatic search for feasible solutions, and interactive multiobjective optimization to trade-off conflicting design requirements. Such an environment promotes active decision support to foster the control engineer's role as the prime decision maker in system dynamics design.


Giant cell formation was studied in the roots of potatoes grown in a soil infested with Heterodera rostochiensis. Some indication of giant cell formation was found in roots fixed 14 days after planting of sprouted tubers in the infested soil. Giant cells may be formed by the cells of the cortex, the endodermis, the pericycle and the parenchyma cells of the central vascular strand. The first giant cells appear to be formed in the cortex and pericycle. Giant cells in the cortex are only found near the head of an eelworm. Giant cell formation by the parenchyma cells of the central vascular strand leads to no cambium and hence no secondary xylem being produced in those sectors of the root where they occur. The occurrence of sectors of the root in which there is no secondary xylem gives the central vascular strand an irregular appearance. Some giant cells may be multinucleate. They all have granular cytoplasm.


PREFACE. CONTRIBUTORS. 1 HISTORICAL: PIONEERING WORK ON HORSERADISH AND YEASTCYTOCHROME c PEROXIDASES. Introduction. Techniques and Instrumentation. Summary and Conclusions. References. 2 HEME PEROXIDASE AND CATALASE FAMILIES. Plant, Fungal, and Bacterial Peroxidases. Mammalian Peroxidases. Catalases. References. 3 HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE. I. THE NATIVE ENZYME, COMPOUNDS IAND II, THEIR STRUCTURES, AND THEIR CYCLE. Introduction. The Classic Peroxidase Cycle. Structure and Properties of Native Horseradish Peroxidase C. Horseradish Peroxidase Compound I (HRP-I). Horseradish Peroxidase Compound II (HRP-II). Some Diverse Approaches to an Understanding of HorseradishPeroxidase. References. 4 HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE. II. TWO-ELECTRON REACTIONS, FERROUSPEROXIDASE, COMPOUND III, THE FIVE OXIDATION STATES, OXYGENEVOLUTION, AND INACTIVATION. Introduction. Two-Electron Oxidations By Compound I. Oxygen Transfer By One-Electron Mechanisms. Ferrous Horseradish Peroxidase and Compound III. The Five Oxidation States of Horseradish Peroxidase. The Catalatic Reaction. The HRP Clock Reaction. Enzyme Inactivation. References. 5 HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE. III. OSCILLATIONS ANDPEROXIDASE-OXIDASE REACTIONS WITH NADH, INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID, ANDISOBUTYRALDEHYDE. LIGHT EMISSION. Oscillations and the NADH Peroxidase-Oxidase Reaction. Peroxidase Oxidase Reaction with Indole-3-Acetic Acid. Reaction of Isobutyraldehyde with Horseradish Peroxidase. References. 6 YEAST CYTOCHROME c PEROXIDASE: REACTIONS WITH SMALLSUBSTRATES. Introduction. Properties of Yeast Cytochrome c Peroxidase. Crystal Structures of Yeast Cytochrome c Peroxidase, itsCompounds and Complexes. Mechanism of Compound I Formation. The Reaction Cycle for Yeast Cytochrome c Peroxidase. Steady-State Kinetics. References . 7 YEAST CYTOCHROME c PEROXIDASE: REACTION WITHCYTOCHROME c. Introduction. Experimental Results. References. 8 SPECTROSCOPY. I. OPTICAL, RESONANCE RAMAN, AND X-RAYABSORPTION. Optical Absorption Spectra. Resonance Raman Spectra. X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. References. 9 SPECTROSCOPY. II. NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE, ELECTRONSPIN, AND MOSSBAUER. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Spectroscopy. Mossbauer Spectroscopy. References. 10 THEORETICAL. Peroxidase Kinetics. Marcus Theory for Electron Transfer Reactions. Electron Tunneling. Electron Transfer Reactions in Proteins. Electron Density Circuits. Diffusion Control. Quantum Mechanical Calculations. References. 11 CLASS I: ASCORBATE PEROXIDASE. Introduction. Sequencing and Cloning. Properties, Reactions, and Intermediate Compounds. Crystal Structures. References. 12 CATALASE-PEROXIDASES AND MYCOBACTERIUMTUBERCULOSIS. Introduction. Structures of Catalase-Peroxidases. Isoniazid and Other Reactants of Catalase-Peroxidases. The Oxidative Defense Mechanisms of MycobacteriumTuberculosis. References. 13 CLASS II. LIGNIN, MANGANESE, VERSATILE, AND COPRINUSCINEREUS PEROXIDASES. Lignin Peroxidase. Manganese Peroxidase. Other Manganese Peroxidases, Versatile Peroxidase. Coprinus Cinereus (Arthromyces Ramosus) Peroxidase. References. 14 OTHER CLASS III PEROXIDASES. Arabidopsis Thaliana Peroxidase. Barley Peroxidase. Peanut Peroxidase. Soybean Peroxidase. Tobacco Peroxidases. Turnip Peroxidases. References. 15 CATALASES (Peter Jones). Introduction. Perspective. Progress. Catalases in Biology. Prospects. References. 16 MYELOPEROXIDASE: ENZYMOLOGY. Introduction. Properties of Myeloperoxidase. The Compounds of Myeloperoxidase. Reactions of Myeloperoxidase. Cloning of Myeloperoxidase: Site-Directed Mutagenesis. The Crystal Structure and the Prosthetic Group ofMyeloperoxidase. Eosinophil Peroxidase. References. 17 BIOMEDICAL ASPECTS OF MYELOPEROXIDASE: HALOGENATIONREACTIONS IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, INFECTION, AND CANCER(Jeffrey P. Henderson and Jay. W. Heinecke). Introduction. Oxidants Produced by MPO in Humans. MPO and Coronary Artery Disease. MPO and Carcinogenesis. Prospects. References. 18 PROSTAGLANDIN H SYNTHASE. Introduction. Crystal Structures. Prostaglandin H Synthase-2. Preliminary Mechanistic Studies. Detection of Free Radicals: Role of ESR Spectroscopy. The Role of Aspirin and Related Substances: Contributions ofVane and Smith. Work of Marnett and Coworkers. Work of Kulmacz, Tsai, and Coworkers. Manganese Prostaglandin Synthases. Mechanistic Details. References. 19 THYROID PEROXIDASE. Introduction. Hormone Discovery and Chemical Synthesis. Detection of the Method of Biological Synthesis ofThyroxine. Conclusions. References. 20 LACTO- AND SALIVARY PEROXIDASES. Introduction. Properties. The Compounds of Lactoperoxidase and Their Reactions. References. 21 CHLOROPEROXIDASE FROM C. FUMAGO. Introduction. History. Optical Spectra. ESR, Endor, Mossbauer, Exafs, and Resonance RamanSpectra. Investigations of Compounds I and II. Structure of Compound I and the Catalatic Reaction. Ligand Binding. Kinetics and Mechanisms of Chlorination and Oxidation. Amino Acid Sequence and Crystal Structure. References. 22 SELENIUM-CONTAINING ENZYMES: GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE ANDIODOTHYRONINE DEIODINASE. Introduction. Glutathione Peroxidase. Iodothyronine Deiodinase. References. 23 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF VANADIUM HALOPEROXIDASES(Ron Wever and Rokus Renirie). Summary. Abbreviations. Introduction. Occurrence and Biological Function of Vanadium Iodo- andBromoperoxidases. Occurrence and Biological Function of VanadiumChloroperoxidases. Catalytic Properties of Bromoperoxidase. Properties of the Prosthetic Group in Bromoperoxidase. Kinetic and Optical Properties of VanadiumChloroperoxidases. Sulfoxidation Reactions. Stability of Bromo- and Chloroperoxidases. X-ray Structures of Vanadium Bromoperoxidases. Active Site of Vanadium Bromoperoxidase From A.Nodosum. X-ray Structures of the Vanadium Chloroperoxidase and Details ofthe Active Site. X-ray Structure of the Peroxo-Intermediate of VanadiumChloroperoxidase and Difference in Reactivity Between Chloro- andBromoperoxidases. Nature of the Vanadate Cofactor. References. 24 OTHER HEME PEROXIDASES AND ENZYMES. DI-Heme Peroxidases. Peroxidases Everywhere You Look. Myoglobins. Hemoglobin. Cytochrome c Oxidase. Oxygenases. Heme Oxygenase. Guanylyl Cyclase. References. 25 APPLICATION OF PEROXIDASES (Ron Wever). Introduction. Background Information. Peroxidases as Pharmaceutical and/or Antimicrobial Agents. Applications in Bleaching and Detergents. Biotransformations. Polymerization Reactions and Wastewater Purification. Depolymerization Reactions. Analytical Applications. Medical Applications. References. AUTHOR INDEX. SUBJECT INDEX.


Microstructures of a material form the bridge linking processing conditions - which can be controlled, to the material property - which is the primary interest in engineering applications. Thus a critical task in material design is establishing the processing-structure relationship, which requires domain expertise and techniques that can model the high-dimensional material microstructure. This work proposes a deep learning based approach that models the processing-structure relationship as a conditional image synthesis problem. In particular, we develop an auxiliary classifier Wasserstein GAN with gradient penalty (ACWGAN-GP) to synthesize microstructures under a given processing condition. This approach is free of feature engineering, requires modest domain knowledge and is applicable to a wide range of material systems. We demonstrate this approach using the ultra high carbon steel (UHCS) database, where each microstructure is annotated with a label describing the cooling method it was subjected to. Our results show that ACWGAN-GP can synthesize high-quality multiphase microstructures for a given cooling method.


A triple search for coupling reactions Coupling reactions are, in principle, good candidates for high-throughput discovery: Simply mix a diverse set of reagents and then look for products that combine two or three of their masses. In practice, however, numerous different products might have masses that are too similar to distinguish quickly. Troshin and Hartwig circumvented this problem by screening three pools of reagents in parallel that shared the same reactive functionality but differed in mass by carefully chosen increments. Specific products could then be identified in a noisy distribution by their distinctive expected mass differences across the three pools. Science, this issue p. 175 Parallel screening of three pools of similar reagents that differ in mass facilitates rapid discovery of coupling reactions. We present an approach to multidimensional high-throughput discovery of catalytic coupling reactions that integrates molecular design with automated analysis and interpretation of mass spectral data. We simultaneously assessed the reactivity of three pools of compounds that shared the same functional groups (halides, boronic acids, alkenes, and alkynes, among other groups) but carried inactive substituents having specifically designed differences in masses. The substituents were chosen such that the products from any class of reaction in multiple reaction sets would have unique differences in masses, thus allowing simultaneous identification of the products of all transformations in a set of reactants. In this way, we easily distinguished the products of new reactions from noise and known couplings. Using this method, we discovered an alkyne hydroallylation and a nickel-catalyzed variant of alkyne diarylation.


The origin of baleen in mysticete whales represents a major transition in the phylogenetic history of Cetacea. This key specialization, a keratinous sieve that enables filter-feeding, permitted exploitation of a new ecological niche and heralded the evolution of modern baleen-bearing whales, the largest animals on Earth. To date, all formally described mysticete fossils conform to two types: toothed species from Oligocene-age rocks ( approximately 24 to 34 million years old) and toothless species that presumably utilized baleen to feed (Recent to approximately 30 million years old). Here, we show that several Oligocene toothed mysticetes have nutrient foramina and associated sulci on the lateral portions of their palates, homologous structures in extant mysticetes house vessels that nourish baleen. The simultaneous occurrence of teeth and nutrient foramina implies that both teeth and baleen were present in these early mysticetes. Phylogenetic analyses of a supermatrix that includes extinct taxa and new data for 11 nuclear genes consistently resolve relationships at the base of Mysticeti. The combined data set of 27,340 characters supports a stepwise transition from a toothed ancestor, to a mosaic intermediate with both teeth and baleen, to modern baleen whales that lack an adult dentition but retain developmental and genetic evidence of their ancestral toothed heritage. Comparative sequence data for ENAM (enamelin) and AMBN (ameloblastin) indicate that enamel-specific loci are present in Mysticeti but have degraded to pseudogenes in this group. The dramatic transformation in mysticete feeding anatomy documents an apparently rare, stepwise mode of evolution in which a composite phenotype bridged the gap between primitive and derived morphologies; a combination of fossil and molecular evidence provides a multifaceted record of this macroevolutionary pattern.


In this work we have investigated the changes in T-helper and T-suppressor cells and T-cell proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in mercury-exposed workers. The study group consisted of 33 workers from a mercury-producing plant with a mean age of 29 years and a mean exposure period of 19 months. At the time of testing, and for the three previous months, the exposed population had urinary mercury levels below the currently accepted limit of 50 micrograms/g creatinine. A reverse CD4+/CD8+ ratio was observed in the mercury-exposed individuals which was characterized by a reduction in the number of CD4+ lymphocytes. No changes were observed in the proliferative response of lymphocytes from exposed individuals to PHA. Similarly, no proliferative response was observed when lymphocytes from normal individuals were cultivated in the presence of serum from the exposed workers. We found no correlations between lymphocytes changes and urinary mercury concentrations, time of exposure or the age of the workers.


This paper presents a simple structure of the medical capsule micro-robot which achieves micro-image acquisition and wireless transmission. It has the characteristics of high integration, small size and low power consumption. The experimental results indicate that the capsule micro-robot can obtain a lot of clear images. It unifies observing, monitoring and safety diagnosis of the patient organically.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE:   Dental hygiene reflects the overall health and impacts the quality of life. The present study was designed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding oral hygiene among medical and dental undergraduate students and to compare the oral hygiene habits among male and female students
METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and dental students of Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi (BUMDC) from December 2018 to January 2019. Ethical approval was taken from the ERC committee of Bahria University Medical and Dental College (ERC/2/2018). Students (n= 332) of MBBS and BDS from first to final year were enrolled by non-probability convenience sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire  was used to obtain data.  Percentages were determined for each response. The Chi-Square test was used to check the association of oral hygiene outcomes with respect to gender.
RESULTS: The study comprised 332 male and female students, out of which 189 (56.9%) were dental and 143(43.1%) were medical. The majority of students (71.4%) were female. The mean age of participants was 20.8± 1.3 years, 44.6% used toothbrushes, 33.7% used toothbrush and floss, and 21.4% used toothbrush and miswak, 61.4% of respondents have brushed their teeth twice a day, 5.1% of respondents were reported bad smell from their teeth, 58.1% were complaining sore jaws. Dental hygiene was significantly associated with gender (p≤ 0.05). Females have better practices and a positive attitude toward oral hygiene.
CONCLUSION: Female students had better oral hygiene knowledge and practices with more positive attitude as compared to male counterparts.


Online social networks are understood to replicate the real life connections between people. As the technology matures, more people are joining social networking communities such as MySpace (www.myspace.com) and
Facebook (www.facebook.com). These online communities provide the opportunity for individuals to present themselves and maintain social interactions through their profiles. Such traces in profiles can be used as
evidence in deciding the level of trust with which to imbue individuals in making access control decisions. However, online profiles have serious implications over
the reality of identity disclosure.

There are many reasons why someone may choose not to reveal their true self, which sometimes leads to misidentification or deception. On one hand, the
structure of online profiles allows anonymity, which gives users the opportunity to create a persona that may not represent their true identity. On the other
hand, we often play multiple identities in different contexts where such behaviour is acceptable. However, realizing the context for each identity representation depends on the individual. As a result, some represented
identities will be essentially real, if edited for public view, some will be disguised, and others will be fictitious or humorous.

The millions of social network profiles, and billions of connections between them, make it difficult to formalize an automated approach to differentiate fact
from fiction in online self-described identities. How can we be sure with whom we are interacting, and whether these individuals or groups are being truthful with the online identities they present to the rest of the community? What tools and techniques can be used to gather, organize, and explore the available data
for informing the level of honesty that should be entrusted to an individual? Can we verify the validity of the identity automatically, based on the available
information online?

We aim to evaluate identity representation online and examine how identity can be verified in a less trusted online community. We propose a personality classifier model to identify a user"s personality (such as expressive, valid, active, positive, popular, sociable and traceable) using traces of 2.2 million profile
features collected from MySpace. We use data mining techniques and social network analysis to extract significant patterns in the data and network
structure, and improve the classifier during the cycle of development. We evaluate our classifier model on profiles with known identities such as "real" and "fake". Our results indicate that by utilizing people"s online, self-reported information, personality, and their network of friends and interactions, we are able to provide evidence for validating the type of identity in a manner that is
both accurate and scalable.


BACKGROUND

Briefly describe and define the problem

The extant criminological literature clearly shows that building police legitimacy in communities and places is important for increasing citizen levels of compliance, cooperation and satisfaction (see Jackson, Bradford, Stanko, & Hohl, 2012). A growing body of research indicates that when police are viewed as respectful, concerned, and possessing legitimate authority, citizens are more likely to hold favourable attitudes toward police and comply with the law. Increasing the perceptions of police legitimacy within the community may both reduce community levels of crime and increase the willingness of the community to control and prevent crime (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler & Fagan, 2008). When police are perceived as legitimate, citizens feel an obligation to voluntarily comply with their directives, and it is suggested that the indirect effects include a reduction in crime, reoffending and social disorder (Mazerolle, Bennett, Davis, Sargeant, & Manning, 2013). Our proposed review aims to assess whether or not interventions aimed at promoting police legitimacy reduce the levels of crime and disorder in communities and places...


Robots are finding new applications where physical interaction with a human is necessary, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and social tasks. Accordingly, the field of physical human–robot interaction (pHRI) has leveraged impedance control approaches, which support compliant interactions between human and robot. However, a limitation of traditional impedance control is that—despite provisions for the human to modify the robot's current trajectory—the human cannot affect the robot's future desired trajectory through pHRI. In this paper, we present an algorithm for physically interactive trajectory deformations which, when combined with impedance control, allows the human to modulate both the actual and desired trajectories of the robot. Unlike related works, our method explicitly deforms the future desired trajectory based on forces applied during pHRI, but does not require constant human guidance. We present our approach and verify that this method is compatible with traditional impedance control. Next, we use constrained optimization to derive the deformation shape. Finally, we describe an algorithm for real-time implementation, and perform simulations to test the arbitration parameters. Experimental results demonstrate reduction in the human's effort and improvement in the movement quality when compared to pHRI with impedance control alone.


Two principal classes of methods for the generation of uniform pseudorandom numbers can nowadays be distinguished, namely linear and nonlinear methods, and contributions to both types of methods are presented. A very general linear method, the multiple-recursive matrix method, was recently introduced and analyzed by the author. This method includes as special cases several classical methods, and also the twisted GFSR method. New theoretical results on the multiple-recursive matrix method are discussed. Among nonlinear methods, the digital inversive method recently introduced by Eichenauer-Herrmann and the author is highlighted. This method combines real and finite-field arithmetic and, in contrast to other inversive methods, allows a very fast implementation, while still retaining the advantages of inversive methods.


Morphing aircraft wings are one of the proposed solutions to reducing aviation's environmental impact as they seek to improve the aircraft's aerodynamic efficiency and thereby reduce green-house gas emissions. The competing structural requirements of morphing skins, which are required to have a high out-of-plane stiffness to resist aerodynamic loading and a low in-plane stiffness to keep the actuation energy low, are one of the key reasons why this technology is not yet being deployed on a large scale. The novel Geometrically Anisotropic Thermoplastic Rubber (GATOR) morphing skins introduced by these authors seek to take advantage of multi-material 3D printing and structural scaling laws to allow for better compromises between the competing design constraints.
 In this work, a finite element study of the novel GATOR skins is presented exploring the fundamental relationships between skin configuration and performance of a GATOR skin panel consisting of two face sheets and a zero Poisson's ratio Morphcore using a numerical model comprised of second-order 3D elements and 2D first-order elements to model the core and the skin, respectively which was validated with experimental results. The GATOR skin is divided into 6 unique design parameters: core height, bending member thickness, core thickness, bending member angle, the distance between the unit cells, and skin thickness. A detailed design space analysis shows how those parameters influence the performance metrics such as axial and bending rigidity and mass properties to better understand what effect they have on those competing design requirements and how they can be used in a targeted way to optimize a GATOR skin.


A statistically significant relationship has been found between the age at menarche and the age at first birth among chronically-malnourished, lower-class Viennese women born in the late nineteenth century. Because the age at menarche depends on nutritional status, the above relationship is an indication that nutritional status must also have correlated positively with fertility rate, and therefore with population growth in societies with similar characteristics as this sample. Thus, the nutrition sensitivity of the age of first birth, and therefore of population growth are established in a chronically malnourished non-contraceptive historical population.


Objective: To investigate the common allergens in children with respiratory allergic diseases in Guangdong and provide the basis for preventing and treating respiratory allergic diseases. Methods: A total of 254 serum samples were collected retrospectively from children with allergic rhinitis and (or) asthma in the pediatric clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University or Boai Hospital of Zhongshan City from August 2019 to August 2020 and tested positive for at least one allergens by ImmunoCAP 1000 or skin prick test. There were 173 males and 81 females, with a median age (interquartile interval) of 7 (4.00, 9.75) years. Specific IgE against eighteen common allergen were tested by magnetic particle chemiluminescence immunoassay. Statistical analysis using χ2 test. Results: The positive rate of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (85.0%, 215/254) was the highest, followed by D. farinae (83.5%, 212/254), egg white (19.3%, 49/254), milk (14.6%, 37/254), German cockroach (14.2%, 36/254) and ox-eye daisy (12.6%, 32/254). Dust mites were the most common allergens in patients with allergic rhinitis / allergic asthma / allergic rhinitis and asthma. The positive rates of D. pteronyssinus (95.4% vs. 91.7% vs. 71.0%, χ2=23.257, P<0.001), D. farinae (95.4% vs. 90.6% vs. 67.7%, χ2=26.916, P<0.001), mugwort (10.8% vs. 9.4% vs. 1.1%, χ2=7.535, P=0.023), and ox-eye daisy (21.5% vs. 14.6% vs. 4.3%, χ2=10.876, P=0.004) in allergic rhinitis combined with asthma group and allergic rhinitis group were significantly higher than those in allergic rhinitis group. The positive rates of D. pteronyssinus (96.2% vs. 84.0% vs. 53.5%, χ2=46.343, P<0.001), D. farinae (96.2% vs. 81.5% vs. 48.8%, χ2=52.756, P<0.001) and German cockroach (17.7% vs. 14.8% vs. 2.3%, χ2=6.313, P=0.043) in > 6 years old group were significantly higher than those in > 3 years old group and > 3-6 years old group, while the sIgE positive rates of egg white (41.9% vs. 21.0% vs. 10.8%, χ2=20.281, P<0.001) and milk (41.9% vs. 16.0% vs. 4.6%, χ2=36.227, P<0.001) in ≤3 years old group were significantly higher than those in > 3-6 years old group and > 6 years old group. In addition, there were significant positive correlations between D. pteronyssinus and D. farinae, mugwort and ox-eye daisy, cat dander and horse dander, ox-eye daisy and dandelion, egg white and milk, timothy grass and sesame (rs≥0.511, P < 0.01). With the increase of the class of house dust mite allergen, the sIgE positive rates of mugwort (0.0% vs. 1.5% vs. 10.8%, χ2=9.714, P=0.008), ox-eye daisy (0.0% vs. 4.4% vs. 19.6%, χ2=16.195, P<0.001), cat dander (0.0% vs. 7.4% vs. 18.2%, χ2=11.459, P=0.003) and horse dander (0.0% vs. 1.5% vs. 15.5%, χ2=15.443, P < 0.001) increased significantly, while the sIgE positive rate of milk (29.0% vs. 16.2% vs. 10.1%, χ2=8.792, P=0.012) decreased significantly. Conclusions: Dust mite is the main allergen in children with respiratory allergic diseases in Guangdong, and ox-eye daisy is the main pollen allergen. The sensitization patterns of allergens varied in different ages and diseases, and children with respiratory allergic diseases should regularly detect allergens and pay attention to avoid them.


An intravenous formulation of Augmentin was used as sole chemotherapy in the treatment of patients with severe infections. Fourteen of 17 assessable patients (82%) responded satisfactorily including six with bacteraemia. Adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients but in all but one, withdrawn due to diarrhoea, were trivial. There was no significant intolerance.


Turkic literature (Turk Edebiyati) is a long-standing common cultural heritage shared by Turkey and the countries of Central Asia based on oral traditions. In Turkic culture, oral traditions are not only the literary poetry of rhyme and rhythm but are also the basis for modern folk songs, funeral songs, plays, games, and the like. Prior to Islamization, oral literature was conveyed by shamans (Kam) in religious rituals (dinitoreni), festivals (solen), hunting ceremonies (sigir), and rites of passage, based on celestial thought and shamanism. The shaman was a political leader, priest, artist, therapist (doctor), and mentor; in other words, he(she) led the tribe, of which he(she) was the focal point. As Islam gradually consolidated its power in tribal nations, the original functions of shamans weakened. The shaman was later transformed into an ozan, performing only some of the functions of a bard, storyteller, and narrator. As literature has passed through the era of mythology, which has a shamanic nature, recording history in mysterious terms, an era of literature functioning only in the artistic realm has arrived. Oral traditions have subsequently been written down and passed down, as with the changing process of oral literature. Pre-Islamic Turkic oral literature reflects the Turks'' view of the universe, the world, humans, life, and death, and is a valuable resource for examining their faith, tradition, and customs. More specifically, before the arrival of Islam, celestial thought (Goktanricilik), shamanism, totemism (wolf, deer, eagle, etc.), animism, Buddhism, and Manichaeism had considerable influence on the Turkic tribes. In particular, the Turks'' main beliefs (animism) were principally beliefs in natural spirits, along with ancestor worship (atalar kultu). The objects of worship include the sun (gunes), moon (ay), stars (yildizlar), planets (gezegenler), yer-sub (god of mother earth, god of nature), fire (ates), water (su), mountains (orman), trees (agac), land (toprak), stones (tasve kaya), and the like. This traditional belief influenced the whole nomadic life and was incorporated into the oral literature through the magical power of the language. As such, oral literature is at the heart of Turkic culture. Therefore, understanding their oral literature will help us understand their culture and literature, while giving us further insight into the multicultural aspects of modern society.


The complexity and cost of assessment techniques prohibits their application to 90% of fisheries. Simple generic approaches are needed for the world's small-scale and data-poor fisheries. This meta-analysis of the relationship between spawning potential and the normalized size and age of 123 marine species suggests that the so-called Beverton– Holt life-history invariants (BH-LHI; Lm/L1, M/k, M × Agem) actually vary together in relation to life-history strategy, determining the relationship between size, age, and reproductive potential for each species. Although little realized, the common assumption of unique values for the BH-LHI also implies that all species share the same relationship between size, age, and reproductive potential. This implicit assumption is not supported by this meta-analysis, which suggests that there is considerable but predictable natural variation in the BH-LHI ratios and the relationships between size, age, and reproductive potential that they determine. We believe that this reconceptualization of the BH-LHI has potential to provide a theoretical framework for "borrowing" knowledge from well-studied species to apply to related, unstudied species and populations, and when applied together with the assessment technique described by Hordyk et al. (this issue b), could make simple forms of size-based assessment possible for many currently unassessable fish stocks.


Over a decade of studies have demonstrated the benefits of ultra high performance concrete (UHPC) in terms of damage tolerance, energy absorption, crack distribution, and deformation capacity. However, little information is available on the confinement behavior of UHPC, especially when confined with fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP). Sixteen UHPC-filled FRP tubes with different fiber type and tube thickness were tested under monotonic uniaxial compression. All specimens failed by rupture of the tube at or near the midheight. Similar to conventional concrete, test results showed significant enhancements in the ultimate strength and strain of UHPC—up to 98% and 195%, respectively, compared with its unconfined counterpart. The experimental results were compared with a number of available confinement models. Although one of the models provided a reasonable fit for the stress-strain response in most cases, all models generally underestimated the effectiveness of FRP confinement at higher confinement ratios. The study demonstrated the need for confinement models that could accurately predict the behavior of FRP-confined UHPC in terms of the stress-strain relationship and the respective ultimate strengths and strains.


Vitamin D and calcium are indispensable for the maintenance of bone mass and integrity. Active vitamin D3 has been most widely used in Japan for the treatment of osteoporosis. These drugs mildly increase bone mineral density, but it has little consistent effects on bone metabolic markers. Although weak, there is also some clinical evidence for their efficacy as a fracture-preventing drug. Recent reports suggest that vitamin D3 not only enhances intestinal calcium absorption but may also improve neuromuscular function to reduce the number of falls, thereby contributing to fracture prevention. Besides such extraskeletal effects, vitamin D analogues may also have direct bone anabolic effects, preventing fractures even under native vitamin D and calcium supplement.


Abstract Apparent superlattice reflections obtained in electron diffraction patterns of modulated calcite and dolomite have been ascribed to local domains of various different metastable Ca-Mg ordering schemes that are not known as macroscopic phases. We show that the type "c" reflections in diffraction patterns of supposed superstructures can in fact be produced by superposition of diffraction from the host crystal and that from domains that are in an orientation related to the host by twinning on (104). From details of the additional reflections present, we deduce that the carbonate anions are orientationally disordered in the twin nanodomains, which have the R3̅m space group of high-temperature disordered calcite. This twinning can explain the diffraction ascribed to type "γ"/"μ"/"ν" superstructures, and resolves controversies over the occurrence of these purportedly different superstructures. The relationships between composition, orientational order of the carbonates, molar volume and known macroscopic structures, and the possibility of interfacial strain reduction by static disorder in the twin domain, are discussed. We stress the importance of checking for presence of twinned nanodomains using microdiffraction before attributing an apparent superstructure modulation to local cation ordering. High-resolution imaging may not be diagnostic, since overlap of small domains and host matrix can give Moiré patterns that resemble superlattice fringes.


Introduction: Normalization cancer immunotherapy is a new strategy to treat breast cancer. Sialic acid binding Ig-like lectin 15 (Siglec-15) is a new potential target for normalization cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the role of Siglec15 in breast cancer and investigated the influence of Siglec15 on the microenvironment of infiltrating immune cells in the cancer.Methods: We performed immunhistochemical staining to analyze Siglet-15 expression in primary invasive breast cancer tissue microarrays. The tissue specimens were from 90 patients. Furthermore, The relationship between Siglec15 and clinicopathological features was analyzed with logistic regression and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The association between clinical characteristics and overall survival in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) patients was assessed. Results: Immunhistochemical staining of tissue microarrays showed that Siglet-15 had higher expression in breast cancer tissues than those in adject normal tissues. Breast cancer tissues had higher Siglec15 expression than normal tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that triple negative breast cancer with high Siglec15 expression had poorer survival than those with lower Siglec15 expression (p=0.042). Furthermore, high Siglec15 expression group had low activated dendritic cells, follicular helper T cells, and M1 macrophages. Conclusions: Siglet-15 had high expression in breast cancer tissues. High Siglec15 expression is associated with low activated dendritic cells, follicular helper T cells, and M1 macrophages proportions in breast cancer tissue, and predicts poor prognosis in triple negative breast cancer. Siglec15 expression may be a potential prognostic molecular marker of poor survival in breast cancer.


Introduction - Looking at early years education and care: towards firmer foundations Play as a foundation for learning Aspects of practice in early years settings Professional roles in early childhood Children in the family and society Working in teams in early years settings Supporting children with communication difficulties Inclusive education in the early years Promoting child health Bilingual children in the pre-school years: different experiences of early learning Working with parents in early years settings Talking and listening Literacy learning at home and at school Literacy in reception classes Children growing and changing: the interpersonal world of the growing child Number in play and everyday life Exploring our world Creative expression Meaningful history with young children.


Germline BAP1 mutations cause a cancer syndrome characterized by high incidence of mesothelioma (MM), uveal melanoma and other cancers, and by very high penetrance, as all individuals carrying BAP1 mutations developed at least one, and usually several, malignancies throughout their lives. Through screening MM patients with histories of multiple cancers, we found four supposedly unrelated patients that shared an identical germline BAP1 mutation. We investigated whether this BAP1 mutation occurred in a 'hot-spot' for "de novo" mutations or whether these four MM patients shared a common ancestor. Using molecular genomics analyses we found that they are related. By genealogic studies we traced their ancestor to a couple that emigrated from Germany to North America in the early 1700's; we traced the subsequent migration of their descendants, who are now living in at least three different US States. Our findings demonstrate that BAP1 mutations are transmitted among subsequent generations over the course of centuries. This knowledge and methodology is being used to identify additional branches of the family carrying BAP1 mutations. Our study shows that the application of modern genomic analyses, coupled with "classical" family histories collected by the treating physician, and with genealogical searches, offer a powerful strategy to identify high-risk germline BAP1 mutation carriers that will benefit from genetic counseling and early detection cancer screening. Citation Format: Michele Carbone, Erin G. Flores, Mitsuru Emi, Giovanni Gaudino, Sandra Pastorino, Haining Yang, Todd Johnson, Tatsuhiko Tsunoda, Mary Hesdorffer, Harvey I. Pass. Combined genetic and genealogic studies uncover a large BAP1 cancer syndrome kindred, tracing back nine generations to a common ancestor from the 1700s. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1179.


During the past two decades, field linguists have expressed serious concerns over the unprecedented rapid loss of 'indigenous languages', the endangerment of many others, and the implications of these processes for the education and economic development of 'indigenous populations', among other matters. The book to which this article responds is a rare volume that focuses on the use of 'minority languages' in education and national economies to eradicate poverty, as well as on socioeconomic hardships the poor experience in shifting to the 'dominant language'. I explain how complex the subject matter is and how little prepared linguistics still is for it. I show that our profession has no empirically grounded and ecology-specific advice to provide to economists and politicians who are concerned with societal multilingualism (mis)construed as an obstacle to economic development. Nor does the field appear to have determined under what ideal socioeconomic conditions a language can be maintained without being a liability or an unnecessary burden to its speakers.


Rationally designed nanostructures can synergistically provide more active sites to optimize the electrocatalytic properties and decrease the energy barrier of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Although MoS2 is a promising two dimensional (2D) electrocatalyst, the curved nanoplates adversely affect the delivery of H2 during the HER. Herein, kinetically oriented MoS2 nanoflakes are prepared vertically on Mo2N nanoneedles anchored on flexible carbon cloth (MoS2–Mo2N/CC). The three-dimensional (3D) skeleton composed of carbon cloth (CC) and Mo2N prevents collapse of MoS2 during fabrication and electrochemical reactions. Moreover, the strong electronic interactions between MoS2 and Mo2N enhance charge transfer, moderate the hydrogen binding energy, and decrease the reaction energy thermodynamically. MoS2–Mo2N/CC delivers moderate hydrogen binding energy and fast H2 desorption further enhancing the HER activity. Owing to the optimized hybrid structure, MoS2–Mo2N/CC exhibits a small overpotential of 121 mV at 10 mA cm−2, small Tafel slope of 49.6 mV dec−1, and outstanding stability of 97.4% at 50 mA cm−2. The results reveal the large potential of vertically oriented HER catalysts in energy storage and conversion.


Introduction Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a prevalent complication of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) with a major impact on the health of the affected patient. We hypothesized that mediated by the dysfunctionalities associated with DN's three major components: sensitive (lack of motion associated sensory), motor (impairments in movement coordination) and autonomic (the presence of postural hypotension), the presence of DN may impair the balance in the affected patients. Our study's main aim is to evaluate the possible association between the presence and severity of DN and both the balance impairment and the risk of falls in patients with T2DM. Material and Method In this cross-sectional study we enrolled, according to a consecutive-case population-based setting 198 patients with T2DM. The presence and severity of DN was evaluated using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, a tool which allows both diagnosing and severity staging of DN. The balance impairment and the risk of falls were evaluated using four validated and standardized tools: Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed-up and Go test (TUG), Single Leg Stand test (SLS) and Fall Efficacy Scale (FES-I). Results The presence of DN was associated with significant decreases in the BBS score (40.5 vs. 43.7 points; p<0.001) and SLS time (9.3 vs. 10.3 seconds; p = 0.003) respectively increases in TUG time (8.9 vs. 7.6 seconds; p = 0.002) and FES-I score (38 vs. 33 points; p = 0.034). The MNSI score was reverse and significantly correlated with both BBS score (Spearman's r = -0.479; p<0.001) and SLS time (Spearman's r = -0.169; p = 0.017). In the multivariate regression model, we observed that patient's age, DN severity and depression's symptoms acted as independent, significant predictors for the risk of falls in patients with T2DM. Conclusions The presence of DN in patients with DM is associated with impaired balance and with a consecutively increase in the risk of falls.


The objective of the study was to identify the relative importance of erythrocyte flow resistance and aggregation in acute and chronic coronary syndromes. 117 subjects in five groups were studied: (1) 34 patients shortly after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) before reperfusion therapy; (2) 27 patients with unstable and (3) 21 with stable angina pectoris (AP); (4) 14 age-matched control patients and (5) 21 healthy volunteers. Single erythrocyte transit times were measured using the Cell Transit Analyser. Shear dependent elongation and aggregation was measured by a modified computerized Myrenne aggregometer. Leukocyte count was increased in coronary artery disease (CAD), especially in acute syndromes (mean +/- SD for groups 1-5): 12.2 +/- 4.5; 10.0 +/- 5.4; 8.0 +/- 2.0; 8.0 +/- 3.7; 7.0 +/- 2.0 (pl(-1))). Platelets, hematocrit, fibrinogen, alpha2-macroglobulin did not differ between the groups. Plasma viscosity (mPas) was elevated in AMI and stable AP: 1.34 +/- 0.10; 1.30 +/- 0.09; 1.32 +/- 0.08; 1.27 +/- 0.07; 1.27 +/- 0.05. Erythrocyte filtrability was not different as was the shear dependent deformation. Aggregation parameters such as gammaTmin were elevated in CAD: 180 +/- 70; 159 +/- 60; 166 +/- 59; 115 +/- 43; 113 +/- 51 (s(-1)). Erythrocyte deformability, measured with two independent methods, does not appear to contribute to the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndromes. Erythrocyte aggregation and plasma viscosity were again found increased both in unstable and stable coronary disease. It is unlikely that increased red cell aggregation contributes to emergence of AMI.


Aging refers to a gradual process of functional and organic recession with the age increased after the organism maturing. Many researchers have tried to elucidate aging mechanism which includes the free radical theory: free radicals can become lipofuscin and cause the mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and the damage of the nuclear DNA. From the view of heredity, aging is the results of the activation and inhibition of a series of genes as well as the products of their interaction. From the changes of immune function theory, it points out that aging is attributed to the decline of immune responses and the increase of autoimmune reactions.


Telemedicine is growing and there is an increased demand for faster image processing and transmitting diagnostic medical images. Identifying and extracting the region of interest (ROI) accurately is an important step before coding and compressing the image data for efficient transmission or storage. The usual approach to extract ROI is to apply contour segmentation method. Chan-Vese active contour model [1] is a well-known image segmentation technique based on Mumford-Shah level set methods. Selective visual attention is a fundamental component of perceptual representation in a visual system. It influences the identification of a stimulus from those that operate after perception is complete. The Saliency Toolbox [2] is a collection of Matlab functions and scripts for computing the saliency map for an image, for determining the extent of a proto-object, and for serially scanning the image with the focus of visual attention. The implementation of the toolbox is extension of the saliency map-based model of bottom-up attention [3], by a process of inferring the extent of a proto-object at the attended location from the maps that are used to compute the saliency map. In this paper, we focus on extracting ROI by segmentation based on visual attended locations. Chan-Vese active contour model is used for image segmentation and attended locations are determined by SaliencyToolbox. Finally, we successfully segmented two attended locations of a medical image.


This report documents the construction of three special pavement test sections on I-90 east of Spokane, Washington. The test sections included ultra-thin and thin whitetopping, Modified Class D open graded asphalt concrete, and micro/macro surfacing treatment. The majority of the project was built with a ½-in. Superpave mix. The test sections were built to assess their potential as mitigation measures for studded tire wear. Initial data collected on the sections indicate a rate of rutting of 1.8 mm per year on the whitetopping, 2.2 mm per year on the Modified Class D and Superpave sections, and 2.6 mm per year on the micro/macro surfacing section. Extensive cracking was noted in the section of whitetopping with a 3-in. thickness.