In shear or dilational testing, the interfacial rheology of a protein film adsorbed at a fluid–fluid interface is often determined by its response to dynamic deformation. In order to extract characterising parameters from the response data, a model must be assumed in order to fit the response, yet the assumption is difficult to validate due to the limited strain range accessible by most instruments. In this work, a modelling approach was developed to extract characterising parameters from stress–strain curves measured in a high-strain extensional mode of deformation. This mode of testing is insensitive to interfacial tension gradients, making it particularly useful for the study of interfacially adsorbed materials, such as proteins, where the relationship between interfacial tension and interfacial rheology is complex. A four-parameter version of the Generalised Maxwell Model (GMM) for three-dimensional viscoelastic materials successfully describes the response of a two-dimensional β-lactoglobulin interfacial film over a full linear strain range of 0–100%. The GMM asserts that viscoelastic relaxation occurs on multiple timescales, and in this case the two associated time constants give new insights into the nature of interfacial rheology, and its dependence on mass transfer with the bulk solution. In particular, washing out protein from the bulk solution has little effect on the initial response of the system, but a significant effect on the larger-strain response. Fitting a smaller strain range with a less parameterised model (e.g. 0–5% strain fitted with 2 parameters, or 0–20% fitted with 3 parameters) yielded a result that was reasonable up to the strain rate fitted, although the model did not predict well the response to greater strains. The major consequence is that unless a strain range large enough to allow significant influence of viscosity on observed response is tested, unreliable values of viscosity may be determined. Three other common proteins (lysozyme, bovine serum albumin and β-casein) were also tested. In each case, the films showed viscoelastic behaviour that could be well described by the 4-parameter GMM, allowing the viscous components for these protein films to be estimated more accurately than has been possible to date.


. The paper considers options for the implementation of the technical condition monitoring of the of power supply system elements, the assessment of overgrowing of the power line routes using an unmanned aerial vehicle. A method for emergency control of an unmanned aerial vehicle used to monitor the technical condition of 6-10 kV overhead power lines has been proposed. This method is used in case of loss of radio communication between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the ground control station. The method is based on the activation of the automatic piloting system allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle flight to continue to the pre-determined emergency landing area. The autopilot is carried out by means of a servo controller and sensitive sensors reacting to the intensity of the electromagnetic field of a 6-10 kV overhead power line.


A dose-escalation study was performed in 27 patients to determine the highest safe and potentially optimal dose of naloxone for treatment of acute cerebral ischemia. All patients received a bolus of naloxone followed by a continuous 24 hour infusion at an hourly rate 50% of the bolus. Loading doses ranged from 2.5 to 200 mg/m2. Total patient doses ranged from 52.3 to 4978 mg. No major dose-related side effects occurred. This study was not designed to determine naloxone's efficacy in stroke, but transient or sustained improvement was observed in 13 patients. Three patients' neurological condition worsened within three hours after the naloxone was discontinued. Our experience suggests that further therapeutic trials of naloxone are worthwhile.


The severe epidemics of Fusarium head blight (FHB) as a devastating disease of cereal crops has occurred on wheat in North and Northwest Iran in recent years. The in vitro production of Deoxynivalenol (DON) was qualitatively evaluated in 41 Fusarium isolates collected from wheat heads associated with the scab disease, in Moghan area/Northwest Iran. Infected wheat heads were collected during 2004-2007. The isolation of causal agents was carried out using standard methods. According to morphological characteristics and using valid descriptions, all isolates belonged to Fusarium graminearum species complex and F. culmorum of which the former was dominant. In order to evaluate the potential of DON production in isolates, this mycotoxin was extracted and qualitatively examined by TLC method. The quantification of DON was achieved using HPLC method. TLC results indicated that 54.5% of studied isolates produced DON but there was no significant relationship between this property and cultivars or sub-regions or years. Also based on HPLC analysis, maximum content of DON was detected in F. graminearum isolated from cv. Izen green from Moghan Agro-industry company fields in 2004 at the rate of 5827.11 µgkg -1 . The results of present study show that DON mycotoxin is produced at various contents by F. graminearum isolates on different cultivars and from different origins/ years. Since DON plays a role in pathogenesis and is of paramount importance in contamination of wheat grains, these results give a better insight into the significance of this disease in Northwest Iran.


This paper presents the experimental investigation of a fault localization algorithm in a network with compensated or isolated star-point grounding. The paper first discusses the theoretical background of the method and then the conclusions drawn from the discussion were tested using a complex network structure (NETOMAC®) with the support of models developed in MATLAB®. Finally, the complete method is proposed and its usability confirmed.


This paper presents the work carried out in the area of antenna miniaturization at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. After a short introduction giving the trends on terminal antennas, design strategies will be presented in the second section. The third section will illustrate these strategies with several practical examples.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate how expert and novice learners integrate dynamic information from two types of representations, namely auditory description and arrow symbols. Participants were required to perform both recognition and recall tests and rate their invested mental effort after studying two representations in four different orders of presentation (audio → audio, arrow → arrow, arrow → audio, or audio → arrow). When the same representation is presented twice, the results demonstrated the superiority of the spatial representation over the verbal representation for novice learners. However, when comparing the representations, it was found that novice learners achieved higher levels of performance when they had received audio first and then arrows, while expert learners showed the same level of performance regardless of the sequence of representations. Implications for improving instructional design techniques aimed at the acquisition of temporal information are discussed.


Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. This report discusses Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, which are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations. ISR systems are costly and complicated, and the relationships among organizations responsible for designing and operating these systems are equally complicated. These factors create numerous oversight issues for Congress, which this report addresses.


A possible role for cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in islet B cell replication was examined in neonatal rat pancreatic monolayer cultures. Islet cells deteriorated and insulin release decreased during 12 d of culture in medium with 5.6 mM glucose, whereas the cells survived and insulin release increased during culture in medium with 5.6 mM glucose plus the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX, 0.1 mM), or in medium with 16.7 mM glucose with or without IBMX. IBMX also increased the mitotic index and stimulated dose-dependent increases in [(3)H]thymidine incorporation in nuclei of islet B cells in aldehydethionine stained radioautographs; maximal stimulation of B cell replication occurred with addition of 0.1 mM IBMX to 5.6 mM glucose (+170%, P < 0.001), and this increase was similar to that observed with 16.7 mM glucose (+185%, P < 0.001). Also, 8-bromo-adenosine-3',5-monophosphate, but not 8-bromo-guanosine-3',5'-monophosphate produced dose-dependent increases in islet B cell replication in medium with 5.6 mM glucose. Measurement of cAMP levels in the cultures revealed dissociations between effects on B cell replication and insulin release. Thus, addition of 0.1 mM IBMX, or 0.1 nM cholera toxin, to 5.6 mM glucose produced slightly greater increases in cAMP levels and B cell replication than did 16.7 mM glucose, whereas insulin release was increased significantly more with 16.7 mM glucose. Also, addition of 0.1 mM IBMX, or 0.1 nM cholera toxin, to 16.7 mM glucose stimulated further increases in cAMP levels and insulin release in the cultures, but no further increases in B cell replication. We conclude that (a) cAMP stimulates islet B cell replication, (b) cAMP may mediate the effects of glucose on B cell replication, and (c) mechanisms regulating B cell replication may be more sensitive to cAMP and/or different from those regulating insulin secretion.


Three aspects of treatment with oral anticoagulant drugs are discussed: 1. Drug interactions which can lead to changes in the elimination or distribution of oral anticoagulant drugs with special emphasis on the time course of the augmentation of the anticoagulant effect. 2. Pharmacokinetic factors responsible for inter- and intrasubject differences in the response to oral anticoagulant drugs. 3. Treatment of overdosage and intoxication with oral anticoagulant drugs. Besides symptomatic treatment with vitamin K and prothrombin complex concentrate the interruption of the enterohepatic recycling by cholestyramine is demonstrated as a useful method for enhancing the elimination of phenprocoumon and warfarin from the body.


The production of human monoclonal antibodies has been attempted using tetanus toxoid as a model antigen since a human antibody of this specificity could have clinical applications. Both mouse and human myeloma cell lines were used as fusion partners and the effects of in vivo and in vitro antigen boosting were also investigated. A cell line, ES12, which secreted specific tetanus toxoid antibody arose following fusion of lymphocytes from a donor who had been boosted three months earlier. Antibody was secreted by this cell line at a high titre (2.5 I.U/ml); it was of IgG isotype and it protected mice against challenge with tetanus toxin. This is, therefore, a first step in producing a therapeutically useful monoclonal antibody.


Abstract:This article explores the often contentious relationship between early American Jewish writer Mordecai Manuel Noah and the African American community in 1820s New York City. I argue that recent critical discussions of Noah's contributions to Jewish American literature have neglected to confront the author's racist attacks against the city's free black population. However, rather than asking the obvious and perhaps unanswerable question of whether Noah's racism overshadows his Jewish activism, I pursue a different question: what did Noah's Jewishness mean to the African Americans he engaged with? In developing this question I examine how Noah's complicated relationship with the African American community actually gave rise to a vibrant discourse that compared the roles of Jewish and African identities in antebellum America. I argue that reckoning with this complex relationship offers us the opportunity to interrogate not only the shifting meanings of whiteness and Jewishness in the period but also the metaphors of "doubleness" that pervade models of minority identity and readings of both Jewish American and African American literature.


The number of sports-related injuries is on the rise as more people are involved in sports, especially the extreme sports that are prone to injury. A serious sports injury might end the career of an athlete. Thus, prompt and effective treatment is very important for these injuries. Cell-based therapy is becoming more popular as a potential new treatment for sports injuries that are refractory to conventional therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are commonly used in the treatment of sports injuries as they are safe and will not be rejected by the recipient. MSCs secrete paracrine factors that modulate the host immune response, promote angiogenesis, enhance cell migration and survival as well as prevent fibrosis. The safety and efficacy of MSC therapy in treating sports injuries involving the muscle, ligament, tendon, bone, cartilage, and nervous tissues have been demonstrated in many preclinical and clinical studies. However, more studies especially the large-scale randomized clinical trial need to be done in order to determine the adequacy of MSC therapy in treating different sports injuries. In this review, we discussed the treatment for sports injuries, focusing on MSC therapy, using data from preclinical and clinical studies.


The aim of the study was to compare approaches highlighting either semantic or phonological features to treat naming deficits in aphasia. Treatment focused on improving picture naming. An alternating treatments design was used with a multiple baseline design across stimuli to examine effects of both approaches in two participants with varying degrees of anomia. The features approaches were modified in that three, rather than six, features were used. Significant differential effects were found across participants; this appeared to be a function of each participant's strengths or preferences over the course of treatment. Modest generalization effects were obtained for one participant. Naming error analyses revealed patterns suggestive of increased lexical access for both participants. These findings provide evidence that using a modified features-based protocol can improve naming when incorporating both semantic and phonological feature cues. Naming error patterns can provide additional evidence of improved naming during treatment.


The spin polarization of Pt in Pt/NiFe2O4 and Pt/Fe bilayers is studied by interface-sensitive x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity to investigate static magnetic proximity effects. The asymmetry ratio of the reflectivity is measured at the Pt L3 absorption edge using circular polarized x-rays for opposite directions of the magnetization at room temperature. The results of the 2% asymmetry ratio for Pt/Fe bilayers are independent of the Pt thickness between 1.8 and 20 nm. By comparison with ab initio calculations, the maximum magnetic moment per spin polarized Pt atom at the interface is determined to be (0.6±0.1)  μB for Pt/Fe. For Pt/NiFe2O4 the asymmetry ratio drops below the sensitivity limit of 0.02  μB per Pt atom. Therefore, we conclude, that the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect recently observed in Pt/NiFe2O4 is not influenced by a proximity induced anomalous Nernst effect.


Based on the emergent nature of terrorist groups, we propose spatial hypertext as a tool for intelligence analysts for representing, reasoning upon, and communicating information. Furthermore, we evaluate awareness as an important feature for analysts to realise hidden associations between various people or objects. Finally, we discuss our prototype Socs, a general spatial structure application with high level support for awareness, under the umbrella of intelligence analysis requirements.


The research program on fruit crops at the University of Arkansas interrelates the areas of harvest mechanization, pre- and postharvest physiology and processing. This program is designed to serve a highly competitive, growing processing industry. Through cooperative research undertaken by the Departments of Horticultural Food Science and Agricultural Engineering, mechanical harvesters were developed for blackberries (refer HortScience 13:228-235) and strawberries (refer HortScience 13:000-000). Utilizing the principle of fruit abscission, blackberry fruit can be selectively mechanically harvested on a commercial basis at the rate of 1 acre per hour, while product quality is superior to hand-harvested fruit.


A new general-purpose color image segmentation editor (CISE) for the purpose of extracting a semantic object is designed, implemented and tested on a number of various natural scene images. Our editor integrates a deformable model and image statistics including intensity, color, gradient and texture. The editor starts with a coarse region segmentation which applies the Canny's operator followed by a low-complexity edge linking algorithm. This segmentation basically builds regions of smooth intensity by closing all dangling edges. Next, a topologically-based region labeling method makes full use of relationship among pixels and produces useful labeled image. Finally, to refine the extracted object of interest (O/sup 2/I), a deformable model based on energy minimization is applied by incorporating both the gradient and region criteria to the external constraint force. These processes are demonstrated through examples on natural scene color images. Experimental results suggest the efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm in its segmentation operations.


The effect of local hyperalimentation on developing granulation tissue was studied in rats. Cylindrical hollow viscose cellulose sponge implants were used subcutaneously as an inductive matrix fro the growth of granulation tissue. In the first, control group the implants were kept untouched while the second, "sham" group was treated daily by withdrawing 1 ml of wound fluid from the central dead space of the implant and then injecting the fluid back. In the third, hyperalimentation group the aspirated wound fluid was substituted with a corresponding volume of sterile, nonpyrogenic solution containing a mixture of amino acids (Le-7402 A) and glucose, electrolytes and vitamins (Le-7402 B). Within the first week of tissue growth daily application of these nutritional substances caused a changeover of local tissue from predominantly anaerobic towards more oxidative metabolism. Measurement of nucleic acid and hydroxyproline contents indicated enhanced accumulation of cells and collagen in tissues receiving local hyperalimentation. The results combined with earlier data from our laboratory strongly suggest that several types of wounds, especially those containing a marked dead space or large regenerative area, exist in chronic lack of oxygen and other nutrients. Therefore, the healing process in these wounds can be stimulated, to a certain extent, by exposure to increased oxygen tension and/or by local hyperalimentation.


This article considers the groundbreaking works of the Italian Radical Architecture collective Superstudio (active 1966–80) with an eye to their complex and contradictory relationship to popular culture. Superstudio's early pronouncements stating their abstention from building presaged their decision to investigate the radical potential of different non-tectonic mediums culled from consumer culture.

Initially, the group embraced popular culture and mass-production for their ability to challenge the hidebound discipline of architecture, leading them to produce an assortment of interior furnishings designed to activate consumers to alter their own living spaces. Later, the group abandoned these pursuits in favour of utopian 'paper architecture' projects, simultaneously rejecting the reified consumer object while relying entirely on the magazine as a formal support, a medium fully ingrained in the world of consumerism.

Eventually, Superstudio proposed a 'world without objects' in which the individual would have a more direct relationship to everyday life by pursuing nomadism and plugging into a networked grid covering the Earth's surface. Once again, such projects were beholden to advanced information technologies spawned by late capitalism.  Studying the neo-avant-garde gambits of Superstudio, therefore, allows us to understand the contradictions inherent in any attempt to contend with popular culture in all its paradoxical forms.


consumers through style and social rank, writes McCarthy: "Small foreign cars had a reverse snob appeal Detroit could do little about. A small, inexpensive import, in sharp contrast to a low-priced domestic car, suggested that its owner was a discerning sophisticate rather than a poor man" (134). Detroit, by contrast, chose this moment to unveil models such as the infamous Edsel that relied on styling and large-size. In one of the most persuasive and focused points in his book, McCarthy argues that the 1958 Buyer's Strike marked a critical moment in Americans' relationship with auto manufacturers because it ". . . prepared the way for a generation of industry critics, including critics that later called attention to the environmental harm caused by the automobile" (134). Even at this early date, American manufacturers had been criticized as ". . . clumsy, clownish, Midwestern manipulators pedaling shoddy, expensive goods to pad their bottom lines" (146). His explication of this late-1950s episode provides an important corrective to the usual narrative describing the refusal of American manufacturers to evolve at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Auto Mania will not be the last word on this subject. In fact, the experience of humans with the automobile begs the inquiry of the larger, macro-historical questions that McNeil and others in the field of environmental history have come to ask in recent years. McCarthy has resisted creating such a book. Very likely, though, scholars and students of business and economic history, as well as the history of technology, will find insights in these pages to fuel many additional studies of the automobile.


We present a method to generate contingency tables that follow loglinear models with prescribed marginal probabilities and dependence structures. We make use of (loglinear) Poisson regression, where the dependence structures, described using odds ratios, are implemented using an offset term. We apply this methodology to carry out simulation studies in the context of population size estimation using dual system and triple system estimators, popular in official statistics. These estimators use contingency tables that summarise the counts of elements enumerated or captured within lists that are linked. The simulation is used to investigate these estimators in the situation that the model assumptions are fulfilled, and the situation that the model assumptions are violated.


A single crystal of MoVAlO7, vanadium aluminium molybdate, has been grown. The present structure determination is more precise than a previous powder-pattern investigation [Knorr, Jacubus, Dabrowska & Kurzawa (1998). Eur. J. Solid State Inorg. Chem. 35, 519-530]. A three-dimensional [MoAlO6](3n-)n network surrounds infinite strings of [VO]3+ groups [V-O = 1.586 (4) A] lying in the mirror planes.


The problem of stabilization of rigid bodies has received a great deal of attention for many years. People have developed a variety of feedback control laws to meet their design requirements and have formulated various but mostly open loop numerical algorithms for the dynamics of the corresponding closed loop systems. Since the conserved quantities such as energy, momentum, and symmetry play an important role in the dynamics, we investigate the conserved quantities for the closed loop control systems which formally or asymptotically stabilize rigid body rotation and modify the open loop numerical algorithms so that they preserve these important properties. Using several examples, the authors first use the open loop algorithm to simulate the tumbling rigid body actions and then use the resulting closed loop one to stabilize them.


Background: Unresectable breast cancer chest wall recurrence (CWR) following radiation is very difficult to treat and often responds poorly to standard chemotherapy. Symptoms include pain, reduced range of motion, disfigurement, and skin erosions with bleeding and infection. We hypothesized that thermally enhanced drug delivery using low temperature liposomal doxorubicin (LTLD, ThermoDox®), given with mild local hyperthermia (MLHT) would be a safe and effective targeted therapy. LTLD is given by iv infusion; it then localizes in CWR tumors due to their leaky vasculature. When heated to ≥ 39.5°C, LTLD releases a high concentration of the heat-enhanced cytotoxic doxorubicin. Methods: The results of 2 similarly-designed independent phase I trials were combined for analysis. Eligible patients had CWR progressing after radiation, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy. Subjects were to get up to 6 cycles of LTLD every 21-35 days, followed immediately by chest wall MLHT for 1 hour at 40°- 42°C. In Trial A, 18 subjects received LTLD at 20, 30, or 40 mg/m 2 ; in Trial B, 11 subjects received LTLD at 40 or 50 mg/m 2 . The primary endpoint of each trial was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD); secondary endpoints were local objective response and the pharmacokinetic (PK) and safety profiles of LTLD. Local response was assessed by serial photography and measurements of CWR. PK samples for total plasma doxorubicin and doxorubicinol were collected at Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 for both trials. Results: Twenty-nine subjects were enrolled and received ≥ 1 cycle (median 4, range 1-6). Median age was 57; 16 (55%) had triple negative disease and 13 (45%) had distant metastases. The median prior exposure to anthracylines was 256 mg/m 2 and the median prior dose of radiation was 6,100 cGy. Thirteen subjects were evaluable for MTD in Trial A and 9 in Trial B. Trial B established a phase II dose of 50 mg/m 2 recommended by a Data Safety Monitor Board, based on 1 of 6 subjects at the 50 mg/m 2 dose level having a DLT (grade 3 hypokalaemia unrelated to study treatment). In Trial A, 2 of 7 subjects at 40 mg/m 2 had a DLT (grade 4 neutropenia lasting > 5 days; grade 3 dehydration lasting 27 days). The C max concentrations between 18,400 to 20,700 ng/mL were consistent at an equal dose level (40 mg/m 2 ) between trials. Altogether, 7 (24%) subjects developed reversible grade 3-4 neutropenia and 4 (14%) reversible grade 3-4 leukopenia. No cardiac toxicity or hand-foot syndrome was seen. One case of CW thermal burn (grade 3) and one case of radiation recall (grade 2) were reported. Five (17%) complete local responses and 9 (31%) partial local responses were seen. The rate of local response was 48% (14/29; 95% CI: 30%-66%). Seven of 29 subjects (24%) progressed outside the study treatment field. Conclusion: LTLD plus MLHT is a novel therapy that is safe and produces objective responses in heavily pretreated CWR patients with limited therapeutic options. The primary toxicity is reversible bone marrow suppression. A phase II trial is ongoing at the MTD (50 mg/m 2 ). Future work should test thermally enhanced LTLD delivery in a less advanced, less heavily pretreated patient population. *Author note-M.W.D. and K.L.B. equally contributed. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P4-15-05.


We have investigated those factors which influence the range of movement after total knee arthroplasty, including sex, age, preoperative diagnosis and preoperative flexion deformity and flexion range. We also compared cemented and cementless tibial fixation, the influence of collateral ligament and lateral parapatellar releases and of replacement of the patella, and of the period of postoperative immobilisation. We reviewed 516 Johnson-Elloy (Accord) knee arthroplasties performed between 1982 and 1989, with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. The most important factors in the range of flexion achieved after arthroplasty are the diagnosis and the preoperative range of flexion. In patients with osteoarthritis there was a mean loss of flexion; in rheumatoid arthritis there was a mean gain. In both groups, the stiffer knees gained motion and the more mobile knees lost it. Post-operative range of motion was not influenced significantly by cement fixation, collateral ligament or patellar retinacular releases, prolonged immobilisation or patellar replacement.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of adolescents` body image and communication with their parents on the alienation of male and female middle school students. The subjects were 253 middle school students. The data were analyzed with SPSS win 18.0 using Cronbach`s , t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheff test and stepwise regression. The findings showed that problematic communication with the father was the strongest factor in explaining the alienation of male middle school students. The second strongest factor was the middles school student`s open communication with the mother, and the third strongest factor was the middle school student`s perception of physical health. Unlike male students, open communication with the father was the strongest factor in explaining the alienation of female middle school students. Problematic communication with the mother was the second strongest factor. Perception of physical appearance was the third strongest, and perception of physical health was the fourth strongest factor. Based on the results of the study, implications were discussed in terms of the alienation of male and female middle school students.


Thienoguanosine (thG) is an isomorphic fluorescent guanosine (G) surrogate, which almost perfectly mimics the natural G in DNA duplexes and may therefore be used to sensitively investigate for example protein-induced local conformational changes. To fully exploit the information given by the probe, we carefully re-investigated the thG spectroscopic properties in 12-bp duplexes, when the Set and Ring Associated (SRA) domain of UHRF1 flips its 5′ flanking methylcytosine (mC). The SRA-induced flipping of mC was found to strongly increase the fluorescence intensity of thG, but this increase was much larger when thG was flanked in 3′ by a C residue as compared to an A residue. Surprisingly, the quantum yield and fluorescence lifetime values of thG were nearly constant, regardless of the presence of SRA and the nature of the 3′ flanking residue, suggesting that the differences in fluorescence intensities might be related to changes in absorption properties. We evidenced that thG lowest energy absorption band in the duplexes can be deconvoluted into two bands peaking at ∼350 nm and ∼310 nm, respectively red-shifted and blue-shifted, compared to the spectrum of thG monomer. Using quantum mechanical calculations, we attributed the former to a nearly pure ππ* excitation localized on thG and the latter to excited states with charge transfer character. The amplitude of thG red-shifted band strongly increased when its 3′ flanking C residue was replaced by an A residue in the free duplex, or when its 5′ flanking mC residue was flipped by SRA. As only the species associated with the red-shifted band were found to be emissive, the highly unusual finding of this work is that the brightness of thG in free duplexes as well as its changes on SRA-induced mC flipping almost entirely depend on the relative population and/or absorption coefficient of the red-shifted absorbing species.


In China, delivery delays due to a high probability of operational unit failure often occur in perishable manufacturing systems. This paper proposes a rescheduling algorithm known as complete rerouting (CR) for perishable manufacturing systems. The perishable characteristics of agri- products and the stochastic invalidity of operational units are researched. Products and operational units of the system are simulated by agents. In the developed virtual perishable manufacturing system, multiple product agents with different deadlines, values, and due dates search for the best processing route according to schedulingprinciples. Whenanoperational unit fails stochastically, agents update their status and reroute their path using the rescheduling algorithm. The transition of agentscanbedescribedbythePetrinetmodelproposedinthis paper. Threebasic experiments are investigated, validatingthe rescheduling algorithm proposed. This study demonstrates that the CR policy causes product agents to search for the best rerouting path compared to other rescheduling policies (i.e., right-shift scheduling and new-job rerouting). The optimal delivery times of products are determined based on penalty cost. Furthermore, this study analyzes the sensitivity of sched- uling performance due to different product batches with two failed operational unit statuses (i.e., high frequency, short maintenance, and low frequency, long maintenance).


Ontology alignment (a.k.a ontology matching (OM)) plays a critical role in knowledge integration. Owing to the success of machine learning in many domains, it has been applied in OM. However, the existing methods, which often adopt ad-hoc feature engineering or non-contextual word embeddings, have not yet outperformed rule-based systems especially in an unsupervised setting. In this paper, we propose a novel OM system named BERTMap which can support both unsupervised and semi-supervised settings. It first predicts mappings using a classifier based on fine-tuning the contextual embedding model BERT on text semantics corpora extracted from ontologies, and then refines the mappings through extension and repair by utilizing the ontology structure and logic. Our evaluation with three alignment tasks on biomedical ontologies demonstrates that BERTMap can often perform better than the leading OM systems LogMap and AML.


With the increased pressure of better management of our dwindling resources, image fusion of data originating from different sensors and/or at different scales offer great potential. The methodology for scaling the individual data sets up or down is of major importance for image fusion of multiple resolution data. In this study the relationship between two multi-spectral data sets acquired at different resolutions (50 cm and 1 m nominal resolution) over the same area using the ADAR System 1000 is examined. Researchers often simulate coarser resolution data by averaging resolution cells over a given distance from a centre point. This is assumed to be an approximation to the actual point spread function of a sensor element, which is dependent on the sensor characteristics. To examine the spatial relationship between the two data sets the point spread function of the sensor is investigated by extracting a number of individual coarse scale elements and an array of fine scale resolution elements of varying size, centred at the position of the coarse scale element. A non-linear regression fitted to these data indicates the relative contribution of the fine scale resolution elements to the coarse scale data value. The results demonstrate that upscaling for this sensor must be based on weighted averaging over a much larger area than the coarse resolution cell indicates.


Tumors of jaw bones are among the most uncommon of all types of neoplasms. Osteosarcoma of jaw bones represents a distinct group of lesions from the conventional type commonly occurring in long bones. Nonetheless, our present knowledge of the tumor allows us to affirm that its clinical behavior and pathologic features differ markedly from those of its homolog in the long bones. The maxillary tumors show predilection for posterior portion of the alveolar process and the antrum, whereas the body is most commonly involved in the mandible followed, by angle, symphysis, and ascending ramus. We have reviewed around 300 cases of osteosarcoma of varied racial origin from PubMed indexed journals spanning from 1967 to 2010 and present their etiology, pathogenesis, features and treatment modalities.


In this paper we study constrained stochastic optimal control problems for Markovian switching systems, an extension of Markovian jump linear systems (MJLS), where the subsystems are allowed to be nonlinear. We develop appropriate notions of invariance and stability for such systems and provide terminal conditions for stochastic MPC that guarantee mean-square stability and robust constraint fulfillment of the Markovian switching system in closed-loop with the SMPC law under very weak assumptions. In the special but important case of constrained MJLS we present an algorithm for computing explicitly the stochastic MPC control law off-line, that combines dynamic programming with parametric piecewise quadratic optimization.


Approximately 40 species of Adiantum are represented in Ecuador. A new species is described here from Pastaza province, Ecuador. It has been confused with A. anceps, but differs in having only once-pinnate blades and pubescent rachises, segment stalks, and indusia.


Data compression algorithms are becoming an important part of systems that use digital terrain elevation data (DTED) such as moving map display systems, terrain-following and terrain-avoidance systems, and terrain-aided navigation systems. This paper describes and compares two DTED compression techniques for use with the Sandia Terrain-Aided Navigation (SITAN) algorithm designed specifically for operation in a land vehicle. One technique uses the two-dimensional discrete cosine transformation (2-D DCT) combined with linear scaling; the other uses data decimation in the spatial domain, followed by a differential pulse code modulation operation on the decimated spatial data. These techniques are designed to minimize the DTED reconstruction error for a given compression ratio and are targeted for implementation in the Motorola 68000-based Sandia Aerospace Computer. This paper presents a description of the DTED and its use by the SITAN algorithm. Also, background information concerning the 2-D DCT is presented, followed by a description of the two data compression algorithms. Experimental results are presented which show the magnitude of reconstruction errors for various sets of DTED and various compression ratios. Finally, the effect of reconstruction errors on SITAN performance is presented. 11 refs., 35 figs., 2 tabs.


Two sequences (ARS) capable of maintaining the autonomous replication of plasmids in yeast cells were localized in the right part of Drosophila melanogaster P-element subcloned from the pi 25.1 plasmid. An ARS was found in the DNA region of genome adjacent to P-element. ARS sequences contain imperfect (10 out of 11) consensus typical of yeast ARS and have a complicated domain structure.


Abstract. This paper researched the influence on the topographical characteristics of watersheds by setting different catchment area thresholds based on different data sets, namely ZY3 DSM, SRTM DEM and ASTER GDEM. Slope, hypsometric integral, river network density and river network discrepancy are analyzed and compared. The results are as follows: a) Three data sets all can express the same rough terrain characteristics and the same degree of watershed topography development; b) ZY3 DSM can reflect terrain information over the Malyy Naryn River watershed in most detail and it has the best expression effect on the terrain among the three data sets of ZY3 DSM, SRTM DEM and ASTER GDEM, followed by SRTM DEM, and the effect of ASTER GDEM is the worst; c) The similarity of river networks extracted by ZY3 DSM and SRTM DEM is the highest, and the similarity between ZY3 DSM and ASTER GDEM is the lowest one.


he main aim of this study was to monitor effects of aquatic pollution on parasites and their hosts and to find reliable indicators of environmental stress. As a model host was chosen freshwater fish chub (Leuciscus cephalus (L.)), collected at two model sites with different level of pollution in Vlara and Bilina Rivers (Czech Republic). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) appeared to be predominant organic pollutants at both sites, and their levels were elevated particularly in Bilina River. By contrast, the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were very low at both sites. Concentrations of PAH metabolite 1-hydroxynapthol (1-OH-Nap) in fish bile, PCB congeners and heavy metals in fish muscle were measured. EROD activity was used as a specific biomarker of dioxin like compounds (PAH, PCB, dioxins). The induction of EROD activity was significantly elevated at the Bilina River and a positive correlation between EROD activity and concentration of 1-OH-Nap in fish bile was found at both sites. Developmental instability measured as fluctuating asymmetry (FA - define as a deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry) was assessed for both chub and their parasite Dactylogyrus folkmanovae. There were no significant differences in FA among fish collected from different sites. A higher level of FA (the index of hook basis traits) was found for D. folkmanovae from the locality Bilina, however, this effect could be caused by variation in measurement error. There were no correlations between FA in the parasites and their hosts or other data on chemical contamination. The parasite communities were fractionated according to host specificity into generalists and specialists, and analyzed in relation to levels of pollutants and chemical stress biomarkers. There was no relationship between the presence of either specialist or generalist parasites and the exposure to dioxin like compound (measured as EROD activity) at either one of the sites. We confirmed the resistance of representative of family Diplozoidae (Paradiplozoon megan) and a higher sensitivity of the genus Dactylogyrus to pollution. From all the measured variables, EROD activity is a quality parameter for estimating the contamination of environment by PAH pollutants. Other variables, such as FA or the presence of either specialist or generalist parasites seem to be insignificant for assessing environmental stress.


The ovicidal effects of heat and various chemical disinfectants on an oxyurid rat nematode Syphacia muris were investigated, using the hatching methods in artificial intestinal juice. The eggs were collected from the perianal skin of spontaneously infected rats by means of a piece of transparent adhesive tapes, and these eggs were treated with each disinfectant for two hours. It was found that 70% ethanol and 80 degrees C 30 min treatments killed almost all of the eggs. However, a small number of the eggs tested was killed by 0.02% chlorhexidine digluconate or 0.05% benzethonium chloride. Alcide, 3% saponated cresol solution, 50% isopropanol, 10 ppm sodium hypochlorite and 5 ppm iodophol had some effects against the eggs, but they didn't kill the eggs completely. A biological assay through infection of the eggs to rats might be necessary because the effects of 2% formalin on the eggs were not determined by the hatching methods.


In a poisoning attack against a learning algorithm, an adversary tampers with a fraction of the training data $T$ with the goal of increasing the classification error of the constructed hypothesis/model over the final test distribution. In the distributed setting, $T$ might be gathered gradually from $m$ data providers $P_1,\dots,P_m$ who generate and submit their shares of $T$ in an online way.
In this work, we initiate a formal study of $(k,p)$-poisoning attacks in which an adversary controls $k\in[n]$ of the parties, and even for each corrupted party $P_i$, the adversary submits some poisoned data $T'_i$ on behalf of $P_i$ that is still "$(1-p)$-close" to the correct data $T_i$ (e.g., $1-p$ fraction of $T'_i$ is still honestly generated). For $k=m$, this model becomes the traditional notion of poisoning, and for $p=1$ it coincides with the standard notion of corruption in multi-party computation.
We prove that if there is an initial constant error for the generated hypothesis $h$, there is always a $(k,p)$-poisoning attacker who can decrease the confidence of $h$ (to have a small error), or alternatively increase the error of $h$, by $\Omega(p \cdot k/m)$. Our attacks can be implemented in polynomial time given samples from the correct data, and they use no wrong labels if the original distributions are not noisy.
At a technical level, we prove a general lemma about biasing bounded functions $f(x_1,\dots,x_n)\in[0,1]$ through an attack model in which each block $x_i$ might be controlled by an adversary with marginal probability $p$ in an online way. When the probabilities are independent, this coincides with the model of $p$-tampering attacks, thus we call our model generalized $p$-tampering. We prove the power of such attacks by incorporating ideas from the context of coin-flipping attacks into the $p$-tampering model and generalize the results in both of these areas.


—We studied the breeding biology of the African Swallow-tailed Kite (Chelictinia riocourii) in two study areas located 3400 km apart in the central (Cameroon) and western (Senegal) portions of the species' breeding range. With 110 nests in 2.8 km2 of suitable breeding habitat, Kousmar islet (23 km2) in Senegal supports the largest documented colony of African Swallow-tailed Kites known to date. Breeding kites in Senegal nested in a single large colony near a massive winter roost. In Cameroon, breeding colonies averaged seven pairs/colony, with nest densities of 0.3 nests/km2 in protected woodland and 0.9 nests/km2 in cultivated habitat. Egg-laying coincided with the end of the dry season in Cameroon, but eggs were recorded from the middle of the dry season in Senegal. Eggs hatched between April and June in both study sites in 2010, but from March 2012 in Senegal. The incubation period was estimated at 27–31 d based on two nests, and the fledging period was 32–35 d (n 5 3 fledglings). Mean clutch size was 2.5 eggs (n 5 32) in Cameroon and 2.1 in Senegal (n 5 29); one clutch of four eggs was recorded in Cameroon. Nest success estimated with the Mayfield method was low at 17% in Cameroon and exceptionally low at 4% in Senegal, possibly related to a combination of suboptimal food conditions, high predation pressure, intraspecific aggression, and lack of experience among breeding pairs. Prey items at nests were made up primarily of lizards (30–54% of items) and insects (27–49%), notably grasshoppers, whereas the diet at the winter roost in Senegal was predominantly Orthoptera (55%) and Solifugids (43%). Our study suggested that African Swallow-tailed Kites were able to adapt to moderate land transformation near floodplains.


Syringic acid is one of the key skeletal structures of plant-derived chemicals. The derivatives of syringic acid have certain biological functions. In this study, a monoclonal antibody to syringic acid-based phytochemicals was prepared and characterized. The obtained antibody reacted with methyl syringate, syringic acid, and leonurine. Methyl syringate is a characteristic compound found in manuka honey, other honey varieties, and plants. Manuka honey was fractionated using HPLC, and the reactivity of the fractions with the antibody was examined. The antibody reacted with the fraction in which methyl syringate was eluted. The amount of methyl syringate in honeys as estimated by ELISA using the antibody had a good linearity compared with that estimated by HPLC. These results suggest that the antibody is applicable for the immunochemical detection of syringic acid derivatives in plants and foods.


It is well documented that an extract of European mistletoe has a variety of biological effects, such as the stimulation of cytokine production from immune cells, and additional immunoadjuvant activities. While the European mistletoe has been studied intensively, we know less about Korean mistletoe as a therapeutic plant, especially as a possible immunomodulating drug. This study will investigated the effects of Korean mistletoe lectin (Viscum album L. var. coloratum agglutinin, VCA) on murine splenocytes to investigate whether VCA acts as an immunomodulator, which could lead to improved immune responses in these cells. The results showed that VCA inhibited cell proliferation at higher concentrations (at 1-8 ng/ml) and enhanced cell proliferation at lower concentrations (at 4-32 pg/ml). Further studies were carried out to determine if the proproliferative or anti-proliferative activity exhibited by VCA was correlated with cytokine secretion. Consequently, interferon (IFN)-gamma secretion was decreased in concanavalin A (ConA)-stimulated murine splenocytes by VCA (4-64 ng/ml), but there was no change in IL-4 levels. This suggests that VCA has the ability to modulate murine splenocyte proliferation and can possibly act on the balance of Th1/Th2 cellular immune responses.


Assessment of structural performance under stochastic dynamic loadings requires estimation of the extremes of stochastic response components and the resultant responses as their linear and nonlinear combinations. This paper addresses the evaluations and combination rules for the extremes of scalar and vectorial resultant responses from two response components that may show non-Gaussian characteristics. The non-Gaussian response process is modeled as a translation process from an underlying Gaussian process. The mean crossing rates and extreme value distributions of resultant responses are calculated following the theory for vector-valued Gaussian processes. An extensive parameter study is conducted concerning the influence of statistical moments of non-Gaussian response components on the extremes of resultant responses. It is revealed that the existing combination rules developed for Gaussian processes are not applicable to the case of non-Gaussian process. New combination rules are suggested that permit predictions of the extremes of resultant responses directly from the extremes of response components.


this article defines the birth and consolidation of - Alternativo Movement in society and how that has affected the graphic design and advertising, to the point of view the source of the new alternativo media. Based on observation and analysis will identify its graphics and how creative worldwide adapted their strategies to impact a new segment, independent young people who do not intend to follow fashion, but ultimately end up creating, producing a range of - possibilities for manufacturers such as fashion, clothing and sports equipment, energy drinks, music producers, video games, among others.


(Applause Books). The complete book and lyrics with set and costume designs, production photos, essays, cast lists and credits, awards for major productions, selected discographies, and much more! Includes the shows A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum . A richly illustrated Sondheim treasury!


The aim of this study was to observe the dynamic expression of osteopontin, type I collagen, and osteocalcin genes during the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into osteoblasts and confirm whether BMSCs can differentiate and mature into osteoblasts. A healthy, 2-month-old Altay tailed sheep was obtained, and 10 mL bone marrow was extracted from the posterior superior iliac spine of the sheep via puncture. Sheep BMSCs were extracted using a whole bone marrow culture method and cultured for osteogenic induction. Total RNA from the BMSCs was extracted, and the gene expression levels of osteopontin, type I collagen, and osteocalcin at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th passages of uninduced and induced BMSCs were detected using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The surface antigen CD44 was also detected in the BMSCs. After induction by culturing in osteoinductive medium, BMSCs in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th passages displayed stage-specific expression of osteopontin, type I collagen, and osteocalcin genes. The positive expression rate of BMSC-specific antigen CD44 in the 4th passage of osteogenic-induced BMSCs was 99.8%. In vitro-cultured sheep BMSCs in osteogenic culture medium gradually differentiated into osteoblasts, which stage-specifically expressed osteoblast-specific genes such as osteopontin, type I collagen, and osteocalcin at the 4th passage after induction. At this passage, these cells had osteoblast functions.


Abstract : This report describes a case study to determine whether computer-aided prototyping techniques provide a cost-effective means for re-engineering legacy software. The case study consists of developing a high-level modular architecture for the existing US Army Janus combat simulation system, and validating the architecture via an executable prototype using the Computer Aided Prototype System (CAPS), a research tool developed at the Naval Postgraduate School. The case study showed that prototyping can be a valuable aid in re-engineering of legacy systems, particularly in cases where radical changes to system conceptualization and software structure are needed. The CAPS system enabled us to do this with a minimal amount of coding effort.


This study evaluates the empirical applicability of the career construction model of adaptation (CCMA) by collecting evidence about the validity of the Student Career Construction Inventory (SCCI) from a sample of Turkish high school students and examining the relations between adaptive readiness, adaptability resources, adapting responses, and adaptation results. To test the model, we conducted two studies with samples of high school students in Ankara, Turkey (n 1 = 251; n 2 = 694). In the first study, the SCCI was translated into Turkish and psychometric properties of the inventory were assessed. To validate the four-factor structure of the SCCI Turkish High School Form, two different levels of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied to 251 participants. The results of CFA demonstrated that the data for the SCCI Turkish high school sample fit the theoretical model very well. The internal consistency of the SCCI was determined as 0.72 for crystallizing, 0.75 for exploring, 0.85 for deciding, 0.73 for preparing, and 0.90 for the total. In the second study, the CCMA, consisting of four dimensions (adaptive readiness, adaptability resources, adapting responses, and adaptation results), was empirically tested by using the SCCI, which had been tested for validity in the first study. The results of serial mediation analysis supported the CCMA, indicating that adaptive readiness indirectly influenced adaptability resources, adapting responses, and adaptation results.


Infected cavitating pulmonary infarction is a rare complication of pulmonary embolism with a high mortality rate. Surgical excision for this complication has been used in past decades. Abrupt cavitation and a large oval-shaped lung abscess caused by acute thromboembolic pulmonary infarction during anticoagulation are rare. We present a 70-year-old man who suffered from pleuritic pain and breathlessness, accompanied by nausea and vomiting for 1 day. A physical examination showed tachycardia and tachypnea with moist rales in the left upper chest. High D-dimer levels, leukocytosis, respiratory failure and left upper lobe consolidation were found on plain computed tomography (CT). CT pulmonary angiography was performed 2 days after the previous CT scan because pulmonary embolism was suspected. This scan showed emboli in the main, right upper, middle, lower and left upper pulmonary arteries with deteriorated left upper lobe consolidation and cavitation. Thromboembolic pulmonary infarction and an abscess were diagnosed. Enoxaparin 60 mg was administered every 12 hours for 10 days, followed by rivaroxaban, antibiotics and drainage of the hydrothorax. The patient improved after the strategy of non-surgical treatment and was discharged approximately 1 month later. The patient had an uneventful course during rivaroxaban 20 mg once daily for 1 year.


ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the association between preoperative retrograde pyelography (RGP), conducted to evaluate upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), and intravesical recurrence (IVR) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Materials and Methods: Of 114 patients that underwent RNU, 72 patients without preoperative ureteroscopy and a history of bladder tumor were selectively enrolled. Variables associated with IVR were identified. Results: RGP was performed at a mean duration of 24.9 days prior to RNU in 41 (56.1%) of study subjects. During the mean follow-up period of 64.5 months, IVRs were identified in 32 (44.4%) patients at 22.3±18.8 (mean±SD) months after RNU. Despite similar tumor characteristics in the RGP and non-RGP groups, the incidence of IVR was considerably higher in the RGP group (63.4%) than in the non-RGP group (19.4%, p <0.001). The following variables differed significantly between the IVR and non-IVR groups: age (64.6±8.51 vs. 59.6±9.65 years), tumor location (lower or upper; 53.1% vs. 20%), tumor invasiveness (> pT2; 53.1% vs. 17.5%), preoperative hemoglobin (12.8±1.36 vs. 13.9±1.65), preoperative creatinine (1.29±0.32 vs. 1.11±0.22), and preoperative RGP (81.3% vs. 37.5%), respectively. Multivariate Cox regression model showed that tumor location (p=0.020, HR=2.742), preoperative creatinine level (p=0.004, HR=6.351), and preoperative RGP (p=0.045, HR=3.134) independently predicted IVR. Conclusion: Given the limitations of retrospective single-center series, performance of RGP before RNU was shown to have a negative effect on IVR after surgery.


In this study, a hybridized fuzzy expert system (FES) and difference equation (DE) algorithm is proposed to filter the erroneous and noisy data obtained while reading data from sensors with microcontrollers. The results produced by the proposed software filter were tested with data read from the digital airflow sensor, digital pressure sensor, and analog chest movement sensor, which are frequently used in the medical field and are commercially available today. With the proposed software filter and other software filters in the literature, the data were instantly read from these sensors. The operation frequency of the proposed software filter was calculated as 81.8% for the airflow sensor, 83.37% for the pressure sensor, and 87.3% for the chest movement sensor. With the proposed software filter, the root mean square error (RMSE) values of the data read from the airflow, pressure, and chest movement sensors were calculated as 0.01, 0.03, and 0.01, respectively, standard deviation ( $S$ ) values were calculated as 0.003, 0.02, and 0.266, respectively, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values were calculated as 54, 42, and 55, respectively, and mean absolute error (MAE) values were calculated as 0.009, 0.027, and 0.008, respectively. These results show that the proposed software filter produces more successful results in terms of operating frequency and filtering success than other algorithms compared in this study.


Randomness and frustration are considered to be the key ingredients for the existence of spin glass (SG) phase. In a canonical system, these ingredients are realized by the random mixture of ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) couplings. The study by Bartolozzi et al. [Phys. Rev. B73, 224419 (2006)] who observed the presence of SG phase on the AF Ising model on scale free network (SFN) is stimulating. It is a new type of SG system where randomness and frustration are not caused by the presence of FM and AF couplings. To further elaborate this type of system, here we study Heisenberg model on AF SFN and search for the SG phase. The canonical SG Heisenberg model is not observed in d-dimensional regular lattices for (d ≤ 3). We can make an analogy for the connectivity density (m) of SFN with the dimensionality of the regular lattice. It should be plausible to find the critical value of m for the existence of SG behaviour, analogous to the lower critical dimension (dl) for the canonical SG systems. Here we study system with m = 2, 3, 4 and 5. We used Replica Exchange algorithm of Monte Carlo Method and calculated the SG order parameter. We observed SG phase for each value of m and estimated its corersponding critical temperature.


Confluent human fibroblast cultures were pretreated with either 254 nm UV light (UV) or methyl methanesulphonate (MMS), incubated at 37 degrees C and subsequently challenged on ice with bleomycin (BLM), gamma-radiation or 8-methoxypsoralen (MOP). The resulting number of challenge-induced DNA damages (measured as DNA strand breaks or cross-links) were compared with the numbers induced in similarly challenged but non-pretreated control cells. It was found that the timing of the subsequent challenge of cells pretreated with UV did significantly affect the amount of induced DNA damage. When the challenging agents were administered after a 10-20 min incubation period following UV pretreatment, the amount of induced DNA damage was increased 50% over control cells. In contrast, the timing of the subsequent challenge of cells pretreated with MMS had no influence on the level of challenge-induced damage. It is hypothesized that UV-irradiated chromatin undergoes a time-dependent decondensation that renders it more susceptible to the induction of strand breaks and cross-links by BLM, gamma-radiation and MOP. A possible role for chromatin decondensation in UV-induced excision repair is discussed.


Free value responses from 555 Ss in 16 domestic and foreign samples were analyzed to see whether good and bad behaviors named by Ss would fall into logically opposite categories (about three-fifths of the responses did so) and whether logically opposite categories would be correlated across the numbers of Ss represented in them (rs ranged from .08 to .63 in the 16 samples; the average r was .31). E concluded that free responses about good behaviors should not be mixed with those about bad behaviors, because good and bad are not necessarily empirical opposites even when they are logical opposites.


By screening a murine interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent myeloid cell cDNA library, we previously identified JAZ (Just Another Zinc Finger Protein), a novel zinc finger protein. JAZ belongs to a new class of evolutionarily conserved C2H2-type ZFPs that feature an unusually long linker sequence and preferentially bind to double-stranded RNA. JAZ localizes in the nucleus and its human gene is localized to the chromosome 5q35-qter, a specific chromosomal region at which deletions and translocations occur in leukemia and lymphoma. We have recently discovered JAZ as a novel direct, positive regulator of p53 transcriptional activity. The mechanism involves direct binding to p53's C-terminal (negative) regulatory domain to activate "latent" p53 in response to non-genotoxic stress signals (such as interleukin-3 growth factor withdrawal). Thus, we have explored JAZ as a potentially novel molecular target in human leukemia by identifying small molecules to activate JAZ-mediated leukemic cell killing. A structure-based drug design approach was employed to screen small molecules that potentially bind and activate JAZ. Cytotoxicity assays were then carried out with a set of candidate compounds in a dose- and time-dependent manner in various human leukemia cell lines including REH, HL-60, U937, HEL and K562 cells. Several JAZ "activating" compounds were selected, which display differential abilities to induce leukemic cell killing (IC50 = < 1 to 100 μM). Interestingly, biochemical analysis shows that the J-compound(s) can mediate cell death in p53 expressing leukemia cells in association with upregulation of expression of JAZ, p53 and the proapoptotic p53 target gene BAX, indicating activation of p53. Furthermore, the J-compound(s) synergizes induction of leukemic cell death when combined with other known p53 activating agents including cisplatin and nutlin-3, a recently developed small molecule MDM2 antagonist that disrupts the p53-MDM2 interaction. Therefore, the J-compound(s) may mediate leukemic cell death in a mechanism involving activation of "latent", wild-type p53 by targeting JAZ. However, the J-compound-mediated cell death was also observed in some p53-deficient leukemia cell lines. This suggests that depending on the cell type the J-compounds may also act by a p53-independent mechanism. Since JAZ was recently reported to be a cargo protein for exportin-5, the nuclear export receptor for pre-microRNAs, this dsRNA-binding ZFP may also have an unknown p53-independent function via which the J-compound(s) may possibly act. While these possible mechanisms remain to be further investigated, the J-compound(s) points the way to develop a potentially novel therapeutic strategy targeting JAZ to treat human leukemia.


Central giant cell granulomas (CGCG) are not common in the mandibular condyle. In teenagers, the problem is more complex because of difficulties in diagnosis and treatment involving the potential growth of the mandibular process and development of the face. In this short communication a case is presented of an eleven-year-old female under diagnosis of central giant cell granuloma affecting the mandibular condyle treated surgically in two steps using a condylectomy and vertical ramus osteotomy at the first time and later orthognathic surgery, showing the clinical evolution after 13 years of follow-up. In addition, we performed a review of the scientific reports related to CGCG in the mandibular condyle to compare this treatment with others, in terms of follow-up and results. We concluded that the CGCG affecting the mandibular head can be properly treated with low condilectomy, vertical mandibular ramus sliding osteotomy, and discopexy.


Synthesis, X-ray analysis (300K) and Mössbauer effect studies in the intermetallic compounds (Y1-xGdx)(Fe0.7Co0.3)2 are reported. Cubic Laves phase MgCu2 – type, were observed across the series. Lattice parameter is linearly increased with Gd concentration. The lattice parameters of the (Y1-xGdx)(Fe0.7Co0.3)2 series are compared to data previously observed for the R(Fe1−xCox)2 series (R= Y, Dy, Gd). 57Fe Mössbauer effect measurements for the series were realized at 4.2 and in the temperature range around the magnetic ordering temperature. Curie temperatures of the (Y1−xGdx)(Fe0.7Co0.3)2 series were determined using both electrical resistivity and Mössbauer effect measurements. The magnetic hyperfine field and Curie temperature increases with Gd content. The obtained magnetic hyperfine field and Curie temperatures for the series (Y1−xGdx)(Fe0.7Co0.3)2 are related to the data known for the R(Fe1−xCox)2 series (R= Y, Dy, Gd).


Now-a-days, electricity has become the most significant part of human life. For this purpose, renewable energy sources as the emergent sources are introduced in the system. In Pakistan, in spite of having abundant renewable sources and favorable climate conditions, there are some remote areas where the extension of national grid is still absent. In this research paper, one of the remote area of Pakistan, Chak 6-DRB, a village of Cholistan, is considered for the hybrid renewable sources. This research has been implemented on HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric and Renewable) software, in which two renewable sources; solar and anaerobic biogas have been implemented in terms of COE (Cost of Energy), NPC (Net Present Cost), costs of different equipment used and then find an optimal size and costs of the system. This HDRP (Hybrid Distributed Renewable Power) system contains anaerobic biogas, and solar system which yield most accurate and inexpensive results and are quite feasible for this remote area. This standalone generation and distribution model is also analyzed through HOMER including sensitivity parameters. In future, this role model of proposed hybrid renewable system would be very effective and helpful for other remote areas of the country for implementation


The COVID-19 outbreak is an international problem and has affected people and students all over the world. When lockdowns were imposed internationally, learning management systems began to be used more than in the previous period. These systems have been used also for traditional forms of learning and not only for online learning. This pandemic has highlighted the need for online learning systems in the educational environment, but it is very important for these systems to be secure and to verify the authenticity of the students when they access a course or evaluation questions. In this period, everything is moving towards the digital world, with students that are connected from a distance to online systems. All activities in the educational environment will soon be performed digitally on learning management systems, which includes also the evaluation process of the students. In this paper, we propose a secure learning management system that uses the student's behavior to identify if they are an authentic student or not. This system can support the teacher's activities in the learning process and verify the authenticity of the students logged on to the system. This paper is aimed at learning management system developers, who can use the proposed algorithms in their developed platforms, and also at teachers, who should understand the importance of the identification of students on these platforms.


There is fragmentary knowledge of iron ore sources exploited in the past for many regions including the Southern Levant. This missing information has the potential to shed light on political, economic, craft-production, and trading patterns of past societies. This paper presents the results of smelting experiments performed in graphite crucibles and a muffle furnace, using 14 iron ore samples from the Southern Levant, in an attempt to determine their suitability for smelting using ancient techniques. A range of analytical techniques, including optical and electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and portable X-ray fluorescence were used to comparatively investigate the mineralogy and composition of the precursor iron ores and their smelting products: Iron bloom and slag. Several parameters attesting to the ability of a given ore to be successfully reduced and consolidated into a solid metal mass were quantified. The generated results highlight the significance of a 'correct balance' between iron oxides and other major elements in the smelting system in order to form fluid slag and a well-consolidated bloom. These data contribute to the understanding of factors, potentially influencing choices of iron ore exploitation by past human societies in the Southern Levant.


Abstract Translational research in Europe for the assessment and treatment of neuromuscular disorders (TREAT-NMD) is a global network of world-class experts within the neuromuscular community whose mission is to support all stages of therapy development and improve the health and quality of life of people around the world with neuromuscular disorders (NMD). Since 2007, TREAT-NMD has played a central role in bringing together the right experts, patients, advocacy organizations, scientists, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies. By uniting these experts within the neuromuscular community, TREAT-NMD has supported preclinical research in animal and cell models that has raised the potential for clinical trials. TREAT-NMD has successfully developed several key resources, including cell and animal standard operating protocols (preclinical research), global patient registries, ethical framework and care guidelines, and family guides, to help develop and extend translation research in the field, thereby making the field ready for clinical trials. This review aims to highlight key achievements of the network, which spans a decade and the successful partnership with our stakeholders who have enabled the field to identify and address challenges to therapeutic development and standard of care for patients. This review will also outline future perspectives.


The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on expression of connexin40 (Cx40) in rat aorta during inflammation. Cxs are proteins of gap junction channels which regulate homeostasis and vasomotion through direct intercellular communication. FA are known for their anti-inflammatory and beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. In 10-day-lasting experiment, we used adult Wistar rats divided into four groups: W(C) – controls, W(FA) - FA in dose 30mg/kg/day, W(L) – application of a single dose of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 mg/kg, i.p), W(L+FA). Cx40 expression was analyzed in aortic tissue using Western blot, its distribution by immunofluorescence and morphometric image analysis. We studied NO dependent relaxation of aorta and NOS activity, together with biomarkers CRP, MDA, NAGA in plasma and CD68 in aorta. Immunofluorescence revealed changes only in endothelial Cx40 spatial expression. In W(L+FA) density of Cx40 spots was decreased when compared to W(L) which increased Cx40 density in comparision to W(C). Total Cx40 expression in aorta of W(L) was significantly higher than in W(C). In W(L+FA), Cx40 expression was lower than in W(L). LPS increased expression of CD68, while its expression was reduced in W(L+FA) group compared to W(L). FA did not affect LPS-induced impairment of NO-dependent relaxation of aorta, and they had no protective effect on NOS activity. FA diet reduced also LPS-induced increase in levels of biomarkers. Our results suggest that endothelial Cx40-gap junctions might represent one of potential targets of the anti-inflammatory effects of FA diet.


This paper presents the overview of the AuTexTification shared task as part of the IberLEF 2023 Workshop in Iberian Languages Evaluation Forum, within the framework of the SEPLN 2023 conference. AuTexTification consists of two subtasks: for Subtask 1, participants had to determine whether a text is human-authored or has been generated by a large language model. For Subtask 2, participants had to attribute a machine-generated text to one of six different text generation models. Our AuTexTification 2023 dataset contains more than 160.000 texts across two languages (English and Spanish) and five domains (tweets, reviews, news, legal, and how-to articles). A total of 114 teams signed up to participate, of which 36 sent 175 runs, and 20 of them sent their working notes. In this overview, we present the AuTexTification dataset and task, the submitted participating systems, and the results.


Austenitic Stainless Steel (SS316) is a commonly used material in marine and offshore locations. The components' surface in such environments degrades due to chloride and moisture exposure. Hence, adding a ceramic coating to the surface enhances its functionality. In the present work, Cr3C2 and 8YSZ powders are mixed in an equal ratio to deposit unique composite coated layers on the SS316 substrate by plasma spray coating method. The performance of the composite coating is also compared to that of uncoated, Cr3C2-coated, and 8YSZ-coated substrates. The surface morphology and cross-sectional microstructures of the coated SS316 substrate are examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, and The presence of chemical elements in the coatings is determined using Energy Dispersive x-ray Analysis (EDAX) with elemental mapping. Further, the corrosion resistance of the substrate is evaluated using potentiodynamic polarisation and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The results show that the composite coating has a decreased porosity of 1.33% area and a higher microhardness of 880.02HV compared to bare and other coated surfaces. The corrosion analysis reveals that the composite coating has a decreased corrosion current density (Icorr) of 3.233 × 10–6 mA cm−2 and an enhanced charge transfer resistance of 2396.23 ohms.cm2 due to strong passivation and restricted electrolyte penetration into the coating. Further, the electrochemical corrosion study reveals that the composite coating exhibits the lowest corrosion rate of 0.00004306 mm / year.


OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that prenatal cocaine exposure is associated with a 3-fold increased risk for vascular disruption among malformations.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective case-control study was based upon >68,000 delivery records at Hutzel Hospital for a 9-year period. Ascertainment was based upon ICD-9 codes for limb defects, abdominal wall defects, and facial clefts. Transverse limb defects and gastroschisis were defined as cases, and nondisruption anomalies served as controls. Statistical analysis for history of maternal cocaine use reported during pregnancy was performed by chi(2) analysis and the odds ratio determined.

RESULTS
A total of 190 cases of limb anomalies, abdominal wall defects, and cleft lips were identified after exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis was performed on the 119 cases informative for maternal cocaine use during pregnancy. Seven of 34 vascular disruption cases had cocaine exposure reported versus 12 of 85 other malformations controls. The odds ratio for cocaine exposure and vascular disruption is 1.58 (95% confidence interval = 0.55-4.47).

CONCLUSION
The putative association of prenatal cocaine exposure and vascular disruption birth defects remains unresolved, but the attributable risk is very likely less than the 3-fold odds ratio previously reported.


This book uses the notion of "Chinese exceptionalism" as a framework to analyze China's international politics and foreign policy. It argues that China's approach to international relations is best understood in the context of these claims to exceptionalism and China's broader political world view. In doing so, it fosters a more comprehensive understanding of China's actions within the realms of foreign policy and international politics, and in the context of the preferred world order, norms and rules that the country seeks to promote.


In prior work, we introduced a machine learning method to identify high quality MEDLINE documents in internal medicine. The performance of the original filter models built with this corpus on years outside 1998-2000 was not assessed directly. Validating the performance of the original filter models on current corpora is crucial to validate them for use in current years, to verify that the model fitting and model error estimation procedures do not over-fit the models, and to validate consistency of the chosen ACPJ gold standard (i.e., that ACPJ editorial policies and criteria are stable over time). Our prospective validation results indicated that in the categories of treatment, etiology, diagnosis, and prognosis, the original machine learning filter models built from the 1998-2000 corpora maintained their discriminatory performance of 0.97, 0.97, 0.94, and 0.94 area under the curve in each respective category when applied to a 2005 corpus. The ACPJ is a stable, reliable gold standard and the machine learning methodology provides robust models and model performance estimates. Machine learning filter models built with 1998-2000 corpora can be applied to identify high quality articles in recent years.


Exposure to gram-negative bacteria and the presence of subjective symptoms among workers were investigated at an experimental compost plant. Four of the 11 workers reported nausea, headache, and diarrhea, an incidence greater than that reported by workers in a drinking water plant. The number of airborne gram-negative bacteria was high where household garbage was agitated by the technical equipment. The findings are similar to those in studies on workers in sewage treatment plants.


Attitudes toward premarital sex in the United States have changed considerably since the 1970s. However, it is unclear whether these changes are due to cohort replacement, broader changes within cohorts, or a combination of the two processes. We examined within- and between-cohort changes in attitudes toward premarital sex in the United States from 1975 to 2008 using hierarchical age-period-cohort models based on data from the General Social Survey. We used a religious plausibility structure framework to examine several possible mechanisms for within- and between-cohort variation in premarital sex attitudes over time, including changes in religious participation, marital patterns, and family structure. The results provided mixed support for our hypotheses. Attitudes toward premarital sex became more permissive over time in the United States in part because of the process of cohort replacement, but the level of permissiveness peaked with the baby boomer cohorts. This cohort effect is due in part to differences in rates of religious service attendance and educational attainment. However, the overall increase in permissive attitudes toward premarital sex is also due to period effects that are not captured by the measures included in our analyses.


The European Union responded to Russia's intervention in Ukraine in March 2014, imposing sanctions that have been successively tightened since. Germany was an active participant in the process. Sanctions have become a familiar instrument of EU foreign policy in recent years. But the measures applied against Russia are unprecedented in both target and scope. And they have tangible repercussions on economically stricken EU member states. Ultimately, it is by no means certain that sanctions can or will achieve their stated goal of changing Russia's policy vis-à-vis Ukraine.


Cancer is a global public health concern with 14 million new cases and 8 million deaths per year About 52% of new cancer cases and 59% of 8.2 million deaths in the world occur in OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) countries. For many years cancer were not listed among the health priorities around the globe. The increasing rates in terms of both incidence and mortality with associated healthcare and societal costs have forced countries to invest more in cancer control in different ways from prevention to treatment. In this context and following the World Cancer Leaders' Summit 2015 held in Istanbul in November the first ladies of OIC countries met in Istanbul in April 14th, 2016 upon the invitation by First lady of Turkey, H.E. Mrs. Erdogan, during the OIC summit. The Istanbul declaration aims to draw attention to the cancer control in the OIC countries to demonstrate the high level support for cancer control programs across the region and encourage all governmental and non-governmental stake-holders to take action for further progress in cancer control from prevention to care. This article summarizes the burden of cancer within the region and presents the İstanbul Declaration by OIC Countries.


BackgroundUnilateral cleft lip and / or palate (UCLP) is one of the most common congenital craniofacial abnormalities. The objective of this study was to describe maternal perception of breastfeeding in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate and to assess the role of breastfeeding counseling. MethodsQualitative descriptive method and phenomenological analysis were used to analyze the narratives. 28 mothers of patients with nonsyndromic UCLP treated with Nasoalveolar molding (NAM) between April 2015 and April 2017 were strategically selected and interviewed. Framework analysis was conducted for qualitative data. The CES University ethical committee approved the study. ResultsThe findings resulted in six main categories. First, contact with the CLP program, access to early diagnosis and timely treatment, perceptions of parents about health personnel on breastfeeding of CLP patients, perceptions of mothers toward breastfeeding, perception of advantages and disadvantages of the NAM technique regarding breastfeeding and assessment of the CLP program. ConclusionThe participants related difficulties with breastfeeding. Mothers acknowledged the clinical results when using the NAM obturator, as well as the support provided by the breastfeeding consultant.


Abstract Maternal vitamin D deficiency has been proposed as a risk factor for preeclampsia, but no significant studies have been conducted to evaluate its relationship with eclampsia. Our goal in this study was to assess the prevalence and potential risk of vitamin D deficiency for both preeclampsia and eclampsia in Bangladesh. Using a case-control design, we measured serum 25(OH)D levels in pregnant women receiving care at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with preeclampsia (n=33), eclampsia (n=79), and normal pregnancy (controls, n=76). Odds of developing preeclampsia and eclampsia with vitamin D deficiency were calculated using logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was very high with more than 3 quarters (78%) of all subjects having a serum 25(OH)D level<30 ng/ml. The mean serum 25(OH)D level was 24.86 ng/ml in controls, 23.96 ng/ml in pre-eclamptic women, and 21.56 ng/ml in eclampsia patients. Comparing to those who had a serum 25(OH)D level of ≥30 ng/ml, the odds ratio (95% CI) of developing preeclampsia and eclampsia in mothers with vitamin D insufficiency were 3.9 (95% CI=1.18–12.87) and 5.14 (95% CI=1.98–13.37), respectively (adjusting for age, BMI and duration of pregnancy). The odds of developing preeclampsia and eclampsia may increase by up to 5-fold in women with vitamin D insufficiency. Since preeclampsia and eclampsia can lead to serious complications for both mother and the offspring, vitamin D may be supplemented during pregnancy in high risk populations to decrease these adverse consequences.


This paper describes precision enhancement of an optical three-axis tactile sensor capable of detecting both normal force and tangential force. The sensor's single cell consists of a columnar feeler and 2-by-2 conical feelers. We have derived equations to precisely estimate the three-axis force from the area-sum and area-difference of the conical feelers' contact areas by taking into account wrench-length shrinkage caused by a vertical force. To evaluate the equations and determine constants included in the equations, we performed a series of calibration experiments using a manipulator-mounted tactile sensor and a combined load-testing machine. Subsequently. to evaluate the tactile sensor's practicality. it was mounted on the end of a robotic manipulator which rubbed flat specimens such as brass plates with step-heights of δ=0.05, 0.1, 0.2 mm and a brass plate with no step-height. We showed from the experimental data that the optical three-axis tactile sensor can detect not only the step-heights but also the distribution of the coefficient of friction, and that the sensor can detect fine plate inclination with accuracy to about ±0.4°.


No fibrous or crystalline material was present in the lumen of pore canals which were exposed by radial fracture and examined with a scanning electron microscope. The walls of the canals were rough, but they did not have a characteristic ultrastructure. The campanulate outer orifice of the pores was plugged with cuticle in which radial cracks formed channels through which the respiratory gases presumably diffuse.


This chapter reveals the full meaning of 'mindfulness', from its origins in the Sanskrit word for memory or recognition. The Buddha's teachings show that mindfulness is an extension of paying inner attention, and is always associated with awareness or comprehension. Attention is at the heart of mindfulness, and mindfulness is at the heart of meditation, and meditation is the principal means for breaking the chain of conditions that emerge as worldly attachment, acquisitiveness and possessiveness. Dissolving the links in that chain liberates a deep peace and compassion for your needless suffering and that of humanity. The 'satellite dish' exercise here helps the reader to develop keen attention by non-judgmentally picking up all sounds arising in one's vicinity. In this chapter we also begin to clarify investigate the connection between 'concentration' and 'mindfulness'.


The aim of the study was to determine whether the level and form of Cr in the diet of chickens influences its accumulation in tissues as well as intestinal absorption of P and its deposition in tissues. The experiment was carried out on 405 one-day-old male Ross 308 chickens that were randomly divided into five treatment groups. Control group was fed the diet without supplemental chromium; experimental groups were fed the diet with 3 or 6 mg/kg chromium picolinate (Cr-Pic) and with 3 or 6 mg/kg chromium nanoparticles (Cr-NP). Chromium was found to accumulate in the tissues of the ileum, liver, breast muscle, bones skin and in feathers of chickens. Chromium deposited in the ileum of chickens does not affect the ex vivo estimated intestinal absorption of P. The use of Cr in the diet of chickens carries the risk of lowering P levels in femur.


Rainfall and debit of rivers are two tempo-spatial non-linear and changeable factors. One way to study and analysis these parameters is investigate appearance and latent oscillations. Spectral Analysis is a useful technique to reveal these oscillations in time series. In this paper it has been attempted to detect cycles in rainfall and debit time series at Mashinkhaneh station in Talesh (Garakanrood) catchment's during Mehr 1354 to Shahrivar 1386 in the three time scales (annual, seasonal and monthly). Accordingly, the discharge and precipitation data at Mashinkhaneh station in Talesh (Garakanrood) catchment from Mehr 1354 to Shahrivar 1386 have been used. The results of applying the spectral analysis procedures to discharge and rainfall time series in each three category of time scales, suggested the absence of significant non-sinusoidal (trend) in the 95% confidence level. However, significantly sinusoidal cycles various in the two time series were extracted. The 2-4 year cycle, and 4-5.3 years have the most occurrences in the both time series. In the annual scale, 6.4 years cycle, 2-5.3 years, 7.7 years seasonal and 2-4, 4- 5.3, 6.4, 8, 10.7 and 16 year in the monthly scale cycles has been extracted. Studies carried out by many researchers indicate that the mentioned cycles are in relation with oscillation periods of ENSO, NAO and QBO in other parts of the world.


We obtain new parameterized algorithms for the classical problem of determining whether a directed acyclic graph admits an upward planar drawing. Our results include a new fixed-parameter algorithm parameterized by the number of sources, an XP-algorithm parameterized by treewidth, and a fixed-parameter algorithm parameterized by treedepth. All three algorithms are obtained using a novel framework for the problem that combines SPQR tree-decompositions with parameterized techniques. Our approach unifies and pushes beyond previous tractability results for the problem on series-parallel digraphs, single-source digraphs and outerplanar digraphs. and Seminar 21293: Parameterized Complexity in Graph Drawing [19].


A criminal culpability refers to the legally constituted roles of the delinquent in a democratic society. From a legal perspective in the democratic state under the rule of law, a person occupies two roles. On the one hand, he is formally subject to the legal "Sollenssatzen" and thus becomes a potential addressee of legal norms. On the other hand, he is also an authorized citizen who plays a part in the decree or the change of norms publicly by expressing opinions, taking part in elections, etc., and thus becomes a potential author of norms. With these two roles, the role of the norm addressee and the role of the norm author, taken into consideration together, culpability and criminal liability in the criminal law will be explicated. This paper consists of three parts. First, it analyzes the meanings of the concept of responsibility. Second, it discusses the reasons why we can accuse the delinquent in the criminal sense. Finally, it considers the connection between the criminal liability of the delinquent and both his roles as a norm author and a norm addressee in a democratic society.


This article provides a brief survey of the major works of the so-called New Israeli Historians. It attempts to explain what distinguishes them from mainstream Israeli scholars and considers the extent to which their writings constitute a unified school of thought. The article makes it clear that there are indeed various gradations of dissent. For one, Benny Morris, while basing himself on archival material that reveals unsavory aspects of Israel's history, nevertheless remains faithful to the Zionist ideal. At the other end of the spectrum Ilan Pappé is far less interested in the veracity of his sources and is far more concerned to denigrate the entire Zionist enterprise by falsely accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing.


The invention relates to a method for operating a service in an environment outside a mobile electronic device. The service is able to be operated by means of a host system with a human-machine interface adapted to the environment. The mobile device is brought into communication with the host system which senses the operability of the service by the mobile device, the host system is downloaded with a proxy for operating the service and the service operation is transferred onto the host system by means of its human-machine interface. The host system comprises means for reproducing information, controlling means for a user, a communication processor, a memory for storing a proxy software for operating a service and a processor for operating the proxy software.


Kyanite eclogite in the Central Swiss Alps, partially hydrated during decompression, shows conspicuous domains containing unusual phases, such as staurolite, corundum, and hercynite-dominant spinel. Detailed analysis of these domains indicates that they formed by prograde growth of porphyroblasts of lawsonite, kyanite, and garnet, prior to the complete conversion of igneous plagioclase to omphacite. In the evolution following the culmination in pressure, the chemically differentiated domains remained largely distinct from the matrix. Quantitative thermodynamic models set up for each domain allow us to analyze each domain type, in order to test (a) to what extent they behaved as closed systems, (b) whether local equilibrium was maintained during decompression, and (c) what reaction mechanisms and volumes were involved in the observed transformations. Results indicate that metasomatic effects were quite limited; local equilibration was possible to mid-crustal levels at temperatures near 700°C; reaction paths followed involved minimal transport of Al. Both prograde and retrograde parts of the P‐T path could be deduced for eclogite samples from the Southern Steep Belt of the Central Swiss Alps. A late-orogenic, prograde thermal overprint (heating spike) is confirmed.


ABSTRACT A minority of methanotrophs are able to utilize multicarbon compounds as growth substrates in addition to methane. The pathways utilized by these microorganisms for assimilation of multicarbon compounds, however, have not been explicitly examined. Here, we report the draft genome of the facultative methanotroph Methylocystis sp. strain SB2 and perform a detailed transcriptomic analysis of cultures grown with either methane or ethanol. Evidence for use of the canonical methane oxidation pathway and the serine cycle for carbon assimilation from methane was obtained, as well as for operation of the complete tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and the ethylmalonyl-coenzyme A (EMC) pathway. Experiments with Methylocystis sp. strain SB2 grown on methane revealed that genes responsible for the first step of methane oxidation, the conversion of methane to methanol, were expressed at a significantly higher level than those for downstream oxidative transformations, suggesting that this step may be rate limiting for growth of this strain with methane. Further, transcriptomic analyses of Methylocystis sp. strain SB2 grown with ethanol compared to methane revealed that on ethanol (i) expression of the pathway of methane oxidation and the serine cycle was significantly reduced, (ii) expression of the TCA cycle dramatically increased, and (iii) expression of the EMC pathway was similar. Based on these data, it appears that Methylocystis sp. strain SB2 converts ethanol to acetyl-coenzyme A, which is then funneled into the TCA cycle for energy generation or incorporated into biomass via the EMC pathway. This suggests that some methanotrophs have greater metabolic flexibility than previously thought and that operation of multiple pathways in these microorganisms is highly controlled and integrated.


We tackle the task of question generation over knowledge bases. Conventional methods for this task neglect two crucial research issues: 1) the given predicate needs to be expressed; 2) the answer to the generated question needs to be definitive. In this paper, we strive toward the above two issues via incorporating diversified contexts and answer-aware loss. Specifically, we propose a neural encoder-decoder model with multi-level copy mechanisms to generate such questions. Furthermore, the answer aware loss is introduced to make generated questions corresponding to more definitive answers. Experiments demonstrate that our model achieves state-of-the-art performance. Meanwhile, such generated question is able to express the given predicate and correspond to a definitive answer.