Summary Administration of estrogen and of cortisol for 1 month to 2½-month-old female C3H/He Crgl mice resulted in variable degrees of lobuloalveolar development. The localized alveolar hyperplasias are referred to as "noduloids" solely on morphologic grounds, and they are without known precancerous significance. Some "noduloids" are also seen after estrogen and after cortisol treatment of mice freed of the mammary tumor agent. Month-long treatment of 3-month-old mice with estrogen or with mammotropin resulted in significantly increased incidences of nodules at 6 months of age. This was not seen after month-long cortisol or deoxycorticosterone treatments. Continuous treatment of 3-month-old mice for 3 months with estrogen resulted in mammary glands with numerous nodules and "noduloids." The continuity in morphology between these structures is emphasized.


Thin films of Cadmium Telluride have been deposited for various solution concentrations using a spray pyrolysis technique. The preparative parameters such as solution concentration, substrate temperature, quantity and pH of solution have been optimized using photoelectrochemical (PEC) technique. The PEC measurements show that both short circuit current (Isc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) are at their optimum values for the solution concentration of 10 mM at the optimized substrate temperature of 250°C. Further, the films have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive analysis by X- ray (EDAX) techniques. XRD shows that the films are polycrystalline with cubic structure. The film deposited at optimized solution concentration has thewell-formed grains as evidenced fromSEM. EDAX analysis reveals thatmaterial formed is almost stoichiometric slightly rich in tellurium. The optical absorption studies confirm the existence of direct interband transition in CdTe with gap energy of 1.5 eV and absorption coefficient of the order of 104 cm-1.


While it is generally accepted that garbage-collected languages offer advantages over languages in which objects must be explicitly deallocated, real-time developers are leery of the adverse effects a garbage collector might have on real-time performance. Semiautomatic approaches based on regions have been proposed, but incorrect usage could cause unbounded storage leaks or program failure. Moreover, correct usage cannot be guaranteed at compile time. Recently, real-time garbage collectors have been developed that provide a guaranteed fraction of the CPU to the application, and the correct operation of those collectors has been proven, subject only to the specification of certain statistics related to the type and rate of objects allocated by the application. However, unless those statistics are provided or estimated appropriately, the collector may fail to collect dead storage at a rate sufficient to pace the application's need for storage. Overspecification of those statistics is safe but leaves the application with less than its possible share of the CPU, which may prevent the application from meeting its deadlines.In this paper we present a static analysis to bound conservatively an application's allocation rate. The analysis is based on a data flow framework that requires interprocedural evaluation. We present the framework and results from analyzing some Java benchmarks. Because static analysis is necessarily conservative, we also present measurements of our benchmarks' actual allocation rates.Our work is a necessary step toward making real-time garbage collectors attractive to the hard-real-time community. By guaranteeing a bound on statistics provided to a real-time collector, we can guarantee the operation of the collector for a given application.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to delineate a clear definition of health tourism, and to explain it in two sub-categories, namely, medical tourism, and wellness tourism. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded theory approach through an in-depth literature review and practical data from three different cities were researched to support the study. Findings – Determinants of travelers' decision making for the destination of health tourism, such as distance, cost, language, economy, competency of medical technology, and culture, in each classification of health tourism, were identified. Originality/value – This study suggests an inductive research model to synthesize and structure a logical relationship of determinants that affect health tourists' decision to visit specific health tourism destinations. The results of this study are quite revealing to governments, industrial practitioners, and potential customers of health tourism in terms of the context of health tourism and the behavior of health tou...


Substructural developments have been monitored during strain-controlled cycling of aluminum at room temperature. This has allowed a relationship between dislocation substructure and stress response to be developed as a function of the number of cycles. At the onset of saturation, the dislocations were arranged in a loose cellular network for the particular strain range investigated. Continued cycling resulted in a slight but significant decrease in stress response, associated with the formation of a stable structure. With further strain cycling, the stress response and cell size remained relatively constant. The misorientation between the cells also remained constant, although the boundary width decreased due to dynamic recovery. These results indicate that the cyclic stress response is directly related to the dislocation density, and that at saturation the energy absorbed per cycle causes important changes in cell morphology to take place. Comparison of these results with those of aluminum, copper and iron obtained under both monotonic and cyclic conditions show that the stress-cell size relationship is characteristic for all these wavy slip mode metals.


A major theme in René Girard's work involves the role of the Bible in exposing the scapegoating practices at the basis of culture. The God of the Bible is understood to be a God who takes the side of victims. The God of the Qur'an is also a defender of victims, an idea that recurs throughout the text in the stories of messengers and prophets. In a number of ways, Jesus is unique among the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an. It is argued here that while the Quranic Jesus is distinctly Islamic, and not a Christian derivative, he functions in the Qur'an in a way analogous to the role Jesus plays in the gospels. In its depiction of Jesus, the Qur'an is acutely aware of mimetic rivalry, scapegoating, and the God who comes to the aid of the persecuted. Despite the significant differences between the Christian understanding of Jesus as savior and the way he is understood in the Qur'an, a Girardian interpretation of the Qur'anic Jesus will suggest ways in which Jesus can be a bridge rather than an obstacle in Christian/Muslim dialogue.


This is an open access article & it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) There are many constraints that severely affect the global agricultural production and productivity which include the ever increasing of population growth, degradation of natural resources, climate changes and emerging pests. Among these factors, biotic constraints or pests are known to cause 25-50% or complete loss of plant production. Accordingly, various plant protection technologies have been deployed with the trend of focusing on the use modern biotechnological tools that are proven to be most effective and mandatory. The review covers a wide array of pest management methods ranging from the conventional biological control methods up to molecular breeding techniques. Furthermore, the application of new genetic engineering techniques fueled by new breakthroughs and innovations are the cornerstone of this review. Accordingly, the continuous increasing trend of GM crops cultivation in both crop type and hectare has urged many countries to deploy the technology as a key strategy to enhance their bioeconomy. In fact, plant protection is the discipline that immensely benefit from biotechnology than any other disciplines for ensuring food security and sustainable development. However, in order to fully exploit the enormous potential of biotechnology, appropriate biosafety regulatory frameworks and proper stewardship programs need to be effectively implemented. This integrated approach can promptly help respond to the ever-dynamic threat of pests and hence reliably combat food insecurity and ably contribute to sustainable development.


Danxiaorchis singchiana (Orchidaceae) is a leafless mycoheterotrophic orchid in the subfamily Epidendroideae. We sequenced the complete plastome of D. singchiana. The plastome has a reduced size of 87,931 bp, which includes a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 13,762 bp each that are separated by a large single copy (LSC) region of 42,575 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,831 bp. When compared to its sister taxa, Cremastra appendiculata and Corallorhiza striata var. involuta, D. singchiana showed an inverted gene block in the LSC and SSC regions. A total of 61 genes were predicted, including 21 tRNA, 4 rRNA, and 36 protein-coding genes. While most of the housekeeping genes were still intact and seem to be protein-coding, only four photosynthesis-related genes appeared presumably intact. The majority of the presumably intact protein-coding genes seem to have undergone purifying selection (dN/dS < 1), and only the psaC gene was positively selected (dN/dS > 1) when compared to that in Cr. appendiculata. Phylogenetic analysis of 26 complete plastome sequences from 24 species of the tribe Epidendreae had revealed that D. singchiana diverged after Cr. appendiculata and is sister to the genus Corallorhiza with strong bootstrap support (100%).


This study aims to explain the effect of profit on the addition of customers in the bank of Syariah Rahmah Hijrah Agung Lhokseumawe (BPRS) type mudharabah deposits. This is a quantitative study, using primary data from 2006 2018 obtained from SRB Rahmah Hijrah Agung. The data analysis uses the Simple Linear Regression Model Through The Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method. Based on the results of statistical calculations through the SPSS program. We get the results of the regression equation Y = 12,177 + 0.013 X. This shows that the profits have a positive and significant effect on the addition of customers in SRB Rahmah Hijrah Agung Lhokseumawe type of mudharabah deposits. where, the acquisition of tvalue and t-table value respectively 4.171 and 2.144. This shows, however, that the t-calculated value is greater than the t-table value. The coefficient of determination (R2) obtained is 90.1%. that is, the ability of the profit outcome variable (X) to explain its effect on customer accretion (Y) by 90.1 percent, while the remaining 9.9 percent is explained by other variables, apart from the model.


Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) to treat ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) originating below the His bundle (HB) region of the right ventricular (RV) septum could impair the atrioventricular node conduction. This study aimed to clarify the parameters of the 12-lead electrocardiography that predict successful RFCA of VAs originating from this region. This study included 20 consecutive patients (13 men; mean age, 68 ± 7 years) with monomorphic VAs in whom the earliest ventricular activation during the VA was below the HB region of the RV septum. According to the ablation results, the patients were divided into two groups: successful ablation (S-group; n = 10) and failed ablation groups (F-group; n = 10). The electrocardiographic parameters during the VAs and RFCA results were assessed. The R wave amplitudes in leads aVL (P = 0.001) and I (P = 0.010) in the S-group were both smaller than those in the F-group. In addition, the S-group had smaller negative deflection amplitudes in leads III (P = 0.002) and aVF (P = 0.003) than the F-group. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the most useful electrocardiographic parameter for predicting successful ablation was the R wave amplitude in lead aVL (area under the curve, 0.895; P < 0.001); a cutoff value of < 1.3 mV predicted a successful RFCA with the highest accuracy (sensitivity, 90%; specificity, 80%; positive predictive value, 82%; negative predictive value, 89%). The R wave amplitude in lead aVL was the most useful parameter for predicting a successful RFCA to treat VAs originating below the HB region of the RV septum.


The Al Wajh gold district contains small deposits of gold-bearing quartz veins located in sheared and altered Neoproterozoic mafic lavas and volcaniclastic sandstone and siltstone. The veins formed during multiple episodes of deformation and have structural and mineralogic features characteristic of mesothermal, low sulfide, gold-bearing quartz veins. Three early deformation episodes (D 1 , D 2 , D 3 ) are interpreted as progressive phases of a major deformation event that culminated about 660 Ma; episode D 4 makes up part of a later event about 620 Ma. The bulk of the gold-bearing veins in the district are located in D 2 and D 3 structures. D 1 veins consist of thin quartz veins in phyllite. D 2 veins are located in throughgoing, steeply dipping sinistral shear zones and in the crests of folds along the shears. Da veins, typically associated with carbonate alteration, are concentrated in small thrust faults that in places modify earlier D 2 shears. Umm al Qurayyat, the largest deposit in the district (155,634 metric tons averaging 3.8 g/t gold), comprises shallowly to moderately steeply dipping sheeted quartz veins in the hanging wall of a D 3 thrust in basaltic andesite and dacite. It is centered on an inner sericite alteration zone and an outer orange-weathering carbonate alteration zone. Structural evidence indicates that sericite alteration was contemporaneous with D 2 deformation, predating the main quartz veining event, whereas carbonate alteration was contemporary with D 3 thrusting and emplacement of the deposit's principal gold-bearing quartz veins. Quartz at Umm al Qurayyat contains an average of 3.1 g/t gold and sericite-altered wall rock contains an average of 3.9 g/t. Basaltic country rock outside the deposit contains as much as 1 g/t gold, the higher grades occurring adjacent to the prospect.


This work presents an efficient and scalable texture segmentation algorithm based on bag-of-features and stochastic region merging. The image is partitioned into blocks and processed independently to obtain regions, which are then merged to obtain the final segmentation. Experimental results shows the proposed method achieves an overall speed improvement of at least 4.5x and requires 6.5x less memory, while still improving segmentation accuracy for large images.


We present a revised analysis of the spectrum of singly ionized xenon, Xe II. This spectrum has been reanalyzed on the basis of the wavelength material published by Drs J. C. Boyce and C. J. Humphreys. The latter has kindly placed the original wavelength list covering the wavelength range 10 220-390 A at our disposal. We report 161 energy levels which have been identified on the basis of classifications of 950 lines. We report the first f and g levels in Xe II. Also a number of g-factors have been determined for the first time and we give in total 75 g-factors. We have carried out least-squares fits to the even configurations and report the resulting parameter values and eigenvector compositions. A least-squares fit to the 5p46p configuration is also reported. The levels have been named in jK and for many levels also in LS coupling. The former is the better coupling scheme for Xe II. We present an analysis of the 5s photoelectron satellite spectrum of Xe based on our calculated eigenvector compositions and calculations of transition probabilities for ground state transitions as well as lifetimes for the 6p levels. The latter are compared to recent experimental measurements. A list of wavelengths for observed laser transitions showing the present classifications and a discussion of the determination of the ionization potential of Xe II concludes the paper.


The focus of this descriptive study was the relationship between critical thinking, educational preparation, and level of moral judgment in 79 practicing nurses. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test was used to measure critical thinking; information on the participating nurses' educational preparation was obtained from a personal information sheet. Moral judgment was measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test. The hypothesis that critical thinking would be positively related to moral judgment was tested by Pearson product moment correlation; the obtained coefficient of .5326 was significant at the .001 level. The hypothesis that there would be a difference between professional and technical nurses' moral judgments was tested through a one-way analysis of variance. The F ratio (F [1,77] = 9.6) was significant beyond the .01 level. Data also supported the hypothesis that critical thinking and educational preparation would predict greater variance in moral judgment than either variable alone, which was tested through multiple regression analysis (F [2,75] = 18.3, p = .01). Critical thinking and education together accounted for 32.9 percent of the variance in moral judgment. Implications of the findings are discussed for nursing research, practice, and education.


OBJECTIVE
Indoxyl sulfate (IS), a uremic toxin, is a risk factor for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). AST-120 reduces serum IS and delays the progression of CKD. This study aimed to examine whether AST-120 inhibits epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the kidneys of CKD rats.

METHODS
CKD rats were produced by 5/6 nephrectomy and were divided into 2 groups: (1) CKD rats and (2) AST-120-treated CKD rats at a dosage of 4 g/kg body weight/day. After 10 weeks, their kidneys were excised for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. EMT was evaluated by immunohistochemistry of zonula occludens (ZO-1), an epithelial marker, and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a mesenchymal marker. Interstitial fibrosis was evaluated by Masson's trichrome staining.

RESULTS
CKD rats showed reduced expression of ZO-1 and enhanced expression of α-SMA as compared with normal rats. Administration of AST-120 to CKD rats increased expression of ZO-1 and decreased expression of α-SMA as compared with CKD rats. Further, CKD rats showed enhanced extent of interstitial fibrosis as compared with normal rats, and administration of AST-120 to CKD rats ameliorated interstitial fibrosis. CKD rats showed increased serum level of IS as compared with normal rats, whereas administration of AST-120 to CKD rats decreased both serum and urine levels of IS.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that AST-120 ameliorated EMT and interstitial fibrosis in the kidneys of CKD rats, probably by alleviating IS overload on the kidneys.


AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures exhibit a non-resonant oscillatory background signal in electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments which can be attributed to the Shubnikov-de Haas effect due to the two-dimensional electron gas. Illumination causes a persistent change both in oscillation period and the ESR of a new, probably Cr-related complex in GaAs. For the latter, the authors derive an energy level within 0.36 eV from the conduction band edge from photo-quenching and re-excitation. The photoexcitation rate for free carriers exhibits threshold energies of 0.7, 1.1 and 1.5 eV which they ascribe to the Cr photoexcitation (Cr2+ to Cr3++e-) in the substrate, the photoionisation of DX centres in the AlGaAs and interband excitation in GaAs respectively.


Magnetic properties and giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) of CuBe/Fe20Co6Ni74 electroplated wires was studied for frequency of 1 MHz and the amplitude of the driving current of 20 mA with focus on the development of magnetic field detectors of particular types. The possibility of quantitative ferrofluid concentration measurements was demonstrated. GMI of electroplated wire can be useful for the study of the dynamic properties of the ferrofluid. GMI of the electroplated wires in the non-uniform field created by the permanent magnet was studied in the configuration adapted for automatic control lines, machinery control, and positioning systems.


Since 1991, Measurement Science and Technology has awarded a Best Paper prize. The Editorial Board of this journal believes that such a prize is an opportunity to thank authors for submitting their work, and serves as an integral part of the on-going quality review of the journal. The current breadth of topical areas that are covered by MST has made it advisable to expand the recognition of excellent publications. Hence, since 2005 the Editorial Board have presented 'Outstanding Paper Awards'. This year awards were presented in the areas of 'Measurement Science' and 'Fluid Mechanics'. Although the categories mirror subject sections in the journal, the Editorial Board consider articles from all categories in the selection process. 2012 Award Winners—Measurement Science Physical characterization and performance evaluation of an x-ray micro-computed tomography system for dimensional metrology applications J Hiller1, M Maisl2 and L M Reindl3 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Produktionstorvet, Building 425, 2800 Kgs Lyngby, Denmark 2 Development Center for X-Ray Technology (EZRT), Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP), Campus E3 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany 3 Laboratory for Electrical Instrumentation, Institute for Microsystem Technology (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany This year's award goes to another paper [1] dealing with micro-measurements, using a scientific measurement technique that is both old and traditional. However, it is the advent of modern technology with computational techniques that have offered new insights into the capability of the measurement method. The paper describes an x-ray computed tomography (CT) system. Such systems are increasingly used in production engineering, where non-destructive measurements of the internal geometries of workpieces can be made with high information density. CT offers important alternatives to tactile or optical measurement systems which sometimes cannot reach internal features. The subject discussed is very important for measurement science. It is concerned with the many factors that affect precision and accuracy in CT metrology. These include issues in the scanning and reconstruction process, the image processing, and the 3D data evaluation. They all influence the dimensional measurement properties of the system as a whole. Therefore, as the authors point out, it is important to know what leads to, and what are the consequences of, such things as experimental geometrical misalignment of the scanner system, or image unsharpness (blurring), or noise or image artefacts. This paper is therefore directed at the implementation of a modern CT system, identifying what is important with implementation of the technique, and what are the likely sources of systematic and random error. After a useful introduction, the paper carefully describes a 3D micro-CT system developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing in Saarbrücken, Germany, to carry out dimensional measurements on small plastic and metal parts. Considerable emphasis is placed on the characterization of the x-ray tube, with discussion about the effective focal spot size and focus drift. Likewise, there is a detailed account of the flat-panel detector, before examining the contrast and noise transfer properties in the measuring volume. These features are important for achieving short term accuracy, whilst a later section discusses temperature measurements that affect long term accuracy. As a consequence, the image sharpness, noise or image artefacts, are evaluated. In a simple example, the length measurement property of the scanner for a given set of scanning parameters was obtained by using a calibrated ball-bar with a reference length of 8.7678 mm. Two different approaches for systematic error compensation were applied. They obtained an expanded measurement uncertainty of 6.9 µm down to 1.0 µm, which confirms the excellent dimensional measurement that can be achieved with a micro-CT scanner. The paper concludes with a useful summary of their characterization and performance studies. It also sets down possible future research activities in CT metrology. In particular, it identifies the need for development of CT scanning planning strategies to reduce measurement uncertainties in general and to minimize user influence in particular. This paper is excellent in its presentation and scientific description. Issues have been clearly described, and the paper should help establish x-ray micro-computed CT as a fully accepted measuring system in manufacturing engineering. Its contents were supported by 66 references. This helps to put the contribution into context with contributions from previous research papers. The nomination for this paper was supported by seven panel members, higher than any other paper, and it was rated as excellent during the refereeing process. 2012 Award Winners—Fluid Mechanics Polynomial element velocimetry (PEV): a technique for continuous in-plane velocity and velocity gradient measurements for low Reynolds number flows C R Samarage1,2, J Carberry2, G J Sheard2 and A Fouras1,2 1 Laboratory for Dynamic Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia 2 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia The technique proposed in this article [2] is highly relevant to the wide community of experimentalists that make use of particle image velocimetry. The authors have addressed the issue of how to accurately measure the velocity field and the velocity gradient distribution. The method proposed is elegant and innovative in that it introduces polynomial base functions to represent the spatially varying velocity field within an 'element'. The working principle is clearly described and illustrated. It is noted that the authors have taken a modest position by limiting their conclusions to the case of low Reynolds number flows. It is expected that further developments of this work could lead to successful applications at higher Reynolds numbers and turbulent flows. For the cases analyzed in this work, the authors have achieved a significant improvement in describing the velocity and the vorticity in proximity of the wall. Lastly, the authors have discussed with an open attitude the possible shortcomings of the method. They have indicated the points that will deserve attention when further research efforts are dedicated to the topic. Given the above considerations, the MST outstanding paper selection committee for measurements in fluids, chaired by Professor John Foss, has nominated this article for the MST 2012 outstanding paper award. The chairmen would like to thank the authors for choosing to publish their work in Measurement Science and Technology, and hope that other researchers enjoy reading these works and feel encouraged to submit their own best work to the journal. References [1] Hiller J, Maisl M and Reindl L M 2012 Physical characterization and performance evaluation of an x-ray micro-computed tomography system for dimensional metrology applications Meas. Sci. Technol. 23 085404 (18pp) [2] Samarage C R, Carberry J, Sheard G J and Fouras A 2012 Polynomial element velocimetry (PEV): a technique for continuous in-plane velocity and velocity gradient measurements for low Reynolds number flows Meas. Sci. Technol. 23 105304 (16pp)


The design-related problems for extract, transform, load (ETL) processes are far away from being resolved due to the ambiguity of user requirements and the complexity of operations.Current approaches are based on existing software requirement methods that have limitations on reconciliation of the requirement semantics toward generating the ETL processes specification.The solution is to apply the RAMEPs (Requirement Analysis Method for ETL Processes) that was developed to facilitate the design of the ETL processes in the perspectives of organization,
decision-maker, and developer.The results are the ETL processes specification, which was validated on the correctness of the goal-ontology model and evaluated in the case study of Gas Malaysia Data Warehouse (DW) system.The case study illustrated how the goal-ontology approach was successfully implemented in designing and generating the ETL processes specification.


Thermal energy storage plays an important role in the conservation of thermal energy in many processes, such as waste heat recovery and load leveling at power plants, including those utilizing alternative energy sources. The objective of this study is to investigate many aspects of basalt stone as a material of heat storage. Belonging to gabbro volcanic group, magmatic basalt rock is a thin grained, dark colored (black), hard and durable material. Within the scope of the theory of sensible heat storage, heat and material properties of the basalt stone were studied, while comparisons were made with other materials of heat storage.


Inspired by the tremendous success of the self-attention mechanism in natural language processing, the Vision Transformer (ViT) creatively applies it to image patch sequences and achieves incredible performance. However, the scaled dot-product self-attention of ViT brings about scale ambiguity to the structure of the original feature space. To address this problem, we propose a novel method named Orthogonal Vision Transformer (O-ViT), to optimize ViT from the geometric perspective. O-ViT limits parameters of self-attention blocks to be on the norm-keeping orthogonal manifold, which can keep the geometry of the feature space. Moreover, O-ViT achieves both orthogonal constraints and cheap optimization overhead by adopting a surjective mapping between the orthogonal group and its Lie algebra.We have conducted comparative experiments on image recognition tasks to demonstrate O-ViT's validity and experiments show that O-ViT can boost the performance of ViT by up to 3.6%.


Abstract Most people simultaneously belong to several distinct social networks, in which their relations can be different. They have opinions about certain topics, which they share and spread on these networks, and are influenced by the opinions of other persons. In this paper, we build upon this observation to propose a new nodal centrality measure for multiplex networks. Our measure, called Opinion centrality, is based on a stochastic model representing opinion propagation dynamics in such a network. We formulate an optimization problem consisting in maximizing the opinion of the whole network when controlling an external influence able to affect each node individually. We find a mathematical closed form of this problem, and use its solution to derive our centrality measure. According to the opinion centrality, the more a node is worth investing external influence, and the more it is central. We perform an empirical study of the proposed centrality over a toy network, as well as a collection of real-world networks. Our measure is generally negatively correlated with existing multiplex centrality measures, and highlights different types of nodes, accordingly to its definition.


Smart grid technologies for the high voltage power grid usually refer to (1) the new sensors that can sample voltages and currents at very fast rates and calculate their phase relationships by coordinating with a GPS time signal, (2) the high bandwidth communications that can move this voluminous measurement data to monitoring and control stations, and (3) fast controllers like breakers and power electronic controls (FACTS) that can be operated by remote signals. This raises the possibility of many new applications for monitoring, for advisory notification, and for automatic control that can help the system operator and system operation. In this panel presentation we discuss some of these new applications that weren't possible before as well as the modifications of existing applications which can be made more robust and more useful by the new technologies.


Abstract Through the article, I share the theoretical foundations, structure, knowledge acquisition, and outcomes of a cultural leadership course. The process for course development integrates several theories and research methods into practice: L. Dee Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Portraiture/Phenomenology. This course has been piloted at two universities and represents a partnership between the Student Affairs Division and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences at both institutions. This article explores the importance of culture, examines knowledge production on leadership outside of traditional academic venues, and paints a portrait of culture and leadership in the lives of college students.


The use of voice commands or navigation features in the car is becoming a necessity. As keyboard and display interfaces cannot be used safely while driving, much effort has been done to make automatic speech recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech synthesis (TTS) ubiquitous features in the car. From voice dialing to car navigation, the requirements for voice technology vary greatly. While the use of a hands-free microphone and noise robust algorithms is a must, a wide range of technology spanning from small vocabulary isolated word/continuous speech to phonetic-based flexible vocabulary ASR has to be developed. Except for voice dialing, speaker-independent technology eventually combined with fast adaptation is mandatory. In this paper, we present our efforts in these directions. After focusing on two novel techniques for robust speech recognition in the car, we focus on fast speaker adaptation and report on experiments for a small set of 10 keywords, continuous digit/letter recognition along with phonetic-based recognition for 1800 words.


Electricity generation through photovoltaic technology is the fastest growing in the world. Due to its linear power growth characteristic, small-scale generation on grid is common in several countries. In Brazil, in the context of this study, the small-scale solar PV exponentially grows since the implementation of the Distributed Generation market regulation in 2012. Several installer companies have emerged in the country and many residential, commercial and industrial investors are eager to invest in photovoltaic systems. As much as all installers offer the integration of a photovoltaic system, several peculiarities in service and quality are perceived by customers, which makes their decision difficult. So, the aim of this study is to present a software application to support decision-making in small-scale photovoltaic projects. The modelling and application are presented through a case study with an investor who needed to choose between four projects to invest. With the software application use, the investor can reflect on his preferences and changes in the project to improve his satisfaction. Besides, he can compare different projects budgeted by installers, helping in the decision-making process. In the case study, it was possible to see the difference between the four budgets and choose the one that best met the investor's expectations.


Abstract Naphthenic acids are toxic and corrosive substances in oil sands leachates comprising a group of saturated aliphatic and alicyclic carboxylic acids in hydrocarbon deposits (petroleum, oil sands bitumen, and crude oils). In the current study, photolysis was applied to naphthenic acid mixtures and individual compounds to determine the efficacy of a variety of UV/vis radiation sources for reducing both concentration and aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor binding as a measure of toxicity. The results show that the concentrations of neither the compounds nor the mixtures were significantly reduced in Athabasca River water, although compositional changes occurred within the mixtures and Ah receptor binding potential was affected by photolysis. Photolysis at UV254 was the most effective radiation source applied in all instances.


We formulate and solve the null/pole interpolation problem for the class RI of rational matrix-valued functions intertwining solutions of linear ODEs with a spectral parameter; such functions appear naturally as transfer functions of overdetermined 2D systems invariant in one direction. The salient new feature, as compared to the usual null/pole interpolation problem for rational matrix-valued functions, is that the null and pole vectors are replaced by the null and pole solutions of the given ODEs for the values of the spectral parameter equal to the prescribed zeroes and poles. As a byproduct we obtain a realization theorem and a Hermitian (conservative) realization theorem.


Lensless imaging seeks to replace/remove the lens in a conventional imaging system. The earliest cameras were in fact lensless, relying on long exposure times to form images on the other end of a small aperture in a darkened room/container (camera obscura). The introduction of a lens allowed for more light throughput and therefore shorter exposure times, while retaining sharp focus. The incorporation of digital sensors readily enabled the use of computational imaging techniques to post-process and enhance raw images (e.g. via deblurring, inpainting, denoising, sharpening). Recently, imaging scientists have started leveraging computational imaging as an integral part of lensless imaging systems, allowing them to form viewable images from the highly multiplexed raw measurements of lensless cameras (see [5] and references therein for a comprehensive treatment of lensless imaging). This represents a real paradigm shift in camera system design as there is more flexibility to cater the hardware to the application at hand (e.g. lightweight or flat designs). This increased flexibility comes however at the price of a more demanding post-processing of the raw digital recordings and a tighter integration of sensing and computation, often difficult to achieve in practice due to inefficient interactions between the various communities of scientists involved. With LenslessPiCam, we provide an easily accessible hardware and software framework to enable researchers, hobbyists, and students to implement and explore practical and computational aspects of lensless imaging. We also provide detailed guides and exercises so that LenslessPiCam can be used as an educational resource, and point to results from our graduate-level signal processing course.


The hot gas casing of a gas turbine used for peak load power production had developed extensive cracking during operation. The operating time was 18,000 h, and it had been subjected to 1,600 operating cycles. The gas temperature on the hot side was 985 deg C, on the cold side 204 deg C, the material being AISI 321 stainless steel. The purpose of the present study was to determine optimum repair welding procedures on the premise that the material was basically sound and undamaged by creep. The cracking was the result of thermal fatigue, and such cracks can propagate at elevated temperature, with damage ahead of the crack tip occurring by means of very local processes of creep. Metallographic examination disclosed heavy surface layers of carbides, such that the material was extremely brittle when subjected to bending. Accordingly, although it was demonstrated that the casing could be welded successfully, it was suggested that the remaining useful life was effectively exhausted and that it should be replaced. Thermal stresses produced during operation would rapidly result in additional cracks.


A major challenge in science and engineering research and development at the nano-scale, and particularly for photonics, is the availability of infrastructure that allows easy and quick implementation of structures, devices, or more complex systems necessary for making rigorous measurements, other exploratory directions of interest, and building of assemblies that utilize techniques from multiple disciplines. The experiments connect across length scales - nanometers and up, employ a variety of materials and techniques of assembly and patterning, and require a complex mix of knowledge that are derived from other research areas and tools that are demanding in skills and are hard to access. The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN; www.nnin.org) is funded by the National Science Foundation and is a partnership of open shared facilities across the country that enables the national community to pursue research and technology development that can benefit from nanotechnology. The NNIN provides easy hands-on access to external users, remote usage, staff support, low cost usage, knowledge infrastructure, and brings together an extensive coordinated array of instruments for fabrication, synthesis, and characterization together with other infrastructure resources. Particularly relevant to photonics is the ability to combine optical quality materials and fabrication techniques with ultra-sensitive characterization and application to biology, fluidics, and problems of interest in optical and electronic communication. Integration to the smallest length scales through synthesis and electron-beam lithography, growth and deposition of a variety materials with controlled properties, patterning of complex shapes in the three-dimensions, connecting such structures, characterization, and the ability to achieve this quickly and at low cost is essential to successful university research and industrial innovation. NNIN tool resources that span focused-ion beam, electron microscopy, spectroscopic techniques, etc. for characterization; synthesis, growth, deposition, etc. for assembling; utra-high resolution lithography, etching, etc. for patterning - all enable the researcher to focus on their own research interest by leveraging the NNIN infrastructure. Access of NNIN is designed for ease of use - quick access (typically, 2 weeks), strong support (direct staff and web-based interactions), and remote execution for simple projects.


Although gynaecological cancers are not currently part of the clinical indications in the French registration for [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG), various studies indicate in this context a potential clinical benefit of imaging with this radiopharmaceutical and PET, a new imaging modality that can be performed either with a dedicated machine or with a "hybrid" gamma-camera (CDET). The potential indications of FDG-PET in mammary, ovarian or cervical cancers are reviewed according to the diagnostic phase: screening, tumour characterisation, staging, therapeutic follow-up and search for recurrence. By pooling the published results, the accuracy of FDG-PET could be estimated with a reasonable precision in various clinical settings: characterisation of a breast tumour (598/696 = 86%), lymph node invasion in breast cancer (525/602 = 87%), recurrence of breast cancer (114/127 = 90%), characterisation of adnexal masses (130/176 = 78%), recurrence of ovarian cancer (152/172 = 88%), lymph node invasion in cervical cancer (98/103 = 95%). Authors also present original data concerning their experience of recurrence detection with CDET in breast or ovarian cancers. In 44 patients suspicious of recurrence of breast cancer, FDG-CDET sensitivity was 94%, specificity 82% and accuracy 91%; in 18 patients suspicious of recurrence of ovarian cancer, specificity, sensitivity and accuracy were 100%. The impact of dedicated PET and CDET examinations performed by our team during year 2000, led, according to 63 forms returned to us, to a modification of stage in 48% of breast cancers, 36% of ovarian cancers, 43% of cervical cancers and above all induced a modification in patients' management in respectively 69%, 64% and 60% of cases, more than the average rate in cancer patients which was 50%. No significant difference was observed between clinical impact of dedicated PET and CDET examinations.


As autonomous driving technology progresses forward, frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar is projected to be used more widely for automotive purposes. Due to the expected rapid growth of road vehicles equipped with radars, more attention is paid to finding ways of reducing mutual interference among automotive radars. In this letter, a novel scheme is proposed to solve the issue of velocity estimation for FMCW radar with random pulse position modulation, which is a promising technique to drastically mitigate mutual interference. The proposed scheme uses a two-dimensional convolutional neural network working on covariance matrices of signals extracted from the region of interest as well as the information of chirp positions. Analysis of its performance, in particular comparison with that of orthogonal matching pursuit, with simulation and experimental data demonstrate the potential of the approach.


Cloud Computing is emerging as the next generation platform which would facilitate the user on pay use mode as per requirement in modern distributed computing. It gives a better way of scheduling jobs in restricted conditions. Since the number of cloud users need different kind of virtual machines(VM) as per the requirement and cloud provider provides these services as per the Service Level Agreement(SLA) to ensure QoS. To manage large amount of VM requests, then the cloud providers require an efficient job scheduling algorithm. The objective of the paper is to achieve a practical comparison of various job scheduling algorithms for scheduling virtual machines proposes optimization technique which resolves the issues in the scheduling based algorithm that one of these algorithms is better for scheduling and provisioning with the perspective of cost and security of VMs.


Abstract The main objective of this paper is to analyze if there is a link between financial performance and sustainability in the case of listed companies on stock markets, worldwide, and across all sectors of activity because sustainability has become an important part of the company's strategy. The financial performance of the companies was calculated using public financial data from the annual financial statements, while the environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and controversies scores were used as performance metrics for sustainability at company level. To evaluate financial performance a variety of indicators were used, such as assets management, debt management or market value performance, as a benchmark tool to compare the standing of companies in each sector of activity analyzed. Our findings showed that there are different relations (strong or weak) between financial performance and sustainability if a sectoral-based approach is considered. As a result, the link between financial performance and sustainability was tested on a sample of more than 5,000 companies divided into 10 sectors of activities, according to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), for the period 2017-2021. The main conclusion of this study is that they are interrelated, capitalizing on each other.


The mechanism for fast-ion-induced toroidal plasma rotation in the absence of external momentum input reported in Perkins et al (Perkins F.W. et al 2001 Phys. Plasmas 8 2181) is examined in detail, at the level of single particle orbits and their collisional evolution, with the aim at clarifying the physical processes involved. This mechanism may be a contributing factor to the toroidal plasma rotation observed during the injection of intense ion cyclotron resonance frequency (ICRF) waves in recent tokamak experiments. It is found that the pitch-angle scattering of fast-ion orbits is essential in order to spin the plasma toroidally in the co-current direction. This situation is applicable to high-density C-MOD plasmas with intense ICRF wave absorption on the low-field side. However, in tokamaks such as JET, where fast ions with energies in the MeV range are produced by ICRF, the pitch-angle scattering is less important and counter-rotation is more likely to occur. More significantly, sheared rotation induced by ICRF fast ions can contribute to the quenching of turbulent fluctuations and of triggering internal transport barriers.


Purpose:The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in longitudinal retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) as determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) after optic disc hemorrhage (DH) in glaucomatous eyes. Methods:A total of 65 eyes with unilateral DH and 65 contralateral eyes without DH were subjected to RNFLT measurements by using OCT at the time of DH detection and at 1 year (12±2 mo) and 2 years (24±2 mo) later. For the definition of event-based significant RNFLT changes (a change beyond the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval of test-retest variability), 50 eyes with stable glaucoma without DH that had undergone OCT examinations 3 times with a 1-year interval were also enrolled. Clock-hour sector RNFLT in the eyes with DH and clock-hour sector RNFLT at equivalent locations in the contralateral eyes without DH were analyzed to assess localized and spatially compatible RNFLT changes associated with DH. Results:Of the eyes with DH, 38.5% showed decrease in RNFLT and 6.2% showed increase in RNFLT 1 year after DH detection, whereas 58.5% showed decrease in RNFLT and no eye showed increase in RNFLT 2 years after DH detection. Significant decreases in RNFLT in the eyes with DH were associated with the presence of recurrent DH and greater baseline RNFLT (P<0.05). Of the contralateral eyes without DH, 4.6% and 15.4% showed decrease in RNFLT 1 and 2 years after DH detection, respectively. Conclusions:In the glaucomatous eyes, DH was associated with progressive decrease in RNFLT as determined by OCT, especially in the eyes with recurrent DH and greater baseline RNFLT.


BACKGROUND
High blood pressure (HBP) is a cardiovascular risk factor that can initiate in childhood and adolescence and may be associated with other risk factors such as sedentary lifestyles. Therefore, verifying if these associations occur from the earliest ages is of fundamental importance.

OBJECTIVES
to report the prevalence of HBP combined with sedentary behavior through a systematic review.

DESIGN AND METHODS
The research was performed based on studies published between 2010 and 2016 in Medline, Web of Science, Excerpta Medica (EMBASE), and Scielo, using terms related to: 'sedentary behavior' OR 'screen time' AND 'high blood pressure'. In the initial search, 821 studies were found and after exclusions twelve studies were included in the review.

RESULTS
Twelve studies addressing the relationship between sedentary behavior and HBP were found. Eighty-three percent of the studies evaluated sedentary behavior using a questionnaire (n = 10). The majority of studies analyzed in the review were conducted in North America (41.6%). Only four studies presented the prevalence of HBP related to sedentary behavior (variation 1-22.9%). In seven studies a close relationship between sedentary behavior and HBP was observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Although most studies observed a relationship between sedentary behavior and HBP, the results still need to be further explained. Based on the findings of this review, follow-up studies and objective measurements of time spent in sedentary behavior in young people could help to determine the cause-effect relationship between sedentary behavior and HBP in pediatric populations.


The microtuber is considered one of the most effective
means of spreading basic materials, as well as transporting and preserving
potato germplasm varieties. To define the optimal conditions for the potato
microtuber in vitro germination of
Aida, Atlas and Odessa varieties, the effects of temperature, physiological age
and grade (size) were evaluated. The study conducted at three different
temperature levels has demonstrated that the most favorable temperature for
microtuber germination at a higher and faster germination rate was 25℃,
regardless of the variety. In addition, microtubers of large caliber, greater
than 4 mm, germinate more quickly, with a higher germination rate, than smaller
size ones (less than 4 mm) for all genotypes. For Atlas, Aida and Odessa varieties,
a germination rate equal to 86.66%, 70% and 70% respectively, was obtained for
microtubers with a caliber superior to 4 mm. Physiological age influences
microtuber germination. The mean length of sprouts, reached after a 7 week
incubation period, was more marked at
"multiple sprout" and "branched sprout" stages than at a "monosprout"
stage. The average length was 2.35 cm, 2.48 cm and 1.5 cm, respectively. Thus,
it is necessary to plant microtubers at a "multiple sprout" stage to optimize
their yield in plants and minitubers.


The magnetic field trapping capability of a bulk superconductor is essentially determined by the critical current density, Jc(B, T), of the material. With state-of-the-art bulk (RE)BCO (where RE = rare earth or Y) materials it is clear that trapped fields of over 20 T are potentially achievable. However, the large Lorentz forces, FL = J × B, that develop during magnetisation of the sample lead to large mechanical stresses that can result in mechanical failure. The radial forces are tensile and the resulting stresses are not resisted well because of the brittle ceramic nature of (RE)BCO materials. Where fields of more than 17 T have been achieved, the samples were reinforced mechanically using resin impregnation and carbon-fibre wrapping or shrink-fit stainless steel. In this paper, two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric and three-dimensional (3D) finite-element models based on the H-formulation, implemented in the commercial finite element software package COMSOL Multiphysics, are used to provide a comprehensive picture of the mechanical stresses in bulk superconductor magnets with and without mechanical reinforcement during field-cooled magnetisation. The chosen modelling framework couples together electromagnetic, thermal and structural mechanics models, and is extremely flexible in allowing the inclusion of various magnetisation processes and conditions, as well as detailed and realistic properties of the materials involved. The 2D model—a faster route to parametric optimisation—is firstly used to investigate the influence of the ramp rate of the applied field and any heat generated in the bulk. Finally, the 3D model is used to investigate the influence of inhomogeneous Jc(B, T) properties around the ab-plane of the bulk superconductor on the developed mechanical stress.


Cloud computing provides a revolutionary model for the deployment of enterprise applications and Web services alike. In this new model, cloud users save on the cost of purchasing and managing base infrastructure, while the cloud providers save on the cost of maintaining underutilized CPU, memory, and network resources. Inmigrating to this new model, users face a variety of issues. Commercial clouds provide several support models to aide users in resolving the reported issues

This paper arises from our quest to understand how to design IaaS support models for more efficient user troubleshooting. Using a data driven approach, we start our exploration into this issue with an investigation into the problems encountered by users and the methods utilized by the cloud support's staff to resolve these problems. We examine message threads appearing in the forum of a large IaaS provider over a 3 year period. We argue that the lessons derived from this study point to a set of principles that future IaaS offerings can implement to provide users with a more efficient support model. This data driven approach enables us to propose a set of principles that are pertinent to the experiences of users and that we believe could vastly improve the SLA observed by the users.


Abstract NF-kB plays a major role in the aetiopathogenesis of inflammatory-colitis. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of green tea and its polyphenols and their nanoformulation in Tri-Nitro Benzene Sulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis in in-vivo system (Rat) and the involvement of non-canonical and canonical NF-kB pathway in green tea mediated protection (in-silico platform). We used the Wister rat model of TNBS-induced colitis. Rats were grouped into eleven groups (six animals each) and administered vehicle (ethanol), TNBS, Epicatechin (EC), Epigallocatechin (EGC), Epicatechin-gallate (ECG), Epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG), sulfasalazine, green tea, EGCG + sulfasalazine, nano-EGCG and nano-EGCG + sulfasalazine for 14 days after induction of colitis. Colonic tissue was evaluated for the level of malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase activity, catalase, reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, NF-κB and morphological and histopathological evidence of damage. In the in-silico part, molecular docking and dynamic simulation study of EGCG was done against different targets in NF-kB for detailed evaluation of the role of non-canonical and canonical NF-KB pathway. In our study, EGCG reduced colonic inflammation, markers of oxidative stress, TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-1β and IL-6. Nano-EGCG + sulfasalazine was more efficacious when compared to EGCG + sulfasalazine. In molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation studies, EGCG showed a good binding profile to the inhibitor binding sites of IKK-beta, IKK-alpha and NIK. Thus, it can be concluded that EGCG showed protective action in experimental colitis acting through both non-canonical and canonical NF-kB pathway. Nano-EGCG + sulfasalazine combination showed better protection than nano-EGCG alone. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


The U.S. Geological Survey and other international agencies have collaborated to conduct laboratory and field validations of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements of streamflow. Laboratory validations made in a large towing basin show that the mean differences between tow cart velocity and ADCP bottom-track and water-track velocities were −0.51 and −1.10% , respectively. Field validations of commercially available ADCPs were conducted by comparing streamflow measurements made with ADCPs to reference streamflow measurements obtained from concurrent mechanical current-meter measurements, stable rating curves, salt-dilution measurements, or acoustic velocity meters. Data from 1,032 transects, comprising 100 discharge measurements, were analyzed from 22 sites in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and The Netherlands. Results of these analyses show that broadband ADCP streamflow measurements are unbiased when compared to the reference discharges regardless of the water mode used for making the ...


Dried Eucheumacottoniiseaweed (DES) is one of the main aquaculture commodities in Indonesia. Local farmers plant, harvest, and dry the seaweed, and subsequently sell it to traders. The selling price of seaweed depends on internal and external factors. To maximize their profit, farmers have to estimate the future price development by means of these factors. This paper presents a novel data-driven method reports on our attempts to develop methods to aid farmers in making such predictions. More specifically, we apply data mining to the task of predicting the seaweed price eight weeks ahead, at the time of selling. The data mining algorithm, i.e., classifier, requires attributes as its inputs. In our experiments, we selected three internal and three external factors as input attributes. The internal-factorattributes used are: current price, dirty content, and moisture content. The three external-factor attributes all relate to the weather and areminimum temperature, maximum temperature, and precipitation. All attributes are measured at time t. The output of classifier is a binary classification indicating if the seaweed sales price at time t plus eight weeks is larger or smaller than the price at time t. The data is collected from two publicly available sources and consists of 275measurements of six attributes each.We evaluated the performances of four classifiers on our data set using 10-fold cross-validation. The results obtained revealed that we were able to predict the selling price of seaweed with an accuracy of64%. Analysis of the trained classifier revealed that the main attribute used for predicting the future price is the current price. In conclusion, our data mining experiments suggest that it is feasible to predict the future price development of seaweedselling pricein Indonesia with accuracy above chance level.


Multiple sequence alignment is one of the important research topics of bioinformatics. The objective is to maximize the similarities between them by adding and shuffling gaps. We propose a hybrid algorithm based on genetic (GAs) and 2-optimal algorithms. We are using permutation coding corresponding to represent the solution, and we are studying scoring function for multiple alignments, that is used as fitness function. Our GA is implemented with two selections strategies and different crossovers. The probability of crossover and mutation are set as one. Performance and comparison of the proposed GA is analyzed and the obtained solution qualities are reported.


We consider the adsorption kinetics of a regular block copolymer of total length N and block size M at a selective liquid-liquid interface in the limit of strong localization. We propose a simple analytic theory based on scaling considerations which describes the relaxation of the initial coil into a flat-shaped layer. The characteristic times for attaining equilibrium values of the gyration radius components perpendicular and parallel to the interface are predicted to scale with chain length N and block length M as τ⊥ M1 + 2ν (here ν ≈ 0.6 is the Flory exponent) and as τ∥ N2, although the initial characteristic time of coil flattening is expected to grow with block size as M. Since typically N > > M for multiblock copolymers, our results suggest that the flattening dynamics proceeds faster perpendicular rather than parallel to the interface. We also demonstrate that these scaling predictions agree well with the results of extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the localization dynamics.


An integrated programme of work is underway in Dundee to formulate engineering strategies to alleviate the flooding in the city centre and also to minimise the continuing maintenance costs for sewer sediment removal. The objectives of this programme are commensurate with current UK research initiatives which are investigating the nature and movement of sewer sediments and associated pollution. As a consequence the studies in Dundee are providing data to assist in the development of new models for sewer flow quality.


The term "idiopathic nephrotic syndrome" is poorly defined and is used to refer to a variety of glomerular lesions. This article seeks to clarify the situation by considering the case for treating minimal-change nephropathy, focal and segmental glomerulosclerotic lesions, and mesangioproliferative lesions with predominantly IgM deposition as separate disease entities. In children, nephrotic syndrome has a pattern different from that in adults, in whom a wider pathogenetic spectrum is seen. There is support for the use of prospective clinicopathological data as the basis of identifying those patients with nephrotic syndrome who will progress to end-stage renal failure. Very heavy, persisting proteinuria is one marker of such progression and is also an indicator of metabolic complications, such as cardiovascular disease, which further increase the risks of mortality and morbidity in this group of patients.


This chapter examines the theoretical and empirical foundations of the roles of morphological and semantic skills in developmental dyslexia. Morphemes are the minimal units of meaning by which we create new words in any given language (e.g., "magic"+"ian" = "magician"). Semantics is the study of meaning, broadly speaking. In this chapter, we review data on children's access to meaning at the word and sentence level in tasks, primarily in the oral modality. This review is important because of two common assumptions. The first is of the dominant role of phonological skills in dyslexia, an assumption that has limited the scope of empirical exploration into other potentially implicated factors. The second is that people with dyslexia have a strength in morphology and semantics, a speculation with surprisingly little empirical foundation. We first review the theoretical background for these speculations. We then present the available research evidence, focusing specifically on children with dyslexia, for alphabetic, morphosyllabic, and abjad writing systems. We then review explanatory mechanisms, before turning to cross-linguistic dimensions. We conclude with a broad discussion of these theories and findings, including clinical implications.


A novel multivariable state-space predictive PID optimal control law is proposed which is mathematically equivalent to generalised predictive control (GPC). The theoretical problem to be considered is to obtain the causal, stabilising, controllers of pre-specified PID structure, such that the individual PID controllers satisfy a multivariable predictive criterion and hence collectively perform as a multivariate GPC controller. The underlying practical problem and aim of this work is to obtain and develop an online optimisation method for tuning PID controllers so that they can operate either as classical PID controllers or in unison as a multivariable GPC controller. It is shown that such an approach leads to a dual mode controller which is the ability to switch the multivariable PID between operating either as a classical PID controller or a GPC controller.


We study the possibility of controlling the propagation of ballistic electrons using an electronic metamaterial with zero quantum index of refraction. This is obtained by tailoring the band structure of a semiconductor superlattice to exhibit a Dirac cone at the center of the Brillouin zone, creating an artificial quantum medium with zero refractive index for electrons. We demonstrate attractive functionalities, such as anomalous tunneling, ideal matching, electronic routing, cloaking, and focusing. We envision applications in nanoelectronics and sensing.


The soft tissue changes after the extraction of maxillary first premolars and subsequent anterior tooth retraction were evaluated for 16 Class II, division 1 patients. Pre- and posttreatment lateral head cephalograms were evaluated using superimpositions on Björk-type metallic implants in the maxilla. The patient sample was divided into group I patients, those who did exhibit lip seal at rest in the pretreatment cephalogram and group II patients, those who did not exhibit lip seal at rest in the pretreatment cephalogram. Upper incisor retraction was followed by a similar ratio of upper lip retraction in both the lip seal and nonsealed groups (1:0.75 and 1:0.70 mean ratios, respectively). However, those without lip seal did demonstrate more retraction at stomion (USt). The final upper lip position (Ls) was reasonably correlated with retraction of the cervical maxillary incisor point (cU1) with determination coefficients of 63.6% in the lip sealed and 68.5% in the lip incompetent groups. Although labial and nasolabial angles tended to open after incisor retraction, there was little predictability for this response.


"One's first encounter with the photographic inventory of ultimate horror is a kind of revelation, the prototypically modern revelation: a negative epiphany. For me, it was photographs of Bergen-Belsen and Dachau that I came across by chance in a bookstore in Santa Monica in July . Nothing I have seen—in photographs or in real life— ever cut me as sharply, deeply, instantaneously. Indeed, it seems plausible to me to divide my life into two parts, before I saw those photographs (I was twelve) and after, though it was several years before I understood fully what they were about.What good was served by seeing them? They were only photographs—of an event I had scarcely heard of and could do nothing to affect, of suffering I could hardly imagine and could do nothing to relieve. When I looked at those photographs, something broke. Some limit had been reached, and not only that of horror; I felt irrevocably grieved, wounded, but a part of my feelings started to tighten; something went dead, something is still crying."1


DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/19820194201500072 Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil. Conflicts of interest: no conflicts of interest to declare. Abstract Objectives: To identify the presence of contamination on tourniquets for peripheral intravenous puncture and to characterize the profile of the Staphylococcus spp. and the isolated yeasts. Methods: Cross-sectional study in which 18 tourniquets for peripheral intravenous puncture in use at a hospital were analyzed. The tourniquets were immersed in BHI broth for 24h and cultivated in selective media for isolation and identification of Staphylococcus spp. and yeasts. The disk-diffusion method was employed to analyze the susceptibility profile of the Staphylococcus spp. to the antimicrobial agents. Results: The growth of some microorganism was identified on 13 (72.2%) tourniquets: 11 (52.4%) coagulasenegative Staphylococcus, two (9.5%) Staphylococcus aureus, four (19%) Rodothorula mucilaginosa, three (14.3%) Candida albicans. 61.5% of the Staphylococcus spp. were oxacillin-resistant. The team professionals did not mention protocols for cleaning, disinfection or controlled replacement of these materials at the institution. Conclusion: The contamination of tourniquets by pathogenic microorganisms was identified, with a resistance profile to the antibiotics that are frequently used in hospitals.


Abstract By applying the computational method of decision trees, this research identifies the most decisive attributes enhancing ad persuasiveness by examining the contextual effects of emotional (in)congruence on ad placement for music videos on YouTube. Findings of this interdisciplinary research not only evaluated key psychological constructs via a computational approach to predict persuasiveness but also extended the theoretical consideration of contextual (in)congruence into the domain of emotion. Methodologically, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of decision trees in exploratory theory testing. Practically, the predictive results from the decision tree model provide much needed strategic guidance to inform advertising design and evaluation for video-sharing websites.


Behçet's disease is characterized clinically by the presence of a diagnostic triad of stomatitis, genital ulceration and uveitis. Multiple other organ systems may be involved. Prognosis is related to the presence of central nervous system, vascular or intestinal involvement. This report describes the pathology of neuro-, vasculo- and entero-Behçet's disease in a single patient.


One special case of Arak, Clifford and Surgailis' 1993 point-based polygon models for random graphs yields an isotropic random tessellation of convex polygons, with all vertices T-vertices. It is shown that its polygon distributions coincide with those of the random tessellation determined by Poisson isotropic random lines in the plane, for which all vertices are X-vertices (cf. Fig. 4). This surprising property extends to general orientation distributions, e.g. to rectangular tessellations stemming from a two atom distribution. Applying this property, it is shown that a wide variety of distinct random tessellations obtained from these two by superposition, nesting, etc. possess those very same polygon distributions.


We present a (hopefully) fresh interpretation of the Hangman's Paradox and Newcomb's Paradox by casting the puzzles in the language of modern game theory, instead of in the realm of epistemology. Game theory moves the analysis away from the formal logic of the puzzles toward more practical problems, such as: On what day would the executioner hang the prisoner if he wanted to surprise him as much as possible? How should a surprise test be administered? We argue that both the Hangman's Paradox and Newcomb's Paradox are analogous to a well-known phenomenon in game theory, that giving a player an additional attractive (even dominant) strategy may make him worse off. In the Hangman's Paradox, the executioner is determined to surprise the prisoner as much as possible, yet he cannot surprise him at all because he cannot commit in advance to a random schedule. The possibility of changing his mind (i.e., the presence of alternative strategies) superficially would seem to help the executioner, but because it changes the expectations of the prisoner, in the end it works dramatically to his disadvantage. In Newcomb's Paradox, a man given an extra dominant choice is worse off because it changes God's expectations about what he will do. Our analysis cannot be couched in terms of the standard Nash framework of games, but must instead be put in a recent extension called psychological games, where payoffs may depend on beliefs as well as on actions.


In cultured Chinese hamster cells, no decrease in the number of chromosome aberrations was noted after exposure thereof to 70 GeV protons at the late S-phase as opposed to early one. It is suggested that high biological effectiveness of this type of radiation is associated with its inhibiting effect of cytogenetic damages repair.


Passive immunotherapy, including adoptive T-cell therapy and antibody therapy, has shown encouraging results in cancer treatment lately. However, active immunotherapy of solid cancers remains an elusive goal. It is now known that the human innate immune system recognizes pathogen-associated molecular patterns conserved among microbes or damage-associated molecular patterns released from tissue injuries to initiate adaptive immune responses during infection and tissue inflammation, respectively. In contrast, how the innate immune system recognizes endogenously arising cancer remains poorly understood at the molecular level, which poses a significant roadblock to the development of active cancer immunotherapy. We hereby review the current knowledge of how solid cancers directly and indirectly interact with cells of the human innate immune system, with a focus on the potential effect of such interactions to the resultant adaptive immune responses against cancer. We believe that understanding cancer and innate immune system interactions may allow us to better manipulate the adaptive immune system at the molecular level to develop effective active immunotherapy against cancer. Current and future perspectives in clinical development that exploits these molecular interactions are discussed.


Abstract This work is a part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) titled: \Benchmarks of Computational Tools against Experimental Data on Fuel Burnup and Material Activation for Utilization, Operation and Safety Analysis of Research Reactors". The OPAL research reactor has been modelled using MCNP codes as a benchmark study. Neutron flux profiles, critical configurations, control rod worths, fuel burnup and kinetic parameters have been calculated. Comparisons between the calculated results and the experimental data given in the OPAL benchmark have been performed.


The kidney adapts its tubular capacity to transport inorganic phosphate (P(i)) according to the dietary supply of P(i) in both intact and thyropara-thyroidectomized (TPTX) rats. However, in TPTX rats the capability of the renal tubule to adapt to a high P(i) diet is diminished. In TPTX rats the production of the active vitamin D(3) metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)], is also reduced. 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) has been shown to have a marked effect on P(i) metabolism. Therefore the question arises whether the deficient production of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) contributes to the alteration of the tubular transport of P(i) observed in chronically TPTX rats. In the present investigation, vitamin D-replete rats were sham operated (SHAM) or thyroparathyroidectomized and then pair fed diets containing either 0.2 or 1.2 g/100 g P for 7 days. During this period, groups of SHAM and TPTX rats received i.p. 2 x 13 pmol/day of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3), a dose which was shown to just normalize the decreased intestinal absorption of Ca and P(i) in TPTX rats. The capacity of tubular P(i) transport was then assessed by measuring the fractional excretion of P(i) (FEP(i)) at increasing plasma P(i) concentration ([P(i)](Pl)) obtained by acute infusion of P(i). The results show that in SHAM rats fed either P diet, 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) has no effect on the renal handling of P(i). In TPTX rats fed 1.2 g/100 g P diet, 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) increases FEP(i) over a wide range of [P(i)](Pl.) In TPTX rats fed a 0.2 g/100 g P diet, 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) does not alter FEP(i) up to a [P(i)](Pl) of 3.0-3.5 mM, but does increase it at higher [P(i)](Pl.) In fact, on both diets TPTX rats supplemented with 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) appear to have the same renal handling of P(i) as SHAM counterparts. The effect of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) was not associated with a change in urine pH or in urinary excretion of cyclic AMP and was maintained under marked extracellular volume expansion. It was associated with a rise in plasma calcium in the TPTX rats fed the high, but not the low, P diet. In TPTX rats fed 1.2 g/100 g P diet, 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) in doses of 2 x 130 or 2 x 1,300 pmol/day i.p. did not increase FEP(i.)In conclusion, 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) administered in physiological amounts to TPTX rats restores to normal the capability of the renal tubule to excrete P(i) and to adapt to large variation in dietary P(i). The results suggest that 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) plays an important role in the regulation of the renal handling of P(i) and that the chronic change in the tubular capacity to transport P(i) after TPTX may be due to the decreased formation of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3).


Islanded microgrids require power reserve with fast primary-frequency response to operate stably. Primary-frequency response from generators or batteries incurs high costs. Alternatively, primary-frequency responsive loads reduce costs by allowing generators and batteries to operate more flexibly. In industrial microgrids, which comprise a significant portion of the microgrid market, electrical motors are a significant portion of the total load. However, existing demand response mechanisms are not suitable for motor loads in microgrids. In this article, a novel grid-supporting motor drive controller is proposed. This controller can be retrofitted to motor drive loads to provide fast primary-frequency response. A reduced-order analytical model of the motor drive load is derived, which can be directly integrated into system-wide frequency stability studies. Additionally, the primary-frequency response time of the motor drive is assessed, analytically and through EMT simulation, and is less than $\text{100 ms}$, which is comparable to large battery energy storage systems. Finally, the behaviour of a microgrid system that includes two large motor drive loads is assessed during various large disturbances through EMT simulation.


One-dimensional and two-dimensional peptide-mapping techniques are used to identify the protein which gives rise to the 72,000 dalton alpha-chymotryptic fragment previously shown to be the membrane attachment site for spectrin. Peptide maps of the 72,000 dalton fragment are very different from maps of Bands 1, 2, 2.9, 3, 3.1, 4.1, and 4.2 and very similar to maps of the apparently closely homologous polypeptides, Bands 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and 2.6. Limited proteolysis of erythrocyte membranes is shown to generate Band 3', another polypeptide which has been associated with spectrin-binding activity. Peptide maps of Band 3' are very similar to maps of Band 2.1, suggesting that Band 3' is also a proteolytic fragment of Band 2.1. It is concluded that Band 2.1 and possibly some or all of the other, related polypeptides which electrophorese in the 2 region is (are) the spectrin-binding protein(s) of the human erythrocyte.


Both episodic memory and the key neural structure believed to support it, namely the hippocampus, are believed to undergo protracted periods of postnatal developmental. Critically however, the hippocampus is comprised of distinct subfields and circuits, and these circuits appear to mature at different rates (Lavenex and Banta Lavenex, 2013). Utilising what is currently understood about the functional significance of these circuits, Jabès and Nelson (2015) proposed an elegant neurocognitive model of the ontogeny of human memory that links the emergence of increasingly complex mnemonic processes with the protracted maturation of these discrete circuits. Whilst this approach has the potential to simultaneously drive forward our understanding of the ontogeny of early memory and our understanding of the functional significance of these hippocampal circuits, there is little direct evidence to support these links. In this commentary I discuss how utilising advanced neuroimaging techniques, which are now commonplace in the adult memory literature, could enable the numerous hypotheses presented in this model to be empirically tested.


Introduction Feedback on training posts is collected by a variety of different sources; individual deaneries, PMETB and the Royal College of Physicians. The quality panel for gastroenterology training was developed to review the quality of training in the region. The panel found feedback on training posts to be of variable quality, incomplete, and difficult to analyse. The aim was to create a specific, reproducible method of assessing gastroenterology and general internal medicine (GIM) training, to provide feedback on individual posts in order to inform the training committee, quality panel, and the deanery and facilitate improvements in training. Methods A questionnaire was designed comprising 55 questions within 7 domains of gastroenterology training. The questions were determined based on previous surveys and other areas of importance according to consensus of consultant and trainee opinion. It was emailed to all registrars and training leads in the Severn and Peninsula deaneries. Data was collected anonymously for the last 3 years of training. Answers correlated to a numerical score, with high scores correlating with high quality. Mean scores were calculated per domain, per trust; a total score was then calculated. Differences between the mean trainee and training lead scores were calculated. The data was presented to the quality panel and the training committees. Individual feedback was given to each trust. Results 59 anonymised responses were received from trainees for all 14 hospitals within the South West region. Responses by trust varied from 3 to 9. 10 responses were received from training leads. The mean overall numerical scores from the trainees was 26.1 (range 24.4–28.6) for the Severn deanery, and 27.7 (range 23.9–30) for the Peninsula deanery. All trusts scored lowest in the provision of training in GIM with a mean score of 3.1 (range 2.7–3.6) in the Severn deanery, and 3.2 (range 2.8–3.9); educational support scored highest with a mean score of 4.4 (range 3.4–4.8) for the Severn deanery and 4.3 (range 3.6–4.8) for the Peninsula deanery. Trainer scoring of the trainee experience exceeded that reported by registrars with the exception of one trust, where the scoring was equal. The mean overall numerical scores from the training leads was 29.7 (range 28.3–32.2) for the Severn deanery, and 29.4 (range 28.1–30.6) for the Peninsula deanery. Conclusion Creation of a new survey achieved a good response rate and generated gastroenterology specific outcomes, and relevant data. This method of assessing training facilitates informed feedback to trusts and an accurate assessment of training from the perspective of both training leads and trainees. The methodology is reproducible and allows for comparative assessment.


dislocations, acquired dislocations, bone infectiou, joint lesions in cllildren, joint lesions in adults, bone tumours, the spine, abnormalities, and dystrophies. Again and again great stress is laid by thle authorseon the importauce of a complete knowledge of normal bone formation and growtli, and the variations wlliclh may be expected at different times of life. The importance of this knowledge is niot only apparent in reading the chapters upoIn fractures and dislocations, but becomes even more obvious wlhen bone tumours are discussed. The importauce of the nutrient canal in bone tumours is pointed out, as in inetastatic malignancy it is by the blood and lymph vessels entering the bone through this canal that the inifection is carried and the site of the metastasis decided. Furtlier, it is recommended that in analysing bone tulnours four points should be taken as forming the basis for classificationi-1, tlhe origin of the tumour; 2, the presence or absence of bone production; 3, the condition of the cortex; 4, the invasion. This chapter on bone tumours is decidedly good, and one of the most important and original; it is also sufficiently illustrated. Perhaps the weakest part of the book is that whicl deals witlh abnormalities and dystrophies; it suffers from over-compression, anid in any future edition should be revised and expanded. A more serious criticism is that wvhilst tlle illustrations are numuerous and distinctive, in the large majority of cases they are not of the highest technical excellence, and tlle' reproduction leaves very muchi to be deaired. As a textbook on the subject, and as a reference book, the volume fills a distinct gap in x-ray literature, and should prove of mueh use not only to experts in radiology but to thle medical profession generally.


Chronic testicular pain represents a challenging urological chronic pain syndrome in terms of adequate diagnosis and therapy. Reported success rates of 55-73% and 10-40% of conservative and surgical interventions are extremely low. We report on microsurgical testicular denervation as therapeutic option in patients with chronic testicular pain (CTP). 12 consecutive patients with CTP were included in our study. After complete diagnostic workup and positive response to testicular nerve blockade, all patients underwent surgery: the cremasteric muscle was dissected by electrocautery, the periadventitial layer of the testicular artery was dissected over a length of 2-3 cm. After a median follow-up of 20.6 months (4-62) 11/12 patients (92%) are pain free. None of the patients suffered from intraa- or postoperative complications. Based on our experience microsurgical testicular denervation should be performed in patients with CTP and no underlying organic disease. However, the high success rate of our surgical procedure can only be maintained if the selection of suitable patients is performed very carefully and a specific organic origin of CTP has been excluded prior to surgery.


Here, we report a simple and efficient hydrothermal approach to fabricate microspheres of the SiOx@SnO2@C ternary composite. Since lithiated SnO2 can significantly enhance the electrical conductivity of Si, SnO2 coating was constructed by growing SnO2 derived from hydrolyzed Na2SnO3in situ on the surface of nano silicon. Meanwhile, in the hydrolysis process of Na2SnO3, high amounts of OH− was generated, etching part of Si in SiO32−, which ultimately transformed to SiOx after the addition of citric acid. Compared with Si, the change in the volume of SiOx during the lithiation/delithiation process was smaller. After a simple hydrothermal treatment and subsequent carbonization, both SnO2 and SiOx nanoparticles were assembled into microspheres through Ostwald ripening. Thereby, the microspherical structure of the SiOx@SnO2@C ternary composite was formed, and the Si cores were uniformly embedded in the carbon layer containing SiOx and SnO2 with the carbon layer. Such a unique architecture that combines SiOx, SnO2 and amorphous carbon imparted great electrochemical properties. As a consequence, the SiOx@SnO2@C composite exhibited a reversible capacity of 796 mA h g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 even after 300 deep cycles, as well as a rate capacity of 515 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 4 A g−1.


Spoken dialogue systems typically use one or several (top-N) ASR sequence(s) for inferring the semantic meaning and tracking the state of the dialogue. However, ASR graphs, such as confusion networks (confnets), provide a compact representation of a richer hypothesis space than a top-N ASR list. In this paper, we study the benefits of using confusion networks with a neural dialogue state tracker (DST). We encode the 2-dimensional confnet into a 1-dimensional sequence of embed-dings using a confusion network encoder which can be used with any DST system. Our confnet encoder is plugged into the 'Global-locally Self-Attentive Dialogue State Tacker' (GLAD) model for DST and obtains significant improvements in both accuracy and inference time compared to using top-N ASR hypotheses .


The objective of this study was to evaluate maintenance of the effects of models of manualized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and relational constructivist therapy (RCT) for seven sessions with women with postpartum depression. A total of 320 women from maternity wards in a Brazilian city participated in the study. Evaluations of depression were made at 30 to 60 days after childbirth, at the end of treatment, and 12 months after the end of treatment. To evaluate symptoms of depression, we used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) with a cutoff of ≥ 12. Women who showed symptoms of depression were invited to participate in a randomized clinical trial. Of the 320 women evaluated, 115 showed symptoms of depression. Of this group, 60 were eligible for the study. The mean BDI scores at baseline and 12 months following the end of treatment were compared, and a significant reduction was demonstrated for both CBT (p = 0.05) and RCT (p < 0.001). There was no difference between the effectiveness of the interventions (p = 0.139). A reduction in depression was maintained for 12 months for models of manualized CBT and RCT.


S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) is ubiquitous in living organisms and plays important roles in transmethylation, transsulfuration and transamination in organisms. Due to its important physiological functions, production of SAM has attracted increasing attentions. Currently, researches on SAM production mainly focus on microbial fermentation, which is more cost-effective than that of the chemical synthesis and the enzyme catalysis, thus easier to achieve commercial production. With the rapid growth in SAM demand, interests in improving SAM production by developing SAM hyper-producing microorganisms aroused. The main strategies for improving SAM productivity of microorganisms include conventional breeding and metabolic engineering. This review summarizes the recent research progress in improving microbial SAM productivity to facilitate further improving SAM productivity. The bottlenecks in SAM biosynthesis and the solutions were also addressed.


Approximate nearest neighbor (ANN) search is a fundamental problem in areas such as data management,information retrieval and machine learning. Recently, Li et al. proposed a learned approach named AdaptNN to support adaptive ANN query processing. In the middle of query execution, AdaptNN collects a number of runtime features and predicts termination condition for each individual query, by which better end-to-end latency is attained. Despite its efficiency, using runtime features complicates the learning process and leads to performance degradation. Radically different from AdaptNN, we argue that it is promising to predict termination condition before query exetution. Particularly, we developed Tao, a general learning framework for Terminating ANN queries Adaptively using Only static features. Upon the arrival of a query, Tao first maps the query to a local intrinsic dimension (LID) number, and then predicts the termination condition using LID instead of runtime features. By decoupling prediction procedure from query execution, Tao eliminates the laborious feature selection process involved in AdaptNN. Besides, two design principles are formulated to guide the application of Tao and improve the explainability of the prediction model. We integrate two state-of-the-art indexing approaches, i.e., IMI and HNSW, into Tao, and evaluate the performance over several million to billion-scale datasets. Experimental results show that, in addition to its simplicity and generality , Tao achieves up to 2.69x speedup even compared to its counterpart, at the same high accuracy targets.


Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects one in four Saudi women and is associated with high risks of cardiovascular diseases in both the mother and foetus. It is believed that endothelial cells (ECs) dysfunction initiates these diabetic complications. In this study, differences in the transcriptome profiles, cell cycle distribution, and mitochondrial superoxide (MTS) between human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from GDM patients and those from healthy (control) subjects were analysed. Transcriptome profiles were generated using high-density expression microarray. The selected four altered genes were validated using qRT-PCR. MTS and cell cycle were analysed by flow cytometry. A total of 84 altered genes were identified, comprising 52 upregulated and 32 downregulated genes in GDM.HUVECs. Our selection of the four interested altered genes (TGFB2, KITLG, NEK7, and IGFBP5) was based on the functional network analysis, which revealed that these altered genes are belonging to the highest enrichment score associated with cellular function and proliferation; all of which may contribute to ECs dysfunction. The cell cycle revealed an increased percentage of cells in the G2/M phase in GDM.HUVECs, indicating cell cycle arrest. In addition, we found that GDM.HUVECs had increased MTS generation. In conclusion, GDM induces persistent impairment of the biological functions of foetal ECs, as evidenced by analyses of transcriptome profiles, cell cycle, and MTS even after ECs culture in vitro for several passages under normal glucose conditions.


We present results for the one-particle properties and c -axis transport for exchange-coupled bilayer systems with strong electronic correlations in the paramagnetic phase. The model is solved within the dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). By considering an effective two-site impurity we are able to treat the coupling between the layers in the diagonalization of the effective impurity exactly. The one-particle properties and the optical conductivity between the planes are studied, giving insight into a possible suppression of the one-particle hopping between the planes by the antiferromagnetic coupling. A strong renormalization of the bilayer splitting up to a complete suppression by the antiferromagnetic coupling is found. In the optical conductivity a strong blocking of the charge dynamics between the planes can be seen, accompanied by a low-energy excitation which must be attributed to inter-plane spin fluctuations.


Abstract. This paper aims to provide a qualitative assessment of different image transformation parameters as applied on images taken by the spaceborne multispectral imager (SMI) sensor installed in Diwata-1, the Philippines' first Earth observation microsatellite, with the aim of determining the order of transformation that is sufficient for operationalization purposes. Images of the Palawan area were subjected to different image transformations by manual georeferencing using QGIS 3, and cloud masks generated and applied to remove the effects of clouds. The resulting images were then subjected to structural similarity (SSIM) tests using resampled and cloud masked Landsat 8 images of the same area to generate SSIM indices, which are then used as a quantitative means to assess the best performing transformation. The results of this study point to all transformed images having good SSIM ratings with their Landsat 8 counterparts, indicating that features shown in a Diwata-1 SMI image are structurally similar to the same features in a resampled Landsat 8 data. This implies that for Diwata-1 data processing operationalization purposes, higher order transformations, with the necessary effort to implement them, offer little advantage to lower order counterparts.


. We study sheaves of Lie-Rinehart algebras over locally ringed spaces. We introduce morphisms and comorphisms of such sheaves and prove factorization theorems for each kind of morphism. Using this notion of morphism, we obtain (higher) homotopy groups and groupoids for such objects which directly generalize the homotopy groups and Weinstein groupoids of Lie algebroids. We consider, the special case of sheaves of Lie-Rinehart algebras over smooth manifolds. We show that, under some reasonable assumptions, such sheaves induce a partition of the underlying manifold into leaves and that these leaves are precisely the orbits of the fundamental groupoid.