Diaphragm paralysis may cause symptomatic respiratory disturbances, and often occurs as a result of iatrogenic or traumatic phrenic nerve injury. Treatment options have been limited to plication of the diaphragm, however it is likely that most patients receive no therapeutic intervention regardless of the severity of symptoms. Although nerve transplantation is efficacious for various peripheral nerve injuries, it has only begun to be established for analogous conditions involving the phrenic nerve. Thirty consecutive patients presenting with chronic, symptomatic phrenic nerve injuries following surgery, chiropractic manipulation, trauma or anesthetic blocks underwent a comprehensive evaluation, including radiographic and electrophysiologic assessments. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients who failed to improve during six months of conservative management, in whom a clear etiology for phrenic nerve injury could be elicited and confirmed with pre-operative evaluation. Measures of post-operative improvement included: pulmonary function testing, chest fluoroscopy, and a standardized quality-of-life survey. Reversal of diaphragm paralysis was clearly demonstrated in 77% of patients (23/30) following nerve transplantation. In four patients (13%) there was no clinical or radiographic evidence of diaphragm function after 18 months, whereas in the remaining three patients (10%) it was too early to determine if surgical intervention was successful. There were no pulmonary or cardiac complications. Nerve transplantation may reverse phrenic nerve injury and should be considered as an effective treatment option in the management of symptomatic diaphragm paralysis.


The goal of this anatomical study is to prove that reconstruction of the flexor retinaculum in carpal tunnel syndrome surgery is a reliable procedure and can improve the results of this procedure. In the first static study, we noted that when left to heal spontaneously, after 3 months the gap between the two edges of the cut retinaculum remained equal to or even larger than the gap created at the time of the surgery. A special Canaletto implant was created to achieve this reconstruction. It is technically possible to do this reconstruction by a 2 to 3 cm surgical approach in the palm. In another, dynamic study, we used a transducer to analyse the forces borne by the retinaculum during flexor tendon contraction. We compared these forces in a normal retinaculum, a reconstructed retinaculum with the Canaletto implant and a retinaculum opened endoscopically. This reconstruction conserves the anterior continuity of the retinaculum, allows excellent carpal tunnel decompression and immediately permits near-physiological forces. We discuss the advantages and the limits of this reconstruction. We think that this new surgical technique in the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) will be able to improve the results, particularly in recurrences, in wrist malunion with CTS, in cases with severe electromyographic change with a sensory conduction speed of under 15 m.s-1 and in metabolic CTS. As always, his implant needs to be evaluated through a mid and long term clinical follow-up. By recovering better grip strength and reducing postoperative pain, this surgical technique can decrease the time needed to return to work and hence the economic costs of CTS surgery.


The objective was to research the effect of burdened comorbid status on the course of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the elderly. Material and methods . 243 injured elderly patients (182 men and 61 women) with severe TBI and burdened comorbid status. Results . It was found that the postoperative period was characterized by more severe course of injury associated with the development of infectious and inflammatory complications. Conclusion . Early medical rehabilitation does not have a significant impact on the state of comorbid status, but is important in the prevention of infectious and inflammatory complications due to the early activation of the victims and the elimination of hypodynamia in intensive care and neurosurgical departments.


Widespread emergence of multicore processors will spur development of parallel applications, exposing programmers to degrees of hardware concurrency hitherto unavailable. Dependable multithreaded software will have to rely on the ability to dynamically detect non-deterministic and notoriously hard to reproduce synchronization bugs manifested through data races. Previous solutions to dynamic data race detection have required specialized hardware, at additional power, design and area costs. We propose RaceTM, a novel approach to data race detection that exploits hardware that will likely be present in future multiprocessors, albeit for a different purpose. In particular, we show how emerging hardware support for transactional memory can be leveraged to aid data race detection. We propose the concept of lightweight debug transactions that exploit the conflict detection mechanisms of transactional memory systems to perform data race detection. We present a proof-of-concept simulation prototype, and evaluate it on data races injected into applications from the SPLASH-2 suite. Our experiments show that this technique is effective at discovering data races and has low performance overhead.


3‐methoxy‐4‐hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) as well as homovanillic acid (HVA) and cyclic AMP were estimated in the morning urine of 41 drug‐free parkinsonian patients and 25 hospitalized controls. In 29 patients, the estimations were repeated after 2 weeks treatment with L‐dopa plus decarboxylase inhibitor. Drug‐free patients excreted more MHPG and less 5‐HIAA than controls. The difference from controls was significant for MHPG, only for the subgroup of patients with akinesia as the main symptom (P = 0.001) and for 5‐HIAA only for the tremor subgroup (P = 0.03). 2 weeks treatment with L‐dopa plus decarboxylase inhibitor, increased the MHPG excretion signficantly only for the akinesia subgroup, where the pretreatment MHPG values were high, while there was no change in MHPG excretion in the tremor and the rigidity subgroups. The treatment caused no change in the 5‐HIAA excretion in the tremor subgroup, where the pretreatment values were low, while in the rigidity and akinesia subgroups 5‐HIAA excretion was significantly decreased. These results, as well as our previous results on HVA and cyclic AMP, show that there are considerable differences among the subgroups of parkinsonian patients regarding the metabolism of dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin.


ABSTRACT Activation of the stress-responsive transcription factor NRF2 is the major line of defense to combat oxidative or electrophilic insults. Under basal conditions, NRF2 is continuously ubiquitylated by the KEAP1-CUL3-RBX1 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex and is targeted to the proteasome for degradation (the canonical mechanism). However, the path from the CUL3 complex to ultimate proteasomal degradation was previously unknown. p97 is a ubiquitin-targeted ATP-dependent segregase that extracts ubiquitylated client proteins from membranes, protein complexes, or chromatin and has an essential role in autophagy and the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). In this study, we show that p97 negatively regulates NRF2 through the canonical pathway by extracting ubiquitylated NRF2 from the KEAP1-CUL3 E3 complex, with the aid of the heterodimeric cofactor UFD1/NPL4 and the UBA-UBX-containing protein UBXN7, for efficient proteasomal degradation. Given the role of NRF2 in chemoresistance and the surging interest in p97 inhibitors to treat cancers, our results indicate that dual p97/NRF2 inhibitors may offer a more potent and long-term avenue of p97-targeted treatment.


Classic electrical Hall effect measurements are standard for electrical characterization of free charge carriers in semiconductor layer structures. We demonstrate that magnetooptic generalized ellipsometry at long wavelengths when applied to conducting or semiconducting multilayer or nanoscopically in‐homogeneous structures can yield equivalent and even much increased information. We term this new method optical Hall effect, because it finds simple explanation within the model described by E. H. Hall for the occurrence of the transverse and longitudinal voltages augmented by non‐locality of the charge response in time. Transverse and longitudinal birefringence cause magnificent anisotropic polarization responses unraveling rich information on free charge properties of complex‐structured samples due to external magnetic fields and collective movement of bound and unbound charge carriers. We demonstrate that with our technique density, type, mobility, effective mass including anisotropy can be measured without any electrical contact in buried structures, and which may have been inaccessible to any true electrical evaluation thus far. We predict a realm of applications for the optical Hall effect in future materials research and engineering. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This paper presents preliminary results of techniques which permit acquisition and display of three‐dimensional fetal anatomy using ultrasound image data collected as two‐dimensional planar images with commercially available equipment. A precision translational stage was used which permitted the transducer position and orientation in the volume to be accurately determined. Ultrasound video image data were digitized into a personal computer together with transducer position and orientation information. All image and position data were subsequently transferred to a graphics workstation. Gray‐scale ultrasound data were three‐dimensionally filtered, thresholded and analyzed using maximum intensity, variable transparency and surface rendering techniques to evaluate the fetal surface. Images of arbitrary orientation were displayed interactively on a graphics workstation. Our results demonstrate the potential of three‐dimensional ultrasound as a technique for visualization of fetal surfaces, extremities and internal anatomy. Three‐dimensional ultrasound offers potential advantages over existing diagnostic methods since it is non‐invasive and offers interactive review and viewing optimization after fetal scanning. Copyright © 1992 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology


A new method for high-precision measurements of stable (δ88/86Sr) and radiogenic (87Sr/86Sr) Sr isotope ratios was developed on the MC-ICP-MS using a standard-sample-standard bracketing protocol. By carefully monitoring and controlling the accumulation of the on-peak backgrounds (i.e. the carryover memory) on the instrument, our method can provide an external precision of around 0.010‰ to 0.014‰ for 88/86 Sr measurements. Such precision is comparable to that achieved by double-spike TIMS method (DS-TIMS), and 2–3 times better than those of the previously reported results by MC-ICP-MS without spiking. The results of the standard seawater IAPSO are also identical to those by DS-TIMS. However, our method is more advantageous, efficient and convenient to use for routine Sr isotopic analysis than the DS-TIMS method as there is no need to prepare and calibrate the 84Sr-87 Sr double spike. Using this method, we measured the δ88/86Sr values in a series of international geological rock standards, which show large variability, with the lowest value (0.20‰) registered in JG-2, a terrestrial granite, and the highest value (0.539‰) in UB-N, a serpentinite. This may provide an additional means for isotopic characterization of geological processes, adding a new dimension over the traditional use of radiogenic Sr isotopic ratio 87Sr/86Sr.


: Responses of single neurons in the midbrain tegmentum to stimuli applied to the subthalamic "locomotor region" were recorded extracellularly. In various units the latencies of responses were from 1 to 13 ms. Thresholds of the unit responses usually were not higher than the thresholds for eliciting locomotion. Obtained data evidence for a direct and oligosynaptic connections between subthalamic and midbrain "locomotor region".


We explore here the capabilities and performance issues encountered when using a novel static volume display, CSpace, for realizing moving images required to deliver real time three-dimensional (3D) visualization and manipulation for Air Traffic Controllers (ATC). The display uses a 19 mm ×18 mm × 100 mm 2% Erbium-doped sodium-ytterbium-fluoride (NYF) crystal as the image space, and a pair of digital micromirror devices (DMD) to address and render successive slices of the image within the crystal. Display-specific software and digital light processing (DLP) boards provide image data to and control the DMD devices respectively. The ability to render and display moving images quickly enough for applications such as air-traffic control is strongly dependent on several factors, including the speed of the software and hardware components. 3D images of aircraft in the sky and terrain were captured to explore how well the display performed as the time between successive images in a short motion sequence was systematically reduced, and to examine the key factors that control the performance of the display in presenting these images.


This work deals with the discrimination of neutrons and gamma rays on the basis of their different pulse shapes in scintillator detectors; this technique is widely employed in nuclear fusion applications. After a thorough phase of data analysis, a multi layer perceptron (MLP) is trained with the aim of processing the shape of light pulses produced by these ionizing particles in an organic liquid scintillator and digitally acquired. Moreover, fast-superimposed events (called pile-ups) are detected and a further MLP is trained to analyze them and recover the original superimposed events. Satisfactory experimental results were obtained at the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade, ENEA-Frascati, Italy.


The invitation to do this autobiographical article reached me on my seventieth birthday, catching me in an unusually reflective mood, so I decided to take a stab at it. If nothing else, I could honor my mentors, especially James Anderson and René Millon. Without them I might still be doing archaeology but it would be a very different sort of archaeology, probably not as good and certainly not as much fun. But I don't find this kind of writing easy. Social scientists are not used to having "I" as the main subject of a sentence, an analogy perhaps to the difficulty we have in maintaining a balance between our professional and personal lives. However, I seem to have overcome that academic modesty, as this paragraph demonstrates. So here we go.


Governments in Taiwan attach great importance to flood control and disaster mitigation project. Good simulation and estimation in advance are the key point to prevent damages and losses caused by flood disasters. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the Drainage and Flood Control System in Wenshan District completed by the Taipei City Government. SWMM (Storm Water Management Model, US Environmental Protection Agency), a dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation computer program designed for runoff water quantity and quality of single or continuous events in urban areas, is utilized to perform the simulation and analysis in this study. Based on known basic data of facilities such as pipelines, channels, and water storage system, and by setting data related to typhoons and heavy rains from the past records, the runoff at a certain period in each area and the flow and depth in each pipeline are estimated and simulated. By comparing the simulation results with the results before the construction, we can evaluate the effectiveness on the Drainage and Flood diversion system and predict the possible defects. Accordingly, the engineering plan can be modified promptly before the construction to enhance the effect of flood control and disaster mitigation.


In a recent edition of Biochemical Journal, Mistry et al. described the discovery of a novel protein complex, formed from the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and the sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC) [Mistry et al. (2016) Biochem. J. 473, 3237–3252]. The importance of these two proteins in the regulation of salt balance and blood pressure has long been known, as has their overlapping expression in the distal convoluted tubule of the kidney. The new study by Mistry et al. now demonstrates their physical interaction in the kidney and when heterologously co-expressed. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate some degree of functional co-dependence between ENaC and NCC, with pharmacological inhibition of the latter diminishing activity of the former when the two are co-assembled. This novel and potentially important interaction adds to a growing number of recently identified channel-transporter ('chansporter') complexes, which together constitute an emerging theme in cell signaling.


ABSTRACT Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) remains the developed world's number one killer. The improved survival from Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) and the progressive aging of western population brought to an increased incidence of chronic Heart Failure (HF), which assumed epidemic proportions nowadays. Except for heart transplantation, all treatments for HF should be considered palliative because none of the current therapies can reverse myocardial degeneration responsible for HF syndrome. To stop the HF epidemic will ultimately require protocols to reduce the progressive cardiomyocyte (CM) loss and to foster their regeneration. It is now generally accepted that mammalian CMs renew throughout life. However, this endogenous regenerative reservoir is insufficient to repair the extensive damage produced by AMI/IHD while the source and degree of CM turnover remains strongly disputed. Independent groups have convincingly shown that the adult myocardium harbors bona-fide tissue specific cardiac stem cells (CSCs). Unfortunately, recent reports have challenged the identity and the endogenous myogenic capacity of the c-kit expressing CSCs. This has hampered progress and unless this conflict is settled, clinical tests of repair/regenerative protocols are unlikely to provide convincing answers about their clinical potential. Here we review recent data that have eventually clarified the specific phenotypic identity of true multipotent CSCs. These cells when coaxed by embryonic cardiac morphogens undergo a precisely orchestrated myogenic commitment process robustly generating bona-fide functional cardiomyocytes. These data should set the path for the revival of further investigation untangling the regenerative biology of adult CSCs to harness their potential for HF prevention and treatment.


Global remote sensing and large-scale environmental modeling have generated huge amounts of raster geospatial data. While the inherent data parallelism of large-scale raster geospatial data allows straightforward coarse-grained parallelization at the chunk level on CPUs, it is largely unclear how to effectively exploit such data parallelism on massively parallel General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPUs) that require fine-grained parallelization. In this study, we have developed an efficient spatial data structure called BQ-Tree to code raster geospatial data by exploiting the uniform distributions of quadrants of bitmaps at the bitplanes of a raster. A fine-grained parallelization scheme has been implemented using Nvidia CUDA. Experiments show that the GPGPU implementation is capable of decoding a BQ-Tree encoded 16-bits NASA MODIS geospatial raster with 22,658*15,586 cells in 190 milliseconds, i.e., 1.86 billion cells per second, on an Nvidia C2050 GPU card. The performance achieves a 5.9X speedup when compared with the best dual quadcore CPU implementation and a 36.9X speedup compared with a highly optimized single core CPU implementation.


Objective Chinese herbal products (CHPs) are widely used for atrial fibrillation (AF) in Taiwan. We investigated the effect of adjuvant CHPs in preventing ischemic stroke in patients with AF. Methods Taiwanese patients in the Health Insurance Database newly diagnosed with AF during 2000–2011 were enrolled. Medication treatment with/without CHPs was administered within 7 days after the AF diagnosis. The clinical endpoint was an ischemic stroke. The Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Student t test were used to examine differences between the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and non-TCM cohorts. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to assess the risk for ischemic stroke between two cohorts. Results Three hundred and eleven patients underwent TCM treatment and 1715 patients did not. Compared to non-TCM users, TCM users had a lower incidence of stroke (12.59% vs. 1.93%, respectively) and lower risk of stroke [CHA2DS2-VASc score = 0–2 (hazard ratio = 0.20; 95% confidence interval = 0.06–0.65)]. Compared to non-TCM users, the stroke risk was significantly lower in TCM users with AF who were female or younger than 65 years, but not in males, people more than 65 years old, or people with comorbidities. Compared to TCM users, non-TCM users who received conventional treatment had a higher ischemic stroke risk. The risk for AF-related hospitalization was significantly lower in TCM users (0.64%) than in non-TCM users (38.1%). Conclusions Users of TCM with AF have a lower risk of new-onset ischemic stroke. Therefore, adjuvant CHP therapy may have a protective effect and may be used in AF patients to prevent ischemic stroke.


This paper studies the high-pressure common-rail diesel engine fuel supply compensation based on crankshaft fragment signals in order to improve the uneven phenomenon of diesel engine fuel supply and realize high efficiency and low pollution combustion. The experiments were conducted on a diesel engine with the model of YN30CR. Based on the characteristics of crankshaft fragment signals, the proportional integral (PI) control algorithm was used to quantify the engine working nonuniformity and extract the missing degree of fuel injection. The quantization method of each cylinder working uniformity and algorithm of fuel compensation control (FOC) based on crankshaft fragment signal were established, and the control strategy of working uniformity at different operating conditions was put forward. According to the principle of FOC control, a FOC control software module for ECU was designed. The FOC software module was simulated on ASCET platform. The results show that: Compared with the traditional quantization method, the oil compensation information extracted from crankshaft fragment signal has stronger anti-interference and more accurate parameters. FOC algorithm can accurately reflect the engine's working nonuniformity, and the control of the nonuniformity is reasonable. The compensation fuel amount calculated by FOC is high consistency with the fuel supply state of each cylinder set by experiment, which meets the requirement of accurate fuel injection control of common-rail diesel engine.


The interaction between an EUV driven hydrogen plasma and a carbon covered surface was investigated using 2D PIC modeling and results were compared with experimental observations. The plasma is formed due to ionization of a low pressure hydrogen gas by the EUV photons and the photoelectrons from the surface. This results in ion fluxes to the surface, leading to the surface etching. We model the evolution of the plasma during and after the EUV pulse and obtain the energy resolved ion fluxes from the plasma to the surface. The carbon etching rates observed at various experimental conditions and estimated from computed ion fluxes for the same conditions agree under the assumption that the etching yield is close to one carbon atom per incoming hydrogen ion.


Recently, the covariance matrix adaption evolutionary strategy (CMA-ES) has received attention for outperforming conventional global optimization techniques such as the genetic algorithm (GA) or particle swarm optimization (PSO), often used in electromagnetic designs. Here, CMA-ES is first applied to the design of ultra-wideband aperiodic arrays using realistic spiral radiating elements. To improve the axial ratio of the array, optimization was extended to incorporate a mechanical rotation of each spiral element. This novel strategy of optimizing both the location and rotation of each element provides noticeable improvement in both the axial ratio and sidelobe level performance.


—In modern rail transport systems, balises are widely used to exchange track–train information via air-gap interface. In thispaper,wefirstpresentthevulnerabilities on the standard balise air-gap interface, and then conduct vulnerability simulations using the system parameters that were specified in the European Train Control System. The simulation results show that the vulnerabilities can be exploited to launch effective and practical attacks, which could lead to catastrophic consequences, such as train derailment or collision. To mitigate the vulnerabilities and attacks, we propose to implement a challenge–response authentication process in the air-gap interface in the existing transport infrastructure.


The Orion Project in Uruguay aims at setting a world-scale pulp mill, which will produce bleached ECF- (elemental chlorine free) eucalyptus kraft pulp, procured partly from forest plantations owned by Compania Forestal Oriental S.A., and Metsa-Botnia and its shareholder UPM-Kymmene. Both the construction and production stages would induce substantial development impacts in the region. The project will include updated technologies for the production of ECF pulp, thus preventing, or minimizing as possible, gas emissions and wastes, including the use of reduced power consumption. Notwithstanding, potential environmental adversity may occur, and this environmental assessment sets the guidelines to protect the environment, and presents the following mitigation measures. A modified processing time will be applied in order to reduce wastewater pollution stemming from bleached kraft pulp; this in turn is conducive to an efficient pulp rinse, reducing water runoffs. The bleaching process through oxygen entails reduced use of chemicals, and minimizes pollution, and potential effluent toxicity. The next process, entails the use of secured pools, for the protection, and treatment of secondary discharges, (possibly excessive discharges), to efficiently achieve purified effluents, while biological treatment will be applied to reduce contaminants in effluent concentrations. Special equipment will be in use to separate oils and lubricants, and prevent effluent contamination, and oil spills. A minimum amount of incineration will be conducted to reduce gases and liquid gas, and certain solid wastes, thus minimizing SO2, and NO2 emissions. Standard safety measures will be in place to prevent accidents in the workplace, as will contingency plans, and specific capacity building to personnel involved.


Cancer is a major health problem in the world. Advances made in cancer therapy have improved the survival of patients in certain types of cancer. However, the overall five-year survival has not significantly improved in the majority of cancer types. Major challenges encountered in having effective cancer therapy are development of drug resistance by the tumor cells, nonspecific cytotoxicity, and inability to affect metastatic tumors by the chemodrugs. Overcoming these challenges requires development and testing of novel therapies. One attractive cancer therapeutic approach is cancer gene therapy. Several laboratories including the authors' laboratory have been investigating nonviral formulations for delivering therapeutic genes as a mode for effective cancer therapy. In this paper the authors will summarize their experience in the development and testing of a cationic lipid-based nanocarrier formulation and the results from their preclinical studies leading to a Phase I clinical trial for nonsmall cell lung cancer. Their nanocarrier formulation containing therapeutic genes such as tumor suppressor genes when administered intravenously effectively controls metastatic tumor growth. Additional Phase I clinical trials based on the results of their nanocarrier formulation have been initiated or proposed for treatment of cancer of the breast, ovary, pancreas, and metastatic melanoma, and will be discussed.


Originally published in 1885, Italian Popular Tales is a fascinating trove of fairy tales, legends, ghost stories, nursery tales, and jests, and other oral accounts that were collected, recorded, translated, and annotated by Thomas Crane, the first folklorist to bring the riches of Italian oral tradition to the English-speaking world. Collectors in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries unearthed a wealth of stories from around the world and published them in English translations for the delight of general readers, young and old. Sadly, most of these anthologies have long been out of print. Italian Popular Tales brings back to life this key anthology of traditional tales from the golden age of folklore discovery. Crane's monumental achievement illustrates the enormous scope of his research, incomparable to other collections in the English language. In this modern edition, Crane's love for his work shines through the scholarship just as it did more than a century ago. The volume presents a virtually unaltered edition of this classic work that is enhanced by an authoritative Introduction by Jack Zipes. This insightful essay discusses the significance of the collection and its original collector; the original collector's methodology and translation practices; and the original period context. Certain to be of interest to folklorists, this classic collection is also meant to delight and amuse readers, whether a parent, storyteller, teacher, student, scholar, or just someone who enjoys original stories and authentic folk wisdom.


For this study, electrical discharge machining (EDM) and the submerged arc discharge method (SADM) were used to melt a silver-copper composite metal in deionized water through concentrated arc energy in order to produce metal fluids containing nanoand submicron particles. The fabrication process did not require additional chemicals, and was simple and efficient. The critical processing parameters for EDM were the discharge voltage and current as well as the on-off duration for pulse discharge; the sample concentration could be controlled under appropriate conditions. The experimental results revealed that, through electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM), silver-copper composite metal particles could be achieved at a nano to submicron level. In addition, the results obtained varied according to differences in the on-off duration regarding pulse discharge. In this study, when the discharging parameter (Ton-Toff ) was at 30 : 50, nanocomposite fluids with an optimal concentration and small particles were obtained. The application of EADM could enable the mass production of composite metal fluids or particles at low cost and high efficiency. Employing EADM for the fabrication of composite metal fluids or particles warrants research attention, and the process itself can be developed further. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2015288]


In keyword search over a data graph, an answer is a non-redundant subtree that contains all the keywords of the query. A naive approach to producing all the answers by increasing height is to generalize Dijkstra's algorithm to enumerating all acyclic paths by increasing weight. The idea of freezing is introduced so that (most) non-shortest paths are generated only if they are actually needed for producing answers. The resulting algorithm for generating subtrees, called GTF, is subtle and its proof of correctness is intricate. Extensive experiments show that GTF outperforms existing systems, even ones that for efficiency's sake are incomplete (i.e., cannot produce all the answers). In particular, GTF is scalable and performs well even on large data graphs and when many answers are needed.


Two cyclic oligoureas with 64- and 80-membered rings in which two sets of three or four rigid xanthene (X) units are connected via flexible diphenyl ether (D) units were synthesized by a stepwise fragment condensation. The compounds were characterized by (1)H NMR and ESI mass spectrometry. The structure of the cyclic octamer (XXXDXXXD) was additionally confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. The molecule assumes a strongly folded conformation with distorted C(2)-symmetry, stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Surprisingly, intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the macrocycles were not observed. (1)H NMR spectra suggest a C(2) symmetrical conformation of the octamer in solution also, while its kinetically stable complex with three chloride ions has no symmetry element at all.


Spidroin has the potential of wide applications in the biomedicine field as a natural biomaterial. Various synthetic fibers with outstanding mechanical properties have been produced from different spidroins. However, studies on the structural analysis or biomimetic exploration of aggregate spidroin (AgSp) remain scarce. Here, three recombinant AgSp1 spidroins (1RP, 1RC, 3RP) were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli, followed by purification via coupling heating and ammonium sulfate precipitation. Circular dichroism (CD) spectrum-based secondary structural analysis shows that 1RP and 3RP have similar structures (mainly random coil) in water and PB buffer, while 1RC is mainly composed of α-helix structure and HFIP can change all of the recombinant AgSp1 into helix structure. Through the wet-spinning method, six types of synthetic fibers were produced from these three recombinant AgSp1 spidroins. Subsequently, the properties and structures of synthetic fibers were characterized by mechanical testing and ATR-FTIR. Synthetic fibers spun from 3RP have considerable tensile strength and extensibility (∼37.56 MPa and ∼4.5%, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first synthetic fiber obtained from AgSp spidroin. Our results demonstrated that AgSp1 can be regarded as an available source of spidroin for silklike fiber production and may provide valuable perspectives on the AgSp1 biomimetic process for certain applications.


Background: Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) is a biochemical bone marker of vitamin K insufficiency. It had been reported that bone resorption inhibitors tend to decrease the serum ucOC level in patients with primary osteoporosis. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, these results have never been reported. Aim: We investigated risk factors which could change serum ucOC level in post-menopausal women with RA (no.=100). Subjects and methods: Twenty patients received no bone resorption inhibitor (control), 30 received raloxifene (RLX), while 50 received alendronate (ALN). This cross-sectional study was limited to patients with low RA disease activity (Disease Activity Score-28 ≤3.2). We measured serum ucOC, and the data were analyzed by multivariable analysis, including ucOC and the other variables. Results: Scheffe's F test demonstrated a significant difference in serum ucOC levels between controls and the RLX group (p<0.01), and between controls and the ALN group (p<0.01). Serum ucOC levels were low in both treated groups. An adjusted multivariate analysis was performed for the variables: bone resorption inhibitor use, serum alkaline phosphatase, glucocorticoid dose, age, estimated glomerular filtration rate and matrix metalloproteinase 3. As a result, serum ucOC inversely correlated with bone resorption inhibitor use (p<0.01) and oral glucocorticoid dose (p<0.01), which were independent risk factors of lowering ucOC. Conclusions: Bone resorption inhibitors and glucocorticoids were independent risk factors for lowering serum ucOC levels in post-menopausal RA patients.


Design Thinking is somewhat understood as a tool for acquiring design optimization but still far from being considered as an instrument for competitive advantage. The main idea to that approach is based on the concept that one can apply the kind of thinking designers employ when solving problems to business related or work system optimization. Instead of ordinary decision-making methods, designers resource to iterative processes. This translates into nonlinear reasoning and creative thinking. Thus, according to Design Thinking theory, we can apply innovative schemes and creative actions in the course of carrying out any kind of project, or even business venues. The proposition set forth in here approaches alternative project management methods in which workplace optimization is considered an end user product, like in HFE related processes contexts. Therefore, usability and participatory design is thought to be a necessary demarche to produce and user friendly work environment. A set of successful cases employing the preliminary versions of this "under construction" model, is presented through the text in order to both contextualize the methodology and validate its implementation. Final considerations ask for open participation from HFE professionals and academic community in general for ample consolidation of the model.


•  Occurrence of endopolyploidy in somatic tissues of the hybrid orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim (Vanda hookeriana × Vanda teres) was investigated with respect to tissue type and developmental stage. Effects of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and gibberellic acid (GA3 ) on endopolyploidy during embryo development were also studied. •  For the study of endopolyploidy, flow cytometric analysis was employed to determine nuclear DNA content of cells of somatic tissues. •  Multiploid cells were observed in leaves, roots and column, but not in shoot apex, stem, perianth and pedicel. Furthermore, differential distribution of multiploid cells was found among different parts of leaves and roots. The degree of endopolyploidy in embryos increased with development. NAA was shown to induce endoreduplication in germinating embryos to a much larger extent than GA3 . •  The pattern of endopolyploidy was characteristic of tissue type and developmental stage. The implications of endopolyploidy during differentiation and development, as well as the relevance of endopolyploidy to somaclonal variation, are discussed.


42 gift or calling. It could not be imposed on others, and thus sexual activity was allowed. Yet all three related their sexual choices to live now as they would live in the future kingdom in which sex would be unnecessary since procreation would be unnecessary. There is an interesting tension then in the early Christian writings. On the one hand, marriage is affirmed and the celibacy chosen by Jesus and Paul is not demanded of others. On the other hand, they appear to look forward to a future in which sexual activity will be unnecessary. The book would have benefited from a more careful attempt to explain or understand this tension than is received (pp. 247–52). I also found it hard, having reading through all the evidence, to agree with Loader's conclusion that "there is a strong affirmation of sexual relations" (p. 251) in these writings. It seems the texts point to a different conclusion: these early Christian communities had a generally pessimistic view of sex – it was a necessary evil (for procreation), acceptable but not ideal, and inappropriate in paradise. Ultimately, these issues are minor, however, and even the very frequent grammatical and syntactical (proof-reading/typesetting) errors in the book do not diminish from the value of Loader's treatment of this thorny topic. Zeba Crook Carleton University


Its was our aim to appreciate the respective influence of age, sex, duration of disease, inflammatory status and treatment on protein markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Serum albumin (SA), thyroxin-binding prealbumin (TBPA), transferrin and retinol-binding protein (RBP) were determined in 155 RA patients. Since the cut off, levels of these proteins are highly dependent on sex and age, several groups of sex- and age-matched normal controls were evaluated. The levels of SA (p < 0.03) and RBP (p < 0.002) were reduced in the women under 45 years of age. SA and RBP reached a nadir following one year of evolution. There were inverse correlations between SA and Lee's index (p < 0.01) and TBPA and Lee's (p < 0.05) and Ritchie's index (p < 0.01). Sa correlated inversely with the inflammatory status. The complex challenge of nutritional evaluation in RA patients is thus impossible to adequately portray and results should be interpreted with caution.


A 256-Mb SDRAM is implemented with a 0.12-/spl mu/m technology to verify three circuit schemes suitable for low-voltage operation. First, a new charge-transferred presensing achieves fast stable low-voltage sensing performance without additional bias levels required in conventional charge-transferred presensing schemes. Second, a negative word-line scheme is proposed to bypass the majority of discharging current to VSS. Without switching signals, main discharging paths are automatically switched from VSS to VBB2 in response to the voltage of each discharging node itself. Finally, to initialize internal nodes during power-up, a temperature-insensitive power-up pulse generator is also proposed. The temperature coefficient of the setup voltage is adjustable through optimization of circuit parameters.


Cortisol profiles are known to vary across phases of alcohol use disorder (AUD; e.g. chronic use, withdrawal and early/sustained recovery). These patterns have largely been established through between-subjects contrasts. Using a segmental hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) approach, retrospective longitudinal analyses are feasible. Here, we examine monthly cortisol secretion in treatment-seekers with AUD from alcohol use to abstinence. At ~6 weeks of recovery we collected hair samples from individuals with moderate-to-severe AUD. We examined HCC from three consecutive segments; proximal to the scalp representing the most recent month (sustained abstinence from alcohol), the midsegment representing the previous month in which abstinence was attained, and the distal segment representing 2 months prior during active drinking. Analyses examined main and interactive effects of segment and sex, controlling for monthly alcohol consumption. Best fit by a quadratic shape, within-subject change was significant (F1,15 = 5.27, P = 0.04, ηpartial2 = 0.26). The distal and midsegments did not differ from one another (P = 0.51). The proximal segment was significantly lower than both the distal (M∆ = 0.200, P = 0.004) and mid (M∆ = 0.175, P < 0.001) segments. An effect of sex approached significance suggesting women had modestly higher HCC than men (MWOMEN = 1.37 vs. MMEN = 1.02, P = 0.10). Consistent with previous cross-sectional reports, these data confirm nonlinear patterns of cortisol accumulation with elevations apparent during periods of alcohol consumption and a decrease in abstinence. Capturing these within-subject patterns via HCC trajectories may serve as a valuable resource in identifying profiles associated with increased risk and post-treatment outcomes.


Background: Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is an interstitial primary pulmonary disease, characterized by Langerhans cell proliferation. It is easily misdiagnosed in children. This study aimed to characterize the clinical manifestations and features of PLCH by retrospective analysis. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 117 PLCH patients out of 338 LCH patients who were admitted in our center from November 2006 to October 2013. Variables between two groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to compare the survival rates and Cox regression to evaluate the effect of risk factors. Results: The median age of PLCH group was significantly lower than that of non-PLCH group (18.63 months vs. 43.4 months, P < 0.001). All PLCH children had other organ involvement and only 11 cases (9.4%) had respiratory symptoms. The most common radiologic finding was cystic lesions (29 cases, 24.8%). Pulmonary function abnormalities were dominated by obstructive ventilatory dysfunction (63 cases, 82.9%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) of PLCH children was 93.6% ± 2.3% and the event-free survival (EFS) was 55.7% ± 5.2%. Among the 38 cases with progressed or relapsed disease, five cases (13.2%) were due to progression or recurrence of lung damage. The 5-year OS of PLCH children with "risk organ" involvement was significantly lower than those without "risk organ" involvement (86.0% ± 4.9% vs. 100%, &khgr;2 = 8.793, P = 0.003). The difference of EFS between two groups was also significant (43.7% ± 7.7% vs. 66.3% ± 6.5%, &khgr;2 = 5.399, P = 0.020). The "risk organ" involvement had a significant impact on survival (hazard ratio = 1.9, P = 0.039). Conclusions: PLCH mainly occurs in young children, and only a small percentage of patients have respiratory symptoms. They generally have other organ involvement. Most of PLCH children have a good prognosis and most lung lesions could have improved or stabilized. Management of "risk organ" involvement is the key point to improving EFS.


Security and fairness in business transactions are basic requirements demanded by any participant in electronic markets. We propose COPS as an infrastructure for building adaptable electronic markets with main focus on security and fairness and MOSS as a methodology for analysing and modelling the security semantics of business transactions. Both are necessary to control the risks involved in dealing (trading) with untrusted parties in an open electronic commerce environment. We address the phases information, negotiation and execution of a business transaction and discuss security requirements which in the past were recognised as being very important for electronic market participants but had only received limited or little attention in the electronic commerce research community.


ABSTRACT Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the effects of live music therapy on heart rate variability (HRV) and self-reported stress and anxiety among hospitalized women with high-risk pregnancies. A total of 102 women at an antenatal ward due to pregnancy-related complications participated in a randomized controlled trial. Methods: The participants were randomly assigned to a music therapy group (N = 52) or control group (N = 50). The women in the music therapy group received live music therapy on three consecutive days, for half an hour at a time. The participants belonging to the control group were instructed to rest for equally long time periods. The physiologic stress of the participants was assessed using HRV measures. The participants also rated their perceived stress and anxiety. The physiologic stress of the participants was assessed using 12 HRV measures. Results: The SD2 measure of HRV increased significantly more in the music therapy group than in the control group during the therapy sessions. Moreover, the low frequency (LF) HRV measure decreased during the three-day therapy period. The self-reported stress was not significantly altered after the intervention. For women with high initial self-reported anxiety in both groups, their anxiety was significantly reduced during the three-day period.


By 2050 the world population will reach over nine billion and "flattening of the world" will be an understatement. We anticipate burgeoning needs regarding energy resources, transportation, housing, food distribution/packaging for the masses, recycling, and health care/ health care delivery, not to mention climate change and environmental issues. World population is increasing at an average rate of 1.4%, and in contrast world energy consumption is increasing at an average rate of 1.7%. Such an imbalance is not sustainable. From a societal perspective, engineers have played a major role to enhance the quality of life in our world. Sustainable development in the 21st Century is perhaps the most critical issue we face. This keynote will address the solutions that light metals technologies bring to the table to meet these challenges. The opportunities for processing and component manufacture to address these challenges will be reviewed and discussed.


This empirical study examined financial sector development and economic growth in Nigeria between 1981 to 2012. Secondary data on real gross domestic product (RGDP) was used as a proxy for economic growth; while financial development was captured by three variables; ratio of money supply to GDP (M2GDP), ratio of credit to private sector to GDP (CPSGDP) and real interest rate (RINT) which represented the explanatory variables were sourced mainly from CBN publications . In the cause of empirical investigation, various advanced econometric techniques like Augmented Dickey Fuller Unit Root Test, Johansen Cointegration Test and Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) were employed and the result revealed among others: That all the variables ware stationary at first difference except for real gross domestic product which were stationary at second difference, meaning that the variables were not integrated of the same order justifying co-integration and error correction mechanism test. The cointegration result indicated that there is long run relationship among the variables with one cointegrating vectors. The result of the error correction mechanism (ECM) test indicates that all the variables except real interest rate exerted significant impact on economic growth in Nigeria. The study concluded that Nigeria financial system is yet to be developed to its full capacity, hence there is need to adequately deepen the financial system through innovations, adequate and effective regulation and supervision, efficient mobilization of funds and making such funds available for productive investment, and improved services.


In the absence hitherto of any unfailing taenicides or specifics, it may be profitable to inquire if there are any other methods available for the safe and certain expulsion of the various cestodes. Personally, having abandoned the search for such a remedy, for the reason that it might imperil the well-being of host as well as guest, I find that some of the standard taeniafuges, if employed in adequate doses and supplemented by attention to certain details, to be noted farther on, may be made to accomplish all that we desire. For example, during the local prevalence of tape-worms which followed the importation of a measly herd from Mexico, some years ago, I came to use kameela in doses of 8 to 12 grains ([unk]ii-[unk]iii), and ethereal extract of male-fern to the extent of 4 to 10 grams [unk]i-[unk]iiss). These apparently large doses, exceeding those recommended by the authorities of


Summary The addition of either isatin-β-thiosemicarbazone (IBT) or its N-methyl derivative effectively inhibited the multiplication of various isolates of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus. Treatment of infected cultures with IBT early or late in the log, phase of replication markedly suppressed the production of infectious virus, indicating that the drug inhibits virus maturation. The time course of formation of infectious virus and of synthesis of viral DNA and viral protein was determined with the inhibitors FUdR and cycloheximide, respectively. In radioisotope experiments, IBT inhibited the incorporation of label into both RNA and DNA at a fairly early stage of the virus growth cycle.


The preparation of various 1-trifluoromethylisoquinolines from α-benzylated tosylmethyl isocyanide derivatives and the commercial Togni reagent using a radical cascade is reported. The starting isocyanides are readily prepared in a modular sequence from commercial tosylmethyl isocyanide via sequential double α-alkylation, and the radical reaction proceeds under mild conditions with high efficiency without any transition-metal catalyst via electron catalysis. This valuable protocol has been successfully applied to the total synthesis of CF3-mansouramycin B.


The action of Na2[C2B10H12] on [PdCl2(dppe)](dppe = Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2) yields the 13-vertex yellow closo species [(dppe)PdC2B10H12](1), and the reaction of [NMe4][C2B10H13] with [IrCl(PPh3)3] in light petroleum–methanol gives a related 13-vertex cage of yellow [(PPh3)2HlrC2B10H11(OMe)](2), whose formation involves attack by a solvent molecule. The structure of both products have been established by X-ray diffraction [R= 0.039 and 0.074 for 4 786 and 4 130 diffractometer-measured observed reflections, for (1) and (2) respectively]. Both show the characteristic 1:5:6:1 structure for 13-vertex polyhedra, distorted by carbon substitution. The reaction of Tl(O2CMe) with Na2[C2B10H12] in ethanol leads to degradation of the C2B10 cage, and yields an orange solid formulated as Tl3(C2B9H12)O. Treatment of this solid with [PtCl2(dppe)] gives the pale orange [(dppe)PtC2B9H11](3); it has an icosahedral structure [R= 0.068 for 3 530 observed reflections], distorted mainly by the lengthening of the Pt–C bonds in comparison to the Pt–B bonds.


A number of studies attempting to identify specific risk factors for dementia have noted an inverse relationship between educational background and the likelihood of developing dementia. This idea has been somewhat controversial as educational background can introduce a number of confounding factors that generally affect health and lifestyle. Despite these reservations, there is mounting evidence to support the concept of education (or increased mental activity) producing a functional reserve in the brain, a process that provides some protection against the clinical manifestation of dementia. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a recognized neural correlate of learning and memory. We have shown recently that LTP reduces the sensitivity of hippocampal neurons to agonists of the neurotransmitter glutamate; additionally, we have reported that LTP protects the neurons from the effects of acute hypoxia. Given that the effect of hypoxia on neurons involves over-stimulation by glutamate, and hypoxia has been implicated in the aetio-pathology of some types of dementia, our observations suggest that LTP has a protective effect on neuronal tissue. Such an interaction offers a physiological basis for the epidemiological evidence that lifelong learning can protect a person from some types of dementia.


A Multitasking robot for the field of Agriculture has been studied in this research. Now a day, precision agriculture by agricultural robots is the newly emerging technology in agriculture sector To save the time and energy that is wasted in repetitive farming tasks automation in farming processes is quite helpful. To design these sorts of robots there should be certain considerations and particular approach considering the agriculture environment in which it will be working.The working of an autonomous robot is based on field parameters i.e. length and width. Prototype of an agricultural robot "AgRo-Bot" is modeled for multitasking such as seeding, ploughing and harvesting with a separate irrigation system. It is a tri wheeled vehicle which is controlled by ATMEGA328 microcontroller (ardiuno) as master controller, Humidity sensor for irrigation, power supply is provided by solar panel which is eco-friendly to the environment. It will also help in decreasing the use of non-renewable sources of energy and will not pollute the environment. Other accessories are slaves performing specific operations. The approach is now to develop smarter machines that areintelligent enough to work in an unmodified or semi natural environment.


Objective To identify the hippocampal subregions linking initial amyloid and tau pathology to memory performance in clinically normal older individuals, reflecting preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods A total of 127 individuals from the Harvard Aging Brain Study (mean age 76.22 ± 6.42 years, 68 women [53.5%]) with a Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0, a flortaucipir tau-PET scan, a Pittsburgh compound B amyloid-PET scan, a structural MRI scan, and cognitive testing were included. From these images, we calculated neocortical, hippocampal, and entorhinal amyloid pathology; entorhinal and hippocampal tau pathology; and the volumes of 6 hippocampal subregions and total hippocampal volume. Memory was assessed with the selective reminding test. Mediation and moderation analyses modeled associations between regional markers and memory. Analyses included covariates for age, sex, and education. Results Neocortical amyloid, entorhinal tau, and presubiculum volume univariately associated with memory performance. The relationship between neocortical amyloid and memory was mediated by entorhinal tau and presubiculum volume, which was modified by hippocampal amyloid burden. With other biomarkers held constant, presubiculum volume was the only marker predicting memory performance in the total sample and in individuals with elevated hippocampal amyloid burden. Conclusions The presubiculum captures unique AD-related biological variation that is not reflected in total hippocampal volume. Presubiculum volume may be a promising marker of imminent memory problems and can contribute to understanding the interaction between incipient AD-related pathologies and memory performance. The modulation by hippocampal amyloid suggests that amyloid is a necessary, but not sufficient, process to drive neurodegeneration in memory-related regions.


The factors that contribute to intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) development within the carotid atherosclerotic plaque are incompletely understood. Previously, we demonstrated that IPH is associated with a thin/ruptured fibrous cap (TRFC) and disruption of the plaque surface on in a cross-sectional study. Baseline and 2 year's follow-up carotid MR images of 110 patients from the Plaque at Risk (PARISK) study were analyzed. IPH volume change in TRFC at baseline was significant different (p=0.04) than thick fibrous cap group. Baseline IPH volumes are larger in patients with TRFC and disrupted plaque surface, but didn't increase during the follow-up.


Much has been written about New Mexico, but few of those who have described its unique heritage and character have fully understood its true spirit and appreciated what it represents as a part of the present-day United States. New Mexico has a personality all of its own. Three cultural groups have been most important in forming the American way of life to be found there: the Pueblo Indians, who were the first permanent settlers of the region; the Spanish, who made it a part of Western civilization; and the Anglo-Americans, who have brought it into the current of modern American life. Today, New Mexico is neither Indian, nor Spanish, nor Anglo, but a harmonious combination of all three; and in the persistance and, generally speaking, local appreciation of the permanent values of each of the dominant cultural heritages, it has been for the past one hundred years a significant laboratory of the Good-Neighbor Policy. I speak as one whose ancestors were among the pioneers of both the Anglo and Hispano-American frontiers of settlement who, advancing from northeast and southwest, met and joined hands in what is now the state of New Mexico during the first half of the nineteenth century.


We present a numerical model aimed to accurately simulate the plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) process in micro and nano-patterned Si samples. The code, based on the Monte Carlo approach, is designed to reproduce all the relevant physical phenomena involved in the process. The particle based simulation technique is fundamental to efficiently compute the material modifications promoted by the plasma implantation at the atomic resolution. The accuracy in the description of the process kinetic is achieved linking (one to one) each virtual Monte Carlo event to each possible atomic phenomenon (e.g. ion penetration, neutral absorption, ion induced surface modification, etc.). The code is designed to be coupled with a generic plasma status, characterized by the particle types (ions and neutrals), their flow rates and their energy/angle distributions. The coupling with a Poisson solver allows the simulation of the correct trajectories of charged particles in the void regions of the micro-structures. The implemented model is able to predict the implantation 2D profiles and significantly support the process design. (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This study investigated the TNT decomposition by the treatment of alkaline hydrolysis. To obtain this objecitive, spectrum shift characteristics, pH effect, kinetics, and product analysis were examined during the alkaline hydrolysis by means of hydroxide ions. At pH = 12, an aqueous solution of TNT was changed into yellow-brown coloring, in which its absorbances were newly increased in a range of wavelength 400-600 ㎚. From the kinetic data, pseudo-first-order rate constant in a excess of hydroxide ion, in contrast to TNT concentration, was 0.0022 min-1, which means that the reaction rate between TNT and hydroxide ion can be very slow, and that 1,047 min is necessary to achieve a 90% reduction of the initial TNT. In products analyses, nitrite ions and formic acid were mainly produced by the alkaline hydrolysis, nitrate ions and oxalic acid as minor products were generated.


Current practice guidelines for the treatment of COPD recommend the use of combined inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators in severe and very severe patients (GOLD stages III and IV). OBJECTIVES: To analyze the economical and clinical impact of this recommendation, the affordability of its widespread application, as well as the relative pharmacoeconomical performance of the available options for severe and very severe COPD in Italy. METHODS: Published data on the Italian COPD population were fitted in a disease progression model based on a Markov chain representing severity stages and death. Alternative therapeutic options (salmeterol/ fluticasone - SF, formoterol/budesonide - FB, salmeterol alone - S, fluticasone alone - F and control - C) were represented as competing arms in a decision tree. Efficacy data from international trials were expressed in terms of risk reduction. Clinical parameters used were number of exacerbations and symptom-free days. Direct and indirect costs were considered and valued according to present prices and tarifs. The analyses were conducted from National Health System, societal and patient perspectives with time horizons of 1,5, and 10 years, and lifelong. RESULTS: The yearly total direct costs of treating COPD patients in Italy is estimated in approximately 7 billion Euro, with a mean cost/patient/year around 2,400 Euro. Mean survival of the cohort is 11,5 years. The C and F strategies are dominated (i.e. are associated with worse outcomes and higher costs) by all alternatives. S/F and F/B are the most effective strategies, with a slight clinical superiority of the latter, but are also marginally more expensive than S. Incremental cost/effectiveness of S/F vs. S is 679,55 Euro/avoided exacerbation and 3,31Euro/gained symptom-free day. CONCLUSIONS: The recommended use of combined inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators for severe and very severe COPD patients, as compared with current practice, has the potential of improving clinical outcomes without increasing health care costs.


Three-dimensional numerical simulation was performed to show that coarsening and grain growth was affected by particle arrangement in sintering of identical spheres. In the sintering of a row of three spheres the center particle with the coordination number of 2 coarsened, while particles on both sides with coordination number of 1 shrank and disappeared. The particles on both sides disappeared in a shorter time with increasing ratio of grain boundary energy g gb to surface energy g S . A new bond between two particles on both sides was created during sintering of three spheres with bond angle of 70 (cid:1) . This particle rearrangement changed the coordination number, and retarded the coarsening.


Regarding the recent advances in the field of science and technology – primarily within information and communication technology, and biotechnology – human as an individual and humankind altogether are facing challenges of a new kind, while the questions on personal and human identity are becoming more complex than ever. Old questions about identity, e. g. "Who am I?", "Who are we?", "Who (or what) is human?" have to be asked in some new contexts. Possible answers to these questions have significant specific weight in epistemological, ontological and anthropological perspective, but they also have to include ethical and socio-political aspects. We must not be infatuated by the emancipatory potential of modern technoscience to the extent that we stop to question new types of manipulation or even enslavement of the human and the humankind. Moreover, we must not stop at the boundaries of the human – we must extend the traditional ethical questions over into the field of bioethics or transhumanist ethics (cyborg ethics, animal ethics, ecoethics, cosmoethics). However, the epistemic barycentre is still in the sphere of the human. Therefore we need to investigate where the human is and what is a human on the crucifix of the identity whose endpoints represent: being a (distinctive) person and being a (human) being, (visible) embodiment and (invisible) genetic constitution. Qualitative and numerical identity, personal and human identity, identity of organism and genetic identity have to be examined in terms of definition and protection, i.e. description and normativity. In this manner, as theoreticians, we are facing the imperative of proper focusing which helps us to articulate and understand the problem, and on the other hand, as persons and members of the humankind, we are facing the impossibility of disentangling the knot of the identity and the identity tension, exactly like in the 1973 installation (video-sculpture) "Crucifixion of the Identity" by Peter Weibel, which will serve as an illustration of this subject field.


Developmental evaluation can often question the ethical basis of an intervention in terms of whether it's 'doing the right thing' rather than merely 'doing things right'. Drawing on ideas from critical systems thinking and critical systems heuristics, an evaluation framework with a pro-equity focus is suggested. The framework addresses issues of complexity. It invites theories of change associated with philosophical ethics, and provides a means of surfacing and potentially transforming debilitating relations of power in a complex evaluand. A case study of the long-standing Narmada project in India is used to sketch the workings of the framework. The article describes how the underpinning methodological ideas of critical systems thinking incorporating triple-loop learning can enhance the practice of developmental evaluation.


INTRODUCTION
The aim of this study was to evaluate if a poloxamer-based concentrated surfactant gel (CSG), containing antibacterial preservative agents, had the ability to reduce the levels of biofilm extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), specifically proteins and extracellular DNA (eDNA), as these are found to be the most immunogenic, within an in vitro biofilm.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A 24-hour biofilm of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 was grown in a 12-well plate and treated for 24 hours with a CSG coated onto Multisorb® (BSN Medical Limited, Hull, United Kingdom). EPS were extracted from each sample using 1M sodium chloride. Protein and DNA in EPS extractions was determined quantitatively using the Pierce™ Coomassie (Bradford) protein assay kit and a microplate SYTO 9™ (ThermoFisher Scientific, Paisley, United Kingdom) fluorescent assay, respectively. Protein and DNA was also determined qualitatively using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).

RESULTS
Following 24-hour growth of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 biofilm, 7.38mg/mL protein was isolated from the extracted EPS in the untreated control. In comparison, the protein concentration found in the extracted EPS from biofilms treated with a CSG was 6.39mg/mL, showing a 13.4% reduction. Following 24-hour growth of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 biofilm, 11.71mg/mL eDNA was isolated from the extracted EPS in the untreated control. In comparison, the eDNA concentration found in the extracted EPS from biofilms treated with a CSG was 0.65mg/mL, showing a 94.5% reduction. Following statistical analysis of the data, the decrease in protein isolated following CSG treatment was within error; however, the decrease in eDNA isolated was statistically significant, showing the ability of the CSG to break up biofilm EPS in vitro. Using confocal laser microscopy and staining techniques, a large quantity of protein and eDNA could be observed in samples from the untreated control. In comparison, a reduction in EPS protein and eDNA was observed in samples that had been treated with a CSG.

CONCLUSION
The data presented here potentially shows the ability of a CSG to reduce components of the P. aeruginosa biofilm EPS. The reduction in eDNA following CSG treatment may contribute to the dispersal of the biofilm, potentially increasing the susceptibility of it to antimicrobials, and should be explored further.


Polymer white-light-emitting diodes are fabricated based on the blend of poly[9,9-di-(2-ethylhexyl)-fluorenyl-2,7-diyl]-end capped with polysilsesquioxane (PFO) and a chelating copolymer ofpoly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamino) propyl)-2,7-fluorene-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene))-co- [2,7-(9,9-dioctlyfluorene)-alt-5,5-bis(2-(4-methyl-1-naphtha-lene) pyridine-C2,N) iridium (III) acethylacetonate]] (PFN-NaIr). The device with the sole aluminium cathode is able to produce a comparably white electroluminescence efficiency of 1.31 cd/A to that of the device using low work function cathodes (such as Ba, Ca, etc.). The CIE coordinates of the white light emission consisting of red, green and blue three components are nearly at (0.34, 0.35). The mechanism of the white light emission from the device with the Al cathode is investigated, which is related to the efficient injection of electrons through the interface of PFN-NaIr/Al.


Author(s): Soper, Braden Cooper | Advisor(s): Musacchio, John | Abstract: In this dissertation we propose two novel non-zero-sum, adversarial detection games motivated by problems in network security. First we consider a local mean field, interdependent detection game between a network of defenders and a strategic attacker. Each defender chooses a detection threshold to test for the presence of a botnet infection, which can propagate between defenders if undetected. In order to avoid detection, the attacker balances stealth and aggression in his strategic utilization of the compromised network. We compare selfish, decentralized defenders to centrally planned defenders in order to examine the effects of network externalities on detection strategies. It is found that for fixed attack strategies, decentralized defenders choose thresholds that are either too low or too high than is socially optimal. When the attacker is strategic and the defenders are homogeneous, we prove the existence of a pure Nash equilibrium in both decentralized and centralized games. Through numerical approximations of the equilibria, we find that decentralized defenders can outperform a central planner in such games. It is observed that pure Nash equilibria often fail to exist when defenders are heterogeneous in their cost functions. In this case sufficient conditions are given to guarantee a Stackelberg equilibria. Next a two-player, non-zero-sum, sequential detection game based on Wald's SPRT is presented. A defender seeks to sequentially detect the presence of an attacker via the drift of a stochastic process. The detection process is complicated by the attacker's ability to strategically choose the drift of the observed stochastic process. We prove the existence of pure Nash equilibria and give sufficient conditions for the existence of Stackelberg equilibria with the defender as leader. It is shown that both low false positive costs and high prior probabilities of intrusion lead to an infinite number of Nash equilibria in which the defender makes no observations. Conversely both high false positive costs and low prior probabilities of intrusion lead to a finite number of non-trivial Nash equilibria. Through numerical examples we see that it is possible for the defender to do better using a Stackelberg equilibrium strategy than a Nash equilibrium strategy.


The genus Eutegaeus (Oribatida, Eutegaeidae) comprises 13 species, which are distributed in the Australian, Neotropical and Antarctic regions; of these, two new species are described from litter in the relictual Valdivian forest of Chile. Eutegaeus parapapuaensis sp. nov. (description based on the adult and tritonymph) differs from Eutegaeus papuensis Aoki, 1964 by the absence of translamella, interbothridial tubercles, notogastral setae h3 and epimeral setae 3a. Eutegaeus paralagrecai sp. nov. (description based on the adult and proto-, deuto- and tritonymph) differs from Eutegaeus lagrecai Arcidiacono, 1993 by the presence of lanceolate bothridial setae and long notogastral setae p1, and the absence of striate ornamentation on the notogaster. A revised generic diagnosis and an identification key to known species of Eutegaeus are presented. Nymphs of Eutegaeus and related genera in Eutegaeoidea are compared.


Copyright liability for web-hosting will be a key determinant of the evolution of the Internet in years to come. Depending on their design, the legal rules that shape the liability of web-hosts can stunt the development of the Internet as a medium of expression or enhance it. Hence, adopting the optimal liability regime is a matter of crucial importance.This Article proposes a radical change in web-hosts' copyright liability for illegal content posted by users. Our main thesis is that web-hosts' liability should be guided by the "Best Available Technology" principle, according to which web-hosts that employ the best filtering technology available on the market will be immune from liability for copyright infringement.Adoption of our proposed liability regime would offer several key advantages relative to the extant regime. First, it would provide web-hosts with the certainty they need to continue to operate and grow. Second, it would result in superior and more balanced enforcement of the rights of copyright holders and would achieve this at a much lower cost. Third, it would spur competition in the market for filtering technology and induce constant improvement in enforcement technology. Fourth, and finally, it would dramatically reduce the rate of copyright infringement suits against website operators and the cost of adjudicating them.We further demonstrate that the analytical framework we construct represents a superior approach not only to the liability of web-hosts, but also to those of file sharing and possibly Internet Service Provider liability.


A locally-adapted model to predict irradiance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been developed. It is based on the McClear model and the HelioClim database, and it utilizes aerosol optical depth measurements from AERONET network, and high-precision measurements of irradiance collected at Madinat Zayed, UAE. The clear-sky part of the model consists of McClear model operated with ground-corrected Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) as inputs. The all-sky part is made of HelioClim-3, recalculated with the AOD-corrected McClear as inputs, and then calibrated using irradiance measurements at one station. The locally-adapted model accurately estimates the global and direct irradiances. The estimated irradiances have been validated against measurements collected from 7 Rotating Shadowband Irradiometers distributed over the UAE. The obtained root mean square errors on the hourly means of irradiance are 4% for Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), 10% for Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) in cloudless skies and 8% for GHI, 26% for DNI in cloudy skies.


Detecting human activity independent of intensity is essential in many applications, primarily in calculating metabolic equivalent rates (MET) and extracting human context awareness from on-body inertial sensors. Many classifiers that train on an activity at a subset of intensity levels fail to classify the same activity at other intensity levels. This demonstrates weakness in the underlying activity model. Training a classifier for an activity at every intensity level is also not practical. In this paper we tackle a novel intensity-independent activity recognition application where the class labels exhibit large variability, the data is of high dimensionality, and clustering algorithms are necessary. We propose a new robust Stochastic Approximation framework for enhanced classification of such data. Experiments are reported for each dataset using two clustering techniques, K-Means and Gaussian Mixture Models. The Stochastic Approximation algorithm consistently outperforms other well-known classification schemes which validates the use of our proposed clustered data representation.


Since the last century a growing movement of individuals and organizations that seek the redefinition of how buildings are designed, built and operated to be more responsible to the environment. The critical contribution of the residential building in this matter emphasizes the need to study the houses thermal performance and its impact on environment, considering the human thermal comfort requirements. The reduction of the energy demand for heating and cooling is the key factor in the low energy houses and minimizing environmental damage caused by the emissions of carbon dioxide.

In this thesis the traditional vernacular houses in Libya have been used as a vehicle of the research. The houses have been selected from three cities, Tripoli, Ghadames and Gheryan; analyzed and appraised to the climate and culture requirement in addition to context, house form and building materials. The study endeavors to examine the Traditional Vernacular Architecture in Libya, which is conceptually understood as a shelter that fulfilled people's needs according to their socio-cultural criteria as well responding positively to the climatic factors. Therefore, studying the socio-cultural forces that form the vernacular houses outlines the guidelines for a low energy building
that encounters people's contemporary need.

The research has been assessed by means of computer monitoring, field survey and computer energy simulation. Monitoring the thermal performance of the traditional vernacular houses provides lessons that act as catalyst and model for future low energy
house. Sets of passive heating and cooling strategy have been underlined from each of the three vernacular houses in three climatic regions in Libya. The field survey of thermal comfort has been conducted to examine the thermal comfort in Libya's traditional houses. The outcome of the survey is two main findings, first it sets the value of thermal insulation of the Libyan traditional clothing, and secondly, the survey assigns
the thermal comfort temperature in three climatic zones in Libya. The energy simulations results of the three models induced that the vernacular traditional houses can augment the future low energy housing in Libya.

A low energy house models have been proposed by the author and tested with positive results in the three cities, using the available local building material and the traditional environment solutions can establish an indoor comfort environment that is acceptable.

The findings of the study fill part of the gap in the thermal comfort standards for Libya, and prove the possibility to lower the energy use in the future house compared to the contemporary house in the three climatic region of Libya, with nearly 80% in winter and
60% in summer. The study also provides guidelines for use in building standards in Libya. It also concludes that number of research avenues should be carried out for a comprehensive answer to the issue of thermal comfort and building design strategies for a low energy house in Libya.


The article is devoted to the peculiarities of conducting investigative (search) actions during the investigation of criminal offenses committed using information technology (cybercrime) under martial law. The procedural and tactical features of conducting separate investigative (investigative) actions in the investigation of cybercrimes under martial law are considered.

The domestic procedural legislation regulating the conduct of investigative (search) actions under martial law is studied. Also, an analysis of certain provisions of Article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine was carried out.

The article discusses the features of conducting an inspection, search, and interrogation in videoconference mode during the investigation of criminal offenses committed using information technology (cybercrime) under martial law. The adopted amendments to the legislation improving the conduct of inspection and search are analyzed. The scientific literature has been summarized and tactical recommendations to investigators and prosecutors on conducting an inspection and interrogation in videoconference mode during martial law have been highlighted. It is noted that the effectiveness of interrogation in videoconference mode depends on the serviceability and modernity of the technical means to be used, as well as the speed of information transmission.

It is noted that it is necessary to improve the process of recording the screen by creating a Linux-based operating system for the investigator and an additional program for fixing illegal actions. This program should record all the actions of the investigator to investigate and record the evidentiary information left in the electronic environment. In particular, the program must record the moment of entry into the operating system, the opening of the corresponding fixation programs, the time of this action, which resource is being investigated, and the like. At the same time, the received video recording data (CD-ROM, USB flash drive) should be attached to the inspection protocol.

Key words: information technology, cybercrimes, martial law, individual investigative (detective) actions, examination, search, interrogation via videoconference.


This study innovatively evaluates the impact of hydropower plants located in a diversion channel on water quality dynamics. The spatial characteristics of water in the diversion channel above and below a hydropower plant were assessed; specifically, the investigation was conducted in the watercourse undeveloped by the hydropower plant and at reference points. Among the five analyzed points, the strongest statistically significant changes were observed in electrolytic conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen. Statistical analyses showed a similar, statistically significant relationship for most months. The water quality indicators proposed in this study help assess hydropower plants' impact on water quality dynamics because they enable water comparison at different locations. The best water quality, as calculated using designated indices, was recorded below the hydropower plant. Among the physicochemical parameter values, the most noticeable change occurred in dissolved oxygen below the hydropower plant and below the fixed weir; its value was 8.10% and 5.32% higher in the two locations at the reference point below the hydropower facility. Moreover, the NH4 -N content was higher by 7.06% below the weir than the point below the hydropower plant. In the long term, this research may help plant operators manage water resources on watercourses with hydropower development more efficiently, according to sustainable development principles. This research will contribute to the rational management of such facilities on diversion channels considering sustainable water management principles. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


. In this study, 100 % cotton fabric was used to check the impact on fabric crystallinity and tensile strength at different processing stages. Desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerization and resin (only resin & resin+softener) application were the processes performed on the fabric. X-Ray diffractometer and tensile strength tester were used to determine the crystallinity index (CI) and tensile strength, respectively. Results revealed that from scouring to mercerization crystallinity (CI) decreased while desizing and resin application treatments showed no significant impact on the crystallinity (CI). In case of tensile strength, a decreasing trend from desizing to resin application was observed.


Introduction. Vibration disease, affecting the autonomic-vascular regulation at different levels, disrupts the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic influences with the formation of vasospasm. The development of cardiac autonomic neuropathy leads to a worsening of the prognosis for the life of patients, and therefore, the search for effective methods for correcting autonomic disorders is an urgent task in the treatment of vibration disease.The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of ischemic preconditioning for the correction of neurovegetative manifestations of vibration disease.Materials and methods. A comparative assessment of the initial parameters of heart rate variability was carried out in the main group of patients with an established diagnosis of vibration disease (32 people), and in the control group (25 people who had never worked under the influence of industrial vibration). The main group of patients underwent ischemic preconditioning of the upper extremities for 4 days, followed by monitoring of heart rate variability. The Mann-Whitney criteria were used to compare two independent samples and Wilcoxon to assess the significance of changes in indicators before and after exposure. Values at p<0.05 were considered statistically reliable.Results. An initial decrease in the power level of all spectral parameters of heart rate variability in the main group with the formation of relative sympathicotonia and a decrease in the values of the approximated entropy was revealed. After ischemic preconditioning, heart rate variability significantly increases, which indicates a decrease in the severity of autonomous neuropathy and an improvement in the prognosis for life.Conclusions. In patients with vibration disease, all parts of the peripheral and central autonomic nervous system are involved in pathogenesis with the formation of persistent sympathicotonia and violation of regulatory mechanisms. Ischemic preconditioning can affect the identified disorders by inducing an adaptive vagal response.The authors declare no conflict of interests.


Background: A series of methods, which use angle to quantitatively evaluate cervical sagittal morphology cannot objectively reflect the advantages and disadvantages in some cases. In this study, we try to use the area methods to supplement it in above cases. Methods: The Cobb angle, range of motion (ROM) of C2-7, and antero-posterior diameter of atlas (C1-APD) were measured at neutral, flexion, and extension X-ray radiographs of the cervical spine in all 191 patients. Patients were divided into Group A and Group B according to whether their cervical sagittal morphology can be objectively quantified with Cobb angle. Pearson correlation analysis was used to compare the consistency of the results, paired t-test was used to compare the dispersion coefficient, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value.Results: The C5 vertebra was used as the vertex to construct the cervical sagittal triangle, and according to the different selection of the other two points, the triangle was further divided into four types. The Area Coefficient (AC) was defined as "B". In Group A, whose cervical sagittal morphology could be objectively quantified with Cobb angle, the AC showed greatly consistency, while in Group B, it was less consistent. AC results have stronger predictive value for clinical symptoms in Group B. The dispersion coefficients of the results measured by the four area methods are significantly smaller than the Cobb angle. The results of quantifying cervical ROM by area methods were also in good agreement with Cobb angle. Conclusion: Compared with Cobb angle, AC has better objectivity, stability, and clinical significance.


Leadership performance by village leaders is essential to promote sustainable life among rural communities, especially fisheries community who living along coastal villages. Otherwise, previous studies found that performance issues among village's leaders remain as serious problems, and need to find the best solution. This study was conducted to profile the job performance among village leaders based on demographic factors such as educational level, age and experiences as village leader. The data of this cross-sectional survey were collected by questionnaires on 300 respondents consist of members of village organization through stratified sampling's technique, while the data was analysed by SPSS using items of mean, standard deviation, independent-sample t-test and anova. The finding shown that there were differences in job performance among village leaders on educational level, age and experiences. Interestingly, the finding told the best on job performance among village leaders are (i) the age between 41 to 50 years old; (iii) the experience between 11 to 20 years; and (iii) the higher educational level the higher job performance among them.  This result can be using by government or any responsible parties to improve job performance among village leaders, especially for recruitment selection and for in-service training.


The purpose of this study is to propose the factors affecting collaboration between community nurses and social workers in Korea. Data that is used in this study, were collected from 295 provider respondents by questionnaire, additionally from telephone survey and secondary data review. This study focuses on the working relationship between professionals in the field of health and social care. Based on the literature review, this study proposes a conceptual framework for collaboration between nurses and social workers in community health and social care. The dependent variable in this study is collaboration. It reveals whether or not the inter-professional works and shows the level of collaboration. The independent variables are categorized in: the client characteristics (frailty of client, client-provider relationship); the provider characteristics (specialization, perception of interdependence, perception of the other professional); the organization characteristics (closeness of the other professional, autonomy, on-the-job training, evaluation-reward); and the community characteristics (urbanization, capacity of resources). Major findings are as follows: First, the factors that appear to have the strongest impact on whether or not inter-professional working of respondent sampled are: the perception of other professional; the perception of interdependence; closeness of, the, other professional; and the frailty of client. Secondly, the factors that found to have the most significant effect on level of cooperation are: the perception of, the other professional; on-the-job training; evaluation-reward; and the closeness of the other professional.


This study aimed to elucidate the incidence and distribution of the cortical retention of Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and clarify the differences from those in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ten patients with iNPH without any clinical signs indicative of AD were enrolled in this study. Cerebral retention of PIB in positron emission tomography (PET) in iNPH patients was compared with those in seven age-matched AD patients. The CSF levels of β-amyloid 1–42 peptide (Aβ42), which inversely decrease with cerebral amyloid burden, were also measured. Three of the ten patients with iNPH showed increased cortical PIB retention. Although the mean cortical SUV ratios were similar, the distribution of PIB retention differed widely between the patients with iNPH and AD. PIB retention was limited to the high-convexity parasagittal areas in iNPH patients, whereas it spread over the frontal and parietotemporal areas in AD. The coronal images of PIB-PET were more informative than conventional transverse images in evaluating the distribution pattern of cortical PIB retention. Two iNPH patients with higher cortical PIB retention had the lowest levels of CSF Aβ42, indicating that PIB retention in iNPH would not reflect a simple delay in PIB clearance but its binding to existing Aβ amyloid in the brain. Our results indicate that iNPH is one of the diseases exhibiting cortical PIB retention. The characteristic distribution of PIB retention in iNPH could be useful in the differential diagnosis between iNPH and AD.


This article succinctly reviews research achievements in the fields of psychiatric genetics, psychosocial influences on mental disorder, and developmental processes. The challenges for the future are discussed in relation to finding and understanding the following: (1) susceptibility genes; (2) environmentally mediated causal risk processes; (3) nature-nurture interplay; (4) the effects of psychosocial adversity on the organism; (5) the causal processes responsible for group differences in rates of disorder; and (6) age-related changes in psychopathological characteristics.


Grassmann-valued Dirac fields together with the electromagnetic field (the pseudo-classical basis of QED) are reformulated on spacelike hypersurfaces in Minkowski space–time and then restricted to Wigner hyperplanes to get their description in the rest-frame Wigner-covariant instant form of dynamics. The canonical reduction to the Wigner-covariant Coulomb gauge is done in the rest frame. It is shown, on the basis of a geometric inconsistency, that the description of fermions is incomplete, because there is no bosonic carrier of the spin structure describing the trajectory of the electric current in Minkowski space–time, as it was already emphasized in connection with the first quantization of spinning particles in a previous paper.


The U.S. Navy is defining the baseline performance of the current SSN ASW suite in the Arctic operating environment. This suite includes the AN/BQQ-5 sonar suit (including the Towed Array, the sphere and other sensor and processor sub-systems), communications subsystems and weapon systems (Mk 48 and ADCAP). An effective acoustic measurement program in the Arctic must support the evaluation of how well the different subsystems are able to carry out their assigned functions. Unique aspects of the operating environment in the Arctic include unusual noise properties, unusual transmission effects, and an unusual sea surface. This report addresses those acoustic transmission effects which affect system performance due to fluctuations or spreads in the acoustic field space, angle time, and frequency.


Background: Education in mathematics and science is important at all school levels and should ideally start in the preschool, which implies that preschool teachers should have an adequate knowledge base in these subjects. Aim: This study aimed to investigate preschool teachers' knowledge bases, including their subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in mathematics and science. Setting: The study presents an account of preschool teachers' knowledge bases in mathematics and science in Botswana and Sweden and how they influence their teaching choices and strategies. Methods: A pragmatic paradigm with a survey design and a mixed-methods mode with quantitative and qualitative approaches was used. Using a purposive sampling procedure, 64 preschool teachers from Botswana and 67 from Sweden participated in the study. Questionnaires and observation schedules were used to collect the data. Results: The findings showed that the Swedish preschool teachers had SMK and PCK in the two subjects. The Botswana teachers had SMK but lacked PCK. The early childhood educated preschool teachers from Sweden with developed PCK highlighted the daily routine situations as teaching or learning situations, whereas the primary school teachers from Botswana had SMK but found it difficult to teach at the preschool level. Conclusion: The preschool teachers' knowledge bases included a play-based approach and knowledge about didactic considerations in spontaneous situations that made them teachable. The findings also showed the importance of a framework for specialised and professional early childhood education (ECE) training and acquiring SMK and PCK that contributed to the preschool teachers' knowledge bases and practices in their teaching of mathematics and science. Early childhood education teachers' educational experiences, their specialised and professional training profiles and the knowledge they acquired determined their knowledge bases and the SMK and PCK that minimised the constraints and challenges faced by them in the teaching of mathematics and science in ECE classrooms.