This paper investigates general practitioners' (GP) self-reported practices for psychologically distressed patients with sexually transmissible infections (STI). A cross-sectional postal survey was conducted among a 15% random sample of GP practising in New South Wales. The main outcome measures were self-reported strategies to deal with psychologically distressed STI patients, priority of counselling, and perceived need for training in counselling. The great majority (82%) of GP reported that they extended their consultation time to deal with psychologically distressed patients, whereas 49% reported being likely to refer distressed patients to a counsellor. Just over half (54%) considered counselling to be a high priority in STI care, whereas 49% acknowledged benefits of further training in counselling. Overseas medical graduates were more likely to refer patients in distress to counsellors compared with Australian graduates (odds ratio = 1.80, P = 0.008). Female and metropolitan GP were more likely to consider counselling a high priority in STI care (odds ratio = 1.56, P = 0.038; odds ratio = 1.62, P = 0.028, respectively). GP appreciate the need to deal with psychological distress of STI patients; however, referral to counselling services is not a widespread priority. Further research is needed to examine practitioners' actual practice in caring for psychological distress among STI patients and barriers to referral for counselling.


The understanding of neural excitability and oscillations in single neuron dynamics remains incomplete in terms of global stabilities and the underlying mechanisms for phase formation and associated phase transitions. In this study, we investigate the mechanism of single neuron excitability and spontaneous oscillations by analyzing the potential landscape and curl flux. The topological features of the landscape play a crucial role in assessing the stability of resting states and the robustness/coherence of oscillations. We analyze the excitation characteristics in Class I and Class II neurons and establish their relation to biological function. Our findings reveal that the average curl flux and associated entropy production exhibit significant changes near bifurcation or phase transition points. Moreover, the curl flux and entropy production offer insights into the dynamical and thermodynamical origins of nonequilibrium phase transitions and exhibit distinct behaviors in Class I and Class II neurons. Additionally, we quantify time irreversibility through the difference in cross-correlation functions in both forward and backward time, providing potential indicators for the emergence of nonequilibrium phase transitions in single neurons.


A sample of the Russian population from the European part of the Russian Federation was examined for the elucidation of the relationship between finger dermatoglyphic characters and general personality traits. Special attention was given to the evaluation of dermatoglyphic phenotype of subjects in consanguineous relation with the person being identified, to anatomic localization of papillar lines and other dermatoglyphic structures of the integrated dermatoglyphic phenotype. The informative value of local dermatoglyphic characters and their combinations was assessed. Methods were proposed for the determination of common personality traits referring persons to a given kinship circle and for the reconstruction of a definite dermatoglyphic milieu.


In 1911, Jadassohn1called attention to a lichenoid exanthem on the trunk, occurring in children suffering from tricophytic kerion. Since that time, many articles on the subject have appeared in European literature, and the word tricophytid is used to describe this eruption and others of the same origin. More recently, a similar series of eruptions called microsporid has been described occurring as a complication of microsporon infection. I propose the word dermatophytid to cover both groups of cases. The eruption is in many ways analogous to tuberculid, and may assume a variety of clinical forms, the commonest of which is the rapid development of large numbers of lichenoid papules occurring singly or in groups. A scarlatiniform rash has been observed, usually as an early stage of the lichenoid form. Vesicular and vesiculopustular cases are fairly common, and lesions resembling pityriasis rosea are reported. In some cases the eruption has


This article studies novel attack and defense strategies, based on a class of stealthy attacks, namely the zero-dynamics attack (ZDA), for multiagent control systems. ZDA poses a formidable security challenge since its attack signal is hidden in the null space of the state-space representation of the control system and hence it can evade conventional detection methods. An intuitive defense strategy builds on changing the aforementioned representation via switching through a set of carefully crafted topologies. In this article, we propose realistic ZDA variations where the attacker is aware of this topology-switching strategy, and hence employs the following policies to avoid detection: first, pause, update, and resume ZDA according to the knowledge of switching topologies; and second, cooperate with a concurrent stealthy topology attack that alters network topology at switching times, such that the original ZDA is feasible under the corrupted topology. We first systematically study the proposed ZDA variations, and then develop defense strategies against them under the realistic assumption that the defender has no knowledge of attack starting, pausing, and resuming times and the number of misbehaving agents. Particularly, we characterize conditions for detectability of the proposed ZDA variations, in terms of the network topologies to be maintained, the set of agents to be monitored, and the measurements of the monitored agents that should be extracted, while simultaneously preserving the privacy of the states of the nonmonitored agents. We then propose an attack detection algorithm based on the Luenberger observer, using the characterized detectability conditions. We provide numerical simulation results to demonstrate our theoretical findings.


Analysis of protein glycosylation within the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has revealed an abundant and unreported set of core chitobiose modifications (CCMs) to N-linked glycans. With hydrazine release, an array of glycomers and isobars were detected with hexose extensions on the 3- and 3,6-positions of the penultimate and reducing terminus, respectively. A full complement of structures includes a range of glycomers possessing a Galbeta(1-4)Fuc disaccharide at the 3- and 6-positions of the protein-linked GlcNAc. Importantly, enzymatic (PNGase F/A) release failed to liberate many of these extended structures from reduced and alkylated peptides and, as a consequence, such profiles were markedly deficient in a representation of the worm glycome. Moreover, the 3-linked Galbeta(1-4)Fuc moiety was notably resistant to a range of commercial galactosidases. For identification, the fragments were spectrum-matched with synthetic products and library standards using sequential mass spectrometry (MS(n)). A disaccharide observed at the 3-position of penultimate GlcNAc, indicating a Hex-Fuc branch on some structures, was not further characterized because of low ion abundance in MS(n). Additionally, a Hex-Hex-Fuc trisaccharide on the 6-position of proximal GlcNAc was also distinguished on select glycomers. Similar branch extensions on 6-linked core fucosyl residues have recently been reported among other invertebrates. Natural methylation and numerous isobars complement the glycome, which totals well over 100 individual structures. Complex glycans were detected at lower abundance, indicating glucosaminyltransferase-I (GnT-I) and GnT-II activity. A range of phosphorylcholine (PC)-substituted complex glycans were also confirmed following a signature two-stage loss of PC during MS(n) analysis, although the precursor ion was not observed in the mass profiles. In a similar manner, numerous other minor glycans may be present but unobserved in hydrazine-release profiles dominated by fucosylated structures. All CCM structures, including multiple isomers, were determined without chromatography by gas-phase disassembly (MS(n)) in Paul and linear ion trap (IT) instruments.


In this study, the authors analyze data on juvenile correctional facilities from the Performance-based Standards for Youth Correction and Detention Facilities project to predict victimization and fear among individual juvenile inmates. The authors estimate multilevel models using both facility and individual level factors. Their results depart from prior research efforts, which have focused primarily on either an importation or a deprivation model for explaining facility misconduct. In contrast, the authors find evidence of a third model that merges individual- and facility-level variables to consider individual youth's perceptions of facility rules and practices. They find that the best predictors of victimization are youths' understanding of facility rules as well as their perceptions of school quality and staff helpfulness.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) mouth rinses have moderate plaque inhibitory activity when used alone but rarely have shown adjunctive benefits to tooth brushing with toothpaste. Several explanations for this apparent anomaly can be proferred, including loss of antiseptic activity due to interactions with toothpaste ingredients. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of toothpaste on the plaque inhibitory properties of a CPC mouth rinse using paired rinses of CPC, toothpaste slurry (TP) and water (W).

METHODS
The study was a single blind, randomised, seven-treatment, cross over design balanced for residual effects, involving 21 healthy, dentate subjects. The paired rinses were: W-CPC, CPC-W, TP-CPC, CPC-TP, W-TP, TP-W and W-W. Rinsing with solutions or slurries was done for 60 s twice per day. On day 1, subjects were rendered plaque free, suspended tooth cleaning and commenced the allocated rinse regimen. On day 5, plaque was scored by index. A 2(1/2) day wash out of normal oral hygiene was allowed between each regimen.

RESULTS
The order from lowest to highest plaque scores was as follows: W-CPC = CPC-W < CPC-TP < TP-CPC < or = W-TP < TP-W < W-W. Several differences in pairs of treatments were statistically significant, the most relevant of which were significantly less plaque with W-CPC compared to TP-CPC, TP-W and W-TP, and significantly more plaque with W-W compared to all other regimens except TP-W.

CONCLUSIONS
Toothpaste, whilst possessing some plaque inhibitory activity, when used immediately before a CPC mouth rinse adversely affected the plaque inhibitory action of this antiseptic. This in part may explain the reported lack of adjunctive benefits of CPC rinses to normal oral hygiene practices and supports the suggestion, made for chlorhexidine rinses, that their use should follow toothpaste by at least 60 min.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

[Background] Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and other ErbB receptors; ErbB2-4, through cytokine and growth factor stimulation, are upregulated in pneumonitis and lung cancer, suggesting that the activation of ErbB receptors is response to pneumonitis and lung cancer in humans. TNF is a cytokine with many biological properties including both anti- and pro-apoptotic signaling pathways. However, the molecular switch, which determines TNF regulation of these two different functions is not well characterized. We previously presented that TNF transactivated both EGFR and ErbB2 via Src kinase activity that promote the survival response to TNF. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that EGFR/ErbBs activity regulates TNF-mediated bronchial epithelial and non-small cell lung cancer cell survival.

[Method] Bronchial epithelial, Beas-2B cells and non-small cell lung cancer, NCI-H292 cells were used for these studies. Cells were treated with TNF (100 ng/ml) in the presence of either PI 3-kinase inhibitor (wortmannin or LY294002), MAP kinase inhibitor (U0126), MMP inhibitor (GM6001 or TAPI-1 or −2) or EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Erlotinib). Apoptosis and signal transduction pathway activation were determined by TUNEL staining and Western blot analysis, respectively.

[Results] In Beas-2B and NCI-H292 cells, TNF-induced apoptosis was significantly enhanced in the presence of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Similarly, treatment of Beas-2B and NCI-H292 cells with TNF failed to increase apoptosis except in the presence of PI 3-kinase inhibitor, which increased the apoptotic response 10-fold. Treatment with TNF in the presence of MAP kinase inhibitor, did not increase apoptosis. In Beas 2B and NCI-H292 cells, TNF stimulated EGFR/ErbB2 phosphorylation within 5 min. EGFR/ErbB2 transactivation by TNF was blocked with GM6001 and TAPI-1, which inhibited MMP activity, especially TACE. Furthermore, in the presence of neutralizing antibodies for HB-EGF, TGF-α and EGF, EGFR/ErbB2 transactivation by TNF was inhibited, suggesting TNF-stimulated EGFR/ErbB2 transactivation via TACE cleavage of HB-EGF, TGF- α and EGF abrogates TNF-induced apoptosis in human bronchial epithelial cell and lung cancer cell. TNF stimulated AKT activation via EGFR tyrosine kinase activation. Akt was shown to be a downstream target of TNF-activated EGFR/ErbB2.

[Conclusion] We demonstrate that TNF stimulates EGFR/ErbB2 transactivation via ADAM/MMP in a manner that requires HB-EGF, TGF- α and EGF with AKT as a critical downstream regulator of TNF-induced anti-apoptosis. This novel observation has significant implications for understanding the role of EGFR/ErbB2 in maintaining human bronchial epithelial cell homeostasis in an environment of inflammation, injury/repair, such as inflammation-associated carcinogenesis and tumor progression.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1207.


International technology transfer is a key element in efforts to ensure low carbon growth in developing countries. A growing body of literature has sought to assess the extent of technology transfer in the clean development mechanism (CDM). In this paper we use the case of wind power CDM to expand the focus to how technology transfer occurs. We seek insights from the technology and CDM literatures to develop a framework with multiple technology transfer mechanisms. We then show empirically that technology transfer in CDM wind projects occurs through a greater variety of mechanism than is commonly assumed. The evidence suggests that the strengthening of host country capabilities changes the nature of technology transfer. The cases of China and India indicate that diversity in transfer mechanisms is an effect of the pre-existing industrial and technological capabilities. We show that CDM projects in China and India tend to utilise transfer mechanisms opened up prior to and independent of CDM projects, not the other way around. Our findings suggest that research and policy should pay more careful attention to the relationship between international low carbon technology transfer mechanisms and local technological capabilities. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


This article presents the results of the effect of the dry powder of wild rose hips on the consumer properties of biscuit, in which the premium wheat flour was replaced with oat flour and, in turn, part of the oat flour - 5, 10 and 15% of the powder, are presented. Studies have shown that the addition of plant powder does not have a strong effect on changes in physicochemical parameters, however, organoleptic parameters do change. In the sample with an additive content of 5%, crumbs were wetter than others, and cracks appeared on the surface during baking. For all samples, without exception, the porosity indicator is slightly below the norm, which is associated with the replacement of wheat flour of the highest grade of oatmeal, rich in dietary fiber. With an increase in the proportion of the introduced powder of rosehip fruit, the mass fraction of moisture in the samples decreases. This can be explained by the fact that the content of the main ingredient – oatmeal, rich in dietary fibers that retain moisture – is reduced by replacing it with rosehip fruit powder. Alkalinity in all model samples is 0.3 deg. The introduced ingredients the assertiveness of biscuits does not strongly affect, but, nevertheless, this figure is lower (60-61.5%) than that of biscuits baked from wheat flour of the highest grade (about 75-80%). According to the results of the research it is recommended to use dry rose hip powder in an amount of 10% by weight of flour. Examination of samples for the establishment of expiration dates showed that the process of staling proceeds rather slowly, and the recommended shelf life of the finished product is 96 hours.


This study deals with bacterial prospecting from forest soil with special reference to antimicrobial substances. Total of 25 morphologically different bacterial colonies were isolated from soil samples collected from Anaimalai forest and Parambikulam tiger reserve forest, Western Ghats, India. About 12 (48%) out of 25 isolates showed antibacterial activity in which strain AF1 showed inhibitory activity against more number of test pathogens. Bioactive substance from strain AF1 was produced by adopting submerged fermentation and extracted using ethyl acetate and chloroform. In disc diffusion method, ethyl acetate extract showed good antibacterial activity (9-17 mm zone of inhibition). Active fraction present in the ethyl acetate extract was determined by thin layer chromatography based bioautography. Findings of this work supported that the forest ecosystems investigated in this study will be potential place for bacterial bioprospecting.


In quantum mechanics it is very difficult to obtain exact solutions, therefore, it is necessary to resort to tools and methods that facilitate the calculations of the solutions of these systems, one of these methods is the variational method that consists in proposing a wave function that depend on several parameters that are adjusted to get close to the exact solution. Authors in the past have performed calculations applying this method using exponential and Gaussian orbital functions with linear and quadratic correlation factors. In this paper, a Gaussian function with a linear correlation factor is proposed, for the calculation of the binding energy of an impurity D− centered on a quantum dot of radius r, the Gaussian function is dependent on the radius of the quantum dot.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of concentration of progesterone (P4) before artificial insemination (AI) on fertility in ovulatory or anovulatory Bos indicus cattle.

DESIGN
Randomised control study METHODS: The study included 162 heifers and 96 lactating cows. On days -10 to -12, animals were examined using transrectal ultrasound, administered PG and examined for a corpus luteum (CL). Those with a CL were allocated to Experiment 1. On day 0 they were administered an intravaginal progesterone-releasing device (IVD) containing progesterone (P4) (0.78 g), oestrodiol benzoate (ODB) and either saline or PG to induce high and low circulating P4 concentrations, respectively. Those without a CL were re-examined on day 0 and those without a CL at both examinations were allocated to Experiment 2. Cows and heifers were treated with an IVD containing P4 at 0.78 g or 1.56 g to induce low or high P4 concentrations, respectively. IVDs were removed on day 7 and PG and equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) were administered. Females in oestrus on day 9 were inseminated; others were administered ODB and inseminated 22-26 h later.

RESULTS
Greater concentrations of circulating P4 increased the odds of pregnancy to AI in anovulatory females (P = 0.008), but decreased the odds of pregnancy in one year but not another in ovulatory animals (P × year, P = 0.019).

CONCLUSION
Manipulating P4 concentrations before AI has the potential to improve pregnancy outcomes to AI in B. indicus females, but treatment may need to vary between animals classified as anovulatory or ovulatory.


Data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that, between 1995 and 2001, the number of contingent workers, and the proportion of the workforce they comprise, decreased. This decrease coincided with the decline in national unemployment (and the increase in employment) during this period. During the same time period, the number of workers in alternative work arrangements fluctuated, driven mainly by changes in the number of independent contractors. This article presents the BLS data on the characteristics of contingent workers and workers in alternative work arrangements, including data on employee benefits for these types of workers.


Among scholars who deal with the construction of the barbarian in Graeco-Roman literature the Suetonian Lives of the Caesars are not regarded as a valuable source. Furthermore, those scholars do not concede an independent notion of barbarians to the biographer. This short paper wants to adjust this scholarly estimation of Suetonius by suggesting that he had an own way in describing and valuating barbarians throughout his works.


Coordination compounds [Ru(acac)(2)(Q)] (acac=acetylacetonate; Q=o-benzoquinone) were prepared as complexes 1 (Q=o-benzoquinone), 2 (Q=3-methoxy-o-benzoquinone), 3 (Q=4-methyl-o-benzoquinone), and 4 (Q=3,5-di-tert-butyl-o-benzoquinone). The structures of 1 and 2 were determined to reveal a Ru(III)/o-benzosemiquinone formulation, supported by analysis of experimental data (spectroscopy, magnetism of 1) and by DFT calculations. The S=1 ground state calculated for 1 stands in contrast to the spin-paired analogues with arylimino-o-benzosemiquinonato and diimino-o-benzoquinone ligands. The close contacts of about 5.3 Å possible between semiquinone O atoms of different molecules in the crystal allow for intermolecular spin-spin interactions and an overall complex magnetic behavior. One quasireversible oxidation and two reversible one-electron reductions yielded the corresponding molecular ions, which were characterized by UV-visible-NIR and EPR spectroelectrochemistry in terms of [Ru(III)(acac)(2)(Q(0))](+) , [Ru(III)(acac)(2)(Q(2-))](-), and [Ru(II)(acac)(2)(Q(2-))](2-) descriptions in agreement with DFT results. The use of acceptor-substituted 1,2-dioxolenes resulted in the isolation of ionic species Na[Ru(acac)(2)(Q)] (Na(5); Q=4-chloro-o-benzoquinone) and Na(6) (Q=4-nitro-o-benzoquinone), which were similarly investigated as compounds 1-4. Magnetic susceptibility and EPR results confirm an S=1/2 ground state based on ruthenium(III). The combined studies reveal a remarkable substituent sensitivity, and in comparison to recently analyzed Ru(acac)(2) complexes with o-benzoquinone monoimine and diimine ligands, the all-O-donor-containing new systems are distinguished by a qualitatively different metal-ligand interaction based on closer intermolecular radical-radical contacts and on weaker intramolecular dπ-π* interactions.


Background Opioid analgesic prescription represents a growing problem in many countries with increased opioid-related overdoses and deaths being reported. In rheumatology setting, strong opioids are considered poorly effective and not recommended as first line treatment in pain management. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate rheumatologists' opioid prescribing patterns, demographic and practice characteristics, in relation with beliefs about prescription appropriateness and risks of opioids use. Methods We conducted a nationwide survey with a 47-item questionnaire. The questions were developed by the French Study Group on Rheumatic Pain (CEDR), focusing on opioid prescription and pain training Questionnaires were mailed and e-mailed to every registered rheumatologist in France, with the help of French Rheumatology Society. Answers were anonymous. Results 2490 questionnaires were sent, response rate was 33.7% (n=839), mean age 50,4 years, 49,2% were men, 33,6% had exclusive hospital practice, 65,4% reported having no special education on pain. Of these 58 (6.9%) self-reported never prescribing opioids in non-cancer pain. Specific pain assessment was performed by 66,1% of rheumatologists to initiate, modify or maintain opioid prescription. It was significantly more frequent in young rheumatologists (<40 years), in women, in hospital practice and after special education on pain. Main indications for opioids were: acute radicular pain (93,1%), vertebral fracture (91,4%) and acute back pain (67,1%). Only 1% would consider prescribing opioid in fibromyalgia. Morphine and/or oxycodone were first line treatments for 613 prescribers (78,5%), fentanyl, hydromorphone and buprenorphine only for 168 prescribers (21,5%). The average starting daily dose was 45mg morphine equivalent, 80% (n=625) described a mean of 1.2 months testing period for opioid efficacy. 42% (n=328) reported a ceiling daily dose of 100mg/day morphine equivalent above which they stop increasing prescription. 70,3% reported screening for opioid misuse risk before initiating treatment. Specific training on pain was significantly associated with opioid testing period (p=0,006); screening for risk of misuse at initiation (p<0,0001) and at continuation (p<0,0001). Opioid side effects were prevented in 69,8% with a laxative and in 62,1% with anti-vomiting treatment. Prescribers with pain training prescribed more frequently laxative (p=0,015) and anti-vomiting treatment (p=0,0003). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first national survey on trends in strong opioid prescriptions concerning rheumatologists. French rheumatologists are more likely to prescribe opioids in acute pain conditions at low dose, without exceeding the recommended 200mg daily dose for non-cancer pain, together with side effects prevention. Morphine sulfate is the first drug choice. Impact of pain education in rheumatologists' opioid uses is important, and emphasizes the need to include systematically pain training in rheumatology core curricula. French rheumatologists have mostly a safe and careful prescribing pattern of opioid in non-cancer pain. Mostly they abide by national and international recommendations. Disclosure of Interest None declared


What exactly is fame? Is it synonymous with renown, with historical importance, or with historical significance? Do importance and significance have the same meaning in this context? Are the most famous women and men—the "big names"—of past times the persons who contributed the most to propelling or stemming the tides of history? Does being merely remembered matter more or less than accomplishing something that made a difference to the pace of human progress? What is the value of quantifying recognition versus qualifying the value added of a particular individual action or bundle of actions? All of these questions, and more, arise from Skiena and Ward's novel, bold attempt to compare thousands of human endeavors across time and geography in Who's Bigger? Where Historical Figures Really Rank. It works, in a sense, but does it improve understanding?


Long-term SA, known to be costly, shows distinctly different trajectories. Further study of sex-specific trajectories may help disentangle SA pathways and identify vulnerable subgroups of individuals in need of special attention. The association remained strong in the fully adjusted model (HR=2.34; 95% CI=1.14-4.84). Conclusions Weight-gaining men showed an increased risk for sickness absence due to mental disorders, whereas weight- gaining women showed a slightly increased risk for absence due to musculoskeletal disorders. Preventing weight gain is important in order to maintain good health and work ability.


In this work the experimental results of the fatigue crack propagation path on five high strength steel specimens are presented. It was necessary to define the geometry of the test specimens and to implement a procedure to perform such tests, since no standards for the evaluation of the fatigue crack propagation path exist. The numerical simulation was developed in ANSYS Mechanical APDL environment using XFEM technology. Three criteria to determine the propagation direction were implemented: the Maximum Tangential Stress criterion (MTS), the Maximum Energy Release Rate criterion (MERR) and the Minimum Strain Energy Density criterion (SED). The three implemented criteria yield practically identical results, reaching a coefficient of determination R equal to 0.997 with respect to the experimental results, indicating that a strong correspondence between the experimental and numerical results exist.


A prototype DAQ system for the ALICE/PHOS beam test and commissioning program is presented. The system has been taking data since august '97, and represents one of the first applications of the scalable coherent interface (SCI) as interconnect technology for an operational DAQ system. The front-end VMEbus address space is mapped directly from the DAQ computer memory space through SCI via PCI-SCI bridges. The DAQ computer is a commodity PC running the Linux operating system. The results of measurements of data transfer rate and latency for the PCI-SCI bridges in a PCVMEbus SCI-configuration are presented. An optical SCI link based on the Motorola Optobus I data link is described.


Cryothermal ablation is a new method in cardiac electrophysiology for the percutaneous catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. Cryothermal mapping make possible the functional assessment of a particular site before permanent ablation. In this way the targeted tissue may be confirmed as safe for ablation. This is useful in high-risk ablation, for example next to the AV node. In this method pressurized liquid nitrogen is delivered to the tip of the ablation catheter. Cooling of the tip is temperature-controlled. Cryothermal balloons are also available, in addition to standard cryothermal catheters, for the isolation of pulmonary veins. The tissue freezing provides high catheter stability. Cryothermal lesions have a similar depth to radiofrequency energy, but area and volume of the lesions are reduced. Furthermore, they are well demarkated and the incidence of thrombus-formation is reduced. Cryothermal ablation has been evaluated for the treatment of AV-nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT), accessory pathways, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardias originating in the right ventricular outflow tract. Current experience indicates that the method is painless for the patient and safe. However, its use seems to be limited by a longer ablation time and lower efficacy. Further studies evaluating long-term success of cryothermal ablation are warranted. For high-risk ablations cryothermal energy is helpful and should be used for para-Hisian accessory pathways and difficult cases of AVNRT. It has a widely demonstrated safety profile. The clinical efficacy will have to be evaluated in further studies.


Degradation modeling and prediction of remaining useful life (RUL) are crucial to prognostics and health management of aircraft engines. While model-based methods have been introduced to predict the RUL of aircraft engines, little research has been reported on estimating the RUL of aircraft engines using novel data-driven predictive modeling methods. The objective of this study is to introduce an ensemble learning-based prognostic approach to modeling an exponential degradation process due to wear as well as predicting the RUL of aircraft engines. The ensemble learning algorithm combines multiple base learners, including random forests (RFs), classification and regression tree (CART), recurrent neural networks (RNN), autoregressive (AR) model, adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), relevance vector machine (RVM), and elastic net (EN), to achieve better predictive performance. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) and sequential quadratic optimization (SQP) methods are used to determine optimum weights that are assigned to the base learners. The predictive model trained by the ensemble learning algorithm is demonstrated on the data generated by the commercial modular aero-propulsion system simulation (C-MAPSS) tool. Experimental results have shown that the ensemble learning algorithm predicts the RUL of the aircraft engines with considerable robustness as well as outperforms other prognostic methods reported in the literature.


The non-fragile sliding mode tracking control design problem for a flexible air-breathing hypersonic vehicles (FAHVs) is investigated in this paper. A linearized model is constructed with respect to a trim point for the nonlinear, dynamically coupled simulation model of the FAHVs with external disturbance, then a reference model is designed and a tracking error model is proposed. An integral sliding surface is designed, and then the non-fragile H∞ controller design problem for the sliding mode dynamics is discussed. sufficient condition is derived for the existence of such a controller in the presence of unmatched disturbance. A SMC law is derived to guarantee the reachability of the specified sliding surface. Finally, An illustrative simulation on the nonlinear dynamics of FAHVs is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed control methods.


The article discusses the history of the creation, multiple translation, falsification and eventual publication of a text by Vygotsky and Luria. Following this publication, the text was declared one of the foundational works of Vygotsky. The study traces the way from the original version of the text (reportedly originally composed in the late 1920s) to the typed version of the text in English that Luria passed to Michael Cole for subsequent publication in the West and, finally, to the Russian version of the text that was back-translated from English when the original Russian text was lost. The study is based on the comparative structural and textological analysis of the text and its repeating fragments (i.e., the non-verbatim semantic repetitions of the text both in the Russian version and, comparatively, in the multilingual versions of the text in English and Russian). Also, the study involved the analysis of the archival documents and memoir publications. The paper demonstrates that the Russian text of the work "Tool and sign in the development of the child" that was first published in Russian in 1984 under the editorship of M.G. Yaroshevsky was created as a result of manipulations caused by the uncoordinated work of two (or more) translators and, not unlikely, further editorial interventions. The study comes to the conclusion that the Russian text of the 1984 Pedagogika Press edition of the six-volume Collected works by Vygotsky is definitely and hopelessly discredited as Vygotsky's (and Luria's) authentic text of the late 1920s-early 1930s. Finally, the paper discusses the problem of the possible periodization of this text and, further, the problem of authenticity from the standpoint of contemporary revisionist Vygotsky Studies.


This report presents one approach for increasing understanding, appreciation and protection of watersheds by individuals living within the urban-to-rural lands interface. The purpose of the study is to provide guidance to developing and implementing a driving tour of environmentally sensitive land around Clinton Lake and the Upper Wakarusa Watershed (UWW). Although the tour is particular to the UWW, the principles will be useful to planners and watershed advocates working to promote water quality improvement in other geographic areas. A first step in increasing community involvement to restore and protect watersheds is developing a broader public understanding of what watersheds are and their integral part in daily life. By taking a driving tour (literally or virtually), participants can see firsthand how a watershed functions and the values it provides to people and ecosystems. Two key ingredients in the planning process are public participation and clearly defined goals. Public participation begins with awareness of an issue that impacts lives. The first step in engaging the public is to develop a framework for making residents aware that watersheds are a critical part of their environment and the health of their community. The driving tour of the Upper Wakarusa Watershed should help residents and visitors experience a ―sense of place‖ related to the watershed by achieving three over-arching goals:  Develop meaningful themes that engage the residents and visitors in learning about watersheds and give insight to their relationships with the watershed.  Introduce concepts that are relevant to the lives of residents and visitors and their understanding of a watershed.  Generate a stronger ―sense of place‖ as it relates to the Upper Wakarusa watershed. The driving tour in this report has been designed to serve as a broad blueprint for future implementation. The route was devised to take advantage of area resources, especially those on public land, while adhering to guidelines proven successful in promoting rural areas such as the Flint Hills and Cheyenne Bottoms. The actual implementation of the Upper Wakarusa Watershed Driving Tour is expected to be led by local coalitions, and the precise route should be adjusted as necessary.


The 1911 Revolution in China is usually considered a failure. Changing the perspective of judgement from the national level to the local level permits a reassessment. Enough information is available from Chinese memoirs, contemporary newspapers, and foreign consular reports to make the new judgement somewhat secure if attention is focused on one particular location—Swatow. The old administration was overthrown by expeasants led by deracinated rural intellectuals. They took power in the name of modern merchants. These merchants easily pushed the young radicals out because the ideology of the radical prevented them from using force against the wealth and status of the merchants. Rural disorder of the ex-peasants and republican election victorier for the radicals forced the urban merchants to rely on foreign election victories for the radicals forced the urban merchants to rely on foreign wealth and rural power to maintain law and order needed for trade and to maintain their own urban power base. Armed peasants and the young radicals were suppressed or bought off. Power fell to rural warlords and other political allies in urban enclaves. Only a rejoining of radical intellectuals and ex-peasants could offer China a revolution instead of just another bloody cycle.


Purpose : The main purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the effect of the leaders' characteristics (LC) on the leaders' engagement in the activities of Self-Development (SD).The public sector was the targeted context for the study. Questionnaires were distributed to 200 leaders of Abu Dhabi educational council schools.139 questionnaires were returned and used in the analysis using the PLS-SEM as a strategy of analysis. Data was collected from 139 male and female leaders in Abu Dhabi Educational Zone. The results in this study revealed that leaders' characteristics; learning adaptability, self-efficacy and propensity to development were important predictors of leaders' engagement in the self-development activities. Most importantly it was found that propensity is the most important predictor of leaders' self-development which was followed by learning adaptability and finally comes the leaders' self-efficacy. Keywords: Self-Development(SD), Leader Characteristics(LC).


PURPOSE
To describe the design and dosimetric characterization of a simple and economical small animal irradiator.

METHODS
A high dose rate 192Ir brachytherapy source from a commercially available afterloader was used with a 1.3 centimeter thick tungsten collimator to provide sharp beam penumbra suitable for hemi-brain irradiation of mice. The unit is equipped with continuous gas anesthesia to allow robust animal immobilization. Dosimetric characterization of the device was performed with Gafchromic film. The penumbra from the small animal irradiator was compared under similar collimating conditions to the penumbra from 6 MV photons, 6 MeV electrons, and 20 MeV electrons from a linear accelerator as well as 300 kVp photons from an orthovoltage unit and Monte Carlo simulated 90 MeV protons.

RESULTS
The tungsten collimator provides a sharp penumbra suitable for hemi-brain irradiation, and dose rates on the order of 200 cGy/minute were achieved. The sharpness of the penumbra attainable with this device compares favorably to those measured experimentally for 6 MV photons, and 6 and 20 MeV electron beams from a linear accelerator. Additionally, the penumbra was comparable to those measured for a 300 kVp orthovoltage beam and a Monte Carlo simulated 90 MeV proton beam.

CONCLUSIONS
The small animal irradiator described here can be built for under $1,000 and used in conjunction with any commercial brachytherapy afterloader to provide a convenient and cost-effective option for small animal irradiation experiments. The unit offers high dose rate delivery and sharp penumbra, which is ideal for hemi-brain irradiation of mice. With slight modifications to the design, irradiation of sites other than the brain could be accomplished easily. Due to its simplicity and low cost, the apparatus described is an attractive alternative for small animal irradiation experiments requiring a sharp penumbra.


This paper sought to analyze some of the supposed determinants of capital structure of the largest Brazilian firms, in light of the Pecking Order theory and the Trade-Off theory, testing the empirical validity of these theories in the local scenario. The study is an adaptation of the paper developed by Gaud et al., (2005) in Switzerland, whose work served as a basis for the choice of some variables and of the econometric tests conducted, and uses the Panel Data methodology. Dynamic tests were carried out in addition to static tests, aiming to analyze the adjustment process of the capital structure over time, toward an assumed optimal target level. The tests were supplemented by analyses of variance. The results demonstrated that leverage is negatively related to the importance of tangible assets and to profitability, while it is positively related to business risk. They also demonstrated that foreign companies are more in debt than local firms. The analysis suggests that the Pecking Order theory is more consistent than the TradeOff theory to explain the capital structure of the largest Brazilian firms. The dynamic analysis showed a slow adjustment process of the capital structure towards the target level, suggesting the existence of high adjustment costs and confirming the Pecking Order behavior of managers.


Abstract : This research examines the risk to schoolchildren posed by hostile intruders and the implementation of a national school security standard designed to mitigate this vulnerability and evaluates the utility of innovative perimeter security strategies modeled to reduce risk while preserving the requisite academic environment. This project originated after the mass murder of 20 defenseless first-graders and six heroic faculty members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A methodological analysis of existing school security policy was utilized to define the problem, to evaluate the variance between school communities, and to construct plausible alternative strategies. This project sought to enhance the understanding of risk management, offer strategic insight to decision makers and key stakeholders, and provide meaningful options for future school security planners. The literature on this subject demonstrates that traditional school security guidance is provided to local school districts by an array of federal agencies. It is primarily focused on incidents of peer hostility and gang violence, and there has been marginal attention given to an attack perpetrated by an adult intruder that is unaffiliated with the targeted school. This type of violence is infrequent, but the extreme consequences evoke emotions similar to terrorist attacks in creating public fear, often leading to rash and reactive decisions. Many parents trust leaders in the academic community to care for their children and provide them a safe and secure environment. This expectation of protection has become a significant responsibility for school officials, and the establishment of a national school security standard, complete with guidelines and oversight, would help ease this burden and change the present school security narrative.


A series of aerosol measurements were made over the Antarctic continent, during the Austral spring of 1977. Vertical profiles indicate that the highest aerosol concentrations are present in the mixing layer, around the edges of the continent where some open water is present, and in a moist layer just above the surface over the South Polar Plateau. Aerosol concentrations, with respect to both mass and volume of air, decrease continuously with increasing altitude above these layers, and this smooth decrease continues without discontinuity when the local tropopause is crossed. Aerosol concentrations were distributed uniformly at all latitudes between 75 and 90 degrees south latitude in the 500-450 mb layer. A small systematic decrease in aerosol concentration with increasing latitude was detected above 400 mb, which allow small ice crystals to form by homogeneous nucleation which scavenge particles from the air by Brownian coagulation during their slow fall. These measurements indicate that the lower troposphere, especially those layers below 450 mb, is the most probable level at which particulate material is transported to the South Polar Plateau.


Quantum processors enable computational speedups for machine learning through parallel manipulation of high-dimensional vectors. Early demonstrations of quantum machine learning have focused on processing information with qubits. In such systems, a larger computational space is provided by the collective space of multiple physical qubits. Alternatively, we can encode and process information in the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space of bosonic systems such as quantum harmonic oscillators. This approach offers a hardware-efficient solution with potential quantum speedups to practical machine learning problems. Here we demonstrate a quantum-enhanced bosonic learning machine operating on quantum data with a system of trapped ions. Core elements of the learning processor are the universal feature-embedding circuit that encodes data into the motional states of ions, and the constant-depth circuit that estimates overlap between two quantum states. We implement the unsupervised K-means algorithm to recognize a pattern in a set of high-dimensional quantum states and use the discovered knowledge to classify unknown quantum states with the supervised k-NN algorithm. These results provide building blocks for exploring machine learning with bosonic processors.


We propose a design for realizing quantum charge pump based on a recent proposal for a molecular motor (Seldenthuis J S et al 2010 ACS Nano 4 6681). Our design is based on the presence of a moiety with a permanent dipole moment which can rotate, thereby modulating the couplings to metallic contacts at both ends of the molecule. Using the non-equilibrium Keldysh Green's function formalism (NEGF), we show that our design indeed generates a pump current. In the non-interacting pump, the variation of frequency from adiabatic to non-adiabatic regime, can be used to control the direction as well as the amplitude of the average current. The effect of Coulomb interaction is considered within the first- and the second- order perturbation. The numerical implementation of the scheme is quite demanding, and we develop an analytical approximation to obtain a speed-up giving results within a reasonable time. We find that the amplitude of the average pumped current can be controlled by both the driving frequency and the Coulomb interaction. The direction of of pumped current is shown to be determined by the phase difference between left and right anchoring groups.


A cyst nematode was found in pastures and seed multiplication plots of Trifolium subterraneum L. in Northwest Tunisia and identified initially as Heterodera trifolii Goifart, 1932 (Sikora, 1977). Wouts and Sturhan (1978) redescribed H. trifolii Goifart, 1932 from a neotype population and separated from it the closely related species H. daverti Wouts et Sturhan, 1978. The nematode from Tunisia identified originally as H. trifolii was reidentified as H. daverti (Nordmeyer, 1979; Wouts and Sturhan, 1978, pers. communications). The nematode on T. subterraneum caused yield reductions and was found in the field associated with several soil-borne fungi in a root-rot complex (Nordmeyer et al., 1978). Four Trifolium species which occur as wild types in Tunisian pastures of T. subterraneum and which had not been described as host plants for H. trifolii Goifart, 1932 were tested as hosts for H. daverti. Twenty seeds of T. angustifolium L., T. arvense L., T. campestre Schreber and T. striatum L. were sown in steam-pasteurized soil in 10 cm diam pots, replicated four times, and kept in an illuminated incubator at 25°C. Ten days after germination, each pot was inoculated with 2000 freshly hatched H. daverti juveniles and the number of cysts produced was recorded four weeks later. The nematode developed on all four Trifolium species. All cysts contained eggs. The number of cysts produced was 5/pot on T. angustifolium, 7 fpot on T. campestre and 1O/pot on T. arvense and T. striatum; this is a low multiplication in view of the inoculum density and the cysts were smaller than those that developed on T. subterraneum. In addition to these four hosts and T. subterraneum, H. daverti has been reported from T. repens (Wouts and Sturhan, 1978) and T. alexandrinum (Anon. 1979). Additional research is needed to determine which of the approximately 125 hosts of H. trifolii Goffart, 1932 are hosts for H. daverti and H. trifolii.


. Cryoseismology is a powerful toolset for progressing the understanding of the structure and dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets. It can enable the detection of hidden processes such as brittle fracture, basal sliding, transient hydrological processes, and calving. Due to the diversity and often low signal-to-noise levels of glacier processes, the automated detection of seismic events caused by such processes can pose a challenge. We present a novel approach for the automated detection of events in glacier environments, the multi-STA/LTA algorithm, with a focus on capturing the many signal types recorded 5 on ice sheet margins. This develops the use of approaches that use the ratio between short and long time averages (sta,lta) of signal amplitude as the means of event detection. Implemented in the open source and widely used ObsPy python package, the algorithm constructs a hybrid characteristic function from a set of sta, lta pairs. We apply the multi-STA/LTA algorithm to data from a seismic array deployed on the Whillans Ice Stream (WIS) in West Antarctica (austral summer 2010–2011), to form an event catalogue. The new algorithm compares favorably with standard approaches, yielding a diversity of seismic events, 10 including all previously identified stick-slip events (Pratt et al., 2014), teleseisms, and other noise-type signals. We investigate a partial association of seismicity with the tidal cycle, and a slight association with ice temperature changes of the Antarctic summer. The new algorithm and workflow has the potential to yield systematic catalogues for further cryoseismology studies: conventional glacier seismology, and those tailored to pattern recognition by machine learning.


A new species of the genus Cephalobus is described from natural areas in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Cephalobus harpagonis sp. n. is characterised by female body length of 0.38-0.47 mm, lips amalgamated in pairs, labial probolae present as low ridges connecting tips of adjacent lips, ovary lacking flexures, spermatheca 11-12 μ m long, postuterine sac very short (0.3-0.4 times corresponding body diam.), female tail conical or subcylindrical (22-31 μ m, c = 13.2-17.1, c′ = 1.7-2.5) and ending in a tuberculate, often harpoon-like, mucro. Descriptions, measurements and illustrations, including SEM photographs, are also provided for C. persegnis and C. troglophilus from Spain. An identification key to Cephalobus species and a compendium of their measurements are also provided.


We explore the possibilities of applying structure-preserving numerical methods to a plasma hybrid model with kinetic ions and mass-less fluid electrons satisfying the quasi-neutrality relation. The numerical schemes are derived by finite element methods in the framework of finite element exterior calculus (FEEC) for field variables, particle-in-cell (PIC) methods for the Vlasov equation, and splitting methods in time based on an anti-symmetric bracket proposed. Conservation properties of energy, quasi-neutrality relation, positivity of density, and divergence-free property of the magnetic field are given irrespective of the used resolution and metric. Local quasi-interpolation is used for dealing with the current terms in order to make the proposed methods more efficient. The implementation has been done in the framework of the Python package STRUPHY [1], and has been verified by extensive numerical experiments.


Traditional social practice holds the urban night and day in binary opposition – each with a set of unique issues and problems to deal with. While such an attitude can be beneficial due to its clearness, it is at a risk of oversimplifying the fluidity of timespaces. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's rhythmanalytical framework and Deleuze-Guattarian assemblage thinking I show how a city centre is not only more complex than dualistic day/night thinking would suggest, but constitutes an assemblage held together by diurnal repetition. Using fieldwork conducted in Osaka, Japan as a demonstration, I suggest giving consideration to the rhythms of social practice to conceptualize of more multi-segmented timescapes where the social groups in majority follow a repetitive pattern. As an example, I compare the numbers of male and female visitors over time against the opening hours of local shops and restaurants. The research methods used include a combination of structured and unstructured observations in addition to cosinor analysis – a tool developed in chronobiology to test time series for rhythmicity. The results point highly local and temporary timespaces, which may hold implications for planning. An increased consideration of rhythms in local planning may improve predictions for when visitors to an area engage in what kind of activities, and in turn enable optimisations for local policy and planning.


Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor type with one of the highest mortality rates worldwide. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which has been investigated in recent years, has been confirmed to be associated with the occurrence and development of esophageal cancer. AHR has a variety of different ligands, which regulate its activity following binding. The widely known acid inhibitor omeprazole (OME) also affects AHR and its downstream proteins (such as the cytochrome P450 family) by non-ligand binding; however, the mechanisms have remained to be fully elucidated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role of OME in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), whether the mechanism proceeds via the AHR pathway and how OME regulates AHR to affect the occurrence and development of esophageal carcinoma. The AHR-selective regulator OME was used to treat the ESCC cell lines TE1 and KYSE150. Western blot analysis was used to verify the effect of OME on AHR and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein expression levels, while Cell Counting Kit (CCK)-8, wound-healing and Transwell assays were used to determine the proliferation, migration and invasion of the ESCCs, respectively, following treatment with OME. In addition, flow cytometry was used to investigate the cell cycle distribution of the ESCCs following incubation with OME. AHR was highly expressed in the ESCCs and following treatment with OME, the protein expression levels of AHR and PCNA were downregulated. The CCK-8 assay indicated that the proliferation of the ESCCs was also reduced following treatment with OME. Furthermore, flow cytometry revealed a notable block of the cells in G1/G0 phase, while the results of the wound-healing and Transwell assays respectively suggested that cell migration and invasion were reduced. In conclusion, OME inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of ESCC cells and blocked the cell cycle via the AHR pathway, which may provide a therapeutic effect on esophageal squamous cell cancer.


Abstract 2518 Introduction: Mutations in IDH1 and IHD2 at arginines 132 and 140 or 172, respectively, have recently been shown to play an important role in AML. Also the IDH1 105GGT minor allele of the IDH1 G105 (SNPrs11554137) polymorphism that is localized in the same exon as the IDH1 R132 mutation has recently been reported to be an adverse prognostic factor in AML (JCO: 14, 2356–2364, 2010). Aim: We aimed at further delineating the frequency and impact of the IDH1 105GGT minor allele in AML and also analyzed a healthy control cohort. Methods: IDH1 G105 (SNPrs11554137) was analyzed in 961 AML patients by a LightCycler-based melting curve assay. Female/male ratio was 433/528 and age ranged from 13.1–100.4 years (median, 66.7 years). The results were compared to a healthy control cohort from the KORA (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg) survey S4, which consists of 475 cases who where matched to the leukemia samples with respect to sex (193f/282m) and age (median: 67, range 32–81 years). Informed consent for participation in anonymized genetic studies was obtained from all individuals. IDH1 G105 in the healthy cohort was analyzed by Sanger sequencing. Further mutation analyses were available in subsets of the AML patients, respectively, as follows: ( IDH1 R132 n=625, IDH2 R140 n=587, IDH2 R172 n=590, FLT3 -ITD n=629, FLT3 -TKD n=503, NPM1 n=628, CEBPA n=587, RUNX1 n=231, MLL -PTD n=629, NRAS n=273, KRAS n=133, ASXL1 n=470) and were analyzed as described previously. A subcohort of 634 AML with intermediate risk karyotype was analyzed for survival. Female/male ratio of this subcohort was 280/354 and age ranged from 15.7–86.6 years (median, 66.9 years). The adverse impact of IDH1 R132, IDH2 R140 and IDH2 R172 on the NPM1 +/ FLT3 -ITD- group has been shown previously for this group ( Blood 2010 116: Abstract 102). Results: The IDH1 105GGT minor allele was detected in 11.2% (108/961) in AML and in 8.8% (42/475) of the KORA control. This slight difference does not reach statistical significance (p=0.17) and thus there is no indication that this variance is a predisposing factor for leukemia. Also the frequency of a homozygous IDH1 105GGT minor allele was not different between the AML cohort (3/108, 2.8%) and the KORA cohort (2/42, 4.8%, n.s.). In the AML cohort there was no association of the IDH1 105GGT minor allele with age, WBC, platelet count or any of the above mentioned molecular mutations. In contrast, some differences in survival were observed: patients with the IDH1 105GGT minor allele had a longer event free survival (EFS) than those with the IDH1 105GGC major allele (median: 30.1 vs. 21.6 months, p=0.052) in the intermediate risk cohort. This prognostically favourable effect of the IDH1 105GGT minor allele was most prominent in the NPM1+/FLT3 - group with a median EFS of 45.1 vs 23.5 months as compared to those with the IDH1 105GGC major allele (p=0.015). Conclusions: 1) The polymorphic IDH1 105GGT minor allele was not found to be a marker predisposing for AML. 2) No association of the IDH1 105GGT minor allele to any mutation or other biological parameters was detected. 3) We were not able to reproduce the previously published adverse impact of the IDH1 105GGT minor allele on survival in AML. In contrast, in our cohort of 475 patients with intermediate risk AML the EFS was even better in patients carrying the IDH1 105GGT minor allele, especially in the subcohort with NPM1 +/ FLT3− ITD−. Thus, we would suppose that the IDH1 105GGT minor allele is a favorable molecular marker in intermediate risk AML. However, as these findings are in contrast to previously published data, further confirmation in additional studies is necessary to draw firm conclusions on the utility of the IDH1 105 polymorphism as a marker for diagnostics and prognosis in AML. Disclosures: Schnittger: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Eder: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment. Alpermann: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment. Kern: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Haferlach: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership. Haferlach: MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory: Employment, Equity Ownership.


The fluctuations of the work done by an external Gaussian random force on a harmonic oscillator that is also in contact with a thermal bath are studied. We have obtained the exact large deviation function as well as the complete asymptotic forms of the probability density function. The distribution of the work done is found to be non-Gaussian. The steady-state fluctuation theorem holds only if the ratio of the variances, of the external random forcing and the thermal noise, respectively, is less than 1/3. On the other hand, the transient fluctuation theorem holds (asymptotically) for all the values of that ratio. The theoretical asymptotic forms of the probability density function are in very good agreement with the numerics as well as with an experiment.


An ecological survey ofEndospermum diadenum (:M:iq.) Airy Shaw (terbulan) was conducted at Sabal Forest Reserve, Sri Arnan. From 12 plots of 20 m x 20 m showed that
a total of trees with diameter at breast height (dbh ) 2: 5 cm was 226 from ?9 family a!ld 62 species. The overall of the total aboveground biomass was 135670.36 kg/ha, basal area 170288.16 cm2/ha and leaf area index 11397.5 cm2lha. The family of Anacardiaceae showed the highest value of total aboveground biomass (30920.33 kg/ha) while
Camnosperma auriculata Hook f. had the highest totak estimated aboveground biomass (30920.33 kglha). Camnosperma auriculata was the most dominant species with the highest important value (25.17) while Endospermum diadenum (:M:iq.) Airy Shaw was codominant species with important value at 18.84. Distribution of E. diadenum trees in the 20 plots of 100 m x 100 m did not show uniform distribution and this species also had
a diverse stages with a total of 217 trees. Linear regression analyses showed significant relationship (r2 2: 0.80, P :s 0.000) between dbh and height with stocking, basal area volume and stand density. Study on distribution of aboveground biomass of E. diadenum and its relationship with diameter and breast height (dbh) and age in Sabal Forest Reserve showed the foliage branch, stem and total aboveground was highly
correlated both with dbh (r2 2: 0.90) and with age (r2 2: 0.86). Shading had showed significant influenced on the seedling growth, biomass production and allocation. The
growth best performance was attained at 50% shade level while poor growth under 75% shade level. Study also showed that the rooting percentage and the number of roots produced pel cutting were significantly different among different shade le"vuls. The r00t production and root growth performance per cutting was highest at 50% shade level and lowest at 0% shade leveL The overall of the study showed E. diadenum was suitable as the one of species for plantation in Sarawak.


The purpose of this study is to examine spatial composition elements of the public sector through medium-sized first class urban hotels of Korea and Japan, the two countries with geopolitical closeness and high cultural and economic correlation, and to provide data needed for devising future urban hotel plans. The scope of this study included case studies on medium-sized first class urban hotels (10 urban hotels with concours composition type in the public sector) located in downtowns of Korea (5 hotels) and Japan (5 hotels). The study was conducted by analysis of drawing based on review of preceding studies and literature, and on-site survey. The results of survey and analysis on physical spatial elements shown in medium-sized urban hotels of Korea and Japan with concours composition type among composition types in the public sector are as follows. First, as a result of analyzing spatial elements of medium-sized urban hotels in the public sector, an in-depth checklist must be prepared with consideration on intimate correlation between elements to devise a construction spatial plan for urban hotel in the future. Second, as a result of comparatively analyzing area ratio for each function (public sector, sales sector and service sector) through area analysis on the lower floors of medium-sized urban hotels, reference data for planning were found in regards to spatial composition ratio of the public sector. Third, as a result of analyzing spatial elements of lobby hall and traffic line of visitors on the lower floors of medium-sized urban hotels in the public sector, there was a substantial difference between hotels of Korea and Japan.


The projects of a new generation of nuclear plants with improved yield and drastical reduction of waste production make necessary the development of materials able to withstand high temperature (1000-1200°C) in normal conditions. New materials such as the refractory transition metal carbides are then considered. These materials have a ceramic-like, brittle behaviour. Their mechanical properties might be improved by decreasing the particles size at a nanometer level. The behaviour under irradiation of such nano-sized materials have then to be compared with classical micro-sized ones. High density, nano-sized materials have been obtained by two different sintering techniques. In order to simulate neutron irradiation, the samples were irradiated with low energy heavy ions. Consequently, the damaged material has a low thickness (100-200 nm), requiring surface analysis methods. Here, the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction method is used. From a Rietveld analysis of the diffraction patterns, the micro-sized materials show a linear volume swelling in the range 20-40 dpa in the Zr sublattice. Nano- and micro-sized materials both show high internal distortions.


The fatigue design of the steel armour layers is an important factor in flexible riser design. Typically, the riser must be able to endure the loads of a field condition for a period of 20 years. In flexible pipe design, this is analyzed in global and local flexible pipe fatigue modeling, which needs to be supported by proper testing. One of the widespread test methods is the so-called in-plane bending fatigue test, which is one of the important qualification tests for flexible pipes.API 17B references two purposes for performing in-plane bending fatigue tests. One is to demonstrate that the pipe can endure the loads which it is exposed to during its lifetime (service simulation). The other is to validate the design methodologies (service-life model validation).The first purpose calls for test conditions being as close to reality as possible. However, testing in conditions close to reality does not necessarily call for field environment conditions being present during the in-plane testing itself. This is because field conditions are covered with a combination of small-, mid- and full-scale tests according to the recommendations given in API 17B.The second purpose can be, or is even best fulfilled with simplifications compared to field conditions.This study will go through the options and discuss the pros and cons of simplifications versus a more complicated test. The discussions in the paper are based on the author's experience and can be supported with examples from actual testing.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


—Domain generalization (DG) methods aim to develop models that generalize to settings where the test distribution is different from the training data. In this paper, we focus on the challenging problem of multi-source zero shot DG, where labeled training data from multiple source domains is available but with no access to data from the target domain. Though this problem has become an important topic of research, surprisingly, the simple solution of pooling all source data together and training a single classifier is highly competitive on standard benchmarks. More importantly, even sophisticated approaches that explicitly optimize for invariance across different domains do not necessarily provide non-trivial gains over ERM. In this paper, for the first time, we study the important link between pre-specified domain labels and the generalization performance. Using a motivating case-study and a new variant of a distri- butional robust optimization algorithm, GroupDRO++, we first demonstrate how inferring custom domain groups can lead to consistent improvements over the original domain labels that come with the dataset. Subsequently, we introduce a general approach for multi-domain generalization, MulDEns, that uses an ERM-based deep ensembling backbone and performs implicit domain re-labeling through a meta-optimization algorithm. Using empirical studies on multiple standard benchmarks, we show that MulDEns does not require tailoring the augmentation strategy or the training process specific to a dataset, consistently outperforms ERM by significant margins, and produces state-of-the-art generalization performance, even when compared to existing methods that exploit the domain labels.


If I were requested to testify at trial as a "bioethical expert" my services would generally be contingent on two conditions. First, under ideal circumstances, I would prefer to be retained by the trial court judge him or herself and not by the individual parties. Thus, I would hope to act as an impartial, disinterested expert whose role would be nonadversarial. Such an expert would not represent the views of individual parties but would act more as a true "friend of the court." Second, I would testify not as a bioethical expert (which I am not) but as a clinical ethicist or a bedside etics consultant. These two types of experts should be carefully distinguished. Some professionals have great expertise in the theories and principles of bioethics--Robert Veatch, Richard McCormick, and Joseph Fletcher. Other professionals have more expertise and experience in the practical side of bioethics--Fred Abrams, Stuart Youngner, and myself. Some individuals, such as Joh Fletcher, have extensive knowledge and experience in both spheres. I do not mean to say that clinical ethicists lack knowledge of the theoretical side of bioethics nor that experts in theory are not aware of the practical aspects. But some of us are more qualified on the more pragmatic issues, while others are more skilled in theory. As an expert then in clinical ethics rather than in theoretical ethics, my comments and guiding principles follow that are relevant to this case from an ethical perspective. Accurate Facts In any bioethical dilemma, it is important to get the fact straight. (1) Wrong facts, or a misunderstanding of the facts, will invariably lead to bad decisions. To say that Mr. Stevens will live "indefinitely" is simply not true. A completely healthy, normally mentating forty-nine year old person will not live indefinitely. Patients in a persistent vegetative state, even if otherwise completely "healthy" (except for their noncognitive condition), will usually live about five to ten years, although some may live longer. Even with maximal treatment, the life expectancy of Mr. Stevens would be considerably decreased from a normal life expectancy. A normal life expectancy for a forty-nine year old in good health, both physical and mentally, would be into the late seventies or early eighties. In that context the life expectancy for Mr. Stevens will be considerably shortened. It is more likely than not that Mr. Stevens will not be alive in ten years and much more likely than not that will not be alive in twenty years. Another important fact to get straight is that Mr. Stevens will not die of starvation if artificial nutrition and hydration are stopped. The American Academy of Neurology, in its amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Cruzan, (2) stated unequivocally: "Nancy Cruzan . . . will not starve to death. Due to the nature of the PVS condition, she will not experience pain or suffer in any way, nor will she manifest significant physical indications of the dying process." (3) Mr. Stevens will die of acute dehydration, which would occur usually within one to two weeks, although it could take as little as three days or as long as thirty days. Starvation, on the other hand, usually takes six to ten weeks. (4) Another important issue is whether the patient is truly in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) without signs of awareness or the capacity to experience pain or suffering. With respect to the issue of whether PVS patients experience suffering after treatment is stopped, the Council on Scientific Affairs and the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association concluded: The most obvious contradiction to this projection [that PVS patients will suffer] is that, by definition, in PVS both the peron's capacity to perceive a wide range of stimuli and the neocortical or higher brain functions that are needed to generate a self-perceived affective response to any such stimuli are destroyed. …


Molecular bottlebrushes featuring brush-on-brush (BoB) architecture were prepared by combining azide-alkyne click chemistry, ring-opening polymerization (ROP), and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Primary side chains of diblock copolymers with a poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) block and a poly(α-bromo-ε-caprolactone) (P(CL-Br)) block were synthesized by ROP and then grafted onto PCL backbone by the click reaction. Then the secondary side chains of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) acrylate) (POEGA) were grafted from the P(CL-Br) block by ATRP, yielding an amphiphilic core/shell structure. Imaging of individual macromolecules by atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrated dramatically thickened wormlike formation with distinct hairy side chains. Interestingly, for the BoB molecular bottlebrushes with enough long primary and secondary side chains, sufficient tension can be generated along the backbone and thus lead to its cleavage.


Bacteria suffer various stresses in their unpredictable environment. In response, clonal populations may exhibit cell-to-cell variation, hypothetically to maximize their survival. The origins, propagation, and consequences of this variability remain poorly understood. Variability persists through cell division events, yet detailed lineage information for individual stress-response phenotypes is scarce. This work combines time-lapse microscopy and microfluidics to uniformly manipulate the environmental changes experienced by clonal bacteria. We quantify the growth rates and RpoH-driven heat-shock responses of individual Escherichia coli within their lineage context, stressed by low streptomycin concentrations. We observe an increased variation in phenotypes, as different as survival from death, that can be traced to asymmetric division events occurring prior to stress induction. Epigenetic inheritance contributes to the propagation of the observed phenotypic variation, resulting in three-fold increase of the RpoH-driven expression autocorrelation time following stress induction. We propose that the increased permeability of streptomycin-stressed cells serves as a positive feedback loop underlying this epigenetic effect. Our results suggest that stochasticity, pre-disposition, and epigenetic effects are at the source of stress-induced variability. Unlike in a bet-hedging strategy, we observe that cells with a higher investment in maintenance, measured as the basal RpoH transcriptional activity prior to antibiotic treatment, are more likely to give rise to stressed, frail progeny.


Objective: To determine the association of physical activity and satisfaction with life among Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students of Azra Naheed Medical College, Lahore.
Methods: It was observational cross-sectional study and Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used. The sample size was 212 Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Physical activity (PA) was evaluated with the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and satisfaction with life (SWL) by the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Correlation analysis was utilized to see the relationship amongst PA and SWL.
Results: More participants were females (n=125, 59%) having age of 23 years (n=44, 20.8%). 55 (25.9%) participants were not engaged in any strenuous exercise, while 36 (17%) were engaged in moderate and 50 (23.6%) were engaged in mild exercise 7 times per week. 123 (58%) were engaged in regular activity associated with rapid heartbeat and sweating sometimes. 68 (32.1%) participants were satisfied with their life. Correlation of exercise times per week (physical activity) and satisfaction with life was r=-0.051.
Conclusion: It is concluded that there was negative linear relationship between regular physical activity and satisfaction with life.


Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer with over fifty percent of patients presenting at an advanced stage. Retinoic acid is a metabolite of vitamin A and is essential for normal cell growth and aberrant retinoic acid metabolism is implicated in tumourigenesis. This study has profiled the expression of retinoic acid metabolising enzymes using a well characterised colorectal cancer tissue microarray containing 650 primary colorectal cancers, 285 lymph node metastasis and 50 normal colonic mucosal samples. Immunohistochemistry was performed on the tissue microarray using monoclonal antibodies which we have developed to the retinoic acid metabolising enzymes CYP26A1, CYP26B1, CYP26C1 and lecithin retinol acyl transferase (LRAT) using a semi-quantitative scoring scheme to assess expression. Moderate or strong expression of CYP26A1was observed in 32.5% of cancers compared to 10% of normal colonic epithelium samples (p<0.001). CYP26B1 was moderately or strongly expressed in 25.2% of tumours and was significantly less expressed in normal colonic epithelium (p<0.001). CYP26C1 was not expressed in any sample. LRAT also showed significantly increased expression in primary colorectal cancers compared with normal colonic epithelium (p<0.001). Strong CYP26B1 expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis (HR = 1.239, 95%CI = 1.104–1.390, χ2 = 15.063, p = 0.002). Strong LRAT was also associated with poorer outcome (HR = 1.321, 95%CI = 1.034–1.688, χ2 = 5.039, p = 0.025). In mismatch repair proficient tumours strong CYP26B1 (HR = 1.330, 95%CI = 1.173–1.509, χ2 = 21.493, p<0.001) and strong LRAT (HR = 1.464, 95%CI = 1.110–1.930, χ2 = 7.425, p = 0.006) were also associated with poorer prognosis. This study has shown that the retinoic acid metabolising enzymes CYP26A1, CYP26B1 and LRAT are significantly overexpressed in colorectal cancer and that CYP26B1 and LRAT are significantly associated with prognosis both in the total cohort and in those tumours which are mismatch repair proficient. CYP26B1 was independently prognostic in a multivariate model both in the whole patient cohort (HR = 1.177, 95%CI = 1.020–1.216, p = 0.026) and in mismatch repair proficient tumours (HR = 1.255, 95%CI = 1.073–1.467, p = 0.004).


In this paper the Sm(superscript 2+) fluorescence spectra SrFCl0.5Br0.5:Sm(superscript 2+) is reported. Based on some stronger fluorescence peaks of time-distinguished spectra, the life of the fluorescence is achieved. Compared the fluorescence spectra stimulated by the continuous light with the fluorscence spectra stimulated by pulse, the phenomenon of delay fluorescence is discovered and it's reason comes from particle distribution of different energy levels.


There is a vast clinical need for the development of an animal model to study the fundamentals of healing of injured or diseased diarthrodial joints (knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, etc). Current prosthetic replacements do not offer acceptable treatment for injuries and diseases of these joints in young active individuals. New clinical treatment modalities, based on sound biologic principles, are sought for the development of repair or healing tissues engineered to have similar biomechanical properties as normal articular cartilage. In this paper we present a brief review of this need, and propose a grafting procedure which may lead to a successful animal model for studies of long term repair of major osteochondral defects. This grafting procedure uses an autologous periosteum-bone graft or an autologous-synthetic bone replacement graft. We have applied these grafts for in vivo repair of large surgically created defects in the high weight bearing area of the distal femoral condyle of mature New Zealand white rabbits. Further, an interdisciplinary study, including histochemistry, biochemistry (composition and metabolic activities), and biomechanics (biphasic properties), was performed to assess the feasibility of our animal model to generate viable repair tissues. We found our grafting procedure produced, 8 weeks postoperatively, tissues which were very similar to those found in normal articular cartilage. However, our histological studies indicate incomplete bonding between the repair tissue and the adjacent cartilage, and lack of an appropriate superficial zone at the articular surface. These deficiencies may cause long term failure of the repair tissue. Further studies must be undertaken to enhance development of a strong bond and a collagen-rich surface zone. This may require the use of growth factors (e.g., transforming growth factors beta) capable of simulating extra collagen production, or the use of serum derived tissue glue for bonding. At present, we are pursuing these studies.


Firearms A Swedish study matched 141 cases of children and teenagers hospitalised due to firearm injuries during a 21 year period with 141 controls to track the long term profile of both groups. Most had been shot by airguns and periods of hospitalisation were usually brief. Ten years down the track, cases had experienced higher levels of morbidity from all causes, with all the diagnoses of severe psychopathology being among the case group. Criminal histories were more frequent among cases, who were also younger at the time of the first oVence. The study suggests that "irrespective of firearm laws, young people suVering from firearm injuries, even if the injury is classified as accidental, run a higher risk of becoming psychosocially disadvantaged and criminal as adults" indicating that preventive measures will benefit not only society as a whole, but also at-risk young people themselves (European Journal of Emergency Medicine 1997;4:125–9).


In 1999, the Chi-Chi earthquake caused tremendous loss in infrastructure systems and caused severe damage to bridge structures. However, a large number of bridges experienced only minor damage and there has been little discussion of the performance of those bridges. This study is to discuss the damage to bridge bearing systems based on field investigations and numerical analyses. This article draws a qualitative description of the performance and the failure modes of highway bridges during the Chi-Chi earthquake. It is concluded that the sliding mechanism of rubber bearings played an important role in limiting the seismic load transmitted to the bridge columns. In order to demonstrate this phenomenon, a nonlinear finite element model of the Yen-Feng bridge was developed to simulate its seismic performance during the Chi-Chi earthquake. The analytical results were compared with the observed damage. Parametric studies were then conducted by utilizing two kinds of bearing conditions and three friction coefficients on the rubber bearings to explain why similar bridges experienced different levels of damage during the earthquake.


The abnormal impactation of a sebaceous follicle (the follicular cast) has been implicated as the preclinical lesion of acne vulgaris. We have characterized the lipid composition of these structures in the first of a series of studies aimed at the identification of sebaceous lipids that may be associated and/or responsible for the initiation of clinical lesions. The lipid composition of follicular casts was analyzed using thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry. The mean wet weight of the casts was 24.7 +/- 8.6 micrograms and 7.2 +/- 5.6 micrograms (29.4 +/- 13.5%) was lipid. Cholesterol (3.8 +/- 1.8%) and cholesterol esters (2.0 +/- 2.7%), wax esters (25.3 +/- 6.0%), squalene (19.9 +/- 6.6%), triglycerides (16.1 +/- 7.8%), and free fatty acids (33.0 +/- 10.0%) were all present in cast lipid. Fatty acids of the free fatty acid and triglyceride fraction ranged from C12 to C22. The major components of the free fatty acids were C14:0, C15:0, C16:1, C16:0, 2-me-C17:0, and C18:1. In the triglyceride fraction C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C18:1, and C18:0 dominated. The free fatty acids were composed of normal saturated (50.6%), normal unsaturated (32.8%), and monomethyl branched (16.6%) acids; the triglyceride fraction contained (86.3%) normal saturated (10.8%), normal unsaturated, and (3.0%) monomethyl branched fatty acids. Wax esters of follicular casts included esters ranging from C26:1 to C38:0. Saturated esters predominated and both odd- and even-numbered esters were present. The most abundant fatty acid moieties of these esters were C16:0 and C15:0, whereas C14:0, C17:0, and C20:0 were the most frequently detected alcohol moieties.


Risk assessment parameters are needed to assess the contribution of phosphorus (P) losses from soil to surface water, and the effectiveness of nutrient and land management strategies for the reduction of P loss. These parameters need to take into account the large temporal and spatial variation in P transfer from individual fields arising from (a) changing but predictable factors such as land use, soil P status, P application rates, forms and ways of fertilization and spreading, (b) predictable but inherent factors such as soil type, soil dispersivity, slope and hydrological routing, and (c) unpredictable weather factors such as rainfall amount and intensity. In most situations, water transport is the driving force of P loss from agricultural land to surface water. Therefore, the hydrological pathways determine to a large extent the relevance of these different factors. Over the last decade several soil P tests have been proposed as a first step to link field conditions to risk of P loss. The major reason is that these soil P tests are also meaningful in discussions with farmers. Recently, more complex P loss risk parameters have been derived based on different approaches. However, the scope and purposes of these P loss risk parameters vary remarkably. Finally, there is a need to evaluate the usefulness of new P tests that can be used as an indicator of P loss risk, e.g. in relation to monitoring purposes. The implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive will increase this need. In this paper, the practicable applicability of P parameters for risk assessment is discussed in relation to purpose, scale (from field, farm to catchment), effectiveness, sensibility etc. Furthermore, a conceptual framework for P indicators is presented and evaluated, based on the outcome of the presentations and the discussions in Zurich.


ABSTRACT In this paper, a new species, Cystolepiota pseudofumosifolia, is introduced. C. pseudofumosifolia is characterized by granulose or powdery pileus with an anatomic structure that is loosely globose, as well as ellipsoid cells in chains in the pileus covering the cheilocystidia. This new species is compared to the related and similar Cystolepiota species in morphology and molecular phylogeny based on Internal transcribed spacer sequences. Both types of data support our specimens as a new species in the genus Cystolepiota.


The mesencephalon is the most rostral part of the brainstem and sits above the pons and is adjoined rostrally to the thalamus. It comprises two lateral halves, called the cerebral peduncles; which is again divided into an anterior part, the crus cerebri, and a posterior part, tegmentum. The tectum is lay dorsal to an oblique coronal plane which includes the aquaduct, and consist of pretectal area and the corpora quadrigemina. In transvers section, the cerebral peduncles are seen to be composed of dorsal and ventral regions separated by the substantia nigra. Tegmentum mesencephali contains red nucleus, ocu‐ lomotor nucleus, thochlear nucleus, reticular nuclei, medial lemnisci, lateral lemnisci and medial longitudinal fasciculus. In tectum, the inferior colliculus and superior col‐ liculus have main nucleus, which are continuous with the periaqueductal grey matter. The mesencephalon serves important functions in motor movement, particularly move‐ ments of the eye, and in auditory and visual processing. The mesencephalic syndrome cause tremor, spastic paresis or paralysis, opisthotonos, nystagmus and depression or coma. In addition cranial trauma, brain tumors, thiamin deficiency and inflammatory or degenerative disorders of the mesencephalon have also been associated with the mid‐ brain syndrome.


We revisit the enthalpy-pressure phase diagram of the various products from the different proposed decompositions of H2S at pressures above 150 GPa by means of accurate diffusion Monte Carlo simulations. Our results entail a revision of the ground-state enthalpy-pressure phase diagram. Specifically, we find that the C2/c HS2 structure is persistent up to 440 GPa before undergoing a phase transition into the C2/m phase. Contrary to density functional theory, our calculations suggest that the C2/m phase of HS is more stable than the I41/amd HS structure over the whole pressure range from 150 to 400 GPa. More importantly, we predict that the Im-3m phase is the most likely candidate for H3S, which is consistent with recent experimental x-ray diffraction measurements.


This paper presents the results of mathematical modelling of turbulent natural convection under conditions of the conjugate heat transfer in an open cavity heated by infrared emitter. Two-dimensional problem of heat transfer was formulated in the vorticity - stream function - temperature dimensionless variables and solved by means of the finite difference method on a uniform grid. According to the results of numerical analysis, the fields of differential and integral heat transfer characteristics, illustrating the unsteady nature of the thermophysical process under study, were obtained. The nonlinear dependence of the average Nusselt number versus dimensionless time ( τ ) was established. It was shown that the average Nusselt number monotonically increased in a range of 800 τ <2000


ABSTRACT Brown, A.L.; Reinhardt, E.G.; van Hengstum, P.J., and Pilarczyk, J.E., 2014. A coastal Yucatan sinkhole records intense hurricane events. The potential of tropical sinkholes as archives for historical hurricane events has yet to be fully explored. This study uses high-resolution (1-cm interval) particle-size analysis to examine two sediment push cores from Laguna Chumkopó, located on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Core CKC1 (62 cm) was collected from the base of a deep sinkhole located in Laguna Chumkopó at −79.9 m (msl), while the second core, CKC2 (93 cm), was collected from the shallow peripheral margin at −6.4 m (msl). Two coarse fining upward sequences (12 to 35 cm, 46 to 62 cm) in CKC1 had mean particle sizes of approximately 1.5 φ (medium sand) with intervening intervals of lime mud (<4 φ). Measured 137Cs activity in the bulk sediment (n = 15) and radiocarbon dating (n = 3) using bomb-carbon calibration determined that the lower coarse unit was deposited in the 1960s (after September 1957 AD), and the upper unit between January 1985 and August 1991 AD. Hurricane Gilbert struck the Yucatan on 15 September 1988 as a category 5 storm, generating the upper fining upward sequence. Hurricane Beulah (category 2–3) likely generated the lower unit when it struck on 18 September 1967. CKC2 revealed small textural changes, alternating between silt and sand-sized particles and radiocarbon ages dated to ∼6.7 to 7.1 ka. The rapid accumulation of sediment in the shallow lagoon likely occurred with rising sea level flooding the area at approximately 6.8 ka. Based on the sedimentary results, a depositional model is proposed for inland sinkholes, explaining the formation of hurricane deposits through density and debris flows along the shallow margin.


We reconstructed a model based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology to analyze the acceptance of intelligent vital monitoring products (IVMPs) by middle-aged people. Results revealed that the dimensions of performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating condition all positively influenced the intentions of middle-aged people to use IVMPs. Our results may be of use for telehomecare health services when designing and developing IVMPs for people of all ages in the future.


The southern elephant seal population at Macquarie Island has undergone a serious decline since regular surveys were commenced in 1949. Approximately 2,900 cows and 250 bulls were counted in the isthmus study area during the 1985 breeding season. Comparisons with 20 other counts made in the same area between 1949 and 1984 showed that, although there was considerable fluctuation between the years, the number of seals ashore has dropped at an average rate of 2.1% per year, resulting in a net decrease of approximately 50% for both males and females. This is similar to the ratio of decline of elephant seal populations in the southern Indian Ocean. The census information from all major elephant seal populations was reviewed and it was concluded that there may be a common factor, or group of factors, acting to reduce the Macquarie Island and Indian Ocean populations, while the populations of the South Atlantic seem to be stable. Several potential explanations for these observations are advanced, but it is concluded that a greater knowledge of the ecology of the seals is needed if the declines are to be understood.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and results of one-stage surgery in Gustilo grade 1 and 2 open distal radius fractures with metadiaphyseal involvement. Methods: This retrospective study included 54 patients with AO-2R3 and metadiaphyseal involvement according to the AO fracture classification. All fractures were treated with a long volar plate using the minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) technique. The patients were divided into two groups as open fracture group (25 patients) and closed fracture group (29 patients), and the groups were compared for their union time and complications and functional and radiological results. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of clinical and radiographic results (P > .05 for both). The mean union time was 12.77 (range, 8-20) weeks in the open fracture group and 12.75 (range, 8-18) weeks in the closed fracture group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of union time (P > .05). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of major and minor complications. All fractures healed without the need for bone and/or soft tissue grafts. Conclusion: As a result of this study, using with long volar plate immediately minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis might be safely used as a single-stage definitive treatment for Gustilo grade 1 and 2 open distal radius fractures with metadiaphyseal involvement. Level of Evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic Study