PURPOSE
A prospective study of the value of MRI in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis of the mandible with special reference to the suitability of different MR sequences.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In 13 patients, average age 55 years (12-82), with clinical suspicion of osteomyelitis of the mandible, 18 MRI examinations were carried out (STIR, TSE T2, proton and SE T1 weighted scans with and without contrast, slice thickness 3.5 to 6 mm). Image quality of the sequences was evaluated as well as the suitability of the various sequences for showing the lesion, its location and extent. Activity of the osteomyelitis was judged by the degree of contrast uptake and was correlated with 3-phase bone scintigraphy and with histological findings.

RESULTS
In 9 of the 14 cases the findings on MRI and of the scintigraphy agreed with the histology. In two patients the activity of the inflammatory process was exaggerated by the MRI. In another follow-up examination it was slightly underestimated. All lesions were shown to be highly active by the histology were recognized as such by MRI. For the localisation and recognition of the extent of the inflammatory processes STIR sequences and T1 weighted non-enhanced SE sequences proved the most suitable. Contrast medium is essential to evaluate the inflammatory activity.

CONCLUSION
MRI is a sensitive diagnostic method; it is as good as 3-phase bone scintigraphy in demonstrating osteomyelitis of the mandible and of its activity but is superior for showing the pathological anatomy.


A 76-year-old man with castration-resistant prostate cancer and widespread skeletal metastases underwent 2 cycles of Lu-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) 617 therapy in our department. Whole-body Lu-PSMA scan after the first cycle showed diffuse skeletal PSMA-avid lesions, whereas no PSMA uptake was evident in the kidneys with minimal PSMA uptake by salivary glands (super scan). After 6 weeks, he received the second dose of Lu-PSMA and whole-body scan after the treatment showed remarkable resolution of skeletal metastases and normal PSMA uptake by the kidneys and salivary glands. To our best knowledge, this is the first case report of Lu-PSMA super scan.


Identifying moving objects is a crucial capability for autonomous navigation, consistent map generation, and future trajectory prediction of objects. In this paper, we propose a novel network that addresses the challenge of segmenting moving objects in 3D LiDAR scans. Our approach not only predicts point-wise moving labels but also detects instance information of main traffic participants. Such a design helps determine which instances are actually moving and which ones are temporarily static in the current scene. Our method exploits a sequence of point clouds as input and quantifies them into 4D voxels. We use 4D sparse convolutions to extract motion features from the 4D voxels and inject them into the current scan. Then, we extract spatio-temporal features from the current scan for instance detection and feature fusion. Finally, we design an upsample fusion module to output point-wise labels by fusing the spatio-temporal features and predicted instance information. We evaluated our approach on the LiDAR-MOS benchmark based on SemanticKITTI and achieved better moving object segmentation performance compared to state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach in integrating instance information for moving object segmentation. Furthermore, our method shows superior performance on the Apollo dataset with a pre-trained model on SemanticKITTI, indicating that our method generalizes well in different scenes.The code and pre-trained models of our method will be released at https://github.com/nubot-nudt/InsMOS.


A detailed analysis of the properties of the elliptically polarized state in spin flip model is essential for a full understanding of the experimental results. This paper studies the stationary properties of this state and its stability, considering both birefringence and dichroism. Results show that for small values of the /spl alpha/ parameter the transition from the lower frequency mode to the elliptical state may be subcritical. As a consequence, bistability between the linearly and the elliptically polarized modes exists, with jumps from one state to the other when the injected current is varied. In an experiment, the existence of such a bistable domain could lead to noise induced hopping from one state to the other, close to the instability threshold of the lower frequency mode. The authors checked that gain nonlinearities due to spectral hole burning favors subcriticality.


Nicolau Syndrome (NS) is a rare but severe localized adverse reaction at the site of intramuscular drug injection. The typical presentation is intense pain around the injection site soon after injection, followed by erythema, purplish network discolouration of the skin, haemorrhagic patch, and finally tissue necrosis. Here in, we report a 9 years old boy, the third Nicolau Syndrome (NS) reported from Iran after a single intramuscular injection of penicillin.


Optical brain imaging using functional near infra-red spectroscopy
(fNIRS) offers a portable and noninvasive tool for monitoring of blood oxygenation.
In this paper we have introduced a new miniaturized photodetector front-end on achip
to be applied in a portable fNIRS system. It includes silicon avalanche photodiodes
(SiAPD), Transimpedance amplifier (TIA) front-end and Quench-Reset circuitry to
operate in both linear and Geiger modes. So it can be applied for both continuous-wave
fNIRS (CW-fNIRS) and also single-photon counting. Proposed SiAPD exhibits high-avalanche
gain (>100), low-breakdown voltage ( V) and high photon detection
efficiency accompanying with low dark count rates. The proposed TIA front-end offer
a low power consumption ( mW), high-transimpedance gain (up to 250 MV/A), tunable
bandwidth (1 kHz - 1 GHz) and very low input and output noise (~few fA/√Hz and few μV/√Hz).
The Geiger-mode photon counting front-end also exhibits a controllable hold-off
and rest time with an ultra fast quench-reset time (few ns). This integrated system
has been implemented using submicron (0.35 μm) standard CMOS technology.


BACKGROUND
The utility of procalcitonin testing in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is not known. We sought to determine the impact of a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment algorithm implemented with antibiotic stewardship (AS) guidance vs. usual care on antibiotic use in critically ill children.

METHODS
Single center, pragmatic, randomized prospective clinical trial of critically ill children admitted to an ICU setting and started on intravenous antibiotics from February 15, 2018, to April 11, 2019. Patients were assigned on a monthly basis to either the procalcitonin or usual care arm. The procalcitonin arm had procalcitonin testing on hospital days 0, 1, 2, and 4 and stewardship assistance with algorithm result interpretation. Both arms had routine AS audit and feedback. The primary outcome was median antibiotic days of therapy per patient in the first 14-days after enrollment.

RESULTS
Among 270 patients, 137 were in the procalcitonin arm and 133 in the usual care arm. Antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) were not significantly different between the procalcitonin arm (6.6, IQR: 3.1-10.9) and the usual care arm (7.6, IQR: 3-11.8; P = 0.37). More AS recommendations were made in the procalcitonin vs. control arm (54 vs. 37; P = 0.03). Adherence with algorithm-based antibiotic recommendations was high in the procalcitonin arm (70%).

CONCLUSIONS
We found no difference in antibiotic DOT between study arms. This trial was underpowered but demonstrates feasibility of using a procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment algorithm with AS audit and feedback in the PICU.


Purpose: COVID-19 is the most recent pandemic causing morbidity and mortality. Although a part of the pathogens causing SARI, it is unique in causing pulmonary thrombosis and lung fibrosis. Thus different management is needed. We aimed o explore the start of SARS-CoV-2 in preserved SARI samples to know the exact time of its emergence in our hospital, to conduct whole-genome sequencing in positive SARS-CoV-2 samples to define its strain. To assess the clinical characteristics of the severe respiratory infection admitted to El-Demerdash hospitals in that same period from our own file reports.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among SARI patients who were admitted to Ain Shams university hospitals. preserved nasopharyngeal& oropharyngeal swabs from 333 SARI patients were used in SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-Real time PCR. Moreover, whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples was performed. Clinical characteristics of the SARI patients were analyzed in the same period to show the relation to morbidity and mortality.Results: The first case of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in a 6months aged female patient on mid-April 2020, B.1.1.7, clade GR. Co-infection (with both bacterial and viral) was most prevalent in pediatrics than adults, but mortality was higher in adults than pediatrics (18.1% versus 7.1%). ICU admission was higher in adults than in the pediatric group (65% versus 12.8%). Co-morbidities were associated with higher mortality and more severe infection. The most common bacterial infection in both adults and pediatrics was Klebsiella pneumoniae, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Conclusion: COVID-19 didn't start till mid-April in the Egyptian hospitals as remarked by this tertiary hospital's data. Co-infection is the most prevalent in children and further research is needed in this area.


Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic fibrosing autoimmune disease which leads to severe musculoskeletal dysfunction, disability and contractures. Little is known on the type and extent of physical therapy (PT) prescribed to SSc patients in daily practice. Objectives To determine the type and frequency of PT received by SSc patients. Methods The data of 3430 clinically well defined SSc patients registered in the database of the German Network for Systemic Sclerosis were analyzed using SPSS. Results 48,5% (1662/3430) of the patients were treated with PT. The most frequently used form of PT was lymphatic drainage (23,6%/876), followed by physical exercise therapy (22%/817) and paraffin wax bath (10,5%/389). About half of the patients (46,9%) received two or three different forms of PT simultaneously. The prescription of PT did not correlate with the SSc subtype, as 49,5% (503/1016) of dcSSc patients, 50,3% (850/1689) of lcSSc patients and 45,7% (143/313) of SSc-Overlap patients received PT. PT was significantly more often prescribed to patients with pulmonary fibrosis in 51,1% (617/1208), synovitis in 61,6% (299/485) and CK elevation in 61,1% (174/285) (p=0,001–0,029). PT did not correlate with the extent of skin fibrosis as measured by mRSS. Interestingly, patients with joint contractures (45,5%) (388/853) or tendon friction rubs (40,6%) (114/281) received significantly less often PT (p=0,006/ 0,045). Comparing the prescription of PT during the initial period 2003–2008 (49,1%; 1937/3942) with the follow up period 2009–2013 (45,3%; 2217/4899), a significant decrease of PT prescription was observed (p<0,001). Patterns of PT prescription differed significantly between medical subspecialties (p<0,005) i.e. rheumatologists, dermatologists. Conclusions Although SSc is characterized by considerable disability and restriction of motion, less than 50% of patients received PT. The significant decrease in PT prescription during recent years may reflect lack of knowledge how to prescribe PT and more restrictive insurance regulations. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Summary We present a model of how a Thermally Activated Particle (TAP) system works and model the incremental response of a pattern in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The model has also been applied on a range of descriptions to determine the major controls on incremental oil recovery and the best circumstances to apply TAP. Polymeric "kernel" particles expand as a result of breaking labile cross-links through a hydrolysis reaction under the influence of temperature and time. The expanded particles adsorb and provide Residual Resistance Factor to water. The model builds on conventional reservoir simulation of cold water injection and polymer flooding by including reaction kinetics of the particles and the dependence of reaction rate and other polymer properties on temperature as well as the extent of reaction. To address the uncertainty in the mechanisms, the model considers both mechanical entrapment and physical adsorption, linking the amount and impact of the entrapment to the ratio of the particle size to the estimated pore-throat size. Previously reported slim tube data and recent coreflood studies on Prudhoe Bay core indicate physical adsorption to be the dominant mechanism. The application of the model to the treated pattern captures the timing and magnitude of the incremental response. The overall size and the resistance of the in-situ block are comparable to that interpreted from the Pressure Fall-Off analysis. Realistic type pattern models and idealized descriptions have been used to model TAP performance for a range of slug sizes and waterflood maturities. The primary controls on incremental oil recovery are the slug size, pattern maturity, mobility ratio and heterogeneity. Traditional measures of heterogeneity do not correlate well with incremental recovery. Instead, the best correlations appear to be with the ratio of the swept volume, at breakthrough, to the total pore-volume and the slope of cumulative water-oil ratio to the instantaneous water-oil ratio, with larger slopes indicating better candidates.


The Business English majors are starting to exist as an independent discipline, it develops business English training model to meet the requirements of social development that is very important. Based on the needs, the analysis of business English talent Xingtai research and training objectives for the College of Business English Talents Xingtai is not clear with unreasonable curriculum, teachers' imbalance and other issues. Business English training of personnel should be clear objectives, optimization of the curriculum to develop a "double role" teacher, establish training base, thereby enhancing the careers of English graduates capacity to meet the demand for business English talent. KeywordsBusiness English; Training Objectives; Curriculum; "Double Role" Teacher


An application of Fourier integral method for determination of parasitic capacities in parallel conducting path systems is presented. It is a continuation of earlier investigations, which concerned the identification problems of capacitive couplings in hybrid microcircuits. In the general case two conductive paths are located on the dielectric microcircuit substrate of finite thickness. The submitted method is based on the solution of three-dimensional boundary problem. Electrical potential is presented here in the form of Fourier integrals, fulfilling the Laplace's equation. As the result the equation system for the distribution of electrical charges is obtained. The numerical solution method of this equation system has been applied. On this basis the capacity between conducting paths has been calculated and experimentally verified.


OBJECTIVE
To elucidate the mechanism of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) to inhibit the restenosis after successful percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).

METHODS
A rabbit vascular restenotic model was constructed and the proliferation of intimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were observed by monitoring their expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and platelet-derived growth factor beta chain mRNA (PDGF-beta mRNA) at the indicated time points.

RESULTS
IFN-gamma could significantly inhibit the expression of PCNA by intimal SMCs one week after denudation, when counting 200 intimal cells for PCNA-positive reactions with an inhibitory rate of 88.50% (P < 0.001). IFN-gamma could downregulate in situ expression of PDGF-beta mRNA by these cells as we calculated the average number of PDGF-beta mRNA positive cells per square millimetre area at x 400 magnification with reduced rates of 86.85% in 1 week group (P < 0.001), of 93.66% in 2 week group (P < 0.001) and of 52.92% in 4 week group (0.02 < P < 0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The local production of PDGF-beta by vascular intimal SMCs via an autocrine mechanism may be responsible for continuous proliferation of these cells and the formation of neointima after injury. This could be inhibited by IFN-gamma through downregulating the expression of PDGF-beta mRNA. These results provide an in vivo basis for IFN-gamma to be used clinically for the management of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.


In urban areas, signalized intersections are hot spots of emissions and have significant negative environmental and health impacts. Ecodriving is a strategy that aims to reduce fuel consumption and emissions through the modification or optimization of driver behaviors. By the use of information on the signal phases and the queue discharge time, ecodriving could optimize the speed trajectories for a vehicle approaching an intersection to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. This research developed an optimization model to determine the optimal ecodriving trajectory (the speed profile) at a signalized intersection. The model aimed to achieve the minimization of a linear combination of emissions and travel time. The Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator was used to estimate the emissions (nitrogen oxide), and the genetic algorithm was selected to solve the optimization problem that was developed. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to analyze and compare the performance of the optimal solution in various scenarios. The results of the case study showed that ecodriving could achieve satisfactory reductions in emissions by more than 50% and in travel time by about 7% compared with the emissions and travel times obtained by use of a normal driving strategy.


Metamorphism and metasomatism both involve the reequilibration of mineral assemblages due to changes in pressure, temperature and ⁄or chemical environment. Both processes involve material transport but on different length scales, so every metamorphic reaction is metasomatic on a local scale. Fluids provide a transport mechanism which is orders of magnitude faster than solid state diffusion and induce reequilibration through dissolution of parent phases and reprecipitation of products. Chemical weathering (kaolinitization and serpentinization), and albitization are used as examples to describe the coupling between dissolution and precipitation. Albitization of feldspars in nature and in experiments is a pseudomorphic replacement which generates porosity in the albite. Porosity generation associated with interface-coupled dissolution-precipitation allows rapid material transport and together with fluid induced fracturing, is the mechanism of pervasive fluid flow through reacting crystals. Examples of metamorphic reactions in granulite-eclogite rocks illustrate the role of fluids in inducing chemical changes along fluid pathways. Microstructural criteria for a metamorphic event (i.e. change in P, T) are critically reviewed by describing the corona formed by reaction between kyanite and garnet, as well as partial replacement textures. We conclude that both corona structures and partial replacement textures are equally indicative of a metasomatic reaction (driven by a fluid-induced compositional change) as they may be of a metamorphic reaction driven by a change in P and ⁄or T. This raises the question of the extent to which fluids play not only a catalytic role but also a thermodynamic role in determining the course of a metamorphic reaction.


BACKGROUND
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), an inherited cardiac arrhythmia characterized by adrenergically triggered arrhythmias, is inadequately treated by current standard of care. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), an adrenergically activated kinase that contributes to arrhythmogenesis in heart disease models, is a candidate therapeutic target in CPVT. However, translation of CaMKII inhibition has been limited by the need for selective CaMKII inhibition in cardiomyocytes. Here we tested the hypothesis that CaMKII inhibition using a cardiomyocyte-targeted gene therapy strategy would suppress arrhythmia in CPVT mouse models.

METHODS
We developed AAV9-GFP-AIP, an adeno-associated viral vector in which a potent CaMKII inhibitory peptide (AIP), is fused to GFP and expressed from a cardiomyocyte selective promoter. The vector was delivered systemically. Arrhythmia burden was evaluated using invasive electrophysiology testing in adult mice. AIP was also tested on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from CPVT patients with different disease-causing mutations to determine the effectiveness of our proposed therapy on human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) and different pathogenic genotypes.

RESULTS
AAV9-GFP-AIP was robustly expressed in the heart without significant expression in extra-cardiac tissues, including the brain. Administration of AAV9-GFP-AIP to neonatal mice with a known CPVT mutation ( RYR2R176Q/+) effectively suppressed ventricular arrhythmias induced by either β-adrenergic stimulation or programmed ventricular pacing, without significant proarrhythmic effect. Intravascular delivery of AAV9-GFP-AIP to adolescent mice transduced ~50% of cardiomyocytes and was effective in suppressing arrhythmia in CPVT mice. iPSC-CMs derived from two different CPVT patients with different pathogenic mutations demonstrated increased frequency of abnormal calcium release events, which was suppressed by a cell-permeable form of AIP.

CONCLUSIONS
This proof-of-concept study showed that AAV-mediated delivery of a CaMKII peptide inhibitor to the heart was effective in suppressing arrhythmias in a murine model of CPVT. CaMKII inhibition also reversed the arrhythmia phenotype in human CPVT iPSC-CMs models with different pathogenic mutations.


The removal of blur from a signal, in the presence of noise, is readily accomplished if the blur can be described in precise mathematical terms. However, there is growing interest in problems where the extent of blur is known only approximately, for example in terms of a blur function which depends on unknown parameters that must be computed from data. More challenging still is the case where no parametric assumptions are made about the blur function. There has been a limited amount of work in this setting, but it invariably relies on iterative methods, sometimes under assumptions that are mathematically convenient but physically unrealistic (e.g., that the operator defined by the blur function has an integrable inverse). In this paper we suggest a direct, noniterative approach to nonparametric, blind restoration of a signal. Our method is based on a new, ridge-based method for deconvolution, and requires only mild restrictions on the blur function. We show that the convergence rate of the method is close to optimal, from some viewpoints, and demonstrate its practical performance by applying it to real images.


An Experiment with Evaluation of Emotional Speech Conversion by Spectrograms The spectrogram is a useful tool for visual quality comparison of different types of emotional synthetic speech. This paper is focused on application of this method to evaluation of sentences after spectral and prosodic modifications for emotional speech conversion. Performed experiments with spectrogram evaluation for several male and female speakers and four emotional states (joy, sadness, anger, neutral state) are also described.


Globally, different studies and investigations in the field of new technologies and alternative building materials are continuously performed to decrease the cost and time of carrying out construction projects. In this research, a geotechnical and management investigations were conducted to evaluate (primarily) the cost of adopting reinforced earth retaining structures in Jordan and then to compare this technology with conventional concrete retaining walls. In Jordan, the reinforced earth technique is relatively performed, since 2005; however, it is still not popular among the construction engineering sectors. The methodology of this research consisted of two stages. The first stage included collecting for literature of previous investigations and the required information related to the above subject; whereas, the second stage focused on the idea of adopting reinforced earth structures for a proposed project in Jordan, then considering it as a case study for this research. Briefly, the study project was a proposed retaining wall that to be executed along one side of an existing road located at Al Fuhais City (about five kilometers from the Capital Amman). Accordingly, a comparison study for implementing two alternatives of retaining structures had been conducted for this project (i.e., reinforced earth & reinforced concrete retaining walls). The engineering evaluation of carrying out this project has been studied during performing a comprehensive analysis for each alternative considering the structural cost, labor and equipment's costs, quality and availability of the required materials, applicability, and the construction management. Considering the results of this research, it was concluded that conducting reinforced earth retaining structures in Jordan has more benefits considering their lower cost, less duration of execution, the availability of materials, the presence of workers with good experience, in addition to other several factors concerning the structure's durability, and serving as projects with most convenient to local environment. Keywords: Reinforced Earth Walls, Engineering Management, Cost Evaluation, Planning, R.C Walls.


The theory of exact and of approximate solutions for non-autonomous linear differential equations forms a wide field with strong ties to physics and applied problems. This paper is meant as a stepping stone for an exploration of this long-established theme, through the tinted glasses of a (Hopf and Rota–Baxter) algebraic point of view. By reviewing, reformulating and strengthening known results, we give evidence for the claim that the use of Hopf algebra allows for a refined analysis of differential equations. We revisit the renowned Campbell–Baker–Hausdorff–Dynkin formula by the modern approach involving Lie idempotents. Approximate solutions to differential equations involve, on the one hand, series of iterated integrals solving the corresponding integral equations; on the other hand, exponential solutions. Equating those solutions yields identities among products of iterated Riemann integrals. Now, the Riemann integral satisfies the integration-by-parts rule with the Leibniz rule for derivations as its partner; and skewderivations generalize derivations. Thus, we seek an algebraic theory of integration, with the Rota–Baxter relation replacing the classical rule. The methods to deal with noncommutativity are especially highlighted. We find new identities, allowing for an extensive embedding of Dyson–Chen series of time- or path-ordered products (of generalized integration operators); of the corresponding Magnus expansion; and of their relations, into the unified algebraic setting of Rota–Baxter maps and their inverse skewderivations. This picture clarifies the approximate solutions to generalized integral equations corresponding to non-autonomous linear (skew) differential equations.


Evidence suggests that variability in the ratings of students' essays results not only from their differences in their writing ability, but also from certain extraneous sources. In other words, the outcome of the rating of essays can be biased by factors which relate to the rater, task, and situation, or an interaction of all or any of these factors which make the inferences and decisions made about students' writing ability undependable. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the issue of variability in rater judgments as a source of measurement error; this was done in relation to EFL learners' essay writing assessment. Thirty two Iranian sophomore students majoring in English language participated in this study. The learners' narrative essays were rated by six different raters and the results were


Partial table of contents: Cytometric Approaches to the Study of Receptors (J. Nolan, et al.). Early Events in Receptor-Mediated Neutrophil Signal Transduction (E. Simons). Actin Polymerization in Human Neutrophils (G. Omann). Oxygen and Nitrogen Reactive Metabolites and Phagocytic Cells (J. Robinson). Neutrophil-Endothelial Cell Interactions (W. Carter & J. Robinson). Alterations in the Nonspecific Immune Response Following Severe Traumatic Injury (G. Babcock). The Role of Monocytes/Macrophages in Wound Healing (D. Greenhalgh). Monocytes and Macrophages in Solid Organ Transplantation: Important Implications for the Future of Transplant Immunology (J. Valente, et al.). Index


A PSO with increasing inertia weight, distinct from a widely used PSO with decreasing inertia weight, is proposed in this paper. Far from drawing conclusions from sole empirical study or rule of thumb, this algorithm is derived from particle trajectory study and convergence analysis. Four standard test functions are used to confirm its validity finally. From the experiments, it is clear that a PSO with increasing inertia weight outperforms the one with decreasing inertia weight, both in convergent speed and solution precision, with no additional computing load.


The Welsh onion beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), has attacked Welsh onion and is now the most important pest of Welsh onion in southwestern Korea. The beet armyworm has a wide host range, occurring as a serious pest of vegetable and fields. The relatively high abundance of beet armyworm has stimulated frequent application of insecticides to foliage. Insecticide resistance is a major problem in management of this insect. Accordingly, pesticide application for the control of beet armyworm was tried in both the open field and in laboratory, using 4 synthetic compounds such as metaflumizone and chlorfenapyr, indoxacarb, flufenoxuron, emamectin benzoate. In the laboratory, each developmental stages from eggs, larva to pupa was tested against 4 insecticides. Against the eggs of welsh onion beet armyworm, there was no significantly different with each other. These tested chemicals no killing effect to eggs. However, the population of 1st larva hatched from eggs were reduced because they eaten the egg shell with residual insecticides. The tested insecticides were taken very high mortalities to 1st to 3rd larva of Welsh onion beet armyworm. Otherwise, there were decreased the death rate from 4th to 6th larva. On the other hand, their value of control effects were relatively good against Welsh onion beet armyworms in the field between 87.2 and 90.5% on 10 days after insecticide application.


The Global gag rule (GGR), originally known as the Mexico City Policy, is a United States policy that limits the reproductive rights of women in many resource-poor countries. In 2018, the US administration of President Donald Trump reinstated this policy, which was first issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, and later annulled by two US presidents in the intervening years. The policy prohibits any non-governmental organisation (NGO) outside the US from providing women or couples with family planning information that includes access to abortion, as a condition of receiving US funding. Although the policy is designed to reduce the rate of abortion in countries where NGOs have adopted it, studies have shown the opposite effect. The policy violates fundamental ethical principles, as well as United Nations human rights treaties and action programmes.


Coupling current losses in large scale cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) for fusion apparatuses are sometimes annoyance because nobody can estimate how large the coupling loss is before fabricating hundred-meters of long conductor. Our approach for analyzing and estimating the loss based on real strand traces is unique compared with that of other research groups. In process of this approach, we have already measured the traces in two types of CICCs, one has circular cross section and the other has rectangular one. The cabling pattern of the former is 34 = 81 the latter is 34 times 6 = 486. The flux linkage area in a coupling current loop which consists of two contacting strands is evaluated as an indicator of driving force of the coupling current, which is proportional to the square root of AC loss per unit time. The flux linkage areas showed that the losses of rectangular-shape CICC would be larger than that of circular-shape CICC.


A study of the Sn‐Ag‐Cu lead‐free solder reflow profile has been conducted. The purpose of the work was to determine the Sn‐Ag‐Cu reflow profile that produced solder bumps with a thin intermetallic compound (IMC) layer and fine microstructure. Two types of reflow profiles were studied. The results of the experiment indicated that the most significant factor in achieving a joint with a thin IMC layer and fine microstructure was the peak temperature. The results suggest that the peak temperature for the Sn‐Ag‐Cu lead‐free solder should be 230°C. The recommended time above liquidus is 40 s for the RSS reflow profile and 50‐70 s for the RTS reflow profile.


Given that the stated purpose of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is to create value for the newly merged firm, the M&A offer premium ought to be positively related to the realized benefits or realized synergies that result from combining the target and the acquirer. Not all empirical evidence supports this notion, however. Because some M&A activities have not been found to be consistently value enhancing, other M&A motives have been proposed, most notably empire building and personal rewards. In contrast to those notions, this paper's analysis of lodging M&A results suggests that lodging M&A is in fact motivated by value creation. Furthermore, our evidence supports the supposition that the premium reflects the value of synergy, as postulated conceptually. Using a property-level dataset, this paper infers lodging managers' intentions by investigating the relationship between the final offer premium paid to the target shareholders and the change in the pre- and postacquisition operating performance of the target's and the acquirer's properties. Refuting the argument of the market for corporate control as well as the non-value-related motives, this analysis finds that the premium is related to the performance changes of the acquirer's properties but is not related to that of the target's properties. Interestingly, this suggests that the target's properties serve as a crucial resource to improve the performance of the acquirer's properties, and consequently, the premium may be viewed as the payment to gain control over the targets' resources.


Medical therapy for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism is limited, and surgical treatment has become more frequent recently. We have performed pulmonary thromboendarterectomy on a patient with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism accompanied by protein C deficiency. The patient was a woman aged 68 years who had protein C deficiency. The preoperative condition was New York Heart Association functional class IV. Hypoxemia, marked pulmonary hypertension, and low cardiac output were observed. After a median sternotomy, moderate hypothermia was induced using a cardiopulmonary bypass, and thromboendarterectomy in the pulmonary artery was performed. The arterial blood oxygen concentration improved, and the mean pulmonary pressure decreased. The cardiac output also increased, and New York Heart Association functional class improved to I. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy under cardiopulmonary bypass was effective for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism accompanied by protein C deficiency.


We have developed centrifugal pumps for long-term circulatory assistance, with the final goal of a completely implantable ventricular assist device or total artificial heart. The previous model, NCVC-0, was characterized by a nonseal design and few flow-stagnating parts and acquired high durability and antithrombogenicity. To improve its pumping performance, NCVC-0 was modified. In the new model, NCVC-1, the profile shape of the impeller was changed from flat to conical, the number of vanes from 4 to 6, and the vane entrance angle from 30 degrees to 60 degrees. A flow visualization study performed by means of a combination of the polystyrene tracer method and the light-cutting method indicated decreased flow turbulence between vanes in NCVC-1, which corresponded well with the increased pumping performance. Flow visualization is a useful method to evaluate the design elements that are closely related to the pumping performance of a centrifugal blood pump.


BACKGROUND
The Fas-associated death domain-containing protein, FADD, is an adaptor for relaying apoptotic signals. However, recent studies have shown that FADD also plays an important role in the growth and regulation of the cell cycle. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of FADD in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

METHODS
The DNA amplification of FADD from 30 samples of tongue SCC was analyzed using real-time PCR and the protein expression of FADD from 60 samples of tongue SCC was analyzed using immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS
The DNA amplifications of FADD were observed in 13 cases (44.3%) and were significantly correlated with the histopathological differentiation grade of SCCs (P = 0.009). FADD expression levels compared with the matched adjacent epithelium increased significantly (P = 0.000). Additionally, the positive expressions of FADD were significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis of SCCs (P = 0.029) and the 5-year disease-specific survival rates (P = 0.049). A positive association between FADD expression level and the histopathological differentiation grade was found to be limited to T1 SCCs (P = 0.019). DNA amplification was moderately correlated (correlation coefficient = 0.406, P = 0.026) with expression of FADD in 30 samples of tongue SCC.

CONCLUSION
In tongue SCCs, the expression of FADD was higher when compared with that of adjacent areas, which might be determined via genomic amplification in 11q13.3. Thus, SCC cells with the expression of FADD are possibly more likely to become metastatic and to worsen survival rates.


Time-scaled phylogenies underpin the interrogation of evolutionary processes across deep timescales, as well as attempts to link these to Earth's history. By inferring the placement of fossils and using their ages as temporal constraints, tip dating under the fossilised-birth death (FBD) process provides a coherent prior on divergence times. At the same time, it also links topological and temporal accuracy, as incorrectly placed fossil terminals should misinform divergence times. This could pose serious issues for obtaining accurate node ages, yet the interaction between topological and temporal error has not been thoroughly explored. We simulate phylogenies and associated morphological datasets using methodologies that incorporate evolution under selection, and are benchmarked against empirical datasets. We find that datasets of moderate sizes (300 characters) and realistic levels of missing data generally succeed in inferring the correct placement of fossils on a constrained extant backbone topology, and that true node ages are usually contained within Bayesian posterior distributions. While increased fossil sampling improves the accuracy of inferred ages, topological and temporal errors do not seem to be linked: analyses in which fossils resolve less accurately do not exhibit elevated errors in node age estimates. At the same time, divergence times are systematically biased, a pattern that stems from a mismatch between the FBD prior and the shape of our simulated trees. While these results are encouraging, suggesting even fossils with uncertain affinities can provide useful temporal information, they also emphasise that paleontological information cannot overturn discrepancies between model priors and the true diversification history.


Objective Burn-induced gut dysfunction plays an important role in the development of sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction. Emerging evidence suggests that hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is critical in paracelluar barrier functions via regulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) expression. Previous studies have also demonstrated that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) can repress HIF-1α. This study aims to examine whether valproic acid (VPA), a HDACI, protects against burn-induced gut barrier dysfunction via repressing HIF-1α-dependent upregulation of VEGF and MLCK expression. Methods Rats were subjected to third degree 55% TBSA burns and treated with/ without VPA (300mg/kg). Intestinal barrier dysfunction was evaluated by permeability of intestinal mucosa to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran and histologic evaluation. Histone acetylation, tight junction protein zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1), VEGF, MLCK and HIF-1α were measured. In addition, CaCO2 cells were transfected with siRNA directed against HIF-1α and were stimulated with CoCl2 (1mM) for 24 hours with/without VPA (2mM) followed by analysis of HIF-1α, MLCK, VEGF and ZO-1. Results Burn insults resulted in a significant increase in intestinal permeability and mucosal damage, accompanied by a significant reduction in histone acetylation, ZO-1, upregulation of VEGF, MLCK expression, and an increase in HIF-1α accumulation. VPA significantly attenuated the increase in intestinal permeability, mucosa damage, histone deacetylation and changes in ZO-1 expression. VPA also attenuated the increased VEGF, MLCK and HIF-1α protein levels. VPA reduced HIF-1α, MLCK and VEGF production and prevented ZO-1 loss in CoCl2-stimulated Caco-2 cells. Moreover, transfection of siRNA directed against HIF-1α led to inhibition of MLCK and VEGF production, accompanied by upregulation of ZO-1. Conclusions These results indicate that VPA can protect against burn-induced gut barrier dysfunction. These protective effects may be due to its inhibitory action on HIF-1α, leading to a reduction in intestinal VEGF and MLCK expression and minimizing ZO-1 degradation.


In this study, a modified enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was evaluated for the Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among whole saliva and oral fluid samples. Specimens were collected from 115 individuals who gave serum and oral fluid using Salivette (Sarstedt, Nümbrecht, Germany) and whole saliva. Saliva specimens were tested following a modified ELISA, and the results were compared with paired serum specimens that were tested according to the supplier's instructions. Transport buffer for the oral fluids, sample volume for assay, incubation period of sample with conjugate as well as cut‐off values were evaluated to optimize the assay. The highest sensitivity and specificity were obtained by increasing the incubation of sample and conjugate to 16 hr and using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to calculate cut‐off values. HBsAg was detected in 40 oral fluids and 44 whole saliva samples out of 47 paired positive serum specimens and not detected in 64 oral fluids and 63 whole saliva samples out of 68 matched negative sera samples by the ELISA assay. There was excellent agreement between the results for the serum and saliva specimens kappa value (κ): 0.80 for oral fluid and κ: 0.87 for whole saliva and there was excellent reproducibility. Using an optimized protocol, the sensitivities of whole saliva and oral fluid were 93.6 and 85.1%, respectively, whereas specificities of whole saliva and oral fluid were 92.6 and 94.1%, respectively. Our data showed a significant promise for the use of whole saliva and oral fluid together with the modified commercial EIA for Hepatitis B virus infection surveillance. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 25:134–141, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Objective: To compare the intramedullary nailing versus functional brace in the cases of disphyseal humeral fractures.Methodology: This was a descriptive comparative analysis study done Shaikh Zayed Hospital from Jan 2016 to March 2018, Pakistan. 60 cases who were presented with the disphyseal fracture of humerus were enrolled. After random allocation in the two different groups viz functional brace and intramedullary nailing. All the patients irrespective of gender and presented with humerus fracture were added. While all other type of fracture cases was excluded.Each patient was treated standardized by a specialist having somewhere around 5 years of experience after post-graduation. All patients were pursued at third week, sixth week and at 3 months to survey the radiological result according to the radiological sign of union i-e formation of callus on the fracture point.Results: Both treatment group in this study were same with non-significant difference with respect to age, gender and history of the smoking. But the union was noted in 45% cases in the intramedullary group and 54% in the functional brace group (p-value>0.05).  But it was observed that at the 6th week there was a significant difference with respect to the union in both operative groups. P-value of the union at 6th week was <0.05 shows that difference is significant.Conclusion: Functional brace method is more effective for the union of the disphyseal humerus fractures


Summary Flavours can be among the most valuable ingredients in any food formula. Even small amounts of some aroma substance can be expensive, and because they are usually delicate and volatile, preserving them is often a top concern of food manufacturers. Encapsulation describes different processes to cover an active compound with a protective wall material and it can be employed to treat flavours so as to impart some degree of protection against evaporation, reaction, or migration in a food. Encapsulation of flavours has been attempted and commercialized using many different methods such as spray drying, spray chilling or spray cooling, extrusion, freeze drying, coacervation and molecular inclusion. The choice of appropriate microencapsulation technique depends upon the end use of the product and the processing conditions involved in the manufacturing product. This overview describes each method cited above in terms of the basic chemical and/or physical principles involved and covers mechanisms of flavour release from food matrices.


The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Syrian refugee entrepreneurs operating in the Turkish textile industry on job satisfaction and organizational commitment of refugee employees. It is foreseen that refugees working informally may become permanent. This image shakes not only the social order but also the economic balance. A significant portion of refugees have a very low education level; also, Turkish society does not welcome them as they create a cheap labor force. Due to poor working conditions, they tend to change their jobs constantly. At this point, refugees' attitude toward work and organization has been examined. The sample comprised 12 enterprises; 104 blue-collar employees, experts, and managers answered the questionnaires. All of the participants in the study were Syrian refugees. The results concluded that while there is a positive relationship between affective and normative organizational commitment and the perception of abstract talent management practice, there is a negative and weak relationship between continuance commitment with a strength of –0.169. The perception of tangible talent management practice is positively related to internal and external job satisfaction and negatively related to continuance commitment with a power of –0.157. Accordingly, Syrian refugees with a talent management perspective believe talented employees should be in their jobs to achieve their goals. Job satisfaction partially mediates between the abstract perception of talent management practices and organizational commitment.


A simulation study of a high-Q resonator in a commercial 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process for E-band frequencies is presented. The resonator is a planar quarter-wave microstrip resonator that uses a HBT based negative resistance circuit to counter losses and enhance the unloaded Q-factor. Using 3D EM (FEM) and circuit co-simulation, enhanced unloaded Q-factors of up to 892 are shown at a frequency of 83.5 GHz compared to the unenhanced unloaded Q-factor of 7. The negative resistance circuit sufficiently compensates for low Q-factors of the planar resonator and the varactor. The resonator is also shown to be continuously tunable in frequency from 82 to 84 GHz, and in unloaded Q-factor from 7 to 892, whilst maintaining unconditional stability in all tuning states. Keywords— millimeter wave integrated circuits; BiCMOS integrated circuits; Q measurement; heterojunction bipolar transistors; resonators


Sulfonation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films with fuming sulfuric acid was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy. The ATR spectra showed the formation of CC double bonds and multiple sulfur atom containing groups for the sulfonation of LDPE films. This led us to propose that the abstraction reaction of hydride ion by sulfur trioxide (SO3) in fuming sulfuric acid might account for the formation of the CC double bonds. It was considered that after the abstraction reaction, these double bonds react with SO3, resulting in the production of alkene sulfonic acids and sultones, along with the formation of sulfate groups as a result of reaction of the double bonds with sulfuric acid. Experimental data by treatment of the sulfonated LDPE films with KOH and thiourea supported the proposed idea, estimating the approximate molar ratio of the products. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 2435–2442, 2004


Background Adipocytokines are soluble mediators secreted by adipose tissue and immune cells with potent immune regulatory functions. Some adipocytokines have been previously associated with disease activity and radiographic progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)1. Objectives To investigate associations between adipocytokines, clinical and traditional laboratory markers as well as with ultrasound synovitis in patients with RA. Methods A total of 82 patients with RA (62 females, median disease duration 4.2 years) were enrolled into this study. All patients underwent clinical examination (swollen joint count - SJC, tender joint count – TJC, Disease activity score - DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP, Clinical disease activity index - CDAI, Simplified disease activity index - SDAI). Moreover, ultrasound examination of 7 selected joints mostly affected in RA (wrist, second and third metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal, and second and fifth metatarsophalangeal joints) was performed to measure synovial hypertrophy in Grey Scale (GS) and pathological neovascularization in Power Doppler (PD) using semi-quantitative grading 0–33. Blood samples were taken at the same day as clinical and ultrasound assessments. Serum concentrations of adiponectin, resistin, visfatin, leptin and CRP were measured. Clinical and laboratory measures were correlated with ultrasound findings using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results Serum visfatin and resistin levels were associated with the disease activity (Figure 1) and correlated significantly with DAS28-ESR (r=0.473, p<0.001; r=0.363, p<0.001, resp.), DAS28-CRP (r=0.443, p<0.001; r=0.348, p<0.005, resp.), SDAI (r=0.431, p<0.001; r=0.344, p<0.005, resp.), CDAI (r=0.419, p<0.001, r=0.344, p<0.005, resp.) and with CRP levels (r=0.456, p<0.001; r=0.364, p<0.001, resp.). Moreover, visfatin and resistin levels significantly correlated with GS (r=0.430, p<0.001, r=0.273, p<0.05, resp.) and PD synovitis scores (r=0.309, p<0.01, r=0.283, p=0.01, resp.). Neither leptin nor adiponectin correlated with parameters of disease activity in patients with RA. Conclusions Our study supports circulating visfatin and resistin as promising serum pro-inflammatory biomarkers reflecting clinical, laboratory as well as ultrasound parameters of synovial inflammation in RA. References Senolt L, Krystufkova O, Hulejova H, Kuklova M, Filkova M, Cerezo LA, Belacek J, Haluzik M, Forejtova S, Gay S, Pavelka K, Vencovsky J: The level of serum visfatin (PBEF) is associated with total number of B cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and decreases following B cell depletion therapy. Cytokine 2011, 55: 116–121 Acknowledgement This work was supported by the project (Ministry of Health, Czech Republic) for consensual development of research organization 023728, IGA grant No. NT12437 and GAUK grant No. 1010213. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Revised! SL-132, a 1-page illustrated fact sheet by Rao S. Mylavarapu, William d'Angelo, and Nancy Wilkinson, is the Pine Nursery Test Form used by the UF/IFAS Extension Analytical Services Laboratories. The sheet gives details about collecting samples and testing fees. Published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Sciences, February 2009.
SL132/SS183: Pine Nursery Soil Test Form (ufl.edu)


Although combined spin‐ and gradient‐echo (SAGE) dynamic susceptibility‐contrast (DSC) MRI can provide perfusion quantification that is sensitive to both macrovessels and microvessels while correcting for T1‐shortening effects, spatial coverage is often limited in order to maintain a high temporal resolution for DSC quantification. In this work, we combined a SAGE echo‐planar imaging (EPI) sequence with simultaneous multi‐slice (SMS) excitation and blipped controlled aliasing in parallel imaging (blipped CAIPI) at 3 T to achieve both high temporal resolution and whole brain coverage. Two protocols using this sequence with multi‐band (MB) acceleration factors of 2 and 3 were evaluated in 20 patients with treated gliomas to determine the optimal scan parameters for clinical use. ΔR2*(t) and ΔR2(t) curves were derived to calculate dynamic signal‐to‐noise ratio (dSNR), ΔR2*‐ and ΔR2‐based relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), and mean vessel diameter (mVD) for each voxel. The resulting SAGE DSC images acquired using MB acceleration of 3 versus 2 appeared visually similar in terms of image distortion and contrast. The difference in the mean dSNR from normal‐appearing white matter (NAWM) and that in the mean dSNR between NAWM and normal‐appearing gray matter were not statistically significant between the two protocols. ΔR2*‐ and ΔR2‐rCBV maps and mVD maps provided unique contrast and spatial heterogeneity within tumors.


Artificial stock markets are built with diffuse priors in mind regarding trading strategies and price formation mechanisms. Diffuse priors are a natural consequence of the unknown relation between the various elements that drive market dynamics and the large variety of market organizations, findings, however, might hold only within the specific market settings. In this paper we propose a framework for building agent-based artificial stock markets. We present the mechanism of the framework based on a previously identified list of organizational and behavioural aspects. Within the framework experiments with arbitrary many trading strategies, acting in various market organizations can be conducted in a flexible way, without changing its architecture. In this way experiments of other artificial stock markets, as well as theoretical models can be replicated and their findings compared. Comparisons of the different experimental results might indicate whether findings are due to traders' behaviour or to the chosen market structure and could suggest how to improve market quality.


Today genetic services including genetic counselling are widespread across the world. Although developing countries, like Colombia, have started to apply genetic knowledge to the health area, genetic counselling is usually integrated in the routine clinical genetic consultation, however, before this study the process of communication involved in it had not been explored.
In collaboration with the Colombian Association of Medical Genetics, the Bogota Health Service, and the University of Warwick (UK), I observed 25 genetic consultations in five Colombian genetic clinics. I undertook semi-structured interviews with patients / families before and after the consultation. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts established mismatches between physician perception and patient comprehension. Efficient communication was affected by patient, relatives, practitioner and external factors. Among these environmental factors were excessive administrative procedures, interruptions during the encounter, patients" lack of interest to medical terminology, doctors using scientific language, excessive information given in one session, beliefs and education level of the patient and/or relatives, patient distress caused by bad news, unfulfilled expectations and no availability/accessibility of treatment.
I also interviewed 20 medical practitioners working in genetics services. There was general agreement that genetic counselling in Colombia was challenging, and that more training in communication skills was required at Medical schools at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Many physicians did not believe that other health professionals should work as genetic counsellors. There was a general recognition of limited genetic knowledge, awareness and understanding in most medical specialities.
These results have made a valuable contribution to describe the current situation with genetics consultation and counselling in Colombian genetic clinics, and have already influenced the future development of an effective and robust genetic counselling service in Colombia. They will also be used in the development of the academic curriculum related to basic and clinical genetics at Colombian Universities.


We present the anisotropy of current transport characteristics in Bi-2223/Ag multifilamentary tapes as a function of temperature and external magnetic field. Angular dependence of the critical current and the glass-liquid transition magnetic flux density are well described by the model, taking into account the misorientation of grains with constant effective anisotropy factor, γ. Furthermore, γ increases apparently as temperature and/or critical current increases due to the weak-link properties.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the speech perception outcomes for patients with preoperative severe versus profound hearing loss with a cochlear implant (CI).

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective patient review.

SETTING
Cochlear implant program.

PATIENTS
Cochlear implant adult recipients (16 yr and above) having surgery between 2008 and 2015 with speech perception results and four frequency averaged severe (70-89 dBHL) or profound (90 dBHL and above) hearing loss. Prelingual deaf adults were included in the data.

INTERVENTION
Cochlear implant.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Speech perception scores with CUNY sentences and monosyllabic (CNC/CVC) word scores at preoperative and 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively testing. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare outcomes of the two groups. Interquartile comparisons were also made.

RESULTS
The severe group had significantly better speech perception than the profound hearing loss group for CUNY sentences and CNC/CVC word scores preoperatively (p < 0.001) (p < 0.001), at 6 months (p < 0.001) (p < 0.001), and at 12 months (p < 0.01) (p < 0.001), respectively. At 3 months there was no significant difference. The number of patients in each severe or profound group at the different time points ranged from 92 to 367 patients for CUNY sentences and from 52 to 216 patients for the word scores. The 12 months' lower quartile score for CUNY sentences for severe and profound groups was 83% and 75% respectively. The lower quartile score for words was 32% and 26% respectively.

CONCLUSION
Adult CI recipients showed marked improvements in speech perception with a CI. Those with severe hearing loss have significantly better outcomes compared with profound hearing loss patients. These outcomes can inform CI candidacy evaluation criteria.


Workflow management systems (WfMSs) are useful tools for supporting enterprise information systems. Such systems must ensure compliance with guidelines and regulations. While formal verification techniques can be used in the development stages to help ensure behavioral properties of many systems, these techniques are generally not available in workflow tools. We present a framework which models workflows using Petri nets and translates the model to a tableau style model checker. The model checker uses the recently introduced one-pass tableau algorithm and delivers enhanced performance over traditional two-pass strategies in practical applications. A failed tableau will generate a counter model which can aid in debugging. We present a case study involving a health services delivery program, and verify properties written in Computation Tree Logic (CTL). The tableau method can be modified to accommodate other specification languages such as timed CTL, logics of beliefs, desires and intentions, temporal description logic, first order logic, and others.


Emerging evidence suggests that the capacity of adipocytes to appropriately store lipids and prevent their ectopic accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle may be an important regulator of systemic insulin sensitivity. Lipin 1 is a lipid phosphatase that is highly expressed in adipocytes and catalyzes the conversion of phosphatidic acid (PA) to diacylglycerol (DAG); the penultimate step in triglyceride synthesis. Adipose tissue lipin 1 expression positively correlates with insulin sensitivity in obese humans and mouse models. To test the role of adipose tissue lipin 1 in systemic insulin sensitivity, we generated mice lacking lipin 1 in adipocytes (Adn-Lpin1-/- mice). On normal chow, loss of lipin 1 in adipocytes modestly reduced white and brown adipose tissue mass, but did not affect glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity. However, in response to 2 weeks high fat diet (HFD; 60% fat) feeding, Adn-Lpin1-/- mice remained lean, but developed hyperglycemia compared to littermate wild type (WT) mice. Lipidomic analyses demonstrated an increase in liver lipids (PA, DAG, and triglyceride) in HFD-fed Adn-Lpin1-/- mice compared to WT controls, whereas only PA accumulated in skeletal muscle. Plasma triglyceride concentration was not different, but free fatty acids and glycerol were significantly reduced in Adn-Lpin1-/- vs. WT mice fed HFD, suggesting that lipolysis may be decreased. Plasma adiponectin and resistin were significantly reduced in HFD-fed Adn-Lpin1-/- vs. WT control mice while leptin concentrations were not different. Lastly, with 5 weeks of HFD feeding, despite being leaner, Adn-Lpin1-/- mice became markedly hyperglycemic and glucose intolerant compared to littermate WT controls. Collectively, these data suggest that loss of lipin 1 in adipocytes leads to insulin resistance on HFD, likely due to an impaired capacity to store lipids appropriately in adipose tissue. Disclosure A.J. Lutkewitte: None. B.N. Finck: Advisory Panel; Self; Cirius Therapeutics. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Cirius Therapeutics.


Replacing combustion of carbon-based fuels with alternative energy sources that have minimal environmental impact is one of the grand scientific and technological challenges of the early 21st century. Not only is it critical to capture energy from new, renewable sources, it is also necessary to store the captured energy efficiently and effectively for use at the point of service when and where it is needed, which may not be collocated with the collection site. There are many potential storage media but we focus on the storage of energy in chemical bonds. It is more efficient to store energy on a per weight basis in chemical bonds. This is because it is hard to pack electrons into small volumes with low weight without the use of chemical bonds. The focus of the project was the development of new chemistries to enable DOE to meet its technical objectives for hydrogen storage using chemical hydrogen storage systems. We provided computational chemistry support in terms of thermodynamics, kinetics, and properties prediction in support of the experimental efforts of the DOE Center of Excellence for Chemical Hydrogen Storage. The goal of the Center is to store energy in chemical bonds involving hydrogen atoms. Once themore » hydrogen is stored in a set of X-H/Y-H bonds, the hydrogen has to be easily released and the depleted fuel regenerated very efficiently. This differs substantially from our current use of fossil fuel energy sources where the reactant is converted to energy plus CO2 (coal) or CO2 and H2O (gasoline, natural gas), which are released into the atmosphere. In future energy storage scenarios, the spent fuel will be captured and the energy storage medium regenerated. This places substantial additional constraints on the chemistry. The goal of the computational chemistry work was to reduce the time to design new materials and develop materials that meet the 2010 and 2015 DOE objectives in terms of weight percent, volume, release time, and regeneration ability. This goal was met in terms of reducing the number of costly experiments and helping to focus the experimental effort on the potentially optimal targets. We have used computational chemistry approaches to predict the thermodynamic properties of a wide range of compounds containing boron, nitrogen, hydrogen, and other elements as appropriate including carbon. These calculations were done in most cases with high level molecular orbital theory methods that have small error bars on the order of ± 1 to 2 kcal/mol. The results were used to benchmark more approximate methods such as density functional theory for larger systems and for database development. We predicted reliable thermodynamics for thousands of compounds for release and regeneration schemes to aid/guide materials design and process design and simulation. These are the first reliable computed values for these compounds and for many represent the only available values. Overall, the computational results have provided us with new insights into the chemistry of main group and organic-base chemical hydrogen systems from the release of hydrogen to the regeneration of spent fuel. A number of experimental accomplishments were also made in this project. The experimental work on hydrogen storage materials centered on activated polarized σ- or π-bonded frameworks that hold the potential for ready dihydrogen activation, uptake, and eventually release. To this end, a large number of non-traditional valence systems including carbenes, cyanocarbons, and C-B and and B-N systems were synthesized and examined. During the course of these studies an important lead arose from the novel valency of a class of stable organic singlet bi-radical systems. A synthetic strategy to an "endless" hydrogen storage polymer has been developed based on our cyanocarbon chemistry. A key issue with the synthetic efforts was being able to link the kinetics of release with the size of the substituents as it was difficult to develop a low molecular weight molecule with the right kinetics. A novel hydrogen activation process has been developed which showed that Lewis acid-base pairs need not be "frustrated" in their reactivity towards activating H2. Reaction can occur at temperatures as low as -80 oC. We established that the interaction of H2 with the electrophile is a key step in the activation process.« less


This paper analyses Velimir Khlebnikov's early Pan-Slavic and anti-German ideological positions against the background of the Balkan crisis (1908, 1912) and the development of the Neo-Slavophile movement. Furthermore, we illustrate how Khlebnikov's encounter with Janko Lavrin influenced his linguististic conceptions, which in 1913 led to the publication of a series of articles in the newspaper "Slavyanin".
Finally, we argue that some of these articles already showed a significant shift from his Neo-Slavophile ideas to a new conception, which turns towards the Eurasian continent as the arena for his utopian visions.


Abstract We performed polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of human proteins with sodium dodecyl sulfate, isolated proteins at multiple positions, and then used liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to determine the protein identities. Although beta-actin (ACTB) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) are 41.7 and 36 kDa proteins, respectively, LC-MS/MS identified their peptides at all the positions studied. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (USA) database lists only one ACTB mRNA but five GAPDH mRNAs and one noncoding RNA. The five GAPDH mRNAs encode three protein isoforms, while our bioinformatics analysis identified a 17.6 kDa isoform encoded by the noncoding RNA. All LC-MS/MS-identified GAPDH peptides at all positions studied are unique, but some of the identified ACTB peptides are shared by ACTC1, ACTBL2, POTEF, POTEE, POTEI, and POTEJ. ACTC1 and ACTBL2 belong to the ACT family with significant similarities to ACTB in protein sequence, whereas the four POTEs are ACTB-containing chimeric genes with the C-terminus of their proteins highly similar to the ACTB. These data lead us to conclude that GAPDH and ACTB are poor reference genes for determining the protein loading in such techniques as Western blotting, a leading role these two genes have been playing for decades in biomedical research.


Point clouds are essential for storage and transmission of 3D content. As they can entail significant volumes of data, point cloud compression is crucial for practical usage. Recently, point cloud geometry compression approaches based on deep neural networks have been explored. In
 this paper, we evaluate the ability to predict perceptual quality of typical voxel-based loss functions employed to train these networks. We find that the commonly used focal loss and weighted binary cross entropy are poorly correlated with human perception. We thus propose a perceptual loss
 function for 3D point clouds which outperforms existing loss functions on the ICIP2020 subjective dataset. In addition, we propose a novel truncated distance field voxel grid representation and find that it leads to sparser latent spaces and loss functions that are more correlated with perceived
 visual quality compared to a binary representation. The source code is available at https://github.com/mauriceqch/2021_pc_perceptual_loss.


In the previous section, we determined the convergence or divergence of several series by explicitly calculating the limit of the sequence of partial sums \( {S_k}.\) In practice, explicitly calculating this limit can be difficult or impossible. Luckily, several tests exist that allow us to determine convergence or divergence for many types of series. In this section, we discuss two of these tests: the divergence test and the integral test. We will examine several other tests in the rest of this chapter and then summarize how and when to use them.


The number of metabolomics studies have increased dramatically in recent years, spanning from basic/mechanistic research to the identification and validation of clinical biomarkers. Developments in analyte separation techniques and the growth of databases are largely responsible for the rapid growth of metabolomics, although broad differences in analytical workflows can result in difficulty when comparing data across studies. The establishment of baseline metabolomics data for human reference materials using complementary/orthogonal data acquisition strategies can help to alleviate some of these challenges. To this end, we report nontargeted semiquantitative metabolomics data for 22 commercially available materials including plasma (healthy, diabetic, hypertriglyceridemic, African-American), serum (female, male, pregnant, among others), feces (meconium, vegan, omnivore), urine (smokers' and nonsmokers'), breast milk, saliva, and vaginal fluid, using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in positive and negative electrospray ionization, as well as gas chromatography-electron ionization-mass spectrometry. Significant differences were observed in the metabolomic fingerprints between all sample types. Post hoc comparisons between relevant sample types support the relevance of these materials and the validity of nontargeted strategies in global metabolomics. As the number and variety of reference materials continues to increase, it is imperative that their adoption is matched. The results of this study may inform future biomedical research by highlighting several metabolites across matrixes and treatments/states that could serve as clinical biomarkers or important biochemical pathway intermediates. Furthermore, our work can serve as a metric for systems suitability, quality assurance, and quality control across the community via the dissemination of high-quality and publicly available annotated metabolomics data.


ABSTRACT Purpose/introduction: There is no study on the association of empirically derived food-based dietary inflammatory index (FDII) and risk of psychological disorders. We investigated the association between FDII and odds of psychological disorders in Iranian adults. Methods and materials: In this cross-sectional study, data on dietary intakes of 3363 Iranian adult participants were collected using a validated dish-based 106-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. FDII score was constructed based on participants' dietary intakes of 28 pre-defined food groups. The Iranian validated version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used to assess psychological disorders. Depression, anxiety and psychological distress were defined based on standard criteria. Results: After controlling for potential confounders, participants in the top quintile of FDII score had a greater odds of depression (OR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.08–2.06), anxiety (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.24–2.96), and psychological distress (OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.10–2.19) compared with those in the bottom quintile. When we did the analyses stratified by gender, we found a significant positive association between FDII score and depression (OR: 1.57; 95% CI: 1.04–2.35), anxiety (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.19–3.34), and psychological distress (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.10–2.56) among women comparing the highest and the lowest quintiles. We found no significant association between FDII score and psychological disorders in men. Conclusion: We found that greater FDII score was positively associated with psychological disorders. In the gender-stratified analysis, this was seen in women but not in men.


How smart is your LED lighting system? While LED lighting holds the promise of reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs, smart LED lighting designs improve system performance in both areas, achieving higher performance per watt and reducing cost in the long term. Energy measurement, ambient light sensing, and communication serve as the cornerstones of smart LED lighting design. Energy measurement provides system health and consumption information. Ambient light sensing reduces an LED's on-time, conserving energy and extending diode lifetime. Communication links together each luminaire for identification of maintenance and system level coordination. The contribution of components to the overall system performance will be explored. A similar version of this article appears on EDN, June 12, 2012.


The demand for clean energy efficient transportation is rapidly increasing to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction and promote sustainability. Gasoline direct injection engines (GDI) have high thermal efficiency thus low greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional port fueled engines. However, during cold start conditions GDI engines produce harmful emissions, including nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. Thus, high pressure fuel system development for direct injection of gasoline is being conducted to reduce emissions during engine cold start. This paper summarized the effect of high fuel pressure and multiple injections on cold catalyst light-off strategy for rapid heating of the catalyst. Experiments were carried out using light-duty four-cylinder engine at cold catalyst light-off conditions with coolant temperature at 30 °C. Fuel injection strategy optimization was carried out considering (a) 25 MPa - two injections (b) 25 MPa - three injections and (c) 35 MPa - three injections, and engine emission, combustion stability, as well as fuel consumption data analyzed for each case. Experimental results show that 25 MPa and 35 MPa fuel injection pressure with three injection pulse have 60% and 80% reduction of HC and NOx combined relative to 25MPa fuel injection pressure and two injection pulse. It is expected that the improved homogeneous mixing realized by controlling spray penetration with multiple injections as well as the better spray atomization due to high fuel pressure, led to further HC reductions in the presence of high internal residual gases. Moreover, it has been also found that the combustion stability, and fuel consumption were similar for all three cases considered in this study. Experimental results show the benefits of using high pressure fuel injector with multiple injection strategies to realize reductions in engine emissions.


Abstract Supernova 1986J is almost the same age as SN 1987A, but was Type IIn, and likely had a massive progenitor. Located at 10 Mpc in NGC 891, it is one of the few supernovae whose radio emission can be resolved using VLBI. We present a new 5-GHz global-VLBI image of SN 1986J from 2014 as well as broadband VLA flux-density measurements. SN 1986J is unusual in that a compact synchrotron radio-emitting component appeared in the centre of the expanding shell of ejecta ~14 yr after the explosion, which now dominates the VLBI image. The central component is stationary to within the uncertainties (<570 km s−1), and it has a marginally resolved HWHM radius of (6.7−3.7 +0.7) × 1016 cm. The shell has expanded with average v ≃ 5400 km s−1. The central component's 5-GHz flux density is still increasing with time, and at present it has a 5-GHz νL ν luminosity of ~4 × 1035 erg s−1, ~20 times that of the Crab Nebula. The central component may be due to a newly formed pulsar wind nebula, or an accreting black hole, or it may be due to interaction of the supernova shock with a highly structured environment left over from a progenitor which was in a close binary system. We discuss the newest observations and the constraints on its nature.


This paper demonstrates how Russian men and women from different generations undertake their first demographic and socio-economic events. For the first attempt at understanding how these events are ordered, we used the descriptive techniques of Sequence Analysis, including chronograms, parallel coordinate plots, the durations of statuses, and the frequencies of subsequences on tables. The study was performed on a panel of the Russian part of the "Generations and Gender Survey" (GGS: 2004, 2007, and 2011). The subsample consists of 4,595 respondents of 1935-1984 years of birth. Our analysis reveals the changes between sexes and generations. Men devote a significant part of their youth to achieving socio-economic events, while women much earlier and more actively initiate their demographic careers. Nevertheless, by the age of 35, there are more respondents among men who have children and relationships than among women. Young people, compared to older generations, much more actively enter into cohabitations and have children in them, but they delay the onset of all these events, especially childbearing, to later ages.


Researchers have found that asking probing questions of message sources does not enhance deception detection accuracy. Probing does, however, increase recipient and observer perceptions of source honesty, a finding we label the probing effect. This project examined 3 potential explanations for the probing effect: behavioral adaptation, confidence bias, and a probing heuristic. In Study 1, respondents (N = 337) viewed videotaped interviews in which probes were present or not present, and in which message source behaviors were controlled. Inconsistent with the behavioral adaptation explanation, respondents perceived probed sources as more honest than nonprobed sources, despite the fact that source behaviors were constant across conditions. The data also were inconsistent with the confidence bias explanation. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the probing heuristic explanation. The data from Study 2 (N = 136) were ambiguous, but the results of third study (N = 143) were consistent with the heuristic processing explanation of the probing effect.


Distinguishing between small benign malformations in the liver and early metastatic disease remains difficult. We identified a group of 115 patients with known or suspected malignant disease who had "indeterminate" small liver lesions and who underwent 2-16 CT examinations (median 5) over a follow up period of 6-60 months (median 16). The size, shape, edge, homogeneity and attenuation of each of these lesions was assessed. The lesions were classified by their behaviour on follow up CT as either stable (79%) or unstable (21%). The unstable lesions (n=62) included 37 that grew larger and 25 that became smaller or disappeared in patients undergoing anti-tumour therapy. Image features predictive of stable behaviour were small size and sharp edge. Heterogeneity and soft tissue attenuation were significantly associated with unstable behaviour, but these features were seen in only a small minority of cases. Shape had no predictive value. A logistic regression model was constructed based on size and edge to allow an estimate to be made of the likelihood of an individual lesion being unstable. In patients with known or suspected malignant disease, the majority of isolated small liver lesions found on CT are benign. Although size under 5 mm and a sharp margin are favourable features, this appearance does not exclude malignancy.


In this paper, based on the IEEE 802.11n proposal, a MIMO-OFDM baseband receiver design for next-generation WLAN is proposed. A MIMO-OFDM receiver with algorithms for timing and frequency synchronization and MIMO detection is designed and simulated. Moreover, the circuits for all functional blocks in the receiver are also designed. Functional simulation results demonstrate that the proposed receiver design is capable of high link throughput with efficient spectrum utilization and is suitable for the application of next-generation wireless LAN


ABSTRACT The phosphoprotein (P protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a key component of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex. The protein is constitutively phosphorylated at the two clusters of serine residues (116, 117, and 119 [116/117/119] and 232 and 237 [232/237]). To examine the role of phosphorylation of the RSV P protein in virus replication, these five serine residues were altered to eliminate their phosphorylation potential, and the mutant proteins were analyzed for their functions with a minigenome assay. The reporter gene expression was reduced by 20% when all five phosphorylation sites were eliminated. Mutants with knockout mutations at two phosphorylation sites (S232A/S237A [PP2]) and at five phosphorylation sites (S116L/S117R/S119L/S232A/S237A [PP5]) were introduced into the infectious RSV A2 strain. Immunoprecipitation of 33Pi-labeled infected cells showed that P protein phosphorylation was reduced by 80% for rA2-PP2 and 95% for rA2-PP5. The interaction between the nucleocapsid (N) protein and P protein was reduced in rA2-PP2- and rA2-PP5-infected cells by 30 and 60%, respectively. Although the two recombinant viruses replicated well in Vero cells, rA2-PP2 and, to a greater extent, rA2-PP5, replicated poorly in HEp-2 cells. Virus budding from the infected HEp-2 cells was affected by dephosphorylation of P protein, because the majority of rA2-PP5 remained cell associated. In addition, rA2-PP5 was also more attenuated than rA2-PP2 in replication in the respiratory tracts of mice and cotton rats. Thus, our data suggest that although the major phosphorylation sites of RSV P protein are dispensable for virus replication in vitro, phosphorylation of P protein is required for efficient virus replication in vitro and in vivo.


Abstract The crystalline core of the southern Black Hills, South Dakota, exposes an extensive, low-P-high-T aureole of garnet- to second-sillimanite-zone schists centered on the plutonic core of the 1715 Ma Harney Peak Granite (HPG). This paper demonstrates regional patterns of apparent ages observed for 52 40Ar/39Ar dates of muscovite and biotite in diverse rocks from across the ~1000 km2 metamorphic aureole and its plutonic center. About 20 biotite dates, sampled mostly near faults, are influenced by excess 40Ar and obscure the regional trends. The remaining mica dates reveal radial patterns of apparent younging from outer aureole toward inner granite, with previously unrecognized, elliptical age zones centered on the main HPG pluton and its outliers. The regional pattern of 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages indicates non-uniform slow cooling of the mid-crust between ~1600-1250 Ma. This scenario of delayed slow cooling from aureole to pluton is consistent with published cooling ages for muscovite (Rb/Sr) and apatite (U/Pb), which range from 1690 to 1550 Ma and from 1700 to ~1500 Ma, respectively. To explain these results, it is likely that ambient pre-granite temperatures of the country rocks were ≥350 °C at the ~10-14 km depth of granite emplacement, as previously proposed, and that the entire complex resided at this depth and cooled slowly from aureole to granite for hundreds of millions of years. Alternatively, or in addition, the HPG and inner aureole were not uplifted until ~1480-1330 Ma, whereupon they finally cooled through ~300-350 °C.


The arches of the foot play a vital role in cushioning the impact and pressure generated from ground reaction forces due to body weight. Owing to a lack of normal human arch structure, people diagnosed as having flat feet often have discomfort in the soles of their feet. The results may not only cause inappropriate foot pressure distribution on the sole but also further cause foot injuries. This study heavily relies on a homemade foot pressure sensing device equipped with textured insoles of different heights and artificial arches. This was to explore the extent to which the pressure distribution of the foot in people with flat feet could be improved. A further comparison was made of the effects of using the textured insoles with different heights on two different groups of people diagnosed with flat and normal feet respectively. Sixty-five undergraduate and postgraduate volunteers were invited to receive the ink footprint test for measuring their degrees of arch index. Nine of these 65 had 2 flat feet, 3 had a left flat foot, 5 had a right flat foot, and 48 had 2 normal feet. To ensure the same number of subjects in both the control and the experimental groups, 9 of the 48 subjects who had normal feet were randomly selected. In total, 26 subjects (Male: 25, Female: 1; Age: 22 ± 1 years; height: 173.6 ± 2.5 cm; body mass: 68.3 ± 5.4 kg; BMI: 22.6 ± 1.2) were invited to participate in this foot pressure sensing insoles study. The experimental results showed that the use of textured insoles designed with different heights could not effectively improve the plantar pressure distribution and body stability in subjects with flat feet. Conversely, the use of an artificial arch effectively improved the excessive peak in pressure and poor body stability, and alleviated the problem of plantar collapse for patients with flat feet, especially in the inner part of their hallux and forefoot.


This paper is concerned with finding the global homological dimension of the ring of differential operators R[6] over a differential ring R with a single derivation. Examples are constructed to show that Rid] may have finite dimension even when R has infinite dimension. For a commutative noetherian differential algebra R over the rationals, with finite global dimension n, it is shown that the global dimension of R[9\ is the supremum of n and one plus the projective dimensions of the modules R/P, where P ranges over all prime differential ideals of R. One application derives the global dimension of the Weyl algebra over a commutative noetherian ring S of finite global dimension, where S either is an algebra over the rationals or else has positive characteristic.


The development of the English language reflects the history of the society development.This paper is about how English has become it is today due to its communicative function.


. Electronic states of a dilute uranium alloy U 0 : 03 Th 0 : 97 Ru 2 Si 2 have been investigated by using de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) measurements on single crystal samples. Quantum oscillations were successfully observed for the (cid:12)eld along the principal axes. The dHvA frequency of the observed branches roughly agrees with those of the reference compound ThRu 2 Si 2 , indicating the change of Fermi surface volume is not signi(cid:12)cant. On the other hand, the dHvA amplitude is strongly diminished compared to ThRu 2 Si 2 . Furthermore, cyclotron effective masses for corresponding branches are strongly enhanced. The latter effects are indicative of the strong scattering as well as the mass renormalization due to 5 f moments.


Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, this article examines how the main dimensions of labour market legislation (employment protection, security in unemployment, collective bargaining and activation policies) changed in Portugal during the sovereign debt crisis from 2011 to 2014. We show that the reforms passed during the Troika years were qualitatively different to earlier reforms. Despite building upon previous trends, there were path-shifting changes. First, security in employment and in unemployment for standard workers (insiders) declined substantially. Second, a significant decentralisation of wage bargaining shifted the balance of power towards employers, while a move from joint to statutory regulation stalled social cooperation. Third, neither of these trends was offset by any relevant unemployment compensation strategy or activation effort targeted at outsiders: no recalibration occurred in a historically dualised labour market. The balance of power between employees and employers shifted towards the latter at the expense of the former. A worse situation for insiders and outsiders points to wide market flexibilisation and enduring segmentation at a lower level of security. The austerity-driven reforms brought the Portuguese labour market to a liberalized dualisation, signalling a new departure for Portuguese labour market relations.


Although, Nigeria is chiefly known for its oil and gas production, agriculture employs about 70 per cent of its labour force. Nigeria has experienced severe farmers-herders conflict that has negatively influenced her agricultural production capacity, resulting in severe food insecurity. Tensions have grown over the past decades, with increasingly violent flare-ups between the farmers and the herdsmen spreading across the entire country. In recent times, many scholarly studies and inquiries on the impact of Information Communications Technology, particularly with respect to promoting food security in Nigeria, have been engendered mainly by the need to ensure greater agricultural outputs among farmers and other agriculturists. However, only scanty attention had been devoted to the need to understand the imperativeness of the use of Information Communications Technology in the quest to proffer solutions to the incessant farmers-herdsmen conflicts that have also contributed to the unpalatable state of food security in Nigeria. The study adopts Karl Marx's Conflict Theory as a framework of analysis and qualitative date elicited through content analysis of desktop date. Hinging on this theory, this study contends that the farmers-herdsmen conflict is inevitable like every other conflict due to the competition for limited land resources. The study however found out that why the farmers-herdsmen conflict has persisted, among many other factors, was due to the failure of relevant stakeholders to leverage on the possibilities of Information Communications Technology to address the technological gap in the conflict. While further findings suggest that the principal causes and aggravating factors behind the escalating conflict are climatic changes; population growth; technological and economic changes; crime; political and ethnic strife; and cultural changes, the lack of use of Information Communications Technology in the areas of educating both the farmers and herders, awareness creation, crime reporting and conflicts resolution further compounds the farmers-herdsmen conflicts. This study recommends the need for proper and improved use of I.C.T. in the processes to address the farmers-herdsmen conflicts.


Jazz Britannia is a UK-produced three-part BBC television documentary about the post-war development of jazz in the United Kingdom. We analyse the programmes to examine how the narrative, form and assumptions of the series can be understood within a series of contextual debates about jazz historiography, history on television, and the value of historiographic method in public service television. We utilize the debates around Ken Burns's US-produced ten-part documentary series Jazz, to develop an argument about the way that the British documentary constructs a very different history from Jazz, but using many of the approaches and techniques deployed by Burns. We locate the series within questions of quality television and other forms of television history. Finally, we seek to explore the way that the programmes produce a totalizing narrative in which the primary material is ordered to tell a predetermined story about innovations and an identifiably British form of jazz.


We use the generic replica symmetric cubic field theory to study the transition of short-range Ising spin glasses in a magnetic field around the upper critical dimension. A novel fixed point is found from the application of the renormalization group. In the spin-glass limit, this fixed point governs the critical behavior of a class of systems characterized by a single cubic parameter. For this universality class, the spin-glass susceptibility diverges at criticality, whereas the longitudinal mode remains massive. The third mode, however, behaves unusually. The physical consequences of this unusual behavior are discussed, and a comparison with the conventional de Almeida-Thouless scenario is presented.


Traditional models for operating as a commercial illustrator are being affected by a rapidly changing media landscape and a reduction in commissioning budgets. Illustration as a discipline can use this time of financial uncertainty and change to reflect upon related fields in the creative industries and as well as referring back to its own core values, skills and objectives.

In the context of fine art there have been a number of terms and practices discussed over the last decades that centre around social engagement and collaboration: relational aesthetics (Nicolas Bourriaud), new genre public art (Suzanne Lacy), connective aesthetics (Suzy Gablik) and dialogical aesthetics(Grant Kester). Similarly, design has seen a variety of initiatives and organizations that focus on engaging with communities in order to improve people's lives in meaningful ways while taking into account complex social, political and environmental challenges.

Illustrators can use elements of these practices to expand their remit while continuing to take advantage of their core skill of giving visual form to externally given content for a particular audience. Taking responsibility for generating content through outward-facing engagement while also having a stake in the methods of distribution, opens up a wealth of opportunities that promise to be productive for the discipline.


In this paper, we propose a three-dimentional multi-layered flow generator fabricated by inclined UV lithography to expose a single layerded photoresist coated on a patterned mask. To confirm the validity of the proposed generator, we applied the three-layered flow generator as a passive lamination micromixer. By comparing two types of fabricated micromixers, the three-layered micromixer achieves 1.64 times faster mixing rate than a conventional Y-shaped one due to the shortening of the diffusion length. The fabricated flow generator can be applied for a passive micromixer with laminated and/or secondary flows, a sheath flow generator, and a multi-layered emulsion system.Copyright © 2011 by JSME