In this thought experiment, we explore how to make access to individualized instruction and academic mentoring more equitable by taking tutoring to scale as a permanent feature of the U.S. public education system. We first synthesize the tutoring and mentoring literature and characterize the landscape of existing tutoring programs. We then outline a blueprint for integrating federally funded and locally delivered tutoring into the school day. High school students would serve as tutors/mentors in elementary schools via an elective class, college students in middle schools via federal work-study, and 2- and 4-year college graduates in high schools via AmeriCorps. We envision an incremental, demand-driven expansion process with priority given to high-needs schools. Our blueprint highlights a range of design tradeoffs, implementation challenges, and program costs. We estimate that targeted approaches to scaling school-wide tutoring nationally, such as focusing on K–8 Title I schools, would cost between $5 and $16 billion annually.


Angular distribution of 64 gamma rays in 172Yb have been measured from the decay of 172Lu polarised at low temperatures in gadolinium and iron hosts. Multipole mixing ratios, delta , of 60 transitions have been deduced, 51 of them uniquely. From the experimental values of K conversion coefficients and E2/M1 mixing ratios the authors have determined E0/E2 mixing ratios, mod q mod , for four transitions and deduced the corresponding X(E0/E2) and mod rho (E0) mod values. Energy levels and B(E2), X(E0/E2), mod rho (E0) mod and delta (E2/M1) values have been calculated using the IBA-1 model.


Sexually mature, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were housed in large communal breeding cages or in smaller paired breeding cages. Virgin control rats of the same age were housed similarly but segregated by sex. Breeders became obese, developed a fatty liver, and showed elevated levels of triglycerides, free fatty acids, and cholesterol. Breeders had high blood pressure, enlarged hearts, hyperglycemia, and islet beta cell degranulation. Serum enzymes, creatine phosphokinase, serum glutamic oxalo-pyruvic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, and blood urea nitrogen levels were elevated in breeder rats. The adrenal glands of male breeders appeared hyperactive; the adrenal glands of female breeders were Ihrombosed and appeared to be hypoactive. Male breeder rats developed microscopic aortic lesions only; female breeders developed advanced calcific aortic sclerosis. Male breeders kept in active stud service manifested the most abnormal metabolic and pathophysiological changes. Female breeders developed similar pathophysiological changes after four pregnancies, irrespective of their paired or communal breeding environment. Virgin rats were normal regardless of housing conditions. Our findings suggest that repeated breeding in male and female rats causes resetting of the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal-gonadal axis. This may lead to disturbed hormonal and metabolic changes which culminate with the development of accelerated cardiovascular degenerative changes.


Implants made of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) are biodegradable and frequently provoke foreign body reactions (FBR) in the host tissue. In order to modulate the inflammatory response of the host tissue, PLGA implants can be loaded with anti-inflammatory drugs. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of PLGA 80/20 rods loaded with the diclofenac sodium (DS) on local tissue reactions in the femur of rats. Special emphasis was put on bone regeneration and the presence of multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) associated with FBR. PLGA 80/20 alone and PLGA 80/20 combined with DS was extruded into rods. PLGA rods loaded with DS (PLGA+DS) were implanted into the femora of 18 rats. Eighteen control rats received unloaded PLGA rods. The follow-up period was of 3, 6 and 12 weeks. Each group comprised of six rats. Peri-implant tissue reactions were histologically and histomorphometrically evaluated. The implantation of PLGA and PLGA+DS8 rods induced the formation of a layer of newly formed bone islands parallel to the contour of the implants. PLGA+DS rods tended to reduce the presence of multi-nucleated giant cells (MGCs) at the implant surface. Although it is known that the systemic administration of DS is associated with compromised bone healing, the local release of DS via PLGA rods did not have negative effects on bone regeneration in the femora of rats throughout 12 weeks.


Summary Intracerebral infection of mice with low-virulence strains of Bordetella pertussis was greatly enhanced by the prior administration of cortisone acetate subcutaneously or of vitamin-A alcohol or streptolysin O intracerebrally. The infections did not appear to stimulate the release of lysosomal enzymes in the brain. When normal mice were X-irradiated to the head, with the body shielded, subsequent intracerebral infection with low-virulence strains was very much enhanced. Irradiation of the head alone did not affect the survival of actively immunised mice after the intracerebral injection of either high-virulence or low-virulence strains, but irradiation of the body, with the head shielded, significantly reduced the number of survivors after infection with a high-virulence strain. It appears that a cerebral glial response controls intracerebral infections with low-virulence strains in normal mice, but that circulating leucocytes play a major role in controlling infections with high-virulence strains in immunised mice.


Aim. We aimed to determine if sitagliptin added to standard postoperative standardized sliding-scale insulin regimens improved blood glucose. Methods. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted in diabetic cardiac surgery patients. Patients received sitagliptin or placebo after surgery for 4 days. The primary endpoint was to estimate the effect of adjunctive sitagliptin versus placebo on overall mean blood glucose in the 4-day period after surgery. Results. Sixty-two patients participated. Repeated measures tests indicated no significant difference between the groups in the overall mean blood glucose level with a mean of 147.2 ± 4.8 mg/dL and 153.0 ± 4.6 mg/dL for the test and the control group, respectively (P = 0.388). Conclusions. Sitagliptin added to normal postoperative glucose management practices did not improve overall mean blood glucose control in diabetic patients in the postoperative setting.


Abstract Over the last several decades, social studies educators' interest and emphasis on integrating technology into teaching has increased significantly. One promising area of inquiry focuses on the benefits of student-produced digital video. A number of researchers assert that student-produced digital videos provide a variety of benefits, including increases in student motivation and engagement, creative classroom opportunities, and opportunities for more authentic learning experiences. Fewer researchers, however, have explored student learning outcomes from documentary projects. In this article, the authors analyzed a set of student-created digital documentary projects constructed in a standards-based, 8th-grade U.S. history classroom. They holistically examined the level of authentic intellectual work evident in students' projects throughout each stage of the process. The authors found that the students demonstrated a moderate-to-significant degree of authentic intellectual work in creating their own documentary films.


abstract Recent additions to the strong-motion data set, primarily from earthquakes in California and Italy, are responsible for a large number of papers examining the prediction of ground-motion measures using regression methods. Peak acceleration is still the most common measure being considered, but increasing attention is being given to peak velocity and spectral amplitudes. Although direct comparisons among the studies are hampered by differing definitions of distance and magnitude, in general the various studies give similar answers for peak acceleration in the region of distance and magnitude space in which most of the data are concentrated. As might be expected, the differences are most pronouced for large magnitudes and distances close to the fault, where data are few. Even so, widely differing assumptions about the form of the regression equation and differences in the composition and weighting of the data set can give similar answers. This was true in recent studies by Campbell (1981b) and Joyner and Boore (1981), where the predicted accelerations for large earthquakes at close distances differed by less than 40 per cent. This seemingly large uncertainty is small compared to the scatter in the data about the regression lines. A Monte Carlo study shows that the question of whether the shape of the attenuation curves is magnitude-dependent cannot be resolved by existing data.


ABSTRACT The Bacillus subtilis chorismate mutase catalysed Claisen rearrangement of chorismate to prephenate is one of the few pericyclic processes in biology, and as such provides a rare opportunity for understanding how Nature promotes such rearrangements so successfully. The major focus of this work is on (i) Exploring the hypothesis that the mechanism of the chorismate rearrangement is the same in the gas phase, in the aqueous solution and in the enzyme; (ii) Investigating current suggestions that the enzyme lowers the barrier via transition state stabilisation rather than via space confinement; and (iii) A comparison of Nature's way of catalysing the reaction with a gold(I) catalysed chorismate rearrangement. Based the Unified Reaction Valley Approach (URVA), for the first time, a detailed one-to-one comparison of the rearrangement in the gas phase, in the aqueous solution and in the enzyme is presented. URVA confirms that the actual chemical process of CO bond breaking and CC bond forming is the same for all media and unravels the unique catalytic function of the enzyme as a combination of shortening the process of positioning the enolpyruvyl side chain over the cyclohexadienyl ring by space confinement in concert with facilitating CO cleavage by enhanced charge polarisation. The transition state does not play a signifiant role for the rearrangement. In contrast, the gold catalyst changes the chemical process. The rearrangement is split into two steps by switching between Au[I]-π and Au[I]-σ complexation, thus avoiding the energy consuming CO breakage in the first step. Suggestions are made for metalloenzyme analogues combining both strategies. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


As project managers fail to properly apply knowledge management in projects, firms lose a great deal of knowledge, experiences and lessons learned during projects. This occurs due to the complex nature of the today's projects, high costs and time limitation. To overcome this defect, recently, researchers tried to link knowledge management (KM) practices with those of project management (PM). One way to establish this linkage is to integrate KM and PM processes. Based on theoretical grounds on knowledge management and project management literature, this study introduces a method to implement knowledge management practices, along with project management ones. Using knowledge life cycle phases, we re-define standard project management phases, so that the two processes can be simultaneously and efficiently done.


Since the late 1990s, the number of people who are dependent upon welfare due to the need for long-term care is increasing continuously. This development is not only alarming because receiving social assistance is emotionally difficult for every single person who is in need. It also means an increasing challenge for the local authorities which are responsible for financing this social welfare scheme. However, neither enhancing the statutory long-term care insurance system nor subsidizing supplementary private long-term care insurance will resolve this problem satisfactorily. It is necessary to find different political solutions.


In the last few years many efforts have been carried out in order to better understand what the real contact between material and tools is. Based on the better understanding new friction models have been developed which have allowed process designers to improve numerical results in terms of component viability and geometrical accuracy. The new models define the coefficient of friction depending on different process parameters such as the contact pressure, the sliding velocity, the material strain, and the tool temperature. Many examples of the improvements achieved, both at laboratory scale and at industrial scale, can be found in the recent literature. However, in each of the examples found in the literature, different ranges of the variables affecting the coefficient of friction are covered depending on the component analysed and the material used to produce such component. The present work statistically analyses the contact pressure and sliding velocity ranges achieved during numerical simulation (FEM) of sheet metal forming processes. Nineteen different industrial components representing a high variety of shapes have been studied to cover a wide range of casuistic. The contact pressure and sliding velocity corresponding to typical areas of the tooling have been analysed though numerical simulation in each case. This study identifies the ranges of contact-pressure and sliding velocities occurring in sheet metal forming aimed to set the characterization range for future friction studies.


Although research has been sporadic, the available evidence indicates that gender is consistently associated with differentiated trajectories through homelessness in Europe. Women's pathways through homelessness have been linked to domestic violence, women being 'protected' by welfare systems when dependent children are living with them and an apparently greater tendency for women to use and exhaust informal support, rather than homelessness or welfare services. This evidence is frequently disregarded in current European homelessness research, which often uses conceptualisa- tions, definitions and methodologies developed when homelessness was seen predominantly as a social problem among lone adult men. The sites at which homelessness is studied and the ways in which data are collected, limit accuracy of measurement and inhibit understanding, but, this paper contends, the real issues centre on how mainstream definitions of homelessness exclude women. Women, who lack any security of tenure, physical safety, privacy and whose living conditions are otherwise unacceptable – who are homeless – are too often outside the scope of contemporary European homelessness research. Drawing on recent UK studies and the wider European literature, this paper argues that there is a need to cease a longstanding focus on the streets, homelessness services and (predominantly) male experience and to look instead at the more nuanced interrelationships between gender and agency to fully understand the nature of homelessness in Europe.


The high dispersibility and ease of pollen and spore transport have led researchers to conclude erroneously that fossil pollen and spore floras are relatively complete and record unbiased representations of the regional vegetation extant at the time of sediment deposition. That such conclusions are unjustified is obvious when the authors remember that polynomorphs are merely organic sedimentary particles and undergo hydraulic sorting not unlike clastic sedimentary particles. Prior to deposition in the fossil record, pollen and spores can be hydraulically sorted by size, shape, and weight, subtly biasing relative frequencies in fossil assemblages. Sorting during transport results in palynofloras whose composition is environmentally dependent. Therefore, depositional environment is an important consideration to make correct inferences on the source vegetation. Sediment particle size of original rock samples may contain important information on the probability of a taphonomically biased pollen and spore assemblage. In addition, a reasonable test of hydraulic sorting is the distribution of pollen grain sizes and shapes in each assemblage. Any assemblage containing a wide spectrum of grain sizes and shapes has obviously not undergone significant sorting. If unrecognized, taphonomic bias can lead to paleoecologic, paleoclimatic, and even biostratigraphic misinterpretations.


Unmethylated CpG motifs in bacterial DNA or synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) are known for inducing a Th1 cytokine/chemokine environment, but the mechanisms regulating this have been unclear. Recent studies have defined two classes of CpG ODN, CpG-A ODN that induce plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) to secrete very high levels of IFN-alpha, and CpG-B ODN that induce only low levels of IFN-alpha production, but strongly activate B cells. We now demonstrate that a CpG-A ODN directly activates pDC secretion of IFN-alpha and other soluble factors that secondarily induce purified monocytes to secrete high levels of the Th1-promoting chemokine IFN-gamma-inducible protein-10 (IP-10). Cell contact between the monocytes and pDC is not required for this interaction. IFN-alpha is necessary, but only partially sufficient, for this indirect CpG-induced monocyte IP-10 production. Although CpG ODN induce human PBMC to make only very slight amounts of IFN-gamma, we find that these low concentrations synergize with IFN-alpha for inducing monocyte production of IP-10. These studies provide a better understanding of the mechanisms through which CpG ODN create a Th1-like environment.


SUMMARY The ATP-dependent ring-shaped chaperonin TRiC/CCT is essential for cellular proteostasis. To uncover why some eukaryotic proteins can only fold with TRiC assistance, we reconstituted the folding of β-tubulin using human Prefoldin and TRiC. We find unstructured β-tubulin is delivered by Prefoldin to the open TRiC chamber followed by ATP-dependent chamber closure. CryoEM resolves four near-atomic resolution structures containing progressively folded β-tubulin intermediates within the closed TRiC chamber, culminating in native tubulin. This substrate folding pathway appears closely guided by site-specific interactions with conserved regions in the TRiC chamber. Initial electrostatic interactions between the TRiC interior wall and both the folded tubulin N-domain and its C-terminal E-hook tail establish the native substrate topology, thus enabling C-domain folding. Disordered CCT C-termini within the chamber promote subsequent folding of tubulin Core and Middle domains and GTP-binding. Thus, TRiC's chamber provides chemical and topological directives that shape the folding landscape of its obligate substrates.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing disease that can be complicated by abscesses, fistulas, or strictures of the damaged bowel. Endoscopy or imaging studies are required to diagnose and monitor the treatment response or complications of the disease. Due to the low incidence of the disease in Taiwan, the pattern of radiation exposure from medical imaging has not been well studied previously. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the pattern of radiation exposure in 134 Taiwanese IBD patients (45 CD and 89 UC) diagnosed and followed at Changhua Christian Hospital from January 2010 to December 2020. We reviewed the patient demographic data and radiation-containing image studies performed during the follow-up. The cumulative effective dose (CED) was calculated for each patient. During a median follow-up of 4 years, the median CED was higher for patients with CD (median CED 21.2, IQR 12.1–32.8) compared to patients with UC (median CED 2.1, IQR 0–5.6) (p < 0.001). In addition, the CD patients had a trend of a higher rate of cumulative ≥50 mSv compared with the UC patients (6.7% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.110). In conclusion, our study found a higher radiation exposure among CD patients compared to patients with UC, representing the complicated nature of the disease. Therefore, increasing the use of radiation-free medical imaging such as intestinal ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging should be advocated in daily practice to decrease the risk of excessive radiation exposure in these patients.


age = 21.2) couldnot be differentiated from the norms. Comparison of high (external) with low(internal) scorers within the patient sample revealed significant differences onclinical variables related to weight history, eating habits, and psychosocial be-havior. In addition, externality was associated with symptomatic scores on theBeck Depression Scale, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the RestraintScale, and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. It is concluded that theI-E scale may provide a useful prognostic index for the subgroup of anorexicpatients who demonstrat e external I-E orientation.Anorexia nervosa is classified as a psy-chosomatic disorder on the basis of its char-acteristic psychological symptoms, whichoften precede the onset of dieting. Bruch(1973) has outlined three central areas ofpsychological dysfunction in anorexia ner-vosa. These are (a) a distorted body image,(b) inaccurate perception of internal states,and (c) a paralyzing sens e of ineffectiveness.Body-size overestimation and lack of aver-sion to sucrose have been demonstrated ex-perimentally (Garfinkel,- Moldofsky, Gar-ner, Stancer, & Coscina, 1978; Garner,Garfinkel, Stancer, & Moldofsky, 1976).The dimension of ineffectiveness , in contrast,has received limited empirical attention.Clinically, it has been described in devel-opmental terms.Minuchin, Rosman, and Baker (1978)describe the anorexic child as growing up ina highly "enmeshed" family, one in whichintrusive concern and overprotection by theparents curtail the development of auton-omy. Similar descriptions, with specific ref-erence to the power and control exerted bythe mother, are common in the clinical lit-


Feminists, including this one, have two problems with nature: a special problem which is a historical and political problem, and an ontological problem that we share with everyone else (our metabolism with the earth). My claim is that the first problem is so acute that it tends to make us forget the second. The fundamental division in contemporary feminist thinking can be described as that between feminists who are interested in deconstructing, all the way down, the notion of natural differences between women and men as pre-social, and feminists who are interested in recuperating, re-affirming or asserting some version of originary sexual difference. By returning to Simone de Beauvoir, we find that even at this early moment in contemporary feminist thought a more complex account of nature was already articulated. Beauvoir helps us understand how structures of injustice are parasitically entangled with general features of human existence, even those that seem most "natural." At one founding moment of contemporary feminist thinking, then, deconstructive and descriptive engagements with the question of nature, far from being opposed, are co-necessary features of feminist thought.


A number of fractal/muitifractal methods are introduced for quantifying the mineral deposit spectrum which include a number-size model, grade-tonnage model, power spectrum model, multifractal model and an eigenvalue spectrum model. The first two models characterize mineral deposits spectra based on relationships among the measures of mineral deposits. These include the number of depesits,size of deposits, concentration and volume of mineral deposits. The last three methods that deal with the spatial-temporal spectra of mineral deposit studies are all expected to be popularized in near future. A case study of hydrothermal gold deposits from the Abitibi area, a world-class mineral district, is used to demonstrate the principle as well as the applications of methods proposed in this paper. It has been shown that fractal and multifractal models are generally applicable to modeling of mineral deposits and occurrences. Clusters of mineral deposits were identified by several methods including the power spectral analysis, singularity analysis and the eigenvalue analysis. These clusters contain most of the known mineral deposits in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake camps.


The colour bimodality of galaxies provides an empirical basis for theories of galaxy evolution. However, the balance of processes that begets this bimodality has not yet been constrained. A more detailed view of the galaxy population is needed, which we achieve in this paper by using unsupervised machine learning to combine multidimensional data at two different epochs. We aim to understand the cosmic evolution of galaxy subpopulations by uncovering substructures within the colour bimodality. We choose a clustering algorithm that models clusters using only the most discriminative data available, and apply it to two galaxy samples: one from the second edition of the GALEX-SDSS-WISE Legacy Catalogue (GSWLC-2; z ∼ 0.06), and the other from the VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS; z ∼ 0.65). We cluster within a nine-dimensional feature space defined purely by rest-frame ultraviolet-through-near-infrared colours. Both samples are similarly partitioned into seven clusters, breaking down into four of mostly star-forming galaxies (including the vast majority of green valley galaxies) and three of mostly passive galaxies. The separation between these two families of clusters suggests differences in the evolution of their galaxies, and that these differences are strongly expressed in their colours alone. The samples are closely related, with star-forming/green-valley clusters at both epochs forming morphological sequences, capturing the gradual internally driven growth of galaxy bulges. At high stellar masses, this growth is linked with quenching. However, it is only in our low-redshift sample that additional, environmental processes appear to be involved in the evolution of low-mass passive galaxies.


The paper studies the realization problem for series and parallel connections of nonlinear single-input single-output sys- tems, described by higher order differential equations. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for the existence of the classical state space realization in both cases. It is proved that post- and parallel compensators are of no help in overcoming non-realizability. Results are illustrated by an example.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA

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RAB11FIP1 is one of several potential oncogenes located in the chromosome 8p11 amplicon which is amplified in 10-15% of human breast cancers (1, 2). It is over-expressed in a panel of breast cancer cell lines but not in MCF10A, a non-tumorigenic human breast epithelial cell line. However, its functions and mechanisms of action are not well characterized. We knocked down RAB11FIP1 with siRNA in a panel of cancer cell lines and observed significantly reduced cell viability. Data from cell-based assays suggest that this reduction in cell viability is caused by 2 mechanisms: increased apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2. Increased apoptosis was demonstrated by increased activation of Caspase 3, FOXO3a, PARP cleavage and nuclear condensation across a panel of breast and colon cancer cell lines. Knockdown of RAB11FIP1 also made cells more susceptible to SAHA-induced apoptosis, requiring a lower dose than wild-type cells. In addition, we observed increased activation of p53 and p21 in cells where RAB11FIP1 was knocked down, resulting in G2 arrest. Treatment with SAHA enhanced the p53 and p21 activation in a dose-dependent manner. While wild-type p53 was required for cell cycle arrest induced by RAB11FIP1 knock-down, it was not required for apoptosis induced by RAB11FIP1 knock-down, although presence of wild-type p53 enhanced the apoptotic response. In this paper, we will describe the pathways modulated by RAB11FIP1 and provide evidence supporting its candidacy as an oncogene. References: 1. Yang, Z. Q., Streicher, K. L., Ray, M. E., Abrams, J., and Ethier, S. P. Multiple interacting oncogenes on the 8p11-p12 amplicon in human breast cancer. Cancer Res, 66: 11632-11643, 2006. 2. Garcia, M. J., Pole, J. C., Chin, S. F., Teschendorff, A., Naderi, A., Ozdag, H., Vias, M., Kranjac, T., Subkhankulova, T., Paish, C., Ellis, I., Brenton, J. D., Edwards, P. A., and Caldas, C. A 1 Mb minimal amplicon at 8p11-12 in breast cancer identifies new candidate oncogenes. Oncogene, 24: 5235-5245, 2005.


Many of Sweden's municipal districts show a population decline as well as an uneven population distribution. This pattern is neither desirable nor socially sustainable. Sustainable development is a well-known term often discussed from an ecological perspective. At the same time it is established that social and ecological sustainability are closely linked in several ways. In this dissertation social sustainability is studied. The term includes demographic and socio-economic factors, tradition and culture, technical structure, as well as power. Socially sustainable development, in this context, refers to the ability of a municipality to achieve and maintain a desirable developmental pattern. It also includes the ability of a municipality to handle crises, such as dramatic economic fluctuations and other societal changes. The overall aim of this study is to identify the underlying factors that influence the socially sustainable development in municipalities. All through this study, the municipalities of Vastervik and Varberg are used as empirical examples. The study is formulated around three main questions. The first question concerns the importance of a municipality's previous development patterns – for the current situation as well as for any possible future developments. The second question deals with the local identity and highlights factors that attract or hamper development in the local area. The third and final question refers to how local civil servants and citizens perceive their own community's potential for development, as well as which developmental strategies they perceive in the current municipal activities. To answer these three questions, Vastervik and Varberg have been studied through the use of historical documents and statistical material, and through interviews with both municipal local civil servants and residents. Theories of various aspects of local and regional development such as demographic patterns, society structures, local identity, and social capital are used. This study has identify several types of factors to pay attention to, as municipalities try to bring about and maintain a socially sustainable development. With insight into these factors the municipalities have a better basis for working out a procedural plan of action. Still, to bring about fruitful change it is crucial that the actors involved clearly define and reflect on their goals of a "sustainable development."


ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread environmental contaminants that are hazardous to human health. It has been demonstrated that members of the Mycobacterium genus are among the most effective degraders of PAHs, but few studies have focused on the degradation of PAH mixtures. In this study, single and mixed PAH metabolism was investigated in four phylogenetically distinct Mycobacterium species with respect to (i) parent compound degradation, (ii) bacterial growth, (iii) catabolic gene expression, and (iv) metabolite production. Synergistic and antagonistic effects on four model PAH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene, pyrene, fluoranthene, and phenanthrene) characterized degradation of mixtures in a strain- and mixture-dependent manner. The mixture of pyrene and phenanthrene, in particular, resulted in antagonized degradation by three out of four bacterial species, and further studies were narrowed to investigate the degradation of this mixture. Antagonistic effects persisted over time and were correlated with reduced bacterial growth. Antagonized degradation of PAH was not caused by preferential degradation of secondary PAHs, nor were mixture compounds or concentrations toxic to cells growing on sugars. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) studies of the characterized catabolic pathway of phenanthrene showed that in one organism, antagonism of mixture degradation was associated with downregulated gene expression. Metabolite profiling revealed that antagonism in mixture degradation was associated with the shunting of substrate through alternative pathways not used during the degradation of single PAHs. The results of this study demonstrate metabolic differences between single and mixed PAH degradation with consequences for risk assessment and bioremediation of PAH-contaminated sites. IMPORTANCE Mycobacterium species are promising organisms for environmental bioremediation because of their ubiquitous presence in soils and their ability to catabolize aromatic compounds. PAHs can be degraded effectively as single compounds, but mixed substrates often are subject to degradative inhibition, which may explain the persistence of these pollutants in soils. Single and mixed PAH degradation by diverse Mycobacterium species was compared, with associated bacterial growth, gene expression, and metabolite production. The results demonstrate that antagonism characterized degradation in a strain- and mixture-dependent manner. One strain that was versatile in its pathway use of single chemicals also efficiently degraded the mixture, whereas antagonism in other the strains was associated with altered metabolic profiles, indicating unusual pathway use. The impacts of this work on risk assessment and bioremediation modeling studies indicate the need to account for mixture-generated intermediates and to recognize mixture degradation as a property distinct from that of PAH substrate range.


BACKGROUND
Associations between trunk muscle composition and physical function have not been examined previously in older adults. We hypothesized that lower trunk muscle area and attenuation (higher fat infiltration) are associated with decreased functional capacity.

METHODS
The study sample consisted of a biracial cohort of well functioning men (739) and women (788) aged 70-79 from the Pittsburgh site of the Health, Aging and Body Composition (Health ABC) study. Computed tomography was used to measure trunk muscle area (cm2) and muscle attenuation (Hounsfield Unit [HU]) of the following muscle groups: lumbar paraspinals, lateral abdominals, and rectus abdominis. An average score was calculated for both trunk area and attenuation. The Health ABC Physical Performance Battery (PPB) and its individual components (usual and narrow walk, chair stands, and standing balance) were used to measure functional capacity.

RESULTS
Linear regression analyses adjusting for demographic factors, height, body fat, thigh muscle composition, disease status, and low back pain (LBP) found that average trunk muscle area was not associated with any element of functional capacity (p >.10), whereas average trunk muscle attenuation was positively associated with the Health ABC Physical Performance Battery (p <.05) and chair stands (p <.001). Participants reporting higher LBP severity during the past year had lower muscle attenuation (p <.001 for trend), but there was no difference in average trunk muscle area according to LBP status.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest a link between trunk muscle composition and history of LBP as well as reduced functional capacity in older adults. Improving trunk muscle quality may lead to reduced LBP severity and improved functional status.


Although theorists like Connell (1995 ) have emphasised diversity in men and masculinities, there remains a tendency to present masculinity in singular terms as an assemblage of toxic traits, constructing men as 'damaged and damage doing' (Mac an Ghaill & Haywood, 2012). However, an emergent body of work suggests men are able to resist or define traditional norms to negotiate a more 'positive' construction of masculinity, e.g., conducive to health. Thus the present article makes the case for introducing a new perspective within the study of men and masculinities: Critical Positive Masculinity. Influenced by the field of positive psychology, this perspective draws together work showing the potential for men to find more constructive ways of doing masculinity, including a series of articles on men adopting new masculine practices through involvement with meditation. However, drawing on the Critical Studies on Men approach, the new perspective still seeks to problematize men and gendered power relations, as even ostensibly 'positive' forms of masculinity can have deleterious consequences for marginalised groups. Critical positive masculinity offers a fresh perspective that is neither fatalistically negative nor naively optimistic about the possibility for positive change in men.


Abstract-Student administration is the process of managing and services in matters relating to students in a school starting from planning the admission of new students, coaching while students are at school, until students complete their education Student administration is carried out through efforts to create a conducive atmosphere for an effective learning process. The task of the principal and teachers is to provide services by showing what students need, feel and aspire to within the limits of authority, desires and applicable school rules and regulations


Fast soft error sensitivity characterization technique is essential for the soft error tolerance optimization of modern VLSI circuits. In this paper, an efficient soft error evaluation technique based on syntax analysis and state probability propagating technique is developed, which can automatically analyze the soft error rate of combinational logic circuits and the combinational part of sequential circuits in verilog synthesized netlist within a few seconds. We implemented the idea in a software tool called HSECT-ANLY, which use verilog syntax analysis to automate the soft error rate evaluation procedure and state propagating technique to speed up the analyzation process. By using HSECT-ANLY, experiments are carried out on some ISCAS'85 and ISCAS'89 benchmark circuits implemented with TSMC 0.18 µm technology and results are obtained. The result comparison with the traditional test vector propagating technique shows that the introduced method is much faster (2–3 magnitudes speeding up) with some accuracy losses, and be very suitable for the reliability optimization as the sub-algorithm of the optimization algorithms such as genetic algorithms to evaluate the fitness (soft error rate) rapidly.


Fourteen   air  dry   logs  of   coconut   trunk   were  sawn  into   boards  and  squares of  varying  dimensions  following   a "sawing  around"   pattern   to  obtain   the  best  lumber  yield  from the hard outer portion of the trunk. A 43.16 percent yield was obtained. The productivity  of  break down  saw based on  the optimum  feed  speed  of  8.67  meters  per  minute   was  0.0542 m 3 per minute . Only saw blades hardened by stellite tipping are recommended for sawing coconut trunks.


The western margin of the area described in this communication is situated about 5 or 6 miles east of Dolgelly, while the southern margin is some 8 or 9 miles north-west of Machynlleth. The villages of Dinas Mawddwy and Aberangell are located respectively in the eastern and south-eastern parts of the region. About 22 square miles in extent, it lies immediately to the north-east of the Corris—Aberllefenni country, which was described in 1923. The district is almost entirely within the county of Merioneth, and is included in the 1-inch Ordnance Survey Maps, Sheets 149 & 150, in the 6-inch maps of Merioneth, Sheets XXIX N.W., S.W., XXXVIII N.E., N.W., S.E., S.W., XLIII N.E, N.W., and in the Geological Survey Maps, Old Series, 1-inch Sheets 59 N.E. and 60 N.W. Except for the extreme north-western corner, the Dinas Mawddwy country lies wholly within the drainage-area of the River Dyfi (Dovey). This river passes through the eastern part of the area, and is followed by the road and railway from Machynlleth, via Cemmaes Road. At Mallwyd, about a mile due south of Dinas Mawddwy, the Machynlleth road is met by that from Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion, while from Dinas Mawddwy itself, Dolgelly may be reached by the road running westwards along the Cerist valley and over the pass of Bwlch Oerddrws. North-eastwards from Dinas Mawddwy, the Dyfi valley is followed by the old road to Bala over Bwlch y Groes. The area forms part of the slate-quarrying district, which extends from Towyn


Kinetic data tracking the anatase to rutile phase transformation under acidic, hydrothermal conditions (200 °C, pH 1) are consistent with a two-step transformation mechanism. Fitting the experimental data using phase transformation models, interface–nucleation dominates the early stages of transformation and dissolution–precipitation dominates at later stages. During the first stage, the rate of transformation by interface–nucleation is consistent with a substantially higher number of nucleation sites, possibly generated via crystal growth by oriented aggregation. Characterization of the hydrothermally treated samples using HRTEM revealed that anatase crystal morphologies indicative of crystal growth by oriented aggregation are common. Furthermore, twinned rutile crystals, which are consistent with transformation of anatase twinned across the {112} to rutile twins by interface–nucleation, were also observed. At later stages, the kinetics of the anatase to rutile transformation are consistent with dissolution–precipitation, and the number concentration of rutile crystallites reaches a plateau. These results are consistent with a decrease in crystal growth by oriented aggregation as the anatase particle size increases and the dissolution of anatase and reprecipitation onto already existing rutile crystals due to the larger bulk energy and comparatively small size of anatase.


Mobile business intelligence (m-BI), an extension of business intelligence (BI), promises to support decision-making on the move. What is new and interesting about m-BI is the fact that users can access and analyse business information when needed independently of time and place on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This is largely due to the mobile capabilities entailed in m-BI, such as high connectivity, high portability, high context-ability, a high degree of information consumption and high user mobility. Despite the importance of the topic and the interest of academics and practitioners, there is a lack of knowledge on the benefits generated from the use of m-BI. This void of understanding is reflected on (i) the confusion as to whether m-BI use is generating benefits as expected, (ii) low levels of adoption among organizations and (iii) the risk of m-BI adoption decisions being based on promotion campaigns rather than on empirically and theoretically driven research. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to describe and explain m-BI use and its implications, by investigating m-BI from three main angles: the potential m-BI capabilities and outcomes, decision to adopt m-BI and m-BI use in practice. This multi-level study consists of a collection of five papers, whose findings provide answers to three research questions: RQ1—How is m-BI perceived? RQ2—What role does the m-BI organizing vision play in the decision to adopt m-BI? and RQ3—How is m-BI used? In line with the research questions and the study's aim, two main theories are used, namely the organizing vision theory and the affordance theory. This dissertation employs a mixed methods research design and more specifically a sequential multiphase design. Two approaches—qualitative and quantitative—run sequentially among the five papers, and a multi-methods data collection has taken place, including semi-structured interviews, BI usage logs, social media activities, a survey and other documents. From a theoretical perspective, this research not only identifies the key m-BI affordances but also extends the organizing vision theory by introducing the IT champion as a mediator between the m-BI organizing vision and organizations. Furthermore, a research model that accounts for m-BI use and decision-making efficiency is designed and tested. From a practical perspective, this research reduces the ambiguity surrounding m-BI by delivering a discourse template that sheds light on m-BI in terms of people–process–technology. Hopefully, practitioners find this template useful when making choices about m-BI-related issues. Finally, from a methodological perspective, m-BI use is operationalized into two constructs whose items are tested and validated, thus paving the path to their use in future research. (Less)


Background: Childhood immunization is the initiation of immunity through application of vaccine as it is considered important for improving child survival. Iraq, currently has about 4 million internally displaced persons, which represents 10.8% of its population and 10% of internally displaced persons worldwide.Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the immunization status among displaced Iraqi children and to find out if there was any association between immunization status and other variables (Parents occupation and educational levels, child order in his family, marital status of the mother, Presence of vaccination card before or after displacement).Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in four displacement camps in Baghdad with 400 participants of under five years children along nine months duration, data were collected using a questionnaire which was adapted from many literatures with some modification, chi square test was used to show level of association, p value <0.05 considered as significant.Results: The highest coverage rate for displaced children after displacement was for the first dose of Oral Polio Vaccin (OPV1)+ first dose of Penta Vaccine (PENTA1) (Hexa) and the first dose of ROTA virus vaccines (77.5%), while the lowest vaccination coverage was for the second booster dose of OPV2 nd+ second dose of Dyptheria, PertusIs, Tetanus toxoid vaccines (DPT 2nd booster) in addition to Mumps, Measles, Rubella (MMR) vaccines (40.5%). A highly significant association was found between unvaccinated displaced children and illiterate mothers (p<0.001), while a significant association was observed between unvaccinated displaced children and fathers graduated from primary school. Significant association between the birth order of displaced children (≥ 5) and low vaccination coverage.Conclusion: Highly significant association was found between the vaccination coverage rates before and after displacement. Moreover significant difference between parents educational level, birth order, marital status of the mother, presence and absent of the vaccination card and vaccination team visits to the household (after displaced) and the immunization status.


The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) is a popular instrument to measure safety culture; however, its six domains have not been equally analyzed and used. Perception of management (PM), one of the underutilized domains, consists of two sets of the same items: one set for unit-level managers and the other for hospital-level managers. The SAQ was administered in a large tertiary hospital in Seoul, with 1,381 questionnaires being returned, including approximately 74% from women and 54% from nurses, which reflects Korea's healthcare professional composition well. Respondents were asked to score management's behavior in improving quality and safety. To calculate the score difference (unit managers' score less hospital managers' score), the generalized estimating equation was used to take the clinical unit's clustering effects into account. In all subgroups and all PM items, the unit managers' score was higher than that of hospital managers; most differences were statistically significant. On a scale of 0 to 100, the greatest difference was observed in the pharmacist group (14.5). In most cases, the score difference was around four to six. Various hypothetical explanations were offered. In Korea, many hospital managers are evaluated by hospitals' financial performance and, quite often, monetary compensation for adverse events costs less than investing in improving safety, although there is no concrete evidence for this yet. In addition, hospital management's term lasts around two to three years, which is too short of a time for a hospital's reputation to drop in Korea's healthcare environment. Consequently, hospital managers naturally put less emphasis on preventing medical errors. Another explanation arises from healthcare professionals' fear of being reprimanded after giving a low score to unit managers. Although this survey was administered anonymously, respondents could have felt uncomfortable being critical of their unit managers, who will supervise respondents for a long time. These reasons are all conjecture. Further study is needed.


Systematic studies on common wild oat ( Avena fatua L.) in north-eastern Poland were based on 120 herbarian sheets and 2000 panicles collected for statistical studies. The majority of the material (70%) differed in respect to morphological features from the basic features accepted as species-specific in common keys of plants used in Poland (S z a f e r, 1919; S z a f e r et al., 1969). The differences referred mainly to the number of flowers in the spiklets, hairs of lower lemma and its callus, both as regards length of hairs and their distribution and colour. Basing on the results of foreign authors (M a l z e w, 1930; R o s h e w i t z, 1934; H e g i, 1965; S a v u l e s c u, 1972; T z v e l e v, 1974, 1976; K e m m e r et al., 1976) four basic varieties of Avena fatua L. were distinguished in the material: 1. var. fatua (= var. pilosissima S. F. Gray), 2. var. intermedia (Lestib.) Lej. et Court., 3. var. glabrata Peterm., 4. var. vilis (Wallr.) Hauskn. Statistical studies embraced 20 stations (fields with area of about 1ha). 100 panicles of A. fatua were randomly collected from each station. All four varieties were found at 14 stations, three varieties only were found at 4 stations, while at two stations only two varieties grew. None of the populations under study was one-variety only. Totally the material (stations 1 - 20) contained 29,6% of A. fatua var. fatua (= pilosissima ), 28,4% of A. fatua var. intermedia , 22,4% of A. fatua var. glabrata and 19,6% of A. fatua var. vilis . The studies took into account only specimens classified as A. fatua L., disregarding hybrids and fatuoids. Knowledge on the distinguished varieties of common wild oat should contribute to the explanation of some doubts as to the distinction of its grains in seeding material. It may also prove useful in the chemical control of this dangerous weed.


This paper presents a method to combine CFD simulation with electrical simulation packages. This approach leads to highly accurate electro-thermal system modeling for DC-DC converters. Based on an initial power loss of main components and a thermal model of the converter, a user friendly CFD thermal simulation is used to obtain an initial point for case steady-state temperatures. These set of temperatures are then fed into temperature-dependent electrical models and simulations. The procedure can be repeated while error levels remain within an acceptable range. This approach can lead to a relatively accurate electro-thermal model at steady state


Characterization of impurities present in generic antimicrobial agents is not required according to the approval criteria for their sale worldwide. To assess the safety of generics, we conducted a structural estimation of impurities in six piperacillin/tazobactam generics and carried out an in silico analysis. Namely, these generics were compared with the brand name drug by HPLC and LC-MS. The mutagen that in silico analysis showed alert was detected in five of six generic products. It was estimated that this mutagen was an azido group of the precursor used in the synthesis process of tazobactam whose patent has expired. With regards to this mutagenic substance, pharmaceutical companies marketing a generic Piperacillin/Tazobactam product will have to check presence or absence of this mutagen before introducing the product to the market.


Trichloroacetic acid extracts of plasma were fractionated on a CG-50 resin column and the 50% acetic acid eluents chromatographed on silicic acid-impregnated glass paper in butanol-acetic acid-water. The specific arginine vasopressin (AVP) zone was eluted and assayed for antidiuretic activity in the diuretic rat. Thioglycolate inactivation was used to confirm AVP activity. Recovery of as little as 4 muU AVP per ml plasma ranged between 80 and 90%. In normal subjects after an overnight fast, plasma AVP ranged between 2.5 and 10.0 muU per ml. AVP secretion was inhibited by hemodilution and stimulated with nicotine and hypertonic saline. Plasma AVP was absent in patients with diabetes insipidus even after neurohypophyseal stimulation. Plasma AVP was abnormally elevated during mild dehydration and remained above the normal range despite hemodilution in patients with untreated adrenocortical insufficiency demonstrating a delayed water diuresis. Glucosteroid therapy lowered plasma AVP to normal in dehydrated patients. A normal diuretic response to hydration was accompanied by a fall in plasma AVP to zero in steroid-treated patients. These findings suggest that hypersecretion of AVP may play an important role in the abnormal water metabolism of adrenocortical insufficiency and that the glucosteroids promote normal water diuresis by inhibiting the secretion of AVP from the neurohypophysis.


Although the increasing number of information security incidents is causing great
concern to organizations, their effects on employees' information security awareness
(ISA) are largely left unobserved. Thus, we conduct a qualitative exploratory study in a
large financial institution to explore how psychological distance to such incidents
influences employees' ISA. Drawing from construal level theory and interview data
from 52 employees we develop a model proposing that ISA can arise due to a lowering
temporal, spatial, social, or hypothetical distance towards security incidents. Further,
we propose that psychological distance may decrease with the presence of security
champions or may increase with employees' responsibility shift to others. Besides
advancing the understanding of how employees construe security incidents, which
triggers ISA depending on the perceived distance or proximity, we also offer
organizations recommendations for security communication by proposing to
manipulate distance dimensions or to artificially recreate such events for raising ISA.


By the method of singular-valued decomposition (SVD), ghost imaging (GI) reconstructs the images with high efficiency. However, a small amount of noise can greatly degrade or even destroy the object information. In this paper, we experimentally investigate the method of truncated SVD (TSVD) by selecting the first few largest singular values to enhance the image quality. The contrast-to-noise ratio and structural similarity of the images are improved with appropriate truncation ratios. To further improve the image quality, we analyze the noise effects on TSVD-based GI and introduce additional filters. TSVD-based GI may find its applications in rapid imaging under complicated environment conditions.


Acute appendicitis is the most diagnosed intraabdominal pathology in emergency surgery meanwhile appendiceal neoplasms are infrequent and mostly detected in postoperative pathological work-up. In this study, we aimed to identify the incidence of appendiceal neoplasms and histopathological distribution of appendectomy specimens of our patients operated with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Between January 2010 and December 2020 postoperative results of patients who were operated with the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in a tertiary hospital were evaluated. Appendiceal neoplasms and subtypes of neoplasms according to pathology specimens are noted and long-term results of patients diagnosed with malignancy are given. 4761 patients operated for acute appendicitis while 55 (1.1%) of them had neoplasms on postoperative pathological evaluation. Eighteen out of 55 patients (32.7%) there were neuroendocrine tumor and in 36 patients there were mucinous lesions with different grades. Lowgrade appendiceal mucinous neoplasms were the most common mucinous lesions. No statistically difference in terms of age and sex between group1 (patients who had appendicitis) and group 2 (patients who had neoplasm). Acute appendicitis is an emergent situation where the routine histopathological examination of specimens should be carefully performed to rule out malignancy.


A challenge in oil–reservoir studies is evaluating the ability of geomechanical, statistical, and geophysical methods to predict discrete geological features. This problem arises frequently with fracture corridors, which are discrete, tabular subvertical fracture clusters. Fracture corridors can be inferred from well data such as horizontal–borehole–image logs. Unfortunately, well data, and especially borehole–image logs, are sparse, and predictive methods are needed to fill in the gap between wells. One way to evaluate such methods is to compare predicted and inferred fracture corridors statistically, using chi–squared and contingency tables.
 In this article, we propose a modified contingency table to validate fracture–corridor–prediction techniques. We introduce two important modifications to capture special aspects of fracture corridors. The first modification is the incorporation of exclusion zones where no fracture corridors can exist, and the second modification is taking into consideration the fuzzy nature of fracture–corridor indicators from wells such as circulation losses. An indicator is fuzzy when it has more than one possible interpretation. The reliability of an indicator is the probability that it correctly suggests a fracture corridor. The indicators with reliability of unity are hard indicators, and "soft" and "fuzzy" indicators are those with reliability that is less than unity.
 A structural grid is overlaid on the reservoir top in an oil field. Each cell of the grid is examined for the presence and reliability of inferred fracture corridors and exclusion zones and the confidence level of predicted fracture corridors. The results are summarized in a contingency table and are used to calculate chi–squared and conditional probability of having an actual fracture corridor given a predicted fracture corridor.
 Three actual case studies are included to demonstrate how single or joint predictive methods can be statistically evaluated and how conditional probabilities are calculated using the modified contingency tables. The first example tests seismic faults as indicators of fracture corridors. The other examples test fracture corridors predicted by a simple geomechanical method.


Ginsenosides play an important role in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Our group predicted that ginsenoside Rb1 combined with insulin would have a protective effect in diabetic cardiomyopathy. Diabetic model was established by high fat feeding combined with intraperitoneal injection of 70 mg/ kg streptozotocin in 8 w old male Sprague-Dawley rats. One rat was sacrificed at 8 w, 12 w and 14 w, respectively. The cardiac function and pathological structure of the myocardium were observed. It was concluded that the model of the diabetic cardiomyopathy group was successful. Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and treated with different doses for 6 w. During this period, all rats received regular blood from the tail vein, had regular random blood glucose measurements and had regular fasting body weight measurements. After 6 w of intervention, cardiac ultrasonography was performed to evaluate cardiac function in all groups. Blood samples of aorta were collected for biochemical detection and pathological staining, immunohistochemical staining, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were taken from heart tissue samples for detection. Compared with the normal group, diabetic cardiomyopathy rats displayed severe hyperglycemia, lower body weight, poorer cardiac performance, cardiac fibrosis and cardiac inflammation. Diabetic cardiomyopathy rats suffered obvious effects from over-activation of the heparin-binding epidermal growth factor pathway. Ginsenoside Rb1 treatment attenuated hyperglycemia, body weight loss and cardiac injury as well as heparin-binding epidermal growth factor activation induced by diabetic cardiomyopathy. Meanwhile, ginsenoside Rb1 had no obvious toxicity or side effects in the heart, liver or kidneys. Ginsenoside Rb1 treatment in diabetic rats can inhibit the over-activated heparin-binding epidermal growth factor signaling pathway, attenuate fibrosis of myocardial tissue and improve cardiac function, and has no obvious toxicity or side effects. It is a potential drug for diabetic heart disease.


A prerequisite for successful and effective implementation of e-learning systems is careful consideration of underlying pedagogy. However, incorporating pedagogical approaches during the development of Web-based educational systems today remains an issue. The advent of more sophisticated Web-based educational systems has showed the need for an essential contribution of pedagogical principles to their development. In this paper, the importance of integrating learning theories in adaptive hypermedia educational systems (AHES) is examined and a set of attributes that must be incorporated during the development of such systems is proposed. The desired attributes are studied in conjunction with the newly trends of Internet evolution, such as sharing and collaboration, which provide new opportunities in the development of such systems.


The quality of polymer composite materials depends on the distribution of the filler in the polymer matrix. Due to the presence of the oxygen functional groups, graphene oxide (GO) has a strong affinity to epoxy resins, providing potential opportunity for the uniform distribution of GO sheets in the matrix. Another advantage of GO over its nonoxidized counterpart is its ability to exfoliate to single-atomic-layer sheets in water and in some organic solvents. However, these advantages of GO have not yet been fully realized due to the lack of the methods efficiently introducing GO into the epoxy resin. Here we develop a novel homogeneous liquid phase transfer method that affords uniform distribution, and fully exfoliated condition of GO in the polymer matrix. The most pronounced alteration of properties of the cured composites is registered at the 0.10%-0.15% GO content. Addition of as little as 0.10% GO leads to the increase of the Young's modulus by 48%. Moreover, we demonstrate successful introduction of GO into the epoxy matrix containing an active diluent-modifier; this opens new venues for fabrication of improved GO-epoxy-modifier composites with a broad range of predesigned properties. The experiments done on reproducing the two literature methods, using alternative GO introduction techniques, lead to either decrease or insignificant increase of the Young's modulus of the resulting GO-epoxy composites.


The objective of this study was to analyze stress during job in public managers who work in secretariats of state of Minas Gerais. The theoretical basis related to occupational stress was based on Zille (2005), Chanlat (2005), Cooper et al. (2002, 1988), Couto (1987) and Selye (1959). Regarding management, drew on OCDE (2010), Bresser-Pereira (2009), Madureira e Rodrigues (2006) e Davel e Melo (2005); Rezende (2002) and Marini (2002). This work can be classified as a descriptive study with a quantitative approach. The Theoretical Model for Explanation of Occupational Stress in Managers (MTEG) developed by Zille (2005), was the main reference. With this approach, 181 managers from secretariats of state of Minas Gerais were analyzed. The softwares Excel and SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences were used for data analysis. The results evidenced that 26.0% of the surveyed managers had no occupational stress; 26.0% had light to moderate stress levels; 43.0% intense stress; and 5.0% very intense stress level. The main sources of excessive tension existing in the work environment, the regulatory mechanisms used by most state public managers to face the tensioning situations and indicators of stress impact on the productivity of the managers were identified. This study was proven to be appropriate since there are studies on occupational stress on managers from private enterprise, but little is known about the impact of administrative reforms in the public service on the occupational health of the public managers.


Economic viability and soil degradation are major issues facing farmers in the grassland ecozone of the northern Great Plains. Management strategies such as crop diversification, reduced fallow, and reduced inputs are being promoted as solutions. However, knowledge of the impacts of these management strategies on the grassland ecozone is lacking. Studies using a systems approach, applied as the experimental framework with which to monitor and assess alternate input and cropping strategies, are being conducted through the collaboration of crop, pest, economic, and soil scientists. Five examples are presented that highlight the arthropod (insects, spiders, and mites) component of multidisciplinary studies designed to evaluate crop management strategies. They demonstrate that arthropods are the most diverse group of organisms in the ecosystems studied and include beneficial and pest species. These studies attempt to utilize the arthropod assemblages to characterize the ecosystems that they inhabit. Ecosystem-based, baseline arthropod faunas are integral to evaluating existing cropping practices and aid in the redesign of farming systems to make them economically viable and environmentally sustainable.


In addition to the conventional linear cointegration test, this paper tests the asymmetry relationship between fiscal revenue and expenditure, by making a distinction between the adjustment of positive (budget surplus) and negative (budget deficit) deviations from equilibrium. The analysis uses quarterly data for South Africa. The paper reveals that government authorities in South Africa are more likely to react fast when the budget is in deficit than when in surplus, and that the stabilisation measures used by government are fairly neutral at low deficit levels; that is, at deficit levels of 4% of GDP and below. We conclude that an attempt to achieve fiscal sustainability via a reduction in expenditure on sectors conducive to economic growth might be prone to create social and political shocks, which could render such fiscal policy unsustainable. In South Africa the main fiscal challenge, therefore, is to find ways through which the recent gains in fiscal solvency can be consolidated.


In this essay I argue against the idea that modeling in science is analogous to fiction making in literary works by pointing out that a typical move in the former, which is widely acknowledged in philosophy literature as a signal for fictionalization, is never present in works of fiction (not even in science fiction). I further argue that the reason for such a disparity is profound and profoundly against conceiving modeling as fictionalization. I then explain the difference between the hypothetical and the fictional, and argue that modeling in science belongs to the former.


he uniqueness of Sabah's society is not only potrayed by its various ethnics, dialects and cultures, but also the religious adherence of its natives which comprised of two sub-categories known as 'Muslim Bumiputera' and 'Non-Muslim Bumiputera'. This phenomenon shows that the social structure of Sabah is based on religions. Hence the native of Kadazandusun is selected as a focal study to identify the phenomenon of religious adherence in Sabah. This paper initiates to discuss the tendency of Kadazandusun native for choosing Islam and Christianity as their religions. In comparison between these two religions, the Kadazandusun community tend to choose Christianity. The research findings show the numbers of Christians are larger than Muslims with the ratio 4:1. There are various factors which contribute to the tendency of choosing Islam and Christianity among Kadazandusun society. Those factors are related to the historical dissemination of Islam and Christianity, the changes of Sabah's political climate, the method of religious spread and the inter-marriage culture among Sabahan people.


Abstract : Electron number densities were measured behind the incident shock wave in a pressure driven shock tube by a microwave resonant cavity technique and by electrostatic probes. The driven gas was air at initial pressures of .5 and 1mm Hg, and the shock Mach number was varied from 7 to 10. Electron neutral collision frequency was also determined by the microwave technique. The experimental measurements were compared with other measurements and with theory. (Author)


Hsp90, an evolutionarily conserved molecular chaperone, is involved in the folding, stabilization, activation, and assembly of a wide range of 'client' proteins, thus playing a central role in many biological processes. Especially, several oncoproteins act as Hsp90 client proteins and tumor cells require higher Hsp90 activity than normal cells to maintain their malignancy. For this reason, Hsp90 has emerged as a promising target for anti-cancer drug development. It is still largely unknown how Hsp90 can recognize structurally unrelated client proteins. However, recent progress in structural studies on Hsp90 and its interaction with various co-chaperones has broadened our knowledge of how the Hsp90 ATPase activity, which is essential for its chaperone function, is regulated and coupled with the conformational changes of Hsp90 dimer. This review focuses on the roles of various Hsp90 co-chaperones in the regulation of the Hsp90 ATPase cycle, as well as in the selection of client proteins. In addition, the current development of Hsp90 inhibitors based on the structural information will be discussed.


The Kingdom of Bahrain has witnessed many advancements in the FinTech domain recently. One of these obvious advancements is the introduction of a few contactless payment software programs and technologies. Within the first two quarters of 2018, several institutions introduced contactless payment mobile apps such as BenefitPay, bWallet, VIVA Cash, and MaxWallet. These mobile apps received vast adoption in a relatively short period of time by the citizens in the Kingdom. This study was conducted to investigate the adoption of contactless payment technologies by the students of the University of Bahrain. The study focused on investigating the awareness, trust, and privacy and security factors related to contactless payment technologies and their impact on the willingness of students to adopt these technologies. For the operationalization of this study, a modified version of technology acceptance model (TAM) was proposed and tested through a survey.


Accumulation kinetic trends of cesium and cadmium in the Penaeus monodon were studied using Cs-134 and Cd-109 as a tracer. The objective of this study was to quantify the uptake and loss/depuration kinetic of these two radionuclides in the Penaeus monodon. Uptake and loss/depuration kinetic of these two radionuclides in the Penaeus monodon were varied widely, displayed a simple double kinetic model of linear and exponential trend with time unless modified by moulting at the stage in the mount cycle.  Therefore, the variation of Cs-134 and Cd-109 bio-concentration factor could be concluded considerably influence by moulting cycle, environmental and biological condition as well as physico-chemical that direct effects on their uptake and loss/depuration kinetic.


Setting external reminders provides a convenient way to reduce cognitive demand and ensure accurate retrieval of information for prospective tasks. Recent experimental evidence has demonstrated that the decision to offload cognitive information to external resources is guided by metacognitive belief, that is, individuals' confidence in their unaided ability. Other work has also suggested a relationship between metacognitive belief and trait anxiety. In the present study (N = 300), we bridged these two areas by investigating whether trait anxiety correlated with metacognitive belief and—consequently—propensity to offload information in a delayed intentions paradigm. Participants received a financial reward based on their ability to remember targets. However, participants could take a reduced reward per target if they decided to use reminders. We replicated previous findings that participants were biased to use more reminders than would be optimal, and this bias was correlated with metacognitive judgements. However, we show no evidence that trait anxiety held a relationship with metacognitive belief or reminder usage. Indeed, Bayesian analyses strongly favoured the null. Therefore, variation in self-reported trait anxiety does not necessarily influence confidence and strategy when participants remember delayed intentions.


Tamagawa University firstname.lastname@example.com Many research studies into Extensive reading (er) have recognized its potential for improving language learners' reading proficiency and other language skills. However, some recent reviews of er research (e.g., Waring & McLean 2015; Nakanishi, 2015; Mori, 2015) have argued for more refinement in research design so that er research can be more effectively interpreted. Some areas of disconnection include (a) how extensive reading is conceptualized, (b) the lack of long-term studies, and (c) a lack of transparency concerning how much er was done. Aiming to provide an evaluation of an er treatment that responds to these three issues, this paper reports on 19 university students who read graded readers on their smartphones for the duration of one academic year (April 2015 to January 2016). Each student read an average of 263,767 words or 39 graded readers during this period. Changes in students' reading proficiency were evaluated in terms of changes in students' toeic® ip test scores and scores in the reading section of this test. Results showed that all but two students were able to reach the reading targets and the majority of the student sample were able to achieve an increase in toeic® scores after this treatment.


Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are chemically similar to testosterone, used for the treatment/control of various diseases. However, these substances are being used in non-therapeutic and indiscriminate purposes to improve sports performance and mainly esthetics. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of AAS use and information of undergraduates and physical education teachers working in fitness centers in Belem-PA. A closed anonymous questionnaire was applied to 117 volunteers as an instrument. Comparison of the prevalence of use and degree of information of the respondents about AAS was performed using statistical non-parametric test X2 (chi-square), considering the range of 95%, significant when p<0.05. The average age of the participants was 28.0 ± 6.3 years and the prevalence of AAS use was of 31.6%. The highest prevalence found was among specialist professionals (39.3%), the main motivation for the use of AAS was 75.6% to esthetics. Regarding the information, it was found that the drugs were classified as AAS: Durateston, Deca-Durabolin, Oxandrolona/Winstrol. However, these professionals took other substances for AAS, including: growth hormone and oils. Among the side effects, the most commonly cited were: acne, deepening of the voice and aggressiveness, but more harmful side effects such as cancer and flavor were less marked. The results of this study demonstrate that the use prevalence was significant (p<0.03) among the undergraduate and physical education teachers working in fitness centers of Belem-PA, evidencing hence probable misinformation about some of the side effects of AAS use, implying the indiscriminate use of these drugs.


This study aims to: (1) know the description of how to do the group guidance, (2) know the students social skills, (3) create a group guidance model using role play technique to increase the students social skills. The methodoogy applied in the study is Research and Development (RaD). The population of the study is the students of Grade 5 Athirah Primary School Makasssar which is 62 stduents. The technique sampling used in the study is purposive sampling which is applied to 8 of the students. The result of the wilcoxon statistic test shows that group guidance model using role play technique is effective to increase students social skills. The study suggests the teacher especially guidance and counseling teacher to optimalize the application of group guidance service using role play technique that function as the tool to help students to increase their social skills.


A space of entire functions of several complex variables rapidly decreasing on ${\mathbb R}^n$ and such that their growth along $i{\mathbb R}^n$ is majorized with a help of a family of weight functions is considered in the paper. For this space an equivalent description in terms of estimates on all partial derivatives of functions on ${\mathbb R}^n$ and Paley-Wiener type theorem are obtained.


Small arteries of the mesenteric arcade from Wistar rats display rhythmic oscillations superimposed on the tonic contractile response when exposed to submaximal doses of noradrenaline. We have previously shown that mechanical removal of the endothelium abolishes these oscillations. In the present study different methods to eliminate or modify the influence of the endothelium were used in order to further characterize the mechanisms behind rhythmic contractions in these vessels. Endothelium was removed either mechanically or chemically by perfusing the vessels with 0.3% CHAPS. The absence of functional endothelium enhanced noradrenaline sensitivity and simultaneously abolished oscillations in tension and membrane potential, but did not affect resting membrane potential. The rhythmic activity was also reduced or abolished by exposure to haemoglobin, methylene blue, LY83583 or L-NNA. Indomethacin and propranolol were without effect. Sodium nitroprusside or the permeant analogue of cyclic GMP, 8-bromo cyclic GMP, restored rhythmic activity in precontracted endothelium-denuded vessels. The data suggest that release of nitric oxide from the endothelium, and subsequent generation of cyclic GMP in the smooth muscle, activates oscillations in membrane potential and tension; the oscillator itself appears to be located within the smooth muscle cells.


A case of irreversible renal failure during treatment with enalapril in bilateral renal artery stenosis is described. In the use of converting enzyme inhibitors, caution and monitoring of renal function during treatment is advised.


A standard method of preparing isolated cells from granulomatous tissue capsules was developed. Results of morphological and chemical studies indicated that the cells were intact and functional. An inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids added in vitro was demonstrated for the first time, and this effect was consonant with the influence of glucocorticoids on granulomas in vivo. The isolated cells were predominantly monocytes, macrophages and lymphocytes with smaller numbers of polymorphonuclear leucocytes, mast cells and fibroblasts. Dimethyl sulfoxide, used to aid steroid solubilization (0.0016 ml/ml), had no influence on protein synthesis or on glucose oxidation. Cholesterol, a nonhormonally active sterol (1 x 10(-4) M, 3 x 10(-4) M), had no effect on labeled glycine incorporation. Methylprednisolone (1 x 10(-4) M, 3 x 10(-4) M) decreased protein synthesis after 30 min of incubation indicating that this might be one important early mechanism of action. Methylprednisolone (1 x 10(-4) M) had no influence on glucose oxidation. Deoxycorticosterone (1 x 10(-4) M, 3 X 10(-4) M) inhibited both protein synthesis and glucose oxidation after 30 min of incubation.


A method for making optical micro- and even nanosized lens arrays with 100% fill factor is reported here. Lens arrays with a wide range of diameters and pitches, from deep submicron to tens of microns, were made through conformal growth of dielectric monolayers onto prepatterned templates by using atomic-layer deposition. This method has a degree of freedom of choosing lens materials with a broad range of optical refractive indexes, as well as of controlling the curvature of the lens surface and the fill factor of the lens array. This method greatly boosts our capability to make optimal lens arrays for broad applications


An analysis is presented of the effect of experimental parameters such as energy, angle and cluster size on the depth resolution in depth profiling organic materials using Ar gas cluster ions. The first results are presented of the incident ion angle dependence of the depth resolution, obtained at the Irganox 1010 to silicon interface, from profiles by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). By analysis of all relevant published depth profile data, it is shown that such data, from delta layers in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), correlate with the XPS data from interfaces if it is assumed that the monolayers of the Irganox 1010 adjacent to the wafer substrate surface have an enhanced sputtering rate. SIMS data confirm this enhancement. These results show that the traditional relation for the depth resolution, FWHM = 2.1Y(1/3) or slightly better, FWHM = P(X)Y(1/3)/n(0.2), where n is the argon gas cluster size, and P(X) is a parameter for each material are valid both at the 45° incidence angle of the argon gas cluster sputtering ions used in most studies and at all angles from 0° to 80°. This implies that, for optimal depth profile resolution, 0° or >75° incidence may be significantly better than the 45° traditionally used, especially for the low energy per atom settings required for the best resolved profiles in organic materials. A detailed analysis, however, shows that the FWHM requires a constant contribution added in quadrature to the above such that there are minimal improvements at 0° or greater than 75°. A critical test at 75° confirms the presence of this constant contribution.


When the object-image distance is 546 mm and the main- and sub-field sizes are 20 and 0.25 mm, the distortions for the reduction factors of 1/4, 1/2.5, 1/2, 1/1.6 and 1/1 are 2.1, 1.8, 1.3, 0.6, and 0.2 nm, respectively. The maximum obtainable beam currents for the reduction factors of 1/2.5, 1/2, 1/1.6, and 1/1 respectively are 1.6 1.7, 2.0, and 2.0 times as large as that for the reduction factor of 1/4. A new lithography system is studied, in which a ×4 master reticle is delineated by the electron beam reticle writer, many ×2 working reticles are formed by the first electron reduction projector, and patterns are formed on wafers by the final electron reduction projector. An electron optical column for formation of the working reticle is designed and the aberrations are calculated. For an object-image distance of 600 mm and main- and subfield sizes of 40 and 0.5 mm, respectively, the residual radial and azimuthal distortions are 6.4 and 5.7 nm, respectively, and the beam blur is less than 45 nm for beam semi-angles from 0.06 to 0.25 mrad.


Disasters can impact upon individuals, families, and communities in multiple ways. Research has mainly focused on risk and protective factors relating to the child (individual level) and the family (interpersonal level), not taking into account the processes at the level of social groups. The present review aims to (a) review psychological research on disasters determined by natural events in childhood, (b) distinguish individual, interpersonal, group, and intergroup levels, (c) emphasize the importance of considering resilience as a key outcome. We reviewed 294 studies (in addition to 28 reviews‐meta‐analyses, and 29 naturalistic interventions), and identified factors at the individual (e.g., demographics, exposure, individual differences), interpersonal (e.g., parent–child relationship, family and school environment), group (e.g., social identity, group membership), and intergroup (relations between different groups) levels. We argue that an integrated model of these factors and their interplay is needed to design interventions to enhance resilience in children and their communities. We extend previous theorizations by providing a wider conceptualization of distress and resilience, and by considering the interplay between factors at different levels. A multidimensional approach to the consequences of disasters in children is crucial to understand their development and well‐being, and to design effective interventions. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.


Anand Vaidya, Sean Smith, and Mark Siderits have presented thoughtful comments and provocative challenges to my article "What Kind of an Illusion is the Illusion of Self?" Their challenges raise significant questions about the nature of illusion, whether Buddhism is denying the self in all senses of the term, whether there could be a self that exists for some limited duration of time and has at least some measure of control, whether there is a phenomenal illusion of self, whether the neuropsychological assumptions embedded in Thomas Metzinger's Phenomenal Self Model is consistent with Buddhist metaphysics, the usefulness of evolutionary psychology in explaining why we have the illusion of self, whether the I-sense is a result of natural selection or cultural selection, vipassanā meditation as a form of verification and its usefulness for extinguishing the I-sense. The discussion here is my response to these criticisms through which I further clarify and develop my arguments and, in some ways, amend my position


The morphology and biology of the larva of Toxomerus apegiensis (Harbach, 1974) are described from Suriname. This larva feeds on pollen of Olyra obliquifolia Steudel, a bambusoid grass (Poaceae) that grows in the understorey of tropical rainforests. The morphology of the larva of Toxomerus politus (Say, 1823), which feeds on pollen of corn, Zea mays, is redescribed. These species are the only known phytophages within the otherwise predatory genus Toxomerus. The cephalopharyngeal skeleton of T. apegiensis shows features that are hypothesized to be modifications towards pollen feeding. These features are absent in the larva of T. politus. Possible evolutionary scenarios of the development of phytophagy within Toxomerus are briefly discussed based on published information on phylogeny of the genus.


The effect of alloy scattering on the mobility of holes in a quantum well is considered from a theoretical perspective. Issues relating to the definition and value of the alloy potential are discussed, and results are presented showing how the alloy scattering component of the overall mobility varies with temperature, carrier density and alloy concentration. Screening is allowed for and found to be important at low temperatures. By considering other scattering mechanisms such as interface impurities, surface roughness and acoustic phonons, we argue that alloy scattering is not a significant limiting factor as regards device applications, contrary to recent claims.


In recent years, data science has become an indispensable part of our society. Over time, we have become reliant on this technology because of its opportunity to gain value and new insights from data in any field - business, socializing, research and society. At the same time, it raises questions about how justified we are in placing our trust in these technologies. There is a risk that such powers may lead to biased, inappropriate or unintended actions. Therefore, ethical considerations which might occur as the result of data science practices should be carefully considered and these potential problems should be identified during the data science lifecycle and mitigated if possible. However, a typical data scientist has not enough knowledge for identifying these challenges and it is not always possible to include an ethics expert during data science production. The aim of this study is to provide a practical guideline to data scientists and increase their awareness. In this work, we reviewed different sources of biases and grouped them under different stages of the data science lifecycle. The work is still under progress. The aim of early publishing is to collect community feedback and improve the curated knowledge base for bias types and solutions.


Set in the spring of 2018, the US Congress contemplated changes to the Dodd-Frank Act in an effort to improve financial regulation in the United States. The case offers details on the slow recovery from the financial crisis of 2008, on protest and political movements that ensued, on the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, and on 14 proposals for new financial regulation. As of 2018, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jeb Hensarling offer differing regulatory agendas for the financial services industry in the United States.
Excerpt
UVA-F-1838
Jul. 27, 2018
(Still) Fighting the Financial Crisis of 2008: Ten Years Later
A decade after the financial crisis of 2008, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jeb Hensarling led continuing debates over the adequacy of laws and regulations to prevent or mitigate future financial crises. Senator Warren advocated tighter regulation; Representative Hensarling argued that regulations were ineffective, costly, and had retarded the recovery of the economy from the crisis of 2008. By 2018, the ongoing political ferment around financial crises revealed that anger about the crisis of 2008 had not yet subsided. Over a dozen new remedies commanded the consideration of public leaders. What problems were these proposals trying to fix? And from the vantage point of a decade later, which remedies seemed appropriate? Why? More generally, should the aim of regulation be to reduce the risk of future crises to zero?
In 2010, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act (see Exhibit1) that imposed special stress tests and capital requirements on "significantly important financial institutions" (SIFIs), limited the ability of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to respond as a lender of last resort, and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate new financial products. In signing the act, President Barack Obama said, "These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history…because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes."
In 2011, a commission chartered by Congress issued a report on the crisis that sparked controversy and recriminations about the causes of and responsibility for the crisis. In 2008, 2010, and 2012, the Fed pursued programs of "quantitative easing" (QE), massive asset purchases aimed at driving interest rates to historically low levels and stimulating the economy. Protests and new political movements met these and other government actions with hostility—and culminated in an especially polarizing presidential campaign in 2016.
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The World Wide Web (WWW) enabled quick and easy information dissemination and brought about fundamental changes to various aspects of our lives. However, a very large number of people, mostly in developing regions, are still untouched by this revolution. Compared to PCs, the primary access mechanism to WWW, mobile phones have made a phenomenal penetration into this population segment. Low cost of ownership, the simple user interface consisting of a small keyboard, limited menu and voice-based access contribute to the success of mobile phones with the less literate. However, apart from basic voice communication, these people are not being able to exploit the benefits of information and services available to WWW users.
 In this paper, we present the World Wide Telecom Web (WWTW) --- our vision of a voice-driven ecosystem parallel to that of the WWW. WWTW is a network of interconnected voice sites that are voice driven applications created by users and hosted in the network. It has the potential to enable the underprivileged population to become a part of the next generation converged networked world. We present a whole gamut of existing technology enablers for our vision as well as present research directions and open challenges that need to be solved to not only realize a WWTW but also to enable the two Webs to cross leverage each other.


Propulsion performance and operability are key factors in the development of a successful aircraft. For high-speed supersonic aircraft, mixed-compression inlets offer high performance but are susceptible to an instability referred to as unstart. An unstart occurs when a disturbance originating in the atmosphere or the engine causes the shock system to be expelled from the inlet. This event can have adverse effects on control of the aircraft, which is unacceptable for a passenger plane such as the high speed civil transport (HSCT). The ability to predict the transient response of such inlets to flow perturbations is, therefore, important to the proper design of the inlet and the control measures used to prevent unstart. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is having an increasing role in the analysis of individual propulsion components. Isolated inlet studies are relatively easy to perform, but a major uncertainty is the boundary condition used at the inlet exit to represent the engine - the so-called compressor face boundary condition. A one-dimensional (1-D) Euler inlet simulation showed that the predicted inlet unstart tolerance to free-stream pressure perturbations can vary by as much as a factor of about six, depending on the boundary condition used. Obviously a thorough understanding of dynamic interactions between inlets and compressors/fans is required to provide the proper boundary condition. To aid in this understanding and to help evaluate possible boundary conditions, an inlet-engine experiment was conducted at the University of Cincinnati. The interaction of acoustic pulses, generated in the inlet, with the engine were investigated. Because of the availability of experimental data for validation, it was decided to simulate the experiment using CFD. The philosophy here is that the inlet-engine system is best simulated by coupling (existing) specialized CFD component-codes. The objectives of this work were to aid in a better understanding of inlet-compressor interaction physics and the formulation of a more realistic compressor-face boundary condition for time-accurate CFD simulations of inlets. Previous simulations have used 1-D Euler engine simulations in conjunction with 1-D Euler and axisymmetric Euler inlet simulations. This effort is a first step toward CFD simulation of an entire engine by coupling multidimensional component codes.


Abstract NIH offers multiple mentored career development award mechanisms. By building on the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) from its initial NIH funding in 2006, we created an institution-wide K scholar resource. We investigated subsequent NIH funding for K scholars and to what extent CTSC research resources were used. Using NIH RePORTER, we created a database of UC Davis investigators who obtained K01, K08, K23, K25, or K99, as well as institutional KL2 or K12 awards and tracked CTSC research resource use and subsequent funding success. Overall, 94 scholars completed K training between 2007 and 2020, of which 70 participated in one of four institutional, NIH-funded K programs. An additional 103 scholars completed a mentored clinical research training program. Of 94 K awardees, 61 (65%) later achieved NIH funding, with the majority receiving a subsequent individual K award. A higher proportion (73%) of funded scholars used CTSC resources compared to unfunded (48%). Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics were most commonly used and 55% of scholars used one or more CTSC resource. We conclude that institutional commitment to create a K scholar platform and use of CTSC research resources is associated with high NIH funding rates for early career investigators.