PURPOSE
Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuronal loss in both central nervous system and ophthalmic disorders, including glaucoma. This increase in glutamate may result from a failure of glutamate transporters, which are molecules that ordinarily regulate extracellular glutamate. Elevated glutamate levels can also lead to a perturbation in glutamate receptors. The hypothesis for the current study was that glutamate transporters and/or receptors are altered in human glaucoma.

METHODS
Immunohistochemical analyses of human eyes with glaucoma and control eyes were performed to evaluate glutamate receptors and transporters. These molecules were also assayed in rat eyes injected with glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF).

RESULTS
Glaucomatous eyes had decreased levels of both the glutamate transporter, excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT)-1, and the glutamate receptor subunit N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-R1. Eyes treated with GDNF had elevated levels of both EAAT1 and NMDAR1.

CONCLUSIONS
The loss of EAAT1 in glaucoma may account for the elevated level of glutamate found in glaucomatous vitreous and lead to a compensatory downregulation of NMDAR1. Inasmuch as GDNF can increase levels of both EAAT1 and NMDAR1, it may be a useful therapeutic approach to restore homeostatic levels of these in glaucoma.


The aim of this work was to offer a state-of-the-art critical survey for characterizing airborne nano- and microparticles by means of electron microscopy (EM) techniques and to highlight advantages and limits of different possible operation modes. Procedures of collection and sample preparation are revisited and improved to analyse airborne particles deposited on filtering membranes by using various sampling methods. Three kinds of electron microscopes are used to this end: scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Following and extending previous studies, we optimized procedures by varying both the sample collection/preparation and the operational parameters of the microscopes. In particular, we diversified the sampling methods applied, using ad hoc filters as well as common filters for standard gravimetric measures. This approach enabled us to achieve a simple and clean procedure allowing direct SEM or TEM observation of the collected particulate matter.


Noshir Wadia, MD, was born on January 20, 1925. He is universally recognized as the founder of contemporary Indian neurology. He completed his graduation and postgraduation at the Grant Medical College and J J Hospital, Bombay, India (1950). He then passed the membership examination of the Royal College of Physicians, London (1952), and received his training to be a neurologist through 5 years (1952-1956) as Registrar in London under the tutorship of the internationally renowned neurologist Sir Russell Brain (later Lord Brain). He returned in 1957 to join his alma mater to set up one of the first comprehensive Departments of Neurology, which became internationally known by 1961. He served as Honorary Professor of Neurology until 1982 and was designated as Consultant Neurologist for Life. He was Director Emeritus, Department of Neurology, at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, another comprehensive department he set up in 1973 as director. Prof Wadia became known as an astute clinician, teacher, and researcher. He tutored nearly 100 neurologists and physicians, several of whom have become renowned and are proud to acclaim him as their mentor. His research covered a range of neurological diseases, revealing the unique prevalence of certain diseases in India, describing some for the first time including a variant of hereditary ataxia, enterovirus 70 disease, neurological manifestations of congenital atlanto-axial dislocation, spinal tuberculous meningitis, and Wilson disease. Much of his early research was conducted before the computed tomographic or magnetic resonance scanners were invented, and funds and foreign exchange were short to buy even equipment that was primitive by today's standards. He was elected President of the Neurological Society of India in 1964 and Vice President of the World Federation of Neurology in 1989, an organization in which he served on several committees for nearly 45 years. He was a fellow of the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences (and its Emeritus Professor), the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences, a rare honor for clinicians. He was an honorary member of the Sociedad Neurologica, Argentina; Sociedad Chilena de Neurologica, Chile; Austrian Society of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology; and honorary foreign member of the Association of British Neurologists. He was elected as corresponding member of the American Neurological Association in 1977 and elected as its Honorary Member in 2004 and then a fellow, an exceptional honor. He was awarded the Honorary DSc of the Banaras Hindu University in 1999 and was a member of the Governing Council and Institute bodies of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, an institute of national importance, for a number of years, finally serving as its President (Chancellor) for more than 7 years. He was examiner at several universities and on committees of the Indian Council of Medical Research and Department of Science Technology, Government of India. He delivered many prestigious orations and lectures at home and abroad and was honored by several organizations and institutions through awards such as the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal for excellence in General Science (2003) and Dhanwantari Prize (2006) for outstanding work in Medical Science of the Indian National Science Academy, the first Wockhardt Harvard Award for pioneering and immense contributions in the specialty of Neurology, the first Rameshwardas Birla Award for an outstanding practising clinician in Modern Medicine, and the Dhanvantari award for outstanding contribution in medicine by the Dhanvantari Medical Foundation. He contributed approximately 150 papers in international journals and published a book, Neurological Practice: an Indian Perspective (2005), which encapsulated the research publications of Indian neurologists over the last 50 years and received laudatory reviews. The second edition of this book was published in 2015. He was involved all his life as a founder or member of various organizations of the neurologically disabled and as president of an academy whose avowed aim is to arouse science awareness in senior school students in villages in India and to enthuse medical students to undertake research. It is relevant to mention that he was a hostage of war taken off a flight in Lisbon while traveling after a World Federation of Neurology meeting in South America and incarcerated in a prison by Dictator Salazar's police immediately after Goa was liberated. He was released after 2 months. He took this traumatic experience in his stride to continue his medical and scientific pursuits, revealing his equanimity. Noshir H. Wadia, MD, FRCP(London), FNA, FASc, FAMS, DSc(Hons)


A total of 6 breast cancer patients, 5 with local recurrent tumors on their anterior chest wall and 1 with far advanced primary breast tumor, underwent multimodal therapy in which cryosurgery was performed in combination with local injection of the non-specific immunopotentiator OK-432. This multimodal therapy was repeated as many times as possible. In addition, 3 patients whose general condition was relatively good were treated with mild chemotherapy. In every patient who underwent cryosurgery combined with locoregional immunotherapy, eradication or reduction of tumor was observed for several months. Of 3 patients who underwent cryosurgery, locoregional immunotherapy and systemic chemotherapy, the tumor burden decreased markedly in 2 patients and rapid tumor growth was suppressed in 1 patient, even though the diameter of tumor was over 5 cm in all cases. There were no side effects caused by either cryosurgery or locoregional immunotherapy. Little toxicity was observed throughout the mild chemotherapy. These results indicated that cryosurgery in combination with local injection of OK-432 should be a feasible modality against unresectable breast cancer on the chest wall, and that this therapeutic effect might be augmented by mild chemotherapy.


SUMMARY: Are high audit fees a signal that the auditor exerted more effort or a signal that the auditor may be losing her independence? Prior literature offers conflicting evidence. In this paper, we reexamine the issue on a sample of clients who have both the incentive and the ability to use discretionary accruals to meet or beat the consensus earnings forecast. We find a negative relationship between the level of abnormal audit fees paid by the client and the likelihood of using discretionary accruals to meet or beat the consensus analyst forecast. The evidence is consistent with the notion that abnormal audit fees are indicative of greater effort on the engagement. In other words, the results suggest a positive relationship between abnormal audit fees and audit quality. We show that the conflicting evidence in prior research was caused by research designs that did not consider the incentives of the manager. JEL Classifications: M42; M41. Data Availability: All data are available from public sources quo...


To extend working lives, the 2017 Finnish pension reform introduced a gradually rising statutory retirement age, from 63 to 65 years and over. We investigate how the intended retirement age has adjusted after the reform. Survey data from 2008 (N = 1,346) and 2018 (N = 1,386) include employees aged 50-62. The results indicate that, unlike in many countries, in Finland the intended retirement age has increased in tandem with the statutory retirement age. One explanation for this might be knowledge: due to the extensive information campaign, the Finns know about the reform and can make realistic retirement plans.


The Big Lebowski is a cultural phenomenon that has prompted academic research into the nature of cult cinema, provided fodder for a host of law review quotes, and motivated a tradition of fan festivals and midnight screenings. However, most viewers do not realize that The Big Lebowski also serves as an engaging training tool for military and national security attorneys.Disguised as an impish play on film noir and hard-boiled detective fiction, The Big Lebowski's unpretentious treatment of delicate topics contains poignant lessons for military and national security attorneys that include: (1) the risks facing national security attorneys when they lose focus on their professional and moral responsibilities, (2) military attorneys should expect to encounter mental health concerns and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in unexpected ways; (3) the importance of values and how they impact the success of a national security legal office, and (4) the role of the attorney in military operations. Military and national security attorneys who adopt the lessons of The Big Lebowski will be better lawyers and leaders.


The HELP Program and Crescent Demonstration Project is a bi-national multi-jurisdictional cooperative research and demonstration project involving the public and private sectors in an application of advancing technologies in the creation of an integrated heavy vehicle management system with applications to both highway and vehicle systems. This initiative is a leading example of the Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) in commercial vehicle operations (CVO). The selected technologies are being integrated into a heavy vehicle management system. These technologies include: (1) automatic vehicle identification(AVI), (2) weigh-in-motion (WIM), (3) automatic vehicle classification (AVC), (4) data communication networks and systems integration. The program, initiated approximately eight years ago, consists of three phases which include assessing the feasibility of the concept, technical studies involving laboratory and field tests, and, lastly, the demonstration phase. Perhaps the most significant activity of this project centers on the subject of institutional arrangements associated with the integration of emerging technologies with current operational policies and practices, within both government and industry sectors. The demonstration element of the program, referred to as the Crescent Demonstration Project, began in 1991 and involves six U.S. states and one Canadian province. The project will be phased into a full scale operation over the next three years. It is estimated that the cost of this program to date is approximately $20 million shared by both industry and government in testing this landmark program. This paper provides an overview of the program and the components of the implementation plan.


this paper presents the findings of three studies to define the status ,and needs of social sladies education. The three studies used various techniques to compile data. A national survey of teachevg and administrators was4.conducted to find out the course offerings, time spent in 'teaching various subjects, materials and textbooks used, and impact of federally-sponsored 'inservice education on,science, math, and social studies education.. A review ofthe research ,literature from .1955 -1975 provided a summary of the effectiveness 'of institutional,practices,.perception of needs,. and teacher training reg.uirements. The .third study used a case study approach and compiled research data using ethnographic strategies to describe classroom practice. Findings showed that only ten to twenty percent of social studies teachers use New Social Studies materials, and the textbook-is the dominant tool of instruction.,Teachers . believe-that inquiry teaching is too demanding of students and an unproductive-use of instructional time. The state of research in social studies education is in disarray with little practical relevance to the everyday concerns of the classroom..Ethnography is a promising methodology for rich data about teaching. The authors suggest that since teachers were found to be the key in student / learning, they should be more involved in curriculum'developMent and -in research. (Author/ME) ******* *****************41********************************************' Re roductionSsupplied'by MRS are the best that 6an,b4 made :.* * from the original doctment. * ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * *-


Transition economies need labour market flexibility for successful restructuring and reallocation of the labour force, and for coping with the requirements of the European Monetary Union. In this paper we apply a novel approach to the issue of labour market flexibility in transition countries by studying the optimality and efficiency of labour usage in Estonian manufacturing enterprises. We employ a dynamic model in which both the long-run optimal level of employment and the speed at which actual employment is adjusted to the optimal are modelled as functions of several variables. Firm-level panel data of 1995-99 were used. The results showed that in the long run, employment responds most strongly to wages, followed by value added and capital stock. The speed of adjustment, labour use optimality and efficiency all show much greater variations over firms than over time. In the course of time, both labour-saving technical change and an increase in the efficiency of labour usage occur. On average, there is shortage of labour compared to firms' own optimal level, along with overuse of labour compared to best-practice technology. Capital seems to be a binding constraint on the development of employment in the Estonian labour market. Copyright (c) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2004.


Trans fatty acids (TFA) could affect cell membrane functions, and may therefore influence peripheral insulin sensitivity and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It is important to understand whether low amounts of TFA consumed during long periods may promote insulin resistance and have clinically relevant effects on diabetes risk. Data from controlled intervention studies examining the effects of TFA on insulin sensitivity and type 2 diabetes are reviewed. The results show no consistent effect of TFA on insulin sensitivity in lean healthy subjects, but there is some evidence that TFA could impair insulin sensitivity more than unsaturated fat in subjects with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. In particular, conjugated TFA, i.e. certain isomers of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), impair insulin sensitivity and could promote metabolic disorders. The effect of CLA (trans10cis12) on insulin sensitivity and lipid peroxidation is the most dramatic adverse effect described for a dietary fatty acid. CLA isomers are found in relatively low amounts, but long-term exposure may, in theory, have unwanted health effects. The mechanisms of CLA effects are still not completely understood, but may involve increased oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as endothelial dysfunction and direct down-regulating effects on transcription factors required for optimal insulin sensitivity. The inconsistent effect of TFA as a group may be due to methodological limitations (e.g. few studies, with short duration and small sample size) and differences between studies in design, and the type and amount of TFA used. Large controlled trials have been required to demonstrate adverse effects of saturated fat on insulin sensitivity, and similar efforts will be needed to clarify the effect of TFA on insulin sensitivity and diabetes risk. CLA isomers are a group of TFA with potentially adverse effects on glucose metabolism. There are no data to suggest that TFA
 in general impair insulin sensitivity in practice, compared with such an effect of the much more abundant saturated fatty acids. Keywords: CLA; controlled trial; inflammation; insulin resistance; insulin sensitivity; oxidative stress; trans fatty acids


Ethanol is a renewable source of energy because its sources are derived from bio-based. Due to the limited source of petroleum fuel and increasing cost rapidly day to day needs to generate substitute source of petroleum diesel fuel. The addition of ethanol in diesel fuel decreases high heating value, cetane number, aromatics fractions and kinematic viscosity of ethanol blended diesel fuels and changes distillation temperatures. An additive used to maintain blends stability and homogenous and an ignition improver also to be used, which can improve cetane number of the blends, have favorable effects on the physicochemical properties associated to ignition and combustion of the blends. The main aim of the present review is to study the effect of performance and emission characteristics of blended fuels on a DI diesel engine. The ethanol diesel blends decreases the brake thermal efficiency, brake torque, and brake power while increase the brake specific fuel consumption. At high loads, the blends minimize smoke significantly with a small penalty on CO, acetaldehyde and unburned ethanol emissions compared to diesel fuel. NOx and CO2 emissions of the blends are reduced fairly. At low loads, the blends have small effects on smoke reduction due to overall leaner mixture. With the aid of additive and ignition improver, CO, unburned ethanol and acetaldehyde emissions of the blends can be minimized moderately, even total hydrocarbon emissions are fewer than those of diesel fuel. The results indicate the potential of diesel reformation for clean combustion in diesel engines.


Background: EDO-S101 is a first-in-class alkylating histone-deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) fusion molecule that combines the strong DNA damaging effect of bendamustine, with a fully functional pan-HDAC inhibitor, vorinostat. Bendamustine has substantial clinical activity against B-cell malignancies, lacks cross resistance with many other anticancer drugs, has superior antimyeloma activity compared to melphalan, and can safely be combined with proteasome inhibitors. The Histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) vorinostat has a broad spectrum of epigenetic activities and sensitizes lymphoma and myeloma cells for a variety of cytotoxic drugs. Vorinostat in particular has a strong synergy with proteasome inhibitors, presumably due to the inhibition of HDAC6. HDAC6 allows polyubiquitinated substrate protein to bypass the inhibited proteasome towards degradation via the autophagy pathway. The EDO-S101 molecule was designed to create a very potent cytotoxic agent for systemic use upon exploiting the synergies of a bi-functional mode of action. Methods: The aim of the in vitro study was to compare the cytotoxicity of EDO-S101 against Multiple Myeloma (MM), leukemia and lymphoma cells with established alkylating agents and to investigate its cellular and molecular effects in combination with proteasome inhibitors. Results: The IC50 of EDO-S101 ranged between 5-13 μM in 8 myeloma cell lines and thus one order of magnitude lower than the IC50 for bendamustine (70 - > 200 μM). Myeloma cell lines with adaptive resistance against bortezomib or carfilzomib did not differ from non-adapted cells in their IC50 for EDO-S101. Likewise, the IC50 for 3 ABC type DLBCL cell lines ranged between 3-8 μM for EDO-S101, compared to bendamustine > 50 μM. EDO-S101 had significant synergistic cytotoxicity with the proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and carfilzomib across all cell types tested, in contrast to melphalan and bendamustine. In a panel of 6 MM cell lines, the combination of EDO-S101 yielded a mean combination index for synergistic cytotoxicity of 0.12 (± 0.06) and 0.08 (± 0.06) for bortezomib or carfilzomib combinations, respectively (with values Conclusions: We conclude that EDO-S101, an alkylating HDAC inhibitor fusion molecule, displays bi-functional activity. Compared to bendamustine and melphalan, it has superior monoactivity in vitro against hematologic malignancies including MM, mantle cell lymphoma and ABC type DLBCL. Of particular interest is the strong synergy of EDO-S101 with proteasome inhibitors which also stands out in comparison to the established alkylating agents. The latter is associated with induction of pIRE1, the key regulator of the UPR by EDO- S101. Both, the superior monoactivity of EDO-S101 and its mechanism-based synergy with proteasome inhibitors warrant further development of the compound towards clinical testing. Disclosures Driessen:Mundipharma: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.


Observational studies suggest association between low concentrations of omega-3 family fatty acids and greater risk for post-partum depression (PPD). The objective was to investigate the effect of unbalanced dietary intake of omega-6/omega-3 ratio >9:1 in the prevalence for PPD. The study comprises a prospective cohort with four waves of follow-up during pregnancy and one following delivery. PPD was evaluated according to the Edinburgh Post-partum Depression Scale (PPD ≥ 11) in 106 puerperae between 2005 and 2007, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Independent variables included socio-demographic, obstetric, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and dietary intake data, which were obtained by means of a food frequency questionnaire in the first trimester of pregnancy. Statistical analysis involved calculation of PPD prevalence and multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance. PPD prevalence amounted to 26.4% [n = 28; confidence interval (CI) 95%: 18.0-34.8], and higher prevalences of PPD were observed in women who consumed an omega-6/omega-3 ratio >9:1 (60.0%) and in those with pre-pregnancy BMI <18.5 kg/m(2) (66.7%). These variables held as factors associated to PPD in the multivariate model, elevating the chances of occurrence of the outcome in 2.50 (CI 95%: 1.21-5.14) and 4.01 times (CI 95%: 1.96-8.20), respectively. Analyses were adjusted for age, schooling, pre-pregnancy BMI, lipids consumption and time elapsed since delivery. It verified an association between omega-6/omega-3 ratio above 9:1, the levels recommended by the Institute of Medicine, and the prevalence of PPD. These results add to the evidence regarding the importance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the regulation of mental health mechanisms.


Background: Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) continues to increase in incidence and severity around the world. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is commonly used to treat RCDI in adults, but its efficacy and safety in the pediatric population are infrequently studied. Here, we performed a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of FMT for RCDI in children.Methods: Systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, Science Direct, Nature, Cochrane Library, and Springer to identify original studies in English language published from 2010-2020. The clinical resolution, bacterial resolution, and failure of therapy were calculated as indicators of efficacy of FMT. Adverse events were also calculated as indicators of FMT safety.Results: A total of 21 studies, with 498 pediatric patients were included in this review. There were 418/498 (84%) patients reported clinical and bacterial resolution. There were 67/498 (13%) patients who experienced FMT-related adverse events, with 97% of them had mild adverse event. There was one patient who reported FMT-related serious adverse events which were aspiration pneumonia and dehydration.Conclusion: We found evidence that supports the efficacy and safety of the use of FMT for treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection in children.


Transparent displays utilizing transparent windows suffer from blurred see-through images caused by diffraction; however, current studies still rely on experiments with actual display panels and human observers to investigate see-through image quality. Moreover, the influence of pixel structure on subjective see-through image quality has not been clearly demonstrated. To improve the inefficient investigation methodology and quantitatively evaluate pixel structure, we first propose a simulation method for diffracted see-through images. Next, by testing six mainstream full-reference image quality assessment algorithms, multiscale structure similarity (MS-SSIM) is revealed to be the most suitable predictor of subjective image quality for our study. Based on public image databases, the influences of aperture ratio, resolution, and the geometry of the transparent window are evaluated by combining the proposed simulation method and MS-SSIM. As a result, an aperture ratio increase of 0.1 leads to a considerable increase of subjective image quality, as more than eight percentage points. Then, a resolution increase of 100PPI only leads to an approximately three percentage point decrease of image quality. Finally, little influence of the geometry of the transparent window is demonstrated. Additionally, physical reasons why these aspects of pixel structure perform in such a manner are also given.


In Katchungwe, a semi-urban village in South Kivu, defecation used to take place mostly in the bush. Hand-washing with soap or ash wasn't practised, the importance of hygiene in preparing food wasn't understood, and discarded rubbish rotted in the roads. Sickness and disease were widespread. Now, however, thanks to the Community Health Club set up through the SWIFT programme by Tearfund with the support of Africa AHEAD, the village has been transformed. The Community Health Club is a free, voluntary club which holds weekly discussions on health and hygiene topics and sets practical assignments. Members have already seen the benefits of adopting the new behaviours in terms of a drop in the incidence of sickness, and are sharing what they have learned with their neighbours.


The development of chemical routes for the recovery and separation of rare earth elements (REE) is seen as a priority and strategic action by several countries demanding these elements. Among the possibilities of alternative routes, the biosorption process has been evaluated in our laboratory. In this theme, the present work attempts to assess and fit the solution equilibrium data in Langmuir, Freundlich and DKR isothermal models, based on the biosorption results of the lanthanum and samarium elements by Bacillus subtilis immobilized on calcium alginate gel. It was observed that the preference of adsorption of REE by the immobilized biomass followed the order Sm (III)> La (III). It can be concluded that among the studied isotherms models, the Langmuir model presented better mathematical results than the Freundlich and DKR models. Keywords—Rare earth elements, biosorption, Bacillus subtilis, adsorption isotherm models.


This paper presents a novel efiiciency-optimized scheme based on power factor tuning for the Direct Torque Controlled Integrated Starter/Alternator. The power factor of the induction machine is controlled to track the pre-determined power factor reference without requiring any speed or load information. Two power factor estimation methods are proposed. The power loss is minimized with proper power factor control under different conditions.


Drug discovery is incredibly time-consuming and expensive, averaging over 10 years and $985 million per drug. Calculating the binding affinity between a target protein and a ligand is critical for discovering viable drugs. Although supervised machine learning (ML) can predict binding affinity accurately, models experience severe overfitting due to an inability to identify informative properties of protein-ligand complexes. This study used unsupervised ML to reveal underlying protein-ligand characteristics that strongly influence binding affinity. Protein-ligand 3D models were collected from the PDBBind database and vectorized into 2422 features per complex. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), K-Means Clustering, and heatmaps were used to identify groups of complexes and the features responsible for the separation. ML benchmarking was used to determine the features' effect on ML performance. The PCA heatmap revealed groups of complexes with binding affinity of pKd < 6 and pKd > 8, and identified the number of CCCH and CCCCCH fragments in the ligand as the most responsible features. A high correlation of 0.8337, their ability to explain 18% of the binding affinity's variance, and an error increase of 0.09 in Decision Trees when trained without the two features suggests that the fragments exist within a larger ligand substructure that significantly influences binding affinity. This discovery is a baseline for informative ligand representations to be generated so that ML models overfit less and can more reliably identify novel drug candidates. Future work will focus on validating the ligand substructure's presence and discovering more informative intra-ligand relationships.


Social climate is an important, yet less investigated subject as it relates to the treatment of juveniles with sexual behavior problems (JSBPs) in secure care facilities. This study evaluated and compared preliminary results of the perceived social climate of staff and juveniles in two secure care facilities in a southeastern state. Measures included the Ward Atmosphere Scale (WAS) and the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol – II (JSOAP-II) to assess treatment progress. The JSOAP-II was administered at pre-test (intake) and at post-test (discharge). The WAS was a one-time administration upon admission. Subjects were 35 adjudicated male JSBPs and 21 staff. Staff and juvenile's perceptions were found to be significantly different in the WAS System Maintenance domain. The study's implications, suggestions for future research, and assessment practices implications are discussed.


The quantitative strand of social policy research suffers from a triple deficit: analyses of aggregate expenditure dominate, most of the few studies of replacement rates focus on unemployment or sickness benefits while pensions are excluded, and the interdependence between public and private pension plans is often ignored. This article addresses the said deficits, first, by discussing the pension sectors' theoretical peculiarities and by proposing two hypotheses: one on the role played by political parties in implementing public pension retrenchment, and the second on their role in extending private pension plans. Second, the article presents regression results of public pension replacement rate changes in 18 developed democracies. The findings show considerably smaller cuts to pensions than to unemployment or sickness benefits, and striking differences regarding partisan effects between the sectors. Lastly, the article assesses partisan effects on private pension plans, detecting some rather surprising effects. Most noteworthy is the fact that those parties which reduced public pension generosity during the 1990s (i.e. Social Democrats) cannot claim responsibility for compensating these cuts by eliciting higher private engagement.


The general features of neuroplasticity are developmentally regulated. Although it has been hypothesized that the loss of plasticity in mature neurons may be due to synaptic saturation and functional reduction of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptors (NMDAR), the molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. We examined the effects of NMDAR activation and KCl‐mediated membrane depolarization on ERK1/2 signaling following in vitro maturation of cultured cortical neurons. Although NMDA stimulated a robust increase in intracellular calcium at both DIV (day in vitro) 3 and 14, the activation of ERK1/2 and cAMP responsive element‐binding protein (CREB) was impaired at DIV 14. Specifically, the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was stimulated by both NMDA and KCl at DIV 3. However, at DIV 14, NMDA‐ but not KCl‐stimulated ERK1/2 and CREB phosphorylation was significantly diminished. Consistently, the NMDA‐induced transcription of ERK/CREB‐regulated genes Bdnf exon 4, Arc, and zif268 was significantly attenuated at DIV 14. Moreover, in comparison with 3 DIV neurons, the phosphorylated‐ERK1/2 in 14 DIV neurons displayed a tremendous increase following maturation and was more susceptible to dephosphorylation. Blocking calcium channels by nifedipine or NMDAR by APV caused a more dramatic ERK dephosphorylation in 14 DIV neurons. We further demonstrate that the loss of plasticity‐related signaling is unrelated to NMDA‐induced cell death of the 14 DIV neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that the attenuation of certain aspects of neuroplasticity following maturation may be due to the reduction of NMDAR‐mediated gene transcription and a saturation of ERK1/2 activity. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A major concern for convenience store managers is lost sales due to balking. Convenience stores customers pay high margins expecting fast service. If waiting lines are too long for their tolerance level at their arrival, they balk and the sale is lost as a result. In order to reduce lost sales, the length of the waiting line is usually controlled by opening additional checkout registers when the number of customers standing in the line exceeds a specified number and maintaining them open until they are no longer needed . This paper presents an applied approach to model the probability that customers actually enter the store and define the optimal opening level (-policy) of the second checkout register based on several factors including the particular waiting line length tolerance level of usual customers, the average hourly arrival rate of customers to the store and the average gain per customer transaction. Several performance measures are computed. The total expected cost function per unit time is proposed to determine the optimal operating -policy at minimum cost. The model is applied in a real case of a convenience store chain.


Optimal outpatient dialysis care is often difficult to achieve and a case management model to augment conventionally applied nursing and physician resources focusing on continuous quality improvement presents a possible solution to improving outcomes in this setting. We applied this model to patients followed by our physician group. Continuous quality improvement data generated from the dialysis unit database were used to analyze outcomes in patients enrolled in this model. Data from the cohort of patients followed in 2003 served as the reference source for comparative purposes. The nurse case manager assumed responsibility during the second quarter of 2004. Comparing outcomes data from 2005 with data from 2003, we were able to achieve a 3.12% improvement in the annualized mean percent crude mortality per 100 patient years (p<0.003). There was a 3.46‐day trend to improvement in patient hospital days per year (p<0.06). The percentage of catheters used as primary access decreased by 9.59% (p<0.025), and the percentage of patients meeting an eKdrt/V goal ≥1.2 increased by 15.33% to 92.37% (p<0.001). These data appear to support the utility of a case manager model in our system.


In a double-blind study, 51 dogs with clinically defined atopic dermatitis were injected with either alum-precipitated allergen solutions or a placebo. Comparing the treatment results of both groups on the basis of scores for clinical signs, a significant difference in clinical improvement was established in favor of the allergen-treated dogs (P less than 0.01). The proportional changes of scores for clinical signs in the allergen-treated group ranged between +27.3% and -100% (median, -61.5%) and in the placebo group between +36.4% and -100% (median, 0.0%) with respect to the initial scores. Immediate skin test reactivity disappeared only in the dogs with a good clinical response. Of 27 dogs treated with an allergen solution, 16 (59.3%) had an improvement of 51% or more. In the placebo group, 5 of 24 dogs (20.8%) reacted this way. There was total remission of the clinical signs in 9 and 4 dogs, respectively. In the dogs in which, after 9 months of hyposensitization, any improvement was observed, the chance for final improvement of more than 51% was calculated as 84%. Discriminant analysis revealed that evaluation of the effect of immunotherapy can be restricted to the 9-month follow-up examination.


Melanoma treatment depends largely on the clinical stage of the disease. The preferred treatment is surgical resection of the disease. The surgical margins depend on the depth of the disease. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is generally advised for all lesions greater than 1 mm depth. Complete lymphadenopathy of surrounding lymph nodes is recommended in the presence of nodal disease. There are some controversies surrounding the timing and benefit of complete lymphadenopathy in clinically occult disease. There is evidence to support the role of adjuvant therapies in the form of immunotherapy in regionally advanced disease, and there has been a significant improvement in medical therapies for advanced melanoma. BRAF inhibitors have become mainstay treatment for patients with a BRAF mutation. Immunotherapy is another cornerstone of therapy for advanced melanoma. There is ongoing research to define the optimal therapeutic regimen. Future guidelines will likely incorporate this recent research. Chemotherapy has been relegated to second-line therapy in melanoma.


The generation of actual sensory data in real-world deployments of pervasive spaces is very costly and requires significant preparation and access to human subjects. This situation can be mitigated if practical forms of sharing of existing datasets are enabled among the research community. In this paper we address two main problems. First, we propose a standard for the representation of smart space datasets, based on a careful examination of several existing data. The standard specification should allow researchers to effortlessly position their existing or future datasets for sharing. We briefly present the specifications. Second, to enable higher utility of shared datasets, we propose algorithms and tools that can extend a shared dataset into a similar set of a slightly customized pervasive space (e.g., an original space with additional sensors/actuators or behaviors). Specifically, we propose the use of machine learning algorithms to generate the additional patterns of events and to automatically integrate them into the original shared dataset.


The Omegatron mass spectrometer, originally developed for measuring atomic constants, was employed for measuring both positive ions and negative ions in high density, electron cyclotron resonance etching plasmas. The main disadvantages of the conventional design of the Omegatron include the observation of resonance frequency shifts and poor mass resolution in a relatively weak magnetic field. Based on 2D numerical analysis, several modifications were carried out to overcome these limitations: the (±) ion collector, differential pumping, different RF excitation methods, an additional magnet for uniform magnetic field, etc. Experimental results indicated the presence of H- and H- 2 in H2 plasmas, and F- and CF- in CF4 plasmas.


The effect of intravenous (i.v.) nifedipine (5 micrograms/kg/min) on regional O2 supply/consumption variables was determined in 14 anesthetized open-chest dogs subjected to left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis sufficient to reduce blood flow 50%. Myocardial blood flow was measured using radioactive microspheres, and regional arterial and venous O2 saturations were determined using microspectrophotometry. During LAD occlusion, blood flow and O2 consumption were decreased in the ischemic region while O2 extraction was increased. With nifedipine treatment, LAD flow (flow probe) was increased 44% as compared with the initial occluded value, with most of this increase going to the subepicardium (microspheres). Flow to the ischemic subendocardium was not changed with nifedipine treatment. Ischemic subepicardial O2 consumption increased slightly in nifedipine-treated animals as compared with saline values, whereas O2 extraction decreased slightly. In the subendocardial region, nifedipine resulted in a significant decrease in O2 extraction, with a slight decrease in O2 consumption as compared with saline controls. The O2 supply/demand ratio was significantly improved with nifedipine only in the subendocardium of the ischemic region. This suggested that nifedipine could increase O2 consumption in the ischemic subepicardium through proportional increase in O2 supply while it decreased O2 consumption in the subendocardium relative to O2 supply.


Work is being undertaken at Warwick University to analyse single photon emission tomography (SPET) images of the brain using artificial neural networks. Considerable success has been achieved using the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) topology together with a back propagation learning algorithm. The paper examines the application of a different type of network constructed of logical neurons to the same problem. >


D-Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Thermotoga maritima (TmGAPDH) is intrinsically thermostable, exhibiting a thermal transition beyond 105 degrees C. Neither the amino-acid composition nor homology modelling, based on sequence alignment and known 3-D structures of the enzyme from meso- and thermophiles, provide an explanation of the anomalous stability. Recent X-ray data suggest that an increased number of ion pairs is involved. To prove this hypothesis, a number of charged residues contributing to ion pairs in TmGAPDH, but absent in the moderately thermophilic enzyme were altered. Elimination of peripheral ion pairs (E103-K104, E261-R266) was found to be ineffective. Altering a central charge cluster (R10-D47, E314, D*186) led to a drastic decrease in coenzyme binding. As a consequence, guanidine-dependent deactivation is shifted to significantly lower guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) concentrations without altering the denaturation/dissociation profile of the wild type enzyme. Mutants in the S loop (R195D, R195D-D181K) lead to a biphasic profile in the GdmCl-dependent denaturation transition and significant destabilization; at room temperature no subunit dissociation could be observed.


Introduction. Considering the steady growth of the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in children in recent decades, the difficulty of GERD diagnosing in children, the variety of GERD clinical and morphological features as well as the factors that cause it, including genetic predisposition, a detailed analysis of each of them remains relevant. Aim. To analyze the peculiarities of nutritional status in children with GERD and its correlation with the different genotypes of C825T polymorphic loci of GNB3 gene as well as its association with different GERD clinical manifestations. Material and Methods. The analysis of GERD clinical features was carried out and the nutritional status in 100 children of school age was estimated. Molecular and genetic research of C825T loci of GNB3 gene using PCR method (rs5443) was carried out in the studied group (100 children) and in 40 healthy children that formed the control group. Results. The distribution of the genotypes of C825T polymorphic loci of the GNB3 gene in children with GERD and healthy children in the control group did not have any statistically significant difference (χ2 = 0.27, р = 0.87). Among more than a half of the children in both groups, the GNB3 825ST heterozygous genotype were detected (54.0% of the experimental group and 57.5% of the control group), according to de Vries et al. data is a factor of GERD increased risk. The association between the genotype of C825T locus of GNB3 gene and the data of intragastric endoscopy with pH monitoring was found: in patients with hyperacidic GERD the genotype 825CT was predominantly revealed, and in children with normal and hypoacidic GERD a higher frequency of the 825TT genotype was found. In children with GERD having a lack of the nutritional status (61%), the genotype 825CT (61.82%, p = 0.013) and 825TT (100%, p = 0.005) of the GNB3 gene were detected significantly more often. Conclusions. The distribution of the genotypes of C825T polymorphic loci of the GNB3 gene in children with GERD was determined. Differences in GERD development depending on the different GNB3 genotypes were not detected. The distribution of the genotypes of C825T loci of the GNB3 gene remained unchanged at different GERD clinical manifestations. The presence of 825CT and 825TT genotypes of GNB3 gene in patients with GERD is associated with a decrease in physical development signs. The association between genotype of C825T loci of GNB3 gene and pH intragastric endoscopy data was identified: in patients with hyperacidity GERD 825CC genotype was usually found, and in children with normal- and hypoacidity GERD 825TT genotype was usually found.


Chorea and ballism are movement disorders that result from a variety of conditions. Hyperglycemia is an unusual recognized cause of these movement disorders. We report 3 cases of new-onset chorea-ballism induced by nonketotic hyperglycemia in elderly patients, highlighting that chorea may be the first manifestation of undiagnosed decompensated diabetes mellitus.


This paper presents a study on desulfurization technology in the steel industry, with attention focused on the removal of sulfur that forms acid rain, which has been creating various global problems. The study was confined to the technology that injects a mixture of serpentine and pulverized coals. Thermodynamically, a magnesium gas producing reaction occurs when magnesium oxide is turned into a hot strongly reducing atmosphere and the resulting magnesium gas forms magnesium sulfide by reaction with the sulfur in the molten iron. By dividing this desulfurization process into a magnesium gas producing reaction and a desulfurization reaction by the magnesium gas, the desulfurization effect of the magnesium oxide flux was confirmed through laboratory experiment. A thermodynamic study on the desulfurization reaction in which SiO gas resulting from the reduction of SiO2 produces a silicon sulfide gas by reaction with the sulfur in the molten iron revealed that the possibility of desulfurization of the molten iron by the silicon sulfide gas is not negligible.


Capparis spinosa L. is cultivated in the Mediterranean basin. In Spain, flower buds, unripe fruits, and tender shoots, either pickled or brined, are used as food. The main objective of the present work was to study the development of total polyphenols, flavonoids, and flavonols contents, total antioxidant activity (TAA) and physicochemical parameters of the flower buds (capers) in six development stages, for the first time, from three cultivars harvested in Spain. Total polyphenols, flavonoids and flavonols contents were very high in all stages of caper development, and were very similar in the three cultivars. The TAA values obtained by the DPPH method, hydrophilic TAA (H-TAA) and total polyphenols, as well as protein and sugar contents, tended to decrease as capers developed and increased in size. Also, H-TAA was significantly higher than lipophilic TAA (L-TAA) in the three cultivars. The results obtained from the current report draw attention to the antioxidant potential of capers, especially those of the 'Collados 5' cultivar, and showed that the antioxidant and nutritional properties of capers were better the smaller they were. Increased consumption of capers in the diet and their cultivation should be encouraged.


Since the first EU case in 2013, pay-for-delay agreements have been considered a restriction of competition by object under Article 101 TFEU. However, according to parties to these agreements, the harm caused to consumers can be balanced out by efficiencies in terms of increased incentives to innovate. The aim of this thesis is to assess this efficiency argument by studying the effect of pay-fordelay agreements on innovation. It appears from the analysis that this effect partly depends on the innovation cycle it relates to: either first-generation innovation or subsequent innovation.  The impact on first-generation innovation is studied sequentially, by reference to the literature, for three dimensions of innovation: returns on innovation, R&D investments and the innovative output. We conclude that first-generation innovation is either promoted or nonaffected. Subsequent innovation is then studied from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. The theoretical analysis focuses on two distinct issues: the incentives for first-generation innovators to invest in an improved version of their patented invention, and the ability of follow-on innovators to use existing knowledge. Based on this theoretical analysis, we put forward the revocation of a patent as a proxy for pay-for-delay agreements. We further use this assumption to design an empirical model whose objective is to estimate these agreements' effect on innovation. We conclude that second-generation innovation is either unaffected or hindered.


Understanding information organization is a key component to navigating digital library environments as an information professional. While traditionally thought of within the areas of assessment and evaluation, citation indexing is another form of organization and navigation, and learning about it can transform one's knowledge of the information environment. In this article, McLaughlin and Tucker argue that an understanding of citation indexing should be emphasized to all library and information science (LIS) students as a way to further develop search expertise, and to enhance reference services and digital information literacy in any information setting. Situating this learning experience within the theory of threshold concepts, they provide evidence from student discussions of the transformative nature of a practical and conceptual understanding of citation indexing.


Several nuclear hormone receptors involved in lipid metabolism form obligate heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs) and are activated by RXR agonists such as rexinoids. Animals treated with rexinoids exhibited marked changes in cholesterol balance, including inhibition of cholesterol absorption and repressed bile acid synthesis. Studies with receptor-selective agonists revealed that oxysterol receptors (LXRs) and the bile acid receptor (FXR) are the RXR heterodimeric partners that mediate these effects by regulating expression of the reverse cholesterol transporter, ABC1, and the rate-limiting enzyme of bile acid synthesis, CYP7A1, respectively. Thus, these RXR heterodimers serve as key regulators of cholesterol homeostasis by governing reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral tissues, bile acid synthesis in liver, and cholesterol absorption in intestine.


Proton rearrangement rates in hydrogen bond networks are dominated by classical activation and quantum tunneling at higher and lower temperatures, respectively. Calix[4]arene (C4A) has a square-ring network composed of four hydroxyl groups with the O···O length of ~0.265 nm. Calorimetry and dielectric relaxation measurements were applied to determination of the rates in the crystals of C4A and its deuteron analogue (C4A-d). The rearrangement rates in C4A-d exhibited Arrhenius dependence in the measured temperature range. On the other hand, the rates in C4A showed the same dependence as those in C4A-d above 200 K, deviated from this dependence at around 180 K, and became independent of temperature at around 10(-4) s(-1) below 100 K. This evidenced that the tunneling in the quadruple proton rearrangement proceeds at a very slow rate of 10(-4) s(-1). This is the first determination by calorimetry of the proton tunneling rate.


This study investigated student points of view in their ratings of specific courses and instructors by analyzing student responses within each of three classes separately, and then sought to generalize the results further by additional analyses with 300 students randomly selected from 402 classes in five colleges. Different points of view were found for student ratings of course examinations, textbooks and supplementary readings, and class discussions. These various points of view were moderately related to such student characteristics as grades and sex, although not in all three of the classes studied. This last point underscores the importance of the context (i.e., the particular course) in understanding or interpreting the meaning of student ratings.


The author discusses the importance of well-written turnkey drilling contracts as a means to eliminating certain turn-key drilling problems. A well-written contract should not be more complicated than a well-written footage or daywork contract, and all three types of contracts may be combined into one master contract by using fill-in-the-blank paragraphs. Important advice is given that will be helpful in solving the contract problem.


Employee stock ownership schemes have been gaining increased attention in Australia. Recent statements by the opposition federal coalition concerning their industrial relations policy, as well as initiatives by the employee ownership lobby, have contributed to the re-emergence of the idea of employee owned or managed business enterprises as a viable form of organization. However, unlike the situation in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, the taxation laws in Australia do not provide any real financial advantages for either sponsoring companies or participating employees. A review of analytical models shows that employee stock ownership plans are hypothesized to affect the motivational states, morale and job effort of participating employees and that these effects are expected to lead to improvements in organizational performance and reductions in absenteeism, turnover and grievances. Available evidence, from a variety of countries, shows only limited support for the hypothesized motivational and organizational performance effects. The implications for the adoption of employee stock ownership plans by Australian organizations are discussed.


The function of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in bone development is to regulate the differentiation or proliferation of osteoblastic, osteoclastic, and chondrocytic lineage, affecting bone mineralization and linear bone growth. An A(T/C)G substitution exists in the first of the two putative translation initiation sites in exon 2 of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene. We studied the relationship between exon 2 polymorphism and height in 90 healthy Japanese female subjects aged 18-20 y, who had attained final height, in 159 healthy Japanese aged 13 y, and 24 children with constitutional short stature aged 6-10 y less than -1.5 SD in height, mostly with parents of normal height. Exon 2 polymorphism was analyzed by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism, PCR-direct sequencing, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The frequency of the exon 2 polymorphism was genotype CC (ACG/ACG), 0.37; genotype CT (ACG/ATG), 0.51; and genotype TT (ATG/ATG), 0.12 in 249 normal subjects. The mean height of female subjects aged 18-20 y with the genotype CT was 160.3 ± 4.3 cm (mean ± SD), whereas that with CC was 4.4 cm lower (p < 0.0001), and that with TT was 2.7 cm lower (p = 0.0302). At age 13 y, this trend was observed, and the mean height SD score of subjects with the genotype CT was taller than homozygotes (CC/CT; p = 0.0363 and CT/TT; p = 0.0208) in 159 subjects. Genotype CT in 24 children with constitutional short stature was less frequent than other genotypes (CC, 0.62; CT, 0.21; TT. 0.17) (χ2 p value, 0.0171). In conclusion, the exon 2 polymorphism affecting the VDR mRNA and protein is one of the major determinants of adult height at least in female Japanese, which was noted at the age of 13 y examined in both sexes.


This paper deepens the study on the use of experiential learning in the project management discipline as part of an undergraduate degree in Management by presenting the results of a two-year research study aimed at analyzing the limitations and difficulties faced by students. As such, the first problem seen is that of adapting the teaching and learning process to the content, followed by how experiential learning is presented and applied in the project management discipline. Data was collected using questionnaires with open-ended questions administered to the groups of students graduating the discipline at the end of four consecutive semesters, adding up to 157 students. Based on the information from the questionnaires, categories of analysis to address the limitations, difficulties and suggestions for improvements were determined. Excerpts from the responses were used to illustrate the main findings, which point to the relevance of the Content, Time and Professor categories in addressing the limitations; the Content, Time and Commitment categories for the difficulties; and the Content, Professor and Integration categories as regards the proposed improvements. The results will allow for refinements to be made in how the discipline is handled.


Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are undergoing a profound transformation. From Bahrain to Yemen, from Tunisia to Egypt, popular movements are calling for political change and a more inclusive development path that will provide ordinary citizens with greater voice, social and economic freedom, and government accountability. Young men and women have been visibly at the forefront of these calls for change, and continue to participate actively. This quick note is based on the overview of the regional report with the same title which complements the 2012 World Development Report (WDR) on gender equality and development. The WDR highlighted the influence and interconnectedness of markets, formal and informal institutions and households in determining gender outcomes. Following the WDR, the report, which will go through a series of consultations in the countries in the region, draws on economic analysis of quantitative data from countries in the region, qualitative research and international evidence. The final report will identify policy directions to better exploit the benefits of a more inclusive development path.


In order to obtain the natural frequency and the vibration mode of rectifier cabinet for nuclear power generating stations, the vibration theory of the structural morphology is elaborated, the natural frequency of the cabinet is researched, and the finite element model of the cabinet is set up by ANSYS. The natural frequency and the vibration mode of the rectifier cabinet for nuclear power generating stations are obtained by modal analysis. It is a reference for further dynamic analysis through the analysis method and the obtained results.


We present the bilinear equivalence expression of a (2+1)-dimensional integrable equation of a classical spin system. Based on this, we construct its single-soliton solutions and two-soliton solutions by Hirota's bilinear method. Meanwhile we show the evolution and propagation manners of two-solitons of the spin system graphically.


In this study, effect of body size on hematology (erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, hemoglobin and hematocrit) and plasma biochemistry (glucose, calcium, cholesterol, triglyceride, creatinin, uric acid, total protein, iron, albumin, phosphorus, magnesium) values of 49 individuals (18 juvenile, 31 adult) belonging to the Mauremys rivulata species dispersed in Canakkale were identified. After transferring to the biochemical tubes which has lithium heparin in it, the blood were taken from the caudal vein of individuals centrifuged for division of plasma. Auto analyzer were used for the values of plasma biochemistry. Other hematologic parameters were defined manually. As a conclusion, reference ranges of hematology and plasma biochemistry values for the species of Mauremys rivulata were determined and effects of body size were established. In comparison to hematology and plasma biochemistry of juvenile and adult individuals, erythrocyte count and calcium levels of juvenile individuals were lower but uric acid was higher when compared to adults. When Pearson Correlation test were used for evaluating the plasma biochemistry values based on body size, there were significant differences between calcium and magnesium and values of calcium and magnesium increased as body size increased. Keywords : Mauremys rivulata, Plasma Biochemistry, Hematology, Changes Based on Size DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-4-04


This study reads Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and Great Expectations as crime novels by applying Sutherland's theory of "differential association" which postulates that criminal behavior is learned rather than inherited, and it is learned through interaction with other people within intimate personal groups in which one learns techniques and acquires motives for committing crimes. In Oliver Twist, Oliver is portrayed as a victim of the corrupted social environment as well as Monks' conspiracy with Fagin to drag him down to the underworld.; he is raised as an orphan in a workhouse and subjected to mistreatment. Thus, he unknowingly indulges in Fagin's gang and learns the crime of pickpocketing, as all the members of the gang come from a poor background and are taught how to commit crimes within the gang, their intimate social group. Nancy's poverty also compels her to join the gang, which ultimately leads to her death, as criminality is not innate in her personality. Criminality in Oliver's character is not innate either, so he ends up leading a decent life in a healthier environment. Like Fagin, Compeyson in Great Expectations favors the violation of law and has others indulge in the criminal world, thereby exploiting Magwitch and Orlick who turn into criminals. By presenting criminal characters with various motives and from harsh backgrounds, Dickens' fiction suggests that crime behavior has nothing to do with heredity. Rather, criminal characters are implicated in crimes as a result of the corrupted social environment forced on them, along with gangs and corrupt people they have to encounter.


The theoretical minimum transactional response time of an application serves as a ba- sis for the expected response time. The lower threshold for the minimum response time represents the minimum amount of time that the application should take to complete a transaction. Knowing the lower threshold is beneficial in detecting anomalies that are re- sults of unsuccessful transactions. On the converse, when an application's response time falls above an upper threshold, there is likely an anomaly in the application that is causing unusual performance issues in the transaction. This report explains how the non-stationary Generalized Extreme Value distribution is used to estimate the lower threshold of an ap- plication's daily minimum transactional response time. It also explains how the seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average time series model is used to estimate the upper threshold for an application's average transactional response time.


Pulsed-laser ablation and micro-patterning of gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4) single crystals and ceramics by 157 nm F2-laser radiation is reported. Micron-sized holes with sharp edges and smooth walls are obtained by employing projection-mask techniques. The threshold fluence of ablation is around Φth ≈ 180 mJ/cm2 and ablation rates of WA ≤ 90 nm/pulse are achieved at fluence levels of Φ ≤ 2 J/cm2 for both material types.


Allele-specific expression, which measures the expression of two alleles of a gene in a diploid individual, is a powerful signal to study cis-regulatory effects. Comparing ASE across conditions, or differential ASE, can reveal context-specific gene regulation. Recently, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has allowed the measurement of ASE at the resolution of individual cells, but there is a lack of statistical methods to analyze such data. We develop DAESC, a statistical method for differential ASE analysis across any condition of interest using scRNA-seq data from multiple individuals. DAESC includes a baseline model based on beta-binomial regression with random effects accounting for multiple cells from the same individual (DAESC-BB), and an extended mixture model that incorporates implicit haplotype phasing (DAESC-Mix). We demonstrate through simulations that DAESC accurately captures differential ASE effects in a wide range of scenarios. Application to scRNA-seq data from 105 induced pluripotent stem cell lines identifies 657 genes that are dynamically regulated during endoderm differentiation. A second application identifies several genes that are differentially regulated in pancreatic endocrine cells between type 2 diabetes patients and controls. In conclusion, DAESC is a powerful method for single-cell differential ASE analysis and can facilitate the discovery of context-specific regulatory effects.


The task of testing whether two uncharacterized quantum devices behave in the same way is crucial for benchmarking near-term quantum computers and quantum simulators, but has so far remained open for continuous variable quantum systems. In this Letter, we develop a machine learning algorithm for comparing unknown continuous variable states using limited and noisy data. The algorithm works on non-Gaussian quantum states for which similarity testing could not be achieved with previous techniques. Our approach is based on a convolutional neural network that assesses the similarity of quantum states based on a lower-dimensional state representation built from measurement data. The network can be trained off-line with classically simulated data from a fiducial set of states sharing structural similarities with the states to be tested, with experimental data generated by measurements on the fiducial states, or with a combination of simulated and experimental data. We test the performance of the model on noisy cat states and states generated by arbitrary selective number-dependent phase gates. Our network can also be applied to the problem of comparing continuous variable states across different experimental platforms, with different sets of achievable measurements, and to the problem of experimentally testing whether two states are equivalent up to Gaussian unitary transformations.


Time-series datasets are central in numerous fields of science and engineering, such as biomedicine, Earth observation, and network analysis. Extensive research exists on state-space models (SSMs), which are powerful mathematical tools that allow for probabilistic and interpretable learning on time series. Estimating the model parameters in SSMs is arguably one of the most complicated tasks, and the inclusion of prior knowledge is known to both ease the interpretation but also to complicate the inferential tasks. Very recent works have attempted to incorporate a graphical perspective on some of those model parameters, but they present notable limitations that this work addresses. More generally, existing graphical modeling tools are designed to incorporate either static information, focusing on statistical dependencies among independent random variables (e.g., graphical Lasso approach), or dynamic information, emphasizing causal relationships among time series samples (e.g., graphical Granger approaches). However, there are no joint approaches combining static and dynamic graphical modeling within the context of SSMs. This work proposes a novel approach to fill this gap by introducing a joint graphical modeling framework that bridges the static graphical Lasso model and a causal-based graphical approach for the linear-Gaussian SSM. We present DGLASSO (Dynamic Graphical Lasso), a new inference method within this framework that implements an efficient block alternating majorization-minimization algorithm. The algorithm's convergence is established by departing from modern tools from nonlinear analysis. Experimental validation on synthetic and real weather variability data showcases the effectiveness of the proposed model and inference algorithm.


BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to evaluate a psychosocial counselling intervention for first-time IVF couples. In this article the results on women's distress are presented.

METHODS
Two hundred sixty-five couples admitted to an IVF treatment programme at the Erasmus MC were asked to participate in this study. Eighty-four couples agreed and were randomized according to a computer-generated random-numbers table into either a routine-care control group or an intervention group. The intervention consisted of three sessions with a social worker trained in Experiential Psychosocial Therapy: one before, one during and one after the first IVF cycle. Distress was measured daily during treatment by the Daily Record Keeping Chart. Depression and anxiety were measured before and after treatment by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

RESULTS
No significant group differences were found.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study do not support the implementation of our counselling intervention for all first-time IVF couples. The low response rate suggests that there is little perceived need for psychosocial counselling among couples during a first IVF treatment cycle.


Proper use of rejuvenators can improve the properties and performance of aged asphalt mixtures; however, there is currently a lack of understanding on how rejuvenator treatment details, such as type-dosage of rejuvenators and blending-curing of rejuvenation, affect properties and performance characteristics. This study aims to investigate the effects of type, dosage, and treatment methods of rejuvenators when added into aged bituminous materials. To meet the goal, three rejuvenators, categorized by their production technology, were selected to improve a high-recycled asphalt pavement mixture by conducting various binder-level and mixture-level tests. For the binder-level testing, the performance grading (PG) method was used to primarily determine proper dosages targeting desired binder grades, and two chemical tests (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Saturate, Aromatic, Resin and Asphaltene) were conducted to examine chemical characteristics altered by rejuvenation and the further aging process. The selected dosage levels from the binder testing were then applied to mixture-level performance evaluation by conducting two tests: flow number for rutting and semicircular bending fracture for cracking. Test-analysis results indicated that although it can successfully determine the proper dosage range of rejuvenators, PG binder testing is limited to only assessing the effects of rejuvenators on mechanical properties; this can be better aided by integrating chemical characterization that provides a more in-depth material-specific rejuvenation process. Moreover, it appears that rejuvenation methods can alter the performance of aged mixtures. Therefore, the selection of rejuvenators and their implementation into practice should be carried out considering multiple aspects, not only its PG recovery.


In the highlands of Ethiopia, faba bean is one of the major pulse crops widely produced. It is an annual crop grown during the main rainy season (June to September). Despite its range of benefits, both national and regional productivity is still low compared to its attainable yield. Alicho wurio and Mirab azernet highlands are ideal places for the growth of faba bean. However, the yield is below the national and regional average yield. Plant density determines the number of plants per area, which determines the available area for an individual plant. The field experiment was conducted in 2019 and 2020 at Alicho wuriro and Mirab azernet highlands, Siltie zone, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples' Regional State of Ethiopia to determine optimum plant density for faba bean. The factorial combination of three levels of inter-row spacing (30 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm) and four levels of intra-row spacing (5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm) was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plant height, number of pods per plant and grain yield was significantly affected by plant density. The highest grain yield was recorded due to 40 cm inter and 10 cm intra-row spacing. Therefore, it can be concluded that the previous national recommendation of inter and intra-row spacing is effective to obtain a high yield of faba bean in the experimental areas.


An opto-electronic CNN implementation, as it combines the huge inherent computational capabilities of a massively parallel optical system with programmability of the CNN-UM systems, provides an efficient frame for diverse image processing applications. Our optical CNN implementation is based on a new, semi incoherent optical correlator architecture that is superior from several points of view to any alternative optical correlator. This architecture provides the possibility of real time reprogramming of the correlator like in the joint Fourier transform correlators, but preserves the speed of VanderLugt type of systems. Programming is done through fast holographic read-out by B-templates. With combination of a high speed CNN-UM sensor chip it forms a programmable optoelectronic analogic computer (POAC) architecture. This device is especially useful in those image-processing algorithms, which requires a great number of pattern


Melittin, the major component of the bee venom, is an amphipathic, cationic peptide with a wide spectrum of biologi- cal properties that is being considered as an anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent. It modulates multiple cellular functions but the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. Here, we report that melittin activates disintegrin-like metallo- proteases (ADAMs) and that downstream events likely contrib- ute to the biological effects evoked by the peptide. Melittin stim- ulated the proteolysis of ADAM10 and ADAM17 substrates in human neutrophil granulocytes, endothelial cells and murine fibroblasts. In human HaCaT keratinocytes, melittin induced shedding of the adhesion molecule E-cadherin and release of TGF-, which was accompanied by transactivation of the EGF receptor and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. This was followed by functional consequences such as increased keratinocyte prolif- eration and enhanced cell migration. Evidence is provided that ATP release and activation of purinergic P2 receptors are involved in melittin-induced ADAM activation. E-cadherin shedding and EGFR phosphorylation were dose-dependently reduced in the presence of ATPases or P2 receptor antagonists. The involvement of P2 receptors was underscored in experi- ments with HEK cells, which lack the P2X7 receptor and showed strikingly increased response to melittin stimulation after trans- fection with this receptor. Our study provides new insight into the mechanism of melittin function which should be of interest particularly in the context of its potential use as an anti-inflam- matory or anti-cancer agent.


Abdominal duplex Doppler ultrasonography was used in two cats with hepatic encephalopathy clinical signs. The main ultrasonographic findings were: identification of a tortuous strange vessel shunting portal flow; elevated portal flow velocity; turbulence in the caudal vena cava, and reduced size of liver and hepatic portal branches. Necropsy findings were similar to that found at ultrasonographic and clinical exams. It is concluded that portosystemic shunt diagnosis may be a real hypothesis to be considered in cats with clinical signs of hepatic encephalopathy.


Free-living diazotrophs play an important role as plant growth promoters by supplementing nitrogen to deficient soils. In this study, six diazotrophic isolates were selected from 36 previously screened diazotrophic isolates for their mode of action to promote plant growth. A nitrogen free medium was used to screen nitrogen fixing diazotrophs. All strains have exhibited some activity of indole-3-acetic acid production. Strain MAF7-1 shown the highest (0.448 mg ml -1 ), while strain NUL3-2 exhibited the least (0.032 mg ml -1 ) production of IAA. Though all isolates were unable to solubilize inorganic phosphate, were able to inhibit the growth of Fusarium oxysporum that causes wilting to plants. There was no significant difference in maize seed germination vigour and rate. However, MAF7-1 had better germination rate and seed vigour (27.5%) when compared to the control (16%). Except strain NUL3-2, all showed significant increase of root length and dry weight of maize seedlings. Therefore, the choice of strain to be used for production of biofertilizer should not only be based on the nitrogenase activity, but also on ability to produce phytohormones.  Strain NUL3-2, MAF7-1 and MAF7-3 are potential strains that can be used in the production of biofertilizer. Further study of these strains in depth as plant growth agents and biofertilizer is commendable for future application.


Abstract Purpose: Following stroke, re-engagement in personally valued activities requires some experience of risk. Risk, therefore, must be seen as having positive as well as negative aspects in rehabilitation. Our aim was to identify the dominant understanding of risk in stroke rehabilitation and the assumptions underpinning these understandings, determine how these understandings affect research and practise, and if necessary, propose alternate ways to conceptualise risk in research and practise. Method: Alvesson and Sandberg's method of problematisation was used. We began with a historical overview of stroke rehabilitation, and proceeded through five steps undertaken in an iterative fashion: literature search and selection; data extraction; syntheses across texts; identification of assumptions informing the literature and; generation of alternatives. Results: Discussion of risk in stroke rehabilitation is largely implicit. However, two prominent conceptualisations of risk underpin both knowledge development and clinical practise: the risk to the individual stroke survivor of remaining dependent in activities of daily living and the risk that the health care system will be overwhelmed by the costs of providing stroke rehabilitation. Conclusions: Conceptualisation of risk in stroke rehabilitation, while implicit, drives both research and practise in ways that reinforce a focus on impairment and a generic, decontextualised approach to rehabilitation. Implications for rehabilitation Much of stroke rehabilitation practise and research seems to centre implicitly on two risks: risk to the patient of remaining dependent in ADL and risk to the health care system of bankruptcy due to the provision of stroke rehabilitation. The implicit focus on ADL dependence limits the ability of clinicians and researchers to address other goals supportive of a good life following stroke. The implicit focus on financial risk to the health care system may limit access to rehabilitation for people who have experienced either milder or more severe stroke. Viewing individuals affected by stroke as possessing a range of independence and diverse personally valued activities that exist within a network of relations offers wider possibilities for action in rehabilitation.


Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are distributed worldwide, and although severely depleted by commercial whaling, their abundance off the California coast now appears to be increasing. Little is known about natural causes of mortality of blue whales, but human-related mortality continues despite legal protection. Ship strikes are a significant mortality factor for other species of baleen whale, and changes in shipping traffic have been advocated to minimize further deaths. Between 1988 and 2007, 21 blue whale deaths were reported along the California coast, typically one or two cases annually. Three pulses in strandings were observed, with three carcasses observed in fall 1988, three in 2002, and four in fall 2007. Two of the four animals in 2007 were first observed dead in the Santa Barbara Channel and had wounds typical of a ship strike. Blue whale strandings were spatially associated with locations of shipping lanes, especially those associated with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and were most common in the fall months.


The tremendous growth of cloud computing and large-scale data analytics highlight the importance of reducing datacenter power consumption and environmental impact of brown energy. While many Internet service operators have at least partially powered their datacenters by green energy, it is challenging to effectively utilize green energy due to the intermittency of renewable sources, such as solar or wind. We find that the geographical diversity of internet-scale services can be carefully scheduled to improve the efficiency of applying green energy in datacenters. In this paper, we propose a holistic heterogeneity-aware cloud workload management approach, sCloud, that aims to maximize the system goodput in distributed self-sustainable datacenters. sCloud adaptively places the transactional workload to distributed datacenters, allocates the available resource to heterogeneous workloads in each datacenter, and migrates batch jobs across datacenters, while taking into account the green power availability and QoS requirements. We formulate the transactional workload placement as a constrained optimization problem that can be solved by nonlinear programming. Then, we propose a batch job migration algorithm to further improve the system goodput when the green power supply varies widely at different locations. Finally, we extend sCloud by integrating a flexible batch job manager to dynamically control the job execution progress without violating the deadlines. We have implemented sCloud in a university cloud testbed with real-world weather conditions and workload traces. Experimental results demonstrate sCloud can achieve near-to-optimal system performance while being resilient to dynamic power availability. sCloud with the flexible batch job management approach outperforms a heterogeneity-oblivious approach by 37 percent in improving system goodput and 33 percent in reducing QoS violations.


When using Laguerre and Hermite spectral methods to numerically solve PDEs in unbounded domains, the number of collocation points assigned inside the region of interest is often insufficient, particularly when the region is expanded or translated to safely capture the unknown solution. Simply increasing the number of collocation points cannot ensure a fast convergence to spectral accuracy. In this paper, we propose a scaling technique and a moving technique to adaptively cluster enough collocation points in a region of interest in order to achieve a fast spectral convergence. Our scaling algorithm employs an indicator in the frequency domain that is used to determine when scaling is needed and informs the tuning of a scaling factor to redistribute collocation points to adapt to the diffusive behavior of the solution. Our moving technique adopts an exterior-error indicator and moves the collocation points to capture the translation. Both frequency and exterior-error indicators are defined using only the numerical solutions. We apply our methods to a number of different models, including diffusive and moving Fermi-Dirac distributions and nonlinear Dirac solitary waves, and demonstrate recovery of spectral convergence for time-dependent simulations. Performance comparison in solving a linear parabolic problem shows that our frequency scaling algorithm outperforms the existing scaling approaches. We also show our frequency scaling technique is able to track the blowup of average cell sizes in a model for cell proliferation.


This is a conference abstract accepted for the Computational Methods in Water Resources (CMWR2014) conference, University of Stuttgart, Germany on 9th -13th June, 2014. The complete abstract booklet is available at: http://www.cmwr14.de/images/bookofabstracts/CMWR14BookofAbstracts.pdf


Platelets mediate hemostasis through amplifying an initial stimulus and aggregating at a site of injury. The identification of bleeding phenotypes in humans has the potential to reveal new insight into the mechanisms behind platelet signaling, as well as pinpoint new potential therapeutic targets. In fact, the study of bleeding disorders in human subjects has led to the identification of a number of disease states and proteins important to platelet functional responsiveness.
 We have recently identified a human subject (PDS25) with a platelet functional disorder that has a normal CBC, and no history of bleeding diathesis. However, platelets from PDS25 have virtually no response to even high concentrations of 2-MeSADP, even though P2Y12 protein expression appears unaltered (Figure 1). Further, platelet reactivity to high doses of agonist for other receptors, such as PAR-4 and GPVI, is normal. Low concentrations of these agonists, which typically rely on feedback for platelet reactivity, elicit an inhibited response using platelets from PDS25 compared to platelets from a healthy control. Consistently, Rap1b activity (Figure 2) was reduced in platelets from PDS25, while VASP phosphorylation was enhanced, suggesting that signaling from the P2Y12 receptor was interrupted by the heterozygous mutation. To determine whether it is the receptor or a downstream signaling component that is dysfunctional and because shape change in response to 2-MeSADP is normal in platelets from PDS25, we co-stimulated 2-MeSADP treated platelets with epinephrine to initiate signaling through Gz, which is very similar to Gi. We found that the response of platelets from PDS25 to 2-MeSADP can be rescued with the addition of epinephrine, suggesting that the signaling components downstream of Gi/zare intact. These data suggest that the aberrant reactivity observed in platelets from PDS25 is due to the P2Y12 receptor. Therefore, we performed a genetic analysis of P2Y12 from PDS25, which revealed a heterozygous mutation of D121N within the conserved DRY motif (Figure 3). We are currently evaluating how this heterozygous mutation confers such a strong phenotype.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Four rice genotypes i.e. Swat I, Swat II, Dilrosh 97 and Pakhal were tested for their callus induction frequency and their subsequent regeneration from different explants on a variety of media combinations. Swat I appeared to be the most responsive genotype to callus induction followed by Swat II, Dilrosh 97 and Pakhal respectively. Swat I and Swat II produced high amount of callus compared to other genotypes. Callus induction frequencies ranged from 68.88 to 57.70 percent in Swat I, 60.00 percent in Swat II, 52.20 percent in Dilrosh 97 and 40.00 to 42.20 percent in Pakhal from scutella on two different media. Similar response was also found for root induced calli. However, N6 medium containing 2 mg/l of 2,4-D was found to be optimum for callus induction irrespective of the genotypes and explant studied. All varieties showed significant differences in regeneration from two and three week old calli. RM medium containing MS salts and vitamins, 2 gm casamino acid, 1 mg/l NAA, 2 mg/l BAP and 30 gm sorbitol gave comparatively higher regeneration response than the other two media tested. Plants regenerated were grown in harmone free MS medium for vigorous rooting and subsequent transfer to soil.


Abstract Esophageal varices (EVs) are often treated using endoscopic injection sclerotherapy. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been used for early esophageal epithelial neoplasia worldwide. We report a case of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) that occurred over EVs, in which the EVs were treated with endoscopic injection sclerotherapy before the early ESCC was treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection. Argon plasma coagulation was finally performed to prevent the recurrence of varices. No serious complications, such as severe bleeding or perforation, were observed. Histopathological examination revealed submucosal veins occluded with an organized thrombus for which endoscopic injection sclerotherapy with an intravariceal injection of sclerosant had been performed, but no fibrosis was observed outside the blood vessels. This explains that the injected sclerosant into EVs did not cause any tissue reaction like fibrosis in the submucosa surrounding the vein, which may have made endoscopic submucosal dissection safer and easier. Varices have not recurred, and ESCC has also not recurred for 5 years. We demonstrated a successful treatment of ESCC on EVs and no submucosal fibrosis other than inside the occluded vessels and verified it histologically.


Abstract. Tolvaj L, Banadics EA, Tsuchikawa S, Mitsui K, Preklet E. 2019. Color modification and homogenization of sugi wood by steaming. Asian J For 3: 20-24. Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) wood samples were steamed applying broad range of steaming time (0-20 days) at 90 and 110°C steaming temperatures. The color change was monitored objectively using the CIE Lab color system. A wide range of colors was created by steaming between the initial color and light brown color depending on the steaming time and temperature. The initial color of earlywood and latewood within sapwood and heartwood covered a wide range of hue. The initial redness and yellowness values ranged from 4.3 to 17.3 and 21.4 to 31.6 units, respectively. Steaming produced excellent color homogenization and increased saturation. After 9 days of steaming at 110°C, redness values converged, falling between 11.6 and 12.7 units. The yellowness values increased and also converged. After 9 days of steaming at 110°C the yellowness values were between 31.6 and 33.5 units. The color saturation of the examined tissues increased considerably and was also showed homogenized. After 9 days of steaming at 110°C, the saturation values were between 34.1 and 35.6 units (the initial values were between 22.6 and 32.1). It was difficult to differentiate the sapwood and heartwood at the end of the steaming process at 110°C.


This paper describes data literacy and emphasizes its importance. Data literacy is vital for researchers who need to become data literate science workers and also for (potential) data management professionals. Its important characteristic is a close connection and similarity to information literacy. To support this argument, a review of literature was undertaken on the importance of data, and the data-intensive paradigm of scientific research, researchers' expected and real behaviour, the nature of research data management, the possible roles of the academic library, data quality and data citation, Besides describing the nature of data literacy and enumerating the related skills, the application of phenomenographic approaches to data literacy and its relationship to the digital humanities have been identified as subjects for further investigation.


ABSTRACT This article reports on a small-scale qualitative case study where the purpose was to examine a group of Norwegian upper secondary students' reflections around own language-learning experiences when participating in three very short transnational Erasmus+ project mobilities. Data were collected through interviews, observations and reflection logs, and the constant, comparative method was used to analyse the material. An overall finding can be related to a sense of raised metacognitive awareness in the group of students, as a result of their participation in the Erasmus+ project. Their perceived raised metacognitive awareness was, amongst others, attributed to the extended learning arena, to the social setting and the sense of agency in group tasks. The latter was perceived as important because it allowed for more opportunities for learner-learner interaction with other non-native speakers of English. Exposure to non-native language users as well as increased intercultural awareness were seen as important for students' willingness to communicate, and hence an important element of their language-building identity.


The effect of hysteresis on the lift coefficient of an airfoil is well-known, i.e., the lift coefficient is higher during the upstroke than during the downstroke for the same angle of attack (AoA). In contrast, the effect of hysteresis on the noise emission has not been reported before. In order to investigate this effect, a NACA 0012 airfoil is investigated during upstroke and downstroke between zero and post-stall AoA at a constant Reynolds number of 5.1×105. A map of the noise emission vs AoA is presented revealing tonal noise emission at low AoA, and broadband noise beyond the linear range of lift coefficient. The trend of overall sound pressure level vs AoA shows two local peaks: one at 4.4° with high tonal noise and a second one at 12.6° where the maximum lift coefficient is observed. Flow measurements near the leading edge and trailing edge by particle image velocimetry show that the airfoil noise trend vs AoA is dominated by the trailing-edge flow features. The magnitude of noise emission during the upstroke is higher than that during the downstroke in the hysteresis loop, although the velocity fluctuation magnitude is smaller. This implies that the vortex coherence during upstroke is higher than downstroke, which is evidenced by a more coherent vortex during the upstroke.


he TiO2 films were prepared by reactive smooth d.c. and pulsed d.c. magnetron sputtering on glass slide substrates. A metallic titanium target was reactively sputtered in a mixture of argon and oxygen. The influence of smooth d.c. and pulsed d.c. discharge power on films thickness, crystallinity, surface morphology, photocatalytic activity (methylene blue degradation) and hydrophilic activity were studied. At pulsed d.c. sputtering, plasma generator has been used to provide the asymmetric pulsed d.c. bias of the target at 100 kHz and pulsed off-time 4016ns. The structures of the films at 100nm and 300nm thick showed nano-grain size structure. The pulsed d.c. mode deposition exhibited a considerably lower surface roughness, but higher grain size compared to the films deposited with the smooth d.c. mode. At film thickness about 300 nm, the XRD peaks indicated that the dominant structure was anatase for which the preferred orientation was in (101) plane. It did not show any definite change of phase between the films deposited in the smooth d.c. mode and the film deposited in the pulse d.c. mode. For the photocatalytic activity, it was clearly seen that the films deposited by smooth d.c. mode showed a higher photocatalytic activity. The hydrophilic activity test, after the films had been irradiated by an ultraviolet light source for 30 min., the smooth d.c. mode films (thickness 300 nm) showed that a water contact angle can be less than 10°. In this study, the TiO2 films of smooth d.c. mode sputtering could be applied for a self-cleaning glass application.


The University Library at California State University, Stanislaus is not only undergoing a library building renovation, but a website redesign as well. The library conducted a user-centered usability study to collect data in order to best lead the library website "renovation." A prototype was created to assess an audience-based navigation design, homepage content framework, and heading terminology. The usability study consisted of 38 student participants. It was determined that a topic-based navigation design will be implemented instead of an audience-based navigation, a search-all search box will be integrated, and the headings and menu links will be modified to avoid ambiguous library terminology. Further research on different navigation and content designs, and usability design approaches, will be explored for future studies.


ABSTRACT This paper characterizes a pandemic as a kind of contagion, and describes a contagion as a two-level, two-direction, reflexive feedback loop system. In such a system, expert opinions for managing a pandemic can act as self-fulfilling prophecies due to how they influence collective belief formation. However, when multiple experts produce multiple expert opinions that act as self-fulfilling prophecies, this can fragment a society's response to a pandemic, worsening rather than ameliorating it. This paper models this possible outcome by distinguishing two competing expert opinions, appealing respectively to people in club good and common pool types of employment/health insurance situations, and argues that to combat fragmentation of opinion about how to address a pandemic, public health policy needs to attend to the nature of public reasoning. It argues this entails asking how just and legitimate deliberative institutions can function in an 'inclusive and noncoercive' way that allows society to reconcile competing visions regarding how to combat system-wide crises such as pandemics.