Background: The development of antibody therapeutics for imaging and payload delivery is complex, and intact IgG have long half-lives that impact on tumor:blood ratios and tumor penetrance. Smaller molecular weight antibody constructs (eg diabodies) have been developed for improved penetrance into tumor, faster blood clearance, and enhanced tumor: normal tissue uptake, however renal uptake may impact on imaging and therapeutic effects. Through a novel pegylation strategy to surface disulphides, a diabody to TAG-72 (AVP0458) has been generated, and produced under cGMP for a first-in-human clinical trial. Materials and Methods: We have conducted a phase I, open label, first-in-human trial of PEG-AVP0458. The primary study objective was the safety of single dose of I-124 PEG-AVP0458 in patients (pts) with TAG-72 +ve relapsed / metastatic prostate or ovarian cancer. Secondary study objectives were evaluation of the biodistribution, tumor targeting, pharmacokinetics (PK) and immunogenicity of I-124 PEG-AVP0458. Pts were infused with I-124 PEG-AVP0458 (3-5mCi) at one of two dose levels (1mg/m 2 and 10mg/m 2 ), and imaged sequentially over a one week period. Safety, PK, and immunogenicity was assessed up to 30 days post infusion. Results: Six pts (1F:5M; age range 62-85yrs; 1 ovarian cancer, 5 prostate cancer) were entered into the study, 3 at each dose level. I-124 PEG-AVP0458 was well tolerated, with no infusion-related adverse events, and no serious adverse events observed. There was consistent biodistribution on PET imaging of I-124 PEG-AVP0458, with no normal tissue uptake. High tumor uptake was evident in metastatic disease in liver and lymph nodes, with lesion uptake seen within 1-2 days post injection. PK analysis showed a T½β of 46.8 ± 12.4 hrs. There was no impact of protein dose on biodistribution, tumor uptake or PK. No immunogenicity to PEG-AVP0458 was evident. Conclusions: I-124 PEG-AVP0458 is safe, and demonstrates excellent, rapid targeting of tumor in vivo, with no specific normal organ uptake, and high tumor: blood ratios. This data demonstrates the feasibility of using pegylated diabodies for imaging and for delivery of radioisotopes (RIT) or cytotoxic drug payloads (ADC) in cancer patients. Citation Format: Andrew M. Scott, Timothy Akhurst, Fook-Thean Lee, Marika Ciprotti, Ian Davis, Andrew Weickhardt, Hui Gan, Pece Kocovski, Nancy Guo, Linda Mileshkin, Scott Williams, Declan Murphy, Rod Hicks, Kunthi Pathmaraj, Sze Ting Lee, Graeme O9Keefe, Sylvia Gong, Maggie Oh, Michael Wheatcroft, Peter J. Hudson. Phase I safety and biodistribution study of 124I-PEG-AVP0458 diabody in patients with TAG-72 positive ovarian and prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr CT238. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-CT238


Using the constrained-path Monte Carlo method, a two-orbital model for the pnictide superconductors is studied at half filling and in both the electron- and hole-doped cases. At half filling, a stable (π, 0)/(0, π) magnetic order is explicitly observed and the system tends to be in an orthomagnetic order rather than the striped antiferromagnetic order on increasing the Coulomb repulsion U. In the electron-doped case, the (π, 0)/(0, π) magnetic order is enhanced upon doping and suppressed eventually and a s± pairing state dominates all the possible nearest-neighbour-bond pairings. Whereas in the hole-doped case, the magnetic order is straightforwardly suppressed and two nearly degenerate A1g and B1g intraband pairings become the dominant ones.


Clustering is a predominant data mining task which attempts to partition a group of unlabelled data instances into distinct clusters. The clusters so obtained will have maximum intra-cluster similarity and minimum inter-cluster similarity. Several clustering techniques have been proposed in literature, which includes stand-alone as well as ensemble clustering techniques. Most of them lack robustness and suffer from an important drawback that they cannot effectively visualize clustering results to help knowledge discovery and constructive learning. Recently, clustering techniques via visualization of data have been proposed. These rely on building a Self Organizing Map (SOM) originally proposed by Kohonen. Even though Kohonen SOM preserves topology of the input data, it is widely observed that the clustering accuracy achieved by SOM is poor. To perform robust and accurate clustering using SOM, a cluster ensemble framework based on input constraints is proposed in this paper. Cluster ensemble is a set of clustering solutions obtained as a result of individual clustering on subsets of the original high-dimensional data. The final consensus matrix is fed to a neural network which transforms the input data to a lower-dimensional output map. The map clearly depicts the distribution of input data instances into clusters.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze cytogenetic features of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) patients and explore the relationship between cytogenetic characteristics and prognosis.

METHODS
Clinical and laboratory data of 41 CMML patients were analyzed.

RESULTS
The majority of CMML patients were middle-aged males. According to WHO classification, 17 (41.5%) patients were diagnosed as CMML-Ⅰ and 24 (58.5%) were diagnosed as CMML-Ⅱ. 14 (34%) of CMML patients harbored abnormal karyotypes and +8 was the most common. CMML-Ⅰpatients with abnormal karyotypes were older than those with normal karyotypes. CMML-Ⅱ patients with normal karyotypes had higher lymphocyte counts than those with abnormal karyotypes. Of 29 patients who had follow-up data, 26 died, with the median survival time being 4 (1-13) months. The median survival of patients with normal and abnormal karyotypes were 4.5 and 3.8 months, respectively (P=0.408). The median survival of CMML-Ⅰ patients with abnormal karyotypes was shorter than those with normal karyotypes (3 and 17 months, P=0.015), but no significant difference was found between the median survival of the two groups of CMML-Ⅱ patients (2.9 and 5.8 months, P=0.629).

CONCLUSION
+8 has been the most common abnormal karyotype in CMML patients. The abnormal karyotype can be regarded as an indicator of poor prognosis for CMML-Ⅰ patients. Regardless of their karyotypes, CMML-Ⅱ patients have even poorer prognosis.


The bioavailability of two commercial preparations of chlorthalidone was studied in healthy male subjects. Reference solutions/suspensions for the two products were chlorthalidone dissolved in a solution of water-polyethylene glycol and a solution/suspension of chlorthalidone. Bioavailability of the chlorthalidone in water-polyethylene glycol solution was significantly reduced in comparison to one of the commercial preparations, and trends in the data suggested that it was less well absorbed than either the chlorthalidone in water solution/suspension or the other commercial preparation of chlorthalidone. These data, together with previous reports indicating that polyethylene glycol may retard the absorption of some drugs in vitro, suggest that this compound should not be used to aid dissolution of drug in a reference standard for bioavailability investigations.


Obtaining ethical approval for my PhD research with adults with learning (intellectual) disabilities presented an unexpected challenge of learning to work with two sets of guidance: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and the Ethical Conduct in Human Research and Related Activities Regulations (HRR). The CRPD binds States Parties to progress equal rights for people with disabilities of which Article 12, equal recognition before the law, disconnects mental capacity from legal capacity. The HRR protects participants, researchers and institutions and recognises mental capacity as a component of informed consent. In applying the CRPD and the HRR as complementary safeguards, and looking through the lens of edgewalking, I gained an appreciation for positively encountering complexity and incorporating multiple points of view. This article will describe how my challenging experience enabled skill building to develop a more strategic academic voice and will be of interest to student and other researchers.


We introduce and present findings from field trials of MapLens, a mobile augmented reality (AR) digital-physical map system. In our trials we enlisted a mix of 37 early-adopters, environmental researchers, scouts and their families to use MapLens, to play an environmental awareness-raising location-based game. A comparative trial was run with a non-AR digital system. Analyses of videos, field notes, interviews, questionnaires and user-created content expose phenomena that arise uniquely when using AR maps in the wild. We report on how augmentation affects the way participants use their body and hands, manipulate the mobile device in tandem with the physical map, walk while using, and collaborate. We found that the MapLens solution facilitates place-making by its constant need for referencing to the physical, and in that it also allows for ease of bodily configurations for the group, encourages establishment of common ground, and thereby invites discussion, negotiation and public problem-solving. Its main potential lies not so much in use for navigation but in use as a collaborative tool.


Human resource for the new and renewable energy technology is an important factor in the respect of the sustainable growth and energy security. In this paper, we focused on measuring the economic effect of human resource development on new and renewable energy development programs. The human capital accumulation model developed by Mincer (1974) was modified in terms of the rate of the researchers' investment in human capital. As a result of a empirical case study, the value of human capital was estimated by 102 million Korean won per year worth 18% of the project labor cost. In case of the assumption of 100% participation of researchers, the level of human capital accumulation increased to 914 million Korean won per year. These results imply that the new and renewable energy development programs has been successful, on the concept of learning by doing, in terms of providing the researchers with opportunities to accumulate human capital.


Atomic interactions have a wide range of potential applications in quantum technology but are, unfortunately, usually relatively short-range. In this thesis a novel approach to quantising the electromagnetic field in the presence of two-sided semi-transparent mirrors with finite transmission, reflection and absorption rates is presented. The image-detector method allows one to correctly reproduce the appropriate dynamics of wave packets in the presence of semi-transparent mirrors by mapping onto analogous free-space scenarios meaning photons are characterised as they are in free space. Moreover, radiating atoms in the presence of semi-transparent mirrors exhibit modified spontaneous emission rates due to boundary conditions imposed on the electromagnetic field. Through the image-detector method mirror-mediated dipole-dipole interactions are predicted which modify atomic spontaneous emission rates. The spontaneous emission rates explicitly depend on the optical properties of the semi-transparent mirror and these mirror-mediated dipole-dipole interactions are considered to be long range, as atoms placed several wavelengths from the mirror still exhibit modified spontaneous emission rates. In addition, the model readily extends to describe optical cavities. The results presented in this thesis are expected to pave the way for the modelling of more complex scenarios and for designing novel photonic devices for quantum technology applications, such as non-invasive glucose-sensing technology.


The paper presents Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels as the first systematic attempt to claim that the normal methods of testing belief and opinion for clarity, consistence, coherence, and how they stand to the facts are powerless when applied to deep-seated normative commitments, or what Wittgenstein dubbed "framework truths." To subject our norms to normative critique requires a measure of self-alienation that cannot be achieved merely by looking hard at or thinking hard about our world and ourselves. However, by closely examining the contrived counterfactual scenarios (or, as I have shown in former work, by exposure to the normative critique of significant others), that Swift is shown to claim, such normative framework assumptions can be challenged to great effect! The standard epistemologies of his day—Baconian empiricism and Cartesian rationalism—fiercely ridiculed in the course of Gulliver's third voyage are cruelly dismissed as powerless to change the course of science and keep it in normative check. The transformative effect of the clever thought experiments presented in the three other voyages (of imagining London shrunk to a twelfth of its size and enlarged to giant proportions, and a more responsible and intelligent race of beings inserted above (normally sized) humans) enable Swift to obtain critical normative distance from several major assumptions about politics, religion, aesthetics, ethics, and much more, including the limits of the thought experiment itself. The paper then goes to show how the same kind of counterfactual scenarios are put to impressive use in the Talmudic literature, with special reference to foundational questions of ethics and law.


Efficacy of washing with distilled water, chlorine solution, and acidified sodium chlorite (ASC) solution on populations of microorganisms on spinach leaves was evaluated. Washing with chlorine (100 mg/L) and ASC (sodium chlorite, 15 mg/L; citric acid, 200 mg/L) resulted in significant population reduction (1.1-1.9 log CFU/g) of aerobic microflora, coliform, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (p < 0.05). There was no remarkable difference in decontamination efficacy between chlorine and ASC solution. In recent years, several sodium chlorite chemicals have been commercially available, and no difference in decontamination efficacy among the chemicals was observed when same concentration of sodium chlorite and citric acid were used. In addition, the reduction of E. coli O157:H7 population was influenced depending on the inoculation method and type of washing. It has been seen that dip-inoculated spinach leaves showed lower reduction than that of spot-inoculated spinach. After washing, populations of aerobic microflora, coliform, and E. coli O157:H7 were increased during storage at 10 degrees C, and washing condition before storage did not affect the subsequent increases in microbial population. Color of spinach leaves washed with ASC solution was not different from the color of those washed with water or chlorine solution, and washing with ASC solution was concluded to has no effect on appearance of spinach leaves.


This study presents a silicon-based ultra-wideband (UWB) truetime delay line for timed array antennas. The proposed circuit uses the novel active switches to mitigate performance deterioration from on-off switching. The proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) biasing circuit and scaling technique are adopted to improve the gain stability against the PVT variation at the different delay settings. The experimental prototype is fabricated in a 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS process, and exhibits a maximal relative delay of 35 ps with an average of 5 ps over a frequency range of 14–34GHz. The chip occupies an area of 0.62mm2, and the measured average input 1-dB compression point is 13 dBm.


The follow-up of potentially cured cancer patients is discussed. After outlining the goals, requirements and problems of posttreatment follow-up, practical guidelines for gastrointestinal, breast and lung cancer, the malignant lymphomas and testicular cancer are suggested for the benefit of the medical practitioner, who often directs the follow-up care of a patient after completion of primary treatment for cancer.


A crucial socio-political challenge for our age is how to redefine or extend group membership in such a way that it adequately responds to phenomena related to globalization like the prevalence of migration, the transformation of family and social networks, and changes in the position of the nation state. Two centuries ago Immanuel Kant assumed that international connectedness between humans would inevitably lead to the realization of world citizen rights (Kant, 1968). Nonetheless, globalization does not just foster cosmopolitanism but simultaneously yields the development of new group boundaries (Castells, 1997). Group membership is indeed a fundamental issue in political processes, for: "the primary good that we distribute to one another is membership in some human community" (Walzer, 1983, p. 31) - it is within the political community that power is being shared and, if possible, held back from non-members. In sum, it is appropriate to consider group membership a fundamental ingredient of politics and political theory (Latham, 1952). Specifications of group boundaries appear to be of only secondary importance. Indeed, Schmitt famously declared that: "[e]very religious, moral, economic, ethical, or other antithesis transforms into a political one if it is sufficiently strong to group human beings effectively according to friend and enemy" (Schmitt, 1996, p. 37). Even though Schmitt's idea of politics as being constituted by such antithetical groupings is debatable, it is plausible to consider politics among others as a way of handling inter-group differences. Obviously, some of the group-constituting factors are more easily discernable from one's appearance than others, like race, ethnicity or gender. As a result, factors like skin color or sexual orientation sometimes carry much political weight even though individuals would rather confine these to their private lives and individual identity (Appiah, 1992). Given the potential tension between the political reality of particular group membership definitions and the - individual and political - struggles against those definitions and corresponding attitudes, citizenship and civic behavior becomes a complex issue. As Kymlicka points out, it implies for citizens an additional obligation to non-discrimination regarding those groups: "[t]his extension of non-discrimination from government to civil society is not just a shift in the scale of liberal norms, it also involves a radical extension in the obligations of liberal citizenship" (Kymlicka, 2001, pp. 298-299). Unfortunately, empirical research suggests that political intolerance towards other groups: "may be the more natural and 'easy' position to hold" (Marcus, Sullivan, Theiss-Morse, & Wood, 1995, p. 224). Indeed, since development of a virtue of civility or decency regarding other groups is not easy, as it often runs against deeply engrained stereotypes and prejudices, political care for matters like education is justified. Separate schools, for example, may erode children's motivation to act as citizens, erode their capacity for it and finally diminish their opportunities to experience transcending their particular group membership and behave as decent citizens (Kymlicka & Norman, 2000). This chapter outlines a possible explanation for these observations. In doing so, it will not focus on collective action, which is a usual focus for political studies. Results demonstrate that the relation between attitudes and overt voting behavior or political participation is not as direct and strong as was hoped for. Several conditions, including the individual's experiences, self-interest, and relevant social norms, turned out to affect the link between his attitude and behavior (Marcus, et al., 1995). This chapter will discuss to what extent and how group membership does as well affect direct interaction - in particular joint action. Although politics does include many forms of action that require no such physical interaction, such physical interaction between individuals remains fundamental to politics - reason why separate schooling may undermine the citizenship of its isolated pupils (Kymlicka & Norman, 2000). This chapter will focus on joint action, defined as: "any form of social interaction whereby two or more individuals coordinate their actions in space and time to bring about a change in the environment" (Sebanz, Bekkering, & Koblich, 2006, p. 70). Cognitive neuroscientific evidence demonstrates that for such joint action to succeed, the agents have to integrate the actions and expected actions of the other person in their own action plans at several levels of specificity. Although neuroscientific research is necessarily limited to simple forms of action, this concurs with a philosophical analysis of joint action, which I'll discuss more below. Given this correspondence, the neuroscientific study of joint action may still deliver us insights into relevant properties of more comprehensive, political action.1 I will employ the example of joint action mentioned by Sebanz and colleagues of two persons carrying a table, being required to coordinate goals and means at several levels. Both persons can face the table and each other, partly imitating each other's behavior and partly complementing it, for instance by walking forwards and backwards respectively (Sebanz, et al., 2006). Furthermore, the scenario's for joint action can become more complicated if the table has to be carried upstairs, with persons of different sizes, or without a previously agreed direction or goal for carrying the table. Joint actions with a clearer political resonance, like writing and carrying a banner, building dikes or operating a cannon are not dissimilar in their relying on individuals coordinating their actions in order to obtain a goal in their environment.


Phthalates are found in numerous consumer products, including interior materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Several studies have identified phthalates in indoor air. A recent case-control study demonstrated associations between allergic symptoms in children and the concentration of phthalates in dust collected from their homes. Here we have analyzed the content of selected phthalates in particulate matter (PM): PM(10) and PM(2.5) filter samples collected in 14 different indoor environments. The results showed the presence of the phthalates di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) in the samples. The dominating phthalate in both PM(10) and PM(2.5) samples from all locations was DBP. More than a 10-fold variation in the mean concentration of total phthalates between sampling sites was observed. The highest levels of total phthalates were detected in one children's room, one kindergarten, in two primary schools, and in a computer room. The relative contribution of total phthalates in PM(10) and PM(2.5) was 1.1 +/- 0.3% for both size fractions. The contribution of total phthalates in PM(2.5) to total phthalates in PM(10) ranged from 23-81%, suggesting different sources. Of the phthalates that were analyzed in the PM material, DBP was found to be the major phthalate in rubber from car tyres. However, our analyses indicate that tyre wear was of minor importance for indoor levels of both DBP as well as total phthalates. Overall, these results support the notion that inhalation of indoor PM contributes to the total phthalate exposure.


Arab collective security must therefore have its own assessments emanating from the regional reality on which Arab collective national security priorities are prioritized. The emergence of transnational terrorist groups poses a great threat to Arab security, and the emergence of a failed or soft state is a very dangerous phenomenon on the Arab national security, as well as illegal immigration due to the prevailing conditions in the Arab region and the neighboring countries of Africa, the illicit drug trafficking and the dangers of using social networks and their use as a means of influencing the Arab youth sector through influence or the birth of the formation of Arab identity comes as an emerging Arab heritage and culture and authentic Arab identity and affiliation account. The use of the term "security" refers back to the end of the Second World War. A stream of literature began to look at how to achieve security and avoid war. The result was the emergence of theories of deterrence and balance. Then the National Security Council was established. There have been several publications in this field, and concepts have been common in this context under the names of many of them - "American national security" and "European security" and "national security of the Soviet Union" before disintegration, China's security and national security, Indian national security and Arab national security. Every country or  nation is trying to formulate its concept and strategy of security according to what it considers its field  as vital security in the surrounding circle, which has the capacity to influence them, or can be a serious threat to their interests and sometimes to exist, and intersect or intertwine some countries and nations in their vital fields Security of its geographic contiguity or its ability to deploy the force crossing its borders economically, culturally or where the range of its missiles, aircraft or warships. Since the national security: is the state's ability to protect its territory, resources and interests from external military threats and internal threats. In the face of globalization, there have been shifts in the concept of security, most notably power, which is no longer linked to the military factor but rather to politics, technology, education, economic growth and the adoption of information. Key words: Arab National Security, international Terrorism


For the first time irradiation-induced columnar defects have been visualized in a classical superconductor by means of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). These defects manifest themselves as hillocks or hollows in atomic-force microscope (AFM) images, depending on the scan direction. Using lateral-force microscopy (LFM) the observed structures can be identified as higher lateral forces within the defects. Depth-dependent measurements show that the mean diameter of the tracks decreases inside the NbSe2 crystals as a result of a reduction of the electronic energy loss Se. The comparison of magnetization measurements before and after the irradiation with 500 MeV 127I show an enhancement of the critical current density as it is known for pinning active columnar defects in high-Tc materials after the irradiation with swift heavy ions.


Although A.ctinomyces can normally occur in the mouth, in this case the occurrence of granules and the bacteriological recognition of numerous hyphre leave no reasonable doubt that this lesion was actinomycosis. Whether the lesion originated as an actinomycotic infection or whether the actinomycosis was the result of secondary infection cannot be determined. However, it seems very likely that actinomycosis was present at least during the second 18 months of the story and probably from the beginning. three or more years before the extraction of the tooth and the identification of the fungus. In the first 18 months, the several incidents of pain with relief after occlusal grindings are best explained by a chronic, low-grade periapical infection. Temporo-mandibular pain due to cuspal interference is not common, but is a well recognized entity, and in this condition occlusal grinding can be expected to give relief. Although it would be most unusual to experience, over an interval of many months, several recurrences and on each occasion relief after further grinding, in the absence of signs of infection the diagnosis of occlusal disharmony is reasonable. Nevertheless, in retrospect the most likely explanation is an apical infection from the outset. There is no indication as to how long the infection preceded the first symptom. Complete healing followed extraction of the tooth and penicillin administration. This accords with the anticipated results of treatment of actinomycotic infection by adequate exposure and drainage, as well as adequate penicillin therapy.


The purpose of this review was to examine the effect of video decision aids on adult patients' advance care planning–related outcomes. Seven English electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, OpenGray) and 3 Chinese databases (CNKI, WanFang, and VIP) were searched to identify relevant studies. Fourteen randomized controlled trials were included. The results of the meta-analysis showed that video decision aids reduced patients' preferences for life-prolonging care (risk ratio [RR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31-0.61; P < .01), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (RR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.46-0.64; P < .01), and intubation tube placement (RR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.09-2.48; P = .02) and increased patients' willingness to have a goals-of-care conversation (RR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.32-2.65; P = .0004) and knowledge of advance care planning (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.50-1.09; P < .01). However, because of the variability among the studies, the results have limitations. Future research needs to increase the sample size and improve the experimental design to confirm the impact of video decision aids on advance care planning.


Dental caries in very young children may be severe, result in serious infection, and require general anesthesia for treatment. Dental caries results from a shift within the biofilm community specific to the tooth surface, and acidogenic species are responsible for caries. Streptococcus mutans, the most common acid producer in caries, is not always present and occurs as part of a complex microbial community. Understanding the degree to which multiple acidogenic species provide functional redundancy and resilience to caries-associated communities will be important for developing biologic interventions. In addition, microbial community interactions in health and caries pathogenesis are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate bacterial community profiles associated with the onset of caries in the primary dentition. In a combination cross-sectional and longitudinal design, bacterial community profiles at progressive stages of caries and over time were examined and compared to those of health. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used for bacterial community analysis. Streptococcus mutans was the dominant species in many, but not all, subjects with caries. Elevated levels of S. salivarius, S. sobrinus, and S. parasanguinis were also associated with caries, especially in subjects with no or low levels of S. mutans, suggesting these species are alternative pathogens, and that multiple species may need to be targeted for interventions. Veillonella, which metabolizes lactate, was associated with caries and was highly correlated with total acid producing species. Among children without previous history of caries, Veillonella, but not S. mutans or other acid-producing species, predicted future caries. Bacterial community diversity was reduced in caries as compared to health, as many species appeared to occur at lower levels or be lost as caries advanced, including the Streptococcus mitis group, Neisseria, and Streptococcus sanguinis. This may have implications for bacterial community resilience and the restoration of oral health.


Paying attention to burial disputes can help us to understand better matters relating to gender, kinship, community, agency, and power. Since Luo and Luyia believe that life after death is a significant part of a person's life, paying attention to 'the hold death has' upon people is important, as are the writing of 'life-and-death histories.' The paper presents three cases, one involving a Luyia woman and two involving Luo women in which the women involved have, in the views of community members, shown the ability to manipulate kinship structures and strictures pre- and post-mortem. The paper seeks to challenge views that have depicted women in western Kenya as passive pawns of a particularly patriarchal form of patriliny. The paper discusses the effect religion has on views about death and burial, and examines the influence of indigenous religion, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Legio Maria on these cases.


Impaired haematopoiesis during HIV-1 infection may be caused by the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines by immune cells at the bone marrow level inducing Fas-mediated apoptosis of stem progenitors. In this study, we evaluated the effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy on apoptosis of CD34+ stem cells derived from the bone marrow of HIV-1-infected patients, and observed decreased Fas expression on progenitor cells, in parallel with the diminution of TNF-alpha levels and the amelioration of clonogenic parameters.


The work is devoted to the problem of choosing the mode of acoustic influence for increasing the efficiency of oil production. The temperature dependence of the viscosity of oil before and after its ultrasonic treatment was measured by rotational and vibrational viscosimetry. The oil under investigation belongs to the class of heavy oil with a viscosity of 2.7 Pa∙s at a temperature of 20 C. The oil samples were processed by an ultrasonic device at a frequency of 22 kHz with an oscillation intensity of 10 W/cm^2. The results of experimental studies indicate the effect of ultrasound on the change in the viscosity of oil. Moreover, these changes depend on the processing time. At relatively low action times oil viscosity is reduced on average by 19%, while at low temperatures the viscosity reduction is significantly higher. An increase in the time of ultrasonic treatment leads to a negative result - the viscosity of the oil rises. In addition, repeated measurements of sonicated oil after a long time indicate that the viscosity of the oil becomes even greater. A mechanism is proposed that explains the experimental data obtained.


The therapeutic activity of most anticancer drugs in clinical use is limited by their general toxicity to proliferating cells, including some normal cells. Although, chemists continue to develop novel cytotoxic agents with unique mechanisms of action, many of these compounds still lack tumor selectivity and have not been therapeutically useful. Monoclonal antibodies that bind to specific markers on the surface of tumor cells offer an alternative therapy that is tumor specific and thus less toxic. Although highly selective, very few monoclonal antibodies are therapeutically useful since they only display modest cell killing activity. The linkage of monoclonal antibodies to highly cytotoxic drugs can be viewed as a means of (a) conferring higher tumor selectivity to cytotoxic drugs that are too toxic to be used on their own or (b) conferring cell killing power to monoclonal antibodies that are tumor-specific but not sufficiently cytotoxic. This Account provides a brief history of the development of antibody-drug conjugates and shows how the lessons learned from the first generation of conjugates has guided the development of more effective antitumor agents. The three components of antibody-drug conjugates, that is, the monoclonal anitbody, the cytotoxic drug, and the linker connecting the drug to the antibody, have been methodically studied and optimized. The antimitotic drug maytansine was chosen for use in the targeted delivery approach because of its high in vitro potency. Analogues of maytansine bearing a disulfide substituent that allowed linkage to monoclonal antibodies via disulfide bonds were prepared. These analogues retain the high potency of the parent drug. The stability of the disulfide link in antibody-maytansinoid conjugates was varied by introduction of methyl substituents on the carbon atoms geminal to the disulfide link. The optimized disulfide linker was stable in circulation in vivo. The circulation half-life of the cytotoxic drug was increased from just a few hours for the unconjugated drug to several days for the conjugate. Upon binding of the conjugate to the tumor cell, internalization and lysosomal processing released the potent cytotoxic agent inside the cell. These conjugates displayed high target-specific cytotoxicity in vitro. The antitumor activity of these targeted agents was superior to that of the antibodies alone or the standard anticancer drugs in human tumor xenograft models. Several conjugates from this new class of tumor-targeted anticancer agents are currrently undergoing clinical evaluation. The progress made in the targeted delivery approach and initial clinical results opens the door to the future development of highly potent drugs that were too toxic on their own to be therapeutically useful.


Commercial buildings are a significant consumer of energy worldwide. Logistics facilities, and specifically warehouses, are a common building type which remain under-researched in the demand-side energy forecasting literature. Warehouses have an idiosyncratic profile when compared to other commercial and industrial buildings with a significant reliance on a small number of energy systems. As such, warehouse owners and operators are increasingly entering energy performance contracts with energy service companies (ESCOs) to minimise environmental impact, reduce costs, and improve competitiveness. ESCOs and warehouse owners and operators require accurate forecasts of their energy consumption so that precautionary and mitigation measures can be taken. This paper explores the performance of three machine learning models (Support Vector Regression (SVR), Random Forest, and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost)), three deep learning models (Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU)), and a classical time series model, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) for predicting daily energy consumption. The dataset comprises 8040 records generated over an 11-month period from January to November 2020 from a non-refrigerated logistics facility located in Ireland. The grid search method was used to identify the best configurations for each model. The proposed XGBoost models outperformed other models for both very short-term load forecasting (VSTLF) and short-term load forecasting (STLF); the ARIMA model performed the worst.


This chapter initially presents the basic physical parameters that describe wave and signal propagation. The different media that support propagation have different characteristics and information capacities. The one of most concern for optical fiber systems is the index of refraction. Refraction refers to the bending of a propagating wave at a boundary. The refractive index of a media also determines the speed of propagation of the wave in the media. Section 1-3 discusses the three basic elements of any optical fiber system in very broad terms. Subsequent chapters give much more detail about the three.


This research examines the effects of forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence on decisions in the courts and on the conduct of criminal investigations. To assess effects on court decisions, quantitative analyses were conducted using primary data from the State of Queensland. A control-comparison method was used to assess the effects in court, and this was made within a context of other evidentiary and extra-legal factors that had a bearing on case outcomes. These other factors included defendant confessions, independent witness testimony and fingerprint and photographic evidence. A sample of 750 cases referred by police for prosecution and finalised past the appeal stage in court, was selected for examination. Half of these cases utilised DNA evidence, while the other half, as a control group, did not. Cases were selected in four categories: sexual offences, serious assaults, homicides and property crime. Data on the cases were analysed using advanced statistical methods and predictor models were developed to demonstrate how, given case configurations, the addition of DNA evidence could potentially alter court outcomes. Results for the three serious offence types were that DNA evidence emerged as a positive predictor that prosecutors would pursue cases in court, and it demonstrated a powerful influence on jury decisions to convict. Incriminating DNA evidence demonstrated no significant effect on inducing guilty pleas from defendants for serious crimes against the person. However, it did correlate significantly to cases reaching court and to guilty pleas being entered for property offence cases. The analysis of the effects on investigations relies on data from jurisdictions other than Queensland. Secondary data and the literature were used to assess the potential for strategically using forensic intelligence, along with dedicated investigative resources, to reduce property crimes like burglaries and car thefts. In the one study available that employed adequate research methods, three patrol areas in New South Wales, where a police operation was trialled, were compared to other areas that acted as a control. The police operation aimed at 100% attendance at property crime scenes, the use of intelligence from DNA and fingerprint identifications and specialised investigative resources to reduce crime levels. While the operation failed to achieve its goal, it did provide some valuable lessons. The effectiveness of the national criminal DNA database in the UK, reputed to lead the world, was then evaluated in relation to domestic burglaries. Its Australian CrimTrac counterpart did not commence operations until March 2003, and by 2004 was not operating at maximum capacity. Because no published studies were located that measured any effects of the UK database on crime levels, the criterion selected to measure performance was the proportion of convictions achieved through the database to reported crime. For domestic burglaries, this ratio was calculated from secondary official data to be close to one percent (0.01), a figure that included the additional convictions achieved through the intelligence that the database provided. The research also examined forensic DNA in relation to issues of privacy and civil liberties. Privacy issues are discussed beginning with an historical background to the use and misuse of genetic data. This includes the searches for a 'criminal gene' and for genetic links to criminal behaviour. DNA databases are contrasted with databanks, and it is questioned, since we leave our DNA wherever we go, whether it really is private. Civil liberties issues that are discussed include whether providing DNA is a form of self-incrimination; how DNA has helped exonerate the convicted innocent; wrongful convictions based on flawed DNA evidence; whether occasional 'mass screenings' with DNA are a reversal of the onus of proof; concerns with DNA databases and 'function creep', and the planting or 'forgery' of DNA evidence including the use of amplicon contamination. In the final chapter, a balance is sought between on one hand, the goal of police and government to provide a safe society, and on the other, the rights to privacy and civil liberties expected by individuals in Western liberal democracies. The chapter addresses the issues of concern raised in the earlier chapter about privacy and civil liberties, and makes recommendations on how these may be resolved. The general approach favoured is to increase police powers in specific situations, but to couple these with the protection of individual rights through greater regulation of those powers. The research also developed a case prioritising system aimed at helping clear laboratory backlogs.


Over the past two decades, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has developed from an obscure and speculative notion to a concrete index of health status. Today, HRQOL as an index of subjective health status can reliably be measured. It has been defined as "a global measure of the patient's perceptions, illness experience, and functional status that incorporates social, cultural, psychological, and disease-related factors". HRQOL is being used in evaluating therapeutic interventions and in facilitating health-care planning in many chronic diseases.


The Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is one of the most abundant vertebrates on earth but its nucleotide diversity is moderate (π=0.3%), only three-fold higher than in human. The expected nucleotide diversity for selectively neutral alleles is a function of population size and the mutation rate, and it is strongly affected by demographic history. Here, we present a pedigree-based estimation of the mutation rate in the Atlantic herring. Based on whole-genome sequencing of four parents and 12 offspring, the estimated mutation rate is 1.7 × 10−9 per base per generation. There was no significant difference in the frequency of paternal and maternal mutations (8 and 7, respectively). Furthermore, we observed a high degree of parental mosaicism indicating that a large fraction of these de novo mutations occurred during early germ cell development when we do not expect a strong gender effect. The now estimated mutation rate – the lowest among vertebrates analyzed to date – partially explains the discrepancy between the rather low nucleotide diversity in herring and its huge census population size (>1011). But our analysis indicates that a species like the herring will never reach its expected nucleotide diversity for selectively neutral alleles primarily because of fluctuations in population size due to climate variation during the millions of years it takes to build up a high nucleotide diversity. In addition, background selection and selective sweeps lead to reductions in nucleotide diversity at linked neutral sites.


of certain diseasesmay be observed. One year's, or even . two years',dataare certainly not sufficient for the drawing of definite conclusions, but such data are, as indicated, the beginnings. If meanscan be found to encouragecontinued assemblingof these statistics during forthcoming years, the patternof what to expect in diseasetrendsand danger periods can be made much clearer for health officers. .


Introduction: Activating mutations of EGFR are well known as oncogenic driver mutations in lung adenocarcinoma. Currently, EGFR TKIs including Gefitinib and Erlotinib are used as the first line therapy in NSCLC patients harboring EGFR activating mutations. However, drug resistance caused by T790M mutation limits the efficacy of these 1st generation EGFR TKIs. Currently, some of the next generation EGFR TKIs are under investigation for the treatment of lung cancer patients having T790M mutation. In our current presentation, to obtain HM61713, an EGFR mutant selective inhibitor, as a clinical candidate and the evaluation of HM61713 for mutant EGFR cancer model will be introduced. Method: Novel analogues were designed and synthesized to find active compounds for the T790M mutation as well as EGFR activating mutations with good selectivity over wild- type EGFR. Finally, HM61713 was selected as a clinical candidate through multi-optimization processes including both in vitro and in vivo pharmacologcal studies. Results: HM61713 was designed as an irreversible kinase inhibitor having a Michael acceptor, which covalently binds to a cysteine residue near the kinase domain of mutant the EGFR. In a cell wash out test, HM61713 inhibited phospho-EGFR for a long duration with a half-life of over 24 hours. From in vitro study, HM61713 showed potent activities for H1975 (L858-T790M) and HCC827 (exon 19 del.) with GI50 values of 9.2 nM and 10 nM, respectively. Instead, it showed low potency for H358 (wild type EGFR NSCLC) with GI50 of 2,225 nM. In xenograft studies using H1975 and HCC827, HM61713 resulted in good efficacy without showing any side effects. Conclusion: HM61713 showed excellent in vitro and in vivo activities for H1975 harboring L858R-T790M mutation as well as HCC827 having exon 19 deletion mutation with selectivity over wild-type EGFR. Currently, HM61713 is undergoing phase I study (NCT01588145) for NSCLC patients after the failure of 1st generation EGFR TKIs in Korea. Citation Format: Kwang-Ok Lee, Mi Young Cha, Mira Kim, Ji Yeon Song, Jae-Ho Lee, Young Hoon Kim, Young-Mi Lee, Kwee Hyun Suh, Jeewoong Son. Discovery of HM61713 as an orally available and mutant EGFR selective inhibitor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-100. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-100


In vitro studies, using 2 separate techniques, have shown that the anti-inflammatory agent azapropazone caused displacement of warfarin from its plasma albumin binding and it is therfore suggested that such a displacement mechanism may be involved in the reported clinical interaction between these 2 drugs.


In this paper, we examined how companies are using ethical leadership CSR to interact with their employees about corporate social responsibility (CSR) related matters. A structured questionnaire was designed to elicit employees responses. Data were collected from the 200 respondents but only 154 were found usable for the data analysis. The responses were analysed using the PLS-SEM statistical technique using Smart-PLS software towards testing the proposed model. The research findings found that employee's understanding of the company's CSR to be the most significant predictor of employee CSR engagement accompanied by using ethical leadership with the moderating impact of Person-Organisation Fit. It is evident that social exchange values may affect employees towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement. Contribution to ethical leadership and CSR engagement are discussed.


A rapid increase in land and property values has been one of the driving forces of urban ecosystem development in many countries. This phenomenon has presented project proponents/policymakers with multiple options and associated challenges, nudging them to configure or incorporate elements of land-based financing in their policies and legislations. Specifically, the Government of India and various state governments have sought to monetize land through diverse instruments, for augmenting the financial viability of infrastructure and area development projects. This paper compares Indian central and state infrastructure policies/acts with regard to land monetization strategies. The analysis indicates that policies and legislations are taking a turn towards promoting land monetization mechanisms as a financing tool for cities and project implementation agencies. However, the approach is cautiously used and implementation is often seen to fall behind actual project timelines. Based on the findings, key determinants of a successful policy that captures an increase in land values, are identified. The learnings provide useful inputs for states to strengthen their policy documents and legislative/institutional frameworks, for ensuring the effectiveness of land-based financing tools.


Cenotes (sinkholes), formed by the dissolution of the carbonate rock, are the most common waterbodies on the Yucatan Peninsula. Despite their unique features and great amount in the region, our knowledge on the biota of cenotes remains fragmentary. Within the present study we analysed chironomid remains from surface sediment of ten cenotes situated in SE Mexico. In total, 20 taxa of 17 genera were recorded, and the total diversity was estimated to ~30 taxa. The most common taxa were Polypedilum (Tripodura) sp., Tanytarsus ortoni-type, Fittkauimyia sp., Labrundinia sp. and Endotribelos sp. There was a great variability in head capsule abundance among cenotes, ranging from 1 to 64 individuals per site with significantly higher number of remains recorded in open cenotes compared to the closed, cavern types. The results indicate that beside ecological features, such as low trophy, oxygen depletion, simplified habitat structure and fish predation, there are also taphonomical processes connected to the specific nature of cenotes that can hinder the accumulation of biological remains in the sediment. We conclude that due to poor sedimentation and preservation of remains, cenotes have limited potential for palaeolimnological studies.


This study investigates the relationship between the informativeness and the predictability of cash flow data. Predictability is defined as the ability of an accounting variable to predict future cash flows. Using a two-signal capital asset pricing model, this study predicts that the incremental informativeness of cash flows is an increasing function of its predictability and a decreasing function of the predictability of earnings. The empirical evidence is consistent with this prediction. This study contributes to the cash flow/earnings literature in that it identifies a context in which cash flow data possess significant incremental information content beyond that reflected in earnings. The research findings of this study also have methodological implications for other incremental information content studies. Specifically, it suggests that the informativeness of alternative information is an important factor in examining the incremental information of an accounting variable.


Purpose To evaluate effects of long-term metformin on the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in high-risk type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients. Methods A retrospective chart review study was conducted involving 335 DR patients with T2D ≥ 15 years from 1990 to 2013. The severity of DR was determined by Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale. The associations between metformin and DR severity were evaluated. Comparison with stratification for the use of sulfonylurea and insulin was performed to identify possible confounding effects. Results Severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy or proliferative diabetic retinopathy (SNPDR/PDR) was more often diagnosed in nonmetformin users (67/142, 47%) versus metformin users (48/193, 25%) (p < 0.001), regardless of gender and race of the patients. The odds ratio of metformin associated with SNPDR/PDR was 0.37 in all cases (p < 0.001), 0.35 in sulfonylurea use cohort (p < 0.05), 0.45 in nonsulfonylurea use cohorts (p < 0.01), and 0.42 in insulin use cohort (p < 0.01). Insulin users had a higher rate of SNPDR/PDR. Metformin had no influence on the occurrence of clinical significant diabetic macular edema. Conclusions Long-term use of metformin is independently associated with a significant lower rate of SNPDR/PDR in patients with type 2 diabetes ≥ 15 years.


This is a summary of clinical experience and research findings gathered from using vibrotactile aids over 7 years. This interest grew from a research project to evaluate four wrist-worn vibrotactile aids for the rehabilitation of the profoundly deaf. To facilitate this, a training programme was developed to help patients get the most from the aid. Having found that the RNID/Summit Tam vibrotactile aid was the most appropriate, this has been fitted to over 50 patients. The results of the comparative trial, an evaluation of our methods and a discussion of our clinical experience using vibrotactile aids with profoundly deafened patients are presented.


It is argued that the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics, and the philosophical problem of consciousness, both have their roots in the same set of misguided Cartesian assumptions. The confusions underlying those assumptions are analyzed in detail. It is sometimes suggested that quantum mechanics might explain consciousness. That is not the suggestion here. Rather it is suggested that an adequate non-Cartesian philosophy would transform our understanding of both quantum mechanics and consciousness. Consequently, it would change our ideas as to just what it is that we are trying to explain.


Background Canakinumab (CAN), a fully human, selective, anti-interleukin (IL)-1β monoclonal antibody, is approved for the treatment of CAPS, an extremely rare autoinflammatory disorder associated with overproduction of IL-1β, including the subtypes familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS), Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS), and neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease/chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular syndrome (NOMID/CINCA). Here we present updated safety data for CAN in CAPS patients (pts) from the ongoing β-Confident Registry. Objectives To monitor and further explore the overall safety of CAN, focusing primarily on serious infections, malignancies, hypersensitivity reactions, vertigo, and other selected events in CAPS pts over a 5-year period. Methods CAPS pts receiving CAN as part of their routine medical care are included in the Registry. Safety data are collected during routine clinical assessments (no mandatory visits or procedures), and include selected adverse events (AEs), which are (1) all cases of infections (serious), malignancies, hypersensitivity reactions, vertigo, (2) all serious AEs (SAEs), and (3) all AEs reported as related to CAN. Cumulative safety data are reported here from the date of first patient enrolled (November 19, 2009) through the data cut-off date (September 6, 2012). Additional safety data will be updated with the poster presentation, as available. Results A total of 234 pts were enrolled since November 2009 (Table), of whom 65 (27.8%) reported 136 AEs with an incidence rate of 101.0/100 patient years. Infection was the most common AE (45 events) reported in 31(13.2%) pts with an incidence rate of 33.4/100 patient years. Nasopharyngitis, pneumonia and urinary tract infections were the most common infections reported. Five pts, with no prior history of vertigo, experienced one or more episodes of vertigo, none of which were SAEs. Twenty SAEs with an incidence rate of 14.9/100 patient years were reported in 13 (5.6%) pts, including 1 fatal case of malignancy (metastatic rectal adenocarcinoma in a 76 yo MWS patient). Five serious infections were reported (pneumonia in 3 MWS pts; sterile meningitis and erysipelas due to vaccination respectively in 2 NOMID pts), which were completely resolved or improved with treatment. None of the infections were reported to be opportunistic. No hypersensitivity reactions to CAN were reported. Seven permanent CAN discontinuations were reported; 3 due to AEs, 2 due to patient preference and 2 due to lack of a therapeutic effect. Image/graph Conclusions As expected with CAN, infection was the most commonly reported AE and SAE. No new or unexpected safety signals were identified in this ongoing Registry. Disclosure of Interest J. B. Kuemmerle-Deschner Grant/research support from: Novartis, Consultant for: Novartis, H. Tilson Shareholder of: Glaxo SmithKline, Procter & Gamble, Other non-pharmaceutical holdings, Consultant for: Bio Soteria, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, HealthCore, Kendle, Merck, Novartis, P. N. Hawkins: None Declared, T. van der Poll Consultant for: Novartis, U. A. Walker Consultant for: Novartis, B. Rauer Employee of: Novartis Pharma AG, J. M. Nebesky Employee of: Novartis Pharma AG, D. Kim Employee of: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, N. Davis Employee of: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, H. Hoffman Consultant for: Novartis, Regeneron, Sobi Biovitrum


Sugarcane, one of the most photosynthetically efficient crops, is an important source of sugar and feedstock for green energy and co-generation. The high level of polyploidy and genomic peculiarities in this crop point towards a complex mechanism of regulation for the economically important traits like sugar content, cane yield related traits, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses etc. The regulatory pathways for these traits comprise of a number of genes, transcription factors and different categories of RNAs like small interference RNAs (siRNAs), and Micro RNAs (miRNAs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are found to play an important regulatory role in many crops. As in other crops, several miRNAs have been identified in sugarcane too and these are speculated to have a role in regulating the various metabolic processes. Role of miRNAs in relation to drought tolerance has been studied to a great extent in this crop. miRNAs have been predicted to be linked to expression of other traits like disease resistance, salinity tolerance, waterlogging and axillary bud growth in sugarcane. miRNAs can have a significant role in biomass production in sugarcane, as reported in several biofuel crops. Till now, miRNAs linked to sugar accumulation have not been identified in sugarcane, but studies suggest an important role for miRNAs in sugar metabolic pathway in crops like Sorghum and switch grass. It is presumed that in sugarcane too, sugar accumulation as well as the other important metabolic pathways might be regulated to some extent by the miRNAs. The review examines the progress made in understanding the miRNA regulation in sugarcane and the extent to which miRNA mediated regulation can be utilized in sugarcane improvement.


Understanding the hydrodynamics of colloids with complex shapes is of equal importance to widespread practical applications and fundamental scientific problems, such as gelation, crystallization, and phase behavior. Building on previous work, we present a comprehensive study of sedimentation, diffusion, intrinsic viscosities, and other shape-dependent quantities of clusters built from spherical nanoparticles. Cluster preparation is accomplished by assembling surface-modified polystyrene particles on evaporating emulsion droplets. This results in supracolloids that exhibit well-defined configurations, which are governed by the number of constituent particles. Sorting into uniform cluster fractions is achieved through centrifugation of the cluster mixture in a density gradient. Sedimentation coefficients are elucidated by differential centrifugal sedimentation. Rotational and translational diffusion of the clusters are investigated by polarized and depolarized dynamic light scattering. The experimental results are compared to data obtained via a bead-shell model suitable for predicting hydrodynamic quantities of particles with arbitrary shapes. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with the predictions from hydrodynamic modeling. The variety of investigated shapes shows the robustness of our approach and provides a complete picture of the hydrodynamic behavior of complex particles.


Hedges are ubiquitous green elements in many European cities. The selection of hedge types characterized by different traits can be suggested for urban greening projects to decrease pollution levels. At this end, carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration and noise attenuation capability were analyzed in the following hedge types: Laurus nobilis, Nerium oleander, Pittosporum tobira and Pyracantha coccinea, largely used as green infrastructure in Rome (Italy). Representative hedges for each species were selected from high level traffic streets in the city centre (P sites). Traffic density (TD) was monitored simultaneously with CO2 concentration and noise level (N) in each of the considered P sites. The monthly CO2 sequestration capability (MSC) was calculated multiplying the total photosynthesis per hedge by the total photosynthetic activity time (in hours) per month. The multiple regression analysis predicted noise attenuation (ΔN) by a linear combination of total leaf area (TLA), total leaf density (TLD) and leaf mass area (LMA) of the considered hedge types. All the considered species, being evergreens, were active all year long, including winter, when CO2 emissions from road transport peaked. Nevertheless, among the considered hedge types, P. tobira and L. nobilis were the most efficient species in both MSC (31.6±2.8 and 25.4±2.4 kg CO2 month–1, respectively) and ΔN (15±1%, mean value). The results give insight on the use of hedges to mitigate pollution effects. Moreover, this method can be used to monitor hedge contribution to air quality, in relation to various elements in the city (i.e. traffic density, new cars produced, application of management projects, local laws). These results might be available for projects based on the use of vegetation in order to improve environmental quality in urban areas.


The purpose of this research was to develop a scenario for participants to practice steering in a driving simulator and verify the improvement in steering control over time by analyzing driving performance. This work is motivated by the need for a set of evaluation tools to determine when participants have received sufficient practice. Practice scenarios typically provide participants a fixed length or fixed time drive, or allow them to drive until they feel comfortable controlling the vehicle. These scenarios are not regularly accompanied by an analysis of driving performance and therefore do not offer the needed assurance that the participants are ready to proceed with subsequent experimental scenarios. The developed scenario provides participants a target acquisition task requiring repeated steering inputs, similar to a slalom course. This particular scenario was designed such that each participant's performance can be evaluated, free of any threshold, criterion, or benchmark value, making it applicable to any participant and driving simulator. The majority of participants who drove this scenario exhibited a remarkable improvement in steering performance, indicating a significant adjustment in their use of the steering wheel. Monitoring the improvement in driver performance will be useful in future studies to assess whether participants have received sufficient practice.


The Space Technology 8 (ST8) mission is the latest in NASA's New Millennium Program technology demonstration missions. ST8 includes a spacecraft bus built by industry, flying four new technology payloads in low-Earth orbit. This paper describes each payload, along with a brief description of the mission and spacecraft. The payloads include a miniature loop heat pipe intended to save mass and power on future small satellites, designed and built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; a lightweight, 35g/m linear mass, 40-m deployable boom intended as a future solar sail mast built by ATK Space Systems; a deployable, lightweight ultraflex solar array producing 175W/kg, also built by ATK Space Systems; and a high-speed, parallel-processing computer system built of state-of-the-art COTS processors, demonstrating SEU tolerance without the need for radiation-hardened electronics, and 100M operations per second per Watt processing throughput density


Background: SurveyorTM nuclease is a new single-strand-specific endonuclease that cleaves heteroduplex DNA at a base-mismatch site in both DNA strands. We applied this enzyme to detection of p53 gene mutations in haematological malignancy. Methods: DNA fragments including exons 5 and 6, and those including exons 7 and 8, of the p53 gene, were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using DNA samples extracted from bone marrow aspirates. Denaturation followed by gradual annealing of the amplified fragments formed a heteroduplex with a base-mismatch if a mutation existed because the DNA samples contained wild-type DNA derived from coexisting non-malignant cells. After cleavage by Surveyor nuclease, mutations were simply detected by gel electrophoresis as extra bands of shorter size. Results: Somatic mutations were clearly detected by this method in three of 39 different samples and confirmed by sequencing. The limit of detection estimated by changing the proportion of heteroduplexes in hetero/homoduplexes was between 1/8 and 1/16. Conclusion: We suggest that our method is not only simple, but also sensitive, compared with other complicated methods, and would therefore be useful in current clinical laboratory settings.


The terrestrial water cycle is being altered by human activity such as water diversion and withdrawal for agricultural use. In this study, a global water resource model was enhanced to perform a simulation considering nonlocal water resources which is diverted from remote places. In this study irrigation water requirement was met by major four major sources: river, reservoirs, nonlocal water sources and nonlocal water source. We created geographical data of water diversion systems for five regions of major irrigated cropland. The simulated result showed that annual irrigation water requirement for nonlocal water resources were 62km 3 and that account large part of total irrigation water requirement in our subject areas.


This report contains extensive data on the level of research publications in refereed journals for two areas in Computer Science: Numerical Computation and Programming Languages and Systems. It is concluded that the research output in Numerical Computation is about 5 times that in Programming Languages and Systems (as measured by refereed research articles). Some less complete data on the number of conferences is also presented which suggests the number of conferences in numerical computations substantially exceeds that of Programming Languages and Systems. Some comparisons are made with data derived from Computing Reviews. The data is for 1973 and 1974.


It is estimated that each of us, on a daily basis, produces a bit more than 1 GB of digital content through our mobile phone and social networks activities, bank card payments, location-based positioning information, online activities, etc. However, the implementation of these large data amounts in city assets planning systems still remains a rather abstract idea for several reasons, including the fact that practical examples are still very strongly services-oriented, and are a largely unexplored and interdisciplinary field; hence, missing the cross-cutting dimension. In this paper, we describe the Policy 2.0 concept and integrate user generated content into Policy 2.0 platform for sustainable mobility planning. By means of a real-life example, we demonstrate the applicability of such a big data integration approach to smart cities planning process. Observed benefits range from improved timeliness of the data and reduced duration of the planning cycle to more informed and agile decision making, on both the citizens and the city planners end. The integration of big data into the planning process, at this stage, does not have uniform impact across all levels of decision making and planning process, therefore it should be performed gradually and with full awareness of existing limitations.


Recent research shows that luxury brands and online marketing are not so obvious and need strong links to keep dreams alive online. Considering those elements, this exploratory qualitative study explores the perception of dreams in the luxury industry, focusing on the Internet as a vector of democratization or disenchantment. Six customers and four corporate experts were interviewed. The main results show that (1) for customers, luxury brands need to have a website but they refuse to buy online because of the lack of senses solicitation. On the contrary to the in-store experience, the virtual window does not bring them into the imaginary of the brand: they do not dream anymore. And (2) for experts, website and e-shop are essential. They agree with customers regarding the lack of polysensoriality on the Internet. The dreams inspired by the virtual window remain a dividing topic.


A 65−year−old patient was admitted with repeated vomiting and suspected upper gastrointestinal bleeding. He had a known history of acute bleeding of an ulcer of the ileocoecal region, which had to be treated surgically. An esophagogastroduodeno− scopy demonstrated a gastric ulcer (Forr− est III; Helicobacter pylori negative), and Mallory±Weiss lesions covered with fi− brin, with hemorrhagic reaction of the surrounding tissue; there was no sign of acute bleeding. Furthermore, a polyp in the duodenal bulb was seen (Figure 1), which was considered to be of inflamma− tory origin. Multiple biopsies were taken.


AIMS
Recent studies have suggested that in addition to oxygen transport, red blood cells (RBC) are key regulators of vascular function by both inhibiting and promoting nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation. Most studies assume that RBC are homogenous, but, in fact, they comprise cells of differing morphology and biochemical composition which are dependent on their age, parameters that control NO reactions. We tested the hypothesis that distinct RBC populations will have differential effects on NO signaling.

RESULTS
Young and old RBC were separated by density gradient centrifugation. Consistent with previous reports, old RBC had decreased levels of surface N-acetyl neuraminic acid and increased oxygen binding affinities. Competition kinetic experiments showed that older RBCs scavenged NO∼2-fold faster compared with younger RBC, which translated to a more potent inhibition of both acetylcholine and NO-donor dependent vasodilation of isolated aortic rings. Moreover, nitrite oxidation kinetics was faster with older RBC compared with younger RBC; whereas no differences in nitrite-reduction kinetics were observed. This translated to increased inhibitory effect of older RBC to nitrite-dependent vasodilation under oxygenated and deoxygenated conditions. Finally, leukodepleted RBC storage also resulted in more dense RBC, which may contribute to the greater NO-inhibitory potential of stored RBC.

INNOVATION
These results suggest that a key element in vascular NO-homeostasis mechanisms is the distribution of RBC ages across the physiological spectrum (0-120 days) and suggest a novel mechanism for inhibited NO bioavailability in diseases which are characterized by a shift to an older RBC phenotype.

CONCLUSION
Older RBC inhibit NO bioavailability by increasing NO- and nitrite scavenging.


Multilevel converters present great advantages compared to the conventional two-level converters for step-up transformer-less direct medium voltage (0.6-66 kV) grid connected renewable power generation systems. Modular multilevel converter (MLC) with high frequency magnetic link is considered as the best alternative for such kind of application. But in high power application, higher switching frequency generate significant amount of switching and conduction losses, harmonic components and as a result high junction temperature. The initialization of failure mechanism owing to the overheating may cause serious damage of the converter, which results in the high cost of replacement at a very limited space of installation. Hence the conduction and switching power losses of the multilevel converter are needed to be precisely designed, calculated, analyzed, and minimized. In this paper, an analytical method has been proposed to calculate the conduction power losses in MLCs with reduced number of switching of bus-clamping pulse width modulation (BCPWM) technique. Numerical results of the continuous conduction power loss function representing the discrete loss profile of the switching devices are compared with the outcomes of circuit level simulation in MATLAB/Simulink environment.


We analysed the complete set of bursts from the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1820-30 detected with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). We found that all are photospheric radius expansion bursts, and have similar duration, peak flux and fluence. From the analysis of time-resolved spectra during the cooling phase of the bursts, we found that the relation between the bolometric flux and the temperature is very different from the canonical F ∝ T4 relation which is expected if the apparent emitting area on the surface of the neutron star remains constant. The flux-temperature relation can be fitted using a broken power law, with indices ν1 = 2.0 ± 0.3 and ν2 = 5.72 ± 0.06. The departure from the F ∝ T4 relation during the cooling phase of the X-ray bursts in 4U 1820-30 could be due to changes in the emitting area of the neutron star while the atmosphere cools down, variations in the colour-correction factor due to chemical evolution, or the presence of a source of heat, e.g. residual hydrogen nuclear burning, playing an important role when the burst emission ceases.


This paper develops a model in which upstream network insiders' conduct relationship specific investment that induces the downstream firm to transact within networks. The scale of destination-country production and part-specific measures of the importance of network relationships and engineering costs are used to explain the pattern of U.S. auto parts exports. Our results support the prediction that large scale promotes relationship-specific investment and reduces imports. Also, while Japan is a large parts importer, the composition of its imports is shifted away from parts where vertical keiretsu are prominent. Nations hosting U.S.-owned automakers import more U.S. parts.


With the development of the medical image field, researchers seek to develop a class of datasets to block the need for medical knowledge, such as \text{MedMNIST} (v2). MedMNIST (v2) includes a large number of small-sized (28 $\times$ 28 or 28 $\times$ 28 $\times$ 28) medical samples and the corresponding expert annotations (class label). The existing baseline model (Google AutoML Vision, ResNet-50+3D) can reach an average accuracy of over 70\% on MedMNIST (v2) datasets, which is comparable to the performance of expert decision-making. Nevertheless, we note that there are two insurmountable obstacles to modeling on MedMNIST (v2): 1) the raw images are cropped to low scales may cause effective recognition information to be dropped and the classifier to have difficulty in tracing accurate decision boundaries; 2) the labelers' subjective insight may cause many uncertainties in the label space. To address these issues, we develop a Complex Mixer (C-Mixer) with a pre-training framework to alleviate the problem of insufficient information and uncertainty in the label space by introducing an incentive imaginary matrix and a self-supervised scheme with random masking. Our method (incentive learning and self-supervised learning with masking) shows surprising potential on both the standard MedMNIST (v2) dataset, the customized weakly supervised datasets, and other image enhancement tasks.


Introduction A recent randomised controlled trial demonstrated that the early use of TIPS in patients with Child-Pugh class B and C cirrhosis presenting with acute variceal haemorrhage was associated with a significant reduction in rebleeding and mortality.1 However, it remains unclear whether an additional economic benefit exists with their approach compared to the current standard of care utilising pharmacological and endoscopic therapies, and rescue TIPS. Aim We aimed to ascertain how many patients would benefit from early TIPS and the economic implications of introducing this into practice, by observing retrospective data from our tertiary care liver unit. Method Consecutive patients admitted in 2009 with oesophageal variceal haemorrhage to a tertiary care liver unit at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust were identified retrospectively using a dedicated endoscopy database and cross-checking with the emergency medicine database. Patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension or isolated gastric varices were not included in our study. Standard management protocols including endoscopic therapy within 24 h, glypressin and prophylactic antibiotics were used. Data were collected on demography, aetiology, rebleeding related hospital admissions and mortality at 12 months. Costs of rebleeding were analysed for all patients meeting inclusion criteria for the original study1 and included subsequent inpatient care costs and endoscopic/radiological intervention (figures were supplied by the NUH finance and procurement department and based on established national tariffs). The actual cost of rebleeding in our Child Pugh score 7–13 patients was compared to the theoretical cost of introducing early TIPS in this group. Results 51 cirrhotic patients were admitted to our unit with oesophageal variceal bleeding. 20% of this cohort had Childs A, 40% Childs B and 40% Childs C cirrhosis. The rebleeding rate was 15% at 28 days and 34% at 1-year follow-up. The survival rates were 82% at 28 days and 40% at 1 year. 35 patients (70% of the cohort) had a Child Pugh score of 7–13. Within this subgroup there was a 31% rebleeding rate requiring hospital admission over 12 months and 8% required a TIPS procedure within 12 months. The actual cost of rebleeding episodes for the selected subgroup was 138 446, (3955 per patient). The theoretical cost of early TIPS in this group was calculated as 117 670, (3362 per patient). Assuming a rebleeding rate of 3% with early TIPS1, this strategy has a potential cost reduction of 7% per patient outcome year compared with current standard management. Conclusion The proportion of variceal bleed patients benefitting from early TIPS could approach 70% in regional centres. This has implications for the provision and organisation of interventional radiology services. Our retrospective analysis suggests marginal cost benefit, complementing the previously observed reduction in rebleeding and mortality; however prospective studies are needed to confirm this.


The economic development of Jambi Province has greatly improved after the implementation of regional autonomy reflected by the economic growth of Jambi Province which settled above the national average of economic growth and becoming the highest in Sumatra. This research aimed to produce a tactical model to identification and analysis export commodity that competitive, identification and analysis influenced factor export commodity development that competitive, identification and analysis development strategy and prospective of export commodity, formulate of  development strategy for export commodity in Jambi Province.  This research used descriptive quantitative method equipped with observation. The analysis models used are Time Series Analysis, Index Instabilitas Models, RCA Model, Simultaneous Model and SWOT Quantitative. This analysis concluded, the first CPO commodity and rubber is two commodities excellence export commodity in Jambi Province. The second, labor productivity factor, investment, managerial ability and production techniques as internal faktor and material raw support, land transport infrastructure supply, banking credit, partnership with exporter, power support and port as external factor influenced through export commodity development. The third, formal education, work experince, training and salary as influence factor through labor productivity. As for influence to material raw support in export commodity is cooperation factor with retailer, real estate owner and partnership with farmer. The fourth, export price, competitor export price, exchange rates, national income and investment have influence to export commodity oriented to demand. The fifth, it can be influence by total production, exchange rates and total export demand.The sixth, export commodity development as excellence agroindustry commodity has positive effect and real through improvement of labour implementation.


The article analyses the purpose of interim measures ordered by the CJEU. On one hand, it presents the restrictions limiting the CJEU, which are determined by this purpose. On the other hand, it also illustrates the vast discretionary powers the purpose grants the court within the procedure for adjudication of interim measures.


This paper deals with the development of a virtual platform for a Web-based remote application dedicated to condition monitoring and fault detection for ac electrical machines. The platform is based on several tools developed by using the LabVIEW software. Various techniques of condition monitoring and diagnosis of electrical and mechanical faults in ac electrical machines have been integrated such as the broken rotor bar, winding short circuit, bearing damage, or static/dynamic eccentricities. The main features are related to a user-friendly interface, a low-maintenance source code, and a standardized database for ac electrical machine diagnosis. The platform architecture, as well as three different test-rig configurations, has been described. The complete system can be controlled in both local and remote modes by using a simple Internet connection. Some remote experiences have been carried out between the University of Picardie "Jules Verne," Amiens, France, and the University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. The direct applications of this original package are based on diagnosis techniques applied to ac electrical machine faults. Some examples of rotor broken bar detection using classical techniques have been presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed platform. Further information will soon be available on the Open European Laboratory on Electrical Machines Web site: www.oelem.org.


The influence of theophylline on the kinetics of erythromycin was studied in 11 healthy subjects who received both drugs intravenously in therapeutic doses. Total clearance, terminal half-life and volume of distribution of erythromycin were not altered by concomitant theophylline treatment. However, renal clearance of erythromycin was enhanced by theophylline treatment (86.0 +/- 81.1 ml/min vs. 32.5 +/- 15.9 ml/min, with vs. without theophylline). Theophylline also altered urinary flow rate (4.7 +/- 1.6 ml/min vs. 1.9 +/- 1.2 ml/min, with vs. without theophylline) whereas fluid intake was identical (125 ml/h) as well as the pH of the urine (pH 6.5). The possible explanation that theophylline is acting via enhancing urinary flow rate, which reduced tubular reabsorption of erythromycin, has been ruled out by the findings of an additional trial done in 6 out of the 11 subjects. In this trial, renal clearance of erythromycin was not influenced by enhanced urinary flow rate (7.2 +/- 1.9 ml/min) which was due to high fluid intake (500 ml/h) whereas the pH of the urine was kept at 6.5 as in the first part of the study. When other mechanisms to explain the observed interaction were discussed taking into account our published results on theophylline kinetics influenced by concomitant erythromycin administration, the most likely explanation for our finding seems to be the interaction between erythromycin and 1-methyluric acid, one of the theophylline metabolites.


Accelerator grid structural and electron backstreaming failures are the most important factors affecting the ion thruster's lifetime. During the thruster's operation, Charge Exchange Xenon (CEX) ions are generated from collisions between plasma and neutral atoms. Those CEX ions grid's barrel and wall frequently, which cause the failures of the grid system. In order to validate whether the 20 cm Lanzhou Ion Propulsion System (LIPS-200) satisfies China's communication satellite platform's application requirement for North-South Station Keeping (NSSK), this study analyzed the measured depth of the pit/groove on the accelerator grid's wall and aperture diameter's variation and estimated the operating lifetime of the ion thruster. Different from the previous method, in this paper, the experimental results after the 5500 h of accumulated operation of the LIPS-200 ion thruster are presented firstly. Then, based on these results, theoretical analysis and numerical calculations were firstly performed to predict the on-orbit lifetime of LIPS-200. The results obtained were more accurate to calculate the reliability and analyze the failure modes of the ion thruster. The results indicated that the predicted lifetime of LIPS-200's was about 13218.1 h which could satisfy the required lifetime requirement of 11000 h very well.


Abstract Background Blood‐brain barrier (BBB) permeability can be assessed quantitatively using advanced imaging analysis. Hypothesis/Objectives Quantification and characterization of blood‐brain barrier dysfunction (BBBD) patterns in dogs with brain tumors can provide useful information about tumor biology and assist in distinguishing between gliomas and meningiomas. Animals Seventy‐eight hospitalized dogs with brain tumors and 12 control dogs without brain tumors. Methods In a 2‐arm study, images from a prospective dynamic contrast‐enhanced (DCE; n = 15) and a retrospective archived magnetic resonance imaging study (n = 63) were analyzed by DCE and subtraction enhancement analysis (SEA) to quantify BBB permeability in affected dogs relative to control dogs (n = 6 in each arm). For the SEA method, 2 ranges of postcontrast intensity differences, that is, high (HR) and low (LR), were evaluated as possible representations of 2 classes of BBB leakage. BBB score was calculated for each dog and was associated with clinical characteristics and tumor location and class. Permeability maps were generated, using the slope values (DCE) or intensity difference (SEA) of each voxel, and analyzed. Results Distinctive patterns and distributions of BBBD were identified for intra‐ and extra‐axial tumors. At a cutoff of 0.1, LR/HR BBB score ratio yielded a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100% in differentiating gliomas from meningiomas. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Blood‐brain barrier dysfunction quantification using advanced imaging analyses has the potential to be used for assessment of brain tumor characteristics and behavior and, particularly, to help differentiating gliomas from meningiomas.


In Reply. —I regret that Drs McLeod and Kohner have tried to refute our experimental study on the pathogenesis of CRVO (Archives96:311-323, 1978) by a superficial and somewhat misguided review of our report and misinterpretation of our and their own findings. Had they read the communication more carefully, it would have become evident that the sole purpose of our study was to investigate the pathogenesis of CRVO and not the mechanism of the development of retinal hemorrhages, which are a nonspecific sign of a large variety of retinopathies. Retinal hemorrhages are seen in both entities of CRVO, ie, venous stasis retinopathy (VSR) and hemorrhagic retinopathy (HR), although they are usually far more extensive in the latter than the former; however, the extent of retinal hemorrhages is not the only criterion for diagnosing HR. I stressed that "Diagnosis of venous stasis retinopathy or hemorrhagic retinopathy is thus arrived at


This paper is going to reconsider the judgment on Zhu Xi's and Chen Yi-chuan's ideology systems made by Mou Zongsan. Kant's concept of conquering "Natural Dialectic" is the main approach of interpretation in this paper. The natural dialecict is that when ordinary human are conscious of moral law to practice, their desire will start to resist and let them doubt the pure reason of morality, which causes them to be unable to complete the moral practice. In order to conquer this problem of mankind, Kant claims that the understanding of morality of mankind should be improved from ordinary to theoretical understanding. By doing so, people can conquer the natural dialectc.Depending on my research, Yi-chuan's viewpoint of improving the understanding of morality from "changzhi" to "Zhenzhi" and Zhu Xi's viewpoint of "Ko-wo Chih-chih" according to "Da Xue" can be given reasonable explanations in moral practice through Kant's theory which describes above. If the way of explanation is approved, Yi-chuan's and Zhu Xi's theories can be justified and interpreted that their theories belong to a kind of theoretical method which is necessary in moral practice in Confucianism. Therefore, we can give neo-interpretation to Yi-chuan's and Zhu Xi's ideology systems.


A connectionist model that deals with the inheritance problem in an efficient and natural way is described. Based on the connectionist architecture CONSYDERR, the author analyses the problem of property inheritance and formulates it in ways facilitating conceptual clarity and connectionist implementation. A set of benchmarks is specified for ensuring the correctness of solution mechanisms. Parameters of CONSYDERR are formally derived to satisfy these benchmark requirements. The author also discusses how chaining of is-a links and multiple inheritance can be handled in this architecture. It is shown that CONSYDERR with a two-level dual (localist and distributed) representation can handle inheritance and cancellation of inheritance correctly and extremely efficiently, in constant time instead of proportional to the length of a chain in an inheritance hierarchy. The utility of a meaning-oriented intensional approach (with features) is demonstrated for supplementing and enhancing extensional approaches. >


Factors that affect students' attitudes to school science and to careers in science are many and varied, depending on the individual student. This study analyses the attitudes of students from age 11 to 16 towards such careers and the effect of school science on those attitudes. It discusses the implications for teaching in the context of motivational factors, and highlights the need to allow students space to match their own motivational needs.


The distribution of Si oxidation states in 1.7‐, 2.0‐, and 3.0‐nm‐thick downstream plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited SiO2 film upon Si has been studied by soft x‐ray photoemission, using synchrotron radiation. The spectra from the as‐deposited 3.0‐nm‐thick oxide show two prominent Si oxidation states, the Si4+ and the Si3+, with the Si3+ oxidation state preferentially located at the oxide vacuum interface. The Si3+ state is considerably larger than that observed in thermal SiO2 and is radiation and thermally sensitive, partially converting to the Si4+ state during annealing and extended irradiation. The analysis of the photoinduced conversion from the Si3+ to the Si4+ oxidation state suggests that the paramagnetic component of the Si3+ structure matrix can be correlated with the structure of the E' defect center, as measured by electron spin resonance. A model is proposed for the SiO2 deposition mechanism whereby a temperature activated surface oxidation of the Si3+ structure is taking place.


The status of the arachnid names published in Berendt's 1845 work Die im Bernstein befindlichen organischen Reste der Vorwelt (Band I, Abtheilung 1) is reassessed. All of the new generic and specific names introduced there are nomina nuda. However, the family names Eresidae (Araneae), Eriodontidae (Araneae), Mithraeidae (Araneae) and Sarcoptidae (Acari: Actinotrichida) were all validly proposed and should be attributed to C.L. Koch in Berendt (1845). Two of these family names are currently in use: Eresidae C.L. Koch in Berendt (1845) (previously attributed to C.L. Koch, 1851) and Sarcoptidae C.L. Koch in Berendt (1845) (previously attributed to Murray, 1877), along with the coordinate superfamily names Eresoidea C.L. Koch in Berendt (1845) and Sarcoptoidea C.L. Koch in Berendt (1845).


Cemented tungsten carbides (WC), are considered one of the oldest, most successful and commercialized powder metallurgy products. These materials are commonly composites of WC powder particles bonded with transition metals such as Co or Ni via liquid-phase sintering. WC-based composites have been used for decades in wide engineering applications, as cutting tools, components for oil and gas drilling, metal forming, among others. The conventional processing of the WC based composites initializes with powder preparation, performed by wet milling of all the powder components (WC and metallic binders). However, this process is high energy consuming, ecologically unfriendly and longstanding, thus new powder processing methods are welcome. In this work, copper (Cu) was selected as an alternative binder, due to its inability to form brittle carbides with WC at higher temperature, the superior ductility (compared with the traditional Co binder) and corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, melted Cu has low wettability on the WC surfaces, limiting the attained sintered density and, consequently, the final properties. Powder coating techniques, such as high energy ball milling (HEBM) and the sputter-coating technique (ST), improve the binder homogeneous distribution and nanostructuring enhancing the sinterability. WC-Cu composite powders (with 2 wt.% Cu) were prepared using the two methods mentioned above. The morphology of the particles was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM- Hitachi SU-70) and the distribution and chemical composition were assessed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS- Bruker QUANTAX 400). The starting WC powder has an average grain size of 9 µm, as depicted in Figures 1-a) and 2-a). In the WC coating by HEBM, the collisions of ball-to-ball and ball-to-wall with the entrapped powder particles cause at the same time severe binder plastic deformation and WC fragmentation, endorsing a high uniform distribution of Cu around WC particles, as is depicted in Figures 1-b) and c). On the other hand, the composite powders prepared by ST revealed a high uniformity of Cu coating on the WC particles (Figures 2-b) and c)), together with a columnar binder nanostructure, commonly observed on sputter–coated surfaces. In spite of the low binder content, the WC particles seem well covered, taking its rough morphology, in Figure 2-c), and the X- ray maps and the Cu, W concentration profiles presented in Figure 3. It can be, therefore, concluded that both powder coating techniques allow high uniform distribution of Cu coatings on WC particles and, furthermore, the ST technique presents a clear nanometric binder structure. The effect of the coating technique on the sinterability of WC-Cu powders will be evaluated on forthcoming studies.


MONK is a text mining tool hosted by the University of Illinois Library that enables researchers to analyze digital texts from select databases and archives of digitized texts. Using web log statistical data generated by the MONK website over the twelve months of 2010, this study will present initial web log analysis on the use of MONK by researchers. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of web log statistical data from MONK to examine the ways in which MONK has been most commonly used by researchers, and analyze the possible needs of researchers in the future.