Abstract. Whole shelled corn, black beans, white beans, and fuzzy whole cotton seed were used as tracers in blended total mixed rations to assess uniformity. Tracers were placed in varied locations of two mixers, but under the conditions of these experiments, tracer placement did not affect the coefficient of variation (CV; the uniformity measurement). This is an indication of mixer performance. With a paddle mixer blending a beef ration which did not have much long particle mass, each tracer performed similarly; as mixing time increased from 180 to 600 s, the CV did improve at a rate of 1% reduction per minute – starting at 24.8% with 180 s of mixing. With a reel-type mixer and a dairy ration containing 19% particle mass longer than 19 mm, the type of tracer affected CV. Slick tracers (corn, white beans, black beans) had higher CVs (28%, 33%, and 33%, respectively) than fuzzy whole cotton seed (18%); counts of slick tracers also decreased as the mixer emptied. The clingy whole cotton seed tracer suggested a more uniform blend (lower CV) and there was not a tendency for increase, nor decrease, in cotton seed counts as the mixer emptied. For the stationary reel mixer, increasing mixing time from 350 to 1100 s did not reduce CV. Uniformity of size particle size distribution among samples was better than uniformity of countable tracers for both mixers.


As is common in the public health arena in general, the literature concerned with social differences in injury risks is dominated by individual-level studies. Though numerous, these studies are predominantly descriptive, mainly concerned with injury risk distribution across socio-economic groups (measured in terms of social class, education, income, occupation or ethnicity) or with persons in various socio-economic circumstances (e.g., the unemployed, single parents, multi-child families). There is a great need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying social patterning of injury risks. Injury research still lacks explanatory models for and empirical evidence on how contextual and individual factors interact in injury causation. Such research may be of considerable help in understanding social differentials in injury risks and, perhaps most importantly, the differential benefits of preventive strategies.


Two personally observed cases of severe agranulocytosis within 3 months, one of them fatal, could be attributed to the new dibenzodiazepine derivative Clozapine (Leponex). Clozapine, a very effective neuroleptic for the treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenia, has been found before to induce agranulocytosis of the metabolic type, as phenothiazines are known to do. An inquiry in al Swiss medical departments and mental hospitals revealed a total of 20 cases of Clozapine induced agranulocytosis in some 50% of institutions responding. 9 of these were observed in Eastern Switzerland. This time-space clustering recalls the "finnish epidemic" of 1975 in Southern Finland. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are discussed. Calculations of the incidence suggest a higher rate of agranulocytosis induced by Clozapine than has been assumed for the phenothiazines. Clozapine should therefore be restricted to schizophrenic patients and initially (6 weeks) be given only on a stationary basis under regular blood controls.


'Here the prince held a review in the park and took a muster of our countrymen and they amounted all told to 11,000 heavy-armed and about 2,000 light-armed infantry. Thence he marched to—, a populous town, where he halted five days. More than three months' pay was now owing to the troops and they came often to his gates and demanded it. He talked hopefully and tried to put them off, but was obviously worried. For it was not like him to withhold money when he had it. At this place the wife of a neighbouring king came to the prince and, it was said, gave him a large sum of money. At any rate he gave the troops four months' pay. This queen had a body-guard of her own men, but according to camp gossip the prince knew how to pass the sentries. Thence he proceeded another two marches further inland to another large town. There he halted three days and there, it was said, the queen asked him to show her his army. This was in accord with his own wishes. So he held a review of our countrymen and of his own troops. He ordered our men to draw up in their accustomed order of battle, each general in command of his own contingent. So they formed up four deep. The prince inspected his own forces first and they marched past, the horse by squadrons and the foot by companies.Then he inspected our men, driving up and down the lines in a chariot, and the queen following in an armoured wagon.


This study investigates the electromyographic changes of mandibular prognathism indicated sagittal splitting of the mandibular ramus.1. After surgery, duration of the temporal muscle on the chewing side decreased significantly in gum chewing. Standard deviation of duration, interval and cycle time decreased significantly in gum chewing. That is, masticatory rhythm became more regular and tended to resemble that of the normal group. In gum or rice chewing, maximum amplitudes of the temporal and masseter muscle became higher on the chewing and the nonchewing side and tended to resemble that of the normal group.2. In the preoperation group, the muscle activity of the digastric muscle on the nonchewing side was greater than that on the chewing side. In the postoperation group, the difference of muscle activities between both side decreased significantly and tended to resemble that of the normal group.After orthognathic surgery, the coordination of muscle activities of the temporal, masseter and digastric muscles improved and almost became similar to that of the normal group.


By Stefan Gaspar, Environmental Studies
 Advisor: Amy Townsend-Small
 Presentation ID: PM_ATRIUM12
 Abstract: The Green Cincinnati Plan, adopted in 2018, is Cincinnati's response to the US backing out of the Paris Climate Accord. This project specifically, following the outline of the GCP, targeted the issue of food waste, and how the misconceptions surrounding expiration and sell-by dates contribute to larger amounts of food waste. With the help of 20 participants, I aimed to test the willingness of individuals to help reduce food waste and determine what practices are most feasible. Some of these practices include distributing literature on the truth behind expiration dates, more conservative consumption, buying fewer perishables at the grocery store, and proper produce storage techniques. Data was collected through volunteer participation, Excel log sheets, and multiple surveys. With this data, I hope to better understand the extent to which individuals are willing to reduce their food waste, and how this willingness can be generalized to a larger population. I also hope to inspire some to rethink their own consumption practices, and perhaps provide those participating in this project with the information and encouragement to make longstanding lifestyle changes.


To assess the relative ecological risks of trenbolone acetate (TBA) use in agro-ecosystems, we evaluated the spatiotemporal dynamics of TBA metabolite transport during irrigation and rainfall events. Within a pasture, TBA-implanted heifers (40 mg TBA, 8 mg estradiol) were briefly penned (24 h) at high stocking densities (500 animal units (AU)/ha), prior to irrigation. Irrigation runoff concentrations of 17α-trenbolone (17α-TBOH) 0.3 m downslope were 11 ng/L in the wetting front, but quickly decreased to ∼0.5 ng/L, suggesting mass transfer limitations to transport. At 3 and 30 m downslope, efficient attenuation of 17α-TBOH concentrations is best explained by infiltration and surface partitioning. At plot scales, transport through vegetated filter strips resulted in <0.5-7 ng/L 17α-TBOH concentrations in rainfall-induced runoff with partial subsequent attenuation. Thus, even under intense grazing scenarios, TBA-metabolite transport potential is expected to be low in rangelands, with ecological risks primarily arising from uncontrolled animal access to receiving waters. However, 17α-TBOH concentrations in initial runoff were predicted to exceed threshold levels (i.e., no observed adverse effect levels [NOAELs]) for manure concentrations exceeding 2.0 ng/g-dw, which occurs throughout most of the implant life. For comparison, estrone and 17β-estradiol were modeled and are likely capable of exceeding NOAELs by a factor of ∼2-5 in irrigation runoff, suggesting that both endogenous and exogenous steroids contribute to endocrine disruption potential in agro-ecosystems.


Title of Thesis: EFFECTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE ON TIDAL MARSHES Jennifer Holly Bryan, Master of Science, 2014 Thesis directed by: Assistant Professor Lora Harris University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science There is growing concern regarding the potentially negative impacts of sea level rise (SLR) on tidal wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In Chapter one, I investigate the phenotypic plasticity and biomechanical properties of Zizania aquatica under experimental inundation treatments. At lower elevations and higher inundation designed to simulate SLR, Zizania aquatica did indeed respond with phenotypic changes such as increased height and stem thickness, and decreased stem density, areal aboveground biomass, and modulus of elasticity. In Chapter two, I investigate the nitrogen removal role of Chesapeake Bay tidal wetlands under current and simulated long-term SLR. I also examine nitrogen removal at smaller scales in Maryland, comparing restoration goals for nitrogen loading reductions with the loss of nitrogen removal services expected by 2025. Tidal wetlands are expected to decrease in the Bay and Maryland and associated loss of nitrogen removal services may affect attainment of restoration


ABSTRACT The development of new adhesives has allowed to expand the application of bonding into the most diverse industrial fields. This review article presents the commonly used experimental methods for the investigation of mechanical performance of adhesively bonded joints in the aerospace, wind energy, automotive and civil engineering sectors. In these sectors, due to their excellent intrinsic properties, composite materials are often used along with conventional materials such as steel, concrete and aluminium. In this context, and due to the limitations that the traditional joining techniques present, adhesive joints are an excellent alternative. However, standardized experimental procedures are not always applicable for testing representative adhesive joints in these industries. Lack of relevant regulations across the different fields is often overcome by the academia and companies' own regulations and standards. Additional costs are thus mitigated to the industrial sectors in relation with the certification process which effectively can deprive even the biggest companies from promoting adhesive bonding. To ensure continuous growth of the adhesive bonding field the new international standards, focusing on actual adhesive joints' performance rather than on specific application of adhesive joints are necessary.


Most Americans and many residents of other democratic countries hold public schools to the social and political goal of preparing children to be good citizens. This goal is being challenged by some new forms of schooling promoted through popular education reform movements, especially in the US. This article reveals potentially insurmountable conflicts between the beliefs and practices of one of those forms of schools, for-profit charter schools, and their public task of educating for citizenship. This study begins by exploring the public nature and purposes of public schools, especially their role in creating particular types of citizens. This understanding of public schooling and good citizenship, then, becomes the theoretical lens for analysing the practices of for-profit charter schools. A critical discourse analysis was conducted of school materials such as websites, curricula, investor relation materials, proposals for new charter schools, and interviews with charter school founders. That analysis was used to indicate aspects of support for and incompatibility with quality citizenship education and to assess the overall likelihood that for-profit schools can educate citizens well.


Recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing C-terminally truncated E's that ranged in length from 9 to 99% of the N-terminal sequence were constructed. The overall antigenicity of the E products was analyzed by radioimmunoprecipitation, using dengue virus hyperimmune mouse ascitic fluid (HMAF) or an anti-E peptide serum. Truncated E that was 79% or less in length did not bind HMAF efficiently, whereas E constructs greater than 79% were able to bind HMAF with high efficiency. The first 392 amino acids of the dengue type 4 virus E sequence, including the Arg-392 following the 79% E C terminus, appeared to be critical for proper antigenic structure required for efficient binding by HMAF. Truncated E's ranging from 59 to 81% in length were secreted extracellularly, whereas smaller or larger E's were retained intracellularly. Secreted E's contained carbohydrate side chains that were resistant to endoglycosidase H digestion, suggesting that the transport of E occurs via a pathway from the rough endoplasmic reticulum through the Golgi complex. 79% E-RKG (which possessed the three additional amino acids immediately downstream of 79% E) was expressed at a high concentration on the surface of recombinant virus-infected cells presumably being inserted into the plasma membrane by a hydrophobic C-terminal membrane anchor. Evaluation in mice of the protective efficacy of the various vaccinia virus E recombinants indicated that only truncated E's that were recognized efficiently by HMAF induced a high level of resistance to dengue virus encephalitis. 79% E-RKG which is expressed at a high concentration on the surface of infected cells was highly immunogenic when tested for induction of an E antibody response. This suggests that cell surface expression of 79% E-RKG was responsible for its enhanced immunogenicity. Finally, passive immunization studies indicated that serum antibodies to E played a major role in the complete or nearly complete resistance to dengue virus challenge induced by certain vaccinia virus-truncated E recombinants.


The rates of the hydrolyses of N-(o-hydroxyphenyl)phthalimide (1) and N-(o-methoxyphenyl)phthalimide (2), studied at different pH, show that the hydrolysis of 1 involves intramolecular general base (IGB) assistance where the o-O- group of ionized 1 acts as IGB and H2O as the reactant. The rate enhancement due to the IGB-assisted reaction of H2O with ionized 1 is>8x10(4)-fold. Pseudo-first-order rate constant for the reaction of water with 2 is approximately 2x10(3)-fold smaller than the first-order rate constant (0.10 s-1) for pH-independent hydrolysis of 1 within the pH range of 9.60-10.10. Second-order rate constants (kOH) for hydroxide ion-assisted hydrolysis of ionized 1 and 2 are 3.0 and 29.1 M-1 s-1, respectively. The solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effect (dKIE) on the rate of alkaline hydrolysis of 1 and 2 reveals that the respective values of kOH/kOD are 0.84 and 0.78, where kOD represents the second-order rate constant for DO--assisted cleavage of these imides (1 and 2). The value of kwH2O/kdD2O is 2.04, with kwH2O and kdD2O representing pseudo-first-order rate constants for the reactions of ionized 1 with H2O and D2O, respectively.


There is a great deal at stake in the upcoming battle over health care reform, in some respects more than we might think. Reforming our cumbersome and costly health care system and finding a way to ensure that all Americans have adequate health care has been a major goal of progressives for decades. If a good health care bill gets passed millions of Americans will see almost immediate and tangible improvements in their lives. The US will no longer stand out among advanced industrial countries for its failure to meet this basic need.


The idea of devoting a Special Issue of ELECTROPHORESIS to biological applications of microfluidics, with the emphasis on the analysis of complex biological systems (understood as the analysis of living beings at different levels of organisation, be it DNA, RNA, proteins or metabolites, and their interactions) was initiated at the HPCE 2004 meeting in Salzburg, Austria. During discussions with Prof. Radola, it became clear that microfluidics was maturing from a purely technology-driven field into a toolbox that may prove useful in addressing the analytical requirements of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics [1]. The transition from proof-of-principle prototypes to routine, commercially available analytical tools has to be put in perspective with the relatively recent entry of industrial players into the field who bring concepts to the market and end-users.


Certain 'inconsistencies' in the derivation of the Zitterbewegung solution for Heisenberg equations for the Dirac electron, reported by Sherry (see ibid., vol.9, p.301-2 (1988)) are shown to be incorrect.


Infertility is a major stressor in the lives of married couples: Recent studies also indicate that adoption understanding is a life crisis for the child adoptee. The losses experienced by adoptive parents and adopted children have an impact not only on the development of these individuals, but also on tie family as it meets developmental milestones. Because of the differences in the formation of the adoptive family, the family is more vulnerable to dysfunction over the life cycle than nonadoptive families. This article will explore the nature of these crises and the implications for interventions with the family.


The arguably retrogressive development of infrastructures, socio-political systems and technology in most African states casts a shadow of doubt on Africa's claim to modernity and by extension, postmodernity. Within the context of the arts, the argument of this paper is premised on two questions: Why do some Nigerian artists claim to be post-modern? What is the viability of such a claim, in a country that, one is wondering whether it is even a modern society? To proffer answers to these questions, the paper enunciates a historical overview of contemporary African art and artists vis-à-vis the generalized concept of post-modernity, from the subjective view that its conceptualization and understanding, have a direct influence on contemporary artistic practice and expression. The paper then interrogates certain arts, within the context of their postmodern trend. The paper's conceptual framework is premised on Peroziosi's (2009) postulation that artworks are reflective of their original time, place, and production circumstances. The authors conclude that contemporary artists' responses to and their manifestation of postmodernist trends are such that can be categorised into three: Those who aspire faithfully to postmodernist principles; those who are inspired by postmodernism but want to progress their society by socio-political and economic reflections, criticism and advocacies as well as those who ordinarily would not have been artists perhaps, if not for the freedom provided by postmodernism.


Objective: To investigate the antimicrobial resistance and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of S.paratyphi A strains in Zhengzhou city isolated from sentinel hospitals in 2013-2015. Methods: According to Salmonella molecular typing and K-B drug susceptibility testing method published by international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network and USA Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI2015), we analyzed drug sensitivity and PFGE molecular characteristics of 67 S.paratyphi A strains(11 strains in 2013, 7 strains in 2014, 49 strains in 2015) isolated from blood and stool samples in two sentinel hospitals of fever with rash syndrome surveillance system established in Zhengzhou city in 2013-2015. Results: The results showed 67 strains of S.paratyphi A had different levels of resistance to 13 kinds of antibiotics, 65 strains were multi-drug resistant strains (97.0%), 5 isolates were resistant to 2-3 kinds of antibiotics (7.5%), 41 isolates were resistant to 5-8 kinds of antibiotics (61.2%),11 isolates were resistant to 9-10 kinds of antibiotics(16.4%),8 isolates were resistant to 11-12 kinds of antibiotics(11.9%). 67 strains of S.paratyphi A were divided into 10 molecular patterns(PTYA1-PTYA10) by digestion with XbaⅠ restriction endonuclease and pulsed field gel electrophoresis, each pattern contains 1-48 strains with similarity ranged from 94.31%-100%. PTYA3 contained 48 strains, which was predominant band type; PTYA1, 9 contained 6 strains; PTYA 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 contained 1 strains among them. Conclusion: The status of drug resistance of clinical isolates of S.paratyphi A in Zhengzhou city was rather serious, PFGE patterns showed diversity and dominant characteristics. The PFGE patterns of partial strains and its corresponding anti-drug spectrum have certain relevance and cluster relationship.


The objectives were to model empirical interrelationships among dietary macromineral elements and cation-anion difference influencing DMI, milk yield, 4% FCM yield, and milk composition of dairy cows. The database consisted of 1022 cow-period means collected from 326 midlactation cows in experiments with incomplete block designs. Dietary concentrations of elements ranged from below to above current recommendations, and cation-anion difference (Na + K-Cl) was from +5.8 to +61.2 meq/100 g of dietary DM. Interrelationships were detected for dietary concentrations of Na by K for DMI, 4% FCM yield, and milk fat percentage; Na by Ca for DMI, milk yield, and 4% FCM yield; K by Cl for DMI, 4% FCM yield, and milk protein percentage; K by Ca for 4% FCM yield, milk protein, and fat percentages; Na and P for DMI and milk protein percentage; and K by P for 4% FCM yield and milk fat percentage. Maximal DMI and milk yield were observed with .58% Na, .40% Mg, and +38 meq/100 g of dietary DM. Agreement was close for DMI and milk yield responses to dietary cation-anion difference from our database and independent data sets. The models developed are empirical, do not necessarily establish cause and effect, and should be evaluated prudently; however, they provide useful information to design future research.


Eucalyptus cloeziana is one of the highest-density wood species offering significant added value, frequently used in the construction and furniture industries. Despite its suitability, it may be overlooked on account of its propagation difficulties due either to its low rooting cutting capacity or to its seeds having a low germination rate perhaps attributable to the high proportion of indistinguishable impurities within the seed lots. This study aimed to develop an efficient technique for Eucalyptus cloeziana seed processing to increase the physical purity and, consequently, the physiological quality of the seed lot. Three seed lots, separated by size in sieves with 1.18, 1.00, and 0.84 mm square openings, were used. X-ray analyses were carried out, the number of normal seedlings and germination rate identified and the percentage and speed of seedling emergence under greenhouse conditions ascertained. The greenhouse evaluation showed that the seed retained in the 1.18 mm sieve presented viability and vigor twice that of the control. Therefore, the processing technique by size classification is efficient in terms of improving the physical and physiological performance of Eucalyptus cloeziana seed lots.


The X protein of hepatitis B virus is known to be a trans-activator of viral and cellular genes and to be a serine protease inhibitor as well. X protein has no DNA-binding activity, but is postulated to exert its trans-activation function by interacting with cellular proteins. To investigate interaction sites of X protein with cellular proteins, we carried out an immunoprecipitation inhibition assay using several different anti-X antibodies in the presence or absence of cellular proteins. Results elucidated three separate sites (aa 65-72, aa 105-115, and aa 131-142; U22, X1, and Z44 sites, respectively) of the X protein that cooperatively interacted with cellular proteins. Analyses with a series of mutant X proteins also supported the interactions at the U22, X1, and Z44 sites. Based on the CAT activity assay, the essential regions for the trans-activation function of X protein overlapped with these three interaction sites. Furthermore, these interaction sites also coincide with the structures necessary for the serine protease inhibitor activity. Thus, the trans-activation function and serine protease inhibitor activity of X protein may be exerted by interaction with cellular proteins through at least these three sites.


Selecting relevant features is a common task in most OMICs data analysis, where the aim is to identify a small set of key features to be used as biomarkers. To this end, two alternative but equally valid methods are mainly available, namely the univariate (filter) or the multivariate (wrapper) approach. The stability of the selected lists of features is an often neglected but very important requirement. If the same features are selected in multiple independent iterations, they more likely are reliable biomarkers. In this study, we developed and evaluated the performance of a novel method for feature selection and prioritization, aiming at generating robust and stable sets of features with high predictive power. The proposed method uses the fuzzy logic for a first unbiased feature selection and a Random Forest built from conditional inference trees to prioritize the candidate discriminant features. Analyzing several multi-class gene expression microarray data sets, we demonstrate that our technique provides equal or better classification performance and a greater stability as compared to other Random Forest-based feature selection methods.


Eukaryotic nucleic acid methyltransferase (MTase) proteins are essential mediators of epigenetic and epitranscriptomic regulation. DNMT2 belongs to a large, conserved family of DNA MTases found in many organisms, including holometabolous insects like fruit flies and mosquitoes, where it is the lone MTase. Interestingly, despite its nomenclature, DNMT2 is not a DNA MTase, but instead targets and methylates RNA species. A growing body of literature suggest DNMT2 mediates the host immune response against a wide range of pathogens, including RNA viruses. Evidence of adaptive evolution, in the form of positive selection, can often be found in genes that are engaged in conflict with pathogens like viruses. Here we identify and describe evidence of positive selection that has occurred at different times over the course of DNMT2 evolution within dipteran insects. We identify specific codons within each ortholog that are under positive selection, and find they are restricted to four distinct domains of the protein and likely influence substrate binding, target recognition, and adaptation of unique intermolecular interactions. Additionally, we describe the role of the Drosophila-specific host protein IPOD, in regulating the expression and/or function of fruit fly DNMT2. Finally, heterologous expression of these orthologs suggest that DNMT2's role as an antiviral is host dependent, indicating a requirement for additional host-specific factors. Collectively, our findings highlight the adaptive evolution of DNMT2 in Dipteran insects, underscoring its role as an important, albeit non-canonical, regulator of host-pathogen interactions in mosquitoes and fruit flies.


We recently reported mutations in TMEM230 in familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Farrer et al raised the concern that mutations in TMEM230 may not be pathogenic to PD. We seriously evaluated Dr. Farrer's assertions. We obtained updated clinical information and performed several new experiments, including MegaEx chip screening of the family DNA samples with ∼2 million SNPs for whole-genome linkage study and re-analysis of whole-exome sequencing data. We did not find any other locus more robust than the chromosome 20p (TMEM230), nor any other variants with better segregation than TMEM230-R141L to explain the inheritance of PD in the large Mennonite family. Based on the new genetic data from the Mennonite PD family, and the robust genetic data showing additional TMEM230 mutations in multiple PD families, we are confident to conclude that TMEM230 is a new PD-causing gene. Further studies of TMEM230 should provide important mechanistic insights into understanding the vesicle/endosome trafficking/recycling defects in the pathogenesis of PD.


Certain species of pathogenic bacteria damage tissues by secreting cholesterol‐dependent cytolysins, which form pores in the plasma membranes of animal cells. However, reducing cholesterol protects cells against these cytolysins. As the first committed step of cholesterol biosynthesis is catalyzed by squalene synthase, we explored whether inhibiting this enzyme protected cells against cholesterol‐dependent cytolysins. We first synthesized 22 different nitrogen‐containing bisphosphonate molecules that were designed to inhibit squalene synthase. Squalene synthase inhibition was quantified using a cell‐free enzyme assay, and validated by computer modeling of bisphosphonate molecules binding to squalene synthase. The bisphosphonates were then screened for their ability to protect HeLa cells against the damage caused by the cholesterol‐dependent cytolysin, pyolysin. The most effective bisphosphonate reduced pyolysin‐induced leakage of lactate dehydrogenase into cell supernatants by >80%, and reduced pyolysin‐induced cytolysis from >75% to <25%. In addition, this bisphosphonate reduced pyolysin‐induced leakage of potassium from cells, limited changes in the cytoskeleton, prevented mitogen‐activated protein kinases cell stress responses, and reduced cellular cholesterol. The bisphosphonate also protected cells against another cholesterol‐dependent cytolysin, streptolysin O, and protected lung epithelial cells and primary dermal fibroblasts against cytolysis. Our findings imply that treatment with bisphosphonates that inhibit squalene synthase might help protect tissues against pathogenic bacteria that secrete cholesterol‐dependent cytolysins.


Machine Learning (ML) is an increasingly accessible discipline in computer science that develops dynamic algorithms capable of data-driven decisions and whose use in ecology is growing. Fuzzy sets are suitable descriptors of ecological communities as compared to other standard algorithms and allow the description of decisions that include elements of uncertainty and vagueness. However, fuzzy sets are scarcely applied in ecology. In this work, an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, fuzzy c-means and association rules mining were applied to assess the factors influencing the assemblage composition and distribution patterns of 12 zooplankton taxa in 24 shallow ponds in northern Italy. The fuzzy c-means algorithm was implemented to classify the ponds in terms of taxa they support, and to identify the influence of chemical and physical environmental features on the assemblage patterns. Data retrieved during 2014 and 2015 were compared, taking into account that 2014 late spring and summer air temperatures were much lower than historical records, whereas 2015 mean monthly air temperatures were much warmer than historical averages. In both years, fuzzy c-means show a strong clustering of ponds in two groups, contrasting sites characterized by different physico-chemical and biological features. Climatic anomalies, affecting the temperature regime, together with the main water supply to shallow ponds (e.g., surface runoff vs. groundwater) represent disturbance factors producing large interannual differences in the chemistry, biology and short-term dynamic of small aquatic ecosystems. Unsupervised machine learning algorithms and fuzzy sets may help in catching such apparently erratic differences.


Skeletonization is an iterative process frequently used in image processing to reduce the pictorial content of an object to a graph representing only the general shape of the object. We present an algorithm that extracts the skeleton from a set of segmented blood vessels. To accommodate the complexities of the blood vessels' shape, our solution combines some properties of the algorithms based on the distance-transform, iterative thinning, and Voronoi-diagram. In addition, the algorithm employs procedures for smoothing and centering of the estimated skeleton's points. These ensure the skeleton points are kept inside the region of interest. Numerical experiments with simulated 2D and real data proved the efficiency of the algorithm in extracting skeletons of blood vessels. Next we plan to extend the algorithm so that it is usable in 3D space as well. Ill. 7, bibl. 7 (in English; summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).


The equations of 10 or 11 dimensional supergravity admit supersymmet- ric compactifications on 7-manifolds of G2 holonomy, but these supergravity vacua are deformed away from special holonomy by the higher-order corrections of string or M-theory. We find simple expressions for the first-order corrections to the Einstein and Killing spinor equations in terms of the calibrating 3-form of the leading-order G2- holonomy background. We thus obtain, and solve explicitly, systems of first-order equa- tions describing the corrected metrics for most of the known classes of cohomogeneity- one 7-metrics with G2 structures.


Magnetic separation techniques have been widely used, and the separation efficiency is related to the strength of the magnetic field applied and the field gradient to trap the magnetic particles. Conventional low- superconducting wire has been used to increase the field and to reduce normal electromagnetic winding resistive loss, and now the Bi-2223/Ag HTS wire provides a new opportunity for higher magnetic field and efficiency for use in a high-gradient magnetic separator as the magnetic field winding. Magnetic separation techniques are reviewed with regard to their magnetic fields, and the magnetic field winding required for this application is analysed with the consideration of using the HTS wire.


Abstract. Title of the paper: Investigations on fertility of sows kept in single crates or in groups with tube feeders during pregnancy Investigations with more than 1000 litters of sows kept in single crates (n = 666 litters) or in groups of 12 each with tube feeders and single feeding places (n = 343 litters) between day 35 and 108 of pregnancy have shown no significant differences neither in litter size alive born piglets nor in number of stillborn piglets per litter between single crates (11.29 alive born and 1.25 stillborn piglets/litter) and loose-housing (11.20 alive and 1.08 stillborn piglets/litter). Sows kept in single crates during pregnancy had a highly significant higher percentage of puerperal diseases (24.0 % of all litters) compared with sows housed in groups (16.9 % of all litters).


This study examined the association between hypertension and AD by using a quantitative meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched for articles published up to February 2011. All studies that examined the association of hypertension or antihypertensive medication use with the onset of AD were included. Pooled relative risks (RR) were calculated using fixed and random effects models. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. All subjects were without dementia at baseline. Among them, 9 studies compared the incidence of AD between subjects with (7,270) and without (8,022) hypertension. The quantitative meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in incidence of AD (RR: 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91-1.14) between subjects with and without hypertension. Seven studies compared the incidence of AD between subjects with (8,703) and without (13,041) antihypertensive medication use. The quantitative meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in incidence of AD (RR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.79-1.03) between subjects with and without antihypertensive medication use. The quantitative meta-analysis showed that neither hypertension nor antihypertensive medication use was associated with risk for incident AD.


In this paper we present the main current techniques allowing intelligent scene display and exploration. These techniques are based on estimation of the visual pertinence of a view. Various geometric criteria, such as number of visible polygons, visible projected area of the scene, curvature or mesh salience are used to estimate visual pertinence. Other techniques try to take into account non-geometric criteria, such as lighting. Current techniques for estimation of visual pertinence of a view give satisfactory results, even if lighting parameters are not yet well integrated in estimation process.


The subject of this thesis is the origin and grrowth of the first Dutch institute for community organization. This is the 'Stichting Opbouw Drenthe' (Foundation for the development of Drenthe) which originated in 1925 in the province of Drenthe and is still functioning. ... Zie: Summary


This review article was requested by editor-in-chief of this journal as 'pediatric CHB treatment' for the upcoming special issue. The main objective of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment is diminishing the risk of complications related to chronic liver disease. In Asia, there are already some reports about hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected children. The key points of treatment in children with CHB infections are selection of which patients to treat and conformation of the optimal therapy time that would reduce viral resistance. The choice of therapy is determined by the district (Western/Eastern), HBV genotype, medical accessibility, and economic state of the country. Newly developed nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) are potent in children with CHB. However, to improve therapeutic efficacy, physicians are recommended to follow treatment guidelines and determine the specific genotype in the CHB patient. In this article, the treatment of pediatric CHB is reviewed according to differences in genotype.


Prevention and control of infectious diseases suffer from deficient compliance with preventive measures or guidelines of both professionals and general audience. This poses a threat to public health. Current approaches to prevent risk behavior are in need of innovation. Fresh approaches to education, information and communication are needed. In this study five social media tools i.e., (micro)blogs, social networks, podcasts, mobile applications, RSS feeds, are (re)designed and operated with regard to four areas of infection prevention and control. They are evaluated according to their impact on public and professional adherence, compliance rate and other indices. Here we present outcomes of the first part of the study; a literature review of social media use in public health, specifically in the Netherlands. Empirical studies are scarce. However anecdotic studies, practices and experiences are reported that imply a range of innovative possibilities and potential impact of social media in the field of prevention and control of infectious diseases, as well as in public health at large.


The draft NMC code spells out what is expected of nurses in leadership roles, including ensuring concerns are listened to and putting patient care first. Managers must also ensure staff have the skills, knowledge and competence for safe practice.


Recent studies have demonstrated that the human intestinal enzymes of carbohydrate digestion and metabolism can be regulated by dietary sugars. These studies have utilized direct assay of intestinal mucosal enzyme activity. Mucosa has been obtained by the use of peroral jejunal biopsy techniques which provide 10-15 mg of mucosa in a safe, simple and reproducible manner. Dietary sucrose, as compared to dietary glucose, increases the activities of the jejunal disaccharidases, sucrase and maltase, but not lactase. Fructose reproduces the sucrose effect and appears to be the active principle in the sucrose molecule. Lactose deprivation or lactose feeding does not alter lactase activity. Fructose has been useful in treating one patient with sucrase-isomaltase deficiency. Jejunal glycolytic enzyme activities are also regulated by dietary sugars. Certain enzymes are highest with specific dietary carbohydrates, lower with other sugars and lowest on a carbohydrate-free diet. The regulation of human jejunal glycolytic enzyme activity takes place in hours, whereas the change in disaccharidase activity occurs in 2-5 days. The mechanism of this regulation is not known. Additional investigations have shown that jejunal glycolytic enzyme activities but not the disaccharidases are controlled by oral folic acid as well. This effect occurs within 1 day also. The mechanism is unknown. Large doses of folate have been of benefit in a few patients with certain glycolytic enzyme deficiency states. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that selected patients with chronic undiagnosed intestinal disorders fail to manifest an adaptive response of their jejunal glycolytic enzyme activities to dietary sugars. This condition has been termed a "maladaptation syndrome.".


The serotonin transporter (SERT) belongs to a family of sodium chloride-dependent transporters responsible for uptake of amino acids and biogenic amines from extracellular spaces. SERT represents the main pharmacological target in the treatment of several clinical conditions, including depression and anxiety. Serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants are the most predominantly prescribed drugs in the treatment of depression. In addition to antidepressants also psychostimulants, like cocaine and amphetamines, are important SERT antagonists. In the present study, we report the cloning and characterization of chicken SERT. Although the uptake kinetic was very similar to human SERT, the pharmacological profiles differed considerably for the two species. We find that chicken SERT is capable of discriminating between different serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors; thus, the potency of S-citalopram and paroxetine is reduced more than 40-fold. A cross-species chimera strategy was undertaken and followed by species-scanning mutagenesis. Differences in pharmacological profiles were tracked to amino acid residues 169, 172, and 586 in human SERT. Structure-activity studies on structurally related compounds indicated that species divergences in drug sensitivity between human and chicken SERT were arising from differences in coordination or recognition of an important aminomethyl pharmacophoric substructure, which is shared by all high affinity antidepressants. Consequently, we suggest that Ala169 and Ile172 of human SERT are important residues in sensing the N-methylation state of SERT antagonists.


Loss of aircraft lateral control can be problem, specifically when multi engine propeller aircraft are faced with an engine failure. Another, less frequent phenomena is the loss of lateral control in case of aircraft damage. In this thesis, a method is developed to determine the minimum required aircraft velocity as a function of aircraft state and pilot inputs. This led to a new display that was evaluated with pilots in the loop in the SIMONA research simulator. Test revealed that recovery from roll limited situations is a very demanding task for pilots. The added controllability indications can help but only after extensive training. The handling of unknown damage could, however, improve considerable by using tyhe new indications in combination with a controllability check.


Latin America exhibits some of the world's most worrisome patterns of insecurity. Homicide rates have reached alarming levels in dozens of cities in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia. Drug and other illicit trafficking generate massive income for criminal organizations. Fighting among these organizations, and between criminal groups and the state, threatens human security in zones of production and along transit routes. Refugee crises—especially an exodus of 4 million Venezuelans by 2019—could increase substantially. Receiving countries struggle to respond.
 Insecurity in Latin America cannot be fully understood through comparison of the domestic challenges of each country in the region. The sources of contemporary insecurity are not contained within countries, but extend to transnational criminal networks, flows of illicit goods, and human trafficking and displacement. Likewise, isolated state responses are insufficient to respond to transnational dynamics; although some coordination has been achieved, intergovernmental responses have produced limited gains and substantial unintended consequences. Thus, we consider security challenges in the region as a "security complex" that includes Latin American and Caribbean countries, but in which the United States remains significant.
 On the other hand, international conflict and civil war, as traditionally defined, have almost vanished from Latin America. Threats of military coups and politically motivated violence have declined after being a key security issue for decades. However, some troubling cases and trends complicate this positive trend. Venezuela's governing civilian–military alliance eroded basic democratic institutions and produced an economic, political, and humanitarian crisis. In response, the United States has raised the specter of military intervention or coup sponsorship. Honduras and especially Nicaragua have turned to authoritarianism, accompanied by alarming levels of repression of protesters and civil society activists. U.S. policies under the Trump administration toward migrants from Central America and Mexico are creating great tension in the region and fear of reprisals. Although most border disputes have been settled a few still are unresolved or contested and could generate tensions between countries in the region.
 The academic literature about international security in Latin America reflects the complex dynamics described above, covers historical and contemporary security challenges in the region, and presents debates and developments on Latin American security at the international and national levels. Despite its wide scope, the existing literature presents areas where more work is needed to account for emerging trends of (in)security.


This article considers Argentina's empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores (worker-recuperated enterprises, or ERTs) as transformative learning organizations. ERTs are illustrative of how workers' conversions of capitalist firms into worker cooperatives—especially conversions emerging from troubled firms and in moments of deep socio-economic crises—transform workers (from managed employees to self-managed workers), work organizations (from capitalist businesses to labour-managed firms), and communities (from depleted to revitalized and self-provisioning localities). Theoretically, the study is grounded in class-struggle, workplace learning, and social action learning approaches. These theoretical perspectives help the study work through how workplace conversions by workers, when converting troubled investor-owned or proprietary firms into worker coops, act as catalysts for contesting workplace exploitation and capitalist crises, while also beginning to move beyond them by forging new social relations of production and exchange. In the case of Argentina's ERTs, crises in the political economy and micro-economic crises at the point of production during the collapse of the neoliberal model at the turn of the millennium heightened workers' self-awareness of their situations of exploitation and motivated collective action. As a result, new worker cooperatives were created that also stimulated the social, cultural, and economic renewal of surrounding communities. The study's research method relies on extended case studies of four diverse ERTs, which included ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews. Observations of daily workflows were conducted, as well as interviews and informal conversations with founding and newer ERT workers. In a more structured portion of the interview protocol, key-informants were asked to reflect on how they had personally changed after being involved in the ERT, and how production practices and involvement with the community had transformed in the process of conversion. The article concludes by outlining how worker, organizational, and community transformations emerge from workers' processes of informal learning and learning in struggle as they collectively strive to overcome macro- and micro-economic crises and learn to become cooperators. This learning, the study shows, occurs in two ways: intra-cooperatively via informal workplace learning, and inter-cooperatively between workers from different ERTs and with surrounding communities. The self-management forged by ERTs thus embodies new, cooperative, and community-centered values and practices for these workers that, in turn, sketch out different possibilities for economic and productive life in Argentina.


In this paper we described the participation of beta-adrenoceptors in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. We characterized mainly the low-affinty state of beta1-adrenoceptors and beta3-adrenoceptors, which are insensitive to propranolol (the antagonist of beta1-/beta2-adrenoceptors). We also illustrated their function in the healthy and failing heart. In addition the vasodilatory effects of these receptors ligands were described.


INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS S. I. Mel'nyk, O. V. Novichkov, V. M. Polupan, M. G. Levenko Purpose. Research of fertilizers for agricultural crops and ways to improve soil fertility. Methods. Analysis and synthesis, statistical, comparative evaluation, graphical, agrochemical, field research. Results. Analyzed the present situation with use fertilizers in the crop production. The existing problems and reasons that led to reduction of fertilizer using per unit of sown area were found out. Ukraine is an important player in the global agrarian market, having large agricultural land and excellent climatic conditions for farming. However, now the actual volumes of mineral and organic fertilizers entering into the soil considerably inferior to what was recorded in recent years before independence. This is mainly due to systemic crisis phenomena in the agrarian sector of the Ukrainian economy, which continues up to the present. It is suggested rational use of available resources for soil enrichment. The most reasonable is to use the straw, which will help increase the yield of crops. It not only replenishes the soil with nutrients, but also improves its structure and physical properties. In this case, it should be avoided burning the straw on fields or use for some other purpose, because then the economic efficiency of such measures is very low or none at all. Moreover, as a result of the high temperatures, the burning process causes enormous damage to the environment. It is very important to prevent the loss of soil fertility, because with the shortage of fertilizers it constantly becomes less suitable for agricultural use. Conclusions. Soils are gradually depleting in Ukraine, and their larger areas are characterized by impoverished humus, phosphorus and potassium. Taking into account that financial resources of domestic producers for purchasing the required amount of fertilizers are very limited, it is proposed to use more efficiently the by-products of growing cereal crops - straw. It contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and many microelements which enrich the soil. This information was confirmed in the current results of thematic research. Given the current high cereals production in Ukraine, the use of straw should be the most effective and optimal measure to maintain the high natural fertility of Ukrainian soils in the near future. Keywords: arable land, soil, humus, fertilizers, straw, efficiency.


To the Editor.— Metastasis from one neoplasm to an unrelated coexisting neoplasm is a very rare autopsy finding; to our knowledge, fewer than 100 cases have been reported in the English literature. In 40 of these patients the host tumor was another malignant neoplasm and in 56 it was a benign tumor.1We wish to report two additional cases with tumor to tumor metastasis. Report of Cases.—Case 1.— This 74-year-old woman was found in July 1962 to have scirrhous carcinoma of the right breast with metastases to the skin, lymph nodes, lungs, vertebrae, and possibly the liver. She was treated with a combination of diethylstilbestrol and testosterone propionate but her cancer kept growing rapidly, and she died two months later. At autopsy extensive metastatic lesions were found in the skin, lymph nodes, pleurae, lungs, liver, pituitary and adrenal glands, bones and the brain. Metastatic foci were found


We develop a perfect foresight, overlapping generations model with intragenerational inequality and endogenous human and physical capital investment, and we calculate welfare costs for marginal reforms of taxation and public spending. Welfare costs are uniformly lower than in the equivalent static model where human and physical capital are fixed. Most of the upward bias in static estimates arises from fixed human capital because welfare cost is predominantly tax leakage from lower effective labor supply, but reallocating time between education and labor can leave effective labor supply unchanged. Hence, adjustments in human capital have an important mitigating influence on marginal welfare costs. (JEL D91, H20, H31, H41, J22, J24)


There is a great difference in susceptibility to v-abl transgene-induced plasmacytoma between the BALB/cAn and the relatively resistant C57BL/6J mouse strains. We have used the Mapmaker/SURVIVOR algorithm to analyze genome-wide scans on over 800 transgenic F2 hybrid mice, and have mapped at least six loci on chromosomes 2, 4, 11, 17, and 18 that modify tumor-related morbidity. As in human multiple myeloma, males were found to be more prone to plasmacytomagenesis. Different loci influence tumor susceptibility in male and female mice. Survival in females may be largely controlled by a pair of interacting loci on chromosomes 2 and 17.


Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays an unequivocal role in colorectal cancer, but identification of effective Wnt inhibitors for use in cancer remains a tremendous challenge. New insights into the regulation of this pathway could reveal new therapeutic point of intervention, therefore are greatly needed. Here we report a novel FAK/PYK2/GSK3βY216/β-catenin regulation axis: FAK and PYK2, elevated in adenomas in APCmin/+ mice and in human colorectal cancer tissues, functioned redundantly to promote the Wnt/β-catenin pathway by phosphorylating GSK3βY216 to reinforce pathway output—β-catenin accumulation and intestinal tumorigenesis. We previously showed that Wnt-induced β-catenin accumulation requires Wnt-induced GSK3β/β-TrCP interaction; the current study revealed that phosphorylation of GSK3βY216 was a molecular determinant of GSK3β recruitment of β-TrCP. Pharmacological inhibition of FAK/PYK2 suppressed adenoma formation in APCmin/+ mice accompanied with reduced intestinal levels of phospho-GSK3βY216 and β-catenin, indicating that FAK/PYK2/GSK3βY216 axis is critical for the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in APC driven intestinal tumorigenesis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10072.001


Regional Italians: language attitudes toward the geographical varieties of Italian This paper explores the opportunities of presented by a direct attitude experiment on regional varieties of the Italian language. It starts with an overview of existing literature on language attitudes, with a special focus on the role of attitudes in standard language change in Italy. Recently, scholars have argued that standardization dynamics can only be understood if one investigates the language attitudes toward the standard language and its varieties. We review the Italian literature on the several new regional varieties of contemporary Italian that are currently involved in the restandardization of the national language, i.e. Milanese, Florentine, Roman and Neapolitan Italian. After this theoretical overview, we report the results of an exploratory, direct attitude experiment (Free Response Task) on these regional varieties. The results show that Milanese Italian triggers (negative) conceptualizations related to high status, while Florentine Italian is positively associated with cultural and historical stereotypes. Roman Italian triggers concepts of vulgarity and Neapolitan Italian receives mixed associations, ranging from cordiality to criminality. The results give rise to the hypothesis that Milanese Italian, and not Roman Italian as its closest competitor, can be considered a good candidate to become the new standard.


We present congestion puzzles (CP), a new countermeasure to bandwidth-exhaustion attacks. Like other defenses based on client puzzles, CP attempts to force attackers to invest vast resources in order to effectively perform denialof-service attacks. Unlike previous puzzle-based approaches, however, ours is the first designed for the bandwidth-exhaustion attacks that are common at the network (IP) layer. At the core of CP is an elegant distributed puzzle mechanism that permits routers to cooperatively impose and check puzzles. We demonstrate through analysis and simulation that CP can effectively defend networks from flooding attacks without relying on the formulation of attack signatures to filter traffic. Moreover, as many such attacks are conducted by "zombie" computers that have been silently commandeered without the knowledge of their owners, the overheads that CP imposes on heavily engaged zombies can increase the likelihood that the computer's owner detects the compromise and takes action to remedy it.


CASE XXXIII. -Right ovary; antiseptic method; two ligatures soaked in carbolised oil. Much trouble with bowels commencing before they had acted, afterwards threatening complete obstruction; gradually passed off; and patient went out on twenty-fourth day. CASE XXXIV (D).-Left ovary; antiseptic method; two strong silk ligatures soaked in watery solution of carbolic acid (i in 20); three fine ones in carbolised oil. No after-trouble. Went home on nineteenth day. CASE xxxv.-Right ovary; antiseptic method; two strong silk ligatures soaked in watery solution of carbolic acid (I in 20); partial flap operation mentioned above. No after-trouble. Bowels open on eighth day. Patient up on couch on eleventh day. CASE XXXVI.-Right ovary; antiseptic method; five medium silk ligatures soaked in watery solution of carbolic acid; partial flap operation. No after-trouble. Went out well on seventeenth day. CASE xxxvii.-Left ovary; antiseptic method; four medium silk ligatures (carbolised). No after-trouble. CASE xxxvIIi.-Left ovary; antiseptic method; two fine silk ligatures (carbolised); partial flap operation. Went out quite well on nineteenth day. In the above cases, I have placed the letter (D) to those in which drainage was employed, as it is often an important element of success in cases treated by ligature. Other details I have purposely left out, as they are such as are common to cases treated by any method, and therefore do not affect the special question of ligature. I may mention that I have followed the history of all my cases since they left my care, and in no case have I heard of any after-mischief from the ligature. All upon whom I have operated, who recovered, were still in good health a few weeks ago.


Dysfunctional conflict resolution behaviors in couples have been long recognized as markers of relationship maladjustment and are, consequently, frequent targets of couple therapy. The process of flooding may play a role. Flooding is the subjective sense of being overwhelmed by the partner's negative affect, which is perceived as unexpected and intense, and feeling as though one's information processing is impaired. It has been theorized that flooding is so aversive as to lead to maladaptive conflict behaviors (e.g., conflict escalation or withdrawal) as attempts to terminate the offending input (i.e., partner anger). Despite strong theory describing the construct, there has been a lack of valid measures to assess it. In the present study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of a 15-item measure in a sample of 453 couples. Reasonable unifactoriality, excellent internal consistency, and high test–retest reliability were demonstrated. Furthermore, using a dyadic latent variable model, the IPFS showed strong structural validity and concurrent validity with measures of relationship satisfaction, intimate partner violence, anger, depressive symptoms, and observed negative conflict behaviors. The IPFS appears to be a promising, economical instrument to assess flooding, a process relevant for understanding dysfunctional couple conflict behaviors.


Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been applied with several purposes in clinical environment as well as in basic neuroscience studies. The main purpose of fMRI is to map brain activity, which is achieved by applying statistical methods to time series of each voxel intensity, related to changes in blood oxygen level, in response to a short stimulus. In this work, we propose a new method for the analysis of event-related fMRI based in the use of the dynamic time warping technique to compare pixel intensity time series. The results show the ability to discriminate activated brain regions, when subjects were engaged in a motor task.


A multiple Vandermonde matrix which, besides the powers of variable, also contains their derivatives is introduced and an explicit expression of its determinant is obtained. for the case of arbitrary real powers, when the variables are positive, it is proved that such generalized multiple Vandermonde matrix is positive definite for appropriate enumerations of rows and columns. As an application of these results, some relations are obtained which in the one-dimensional case give the well-known formula for the Euler betafunction.


As a grand strategy, European Union Global Strategy (EUGS) is a roadmap to convert the European Union (EU) in a key strategic actor. The evidence of some conceptual vulnerabilities, particularly the EU lack of classical means and strategic autonomy, limits its implementation. Thus,
 this article aims to find some relevant actions that the EU needs to put in place to enhance her global image as a credible and specialized actor where the power of her strategic partners, as NATO and United Sates, need to be complemented. To that effect, first, the EU must demonstrate leadership
 and mobilize the support of member states to carry out its strategy. Second, it must leverage its strategic autonomy by intervening in crises and conflicts where the military means are not the most important. Third, it must focus on preventing or solving the problems in the EU's neighbourhood
 as it will suffer direct repercussions if it fails to do so. Implementing the EUGS will require a generic but encompassing grand strategy concept; to communicate its achievements through annual reviews, laying a foundation upon which the EU can build its internal and external credibility,
 providing it with the strategic autonomy it so direly needs. Finally, the EU must invest on Europeanization processes by 'transforming' societies through the 'global' application of EU instruments.


To precisely discuss the influence of secondary metals on the whole nanosystem, two different types of Pd/Au dimers are constructed by reducing Au precursors with or without ascorbic acid. The number and size of gold nanoparticles attaching on larger Pd nanocrystals can be roughly controlled. Furthermore, based on electrocatalysis, we find that multidecorated dimers are generally more active than singly decorated ones. Meanwhile, the amount of Au precursor used in preparing multidecorated dimers is found to be very important to the catalytic activity of the as-prepared catalysts. The performance of the catalyst is enhanced with the increasing of Au precursor when the Au/Pd molar ratio is below 1:4, but hindered when the ratio climbs higher. Finally, this work provides a promising approach in forming hybrid nanocompositions to find an optimized amount of secondary metal, which is of significance in academic and economic fields.


The power analysis performed prior to the study is intended to calculate the required sample size directly. On the other hand, the number of subjects using post hoc power analysis shows the power of working according to the effect size and the accepted type I error level. This research was conducted to determine the optimal sample size in Animal breeding surveys. Especially, it was done to evaluate the level of significance varying with the increase in sample size. In the study, the breeding rate data of 37201 kid goats were used. Gender and two Mature goat age groups were compared with independent two sample t-test in terms of an effect on the growth rate of kids. The mean, standard deviation, common standard deviation, mean difference (effect size, d), standardized effect size (SES) and p-value for the groups were calculated. When the Type I error is 0.05; optimum sample size and the power of the test are calculated in the specified scenarios. In general, it has been determined that the power of the test is appropriate for the optimum range of influence sample size and degree of freedom. Required sample sizes are shown. The contribution to the sample size of the changes in effect size is quite large. Researchers can calculate the strength of the test by taking advantage of the sample size suggested in the study before setting up the trial setups. Keywords : Goat; breeding; effect size; sample size DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-2-33


We describe an ACL2 program that implements the Hebrew calendar and the formal verification of several of its properties, including the critical result that the algorithm that determines the placement of the new year ensures that the length of every year belongs to a small set of admissible values. These properties have been accepted for many centuries without the benefit of explicit proof, in spite of subtleties in the underlying arguments. For the sake of accessibility to a broad audience, the program is coded in Restricted Algorithmic C (RAC), a simple language consisting of the most basic constructs of C, for which an automatic translator to the ACL2 logic has been implemented. While RAC is primarily intended for modeling arithmetic hardware designs, this novel application provides a relatively simple illustration of the language and the translator.


In this paper we develop proximal methods for statistical learning. Proximal point algorithms are useful in statistics and machine learning for obtaining optimization solutions for composite functions. Our approach exploits closed-form solutions of proximal operators and envelope representations based on the Moreau, Forward-Backward, Douglas-Rachford and Half-Quadratic envelopes. Envelope representations lead to novel proximal algorithms for statistical optimisation of composite objective functions which include both non-smooth and non-convex objectives. We illustrate our methodology with regularized Logistic and Poisson regression and non-convex bridge penalties with a fused lasso norm. We provide a discussion of convergence of non-descent algorithms with acceleration and for non-convex functions. Finally, we provide directions for future research.


Introduction: Intracapsular femoral neck fractures account for about 50% of all hip fractures. With increase in life expectancy, the incidence is increasing. Popular treatment is replacement of femoral head by bipolar prosthesis. Materials & Methods: This study was done to assess the functional outcome of cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty. Patients aged 50-80 years with intracapsular femoral neck fractures reporting to the orthopaedic department of the institute were considered for the study. 30 such patients were selected. All were operated by cemented modular bipolar hemiarthroplasty. It was a retrospective as well as prospective study. Regular clinical and radiological follow up was done for a minimum period of 6 months. Results were assessed using Harris Hip score. Results: Out of 30 patients assessed, 17 were females and 13 were males with average age of 68 years. At 6 months of follow up, out of 30 patients, excellent results were observed in 70% cases, good in 20% cases, average in 10% cases and poor in 0% cases. Conclusion: Most patients reported good to excellent functional results post cemented modular bipolar hemiarthroplasty. Hence, Cemented Modular Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty is a safe and effective treatment modality in treating femoral neck fractures in middle aged to elderly individuals.


Over the past two decades, a number of digital platforms have been developed with the aim of engaging citizens in scientific research projects. The success of these platforms depends in no small part on their ability to attract and retain participants, turning diffuse crowds of users into active and productive communities. This article investigates how the collectives of online citizen science are formed and governed, and identifies two ideal-types of government, either based on self-interest or on universal norms of science. Based on an ethnography of three citizen science platforms and a series of interviews with their managers, we show how different technologies – rhetorical, of the self, social, and ontological – can be diversely combined to configure these collectives. We suggest that the shift from individual projects to platforms is a defining moment for online citizen science, during which the technologies that sustain the collectives are standardized and automatized in ways that make the crowd appear to be a natural community.


The theory commonly held as to the origin of the Oolite hills of this country is, that the strata of which they are composed were originally deposited in sheets continuous over large areas, that the valleys are entirely the result of denudation, which has left the intervening masses standing out as hills, and that it is generally possible to recognize on opposite sides of a valley at the different horizons the individual beds which were formerly continuous across that valley. The author believed that the following theory had equal claims to credence:— That the sedimentary deposits of any particular Oolitic district were probably originally deposited in continuous beds, but that the limestones in many instances probably never extended beyond the areas they now occupy. The object of the paper was to show that the Bath district was one of these instances; and the following were the chief points brought under the notice of the Society. In the Bath district, while the beds of the Great Oolite limestone are for the most part approximately horizontal over the plateaux of the downs, they thin out at the edges of the hills. Mr. Sanders in his map of the district has marked the few Oolite hills which come within the map as everywhere dipping towards the valleys. There is no evidence here of a washing away of the underlying Fuller's Earth, and a consequent drop of the limestone, as is suggested by Mr. Witchell to be the ease in the Cotteswolds*. The Fuller's


Recent developments in instrumentation for low‐energy electron diffraction (LEED) are reviewed. After a summary of the major types of measurements in LEED, the properties of LEED instruments that are important in performing these measurements are described. A detailed discussion is presented on the major components of a LEED diffractometer. LEED is compared briefly to some other techniques that are sensitive to surface structure.


Abstract Training of autobiographical memory has been proposed as an intervention to improve cognitive function. The neural substrates for such improvements are poorly understood. Several brain areas have been previously linked to autobiographical recollection, including structures in the default mode network (DMN) and the sensorimotor network. Here, we tested the hypothesis that changes in connectivity within different neural networks support distinct aspects of memory improvement in response to training on a group of 59 human subjects. We found that memory training using olfactory cues increases resting-state intranetwork DMN connectivity, and this associates with improved recollection of cue-specific memories. On the contrary, training decreased resting-state connectivity within the sensorimotor network, a decrease that correlated with improved ability for voluntary recall. Moreover, preliminary data indicate that only the decrease in sensorimotor connectivity associated with the training-induced decrease in the tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) factor, an immune modulation previously linked to improved cognitive performance. We identified functional and biochemical factors that associate with distinct memory processes improved by autobiographical training. Pathways which connect autobiographical memory with both high-level cognition and somatic physiology are discussed.


Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), an endemic disease, is a special type of osteoarthritis (OA). Nowadays, due to prevention and treatment methods including selenium supplements, changing grains and water source as well as health education, the morbidity of KBD is reduced significantly as compared to that in the 1950s. However, many elderly adult KBD patients are still suffering from the degenerative changes of cartilage, pain, stiffness and deformation of joints, which are quite similar or even more serious than OA. Chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine have been widely used as symptomatic slow-acting drugs for the treatment of OA. Although their therapeutic effects, biochemical data, pharmacokinetics, preclinical studies, safety and economic evaluation have been well investigated in OA, they are not clearly studied in KBD. In this review, we will evaluate the clinical evidence (randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials), safeties and cost-effectiveness of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine for the treatment of KBD. Moreover, the therapeutic mechanisms of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine are also discussed in details.■


Background: Observational studies suggested that dementia risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is higher than in the general population. Objective: To examine the associations of RA with cognitive decline and dementia, and neuroimaging biomarkers of aging, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular pathology in adult participants in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (MCSA). Methods: Participants with RA were matched 1:3 on age, sex, education, and baseline cognitive diagnosis to participants without RA. RA cases with MRI were also matched with non-cases with available MRI. All available imaging studies (i.e., amyloid and FDG PET, sMRI, and FLAIR) were included. The study included 104 participants with RA and 312 without RA (mean age (standard deviation, SD) 75.0 (10.4) years, 33% male and average follow-up (SD) 4.2 (3.8) years). Results: Groups were similar in cognitive decline and risk of incident dementia. Among participants with neuroimaging, participants with RA (n = 33) and without RA (n = 98) had similar amyloid burden and neurodegeneration measures, including regions sensitive to aging and dementia, but greater mean white matter hyperintensity volume relative to the total intracranial volume (mean (SD)% : 1.12 (0.57)% versus 0.76 (0.69)% of TIV, p = 0.01), and had higher mean (SD) number of cortical infarctions (0.24 (0.44) versus 0.05 (0.33), p = 0.02). Conclusion: Although cognitive decline and dementia risk were similar in participants with and without RA, participants with RA had more abnormal cerebrovascular pathology on neuroimaging. Future studies should examine the mechanisms underlying these changes and potential implications for prognostication and prevention of cognitive decline in RA.


ABSTRACT The paper introduces the notion of 'digital behavioral technologies' and discusses them from the perspectives of vulnerability and justice, thereby integrating perspectives from bioethics or public health ethics and political philosophy. Digital behavioral technologies have seen a massive uptake in recent years, but the market for them is hardly regulated. We argue that understanding the impact of digital behavioral technologies requires understanding individuals not as abstract, atomized agents, but rather to take their embeddedness into social structures into account. This also allows extending the focus to groups, relationships and whole societies, which are often structurally unjust. This perspective provides a corrective to an overly individualistic consideration of digital behavioral technologies, which may suggest itself because of their focus on individual bodies. We point out some implications of this integrated approach with regard to the regulation of digital behavioral technologies. We conclude by describing some implications both for those who work on digital behavioral technologies and for those who work on questions of vulnerability and justice.


In contexts of insecurity and inequality across the world, criminal groups have developed into powerful, state-like organizations. Marginalized citizens in search of protection and support may look to criminal leaders, gangs and mafias rather than to politicians and state agencies. Providing residents with forms of social welfare, security and resolutions for dispute, these criminal organizations have taken on the functions and symbols of the state. But criminals' positions of power are not only rooted in their social provisioning role, or even in the use of fear and force. Most Wanted illustrates how popular culture is producing the socio-political authority of bosses, gangs and cartels through discussions of Italian, Japanese and Russian mafias, and of criminal groups in Brazil, Ghana, Jamaica, and the United States. The essays collected here analyze different forms of visual, material and performative culture, including street art, film, video games, dance parties, popular music and various everyday objects.


Surface flashover of a carbon fiber velvet cathode generates a discharge from which electrons are relativistically accelerated to γ ranging from 4.9 to 8.8 through a 17.8 cm diode. This discharge is assumed to be a hydrocarbon mixture. The principal objective of these experiments is to quantify the dynamics over the ∼100 ns pulse of the plasma discharge generated on the surface of the velvet cathode and across the anode-cathode (A-K) gap. A qualitative comparison of calculated and measured results is presented, which includes time resolved measurements with a photomultiplier tube and charge-coupled device images. In addition, initial visible spectroscopy measurements will also be presented confirming the ion species are dominated by hydrogen.


Abstract Objective Adequate fruit and vegetable intake has been suggested to protect against colorectal cancer. However, several recent prospective studies have reported no association. We therefore examined the association between fruit and vegetable intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in a prospective cohort study in Japan. Design Between June and August 1990, 47 605 Japanese men and women completed a self-administered questionnaire, including a food-frequency questionnaire. We divided the subjects into quartiles based on their self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption. There were 165 colon cancer and 110 rectal cancer incidences identified during 7 years of follow-up, to the end of December 1997. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the relative risk (RR) of developing colorectal cancer according to the level of fruit and vegetable consumption, applying adjustments for potential confounders. Results No statistically significant association was observed between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer. The multivariate RR of colon cancer in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake compared with the lowest was 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73–1.75), the RR for vegetables alone was 1.24 (95% CI 0.79–1.95) and that for fruit alone was 1.45 (95% CI 0.85–2.47). The corresponding multivariate RRs for rectal cancer were 1.12 (95% CI 0.67–1.89), 1.14 (95% CI 0.67–1.93) and 1.41 (95% CI 0.73–2.73). Conclusions We found no association between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and the risk of colorectal cancer among the Japanese population.


PURPOSE
Little is known about local recurrence following proximal gastrectomy in patients with upper third gastric cancer. We performed this study to evaluate the long-term results of a proximal gastrectomy, and to analyze the risk factors of local recurrence affecting survival in these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We undertook a retrospective study of 63 patients who underwent potentially curative proximal gastrectomy between 1990 and 1999, with special reference to local recurrence.

RESULTS
During a median follow-up period of 37 months, 25 of the 63 patients (39.7%) developed a recurrence of cancer, with local recurrence in 15 patients (23.8%), the majority of these occurring at the remnant stomach or anastomosis. The median time to local recurrence was 38 months (8~78 months). Univariate analysis of risk factors for local recurrence revealed an infiltrative or diffuse gross type, with a tumor sizes>5 cm, a distal resection margin <or=3 cm and serosal invasion. Reoperation for cure was possible in only 4 patients and most died within the first year following diagnosis of recurrence.

CONCLUSION
When performing a proximal gastrectomy for upper third gastric cancer, even after curative resection, all risk factors should be considered to reduce rates of local recurrence.


This study aims at improving the students' problem solving ability of Mathematics through computer-based learning, particularly in the space figures competency at SMK Negeri 1 Ngawen Gunungkidul. This study is categorized as classroom action research. The subjects of the study were the grade XI OC students of SMK Negeri 1 Ngawen Gunung Kidul. The study consisted of repetitious cycles. Every cycle consisted of problem identification, planning, action, observation, and reflection. The results of the study showed that: (1) the application of computer-based learning could improve the students' problem solving ability of Mathematics and affected positively on the students' achievement. The improvement was resulted from the conducive learning atmosphere (2) the students were highly interested in computer-based learning. They were more enthusiastic because they were able to confirm the answers directly; (3) to deal with the texts' low legibility due to the mismatch between the background and the font size, the narration orally explained by the researcher was employed (4) the application of quizzes could motivate the students. They get involved actively in answering questions. The learning activities were more varied.


Objective: To determine whether interactions between coital frequency, cervical length, and urogenital infection affect obstetric outcomes. Materials and Methods: A total of 268 unselected pregnant women were recruited in the study. The study population consisted of four groups of women: group 1 (n=203) screened negative for bacterial vaginosis (BV) both in the first and second trimesters; group 2 (n=18) screened negative for BV in the first trimester but positive in the second trimester; group 3 (n=33) screened positive for BV in the first trimester but negative in the second trimester; and group 4 (n=14) screened positive for BV both in the first and second trimesters. Urine culture, cervico-vaginal cultures, and bacterial vaginosis were screened between 11-14 weeks and 20-24 weeks. Results: Two hundred fifty women were eligible for analysis in the study after lost-to-follow up patients were excluded. Previous abortion ≥1 and previous preterm delivery at 24-34 weeks ≥1 were statistically significantly higher in group 2. The number of patients who were diagnosed as having preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) was statistically significantly higher in group 4. Sexual intercourse during the first trimester, cervical length during the second trimester, and history of preterm birth (PTB) were statistically significant risk factors for preterm birth <37 weeks (1.27; (1.12-1.44); 5.33; (1.84-15.41); 6.95; (1.58-30.54), respectively). Conclusion: Presence or treatment of BV did not influence rates of PTB. The probability of PPROM would be higher in patients who are BV positive both in the first and second trimesters.


A major problem in thinking about asymmetrical patterns in organisms is that of obtaining 'big hands from little hands' (Harrison, 1979). The big hands are our own, whereas the little hands are asymmetrical organic molecules. Since the molecules that make up our left and right hands are of identical asymmetry, the different handedness of these big hands must be specified at some more complex level of organization. For Harrison (1979) and, more recently, Brown and Wolpert (1990), the link between the levels is a tethered macromolecule or macromolecular aggregate, implying a pre-existing structural system within which the tethering takes place. Ciliates are a particularly favorable system for studying organismic handedness. These organisms are pervasively asymmetrical, avoiding the complications resulting from superimposition of asymmetries on a bilaterally symmetrical body plan (see Brown and Wolpert, 1990, and references cited therein). Ciliates are also unicellular, thus reducing the gap between the big and little hands. Among unicellular systems, ciliates have the unique advantage that a specific handedness can be perpetuated across cell generations, making it possible to study the two organizational enantiomorphs separately yet also to analyze the occasional transitions (both genie and nongenic) between them. What I attempt to show here is that reversible intracellular handedness is an emergent property, based neither on local molecular asymmetries nor on local information repositories but rather on more global spatial relations. These relations can be modelled successfully using field equations that suggest a system of interactions of at least two molecular species.


There are many advantages of LEDs in energy and environmental conservation, but their short life in many outdoor applications prompt a necessity to have a detailed understanding of their degradations to prolong their lifetime, which can also conserve LED material and even expand their applications. Using ab initio density functional theory formulation, we identify the detail paths of the LED degradation in outdoor applications. We discovered that the main stressors are humidity and the light that is emitted from the LED chip itself. This is rather ironical. A mathematical model is developed based on the ab initio study, and excellent experimental agreements are found. With this model, we can predict the situations where no and slow degradations can be achieved, and these are verified experimentally here. We can also predict quantitatively the time to a specific degradation severity. Quality index of the housing material for LEDs can also be determined.


The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of strength training on anaerobic-phosphagenic power and its components in prominent disabled weightlifters. Ten disabled weightlifters, members of the Polish National Team took part in the study. The athletes were tested twice using the Monark cycle ergometer adapted for upper body work. Anaerobic power was estimated using the method of Vandewalle et al. The subjects performed weightlifting bench tests two times. The first tests were executed at the start of the preparatory period, and the second ones after six months before the competition period. The study revealed non-significant differences between Pmax and its components: F0 and V0 attained by disabled weightlifters during the first ergometric test and after six months of heavy weight training. However, the strength level after six months of weight training increased significantly. It most likely results from the specific prolonged training of our subjects and their high anaerobic capacity before the tests.


This article deals with the design and prototyping of Shift-By-Wire system for an automatic transmission equipped vehicle. In order to manipulate the shifting action electronically, Shift-By-Wire system consists of an electronic shift lever, an electric shift actuator and position sensors. The shift lever is designed to transform the driver's shifting command into an electric signal; it includes the position sensor using non-contact type hall sensor and an additional shifting switch acting as Tip-tronic. For the design of an electric shifting actuator, we investigated the stroke angles and shifting efforts of the manual control lever in each shifting section. And the position sensor of the shifting actuator is designed by using a potentiometer with an optical encoder. Finally the prototype of Shift-By-Wire system was built in a conventional 2.4L class SUV vehicle, and we performed road tests in order to verify its performance.


Although myocardial bridge is not thought to have any hemodynamic significance in most cases, some have suggested that when it produces severe systolic narrowing, ischemia or infarction may result. Myocardial bridge in adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be associated with a higher incidence of sudden death, myo- cardial wall-motion abnormalities, and perfusion defects on thallium-201 scintigraphy. When myocardial bridge is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, it is known to affect longer segment and cause more severe compression during systole. We report a case of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with myocardial bridge at the middle part of the left anterior descending coronary artery, who also showed reversible perfusion defect on the thallium scan at the same coronary territory. (Korean Circulation J 1999;29(2 :989-993


Semi-implicit graph variational auto-encoder (SIG-VAE) is proposed to expand the flexibility of variational graph auto-encoders (VGAE) to model graph data. SIG-VAE employs a hierarchical variational framework to enable neighboring node sharing for better generative modeling of graph dependency structure, together with a Bernoulli-Poisson link decoder. Not only does this hierarchical construction provide a more flexible generative graph model to better capture real-world graph properties, but also does SIG-VAE naturally lead to semi-implicit hierarchical variational inference that allows faithful modeling of implicit posteriors of given graph data, which may exhibit heavy tails, multiple modes, skewness, and rich dependency structures. Compared to VGAE, the derived graph latent representations by SIG-VAE are more interpretable, due to more expressive generative model and more faithful inference enabled by the flexible semi-implicit construction. Extensive experiments with a variety of graph data show that SIG-VAE significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods on several different graph analytic tasks.


African American adults have a higher prevalence of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) than non-Hispanic Whites. The impact of a Mediterranean Diet (Med Diet) and intentional weight loss (IWL) on the gut microbiome may alter AD risk. A post hoc analysis of the Building Research in Diet and Cognition (BRIDGE) trial was performed to determine whether participation in an 8-month Med Diet lifestyle intervention with (n = 35) or without IWL (n = 31) was associated with changes in gut microbiota structure, abundance, and function and whether these changes were related to changes in cognitive performance. The results showed that family and genus alpha diversity increased significantly in both groups combined (p = 0.0075 and p = 0.024, respectively). However, there were no other significant microbially related within- or between-group changes over time. Also, an increase in Med Diet adherence was significantly associated with a decrease in alpha diversity at the phylum level only (p = 0.049). Increasing alpha diversity was associated with decreasing cognitive performance, but this association was attenuated after controlling for Med Diet adherence. In sum, an 8-month Med Diet lifestyle intervention with or without IWL did not appreciably alter the gut microbiome.


In radar imaging, any lateral resolution is either attained using antenna arrays or by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) principles. Recently, the combination of both approaches to a multi-channel SAR (MCSAR) has gained increased attention. However, antenna arrays are impaired by unknown calibration errors, particularly phase errors, amplification deviations, mutual coupling, and phase center position deviation of the antenna element. Since, first, established calibration procedures are often non-ideal and, second, the calibration parameters usually vary over time due to aging and changes in temperature, calibration errors distort the measurements during the radar operation. Therefore, current research focuses on finding new practical calibration procedures. However, hardly any research has been conducted to analyze the basic effects which erroneous calibration parameters have on the reconstructed image in MCSAR or MIMO radar. In this work, we analyze the effects of multiple calibration error types on MCSAR and MIMO radar imaging. Both measurement principles lead to periodic error patterns, resulting in deterministic distortions. The derived relations can be used to precisely predict the position and number of ghost targets caused by calibration errors for known measurement setups and targets. For this, no information about the actual calibration errors is required. Furthermore, worst-case distortion levels are provided for different bounded errors allowing rough estimates of the impact of different error types on the image's distortion level. The findings are validated via measurements using a 76$\,$GHz FMCW MIMO radar.


Underground pipelines are known as "life line". With the rapid developing of city, more and more pipelines like power lines will move into underground. Facing the complex environment from underground and relationship with other kinds of pipeline, the data quality evaluation is very crucial for academic and business applications. This paper introduced our praxis on underground pipeline data quality on a real project. The datasets are mainly composing of vector data about 15 GB size, covers 3 counties, worked with 3 teams. The workflow, data sampling method and quality evaluation method were engaged in our work. This work can extend to other underground pipeline projects or similar spatial data quality evaluation projects.


Boolean and multi-valued logical formalisms are increasingly used to model complex cellular networks. To ease the development and analysis of logical models, a series of software tools have been proposed, often with specific assets. However, combining these tools typically implies a series of cumbersome software installation and model conversion steps. In this respect, the CoLoMoTo Interactive Notebook provides a joint distribution of several logical modelling software tools, along with an interactive web Python interface easing the chaining of complementary analyses. In this protocol, we demonstrate the assets of this approach through the analysis of a computational model of biological network. Our computational workflow combines (1) the importation of a GINsim model and its display, (2) its format conversion using the Java library BioLQM, (3) the formal prediction of mutations using the OCaml software Pint, (4) the model checking using the C++ software NuSMV, (5) quantitative stochastic simulations using the C++ software MaBoSS, and (6) the visualisation of results using the Python library matplotlib. Starting with a recent Boolean model of the signalling network controlling tumour cell invasion and migration, our model analysis culminates with the prediction of sets of mutations presumably involved in a metastatic phenotype.


While it has been asserted that the greatest impact of the Agriculture Production Project (APP) should have been on milkfish productivity and production, the research conducted in Aklan indicates its strong and positive impact only in production. Few concrete impacts are visible in relation to the other areas of concerns. The findings in this paper imply that the original APP targets for fish production have been unrealistic. In addition, expectations on aquaculture industry to create widespread social and economic benefits are overrated as the very nature of the industry negates the possibilities for increased employment and income redistribution.


A 64-year-old female patient was admitted to our outpatient clinic with pleuritic chest pain, non-productive cough, and dyspnea. She expectorated three stones (lithoptysis) before bronchoscopy. She underwent positron emission tomography-computed tomography, which revealed a hyper metabolic mass in the right upper lobe of her lung. Three months later, the mass formation appeared as a patchy consolidation in the first control thoracic computed tomography examination. In conclusion, postobstructive consolidation due to broncholithiasis, which is very rare, should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of hyper metabolic mass. The simplest incidental diagnostic finding of broncholithiasis is the rare lithoptysis.