INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
The Fontan procedure was designed to palliate complex congenital heart disease with univentricular physiology. A retrospective study was made to document the determinants of early (</= 30 days) and late (>/= 31 days) mortality with the modified Fontan procedure performed in one-stage over a 22-year period.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Between 1978 and 2000, 102 atriopulmonary, 16 cavopulmonary, and 6 Kawashima type anastomoses were performed to palliate complex congenital heart defects in 124 patients with a mean age of 7.3 4.7 years. Forty-five patient and procedure-related variables were analyzed in relation to mortality. All events were verified.

RESULTS
There were 29 early (23%) and 20 late (16%) deaths. Estimated survival at 30 days, 2 years, 5 years, and 20 years was 78, 75, 66, and 50%, respectively. Subaortic stenosis, protein-losing enteropathy, and arrythmia were observed in 8, 5 and 33 patients, respectively, after surgery. Univariate and multivariable analysis indicated that left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (>/= 13 mmHg), mean pulmonary pressure (>/= 19 mmHg), mitral stenosis/atresia, atrioventricular valve regurgitation, visceral heterotaxia, absence of fenestration, risk factors criteria, duration of extracorporeal circulation, and operative technique were associated with early mortality. Reoperation, arrhythmia, and pacemaker implantation were predictors of late death. Forty percent remained free from surgical or catheter reintervention after Fontan operation at 20 years.

CONCLUSIONS
The outcome of Fontan procedure is profoundly affected by patient-related variables (ventricular function and pulmonary circulation). Postoperative arrhythmia and reoperation shortened the lifespan of the Fontan circulation model in patients with atriopulmonary connections. Total cavopulmonary anastomosis improves the physiology of univentricular circulation. In the light of our findings, the modified Fontan procedure (one or two stages) should be performed early in life to better preserve ventricular and pulmonary vascular function.


Recent studies have delineated the occurrence of fault creep slippage on the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras faults in central California. Preliminary instrumental measurements show that fault creep has different time character at different sites, being eventful at some places and continuous at others. Creep events measured at two sites indicate a creep propagation rate of of the order of 10 km/day.


Polo-like kinase (Plk)1 contributes to the development of human cancer via multiple mechanisms, such as promoting the migration of cancer cells. However, the mechanistic basis for the regulation of cell migration by Plk1 remains unknown. To address this question, the present study investigated the effect of Plk1 inhibition on the migration of human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial A549 cells and the molecular factors involved. A549 cells were treated with the Plk1 inhibitor, BI2536, and cell migration was evaluated with the wound-healing assay. The expression of matrix metallopeptidase (MMP)2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)A, total and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 was assessed by western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction following Plk1 knockdown and/or STAT3 overexpression. The interaction between Plk1 and STAT3 was evaluated by co-immunoprecipitation. The levels of MMP2 and VEGFA were decreased by treatment with Plk1 inhibitor. The phosphorylation of STAT3, which acts upstream of MMP2 and VEGFA, was also decreased by Plk1 knockdown, an effect that was abrogated by STAT3 overexpression. In addition, Plk1 was detected to bind with STAT3 either directly or as part of a complex by co-immunoprecipitation experiments. These results indicated that Plk1 may promote the migration of A549 cells via regulation of STAT3 signaling.


A supply chain, from an operations perspective, has three components: sourcing or procurement, manufacturing and distribution, and inventory disposal. In each component, the Internet is significantly affecting how supply chains are being managed, leading to new challenges while ultimately promising to provide value. The likely future is collaborative supply-chain management that promises to make, for the first time, the dream of virtual integration a reality. Quantitative modeling provides companies decision support as well as insights for better management of supply chains. But there are still a number of challenges that require further OR/MS analysis.


MnS nanocrystals have been prepared by a colloidal synthesis route through the reaction of MnCl2 and S[Si(CH3)3]2 in trioctylphosphineoxide. The nanocrystals were characterized using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The magnetic properties were studied with SQUID magnetometry. X-ray diffraction shows that the nanocrystals are of the thermodynamically stable α-MnS (alabandite) structure. Size control was achieved by changing the concentration of the precursors. Nanocrystal sizes were measured by transmission electron microscopy, and three samples of average diameters 20, 40, and 80 nm were obtained, with narrow size distribution (σ˜9%). The zero field cooled magnetization curves for the 80-, 40-, and 20-nm samples showed a cusp at 116 K, 97 K, and 50 K respectively, all smaller than the antiferromagnetic transition temperature, TN = 130 K, of bulk α-MnS. Below TN the magnetization exhibits a paramagnetic behavior unlike typical antiferromagnetic materials. These results indicate that there is a mixture of paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases in the nanocrystals. The size dependence shows a general trend of decrease of TN with reduced particle size, indicating size dependent magnetic ordering.


The structural elucidation of complex organic molecules relies heavily on the application of proton detected heteronuclear NMR. Among these techniques, the HMBC NMR experiment is probably the most useful 2D NMR method The HMBC (C-H) experiment allows the assignment of structural fragments through correlations between protons and carbons separated by more than one bond, usually two or three bonds (JCH and JCH) via 1H,13C-coupling constants. It is also possible to obtain valuable information through longer correlations, JCH n>3, performing several HMBC experiments with different long-range delays and using a deeper threshold in the contour plot. There have been several attempts to improve the results of the HMBC experiment, mainly focused on the question of optimization of the longrange delay, ∆2. The D-HMBC, 3D-HMBC, CT-HMBC, ACCORD-HMBC, IMPEACH-MBC and CIGARHMBC experiments which provide much better experimental access to sample long-range couplings are briefly discussed. These long-range correlations have proven to be crucial in the structure elucidation of molecules with proton deficient skeleton. INTRODUCTION concert with Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Coherence, HMQC [7], has proven to be extremely useful for the total structure elucidation and NMR spectral assignments of numerous natural products and complex organic molecules. At the beginning, the sensitivity of HMBC was low as compared with HMQC; however, this characteristic has improved significantly with the introduction of pulsed field gradients [8-10] into these experiments in the early 1990 ́s. It allowed the receiver gain of the spectrometer to be significantly raised, since the unwanted coherences were already filtered off in the probe head. Moreover, the addition of pulsed field gradients into NMR pulse sequences yields spectra with fewer artifacts and decreases the data collection time, because the selection of the desired coherence pathways occurs without extensive phase cycling. Today, the gradient modification of the HMBC sequence [11] has become a routine standard, accessible to most operators of NMR instruments capable to generate pulsed gradients. In this review we will focus our attention only on Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation (HMBC) [1-3] and modifications of it. Other types of heteronuclear correlation experiments will not be treated here, since HMBC is the most widely used experiment to observe 13C-1H long range couplings. The structural elucidation of complex organic molecules relies heavily on the application of proton detected heteronuclear NMR. Among these techniques, the HMBC NMR experiment is probably the most useful 2D NMR method [4], since it detects 13C-1H long range couplings using inverse detection of the 1H signal, the most sensitive NMR nucleus. Inverse detection techniques also present a considerably higher sensitivity when compared to older 2D experiments [5]. The sensitivity is particularly good when the 1H signals to be observed appear as sharp lines. The HMBC experiment gives a wealth of structural and assignment information through long-range correlation signals for C,H spin pairs, that can span quaternary carbons or heteronuclei, providing a way to link structural fragments together. Therefore, it can be efficiently used to elucidate the molecular skeleton. Two reviews on this topic were published about ten years ago [5,6]. The use of HMBC in Generally, the HMBC (C-H) experiment is described as a technique that allows the assignment of structural fragments through correlations between protons and carbons that are separated by more than one bond, usually through two or three bonds (JCH and JCH) [11,12] via 1H,13C-coupling constants, despite the early observation of a crucial four bond C-H correlation in the HMBC spectrum of antibiotic distamycin A [5], The valuable information that can be obtained through these correlations (JCH n>3 ), is generally discarded because the relative intensities of the resonances are directly related to the magnitude of the coupling constants. Therefore, for JCH n>3 the cross peaks show a low intensities. This characteristic has been used as a criterion to *Address correspondence to this author at the Departamento de Química Orgánica y Fisicoquímica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 233, Santiago 1, Chile; Tel.: +56-2-6782865; Fax: +56-2-6782868; e-mail: email@example.com 254 Araya-Maturana et al. discard signals in a computational method of analysis of 2D NMR spectra [13]. have values from 1 to 25 Hz. In practice, a delay shorter than the theoretical value, 65 to 100 ms, is employed to avoid the decay of the 1H magnetization during this delay [15]. Usually, the experimental settings of these parameters in the HMBC experiment are the result of a compromise: when the spin coupling constant is about 8 Hz, the ∆2 delay in the sequence is about 60 ms, allowing an optimum transfer for correlations. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS When the signals appear as broad lines due to complex splittings, HMBC suffers from a considerable lack of sensitivity. As a consequence, the detection of cross peaks becomes difficult. This problem arises when the power mode data processing causes the cancellation of antiphase signal components. The situation is made worse when the separation of these components is small and when their signals are broad. The efficiency of the HMBC technique is affected also by spectrometer instabilities resulting in t1noises ridges, which also originate from protons bound to 12C. This problem is solved by the application of pulsed field gradients [8-10] leading to much better results in a fraction of the time, since the unwanted coherences are already filtered off in the probe head. The pulse sequence of the HMBC experiment is shown in Fig. (1) [11]. Running the experiment under these conditions, several important couplings could give rise to only very small correlation signals, or they may be completely lost. Furthermore, the direct translation of the connectivities observed in the HMBC spectrum into the bonding network, may be hampered by the fact that JCH and 3J correlations cannot be distinguished [13]. Different methods have been developed to solve both problems mentioned before. In particular, a method to distinguish between JCH and JCH correlations obtained in HMBC experiments has been described some years ago. The experiment is known as 1,1-ADEQUATE and yields only two bond 1H-13C connectivities in H-C-C moieties, allowing differentiation of HMBC from two and three 1H-13C bond connectivities [12, 15]. An additional advantage of this method is that it permits to observe correlations that are missing in the HMBC experiment. A second problem associated with inverse protondetected heteronuclear shift correlation experiments is the lack of resolution in the indirectly detected dimension (F1). For a given spectral width, an increase in F1 resolution requires an increase in the number of t1 increments. Generally, not all spectral regions are crowded enough to need such a treatment. F1 restricted 2D maps can be a great help to ensure a proper spectral analysis [14]. Theoretically, in the HMBC pulse sequence the optimum choice for the first delay is calculated from the expression ∆1 = 1/(2 1J(C,H)). Generally, the 1J(C,H) coupling constants span a range of values from 130 to 160 Hz. The 1J(C,H) filter delay in the pulse sequence currently implemented, is calculated by entering an average value of JCH, usually 140 or 125 Hz, depending on whether there are aromatic or alkene groups, respectively, giving a value of ∆1 = 3.6 or 4.0 ms. In the same manner, the optimum value of the second delay is calculated from ∆2 = 1/(2 nJ(C,H)), where nJ(C,H) is the long range coupling constant. However a drawback of the experiment is due to the range of values of 2J (C,H) and 3J (C,H) spin coupling constants, which can In general, the observed correlations in different HMBC experiments depend on the value the long-range delay, obtained from the individual long-range C-H coupling constant responsible for creating the heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence. Usually, the long-range delay is optimized for a value between 5 and 10 Hz for 1H-13C longrange correlation experiments. The choice is generally made on an arbitrary basis rather than from a knowledge of the actual value of the couplings. On this basis, a first approximation to observe more long-range correlations is to perform several HMBC experiments with different long-range delays and using a deeper threshold in the contour plot. Each one of the spectra obtained in this series of experiments, will show different long-range correlations, according to the value of nJ(C,H). Actually, different delay times will enhance the proper signals and the rest may not be detected. This technique, optimized for small couplings, was employed to observe two and four-bond 1H-13C correlations and unambiguously assign the 13C NMR signals of several ∆ 1 ∆ 2 p1 t1/2 t1/2 aq p2 1H


In conventional economics, two types of macroeconomic policy i.e. fiscal policy and monetary policy are used to streamline the business cycle. This paper has examined the cyclical behavior of these variables over the business cycle of Bangladesh. The objective of this examination is to show whether policies (fiscal policy and monetary policy) in Bangladesh are taken with a motive to stabilize the economy or only to promote economic growth. In other words, it has examined whether the policies in Bangladesh are procyclical or countercyclical or acyclical. Hodrick Prescott (HP) filter has been used to separate the cyclical component of considered variables. Both correlation and regression-based analysis have provided that in Bangladesh government expenditure and interest rates behave procyclically, but money supply behaves acyclically over the business cycle. Besides, this paper has tried to identify the long-term as well as the short-term relationship between real GDP and the macroeconomic policy variables with the help of the Johansen cointegration test, vector error correction model (VECM), and block exogeneity Wald test. Through these analyses, this study has found that fiscal policy has a significant impact on GDP growth both in the short-run and long-run. In the case of monetary policy, although the interest rate has an impact on real output both in the short-run and long-run, the money supply has neither a short-run nor long-run effect on output growth.


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has imposed a considerable burden on hospitals and healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, increasing the risk of outbreaks and nosocomial transmission to 'non-COVID-19' patients, who represent the highest-risk population in terms of mortality, and HCWs. Since HCWs are at the interface between hospitals on the one hand and the community on the other, they are potential reservoirs, carriers, or victims of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 cross-transmission. In addition, there has been a paradigm shift in the management of viral respiratory outbreaks, such as the widespread testing of patients and HCWs, including asymptomatic individuals. In hospitals, there is a risk of aerosol transmission in poorly ventilated spaces, and when performing aerosol-producing procedures, it is imperative to take measures against aerosol transmission. In particular, spatial separation of the inpatient ward for non-COVID-19 patients from that designated for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 as well as negative-pressure isolation on the floor of the ward, using an airborne infection isolation device could help prevent nosocomial infection.


Rural areas in Cote d'Ivoire account for 55 percent of the total population. Rural people rely heavily on export- and food-crop production as their primary source of livelihood. However, 71 percent of the rural population live below the poverty line. The government and the Bank agree that access to land and natural resource management are critical factors in coping with the rural crisis. The government invited the Bank to help meet the rural development challenge through a new project, the Rural Land Management and Infrastructure Project (PNGTER). The project was designed as one component of a nationwide decentralization program, and it seeks to suggest new approaches for local resource management. The social assessment (SA) in this project identifies the key social development concerns: access, control, and management of land rights. This Note explains the objectives of the social assessment, the basic steps followed, and the next steps. It captures the findings of the provisional SA process at the project identification stage and raises a few new issues that need to be addressed through the SA process during the preappraisal, appraisal, and implementation stages.


This paper reports the findings of a comprehensive study of the audit services market of an emerging market economy, namely, Bangladesh. It covers four important aspects of auditing in the country. They are (i) audit concentration; (ii) audit fee trends; (iii) big-four premium; and (iv) audit pricing. Using both conventional and innovative measures of audit concentration, it shows that unlike the market structures commonly found in most developed and many developing country settings, the big-four affiliated audit firms (equivalent to the big-four in countries where big-four firms operate in their own names) do not enjoy significant market power in Bangladesh. They are responsible for auditing only 16.4 percent of listed companies. Their market share ranges from 17.6 percent to 56.1 percent depending on the measure of market share used. This lack of dominant market power might have inhibited their ability to charge fee premia as reflected in their average audit fee standardized by client size. The second issue examined in this paper is the trends in audit fees. The paper reports that while audit fee is apparently increasing in absolute terms, it is indeed declining in relation to growth in client size (i.e., value audited) and also in terms of the purchasing power of the local currency. The third issue analyzed in this paper is whether the big-four affiliated firms in Bangladesh charge any fee premia from their audit clients. Interestingly, although the big-four affiliated firms appear to receive higher average audit fees per client, an in-depth look at their audit fee levels reveals that they actually receive lower average audit fees per unit of client sales or client assets. However, when audit fees are standardized for natural logs of client sales and assets, big-four audit fees are found to be marginally higher than those charged by their non-big counterparts. Finally, the paper revisits audit fee models developed on emerging market economies by Simon et al (1986), Karim and Moizer (1996), Simon (1997) and Ahmed and Goyal (2005) etc.


In this paper, we present some results from the study on the impedance characteristics of a human arm during the execution of vehicle steering control tasks by using a joystick-type steering device. We propose a new model of human-machine interaction where the damping coefficient of the interface device can be tuned to match the impedance characteristics of the human arm. To verify the proposed model, we developed a special experimental setup. We used a robot and force/torque sensors to simulate the joystick operation. We explored human-machine interactions when the operator uses only one hand to control the vehicle. The reaction forces of the joystick were simulated by a virtual impedance field tuned to match human arm impedance. In the tests, we simulate situations when the movement of the joystick in the forward-backward direction sets the speed of the vehicle while the lateral rotation of the same control stick changes the turning radius of the vehicle. The robot allowed us to simulate various impedance characteristics. With the tests, we investigated the operability of the simulated vehicle by tuning the viscosity coefficient of the joystick in order to match it with the stationary human arm impedance and time-varying human arm impedance. The test results allowed us to propose a new method to improve the operability of a joystick-type steering device, based on the online adaptive matching of the impedance characteristics of the human arm. The usefulness of the proposed method is confirmed through experiments.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: A good pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) during radical cystectomy (RC) is a standard of practice. Although the extent of PLND is debatable, the progression-free survival and overall survival have been correlated with the number of nodes removed during surgery. The sentinel marker of lymph node dissection which is the lymph node density (LNd) is not used in routine practice as a prognostic variable. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of LNd in Ca Bladder and to evaluate a cut off value of LNd that correlates with prognosis and survival for patients undergoing RC+PLND. METHODS: The records of patients undergoing upfront RC + PLND over consecutive five years in a cancer institute, were analysed retrospectively excluding those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy or treatment failures following bladder conservation therapy. RESULTS: A total of 152 patients were analysed (M:F 139:13) with median age of 62 years. 76 (50.7%) were found to have nodal metastasis out of which 34 were found to have perinodal extension. 59 (77.6%) received adjuvant chemotherapy and 16 (21.1%) received postoperative radiotherapy. One patient was given postoperative chemo-radiation. At median follow up of 60 months, 47 of the 150 patients had died of the disease. The median lymph nodes yield was 17 (6-36). On univariate analysis number of lymph nodes dissected did not correlate with survival. However pT stage, presence of perinodal extension and LNd were all found to affect survival significantly in both univariate and multivariate analysis with a hazard ratio of 3.23 for perinodal extension. LNd of less than 10% did not correlate with survival but a range between 10-20% and > 20% showed a hazard ratio of 3.9 and 6.6 respectively. The mean survival for patients with node negative disease was 109 months which reduced to 24 months amongst patients with LNd of > 0.21. LNd cut-off value of 15% was found to be most relevant and applicable for survival. CONCLUSIONS: Lymph node density is the one of strongest predictor of overall survival in urinary bladder cancer. A proposed lymph node density threshold of 15% correlates well with recurrence and survival and for prognostication. Table. No title available. Source of Funding: Nil


A unique case of leiomyoblastoma involving the veins and venules of the skin and subcutaneous space is reported. There was no evidence of recurrence or metastasis 1 1/2 years after excision.


Two outbreaks of oak poisoning in cattle in the Republic of South Africa are described. In the first outbreak 22 out of 80 head of cattle were severely affected while 40 out of a herd of 135 cattle were affected in the second outbreak. Of these 40, only one survived after 9 months despite vigorous treatment. Only young cattle under 2 years were affected during both outbreaks in spite of an average herd age of approximately 6 years in the second group of cattle. Clinical signs included severe weakness with a swaying gait, diarrhoea and dehydration. Some were pot bellied while others were emaciated and remained stunted. The most prominent macroscopic and microscopic lesion present in 3 animals autopsied, was a non-suppurative interstitial nephritis which was accompanied by oedema and ulceration of the caecum and colon. Histochemical studies were carried out on pigment granules observed in kidney sections.


Background Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), naphthalene (NPh), phenanthrene (Phe), benzo(a)antharacene (BeA), and benzo(b)fluoranthene (BeF) are known carcinogenic polyaryl hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in cigarette smoke. This study was designed to examine the relative effect of these constituents on the cytotoxicity of monocytic cells and the possible mechanism of PAH-mediated cytotoxicity. Methods We examined the acute (6–24 hours) and chronic (7 days) effects of these PAHs on the expression of cytochromes P450 (CYPs), oxidative stress, and cytotoxicity. The treated cells were examined for mRNA and protein levels of CYPs (1A1 and 3A4) and antioxidants enzymes (AOEs) superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) and catalase. Further, we assessed the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase-3 cleavage activity, and cell viability. We performed these experiments in U937 and/or primary monocytic cells. Results Of the five PAHs tested, after chronic treatment only BaP (100 nM) showed a significant increase in the expression of CYP1A1, AOEs (SOD1 and catalase), ROS generation, caspase-3 cleavage activity, and cytotoxicity. However, acute treatment with BaP showed only an increase in the mRNA expression of CYP1A1. Conclusions These results suggest that of the five PAHs tested, BaP is the major contributor to the toxic effect of PAHs in monocytic cells, which is likely to occur through CYP and oxidative stress pathways.


While the performance of many neural network and machine learning schemes has been improved through the automated design of various components of their architectures, the automated improvement of Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) neural networks remains relatively unexplored. Recent work introduced a genetic programming (GP) approach to improve the performance of the Fuzzy ART neural network employing a hyper-heuristic approach to tailor Fuzzy ART's category choice function to specific problems. The GP method showed promising results. However, GP is not the only tool that can be used for automatic improvement. Among other methods, Nested Monte Carlo Search (NMCS) was recently applied to expression discovery and outperformed traditional evolutionary approaches by finding better solutions in fewer evaluations. This work applies NMCS to the discovery of new Fuzzy ART category choice functions targeted to specific problems with results demonstrating its ability to find better performing Fuzzy ART networks than the GP approach.


Most because of the rapidly increasing world population, the world energy demand has also increased year by year. Unfortunately, that energy demand has satisfied with an energy sources such as oil, natural gas and coal that can?t be sustainable. In this regard the extensive and rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels is concieved as a main reason both of the climate change and global warming. On the other hand the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution is frequently investigated by researchers in the economic literature. The main theoretical proposition of this relationship named as Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis by researchers. According to this hypothesis, at the early stages of economic development, governments and citizens are rarely aware of the environmental problems and environmental friendly energy sources such as renewable energy that is not so profitable to use because of its high investment costs. Afterwards, along with per capita income increase, environmental pollution increases to the beyond of the ecological threshold level. In that point, environmental quality improves with higher income per capita. However governments may still prefer to consume mainly fossil fuel energy sources in their energy policies because of the high investment costs of the renewable energy sources. This study is aimed to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption per capita and income per capita in G-20 countries during 1992 and 2010 by using panel data analysis techniques. According to the analysis results, income per capita has a statistically significant (1 percent significancy) and positive impact (0.61%) on renewable energy consumption per capita in the long run. However it has found that increase in carbon dioxide emission (CO2) per capita any statistically significant impact on renewable energy consumption per capita. Concordantly coherent with the EKC hypothesis, it has found in that study that G-20 countries are prefer to consume renewable energy sources depending upon the increase in income per capita.


Rapid and accurate estimations of the heterotrophic and autotrophic components of total soil respiration (Rs) are important for calculating forest carbon budgets and for understanding carbon dynamics associated with natural and management-related disturbances. The objective of this study was to use deep (60 cm) root exclusion tubes and paired control (i.e., no root exclusion) collars to estimate heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and Rs, respectively, in three 26-year-old longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) stands in western Georgia. Root biomass was measured in root exclusion tubes and control collars after 102–104 days of incubation and fine root biomass loss from root exclusion was used to quantify root decay. Mean Rs from control collars was 3.3 micromol·CO2·m−2·s−1. Root exclusion tubes decreased Rs, providing an estimate of Rh. Mean Rh was 2.7 micromol·CO2·m−2·s−1 when uncorrected by pretreatment variation, root decay, or soil moisture compared to 2.1 micromol·CO2·m−2·s−1 when Rh was corrected for root decay. The corresponding ratio of Rh to Rs ranged from 66% to 82%, depending on the estimation method. This study provides an estimate of Rh in longleaf pine forests, and demonstrates the potential for deep root exclusion tubes to provide relatively rapid assessments (i.e., ~40 days post-treatment) of Rh in similar forests. The range in Rh to Rs is comparable to other reports for similar temperate coniferous ecosystems.


Radar scattering amplitudes contain pole singularities whose importance was recognized in the context of the Singularity Expansion Method: S.E.M. This method uses the fact that the late time domain response rt(t) of a target, illuminated by an E.M. wave, is mainly defined in a frequency band corresponding to the resonance region of the object. The knowledge of the singularities is useful information for discrimination of radar targets and has been used for different purposes of discrimination and identification. In this paper, we propose a modified scheme of radar target identification. The method presented is based on E-Pulse technique. In practical cases, direct application of classical E-Pulse techniques is not very efficient. Its performances are damaged by the characteristics of the exciting signal (antenna output signal). We propose a modified scheme of E-Pulse technique, which allows more accurate target discrimination and improves radar target identification. This procedure requires the deconvolution of the target response by the antenna signal and the application of an equivalent gaussian impulse excitation. This process has been successfully tested to FDTD simulations and measurements in anechoic chamber.


The use of doxorubicin is associated with an increased risk of acute and long-term cardiomyopathy. Despite that the number of cancer survivors is growing constantly, little is known about the transcriptional mechanisms which progress in time leading to severe cardiac outcome. It is also unclear whether long-term transcriptomic alterations are related to an acute response to doxorubicin. We have sequenced miRNA from total plasma and extracellular vesicles (EVs) from 66 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors treated with doxorubicin and 61 healthy controls (254 samples in total). We identified 94 and 33 TFs regulating differentially expressed miRNA in plasma and EVs compartments, respectively. For total plasma we found: HEY1, NRF2, HIF1A, NOTCH1, and for EVs: TGFB, ZEB1, ASCL2, PELP1, SIP1, TWIST1. Analysis of the data from patients with dilated and idiopathic cardiomyopathy revealed similarities with our data from EVs, especially in the activity of TFs related to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). To verify if similarities exist between acute and long-term response to doxorubicin, we performed experiments on cultured as well as we studied the role of NRF2, previously considered as an important player in acute response, in transcriptomic network upon doxorubicin treatment). KEGG analysis of miRNA targets for EVs indicates development of cardiomyopathy, whereas among GO process we found terms related to cardiac septum. In vitro experiments revealed that NRF2 is co-regulated with NOTCH effectors from HEY family, with known role in muscle regeneration. NRF2 and doxorubicin treatment contribute also to the dysregulation of TWIST family, important for the process of EMT.


Enhancement of the adhesiveness of dental restoratives, such as composite resins, has been clinically essential. A key point in enhancing adhesion is how to treat the dentin surface before bonding. We recently attempted to use an inorganic and non-acidic salt solution for pretreatment to dentin. We paid attention to the salting-in effect of rhodanides which promotes swelling of collagen and gelatin. For pretreatment, we used potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) solution. This study morphologically evaluated the effect of treatment of dentinal smear layer with rhodanides in combination with cross-linking agents such as ferric chloride. Scanning electron microscopy revealed effective removal of the smear layer on the treated dentin surface and obturation of dentinal plugs. Addition of the cross-linking agents to KSCN solution was more effective for pretreatment.


Abstract This article presented the results of a comparative analysis of carabid species compositions (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in urban green areas of the City of Lublin, Eastern Poland. In this study, the occurrence and abundance of ground beetles were analysed according to habitat preference and dispersal ability. A total of 65 carabid species were found in the three green areas. Obviously, the high species richness of ground beetles in the greenery of the Lublin is determined by the mostly undeveloped floodplain of the river Bystrzyca. The species richness of carabids and their relative abundance decrease in the assemblage of green areas under the effect of isolation of green patches and fragmentation of the semi-natural landscape elements in the urban environment. Generalists and open-habitat species significantly prevailed in all green areas. The prevailing of riparian and forest species at floodplain sites of the river Bystrzyca demonstrated the existence of a connection of the carabid assemblage with landscape of river valley. The Saski Park and gully "Rury" are more influenced by urbanization (fragmentation, isolation of green patches) and recreation that is consistent with the significant prevalence of open-habitats species in the carabid beetle assemblage.


International Chinese five-year junior college students were examined with regard to the status of actual social support and perceived stress, the relationship between actual social support and perceived stress, and the status of a social network, in order to explain how actual social support operates. Sixty-four students from a population of 313 responded to the questionnaires which included the Actual Social Support Scale (Jou, 1994), the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck, & Mermelstein, 1983), and the Measure of Social Support Network Scale (Blyth & Traeger, 1988). Results showed that students in Taiwan exhibit higher perceived stress and experience lower actual social support, higher actual social support may result in lower perceived stress, and the students' social network was limited to segregation with international Chinese college students in Taiwan. This suggests that more social contact with local people may help students to enlarge their social network, thus offering better social support for alleviating perceived stress.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers reported worldwide with poor morbidity and high mortality rates. HCC is a very vascular solid tumour as angiogenesis is not only a key driver for tumour progression but also an exciting therapeutic target. Our research investigated the use of fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide readily abundant in edible seaweeds commonly consumed in Asian diet due to their extensive health benefits. Fucoidan was reported to possess a strong anti-cancer activity, but its anti-angiogenic potential is still to be fully unraveled. Our research investigated fucoidan in combination with sorafenib (an anti-VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor) and Avastin® (bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody) in HCC both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro on HUH-7 cells, fucoidan had a potent synergistic effect when combined with the anti-angiogenic drugs and significantly reduced HUH-7 cell viability in a dose dependent manner. Using the scratch wound assay to test cancer cell motility, sorafenib, A + F (Avastin and fucoidan) or S + F (sorafenib and fucoidan) treated cells consistently showed an unhealed wound and a significantly smaller %wound closure (50%–70%) versus untreated control (91%–100%) (p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA). Using RT-qPCR; fucoidan, sorafenib, A + F and S + F significantly reduced the expression of the pro-angiogenic PI3K/AKT/mTOR and KRAS/BRAF/MAPK pathways by up to 3 folds (p < 0.05, one-way ANOVA versus untreated control). While ELISA results revealed that in fucoidan, sorafenib, A + F and S + F treated cells, the protein levels of caspases 3, 8, and 9 was significantly increased especially in the S + F group showing 40- and 16-times higher caspase 3 and 8 protein levels, respectively (p < 0.05, one-way-ANOVA versus untreated control). Finally, in a DEN-HCC rat model, H&E staining revealed larger sections of apoptosis and necrosis in the tumour nodules of rats treated with the combination therapies and immunohistochemical analysis of the apoptotic marker caspase 3, the proliferation marker Ki67 and the marker for angiogenesis CD34 showed significant improvements when the combination therapies were used. Despite the promising findings reported herein that highlighted a promising chemomodulatory effect of fucoidan when combined with sorafenib and Avastin, further investigations are required to elucidate potential beneficial or adversary interactions between the tested agents.


Summary Computer technology has progressed to the point where desktop videoconferencing with personal computers and remote application sharing software can be employed in remote reference library service. These technologies can be used to provide personal and effective distant reference and library instruction services to library users, in addition to such traditional methods as mail, telephone, and e-mail service. This article presents scenarios in which videoconferencing and remote applications sharing software can be used in distant reference service. Free software discussed includes CU-SeeMe for videoconferencing and NetMeeting for videoconferencing and remote applications sharing.


Charles Darwin suspected that the Cambrian "explosion" might be an artifact of fossil preservation. A more recent, initially controversial hypothesis that repeated true polar wander (TPW) triggered the Ediacaran-Cambrian explosion of animal life has been supported by numerous paleomagnetic and geochronologic refinements. These data imply ∼75° of TPW between 535 and 515 million years ago, coinciding with the paleontologically observed rise in metazoan diversity and disparity. We show here that this evolutionary trend is explained simply by the well known ecology-driven increase of diversity in low latitudes, coupled by other ecological effects as well as the enhanced deposition of sedimentary rocks during TPW-driven sea-level transgressions. During the Cambrian TPW event, Laurentia and parts of Gondwanaland moved into the equatorial zone while experiencing local TPW-induced transgressions; these areas dominate the paleontological record of the time. Although diversity might thus be considered partly artifactual, TPW acted on Cambrian biogeography to increase net diversity; and enhanced rates of origination and extinction also could increase disparity, especially if Early Cambrian TPW occurred at a time when genetic regulatory networks were critically poised for expansion and exaptation.


: This paper aims to provide a framework for preparing the teachers' guide for technical and vocational education teachers. Teachers are usually committed to execute the formal curriculum provided by the center of curriculum development in a centralized education system. To design a comprehensive model of the teacher guidance book is the main aim of this research. So, the main question is that: which model and structure could be the best for providing a comprehensive guidance book for teachers? This is an applied research with the aim as well as a survey by the collection and analysis of the data. Document study and questionnaire were used as research tools. Statistical population of this research was the curriculum developers and expert teachers. 32questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Moreover, three day workshop was implemented for some teachers and the experts in Curriculum development in which the model was discussed and developed . The result of this research is a "teacher guidance book model" which has provided based on the curriculum elements includes seven chapters. First chapter recommends to explain the general subject and foundations of curriculum. Second chapter includes the examination of the structure and content of the curriculum. Third chapter presents a framework for learning opportunities. Chapter four focuses on educational space and materials. Chapter five pays attention to the evaluation methods. Chapter six provides a budget schedule for lessons during the course and finally, chapter seven includes many recommendations for the implementation of the TVET curriculum .


In scanning microscopy based imaging techniques, there is a need to develop novel data acquisition schemes that can reduce the time for data acquisition and minimize sample exposure to the probing radiation. Sparse sampling schemes are ideally suited for such applications where the images can be reconstructed from a sparse set of measurements. In particular, dynamic sparse sampling based on supervised learning has shown promising results for practical applications. However, a particular drawback of such methods is that it requires training image sets with similar information content which may not always be available. In this paper, we introduce a Supervised Learning Approach for Dynamic Sampling (SLADS) algorithm that uses a deep neural network based training approach. We call this algorithm SLADS- Net. We have performed simulated experiments for dynamic sampling using SLADS-Net in which the training images either have similar information content or completely different information content, when compared to the testing images. We compare the performance across various methods for training such as least- squares, support vector regression and deep neural networks. From these results we observe that deep neural network based training results in superior performance when the training and testing images are not similar. We also discuss the development of a pre-trained SLADS-Net that uses generic images for training. Here, the neural network parameters are pre-trained so that users can directly apply SLADS-Net for imaging experiments.


This paper presents an alternative three-phase four-wire converter for active power filter applications. The topology of this converter consists of four switch-legs, and it uses a "split-capacitor" in the DC-bus. In this converter, three legs are destined to control the injected currents in utility lines, while the fourth leg assures a balanced voltage sharing in the DC-bus capacitors. This converter solves the problem of DC-bus voltage imbalance in the three-leg split-capacitor converter. Moreover, this topology allows each leg to be controlled independently, so injected current control is simpler than in the four-leg full-bridge conventional converter, which utilizes a single capacitor on the DC-bus side. In this sense, a simple constant-frequency current control technique is proposed. In this paper, an analytical study and a verification by simulation are conducted.


In classical analysis of variance, dispersion is measured by considering squared distances of sample elements from the sample mean. We consider a measure of dispersion for univariate or multivariate response based on all pairwise distances between-sample elements, and derive an analogous distance components (DISCO) decomposition for powers of distance in (0, 2]. The ANOVA F statistic is obtained when the index (exponent) is 2. For each index in (0, 2), this decomposition determines a nonparametric test for the multi-sample hypothesis of equal distributions that is statistically consistent against general alternatives.


Beta-ketothiolase deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of isoleucine and ketone body metabolism. This disorder is clinically characterized by ketoacidotic attacks. Ketoacidosis, vomiting, and dehydration, lethargy and coma may be seen during attacks. A 9-month-old girl was admitted to our hospital with acidosis and dehydration. The patient was lethargic. Ketoacidosis was suspected because of acetone odor on her breath. Her blood glucose level was 262 mg/dL and urine ketone was (++++). Branched chain amino acid levels were elevated in her blood sample. Organic acid analysis of urine revealed 2-methylacetoacetyl-CoA thiolase deficiency. This was reported because of rarity of the disease and we should consider it in the differential diagnosis of ketoacidotic episodes.


This thesis examines the university timetable generation problem. It begins with a discussion on the conflicting terminology used and differentiates between the terms scheduling and timetabling. This discussion integrates with an overview of the problem itself both from practical and academic perspectives. This is followed by a summary of the apparently effective timetable solution generation algorithms. The literature is then examined in detail from that perspective. This literature review is then summarised in a form to highlight the use of these different solution algorithms. A classification schema is developed and the summary of the literature presented within the framework of this schema. Trends in the research literature result from this presentation and an extrapolation to future research trends are suggested. An information system based upon the need to support timetable production and maintenance is presented. Given the very practical outcomes expected of timetable research, the information system was designed to enable the whole range of administrative functions performed by teachers to be either directly supported or readily modified to prove such support. The implementation of this particular system is given and resulting timetables are presented and discussed. The system generated manual and automated timetables and these were produced by trailing a number of objective functions. It was noted that the determination of the optimal objective function is dominated by specific individual institutional criteria. It is suggested that this would make a more than significant project for future information systems research. From the literature it is noted that the timetable generation problem, as reported time and time again in the literature, has been solved. Such claims lead to a benchmark which is proposed to enable an initial comparison of the effectiveness of proposed solutions by different researchers. The thesis then presents a summary of the work that was carried out and offers direction for future research. It is noted that despite the fifty years of research conducted into this area there exists a significant number of research avenues still to be pursued.


The Secure Research Service of the Office for National Statistics provides secure access to sensitive detailed data that are not publicly available. It provides access for Approved Researchers working on defined and approved projects, which serve the public good, within the framework of the Digital Economy Act 2017. SRS data can't be downloaded, but users can access the data at their desk if they are part of a government organisation (subject to connection criteria being met), or in an Office for National Statistics (ONS) approved Safe Setting if not.
In this paper, we examine the 2,612 projects that have been run using disclosive data through our service since its inception in 2002, and we map out patterns of data usage. In particular, we are interested in understanding;

Who are the primary users of disclosive data for research (internal ONS, academics, OGD, charities, commercial users)?
What are the primary sectors of research interest for which disclosive data access is requested? (Business, labour market, education, trade, health, population, etc.)?
What are the predominant patterns of team working? (single researcher, multi-researchers)?
What are the methodologies used to analyse the data?
What statistical tools are being used in carrying our projects?
Where are the researchers conducting the analysis based (NUTS1,2,3 classification)?
What are the outputs and impacts of disclosive data research?

The paper will conclude by proposing a classification of research projects based on a Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of the dataset collated for this presentation.


The aim of this study was to primarily explore the relationship between free pentosidine and the fluorescence properties of spent dialysate, and also to develop a model to assess the levels of free pentosidine in spent dialysate based on the fluorescence measurements. First, 40 patients (20 females and 20 males) were examined during 40 dialysis sessions. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to measure the free pentosidine concentrations from the spent dialysate. The full fluorescence spectra of the spent dialysates were recorded and single- and multi-wavelength (MW) models were developed. The average free pentosidine concentrations in the spent dialysate measured by HPLC at the start and end of the dialysis session were (mean ± SD) 4.25 ± 3.11 and 0.94 ± 0.69 μg/L respectively. The removal ratios (RRs) between RR_lab and RR_MW were statistically similar (p > 0.2). The concentration of free pentosidine and the RR can therefore be estimated from the spent dialysate when utilising fluorescence measurements.


We aim to couple the electrospinning in-line with solution chemistry to fabricate novel crosslinked polymer nanofibers. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was used as a model polymer due to its high amount of hydroxyl groups. To obtain ideal parameters for electrospinning, pure PVA was explored primarily. To gain crosslinked fibers, PVA was first crosslinked partially with glutaraldehyde (GA) followed by transferring this precursor to a long hot tube which was used as reactor and then electrospun right before gelation. The preheating time and tube-passing time were determined with viscometer and rheometer. The reactive as-spun fibers could maintain their original morphology after water immersion due to their high crosslinking degree. The thermal stability and mechanical property of reactive as-spun fibers were improved drastically compared with pure and GA vapor crosslinked PVA fibers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


Using data from a survey of rural–urban migrants conducted in Xiamen City, China, during 2009, this study explores determinants of anomie among unmarried rural male migrant workers in the context of China's gender imbalance. Results indicate that the perceived marriage squeeze has exerted direct effects on anomie, and marriage aspiration has indirect effects on anomie among rural male migrant workers. The perceived marriage squeeze also has a mediating effect between marriage aspiration and anomie among unmarried rural male migrant workers. Social integration in the destination city is also a determinant of anomie among these unmarried migrant workers.


Vanadium titanium steel slag (VTSS)
containing transition metal can promote the adsorption of Hg0. The method of
KBr and KI impregnation was applied to modify VTSS and the properties of the
adsorbents were tested. The Hg0 removal tests were carried out with a fixed bed
under different conditions. The results showed that the Hg0 adsorption capacity
increase with the increasing temperature. The efficiency was highest with KI(3)/VTSS
at 20。C and adsorption capacity was 163.4 ug/g after 3 h. The highest Hg0 removal
efficiency were 90.6% for KI(3)/VTSS, 73.5% for KBr(10)/VTSS/ VTSS at 120。C,
respectively.


Cancer is an evolutionary disease with multiple genetic alterations, accumulated due to chromosomal instability and/or aneuploidy and it sometimes acquires drug-resistant phenotype also. Whole genome sequencing and mutational analysis helped in understanding the differences among persons for predisposition of a disease and its treatment non-responsiveness. Thus, molecular targeted therapies came into existence. Among them, the concept of synthetic lethality have enthralled great attention as it is a pragmatic approach towards exploiting cancer cell specific mutations to specifically kill cancer cells without affecting normal cells and thus enhancing anti-cancer drug therapeutic index. Thus, this approach helped in discovering new therapeutic molecules for development of precision medicine. Nanotechnology helped in delivering these molecules to the target site in an effective concentration thus reducing off target effects of drugs, dose and dosage frequency drugs. Researchers have tried to deliver siRNA targeting synthetic lethal partner for target cancer cell killing by incorporating it in nanoparticles and it has shown efficacy by preventing tumor progression. This review summarizes the brief introduction of synthetic lethality, and synthetic lethal gene interactions, with a major focus on its therapeutic anticancer potential with the application of nanotechnology for development of personalized medicine.


In this paper we present an improved hard acknowledgement deadline protocol in real-time remote procedure call (RT-RPC). Current RT-RPC protocol asks services and waits until the deadline of result. M. Dao and Kwei-Jay Lin (1991) extended RT-RPC by adding hard acknowledgement deadline and got considerable result, to give more time to client recovering error etc. We improved that hard acknowledgement deadline by sending cancel message to the server at acknowledgement deadline when the client did not receive any message from the server by acknowledgement deadline. Upon receiving the cancel message the server kills the current request and executes next message. This scheme will give the client more time to handle requests and the server can do more requests in a given time. To show the effectiveness (more throughput in server) of our protocol we also include our simulation analysis.


Summary In the American Film Noir from the classic period (1930-1960), it is possible to perceive the influence of psychoanalytical culture and of Freud's most widely read works. The theory of drives involves the consideration of the perpetrator of criminal activity as a sick person. This is reflected in the films, where morals are relegated to a secondary plane. The importance of sexuality is reflected in the figure of the "femme fatale" and in behaviours in which the principle of pleasure overarches that of reality. The conscious/unconscious duality and the place of dreams in psychoanalysis are the cornerstones of films addressing the split personality and nightmares that plague essentially decent people. The solution to certain criminal conflicts is not found through police work but through medicine: in such situations the therapist manages to solve the problem of the delinquent behaviour born of sick minds.


Students and social scientists concerned with caste studies will agree to a socio-cultural phenomenon called Sanskritization among people of caste communities that are not recognized as belonging to castes primarily affiliated to either of the three varnas of Brahman, Kshatriya and Vaishya. What is Sanskritization? Following M. N. Srinivas, who put forward the concept of Sanskritization in Religion and Society among the Coorges of South India (1952) to explain upward social movement (?) among Hindu tribal groups or 'lower' caste groups imitating and gradually incorporating 'upper' caste people's social, cultural behaviour, rituals, customs, and religious practices, there exist an array of works deliberating upon this collective behavioural instance called Sanskritization (Beteille, 1969; Gould, 1961; Patwardhan, 1973; Sachchidananda, 1977; Lynch, 1974). These studies have generally accepted Sanskritization as an effective tool for cultural integration between different caste groups by ensuring movements of people across caste barriers; in other words, Sanskritization spells a common idiom of social mobility (Beteille, 1969, p. 116).
This paper does not support the view that Sanskritization has been an effective socio-cultural instrument in moving towards a society that does not swear by caste-principles. Rather, Sanskritization, a concrete social fact among the 'lower' castes people, seems to obliquely prove the productive logic of caste through the imitation of the Brahmin. Following Gramsci's conceptualisation of the necessity of a subaltern initiative in any counter-hegemony project, the paper further argues that Sanskritization is regressive to the extent that it is antithetical to any such subaltern political initiative against caste.


We present a rare case of Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) caused by mucor. The limb was debrided multiple times and the patient received antifungal treatment. The clinical manifestations and laboratory test results of mucor infections, which were significantly different from those caused by common bacteria, are of great value.


Approximate Nearest Neighbor (ANN) search has become a popular approach for performing fast and efficient retrieval on very large-scale datasets in recent years, as the size and dimension of data grow continuously. In this paper, we propose a novel vector quantization method for ANN search which enables faster and more accurate retrieval on publicly available datasets. We define vector quantization as a multiple affine subspace learning problem and explore the quantization centroids on multiple affine subspaces. We propose an iterative approach to minimize the quantization error in order to create a novel quantization scheme, which outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms. The computational cost of our method is also comparable to that of the competing methods.


. The modern realities reflect the development trend of the leading education mainstream in the Russian Federation, the priority area of the state strategy - the formation of optimal conditions for effective education of a fundamentally new generation, prepared for active independent activity in developing scientific, strategic, and economic potential and increasing the status of a sovereign state both in the foreign and domestic policy of the country. Given the social needs of the population, the state order modernizes and forms new tasks, the paramount of which is the need to organize the educational process aimed at the successful formation and development of a citizen of Russian society, fully committed to finding and learning new things. A modern representative of a new society, undoubtedly, must have developed creative abilities, demonstrate pronounced talent in one or several spheres of activity, independently make important decisions, and realize the scope of responsibility and the need to choose consciously a path of personal development.


Interdigital spaces could be an area of affection of a various cutaneous conditions, most of them with benign origin. The spectrum of differential diagnosis of pigmented interdigital lesions with a recent occurrence is not so wide, in contrast. When considering pigmented lesions in the interdigital area, the most harmless differential diagnosis is a traumatic hematoma. But what would happen if we based our therapeutic behaviour or suspicious and unconfirmed harmless diagnosis, instead of considering the real life-threatening once with priority, if we kept in mind that acral lentiginous melanoma has rather an aggressive course and is the main cause of death in skin cancer patients? We present a case of misdiagnosed interdigital melanoma, treated as a hemangioma with curettage, with almost fatal consequences, in regard to uncontrolled tumor progression as a result of the wrong traumatic procedure in one hand, and the lack of adequate screening and follow up, leading to progress of the disease with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in general. We want to emphasise the importance of acral lentiginous melanoma with an unusual location in the differential diagnostic plan because, despite the early detection, early eradication with simple excision could save a life, or at least could provide a better prognosis.


2053 Background: Pritumumab, a fully human IgG1 (kappa) monoclonal antibody (mAb), was originally isolated from a patient with cervical carcinoma. This classical example of a natural human anti-cancer antibody recognizes an altered form of the cytoskeletal protein vimentin, referred to as ectodomain vimentin (EDV). EDV is an ideal target for immunotherapy as it is expressed on the surface of tumor cells and is significantly overexpressed in glioblastomas (GBM). A multi-center phase 1 study was performed to assess the safety and pharmacokinetics of Pritumumab (NCT04396717). Methods: Eligible patients included age ≥18 years, histologically confirmed diagnosis of a central nervous system cancer, and have failed prior standard therapy. Exclusion criteria included insufficient time from prior therapy characterized as less than 28 days from cytotoxic therapy, less than 14 days from non-cytotoxic investigational agent, and less than 7 days for non-cytotoxic or immunotherapy agent. Dose Escalation Schema: Five cohort arms with up to 6 patients at each dose level included Cohort 1 (1.6 mg/kg), Cohort 2 (4.8 mg/kg), Cohort 3 (8.0 mg/kg), Cohort 4 (12.0 mg/kg), and Cohort 5 (16.2 mg/kg) on weekly 3+3 dosing schedule. Dose escalation was based on the dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) encountered through Day 28 of treatment. Pharmacokinetics:Blood and CSF samples were collected for pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis both pre- and post-dose. Results: 24 patients provided informed consent and 9 were excluded for not meeting eligibility. 15 patients received the investigational agent and were evaluable for safety and efficacy analyses. 12/15 patients had a diagnosis of glioblastoma and one patient each had anaplastic astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and non-small lung cancer with brain metastases. 13 patients discontinued treatment due to disease progression, one due to PI discretion for an unrelated CNS infection, and one withdrew for personal reasons. One partial response showed nearly a 98.0% and 40.8% reduction in 2 tumor lesions for 17 months on study. There were no dose-limiting toxicities to this natural human IgG mAb. The most common adverse events at least possibly attributed to Pritumumab were fatigue (53.3%) and constipation (33.3%). Other rare side effects, possibly related to Pritumumab, occurred at 6.7% were nausea, joint tenderness, dehydration, hypomagnesemia, neuropathy, pruritus, scalp dryness, dry skin (face), and depression. There were no Grade 3, 4, or 5 adverse events attributed to pritumumab. Preliminary pharmacokinetic (PK) data shows volume of distribution as 38.36 mL/kg and clearance of Pritumumab as 0.1305 mL/h/kg. The half-life of Pritumumab was found to be 12.5 days. Conclusions: Single agent Pritumumab is safe up to a dose of 16.2 mg/kg every 7 days in brain tumor patients. A phase 2 study is being planned as single agent and in combination with checkpoint inhibitors in both recurrent gliomas and upfront with chemoradiation in newly diagnosed gliomas. Clinical trial information: NCT04396717 .


The concept that flavonoids, possessing well-known and characterized antioxidant capacity, can fight cancer is deeply rooted in the general population. On the opposite, a current of thought, argued by eminent scientists, attributes to free radical-destroying antioxidants the responsibility to negatively affect cancer incidence and therapy. The field is even more challenging considering that flavonoids possess both antioxidants and pro-oxidant activities and recent publications suggest that their beneficial anticancer effects can be easier explaining evoking the pro-oxidant capacity than the antioxidant one. In the present communication, we will analyze clinical and pre-clinical studies facing these sometimes paradoxical and contradictory concepts proposing that a clear distinction must be done between the use of flavonoids in cancer treatment versus cancer prevention, starting from adequate and specifically selected cellular and animal models. Among the multiple examples, the case of quercetin in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) will be considered. Quercetin, the most abundant flavonoid present in the diet, is able to modulate several hallmarks of cancer, including resistance to apoptosis. Our studies on this compound allowed us to decipher the biochemical pathway triggered by quercetin leading to demonstrate its capacity to synergistically sensitize several leukemia cell lines and B-cells isolated from CLL patients when associated with different classes of anticancer drugs. We also identified in the protein kinase CK2 the direct and primary target of quercetin, whose inhibition is correlated with the down-regulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and the massive apoptosis observed in CLL-derived cells. These data will be commented at the light of the very rapidly cellular uptake of quercetin and its capacity to lower intracellular concentrations of free radical species. Finally, considering the low toxicity of quercetin in normal peripheral blood cells, we will propose the design of clinical trials aimed to demonstrate its efficacy as a potential chemopreventive agent in the early phase of CLL.


Buildings have to respond to changes in order to remain functional. Traditional means to adapt to change are to design relatively static shells that can accommodate to some degree changes. Recently a number of technologies have come into existence that extend the capacity of buildings to change in a more autonomous way. Such buildings are responsive buildings. In this paper we deal with a special case of such responsive buildings: interactive buildings. Interactive buildings engage in a dialogue with the user and have an internal representation of the user. Interactive buildings can display a variety of 'styles' how they interact with people these are known as attitudes. As a building may go through a number of attitudes during the interaction with the user, control structures are necessary to determine this change. The mechanisms for these changes are the 'psychology' of the building.


Coenzyme B12 dependent diol dehydratase undergoes mechanism‐based inactivation by glycerol, accompanying the irreversible cleavage of the coenzyme Co–C bond. Bachovchin et al. [Biochemistry16, 1082–1092 (1977)] reported that glycerol bound in the GS conformation, in which the pro‐S‐CH2OH group is oriented to the hydrogen‐abstracting site, primarily contributes to the inactivation reaction. To understand the mechanism of inactivation by glycerol, we analyzed the X‐ray structure of diol dehydratase complexed with cyanocobalamin and glycerol. Glycerol is bound to the active site preferentially in the same conformation as that of (S)‐1,2‐propanediol, i.e. in the GS conformation, with its 3‐OH group hydrogen bonded to Serα301, but not to nearby Glnα336. kinact of the Sα301A, Qα336A and Sα301A/Qα336A mutants with glycerol was much smaller than that of the wild‐type enzyme. kcat/kinact showed that the Sα301A and Qα336A mutants are substantially more resistant to glycerol inactivation than the wild‐type enzyme, suggesting that Serα301 and Glnα336 are directly or indirectly involved in the inactivation. The degree of preference for (S)‐1,2‐propanediol decreased on these mutations. The substrate activities towards longer chain 1,2‐diols significantly increased on the Sα301A/Qα336A double mutation, probably because these amino acid substitutions yield more space for accommodating a longer alkyl group on C3 of 1,2‐diols.


28 nm high-k metal gate CMOS SRAM circuits were subjected to controlled mechanical load by nanoindentation. A thinning procedure down to about 35 μm of remaining Si enables high stress fields in the vicinity of operational SRAM cells which were embedded in a flip chip package and subjected to loads from the Si backside. It was found that the loading leads to an increase of the bit cell fail probability around the nanoindentation point. The loading effects are reversible, i.e. failures are completely released upon load relieve. The results attained here provide a quantitative estimate about the influence of package-related stress on performance and reliability of microelectronic products during field operation, shedding light on CPI-and CBI-effects.


OBJECTIVE:This prospective, randomized, controlled, head-to-head study was conducted to compare the efficacies of esomeprazole- and pantoprazole-based triple therapies for Helicobacter pylori eradication.METHODS:From January 2002 to October 2003, 200 H. pylori-infected patients were randomly assigned to undergo twice daily treatment with esomeprazole 40 mg (n = 100) or pantoprazole 40 mg (n = 100) combined with clarithromycin 500 mg and amoxicillin 1 g for 1 wk (ECA and PCA groups, respectively). Follow-up endoscopy was performed at 8 wks after the end of treatment to assess the treatment response.RESULTS:Intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated a significantly higher eradication rate for the ECA group than for the PCA group (94% vs 82%, respectively, p = 0.009). Per-protocol analysis also showed similar results (97% vs 84%, p = 0.003). Both groups had similar frequencies of adverse events (15% vs 24%) and drug compliance (97% vs 96%). Multivariate analysis disclosed that the use of esomeprazole (OR: 1.56, 95% CI, 1.11–2.19) and good compliance 7.39 (95% CI, 1.27–42.95) were independent predictors of treatment success. Alcohol drinking was an independent predictor of eradication failure (OR: 0.18; 95% CI, 0.06–0.54).CONCLUSION:Esomeprazole-based triple therapy demonstrated a higher eradication rate than pantoprazole-based regimen. The differences in eradiation efficacies between the two study groups may be related to the more powerful acid inhibition effect and stronger anti-H. pylori activity of esomeprazole compared to pantoprazole.


Over the past decade, structural genomics (SG) initiatives have provided a large number of new macromolecular structures. A conservative estimate based on data from the Structural Biology Knowledgebase (http://www.sbkb.org) is that about 15% of all structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) were deposited by one of the worldwide SG centers. This remarkable record of productivity continues.

One of the founding mandates of Acta Crystallographica Section F was to give SG organizations a platform to disseminate their results to the wider scientific community. A fresh approach to fulfilling this mandate appeared in our December 2009 issue: a special section featuring structures produced by the RIKEN–UK SG collaboration. The logical extension of this approach appeared as the October 2010 issue: the first full issue of Acta Cryst. F devoted specifically to the output of a single SG center. This first special issue featured 35 papers from the Joint Center of Structural Genomics (JCSG) at the Scripps Institute (La Jolla, USA) and all articles were open access (see Weiss & Einspahr, 2010 ▶). Now we happily acknowledge that its sequel has been published as the September 2011 issue. This issue exclusively featured papers from the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Diseases (SSGCID) and again all the papers are open access. In an effort headed and coordinated by Darren Begley (Emerald BioStructures, Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA), 21 structure papers were assembled giving an overview of the SSGCID efforts. These papers were accompanied by eight laboratory communications, describing technical aspects of the work within the SSGCID. We would like to congratulate the SSGCID for this fine assembly of papers and we would like to thank all the referees who devoted their time in order to make this issue possible.

While assembling these special issues has proven to be a lot of work not only for the authors but also for the reviewers and editors, we hope that others will take advantage of the opportunities afforded by special issues or sections. To our knowledge, these have been well received but we also welcome feedback on this approach from you, our readers.


Recently, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for metasurface design has received increased attention for its excellent decision-making ability in complex problems. However, time-consuming numerical simulation has hindered the adoption of DRL-based design method. Here we apply the Deep learning-based virtual Environment Proximal Policy Optimization (DE-PPO) method to design the 3D chiral plasmonic metasurfaces for flexible targets and model the metasurface design process as a Markov decision process to help the training. A well trained DRL agent designs chiral metasurfaces that exhibit the optimal absolute circular dichroism value (typically, ∼ 0.4) at various target wavelengths such as 930 nm, 1000 nm, 1035 nm, and 1100 nm with great time efficiency. Besides, the training process of the PPO agent is exceptionally fast with the help of the deep neural network (DNN) auxiliary virtual environment. Also, this method changes all variable parameters of nanostructures simultaneously, reducing the size of the action vector and thus the output size of the DNN. Our proposed approach could find applications in efficient and intelligent design of nanophotonic devices.


One of the first and most important tasks of the paleontologist is classifying specimens into species. Species recognition commonly involves sorting specimens on the basis of qualitative and quantitative similarities and differences. Often, however, variation in simple metric characters like tooth size or jaw length plays an important role in debates about whether a sample comprises a single species or more than one morphologically similar species. For example, Simpson, Roe, and Lewontin 1 suggested that a fossil sample showing a coefficient of variation greater than 10.0 was likely to comprise more than one species. Well‐known controversies over species recognition in which metric sample variation has been important have simmered for years, focusing on hominids, hominoids, and other extinct primates. Some of these have been resolved; others have not. For example, Pilbeam and Zwell 2 convincingly demonstrated multiple species among South African hominids by showing that metric tooth size variation was too great to be reasonably interpreted as sexual dimorphism. But metric variation continues to play a role in debates about whether Australopithecus afarensis 3 , 4 and Homo habilis 5–9 each comprise a single species or two or more separate species. Similarly, there has been steady debate about the number of species present in African Proconsul. Some favor an interpretation of a single extremely dimorphic species, 10–12 while others favor an interpretation of two or more species. 13


Bio-optical relationships between inherent and apparent optical properties, and between optical properties and phytoplankton pigment concentration (C) averaged in a discrete layer, were developed. These relationships were derived from analysis of data collected during the period 1996–1998 in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), a 'Case 1' type water body. Parameterization of these relationships was accomplished by combining Gershun's equation, radiative transfer theory for average cosine of underwater light field, and a set of different bio-optical models. An analysis of the asymptotic light field was carried out. Semi-analytical single-wavelength (at λ = 443nm) algorithms for in situ and remote sensing (RS) estimation of mean pigment concentration were developed, and evaluated by sensitivity and error analysis. The advantages of RS single-wavelength algorithms in comparison with current two- and multi-wavelengths RS algorithms are discussed.


ABSTRACT The efficiency of an alternative freezing protocol for goat embryos of different morphology and quality was tested. Fifty-eight embryos on Day 6-7 stage were transferred as fresh or after freeze-thawing (n=29/group). For freezing, embryos were placed into 1.5M ethylene-glycol solution for 10min. During this time, they were loaded in the central part of 0.25mL straw, separated by air bubble from columns containing PBS/BSA 0.4% plus 20% BFS. Straws were then frozen using a freezing machine from 20ºC to -6ºC at a cooling rate of 3ºC/min, stabilization for 15min (seeding after 5min), from -6 C to -32ºC at 0.6 C/min,and plunged into liquid nitrogen. Frozen embryos were thawed for 30s at 37ºC in a water bath. Embryos subjected to fresh transfer were maintained in holding medium (37ºC). Fresh and frozen-thawed embryos were transferred at day 7 post-estrus to 30 recipients. Kidding and kid born rates were similar (P> 0.05), respectively, for recipients receiving fresh (66.7% or 10/15; 55.2% or 16/29) or frozen-thawed (60% or 9/15; 51.7% or 15/29) embryos. The cryopreservation of goat embryos using slow-freezing protocol and 1.5MEG resulted in similar efficiency rates of fresh embryos.


Predictive models able to provide a reliable estimate of hydraulic conductivity can be useful in various geotechnical applications. Since most of the existing predictive methods for saturated hydraulic conductivity estimation are valid only for a limited range of soils or can be applied under certain restrictive conditions, a new method applicable to clayey soils and clayey or silty sands having a wide range of values of soil index properties is proposed in this study. For this purpose, 329 saturated hydraulic conductivity values, obtained by laboratory tests carried out on different soils, were collected in a database and used to develop five equations using a multiple regression approach. Each equation correlates the hydraulic conductivity with one or more geotechnical parameters. An equation was developed that predicts, within an order of magnitude, the saturated hydraulic conductivity in the range from 1.2 × 10−11 to 3.9 × 10−6 m/s, based on simple geotechnical parameters (i.e., clay content, void ratio, plastic limit, and silt content).


This paper presents the design, verification, system integration and the physical realization of a high-speed monolithic phase-locked loop (PLL) based clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit. The architecture of the CDR has been realized as a two-loop structure consisting of coarse and fine loops, each of which is capable of processing the incoming low-speed reference clock and high-speed random data. Important features of this CDR include small area, single 1.2 V power supply, low power consumption, capability to operate at very high data rates, and the ability to handle between 2.4 Gbps and 3.2 Gbps data rate. The CDR architecture was realized using a conventional 0.13 /spl mu/m digital CMOS technology, which ensures a lower overall cost and better portability for the design. The circuit is capable of operating at sampling frequencies of up to 3.2 GHz, and still can achieve robust phase alignment. The overall power consumption is estimated as 18.6 mW at a 3.2 GHz sampling rate. The overall silicon area of the CDR is approximately 0.3 mm/sup 2/ including its internal loop filter capacitors.


The NIST calibration service for ac-dc difference of thermal current converters relies on multijunction thermal converters as the primary standards, and various thermal converters and thermoelements (TEs) as the reference and working standards. Calibrations are performed by comparing the ac-dc difference of a customer's thermal current converter to the ac-dc difference of a NIST standard current converter. Typical artifacts accepted for calibration include single-junction thermoelements, multijunction thermal converters, and transfer shunts for use with TEs. This paper describes the standards on which the calibration service is based and the results of the study to characterize the NIST standards over the extended frequency range from 50 kHz to 100 kHz at currents from 1 mA to 20 A. The general method for the frequency extension at high frequency involves the use of thermoelements in the 5 mA range, with small frequency dependence, as the starting point for build-up and build-down chains to cover the whole range from 1 mA to 20 A.


1 Abstract: In this paper, a wind power generation scheme using a grid connected doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) augmented with solar PV has been proposed. A reactive power-based rotor speed and position estimation technique with reduced ma- chine parameter sensitivity is also proposed to improve the performance of the DFIG controller. The estimation algorithm is based on model reference adaptive system (MRAS), which uses the air gap reactive power as the adjustable variable. The overall generation reliability of the wind energy conversion system can be considerably im- proved as both solar and wind energy can supplement each other during lean periods of either of the sources. The rotor-side DC-link voltage and active power generation at the stator terminals of the DFIG are maintained constant with minimum storage battery capacity using single converter arrangement without grid-side converter (GSC). The proposed scheme has been simulated and experimentally validated with a practi- cal 2.5 kW DFIG using dSPACE CP1104 module which produced satisfactory results.


Hierarchical placement and floorplanning algorithms for rectangular blocks are described and implemented as part of the BEAR building block layout system developed at the University of California at Berkeley. The algorithm combines the goal orientation of top-down approaches with the block orientation of bottom-up techniques. The result is a meet-in-the-middle strategy. It considers the mutual dependency between placement and routing explicitly by incorporating a novel method of hierarchical routing area estimation. If the layout includes flexible blocks, the placement result can be further optimized by resizing these blocks subject to constraints on their areas and aspect ratios. Placement and floorplanning are refined more and more (with possible topological change) as routing proceeds. Global routing is updated incrementally to eliminate the need for iterations between placement and routing, thus achieving a more uniform design flow. >


Mayer and Salovey first defined emotional intelligence in 1990 (Mayer, 1999) and later revised that definition (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). In 1995, Goleman introduced a different concept of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1995). Bar-On presented a third conceptualization, as well as the first measure of the concept (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Few studies have addressed emotional intelligence in children and adolescents, and no studies have examined the concept in the deaf population. The purpose of the present study is to examine emotional intelligence, as well as social skills, in a residential deaf population. Fourteen students at the Kentucky School for the Deaf completed emotional intelligence and social skills questionnaires. Teachers also rated each participant's social skills. Results indicated that the participants rated themselves similar to the standardization sample in overall emotional intelligence. In general, participants rated their emotional intelligence similar to their social skills. The hypothesis that there would be less than one standard deviation of difference between the overall emotional intelligence scores of the research sample and the standardization sample was supported. Suggestions for further research are presented.


objective of this study is to describe the teac hing competencies of English Education students practising at elementary schools and kindergartens based on the t eacher supervisors' view. The teaching competencies include the students' competence on writing the lesson plan and their competence on practice teaching. To reac h the objectives of the study, the researcher collected t he data by distributing a questionnaire to the supe rvisors at schools. There were 41 schools consisting of TK ABA, SD Muhammadiyah, SD Negeri located in Yogyakarta (24), Sleman (1) and Bantul (16). The questionnaire used was based on the official assessment form published by Indonesian government for teacher's certification. It contains some indicators of teaching competence, it uses Likert scales ranging from 1 to 5. The criteria are as follows: 1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = rather po or, 4 = good, and 5 = excellent. The data were taken from proportiona lly random sampling of the supervisors. From the to tal number of 103 teacher supervisors, the researcher distribu ted 61 questionnaires. The supervisors represented the ones from different educational backgrounds. The findings sho w the following results. The competence of English Education students in composing the lesson plan, according to the teacher supervisors, is classified good (actua l mean = 3.858, SD = 0.685, ideal mean = 3, ideal SD = 0.750). Furt her, their competence on practice teaching is also good (actual mean = 3.867, SD = 0.688, ideal mean = 3, ideal SD = 0.966). The two aspects of composing the lesson p lan to improve are teaching material organization and the completeness of assessment instrument. The other two aspects to improve in teaching practice are contextual teac hing and learning and class management.


DOI: 10.32098/mltj.01.2019.14 SUMMARY Background. The purpose of the study is to compare clinical outcomes and return to sport between transtibial and anteromedial portal techniques for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction by using single bundle hamstrings grafts secured with variable suspensory fixation device. Methods. Patients undergoing ACL reconstruction were chosen randomly in the period between January 2016 and July 2016. A total of 20 patients met the criteria required to be included in the case study and ultimately grouped by different surgery approaches: 10 transtibial cohort (TT), 10 anteromedial portal cohort (AM). Outcomes were assessed with KT-1000, KSS, KOOS, Tegner-Lysholm scores and Tegner Activity Level scale. Criteria developed by Illingworth et al. were used in the radiological evaluation of bone tunnel placement as a reference to assure quality standards. Results. There was no significant difference in postoperative KT-1000 measurements between the 2 cohorts. A significant improvement in all scores was observed in both cohort. There was a significant difference between the AM group and the TT group in terms of anatomical placement of the femoral tunnels and grafts (p < 0.001). Conclusion. In terms of clinical and functional outcomes, there was no difference between the two groups in the long-term period, except for the time to return sports, which was 6.8 and 7.9 months in the AM and TT groups, respectively.


In this paper we introduce the notion of discrete Blaschke products via circle packing. We first establish necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of finite branched circle packings. Next, discrete Blaschke products are defined as circle packing maps from univalent circle packings that properly fill D = {z: IzI < 1} to the corresponding branched circle packings that properly cover D. It is verified that such maps have all geometric properties of their classical counterparts. Finally, we show that any classical finite Blaschke product can be approximated uniformly on compacta of D by discrete ones.


A Presentation to the WissenschaftsZentrumBerlin (WZB) Conference on Majority and Minority Rights

It is hardly surprising that the topic of "majority rights" is being discussed at the WZB at this time. Not long ago, it would have been intellectually disreputable, politically toxic, and morally outre for a liberal or social democratic institution to focus on the rightness or plausibility of cultural and legal claims made by the majority at the presumed expense of minorities. Of course, the economic claims of the many against the few, of working people against economic elites, were fair game. But it has in large part been the inability of law, politics, and culture in the nation state over the past generation to regulate or discipline contemporary capitalism that has brought us to the current impasse where liberal democracy, including its focus on culture and on minority rights, does not seem to be serving the interests of majorities. With that crisis, certain pillars of the liberal state, pillars meant to serve both majorities and minorities, natives and immigrants, have come to be questioned – above all the adequacy of universalist civic nationalist identities or Verfassungspatriotismus. In their place we see renewed concerns with social cohesion and social solidarity, defined visa- vis both established older minorities and more recent immigrants through the lens of historical, ethnic and cultural majority identities and preferences.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of Desmodium intortum (Desmodium) hay supplementation in sheep fed fixed amounts of enset pseudostem or corm and a basal diet of wheat straw on intake, digestibility and nitrogen utilization. Eighteen male sheep with a mean (± SD) live weight of 20.5 ± 1.45 kg were assigned to six treatments in a completely randomized design and fed either 108 g dry matter (DM) enset pseudostem or 165 g DM enset corm each with three levels (100, 200 and 300 g) of hay supplementation. For the pseudostem diets, there was no significant difference in total DM intake. Total crude protein (CP) intake and N retention increased with increasing levels of hay in both pseudostem and corm diets. The apparent digestibility of DM, OM, CP, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and microbial nitrogen supply (MN) at 100 g was lower that other levels of supplementation. For the corm diets, total DM and OM intake and MN supply increased with increasing levels of hay. The digestibility decreased (p < 0.001) with increasing levels of supplementation. The results suggest that at least 300 g (395 g/kg dietary DM) of Desmodium hay is required in pseudostem diets, whereas 200 g (337 g/kg dietary DM) may be sufficient in corm diets for efficient nutrient utilization.


Corona discharge is being detected by UV imaging detection technology at home and abroad in recent years. This technology is used in the corona tests of bundled conductors in this paper. In order to further research the corona characteristic, optimize geometry parameters and diameter of sub-conductor, and increase corona onset voltage of transmission lines, corona tests of three mode conductors which are placed inside the outdoor corona cage are conducted. Corona cage could be used to simulate the corona activities on transmission lines under a low voltage and different conditions in an effective and economical way. Photon which was created by UV light as a result of corona discharge on conductors is detected by the UV detection apparatus. The photon number within unit interval, namely photon counting rate is adopted as the parameter of quantifying the intensity of corona discharge. According to the apparent change of photon number, corona onset voltage can be judged. All tests are conducted under almost same atmosphere condition. Using the method, corona onset voltage is acquired. The results indicate that the tests have a good repeatability, in other words, repeat same test twice can acquires same result. The corona onset voltage can be acquired exactly from the curve of applied voltage vs. photon counting rate. Therefore UV detection apparatus can not only used to find discharge point exactly, but also applied on corona discharge research and live detection for power equipments. The method using in this paper is proved that is a new available method.


Next-generation wireless networks will likely evolve from cellular and small-scale home networks to large, inter-connected networks that form the backbone for low-cost internet access. A de??ning characteristic of wireless networks is that all nodes share the same medium for their transmissions, and consequently, simultaneous transmissions from nearby nodes will interfere with each other. The resulting performance issues can be mitigated by regulating node activity. Various mechanisms exist for regulating node access to the wireless medium, which can be categorized into scheduled-access and random-access algorithms. The former involve a centralized entity that controls the behavior of all nodes, while random-access constitutes a class of randomized, distributed algorithms. Random-access algorithms are popular for their simplicity, and their distributed nature makes them well-suited for large, dynamic wireless networks. Scheduled- access networks generally have better performance since the presence of an omniscient controller allows for coordination between nodes, but entail higher implementation complexity. One well-known algorithm for centralized access is MaxWeight scheduling, which is popular for its ability to achieve maximum stability and throughput optimality in a wide variety of scenarios. The distinguishing characteristic of MaxWeight policies is that these require solving the maximum weighted independent set problem of the underlying interference graph. The maximum- stability guarantees however rely on the premise that the system consists of a fi??xed set of fl ows, while in reality the collection of active ows dynamically varies. In Chapters 2 and 3 we demonstrate that in the presence of ow-level dynamics the algorithm may no longer be throughput-optimal, and we identify two causes for the instability: (i) failure to fully exploit rate variations; and (ii) spatial ine??ciency. In Chapter 2 we consider the MaxWeight scheduling algorithm in a single downlink scenario with varying transmission rates. We identify a simple necessary and su??cient condition for stability, and show that MaxWeight policies may fail to provide maximum stability. The intuitive explanation is that these policies tend to favor ows with large backlogs, so that the rate variations of ows with smaller backlogs are not fully exploited.


When conducting a preliminary search across an engineering design space using an evolutionary search method such as the Genetic Algorithm (GA) it is important to achieve the correct balance between exploration and exploitation. If search is too exploratitive, progress may rapidly degenerate into a random walk where the benefits of evolutionary search are quickly lost. Conversely, if the degree of exploitation is too high, premature convergence may result, with significant areas of the search space remaining largely under explored. This paper introduces a number of COGA strategies developed to better explore and exploit the search space thereby promoting its subsequent decomposition into regions of high performance. Each technique is compared with Variable Mutation COGA (vmCOGA) upon a mu lti-dimensional high modality test function.


The common cold is a unique human disease, as it is arguably the most common disease and because of the large number of respiratory viruses causing colds it is one of the most complex of human diseases. This review discusses the respiratory viruses and notes that all these viruses may cause the illness complex recognised as the common cold. The common cold is discussed as part of the "iceberg concept" of disease which ranges from asymptomatic infection to severe illness and death. The factors influencing the incidence of colds are discussed: crowding and sociability, stress, smoking and alcohol, immune status, sex, age, sleep, season, chilling, nutrition and exercise. The mechanism of symptoms related to the innate immune response is explained and symptomatic treatments are tabulated. Morbidity associated with common cold is discussed and possible vaccines.