Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Targeting the tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), which has been clinically established for anticancer therapy, is the attractive strategy to specifically kill cancer cells through the death receptors. Nonetheless, its therapeutic potential is limited due to the resistance in cancer cells. Thus, in the present study, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of Decursin, a pyranocoumarin isolated from the Korean Angelica gigas root as a TRAIL sensitizer in a variety of resistant lung cancer cells. Co-treatment of Decursin with TRAIL synergistically induced apoptosis in TRAIL resistant lung cancer cells, A545, H1299, H596 and Calu-1. This synergistic effect through the induction of DR5 in Decursin treated cells was also confirmed by immunoblotting and immunoanalysis of endogeneous and surface expression of DR5, respectively. In contrast, in DR knockdown cells, combination treatment Decursin and TRAIL did not induce apoptosis at all. Furthermore, we found that DR5 induction by Decursin was mediated by ER-stress and its byproduct CHOP. Depletion of CHOP via siRNA transfection completely blocked Decusin induced apoptosis cell death in TRAIL resistant lung cancer cells. Taken together, induction of the DR5 via upregulation of CHOP and its inducer, ER stress, by Decursin leads to synergistically increase the TRAIL mediated cell death in TRAIL resistant lung cancer cells. Our results indicate that Decursin is a useful therapeutic strategy for overcoming TRAIL resistance in lung tumor treatment.

Key words: Decursin, DR-5, ER stress, CHOP, Trail resistant, Lung cancer

Conflict of Interests: The authors disclose no potential conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korea Government (MEST) (no. 2012-0005755).

Citation Format: Kim Jae Kwang. Decursin synergistically enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis through CHOP dependent DR5 signaling in TRAIL resistant lung cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5118. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5118


Chloroplasts are photosynthetic plant organelles descended from a bacterial ancestor. The vast majority of chloroplast proteins are synthesized in the cytosol and then imported into the chloroplast post-translationally. Translocation complexes exist in the organelle's outer and inner envelope membranes (termed TOC and TIC, respectively) to facilitate protein import. These systems recognize chloroplast precursor proteins and mediate their import in an energy-dependent manner. However, many unanswered questions remain regarding mechanistic details of the import process and the participation and functions of individual components; for example, the cytosolic events that mediate protein delivery to chloroplasts, the composition of the TIC apparatus, and the nature of the protein import motor all require resolution. The flux of proteins through TOC and TIC varies greatly throughout development and in response to specific environmental cues. The import process is, therefore, tightly regulated, and it has emerged that the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays a key role in this regard, acting at several different steps in the process. The UPS is involved in: the selective degradation of transcription factors that co-ordinate the expression of chloroplast precursor proteins; the removal of unimported chloroplast precursor proteins in the cytosol; the inhibition of chloroplast biogenesis pre-germination; and the reconfiguration of the TOC apparatus in response to developmental and environmental signals in a process termed chloroplast-associated protein degradation. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of protein import into chloroplasts and how this process is regulated by the UPS.


hard concretions, measuring up to 1.4 cm. in greatest diameter. The mucosa was rough and dark red in colour. Microscopically the blood vessels were dilated and engorged with red cells. The entire wall was infiltrated with acute inflammatory cells, and in one area there was complete dissolution of the wall. The final pathological report was: acute gangrenous Meekel's diverticulitis, with perforation and multiple calctuli.


This paper deals with issues related to management of industrial research. The overall research question is how industrial researchers can be managed to increase the company's benefits. The relevance of this question is put into perspective by two main considerations. On the one hand, it is widely recognized that individual researchers should possess a high level of autonomy to preserve the ability of research to renew itself. On the other hand, companies need to maintain control over that freedom to develop their research activities in a long-term company perspective. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the management of industrial research by moving the focus from risk management and portfolio planning (decision and control based management) to management in situations marked by high uncertainty and asymmetric distribution of information (management of self-governing systems). More specifically, the evolutionary perspective on individual adaptation is used in combination with evolutionary economics to create an analytical framework for understanding managerial action in industrial research. This framework, is used to explain how managers can try to increase the probability that individual research processes create results, which eventually increase the fit of the company to its environment. It is argued that research managers can, to a certain extent, influence the complex processes of individual adaptation by influencing individual decision making through a) setting and communicating research specific goals and b) creating and maintaining shared cognitive frames.


Man and his Ancestor.-In an admirable little volume of 238 pages Mr. Charles Morris has presented the leading facts that go to show that man has been the outcome of a development from the lower animals. This study in evolution is written in terse and untechnical language. It is addressed to " those who are evolutionists in principle to learn on what grounds their acceptance of this phase of evolution stands, and to aid those who are at sea on the whole subject of man's origin to reach some fixed conclusion." The clear and logical interpretation of the factsthemselves established for the most part beyond controversy certainly justifies the author's hope " that it may carry some doubters to solid land and teach some believers the fundamental elements of their faith." In a word, it is a well-written " popular treatise " that deserves to be widely read. Two views of the origin of man exist: either he came into existence through direct creation, or by development from the lower animals. The former mode is not susceptible of proof, the latter is supported by our author with facts drawn from both biology and anthropology. Some of the principal vestiges of the ancestry of man which he carries in his own body are described. Brief mention is made of the principal discoveries of human remains and articles manufactured by man that have come down to us from prehistoric times. It is to be especially observed that all archaeological evidence is cumulative, indicative of constant improvement. The four most marked distinctions between man and the lower animals are considered at some length. In the chapter upon " the conflict with nature " are set forth the prevailing beliefs regarding the time and place of man's origin, the influence environment has had upon the race, and the traces of ascent discernible in racial differences.


The dynamic characterization of vehicle structures is a crucial step in NVH analysis and helps in refining the vibration and noise in new vehicles. This paper investigates the dynamic properties of two parts of the vehicle structure which are door and hood panels. Theoretical modal analysis which is referred to as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) or modal testing has been used as investigative tools. The paper investigates the structural dynamic properties of door and hood panels of a local car. ME'scope software was used to analyze the data obtained from Pulse to extract the dynamic properties of the panels. LS-DYNA software was used to analyze the dynamic behavior of the structure. The comparison between the results obtained from both analyses showed some similarity in frequencies and mode shapes. Finally the paper concludes that experimental modal analysis and finite element analysis can both be used to extract dynamic properties of structures.


The creation of new management methods that guarantee sustainable economic development in the long-term perspective is impossible without the overall analysis of the existing methods and system elements of enterprise management. Such analysis should take into account the influence of external and internal environment. Most of Russian organizations functioning at the market are characterized by low degree of flexibility and adaptability to the changes at the market and by traditional ways of management which do not correspond to the modern market conditions and it does not allow them to develop perfectly. The article defines the main components of the enterprise sustainable development and offers the matrix model of changes assessment on the basis of sustainable development criterion. Thus, the general aim of the article is to form theoretical and methodical basis for management mechanism aimed at sustainable development of the enterprise, the mechanism that meets the current demands and global trends of economy development. The main methodical instrument used for the enterprise position assessment is the system of matrix coordinates. The choice of the matrix form is due to the fact that matrices are the main tool for strategic positioning of enterprises and the choice of strategic solutions in conditions of multiplicity of parameters through which the expected and actually obtained results are formalized and measured.


Abstract The bush dog Speothos venaticus, a rarely seen Neotropical canid categorized as Near Threatened globally, is categorized as Vulnerable in Brazil. In the Atlantic Forest occurrence data of this species are extremely rare. Here we document new records of the bush dog in four reserves in a large remnant of continuous coastal Atlantic Forest in Paraná state, southern Brazil. From a total of 4,112 trap days in two camera-trap surveys in 2009 and 2011 we obtained one opportunistic sighting and three independent photographic records of the bush dog. Additionally, park guards reported previous sightings (>4 years earlier) in three of these reserves, including the reserve where we did not record the species. Our results indicate that the remnant coastal Atlantic Forest of Paraná state is an important region for the conservation of the bush dog in southern Brazil. Given the rarity of this species in its natural habitat we suggest that conservation efforts in this region should focus on minimizing the potential threats (prey depletion from poaching and disease transmission from domestic dog) to the species.


Despite the high level of production of sorghum in Nigeria its threshing and cleaning operation remains among the major challenges to farmers especially in the northern part of the country. Efficient sorghum threshers are not available to Nigerian farmers. The prototype thresher developed at Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) was associated with many problems such as: low capacity, and higher mechanical grain damage. To address these problems a modified model was designed, constructed and evaluated. The major components modified include feed hopper, cylinder and concave. The machine performance was evaluated at various levels of moisture contents, speed and feed rates. The results showed that threshing efficiency and throughput capacity of the modified thresher were 99.980 % and 253.960 kg/hr respectively while that for mechanical grain damage was 3.700 %. In comparison with the existing IAR thresher the results indicated an increased by 0.980, and 56.960 % for threshing efficiency and throughput capacity respectively While mechanical grain damage decreased by 3.840 % The best combinations of independent variable for optimum operations were 13.000 % moisture content, 12.670 m/s cylinder speed and 5.000 kg/min feed rate. At these levels the improved prototype sorghum thresher gave performance values of 297.000 kg/hr throughput capacity, while threshing efficiency and mechanical grain damage were 99.800 and 3.400 % respectively.


. We study inflationary perturbations in multiple-field models, for which ζ typically evolves until all isocurvature modes decay — the "adiabatic limit". We use numerical methods to explore the sensitivity of the local-shape bispectrum to the process by which this limit is achieved, finding an appreciable dependence on model-specific data such as the time at which slow-roll breaks down or the timescale of reheating. In models with a sum-separable potential where the isocurvature modes decay before the end of the slow-roll phase we give an analytic criterion for the asymptotic value of f NL to be large. Other examples can be constructed using a waterfall field to terminate inflation while f NL is transiently large, caused by descent from a ridge or convergence into a valley. We show that these two types of evolution are distinguished by the sign of the bispectrum, and give approximate expressions for the peak f NL .


Multicode operation in space-time block coded (STBC) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems can provide additional degrees of freedom in code domain to achieve high data rates. In such multicode STBC systems, the receiver experiences code domain interference (CDI) in frequency selective fading. In this paper, we propose a linear parallel interference cancellation (LPIC) approach to cancel the CDI in multicode STBC signals in frequency selective fading. The proposed detector first performs LPIC followed by STBC decoding. We present an SINK for the proposed detector. We evaluate the bit error rate (BER) performance of the system, and show that the proposed detector effectively cancels the CDI and achieves improved error performance. Our BER results further illustrate how the combined effect of interference cancellation, transmit diversity, and RAKE diversity affects the performance of the system.


The paper attempts to understand the inter-linkages and causal relationships between the stock exchanges. This study covers Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchanges (NSE). To establish the relationship, the daily closing data of the stock indices such as the Nikkei in Japan, Hangseng in Hong Kong with that of NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex in India during the period March 2007 to August 2014 are used. The Granger-causality and Cointegration test were used to check the causal relationship. The study found that there is uni-directional short-term causal influence from Indian stock markets to the Japanese and Hong-Kong stock market while no long-term relationships are found between the Indian and Japanese market as well as with the Hong Kong market over the study period.


A 'draft: for comment' White Paper on Sanitation was recently released, the product of an inter-departmental National Sanitation Task Team. The document is in the stage of 'detailed consultation with interested parties, which is taking place at workshops that will have been held in all provinces by April. Whereas White Papers from previous governments often focused on specific projects, the Government of National Unity has correctly concerned itself more with proposals for policy change in the spirit of the RDP. This White Paper begins by stating that it is a 'policy paper' and that it 'starts where the previous [1994] White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation Policy ended'.


The aims of this research is: 1) the rules related to distance learning during the Covid-19 emergency period, 2) type of learning innovations applied by Islamic study teachers, 3) obstacles faced by Islamic education teachers during e-learning. This research was conducted at MTS. PAI. The research method used is a qualitative research method, with a descriptive study model. The results of the study indicate that the policies adopted in MTS. PAI during the emergency period Covid-19 is still carrying out learning, but carried out with a distance-based internet network system. This policy is always implemented in accordance with government regulations. The variety of learning innovations applied are 1) Innovation In intra curricular activities, such as the presentation of learning with multimedia. PAI learning that emphasizes the motto 'friendly'. online-based discussions and assignments, Application of project-based methods, evaluation of learning based on activities. 2) Innovations in Extracurricular activities, such as routine reading and memorizing the Koran. The obstacles faced are 1) mindset errors, 2) Lack of competence, 3) teacher and student unpreparedness in facing E-Learning learning.


MIT-Fablab Norway was one of the first Fab Labs ever established, in northern Norway in 2002. Despite this auspicious beginning to a network that is rapidly growing, surprisingly little has been written about the genesis of the network or the Fab Lab itself. We therefore aim to contribute to this knowledge gap with a narrative account of our independent ethnographic research visits to the Lab. We combine our researcher perspectives, which are informed by, on the one hand, Aesthetics and a phenomenological understanding and, on the other, Science and Technology Studies, with Design Research bridging both. Our account aims to richly describe the Lab's unique profile in the MIT Fab Lab network as a socially shaped entity and product of a particular time and place. Most salient in this narrative is the role of its charismatic founder, whose stories and metaphors become vehicles by which we come to understand how a Fab Lab forms its own identity, balancing the relationships with local stakeholders against those with the Fab Lab network; how it promotes certain principles and values of peer production; and how it represents itself to both maker insiders and outsiders. While situated and particular to this Lab, our interpretations may have implications for the trajectories of other Fab Labs and makerspaces, as well as our understanding of peer production as a new paradigm.


Background Accurate prognosis is important either after acute infection or during long-term follow-up of patients infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. This study aims to predict coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity based on clinical and biological indicators, and to identify biomarkers for prognostic assessment. Methods We included 261 Vietnamese COVID-19 patients, who were classified into moderate and severe groups. Disease severity prediction based on biomarkers and clinical parameters was performed by applying machine learning and statistical methods using the combination of clinical and biological data. Results The random forest model could predict with 97% accuracy the likelihood of COVID-19 patients who subsequently worsened to the severe condition. The most important indicators were interleukin (IL)-6, ferritin and D-dimer. The model could still predict with 92% accuracy after removing IL-6 from the analysis to generalise the applicability of the model to hospitals with limited capacity for IL-6 testing. The five most effective indicators were C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, IL-6, ferritin and dyspnoea. Two different sets of biomarkers (D-dimer, IL-6 and ferritin, and CRP, D-dimer and IL-6) are applicable for the assessment of disease severity and prognosis. The two biomarker sets were further tested through machine learning algorithms and relatively validated on two Danish COVID-19 patient groups (n=32 and n=100). The results indicated that various biomarker sets combined with clinical data can be used for detection of the potential to develop the severe condition. Conclusion This study provided a simple and reliable model using two different sets of biomarkers to assess disease severity and predict clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients in Vietnam. Outcome prediction model and prognostic biomarkers for COVID-19 patients in Vietnam https://bit.ly/3BKyf7n


This work aims to introduce the reader to Pierre Bourdieu's theory of fields, to evaluate it critically and, through case studies, to test its implementation in the analysis of new objects. While the use of Bourdieu's concept of the habitus has given rise to countless discussions, the literature strangely remains more silent on the theory of fields, although it lies at the heart of his work. A series published by Editions du Seuil, started and initially edited by Bourdieu, includes a number of monographs that apply the theory of fields;r some journals have devoted whole issues to explicitly mobilizing the theory in order to study specific areas, and a growing number of works make use of it. However, critical discussions that seek to give an account of this theory both in general terms and in particular areas remain rare. The aim of this work is to fill that gap. One of the hypotheses put forward in this book is that the theory of fields constitutes an adequate tool for explaining and understanding the social world but that its use must be rigorously circumscribed and correspond to certain methodological principles.


The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide due to the lack of risk assessment, rapid spreading ability, and propensity to precipitate severe disease in comorbid conditions. In an attempt to fulfill the demand for prophylactic and treatment measures to intercept the ongoing outbreak, the drug development process is facing several obstacles and renaissance in clinical trials, including vaccines, antivirals, immunomodulators, plasma therapy, and traditional medicines. This review outlines the overview of SARS-CoV-2 infection, significant recent findings, and ongoing clinical trials concerning current and future therapeutic interventions for the management of advancing pandemic of the century.


The aim of this study was to separate X-bearing bovine sperm by continuous Percoll and OptiPrep density gradients and to validate the sexing of resultant in vitro produced embryos by Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Frozen/thawed sperm was layered on density gradients which were previously prepared in polystyrene tubes, 24 h before procedures and maintained at 4 °C. The tubes were centrifuged at 500 x g for 15 min at 22 °C. Supernatants were gently aspirated and the sperm recovered from the bottom of the tubes. Viability and integrity of sperm were evaluated by Trypan Blue/Giemsa stain. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were determined by in vitro production of embryos and PCR was performed for identification of the embryos' genetic sex. No damage in viability and acrossomal integrity and in cleavage and blastocyst rates was found in the Percoll and OptiPrep treatment compared to the non-centrifuged group (P>0.05). The percentage of female embryos in the Percoll and OptiPrep group was 63.0 and 47.6%, respectively. The female embryos in control group were 48.7%. A sexual deviation in the Percoll density gradient was achieved without reduction of sperm viability and in vitro production rates. KEY WORDS: Bovine, centrifugation, in vitro production of embryos, PCR, X-bearing sperm.


1 Path space measures and change of measure 1.1. Introduction: We turn to a closer study of the probability measures on path space that represent solutions of stochastic differential equations. We do not have exact formulas for the probability densities, but there are approximate formulas that generalize the ones we used to derive the Feynman integral (not the Feynman Kac formula). In particular, these allow us to compare the measures for different SDEs so that we may use solutions of one to represent expected values of another. This is the Cameron Martin Girsanov formula. These changes of measure have many applications, including importance sampling in Monte Carlo and change of measure in finance. 1.2. Importance sampling: Importance sampling is a technique that can make Monte Carlo computations more accurate. In the simplest version, we have a random variable, X, with probability density u(x). We want to estimate A = E u [φ(X)]. Here and below, we write E P [·] to represent expecation using the P measure. To estimate A, we generate N (a large number) independent samples from the population u. That is, we generate random variables X k for k = 1,. .. , N that are independent and have probability density u. Then we estimate A using A ≈ A u = 1 N N k=1 φ(X k). (1) The estimate is unbiased because the bias, A − E u [ A u ], is zero. The error is determined by the variance var(A u) = 1 N var u (φ(X)). Let v(x) be another probability density so that v(x) = 0 for all x with u(x) = 0. Then clearly A = φ(x)u(x)dx = φ(x) u(x) v(x) v(x)dx. We express this as A = E u [φ(X)] = E v [φ(X)L(X)] , where L(x) = u(x) v(x). (2) The ratio L(x) is called the score function in Monte Carlo, the likelihood ratio in statistics, and the Radon Nikodym derivative by mathematicians. We get a different unbiased estimate of A by generating N independent samples of v and taking A ≈ A v = 1 N N k=1 φ(X k)L(X k) .


Objectives : Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of  morbidity and mortality amongst patients who undergo major orthopaedic surgical procedures. The perioperative use of thromboprophylactic agents with or without mechanical compression has demonstrated significant  lowering of the incidence of VTE among post-operative patients. Various pharmacological and mechanical agents are available locally in both oral and injection forms but there are no standard guidelines or a consensus statement on their utilization. This is the case despite there being a  gradual rise in the number of patients who undergo hip and knee  replacement surgery in Kenya. The purpose of this paper is to review the current approaches being used to reduce post hip and knee replacement incidences of VTE as recommended by various external guidelines for benchmarking purposes in the Kenyan context. Data Sources : This article relies on published scientific data from various online resources including journals and electronic databases. Data selection and extraction : The data that is cited in this article has been referenced from health publications that are available online through internet literature search and googling Cochrane review, Pub Med, MedScape and Medline websites. Conclusions : The use of mechanical and pharmacological methods to prevent VTE following major orthopaedic surgery is recommended and practiced worldwide. The choice of the prophylactic regimes should be  adapted to patient needs taking into consideration their risk profiles for bleeding and development of VTE as well as the availability and access to the prophylactic treatment. Several countries have developed VTE  prevention guidelines in line with international practice and adapted them to their local situations. In the Kenyan context a gap remains for  development of local VTE prevention guidelines that will inform and enable clinicians to make rationale choices while selecting appropriate VTE prevention measures.


The helical screw rheometer represents a new concept in viscometry: a rotational instrument that generates a pressure difference and therefore does not require torque measurement. The device is basically a metering screw that operates with no discharge. The results that are necessary to obtain the power-law constitutive parameters from pressure drop and rotation rate data are presented along with comparisons between theory and experiment for a prototype instrument operated at ambient conditions. The helical screw rheometer may offer advantages over conventional instruments for: 1) high-pressure measurements, 2) chemically-reacting fluids, 3) heterogeneous fluids and 4) on-line measurements.


Execution tracing is one of the key techniques for analyzing and validating the operation of embedded products. After reviewing several approaches to the runtime behavior analysis of embedded systems, we present the experience gained in developing a range of high-bandwidth communications devices combining multiple wireless and wired link technologies. In particular, all cases studies are based on actual product development.


The rise in temperature is already evident in Himalaya with rate of increase varying seasonally and spatially. Changes in precipitation are also evident with no clear trend. Several studies in different parts of Himalayas suggest that the glaciers are retreating in general with few exceptions as response to changes in temperature and precipitation. The stream flow in river basins in Indian Himalayan region (IHR) is already showing changes in studies undertaken in the last few decades. Use of glacio-hydrological models gives opportunity to estimate stream flow in glaciated river basins and understand the changes. The present study deals with estimation of discharge in Shaune Garang Basin, Himachal Pradesh using a glacio-hydrological model based on degree day factors. The model was used to estimate long term average of melt season discharge (1985-2007) in the basin. The modelled discharge shows good correlation with measured discharge for simulation period except for first year of comparison.


A 70 year-old man presented with insidiously progressing central visual acuity loss in both eyes over several years. Objectively the only abnormality identified on the exam was questionable granularity in the fovea in each eye. Extensive work up which included neuro-imaging, screening blood work for toxic and nutritional causes of optic neuropathy as well as electroretinogram and fluorescein angiography to rule out subtle maculopathy was all unrevealing. When vision continued to deteriorate over the next several years investigations were repeated and again did not yield any positive results. Levels of heavy metals were then obtained after further progression of visual loss, revealing very high levels of arsenic. Subsequent investigations revealed that patient has been spending almost every weekend for the past 28 years alone at a remote country cottage where the sole supply of water was from the local well. He also recalled that 1.5 months after purchasing the cottage he developed hemorrhagic colitis requiring partial colectomy. The specimen from colectomy was located and total reflection x-ray fluorescence testing performed in a specialized lab revealed greatly increased level of arsenic particle in the colonic biopsy from 28 years ago. This case is a reminder that heavy metal toxicity should be considered in a differential diagnosis of patients with bilateral symmetric optic neuropathy.


The Catalan numbers $C_{n} \in \{1,1,2,5,14,42,\dots \}$ form one of the most venerable sequences in combinatorics. They have many combinatorial interpretations, from counting bracketings of products in non-associative algebra to counting rooted plane trees and noncrossing set partitions. They also arise in the GUE matrix model as the leading coefficient of certain polynomials, a connection closely related to the plane trees and noncrossing set partitions interpretations. In this paper we define a generalization of the Catalan numbers. In fact we actually define an infinite collection of generalizations $C_{n}^{(m)}$, $m\geq 1$, with $C_{n}^{(1)}$ equal to the usual Catalans $C_{n}$; the sequence $C_{n}^{(m)}$ comes from studying certain matrix models attached to hypergraphs. We also give some combinatorial interpretations of these numbers.


The oxyallyl cation intermediate from the Lewis acid mediated Nazarov reaction of an allenyl vinyl ketone was intercepted by acyclic, 2-silyloxy-substituted butadienes by highly regioselective (4 + 3) cycloadditions. Stereoselectivity was often modest, but in some instances steric interactions were responsible for high selectivity. The results are consistent with concerted (4 + 3) cycloadditions. In many instances, the (4 + 3) products were susceptible to fragmentation or rearrangement in the presence of the Lewis acid.


The impact of poor housing on health was recognized 150 years ago, and doing something about it was the first real public health initiative. Today, standards in much of the older housing stock continue to fall and, exacerbated by the current free market boom in fuel costs, many people cannot afford to heat or maintain their homes. In response to this crisis, there is an increasing amount of housing help available which would directly improve the health of patients but, apart from pockets of exemplary practice, most health practitioners seem to do little about it. Yet housing issues feature prominently in nurse training, as well as receiving increasing emphasis through the current national and regional fuel poverty initiatives. In exploring this paradox the author examines the mixed fortunes of an innovative project which tried to stimulate collaborative working between professions by providing a successful combined health and housing intervention. Drawing on his evaluation of this project over five years, he considers what some of the barriers to collaboration might be, how they arise and what needs to be done to overcome them.


Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) is an observational technique that has revolutionized our understanding of extended objects in the Universe since the last decade. IFS provides unique contributions to the study ofGalactic ionized nebulae, extragalactic HII regions, and galaxies in the local and in the early Universe, which in some aspects are complementary to the high precision performance of existing wide area photometric and single-aperture spectroscopic surveys. The power of this technique is the possibility of gathering complete spectroscopic information across the spatial extension of astrophysical objects, thus allowing the study of physical spatial variations of their properties, this being specially significant for those properties related to their metal content and star formation activity. With this special issue we want to cover the most relevant aspects related to IFS, in order to illustrate to the reader the wide scope opened by this observational technique. In what follows we present the main contents of this special issue split by subject. Two papers of this issue are devoted to modeling the chemical evolution of spiral and dwarf galaxies by M. Molla and S. Recchi. Theoretical models are a key ingredient in order to be compared with the observational data since either their predictions open new observational avenues or they are constrained by new observational results. Both aspects must walk hand in hand to make progress in the field. Two papers follow, dealing with the study of Galactic objects. The one by L. Lopez-Martin mostly addresses some aspects of the particular technical problems of IFS data handling. A paper by A. Mesa-Delgado faces the chemical abundance discrepancy problem applied to Galactic Herbig Haro objects in the Orion nebula, illustrating how IFS can help to shed light on this issue. A set of four papers follows focused on extragalactic studies with fiber-fed spectrographs: the first two papers, by E. Perez-Montero et al. and P. Lagos and P. Papaderos, deal with the chemical properties of star-forming (HII/BCD) dwarf galaxies and with the interplay of theWR stellar population on the metal enrichment of the interstellar medium. The remaining two papers of this block, by F. F. RosalesOrtega and S. F. Sanchez, are focused on the properties of the HII regions in spiral galaxies and review most recent results on chemical abundance gradients obtained from IFS observations. Last but not least, a set of two papers of this issue are devoted to the description and main properties of two ongoing experiments/instruments. One is a wide-field integral field spectrograph, by G. A. Blanc, with applications in several astrophysical fields, in particular in the study of the properties of nearby galaxies. The second one, by L. Drissen et al., explains the basics of the operation of imaging Fourier transform spectrometers (IFTS), an interesting alternative to the traditional dispersive spectrographs due to their wide field of view, and it shows the main goals that can be achieved using them in the study of the chemical evolution of astrophysical objects.


Introduction. 1. Immigration and Empire-building: Film as a Colonizing Discourse - Immigration Films-Attracting the right/white kind of invader-settlers Melodrama and the Ideological Cinema of White Invasion/Settlement: An Unselfish Love Drylanders Drylanders and Ideology Back to Gods Country 2. Who is Ethnographiable? - White Ethnographies: "some white people are whiter than others": Hot Ice Nation Building in Saskatchewan: The Ukrainians Saving the Sagas: Salvage Ethnography Secrets of Chinatown: The Monstrous Ethnographic Of Japanese Descent: An Interim Report (1945) 3. Producing a National Cinema - Legislating a National Cinema, Establishing the National Film Board of Canada: Peoples of Canada (1947), Post-War Schemes and Dependency, The NFB and Feature Production, Funding Differences at the NFB: Regionalization, Studio D and the New Initiatives in Film State Intervention: The Legislation of a Canadian Feature Film Industry The Tax Shelter Boom and Canada's Hollywood Features Telefilm Canada Co-Production 4. Narrating Nations/Ma(r)king Differences - External and Internal Colonialism, Ethnic and Gendered Nationalisms: Patriotism, One and Reason Over Passion Quebec USA ou l'invasion pacifique / visit to a foreign country (1962), Genre Texts, Melodrama: Mon Oncle Antoine Les bons debarras Un Zoo la Nuit and Leolo Le Confessional Margaret's Museum The Adujter, The Road Movie: My American Cousin, Highway 61, Goin' Down the Road, The Western: Road to Saddle River and The Grey Fox, Representing the FLQ Crisis: Action: The October Crisis of 1970 Les Ordres Octobre No Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the Seventies Geneeration 5. Visualizing First Nations - Whiting Out the Indigene: Black Robe Windigo Clearcut Map of the Human Heart Dance Me Outside, Returning the Gaze: Aboriginal Filmmakers and Decolonization: Incident at Restigouche Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance Charley Squash Goes to Town Honey Moccasin 6. Multicultural Fields of Vision: Moving the Mountain Double Happiness By This Parting Masala Rude 7. Screening Gender and Sexuality - Screening Gender: How They Saw Us: Careers and Cradles Les Filles du Roi (They Called Us 'Les Filles du Roy') Mourir a Tue Tete (A Scream From Silence) Our Marilyn Counter-Cinema and the Entertainment Film: Bye Bye Blues and I've Heard the Mermaids Singing Dead Ringers Screening Sexuality: The Making of Monsters Cineama and Fictive Sexuality in the National State: Zero Patience. Bibliography.


Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are under pressure to enhance graduate employability. The concept of graduate employability refers to a mix of specific skills, knowledge, and personal attributes; among others internationalisation, innovation, and entrepreneurship skills. This paper asks the question: How can HEI enhance students' internationalisation, innovation, and entrepreneurship skills in order to foster graduate employability? The authors provide insights into a transnational student consultancy teaching approach that was implemented simultaneously at five European HEI in the winter term of 2017/2018. The paper adds to the practical dimension of internationalisation, entrepreneurship education, and innovation pedagogy by presenting an example of how these interrelated concepts can be integrated into a course for business students. The authors discuss important challenges of implementing transnational consultancy projects at HEI, such as varying academic calendars and administrative requirements, matching student teams and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as managing expectations. Based on participant feedback, this paper  draws three lessons learned for lecturers that are involved in transnational teaching projects.


To the Editor: —A bill (S 4086) providing for the national control of leprosy and the care of lepers is now pending before the United States Senate. This is the history of the bill. The Public Health Service and others interested in leprosy, particularly dermatologists, for years have realized that the incidence of this disease was gradually increasing in this country, and that it was therefore a menace. Whenever a case of leprosy is diagnosed in the community a great hue and cry results and there is ample opportunity for hysterical journalism. Although we realize that leprosy is not one of the most infectious of diseases, yet we do not know the exact manner of its transmission from one person to another. The cycle of the organism and the conditions of infection with it are not known. However, history and past experience demonstrate its infectious nature. Lepers moving from place


The fauna of Trichoptera larvae in the Avia River Basin and their ecological preferences were analysed in thisstudy. We sampled ten sites with different types of substrate that were characterised in situ according to the predominant material type: macrophytes, moss and hard substrates (pebbles, cobbles and sand). Hierarchical clustering was used to test for significant differences in locations regarding the diversity and the abundance among material types, and a canonical correspondence analysis was used to test for significant differences in physico and chemical variables and species among sampling sites. We found that species such as Rhyacophila munda were related to high mineralization values as other authors express, whereas others, such as Micrasema sp. "gr. moestum" and Tinodes foedellus were found in high oxygen levels.


Paper investigates the use of newly defined numerical method based on weak-link theory in the context of insulating liquid AC breakdown withstand improvement using impregnated paper coating of the electrodes. It is shown how liquid-impregnated paper differently affects breakdown withstand depending on field non-uniformity. Based on these findings, guidelines for breakdown withstand improvement are presented.


The construction of structurally complexed and high-value chemical molecules from simple and readily available feedstocks is a long-standing challenge to chemists. Here, we describe a copper-catalyzed borofunctionalization of styrenes with B2pin2 and carbon monoxide. A set of new sodium cyclic borates were obtained with NaOtBu as the base. These unique sodium cyclic borates can be easily converted into a variety of multifunctional β-boryl vinyl esters, boryl carbonates, β-boryl aldehydes, and boryl vinyl ether. In addition, the procedure also features good functional group tolerance and utilizes CO as the C1 source.


Customer relationship management enables companies to provide excellent real-time customer service by developing a relationship with each valued customer through effective use of individual account information1. A better appeal to customers needs better products, better communicability and consistency in customer interfaces. By putting the 'customs' back in the customers, these companies can target their customers better and can deliver persuasive information and promotions more effectively2. In the constantly changing world CRM practices may need several changes to ensure better functionality of data, creating a unique and consistent approach to deal with customers etc. This paper explores through primary data, how CRM practices in this context need to be changed in order to get sustainable competitive advantage.


Event-driven automation of reactive functionalities for complex event processing is an urgent need in today's distributed service-oriented architectures and Web-based event-driven environments. An important problem to be addressed is how to correctly and efficiently capture and process the event-based behavioral, reactive logic embodied in reaction rules, and combining this with other conditional decision logic embodied, e.g., in derivation rules. This paper elaborates a homogeneous integration approach that combines derivation rules, reaction rules and other rule types such as integrity constraints into the general framework of logic programming, the industrial-strength version of declarative programming. We describe syntax and semantics of the language, implement a distributed web-based middleware using enterprise service technologies and illustrate its adequacy in terms of expressiveness, efficiency and scalability through examples extracted from industrial use cases. The developed reaction rule language provides expressive features such as modular ID-based updates with support for external imports and self-updates of the intensional and extensional knowledge bases, transactions including integrity testing and roll-backs of update transition paths. It also supports distributed complex event processing, event messaging and event querying via efficient and scalable enterprise middleware technologies and event/action reasoning based on an event/action algebra implemented by an interval-based event calculus variant as a logic inference formalism.


There is a growing interest in using pose estimation algorithms for video-based assessment of Bradykinesia in Parkinson's Disease (PD) to facilitate remote disease assessment and monitoring. However, the accuracy of pose estimation algorithms in videos from video streaming services during Telehealth appointments has not been studied. In this study, we used seven off-the-shelf hand pose estimation models to estimate the movement of the thumb and index fingers in videos of the finger-tapping (FT) test recorded from Healthy Controls (HC) and participants with PD and under two different conditions: streaming (videos recorded during a live Zoom meeting) and on-device (videos recorded locally with high-quality cameras). The accuracy and reliability of the models were estimated by comparing the models' output with manual results. Three of the seven models demonstrated good accuracy for on-device recordings, and the accuracy decreased significantly for streaming recordings. We observed a negative correlation between movement speed and the model's accuracy for the streaming recordings. Additionally, we evaluated the reliability of ten movement features related to bradykinesia extracted from video recordings of PD patients performing the FT test. While most of the features demonstrated excellent reliability for on-device recordings, most of the features demonstrated poor to moderate reliability for streaming recordings. Our findings highlight the limitations of pose estimation algorithms when applied to video recordings obtained during Telehealth visits, and demonstrate that on-device recordings can be used for automatic video-assessment of bradykinesia in PD.


The welfare impact of a disaster does not depend only on the physical characteristics of the event or its direct impacts in terms of lost lives and assets. Depending on the ability of the economy to cope, recover, and reconstruct, the reconstruction will be more or less difficult, and the welfare effects smaller or larger. This ability, which can be referred to as the macroeconomic resilience of the economy to natural disasters, is an important parameter to estimate the overall vulnerability of a population. Here, resilience is decomposed into two components: instantaneous resilience, which is the ability to limit the magnitude of the immediate loss of income for a given amount of capital losses, and dynamic resilience, which is the ability to reconstruct and recover quickly. The paper proposes a rule of thumb to estimate macroeconomic resilience, based on the interest rate (a higher interest rate decreases resilience and increases welfare losses), the reconstruction duration (a longer reconstruction duration increases welfare losses), and a "ripple-effect" factor that increases or decreases immediate losses (negative if enough idle resources are available to cope; positive if cross-sector and supply-chain issues impair the production of non-affected capital). An optimal risk management strategy is very likely to include measures to reduce direct impacts (disaster risk reduction actions) and measures to reduce indirect impacts (resilience building actions).


We reflect on the nature, role and limits of non-empirical theory assessment in fundamental physics, focusing in particular on quantum gravity. We argue for the usefulness and, to some extent, necessity of non-empirical theory assessment, but also examine critically its dangers. We conclude that the principle of proliferation of theories is not only at the very root of theory assessment but all the more necessary when experimental tests are scarce, and also that, in the same situation, it represents the only medicine against the degeneration of scientific research programmes.


Dynamic policy supporting and authorization granularity are two key issues in access control. Present researches only compared the expressiveness of policies, but never considered the policy's structure and the granularity of authorization, which makes it difficult to support the dynamic policy and satisfy the least privilege requirement. As this paper points out that Lampson's access matrix is the most fine-grained access control model, the other security policies need to group access matrix according to their different application requirements. By defining a descriptive framework of Groupability Basing on Security Labels (GroSeLa), generic security policies can be mapped into Lampson's access matrix. GroSeLa framework consists of a set of fundamental components and an extension. The fundamental components give all policy's structure for grouping matrix, and the extension reveals all necessary administrative requirements for supporting dynamic policy completely. Based on GroSeLa, this paper proposes five grouping dimensions for evaluating security policies, including grouping factors, dynamic factors, policy scale, authorization granularity and separation of duty supporting. The paper also compares four classicsecurity policies, namely ACL (access control list), BLP (Bell LaPadula), DTE (domain and type enforcement) and RBAC (role-based access control). To the best of these knowledge, it is studied that the difference on expressiveness, usability and authorization granularity of different security policies are from the aspect of grouping access matrix.


. Persistent Fault Analysis (PFA) is an innovative and powerful analysis technique in which fault persists throughout the execution. The prior prominent results on PFA were on SPN block ciphers, and the security of Feistel ciphers against this attack has received less attention. In this paper, we introduce a framework to utilize Statistical Ineffective Fault Analysis (SIFA) in the persistent fault setting by proposing Statistical Ineffective Persistent Faults Analysis (SIPFA) that can be efficiently applied to Feistel ciphers in a variety of scenarios. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique, we apply SIFPA on three widely used Feistel schemes, DES, 3DES, and Camellia. Our analysis reveals that the secret key of these block ciphers can be extracted with a complexity of at most 2 50 utilizing a single unknown fault. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the secret can be recovered in a fraction of a second by increasing the adversary's control over the injected faults. To evaluate SIPFA in a variety of scenarios, we conducted both simulations and real experiments utilizing electromagnetic fault injection on DES and 3DES.


Battery Electric Vehicles have been slow to diffuse on the international as well as the Swedish market. Existing literature have pointed to situational factors such as economical factors, size and performance to be of high importance for car purchasers in their choice of car. In this paper, the authors investigate the apparent discrepancy between purchase price and the Total Cost of Ownership between Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles. The Total Cost of Ownership computation reveals that Battery Electric Vehicles can be cost competitive with Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles, a significant finding, that could prove to be of importance for the diffusion of Battery Electric Vehicles, although further studies are needed to test car purchasers' knowledge regarding the Total Cost of Ownership analysis.


Drought and water logging stress are the most critical environmental factors that affect tree seedling survival and growth in the field. In this study, 12 populations of white jabon ( Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser) were evaluated to determine the genetic variability among populations and correlation among morpho-physiological seedling characters under drought and water logging stresses. Two research units were carried out by the randomized complete design with 2 x 12 factorial arrangements, i.e. (1) drought stress (2 treatments) and population (12 populations), and (2) water logging stress (2 treatments) and population (12 populations). Results showed that the responses of seedling traits were varied among populations under drought and water logging stresses. White Jabon seedling has higher adaptation to water logging stress than to drought stress. Kampar and Gowa populations have better adaptation to water logging stress. In drought stress, Gowa population had better adaptation followed by Nusa Kambangan population. Seedling height, total biomass and proline content characters based on value of broad sense heritability and correlation among characters, could be considered as important indicators for improvement programs for drought tolerance, while in the water logging stress, height, total biomass, root length and leaf area could be considered as important indicators for improvement program of white Jabon for tolerance on waterlogged sites.


In this paper we develop a tractable framework for SINR analysis in downlink heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) with flexible cell association policies. The HCN is modeled as a multi-tier cellular network where each tier's base stations (BSs) are randomly located and have a particular transmit power, path loss exponent, spatial density, and bias towards admitting mobile users. For example, as compared to macrocells, picocells would usually have lower transmit power, higher path loss exponent (lower antennas), higher spatial density (many picocells per macrocell), and a positive bias so that macrocell users are actively encouraged to use the more lightly loaded picocells. In the present paper we implicitly assume all base stations have full queues; future work should relax this. For this model, we derive the outage probability of a typical user in the whole network or a certain tier, which is equivalently the downlink SINR cumulative distribution function. The results are accurate for all SINRs, and their expressions admit quite simple closed-forms in some plausible special cases. We also derive the average ergodic rate of the typical user, and the minimum average user throughput - the smallest value among the average user throughputs supported by one cell in each tier. We observe that neither the number of BSs or tiers changes the outage probability or average ergodic rate in an interference-limited full-loaded HCN with unbiased cell association (no biasing), and observe how biasing alters the various metrics.


The authors discuss how scholars can bring theories of spatial policy dependence and empirical model specifications closer in line so that the empirical analysis actually tests the theoretical predictions. Comprehensive theories of spatial policy dependence typically suggest that the jurisdictions receiving spatial stimuli systematically differ in their exposure to such signals as a function of the intensity of their interaction with other jurisdictions. Similarly, theories often predict that governments also differ in their responsiveness to any given spatial stimulus as a function of the institutional, political, economic, or social context in which they operate. In other words, theories typically postulate that spatial dependence is conditional on exposure and responsiveness, neither of which is accounted for in the standard empirical practice of estimating one single common coefficient for a row-standardized spatial lag variable. The authors show how scholars can adequately model both forms of heterogeneity with properly specified interaction effects models.


The architectonics of the alveolar macrophage surface has been investigated in the raster electron microscope. The material is obtained by means of washing from the lungs of intact noninbred white rats and also 24 h after a single intragastric administration of a cancerogenic agent--nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA)--in a toxic dose (30 mg/kg). The alveolar macrophages are studied both as a suspension and also after 30 min of cultivation. The preparations are dried in the air and by the critical point method. When the latter method is used, the architectonics of the alveolar macrophage surface is much richer. Nevertheless, the former method also gives enough information. NDMA administration produces a damaging effect on the surface architectonics and on the character of the macrophages spreading over the glass. The morphological characteristics of the changes in the surface architectonics of the alveolar macrophages can be used to estimate the cytotoxic effect of different harmful factors of the environment.


The revolutionary rhetoric of 1989 postulated civil society as
both, the ultimate goal of revolutionary transformation (a
catchword for a truly democratic society) and the key vehicle
to achieving that goal. The germs of what was to be achieved
had to be identified in present personal qualities, human
relations, and organizational forms. This soon led to a
discursive differentiation between the civil and the non-civil,
and thus to formation of new division lines in the
post-revolutionary social-cultural environment. The text
identifies the key sources, forms and implications of this
process, and it especially focuses on the social-cultural
conflict emerging along with the attempts to equate civil
society and civicness with institutionalization of
non-government organizations and the non-profit sector.


Background Levels of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have widely been used as biomarker for angiogenic activity in cancer. For this purpose, non-standardized measurements in plasma and serum were used, without correction for artificial VEGF release by platelets activated ex vivo. We hypothesize that "true" circulating (c)VEGF levels in most cancer patients are low and unrelated to cancer load or tumour angiogenesis. Methodology We determined VEGF levels in PECT, a medium that contains platelet activation inhibitors, in citrate plasma, and in isolated platelets in 16 healthy subjects, 18 patients with metastatic non-renal cancer (non-RCC) and 12 patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In non-RCC patients, circulating plasma VEGF levels were low and similar to VEGF levels in controls if platelet activation was minimized during the harvest procedure by PECT medium. In citrate plasma, VEGF levels were elevated in non-RCC patients, but this could be explained by a combination of increased platelet activation during blood harvesting, and by a two-fold increase in VEGF content of individual platelets (controls: 3.4 IU/106, non-RCC: 6.2 IU/106 platelets, p = 0.001). In contrast, cVEGF levels in RCC patients were elevated (PECT plasma: 64 pg/ml vs. 21 pg/ml, RCC vs. non-RCC, p<0.0001), and not related to platelet VEGF concentration. Conclusions Our findings suggest that "true" freely cVEGF levels are not elevated in the majority of cancer patients. Previously reported elevated plasma VEGF levels in cancer appear to be due to artificial release from activated platelets, which in cancer have an increased VEGF content, during the blood harvest procedure. Only in patients with RCC, which is characterized by excessive VEGF production due to a specific genetic defect, were cVEGF levels elevated. This observation may be related to limited and selective success of anti-VEGF agents, such as bevacizumab and sorafenib, as monotherapy in RCC compared to other forms of cancer.


This paper presents the development process of automotive side door impact beam for passenger cars. Weight reduction while maintaining functional requirements is one of the major goals in the automotive industry. In this study, thin-walled side door beam using quenchable boron steel was designed to reduce the weight of conventional side door tubular one. In order to estimate design for the proposed side door beams, the static side impact protection tests(FMVSS 214) were conducted using the finite element method. Based on the simulation results, geometry modification of the side door beam has been performed via creating new reinforcing ribs. Furthermore, the manufactured frontal impact beam was mounted on the real side door of a passenger car, and then static impact protection test carried out. It is concluded that the presented test results can provide significant contribution to the stiffness of side door impact beams and light-weighting door research.


peutac ingestion and accidental ingestion themselves? In the article reference is made to 16 subjects with poisoning for whom the drugs had been prescribed for enuresis in themselves, the only ones who were ingesting the substances for therapeutic purposes. It would be imeresting to know the comparative incidence of cardiovascular, neu-rological, and atropinic features of poisoning in this group and the other group of '44 subjects where the ingestion was whody accidental. If in fact it is found that the more severe cases of poisoning oocurred in the therapeutic group, the real significance of the article would be evident.-I am, etc., C. P. DE FONSExA Whitchurch, Bristol BS41 OHT


The Smart Grid relies in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) but usually there is still a lack of integration in their deployment. They are designed as separated systems and managed that way too. In addition, the changes in the electric network are so complex and dependable on a very rigid hardware architecture. Based on the work done in the European project FINESCE, this paper presents the "Software Defined Utility "(SDU) concept, which advocates the migration of the utility infrastructure to software systems instead of relying on complex and rigid hardware based systems. This new approach provides a prospective view on the evolution of power systems that will benefit from software systems and high-speed data network infrastructures. More concretely, as a first SDU building block, the paper proposes a data storage and management system based on a hybrid cloud infrastructure to meet the storage requirements of electric utilities. In this regard, the following dimensions have been analysed: the most appropriate methodology to select where data resources should be allocated; security requirements and threads taking into account its deployment in a critical infrastructure like a Smart Grid.


Irrigation and N fertilizer management are important factors affecting crop yield, N fertilizer recovery efficiency, and N losses as nitrous oxide (NO) and nitrate (NO. Split application of conventional urea (split-U) and/or one-time application of products designed to perform as enhanced-efficiency N fertilizers may mitigate N losses. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of controlled-release polymer-coated urea (PCU), stabilized urea with urease and nitrification inhibitors (IU) and split-U on direct soil-to-atmosphere NO emissions, NO leaching, and yield for fully irrigated and minimum-irrigated corn in loamy sand. Indirect NO emissions due to NO leaching were estimated using published emission factors (EF). Split-U increased yield and N uptake compared with preplant-applied PCU or IU and decreased NO leaching compared with PCU. Direct NO emissions were significantly less with IU or split-U than with PCU, and there was a trend for greater emissions with split-U than with IU (= 0.08). Irrigation significantly increased NO leaching during the growing season but had no significant effect on direct NO emissions. After accounting for significantly increased yields with irrigation, however, N losses expressed on a yield basis did not differ and in some cases decreased with irrigation. Post-harvest soil N and soil-water NO in spring showed the potential for greater N leaching in minimum-irrigated than fully irrigated plots. Indirect emissions due to NO leaching were estimated to be 79 to 117% of direct emissions using the default value of EF, thus signifying the potential importance of indirect emissions in evaluating management effects on NO emissions.


Polycystic ovary syndrome is probably the most common endocrine condition in women of reproductive age. Because of its clinical consequences, this syndrome represents an important health problem. There is no international consensus about diagnostic criteria. Also, there is a significant disagreement between obstetricians and endocrinologists on diagnosis. A study was conduted to investigate if there were any changes in outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) secondary to polycystic ovary phenoype. This retrospective study was conducted in "Columna Medical Center" Bucharest, an infertility clinic, between Octomber 2013 and June 2016. A number of 160 patients were included. All of them underwent IVF treatment. The stimulation protocoles were not influenced by PCOS phenotypes, but the doses were influenced. Also, the number of oocyte varied, but the final IVF outcome was not influenced by the phenotypes.


This article uses Foucault's enunciative analysis and stasis theory to explore the rhetorical work of the Midwest Pain Group (MPG) as its members struggle to collaborate across disciplinary difference to transform the discourse and practice of pain science. Foucault's enunciative analysis explains how discourse formations regulate statements, but not how formations can be transformed. We argue that stases can be thought of as nodes in the networks of statements Foucault describes and that stasis theory explains the rhetorical means through which members of the MPG work to transform the discourse of pain science. As the members of the MPG confront the epistemological incommensurability that exists between their individual disciplines, they establish a meta-discourse in which the definitional and jurisdictional stases help them invent a new definitional topos. We describe the way this rhetorical work occurs "off- label" in violation of the discursive restrictions of scientific disciplines, regulatory agencies, and insurance institutions.


This thesis presents a design that approximates the fractional part of the based two
logarithm function by using Improved Parabolic Synthesis including its CMOS
VLSI implementations. Improved Parabolic Synthesis is a novel methodology in
favor of implementing unary functions e.g. trigonometric, logarithm, square root
etc. in hardware. It is an evolved approach from Parabolic Synthesis by combining
it with Second-Degree Interpolation. In the thesis, the design explores a simple
and parallel architecture for fast timing and optimizes wordlengths in computing
stages for a small design. The error behavior of the design is described and char-
acterized to meet the desired error metrics. This implementation is compared to
other approaches e.g. Parabolic Synthesis and CORDIC using 65nm standard cell
libraries and it is proved to have better performance in terms of smaller chip area,
lower dynamic power, and shorter critical path.


Aims: To describe naloxone dispensing in Medicaid fee-for-service (FFS) and examine relationships between copays and coverage limits for naloxone and its dispensing rates. Methods: Cross-sectional study using Medicaid FFS State Drug Utilization Data to quantify the use of naloxone in 2018. The primary outcomes of this study were the proportion of naloxone prescriptions relative to all prescriptions and all opioid prescriptions dispensed in each state. We obtained drug benefit design information from the Medicaid Behavioral Health Services Database. The primary analysis examined the influence of copays (yes/no), copay amounts, and coverage limits on medication dispensing using simple linear regression, excluding states with no measurable use or less than 5% Medicaid FFS. Results: We found substantial variability across 50 states and DC in the proportion of prescriptions dispensed for Narcan and generic naloxone. We found a positive relationship between copay and copay amount and dispensing of generic naloxone. However, a sensitivity analysis including the broadest possible cohort of states failed to confirm this relationship. We found no other relationships between copays or coverage limits and dispensing of any naloxone formulation. Conclusions: Substantial variation exists between the rates of naloxone dispensing across the US for Medicaid patients, but we did not find a meaningful relationship between plan design and dispensing. Whether drug benefit designs in Medicaid influence naloxone use requires further evaluation to avoid limiting access to this life-saving medication.


In this paper, we study the quasi-geostrophic approximation of the Navier-Stokes equations. This approximation is usually used in modelisation of oceanic circulations. First, we consider the barotropic modelisation, and in a second part, we supposed that the ocean is divided in N layers. For the both modelisations, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the solution, and then the existence of a maximal attractor which describes the long time behaviour of the solutions and we derive estimates of its Hausdorff and fractal dimensions in terms of the data.


Moringa oleifera , a plant with a wide range of medicinal, nutritional and economic benefits was examined for phytochemicals and evaluated for antioxidant activities. Phytochemical tests, total phenol and flavonoid contents were determined using standard procedures. Antioxidant activities of the methanol extracts and fractions were evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging assay. The leaf and seed contained alkaloids, saponins, phenols and flavonoids. The ethyl acetate fraction of the leaf contained significantly (P < 0.05) more phenol (78.67 ± 3.40 mgGAE/g Extract) than the crude extract and petroleum ether fraction with total phenolic content of 58.00 ± 1.00 and 26.17 ± 3.88 mg GAE/g Extract respectively while the seed extract had a total phenol content of 17.67 ± 2.02 mg GAE/g Extract. The petroleum ether fraction of the leaf was found to contain significantly (P < 0.05) more flavonoid (161.33 ± 19.05 mgQE/g Extract) than the other samples (31.73 ± 2.66, 30.20 ± 10.14 and 20.73 ± 4.16 mgQE/g Extract for the crude leaf extract, leaf petroleum ether fraction and seed extract respectively). The leaf and seed extracts exhibited remarkable and concentration-dependent increase in radical scavenging activities with IC50 values ranging from 5.72-42.56 μg/mL. The results therefore support the use of Moringa oleifera as a natural plant antioxidant by preventing free radical damage. Keywords : Moringa oleifera ; Antioxidant; Phytochemical, Free radical


Different aspects of clinical neuromuscular blockade were studied in 892 patients under general anaesthesia by means of mechanomyograms of the hand muscles after ulnar nerve stimulation. Several phenomena and results could not be explained satisfactorily by the occupation theory of drug-receptor interaction.


We provide new insights into the lithosphere‐mantle coupling problem through a joint modeling of lithosphere dynamics and mantle convection and through comparison of model results with the high resolution velocity gradient tensor model along the Earth's plate boundary zones. Using a laterally variable effective viscosity lithosphere model, we compute depth integrated deviatoric stresses associated with both gravitational potential energy (GPE) differences and deeper mantle density buoyancy‐driven convection. When deviatoric stresses from horizontal basal tractions, associated with deeper density buoyancy‐driven convective circulation of the mantle, are added to those from GPE differences, the fit between the model deviatoric stress field and the deformation indicators improves dramatically in most areas of continental deformation. We find that the stresses induced by the horizontal tractions arising from deep mantle convection contribute approximately 50% of the magnitude of the Earth's deviatoric lithospheric stress field. We also demonstrate that lithosphere‐asthenosphere viscosity contrasts and lateral variations within the lithospheric plate boundary zones play an important role in generating the right direction and magnitude of tractions that yield an optimal match between deviatoric stress tensor patterns and the deformation indicators.


Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an empirically investigated pedagogy that has garnered attention from language programs across the globe. TBLT provides an alternative to traditional grammar translation or present-practice-produce pedagogies by emphasizing interaction during authentic tasks. Despite several previous meta-analyses investigating the effect of individual tasks or short-term task-based treatments on second language (L2) development, no studies to date have synthesized the effects of long-term implementation of TBLT in authentic language classrooms. The present study uses meta-analytic techniques to investigate the effectiveness of TBLT programs on L2 learning. Findings based on a sample of 52 studies revealed an overall positive and strong effect (d = 0.93) for TBLT implementation on a variety of learning outcomes. The study further examined a range of programmatic and methodological features that moderated these main-effects (program region, institution type, needs analysis, and cycles of implementation). Additionally, synthesizing across both quantitative and qualitative data, results also showed positive stakeholder perceptions towards TBLT programs. The study concludes with implications for the domain of TBLT implementation, language program evaluation, and future research in this domain.


Although rare, papillary fibroelastoma (PFE) of the heart valves and atrial myxoma represent the two most common cardiac tumors. Coexistence of these two lesions has been documented in rare case reports. We describe the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with slightly progressive chest pain associated with dyspnea, fatigue and edema of the lungs. Transthoracic echocardiography detected a left atrial mass that has been successfully excised. Histopathological examination showed a neoplasm combining features of both atrial myxoma and PFE. However, close evaluation of the latter showed microscopic foci of myxomatous tissue within papillary cores, indicating that the PFE-like component has developed around preexisting myxomatous tissue that served as a nidus for papillary fronds, probably by a process of fibrinous microthrombosis, organization and endothelialisation. This unusual case may shed light on the pathogenesis of the PFE pattern.


In a recent book, Catarina Belo dealt with Ibn Rusd's and Hegel's doctrines of the relations between philosophy and religion with special insight on knowledge. She contended that both preferred philosophy to religion as the best way to understand reality. In the article, I argue that the real importance of Ibn Rusd's philosophy consists in being a means to reform society in connection with religion (Islam); while Hegel's endorsement of Christianity is ambiguous insofar as the phenomenology of Spirit leads to an Absolute that jeopardizes God's perfection. Finally, I emphasize that Hegel's theory is epistemologically at odds with an Islamic outlook.


AIM OF THE STUDY:
A sound knowledge of the normal human anatomy and common variations in it are very important to a physician and gives a major contribution to the skill and success of a surgeon. This is especially true for a surgeon, operating on the neck because it is one of the most difficult areas to operate upon, there being a very little space. The recurrent laryngeal nerve innervates the intrinsic muscles of the larynx. These muscles are important in the production and modulation of the phonation component of the voice. During the course of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the neck, the nerve is intimately related to the inferior thyroid artery and its branches. The relation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve to the inferior thyroid artery and its branches is highly variable. This makes the recurrent laryngeal nerve, extremely vulnerable to injury during the surgical manipulation of the neck, especially in the surgeries involving the thyroid gland.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The study materials are
a) 20 cadavers,
b) 15 post mortem en-bloc specimens,
c) 10 patients who underwent partial or total thyroidectomies,
d) 5 still born fetuses.
A) DISSECTION ROOM CADAVERS:
All the 20 cadavers (12 males and 8 females) had been embalmed with 10% formalin solution containing 4% formalin for 3 months, prior to dissection.
B) POST MORTEM EN-BLOC SPECIMENS:
15 post mortem en-bloc specimens (13 males and 2 females) were collected from the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Government Stanley medical college and studied by conventional dissection method.
C) CLINICAL STUDY:
Subjects included 10 patients; all females, who underwent partial or total thyroidectomies in the surgical operation theatre, Department of surgery, Government Stanley
medical college, Chennai.
D) Foetal study:
5 still born fetuses (2 males and 3 females) were obtained from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RSRM Hospital, Government Stanley Medical College, Chennai. All were embalmed with 10% formalin solution and studied.
METHODS:
1. DISSECTION METHOD:
The dissection was carried out according to the methodology prescribed in the Cunningham's Practical Manual. The skin was incised by a vertical incision extending from the symphysis menti to the supra sternal notch. The incision was extended laterally along the lower border of the base of the mandible up to the angle of the mandible. Two triangular laps were reflected on both sides up to the anterior border of the Sternocleidomastoid muscle.
The superficial fascia with Platysma was incised and reflected along the line of the skin incision, after noting the position of the anterior jugular veins. The investing layer of the deep cervical fascia was then lifted up using a forceps and incised vertically. It was followed laterally up to its fusion with the Carotid sheath deep to the Sternocleidomastoid muscle on either side. The Sternothyroid and the superior belly of the omohyoid were cleared from their fascial covering. Their nerve supply from the Ansa cervicalis, entering their lateral border was noted. They were then divided in the middle 1/3rd just distal to their nerve supply and reflected. The Sternothyroid muscle was then exposed and carefully incised in the middle one third and was reflected. This exposed the pretracheal fascia and the thyroid gland.
2. CLINICAL STUDY: The steps of the partial and total thyroidectomies were observed on 10 patients in the surgical theatre. The following parameters of the recurrent laryngeal nerve were noted a. Relation to the tracheo oesophageal groove.
b. Relation to the inferior thyroid artery and its branches.
3. FOETAL STUDY:
All the still born fetuses were dissected in the anterior triangle of the neck. An attempt was made to identify the recurrent laryngeal nerves on both sides and to study them in relation to the same parameters as that mentioned for adult specimens.
CONCLUSION:
In the present study, the anatomy of the recurrent laryngeal nerve has been analyzed under the parameters described by the eminent authors in the field of Anatomy.
Analysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve was done separately on both sides of the neck and in both the sexes.
The recurrent laryngeal nerve has been analyzed based on its origin, course and the intimate relationship with the inferior thyroid artery and its branches.
The dissection findings of cadavers, post mortem specimens and fetuses have been supported by the clinical studies. The results of the present study have coincided with many of the previous eminent authors.
The present study has also mentioned the vulnerable and high risk positions of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the reasons for the same in the surgical point of view.
It is sincerely hoped that the results of the present study will be a guide and will be of great help to the surgeons performing partial and total thyroidectomies.


By targeting the flap backbone of the BACE1 active site, we discovered 6-dimethylisoxazole-substituted biaryl aminothiazine 18 with 34-fold improved BACE1 inhibitory activity over the lead compound 1. The cocrystal structure of 18 bound to the active site indicated two hydrogen-bond interactions between the dimethylisoxazole and threonine 72 and glutamine 73 of the flap. Incorporation of the dimethylisoxazole substitution onto the related aminothiazine carboxamide series led to pyrazine-carboxamide 26 as a very potent BACE1 inhibitor (IC50 < 1 nM). This compound demonstrated robust brain Aβ reduction in rat dose-response studies. Thus, compound 26 may be useful in testing the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease.


In many settings of empirical interest, time variation in the distribution parameters is important for capturing the dynamic behaviour of time series processes. Although the fitting of heavy tail distributions has become easier due to computational advances, the joint and explicit modelling of time-varying conditional skewness and kurtosis is a challenging task. We propose a class of parameter-driven time series models referred to as the generalized structural time series (GEST) model. The GEST model extends Gaussian structural time series models by a) allowing the distribution of the dependent variable to come from any parametric distribution, including highly skewed and kurtotic distributions (and mixed distributions) and b) expanding the systematic part of parameter-driven time series models to allow the joint and explicit modelling of all the distribution parameters as structural terms and (smoothed) functions of independent variables. The paper makes an applied contribution in the development of a fast local estimation algorithm for the evaluation of a penalised likelihood function to update the distribution parameters over time \textit{without} the need for evaluation of a high-dimensional integral based on simulation methods.


We study binary black hole mergers in the extreme mass-ratio limit. We determine the energy, angular momentum, and linear momentum of the post-merger, remnant black hole. Unlike previous works, we perform our analysis directly in the test-particle limit by solving the Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli wave equation with a source that moves along a geodesic. We rely on the fact that toward the merger, small mass-ratio binary systems follow a quasiuniversal geodesic trajectory. This formalism captures the final premerger stages of small mass-ratio binaries and thus provides a straightforward universal description in a region inaccessible to numerical relativity simulations. We present a general waveform template that may be used in the search for gravitational wave bursts from small and intermediate mass-ratio binary systems. Finally, this formalism gives a formal proof that the recoil velocity is quadratic in the symmetric mass ratio $\nu$. Specifically, the velocity is given by $V/c\approx 0.0467 \nu^2$. This result is about $4\%$ larger than previously estimated. Most of this difference stems from the inclusion of higher multipoles in our calculation.


We measured presence and perceived scene stability in a virtual environment viewed with different head-to-display lag (i.e., system lag) on the Oculus Rift (CV1). System lag was added on top of the measured benchmark system latency (22.3 ms) for our visual scene rendered in OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL). Participants made active head oscillations in pitch at 1.0Hz while viewing displays. We found that perceived scene instability increased and presence decreased when increasing system lag, which we attribute to the effect of multisensory visual-vestibular interactions on the interpretation of the visual information presented.


A technique for using CNC machining as a Rapid Prototyping (RP) tool is presented. A 3-Axis machine and a programmable or indexable 4 axis is used to create complex shapes that would otherwise require 5-axis machining. The method involves a novel approach of slicing the part geometry and then fixturing through the use of a temporary feature added to the solid model. Multiple 3-axis NC programs are generated for the various rotations about the axis of the temporary feature (cylinder) used for fixturing. Similar to the support structures that are used in other rapid prototyping systems, the cylinder is removed after processing. Although a complete system has yet to be developed, the method presented herein will make automation of NC rapid prototyping straightforward.


In [3], a universal linear algebraic model was proposed for describing homogeneous conformal geometries, such as the spherical, Euclidean, hyperbolic, Minkowski, anti-de Sitter and Galilei planes ([6]). This formalism was independent from the underlying field, providing an extension and general approach to other fields, such as finite fields. Some steps were taken even for the characteristic 2 case.
 In this article, we undertake the study of the characteristic 2 case in more detail. In particular, the concept of virtual quadratic spaces is used ([4]), and a similar result is achieved for finite fields of characteristic 2 as for other fields. Some differences from the non-characteristic 2 case are also pointed out.


Neural mechanisms generating food-anticipatory circadian rhythms in rats are sep arate from the suprachiasmatic nuclei, a putative circadian pacemaker for light-entrainable circadian rhythms. We attempted to localize these mechanisms using lesions focused on the paraventricular and lateral hypothalamic areas, two regions that have functional properties likely to characterize a food-entrainable circadian oscillator. Rats with complete radiofre quency ablation of the paraventricular and suprachiasmatic nuclei or ibotenic acid destruction of the lateral hypothalamus showed anticipatory circadian rhythms to a 2-hr daily mealtime, as measured by locomotor activity or activity directed toward a food bin. The long-term continued function of the meal-associated oscillator was also unaffected by the lesions, as demonstrated by a reappearance of activity at the former mealtime during 3 days of starvation after 11 or 12 days of ad libitum feeding. Several rats with total or partial paraventricular lesions failed to exhibit anticipatory locomotor activity, but did show anticipatory food- bin-related activity. These hypothalamic lesions may alter the probability of particular antic ipatory behaviors, but they do not eliminate the food-entrainable circadian timekeeping func tion.


Social Media applications as a contemporary phenomenon attract the attention of organizations and researchers. While these technologies are mainstream in a private setting, there is still uncertainty among organizations of operating them. The corporate perspective aims at deploying these technologies for value creation, i.e. improvement and even innovation. Conceptual guidance for a proper management to professionalize Social Media management is missing. Maturity models provide support to this challenge. This paper deals with the development of a maturity model for the organizational adoption of Social Media. By means of a design science research approach, the model is defined along the dimensions strategy, processes, IT systems, culture, and governance and measured against five maturity stages. Thereby a contribution is made to the knowledge base of corporate Social Media usage as well as to the development of a maturity model along a defined design methodology.


We study a small-signal performance of a quantum well (QW) diode with triangular emitter and collector barriers providing thermionic electron transport. Analytical expression for the QW diode admittance is obtained from the rigorous self-consistent small-signal analysis. Frequency dependence of the admittance is determined by a characteristic time of recharging of the QW, which is a strong function of temperature and parameters of the QW diode. Conductance as a function of temperature shows a local maximum corresponding to a resonance between a probe signal and recharging processes. Capacitance of the QW diode depends critically on the efficiency of the electron transport through the QW, and can significantly exceed all geometric capacitances associated with the device structure. Experimental data on conductance and capacitance of the QW diode as functions of temperature and frequency can be used to extract the parameters of the QW, such as QW recombination velocity, ionization energy, etc. Analytical analysis of transient currents in the QW diode allows a transparent explanation why an incremental charge-partitioning technique fails to calculate the capacitance even in the low-frequency limit.


In the ongoing search for mathematically efficient methods of predicting the motion of vehicle and other multibody systems, and presenting the associated results, one of the avenues of continued interest is the linearization of the equations of motion. While linearization can potentially result in reduced fidelity in the model, the benefits in computational speed often make it the pragmatic choice. Linearization techniques are also useful in modal and stability analysis, model order reduction, and state and input estimation. This paper explores the application of automatic differentiation to the generation of the linearized equations of motion. Automatic differentiation allows one to numerically evaluate the derivative of any function, with no prior knowledge of the differential relationship to other functions. It exploits the fact that every computer program must evaluate every function using only elementary arithmetic operations. Using automatic differentiation, derivatives of arbitrary order can be computed, accurately to working precision, with minimal additional computational cost over the evaluation of the base function. There are several freely available software libraries that implement automatic differentiation in modern computing languages. In the paper, several example multibody systems are analyzed, and the computation times of the stiffness matrix are compared using direct evaluation and automatic differentiation. The results show that automatic differentiation can be surprisingly competitive in terms of computational efficiency.


We have studied the photoionization of the 3p electron of Ca in the vicinity of its ionization threshold by means of both an angular correlation measurement between the 3p photoelectron and the M3N1N1 Auger electron, and conventional angular distribution measurements for both the 3p photoelectron and the M3N1N1 Auger electron. We have carried out `random phase approximation with exchange' calculations for the Ca 3p photoionization process, and the results are in good agreement with the amplitudes and phase differences extracted from the experimental data.


We present an experimental analysis of pressure-driven flow in a high (62:1) aspect ratio microchannel having a repeated herringbone surface pattern. The velocity field is determined at the groove-channel interface and at the midplane of the channel using microscopic particle image velocimetry. At Reynolds numbers of 0.08, 0.8 and 8, we observe secondary flow patterns consisting of counter-rotating flow cells aligned in the streamwise direction. The strength of this secondary flow is inhibited by fluid inertia when Re = 8. The resulting flow structure can be viewed as splitting one wide channel into multiple smaller channel without the use of solid boundaries.


Abstract Introduction: Mastectomy is a treatment option for patients diagnosed with breast cancer. There is very limited research into the psychosocial impact of mastectomy on female breast cancer patients, especially in the sub-Saharan African setting which has unique cultural norms. The study aimed at assessing the psychosocial impact of mastectomy on female breast cancer patients attending a radiotherapy/oncology centre in Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to undertake this study. A total of 80 female mastectomy breast cancer patients participated in this study. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection over a 5-month period, January to May 2018. The data collected were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. Results: Most of the participants were adversely affected psychologically and emotionally by mastectomy. In particular, many (56·7%) agreed that they felt less feminine, and 71% reported they experienced psychological distress as a result of their mastectomy, while 63% of them reported loss of self-confidence. A large proportion of them (51, 63·8%) agreed that their lifestyles had changed following mastectomy, while 58% of them admitted that they felt treated as outcasts by society, and 75% resorted to the use of breast prostheses to reduce attention. Conclusion: The study revealed that mastectomy for breast cancer patients had a negative impact on their psychological, emotional and social well-being. The availability of affordable breast prostheses, involvement of clinical psychologists in the care of post-mastectomy women, provision of emotional, psychological and even financial support could alleviate the psychosocial impact of affected women.


The main challenge in video question answering (VideoQA) is to capture and understand the complex spatial and temporal relations between objects based on given questions. Existing graph-based methods for VideoQA usually ignore keywords in questions and employ a simple graph to aggregate features without considering relative relations between objects, which may lead to inferior performance. In this paper, we propose a Keyword-aware Relative Spatio-Temporal (KRST) graph network for VideoQA. First, to make question features aware of keywords, we employ an attention mechanism to assign high weights to keywords during question encoding. The keyword-aware question features are then used to guide video graph construction. Second, because relations are relative, we integrate the relative relation modeling to better capture the spatio-temporal dynamics among object nodes. Moreover, we disentangle the spatio-temporal reasoning into an object-level spatial graph and a frame-level temporal graph, which reduces the impact of spatial and temporal relation reasoning on each other. Extensive experiments on the TGIF-QA, MSVD-QA and MSRVTT-QA datasets demonstrate the superiority of our KRST over multiple state-of-the-art methods.


A 46-year-old woman was seen for evaluation of dyspepsia of 8-wk duration. X-rays of the upper gastrointestinal tract revealed an intraluminally projecting diverticulum of the duodenal bulb. Diagnostic features and management of intraluminal duodenal diverticulum are reviewed.


The European Commission's Communication on a European Green Deal sets out the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, which will require a reduction in transport emissions. To this aim, digital technologies, together with connectivity and automation, are transforming traditional concepts of mobility, with a potential impact towards transport decarbonisation. New business models are emerging and giving rise to innovative mobility services including new online platforms for car-pooling, car or bicycle sharing services, freight operations, or smartphone applications offering real-time travel information and other analytics. This study provides an overview of the European Union (EU) funded research and innovation (R&I) and related technologies that are influencing the uptake of digital transformation in transport and identifies issues and challenges from a European perspective. To that end, it follows a two-tier approach that examines policy and legislative initiatives from the European Commission, highlighting possible challenges and enablers. Moreover, it analyses transport technology developments in Europe, focusing on the technology maturity from EU R&I framework programmes, using the European Commission's Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS). The technology analysis provides insights that aid policy decisions related to funding allocation in future R&I framework programmes.


Abstract Growing enough cover crop biomass to adequately suppress weeds is one of the primary challenges in reduced-tillage systems that rely on mulch-based weed suppression. We investigated two approaches to increasing cereal rye biomass for improved weed suppression: (1) increasing soil fertility and (2) increasing cereal rye seeding rate. We conducted a factorial experiment with three poultry litter application rates (0, 80, and 160 kg N ha−1) and three rye seeding rates (90, 150, and 210 kg seed ha−1) in Pennsylvania and Maryland in 2008 and 2009. We quantified rye biomass immediately after mechanically terminating it with a roller and weed biomass at 10 wk after termination (WAT). Rye biomass increased with poultry litter applications (675, 768, and 787 g m−2 in the 0, 80, and 160 kg N ha−1 treatments, respectively), but this increased rye biomass did not decrease weed biomass. In contrast, increasing rye seeding rate did not increase rye biomass, but it did reduce weed biomass (328, 279, and 225 g m−2 in the 90, 150, and 210 kg seed ha−1 treatments, respectively). In 2009, we also sampled ground cover before rolling and weed biomass and density at 4 WAT. Despite no treatment effects, we found a correlation between bare soil before rolling (%) and weed biomass at 4 WAT. Our results suggest that increased rye seeding rate can effectively reduce weed biomass and that ground cover in early spring can influence weed biomass later in the growing season. Nomenclature: Cereal rye, Secale cereale L.