In this article we address the problem of distant speech recognition for reverberant noisy environments. Speech enhancement methods, e. g., using non-negative matrix factor- ization (NMF) are succesful in improving the robustness of ASR systems. Furthermore, discriminative training and feature transformations are employed to increase the robustness of traditional systems using Gaussian mixture models (GMM). On the other hand, recently, acoustic models based on deep neural networks (DNN) were shown to outperform GMMs. In this work, we combine a state-of-the art GMM system with a deep Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network in a double-stream architecture. Such networks use memory cells in the hidden units, enabling them to learn long-range temporal context, and thus increasing the robustness against noise and reverberation. The network is trained to predict frame- wise phoneme estimates, which are converted into observation likelihoods to be used as an acoustic model. It is of particular interest if the LSTM system is capable of improving a robust state-of-the-art GMM system, which is confirmed in the experi- mental results. In addition, we investigate the efficiency of NMF for speech enhancement on the front-end side. Experiments are conducted on the medium-vocabulary task of the 2nd 'CHiME' Speech Separation and Recognition Challenge, which includes reverberation and highly variable noise. Experimental results show that the average word error rate of the challenge baseline is reduced by 64 %, relatively. The best challenge entry, a noise- robust state-of-the-art recognition system, is outperformed by 25 %, relatively.


A series of thiabendazole-derived 1,2,3-triazole compounds were synthesized in good yields via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition through click chemistry approach using different chain alkyl azides with 4-(1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)benzimidazole-2-yl)thiazole in the presence of copper(I) catalyst. These compounds were characterized on the basis of FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR as well as mass spectrometry. The newly synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against a panel of three human cancer cell lines (HT29, MDA-MB-231 and SKBR3). Compound 4g exhibited significant activity against all the cell lines tested, with IC50 values ranging from 1.28 and 7.72 μg mL−1, inducing caspases 3 and 7, which further confirms the contribution of apoptotic cell death in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. This work further demonstrates the anticancer properties of 4g, inducing apoptotic cell death, and the structure activity association is also discussed. This product could be a promising chemotherapeutic agent for cancer treatment.


Triton is shown to be the dominant source of plasma for L ≳ 7 in the magnetosphere of Neptune. Triton maintains neutral hydrogen torus of average density comparable to or greater than that of the Titan torus at Saturn. The Triton torus may be detectable in H Lyman-α emissions. However, the energy source from plasma outward transport and mass loading in the Triton torus is insufficient to explain the Neptune aurora. It is proposed that Neptune's aurora is driven mainly by a solar wind interaction.


STRATIGRAPHY AND ICHNOLOGY OF THE CANDELARIA FORMATION (FURONGIAN - L OWER ORDOVICIAN) IN ITS TYPE AREA, LA CANDELARIA RANGE , SALTA PROVINCE . A detailed stratigraphical and paleontological analysis of the Candelaria Formation (Furongian- Lower Ordovician) is presented from the type locality at the Quebrada de Orcomato, Sierra de La Candelaria, Salta. The unit begins with a conglomerate with methamorphic and quartz clasts, that is followed upwards by the bioturbated reddish quatrzarenites that presents minor interbedded shales and fine sandstones. Ichnological material is represented by Monocraterion isp., Palaeophycus tubularis Hall, and Skolithos linearis Haldeman, common traces for mid- to high energy palaeonevironments as the ones represented by the Candelaria Formation. Correlation of this unit is also proposed in relation to the outcrops of the Sierra del Campo (Tucuman province) and the Cordillera Oriental of Jujuy and Salta. A palaeoenvironmental interpretation is done by means of the sedimentary characters and the trace fossil association of the Candelaria Formation.


We studied the second harmonic generation (SHG) by two-dimensional dielectric particles made of a centrosymmetric high-index material. The calculated scattered fields at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies are decomposed on a multipolar basis, allowing the evaluation of the relative strengths of the multipolar resonances excited at the particle. With these tools, we studied the strength of the multipoles that produce the second harmonic field and the role played by those excited at the fundamental frequency.


Titanium aluminium nitride (Ti1−xAlxN) coatings are utilized in industrial applications because of their excellent tribological and anticorrosive properties. Recently these coatings have been proposed for biomedical applications. In this paper, the biocompatibility and bioactivity of Ti1−xAlxN coatings, having various aluminium contents, x, deposited on AISI 304SS stainless steel, have been studied. Coatings were synthesized by magnetron co-sputtering by varying the power applied to the aluminium target. Morphology, chemical composition and microstructure were studied by SEM, AFM, XPS and XRD. Biocompatibility was assessed by measuring haemolytic and cytotoxic characteristics. Haemolysis was measured following the ASTM F756 norm. The in vitro cytotoxicity was assessed with human osteoblasts by means of the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Bioactivity was measured by soaking the samples in a simulated body fluid (SBF) and analysing the surfaces by XPS, XRD and SEM. It was found that all the Ti1−xAlxN coatings exhibited good biocompatibility and bioactivity, precipitating hydroxyapatite and monetite. The aluminium content in the Ti1−xAlxN coatings increases the quantity of calcium and phosphates groups precipitated in the beginning of the process, but it was also observed an influence of the roughness in the quantity of apatite precipitated after 1 month of immersion in SBF. The coating with x = 0.69 exhibited the higher bioactivity.


Age-related anatomical and physiological changes in the human visual system have been reported such as an increase in the density of the lens, a reduction of pupil size and loss of retinal ganglion cells. Although the retinal stimulus and neural signals are strongly affected by such age-related changes, color appearance is stable throughout the life-span because of parallel losses of cone sensitivities and other compensation mechanisms related to color constancy. On the other hand, there is a loss of sensitivity in color discrimination due, in part, to the reduction of retinal illuminance. The results of recent experimental studies by the author and colleagues indicate that this loss in discrimination is not only caused by the reduction of retinal illumiance, but also by a decrease in the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in neural pathways processing signals from S-cones and antagonistic signals from Land M-cones. This change can be considered as a sort of a trade-off between maintaining a constant signal level from the cones through the life-span and decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio in the human visual system. These results suggest some possible methods for making safer and more comfortable visual environments for the elderly.


Slavery, human trafficking and forced labour are anti-human and unacceptable practices that cut across cultures, nationalities, and dogmas, while taking on different dimensions. International law, Islamic law and various national laws have declared these practices illegal within their respective legal frameworks. However, owing to factors associated particularly with internationalism, including weak enforcement mechanisms, these practices have continued unabated around the world. The practices have taken on a new dimension in Libya because of the political turmoil in that country. This has opened doors for the transnational mafia to engage in the practices and has effectively made African youths easy prey. As a Muslim majority country, Libya is a member of the United Nations Organisation and Pan-African, Islamic and Arab organisations. It is therefore bound by the relevant laws of these international organisations aimed at eliminating the menace of slavery, human trafficking and forced labour that had become established practices in the country. If Libya has remained politically unsettled, it is necessary to ask the question: Can these international and Islamic norms be enforced? This article attempts to explore the historical background of slavery in Africa and its abolition through the instruments of both modern international law and Islamic law. It is also an attempt to contextualise Libya within the theoretical frameworks of those principles and their application in a country that is faced with challenges associated with the breakdown of law and order.


Abstract A survey was conducted to identify viruses infecting globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. subsp. scolymus (L.) Hayek) in the most important globe artichoke-producing areas of Turkey. A total of 120 globe artichoke samples were collected from three provinces of the Aegean region in western Turkey. Samples were tested by DAS-ELISA, RT-PCR and mechanical inoculation onto indicator plants. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was detected in five of the samples tested. Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were not detected in the remaining 115 samples. In RT-PCR, amplicons of the expected size (about 540 bp) were obtained from symptomatic plants that were CMV-positive in DAS-ELISA. The sequenced 5 PCR products covering the partial CP gene revealed 99% identities at the nucleotide level with those CMV isolates. When inoculated with sap from symptomatic artichoke leaves, selected test plants developed the symptoms that are typical of CMV infection. This is the first record of CMV infecting globe artichoke in Turkey.


We investigate the problem of rewriting queries with aggregate operators using views that may or may not contain aggregate operators. A rewriting of a query is a second query that uses view predicates such that evaluating first the views and then the rewriting yields the same result as evaluating the original query. In this sense, the original query and the rewriting are equivalent modulo the view definitions. The queries and views we consider correspond to unnested SQL queries, possibly with union, that employ the operators min, max, count, and sum. Our approach is based on syntactic characterizations of the equivalence of aggregate queries. One contribution of this paper are characterizations of the equivalence of disjunctive aggregate queries, which generalize our previous results for the conjunctive case. For each operator a, we introduce several types of queries using views as candidates for rewritings. We unfold such a candidate by replacing each occurrence of a view predicate with its definition, thus obtaining a regular aggregate query. The candidates have a different, usually more complex operator than a. We prove that unfolding the candidate, however, results in a regular aggregate query that is equivalent to the candidate modulo the view definitions. This property justifies considering these types of queries as natural candidates for rewritings. In this way, we reduce the problem of whether there exist rewritings of a particular type to a problem involving equivalence. We distinguish between partial rewritings that contain at least one view predicate and complete rewritings that contain only view predicates. In contrast to previous work on this topic, we not only give sufficient, but also necessary conditions for a rewriting to exist. More precisely, we show for each type of candidate that the existence of both, partial and complete rewritings is decidable, and we provide upper and lower complexity bounds.


Abstract Geological models are required because we do not have complete knowledge, in time or space, of the system of interest. Models are constructed in an attempt to represent the system and its behaviour based on interpretation of observations and measurements (samples) of the system, combined with informed judgement (expert opinion) and, generally, constrained for convenience by the limitations of the modelling medium. Geological models are inherently uncertain; broadly those uncertainties can be classified as epistemic (knowledge based) or aleatory (reflecting the variability of the system). Traditional, quantitative methods of uncertainty analysis address the aleatory uncertainties but do not recognize incompleteness and ignorance. Evidence-based uncertainty analysis provides a framework within which both types of uncertainty can be represented explicitly and the dependability of models tested through rigorous examination, not just of data and data quality, but also of the modelling process and the quality of that process. The inclusion of human judgement in the interpretation and modelling process means that there will be frequent differences of opinion and the possibility of alternative, inconsistent and/or conflicting interpretations. The analysis presented here uses evidence-based uncertainty analysis to formulate a complete expression of the geological model, including presentation of the supporting and the conflicting or refuting evidences, representation of the remaining uncertainties and an audit trail to the observations and measurements that underpin the currently preferred and the possible alternative hypotheses.


Women tend to drink less alcohol than men overall, but the amount they consume still has a major influence on their health. There are both protective and detrimental effects. Drinking habits vary throughout life. More women drink around the time of the menopause than do young women; older women are more likely to drink regularly than drink excessively. But as women get older, alcohol consumption has more effect on their health. Compared with men, they are less able to metabolize alcohol and with increasing age these liver enzymes become less effective. This makes women more vulnerable to the health effects of alcohol as they get older. The acute effects of alcohol intoxication are obvious and well documented. They include all sorts of falls, accidents, violence and self-inflicted injuries. Chronic heavy drinking carries a large health risk at any age. Deaths from alcoholic liver disease in women are increasing, although still not as common as in men. Overall, modest alcohol consumption seems to be protective to women – those who consume up to 2 units of alcohol per day have a lower mortality rate than tee-total women. Once consumption exceeds 2 units per day, the age-related risk is increased. The major contributors to this mortality risk are the effects of alcohol on the risk of cardiovascular disease (protective) and on breast cancer (increased risk). Even modest levels of alcohol consumption are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and the risk escalates with increasing levels of consumption. For many other cancers (mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus and liver) there is an association between moderate alcohol consumption and an increased risk of developing that particular cancer. It is uncertain how the extra risk of breast cancer is caused by alcohol, but it is likely to be through changes in estrogen levels. Drinking alcohol leads to increased levels of circulating estrogens, and many alcoholic beverages contain significant quantities of phytoestrogens. The main benefit of alcohol consumption is the reduction in mortality from cardiovascular disease. Estrogen may again be the causative factor. It is likely that this protection is mediated through alterations in lipids and lipoproteins, as well as reductions in clot formation and platelet aggregation. Cardiovascular disease is uncommon in women before the menopause and therefore the majority of this benefit occurs in postmenopausal women.


This study examines the relationship between policy, market access, country governance indicators and food production in 41 African countries. Based on a cross-country panel sample, a fixed-random effect models is employed to test the hypothesis that beyond agricultural inputs and macroeconomic reforms other exogenous factors could foster food production. Our findings show that improving food-agricultural inputs enhance production, while conflicts, food aid and geographic location such as landlocked countries negatively affect food production. Exogenous factors influencing production response include rainfall, market access, and education. Both governance and education can indirectly improve food production by enhancing growth, through investment in infrastructures, and human capital.


The traditional view of the role of proteases in tumor growth, progression and metastasis has significantly changed. Apart from their contribution to cancer progression, it is evident that a subclass of proteases, such as thrombin, serves as signal molecules controlling cell functions through the protease-activated receptors (PARs). Among the four types of PAR (PAR1-4; cloned and named in order of their discovery), PAR1, PAR3 and PAR4 are activated by thrombin, unlike PAR2, which is activated by trypsin-like serine proteases. Thrombin has been proven to be a significant factor in both the behavior of cancer in its involvement in hemostasis and blood coagulation. Thrombin is a key supporter of various cellular effects relevant to tumor growth and metastasis, as well as a potent activator of angiogenesis, which is essential for the growth and development of all solid tumor types. This review presents an overview of the role of PAR-mediated thrombin in angiogenesis and cancer, focusing on the ability of PAR1- and PAR4-mediated thrombin to affect tumorigenesis and angiogenesis.


The effect of relative height between the bottom of the tank and the top of the collector on performance has been studied both theoreticaly and experimentally. According to the national testing standard methods, the efficiency of the system was tested. The results show that the simulation results are in good accordance with the experimental ones. The data indicate that the optimum value of relative height is 0.74m with the maximum efficiency of 67.7% for the system with a total area of 1.5m2 and storage water tank capacity of 120L. Increasing or decreasing the relative height within a range of 0.3m has no significant effect on thermal efficiency.


Owing to the much concern with global environmental problem, photocatalytic TiO2 coatings were obtained using plasma spraying technique. The influences of the content of Fe3O4 additive to the TiO2 powder on the phase composition, microstructure and photo-absorption of plasma sprayed TiO2 coatings were systematically studied. The photocatalytic efficiency of the sprayed coatings is evaluated through the photo mineralization of acetaldehyde. The UV-VIS-NIR absorption spectra of the deposited coatings were obtained by using Shimadzu UV-3100PC scanning spectrophotometer. The results showed that the TiO2-Fe3O4 coatings consist of anatase TiO2, rutile TiO2 and FeTiO3 ilmenite, and Fe2TiO5 pseudobrookite phase appears when the content of Fe3O4 additive is equal to or over 10%. The content of anatase TiO2 in the sprayed coatings decreases from 14.8% to 5.9% with the increasing of Fe3O4 content to 32.6%. It was found that TiO2 coatings can decompose acetaldehyde under the illumination of ultraviolet rays, and the degrading efficiency is improved with an increase in the content of FeTiO3 in the coatings. However, the presence of large amount of Fe2TiO5 compound will substantially lower the photocatalytic efficiency of the sprayed TiO2-Fe3O4 coatings for the unfavorable photo-excited electron-hole transfer process.


Since the birth of aviation medicine approximately 80 yrs ago, practitioners and scientists have given their attention primarily to flight deck crew, cabin crew, and ground support personnel. However, in more recent years we have broadened our horizons to include the safety, health, and comfort of passengers flying commercial aircraft. This will be even more compelling as more passengers take to the air in larger aircraft and flying longer hours to more distant destinations. Further, we can expect to see more older passengers because people in many countries are living longer, healthier lives. The author first discusses the stresses imposed by ordinary commercial flight upon travelers such as airport tumult, barometric pressure changes, immobility, jet lag, noise/ vibration, and radiation. Medical considerations are next addressed describing inflight illness and medical care capability aboard U.S. air carriers. Passenger safety, cabin air quality, and the preventive medicine aspects of air travel are next reviewed in the context of passenger safety, health, and comfort. Recommendations are addressed to regulator agencies, airlines aircraft manufacturers, and the aerospace medicine community.


chosen foidiversity as industrial, agricultural, and mixed societies respectively. Contrasting levels of urbanization and various mixes of Protestanh and Catholics also lend weight to the centrd thesis that state development showed basic similarities in all three. She concludes that medium-sized states prospered, and that regional identities grew along with thc k/r&deursch nationalism that Prussia appropriated to match neighbors such as France and Italy as a "nation state." A fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford, Green shows with scholarly precision how the three govc.rnments reacted to the ongoing danger of tevolution after 1848 with concessions such as constitutions, freedom of association, iind freedom of the press, as well as by actively promoting loyalty to the dynasty together with attachment to the romanticized tribal S/trrvun of centuries past. To be sure, conservative particularists confront liberal nationali5ts throughout these pages, but there is less acrimony than one might expect. Peace and prosperity mattered at least as much to the ordinary citizen as national glory or protection from another Napoleon. Literacy was growing. religious toleration was gaining, and railroads were encouraging economies of scale. Green makes a good case for saying that the ttiree states were viable without being incorporated into the German Empire, and that by common consent regional identity shared a place with German identity after 1871. Bismarck was careful to restrict the competence5 of the imperial government, as a result, and io leave many cultural questions to state govcmments. One is reminded of Kurt Schuschnigg's failed attempt to keep Hitler at arm's length with his Fatherland Front in Austria some decades later. Well written. despite an abundance of introduck)r> adverbs, Fatherlands is more for specialists than for a general audience. It provides a sor( of postmodern view of German modernimtion by emphasizing the importance of diversity using the governments of Mirtelsturrrm as models.


Meiotic recombination is initiated by programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) generated by the Spo11 protein. In budding yeast, five other meiotic-specific proteins are also required for DSB formation, but, with rare exception, orthologs had not been identified in other species. In this issue of Genes & Development, Kumar and colleagues (pp. 1266-1280) used a phylogenomic approach to identify two of these proteins across multiple clades, and confirmed that one of these, MEI4, is a functional ortholog in mouse.


Carex meyeriana Kunth was subjected to biological pretreatment with the white-rot fungus Trametes hirsuta C7784, and the structural changes of the lignin were investigated. Results showed that there was a slight decrease in carbohydrate content after pretreatment for 3 weeks, but a noticeable decrease in lignin and carbohydrate contents after 6 weeks. Detail structural analysis of the isolated lignin from the samples revealed that Carex meyeriana Kunth lignin consisted mainly of p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G), and syringyl (S) units with minor p-coumarate and ferulate units. The predominant lignin interunits were β-O-4´ ether linkages, followed by phenylcoumaran, together with a lower portion of resinol and tricin substructures. After pretreatment for 6 weeks, the contents of β-β´ and β-5´ linkages notably decreased, suggesting that the fungus preferentially attacked these linkages. The pretreatment led to an increase of S/G ratio from 0.64 in the control to 0.83 in the sample pretreated for 6 weeks. The comprehensive understanding of the structural changes of lignin offers new insights into the biological degradation of Carex meyeriana Kunth by white-rot fungus.


The present invention provides a communication method and/or system (10) that enables the creation of personalised identifiers (40) and/or language that can be used to convey information, messages, instructions, and/or attributes for the purpose of enhancing and/or integrating communications. In a preferred form the personalised identifiers (40) and/or language can act as elements that may be used as a means of expression that is driven by users (12), groups of users (12), or entities, in order to convey personal attributes or identity. In a further preferred form the personalised identifiers (40) may act as visual representations of identity in order to, for example, facilitate convenient and readily accessible means of cross-referencing indexed information. The present invention may also provide refined search facilities that feature graphical functions that enable enhanced visualisation of search results, and/or visualisation display applications.


The construction sector is tainted with a bad image and has a significant impact on the economic situation of a country. Claims for better and optimized processes are existent. The special properties of construction projects, especially their uniqueness, require a holistic understanding and make an adoption of the project team regarding the concerned context essential. A new way of thinking develops to cope with the complex and dynamic features. Lean has its roots in the manufacturing processes of the car industry. The body of literature of the approach called lean construction became overwhelming within a short period of time. The practical application within the construction sector isn't still highly developed. There are still a range of challenges implementing those methods from theory into practice which need to be solved. The thesis intends to make a contribution to broaden the application of lean and to provide knowledge implementing lean principles in practice. While examining Norwegians infrastructure projects with the help of case studies the researcher aims to prove the application of lean principles. The existence of lean principles is linked to the usage of lean tools and methods. There are two important sides introducing a new approach. The application of new processes is one aspect. New processes are depending on the appliers who implement them based on their experience and the way of thinking. LC means a paradigm shift in the way of thinking and requires commitment from all involved people. The approach scrutinizes the integration of the design and construction phase as well as the involvement of the client. To approach this topic the researcher divided the thesis into six chapters. The first part serves to introduce the topic and identifies the customer while presenting the objectives of the thesis. The second part presents the researchers approach for the literature part and the project work. The researcher presents the theory in the third chapter. This part deals with significant contributions as an excerpt from the huge body of literature. Chapter four reflects the case study and the collected data. The researcher is going to present the results of the examination phase by the chosen research method. In chapter five the data will be discussed and analysed matching the results with the theory part. With the help of collected data the task is to analyse the project management approach of SVV for the existence of lean principles and to prove the meaningfulness and application of lean ideas within the construction sector in general. The sixth part summarizes the results of the thesis and gives an outlook for further research work.


The use of adhesives for aircraft structural bonding and repairs is increasing due to the many benefits, including, reducing the overall weight of the aircraft and increasing the fatigue life of joints. However, many commercial adhesives used in the industry, such as Hysol® EA 934NA, typically require five to seven days to cure at room temperature, affecting aircraft down time. SATTO® is a product that is currently used as a filler for repairing aircraft cabin plastic, such as seats, trays, cabin paneling, etc., and cures within 30 minutes (SATTO® Filler). The chemical composition of SATTO® Filler was modified to improve its adhesive properties, while maintaining short curing times (SATTO® Adhesive). The use of this product in structural applications would be attractive as repairs could be conducted more rapidly, even at the gate, with minimum down time. This paper presents the results of a series of bolt pull-out tensile tests conducted with both SATTO® products as a potting adhesive for honeycomb inserts. The tests were conducted at various cure times in order to determine the cure time for optimum strength. The results were compared with the results of similar tests conducted with Hysol® EA 934NA at the recommended 5-7 days cure time. The results show that in this application the SATTO® products do not cure in 30 minutes and have a lower bonding strength than Hysol® EA 934NA. However, the tests do show that the SATTO® products are capable of carrying a moderate load at a cure time of about 2 hrs.


This paper proposes a new methodology for solving the unmanned multi-vehicle formation control problem. It employs a unique "extension-decomposition-aggregation" scheme to transform the overall complex formation control problem to a group of sub-problems which work via boundary interactions. The H∞ robust control strategy is applied to design the decentralised formation controllers to reject the interactions and work jointly to maintain the stability of the overall formation. Simulation studies have been performed to verify its performance and effectiveness.


A 60-year-old male patients with an extremely rare condition, Laugier's disease (idiopathic lenticular pigmentation of buccal and labial mucosa) is described. The clinical picture of the disease is presented, as are results of examination and differential diagnosis of the dermatosis. Possible predisposing (dark skin integument, quite a number of pigmented nevi) and provoking (chronic and acute insolation) factors may be important in elucidating the disease origin.


Telomeres are nucleoprotein terminal structures at linear eukaryotic DNA chromosomes, formed by minisatellite DNA repeat sequences. Telomeres play essential roles in cells. They are necessary for the maintenance of genome stability: compensating for the replicative loss of DNA; preventing chromosome fusions; distinguishing natural chromosome ends from double-strand breaks. Telomeres were considered as typical heterochromatic loci with heterochromatin-specific epigenetic marks, but recent studies showed that telomeres of Arabidopsis thaliana associate with both heterochromatin- and euchromatin- specific histone modifications (Vrbsky et al., 2010). Another study even characterized Arabidopsis telomeres as predominantly euchromatic structures (Vaquero-Sedas et al., 2011). We examined length and methylation of telomeres in Arabidopsis thaliana plants germinated in the presence of hypomethylation drugs zebularine and DHPA (dihydroxypropyladenine). Zebularine inhibits DNA methyltransferases, and DHPA is an inhibitor of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase. In seedlings germinated in the presence of hypomethylation agents significantly lower level of methylated cytosines in telomeric and centromeric repetitive sequences was observed, while in adult plants which were grown without the drugs presence, the methylation was almost comparable to that in control samples. In treated plants distinctly shortened telomeres were observed. Short telomere phenotype persisted to the next generation of plants, which grew without the presence of drugs.


The copper-transporting P-type ATPases (Cu-ATPases), ATP7A and ATP7B, are essential for the regulation of intracellular copper homeostasis. In this report we describe new roles for glutathione (GSH) and glutaredoxin1 (GRX1) in Cu homeostasis through their regulation of Cu-ATPase activity. GRX1 is a thiol oxidoreductase that catalyzes the reversible reduction of GSH-mixed disulfides to their respective sulfhydryls (deglutathionylation). Here, we demonstrated that glutathionylation of the Cu-ATPases and their interaction with GRX1 were affected by alterations in Cu levels. The data support our hypothesis that the Cu-ATPases serve as substrates for Cu-dependent GRX1-mediated deglutathionylation. This in turn liberates the Cu-ATPase cysteinyl thiol groups for Cu binding and transport. GSH depletion experiments led to reversible inhibition of the Cu-ATPases that correlated with effects on intracellular Cu levels and GRX1 activity. Finally, knockdown of GRX1 expression resulted in an increase in intracellular Cu accumulation. Together, these data directly implicate GSH and GRX1 with important new roles in redox regulation of the Cu-ATPases, through modulation of Cu binding by the Cu-ATPase cysteine motifs.


In many practical real-time systems, the physical environment and the system platform can impose uncertain execution behaviour to the system. For example, if transient faults are detected, the execution time of a task instance can be increased due to recovery operations. Such fault recovery routines make the system very vulnerable with respect to meeting hard real-time deadlines. In theory and in practical systems, this problem is often handled by aborting not so important tasks to guarantee the response time of the more important tasks. However, for most systems such faults occur rarely and the results of not so important tasks might still be useful, even if they are a bit late. This implicates to not abort these not so important tasks but keep them running even if faults occur, provided that the more important tasks still meet their hard real time properties. In this paper, we present Systems with Dynamic Real-Time Guarantees to model this behaviour and determine if the system can provide full timing guarantees or limited timing guarantees without any online adaptation after a fault occurred. We present a schedulability test, provide an algorithm for optimal priority assignment, determine the maximum interval length until the system will again provide full timing guarantees and explain how we can monitor the system state online. The approaches presented in this paper can also be applied to mixed criticality systems with dual criticality levels.


In this book, the authors derive the theory of elastic depolarizing collisions and describe their importance in some nonlinear electromagnetic phenomena in gaseous media. The formation of photon echo and a description of its various types in gaseous media are then presented. The authors show that the characteristics of the corresponding signals depend essentially on elastic depolarizing collisions. They also consider the advantages of a new kind of photon echo spectroscopy: polarization photon echo-spectroscopy. A high-level, specialized treatment, Depolarizing Collisions in Nonlinear Electrodynamics will appeal to researchers and advanced graduates in nonlinear optics and quantum electronics.


There is growing evidence that anthropogenic landscapes can strongly influence the evolution of dispersal, particularly through fragmentation, and may drive organisms into an evolutionary trap by suppressing dispersal. However, the influence on dispersal evolution of anthropogenic variation in habitat patch turnover has so far been largely overlooked. In this study, we examined how human‐driven variation in patch persistence affects dispersal rates and distances, determines dispersal‐related phenotypic specialization, and drives neutral genetic structure in spatially structured populations. We addressed this issue in an amphibian, Bombina variegata, using an integrative approach combining capture–recapture modeling, demographic simulation, common garden experiments, and population genetics. B. variegata reproduces in small ponds that occur either in habitat patches that are persistent (i.e., several decades or more), located in riverine environments with negligible human activity, or in patches that are highly temporary (i.e., a few years), created by logging operations in intensively harvested woodland. Our capture–recapture models revealed that natal and breeding dispersal rates and distances were drastically higher in spatially structured populations (SSPs) in logging environments than in riverine SSPs. Population simulations additionally showed that dispersal costs and benefits drive the fate of logging SSPs, which cannot persist without dispersal. The common garden experiments revealed that toadlets reared in laboratory conditions have morphological and behavioral specialization that depends on their habitat of origin. Toadlets from logging SSPs were found to have higher boldness and exploration propensity than those from riverine SSPs, indicating transgenerationally transmitted dispersal syndromes. We also found contrasting patterns of neutral genetic diversity and gene flow in riverine and logging SSPs, with genetic diversity and effective population size considerably higher in logging than in riverine SSPs. In parallel, intrapatch inbreeding and relatedness levels were lower in logging SSPs. Controlling for the effect of genetic drift and landscape connectivity, gene flow was found to be higher in logging than in riverine SSPs. Taken together, these results indicate that anthropogenic variation in habitat patch turnover may have an effect at least as important as landscape fragmentation on dispersal evolution and the long‐term viability and genetic structure of wild populations.


Introduction: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a member of the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily and is the principal inhibitor of the plasminogen activators tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) in vivo. In healthy individuals, PAI-1 is found at low levels in the plasma, but is elevated significantly in a number of diseases, including atherosclerosis, deep vein thrombosis, and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Objective: Elucidation of the molecular interaction mechanism between PAI-1 and a PAI-1 inhibiting antibody fragment Fab-55F4C12. Methods: Fab-55F4C12 was generated by papain digestion of MA-55F4C12, followed by protein A and gelfiltration purification. The purified Fab-55F4C12 was concentrated to OD = 10. Different crystallisation screens were tried, and initial crystal clusters were obtained in condition 19 of Structure Screen 1 of Molecular Dimensions. Small needles (0.2 x 0.1 x 0.1 mm) were obtained after intensive optimisation of the crystallisation condition. The crystal structure of Fab-55F4C12 was determined by X-ray crystallography at cryogenic temperature. The data set was collected at DESY (Hamburg, Germany) to a resolution of 2.7 Å. Data processing was done using MOSFLM and SCALA. The space group was assigned to be P21212 with unit-cell parameters a = 52.04 Å, b = 98.66 Å, c = 191.68 Å, with two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The data set is 99.72 % complete. Initial phases were obtained with molecular replacement. The structure was refined using Coot and Refmac5. Crystallisation of the Fab-55F4C12 / PAI-1 complex has been unsuccessful so far. Therefore, the complex is being modelled through docking of the crystal structures of the two subunits of the complex using the rigid-body docking programs DOT and ZDOC. Potential interactions between the two subunits will be deduced from the models and compared with epitope information gathered from mutagenesis studies. Conclusions: Characterization of the complex of Fab-55F4C12 with PAI-1 may provide valuable information on the molecular interactions between the Fab-fragment and PAI-1, leading to a better understanding of the mechanism of inhibition. The elucidation of the binding site of inhibitory monoclonal antibodies may contribute to the rational design of PAI-1 modulating therapeutics. m06.p03


Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a dramatic effect on the function and appearance of the body. The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review which focuses on studies with participants who have incurred an alteration to their appearance due to a health condition. The implications of these studies for the likely impact of Body Image (BI) in men with SCI are considered. Cognitive and disfigurement models of BI are reviewed and research evidence evaluated. Results reveal that whilst the extent of appearance change is an important predictor of BI dissatisfaction, further variation is explained by the strategies individuals use to cope with the alteration in their appearance. BI dissatisfaction appears to impact upon the psychosocial wellbeing of both men and women and can also affect physical health. Further research is therefore needed in order to explore the links between appearance change, methods of coping and BI dissatisfaction, particularly in men with SCI. The second chapter reports on a cross sectional study of 102 male participants with SCI, which revealed group differences in BI dissatisfaction between inpatients and outpatients, who are established in the community. BI investment was found to moderate the effect of BI evaluation on low mood. The use of maladaptive coping strategies was also found to moderate the relationship between BI dissatisfaction and BI quality of life. Evidence suggests that BI should be assessed and BI dissatisfaction monitored after discharge from rehabilitation hospitals. Clinical intervention could focus upon reducing the use of maladaptive coping strategies, in order to reduce the impact of BI dissatisfaction upon quality of life.


In this report, 61 honey samples were collected in beehives located between IV and X Administrative Region of Chile. We focussed the analysis in risky chemical elements for human health and in the main chemical elements found previously in Chilean honeys. The analysis of Al, Sr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn were done by wet acid digestion method by ICP-OES. Lotus pedunculatus and Eucryphia cordifolia honeys showed the highest Al contents related to their geographical origin (Bio-Bio and Los Lagos Regions). The principal component analysis did not show groups of honeys with the some floral origin and a typical chemical element profile.


Asynchronous iterations arise naturally on parallel computers if one wants to minimize idle times. This paper reviews certain models of asynchronous iterations, using a common theoretical framework. The corresponding convergence theory and various domains of applications are presented. These include nonsingular linear systems, nonlinear systems, and initial value problems. and nonlinear equations, initial value problems.


WP3 deals with knowledge fusion. The aim of WP3 is to combine results from differ-ent algorithms and sources at a knowledge level. This deliverable discusses the fusion tasks and explains the possible interactions between work packages. It summarises the requirements of knowledge fusion and talks about different knowledge fusion ap-proaches to handle overlapping and inconsistency.


Brosimum gaudichaudii Trec. (mama-cadela) is a medicinal plant native to Cerrado and largely used in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to verify the propagation of mama-cadela by means of root cutting under the effect of plant growth regulators and different substrates. In experiment 1, the effects of indole butyric acid (IBA) and naphthylacetic acid (NAA) at the concentration of 1000 mg L-1 were evaluated together with three substrates (S1 - sand; S2 - 75% sand + 25% commercial substrate; S3 - 50% sand + 50% commercial substrate). In experiment 2, 4 IBA levels were evaluated: 0 - control; 250 mg L-1 (1.3426 mM ); 500 mg L-1 (2.6853 mM) and 1000 mg L-1 (5.3706 mM), as well as 4 NAA levels: 0 - control; 250 mg L-1 (1.2295 mM); 500 mg L-1 (2.458 mM) and 1000 mg L-1 (4.918 mM). The adopted experimental design was in randomized blocks with three replicates of six cuttings per plot. In experiment 1, substrates containing sand and sand (75%) + commercial substrate (25%) promoted the highest average rooting indexes. Application of IBA (1000 mg L-1) led to increases of 30.8% and 51.3% in the average rooting indexes compared to control and NAA application, respectively. In experiment 2, there was a significant quadratic response of IBA application on the average rooting index. The level of 500 mg L-1 (2.6853 mM) promoted the highest average rooting index. There was no significant effect of NAA levels for the evaluated parameters. Similarly, there was no significant effect of substrates or hormones on the remaining parameters evaluated. These results show the potential use of mama-cadela root cuttings for the production of clonal seedlings of this species


This study was to determine the bond strength of composite to glass ionomer using the following adhesive resin cements: Imperva Dual, CB Metabond, All-Bond, Geristore, and Panavia. All materials were mixed following the manufacturer's specifications. Bonded samples were thermocycled for 2000 x between 5 degrees C and 55 degrees C. Shear bond strengths were determined using an Instron Testing Machine. No statistical differences were noted between materials at the p < .05 level of significance. In addition, scanning electron micrographs were taken of the primed glass ionomer surfaces. These micrographs revealed varying amounts of matrix dissolution along with roughened surface topographies.


An analysis of the interaction between dolutegravir and metformin was conducted in the HIV ambulatory clinic setting. This was a multicenter, retrospective case series evaluating adult, HIV-infected patients concurrently prescribed dolutegravir and metformin. Historical electronic medical records were utilized to collect case-specific data. Laboratory parameters including serum creatinine (SCr), hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c), plasma HIV RNA, CD4 cell count, and lactate were reviewed. Adverse drug reactions were assessed using patient-reported gastrointestinal intolerance and hypoglycemic symptoms. Metformin dose reduction or discontinuation was also recorded. Nineteen patients identified as concurrently taking metformin and dolutegravir were included. Eighteen patients were on metformin prior to dolutegravir initiation, with 13 having received metformin for at least six months prior to dolutegravir. At the time of dolutegravir initiation, one patient had a preemptive metformin dose reduction. Seven patients were initiated on dolutegravir with a metformin dose greater than 1000 mg daily. Eleven patients had baseline and three- to six-month follow-up HgbA1c. Of those 11 patients, eight had stable or decreased values. Thirteen of the 19 patients had an increase in SCr, with a median increase of 0.3 mg/dl (0.03–0.43). Gastrointestinal distress (N = 3) and hypoglycemic symptoms (N = 3) were reported in a total of five patients. Adverse drug reactions resulted in metformin dose reduction (N = 2) and/or discontinuation (N = 2). There were no reported cases of lactic acidosis. Providers concurrently prescribing dolutegravir and metformin should be aware of potential consequences with this combination and may consider an empiric metformin dose reduction to prevent intolerable adverse drug reactions.


We investigate recursive relations for the Grothendieck classes of the affine graph hypersurface complements of melonic graphs. We compute these classes explicitly for several families of melonic graphs, focusing on the case of graphs with valence-$4$ internal vertices, relevant to CTKT tensor models. The results hint at a complex and interesting structure, in terms of divisibility relations or nontrivial relations between classes of graphs in different families. Using the recursive relations we prove that the Grothendieck classes of all melonic graphs are positive as polynomials in the class of the moduli space $\mathcal M_{0,4}$. We also conjecture that the corresponding polynomials are log-concave, on the basis of hundreds of explicit computations.


The residential sector consumes a significant portion of the electricity sold in the United States. Above 60% of the energy used in the sector is used to operate heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and water heating (WH) systems. With the increase of intelligence in the grid and the new decision and control options enabled by the Internet of Things; control of these devices can be used to support the grid. This article presents a scalable multiagent system for optimizing HVAC and WH systems while maintaining comfort. It allows a utility to orchestrate the shifting of energy from critical periods without direct control, but instead by using a price signal. The architecture, optimization formulation, implementation strategy and results from an implementation project are discussed.


The aim of this review was to compare the performance of contrast-enhanced versus non-contrast-enhanced helical computed tomography (CT) for acute appendicitis as reported. A systematic search of PubMed and Embase was conducted. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were evaluated using Meta-DiSc. Quality was assessed using QUADAS 2. Eight articles with 1602 patients were included. For contrast-enhanced CT, the pooled sensitivity was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.93-0.96) with a specificity of 0.94 (95%CI: 0.93-0.96). The PLR, NLR, and DOR were 14.74 (95%CI: 9.06-23.97), 0.06 (95%CI: 0.03-0.11), and 305.31 (95%CI: 107.14-870.08), respectively. For non-contrast-enhanced CT, the pooled sensitivity was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.82-0.87) with a specificity of 0.93 (95%CI: 0.92-0.95). The PLR, NLR, and DOR were 12.22 (95% CI: 9.52-15.69), 0.15 (95%CI: 0.09-0.25), 80.98 (95%CI: 41.65-157.45), respectively. The AUC was not statistically different (Z=0.737, p=0.461). This data suggest that the contrast-enhanced CT has better diagnostic performance for acute appendicitis than non-contrast CT. Key Words: Acute appendicitis, Contrast-enhanced computed tomography' scan, Non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography' scan, Meta-analysis.


This paper tries to estimate the impact of financialization on fixed investment in Russia. The work is carried out by using panel data based on reports of non-financial publicly listed companies for 1999–2019. The study finds that financial expenses aimed at paying interest on external financing and paying dividends — that is, focusing on shareholder value, and hence decreasing the internal funds of companies, reduce real investments. Financial incomes have shown the crowding-out effect for large companies. Financial incomes as additional "free" funds in large companies are not perceived as an opportunity to accumulate fixed assets. Managers prefer to increase financial investments instead of real ones. In small and medium-sized companies, financial incomes, however, drive the growth of physical investment. This is because small firms, at a particular stage in their lives, find it more profitable to invest in their own growth. The results from the general sample, without dividing by size, indicate that financialization in Russia clearly reduces real investment.


Lysine specific demethylase-1 (LSD-1) expression correlates with poor survival in prostate cancer. LSD-1 is also key in androgen receptor signaling in androgen sensitive and castration refractory prostate cancer. LSD-1 is a chromatin modifying enzyme that in conjunction with its binding partners functions as an 'erasor' in the Epigenetic code process and demethylates lysine 4 and 9 residues on H3 protein resulting in gene repression or activation. Specifically in prostate cancer it demethylates H3k9me2 playing an important role in androgen receptor signaling promoting myc expression. Docetaxel chemotherapy is effective in prostate cancer but limited by toxicity and development of resistance. In this study we demonstrate synergy between LSD-1 inhibition and docetaxel in castrate refractory cell lines. We further demonstrate that LSD-1 inhibition is effective in docetaxel resistant cell lines. Cell survival assays were performed with HCI2509 on castrate refractory and docetaxel resistant prostate cancer cell lines. Histone methylation and myc expression were assessed. Colony formation assays, cell cycle analysis, xenograft studies were performed. Synergy studies were performed to assess the combination of 2509 and docetaxel. HCI2509 is cytotoxic to castrate refractory and docetaxel resistant prostate cancer cell lines in low micromolar doses. Treatment with HCI2509 resulted in dose dependent increase in H3K4me2, H3K4me3, H3K9me2 levels and decrease in myc protein. RT-PCR showed a significant decrease in MYC expression upon treatment with HCI2509. Cell cycle progression was arrested at G0/G1 upon treatment with 2509 with inhibition of colony formation at 10 to 100 fold lower concentrations. PC3 xenografts in mice showed significant reduction in tumor burden upon treatment with 2509 with increased H3K9me2 marks and reduced myc protein levels. LSD-1 inhibition with HCI2509 has therapeutic potential in castrate refractory and docetaxel resistant prostate cancer. It inhibits myc expression and sensitizes castrate refractory prostate cancer to docetaxel. Citation Format: Sumati Gupta, Alexis Weston, Jared Bearss, Sunil Sharma. Reversible lysine specific demethylase-1 inhibition is synergistic with docetaxel in castrate refractory prostate cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr C91.


This paper describes the design and the design process of orthographic feedback in a computer-assisted vocabulary learning (CAVL) application that is targeted at blind language learners. It discusses current research findings of vocabulary and spelling acquisition, as well as special needs of blind computer users. CAVL applications often assume the user's sightedness. While it is possible for blind users to access software via screen reader or Braille line, it is argued that orthographic feedback does not translate one-to-one from visual-toauditory (or tactile). To overcome this short-coming and thus ensure high usability for blind users, the feedback may be designed differently to be delivered via the auditory channel. Following a user-centered design approach, the orthographic feedback in an auditory vocabulary trainer is constructed and evaluated iteratively with users. The preliminary architecture that evolved out of these pre-studies is reported and discussed. In conclusion, an outlook is given as to how the final architecture will be implemented and evaluated.


A hepatic bumetanide-binding protein of molecular mass 60 kDa was isolated from rat liver sinusoidal plasma membranes after photoaffinity labelling with [3H]bumetanide. The protein was purified by non-equilibrium pH gel electrophoresis/two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The amino acid sequences of two internal fragments share 67% and 89% similarity with rat liver catalase, which has a molecular mass of 59.758 kDa. With H2O2 as a substrate, the catalytic activity was measured in rat liver plasma membrane preparations. This activity was blocked by bumetanide and aminobumetanide. Polyclonal antibodies were raised against the purified 60-kDa membrane bumetanide-binding protein. The antibody anti-Bum-Ab 60 immunoprecipitated a 60-kDa protein from rat hepatocytes. Immunoblot analysis of SDS/PAGE and two-dimensional PAGE gels confirmed that the antibody was specific for the 60-kDa bumetanide-binding protein and cross-reacted with commercially available purified bovine liver catalase. Immunofluorescence showed the presence of the 60-kDa antigen in the plasma membrane of intact hepatocytes. Western-blot analysis revealed that the protein was present in rat kidney cortex homogenate but was lacking in hepatoma cells AS-30 D, Reuber H35 FAO and HPCT cells (clone 1E3), in spleen, and in ileum. These results indicate that a plasma-membrane-derived catalase binds bumetanide in rat liver.


The number of people living with a total hip arthroplasty continues to increase worldwide. Patients who have undergone total hip arthroplasty are living longer and have more active lifestyles. With increasing total hip arthroplasty utilization in more active patients the incidence of periprosthetic fracture is expected to rise. A variety of surgical techniques exist to manage various fracture patterns, and patient outcomes hinge on the success of each technique. This brief review summarizes some of the current evidence-based treatment options for periprosthetic fractures around a total hip arthroplasty.


Six criteria for the design of an organizational decision support system (ODSS) are derived from a literature review. These criteria specify that: (1) the output of executive information processing should be an input to an ODSS; (2) details of the transaction flows that occur during decision-making should be stored in a decision database: (3) decision-making groups need access to corporate and public data relevant to their problems; (4) decision-making groups need assistance in identifying expertise relevant to their problems; (5) multi-meeting and iterative decision-making should be supported; and (6) access to ODSS outside formal problem-solving sessions is required. Seven components of an ODSS are described, and examples of how the systems might be used are presented.<<ETX>>


Successfully addressing the multitude of stresses influencing forest catchments, their native biota, and the vital ecological services they provide humanity will require adapting an integrated view that incorporates the full range of natural and anthropogenic disturbances acting on these landscapes and their embedded fluvial networks. The concepts of dendritic networks, disturbance domains, the stream continuum, and hydrologic connectivity can facilitate this integration. Managing catchments based on these combined concepts would better maintain all the components of watersheds and the interacting processes that comprise their ecological integrity. To examine these ideas, I review riparian protection regulations in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, regulations considered by many to be among the best available, and evaluate their ability to protect headwater amphibians. I present evidence for the inadequacy of these rules to maintain robust populations of these amphibians, and discuss the implications of these shortcomings for downstream-dwelling coho salmon. Emphasizing headwaters (1st to 3rd-order channels), I discuss disturbance regimes and how differences in their fluvial and geomorphic processes determine the structuring of channels, their internal environments, and the composition of the resident biota. I examine amphibian dependence on specific channel attributes, and discuss links between their abundances, altered attribute states, and natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Using these examples, I discuss the limitations of current protections to maintain key attributes necessary to support robust populations of headwater amphibians, and via hydrologic connectivity, many downstream organisms. I propose that the goal of maintaining whole catchment biodiversity and ecological services could be improved by managing watersheds based on integrating science-based network organizing concepts and evaluating and adjusting outcomes with a suite of responsive bio-indicators.


Neural control of goal-directed hand actions is thought to rely on two specialized parieto-frontal pathways: 1) the dorsomedial stream (namely, superior parieto-occipital cortex, SPOC, in humans and the dorsal premotor cortex, PMd) involved in programming arm transport during reaching and 2) the dorsolateral stream (namely, anterior intraparietal sulcus, aIPS, and ventral premotor cortex, PMv) involved in programming hand grip during grasping - both of which send output to primary motor cortex, M1. Recent evidence has argued that macaque dorsomedial stream, specifically V6A (the putative homologue of human SPOC), codes both hand transport and grip. In humans, functional imaging studies also show evidence that SPOC differentiates grasping versus touching, but it is not clear whether these brain areas also code the details of the grip. We used dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (dsTMS) to test the functional interactions between SPOC-M1 in the left hemisphere during different hand actions. Subjects performed an event-related delayed movement task toward a single peripherally located object (consisting of a small cylinder attached atop a larger cylinder). For each trial, after visual presentation of the object, one of three hand movements was instructed: 1) grasp the top cylinder (precision grip); 2) grasp the bottom cylinder (whole hand grasp); or 3) reach-to-touch the side of the object (without preshaping the hand). We found facilitatory influences of left SPOC on left M1 for grip formation at two specific time intervals (50 and 150 ms) after a cue to select a manual response. Consistent with findings reported in the monkey, these results suggest that the human dorsomedial parieto-frontal stream may play a critical role in the planning of all phases of reach-to-grasp action. Critically, they challenge the view that the reach and grasp components are processed independently.Acknowledgments: NSERC: CIHR


Treatment of wastewater containing high phenol concentrations (up to 4,000 mg/l, 1,600 kg/ha.d) in laboratory-scale stabilisation ponds enriched with activated sludge was studied. Phenol was biodegraded efficiently, even when fed as the sole carbon source. At influent concentrations of 1,000, 1,300, 1,600, 1,900, 2,500, 3,000 and 4,000 mg/l of phenol (loading rates of 400, 520, 640, 760, 1,000, 1,200 and 1,600 kg phenol/ha.d), the phenol removal efficiencies were 92, 89, 81, 81, 76, 65 and 22%, respectively. At 4,000 mg/l of phenol, the enriched ponds were significantly inhibited. The maximum phenol removal rate observed was 780 kg/ha.d, which is 7.7 times higher than the maximum value reported for attached-growth waste stabilisation ponds. All along the experiments, the enriched ponds showed removal rates 1.8-20.5 times higher than the values observed in control pond (not enriched). The results suggest that enrichment is an effective method to increase xenobiotic removal rates of stabilisation ponds.


Purpose of review Growth and maturation in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has been the subject of controversy for many years. The purpose of this review is to describe the course of current opinion, summarize findings that have been supported by scientific evidence and show why one widely disseminated opinion is unfounded. Recent findings Recent studies have shown reductions in expected growth in height and weight in children starting treatment with stimulant medication. With prolonged treatment of 2–3 years, growth velocities show a trend towards normalization. There is evidence from recently published data that the effect of stimulant medication on growth is closely linked to its therapeutic effect – an interpretation which has not previously been reported. Normal growth velocities have been demonstrated in untreated children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Summary Recent findings that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treated with stimulant medication grow more slowly than untreated children confirm the results of the early studies of 1972–1973. This should now focus research towards the areas that require further investigation, such as establishing the mechanism of the stimulant-associated growth attenuation, and defining in more detail the effects of stimulant medication on growth and maturation in children of different ages.


Essay on John Dowland and Popularity The article investigates the possibilities and limits of regarding John Dowland and his music as »popular«, recently promoted in the aftermath of Sting's Dowland-recordings. This well-established image of Dowland's historical and contemporary reception is somewhat precarious. While on the one hand certainly not engaged in emphatic popular music of his time and decidedly considering himself a learned musician, Dowland's marketing strategies, resulting in the creation of a public aesthetic self, on the other hand produce points of contact for today's perspectives of popularity. Analysis of the song Flow my teares (Lachrimae) exemplarily tries to transfer questions of authenticity and masquerade to Dowland's music. It reveals a playing with ›popular‹ as well as with ›learned‹ elements and their successful blending is offered as a possible cause for Dowland's continuous, broad and immediate appeal.


Multiple-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) Analysis (MLVA) is widely used by laboratory-based surveillance networks for subtyping pathogens causing foodborne and water-borne disease outbreaks. However, Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) has recently emerged as the new more powerful reference for pathogen subtyping, making a data conversion method necessary which enables the users to compare the MLVA identified by either method. The MLVAType shiny application was designed to extract MLVA profiles from WGS data while ensuring backward compatibility with traditional MLVA typing methods. To test and validate the MLVAType algorithm, WGS-derived MLVA profiles of nineteen Vibrio cholerae isolates from Democratic Republic of the Congo (n=9) and Uganda (n=10) were compared to MLVA profiles generated by microchip electrophoresis (Bioanalyzer Agilent 2100), GeneScan analysis, and Sanger sequencing as the reference method. Unlike amplicon-size derived MLVA profiles, results obtained by Sanger sequencing and WGS were totally concordant. However, the latter were affected by censored estimations whose percentage was inversely proportional to the k-mer parameter used during genome assembly. With a k-mer of 127, less than 15% estimation of V. cholerae VNTR was censored. Preventing censored estimation was only achievable when using a longer k-mer size (i.e. 175), which is not proposed in the SPAdes v.3.13.0 software. In silico analysis showed that this limitation does not apply to other microbial species (e.g. Mycobacterium, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas) characterized by smaller lengths of motif repeats. As NGS read lengths and qualities tend to increase with time, one may expect the increase of k-mer size in a near future. Using MLVAType application with a longer k-mer size will then efficiently retrieve MLVA profiles from WGS data while avoiding censored estimation irrespective of the microbial species. Author summary Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a powerful high throughput genomic approach enabling the Whole Genome Sequence (WGS) of pathogens to be assembled in a relatively short time. A major advantage of WGS, compared to traditional genotypic identification and typing methods, is its ability to generate data that can be exploited in silico for multiple bacterial tests including accurate subtyping, determination of genetic relatedness, and characterization of virulence and antimicrobial resistance determinants. Accordingly, WGS is now rapidly replacing traditional methods like Multi-Locus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats Analysis (MLVA) that has long been used in the public health sector for laboratory-based surveillance of pathogens and outbreak response. While these missions require maintenance of data comparability within networks, the lack of backward compatibility between WGS-derived and traditional MLVA methods is a well-recognized issue. As illustrated here with Vibrio cholerae isolates from DRC and Uganda, the MLVAType software application analyzes WGS data to generate MLVA profiles that are identical to those determined with traditional typing. Interestingly, this tool has also the potential to extract MLVA profiles from any bacterial genome that are characterized by a small number of tandem repeats, e.g. Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, and Mycobacterium species. This restriction can be lifted if subsequences of length k, called k-mers, are longer than what is currently proposed by genome assembly algorithm like SPAdes v.3.13.0.


Abstract In the context of international sports tournaments, fans' feelings of patriotism and fans' acquisition of knowledge from social media seem to be decisive factors in determining sponsorship success. We explore how both factors influence fans' intentions to purchase sponsors' products. This study is based in survey data collected from fans during the FIFA 2018 World Cup. Findings from this study contribute to the literature in three ways. First, we find evidence that patriotism has a positive effect on fans' attitudes and behaviours toward sponsors. Second, we operationalize fans' fulfilment of sponsorship activation, as a fan's engagement response to a sponsor's social media marketing communications, to reveal if it has positive effects on attitudes and behaviours toward sponsors. Third, we discuss several aspects that sponsors might want to consider when deciding to sponsor major sporting events, they can adjust their marketing strategy to generate stronger revenues from product sales.


The prevalence of antibody against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and five hepatitis B virus markers (HBVM) was measured in 176 Chinese drug addicts, of whom 23 were AIDS patients. Of 176 drug addicts, 147 were members of ethnic minorities while 29 were Han, the majority ethnic group. The total prevalence rates of anti-HCV and HBVM were 35·8% and 50·6% respectively, significantly different (P<0·01). Anti-HCV and HBVM were together found in 22·7%. Similar prevalence rates were found among the different ethnic groups. Among the ethnic minorities, there was a significantly higher prevalence rate of anti-HCV in intravenous drug addicts (IVDA, 51·1%) than in oral drug addicts (20·3%). Furthermore, the prevalence of anti-HCV was significantly higher in needle-sharing abusers (60·4%) than in non-needle sharing ones (37·1%, P<0·05). The prevalence of HBVM was also significantly higher in needle-sharing abusers (69·8%) than in non-needle sharing ones (34·3%). Prevalence of HBsAg was significantly higher in drug abusers with AIDS (47·8%) than in IVDA only (16·1%). The anti-HCV positive rates among ethnic minority people were: for the Yi people 69·2%, the Hui 55·6%, the Bai 53·9%, the Dai 26·8% and the Wa 23·1%. No obvious difference was identified for HBVM. The prevalence rates of HCV, HBV and HCV+HBV in IVDA showed no significant difference (P>0·05) between the two regions. HIV, HCV and HBV infections may promote each other and be related to needle-sharing behaviour in drug abuse and to different subcultures and living habits.


North America has experienced a resurgence of measles outbreak due to unprecedentedly low Mumps-Measles and Rubella vaccination coverage rates facilitated by the anti-vaccination movement. The objective of this chapter is to explore the new online public space and public discourse using Web 2.0 in the public health arena to answer the question, 'What is driving public acceptance of or hesitancy towards the MMR vaccine?' More specifically, typologies of online public engagement will be examined using MMR vaccine hesitancy as a case study to illustrate the different approaches used by pro- and anti-vaccine groups to inform, consult with, and engage the public on a public health issue that has been the subject of long-standing public debate and confusion. This chapter provides an overview of the cyclical discourse of anti-vaccination movements. The authors hypothesize that anti-vaccination, vaccine hesitant, and pro-vaccination representations on the online public sphere are reflective of competing values (e.g., modernism, post-modernism) in contemporary society.


Proper inclusion of van der Waals interactions (vdW) in ab initio calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) is crucial to describe soft, organic, layered solids such as κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 X . Since no consensus has been reached on the reliability of available vdW DFT functionals, most of the first principles calculations have been based on experimental crystal structure data without any structural optimization. Here, we explore optimal DFT-based schemes that account for the effects of vdW interactions on the structural and electronic band properties of three paradigmatic charge transfer salts, κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu 2 (CN) 3 , κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Ag 2 (CN) 3 , and κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl, for which a unified optimization of the structure is possible. Detailed examination of the prototype test system κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl shows that the optB88-vdW functional performs slightly better than the PBE-vdW and that the choice of pseudopotentials is critical to obtaining realistic results.


This article provides an overview of the main literature data of biochemical basics and the clinical application of positron emission tomography, one of the promising technologies of radiation imaging in oncology. In the final part, the biokinetics of radiopharmaceuticals that display the proliferative activity of malignant cells and the degree of hypoxia in the tumor focus are examined in detail. The results of studies devoted to assessing their effectiveness, the main indications for their use, the features of preparation for the study, as well as promising scientific developments in this industry are presented.


The rate equation for flux motion in high-Tc superconductors is extended to take the contribution of field sweep into account in this work. It is shown that the time and field sweep rate () dependence of magnetization are equivalent approaches to the study of flux creep properties in high-Tc superconductors. The agreement of the effective activation energy Ueff (J) extracted from the time relaxation and that from magnetic hysteresis loops measurements on a melt-textured YBa2Cu3O6+x sample supports this extended rate equation for flux motion in high temperature superconductors.


Finding optimal operating conditions fast with a scarce budget of experimental runs is a key problem to speed up the development and scaling up of innovative bioprocesses. In this paper, a novel iterative methodology for the model-based design of dynamic experiments in modeling for optimization is developed and successfully applied to the optimization of a fed-batch bioreactor related to the production of r-interleukin-11 (rIL-11) whose DNA sequence has been cloned in an Escherichia coli strain. At each iteration, the proposed methodology resorts to a library of tendency models to increasingly bias bioreactor operating conditions towards an optimum. By selecting the 'most informative' tendency model in the sequel, the next dynamic experiment is defined by re-optimizing the input policy and calculating optimal sampling times. Model selection is based on minimizing an error measure which distinguishes between parametric and structural uncertainty to selectively bias data gathering towards improved operating conditions. The parametric uncertainty of tendency models is iteratively reduced using Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) to pinpoint which parameters are keys for estimating the objective function. Results obtained after just a few iterations are very promising.


Effects of carbachol on membrane potential and current in T84 cells were determined using whole cell patch-clamp techniques. When the pipettes contained a standard KCl solution and the bath contained a standard NaCl solution, carbachol (100 microM) caused a rapid hyperpolarization to the K+ equilibrium potential (EK+), followed by potential oscillations. When membrane potential was clamped to 0 mV, carbachol induced an outwardly directed K+ current in 31 of 37 cells, with a peak value of 618 +/- 51 (SE) pA. In 77% of these cells the current oscillated and gradually declined to base line. Atropine (20 microM) blocked this response. In symmetric KCl solutions the carbachol-induced current reversed at 0 mV with no rectification. Ba2+ or Cs+ did not block the current, but tetraethylammonium ion (TEA) reduced the number of responding cells. Although a Cl- conductance was found in resting cells, carbachol did not cause an increase in Cl- current when the cells were voltage-clamped to EK+, or when voltage-clamped to +/- 60 mV while bathed in symmetric NaCl solutions. When the Ca2(+)-buffering capacity of the pipette solution was increased, 80% of the cells responded to carbachol, but only 10% oscillated; however, no K+ current was induced by carbachol when the pipette was made nominally Ca2+ free. The current was not affected by removal of Ca2+ from the bath. These results show that carbachol induces an oscillating Ca2(+)-activated K+ conductance in T84 cells, but no Cl- conductance. This K+ conductance is dependent on the mechanisms that regulate intracellular Ca2+.


We introduce a next-generation long-reach access optical network (35 dB loss budget +2 dB margin) delivering up to 40G/40G per passive 1:256 optical distribution network, supporting symmetrical 1 Gb/s rates per home user or up to 40 Gb/s for business users (e.g., enterprises, antenna sites). The proposed system is based on a novel spectrally efficient orthogonal frequency division multiplexing/wavelength division multiplexing OFDM/WDM architecture symmetrically using 16-QAM OFDM polarization diversity in both the downstream and upstream in order to serve low-cost energy-efficient symmetric 1 Gb/s optical network units (ONUs), which are self-coherent, laserless, colorless, and tunable-filter-free. Each ONU comprises a standard semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), a silicon-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC), and mixed-signal electronic integrated circuits (ICs) performing the signal processing at a relatively slow rate as compared with the overall passive optical network (PON) throughput: digital to analog converters (DACs) and analog to digital converters (ADCs) at 417 MS/s for the home user ONUs.


Menopause is the cessation of the last menstrual period or during the last menstruation after receiving an amenorhoe ± 1 year, occurs between the ages of 40-60 years. This means that the longer or faster the mother experiences menopause, the greater the impact that will occur on the mother. According to data obtained from the BPS Kisworo Pratiwi Surabaya, the period May-June 2018 showed that there were 3 people (20%) experiencing menopause at the age of 50 years. Based on the above problems, a study was conducted with the aim of analyzing whether there was a relationship between hormonal contraceptive use and menopause age. Method: This study used an analytical method with cross sectional research design and the type used was systematic random sampling, a population of 80 people and a sample of 45 people. Data collection by interview. Data was then processed with frequency tables, cross tabulation then analyzed by Chi-Square test. Results: The results showed that the majority of non-hormonal contraceptive use was 64.44% and the majority experienced rapid menopause age of 57.78%. From the results of cross tabulation, the majority of non-hormonal contraceptive use experienced rapid menopause of 75.86%, while the majority of hormonal contraceptive use experienced a slow menopause of 68.75%. And from the Chi-Square results, (χ2) count> (χ2) table (8.55> 3.84). Discussion: It can be concluded that there is a relationship between the use of hormonal contraception and the age of menopause. It is better if you face menopause, your readiness is needed, your mother's understanding of menopause and symptoms that will arise during menopause, as well as preparing the physical and psychological to enter menopause considering contraception can affect the age of menopause.


Tetherin/BST-2/CD317 is a recently identified antiviral protein that blocks the release of nascent retrovirus, and other virus, particles from infected cells. An HIV-1 accessory protein, Vpu, acts as an antagonist of tetherin. Here, we show that positive selection is evident in primate tetherin sequences and that HIV-1 Vpu appears to have specifically adapted to antagonize variants of tetherin found in humans and chimpanzees. Tetherin variants found in rhesus macaques (rh), African green monkeys (agm) and mice were able to inhibit HIV-1 particle release, but were resistant to antagonism by HIV-1 Vpu. Notably, reciprocal exchange of transmembrane domains between human and monkey tetherins conferred sensitivity and resistance to Vpu, identifying this protein domain as a critical determinant of Vpu function. Indeed, differences between hu-tetherin and rh-tetherin at several positions in the transmembrane domain affected sensitivity to antagonism by Vpu. Two alterations in the hu-tetherin transmembrane domain, that correspond to differences found in rh- and agm-tetherin proteins, were sufficient to render hu-tetherin completely resistant to HIV-1 Vpu. Interestingly, transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain sequences in primate tetherins exhibit variation at numerous codons that is likely the result of positive selection, and some of these changes coincide with determinants of HIV-1 Vpu sensitivity. Overall, these data indicate that tetherin could impose a barrier to viral zoonosis as a consequence of positive selection that has been driven by ancient viral antagonists, and that the HIV-1 Vpu protein has specialized to target the transmembrane domains found in human/chimpanzee tetherin proteins.


In this study, we have synthesized two novel amphiphilic diblock copolymers with aldehyde groups via organocatalytic ROP of a functionalized cyclic carbonate monomer (MTC-Bz) using polyethylene oxide (PEG) as the macroinitiator. The polymers were covalently conjugated with an anti-tumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) via a pH-sensitive Schiff-base linkage. The resulting conjugates formed micelles in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.4) with an average size of about 100 nm and narrow size distribution. The surface charge of the micelles was close to zero. The micelles were stable in both PBS and cell culture media containing 10% FBS up to 5 days. The results obtained from the in vitro release study indicated that DOX release from the micelles was pH-dependent, being faster at pH 5.0 (the endolysosomal environment) than pH 7.4 (the extracellular environment). Human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and DOX-resistant MCF-7/Adr cells were employed to investigate the cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of DOX-loaded micelles. The confocal microscopy and flow cytometry studies showed that the uptake of DOX-loaded micelles by MCF-7 cells was similar to that of free DOX. In sharp contrast, the uptake of DOX-loaded micelles by MCF-7/Adr cells was significantly higher than that of free DOX. The polymers showed no toxicity to MCF-7 and MCF-7/Adr cells. The DOX-loaded micelles killed the cells efficiently. In particular, they were more potent against drug-resistant MCF-7/Adr cells than free DOX due to the higher cellular drug accumulation and pH-triggered intracellular drug release, providing a strategy to navigate around drug resistance. These DOX-conjugated micelles can be a promising carrier for the delivery of anticancer drugs with amine functional groups.


In this paper, I explore the fit of philosophical hermeneutics with understanding relational complexity in pediatric oncology nursing. I begin by introducing the applicability of philosophical hermeneutics to the practice of nursing and nursing research. I then contextualize pediatric oncology and offer my address of the topic of relational complexity in nurse-parent relationships within pediatric oncology contexts. In the second part of the paper, I draw connections between Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics and relational complexity by considering the significance of one's relation to the other, conversation and self-disclosure, and the interpretation of friendship in nurse-parent relationships. I conclude the paper by briefly returning to how my research, guided by philosophical hermeneutics, might contribute to nursing practice.


In this study, CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots (QDs) with various dimensions were used as the color conversion materials. QDs with dimensions of 3 nm and 5 nm were excited by gallium nitride (GaN)-based blue micro-light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) with a size of 30 μm × 30 μm to respectively form the green and red lights. The hybrid Bragg reflector (HBR) with high reflectivity at the regions of the blue, green, and red lights was fabricated on the bottom side of the micro-LEDs to reflect the downward light. This could enhance the intensity of the green and red lights for the green and red QDs/micro-LEDs to 11% and 10%. The distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) was fabricated on the QDs color conversion layers to reflect the non-absorbed blue light that was not absorbed by the QDs, which could increase the probability of the QDs excited by the reflected blue light. The blue light absorption material was deposited on the DBR to absorb the blue light that escaped from the DBR, which could enhance the color purity of the resulting green and red QDs/micro-LEDs to 90.9% and 90.3%, respectively.


Exercise Testing still holds firm ground as a simple non-invasive investigative tool for the diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease. It is a commonly used technique for evaluating patients with cardiac symptoms. Exercise Testing requires appropriate patient preparation and selection. Proper history and physical examination is imperative in order to identify possible contraindications to testing and to determine pretest probability. Manual blood pressure measurements are required to assess a patients condition during the test for safety. The test should be stopped if ominous signs and/or symptoms occur. Although there are several protocols in use, ramp testing is the preferred technique. Exercise capacity has the greatest prognostic value of all responses in all patient subgroups. There is a 2-10% decrease in mortality and a 5% decrease in health care costs per MET. The Duke Treadmill Score, the drop of heart rate in recovery and the "simple angiographic predictive scores" should to be part of every exercise test report.


ABSTRACT Klemas, V., 2013. Remote sensing of coastal wetland biomass: an overview. Wetlands are highly productive and provide critical habitat to animals and plants. Coastal wetlands have been affected by human-created alterations and, more recently, by losses due to sea-level rise. To protect and restore tidal wetlands, scientists need to monitor the changes in the wetlands as the sea level continues to rise and the coastal population keeps expanding. Advances in sensor design and data-analysis techniques are making remote-sensing systems practical and cost effective for obtaining quantitative biophysical information, such as wetland extent, live aerial biomass, leaf area index, percentage of canopy closure, etc. This article reviews biomass mapping techniques and illustrates their use for wetland-change detection. The results show that analysis of satellite and aircraft data, combined with a small number of on-the-ground observations, allows researchers to map biomass and determine long-term changes in tidal marshes.


In this symposium contribution, I contend that the application of the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule in cases tried by juries raises troubling moral issues that are not present when a judge adjudicates a case on his or her own. Specifically, I argue that the exclusionary rule infringes upon jurors' deliberative autonomy by depriving them of available evidence that rationally bears upon their verdict and by instrumentalizing them in service to the Court's deterrence objectives. After considering ways in which those moral problems could be at least partially mitigated, I contend that the best approach might be to abandon the exclusionary rule entirely. I suggest that the Supreme Court might already be willing to abandon the rule, provided that Congress enacts reforms aimed at making the threat of financial liability for Fourth Amendment violations more robust. I close by identifying several ways in which Congress could help pave the way for the exclusionary rule's demise.


As national anti-doping organizations (NADOs) adopt preventative measures to complement detection-based deterrence methods, understanding coaches' attitudes toward drugs in sport will take on a new importance. This study was conducted to measure coaches' attitudes in the sport of track and field toward performance enhancing drug (PED) use and drug testing. A total of 254 track and field coaches (Age: 33.4 yrs ±9.7) completed a 51-item survey. Coaches who were certified reported they felt more knowledgeable about PED use (rs = .168, p = .004) and that they had learned about PED use and testing through the USA Track and Field (USATF) coaches education program (rs = .220, p < .001). USATF certified coaches also reported a stronger perception that the coach plays a key role in PED deterrence (rs = .158, p = .006). These findings suggest that national sport governing bodies (NGBs) like USATF have taken significant steps to educate prospective coaches on the topic of PED's and drug testing and these measures ha...


Recent work has shown the effectiveness of the word representations features in significantly improving supervised NER for the English language. In this study we investigate whether word representations can also boost supervised NER in Arabic. We use word representations as additional features in a Conditional Random Field (CRF) model and we systematically compare three popular neural word embedding algorithms (SKIP-gram, CBOW and GloVe) and six different approaches for integrating word representations into NER system. Experimental results show that Brown Clustering achieves the best performance among the six approaches. Concerning the word embedding features, the clustering embedding features outperform other embedding features and the distributional prototypes produce the second best result. Moreover, the combination of Brown clusters and word embedding features provides additional improvement of nearly 10% in F1-score over the baseline.


We have made a comparative study of the electronic and thermoelectric properties of bulk, 2D-sheet and 1D atomic wire of Silicon, using the Full Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Wave method (FP-LAPW) within the framework of DFT. The electron exchange correlation was treated with the modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential (PBmBJ) for bulk Silicon and for Si sheet and wire, the most common Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) is taken into consideration. The transport coefficients were calculated by a post DFT treatment which involved the semi-classical Boltzmann Theory as implemented in the code BoltzTraP. For Si, we observed that as we move towards lower dimensionality, the thermoelectric efficiency ZT increases significantly (bulk ~ 0.01, Si sheet ~ 1.1 and Si wire ~ 1.65 at 300 K). The increase in ZT is mostly due to the change in phase in going from higher to lower dimension, which increases the electrical conductivity and reduces the thermal conductivity. Results obtained are compared with available theoretical and experimental results.


Three-dimensional shock structures produced by Mach 1.45 supersonic bevelled jets were digitally reconstructed based on schlieren photography and a voxel-based visual hull technique. By taking advantage of the strong edge features commonly found in schlieren images of shock waves, the proposed technique demonstrates the possibility of performing shock wave reconstruction in supersonic jet applications without prior knowledge of the global density or velocity field. Semi-synthetic camera parameters were introduced as a method to circumvent camera calibration issues faced in the reconstruction procedure. This is key to achieving accurate and high-resolution reconstructed shock waves for both axisymmetric and asymmetric test cases with an average of 2.5% error when validated against raw schlieren images. When applied to bevelled jets with non-uniform nozzle exit geometries, an additional assumption was made to address the problem of schlieren line-of-sight blockage by the non-conventional nozzle, and reconstruction errors were found to be larger near regions of poorer shock wave contrast. Current results indicate that the technique is robust and fast during image calibration and processing, with accuracy of reconstructed shock waves in both conventional and non-conventional nozzles strongly dependent on shock wave contrast. Compared to existing techniques that can be used to reconstruct 3D shock structures, the proposed technique has the advantage of being totally non-intrusive as compared to point or particle-based measurements, requires significantly less computation than tomographic methods, offers high resolution reconstruction even with limited camera resolution and projected schlieren views, and is easy and cost effective to implement.


In ophthalmology, monitoring of choroid health assumes significance as various diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, tend to affect choroidal vasculature early. However, associated changes are often minute, and it remains a challenge to locate those. The traditional method, where clinicians glance through multiple 2D OCT images to make a diagnosis, is often imprecise and unreliable. Hence, it is imperative to develop technology-assisted reliable methods to detect and precisely locate minute structural changes in 3D. The present paper takes an initial step towards meeting such imperative. Specifically, we adopt a multiple target tracking approach to trace blood vessel systems of relatively large diameters belonging to Haller's layer. We obtained high accuracy in terms of Dice coefficient for synthetic images, and subsequently presented our results for clinical OCT images. Our method facilitates localization of anomalies at the scale of blood vessels, potentially revolutionizing future clinical practice.


The ability to detect and quantify beneficial surface and subsurface residual stresses, and operational damage in aerospace materials/structures in a reliable and efficient manner presents significant challenges to existing nondestructive inspection technologies. Induced Positron Analysis (IPA) has demonstrated the ability to nondestructively quantify shot peening/surface treatments and relaxation effects in single crystal superalloys, steels, titanium and aluminum with a single measurement as part of a National Science Foundation SBIR program and in projects with commercial companies. IPA measurement of surface treatment effects provides a demonstrated ability to quantitatively measure initial treatment effectiveness along with the effect of operationally induced changes over the life of the treated component. Use of IPA to nondestructively quantify surface and subsurface residual stresses in turbine engine materials and components has the potential to significantly improve the understanding at the microscale level the effects of surface coatings and treatments on the durability and fatigue life of critical components.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) has classically been treated with expensive vasodilators. Through the treatment of hypoxia-induced PHT as well as postoperative hypoxia by proxy PHT, possible alternatives in treatment have been discovered. Results of the aforementioned treatments and patient interventions have been discussed in this paper. Medications discussed individually are MgSO4, ACE inhibitors, and alpha blockers as well as their implementation in therapeutic regimens. The conclusions drawn from those largely successful interventions lead to a proposal for the development of an alternative medication for the hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension that theoretically would prove to be as inexpensive as it would be effective. Bringing together the results of the aforementioned research, this medication would consist of MgSO4, ACE Inhibitors, and alpha blockers. It is inferred that a triple therapy of the three drugs would allow for synergistic effects and reduce the side effects to a minimum. The goal would be to develop a medication that can be used for all the communities where it is needed, regardless of their medical development or financial flexibility.


This study examines the effect of spinal ibuprofen on the behavioral manifestations associated with the opioid abstinence syndrome. Rats (n = 8 per group) were infused for 5 days with morphine and then pretreated with a spinal bolus dose of ibuprofen before systemic naloxone antagonism (300 &mgr;g). Groups included ibuprofen S(+) 1.36, 13.6, and 136 nmol, and ibuprofen R(−) 136 nmol. A separate group of saline-infused rats was given ibuprofen S(+) 136 nmol before naloxone antagonism. Ibuprofen S(+), but not R(−),dose-dependently and stereospecifically blocked opioid withdrawal hyperalgesia but did not significantly alter other signs of the opioid abstinence syndrome. We conclude that hyperalgesia associated with opioid withdrawal can be blocked by spinally administered ibuprofen, and suggest that there may be a role for spinal prostaglandins in the enhancement of nociception observed in association with the opioid abstinence syndrome. Implications This study shows that spinal ibuprofen blocks opioid withdrawal hyperalgesia in the rat in a stereospecific fashion, implicating the likely release of spinal prostaglandins during withdrawal and their possible role as neuromodulators in the enhancement of nociception that accompanies this phenomenon.