: Outcomes of surgical treatment of chronic recurrent frontal sinusis (FS) using obliteration of the frontal sinuses with allobrephobone in 228 patients (190 males and 38 females aged 15-71 years) are presented. 45 of them had undergone surgery on the frontal sinuses with reestablishment of the frontonasal shunt. Obliteration consists in removal granulations and polyps from the frontal sinus through the anterior wall followed by sinus mucosa scraching and the sinus separation from the nasal cavity with filling with small pieces of formalized allobrephobone. The technique is simple, postoperative period usually uneventful.


Ionic liquid gating has a number of advantages over solid-state gating, especially for flexible or transparent devices and for applications requiring high carrier densities. However, the large number of charged ions near the channel inevitably results in Coulomb scattering, which limits the carrier mobility in otherwise clean systems. We develop a model for this Coulomb scattering. We validate our model experimentally using ionic liquid gating of graphene across varying thicknesses of hexagonal boron nitride, demonstrating that disorder in the bulk ionic liquid often dominates the scattering.


In The Kurdish identity; from Banishment to Empowerment , Ola Rifai explores one of the important manifestations of the Syrian Uprising, namely, how it has directly and indirectly influenced the manufacturing and perception of identity in Syria. Rifai focuses on the proliferation of Kurdish identities after 2011, and shows how, to a large extent, these identities were imposed from above by actors with very specific political agendas. Rifai further sheds light on how the Syrian regime interacted with these identities on the basis of security concerns, rather than on Baathist ideological principles. Various dynamics, as Rifai narrates, explain why the PYD's vision of an exclusive Kurdish identity was far more empowered than visions of Kurdish identity that were more conciliatory or more willing to remain under some type of Syrian national framework. Though all of this can be traced back to the event of the Syrian Uprising, as with other similar outcomes, the foundations for all of this are far older than the Syrian Uprising and are seemingly the result of the failure of Syrian politicians from independence onwards to address minorities, both ethnic and religious, in a manner that is genuinely inclusive.


A flexible vocabulary speech recognition system is provided for recognizing speech transmitted via the public switched telephone network. The flexible vocabulary recognition (FVR) system is a phoneme based system. The phonemes are modelled as hidden Markov models. The vocabulary is represented as concatenated phoneme models. The phoneme models are trained using Viterbi training enhanced by: substituting the covariance matrix of given phonemes by others, applying energy level thresholds and voiced, unvoiced, silence labelling constraints during Viterbi training. Specific vocabulary members, such as digits, are represented by allophone models. A* searching of the lexical network is facilitated by providing a reduced network which provides estimate scores used to evaluate the recognition path through the lexical network. Joint recognition and rejection of out-of-vocabulary words are provided by using both cepstrum and LSP parameter vectors.


The basic colour terms for black and white are studied in four archaic and two contemporary linguistic norms of the Chinese language. It is presented that studied Chinese linguistic norms use a common term for white and three different terms for black. It is suggested that the different basic colour terms for black might originate from different source languages. The study supports a panchronic language development instead of a diachronic one, and includes introductions to histories of the Chinese linguistic norms.


In the broader context of a research project about political participation on Facebook during the Portuguese electoral year of 2019 - for the European Parliament in May, and for the National Parliament in October -, a dataset of more than 9,000 posts and corresponding reactions and comments had been previously retrieved using Facepager. Participating in a data sprint came up as an opportunity to explore some specific questions in an intensive and time-bound context, using a subset of the data tailored to the purpose of discovering: 1) how differently official parties tried to engage with Facebook users before, during, and after the campaigns for the major elections periods ("supply side"), and 2) what type of content received the most attention and engagement ("demand side"). Our results show that regardless of the party's age and position in the political spectrum, the persistent main categories are "National Politics", "Fundamental Rights", and "Self-Promotion" for both elections. Also, we found that posts with images attract more attention, and apparently this may be leveraged if the textual content of the post is in topics of "National Politics". However, this finding requires further investigation. Along with details about the research during the data sprint and the main findings, this paper is also a testimony about the singularities and learnings of a process built upon the constraints of taking data sprints situa-tion as a workflow.


Dendritic cells (DCs) are capable of both antigen presentation and CD4 T cell activation. A study in this week9s issue by
 Rissoan and colleagues, discussed in the Perspective by Bottomly, now shows one way in which DCs determine the selectivity of the T cell immune response. Myeloid-like DCs produce interleukin-12, which skews T cell differentiation toward a T helper 1 (T1) response, whereas lymphoid-like DCs favor a T2 response.


In future elevated CO2 environments, chewing insects are likely to perform less well than at present because of the effects of increased carbon fixation on their host plants. When the aphid, Aulacorthum solani was reared on bean (Vicia faba) and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) plants under ambient and elevated CO2, performance was enhanced on both hosts at elevated CO2. The nature of the response was different on each plant species suggesting that feeding strategy may influence an insect's response to elevated CO2. On bean, the daily rate of production of nymphs was increased by 16% but there was no difference in development time, whereas on tansy, development time was 10% shorter at elevated CO2 but the rate of production of nymphs was not affected. The same aphid clone therefore responded differently to elevated CO2 on different host plants. This increase in aphid performance could lead to larger populations of aphids in a future elevated CO2 environment.


Cosmic Dawn II yields the first statistically meaningful determination of the relative contribution to reionization by galaxies of different halo mass, from a fully coupled radiation-hydrodynamics simulation of the epoch of reionization large enough (∼100 Mpc) to model global reionization while resolving the formation of all galactic haloes above ${\sim}10^8 \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$. Cell transmission inside haloes is bi-modal – ionized cells are transparent, while neutral cells absorb the photons their stars produce – and the halo escape fraction fesc reflects the balance of star formation rate (SFR) between these modes. The latter is increasingly prevalent at higher halo mass, driving down fesc (we provide analytical fits to our results), whereas halo escape luminosity, proportional to fesc × SFR, increases with mass. Haloes with dark matter masses within $6\times 10^{8} \, {\rm M}_{\odot }\lt M_{\rm halo}\lt 3 \times 10^{10} \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ produce ∼80 per cent of the escaping photons at z = 7, when the universe is 50 per cent ionized, making them the main drivers of cosmic reionization. Less massive haloes, though more numerous, have low SFRs and contribute less than 10 per cent of the photon budget then, despite their high fesc. High-mass haloes are too few and too opaque, contributing <10 per cent despite their high SFRs. The dominant mass range is lower (higher) at higher (lower) redshift, as mass function and reionization advance together (e.g. at z = 8.5, xH i = 0.9, $M_{\rm halo}\lt 5\times 10^9 \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$ haloes contributed ∼80 per cent). Galaxies with UV magnitudes MAB1600 between −12 and −19 dominated reionization between z = 6 and 8.


International tourism is being touted around the globe as the gold mine of the 21st century. It has become the largest industry in the world, surpassing trade in oil and arms. Today, tourism involves some 500 million vistors spending US$3000 billion and supporting nearly 130 million jobs. It accounts for nearly 10 per cent of world trade and for one out of every 15 jobs. Tourism is even more significant in most Caribbean small-island states (SSIS). It represents a third of all trade, a fourth of foreign exchange earnings, and a fifth of all jobs. In a sample of 23 CSIS (defined as having a population of less than 500,000 people) the averate ratio of visitor spending to GDP was 64 per cent (de Albuquerque and McElroy 1992).


This thesis treats entomological lidar from various angles: laboratory reference work on insects of interest, methodological development of lidar- and data processing methods, as well as field implementations of lidar techniques for entomological research. Insects are crucial components of ecosystems and are currently in a global decline. In this thesis, insects are mainly studied in their roles as disease vectors and food sources for vertebrates. However, several other feasible application avenues of entomological lidar exist and are touched upon briefly. Entomological lidar is an optical remote sensing technique in which the light scattered by insects is recorded by a sensor and the distance to each insect is derived. In classical lidar, ranging is achieved through time-of-flight detection. In this thesis the Scheimpflug- and passive lidar methods have been used, in which ranging is achieved through triangulation and geometrical optics.In the laboratory reference work, the light-scattering properties of insects were investigated. Considerable effort has been put into the study of ex-vivo and in-vivo malaria mosquitoes in search of optical properties that may enable remote species classification. These species otherwise require capture and microscope analysis by an expert to distinguish. Dragonflies have the narrowest spectral bands so far observed in nature. In this PhD work, their scattering properties were investigated and give hints regarding possible uses of these narrow bands.Methodological development has been pursued for improvement and optimization of instrumentation through simulation and laboratory reference measurements. Hyperspectral images of insects were used to motivate laser wavelength selection based on signal strength, information yield and laser availability. Raytracing was used to devise a passive lidar scheme and to optimise the geometry of Scheimpflug lidars. Data processing techniques for robust and accurate calibration of sizes, wing-beat frequencies with associated modulation spectra, flight headings and dispersal of insects in lidar data were developed.Entomological lidar techniques were applied in a number of field settings around the world. In Sweden, insect swarms at the nacelle of a wind farm were observed post sunset in weather conditions associated with high bat mortality through collision with wind farms. In China, increased insect activity was observed at the onset of heavy rain. The main crepuscular activity peak of insects was observed in the short time window with decreased predation pressure around sunset, when neither birds nor bats were active. In Africa, an extra activity peak was observed at noon among mosquitoes and other crepuscular insects during a solar eclipse. Male mosquito mating swarms were observed with consistent timing and location each day, and a highly directional dispersal of mosquitoes into a village was observed every evening.In this thesis work, peak numbers of more than a thousand insects per minute have been observed, resolved temporally and spatially at μs and cm scales, respectively, which is inconceivable with conventional entomological methods. Laboratory reference work and methodological development allow the quantification and classification of insect signals in-situ. Thereby, questions of significant ecological importance could be answered. (Less)


Abstract. Tropical forests are species‐diverse communities, but we know very little about the geographical distribution of genetic diversity within a species. During the late Pleistocene, lower temperatures and rainfall reduced the distribution of tropical wet forests, and in Central America lowland species may have been limited to riparian habitats. Approximately 12,000 years bp, temperature and rainfall increased in Central America, the distribution of wet forest species expanded, and today the distribution of some species extends into southern Mexico. The distribution of genetic diversity, based on RAPD markers, among ten populations of Poulsenia armata (Miq.) Standl. (Moraceae) suggests that these populations did not originate from a single refugium or region in the late Pleistocene. The Central American populations had high genetic diversity and unique bands giving support to the hypothesis that populations of P. armata occurred in Central American during the late Pleistocene. The majority of genetic diversity was partitioned among populations and there was no geographical relationship among populations, suggesting that these populations were isolated for a long period and there has been little gene flow. Populations of P. armata may have persisted in riparian zones along the Caribbean coast during the late Pleistocene. Given that riparian forest can support high levels of biodiversity in ecological time, and they have played an important role during periods of climate change over geological time, their conservation is of utmost importance particularly with the threat of a rapid shift in climatic patterns.


Although human intelligence has been studied by a lot of researchers, today we are still far from reaching a commonly accepted definition that merges together its main features. In the last century, the debate on intelligence focused on scholars' attempt to establish which factor plays a crucial role in determining differences in the individuals' intelligence. More specifically, researchers have compared two opposing views that involve two different factors: environment and genetics, trying to ascertain to what extent one prevails against the other. The debate stems from one of Jensen famous article in which he shows the studies himself directed on the importance of genetics in the development of the intelligence. Overcoming the idea according to which aptitude differences and progress to school are due to education, he claimed, on the basis of his researches, that the individual's level of intelligence is determined predominantly by an innate aptitude rather than by environmental conditions. In the Seventies a bitter dispute over this topic took place involving two psychologists called Hans J. Eysenck and Leon Kamin who embody two opposing point of view. The echoes of their clash still influence the nowadays speculations because the matter under dispute concerns also the social, political and even ethical field. In fact, if we assume that general cognitive ability is essentially an inherited trait, we necessarily need to accept the idea according to which it is useless to invest human and economic resources in behalf of individuals destined anyway to remain mired in their mediocrity. On the other hand, if we assume that intelligence, at least in the age of development, can be empowered by means of appropriate techniques, no alibi would still be employed by the persons who feel free to abandon their fellows to their destiny because intellectually less endowed than them. Moreover there are also scholars who, unlike many innatists, believe that the cognitive ability can be empowered not only in the age of development, but also during one individual's whole lifetime.


Crescent formation in glomerulonephritis (GN) is a manifestation of severe glomerular injury that usually results in a poor clinical outcome. In humans, crescentic GN is frequently associated with evidence of either systemic or organ-specific autoimmunity. T cells play a major role in initiation of adaptive immune responses that lead to crescentic injury. In experimental models of crescentic GN, Th1 predominant immune responses have been shown to promote crescent formation. Perturbation of regulatory T cell function may contribute to development of autoimmune crescentic GN. The presence of T cells and macrophages in crescentic glomeruli, frequently in the absence of humoral mediators of immunity, suggest a dominant effector role for T cells in crescentic GN. The association of cellular immune mediators with local fibrin deposition implicates cell-mediated "delayed-type hypersensitivity–like" mechanisms in crescent formation. Intrinsic renal cells also contribute to T cell–driven effector mechanisms in crescentic GN, via expression of MHC II and co-stimulatory molecules and by production of chemokines and cytokines that amplify leukocyte recruitment and injury. J Am Soc Nephrol 17: 1253–1263, 2006. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2005091013


ABSTRACT The United States is a diverse and heterogeneous place. Accurately organizing and mapping the U.S. into different regions based on characteristics such as wealth, race, education, language, and occupation is a complicated and arduous task. This paper demonstrates the application of affinity propagation to map socio-economic patterns and identify representative exemplars. Affinity propagation clusters data based on representative exemplars and considers all data points as potential cluster exemplars. We use socio-economic data from the United States census to cluster zip codes tabulation areas and identify representative locations of socio-economic diversity of the United States. The 11 socio-economic clusters were mapped individually and together using area-based generalization. Mapping the results illustrated distinct regionalization and historical migration trends within the United States as well as national urban/suburban/rural patterns. Future applications of this technique may be useful for data-driven socio-economic analysis and purposive sampling.


We discuss an unlabelled specimen of tetraphocomelia and bilaterally cleft lip from the former Virchow Museum of our Medical School. Identity of the subject with a case of what was later termed "Roberts syndrome" published by Rudolf Virchow in 1898 is demonstrated. Rediscovery of this important historical case is gratifying, since almost 95% of the specimens of Virchow's collection were lost during World War II. We have restudied Virchow's case. Recent CT scan images of the fetus are presented. We review data from the literature and present new clinical details. The fate of the original clinical data after passing through three reviews is documented briefly. We also reconstruct Virchow's view on phocomelia and its consequences for later research.


Idiopathic pneumopericardium (I.P.) is a rare disease which occurs in a manner etiologically different from pneumopericardium. Recently, we encountered two apparent cases of I.P. at the Department of Surgery, Aomori Rhosai Hospital. Results of observation indicated that, in case 1, diving practice in a pool was the cause of the sickness, and in case 2, the cause was severe morning sickness during pregnancy. Unlike pneumopericardium that comes from traumatism, lesions of the surrounding organs, infection iatrogenicity and the like, the present cases were diagnosed as idiopathic pneumopericardium resulting from rupture of a number of alveoli due to transitory abnormal increase in Valsalva maneuver at expiration.


Abstract: This study was undertaken to articulate program impact theory for the Comprehensive Home Option of Integrated Care for the Elderly (CHOICE) program. The study showed that CHOICE combines elements found in a traditional health maintenance organization with elements and process components drawn from primary care and case management to deliver a broad range of home support, day program, and social and health services to its participants and their informal caregivers. In doing so, the program provides participants with a level of comprehensive, coordinated care not possible within the traditional communitybased health and social service delivery system.


In order to comply with a current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency watershed-based National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, the City of Albuquerque required a better understanding of the rainfall-runoff processes in its small urban watersheds. That requirement prompted the initiation of the assessment of three existing watershed models that were developed to simulate those processes. Three existing rainfall-runoff modeling software packages—Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modeling System (HECHMS) (using two sets of methods), Program for Predicting Polluting Particle Passage Through Pits, Puddles, and Ponds (P8), and Arid-Lands Hydrologic Model (AHYMO)—were compared to determine which provided the best balance of accuracy and usability for simulating storm runoff in small watersheds in the urbanized area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Additionally, results of this study could help inform model users who have interest in simulating storm runoff in similar urban areas throughout the United States. Each model was used to simulate storm runoff in the Hahn Arroyo watershed, an urbanized watershed with concrete-lined arroyo channels in the northeastern quadrant of Albuquerque that exhibits flashy, monsoonal-driven storm runoff. Model results were compared to observed discharge data, according to literature-recommended performance measures and performance evaluation criteria. The HEC-HMS model using the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) and SCS unit hydrograph methods ranked the highest when averaging the individual performance measures (Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency, percent bias, and coefficient of determination) rankings together across the hourly calibration and validation periods, followed by P8, which was tied with the HEC-HMS initial and constant approach. For daily rankings using the same rank-averaging approach, the HEC-HMS CN-based model and P8 were tied for the highest ranking, followed by the HEC-HMS initial and constant approach. Alternatively, rating performance using validation period results as an 1U.S. Geological Survey. 2U.S. Department of Agriculture. indication of the expected confidence in forecasted results for future conditions, the P8 model performed best for both hourly and daily time-steps, followed by the HEC-HMS CN-based model and the HEC-HMS initial and constant-based model. However, based on the literature performance evaluation criteria, the HEC-HMS and P8 models overall had marginally satisfactory performance only for operation at the daily time-step. Direct comparison of the HEC-HMS and P8 models to the AHYMO is difficult, given the different performance assessment criteria used to assess these models separately in this study, as recommended by the literature. The AHYMO results generally lacked precision, given the wide range in the performance assessment values across events in percent error in peak discharge, difference in timing of peak discharge, percent error in total runoff volume, and difference in duration of event relative to observed data. For some events, however, the AHYMO results were fairly accurate, and AHYMO was likely a good predictor of the timing of storm runoff and the shape of the hydrograph. This study did not assess the results for all potential applications of the models in the Albuquerque urbanized area. Further study may be required to assess the model performance capabilities in other modeling applications.


In hematological morphology, it is necessary to resolve and analyze the smallest possible cellular details appearing in the light microscope. A prerequisite for computer-aided analysis of subtle morphological features is measuring the cells at a high scanning density with high magnification and high numerical aperture optics. Contrary to visual observations, the information content in a measured picture can be increased by setting the condensor's numerical aperture (NA) greater than the objective's NA. The complexity and heterogeneity of such cell images necessitate a new segmentation method that conserves the morphological information required in the subsequent image analysis, feature extraction, and cell classification. In our segmentation strategy, characteristic color difference thresholds for each nucleus and cytoplasm are combined with geometric operations, probability functions, and a cell model. All thresholds are repeatedly recalculated during the successive improvements of the image masks. None of the thresholds are fixed. This strategy segments blood cell images containing touching cells and large variations in staining, texture, size, and shape. Biological inconsistencies in the calculated cell masks are eliminated by comparing each mask with the cell model criteria integrated into the entire segmentation process. All 20,000 leukocyte images from 120 smears in our leukemia project were segmented with this method.


CV.Permata is a child store with the name of Nikita Baby Shop. CV. Permata located in Gotong Royong street No. 25E, Babat Lamongan. In 2015, sales of CV. Permata instability.CV. Permata must be expanding their sales to get more profit. Based on interviews, CV. Permata do not want to using social media such as facebook and instagram to selling their products. The shortage of facebook and instagram, customers got difficult to booking the products. Of the CV. Permata problem, CV. Permata need online shop application that have add to cart features, product catalogue features, best seller report, most buyer report, product stock report, etc. With this application is expected to provide information data member, best seller report, most buyer report, product stock report with the aim of providing information to help CV.Permata sales.


The design of ion optics for bombardment thrusters strongly influences overall performance and lifetime. The operation of a 30-cm thruster with accelerator grid open area fractions ranging from 43 to 24 percent, was evaluated and compared with previously published experimental and theoretical results. Ion optics properties measured included the beam current extraction capability, the minimum accelerator grid voltage to prevent backstreaming, ion beamlet diameter as a function of radial position on the grid and accelerator grid hole diameter, and the high energy, high angle ion beam edge location. Discharge chamber properties evaluated were propellant utilization efficiency, minimum discharge power per beam amp, and minimum discharge voltage.


People with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome, caused by mutations in the SHANK3 gene, commonly present with symptoms of sensory hyporeactivity. To investigate how shank3 mutations impact brain circuits and contribute to sensory hyporeactivity, we generated two shank3 zebrafish mutant models. These shank3 mutant models both exhibit hyporeactivity to visual stimuli. Using whole-brain activity mapping, we show that light receptive brain nuclei show normal levels of activity while sensorimotor integration and motor regions are less active in shank3-/- mutants. Specifically rescuing Shank3 in a sensorimotor nucleus of the rostral brainstem is sufficient to rescue shank3-/- mutant hyporeactivity. In summary, reduced sensory responsiveness in shank3-/- mutant is associated with reduced activity across the brain and can be rescued by restoring Shank3 function in the rostral brainstem.


Introduction Depression is one of the most common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The prevalence rates vary widely according to the diagnostic criteria. However, in Korea, there are very few epidemiologic data concerning the prevalence of depression in PD. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of depression and factors influencing depression in patients with PD. Methods Newly diagnosed 252 consecutive PD patients were included and followed as part of an ongoing PD registry. PD was diagnosed according to the United Kingdom brain bank diagnostic criteria. 79 PD patients fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for major depression. The UPDRS motor score was checked at the best "on" period to assess the clinical severity of PD. We compared the clinical data between depressive (DP, n=79) and non-depressive (NDP, n=173) groups. Results The prevalence rate of depression in PD was 31.3% in this study. There was no difference in age (DP: 62.3±2.5, NDP: 59.8±2.7 yrs), age of disease onset (DP: 52.0±3.7 yrs, NDP: 54.7±3.8 yrs), UPDRS motor scores (DP: 36.2±5.6, NDP: 33.8±3.7) and Hoehn and Yahr stage (DP: 3.34±0.52, NDP: 2.91±0.63) between two groups. Conclusion There was no significant difference in clinical features between DP and NDP groups in this study. These results suggest that depression in PD is not influenced the severity of motor symptoms and that non-dopaminergic neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and acetylcholine, at least associated with the pathophysiology of depression in PD.


S cientists love subjecting mat ter to extreme conditions. And the variable of pressure, at its high end, is perhaps the most interesting one to explore for both chemistry and physics. For although we can estimate the (very short) lifetimes of molecules at temperatures of the sun, and what chemistry might transpire at a nano kelvin or in a vacuum "higher" than that of outer space, the realm of high pressure, such as that at the center of a planet, gives us pause. The behavior of matter under high pressure is just not obvious, and this makes it fun to explore. No, it's not sadism, just curiosity. Other motiva tions? It's impossible to probe directly the core of Earth or Saturn; could we do it in the lab or on a computer? Also, predicting the behavior of matter un der extreme conditions is a great test of whether we really do understand what's going on. Let me tell you about some remark able goings on in the world of high pressure.


ABSTRACT Ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (ARE) and vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VRE) are important nosocomial pathogens. We quantified effects of probiotics and antibiotics on intestinal acquisition of ARE colonization in patients hospitalized in two non-intensive care unit (non-ICU) wards with high ARE prevalence. In a prospective cohort study with crossover design, all patients with a length of stay of >48 h were offered a multispecies probiotic product twice daily until discharge (4.5 months, intervention period) or not (4.5 months, control period). Perianal ARE carriage was determined <48 h after admission, twice weekly, and <48 h before discharge. The first isolates were genotyped by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Risk factors for acquisition were determined by Cox proportional hazards modeling, with special emphasis on ecological postantibiotic effects and delays between actual acquisition and culture positivity. Of 530 patients included, 94 (18%) were ARE colonized on admission. Of the remaining 436 noncolonized patients, 92 acquired ARE colonization: 28 (25%) of 110 probiotic users and 64 (20%) of 326 control patients (χ2 test, P = 0.325). In all, 661 ARE strains were isolated from 186 patients, of which 186 were genotyped. In both wards, two MLVA types (MTs; MT1 and MT159) were responsible for >80% of acquisitions. Both MTs were genetically different from the probiotic E. faecium strain. Antibiotics to which ARE is resistant (hazard ratio [HR], 7.73 [95% confidence interval (CI), 4.52 to 13.22]), an ecological postantibiotic effect (HR, 7.11 [95% CI, 3.10 to 16.30]), and age (HR, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.99 to 1.02]) were associated with ARE acquisition. The HR of probiotics was 1.43 (95% CI, 0.88 to 2.34). In a setting with high selective antibiotic pressure, probiotics failed to prevent acquisition of multiresistant enterococci.


ABSTRACT This study analyzed the influence of rhetoric in the endorsement text on the willingness of the crowd to participate in citizen science projects. Four categories of endorsers were studied: professors, students, industrial researchers, and amateur researchers. Using 1243 endorsement texts from 543 citizen science projects as the corpus, the effects of the standalone techniques (ethos, pathos, and logos) and mixed-rhetoric techniques of persuasion were examined empirically. The results informed that pathos and logos had significant advantages over ethos. Taking a mixed-rhetoric approach to the endorsement text with a mix of pathos (55%) and logos (45%) maximized the appeal of citizen science projects, and the influence of this approach had an inverted U-shaped effect. On the identity of the endorsers, the professors, students, and amateur researchers shared a similar rhetorical approach, while the industrial researchers shared another. However, from the influence of endorsement rhetorical strategies, the impact of amateur researchers was consistent with that of the industrial researchers (both pathos and logos were positive); and professors (only logos was positive) and students (only pathos was positive) reveal some differences. Finally, endorsement rhetoric strategies exerted a greater influence on the humanities and social science projects than on the natural science projects.


In this paper a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of different deviation methods for Near Earth Objects is presented. Specifically, solar collector, nuclear interceptor, kinetic impactor, low-thrust propulsion, mass driver and gravity tug are modelled and compared. For each method, a mathematical model is developed in order to compute the achievable deviation. A multi-criteria optmization method is then used to construct the set of Pareto optimal solutions, minimizing the mass of the spacecraft at departure from the Earth and the warning time, i.e., the time from launch to the foreseen impact of the asteroid with the Earth, while at the same time maximizing the deviation. A dominance criterion is defined and used to compare all the Pareto sets for all the various mitigation strategies. Finally a Technology Readiness Level factor is associated to each strategy in order to estimate the required technological development.


The simple models of shelf circulation components discussed so far were based on the coastal constraint assumption and longshore uniformity. This is clearly restrictive: how far from shore the coastal constraint is valid is itself one of the important questions in shelf dynamics. A longshore sea-level gradient constant in space and time is evidently not a realistic assumption over larger pieces of the coastline. The focus of much recent work on shelf dynamics has been on determining the mechanism that allows longshore sea-level gradients to exist along open shelves, and the distribution of such gradients. The excitement of finding answers to such questions is still fresh for those of us involved in the exercise.


Due to the complexity of biological data that can be collected, modeled and analyzed thanks to technological and algorithmic advancements, the difficulty in studying biological networks has increased over the last decades. Visualization provides an efficient way to help biologists understand, communicate, and gain insight into their biological data through visual exploration and analysis. In this dissertation, I propose a set of visual approaches for the analysis of ensemble dynamic biological networks. This set of approaches took shape through the development of multiple prototype visual analytics tools which were aimed to solve complex problems in multiple biological subdomains. The steering of the approach was supported through an in-depth understanding of both the encompassing biological domains and problem space, as well through a survey of existing visual approaches helping to generalize the paradigms used when confronting these problems and the complexity of their data.


Periods of high soil wetness promote anaerobic processes such as iron (Fe) reduction within soil microsites, with implications for organic matter decomposition, the fate of pollutants, and nutrient cycling. Here we discuss potential Fe reduction rates emerging from an interplay between the timescales of the internal reactions (Fe oxidation and reduction) and external forcings (length of oxic vs. anoxic conditions), and under no organic substrate and microbial population limitations. We compute the upper bound on Fe reduction and the theoretical maximum reduction rate, which would be reached under "resonant conditions," whereby the timescales of external forcings match the internal timescales of the redox reactions. The variability of soil oxygen is then linked to rainfall frequency and intensity through soil moisture dynamics, allowing us to determine the hydroclimatic conditions that generate oxic/anoxic cycles that most favor Fe reduction. These predictions are applied to an aseasonal tropical (Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA) and a seasonal subtropical (Calhoun, SC, USA) humid forests. We show that the tropical site maintains a high potential for Fe reduction throughout the year, due to rapid and frequent transitions between predicted oxic and anoxic microsite conditions, with a potential to reduce up to 1,800 mmol kg−1 soil of Fe per year, while a less humid and seasonal climate in the subtropical site limits maximum reduction rates to 60 mmol kg−1 year−1. This analysis paves the way for a global identification of hot spots of potential Fe reduction using readily available hydroclimatic observations.


In this paper, an optimal linear-time algorithm is presented to solve the haplotype inference problem for pedigree data when there are no recombinations and the pedigree has no mating loops. The approach is based on the use of graphs to capture SNP, Mendelian, and parity constraints of the given pedigree. This representation allows us to capture the constraints as the edges in a graph, rather than as a system of linear equations as in previous approaches. Graph traversals are then used to resolve the parity of these edges, resulting in an optimal running time.


Introduction: Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) are used as part of standard treatment for advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). The mechanisms behind the antiproliferative action of SSAs remain largely unknown, but a connection with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway has been suggested. Our purpose was to evaluate the activation status of the AKT/mTOR pathway in advanced metastatic NETs and identify biomarkers of response to SSA therapy. Patients and methods: Expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), phosphorylated (p)-AKT(Ser473), and p-S6(Ser240/244) was evaluated using immunohistochemistry in archival paraffin samples from 23 patients. Expression levels were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and progression-free survival under treatment with SSAs. Results: A positive association between p-AKT and p-S6 expression was identified (P = 0.01) and higher expression of both markers was observed in pancreatic NETs. AKT/mTOR activation was observed without the loss of PTEN expression. Tumors showing AKT/mTOR signaling activation progressed faster when treated with SSAs: higher expression of p-AKT or p-S6 predicted a median progression-free survival of 1 month vs 26.5 months for lower expression (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Constitutive activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway was associated with shorter time-to-progression in patients undergoing treatment with SSAs. Larger case series are needed to validate whether p-AKT(Ser473) and p-S6(Ser240/244) can be used as prognostic markers of response to therapy with SSAs.


Considers the light thrown on values by cybernetics, the systems science which deals with goal‐directed behaviour. Values function as criteria which govern goals at various levels of organization. Higher level values influence the relevance and availability of options for choice. Purposive systems are enabled by negative feedback to liberate outputs, to some degree, from random or contingent factors, so that relative constancy of action towards goals can be maintained over time. Such relative freedom is vital for life, but depends on an enabling organization. Such an account points to possibilities for a more objective account of the nature and role of human values, with implications for epistemology, ethics and the philosophy of mind. Also suggests that, in a politically free society, the structure of authority must be a function of the needs and goals of the individuals within it.


This Article looks at the recent experience in Ireland with Social Partnership, placing it in the context of the European Employment Strategy and in particular its Adaptability Pillar. It reflects on how the Irish model of Social Partnership evolved, its contribution to recent economic and social progress, the elements of recent partnership agreements, and the strengths and weaknesses of the model. It notes how the four sets of National Agreements have underpinned much of the recent progress in Ireland and, as negotiations currently get under way on a fifth Agreement, identifies some of the key issues and new challenges faced by the negotiators in an Ireland very much changed since the process was launched in 1987.


A member of the Ascaris inhibitor family exhibiting anti-cathepsin G and anti-chymotrypsin activity was purified from the larval hemolymph of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Three forms of the inhibitor, designated AMCI 1-3, were isolated using gel filtration and anion-exchange chromatographies followed by reverse-phase HPLC. The amino-acid analyses indicated that AMCI-1 and AMCI-2 have an identical composition whereas AMCI-3 is shorter by two residues (Thr, Arg). All three forms contain as many as 10 cysteine residues and lack tryptophan, tyrosine, and histidine. The sequence of the isoinhibitors showed that the major form (AMCI-1) consisting of 56 amino-acid residues was a single-chain protein of molecular mass 5972 Da, whereas the other two forms were two-chain proteins with a very high residue identity. The AMCI-2 appeared to be derived from AMCI-1, as a result of the Lys24-Thr25 peptide bond splitting, while AMCI-3 was truncated at its N-terminus by the dipeptide Thr25-Arg26. The association constants for the binding of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin to all purified forms of the inhibitor were high and nearly identical, ranging from 4.8 x 10(10) M-1 for AMCI-1 to 2.7 x 10(9) M-1 for AMCI-3. The sensitivity of cathepsin G to inhibition by each inhibitor was different. Only the association constant for the interaction of this enzyme with AMCI-1 was high (2 x 10(8) M-1) whereas those for AMCI-2 and AMCI-3 were significantly lower, and appeared to be 3.7 x 10(7) M-1 and 4.5 x 10(6) M-1, respectively. The reactive site of the inhibitor, as identified by cathepsin G degradation and chemical modification, was found to be at Met30-Gln31. A search in the Protein Sequence Swiss-Prot databank revealed a significant degree of identity (44%) between the primary structure of AMCI and the trypsin isoinhibitor from Ascaris sp (ATI). On the basis of the cysteine residues alignment, the position of the reactive site as well as some sequence homology, the cathepsin G/chymotrypsin inhibitor from larval hemolymph of the honey bee may be considered to be a member of the Ascaris inhibitor family.


Sugarcane flower control studies were conducted with Paraquat, gibberellic acid (GA) and sodium meta-silicate (Si) applied as foliar sprays just prior to the period of floral initiation. The test clone, C.P. 52-43, blooms heavily in southern Puerto Rico and initiates flower primordia about September 10. The primary objective was to determine whether flowering could be prevented by physiologically removing the apical meristem, with a growth stimulant such as GA, rather than by destruction of the green top, as by treatment with a desiccant such as Paraquat. Secondary objectives included comparisons of growth and sugar responses to GA and Paraquat, and to determine whether Si, believed to act as a buffer against physiological extremes, possessed anti-flowering activity. Two experiments were conducted simultaneously in a field of 7-months old, first-ratoon cane at Central Mercedita, Ponce. Each experiment was given identical spray applications of GA and Si; in addition, one experiment received Paraquat superimposed over all plots shortly after the GA and Si applications were complete. Aqueous GA, 0.01 percent active material, was applied with knapsack sprayers to 1/1000-acre plots in volumes equal to 300 gallons per acre. Si was similarly applied at the level of 500 p.p.m. Treatments also included GA and Si combined in one solution. Paraquat was applied by aircraft at the rate of 0.5 pint per acre in 8 gallons of water per acre. GA and Si treatments were given on August 22 and repeated on August 29. Paraquat was applied once on September 1. The following results were obtained: 1. Flower counts taken on December 27 showed that GA given alone was the most effective treatment, reducing flowering rates to 0.02 percent. Paraquat reduced flowering to about one-third of control levels. Si had no effect by itself, but reduced the effectiveness of GA when the two agents were combined. 2. Total green weights, stalk weights, and internode lengths were increased by GA. Each parameter was decreased by Paraquat. Si given alone appeared to increase total green weight and stalk weight but the responses were not statistically significant. The primary effect of Si in combination with GA and Paraquat was to reduce the degree of growth stimulation by the hormone, and to lessen the growth suppression by the desiccant. 3. Sugar production was increased by GA and decreased by Paraquat. Paraquat also lessened the degree and duration of positive GA effects. Si had little effect on sugar as a lone entity but produced a buffering effect against relative sugar extremes as it did for growth extremes. 4. Early Paraquat injury to leaves, and hence to sugar-forming mechanisms, appeared to be more than compensated after about 2 months. Tonnage losses due to the foliar injury appeared to be permanent. 5. GA growth stimulation was followed by a reversion to less than normal growth. This growth reversion detracted from the total growth increases that otherwise might have been achieved. It was proposed that growth decline could be lessened with Si given as a delayed or follow-up treatment after GA. 6. Present evidence is consistent with the view that sugarcane flowering can be prevented more effectively by stimulating the apical meristem, at the critical period of flower initiation, than by destroying foliate essential for maximum growth and sugar production.


Borealin, and the kinase Aurora B, contributes to the activation of the mitotic checkpoint. The regulation of CPC function remains un-clear. Here, we reveal that in addition to Survivin and Borealin, the single α -helix (SAH) domain of INC ENP supports CPC localization to chromatin and the mitotic checkpoint. The INC ENP SAH domain also mediates INC ENP's microtubule binding, which is negatively regulated by Cyclin-dependent kinase–mediated phosphorylation of segments flanking the SAH domain. The microtubule-binding capacity of the SAH domain is important for mitotic arrest in conditions of suppressed microtubule dynamics, and the duration of mitotic arrest dictates the probability, but not the timing, of cell death. Although independent targeting of INC ENP to microtubules or the kinetochore/centromere promotes the mitotic checkpoint, it is insufficient for a robust mitotic arrest. Altogether, our results demonstrate that dual recognition of chromatin and microtubules by CPC is important for checkpoint maintenance and determination of cell fate in mitosis.


Technology keeps improving and people keep requesting for safety and comfort. If we consider in transportation domain, the number of vehicles is increasing every day. Their popularity brings many problems in areas of safety and also environment. Therefore, there are many researchers working in this domain to find solutions on how they can improve safety, comfort in people''s life and reduce pollution. There are many existing solutions in inter vehicle communication system and intelligent transportation system. However, there are still some areas that require improvement. This work, we focus on data management level rather than network level. Our goal is to collect all events and then aggregate them together in order to reduce data storage size, package transfer size and response time to driver''s queries; and finally to control the exchange aggregated data process between vehicles. To solve these problems, we implemented an aggregation simulator by using a proposed aggregation data structure; and data that was generated by VESPA (Vehicular Event Sharing with a mobile P2P Architecture) parking simulator.


This article's primary objective is to unfold how teachers translate education for sustainable development (ESD) in a school context. The article argues that exploring tensions, ruptures and openings apparent in this meeting is crucial for the development of existing teaching practices in relation to ESD. The article draws on doctoral research involving interviews with researchers and teachers who have collaborated in ESD research and development projects at primary and secondary schools in two different countries, Denmark and Ireland. It is the teachers' perspectives on the projects which form the analytical foundation; thus, it is the practices as seen from the 'inside'. Furthermore, ESD practices are considered in a broader societal perspective, pointing to the critical power of the practice lens.


Abstract : The HHT analysis interprets wave nonlinearity in terms of frequency modulation instead of harmonic generation. The resulting spectrum energy concentrates in the neighborhood of the fundamental frequency in comparison with the FFT or wavelet spectrum. The energy flux computation from the HHT spectrum is considerably larger than with the FFT or wavelet spectrum.


This paper provides insight into some important features of the intergenerational resource allocation in Korea, before and after the financial crisis in 1997-98. Data sets of three periods before and after the financial crisis (1996, 2000, and 2005) were used to compare the results. This research particularly addresses two related issues: i) the generational effects of economic crisis, and ii) the capacity of age reallocation systems to spread economic risks across generations. The results show tremendous consumption smoothing and resource reallocation by age, during and after the financial crisis. Private education and private health consumption decreased for children between 1996 and 2000. However, the decrease in private education and private health consumption was mitigated by the increase in public consumption. It appears that the public sector did not only mitigate the adverse impact of the economic crisis on consumption, but it also reduced the widening disparity amongst generations. Within transfers, the public transfers for the elderly increased substantially as the private transfers decreased rapidly. Finally, there was a big increase in the asset-based reallocation of the elderly. The increase in asset-based reallocation was mainly due to an increase in asset income between 1996 and 2000, but it was almost entirely due to a decrease in saving (i.e. an increase in dissaving) between 2000 and 2005. This suggests that Korean elderly seemed to have some degree of supporting system during the crisis, even without sufficient pension benefits. The increased reliance on asset accumulation will be critical in the long-run in Korea, as public pension funds diminish due to population aging.


A great amount of research has been performed during the last 10 years focusing on forward osmosis (FO) processes. The main driving force is to find an effective and low energy demanding methodology for water recovery as well as up-concentration of valuable products. Nevertheless, the energetic and financial benefits of this technology can be undermined from the fact that FO should be usually coupled with reverse osmosis (RO) for subsequent water purification and draw solution regeneration. Hence, a different approach was applied in order to omit the RO step. Crude glycerol and enzymatically pretreated wheat straw, which are common 2 nd generation biorefinery feedstocks, have been evaluated as possible draw solution. In this way, water can be directly recovered and transferred back into the fermentation loop without further purification. Applying the Aquaporin Inside TM Forward Osmosis system, crude glycerol and wheat straw hydrolysate have demonstrated water fluxes up to 10.5 L/m 2 /h and 5.37 L/m 2 /h, respectively. Furthermore, economic analysis of FO coupled with bioprocessing has demonstrated that substantial financial cost reduction regarding the product recovery can be achieved. All in all, this novel approach can be applied for both water recovery and up-concentration of soluble products in the fermentation broth and presents a great potential within biorefineries.


The time over threshold (TOT) method has been recently proposed as a signal processing method used to calculate time and energy information by measuring the pulse arrival time and pulse duration over a preset threshold. Although TOT has been reported as an effective method for front end readout in PET applications, it has several limitations, including its non-linearity, lower dynamic range, and a trade-off between energy resolution and coincidence resolving time (CRT). In this study, we propose a novel design we developed to improve performance with regard to these problems occurring in the conventional TOT by employing a bipolar signal and two comparators. Using a high frequency CR shaping filter, a detected signal was converted into a bipolar signal, and the positive pulse of the converted bipolar signal had a fast rising time, while the negative pulse had a linear slope. The bipolar TOT circuit was composed of a preamplifier, a CR shaping filter, and two comparators. The PET detector was composed of a single LYSO coupled with 4  ×  4 SiPM arrays, a bipolar TOT circuit, and an FPGA based TDC. And this was constructed to evaluate the performance of the proposed bipolar TOT method. A 16-ch PET detector module consisting of a 4  ×  4 array LYSO coupled to a 4  ×  4 SiPM arrays, an Anger logic discretized positioning circuit, and a 4-ch bipolar TOT circuit was also constructed to evaluate the functionality of the bipolar TOT method for PET applications. The pulse height resolution and CRT were measured using both the bipolar TOT method and the conventional TOT method. While the bipolar TOT method provided a similar pulse height resolution (10.4%  ±  0.1%), the integral non-linearity (1.4%) and CRT (168  ±  4 ps) measured using the bipolar TOT method were greatly improved compared to those (17.2% and 258  ±  15 ps, respectively) measured with the conventional TOT method. The positions of the crystals were clearly identified, as seen in the flood histogram acquired using the 4-ch bipolar TOT circuit. The measured average pulse height resolution and average CRT for the 16-ch detector module were 11.5%  ±  0.2% and 516  ±  24 ps. The results obtained in this study indicate that the bipolar TOT method requiring a relatively small number of electronic components could effectively improve the CRT, linearity and dynamic range. Furthermore, they also demonstrated the extendibility allowing the development of a PET system that consists of a large number of detectors.


The determination of the Stark broadening parameters of Sn ions is useful for astrophysicists interested in the determination of the density of electrons in stellar atmospheres. In this paper, we report on the calculated values of the Stark broadening parameters for 171 lines of Sn iii arising from 4d105sns (n= 6–9), 4d105snp (n= 5, 6), 4d105p2, 4d105snd (n= 5–7), 4d105s4f and 4d105s5g. Stark linewidths and line shifts are presented for an electron density of 1023 m−3 and temperatures T= 11 000–75 000 K. These have been calculated using a semi-empirical approach, with a set of wavefunctions obtained from Hartree–Fock relativistic calculations, including core polarization effects. The results obtained have been compared with available experimental data. These can be used to consider the influence of Stark broadening effects in A-type stellar atmospheres.


Abstract The clinical effects of testosterone in women have expanded from the field of androgen excess to consideration of testosterone action and the consequences of depletion and replacement. This article is not a comprehensive review of the vast and increasing literature in this field. Rather, it summarizes some of what is known of testosterone in women that the author elected to highlight in a plenary lecture and is hopefully informative, but not to be considered conclusive.


The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that physical activity (PA), measured over a period of 23 years, is beneficial to aerobic fitness (VO2max) in boys and girls (13-36 years) who were enrolled in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study (AGAHLS). PA was measured using a standardized activity interview. VO2max was assessed directly with a maximal running test on a treadmill. To assess the longitudinal relationship between PA and VO2max, different longitudinal analyses were carried out over different age periods, correcting for various confounders such as lifestyle parameters, biological parameters, and initial VO2max. Highly significant relationships (p .05). Analysis of the data of PA and VO2max from the AGAHLS population does not fully support the hypothesis...


ABSTRACT From June to October of 2002, a cluster of Escherichia coli isolates producing extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) was detected in Stockholm. The isolates were grouped into two clones, one of which had already circulated in the same area before the outbreak. CTX-M-type ESBLs and coresistance to ciprofloxacin were identified in the strains.


Imparting biological realism during the learning process is gaining attention towards producing computationally efficient algorithms without compromising the performance. Feedback alignment and mirror neuron concept are two such approaches where the feedback weight remains static in the former and update via Hebbian learning in the later. Though these approaches have proven to work efficiently for supervised learning, it remained unknown if the same can be applicable to reinforcement learning applications. Therefore, this study introduces RHebb-DFA where the reward-based Hebbian learning is used to update feedback weights in direct feedback alignment mode. This approach is validated on various Atari games and obtained equivalent performance in comparison with DDQN.


Stance detection in fake news is an important component in news veracity assessment because this process helps fact-checking by understanding stance to a central claim from different information sources. The Fake News Challenge Stage 1 (FNC-1) held in 2017 was setup for this purpose, which involves estimating the stance of a news article body relative to a given headline. This thesis starts from the error analysis for the three top-performing systems in FNC-1. Based on the analysis, a simple but tough-to-beat Multilayer Perceptron system is chosen as the baseline. Afterwards, three approaches are explored to improve baseline.The first approach explores the possibility of improving the prediction accuracy by adding extra keywords features when training a model, where keywords are converted to an indicator vector and then concatenated to the baseline features. A list of keywords is manually selected based on the error analysis, which may best reflect some characteristics of fake news titles and bodies. To make this selection process automatically, three algorithms are created based on Mutual Information (MI) theory: keywords generator based on MI stance class, MI customised class, and Pointwise MI algorithm. The second approach is based on word embedding, where word2vec model is introduced and two document similarities calculation algorithms are implemented: wor2vec cosine similarity and WMD distance. The third approach is ensemble learning. Different models are configured together with two continuous outputs combining algorithms. The 10-fold cross validation reveals that the ensemble of three neural network models trained from simple bag-of-words features gives the best performance. It is therefore selected to compete in FNC-1. After hyperparameters fine tuning, the selected deep ensemble model beats the FNC-1 winner team by a remarkable 34.25 marks under FNC-1's evaluation metric.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the morphologic and the morphometrical features of spindles in biopsies of patients with different types of muscular dystrophy and investigate the possible involvement of the spindle in the pathologic process of these diseases.

STUDY DESIGN
The following variables were studied in biopsy specimens from 10 patients with Duchenne or Becker dystrophy, 9 with limb-girdle dystrophy, 3 with congenital dystrophy and 3 with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy: diameter and area of spindle; thickness of the capsule; number, diameter and area of intrafusal fibers; and number and area of nuclei.

RESULTS
The statistical evaluation of the data showed significant differences regarding the thickness of the capsule, which was greater in patients than in controls, while the diameter and the area of the fibers were all smaller in patients than in controls. The area of nuclei of fibers was increased; this was a common feature for all types of muscular dystrophy.

CONCLUSION
These findings indicate that the spindle possibly participates in the pathologic process of different types of muscular dystrophies.


Question and answer generation (QAG) consists of generating a set of question-answer pairs given a context (e.g. a paragraph). This task has a variety of applications, such as data augmentation for question answering (QA) models, information retrieval and education. In this paper, we establish baselines with three different QAG methodologies that leverage sequence-to-sequence language model (LM) fine-tuning. Experiments show that an end-to-end QAG model, which is computationally light at both training and inference times, is generally robust and outperforms other more convoluted approaches. However, there are differences depending on the underlying generative LM. Finally, our analysis shows that QA models fine-tuned solely on generated question-answer pairs can be competitive when compared to supervised QA models trained on human-labeled data.


A 16-year-old boy with hyperornithinemia-hyperammonemia-homocitrullinuria (HHH) syndrome was reported. He was the second child of first-cousin consanguineous parents. Since childhood, he was mentally retarded and had frequent episodes of vomiting but no unconsciousness attack. Because of progressive gait disturbance since the age of 15, he was admitted to Kyushu University Hospital. Neurological examination revealed mental defect and spastic paraparesis with bilateral positive pathological reflexes. Moreover, severe muscle atrophy and moderate weakness were observed in the distal portion of lower extremities. The diagnosis of HHH syndrome was made by the examination of amino acids in the serum and urine and by the incorporation study of radioactive ornithine into cultured fibroblasts. EMG and nerve biopsy studies suggested that the muscle atrophy seen in this patient was caused by the degeneration of spinal anterior horn cells. Amino acid imbalance, especially elevation of glutamine and glutamic acid in the CSF, may cause dysfunction of neuronal system including anterior horn cells.


Current status and prospects of ex situ cultivation and conservation of plants in China Hongwen Huang, Zheng Zhang South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650 Abstract: This review paper summarizes the history of plant introduction and acclimatization in China, and reviews the current status and progress of plant ex situ conservation. Overall, a total of 23,340 species belonging to 3,633 genera, and 396 families are maintained in botanical gardens, whereas 412,000 accessions of 1,890 crop or crop relatives species are preserved in Chinese national crop germplasm banks and 54,000 accessions of 7,271 wild plants in Chinese germplasm bank of wild species. The paper also discussed problems and challenges in plant ex situ conservation and outlooked further development in future: (1) initiation of "Ex situ Cultivated Flora of China project"; (2) development of integrating research of ex situ and in situ plant conservation; (3) enhancing research in ex situ conservation theory and methodology for endemic plants of China; (4) facilitating restoration and recovery of rare and endangered plants into wild on basis of ex situ conservation; and (5) strengthening evaluation and utilization of economic important plants.


Recent development of various dietary supplements after enforcement of "Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)" in the USA enabled better availability of the products through the Internet in Japan as well. Because of differences in the definitions of the term "dietary supplement" and drug control laws between the USA and Japan, health risks due to uncontrolled use of a drug-based foreign dietary supplement without a medical doctor's advice, and side effects due to co-administration of any problematic supplements with prescription drugs has become a problem in Japan. Classes of typical dietary supplements, the method of distribution, and known problems during use or overuse of these products with prescription drugs are discussed. Several recent positive cases are known to be due to the use of contaminated food supplements, which were sold not only to athletes but also to the general public as memory enhancing or anti-aging drugs. These phenomena indicate that trends in drug use in sports and in society becoming increasingly similar.


A 38-year-old woman had papillary carcinoma of the thyroid when surgery for adenomatous goiter was performed 20 years after treatment of hyperthyroidism with sodium iodide I-131. To our knowledge, this is the ninth reported case of microscopically proved cancer following such therapy, and it is the one with the longest interval since treatment. (auth)


A new concise synthesis route of 2-phenylbenzo[b]thiophen-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide from benzo[b]thiophen-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide was developed using palladium-catalyzed C(sp3)-H arylation. Compared with the traditional route, this protocol can effectively save many steps and combine with the current research hotspot, C(sp3)-H activation. Moreover, this catalytic system is easy to operate and a good yield can be achieved.


The ability of meristems to continuously produce new organs depends on the activity of their stem cell populations, which are located at the meristem tip. In Arabidopsis, the size of the stem cell domain is regulated by two antagonistic activities. TheWUS (WUSCHEL) gene, encoding a homeodomain protein, promotes the formation and maintenance of stem cells. These stem cells express CLV3(CLAVATA3), and signaling of CLV3 through the CLV1/CLV2 receptor complex restricts WUS activity. Homeostasis of the stem cell population may be achieved through feedback regulation, whereby changes in stem cell number result in corresponding changes inCLV3 expression levels, and adjustment ofWUS expression via the CLV signal transduction pathway. We have analyzed whether expression ofCLV3 is controlled by the activity of WUSor another homeobox gene, STM (SHOOT MERISTEMLESS), which is required for stem cell maintenance. We found that expression of CLV3 depends onWUS function only in the embryonic shoot meristem. At later developmental stages, WUS promotes the level ofCLV3 expression, together with STM. Within a meristem, competence to respond to WUS activity by expressing CLV3 is restricted to the meristem apex.


We present the usage of a non-discrete degree of interest (DOI) function, obtained by brushing multi-valued 3D simulation data in information visualization views, to define opacity, color, and geometrical transfer functions for 3D rendering in a scientific visualization view via linking. To reflect the smooth nature of features in flow simulation data, smooth brushing was chosen. Different available views and interaction methods of a prototype system are discussed, and examples from 3D flow simulation are shown.


Lean Thinking is an integrated approach to designing, doing and improving the work of people that have come together to produce and deliver goods, services and information. Healthcare Lean is based on the Toyota production system and applies concepts and techniques of Lean Thinking to hospitals and physician practices.


Despite having several modes of presentation, psoriatic arthritis usually can be readily distinguished from other forms of polyarthritis. Prominent features in all forms are a predilection for digital joints and occurrence of osteolysis and ankylosis. Rheumatoid factor is usually absent, and the prognosis appears to be better than that for rheumatoid arthritis. The relationship of HLA-B27 histocompatibility antigen to psoriatic arthritis is indefinite; presence of the antigen predisposes to spondylitis. For most patients, treatment directed at the psoriasis is adequate, especially if it is combined with the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.


Traditionally, genetic studies in cancer are focused on somatic mutations found in tumors and absent from the normal tissue. However, this approach omits inherited component of the cancer risk. We assembled exome sequences from about 2,000 patients with different types of cancers: breast cancer, colon cancer and cutaneous and ocular melanomas matched to more than 7,000 non-cancer controls. Using this dataset, we described germline variation in the known cancer genes grouped by inheritance mode or inclusion in a known cancer pathway. According to our observations, protein-truncating singleton variants in loss-of-function tolerant genes following autosomal dominant inheritance mode are driving the association signal in both genetically enriched and unselected cancer cases. We also performed separate gene-based association analysis for individual phenotypes and proposed a list of new cancer risk gene candidates. Taken together, these results extend existing knowledge of germline variation contribution to cancer onset and provide a strategy for novel gene discovery.


A single (independent of each other) protein motor system with fluctuating potential barrier and subject to sine electric field is investigated. We first derive the approximate Langevin equation of this system with fluctuating potential barrier. Then from this approximate Langevin equation, we calculate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the adiabatic limit. The phenomenon of stochastic resonance is found for this protein motor system with fluctuating potential barrier.


BACKGROUND
Residency clinics with high no-show rates experience negative ramifications in patient health care, continuity, clinic productivity, and learning experiences for residents. This study tested patient education in the form of an exit interview to reduce no-show rates.

METHODS
All eligible new patients at St. Mary's Family Practice Center between 1 February 1996 and 30 April 1997 were offered study enrollment. Patients with initial appointments during 5 of 9 clinic sessions were offered an exit interview with visit debriefing, written patient information where appropriate, and review of clinic policies. Missed patients or those with initial appointments during the remaining 4 sessions formed the control group. Interviewers were social work, medical, and nursing students. Insurance and subsequent appointment data were obtained from billing records. Median household income of ZIP codes in which patients resided was obtained from the 1990 Federal Census data. Data were analyzed using chi(2) tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, and logistic regression.

RESULTS
One hundred forty-six patients were enrolled into the intervention and 297 into the control group. Simple logistic regression showed a significant reduction in the risk of no-shows in the intervention group (odds ratio = 0.71, P =.04).

CONCLUSIONS
The exit interview improved attendance at subsequent visits.


The platform-based design methodology [1] is based on the usage of formal modeling techniques, clearly defined abstraction levels and the separation of concerns to enable an effective design process. The METROPOLIS framework embodies the platform-based design methodology and has been applied to a number of case studies across multiple domains. Based on these experiences, we have identified three key features that need to be enhanced: heterogeneous IP import, orthogonalization of performance from behavior, and design space exploration. The next generation METRO II framework incorporates these advanced features. The main concepts underlying METRO II are described in this paper and illustrated with a small example.


The problem of restoration of the comparatively long fragments of songs called melisma was proposed to be cast in a framework of a signal synthesis. The paper investigates several possibilities to synthesize melisma employing original, approximated and modeled parameters of melisma. Several synthesis ways are explored: employing linear prediction coding (LPC) coefficients and original glottal signal, and LPC coefficients, modeled glottal signal, gain and pitch. New method for synthesis of melisma employing fragment of original glottal signal and original LPC coefficients, gain and pitch is proposed. In order to cope with the variability of speech signals simple but effective procedure based on the cross-correlation test is proposed. Ill. 4, bibl. 12 (in English; summaries in Lithuanian, English, Russian).


The purpose of incorporating stereotactic methodology into neurosurgical operations is to achieve a consistently high degree of accuracy in localizing intracranial targets. Therefore, the limits of resolution for the operation are a function of the accuracy of the particular stereotactic frame system. The total clinically relevant error (application accuracy) comprises errors associated with each procedural step, including imaging, target selection, vector calculations, and the mechanical errors of stereotactic frames. To evaluate these parameters, a systematic error analysis was carried out with four commonly used stereotactic devices: the Brown-Roberts-Wells, the Cosman-Roberts-Wells, the Kelly-Goerss COMPASS (modified Todd-Wells), and the Leksell frames. Over 21,500 independent accuracy test measurements were made with 11,000 computed tomograms. The results suggest a potentially significant degree of error in the application accuracy of all stereotactic instruments, which is accentuated by but not entirely due to imaging-associated errors. Clinically encountered levels of weightbearing by stereotactic frames may have a pronounced effect on their mechanical accuracy. Both the reapplication of aiming arc assemblies and the use of phantom base units introduce independent sources of mechanical inaccuracy into stereotactic procedures. The scope of individual error values and their determining factors must be considered with every clinical use of stereotactic frame systems.


Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health crisis that has been declared a pandemic by World Health Organization. Forecasting country-wise COVID-19 cases is necessary to help policymakers and healthcare providers prepare for the future. This study explores the performance of several Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models and Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model in forecasting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Time series of daily cumulative COVID-19 cases were used for generating 1-day, 3-day, and 5-day forecasts using several LSTM models and ARIMA. Two novel k-period performance metrics - k-day Mean Absolute Percentage Error (kMAPE) and k-day Median Symmetric Accuracy (kMdSA) - were developed for evaluating the performance of the models in forecasting time series values for multiple days. Errors in prediction using kMAPE and kMdSA for LSTM models were both as low as 0.05%, while those for ARIMA were 0.07% and 0.06% respectively. LSTM models slightly underestimated while ARIMA slightly overestimated the numbers in the forecasts. The performance of LSTM models is comparable to ARIMA in forecasting COVID-19 cases. While ARIMA requires longer sequences, LSTMs can perform reasonably well with sequence sizes as small as 3. However, LSTMs require a large number of training samples. Further, the development of k-period performance metrics proposed is likely to be useful for performance evaluation of time series models in predicting multiple periods. Based on the k-period performance metrics proposed, both LSTMs and ARIMA are useful for time series analysis and forecasting for COVID-19.


This paper uses previously published experimental data to present a comparison between test results and numerical simulations. The example considered is a large 7400 ft2 data canter that houses over 130 heat-producing racks (1.2 MW) and 12 air conditioning units. Localized hot spot heat fluxes were measured to be as high as 512 W/ft2 (5.5 kW/m2 ) for a 400 ft2 (37 m2 ) region. A numerical model based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was constructed using inputs from the measurements. The rack inlet air temperature was considered to be the basis for experimental versus numerical comparison. The overall mean rack inlet temperature predicted numerically at a height of 1.75 m is within 4degC of the test data with a rack-by-rack standard deviation of 3.3degC.


Research from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) confirms the importance of effective communications to project success. As part of its research into the potential for enhanced project success through improvement in team communications, a CII research team developed "Compass," the Communications Project Assessment Tool. Compass is a Windows-compatible software application designed for project manager use in assessing team communications during the design and construction phases of engineering, procurement, and construction projects. The tool collects and analyzes team member responses, assesses the effectiveness of team communications, and provides benchmark results from 72 CII projects for comparison.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the killing effect of IL-2 and IFN-alpha activated bone marrow cells on K562 cells.

METHODS
Semi-solid colony assay was used.

RESULTS
Bone marrow from leukemia patients in remission was activated in vitro with IL-2 for 3 days. The activated bone marrow (ABM) displayed killing effects of 0.31 approximately 2.30 logs on K562 cells, this killing effects was further increased to 0. 30 approximately > 3.15 logs when IFN-alpha added with IL-2 to the marrow for activation. IL-2 alone or in combination with IFN-alpha showed no inhibition of CFU-GM and K562 cells. Compared with IL-2 or IFN-alpha alone, the combination of the two cytokines could more effectively maintain the killing effect of ABM on leukemic cells.

CONCLUSION
IFN-alpha can augment the purging effect of IL-2 ABM and combination of the two cytokines can effectively maintain the cytotoxicity of ABM.


This study is to describe the archicetual characteristics of
the worship space in the Korean church.
Elements for this survey are defined to the fixed architectural
elements, the semi-fixed, and the non-fuxed. As the result, the
worship space of the Korean church showed a trend similiar to the
western modern church's, but not same to that. Therefore these
results can be useful data for modeling of Korean
modern worship space, with is for the study on the psychological
relationship between people and architectural space in the church.


A new semiautomated instrument is described which quantifies the number of bacteria in potable waters within 3 min, providing a permanent colorimetric record of the results. The bacteria detection device can measure as few as 100 CFU/ml in potable waters. In brief, a 100- to 1,000-ml sample of tap water is drawn through a large surface, customized filter housed in the device, and bacteria, rust, and humic acid in the water are concentrated thereon. A reducing agent is used to remove the rust and humic acid from the filter. The filter is inverted and backflushed to elute the bacteria which are collected and reconcentrated onto a 7-mm-diameter filter surface. The reconcentrated bacteria are stained, and the filter fibers are preferentially decolorized without removing the dye from the bacteria. The color intensity of the filter surface is compared with a color guide to determine the amount of bacteria in the test water.


BACKGROUND
The impact of fungal infections on human health has increased considerably within a past few decades. Although drugs with antifungal properties are available, but they are less effective and are associated with side effects.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD
To screen the bacterial isolates from Sesamum indicum and to investigate the antifungal activity of the screened bacterial isolates against Aspergillus sp. Co-culture assay and agar overlay were used to scrutinize the anti-Aspergillus activity. Furthermore, optimization of media and growth conditions to enhance the production of anti-Aspergillus compound.

RESULTS
Several bacterial cultures were isolated from Sesamum indicum rhizosphere collected from Mandi (H.P.) India. These bacterial cultures were assayed for antifungal activity against Aspergillus species i.e. A. fumigatus and A. niger. Two most potent strains were chosen for more detailed analyses. The biochemical characterization and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing revealed that Burkholderia sp. strain RC1 and Acinetobacter pittii strain RC2 exhibit strong similarity (100%) with Burkholderia sp. SR2-07 and Acinetobacter sp. strain 3-59. Additionally, it was also validated that RC1 and RC2 showed significant difference in the production of anti-Aspergillusactivity under altered growth conditions.

CONCLUSION
Results from this study recommend that plant rhizosphere remains a rich hotspot for delivering a novel antifungal compounds.


Process for increasing the capacity of a urea plant comprising a compression section, a high-pressure synthesis section, a urea recovery section, in which a urea melt is formed, and optionally a granulation section, the capacity of the urea plant being increased by the additional installation of a melamine plant and the urea melt from the urea recovery section of the urea plant being fed wholly or partly to the melamine plant and the residual gases from the melamine plant being returned wholly or partly to the high-pressure synthesis section and/or the urea recovery section of the urea plant.


'Williams' Pride' is an early-maturing, attractive, dark red apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) with excellent fruit quality and field immunity to apple scab incited by Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint. The fruit is of medium to large size and matures with the very earliest known commercial red cultivars in the midwestern United States. It ripens 1 week after 'Lodi' and 7.5 to 8 weeks before 'Delicious'. 'Williams' Pride' is released as a potential commercial cultivar for use as a summer dessert apple. The apple is named in honor of Edwin B. Williams, Emeritus Professor and long time leader of the disease-resistant apple breeding program at Purdue Univ.


This paper presents a multi-terminal high-power DC/DC converter configuration based on hybrid MMC topology with fault blocking capability for interconnecting HVDC systems. Its main functions include bidirectional power flow, step-up and step-down operation and fault isolation equivalent to a DC circuit breaker. By contrast to the conventional MMC based DC/DC converter, the proposed DC/DC converter with hybrid MMC configuration has the advantage of being able to block the DC/DC converter terminal connecting to faulty DC grid section, while continue operating the other terminals connected to healthy DC grid sections. The proposed DC/DC converter operation is analyzed and its control is described. Simulation results using Matlab/Simulink are presented to demonstrate the robust performance during dc fault conditions.


In this paper, electromagnetic wave propagation and mode coupling in a chirowaveguide are treated using the coupled‐mode theory. A chirowaveguide, as defined in our previous work, is a conventional cylindrical waveguide filled with homogeneous chiral materials. A set of coupled linear differential equations is derived for various mode amplitudes in the waveguide. We then show that, in any single chirowaveguide, owing to the handed properties of chiral materials filling the waveguide, energy coupling occurs from one mode to the other. We also demonstrate that in a parallel‐plate chirowaveguide a TE mode can be completely converted into a TM mode and vice versa as they propagate in the guide. Thus a chirowaveguide can indeed be used as a mode converter. Selected results are compared with those reported in the literature. Applications of such mode coupling in the design of novel microwave, millimeter‐wave, and optical devices and components are mentioned.


BACKGROUND
The direct antiglobulin test is performed to determine whether an anaemic patient with evidence of haemolysis has autoimmune or alloimmune haemolytic anaemia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We determined the antibody specificity of eluted IgG antibodies from patients' blood samples with a positive direct antiglobulin test. Overall, 134 Thai patients were included in this study. EDTA blood samples were obtained from recently transfused patients, patients with unexplained anaemia and patients who had serum antibodies detected during routine pre-transfusion tests from different hospital blood banks. These complicated samples were sent to the National Blood Centre of the Thai Red Cross Society for investigation and to find compatible blood components. Each blood sample underwent a direct antiglobulin test with the gel technique using polyspecific antihuman globulin and mononospecific anti-IgG and anti-C3d. Acid eluates were prepared from the samples for which the direct antiglobulin test was positive and the specificities of the eluted antibodies were determined by the gel technique.

RESULTS
Of the samples tested, 101 showed a positive direct antiglobulin test result (75.4%) using polyspecific antihuman globulin sera whereas only 95 samples (70.9%) were positive with anti-IgG or anti-IgG and anti-C3d. Moreover, 54 of 95 eluates (56.8%) were positive for antibody screening and tested with the reagent panel cells. Twenty-one eluates had specific alloantibodies, which were concordant with the findings in the patients' sera and all patients had a history of blood transfusion. Additionally, 33 eluates contained pan-agglutinins. Interestingly, alloantibodies could be determined using titration studies in 5 of 26 eluates with pan-agglutinins.

CONCLUSION
Although the direct antiglobulin test is not routinely performed in pre-transfusion screening, this test and elution studies would be useful in patients with a history of previous transfusions, and in those for whom compatible blood cannot be found.


A patient is reported with a purely pial arteriovenous malformation (AVM) supplied from the posterior parietal artery. The prominent middle meningeal artery contributed to opacification of the angular branches distal to the AVM, but did not contribute to the AVM. After total removal of the AVM, the angular branches became opacified from the middle cerebral artery. Review of the literature suggests that hypertrophied dural arteries which do not contribute to the AVM's but which do opacify the cortical branches distal to the AVM's are rare.


AIMS
To report a correlational study of the relations of value incongruence to the individual and organizational well-being variables of self-rated health, turnover intention, and accident propensity, as mediated by burnout.

BACKGROUND
Previous literature found that value incongruence may lessen individual and organizational well-being through the psychological mechanism of burnout. Empirical investigation is needed to validate these claims.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional between-cases correlational design was used.

METHODS
A survey was conducted in one of the largest university hospitals in a large metropolitan city in Spain in the spring of 2009, using a cross-sectional design. A total of 234 nurses participated in the study. Stepwise regression was used to test the direct and mediation relationships.

RESULTS
Hypotheses were confirmed for certain axes of values and outcome variables. In particular, Economical and Ethical value incongruence were found to be correlated with burnout. Economical, Ethical, and Emotional value incongruence were found to be correlated with turnover intention. Ethical and Emotional value incongruence were found to be correlated with accident propensity. Burnout partially mediated the relationship between Economical and Ethical value incongruence and turnover intention and fully mediated the relationship between Ethical value incongruence and accident propensity.

CONCLUSION
The purported mediation of burnout on the relationship between value incongruence and individual and organizational well-being outcomes is valid on certain axes of values and outcome variables. This calls for caution when discussing value incongruence in organizations. Instead of advocating broad organizational culture congruence, we should target specific axes of values.


The eshA gene was originally found to encode a protein required for the extension of sporogenic hyphae during submerged spore formation in Streptomyces griseus NRRL B-2682. An eshA-disrupted strain of S. griseus IFO13189 was reported to be conditionally deficient in streptomycin production and aerial mycelium formation. Our previous transcriptomic analyses indicated that AdpA, a global transcriptional regulator of morphological and physiological differentiation, induced eshA (SGR1270) transcription in S. griseus IFO13350. Here, we examined the transcriptional regulation of eshA by AdpA and the involvement of eshA in the morphological and physiological differentiation of S. griseus IFO13350. Transcriptional analysis by S1 nuclease mapping showed that eshA was transcribed throughout growth on solid medium. In contrast, no eshA transcription was detected in an adpA deletion mutant. Recombinant His-tagged AdpA bound to a region upstream from the eshA promoter in vitro. However, mutation of the AdpA-binding sequence did not affect the transcription of eshA in vivo, indicating that AdpA indirectly activates eshA transcription. Streptomycin production by an eshA deletion mutant grown on TSB plates was lower than that of the wild-type strain. However, the eshA deletion mutant grew and formed aerial mycelia and spores following the same time course as the wild-type strain on various media.


Adiponectin is a protein secreted primarily by adipose tissue. It has been suggested that adiponectin plays a protective role in the early phase following myocardial infarction. Our primary aim was to investigate the effects of post-myocardial infarction heart failure well-characterized by left ventricular hemodynamic parameters on the total and high molecular weight adiponectin concentrations in plasma, fat and cardiac tissue. Eight weeks after myocardial infarction or sham operation, total and high molecular weight adiponectin concentrations in plasma, fat, and cardiac tissues were assayed in rats. In addition, hemodynamic parameters and expression of the genes encoding atrial natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide in left ventricle were evaluated. Atrial natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide mRNA levels in left ventricle tissue were higher in rats with myocardial infarction-induced heart failure compared with the controls. Similarly, total adiponectin concentration was increased in left ventricle (but not in right ventricle) in rats with post-myocardial infarction heart failure. In contrast, adiponectin levels in plasma and cardiac adipose tissue in rats with post-myocardial infarction heart failure were lower than in sham-operated animals. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in levels of high molecular weight adiponectin in plasma, cardiac tissue or adipose tissue between these two groups. We conclude that in the rat model of post-myocardial infarction heart failure, adiponectin level is increased in left ventricle tissue. This is accompanied by decreased adiponectin levels in plasma and cardiac adipose tissue.


Commodity hardware is going many-core. We might soon not be able to satisfy the job memory needs per core in the current single-core processing model in High Energy Physics. In addition, an ever increasing number of independent and incoherent jobs running on the same physical hardware not sharing resources might significantly affect processing performance. It will be essential to effectively utilize the multi-core architecture. CMS has incorporated support for multi-core processing in the event processing framework and the workload management system. Multi-core processing jobs share common data in memory, such us the code libraries, detector geometry and conditions data, resulting in a much lower memory usage than standard single-core independent jobs. Exploiting this new processing model requires a new model in computing resource allocation, departing from the standard single-core allocation for a job. The experiment job management system needs to have control over a larger quantum of resource since multi-core aware jobs require the scheduling of multiples cores simultaneously. CMS is exploring the approach of using whole nodes as unit in the workload management system where all cores of a node are allocated to a multi-core job. Whole-node scheduling allows for optimization of the data/workflow management (e.g. I/O caching, local merging) but efficient utilization of all scheduled cores is challenging. Dedicated whole-node queues have been setup at all Tier-1 centers for exploring multi-core processing workflows in CMS. We present the evaluation of the performance scheduling and executing multi-core workflows in whole-node queues compared to the standard single-core processing workflows.


We present a novel and robust method for estimating moment magnitudes (Mw) of large earthquakes with long‐period and long‐lasting coda energy. Fitting the energy with a simple decay model, we derive a straightforward relationship between the coda energy and the Mw. Tests with both real and synthetic data of 10 globally distributed large earthquakes (Mw > 8) verify the method and the results are stable and reliable even with a fast calculation of synthetics for a 1D model. Tests also show that the method is applicable for earthquakes with Mw above 7.5–8.0 with energy sufficiently greater than the ambient noise. The method removes or reduces the effects of geometric spreading, focal mechanism, source rupture process, and the actual Earth structure, making it advantageous for estimating the magnitudes of large earthquakes. The new long‐period coda moment magnitude (Mwo) estimations are similar to the conventional solutions but are slightly larger (by 0.04 on average).


Users adopt trust to reduce social complexity that can be caused by the lack of knowledge about the inner working of an information system. Our aim is to translate results from trust research about the transformation of user trust in new technologies into software requirement patterns. Therefore, we collect antecedents that build trust, and develop requirement patterns that demand functionality to support these antecedents. This paper presents software requirement patterns consisting of the name, the goal, forces and the pre-defined requirement template that can be used to specify trust based requirements.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

1458

The multi-step process of metastasis development requires dynamic interplay between neoplastic cells and activated 'normal' host cells in the tumor microenvironment. To functionally elucidate key mediators of extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling during de novo metastasis formation, we have utilized a transgenic mouse model of epithelial carcinogenesis, e.g., K14-HPV16 transgenic mice, intercrossed into various MMP homozygous null backgrounds. Our data suggest that distinct parameters of neoplastic progression (proliferation, angiogenesis, malignant conversion into SCCs or metastasis) are attenuated depending upon the repertoire of MMPs present in the developing neoplasm. Altogether, these studies indicate that molecules downstream of protease action play fundamental roles in discrete stages of tumor development. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that altering the susceptibility of critical MMP substrates to proteolytic cleavage might similarly attenuate neoplastic development. Thus, we tested whether the equilibrium between synthesis, accumulation and degradation of a key MMP target, e.g., type I collagen, is central for the cascade of cellular and genetic changes necessary to manifest carcinoma development and/or metastasis in HPV16 mice. Our studies have revealed that both neoplastic progression to SCC and metastatic capability of SCCs are significantly reduced in an environment where type I collagen remodeling is restricted. We are currently investigating whether reduced lymphatic metastasis development in mutant collagen/HPV16 mice represents neoplastic cell intrinsic or neoplastic cell extrinsic regulatory events that alter metastatic capability.