BACKGROUND
Preparations of the herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F are used widely for the treatment of chronic kidney disease in China. The efficacy and safety of Tripterygium preparations still have not been fully identified.

STUDY DESIGN
Systematic review and meta-analysis.

SETTING & POPULATION
Patients with chronic kidney disease.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES
Randomized controlled trials.

INTERVENTION
Tripterygium preparations (Tripterygium glycoside tablets, Tripterygium hypoglaucum Hutch tablets, and Tripterygium granules or extracts) versus placebo, standard care, or other immunosuppressive treatment.

OUTCOMES
Weighted mean difference and summary estimates of relative risk (RR) reductions with 95% CIs were calculated with a random-effects model. Outcomes analyzed included change in proteinuria, serum creatinine level, and creatinine clearance rate, as well as remission and relapse rate and drug-related adverse events.

RESULTS
We identified 75 trials that included 4,386 participants. Overall, Tripterygium therapy reduced proteinuria by protein excretion of 628 (95% CI, -736 to -521) mg/d and reduced serum creatinine level by 0.12 (95% CI, -0.17 to -0.06) mg/dL compared with controls (both P < 0.001) in a range of kidney conditions. Tripterygium preparations also increased the rate of complete remission by 56% (95% CI, 32%-85%; P < 0.001) and of complete or partial remission by 24% (95% CI, 17%-31%; P < 0.001) while reducing relapse by 58% (95% CI, 42%-69%; P < 0.001). Tripterygium preparations increased the rate of liver function test result abnormalities (RR, 4.03; 95% CI, 2.24-7.25; P < 0.001) and altered menstruation (RR, 5.29; 95% CI, 2.09-13.38; P < 0.001).

LIMITATIONS
Suboptimal study quality, significant heterogeneity in the primary outcome.

CONCLUSIONS
Tripterygium preparations may have nephroprotective effects, but high-quality trials are required to reliably determine the balance of benefits and harms.


Many studies have found gamma-band activity to be associated with insight but not non-insight problem solving. Additionally, research has found gamma brainwave entrainment (BWE) to facilitate insight problem solving. The current study investigated the differing effect of gamma BWE on insight and non-insight problem solving. The sample consisted of 60 participants (M = 20; F = 40); the mean age was 23.13 years (SD = 6.87) with a range of 18-50 years. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 4 conditions; gamma (40Hz) BWE and insight problems; control and insight problems; gamma (40Hz) BWE and non-insight problems; and control and non-insight problems. Insight problems consisted of 40 compound remote associate tasks and non-insight problems consisted of 40 single-solution 5 letter anagrams. The results found that gamma BWE did not significantly improve participants' response accuracy for insight problem solving. However, gamma BWE did significantly improve male participants problem solving regardless of problem type. The implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.


Community responses toward discarded syringes have the potential to threaten the sustainability of harm reduction interventions. Many retailers in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia, have expressed concern about drug use and the associated discarded syringes. The Melbourne City Council has responded to these concerns through a variety of strategies. One such strategy was a 6-month free trial of syringe bins for businesses (2003–2004). The MCC commissioned an external evaluation of the trial. Eighteen business representatives and six key informants undertook semistructured interviews to monitor issues arising throughout the trial. Syringe disposal bins are a useful option for facilitating appropriate syringe disposal; 11 of the 13 businesses that participated in the trial continued with the maintenance of the syringe disposal bins beyond the free trial period.


Childhood injuries constitute a major public health problem worldwide. First aid is an effective life-preservation tool at work, school, home, and in public locations. In this study, the effectiveness of a first-aid program delivered by undergraduate nursing students to preparatory school children was examined. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 100 school children in governmental preparatory schools in Egypt. The researchers designed a program for first-aid training, and this was implemented by trained nursing students. The evaluation involved immediate post-test and follow-up assessment after two months. The results showed generally low levels of satisfactory knowledge and inadequate situational practice among the school students before the intervention. Statistically-significant improvements were shown at the post- and follow-up tests. Multivariate regression analysis identified the intervention and the type of school as the independent predictors of the change in students' knowledge score, while the intervention and the knowledge score were the predictors of the practice score. The study concluded that a first-aid training program delivered by nursing students to preparatory school children is effective in improving their knowledge and practice.


A method for bone age calculation for neonates is reported. Criteria for maturation and growth are separately analysed. The chosen X ray charts were thorax including mandibula and profile of the right leg. 126 neonates 28 to 41 weeks of gestational age were studied. A linear regression is given. An area of confidence for growth and maturation for each gestational age has been designed. When gestational age is known, it gives the opportunity to appreciate the impact of a given pathology on these 2 data.


With traditional methods in drug release, poor controls are obtained about the ideals therapeutic levels that are required by the treatments. Due to these anomalies, the drug that initially was effective for the treatment of aforementioned disease, may not be administered in the required amount, at the right time and the expected location for effective treatment. On the other hand the rise, in recent years, about hydrogels as delivery systems, shows new alternatives to do an exact control in the field of drug delivery. In the present review, are shown the main properties about these interesting biomaterials, in addition to the drugs conditions to be take into account and then the basis that involve design and production of drug delivery systems based on hydrogels.


&NA; Further advances in investigations of sugar‐induced and seleniteinduced cataract have been reported this year as models of human cataract. Radiation and inherited cataracts provided other models. In human lenses trace metal analysis has been revived, while examination of levels of glutathione and the enzymes that control it continue. More interest is developing in "after‐cataract" following extracapsular extraction. Possible anticataract therapy in the form of aspirin and thiol compounds has been reported on in animal and human studies.


This article sets out from a hitherto overlooked connection between literature and philosophy in the Jena Romantic period. In Ludwig Tieck's translation of Cervantes' Don Quixote (1799) there is a direct interpolation of a major philosophical concept: the Spanish hazaña—describing the undertakings of the hero, meaning "heroic deed" or "exploit"—is translated as Tathandlung, the neologism Fichte had forged in the first Wissenschaftslehre (1794). This gives rise not to an abstract question of poetry's relation to thought but a complex constellation of responses within the literary politics of Jena Romanticism, from the place of Fichte to the role of translation, as well as the theory of the novel, in which, in the quarrel over Don Quixote, the Romantic "transcendental poesy" becomes subverted. I show that Friedrich Schlegel responds with a strategy in which one of the professed collective and collaborative ideals of Romantic thought—symphilosophy—comes to exclude Tieck's position, applying the framework of Plato's Ion. The ironic position Schlegel claims can thus, I argue, be constructed as a response, in Platonic terms, to the un- or even antiphilosophical rhapsode—the ionic position—perceived in the poetic practice of Tieck. (HSW)


Under the background of the Internet of things (IoT), the problems between the actual production and the environment are also prominent. The environmental cost control in the production process of manufacturing enterprises are discussed to reduce the environmental cost and promote the improvement of production efficiency. First, the environmental cost under the background of IoT is analyzed. Also, the environmental cost control methods in the production process of traditional manufacturing enterprises are investigated. Second, based on the principle of traditional genetic algorithm, the fast-nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) of multiobjective genetic algorithm is introduced to complete the optimization of BP neural network (BPNN) algorithm in deep learning (DL), and the multiobjective GA optimization BPNN model is established. Finally, the multiobjective GA algorithm is used to empirically analyze the environmental cost control capability of a paper-making enterprise. It is compared with enterprises with excellent and poor environmental cost control capabilities in the same industry to find out secondary indexes. The results show that environmental costs have long-term and economic characteristics. The global search ability of BPNN optimized by multiobjective GA is improved, and the local optimal dilemma is avoided. Through empirical analysis, it is found that the comprehensive capability of the environmental cost control of the enterprise is better, scored 79 or more, and the indexes of insufficient development and advantages are obtained. As IoT rapidly develops, it is necessary to further improve the ability of enterprises in environmental cost management, which is very important to promote the development of enterprises and enhance their core competitiveness. It is hoped that this investigation can provide certain reference significance for improving the environmental cost management capability of enterprises, increasing production efficiency, and reducing environmental costs.


Aquaculture has become the fastest-growing sector of the food industry worldwide. The increase of intensive aquaculture practices, however, has been raising global concern about economic and social impacts, but mostly due to the associated potential environmental impacts. The aim of this report is to make a preliminary assessment of the impact of an intensive sea bass aquaculture (Dicentrarchus labrax, L. 1758) on surrounding coastal waters. The aquaculture site is located at the SW Iberian coast (Sines, Portugal), having 16 cages, each holding approximately 150,000 specimens at different stages of growth. We present a spatial and temporal description of environmental physical, chemical, and biological parameters taken in the course of four monitoring campaigns conducted between June 2018 and April 2019. All monitored parameters, except phosphate concentration in October only at one sampling station, showed values within the desirable ranges for marine finfish production and the natural range of Portuguese coastal waters. So far, results do not reveal any detrimental impact of the production units on local water quality, although more research is needed. The preliminary findings suggest that the lack of stress on the receiving waters may be attributed to the hydrodynamic regime in the production area, the feeding strategy, and the dimension of the production.


Multi-modal biometric system can use another biometric trait in the case of having deficiency at a biometric trait. It also has an advantage of improving the performance of personal identification by using multiple biometric traits, so studies on new biometric traits have continuously been performed. The inner face of finger is a relatively new biometric trait. It has two major features of knuckle lines and wrinkles, which can be used as discriminative features. This paper proposes a finger identification method based on displacement vector to effectively process some variation appeared in contactless hand image. At first, the proposed method produces displacement vectors, which are made by connecting corresponding points acquired by matching each pair of local block. It then recognize finger by measuring the similarity among all the detected displacement vectors. The experimental results using pubic CASIA hand image database show that the proposed method may be effectively applied to personal identification.


Significance While zinc (Zn2+) is a vital ion for cell function and human health, little is known about the role it plays in regulating cell signaling. Here, we use fluorescent tools to study the interaction between Zn2+ and cell signaling pathways that play a role in cell growth and proliferation. Importantly, we use small, non-toxic Zn2+ concentrations to ensure that our Zn2+ changes are closer to what cells would experience in the body and not stress inducing. We also demonstrate that these signaling changes are driven by Ras activation, which contradicts one of the major hypotheses in the field. Our sensors shed light on how cells respond to an important micronutrient in real time. Zinc (Zn2+) is an essential metal in biology, and its bioavailability is highly regulated. Many cell types exhibit fluctuations in Zn2+ that appear to play an important role in cellular function. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms by which Zn2+ dynamics influence cell physiology remain enigmatic. Here, we use a combination of fluorescent biosensors and cell perturbations to define how changes in intracellular Zn2+ impact kinase signaling pathways. By simultaneously monitoring Zn2+ dynamics and kinase activity in individual cells, we quantify changes in labile Zn2+ and directly correlate changes in Zn2+ with ERK and Akt activity. Under our experimental conditions, Zn2+ fluctuations are not toxic and do not activate stress-dependent kinase signaling. We demonstrate that while Zn2+ can nonspecifically inhibit phosphatases leading to sustained kinase activation, ERK and Akt are predominantly activated via upstream signaling and through a common node via Ras. We provide a framework for quantification of Zn2+ fluctuations and correlate these fluctuations with signaling events in single cells to shed light on the role that Zn2+ dynamics play in healthy cell signaling.


Two analysis procedures for a random experimental design with several consecutives measures through time in each of the experimental units, are examinated in this paper. One of them consists in facing data applying AVAR mixed model with modelated error structure by AR processes. On the other side, the problem also is faced from a more general perspective, using a repeated measures multivariate approach. Data were simulated by Monte Carlo procedures to investigate the effect that have no satisfaction of independence, sphericity and normality assumptions on the biases degree of estimated parametres, on the empirical probability to make type I errors and, on the power of statistical test of the two procedures.


Neutron diffraction, diffuse critical and inelastic neutron scattering experiments on a single crystal of the disordered antiferromagnetic compound NdAl0.8Ga1.2 are described. Below TN=5.7 K an incommensurate cycloidal spin structure of the Nd ions is observed. Both the Nd moments and the propagation vector are perpendicular to the c axis. The zero-field magnetisation exhibits a peculiar temperature dependence giving rise to an apparent critical exponent beta >1. This can most likely be attributed to the presence of competing single-ion interactions, due to the inherent disorder of the compound. The short-range ordered spin fluctuations are found to diverge at TN. The crystalline electric field parameters are determined from inelastic neutron scattering experiments in the paramagnetic state. The energy spectra taken in the magnetically ordered state exhibit little dispersion and are thus analysed in the molecular field approximation.


Get Crafty is a resource for those interested in Crocheting & Knitting. These are monthly hands-on sessions at the Ashe County Library. The classes offered are for all ages and skill levels. Come join us and get crafty!


The fibrin adhesion technique is the imitation of the last step of the coagulation system. Fibrinogen is converted by thrombin into fibrin and stabilized by factor XIII. Fibrin sticks to the tissue and the tissue is adapted by syneresis. Local application of aprotinin to the thrombin solution is necessary in order to inhibit premature lysis of the fibrin film. This technique is now used in some selected cases in man such as fixation of cartilage, tendon, sealing of colonic anastomoses and preclotting of vessel grafts. An excellent hemostyptic effect of the fibrin glue in combination with absorbable collagen tampons was found. This combination technique is now used to seal parenchymatous organs and to stop hemorrhage in patients with defective hemostasis particularly those undergoing open heart surgery.


Drug-delivery carriers represent an important step in the development of targeted therapy. Encapsulation of drug into liposomes represents such a carrier, and helps to minimize side effects of conventional doxorubicin by improving the tumor-specific biodistribution profile. We review the development of the two liposomal doxorubicin formulations, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and liposomal-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate from reconstitution and comparative pharmacokinetics to pivotal Phase III trials, with special emphasis in breast cancer. The relative differences in the toxicity profile can be attributed to their differences in the liposomal formulations. Areas of special interest include the reduction in cardiac toxicities and the improved efficacy, such as in the treatment of ovarian cancer. These improvements have also increased the potential of these liposomal formulations of doxorubicin for combination and sequencing with other biological and cytotoxic agents for clinical benefit.


RECENT YEARS have seen a resurgence of interest in organized Home Care programs as a variety of factors have spurred the search for alternatives to hospital care. Chief among them has been the economic burden of spiraling hospital costs.
 Many programs have been devised to enable chronically ill persons in the older age group—the "home-bound" geriatric patient—to be supervised in their own homes. There are, however, special reasons for attempting to control the admission of children to hospitals. Illness is a time when a child becomes more dependent than usual and seems to need the security of parents and the comfort of familiar home environment. Even though enlightened hospitals now encourage visiting, many parents cannot take advantage of this for such reasons as distance and having to care for the other children at home. There is debate as to the amount of emotional harm caused by hospitalization of small children; most workers would say it does no good, and, in some cases, can lead to serious sequelae.
 The Home Care Program for sick children at St. Mary's Hospital in London was started in April, 1954. One of us (A.B.B.) had the opportunity of participating in this program in 1961 while serving as an Exchange Registrar from Children's Hospital (Boston). It is felt that even though conditions in the United States and Great Britain may be different, there are enough similarities to make a descriptive account of the program of interest to American physicians.
 The Development of Home Care Schemes
 Historically, doctors looked after the sick in their own homes when private fees could be afforded.


Questionnaire responses from 91 owner-managers of diversified businesses in Texas were studied to identify diversification patterns among owner-managed small businesses. The results suggest that financial growth is the usual reason for diversifying and that owner-managers are more likely to start rather than to buy or inherit a second business. Respondents tended to operate relatively distinct businesses rather than closely related, highly integrated ones and to have little experience in the new business area. Although a diversification frequently shared accounting/consulting services among its business lines, no other resource was shared by as many as half of the diversifications. Most of the diversifications studied were profitable, and in most cases the owner would make the same decision again to diversify.


Author(s): Zeng, Hanxiang | Advisor(s): Guan, Zhibin | Abstract: Despite promising potentials for disease treatment, clinical application of RNAi is greatly limited by the lack of safe and effective delivery vectors. In this dissertation, we aim to achieve efficient siRNA delivery by developing novel synthetic biomaterials through rational molecular design and in-depth structure-property study. Chapter 1 introduces the background of siRNA delivery. Major challenges in synthetic vector design are discussed, followed by current approaches to overcome these obstacles. Several successful synthetic vectors are surveyed with an emphasis on materials with dendritic architectures. Chapter 2 describes dendronized polymer (denpol) for efficient siRNA delivery. The denpol architecture combines multivalency of dendrons and flexibility of polymer backbone to achieve strong siRNA binding. Through in vitro screening of a focused denpol library, we identified that histidine and aromatic amino acid functionalized denpols achieved high delivery efficiency with minimum cytotoxicity. Fluorescence trafficking study revealed that aromatic groups enhanced cell uptake and histidine helped endosomal escape. Such combination could also be applied to other systems. Chapter 3 describes tryptophan and histidine functionalized dendritic polyglycerol for siRNA delivery. And chapter 4 investigates the application of tryptophan-histidine combination on a novel bolaamphiphile structure. Compared to normal amphiphiles, bolaamphiphiles do not disrupt cell membrane and thus greatly reduces toxicity. The molecular structure of bolaamphiphiles determines their self-assembly behavior with siRNA and subsequent biological activity. The optimal dendron bolaamphiphile achieved effective silencing at low siRNA concentration. Chapter 5 highlights the importance of formulation process in delivery. In a stimuli-responsive nanogel system, we found that only in situ cross-linking could effectively encapsulate siRNA and achieve functional delivery. Chapter 6 describes a novel Ru catalytic system for polyamide synthesis. All the biomaterials we developed in previous chapters are based on polyamides, as the amide bonds provide good chemical stability while maintain biodegradability. Current syntheses of polyamides involve harsh conditions and/or produce stoichiometric amount of toxic waste. We developed the first catalytic polyamidation by dehydrogenation of diols and diamines to achieve high atomic economy with no waste generation. The high catalytic selectivity also offers the opportunity to efficiently incorporate polyamines into the polymer backbone without tedious protection/deprotection steps.


In heat-processed feed ingredients, the concentration of bioavailable lysine (Lys) may be estimated by measuring the amount of ileal digestible Lys that has a free –NH2 (i.e., not bound to reducing sugars). This Lys, called ileal digestible reactive Lys, is determined by measuring the reactive Lys in the feed ingredient and in ileal digesta of pigs fed the feed ingredient. A procedure used to measure reactive Lys in feed ingredients and in ileal digesta samples is the homoarginine procedure, which consists of a guanidination to convert the Lys that has a free –NH2 group into homoarginine. However, the incubation time needed to maximize the guanidination can vary among types of protein and there is no information on the time needed to maximize guanidination in ileal digesta from pigs. Thus, an experiment was conducted to determine the optimum time of incubation needed to guanidinate Lys in maize distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and in ileal digesta from a pig fed a diet containing maize DDGS as the sole source of Lys and other amino acids. A DDGS sample was guanidinated in 0.6 M O-methylisourea reagent at pH 11.4 for 1, 3, 6, or 9 days. Ileal digesta from a pig fed a diet containing DDGS was also incubated in 0.6 M Omethylisourea for 1, 3 or 6 days. The incubation time that resulted in maximal amount of Lys that had been converted to homoarginine was then determined. Results showed that in DDGS, the optimum incubation time in DDGS was 3.2 days (P<0.05). For ileal digesta, breakpoint analysis showed that the optimum incubation time was 3.7 days (P<0.05). In conclusion, the optimum conversion of Lys to homoarginine in DDGS and in ileal digesta requires an incubation time of 3.2 and 3.7 days, respectively, if 0.6 M O-methylisourea is used for incubation at a pH of 11.4. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Aspartate transcarbamylase activity was assayed in rat tissues, and the limitation caused in some tissues by carbamyl phosphate hydrolysis was avoided. Significant activity was found in the particulate cell fractions, especially in fetal and neoplastic tissues, as well as in soluble fractions. The enzyme of the particulate fraction was more sensitive to heat and had greater affinity for aspartate than had the soluble enzyme. Total aspartate transcarbamylase concentrations, relative to the liver standard, were generally higher in fetal tissues and decreased within 3 weeks after birth to normal adult levels. In the mammary gland, it rose and fell during the lactation cycle in parallel with cellular growth. In transplanted tumors, the relative enzyme concentration was significantly correlated with measured rates of growth in tumor volume over a 6-fold range of levels and rates. Relative concentrations per g in the faster tumors were similar to those in the fetal tissues that grew at similar rates.


We develop a model with which to explore discrimination and prejudice within labor markets. Our approach emphasizes the role of an individual's own experience in the assessment of efforts of other individuals. Specifically, we consider a two stage process in which individuals first learn, through experience, whether effort is rewarded and then subsequently have to estimate the effort of others. Our theoretical results suggest that those who are not rewarded for high effort will underestimate the effort of other individuals while those for whom effort is rewarded will (slightly) overestimate the effort of others. We empirically test and confirm this prediction.


In an attempt to extend the outdoor serviceability of items molded from linear polyethylene and copolymers, three ultraviolet absorbers, namely, Cyasorb UV-9 (2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone), Cyasorb UV-314 (2,2′-dihydroxy-4-n-octoxybenzophenone), and TBS (4-tert-butyl phenyl salicylate), sixteen different pigments, and combinations of both ultraviolet absorber and pigment were investigated. Injection-molded test specimens were employed in this study. The laboratory source of radiation to which these samples were exposed was an Atlas XW Weatherometer. Similar samples also were exposed at various outdoor locations including Phoenix, Arizona, Summit, New Jersey, and Newark, New Jersey, to utilize practical conditions of outdoor weathering. During these weathering studies surface cracking was observed as occurring at approximately the same time as a significant decrease in tensile strength, elongation, and melt index. Such observations became a method of rapidly screening a large number of formulations for resistance to ultraviolet radiation. For optimal outdoor serviceability with respect to retention of elongation, tensile strength, and melt index properties of molded items, the following steps are necessary. A high-density resin having as low a melt index as possible is selected. The molded item is designed to minimize the formation of molded-in stresses and strains. Proper selection of UV absorbers, pigments, and combinations of both are made. Pigments such as green, orange, peacock blue, monastral purple, red, and black, in high concentrations, will prolong the outdoor weatherability of a given product.


Randomness and uncertainty are two major problems one faces while modeling nonlinear dynamics of molecular systems. Stochastic and fuzzy methods are used to cope with these problems, but there is no consensus among researchers regarding which method should be used when. This is because the areas of applications of these methods are overlapping with differences in opinions. In the present work, we demonstrate how to use stochastic Petri nets with fuzzy parameters to manage random timing of biomolecular events and deal with the uncertainty of reaction rates in biological networks. The approach is demonstrated through a case study of simulation-based prediction of efficient drug combinations for spinal muscular atrophy, for which we obtained very promising results. The feasibility of the approach is assessed through statistical analysis of deterministic, pure stochastic and fuzzy stochastic simulation results. Statistical analysis reveals that all three models produce significantly different results which, when coupled with the fact that fuzzy stochastic model provides the closest approximation of underlying biological network, successfully coping not only with randomness but also uncertainty, suggests that fuzzy stochastic model is the most appropriate choice for the present case study. The proposed approach can be adapted or extended to other biological networks.


The shift towards parallel processor architectures has made programming, performance prediction and code generation increasingly challenging. Abstract representations of program code (i.e. classifications) have been introduced to address this challenge. An example is `algorithmic species', a memory access pattern classification of loop nests. It provides an architecture-agnostic structured view of program code, allowing programmers and compilers to take for example parallelisation decisions or perform memory hierarchy optimisations. The existing algorithmic species theory is based on the polyhedral model and is limited to static affine loop nests. In this work, we first present a revised theory of algorithmic species that overcomes this limitation. The theory consists of a 5-tuple characterisation of individual array references and their corresponding merging operation. Second, we present an extension of this theory named SPECIES+, providing a more detailed 6-tuple characterisation. With this, we are able to retain relevant access pattern information not captured by the original algorithmic species, such as column-major versus row-major matrix accesses. We implement both new theories into a tool, enabling automatic classification of program code.


This student design and competition event involved 32 university teams from North America which built and raced solar cars along a 1644 mile route from Florida to Michigan. General Motors was the major sponsor of the event and Chevrolet, the Department of Energy, and the Society of Automotive Engineers were cosponsors. After three days of solar car inspections and testing, the school teams began eleven days of racing. The average race day covered about 165 miles and included a mandatory pit stop at the halfway point. The solar cars were allowed two hours of solar charge before and after each race day. The universities of Michigan, Western Washington, and Maryland were the top three finishers. The race had 32 winners, as evidenced by the fact that the schools produced operating solar cars which delighted and inspired the thousands of youngsters who saw them.


Condensate banking is one of the main challenges facing operators of gas condensate reservoirs. Different techniques have been used over the years to improve well deliverability in condensate reservoirs, including gas recycling, gas injection, matrix acidization and hydraulic fracturing. This study investigates design options for effective CO2 injection strategies to reduce liquid blockage and improve productivity in tight reservoirs.
 We use dynamic compositional models to simulate condensate formation under realistic operating conditions. Initial sensitivity studies are performed using single well models, to design simulation cases that capture the condensate banking problem accurately for selected permeability scenarios. Then full field models are constructed to evaluate the potential of CO2 injection schemes: near-wellbore huff and puff, and field scale continuous injection. Different field development options are investigated, considering the effects of well placement, injected gas volumes, quality of injected gas and frequency of huff and puff cycles.
 The results of this work show that CO2 huff and puff processes can be highly effective for mitigating condensate drop-out in tight reservoirs, whereas there is likely to be no significant advantage for huff and puff in comparison to continuous CO2 injection in moderately permeable reservoirs. Well spacing and injected volumes can impact recovery significantly: we suggest analytic methods, based on well drainage areas, to estimate suitable values for these parameters. As the production scheme will involve recycling CO2, we consider the effect of impurities in the injection stream: our study indicates that it is not essential to use pure CO2 but sensitivity studies should be performed to check the effects of injected gas composition on recovery. We also demonstrate that recovery from huff and puff operations can be improved by using variable-length cycles, and propose a method to adjust the injection periods dynamically.
 In this paper, we have identified important parameters that can affect the performance of CO2 huff and puff processes in tight gas condensate fields. The methodology described here provides a guideline for simulation studies of CO2 injection, which will help reservoir engineers to optimize field development and operations.


We can now measure the connectivity of every neuron in a neural circuit, but we are still blind to other biological details, including the dynamical characteristics of each neuron. The degree to which connectivity measurements alone can inform understanding of neural computation is an open question. Here we show that with only measurements of the connectivity of a biological neural network, we can predict the neural activity underlying neural computation. We constructed a model neural network with the experimentally determined connectivity for 64 cell types in the motion pathways of the fruit fly optic lobe but with unknown parameters for the single neuron and single synapse properties. We then optimized the values of these unknown parameters using techniques from deep learning, to allow the model network to detect visual motion. Our mechanistic model makes detailed experimentally testable predictions for each neuron in the connectome. We found that model predictions agreed with experimental measurements of neural activity across 24 studies. Our work demonstrates a strategy for generating detailed hypotheses about the mechanisms of neural circuit function from connectivity measurements. We show that this strategy is more likely to be successful when neurons are sparsely connected—a universally observed feature of biological neural networks across species and brain regions.


Routing in intermittently connected mobile ad hoc networks (ICMAN) is a very challenging problem because disconnections are prevalent and the lack of knowledge about network dynamics hinders good decision making. In ICMAN one of the most important decisions is how to choose the most suitable intermediate(s) to forward the message to the destination. We propose in this document a new algorithm (PROPICMAN) that, based on context information, allows the sender to select the neighbor(s) such that the message has the highest probability to reach the destination.


We reviewed the MR imaging findings of 57 acoustic neurinomas which were verified at surgery or diagnosed on the basis of neuroradiological and neurootological data. Two uncommon MR findings of acoustic neurinoma were found. First, hypointense areas were observed on T2-weighted images in five of the 12 tumors larger than 25 mm in diameter. These hypointense areas represented hemosiderin deposition secondary to occult intratumoral hemorrhage. Second, curvilinear or round signal voids were noted at the periphery of 11 large or medium-sized tumors, and these corresponded to "abnormal veins" seen on angiographic studies.


Predictive skills of retrospective seasonal climate forecasts (hindcasts) tailored to Philippine rice production data at national, regional, and provincial levels are investigated using precipitation hindcasts from one uncoupled general circulation model (GCM) and two coupled GCMs, as well as using antecedent observations of tropical Pacificseasurfacetemperatures,warmwatervolumes(WWV),and zonalwinds(ZW).Contrastingcross-validated predictive skills are found between the ''dry'' January‐June and ''rainy'' July‐December crop-production seasons. For the dry season, both irrigated and rain-fed rice production are shown to depend strongly on rainfall in the previous October‐December. Furthermore, rice-crop hindcasts based on the two coupled GCMs, or on the observed WWV and ZW, are each able to account for more than half of the total variance of the dry-season national detrended rice production with about a 6-month lead time prior to the beginning of the harvest season. At regional and provincial levels, predictive skills are generally low. The relationships are found to be more complex for rainyseason rice production. Area harvested correlates positively with rainfall during the preceding dry season, whereas the yield has positive and negative correlations with rainfall in June‐September and in October‐December of the harvested year, respectively. Tropical cyclone activity isalso shown to be a contributing factor in the latter 3-month season. Hindcasts based on the WWV and ZW are able to account for almost half of the variance of the detrended rice production data in Luzon with a few months' lead time prior to the beginning of the rainy season.


Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indicator associated with the arterial stiffness. Although this technique has been used in the diagnosis of systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), it cannot supply alone enough information about the pathogenesis of this disturbance. This paper aims to determine the compliance of brachial-radial arterial segment by applying a three-element windkessel model, and by using the same pressure waveforms acquired to calculate the PWV. The proposed method to determine the arterial compliance was evaluated with a physical simulation of the arterial system, where parameters were known, resulting in an estimation error of 0.73 x 10(-7) cm5 dyne(-1). In a clinical study the estimated compliance was statistically different (p < 0.01) in a controlled group ((3.12 +/- 3.53) x 10(-7) cm5 dyne(-1)) and in an SAH group ((1.04 +/- 0.74) x 10(-7) cm5 dyne(-1)). It was observed that the PWV value calculated using the maximum of the first derivative of the pressure waveform upstroke as characteristic points was the best correlated (r = -0.71) with the determined compliance. Because SAH normally results, among other causes. from a decreased arterial compliance the results suggest that the determined compliance could be used concomitantly with PWV to supply more diagnostic information about the pathogenesis of SAH.


A central nervous disorder occurred spontaneously in a herd of feeder pigs characterized by muscle fasciculations, convulsions, squealing, and acute death in numerous animals. Histopathology revealed a degenerative poliomyeloencephalopathy of brain stem and spinal cord consisting of neuronal hypertrophy, chromatolysis, neuronophagia, and satellitosis associated with Wallerian degeneration of ventral rootlets and neurogenic muscle atrophy of limb musculature. The sudden onset of clinical signs and the pattern of morphological findings were suggestive of intoxication. Though parathion was found in two animals, serum acetylcholine esterase activity and morphological findings were not compatible with an organophosphate poisoning. A hereditary disorder was excluded by genetic analysis. Summarized findings in the present cases are reminiscent of changes observed in ruminants suffering from patulin poisoning, a neuromycotoxicosis caused by Aspergillus clavatus. However, toxicological and microbiological investigations failed to identify the cause of this unusual and so far not described disease in pigs. Morphologically, lesion distribution and alterations of motor neurons resemble changes observed in equine motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy of certain canine breeds, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in man. Therefore, the term spontaneous porcine motor neuron disease (SPMND) is proposed for this new and unique entitiy.


Intel wants desktop PCs to double up as network hubs and video recorders, a move that could make life tough for the companies that produce those standalone products. Intel will begin midyear by adding wireless networking technology Wi-Fi to an upcoming pair of desktop chipsets. When manufacturers choose a specific version of one of the two new chipsets, they will be able to add the foundation for a built-in Wi-Fi access point for free. At the same time, the company is developing the Entertainment PC (EPC), a desktop design based on Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system. Manufacturers can use the design to create more entertainment-oriented PCs that come with features such as digital video recorders. Intel sees the addition of those features to its PCs as a vital push to secure playback of multimedia content and home networking as essential elements in consumer desktops. It predicts that several future products, including televisions and stereo equipment, will be able to access wireless networks. But the strategy, which lowers the price of gadgets and is a boon to consumers, could leave some companies out in the cold. Similar strategies traditionally have driven some competitors out of markets. Intel's decision to add graphics to its PC chipsets in 1999, for example, preceded a major consolidation among graphics chip makers. The number of companies working on graphics chips shrank from around 40 in 1998 to today's handful. The motherboard market and other industries have experienced similar threats.


Background Accurate mediastinal staging of lung cancer patients is critical for determining appropriate treatment. Mediastinoscopy and endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration are the most commonly utilized techniques. Limited data exist on training and practice trends among thoracic surgeons. We aimed to determine training and practice patterns and find whether there is a paradigm shift in mediastinal staging after the introduction of EBUS into practice among thoracic surgeons in the United States. Methods 28-question survey was constructed querying demographic, training, and practice patterns with mediastinoscopy and EBUS and was sent to practicing thoracic surgeons in the United States. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize quantitative data. Results Ninety-eight responded with a 93% completion rate. Eighty-seven percent of respondents received training in EBUS and 70% perform EBUS routinely. All respondents believe EBUS should be incorporated into thoracic surgery training curriculums. Majority of those who prefer EBUS feel EBUS is safer than mediastinoscopy, allows access to lymph nodes stations or lesions inaccessible by mediastinoscopy and prefer EBUS to avoid re-do mediastinoscopy and in irradiated mediastinum. Majority of those who prefer mediastinoscopy reported they perform more accurate staging compared to EBUS, that mediastinoscopy is more accurate in diagnosing lymphoma or sarcoidosis and that frozen section can be done at the same interval as resection. Among surgeons who prefer EBUS, 94% biopsy 3 or more lymph node stations, 86% routinely biopsy hilar (N1) nodes while 8% never biopsy N1 nodes. Of surgeons who prefer mediastinoscopy. Ninety-seven percent biopsy 3 or more lymph node stations, only 27% routinely biopsy N1 nodes and 70% never biopsy N1 nodes. Conclusions EBUS is used frequently by thoracic surgeons in their practice for mediastinal staging. Methods of obtaining proficiency in EBUS widely varied among surgeons. In addition to mediastinoscopy, dedicated EBUS training should be incorporated into thoracic surgery training curriculums.


When water flows over glass which has been treated with the vapor of dimethyldichlorosilane and thus made water repellent, slipping on the boundary between the solid surface and the water takes place. This is is shown in capillary tubes of various diameters. The amount of slipping is small, but measurable. It disappears or becomes extremely small in case of turbulent flow.


The use of routine surveillance computed tomography (CT) scans in the follow-up of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma may allow the detection of early asymptomatic relapse. On this basis, CT scans are frequently included in follow-up schedules, but the utility of this investigation in this setting has never been determined. This study evaluated the effectiveness of routine surveillance CT scans performed 3 and 12 months after completion of chemotherapy in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who had achieved a complete response. One hundred and seventeen patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma achieved complete remission at the Royal Marsden Hospital using first line combination chemotherapy between January 1992 and January 2000. The median follow-up was 4.6 years and 35 patients subsequently relapsed. Relapse was associated with the development of new symptoms and/or signs in 86% of cases. Only 5.7% of relapses were detected in asymptomatic patients using surveillance CT scans. Routine surveillance CT scans are of limited value in detecting asymptomatic early relapse and other approaches are required in order to identify patients destined to relapse at an earlier stage.


Abstract : This thesis consists of a performance analysis of two network models using different protocols, the X.25 and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). X.25 is currently used in the data communications network infrastructure in the Brazilian Air Force. ATM is a high speed network technology. Simulations of both models were performed to compare the two technologies. This study examines the traffic load that each network can handle while still providing a good quality of service (QoS). The X.25 network model proved to have a sufficient capacity to handle the projected workload, but it presented a low QoS when a more intense traffic load was introduced. The results obtained from the ATM simulation proved that the ATM model can support much higher traffic loads with no degradation of QoS. This comparison is important since no study of this kind has been realized before and because this network was designed and implemented for a different type of traffic than the one generated by today's applications. The implementation of a high-speed technology will bring many benefits, such as: increased throughput, higher data rates and multimedia traffic.


Although Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), an NAD-dependent protein deacetylase, has emerged as a critical regulator of the cell cycle, replicative senescence, inflammation, and metabolism, its contribution to immune function remains to be fully investigated. Here we report that SIRT1 regulates the function of IL-17 producing CD4 T helper cells (Th17 cells) by modulating the activity of the Th17 master transcription factor RORγt. We found that Sirt1 interacts with RORγt and increases its transcriptional activity by deacetylating lysine residues K16 and K81. In mixed hematopoietic chimeras, cells from donors in which Sirt1 is deleted in ROR γ+ cells (SIRT1-cKO) exhibited compromised Th17 differentiation. Moreover, SIRT1-cKO mice were resistant to developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) upon MOG peptide immunization. Importantly, the SIRT1 specific inhibitor Ex-527 substantially inhibited trans-differentiation to Th17 cells in vitro, and injection of Ex-527 into mice strongly blocked EAE disease progression in vivo. These findings reveal a previously unappreciated proinflammatory role of SIRT1 in CD4 T cells, and provide significant evidence that pharmacological SIRT1 inhibitors might constitute a novel approach in the treatment of Th17-mediated autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.


Zebrafish somitogenesis is governed by a segmentation clock that generates oscillations of gene expression in the zebrafish presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells. The segmentation clock causes cells to undergo repeated cycles of transcriptional activation and repression, which can be divided into eight phases based on their distinct mRNA co‐localizations. Recognizing different gene oscillation phases of cells is important in zebrafish research, but manual analysis is time‐consuming and difficult. In this article, an effective automated gene oscillation phase classification framework is established for zebrafish PSM cell images. The framework consists of three major steps: (1) identify the individual cells by a two‐stage segmentation procedure; (2) extract multiple features on each cell patch to measure the subcellular mRNA distribution; (3) employ a support vector machine (SVM) with a combined kernel to complete feature fusion and classification. To evaluate the effectiveness of this framework, a dataset containing 2,227 cell samples is constructed. Experimental results on this dataset indicate that our approach can achieve reasonably good performance for this gene oscillation classification problem. The feature sets NF9 and SPIN introduced in this article have proved to be superior to other cell features in this problem. Besides, the kernel fusion method used in the third step provides a way to combine heterogeneous features together, i.e., numerical feature set and histogram‐based feature set, and classification performance with the combined kernel is better than single feature. © 2011 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry


Conceptual design is an early stage of the whole mechatronics product development process, which is a problem-solving activity based on knowledge engineering. This paper is devoted to presenting a systematic knowledge framework of principle solutions in conceptual design. After the design catalogue is introduced, the mapping relationships among function, effect, physical quantity and principle solution sets are analyzed. The function catalogue, effect catalogue, physical quantity catalogue and principle solution catalogue are put forwards step by step. The framework of principle solution with physical quantity as its index for knowledge reuse is then put forward. The conceptual design of a robot arm is given as an example, which demonstrates that the methodology is obviously helpful for product innovation.


Porphyrin dyes containing the carbazole electron donor have been designed and optimized by wrapping the porphyrin framework, introducing an additional ethynylene bridge to extend the wavelength range of light absorption, and further suppression of the dye aggregation by introducing additional alkoxy chains. Application of a cosensitization approach results in improved current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) values, thus achieving the highest cell efficiency of 10.45%. This work provides an effective combined strategy of molecular design and cosensitization for developing efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In addition, carbazole has been demonstrated to be a promising donor for porphyrin sensitizers.


Many governments in Europe and beyond have subscribed to mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs), aiming to steer innovation systems to directly address grand societal challenges. The emerging diversity of MOIPs, however, creates difficulties to define this approach and assess its effectiveness and efficiency. In this paper, we propose a new typology for MOIPs. It consists of four ideal types of missions and extends the established dichotomy of transformer and accelerator missions. The framework emphasizes the role of the state in MOIPs, drawing attention to the implementation process and governance requirements as key features of mission implementation. A first application across the diverse missions of the German Hightech Strategy 2025 demonstrates the analytical value of the framework and allows identifying type-specific challenges. In sum, the new typology and its operationalization improve the understanding of MOIPs and enhance the possibilities for systematic comparisons and impact assessments.


Since it was established as the Sultan Syarif Hasyim Forest Park in 1999, the implementation of policies management has not been effective due to increase of land tenure issue which has caused deforestation to become oil palm planation. The objective of this study was to formulate a strategy to increase the effectiveness of SSH Forest Park policies management. The SSH Forest Park policy management incapability of facts and implementation were influenced by high political and economic interests, participation and low level of community empowerment, human resources competencies and the low responsiveness of target groups. Those are due to the ineffectiveness of the policy content and policy environment implementation so to improve the implementation of the policy the government needs to streamline the contents of the policy and policy environment implementation. This also needs to be supported by reforms and governance arrangements to address policy gaps and implementation in the field such as strengthening and optimizing protection, agroforestry and ecotourism partnerships, zoning integration, improving communication for targeted groups in terms of implementation effectiveness of SSH management policies. Keywords: effectiveness, forest park SSH, implementation, land tenure, policy


Most generally, dynamic functional connectivity (FC) refers to the non-instantaneous couplings across timeseries from a set of brain areas, here as measured by fMRI. This is in contrast to static FC, which is defined as purely instantaneous relations. In this chapter, we provide a hands-on description of a non-exhaustive selection of different methods used to estimate dynamic FC (such as sliding windows, clustering approaches, Hidden Markov Models, and multivariate autoregressive models), and we explain, using practical examples, how data should be prepared for dynamic FC analyses and how models of dynamic FC can be evaluated. We also discuss current developments in the dynamic FC research field, including challenges of reliability and reproducibility, and perspectives of using dynamic FC for prediction.


The Main Motivational Factors for Doing Aqua Fitness of Slovak Women This article represents results of a study done with group of Slovak women. The purpose was to specify the main motivational factors in behavior that lead to start with aqua fitness, to compare indicators of quality and quantity, how do the beliefs and attitudes of initiating and maintaining differ between two groups of women according to the age and facility. And evaluate contribution of aqua fitness on the life quality and overall health and well being of study group as well as evaluate the quality of the classes by knowing women's opinion finally. In accordance with the results the study has shown that the main motivation for initiating and maintaining aqua fitness are: improving/maintaining of physical fitness, stress and fatigue elimination, joint mobility and flexibility, joints and spine, back pain release, weight loss, firm body and the good state of overall well - being. The age difference and the differences between both facilities (water depth, sound system level, settings etc.) were shown as no issue regarding the motivation, beliefs and attitudes in both groups.


OBJECTIVE
To provide the basal data for artificial cross breeding of Chinese herb Salvia miltiorrhiza from 7 provinces in China and its 4 relatives.

METHOD
The pollen viability was evaluated by TTC (2, 3, 5-triphenylte trazolium chloride) test and the stigma receptivity was evaluated by benzidine-H2O2 method.

RESULT
The pollen viability of S. miltiorrhiza from 6 provinces in China and its 4 relatives deceased during time of pollen shedding. Their highest pollen viability was in 2 or 3 days after blooming. But the pollen viability of S. miltiorrhiza (wild and culture) from Hean province in China declined with time after blooming. The most obvious variation of the pollen viability was in S. miltiorrhiza from Shanxi province (RSD 71.3% ) and the least was in wild S. miltiorrhiza from Henan province (RSD 12.4%). The highest average pollen viability was wild S. miltiorrhiza (72.3%) from Henan province while the lowest was S. yunnanensis (38.8%). The stigmas of all the accessions had receptivity when blooming. The stigma receptivity of S. brevilabra was strong in 2 to 4 days after blooming, while the others had less change after blooming. The life span of pollen grains and stigmas could be maintained from 3 to 5 days.

CONCLUSION
The optimum artificial pollination time of S. miltiorrhiza and its relatives was 2 to 3 days after blooming.


The genome of an admixed individual represents a mixture of alleles from different ancestries. In the United States, the two largest minority groups, African‐Americans and Hispanics, are both admixed. An understanding of the admixture proportion at an individual level (individual admixture, or IA) is valuable for both population geneticists and epidemiologists who conduct case‐control association studies in these groups. Here we present an extension of a previously described frequentist (maximum likelihood or ML) approach to estimate individual admixture that allows for uncertainty in ancestral allele frequencies. We compare this approach both to prior partial likelihood based methods as well as more recently described Bayesian MCMC methods. Our full ML method demonstrates increased robustness when compared to an existing partial ML approach. Simulations also suggest that this frequentist estimator achieves similar efficiency, measured by the mean squared error criterion, as Bayesian methods but requires just a fraction of the computational time to produce point estimates, allowing for extensive analysis (e.g., simulations) not possible by Bayesian methods. Our simulation results demonstrate that inclusion of ancestral populations or their surrogates in the analysis is required by any method of IA estimation to obtain reasonable results. Genet. Epidemiol. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The cornerstone of this study was to formulate and optimize fumaryl diketopiperazine (FDKP) microspheres of insulin-load (INS@FDKP-MPs) with the aid of Box-Behnken design (BBD) to enhance insulin bioavailability. The property characterization of INS@FDKP-MPs was studied and the stability study was confirmed by evaluating the effect on sample appearance, insulin and related protein content, hygroscopicity. At the same time, the pharmacodynamics of INS@FDKP-MPs was evaluated by testing the concentration of blood glucose of the diabetic model rats under different conditions. The optimized formulation of INS@FDKP-MPs drug loading microspheres is 2.37 h of stirring time, 4.64 of pH value and 23.11% of the drug ratio. Under this condition, the results of optimized formulation showed the average microspheres size of 1.69 nm, the drug loading rate of 10.95%. The size of microspheres is all below 3 m and the pulmonary deposition rate in stage 3 and stage 4 is more than twice that of other stages. The results of stability confirmed that INS@FDKP-MPs had good stability within three months. Futhermore, pharmacodynamics results indicated that inhaled insulin (Tmin 60 to 90 min) could rapidly be absorbed into the systemic circulation compared to subcutaneous injection (Tmin 120 min); Inhaled insulin can continuously reduce blood glucose concentration within 120 minutes, which is significantly faster than subcutaneous injection (180 minutes). That is stand for reducing the possibility of hypoglycemia. Through Pulmonary Administration, INS@FDKP-MPs can be efficiently and effectively absorbed into the systemic circulation with good pharmacodynamics and the ability to lower blood glucose levels.


Background Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a malignant epithelial neoplasm characterized by proliferation of epidermoid, mucous, and intermediate cells in various proportions. This study was carried out to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of CD34 and D2-40, as markers of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, in MEC and their correlation with the tumor grade and stage. Materials and methods A total of 21 salivary gland MEC tissue samples were collected. Age, sex, site, stage, and histologic grades were reviewed. The samples were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibodies against CD34 and D2-40. Results A strong positive cytoplasmic immunostaining of CD34 and D2-40 antibodies was revealed in all cases of high-grade MEC, whereas mild to moderate positive immunohistochemical staining of both markers was demonstrated in the low-grade specimen of MEC with significant relation to tumor grade or stage. Conclusion Microvessel density and lymph vessel density obtained immunohistochemically were associated with tumor grade or stage. Thus, a direct correlation between the histological grade or tumor stage of MEC and angiogenesis or lymphangiogenesis has been suggested.


The choice of methodology for information system development (ISD) is a significant question faced by information systems (IS) professionals. A sizable body of research details the agile and traditional approaches independently. The choice of approach holds no universal agreement. A hybrid approach combines agile and traditional techniques, implementing multiple methods within one approach. The contextual analysis identified that the hybrid approach is attaining popularity. The investigation of factors ensure an informed, and justified approach can be selected. Prior research debates company culture, individual choice, and natural evolution as selection factors. Researchers have identified the need to find additional factors. This study proposes a design to identify the factors influencing the selection of hybrid. This research will be the first within the field to examine these factors in an Australian context. A matrix in progress aids the purposeful selection of the hybrid approach.


Background Robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) is a novel type of minimally invasive surgery to treat tumors located at the head of the pancreas. This study aimed to construct a novel prediction model for predicting selection preference for RPD in a Chinese single medical center population. Material/Methods The clinical data from 451 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients were collected and analyzed from January 2013 to December 2016. Twenty-three items affecting clinical strategies were optimized by LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) regression analysis and then were incorporated in multivariable logistic regression analysis. C-index was used for evaluating the discriminative ability. Decision curve was applied to determine clinical application of this model and the calibration of this nomogram was evaluated by calibration plot. The model was internally validated through bootstrapping validation. Results Clinicopathological factors included in the model were age, history of diabetes mellitus, history of hypertension, history of heart, brain and kidney disease, history of abdominal surgery, symptoms (jaundice, accidental discovery and weight loss), anemia, elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), smoking, alcohol intake, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, vascular invasion, overweight, preoperative lymph node metastasis and tumor size >3.5 cm. A C-index of 0.831 indicated good discrimination and calibration of this model. Interval validation generated an acceptable C-index of 0.787. When surgical approach was determined at the threshold of preference possibility less than 63%, decision curve analysis indicated that this model had good clinical application value in this range. Conclusions This new nomogram could be conveniently used to predict the selection preference of robotic surgery for patients with pancreatic head cancer.


Existing work on generalization in Text-to-SQL semantic parsing has been re-stricted to a zero-shot cross-domain setting. In this paper, we introduce Spider-Gen : a Text-to-SQL benchmark to develop a paradigm of transfer learning across distinct dimensions of generalization in Text-to-SQL semantic parsing. The Spider-Gen benchmark focuses on few-shot adaption for Cross-domain, Lexical, and Structural generalization of Text-to-SQL models. Through our experiments with the Spider-Gen dataset, we show that Seq2Seq language models struggle to generalize against change in data distribution, lexical changes in database schema, and changes in SQL query complexity. Our experiments also reveal that performing few-shot fine-tuning helps Text-to-SQL models to generalize across these changes. However, such few-shot adaptation comes with a negative effect on the knowledge learnt during training. Hence, we also explore Parameter-efficient Fine-tuning methods to overcome the limitations of Seq2Seq Text-to-SQL models. We release the Spider-Gen dataset publicly to facilitate further research in generalization and transfer learning across various dimensions in Text-to-SQL semantic parsing.


A major obstacle for widespread deployment of frequency division duplex (FDD)-based Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications is the large signaling overhead for reporting full downlink (DL) channel state information (CSI) back to the basestation (BS), in order to enable closed-loop precoding. We completely remove this overhead by a deep-learning based channel extrapolation (or "prediction") approach and demonstrate that a neural network (NN) at the BS can infer the DL CSI centered around a frequency $f_\text{DL}$ by solely observing uplink (UL) CSI on a different, yet adjacent frequency band around $f_\text{UL}$; no more pilot/reporting overhead is needed than with a genuine time division duplex (TDD)-based system. The rationale is that scatterers and the large-scale propagation environment are sufficiently similar to allow a NN to learn about the physical connections and constraints between two neighboring frequency bands, and thus provide a well-operating system even when classic extrapolation methods, like the Wiener filter (used as a baseline for comparison throughout) fails. We study its performance for various state-of-the-art Massive MIMO channel models, and, even more so, evaluate the scheme using actual Massive MIMO channel measurements, rendering it to be practically feasible at negligible loss in spectral efficiency when compared to a genuine TDD-based system.


Identifying homology groups in predicted proteomes from different biological sources allows biologists to address questions as diverse as inferring species-specific proteins or retracing the phylogeny of gene families. Nowadays, command-line software exists to infer homology clusters. However, computing and interpreting homology groups with this software remains challenging for biologists and requires computational skills. We propose Family-Companion, a web server dedicated to the computation, the analysis and the exploration of homology clusters. Family-Companion aims to fill the gap between analytic software and databases presenting orthologous groups based on a set of public data. It offers a user-friendly interface to launch or upload precomputed homology cluster analysis, to explore and share the results with other users. The exploration of the results is highly facilitated by interactive solutions to visualize proteome intersections via Venn diagrams, phylogenetic trees, multiple alignments, and also by querying the results by blast or by keywords. Family-Companion is available at http://family-companion.toulouse.inra.fr with a demo dataset and a set of video tutorials. Source code and installation protocol can be found at https://framagit.org/BBRIC/family-companion/. A container-based package simplifies the installation of the web-suite.


To address the ever-changing needs of the clients, MSEs have to potentiate their one-to-one interaction with their customers as a cornerstone for their marketing performance. This is because interactive marketing courtesy of interactive communication makes a real effort to reach customers and understand their needs and preferences leading to high levels of marketing performance. However, the use of collaborative technologies for interactive communication amongst MSEs in Kenya remains a challenge. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish the influence of interactive communication on the marketing performance of micro and small enterprises within Nyanza region, Kenya. Theory of relational market behaviour and a cross-sectional survey research design was adopted with a target population of 3,211 registered MSE owners in the Nyanza out of which sample size of 356 was selected using Yamanes (1967) formula. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using SPSS version 25.0. From findings intercreative communication explained 30.7 percent variation on marketing performance. A coefficient of .319 indicated that a unit change in interactive communication leads to .319 units of positive change in marketing performance. In conclusion interactive communication significantly predicts marketing performance at  thus the rejection of the null hypothesis. There is need for MSEs to strengthen their interactive communication platforms for consumers to voice their requirements, perspectives, or opinions and support information exchange. They should also develop methods for collecting input from customers. The report also suggests that when dealing with consumers, MSEs should use positive language, be concise and clear, and personalize their interactions. Thus, it mandates the MSEs to scan the marketing environment for opportunities and align their capabilities of interactive marketing communications with the changes in the customer preferences for maximal output. The finding of this study can help major stakeholders in the MSE sector to strengthen interactive marketing communications for marketing performance.


It can be argued that people can have experienced cinematically famous global metropolises without ever having visited them. The various cinematic works (films) might be considered as an oscillograph for capturing, experiencing and promoting the global mosaic of various urban 'atmospheres'. World's major capital cities have been starring in films and their representations can place them among the most famous urban destinations in the world. However, during this game of urban showing, many smaller capitals are remaining under the shadow of the global cinematic metropolises. How can smaller capital cities protect their distinctiveness? The Greek capital (Athens) is going to be analysed as a case-study.


I find that high home-buying costs for a typical household, relative to a cumulative city-level average, help to predict downward pressure on future real house price growth at a 1-year horizon for Canadian cities over the 1980q1 to 2016q2 sample period. This insight is relevant for broader household vulnerabilities because of their interdependence with housing market conditions --- this interdependence is illustrated, for instance, by how a decline in house prices Granger-causes an increase in mortgage arrears. Based on ease of interpretability, relevant historical context, and in- and out-of-sample performance, local housing cost (i.e. affordability) measures may have some advantages for the monitoring of household sector vulnerabilities, versus other common measures such as debt-to-income.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate in a dog model whether intrapericardial instillation of tetracycline is superior to the effect of drainage alone in causing pericardial adhesions and cavity obliteration. Twelve mongrel dogs were randomly divided into two experimental groups. All dogs received a pericardial drain through a sterile thoracotomy. Group A dogs (n = 6) received minocycline hydrochloride, 20 mg/kg, group B received normal saline. All dogs were sacrificed 1 month later. Echocardiograms performed 1 week postsurgery were normal in all dogs. Macroscopic evaluation disclosed that all group A dogs had over 25% cavity obliteration whereas group B dogs had no adhesions or had obliteration of less than 25% of the cavity area. Microscopic evaluation showed that group A dogs had severe pericardial fibrosis and thickening with slight focal lymphoplasmocytic infiltration. Myocardial damage was not seen. Our results support the clinical use of injecting tetracycline into the pericardium (in addition to drainage) to cause cavity obliteration in patients with persistent pericardial effusion.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) at 900 MHz frequencies on bone fracture healing.

METHODS
The study included 30 adult male Wistar albino rats (average weight: 256 g) divided into two equal groups. Transverse fracture was created manually by pressing a finger on the right tibias of all rats and fractures were fixed intramedullary using a K-wire. Rats in Group 1 were exposed to EMF at 900 MHz frequency 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Group 2, the control group, was kept under the same experimental conditions without EMF exposure. Radiological, mechanical and histological examination of tibial fracture healing was performed.

RESULTS
There was a significant difference between radiological, histological and manual biomechanical scores of the study and control groups (p=0.020, p=0.006 and p=0.032, respectively). All scores were lower in the study group than the control group.

CONCLUSION
Results of this study demonstrate that EMF at 900 MHz of frequency emitted from cellular phones has a significantly negative effect on bone fracture healing in a rat tibia model.


Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death in women. The current chemotherapy and the standard first line treatment for ovarian cancer is combination of 'platinum plus taxanes' which associated with serious side effects such as neutropenia and neurotoxicity due to 'the non-specific biodistribution' and 'low therapeutic index of anticancer agents'. Therefore liposomal formulations are now being developed with the aim to reduce problems related to conventional marketed formulations and increase efficiency of the drugs. The present work focuses on development of long circulating PEGylated liposomal formulation of paclitaxel and carboplatin. Paclitaxel liposomal formulation was prepared with the aim to increase the therapeutic efficiency without use of cremophor EL so as to avoid serious side effects associated with vehicle and carboplatin liposomal formulation was prepared to overcome the side effects, occurrence of resistance to platinum drugs, increase its bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Liposomes of paclitaxel and carboplatin were prepared by 'thin film hydration' method with lipids like HSPC, DPPG and cholesterol; and were PEGylated by 'pre-insertion technique'. The optimized PEGylated liposomes of paclitaxel and carboplatin having the mean average particle size of 93.67 ± 2.1 nm and 96.44 ± 3.13 nm, respectively and hence we can expect maximum accumulation of liposomes in solid tumors and improved therapeutic index of loaded paclitaxel and carboplatin. To study the effect of PEGylation on the release characteristics of drugs, comparative diffusion studies for both the drugs were carried out with marketed formulations, conventional liposomes and PEGylated liposomes. Release of drug about 5% and 9% of paclitaxel and carboplatin respectively was observed in 52 hours from their PEGylated formulations. It was very less compared to their marketed and conventional liposomal formulations. The study reveals that there will be less systemic side effects of drugs after administration with increase bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Citation Format: Hemal T. Tandel, Jr. Paclitaxel and carboplatin loaded pegylated liposomes for ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: The Translational Impact of Model Organisms in Cancer; Nov 5-8, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2014;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B41.


The increase of the fish-eating cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) in Europe has resulted in conflicts with fisheries. In Lake Roxen, Sweden, cormorants are blamed for causing a decrease in fishery catches. To study and describe the potential effects that cormorants may have had on fish in the lake, their diet was analysed in relation to fish catches in gill-net surveys and fishery catches. Estimates of predation were achieved by 'tag and recovery' on eel, pike-perch and perch. Cormorants predated on the most common species and sizes, which were mainly smaller perch, ruffe and roach (mean sizes of 9, 8 and 13cm respectively). Tag recoveries from perch, eel and pike-perch detected predation estimates of 14, 7 and 15% respectively. From a highly eutrophic state, the lake has shown improvements in water quality and a development towards larger predatory fish was expected, but the results from gill-net surveys did not show this. Results indicated that cormorants and fisheries may both be responsible, but because cormorants remove more fish, they may be the main factor for the lack of recovery of large predatory fish. Their predation keeps recruitment high, but the number of fish that reach large sizes remains low.


A new approach for efficient estimation of die-level process parameter variations based on the expectation- maximization algorithm is proposed. To estimate the parameters and enhance diagnostic analysis, dedicated embedded sensors have been designed. Additionally, to guide the test with the information obtained through monitoring process variations, maximum-likelihood method and adjusted support vector machine classifier is employed. The information acquired is re-used and supplement the circuit calibration. The proposed estimation method is evaluated on a prototype ADC converter with dedicated sensors fabricated in standard single poly, five metal 0.09-mum CMOS.


This paper describes an attempt to incorporate the functions of the auditory nerve system into the feature extractor of speech recognition. The functions include four types of well-known responses to sound stimuli: the local peaks of the steady sound spectrum, ascending FM sound, descending FM sound, and sharply rising and falling sound. Each function is realized in the form of a three-level derivative operator and is applied to a time-spectrum (TS) pattern X(t,f) of the output of the BPF with 26-channels. The resultant acoustic cue of an input speech represented by multiple acoustic-feature planes (MAFP) is compressed by using the Karhuenen-Loeve transform (KLT), then classified. In the experiments performed on a Japanese E-set (12 consonantal parts of /Ci/) extracted from continuous speech, the MAFP significantly improved the error rate from 34.5% and 29.6% obtained by X(t,f) and X(t,f)+/spl Delta//sub t/X(t,f) to 17.0% for unknown speakers (dimension=64).


A syllable is a sound or succession of a sounds uttered within a single breath-impulse. Syllable is a unit of pronunciation consisting of a vowel alone or of a vowel with one or more consonants. Phonologically, the syllable is "a unit containing one and only one vowel either alone or surrounded by consonants in certain arrangements". (O'Connor 1973). It is generally accepted that nucleus is obligatory in all languages, thus, the same is true in case of Rongmei. Rongmei is one of the schedule tribe of Northeast India, mainly concentrated in Assam (Barak Valley), Manipur and Nagaland. Ethnically, Rongmeis are Mongloids and their language belongs to Kuki-Naga section of the Kamarupan group of the Baric sub-division of Tibeto-Burman family of languages (Matisoff, 2001). The analysis indicates that Rongmei treats both onset and coda as optional. Besides, the clustering phenomenon is absent at both onset position coda position. This paper is an effort to look into the possible syllable structure in Rongmei Naga language spoken in Barak Valley of South Assam. Keywords : Syllable, Syllable Tree, Heavy Syllable, Light Syllable, Syllable Structure, DOI : 10.7176/JLLL/56-07 Publication date :May 31 st 2019


Nowadays, Fog architecture or Edge architecture is becoming a popular research trend to distribute a substantial amount of computing resources, data processing and resource management at the extreme edge of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Industrial communication is a research track in next generation wireless sensor networks for the fourth revolution in the industrial process. Adopting fog architecture into Industrial communication systems is a promising technology within sensor networks architecture. With Software Defined Network (SDN) architecture, in this paper, we address edge controller placement as an optimization problem with the objective of more robustness while minimizing the delay of network management and the associated synchronization overhead. The optimization problem is provided and modelled as submodular function. Two algorithms are provided to find the optimal solution using a real wireless network to get more realistic results. Greedy Algorithm and Connectivity Ranking Algorithm are provided. Greedy algorithm outperforms connectivity ranking algorithm to find the optimum balance between the different metrics. Also, based on the network operator preference, the number of edge controllers to be placed will be provided. This research paper plays a great role in standardization of softwarization into Industrial communication systems for next generation wireless sensor networks.


The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of a life development intervention on career transition adjustment in retired professional athletes. Intervention (n = 32) and control groups (n = 39) were recruited for this study, both of which contained recently retired male professional soccer players. Data were collected on measures of career termination adjustment and coping with transitions, and the intervention group also participated in a life development intervention package. Results revealed significant postintervention treatment group differences on career transition adjustment in favor of the life development intervention, while significant within-group differences on career transition adjustment over time were also achieved for the intervention group. Results are discussed in relation to the personal and developmental costs of pursuing performance excellence.


Introduction: Organophosphate Compounds (OP) are widely used pesticides in agriculture. It is easily available and OP poisoning is most common cause of poisoning and hospital admissions. Severe poisoning is associated with high mortality. Severity of poisoning can be assessed by Peradeniya Organophosphorus Poisoning (POP) scale, Acute Physiology and chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) or serum Cholinesterase Level (ChE). Serum amylase, lipase, and creatine kinase are important biomarkers raised in OP poisoning. Aim: To correlate serum amylase, lipase, and creatine kinase with severity of OP poisoning. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital based observational cohort study conducted on 130 patients of organophosphate poisoning admitted in General Medicine wards of SCB Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha from June 2019 to December 2020. Serum Acetylcholine Esterase (AChE), amylase, lipase and creatinine kinase were estimated at admission, day 2, and at discharge. Other routine investigations were done. Acetylcholine Esterase (AChE) was used to confirm the diagnosis. The severity of poisoning was assessed using POP scale and graded as mild, moderate and severe. The severity of poisoning and the level of enzymes were correlated. The parameters were tabulated and mean values and Standard Deviation (SD) were analysed using Statistical Package For The Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22.0. Results: Out of 130 patients 91 were males and 39 were females, mostly from rural areas, both farming and non-farming community. Age ranged from 14 years to 79 years, with majority in 19 to 39 years. AChE decreased in all cases depending on severity confirming OP poisoning. Severity as assessed by POP score were mild (52 patients), moderate (46 patients) and severe (32 patients). At admission, the Amylase (U/L), Lipase (U/L), and Creatine kinase (U/L) level (mean±SD) in mild poisoning were 83.7±41.9 U, 70.9±18.6, 72.5±34.9, in moderate poisoning 153.6±109.7, 91.9±47.4, 92.6±81.5, and in severe poisoning 243.9±113.8, 195.3±147.7, 298.8±207.4, respectively. Measurements on second day also remained elevated. Among the severe cases 24 patients developed Intermediate Syndrome (IMS), and 26 patients died. There was positive correlation between increase of enzyme levels and the severity of OP poisoning as per POP score. Conclusion: Serum amylase, lipase, and creatine kinase level correlated well with the severity of organophosphorus poisoning and scan be used additionally as an indicator to assess the severity. Serum amylase is a better indicator of severity than lipase and Creatine Kinase (CPK).


This study presents a quantitative description of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sounds provided by a rule-based classification system based on sound classification by three dentists, who listened to and classified the sound recordings as no sound, click, coarse crepitus and fine crepitus. The sounds were recorded with microphones in the ear canal from 126 subjects during vertical opening, digitized at 15 000 Hz, and replayed using a computer sound card and speakers. The dentists' classification of a test set resulted in intra- and inter-tester j values ranging from 0.71 to 0.81 and 0.61-0.73, respectively. Pooled j values for the dentists and the dentists plus the rules were 0.67 and 0.58, respectively, which were not significantly different in terms of the sound features on which the rules were based (P = 0.13). Linear discriminant analysis showed the four TMJ sound types were significantly different (P < 0.001). The performance of the rules was equivalent to the dentists and marginally better than the linear discriminant functions (P = 0.08), establishing the validity of the quantitative descriptions they provide. The recording and rebroadcast methodology produced sounds very similar to those observed in the clinic and could be used to train clinicians in classifying TMJ sounds.


Previous studies reported that the SRC protein was involved in a variety of pathological mechanisms related to ischemic stroke (IS). In this study, we conducted a genetic association study between rs6017916 within the 5'UTR region of SRC gene and IS susceptibility. A total of 533 IS patients and 531 healthy controls were recruited to participate in the current study. The sequenom MassARRAY technology platform was used for genotyping. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was conducted to detect SRC mRNA expression. The dual luciferase reporter system was used to verify the regulation of rs6017916 on SRC mRNA expression. Results showed that SRC mRNA expression was significantly increased in IS patients than that in controls (P<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis demonstrated that the signature of SRC mRNA expression differentiated between controls and IS patients with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.935 corresponding to a specificity of 0.820 and sensitivity of 0.920. Genetic association analysis showed that rs6017916 was significantly associated with IS susceptibility under multiple genetic models, including additive [OR (95% CI)=0.76 (0.60,0.96), Padj=0.019] and dominant [OR (95% CI)=0.75(0.58,0.98), Padj=0.031]. In addition, the dual luciferase reporter system showed that the minor allele C of rs6017916 inhibited luciferase activity compared with the major allele A. In summary, we report that SRC mRNA expression was significantly increased in IS patients and was a potential diagnostic biomarker. Moreover, the 5'UTR variant rs6017916 of SRC was significantly associated with IS susceptibility. And rs6017916 might affect the pathological process of IS by regulating SRC expression.


NG CANDU is the "Next Generation" CANDU® reactor, aimed at producing electrical power at a capital cost significantly less than that of the current reactor designs. A key element of cost reduction is the use of H2 O as coolant and Slightly Enriched Uranium fuel in a tight D2 O-moderated lattice. The innovations in the CANDU core physics result in substantial improvements in economics as well as significant enhancements in reactor licensability, controllability, and waste reduction. The full-core coolant-void reactivity in NG CANDU is about −3 mk. Power coefficient is substantially negative. Fuel burnup is about three times the current natural-uranium burnup.Copyright © 2002 by ASME


This article considers how, impelled by confessional divisions caused by the Reformation, a general sense of pan-Protestant community grew across Europe, and its members launched a long battle against Roman Catholicism far beyond the 16th century. Indeed, it continued into the mid-18th century, the so-called Age of Reason. If it cannot necessarily be described as an open war of religion like the Thirty Years War, it was at least a cold war. From their points of view, the Protestant minorities threatened by the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, such as the Waldensians in northern Italy and the Lithuanian Calvinists, stood on the front line in this war. Thus, financial support was regularly offered by the Protestant churches in Great Britain and Ireland to their distressed brethren across the continent, university scholarships were set up for students from Catholic-dominated areas, and plans were drafted for a Protestant union in Europe, from a military level to an ecclesiastical one. It is in this context that we must understand how apparently strange a phenomenon as British support for the translation of the Bible into Lithuanian developed. The author sees Chylinski's activities in the tradition of learning and charity exhibited in the 1650s by the three leading members of the Hartlib philosophical circle, namely, Samuel Hartlib (originally from Elbing), Jan Amos Comenius (from Moravia), and John Dury (born in Edinburgh, he spent his early life in various places in northern Europe), who were, in a sense, Protestant refugees to England from north-central Europe. After Chylinski, British support for Lithuanian Protestants did not end. She traces the work of Robert Boyle and the foundation of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1699), which organised relief for Žemaitijan Calvinists in the early 1730s.


A switch-list representation (SLR) of a Boolean function is a compressed truth table representation of a Boolean function in which only the function value of the first row in the truth table and an ordered list of switches are stored. A switch is a Boolean vector whose function value differs from the value of the preceding Boolean vector in the truth table. In this short paper we outline scenarios under which SLRs constitute a better representation language than standard representation languages such as CNFs and OBDDs. Furthermore, we outline a possible approach to constructing a compiler from CNFs to SLRs which is a necessary tool for verifying practical usefulness of SLRs.


Purpose To describe physical activity (PA) intensity across a school day and assess the percentage of girls and boys achieving recommended guidelines. Methods The authors measured PA via accelerometry in 380 children (8–11 years) and examined data representing (1) the whole school day, (2) regular class time, (3) recess, (4) lunch and (5) scheduled physical education (PE). Activity was categorised as sedentary (SED), light physical activity (LPA) or moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using age-specific thresholds. They examined sex differences across PA intensities during each time period and compliance with recommended guidelines. Results Girls accumulated less MVPA and more SED than boys throughout the school day (MVPA −10.6 min; SED +13.9 min) recess (MVPA −1.6 min; SED +1.7 min) and lunch (MVPA −3.1 min; SED +2.9 min). Girls accumulated less MVPA (−6.2 min), less LPA (−2.5 min) and more SED (+9.4 min) than boys during regular class time. Fewer girls than boys achieved PA guidelines during school (90.9% vs 96.2%), recess (15.7% vs 34.1%) and lunch (16.7% vs 37.4%). During PE, only 1.8% of girls and 2.9% of boys achieved the PA guidelines. Girls and boys accumulated similar amounts of MVPA, LPA and SED. Conclusion The MVPA deficit in girls was due to their sedentary behaviour as opposed to LPA. Physical activity strategies that target girls are essential to overcome this deficit. Only a very small percentage of children met physical activity guidelines during PE. There is a great need for additional training and emphasis on PA during PE. In addition schools should complement PE with PA models that increase PA opportunities across the school day.


1. Previously, we studied how picture information was processed by neurons in inferior temporal cortex. We found that responses varying in both response strength and temporal waveform carried information about briefly flashed stationary black-and-white patterns. Now, we have applied that same paradigm to the study of striate cortical neurons. 2. In this approach the responses to a set of basic black and white pictures were quantified through use of a set of basic waveforms, the principal components (extracted from all the responses of each neuron). We found that the first principal component, which corresponds to the response strength, and others, which correspond to different basic temporal activity patterns, were significantly related to the stimuli, i.e., the stimulus drove both the response strength and its temporal pattern. 3. Our previous study had shown that, when information theory was used to quantify the stimulus-response relation, inferior temporal neurons convey over twice as much information in a response code that includes temporal modulation as in a response code that includes only the response strength. This study shows that striate cortical neurons also carry twice as much information in a temporal code as in a response strength code. Thus single visual neurons at both ends of a cortical processing chain for visual pattern use a multidimensional temporal code to carry stimulus-related information. 4. These results support our multiplex-filter hypothesis, which states that single visual system neurons can be regarded as several simultaneously active parallel channels, each of which conveys independent information about the stimulus.


The properties of the two lowest excited singlet states of anthracene, S I ( 'BI J and S2(IB2J, and the first triplet state, T I (3B~u) , were calculated at the CIS/3-21G level of theory. The main structural changes are described, and the calculated vibrational levels are compared with available experimental data. The assignment of the two-photon observed transition at about 28 000 cm-' to the SZ state is confirmed, as well as some recent argon matrix vibronic bands (Wolf, J.; Hohlneicher, G. Chem. Phys. 1994, 181, 185). The calculation suggests some changes in the vibrational assignment, and correlation with the ground state vibrational modes shows that one b2u mode undergoes a large frequency increase upon electronic excitation to S 2 . This change is similar to that observed for Kekulk-type modes of benzene, naphthalene, and their derivatives. It is compatible with the notion that the n electrons of these molecules tend to distort the molecule to a KekulC structure.


Computational methods based on quantum mechanical modeling are increasingly used to provide insight into mechanistic aspects of homogeneous catalysis. While the potential and value of such methods are obvious, it is also clear that it remains challenging to obtain reliable and predictive mechanistic insights from modeling. In this Perspective, we assess the various factors influencing the quality of computational studies. While the type of electronic structure theory methodology used is of course of great importance, we argue that many other aspects can play a large role also. The other factors emphasized here include the treatment of entropic effects, solvation, the choice of the structural model, conformational complexity, the translation of computed relative Gibbs energies into a kinetic model, and the high demands required for the prediction of selectivity.