—Recent advances in wireless, communication systems have led to important new applications of Moving object databases (MOD). Typical application examples of moving object databases (MOD) might include mobile computing, mobile E-Commerce, Traffic police, taxi dispatchers and weather reporting services. The mobile computing capabilities allow users to manage their work while they are moving. In order to manage such moving objects in database management systems (DBMS) an updating strategy for moving object is required. In this paper the problem of maintaining the current location of moving object in databases and the required updating strategy for moving object will be investigated. An implementation of two updating strategy will be introduced. Those updating strategies are distance and deviation updating polices. This implementation is based on the generation of spatial-temporal data for the moving objects (e.g. cars). The moving objects in the simulated system are moving through a network street. Finally a complete comparison of the predicted moving object path and the actual path is given.


Ubiquitin-like proteins play important roles in the regulation of many biological processes. UBL5 (Ubiquitin-like protein 5)/Hub1 (Homologous to ubiquitin 1), a member of the ubiquitin family, acts as a ubiquitin-like modifier on a specific target, the spliceosomal protein Snu66, in yeast and human cells. The 22nd aspartic acid (Asp22) is involved in the attachment of Hub1 to the Hub1 interaction domain (HIND) of Snu66 in yeast to modulate spliceosomal activity. Hub1 differs from other modifiers which interact covalently with their targets. It modulates pre-mRNA splicing by binding to Snu66 non-covalently in both yeast and human cells. However, the molecular mechanisms of Hub1-mediated pre-mRNA splicing in plant systems remains unclear. To better understand the function of Hub1 in plants, we examined the role of this ubiquitin-like modifier in Arabidopsis thaliana, which has two Hub1 homologues. Arabidopsis UBL5/Hub1(UBL5) is highly conserved at the amino acid level, compared to eukaryotic homologues in both plants and animals. In this study, phenotypic analysis of A. thaliana with reduced UBL5 gene expression, generated by RNA interference of AtUBL5a and AtUBL5b were performed. Interestingly, knock down plants of AtUBL5 showed abnormalities in root elongation, plant development, and auxin response. AtUBL5b is highly expressed in the vascular tissue of the leaf, stem, and root tissue. Yeast two-hybrid analysis revealed that AtUBL5a and AtUBL5b interact with the putative splicing factor AtPRP38 through its C-terminal domain (AtPRP38C). Knock down of AtUBL5b resulted in a pattern of insufficient pre-mRNA splicing in several introns of AtCDC2, and in introns of IAA1, IAA4, and IAA5. Defects of pre-mRNA splicing in an AtPRP38 mutant resulted in an insufficient pre-mRNA splicing pattern in the intron of IAA1. Based on these results, we showed that AtUBL5b positively regulates plant root elongation and development through pre-mRNA splicing with AtPRP38C in A. thaliana.


Oxygen gas tank is one application of the decompression tank, which is filled with oxygen with a certain pressure. Oxygen storage tubes is very vital in the health sector, both at the clinic and at the hospital, because most people who are sick or who will undergo surgery in desperate need of clean oxygen. In this study the decompression tank was analyzed using numerical simulation methods using OpenFOAM software. Three different compressibility values of oxygen gas (6.90e-03, 6.90e-04, and 6.90e-05) varied in this study. This is done to find out the results of the pressure distribution and velocity in the tank. From the results of the study with variations in oxygen gas compressibility values, we can know that each compressibility value has different pressure distribution and velocity characteristics even though with the same time and the smaller the compressibility value, the pressure distribution and velocity produced are wider and faster propagating


The investigations performed by direct microscopy method or bait technique (fragments of plants, cellophane, snake skin) using rain water flowing from trees, different types of roofs and melting snow and ice allowed determination of 146 species including 55 new to Poland. Aero-aquatic species were predominant and only several belonged to typically aquatic Hyphomycetes .


Over the past decades, the downscaling of transistor dimensions has improved circuit performance, power, and integration density. However, conventional device scaling is approaching the physical limits and it is increasingly difficult to sustain the same miniaturization scaling rate. Three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuits that stack multiple functional chips using through-silicon-vias (TSVs) and low-volume lead-free solder interconnects may overcome these problems, because this approach makes it possible to reduce global interconnect length and to increase device density without shrinking device dimensions. Different levels of 3D integration investigation were previously reported and updated. The current paper reviews the 3D integration technologies, including process technology and reliability characterization.


Description logics (short for DLs) are very important for the expression of ontologies, which allow reasoning about individuals and concepts. However, DLs can not process the indefinite knowledge existing widely in nature. Based on the cloud model, we present cloud-ALC to deal with the indefinite knowledge, which is the extension of the important description logic ALC. We define its syntax and semantic, study its properties in detail, and propose the techniques to solve the entailment problem. Case analysis proves that cloud-ALC can provide a formal underpinning for the indefiniteness extension of ontology description languages.


The "traditional" method of presenting the subject-matter of symbolic logic involves setting down, first of all, a basis for a propositional calculus—which basis might be a system of natural deduction, an axiom system, or a rule concerning tautologous formulas. The next step, ordinarily, consists of the introduction of quantifiers into the symbol-set of the system, and the stating of axioms or rules for quantification. In this paper I shall propose a system somewhat different from the ordinary; this system has rules for quantification and is, indeed, equivalent to classical quantification theory. It departs from the usual, however, in that it has no primitive quantifiers.


A new all-photonic switching of nonlinear optical materials with very low signal/noise background was presented. Fe and Mg were used to prepare doped and co-doped PbS/PVA freestanding nanocomposite; films were prepared by a simple chemical method with different doping concentrations. The X-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscope images, and optical absorption spectrum of the prepared films were examined. The crystallinity and optical band gap of the prepared co-doped PbS/PVA were found to be affected by Fe and Mg, doping concentrations. The all prepared samples showed a blue shift in the absorption spectra and the optical band gap was increased when the doping concentration is increased. The all-optical switching effect performance of metal doped and (Fe, Mg) co-doped PbS/PVA with various Fe and Mg concentrations were investigated. The results showed that the (Fe, Mg) co-doped PbS/PVA at 1.2%M Fe and 0.8%M Mg doping concentration can  demonstrate an active all-photonic switching device and lead to the realization with maximum modulation depth of 86.5% and switching contrast of 8.8 dB at minimum switching time of 47 ms.


The shell side design of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger; in particular the baffle spacing, baffle cut and shell diameter dependencies of the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop are investigated by numerically modeling a small heat exchanger. The flow and temperature fields inside the shell are resolved using a commercial CFD package. A set of CFD simulations is performed for a single shell and single tube pass heat exchanger with a variable number of baffles and turbulent flow. The results are observed to be sensitive to the turbulence model selection. The best turbulence model among the ones considered is determined by comparing the CFD results of heat transfer coefficient, outlet temperature and pressure drop with the Bell-Delaware method results. For two baffle cut values, the effect of the baffle spacing to shell diameter ratio on the heat exchanger performance is investigated by varying flow rate.


Hyperimmune response via Fas/Fas-ligand and perforin/granzyme pathways may be essential in pathogenesis of virus-induced fulminant hepatitis. CrmA inhibits activation of caspases and granzyme B, suggesting it may block these pathways. We investigated whether CrmA expression would inhibit Fas-associated lethal hepatitis in mice. We successfully generated AxCALNLCrmA, a recombinant adenovirus expressing CrmA gene with a Cre-mediated switching cassette. We increased CrmA expression level in the liver transfected with AxCALNLCrmA (10(9) pfu) by increasing administration dose (10(7)-10(9) pfu) of AxCANCre, a recombinant, adenovirus-expressing Cre gene. Injection of anti-Fas antibody into the control mice rapidly led to animal death due to massive liver apoptosis, while the apoptosis was dramatically reduced in the CrmA-expressed mice. The animal survival increased with an increase of CrmA expression. The formation of active caspase-3 was markedly inhibited in the crmA-transfected hepatocytes in vitro. These results suggest that crmA is an effective gene that can inhibit immune-related liver apoptosis.


OBJECTIVES
To report rare cases of isolated medial orbital wall blow-out fractures and to evaluate their coronal CT findings.

METHODS
Nine cases of medial orbital wall blow-out fractures, diagnosed by coronal CT in a general medical hospital between 1995 and 1999, were studied. CT was performed using direct coronal acquisition with a slice thickness of 5 mm. Images were obtained at bone window settings. Clinical examination findings from the medical records were used to give information on the cause of injury, ocular symptoms and the days after injury that the CT examination was performed.

RESULTS
Most of the patients (67%) were young male adults. The cause of injury was most frequently the result of fist fighting or athletics (78%). Diplopia and/or limitation of the gaze were the main ocular symptoms (78%). The average time from injury to CT examination was 4 days (range 0-16 days). Seven of the nine patients with medial orbital wall fractures had isolated medial orbital wall blow-out fractures. Herniation of orbital contents toward the ethmoid sinus was observed among all nine fractures. Only three patients (33%) had a swelling and/or medial deviation of the medial rectus muscle, all three having isolated medial orbital wall blow-out fractures.

CONCLUSIONS
Nine cases of medial orbital wall blow-out fractures were examined, seven of which were isolated medial wall blow-out fractures. CT findings of this type of fracture included herniation of the orbital contents toward the ethmoid sinus. However, swelling and/or medial deviation of the medial rectus muscle was also seen.


A new probe system consisting of a bias compensation circuit and a CO2-laser-heated emissive probe is presented. This system has been verified to have a sufficiently high time response to eliminate the voltage variation between plasma and probe caused by the applied RF voltages. The time-resolved single probe measurement of a 13.56 MHz RF discharge plasma has been successfully carried out using this system and the results show that both the electron temperature and the electron density vary in the same period of applied RF voltage and that the electron energy distribution function of the plasma is almost Maxwellian except in the high energy tail region.


In this paper, a new kind of quantum particle swarm algorithm for continuous space optimization is proposed, in which quantum computation is introduced into PSO. The particles can be described as superposition of multiple states. Quantum bits are updated by quantum rotation gates, and mutated by quantum non-gates. The numerical simulation results show that the new algorithm has better stability, global search capability and faster convergence rate than classical PSO and GA. Furthermore, the new algorithm is applied to the structure optimization of 37kW energy-saving motor used in beam pumping unit successfully. The main structure parameters of motor are selected as optimal variables. And the performance of motor is chosen as constraint conditions. Motor efficiency is selected as optimization goal. The optimized energy-saving motor, which is more energy efficient and materials saving, meets the requirements of periodic pulsating variable load, low load and energy saving in oil field.


Flow controllers are needed to avoid congestion in different types of networks. The dynamics of such networks, however, can usually be represented by infinite-dimensional models, which are either based on partial-differential equations or delay-differential equations. An optimal ℋ∞ flow controller design approach has recently been proposed for networks whose dynamics involve multiple and uncertain time-varying time delays. In the present paper, performance level and stability margins of controllers designed by this approach are analyzed. It is shown that, by choosing certain controller design parameters large, stability margins can be improved; while choosing them small improves performance levels. Therefore, there is a clear trade-off between robustness and performance.


For the first time, the role of isovalent Zr substitution in cerium oxide on the non-stoichiometry induced dilation (chemical expansion) was investigated. Chemical expansion was derived experimentally using HTXRD, dilatometry, and TGA measurements on Pr0.1Zr0.4Ce0.5O1.95−δ and computationally with DFT calculations on Zr0.5Ce0.5O2−δ. Though Zr was found to increase the reducibility and the corresponding chemical expansion of ceria in the studied range, the relationship between chemical expansion and non-stoichiometry (the chemical expansion coefficient) was significantly smaller (54% less) than that observed in ceria, and consistent with predictions from the authors' previous work. The origin of the reduced chemical expansion coefficient, associated with a larger contraction of the lattice around oxygen vacancies, is explained using DFT calculations and corroborated with prior investigations of enhanced reducibility of ceria–zirconia. Additionally, implications of this discovery for solid oxide fuel cells and heterogeneous catalyst systems are also discussed.


Analysis of food health regulations and their impact on coeliac population was performed through research and comparison of argentinian and international health regulations on gluten-free foods, and by analysis of website visits to argentinian official list of gluten free products. The CODEX STAN 118/1979 standard and rules from the European Community recognized as "gluten free" foods those which contain up to 20 mg/kg, and as "low gluten content" those with 20-100 mg/kg, while FDA defines "gluten free" foods as those with a maximum of 20 mg/kg. Australia and New Zealand distinguish as "gluten free" foods those that contain no detectable gluten and "low-gluten those which do not exceed 20 mg/kg of gluten. In Argentina the maximum allowed by the "Codigo Alimentario Argentino" is 10 mg/kg for "gluten free" foods. This also applies to gluten free food from MERCOSUR members. The Coeliac Law of Argentina introduced several advances as the updated official gluten free products list. Argentina is one of the countries which has the most severe limit of gluten for food destined for coeliac population providing health and commercial advantages or profits.


Lake surface water temperature (LSWT) plays a fundamental role in the lake energy budget. However, direct observations of LSWT require considerable effort for acquisition and hence are rare relative to a large number of lakes. In lakes where LSWT has not been covered sufficiently by in situ measurements, remote sensing and lake modeling can be used to produce a fine spatio-temporal record of LSWTs. In our study, the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LSWT was used to compare with in situ data at the overpass times over the six sites in Lake Chaohu, a large shallow lake in China. MODIS-derived LSWT reflected the variation of lake surface temperature well, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96 and a cool bias of 1.25 °C. The bias was modified by an "Upper Envelop" smoothing method and then employed to evaluate the general lake model (GLM) performance, a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The GLM simulations showed good performance compared with MODIS LSWT data at an interannual time scale. A 57-year record of simulated LSWT was hindcast by the well-calibrated GLM for Lake Chaohu. The results showed that LSWT decreased by 0.08 °C/year from 1960 to 1981 and then increased by 0.05 °C/year. These trends were most likely caused by a cooling effect of decreased surface incident solar radiation and a warming effect of reduced wind speed. Our study promoted the use of MODIS-derived LSWT as an alternative data source, and then combined with a numerical model for inland water surface temperature, and also further provided an understanding of climate warming effect on such a shallow eutrophic lake. Key points: (1) Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) lake water surface temperature (LSWT) was validated with real-time in situ data collected at Lake Chaohu with high accuracy; (2) MODIS LSWT was modified by the bias correction and employed to evaluate a one-dimensional lake model at interannual and intraannual scale; The LSWT hindcast by a well-calibrated model at Lake Chaohu decreased by 0.08 °C/year from 1960 to 1981 and increased by 0.05 °C/year from 1982 to 2016.


In this research, we have developed a linear programming formulation to describe Qatar steel manufacturing supply chain from suppliers to consumers. The purpose of the model is to provide answers regarding the optimal amount of raw materials to be requested from suppliers, the optimal amount of finished products to be delivered to each customer and the optimal inventory level of raw materials. The model is validated and solved using GAMS software. Sensitivity analysis on the proposed model is conducted in order to draw useful conclusions regarding the factors that play the most important role in the efficiency of the supply chain.


BACKGROUND
Orbital lymphangioma can result in ocular emergencies due to acute enlargement, leading to painful proptosis, compressive optic neuropathy, exposure keratopathy, restrictive ocular motility and increased intraocular pressure. Treatment methods and clinical courses of two cases with orbital lymphangioma are reported, one with orbital decompression therapy and the other with intralesional injection of OK-432 therapy. CASE 1: An 8-year-old girl had multilocular cystic orbital intracornal lymphangioma. Emergency operation was deemed necessary because the patient presented with the painful proptosis, the compressive optic neuropathy, and increased intraocular pressure due to acute enlargement, we put the orbital inferior wall was decompressed by inserting an intact inframedial orbital strut. The proptosis vanished completely and visual acuity loss improved. CASE 2: A 2-year-old girl had multilocular cystic orbital intra and extracornal lymphangioma. She had severe proptosis and exposure keratopathy. The extracornal cystic lesion was treated with an intralesional injection of OK-432. On the 7th day after injection, the patient presented with painful severe proptosis. Aspiration of the fluid in the cystic lesion was performed, and the drain was preserved. After the treatment, both the severe proptosis and the exposure keratopathy improved.

CONCLUSIONS
Inferior wall decompression was performed on case 1 while keeping the inframedial orbital strut. Although the eye movement disorder was low at the time, the medial and lateral wall decompression improved. In case 2, the extracornal cystic lesion was treated with an intralesional injection of OK-432 Judging from the results of that clinical course, the injection of OK-432 to the intracornal lesion could prove dangerous to the visual performance. Although OK-432 is predictably-effective against lymphangioma, it should not perform be applied without careful consideration.


Aim. To improve the effectiveness of the therapy in patients with infiltrative and suppurative forms of zoonotic trichophytosis (ZT) immune modulator «Imunofan» was used. Matherial and method. Changes in levels of main lymphocyte subpopulations and the accumulation in blood cell cultures stimulated with pathogen antigens of cytokines — Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) — have been studied. Results. There have been changes of lymphocyte subpopulations that are typical for the formation of cell-mediated immunity to dermatophytes (CMID) with concomitant stimulation of IL-2 and IFN-γ synthesis. In the course of treatment IL-2 production after short increase reduces, and IFN-γ production grows until the convalescence and CMID formation. Conclusion. Combined treatment of ZT with «Imunofan» intensifies signs of CMID with increasing IL-2 and IFN -γ production. At once the regression of inflammation symptoms in the foci occurs earlier than in control groups.


Transfigurations of Hellenism László Török 2005 This book deals with the architecture and visual arts in late antique early Byzantine Egypt as an organic part of the art of the Mediterranean region in the period between the 3rd and 8th centuries. The richly illustrated book discusses the survival and transformations of Hellenistic themes and forms in the Roman and late antique periods. It also presents a history of Coptic art history.


Efficiently providing a compression-molding machine that compresses a molding material can be manufactured briquettes. And a mold apparatus 12 is formed in the molding chamber, and a chultoe (出 退) plunger (15) is installed freely in the axial direction to compress the molding material in the molding chamber. Mold apparatus 12 is a pressure-receiving member fixed in the axial direction opposite to the front end face (15a) of the plunger (15); the outer mold (44) to slide joined to the outer peripheral surface of the (pressure receiving member 16) and a plunger (15) and the outer mold 44 in conjunction with the movement of the extruding direction front side of the plunger 15 is provided with a support means for supporting the outer mold 44 the art to move in the same forward direction. Briquettes for the metal material, a plunger, a mold apparatus, the outer mold, the support means


In this work the authors describe a case of priapism lasting approx. 15 hours presenting chronic myeloid leukaemia in a 15-year-old boy, Aspiration of the corpora cavernosa was carried out and the boy remained in intensive care for 2 months, after which a Doppler examination was performed. This showed a moderate flow in the left artery and a poorer situation in the right.


The effect of hydrogen on the rate of phototrophic Fe(II) oxidation by two species of purple bacteria was measured at two different bicarbonate concentrations. Hydrogen slowed Fe(II) oxidation to varying degrees depending on the bicarbonate concentration, but even the slowest rate of Fe(II) oxidation remained on the same order of magnitude as that estimated to have been necessary to deposit the Hamersley banded iron formations. Given the hydrogen and bicarbonate concentrations inferred for the Archean, our data suggest that Fe(II) phototrophy could have been a viable process at this time.


Online mass spectrometry was applied to reveal multiple mechanisms of visible-light irradiated dye-sensitized photocatalysis for o-phenylenediamine oxidation. The reactants, products and short-lived intermediates were recorded and dynamically tracked. Dimer and unexpected trimer intermediates were observed to deduce the stepwise aerobic photooxidation mechanism with multiple routes, which was supported by theoretical calculations.


While criticism of Evelyn's Waugh's Brideshead Revisited has generally focused on the novel's Catholic themes, it has often overlooked the author's exploration of certain correlative artistic values that that are both sustained by the Christian vision and integral to the development of a humane and soul-enriching culture. That culture for Waugh was necessarily grown out of an identifiable past and evoked by artistic representations of divine grace and human potential. This essay argues that Charles Ryder's eventual Catholic conversion remains indispensable to the novel's fulfillment of its author's vision. This critical denouement, however, also serves to affirm the grace that is revealed throughout by the protagonist's instinctive veneration for traditions besieged by a soulless and secular modernism. In this way, worldly beauty is intricately entwined with a life of virtue and can thus be seen as adjacent to those values hitherto singularly ascribed by critics of Brideshead to the Catholic mission.


Abstract Methods for investigating and approximating the linear dynamics of amplifier flows are examined in this paper. The procedures are derived for incompressible flow over a two-dimensional backward-facing step. First, the singular value decomposition of the resolvent is performed over a frequency range in order to identify the optimal and suboptimal harmonic forcing and responses of the flow. These forcing/responses are shown to be organized into two categories: the first accounting for the Orr and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the shear layer and the second for the advection and diffusion of perturbations in the free stream. Next, we investigate the dynamics of the flow when excited by a white in space and time noise. We compute the predominant patterns of the random flow which optimally account for the sustained variance, the empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs), as well as the predominant forcing structures which optimally contribute to the sustained variance, the stochastic optimals (SOs). The leading EOFs and SOs are expressed as a linear combination of the suboptimal forcing and responses of the flow and are related to particular instability mechanisms and/or frequency intervals. Finally, we use the leading EOFs, SOs and balanced modes (obtained from balanced truncation) to build low-order models of the flow dynamics. These models are shown to accurately recover the time propagator and resolvent of the original dynamical system. In other words, such models capture the entire flow response from any forcing and may be used in the design of efficient closed-loop controllers for amplifier flows.


Prometryn is a methylthio-s-triazine herbicide used to control the growth of annual broadleaf and grass weeds in many cultivated plants. Significant traces of prometryn are documented in the environment, mainly in waters, soil, and plants used for human and domestic consumption. Previous studies have shown that triazine herbicides have carcinogenic potential in humans. However, there is limited information about the effects of prometryn on the cardiac system in the literature, or the mechanisms and signaling pathways underlying any potential cytotoxic effects are not known. It is important to understand the possible effects of exogenous compounds such as prometryn on the heart. To determine the mechanisms and signaling pathways affected by prometryn (185 mg/kg every 48 h for seven days), we performed proteomic profiling of male mice heart with quantitative liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using ten-plex tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling. The data suggest that several major pathways, including energy metabolism, protein degradation, fatty acid metabolism, calcium signaling, and antioxidant defense system were altered in the hearts of prometryn-treated mice. Proteasome and immunoproteasome activity assays and expression levels showed proteasome dysfunction in the hearts of prometryn-treated mice. The results suggest that prometryn induced changes in mitochondrial function and various signaling pathways within the heart, particularly affecting stress-related responses.


Portable solid state audio players are currently reaching consumers through the advent of new audio compression algorithms and non-volatile flash memory technology. This paper presents a low-power, software programmable portable audio system utilizing these technologies. The key to this system is a 16-bit, fixed point digital signal processor (DSP) that handles decoding and other features while allowing software upgradeability.


Introduction: Zebrafish enable studies of early embryogenesis and hematopoiesis like no other animal models. Many zebrafish orthologs of hematopoietic genes have been identified, and zebrafish models of leukemia are emerging but the zebrafish ortholog of MLL, a critical oncogene disrupted by leukemogenic translocations, has not yet been studied. We cloned the complete z mll cDNA and characterized its temporal expression as a framework for further studies of MLL where current knowledge is still incomplete. Methods: Bioinformatic tools were employed to interrogate the existence and relationship of a z mll ortholog and synteny with human MLL. Degenerate RT-PCR was used to determine whether MLL amino acid sequences in domains highly conserved across species could identify the orthologous zebrafish transcript. Cross-species Southern blot analysis was performed to determine if a predicted z mll gene from restriction map simulations of a projected genomic sequence could be detected with a human cDNA probe for the MLL breakpoint cluster region (bcr). The full-length z mll cDNA was obtained using a combination of 5′ RACE PCR, long-range and conventional PCR. The corresponding protein was analyzed in a phylogram tree. The temporal pattern of z mll RNA expression was examined using quantitative (Q) RT-PCR. Results: Bioinformatic analysis using the human MLL protein as the reference sequence identified two putative "similar to MLL proteins" and predicted two proximal transcript sequences on zebrafish chromosome 15. Gene prediction tools suggested a single genomic structure matching both protein sequences. A conserved block of synteny containing several linked genes surrounded the predicted z mll. Furthermore, z mll and human MLL were in the same map order in an uninterrupted segment with the gene for ubiquitination factor E4A. Degenerate RT-PCR analysis of wild-type adult zebrafish RNA based on cross-species amino acid sequences from highly conserved PHD and SET domains amplified the predicted transcript. Cross-species Southern blot analysis with the human probe detected the projected zmll genomic fragments corresponding to the MLL bcr in adult zebrafish genomic DNA. RT-PCR analysis of wild-type adult zebrafish RNA determined that the two predicted "similar to MLL proteins" were from a single gene. The full length 12657 bp, 35-exon z mll cDNA cloned from wild-type 24 hpf zebrafish embryo RNA predicted a 4218 amino acid protein with CXXC, PHD, Bromodomain, FYRN, FYRC, and SET domains and taspase cleavage sites with 45.8% sequence identity and 57.3% similarity to human MLL. Phylogram tree analysis suggested evolutionary divergence of mammals from teleosts but nonetheless conservation of critical functional domains. QRT-PCR demonstrated maternally supplied z mll mRNA during the earliest embryonic developmental timepoints, and expression of zygotic z mll mRNA during embryogenesis and in the zebrafish adult. Conclusions: These results indicate that there is a single z mll gene with highly conserved functional similarity to human MLL . The temporal pattern of expression, including maternal supply of transcript to the embryo, indicates that z mll is important from early embryogenesis through the entire lifespan of the fish. The high evolutionary conservation of critical domains creates the framework to use zebrafish for studying MLL in hematopoiesis and leukemia.


Time synchronization is important for wireless sensor networks because it facilitates cooperation among nodes and helps raise power efficiency. Time synchronization protocols like TPSN, RBS and FTSP have provided great schemes to fulfill fast synchronization with efficiency. In some applications, nodes might hope to sleep for a long time without timestamp exchanges with other nodes. In that case, accurate time drift prediction is quite necessary. For that purpose, firstly, we propose a time synchronization scheme, which fully utilizes the broadcast nature. The scheme achieves time synchronization with fewer timestamps compared with RBS and TPSN. Secondly, we introduce a method to find relative time drift rate on the fly. Thirdly, we introduce a scheme to predict time drift rates of the next few hours. We also analyze a few factors that deteriorate frequency drift or time drift rate. The diurnal periodical environment trend, instead of mathematical extrapolation, is used for time drift rates prediction of the next few hours.


A new methodology for the synthesis of nanoparticles using lyotropic liquid crystals as nanoreactors has been developed. The hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains of lyotropic phases have characteristic dimensions of 2-10 nm and thus can be used to confine reactants that are selectively soluble in only one domain to nanoscopic dimensions. Here, synthesis of Bi (a metal) and PbS (a compound semiconductor) nanoparticles is driven by bringing together reactants via the shear mixing of two liquid crystals, each containing dissolved reactants that are selectively soluble in one of the two phases, as proof-of-principle for this method. Modulating the phase of the lyotropic liquid crystals allows control over the geometry and interconnectivity of the nanoreactors, giving control over the diameter of nanoparticles produced. Decreasing concentration of precursors is shown to decrease particle size. It is also demonstrated that the nanoparticles produced are not agglomerated in the lyotropic liquid crystal during synthesis. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized with TEM, electron diffraction, EDAX, and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy.


Deubiquitination is a major form of post-translational protein modification involved in the regulation of protein homeostasis and various cellular processes. Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), comprising about five subfamily members, are key players in deubiquitination. USP10 is a USP-family DUB featuring the classic USP domain, which performs deubiquitination. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that USP10 is a double-edged sword in human cancers. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying its different effects in tumorigenesis remain elusive. A possible reason is dependence on the cell context. In this review, we summarize the downstream substrates and upstream regulators of USP10 as well as its dual role as an oncogene and tumor suppressor in various human cancers. Furthermore, we summarize multiple pharmacological USP10 inhibitors, including small-molecule inhibitors, such as spautin-1, and traditional Chinese medicines. Taken together, the development of specific and efficient USP10 inhibitors based on USP10's oncogenic role and for different cancer types could be a promising therapeutic strategy.


Calculations are presented for the thermoremanent magnetisation m(t) in magnetic materials using a cluster model for their spin-system. The distribution employed for the cluster sizes is Poissonian. We derive for m(t) a form which is a modified power law, consisting of the product of a power law (t/τ0)-α and a positive polynomial in α ln (t/τ0). α is linear with temperature. The thermoremanent magnetisation decays linearly with ln (t/τ0) over two distinct regimes, one which has been obtained previously, at short observation times, and another that results from the competition between the power law and the polynomial. This second regime occurs significantly for the observation times 10-3 s ≤ t ≤ 103 s probed mostly by experimental techniques. With increasing temperature, the power law dominates and m(t) decays strongly though non-exponentially.


CircRNAs have become a novel scientific research hotspot, and an increasing number of studies have shed light on their involvement in malignant progression. Prompted by the apparent scientific gap in circRNAs from apoptosis-related genes, such as BOK, we focused on the identification of novel BOK circRNAs in human ovarian and prostate cancer cells. Total RNA was extracted from ovarian and prostate cancer cell lines and reversely transcribed using random hexamer primers. A series of PCR assays utilizing gene-specific divergent primers were carried out. Next, third-generation sequencing based on nanopore technology followed by extensive bioinformatics analysis led to the discovery of 23 novel circRNAs. These novel circRNAs consist of both exonic and intronic regions of the BOK gene. Interestingly, the exons that form the back-splice junction were truncated in most circRNAs, and multiple back-splice sites were found for each BOK exon. Moreover, several BOK circRNAs are predicted to sponge microRNAs with a key role in reproductive cancers, while the presence of putative open reading frames indicates their translational potential. Overall, this study suggests that distinct alternative splicing events lead to the production of novel BOK circRNAs, which could come into play in the molecular landscape and clinical investigation of ovarian and prostate cancer.


We demonstrate, using data for the period 1954-2003, that differences in exposure to consumption risk explains cross sectional differences in average excess returns (cost of equity capital) across the 25 benchmark equity portfolios constructed by Fama and French (1993). We use yearly returns on stocks to take into account well documented within year deterministic seasonal patterns in returns, measurement errors in the consumption data, and possible slow adjustment of consumption to changes in wealth due to habit and prior commitments. Consumption during the fourth quarter is likely to have a larger discretionary component. Further, given the availability of more leisure time during the holiday season and the ending of the tax year in December, investors are more likely to review their asset holdings and make trading decisions during the fourth quarter. We therefore match the growth rate in the fourth quarter consumption from one year to the next with the corresponding calendar year return when computing the latter's exposure to consumption risk. We find strong support for our consumption risk model specification in the data.


OBJECTIVE
To assess parent-teacher concordance on ratings of DSM-IV symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a sample of preschool children referred for an ADHD treatment study.

METHODS
Parent and teacher symptom ratings were compared for 452 children aged 3-5 years. Agreement was calculated using Pearson correlations, Cohen's kappa, and conditional probabilities.

RESULTS
The correlations between parent and teacher ratings were low for both Inattentive (r = .24) and Hyperactive-Impulsive (r = .26) symptom domains, with individual symptoms ranging from .01-.28. Kappa values for specific symptoms were even lower. Conditional probabilities suggest that teachers are only moderately likely to agree with parents on the presence or absence of symptoms. Parents were quite likely to agree with teachers' endorsement of symptoms, but much less likely to agree when teachers indicated that a symptom was not present.

CONCLUSIONS
Results provide important data regarding base rates and concordance rates in this age group and support the hypothesis that preschool-aged children at risk for ADHD exhibit significant differences in behavior patterns across settings. Obtaining ratings from multiple informants is therefore considered critical for obtaining a full picture of young children's functioning.


The Canadian artist Diane Borsato has explored a number of different projects with bees and beekeepers, mushrooms and mychologists, and with plants. Much of Borsato's practice is concerned with 'learning' through affective, bodily, and intimate gestures. She often works with specific groups of people – mycologists, astronomers, physicists, tea sommeliers, ikebana practitioners and beekeepers – in order to think about the mobility of thought, about ethical-political encounters, and the affective dimensions to embodied knowing.


Although a growing number of studies have examined the underlying mechanisms of cyberbullying victimization, less is known about the gender differences in developmental nature of cyberbullying victimization. This study aims to examine (1) developmental pathways of cyberbullying victimization by gender, and (2) gender differences in the risk and protective factors. Relying on longitudinal data of Korean youth, we found three latent trajectories for girls and four subgroups for boys. In general, results found somewhat different developmental patterns of cyberbullying victimization by gender. Also, results showed both gender similarities and differences in predictors. Peer support was the only consistent factor across boys and girls and there were gendered predictors as well. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.


Abstract : This report describes the sampling design, sample selection, estimation procedures, and the missing data compensation procedures used for the 1999 Survey of Active Duty Personnel. Together with the 1999 Survey of Spouses of Active Duty Personnel, these surveys are referred to as the 1999 Active Duty Surveys (ADS) Forms A and B, respectively. The member questionnaire is referred to as Form A or member survey. The first section of this report presents a general overview of the survey and the sampling design. Subsequent sections provide information on the statistical methods used in weighting and variance estimation. Several types of response rates were calculated and are described in the last section of the report. The population of interest for Form A included all active-strength Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard members (including Reservists on active duty) below the rank of admiral or general, with at least six months of active duty service. The sample frame included only members who were on active duty in May 1999. The purpose of the Form A survey was to collect information on assignments, military life, families, economic issues, and demographics of both members of the services and their spouses. A sample of members was selected from the Defense Manpower Data Center's (DMDC's) May 1999 Active Duty Master File (ADMF) and the May 1999 Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System (RCCPDS).


Human eye being unprotected by the layer of skin and bones is one of the most sensitive organs to EM radiation. The absorption of EM radiation is quantified in terms of SAR and to calculate the SAR the knowledge of complete electric field distribution inside the eye is necessary. In this paper the problem of distribution of near EM field inside an eye is considered as EM scattering problem. Human head is considered to be in the air, thus it represents an open boundary problem, as well. The method for obtaining electric field distribution inside the eye is novel hybrid BEM/FEM with discontinuous boundary elements


In the paper we argue that no neat border line between ontology and epistemology can be drawn. This is due to the fact that the separation between factual and conceptual is rather fuzzy, and the world is characterized by a sort of ontological opacity which makes the construction of any absolute ontology difficult. Our ontology is characterized by the fact that the things of nature are seen by us in terms of a conceptual apparatus that is inevitably influenced by mind-involving elements, and all this has important consequences on both the question of scientific realism and the realism/anti-realism debate. Conceptualization gives us access to the world, while, on the other, it is the most important feature of our cultural evolution. While the idealistic thesis according to which the mind produces natural reality looks hardly tenable, it is reasonable to claim instead that we perceive this same reality by having recourse to the filter of a conceptual apparatus whose presence is, in turn, connected to the development of language and social organization. Our science is essentially relational, and not absolute. The information with which it provides us is appropriate, but from our point of view. Science provides reliable information on the world, but this information is always relative to a particular framework, and it is a mistake to think that the limits of our cognitive capacities only have an aprioristic character. Science constantly attempts at providing answers to our questions about how things stand in the world, and thus purports to offer reliable information about it. But it should also be recognized that the extent to which science succeeds in accomplishing this task is disputable. What kind of realism, thus, can we actually endorse? Despite what many relativists claim, realism still is an arguable and defendable position. If one asks what difference is made to our knowledge claims if we accept the existence of an extra-conceptual world, the answer is the following: such recognition undermines the diffused anthropocentric stance which identifies reality with our limited knowledge of it.


Introduction/Background Treatment of elderly patients with neoplasia is challenging due to the frailty of the patients, existing comorbidities and increased number of concomitant medications. In addition, elderly patients are usually underrepresented in clinical trials. Age is a known prognostic factor in ovarian cancer but optimal treatment of elderly patients has not been determined. We undertook a retrospective analysis to determine clinical practice in advanced stage ovarian cancer patients older than 75 years of age. Methodology Medical records of women with high grade serous and endometrial ovarian cancer, stage III and IV, treated at Alexandra Hospital from 2011 to 2016 were retrospectively identified. Clinicopathological data, treatment and survival data were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier Survival curves were generated using IBM SPSS version 20; survival differences were estimated using the long-rank test. Results In total, 158 patients were identified with a median age of 61.1 years. Among them 20 (12.7%) were older than 75 years of age at diagnosis (range 75.03–92.72 years). First line Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were statistically significant worse in elderly patients in comparison to the younger ones (mPFS 13.4 months vs 21.9 months, P<0.001 and mOS 25.3 months vs 51,5 months, P<0.001). However, elderly patients were characterized by worse ECOG-PS, more frequent treatment with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy followed by Interval Debulking Surgery, more frequently denied debulking surgery, and received monotherapy with platinum as frontline treatment, while were less frequently tested for BRCA mutations. In contrast, there was no statistical significant difference in the outcome of the debullking surgery in comparison to the younger patients. Age over 75 years retained its statistical significance for OS when adjusted for all other reported prognostic factors. Conclusion Elderly ovarian cancer patients have worse prognosis independent of treatment. Comprehensive geriatric assessment should be performed for the optimal treatment of these patients. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


Epidemiological studies suggest that persons living in areas of normal iodine availability show less breast cancer than those living in iodine-deficient areas. 1,2 World Health Organization investigations, recently published, 3 have revealed that a large segment of the population in the United States and other parts of the world lives in areas of limited iodine availability. In addition, there appears to be statistical evidence of an increased incidence of breast malignancy in hypothyroidism. 4-6 Our results imply that iodine deficiency may be involved in these thyroid-breast relationships. The breasts of chronically iodine-deficient female rats treated with testosterone were observed to be considerably larger than their normally fed, testosterone-injected litter-mate controls. No reports directly pertaining to this observation were found in the literature. Therefore, we decided to carry out a systematic investigation of the influence of iodine deficiency on the resting and sex-hormone-treated breasts of female rats. The changes seen were


A brief review is given of the application of some of the newer biotechnological methods to the study of nematodes. Within the area of biochemistry, the application of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the studies of parasite metabolism, and the continued use of isoenzyme analysis for understanding intiaspeci tic variation in parasites are tiiscussed. Aspects of the molecular characterization of nematodes are described, including methodologies for extraction of DNA, and the identification of specific parasite antigens. The use of in vitro DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction for diagnostic purposes is considered.


It is important to note that while many states have communities involved in processes similar to CHART, few, if any, offer a team of professionals to support these initiatives, and none have a statewide partnership that is as committed to the process as Missouri does. The relationship between the key partner organizations is a unique phenomenon, and is certainly a key success factor for the process. CHART is an active member of the Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities, a national network that exists as a multi-sector partnership to service the widespread communities movement in the U.S. The Coalition serves as both a link to resources, and as a voice for policy and action. The issues and concerns, as well as the successes, of Missouri communities are carried to this national Coalition to present a unified voice for communities nationwide. CHART is an innovative approach to empowered community development. It provides communities the opportunity to participate in the process of change. The CHART process provides a vehicle for communities to take charge of the future, to determine locally how issues are addressed, and to set a course that assures improved health, quality of life, and sustainable community systems for the 21st century.


Modified novolac epoxy vinyl ester resins are presented for composite applications demanding high heat resistance. These resins are liquid at room temperature, shelf-stable yet fast-curing, and compatible with a wide range of fabrication methods. Glass reinforced and carbon fiber reinforced composites derived from these high performance resins are constructed and tested for mechanical and thermal properties. The property retention at elevated temperatures of strength and modulus at elevated temperatures in these next generation resins exceeds today's commercially available highest performance vinyl ester resins.


To the Editor: In the article, "Paramedic Field Instructors: An Approach to Training the Newest Paramedics While Maintaining the Interest of the Most Successful Senior Paramedics," published in Prehospital and Disaster Medians, April-June 1995, Krochmal et al have attempted to address two major problems all emergency medical services (EMS) systems face: 1) effective integration and supervision of the clinically inexperienced advanced life support provider; and 2) motivating the senior paramedic to remain enthusiastic and committed to competent (and compassionate) clinicalcare delivery. The paramedic field instructor program crafted by the New Haven EMS system may be unique because it has used a single approach to handling several different system management needs. The idea of taking senior, experienced paramedics and finding a way to motivate them to share their experiences with others is not a novel intent. However, their success may be. Under the system they describe, everyone wins—the paramedic, the student, the new intern, the senior paramedic, even the patient! After reviewing the article, I was left with several questions. They include: 1. Was the selection criteria used to identify the 30 paramedic field instructors adequate in providing the system with the quality they desired? For example, was there a difference between those selected who had previous teaching experience compared to those without? The initial four-hour training period seems, on the surface, to be quite short to prepare the inexperienced instructor/preceptor adequately. 2. The idea of presenting challenging continuing medical education (CME) to the new as well as the "old" paramedic is a constant challenge. Was the monthly three-hour CME in which the paramedic field instructors participated in addition to or in lieu of the normal monthly session that they already were expected to attend? If it was in lieu of that normally required, were there any problems encountered with meeting national registry and/or state recertification requirements, given that it appears that many of the items discussed were not necessarily of a purely clinical nature? 3. There is little reason to doubt that the presence of the motivated group of paramedic field instructors can lead to improvements in training and field performance. However, what objective data were found to validate the "real" benefit of the new program? In turn, can these data now be used to justify these individuals receiving a higher salary for their work? This paper also describes the instructional and the evaluational role played by the paramedic field instructor. However, it failed to describe the system criteria used to assure performance quality among the paramedic field-instructors. Did each paramedic field instructor become responsible for only one student or intern, or several? For the system to receive an ultimate benefit from a paramedic field-instructor program, each performance must be of a similar qualitative nature. Was there satisfactory inter-reliability found among the 30 personnel? If not, what were the problems that were seen? In summary, the paper presents one suburban area's attempt to implement an innovative idea to meet several needs. Their experience would seem to verify what many systems have known for some time. Some of our best instructors are not found just in the classroom. Despite the important information shared by their report, there are a number of other questions that must be answered before the full impact of a program like this can best be understood and emulated.


Preventing environmental degradation and alleviating poverty are the twin challenges of sustainable development. Participatory forest management (PFM) takes the challenge of preventing the degradation of forest resources while sustaining forest-based benefits to people's livelihoods. Yet, effective implementation of PFM requires a more profound understanding of the actual place of forest resources in the livelihoods of rural households and the role of forest-based activities in alleviating poverty.

This study is conducted in Southern Ethiopia in the Oromia region in the district of Dodola. It examines the context of a PFM initiated by the government in the 1990s. The main objectives of the study are to examine the role of the forest resource in the livelihoods of the local people and to describe the nature of forest use in order to understand the performance and perception of collective forest management. Data were collected through a series of household surveys and group discussions over a one year period supplemented by key informant interviews.

The results of the study show that forest products are important sources of income contributing to 34% and 53% of household per capita income and per capita cash income, respectively. Forest income is an important buffer against extreme poverty by filling seasonal gaps of income and by serving as safety net in times of income crisis. Forest income also provides the opportunity to diversify livelihoods, particularly for low income groups. Households' decisions on livelihood strategies including dependence on forest income are associated with socioeconomic and geographical factors. Furthermore, the performance of user groups and the attitudes and intention of households towards participating in collective management are associated with level of income and dependence on forest income. User groups that are more dependent on forest income and have higher heterogeneity in terms of dependence on the forest resource have shown lower performance. Forest dependent households have also shown a less favorable attitude and intention towards engaging in planting activities.

The study concludes that socioeconomic differences and the differentiated roles and values of forest products in the livelihoods of members of user groups are related to the success of participatory management and thus are important aspects to be considered in designing participatory forest management arrangements. It is recommended that a better outcome in terms of poverty alleviation can be achieved if pro-poor forest-based activities are specifically considered in planning conservation and development interventions.


Intestinal obstruction caused by internal hernia due to Meckel diverticulum is a rare disease. The condition is seldom diagnosed preoperatively. In this paper, we present a 10-month-old boy who suffered from abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, and mild fever for 2 days. Abdominal sonography, plain abdomen X-ray, and computed tomography merely showed mechanical ileus and partial malrotation. However, exploratory laparotomy revealed a Meckel diverticulum through which the small bowel had herniated. We introduce the Meckel diverticulum and internal hernia and discuss intestinal obstructions.


We explore the value of information in the context of a remanufacturer that faces uncertainty with respect to demand, product return, and product recovery (yield loss). We assume a single period model in which the operational decision of interest is the quantity of new product to order. Our objective is to evaluate the absolute and relative value of the different types of information that such a firm may choose to invest in order to reduce the uncertainty it experiences in matching supply with demand. The different types of information include demand, return, and yield loss. Our results are extensive and reveal that the value for any specific type of information depends both on the overall level of uncertainty and the level of uncertainty that is attributed to the information for which it explains. We develop and test a theoretical model that is predictive of 1) the value of each type of information, 2) the conditions that give rise to the value for each type of information, and 3) the relative value for each type of information.


Chaotic process in wave passing through pores on the attached fishing net between twin pontoons of floating breakwater (TPFB) may lead to several severe problems relating to the hydrodynamic performance of such coastal structure. In presence of relatively fine pores, the wave transmission coefficient (Kt) tends to diminish while the reflection coefficient (Kr) will likely increase, or vice versa for coarse ones. The circumstance requires a complete design optimization study into obtaining an optimum porosity. This paper presents optimization on the fishing net porosity (n) of TPFB using artificial intelligence (AI) model. Here, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with various genetic parameters is proposed to search for optimum n ratio through primarily minimizing transmission (Kt) and reflection coefficients (Kr) while maximizing energy dissipation coefficient (Kd). In addition, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) programme is developed using an extended Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver for a solid-permeable obstacle. Several parameters such as wavelengths and porosity ratios including a set of optimization criteria, have been taken into account in the simulation, where the optimum solution is then selected from various populations. Meanwhile, the optimum result will be qualitatively evaluated, in which it is visualized by the characteristic patterns of induced energy dissipation. The results revealed that the optimization algorithm is effectively capable of determining global trade-offs between Kt, Kr, and Kd. As compared to the existing model, Kt and Kr decrease to less than 0.85 and 0.42 respectively, whereas Kd was increased up to 0.34 resulting in optimum hydrodynamics of TPFB indicated by further enhancement in the rate of energy dissipation across TPFB entanglement. For validation, the numerical model can fairly simulate well on the hydrodynamics of structure.


Hsp70 has been implicated in nuclear localization signal (NLS)-directed nuclear transport. Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains distinct SSA and SSBgene families of cytosolic Hsp70s. The nucleocytoplasmic localization of Ssa1p and Ssb1p was investigated using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions. Whereas GFP-Ssa1p localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm, GFP-Ssb1p appeared only in the cytosol. The C-terminal domain of Ssb1p contains a leucine-rich nuclear export signal (NES) that is necessary and sufficient to direct nuclear export. The accumulation of GFP-Ssb1p in the nuclei ofxpo1-1 cells suggests that Ssb1p shuttles across the nuclear envelope. Elevated levels of SSA1 but not SSB1 suppressed the NLS-GFP nuclear localization defects of nup188-Δ cells. Studies with Ssa1p/Ssb1p chimeras revealed that the Ssb1p NES is sufficient and necessary to inhibit the function of Ssa- or Ssb-type Hsp70s in nuclear transport. Thus, NES-less Ssb1p stimulates nuclear transport innup188-Δ cells and NES-containing Ssa1p does not. We conclude that the differential function of Ssa1p and Ssb1p in nuclear transport is due to the NES-directed export of the Ssb1p and not to functional differences in their ATPase or peptide binding domains.


Natural Language Processing is in growing demand with recent developments. This Generator model is one such example of a music generation system conditioned on lyrics. The model proposed has been tested on songs having lyrics written only in English, but the idea can be generalized to various languages. This paper's objective is to mainly explain how one can create a music generator using statistical machine learning methods. This paper also explains how effectively outputs can be formulated, which are the music signals as they are million sized over a short period frame. The parameters mentioned in the paper only serve an explanatory purpose. This paper discusses the effective statistical formulation of output thereby decreasing the vast amount of estimation of output parameters, and how to reconstruct the audio signals from predicted parameters by using 'phase-shift algorithm'.


A thermodynamic description of crystallization in amorphous thin foils is presented. The specimen geometry is described by a wedge and the total driving force for phase transformation is expressed in terms of volume, surface and interfacial free energies. At low specimen thickness, the driving force is strongly enhanced by the surface free energy and approaches a constant value at large specimen thickness which is determined by the volume free energy. Energy minimizing crystal orientation results in equiaxed crystals at low specimen thickness. The classical theory of phase transformation is used to calculate the crystallization rate. The results of the present work show that the crystallization rate increases strongly at low specimen thickness which is in qualitative agreement with experimental results.


In April 2001 SN 1993J was observed with both the PN and MOS cameras of the XMM-Newton observatory, resulting in about $7\times 10^4~$s of acceptable observation time. Fit results with both the PN and MOS2 camera spectra studying different spectral models are presented. The spectra are best fitted in the energy range between 0.3 and ~10 keV by a 2-component thermal model with temperatures of $kT_1 = 0.34\pm 0.04$ keV and $kT_2 = 6.54\pm 4$ keV, adopting ionization equilibrium. A fit with a shock model also provides acceptable results. Combining the XMM-Newton data with former X-ray observations of the supernova, we discuss the general trend of $L_{\rm x}\propto t^{-0.30}$ and the bump of the X-ray light curve as well as former and recent spectral results in the light of the standard SN model as first proposed by Chevalier in 1982.


Background: Infertility is a big problem all over the world. There are different factors in the semen quality which determines the success of fertilization. Zinc is a micronutrient, essential for normal physiology of male reproductive tract. It plays vital role in various biochemical mechanisms. A lot of controversy exists in determining the role of zinc concentration in semen quality. Objective: To find the correlation between semen zinc concentration with sperm count and sperm motility in male patients presenting with infertility. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings: Department of Urology, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad. Duration: 21/11/2016 to 20/5/2017. Methodology: In this study non-probability consecutive sampling technique was used. Informed consent was obtained and demographic details were also noted. Then patients were subjected to semen samples collection by masturbation. Samples were collected at biochemistry department of this hospital. The zinc concentration was determined via Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Then sperm count and sperm motility were also noted. SPSS v20 was used to analyze the collected data and results were generated. Results: A total number of 100 male infertile individuals were included in this study. The mean age of the subjects was 30.48±5.99 years. Primary infertility was noted in 55(55%) patients and secondary infertility was noted in 45(45%) patients. Correlation was also calculated in the patients below the age of 30 years and above the age of 30 years. Strong positive correlation was found between the zinc concentrations with sperm motility. Conclusion: Strong positive relationship was noted among zinc concentration with sperm motility while week positive relationship was noted among zinc concentration with sperm count.


Coastal plain sands in some selected areas of Ikoyi, in Lagos, Dahomey basin southwestern Nigeria have been investigated with respect to their geotechnical properties to determine their suitability as construction materials and to recommend suitable foundation type for the proposed developments. Representative samples collected from each sites were subjected to standard engineering tests and CPT method was used for calculating the bearing capacity of the soil. The cone resistance values (Qc) ranges from 8-158 kg/cm, 20-160 kg/cm, 32-166 kg/cm for Sokoto street site, Parkview estate site, and Delta street site respectively. Correlating this result with standard penetration test values, it shows dense soil at 3m, 10m and 45m for Delta Street site, medium dense soil at 2m and 30m for Parkview estate site, and medium dense soil at 3m, 29m and 30m for Sokoto Street site. The undrained triaxial test revealed that undrained cohesion ranges from 47-70 KNm, 44-95 KNm, and 15-30 KNm with no angle of internal friction for Sokoto Street, Delta Street and Parkview estate site respectively. These values show that the soils have low bearing capacity due to low undrained cohesion and angle of internal friction. The geotechnical analysis result show that for the proposed building (tower) on the three sites, shallow foundation cannot be supported because the foundation pressure exceeds the bearing capacities of the soil across the three sites at shallow depth and the loads needs to be transferred to more competent soil layer at deeper depth via a nondisplacement (or replacement) pile. Keyword: Bearing capacity, Displacement Piles, standard penetration test, cone penetrometer World Scientific News 110 (2018) 23-41


Purpose: Fatigue and clinical practice stress can negatively influence nursing students. This study was done to examine of communication skill as mediating effect variable in the relationship between fatigue and stress during clinical practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. Research participants were 124 nursing students from G city and J province. Data were collected from December 1, 2016 to January 30, 2017 using self-report questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Baron and Kenny method. Results: Fatigue had a significant negative correlation with communication skill (r=-.28, p=.001). Fatigue had a significant positive correlation with clinical practice stress (r=.39, p<.001). In addition, communication skill had a mediating effect in the relationship between fatigue and clinical practice stress. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that communication skill plays an important role in reducing clinical practice stress in nursing students. Therefore, in the field of nursing education, a program to improve the communication ability of nursing students should be developed and applied.


OBJECTIVES
Odor hedonic perception is well known to exhibit great variability and to depend on several parameters, i.e. stimulus, context, and subject characteristics. As hedonic perception (pleasant/unpleasant character) of food odors is considered one of the most prominent dimensions in eating behavior, the question of hedonic variability in this context arises. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare odor hedonic ratings in three populations with regard to diet (i.e. omnivore, vegetarian, and flexitarian diets).

METHODS
Four categories of odors were compared: meat, vegetable, other food, and non-food odors.

RESULTS
The results showed that vegetarian and flexitarian individuals rated meat odors as more unpleasant than omnivores, while no significant difference was found for other categories of odors.

DISCUSSION
The question of whether the diet influences the hedonic perception or/and inversely is discussed, regarding several aspects of food consumption such as eating disorders, food education, … and could further serve to manage eating behaviors.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
This study evidenced that vegetarians and flexitarians specifically rated meat odors as being more unpleasant than those of omnivores. Because of the growing number of vegetarians and flexitarians in the general population, it could be suggested to take into account the odor hedonic perception (especially regarding food odors) in studies related to diets. Besides, the present results could further serve research in several aspects of food consumption such as eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia … etc.) or food education as well as the management of eating behaviors, especially in an elderly population.


VvMSA, a grapevine ASR which is highly inducible by sugar and abscisic acid signals was previously shown to be a transcription factor for a hexose transporter gene VvHT1. We isolated a cDNA clone, VlASR which is regulated temporally during the grape berry development by ACP RT-PCR (annealing control primer reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction) and it proved identical to VvMSA. RT-PCR and real-time PCR analyses revealed that the VlASR gene was expressed in berries at fruit set and that its expression increased as berries aged but decreased at the late ripening stage. In order to understand the regulatory mechanism of the asr gene, a genomic fragment was cloned from grapevine. The genomic DNA was 1375 bp long and a sugar box (sucrose box 3 and sucrose responsive element 1) was identified in the 611 bp upstream region of the open reading frame. Analysis of the VlASR promoter::reporter gene fusion demonstrated that this promoter was expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis even without sucrose treatment. This result suggests that the ASR/VvHT1-mediated sugar/ABA signaling, previously reported in grapevine, may not function in Arabidopsis which has no ASR homologue.


Objective Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) was proven to cause fatal encephalitis in humans in 2018. However, the effects of persistent infections remain unclear. Here, we present the case of a 50-year-old woman with a 30-year history of severe schizophrenia, who was exposed to fleas from stray cats prior to disease onset, suggesting the possibility of zoonosis including BoDV-1 infection. The patient had experienced significant social impairment, thought deterioration, delusions, and hallucinations for more than 20 years. Method A radioligand assay was used to test the patient for IgG and IgM antibodies against BoDV-1 nucleoprotein (N) and phosphoprotein (P). Based on the protocol for hepatitis C, we treated the patient with 400 mg/day ribavirin, which was later increased to 600 mg/day. Results The serological examination revealed anti-BoDV-1 N IgG. Although only subtle changes were observed over the 24 weeks of treatment, the family noticed that the patient's Cotard delusions had disappeared 7 months after completing the treatment, accompanied by some improvements in the relationship with the family. Conclusion Though definite proof was not obtained, this presumed suppression of BoDV-1 by ribavirin leading to improvements in Cotard syndrome-like symptoms suggests that intractable schizophrenia might be one of the BoDV-1 infection phenotypes. Further studies are needed to clarify the effect of persistent BoDV-1 infections in humans.


Rats given phenphormin, an antidiabetic biguanide, from the 1st (8th) day of pregnancy displayed a fall of cholesterol, phospholipids and free fatty acids in the blood; no maldevelopment of the fetus or placenta was seen. Permissibility of prescription of biguanides during pregnancy is discussed.


Aims: The recently described SARS-CoV-2 has led to a pandemia which has severe consequences for the global community. Hydroxychloroquine has been repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19 but conflicting information on its efficacy and safety has since emerged. Our group designed a trial on the use of high-dose hydroxychloroquine in a high-risk ambulatory population with mild COVID-19 (NCT04351620) and summarizes herein the clinical data of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19. Methods: Single-arm and single-center study evaluating the tolerability of high-dose hydroxychloroquine, 600 mg twice daily for 5 days, in patients with mild COVID-19 and risk factors for clinical decompensation and hospitalization. Secondary objectives included maintenance of ambulatory status, defervescence, and symptom relief. Results: Over a six-week period, 59 patients met eligibility criteria out of 314 contacted (18.7%). Out of these 59 potentially eligible patients, 44 (74.5%) patients declined to be screened further due to concerns about its risks and unproven efficacy, referencing media accounts and politization of the medication. Out of the 9 patients consented, 2 did not complete the therapy plan, 1 due to headaches, 1 did not follow up. Two of the 7 patients who completed the study continued to have fevers, one was admitted for pneumonia. Study was terminated early due to recruitment difficulties. Conclusions: The trial met pre-defined primary outcome of tolerability, but sample size was too small to allow further interpretation. The political climate and media coverage might have negatively impacted patient recruitment, which has ultimately led to its early interruption.


According to the amendment to the Act on maintaining cleanliness and order in communes, a stationary a municipal solid waste collection point (MSWCP) must be established in each Polish commune or commune union and situated close to the commune center. This point (MSWCP) should exist in the commune (or commune union), which are covered in 100% by protected zone. These objects are a new element in managing of the stream of municipal solid waste in Poland, known in the European countries as "household waste recycling centers" (HWRC). The aim of the work was developing the procedure with the use of tools enabling setting potential locations for MSWCPs in protected areas. The developed method was applied (for verification of the assumptions) in the process of seeking optimal locations for MSWCPs in the communes located in the Świętokrzyski National Park (ŚNP) protection zone. The paper presents the methodology for setting locations for municipal solid waste collection points. A method was developed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information System (GIS). It was possible to designate between 98 and 191 potential locations of MSWCPs in the communes situated in the ŚNP protection zone. The assumed criterion of maximum distance from the commune center eliminated 85% of locations. Optimal locations for MSWCPs in each commune were determined using AHP method. The main results of this research was to establish of MSWCP location for every commune in analyzed protected zone, Mateusz Malinowski, Arkadiusz Religa 1604 based on the proposed methodology. The method presented in the paper may be a tool for the environment impact assessment of these investments.


The objectives of this study were to determine the occupational stressors for support staff at a higher education institution in the North West Province and to investigate the relationship between occupational stress, ill health, organisational commitment and organisational outcomes. An Organisational Screening Tool (ASSET) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The results showed that, compared with normative data, support staff overall demonstrated average levels of occupational stress. However, Job Control, Resources, Communication and Work Relationships were found to be problematic stressors that mainly influenced organisational commitment. The prediction of losses suffered by the higher education institution due to absenteeism, presenteeism and turnover intention indicate that occupational stress is costly to the institution.


Surgical outcomes and costs of laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomy for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma were compared in a centre with lengthy experience with laparoscopic surgery. The robotic cohort (n = 67) had a longer operative time than the laparoscopic cohort (n = 150) (p < 0.0001). Lymph node yields were similar for both surgical modalities, but the median of estimated blood loss was lower in the robotic group (50 ml vs 100 ml; p < 0.0001). The proportion of patients with hospital stay > 2 days and rate of overall complications were similar in both groups. Operative costs were (Euros) €1,680 and €3,860 for the laparoscopic and robotic procedure, respectively. We conclude that robotic technology is feasible but does not provide short-term benefits for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma in a centre where laparoscopy has been established as the standardised minimally invasive surgical method.


Abstract During the Second Republic of Spain (1931–1939) and within the framework of ambitious social reform, the government of the Generalitat of Catalonia launched a social and educational assistance system. This new system would be independent, modern, and capable of surpassing the traditional welfare system based on religious charity that was predominant in Spain at the time. One of the initiatives performed to obtain funding consisted of the sale of Christmas seals, whose earnings would be allocated to the fight against childhood tuberculosis. The Segell Pro Infància organisation was created for this purpose. This article analyses the origins of this institution within the socio-political context of Catalonia during the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War, in addition to its work and activities during its brief existence. The series of actions financed by Segell were primarily directed at improving institutions that provided a social welfare system, such as crèches and nursery schools. In this analysis, the commitment of early twentieth-century Catalan nationalism to social and educational modernisation, in addition to its development of social justice policies, is revealed. This reform fits into the framework of a broader pro-sovereignty project in which Catalonia would build state structures independent of Spain.


When the human genome was sequenced, it came as a surprise that it contains "only" 21,306 protein-coding genes. However, complexity and diversity are multiplied by alternative splicing, non-protein-coding transcripts, or post-translational modifications (PTMs) on proteome level. Here, we discuss how the multi-tasking potential of proteins can substantially enhance the complexity of the proteome further, while at the same time offering mechanisms for the fine-regulation of cell responses. Discoveries over the past two decades have led to the identification of "surprising" and previously unrecognized functionalities of long known cytokines, inflammatory mediators, and intracellular proteins that have established novel molecular networks in physiology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. In this mini-review, we focus on alarmins and atypical chemokines such as high-mobility group box protein-1 (HMGB-1) and macrophage migration-inhibitory factor (MIF)-type proteins that are prototypical examples of these classes, featuring a remarkable multitasking potential that allows for an elaborate fine-tuning of molecular networks in the extra- and intracellular space that may eventually give rise to novel "task"-based precision medicine intervention strategies.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Androgen-dependent prostate tumor cells can adapt to androgen ablation by up-regulating expression of the androgen receptor (AR). Increased expression of AR may sensitize cells to residual androgens in the environment or to de novo-synthesized ligands. We have shown previously that hormone-independent LNCaP 104-R1 cells, which arise after long-term androgen deprivation of androgen-dependent 104-S cells, express much higher levels of AR than 104-S cells. LNCaP prostate tumor cells express a mutant T877A AR that can be activated by progesterone, raising the possibility that LNCaP cells progress to apparent hormone independence during androgen deprivation by initiating de novo synthesis of progesterone. In support of this, we have found that androgen-dependent LNCaP 104-S cells grow independently of exogenous androgen after lentivirus-mediated over-expression of T877A AR, but not wild-type (wt) AR. This difference was attributable to the T877A substitution and not to sequence differences in the N-terminus between wt and LNCaP cell-derived AR. However, this growth was insensitive to the anti-androgen bicalutamide, similar to the bicalutamide-insensitive growth of hormone-independent 104-R1 cells. Lentiviral sh-RNAi-mediated knockdown of AR resulted in growth inhibition in both 104-S and 104-R1 cells. Analysis of T877A AR transactivation in 104-S and 104-R1 cells by reporter gene assay revealed that T877A AR displayed significant constitutive and bicalutamide-insensitive activity. Wild-type AR, on the other hand, showed low basal activity in the absence of added ligand and modest induction by bicalutamide. Co-expression of CYP11A1 (cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme) and HSD3B2 (3-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-2), which sequentially generate pregnenolone and progesterone, strongly activated T877A AR, but not wt AR in 104-S cells. This activation could be inhibited by bicalutamide or ketoconazole, an inhibitor of CYP11A1. Expression of CYP11A1 alone in 104-S cells increased cell proliferation in the absence of androgen that was bicalutamide-sensitive. This indicates that 104-S cells may express low level but functional HSD3B activity, because pregnenolone does not activate T877A AR. Secondly, the bicalutamide-sensitivity of progesterone-driven cell proliferation and bicalutamide-insensitivity of T877A AR-driven proliferation, together with the observations above, suggest that de novo synthesis of progesterone or another ligand in LNCaP cells is most likely not responsible for T877A AR-driven proliferation in cells in which T877A AR is over-expressed. Rather, the T877A mutation may confer upon the receptor constitutive ligand-independent activity.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3930. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3930


In this letter, we present a simplified scheduling scheme for packet transmission over a fading channel which is modeled as a finite-state block channel. We first address the optimal minimum power-transmission policy with constraints on both average delay and packet loss. The optimal policy requires a sophisticated table lookup for implementation. In order to alleviate this problem, we design a simplified transmission policy that is based on checking for three control parameters: a transmission-rate threshold; a channel-state threshold; and the transmission buffer size. Our results show that the minimum average power with the simplified scheme is very close to that achieved by the optimal policy. Further, modeling the simplified scheme via a single-server bulk-service queue, we derive approximations to the quality of service metrics, such as average power and delay, that allow for analytical insights into the policy design.


Automated pavement distresses detection using road images remains a challenging topic in the computer vision research community. Recent developments in deep learning have led to considerable research activity directed towards improving the efficacy of automated pavement distress identification and rating. Deep learning models require a large ground truth data set, which is often not readily available in the case of pavements. In this study, a labeled dataset approach is introduced as a first step towards a more robust, easy-to-deploy pavement condition assessment system. The technique is termed herein as the pavement image dataset (PID) method. The dataset consists of images captured from two camera views of an identical pavement segment, that is, a wide view and a top-down view. The wide-view images were used to classify the distresses and to train the deep learning frameworks, while the top-down-view images allowed calculation of distress density, which will be used in future studies aimed at automated pavement rating. For the wide view group dataset, 7,237 images were manually annotated and distresses classified into nine categories. Images were extracted using the Google application programming interface (API), selecting street-view images using a python-based code developed for this project. The new dataset was evaluated using two mainstream deep learning frameworks: You Only Look Once (YOLO v2) and Faster Region Convolution Neural Network (Faster R-CNN). Accuracy scores using the F1 index were found to be 0.84 for YOLOv2 and 0.65 for the Faster R-CNN model runs; both quite acceptable considering the convenience of utilizing Google Maps images.


The enzymatic esterification of oleic acid and 1butanol to butyl oleate was performed in an aqueous−organic system in capillary microreactors with various inner diameters operated under slug flow. The free Rhizomucor miehei lipase in the aqueous phase was used as a catalyst and n-heptane as the organic solvent. A close to 100% yield of butyl oleate could be achieved in the microreactor made of polytetrafluoroethylene within 30 min residence time at 30 °C. The reaction rate is well described by the existing kinetic model based on a Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism with competitive inhibition of 1-butanol. This model was extended to describe the effect of the interfacial area and aqueous-to-organic flow ratio in microreactors. By performing the reaction at low aqueous-to-organic flow ratios in hydrophilic microreactors (e.g., made of stainless steel), the enzyme turnover number could be enhanced significantly, making it promising for process intensification.


Predicting vehicle trajectories, angle and speed is important for safe and comfortable driving. We demonstrate the best predicted angle, speed, and best performance overall winning the top three places of the ICCV 2019 Learning to Drive challenge. Our key contributions are (i) a general neural network system architecture which embeds and fuses together multiple inputs by encoding, and decodes multiple outputs using neural networks, (ii) using pre-trained neural networks for augmenting the given input data with segmentation maps and semantic information, and (iii) leveraging the form and distribution of the expected output in the model.


Magnetic fields could be funneled over longer distances than currently possible using a magnetic "hose" made of ferromagnetic and superconductor materials.


Relationships among bioassay, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and disc electrophoretic assay methods of estimating rat prolactin in pituitary tissue and incubation medium were determined. Highly significant correlations were obtained between disc electrophoretic and RIA estimates of prolactin in tissue and between bioassay and RIA estimates of prolactin in medium. Less significant relationships were obtained between disc electrophoresis and RIA (medium) and between bioassay and disc electrophoresis (tissue and medium). The relationship between bioassay and RIA of prolactin in the incubated tissue was not significant. Regression analysis disclosed the following: the RIA measured slightly more, and the bioassay detected substantially more prolactin in tissue and medium than did disc electrophoresis; the bioassay detected about five times more prolactin in medium than did the RIA. No significant relationships were found within or among the assays for depletion and release of prolactin. The results indicate that secreted prolactin has increased bioassay activity relative to its detectability by disc electrophoresis and RIA.


This article explores older people's priorities for health and social care, noting a close relationship between those systems and the role to be played by housing services as the third vital branch of care. The article frames the debate within the context of the reforms of the NHS and social care, which provide an opportunity to ensure that services take account of the needs of the whole person on a multi‐disciplinary basis.


MOLECULAR DYNAMICS STUDIES ON NANOSCALE GAS TRANSPORT Murat Barisik Old Dominion University, 2012 Director: Dr. Ali Beskok Three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of nanoscale gas flows are studied to reveal surface effects. A smart wall model that drastically reduces the memory requirements of MD simulations for gas flows is introduced. The smart wall molecular dynamics (SWMD) represents three-dimensional FCC walls using only 74 wall molecules. This structure is kept in the memory and utilized for each gas molecule surface collision. Using SWMD, fluid behavior within nano-scale confinements is studied for argon in dilute gas, dense gas, and liquid states. Equilibrium MD method is employed to resolve the density and stress variations within the static fluid. Normal stress calculations are based on the Irving-Kirkwood method, which divides the stress tensor into its kinetic and virial parts. The kinetic component recovers pressure based on the ideal gas law. The particle-particle virial increases with increased density, while the surface-particle virial develops due to the surface force field effects. Normal stresses within nano-scale confinements show anisotropy induced primarily by the surface forcefield and local variations in the fluid density near the surfaces. For dilute and dense gas cases, surface-force field that extends typically lnm from each wall induces anisotropic normal stress. For liquid case, this effect is further amplified by the density fluctuations that extend beyond the force field penetration region. Outside the wall force-field penetration and density fluctuation regions the normal stress becomes isotropic and recovers the thermodynamic pressure, provided that sufficiently large force cut-off distances are utilized in the computations. Next, non-equilibrium SWMD is utilized to investigate the surface-gas interaction effects on nanoscale shear-driven gas flows in the transition and free molecular flow regimes. For the specified surface properties and gassurface pair interactions, density and stress profiles exhibit a universal behavior inside the wall force penetration region at different flow conditions. Shear stress results are utilized to calculate the tangential momentum accommodation coefficient (TMAC) between argon gas and FCC walls. The TMAC value is shown to be independent of the flow properties and Knudsen number in ail simulations. Velocity profiles show distinct deviations from the kinetic theory based solutions inside the wall force penetration depth, while they match the linearized Boltzmann equation solution outside these zones. Afterwards, surface effects are studied as a function of the surface-gas potential strength ratio (£w//eff) for the shear driven argon gas flows in the early transition and free molecular flow regimes. Results show that increased results in increased gas density, leading towards monolayer adsorption on surfaces. The near wall velocity profile shows reduced gas slip, and eventually velocity stick with increased e^eff. Similarly, using MD predicted shear stress values and kinetic theory, TMAC are calculated as a function of ewf/sff, and TMAC values are shown to be independent of the Knudsen number. Results indicate emergence of the wall force field penetration depth as an additional length scale for gas flows in nano-channels, breaking the dynamic similarity between rarefied and nano-scale gas flows solely based on the Knudsen and Mach numbers. my beloved grandfather Hikmet Kirpi Sevgili dedecigim Hikmet Kirpi'ye


How humans and machines make sense of current inputs for relation reasoning and question-answering while putting the perceived information into context of our past memories, has been a challenging conundrum in cognitive science and artificial intelligence. Inspired by human brain's memory system and cognitive architectures, we propose a PMI framework that consists of perception, memory and inference components. Notably, the memory module comprises working and long-term memory, with the latter endowed with a higher-order structure to retain more accumulated knowledge and experiences. Through a differentiable competitive write access, current perceptions update working memory, which is later merged with long-term memory via outer product associations, averting memory overflow and minimizing information conflicts. In the inference module, relevant information is retrieved from two separate memory origins and associatively integrated to attain a more comprehensive and precise interpretation of current perceptions. We exploratively apply our PMI to improve prevailing Transformers and CNN models on question-answering tasks like bAbI-20k and Sort-of-CLEVR datasets, as well as relation calculation and image classification tasks, and in each case, our PMI enhancements consistently outshine their original counterparts significantly. Visualization analyses reveal that memory consolidation, along with the interaction and integration of information from diverse memory sources, substantially contributes to the model effectiveness on inference tasks.


Environmental politics is part of an emerging and exciting field of study in Southeast Asia. The literature on politics and governance in Southeast Asia and ASEAN has for many years been overwhelmingly dominated by 'hard' issues of security and economics, and not so much by 'soft' issues like the environment. This is unsurprising considering that ASEAN was founded primarily to accelerate economic growth and political security in the region. However of course, hand in hand with the increased rates of environmental deterioration and pollution in various Southeast Asian countriesover the years, the academic attention to issues of the environment in the region has slowly increased as well.

Before the serious episodes of haze in the late 1990s, water management in the Mekong dominated what little environmental conversations that were happening among scholars of the region. However, the environmental 'disaster' that was the haze grabbed local, regional and even global attention and this has translated to an increased interest in ASEAN scholars to think and write about this issue. Haze is defined by the ASEAN Secretariat as "sufficient smoke, dust, moisture, and vapour suspended in the air to impair visibility". In Southeast Asia, most of this haze originates from land and forest fires in Indonesia and to a lesser extent Malaysia. These fires can either occur naturally or are intentionally lit to quickly and cheaply clear land for small scale or commercial agriculture like pulp and paper and palm oil. Haze becomes transboundary when "its density and extent is so great at the source that it remains at measurable levels after crossing into another country's airspace".