The report presents two cases, in which medico-legal assessment of the time of death was supplemented by entomological studies. In Case 1, where the corpse was completely mummified, insects found on the body allowed for determining that death had occurred 1-1.5 years prior to discovery of the victim, thus making it possible to determine the upper limit of the relevant time range, what could not have been accomplished based solely on medico-legal examinations. In Case 2, where highly advanced postmortem changes rendered precise determination of the time of death by medico-legal methods impossible, and the insect species living on the body suggested that death had occurred approximately 3-6 months prior to discovery of the corpse, non-scientific data demonstrated that death might have occurred not earlier than slightly more than two months before the body was found.


In this article we argue that the attempt to overcome technical dominance with democratic procedures has reduced communication to fair procedural rules that do not fully recognize the rhetorical functions of dialogue. The meaning generation process, although important, is not sufficiently accounted for in current participation theories and models. Here, we use Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogic perspective to explore a "sense-making" discourse that includes embracing differences, generating new meanings, and engaging in an open-ended dialogue. This mode of discourse works to construct understanding through a multi-voiced, ongoing struggle among perspectives. It intermingles with a problem-solving discourse focused on developing agreement among disparate views within democratic processes. These types of discourse have differing, yet complimentary goals and we see them as alternating throughout public participation to encourage long-term interaction and relationship building. We highlight techniques that illustrate some ways of encouraging a sense-making discourse and touch upon several lessons they provide for implementing this type of discourse within democratic models.


The increasing demand for spectral- and energy-efficient communication networks has spurred great interest in energy harvesting cognitive radio networks. Such a revolutionary technology represents a paradigm shift in the development of wireless networks, as it can simultaneously enable the efficient use of the available spectrum and the exploitation of RF energy in order to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources. This is mainly triggered by the recent advancements in microelectronics that puts forward RF energy harvesting as a plausible technique in the near future. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the operation of a network relying on harvested energy needs to be redesigned to allow the network to reliably function in the long term. To this end, the aim of this survey article is to provide a comprehensive overview of recent development and the challenges regarding the operation of CRNs powered by RF energy. In addition, the potential open issues that might be considered for future research are also discussed in this article.


Videos can often be created by first outlining a global description of the scene and then adding local details. Inspired by this we propose a hierarchical model for video generation which follows a coarse to fine approach. First our model generates a low resolution video, establishing the global scene structure, that is then refined by subsequent levels in the hierarchy. We train each level in our hierarchy sequentially on partial views of the videos. This reduces the computational complexity of our generative model, which scales to high-resolution videos beyond a few frames. We validate our approach on Kinetics-600 and BDD100K, for which we train a three level model capable of generating 256x256 videos with 48 frames.


Abstract Purpose To encourage the use of the NTCP0 for evaluating safety as a new alternative of assessing the S-Es of the radiation oncology treatments; and the use of the 'NTCP0cal' methodology that calculates/estimates NTCP0. Method Revisions of studies related to use of the NTCP in the evaluations of S-Es. Development of the first version of the Matlab application of our methodology, which provides three options, two of them employ the well-known aspects of a phenomenological model, or the relationship with the TNTCP; where NTCP0 = 100%-TNTCP; and the third option determines NTCP0 from an assumed NTCP discrete probabilistic distribution from the binomial distribution, where one of its parameters is automatically defined from a databased of the Disease locations Vs. Late complications. Result As result of revisions of some QUANTEC studies, we can say that: (1) The majority of current NTCP models are DVH-based; (2) The risk of toxicity is the way of evaluating the S-Es of the radiation oncology treatments; and (3) The NTCP are used mainly for evaluations of individual or principal complications or Endpoints of the radiation treatments. The 'NTCP0cal' Matlab application developed in this study has three calculation options. Two of the options provide additional graphical information about the distributions. Conclusions The NTCP0 is a new radiobiological concept, its introduction let to correct some current P + and UTCP formulations, and will allow evaluating S-Es in whatever activity involving ionizing radiation, like radiation treatments; and its phenomenological model function of dose prescribed (D = n*d) will allow calculating values of NTCP0 for a range of dose per fraction (d) in a treatment with a determined number of fractions (n), or for range of n for a constant d. The DVH is irrelevant for this model. For whatever radiation treatment given to a population of similar patients under similar circumstances, the NTCP0 is calculated as ratio of the number of patients without acute/late complications and total of them. When this number is unknown, then NTCP0 can be obtained using the 'NTCP0cal' application.


Tropospheric ozone is one of the most hazardous air pollutants as it harms both human health and 11 plant productivity. Foliage uptake of ozone via dry deposition damages photosynthesis and causes stomatal 12 closure. These foliage changes could lead to a cascade of biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects that not 13 only modulate the carbon cycle, regional hydrometeorology and climate, but also cause feedbacks onto surface 14 ozone concentration itself. In this study, we implement a semi-empirical parameterization of ozone damage on 15 vegetation in the Community Earth System Model to enable online ozone-vegetation coupling, so that for the 16 first time ecosystem structure and ozone concentration can coevolve in fully coupled land-atmosphere 17 simulations. With ozone-vegetation coupling, present-day surface ozone is simulated to be higher by up to 4-6 18 ppbv over Europe, North America and China. Reduced dry deposition velocity following ozone damage 19 contributes to ~40-100% of those increases, constituting a significant positive biogeochemical feedback on 20 ozone air quality. Enhanced biogenic isoprene emission is found to contribute to most of the remaining 21 increases, and is driven mainly by higher vegetation temperature that results from lower transpiration rate. This 22 isoprene-driven pathway represents an indirect, positive meteorological feedback. The reduction in both dry 23 deposition and transpiration is mostly associated with reduced stomatal conductance following ozone damage, 24 whereas the modification of photosynthesis and further changes in ecosystem productivity are found to play a 25 smaller role in contributing to the ozone-vegetation feedbacks. Our results highlight the need to consider two26 way ozone-vegetation coupling in Earth system models to derive a more complete understanding and yield more 27 reliable future predictions of ozone air quality. 28 29


Recent research has revealed that neural networks and other machine learning models are vulnerable to adversarial attacks that aim to subvert their predictions' integrity or privacy by adding a small calculated perturbation to inputs. Further, the adversary can significantly degrade the performance of the model. The number and severity of attacks continues to grow. However, a dearth of techniques robustly defends machine learning models in a computationally inexpensive way. Against this background, we propose an adversarially robust training procedure and objective function for arbitrary neural network architectures. Robustness of neural networks against adversarial attacks on integrity is achieved by augmentation of a novel regularization term. This regularizer penalizes the discrepancy between the representations induced in hidden layers by benign and adversarial data. We benchmark our regularization approach on the Fashion-Mnist and Cifar-10 datasets. Our model is benchmarked against three state-of-the-art defense methods, namely: (i) regularization to the largest eigenvalue in the Fisher information matrix of the activity of the terminal layer, (ii) a higher-level representation guided denoising autoencoder (trained with adversarial examples), and (iii) training an otherwise undefended model on data distorted by additive white Gaussian noise. Our experiments show that the proposed regularizer provides significant improvements in adversarial robustness over both an undefended baseline model as well as the same model defended with other techniques. This result is observed over several adversarial budgets with only a small (but seemingly unavoidable) decline in benign test accuracy.


Many studies have investigated optimal chondrogenic conditions, but only a few of them have addressed their effects on cell viability or the methods to enhance it. This study investigated the effect of low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS), a well-known chondrogenic inducer, on the viability of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) during chondrogenic differentiation in three-dimensional (3-D) alginate culture. The hMSCs/alginate layer was cultured in a chondrogenic defined medium and treated with transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and/or LIUS for 2 weeks. Along with chondrogenic differentiation for 2 weeks, the 3-D alginate culture and TGF-beta1 treatment resulted in the decrease of cell viability, which appeared to be mediated by apoptosis. In contrast, co-treatment with LIUS clearly enhanced cell viability and inhibited apoptosis under the same conditions. The effect of LIUS on the apoptotic event was further demonstrated by changes in the expression of apoptosis/viability related genes of p53, bax, bcl-2, and PCNA. These results suggest that the LIUS treatment could be a valuable tool in cartilage tissue engineering using MSCs as it enhances cell viability and directs the chondrogenic differentiation process, its well-known activity.


The South Mountains of central Arizona are one of the geologically simplest metamorphic core complexes of the North American Cordillera. An early Miocene age of mylonitization is indicated by crosscutting relationships between mylonitic fabric and a composite pluton dated at 22-25 Ma by Rb-Sr, U-Th-Pb, and K-Ar techniques. The kinematic agreement and close temporal association of mylonitization and detachment faulting support models in which the two processes are related to an evolving crustal shear zone that accommodated mid-Tertiary continental extension. 19 references, 3 figures, 2 tables.


Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has become a powerful analytical technique for studying broad coverage of chemical datasets describing complex biological systems and events. In order to interpret the underlying information in such datasets, multivariate analysis method such as principal component analysis (PCA) is crucial for multiple sample comparisons and multivariate data reduction. PCA has been used for evaluation of large-scale datasets derived from LC-MS analysis of fungal metabolites for many applications. Therefore, in this study, we describe on PCA as a descriptive tool to cope with large LC-MS datasets of intracellular metabolites of oil palm basal stem rot (BSR) fungal pathogen, Ganoderma boninense from in vitro liquid culture system. The results revealed a classification and grouping of G. boninense intracellular metabolites according to time trend, where the primary metabolites, i.e. glucose, gluconic acid, mannitol and malic acid were found differentially expressed in G. boninense . The presented findings suggest that the PCA model provides a general approach for handling, analysis and interpretation of large LC-MS datasets to reveal time-dependent changes of intracellular metabolites that may indicate G. boninense developmental process in vitro .


Molten-salt reactions can be used to prepare single-crystal metal-oxide particles with morphologies and sizes that can be varied from the nanoscale to the microscale, subsequently enabling a growing number of novel investigations into their photocatalytic activities. Crystal growth using flux-mediated methods facilitates finer synthetic manipulation over particle characteristics. The synthetic flexibility that flux synthesis affords for the growth of metal-oxides has led to the stabilization of phases with limited stability, the discovery of new compositions, and access to alternate crystal morphologies and sizes that exhibit significant changes in photocatalytic activities at their surfaces, such as for the reduction of water to hydrogen in aqueous solutions. This approach has significantly impacted the current understanding of the optical and photocatalytic properties of metal-oxides, such as the dependence of band gap energies on the structure and chemical composition (i.e., obtained from flux-mediated ion-exchange reactions). Thus, flux preparations of metal-oxide photocatalysts assist in the growth and optimization of their particles in order to understand and tune the photocatalytic reaction rates at their surfaces.


Until now, comparisons between terrestrial and marine proxy climatic records have been achieved successfully only for the last 1.2 Ma or back to oxygen isotope stage 36. The Baoji loess–paleosol section of north-central China possesses 37 field-identifiable paleosols and 37 loess units representing a time span of about 2.5 Ma. The Baoji section is judged by the authors to be the most complete pedostratigraphic sequence in north-central China. This section, coupled with recent success in correlating isotope records back to stage 63, or approximately 1.88 Ma, has enabled a more detailed comparison over a longer time span. Using magnetic reversals as markers, the records are shown to have nearly equal numbers of identifiable warm and cold periods during the last 1.8 Ma. In addition, although there are exceptions, data sets reveal similar patterns during the same time intervals, indicating climatic events on a global scale.


AIM: The present study to develop novel and potent methoxy mycolic acid (mmaa2) 1TPY inhibitors
with anti- tubercular –activity.
OBJECTIVE: Identification of the common Pharmacophore responsible for the inhibition of mmaa2
using hip-hop molecule of catalyst software 4.11 from accelrys.
Using scaffold hopping technique, generation of 10,000 scaffolds from the drug.
Prediction of anti-tubercular activity for the designed using the hyporefine model
and to identify novel and potent mmaa2 inhibitor using Lipinski rule of five.
The potent mmaa2 inhibitors attained as results can be used as lead for drug
development.
Docking of the lead with various derivatives using glide software to the target 1TPY.
The derivatives of the compounds from the lead molecule which has higher glide
score value were synthesized.
Justification of the purity of synthesized compounds using the method of melting
point, thin layer chromatography.
Characterization of the synthesized compounds by using IR spectroscopy, MASS
spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy.
In vitro screening anti-tubercular activity of synthesized compounds. CONCLUSION: 1TPY a critical enzyme for the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was
chosen for our study after review of literature.
A database of 50 molecules with high prospect of inhibiting the target 1TPY were
carefully chosen by making changes into the known hit molecule, here the
acridine nucleus.
Candidate molecules were designed and docked against 1TPY protein using
Glide® (grid based ligand docking with energetics) program.
Two molecules with good G-Score (high stablility/lower binding energy ) were
shortlisted for the synthesis . They were labelled as MI3, and MI4
Two compounds were synthesized with good yield by conventional Schiff base
reaction involving condensation between the 9-Amino Acridine and different
types of aromatic aldehydes.
The purity of the synthesized compounds were evaluated by melting point, TLC,
recrystallization.
The synthesized compounds were characterized by IR spectroscopy, NMR
spectroscopy and Mass spectroscopy.
The pure compounds were screened for In-vitro Anti-tubercular activity by
Microplate Alamar Blue Assay (MABA) method.
Two compounds showed significant invitro antitubercular activity. The
compounds MI3, MI4, showed minimum inhibitory concentration at 6.25mg/ml
against the MIC of standard drugs Pyrazinamide: 3.125mcg/ml, Ciprofloxacin:
3.125 mcg/ml, Streptomycin: 6.25 mcg/ml. The G-Score of the synthesized compounds ranged between -8.86 to -8.66.
The docking scores of Standard drugs against 1TPY were
Pyrazinamide: -5.8 kcal/mol,
Ciprofloxacin: -7.5 kcal/mol,
Streptomycin: -4.9 kcal/mol.
So there is correlation between the docking study and In-vitro Antimycobacterial
activity. The results of our study conclude that 1TPY is a critical enzyme for
Antimycobacterial activity. These compounds can be attractive starting point to
find newer molecules by fine tuning the structures to yield compounds with better
activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.


Background Late onset bipolar disorder (LOBD) is often difficult to distinguish from degenerative dementias, such as Alzheimer disease (AD), due to comorbidities and common cognitive symptoms. Moreover, LOBD prevalence in the elder population is not negligible and it is increasing. Both pathologies share pathophysiological neuroinflammation features. Improvements in differential diagnosis of LOBD and AD will help to select the best personalized treatment. Objective The aim of this study is to assess the relative significance of clinical observations, neuropsychological tests, and specific blood plasma biomarkers (inflammatory and neurotrophic), separately and combined, in the differential diagnosis of LOBD versus AD. It was carried out evaluating the accuracy achieved by classification-based computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems based on these variables. Materials A sample of healthy controls (HC) (n = 26), AD patients (n = 37), and LOBD patients (n = 32) was recruited at the Alava University Hospital. Clinical observations, neuropsychological tests, and plasma biomarkers were measured at recruitment time. Methods We applied multivariate machine learning classification methods to discriminate subjects from HC, AD, and LOBD populations in the study. We analyzed, for each classification contrast, feature sets combining clinical observations, neuropsychological measures, and biological markers, including inflammation biomarkers. Furthermore, we analyzed reduced feature sets containing variables with significative differences determined by a Welch's t-test. Furthermore, a battery of classifier architectures were applied, encompassing linear and non-linear Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forests (RF), Classification and regression trees (CART), and their performance was evaluated in a leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation scheme. Post hoc analysis of Gini index in CART classifiers provided a measure of each variable importance. Results Welch's t-test found one biomarker (Malondialdehyde) with significative differences (p < 0.001) in LOBD vs. AD contrast. Classification results with the best features are as follows: discrimination of HC vs. AD patients reaches accuracy 97.21% and AUC 98.17%. Discrimination of LOBD vs. AD patients reaches accuracy 90.26% and AUC 89.57%. Discrimination of HC vs LOBD patients achieves accuracy 95.76% and AUC 88.46%. Conclusion It is feasible to build CAD systems for differential diagnosis of LOBD and AD on the basis of a reduced set of clinical variables. Clinical observations provide the greatest discrimination. Neuropsychological tests are improved by the addition of biomarkers, and both contribute significantly to improve the overall predictive performance.


ru Oscillations of statistical wave scattering in Rayleigh limit are theoretically found. These oscillations are violation of the Rayleigh law of scattering. They are caused by the diffraction of a new form which leads to the different frequency dependencies of the scattering coefficient in the Rayleigh limit and thus violates Rayleigh law of scattering.


Between 1992-2001 a study of individually marked smooth snakes Coronella austriaca was done in Wareham Forest, southern England. The sex of individual snakes was determined using the relationship between tail length and snout-vent length, and the presence/absence of a hemi-penes swelling at the base of the tail. Males had longer tails than females at all ages/sizes and the difference between the sexes increased with increasing snout-vent length. Using multiple captures of known individuals over many years, size related daily growth rates were determined for each sex that enabled growth curves to be produced. The age structure of the population was determined for each complete year of the study. Very few young small snakes were captured each year. Of all the females who were potentially able to breed, only the oldest, and therefore largest, did so.


BACKGROUND The lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) barrier serves to prevent regurgitation of gastric contents. Although general anaesthesia depresses its function, its recovery process during emergence from anaesthesia has not been systematically examined. OBJECTIVE To explore whether recovery of lower oesophageal barrier function differed between patients receiving a mixture of 1 mg atropine and 2 mg neostigmine and those receiving 2 mg kg−1 sugammadex during emergence from anaesthesia. DESIGN An unblinded randomised controlled pilot study. SETTING A single university hospital from January 2016 to December 2018. PATIENTS A total of 20 non-obese adult females undergoing minor surgery. INTERVENTION The patients were randomly assigned to a group either receiving atropine and neostigmine or sugammadex for reversal of rocuronium. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Through use of the high-resolution manometry technique, the lower oesophageal barrier pressure (PBAR: primary variable) defined as a pressure difference between pressures at the LOS and the stomach was measured at five distinguishable time points during emergence from total intravenous anaesthesia. A mixed effects model for repeated measures was used to test the hypothesis. RESULTS In all patients baseline PBAR values were positive even under muscle paralysis and general anaesthesia before administration of reversal agents, and did not differ between the groups (P = 0.299). During recovery from muscle paralysis and general anaesthesia, PBAR (mean ± SD) significantly increased (P = 0.004) from 17.0 ± 2.9 to 21.0 ± 5.0 mmHg in the atropine and neostigmine group (n = 8) and from 19.1 ± 9.0 to 24.5 ± 12.7 mmHg in the sugammadex group (n = 11). PBAR significantly increased immediately after return of consciousness in both groups, whereas return of muscle tone, lightening of anaesthesia and tracheal extubation did not change it. CONCLUSION Recovery of the lower oesophageal barrier function does not differ between patients receiving either atropine and neostigmine or sugammadex and is completed after recovery of consciousness from general anaesthesia. TRIAL REGISTRATION UMIN Clinical Trials Registry: UMIN000020500: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&recptno=R000023594&type=summary&language=E


Pcetk (a pDynamo-based continuum electrostatic toolkit) is an open-source, object-oriented toolkit for the calculation of proton binding energetics in proteins. The toolkit is a module of the pDynamo software library, combining the versatility of the Python scripting language and the efficiency of the compiled languages, C and Cython. In the toolkit, we have connected pDynamo to the external Poisson-Boltzmann solver, extended-MEAD. Our goal was to provide a modern and extensible environment for the calculation of protonation states, electrostatic energies, titration curves, and other electrostatic-dependent properties of proteins. Pcetk is freely available under the CeCILL license, which is compatible with the GNU General Public License. The toolkit can be found on the Web at the address http://github.com/mfx9/pcetk. The calculation of protonation states in proteins requires a knowledge of pKa values of protonatable groups in aqueous solution. However, for some groups, such as protonatable ligands bound to protein, the pKa aq values are often difficult to obtain from experiment. As a complement to Pcetk, we revisit an earlier computational method for the estimation of pKa aq values that has an accuracy of ± 0.5 pKa-units or better. Finally, we verify the Pcetk module and the method for estimating pKa aq values with different model cases.


In the commercial city of Lagos, Nigeria, traffic congestion poses a great challenge to commuters, particularly businessmen and workers that need to keep appointments and report in offices timely. A great amount of productive man-hours is therefore wasted in traffic congestion. This coupled with the psychological stress, and the loss of potential income that commuters experience in traffic jams present a frustrating scenario to those affected. As a result, traffic managers are motivated to understand traffic information through data generated from vehicle counts as a means of guiding road users on how to avoid traffic jams in routes. This is an urban traffic corridors problem, which plays an important role in urban traffic network analysis. Unfortunately, till date, there is sparse documented information on urban traffic corridors relevant to Lagos, Nigeria. In this paper, through the application of the screen line traffic count methodology, we investigate the daily flow profile of traffic.


The capabilities of large language models (LLMs) have sparked debate over whether such systems just learn an enormous collection of superficial statistics or a coherent model of the data generating process -- a world model. We find evidence for the latter by analyzing the learned representations of three spatial datasets (world, US, NYC places) and three temporal datasets (historical figures, artworks, news headlines) in the Llama-2 family of models. We discover that LLMs learn linear representations of space and time across multiple scales. These representations are robust to prompting variations and unified across different entity types (e.g. cities and landmarks). In addition, we identify individual ``space neurons'' and ``time neurons'' that reliably encode spatial and temporal coordinates. Our analysis demonstrates that modern LLMs acquire structured knowledge about fundamental dimensions such as space and time, supporting the view that they learn not merely superficial statistics, but literal world models.


Abstract Background Choosing the specimen type is the first step of the pre-analytical process. Previous reports suggested plasma as the optimal specimen for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis. However, head-to-head comparisons between plasma and serum using platforms with high analytical sensitivity, such as droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), are limited, and several recent studies have supported the clinical utility of serum-derived ctDNA. This study aimed to compare the DNA profiles isolated from plasma and serum, characterize the effects of the differences between specimens on ctDNA measurement, and determine the major contributors to these differences. Methods We isolated cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from 119 matched plasma/serum samples from cancer patients and analyzed the cfDNA profiles by DNA fragment sizing. We then assessed KRAS mutations in ctDNA from matched plasma/serum using ddPCR. Results The amount of large DNA fragments was increased in serum, whereas that of cfDNA fragments (<800 bp) was similar in both specimens. ctDNA was less frequently detected in serum, and the KRAS-mutated fraction in serum was significantly lower than that in plasma. The differences in ctDNA fractions between the two specimen types correlated well with the amount of large DNA fragments and white blood cell and neutrophil counts. Conclusions Our results provided detailed insights into the differences between plasma and serum using DNA fragment sizing and ddPCR, potentially contributing to ctDNA analysis standardization. Our study also suggested that using plasma minimizes the dilution of tumor-derived DNA and optimizes the sensitivity of ctDNA analysis. So, plasma should be the preferred specimen type.


A decision method using multiple threshold value for PN code acquisition in DS-CDMA systems is describe. This technique is applied to a conventional hybrid search algorithm and analysis in terms of the probability of detection and false alarm. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional scheme in terms of detection probability because multiple threshold values mitigate any possible decline in performance caused by the used of a single threshold.


Cryptography is the art of achieving security by encoding messages to make them non-readable.  It is the technique for hiding data and information from unauthorized users. When we send simple message from one location to another then this message called plain text is visible to anybody. If we want to codify the message called cipher text so that no one can easily understand the meaning of message then we use cryptography techniques. There are numerous applications where this technology is used such as ATM pin, Password, Credit Card number or any other secret communication. Cryptography can be divided into following three categories depending upon the types of key used: secret key (symmetric) cryptography, public key (asymmetric) cryptography and hash functions. In this paper we provide review of various types of cryptography techniques.


Lysosomal storage disorders are a heterogeneous group of biochemical genetic disorders; currently 40-50 are known. The clinical phenotype is determined by the tissue distribution of the storage material and degree of enzyme deficiency. The genetic transmission is mostly autosomal recessive. Lysosomal storage disorders can be divided into three groups according to the major organ system pathology: (1) Primary involvement of the central nervous system without significant somatic or skeletal pathology. Disorders of grey matter, eg gangliosidosis and disorders of white matter eg the leucodystrophy are the most common; (2) Primary involvement of the reticuloendothelial system with or without associated neuropathology, eg Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher disease; (3) Multisystem involvement in which skeletal manifestations are prominent features. The mucopolysaccharidosis and mucolipidoses are the two major forms with this clinical phenotype. Lysosomal storage disorders identified at Siriraj Hospital are neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, GMI gangliosidosis, mucolipidosis II, Maroteaux-Lamy, sialidosis, Sly syndrome, Hunter syndrome, Morquio syndrome, Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick, Sandhoff disease, Pompe's disease and many more. Most patients came from the provinces where consanguinity is common. Confirmation usually is done by enzyme assays using skin fibroblast culture or leucocytes. Genetic counseling is extremely important and prenatal diagnosis is recommended to high-risk couple.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Fetal alcohol exposure increases susceptibility to carcinogen induced mammary tumors in adult rats. These animals exhibit hyperproliferative mammary glands pre-pubertally, suggesting that early changes are taking place in the mammary gland. To determine the molecular mechanisms that underlie these effects, pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were fed a liquid diet containing 6.7% ethanol, pair-fed an isocaloric liquid diet, or fed rat chow ad libitum from days 11 to 21 of gestation. Pups were cross-fostered to ad libitum-fed control dams at birth. At postnatal day 50, offspring were injected with NMU to induce mammary tumors and tissues were collected at 16 weeks post-injection, the time-point when approximately half of all animals exhibited tumors in our previous study. Significantly more tumors were observed in the fetal alcohol group compared to control groups. Histological analysis indicated that fetal alcohol exposed rats developed more adenocarcinomas. Interestingly, mammary tissue from these animals exhibited more adenosis compared to controls. Since we have previously observed changes in the estradiol/estrogen receptor (ER) system and a recent study found that epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) genes are altered in the rat fetal alcohol NMU model, a custom PCR array was designed to examine expression of genes involved in EMT, estradiol/ER signaling, and tumorigenesis in tumor samples and mammary tissue collected from contralateral tumor-free glands. Mammary glands from fetal alcohol animals had increased expression of EMT genes compared to pair-fed controls. Snail and Twist, two genes whose increased expression is considered the hallmark of EMT, exhibited the greatest changes. Previously, we found that mammary tumors collected at 23 weeks post-NMU injection were more ER negative in fetal alcohol animals. Therefore, we were interested in determining if a similar change was evident at 16 weeks post-injection. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis indicated that at this earlier time-point, mammary tumors from the fetal alcohol group were not more ER negative compared to controls. To determine if the ER is functional, IHC analysis was performed to determine the expression of progesterone receptor (PR), a downstream target of ER. The majority of tumors from each treatment group were PR negative. To complete the receptor status profile, IHC was also performed for HER2. The majority of all tumors across the three treatment groups were HER2 negative. These data indicate that fetal alcohol exposure alters expression of several genes in the mammary gland, which may be involved in the molecular mechanisms underlying the increased risk in mammary tumorigenesis.

Citation Format: Catina Crismale-Gann, Tiffany A. Polanco, Hillary Stires, Wendie S. Cohick. Effects of fetal alcohol exposure on tumor development and gene expression in rats. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3595. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3595


Experimental results are reported on non-stationary evolution and interactions of waves forming on water and water–glycerol solution flowing along an inclined plane. A nonlinear wave generation process leads to a large number of solitary humps with a wide variety of sizes. A uorescence imaging method is applied to capture the evolution of film height in space and time with accuracy of a few microns. Coalescence – the inelastic interaction of solitary waves resulting in a single hump – is found to proceed at a timescale correlated to the difference in height between the interacting waves. The correlation indicates that waves of similar height do not merge. Transient phenomena accompanying coalescence are reported. The front-running ripples recede during coalescence, only to reappear when the new hump recovers its teardrop shape. The tail of the resulting solitary wave develops an elevated substrate relative to the front, which decays exponentially in time; both observations about the tail confirm theoretical predictions. In experiments with water, the elevated back substrate is unstable, yielding to a tail oscillation with wavelength similar to that of the front-running ripples. This instability plays a key role in two complex interaction phenomena observed: the nucleation of a new crest between two interacting solitary humps and the splitting of a large hump (that has grown through multiple coalescence events) into solitary waves of similar size.


Sixty four mid early group genotypes of rice were studied for genetic diversity for yield and yield contributing characters. Cluster analysis revealed sixty four genotypes were grouped into 11 clusters. The pattern of distribution of genotypes into different clusters was at random. Plant height contributed maximum towards genetic divergence followed by days to 50% flowering. The maximum inter cluster distance observed for between 4 and 7 (182.08) followed by cluster 1 and 4 (169.94). The genotypes from these clusters can be utilized in hybridization programme for improvement of rice.


OBJECTIVE
Acinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen associated with a high mortality rate. However, no objective and quantitative severity scores are available for the severity stratification. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of SOFA and APACHE II scores calculated at the onset of bacteremia in predicting the mortality of patients with A. baumannii bacteraemia.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A total of 110 patients with A. baumannii bacteremia were included in this retrospective study during the 40-month study period. Information including clinical and laboratory data was collected.

RESULTS
Multivariate analysis showed that both SOFA and APACHE II scores were independent outcome predictors after adjustment for other parameters. Goodness-of-fit was good for SOFA and APACHE II, and both models displayed excellent AUROCs (SOFA: 0.83 ± 0.06, APACHE II: 0.82 ± 0.08 in predicting 14-day mortality; SOFA: 0.85 ± 0.04, APACHE II: 0.81 ± 0.04 in predicting in-hospital mortality). There was no significant difference in the predictions of the two scoring systems, and the scores were highly correlated (r(2)=0.724, p <0.001). We found that SOFA >8, APACHE II >29 and SOFA >7, APACHE II >23 are associated with significantly higher 14-day and in-hospital mortality rates, respectively.

CONCLUSION
SOFA and APACHE II scores assessed at the onset of bacteremia are reliable risk stratifying tools in predicting 14-day and in-hospital mortality in A. baumannii bacteremia. For ease of calculation, the use of SOFA rather than APACHE II score to predict mortality of A. baumannii bacteremia might have clinical application.


A foldable portable terminal arrangement of the camera apparatus each having a display portion on the front of the housing (A side) and the rear surface (B surface). When the housing (1) open, using a camera (10, 8) and the photographed person can check the photographed image on the display portion (11, 7) simultaneously. When the housing (1) closed, they can check the image on the display portion of the front. Storing images captured in the past in the form associated with the phone number associated. Once the number of persons having call arrives, the ringing caller's image is displayed on the display section (11, 7).


The wayang puppet theatre is the oldest continuously performed theatrical form among the many genres of performing art in Bali. While wayang theatre has a fixed structure and stock dramatic characters, creativity and improvisation play a major role in the way the dalang puppet master shapes a performance. The dalang's creativity serves as the 'soul' of wayang and has successfully been responsible for transmitting cultural traditions as well as reflecting contemporary social and political issues from one generation to another. This dissertation examines the creativity and improvisation of the dalang puppeteer in the performance of Balinese wayang theatre. Due to the dynamic nature of its constituent parts it is possible to consider these innovations within a particular paradigm, that is Trisandi 'the interplay of Genre-Scenario-Character.' After outlining the mythology of wayang and providing a brief overview of the various types of wayang in Bali, the study explores the structural interplay within the organic elements of genre, story, and characters. Next is a chapter on the creativity in plot construction, recounting the process of selecting a play and transforming narration into dialogue, complemented by the six fundamental principles of constructing a play and originating the story. Then it explores other elements of creativity such as selecting puppets, naming the characters and locale of the action, puppet construction and manipulation, scenery and stage business, jokes and social criticism, creating puns or play on words, modifying and creating poetry, and making creative responses to any unexpected and expected happenings during a performance. Integrated into Chaper 3 and 4 are two extensive examples of how puppeteers introduce creativity into a performance. The most recent example is a performance of dalang Wija, a respected puppet master in south Bali. In addition, the study discusses a performance of dalang Sudarma, a highly regarded exponent of wayang in the north Bali. Ultimately, this study may help to clarify a common misconception among western spectators and scholars alike, that Asian theatre forms are generally strictly codified and lack originality in content and form. INDEX WORDS: Balinese shadow theatre, Wayang theatre, Kawi dalang, Creativity, Improvisation, Innovation, Modification, Genre, Story, Characters, Puppetry, Prepared and spontaneous improvisation, Composition, Scenario, Experiment, Wayang kulit, Wayang puppets, Dalang, Shadow master, Bali, Indonesia.


In this paper, an extendedMaxwell-Hellawell numerical grain size prediction model is employed to predictas-cast grain size of inoculated aluminum alloys. Given melt composition,inoculation and cooling conditions, the model is able to predict maximumnucleation undercooling, cooling curve and final as-cast grain size of multi-componentalloys. The proposed model has been applied to various binary andmulticomponent alloys. Upon analyzing the numerical simulation results, it isfound that for both binary and multi-component alloys, grain size does not havea one-to-one relation with Growth Restriction Factor, Q, but has a clear ubiquitous correlation with the average diffusivity-weightedQ, defined as W in this paper. This founding helps solve the controversy seen inthe recent work on analytical grain size and Q relations. It also has been used to interpret the scatters seenin the measured grain sizes as a function of Q values reported in the literature.


This paper focuses on resolution-based automated reasoning theory in a lattice-valued logic system with truth values that are defined in a lattice-valued logical algebraic structure-lattice implication algebras (LIAs) - which essentially aims to extend the classical logic to handle automated deduction under an uncertain environment. Concretely, we investigate a generalization of the known conjunctive normal form (CNF) in the classical logic representation that we call the generalized conjunctive normal form (GCNF), which aims to characterize the constants and implication connectives that are essentially different from the ones in classical logic. We then extend the established resolution principle at a certain truth-value level α (called α-resolution) in this lattice-valued logic to a more general form, i.e., from binary α -resolution to multiary α-resolution. The extension to multiary α-resolution starts from lattice-valued propositional logic LP(X), while its theorems of both soundness and completeness are proved. Multiary α-resolution principle is then further established in the corresponding lattice-valued first-order logic LF(X), along with its soundness theorem, lifting lemma, and completeness theorem. Meanwhile, an important result that multiary α-resolution principle in LF(X) can be equivalently transformed into that in LP(X) to some extent is obtained. All these works will theoretically support the establishment of an automated reasoning algorithm and its implementation with further applications into automated deduction and decision-making problems under uncertainty.


The piccolo distance is a simplified approach in clustering time-series data, and it needs the data analysts to determine the ARIMA model for each series. Some problems may arise in the modeling step because different criteria may lead to different orders of the best models. This current paper is discussing how to handle this model uncertainty problem by borrowing the concept of an ensemble in the area of data science. Instead of using a single criterion to identify the best model, we proposed to generate the best models using several different criteria. Each series was characterized by the average of the estimates of model parameters obtained. In the clustering process, we employed a hierarchical approached where the optimal number of clusters identified using the Silhouette coefficient. An extensive simulation was completed within this research, and we revealed that our proposed methodology could increase the correct cluster membership by more than 10%. We also implemented our methodology to identify clusters of areas in Indonesia (i.e., Province of Banten) based on the pattern of rainfall level and found an impressive result. Keywords: model-based clustering; uncertainty model; time series clustering; rainfall data.


Although Plato was the first theorist of humor, it was Cicero who first attempted a categorization of humoristic discourse which has subsequently been adapted by many authors who have claimed the superiority of humor as a strategy of social correction and regulation. Ridendo castigat mores, stated Voltaire, following Horace: ridentem dicere verum. European humanists have reassessed risus, viewing it not only as an intrinsic attribute of humanitas, but also recognizing its social function in equating the complexities of the homo ludens. Contemporary theories have formulated maxims of humoristic inter-locution by exploring the semantic and pragmatic communication strategies, including "la mecanique de l'absurde" and "le jeu semantique".


We prove that optimistic-follow-the-regularized-leader (OFTRL), together with smooth value updates, finds an $O(T^{-1})$-approximate Nash equilibrium in $T$ iterations for two-player zero-sum Markov games with full information. This improves the $\tilde{O}(T^{-5/6})$ convergence rate recently shown in the paper Zhang et al (2022). The refined analysis hinges on two essential ingredients. First, the sum of the regrets of the two players, though not necessarily non-negative as in normal-form games, is approximately non-negative in Markov games. This property allows us to bound the second-order path lengths of the learning dynamics. Second, we prove a tighter algebraic inequality regarding the weights deployed by OFTRL that shaves an extra $\log T$ factor. This crucial improvement enables the inductive analysis that leads to the final $O(T^{-1})$ rate.


Hexagonal tungsten oxide (h-WO3) has been regarded as a prospective electrode material for electrochemical energy storage, owing to its characteristic proton-insertion pseudocapacitance. Previous studies mainly focused on the solid nanostructure, such as nanopillars, needle bundles, nanoplates or nanorods of h-WO3. In this study, a novel self-assembled pancake-like h-WO3 with ordered mesopores was reported. The nanostructured h-WO3 material could be synthesized via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method without any additional capping agent. Compared with the h-WO3 material prepared by the traditional route, the novel h-WO3 in our experiments can reach a specific capacitance of 605.5 F g−1 at 0.37 A g−1, and it has been the highest specific capacitance achieved with pure WO3 so far. Meanwhile, such a self-assembled pancake-like structure with ordered mesopores also shows full capacitance retention (up to 110.2%) even after 4000 cycles and excellent high rate capability with 56% retention in specific capacitance at 3.7 versus 0.37 A g−1. These excellent electrochemical performances can be attributed to its novel structure, which can facilitate proton insertion and electrolyte exchange. The analysis of the charge storage mechanism demonstrates that proton insertion dominates the electrochemical behavior of pancake-like h-WO3 with ordered mesopores and plays the key role in achieving high specific capacitance. A new approach to preparing an ordered mesoporous h-WO3 material with enhanced proton-insertion performance and a large specific surface area simultaneously was provided in our studies, which is predominantly essential for superior-performance energy storage devices.


Pollen viability affects the probability that a pollen grain deposited on a plant's stigma will produce a viable seed. Because a mature seed is needed before a gene flow event can occur, pollen viability will influence the risk of escape for genetically engineered (GE) crops. Pollen viability was measured at intervals for up to 2 h following removal of the pollen from the anthers. It was quantified at three temperatures and for different alfalfa varieties, including both conventional and Roundup Ready (RR) varieties. Pollen viability was assessed using in vitro germination. Time since removal from the anthers was the most prevalent factor affecting pollen viability in alfalfa. Pollen viability declined with increasing time at all three temperatures and for all varieties tested. Pollen viability was not affected by temperatures ranging between 25 and 37 °C and did not vary among plant varieties, including conventional and RR varieties. Bee foraging behaviour suggested pollen viability within the first 10 min following pollen removal from a flower to most affect seed production. Pollen longevity was predicted to have little impact on seed set and gene flow. Linking pollinator behaviour to pollen viability improved our understanding of its impact on gene flow risk.


Methodology decisions can affect which schools are identified as "beating the odds"—that is, performing better than expected given the populations they serve. Using data from Michigan, this study demonstrates how the identification of schools changes when statistical methods and technical specifications change. The methodology choices made in identifying beating-the-odds schools are policy decisions that require careful consideration.


The Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) is situated within Variscean depression in the southern Poland. Mining of the hard coal, ore and sand deposits in the USCB has a long-lasting tradition. Exploitation has been carried out with both – open pit and mainly underground operations. The intensity of water inflows to mines depends on geogenic and technological factors. Among geogenic factors the main one is occurrence of thick water – bearing Quaternary sediments in the roof of Carboniferous ore deposits. Among technological factors the essential influence on the inflows to the mine workings have: time, depth and surface of exploitation, as well as drainage intensity.


The production rate of primordial black holes is often calculated by considering a nearly Gaussian distribution of cosmological perturbations, and assuming that black holes will form in regions where the amplitude of such perturbations exceeds a certain threshold. A threshold $\zeta_{\rm th}$ for the curvature perturbation is somewhat inappropriate for this purpose, because it depends significantly on environmental effects, not essential to the local dynamics. By contrast, a threshold $\delta_{\rm th}$ for the density perturbation at horizon crossing seems to provide a more robust criterion. On the other hand, the density perturbation is known to be bounded above by a maximum limit $\delta_{\rm max}$, and given that $\delta_{\rm th}$ is comparable to $\delta_{\rm max}$, the density perturbation will be far from Gaussian near or above the threshold. In this paper, we provide a new plausible estimate for the primordial black hole abundance based on peak theory. In our approach, we assume that the curvature perturbation is given as a random Gaussian field with the power spectrum characterized by a single scale, while an optimized criterion for PBH formation is imposed, based on the locally averaged density perturbation. Both variables are related by the full nonlinear expression derived in the long-wavelength approximation of general relativity. We do not introduce a window function, and the scale of the inhomogeneity is introduced as a random variable in the peak theory. We find that the mass spectrum is shifted to larger mass scales by one order of magnitude or so, compared to a conventional calculation. The abundance of PBHs becomes significantly larger than the conventional one, by many orders of magnitude, mainly due to the optimized criterion for PBH formation and the removal of the suppresion associated with a window function.


In this study, Professor Trevor-Roper reveals the social and intellectual background to the witch-craze of the 16th and 17th centuries. Orthodoxy and heresy had become deeply entrenched notions in religion and ethics as an evangelical church exaggerated the heretical theology and loose morality of its opponents. Gradually, non-conformists as well as whole societies began to be seen in terms of stereotypes and witches became the scapegoats for all the ills of society.


Target cost ~anagement(TCM) has become a significant issue in off-shore bases of Japanese corporation in line with globalization of product development functions in recent years. This article, instead of discussing " whether it is transferable or not", discussions will mainly focus on the perspective "under what system shaH the implementation of TCM activities be done effectively in carrying out joint developments and designing. The followings are discussions to review furtherance of global cooperation, the need to consider the shift from 'transfer to overseas" to "overseas expansion" , overseas development of co-design, and also rules of TCM in categories of philosophy, principles, and implementation rules. Also, it includes a preparatory trial to establish a conceptual framework by focusing at the person responsible for TCM as a coordinator ( a "hinge"). In performing global cooperation of product development between a corporate headquarters in Japan and overseas bases, its success will depend on who takes charge of functions as a coordinator or a "hinge" . A product manager plays a key role as a hinge among local corporations, but a cost engineer also plays an important role. Whereas in Europeart and US corporations, the role of a hinge is assigned to an individual, under whose responsibility and authority the function of coordination is performed.


The rapid growth of gemological sciences and mineralogy requires a comprehensive dictionary for gemologists, mineralogists, geologists, jewel dealers, industry, and hobbyists. The second edition of this dictionary contains about 25,000 entries - about 9,000 more than the first edition. The comprehensive definitions are now completed by more than 1,500 charts, diagrams and figures. The author offers a one-stop reference to any matter dealing with gems and gemology.


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

The E2F family of transcription factors is critical to large number of key cellular processes, including replication, DNA repair, and differentiation. E2F-1 is unique among the E2F family of transcription factors in that it can act as a tumor suppressor or as an oncogene, depending on the cellular context. Given the critical functions of E2F target genes in replication, and differentiation, it is perhaps not surprising that dysregulation of E2Fs has been associated with the cancer phenotype. E2F-1,2 and-3, "activating" E2Fs, function as heterodimers with DP proteins and are regulated by the retinoblastoma protein. E2F-1 and 3 are over expressed in many human tumors and overexpression (suggesting oncogene addiction) is associated with a poor prognosis. We have used phage display to obtain peptides that bind tightly to the E2F consensus promoter recognition sequence. When one of these peptides was coupled to a modified penetration sequence to enhance uptake, the penetratin- peptide (PEP) potently inhibited some but not all malignant cell lines. Modeling studies and ChIP studies showed that part of the pentratin sequence was involved in the binding of the PEP to the E2 F1 promoter. The PEP down-regulated E2F-2 and 4, as well as E2F-1, and-down stream targets of E2F-1. The small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cell line and the Ramos cell line (Burkitt lymphoma) were sensitive to low micromolar concentrations of the PEP, and apoptosis was seen within 6 h. These cell lines have mutant p53, and over express E2F-1 and cMyc and BCL2, and are "oncogene addicted". Normal cells (human bone marrow CD34+ hematopoeitic stem cells, human marrow mesenchymal cells and MEFs), were insensitive to high concentrations of the PEP. When encapsulated in PEGylated liposomes, the PEP caused marked regression of advanced SCLC xenografts in mice without appreciable toxicity. These results prompt us to explore further preclinical development of the PEP for tumor therapy.

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 5689. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5689


It is commonly assumed that the Ion Induced Electron Emission coefficient (ISEE or gi) of oxides has a higher value as compared to the bare metal and one expects lower discharge voltages VD at constant current when sputtering these metals in poisoned mode. In order to verify this simple picture, VD was measured for thirteen different target materials at constant current in pure oxygen. As was previously shown, shallow implantation of the oxygen into the target subsurface leads to the formation of an oxide layer on the target [1]. After stabilisation of the discharge or target voltage in pure oxygen, the discharge was stopped and the oxygen was quickly exchanged for pure argon after which the discharge was restarted at constant current and monitored until full stabilisation. Following this procedure, it was possible to study the discharge voltage variation during the sputter removal of the previously grown oxide layer on the target. This allows to measure under identical circumstances of argon pressure and discharge current, the discharge voltage of an oxidized or deeply poisoned target Vox,Ar (measured within 30 ms after start up of the Ar discharge) and the discharge voltage VAr after stabilisation corresponding with a cleaned up pure metallic target. As both values are obtained under identical circumstances of sputter atmosphere, plasma influences can be ruled out and the observed variations in VD have to be attributed to a variation in "material" properties of the target itself. The thirteen tested metals can be divided into two groups. Materials such as Al, Mg, Ce and Y give rise to the "classic" behaviour, namely a decrease in target voltage when switching from metallic to poisoned sputtering. On the contrary, metals such as Ag, Au, Cr, Cu, Nb, Pt, Re, Ta and Ti show the inverse behaviour or an increase in target voltage VD when switching from metallic to poisoned sputtering. It has been argued that this variation in discharge voltage is due to the resistivity change of the target as a consequence of oxide formation upon poisoning. By measuring VD as a function of oxide thickness one can conclude that the resistivity effect can only play a minor rule and the important parameter which controls the discharge voltage is the ISEE coefficient gi. Taking into account the Thornton relation [3] which states that the inverse of the discharge voltage, -1 D V , is proportional with gi , the thirteen tested metals can be classified according to the variation in gi when changing the discharge from pure metallic to oxygen poisoned. The oxides of Al, Ce, Mg and Y show up a larger value of gi as compared to the corresponding metals whereas the oxides of the other metals under investigation have smaller values and behave "unexpected". Although not fully understood yet, there are good indications that oxides which sputter congruently, without reduction, (MgO, Al2O3, etc) give rise to an enhancement of gi, whereas other oxides show a decrease in secondary electron emission.


Over past few years, people are giving more attention to air pollution and its effects on human health. Due to the high population density in Bangladesh, air pollution is a major issue in metropolitan areas, especially in Dhaka city. Present study aims to isolate air-borne microbes from the inside environment of public transport and different types of microbes that are frequently encountered by commuters when they touch the interior surfaces of vehicles used for public transport in Dhaka City. Atmospheric load of microorganisms was measured with petri dish which was kept open for 30 minutes in the sampling locations and swabs were taken from interior surfaces of vehicles. Air samples collected from both bus and railway stations showed a high atmospheric microbial count (total viable bacteria and total fungal count were 140 to 776 CFU/plate/30 min and 27 to 168 CFU/plate/30 min, respectively). A similar outcome was found after analysis of swab samples of the contact surfaces of the vehicles as well. A total of four bacterial pathogens were identified from the interior surfaces of the vehicle including Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Vibrio spp. which are known to be associated with gastrointestinal tract infection. To manage and control the environmental health risks caused by air pathogens, an authorized governmental agency should do continuous monitoring of air quality to reduce the negative effects and impacts of air pathogens on human and animal health. This research has shown a great concern to health practitioners in developing countries because these are pathogens that are mostly resistant to the commonly available antibiotics used in the treatment of infection associated with these pathogens. Most importantly, we need to raise awareness among the public in order to reduce the load and spread of pathogenic bacteria in the environment.
Stamford Journal of Microbiology, Vol.11 (1) 2021: 7-10


In this paper, we study a MB-OFDM UWB system using reduced complexity decoding algorithm for LDPC codes. Focusing on the system simulation and performance analysis, we design a high rate MB-OFDM UWB system and run a complete simulation for such system over the additive white Gaussian noise(AWGN) channel and IEEE UWB channel. Simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) performance of such UWB system is better, and illustrate that the use of reduced- complexity decoding algorithm for LDPC codes in MB-OFDM UWB system is quite feasible.


The use of polarimetry in the investigation of chiral molecules has been researched for over a century. However, it has not been until recently that the sensitivity and accuracy of this technology has improved enough to be applied to the quantification of the low optically metabolite concentrations seen within the body. The long term goal of this research is the development of a polarimetric detection system with presence of other confounders. In this study, a robust polarimeter utilizing digital closed-loop control was designed and constructed that can effectively measure millidegree rotations of plane- polarized light within biological media. In vitro experiments were conducted using a 1 cm path length sample cell in both glucose doped cell culture and bovine aqueous humor media with analyte concentrations on the order of those seen in the body. A high degree of linearity between the measured signal and glucose concentration is seen during calibration of both the cell culture and aqueous humor experiments with correlation coefficients of 0.9995 and 0.9912, respectively. In addition, validation of the obtained calibration models yielded standard errors of prediction of 8.469 and 20.25 mg/dl for each media, respectively. Overall, we feel the conducted experiments are a logical step to furthering the development of using polarimetry in the detection of optically active metabolites, and our results indicate that accurate detection of glucose in the presence of additional confounders can be accomplished in both cell culture and aqueous humor media.


I discuss features that are important for creative and critical thinking which should be recreated in e-learning applications. Anonymity maximises chances for development of creativity and for objective and accurate assessment. I also describe a 'quadruple anonymity' system implemented at Nowy Sacz Business School – National-Louis University in Poland, the goal of which is to improve objectivity of thesis evaluation by referees. E-learning environment is ideal for implementing functionalities which make choice, feedback, and controlled anonymity easily available to the users to be effective, feedback should be appropriately timed, incremental, impartial, and impersonal. Evaluation of student or employee performance or of proposed ideas or solutions should rely on explicitly stated quantitative criteria, developed along well thought-through measurement scales and utilising proper descriptive statistics and visualisation methods. A description of the nominal group heuristic method is provided as an example of a heuristic method which relies on creativity, anonymity and unbiased evaluation.


A physical model of a fractured chalk block is compared with numerical modelling. This comparison represents the tough process taking place when comparing an in situ rock mass with that obtained from numerical models. After presenting the physical model and the procedure of its centrifugation, different geometrical and mechanical modelling running RESOBLOK and 3DEC software are tackled. The rupture mechanisms observed are quite well represented, although dimension problems appear in RESOBLOK modelling. This experiment encourages us to improve the comparison process which allows the geomodel representativity to be repetitively analysed (Which discontinuities are mechanically important?) and the mechanical model to be qualified (From which comparisons? On how many points? On which measurements?).


Tendon ruptures around the foot and ankle are relatively common and frequently misdiagnosed, causing patient consultation in chronic scenario. A wide variety of surgical techniques have been described for tendon reconstruction. To our knowledge, there is no gold standard procedure; several drawbacks are associated with techniques that use nearby tissue for reconstruction due to the sacrifice of healthy structures, which can imbalance the foot and cause loss of strength. In consequence, tendon allografts appear as an attractive alternative due to less morbidity and conservation of nearby soft tissue. This article reviews the different reconstruction techniques and shares our experience in foot and ankle tendon allograft reconstruction.


Audio inpainting and audio declipping are important problems in audio signal processing, which are encountered in various practical applications. A number of approaches has been proposed in the literature to address these problems, most successful of which are based on sparsity of the audio signals in certain dictionary representations. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is another powerful tool that has been successfully used in applications such as audio source separation. In this paper we propose a new algorithm that makes use of a low rank NMF model to perform audio inpainting and declipping. In addition to utilizing for the first time the NMF model to perform audio inpainting in presence of arbitrary losses in time domain, the proposed approach also introduces a novel way to enforce additional constraints on the signal magnitude in order to improve the performance in declipping applications. The proposed approach is shown to have a comparable performance with the state of the art dictionary based methods while providing a number of advantages.


The role of tumor markers in clinical oncology has increased tremendously over last decade, a trend that continues to grow as technology progresses and our understanding about human body and the disease processes increase. Tumour markers have wide applications in cancer care, starting from screening, choosing modality of management, assessment of prognosis to follow-up after treatment. Their judicious use in clinical practice needs a thorough understanding of the basics of pathophysiology and techniques of identification in any given malignancy. Of the numerous tumor markers identified, described and extensively researched upon, only a handful of them are used in routine clinical practice; and even of these, only a few have support of established consensus guidelines for use in day- to-day care of patients. This article discusses the uses of tumor markers, classification, some commonly used tumour markers and general principles for their optimal use.

Keywords: Tumor marker, Serum markers, Salivary markers, Early diagnosis, Malignancy


This paper describes a fast and robust approach to recovering structure and motion from video frames. It first describes a robust recursive factorization method for affine projection. Using the least median of squares (LMedS) criterion, the method estimates the dominant 3D affine motion and discards feature points regarded as outliers. The computational cost of the overall procedure is reduced by combining this robust statistics-based method with a recursive factorization method that can at each frame provide the updated 3D structure of an object at a fixed computational cost by using the principal component analysis. Experiments with synthetic data and with real image sequences demonstrate that the method can be used to estimate the dominant structure and the motion robustly and in real-time, on an off-the-shelf PC. Finally this paper describes preliminary online experiments on selecting feature points, which have the dominant 3D motion, from live video frames by using a PC-cluster system.


The East African Plateau provides a spectacular example of geodynamic plateau uplift, active continental rifting, and associated climatic forcing. It is an integral part of the East African Rift System and has an average elevation of approximately 1,000 m. Its location coincides with a negative Bouguer gravity anomaly with a semi-circular shape, closely related to a mantle plume, which influences the Cenozoic crustal development since its impingement in Eocene-Oligocene time. The uplift of the East African Plateau, preceding volcanism, and rifting formed an important orographic barrier and tectonically controlled environment, which is profoundly influenced by climate driven processes. Its location within the equatorial realm supports recently proposed hypotheses, that topographic changes in this region must be considered as the dominant forcing factor influencing atmospheric circulation patterns and rainfall distribution. The uplift of this region has therefore often been associated with fundamental climatic and environmental changes in East Africa and adjacent regions. While the far-reaching influence of the plateau uplift is widely accepted, the timing and the magnitude of the uplift are ambiguous and are still subject to ongoing discussion. This dilemma stems from the lack of datable, geomorphically meaningful reference horizons that could record surface uplift. In order to quantify the amount of plateau uplift and to find evidence for the existence of significant relief along the East African Plateau prior to rifting, I analyzed and modeled one of the longest terrestrial lava flows; the 300-km-long Yatta phonolite flow in Kenya. This lava flow is 13.5 Ma old and originated in the region that now corresponds to the eastern rift shoulders. The phonolitic flow utilized an old riverbed that once drained the eastern flank of the plateau. Due to differential erosion this lava flow now forms a positive relief above the parallel-flowing Athi River, which is mimicking the course of the paleo-river. My approach is a lava-flow modeling, based on an improved composition and temperature dependent method to parameterize the flow of an arbitrary lava in a rectangular-shaped channel. The essential growth pattern is described by a one-dimensional model, in which Newtonian rheological flow advance is governed by the development of viscosity and/or velocity in the internal parts of the lava-flow front. Comparing assessments of different magma compositions reveal that length-dominated, channelized lava flows are characterized by high effusion rates, rapid emplacement under approximately isothermal conditions, and laminar flow. By integrating the Yatta lava flow dimensions and the covered paleo-topography (slope angle) into the model, I was able to determine the pre-rift topography of the East African Plateau. The modeling results yield a pre-rift slope of at least 0.2°, suggesting that the lava flow must have originated at a minimum elevation of 1,400 m. Hence, high topography in the region of the present-day Kenya Rift must have existed by at least 13.5 Ma. This inferred mid-Miocene uplift coincides with the two-step expansion of grasslands, as well as important radiation and speciation events in tropical Africa. Accordingly, the combination of my results regarding the Yatta lava flow emplacement history, its location, and its morphologic character, validates it as a suitable "paleo-tiltmeter" and has thus to be considered as an important topographic and volcanic feature for the topographic evolution in East Africa.


In order to overcome the downside of long conventional freeze-drying (CFD) process times for monoclonal antibody formulations, microwave-assisted freeze-drying (MFD) was introduced. Recently, the general applicability and potential shortening of drying times were shown. However, little is known about the storage stability of MFD products compared to CFD references. Additionally, batch homogeneity issues were seen within MFD in the past. In this study, we examined four different formulations of two different monoclonal antibodies using three different glass-forming excipients: sucrose, trehalose, and arginine phosphate. These formulations were freeze-dried with two different drying protocols (CFD and MFD), stored for 24 weeks, and analyzed for solid-state and protein-related quality attributes. Moreover, a new microwave generator setup was investigated for its potential to improve batch homogeneity. In all investigated formulations, comparable stability profiles were found, although the classical magnetron generator led to inferior batch homogeneity with respect to residual moisture distribution. In contrast, the new MFD setup indicated the potential to approximate batch homogeneity to the level of CFD. However, for future applications, there is an unabated need for new machine designs to comply with pharmaceutical manufacturing requirements.


Objective: Tumours of the nasal septum are a rare and heterogeneous group of lesions in the sinonasal tract. The management of the different lesions of this site is debated. The aim of this study is to share our experience on a rare clinical condition and stimulate other centres to publish theirs. Methods: We retrospectively analysed the databases of sinonasal tumours treated at the Sections of Otolaryngology (ENT) of two University Hospitals (Palermo and Genova) between 2012 and 2020. Results: From the two databases, a cohort of 32 patients with tumours of nasal septum were selected. All patients underwent an endoscopic examination. Large tumours underwent preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan without contrast medium. In 22 (68.7%) cases, the preoperative radiologic evaluation also included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium to obtain a better differentiation of the lesions and study the vascular pattern. All the large lesions were biopsied under endoscopic guidance using local anaesthesia; the same approach was used to remove the tumours and their attachment with safe resection margins. Conclusions: While malignant lesions require an excision of the mass with resection of all layers of the nasal septum, benign lesions must be typed according to histological considerations in order to plan the most appropriate type of surgical resection.


Needle is one of the most common features in medical devices. A better understanding of needle tip geometry can lead to the creation of an optimized needle tip geometry which would greatly benefit the procedure of biopsy or insertion guidance. This study reviews the recent researches on needle cutting edge with high inclination angle, and applications in needle core biopsy and insertion guidance. The mathematical models of the inclination and rake angles for the needle with lancet point and enhanced cutting edge needles are developed. To improve the biopsy length, a novel approach to use the enhanced cutting edge needle to acquire the tissue sample is studied and the concept is experimentally validated. To reduce needle deflection and increase insertion accuracy, the effects of grid constraints, needle material, and insertion speed are analyzed. The knowledge gained from this study can be used to better understand needle tissue cutting mechanics and integrate these technologies for more efficient needle biopsy and accurate insertion guidance procedures.


Fish and fish oil (FO) constitute a rich source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). FO dietary supplements have been gaining popularity in recent years due to various health benefits provided by the PUFA. Epidemiological studies suggest that consumption of more n-3 PUFA may reduce the risk for a variety of diseases including cardiovascular, neurological and immunological disorders, diabetes and cancer.
In animal models, FO supplementation is shown to prevent cognitive decline and memory impairments and enhanced reference and working memory performance. Surprisingly, very few studies have assessed the neuroprotective effect of either n-3 PUFA or FO in animal models of neurotoxicity. Previously high dietary intake of n-3 PUFA was shown to exert robust neuroprotective action in an animal model of Parkinsonism. In a recent study, chronic (70 days) FO supplementation (4 g/ kg bw/ d) was demonstrated to significantly offset both behavioral and neurochemical alterations in a 6-hydroxydopamine model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Besides these studies, no comprehensive data exists on the propensity of FO prophylaxis to render neuroprotection under experimentally -induced neurotoxicity.
The primary focus of the thesis was to understand whether FO supplements can render protection against neurotoxicant- induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunctions and neurotoxicity. Two neurotoxins viz., rotenone (ROT) and 3-nitropropionic acid (NPA) were employed. The salient findings obtained revealed that FO supplementation among both growing and old rats has the propensity to protect against neurotoxin -induced early oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunctions and neurotoxicity. Based on evidence obtained in two neurotoxin models, it is hypothesized that the neuroprotective efficacy of FO may be predominantly due to its ability to enhance the GSH levels, attenuation of compromised antioxidant status in specific regions of the brain and decreased protein oxidation. Further, it may also be related to its ability to restore cholinergic function, preserve the mitochondrial metabolic state and, integrity of ETC enzymes. These findings give further credence to the existing neuroprotective role of FO and favor its usage as a therapeutic adjuvant to protect brain against neurodegenerative disorders exhibiting enhanced oxidative stress conditions.
Although several evidence demonstrate the beneficial effects of FO supplements, few experimental findings highlight that dietary n-3 PUFA at 'high doses' and 'long duration' render the membrane more susceptible to lipid peroxidation. Hence recently attempts have been made to enhance the neuroprotective efficacy of FO by fortification with antioxidants/ phytochemicals. Accordingly another major question addressed in this thesis is related to the enhancement of neuroprotective efficacy by enrichment of FO with Quercetin (Q), (one of the most widely distributed flavonoids in plants). The combined efficacy of FO + Q was investigated in SH-SY5Y cell and in vivo models. The neuroprotective efficacy of FO + Q combination was assessed in terms of its potency to attenuate NPA induced oxidative stress in cytosol/ mitochondria, mitochondrial dysfunctions and locomotor deficits. Data obtained clearly demonstrate that enrichment of lower dose of FO with Q provides a higher degree of neuroprotection in NPA model of HD. It is speculated that FO and Q may be affecting different steps or pathways in the NPA cascade resulting in improved protection. These findings add further credence to the fact that incorporation of Q or natural antioxidants to FO or fish products can be of great therapeutic importance in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases exhibiting enhanced oxidative stress.
Further, in a similar approach the neuroprotective efficacy of a combination of FO with Bacopa monnieri (BM) (a well-known phytomedicine) was also investigated in chemical models of neurotoxicity. The efficacy of FO + BM combination was more pronounced in striatum among both NPA and ROT models as evidenced by behavioral, biochemical and neurochemical parameters. These findings clearly highlight the benefits of a combination of FO with BM extract. The combination offered significant protection against both behavioral and biochemical alterations induced by neurotoxins among both growing and old rats.


Reply to: Peters JL, Moreno SG, Phillips B, Sutton AJ. Are we sure about the evidence for zinc in prophylaxis of the common cold? Expert Rev. Respir. Med. 6(1), 15–16 (2012).


Many new therapeutic approaches are based on gene transfection of cells. Data about dynamic interaction with cell membranes can support the selection of polymers and polyplexes regarding an optimal gene delivery reagent. A microchip/-fluidic system and an impedance-based method for monitoring the effects on individual cells after application of polymeric DNA-delivery systems is developed and evaluated. It was successfully demonstrated that the effects of polymers on the cell membrane can be monitored over time by using impedance measurements.


Healing of chronic lower extremity wounds is a global problem, especially in the developing world where it is often only folk and traditional medicine that can be afforded. In the structured health services of the developed world, there are usually a wider range of possible therapies. In India, traditional medicines flourish in parallel with Western systems, and those who treat wounds may use the expertise of more than one system. Ayurveda is a traditional system that has evolved in India over centuries using especially native plant sources as remedies. Like many Asian systems, its theoretical basis concerns balance and energy in the individual. In this perspective paper, the author advocates awareness of plant products available for wound healing and a study of the extent of their utilization. They must be developed for safe use and their efficacy reviewed, taking into account cure well-being and patient satisfaction as well as cost. Developing a list of products and classifying them appropriately is a beginning for such studies.


Software companies often perceive loss to piracy as a routine cost of doing business, but it is a huge one: in 1996, the software industry lost $15.2 billion worldwide to theft. If you are a software developer, some part of this loss is yours. If it were within your power to stop piracy, what would you gain? You must answer this question before you can make rational decisions on whether to condone piracy or commit additional resources to fight it. The end of piracy would be like the end of the Cold War in microcosm. Barriers to international interaction would be significantly reduced. Software developers could boldly engage in a truly global commerce, without fear that their investment of time and money would be constantly at risk. Our main piracy concern would be to maintain technical superiority over those who would prefer a return to the lawless days. With a better picture of the benefits, you can determine the investment you should make toward ending piracy. You can invest in anti-piracy technology, establish a "no tolerance" policy on piracy in the workplace and at home, and educate the public about your rights and those of others engaged in creative pursuits.


Fluid flows such as gases or liquids exhibit space-time fluctuations on all scales extending down to molecular scales. Such broadband continuum fluctuations characterise all dynamical systems in nature and are identified as selfsimilar fractals in the newly emerging multidisciplinary science of nonlinear dynamics and chaos. A cell dynamical system model has been developed by the author to quantify the fractal space-time fluctuations of atmospheric flows. The earth's atmosphere consists of a mixture of gases and obeys the gas laws as formulated in the kinetic theory of gases developed on probabilistic assumptions in 1859 by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell. An alternative theory using the concept of fractals and chaos is applied in this paper to derive the fundamental equation of the kinetic theory of ideal gases and the Maxwell's distribution of molecular speeds.


A cross-sectional analytic study of 190 hill-tribe youth in a community in the north of Thailand was conducted to investigate the sero-prevalence of HAV and factors related to positive anti-HAV antibody. The studied youth, whose ages ranged from 15 to 24 years, were interviewed about socio-economic status and personal hygiene. Blood specimens were collected to detect anti-HAV by ELISA commercial kit. Household environmental sanitation conditions were observed and drinking water samples were screened for bacterial contamination using SI2 medium. Following the anti-HAV assay, the studied youth were divided into two groups: anti-HAV positive, and anti-HAV negative. The studied variables of the two groups were analyzed by chi2 test to find factors related to anti-HAV positivity. The results revealed that 87% of the studied youth were positive for anti-HAV. There was no statistically significant difference between age group/gender and anti-HAV positivity, p = 0.46 and 0.16, respectively. Approximately 35.79 to 45.79% washed their hands with soap before preparing food, before eating and after using the latrine. About 88% did not improve the potability of their drinking water. The results of screening for bacterial contamination in drinking water samples found that 73.53% were contaminated with coliform bacteria. Factors related to positive anti-HAV antibody included monthly income, number of household members, use of latrine, hand-washing with soap after using latrine, household refuse management and control of insects and rodents; p = 0.04, 0.007, 0.013, 0.008, <0.001 and <0.001, respectively. The findings suggested that appropriate household environmental management should be improved in this community to reduce HAV transmission.


Adsorption behaviors of phosphate on the desert particulates of inflow Yellow River were investigated in natural water (river water and sea water) and the experimental data was fitted by both the improved Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm adsorption models. The results show that (1) With more clear physical meaning and more reasonable fitting parameters, the improved Langmuir isotherm adsorption model is much better for describing phosphate adsorption on the desert particulates than the improved Freundlich isotherm adsorption model; (2) The maximum phosphorus (P) adsorption capacity Qmac is in the range of 41.322-357.143 mg x kg(-1), which is the biggest in Y2 (Juyanhai Lake particulates). There is remarkable positive correlation between Qmax and organic matter of the particulates (Y1-Y5); (3) Except for Y1 (Badain Jaran Desert particulates), the EPC0 (zero equilibrium P concentration) of the particulates are higher than the concentration of P in corresponding water. The EPC0 of P adsorption on Y1 in Yellow River is lower than P concentration in corresponding water (0.010 mg x L(-1) < 0.053 mg x L(-1)), while the EPC0 of P adsorption on Y1 in Bohai Sea water is higher than the P concentration in their corresponding water (0.109 mg x L(-1) > 0.074 mg x L(-1)), which shows that Y1 adsorbs P from the water of the Yellow River, then it releases its NAP (native adsorbed exchangeable phosphorus) into Bohai Seawater. However, in the process of the P exchange between other desert particulates and their corresponding water, only desorption phenomenon were observed, which means all other desert particulates release P to their corresponding water; (4) The adsorption isotherms of phosphate on the desert particulates of inflow Yellow River are cross-axis-type with over 0.00, a new cross-axis-type adsorption-desorption model, which provide a better explanation for adsorption characteristics of P and for the dual role of natural particulates.


Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry among low-income students, substantial inequalities in college going by family income remain. Policy makers have largely overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students' transition to college. During the post-high school summer, however, students must complete a range of financial and informational tasks prior to college enrollment, yet no longer have access to high school counselors and have not engaged yet with their college community. Moreover, many come from families with little college-going experience. Recent research documents summer attrition rates ranging from 10 to 40 percent among students who had been accepted to college and declared an intention to enroll in college as of high school graduation. Encouragingly, several experimental interventions demonstrate that students' postsecondary plans are quite responsive to additional outreach during the summer months. Questions nonetheless remain about how to maximize the impact and cost effectiveness of summer support. This chapter reports on several randomized trials to investigate the impact of summer counselor outreach and support as well as the potential roles for technology and peer mentoring in mitigating summer attrition and helping students enroll and succeed in college. The authors conclude with implications for policy and practice.


Abstract. This paper mainly expounds the parameter estimation method, the outlier diagnosis and the establishment of the optimal regression equation in the linear regression model theory, the analysis of the principle of the polynomial fitting model, the derivation of the algorithm process, and the research on the accuracy evaluation method.The GPS survey area is fitted and calculated. The fitting model is analyzed and compared in detail. The better parameter values and regression equation models of the planar region are estimated. The fitting accuracy meets the requirements of the fourth level measurement, which can be used in actual engineering. Replace the fourth level measurement in the application.


Marching Masters: Slavery, Race, and the Confederate Army during the Civil War. By Colin Edward Woodward. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2014. Pp. x, 283, notes, index. Cloth, $35.55.)A generation after the Civil War, Southern whites began a widespread exercise in historical revisionism, insisting that the determination to preserve slavery had been more or less incidental to the mindset of Confederate soldiers and to the grand strategy of the Confederate government. Marching Masters mounts a fullon assault against this claim. Author Colin Woodward argues instead that proslavery convictions held strong throughout all ranks of Confederate soldiers and that "the Rebel army's reliance upon, and protection of, slavery had a profound effect on military strategy" (p. 2).Woodward begins with a survey of how the slavery question informed Confederate soldiers' understanding of their cause. He finds that the two were inseparable. Whenever Confederates reflected on what was at stake in the war, their thoughts always came back to slavery. Rebels worried about the loss of economic opportunity if slavery was prohibited from further expansion. They claimed to be anxious for the purity of white womanhood if an inferior black race was set loose by abolitionist fanaticism, and they were troubled more generally by the loss of racial control that emancipation might bring about. Above all, they feared becoming slaves themselves.As the author points out, slavery was never just an economic arrangement or an institution for racial control, although it was both those things. In the minds of white Southerners, it was also a powerful metaphor for dependence and degradation, and the black slaves who surrounded them became the embodiment of what would happen to whites if the Southern cause did not prevail. Woodward absolutely rejects the position held by some historians that poorer Confederates sometimes resented being enlisted in a rich mans war on behalf of the master class. "The proslavery ideology was entrenched in the minds of Southern whites of all classes," he contends, and expressions of class resentment were rare; "The struggle was about protecting slavery," Woodward sums up matter-of-factly, and all ranks "knew that going in" (p. 52).Regarding the Confederate war strategy, Woodward surveys the range of ways that both a reliance on slavery and a determination to perpetuate the institution influenced the Confederate military effort. The Confederate government impressed slaves as military laborers by the tens of thousands. Thousands more accompanied their masters when they enlisted in the service, working in the camps as cooks, laundresses, and personal valets. …


This book is an in-depth study of the voice systems of Totoli, Balinese, Indonesian, and Tagalog, which shows that the symmetrical nature of these systems poses a problem to current linking theories. It provides an analysis of symmetrical linking within two grammatical theories (LFG & RRG) and develops a modified LFG linking mechanism that sheds light on the differences as well as the similarities of symmetrical and asymmetrical voice systems.


A portion of the eastern distributional boundary of Cerutoides lanata (Pursh) Howell, commonly referred as winterfat, is located in northwestern Kansas. However, because only a general description of its location in Kansas exists, a study was conducted to determine the extent of distribution in counties in which the species occurred. Sightings of winterfat stands in four counties were recorded and mapped with site locations and legal descriptions. Five stands of winter fat were selected for ecological studies on the basis of topography, homogeneity of vegetation, intensity of past use, and size. Characteristics of stands such as slope, exposure, species composition, basal cover, frequency, mean height, mean width, age, and sex distribution of winterfat plants were variable among stands. Soil samples from inside and outside of each study site were analyzed and significant variability existed in their chemical composition. Germination and seedling vigor tests on four levels of sodium and calcium chloride and in different soils indicated that winterfat seeds were more tolerant of calcium and that the percent survival, height of stems, length of roots, and leaves produced on seedlings were not inhibited in soils from outside the stands.


Eleven lines of rice species were classified based on their digital seeed morpho-metric data to investigate its potential for rice discrimination. Accessions of NERICA, OFADA, and O. glabberimma were collected from National Center for Genetics and Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB, Ibadan). The experiments were carried out in the laboratory of the Plant Breeding and Seed Technology Department the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria using a digital imaging software (Vehoâ"¢). Seed parameters taken were Seed length, Seed width, Seed radius, Seed diameter, Seed area, Seed circumference and Embryo angle. All data taken were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA) using the SASTM statistical application The correlation coefficient among the observed traits was positive between 12 seed metrics and negative between 8 seed metrics. The SLCA discriminated the rice accession. Dendogram constructed from the single linkage cluster analysis showed three major clusters indicating clear distinctness of Ofada, O. glabberimma and NERICA. The classifications obtained in the study can be used for accessing the genetic purity of seed lots for discriminating rice cultivars by seed metric traits using digital imaging tools, the analyzed rice accessions serving as reference for evaluation of progenies and unknown samples. However, to make the digital imaging technique more versatile for genetic purity evaluation, a large database of seed images of all available rice genotypes should be developed and ultimately improve rice seed sector in Nigeria.