We discuss an interesting possibility of nontrivial, quark-mass induced chiral vacuum alignment in color-flavor locking phase of cold, dense QCD. With the simplifying assumption that the gaps for particles are identical to those of antiparticles and the light quark masses are given by mu = md and ms/md = 15, we find the true chiral vacuum can align only in one of the discrete number of directions in the continuum of chiral vacua. The alignment depends on the diquark condensates, and the vacuum transition from one direction to another caused by the evolution of the condensates can be a first order phase transition with vanishing or nonvanishing latent heat depending on the directions involved. The chiral symmetry SUL(3) × SUR(3) of QCD with three massless quark flavors is spontaneously broken to SUL+R(3) at low energies. Any point in the continuum of the chiral vacua, the coset space [SUL(3)× SUR(3)]/SUL+R(3), can be chosen as a vacuum, since any two vacua are equivalent as far as physics is concerned. However when quarks receive small (current) masses the chiral symmetry is then explicitly broken, and the quark mass term picks up, following Dashen's procedure [1], a unique vacuum out of the continuum of vacua. Dashen has shown three decades ago that the correct chiral vacuum is the one that minimizes the potential V (Σ) = −Lm(Σ) ∝ −Re[Tr(mΣ)], where E-mail: email@example.com


Purpose: Neuroblastoma is a childhood malignancy originating from the sympathetic nervous system with a complex biology, prone to metastasize and relapse. High-risk, metastatic cases are explained in part by amplification or mutation of oncogenes, such as MYCN and ALK, and loss of tumor suppressor genes in chromosome band 1p. However, it is fundamental to identify other pathways responsible for the large portion of neuroblastomas with no obvious molecular alterations. Experimental Design: Neuroblastoma cell lines were used for the assessment of tumor growth in vivo and in vitro. Protein expression in tissues and cells was assessed using immunofluorescence and IHC. The association of promyelocytic leukemia (PML) expression with neuroblastoma outcome and relapse was calculated using log-rank and Mann–Whitney tests, respectively. Gene expression was assessed using chip microarrays. Results: PML is detected in the developing and adult sympathetic nervous system, whereas it is not expressed or is low in metastatic neuroblastoma tumors. Reduced PML expression in patients with low-risk cancers, that is, localized and negative for the MYCN proto-oncogene, is strongly associated with tumor recurrence. PML-I, but not PML-IV, isoform suppresses angiogenesis via upregulation of thrombospondin-2 (TSP2), a key inhibitor of angiogenesis. Finally, PML-I and TSP2 expression inversely correlates with tumor angiogenesis and recurrence in localized neuroblastomas. Conclusions: Our work reveals a novel PML-I–TSP2 axis for the regulation of angiogenesis and cancer relapse, which could be used to identify patients with low-risk, localized tumors that might benefit from chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res; 22(13); 3398–409. ©2016 AACR.


A key distribution scheme is a method by means of which a trusted party distributes pieces of information among a set of users in such a way that each group of them can compute a common key for secure communication. In this paper we present a model for unconditionally secure key distribution schemes, i.e., schemes whose security is independent of the power of the adversary. We prove lower bounds on the amount of information the trusted party has to generate and each user has to keep secret in such schemes, and we show that some previous unconditionally secure models for key distribution fall in our model. As a consequence, the lower bounds given in the literature for these models can be seen as corollaries of our results. Hence, the main contribution of the paper consists in pointing out a sort of common structure underlying some apparently different key distribution techniques.


The shrimp culture industry around Chilika Lake has expanded in the last two decades under the rationale of providing economic benefits at national, regional, community and household levels. Salinisation and pollution of agricultural land especially rice paddies by seepage usually ruin crops and render the land unsuitable for agriculture. As a result there is the decline in the yield rate, which led to the conversion of agricultural land to shrimp ponds. After the shrimp culture for some years the land will be unable to support any natural or agricultural productivity. In due course, these shrimp ponds are abandoned being fit for nothing. The lack of emphasis on enforcement of different legislation, particularly environmental legislation, has allowed the shrimp farms to operate in and around the lake using culture practices that degrade the environment. Thus, the problem with the state is not a lack of legislation, but an unwillingness or inability to enforce it. As a result of this, an established livelihood system is broken down as land with multiple agricultural uses is turned over to mono-crop production. This in turn will lead to abandoned land, which is of no use after few years.


Background: Optic neuritis (ON) is inflammation of the optic nerve that can occur in both adults and children. This disease is marked by a heterogeneous presentation in children and has clinical and epidemiologic characteristics that differ greatly from those found in adults. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the clinical features of ON that occur during childhood and to highlight the differences of ON in children versus adults. In doing so, we aim to add to the sparse current literature on this topic and help prevent the future misdiagnosis of ON in pediatric patients. Case Presentations: An 11-year-old female presented with bilateral decreased visual acuity and significant ocular pain. The ophthalmic presentation and diagnostic workup led to the diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis with ON. A second patient, a 12-year-old male, presented with decreased visual acuity and bilateral papilledema. Alongside a diagnosis of bilateral ON, a muscle biopsy confirmed mitochondrial cytopathy as the etiology of his presenting symptoms. Conclusions: ON in children may be related to specific infections, autoimmune disorders, diseases of adjacent anatomical structures, or demyelinating disorders. Attacks may be acute or subacute with signs of reduced visual acuity, abnormal pupillary response, loss of color vision, impaired contrast sensitivity, and decreased peripheral vision. Awareness of this complex disease allows the clinician to initiate specific treatment and follow-up care that may reduce subsequent morbidity and the rate of recurrence


We consider the following question on the relationship between the asymptotic behaviours of Boolean networks and their regulatory structures: does the presence of a cyclic attractor imply the existence of a local negative circuit in the regulatory graph? When the number of model components $n$ verifies $n \geq 6$, the answer is known to be negative. We show that the question can be translated into a Boolean satisfiability problem on $n \cdot 2^n$ variables. A Boolean formula expressing the absence of local negative circuits and a necessary condition for the existence of cyclic attractors is found unsatisfiable for $n \leq 5$. In other words, for Boolean networks with up to 5 components, the presence of a cyclic attractor requires the existence of a local negative circuit.


The gender analysis reveals the widening discrepancy between men and women in a number of sectors, as well as the difficulties Pakistan confronts in addressing these issues. There are only a few data points available on gender gaps in specific areas like educational success, health, and political engagement that could be used to help us reach this goal. A lack of resources and opportunities, as well as a scarcity of knowledge and information, exacerbate the gender gap. In terms of political engagement, educational attainment, and economic production, the study looks at Pakistan's gender disparities. We gathered data from a range of government, foreign development, and local non-governmental organizations for this study. Based on the findings of a gender assessment, a variety of techniques and policies can be implemented to address gender issues. Government education spending should prioritize gender equality while identifying places where there is a greater gender divide. Increased government spending on education and political engagement will have a huge positive impact on rural women.


Purpose: Interval appendectomy of appendicular masses is still a controversial subject, but recent studies have adopted the view that apendectomy is unnecessary after conservative treatment. The aim of our study is to determine the necessity of interval appendectomy after a successful conservative treatment of the patients who have appendicular masses and have not applied appendectomy.

Materials And Methods: Between January 2000-December 2010, data of the 18 patients who have diagnosed with appendicular mass were analyzed. Age, sex, duration of symptoms, operation findings, the intervention, early complications and follow-up data were examined.

Results: A total of 18 patients, 8 female and 10 male were referred to our emergency service with clinical findings of acute appendicitis. The patients who have diagnosed appendicular masses with physical examination and radiological findings have interned to the hospital and conservative treatment started. We applied to patients combined dual antibiotic treatment. After discharge they have followed by policlinic follow-up. One of the patients has been operated because of unregressed clinical findings. One of them have been operated in another center because of recurrence 3 months later. During the mean 6 years (6 months to 10 years) follow-up no recurrence occured in 16 patients (88.8%).

Conclusion: Interval apendectomy is not necessary for the patients who has succesfully treated conservatively for appendicular masses and has not had recurrent symptoms.


Introduction Musculoskeletal diseases (MSD) affect almost 30% of the global construction sectorworkforce. Recent studies have shown high risks in bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters. The main causes of MSD in construction workers are heavy lifting, repetitive movements and poor ergonomic working postures. However, there are no studies in Turkey assessing work-related MSD prevalence in the construction sectorand related disability in work and daily life. The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of work related musculoskeletal symptoms and disability in manual handling construction workers active in the construction of new buildings for a city hospital in Ankara. Methods We plan a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors at work and employment conditions, work history, health status, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), and disability, as a consequence of work-related MSD, using a supervised face-to-face interview method. The interviews will be performed by trained occupational health and safety specialists from the Public Health Institution of Turkey (PHIT). The study proposal has been approved by the PHITand the construction company. Workers will be asked for informed consent. Results We will include about 1.200 Turkish workers in the construction branch in the study. The prevalence of work-related MSD and disability will be determined, stratified for occupational groups and socio-demographic variables. Results are expected in October 2017. Discussion The main outcome is the estimated prevalence of work-related MSDs in construction workers and associated occupational risk factors in the construction branch of Turkey. We will also analyse the effect of these disorders on the prevalence of disability in work and daily life. Based on the results, interventions for prevention will be recommended.


An integrated program of medical residence and master ship the UFMG School of Medicine is discussed. Besides the regular activities in the medical residence, after the second year, students could have access to courses such as Epidemiology, Statistics, Research Methodology as part of their scientific formation. At the end of the residence program, the Medical Resident would be able to finish a dissertation an to get a MS degree in Medicine.


A dose calculation for a person who has been in contact with a patient undergoing Nuclear medicine procedures can be performed by using Merged Phantom Tool (MPT). In this study, we are upgrading the MPT to help users easily merge phantoms at any axis and with any angle using the "vector rotation" technique. The segmented structure information of the contact's phantom is also included in the calculation using the GEANT4 "parallel geometry" utility. The calculation is applied to a case of a male cancer patient lying on a bed who has used I-131, and a caregiver standing beside the patient. The equivalent dose to the thyroid of the caregiver is calculated at 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 1m away from the patient, as the caregiver is standing near the patient's abdomen, chest and neck area. The results show that the dose to the thyroid of the contact greatly depends on his standing position and that there are clear differences between the results calculated with the point source and those calculated with the patient source. In summary, using activity distributions in the patient's body as well as the right communication circumstance helps to calculate the optimal dose for people who have been in contact with patients.


HFE-related hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is characterized by marked phenotypic heterogeneity. Homozygosity for p.C282Y is a low penetrance genotype suggesting that the HFE-HH is a multifactorial disease resulting from a complex interaction involving a major gene defect, genetic background and environmental factors. We performed a targeted NGS-based gene panel to identify new candidate modifiers by using an extreme phenotype sampling study based on serum ferritin and iron removed/age ratio. We found an increased prevalence of the HIF1A p.Phe582Ser and p.Ala588Thr variants in patients with a severe iron and clinical phenotype. Accordingly, Huh-7 cells transfected with both variants showed significantly lower HAMP promoter activity by luciferase assay. The qRT-PCR assays showed a downregulation of hepcidin and an upregulation of the HIF1A target genes (VEGF, HMOX, FUR, TMPRSS6) in cells transfected with the HIF1A-P582S vector. We identified mutations in other genes (e.g., Serpina1) that might have some relevance in single cases in aggravating or mitigating disease manifestation. In conclusion, the present study identified HIF1A as a possible modifier of the HFE-HH phenotype cooperating with the genetic defect in downregulating hepcidin synthesis. In addition, this study highlights that an NGS-based approach could broaden our knowledge and help in characterizing the genetic complexity of HFE-HH patients with a severe phenotype expression.


Obesity has increasingly become a public health problem in both developed and developing countries. In Ghana, the prevalence of obesity has been found to be high particularly among women. The rising trend of obesity in Ghana is worrying as studies have shown an increased risk of morbidity, disability and mortality associated with obesity. This study examined the prevalence of obesity among Ghanaian teachers of child-bearing age. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 400 female teachers between the ages of 18 and 49 years from two sub-metropolitan areas in Accra District, Ghana. A questionnaire was used to gather information on the socioeconomic status, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), alcohol intake, physical activity and food intake. Appropriate statistical methods were used to determine the association between variables. The mean age, BMI and WHR were 35.9 ± 8.2 years, 27.2±5.3 kgm-2 and 0.79±0.07 respectively. About 34% of the women were overweight while 27% were found to be obese with 17.8% centrally-obese. The WHR ratio, however, classified majority (57%) of the women as low risk. There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and WHR with age. This means that as women aged, both BMI and WHR increased. The prevalence of obesity for a woman above 35years was about four times higher than the prevalence among the younger age group (<25years) and two times higher than that of the middle age group (26-35years). This study found that at any age group underweight, overweight and obesity co-existed. Socioeconomic variables such as marital status, income and parity showed a positive association with BMI and waist circumference. Consumption of fruits and vegetables was observed to be low among respondents. This study recommends that measures such as healthy eating guidelines supported by vigorous physical activities should be put in place in schools to help teachers maintain healthy body weights (BMI 19-25) in order to prevent the risk of obesity and its related life threatening effects.


Background: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of this gene have been reported to affect transcription and production of IL-10. Although the association between SNP and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and increased serum IL-10 levels in NHL patients than controls have been known, there were a few reports in context of haplotypes of whole IL-10 gene. In this study, we investigated the association between haplotype of IL-10 gene and the risk of NHL. Moreover, we investigated the association between IL-10 haplotype, and the overall survival and prognostic factors. Methods: A total of 209 NHL patients and 418 sex- and age- matched controls was included in this study. Through database searching 4 tagging SNPs covering 2.6 kb of IL-10 gene (rs3021094, rs1554286, rs1800872, and rs1800896) were selected considering ethnicity. Analysis was done using TaqMan probe or sequencing. Haplotype and linkage disequilibrium (LD) was analyzed by PHASE and Haploview program. We compared each genotype or haplotype frequency in controls with that in patients. Genotype was tested for its association with overall survival, clinical characteristics (e.g., cell lineage) and international prognostic indices including age, performance, LDH, stage and extra-nodal involvement. Results: All studied SNP were in Hardy-Weinburg equation in controls. There is no strong LD between four SNPs with r2 ranged from 0.002 to 0.211. Among 15 haplotypes identified by PHASE analysis, haplotype 1 (Ht1, TATT at rs3021094, rs1554286, rs1800872, and rs1800896) composed with all of dominant polymorphisms showed a significantly increased risk for developing NHL with odds ratios (OR) of 2.08 [95% confidence interval (CI); 1.47-2.96] and 5.17 [95% CI; 2.45-10.93] in single or both allele carrier of Ht1 than other haplotypes. There was no significant association between the haplotype of IL-10 and risk factors of NHL. Furthermore, Ht1 was shown to be associated with a significantly worse overall survival in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisone, n=37) chemotherapy done before introduction of rituximab therapy (p=0.04), while not significant in patients treated by R-CHOP (Rituximab plus CHOP, n=86) chemotherapy (p=0.27). Conclusions: This study showed that the IL-10 haplotype is a susceptibility marker for the development of NHL, and it was a significant prognostic indicator for DLBCL patients treated with CHOP. However, IL-10 haplotype was not a risk factor in DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 919.


One of the most difficult tasks in image processing is the determination of a suitable set of features which can be used to segment images. In this research, the standard deviation that represents feature of image has been used in image segmentation as indicator to determine the isolation of one object from another or an object from a background. This feature has been used by a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to become a fitness function that will help in searching process for the optimal solution. The value of standard deviation is high in the case of a difference between various diverse regions of the image and small in one region. Using this feature in maximizes the difference among different regions and minimizes the interclass variance, a GA is used to evolve a subimage convolution kernel to produce kernel with a best features that can be used in the segmentation of image. The space-filling curve approach has been used to convert the kernel from a one dimensional (1-D) form into a two dimensional (2-D) form. The evolution process of a genetic algorithms are done on a kernel in array form, while the convolution process between a kernel and image is used a kernel in a matrix form.


Coordinated national transport planning and the increased use of models for planning requires an increased availability and quality of data for the transport sector. The system constraints for the transport industry are changing rapidly and this affects the volume and content of data and statistics. This project surveyed the transport statistics available with the intention of proposing changes and improvements that will satisfy the increased need for transport statistics. The report considers the high level constraints affecting this area at the start of the new decennium and also gives concrete recommendations for improvements in the statistics for both passenger transport and goods transport. The recommendations have been listed in order of priority.


With the increasing of core thermal power of the nuclear power plant, the decay heat of the core increases in the accident. Therefore, the heat removal capacity of the PXS should be enhanced to fulfill the requirement of core safety.A new scheme is put forward to improve the cooling capacity of PXS and provides long-term power for station blackout (SBO) accident or loss of normal feedwater. In this system, the Organic Rankine Cycle is incorporated between the hot leg and cold leg of PRHR. The decay heat of the core is the heat source and the cooling pool outside the containment is the cool source. The natural circulation of the primary loop is established due to the density difference. The primary fluid flows into the evaporator of the ORC system, where the working fluid of the ORC system is evaporated. Then the temperature of the primary fluid is decreased. The vaporized working fluid drives the expander, which is coaxially fixed with the fluid pump, to generate the power. Finally, the exhausted vapor flows into the condenser and the residual heat is discharged outside of the containment simultaneously. The working fluid in the condenser is pumped into the evaporator by the fluid pump for liquid supplement and the cycle keeps on working continuously.A steady state analysis is performed on a 1700MWe nuclear power plant with ORC as the heat removal system. The heat transfer area of the ORC evaporator is fixed as 487.7m2, which is the same as the area of PRHR HX. The efficiencies of fluid pump and expander of ORC system are assumed as 0.75 and 0.8, respectively. The decay heat of the core is about 67.62MWe, which is 1.38% of the core full power. The working fluids are screened and R141b offers excellent performance. The efficiency of fluid pump and expander are assumed as 0.75 and 0.8, respectively. The condensing temperature is assumed as 80°C and the evaporating temperature is 160°C. The results show that 7.83MWe will be generated by the ORC system and the heat transfer area of the condenser is about 994.5m2. The residual heat of 59.79MWe will be discharged to the water tank outside the containment.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


The model legume plant Medicago truncatula accumulates free proline in response to hyperosmotic stress as do many other organisms. In order to analyse the transcriptional regulation of proline biosynthesis in M. truncatula, three cDNAs encoding Delta(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS1, P5CS2; EC not assigned) and ornithine delta-aminotransferase (OAT; EC 220.127.116.11) were isolated. The cDNAs shared high homologies with the other plant sequences and genomic organization analysis indicated the presence of two P5CS and two putative OAT genes. The two P5CS genes showed differing transcript level regulation according to organs and in response to osmotic stress. MtP5CS1 steady-state transcript levels in the different plant organs were correlated with proline levels but transcript abundance was unaffected by osmotic stresses. MtP5CS2 transcripts were poorly detected in all organs but were strongly accumulated in shoots of salt-stressed plants. We suggest a specific of MtP5CS1 and MtP5CS2 as a housekeeping product and as a stress specific isoform, respectively. MtOAT transcripts were predominantly detected in roots and shoots of unstressed plants. Salt-stress treatment induced the accumulation of MtOAT transcripts in the whole plant whatever the developmental stage. In salt-stressed roots, a positive correlation was found between proline and MtOAT transcript accumulation. These results suggest that both ornithine and glutamate biosynthesis pathways contribute to the osmotic stress-induced proline accumulation in M. truncatula.


3138 Aims: It is widely accepted that oxidative stress plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of Barrett's esophagus. In order to investigate if oxidative stress induces DNA-damage or not, we performed in vivo and in vitro studies. Methods: As a sensitive marker for oxidative damage, we investigated immunohistochemically the 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) level in 50 Barrett's carcinomas (BCa) and 52 precursor lesions [21 Barrett mucosas (BM), 20 low grade dysplasia (LGD), and 11 high grade dysplasia (HGD)]. In parallel, the base excision repair proteins, OGG1 and MYH, were analyzed for protein expression by immunohistochemistry and for mutations (hot spots: Y165C and G382D) using a pyrosequencer. In addition, three Barrett's adenocarcinoma cell lines (SEG1, TE7, and BIC1) were treated with 250µM H2O2 for 6, 24, and 48h, and induction of oxidative DNA-damage was measured by 8-OHdG staining and COMET assay. γH2A.X expression and cytochrome c release were determined by Western Blotting. Effects on apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were determined by Annexin V assay, caspase 3, 8, and 9 cleavage and FACS analysis. Results: The 8-OHdG score differed significantly between BM and BCa. There was one case with a hereditary heterozygous MYH mutation. H2O2 treatment induced severe DNA-damage as reflected by a dramatic increase in DNA double strand breaks within 15min posttreatment. Oxidative DNA-damage was accompanied by G2/M arrest and apoptosis induction dependent on the p53 status of the tumor cells. Conclusions:Increased DNA-damage during Barrett's carcinogenesis is associated with a decrease in the antioxidant and repair capacities. Therefore, oxidative stress inducing DNA-damaging agents might have a therapeutic impact on Barrett's adenocarcinomas.


This paper presents a non-inverting buck-boost based power-factor-correction (PFC) converter operating in the boundary-conduction-mode (BCM) for the wide input-voltage-range applications. Unlike other conventional PFC converters, the proposed non-inverting buck-boost based PFC converter has both step-up and step-down conversion functionalities to provide positive DC output-voltage. In order to reduce the turn-on switching-loss in high frequency applications, the BCM current control is employed to achieve zero current turn-on for the power switches. Besides, the relationships of the power factor versus the voltage conversion ratio between the BCM boost PFC converter and the proposed BCM non-inverting buck-boost PFC converter are also provided. Finally, the 70-watt prototype circuit of the proposed BCM buck-boost based PFC converter is built for the verification of the high frequency and wide input-voltage-range.


The nail is horny structure. Nail plate is responsible for penetration of drug across it. As it is hard enough the penetration becomes difficult, only a fraction of topical drug penetrates across it. Hence the effective therapeutic concentration is not achieved. The nail plate may appear abnormal as a result of decreased glow. It`s involvement of nail bed, reduction of blood supply, physical or chemical features of nail bed. As a result variety of diseases occurs.1 Oral therapies are accompanied by systemic side effects and drug interactions, while topical therapies are limited by the low permeation rate through the nail plate. These diseases can be cured by achieving desired therapeutic concentration of drug by nail drug delivery system. Human nails do not have only protective and decorative role, but can also be considered as an alternative pathway for drug delivery, especially in nail diseases such as onychomycosis or psoriasis. The physical techniques (manual and electrical nail abrasion, acid etching, ablation by lasers, microporation, application of low-frequency ultrasound and electric currents) and chemicals (thiols, sulphites, hydrogen peroxide, urea, water, enzymes) that have shown ungual enhance reactivity. For effective topical therapy, fungal drug permeation must be enhanced.3 This can be achieved by disrupting the nail plate using physical techniques or chemical agents. Alternatively, drug permeation into the intact nail plate may be encouraged, for example, by iontophoresis or by formulating the drug within a vehicle which enables high drug partition out of the vehicle and into the nail plate.

Keywords: Nail drug delivery, Onychomycosis, Iontophoresis, Psoriasis.


: Sulfur isotope ratios are used to untangle food web dynamics, track animal movements and determine dietary provenance. Yet, their application in the biomineralised tissues of animals is relatively unexplored. These tissues are particularly useful for isotopic analyses as they can retain a permanent and temporally resolved chemical record over the lifetime of the organism. We experimentally determined whether biogenic carbonate records environmental variation in sulfur isotope ratios ( 34 S/ 32 S) in an aquatic system and whether such variation is influenced by the ambient water or diet. Juvenile barramundi Lates calcarifer were raised in 2 water treatments with differing sulfur isotope ratios, as well as 3 diet treatments with differing ratios. We subsequently analysed the calcium carbonate fish ear bones (otoliths) using secondary ion mass spectrometry, a technique that allowed the experimental growth of the otolith to be targeted. Our findings suggest that biogenic carbonate records variation in sulfur isotope ratios and that diet is not the sole source of sulfur isotope variation in aquatic consumers. Drawing from a multi-disciplinary body of literature, we also reviewed the potential ecological and environmental applications of sulfur isotope analysis in biominerals. We emphasise the extensive application of sulfur isotope ratios and that progressing this field of research to include biominerals is a worthwhile pursuit.


We argue that the resource sharing that is commonly manifest in semantic accounts of coordination is instead appropriately handled in terms of structure-sharing in LFG f-structures. We provide an extension to the previous account of LFG semantics (Dalrymple et al., 1993a) according to which dependencies between f-structures are viewed as resources; as a result a one-to-one correspondence between uses of f-structures and meanings is maintained. The resulting system is sufficiently restricted in cases where other approaches overgenerate; the very property of resource-sensitivity for which resource sharing appears to be problematic actually provides explanatory advantages over systems that more freely replicate resources during derivation.


A method fo nonradioactive DNA sequencing, which has been marketed commercially, uses four different fluorescent tags to label DNA fragments and fixed-wavelength excitation/fluorescence detection of the labels. This study presents an alternative method of detection based on synchronous luminescence (SL), in which both excitation and emission wavelengths are scanned simultaneously. This approach has proven in the past to have significant advantages over fixed-wavelength luminescence in the analysis and identification of fluorescent analytes. In this paper, the utility of synchronous excitation was investigated as a method for DNA sequencing with fluorescent tags. A laser-based SL instrument, recently developed in this laboratory, was used to resolve the spectra of a mixture of the dyes used in the fluorescence-based sequencing scheme. A preliminary limit of detection of 720 zeptomoles (10(-21) M) of fluorescein isothiocyanate dye in solution was achieved with this instrument. The results presented here suggest that the SL technique could result in an increase in sensitivity and a decrease in error rate of identification during DNA sequencing.


Within the validity of the first-order Born approximation and far-field approximation, the possibility for producing scattered fields with various intensity distributions is discussed. It is shown that when light waves are scattered from a collection of particles with random distribution, the intensity distribution of the scattered field can be manipulated by properly controlling the distribution characteristics of particles in the collection. To illustrate this result, three special cases of a particulate medium are discussed to produce scattered spectral density with Gaussian distributions, circular flattened distributions, and ring-like distributions, respectively.


Family is the first environment encountered by children. One of the the phenomenons face in the family is the lack of parents attention to their children. Thus, in the everyday life, their behaviors are less accordance with norms and religious values. This study aimed to describe the attention of parents, moral of adolescents, and examine the relationship between them. The type of this study is a descriptive correlation with the findings of parents attention is high, while adolescent moral classified as poor, and there is a significant relationship between the attention of parrents to the moral of adolescents.


Discussions of policy formation have reached an impasse with accumulating support for rival theories. We address this impasse by advancing a 'political resource" theory that synthesizes class-, state-centered, neocorporatist and institutional ideas to explain policy formation in advanced capitalist democracies. Political institutions constitute infrastructural resources that condition the instrumental resources of class actors and channel the effects of class mobilization. Capitalists have systemic power by virtue of the state's dependence on private capital accumulation. We use this theory to explain the direct economic intervention of state governments in the U.S. in creating public venture capital programs in the 1970s and 1980s. An event history analysis shows that the adoption of these programs was shaped by a mesocorporatist 'pact" combining capital/labor peak association bargaining with administrative capacities, structural dependence on corporate profits and manufacturing industry, professionalized state legislatures pressured by deindustrialization and the loss of instrumental resources due to declining Federal transfers to state governments. In an era of globalization and economic restructuring, the subnational state has become a centerpoint for industrial policy innovations in pluralistic states like the U.S. *Both of us share equally in this paper., We thank Michael Wallace and Don Grantforproviding some of their data on state economic policies and contexts. We also thank Kurt Schock, Brian


In oil and gas industries there are a lot off heat transfer devices used for different purposes. These devices are widely used in various industrial, transportation, or domestic applications such as heat exchangers thermal power plants, means of transport, heating and air conditioning systems, electronic equipments and space vehicles. In all these applications, improvements in the efficiency of heat exchangers can lead to substantial cost, space and materials savings. The research work summarized in this articles presents an experimental investigation on the effect of fin space (s)  and aluminum materials on the fin performance using rectangular  fins. The steady-state natural convection heat transfer from vertical rectangular fins extending perpendicularly from horizontal square base was investigated experimentally at new range not found in the previous works, this range of temperatures from 50 to 150 Co  . The effects of fin space parameter and base-to-ambient temperature difference on the heat transfer performance of fin arrays were observed and the environmental condition were determined. Five fin space settings,( 22, 27, 30, 35 and 38 mm) with a constant fin height is 50mm for all types of configuration are presented in this work  were employed under free convection heat transfer conditions. This range of fin space not found on previous study or research. The heat transfer area was kept the same. The performance of the fin expressed in terms of fin efficiency, effectiveness and thermal resistance as a function of the ambient temperature and fin space parameters has been study in this work. The dimensionless parameter Biot no. on the locally variable environmental condition is examined for different fin spaces to the fin heat transfer rate. Also, the effect of environmental condition is study.  Experimental results show that the effect fin space on fin performance is more significant.. The maximum increase in convection heat transfer coefficient value obtained is about 22 percent. The increase in heat transfer coefficient value is also manifested by a corresponding decrease in the fin base temperature. Also, it is concluded from the experimental results that the performance of heat transfer rate increase with decreasing the fin space  in respect of heat transfer coefficient, thermal resistance ,overall efficiency and effectiveness.


In this research, new bioactive nanocomposite scaffolds were successfully developed using poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), cross-linked gelatin and nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite (HAp) after testing different solvents and methods. First, HAp powder was synthesized via a chemical precipitation technique and characterized. Then, the nanocomposites were prepared through layer solvent casting combined with freeze-drying and lamination techniques. According to the results, the increasing of the PCL weight in the scaffolds led to the improvement of the mechanical properties. The amount of ultimate stress, stiffness and also elastic modulus increased from 8 MPa for 0% wt PCL to 23.5 MPa for 50% wt PCL. The biomineralization study revealed the formation of an apatite layer on the scaffolds after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF). The Ca-P ratios were in accordance to nonstoichiometric biological apatite, which was approximately 1.67. The in vitro biocompatibility and cytocompatibility of the scaffolds were tested using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and the results indicated no sign of toxicity, and cells were found to be attached to the scaffold walls. The in vivo biocompatibility and osteogenesis of these scaffolds in the animal experiments is also under investigation, and the result will be published at the end of the study.


(Paper presented during the 2006 PAGE-NCR Research Congress) This study hoped to evolve a Corporate Citizenship (CC) Framework for Operationalization to help other companies hasten the integration of corporate citizenship policies and /or practices into the different strategic management processes of the business. Using the multiple regression analysis, the study also investigated if practicing corporate citizenship through the establishment of a Foundation and membership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) has correlates with the sales performance and profitability of a company. The main focus was to identify critical corporate citizenship practices, values, policies and strategies for an effective CC implementation and/or operationalization. The respondents of the study totaling 160, were the officers and rank and file employees of twenty five selected corporations belonging to the Top 1000 Philippine Corporations and who have been in the list from 1999-2003. These twenty five selected companies also represented the five major industry sectors in the Philippines as classified by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): 1) Manufacturing; 2) Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Service; 3) Wholesale and Retail Trade; 4) Transport, Storage and Communications; and 5) Electricity, Gas and Power Supply. A self-made survey instrument was prepared for the purpose of gathering data from the respondents. The questions in the survey questionnaire were anchored from the researcher's Proposed Corporate Citizenship Framework for Operationalization, which was conceptualized in accordance with the Corporate Citizenship (CC) and/or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concepts of Arnold B. Carrol, the London Benchmarking Group, David Logan and William Kanaga. The study also involved asking several issues related to the seven stakeholders (as suggested by the LBG) of business in the light of corporate citizenship - environment, consumers, business partners, employees, shareholders, community and government.


Lead (Pb) was revealed for its role as a neurodevelopmental toxin. The determination of neurotransmitters (NTs) in particular brain regions could ameliorate the precise description and optimization of therapeutic protocols able to restore the harmony of signaling pathways in nervous and immune systems. The determination of selected analytes from the group of NTs based on the liquid chromatography (LC)-based method was carried out to illustrate the changes of amino acid (AA) and biogenic amine (BA) profiles observed in chosen immune and nervous systems rat tissues after Pb intoxication. Also, a protective combination of AA was proposed to correct the changes caused by Pb intoxication. After the administration of Pb, changes were observed in all organs studied and were characterized by a fluctuation of NT concentrations in immune and nervous systems (hypothalamus samples). Using a protective mixture of bioactive compounds prevented numerous changes in the balance of NT. The combined analysis of the immune and nervous system while the normalizing effect of curative agents on the level of differentially secreted NTs and AA is studied could present a new approach to the harmonization of those two essential systems after Pb intoxication.


In this review, the integration of distiller unit for other thermal application e.g., agriculture, passive heating, biogas enhancement and extraction of essence from any paste have been presented. The design and performance of each system has been discussed in detail. It is observed that after integration with difference thermal concept distiller unit provides a reasonable amount of distillate output and thus, becomes cost-effective.


Three flukes, Schistosoma haematobium (urinary blood fluke), Clonorchis sinensis (Chinese liver fluke), and Opisthorchis viverrini (Southeast Asian liver fluke) are, by official decree, Group 1 (fully proven) human carcinogens. Thus, they comprise a group of preventable carcinogens. But considering the situation of prevailing infection, from the lifestyle and food habits of people in the endemic regions, it is unlikely that they are eradicated in the near future. S. haematobium is transmitted by snails and infection is acquired from snail-infested water. C. sinensis and O. viverrini are both transmitted from eating fish. As medically important flukes, it is crucial to understand their biology, and this is an attempt to explain that in the light of the history of their discovery. Further, this is written with a hope that several facts, often erroneously presented in scientific literature, about these flukes are rectified.


The TEEOF method that expands temporally is used to conduct a diagnostic study of the variation patterns of 1,3,6 and 10 years with regard to mean air temperature over the globe and Southern and Northern Hemispheres over the course of 100 years.The results show that the first mode of TEEOF takes up more than 50% in the total variance,with each of the first mode in the interannual oscillations generally standing for annually varying patterns which are related with climate and reflecting long-term tendency of change in air temperature.It is particularly true for the first mode on the 10-year scale,which shows an obvious ascending trend concerning the temperature in winter and consistently the primary component of time goes in a way that is very close to the sequence of actual temperature.Apart from the first mode of all time sections of TEEOF for the globe and the two hemispheres and the second mode of the 1-year TEEOF,interannual variation described by other characteristic vectors are showing various patterns,with corresponding primary components having relation with long-term variability of specific interannual quasi-periodic oscillation structures.A test applied to the annual variation pattern shows that the abrupt changes for the Southern Hemisphere and the globe come closer to the result of a uni-element t test for mean temperature than those for the Northern Hemisphere do.It indicates that the test,when carried out with patterns of multiple variables,seems more reasonable than the t test with single elements.


The spines which form the subjects of the following descriptions are from the West-Riding Coalfield in Yorkshire, and the Ironstone occurring in the Lower Limestone series near Edinburgh. A stratigraphical description of the Cannel Coal at Tingley, from which the first two species have been obtained, may be consulted in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society issued for February 1880, page 56. The three species of Ichthyodorulites forming the subject of this 9 paper are the only specimens of which I have cognizance possessing their peculiar characteristics. In some particulars they resemble the genus Pleuracanthus; they are composed of a strong, closegrained, fibrous substance. Their general form is also similar to that of the Pleuraeanths : the internal cavity is terminal at the basal extremity ; and the walls become thinner near the base in comparison with the remainder of the spine ; the method of implantation in the body of the fish must also have been the same. The great distinguishing feature between the two rests in the absence in this genus of any form of dentieulation. In the Pleuracanths there are two rows of dentieles either along each lateral surface or on some portion between the lateral and posterior lines. Whether this may be asufficient distinction to necessitate a second genus, or further discoverieswill prove that it must be included in the genus Pleuracanthus,remains to be seen; but for the present it may be better to consider it as a distinct genus, for the following reason: hitherto


A three-generation family presenting with ocular developmental abnormalities, including anterior segment dysgenesis and coloboma, associated with brachydactyly and clinodactyly is presented. Several conditions incorporating ocular and bony limb abnormalities have been described. However, we believe that this family manifests a previously undescribed syndrome due to autosomal dominant or possibly x-linked inheritance with variable expression.


The effects of ischaemia on the arterial wall were studied in fragments of common carotid artery taken downstream from the occlusion. They consisted of intracytoplasmic or intrajunctional lacunae, vacuoles, craters, detachment or disruption of cell membranes with formation of blebs or bullae, retraction of numerous nuclei, swelling of the ergastoplasm and perhaps increase in pinocytosis. The administration of Duxil, a corrector of metabolism, 10 min prior to inducing ischaemia resulted in considerable reduction of these lesions as compared to untreated animals.


Magurran, Irving and Henderson (1997) have reported that a population of European minnows, Phoxinus phoxinus, did not show an obvious behavioural fright reaction when they were presented with conspecific skin extract in a wild situation. Fish from the same population show a strong response when tested in aquaria. From these data the authors conclude that the fright reaction may be contingent on such factors as assessed risk and hunger. From this reasonable hypothesis they progress to the assertion that the Schreckstoff of ostariophysan fishes should not be considered an alarm pheromone. Much of their paper is devoted to arguments supporting their hypothesis that Schreckstoff cannot operate as an alarm pheromone. I argue that it is appropriate and adaptive to respond to alarm signals in a contingent manner, and attempt to answer the various arguments regarding the validity of terming Schreckstoff an alarm pheromone.


Libraries nationwide are in yet another phase of belt tightening. Without an understanding of the economic factors that influence library operations, however, controlling costs and performing cost-benefit analyses on services is difficult. This paper describes a project to develop a cost model for collaborative virtual reference services. This cost model is a systematic description of all expenses incurred by a library in providing virtual reference service as part of a collaborative.


Abstract Objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new criteria for conversion of the tuberculin skin test; in persons over 35 years of age, an increase in induration of at least 15 mm is considered indicative of new tuberculous infection. We reviewed our experience in a tuberculosis control program in a long-term care facility to assess the applicability of the new criteria to our patient population. Design: Retrospective review of seven years of tuberculosis control records and outbreak investigation. Setting: Long-term care Veterans Affairs hospital. Patients: All patients in the facility between 1985 and June 1992 who received routine admission and annual tuberculin skin testing or who were evaluated for possible exposure to active tuberculosis. A total of 2,342 skin tests were performed. Results: Mean increase in skin test diameter in patients with at least two prior negative tests and known exposure to active tuberculosis was 13.9 ± 4.7 mm. Frequency distribution histograms of skin test sizes of initial tuberculin testing in the entire population indicated 10 mm induration as a reasonable criterion for initial positivity. Conclusions: In our long-term care population, an increase in skin test induration of 10 mm may indicate new tuberculous infection. Criteria for skin test conversion derived from ambulatory populations in other geographic areas may not apply in all situations. Prevalence of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and prevalence of skin test reactivity due to nontuberculous mycobacteria are likely to influence the predictive value of criteria for tuberculin conversion in a given population.


The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a phytogenic additive in sport horses feed rations on faecal macroelements digestibility. The experiment was realized in Riding Centre of the Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, using 6 warm blood sport horses (geldings). The control group was fed with crimped barley, meadow hay, feed mixture and mineral premix. The experimental feed rations were supplemented with a phytogenic additive containing a blend of essential oils from origanum, anise and citrus, as well as a prebiotic rich in fructooligosaccharides. Higher digestibility of calcium (Ca) (71.11% vs. 69.09%) and phosphorus (P) (52.74% vs. 47.55%) was determined in horses fed the phytogenic additives (P>0.05). In this group of horses we found significantly (P<0.05) higher digestibility of magnesium (Mg), 64.32% in comparison with the control group (43.55%). Insignificantly differences in sodium (Na) digestibility we found (75.98% in control group vs. 76.58% in experimental group). Significantly (P<0.05) higher potassium (K) digestibility we found in horses fed with phytoadditives (57.11%). In horses fed without phytoadditives we detected significantly (P<0.05) lower digestibility of K (30.55%). In conclusion, we found positive effects of a phytogenic additive on macroelements faecal digestibility in sport horses.


Intensity mapping (IM) of spectral lines has the potential to revolutionize cosmology by increasing the total number of observed modes by several orders of magnitude compared to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies. In this paper, we consider IM of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the redshift range $0 \lesssim z \lesssim 3$ employing a halo model approach where HI is assumed to follow the distribution of dark matter (DM) halos. If a portion of the DM is composed of ultralight axions then the abundance of halos is changed compared to cold dark matter below the axion Jeans mass. With fixed total HI density, $\Omega_{\rm HI}$, assumed to reside entirely in halos, this effect introduces a scale-independent increase in the HI power spectrum on scales above the axion Jeans scale, which our model predicts consistent with N-body simulations. Lighter axions introduce a scale-dependent feature even on linear scales due to its suppression of the matter power spectrum near the Jeans scale. We use the Fisher matrix formalism to forecast the ability of future HI surveys to constrain the axion fraction of DM and marginalize over astrophysical and model uncertainties. We find that a HIRAX-like survey is a very reliable IM survey configuration, being affected minimally by uncertainties due to non-linear scales, while the SKA1MID configuration is the most constraining as it is sensitive to non-linear scales. Including non-linear scales and combining a SKA1MID-like IM survey with the Simons Observatory CMB, the benchmark ''fuzzy DM'' model with $m_a = 10^{-22}\text{ eV}$ can be constrained at the 10% level. For lighter ULAs this limit improves below 1%, and allows the possibility to test the connection between axion models and the grand unification scale across a wide range of masses.


The envelope protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is composed of two membrane-associated glycoproteins, E1 and E2. To obtain HCV E2 protein as a secretory form at a high level, we constructed a recombinant chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line expressing a C-terminal truncated E2 (E2t) fused to human growth hormone (hGH), CHO/hGHE2t. The hGHE2t fusion protein was purified from the culture supernatant using anti-hGH mAb affinity chromatography at approximately 80% purity. The purified hGHE2t protein appeared to be assembled into oligomers linked by intermolecular disulfide bond(s) when density gradient centrifugation and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were employed. When the purified fusion protein was used for testing its ability to bind to antibodies specific for HCV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the protein was recognized by antibodies in sera from 90% of HCV-positive patients. Treatment of hGHE2t protein by β-mercaptoethanol, but not by heat and SDS, significantly reduced its reactivity to the antibodies of patient sera, suggesting that intermolecular and/or intramolecular disulfide bonds are important for its ability to recognize its specific antibody and that the E2 protein contains discontinuous antigenic epitope(s).


High contribution of cache access power in the total power consumption of embedded processors has made it a major concern in embedded system designs. By technology scaling, leakage power has created more stress on design constraint and power budget of embedded processors. Therefore; designers require a comprehensive design space exploration of cache architecture. In this paper we find out the optimum performance per power consumption points for cache sizes based on design space exploration using a new energy model considering dynamic and leakage energy of cache for embedded applications. Full exploration is performed based on different feature sizes to find out the effect of technology scale down on power parameters of cache. Results show that in different feature sizes 30% of static power and 43 % of total power of an embedded core is consumed in the cache hierarchy in average. It means based on this work in smaller feature sizes and for embedded application that can tolerate performance lose up to 3%, we should select smaller cache hierarchy to deliver better performance per power as the most important parameter in designing embedded systems.


The threshing section on combine harvester or thresher machine affects grain and stalk separation performance. In this study, effect of some threshing parameters such as drum speed, feed rate and concave open on closed capsules sesame straw sieve in developed threshing unit. Threshing drums used were a rasp bar with tooth type. Three threshing drum speeds of 500, 700 and 900 min-1 (6.5, 9.1, 11.7 m/s) were used to investigations. Three feed rate as 90, 180 and 270 kg/h and three concave open as 20, 35 and 50 mm were used in this study. Four sieves were used for separation of straw. Their mesh numbers are 7, 10, 14 and 18. Results show that the best performance for separation of sesame straw were gave at the maximum drum speeds, minimum feed rates and concave opens experienced in this study.


Environmental context Polyfluoroalkyl compounds are used in a variety of industrial and consumer applications, including polymer production and for surface treatment of textiles and paper. Research over the last 10 years has shown that these compounds are ubiquitous environmental contaminants – they are extremely persistent, show toxic effects and accumulate in the food chain. We evaluate global, temporal and spatial trends of these important emerging contaminants. Abstract This review gives an overview of existing knowledge of polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in humans and in marine biota. Temporal trends and spatial distribution of PFCs were globally compared in humans, marine mammals, seabirds and fish. In general, PFC concentrations in the environment have increased significantly from the beginning of the production up to the 1990s. After the phase-out of perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (POSF) production starting in 2000, PFC concentrations in humans generally decreased. In marine biota no clear temporal trends were observed. The temporal trends depended on the species, their trophic levels and the geographical locations. PFC patterns in humans and in marine wildlife species were compared regarding perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), their shorter and longer chain homologues (C4–C15) and precursor compounds. Finally knowledge gaps were identified and recommendations for future work were presented.


We discuss a Kohn-Luttinger-like mechanism for superconductivity in Bernal bilayer graphene and rhombohedral trilayer graphene. Working within the continuum model description, we find that the screened long-range Coulomb interaction alone gives rise to superconductivity with critical temperatures that agree with experiments. We observe that the order parameter changes sign between valleys, which implies that both materials are valley-singlet, spin-triplet superconductors. Adding Ising spin-orbit coupling leads to a significant enhancement in the critical temperature, also in line with experiment, and the superconducting order parameter shows locking between the spin and valley degrees of freedom.


The very high mortality in cases of severe superficial burns and scalds in children has always occasioned grave concern. Against the mortality due to primary shock (which is comparable to primary traumatic shock) our resources are limited, and the nature of the injury is such that a much lower death rate from this cause is hardly to be expected. An even higher mortality is encountered from toxic shock, and this condition we believe is more amenable to treatment than primary shock. However, under ordinary methods of treatment, there has been little reduction in the mortality due to toxemia, chiefly because attention has been directed more to the problems of local treatment than to relief of the early toxemia which frequently results in death. Despite advances made in improving local applications for burned surfaces, the death rate is still distressingly high. We can only come to the conclusion that within certain


The 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study shows average mathematics scores of U.S. fourth graders are lower than children in many Asian countries. There are questions about differences in mathematics skills at younger ages. This study examines differences in score growth for High-, Average-, and Low-performing children in two U.S. states and one city in China. The samples are not representative of site populations and are different in socioeconomic status (SES). Test of Early Mathematics Ability–3 (TEMA-3; Ginsburg & Baroody, 2003) scores were obtained at four time points from the longitudinal samples. Children in Shanghai had higher scores than children in Kentucky and Nebraska; the majority of children in Shanghai scored in the High group, whereas most children in Kentucky and Nebraska were in the Average group. The best fitting growth models were nonlinear and the growth patterns varied across samples. More research is needed to understand how classroom instruction, home environments, parenting, and SES impact growth of TEMA-3 scores.


Since the adoption of Doi Moi (reform) policy in 1986, local participation has attracted special attention in development projects in Vietnam. In particular, the questions of whether local participation in development projects should be promoted and whether it would be feasible became a major concern among development practitioners, as the debates on participation and project sustainability continued. While some argued that although socio-economic, cultural, ethnic and political obstacles were always present, many also believed that the promises of participation in development projects in Vietnam had been strengthened in recent times especially when the Government realised that its top-down approach in implementing development projects could only weaken local capacity. This article is an examination of how participatory approach was promoted in two villages in Daklak province, Vietnam, where a Danish-funded RWSS (Rural water supply and sanitation) project was implemented. It investigates how development was perceived differently by local people and other major stakeholders, and in turn, how participation was exercised. It also identifies the obstacles that emerged that hampered local participation and discusses how locals responded with appropriate solutions.


The article is sanctified to the actual and debatable problem of development of journalistic investigation in wartime conditions. The attention is focused on the necessity of accumulation of more empiricists and further scientific researches in this direction. Main objective of the study. Determination of the main tendencies of development of journalistic investigation in the modern print and internet media and the proposals for optimization of the process. Methods. The method of content analysis became the basis of empiricists of the scientific article and the source for theoretical references and conclusions. The author used the historical and the comparative method of the study to clarify the main trends of genre development in general and journalistic investigation in particular. The method of generalization became necessary to systematize the facts that already occured in order to outline subsequently the most possible ways of development of journalistic investigation. The observation method appeared also productive. The results of the study. Journalistic investigation develops without regard to unfavorable circumstances. The tendencies to opposition to development are so serious, that it should be noted: journalistic investigation in its classic form may cease to exist. It should be borne in mind that any journalistic investigation is a powerful weapon. In our terms of ideological and direct war, it should not be made into manipulations. The theorists are recommended immediately to take into account, to comprehend and to systematize the rich empiric material accumulated in times of active phase of military operations.


Collaborative Editing Systems often use communication channels in order to make the collaboration more effective. In this work, we present a case study of pair communication using audio via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology during collaborative modeling sessions. The study provides an analysis of audio and textual chat as communication medium and presents data on usage patterns, user interaction and attitudes when using collaborative editing systems. The qualitative and quantitative analysis suggests that VoIP technology does have advantages over textual chat in collaborative modeling when used for communication.


The coupling of the reaction of a tightly bound ubiquinone with the reduction of O2 in cytochrome bo3 of Escherichia coli was investigated. In the absence of the quinone, a strongly diminished rate of electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen is detected, which can be restored by adding quinones. The correlation of previous EPR data with the electrocatalytic study on mutations in the binding site at positions, Q101, D75, F93, H98, I102 and R71 reveal that the stabilization of the radical is not necessary for the oxygen reaction. The Q101 and F93 variants exhibit both well‐defined catalytic i–V curves, whereas D75H, H98F, I102W and R71H exhibit broad i–V curves with large hysteresis pointing toward a strong alteration in their catalytic activity.


Progesterone is a naturally occurring female sex hormone, which plays an important role in the female reproductive cycle. Progesterone supplementation is used to treat a variety of conditions. When commercial dosage strengths are unavailable, rapid-dissolving tablets may be compounded. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical stability of progesterone when compounded in a rapid-dissolving tablet formulation and to establish an evidence-based beyond-use date. Triplicate test samples were prepared by diluting the pulverized progesterone rapid-dissolving tablets with a portion of methanol to a final concentration of 100 µg/mL. Samples were stored in a stability chamber under accelerated conditions at 60°C and 75% relative humidity and were evaluated at appropriate intervals (0, 6 months, and 12 months). Chemical stability was assessed initially and at appropriate intervals during the study periods with stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography analytical techniques based on the determination of drug concentrations. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography analysis indicated that the samples remained stable for 6 months at 60°C and 75% relative humidity. The remaining concentration of progesterone rapid-dissolving tablets at 6 months fell within the United States Pharmacopeia accepted limits (±10% of the initial concentration), which was consistent with the recommended beyond-use dating of 6 months for a non-aqueous formulation per United States Pharmacopeia guidelines.


Details are presented of two series of experiments to investigate carbon determination in gas turbine combustion chambers. The first series employed a gravimetric technique to examine carbon distribution within the various zones of a combustor with the aim of identifying zones of formation and oxidation. In the second series a fairly comprehensive investigation of the technique of measuring Smoke Number was made with the objective of obtaining details relevant to its accuracy and applicability. Mixtures of iso-octane and benzene were used as fuel, thereby permitting the effects of hydrogen content to be established. The results are correlated with others obtained previously.


The purpose of this paper is to examine, in a largely non-technical way, key issues and challenges associated with the use of biodiversity offsets in New Zealand. After describing the state of New Zealand biodiversity (as far as it is known), the existing legal and policy framework is briefly summarised. This is followed by a discussion on notable issues that have been identified to date.A number of 'best practice' guidance documents are surveyed, and alternative governance models discussed. Whether there is effective monitoring and enforcement of approved offset arrangements is also considered, drawing on recent research.Finally, future developments are examined, including the prospects of national policy guidance and statutory reform.


This study examined the professional background of physical therapy department chairpersons, as well as training received for the position, and its importance. Survey methodology was utilized and the return rate was 62%. The average physical therapy department chairperson is a 52 years old female, tenured, associate professor with a doctorate degree. Chairpersons were on average, a clinician for 8 years prior to entering academia, had no intention of entering academia and thus took longer to achieve graduate degrees than other department chairpersons in the academy. Only twenty-six percent had a doctorate degree when entering academia. The majority had prior administrative experience, whether in the clinic or higher education. Most were internal candidates, and the largest percent of respondents were interested in a long-term career as a department chairperson. Few received formal training from their institutions. Forty-three percent sought outside training opportunities. The majority received informal training from the previous department chairperson. No training or minimal training was received in all of the fifty areas listed on the survey. However, 27 of the 50 areas were rated moderately to highly important. When respondents were asked to identify the most important areas for training, twelve areas were ranked above the rest. Leadership, institutional policies and procedures, promotion and tenure, team building and budgeting were the top five training areas.It is recommended that physical therapy department chairpersons seek ongoing, internal and external training, with mentorship from other chairpersons. The areas most important to chairpersons should be addressed. Training could be provided at the institutional level, especially policies and procedures. However, local, regional or state consortiums could provide additional training. National training for issues related to the profession of physical therapy is available and efforts to make the training more effective should be considered.


Internet of Things (IoT) is widely being accepted as a disruptive technology business opportunity, with standards emerging primarily for wireless communication between sensors, actuators and gadgets in day-to-day human life, all in general being referred to as "Things". This offers the capability to measure for understanding environment indicators. This paper addresses the internet of things (IoT) and presents automated street lighting prototype using LEDs which controls the brightness intensity of street light and thus saving power by switching it based on time and ambient light of the environment. IoT as envisioned is innumerous sensors connected to the internet that would generate large amount of data which need to analysed, interpreted and utilized. As quite a potential technology, the Internet of Things is bound to experience a widespread application in a few years. This paper also discusses on Internet oriented applications, services, visual aspect and challenges for Internet of Things. Smart cities advocate future environments where sensor pervasiveness, data delivery and exchange, and information mash-up enable better support of every aspect of (social) life in human settlements but also poses infrastructural and architectural constraints because of the heterogeneous nature of different "things" and the varied type of data being collected. This paper concludes by comparing the traditional lighting system and the new LED based street lighting system which also takes the ambient light of environment into consideration to save power.


Biodegradable spiral stents were used in the treatment of detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia (4 patients) and detrusor areflexia with external sphincter spasticity (3 patients). All these patients had spinal injuries. After the stent placement all the patients could urinate almost without residual urine. In patients with detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia mean voiding pressure was 79 cm water before treatment and 37 cm 10 weeks after the stent introduction. Biodegradable spiral stents are a promising treatment for patients with neurogenic bladder.


A technique that facilitates the removal of teeth or retained root fragments without traumatizing the alveolar bone of the socket is described. This technique may be employed whenever such extractions are envisaged, but it is particularly important when the subsequent placement of dental implants is planned.


Newton-based methods are at the heart of many optimal power flow solvers. However, traditional Newton-Raphson can suffer from slow and numerically unstable Jacobian matrix inversions at each iteration. To reduce the computational burden associated with calculating the full Jacobian and its inverse, many Quasi-Newton methods attempt to find a solution to the optimality conditions by leveraging an approximate Jacobian matrix. In this paper, a Quasi-Newton method based on machine learning is presented which performs iterative updates for candidate optimal solutions without having to calculate a Jacobian or approximate Jacobian matrix. The resulting learning-based algorithm utilizes a deep neural network with feedback. With proper choice of weights and activation functions, the model becomes a contraction mapping and convergence can be guaranteed. Results demonstrated on networks up to 1,354 buses indicate the proposed method is capable of finding approximate solutions to AC OPF faster than Newton-Raphson, but can suffer from infeasibile solutions in large networks.


The aim of this thesis is to solve option pricing models efficiently by using spectral methods. The option pricing models that will be solved are the Black-Scholes model and Heston's stochastic volatility model. We will restrict us to pricing European put options. We derive the partial differential equations governing the two models and their corresponding weak formulations. The models are then solved using both the spectral Galerkin method and a polynomial collocation method. The numerical solutions are compared to the exact solution. The exact solution is also used to study the numerical convergence. We compare the results from the two numerical methods, and look at the time consumptions of the different methods. Analysis of the methods are also given. This includes coercivity, continuity, stability and convergence estimates. For Black-Scholes equation, we study both the original equation and the log transformed equation, and we also compare the results to a solution obtained by using a finite element method solver.


In this paper, we introduce and study a new class of nonlinear set-valued mixed random variational inclusions involving random nonlinear (A_{\omega}, \eta_{\omega})-monotone Mappings in Hilbert spaces. Based on the generalized random resolvent operator associated with random nonlinear (A_{\omega}, \eta_{\omega})-monotone mappings, an existence theorem of solutions for this kind of random nonlinear set-valued mixed variational inclusions is established and a new algorithm of approximation solution is suggested and discussed. The results presented in this paper generalize, improve, and unify some recent results in this field.


In this paper, we analyze the effect of local shunts in photovoltaic (PV) solar cells by experimental characterization and distributed electrical simulations. To this purpose, we developed a quasi-3-D distributed electrical network that is based on two-diode circuit elementary units. It allows accounting for resistive losses associated to the transport through the emitter, the fingers and the busbars, and to local defects in the semiconductor. The electrical parameters of the equivalent circuit units are calibrated according to experiments performed on multicrystalline (mc-Si) silicon solar cells, including samples that feature local shunts due to localized defects, which lead to nonuniform distribution of electrical and optical properties. The distributed electrical simulations account for the degradation of fill factor and power conversion efficiency in case of local shunting. Moreover, by combining the proposed tool with a RC thermal network it is possible to estimate the temperature distribution in a shunted solar cell. Our analysis shows how a shunted cell that operates under hot-spot conditions is subject to significant local overheating, which possibly lead to permanent PV cell damages.


6000 series aluminum alloys are used in a variety of fields including architectural products and automobiles. These products require complex cross-sectional shapes and high productivity. In the forming of products that meet these market requirements, surface defects such as pick-up and tearing occur. In the previous report, we focused on the mechanism of pick-up defects on the extrusion surface. The cause of the pick-up defects was the preferential adhe-sion of Mg and O to the die bearing surface. In this paper, a die coating is applied as a method to suppress the pick-up defects. AlCrN, TiAlN, Diamond-like carbon (DLC) were applied and compared to the Nitriding. The number of pick-up in the DLC increased as the stroke progressed, and surface layer delamination of DLC was observed after extrusion. Mg oxide wasn't observed in AlCrN and TiAlN on the bearing surface. And, surface delamination wasn't observed with these coatings. The coatings such as AlCrN and TiAlN to the die bearing surface were effective in suppressing pick-up defects.


We point out that the claim of strong universality in the paper J.Phys. A 44, 015002, arXiv:1011.3321 is incorrect, as it contradicts known rigorous results.


SUMMARY Post-breakup vertical motions of passive margins are seen here as a result of the post-rift 2-D thermal evolution. A 2-D finite element numerical model is performed to evaluate both the vertical and horizontal conduction that drive the thermal evolution of continental passive margins, from breakup to post-breakup states. Initial temperature configurations corresponding to non-volcanic and volcanic margins are tested, and lead to different thermal evolution of the lithosphere. For both margins, a thermal thickening is observed in the stretched lithosphere, whereas the unstretched lithosphere undergoes first (0‐80 Ma) a thermal thinning and secondly (after 80 Ma) a thermal thickening. In comparison with non-volcanic margins, volcanic margins show a slower thermal thickening and a greater thermal thinning in stretched and unstretched lithosphere, respectively. The variations with time of lithosphere thickness are then translated into isostatic vertical movements and reveal 'seaward' thermal induced subsidence and 'landward' thermal induced uplift. The estimated uplift reaches up to 250 m in volcanic margins and 120 m in non-volcanic margins. The modelled timing and amount of uplift in both margins are consistent with present-day topography of volcanic passive margins that stand two to three times higher than non-volcanic margins. Using these thermal models, we finally show that the 2-D strength of the margins drastically evolves with time from a seeward dominant strength (0‐80 Ma) toward a landward dominant strength (time larger than 80 Ma). These lateral strength evolution could have strong effect on the flexural response of the margin through time.


Obesity rates have steadily risen throughout the industrialized world, with America leading the way. Currently more than 15 million Americans fall into the extreme categorization of morbid obesity, defined as body mass index (BMI) >40. Several weight reduction treatment options exist for these patients, with surgical intervention representing an effective and popular approach. Overall, surgical approaches are categorized as restrictive, malabsorptive, or a combination of the two. Fortunately, restrictive approaches, "lap banding" or sleeve gastrectomy, do not yield an increased risk for nephrolithiasis. The same cannot be said for malabsorptive approaches, with the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) representing the most popular of these. These have been clearly shown to lead to increases in urinary oxalate and calcium while leading to a decrease in urine volume and urinary citrate where the risk of a future calculus after RYGB is 2-3 fold greater. To combat these changes, both human and animal studies support the utilization of dietary modifications (reduction of oxalate and fatty foods, increased oral hydration, and supplementation with citric salts and calcium) to reduce the risk of nephrolithiasis formation (1). These dietary change recommendations, however, must be carefully made for patients, for whom changes in gut transit time and potentially hydration status and capacity to eat food may be drastically altered. For example, in these nephrolithiasis patients with a rapid gut transit time, we routinely recommend against restricted sodium intake, contrary to recommendations given to most stone formers. Additional routine recommendations we provide to stone-forming patients who are status post RYGB include increased oral hydration, calcium in the form of dairy of calcium tablets with all meals, and often times potassium citrate supplementation. These patients should have established, long term relationships with their dietary and stone specialists to prevent recurrence of stones.


Based on the theory of the quasi-truth degrees in two-valued predicate logic, some researches on approximate reasoning are studied in this paper. The relation of the pseudo-metric between first-order formulae and the quasi-truth degrees of first-order formulae is discussed, and it is proved that there is no isolated point in the logic metric space (F, ρ ). Thus the pseudo-metric between first-order formulae is well defined to develop the study about approximate reasoning in the logic metric space (F, ρ ). Then, three different types of approximate reasoning patterns are proposed, and their equivalence under some condition is proved. This work aims at filling in the blanks of approximate reasoning in quantitative predicate logic.


Immersive Virtual Learning Environments (IVLEs) are extensively used in training, but few rigorous scientific investigations regarding the transfer of learning have been conducted. Measurement of learning transfer through evaluative methods is key for determining the likelihood of equivalent performance post-training intervention. Research has shown that immersive virtual learning environments are advantageous for training psychomotor activities and spatial activities, but it is unclear whether these environments are beneficial for memorizing a procedure. More important than the IVLE technology is the ability of IVLEs to provide higher critical thinking to learners. IVLEs are often implemented through the use of game-based technology, which is argued to hold the promise for fostering critical thinking skills and other 21st century skills. The role of a highway flagman is one that involves high-order problem solving and decision making skills due to variables, such as weather conditions, traffic complexity, multifaceted geographic settings, and multiple lane intersections, that impact a flagman's final decisions regarding construction and/or maintenance work zone design and implementation. For this reason, it is critical for flaggers to receive highly transferable training so they can perform to the best of their ability. This research tested the use of an IVLE simulating real-world highway work zones. IVLEs go beyond traditional visual learning by presenting images that combine a new form of visual learning and virtual-experiential learning in away that is more congruent with an individual's visual images stored in memory, thus improving knowledge transfer and retention. The visual cues that the learner experiences in the virtual world are so similar to the visual cues in the real world that recall of virtual world lessons stored in memory are triggered by the same cues in the real world. Additionally, the student can experiment, make mistakes, and repeat the activity as often as necessary, achieving a virtual-experiential understanding of the concept that can only be duplicated in real-world experiential learning, which is often not practical. Such immersive engagement in the learning activity will allow the learners to move beyond the memorization of the presented concepts and into the application and synthesis of the material.


This paper presents a new self-consistent multisubband Monte Carlo model for electronic transport in the inversion layer of decananometric MOSFETs. The simulator is 2D in real space and in k-space and accounts for the electron-gas degeneracy in the k-space. Simulation of nanoscale ultra-thin-body silicon-on-insulator MOSFETs shows that the subband structure and the carrier degeneracy strongly affect the transport properties and, in particular, the injection velocity and the channel back-scattering


By employing three reflecting volume Bragg gratings, a near-infrared 4-channel spectral-beam-combining system is demonstrated to present 720 W combined power with a combining efficiency of 94.7%. The combined laser beam is near-diffraction-limited with a beam factor M2 ~ 1.54. During this 4-channel beam-combining process, no special active cooling measures are used to evaluate the volume Bragg gratings as combining elements are under the higher power laser operation. Thermal expansion and period distortion are verified in a 2 kW 2-channel beam-combining process, and the heat issue in the transmission case is found to be more remarkable than that in the diffraction case. Transmitted and diffracted beams experience wave-front aberrations with different degrees, thus leading to distinct beam deterioration.


The automatic identification of urban functional regions (UFRs) is crucial for urban planning and management. A key issue involved in URF classification is to properly determine the basic functional units, for which popular practices are usually based upon existing land use boundaries or road networks. Such practices suffer from the unavailability of existing datasets, leading to difficulty in large-scale mapping. To deal with this problem, this paper presents a method to automatically obtain functional units for URF classification using high-resolution remote sensing images. We develop a context-aware segmentation network to simultaneously extract buildings and road networks from remote sensing images. The extracted road networks are used for partitioning functional units, upon which five main building types are distinguished considering building height, morphology, and geometry. Finally, the UFRs are classified according to the distribution of building types. We conducted experiments using a GaoFen-2 satellite image with a spatial resolution of 0.8 m acquired in Fuzhou, China. Experimental results showed that the proposed segmentation network performed better than other convolutional neural network segmentation methods (i.e., PSPNet, Deeplabv3+, DANet, and JointNet), with an increase of F1-score up to 1.37% and 1.19% for road and building extraction, respectively. Results also showed that the residential regions, accounting for most of the urban areas, identified by the proposed method had a user accuracy of 94%, implying the promise of the proposed method for deriving the spatial units and the types of urban functional regions.


The active Pacific margin of the Haida Gwaii and southeast Alaska has been subject to vigorous storm activity, dramatic sea-level change, and active tectonism since glacial times. Glaciation was minimal along the western shelf margin, except for large ice streams that formed glacial valleys to the shelf break between the major islands of southeast Alaska and Haida Gwaii. Upon deglaciation, sediment discharge was extensive, but it terminated quickly due to rapid glacial retreat and sea-level lowering with the development of a glacio-isostatic forebulge, coupled with eustatic lowering. Glacial sedimentation offshore ended soon after 15.0 ka. The shelf became emergent, with sea level lowering by, and possibly greater than, 175 m. The rapid transgression that followed began sometime before 12.7 ka off Haida Gwaii and 12.0 ka off southeast Alaska, and with the extreme wave-dominated environment, the unconsolidated sediment that was left on the shelf was effectively removed. Temperate carbonate sands make up the few sediment deposits presently found on the shelf.
 The Queen Charlotte fault, which lies just below the shelf break for most of its length, was extensively gullied during this short period of significant sediment discharge, when sediment was transported though the glacial valleys and across the narrow shelf through fluvial and submarine channels and was deposited offshore as sea level dropped. The Queen Charlotte fault became the western terminus of the glacio-isostatic forebulge, with the fault acting as a hinged flap taking up the uplift and collapse along the fault of 70+ m. This may have resulted in the development of the distinctive fault valley that presently acts as a very linear channel pathway for sediment throughout the fault system.


Mn-Zn ferrite ceramics were prepared through usual ceramic method using different iron oxide raw materials. The micro-structure parameters, such as the sintering density and the ferrite grain size depended on both the sintering temperature and the kinds of iron oxide raw materials. The differences in the microstructure parameters were responsible for variations in magnetization, permeability, electrical resistivity and power loss Additionally, it was clarified that the relationship between micro-structural and electromagnetic properties were uniquely explained using the non-magnetic and insulating grain boundary model irrespective of the kinds of iron oxide raw materials.


Peculiar crystalloid containing cytoplasmic inclusions are described for human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EC) which have never been reported for normal human blood vascular EC before. The inclusions are distinctly membrane-bound, their diameters range from 0.4 to 0.8 micron, and they tend to form clusters. In the latter case the corpuscles are pressed together very tightly and their membranes are often cross-connected by a thin electron dense thread traversing the intermembrane space in a very regular zigzag fashion. The contents of these inclusions vary from finely granular and homogeneous to more or less coarsely vesicular and inhomogeneous, finally culminating in the appearance of stacks of regularly arrayed electron-dense bands. These crystalloids vary in size and either one or more of them occur within the same corpuscle, thereby occupying different amounts of its volume. The various contents of these inclusions together with their close proximity and their actual fusion with defective mitochondria already point to a lysosomal and thus an organelloid nature of these structures. This assumption is strongly supported by the demonstration of acid phosphatases in the supernatant of cultures of human umbilical vein EC as well as by the ultrastructural localization of this marker enzyme within these corpuscles. These findings induced us to hypothesize that this crystalloid containing endothelial component appears to be species specific (human) with a distinctive preference for endothelial cells of various origins.


The design of longitudinal barriers using reinforced concrete is typical in roadside safety design. Roadside safety hardware such as bridge rails, median barriers, and transitions are designed to safely contain and redirect impacting vehicles without imposing any significant risks to the occupants. As full-scale crash tests of new designs are expensive and time-consuming, finite element modeling and simulation of the impact event is often involved. In LS-DYNA, one of the most popular software in roadside design, there are multiple material models for concrete modeling and there is no specific guideline on the selection of the concrete material model. This paper evaluates the behavior of material models MAT_CSCM_CONCRETE and MAT_RHT during the study of truck platoon implications. The concrete erosion, deflection, and failure mechanism of two consecutive tractor-van trailer impacts into the barrier FEA models were analyzed to select a representative material model for further study.


DOI : 10.7764/RDLC.16.1.104 This paper studies the possibility of using the following occupational risk assessment methods for construction works: INSHT, ANACT, THREP, SHERPA, RNUR, EVENT TREE, LEST, FINE, ERGONOMIC ANALYSIS and PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS. Of these methods, INSHT, ANACT, RNUR and FINE have been selected with the objective of applying them to real building works, in order to determine the discrepancies in the results obtained compared to the risks analyzed. The results make it possible to ascertain the types of risk which each method most reliably detects, there being methods which are not able to detect extreme or very low risks. It is concluded that if a single risk assessment method is used, the results do not entirely reflect reality, as such it is necessary to establish a new risk assessment methodology for construction works.


Dimension, shape and materials' properties are the most basic characteristics of a piezoelectric ceramic transducer determining the device performance. In our studies better electromechanical performance was obtained from piezoelectric ceramic itself by creating designs based on built-in amplification mechanisms obtained through the shape and geometry of the transducer, i.e. the macroscale engineering. Piezoceramics in thin hollow shell and fiber forms were fabricated by slip casting and alginate gelation. Additionally, improving materials properties along preferred directions can be achieved through the fabrication of crystallographically textured piezoceramics, i.e. Microscale Engineering. Alginate gelation and templated grain growth was used to produce them.


Scientific literature on broiler chicken welfare in Brazilian industrial systems is scarce. This study aimed at assessing broiler chicken welfare on industrial farms in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, using the Welfare Quality(r) assessment protocol for poultry, to provide directly applicable scientific information. Results are presented as criteria scores ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better welfare; and percentages of prevalence. The scores classified as excellent (above 80) were absence of prolonged thirst, absence of prolonged hunger, litter quality, breast blister and touch test. Enhanced scores (between 55 and 80) were comfort around resting, plumage cleanliness and dust sheet test. Acceptable scores (between 20 and 55) were thermal comfort, stocking density, absence of injuries, footpad dermatitis and hock burn; and unacceptable scores (below 20) were lameness and qualitative behavioral assessment. The median percentage of mortality and culled birds were 5.2% and 0.6%, respectively. This study provides useful information to select priorities of action on assessed farms and may contribute for setting up legal standards and guiding decisions related to animal welfare issues in Brazil.


Accumulating studies have shown that miR-155 is frequently up-regulated in a various types of human malignancy. Expression of miR-155 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), transformation, tumor growth and metastasis as well as chemoresistance, whereas inhibition of miR-155 reverses these processes. Here we report the discovery of a small molecule miR-155 inhibitor, SMM155I, by screening the National Cancer Institute Diversity Set. SMM155I directly binds to miR-155 and inhibits miR-155 interaction with its targeted mRNAs without effect on expression of miR-155 and other miRs. The inhibition of miR-155 by SMM155I resulted in suppression of cell migration, invasion and EMT in human cancer cells that harbor elevated miR-155. Furthermore, SMM155I potently inhibited tumor growth in nude mice of human cancer cells in which miR-155 is aberrantly expressed but not of those cancer cells in which it is not. These findings provide strong evidence for pharmacologically targeting miR-155 for anticancer drug discovery. Citation Format: Cheng-Xiong Xu, William Kong, Donghwa Kim, Edward Richards, Fei Yan, Yueling Li, Domenico Coppola, Jin Q. Cheng. Small molecule inhibitor of miR-155, SMM155I, inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor growth in cancer cells overexpressing miR-155. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 980. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-980


In recent decades, many studies have suggested that phase information is crucial for speech enhancement (SE), and time-domain single-channel speech enhancement techniques have shown promise in noise suppression and robust automatic speech recognition (ASR). This paper presents a continuation of the above lines of research and explores two effective SE methods that consider phase information in time domain and frequency domain of speech signals, respectively. Going one step further, we put forward a novel cross-domain speech enhancement model and a bi-projection fusion (BPF) mechanism for noise-robust ASR. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we conduct an extensive set of experiments on the publicly-available Aishell-1 Mandarin benchmark speech corpus. The evaluation results confirm the superiority of our proposed method in relation to a few current top-of-the-line time-domain and frequency-domain SE methods in both enhancement and ASR evaluation metrics for the test set of scenarios contaminated with seen and unseen noise, respectively.