The seeds of Vicia cracca are known to contain two lectins: an N-acetylgalactosamine-binding lectin, which reacts specifically with human erythrocytes of blood group A, and a mannose/glucose-binding lectin unspecific towards human blood groups. The second lectin is the object of the present work. Purification was achieved by affinity chromatography on Sephadex G-100. The native lectin has a molecular weight of 44,000. It is composed of two small (Mr 5,700) and two large subunits (Mr 17,500). Binding of sugars to the lectin was assayed by equilibrium dialysis and spectrophotometrically; the association constants for glucose are 1.38 X 10(3) l/mol and 2.5 X 10(2) l/mol respectively. The primary structure of the small subunit was determined by analyses of the whole chain, of tryptic and CNBr peptides. It was shown to consist of 53 amino acid residues. The mannose/glucose-binding lectin from Vicia cracca is highly homologous to the lectins from Vicia sativa, Vicia faba, Pisum sativum and Lens culinaris. There is, however, only limited homology of the N-acetylgalactosamine-specific lectin from Vicia cracca.


AIMS To assess ocular surface changes in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), to compare the results with the degree of corneo-conjunctival calcium deposits, and to determine whether precipitation of calcium salts predisposes ocular surface modifications. METHODS Impression cytology from 50 CRF patients on regular haemodialysis and 22 age and sex matched control subjects were studied. Specimens were obtained from the temporal bulbar conjunctiva using cellulose acetate filter paper. The samples were fixed in 95% ethanol, stained with the periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stain, and evaluated by light microscopy and were graded by a masked observer. Corneo-conjunctival calcification was graded by the Porter and Crombie classification. RESULTS In the study group, three patients (6%) disclosed grade 0, 14 patients (28%) grade 1, and 33 patients (66%) grade 2–3 cytological changes. There was a statistically significant difference between the patient and the control groups (p= 0.0007), but no correlation could be found between the impression cytology grades and the calcium deposit grades (p=0.62). CONCLUSION The ocular surfaces of CRF patients differ significantly from those of normal individuals, and it can be detected using impression cytology. These data suggest that the severity of conjunctival changes are not related to the presence or extent of calcium deposition.


: A new drug, Cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride (Flexeril), was compared with diazepam (Valium) and placebo in double-blind trials for efficacy in treating spasms and pain in the neck and low back. Complex recording methods involving clinical evaluations (graded), patient self-ratings, goniometry, motion analysis by computer, electromyography of controlled motions and detailed statistical analysis were used. Clinical improvement over two weeks was statistically significant in all treatment groups with a statistically significant preference for Cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride. The most striking improvements recorded were in the electromyographic findings, which showed statistically significant changes for the Cyclobenzaprine group. Clinical muscle spasms are not accompanied by increased myoelectric activity; the reverse is true. With improvement, myoelectric activity in back muscles is augmented during prescribed stressful movements as measured by electromyography and computer analysis combined with complex electrogoniometry.


Electric vehicles are important technologies to reduce adverse environmental impacts stemming from transportation. In this paper, we investigated the environmental, social, and economic impacts of electric vehicles in Qatar, where the electricity generation is currently 100% natural gas. As electric vehicles is expected replace the internal combustion engine vehicles and each vehicle type has different supply chain for the fuel, the sustainability impacts in the upstream of fuel supply-chain can be significantly different. Hence, a supply-chain based approach is developed to capture impact shift from petroleum sector to electricity generation sector in the supply chain of electricity and petroleum. Results revealed that electric vehicles can save up to 28% of life cycle cost, 71% of Greenhouse gas emissions, 51% of photochemical oxidant formation, and 63% of human health impacts.


Rationale: Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSCs) may contribute repairing ischemic cardiovascular tissue. The engraftment and survival of transplanted cells in the harmful microenvironment of host tissue may be improved by combining stem cells with scaffolds to delay apoptosis and enhance their regenerative properties.

Objectives: We examined whether poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres functionalized with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) enhance survival, growth, and differentiation of AT-MSCs, and the therapeutic efficacy of transplanted AT-MSCs conjugated with VEGF-microspheres or injection of conditioned medium from AT-MSCs in a murine model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: Non-functionalized (empty) or VEGF-releasing microspheres were produced and coated with murine AT-MSCs. Twelve month-old male C57BL/6 mice underwent coronary artery ligation, followed by randomization into 7 groups (n=5/group): Sham operation, AMI control (saline 20 μl), intramyocardial injection with AT-MSCs only (2.5x105 cells/20 μl), or concentrated medium from AT-MSCs (CM, 20 μl), or AT-MSCs (2.5x105 cells/20 μl) conjugated with empty microspheres or VEGF-releasing microspheres.

Results: Growth-curve and differentiation assays showed that VEGF-releasing microspheres do not impact proliferation or osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of AT-MSCs. Conversely, H2O2-induced apoptosis was inhibited in AT-MSCs conjugated with VEGF-releasing microspheres, and this effect was dependent on the VEGF/Akt axis, since reverted by pre-incubation with the Akt inhibitor LY294002 or an anti-VEGF receptor antibody. In a Matrigel assay, AT-MSCs conjugated with VEGF-releasing microspheres were more pro-angiogenic than AT-MSCs alone. Finally, when compared with AT-MSCs alone, AT-MSCs conjugated with VEGF-releasing microspheres decreased the area of fibrosis and increased myogenic marker expression, arteriogenesis, number of cardiac-resident c-Kit positive cells and fractional shortening when transplanted into the infarcted hearts of C57 mice, effects that were paralleled by the injection of CM (p<0.01 vs AMI control by ANOVA) .

Conclusions: The delivery of the AT-MSCs conjugated with VEGF-releasing microspheres or injection of CM may have therapeutic applications for enhancing arteriogenesis and survival of AT-MSCs and for improving left ventricular function after AMI.


Some spectral data analysis methods that are useful for the two-dimensional imaging diagnostics data are introduced. It is shown that the frequency spectrum, the local dispersion relation, the flow shear, and the nonlinear energy transfer rates can be estimated using the proper analysis methods.


We introduce a variant of transition systems, where activation of transitions depends on conditions of the environment and upgrades during runtime potentially create additional transitions. Using a cornerstone result in lattice theory, we show that such transition systems can be modelled in two ways: as conditional transition systems (CTS) with a partial order on conditions, or as lattice transition systems (LaTS), where transitions are labelled with the elements from a distributive lattice. We define equivalent notions of bisimilarity for both variants and characterise them via a bisimulation game. We explain how conditional transition systems are related to featured transition systems for the modelling of software product lines. Furthermore, we show how to compute bisimilarity symbolically via BDDs by defining an operation on BDDs that approximates an element of a Boolean algebra into a lattice. We have implemented our procedure and provide runtime results.


Background: Ischemia of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) and periareolar tissue is commonly seen following tissue-preserving mastectomies for small invasive and noninvasive cancers. The nipple-areola preserving mastectomy is a multistage procedure in which the NAC and central mastectomy flap tissue is surgically delayed to improve the survivability in patients undergoing mastectomies followed by reconstruction. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 20 patients undergoing the 2-stage nipple-areola preserving mastectomy: the first stage comprised undermining the NAC and raising the breast skin flaps, with placement of a silicone sheet in the dissected pocket. The second stage followed 2–3 weeks after the NAC delay, with patients undergoing nipple-sparing mastectomies. Results: Mean age was 46.2 years (range, 23–59 years). Indications included breast cancer in 18 patients and BRCA gene mutation prophylaxis in 2 patients. None were actively smoking. Mean time between delay of flaps and breast reconstructions was 16 days (range, 10–35 days). One patient underwent bilateral nipple resection at the time of mastectomies due to a subareolar nipple biopsy positive for ductal carcinoma in situ. One patient underwent left nipple excision after a skin nipple biopsy was positive for metaplasia. No signs of NAC vascular compromise were observed in any of the cases. Conclusions: Our 2-stage approach benefits patients undergoing nipple-sparing mastectomy, especially those at high-risk, by safely increasing survivability of the native breast skin envelope and NAC, while improving oncologic outcomes by identification of subareolar malignancies and sentinel node status before mastectomy and reconstruction.


The HapSeat is a novel and inexpensive approach for simulating motion sensations in audiovisual experience. Multiple force-feedbacks are applied to the sitting users' body to generate a 6DoF sensation of motion as users are experiencing passive navigation. A set of force-feedback devices (a headrest and mobile armrests) are arranged around a seat so that they can apply forces to the user. Several video sequences highlight the capabilities of the HapSeat. We propose SIGGRAPH attendees to experience these videos enhanced by haptic effects of motion.


In this study, to estimate the current status of young women with menstrual disorders, the relation among dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation and premenstrual symptoms was investigated by a questionnaire. Subjects ranging from 18 to 20 years old were recruited from 522 female students at Ashiya College in Japan. The intensity of dysmenorrhea was classified into 3 grades (score 1, not requiring analgesic; score 2, painful, requiring analgesic; score 3, painful, not relieved by analgesic). All participants were further divided into subsequent groups as having premenstrual symptoms or not and those having regular or irregular menstruation. Dysmenorrhea scores in the students with premenstrual symptoms or irregular menstruation were significantly higher than those without these symptoms (1.66±0.66 vs 1.41±0.59; 1.62±0.68 vs 1.49±0.61, respectively). There was no significant relation in the incidence between premenstrual symptoms and irregular menstruation. These findings suggest that considerable numbers of young women with dysmenorrhea are associated with premenstrual symptoms.


Given a large graph with several millions or billions of nodes and edges, such as a social network, how can we explore it efficiently and find out what is in the data? In this demo we present Perseus, a large-scale system that enables the comprehensive analysis of large graphs by supporting the coupled summarization of graph properties and structures, guiding attention to outliers, and allowing the user to interactively explore normal and anomalous node behaviors.

Specifically, Perseus provides for the following operations: 1) It automatically extracts graph invariants (e.g., degree, PageRank, real eigenvectors) by performing scalable, offline batch processing on Hadoop; 2) It interactively visualizes univariate and bivariate distributions for those invariants; 3) It summarizes the properties of the nodes that the user selects; 4) It efficiently visualizes the induced subgraph of a selected node and its neighbors, by incrementally revealing its neighbors.

In our demonstration, we invite the audience to interact with Perseus to explore a variety of multi-million-edge social networks including a Wikipedia vote network, a friendship/foeship network in Slashdot, and a trust network based on the consumer review website Epinions.com.


This paper deals with the policy of the embellishment of public buildings in Washington, DC, under the aegis of the Section of Painting and Sculpture. It addresses the shifting value of architectural sculpture which becomes more humanized and which stands for a reappraisal of the significance of public sculpture. By taking over the embellishment of the Apex building, the Section disturbed the official artistic authority bestowed upon the Commission of Fine Arts (since 1910) and upset the general character of architectural sculpture in the Federal Triangle. Also known as the Federal Trade Commission building, the Apex, constructed by Bennett, Parsons and Frost in 1937-1938, breaks away from the general tradition of Beaux-Arts decoration which had allowed architectural sculpture and its allegorical figures to stand as guardians of moral and artistic values.


Sanborn, P., Lamontagne, L. and Hendershot, W. 2011. Podzolic soils of Canada : Genesis, distribution, and classification. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 843-880. Podzolic soils occupy 14.3% of the Canadian landmass, and occur in two widely separated areas, eastern Canada (northern Ontario, Quebec, Maritimes) and British Columbia, usually under coniferous forest and on non-calcareous parent materials. Broad climatic control of Podzol distribution and properties is evident at the national scale, with higher organic matter concentrations (Ferro-Humic Podzols) in wetter climates, in contrast to Humo-Ferric Podzols predominating in drier boreal forest regions. Humic Podzols are least abundant and are restricted to the wettest landscape positions. International and Canadian research suggests that a more diverse range of processes is involved in podzolization than was envisioned in the 1960s, and proposed mechanisms must account for observed patterns of organic matter distribution and a diverse array of inorganic amorphous constituents in profiles. Taxonomic concepts of Podzolic soils in the Canadian System of Soil Classification have remained consistent since the late 1970s, and the higher-level criteria defining the order and its great groups have proved to be meaningful in new applications, such as delineating soil carbon stocks across Canadian landscapes. Canadian contributions to pedological research on Podzols declined dramatically after 1990, coincident with shifting research priorities in soil science and diminished activity in soil survey.


Three field studies were conducted at Lewiston Woodville, NC, in 2001 and 2002 to evaluate crop tolerance, weed control, grain yield, and net returns in glyphosate-resistant corn with various herbicide systems. Crop injury, weed control, and grain yield were not influenced by glyphosate formulation. Atrazine preemergence (PRE) and atrazine plus metolachlor PRE, averaged over postemergence (POST) systems, controlled Texas panicum at least 80 and 87%, respectively. Sequential glyphosate applications (early postemergence [EPOST] followed by [fb] POST) provided at least 99% control of Texas panicum compared with at least 86 and 88% control with glyphosate EPOST and glyphosate plus halosulfuron EPOST, respectively. Atrazine plus metolachlor PRE fb any glyphosate system controlled large crabgrass and goosegrass 89 to 100% and 94 to 100%, respectively. Sequential glyphosate treatments controlled large crabgrass and goosegrass at least 99 and 95%, respectively. Regardless of PRE system, glyphosate plus halosulfuron EPOST and sequential applications of glyphosate controlled common ragweed and common lambsquarters at least 99%, whereas glyphosate EPOST alone provided at least 88 and 96% control, respectively. Glyphosate plus halosulfuron EPOST and glyphosate sequentially controlled yellow nutsedge similarly and more consistently than glyphosate EPOST. Regardless of PRE treatment, sequential glyphosate applications provided at least 98% control of entireleaf and pitted morningglory, whereas glyphosate EPOST controlled at least 64 and 62%, respectively. Glyphosate EPOST and the sequential glyphosate EPOST fb POST systems yielded similarly at all three locations. Net returns were highest at all three locations with the glyphosate sequential system, with similar net returns obtained with glyphosate EPOST and glyphosate plus halosulfuron EPOST at two and one locations, respectively. Nomenclature: Atrazine; glyphosate; halosulfuron; metolachlor; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. #3 CHEAL; common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. # AMBEL; entireleaf morningglory, Ipomoea hederacea var. integruiscula Gray # IPOHG; goosegrass, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. # ELEIN; large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. # DIGSA; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. # IPOLA; Texas panicum, Panicum texanum Buckl. # PANTE; yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. # CYPES; corn, Zea mays L. # ZEAMX. Additional index words: Diammonium salt, isopropylamine salt, net returns. Abbreviations: DAT, days after treatment; EPOST, early postemergence; fb, followed by; POST, postemergence; PRE, preemergence.


Abstract The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to determine if an intervention program using pedal-less bicycles could improve stability scores among preschool aged children. Currently, there has not been literature demonstrating if this intervention will improve balance scores. Twenty healthy children, aged three to five years old were recruited to determine if pedal-less bicycles would improve balance scores after four weeks. This study used a two group experimental/control repeated measures design analyzed with mixed-effects repeated measures analysis of variances to determine if Center of Pressure (CoP) and Limit of Stability (LoS) scores changed during the four weeks. Significant differences in mean performance were detected in the experimental group for LoS in the anterior plane (p = .012), in the left sagittal (p = 0.010), and in the right sagittal plane (p < 0.001), especially during week three and four. There was evidence of significant associations with pedal-less bicycle riding and mean stability scores in three to five year old children within four weeks of training.


The problem in the diagnosis and therapy of the vaginal mycosis is discussed. With help of the electron microscopic examination we found yeasts on the surface of the vagina and within the intra- and subepithelial reach. These explained with restriction the possibility for a rezidive.


Lactobacilli are ubiquitous in nature and in humans they play a very significant role in the general health maintenance of the host. Identification of lactobacilli has previously been based on culturedependent methods and recently molecular techniques involving gene sequencing are now the 'gold standard'. Scarce information exists in Africa on the real identity of Lactobacillus species, albeit phylogenetic distances among the species present in the human vagina. In this study, 185 vaginal swabs were collected from healthy premenopausal women (18 to 48 years). Bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified using PCR, with group specific Lactobacillus primers, and processed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Phylogenetic tree was constructed with the sequences of the V2-V3 region of 16S rRNA gene. Results show two distinct divisions among the Lactobacillus species. The study presents a new understanding of the nature of the Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota of women in Nigeria, which may lead to the design of probiotic-lactobacilli for biotherapy.


Introduction The rapid increase of internet using was associated with a rise in internet addiction (IA) especially among adolescent and young adults that may associated with underlying psychological disorders. The aims of the study: a) to estimate the prevalence of internet addiction among medical students in Anbar governorate, b) to assess the effect of internet addiction on mental health by measuring the association of IA with depression and anxiety among the students. Methods A cross sectional study was carried out during the period from February to April 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was used which consisted from demographic questions, the Young Internet Addiction test to evaluate the internet addiction among the subjects and the Depression Anxiety stress scales (DASS) for assessing the depression and anxiety symptoms among the medical students. Results 47.5% of the subjects had mild internet addiction, proportion of moderate addiction among the participants was 23%. There was a significant association between internet addiction with depression and anxiety. The subjects with internet addiction had OR = 2.302 for depression development (P < 0.001), also the students with internet addiction had OR= 3.088 for anxiety development (p < 0.001). Conclusion High rate of internet addiction among medical students in Anbar city- west of Iraq and there was significant association between internet addition and mental disorders of the subjects.


In studying the Japanese economic miracle that occurred after the devastation of World War II, many researchers focused on unique features of the Japanese labor market to explain the country's high and growing productivity. One of the most prominent of these features was regular employment, an arrangement characterized by the twin pillars of lifetime employment and seniority-based wages. At its core was the long-term employment relationship between a worker and his firm that provided heavy investment in the worker's human capital. Over time the Japanese labor market has undergone many changes, but one of the most important has been the rise and apparent decline of regular employment. In its wake a dual labor market has emerged, consisting of a regular employment sector reduced in size and a growing non-standard employment sector. Chapter 1 investigates the impact of the dual labor market on workers' earnings. The theory of human capital predicts that the greater investment in human capital of regular employees should raise the returns to regular employment above those to non-standard employment. This chapter investigates whether or not this is the case by building a model of how the dual labor market impacts incentives to invest in workers' human capital and how such investment affects workers' earnings. I then investigate whether or not this model is supported by the data. I find that tenure in regular employment is a more important factor in wage growth than previous work experience, regardless of whether that experience was in regular or non-standard employment. Not only are returns to tenure in regular employment greater than those to past regular and non-standard employment, by and large, there does not appear to be a difference between the returns to past experience in regular employment and past experience in non-standard employment. Furthermore, although tenure in regular employment is an important determinant of wage growth, tenure in non-standard employment is not. Chapter 2 extends the investigation into the impact on workers of the dual labor market by investigating how workers' future employment opportunities are impacted by their employment histories. Specifically, this chapter uses a probability model to investigate in which sector of the dual labor market an individual worker will most likely be employed given his previous history of employment in the regular and non-standard employment sectors. Using this model, I also investigate how the dual labor market affects the employment opportunities of workers of different ages and how these effects have changed over time. My results suggest that starting one's career in non-standard rather than regular employment reduces one's probability of being in regular employment in the future. I also propose a dynamic unobserved effects model in order to separate the effect of unobserved individual heterogeneity from that of true state dependence and find that there is a large degree of state dependence even after controlling for individual heterogeneity so that people are likely to remain in the whichever employment sector they currently find themselves. Among the most important changes that have occurred in Japanese corporate finance over the past 30 years has been the liberalization and internationalization of capital markets, leaving management less protected from the demands of shareholders. Chapter 3 shifts the focus of analysis from workers to firms and investigates whether or not the capital structure of firms affect their personnel strategies and employment policies. In particular, this chapter asks whether the importance of a particular stakeholder to a firm's financing affects which stakeholders the management of the firm prioritizes and how this affects the firm's views on lifetime employment and employee training. I find that the financial structure of the firm is correlated with which stakeholders are regarded as important or influential by the firm. Similarly, I find longer average lengths of service at older firms and firms with lower rates of profitability. I also find that older firms and firms with lower rates of profitability are more likely to reconsider their policies on lifetime employment. Finally, I find that firms are less likely to report that they will support lifetime employment in the future the higher is the percentage of shares owned by either foreign shareholders or individual shareholders


Significance levels obtained from a chi 2 contingency test are suspect when sample sizes are small. Traditionally this has meant that data must be combined. However, such an approach may obscure heterogeneity and hence potentially reduce the power of the statistical test. In this paper, we present a Monte Carlo solution to this problem: by this method, no lumping of data is required, and the accuracy of the estimate of alpha (i.e., a type 1 error) depends only on the number of randomizations of the original data set. We illustrate this technique with data from mtDNA studies, where numerous genotypes are often observed and sample sizes are relatively small.


An engine system control device adaptable to an engine system equipped with an engine having a variable compression ratio mechanism capable of changing the compression ratio. When the occurrence of an abnormality is detected in a compression ratio control system, the device prohibits the judgment of the state of a member interposed in the air intake and exhaust systems of the engine.


A nonthermal plasma processing combined with Cr2O3/TiO2 catalyst was applied to the decomposition of trichloroethylene (TCE). A dielectric barrier discharge reactor was used as the nonthermal plasma reactor. The effects of the reaction temperature and input power on the decomposition of TCE and the formation of byproducts including HCl, Cl2, CO, NO, NO2 and O3 were examined. With an identical input power, the increase in the reactor temperature lowered the decomposition of TCE. The presence of the catalyst downstream the plasma reactor not only enhanced the decomposition of TCE but also affected the distribution of byproducts significantly. However any synergetic effect as a result of the combination of the nonthermal plasma with the catalyst was not observed, i.e., the TCE decomposition efficiency in the plasma-catalyst combined system was almost similar to the sum of those obtained with each process. To improve the decomposition of TCE argon as a plasma-assisting gas was added to the feeding gas and a large enhancement in the TCE decomposition was achieved.


ABSTRACT The Kitāb al-majālis ('Book of Sessions') is a unique document in medieval Christian–Muslim dialogue. It recounts seven exchanges between the Nestorian Metropolitan Elias and the Shiʿite vizier Abū al-Qāsim al-Maghribī. The dialogues, which took place in the city of Nisibis (Upper Mesopotamia) in 417/1026, cover a range of topics both religious (in particular the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation) and profane. In spite of its importance, most of the text has not yet been critically edited. This article, after surveying the manuscript tradition, offers a critical edition and an English translation of the fifth session, which contains the famous profession of monotheistic faith by Elias. The last two paragraphs, which discuss the contents of the text and the influence on it of Muʿtazilī thought, argue for its substantial authenticity and highlight both its value and its limits. While these are bound to Elias's simplified Christology and his essentially defensive approach, his profession of faith remains a jewel in Arab Christian literature and a brilliant example of the role of mediators played by Christian communities living in Muslim lands.


Although an automated vehicle may operate for an extended time, it may suddenly request a user's intervention in critical situations (i.e., beyond the system's operational design domain). Despite the proliferation of studies to understand how users resume control in such critical situations, a systematic analysis of the whole response process is necessary. We analyzed the visual-motor response process of distracted users to front and lateral vehicle conflicts. We also investigated the effect of false warnings and expectations. In a driving simulator experiment (high fidelity, fixed-based, within-subject design), 45 participants performed a visual-manual distracting task until an audio warning was issued. The response process was modeled with Bayesian generalized linear mixed effects models. The models incorporate the carryover effect (up to the 2nd order), typical side effect of within-subjects experiments. Reaction times were modeled with a shifted-Wald distribution; response choices with a softmax regression. The warning was effective at capturing visual attention and prompting the resumption of control, but it did not directly initiate an intervention. Glance location and the choice and timing of evasive maneuver depended on driving context and on previous experience. Analysis of the whole response process yields more relevant information on the effect of warnings for transition of control than a single measure of intervention time. Furthermore, the carryover effect should not be discounted, because trial randomization can only partially alleviate the problem. We provided results in a format that can be used as a reference for future studies and for computational models of driver behavior.


Vehicle dynamics in sideswipe collisions are markedly different from other types of collisions. Sideswipe collisions are characterized by prolonged sliding contact, often with very little structural deformation. An analytical model was developed to investigate the vehicle dynamics of sideswipe collisions. The vehicles were modeled as rigid bodies, and lateral interaction between the vehicles was modeled with a linear elastic spring. This linear spring was meant to represent the combined lateral stiffness of both vehicles before significant crush develops. Longitudinal interaction between the vehicles was modeled as frictional contact. In order to validate the model, seven (7) low speed (3 – 10 kph), shallow angle (15°) sideswipe collisions were staged with instrumented vehicles. These sideswipe collisions were characterized by long contact durations (~ 1 s) and low accelerations (< 0.4 g's). The experimental collisions were also simulated with EDSMAC. EDSMAC overpredicted peak longitudinal vehicle acceleration by an average of 83% and underpredicted the length of contact damage by an average of 50%. In contrast, the linear spring model accurately predicted the peak longitudinal vehicle acceleration (5% error) when the stiffness parameter was tuned to match the length of contact damage. These results suggest that a noncrush-based linear spring model for calculating intervehicular force could significantly improve the accuracy of reconstructions of low speed sideswipe collisions compared to existing methods such as SMAC.


Cyclic AMP-induced cAMP and cGMP responses during development of Dictyostelium discoideum were investigated. The cAMP-induced cGMP response is maximal when aggregation is in full progress, and then decreases to about 10% of the maximal level during further multicellular development. The cAMP response increases upon starvation, reaches its maximum at the onset of aggregation, and then decreases to about 8% of the maximum level. The dynamics of the post-aggregative cAMP response are in qualitative agreement with the dynamics of the cAMP relay response in aggregation-competent cells.


In this paper, we present a proposal for emotion recognition using audio speech signal features consisting of two functionally independent systems. First, a voice activity detection module (VAD) acts as a filter prior to the emotion classification task. It extracts features from the input audio and uses a SVM classifier to predict the presence of voice activity. Secondly, the speech emotion classifier (EMO) transforms the power spectrum of the signal to a Mel scale and obtains a vector of its characteristics using a convolutional neural network. Emotion labels are assigned using this vector and a KNN classifier. The RAVDESS dataset has been used for training the models obtaining a maximum accuracy of 93.57% classifying 8 emotions.


Computational methods were used to design structure-based combinatorial libraries of antipicornaviral capsid-binding ligands. The multiple copy simultaneous search (MCSS) program was employed to calculate functionality maps for many diverse functional groups for both the poliovirus and rhinovirus capsid structures in the region of the known drug binding pocket. Based on the results of the MCSS calculations, small combinatorial libraries consisting of 10s or 100s of three-monomer compounds were designed and synthesized. Ligand binding was demonstrated by a noncell-based mass spectrometric assay, a functional immuno-precipitation assay, and crystallographic analysis of the complexes of the virus with two of the candidate ligands. The P1/Mahoney poliovirus strain was used in the experimental studies. A comparison showed that the MCSS calculations had correctly identified the observed binding site for all three monomer units in one ligand and for two out of three in the other ligand. The correct central monomer position in the second ligand was reproduced in calculations in which the several key residues lining the pocket were allowed to move. This study validates the computational methodology. It also illustrates that subtle changes in protein structure can lead to differences in docking results and points to the importance of including target flexibility, as well as ligand flexibility, in the design process.


A novel sensor capable of simultaneously measuring temperature and humidity has been fabricated and demonstrated using optical fiber waveguides. The sensor head is composed of a fiber Bragg grating and a low-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometric cavity. The Fabry-Perot cavity was fabricated using the electrostatic self-assembled monolayer process for the molecular-level deposition of materials of different thicknesses that form a humidity-sensitive coating on the end of the fiber, while the in-line Bragg grating fiber element is used to monitor temperature. Experimental results for a humidity range from 11% to 97% RH and for a temperature range from 10/spl deg/C to 85/spl deg/C are shown.


This study aimed to compare Omani husbands and wives perceptions about marital adjustment and investigate the effect of their age, period of marriage and getting children on their marital adjustments. The randomly selected sample included 162 (81 husbands and 81 wives). The researcher designed and validated a scale to measure marital adjustments for Omani husbands and wives and administrated it to the sample. The results of the study showed that there was no effect of the period of marriage or getting children on marital adjustment of husbands and wives. There were significant differences in marital adjustment due to age in favour of those who are at the age of 41 years and older. Conclusions were made based on the results of the study.


morphometric characteristics and arterial vasculature, of the human cerebellar tonsil. We also aimed to investigate the neurosurgical anatomy of this clinically important structure of the human brain. Discussion The cerebellar tonsil is a rounded lobule on the undersurface of each cerebellar hemisphere, continuous medially with the uvula of the cerebellar vermis and superiorly with the flocculonodular lobe. Arterial branches entering the tonsil originate not only from the posterior but from the anterior inferior cerebellar artery as well, often anastomosing with those from the posterior. The main clinical conditions able to affect the position of the cerebellar tonsil include raised intracranial pressure, myelomeningocele, Chiari malformations, posterior fossa hypoplasia and Idiopathic scoliosis. The main neurosurgical approaches related to the region of the cerebellar tonsil include the transcerebellomedullary fissure approach, the tonsillouveal fissure approach (telovelar approach), the lateral approach to the fourth ventricle, the supra- and subtonsillar approaches, the median and farlateral suboccipital approaches. Conclusion The position of the cerebellar tonsil can be affected in some congenital and acquired disorders including Chiari malformations and raised intracranial pressure. The high incidence of tonsillar arterial supply of single origin, partially explained by vascular anomalies such as arterial hypoplasticity, makes this structure potentially vulnerable to vascular accidents (mainly infarcts) of the inferior cerebellar arteries. A thorough understanding of the regional tonsillar anatomy, as well as its relations with the branches of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery is of paramount significance for neurosurgical interventions in this area.


In the transportation industry there has been a shift concerning the
pharmaceuticals and high-tech products, the market share Dutch companies
hold might have to be defended. Knowing what customers value and using this
to create a competitive advantage can help defend market share. The research
question this study wants to answer is: "what do shippers and forwarders value
in the services provided by the transportation industry when shipping
pharmaceuticals and high-tech products?". This knowledge can then be used to
write good value propositions to attract market share. Woodruff's value
hierarchy model was used to operationalize customer value and eight semistructured
interviews were conducted, four concerning the pharmaceutical
sector and four concerning the high-tech sector, to collect data on what
customers value in these industries. These results were then coded according to
this operationalization and analyzed. It was found that services are only chosen
because their aspects help a customer reach a particular goal, in this case either
cutting cost or improving/maintaining quality. To attain these end-goals the
different industries preferred different aspects to reach the same goal, so
companies should write different value propositions when wanting to attract
pharmaceutical and/or high-tech market share. It showed that for the
pharmaceutical industry quality, in terms of good temperature management,
was a very important aspect, since their product often needs specialized
circumstances to safeguard product integrity. Recently companies have also
started focusing more on price to keep costs down. In the high-tech industry
quality was important in terms of speedy and reliable delivery. However, these
aspects were often seen as prerequisites. Here a low price was mentioned as the
main denominator for why services were chosen. The value hierarchy model
used during this research was proven to be a useful tool to measure customer
value in Business-to-Business markets.


A micro-system consisting of micro-channels with integrated temperature sensors was successfully designed and fabricated for the study of heat-transfer properties of fluid flow in micro-domains. Surface micro-machining technology was used to construct the micro-channels with dimensions of about 40μm × 1.4μm × 4000μm. Polysilicon thermistors, 4μm × 4μm × 0.4μm in size were suspended across the channels and directly exposed to the fluid for local temperature measurements. The micro-channels and the micro-sensors were calibrated prior to the heat-transfer studies. Experimental results of temperature distributions along a micro-channel are presented. The integrated micro-system performance was analyzed to provide a framework for the interpretation of the experimental data, and the various heat-transfer mechanisms are subsequently discussed.


This study examined the relations among toddlers' temperament, maternal parenting, and toddlers' social withdrawal and aggression. One hundred and two mothers of two-year-old children (49 boys and 53 girls) completed questionnaires and Q-sort. Data were analyzed by correlation analyses and regression analyses. First, toddlers' pleasure was negatively related to social withdrawal, while social fearfulness was positively related to social withdrawal. Also, toddlers' activity level and anger proneness were positively related to aggression. Second, the encouragement of independence in maternal parenting was negatively linked to toddlers' social withdrawal, and maternal rejection was positively linked to toddlers' aggression. Third, toddlers' pleasure and interest/persistence were positively associated with mothers' encouragement of independence, and toddlers' activity level and anger proneness were positively associated with mothers' rejection. Finally, mothers' encouragement of independence acted as a mediator between toddlers' pleasure and social withdrawal. Also, toddlers' activity level and anger proneness influenced aggression through maternal rejection. These results indicate that toddlers' temperament and maternal parenting play crucial roles in the development of toddlers' maladaptive behaviors such as social withdrawal and aggression.


The possibility of the specific prophylaxis of the immunosuppressing effect of the products of microbiological synthesis (MBS) on laboratory animals by the preliminary immunization of the animals with the vaccine prepared from the live culture of fungi releasing MBS products has been shown.


1. A review is presented of the use of seabirds as biomonitors of heavy metals and factors influencing mercury dynamics in birds. 2. The effect of atmospheric deposition on mercury levels found in the plumage of seabirds was assessed and found to be negligible. No difference was found between feathers exposed for ten months to the atmosphere and feathers sealed over the same period. 3. Significant differences were found between the tip, middle and bottom portion of the feather but this was concluded to be due to natural depletion of the body pool of mercury as the feathers grew and not due to the effect of exogenous contamination. 4. The effect of age and sex upon mercury concentrations in feathers of red-billed gulls was investigated. Feather concentrations were not influenced by age nor sex in adults nor chicks. Dietary specialisation was assumed to be an important determinant of mercury levels in this species. 5. The effect of growth development on tissue distribution and excretion in kittiwake chicks was examined. No age-related changes in the retention of mercury by any of the tissues analysed were found nor were any differences in mercury excretion apparent. There was a positive correlation between the total amount of mercury going into the plumage and age which was suggested to reflect an increase in the amount of mercury circulating in the blood of older birds. 6. No difference in the mercury distribution between the liver, kidney and pectoral muscle was found which differed markedly from results of other studies. It was suggested that this may be an indication that the levels in chicks were approaching a toxic threshold. 7. Mercury accumulation and excretion were investigated in laboratory-reared black-headed gull chicks in relation to mercury intake. There was an increase in the proportion of mercury deposited in the kidney as the dose increased. The proportional accumulation of mercury in the carcass was also dose-dependent. The amount of mercury administered had no effect on the total excretion rate. 8. Mercury accumulated differentially in the internal tissues, concentrations in the kidney were greater than in the liver which in turn exceeded concentrations found in the pectoral muscle. All feather types contained much higher mercury concentrations than internal tissues and there was a consistent difference between different feather types in relation to mercury content. There was a pronounced reduction in the concentration of mercury in the primary feathers as the growth sequence progressed. 9. An average of 71% of the dose administered was excreted over the fledging period. Of this, 22% of the dose was excreted into the feathers. Sixty five percent of the total body burden of mercury was present in the plumage after the completed moult. Of administered mercury, 49% was contained in the plumage. 10. The retention and excretion of mercury after a single dose of methyl mercury was investigated in male and female quail. The role of eggs in mercury excretion was also assessed. The birds accumulated mercury rapidly in their internal tissues and lost it relatively slowly. Mercury accumulated differentially in the internal tissues. Kidney concentrations exceeded liver concentrations which exceeded pectoral muscle concentrations. 11. For up to eight weeks after mercury administration there was a difference between the mercury levels in the internal tissues of male and female birds, with less mercury in the female tissues. Twelve weeks after administration differences in the mercury levels of the kidney and pectoral muscle were still found. 12. There was no difference in mercury levels of the male and female plumage, although total mercury excretion did differ between the sexes with females losing up to 80% of their mercury intake in the first four weeks after mercury administration compared to 40% lost by male birds. Male birds lost over 80% of the mercury intake via the faeces compared to only 44% lost this way by the females. Initial mercury concentration in the eggs was over 3.5 pg/g. Over 40% of the females' intake was lost by this route supporting the use of bird eggs to sample for environmental contamination. 13. The effect of sex and species on mercury retention was examined in two species of seabird (shags and kittiwakes) after a single dose of methyl mercury. The excretion of mercury into the eggs and chicks was also assessed. Mercury accumulated differentially in the internal tissues. In both species there was no difference between the concentration of mercury found in the liver and kidney although levels in both these tissues were greater than levels found in the pectoral muscle. 14. Mercury concentrations in both species of seabird were similar. There were differences in the total amount of mercury in the tissues analysed, shag tissues having up to four times the amount of mercury in their tissues as those of the kittiwakes. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


Background Despite efforts to construct targeted medical school admission processes using applicant-level correlates of future practice location, accurately gauging applicants' interests in rural medicine remains an imperfect science. This study explores the usefulness of textual analysis to identify rural-oriented themes and values underlying applicants' open-ended responses to admission essays. Methods The study population consisted of 75 applicants to the Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP) at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Using WordStat, a proprietary text analysis program, applicants' American Medical College Application Service personal statement and an admission essay written at the time of interview were searched for predefined keywords and phrases reflecting rural medical values. From these text searches, derived scores were then examined relative to interviewers' subjective ratings of applicants' overall acceptability for admission to the RPLP program and likelihood of practicing in a rural area. Results The two interviewer-assigned ratings of likelihood of rural practice and overall acceptability were significantly related. A statistically significant relationship was also found between the rural medical values scores and estimated likelihood of rural practice. However, there was no association between rural medical values scores and subjective ratings of applicant acceptability. Conclusions That applicants' rural values in admission essays were not related to interviewers' overall acceptability ratings indicates that other factors played a role in the interviewers' assessments of applicants' acceptability for admission.


BACKGROUND
Adverse life events have been associated with gambling and substance use as they can serve as forms of escapism. Involvement in gambling and substance use can also place individuals in adversely stressful situations.

OBJECTIVES
To explore potential male-female differences in the association between addictive behavior and adverse life events among an urban cohort of adolescents.

METHOD
The study sample comprised of 515 adolescent participants in a randomized prevention trial. With self-reported data, four addictive behavior groups were created: nonsubstance users and nongamblers, substance users only, gamblers only, and substance users and gamblers. Multinomial logistic regression analyses with interaction terms of sex and adverse life events were conducted.

RESULTS
Adverse life events and engaging in at least one addictive behavior were common for both sexes. Substance users and gamblers had more than twice the likelihood of nonsubstance users and nongamblers to experience any event as well as events of various domains (ie, relationship, violence, and instability). Neither relationship nor instability events' associations with the co-occurrence of substance use and gambling significantly differed between sexes. Conversely, females exposed to violence events were significantly more likely than similarly exposed males to report the co-occurrence of substance use and gambling.

CONCLUSION
Findings from the current study prompt future studies to devote more attention to the development of effective programs that teach adaptive coping strategies to adolescents, particularly to females upon exposure to violence.


Biosurfactant reduces the surface tension of both aqueous solutions and hydrocarbon mixtures. In this study, isolation and identification of biosurfactant producing strain were assessed. Soil samples from petrol pumps in Kalyan and Dombivli area was collected and 36 strains were isolated. Emulsification assay, E24 test and surface tension measurement tests were performed to confirm the ability of isolates to produce biosurfactant, Among water soluble and insoluble carbon source sodium acetate and diesel were found to be the best substrate for production of biosurfactant. Ammonium nitrate supported as best nitrogen source. The TLC analysis revealed that isolate no. 10 (Bacillus sp) biosurfactant component was lipoprotein in nature. The biosurfactant efficiently emulsified hydrocarbons like kerosene, petrol, hexadecane and diesel. This ability of the isolate can be utilized for cleaning up of hydrocarbon contaminated sites


The present study examined the effects of background music on performance of a musical task and on subsequent preference for that music. 60 music and 60 non-music majors heard background music in music-only or music-plus-task conditions, and a third group heard no music in a task-only condition. A preference test of four musical excerpts, including the background music excerpt, was administered subsequently to all three groups of subjects. Although music majors scored higher than non-majors, background music did not differentially affect task scores. Music students exhibited a differential preference following both musical conditions, while non-music subjects demonstrated differential preference only following the music-only condition.


This article considers the potential statistical problems resulting from the use of averaged rather than end-of-period data in financial research. Averaged data are widely employed throughout the literature without explicit recognition that the use of such data results in biased estimates of the variance, covariance and autocorrelation of the first as well as higher order changes. We illustrate the magnitude of the biases, using the S&P 500 end-of-month series over the period March 1957 to February 2001. Results confirm the predictions of Working and of Schwert. In addition, an analysis of the properties of higher-order lags indicates that the bias persists, a result not previously suggested in the literature. We also find that these statistical biases are time varying--which has significant implications for empirical financial research. Copyright 2001 by MIT Press.


Aims: To evaluate the ornamental potential of two safflower genotypes (Carthamus tinctorius L.): ICA 73, ICA 193, grown under protected environment.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Agronomy of Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, between March and May 2017.
Methodology: The methodology addressed evaluated the performance of the two genotypes, through three experiments. The first experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, being evaluated: plant height; stem diameter; leaf dentin; spinescent margin of the leaves; number of branches; number of flower buds; spinescent margin of the bracts; flowering, and flower production. The second one was conducted in a randomized complete block design in a factorial scheme, and the following variables were evaluated: plant height; stem diameter; number of branches; number of flower buds; and flower production. Finally, the third experiment used a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme and evaluated the variables: Number of flowers; number of flower buds and post-harvest durability. The analysis of variance was performed using the F test at 5% of probability and, afterwards, the regression or comparison analysis of averages by the Tukey test at 5% of probability.
Results: The ICA 73 access showed plants with high flower production and the ICA 193 exhibited plants with weak or moderate spinescent margin of the leaves and bracts, besides good uniformity of the anthesis of the flowers.
Conclusion: Both accesses showed ornamental potential, demonstrating precocity, beauty and durability of the flowers. The density of one plant was the most favorable for pot plant and cut flower. The semi-open flowers harvest point was the best for maintaining the stem quality.


A 79-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease was admitted due to acute cholinergic symptoms induced by overdose (45 mg) of donepezil (DPZ). Physical examination showed bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia, vomiting and respiratory insufficiency. She was treated with atropine intravenously and her cholinergic symptoms subsided in the next evening. After 5 days she was discharged from the hospital and DPZ was withholded for about 4 weeks. The plasma concentration of DPZ was 54.6 ng/ml on admission and gradually decreased to the normal limits in about 90 hours. The calculative half-life of DPZ was about 55 hours. Since the half-life of DPZ is long and differs between individuals, hospitalization and treatment with atropine is recommended for cholinergic side effects induced by overdose of DPZ. It is important to prevent dosing errors in cooperation with medical providers, patients and families.


Creating artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of demonstrating lifelong learning is a fundamental challenge, and many approaches and metrics have been proposed to analyze algorithmic properties. However, for existing lifelong learning metrics, algorithmic contributions are confounded by task and scenario structure. To mitigate this issue, we introduce an algorithm-agnostic explainable surrogate-modeling approach to estimate latent properties of lifelong learning algorithms. We validate the approach for estimating these properties via experiments on synthetic data. To validate the structure of the surrogate model, we analyze real performance data from a collection of popular lifelong learning approaches and baselines adapted for lifelong classification and lifelong reinforcement learning.


Background and Aims. Studies have shown effects of diet on gut microbiota. We aimed to identify foods associated with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Methods. In this cross-sectional survey, consecutive patients diagnosed with CDI were identified by electronic medical records. Colitis symptoms and positive Clostridium difficile assay were confirmed. Health-care onset-health-care facility associated CDI was excluded. Food surveys were mailed to 411 patients. Survey responses served as the primary outcome measure. Spearman's rank correlation identified risk factors for CDI recurrence. Results. Surveys were returned by 68 patients. Nineteen patients experienced CDI recurrence. Compared to patients without CDI recurrence, patients with CDI recurrence had more antibiotics prescribed preceding their infection (p = 0.003). Greater numbers of the latter also listed tea (p = 0.002), coffee (p = 0.013), and eggs (p = 0.013), on their 24-hour food recall. Logistic regression identified tea as the only food risk factor for CDI recurrence (adjusted OR: 5.71; 95% CI: 1.26–25.89). Conclusion. The present results indicate a possible association between tea and CDI recurrence. Additional studies are needed to characterize and confirm this association.


Worms represent a substantial economic threat to the U.S. computing infrastructure. An important question is how much damage might be caused, as this figure can serve as a guide to evaluating how much to spend on defenses. We construct a parameterized worst-case analysis based on a simple damage model, combined with our understanding of what an attack could accomplish. Although our estimates are at best approximations, we speculate that a plausible worst-case worm could cause $50 billion or more in direct economic damage by attacking widelyused services in Microsoft Windows and carrying a highly destructive payload.


Iaspis is a colorful genus of Neotropical Theclinae (Lycaenidae). The seven previously recognized species are briefly characterized and two additional species, Thecla exiguus H. H. Druce and Thecla castimonia H. H. Druce, newly associated with the genus based on examinations of types and other material. Lectotypes are designated for Thecla beera Hewitson, T. castitas H. H. Druce and T. verania Hewitson. Twelve species of Iaspis were found during studies near Cacaulandia, Rondonia, Brazil. Of these, only Iaspis thabena (Hewitson) and I. verania represented described species. The remaining ten species, Iaspis rufa n. sp ., Iaspis grandis n. sp. , Iaspis rubricunda n. sp ., Iaspis flava n. sp ., Iaspis purpurata n. sp. , Iaspis ornata n. sp ., Iaspis minuta n. sp ., Iaspis ambiguanota n. sp ., Iaspis fumosa n. sp ., and Iaspis sinenota n. sp ., are described and illustrated. The results of this paper further stress the importance of carefully studying local faunal samples with reference to a consilience of internal and external features and correctly associating names with comparable constellations of characters in historical type material.


The terms milk allergy, milk sensitivity, and milk intolerance are used in the medical literature with different meanings. Milk allergy and lactase deficiency to which they are usually referring can be specifically differentiated and diagnosed. A modification of the Rinkel oral test meal can be used to separate these two entities for medical diagnostic accuracy and understanding.


Atactic poly (methyl methacrylate) (aPMMA) was found to be almost completely immiscible with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc). Both aPMMA and PVAc are known to be miscible with poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh) according to literature. Adding of PVPh into immiscible aPMMA/PVAc mixtures is likely to improve their miscibility. Therefore, PVPh can be used as cosolvent to cosolubilize aPMMA and PVAc. A ternary blend consisting of aPMMA, PVAc, and PVPh was prepared and determined calorimetrically in this article. According to the calorimetry data, the ternary blend was determined to be miscible. The reason for the observed miscibility is because the interactions between PVAc and PVPh are similar to those between aPMMA and PVPh.


In Excalibur Ventures, the English High Court issued an anti-arbitration injunction preventing the claimant from further pursuing ICC arbitration proceedings seated in NewYork and refused to stay court proceedings initiated by the claimant (against the same defendants to the arbitral proceedings) in London's Commercial Court, reserving to itself the determination of the foreign arbitral tribunal's jurisdiction. At first sight, the decision does not appear to be very 'arbitration-friendly' and perhaps even something of an assault on the principle of the negative effect of the 'competence-competence'. However, the decision should be viewed in the context of the unusual circumstances that existed in that case. This article examines the reasons giving rise to the court's decision and considers its wider implications for international arbitration. So flash'd and fell the brand Excalibur: But ere he dipt the surface, rose an arm Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, And caught him by the hilt, and brandish'd him Three times, and drew him under in the mere. Morte d'Arthur Alfred, LordTennyson (1809-1892)


Pecorino cheese is one of the "D.O.P." products made in Tuscany. There are two types of pecorino cheese one of which undergoes a curing time period which is not less than four months. Considering this curing time period, processes are conceivable that could lead to the formation of amines such as free amino acids. The biogenic amines have unquestionable effects on health in particular histamine and tyramine, they are also important indicators of hygienic quality of the profile of the movement shortly after the curing time period and included in the shelf life period which the product is commercialized.


Do unsophisticated consumers fall prey to Internet consumer frauds? Why? To answer these questions this paper integrates two streams of empirical research: the process-oriented theory of deception, and the broader deception, trust, and risk (DTR) model of Internet consumer behavior. A laboratory experiment tests several alternative hypotheses about the determinants of failure at detecting Internet deceptions. The findings suggest that Internet consumers process the clues that a site may be deceptive, but are unable to effectively evaluate and combine these clues, i.e., to draw correct conclusions from them. This is good news in the ongoing struggle against Internet fraud because it suggests that consumers lack the knowledge, not the capacity, to detect deceptions and that consumer education programs might be effective in helping consumers to protect themselves.


Ripple Down Rules (RDR) is a knowledge acquisition method for knowledge based systems (KBS) which facilitates incremental acquisition of knowledge and ensures that the previous performance of the KBS is not degraded by the incremental addition of the new knowledge. This approach is now well established for single classification tasks and more recently has been extended to multiple classification tasks. This paper describes the further extension of the approach to configuration tasks. The test domain for this study is the configuration of ion chromatography methods in analytical chemistry.


INTRODUCTION This report presents data that describe the 2012-13 pharmacy application pool, degrees conferred in 2012-13, and fall 2013 pharmacy program enrollments. Data for this report were requested from the 130 U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy recognized by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) using five separate survey instruments. There were previously two professional education programs at U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy: one leading to a baccalaureate in pharmacy, and the other leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. However, June 30, 2005 marked the official expiration of the ACPE standards to the baccalaureate in pharmacy (B.S. Pharmacy) degree programs in accordance with the transition to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree as the sole professional degree program in the U.S. Some colleges and schools of pharmacy conferred degrees in the B.S. Pharmacy program until 2004-05. For the purpose of this report, students in doctor of pharmacy programs are categorized under Pharm.D.1 when the program leads to a doctor of pharmacy degree conferred as the first professional degree. Students who have already received a baccalaureate in pharmacy and are enrolled in a doctor of pharmacy degree program are categorized under Pharm.D.2. The following definitions refer to the race/ethnicity groups as used in this report. White refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Black or African American refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Hispanic or Latino refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Asian refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. Prior to 2011, these students were included in the Asian category. American Indian or Alaska Native refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment. Two or More Races refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are not Hispanic/Latino and identify themselves by more than one race. Unknown refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents whose race and ethnicity are not known. Prior to 2011, this category was labeled Other/ Unknown and students that were of two or more races were included in this category. Finally, International/Foreign refers to citizens of a foreign country/permanent residents of a country other than the U.S. 2012-13 APPLICATION POOL The 2012-13 Application Pool Survey was conducted online in October 2013, with an announcement and request for participation sent to the survey coordinator at each of the 130 colleges and schools of pharmacy in the U.S. recognized by ACPE. After follow-up correspondence, 127 colleges and schools (97.7 percent) submitted the requested information. Included in the application pool are students who applied for admission and submitted all required application materials between September 2012 and August 2013 for the entering class of fall 2013. Numbers reported represent the number of applications, not applicants, and may represent multiple applications submitted by individual applicants. During the period September 2012 through August 2013, the reporting institutions received 87,956 applications for admission. …


In the current context of miniaturisation, micro-machining processes are in full expansion. One of them is micro-milling, able to produce parts with features ranging from several mm to several μm. Despite the down-sizing of the macro-milling process, microcutting is not a simple scaling-down of macro-cutting. The new way of forming chips involves the so-called 'minimum chip thickness' phenomenon, below which no chip is formed. Estimating the minimum chip thickness value is one of the main challenges in micro-milling. A review of the current state-of-the-art in chip formation and minimum chip thickness in micro-milling is reported in this paper from an experimental and numerical point of view. In order to model the chip formation process, 2D numerical simulations are performed using the finite element method and a commercial software programme, ABAQUS/Explicit v6.7. The Lagrangian formulation has been adopted and a chip separation criterion is used to make chip formation possible. Results of the finite element simulations are presented and compared to results found in the literature. Keywords—Micro-milling, chip formation, minimum chip thickness, orthogonal cutting


A novel user friendly method is proposed for calibrating a procam system from a single pose of a planar chessboard target. The user simply needs to orient the chessboard in a single appropriate pose. A sequence of Gray Code patterns are projected onto the chessboard, which allows correspondences between the camera, projector and the chessboard to be automatically extracted. These correspondences are fed as input to a nonlinear optimization method that models the projector of the principle points onto the chessboard, and accurately calculates the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of both the camera and the projector, as well as the camera's distortion coefficients. The method is experimentally validated on the procam system, which is shown to be comparable in accuracy with existing multi-pose approaches. The impact of the orientation of the chessboard with respect to the procam imaging places is also explored through extensive simulation.


Management of freshwater fishes in zoos and aquariums for conservation breeding is a key area where much can be achieved with limited facilities and a comparatively modest financial outlay. Some species now survive only in captivity following in situ threats such as habitat loss. Fortunately, short generation length and high fecundity mean that populations of freshwater fishes can be readily maintained in anticipation of ecosystem reinstatement and a reintroduction programme, where conditions are appropriate. However, diseases that occur in captive populations may constrain any species recovery programme. Conversely, any disease not previously found in the wild population should not be present in captive fishes when the animals are reintroduced to the wild. Mycobacteriosis has regularly been identified in episodes of morbidity and mortality in groups of Extinct in the Wild and other threatened freshwater fishes maintained for conservation breeding. It is, therefore, a common impediment to breeding and reintroduction programmes. For any programme to succeed, the issue of disease management needs to be addressed and solutions found to the challenges. An overview of the elements that must be considered when mycobacteriosis is detected in captive populations of threatened freshwater fishes and ways in which these can be managed in aquariums are discussed here.


This article presents a novel modular adaptive artful intelligent assistance system for cognitively and/or memory impaired people engaged in the realisation of their activities of daily living (ADLs). The goal of this assistance system is to help disabled persons moving/evolving within a controlled environment in order to provide logistic support in achieving their ADLs. Empirical results of practical tests are presented and interpreted. Some deductions about the key features that represent originalities of the assistance system are drawn and future works are announced.


Theologically, the most distinctive teaching of the Gospel of Philip is its concept of five rites called "mysteries": baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption, and bridal chamber. Baptism is clearly by immersion. Although baptism is mentioned more frequently than chrism, chrism is said to be superior to baptism. Inclusion of the rite of redemption is evidence that the document may reflect the Marcosian type of Valentinianism. The bridal chamber of the Saviour ("the bridegroom") and of Sophia ("the bride") is the archetypal bridal chamber; whether the counterpart is ordinary human marriage or the Gnostic rite of bridal chamber or both is not clear. This fifth rite may confirm Clement of Alexandria's report that Valentinians were more favorable to marriage than most Gnostics and also may help to explain (better than the Christian agape) why pagans, Failing to distinguish between Christians and Gnostics, alleged promiscuity.


This paper presents closed-form formulations of higher order shear deformation theory (HSDT) to analyse the functionally graded plates (FGPs) acted upon a thermo-mechanical load for simply supported (SS) conditions. This theory assumes nullity conditions for transverse stress on bottom and top face of the FGPs. Moreover, considers the influence of both stresses and strains in the axial and transversal direction. In these improvements an accurate parabolic variation is assumed in the thickness direction for transverse shear strains. Therefore, this theory omits the use of correction factor for accurately estimating the shear stress. The physical properties of the FGPs are considered to change along the thickness using a power law. The equilibrium relations and constriants on all edges are attained by considering the virtual work. Numerical evaluations are attained based on Navier's approach. The exactness and consistency of the developed theory are ascertained with numerical results for deflections and stresses of SS FGPs and it is deemed that numerical solutions for thermo-mechanical load will utilize as a reference in the future.


This paper presents results from an exploratory study in a governmental organization on the strategic value of electronic human resource management (e-HRM). By applying the organizational capabilities approach, and by means of mixed research methods, data were collected on two generally acclaimed strategic advantages of e-HRM: changing the role of the human resource (HR) function towards becoming a business partner; and increasing the time available for strategic HR issues. The findings show that these strategic advantages are not convincingly realized. While HR professionals perceived role changes, line managers and non-managerial employees in general did not. The frequency of e-HRM practise was low, although it was satisfactorily used as intended. Interviewees stated that strategic advantages might arise if certain conditions are met. E-HRM does however provide some unintended benefits. The findings suggest that e-HRM alone is not sufficient to enable the HR function to create dynamic and operational capabilities. Suggestions for further research are provided.


OBJECTIVE
To establish the efficacy in terms of morbidity and quality of life of a group education program on asthma aimed at children and caregivers.

METHODS
An open, randomized, controlled trial was undertaken in 13 primary health care centers in Spain, Cuba, and Uruguay and involved 245 children with active asthma aged 9 to 13 years and their caregivers. The intervention consisted of 3 educational sessions lasting 45 to 60 minutes each and was performed with 3 intervention groups: children alone, caregivers alone, and both children and caregivers. The outcome measures were difference between intervention and control groups in the rate of asthma attacks and hospital admission, as well as the quality of life of children and caregivers in the 6 months following the intervention.

RESULTS
The rate of asthma attacks per patient-year decreased when the intervention was given only to children (mean difference, -1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.87 to -0.34) or to both children and caregivers (-1.60; 95% CI, -2.88 to -0.31). Hospital admissions per patient-year decreased in the intervention groups children alone (-0.28; 95% CI, -0.51 to -0.05) and both children and caregivers (-0.25; 95% CI, -0.49 to -0.02). Education provided to caregivers alone was not associated with any changes in morbidity. No differences were observed in terms of quality of life between controls and any of the intervention groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Group education on asthma reduces morbidity but does not improve quality of life. The benefits are apparent when education is aimed at children but no additional benefit is obtained if the intervention is also aimed at their caregivers. Finally, group education for adult caregivers alone is not effective.


The aim of this study is to examine the impact of writing tasks on the 5th grade students' academic achievement and scientific attitude in science and technology course. The research is a quasi-experimental research including pre-test and post-test designs. These tests were administered as pre-test and post test to the groups. A total of sixty-two 5th grade students studying in the center of Erzurum in the 2012-2013 academic year have created the sample of the study. In the study, the groups were determined as to form purposive sampling. The study is carried out by using two different teaching methods. The first of these methods is writing-supported student-centered teaching method (experimental group) and the other is student-centered teaching method (control group). There are 32 students in the experimental group and 30 students in the control group. But immediately after the end of the application, the experiment group was provided to tell in a letter to one of their 4th grade friends what they have learned about the unit. The data of the research were evaluated by t-test. After the completion of the application, the results of the achievement test and the scientific attitudes scale have revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in favor of the experimental group.

 Key words: Writing letters for learning purposes, science achievement test, scientific attitude scale


Mediterranean coasts are affected by multiple mounting pressures. In Cyprus, marine fish farming has grown rapidly in the past decade and is concentrated in the west side of Vasiliko Bay. The east coast of this bay has ports, a power station, a desalination unit, a cement factory, a major new oil terminal, and gas storage facilities. The bay is earmarked to create the largest hydrocarbon processing, storing, and transport facility in the region. Here, we assess the status of Posidonia oceanica habitat in an understudied region at the upper thermal, and eastern limit, of this Mediterranean endemic seagrass. An extensive ancient seagrass meadow was revealed, covering about 200 ha across 10 km of coastline, over soft substrata at ca 10–30 m depth, and over hard substrata at ca 0–6 m depth. Seagrass shoot density and leaf surface area decreased, both with increasing depth and with proximity to industrial developments; part of the meadow had been destroyed by dredging to build a jetty. Close to fish farms the seagrass had higher epiphytic biomass as well as lower leaf number, mass, and surface area, all of which indicate adverse effects of eutrophication and increased turbidity. Despite these multiple stressors, most of the meadow was in good ecological status, with some of the highest shoot densities ever reported. Furthermore, iconic species like sea turtles, monk seals, and dolphins were seen during sampling. Posidonia oceanica meadows off Cyprus are among the most valuable in the Mediterranean due to their tolerance of high seawater temperatures. Managers of future coastal developments in the region will need to adhere to European legislation and international conventions designed to secure the socioeconomic benefits of seagrass beds.


Several methods in steganography and cryptography have been proposed for secured communication. But many compromises are there in them. Steganography which deals with security using multimedia has a very big disadvantage of increase in the information size. Cryptography which deals with encryption using the keys generated by various algorithms has the disadvantage of difficulty in remembering the key which can be easily cracked. The main objective of this study is to increase the security in communication by encrypting the information with the key generated by using an image. This study proposes a novel algorithm for key generation using image features. It is a reliable and flexible method of key generation for information security. In this method the user need not remember the keys during encryption and decryption. This study uses the Gray Level Co-occurrence matrix of an image to extract the Gray Level Co-occurrence properties of the image. A 56-bit sub-key is generated from the extracted Gray Level Co-occurrence properties. Then the key for encryption and decryption is generated using the sub-key generated from the image. This proposed method is easy to implement. The key strength is much better than others.


The survivable logical topology routing problem for a given IP-over-WDM network is to map each logical link into a lightpath in the physical network which guarantees connectivity of the IP network after any physical link failure. Such a survivable routing is said to protect the logical network against all single physical link failures. But, it is possible that a logical topology may not admit a survivable routing. In view of this, we define a logical topology routing to be optimum if this routing maximizes the number of single physical link failures that do not disconnect the logical topology. First, we give a mixed integer linear programming formulation to determine an optimum logical topology routing. The failure localization problem is to localize the single physical link failures which disconnect the logical network under a given optimum routing. Given a set of monitoring trails and the lightpath routings in an optimum routing, we give a mixed integer linear programming formulation to determine an optimum routing and the corresponding failure localization. We also propose a heuristic approach for these problems to handle large scale IP-over-WDM networks.


Essential amino acid-based parenteral nutrition (PN) was found to be superior to hypertonic dextrose for patients with acute renal failure in a classical randomized trial that was published in 1973. However, subsequent trials were not able to duplicate this finding when this formulation was compared to hypertonic dextrose or to standard amino acid-based PN. As a result, this intervention has not been recommended in various guidelines for the nutrition support of patients with renal failure. However, all of these trials were relatively small, and none of them compared the intervention to a true control group-namely, patients who were not receiving any artificial nutrition. Because no trials have compared any form of artificial nutrition to no nutrition support in patients with acute renal failure, there really is no basis on which to make any level 1 evidence-based recommendation. Furthermore, a close look at all of the trials suggests that the essential amino acid-based formulation may be superior to the other types of intravenous nutrient supplementation to which it was compared. To determine whether this should be offered to patients with acute renal failure, we need data from one or more large, well-designed and executed, low risk of bias randomized trial(s) comparing essential amino acid-based PN to no nutrition therapy.


This paper describes calculations and comparisons of eddy current losses in a cylindrical linear oscillatory actuator with a Halbach array permanent magnet mover for different voltage source waveforms. Using the magnetic vector potential and a two-dimensional cylindrical coordinate system, the paper presents an analytical procedure and obtains solutions for the eddy current losses using the Poynting theorem. To verify the proposed method, the eddy current losses obtained from the analytical solutions are compared with the results of a non-linear finite element method. Moreover, this paper shows that the eddy current losses are more significant when the actuator is driven by a square voltage waveform than when it is driven by a sinusoidal voltage waveform.


(1) The main features of the anatomy, histology, and development of the larval gut are described. (2) The fore-gut is divisible into pharynx, oesophagus, crop, oesophageal valve, and anterior imaginal ring, or as here called, anterior interstitial ring. Details of the structure of each part are given, including an account of the musculature. (3) The growth of the fore-gut is then traced and it is shown that increase in size is accompanied by increase in size of the constituent cells. Only in the interstitial ring does cell division occur after hatching. (4) A considerable degree of histological differentiation is only to be observed after the commencement of feeding. (5) The larval development of the mid-gut has been described in my previous paper (vide Bibliography). (6) Evidence is presented for regarding the peritrophic membrane as entirely derived from the mid-gut. (7) The hind-gut is then described as consisting of posterior interstitial ring (posterior imaginal ring), ileum, anterior sphincter region, colon, posterior sphincter region, anterior rectum and posterior rectum. The musculature of both fore-gut and hindgut is shown to be based on a radially symmetrical system of sixes. (8) The growth principles of the hind-gut are essentially similar to those of the fore-gut. (9) Evidence is presented to suggest an endodermal derivation for the malpighian tubules.


Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in the midbrain at 7 Tesla suffers from unexpectedly low temporal signal to noise ratio (TSNR) compared to other brain regions. Various methodologies were used in this study to quantitatively identify causes of the noise and signal differences in midbrain fMRI data. The influence of physiological noise sources was examined using RETROICOR, phase regression analysis, and power spectral analyses of contributions in the respiratory and cardiac frequency ranges. The impact of between-shot phase shifts in 3-D multi-shot sequences was tested using a one-dimensional (1-D) phase navigator approach. Additionally, the effects of shared noise influences between regions that were temporally, but not functionally, correlated with the midbrain (adjacent white matter and anterior cerebellum) were investigated via analyses with regressors of 'no interest'. These attempts to reduce noise did not improve the overall TSNR in the midbrain. In addition, the steady state signal and noise were measured in the midbrain and the visual cortex for resting state data. We observed comparable steady state signals from both the midbrain and the cortex. However, the noise was 2–3 times higher in the midbrain relative to the cortex, confirming that the low TSNR in the midbrain was not due to low signal but rather a result of large signal variance. These temporal variations did not behave as known physiological or other noise sources, and were not mitigated by conventional strategies. Upon further investigation, resting state functional connectivity analysis in the midbrain showed strong intrinsic fluctuations between homologous midbrain regions. These data suggest that the low TSNR in the midbrain may originate from larger signal fluctuations arising from functional connectivity compared to cortex, rather than simply reflecting physiological noise.


The study was backed by the low budget and there is a realisation of procurement
through auctions that are not fulfilled due to time. The purpose of this research is
to know how competence, organizational culture, motivation and work
performance as well as how much influence motivation towards work
competencies, the influence of organizational culture on work motivation,
competence and influence organizational culture with respect to the motivation of
working as well as the influence the motivation of working against the
performance of the Committee for the procurement of goods and services in the
Hospital of pulmonary dr.H.A.Rotinsulu.
Type of this research is descriptive research method in combination with the
verifikatif model of concurrent embedeed, where menggambungkan quantitative
methods and qualitative methods as primary as a secondary method. The
collection of quantitative data using questionnaires to respondents with a total
sample of 30 people.While qualitative data with interviews on the Committee
which has been training and working in the procurement of more than one (1)
year. The analysis begins by conducting test validity and reliability to then
proceed with path analysis. Variables examined is competence, organizational
culture, motivation and work performance.
The results showed that the responses of the respondents about the competencies
of 53% and categorized quite well, organizational culture 55,56% and categorized
quite well, work motivation of 56,62% and categorized quite well as well as the
performance of 56% and categorized quite well. Competence significantly
influence on motivation of 34.76%. Organizational culture significantly affect the
Motivation of% 23,24. Competence and organizational culture impact
significantly on the motivation of 58%. Significantly influential work motivation
on performance of 51.4% and 48.6% are affected by other variables.
Key words: Competences, organizational culture, motivation and Work
performance.


An examination of the influence of street stops on the legal socialization of young men showed an association between the number of police stops they see or experience and a diminished sense of police legitimacy. This association was not primarily a consequence of the number of stops or of the degree of police intrusion during those stops. Rather, the impact of involuntary contact with the police was mediated by evaluations of the fairness of police actions and judgments about whether the police were acting lawfully. Whether the police were viewed as exercising their authority fairly and lawfully shaped the impact of stops on respondents' general judgments about police legitimacy. Fairness and lawfulness judgments, in turn, were influenced by the number of stops and the degree of police intrusion during those stops. Similarly, judgments of justice and lawfulness shaped the estimated influence of judgments of the general character of police behavior in the community on general perceptions of police legitimacy. These results suggest that the widespread use of street stops undermined legitimacy. Lowered legitimacy had an influence on both law abidingness and the willingness to cooperate with legal authorities. The findings show that people were influenced by perceptions of police injustice/illegality.


Abstract A patient is more than one number, yet most approaches to machine learning from electronic health data can only predict a single endpoint. Here, we present an alternative – using unsupervised deep learning to simulate detailed patient trajectories. We use data comprising 18-month longitudinal trajectories of 42 clinical variables from 1908 patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's Disease (AD) to train a model for personalized forecasting of disease progression. Our model simulates the evolution of each sub-component of cognitive exams, laboratory tests, and their associations with baseline clinical characteristics, generating both predictions and their confidence intervals. Even though it is not trained to predict changes in disease severity, our unsupervised model predicts changes in total ADAS-Cog scores with the same accuracy as specifically trained supervised models. We show how simulations can be used to interpret our model and demonstrate how to create synthetic control arm data for AD clinical trials. Our model's ability to simultaneously predict dozens of characteristics of a patient at any point in the future is a crucial step forward in computational precision medicine.


Over the past two decades, proportionally more and more of the corporation's information assets have been entered, processed, stored, and retrieved through EDP facilities. Today the new developments in data entry technology and the growing acceptance of distributive computing methodology are placing more EDP power in the hands of the end-user. As business operations become more dependent upon supportive EDP systems, the internal auditor has to focus more attention on the audit of the EDP system itself.
 The ability to independently evaluate a system can come only from knowledge of the system. It is for this reason that in an audit engagement involving computerized systems, the internal auditor should begin with a review of available system documentation.


The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of The Gambia-through its chronology, introductory essay, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, institutions, and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects-provides an important reference on this burgeoning African country.


Identity and trust are two important elements that surround any service-providing system. They become more critical when such systems operate in distributed environments and deal with sensitive details. This paper explains how a government-trusted digital infrastructure would address both identification and trust requirements and would support the development of citizen-centric government services. The main contribution of the paper is the presentation of a framework adopted by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that provides a systematic approach to creating a robust information-sharing system within a secure environment. A model is also presented to explain how synergy among institutions is planned to be achieved and how online users would access web-based government services with a single login using a universal smart identity card.


Abraham Savitzky Abraham H. Savitzky died on February 5, 1999, in Naples, FL, after a long illness. He retired from PerkinElmer in 1985, where he had worked for 35 years, the last 10 as a principal scientist. At Perkin-Elmer, he focused on the role that computers would play in analytical instrumentation. Savitzky, circa 1985. As a result of his incisive and unflagging research, PerkinElmer was one of the first companies to embed a microprocessor within an instrument.


Autoresuscitation is a critical survival-promoting mechanism in mammals that allows recovery from primary apnea via hypoxia-induced gasping. Here we show, using head-out plethysmography, that gasping behavior is altered during autoresuscitation, and the autoresuscitation response is delayed, in neonatal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) neuron-deficient Pet-1 homozygous (Pet-1(-/-)) mice. When exposed to 97% N(2)-3% CO(2) on postnatal day 4.5, unanesthetized Pet-1(-/-) mice required over four times longer than age-matched wild-type controls to initiate gasping following primary apnea. When oxygen was made available before the first gasp, allowing autoresuscitation to occur, gasping frequency was decreased and the duration of the gasping period was extended in the Pet-1 mutants compared with wild type, resulting in a nearly threefold increase in the time needed for successful autoresuscitation. However, when the exposure to anoxia was unrelenting, gasping frequency, the form of the gasps, the total number of gasps produced, the duration of the gasping period, and time to last gasp were comparable to controls. Plethysmographic testing of the same mutants on postnatal day 9.5 revealed that their autoresuscitation responses, although improved compared with day 4.5, remained significantly longer than in wild-type controls. Our data indicate that despite a severe deficiency of central 5-HT neurons, Pet-1(-/-) neonatal mice are capable of gasping, but their gasping pattern is altered during autoresuscitation, leading to a prolongation of the time required to recover from hypoxia-induced apnea.


The paper focuses on subject properties in Lithuanian sentences containing verbs participating in the swarm alternation. In neither variant of the Lithuanian swarm alternation can either of the two arguments (i.e., the locational and the non-locational argument) be considered a prototypical subject, i.e., be said to display properties on the lexical (semantic), grammatical, and discourse levels of representation that are typical of a prototypical subject. The discrepancies between subject properties on distinct levels of representation are triggered by a set of discourse-pragmatic and semantic features characteristic of the swarm alternation. One of the basic discourse-pragmatic features characteristic of some of its variants is that they function as presentational constructions and pragmatically their subjects are not construed as topics but as sentence foci. Subjects of presentationals are obligatorily marked by a focus pitch accent. This property of presentationals conditions a spread of subject properties over the (pro)nominal constituents of a clause. Other semantic-pragmatic properties contributing both to alternation in subject realization and discrepancies between subject properties on distinct levels of representation are: (i) the obligatory requirement of a location participant on the lexical-semantic and discourse-pragmatic levels of representation; (ii) the pragmatic requirement for verbs displaying presentational constructions to be informationally light in context; (iii) a decrease in agentivity properties of agent arguments triggered by the discourse-pragmatic function of presentationals and realized on the lexical-semantic and, in some instances, the (morpho)syntactic level of representation; (iv) the semantic-pragmatic requirement for non-locational arguments of the swarm alternation to be indefinite plurals or mass terms rather than singular NPs and to denote unidentifiable referents.