The reproductive system is described from 15 giant squid Architeuthis sp., collected between 1972 and 2002 in South African waters. Distinctive features of the mate reproductive system are the long muscular terminal organ, with elaboration of the anterior end, and modification of the tips of the ventral arms, probably hectocotilization. The spermatophoric organ has a long finishing gland that extends from the base of the gill. The terminal organ is differentiated internally into three distinct parts, involved in the guidance, storage, protection, expulsion and possibly the coating of spermatophores. Length of spermatophores in the terminal organ varied considerably. Several stages of spermatophores were found, from tentative to false to fully formed spermatophores, within a single animal. Distinctive features of the female reproductive system are a mesentery surrounding the main blood vessels of the ovary and attaching the ovary to the dorsal gladius chamber, multiple branching (at least three times) of the genital aorta that supplies the developing oocytes, high potential fecundity (3.5-6.2 x 10(6) oocytes), small eggs and short oviducts that suggest intermittent (extended) spawning. Large concentrations and single spermatangia were found in various places in females, indicating non-specific deposition. The transfer of spermatophores is probably rapid, perhaps because of considerable sexual size dimorphism (at maturity, males are much smaller than females). Implants in males are probably self-induced since the majority were found within reach of the terminal organ opening (primarily on the ventral arms in males).


High pressure is a defining feature of marine sediments and a major factor influencing biogeochemical processes, the deep biosphere, and gas-hydrate deposits. However, the considerable technical challenges of recovering, handling, and analyzing sediment cores under pressure limit the detailed investigation of the impact of pressure on marine sediment processes. Here we describe recent developments in high-pressure coring, handling, and analysis. In particular, we provide an update on a further development of the European hydrate autoclave coring equipment (HYACE) coring system during the recent Development of the HYACE Tools in New Tests on Hydrates (HYACINTH) project. The two high-pressure coring systems (HYACE rotary corer and Fugro percussion corer) have now successfully recovered good quality cores, under high pressure (maximum 25 MPa), from a range of ocean sediments. Gas hydrates within these have been well preserved, and a high-pressure core transfer, logging, and subsampling system has been successfully developed and used. This includes the pressurized core subsampling and extrusion system (PRESS, maximum 25 MPa), which removes any potential contamination on the outer core by producing a central subcore; this subcore can then be sliced and transferred to high-pressure vessels for biogeochemical experiments and microbial enrichment and isolation using the DeepIsoBUG system (maximum 100 MPa). These systems have already contributed to both gas-hydrate and deep-biosphere research by demonstrating the presence of free methane gas in sediments in the gas-hydrate stability zone and the formation of maximum microbial cell densities at elevated pressures (up to 80 MPa) during bacterial enrichment experiments.


As far as we know, there is no algebraic (polynomial) approach for the study of linear differential time-delay systems in the case of a (sufficiently regular) time-varying delay. Based on the concept of skew polynomial rings developed by Ore in the 30s, the purpose of this paper is to construct the ring of differential time-delay operators as an Ore extension and to analyze its properties. Classical algebraic properties of this ring, such as noetherianity, its homological and Krull dimensions and the existence of Grobner bases, are characterized in terms of the time-varying delay function. In conclusion, the algebraic analysis approach to linear systems theory allows us to study linear differential time-varying delay systems (e.g. existence of autonomous elements, controllability, parametrizability, flatness, behavioral approach) through methods coming from module theory, homological algebra and constructive algebra.


The traditional translation teaching is teacher-centered and lacks the interaction between teachers and students. Constructivism emphasizes that learners' learning occurs in the interaction with others. Therefore, how to apply modern network technologies into the interactive activities in after-class translation practice is worth exploring. This paper firstly reflects on the problems existing in the traditional translation teaching and then discusses the main module functions and interactive features of QQ group and lastly proposes a new interactive teaching mode of after-class translation based on QQ.


DEAH-box helicase 33 (DHX33) is an RNA helicase that has been identified to promote the progression of a variety of cancers. However, the relationship between DHX33 and sarcoma remains unknown. RNA expression data with clinical information for the sarcoma project was collected from TCGA database. The association between the differential expression of DHX33 and the prognosis for sarcoma was assessed using survival analysis. CIBERSORT was used to evaluate the immune cell infiltration in sarcoma sample tissues. We then further investigated the association between DHX33 and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in sarcoma using the TIMER database. Finally, the immune/cancer-related signaling pathways involved in DHX33 were analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis. High DHX33 expression was discovered to be a poor prognostic indicator in TCGA-SARC. Immune subpopulations in the TCGA-SARC microenvironment are dramatically altered compared to normal tissues. The tumor immune estimation resource analysis revealed a strong correlation between the expression of DHX33 and the abundance of CD8+ T cells and dendritic cells. Changes in copy number also affected neutrophils, macrophages, and CD4+ T cells. According to gene set enrichment analysis, DHX33 may be involved in a number of cancer- and immune-related pathways, such as the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, P53 signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, complement and coagulation cascades, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Our study emphasized that DHX33 may be involved in the immune microenvironment of sarcoma and play an important role. As a result, it is possible that DHX33 might serve as an immunotherapeutic target for sarcoma.


Software Engineering researchers and practitioners have sought a systematic way of characterizing technical and social behaviors in software development, from the perspective of either an artifact (e.g. design pattern) or an actor (e.g. developer). In this context, influencers are those who guide the development methods and disseminate patterns due to their popularity or status in the community. Especially in software ecosystems, the dynamics of interactions with interventions of external developers over a common technological platform leverage the effects of influence and still remains as a challenge. This paper presents an exploratory study on the sense of influence in open source software ecosystems, more specifically from the opinions of 95 developers who contribute to npm projects based on GitHub. To do so, qualitative data from a conducted survey research were analyzed based on Grounded Theory (GT) procedures. Based on two main categories (Technical and Social), we recognized aspects that reinforce some key characteristics of an influencer, e.g., 'status in the project', 'participation with code', 'participation with comments ', and 'content value'. However, some diverging aspects were observed, e.g., the difference between qualitative and quantitative responses related to 'long-time interaction with the project'. This study contributes with the identification of influencers' characteristics that can aid both researchers in further studies on open source software ecosystems and practitioners in strategies to manage project-based ecosystems.


The need for external capital flows to developing countries to supplement domestic savings for investment and growth cannot be over-emphasised, especially in Africa, where there are high levels of poverty and low domestic capacity to save. To achieve sustainable economic growth, countries require other sources of capital from outside the domestic economy. This study uses co-integration and error correction modelling techniques together with tests for weak exogeneity to analyse the effects of four major capital flows into South Africa. This is done for the period 1970 to 2012 in order to determine the relative contribution of these capital flows to South Africa's economic growth. The results reveal that foreign direct investment and remittances had a positive and significant impact on South Africa's economic growth during the period investigated. Debt liabilities and portfolio equity, however, were not statistically significant in terms of their contribution to economic growth.


Book synopsis: Our choice of linguistic code is one of the most fundamental ways open to us of establishing our membership of some groups and our distance from others. This symbolic value of language may often leave it open to exploitation, especially by the state. The present volume demonstrates how the multi-faceted nature of the concept of identity makes its relationship with language both complex and unpredictable. Because of its particular historical and social characteristics, the French language provides especially fertile territory for the exploration of this theme.

Four main axes stand out in the French context: 'institutionalized' identity, regional identity, social identity and competing identities. These themes are explored from different perspectives by leading experts from Britain, Europe and North America: Roger Baines, Kate Beeching, Danielle Bouverot, David Cowling, Edith Esch, Francoise Gadet, Penelope Gardner-Chloros, David Hornsby, John E. Joseph, Dominique Lagorgette, Jacques Landrecies, Dawn Marley, Nicolas Pepin, Tim Pooley, Gilles Siouffi, Albert Valdman, Barbara von Gemmingen and Chantal Wionet.

Wendy Ayres-Bennett is Professor of French Philology and Linguistics, University of Cambridge and Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages, New Hall, Cambridge. Mari C. Jones is Senior Lecturer in French, University of Cambridge and Fellow in Modern and Medieval Languages, Peterhouse, Cambridge.


Introduction: Transanal irrigation (TAI) improves bowel function and quality of life in patients with neurogenic bowel disease compared to conservative bowel care. Its use has been extended to a range of defecatory disorders. However, data on long-term benefits and compliance are lacking. We aim to evaluate the long-term efficacy of TAI by examining compliance and patient outcomes over a five-year period. Methods: This study is a five-year retrospective review of patients practising TAI in a district general hospital. Patient demographics, indications, long-term compliance, adverse events, and patient-reported Qufora bowel symptom bother scores were analysed. Results: A cohort of 18 patients had a median age of 61 (range 23-91) and were predominantly female (83.5%). The reasons for bowel dysfunction were diverse: low anterior resection syndrome, neurogenic bowel, congenital anorectal malformations, obstructed defecation, and functional disorders. Predominant symptoms were constipation (9), faecal incontinence (7), and mixed (2). Both high-volume (catheter and cone) and low-volume (mini cone) irrigation devices were used. Fourteen patients continued regular irrigation at a median follow-up of 27.7 months (range 5.1-72.3), while four had discontinued at a median follow-up of 4.8 months. The reasons for discontinuation were inadequate rectal evacuation and spontaneous improvement of symptoms. In the compliant group, there was a significant improvement in bowel symptom scores (p=0.003). No major adverse events, such as significant rectal bleeding or perforation, were noted. Conclusion: In this small cohort, TAI was safe and effective for long-term use; however, a fifth of patients discontinued treatment. Further work needs to be done to identify those patients who will benefit from TAI.


Abstract Chalcogen bonding is a little explored noncovalent interaction similar to halogen bonding. This manuscript describes the first application of selenium‐based chalcogen bond donors as Lewis acids in organic synthesis. To this end, the solvolysis of benzhydryl bromide served as a halide abstraction benchmark reaction. Chalcogen bond donors based on a bis(benzimidazolium) core provided rate accelerations relative to the background reactivity by a factor of 20–30. Several comparative experiments provide clear indications that the observed activation is due to chalcogen bonding. The performance of the chalcogen bond donors is superior to that of a related brominated halogen bond donor.


This paper addresses the problem of the capacity of the productive sector linkage with the Technological University of Pereira. Assumes that such a link is complex and depends not only on the good intentions of each actor in particular, on the other hand, depends on the fact that each actor will have developed the necessary preconditions that make possible the feasibility and consolidation of these relationships


Although the computer industry has made enormous advances in the last 25 years, the development of error messages has somehow been left behind. Error messages themselves have only progressed from reporting errors as numerical codes to popping up rather simple text messages. The vast majority of the error messages that are currently in use seem to be aimed more at the programmer than the user. It is, however, the user who utilizes the software applications that contain the error messages, and the programmer needs to consider this when writing error messages. This book focuses on three elements that should be incorporated into any proper error message: notification, explanation, and solution. Many of the error messages that are in use today lack one or more of these important traits. Throughout the book the author uses examples that illustrate incomplete error messages contributed by various sources and then describes how to make them more effective. The book also contains methods on preventing and trapping errors before they occur and provides details on creating flexible input and response routines to keep unnecessary errors from happening. In addition to providing detailed information about how to improve the utilization of error messages, Windows Error Messages also covers important topics such as: Popup menus Rich text format messages HTML messages Simple and sophisticated event logs Reporting data to technical support Online documentation An OCX WebViewer utility The accompanying CD-ROM contains a dynamic link library, ErrorMessage.DLL, that is accessible by VB, C, C++, and MFC programs. This DLL contains routines that, when called by the programmer, will present all error messages in a standard format and provide responses for different levels of errors. This will reduce the time programmers will need to spend calling and creating dialogs for error messages, allowing them to concentrate on the code at hand. The ErrorMessage.DLL has been created by the author using Visual C++ along with the MFC AppWizard, and the source code for the program has been granted to the public domain. With the help of Windows Error Messages, C, C++, and Visual Basic programmers will be able to write consistent error messages that notify the user of an error, provide an explanation of the error, and most important, supply a solution to the error.


Recently, research on accelerated stochastic gradient descent methods (e.g., SVRG) has made exciting progress (e.g., linear convergence for strongly convex problems). However, the best-known methods (e.g., Katyusha) requires at least two auxiliary variables and two momentum parameters. In this paper, we propose a fast stochastic variance reduction gradient (FSVRG) method, in which we design a novel update rule with the Nesterov's momentum and incorporate the technique of growing epoch size. FSVRG has only one auxiliary variable and one momentum weight, and thus it is much simpler and has much lower per-iteration complexity. We prove that FSVRG achieves linear convergence for strongly convex problems and the optimal $\mathcal{O}(1/T^2)$ convergence rate for non-strongly convex problems, where $T$ is the number of outer-iterations. We also extend FSVRG to directly solve the problems with non-smooth component functions, such as SVM. Finally, we empirically study the performance of FSVRG for solving various machine learning problems such as logistic regression, ridge regression, Lasso and SVM. Our results show that FSVRG outperforms the state-of-the-art stochastic methods, including Katyusha.


Dependability evaluation is a basic component in assessing the quality of repairable systems. A general model (Op) is presented and is specifically designed for software systems; it allows the evaluation of various dependability metrics, in particular, of availability measures. Op is of the structural type, based on Markov process theory. In particular, Op is an attempt to overcome some limitations of the well-known Littlewood reliability model for modular software. This paper gives the: mathematical results necessary to the transient analysis of this general model; and algorithms that can efficiently evaluate it. More specifically, from the parameters describing the: evolution of the execution process when there is no failure; failure processes together with the way they affect the execution; and recovery process, the results are obtained for the: distribution function of the number of failures in a fixed mission; and dependability metrics which are much more informative than the usual ones in a white-box approach. The estimation procedures of the Op parameters are briefly discussed. Some simple examples illustrate the interest in such a structural view and explain how to consider reliability growth of part of the software with the transformation approach developed by Laprie et al. The complete transient analysis of Op allows discussion of the Poisson approximation by Littlewood for his model.


A parametric one-dimensional model of suspension bridges is employed to investigate their static and dynamic aeroelastic behavior in response to a gust load and at the onset of flutter. The equilibrium equations are obtained via a direct total Lagrangian formulation where the kinematics for the deck, assumed to be linear, feature the vertical and the chord-wise displacements of the deck mean axis and the torsional rotations of the deck cross sections, while preserving their shape during rotation. The cables elasto-geometric stiffness contribution is obtained by condensing the equilibrium in the longitudinal direction assuming small horizontal displacements and neglecting the cable kinematics along the bridge chord-wise direction. The equations of motion are linearized about the prestressed static aeroelastic configuration and are obtained via an updated Lagrangian formulation.The equations of motion governing the structural dynamics of the bridge are coupled with the incompressible unsteady aero-dynamic model obtained by a set of reduced-order indicial functions developed for the cross section of a suspension bridge, here represented by a rectangular cross-section. The space dependence of the governing equations is treated using the Galerkin approach borrowing as set of trial functions, the eigenbasis of the modal space. The time integration is subsequently performed by using a numerical scheme that includes the modal reduced dynamic aeroelastic Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and the added aerodynamic states also represented in ODE form, the latter being associated with the lag-state formulation pertinent to the unsteady wind-induced loads.The model is suitable to analyze the effect of a time and space non uniform gust load distributed on the bridge span. The obtained aeroelastic system is also suitable to study the onset of flutter and to investigate the sensitivity of the flutter condition on geometrical and aerodynamic parameters. The flutter instability is evaluated using appropriate frequency and time domain characteristics. The parametric continuum model is exploited to perform dynamic aeroelastic flutter analysis and gust response of the Runyang Suspension Bridge over the Yangtze river in China.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


This paper presents a distributed file system that is a client/server -based application that allows clients to access and process data stored on the server as if it were on their own computer. The purpose of a distributed file system (DFS) is to allow users of physically distributed computers to share data and storage resources by using a common file system. It consists of an introduction of DFS, features of DFS, its background, its concepts, design goals and consideration. It also emphasized on Classical file system: Sun network file system and Andrew file system and a brief study of Google file system.


A list of medicinal plants used by local people in Üzümlü district and its villages is presented. This study included the first detailed ethnobotanical survey carried out in Erzincan. The study was conducted during spring and summer periods in 2010 and 2011 through face-to-face interview method to determine the local names, used parts, and medicinal usages of the determined plants. The plant samples collected from the study area were pressed, dried, and labeled according to the herbarium techniques, and identified. Totally 64 plant taxa belonging to 53 genera and 29 families were used by local people for different medicinal purposes in the area. The families including the highest number of taxa were Rosaceae (11 species), Asteraceae (6 species) and Lamiaceae (5 species). The species with the highest number of usage as herbal medicine were Urtica dioica,Anthemis cretica subsp. iberica, Petroselinum crispum,Allium cepa, Rheum ribes, Rosa dumalis subsp. boissieri var. boissieri and Vitis vinifera. Fruits and flowers were the most widely used parts of the plants. Decoction was the main method for using, and the primary therapeutic use of herbal remedies was for the respiratory system diseases such as cold, cough, asthma, and bronchitis.This study was the first carried out on 20 plant taxa used as traditional medicine, and the use of 28 taxa were recorded for the first time in Turkey.For maintaining the knowledge on traditional medicine, urgent studies should be carried out for recording before they have been completely lost .


ABSTRACT Adaptation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to arsenic stress is mediated through the activation of arsenic detoxification machinery by the Yap8 transcription factor. Yap8 is targeted by the ubiquitin proteasome system for degradation under physiological conditions, yet it escapes proteolysis in arsenic-injured cells by a mechanism that remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that Ufd2, an E4-Ubiquitin (Ub) ligase, is upregulated by arsenic compounds both at mRNA and protein levels. Under these conditions, Ufd2 interacts with Yap8 mediating its stabilization, thereby controlling expression of ACR3 and capacity of cells to adapt to arsenic injury. We also show that Ufd2 U-box domain, which is associated to the ubiquitination activity of specific ubiquitin ligases, is dispensable for Yap8 stability and has no role in cell tolerance to arsenic stress. Thus, our data disclose a novel Ufd2 role beyond degradation. This finding is further supported by genetic analyses showing that proteins belonging to Ufd2 proteolytic pathways, namely Ubc4, Rad23 and Dsk2, mediate Yap8 degradation.


Background
Healthcare-associated infections are a major cause of mortality worldwide, especially in intensive care units where severely ill patients have limited physical space.

Aims
To investigate the incidence, microbial aetiology, antimicrobial resistance profile, and mortality rate of healthcare-associated infections in intensive care units in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Methods
This observational study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1722 intensive care units patients with confirmed healthcare-associated infections at hospitals affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2017-2019. Data was analysed using SPSS for Windows version 11. Categorical variables were described using frequency and percentage, whereas continuous variables were defined using mean (standard deviation) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for precision. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate crude odds ratio (OR) and adjusted OR (AOR) with 95% CI, and to identify univariate and multivariate predictors of healthcare-associated infection mortality.

Results
In total, 4077 pathogens were isolated, yielding a healthcare-associated infection incidence rate of 22.1%. The most common microorganisms were Acinetobacter spp. (25.0%), Klebsiella spp. (15.1%), Staphylococcus spp. (14.0%), and Candida spp. (12.3%). Ventilator-associated events (39.5%), urinary tract infections (22.7%), and bloodstream infections (14.8%) were the main types of infection. Comorbidities, skin and soft tissue infections, and infections with Acinetobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp., and Candida spp. were significantly associated with higher mortality among intensive care unit patients. Gram-positive bacteria were most resistant to ciprofloxacin (49.2%), clindamycin (38.0%), and erythromycin (37.1%). Gram-negative bacteria were most resistant to ceftazidime (71.0%), ciprofloxacin (65.2%), and cefotaxime (60.5%). The overall mortality rate was 45.2%.

Conclusion
Healthcare-associated infections in nearly half of intensive care unit patients were fatal, especially when caused by Acinetobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp., or Candida spp. Therefore, effective strategies must be implemented to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, along with stricter adherence to infection control programmes.


At the Earth's magnetopause, the Kelvin‐Helmholtz (KH) instability, driven by the persistent velocity shear between the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere, has been frequently observed during northward interplanetary magnetic field periods and considered as one of the most important candidates for transporting and mixing plasmas across the magnetopause. However, how this process interacts with magnetic field fluctuations, which persistently exist near the magnetopause, has been less discussed. Here we perform a series of 2‐D fully kinetic simulations of the KH instability at the magnetopause considering a power law spectrum of initial fluctuations in the magnetic field. The simulations demonstrate that when the amplitude level of the initial fluctuations is sufficiently large, the KH instability evolves faster, leading to a more efficient plasma mixing within the vortex layer. In addition, when the spectral index of the initial fluctuations is sufficiently small, the modes whose wavelength is longer than the theoretical fastest growing mode grow dominantly. The fluctuating magnetic field also results in the formation of the well‐matured turbulent spectrum with a −5/3 index within the vortex layer even in the early nonlinear growth phase of the KH instability. The obtained spectral features in the simulations are in reasonable agreement with the features in KH waves events at the magnetopause observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission and conjunctively by the Geotail and Cluster spacecraft. These results indicate that the magnetic field fluctuations may really contribute to enhancing the wave activities especially for longer wavelength modes and the associated mixing at the magnetopause.


Abstract The increase of energy consumed by buildings in the Middle East is mainly due to the harsh weather that forces people to spend more time indoors. Moreover, the provision of a building's indoor thermal comfort condition is achieved by an active cooling system. Further, designing buildings without taking into consideration proper design of the building form, orientation, and appropriate selection of the envelope materials can lead to a considerable increase of heat and energy use. Therefore, an appropriate approach to develop an architectural design incorporating passive environmental solutions related to the climate and the site is a must for achieving thermal comfort with less energy consumption. The Research Council of Oman has launched a competition to design, construct, and operate buildings that embrace sustainability principles. One of the eco-friendly buildings was investigated by the academic institution in Oman (Sultan Qaboos University). The objective of this eco-house project is to develop an innovative residential house that is aesthetically pleasing and functionally working, economic, technically feasible, energy-efficient, climatically appropriate, and socio-culturally acceptable. It is of utmost importance in prototype housing development to use appropriate materials which can be produced locally which would meet the climatic, technical, and aesthetic needs. This paper is intended to develop guidelines for assessing the constraints of a climate environment that supports and promotes a prototype of a sustainable house (i.e., eco-house) in the hot-humid climate of Oman.


INTRODUCTION: Despite progress in reducing global maternal mortality, an estimated 289,000 women die each year. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a surgical delivery rate of 5–10%, yet for many of the world's poorest countries this is unavailable. We sought to review the growing global surgery literature to assess hospital capacity for providing surgical deliveries. METHODS: Using PRISMA guidelines, a search of the medical literature was performed to identify studies that documented surgical capacity in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Numbers of hospitals and percentages that could perform a surgical delivery were identified. Health related country data and maternal mortality rates were obtained from the WHO and World Bank. RESULTS: Data on hospital surgical capacity were identified from 35 countries. Of these countries, 23 were low-income and 12 were middle-income. Twelve countries had data on percentage of hospitals that performed surgical deliveries, and only 78.1% of the facilities are able to perform surgical deliveries. CONCLUSION: The data on availability of surgical deliveries is not well reported in surgical capacity studies. The available data indicates slightly less than 80% of surgical hospitals provided such care. Although maternal deaths are decreasing, a large number of women and children could still be saved with increased access to surgical delivery. We recommend improving access to surgical delivery and better data reporting, better access to data, and more obstetrician involvement in capacity data collection and dissemination. In addition, adding outcomes data is an important next step to evaluating surgical care and surgical delivery in LMICs.


Abstract Baccharoides anthelmintica is the most popular traditional Uighur medicines used for vitiligo. The chemical investigation of the seeds of B. anthelmintica led to the isolation of three new flavonoid glycosides (Vernosides A-C). Their structures were determined by comprehensive analysis of spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR and HRMS data. Vernosides A-C were evaluated for their effects on tyrosinase activity, Vernoside B can enhance tyrosinase activity. Graphical Abstract


In 2003, 12.3% of births in the United States were preterm (<37 completed weeks of gestation). This represents a 31% increase in the preterm birth rate since 1981. The largest contribution to this increase was from births between 34 and 36 completed weeks of gestation (often called the "near term" but referred to as "late preterm" in this article). Compared with term infants, late-preterm infants have higher frequencies of respiratory distress, temperature instability, hypoglycemia, kernicterus, apnea, seizures, and feeding problems, as well as higher rates of rehospitalization. However, the magnitude of these morbidities at the national level and their public health impact have not been well studied. To address these issues, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health invited a multidisciplinary team of experts to a workshop in July 2005 entitled "Optimizing Care and Outcome of the Near-Term Pregnancy and the Near-Term Newborn Infant." The participants discussed the definition and terminology, epidemiology, etiology, biology of maturation, clinical care, surveillance, and public health aspects of late-preterm infants. Knowledge gaps were identified, and research priorities were listed. This article provides a summary of the meeting.


Escherichia coli leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) aminoacylates up to six different class II tRNA(leu) molecules. Each has a distinct anticodon and varied nucleotides in other regions of the tRNA. Attempts to construct a minihelix RNA that can be aminoacylated with leucine have been unsuccessful. Herein, we describe the smallest tRNA(leu) analog that has been aminoacylated to a significant extent to date. A series of tRNA(leu) analogs with various domains and combinations of domains deleted was constructed. The minimal RNA that was efficiently aminoacylated with LeuRS was one in which the anticodon stem-loop and variable arm stem-loop, but neither the D-arm nor T-arm, were deleted. Aminoacylation of this minimal RNA was abolished when the discriminator base A73 was replaced with C73 or when putative tertiary interactions between the D-loop and T-loop were disrupted, suggesting that these identity elements are still functioning in the minimized RNA. The various constructs that were significantly aminoacylated were also tested for amino acid editing by the synthetase. The anticodon and variable stem-loop domains were also dispensable for hydrolysis of the charged tRNA(leu) mimics. These results suggest that LeuRS may rely on identity elements in overlapping domains of the tRNA for both its aminoacylation and editing activities.


DCS provides a powerful hardware and software platform for advanced control for its popularity and improvement. To take full advantage of DCS system, this paper proposes an adaptive fuzzy-neural controller considering of the characteristics of the complex industrial processes. It focuses on the hybrid learning algorithm of adaptive fuzzy and neural network. It uses the interface and programming language of DCS to study the advanced control, and comprises of artificial intelligence, expert system, and fuzzy neural network control. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is illustrated through simulation and the practical usage of complex in resistance furnace temperature control system. It is proven its feasibility and achieves satisfactory control effect.


Thought to be benign anatomical variants, cerebral infundibular dilatations (ID) are most commonly encountered at the junction of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the posterior communicating artery (PcomA). The true nature of this entity remains controversial, as some literature reports suggest they should be considered preaneurysmal lesions and a potential source of devastating subarachnoid hemorrhage. This report describes cases of presumably ruptured IDs and their therapeutic endovascular management. We retrospectively reviewed and analyzed patients with isolated subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) where the only potential cause was ruptured cerebral IDs, treated or not, between January 2012 and June 2021. Morphological and radiological features, treatment and procedural considerations, clinical and angiographic outcomes were also reviewed. Natural history of the ID is poorly understood, and its relation to SAH remains controversial. Ruptured cerebral IDs can be the suspected cause of bleeding if no other vascular lesion is present during multimodal examinations. Endovascular flow diversion stenting is safe and effective for the proper treatment of ruptured IDs. Pending further validations with longitudinal data are needed to legitimate the natural course of these mysterious lesions.


The increasing use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products in digital safety-critical applications is raising concerns about the safety, reliability, and quality of these products. One of the factors involved in addressing these concerns is product testing. A tester's knowledge of the software product will vary, depending on the information available from the product vendor. In some cases, complete source listings, program structures, and other information from the software development may be available. In other cases, only the complete hardwarehoftware package may exist, with the tester having no knowledge of the internal structure of the software. The type of testing that can be used will depend on the information available to the tester. This report describes six different types of testing, which differ in the information used to create the tests, the results that may be obtained, and the limitations of the test types. An Annex contains background information on types of faults encountered in testing, and a Glossary of pertinent terms is also included.


This review paper is a comprehensive summary of the traditional uses, phytochemical composition, pharmacological activity and compounds isolated from different specie of Elephantopus, family (asteraceae). The plant is a genus of about twelve plants out of which majority are natives of south east USA. It is used in traditional folk medicine for the treatment of nephritis, oedema, dampness, pain in the chest, fever, scabies, arthralgia due to wound and cough of Pneumonia. It is also used as a tonic, febrifuge, and diaphoretic against cough, bronchitis, and asthma. Phytochemicals identified in this plant, includes flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, carbohydrates and proteins. Previous studies on the plant revealed various pharmacological activities, which are attributed to its phytochemical content.These activities include analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiasthmatic, antimicrobial and wound healing properties. Compounds isolated from different solvent fractions of the plant includes elephantopin, triterpenes, stigmasterol epifriedelinol and lupeol.Other compounds are copaene isopropyl  dimethyl hexahydronaphthalene, cyclosativene and  Zingiberene from the essential oils of Elephantopus scaber In conclusion, Elephantopus sp has wide traditional and pharmacological uses in various disease conditions. Therefore, further research is advocated on this plant. Key words : Elephantopus specie , traditional medicine, pharmacological actions, phytochemical constituents and compounds isolated.


In recent years, the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become a useful mechanism to monitor physical phenomena in environments. The sensors that make part of these long-lived networks have to be reconfigured according to context changes in order to preserve the operation of the network. Such reconfigurations require to consider the distributed nature of the sensor nodes as well as their resource scarceness. Therefore, self-adaptations for WSNs have special requirements comparing with traditional information systems. In particular, the reconfiguration of the WSN requires a trade-off between critical dimensions for this kind of networks and devices, such as resource consumption or reconfiguration cost. Thus, in this paper, we propose to exploit Constraint-Satisfaction Problem (CSP) techniques in order to find a suitable configuration for self-adapting WSNs, modelled using a Dynamic Software Product Line (DSPL), when the context changes. We exploit CSP modeling to find a compromise between contradictory dimensions. To illustrate our approach, we use an Intelligent Transportation System scenario. This case study enables us to show the advantages of obtaining suitable and optimized configurations for self-adapting WSNs.


In order to achieve a long burning time period in a fusion experimental reactor and a steady state operation in a Large Helical Device, LHD, the heat flux and the particle flow have to be adequately controlled, in addition to the suppressions of the plasma surface interactions such as erosions and recyclings. Recently, in Japan, high heat flux components which can remove the fluxes of 30 MW/m2 and 10 MW/m2, have been developed for ITER and LHD, respectively. In addition, the divertor concepts such as a Local Island Divertor and ripple limiters were progressed both for LHD and ITER. The data on erosion and hydrogen recycling were accumulated for low Z materials such as lithium, boron and boron carbide. It is shown that the conditioning for the boron-containing material is significantly easier compared with the case of graphite or CFC. Others activities associated with the plasma facing materials such as tritium and neutron damage are also briefly introduced.


Presentation of the case of a 23-year old male diagnosed with bilateral renal angiomyolipomas associated to florid tuberous sclerosis, who presented with intense haematuria. The patient was treated conservatively by means of arterial selective embolization, later followed by nephrectomy due to persistence of bleeding. Assessment of the different therapeutic possibilities.


While there is evidence of associations between spatial skills and mathematics, relatively few studies explore these associations in children aged 5-10 years. I will present findings from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to highlight the importance of spatial skills as both longitudinal and concurrent predictors of mathematics. First, secondary data analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study indicates that spatial performance at both 5 and 7 years is a significant predictor of mathematics at age 7 (N = 12099). Second, cross-sectional findings from children aged 5-10 years (N=156), suggest that spatial skills explain 10-12% of the variation in standardised maths performance and approximate number sense, even after accounting for vocabulary skills. That is, spatial scaling was a significant predictor of mathematics for all age groups, while the role of mental rotation and mental folding varied with age. These findings have implications for the design of mathematics interventions customised for specific developmental stages.


The author considers the transaction costs implied by the long-term depreciation of the  Italian lira, which produced a sort of paradox: the lira is the monetary unit in Italy, but one lira coins or notes do not exist. According to the author such depreciation produces several distortions and should be tackled through a regrouping of the currency. JEL: E42


Quality financial reports are a form of accountability reporting entities to the public. The existence of quality finance is an indicator of good financial performance for an entity. This study aims to examine the role of Human Resources (HR) competence in optimizing business digitization and its effect on the quality of financial reports. This research is based on the problem of low quality of financial reports because accounting HR is not yet literate in accounting and IT and there is still low financial digitization in several central and regional government agencies in Indonesia. Descriptive analysis method with a quantitative approach is used to test the influence between variables and the survey was conducted by distributing questionnaires to the respondents, namely 30 employees of the Accounting and Budgeting Division at the Bandung City Financial and Asset Management Agency. Multiple linear regression with SPSS 25.0 software, was used to test the effect of the variables studied. The research findings show that human resource competence has a high contribution to the optimization of financial digitization and the quality of financial reports is influenced by the optimization of financial digitization. This research contributes to improving financial accountability and the successful implementation of good governance in Indonesia. Quality financial reports are produced by HR who have the knowledge and skills in using available financial applications. the use of effective financial applications supports the successful implementation of financial digitization in the public sector.


Given the chronicity and uncertainty of lupus, patients and their family members will face physical, financial, social, and emotional challenges that can be overwhelming. This article records the experiences of three different families affected by lupus. Although these patients and families are very different, their perspectives identify common emotional challenges. Understanding these experiences from their perspectives can help facilitate an assessment that is highly attuned to the potential psychosocial impact of lupus on the patient and the family.


This article explores the informal seed business, focusing on the yellow bean in Tanzania. The yellow bean is a major bean type traded, yet little is known about the seed supply that fuels it. The survey research in 2019 encompassed larger grain traders, informal seed traders, and retailers, covered major production, distribution and sale hubs, and was complemented by GIS mapping of seed and grain flows and DNA fingerprinting of yellow bean samples. Results showed that traders buy and sell grain and informal seed: it is not one business or the other, but both. Informal seed is an important moneymaker, representing between 15 and 40% of trader business in non-sowing and sowing periods, respectively. In the year monitored, 100% of the yellow bean seed was drawn from the informal sector, amounting to $US 4.35 million just among those sampled. Nevertheless, the informal and formal sectors are clearly linked, as over 60% of the beans sampled derived from modern varieties. Informal traders prove key for: sustaining the grain business, serving the core of the seed business, and moving varieties at scale. More explicit efforts are needed to link the informal sector to formal research and development partners in order to achieve even broader impacts.


In this paper, we describe the formatting guidelines for ACM SIG Proceedings. Knowledge discovery is the process of analysing data for future planning. The nature of data and anomalies are different in different record data sets. The problem of detecting contextual anomalies in data sets is also different from the traditional anomaly detection problem. A time series is a chronological sequence of observations on a particular variable. Usually the observations are taken at regular intervals (days, months, years), but the sampling could be irregular. A time series analysis consists of two steps- building a model that represents a time series, and using the model to predict (forecast) future values. Anomaly depends on many factors such as temperature (season), Soil type etc. In our paper we proposed semi supervised learning for sericulture database. In sericulture the production of cocoons are analysed. The best, average and poor class label values depend on two approaches (1) Attributes like process knowledge, temperature, soil type, variety of mulberry plantation, use of fertilizers, turn of plantation etc. (2) Attribute contribution in terms of percentage. In semi supervised learning method in which input is line data stream and huge in nature. In the data stream, we can define class label val0ues for some instances but few instances are outlier. Outlier instances can be analysed using unsupervised learning. For semi supervised learning we are implementing Bayesian classification and rule based algorithm.


Treatment for the deadly brain tumor glioblastoma (GBM) has been improved through the non-invasive addition of alternating electric fields, called tumor treating fields (TTFields). Improving both progression-free and overall survival, TTFields are currently approved for treatment of recurrent GBMs as a monotherapy and in the adjuvant setting alongside TMZ for newly diagnosed GBMs. These TTFields are known to inhibit mitosis, but the full molecular impact of TTFields remains undetermined. Therefore, we sought to understand the ability of TTFields to disrupt the growth patterns of and induce kinomic landscape shifts in TMZ-sensitive and -resistant GBM cells. We determined that TTFields significantly decreased the growth of TMZ-sensitive and -resistant cells. Kinomic profiling predicted kinases that were induced or repressed by TTFields, suggesting possible therapy-specific vulnerabilities. Serving as a potential pro-survival mechanism for TTFields, kinomics predicted the increased activity of platelet-derived growth-factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα). We demonstrated that the addition of the PDGFR inhibitor, crenolanib, to TTFields further reduced cell growth in comparison to either treatment alone. Collectively, our data suggest the efficacy of TTFields in vitro and identify common signaling responses to TTFields in TMZ-sensitive and -resistant populations, which may support more personalized medicine approaches.


The aim of this research was to study the effect of different plants on soil organic matter (SOM) composition. The composition of SOM was studied in a field experiment established in 1964 on a carbonaceous glacial till soil with very low initial SOC concentration (1.28 g kg-1). The effects on SOM composition of bare fallow, barley, grasses, and clover-grasses mixture, were studied using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy which is a common tool to characterize SOM. In 2014 the soil samples were collected from 0-5 cm soil layer, air-dried samples sieved through a 2-mm sieve and pretreated with 10% HF solution before NMR spectroscopy analysis. Samples of bulk soil and density fractionated mineral fraction (John et al., 2005) were analyzed. Also, a sample from barley treatment collected in 1966 was analyzed.

O/N-alkyl C was the most abundant C type at the start of the experiment and also in all treatments after 50 years. During 50 years the proportions of O/N-alkyl C and alkyl C increased but contributions of carboxyl C and aromatic C decreased. The ratio of alkyl C/O-alkyl C, which describes the degree of soil organic matter decomposition, decreased from 0.47 (in 1966) to 0.40-0.44 in treatments with plants. In bare fallow treatment, the SOM decomposition stage did not change a lot during the time. In soil mineral fraction the differences between treatments appeared more clearly and the degree of decomposition decreased in line: bare fallow>barley>clover-grasses>grasses (0.49>0.40>0.36>0.34) and this was due to higher O/N-alkyl-C content in treatments with plants. The higher O/N-alkyl C contribution in soil heavy fraction can be attributed to microbially synthesized carbohydrates (Yeasmin et al., 2020) and depended on the amount and properties of C input into the soil in different treatments.

In conclusion, the SOM composition was influenced by plant composition and the effect was more pronounced in soil mineral fraction. The SOM degree of decomposition was higher in treatment with annual crop (barley during 50 years). Under perennial grasses and clover-grasses mixture, the soil organic matter decomposition degree was lower.

This work was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PSG147.

References

John, B., Yamashita, T., Ludwig, B., & Flessa, H. (2005). Storage of organic carbon in aggregate and density fractions of silty soils under different types of land use. Geoderma, 128(1–2), 63–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.12.013

Yeasmin, S., Singh, B., Smernik, R. J., & Johnston, C. T. (2020). Effect of land use on organic matter composition in density fractions of contrasting soils: A comparative study using 13C NMR and DRIFT spectroscopy. Science of the Total Environment, 726, 138395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138395


Snapshot Isolation (SI) level is extensively used in commercial database systems. We developed a simple SI implementation protocol for distributed DBMS and implemented it in the Apache HBase. This work presents the performance evaluation of the protocol in HBase cluster for the OLAP-like workload. We have measured the performance of a singlenode system and validated the model using the obtained results.


When Odysseus tells the Phaeacians his story of Polyphemus in Odyssey 9, he sets his account of violated hospitality within the framework of a Homeric assembly. On a contextual level, the conflation of type-scenes furthers the hero's mission of self-aggrandizement. Consistent with the poetics of "traditional referentiality," in which derogatory comments on the Ithacan's physique invoke his compensatory prowess as an assembly speaker, Odysseus responds to Euryalus'mocking of his appearance (Od. 8.158-64) with an account of himself as towering over the Cyclops in a would-be assembly. On a poetic level, the same conflation serves narrative ends of the Odyssey-poet that transcend those of his hero. To the external audience, the Cyclopes who convene outside the cave only to disperse recall the assembled Ithacans of Book 2, who disband without helping Telemachus. The poet establishes an "Ithacans as Cyclopes" analogy in which Ithacans emerge as monstrously indifferent to the suitors' violation of xeneia. Invading Polyphemus' cave, furthermore, Odysseus displays distinctly Ithacan behaviors and incurs not only the wrath of Poseidon but also the punishing justice of Zeus Xenios.


This study explores the composed elements of a sense of belonging and the consequences of this sense when using technology in the setting of a community-based organization. Previous research on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has indicated that a user's actual behavior in technology use is determined by perceived constructs of technology features, such as usefulness and ease of use. However, based on the interpersonal connection perspective, a person's behavioral intention of technology use can also be influenced by user-perceived acceptance of a group within an organization. The purpose of our research is to clarify the specific role and function of a sense of belonging as well as to explore its potential composed elements and effects on technology use. Our research is based on longitudinal data collected from 107 cabbies in the largest taxi fleet using the Global Positioning System (GPS) dispatching network in Taipei over three time periods. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) show that the sense of belonging comprises two elements: psychological ownership and organizational identity. Furthermore, results of a path analysis using SEM show that the individual's attitude towards technology use is influenced by the sense of belonging, which in turn affects a person's acceptance of actual technology. This paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications.


A simple model is proposed for the liquid crystal matrix surrounding 'soft' colloidal particles whose separation is much smaller than their radii. We use our implementation of the Onsager approximation of density-functional theory (Chrzanowska et al 2001 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 13 4715) to calculate the structure of a nanometrically thin film of hard Gaussian overlap particles of elongations κ = 3 and 5, confined between two solid walls. The penetrability of either substrate can be tuned independently to yield symmetric or hybrid alignment. Comparison with Monte Carlo simulations of the same system (Cleaver and Teixeira 2001 Chem. Phys. Lett. 338 1, Barmes and Cleaver 2004 in preparation) reveals good agreement in the symmetric case.


The paper aims in providing a securely communicating of data between the devices which are nothing but appliance of Home Area Network (HAN) by a set of controller outside the HAN. The packets generated by the controller should be delivered fast without any interruption. The role of an HAN controller is like a gateway, whose role is to filter the incoming packet. Due to this HAN controller, the data in the packets should not be modified & it should not cause any delay in encryption & decryption of the packets. Based on the level of security and quality of service, we design the protocol with an Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) approach. Password Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) protocol is improved & implemented. This consists of two phases. We propose an ECC version of PAKE & later extend this protocol to a multilayer consensus ECC based Password Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) protocol for smart grid. This protocol uses only one hash function & it utilizes a primitive password between the appliance and HAN controller. The four layer individual consensus password-authenticated symmetric key established between the appliance and upstream controllers during only 12 packets.It provides high security level with small key size when compared to RSA algorithm key size which is big with comparison to our proposed protocol. Proposed protocol is resistant against many attacks. It improves & reduces the delay caused by the security process by more than one half. Finally we show that our approach decreases the number of packets & improves the security in smart grid. Key words— Access control, BAN, Consensus, ECC, HAN, NAN, PAKE, Security, Smart grid.


Self-powered supramolecular micropumps could potentially provide a solution for powerless microfluidic devices where the fluid flow can be manipulated via modulating non-covalent interactions. An attempt has been made to fabricate thin-film-based micropumps by depositing a β-cyclodextrin ('host') functionalized polymer on a glass slide via layer-by-layer assembly. These supramolecular micropumps turned on the fluid flow upon addition of 'guest' molecules to the multilayer films. The flow velocity was tuned using the concentration of the guest molecules as well as the number of host layers inside the multilayer films. Numerical modelling reveals that the solutal buoyancy, which originates from host-guest complexation, is primarily responsible for the fluid flow. In view of its potential application in self-powered devices, the thin-film-based micropump was integrated into a microfluidic device to show molecular and colloidal transport over long distances.


Corporate bodies' dominance over various aspects of human's social life, specifically along with the growth of privatization process in the late 20th century is irrefutable and undeniable. Inefficiency of civil and administrative sanctions in preventing the corporate bodies from dangerous activities has made many legal systems to recognize the corporate criminal liability based on the reasons including criminology reality, similar bases for civil and criminal liabilities, higher precision in selection of managers among members and shareholders and difficulty in specifying the faulty corporate bodies. However, liability acceptance is accompanied by the essential questions about criterion for imposing a crime to corporate body; i.e. how can we impose the fault to an authoritative existent? Can physical and mental elements of crime be attributed directly to corporate body or it must be attributed indirectly- vicariously? Do a corporate body's criminal intent and behavior lower to the related members' criminal intent and behavior? Or can we achieve an intent and behavior liability model to prosecute criminal intent and behavior in the corporate body itself as well as its structure without emphasizing on recognition of the guilty person? The law doctrine does not believe in a unique model concerning the crime attribution to a corporate body. Some models including vicarious liability model rely on agency principle and assume the corporate body as indirect liable. On the other hand, some models including Alter Ego Doctrine, Aggregation Doctrine and Corporate Body Policy consider the individual as direct liable. In this paper, we are going to study various approaches to corporate bodies' criminal liability; and it is assumed that appropriate model is one that does not restrict to legal person, but searches for liability in corporate body structure and transfers it from legal person to corporate body.


Eleven composite food groups comprising the infant "market basket" food collections for 1977 or 1978 from each of four dietary regions of the United States were analyzed for their fluoride content. Based upon the determined fluoride content of each composite and Food and Drug Administration estimates of food consumption the daily fluoride intake of an average 6-month-old infant residing in each of the dietary regions was calculated. The daily fluoride intake varied from 0.207 mg/day in Grand Rapids, Mich. (north central dietary region) to 0.541 mg/day in Orlando, Fla. (south dietary region). Flouride intakes of 0.272 and 0.354 mg/day were calculated for Philadelphia, Pa. (northeast dietary region) and Los Angeles, Calif. (west dietary region), respectively. The fluoride content of the water supplies ranged from 0.37 ppm (Los Angeles) to 1.04 ppm (Grand Rapids). Drinking water, dairy products and substitutes (other than milk), and grain and cereal products contributed 44 to 80% of the daily fluoride intake. In three of the four dietary regions the daily fluoride intake was less than the optimum level of 0.05 mg/kg body weight.


Relational database management systems have been widely used in industry for many years. Although there has been much research done for developing object-oriented database systems recently, it is believed that relational database systems will still dominate the market for many years. On the other hand, object-oriented programming languages become more acceptable by software developers. It is therefore important to develop appropriate facilities in an object-oriented programming language for accessing and programming relational database systems. Our work described in this paper addresses the interoper-ability issue, in particular the impedance mismatch problem between the query language of a relational database and an object-oriented programming language. This approach is to develop an integrated persistent object-oriented programming environment with access and programming support to relational database systems.


Simple Summary Studies over the last decade have shown that cells can communicate with neighboring or distant cells through complex packets stuffed with selected proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, called extracellular vesicles. The wrapped macromolecules are miRNAs, which play a central role in mediating the signal communication of creatural patho/physiological systems. Extracellular vesicle-miRNAs vary among species and different body fluids, such as milk, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and blood, providing general and individual characters of the vesicles. Cow's milk is significant in the supply of human nutrition. Therefore, the extracellular vesicle-related physiological process of dairy cows should be of concern. This study clarified the miRNA profiling of bovine serum and found their potential influence on immunity. Moreover, we found that different diets could affect miRNA expression. The results implied that people could implement effective dietary strategies to intervene in the physiological state of animals. Abstract Cells can communicate with neighboring or distant cells using extracellular vesicles (EVs), mainly attributed to their containing miRNAs. Given that diets can change host circulatory miRNA profiling, and EVs are the major miRNA carriers in serum, we hypothesized that different diets could change bovine circulating EV-miRNA expression. We partly replaced alfalfa hay with whole cotton seed and soybean hull in the feed formula of the tested cows. Blood EVs were isolated using a polyethylene glycol precipitation kit. Particle size analysis revealed exosomes were dominant in bovine serum EVs. Small RNAs were enriched in bovine serum EVs, including miRNAs, snRNAs, tiRNAs, Cis-regulatory elements, piRNAs, etc. In total, 359 types of Bos taurus miRNAs were identified by Solexa sequencing. Each cow in the control group contained about 244 types of serum EV-miRNAs, compared to 246 types in the tested group. There were 15 immune-related miRNAs in the top 20 serum EV-miRNAs, accounting for about 80% of the total. Seven differently expressed known miRNAs were detected in responding to different diets. An analysis of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) showed differently expressed miRNAs were related to hormone signal pathways and protein metabolism. Bovine serum EVs are abundant with miRNAs, most of which are immune-related. Different diets eventually change the miRNA profiling of bovine serum EVs.


The paper presents evaluation of the nervous system and bioelectric functioning of the brain (EEG) in 114 workers aged 20-62, employed in significant exposure to vinyl chloride for 1-28 years, on average--7.5 +/- 4.0. Clinical symptoms of the nervous system occurred in form of peripheral--vegetative syndrome with accompanying vasomotor disturbances of Raynaud syndrome type EEG yielded 39 (34,2%) correct and 75 (65,8%) incorrect records. Among incorrect records most frequent (32.5%) were low-voltage and flat records; of this--those with fast spindled activity and frequent changes typical for reduced wakefulness. The nature of clinical symptoms and EEG disturbances may point to the contribution of hypothalamus in the pathomechanism of changes in those chronically exposed to vinyl chloride.


Plant architecture is an important determinant of crop performance and agro-ecological adaptation. In this study, a field experiment was carried out during the 2008–2009 season to study the architecture of two winter wheat cultivars in situ with a 3-D digitizer at the grain filling stage. The parameters describing plant architecture were analyzed and 3-D light capture and potential carbon gain of the plant were calculated. Simulation results showed that light capture and potential carbon gain were more uniformly distributed for the cultivar with more erect leaves. At the grain filling stage, the photosynthetic contributions were about 55%, 49% and 30% for flag leaf, ear, and stem relative to total leaf photosynthesis.


Proteins secreted from skeletal muscle, termed myokines, allow muscle to impact systemic physiology and disease. Myokines play critical roles in a variety of processes, including metabolic homeostasis, exercise improvements, inflammation, cancer and cognitive functions1–6. Despite the clear relevance of these factors in mediating a multitude of physiological outcomes, the genetic architecture, regulation and functions of myokines, as well as degree of conservation of these communication circuits remains inadequately understood. Given that biologic sex controls critical aspects of nearly every physiologic outcome, it is essential to consider when relating specific mechanisms to complex genetic and metabolic interactions. Specifically, many metabolic traits impacted by myokines show striking sex differences arising from hormonal7–10, genetic7,11 or gene-by-sex interactions12,13. In this study, we performed a genetic survey of myokine gene regulation and cross-tissue signaling in humans where sex as a biological variable was emphasized. While expression levels of a majority of myokines and cell proportions within skeletal muscle showed little differences between males and females, nearly all significant cross-tissue enrichments operated in a sex-specific or hormone-dependent fashion; in particular, with estrogens. These sex- and hormone-specific effects were consistent across key metabolic tissues: liver, pancreas, hypothalamus, intestine, heart, visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Skeletal muscle estrogen receptor enrichments across metabolic tissues appeared stronger than androgen receptor and, surprisingly, ~3-fold higher in males compared to females. To define the causal roles of estrogen signaling on myokine gene expression and functions, we generated male and female mice which lack estrogen receptor α (Esr1) specifically in skeletal muscle and integrated global RNA-Sequencing with human data. These analyses highlighted mechanisms of sex-dependent myokine signaling conserved between species, such as myostatin enriched for divergent substrate utilization pathways between sexes. Several other sex-dependent mechanisms of myokine signaling were uncovered, such as muscle-derived TNFα exerting stronger inflammatory signaling in females compared to males and GPX3 as a male-specific link between glycolytic fiber abundance and hepatic inflammation. Collectively, we provide the first genetic survey of human myokines and highlight sex and estrogen receptor signaling as critical variables when assaying myokine functions and how changes in cell composition impact other metabolic organs.


The effect of annealing temperature on the structural properties of Al-N codoped ZnO films were studied by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. ZnO films were deposited by sputtering technique on silicon substrates at 20 oC, Al-concentration was kept constant and N-flow was changed to 6, 12 and 15 sccm. A thermal treatment was performed by annealing the sample during 30 minutes at 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 °C. Before annealing, Raman spectra shows two vibration modes located at 275 and 580 cm-1 associated to the nitrogen incorporation and the presence of point defects. Both Raman intensities of modes I275 and I580 decreases when the nitrogen flow increases from 6 to 12 and 15 sccm, which is originated by a decreasing interstitial defects density. The improving of the crystal quality was confirmed by x-ray diffraction and room temperature photoluminescence measurements. After annealing, in the Raman spectra it was observed that I275 increases as the temperature increase, reaches a maximum intensity between 500 and 600 °C, and decreases for higher temperatures. X-ray diffraction measurements show that after annealing the compressive stress decrease progressively as the annealing temperature increase. This study suggests that 275 Raman mode could be used to estimate the optimal thermal treatment in order to achieve pdoping ZnO.


Introduction: Several studies have demonstrated constitutive activation of the JAK-STAT pathway in MM through dysregulated signaling of cytokines such as IL-6. In addition to its crucial role in promoting the growth, proliferation and survival of myeloma cells, IL-6 is also a potent stimulator of osteoclastogenesis and influences the tumor microenvironment in the bone marrow (BM) of MM patients by promoting an immunosuppressive milieu. Since JAK1 has been shown to be important for IL-6 signaling in MM, studies to assess the effect of JAK1 inhibition alone and in combination with other anti-MM agents were undertaken. Methods: The human MM cell lines RPMI8226 and U266 were obtained from ATCC and MM1S was kindly supplied by Steven Rosen, MD (Northwestern University, Chicago, IL). BM aspirates were obtained from patients with MM as approved by the Institutional Review Board (Western IRB BIO 001) and informed consent was obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. BM mononuclear cells (MCs) were isolated using density-gradient centrifugation with Histopaque-1077 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO). All cells were maintained in RPMI1640 (Omega Scientific, Tarzana, CA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 2mM l-glutamine, 100 IU/mL penicillin and 100 µg/mL streptomycin, in an atmosphere of 5% carbon dioxide at 37◦C. Primary MM BMMCs were cultured in the presence of the JAK1 selective inhibitor INCB052793 plus a panel of anti-MM agents including the alkylating agents cyclophosphamide (CY), melphalan (MEL), and bendamustine (BEN), the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib (CAR), dexamethasone (DEX) or the immunomodulatory agents lenalidomide (LEN) and pomalidomide (POM). Cells from RPMI8226 or U266 MM cell lines were cultured in the presence of INCB052793 plus CY, MEL, BEN, CAR, DEX, LEN, or POM. After 48 hours, cell viability was assessed using the MTS assay. For the in vivo studies, mice were implanted with a piece of the human MM tumor LAGk-1A. Seven days post-implantation, mice were randomized into treatment groups, and tumor size was measured on a weekly basis. All in vivo studies were approved by the institutional animal care and use committee. Results: In vitro studies demonstrated that combinations of INCB052793 with a broad spectrum of anti-MM agents synergistically inhibited the viability of BMMCs from MM patients. INCB052793 plus the three alkylating agents or CAR synergistically inhibited the viability of these cells. INCB052793 plus CY or MEL also significantly decreased the viability of the MM1 cell line. In vivo, LAGk-1A-bearing mice had significantly smaller tumors when treated with INCB052793 alone when compared to vehicle control at day 35 post implantation. This was in contrast to mice treated with single agent DEX, LEN or POM. Although the combination of INCB052793 with DEX, LEN or POM did not synergistically inhibit MM cell line growth in vitro, mice receiving the doublets of INCB052793 and DEX, LEN or POM demonstrated an effect on tumor growth that was superior to the doublets of DEX with LEN or POM. Mice receiving the triple combination of INCB052793 + DEX with LEN or POM demonstrated the most significant reduction in tumor growth compared with all other combinations tested. The inhibition of tumor growth with these combinations was observed throughout the study (through day 70) and all combinations were well tolerated. Concomitant with effects on tumor growth, a significant reduction in serum human IgG levels was also observed. In a separate study also using the LAGk-1A model, we evaluated the combination of INCB052793 with CAR or bortezomib (BOR). Combinations of INCB052793 + CAR or BOR were superior at inhibiting tumor growth when compared to single agent INCB052793. Conclusion: These in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies demonstrate that the combination of the JAK1 inhibitor INCB052793 with a broad spectrum of anti-MM agents are effective, and provide further support for the clinical evaluation of these drug combinations for treating MM patients. Studies to further understand the mechanistic effects of these combinations on MM signaling and the tumor microenvironment are ongoing. Disclosures Berenson:Amgen Inc: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


The aim of this study was to investigate the role of S100 calcium binding protein A16 (S100A16) in lipid metabolism in hepatocytes and its possible biological mechanism. HepG2 cells (human hepatoma cell line) were cultured with fatty acid to establish fatty acid culture model. The control model was cultured without fatty acid. Each model was divided into three groups and transfected with S100a16 over-expression, shRNA and vector plasmids, respectively. The concentration of triglyceride (TG) in the cells was measured by kit, and the lipid droplets was observed by oil red O staining. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were used to find the interesting proteins interacting with S100A16, and the interaction was verified by immunoprecipitation. The further mechanism was studied by Western blot and qRT-PCR. The results showed that the intracellular lipid droplet and TG concentrations in the fatty acid culture model were significantly higher than those in the control model. The accumulation of intracellular fat in the S100a16 over-expression group was significantly higher than that in the vector plasmid transfection group. There was an interaction between heat shock protein A5 (HSPA5) and S100A16. Over-expression of S100A16 up-regulated protein expression levels of HSPA5, inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) and pIREα1, which belong to endoplasmic reticulum stress HSPA5/IRE1α-XBP1 pathway. Meanwhile, over-expression of S100A16 up-regulated the mRNA expression levels of adipose synthesis-related gene Srebp1c, Acc and Fas. In the S100a16 shRNA plasmid transfection group, the above-mentioned protein and mRNA levels were lower than those of vector plasmid transfection group. These results suggest that S100A16 may promote lipid synthesis in HepG2 cells through endoplasmic reticulum stress HSPA5/IRE1α-XBP1 pathway.


Coccinia indica is a creeper which grows wildly in Bangladesh and in many parts of the Indian sub-continent. The plant has been used since ancient times as an antidiabetic drug by physicians who practice the Indian system of medicine known as Ayurvedha. We have conducted a double blind control trial with preparation from the leaves of the plant on uncontrolled, maturity onset diabetics. The trial lasted for six weeks for an individual patient. Out of the 16 patients who received the experimental preparations 10 showed marked improvement in their glucose tolerance while none out of the 16 patients in the dummy group showed such a marked improvement. This difference is highly significant (kappa 2 with Yates' correction = 11.7, P < 0.001).


Objective: Anxiety and depression are common and independently predict mortality in patients with heart failure. The mechanisms of these interrelations are still unclear. Consequently, we developed a model in C57BL/6 mice with experimental myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure to study anxiety- or depression-like behavior. Methods: Heart failure was achieved after coronary artery ligation in 13 mice; 16 sham operated mice acted as controls. Left ventricular (LV) remodeling was assessed by echocardiography, infarct size by histology. Sucrose preference test was performed over a period of 8 weeks to assess depression-like behavior. The elevated plus maze (EPM), the light-dark box (LDB) and the open field (OF) tests were subsequently applied to determine general disinterest and anxiety-like behavior. Finally, the histological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the brain was performed. Results: Mice with MI size of at least 30% of LV (averaged 50±3%; increase in diastolic LV diameter from 0.40±0.02 cm to 0.62±0.03 cm) showed diminished intake (p=0.029) and preference (p=0.029) for sucrose solution. Besides, MI mice exhibited reduced exploratory behavior and markedly lower interest in unfamiliar environments, indicated by an increase in center time (p=0.016) and a reduced number of vertical rears (p=0.037) in the EPM. An increased latency to the first rear (p=0.018), covered shorter distances (p=0.048) and spent less time moving (p=0.028) in the OF were found in MI mice. MI did not affect anxiety-related measures in all three tests (all p>0.05). MI mice showed normal brain morphology with normal neuronal morphology and neuropil structure, also confirmed by normal expression of selected neuronal markers. Markers for neurodegeneration, apoptosis or inflammation showed no abnormalities in MI mice. Conclusions: Mice with MI exhibited anhedonia-like behavior, which was accompanied by other characteristics of depression-like behavior, such as decreased exploratory activity and interest in novelty. Hence, MI caused distinct behavioral changes in mice comparable to symptoms observed in humans with heart failure and comorbid depression, but did not affect anxiety-like behavior. The model is suitable for further mechanistic studies.


Designing conversational user interface experience is complicated because conversation comes with many expectations. When these expectations are met, we feel the interface is natural, but once violated, we feel something is amiss. The last decade witnessed human language technologies and behaviours to enable humans converse with software using spoken dialogue to access, create and process information. Less is known about the practicalities of designing chatbot interactions. In this paper, we introduce the nature of conversational user interfaces (CUIs) and describe the underlying technologies they are based on. Moreover, we define guidelines for designing conversational interfaces in various domains. This paper particularly focuses on classifying the elements and techniques used in CUI design patterns. After concluding certain challenges with CUI, we discuss important features and chatbot states to be considered in CUI design for specific domain. We envisage this study to support CUI researchers to design tailored chatbots applicable into certain domain and improve the current state of research challenges in the field of Artificial Intelligence and conversational agents.


I went down yesterday to the Piraeus with Glaucon the son of Ariston, that I might offer up my prayers to the goddess; and also because I wanted to see in what manner they would celebrate the festival, which was a new thing. I was delighted with the procession of the inhabitants; but that of the Thracians was equally, if not more, beautiful. When we had finished our prayers and viewed the spectacle, we turned in the direction of the city; and at that instant Polemarchus, the son of Cephalus, chanced to catch sight of us from a distance as we were starting on our way home, and told his servant to run and bid us wait for him. The servant took hold of me by the cloak behind, and said, Polemarchus desires you to wait.


The present work deals with the characterization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) filled and unfilled short carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin composites.Short carbon fibres (10 mm) were selected from different processing stages such as i) white colour polyacrylontrile fibres (PAN), ii) pre-carbonized carbon fibres (Precarbonized CF), iii) oxidized carbon fibres (OPF), iv) fully carbonized carbon fibres (CF-low) and v) sized carbon fibres (CF Sized).The effects of MWCNTs on mechanical and electrical properties of short carbon fibres reinforced epoxy resin composites were characterized by three points bending test, hardness test, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, electrical conductivity test, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the mechanical and electrical properties of the investigated materials markedly depend on the type of short fibres and on the presence of MWCNTs.


Evidence is accumulating that premature infants run the risk of developing megaloblastic anaemia or other evidence of folic acid deficiency during the first two to three months of life (Gray and Butler, 1965; Shojania and Gross, 1964; Strelling, Blackledge, Goodall, and Walker, 1966). The present study was carried out to compare the folic acid status of premature infants during the first eight months of life with that of full-term infants, and to see which of the former might be particularly vulnerable to folic acid deficiency. Detailed results on the folic acid status of full-term infants have recently been published (Vanier and Tyas, 1966).


Some of AEP's (American Electric Power) state estimator experience over a period of thirteen years is reported. The scenarios of several unusual system events are described. Justification for a new estimator, which has been in service for nearly three years and can accommodate measurements other than line flows, is provided. The AEP metering system and specification of measurement weights which support the estimator have been explained. Some recommendations for new features in the state estimator package are given. >


Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a common complication after the treatment of breast cancer. The objective of this study was to determine whether the use of an intermittent pneumatic pump (IPC) could manage lymphedema effectively. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for related trials to compare the percent of volume reduction and subjective symptoms. Results: 7 randomized controlled trials, with 287 patients, were included. Results showed that the use of the IPC could alleviate lymphedema, but no significant difference between routine management of lymphedema with or without pneumatic pump existed. Conclusion: Current trials fail to show the effectiveness of the addition of an IPC to the routine management of BCRL.


Increasing the pH of epidurally administered local anesthetics hastens their onset of action and improves the quality of neural blockade. The effect of body position on the epidural spread of alkalinized 2% chloroprocaine HCl for the second stage of labor has not been reported. We studied the epidural cephalad and caudad spread of 2% chloroprocaine buffered with sodium bicarbonate administered epidurally at the beginning of the second stage of labor. We randomly assigned 30 patients to one of two groups, each consisting of 15 patients. Group 1 received an epidural redose in the upright position, and the patients in group 2 received a redose in the supine position. There were no differences with respect to the sacral or cephalad spread. From the results of this study, we conclude that patients may receive epidurally administered 2% chloroprocaine late during the first stage of labor while in a supine position.


Terbium (Tb) or europium (Eu)-doped fluorapatite nanorods (Tb/Eu-FHA) were prepared using a hydrothermal method. The structure, morphology, and luminescence of the products were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence spectra (PL). The surfaces of the Tb/Eu-FHA nanorods were further conjugated with hydrophilic cationic polymers, such as dextran, to enhance hydrophilicity, biocompatibility and cell penetration. Then, the dextran-coated nanorods were cocultured with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). A luminescence signal in the cells was detected after 12 hours with a laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). Labelled BMSCs were shown to reproducibly exhibit osteogenic differentiation potential in real-time PCR and ELISA assays. In vivo cell-tracking experiments also suggested that dextran-coated Tb-FHA nanorods could be used as a stable tracer of BMSCs. Therefore, dextran-coated Tb-FHA nanorods can be utilised for tracking and monitoring BMSCs in vitro and in vivo. Our current work attempts to provide an excellent fluorescent cell labelling agent for BMSCs in bone tissue engineering.


Despite significant advances in biology and medicine, the incidence and mortality due to cancer world-wide is still unacceptably high. With the goal of detection and eradication of disease, our overall strategy had been to identify a novel molecular indicator, Epithelial Membrane Protein 2 (EMP2), which is 'targetable9 and 'permeable9. EMP2 is a tetraspan protein that is expressed in a distinct subset of several cancers including breast, endometrial, ovarian, and brain. For instance, EMP2 expression is increased in 65% of breast cancer patients, independent of hormone receptor status and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) expression. EMP2 levels are elevated in early cancer lesions as well as during tumor progression and in metastasis. These factors allowed us to propose utilizing EMP2 as a target for cancer therapy of EMP2 positive tumors. We have previously shown that an anti-EMP2 IgG1 is successful at reducing breast and endometrial cancer tumor load. As the antibody-antigen complex rapidly internalizes, we have created an anti-EMP2 drug conjugate to improve on the efficacy of the naked antibody. Our second generation antibody includes the toxin monomethyl auristatin (MMAE), a potent microtubule-disrupting toxin, conjugated to the fully human anti-EMP2 IgG1 through both the protease cleavable linker and chemical non-cleavable linker. In this conjugation strategy, MMAE was conjugated using Click Chemistry reaction to the hinge region of the anti-EMP2 IgG1 antibody through rebridging disulfide bond technology to improve ADC stability, homogeneity, and especially pharmacological properties in vivo . The resulting anti-EMP2 IgG-MMAE ADC efficacy was evaluated and compared to the naked antibody in the aspect of antigen binding and specificity as well as in vitro cytotoxic effects. In viv o, the anti-EMP2 ADCs were evaluated for serum stability and anti-tumor efficacy. Anti-EMP2 IgG1 drug conjugate exhibits potent in vitro binding, internalization and cytotoxicity on a number of EMP2 positive and negative cancer cell lines. As a successful proof of principle, both the cleavable and non-cleavable anti-EMP2 IgG1-MMAE antibodies showed potent cytotoxic effects using a panel of cell lines including breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer cells with an EC50 at least 10 times less than that required for the naked antibody. Currently, we are evaluating the anti-tumor efficacy of the antibody in vivo with the ultimate goal of showing that the anti-EMP2 drug conjugate improves survival as a single agent with minimal to no toxicity. Acknowledgement: Funded by the UCLA Tumor Cell Biology Training Program (USHHS Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award # T32 CA009056) and Citation Format: Shabnam Mohandessi, Teevit Dunnsiri, Chinmayi Aryasomayajula, Madhuri Wadehra. Anti-EMP2 IgG Mono Methyl Auristatin E (MMAE) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) as a potential cancer therapeutic. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Targeting the Vulnerabilities of Cancer; May 16-19, 2016; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(1_Suppl):Abstract nr B40.


Low disk drive utilization suggests that placing the drive into a power saving mode during idle times may decrease power consumption. We present PREFiguRE, a robust framework that aims at harvesting future idle intervals for power savings while meeting strict quality constraints: first, it contains potential delays in serving IO requests that occur during power savings since the time to bring up the disk is not negligible, and second, it ensures that the power saving mechanism is triggered a few times only, such that the disk wear-out due to powering up and down does not compromise the disk's lifetime. PREFiguRE is based on an analytic methodology that uses the histogram of idle times to determine schedules for power saving modes as a function of the preceding constraints. PREFiguRE facilitates analysis for the evaluation of the trade-offs between power savings and quality targets for the current workload. Extensive experimentation on a set of enterprise storage traces illustrates PREFiguRE's effectiveness to consistently achieve high power savings without undermining disk reliability and performance.


Infection of human erythrocytes with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum induces new permeability pathways (NPPs) in the host cell membrane. Isotopic flux measurements demonstrated that the NPP are permeable to a wide variety of molecules, thus allowing uptake of nutrients and release of waste products. Recent patch-clamp recordings demonstrated the infection-induced up-regulation of an inwardly and an outwardly rectifying Cl− conductance. The present experiments have been performed to explore the sensitivity to cell volume and the organic osmolyte permeability of the two conductances. It is shown that the outward rectifier has a high relative lactate permeability (Plactate/PCl = 0.4). Sucrose inhibited the outward-rectifier and abolished the infection-induced hemolysis in isosmotic sorbitol solution but had no or little effect on the inward-rectifier. Furosemide and NPPB blocked the outward-rectifying lactate current and the sorbitol hemolysis with IC50s in the range of 0.1 and 1 μM, respectively. In contrast, the IC50s of NPPB and furosemide for the inward-rectifying current were >10 μM. Osmotic cell-shrinkage inhibited the inwardly but not the outwardly rectifying conductance. In conclusion, the parasite-induced outwardly-rectifying anion conductance allows permeation of lactate and neutral carbohydrates, whereas the inward rectifier seems largely impermeable to organic solutes. All together, these data should help to resolve ongoing controversy regarding the number of unique channels that exist in P. falciparum–infected erythrocytes.


Characterization of T. vaginalis strains isolated from symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects was done by isoenzyme analysis. The pathogenicity of these isolates was checked in mouse model and in vivo drug susceptibility was determined. The isolates from symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals could not be grouped on the basis of isoenzyme analysis alone. All the strains except one, were pathogenic for mice, and metronidazole (50 mg/kg body weight) was effective in protecting the mice from T. vaginalis infection.


Abstract A remarkable study was carried out during the Second World War on the feasibility of building large ships from ice. It received support at the highest political level because of the need for floating platforms to support aircraft operations. Extensive investigations were carried out on the mechanical properties of plain and reinforced ice and on the structural and operational characteristics of the proposed vessels. Investigations on methods for reinforcing ice led to the development of 'pykrete', a frozen mixture of water and wood pulp that was appreciably stronger and tougher than plain ice. The studies on the structural and operational characteristics of the vessels showed that the work required to design, construct and demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the ships would be far greater than originally thought. This paper gives an abbreviated description of the work that was done, based on project files in Great Britain and Canada, which led to the conclusion that it was technically possible to build ships from ice, but that during wartime it would be too costly in terms of manpower and strategic materials.


India is the second most populated country in the world. Due to economic growth and rapid urbanization, there is : rapid growth in population especially in metropolitan cities like Bangalore. This population growth causes lot of traffic congestion in urban roads and sometimes, leads to accidents. This problems can be solved by effective use of Intelligent Transport systems. Electronic toll collection at urban toll plaza, needs to be implemented for avoiding congestions at peak hours. Also, separate bus lanes need to be constructed in congested areas of the city. This bus lanes, known as BRT(Bus Rapid Transit) systems should be equipped with electronic fare collection, passenger information systems etc. This paper presents survey details of electronic toll collection and also propose BRT lanes for the selected stretch in Bangalore city.


In pig production, production efficiency is effectuated by formulating diets that meet the pigs' nutrient requirement for maintenance and production (i.e. growth, reproduction). The amount of nutrients available to the pig, depends on the nutrient content of the diet and on the ability of pigs to digest and absorb these nutrients from their gastrointestinal tract. The availability, but also the utilization of absorbed nutrients for metabolic processes (e.g. heat production, protein and fat synthesis), depends on the kinetics of nutrient digestion after ingestion of feed. Digestion is the aggregated process of passage, hydrolysis, and absorption of nutrients and endogenous secretions by organs and tissues involved. These processes determine at what rate and to what extent (i.e. kinetics) nutrients are digested and absorbed. Current feed evaluation systems, used to formulate pig diets, do not take into account the kinetics of nutrient digestion. To gain insight into the impact of nutrient digestion kinetics on absorption of nutrients in pigs, a computer model was developed as aim of the research described in this thesis. The work described in this thesis provides insight on the quantitative relations between the kinetics of digesta passage and diet viscosity (Chapter 2), diet solubility, and feed intake level (Chapter 3). In addition, the thesis presents further data on the variation in protein hydrolysis kinetics among feed ingredients used in practice for pigs diets (Chapter 4). The dynamic mechanistic computer model: 'SNAPIG', described and evaluated in this thesis (Chapter 5), simulates variation in the kinetics of nutrient digestion and absorption in growing pigs. It is a promising tool that can be used to predict the kinetics of nutrient absorption in pigs fed diets varying in feed ingredient and physicochemical properties.


How does this book differ from the standard textbooks of medicine? In the preface, the editor states that the book focuses on "patient management in a broad range of diseases and disorders [as practiced] by the specialists and superspecialists of the major private clinics in the United States." He notes that such clinics are committed to excellence in medical care and to cost-efficient practices. The editor further notes that the authors tried to be thorough but make no claim to cover completely the clinical practice of internal medicine. The text was written by approximately 270 contributing authors who practice at 14 reputable private clinics, including the Cleveland Clinic, Lahey Clinic (Burlington, Mass), Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn), Ochsner Clinic (New Orleans), and Palo Alto (Calif) Medical Clinic. It includes 232 chapters divided among one section on general patient care and 13 sections based on organ systems. At the end of each