There has been a great deal of interest into the effects of prolonged sitting on lower limb vascular function. However, most studies use flow‐mediated dilation which is technically challenging. A simpler technique is pulse wave velocity (PWV) which can be estimated at any single arterial site of interest using a number of different calculations (Bramwell–hill [PWVBH], β‐stiffness index [PWVβ] and blood flow [PWVBF]). Findings from this technique would be better inferred if they compare to a standard criterion 2‐point PWV assessment. The current study used ultrasound to determine which estimation of single‐point PWV is most valid. The criterion was traditional ECG‐gated 2‐point (superficial femoral [SF]‐posterior tibialis [PT]) PWV. Single‐point estimates were calculated at the SF and PT arteries in both supine and seated positions. Single‐point PWV was considered valid if the aSEE was <1.0 m·s. Findings show that for both postural positions, the absolute standard error of estimates (aSEE) criterion of <1.0 m·s was not achieved in either the PT or SF arteries using any of the single‐point PWV calculations. However, single‐point calculations consistently demonstrated the lowest error at the SF artery using PWVβ in both supine (SF aSEE = 1.7 vs. PT 2.7 m·s) and seated (SF aSEE = 1.5 vs. PT 3.0 m·s) positions. All single‐point ΔPWV (supine – seated) calculations were higher in sitting, with PWVβ having the closest agreement (ΔSF aSEE 1.7 m·s) to the 2‐point criterion. Single‐point PWV calculations do not directly reflect regional 2‐point PWV. However, they are sensitive to change when moving from supine to seated positions.


This editorial innovatively establishes circadian timing of rumen fermentation properties as a natural probiotic and modulator of nutrient efficiency and microbial-host health in food-producing ruminants. Inspired by nature, circadian availability of differently nutritious plants is a major driving factor in maintaining near-to-optimal rumen conditions and microbial health and integrity. Taking the advantage of this major probiotic alongside external probiotics will be a postmodern art towards improved ruminant sustainability and human food safety and security.


In a vesicle preparation from rat cerebral cortex, carbachol recognizes a high-affinity and a low-affinity muscarinic agonist binding site. A number of agents, including veratridine (10 microM), gramicidin (10 microM) and valinomycin (10 microM), which depolarize the vesicles also appear to block the high-affinity muscarinic agonist binding site. Lowering [Na+] (from 137 to 80 mM) or raising [K+] (from 5 to 50 mM) produced effects similar to those of the depolarizing agents. Agents such as tetrodotoxin (1 microM), which block the Na+-channel, also appear to block the high-affinity agonist binding site or to convert it into a low-affinity agonist binding form.


Today, both additive manufacturing (3D image technology and 3D printing) had been developed dramatically and involved virtually in all fields of medicine and surgery. It has been widely applied in surgical and prosthetic reconstruction of the craniofacial defects. The aim of this chapter is to characterize and assess the mechanical and optical properties of 3D colored printed soft tissue facial prostheses produced by Z-Corp-Z510 and infiltrated with Sil-25 maxillofacial silicone polymers. Mechanical properties assessed according to ASTM specifications for tensile strength, tear strength, hardness and percentage elongation. Furthermore depth of infiltration plus quality of infiltration was assessed. Scanning electron microscopy SEM was applied for this purpose to determine the characteristic of interaction and incorporation between the starch powder particles and the silicone polymers. Finally, method of color reproduction and evaluation for the printed prostheses are recommended.


Social media is increasingly a topic of study across a range of disciplines. Despite this popularity, current practices and open source tools for social media collecting do not adequately support today's scholars or support building robust collections for future researchers. We are continuing to develop and improve Social Feed Manager (SFM), an open source application assisting scholars collecting data from Twitter's API for their research. Based on our experience with SFM to date and the viewpoints of archivists and researchers, we are reconsidering assumptions about API-based social media collecting and identifying requirements to guide the application's further development. We suggest that aligning social media collecting with web archiving practices and tools addresses many of the most pressing needs of current and future scholars conducting quality social media research. In this paper, we consider the basis for these new requirements, describe in depth an alignment between social media collecting and web archiving, outline a technical approach for effecting this alignment, and show how the technical approach has been implemented in SFM.


Twelve isologous experimental mouse tumors of different origin, degree of differentiation, and histology have been treated with short-wave diathermy (27.12 MHz) in the temperature range 41-43/spl deg/C. All heated tumors react clinically in a similar way with shrinkage and hardened consistency of the palpable tumor. Local control was normally obtained after a certain minimum threshold heat dose, but the curability varied in different tumors from 9 to 25 percent. By lower heat doses usually no control was obtained, but a slight variation in heat sensitivity exists. Higher heat doses did normally not improve the curative results but deviations under special conditions were observed. A mutual variability of temperature and heating time without alteration in biological effect was observed. Histologic examination of heated tumors showed local destruction of the tumor core in all cases. However, in some of the tumors unaffected tumor cells were observed in the periphery of the treatment field and resulted in regrowth of tumor. Therefore, the quantitative curative results were varying for the different tumors after identical hyperthermic treatments. This may be explained by a technical insufficiency of the Iocal diathermy. Such treatment will, at tumors characterized by a high peripheral blood flow and intense infiltrative growth, often be insufficient due to a heterogeneous heating of these peripheral cells. A correlation between the degree of peripheral infiltrative growth and cure rate was found. No other relationship was established between the curative effect of hyperthermia and tumor characteristic parameters.


Like many other schools, the faculty of the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing (OUCN) recently revised its baccalaureate and master's curricula to prepare students better for the evolving changes in the nursing profession and the health care job market. Our personal visions of needed changes, reviews of the literature, and feedback from nursing leaders and community employers supported the need for four significant changes. First, students needed more experiences in the community and clients' homes, with the aged, the chronically ill, and the disabled in all age brackets. Second, students needed greater familiarity with Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care, and more active involvement in the wise use of limited resources. Third, they needed more experience with interdisciplinary teams and with the management of care across sites and levels of acuity. Fourth, there was a need for more consistent integration of health promotion and research content into student learning related to emerging trends in health care and nursing practice.


If a smartcard provides security functions such as electronic signature creation, valuables such as electronic money and/or sensitive data such as medical data, then the smartcard has to verify that it is used by the legitimate cardholder. For this purpose, the user has usually to present a PIN. Since smartcards become more and more powerful, it is feasible to implement on-card matching algorithms allowing to perform a biometric user verification in the smartcard. The contribution of FhG-SIT in this field consists of participation in standardisation and the development of on-card matching algorithms.


Marine biogeochemical processes are closely linked to phytoplankton community assemblages. Cell abundance and biomass are a measure of the successful conversion of inorganic to organic carbon. Carbon estimates are therefore often used to analyse metabolism and energy transfers within marine environments, and carbon is frequently the main parameter used in ecosystem models. Phytoplankton can be divided into functional types based on cell size: microplankton (<200 μm), nanoplankton (2-20 μm) and picoplankton (≤ 3 μm). Differences in cell volume govern variations in carbon content, nutrient uptake and influence cell fate. Reduced diameters equate to lower sedimentation rates and promote participation within the microbial loop and recycling of carbon within surface waters. Larger diameters can increase settling rates, resulting in the loss of carbon from surface waters. Current North Sea monitoring and research programmes typically only consider larger micro- and nanoplankton cells, or the bulk phytoplankton community as a whole: there is little separation by functional type. Inclusion of picoplankton and the delineation of biomass contribution by cell size are required for accurate depictions of phytoplankton productivity within this region, but this is not feasible with current water sampling protocols. Flow cytometry is a new multiparametric analysis technique offering high-speed enumeration and assessment of particles. Phytoplankton cells from 2-200 μm can be easily distinguished from debris and reproducible data on cell size and pigment content is supplied within minutes. This research uses flow cytometry to provide detailed assessments of phytoplankton community structure at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Distribution patterns are related to environmental parameters and observed patterns are used to test existing paradigm and advance current ecological theory.


The 7th annual Health Information Technology (IT) issue provides a window into how health IT tools are working well, how they may not be working as intended, and what we can do to continue making progress toward optimal use of technology to accomplish our shared goals: better health, better care experience, and lower per capita cost.


OBJECTIVE
This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of alcohol consumption on the severity of periodontal disease.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
This cross-sectional study employed 13,198 subjects of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) aged 20 and older who have at least six natural teeth. Alcohol intake was represented both as a continuous variable and dichotomized using 5, 10, 15, and 20 drinks/week as cut-points. Periodontal disease was represented by clinical attachment loss (CAL) and was assessed both as a continuous variable and dichotomized as <1.5 mm and >/=1.5 mm. Independent effect of alcohol on CAL was assessed by weighted multiple linear and logistic regression analyses adjusting simultaneously for the effects of age, gender, race, education, income, smoking, diet, diabetes, gingival bleeding, number of remaining teeth.

RESULTS
There was a significant linear relationship between number of drinks per week and log CAL (p=0.0001). Odds ratios for the risk of attachment loss using 5, 10, 15, and 20 drinks/week as cut-points were 1.22 [1.02-1.47], 1.39 [1.13-1.71], 1.54 [1.22-1.93], and 1.67 [1.25-2.23], respectively.

CONCLUSION
Alcohol consumption may be associated with increased severity of CAL in a dose-dependent fashion. Prospective studies and studies of mechanism are needed to confirm the role of alcohol as a risk factor for periodontal disease.


A moderately thermophilic bacterium, strain TI-1, produces H2S outside of the cells when grown at 45 degrees C on Fe(2+)-medium (pH 1.8) containing elemental sulfur and L-glutamic acid. A newly identified sulfur reductase was present in the cytosol of this strain and was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from strain TI-1. The apparent molecular weight of sulfur reductase was 86,000 by gel filtration and 48,000 by SDS-PAGE, so the enzyme was a homodimer. The enzyme was most active at pH 9.0 and 60 to 70 degrees C, and it catalyzed the reduction of 1 mol of elemental sulfur with 1 mol of NADH to give 1 mol of H2S and 1 mol of NAD+. Elemental sulfur was a specific electron acceptor of this enzyme. Thiosulfate, sulfite, and tetrathionate were not electron acceptors, but inhibited sulfur reductase activity. NADPH was not used as an electron donor.


Data augmentation is acknowledged to help deep neural networks generalize better, while their augmentation transfer ability is far from satisfactory. The networks perform worse when tested with augmentations not used during training, which is also a manifestation of insufficient generalization ability. To address this problem, we carefully design a novel Augmentation invariant Loss (AiLoss) to assist networks to learn augmentation invariant by minimizing intra-augmentation variation. Based on AiLoss, we propose a simple yet efficient training strategy, Augmentation Invariant Training (AIT), to enhance the generalization ability of networks. Extensive experiments show that AIT can be applied to a variety of network architectures, and consistently improve their performance on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100 and ImageNet without increasing computational cost. Further extending AIT to multiple networks, we propose multi-AIT to learn inter-network augmentation invariant, which achieves better performance in enhancing generalization ability. Moreover, further experiments present that networks trained with our strategy do obtain better augmentation transfer ability and learn features that are invariant to augmentations. Our source code is available at Github.


In the literature on international trade, the second half of the nineteenth century is generally characterized as one with two very different faces: trade was liberalized from 1860 until the mid-1870s and turned protectionist again thereafter. This discontinuity in the development of commercial relations goes along with much continuity regarding the domestic goals governments pursued in international trade negotiations. The French executives' primary goal was to implement their trade policy in a way that created at least as many domestic political benefits as costs. One key instrument with which the French government pursued this objective was the form of cooperation, which is an often-neglected issue in the international relations literature. The comparative analysis of two cases of French trade policy making – the Anglo-French agreement of 1860 and the Meline tariff of 1892 – will highlight how bilateral cooperation was used as an instrument to accommodate the interests of domestic economic groups having contradictory trade policy preferences. Expanding this view to the twentieth century, it can be seen that the domestic political processes of 1860 and 1892 involve many elements that are considered basic to modern trade policy-making. It can be tentatively hypothesized that trade policy-making is characterized by a common logic of balancing societal support independently of the commercial policy that is implemented and the reasons for why it is sought.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Introduction:

Nanoparticle systems are usually designed to deliver the incorporated molecular to tumors. However, we found an interesting breakthrough in conducting the super carbonate apatite (sCA) nanoparticles itself. So far we have introduced the sCA as an in vivo pH sensitive delivery system of doxorubicin (PLoS ONE 8(4): e60428. 2013) or siRNA, which simply consist of inorganic ions and quickly accumulate specifically in tumors yet yield no serious adverse events in mice and monkeys. Intravenously administered sCA-siRNA markedly accumulated in the tumor cells at 90 min and survivin-siRNA delivered by sCA significantly inhibited in vivo tumor growth, compared with the two other in vivo commercially available delivery reagents, Invivofectamine 2.0 and Atelocollagen. In this study, we confirmed a unique characteristic of sCA itself, not as a drug delivery system. Empty sCA alone markedly enhanced the uptake of low molecular chemicals into tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.

Methods:

Doxorubicin (DXR), fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin (L-OHP) and indocyanine green (ICG) are used as low molecular chemicals. Cellular uptake of doxorubicin was analyzed by flow cytometry using a BD FACS Aria II instrument (BD Biosciences). Cell viability was examined by WST-8 assay (Dojindo). As for the in vivo tumor imaging assay, sCA and ICG were simultaneously administered via the separate routes to the mice bearing colon cancer HT29; sCA was administered i.v. (intravenously) and ICG was administered i.p. (intraperitoneally). Mice were imaged under anesthesia using IVIS (PerkinElmer) for ex vivo and in vivo imaging.

Results and Discussions:

Empty sCA itself enhanced the uptake and cytotoxic effect of anti-cancer agents in vitro, although sCA itself was not toxic. The flow cytometric analysis showed the mean florescence index (MFI: 2186) of the cells, first treated with sCA for 24 h and then treated with DXR for another 24 h, was higher than the MFI (1684) of the cells directly treated with DXR for 24 h. The IC50 (μM; mean ± SD) of 5-FU and L-OHP in colon cancer HCT116 were 47.6 ± 10.0 and 31.3 ± 2.2, whereas the IC50 of both drugs in the sCA pre-treated cells for 24 h were 11.7 ± 2.0 and 3.70 ± 1.1, respectively. Furthermore, the empty sCA itself also improved the efficacy of in vivo tumor imaging by ICG, even when ICG and sCA were administered through the separate routes; sCA was administered i.v. and ICG was administered i.p.. We should mention that we had not been able to incorporate ICG into sCA nanoparticles before this experiment. Time course studies showed that ICG levels in tumors with treatment of sCA plus ICG were significantly higher throughout the examined time points than those treated with ICG alone (P = 0.0142 for 4 h, P = 0.0139 for 8 h, P = 0.0433 for 12 h, P = 0.0304 for 24 and 48 h).

Conclusion:

Our data suggest that sCA itself, while designed as an in vivo delivery device, can facilitate entrance of low molecular chemicals into tumor cells in vitro and in vivo.

Citation Format: Xin Wu, Hirofumi Yamamoto, Mamoru Uemura, Taishi Hata, Junichi Nishimura, Ichiro Takemasa, Tsunekazu Mizushima, Yuichiro Doki, Masaki Mori. A breakthrough in application of a drug delivery nanoparticle system for therapy and diagnosis of solid tumor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5382. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5382


Effective knowledge management system (KMS) should be able to deliver relevant knowledge to the right knowledge user at the right time. However, current KMS still largely relies on human efforts to access, extract and filter information pertinent to their knowledge need, resulted in inefficient process especially in collaborative learning environment. Effective KMS requires the identification of proper technology designed with the right system features to support the knowledge management (KM) activities to ensure that the goals of KM will be achieved. This study analyzed the proposed Semantic KMS Model for Collaborative Learning Environment using structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the effects of the model constructs in achieving the KM goals of KMS used in organizations. The model build upon comprehensive reviews of existing models in literature, and a prototype called Semantic Knowledge Management System for Collaborative Learning (SKMSCL) is developed to translate the constructs into KMS features. A post-implementation survey was conducted to assess the semantic KMS prototype in terms of the system quality, knowledge quality and the semantic KMS features identified, and how well the SKMSCL support the KM goals in comparison with the current KMS used in higher learning institutions (HLIs). Data was collected via questionnaire from a private university who participated in this study. Since there were no references can be found on the relationship between KMS knowledge quality, system quality and semantic KMS features and KM Goals, eleven research questions are derived from the model rather than hypotheses. In summary, findings indicated that seven out of eleven research questions tested are significant and supported by the findings.


In this paper, we investigate the game theoretic coverage control whose objective is to lead agents to optimal configurations over a mission space. In particular, the objective of this paper is to achieve the control objective (i) in the absense of the perfect prior knowledge on importance of each point and (ii) in the presence of the action constraints. For this purpose, we first formulate coverage problems with two different global objective functions as so-called potential games. Then, we present a payoff-based learning algorithm determining actions based only on the past actual outcomes. The feature of the present algorithm is to allow an agent to take an irrational action. We also clarify a relation between a design parameter of the algorithm and the probability which agents take the optimal actions and prove that the probability can be arbitrarily increased. Then, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the present algorithm through experiments on a testbed.


BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible effects of sertraline on blood glucose and lipid levels as risk factors for cardiovascular disease in depressive patients. METHODS: Eight male and twelve female depressive patients, diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria, were included in this study. The subjects aged 19-50 years, did not smoke, and had normal body mass index (BMI), homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values, blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin and lipid levels. Sertraline therapy (50 mg/day) was started. Patients with diabetes mellitus, heart disease, pregnancy, and those taking other drugs were excluded from the study. Blood glucose, insulin, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride values were measured in patients before, and at the 4th, 8th and 12th weeks after treatment with sertraline. Moreover, HbA1C levels were measured at the beginning and at the end of the treatment (at 12th weeks). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in physical examination (blood pressure, BMI, body weight, height, waist circumference) and laboratory findings (glucose, HDL-C, LDL-C, HOMA-IR and HbA1C levels) at the 12th week after of treatment with sertraline compared to pretreatment values. However, insulin levels at the 4th, 8th and 12th weeks significantly increased compared with pretreatment values. Likewise, triglyceride levels at the 8th and 12th weeks significantly increased compared with pretreatment values. CONCLUSIONS: Sertraline-treated patients have to be followed up for blood insulin and triglyceride levels. In addition, their treatment plan needs to be adjusted as necessary to prevent possible metabolic changes.


Infusion or intravenous therapy is a procedure that involves inserting a needle into the body to administer medications or fluids through intravenous route. This nursing care is prescribed by the physician, and is used to administer antibiotics for infection, chemotherapeutic agents during chemotherapy, intravenous fluids for hypovolemic shock, and minerals for electrolyte imbalance. The most severe complication of infusion therapy is extravasation, which results from the leakage of medication or fluid in the vein causing tissue injury. This complication may lead to infection of the site and bloodstream, thus increasing the length of hospitalization and medical costs. Therefore, nurses should be knowledgeable of how to prevent, monitor, assess and manage of extravasations. The objective of this arti cle is to provide information about the incidence, risk and complication management, and prevention of extravasation.


Wind turbine technology is a promising source of renewable energy. However, the potential of wind turbine technology can not be utilized unless the wind farm layout is efficient. The challenge with wind farm layout optimization is that finding the optimal layout in the huge search space of different layouts is hard, if not impossible, to do analytically. Genetic algorithm techniques have been applied in many fields to solve non-linear optimization problems, and has shown promising results when used for wind farm layout optimization. Even so, not much effort has been put into investigating whether different genetic algorithm models can improve the results. In this project, it is investigated if population distributed genetic algorithms are able to solve the wind farm layout optimization problem better than traditional nonpopulation distributed genetic algorithms. This project is a contribution to a wind farm layout optimization contest launched by the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO) 2016. An advanced genetic algorithm, containing four different genetic algorithm models, was implemented for this project. One of the genetic algorithm models was a traditional genetic algorithm, and three were population distributed genetic algorithms. The program was connected to a wind farm simulator provided by GECCO 2016 so that the performance of the different genetic algorithm models could be investigated on realistic wind scenarios. The results showed that the traditional non-population distributed genetic algorithm consistently obtained better results than the three population distributed genetic algorithms. While two of the population distributed algorithms showed promising results, the third seemed unfit for solving the wind farm layout optimization problem. It is concluded that when providing the different genetic algorithm models the same amount of computational resources, the population distributed genetic algorithms come up short.


This study describes an investigation on the absorption characteristics of alginate wound dressings. The fluid that is absorbed by the dressing is divided into that which is held inside the fiber in the fiber structure and that which is held between the fibers in the textile structure. A number of dressings with different fiber structure and textile structure were studied and their effects on the absorption characteristics of the dressings were analyzed. It was found that a significant part of the absorption took place inside the fiber structure, in addition to the liquid held between fibers in the textile structure. High M alginate and high G calcium/sodium alginate fibers absorbed more fluid into the fiber than high G calcium alginate fiber, resulting in a better gelling ability. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 953–957, 2004


The primary objective of this article is to identify, given Internet accessibility, the factors that shape the decisions of individuals for personal Internet usage and its extent. Cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey database were utilized and an ordered probit model with selectivity was employed. The hypothesized link between the decision to use the Internet and the extent of usage was confirmed by the data. Household income, cost of access, demographics, media use, regional characteristics and general skill acquisition by individuals appear to correlate with Internet use and the extent of usage. In addition, a non-linear decomposition analysis was applied in order to identify the causes of the observed south/north divide. The results indicate that the observed differences in the probability of Internet use constitute a structural problem.


This is the first reported case of a mesenteric lymphatic malformation in a toddler in Malaysia. It is a rare benign condition with incidence of 1 in 250,000 populations. Our patient presented to us at 2 years 11months old complaining of abdominal distension for 6 months without obstructive symptoms. Clinically there was a vague soft central abdominal mass. CT abdomen done revealed a large multiloculated intraperitoneal mesentery cystic mass within the central abdomen extending to pelvis. A semi-emergency laparotomy was performed. Intra-operatively the multiloculated mesenteric cyst measured 20cm x 30cm, adherent to the small bowel beginning at 12cm from duodeno-jejunal junction. Resection of the mesenteric cyst with adherent small bowel and primary anastomosis was done. Histopathological examination revealed multiple large lymphatic channels of various sizes in the mucosa and submucosa. Our patient has no signs of recurrence and remains symptom-free after 1 year since his surgery. Surgery with clear margins of resection is the recommended gold standard based on available literature. Type of surgical resection required will depend on the type of mesenteric lymphatic malformation. An awareness of this rare pathology is required to ensure proper management is given to these patients.


Accurate prediction of particulate matter (PM) using time series data is a challenging task. The recent advancements in sensor technology, computing devices, nonlinear computational tools, and machine learning (ML) approaches provide new opportunities for robust prediction of PM concentrations. In this study, we develop a hybrid model for forecasting PM10 and PM2.5 based on the multiscale characterization and ML techniques. At first, we use the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm for multiscale characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 by decomposing the original time series into numerous intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Different individual ML algorithms such as random forest (RF), support vector regressor (SVR), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), feed forward neural network (FFNN), and AdaBoost are then used to develop EMD-ML models. The air quality time series data from Masfalah air station Makkah, Saudi Arabia are utilized for validating the EMD-ML models, and results are compared with non-hybrid ML models. The PMs (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations data of Dehli, India are also utilized for validating the EMD-ML models. The performance of each model is evaluated using root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). The average bias in the predictive model is estimated using mean bias error (MBE). Obtained results reveal that EMD-FFNN model provides the lowest error rate for both PM10 (RMSE = 12.25 and MAE = 7.43) and PM2.5 (RMSE = 4.81 and MAE = 3.02) using Misfalah, Makkah data whereas EMD-kNN model provides the lowest error rate for PM10 (RMSE = 20.56 and MAE = 12.87) and EMD-AdaBoost provides the lowest error rate for PM2.5 (RMSE = 15.29 and MAE = 9.45) using Dehli, India data. The findings also reveal that EMD-ML models can be effectively used in forecasting PM mass concentrations and to develop rapid air quality warning systems.


The "random burst" theory has recently been proposed as an explanation of the pattern of periodontal disease progression. The theory predicts that the progression of bone loss at individual sites is not dependent upon previous bone loss and age. A longitudinal radiographic study was designed to test this hypothesis, and to describe the changes in bone level over 2 years in a group of 180 subjects (18-68 years of age) who were not under systematic periodontal treatment. The results indicated that 94% of the sites did not show significant changes in the alveolar bone level during the observation period. The mean annual bone loss for the total population was 0.11 mm. By regressing longitudinal bone loss upon age, it was shown that the rate of bone loss increased rapidly between 33 and 56 years of age while a different pattern was shown for the age intervals 18-32 and 57-68 years. Also, the rate of bone loss increased with increasing initial bone loss. This was less evident in the oldest age group. It was concluded that the progression of bone loss in the present material is consistent with a "burst" theory. However, the progression did not occur randomly with regard to previous loss of alveolar bone and time.


The first example of asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions between nitrile oxides and o-hydroxystyrenes, mediated by cinchona-alkaloid-based amine-ureas is reported. The method is based on a dual activation involving both LUMO and HOMO activations. In addition to the stoichiometric asymmetric induction, a catalytic amount of amine-urea enables the cycloadditions to proceed in an enantioselective manner. Computational studies strongly support the HOMO activation of o-hydroxystyrenes and LUMO activation of nitrile oxides by hydrogen-bonding interactions with the Brønsted acid/base bifunctional catalyst.


Plasmacytoma of the calvarium is a well-described feature of multiple myeloma and in some cases has been reported as a solitary lesion. However, when associated with multiple myeloma these are typically identified after the initial diagnosis is made. This case is unusual in that the diagnosis of plasmacytoma was first suspected in a patient thought to have a meningioma on the day of surgery, when a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated spontaneous involution of the mass. Recognition of evolving changes in a calvarial or dural-based lesion should prompt the practitioner to consider alternative diagnoses other than meningioma prior to proceeding with surgical resection.


UV-irradiation of hydrogen-bonded assembly between trans-azobenzene-incorporated melamine and barbiturate in chloroform drastically suppressed transformation from soluble cyclic rosette into insoluble tape-like polymers.


We have found that purified T4 DNA topoisomerase promotes recombination between two phage lambda DNA molecules in an in vitro system. In this cross, T4 DNA topoisomerase alone is able to catalyze the recombination and produce a linear monomer recombinant DNA that can be packaged in vitro. ATP is not required for this recombination, while oxolinic acid stimulates it. The recombinant DNA molecules contain duplications or deletions, and the crossovers take place between nonhomologous and nonspecific sequences of lambda DNA. Therefore, the recombination mediated by the T4 DNA topoisomerase is an illegitimate recombination that is similar to that mediated by Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. A model was proposed previously in which DNA gyrase molecules that are bound to DNA associate with each other and lead to the exchange of DNA strands through the exchange of DNA gyrase subunits. This model is also applicable to the recombination mediated by T4 DNA topoisomerase.


Distributed product development projects encompass product and process development activities that span organizational and country boundaries. The increasing trend toward globalizing projects requires firms to coordinate development efforts made by team members from various functions within the firm, speaking multiple languages, and working in various time zones. We analyze qualitative data from 70 distributed product development projects that span 14 countries and involve cross-functional team members speaking 10 different languages. We find that commonly discussed integration strategies such as modular product designs and colocating team members by themselves are insufficient to coordinate project work. Rather, our field interviews suggest that firms invest in design information systems DIS with specific features to facilitate product design and empower their project managers to integrate the development efforts. Specifically, our interviews suggest that firms often modify the organization by "unifying" the engineering and purchasing functions into a single supply chain integrator function to increase the scope of responsibilities for these managers. We then test our hypotheses on the benefits of these strategies on project outcomes by using survey data from 55 distributed product development projects in 20 firms. Results indicate that the use of DIS is associated with higher quality and relationship performance when there are differences between focal and supplier firm personnel languages. Unifying engineering and purchasing functions into a supply chain integrator is associated with improved response time in the presence of time zone differences. We also find that a unifying strategy is associated with lower cost in the presence of language differences, but is also associated with a worsening of response time. These results provide guidance to product designers in organizations that must coordinate complex work across time zone barriers and languages. The results also provide guidance to researchers, by showing that different integration mechanisms may have differential effects across various coordination barriers and across multiple dimensions of project performance. We conclude by linking these results to integration mechanisms previously discussed in the coordination literature.


This study aims to analyze the host's intrinsic motivations of the sharing accommodation Airbnb in the Miraflores district – Lima, from the perspective of millennial guests. Lima, capital of Peru, was selected since the economy of the city is based on a large part of visitors and tourists who enjoy its cultural, natural, gastronomic attractions and modern life. For this research, a qualitative approach was used, through content analysis, such as 258 reviews left by guests of the millennial segment who spent at least one night in the sharing accommodations of Miraflores district Airbnb's hosts were analyzed. The collected information were processed by the Atlas.ti software where three main intrinsic motivations were identified: Altruism, Social Interaction and Cultural Capital. It is worth mentioning that disseminating and communicating messages related to the intrinsic motivations of the host is key for sharing accommodations, such as Airbnb. It allows us to understand how to attract new hosts, potential sharing accommodation entrepreneurs.Also, it promotes that current guests become hosts, and thus maintain the economic stability and growth of this business model.


The term "temporomandibular disorders" (TMDs) refers to a variety of problems involving the muscles of the masticatory system and the jaw. The most common symptoms of TMD are pain in the face, headaches, clicking or popping in the joints, and difficulties with jaw function. The severity of TMD can be measured with a number of different scales, including the Helkimo, Craniomandibular Index (CMI), Mandibular Functional Impairment Questionnaire (MFIQ), Fonseca scale and Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) scales. The former focuses on the patient's chief complaint, while the latter takes into account secondary symptoms such as limited mobility, impaired temporomandibular joint (TMJ) function, muscle pain, and discomfort during mandibular motion. According to the severity of the issue, the results can be used to categorise the situation. To effectively treat TMD, one must first determine their index score and then formulate a treatment strategy based on that score.


Life without parole is examined as a form of death penalty, namely, death by incarceration as distinct from death by execution. Original interviews with a sample of prisoners (condemned prisoners and life-without-parole prisoners) and prison officers are used to develop a picture of the experience of life under sentence of death by incarceration. It is argued that offenders sentenced to death by incarceration do not pose a special danger to others in the prison world or in the free world and that the suffering they experience is comparable to the suffering endured by condemned prisoners. Life without parole thus emerges as a viable alternative to the capital punishment.


Various methods of laparoscopic sterilization are discussed. Electrocoagulation is performed either by bipolar coagulation or thermocoagulation with or without tubal resection. The disadvantages of this method are the possibility of burns and the general lack of reversibility. The Falope-ring and the Hulka-Clemens clip are mechanical methods used for sterilization. These devices can be applied under local anesthesia. The disadvantages of these methods are decreased tolerance and effectiveness over long periods of time and the increased incidence of ectopic pregnancy. These methods do offer a better chance of reversibility, however.


The genus Achirus is made up of demersal fish that have a close relationship with the substrate and exhibit peculiar aspects during their larval stage. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the abundance of Achirus larvae differed among a set of habitats in the estuary of the Formoso River in the State of Pernambuco (north-eastern Brazil). Sampling was performed monthly between April 2009 and March 2010, and comprised horizontal hauls with plankton net during the day and night in mangrove, beach and reef habitats. Fish larvae were sorted, identified, measured and larval stage recorded. Density and body length values were used in a non-parametric analysis of variance for the determination of variations between seasons, habitats and diel periods. A total of 204 larvae were collected, with an average density of 2.1 larvae.100 m−3. Density was greater in the nocturnal samplings, with no differences found between habitats. The larvae occurred in the yolk-sac to post-flexion stage, with pre-flexion the most abundant stage (78%). Size segregation was observed. Larger larvae were captured at night and in the mangrove. The smallest larvae were caught on the reef, with length increasing toward the mangrove. The results indicate that Achirus larvae come from deeper regions near reefs, where spawning probably occurs, and perform ontogenetic migration towards the shallow waters of mangrove, where they settle.


Sound event detection (SED) entails identifying the type of sound and estimating its temporal boundaries from acoustic signals. These events are uniquely characterized by their spatio-temporal features, which are determined by the way they are produced. In this study, we leverage some distinctive high-level acoustic characteristics of various sound events to assist the SED model training, without requiring additional labeled data. Specifically, we use the DCASE Task 4 2022 dataset and categorize the 10 classes into four subcategories based on their high-level acoustic characteristics. We then introduce a novel multi-task learning framework that jointly trains the SED and high-level acoustic characteristics classification tasks, using shared layers and weighted loss. Our method significantly improves the performance of the SED system, achieving a 36.3% improvement in terms of the polyphonic sound event detection score compared to the baseline on the DCASE 2022 Task 4 validation set.


The double constraint equations in the self-dual gravitational theory containing the cosmological term are derived in 3 + 1 gravity. Furthermore, in order to deeply study the Lorentzian and Euclidean reality conditions for this theory, the relations between constraints are discussed by introducing the double constant conformal transformation and the double complex function method.


Purpose: We conducted a randomized phase III study to determine whether patients with early breast cancer would benefit from the addition of capecitabine (X) to a standard regimen of doxorubicin (A) plus cyclophosphamide (C) followed by docetaxel (T). Experimental Design: Treatment comprised eight cycles of AC→T (T dose: 100 mg/m2 on day 1) or AC→XT (X dose: 825 mg/m2 twice daily, days 1–14; T dose: 75 mg/m2 on day 1). The primary endpoint was 5-year disease-free survival (DFS). Results: Of 2,611 women, 1,304 were randomly assigned to receive AC→T and 1,307 to receive AC→XT. After a median follow-up of 5 years, the study failed to meet its primary endpoint [HR, 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.67–1.05; P = 0.125]. A significant improvement in overall survival, a secondary endpoint, was seen with AC→XT versus AC→T (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.51–0.92; P = 0.011). There were no unexpected adverse events. Of patients with estrogen receptor (ER)–positive/HER2-negative disease, 70% of whom were node-positive, 26% and 59% had tumors with a centrally assessed Ki-67 score of <10% or <20%, respectively, and only 17 (2%) and 53 (6%) DFS events, respectively, occurred in these groups at 7 years. Conclusions: The very low event rate in patients with ER-positive, low Ki-67 cancers, regardless of nodal status, strongly suggests that these patients should not be enrolled in adjuvant trials that assess 5-year DFS rates and that central Ki-67 analyses can identify these patients. Clin Cancer Res; 21(19); 4305–11. ©2015 AACR.


The catalogue of Yohji Yamamoto's autumn/winter '86-'87 collection portrayed the Italian painter Luciano Castelli wearing Yamamoto's creations while painting his own works. Angelo Figus's autumn/winter '02-03 invitation took the shape of a vinyl whereas Maison Martin Margiela's invitations took the shape of a dish or a calender. Prada's press releases for spring/summer '92 were written by the visionary fashion writer Anna Piaggi while Bernhard Willhelm's spring/summer '03 press release appears in the form of a poem. All these examples are only a few of the infinite variations that are continually materialised in fashion communication materials. A constant citationism, the use of extravagant materials, and collaborations with artists, writers and graphic designers are more than occasional events, and they have become a consolidated practice in fashion communication. But what are these objects representing? Are they merely fashion communication devices which use some artistic practices to raise designers' agency? Indeed, a fruitful interpretation of these materials' ontology might address these practices to the construction of fashion designers' agency. This praxis usually involves a dissolution of the commercial attitude of these communicational materials, focusing on their symbolic character in order to direct the social perception of the fashion designer as an artist.


Steam curing is an effective method to increase the hydration degree of binder containing phosphorus slag. The role of phosphorus slag in steam-cured concrete was investigated by determining the hydration heat, hydration products, nonevaporable water content, pore structure of paste, and the compressive strength and chloride ion permeability of concrete. The results show that elevated steam curing temperature does not lead to new crystalline hydration products of the composite binder containing phosphorus slag. Elevating steam curing temperature enhances the early hydration heat and nonevaporable water content of the binder containing phosphorus slag more significantly than increasing steam curing time, and it also results in higher late-age hydration degree and finer pore structure. For steam-cured concrete containing phosphorus slag, elevating curing temperature from 60°C to 80°C tends to decrease the late-age strength and increase the chloride permeability. However, at constant curing temperature of 60°C, the steam-cured concrete containing phosphorus slag can achieve satisfied demoulding strength and late-age strength and chloride permeability by extending the steam curing duration.


Philodendron s.l. (Araceae) has been recently focus of taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, but karyotypic data are limited to chromosome numbers and a few published genome sizes. In this work, karyotypes of 34 species of Philodendron s.l. (29 species of Philodendron and five of Thaumatophyllum), ranging from 2n = 28 to 36 chromosomes, were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with rDNA and telomeric probes, aiming to understand the evolution of the karyotype diversity of the group. Philodendron presented a high number variation of 35S rDNA, ranging from two to 16 sites, which were mostly in the terminal region of the short arms, with nine species presenting heteromorphisms. In the case of Thaumatophyllum species, we observed a considerably lower variation, which ranged from two to four terminal sites. The distribution of the 5S rDNA clusters was more conserved, with two sites for most species, being preferably located interstitially in the long chromosome arms. For the telomeric probe, while exclusively terminal sites were observed for P. giganteum (2n = 30) chromosomes, P. callosum (2n = 28) presented an interstitial distribution associated with satellite DNA. rDNA sites of the analyzed species of Philodendron s.l. species were randomly distributed considering the phylogenetic context, probably due to rapid evolution and great diversity of these genomes. The observed heteromorphisms suggest the accumulation of repetitive DNA in the genomes of some species and the occurrence of chromosomal rearrangements along the karyotype evolution of the group.


Internal friction in two kinds of iron-manganese alloy which contain Mn 17.5% and Mn 12.8% respectively and one kind of copper-aluminum alloy containing 13% Al were measured with a torsion pendulum, and internal friction peaks were observed in the temperature range in which the martensite or reverse martensite transformation is taken place. The condition for the appearance of this internal friction peak is that it occurs only when accompanied by the process of martensite-type transformation.Systematic observations were made with iron-manganese alloy containing 17.5% Mn, and it was found that the height of internal friction peak increases with the increase of the rate of heating (or cooling) or the stress, decreases with the increase of the frequency of vibration or the carbon content in the specimen. All these may be explained by the reason that the more the amount of new phase has transformed in one period of vibration, the larger is the internal friction.The mechanism of the internal friction peak was discussed. The conclusion was reached that because of the suddeness of the formation of martensite, the applied external forces due to torsion pendulum may be considered as constant during the time of formation for martensite plates, and since half of the work done by the external forces during the alteration must be lost as confirmed by the calculation of interaction energies between stresses and iuhomogenities, it consequently gives rise to the substantial portion of internal friction. On the other hand, the stress-induced phase transformation also gives rise to a minor portion of internal friction.


This paper sets up a simulating model of single-phase transformer under DC bias in MATLAB. Using MATLAB software, the magnetization characteristic curves and exciting currents under no-load condition are simulated and analyzed. The result shows that the magnetization characteristic curves do not shift up, but they are no longer symmetrical under DC bias. They get saturate at one side of X axis. The hysteresis loops become narrow and tend to single-valued curve when DC increases. The corresponding peak values of exciting current get sharp, and the waveform of exciting current is no longer symmetrical too. The harmonics content become more and more abundant. The 1st and 3rd order harmonics increase steadily with increases of DC. Especially the 2nd order harmonic increases rapidly with increases of DC. A few of 4th order harmonic arises.


Nickel allergy is the most frequent cause of contact hypersensitivity (burning, redness, itching, swelling and even blisters) in industrialized countries, with 30% of population being affected. Contact allergy is commonly induced by nickel ions present in nickel-containing jewelry such as rings and earrings, as well as in nickel-containing cellular telephones. Ni(II) seems to trigger an inflammatory response by activating human Toll-like-Receptor 4 (hTLR4) [1-4]. Species-specific activation, as in this case, requires distinct sequence motifs that are present in humans but not in mouse, a species not sensitive to nickel-induced allergies. A sequence containing three histidine residues, H431, and the non-conserved H456 and H458, localized in the C-terminus, could be identified as the specific region of human TLR4 responsible for nickel responses. It has been proposed that the imidazole side chain of the histidine residues H456 and H458 may provide a potential binding site for this metal because they are located at an optimal distance to interact with Ni(II) ions, whereas H431 is located further apart. The aim of our research was to verify the possibility of metal binding to the sequence containing the three histidines supposedly involved in nickel response. The chosen segment was the 32aa peptide FQH431SNLKQMSEFSVFLSLRNLIYLDISH456TH458TR, which was studied in order to understand both its binding properties and the thermodynamic stability of its metal complexes. Formation equilibria of Ni(II) complexes have been investigated in aqueous solution and in a wide pH range. Protonation and complex-formation constants have been potentiometrically determined; complex-formation models and species stoichiometry have been checked by means of UV-Vis absorption and CD spectroscopy and investigation through multidimensional and eteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. The predominant species for a 1:1 peptide/Ni(II) molar ratio was obtained at physiological pH and showed an effective binding of the metal to the target sequence.


Summary. The luteotrophic properties of endogenously secreted LH and prolactin were studied by measuring CL function after neutral-ization of circulating LH and prolactin by the administration of highly specific antisera against these hormones on the 11th and 12th day of the oestrous cycle. In addition, the effect of a prolactin inhibitor (CB-154), which reduced prolactin concentration in peripheral blood by 80 to 90% was studied. A hysterectomized heifer carrying a persistent CL was treated with CB-154, a combination of CB-154 and prolactin antiserum and then with LH antiserum. In all animals treated with the LH antiserum, CL function ceased or was quantitatively inhibited. No change in circulating progesterone was seen after treatment with the prolactin antiserum or the prolactin inhibitor. It is concluded that LH is the dominant luteotrophic factor in the bovine species while prolactin has little or no activity.


The design and realization of substrate emitting 980-nm electrically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (EP-VECSELs) is reported. A method to characterize the detuning of the cavity and spontaneous emission of the epitaxial material is described, and an experimental study of the effect of substrate doping on the operating characteristics of devices is presented. A reduction in optical loss and enhanced current-gain characteristics with a reduction in substrate doping from 2 × 108 to 4 × 1017 cm-3 is demonstrated. Spatial carrier distributions, evidenced by near-field profiling of devices without external feedback indicate similar current spreading behavior for the two-substrate dopings. Devices with diameter greater than 70 μm and current spreading layer thickness of 100 μm are shown to suffer from nonuniform carrier injection into the active region. Power scaling properties of the devices are investigated in both pulsed and CW operation. We realize devices with CW powers of 133 mW at 981 nm from a 150 μm device with 4 × 1017 cm-3 substrate doping at 0 °C, which is limited by nonoptimal cavity-gain peak detuning.


'Climate' is often used by historians to explain phenomena for which they cannot otherwise account. Accordingly, much of what has been written about climatic effects and climatic change must be read with extreme scepticism. Even though a disturbance may be obvious in the archaeological record, and it may be synchronous with a climatic event, a cause and effect relation should be demonstrated before one can say with any degree of confidence that the evidence is secure. Only when a number of separate lines of investigation agree on the same thing are we safe in positing true climatic 'effect' or 'change'. This paper focuses on several instances in Mediterranean and Aegean archaeology where more or less satisfactory evidence for climatic change may be sought among a number of disciplines.


We have compared the sequence of the capsid polypeptide of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae double-stranded RNA virus, ScV, with those of the picornaviruses. A central region of 245 amino acids in the ScV capsid polypeptide of 680 amino acids has significant similarity to the picornavirus VP3. This similarity is more extensive than that already noted for the alphavirus capsid polypeptide and the picornavirus VP3 (Fuller, S.D. and Argos, P, EMBO J. 6, 1099, 1987). Together with the similarity between the ScV RNA polymerase and the picornavirus RNA polymerases, this result implies an evolutionary relationship between a simple double-stranded RNA virus of fungi and the small plus strand RNA animal viruses.


Vesicles in neurons and neuroendocrine cells store neurotransmitters and peptide hormones, which are released by vesicle fusion in response to Ca2+‐evoking stimuli. Synaptotagmin‐1 (Syt1), a Ca2+ sensor, mediates ultrafast exocytosis in neurons and neuroendocrine cells. After vesicle docking, Syt1 has two main groups of binding partners: anionic phospholipids and the SNARE (soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) complex. The molecular mechanisms by which Syt1 triggers vesicle fusion remain controversial. This Review introduces and summarizes six molecular models of Syt1: (a) Syt1 triggers SNARE unclamping by displacing complexin, (b) Syt1 clamps SNARE zippering, (c) Syt1 causes membrane curvature, (d) membrane bridging by Syt1, (e) Syt1 is a vesicle‐plasma membrane distance regulator, and (f) Syt1 undergoes circular oligomerization. We discuss important conditions to test Syt1 activity in vitro and attempt to illustrate the possible roles of Syt1.


Results of a program on the influence of microstructure on the toughness and fatigue properties of ceramics are presented. A theoretical analysis of toughness-curve behavior in two-phase ceramics has been completed. This analysis identifies particle size, volume fraction, and internal thermal expansion anisotropy stress as key microstructural variables in the toughness response. A simple contact fatigue methodology for investigating the accumulation of damage at stress concentrations in tough ceramics, using the Hertzian indentation test in cyclic loading, has been developed. This methodology offers several advantages over traditional long-crack fatigue testing, and relates directly to the stress states that occur in contact bearings. Optical and acoustic emission tests reveal fundamental departures from the classic cone fractures that form in homogeneous brittle materials. Instead, a new kind of damage, shear-initiated microfractures in a distributed zone directly beneath the contact area is observed. The damage thereby occurs in the short-crack region, and is most severe in those ceramics that show the highest long-crack toughness, underlying the need for compromise in materials design. The results bear strongly on such practical properties as bearing fatigue, and strength, wear and erosion of structural ceramics.


Groups of normal and "at risk" infants were given an attentional task using sucking suppression as an index of attending. Attending as a measure of perceptual-cognitive development was found to be a sensitive task capable of differentiating high and low risk infants. Further, the performance on this perceptual-cognitive task and the infants' 5 minute Apgar scores were assessed and found to be significantly related. These data together with earlier reports suggest that infants with Apgar scores of 8 or less may be at risk in terms of their cognitive development.


Some of the essentials for layout of complex VLSI circuits are hierarchical design based on macrocells of arbitrary size and shape, power nets with local varying width, signal nets with individual width and very compacted layouts which still have to guarantee all geometrical design rules. This paper is devoted to the problem of automatic routing with real geometries. VWROUT, a Variable Width Routing System is presented. This includes planar power net routing with variable width on a single layer, loose and final routing of signal nets with variable width on two layers (H-V routing), and layout compaction with design-rule verification. Though automatic routing systems have been developed successfully, the intention of this paper is to demonstrate that layout programs of today have not yet become perfect. A lot of effort in software development is necessary in order that automatic layouts can compared with manual designs.


PURPOSE
We evaluated an anti-inflammatory effect of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) ectodomain shedding in ocular surface.

METHODS
Human corneal epithelial cell (HCEC) was first pretreated by TNF-α. Ectodomain shedding was stimulated by uridine triphosphate (UTP) or peptidoglycan (PGN), with or without shedding inhibition using TNF-α processing inhibitor (TAPI). The phosphorylation of the NF-κB inhibitory protein, IκB, was assessed by Western blotting and concentrations of soluble TNFR1 (sTNFR1) in culture medium were analyzed by ELISA. Tear fluid from patients with Sjögren syndrome and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was collected and analyzed by ELISA for sTNFR1 concentration. Five dry eye patients underwent topical treatment using diquafosol sodium eye drops, a purinergic P2Y2 receptor agonist, and the tear fluid of the patients was sampled before and 4 weeks after the treatment for sTNFR1 ELISA.

RESULTS
Phosphorylation of IκB was diminished by adding UTP or PGN, and this down-regulation of IκB phosphorylation was reversed by adding TAPI. In HCEC medium, sTNFR1 release was increased significantly by adding UTP or PGN, and inhibited significantly by adding TAPI. In the tears of the patients with Sjögren syndrome and GVHD, sTNFR1 expression was upregulated. In the tears of the patients with short breakup time (BUT) dry eye, sTNFR1 concentrations (ng/mL) in the tears were 1.30 ± 0.58 ng/mL for the pretreatment baseline, and 1.64 ± 0.70 after treatment, statistically significantly higher than those for the pretreatment (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Ectodomain shedding of sTNFR1 blocked TNF-α-induced intracellular signaling in corneal epithelium. The upregulation of sTNFR1 in inflamed ocular surfaces suggests an anti-inflammatory role of sTNFR1 ectodomain shedding at the ocular surface.


The Promises, Problems, and Possibilities for Alt-Networks Introduction Social media has become a central facet of contemporary life and that centralization has narrowed our perspectives and lessened our possibilities (Pariser, 2011; Vaidhyanathan, 2018). This centralizing of social media networks happens for their individual users, but also at the level of how social media informs our discourses through journalistic practice, government institutions, industry sectors. Because of the role that social media now play, we have become acutely aware of their shortcomings. Their platforms not only host but actively cultivate toxic and abusive environments for many of its users. In addition to their functions of interaction, they also provide avenues for increasing governmental control through surveillance or gatekeeping. Given the lack of adequate response from tech companies to these long standing issues, it was inevitable that something had to happen. In response to these conditions, tech advocates, activists, students, and scholars have launched numerous alternatives to mainstream social networks. These networks rethink what social media can and should do in times of over reliance on monolithic digital platforms. Some networks redesign the user's experience to lessen or eliminate harassment; some networks focus on data privacy responsibilities; some create spaces where non-centralized networks can persist even against oppressive governmental regimes. Given the rise and differentiation of alt-networks, there is a need to study and examine the proliferation of alt-networks. This panel offers four presentations varied in objects, different in methodological approaches, and diverse in their claims. In examining alt-networks, this panel will explore how these redesigned digital platforms respond to demands of scalability, how political activists develop and deploy alt-networks for protests, how researchers could cultivate a games theory approach to studying alt-networks and, finally, how the lack of certain features in alt-networks may doom their survival. The methods being explored will include critical theory, social science research, methodological discussion, and critical analysis through a rhetorical lens. Ultimately, our panel hopes to join in on emerging conversations about the ecology of networks and contribute valuable insights for internet research. A Network of Alt-Networks These papers have been carefully assembled to represent a substantial spectrum of the promises, problems, and possibilities for Alt-Tech today. In the first presentation, the paper develops a games theory approach to studying alt-networks, in this case, Mastodon instances. This is an important development as mainstream social media networks have benefited from years of research approaches, new networked objects create new networked questions requiring new methodological considerations. Related to this problem, the second presentation examines how and when alt-networks engage or resist the inevitable need to scale their operations. Such a study is important because mainstream social media impose a will to scale in ways that make it seem natural and unstoppable. The third presentation engages activists and how ad hoc alt-networks allow for platforms that avoid and leverage themselves against oppressive regimes. Finally, the fourth presentation will explore why alt-networks have so far failed alt-right political actors. This argument will look at how micro-interactions on platforms inform and drive a dangerous cycle of political antagonism. As a set, these presentations will give AoIR attendees a comprehensive survey of sites, methods, and sources for engaging and analyzing alt-networks. While the papers all draw heavily on critical theory and analysis, each differs in how they approach their objects of analysis. Using technical approaches, social science methods, speculative means, and rhetorical analysis the papers also demonstrate a wide swath of ways to encounter the alt-network. Finally, the sourcing and discourse engaged by each presentation activates multiple academic discussions while also sticking close to shared themes and concerns. The Possibilities of Alt-Networks This panel builds on recent work concerning the disappointment with mainstream social networks but also the promise of alternatives (Gehl, 2015, Tufekci, 2017). The adherence to tech industry's unfair labor practices, the inability to respond to users' needs, the lack of clear and consistent privacy responsibilities, the weak submission to governmental control— these concerns with social media have all been written (Noble, 2018; Roberts, 2019). The rise and proliferation of Alt-Networks is an important development for internet researchers because those innovations rekindle the earliest aims of the internet itself. Namely, the construction of a system whose topological configurations resisted centralization and allowed for its users to develop multiple ways of communicating knowledge to one another.


Many neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of amyloid fibers in the brain, which can occur when a protein misfolds into an extended beta-sheet conformation. The nucleation of these beta-sheet aggregates is of particular interest, not only because it is the rate-determining step toward fiber formation but also because early, soluble aggregate species may be the cytotoxic entities in many diseases. In the case of the prion peptide H1 (residues 109-122 of the prion protein) stable amyloid fibers form only after the beta-strands of the peptide have adopted their equilibrium antiparallel beta-sheet configuration with residue 117 in register across all strands. In this article, we present the kinetic details of the realignment of these beta-strands from their fastformed nonequilibrium structure, which has no regular register of the strands, into the more ordered beta-sheets capable of aggregating into stable fibers. This process is likely the nucleating step toward the formation of stable fibers. Isotope-edited IR spectroscopy is used to monitor the alignment of the beta-strands by the introduction of a (13)C-labeled carbonyl at residue 117. Nonexponential kinetics is observed, with a complex dependence on concentration. The results are consistent with a mechanism in which the beta-sheet realigns by both the repeated detachment and annealing of strands in solution and reptation of polypeptide strands within an aggregate.


This paper provides a linguistic account of opposed handshapes in Taiwan Sign Language (TSL). Examination of TSL opposed handshapes reveals that not all of the 29 logically possible opposed handshape types are attested. Of the ones that are attested, they differ (often drastically) in frequency of occurrence. We provide an analys is of the statistical data using Optimality Theory, showing that the various attested frequencies of opposed handshapes are systematic. The implications of this study for language change and acquisition are explored.


Corresponding author: David Sotello Contact Information: firstname.lastname@example.com In the last several months an increase in the numbers of cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This entity has been reported since 2014, the cases occur mostly in young children, and it has occurred in at least 29 states in 2018 (46 states since 2014). Most of the cases have presented between the months of August and October. This is a rare disease with an incidence of 1-2 cases per million children/year in the United States. This neurologic process usually starts as a mild febrile or respiratory illness followed by the appearance of neurologic symptoms, including sudden onset of upper and lower extremity weakness, loss of muscle tone or reflexes, ocular and facial muscular weakness, dysphagia, facial droop, urinary retention, constipation or fecal incontinence, etc. The deficits are mostly motor, but sensory deficits, such as numbness or tingling in upper or lower extremities may develop. Many etiologic causes have been proposed; AFM has been associated in the past with enteroviruses, such as poliovirus and enterovirus A71, and other viral etiologies like West Nile virus. The viral causality in confirmed cases has been heterogeneous; some authorities propose that the etiology must be multifactorial and that environmental factors need to be considered. None of the cases in the United States have tested positive for poliovirus; coxsackievirus A16, EV-A71, and EV-D68 have been isolated in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 4 of 414 confirmed cases of AFM as of November, 2018. The diagnosis is clinical with confirmation using magnetic resonance image (within 72 hours) of spinal lesions restricted to gray matter. The CSF may provide supportive evidence with increased white blood cell counts. There is no targeted treatment for AFM other than supportive care. The CDC does not recommend administration of corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, plasmapheresis, fluoxetine, antiviral medications, etc. The duration of symptoms is variable depending on the severity of presentation. There are no specific vaccines recommended to prevent all cases of AFM, and the CDC recommends standard hygiene measures, such as hand washing, the administration of poliovirus vaccine, and seasonal mosquito control to prevent West Nile virus cases.


In a previous study, peptides aggregating at pH 7.0 derived from a whey protein hydrolysate made with Bacillus licheniformis protease were fractionated and identified. The objective of the present work was to investigate the solubility of the fractionated aggregating peptides, as a function of concentration, and their aggregating capacities toward added intact proteins. The amount of aggregated material and the composition of the aggregates obtained were measured by nitrogen concentration and size exclusion chromatography, respectively. The results showed that of the four fractions obtained from the aggregating peptides, two were insoluble, while the other two consisted of 1:1 mixture of low and high solubility peptides. Therefore, insoluble peptides coaggregated, assumedly via hydrophobic interactions, other relatively more soluble peptides. It was also shown that aggregating peptides could aggregate intact protein nonspecifically since the same peptides were involved in the aggregation of whey proteins, beta-casein, and bovine serum albumin. Both insoluble and partly insoluble peptides were required for the aggregation of intact protein. These results are of interest for the applications of protein hydrolysates, as mixtures of intact protein and peptides are often present in these applications.


The tunneling current between a sample surface and a tip on an oscillating cantilever is simultaneously sampled with noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) images while changing the applied bias voltage. The tunneling current can be detected with the tip on an oscillating AFM cantilever, although it is reduced to less than 10% of the value at the closest separation, depending on the amplitude. The tunneling current and the chemical attractive force are large through the surface states at the same energy level on both the tip and the sample surface, the energy levels of which can be tuned by changing the bias voltage. By tuning them, the atomic contrast in a nc-AFM image is enhanced. On the other hand, by detuning them, the atomic contrast is weakened or can be inverted owing to the contribution of a short-range repulsive force.


Gemini surfactants, with double hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups, offer potentially orders of magnitude greater surface activity compared to similar single unit molecules. A cationic Gemini surfactant (Propyl didodecyldimethylammonium Bromide, PDDDAB) and a conventional cationic surfactant (Dodecyltrimethylammonium Bromide, DTAB) were used to pre-treat and generate activated carbon. The removal efficiency of the surfactant-modified activated carbon through adsorption of chromium(VI) was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the surface changes of surfactant-modified activated carbon. The effect of important parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH, ionic strength and contact time were also investigated. The chromium(VI) was adsorbed more significantly on the Gemini surfactant-modified activated carbon than on the conventional surfactant-modified activated carbon. The correlation coefficients show the data best fit the Freundlich model, which confirms the monolayer adsorption of chromium(VI) onto Gemini surfactant-modified activated carbon. From this assessment, the surfactant-modified (especially Gemini surfactant-modified) activated carbon in this study showed promise for practical applications to treat water pollution.


Workflow technology can quickly adapt to changes in needs, providing great flexibility for the software system. Component Technology implements the code reuse by certain encapsulation, being regarded as one of the key factors of software reuse. The research work of this paper provides a theory by component technology and workflow technology combining, illustrating that component-based development of workflow system not only simplify the complexity of the process definition but also maintain the flexibility of the system.


The gradual depletion of world petroleum reserves and the impact of environmental pollution due to increasing exhaust emissions have necessitated the urgent need to develop alternative energy resources, such as biodiesel fuel. Vegetable oil is a promising feedstock because it has several advantages; it is renewable and environmental friendly. The present study involves extraction of oil from Allamanda cathertica seed (Allamanda), Azadarachta indica and Jatropha caucus; conversion of the oil into biodiesel and the characterization of the methyl ester. Transesterification of the different feed stocks was conducted using sodium methaoxide (NaMt), sodium ethaoxide(NaEt), potassium methaoxide (PMt) and potassiumethaoxide (PEt) as catalysts, using a range of reaction temperatures (45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 O C) and different rates of stirring. Result showed that Allamanda seed produced 54% oil yield using mechanical extraction. The biodiesel yield was 97% using NaMt and NaEt as catalysts, while azadarachta oil gave 95% yield with PEt catalyst alone. Jatropha oil gave a yield of 70% biodiesel with all the catalysts used. The yield of biodiesel from Allamanda oil with respect to temperature were 63, 88, 94, 46 and 20% respectively. Characterization of the biodiesel produced from Allamanda oil compared favorably with the ASTM standards, viscosity 5.4, flash point 115 O C, refractive index 1.4756 and energy value 35.0MJ/L. The GCMS analysis of Allamanda methyl ester showed a range of 10 different methyl esters which includes hexadecanoic acid (24%), linoleic acid (14.8%), 13-Decosenoic acid (35.3%), 9-Octadecanoic acid (13.5%). The work concludes that allamanda oil could be a good and alternative feedstock to the edible feedstocks currently in use for biodiesel production.


Background: Various submaximal exercises such as Harvard step test (HST) is fairly accurate and reliable method for calculating Physical Fitness Index (PFI) and VO2 max. The PFI score can then be used to categorize the fitness level of the subject as excellent, good, average, and poor. Using recovery pulse count of HST, VO2 max can be calculated by mathematical equation.

Aims and Objectives: Our aim and objective were to conduct HST to calculate PFI and VO2 max values from recovery pulse counts after grouping the test subjects as obese and non-obese depending on percentage of body fat.

Materials and Methods: Ethical clearance was taken before the study and subjects were explained the procedure in detail. 20 non-obese and 20 obese subjects in the age group of 18–25 years were enrolled for the study. A 20-inch stepping platform, metronome, chair, stopwatch, wall mounted stature scope for height, and a weighing scale were used in the study. Anthropometric measurements such as height and weight were recorded. Skinfold thickness of the chest, thigh, and abdomen was measured using skinfold calipers.

Results: On comparison of the PFI scores between two groups, the value of Chi-square was found to be 28.78 with DF=3 and P < 0.0001 which is extremely significant. On comparing the VO2 max values of non-obese and obese group, the value of Chi-square was found to be 30.649, with DF= 5 and P < 0.0001 which is extremely significant.

Conclusion: The PFI scores were found to be much better in subjects who had less body fat percentage as compared to subjects who had body fat percentage >25%.


Rateless coding ensures reliability by providing ever-increasing redundancy, traditionally at the packet level (i.e. the application layer) through erasure coding. This paper explores whether additional redundancy for wireless channels is most helpful at the packet level through erasure coding or at the physical layer through lower-rate channel coding.

This cross-layer trade-off is explored in a traditional wireless setting where the communication of a message consisting of a fixed number of packets takes place over a Rayleigh fading channel. The examined scenarios include both a single receiver and multiple cooperating receivers allowing the results to be extended to situations where selection diversity is available in the system.

For several interesting scenarios, this paper determines the optimal trade-off between the amount of packet-level erasure coding and physical-layer channel coding required to provide reliable communication over the widest range of operating SNR's. Our results indicate that packet-level erasure coding can provide a significant benefit when no other form of diversity is available. In many cases, the amount of redundancy that should be allocated to such erasure coding is nearly constant, and further redundancy (i.e. any rateless coding) should be applied to the physical layer.


Though with slight ups and downs, Vietnamese economies have been flourishing for recent decades. Just like other remaining historical districts in Asia, those of Vietnam have been going through rapid urbanization and transformation. The rapid urbanization impacts on traditional living environment. This paper examines the impacts of rapid urbanization to traditional living environment and community linkage, illustrating a case study of the Gia Hoi area of the historic old district in the city of Hue in Central Vietnam. To identify the impacts, a comparative analysis is conducted between neighbors along a main street which were more impacted by urbanization and those along a small alley which were less impacted. Through the analysis of field and questionnaire surveys, it found out that socio-economic conditions, in particular, community linkage of households along main street and small ally varied significantly. It argues that in historical district, social capital is not well-spread, but rather concentrated along small allies; and small allies play an important role for sustainable community.


Abstract A simple graph is a minor of another if the first is obtained from the second by deleting vertices, deleting edges, contracting edges, and deleting loops and parallel edges that are created when we contract edges. A cube is an internally 4-connected planar graph with eight vertices and twelve edges corresponding to the skeleton of the cube in the platonic solid, and the Wagner graph V8 is an internally 4-connected nonplanar graph obtained from a cube by introducing a twist. A complete characterization of all internally 4-connected graphs with no V8 minor is given in J. Maharry and N. Robertson, The structure of graphs not topologically containing the Wagner graph, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 121 (2016) 398–420; on the other hand, only a characterization of 3-connected graphs with no cube minor is given in J. Maharry, A characterization of graphs with no cube minor, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 80 (2008) 179–201. In this paper we determine all internally 4-connected graphs that contain neither cube nor V8 as minors. This result provides a step closer to a complete characterization of all internally 4-connected graphs with no cube minor.


Prior work has shown that preschoolers divide resources fairly and expect others to do the same. The majority of research, however, has focused on how children make distributions with respect to number. Here we explore whether preschoolers attend to the value of the objects being shared. We presented four-year-olds and five-year-olds with two puppets and four stickers of different values to split between them. Our central question was whether children would share more valuable stickers with their preferred puppets. In Experiments 1–2, value was induced by making one sticker rarer than the others. In Experiments 3–4, value was measured subjectively (by asking the child which sticker s/he personally preferred). Across all experiments, children made fair numerical splits, but showed favoritism according to value. This work supports the hypothesis that young children coordinate number and value to show both fairness and favoritism when making resource distributions.


Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment because HDAC inhibitors have shown the ability to arrest proliferation of nearly all transformed cell lines. Recently, we have reported a new class of hydroxamic acid based HDAC inhibitors containing 14- or 15-membered non-peptide macrolide antibiotic (azithromycin, clarithromycin, and TE-802) skeletons as surface recognition group. In these HDAC inhibitors, the modified macrolide antibiotic is linked to the zinc chelating hydroxamic acid moiety via 5- or 6-methylene chain linker. All the compounds showed low nano-molar HDAC inhibitory activities and they selectively inhibited the growth of both small cell and non-small cell lung cancer cells over the healthy cells at concentrations more than 5 times the IC50 values. Azithromycin-linked hydroxamic acids selectively accumulate in vivo in the lung tissues of Bald/C mice, allowing for tissue targeted anti-cancer therapy. To further understand the depth of the SAR of this class of HDAC inhibitors on HDAC inhibitory activities and HDAC isoform selectivity, we investigated the consequence of incorporation of varied methylene-linkers, newly modified macrolide antibiotic skeleton, and new macrocyclic skeleton. We observed that these compounds retain anti-HDAC, anti-proliferative activities and in some cases therapeutic profile is even better than previously reported compounds.

Citation Format: Subhasish Tapadar, Idris Raji, Shaghayegh Fathi, Celinah Mwakwari, Eric Raftery, Adegboyega K. Oyelere. Non-peptide macrocyclic histone deacetylase inhibitors: A structure activity relationship study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Jun 19-22, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(13 Suppl):Abstract nr B57.


Objectives It is necessary to examine the details about the in-hospital mortality after primary stenting for ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the present drug-eluting stent (DES) era by using the various devices such as thrombectomy catheter and distal protection device. Therefore, this single centre, retrospective, and non-randomised study was conducted to clarify the predictors of in-hospital mortality in consecutive 901 first STEMIs in these 7 years. Methods The incidence of in-hospital mortality was 3.6% (n=32). The percentages of DES, IABP, IVUS, thrombectomy catheter, and distal protection device use were 81.1, 16.0, 96.3, 76.9 and 71.9%, respectively. The incidence of early definite stent thrombosis was 0.33% (n=3). The percentages of LV dysfunction (EF<40%), left main trunk, IABP use, complication of cardiac rupture, Killip classification 3–4, first TIMI-grade flow 0–1, and Rentrop grade 0–1, and the mean values of age, serum Ht at emergent room (ER), serum LDH at ER, serum Cr at ER, serum peak CK-MB were significantly different between in-hospital mortality group and discharge alive group. By multiple logistic regression analysis, complication of cardiac mechanical rupture, Killip classification 3–4, first TIMI-grade flow 0–1, LV dysfunction (EF<40%), and age were the significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. By multiple logistic regression analysis, the value of serum peak CK-MB and age were the predictors of cardiac rupture in the patients with complicated with cardiac rupture. Conclusions In the present DES era, the incidence of in-hospital mortality was only a few percentages. However, the optimal method besides primary stenting for the STEMI patient with aging and extend infarction needs to be further explored.


Authors analyse treatment and clinical and analytical evolution of 80 patients with hypertonic dehydration, depending on shock and acidosis. Several considerations concerning treatment and its' influence on evolution of different patients, emphasizing both therapeutic methods: with or without use of peritoneal dialysis, according to the values of initial natraemia, are made.


Ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury causes a variety of changes in tissue homeostasis that lead to necrosis and/or programmed cell death. Due to its strategic location at the luminal surface of vessels, the vascular endothelium is particularly sensitive to IR. In particular, endothelial biosynthetic activities (and their protective effects) appear to be impaired by the oxidative burst induced by a sudden increase in oxygen free radical species upon reperfusion. Importantly, this endothelial damage can be easily assessed in vivo in humans by measuring endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation. Paradoxically, recent studies have emphasized the central role of free radicals (including oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide) also in a protective process, denominated ischemic preconditioning, i.e. a condition whereby a given stimulus can increase the tolerance of a tissue to IR damage. We discuss the role of the endothelium in determining the mechanism of IR injury, and on the other side, the effect of IR injury on endothelial function. In particular, we focus on the role of reactive free radicals in endothelial IR injury and in the development of ischemic preconditioning.


A simple method of demonstrating the L. E. cell, the diagnostic cell in lupus erythematosus, by finger puncture is presented in this preliminary report. This method takes advantage of the modern refinements in technique for demonstrating the L. E. cell, namely, the use of clotted blood1and a suitable incubation period.2Its chief aim is to make the test available to the general practitioner, the internist, or the dermatologist without the special equipment of a laboratory. METHOD The finger is punctured in the usual manner as for the making of blood smears and about 10 drops of blood are collected in a small test tube. The tube we use is about 75 mm. in length and has an internal diameter of 7.5 mm. In such a tube 10 drops of blood would measure about 1/4 in. The blood is allowed to clot at room temperature for four to


While a number of health economists have recently applied portfolio theory to the economic evaluation of health care, its importance for resource allocation and medical decision making has not been well illustrated. Portfolio theory is concerned with optimal investment strategies, based on both return and risk, and demonstrates the potential benefits from pooling different investments into a single portfolio. Portfolio theory differs from other methods that focus on risk in medicine as it focuses on the variance around the mean for a single aggregated health outcome measure. This paper demonstrates the importance of using a portfolio theory framework when evaluating a number of health interventions from the perspective of a representative individual and it expands upon the existing literature on portfolio theory in several ways. First, it highlights the importance of distinguishing between risk and uncertainty. Next, it demonstrates that portfolio theory has implications for all types of statistical analysis of multiple interventions in medicine and not only for issues of resource allocation. Through a number of included simulations, this paper also illustrates the importance of accounting for covariance (the relationship between risks) and synergies (the relationship between outcomes). Finally, possible applications and limitations to implementing portfolio theory in medical and resource decision making are discussed.


The optoelectronic properties of blends of conjugated polymers and small molecules are likely to be affected by the molecular dynamics of the active layer components. We study the dynamics of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blends using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation on time scales up to 50 ns and in a temperature range of 250-360 K. First, we compare the MD results with quasi-elastic neutron-scattering (QENS) measurements. Experiment and simulation give evidence of the vitrification of P3HT upon blending and the plasticization of PCBM by P3HT. Second, we reconstruct the QENS signal based on the independent simulations of the three phases constituting the complex microstructure of such blends. Finally, we found that P3HT chains tend to wrap around PCBM molecules in the amorphous mixture of P3HT and PCBM; this molecular interaction between P3HT and PCBM is likely to be responsible for the observed frustration of P3HT, the plasticization of PCBM, and the partial miscibility of P3HT and PCBM.


The correlation functions of open Wilson line operators in two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the noncommutative torus are computed exactly. The correlators are expressed in two equivalent forms. An instanton expansion involves only topological numbers of Heisenberg modules and enables extraction of the weak-coupling limit of the gauge theory. A dual algebraic expansion involves only group theoretic quantities, winding numbers and translational zero modes, and enables analysis of the strong-coupling limit of the gauge theory and the high-momentum behaviour of open Wilson lines. The dual expressions can be interpreted physically as exact sums over contributions from virtual electric dipole quanta.


Introduction. Research design should take into account both (a) the specific nature of the object under scrutiny, and (b) approaches to its study in the past. This is to ensure that informed decisions are made regarding research design in future empirical studies. Here these factors are taken into account with reference to methodological choice for a doctoral study on tacit knowledge sharing, and the extent to tacit knowledge sharing may be facilitated by online tools. The larger study responds to calls for the two domains of knowledge management and human information behaviour to be considered together in terms of their research approaches and theory development.
Method. Relevant literature – both domain-specific (knowledge management) and general (research methods in social science) - was identified and analysed to identify the most appropriate approaches for an empirical study of tacit knowledge sharing.
Analysis. The analysis shows that there are a number of challenges associated with studying an intangible entity such as tacit knowledge. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods have been adopted in prior work on this theme, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Results. The analysis has informed a decision to adopt a research approach that deploys mixed methods for an inductive case study to extend knowledge of the influence of online tools on tacit knowledge sharing.
Conclusion. This work intends to open the debate on methodological choice and routes to implementation for studies that are subject to practical constraints imposed by the context in which they are situated.


and Applied Analysis Received 27 August 2013; Accepted 27 August 2013 Copyright © 2013 Abstract and Applied Analysis. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This article has been retracted as it is essentially identical in title and technical content with a published paper in Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization published in 2011. The article was submitted on the same day in two different journals; Abstract and Applied Analysis and Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization, without the knowledge of Dr. Dumitru Baleanu [1]. References [1] A. Farajzadeh, M. H. R. Doust, F. Haghighifar, and D. Baleanu, "The stability of Gauss model having one-prey and twopredators," Abstract and Applied Analysis, vol. 2012, Article ID 219640, 9 pages, 2012. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Abstract and Applied Analysis Volume 2013, Article ID 212769, 1 page http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/212769


Repetitive vector patterns are common in a variety of applications but can be challenging and tedious to create. Existing automatic synthesis methods target relatively simple, unstructured patterns such as discrete elements and continuous Bézier curves. This paper proposes an algorithm for generating vector patterns with diverse shapes and structured local interactions via a sample-based representation. Our main idea is adding explicit clustering as part of neighborhood similarity and iterative sample optimization for more robust sample synthesis and pattern reconstruction. The results indicate that our method can outperform existing methods on synthesizing a variety of structured vector textures. Our project page is available at https://phtu-cs.github.io/cvt-sig22/.


Objective: To assess the outcomes of changes in mental health policy introduced in Italy in 1978. Methods: Data on psychiatric services, before and after the policy change, are presented. Effects of change are evaluated through indicators related to four issues: transfer of care, criminalisation of the mentally ill, suicides, and homelessness. Results: Admissions of new patients to mental hospitals have been stopped and the size of the mental hospital population is now very low (26 per 100 000 population). Psychiatric care has been shifted to community services including general hospital psychiatric units. There has been an overall reduction of psychiatric hospitalisation. However, the provision of residential facilities is inadequate and community services are unevenly distributed across the country. Few negative effects of changing patterns of care have been reported, although the low quality of data limits the validity of such a conclusion. Outcome of care in areas where the full range of community services is available has been rated as satisfactory. Conclusions: Although care of the mentally ill has been shifted to community services, we lack hard data on the social and clinical outcome of communty care at the nation-wide level. Long-term monitoring and evaluation of community services is a high priority in Italy.