We have developed and characterized ultrafast and highly sensitive photodetectors based on GaAs nanowhiskers fabricated with an improved top-down etching method. We evaluated the material properties of the etched nanowhiskers by micro photoluminescence measurements and studied the effect of post annealing on nanowhiskers' luminescence. The nanowhiskers were integrated into the coplanar striplines for device testing using DC and time-resolved electro-optic characterization techniques. Our photodetectors exhibit a very low dark current below 500 pA at 10 V bias as well as a high responsivity of 0.19 A/W at 30 V, and a cut-off frequency of 1.3 THz. These characteristics make the GaAs nanowhisker photodetectors very promising candidates for high-speed optoelectronics and efficient THz emitters.


An adequate supply of dissolved oxygen (DO) is essential for the survival of aquatic organisms. Hydraulic structures can increase DO levels by creating turbulent conditions where small air bubbles are carried into the bulk of the flow. The flip bucket on open channel chutes with mild slopes is a particular instance of this, although the aeration performance of such structures has not been studied in the laboratory and field. This paper considers flip bucket chutes with different inclination angles and lip angles and how they affect aeration performance. It is demonstrated that the aeration efficiency of chutes with flip buckets is better than for those without.


: Seventy patents including 30 with psoriasis concurrent with chronic opisthorchiasis, 20 with psoriasis without opisthorchiasis, and 20 with chronic opisthorchiasis, were examined. Structural changes in the pancreas and its endocrine and exocrine functions were evaluated. Patients with psoriasis alone or in combination with chronic opisthorchiasis were found to have signs of pancreatic lesion with its impaired endocrine and exocrine functions. These impairments are more pronounced in the group of patients with mixed pathology.


A plant's compensatory performance refers to its ability to maintain or increase its reproductive output following damage. The ability of a plant to compensate depends on numerous factors including the type, severity, frequency and timing of damage, the environmental conditions and the plant's genotype. Upon apical damage, a cascade of hormonal and genetic responses often produces dramatic changes in a plant's growth, development, architecture and physiology. All else being equal, this response is largely dependent on a plant's genotype, with different regrowth patterns displayed by different genotypes of a given species. In this study, we compare the architectural and growth patterns of two Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes following apical damage. Specifically, we characterise regrowth patterns of the genotypes Columbia-4 and Landsberg erecta, which typically differ in their compensation to apical meristem removal. We report that Landsberg erecta suffered reductions in the number of stems produced, maximum elongation rate, a delay in reaching this rate, lower average rosette quality throughout the growing period, and ultimately, less aboveground dry biomass and seed production when damaged compared to undamaged control plants. Columbia-4 had no reductions in any of these measures and maintained larger rosette area when clipped relative to when unclipped. Based on the apparent influence of the rosette on these genotypes' compensatory performances, we performed a rosette removal experiment, which confirmed that the rosette contributes to compensatory performance. This study provides a novel characterisation of regrowth patterns following apical damage, with insights into those measures having the largest effect on plant performance.


Electricity is one of not only the most necessities for the daily life activities of people, but also the major driving force for economic growth and development of every country. Due to the unstorable nature of electricity, the adequate supply of electricity has to be always available and uninterruptible to meet the intermittently growing demand. This paper is proposed Neural Networks (NN) with Backpropagation learning algorithm and regression analysis approaches for electricity demand forecasting. We aim to compare these two methods in this paper using the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) to measure the forecasting performance. The factors that, number of population, number of household, electricity price and gross domestic product (GDP) are selected based on correlation coefficients. The results show that neural networks model is more effective than regression analysis model.


An active microwave frequency tripler using an AlGaN/GaN HEMT device is developed. This is the first reported frequency tripler implemented in GaN technology. Design of the frequency tripler is performed using a high-accuracy, multi-harmonic, wideband model which predicts the effects of self-heating and charge-trapping. A method of determining the optimal load and source networks using harmonic load-/source-pull simulations and synthesizing using harmonic reflectors is described. The tripler upconverts fo=3.33GHz to 10GHz to achieve a maximum power of +30.0dBm (1.0W). As such, it provides multiplied powers which are approximately 50 times greater than those previously reported.


The requirement for occupational radiation doses to be As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA), promulgated by the International Commission on Radiation Protection in 1977, transformed radiation protection practice. It also led the way to develop similar standards for a range of occupational hazards. The radiation world is now increasingly recognising the relevance of individual sensitivity to ionising radiations, with the real prospect that this will be incorporated into future occupational protection standards. The key drivers are; a. Known genetic sensitivity, and gene testing is feasible. b. Radiation risk relates to general cancer risk, including lifestyle. c. Some specific risks may be much higher in human subgroups. Individual sensitivity to other occupational hazards is well established, but little acknowledged. Genetic factors are linked to a wide range of occupational diseases, including those from physical, chemical, biological and even psychological exposures. In relation to lifestyle, there is a synergy between the more than additive effects of radon and asbestos when either is linked with cigarette smoke. We are also aware high occupational risk in subgroups, for example; Type 1 hypersensitivity to Latex being almost exclusively restricted to the strongly atopic. The ethical, scientific and practical difficulties of standards based on individual sensitivity are huge, with the strong possibility that restricting consideration to radiation induced cancer would not provide a model that is relevant throughout occupational health. It is suggested that ICOH should seek to join with ICRP in setting up a system to look at the issue in its entirety.


I read with interest the exchange of letters between Taylor and Cohn (1). I admit that I was not aware of the fact, highlighted during their exchange, that epidural injection of sterile water produced pain. Nor was I aware that this phenomenon was common to fluids that differed markedly from normal tonicity (2). This information, however, helps me to explain an interesting clinical observation. When placing an epidural catheter preoperatively in an awake patient for postoperative pain management, I sometimes tested the patency of the catheter with undiluted fentanyl. This always resulted in severe pain at the site of injection irrespective of the level of the catheter, the speed of injection, or the volume of fentanyl injected. Therefore, I abandoned this practice without being able to explain this phenomenon. After reading the letters of Taylor and Cohn, I suspected that this phenomenon could be related to the tonicity of fentanyl. Further inquiry into the matter revealed that fentanyl is a hypotonic drug with an osomolality of 10 to + 10 mOsm/ kg and a specific gravity of 0.999 (Steven Irvin, Wyeth Laboratories, St. Davids, PA; personal communication, 1994). Based on this information, hypotonicity is most likely responsible for the pain associated with the epidural injection of undiluted fentanyl. Because the drug is usually mixed with normal saline or local anesthetics when injected epidurally, this unpleasant characteristic of undiluted fentanyl is, fortunately, rarely a problem in routine clinical practice.


Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s . National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. 2 October 2010–5 September 2011

The American world's fairs of the Depression years were over-the-top, optimistic projects that made future-gazing a cultural staple. According to the fairs' organizers and promoters, such looking ahead could bolster people's sagging faith in the country's economic and political systems. These fairs decanted a messy decade into neat packages of hope, dramatized the shape of things to come, and distorted or denied social reality to accommodate corporate America's consumerist utopias.

Creating a museum exhibition decades later, out of such extravagantly hopeful projects, poses a robust intellectual challenge. How does one recreate the particular mood of the fairs in their historic times without overinvesting in their seductive messages? Balancing an "authentic" representation of past events with the unavoidable lessons of hindsight is a daunting task.

The exhibition at the National Building Museum titled Designing Tomorrow: America's World's Fairs of the 1930s deftly negotiated this challenge. It rendered momentarily irrelevant the question of whether or not one left the show with a deep and nuanced knowledge of 1930s America by presenting a visually pleasurable array of artifacts from six Depression-era fairs: the Century of Progress International Exposition, held in Chicago in 1933–34; the California Pacific International Exposition, staged in San Diego in 1935–36; the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas of 1936; the Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland of 1936–37; the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco of 1939–40; and the New York World's Fair of 1939–40. Bringing together original objects, drawings, posters, souvenirs, multimedia, reproductions, and even a replica of Westinghouse's Electro robot from the 1939 New …


This paper evaluates the contributions of federal credit and insurance programs based on their effectiveness in addressing imperfections in credit and insurance markets, including adverse selection caused by asymmetric information, moral hazard resulting from monitoring difficulties, resource constraints caused by high transactions costs, limited ability to absorb hard-to-predict exogenous shocks, and temporary disequilibria caused by overreactions of market participants. For the purpose of subsidizing target populations, other policy tools, such as direct subsidies and tax credits, can be more effective. During normal times when economic agents behave rationally, credit programs including Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) make at best minor contributions. Subsidized federal loans have ambiguous effects on adverse selection. The private market is capable of providing sufficient liquidity without GSEs. In a financial crisis when lenders may be overreacting to increased loan delinquencies, federal credit programs can be a critical source of funding. However, this secondary role alone may not be enough to justify continuous presence of credit programs. Insurance programs have stronger justifications. Regulatory authority gives the federal government an advantage in monitoring certain types of policyholders, such as depository institutions and pension funds. The most critical advantage of the federal government derives from its ability to secure enough resources ex post to honor claims. Thanks to this ability, the federal government can provide credible insurance against hard-to-predict catastrophic events.


BACKGROUND:The Episure™ AutoDetect™ (spring-loaded) syringe has been observed to successfully identify the epidural space in 2 pilot studies. In this study we evaluated the impact of the spring-loaded syringe on the establishment of successful epidural labor analgesia (primary outcome), elapsed time for catheter placement, and learning curve (cumulative summary analysis, i.e., Cusum) of experienced anesthesiologists. METHODS:Fourteen attending and fellow anesthesiologists were randomized to perform 50 consecutive epidural technique attempts using a spring-loaded or conventional glass syringe. Ten participants completed an additional 50 attempts with the alternate syringe in a crossover design. RESULTS:A total of 1200 epidural placement attempts were performed. Use of the spring-loaded syringe was associated with a nonsignificant difference of estimated success rate in obtaining analgesia success (absolute difference of 1.0% 95% confidence interval, CI: −8.9% to 10.8%), shorter elapsed mean time to epidural catheter placement (ratio of 0.92 95% CI, 0.89–0.96); P = 0.003) and similar Cusum curves when compared with a conventional glass syringe. Analgesia success was more common with attending versus fellow anesthesiologists (absolute difference of 34.6% 95% CI, 14.9% to 54.3%; P < 0.001), and when the initial preferred technique was loss-of-resistance to continuous saline versus intermittent air (absolute difference of 33.8% 95% CI, 12.6% to 55.0%; P < 0.001). Shorter elapsed mean times were also observed in the group exposed to the spring-loaded syringe first (ratio of 0.65 95% CI, 0.62–0.67; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS:When used by experienced obstetric anesthesiologists, the spring-loaded syringe was associated with a similar overall rate for establishing successful epidural labor analgesia, a shorter elapsed time to epidural catheter insertion, particularly when the anesthesiologist was randomized to use the novel syringe first, and a similar Cusum curve when compared with a conventional glass syringe. Attending versus fellow anesthesiologists and an initial technique preference for loss-of-resistance to continuous saline were associated with greater analgesia success with the novel syringe.


Ubiquitous CCTV cameras are a commonplace in cities with their presence on street intersections, bus stops, train stations and ferry terminals, etc. This paper presents an idea to use Artificial Intelligence in devising heat maps whereby traffic density is mapped from CCTV camera image grab of a location. When fed into the Traffic Management System (TMS), relevant alerts can be issued to the Traffic Controllers, consequently, deploying a bus or a metro train to meet that extra rush of passengers. Intelligent models can be developed that create novel routes during specific events in the city. New demand and response models can be created within TMS thru use of data science. Routes can be temporarily modified, with crowded stops added and uncrowded ones removed. Passengers are given adequate notice thru live alerts. Ethical issues related to data privacy are handled by specialized software. Such an intelligent system can help control crime. By active monitoring, the response time in attending accidents can be lessened. Necessary warnings are issued to bus operators concerning elderly and people with special needs, enabling better onboarding experience.


The determinations of | V ub | from the exclusive branching ratios of B → τν and B → π l ν tend to show a tension at the level of 3 σ [1]. On the theoretical side they depend on the lattice computation of the hadronic matrix elements f B and the B → π form factor f + ( q 2 ) . To understand the tension, improved precision and a careful analysis of the systematics involved are necessary. Working towards this goal, we present preliminary lattice results of the ALPHA collaboration for the B → π form factor f + ( q 2 ) with N f = 2 flavours of O ( a ) -improved Wilson fermions. Our computation uses HQET in the static limit, pion masses ranging down to ∼ 250 MeV, large vol-umes with m π L > 4, three lattice spacings, and non-perturbative renormalization. We describe the techniques adopted to reduce the statistical noise (stochastic all-to-all with full time dilution) and the contamination from excited states (smearing for the B and the pion). We estimate the size of the chiral and continuum extrapolations. We discuss the impact our result could have to clarify the above mentioned discrepancy in the determination of | V ub | .


: In 21 st century, available new emerging technologies offer innovative & multiple dimensions of teaching and learning process for open, distance and formal education systems, but none of them has been as popular, readily available and accessible as mobile learning. The mobiles phones with latest features of technology version are most frequently used product by the learners in these day. As mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous, many educational scholars and practitioners have incorporated this technology with teaching and learning environment. Therefore, this new way to use technology help to re-design and reconstruct the education process in numerous ways. The m-learning has a provision of self-study, feedback, supports, teachers-students; students - students' interactions with regard to course content is possible to students. This is a wonderful quality of m-learning that it is available anywhere, anytime. Every technology has some strength and limitations therefore mobile devices have also some exception. There is a three main kind of challenges for mobile devices, first is in term of physical attributes; secondly challenges related with technology or operating systems attribute and third great challenge seems that there is lack of associations between the mobile software and mobile learning apps with the pedagogical, psychological and sociological approach of education. The extension of ICT through mobile device is helpful to resolve many challenges associated it. If m-learning can be used properly along with the ICT then it can make a difference to provide accessibility, equality and quality of education in the masses.


In this report, we measure the distance between consumers' homes and the merchants at which they shop. Leveraging over 197 million credit and debit card transactions from more than 581 million de-identified customers in 15 cities, we analyzed credit and debit card transactions in Detroit and New York for the second quarter of each year in the 2013-2016 period. We organize our results into five findings. First, in 2016, residents of Detroit and New York made 71.6 percent and 56.8 percent of their transactions outside of their 20-minute neighborhood, respectively. Second, distances between residents and their chosen merchants dropped in both cities between 2013 and 2016. Third, in 2016, the distance between residents and their chosen merchants was longest for low-income residents and shortest for high-income residents in both cities. Fourth, between 2013 and 2016, the distance between residents and their chosen merchants fell for low-income residents in both Detroit and New York. Fifth, between 2013 and 2016, access to necessities like pharmacies, grocery stores, and non-durable providers improved the most. Overall, we explored the time costs of local, commercial activity, and the data revealed that access to retail is a complex issue that can be better addressed by understanding where and how often people actually shop. We find that significant variation in the distance between residents and their chosen merchants exists across product types, which is critical information for local policymakers and other stakeholders.


Sea turtles around the world are threatened with extinction, largely due to human activities. To better protect sea turtles, we need to improve our understanding of the activities that threaten them. However, we often do not know the cause of sea turtle deaths, making it difficult to help protect them. This is the case in the Chesapeake Bay, USA, where hundreds of dead sea turtles are found washed up on beaches each year. In this study, researchers investigated these events, known as sea turtle strandings, to better understand why sea turtles in this region are dying. First, they carried out experiments to predict when and where sea turtles died at sea. This information was then used to identify potential causes of sea turtle mortality. The results of the study suggest that high sea turtle mortality occurs at the entrance of the Bay, where many human activities take place.


A retrospective study was undertaken to examine the prognosis of gastric outlet obstruction with specific reference to patients with obstruction due to peptic ulcer. During the 10-year period 1970-1979, 68 patients with gastric outlet obstruction were admitted to our hospital. Obstruction was caused by peptic ulceration in 55 of these patients, all of whom initially were managed conservatively. Thirty-four, however, required surgical decompression during their first admission for obstruction, and 11 needed surgery for a subsequent episode of obstruction. Of the ten patients who have not undergone surgery, six died within 3 years of their first episode of obstruction and three of the four survivors continue to have recurrent obstructive symptoms. Overall, 92% (45/49) of patients who have lived for more than 3 years after their presentation with gastric outlet obstruction due to peptic ulcer have required surgery for relief of obstruction.


In the present paper a series of implemented computer systems of information extraction for question answering that generate explanations of this extraction from text and image are presented. These computer generated explanations of the performance of a computer system may function as a criterion of the exhibition of Machine Consciousness. Additionally the systems presented in the present paper may facilitate their communication with their users. Such communication is very useful for building the confidence of a user to a computer system. The main information extraction method used by the systems described here is the one based on a finite state automaton. Following the presentation of systems that have been implemented by our group for various text bases a novel development is reported concerning the explanation of image anomalies. The presentation of our novel work is helped by an example of anomaly detection and explanation in modern paintings.


In emerging mobile aggregation applications (e.g., large-scale mobile survey), individual privacy is a crucial factor to determine the effectiveness, for which the noise-addition method (i.e., a random noise value is added to the true value) is a simple yet powerful approach. However, improper additive noise could result in bias for the aggregate result. It demands an optimal noise distribution to reduce the deviation. In this paper, we develop a mathematical framework to derive the optimal noise distribution that provides privacy protection under the constraint of a limited value deviation. Specifically, we first derive a generic system dynamic function that the optimal noise distribution must satisfy, and further investigate two special cases for the distribution of the original value (i.e., Gaussian and Truncated Gaussian distribution). Our theoretical analysis suggests that the Gaussian distribution is the optimal solution for the Gaussian input, and can be regarded as the optimal solution for the truncated Gaussian input under some suitable conditions.


The uptake of Ce3+, Nd3+, Gd3+, Er3+, and Lu3+ on vermiculite was studied using cation-exchange measurements, infrared spectroscopy (IR), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The reaction was followed by measuring the amount of lanthanide ions (Ln3+) taken up by n-butylammonium-ex-changed vermiculite in relation to amount of Ln3+ salt added and the pH of the equilibrium solution. The amount of Ln3+ taken up in excess of the CEC value increased with the hydration energy of the lanthanide ion and with the pH of the n-butylammonium-exchanged vermiculite suspension. At equilibrium solution pHs of 3–4.5, the uptake of Ln3+ ions was only slightly greater than the CEC, whereas at pHs >4.5 the amount taken up by the vermiculite increased sharply. The uptake of Ln3+ ions beyond the CEC of the vermiculite is probably related to the hydrolysis of Ln3+ ions on the vermiculite interlayer surface. The appearance of a band at 1715–1720 cm−1 in the IR spectra of the Ln3+-exchanged vermiculite suggests a strongly acidic medium in the interlayer space. The Ln3+-exchanged vermiculites gave XRD patterns having 002/001 intensity ratios greater than that of Mg-exchanged vermiculite.


The Mexican Caribbean and its main cities have the highest population growth rate in Mexico. This work goal was to analyze the growth of the city of Chetumal and the geopedological characteristics in which it has been developed, to identify potential hazards and thereby improve development programs. The methodology consisted in the study of geopedological characteristics and the analysis of land use changes in the city over time. The main problems of Chetumal are floods and subsidence. Floods are more common in areas where Gleysols soils are found in low-lying areas. The subsidence is associated to Leptosols with a phreatic mantle at a shallow depth where the precipitations favors dissolution of rock. The extrapolation of the relationships between geopedological conditions and the area occupied by the city, allows us to suppose that areas which the current Urban Development Program proposes for future city expansion will develop the same problems of subsidence and flooding as the areas already built in sites with similar conditions.


This paper aims to identify the poor households in terms of the levels of poverty and inequality by using income data from the nation-wide 'National Survey of Household Income and Expenditure (NSHIE-2004-05)' of the NCAER. The definition used by the Tendulkar Committee (41.8 per cent poor in rural and 25.7 per cent poor in urban India) is applied by using the per capita income level for arriving at the official 'poor' households. Further, a comparative profile of the poor and non-poor households is presented by using various socio-economic indicators collected in the survey. For instance, the results of the survey reveal that around one-fourth of the 14 million odd official 'poor' households in urban India own a two-wheeler each, one-third of them own a color television each, and almost two-third own a pressure cooker each. Almost one in five urban official 'poor' households has at least one well-educated member who is graduate or above. The paper also attempts to test the sensitivity of the poverty measures to the different deprivation ratios estimated by the Planning Commission, the World Bank, Arjun Sengupta (NCEUS report) and Suresh Tendulkar.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the gynecological examination and endometrial cytology in Holstein cows with more than three repetitions of estrus. The experiment was conducted in six commercial dairy herds both with similar reproductive and sanitary managements and assisted by veterinarians. It was included only Holstein cows up to five calving and more than three consecutive repetitions of estrus. Seventy-seven cows were identified and carried gynecological examination and endometrial cytology. The reproductive causes found in this study, subject to involuntary culling, were: clinical endometritis with purulent vaginal discharge and more than 3% neutrophils (7.79%), clinical endometritis with purulent vaginal discharge and less than 3% neutrophils (2.6%), subclinical endometritis (10.4%), urovagina (1.3%) and 77.9% cows with unknown causes and they were not associated with reproductive disorders evaluated. It was concluded: a) the rate of cows without diagnosis is very high and it interferes directly to the reproductive performance; b) the proposed examination diagnosed 22.1% of clinical disorders that might be prevented or treated and thus decreasing the involuntary culling.


Abstract. We present a characterization, comparison and analysis of in-situ spectral reflectance of Sago and other palms (coconut, oil palm and nipa) to ascertain on which part of the electromagnetic spectrum these palms are distinguishable from each other. The analysis also aims to reveal information that will assist in selecting which band to use when mapping Sago palms using the images acquired by these sensors. The datasets used in the analysis consisted of averaged spectral reflectance curves of each palm species measured within the 345–1045 nm wavelength range using an Ocean Optics USB4000-VIS-NIR Miniature Fiber Optic Spectrometer. This in-situ reflectance data was also resampled to match the spectral response of the 4 bands of ALOS AVNIR-2, 3 bands of ASTER VNIR, 4 bands of Landsat 7 ETM+, 5 bands of Landsat 8, and 8 bands of Worldview-2 (WV2). Examination of the spectral reflectance curves showed that the near infra-red region, specifically at 770, 800 and 875 nm, provides the best wavelengths where Sago palms can be distinguished from other palms. The resampling of the in-situ reflectance spectra to match the spectral response of optical sensors made possible the analysis of the differences in reflectance values of Sago and other palms in different bands of the sensors. Overall, the knowledge learned from the analysis can be useful in the actual analysis of optical satellite images, specifically in determining which band to include or to exclude, or whether to use all bands of a sensor in discriminating and mapping Sago palms.


An Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus survey was undertaken in the northeast part of the Republic of Sudan during eight days in September and October 2010. Raptor and large bird counts were conducted along 2010km of roads travelled. In total 2818 individual raptors of 23 species were counted. The most common were the group of Black and Yellow-billed Kites Milvus spp. and Egyptian Vultures, forming 82 .8% and 8.0% of all raptors respectively, while Snake Eagles Circaetus spp., Ruppell's Vultures Gyps rueppellii, and Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus accounted for 2.0, 2.8 and 1.3% of the raptor assemblage, respectively. Keywords :  Sudan, road count, raptors


ABSTRACT This study investigates how the durations of childcare leaves taken by mothers and fathers in Germany relate to the gender division of housework and childcare after labour market return. It examines to what extent changes in economic resources because of leave take-up may account for adaptations in the division of domestic work of dual-earner couples. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1992–2012) on about 800 couples with a first or second birth, we applied OLS regression models with lagged dependent variables. The results suggested that dual-earner couples where mothers took longer leaves experienced a greater shift towards a gender-traditional division of domestic labour after childbirth. Fathers' leave take-up was associated with a more equal division of family work. Lower relative earnings, e.g. as a result of changes in job-related skills after the leave, did not account for the shift in the gender division of family work.


The 2015 assessment of the conservation status of the Neotropical primates reported that 91 species and subspecies (42.5%) are threatened. This highlights the need to establish priority actions to mitigate the threats caused by human activities and promote the conservation of their populations and habitats. Ecuador is fifth-ranking of the Neotropical countries in terms of primate richness, with 22 taxa, 11 of which are threatened. Ongoing conservation actions need to be improved and new ones need to be designed. In this context, we are drawing up a Conservation Action Plan for the primates of Ecuador, which brings together the main organizations and experts involved in the study of Ecuadorian primates. The plan builds on previous work done by the organizations involved, and will be periodically modified and updated taking into account new information as it is generated. The multidisciplinary approach of this initiative was a key factor in promoting the fulfillment of the goal of this action plan, which is to reduce the extinction risk of the threatened primates in Ecuador, and generate information to properly assess species currently listed as Data Deficient before 2027. This plan is not only important for the information it presents, but also because it is a clear example of what can be achieved when the government, academia and society work together towards the common goal of improving the conservation status of Ecuadorian primates and their habitats.


In this paper, we provide an alternative derivation of the optimal power allocation for distributed passive radar systems in closed-form. Our approach provides new insights to the nature of the power allocation problem and extracts some optimality conditions which are in turn used to achieve a new algorithm with reduced complexity for a reliable sensor selection. Finally, we show the computational complexity and the run-time of the proposed algorithm against the previously available one by analytic and simulative comparisons.


Atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMS) are unique and valuable tools for the analysis of large-scale hydrology. AGCM simulations of climate provide tremendous amounts of hydrological data with a spatial and temporal coverage unmatched by observation systems. To the extent that the AGCM behaves realistically, these data can shed light on the nature of the real world's hydrological cycle. In the first part of the seminar, I will describe the hydrological cycle in a typical AGCM, with some emphasis on the validation of simulated precipitation against observations. The second part of the seminar will focus on a key goal in large-scale hydrology studies, namely the identification of simple, overarching controls on hydrological behavior hidden amidst the tremendous amounts of data produced by the highly complex AGCM parameterizations. In particular, I will show that a simple 50-year-old climatological relation (and a recent extension we made to it) successfully predicts, to first order, both the annual mean and the interannual variability of simulated evaporation and runoff fluxes. The seminar will conclude with an example of a practical application of global hydrology studies. The accurate prediction of weather statistics several months in advance would have tremendous societal benefits, and conventional wisdom today points at the use of coupled ocean-atmosphere-land models for such seasonal-to-interannual prediction. Understanding the hydrological cycle in AGCMs is critical to establishing the potential for such prediction. Our own studies show, among other things, that soil moisture retention can lead to significant precipitation predictability in many midlatitude and tropical regions.


PV-1 is a novel protein component of the endothelial fenestral and stomatal diaphragms. PV-1 cDNA and protein sequences are highly conserved across species. The conserved extracellular domain features found in rat, mouse, and human PV-1 protein are four N-glycosylation sites, two coiled-coil domains, a proline-rich region, and even cysteine spacing. No consensus site in the intracellular domain was found. Northern blotting of mouse and human tissues is in agreement with and expands those performed in rat and correlated well with the postulated presence of PV-1 in the endothelial diaphragms. The genomic organization of the human and mouse genes (HGMW-approved symbol PLVAP) has been determined, and the analysis of their 5' flanking regions has found a highly conserved classical TATA-driven promoter that shows several transcription factor consensus binding sites. Radiation hybrid panel mapping has localized the human and mouse PLVAP genes to chromosomes 19p13.2 and 8B3-C1, respectively.


In terms of social media adoption the paper indicate that micro businesses see social media as a great marketing equalizer or opportunity in which they can compete on a level playing field with their larger counterparts. This study reveals that social media is in infancy stages of its development even in European countries as people though they are present on the social media landscape, but have not yet, thought of it as a mainstream marketing channel. Given, the small population of Sweden, it has also been showed that micro businesses are keeping good customer relationship with customers via word-of-mouth marketing which is instrumental for success. At the same time, this finding does not indicate any clear picture as to which form of marketing is doing better for these businesses. The research suggests that that micro firms in Sverige need to adopt a wait and see approach for the time being and start preparing to capitalize on social media soon when it becomes ripe and ready for marketing.


American Political Leaders contains more than 250 biographical profiles of men and women in the United States who have demonstrated their political leadership primarily by being elected, nominated, or appointed to significant political offices in the United States or by having attained some special prominence associated with political leadership. This reference work provides students and general readers with a concise, readable guide to present and past leaders in U.S. politics. Included in this book are presidents, vice presidents, major party candidates for president, significant third party candidates, important Supreme Court Justices, Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives, senators, representatives, cabinet officers, significant agency heads, and diplomats. Since much of U.S. political leadership involves the representation of successive waves of new groups within the U.S. political system, special care has been taken to include the contributions of women, Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Americans who represented earlier waves of immigrants to the United States.


Still photos of the seafloor in Raudfjorden, Spitsbergen, recorded in 2011, showed an abundant macroalga at a depth of 166 m. The macroalga was observed attached to stones of varying size and streaming in the bottom current, which would imply that the alga was alive and growing in situ . The alga likely experiences very low-light conditions, as it is present in a turbid fjord influenced by glacial sedimentation. Arctic macroalgae are often adapted to low-light conditions, but to the authors' knowledge, the present report is the deepest record of living macroalgae in the high Arctic.


A case of holoprosencephaly is reported in which the mother was prescribed high doses of oestroprogestins during the first 5 months of the pregnancy. Investigation of the family failed to reveal any sign of physical abnormality. A normal karyotype was detected in the proband. The authors suggest that this case may shed some light on the normal and abnormal way in which embryonic fields develop.


Changes in the degree of sensitization of the erythrocytes or of the hemolysis time are shown to affect the activities of several complement solutions to different extents. These peculiarities are attributed to differences in the C component ratios of the solutions. It is suggested that two functional activities are involved in C interactions, one taking part in fixation and the other involved in a subsequent hemolytic attack on the erythrocyte. The apparent anomalies in C activity are attributed to the interactions of these two agents.


This paper introduces an observer-based H∞ fuzzy control design method for discrete-time nonlinear systems with multiplicative noise. First, the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is employed to approximate a nonlinear discrete-time system with multiplicative noise. Secondly, the stability conditions are derived via Lyapunov function to analyze the stability and H∞ performance of system. Thirdly, the standard two-step method is adopted to separately obtain the controller gain matrices and the observer gain matrices by solving two sets of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). Finally, a numerical simulation is given to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach.


Abstract

Fatigue is a common phenomenon in IBD patients, which contributes significantly to the burden of the disease. The pathophysiology of IBD-related fatigue is considered multifactorial, but at present the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Based on the literature and the data presented in this thesis, we propose a multifactorial conceptual model in which both somatic and psychological factors are accounted for fatigue.


Among those transversally elliptic operators initiated by Atiyah and Singer, Kohn's $\Box_b$ operator on CR manifolds with $S^1$ action is a natural one of geometric significance for complex analysts. Our first main result establishes an asymptotic expansion for the heat kernel of such an operator with values in its Fourier components, which involves an unprecedented contribution in terms of a distance function from lower dimensional strata of the $S^1$-action. Our second main result computes a local index density, in terms of \emph{tangential} characteristic forms, on such manifolds including \emph{Sasakian manifolds} of interest in String Theory, by showing that certain non-trivial contributions from strata in the heat kernel expansion will eventually cancel out by applying Getzler's rescaling technique to off-diagonal estimates. This leads to a local result which can be thought of as a type of local index theorem on these CR manifolds. As applications of our CR index theorem we can prove a CR version of Grauert-Riemenschneider criterion, and produce many CR functions on a weakly pseudoconvex CR manifold with transversal $S^1$ action and many CR sections on some class of CR manifolds, answering (on this class of manifolds) some long-standing questions in several complex variables and CR geometry. We give examples of these CR manifolds, some of which arise from Brieskorn manifolds. Moreover in some cases, without use of equivariant cohomology method nor keeping contributions arising from lower dimensional strata as done in previous works, we can reinterpret Kawasaki's Hirzebruch-Riemann-Roch formula for a complex orbifold with an orbifold holomorphic line bundle, as an index theorem obtained by a single integral over a smooth CR manifold which is essentially the circle bundle of this line bundle.


The current financial turmoil has generated considerable discussion of liquidity. Moreover, it has been widely reported that the Federal Reserve played a major role in supplying liquidity to financial markets during this distressed time. This article describes two ways in which the Fed has supplied liquidity since late 2007. The first is traditional: The Fed supplies liquidity by providing credit through open market operations and by lending to depository institutions at the so-called discount window. The second is by enhancing the liquidity of portfolios of some institutions by replacing their less-liquid assets with more-liquid assets. The Fed has used the second approach since late 2007. Unlike several previous occasions, however, it began supplying liquidity in the first, more traditional way only recently-in September 2008. This article notes that the Fed departed from its long-standing tradition of minimizing its effect on the allocation of credit by supplying liquidity to institutions that it believed to be most in need; at the same time, it neutralized the effects of these actions on the total supply of liquidity in the financial market. The article also discusses the Fed's reasons for reallocating credit this time rather than simply increasing the total supply of financial market liquidity.


Insufficient aqueous solubility of clotrimazole (CLO) is the main problem in designing pharmaceutical formulations and limits its therapeutic efficiency. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers give the opportunity to decrease this limitation because of their solubilising and permeation enhancement properties. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of PAMAM dendrimers on the release of CLO from hydrogels and water suspensions. PAMAM dendrimers improved permeation of CLO from all analyzed formulations in the following order: PAMAM-NH2 G3 > PAMAM-NH2 G2 > PAMAM-OH G3 > PAMAM-OH G2. The effect evoked by PAMAM dendrimers was the most potent from hydrogels containing dissolved drug.

 Key words: Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers, clotrimazole, hydrogels.


BACKGROUND: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a late sequel of venous thromboembolism affecting up to 4% of patients surviving symptomatic pulmonary embolism. CTEPH is characterized by organized thrombi in the pulmonary arteries leading to right heart failure and death. Previous studies have demonstrated that in vitro fibrin clots from CTEPH patients were resistant to plasmin-mediated lysis, causing persistence of the N-terminus of the β-chain of fibrin. We employed FX06, a natural occurring fibrin derived peptide that represents the sequence Fibrin Bβ15-42, in a mouse model of stagnant flow venous thrombosis to investigate the biological impact of these residues on thrombus resolution.

METHODS: Thrombosis was induced in the infrarenal vena cava of BALB/c mice by creating a venous stenosis with a silk suture. After ligation, mice were injected i.p. daily twice with 100µL FX06 (n=20; 2.4 mg/kg) or saline (control; n=20) until sacrifice. Thrombi were harvested on days 3, 7, 14 and 28 after surgery for analysis.

RESULTS: Thrombus cross-sectional area analysis demonstrated a significant increase in thrombus area by day 14 and 28 after surgery in animals treated with FX06 compared with controls. Immunohistochemical staining revealed a delayed appearance of thrombus macrophages and microvessels in FX06 treated mice.

CONCLUSION: Administration of FX06 leads to impaired venous thrombus resolution. The data suggest that FX06 may inhibit leukocyte transmigration into experimental thrombi. The presence of the N-terminal fragments entailing an inhibition of leukocyte recruitment may be a mechanism for thrombus non-resolution in CTEPH.


Generational garbage collection (GGC) is one of the most popular garbage collection techniques. GGC gains a performance advantage by performing minor collections on the younger objects in the heap, reducing the number of major collections of the whole heap. A promotion policy determines when an object moves from the younger generation to the older. The design of GGC has been justified by the plausible assumption that many objects die very young, and a few live a very long time. But, attempts to tune the performance of GGC by adjusting the promotion policy have been disappointing—only the simplest immediate promotion policy has proved attractive. The success of GGC is probably due to simplicity and to avoiding scans of the whole heap, rather than to accurate lifetime predictions. This paper presents Leveled Garbage Collection (LGC), a new algorithm that is not based on object ages. It uses a heap structure and collection scheme similar to those of generational garbage collectors, and has a non-age-based promotion policy that doesn't promote all of the live objects, but still guarantees ample free space immediately after each garbage collection. By tuning LGC's promotion policy, we can often improve on GGC with immediate promotion. Performance comparisons show that LGC outperforms GGC with immediate promotion policy in many cases, while losing only slightly on cases favorable to immediate promotion. LGC has a substantial advantage when the heap fits in main memory, and an even greater advantage as the heap gets paged to disk.


An alternative way of looking at the Riemann hypothesis from the viewpoint of mathematical control theory is considered. A control theoretic transfer function is constructed by inverting the values of the Riemann zeta-function from which the unstable pole at s=1 has been stripped off. A series expansion is developed for the impulse response of the control system via inverse Laplace transformation. If the series converges and the unproved growth conjecture of the impulse response is true, then the Riemann hypothesis is also true.


Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy in our clinical practice and it often evolves to a metastatic stage. Cutaneous dissemination, however, is a rare form of presentation of this disease. This study reports the case of a 38-year-old female patient that, even after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, presented cutaneous metastases of signet-ring cell colorectal adenocarcinoma. The malignancy proved to be extremely aggressive, without response to clinical therapy nor allowing surgical management, leading the patient to death about six months after the diagnosis.


The only curative treatment for severe end-stage liver disease (ESLD) is liver transplantation (LT) but it is limited by the shortage of organ donors. The increase of the incidence of liver disease has led to develop new therapeutic approaches such as liver cell transplantation. Current challenges that limit a wider application of this therapy include a limited cell source and the poor engraftment in the host liver of cryopreserved hepatocytes after thawing. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that can be differentiated into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) are being widely explored as an alternative to human hepatocytes because of their unlimited proliferation capacity and their potential ability to avoid the immune system. Their large-scale production could provide a new tool to produce enough HLCs for treating patients with metabolic diseases, acute liver failure (ALF), those with ESLD or patients not considered for organ transplantation. In this review we discuss current challenges for generating differentiated cells compatible with human application as well as in-depth safety evaluation. This analysis highlights the uncertainties and deficiencies that should be addressed before their clinical use but also points out the potential benefits that will produce a great impact in the field of hepatology.


A time-harmonic electromagnetic planewave obliquely incident on a stratified composite structure consisting of different types of complex (bianisotropic) media is considered. A modified invariant imbedding method is used to calculate the reflection and transmission, and the internal fields are calculated through a Green function approach. A characteristic feature of the approach is that it is based on a wave splitting that is not related to the media which make up the composite structure, but is always defined with respect to a vacuum. Several advantages of this approach are identified and it is compared to other approaches. Numerical results for the co- and cross-polarised reflection and transmission coefficients for TE and TM modes for a composite structure are presented.


As automated vehicles are getting closer to becoming a reality, it will become mandatory to be able to characterise the performance of their obstacle detection systems. This validation process requires large amounts of ground-truth data, which is currently generated by manually annotation. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology to generate ground-truth kinematics datasets for specific objects in real-world scenes. Our procedure requires no annotation whatsoever, human intervention being limited to sensors calibration. We present the recording platform which was exploited to acquire the reference data and a detailed and thorough analytical study of the propagation of errors in our procedure. This allows us to provide detailed precision metrics for each and every data item in our datasets. Finally some visualisations of the acquired data are given.


Western studies of musical life in the USSR have typically placed great emphasis on the constraints to which composers were subject and often appear to have accepted as axiomatic the notion that the styles of Soviet composition of the Stalinist era were fundamentally conditioned by external pressures. One of the most influential formulations of this view is to be found in Boris Schwarz's Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, which has remained a standard work of reference for over four decades. Schwarz considered the promulgation of the Communist Party's resolution of 23 April 1932 "On the Reconstruction of Literary and Artistic Organisations" to represent a fateful turning point in the fortunes of Soviet music, marking the inauguration of a stultifying new era of "regimentation" and the demise of freedoms that had remained after the persecution of leading modernists by the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians. According to Schwarz "advanced composers turned conventional, and conventional composers turned commonplace." In Schwarz's view, the newly founded Composers' Union, just as Goebbels's Reichsmusikkammer, presided over an artistic wasteland. In this essay I question such generalizations. I focus on Nikolay Myaskovsky (1881–1950), regarded by Schwarz as a prime example of a modernist who retreated into safe conventionality in the early 1930s after the composition of his notorious Twelfth Symphony, ostensibly written to glorify Stalin's grandiose project of agricultural collectivization. A re-examination of the circumstances surrounding the symphony's genesis suggests that the constructions Schwarz placed on this phase of Myaskovsky's career are questionable. Although the composer's harmonic language became noticeably less dissonant after 1932 than in certain works of the 1920s, I argue that this cannot be attributed solely to external pressures, as Myaskovsky's later style evinces strong continuities with tendencies manifest in his earlier work. The essay closes by reflecting on the wider implications of these findings for our understanding of Soviet composition of the Stalinist era.


This study demonstrates the feasibility of integrating the production of nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC), a potentially highly valuable biomaterial, with sugar/biofuel (ethanol) from wood fibers. Commercial cellulase enzymes were used to fractionate the less recalcitrant amorphous cellulose from a bleached Kraft eucalyptus pulp, resulting in a highly crystalline and recalcitrant cellulose (RC). The RC is difficult to hydrolyze to sugars but very suitable for producing biobased nanomaterials through mechanical homogenization. A range of fractionation yields of RC from 10–70% can be achieved by varying fractionation duration and enzyme dosage. The crystallinity of the RC was found to be as much as 24% higher than that of the original bleached pulp. The cellulase fractionation process facilitated mechanical homogenization by significantly reducing the degree of polymerization (DP) to about 400 and the length of the fibers to about 200 μm. The hydrolyzed sugars were found to be easily converted to ethanol through yeast fermentation with excellent efficiency of 92%. Films made from nano-fibrillated cellulose were found to be optically transparent, with opacity as low as 12%. The NFC films were mechanically strong and stiff, with tensile strengths and moduli approximately 10 and 6 times higher than film made from fibers that had not been nano-fibrillated.


I study monetary and macro-prudential policy intervention in a general equilibrium economy with recurrent boom-bust cycles. Recurrence causes forward-looking variables to also react to policy intervention during phases in which the intervention is inactive. Macro-prudential policies that contain systemic risk in financial markets during booms, therefore, relax market-based funding constraints during busts, which helps mitigate the severity and shorten the duration of economic meltdowns. Contractionary monetary interventions during booms also have (latent) beneficial effects during busts. Coordination between the two policy instruments improves social welfare over standard, non-coordinated policy interventions, but improvement is moderate.


Urinary bladder carcinoma refers to the commonest carcinoma with weak prognostic result for the patient as impacted by the limited treatment possibilities and challenging diagnosing process. Nevertheless, the molecular underpinning of bladder carcinoma malignant progression is still not clear. As a novel core part of pluripotency circuitry, testicular expression 10 (TEX10) plays an actively noticeable effect on reprogramming, early embryo development, and embryonic stem cell self-renewal. Nevertheless, TEX10 expressions and functions within bladder carcinoma are still not known. The present work is aimed at revealing TEX10 expression and biological function within urinary bladder carcinoma and elucidating the potential mechanisms. Results showed that TEX10 is abundant in urinary bladder carcinoma, and its protein level was related to poor disease-free survival in a positive manner. Reduced TEX10 level inhibited urinary bladder carcinoma cell proliferating process and metastasis in vitro and xenograft tumorigenicity in vivo. Notably, TEX10 might regulate carcinoma cell proliferating process and metastasis via XRCC6, thereby controlling the signaling of Wnt/β-catenin and DNA repair channel. Moreover, TEX10 gene knockout reduced the radiotherapy resistance of urinary bladder carcinoma. In brief, this work revealed that TEX10 could exert a significant carcinogenic effect on urinary bladder carcinoma tumorigenesis and radiotherapy resistance through the activation of XRCC6-related channels. Accordingly, targeting TEX10 is likely to offer a novel and feasible therapeutically related strategy for inhibiting urinary bladder carcinoma tumorigenicity.


Personal experience of 21 patients treated with splenectomy for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is reported. After a brief review of the pathogenesis and prognostic factors of the disease, the paper stresses the therapeutic role of surgery and the careful exploration of the abdomen required to prevent any recurrence of the disease.


This paper represents the first attempt to examine the influence that corruption exerts on the worldwide use of antidumping (AD) claims as a means to seek trade protection. Since the inception of the World Trade Organization and the concomitant dramatic fall in tariffs, AD duties have become one of the few permissible measures to provide temporary protection to foreign competition. Increased lobbying pressure in this area has gone hand in hand with the explosion of number of AD filings. We hypothesized that corruption gives the import competing sector the opportunity to more effectively lobby for trade protection and this can be expected to result in more attempts to use AD filings. Using cross-country data on AD investigations, we provide support to this hypothesis.


OBJECTIVE
To examine published studies of immediate hypersensitivity reactions (IHS) following vaccination and to determine whether women are at an increased risk of developing IHS after vaccination.

DESIGN AND SAMPLE
PubMed was reviewed for vaccine articles reporting IHS by gender through June 2012. Data were abstracted on type of study, vaccine, hypersensitivity reaction, and statistic reported.

MEASURES
Articles were included if they described experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational or descriptive studies and IHS was reported by gender.

RESULTS
Of 847 articles found in PubMed, 11 met the inclusion criteria. In eight studies, more women than men reported IHS, in two studies more men than women reported IHS and in one study the count was even.

CONCLUSION
Limited data from these studies suggest that women may have higher rates of IHS reactions following vaccination than men. Limitations to the available data include the lack of denominator data and that the definition of IHS was not consistent across the studies. Large-scale population-based studies are indicated to determine if there are differences in rates by gender and biologic basis for these differences.


Streambank fencing is a best management practice that is targeted to reduce suspended sediment and nutrient inputs to streams by reducing direct inputs from animals, eliminating streambank trampling, and promoting streambank revegetation. A paired basin study is being conducted in two small adjacent basins to determine the water quality effects of streambank fencing. This article documents the 3-yr calibration period between control and treatment basins prior to fence installation. Approximately 70% of land adjacent to streambanks in the study area is used as pasture. Nutrient quantities applied as manure, benthic-macroinvertebrate communities, and the physical habitat of each stream were similar in both basins. Total N, P, and suspended sediment yields measured at the outlet of each basin averaged about 56, 2.8, and 2650 kg ha -1 on an annual basis. For both basins, about 90% of the total N yield was attributable to dissolved NO 3 -N and about 90% of the total N yield occurred during nonstormflow; conversely, about 90% of the total P yield was attributable to stormflow and 60 to 65% of the total P yield was suspended. Regression equations developed between both basins for low flow and stormflow samples for nutrients, suspended sediment, and discharge indicated a significant relation for most constituents. Pretreatment relation between basins for low flow and stormflow samples would need to change by 6 and 14% for total N concentrations and 24 and 9% for total P concentrations in order for streambank fencing to significantly affect water quality in the treatment basin.


A new identification mechanism is introduced for the purpose of locating objects partially occluded under low peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) environment in two-dimensional grey scale image.The proposed occlusion detection is based on the utilisation of the fact that the higher the PSNR, the less the impairment of the image. Most existing methods require a training process before recognition tasks or fail to obtain good results when objects are partially occluded under low PSNR environment. The new identification mechanism uses a self-adaptively adjusted threshold for providing a more exact occlusion detection and a correlation-coefficient evaluation process for reducing false positives, allowing for better accuracy in classifying and locating partially occluded objects under low PSNR. The performance of the proposed framework is confirmed through 100 occluded images with various noise levels. The experimental results show that the new proposed algorithm is not only more robust against image noise and partial occlusion, but also provides a significantly improved object localisation/recognition performance when compared with normalised cross-correlation and selective correlation coefficient.


Laparosopic appendectomy is feasible, but whether it confers any advantage to patients with acute appendicitis is not cleary know, A prospective randomized trial comparing laproscopic appendectomy (LAP) with open appendectomy (OAP) in patients with a presumed diagnosis of acute appendicitis with or without various degrees of complications was conducted between January 1, 1994 and September 30, 1994. Seventy consecutive patients were randomized, 30 to LAP and 40 to OAP including two laparotomy patients in OAP group for diffuse peritonitis. When compared to OAP, LAP had longer operative time(102.5±37.18 vs 84±35.54 min), less requirement for analgesia (0.76±1.59 vs1.32±1.42 dose), earlier oral intake (2.13±1.22 vs 3.02 ± 1.42 day), fewer wound infection (0% vs 20%), shorter hospital stay (5.06±3.02 vs 6.91±4.42 day )and quicker recovery to normal activity (12±7 vs 19±9 day). The similar results were also found in cases with ruptured appendicitis and obesity. Despite of longer but acceptable operative time for LAP, it provides the advantages as mentioned above. Therefore it should be considered a worthwhile alternative for patients with clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis and might also play a considerable role in patients with ruptured appendicitis and obesity. (Tzu Chi Med J 1996; 8: 213-221)


Objectives of this research were to collect community product data at Bang Ban District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, to develop digital media which helped to promote well known the community products and to assess satisfaction with creating digital media to promote community products. Researcher used research methods and digital media development by collecting data from identity interview about the community products and questions about the satisfaction with digital media to promote community products, quantitative data analysis by calculating frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation (S.D.)Research result found that products in community at Bang Ban District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province had various products but they are not well-known also the community product makers lacking understand in public relation and lack of technology knowledge for helping to promote public relation which is the main channel now that technology has influenced the way of living. Researcher collected community products data to build the digital media by using motion graphic technology and multimedia and from questionnaire about the satisfaction with promoting community products which was the very good level due to products could be presented to be interesting, easy to understand, able to disseminate and easily to reach targeted group


The spectrum properties of four novel 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25-octaoxybutyl copper phthalocyanine; 1,4,8,11,15,18, 22, 25-octamethoxybutanoate manganese phthalocyanine; 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25-octamethoxybutanoate copper phthalocyanine; 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25-octamethoxybutanoate zinc phthalocyanine were investigated by infrared, fluorescence and UV-visible spectrum in the the paper. There is no rule in the infrared spectrum of these octa-substituted phthalocyanines. The orders of the Q band, B band and Pc dimer band are different among the above Octa-substituted Phthalocyanines in the UV and fluorescence spectra. The reason is related to the interaction between the ligand and the central metal of these octa-substituted phthalocyanines.


Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) are a type of neoplasm arising from the embryological mesoderm of GastroIntestinal Tract. But they can also arise from extra intestinal sites. The incidence1 of site of origin of GIST is - Oesophagus 5% Stomach 50% Small intestine 25% Colon & rectum 10%, Extr-intestinal (Mesenchyme, GB,Pancreas) 10%.We present here a case of GIST attaining enormous size, having all classical histological features of GIST arising from the mesentery which is a relatively rare site. Birdem Med J 2013; 3(1): 47-49 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/birdem.v3i1.17127


Inverse dynamics is the process of computing actuator efforts to produce desired responses. An algorithm is presented which uses a non-causal inverse dynamics approach to cancel vibrations in a flexible manipulator or a flexible articulated structure. Solutions are obtained for individual modes and then combined to obtain general solutions. This approach can be used for real time control since few computations are required for combining the solutions. The algorithm is demonstrated via computer simulations of a 60 m deployable boom on the Space Shuttle. The boom was used in the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission on a Space Shuttle flight in February 2000. An analytical study to demonstrate the advantages of using inverse dynamics in this type of articulated structure is presented.


The mechanism of the blocking action of procaine on the electrical activity of frog skeletal muscle was investigated using intracellular microelectrode techniques. Studies of the current-voltage relations of the fibers demonstrated that procaine suppressed the specific increase in sodium conductance ("local response") which normally follows an adequate stimulus. This was the only observed change produced by procaine in either the passive or active electric properties of the fiber membranes which could account for the well-known increase in the threshold for electrical stimulation caused by this drug. In accord with this suggested mechanism of action, procaine decreased the rate of rise and the amplitude of the action potential. Both these effects could be antagonized by the addition of excess sodiumn chloride to the procaine-Ringer9s solution bathing the muscle. The results suggested a competition between procaine and extracellular sodium ions with 0.5 x 10 -4 g/ml of procaine being approximately equivalent to a 50% reduction in the external sodium concentration.


We look at the logical structure underlying the cell, and describe the nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) as a program, that is logic plus semantics. The processed information is quantum, and the whole acts as a quantum computer plus a control (a quantum metalanguage). Moreover, the cellular environment is viewed as logical context, which is strongly coupled to the algorithm. This fact makes almost impossible to reproduce cellular life in the laboratory starting from inanimate matter. Finally, we give a formal explanation of this negative answer to biogenesis by means of a uncertainty principle, which follows from a quantum version of Godel incompleteness theorem applied to cellular life.


An ecosystem modelling approach was used to understand and assess the Mediter- ranean marine ecosystem structure and function as a whole. In particular, 2 food web models for the 1950s and 2000s were built to investigate: (1) the main structural and functional characteristics of the Mediterranean food web during these 2 time periods; (2) the key species/functional groups and interactions; (3) the role of fisheries and their impact; and (4) the ecosystem properties of the Mediterranean Sea in comparison with other European regional seas. Our results show that small pelagic fishes, mainly European pilchards and anchovies, prevailed in terms of biomasses and catches during both periods. Large pelagic fishes, sharks and medium pelagic fishes played a key role in the 1950s ecosystem, and have been replaced in more recent years by benthopelagic and benthic cephalopods. Fisheries showed large effects on most living groups of the ecosystem in both time periods. When comparing the Mediterranean results to those of other European regional seas modelling initiatives, the Mediterranean stood alone in relation to the type of flows (e.g. Mediterranean Sea, flow to detritus: 42%; other EU seas, consumption: 43−48%) driving the sys- tem and the cycling indices. This suggested higher levels of community stress induced by inten- sive fishing activities in the Mediterranean basin. This study constitutes the first attempt to build an historical and current food web model for the whole Mediterranean Sea.


A scalar accelerator that reduces significantly the complexity of the ITU-T G723.1 and G729A speech coders is described. Preliminary architecture space exploration indicates up to 49% reduction in the total number of instructions executed through the introduction of a few custom instructions and small changes to the reference C source code. The accelerator is designed as an autonomous unit that can be attached to a configurable RISC CPU where it makes use of the host register file and load/store pipeline.


One major bottleneck in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the limited number of critical care beds. Due to the dynamic development of infections and the time lag between when patients are infected and when a proportion of them enters an intensive care unit (ICU), the need for future intensive care can easily be underestimated. To infer future ICU load from reported infections, we suggest a simple statistical model that (1) accounts for time lags and (2) allows for making predictions depending on different future growth of infections. We have evaluated our model for three regions, namely Berlin (Germany), Lombardy (Italy), and Madrid (Spain). Before extensive containment measures made an impact, we first estimate the region-specific model parameters. Whereas for Berlin, an ICU rate of 6%, a time lag of 6 days, and an average stay of 12 days in ICU provide the best fit of the data, for Lombardy and Madrid the ICU rate was higher (18% and 15%) and the time lag (0 and 3 days) and the average stay (4 and 8 days) in ICU shorter. The region-specific models are then used to predict future ICU load assuming either a continued exponential phase with varying growth rates (0-15%) or linear growth. Thus, the model can help to predict a potential exceedance of ICU capacity. Although our predictions are based on small data sets and disregard non-stationary dynamics, our model is simple, robust, and can be used in early phases of the disease when data are scarce.


Continuing from a special issue in Batteries in 2016, nineteen new papers focusing on recent research activities in the field of nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries have been selected for the 2017 Special Issue of Ni/MH Batteries. These papers summarize the international joint-efforts in Ni/MH battery research from BASF, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, FDK Corp. (Japan), Institute for Energy Technology (Norway), Central South University (China), University of Science and Technology Beijing (China), Zhengzhou University of Light Industry (China), Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (China), Shenzhen Highpower (China), and University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) from 2016–2017 through reviews of AB2 metal hydride alloys, Chinese and EU Patent Applications, as well as descriptions of research results in metal hydride alloys, nickel hydroxide, electrolyte, and new cell type, comparison work, and projections of future works.


Chemically demembranated bundles of fibers from tarantula leg muscle were rapidly frozen in the relaxed state and freeze-substituted in the presence of tannic acid. Electron micrographs of thin transverse sections of freeze-substituted specimens frequently showed four clear, regularly organized projections (crossbridges) protruding from the backbones of the myosin filaments and partially wrapping around the filament surface. The rotational power spectra of individual filaments showed a peak at N = 4. Alignment and averaging of the images using correlation methods confirmed the fourfold symmetry and the slewed configuration of the crossbridges on the filament surface. These observations directly reveal essential features of the low-resolution three-dimensional helical reconstruction of negatively stained tarantula filaments calculated previously (R. A. Crowther, R. Padrón, and R. Craig, 1985, J. Mol. Biol. 184, 429-439).


Ankylosing spondylitis (AS), the major subtype and a major outcome of an interrelated group of rheumatic diseases named spondyloarthritides (SpA), is part of the subgroup with predominant axial symptoms that is now named axial SpA (axSpA), the other part non-radiographic axial SpA. The most important clinical symptom of axSpA is inflammatory back pain (IBP), asymmetric oligoarthritis, enthesitis, and anterior uveitis, there are close associations with psoriasis and chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The outcome is mainly influenced by the degree of disease activity over time and the loss of function and mobility, part of which is caused by inflammation, while the other part is due to new bone formation in the spine and structural damage of peripheral joints, the latter mainly in PsA. Male patients have more radiographic progression. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) are currently considered first choice of medical therapy. NSAIDs are widely used to ameliorate spinal pain but there is growing evidence that they may also inhibit syndesmophyte growth. There is a clear role for regular physiotherapy in AS to prevent loss of spinal mobility. There are now 4 anti-TNF agents approved for the treatment of patients with active AS who have insufficiently responded to conventional therapies: infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab and golimumab. TNF blockers seem to have no influence on new bone formation in AS but they do inhibit radiographic damage in PsA. While the efficacy of anakinra, rituximab, abatacept, sarilumab and tocilizumab has not been convincingly shown in AS, the anti-IL-17a antibody secukinumab may work in this indication. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Sequential mining is the process of applying data mining techniques to a sequential database for the purposes of discovering the correlation relationships that exist among an ordered list of events. An important application of sequential mining techniques is web usage mining, for mining web log accesses, which the sequences of web page accesses made by different web users over a period of time, through a server, are recorded. Web access pattern tree (WAP-tree) mining is a sequential pattern mining technique for web log access sequences. This paper proposes a more efficient approach for using the BFWAP-tree to mine frequent sequences, which reflects ancestor-descendant relationship of nodes in BFWAP tree directly and efficiently. The proposed algorithm builds the frequent header node links of the original WAP-tree in a Breadth-First fashion and uses the layer code of each node to identify the ancestor-descendant relationships between nodes of the tree. It then, finds each frequent sequential pattern, through progressive Breadth-First sequence search, starting with its first Breadth-First subsequence event. Experiments show huge performance gain over the WAP-tree technique.


The policy implementation process encompasses various activities which aim at converting the goals and objectives of various policies into public goods and services for a better life for all the citizens. These activities are carried out by various public service officials who are at different hierarchical levels, with different qualifications, expertise, behaviour, beliefs, norms and values. A concerted effort by all public officials at all levels is required for the South African government to successfully implement its policies so as to have services delivered efficiently and effectively to the community. Botes (1994:24) highlights that supervisors and managers are appointed, not because of their marketing skills or investment abilities, but because of their particular leadership abilities.
Leadership at the lower levels of the hierarchy (where goods and services become visible) is essential to ensure that public officials strive to, not only achieve their own goals and objectives, but also those of the government. Therefore, a specific type of guidance and leadership is needed that will motivate and induce officials to give effect to the provisions of section 195(1)(d) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 which stipulates that services must be provided to all citizens impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias.
In this paper a brief literature review of leadership concepts will be done in order to obtain an understanding of the nature and scope of administrative leadership. This will facilitate an investigation into the relationship between administrative leadership and policy implementation, as well as highlighting the importance of administrative leadership during policy implementation. Additionally, the capacity needs and factors influencing administrative leadership during policy implementation will be examined.


Development of an effective preservation strategy to fulfill off-the-shelf availability of tissue-engineered constructs (TECs) is demanded for realizing their clinical potential. In this study, the feasibility of vitrification, ice-free cryopreservation, for precultured ready-to-use TECs was evaluated. To prepare the TECs, bone marrow-derived porcine mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were seeded in polycaprolactone-gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds and cultured for 3 weeks before vitrification treatment. The vitrification strategy developed, which involved exposure of the TECs to low concentrations of cryoprotectants followed by a vitrification solution and sterile packaging in a pouch with its subsequent immersion directly into liquid nitrogen, was accomplished within 11min. Stepwise removal of cryoprotectants, after warming in a 38 degrees C water bath, enabled rapid restoration of the TECs. Vitrification did not impair microstructure of the scaffold or cell viability. No significant differences were found between the vitrified and control TECs in cellular metabolic activity and proliferation on matched days and in the trends during 5 weeks of continuous culture postvitrification. Osteogenic differentiation ability in vitrified and control groups was similar. In conclusion, we have developed a time- and cost-efficient cryopreservation method that maintains integrity of the TECs while preserving MSCs viability and metabolic activity, and their ability to differentiate.


A method is developed for evaluating traffic-responsive ramp metering strategies and improving freeway performance in intelligent vehicle-highway systems operations. The method emulates real-time metering, as currently practiced in the United States and Canada, and traces the interactions between automatic rate-selection metering strategies and freeway performance through time. The method can facilitate traffic management by aiding in the design of new traffic-responsive ramp strategies, and in the evaluation of existing real-time control systems and selection of the best metering schemes. The method was tested successfully in emulating volume and occupancy thresholds, rate tables, and automatic rate-selection control strategies, and in assessing and selecting ramp strategies based on freeway performance measures (such as total volume and delay) on I-35W in Minneapolis.


Power law distributions have been repeatedly observed in a wide variety of socioeconomic, biological, and technological areas. In many of the observations, e.g., city populations and sizes of living organisms, the objects of interest evolve because of the replication of their many independent components, e.g., births and deaths of individuals and replications of cells. Furthermore, the rates of replications are often controlled by exogenous parameters causing periods of expansion and contraction, e.g., baby booms and busts, economic booms and recessions, etc. In addition, the sizes of these objects often have reflective lower boundaries, e.g., cities do not fall below a certain size, low-income individuals are subsidized by the government, companies are protected by bankruptcy laws, etc.

Hence, it is natural to propose reflected modulated branching processes as generic models for many of the preceding observations. Indeed, our main results show that the proposed mathematical models result in power law distributions under quite general polynomial Gartner-Ellis conditions, the generality of which could explain the ubiquitous nature of power law distributions. In addition, on a logarithmic scale, we establish an asymptotic equivalence between the reflected branching processes and the corresponding multiplicative ones. The latter, as recognized by Goldie [Goldie, C. M. 1991. Implicit renewal theory and tails of solutions of random equations. Ann. Appl. Probab.1(1) 126--166], is known to be dual to queueing/additive processes. We emphasize this duality further in the generality of stationary and ergodic processes.


High mobility group protein I (HMG-I) is a nonhistone chromosomal protein. The present study aims to examine phosphorylation of HMG-I by protein kinase C (PKC) and its effect on HMG-I's DNA binding activity. HMG-I, extracted and purified from rat brain was phosphorylated in vitro equally well by PKC alpha, beta, gamma and delta. Phosphoamino acid analysis indicated that both serine and threonine residues were phosphorylated. The nonphosphorylated HMG-I was shown to bind specifically to the fragment of DNA containing bp -708 to -458 of RC3 genomic DNA, which is abundant in A-T sequences. In contrast, phosphorylation of HMG-I by PKC resulted in an attenuation of binding to the DNA fragment. It is suggested that phosphorylation of HMG-I by PKC may regulate DNA binding activity of HMG-I, thereby possibly altering its biological functions.


The field of plasma enhanced-chemical vapour deposition (PE-CVD) of polymers is fascinating because it succeeds in polymerizing monomer units also at low pressure (<1 Torr), that is, under conditions where conventional (chain-growth) polymerization would not lead to film deposition, because of thelow ceiling temperature at that low pressure. Furthermore, the advantage of PE-CVD with respect to the traditional CVD approach is its compatibility with thermo-sensitive substrates (e.g., polymers) due to the high reactivity at low thermal budget of the plasma. This chapter presents an overview of the production routes of the active species in low-pressure plasma, highlighting the role of selected plasma diagnostics for radical (and theirsurface reactivity) detection. Furthermore, the chapter addresses the role of ions during plasma polymerization and presents a critical overview of the approaches reported in literature toward the description of plasma polymerization through a macroscopic approach. Finally, the chapter includes selected examples of plasma polymerization processes focused on precursor structure retention/fragmentation, densification via ion bombardment, and topography evolution with film thickness.


The DOE/CECo Nuclear Power Engineering Education Program at the University of Illinois in its first year has significantly impacted the quality of the power education which our students receive. It has contributed to: the recently completed upgrade of the console of our Advanced TRIGA reactor which increases the reactor`s utility for training, the procurement of new equipment to upgrade and refurbish several of the undergraduate laboratory set-ups, and the procurement of computational workstations in support of the instructional computing laboratory. In addition, smaller amounts of funds were used for the recruitment and retention of top quality graduate students, the support of faculty to visit other institutions to attract top students into the discipline, and to provide funds for faculty to participate in short courses to improve their skills and background in the power area. These items and activities have helped elevate in the student`s perspective the role of nuclear power in the discipline. We feel this is having a favorable impact on student career selection and on ensuring the continued supply of well educated nuclear engineering graduates.


This paper presents a new method to compute the dense correspondences between two images by using the energy optimization and the structured patches. In terms of the property of the sparse feature and the principle that nearest sub-scenes and neighbors are much more similar, we design a new energy optimization to guide the dense matching process and find the reliable correspondences. The sparse features are also employed to design a new structure to describe the patches. Both transformation and deformation with the structured patches are considered and incorporated into an energy optimization framework. Thus, our algorithm can match the objects robustly in complicated scenes. Finally, a local refinement technique is proposed to solve the perturbation of the matched patches. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art matching algorithms.


This paper reports an investigation of the approaches to learning of two groups of distance students studying in an online environment at Southern Cross University in 1999. The online units of study are in Law and Human Resource Management and feature collaborative learning tasks in the assessment regime. A key assumption in the design of these online units was that opportunities for interactivity would reduce the isolation reportedly experienced by distance learners. Interactivity among small groups of students within the cohorts was encouraged by an assessment regime that included group reports and individual assessment tasks. While the collaboration itself was not graded, the product of the collaboration, the group report from each small group, was assessed. The relevant design features of the units were informed by the literature on student learning and on flexible delivery and were intended to enrich student learning by creating a 'community of learners' where students could learn from each other. This paper discusses the interactive design features of the two online programs and the importance of assessment in reinforcing certain learning values, examines the approaches adopted by the students to these design features and explains how online learning can foster meaning approaches to learning tasks.


Macrophage-tropic strains of HIV-1 are selectively transmitted and play a significant role in HIV-1 persistence, dissemination and disease progression. Most primary HIV-1 isolates productively infect primary macrophages but fail to infect or induce syncytium (non-syncytium-inducing or NSI) in CD4+ transformed T-cell lines. Therefore, NSI isolates are considered to be macrophage-tropic. In order to select truly macrophage-tropic primary HIV-1 isolates for pathogenesis studies the replicative characteristics of a panel of eight primary (predominantly NSI) HIV-1 isolates were examined in primary macrophage cultures. This was not previously done. Stocks of these isolates were prepared in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and their replication in peripheral blood-derived macrophages and in CD4+ transformed T-cell lines examined based on the p24 antigen level in the cultures. Seven of the eight isolates did not replicate or induce syncytia (non-syncytium-inducing or NSI) in MT-2 cells, but one isolate replicated efficiently and induced large syncytia (syncytium-inducing or SI) in both the MT-2 and another transformed T-cell line (CEMx174). When replication of the isolates in peripheral blood-derived macrophages was examined, six of the seven NSI isolates replicated indicating that not all NSI isolates were capable of replicating in primary macrophages. Further, one of the six NSI isolates replicated (but did not induce syncytia) in the CEMx174 cell line, illustrating that characterization of primary isolates based on replication in one cell system does not allow predictions for other cell systems


In this study, the weld cold cracking sensitivity of TMCP steels with continuous casting process was investigated. Especially, the effect of center segregation on the weld cold cracking in the through-thickness direction was closely studied. The results in this study were summarised as follows. (1) In the rolling direction, the TMCP steels had high resistance to the weld colcd cracking. (2) The TMCP steels are produced through the continuous casting and thermo-mechanical controlled rolling process. The segregation of P and Mn sometimes occured at the center of plate. It appeared that the center segregation, which was heated above the transformation temperature, result in the hardened region. (3) Hydrogen delayed cracking initiated in the hardened regions after welding under the stress (especially the through-thickness direction stress). It was caused by the hardened structure and stress concentration at inclusions in this region. (4) The fracture surfaces in the regions were terrace feature and contained hydrogen induced inter granular and quasi-cleavage fractures with inclusions.


In recent years, health inequalities have become an important public health concern and the subject of both research and policy attention in Korea. Government reports, as well as many epidemiological studies, have provided evidence that a wide range of health outcomes and health-related behaviors are socioeconomically patterned, and that the magnitude of health inequalities is even increasing. However, except for the revised Health Plan 2010 targets for health equity, few government policies have explicitly addressed health inequalities. Although a number of economic and social policies may have had an impact on health inequalities, such impact has scarcely been evaluated. In this review, we describe the current status of research and policy on health inequalities in Korea. We also suggest future challenges of approaches and policies to reduce health inequalities and highlight the active and intensive engagement of many policy sectors and good evidence for interventions that will make meaningful reduction of health inequalities possible.


Eosinophil degranulation has been implicated in inflammatory processes associated with allergic asthma. Rab27a, a Rab‐related GTPase, is a regulatory intracellular signaling molecule expressed in human eosinophils. We postulated that Rab27a regulates eosinophil degranulation. We investigated the role of Rab27a in eosinophil degranulation within the context of airway inflammation. Rab27a expression and localization in eosinophils were investigated by using subcellular fractionation combined with Western blot analysis, and the results were confirmed by immunofluorescence analysis of Rab27a and the granule membrane marker CD63. To determine the function of eosinophil Rab27a, we used Ashen mice, a strain of Rab27a‐deficient animals. Ashen eosinophils were tested for degranulation in response to PAF and calcium ionophore by measuring released EPX activity. Airway EPX release was also determined by intratracheal injection of eosinophils into mice lacking EPX. Rab27a immunoreactivity colocalized with eosinophil crystalloid granules, as determined by subcellular fractionation and immunofluorescence analysis. PAF induced eosinophil degranulation in correlation with redistribution of Rab27a+ structures, some of which colocalized with CD63+ crystalloid granules at the cell membrane. Eosinophils from mice had significantly reduced EPX release compared with normal WT eosinophils, both in vitro and in vivo. In mouse models, Ashen mice demonstrated reduced EPX release in BAL fluid. These findings suggest that Rab27a has a key role in eosinophil degranulation. Furthermore, these findings have implications for Rab27a‐dependent eosinophil degranulation in airway inflammation.


The paper presents a new decomposition method to handle optimal control design for two-degree of freedom time delay control systems. In this approach exact relationships between the actuator, process and design parameters furthermore robustness measures are developed. The ultimate robustness limit of any control can be explicitly calculated by this approach.


This paper, based on a non-exhaustive review of the literature addresses selected issues of a relative new complex of abilities and skills, i.e. data literacy by providing insight into its nature and the approaches to teaching in higher education. We live in a data-intensive era, because the capacity to store massive amounts of data and forward them on high bandwidth networks generated interest in research data in the natural sciences, social sciences as well as the arts and humanities, never seen before (boyd and Crawford, 2012). The recognition of this fact motivated varied researchers, universities and different funding bodies to make efforts to encourage the openness of research data. The stakeholders of Open Data are – among others governments, multilateral organisations, journalists and the media. They come from the civil society and the private sector. Last, but not least teaching staff members, and researchers, i.e. the academic community constitute a crucial group of its stakeholders (Corrall, 2019a). On the one hand, there remain several technological, social, organizational, economical, and legal barriers to data sharing (Sayogo & Pardo, 2013). On the other hand, despite obstacles, we can see a shift away from a research culture, where data is viewed as a private preserve (Pryor, Jones, & Whyte, 2013). This drive toward openness is guided among others by the principle that scholarly research does not need more data, but requires having the right data (Borgman 2015). In other words, researchers require high quality, actively curated data to work with, because data is both the raw material and the output of research (Pryor, 2012). Research data is the output from any systematic investigation that involves observation, experiment or the testing of a hypothesis (Pryor, 2012) and it consists of "heterogeneous objects and items used and contextualized, depending on the academic discipline of origin" (Semeler, Pinto, & Rozados 2017, p. 3). To serve as research data, little data can be just as valuable as big data, and – in many cases – there is no data, because relevant data cannot be found, is not available, or does not exist at all (Borgman, 2015).


Thrombolytic stroke therapy with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) remains complicated by serious risks of cerebral hemorrhage and brain injury. In this study, a novel model of tPA-induced hemorrhage was used in spontaneously hypertensive rats to examine the correlates of hemorrhage, and test methods of reducing hemorrhage and brain injury. Homologous blood clot emboli were used to occlude the middle cerebral artery in spontaneously hypertensive rats, and delayed administration of tPA (6 hours postischemia) resulted in high rates of cerebral hemorrhage 24 hours later. Compared with untreated rats, tPA significantly increased hemorrhage volumes by almost 85%. Concomitantly, infarction and neurological deficits were worsened by tPA. A parallel experiment in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats showed markedly reduced rates of hemorrhage, and tPA did not significantly increase hemorrhage volumes. To examine whether tPA-induced hemorrhage was caused by the delayed onset of reperfusion per se, another group of spontaneously hypertensive rats was subjected to focal ischemia using a mechanical method of arterial occlusion. Delayed (6 hours) reperfusion via mechanical means did not induce hemorrhage. However, administration of tPA plus delayed mechanical reperfusion significantly increased hemorrhage volumes. Since reperfusion injury was implicated, a final experiment compared outcomes in spontaneously hypertensive rats treated with tPA plus the free radical spin trap α-phenyl tert butyl nitrone (α-PBN) versus tPA alone. tPA-induced hemorrhage volumes were reduced by 40% with α-PBN, and infarction and neurological deficits were also decreased. These results indicate that (1) blood pressure isanimportant correlate of tPA-induced hemorrhage, (2) tPA interacts negatively with reperfusion injury to promote hemorrhage, and (3) combination therapies with anti-free radical treatments may reduce the severity of tPA-induced hemorrhage and brain injury after cerebral ischemia.