Abstract Cough is one of the most common symptoms encountered by clinicians. Attempts to measure cough date back to early 1950s and since then, significant progress has been made in understanding cough and many methods have been developed. Methods for cough measurement can be divided into subjective and objective methods and further according to the aspect of cough they assess. Subjective methods for cough assessment provide us with information about patient's personal experiences of cough and about psychosocial aspect of cough. Most widely used subjective methods include cough severity visual analogue scale, cough severity diaries, and various quality of life questionnaires. Objective methods for cough assessment focus mainly on cough frequency and on cough reflex sensitivity. Most widely used methods from this group include cough monitors and cough inhalation challenges. This review focuses on the most widely used cough measurement methods and points out their advantages and limitations for use in research and clinical practice. The ability to measure cough in clinical and research conditions could be used to determine treatment outcomes, to test new therapies, and to further study pathophysiology and physiology of cough.


Roger Lienke, MD, a pediatrician-turned-family physician, who died at the age of 91 last year, founded one of the first 4 family medicine residency training programs in the United States at the University of Oklahoma. (The other 3 programs were established by Lynn Carmichael in Miami, Florida, Gene Farley in Rochester, New York, and Gayle Stephens in Wichita, Kansas.)

A conversation with Roger in 2011 about the origins of our discipline and its subsequent evolution led to a 2-year quest to create a logic model explaining how and why more and better primary care produces better health outcomes at lower cost.

The work was driven by our concern that primary care was still not well understood by many of those now engaged in its transformation. It was our shared bias that primary care is qualitatively different from other medical disciplines, being defined by a set of processes or attributes rather than by a set of clinical problems, organ systems, or demographic characteristics of patients.

We began by creating a list of desired outcomes based upon a review of the literature. Based upon that list, we identified a set of intermediate outcomes again from our systematic literature review. Finally, we developed a list of attributes derived from the Institute of Medicine's 1996 definition of primary care and attempted to identify, based upon the available literature and our own clinical experience, a set of possible mechanisms through which the attributes might act to produce better intermediate outcomes. The result is a long, extensively referenced manuscript that we agreed to post on the NAPCRG website as a living document. A medical student, Brenden Drew, created an accompanying Prezi, also posted, which contains definitions, constructs, and published measures for most of the components of the model. Our hope was that this material could be useful to teachers, researchers, and policy makers. We also hoped that others might want to get involved in its ongoing development. It has not been published elsewhere.

I have used the logic model for teaching 3rd-year medical students about primary care and when advising researchers about what to assess when measuring the impact of ongoing primary care innovations. It was also used as a framework for advising the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology about meaningful use of electronic health records in primary care.

Those who want to add material or references or to discuss or dispute any of its contents in a constructive way, please contact ude.cshuo@dlom-semaj.

The manuscript can be found at: https://www.napcrg.org/AboutUs/Committees/CommitteeonAdvancingtheScienceofFamilyMedicine(CASFM).


Na+/H+ exchange (NHE) was measured as maximal initial velocity of pH-dependent H+ efflux from red cells into an alkaline medium containing Na+ in patients with insulin-dependent or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, with and without hypertension and in normoglycemic, essential hypertensives and normal controls (50 subjects in each subgroup). Maximal velocities of NHE were found in microalbuminuric patients in all subgroups, and NHE correlated with the rate of micro-albuminuria (r = 0.61, p = 0.02). Daily insulin requirements were greater in those with elevated NHE (84 +/- 8 vs 42 +/- 4 U/day). There was no correlation between NHE and levels of plasma glucose, HbA1 and plasma aldosterone and lipid profile and PRA. NHE was correlated with plasma prolactin (r = 0.51, p = 0.02) and PTH r = 0.24, p = 0.05). In uremic patients, NHE was inversely correlated with creatinine clearance (r = -0.48, p = 0.03). Since calphostin C, a selective inhibitor of protein kinase C, lowered increased NHE in vitro, the protein kinase C-dependent pathway of the exchanger regulation was concluded to be responsible for NHE activation in diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension.


Logic optimization is an NP-hard problem commonly approached through hand-engineered heuristics. We propose to combine graph convolutional networks with reinforcement learning and a novel, scalable node embedding method to learn which local transforms should be applied to the logic graph. We show that this method achieves a similar size reduction as ABC on smaller circuits and outperforms it by 1.5-1.75x on larger random graphs.


Clondalkin Drugs Task Force: The Clondalkin Drug Task Force is one of 14 LDTFs located mainly in the greater Dublin region. Their overall role is to prepare and implement action plans which identify existing and emerging gaps in services in relation to education/prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and curbing local supply. To date the Clondalkin Drug Task Force The Task Forces has drawn up two Area Actions Plans based on intensive consultations (1997/8 and 2001). The plans represent a consensus on the priority issues to be addressed in the community in terms of problematic drug use. Each plan included a range of measures in terms of treatment, rehabilitation, education and prevention, and curbing the local supply of drugs. The initial Action Plan focused on education and prevention strategies and actions in response to the identified need for innovative community based education programmes in Clondalkin. CDTFâ?Ts most recent Area Action Plan was developed in 2001 and entitled â?~Making Progressâ?T. In the development of the this Action Plan, the Task Force reflected on the lessons learned from implementing the initial plan and developed a number of strategies and actions that focused on Treatment & Rehabilitation. Prevalence of Drug Problems in Clondalkin: The research shows that drug use in Clondalkin is perceived to have become more problematic. The prevalence survey suggested that there are greater quantities and varieties of drugs available and there has been an increase in the proportion of younger people using drugs than was the case in the past. The respondents to the survey feel that drug dealing has become more visible in the locality. Drug consumption mostly occurs in the userâ?Ts place of residence and the first encounter with illicit drugs typically occurred in the company of friends. Heroin is the overwhelming primary problematic drug of use. Yet, there has been a notable increase in the problematic use of cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs. Cocaine has become a frequently used recreational drug in Clondalkin. There is some indication in the survey that crack cocaine is an emerging problem drug. The survey highlights how polydrug use is the norm. There are a wide variety of polydrug use patterns: heroin combined with either cannabis, cocaine, benzodiazepines, alcohol or crack cocaine, are the most common patterns of use. The typical pattern for recreational drug users was cocaine combined with either cannabis or alcohol. The injection of cocaine by injecting heroin users was another emerging trend. This research suggests there are 1,591 opiate users in the area. Heroin was overwhelmingly the main problem drug for this cohort. The typical problematic drug user (especially opiates) in Clondalkin is most commonly a male, Irish, single, unemployed, early school leaver between the ages of 15 and 24 years. The MQI research indicates that in contrast to heroin users, recreational cocaine users come from all age groups and all social strata. The majority of problem drug users do not seek treatment until their late twenties and early thirties. This research suggests that there is an obvious lack of data available on drug use among ethnic minorities. This emerges through the lack of engagement by those from new communities with existing treatment services and also lack of general knowledge on the part of community and statutory services of the profile of new communities in Clondalkin. This report reveals that the causes of drug problems were perceived as wide, differed depending on the respondentâ?Ts relationship with drugs and ranged across a number of factors such as contact with problematic drug use; family dysfunction; lack of education, low self-esteem and peer influences; curiosity, adolescent experimentation and an awareness of the pleasurable aspects of drug use. Hepatitis C is quite prevalent among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) according to the survey. In addition, one fifth of those interviewed had been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness and have accessed mental health services. A significant minority of IDUs reported not being aware of needle exchange services in Clondalkin. MQI also show that there was a marginal decrease in the numbers of individuals accessing drug treatment services over the three year period, 2004-2007. It is perceived that services have improved over the past 5 years, due to the increase of facilities. Criticisms of current services included the lack of a â?~moving onâ?T or progression mechanism as well as the lack of input of clients to their drug treatment. There was widespread agreement that there is a lack of drug treatment services in the Clondalkin area and insufficient numbers of detoxification programmes available. The research also suggests that there is a clear need for a local homeless service in order to provide suitable facilities for homeless drug users. There was a perception that drug related violence has increased significantly in recent years. There was a notable increase in simple possession and possession for sale and supply incidents from 2005 to 2006. Participants in the research perceived that there is a lack of Garda personnel dedicated to tackling drug related crime in Clondalkin. The effects of drug problems on families include: physical and psychological stress; financial burden of payment of drug debts; grandparents who are taking care of their grandchildren; and, concerns for children of drug users in relation to their early exposure to drug addiction. The effects of drug problems on the community include: the crime element of drug use and the openness of dealing; fear of using public amenities; and that community anti-drug activism appears to have diminished due to fatigue.


We present a study of the spectral line shape associated with a High Resolution Spectrograph on the 2.16 m telescope at the Xinglong Observing Station of National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This measurement is based on modeling the instrumental line shape obtained by unresolved modes from a Yb-fiber mode-locked laser frequency comb. With the current repetition rate of 250 MHz and 26 GHz mode spacing on the spectrograph, we find the absolute variation of the line center, 0.0597 pixel in the direction of the CCDs, and 0.00275 pixel (∼3 m s−1) for relative variation in successive exposures on a short timescale. A novel double-Gaussian model is presented to improve the quality of the fit by a factor of 2.47 in a typical single exposure. We also use analysis with raw moments and central moments to characterize the change in line shape across the detector. A trend in charge transfer efficiency can be found on the E2V 4096 × 4096 CCD that provides a correction for wavelength calibration aiming to reach a level of precision for radial velocity below 1 ms−1.


The monitoring of the grid user activity and application performance is extremely useful to plan resource usage strategies particularly in cases of complex applications. Large VOs, such as the LHC VOs, do their monitoring by means of dashboards. Other VOs or communities, like for example the BioinfoGRID one, are characterized by a greater diversification of the application types: so the effort to provide a dashboard like monitor is particularly heavy. The main theme of this paper is to show the improvements introduced in GridICE, a web tool built to provides an almost complete grid monitoring. These recent improvements allows GridICE to provide new reports on the resources usage with details of the VOMS groups, roles and users. By accessing the GridICE web pages, the grid user can get all information that is relevant to keep track of his activity on the grid. In the same way, the activity of a VOMS group can be distinguished from the activity of the entire VO. In this paper we briefly talk about the features and advantages of this approach and, after discussing the requirements, we describe the software solutions, middleware and prerequisite to manage and retrieve the user's credentials.


Although US oil companies have won oil concessions in Saudi Arabia since 1933, British competition has continued by controlling oil prices and production through transport prices and Suez Canal fees. So the United States tried to get rid of British competition and set up a Saudi oil pipeline Mediterranean coasts to get rid of British control, then Britain strongly objected to the project and tried to fail through the obstruction passed through Jordan, Syria and Lebanon using its influence. Following the success of the Tabline line, the British government tried to adopt a policy that harmed Aramco's interests and reduced its revenues, which negatively affected the Saudi government. Thus, Aramco complied with Saudi demands and obtained a principle of 50% of the profits. It also tried several times to obtain oil concessions in Saudi Arabia all in vain .


Introduction The combination of opioids and central nervous system depressants such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates has an additive effect on the frequency of oversedation and respiratory depression requiring naloxone use in hospitalized patients. Gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) are frequently prescribed with opioids for their opioid-sparing and adjuvant analgesic effects. There is limited literature on the risk of respiratory depression due to the combination of opioids and gabapentinoids requiring naloxone administration. Methods This retrospective study evaluated patients who were prescribed opioids and at least one dose of naloxone between March 1, 2014 and September 30, 2016. The primary objective of this study was to compare the frequency of respiratory depression among patients who received naloxone and opioids (non-gabapentinoid group) with those who received naloxone, opioids, and gabapentinoids (gabapentinoid group). Secondary objectives included comparing the association of oversedation, using the Pasero Opioid-induced Sedation Scale, and various risk factors with those in the gabapentinoid group. Results A total of 153 patient episodes of naloxone administration (102 in the non-gabapentinoid and 51 in the gabapentinoid groups) in 125 unique patients were included in the study. For the primary objective, there were 33 episodes of respiratory depression associated with the non-gabapentinoid group (33/102=32.4%) versus 17 episodes of respiratory depression with the gabapentinoid group (17/51=33.3%) (p=0.128). Secondary objectives showed a significant association between respiratory depression and surgery in the previous 24 hours (p=0.036) as well as respiratory depression and age >65 years (p=0.031) for patients in the non-gabapentinoid group compared to the gabapentinoid group. Conclusion There was no significant association of respiratory depression in the gabapentinoid group versus the non-gabapentinoid group. There was an increased risk of respiratory depression in the gabapentinoid group, specifically in patients who had surgery within the previous 24 hours.


The purpose of the study was to identify pathomorphic features of rat liver at different stages of postnatal ontogenesis caused by acute postnatal hypoxia. Materials and methods. All animals were divided into two groups C (control) and APH (acute postnatal hypoxia). Group C included 33 WAG line rats born from females with physiological pregnancies whereas group APH included 37 WAG line rats. Healthy rats of group APH were exposed to "alpine hypoxia" immediately after birth. The rats in both research groups were withdrawn from the experiment on days 1, 14, and 35 after their birth. The research material was the liver of experimental animals of both groups obtained at autopsy. Results and discussion. Having analyzed the morphometric parameters of group C hepatocytes, it can be stated that in the process of formation and maturation of liver beams there is an increase in the size of hepatocytes, which indicates the morphological and functional maturation of the tissue. According to the value of NCI (nuclear cytoplasmic index) in group APH1 there was an increase in the diameter of hepatocytes due to an increase in cytoplasmic volume, which can be explained by the instantaneous response of hepatocytes to acute hypoxia, manifested by metabolic imbalance and cell swelling. It should be noted that after the cessation of acute hypoxia, the size of hepatocytes gradually normalizes (groups AHP2-3). A significant (p <0.05) decrease in the total number of hepatocytes due to their mononuclear forms was also observed in the liver of APH1-3 group rats. In group APH3, on the 35th day after birth, the restoration of the structural and functional integrity of the liver occurred due to an increase in the number of binuclear hepatocytes, and was manifested by nearly two-time-increase in their number. Conclusion. The simulated acute postnatal hypoxia of rat descendants from healthy mothers caused a failure of compensatory capabilities with a sharp suppression of morphofunctional activity of the liver on day 1 of the experiment. The diameter of hepatocytes of the descendants exposed to acute postnatal hypoxia was significantly larger on day 1 (25.52±2.5 μm), and gradually normalized on days 14 (27.11±2.8) and 35 (38.94±3, 1 μm) after birth. The number of hepatocytes in the field of view in rats of acute postnatal hypoxia group progressively decreased on days 1 (198.7±13.1 cells), 14 (170.2±11.8 cells) and 35 (152.5±13.8 cells) after birth. The ratio of the number of binuclear hepatocytes to the number of mononuclear hepatocytes in rats of acute postnatal hypoxia group progressively increased on days 1 (0.02±0.01), 14 (0.05±0.01) and 35 (0.10±0.01) after birth


Grid separation is a dangerous and often severe contingency. For this reason, ensuring a secure N-1 operation with regard to the potential electric islands is of great importance. Nevertheless, situations appear where operating the system closer to its limits is more effective, and consequently, grid operators are challenged to perform a difficult risk assessment. This paper proposes a procedure that could assist the operator in deciding whether the system can be operated in the so-called N-1/2 secure state (with respect to grid islanding) or not. The proposed method is a model-based procedure that pre-calculates the optimal amount of under-frequency load shedding for a known potential grid separation. It is based on a simplified dynamic model, and a sensitivity-based optimal power flow as presented in [1]. The functionality is evaluated with two scenarios in the IEEE 39 bus system and has shown satisfactory results.


In the healthcare industry, there is an increasing number of managers who operate clinics geographically separated from the administration and from other managers. Physical distance creates barriers to communication and also inhibits psychological attachment to the healthcare organization. This can result in dysfunctional management styles, with managers appearing passive, overly independent, or isolated. By choosing the best communication medium as well as the most appropriate information linkages, the administrator can improve the effectiveness of managers. Specific intervention strategies are offered for correcting dysfunctional behaviors in healthcare settings.


In the mid-1970s, Professor Abram Chayes published one of the most famous law review articles ever written, The Role of the Judge in Public Law Litigation, which described a paradigm-shift with the emergence of public interest law in the 1960s. As I have written elsewhere, Professor Chayes' model no longer holds either descriptive or prescriptive power at the end of the twentieth century. The public interest law paradigm Professor Chayes described fails as a model for the complex litigation that the American judicial system has experienced in the last twenty years.Without repeating that critique, two observations are in order. First, modern complex litigation, particularly mass tort litigation, is being resolved in ways that resemble private legislation, negotiated and approved by unelected people. This private legislation ― most often class action settlement ― affects thousands and, in some instances, hundreds of thousands of citizens. Second, a new descriptive paradigm is needed to capture both the essence and the nuance of the complex litigation that the American judicial system has experienced at the end of the twentieth century.Scholars who posit models or describe paradigm shifts chiefly are engaged in the enterprise of re-evaluation of facts. That is, new descriptive models emerge from a fresh appreciation of facts, replacing former orthodoxy. This is certainly what Professor Chayes did in describing the emergence of the public law model. Professor Chayes viewed the litigation landscape of the 1960s that gave rise to the modern class action rule, structural injunctions and institutional reform litigation. He assimilated these facts and reconstructed prior litigation theory that had been based on a model of bipolar litigation. While it is difficult enough to describe a model of complex litigation at the end of the twentieth century, it is perhaps even more challenging to forecast the future of complex dispute resolution. History has taught that adjective law-civil procedure-is not static. In particular, complex litigation has pushed the boundaries of civil rules that were designed for simple litigation. Therefore, the globalization of social and economic transactions in the twenty-first century will affect complex litigation, and the procedures for resolving complex disputes will be informed by legal lessons from abroad.Regarding complex dispute resolution, the future of complexity is more complexity. Complex systems tend to become more complex. Moreover, procedural rules develop in a dialectic. Thus, systems tend to start with simple rules, but over time rules tend to become longer, more nuanced, textured and complex. In the past twenty years, almost every rule revision has yielded a lengthier and more convoluted rule, as the drafters have attempted to provide solutions for every problem and contingency. Part of this dialectic is that the impulse towards complexity inevitably leads to reform and simplification. At some point, when the rules have become so complex, intricate and obtuse ― creating traps for the unwary ― reformers avow to eliminate the rules and start again, with simple rules. This dialectic impelled the great procedural reforms of the nineteenth century that famously resulted in the creation of 'one civil action' and, in one simple declaration, swept away centuries of procedural cobwebs with the abolition of the forms of action. At the end of the twentieth century, it is difficult to perceive where the civil rules are in the context of this dialectic. Have the civil rules become sufficiently complex that, in the twenty-first century, the rulemakers will embark on another age of procedural reform? Will the rulemakers again feel the need to declare, anew, that there will be one form of action, and it will be a simple action? Or, in this dialectic, will the rulemakers abandon the grand experiment with trans-substantive rules and revert back to substance-based procedure? History also has demonstrated that the judicial system lacks the forecasting powers to anticipate new problems. Attorneys, judges and rulemakers simply cannot know what kinds of problems, disputes or grievances will emerge to challenge the role of the judiciary. Jurists, then, typically engage in rule reform after-the-fact, to deal with problems that the rulemakers never anticipated.In our generation, for example, the most famous illustration of the judicial system's failure to anticipate new problems is the rule drafters' failure in the early 1960s to anticipate modern mass tort litigation. Thus, the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules revised the federal class action rule without knowing what was coming. If the Advisory Committee could not forecast mass torts, what problems will emerge in the next millennium that are not currently foreseeable? There are other examples, of course; but whom at mid-century could have anticipated agent orange, the Dalkon Shield, breast implants, fen-phen or tobacco litigation?Moreover, in reflecting on the future of complex litigation, it is impossible to ignore the impact of technology and globalization. Technology effectively has enabled international transactions to transcend national borders, and will affect the way in which lawyers conduct their professional activities. Globalization means that business, social and legal transactions will also transcend national borders.In the twenty-first century, the impact of technology and globalization will result in legal problems of global reach, and lawyers will be practicing on a world stage. Therefore, the American lawyer will need to understand comparative law and how American legal concepts constitute a kind of 'outlier' among legal systems. This is especially true regarding the ways in which other legal systems resolve complex legal disputes.The globalization of legal practice will have other consequences. As complex legal problems transcend national borders, American procedural law may well converge with the adjective law of civil law systems. The pronounced differences between Anglo-American procedure and civil law countries may fade or merge as each system learns from the experiences of the other. The interaction of American lawyers and scholars with civil law colleagues may well spur a convergence of procedural law.


Abstract The right-to-left shunt is often diagnosed by transcranial Doppler (TCD) with saline contrast with Valsalva's maneuver or cough. In the acute phase of stroke, however, Valsalva's maneuver or cough could not always be performed because of the patient's aphasia or consciousness disturbance. We report an acute aphasic stroke patient with a pulmonary thromboembolism who is diagnosed as having a right-to-left shunt by using TCD with saline contrast without Valsalva's maneuver or cough. In patients who have embolic stroke of undetermined cause, even if they cannot perform Valsalva's maneuver or cough because of aphasia or consciousness disturbance, TCD with saline contrast in the acute phase of stroke may be helpful for diagnosis of a paradoxical embolism.


Constraints have emerged as the basis of a representational and computational paradigm that draws from many disciplines and can be brought to bear on many problem domains. Given the increasing importance of the research field of constraints, organising a special track dedicated to the topic was an ideal opportunity to showcase research from the field at ACM SAC-2006.


Szacowanie liczebności kopytnych w środowisku leśnym: przegląd metod Estimating forest ungulate populations: a review of methods During the last few decades there has been a significant increase in abundance of forest ungulates in most Northern Hemisphere temperate zones. Large mammal herbivory is one of the most important factors shaping species composition, structure and function in temperate forest ecosystems. Furthermore, deer and wild boars are a cause of serious economic losses for forestry and agriculture, despite being a group of great interest to the public. The assessment of population size in forest habitats is a hot issue for both scientists and wildlife managers. Although there is an extensive literature on census methods and techniques, no agreement has been reached on a universally-applicable method for census of all species and conditions, fulfilling the criteria of being easy-to apply, cheap, precise and accurate. However, the implementation of some new methods (e.g. thermal imaging) seem to be very promising, but still need to be tested under closed canopy conditions in forest habitats. Ecological indicators that allow changes in the abundance of the animals to be monitored together with ecosystem properties may become an alternative resource for wildlife management, or at least can supplement wildlife census.


Osteoarthritis is one of the popular causes of debility in elderly & overweight people. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that invades the cartilage of bigger joints like knee, hip, feet and spine. Cartilage helps the easy glide of bones & obstructs them from rubbing each other. In Osteoarthritis cartilage is ruptured due to which bones start kneading each other with a severe pain. The scenario for the evaluation of Osteoarthritis includes clinical examination & various medical imaging techniques. In this work the authors have used Active contour segmentation technique to segment the portion/part of the knee X-ray image to diagnosis the disease. The numerous features like Haralick, Statistical, First four moments, Texture and Shape are computed and classified using Random Forest classifier. The proposed method gives the classification accuracy rate of 87.92% which are more competitive and promising with the existing algorithms.


The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer mathematical model which produces estimates of the total amount of hourly solar radiation that reaches the earth's surface in a day called hourly global solar irradiance for climate of Delta, Egypt. Predictors for solar radiation have been developed because there is often a lack of representative solar radiation data in most countries. Cloudiness, atmospheric transmissivity, latitude and orientation of the Earth relative to the Sun, time of day, slope and aspect of the surface determine the spatial and temporal distribution of irradiance  incident on a surface. Experimental data were measured in the Solar-Meteorological stations of Agricultural Engineering Department at El-menoufiya University, El-Mansoura university and Belbees. To evaluate the present model a comparison between measured and predicted data has been carried out based on the main bias error and correlation coefficient. It can be concluded that the present model can be used to estimate the values of hourly solar radiation for El-menoufiya El-Mansoura and Belbees.


Increased spatial frequency is experimentally observed in the interferential light-output undulation of coupled cavity lasers that use a Fabry-Perot laser diode. The frequencies correspond to undulation periods of λ/4, λ/6, λ/8, and λ/10, which are extremely short compared with the normal period of λ/2. This increase is explained theoretically with a multiple-mode model in which one of the longitudinal modes of a coupled cavity laser with the lowest lasing threshold is selected as a lasing mode. This theoretical explanation is confirmed through experiments with a distributed feedback laser that shows a strong single-mode oscillation and yields light-output undulations with a spatial period of λ/2.


The Image-Based Rendering (IBR) approach using Shearlet Transform (ST) is one of the most effective methods for Densely-Sampled Light Field (DSLF) reconstruction. The ST-based DSLF reconstruction typically relies on an iterative thresholding algorithm for Epipolar-Plane Image (EPI) sparse regularization in shearlet domain, involving dozens of transformations between image domain and shearlet domain, which are in general time-consuming. To overcome this limitation, a novel learning-based ST approach, referred to as Deep Residual Shearlet Transform (DRST), is proposed in this paper. Specifically, for an input sparsely-sampled EPI, DRST employs a deep fully Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to predict the residuals of the shearlet coefficients in shearlet domain in order to reconstruct a densely-sampled EPI in image domain. The DRST network is trained on synthetic Sparsely-Sampled Light Field (SSLF) data only by leveraging elaborately-designed masks. Experimental results on three challenging real-world light field evaluation datasets with varying moderate disparity ranges (8 - 16 pixels) demonstrate the superiority of the proposed learning-based DRST approach over the non-learning-based ST method for DSLF reconstruction. Moreover, DRST provides a 2.4x speedup over ST, at least.


Three forests, Beliatore, Gangajal-ghati (G-ghati), and Joyur, were surveyed for mushroom collection and biodiversity. Mushrooms in the rhizospheric zone of some trees, such as Shorea robusta, Petrocarpus marsupium, Terminalia bellrica, and Madhuca indica, were identified at the molecular level as Asterius asiaticus. Thereafter, the ecological diversity of this mushroom was determined in the forests. The diversity indices of Shorea robusta in the Beliatore, Joypur, and Gangajal-ghati forests were 2.303, 2.178, and 2.36, respectively. Notably, the diversity index of Madhuca indica in the Beliatore and Joypur forests was nearly the same as that in the Gangajal-ghati forest, with a value of 2.29. The total phenolics contents of the hot water, acetone, and hexane extracts of this mushroom were 6.8 ± 0.15, 3.95 ± 0.15, and 2.16 ± 0.26 mg GAE/g, respectively, and the total flavonoid contents were 2.03 ± 0.12, 1.65 ± 0.2, and 1.01 ± 0.08 mg QE/g, respectively. The ascorbic acid contents in the hot water, acetone, and hexane extracts were low. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined using the DPPH (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assay. The IC50 values of the hot water, acetone, and hexane extracts were 42.54 ± 1.25c µg/ml, 54.06 ± 1.50b µg/mL, and 82.97 ± 1.58a µg/ml respectively while that of the synthetic antioxidant, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), was 32.41 ± 1.26d µg/mL. Overall, the hot water extract of this mushroom had the highest antioxidant content and displayed the best radical scavenging power.


Zinc Oxide @ Glycol based nanofluids was prepared using the ultra-sonochemical technique and 2 step methods. The heat convection characteristics of as prepared nanofluids were observed for a closed single conduit in turbulent flow regimes. The prepared nanofluids were characterized for UV-vis, FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and TEM analysis to confirm the accurate synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles. Analytical data related to heat transfer properties of the synthesized nanofluids for the heat exchanger, incorporated with the conduit test section were collected. The addition of ZnO solid nanoparticles in the Ethylene Glycol enhanced the value of thermal conductivity and other thermo physical characteristics of the nanofluids. Supreme thermal conductivity was recorded at 45°C for using 0.1 wt.% of Zinc Oxide @ Glycol based nanofluids. Adding more wt.% of the ZnO solid nanoparticles in the Ethylene Glycol increased the thermal conductivity subsequently with variations in temperature from 20 to 45ºC. Furthermore, Nusselt numbers of Zinc Oxide @ Glycol based nanofluids were calculated at different wt.% of ZnO present in Ethylene Glycol base fluid. The occurrence of ZnO nanoparticles into the Ethylene Glycol base fluid intensify the Nusselt (Nu) number by 51.5%, 43.79%, 38%and 24.06% for 0.1 wt.%, 0.075 wt.%, 0.05 wt.% and 0.025wt.% concentrations, respectively. Varying wt.% of ZnO (0.1 wt.%, 0.075 wt.%, 0.05 wt.%). The absolute average heat transfer of Zinc Oxide @ Glycol based nanofluids using at the highest concentration of 0.1 wt.% was enhanced compared to the Ethylene Glycol base fluid. The magnitude of absolute average heat transfer was increased from 600 W/m2k for the EG@DW mixture to 1292 W/m2k for Zinc Oxide @ Glycol based nanofluids. Correspondingly, the heat transfer development at the other three (0.075 wt.%, 0.05 wt.%, and 0.025 wt.%) was observed as 600–1167, 600–1010 and 600–970 W/m2k, respectively, which is superior to pure Ethylene Glycol base fluid.


Sports watches have been developed with a feature that predicts VO 2max from a submaximal effort. PURPOSE: To examine the predictability of VO2max from two heart rate monitors (Device A and V) and a global positioning system (GPS) watch compared to measured VO2max. METHODS: Twenty-seven participants, 15 males and 12 females ages 18 to 55, came to the Running Science Laboratory at Eastern Michigan University on two occasions. During visit 1, participants arrived in a semi-fasted state (without caffeine or caloric consumption for 3 hours) and completed a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) to determine VO 2max . The participant determined a self-selected speed which remained constant throughout the test while only grade increased by 2% every 2 minutes until volitional exhaustion. A VO 2max (ml/kg/min) was reached if heart rate was ≥95% of age predicted max, RER was ≥1.05, and there was a plateau in VO 2 (< 2 ml/kg/min). During visit 2, participants first wore two heart rate monitors simultaneously (Device A and V) and were instructed to lie still for 6 minutes to allow for the devices to estimate VO 2max . After these values were obtained, these two devices were replaced by a GPS watch. Participants then completed a 15-minute submaximal outdoor run, and the GPS watch estimated VO 2max . Pearson correlations and a Repeated Measures ANOVA were utilized to compare estimated VO 2max values from the three devices to measured VO 2max from the GXT (p<0.05). RESULTS: Six participants were excluded due to having a VO2max less than 35ml/kg/min, not returning for the second visit, or a device malfunctioning. Device A (r=0.66; p<0.001), Device V (r=0.80; p<0.001), and the GPS watch (r=0.72; p<0.001) were associated with measured VO2max. A significant main effect was found among VO2max values (F (2.0, 39.6) = 14.0; p<0.05). There was a significant difference (p<0.01) between measured VO2max (51.0±9.1 ml/kg/min) compared to Device A (44.0±5.5), Device V (45.3±5.6), and the GPS watch (45.7±5.3). CONCLUSIONS: Even though there were moderate to strong relationships, all three watches underestimated VO2max compared to measured VO2max. However, the difference between measured VO2max and all three devices may fall within daily variation of VO2max. The three devices may serve as an appropriate measure of cardiorespiratory fitness from a submaximal effort.


The virtual reality (VR) has nowadays numerous applications in training, education, and rehabilitation. To efficiently present the immersive 3D stimuli, we need to understand how spatial attention is oriented in VR. The efficiency of different cues can be compared using the Posner paradigm. In this study, we designed an ecological environment where participants were presented with a modified version of the Posner cueing paradigm. Twenty subjects equipped with an eye-tracking system and VR HMD performed a sandwich preparation task. They were asked to assemble the ingredients which could be either endogenously and exogenously cued in both auditory and visual modalities. The results showed that all valid cues made participants react faster. While directional arrow (visual endogenous) and 3D sound (auditory exogenous) oriented attention globally to the entire cued hemifield, the vocal instruction (auditory endogenous) and object highlighting (visual exogenous) allowed more local orientation, in a specific region of space. No differences in gaze shift initiation nor time to fixate the target were found suggesting the covert orienting.


Specific lineages of serogroup O1 Vibrio cholerae are notorious for causing cholera pandemics, of which there have been seven since the 1800s. Much is known about the sixth pandemic (1899-1923) and the ongoing seventh pandemic (1961-present), but we know very little about the bacteriology of pandemics 1 to 5. Moreover, although we are learning about the contribution of non-O1 non-pandemic V. cholerae to cholera dynamics during the current pandemic, we know almost nothing about their role in the past. A recent ancient DNA study has presented what may be the first molecular evidence of a V. cholerae infection from the fifth cholera pandemic period (1886-1887 AD) in Argentina. Here, we place the molecular evidence from that study into the genomic context of non-pandemic V. cholerae from Latin America and elsewhere, and show that a gene fragment amplified from ancient DNA is most similar to that of V. cholerae from the Americas, and from Argentina. Our results corroborate and reinforce the findings of the original study, and collectively suggest that even in the 1880s, non-pandemic V. cholerae local to the Americas may have caused sporadic infections in Argentina, just as we know to have happened during the seventh pandemic in Latin America.


Note: Reunion Annuelle de l'Academie Suisse des Sciences Naturelles, Airolo, September 1998 Reference CRPP-CONF-1998-013 Record created on 2008-05-13, modified on 2016-08-08


We consider the problem of source coding subject to a fidelity criterion for the Gray-Wyner network that connects a single source with two receivers via a common channel and two private channels. General lower bounds are derived for jointly Gaussian sources subject to the mean-squared error criterion, leveraging convex duality and an argument involving the factorization of convex envelopes. The pareto-optimal tradeoffs between the sum-rate of the private channels and the rate of the common channel is completely characterized. Specifically, it is attained by selecting the auxiliary random variable to be jointly Gaussian with the sources.


Magnetic stimulation was used to excite lumbar and cervical roots, enabling the measurement of proximal motor conduction besides the routine measurement of distal conduction velocity (CV). Latencies to abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and tibial anterior (TA) on both sides were used to estimate peripheral conduction velocity using body height; in addition, the uniformity of conduction was determined using the ratio of lumbar and cervical latencies (L/C ratio). In 124 controls the CV showed a clear inverse relation with age. After correction for this factor a high correlation between left and right CV remained. The L/C ratio--indicating the uniformity of conduction--was plotted against the CV, which made it possible to view both generalized and focal slowing in one diagram. An application of this approach is shown in patients with generalized slowing (demyelinating polyneuropathy), focal slowing (lumbar stenosis) and multifocal slowing (acute and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy). Most disorders could be accurately deduced from their place in the diagram. A special variable (distance between left and right data) was introduced to characterize the special case of multifocal slowing. It is concluded that this method easily provides an idea of global and/or focal peripheral conduction slowing and that it might be useful besides routine EMG as an additional tool.


A review of current oxidation and deposit bench tests used for the evaluation of engine oil performance will be presented. Some of the more meaningful tests will be utilized to evaluate a number of antioxidant systems for oxidation and deposit control capabilities in engine oils formulated with 470 ppm of ZDDP-derived phosphorus. The antioxidant components are selected from a series of commonly used and commercially available materials plus one new developmental component. These components include an organo-molybdenum compound (MoDTC), an alkylated diphenylamine (NDPA), a conventional hindered phenolic (HPE), a high performance hindered phenolic (MBDTBP), and a new multi-functional boronated MBDTBP. The performance of these fully formulated engine oils will be ranked in the selected bench tests in order to highlight the benefits of each antioxidant system under evaluation. The results point to significant benefits with the molybdenum- and boronated-systems, or mixed molybdenum-/boronated-systems, for oxidation control, while systems containing NDPA and MBDTBP are favored more for deposit control. Unique and superior performing antioxidant systems will be recommended for screening in fired engine and bench wear tests.


The seasonal and regional variability of organic contaminants in atmospheric precipitation has been investigated in the Sosnowiec region (Upper Silesia, southern Poland) for a twelve-month period during 2002 and 2003. Contaminants were isolated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to compare the chemical composition of organic contamination and the semi-quantitative content of selected compound groups. During the heating season, the dominating source of pollution is coal combusted in the region. Characteristics of organic contamination in precipitation sampled after the heating season indicate they are related to traffic emission. Regional differences between organic pollutant content suggest that the low emitters, for example individual house fires, are important source of organic contamination in the Upper Silesia agglomeration.


Inhibition of melanogenesis by quercetin and vitamin E is extensively reported in the literature, independently, with limitations in antioxidant potential owing to less permeation, solubility, decreased bioavailability, and reduced stability. Thus, the aim of the present study was to synthesize a novel complex of metal ions (copper and zinc) with quercetin to enhance antioxidant properties which were confirmed by docking studies. Polycaprolactone-based nanoparticles of the synthesized complex (PCL-NPs, Q-PCL-NPs, Zn-Q-PCL-NPs, Cu-Q-PCL-NPs) were made later loaded with vitamin E which made the study more interesting in enhancing antioxidant profile. Nanoparticles were characterized for zeta size, charge, and polydispersity index, while physiochemical analysis of nanoparticles was strengthened by FTIR. Cu-Q-PCL-NPs-E showed maximum in vitro release of vitamin E, i.e., 80 ± 0.54%. Non-cellular antioxidant effect by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl was observed at 93 ± 0.23% in Cu-Q-PCL-NPs-E which was twofold as compared to Zn-Q-PCL-NPs-E. Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cancer cell lines were used to investigate the anticancer and cellular antioxidant profile of loaded and unloaded nanoparticles. Results revealed reactive oxygen species activity of 90 ± 0.32% with the addition of 89 ± 0.64% of its anticancer behavior shown by Cu-Q-PCL-NPs-E after 6 and 24h. Similarly, 80 ± 0.53% inhibition of melanocyte cells and 95 ± 0.54% increase of keratinocyte cells were also shown by Cu-Q-PCL-NPs-E that confirmed the tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory effect. Conclusively, the use of zinc and copper complex in unloaded and vitamin E–loaded nanoparticles can provide enhanced antioxidant properties with inhibition of melanin, which can be used for treating diseases of melanogenesis.


Crataegus aronia is a wild medicinal plant belonging to the Rosaceae family and has been known for the medicinal activity of its extracts due to the high levels of flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Recently, in vitro culture of plant cells, callus and microshoots is widely used to maximize production of plant secondary metabolites. In this study, the effect of different light intensity levels (0, 20, 40, 60, 100, 150 and 200 µmole.m -2 .s -1 ) at different incubations periods (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 days) were used to evaluate in vitro callus growth and in vitro polyphenol production in Crataegus aronia. Callus growth was significantly increased after 20 days of culture. Maximum callus growth was reached at 30 days. Growing C. aronia callus for extended periods will not result in more growth especially under the high light levels, even more a reduced callus growth was seen in cultures grown at the high levels of radiation. Polyphenol production was affected by light level and duration of culture. Extended culture incubation resulted in low polyphenol production. Maximimum polyphenolic contents were obtained on C. aronia callus after 20 days of incubation at 40 µmole.m -2 .s -1 . The effect of storage of prepared extract on polyphenol content was compared to the freshly used samples and the results showed that storing polyphenol extracts for 1 day resulted in a drastic drop in polyphenol content. This may indicate fresh use of such material is preferred to processed or stored products.


This tutorial leads the reader through the details of calculating the properties of gravitational waves from orbiting binaries, such as two orbiting black holes. Using analogies with electromagnetic radiation, the tutorial presents a calculation that produces the same dependence on the masses of the orbiting objects, the orbital frequency, and the mass separation as does the linear version of General Relativity (GR). However, the calculation yields polarization, angular distributions, and overall power results that differ from those of GR. Nevertheless, the calculation produces waveforms that are nearly identical to the pre-binary-merger portions of the signals observed by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO-Virgo) collaboration. The tutorial should be easily understandable by students who have taken a standard upper-level undergraduate course in electromagnetism.a


Combined syntactical categories and sequence alignment algorithms are implemented and used to weed-out duplicate and near-duplicate web-pages from search engine results. The syntactical structures manifested as POS-tags were pre-processed using a POS tagger converting parts of a webpage's text into a string of tags. The produced string was then subjected into the longest Common Sequence (LCS) techniques (as is commonly done in computational biology), to detect duplicate and near-duplicate webpages. The process of tagging and aligning was based on set of sentences extracted from the web page as a representative of the pages. The query-keywords are used as a basis for sentence extraction. Results obtained from experiments performed have shown that such a combined approach can provide very interesting similarity calculation and re-ranking measure. This can be used with reasonable efficiency to detect duplications on search results generated by search engines such as Google. Similarity measurements obtained can be further used as a basis for text analysis of the search results allowing the detection of duplicate and near duplicates and clustering of documents in general.


Currently e-commerce system security focuses on mechanisms such as secure transactional protocols, cryptographic schemes, parameter sanitization and it is assumed that putting these in place will guarantee a secure eCommerce application. However, often vulnerabilities in the business application logic itself are often ignored that can make the efiect of these security mechanisms null and void. Essentially, the weakest link can be at the server rather the client and ignoring this is done at a developer's peril. This paper focuses on this weakest link in ecommerce system. In particular, it considers componentbased middleware platforms where vulnerabilities may exist in the middleware itself or the components used to construct the e-Commerce application. We outline a logic attacks that would not be prevented by the deployment of the mechanisms commonly used in e-Commerce systems. To counter this problem, we present a secure framework method based on existing techniques that treats security as a flrst-class concept and considers its interaction with business logic.


Since the late 1970s, Australian horticulture has been categorized into three sectors; food, service and amenity. More recently amenity horticulture has undergone a number of name changes from environmental and urban, to that of lifestyle horticulture, which has been described as "those public and commercial businesses involved in the horticultural production, management and servicing of urban green spaces for environmental, social, economic and health benefit". Currently, the value of lifestyle horticulture products and services has been based on one of economic growth, employment prospects, tourism opportunities and/or their role in value-adding environmental, social, physical health and mental well-being. However, lifestyle horticulture has always been a dynamic sector of horticulture, with a strong focus on environmental, social, cultural and economic development along the supply/value chain. The objective of this paper is to characterise the enterprise numbers, commodities, employment and value of lifestyle horticulture generally and to demonstrate the value of the lifestyle horticulture commodity sod. Results show that over the next 3 years, 55% of growers will increase production, but the sector continues to be challenged by water restrictions, rising labour, fuel, insurance and equipment costs, as well as production and marketing related problems, which could impact on income, employment opportunities and market share. In the longer term, there is a need for capacity building among growers to deal with horticultural production, technological applications, business management and marketing challenges, as well as gain information on key industry benchmarks, particularly those supply chains operating under a drier environment and with limited irrigation.


Background: Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis which enters the droplet nuclei into the mouth or nasal passages to reach the pulmonary alveoli. The sputum smear examination for smear-positive and negative smear pulmonary tuberculosis is challenging due to requiring a longer time to get the results. Therefore, a specific marker is needed that is able to detect bacterial infections immediately, such as procalcitonin (PCT). This study aims to determine the levels of PCT in pulmonary tuberculosis patients with acid-fast bacilli positive and negative smear at Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. Method: A cross sectional was conducted among 40 pulmonary tuberculosis patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria at Haji Adam Malik General Hospital, Medan, Indonesia. The subjects were 20 positive smears and 20 negative smears. PCT examination with mini VIDAS BRAHMS was carried out using the Sandwich principle using the ELFA method (Enzyme-Linked Fluorescent Assay). Sputum examination was carried out by smear of Zhiel Neelsen smear, which was analyzed by the Mann-Whitney (Non-Parametric) test using SPSS version 17 for Windows. Results: Most of the respondents were males in both positive and negative smears group (65.0% and 70.0%, respectively) and not significantly different (P>0.05). The age of subjects was slightly older in positive smear (49.75 ± 17.993 years) compare with negative smear group (42.50 ± 14.816 years) but not statistically significant (P=0.172). The PCT levels in pulmonary tuberculosis patients with positive smear (0.1550; 21.65 ng/mL) differ significantly from the PCT levels in pulmonary tuberculosis patients with negative smear (0.05; 3.14 ng/mL) (p=0.0001). The cut off value using ROC found 0.06 ng/mL (AUC: 0.842) with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity


AIM
This article describes the process of developing the Nursing Global Health Competencies Framework.

BACKGROUND
Despite progress in the identification of global health competencies in nursing education, a theoretical underpinning to guide curriculum development and research in global health nursing was needed.

METHOD
Scoping review of the literature; deduction.

DISCUSSION
The framework contains one dimension, nursing core value and principles, delineated with seven subcategories: social justice and equity, holistic care, advocacy, health as human right, sustainability, advocacy, and collaboration. The framework also contains four assumptions: environmental focus, care focus, education focus, and competency leveling.

CONCLUSION
A framework for global health in nursing education is critical to guide the development of competencies and relevant curricula to reflect the core values and principles of nursing. The literature germane to global health nursing was synthesized to define the relationships of core values in a graphic framework that depicts the essential concepts.


Wireless data broadcast system can support data access services for any number of the clients. In the system, it is critical for the performance in order for the server to disseminate the preferred data items of the clients to the wireless channel. This paper proposes a query likelihood model that can predict data preference of the clients in near future. The proposed model predicts the query likelihood by considering the data preference of the clients and the cell preference in a hybrid manner. The cell preference means the probability for the clients to reside within the broadcasting service area. The data preference is modeled with an artificial neural network in linear regression. With the proposed query likelihood prediction model, the broadcast server enables to reflect actively the needs for data items of the clients in the near future. Through intensive simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed model is shown with respect to the access time and tuning time of the clients in the broadcasting system.


BACKGROUND Facial lipoatrophy has been observed to occur in a variety of patient populations, with inherited or acquired disease, or even in aging patients as a natural progression of tissue change over time. There is currently no framework from which physicians of all medical specialties can communally discuss the manifestations, diagnoses, and management of facial lipoatrophy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this assembly was to derive a definition of facial lipoatrophy capable of being applied to all patient populations and develop an accompanying grading system. RESULTS The final consensus of the Facial Lipoatrophy Panel encompasses both aging and disease states: "Loss of facial fat due to aging, trauma or disease, manifested by flattening or indentation of normally convex contours." The proposed grading scale includes five gradations (Grades 1–5; 5 being the most severe), and the face is assessed according to three criteria: contour, bony prominence, and visibility of musculature. CONCLUSION Categorizing the presentation of facial lipoatrophy is subjective and qualitative, and will need to be validated with objective measures. Furthermore, during the assembly, several topics were exposed that warrant further research, including the physiology of volume loss, age and lipoatrophy, and human immunodeficiency virus and lipoatrophy.


The linear and the nonlinear optical properties of metallodielectric photonic bandgap (MD-PBG) structures were studied by using linear absorption spectroscopy and a femtosecond nonlinear transmission method. The MD-PBG structure consisted of three bilayers of MgF2(250 nm)/Ag(30 nm). It was prepared by evaporating MgF2 and Ag layers alternatively onto a glass plate. The optical transmission spectrum of the prepared MD-PBG structure was found to exhibit several pass bands and a broad photonic bandgap. The photonic bandgap extended throughout most of the visible region from 475 nm to 780 nm. Interestingly, there existed transmissive pass bands corresponding to the Bragg resonances: λ1 = 410 nm (T = 53.9 %), λ2 = 449 nm (T = 42.9 %), λ3 = 802 nm (T = 39.6 %) and λ4 = 878 nm (T = 16.9 %). The observed transmission spectra could be described by applying the optical transfer matrix formalism to the periodic metallodielectric multilayer. The number of pass bands was found to increase with increasing number of metal-dielectric pairs, and the band width of PBG was found to increase with increasing dielectric layer thickness. At high laser intensity, the MD-PBG structure exhibited a large nonlinear absorption. The enhanced optical nonlinearity is thought to be due to a bathochromic shift of the low-energy band edge of PBG by the saturable absorption of each metallic layer.


The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method is often a viable alternative to other computational methods used for the design of sub-wavelength components of photonic devices. We describe an FDTD based grid refinement method, which reduces the computational cell size locally, using a collection of nested rectangular grid patches. On each patch, a standard FDTD update of the electromagnetic fields is applied. At the coarse/fine grid interfaces the solution is interpolated, and consistent circulation of the fields is enforced on shared cell edges. Stability and accuracy of the scheme depend critically on the update scheme, space and time interpolation, and a proper implementation of flux conditions at mesh boundaries. Compared to the conformal grid refinement, the method enables better efficiency by using non-conformal grids around the region of interest and by refining both space and time dimensions, which leads to considerable savings in computation time. We discuss the advantages and shortcomings of the method and present its application to the problem of computation of a quality factor of a 3-D photonic crystal microcavity.


Crops from the family Brassicaceae represent a diverse and very interesting group of plants. In addition, their close relationship with the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, makes combined research on these species both scientifically valuable and of considerable commercial importance. In the post-genomics era, much effort is being placed on expanding our capacity to use advanced technologies such as proteomics and metabolomics, to broaden our knowledge of the molecular organization of plants and how genetic differences are translated into phenotypic ones. Metabolomics in particular is gaining much attention mainly due both to the comprehensiveness of the technology and also the potentially close relationship between biochemical composition (including human health-related phytochemicals) and phenotype. In this short review, a brief introduction to the main metabolomics technologies is given taking examples from research on the Brassicaceae for illustration.


During hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, monomeric sugars and a broad range of inhibitory compounds are formed and released. These inhibitors, which can be organized around three main groups, furans, weak acids and phenolics, reduce ethanol yield and productivity by affecting the microorganism performance during the fermentation step. Among the microorganisms that have been evaluated for lignocellulosic hydrolysate ethanol fermentation, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae appears to be the least sensitive. In order to overcome the effect of inhibitors, strategies that include improvement of natural tolerance of microorganism and use of fermentation control strategies have been developed. An overview of the origin, effects and mechanisms of action of known inhibitors on S. cerevisiae is given. Fermentation control strategies as well as metabolic, genetic and evolutionary engineering strategies to obtain S. cerevisiae strains with improved tolerance are discussed.


Pelli-Martins, A.A., Machado-Santos, C., Sales, A. and de Brito-Gitirana, L. 2011. Histochemical, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural observations of the esophagus morphology of Rinella icterica (Anuran, Bufonidae). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 93: 373–380.

Abstract

The esophagus of Rinella icterica was analyzed by employing histochemical methods and lectin histochemistry at light microscopy as well as by transmission electron microscopy. The mucosa was composed of a ciliated columnar pseudostratified epithelium with goblet cells, overlying a lamina propria. The goblet cells contained neutral and acid glycoconjugates and were positive for galactose residues. Moreover, two types of goblet cells were identified; one type was positive for mannose, and the other was negative. Serotonin-immunoreactive cells (5HT-IR) occurred randomly scattered at the base of the epithelium; they were also localized between the mucous cells of the gland. Both submucosa and adventitia were composed of loose connective tissue, and the muscularis was formed by smooth muscle. Although the basic morphology of the esophagus of R. icterica is similar to that of mammals, the esophagus showed some morphological differences that are likely to be related to the specific physiology of the tissue.


Air-borne contact dermatitis caused by Parthenium hysterophorus is a serious problem in India. Patients with this condition have to use corticosteroids regularly in order to maintain clinical remissions, but prolonged usage causes serious side-effects. The weed cannot be eradicated. We have used 3 therapeutic regimens with azathioprine, which led to an effective control with minimal side-effects even when used for long periods. A total of 22 patients (group I) were given 50 mg azathioprine twice a day; 11 patients (group II) received 50 mg azathioprine per day and 300 mg azathioprine every 28 days, and 10 patients (group III) were given 50 mg azathioprine twice a day along with 300 mg azathioprine every 28 days. The duration of treatment varied from 6 months to 3 years. Twenty patients in group I and 9 patients each in groups II and III had complete remission. Nine, 7 and 6 patients in the respective groups needed additional oral betamethasone 1-2 mg per day for brief periods only during the peak season in order to maintain complete remission. One patient in each group had only partial relief. The need for oral betamethasone during the second and the third year was further reduced. One patient each in group I and group II could not continue azathioprine due to the side-effects of the drug.


A seamless, 2 meter resolution digital elevation model (DEM) was constructed for the open-coast region of the San Francisco Bay Area (outside of the Golden Gate Bridge), extending from Half Moon Bay to Bodega Head along the north-central California coastline. The goal was to integrate the most recent high-resolution bathymetric and topographic datasets available (for example, Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) topography, multibeam and single-beam sonar bathymetry) into a seamless surface model extending offshore at least 3 nautical miles and inland beyond the +20 m elevation contour.


The Trans-North China Belt (TNCB) is a Paleoproterozoic collisional orogen (ca. 1.9-1.8 Ga) responsible for the amalgamation of the North China Craton. Detail field works in Luliangshan, Hengshan, Wutaishan and Fuping massifs where the belt is well exposed, allow us to draw new tectonic map and crustal-scale cross sections. The available petrologic, radiometric, geochronologic data are integrated in a geodynamic evolution scheme for this orogen. The Low Grade Mafic Unit (LGMU) is interpreted as an ophiolitic nappe rooted in a suture zone located in the western part of the Luliangshan. This ophiolitic nappe overthrusts to the SE upon the Orthogneiss-Volcanites Unit (OVU) that consists of a bimodal volcanicsedimentary series metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions intruded by calcalkaline orthogneiss. The OVU is a composite Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic magmatic arc developed during two stages (ca. 2500 and 2100 Ma) upon a continental basement corresponding to the western extension of the Neoarchean Fuping massif. The OVU overthrusts to the SE the Fuping massif along the Longquanguan shear zone. This stack of nappe, coeval with an amphibolite facies metamorphism, is dated at ca 1880 Ma. Subsequently, the metamorphic series experienced a widespread migmatization at 1850 Ma and was intruded by post-orogenic plutons dated at 1800 Ma. The weakly to unmetamorphosed Hutuo Supergroup unconformably overlies the metamorphosed and ductilely deformed units (OVU and LGMU), but it is also involved in a second tectonic phase developed in subsurface conditions. These structural features lead us to question the ca 2090 Ma age attributed to the Hutuo supergroup. Moreover, in the Fuping massif, several structural and magmatic lines of evidence argue for an earlier orogenic event at ca 2100 Ma that we relate to an older west-directed subduction below the Fuping Block. The Taihangshan Fault might be the location of a possible suture zone between the Fuping Block and an eastern one. A geodynamic model, at variance with previous ones, is proposed to account for the formation of the TNCB. In this scheme, three Archean continents, namely from West to East, the Ordos, Fuping and Eastern Blocks are separated by the Luliang and Taihang Oceans. The closure of the Taihang Ocean at ca 2100 Ma by westward subduction below the Fuping Block accounts for the arc magmatism and the 2100 Ma orogeny. The second collision at 1900-1880 Ma between the Fuping and Ordos blocks is responsible for the main structural, metamorphic and magmatic features of the Trans-North China Belt.


Multi-fluid micromixing, which has rarely been explored, typically represents a highly sought-after technique in on-chip biochemical and biomedical assays. Herein, we propose a novel micromixing approach utilizing induced-charge electroosmosis (ICEO) to implement multicomplex mixing between parallel streams. The variations of ICEO microvortices above a sinusoidally shaped floating electrode (SSFE) are first investigated to better understand the microvortex development and the resultant mixing process within a confined channel. On this basis, a mathematical model of the vortex index is newly developed to predict the mixing degree along the microchannel. The negative exponential distribution obtained between the vortex index and mixing index demonstrates an efficient model to describe the mixing performance without solving the coupled diffusion and momentum equations. Specifically, sufficient mixing with a mixing index higher than 0.9 can be achieved when the vortex index exceeds 51, and the mixing efficiency reaches a plateau at an AC frequency close to 100 Hz. Further, a rectangle floating electrode (RFE) is deposited before SSFE to enhance the controlled sequence for three-fluid mixing. One side fluid can fully mix with the middle fluid with a mixing index of 0.623 above RFE in the first mixing stage and achieve entire-channel mixing with a mixing index of 0.983 above SSFE in the second mixing stage, thereby enabling on-demand sequential mixing. As a proof of concept, this work can provide a robust alternative technique for multi-objective issues and structural design related to mixers.


Many medical ultrasound imaging systems are based on sweeping the image plane with a set of narrow beams. Usually, the returning echo from each of these beams is used to form one or a few azimuthal image samples. We model, for each radial distance, jointly the full azimuthal scanline. The model consists of the amplitudes of a set of densely placed potential reflectors (or scatterers), cf. sparse signal representation. To fit the model, we apply the iterative adaptive approach (IAA) on data formed by a sequenced time delay and phase shift. The performance of the IAA in combination with our time-delayed and phase-shifted data are studied on both simulated data of scenes consisting of point targets and hollow cyst-like structures, and recorded ultrasound phantom data from a specially adapted commercially available scanner. The results show that the proposed IAA is more capable of resolving point targets and gives better defined and more geometrically correct cyst-like structures in speckle images compared with the conventional delay-and-sum (DAS) approach. Compared with a Capon beamformer, the IAA showed an improved rendering of cyst-like structures and a similar point-target resolvability. Unlike the Capon beamformer, the IAA has no user parameters and seems unaffected by signal cancellation. The disadvantage of the IAA is a high computational load.


We investigate the propagation of surface electrostatic oscillations on a quantum plasma half-space, taking into account the quantum effects. We derive the quantum surface wave frequencies of the system, by means the quantum hydrodynamic theory in conjunction with the Poisson equation and applying the appropriate additional quantum boundary conditions. Numerical results show in the presence of the slow nonlocal variations, plasmon wave energies of the system are significantly modified and plasmonic oscillations with blue-shifted frequencies emerge.


– Molluscs were studied in mangroves at six sites in the upper Gulf of Thailand from March to June 2004. At each site, density, diversity, and biomass of molluscs were measured in replicate samples made in four habitats: Avicennia and Rhizophora tree zones, and the unvegetated mudfl at and channel. There is no Rhizophora zone at the site at Ang Sila. A moderate diversity of 47 species (31 gastropods and 16 bivalves) was collected. There was considerable variation in population characteristics between sites and between habitats at a site. Mangrove tree habitats tended to have greater diversity than unvegetated habitats. Mean density varied from 9.4/m at Ban Num Chieo to 841.5/m at Bangpoo, a difference of almost two orders of magnitude. There was no clear pattern of density in the different habitats. Three habitats (mudfl at, Avicennia and Rhizophora tree zones) each had one site where there were no molluscs found. The greatest densities were recorded in three different habitats: 1,120.6/m in the channel at Laem Chabang; 1,235.8/ m in Rhizophora at Khlong Khon; and 3,289.6/m in Avicennia at Bangpoo. The high densities in these three habitats were contributed entirely by three different species, one at each of the habitats. The greatest biomass was found at different sites from the greatest density. A single species of bivalve was responsible for the high biomass at the three sites with the greatest biomass; the dominant species differed at the three habitats. Three assemblage groupings were found. The largest comprised molluscs from all Avicennia and Rhizophora habitats and the channel habitats at Bangpoo and Bang Ya Phreak. All fi ve mudfl at and two channel habitats formed a second group, and the Leam Chabang channel formed an isolated group. Gastropods were mostly epifaunal (24 species) or arboreal (7 species); most bivalves were infaunal. All 16 bivalves were fi lter feeders, and 23 gastropods were herbivores. In general, fi lter feeders and detritivores dominated density and biomass. This is consistent with the ecological role of molluscs being intermediate between the mangroves as primary producers and the higher trophic levels in the food web. Marine species dominated the salinity preference.


In the continuous liquid distribution process, the emulsion drag-reducing agent has poor viscosity-increasing ability and a low solid content, resulting in a high concentration and high cost. To solve this problem, a nanosuspension agent with a "shelf structure," a dispersion accelerator, and a density regulator were used as auxiliary agents to realize the stable suspension of a polymer dry powder in an oil phase. The results show that the molecular weight of the synthesized polymer powder could reach nearly 28 million when the mass ratio of acrylamide (AM) to acrylic acid (AA) was 80:20 and a chain extender was added. The synthesized polymer powder was dissolved in tap water and 2% brine separately, and the viscosity of the solutions was measured. The dissolution rate of up to 90% was reached at 30 °C, and the viscosity was 33 and 23 mPa s in tap water and in 2% brine, respectively. A stable suspension can be obtained without obvious stratification in one week and with good dispersion after 6 months by using the following composition: 37% oil phase + 1% nanosuspension agent + 10% dispersion accelerator + 50% polymer dry powder + 2% density regulator. The drag-reduction performance is good, remaining close to 73% with increasing time. The viscosity of the suspension solution is 21 mPa s in 50% standard brine, and the salt resistance is good. The rate at which the suspension fracturing fluid damages the formation is 7.56%, and the reservoir damage is unsubstantial. Its performance in field applications illustrated that its sand-carrying capacity, referring to the capacity of the fracturing fluid to carry proppants into the fracture and place them in a predetermined position, reaches 10%. The results show that the fracturing fluid can be used as a pre-fluid to break the formation, form fractures, and expand fracture networks under low-viscosity conditions and can be used as a sand-carrying fluid to carry proppants into the formation under high-viscosity conditions. Additionally, the fracturing fluid can directly realize the fast conversion between high and low viscosities and allow for multiple uses of one agent.


Retrospective review of the scoliosis database showed adolescent idiopathic scoliosis to be the most common but least significant variety of spinal deformity. Data from 112 girls diagnosed on repeat screening showed the importance of menarche as a date in the natural history. In the whole database, there were 514 aged at least 15 years at last review, 45 boys and 469 girls. Braces were prescribed for a total of 38, mostly during the early part of the period and gradually abandoned without an increase in surgical rate. Progression depended on the age and maturity of the patient as well as the initial Cobb angle. Surgery was recommended for 27% overall. A sub-group with more complete data diagnosed after bracing had been discontinued confirmed the findings.


As the utility marketplace continues to evolve, long-term survival and prosperity require clear, strategic thinking on the enterprise transforming initiatives needed to effectively increase efficiency and improve revenue opportunities. After a vision is formulated or refined, one of the crucial steps to be undertaken involves a business-process modeling exercise aimed at determining the operational processes that will support the strategy. In many cases, business-process automation (integrating information across systems) serves as the foundation for an enterprise business-process model. Adapting a modern business-process model includes embracing change. Toward that end, enterprise-application integration (EAI), the nimble strategy that involves technology and process that enables disparate systems to exchange business-level information in languages that each understands, provides the backbone infrastructure for implementing a business-process model. Ultimately, EAI serves as the enabler of high-level strategies detailed out as part of a business-process modeling effort and provides the flexible framework to address changing business climates.


Female participation in entrepreneurial activities is higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than in any other region. However, women-owned businesses significantly underperform those owned by men. This paper identifies the main constraints that women face in developing their businesses in Africa and discusses how these constraints influence strategic choices in areas such as level of investment and sector of operations. The paper synthesizes the emerging lessons about what works and what does not work to address the underlying constraints to the performance of women-owned firms. Moreover, it identifies knowledge gaps and priority research questions. The paper aims to support the development of a gender-informed policy and research agenda on enterprise development that can guide practitioners, development partners, and researchers who seek to advance women's economic empowerment in Africa.


Droplet-based microfluidics is a powerful technique allowing ultra-high-throughput screening of large libraries of enzymes or microorganisms for the selection of the most efficient variants. Most applications in droplet microfluidic screening systems use fluorogenic substrates to measure enzymatic activities with fluorescence readout. It is important, however, that there is little or no fluorophore exchange between droplets, a condition not met with most commonly employed substrates. Here we report the synthesis of fluorogenic substrates for glycosidases based on a sulfonated 7-hydroxycoumarin scaffold. We found that the presence of the sulfonate group effectively prevents leakage of the coumarin from droplets, no exchange of the sulfonated coumarins being detected over 24 h at 30 °C. The fluorescence properties of these substrates were characterized over a wide pH range, and their specificity was studied on a panel of relevant glycosidases (cellulases and xylanases) in microtiter plates. Finally, the β-d-cellobioside-6,8-difluoro-7-hydroxycoumarin-4-methanesulfonate substrate was used to assay cellobiohydrolase activity on model bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis) in a droplet-based microfluidic format. These new substrates can be used to assay glycosidase activities in a wide pH range (4-11) and with incubation times of up to 24 h in droplet-based microfluidic systems.


The paper studies the problems of philological disciplines teaching in technical institutes. Not so long ago Russian was considered as one of the leading world languages, but recently the situation has changed. The author gives her opinion on teaching non-philologists of humanities and implementation of culturological approach in technical university.


In this study, chaotic surface tracking patterns observed on polymeric high voltage (HV) outdoor insulation materials were investigated and simulated. The polymeric samples are tested according to the IEC 587 Inclined Plane Tracking Test Standard. Since the chaotic surface tracking patterns manifests smutty and disordered images, they are preprocessed and purified by image processing tools. Internal and external effects may severely decrease insulation performance. In order to examine external effects, samples are subjected to moisture and vibration effect. Polymer samples are investigated by their fractal dimension which is a prominent tool for analyzing chaotic images. To simulate these chaotic surface tracking patterns Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are used.


Abstract The tribological behaviour of stainless steel (SUS 440C) relative to that of diamond-like carbon (DLC) was investigated in terms of tribometer input energy. The DLC was prepared on tungsten carbide (WC) substrates using radio frequency plasma chemical vapour deposition with benzene (C6H6) as a gas source. The stainless steel ball, as the counterpart, was tribotested. The input energy was calculated using the applied load, friction coefficient and sliding distance obtained from each tribotest. The wear loss of the ball increased as the sliding distance increased, whereas wear loss of the DLC was not directly observed. During evaluation of the input energy, the wear rate of the stainless steel ball decreased as the input energy increased. We propose a method for evaluating tribological properties using the input energy and discuss the wear behaviour of the stainless steel based on the input energy.


AbstractThis paper focuses on the political project of Choi Fung, who has used herself, her body and performative actions to create a social movement. She exemplifies how young women can engage in feminist practices through a politics of iconogenesis whilst remaining marginal to the feminist movement. Rather than joining organizations, some women choose to re-invent themselves as women icons and politicize their life choices and sexuality to develop their own forms of social activism and articulate a new kind of politics that combines visibility and self-empowerment. Through the term 'politics of iconogenesis,' I suggest that the lone and seemingly erratic 'icon' may illuminate how individuals relate to historical shifts of political, social, and economic transformations in order to articulate their social critique. Therefore the 'genesis' of these icons constitutes a key site for investigation into the gaps and fissures of the feminist movement and civil society in powerful ways.


The professional development of teachers is increasingly viewed as an integral part of improving teacher quality and effectiveness.

Models of professional development are wide and varied and much debate surrounds the power of different models in terms of transforming individual practice and ultimately having a positive impact on student learning. Designing and implementing teacher professional development programs based on research and theory is often a complex and demanding process but measuring the impact of such programs can present even greater challenges.

This paper will outline a mixed methods approach taken to examine the impact of a four year systemic change professional development initiative, designed to extend the instructional practices of forty TAFEWA lecturers. The methods were adopted in an attempt to recognise and examine the complex nature of the change process as a personal, emotional, behavioural, systemic and dynamic process which occurs over a period of time.

The paper will focus on

the research context
the research design - outlining research methodology which includes the use of
the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) instrumentation - Levels of Use (LoU) and Stages of Concern (SoC)
in-depth interviews examined by means of narrative analysis,
classroom observations
reflective interviews
initial results from stage one of data collection will also be shared.


The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the periodontal status of orthodontic patients and non-orthodontic patients, aged 15-28 years, of both genders. The cross-sectional study included 100 orthodontic and 100 non-orthodontic patients evaluated using a Community Periodontal Index for Treatment Need (CPITN) probe on the index teeth. A questionnaire was distributed to the participants to assess and evaluate the use of oral hygiene aids. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 17, and various comparisons were performed using the chi-square test. The study revealed that there was a statistically significant association in CPITN scores between the orthodontic and non-orthodontic patients (p < 0.01). The study showed that patients undergoing orthodontic treatment have increased plaque accumulation and probing depth resulting in periodontal tissue destruction. Proper oral hygiene practices and interdental aids should be employed to control plaque.


Robots are increasingly prominent in the popular imagination, partly through people playing with toys and using social media. This article examines a selection of user-created YouTube videos in different genres that reveal how people experiment with toy robots such as the Furby. These devices have features that support different styles of play, which producers of YouTube clips explore in short narratives. They reveal how the intersubjective conventions for relating to robots are currently being developed. YouTube stars produce vlogs (video blogs) telling stories about their search for Furbys, unboxing them, and experimenting with the toy's playful and uncanny features. Set-piece video producers experiment with how Furbys interact with others, such as trying to communicate, confronting family pets or being destroyed with weapons. Being 'almost alive', toy robots are harbingers of autonomous technologies that have social agency.


Early pregnancy can be best divided into embryonic and fetal periods (dividing line 70 days after last menstrual period), which more naturally reflect developmental changes, morphologic appearance, loss rates, and concerns about teratogens. Newer endovaginal probes and a better understanding of anatomic landmarks and expected growth rates can improve clinical management and patient counseling.


As renewables are progressively displacing thermal plants in the power generation scene worldwide, the vocation of stationary Gas Turbines (GT) is deeply evolving. In this irreversible move GT plants are called upon to become cycling units with increasingly variable load profiles. This is dictated by the need to compensate for the fluctuations of renewable energy sources and secure the spinning reserve that is indispensable for the stability of the grids. This new scenario creates a serious challenge for gas turbine designers and operators in terms of investment policy, plant management and equipment lifetime. Indeed, operating a gas turbine at part, variable load requires reducing its firing temperature and possibly its air flow. While part load operation entails efficiency losses with respect to the full load mode, load variations cause maintenance penalties due the premature component ageing tied namely with thermal and low cycle fatigue effects on machine materials. As far as efficiency is concerned, an exergy analysis of a contemporary, air-based Brayton cycle is useful for quantifying and comparing the losses incurred by the various engine components. Such study reveals the high sensitivity of compressor efficiency to load decreases. Among possible counter-measures, heating the air at the compressor intake represents a simple mitigation measure, as it enables reducing the air flow rate while preserving to some extent the efficiency of the compressor and consequently GT efficiency.


In the current study, a series of 5-substituted-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2yl-N-(2-methoxy-5-chlorophenyl)-2-sulfanyl acetamide was synthesized by converting variously substituted/unsubstituted aromatic organic acids successively into the corresponding esters, hydrazides and then 5-substituted-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiols. Finally the target compounds were obtained by stirring 5-substituted-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiols with N-(2-methoxy-5-chlorophenyl)-2-bromoacetamide in the presence of N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) and sodium hydride (NaH). The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed based on (1)H-NMR, IR and mass spectral data. The synthesized compounds were screened against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and lipoxygenase enzymes (LOX) and were found to be relatively more active against acetyl cholinesterase.


Starting with a brief introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and political attempts that aim at promoting social responsibility of enterprises, this chapter focuses on regulatory instruments to use states' consumer power as a lever to promote CSR in a world that is increasingly shaped by supranational trade agreements. By taking into account socially responsible behavior of potential business partners when making procurement decisions, states' agencies can aim to promote CSR a business case for companies. Yet, in the light of increasing supranational regulation aiming to promote free trade, tensions arise between market-building and free trade on the one hand and political attempts to use public procurement as a means to foster CSR on the other. This chapter provides an outline of the current state of supranational regulative policies on public procurement, with special emphasis to the European Union, and explores their implications for strategic public procurement.


A flexible tungsten:titanium electrode array was fabricated and tested in acute rodent studies. The aim of this study was to understand if this electrode design could stimulate peripheral nerves and if the stimulation could be selective. The results showed that stimulation of the nerves was possible and that at threshold and at low stimulation currents more than half of the electrode contacts could, to a certain extent, selectively stimulate the Tibialis Anterior and the Gastrocnemius muscles. The relevance of this feasibility study is a better understanding of how different material combinations and electrode configurations influence neural stimulation.


The acceptance of e-commerce among consumers has stimulated the rise of virtual stores. Increasing traditional retailers or people who do not have sufficient capital for maintaining a brick-and-mortar store have considered using virtual stores to reach global market. In the e-commerce literature, there has been rich research evidence concerning consumers' acceptance of virtual stores. However, rigorous academic research on retailers' acceptance of virtual stores is relatively scarce today. This study draws upon the theory of planned behavior and information richness theory to propose an integrated theoretical model. A field survey is used to collect data from e-tailers. The data are analyzed to examine the six relationships posited in the research model. Findings of this study provide a further research avenue for e-commerce, and implications for those who are managing or considering using virtual stores. https://doi.org/10.34105/j.kmel.2010.02.023


Six genes of the Arabidopsis thaliana monosaccharide transporter-like (MST-like) superfamily share significant homology with polyol transporter genes previously identified in plants translocating polyols (mannitol or sorbitol) in their phloem (celery [Apium graveolens], common plantain [Plantago major], or sour cherry [Prunus cerasus]). The physiological role and the functional properties of this group of proteins were unclear in Arabidopsis, which translocates sucrose and small amounts of raffinose rather than polyols. Here, we describe POLYOL TRANSPORTER5 (AtPLT5), the first member of this subgroup of Arabidopsis MST-like transporters. Transient expression of an AtPLT5–green fluorescent protein fusion in plant cells and functional analyses of the AtPLT5 protein in yeast and Xenopus oocytes demonstrate that AtPLT5 is located in the plasma membrane and characterize this protein as a broad-spectrum H+-symporter for linear polyols, such as sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, or glycerol. Unexpectedly, however, AtPLT5 catalyzes also the transport of the cyclic polyol myo-inositol and of different hexoses and pentoses, including ribose, a sugar that is not transported by any of the previously characterized plant sugar transporters. RT-PCR analyses and AtPLT5 promoter-reporter gene plants revealed that AtPLT5 is most strongly expressed in Arabidopsis roots, but also in the vascular tissue of leaves and in specific floral organs. The potential physiological role of AtPLT5 is discussed.


This paper proposes a approach to filter the harmful harmonics using a five-level diode-clamped converter based shunt active power filter. A multi-level converter provides superior filtering performance however, it suffers from a voltage imbalancement in its DC-link. Therefore, a novel control method for an auxiliary balancing circuit and a pulse-width modulator are also proposed. The mathematical model of the filter is derived through its state-space equations. This model is then be used to design linear controllers. To validate the proposed filter a model was constructed and simulated in Mat-lab/SimPowerSystems®. Preliminary results show that the filter can effectively reduces harmonics while keeping its DC-link balanced.


It is known that UV-C can delay senescence and also influence the accumulation of certain bioactive compounds in fruit. Despite the effects of UV-C in some fruits having been clearly found, there are still shortcomings within the treatment, which should be addressed. The effects ofUV-C irradiation on ripening quality and antioxidant capacity of Nam Dok Mai Si Thong mangoes were investigated. Mango fruit at commercial stage was treated with UV-C (4.93 kJ/m 2 ) then stored at 14 o C and 90% relative humidity for 20 days. A significant (p<0.05) color by L*, a*, and hue values difference existed between untreated and treated mango. The UV-C treated fruit had higher a* value but lower L* and hue appeared as blackened lenticel and skin browning on its peel. However, the application of UV-C did not significantly affect respiration rate, texture, total soluble solids, and titratable acidity. Antioxidant capacity measured as total phenolic compounds, DPPH, and FRAP were decreased after UV-C treatment compared to control. This study suggested that at the investigated dose, UV-C was not suitable to be applied in conserving Nam Dok Mai Si Thong and did not increase antioxidant capacity, thus further evaluation on the efficacy of UV-C in mango, both in flesh and peel is required. In addition, the combination of UV-C irradiation with other physical or chemical treatment, which probably could give better ripening quality in mango especially to reduce its browning effect, should be further investigated.


The effects of first-order strain gradient in micro piezoelectric-bimorph (PB) power harvesters are investigated by including the first-order gradient terms in the energy density functions. For a PB, the gradient effects can be focused on the analysis of the strain gradient effect in the thickness direction through choosing the strains and the electric displacements as the independent constitutive variables. It is shown theoretically that the first-order gradient effects have raised the natural frequency of the PB and effectively enhanced the output power density of the harvester.