Genomic testing for breast cancer has become a common practice. The two main tests at our institution are Oncotype DX ® and MammaPrint ® . Each test has unique features and criteria. We sought to compare the practice pattern between these tests and compare them to patients who did not undergo any genomic testing. Methods: This is a retrospective review of all breast cancer patients between May 2008 and August 2011. Data was primarily thorough our tumor registry database. In some cases individual charts were also reviewed. Results : We analyzed 1093 breast cancers in 1064 patients. The average age was 62. The stage at diagnosis was 19% DCIS, 41% stage I, 24% stage II, 11% stage III and 5% stage IV. Of the 1093 cancers, 70 (6%) had an Oncotype test performed, 180 (16%) had a MammaPrint test done, 4 (0.4%) had both test, and 839 (77%) had no genomic test performed. Patients with an Oncotype test were more likely to be stage I than those with a MammaPrint (66% vs 48%). Additionally, patients who had a MammaPrint test more often received chemotherapy when compared to either the Oncotype test or no genomic testing. With a mean follow-up of 1.5 years, there have been 28 recurrences (0 in the Oncotype group, 5 in the MammaPrint group, and 23 in the no genomic testing group). All five of the MammaPrint recurrences were high risk and received adjuvant chemotherapy. Of the 23 recurrences in the no genomic testing group, eight patients were node negative and could have been considered appropriate for genomic testing, 6 of these eight did not have adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusions: There are distinct practice pattern differences between Oncotype DX ® and MammaPrint ® utilization. MammaPrint testing was ordered more often in higher staged patients and was associated with an increased use of chemotherapy. This may relate to MammaPrint9s previous requirement for fresh tissue that typically occurs before the final nodal status is known. This difference should diminish with the recent availability of MammaPrint on FFPE tissue. All patients who underwent genomic testing and developed a recurrence had been treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. In contrast, patients who did not have a genomic test and experienced a recurrence may have benefited from genomic testing. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-06-04.


purpose: Tennis elbow is a common orthopedic disease, and there are many ways to treat it. This overview aimed to summarize the evidence of different treatments for tennis elbows, so as to provide the best guidance for clinical treatment.Methods: Use computer to search CNKI, WanFang database, WeiPu database, CBM database, PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase from the time of establishment to May 31, 2019.Te Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) and latest Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2) checklists were used to assess reporting characteristics and methodological quality, respectively.Results: A total of 37 references were included. Methodological quality and reporting quality were unsatisfactory. Methodological quality was generally low and many key items were not reported. Some research reports are of high quality, but there is no trial registration and protocol written in advance, which may lead to some bias in the research process. The most frequent problems included non-registration of study protocol, absence of a list of excluded studies, and unclear acknowledgment of conflicts of interests. The different types of interventions included have been shown to relieve pain, improve quality of life, and restore elbow function, but there has been a lack of comparative studies.Conclusion: The reporting and methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies were sub-optimal, which demands further improvement. Comparative studies of different types of interventions are needed to determine unclear.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42015017071


This paper argues that ecofeminism can consolidate its tradition of elucidating the interconnections between different oppressions by expanding upon its philosophy of the body. By looking at the ways in which particular bodies become 'marked', and so devalued, ecofeminism can point towards various unexpected and creative coalitions. Here I concentrate especially upon two intertwined sets of markings, namely those related to aesthetic discourses and those related to discourses of Western reason. I argue that both of these ultimately revolve around notions of control of the body as being constitutive of Western ideas of human identity. Moreover, I want to affirm that those ideas which encourage us to devalue certain bodies stem from discourses related to nature and animality. Through considering how ecofeminism might re-think embodiment, I argue for an alternative conception which stresses the inherent vulnerability and agency of human embodiment.


Abstract In her magisterial Plato's Philosophers, Catherine Zuckert presents a radically new interpretation of Plato's dialogues. In doing so, she insists we must overcome reading them through the lens of Aristotle, whose influence has obscured the true nature of Plato's philosophy. However, in her works dealing with Aristotle's political science, Zuckert indicates several advantages of his approach to understanding politics. In this article, I explore the reasons why Zuckert finds Aristotle a problematic guide to Plato's philosophy as well as what she sees as the character and benefits of Aristotle's political theory. I conclude by suggesting a possible reconciliation between Zuckert's Aristotle and her Plato, insofar as both the Socrates whom Plato made his hero and Aristotle agree that political communities will rarely direct citizens toward virtue by means of law and that we must instead look to informal means of doing so.


Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) is an involuntary eye movement responsible for stabilizing retinal images in the presence of relative motion between an observer and the environment. Fully understanding the development of optokinetic nystagmus requires a neurally plausible computational model that accounts for the neural development and the behavior. To date, work in this area has been limited. We propose a neurally plausible framework for the joint development of disparity and motion tuning in the visual cortex, the optokinetic and vergence eye movements. This framework models the joint emergence of both perception and behavior, and accounts for the importance of the development of normal vergence control and binocular vision in achieving normal monocular OKN (mOKN) behaviors. Because the model includes behavior, we can simulate the same perturbations as performed in past experiments, such as artificially induced strabismus. The proposed model agrees both qualitatively and quantitatively with a number of findings from the literature on both binocular vision as well as the optokinetic reflex. Finally, our model also makes quantitative predictions about the OKN behavior using the same methods used to characterize the OKN in the experimental literature.


Reproductive cancers are the most prevalent cancers among the women worldwide. Breast, ovary, uterine and cervix cancers are leading cancers in India. Hormonal carcinogens also known as endocrine disturbing chemicals (EDCs) are predominant factors causing reproductive cancer risks in women. Heavy metal Arsenic (As) is naturally found in Northern India. It is popularly known as EDC especially mimicking as estrogen (i.e., xenoestrogen). The present study aimed to assess the hormonal carcinogenic risk of As among women in Bihar, India. Cancer incidences in Bihar were recorded from the patient9s clinical registry in Mahavir Cancer Sansthan hospital. Serum was collected from the different cancer patients and the level of As in serum was estimated by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Drinking water samples were collected from different regions of Bihar and As was estimated by As kit. During the last ten years cervix and breast cancer incidence were very high followed by ovary, uterine and other cancers. Among the 38 districts of Bihar, those cancers incidence were highly marked in the Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Chapra, East Champran, Gaya, Gopalanj, Jahanabad, Lakhisarai, Madobani, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Patna, Samastipur, Saran, Siwan and Vaishali districts. Maximum incidences were highly recorded in the age group of 36 to 45 years. More than 10 ppb level of As in serum was recorded in all the tested breast, ovary, uterine and cervix cancer cases. Highest concentration of As was recorded in cervix (17.6 ppb) followed by breast, uterine and ovary cases (13.3, 11.3 and 4.9 ppb respectively). WHO permits 10 ppb of As as maximum in drinking water sources, whereas in the present study we found that near to Gangetic region As level was high (more than 10 ppb) than the non-Gangetic region. Together, the results indicate that As contamination in drinking water shows a relationship between female reproductive cancers incidence and As occurrence in patients serum. In conclusion, As might be suppress female reproductive function by as environmental toxicant that is contra-mechanistic to that of estrogen. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2011 Sep 14-18; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(18 Suppl):Abstract nr B29.


In a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), energy saving is a key issue for prolonging its runtime. Usually, a real-time application of WSN requires that data be collected within a delay constraint. There exists a tradeoff between energy saving and delay satisfaction. In this paper, a Tree-based Energy and Delay Aware Scheme (TEDAS) is proposed, which is able to maximize the lifetime of WSN while delay bound is satisfied. Based on Expected Transmission Count (ETX) of link, the TEDAS initially creates the Minimum ETX Spanning Tree (MEST) of the WSN and then the MEST is gradually improved by the proposed Adjusting Tree Algorithm (ATA) so that the optimal data gathering tree is obtained. In addition, the lifetime optimization problem (LOP) is developed for the ATA to maximize network lifetime. Moreover, the complexity of the ATA is O(N3), where N is the number of the nodes in the WSN. Simulation results show that the proposed TEDAS outperforms some existing schemes in terms of network lifetime and the volume of valid data.


Path planning is a fundamental capability for autonomous navigation of robotic wheelchairs. With the impressive development of deep-learning technologies, imitation learning-based path planning approaches have achieved effective results in recent years. However, the disadvantages of these approaches are twofold: 1) they may need extensive time and labor to record expert demonstrations as training data; and 2) existing approaches could only receive high-level commands, such as turning left/right. These commands could be less sufficient for the navigation of mobile robots (e.g., robotic wheelchairs), which usually require exact poses of goals. We contribute a solution to this problem by proposing S2P2, a self-supervised goal-directed path planning approach. Specifically, we develop a pipeline to automatically generate planned path labels given as input RGB-D images and poses of goals. Then, we present a best-fit regression plane loss to train our data-driven path planning model based on the generated labels. Our S2P2 does not need pre-built maps, but it can be integrated into existing map-based navigation systems through our framework. Experimental results show that our S2P2 outperforms traditional path planning algorithms, and increases the robustness of existing map-based navigation systems. Our project page is available at https://sites.google.com/view/s2p2.


The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread to at least 115 countries and caused an alarming number of deaths. The current outbreak has lead authorities from many countries to adopt several protective measures, including lockdown and social distancing. Although being a reasonable measure to counteract the COVID-19 contamination, the restrictive measures have limited individual's ability to perform exercise outdoors or in gyms and similar facilities, thus raising the risks for chronic health conditions related to a sedentary lifestyle. The recent exercise recommendations to counteract the potential deleterious effects of COVID-19-related lockdown have not fully addressed resistance exercise interventions as potential home-based exercise strategies. Additionally, the following questions have been constantly raised: (1) Is training status capable of protecting an individual from COVID-19 infection?; and (2) Can a single endurance or resistance exercise session acutely increase the risks for COVID-19 infection? Therefore, the current mini review aimed to focus on these two concerns, as well as to discuss the potential use of practical blood flow restriction and no load resistance training as possible resistance exercise strategies that could be performed during the current COVID-19 pandemic.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common complication of obesity that can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a serious liver pathology that can advance to cirrhosis. The mechanisms responsible for NAFLD progression to NASH remain unclear. Lack of a suitable animal model that faithfully recapitulates the pathophysiology of human NASH is a major obstacle in delineating mechanisms responsible for progression of NAFLD to NASH and, thus, development of better treatment strategies. We identified and characterized a novel mouse model, middle‐aged male low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)−/− mice fed a high‐fat diet (HFD), which developed NASH associated with four of five metabolic syndrome (MS) components. In these mice, as observed in humans, liver steatosis and oxidative stress promoted NASH development. Aging exacerbated the HFD‐induced NASH such that liver steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, oxidative stress, and liver injury markers were greatly enhanced in middle‐aged versus young LDLR−/− mice. Although expression of genes mediating fatty acid oxidation and antioxidant responses were up‐regulated in young LDLR−/− mice fed HFD, they were drastically reduced in MS mice. However, similar to recent human trials, NASH was partially attenuated by an insulin‐sensitizing peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐gamma (PPARγ) ligand, rosiglitazone. In addition to expected improvements in MS, newly identified mechanisms of PPARγ ligand effects included stimulation of antioxidant gene expression and mitochondrial β‐oxidation, and suppression of inflammation and fibrosis. LDLR‐deficiency promoted NASH, because middle‐aged C57BL/6 mice fed HFD did not develop severe inflammation and fibrosis, despite increased steatosis. Conclusion: MS mice represent an ideal model to investigate NASH in the context of MS, as commonly occurs in human disease, and NASH development can be substantially attenuated by PPARγ activation, which enhances β‐oxidation. (HEPATOLOGY 2010.)


Host-pathogen interactions may be governed by the number of pathogens coexisting within an individual host (i.e., coinfection) and among different hosts, although most sampling in natural systems focuses on the prevalence of single pathogens and/or single hosts. We measured the prevalence of four barley and cereal yellow dwarf viruses (B/CYDVs) in three grass species at 26 natural grasslands along a 2000-km latitudinal gradient in the western United States and Canada. B/CYDVs are aphid-vectored RNA viruses that cause one of the most prevalent of all plant diseases worldwide. Pathogen prevalence and coinfection were uncorrelated, suggesting that different forces likely drive them. Coinfection, the number of viruses in a single infected host (alpha diversity), did not differ among host species but increased roughly twofold across our latitudinal transect. This increase in coinfection corresponded with a decline in among-host pathogen turnover (beta diversity), suggesting that B/CYDVs in northern populations experience less transmission limitation than in southern populations. In contrast to pathogen diversity, pathogen prevalence was a function of host identity as well as biotic and abiotic environmental conditions. Prevalence declined with precipitation and increased with soil nitrate concentration, an important limiting nutrient for hosts and vectors of B/CYDVs. This work demonstrates the need for further studies of processes governing coinfection, and the utility of applying theory developed to explain diversity in communities of free-living organisms to pathogen systems.


OBJECTIVE
Previous surveys from different world regions have demonstrated variations in the clinical management of Graves disease (GD). We aimed to investigate the clinical approach to GD relapse among endocrinologists.

METHODS
Electronic questionnaires were e-mailed to all members of the Israeli Endocrine Society. Questionnaires included demographic data and different scenarios regarding treatment and follow-up of patients with GD relapse.

RESULTS
The response rate was 49.4% (98/198). For a young male with GD relapse, 68% would restart antithyroid drug (ATD) (98% methimazole), while 32% would refer to radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment. Endocrinologists who treat >10 thyroid patients a week tended to choose ATDs over RAI ( P = .04). In the case of GD relapse with ophthalmopathy, 50% would continue ATDs, whereas 22.4% would recommend RAI treatment and 27.6% surgery. Most endocrinologists (56%) would continue ATDs for 12 to 24 months. Seventy-five percent would monitor complete blood count and liver function (39% for the first month and 36% for 6 months), and 44% would recommend a routine neck ultrasound. In a case of thyrotoxicosis due to a 3-cm hot nodule, most endocrinologists (70%) would refer to RAI ablation, 46.4% without and 23.7% with a previous fine-needle aspiration. No significant differences were found regarding gender, year of board certification, or work environment.

CONCLUSION
Our survey demonstrates diverging patterns in the diagnosis and management of GD relapse that correlate well with previous surveys from other countries on GD-naïve patients and a less than optimal adherence to recently published clinical guidelines.

ABBREVIATIONS
ATA = American Thyroid Association; ATD = antithyroid drug; CBC = complete blood count; GD = Graves disease; GO = Graves ophthalmopathy; LFT = liver function test; MMI = methimazole; PTU = propylthiouracil; RAI = radioactive iodine; TSI = thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin.


The photophysics of charge transfer between the electron donating, surface adsorbed D149 dye and an electron accepting porous ZnO film was investigated by measuring excited state lifetimes using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. We systematically varioed the production scheme of the sample including the electrolyte.


A collection of information sources and search tools for researching all topics in the area of law, crime and justice.


Euclidean Geometry LDPC (EG-LDPC) codes — enable dynamic changes in level of fault tolerance. EG-LDPC codes enables us to dynamically adjust the error correcting capacity for improved system performance apart from the high error correcting capability as well as sparsity. Memories are typically protected with error correction codes to prevent soft errors from causing data corruption. The MLD codes are used for memory application as because of correcting large number of soft errors, less decoding time, area consumption,etc. But Majority logic decoding can be implemented serially with simple hardware but requires a large decoding time compared to difference set low density parity check codes. The combined method of MLD with EG-LDPC detects whether a word has errors in the first iterations of majority logic decoding, and when there are no errors the decoding ends without completing the rest of the iterations.

Keywords: Error correction codes; Euclidean geometry low-density parity check (EG-LDPC) codes; majority logic decoding(MLD).


The aggregation of conjugated polymers in common organic solvents is investigated using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), burst analysis, and microscopy. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] are both shown to form weakly bonded non-emissive aggregates in toluene that persist even at picomolar concentrations. These aggregates decrease the bulk emission intensity in solution but do not affect the fluorescence spectra or lifetimes, consistent with a static quenching mechanism. Passing the solutions through a syringe filter causes an increase in the number of emitters as measured by FCS, indicating that this process dissociates the aggregates. Films cast from solutions that have been filtered are more uniform and significantly more emissive than those made from unfiltered solutions. These results show that FCS is a highly sensitive probe of non-emissive aggregates in solution that have a deleterious effect on the emission properties and overall quality of spin-cast thin films, even at sub-nanomolar concentrations.


Amartya Sen's ideas constitute the core principles of a development approach that has evolved in the Human Development Reports. This approach is a ''paradigm'' based on the concept of well-being that can help define public policy, but does not embody a set of prescriptions. The current movement from an age of development planning to an age of globalization has meant an increasing attention to agency aspects of development. While earlier Human Development Reports emphasized measures such as the provision of public services, recent ones have focused more on people's political empowerment. This paper reflects on Sen's work in light of this shift in emphasis. Gender analysis has been central to the development of the new agency-driven paradigm, and gender equity is a core concern. A gender perspective has also helped highlight important aspects of this paradigm, such as the role of collective agency in promoting development.


Delivering online tuition has become standard practice in most universities with many students receiving part of their tuition online. However, so far there appears to be a resistance to utilising online delivery for staff and academic development.

An online academic development conference was delivered to 150 teaching staff delegates over the course of a week. The conference structure was to have a keynote presentation and eleven shorter discussion presentations, each with their own dedicated asynchronous discussion forum.

Conference presenters were each asked to produce a video presentation of up to 7 minutes and run an associated online forum.

This paper reports on the experience of the presenters in producing their video presentations and running the forums. It will highlight the valuable development opportunity for presenters as well as summarising their experiences.

Finally it will outline the lessons we have learnt and propose some recommendations for others considering running online staff development conferences.


In the present work chemical basic leaching of pure Stibnite (Sb2S3) by Na2S and NaOH under different experimental conditions at 40°C, has been studied in order to optimise the reagent concentrations for the antimony dissolution process. Response Surface Methodology has been used to find the best experimental concentrations to maximise the Sb extraction yield. 98-100% of antimony recovery was obtained by using 1g NasS and 1g NaOH per gram of pure stibnite. © 2001 SDU. All rights reserved.


Propagation of neural activity in spatially structured neuronal networks has been observed in awake, anesthetized and sleeping brains. However, it remains unclear how traveling waves are coordinated temporally across recurrently connected brain structures, and how network connectivity affects spatiotemporal neural activity. Here we develop a computational model of a two-dimensional thalamocortical network that enables us to investigate traveling wave characteristics in space-time. We show that thalamocortical and intracortical network connectivity, excitation/inhibition balance, thalamocortical/corticothalamic delay can independently or jointly change the spatiotemporal patterns (radial, planar and rotating waves) and characteristics (speed, direction and frequency) of cortical and thalamic traveling waves. Simulations of our model further predict that increased thalamic inhibition induces slower cortical wave frequency, and enhanced cortical excitation increases cortical wave speed and oscillation frequencies. Overall, the model study provides not only theoretical insight into the basis for spatiotemporal wave patterns, but also experimental predictions that potentially control these dynamics. Author Summary Cognition or sensorimotor control requires the coordination of neural activity across widespread brain circuits. Propagating waves of oscillatory neural activities have been observed at both macroscopic and mesoscopic levels, with various frequencies, spatial coverage, and modalities. However, a complete understanding how thalamocortical traveling waves are originated and temporally coordinated in the thalamus and cortex are still unclear. Furthermore, it remains unknown how the network connectivity, excitation/inhibition balance, thalamocortical or corticothalamic delay determine the spatiotemporal wave patterns and characteristics of cortical and thalamic traveling waves. Here we develop a computational model of a two-dimensional thalamocortical network to investigate the thalamic and neocortical traveling wave characteristics in space-time, which allows us to quantitatively assess the impact of thalamocortical network properties on the formation and maintenance of complex traveling wave patterns. Our computational model provides strong theoretical insight into the basis of spatiotemporal wave propagation, as well as experimental predictions that control these wave dynamics.


Linear-bilinear models, especially the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model, are widely applicable to genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) studies in plant breeding programs. These models allow a parsimonious modeling of GE interactions, retaining a small number of principal components in the analysis. However, one aspect of the AMMI model that is still debated is the selection criteria for determining the number of multiplicative terms required to describe the GE interaction pattern. Shrinkage estimators have been proposed as selection criteria for the GE interaction components. In this study, a Bayesian approach was combined with the AMMI model with shrinkage estimators for the principal components. A total of 55 maize genotypes were evaluated in nine different environments using a complete blocks design with three replicates. The results show that the traditional Bayesian AMMI model produces low shrinkage of singular values but avoids the usual pitfalls in determining the credible intervals in the biplot. On the other hand, Bayesian shrinkage AMMI models have difficulty with the credible interval for model parameters, but produce stronger shrinkage of the principal components, converging to GE matrices that have more shrinkage than those obtained using mixed models. This characteristic allowed more parsimonious models to be chosen, and resulted in models being selected that were similar to those obtained by the Cornelius F-test (α = 0.05) in traditional AMMI models and cross validation based on leave-one-out. This characteristic allowed more parsimonious models to be chosen and more GEI pattern retained on the first two components. The resulting model chosen by posterior distribution of singular value was also similar to those produced by the cross-validation approach in traditional AMMI models. Our method enables the estimation of credible interval for AMMI biplot plus the choice of AMMI model based on direct posterior distribution retaining more GEI pattern in the first components and discarding noise without Gaussian assumption as requested in F-based tests or deal with parametric problems as observed in traditional AMMI shrinkage method.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the biometric parameters and leaf nutrient content of common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown in succession to cover crops, as a function of the application of remineralizer doses (basalt powder) and vinasse. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in the experimental design of randomized blocks in a 4x4x2 factorial scheme, with three replications. The first factor was remineralizer doses (0, 2, 4, and 8 t ha -1 basalt powder). The treatments with no cover crops (control) and with the cover crops crotalaria ( Crotalaria juncea L.), millet ( Pennisetum glaucum L.), and brachiaria ( Urochloa cv. ruziziensis ) constituted the second factor. The third factor corresponded to the presence or absence of vinasse (200 m 3 ha -1 , and 0 m 3 ha -1 , respectively). Plant height, shoot dry matter (SDM), leaf area index (LAI), Falker chlorophyll index (FCI), and leaf macronutrient content (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S) were evaluated. The association of cover crops, vinasse and remineralizer increased plant height and leaf contents of K, Ca, Mg, and S at the evaluated stage, but vinasse had a positive effect only on S content. Remineralizer doses associated with cover crops provided satisfactory levels of leaf macronutrients for common bean.


Service sire has been recognized as an important factor affecting dairy herd fertility. Our group has reported promising results on genomic prediction of dairy bull fertility using autosomal SNP markers. Little is known, however, about the genetic contribution of sex chromosomes, which are enriched in genes related to sexual development and reproduction. As such, our goal was to evaluate the genomic prediction of service sire fertility including SNP markers on the X chromosome (BTAX). Data set consisted of 5,014 Holstein bulls with sire conception rate records and genotypes for roughly 291k SNP located on the autosomes, 1.5k SNP located on the pseudoautosomal region (PAR), and 13.7k X-specific SNP. The analyses included linear and Gaussian kernel-based models fitting either only SNP markers on autosomes (291k SNPs) or combining autosomal with PAR and X-specific SNP markers (291k SNPs + 15.2k SNPs). Predictive performance was evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation repeated 10 times. Interestingly, the linear kernel model that included the BTAX markers exhibited a higher average predictive correlation than the linear kernel model that fitted only autosomal SNPs (0.338 vs 0.319). The prediction of bull fertility was further improved by using a Gaussian kernel-based model combining autosomal and BTAX SNPs. Indeed, this model fitting markers on 'autosomes + BTAX' delivered an average predictive correlation equal to 0.343, representing an increase in predictive ability of about 7.5% compared with the standard whole autosomal genome model. Overall, our findings indicate that including markers on the X chromosome would benefit the genomic prediction of bull fertility. These results may help to improve conception rates in dairy herds through accurate genome-guided decisions on bull fertility.


Müller's Lab. By Laura Otis. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007. 336 pp. $55, £32.99. ISBN 9780195306972. The author uses the contradictory accounts of Müller's life and research left by seven of his influential students to explore the personal, social, and political circumstances that shaped the careers of the group.


The authors consider the influence of steps and nonequilibrium conditions on surface diffusion in a strongly interacting surface adsorbate system. This problem is addressed through Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice-gas model of OW(110), where steps are described by an additional binding energy EB at the lower step edge positions. Both equilibrium fluctuation and Boltzmann-Matano spreading studies indicate that the role of steps for diffusion across the steps is prominent in the ordered phases at intermediate coverages. The strongest effects are found in the p(2x1) phase, whose periodicity Lp is 2. The collective diffusion then depends on two competing factors: domain growth within the ordered phase, which on a flat surface has two degenerate orientations [p(2x1) and p(1x2)], and the step-induced ordering due to the enhanced binding at the lower step edge position. The latter case favors the p(2x1) phase, in which all adsorption sites right below the step edge are occupied. When these two factors compete, two possible scenarios emerge. First, when the terrace width L does not match the periodicity of the ordered adatom layer (LLp is noninteger), the mismatch gives rise to frustration, which eliminates the effect of steps provided that EB is not exceptionally large. Under these circumstances, the collective diffusion coefficient behaves largely as on a flat surface. Second, however, if the terrace width does match the periodicity of the ordered adatom layer (LLp is an integer), collective diffusion is strongly affected by steps. In this case, the influence of steps is manifested as the disappearance of the major peak associated with the ordered p(2x1) and p(1x2) structures on a flat surface. This effect is particularly strong for narrow terraces, yet it persists up to about L approximately 25Lp for small EB and up to about L approximately 500Lp for EB, which is of the same magnitude as the bare potential of the surface. On real surfaces, similar competition is expected, although the effects are likely to be smaller due to fluctuations in terrace widths. Finally, Boltzmann-Matano spreading simulations indicate that even slight deviations from equilibrium conditions may give rise to transient peaks in the collective diffusion coefficient. These transient structures are due to the interplay between steps and nonequilibrium conditions and emerge at coverages, which do not correspond to the ideal ordered phases.


The causal role of a unidirectional orthography in shaping speakers' mental representations of time seems to be well established by many psychological experiments. However, the question of whether bidirectional writing systems in some languages can also produce such an impact on temporal cognition remains unresolved. To address this issue, the present study focused on Japanese and Taiwanese, both of which have a similar mix of texts written horizontally from left to right (HLR) and vertically from top to bottom (VTB). Two experiments were performed which recruited Japanese and Taiwanese speakers as participants. Experiment 1 used an explicit temporal arrangement design, and Experiment 2 measured implicit space-time associations in participants along the horizontal (left/right) and the vertical (up/down) axis. Converging evidence gathered from the two experiments demonstrate that neither Japanese speakers nor Taiwanese speakers aligned their vertical representations of time with the VTB writing orientation. Along the horizontal axis, only Japanese speakers encoded elapsing time into a left-to-right linear layout, which was commensurate with the HLR writing direction. Therefore, two distinct writing orientations of a language could not bring about two coexisting mental time lines. Possible theoretical implications underlying the findings are discussed.


This article is concerned with Søren Kierkegaard's implicit critique of Christian nationalism in Fear and Trembling (1843). By comparing the story of Abraham and Isaac to the stories of three tragic heroes, Kierkegaard unveils the problems of Christian nationalism: that it seeks to systematize what should not be systematized and that in such a political system, the individual is subsumed under the communal. The example of Abraham – someone who forgoes both his ethical duty to his child and to his promised nation for the sake of his relationship with the divine – reflects Kierkegaard's concerns about nationalism: that humans would be forced to sacrifice their individuality out of a so-called good of the whole. Instead, Kierkegaard praises Abraham because he obeys God instead of the ethical. For Kierkegaard, interpersonal relationships are what are most important for communal and political living. Abraham's faith enables him to preserve his relationships with God and with Isaac because he does not fall into the temptation of the ethical qua universal.


Fifty breast lumps seen and operated on at the Goa Medical College Hospital over a one year period form the material for this study. The cases were at first diagnosed clinically. At operation a naked eye assessment of the malignancy of the excised breast lump was made. Slide imprints for cytodiagnosis were made and finally the excised mass sent for paraffin section study. A rapid diagnosis of these 50 surgically removed breast lumps was thus made by naked eye examination and imprint cytodiagnosis and the results were compared with routine paraffin section diagnosis which is considered the final diagnosis. An analysis of the results show that naked eye examination of the excised breast lump distinguished between malignant and non-malignant lumps correctly in 96% of cases, rapid imprint cytodiagnosis was correct in 98% of cases, clinical diagnosis in 96% of cases and aspiration cytodiagnosis in all cases. Naked eye examination of the mass prior to imprinting would help to decide the correct pressure to be used to avoid false results.


During the period from 18 January to 31 M arch 1964 the author was able to visit certain islands on the Scotia Ridge and parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. Apart from South Georgia, all the areas lie within the Maritime Antarctic region (Holdgate 1964). At each locality an attempt was made to ascertain the composition of the meiofauna from as many terrestrial habitats as possible and, when time permitted, quantitative sampling was carried out. During the previous two years a similar but more detailed study was carried out at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, but the bulk of these data will be presented elsewhere. Figure 32 shows all the areas visited with the month and number of quantitative samples taken. It was only possible to spend a few hours at certain localities. The Maritime Antarctic is, by definition (Holdgate 1964), a region bounded by isotherms and supporting a limited but typical vegetation. The types of plant communities have already been discussed (Longton, this Discussion, p. 213) and it is clear that whilst a considerable amount of species and community variation exists there is a basic similarity throughout the region. This general uniformity of climate and vegetation would together appear to offer a similar set of terrestrial habitat conditions. If dispersal were not a limiting factor, one would also expect the invertebrate fauna of such habitats to exhibit a uniform pattern. In fact it does not.


Culex nigripalpus Theobald (Diptera: Culicidae) was recolonized successfully by cohabiting Aedes taeniorhynchus males or males of other mosquito species starting in a large outdoor cage under natural light-dark cycles and temperatures and ending in a 1-ft.3 cage under artificial light-dark cycles at 24 degrees C without added stimulation.


The paper discusses regional and international scenarios in information technology, particularly the Internet and attempts to identify some key issues in the development and use of the Net. The scope as well as the participatory interactive culture, complexity of information gathering and growing sophistication inherent in the Internet are underlined. Problems that may impede Internet connectivity in Nigeria are highlighted while the need for librarians and information specialists to embrace prevailing information technology is underscored. The paper finally advocates for a cautious approach to Internet connectivity since a developing nation like Nigeria can ill afford to allow herself sidetracked, recolonized or to remain invisible and anonymous in the cyberspace.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) hypomethylation and T helper 17 (Th17) cell/regulatory T (Treg) cell imbalance in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) and the immune pathogenesis of HSP.

METHODS
A total of 32 children in the acute stage of HSP who were hospitalized from May 2014 to January 2015 were enrolled as subjects, and 28 children who underwent physical examination were enrolled as normal control group. ELISA was used to measure the plasma level of interleukin-6 (IL-6). Flow cytometry was used to measure the percentages of CD4+ IL-17A+ T cells (Th17 cells) and CD4+CD25+ Treg cells (Treg cells) in peripheral blood and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) for phosphorylated-STAT3 (pSTAT3) protein in CD4+ T cells. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) and suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) in CD4+ T cells. High-resolution melting (HRM) was used to evaluate the methylation level of the CpG islands in SOCS1 exon 2 and the CpG islands of the potential bind sites for STAT3 in the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of SOCS3 in peripheral blood mononucleated cells.

RESULTS
Compared with the normal control group, the HSP group had significant increases in plasma IL-6 concentration and MFI for pSTAT3 in CD4+ T cells, as well as a significant increase in the percentage of Th17 cells and a significant reduction in the percentage of Treg cells (P<0.05). The HSP group had significantly higher mRNA expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in peripheral blood mononucleated cells than the normal control group (P<0.05). In the HSP group, the mRNA expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 was negatively correlated with Th17/Treg ratio (P<0.05). The HSP group had hypomethylation of the CpG islands in SOCS1 exon 2 and the potential binding site for STAT3 in SOCS3 5'-UTR, while the normal control group had complete demethylation.

CONCLUSIONS
Low relative expression of SOCS1 and SOCS3 caused by hypomethylation may be a factor for Th17/Treg imbalance in children with HSP.


Nineteen miscellaneous species of Bornean Cyrtandra are dealt with. Cyrtandra atrichoides, C. congestiflora, C. crockerella, C. dulitiana, C. kanae, C. libauensis, C. plicata, C. vaginata and C. disparoides subsp. inconspicua are newly described. Descriptions and discussion are provided for C. erythrotricha and C. poulsenii , originally published with diagnoses only. Cyrtandra axillaris, C. longicarpa and C. microcarpa are also described, while C. borneensis, C. dajakorum, C. glomeruliflora, C. latens and C. prolata are reduced to synonymy.


Processes that convert small cloud droplets, on the order of tens of micrometers, into raindrops, on the order of millimeters, consist of condensational growth and collision-coalescence: the former is efficient for small droplets, whereas the latter becomes predominant later in the growth stage when droplets are larger than about 30 micrometers. Thus, how droplets can quickly grow to 30 micrometers solely by inefficient condensation has been a topic of discussion for a long time. As a result, many parameterizations used in current models that cannot directly resolve these processes are actually based on empirical estimates. Recently, some studies have shown the impact of turbulences that can enhance collision-coalescence for droplets smaller than 30 micrometers, explaining the fast growth of cloud droplets into raindrops as observed. We have implemented these new equations of collision-coalescence in a parcel model where the activation of aerosol particles and their condensational growth are also explicitly calculated based on physical equations across numerous size bins. After the successful implementation of these processes, we have then applied machine-learning algorithms of training a machine to mimic the behavior of the explicit physical model to model-simulated mass and number of raindrops alongside ten dynamical and microphysical variables as input features. The machine-learned results are also compared with those from existing parameterizations frequently used in regional and climate models. Furthermore, the use of this new machine-learning-based parameterization, covering processes from aerosol activation to the formation of raindrops, in a regional model will be discussed.


Stereocomplexation between poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) provides a feasible route for improving the performance of polylactide (PLA), including mechanical strength, thermal stability and hydrolysis resistance. In recent years, several effective methods have been developed to prepare polylactide stereocomplexes (sc-PLA) from commercially available, linear, high-molecular-weight PLLA and PDLA. However, it is still a big challenge to attain pure sc-PLA in the melt-processed products because the prepared sc-PLA has a very poor melt stability, that is the ability to trigger the reformulation of stereocomplex (sc) crystallites after complete melting is significantly depressed, resulting in the formation of mixed homochiral (hc) and sc crystallites. Here we present a facile strategy to fabricate sc-PLA with good melt stability by low-temperature (180 °C) melt-blending of equimolar PLLA and PDLA in the presence of a trace amount (0.1–0.5 wt%) of a cross-linker. During the blending process, sc crystallites form rapidly, followed by a slight cross-linking of PLLA and PDLA chain couples in the mobile amorphous phase, whereas the chain couples in the crystalline phase hardly participate in the cross-linking reaction. The exclusive cross-linking of PLA chains in the amorphous phase not only allows for the introduction of abundant cross-linking points at the ends of the chain couples to prevent them from completely decoupling upon melting but also retains large amounts of long crystallizable PLA segments existing in the initially formed sc crystallites to impart the resulting sc-PLA with an excellent recrystallization ability upon cooling. The formation or reformulation of sc crystallites in the continuous melting and recrystallization process is found to be perfectly reversible, without any trace of hc crystallites.


The aim of the ex ante evaluation was to provide an external perspective on the preparation of the new Programme with a view to improving and strengthening the final quality of the Programme and optimising the allocation of resources. The objectives were: to appraise the socio-economic analysis and the relevance of the strategy to the needs identified; to evaluate the rationale of the strategy and its consistency; to appraise the internal and external coherence of the strategy; to evaluate the expected results and impacts; and to appraise the proposed implementation system. The evaluation has been undertaken, as recommended by DG REGIO, through 'an iterative and interactive process'. This involved facilitating a constructive dialogue between the drafting teams and the evaluation experts, whereby the EPRC evaluation team used judgement and provided recommendations on the content of the various elements of the Programme as they were drafted.


: The amount of multilingual documents generated on internet, is increasing day by day. Multilingual document clustering (MDC) is a technique of classifying documents in different languages. Classification of documents for the languages without labeled training data set is a major challenge. Two major approaches used till date are machine translation of documents for classification and use bilingual dictionaries for effective translation of trained classification models. This paper surveys various MDC challenge and techniques. The major focus is on the problem of translating documents and classifying it semantically.


The Hybrid Memory Cube is an emerging main memory technology that leverages advances in 3D fabrication techniques to create a CMOS logic layer with DRAM dies stacked on top. The logic layer contains several DRAM memory controllers that receive requests from high speed serial links from the host processor. Each memory controller is connected to several memory banks in several DRAM dies with a vertical through-silicon via (TSV). Since the TSVs form a dense interconnect with short path lengths, the data bus between the controller and banks can be operated at higher throughput and lower energy per bit compared to traditional DDRx memory. This technology represents a paradigm shift in main memory design that could potentially solve the bandwidth, capacity, and power problems plaguing the main memory system today. While the architecture is new we present several design parameter sweeps and performance characterizations to highlight some interesting issues and trade-offs in the HMC architecture. First, we discuss how to best select link and TSV bandwidths to fully utilize the HMC's potential throughput. Next, we analyze several different cube configurations that are resource constrained to try to understand the trade-offs in choosing the number of memory controllers, DRAM dies, and memory banks in the system. Finally, to present a general characterization of the HMC's performance, we compare the execution of HMC, Buffer-on-Board, and quad channel DDR3-1600 main memory systems showing that for applications that can exploit HMC's concurrency and bandwidth, a single HMC can reduce full-system execution time over an extremely aggressive quad channel DDR3-1600 system by a factor of two.


Because of the technical and cost constraints on traditional measurement methods, there is a lack of long-term driving behavior data from natural traffic scenes, and this situation has been hindering research progress into driving behavior modeling and other related topics. Thanks to high-definition cameras and advanced visual measurement methods, traffic visual detection is entering a new stage of traffic visual measurement, and thus we can expect to achieve accurate segmentation, positioning, and measurement for road vehicles from live video to meet the requirement for field test data in behavior modeling. To measure driving behaviors in a cost-effective manner, the authors propose a comprehensive visual measurement approach that could perform well in complex traffic scenes. Specifically, they describe a procedure for traffic visual measurement, some preliminary algorithms, and some representative experimental results. Comparisons between the proposed method and three traditional ones (driving simulator, in-vehicle data recorder, and remote-sensing camera) indicate that the biggest advantage of the proposed method is it can measure driving behaviors from live video. Hence, the ongoing research will greatly benefit cognition in driving behavior models.


This paper addresses the trade-off between Accuracy and Transparency for deep learning applied to sports analytics. Neural nets achieve great predictive accuracy through deep learning, and are popular in sports analytics. But it is hard to interpret a neural net model and harder still to extract actionable insights from the knowledge implicit in it. Therefore, we built a simple and transparent model that mimics the output of the original deep learning model and represents the learned knowledge in an explicit interpretable way. Our mimic model is a linear model tree, which combines a collection of linear models with a regression-tree structure. The tree version of a neural network achieves high fidelity, explains itself, and produces insights for expert stakeholders such as athletes and coaches. We propose and compare several scalable model tree learning heuristics to address the computational challenge from datasets with millions of data points.


With Uganda's turbulent and traumatic post-independence political experience, the take-over of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in 1986 ushered in a tide of unprecedented hope for political transformation and constitutionalism. NRM's ten-point programme, pledge for a 'fundamental change', climaxing in the formulation of a new constitution in 1995, encapsulated the state-social contract and hope for the new order. But ten years later, Uganda' political landscape and power architecture continued to show that political transformation and constitutionalism were still illusory. This article examines political development in Uganda during the first ten years under the new constitution and time of democratic reforms in Africa. The article shows that these years pointed to political reversals epitomised by the preponderance of abuse of human rights, state failures and loss of hope in the war-ravaged north, patrimonialism, autocratic tendencies, and manipulations which were reminiscent of the old dictatorships. The last straw came with the shocking amendment of the embryonic constitution to remove presidential term limits, which were entrenched as a lynch-pin for a smooth transfer of power. This was followed by the military siege of the High Court that crowned the reality that militarism remained the anchor of power in Uganda's body politic. The independence of the judiciary and legislature remained illusory, as together with the opposition they remained susceptible to bribery, manipulation, intimidation and repression. With an unpredictable constitutionalism and political terrain, the NRM's promise of a 'fundamental change' degenerated into 'no change'.


The optical system is an essential part of every remote sensing instrument used for detecting electromagnetic waves. Careful design, fabrication and characterization is therefore crucial, especially for satellite-borne missions where the possibility of post-launch repairs is highly limited. This thesis presents contributions to a new type of reflector optics and horn antennas for three instruments for Earth observation, which operate at wavelengths between the UV and millimeter-wave regions: Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography Spectroscopy (MATS), International Submillimetre Airborne Radiometer (ISMAR) and Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange And climate Monitor Radiometer (STEAMR). A free-form three-mirror off-axis telescope was developed for the limb instrument on board the MATS satellite. The f/7.3 (D = 35 mm) design achieved diffraction-limited performance (at 270-772 nm) over a wide field (5.67° × 0.91°) by applying a new design method that corrects for linear astigmatism. Single point diamond turning was used to fabricate the free-form mirrors, which resulted in a telescope with a modulation transfer function of 0.45 at 20 lp/mm. Simulations and measurements were used to assess stray light rejection of the limb instrument. Measurements of a breadboard front baffle with a new type of extremely black coating showed a point source transmittance down to 10-6, which was in excellent agreement with simulations. Detailed modeling predicted a stray light rejection of 10-10-10-4 in the most critical region below the nominal field of view. Two 874 GHz Schottky mixer receivers with integrated low noise amplifiers, spline horns and low-loss dielectric lenses were developed for ISMAR, which exhibited record-low receiver noise temperatures of 2260-2770 K. Radiation patterns were measured between 868.7-880.0 GHz in a setup capable of resolving side lobes down to 25-30 dB below the main peak. The main beam full-width-half-maximum was in good agreement with simulations and well below the required 5°. Spline horn antennas at frequencies 120-340 GHz were also developed. An efficient optimization algorithm based on mode matching in circular waveguides was used for all designs, which exhibited Gaussicity values of 98% over bandwidths up to 19%. Far field radiation patterns were measured using a setup for spherical and planar scanning geometries. A mechanical tolerance analysis was performed for the optical system of STEAMR, which consists of two polarization-separated focal plane arrays, a four-reflector anastigmatic relay optics chain and an off-axis Ritchey-Chretien telescope. Using Monte-Carlo simulations based on ray-tracing and physical optics, an overall reflector alignment accuracy requirement of 100 μm was obtained. Surface distortion analyses of the 1.6 m × 0.8 m primary reflector highlighted the need for an optical system with small mechanical variations in orbit ( In conclusion, the methods for design, manufacturing and characterization presented in this thesis can be used to develop new instruments for Earth observation and related fields.


Interest exists in planting mixed forb—grass prairies in the midwestern United States. Aminopyralid or clopyralid can be used to suppress competition from invasive plants prior to seeding prairies. As these active ingredients are known to persist, concern exists that reductions in forb establishment could occur. We tested whether common midwestern forb species could tolerate an application of aminopyralid or clopyralid alone or in combination the summer prior to seeding, and whether fall dormant or spring seeding date influenced establishment. This experiment was performed in Beresford, SD, and Arlington, WI, where aminopyralid (54 or 123 g ae ha-1), clopyralid (237 and 420 g ae ha-1), or aminopyralid + clopyralid (54 + 237 g ae ha-1) were applied to a prepared seedbed in July of 2009. Ten forbs were seeded in November 2009 as a dormant seeding and in April 2010 as a spring seeding at both locations, and establishment was assessed 12 and 24 mo after treatment (MAT). Results were site and species specific. Time of seeding was an important driver of plant counts at both locations 12 and 24 MAT. In Wisconsin at 12 MAT, 60% of species studied exhibited higher counts in the spring seeding. This trend persisted in some, but was not consistent across all 10 species. In South Dakota, 80% of species studied had higher counts at 12 and 24 MAT, but differences were species specific and often differed from those studied in Wisconsin. Those species that had higher counts in spring seeding at 12 MAT, maintained higher counts at 24 MAT. Forbs planted in plots treated with herbicides did not differ from plots left untreated at either location. Results suggest native forbs typically seeded in the upper Midwest can tolerate these herbicides when applied at least 4 mo prior to seeding. Nomenclature: Aminopyralid; clopyralid.


Alternative radio-navigation technologies aim at providing continuous navigation solution even if one cannot use GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). In shadowing region such as indoor environment, GNSS signal is no longer available and the alternative navigation system should be used together with GNSS to provide seamless positioning. For soldiers in battlefield where GNSS signal is jammed or in street battle, the alternative navigation system should work without positioning infrastructure. Moreover, the radio-navigation system should have scalability as well as high accuracy performance. This paper presents a TWR (Two-Way-Ranging)-based cooperative positioning system (CPS) that does not require location infrastructure. It is assumed that some members of CPS can obtain GNSS-based position and they are called mobile anchors. Other members unable to receive GNSS signal compute their position using TWR measurements with mobile anchors and neighboring members. Error propagation in CPS is analytically studied in this paper. Error budget for TWR measurements is modeled first. Next, location error propagation in CPS is derived in terms of range errors. To represent the location error propagation in the CPS, Location Error Propagation Indicator (LEPI) is proposed in this paper. Simulation results show that location error of tags in CPS is mainly influenced by the number of hops from anchors to the tag to be positioned as well as the network geometry of CPS.


We report a new efficient way of synthesizing high-purity hydrogen-rich M(BH3NH2BH2NH2BH3) salts (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs). The solvent-mediated metathetic synthesis applied here uses precursors containing bulky organic cations and weakly coordinating anions. The applicability of this method permits the entire series of alkali-metal M(BH3NH2BH2NH2BH3) salts (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) to be obtained, thus enabling their comparative analysis in terms of crystal structures and hydrogen-storage properties. A novel polymorphic form of Verkade's base (C18H39N4PH)(BH3NH2BH2NH2BH3) precursor was also characterized structurally. For all compounds, we present a comprehensive structural, spectroscopic, and thermogravimetric characterization (PXRD, NMR, FTIR, Raman, and TGA/DSC/MS).


As a pediatrician, I frequently am asked "When will there be a cure for diabetes?" Ten years ago, with the success of pancreas transplants, I was predicting that in about ten years we would have a cure for diabetes. I am now more cautious in making such predictions, but I do remind parents and teenagers who ask this question how far we have come in the last decade. Ten years ago, insulin therapy usually consisted of one shot per day of insulin (an intermediate-acting insulin with or without regular). Encouraged by what were then provocative new data, we began recommending conversion from one to two shots per day of insulin to improve blood glucose control throughout a 24-hour period and to prevent progression of diabetic retinopathy. Most parents did not want to subject their children to another shot. However, patients who adopted the new regimen found that it allowed more flexibility in the timing of meals, and they also physically felt so much better that none returned to one shot per day. Today, we routinely prescribe two shots per day for all patients beginning to receive insulin, and sometimes three shots per day. Insulin regimens today can be as varied as the life-styles of the people who use them, including intermediate-acting, regular, and long-acting insulins and, in specific instances, the subcutaneous insulin infusion pump. All of these methods provide good blood glucose control along with more flexibility in life-styles to accommodate the needs of diabetic children with two working parents or diabetic teenagers and college students


High-quality single crystals of La1.2Sr1.8 −y Cay Mn2O7 (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.2) were studied by means of electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance measurements. They exhibit a phase transition to a metallic ferromagnetic state at low temperature and strongly anisotropic electronic transport properties, which result from their lamellar structure. The temperature range of the resistivity measurements is extended up to about 1000 K, which allows us to discriminate between different theoretical models. In addition, an accurate comparison of parallel and perpendicular resistivity is carried out in order to reveal the effect of the two-dimensional magnetic correlations. The effect of disorder achieved by substitution of Ca2+, of smaller ionic radius, for Sr2+ is also investigated in detail.


Specific agglutinins for the homologous pneumococcus are lacking or present only in small amount in the pneumonic exudates due to the fixed types of pneumococci. Suspensions of fixed types of pneumococci in the supernatant fluid obtained after centrifuging the mash of the pneumonic lung give positive agglutination tests in dilutions not higher than equal parts of suspension and supernatant fluid (1:2). The pneumonic lung contains a soluble substance inhibiting agglutination of the fixed types of pneumococci by the homologous antipneumococcus serum.


The ubiquitous adoption of the internet means that as long as internet connections are available, communication can take place independently of geographic locations. In this paper, we demonstrate how the same can hold true for physical exploration of a remote location: we present a mobile robot that can be controlled over the internet from within a browser. Our robot executes commands issued by a remote operator, but at the same time ensures its own safety by autonomously avoiding obstacles such as walls and stairs. The operator receives a video feed and the readings of other sensors from the robot. Our system is built entirely using open source software, and we have made available all source code for our system and the schematics for the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robot.


This article describes a 30 frames/second VGA format image sensor made in a standard CMOS process with an embedded massively parallel processor. The processor is fully programmable and therefore the sensor IC itself is able to run a variety of algorithms with data and processing in close vicinity of the sensor. Because of the parallel architecture comprising processor array and parallel memory accesses, high computational performances of up to 5 GOPS at 16 MHz are achieved. This high performance allowed us to implement skin tone detection on the camera itself as part of a larger system for face recognition, releasing the host computer of cumbersome pixel processing tasks and minimizing the data transfer between camera and computer.


Background/Objective: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an immune-mediated disease that results in the destruction of pancreatic beta cells. While beta cell destruction is classically considered T cell mediated, autoreactive B cells play important roles in disease progression. B cell depletion prevents disease in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, and B cell depletion temporarily slows disease progression in individuals with new-onset T1D. However, mechanisms of autoreactive B cell function in T1D are not fully known. Cellular metabolism has been shown to drive autoimmune B cell development in other mouse models. We hypothesize that metabolic characteristics of B cells from NOD mice are distinct from metabolic characteristics of B cells from non-autoimmune C57BL/6J (B6) mice; therefore, making cellular metabolic pathways viable targets for therapeutic intervention.
Methods: Lymphocytes from spleen, pancreas, pancreatic lymph nodes, and mesenteric/lumbar lymph nodes were processed into single-cell suspensions. Glucose uptake was measured using fluorescent glucose analog 2-NBDG. Mitochondrial polarity was measured using fluorescent probes for mass and membrane potential. Cells were stained for surface markers and analyzed on an Attune Nxt flow cytometer.
Results: No statistically significant differences in glucose uptake or mitochondrial polarity for lymphocyte subsets in the spleen or PLNs of NOD and B6 mice were identified. In NOD mice, polarity was significantly higher in B cells in the pancreas compared to the spleen and PLNs. Polarity was also higher in B cells in PLNs compared to non-specific lymph nodes in NOD mice.
Conclusions/Impact: While no differences in glucose uptake or polarity in lymphocytes from NOD and B6 mice ex vivo were identified, future studies are needed to determine whether their activation drives metabolic alterations. Differences in polarity in the pancreas in NOD mice suggest that cellular metabolism is influenced by the islet microenvironment and has the potential to influence their function at the site of autoimmune attack.


Novel features of nonlinear guided waves in saturable thin-film waveguides are obtained. It is shown that the presence of saturation can strongly modify the behavior of TE waves in comparison to films having a Kerr-like nonlinearity. The fundamental mode index is seen to become bounded by limits determined by the saturation level. The example of symmetric waveguide is analyzed and the dispersion plots of symmetric and asymmetric solutions are obtained. It is shown that only the symmetric solution can be followed at high film interface intensity and that the asymmetric solution becomes absent at low saturation levels.


The elderly in Tanzania face social insecurity that put them at risk of great horizon of abuse, social exclusion, serious illness and abject poverty. Although, there are several social institutions addressing the risks facing the elderly in Tanzania, still the elderly's adverse conditions remain unabated. This paper examined Social Institutions (SIs) and their respective roles in providing social security to the elderly in terms of food, health, shelter, clothing and income services. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design where a questionnaire survey, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were the main methods of data collection. The descriptive statistical analysis was employed to explore the distribution of socioeconomic characteristics and social protection. Content analyses approach was used to analyses the qualitative data. The findings show that: the family, Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) and religious institutions were the most active SIs providing social protection to the elderly. Elderly were unsatisfied with the SIs'social services provision as they narrowly focused on health and food. There was inadequately provision of other needy services. The study recommends to government to enhance the implementation of the social protection policies and guide service provision mechanisms among SIs. There Sis should adopt joint implementation of the social protection interventions to improve the scope of services for elderly welfares.


The sports in which there is the figure of goalkeeper, becomes relevant in order to obtain high performance, the perception of success that this participant is formed and that is configured as an expectation. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the association between perception of self-efficacy of two elite water polo goalkeepers and their coach and the observable performance in an international tournament. In order to measure the perception of behavioural success and their coach, it was used the Scale of achievement self-efficacy for water polo goalkeepers (Argudo, De la Vega, Tejero, & Ruiz, 2013). To measure the performance, were analysed all throwing`s received by the two goalkeepers in the XV Water polo World Championship. The results indicate that there are differences between the perception of the player, the coach and the observed behaviour, appreciating that the goalkeeper's perception of success is superior to what actually happens. While in the female case, player and coach perception is less than the observed behaviour.


The subjective experience of schizophrenia, its cause, and its course have been consistent topics of interest within the phenomenological tradition since its inception. After 80 years of study and the efforts of many investigators, however, phenomenological contributions have so far had only a modest impact on current understandings of this disorder. In this article, the author reviews the methodological and theoretical issues involved in the development of a phenomenological approach to understanding schizophrenia. Drawing examples from his own empirical research, the author illustrates the three steps of description, understanding, and explanation required by an application of the phenomenological method to this empirical domain. He then considers obstacles to the acceptance of insights generated through this method by the mainstream psychiatric community. In conclusion, he suggests that the promise offered by a phenomenological approach will most likely be fulfilled when investigators appeal to the phenomenological conviction in intentionality to provide the guidelines for an empirical science of subjective life.


A significant source of morbidity and inhospital mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention is radiocontrast-induced nephropathy. Newer strategies, such as using low-osmolar nonionic contrast agents and selective dopamine agonists, are making it possible to greatly reduce the incidence of postcatheterization nephropathy.


Extension systems are constantly changing, adapting to new environments. Over the last decade or so, globalization and its effects in terms of free market competition, productivity and efficiency has created new paradigms for the operation of both public and private sector extension. Extension systems worldwide are reacting to these effects. Developed countries have resorted to privatization to face the new challenges, while developing countries are looking towards commercialization and decentralization. The Banana Industry of the Windward Islands with its quasi private sector extension system is seeking new ways of meeting the challenges of globalization. Commercialization of the Banana Extension Systems in the Windward Islands is being proposed as the way forward. In that proposal, it is being recommended that the issues of method of delivery, method of financing, management and coordination should be addressed.


This article examines appearances of the mark of the beast or beast in the early Pentecostal Literature from 1908–1918. By utilizing Wirkungsgeschichte, this article demonstrates that early Pentecostal interpretations were not monolithic when interpreting bestial texts. Dispensationalism did not control their interpretations. The Apocalypse had a significant impact on early Pentecostal reflection including their criticism of issues associated with World War I.


This study seeks to find the extent to which various measures of public school quality are capitalized into house prices after the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). Individual residential sales in Cuyahoga County, Ohio for 2000 and 2005 are analyzed as to the effect of school quality using regression analysis with a spatial error model. Results show that while all school quality measures tested have some explanatory power, school district ratings and performance index, which are comprehensive measures of school quality, are the most appropriate measures and are readily capitalized into housing prices.


The age and spreading rate of the Labrador Sea have been computed from the basement bathymetry. The data give a time of termination of opening 48 m.y. ago and a mean spreading rate of 0.64 cm per year, in good agreement with previous estimates from magnetic data. The shallow depths in the Labrador Sea must be accounted for by assuming that the present Iceland hot spot or mantle plume was located under Davis Strait, to the west of Greenland during the opening. A model is proposed for the separation of Greenland from Europe and Canada driven by this plume.


Two quaternary silver selenoarsenates Cs3AgAs4Se8 (I) and CsAgAs2Se4 (II) have been discovered by methanothermal reaction of Li3AsSe3 with AgBF4 in the presence of the respective alkali metal sources Cs2CO3 and CsCl. Orange crystals of Cs3AgAs4Se8 (I) were formed after reaction at 120 degrees C for 72 h, whereas red CsAgAs2Se4 (II) was obtained under slightly different conditions at 140 degrees C for 70 h. Both compounds possess novel two-dimensional (2D) polyanions consisting of infinite 1 infinity[AsSe2]- chains that are interconnected by Ag+ ions in different coordination patterns. In I, a double layer of 1 infinity[AsSe2]- chains is bridged by distorted trigonal planar coordinated Ag+ atoms to form a 2 infinity[AgAs4Se8]3- layer with a thickness of about 11.3 A. The nonbonding Ag...Ag distances are about 4.220 A, and large cavities within the layers accommodate for three of the four crystallographic Cs+ cations. The double amount of Ag+ atoms per AsSe2 chain unit in II leads to simple layers 2 infinity[AgAs2Se4]- [=[Ag2As4Se8]2-] in which the Ag+ atoms are arranged in rows between the 1 infinity[AsSe2]- chains, with alternating Ag...Ag distances of 3.053(3) and 3.488(3) A. Hereby the 1 infinity[AsSe2]- polyanions show a disorder within the central (-As-Seb)- chain (b = bridging), while the positions of the terminal Se atoms (Set) remain unaffected. The thermal, optical, and spectroscopic properties of the compounds are reported. Both I and II melt with decomposition and are wide band gap semiconductors with values of 2.07 and 1.79 eV, respectively. Raman spectroscopic data show typical band patterns expected for infinite [AsSe2]- chains. Crystal Data: Cs3AgAs4Se8 (I), monoclinic, C2/c, a = 25.212(2) A, b = 8.0748(7) A, c = 22.803(2) A, beta = 116.272(2) degrees, Z = 8; CsAgAs2Se4 (II), monoclinic, P2(1)/n, a = 10.9211(1) A, b = 6.5188(2) A, c = 13.7553(3) A, beta = 108.956(1) degrees, Z = 4.


Background: Resistance exercise is recommended as a useful therapeutic tool for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the frequency of studies is inadequate to establish the precise mechanisms of any association between them. Objectives: In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of three months of resistance training on TCF7L2 expression in pancreatic tissues, serum insulin and glucose. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, type 2 diabetes (T2D) was induced by intraperitoneal streptozotocin-nicotinamide in eighteen male Wistar rats aged 10 weeks (22030 g). Then, the rats were randomly divided into exercise and control groups. The exercise rats completed a three-month resistance training intervention that included climbingona stepladder for 5 days weekly. The control group did not participate in exercise intervention. Fasting glucose and insulin were measured before and after injection (7 days) and after intervention. TCF7L2 gene expression of pancreatic tissues was measured in both groups after the exercise treatment, and the ratio between the two groups was calculated. Results: Fasting glucose increased and serum insulin decreased significantly by T2D induction in the two groups at baseline. Resistance training resulted in a decrease in fasting glucose and an increase in insulin in exercise rats. Data also showed that TCF7L2 gene expression decreased after resistance training compared with the control group. Conclusions: Based on these data, increased serum insulin can be attributed to a decrease in TCF7L2 gene expression of pancreatic cells by resistance training in T2D rats.


High demands of quality development in the industry especially automotive, necessitates multi-objective optimization of the manufacturing processes. Fuel cells are one of the most important sources of renewable energies that Bipolar Plates (BPPs) are their main components. Metallic BPPs are known as a suitable replacement of the graphite plates due to their lower weight and cost. Accordingly, this study employs Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods to determine the best forming condition in the stamping of titanium BPP. In the first step, the process is analyzed using the Finite Element (FE) simulation. Afterward, validation of the FE model is confirmed by performing the experiments using titanium ultra-thin sheet with a thickness of 0.1 mm. Subsequently, a set of tests with 15 experiments are assumed to be as alternatives. In addition, filling ratio, thinning ratio and forming load are considered as different criteria. In order to select the optimum condition considering three mentioned responses simultaneously, TOPSIS and VIKOR methods are applied. In addition, a weighting procedure combining AHP and Entropy approaches is used. Based on the weighting results, the highest and lowest weights were obtained for filling ratio (0.5398) and forming load (0.1632), respectively. Likewise, a Spearman's rank equal to 0.9357 was obtained that demonstrates high compatibility between TOPSIS and VIKOR methods. Overall, the best (optimum) forming condition has obtained an experiment with a clearance of 0.2 mm, the speed of 3.5 mm/s, and friction coefficient as 0.2.


It is crucial for successful gene delivery to develop safe, effective, and multifunctional polycations. Iodine-based small molecules are widely used as contrast agents for CT imaging. Herein, a series of star-like poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA)-based cationic vectors (II-PGEA/II) with abundant flanking polyhydric iodine units are prepared for multifunctional gene delivery systems. The proposed II-PGEA/II star vector is composed of one iohexol intermediate (II) core and five ethanolamine (EA) and II-difunctionalized PGMA arms. The amphipathic II-PGEA/II vectors readily self-assemble into well-defined cationic nanoparticles, where massive hydroxyl groups can establish a hydration shell to stabilize the nanoparticles. The II introduction improves cell viabilities of polycations. Moreover, by controlling the suitable amount of introduced II units, the resultant II-PGEA/II nanoparticles can produce fairly good transfection performances in different cell lines. Particularly, the II-PGEA/II nanoparticles induce much better in vitro CT imaging abilities in tumor cells than iohexol (one commonly used commercial CT contrast agent). The present design of amphipathic PGMA-based nanoparticles with CT contrast agents would provide useful information for the development of new multifunctional gene delivery systems.


Abstract Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are most commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract, and presentation can range from asymptomatic to massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage. This case highlights a unique presentation of AVMs. During a screening colonoscopy, a 5-cm mass was discovered in the transverse colon encompassing 25% to 50% of the circumference of the lumen. Biopsies showed polypoid AVM with overlying inflammatory polyps without evidence of malignancy or dysplasia. There are many treatment options for AVM removal. In this case, since suspicion for malignancy was high, the patient underwent surgery and will be closely monitored.


The invention relates to a method for preparing oxalic ester by CO coupling, which mainly solves the problems of low selectivity of target products in the prior art. The method adopts a technical proposal that: the method comprises the following steps that: (a) a first spout of raw materials of gases containing nitrous acid ester and CO enter a first reaction area first to contact a palladium-containing catalyst I to generate a first spout of reaction effluent containing the oxalic ester; and (b) gaseous phase components subjected to the gas-liquid separation or not subjected to separation of the first spout of the reaction effluent and a second spout of gases containing the nitrous acid ester directly enter at least one second reaction area and are contacted with a palladium-containing catalyst II to generate a second spout of reaction effluent containing the oxalic ester, wherein the mol ratio of the first spout of gases containing the nitrous acid ester to the second spout of the gases containing the nitrous acid ester is 0.1-10:1, and the mol ratio of the CO to the sum of the first spout of the nitrous acid ester and the second spout of the nitrous acid ester is 1-3:1. The method solves the problems well and can be used in industrial production for increasing the yield of the oxalic ester.


Genealogy, or the study of one's ancestral patri-lineage, has a long and esteemed pedigree in French Canadian and Québécois history. From Cyprien Tanguay's late-nineteenth-century encyclopedias to René Jetté's updated versions more than a century later, genealogy has been an important component of French Canadian nationalisms. Tracing one's ancestry back to the early St. Lawrence settlement in the seventeenth century has provided Québécois subjects with opportune political and social capital with which to make territorial and national claims legitimate. Through a case study approach, I explain how genealogy provides the grounds upon which Québécois and French subjects remember a shared past. Specifically, I examine a variety of sites of memory in the French countryside, including a museum that relies on 'genealogics' to call the French Canadian Québécois back to its roots. As such, I demonstrate how the biological, read as a contemporary articulation of Balibar's notion of the racial supplément necessary to nation building, travels across the Atlantic.


An in-vehicle information system includes a camera and a controller that accept gesture input. A controller receives frames of video data and generates trajectory data for a move ment of a hand in the video data. The controller uses a first hidden Markov model (HMM) to decode a sequence of strokes from the trajectory data, removes a starting and end ing stroke to form an edited stroke sequence, and re-normal izes the strokes in the edited stroke sequence. The controller uses a second HMM corresponding to a predetermined set of characters to identify a character corresponding to the re normalized edited Stroke sequence.


Abstract. On 3 March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Chile. Since then, the Ministry of Health has imposed mobility restrictions, a global policy implemented to mitigate the propagation of the virus. The national seismic network operating throughout Chile provides an opportunity to monitor the ambient seismic noise (ASN) and determine the effectiveness of public policies imposed to reduce urban mobility in the major cities. Herein, we analyse temporal variations in high-frequency ASN recorded by broadband and strong-motion instruments deployed throughout the main cities of Chile. We focus on the capital, Santiago, a city with more than 7 million inhabitants because it is seismically well instrumented and has high levels of urban mobility due to worker commutes inside the region. We observed strong similarities between anthropogenic seismic noise and human mobility indicators, as shown in the difference between urban and rural amplitudes, long-term variations, and variability due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The same results are observed in other cities such as Iquique, La Serena, and Concepcion. Our findings suggest that the initially implemented public health policies and the early end to confinement in mid-April 2020 in the metropolitan region caused an increase in mobility and virus transmission, where the peak in anthropogenic seismic noise coincides with the peak of the effective reproductive number from confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. These results confirm that seismic networks are capable of recording the urban mobility of population within cities, and we show that continuous monitoring of ASN can quantify urban mobility. Finally, we suggest that real-time changes in ASN amplitudes should be considered part of public health policy in further protocols in Santiago and other high-density cities of the world, as has been useful during the recent pandemic.


We have studied how cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) changes and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) exposure affects ligand-independent cell surface expression of fMet-Leu-Phe receptors on human neutrophils. Mere incubation primed neutrophils to double their binding of fMet-Leu-Phe. This spontaneous increase of peptide binding was unaffected by changes in the extracellular calcium concentration. However, depression of the [Ca2+]i totally abolished the increased binding of fMet-Leu-Phe. Scatchard-Plot analysis revealed that the observed increase of peptide binding was due to an increased number of receptors. Normalization of the [Ca2+]i in cells where it was initially depressed resulted in a slow but progressive increase in fMet-Leu-Phe binding. The rate of receptor recruitment could be enhanced by rapidly increasing the [Ca2+]i by addition of ionomycin. Addition of PMA to cells with near maximal receptor expression led to a marked reduction of fMet-Leu-Phe binding without affecting [Ca2+]i. These observations suggest the existence of a dual regulatory mechanism for up- and down-regulation of fMet-Leu-Phe receptors on the cell surface of human neutrophils.


Background: In pemphigus, autoantibodies are directed against adhesion molecules, which make the junctions between keratinocytes, and thus determining their level can reflect the disease activity. Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical significance of the autoantibody levels in pemphigus management. Materials and Methods: The clinical features of 47 pemphigus vulgaris patients were assessed and patients′ sera were investigated by indirect immunofluorescence using monkey esophagus as a substrate for autoantibody levels. Results: We found a significant correlation between antibody titers and mucosal severity scores. Initial antibody titers of the patients with at least one mucosal lesion at the end of the first month of the therapy were found significantly higher than the patients who had no mucosal lesion. With the therapy, lesions resolved earlier than the antibody titers. Conclusion: In patients with pemphigus, especially in cases who were not treated before, sera antibody levels are a valuable tool in evaluating disease severity and choosing initial treatment. In patients who had been taking any systemic treatment, it is difficult to make a relationship between antibody levels and disease severity, because therapy improves disease earlier than the antibody titers. However, estimating antibody levels can be helpful for clinicians in disease management, in reducing or ceasing treatment dosage and anticipating recurrence.


In this work, the electroless plating Ni-Cu-P on aluminium is obtained successfully by direct Ni-Cu-P plating method. The effect of bath compositions on the electroless plating rate and the properties of the electroless Ni-Cu-P deposits was studied by orthogonal test. The corrosion resistance, hardness, surface morphology and components of the coating were studied by using electrochemical workstation, digital micro-hardness SEM and EDS. The optimum bath formula obtained is 0.6g/L copper sulfate, 30g/L nickel sulfate, 35g/L sodium citrate, 25 g/L sodium hypophosphite, 20g/L acetic anhydride and right amount of self-made additive. The deposition rate, hardness and corrosion resistance are all good. The adhesion between the deposits and the matrix is better. The deposits is smooth and uniformity, smooth by SEM. The deposit contains Ni 78.90%, Cu 8.65%, P 12.46% by the analyses of energy disperse X-ray.


This paper addresses the interactions, among organisms of the same or different species associated with the need for a common resource that occurs in a limited supply relative to demand. If two competitors try to occupy the same realized niche, one species will try to eliminate the other. Therefore, two cases are worth to be considered. On the one hand, there is a need to cooperate sharing part of the resource so that both organisms will benefit from it. On the other hand, if one of the two species is stronger than the other, there will be no cooperation and the strongest species will impose its conditions. In the study of this interaction Lotka-Volterra models have been used. Other non-classical methodologies as Petri nets and first order logic have been employed too. In this work, the biological competition problem between species is modelled as a modal logic formula. Then, using the concept of logic implication, and transforming this logical implication relation into a set of clauses, a modal resolution qualitative method for verification (satisfiability) as well as performance issues, for some queries is applied. AMS Subject Classification: 08A99, 93D35, 93D99, 39A11


In this paper, a new approach for energy minimization in energy harvesting real time systems has been investigated. Lifetime of a real time systems is depend upon its battery life.  Energy is a parameter by which the lifetime of system can be enhanced.  To work continuously and successively, energy harvesting is used as a regular source of energy. EDF (Earliest Deadline First) is a traditional real time tasks scheduling algorithm and DVS (Dynamic Voltage Scaling) is used for reducing energy consumption. In this paper, we propose an Energy Harvesting Earliest Deadline First (EH-EDF) scheduling algorithm for increasing lifetime of real time systems using DVS for reducing energy consumption and EDF for tasks scheduling with energy harvesting as regular energy supply. Our experimental results show that the proposed approach perform better to reduce energy consumption and increases the system lifetime as compared with existing approaches.


A variety of 2-amido pyrrolidines, including Weinreb-type amides, have been prepared with very high exo diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivitiy in the reaction of α-iminoamides with activated alkenes catalyzed by Cu(I)-Segphos ligands.


This full HANSARD transcript includes the full content of the oral evidence session held on 10th September 2018 as part of the "High Streets and Town Centres in 2030" inquiry led by the Housing, Communities and Local Government parliamentary select committee, which Assoc. Prof. J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak was invited to participate in as an expert witness.


Abstract Hydrographic data, be it raw or highly averaged observational data, contain substantial regions having vertical density inversions. An algorithm is described that minimally modifies such data so that the resulting hydrographic casts have vertical buoyancy frequency profiles larger than a specified lower bound. The method underlying the algorithm is based on the solution of a constrained weighted least-squares problem and maximizes the smoothness of the resulting salinity-potential temperature diagram. Examples are provided that demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique in minimally altering hydrographic data only in the immediate vicinity of the data that do not already satisfy the buoyancy frequency constraint. A modified equation of state, identical in form to the international equation of state of seawater but written in terms of potential rather than in situ temperature, is also provided, enabling rapid computation of the thermal expansion and saline contraction coefficients.


Language documentation projects supported by recent funding intiatives have created a large number of multimedia corpora of typologically diverse languages. Most of these corpora provide a manual alignment of transcription and audio data at the level of larger units, such as sentences or intonation units. Their usefulness both for corpus-linguistic and psycholinguistic research and for the development of tools and teaching materials could, however, be increased by achieving a more fine-grained alignment of transcription and audio at the word or even phoneme level. Since most language documentation corpora contain data on small languages, there usually do not exist any speech recognizers or acoustic models specifically trained on these languages. We therefore investigate the feasibility of untrained forced alignment for such corpora. We report on an evaluation of the tool (Web)MAUS (Kisler et al., 2012) on several language documentation corpora and discuss practical issues in the application of forced alignment. Our evaluation shows that (Web)MAUS with its existing acoustic models combined with simple grapheme-to-phoneme conversion can be successfully used for word-level forced alignment of a diverse set of languages without additional training, especially if a manual prealignment of larger annotation units is already avaible.


A case of extraskeletal chondrosarcoma of the left brachial plexus is described with emphasis on the diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties of this site. With combination therapy the patient survived 6 years. Recurrent disease in the plexus region and adjacent spinal cord resulted in a painful, flail limb. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Subject review The base of knowledge of relativistic effects on satellite navigation is presented through comparison of the main characteristics of the Newtonian and the relativistic space time and by a short introduction of metric of a gravity field. Post-Newtonian theory of relativity is presented as a background in numerical treating of satellite navigation relativistic effects. Time as a crucial parameter in relativistic satellite navigation is introduced through coordinate and proper time as well as terrestrial time and clocks synchronization problem. Described are relativistic effects: on time dilation, on time differences because of the gravity field, on frequency, on path range effects, caused by the Earth rotation, due to the orbit eccentricity and because of the acceleration of the satellite in the theory of relativity. Overviews of treatment of relativistic effects on the GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou satellite systems are given.


Abstract Limited numbers of high-resolution records predate the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) making it difficult to quantify the impacts of environmental changes prior to peak glaciation. We examined sediments from Last Canyon Cave in the Pryor Mountains of Montana and Wyoming to construct a >45 ka environmental record from pollen and stable isotope analysis. Artemisia pollen was hyper-abundant at the beginning of the record. Carbon isotope values of bulk organic matter (>40 ka) showed little variation (-25.3 ± 0.4‰) and were consistent with a arid C3 environment, similar to today. After 40 cal ka BP, Artemisia pollen decreased as herbaceous taxa increased toward the LGM. A significant decrease in δ13C values from 40–30 cal ka BP (~1.0‰) established a new baseline (-26.6 ± 0.2‰), suggesting cooler, seasonally wetter conditions prior to the LGM. These conditions persisted until variation in δ13C values increased significantly with post-glacial warming, marked by two spikes in values at 14.4 (-25.2‰) and 13.5 cal ka BP (-25.4‰) before δ13C values dropped to their lowest values (-26.9 ± 0.2‰) at the onset of the Younger Dryas (12.8 ka). These results provide insights into late Pleistocene conditions and ecological change in arid intermontane basins of the Rocky Mountains.


SUMMARY Entamoeba moshkovskii and Entamoeba dispar are microscopically indistinguishable from the pathogenic species Entamoeba histolytica. Although sporadic cases of human infection with E. moshkovskii have been reported, the amoeba is still considered primarily as a free-living amoeba. A cross-sectional study was carried out among Orang Asli communities in 3 different states of Peninsular Malaysia. Fecal samples were examined by formalin-ether sedimentation and trichrome staining techniques and then single-round PCR assay was used to detect E. moshkovskii. Out of 500 fecal samples examined microscopically, 93 (18·6%) samples were positive for E. histolytica/E. dispar/E. moshkovskii complex cysts and/or trophozoites. PCR products were detected in 106 fecal samples. E. moshkovskii isolates were detected in 13 (12·3%) fecal samples. Of the 13 E. moshkovskii-positive samples, 5 were of single isolation of E. moshkovskii, 6 were also positive for E. dispar, and only 2 samples were positive for E. dispar and E. histolytica. Moreover, 3 E. moshkovskii-positive samples were collected from symptomatic individuals while the remaining 10 samples were from asymptomatic subjects. This is the first report on the identification of E. moshkovskii in Malaysia. Further studies are needed to confirm the pathogenicity of E. moshkovskii infection and determine the epidemiology among Orang Asli communities in Malaysia.