Modern machine learning techniques have encouraged interest in the development of vehicle health monitoring systems that ensure secure and reliable operations of rail vehicles. In an earlier study, an energy-efficient data acquisition method was investigated to develop a monitoring system for railway applications using modern machine learning techniques, more specific classification algorithms. A suitable classifier was proposed for railway monitoring based on relative weighted performance metrics. To improve the performance of the existing approach, a rule-based learning method using statistical analysis has been proposed in this paper to select a unique classifier for the same application. This selected algorithm works more efficiently and improves the overall performance of the railway monitoring systems. This study has been conducted using six classifiers, namely REPTree, J48, Decision Stump, IBK, PART and OneR, with twenty-five datasets. The Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) learning tool has been used in this study to develop the prediction models.


The mammalian intestines harbor trillions of commensal microorganisms composed of thousands of species that are collectively called gut microbiota. Among the microbiota, bacteria are the predominant microorganism, with viruses, protozoa, and fungi (mycobiota) making up a relatively smaller population. The microbial communities play fundamental roles in the maturation and orchestration of the immune landscape in health and disease. Primarily, the gut microbiota modulates the immune system to maintain homeostasis and plays a crucial role in regulating the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of inflammatory, neuronal, and metabolic disorders. The microbiota modulates the host immune system through direct interactions with immune cells or indirect mechanisms such as producing short-chain acids and diverse metabolites. Numerous researchers have put extensive efforts into investigating the role of microbes in immune regulation, discovering novel immunomodulatory microbial species, identifying key effector molecules, and demonstrating how microbes and their key effector molecules mechanistically impact the host immune system. Consequently, recent studies suggest that several microbial species and their immunomodulatory molecules have therapeutic applicability in preclinical settings of multiple disorders. Nonetheless, it is still unclear why and how a handful of microorganisms and their key molecules affect the host immunity in diverse diseases. This review mainly discusses the role of microbes and their metabolites in T helper cell differentiation, immunomodulatory function, and their modes of action.


This dissertation is a study of four 21st century Arabic novels translated to English, each of which narrates a regionally specific process of state-sanctioned property theft. I argue that the authors of these novels use and subvert conventions from genres of fiction such as the Gothic, detective fiction, and science fiction to counter the logics of state power represented in each novel. The first chapter studies Abdo Khal's Tarmi bi Sharar (Throwing Sparks 2009), which uses Gothic conventions such as monstrosity and narrative frames to challenge the logic of authoritarian impunity that drives property theft in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The second chapter analyzes Raja Alem's Tawq al-Hamam (The Dove's Necklace 2010), which counters the elitist individualism at the root of conventional detective fiction with a community of detective-like characters who investigate gentrification in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The third chapter examines Ahmed Naji's Istikhdam al-Haya (Using Life 2014) for how science fiction tropes of utopia and dystopia offer imaginative tools to rethink the logics of progress and sustainability used to justify green gentrification in Cairo, Egypt. And the fourth chapter reads Ahmed Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad (2014) for how orality and polyphonic narration counter the logics of security and exceptionalism that drive the U.S. occupation of Baghdad and the Iraqi state's theft of property left behind by the displaced and the deceased.


The spatial metaphor of the network along with its accompanying abstractions, such as flow, movement, and connectivity, have been central themes throughout the relational turn in human geography. However, to date networks in geography have been primarily explored either through actor-network theory or assemblage thinking, both of which embrace the network metaphor without specifically and formally interrogating networks themselves. We seek to problematize the treatment of networks in geography by exploring the largely underutilized literature on social networks as an alternative to the now dominant actor-network and assemblage frameworks. Our paper discusses the conceptual connections between key concepts in geography, such as place, distance, scale, and power, and those in network theory, such as centrality, density, and homophily. Voluntarily written from the periphery of human geography, our paper opens new directions for geographers that are interested in more than the metaphor of the network.


Heat tolerance enhancers are chemicals which prevent the physiological damages of plants by heat. Phenethyl isothiocyanate (ITC), which is known as the heat tolerance enhancer, induced the expression of heat shock protein genes in Arabidopsis . Here we measured the heat shock response (HSR)-inducing activities of ITCs to find more active ITCs than phenethyl ITC. We prepared transgenic Arabidopsis possessing the b - glucuronidase reporter gene driven by the promoter of a small heat shock protein ( HSP17.6C-CI ) gene which was induced by heat tolerance enhancers. We tested 16 naturally occurring ITCs for their HSR-inducing activities: 5 aromatic ITCs, 7 aliphatic ITCs, and 4 sulfur-containing aliphatic ITCs. The results showed that the short-chain aliphatic ITCs, especially isobutyl ITC, promoted the HSR more strongly than the aromatic and sulfur-containing aliphatic ITCs. Isobutyl ITC induced the HSR in the whole Arabidopsis seedlings. The isobutyl ITC-treated plants showed higher heat tolerance than the phenethyl ITC-treated plants. These results suggest that isobutyl ITC is a more potent heat tolerance enhancer than phenethyl ITC.


Background: Lymphadenectomy, as part of the initial surgical staging of patients with endometrial carcinoma, remains a controversial topic in gynecologic oncology. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping has become a well-accepted procedure for melanomas and breast cancer; a number of investigators have begun to explore the utility and accuracy of this technique with regard to endometrial cancer. Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate SLN mapping of early stage endometrial cancer with blue dye in conjunction with a radioactive tracer. Subjects and methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, patients with stage I and II endometrial cancer who were candidates for systemic lymph node dissection during surgery were enrolled, some underwent lymph node mapping and SLN biopsy using combined intra cervical radiotracer and blue dye injections and some applying only an intra cervical radiotracer. SLNs and other lymph nodes were sent for pathological assessment. Sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive value, and the negative predictive value were calculated as predictive values for the radiotracer and blue dye. Results: Pre-operative lymph node mapping showed SLN in 29 out of 30 patients. Intra operations in 29/30 patients, SLNs were harvested by gamma probe; in 13 out of 19 patients SLNs were detected by blue dye. The median number of SLNs per patient was 3 and the total number of SLNs detected was 81. Four patients had positive pelvic lymph nodes. All of the positive nodes were SLNs. Using this technique (radiotracer and blue dye) an overall detection rate of 96.7%, an NPV of 100%, a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 3.85% were achieved. Conclusion: Results of SLN research for endometrial cancer are promising and make feasible the possibility of avoiding unnecessary aggressive surgical procedures in near future by advances in SLN mapping.


Network Utility Maximization (NUM) studies the problems of allocating traffic rates to network users in order to maximize the users' total utility subject to network resource constraints. In this paper, we propose a new NUM framework, Learning-NUM, where the users' utility functions are unknown apriori and the utility function values of the traffic rates can be observed only after the corresponding traffic is delivered to the destination, which means that the utility feedback experiences queueing delay. The goal is to design a policy that gradually learns the utility functions and makes rate allocation and network scheduling/routing decisions so as to maximize the total utility obtained over a finite time horizon <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. In addition to unknown utility functions and stochastic constraints, a central challenge of our problem lies in the queueing delay of the observations, which may be unbounded and depends on the decisions of the policy. We first show that the expected total utility obtained by the best dynamic policy is upper bounded by the solution to a static optimization problem. Without the presence of feedback delay, we design an algorithm based on the ideas of gradient estimation and Max-Weight scheduling. To handle the feedback delay, we embed the algorithm in a parallel-instance paradigm to form a policy that achieves <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\tilde {O}(T^{3/4})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-regret, i.e., the difference between the expected utility obtained by the best dynamic policy and our policy is in <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\tilde {O}(T^{3/4})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. Furthermore, we extend our policy to deal with the case where the utility observations are noisy and show that it achieves <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\tilde {O}(T^{7/8})$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-regret. Finally, to demonstrate the practical applicability of the Learning-NUM framework, we apply it to three application scenarios including database query, job scheduling and video streaming. We further conduct simulations on the job scheduling application to evaluate the empirical performance of our policy.


Introduction: Intertrochanteric hip fractures are a common injury treated by orthopedic surgeons and the incidence rate is rising. Preoperative depression is a known risk factor for postoperative complications in orthopaedic surgery, however its effects on outcomes after geriatric hip fractures is relatively unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between preoperative depression and potential complications following open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) and intramedullary nailing (IMN) of geriatric hip fractures. Methods: In this retrospective study, the Truven Marketscan claims database was used to identify patients over age 65 who underwent ORIF or IMN for a hip fracture from January 2009 to December 2019. Patient characteristics, such as medical comorbidities, were collected and from that 2 cohorts were established (one with and one without depression). Chi-squared and multivariate analysis was performed to investigate the association between preoperative depression and common postoperative complications following intertrochanteric hip fracture surgery. Results: In total, 78,435 patients were identified for analysis. In those patients with preoperative depression, the complications associated with the greatest increased odds after undergoing ORIF were surgical site infections (OR 1.32; CI 1.23-1.44), ED visit for pain (OR 1.27; CI 1.16-1.39), wound complications (OR 1.26; CI 1.14-1.35), and non-union (OR 1.25; CI 1.17-1.33). In the patients with preoperative depression undergoing IMN, the complications associated with the greatest increased odds after were surgical site infections (OR 1.37; CI 1.31- 1.45), ED visit for pain (OR 1.31; CI 1.19-1.44), wound complications (OR 1.23; CI 1.10-1.39), and pneumonia (OR 1.22; CI 1.10-1.31). Conclusions: Preoperative depression in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery is associated with increased complications. Recognizing a patients' preoperative depression diagnosis can allow physicians to adapt perioperative and postoperative surveillance protocols for these higher risk patients. Further studies are warranted to investigate the degree to which depression is a modifiable risk factor


Purpose: To demonstrate the long-term safety and efficacy of transscleral intraocular lens (IOL) fixation combined with an Ahmed glaucoma drainage device implantation for patients with late IOL dislocation and high intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods: This is a retrospective report of a series of patients who underwent this combined surgery. The main outcome variables studied were change in visual acuity (VA), IOP, and number of medications compared with preoperative levels. Surgical failure was defined as a decrease in VA of at least 3 Snellen lines, IOP above 20 mm Hg or IOP reduction <25% from preoperative levels at ≥2 consecutive visits, at least 2 months apart. Results: Eleven patients with median age of 83 years (range, 77 to 92 y) were included in the study. All patients had a previous diagnosis of pseudoexfoliation. After a median follow-up time of 1.75 years (range, 0.83 to 2.5 y), the median IOP decreased from 33 mm Hg (range, 24 to 47 mm Hg) to 13 mm Hg (range, 5 to 16 mm Hg; P<0.01). The number of glaucoma medications also decreased from 3 (range, 1 to 4) to 2 (range, 0 to 4; P=0.03). The median log MAR VA improved from 0.77 (range, 0.3 to 2) preoperatively to 0.44 (range, 0 to 3) postoperatively (P=0.27). Four patients had postoperatory surgical complications: choroidal effusion (2), vitreous hemorrhage and hyphema (1), vertical diplopia (1). The survival probability over 2.5 years was 90.9% (confidence interval, 75.4%-100%). Conclusion: Transscleral IOL fixation associated with Ahmed glaucoma drainage device implantation is a safe and effective surgical option for patients with late IOL dislocation and elevated IOP.


Abstract Objective: Good oocyte quality and maturity are important prerequisites for high fertilization and implantation rates in IVF/ICSI treatment cycles. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced within ovarian follicles, especially during the ovulation process, and increased ROS activity may be a cause of impaired oocyte maturation and higher rate of failure of IVF/ICSI cycles. Study design: RCT evaluating the effect of antioxidant supplementation on ICSI/IVF outcomes. Two hundred and eighteen women with unexplained subfertility undergoing IVF/ICSI were randomized into two groups. The study group (n = 112) received daily oral antioxidants in the form of multivitamins and minerals (amino acid chelated) while the control group (n = 106) did not. Main outcomes were number of mature metaphase II (MII) oocytes and clinical pregnancy rate. Results: There were no significant changes between the groups as regards age, BMI, basal FSH, number of mature (MII) oocytes (12.7 ± 9.4 vs. 13.2 ± 8.6, P = 0.7) and clinical pregnancy rate per woman randomized (38% vs. 34%; [OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.70–2.11]. Conclusion: Oral antioxidants in the form of a combination of multivitamins and minerals (amino acid chelated) did not improve oocyte quality and pregnancy rates in women with unexplained infertility undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment.


Race and Performance after Repetition is a vital showcase of contemporary performance studies scholarship that reconsiders the intersection of performance, temporality, and racialization across a wide variety of contexts and arguments. The book articulates several new conceptual frameworks, such as dark reparation, parabolic performance, and dedouble.


To determine the stability of polyoma viral DNA in transformed rat cells during their growth in vivo, we compared the state and arrangement of polyoma virus DNA sequences in virus-transformed rat cell lines before and after their passage in vivo. In cell lines from 12 independent tumors induced by the inoculation of animals with three different transformed cell lines, we could detect no significant changes in the arrangement of viral DNA sequences associated with the in vivo passage of these cell lines. In 13 of 14 tumor cell lines examined, the pattern of polyoma virus tumor antigens, characterized by the presence of the polyoma virus large, middle, and small tumor antigens, was unchanged.


Starting with a simple generative model and the assumption of statistical independence of the underlying components, independent component analysis (ICA) decomposes a given set of observations by making use of the diversity in the data, typically in terms of statistical properties of the signal. Most of the ICA algorithms introduced to date have considered one of the two types of diversity: non-Gaussianity?i.e., higher-order statistics (HOS)?or, sample dependence. A recent generalization of ICA, independent vector analysis (IVA), generalizes ICA to multiple data sets and adds the use of one more diversity, dependence across multiple data sets for achieving an independent decomposition, jointly across multiple data sets. Finally, both ICA and IVA, when implemented in the complex domain, enjoy the addition of yet another type of diversity, noncircularity of the sources?underlying components. Mutual information rate provides a unifying framework such that all these statistical properties?types of diversity?can be jointly taken into account for achieving the independent decomposition. Most of the ICA methods developed to date can be cast as special cases under this umbrella, as well as the more recently developed IVA methods. In addition, this formulation allows us to make use of maximum likelihood theory to study large sample properties of the estimator, derive the Cramer-Rao lower bound(CRLB) and determine the conditions for the identifiability of the ICA and IVA models. In this overview article, we first present ICA, and then its generalization to multiple data sets, IVA, both using mutual information rate, present conditions for the identifiability of the given linear mixing model and derive the performance bounds. We address how various methods fall under this umbrella and give examples of performance for a few sample algorithms compared with the performance bound. We then discuss the importance of approaching the performance bound depending on the goal, and use medical image analysis as the motivating example.


The social milieu presents an increasing awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, encouraging clothing companies to adopt LGBTQ-themed products. In a predominantly Muslim country such as Kuwait, religion influences beliefs and practices towards the LGBTQ. Although studies reveal that the Quran indicates unclear teachings on the topic, most interpretations are negative. This study examined attitudes on the brand and ad with LGBTQ themes, and purchase intentions. The survey with 55 participants show mostly unfavorable attitudes towards this community. Their religious stance indicates an impact to their negative perceptions of the ad and the brand. Consequently, they also demonstrated no purchase intentions for the product with such themes. The study concludes that religious beliefs in Kuwait affect consumer behavior in brands, ads and purchase intentions for such products.


This article provides an overview of the evolution of the academic library workforce in the United States based on an examination of a selected number of studies of academic librarians. The overview illustrates the ongoing unmet needs that exist for comprehensive workforce data. The overview is followed by a discussion of the findings of a recent study entitled, "Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science" (WILIS) that gathered in-depth data about the careers of librarians who graduated over a forty year period from 1964 and 2007. Basic results of WILIS study for the academic library respondents are provided as an example of the type of detailed career data, including data related to recruitment and retention, that are needed to give educators, employers, and other stakeholders the information needed to plan effectively in a time of major demographic and workforce transition.


A Pulsational Pair-instability supernova (PPISN) evolves from a massive star with a mass ∼80–140 M⊙ that develops electron–positron pair-instability after hydrostatic He-burning in the core has finished. In Leung et al. (Paper I), we examined the evolutionary tracks and the pulsational mass-loss history of this class of stars. In this paper, we analyze the thermodynamical history to explore the neutrino observables of PPISNe. We compute the neutrino light curves and spectra during pulsation. We then study the detailed neutrino emission profiles of these stars and estimate the expected neutrino detection count for different terrestrial neutrino detectors, including, e.g., KamLAND and Super-Kamiokande. Finally, we compare the neutrino pattern of PPISN with other types of supernovae based on a canonical 10 kt detector. The predicted neutrino signals can provide an early warning for telescopes to trace for the early time optical signals. The implications of neutrino physics on the expected detection are also discussed.


essay examines problems of the canonization of women's literature, using two adaptations of Schiller's Maria Stuart: Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer's Elisabeth (1841) and Marie von Ebner- Eschenbach's Maria Stuart in Schottland (1860). The essay offers two interpretations (and critical analyses of these interpretations), one reading Birch-Pfeiffer's and Ebner-Eschenbach's plays as Schiller 'adaptions' and 'feminist' revisions of Schiller's conservative gender theories, the second contextualizing these plays within the tradition of women's historical dramas.


Synapse emulation is very important for realizing neuromorphic computing, which could overcome the energy and throughput limitations of today's computing architectures. Memristors have been extensively studied for using in nonvolatile memory storage and neuromorphic computing. In this paper, we report the fabrication of vertical sandwiched memristor device using ultrathin quasi-two-dimensional gallium oxide produced by squeegee method. The as-fabricated two-terminal memristor device exhibited the essential functions of biological synapses, such as depression and potentiation of synaptic weight, transition from short time memory to long time memory, spike-timing-dependent plasticity, and spike-rate-dependent plasticity. The synaptic weight of the memristor could be tuned by the applied voltage pulse, number, width, and frequency. We believe that the injection of the top Ag cations should play a significant role for the memristor phenomenon. The ultrathin of medium layer represents an advance to integration in vertical direction for future applications and our results provide an alternative way to fabricate synaptic devices.


The study investigated the prevalence of potentially pathogenic and drug resistant Escherichia coli among drinking water sources in Jordan. A total of 109 confirmed E. coli isolates were analyzed. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was done using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Phenotypic identification of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase production was done using the double disk synergy test and the modified Hodge test, respectively. Isolates' plasmid profiles were determined by gel electrophoresis. PCR was used for detection of virulence and resistance genes. Overall, 22.0% of the isolates were potentially intestinal pathogenic E. coli (IPEC); namely enteroaggregative E. coli (16.5%), enteropathogenic E. coli (2.8%), enteroinvasive E. coli (1.8%), and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (0.9%). A third of the isolates were multi-drug resistant. The highest rates of antimicrobials resistance were observed against ampicillin (93.6%) and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (41.3%). All isolates were susceptible to imipenem, meropenem, doripenem and tigecycline. The prevalence of ESBL and carbapenemase producers was 54.1% and 2.8%, respectively. BlaVIM was the most prevalent resistance gene (68.8%), followed by blaCTX (50.5%), blaTEM (45.9%), blaNDM (11%), blaKPC (4.6%), and blaSHV (0.9%). Fifty-eight (53.2%) isolates contained one or more plasmid ranging from 1.0 to 8.0 kbp. Overall, high prevalence of potentially pathogenic and resistant isolates was observed.


Over the last four years the number of known pulsating DA white dwarf stars increased from 32 to a total of 147; 87 are white dwarf stars identified by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and selected from fits of synthetic spectra from model atmospheres to the S/N<30 optical spectra. With time series photometric observations at the SOAR 4.1m telescope, we found 42 new pulsators, extending the instability strip in terms of effective temperature and surface gravity, but mainly in terms of very low amplitude pulsators. The discovery of 1.5 mma pulsators raises the necessity to re-observe all stars previously classified as non-pulsators close to or inside the instability strip, as their detection limits, in general, were above 3 mma. The real extent of the instability strip and its possible contamination with non-pulsators, specially at the borders, are still open questions.


Abstract Background Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and PML immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (PML-IRIS) can be a devastating neurologic process associated with HIV, but limited knowledge on their characteristics in the established antiretroviral (ART) era is available. We conducted a case series to evaluate the clinical course of PML and PML-IRIS at our urban safety-net hospital in Atlanta, GA. Methods All HIV-positive individuals with a positive JCV DNA PCR in the spinal fluid between May 1, 2013 to June 1, 2017 were identified through electronic medical records (EMR) query. Demographics, symptom presentation, laboratory data, imaging results, treatment, and outcomes were abstracted from the EMR. PML, and PML-IRIS were defined using the American Association of Neurology criteria. Results There were 26 patients included in this study, 15 (58%) HIV-positive patients with PML and 11 (42%) with PML-IRIS (2 with an unmasking presentation and 9 with a paradoxical presentation). The average age was 45 years, 23 (88%) were black, and 20 (77%) were male. Mean CD4 and HIV viral load were 65 cells/µL and 4.11 log10 copies/mL, respectively. The most common presenting symptoms were motor weakness (18, 69%), cognitive deficits (15, 58%), and dysarthria (11, 42%). Twenty-four (92%) patients had white matter changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Enhancement on MRI and presentation with ataxia, dysarthria, or motor or visual deficits were found to be associated with PML-IRIS. Eleven (42%) patients were on ART at the time of diagnosis, and 24 (92%) of patients were on ART afterward. Corticosteroids were used in 9 patients with PML-IRIS and in 3 with PML. Maraviroc was used in 3 patients with PML-IRIS. Presenting with speech deficits or visual changes, having edema on MRI, and developing PML-IRIS were each positively associated with progression to hospice or withdrawal of care, although these values were not statistically significant. Outcomes were dismal with 7/15 (46.7%) patients with PML and 9/11 (81.8%) with PML-IRIS dying or being referred to hospice. Conclusion Despite widespread access to ART, patients with PML continue to have poor outcomes, particularly among those who develop PML-IRIS. More research is needed to understand the risks for and prevention of PML-IRIS. Disclosures V. Marconi, ViiV: Investigator, Research support and salary. Bayer: Investigator, Research support. Gilead: Investigator, Research support.


A 72-year-old female was admitted to our outpatient clinic with the complaints of slowed movements and sudden speeding up of her walk. She was identified to have cavernous angioma with left basal ganglion localization. The patient did not demonstrate a levodopa response and refused to have surgical treatment. The cause underlying this clinical presentation was identified as the chronic pressure brought forward by the cavernous hemangioma. We present this patient as a case report, because cavernous angioma with basal ganglia localization is an unusual cause of secondary parkinsonism.


The cornea contains no vessels, which is a prerequisite for the maintenance of its transparency. Vessel ingrowth leads to opacification resulting in visual impairment, sometimes complete blindness. This important clinical problem affects patients of all ages and may be due to chronic inflammation, hypoxia, chemical injury, stem cell deficiency, infection, dry eyes, a loss of sensation or transplant rejection. Corneal neovascularisation (NV) may be inhibited by anti-inflammatory treatment but not completely reversed or prevented. Although angiogenic research has translated into the development of new promising drugs, a deeper knowledge of angiogesis is needed to define optimal treatment options and save vision. The present studies aimed to broaden the understanding of corneal angiogenesis on a molecular, cellular and tissue level. All three studies were based on an experimental mouse model were a transcorneal silk suture causes inflammation and NV. Genetically modified mice lacking functional genes (knockout mice) for matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) or interleukin-10 (IL-10) were used in the first two studies. In the third study the cornea model was an in vivo-part of an experiment cluster including the chick chorioallantoic membrane model (CAM), cell cultures, in-vitro gel-contraction and peptide-inhibitor experiments. The vessel visualization was performed with dye/ink perfusions and immunohystochemical stainings. NV was studied and quantified with a digital microscope with image analysis software, assessing spatiotemporal aspects. Studies of the inflammatory reaction were performed with immunohistochemistry for cellular markers while in-situ hybridization and real time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rt-PCR) were used for identification of mRNA for relevant target molecules. MMP-2, a member of an enzyme family essential for degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and the vascular basement membrane, acted as an angiogenic regulator in this model. NV correlated with increased expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein, both mainly found in activated keratocytes. In the second study, the anti-inflammatory and angio-regulatory cytokine IL-10 was found to act pro-angiogenically which could be explained neither by its anti-inflammatory effects nor by an apparent cross-talk with other potent angiogenic and immuno-modulatory factors. The third study revealed that tissue tension generated by activated myofibroblasts during wound contraction was able to mediate and direct the initial vascular invasion of the cornea and CAM-matrix gels through mainly vessel enlargement and elongation, independently of endothelial sprouting or proliferation. Neutralizing antibodies to vascular endothelial growth factor receptor -2 (VEGFR-2) could not prevent vessel ingrowth, while inhibition of gel contractibility did so. The results from this study may contribute to the already established theories on angiogenesis and this novel explanation model has been tentatively named "looping angiogenesis". Taken together, these studies show that corneal neovascularisation is dependent on both chemical signals and mechanical factors. Further investigations of the interaction between these mechanisms will hopefully broaden the understanding of the complex and vital biological process that angiongesis represents. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS The thesis is based on following original publications that will be referred to by their Roman numerals in the text. I. Samolov B, Steen B, Seregard S, van der Ploeg I, Montan P, Kvanta A. Delayed inflammation-associated neovascularization in MMP-2-deficient mice. Exp Eye Res. 2005 Feb; 80 (2): 159-166 II. Samolov B, Kvanta A, van der Ploeg I. Delayed neovascularization in inflammation induced corneal neovascularization in IL-10-deficient mice. Acta Ophthalmol. 2008 Nov 25 [Epub ahead of print] III. Kilarski WW, Samolov B, Petersson L, Kvanta A, Gerwins P. Biomechanical regulation of blood vessel growth during tissue vascularization. Nat Med. 2009 Jun; 15 (6): 657-64


A microRNA (miRNA) often regulates the expression of hundreds of target genes. A fundamental question in the field of miRNA research is whether a miRNA exerts its biological function through regulating a small number of key targets or through small changes in the expression of hundreds of target genes. We addressed this issue by performing functional analysis of target genes regulated by miR-148a. We previously identified miR-148a as a critical regulator of B cell central tolerance and found 119 target genes that may mediate its function. We selected 4 of them for validation and demonstrated a regulatory role for Bim, Pten, and Gadd45a in this process. In this study, we performed functional analysis of the other miR-148a target genes in in vitro and in vivo models of B cell central tolerance. Our results show that those additional target genes play a minimal role, if any, in miR-148a-mediated control of B cell central tolerance, suggesting that the function of miRNAs is mediated by a few key target genes. These findings have advanced our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying miRNA regulation of gene expression and B cell central tolerance.


Boc-Ser(PO3Tc2)-OH, Z-Ser(PO3Tc2)-OH and Fmoc-Ser(PO3Tc2)-OH, derivatives useful for peptide synthesis, have been obtained in high yields by acylation of H-Ser(PO3Tc2)-OH.CF3COOH. The latter was obtained from Boc- or Z-Ser(PO3Tc2)-OBzl by simultaneous removal of the amino- and carboxy-protecting groups by Pd-catalyzed hydrogenolysis in acetic acid-trifluoroacetic acid solution. Removal of the Tc-protecting group was efficiently achieved by hydrogenolysis in aqueous ethanol.


Purpose. Preparation of brief scientific and technical review about sources, retrospective view, basic stages, achievements, problems, trends and prospects of development of world electronics for period of 20th-21st centuries. Methodology. Known scientific methods of collection, analysis and analytical treatment of the opened scientific and technical information of world level in area of a vacuum electronics, semiconductor electronics, vacuum microelectronics and nanoelectronics, and also optical electronics. Results. A brief analytical scientific and technical review is resulted about the primary and present states, achievements, trends and prospects of development of electronics in the developed countries of the world. From positions of approach of the systems advantages and lacks of semiconductor microelectronics are described as compared to a vacuum electronics. Considerable progress is marked in development of semiconductor element base (microtransistors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and other) for creation of different electronic devices and computing engineering. Information, touching the determining deposit of electronic companies of the «Silicon Valley» in the USA in providing of technological breach in area of modern microelectronics, production of computers and their microprocessors, software and creation of devices of mobile communication development, is resulted. The basic problems of space microelectronics are affected. The possible ways of further development are indicated in the world of electronics, including vacuum microelectronics and nanoelectronics, and also optical electronics. The special attention is turned for urgent development of high-efficiency protective facilities specialists against cyber attacks hackers on the computer systems. In a review an accent is done on the sharp necessity of acceptance the proper services of drastic measures for a fight with cyber terrorism. Originality. Systematization of the scientific and technical materials touching world history of development and creation of modern element base of a vacuum electronics and semiconductor microelectronics known from the sources opened in outer informative space is executed. Possible new perspective directions of development in the modern world of microelectronics are formulated. Practical value. Popularization and deepening for students, engineer and technical specialists and research workers of front-rank scientific and technical knowledge in the topical area of development, creation and application in the modern technique of the different setting of high-computer-integrated electronic devices, extending their scientific range of interests and further development of scientific and technical progress in society. References 34, figures 22.


Giving the different situations that are generated by armed conflict in Colombia, much people have been violated their rights in the exercise of their citizenship, for this reason, the forced displacement in Colombia has had a vision from the Constitutional to the policies formulation that ensure that this population has been forced to migrate, can enjoy all their rights again and to exercise their citizenship. This is where the law initially is responsible to bind the different State institutions to serve this population to later serve as tools for social innovation and institutional development in the public policies formulation focused in this population.


Background: The COVID-19 pandemic hit the German education system unexpectedly and forced its universities to shift to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). The Data Integration Center (DIC) of the University Hospital Magdeburg and the Institute of Biometry and Medical Informatics (IBMI) has developed a concept based on existing structures that can be quickly implemented and used by the Medical Faculty at Otto von Guericke University. This manuscript focuses on the IT support for lecturers, which allows them to concentrate on teaching their lessons, although the authors are aware that this is only a small part of the entire subject. Additionally, there is a great awareness that ERT can never replace well-structured in-person classes. Concept: The key feature of the concept uses the well-working management system for all physical rooms of the university by designing a virtual video conference room for every physical room. This allows high interactivity for lectures and seminars while applying proven teaching methods. Additionally, a collaboration software system to document all lessons learned and a technical support team have been available for the teaching staff. Courses with a hands-on approach require more personal interaction than lectures. Therefore, the issues of practical trainings have not been solved with this concept, but been tackled by using questionnaires and minimizing contacts during attestations. Applied IT tools: The concept's requirements were met by Zoom Meetings, Confluence, HIS/LSF and Moodle. Discussion and Conclusion: The concept helped the lecturers to provide high-quality teaching for students at universities. Additionally, it allows for a dynamic response to new needs and problems. The concept will be reviewed as part of a higher Universal Design for Learning concept and may support lecturers in the following semesters in hybrid meetings with real and virtual attendees.


A fully integrated single-chip SiGe BiCMOS 12.5 Gbaud serializer/deserializer operates with sub-picosecond PLL jitter and error rates below 5e-14 with both transmit and receive channels active. The chip includes a 12.5 GHz clock multiplier, a 12.5 Gbaud clock and data recovery circuit, a 16:1 multiplexer, 1:16 demultiplexer, and integrated test features. The die area is 6.1 mm/spl times/6.1 mm and consumes 3.3 W from a 3.3 V supply in normal operating mode.


due attention paid to the difference (so often ignored in work on Tudor drama) between plays as performance and as printed objects. An appendix on censorship shows that there is little evidence of concern to suppress plays in printed form: performance was what moved political and religious authorities to acts of censorship or prohibition, and the impact of printed playbooks as potentially 'harmful' literature was minimal by comparison. Another appendix presents a useful bibliography of the 81 surviving plays from the period before 1580, the majority being originally written for performance in a great hall. Admirers of Walker's Plays of Persuasion (1991) will seize on this book with delight and much profit.


We study the feature extraction of moving targets in the presence of temporally and spatially correlated ground clutter for airborne high-range resolution (HRR) phased-array radar. To avoid the range migration problems that occur in HRR radar data, we first divide the HRR range profiles into low-range resolution (LRR) segments. Since each LRR segment contains a sequence of HRR range bins, no information is lost due to the division, and hence, no loss of resolution occurs. We show how to use a vector auto-regressive (VAR) filtering technique to suppress the ground clutter, Then, a parameter estimation algorithm is proposed for target feature extraction. From the VAR-filtered data, the target Doppler frequency and the spatial signature vectors are first estimated by using a maximum likelihood (ML) method. The target phase history and direction-of-arrival (DOA) (or the array steering vector for an unknown array manifold) are then estimated from the spatial signature vectors by minimizing a weighted least squares (WLS) cost function. The target radar cross section (RCS)-related complex amplitude and range-related frequency of each target scatterer are then extracted from the estimated target phase history by using RELAX, which is a relaxation-based high-resolution feature extraction algorithm. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.


Dyes are usually difficult to be decolorized due to their complex chemical structures. In this work, recombinant CotA laccase was purified from Escherichia coli to evaluate its application in dye decolorization. Factors influencing laccase expression, such as induction temperature, phosphate buffer (pH), copper concentration and isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentration, were investigated. The recombinant laccase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity, and was estimated to have a molecular mass about 67.5 kDa. The CotA protein was stained red by syringaldazine after Native-PAGE. The purified enzyme showed a similar behaviour to the spores laccase produced by Bacillus subtilis WD23. Using syringaldazine as the substrate to determine the CotA laccase activity, the optimum pH and temperature were 7.2 and 45°C, respectively. High laccase activity was maintained in a pH range from 6.0~7.6. The temperature half-life of the CotA laccases was 95 min at 80°C. The pH half-life was 8 h at pH 9.0 he CotA laccase was strongly inhibited by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and methyl alcohol. The CotA laccase could efficiently decolorize anthraquinone and azo dyes in 24 h. The decolourization capacity of this recombinant laccase suggested that it could be a useful biocatalyst for the treatment of dye-containing effluents.


A pulsed ferroelectric electron cathode with a current density of up to 45 A based on ceramic is presented. The experimental set-up for the cathode triggering allowed us to achieve a perveance of more than P and an energy spread in the generated electron beam as low as 100 eV (FWHM).


The ability of the 125I-C1q binding test to detect soluble antigen-antibody complexes formed in vitro was tested with two antigen-antibody systems. Using tetanus toxoid:anti-toxoid complexes, all of the increased 125I-C1q binding activity was due to soluble immunoglobulin aggregates present in the unheated tetanus immune globulin. Using BSA:anti-BSA complexes, maximum 125I-C1q binding activity was present in the soluble supernatants from the equivalence zone. No immune complexes were present in these supernatants and the increased activity appeared to be due to alterations in endogenous C1 during the formation of large, insoluble immune complexes. The 125I-C1q binding test readily detected large, insoluble BSA:anti-BSA complexes but may not detect small, soluble complexes which have been suggested to be important in disease pathogenesis.


Background: Pitching injuries continue to be a serious problem, with adolescents now representing the group with the most injuries. Some have proposed that lowering or eliminating the pitching mound in youth baseball may reduce joint stress and subsequent injuries. Another potential risk factor is advancing from youth to adult pitching distance without an intermediate distance. Hypotheses: It was hypothesized that for a group of young pitchers, pitching kinetics and kinematics would change with mound height. It was also hypothesized that pitching kinetics and kinematics would change with pitching distance. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Twenty-one young (12.6 ± 0.5 years) baseball pitchers pitched 5 full-effort fastballs each from 5 different conditions, in random order: 14.02-, 16.46-, and 18.44-m distances from a 25 cm–high mound, 16.46-m distance from a 15 cm–high mound, and 16.46-m distance from flat ground. Pitching biomechanical values were collected with a 12-camera automated motion capture system. Ball velocity and 31 other parameters were computed for each pitch. Data were compared between the 3 mound heights at 16.46 m by use of repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired post hoc t tests (P < .05). Similarly, data were compared between the 3 distances from the 25-cm mound via repeated-measures analysis of variance and paired post hoc t tests (P < .05). Results: No differences were found in ball velocity, shoulder kinetics, or elbow kinetics associated with mound height. Ten kinematic parameters differed with mound height, including 8 parameters at lead foot contact. Maximum shoulder horizontal adduction torque and maximum shoulder anterior force increased with pitching distance. Only 3 kinematic parameters showed significant differences with pitching distance. Conclusion: The hypothesis that shoulder and elbow kinetics would change with mound height was not supported by the data. Several kinematic differences were found, but the majority were at lead foot contact before the rapid, dynamic phases of pitching. Change in pitching distance was associated with slight increase in shoulder kinetics as well as a few kinematic differences. Clinical Relevance: Lowering or eliminating pitching mounds in youth baseball would not significantly decrease joint stress and injury risk to young pitchers. However, when available, transition from 14.02-m to 16.46-m to 18.44-m pitching distance may reduce stress on the young throwing shoulder.


The infrequency with which malignant tumors present histological features indicating that they are composed of both carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements is so striking that at times the existence of true mixed sarcoma and carcinoma has been questioned. Carcinoma cells so readily and so frequently resemble mesoblastic elements, whether from pressure or from lack of differentiation, that it is usually possible to raise a doubt as to whether the supposed sarcomatous elements are really such or merely deceptively altered epithelial cells. Our available means for differentiating epithelial and sarcomatous elements are still so defective (1) that a positive proof cannot usually be offered in support of a diagnosis of mixed sarcoma and carcinoma, especially in the case of advanced spontaneous tumors.

There is surely no a priori reason to be advanced against the existence of mixed sarcoma and carcinoma. On the contrary, there is abundant reason to expect them to be much more frequent than they seem to be. The study of experimentally incited neoplasms has shown that the same stimulating agent, whether tar or roentgen rays, may incite the appearance of either sarcoma or carcinoma, and both have been observed to occur in the same individual under X-ray stimulation. The growth of carcinoma incites proliferative activity of connective tissue to form the stroma for the epithelial structure, and often the fibrous tissue growth vastly exceeds in volume the epithelial growth. Chronic inflammation in the adjacent connective tissues is a prominent feature of so many forms of carcinoma that it is perhaps surprising that sarcomatous change is not a common occurrence in and about carcinomas. Nevertheless such a process is seldom observed, despite all these favoring conditions. Possibly this depends on the fact, observed by those who have worked with the heredity of spontaneous tumors, that some strains of animals are susceptible chiefly to one type of tumor. Most of the strains of mice with mammary gland carcinoma have seemed to suffer infrequently from any other sort of tumor. Maud Slye has described strains of mice that exhibit chiefly sarcoma and others only carcinoma. Apparently such mice are not susceptible to the formation of both types of neoplasm, and hence the stimulation of connective tissue proliferation by a carcinoma fails to incite sarcoma development, and the skin over a sarcoma does not become carcinomatous despite the increased trauma to which it is subjected because of its outward displacement.


There are many classical random walk in random environment results that apply to ergodic random planar environments. We extend some of these results to random environments in which the length scale varies from place to place, so that the law of the environment is in a certain sense only translation invariant modulo scaling. For our purposes, an "environment" consists of an infinite random planar map embedded in $\mathbb C$, each of whose edges comes with a positive real conductance. Our main result is that under modest constraints (translation invariance modulo scaling together with the finiteness of a type of specific energy) a random walk in this kind of environment converges to Brownian motion modulo time parameterization in the quenched sense.
Environments of the type considered here arise naturally in the study of random planar maps and Liouville quantum gravity. In fact, the results of this paper are used in separate works to prove that certain random planar maps (embedded in the plane via the so-called Tutte embedding) have scaling limits given by SLE-decorated Liouville quantum gravity, and also to provide a more explicit construction of Brownian motion on the Brownian map. However, the results of this paper are much more general and can be read independently of that program.
One general consequence of our main result is that if a translation invariant (modulo scaling) random embedded planar map and its dual have finite energy per area, then they are close on large scales to a minimal energy embedding (the harmonic embedding). To establish Brownian motion convergence for an infinite energy embedding, it suffices to show that one can perturb it to make the energy finite.


Background Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a ubiquitous vaginal discomfort and has overlapping symptoms with other reproductive tract infections. The World Health Organization suggested a symptomatic approach for diagnosing BV with insufficient laboratory setup. However, due to symptom overlap, BV is often misled and ends up with injudicious drug application. Objective The study aims to identify the most relevant symptoms and behavioral risk factors associated with BV in tertiary healthcare settings in West Bengal, India. It also seeks to develop a scoring system based on clinical symptoms to screen for BV, especially when laboratory facilities are limited. Methodology The study is a retrospective case-control study involving 95 women of reproductive age. It employs both univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models to identify risk factors and symptoms associated with BV. The study also compares these clinical symptoms with laboratory tests (Amsel's test) and attempts to create a scoring system for BV diagnosis. Key Findings Good menstrual hygiene and condom use were identified as key behavioral practices reducing the risk of BV. Four clinical symptoms, like malodor (P = 0.007), lower abdominal pain (P = 0.015), abnormal vaginal discharge (P = 0.071), and painful intercourse (P = 0.08), were identified as notable predictors. Based on these four symptoms, the scoring system showed a sensitivity of 88.2%, a specificity of 67.25%, and an overall accuracy of 74.7%. An additional diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) revealed that the odds of malodor (P= 0.006) and burning sensation (P= 0.011) increased significantly during co-infection.


Objective To analyze the characteristics of children with acute viral bronchiolitis subjected to mechanical ventilation for three consecutive years and to correlate their progression with mechanical ventilation parameters and fluid balance. Methods Longitudinal study of a series of infants (< one year old) subjected to mechanical ventilation for acute viral bronchitis from January 2012 to September 2014 in the pediatric intensive care unit. The children's clinical records were reviewed, and their anthropometric data, mechanical ventilation parameters, fluid balance, clinical progression, and major complications were recorded. Results Sixty-six infants (3.0 ± 2.0 months old and with an average weight of 4.7 ± 1.4kg) were included, of whom 62% were boys; a virus was identified in 86%. The average duration of mechanical ventilation was 6.5 ± 2.9 days, and the average length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit was 9.1 ± 3.5 days; the mortality rate was 1.5% (1/66). The peak inspiratory pressure remained at 30cmH2O during the first four days of mechanical ventilation and then decreased before extubation (25 cmH2O; p < 0.05). Pneumothorax occurred in 10% of the sample and extubation failure in 9%, which was due to upper airway obstruction in half of the cases. The cumulative fluid balance on mechanical ventilation day four was 402 ± 254mL, which corresponds to an increase of 9.0 ± 5.9% in body weight. Thirty-seven patients (56%) exhibited a weight gain of 10% or more, which was not significantly associated with the ventilation parameters on mechanical ventilation day four, extubation failure, duration of mechanical ventilation or length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit. Conclusion The rate of mechanical ventilation for acute viral bronchiolitis remains constant, being associated with low mortality, few adverse effects, and positive cumulative fluid balance during the first days. Better fluid control might reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation.


Research on computer-based recognition of ordinary household activities of daily living (ADLs) has been spurred by the need for technology to support care of the elderly in the home environment. We address the issue of recognizing ADLs at multiple levels of detail by combining multiview computer vision and RFID-based direct sensors. Multiple places in our smart home testbed are covered by distributed synchronized cameras with different imaging resolutions. Learning object appearance models without costly manual labeling is achieved by applying the RFID sensing. A hierarchical recognition scheme is proposed by building a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) that encompasses both coarse-level and fine-level ADL recognition. Advantages of the proposed approach include robust segmentation of objects, view-independent tracking and representation of objects and persons in 3D space, efficient handling of occlusion, and the recognition of human activity at both a coarse and fine level of detail.


This paper proposes a novel compact MIMO antenna which has miniaturized radiators and their row correlation coefficient, working for the LTE mobile communication, and its SAR is observed. Each of the proposed radiators has a shape of staircase and the bandwidth is twice larger than the conventional PIFA as 600MHz(21%) in 2.5 GHz - 3.15 GHz. And the area of the radiators is 16.5mm ⅹ 9.7mm proper for a handheld device. Also, by adding a planar mushroom decoupling structure between the radiators, the isolation is improved. The design has been carried out using the commercial full-wave time-domain EM solver and the finalized MIMO antenna has the return loss less than -10 dB in the LTE band, the isolation better than 20 dB and the efficiency more than 90% with the gain of 4.3 dB. Regarding the SAR of the antenna, it is observed that the average SAR value of 1g is estimated as 1.37W/Kg, which is lower than the SAR standard.


Automatic person re-identification (re-id) across camera boundaries is a challenging problem. Approaches have to be robust against many factors which influence the visual appearance of a person but are not relevant to the person's identity. Examples for such factors are pose, camera angles, and lighting conditions. Person attributes are a semantic high level information which is invariant across many such influences and contain information which is often highly relevant to a person's identity. In this work we develop a re-id approach which leverages the information contained in automatically detected attributes. We train an attribute classifier on separate data and include its responses into the training process of our person re-id model which is based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). This allows us to learn a person representation which contains information complementary to that contained within the attributes. Our approach is able to identify attributes which perform most reliably for re-id and focus on them accordingly. We demonstrate the performance improvement gained through use of the attribute information on multiple large-scale datasets and report insights into which attributes are most relevant for person re-id.


In this paper, software architecture for multisensor fusion system (MFS) in dynamic environment is described. The architecture has the characteristics of robustness, dynamically reconfigurable framework, "plug-in-play" for sensor, and predictability of sensor action. According to requirements of MFS, the real-time operating system (RTOS) is applied in this software architecture. The result is an RTOS-based software architecture, which consists of five kinds of tasks: sensor sampling task (SST), sensor data processing task (SDPT), fusion task (FT), management task (MT) and man/machine interface task (MMIT). A calligraphic robot has been designed and developed in our lab based on the software architecture proposed. The application of the architecture makes the sensor management of the calligraphic robot system easy.


Natural populations may be managed by humans for a number of reasons, with mathematical modelling playing an increasing role in the planning of such management and control strategies. In an increasingly heterogeneous, or 'patchy' landscape, the interactions between distinct groups of individuals must be taken into account to predict meaningful management strategies. Invasive control strategies, involving reduction of populations, such as harvesting or culling have been shown to cause a level of disturbance, or spatial perturbation, to these groups, a factor which is largely ignored in the modelling literature. In this thesis, we present a series of deterministic, differential equation models which are used to investigate the impact of this disturbance in response to control. We address this impact in two scenarios. Firstly, in terms of a harvested population, where extinction must be prevented whilst maximising the yield obtained. Secondly, we address the impact of disturbance in an epidemic model, where the aim of the control strategy is to eradicate an endemic pathogen, or to prevent the invasion of a pathogen into a susceptible population. The movement of individuals between patches is modelled as both a constant rate, and a function which is increasing with population density. Finally, we discuss the 'optimal' control strategy in this context. We find that, whilst a population harvested from a coupled system is able to produce an inflated yield, this coupling can also cause the population to be more resistant to higher harvesting efforts, increasing the effort required to drive the population to extinction. Spatial perturbation raises this extinction threshold further still, providing a survival mechanism not only for the individuals that avoid being killed, but for the population as a whole. With regards to the eradication of disease, we show that disturbance may either raise or lower the pathogen exclusion threshold depending on the particular characteristics of the pathogen. In certain cases, we have shown that spatial perturbation may force a population to be susceptible to an infectious invasion where its natural carrying capacity would prevent this.


Modem technical education in British Columbia has been affected by two societal trends: in industry, engineering technology evolved as a discipline to bridge the increasing chasm between the process-oriented skill sets of tradespersons/technicians, and the declarative knowledge focus of engineering; in education, the provincial college and institute system was created to address the need for a new post-secondary credential situated between trades certificates and university degrees. The Applied Science Technologist arguably forms the intersection of these two concepts. Almost forty years after its inception, it is timely to ask if the original model has matured into a distinct occupational category in industry, education, and in the public mind. The thesis proposes three environments, the Formative, Market and Public Domain, respectively. Interviews, surveys and personal experience afforded insights into the dynamics of these domains with respect to a fledgling occupational category, while the socio-philosophical concepts of culture, habitus and social imaginary provide the tools to interpret the findings. The thesis postulates that an emerging occupational category will not only challenge existing cultures and habitus, but that over time it will influence the imaginaries of each domain and society as a whole. Ultimately, the occupational category will be truly successful only when the general public is able to distinguish it from related disciplines. Charles Taylor's writings on multiculturalism are used to discuss identity and recognition of the Applied Science Technologist in each domain while Pierre Bourdieu's perspectives on the existence of habitus and self-proliferating elites form the framework to examine the relationships between technologists and engineers. Taylor's theory of multiple concurrent social imaginaries guides the comparison of divergent expectations among academic, career and vocational instructors at British Columbia's colleges. The thesis concludes with recommendations for the sustainability of the Applied Science Technologist as distinct occupational category.


In this work, we apply the advantage distillation method to improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system under collective attack. Compared with the previous analysis result given by Maeda, Sasaki and Koashi [Nature Communication 10, 3140 (2019)], the maximal transmission distance obtained by our analysis method will be increased from 420 km to 470 km. By increasing the loss-independent misalignment error to 12%, the previous analysis method can not overcome the rate-distance bound. However, our analysis method can still overcome the rate-distance bound when the misalignment error is 16%. More surprisingly, we prove that twin-field quantum key distribution can generate positive secure key even if the misalignment error is close to 50%, thus our analysis method can significantly improve the performance of a practical twin-field quantum key distribution system.


Antireflection (AR) coatings can be incorporated into highly transmitting glazings that, depending upon their cost, performance, and durability of optical properties, can be economically viable in solar collectors, agricultural greenhouses, and PV systems. A number of AR-coated glazings have been prepared under the auspices of the International Energy Agency Working Group on Durability of Materials for Solar Thermal Collectors. The AR coatings are of two types, including (1) various sol-gels applied to glass and (2) an embossed treatment of sheet acrylic. Typically, for unweathered glazings, a 4 - 5% increase in solar-weighted transmittance has been achieved. For AR-coated glass, reflectance values as low as 0.5% - 0.7% at selected wavelengths (680 - 720 nm) were obtained. To determine the durability of the hemispherical transmittance, several collaborating countries are testing these materials both outdoors and in accelerated weathering chambers. All materials exposed outdoors are affixed to mini-collector boxes to simulate flat-plate collector conditions. Results for candidate AR coatings weathered at geographically disperse outdoor test sites exhibit changes in spectral transmittance primarily in the high visible range (600 - 700 nm). Accelerated testing at measured levels of simulated solar irradiance, and at different constant levels of temperature and relative humidity have been performed in different countries. Parallel testing with different levels of laboratory-controlled relevant stress factors permits the time-dependent performance of these materials to be compared with measured results from in-service outdoor exposure conditions. Coating adhesion and performance loss resulting from dirt and dust retention are also discussed.


Through a small-scale exploratory study, this paper presents findings from research that examined perceptions of the prevalence of drugs, both illicit and licit, and associated fear of crime. Through qualitative focus groups with members of a regional town in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the study sought to examine perceptions of drug use based on personal knowledge and again, after official data of actual detected drug use was presented to compare the impact official data had on participants' perceptions. The study also sought to gauge the fear of crime experienced by participants' pre and post the presentation of official data on drug use, thus supporting an examination between the relationship of moral panic and the fear of crime. Using thematic analysis as the analytical approach, the study found that original perceptions of prevalence were inflated when compared to community perceptions/ understanding post presentation of official drug use data. However, presentation of official data did not alter participants' levels of fear regarding drug use and related crime. This research provides evidence that fear of crime levels do not necessarily reduce when a more accurate perception and understanding of drug use and associated offending is harvested.


The aim of this article is to revisit and redefine the scope of a Kantian rights-based theory to include non-human animals. Generally, rights-based theories are predicated on a Kantian deontology that excludes all but rational subjects from possessing of basic rights. Historically, non-human animals—once thought to act on impulse and desire alone—have been excluded from rights-based considerations. However, more recent literature from emotions theorist Martha Nussbaum suggests an alternative picture for non-human animals. Cognitivist theories like Nussbaum's, alongside intensive scientific research, support the notion that non-human animals show signs of intentionality and possess the capacity to emote. If Nussbaum's theory is correct that emotions are indeed intelligent, potentially rational, evaluative judgments, then non-human animals are in fact rational agents. Therefore, non-human animals should be granted limited protections under a deontological moral framework. Ultimately, I shall detail what these limited protections might look like.


Background: Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene, localized in chromosome 11q22-23 is a key player in the signaling response to double strand breaks (DSBs). Impaired DSB repair due to ATM deficiency in tumor cells may lead to a wider application of the ''synthetic lethality'' approach seen with PARP inhibitors in BRCA-deficient tumors. Targeting DNA repair mechanisms with specific small molecule inhibitors will in principle sensitize tumor cells to DNA-damaging agents such as radiation. Radiation therapy remains the most common treatment of choice for head and neck cancers; however, there is still a large scope for improvement. Loss of distal 11q chromosome and subsequent ATM deficiency has been reported in primary head and neck tumors. Therefore, there are two aims to this work. First, we will establish the potential of targeting this cellular deficiency with the potent poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib; second, we will determine the prognostic significance of ATM deficiency in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing radiotherapy. Methods: A panel of 10 HNSCC cell lines was screened for sensitivity to radiation in combination with olaparib by clonogenic survival assay in normoxic and anoxic conditions. The effect of olaparib as a single agent was also assessed in a PE/CA PJ34 (ATM deficient) xenograft model. A panel of 155 HNSCC biopsies taken prior to treatment with radiotherapy and where 5 year outcome data was available were used for ATM expression analysis by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Olaparib enhanced the effect of ionizing radiation (IR) in all HNSCC cell lines. In vitro, the increase in sensitivity to 2Gy after olaparib treatment ranged between 1.5- and 8.4-fold in normoxia and between 1.2- and 3.9-fold in anoxia. In vivo, administration of olaparib (50mg/kg p.o) as a single agent in PE/CA PJ34 xenografts daily for 5 days caused a substantial increase in tumor growth delay compared to vehicle alone. The IHC and FISH studies of the 155 HNSCC biopsies showed a variable level of ATM deficiency and the prognostic significance (if any) of these observations are being established. Conclusion: We demonstrate that olaparib is a promising candidate as a single agent in tumors with ATM deficiency, and given the radiosensitizing effects in vitro and in vivo it warrants consideration for combining with radiation for the treatment of HNSCC. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5088. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-5088


Systematic trends are apparent when studying the self-calibration residuals of many modern static terrestrial laser scanners. Since the operation of terrestrial laser scanners is comparable to an efficient robotic total station, the sensor modelling parameters are developed in the spherical coordinate system where the raw observables of the scanner are range, horizontal angle, and vertical angle. Sensor calibration parameters are already well established for both hybrid and panoramic type laser scanners through the signalized target-based self-calibration method. In this paper, a less labour-intensive and more efficient planar-feature based terrestrial laser scanner self-calibration method, which is more suitable for in-situ self-calibration, is presented. Through simulation it will be demonstrated that the point-based self-calibration and plane-based self-calibration shares many common characteristics. Plane-based self-calibration results from real data captured with the panoramic type Leica HDS6100 and hybrid type Trimble GS200 scanner are also presented to show the practicality of the proposed method and as a comparison to the point-based self-calibration.


The suspension of solid TLD microcrystals in a liquid medium offers considerable advantages in radiation dosimetry. This paper describes the characteristics of an aqueous suspension of a thermoluminescent grade of LiF. Although the thermoluminescent parameters of a given phosphor are changed after contact with water and the subsequent preparation procedures, the system may be used in practice, and a method for its routine use is described.


AIM
To assess sustained virological response (SVR) rates in a predominantly hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 infected population.

METHODS
Between 2003-2007, 240 patients who were treated for chronic hepatitis C infection at our center were included. Epidemiological data, viral genotypes, and treatment outcomes were evaluated in all treated patients. Patients with chronic renal failure, previous non-responders, and those who relapsed after previous treatment were excluded from the study. Among all patients, 57% were treated with PEG-interferon (IFN) alpha-2a and 43% patients were treated with PEG-IFN alpha-2b; both groups received a standard dose of ribavirin.

RESULTS
89.6% of patients completed the treatment with an overall SVR rate of 58%. The SVR rate was 54% in genotype 1, 44% in genotype 2, 73% in genotype 3, and 59% in genotype 4 patients. There was no statistical difference in the SVR rate between patients treated with PEG-IFN alpha-2a and PEG-IFN alpha-2b (61.5% vs 53%). Patients younger than 40 years had higher SVR rates than older patients (75% vs 51%, P = 0.001). SVR was also statistically significantly higher when the HCV RNA load (pretreatment) was below 800.000 (64% vs 50%, P = 0.023), in patients with a body mass index (BMI) less than 28 (65% vs 49%, P = 0.01), and in patients who completed the treatment duration (64% vs 8%, P <or= 0.00001).

CONCLUSION
The SVR rate in our study is higher than in previous studies. Compliance with the standard duration of treatment, higher ribavirin dose, younger age, lower BMI, and low pretreatment RNA levels were associated with a higher virological response.


Features of growth of microorganisms on a nutrient medium and their microscopic researches were studied. Cavitation treatment (22 kHz, 91 W, 1.65 W/сm3) of water with the simultaneous action of bubbled inert gases (argon and helium) on the viability of microbial cells (Diplococcus and Sarcina) are presented. The highest water disinfection was obtained for water samples with Sarcina lutea cells for both used gases under cavitation conditions. Both investigated types of cocci bacteria were destroyed faster under Ar/US-action after comparison of the effectiveness of the gas nature action on the water disinfection.


The discovery of antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for people living with HIV (PLHIV) is one of the best success stories of medical research in recent years. It has changed the way in which HIV is viewed—from that of a death sentence to a chronic illness. However, lifelong treatment requires constant access to newer drug regimens, as an HIV-infected person either develops serious side effects, or the virus becomes resistant to the drugs. While patients in developed countries have treatment options, the same cannot be claimed for those in developing countries. With more than twenty approved antiretroviral drugs, the global HIV drug market is estimated to approach $16 billion by 2016. Yet, not all ARVs, especially newer and more potent treatments, are licensed or available in every country, particularly in the global South. Why is there such a gap in access to treatment between industrialized and developing countries? Why are newer, more potent, less toxic ARVs not available to PLHIV in the global South? How can this growing disconnect between treatment options be altered?


The present invention relates to the use of compounds of general formula (I) as ligands to the melanocortin receptors and/or for treatment of disorders in the melanocortin system: wherein X is H or OH; R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are the same or different and are selected from hydrogen, halogen, alkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, electron donor groups such as alkoxy having 1-5 carbon atoms or hydroxy, electron acceptor groups selected from cyano, nitro, trifluoroalkyl or amide; alkylamino, benzoyloxy, nitroxy, phenyl or sulpho; and the pharmacologically active salts thereof;


Background ASAS partial remission is relevant treatment target for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) patients. Objectives Objective of this study was to assess ASAS partial remission ratio during anti-TNF treatment in real life experience. Second objective was to assess related factors of ASAS partial remission at both AS and AxSpA. Methods HUR-BIO (Hacettepe University Rheumatology Biologic Registry) is a single center biological registry since 2005. HUR-BIO includes patients with AS and AxSpA under anti-TNF drugs. HUR-BIO biological dataset included demographic data, education level, co-morbidities, smoking status. After september 2012, outcome measures of ASAS were recorded regularly every six months or during switched of anti-TNF. Outcome measures of HUR-BIO include BASDAI, BASDAI 2, 5 and 6. questions, BASFI, VAS global, VAS pain, VAS fatique, ESR and CRP. ASAS partial remission was defined as less than 20/100 mm of BASFI, back pain, morning stiffness and VAS global. ASAS partial remission was calculated according to last control visit of patients. Results There were 874 patients (747 AS and 127 AxSpA) in HUR-BIO dataset. Among 716 of 874 (81.9%) patients [602 (84.1%) and AxSPA 115 (15.9%)] had at least one control visit during last 2 years. Overall, 452 of those 716 (63.1%) patients were male. Mean age (41.3±11.3 vs 35.5±9.7, p<0.001), mean disease duration (9.8±7.3 vs 4.3±2.9, p<0.001), and mean symptom duration (14.3±8.8 vs 7.8±6.6, p<0.001) were higher at AS than AxSpA patients. Initial anti-TNF drugs were etanercept 249 (34.8%), adalimumab 197 (27.5%), infliximab 208 (29.1%) and golimumab 62 (8.6%). Anti-TNF switch was found 207 (28.9%) of patients. ASAS partial remission was found at 205 (28.6%) patients (29.7% vs 22.8%, p=0.13, for AS and AxSpA, respectively). Results of univariate analysis related with ASAS remission was shown at table 1. In logistic regression analysis, positive HLA-B27 OR 3.76 (CI 95% 1.34-10.56, p=0.012), baseline CRP upper than normal limit OR 4.65 (CI 95%, 1.67-12.95, p=0.003) and disease duration less than 5 years OR 0.32 (95%CI 0.14-0.77, P=0.01) were related with ASAS partial remission. Conclusions At real life experience, ASAS partial remission was reached only almost 29% of AS and 23% of AxSpA patients. We should keep in mind that, almost 20% of patients were not followed in HUR-BIO and analysis was performed only patients with continue anti-TNF treatments. Patients with HLA B27 positive, high baseline CRP and disease duration less than 5 years were candidate for remission. Disclosure of Interest None declared


A 64-year-old man having backbone pain was referred to our institute, and laboratory examinations revealed that he was suffering from severe renal failure. Abdomino-pelvic CT revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, a giant prostate over 500 g in weight, and multiple para-aortic lymph node metastasis. Histological diagnosis of the prostate was small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level was slightly high reflecting the positive immunohistochemical staining, but serum PSA remained within normal limits. The patient was treated with hormone-chemotherapy after successful treatment of the renal failure, but he died on the 74th hospital day. Small cell carcinoma is known to have a high rate of malignancy and metastasis from an early stage. Several giant prostatic tumors have been reported previously, but this case is considered to be the second gigantic small cell carcinoma in the Japanese literature.


The scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) can be used to selectively deposit material from a gaseous precursor compound. Ultrasmall (less than a 100 nm across) spatial dimensions for selective area deposition may be achieved by this means. In this paper we outline a scheme forselecting and designing main group cluster compounds and organometallics for this type of selective area deposition using nido-decaborane(14) as an example.


A detailed understanding of the molecular features of the neutralizing epitopes developed by viral escape mutants is important for predicting and developing vaccines or therapeutic antibodies against continuously emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Here, we report three human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) generated from COVID-19 recovered individuals during first wave of pandemic in India. These mAbs had publicly shared near germline gene usage and potently neutralized Alpha and Delta, but poorly neutralized Beta and completely failed to neutralize Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 variants. Structural analysis of these three mAbs in complex with trimeric spike protein showed that all three mAbs are involved in bivalent spike binding with two mAbs targeting class-1 and one targeting class-4 Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) epitope. Comparison of immunogenetic makeup, structure, and function of these three mAbs with our recently reported class-3 RBD binding mAb that potently neutralized all SARS-CoV-2 variants revealed precise antibody footprint, specific molecular interactions associated with the most potent multi-variant binding / neutralization efficacy. This knowledge has timely significance for understanding how a combination of certain mutations affect the binding or neutralization of an antibody and thus have implications for predicting structural features of emerging SARS-CoV-2 escape variants and to develop vaccines or therapeutic antibodies against these.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of platelet-rich (PRP) and poor (PPP) plasma in cell proliferation and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) expression during the repair of deep corneal ulcers. Forty-five female rabbits were distributed in 3 experimental groups (G) (n = 15), referred to as PRP (GR), PPP (GP) and Control (GC) groups, in accordance with the treatment. All animals underwent surgical induction of unilateral corneal ulcer. PRP and PPP eye drops were made by using centrifuged blood through standardized protocol, and instilled five times a day. In GC, lubricant eye drops were used. Each group was subdivided (n = 5) according to the final time point, 4 (M4), 7 (M7) and 30 days (M30). The animals' corneas were processed for morphological and immunohistochemical analysis for PCNA, MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, MT1-MMP and TIMP1. In M4, the levels of MMP2 were higher in GP and GR, and in M7, this behavior was only observed in the GP. In M30, more epithelial cells and MMP1 expression were found in GR than GP. In GR, cell proliferation was higher in M4 than at other time points and MMP2 expression was higher in M4 than M30. The PRP stimulates cell proliferation in the early phase (M4) of treatment when compared to other time points, different from other treatments. The use of eye drops of platelet-rich and poor plasma influences the expression of matrix metalloproteinases involved in the corneal repair process.


1. The very large increase in catalase activity (Euler effect) which follows treatment of yeast cells with CHCl3, UV and n-propanol is accompanied by highly significant changes in kinetic properties. With respect to the enzymatic decomposition of H2O2, the thermodynamic constants of the activation process µ, ΔH‡, ΔS‡, ΔF‡, decrease, following treatment of the intracellular enzyme, by 4.5 kcal., 4.5 kcal., 10.1 e.u. and 1.7 kcal., respectively, all these differences being significant at the 1 per cent level. 2. Similar differences exist between the untreated, intracellular enzyme on the one hand, and the extracted yeast and crystalline beef liver catalases on the other. Significant differences in these thermodynamic constants do not exist among the treated intracellular, extracted yeast, and crystalline liver catalases. 3. These data provide unequivocal confirmation of the phenomenon of enzyme alteration reported previously, and confirm previous evidence that the extracted and crystalline enzymes have also undergone enzyme alteration and have properties which are identical with, or very similar to, those of the catalase altered in situ. 4. With respect to the process of heat destruction of catalase, the greatly diminished stability to heat of the altered enzymes, previously reported, has been confirmed. The thermodynamic constants of activation of this process have likewise changed following alteration, in the case of µ, ΔH‡, and ΔS‡ an increase of 20.6 kcal., 20.6 kcal., and 70 e.u., respectively, and of ΔF‡ a decrease of 2.8 kcal. 5. All these data have been shown to be consistent with, and in some cases predictable from, the interfacial hypothesis, which states that the unaltered catalase exists within the cell adsorbed to some interface, in a partially, but reversibly, unfolded configuration of relatively low specificity; enzyme alteration consists, in the case of catalase, of desorbing the enzyme from the interface into its rolled-up, soluble, highly specific configuration. While the interfacial hypothesis has successfully withstood this experimental attack, the present data do not provide its unequivocal proof, since they are consistent with any hypothesis of alteration in which the unaltered, intracellular enzyme is in a relatively disordered state by comparison to the altered enzyme. While evidence of an interfacial process in enzyme alteration has been adduced previously, critical proof of the interfacial hypothesis awaits creation of a model system, in which most of the aspects of intracellular alteration can be reproduced. 6. Certain of the changes in kinetic properties following alteration of the intracellular enzyme, such as increased activity and the modified energies and entropies of activation of both enzyme-substrate system and heat destruction of the catalase itself, might be explained by a decrease (two orders of magnitude) in the effective hydrogen ion concentration, allowing the intracellular enzyme to be brought to the same pH as the extracellular medium. If such a pH change does, in fact, occur, it is necessary to invoke the interfacial hypothesis to explain why the unaltered, intracellular enzyme is in equilibrium with a medium whose pH is approximately 2 units lower than that of the cytoplasm itself. 7. It is concluded that kinetic data of this kind may be used to shed light on the structure of a soluble, cytoplasmic enzyme, not attached to any of the formed elements within the cell, yet organized within it in a condition of relatively low structural specificity; further, that information obtained exclusively from a study of the kinetics of the extracted or crystalline enzymes may not, in the case of this enzyme, at least, be extrapolated to the same enzyme within the intact cell.


PurposeRapid sensitivity analysis and near-optimal decision-making in contested environments are valuable requirements when providing military logistics support. Port of debarkation denial motivates maneuver from strategic operational locations, further complicating logistics support. Simulations enable rapid concept design, experiment and testing that meet these complicated logistic support demands. However, simulation model analyses are time consuming as output data complexity grows with simulation input. This paper proposes a methodology that leverages the benefits of simulation-based insight and the computational speed of approximate dynamic programming (ADP).Design/methodology/approachThis paper describes a simulated contested logistics environment and demonstrates how output data informs the parameters required for the ADP dialect of reinforcement learning (aka Q-learning). Q-learning output includes a near-optimal policy that prescribes decisions for each state modeled in the simulation. This paper's methods conform to DoD simulation modeling practices complemented with AI-enabled decision-making.FindingsThis study demonstrates simulation output data as a means of state–space reduction to mitigate the curse of dimensionality. Furthermore, massive amounts of simulation output data become unwieldy. This work demonstrates how Q-learning parameters reflect simulation inputs so that simulation model behavior can compare to near-optimal policies.Originality/valueFast computation is attractive for sensitivity analysis while divorcing evaluation from scenario-based limitations. The United States military is eager to embrace emerging AI analytic techniques to inform decision-making but is hesitant to abandon simulation modeling. This paper proposes Q-learning as an aid to overcome cognitive limitations in a way that satisfies the desire to wield AI-enabled decision-making combined with modeling and simulation.


Style is ubiquitous in our daily language uses, while what is language style to learning machines? In this paper, by exploiting the second-order statistics of semantic vectors of different corpora, we present a novel perspective on this question via style matrix, i.e. the covariance matrix of semantic vectors, and explain for the first time how Sequence-to-Sequence models encode style information innately in its semantic vectors. As an application, we devise a learning-free text style transfer algorithm, which explicitly constructs a pair of transfer operators from the style matrices for style transfer. Moreover, our algorithm is also observed to be flexible enough to transfer out-of-domain sentences. Extensive experimental evidence justifies the informativeness of style matrix and the competitive performance of our proposed style transfer algorithm with the state-of-the-art methods.


The gap formed at the abutment-implant interface brings about a bacterial colonization. In addition, a bacterial reservoir can be established within the implant. The build-up of microorganisms around the implant can cause soft tissue infections and bone loss around the implant, which can lead to implant failure. Our literature review aimed to evaluate the infiltration at the implant-abutment interface, comparing the Morse cone connection with the external hexagon and internal hexagon connections. A literature search using the PubMed database was performed on March 24, 2021. The search terms were combinations of "Morse cone" or "Morse taper" with each of the following terms (individually): "microleakage", "leakage", "infiltration", and "penetration". The inclusion criterion was in vitro studies comparing the Morse cone with the external hexagon and/or internal hexagon, based on infiltration at the implant-abutment interface. The exclusion criterion was the evaluation of microleakage at the implant-abutment interface after applying a sealant over this region. The search was expanded as needed. There was no limit on the year of publication, and only articles written in English were included. In addition, references cited in included articles were also included in this review when they were appropriate. This literature review concluded that, in most cases, the microleakage in the Morse cone connection was lower when compared with the external hexagon and internal hexagon connections.


A novel approach to the design of a composite positive electrode for lithium/polymer cells based on a polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymer, manganese (II), and lithium hydroxide has been discovered. A chemical reaction leading to a stable suspension occurs when the precursor salts are added directly to a polymer solution. The electrode film is cast directly and then vacuum-dried with no calcination step. The film is amorphous as-prepared and has been named the nanodisperse composite cathode, or NCC. Film characterization with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicates that the Mn (II) has been oxidized to Mn (IV), which forms a complex with the PEO. This leads to highly disperse Mn sites within the polymer matrix and highly mobile Li ions within the PEO. Cells have been assembled with NCC films, PEO-LiN(SO{sub 2}CF{sub 3}){sub 2} electrolyte and lithium metal, and cycled at 85 to 105 C at current densities of 0.2 mA/cm{sup 2} between the voltage limits of 3.5 and 2.0 V. Discharge capacities as high as 340 mAh/g-cathode film have been achieved on the first half-cycle. The discharge capacity declines consistently during a formation process to steady values as high as 50 mAh/g-cathode. This cathode capacity is equivalentmore » to an active material capacity of 150 mAh/g in a composite cathode at a loading of 30 weight percent. The synthesis process for the NCC is simple, should be relatively easy to scale up, and should lead to an extremely useful composite cathode for a lithium polymer battery.« less


The marketing literature provides a solid understanding of auctions regarding final sales prices and many aspects of the processes that unfold to result in those outcomes. This research complements those perspectives by first presenting a new bidder behavior model that shows the role of emergent network ties among bidders on the auction outcome. Dyadic ties are identified as the bid and counter-bid patterns of interactions between bidders that unfold throughout the duration of an auction. These structures are modeled using network analyses, which enables: (1) a richer understanding of detailed auction processes, both within auctions and across auctions of multiple lots, (2) a mapping of the processes to the forecast of prices and the trajectory toward final sales prices, (3) the clear and early identification of key bidders who are influential to the bidding action and who impact final auction sales prices, and (4) the results clearly show that the network exchange patterns are significant and contribute to an understanding of auction processes and outcomes above and beyond simple economic predictors such as the number of bids or bidders or the bidders' economic status. We conclude by providing some managerial implications for online auction houses and bidders.


Currently developed adhesives are overwhelmingly polymeric in nature. Herein, we highlight for the first time the potential of supramolecular eutectogels assembled from small molecules as robust low-molecular-weight (LMW) supramolecular adhesives in air, water and organic solvents, and under low temperatures. These supramolecular eutectogels were produced from commercial alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CnTAB) in emerging deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which demonstrated rapid (∼2 min), robust, and tunable adhesion to both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces at room temperature in air. Moreover, high adhesion performance was maintained even in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C), underwater, and in organic solvents. A study of the structure-property relationship of these adhesives and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further clarified the assembly and adhesion mechanism of the C12TAB molecules in DESs. Compared with traditional polymer adhesives and several existing examples of LMW supramolecular adhesives with solvent-free dry network structures, the spontaneous self-assembly of LMW gelators in versatile DESs provides a new strategy for the facile construction of high-strength supramolecular adhesives with gel network structures for a diverse range of harsh environments.


The limited evidence on figurative language in deaf children, as well as 'professional intuitions', has led those who teach them to conclude that reading comprehension will be significantly complicated by figurative language. However, there are disagreements among practitioners as to how best to manage figurative language when it appears in text. Generally, some sort of textual modification is made, although those for and against 'simplified texts' are split on this issue. Those who favour them suggest either that complex vocabulary and syntax be reconstructed or that they be gradually introduced. However, reformulations are seldom standard nor are the figurative tropes such as metaphor, simile, personification etc. systematically introduced. Those against simplified texts argue that the problem of figurative language control is not one of linguistic complexity, but one of cognitive processing: deaf children can grasp inferred or indirect meaning so long as the referential domain is made clear. Such comprehension comes by way of demonstration, practice and feedback and figurative language need not present a special problem. In this present study, 14 deaf and hard-of-hearing children and youths who had been randomly assigned to one of two groups were given an original story entitled 'Peaches the Cat' and asked to read it. One group read a literal version of the story and one group read a figurative version in which all textual answers to the question were masked with figurative phraseology. Both groups answered the questions above a chance level and the figurative version did not prove to be more difficult than the literal version. The two groups were comparable on hearing loss and on reading and language ability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This article investigates the role of transgovernmental networks of national regulators in addressing collective action problems endemic to international cooperation. In contrast to recent work on transgovernmental actors, which emphasizes such networks as alternatives to more traditional international institutions, we examine the synergistic interaction between the two. Building on the broader premise that patterns of "dual delegation" above and below the nation-state enhance the coordinating role of networks of national agencies in two-level international governance, the article examines the formal incorporation of transgovernmental networks into European Union (EU) policymaking. The focus on authoritative rule-making adds a crucial dimension to the landscape of EU governance innovations while connecting to the broader study of transgovernmental networks in international governance. The article develops an analytical framework that maps these incorporated networks across different sectors in terms of function, emergence, and effectiveness. Two case studies of data privacy and energy market regulation are presented to apply and illustrate the insights of this mapping.