Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease characterized by the gradual degeneration of articular cartilage, however the onset and early progression of OA are difficult to predict and diagnose. Abnormal joint movements and laxity as a result of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears have been determined as a major cause of posttraumatic OA in the knee. This thesis aims to further understanding the early structural, cellular and matrix alterations that occur after trauma to the ACL Rabbits that underwent ACL transections (ACLT) were sacrificed four weeks after surgery and their knees harvested. Selected sagittal knee sections were chosen from regions most prone to cartilage degeneration as determined by images of india ink retention and previous ACLT studies. The three quantitative polarized light microscopy (qPLM) parameters include parallelism index (PI), which corresponds to the local anisotropy of the collagen fibers, [alpha], which corresponds to the group-averaged orientation of the fibers, and I⁻, the optical retardance based on the birefringence signal from the collagen. qPLM parameters and standard histochemistry were used to characterize the cartilage zones, based on the collagen network organization, in the non-operated samples and compared to the ACLT knees. Higher qPLM weighted scores, based on zonal area, a greater number of chondrocyte clusters and clones, a reduction in proteoglycan content in superficial and middle zone, and an increase in surface irregularities were noted when comparing the non-operated controls to the ACLT knees. Lastly, correlations between the overall qPLM area-weighted score and deep zone subscores with proteoglycan content were determined


Abstract The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a major pest of Hong Yang kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch cv. chinensis) grown in China. Our transcriptome analysis of the interaction between Hong Yang kiwifruit and B. dorsalis revealed numerous changes in gene expression level attributable to Oriental fruit fly feeding, resulting in the down-regulation of 112 genes and the up-regulation of 226 genes. Gene ontology analysis revealed that differential expression genes (DEGs) were mainly involved in biological processes (4,568; 56.28%), molecular function (2,297; 28.30%), and cellular components (1,251; 15.41%). By searching against the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Pathway database (KEGG), 258 DEGs were assigned to 51 KEGG pathways belonging to five main categories: metabolism (239, 92.64%), genetic information processing (10, 3.88%), organismal systems (5, 1.94%), cellular processes (3, 1.16%), and environmental information processing (1, 0.39%). The numbers of DEGs up-regulated were much higher than those down-regulated. Expression of genes involved in the secondary metabolism was detected, and several key genes showed differential expression. Our results suggest that B. dorsalis induced defense response of Hong Yang kiwifruit, including hypersensitive response and immunity triggered by either pathogen/microbe-associated molecular patterns or immunity effectors. Metabolic process was also adjusted to adapt to these responses. Our results provide extensive transcriptome information for A. chinensis and valuable clues for elucidating the mechanism of interaction between Hong Yang kiwifruit and B. dorsalis, and will facilitate molecular breeding for Actinidia crop plants.


This paper analyses various 2D acoustic wave propagation problems in the time domain BEM through geophysical environments. To this end the existing BEM code for the boundary nodes is expanded to optional internal nodes. Using appropriate and predominant temporal variations for the field quantities the time-related kernels are obtained explicitly. The BEM and FDM solutions presented are generated using synthetic seismograms and are seen to be stable. The qualitative agreement between the two methods is excellent.


We consider the problem of downlink training and channel estimation in frequency division duplex (FDD) massive MIMO systems, where the base station (BS) equipped with a large number of antennas serves a number of single-antenna users simultaneously. To obtain the channel state information (CSI) at the BS in FDD systems, the downlink channel has to be estimated by users via downlink training and then fed back to the BS. For FDD large-scale MIMO systems, the overhead for downlink training and CSI uplink feedback could be prohibitively high, which presents a significant challenge. In this paper, we study the behavior of the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) estimator when the channel covariance matrix has a low rank or an approximate low-rank structure. Our theoretical analysis reveals that the amount of training overhead can be substantially reduced by exploiting the low-rank property of the channel covariance matrix. In particular, we show that the MMSE estimator is able to achieve exact channel recovery in the asymptotic low-noise regime, provided that the number of pilot symbols in time is no less than the rank of the channel covariance matrix. We also present an optimal pilot design for the single-user case, and an asymptotic optimal pilot design for the multi-user scenario. Last, we develop a simple model-based scheme to estimate the channel covariance matrix, based on which the MMSE estimator can be employed to estimate the channel. The proposed scheme does not need any additional training overhead. Simulation results are provided to verify our theoretical results and illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed estimated covariance-assisted MMSE estimator.


Joint beamforming with receive combining is a simple method for exploiting the significant diversity provided by multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and the use of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) enables low complexity implementation of this scheme over frequency selective MIMO channels. In this paper we analyze the combination of MIMO systems with OFDM using joint beamforming in the multi user case where the receiver and the transmitter are equipped with antennas arrays in the reception and emission respectively. Under the assumption that all users' channel state information (CSI) is available at each of the users, we will investigate the performance of conventional multi-user detector in the context of an uplink MIMO- OFDM system. Furthermore, we discuss orthogonal joint beamforming design schemes with matched filter receiver. Joint design of transmit and receive beamvectors are addressed. From this perspective, a set of design criteria can be easily accommodated and efficiently solved even though closed form expressions may not be available. Results shows that these criteria remain available in multiuser case and have the same performance classification then single user case.


Pseudohermaphroditism', or 'intersexuality', is a generalised term referring to an animal with primary sexual characteristics (i.e. gonads) of one sex, but secondary sex characteristics of the other. Although widely reported in a range of taxa, including anuran amphibians, this phenomenon has never been reported from tailed amphibians (Order Caudata). We report a nearly 10 year old pseudohermaphroditic Sardinian brook newt ( Euproctus platycephalus), which presented externally as a male, but on post mortem examination was found to contain fully formed ovaries likely capable of follicular cycling. The cause of was unclear, but our report shows that pseudohermaphroditism is possible within the tailed amphibians.


Background Almost half of India's children under 3 years of age are undernourished and at risk for illness and death. Poor complementary feeding practices contribute substantially to the problem. Promoting appropriate feeding practices is critical for ensuring child survival, health, and nutrition. Nutrition education is a feasible intervention and has the potential to help achieve the Millennium Goals, provided it is implemented appropriately. However, in existing programs, education is too generalized and based on information transfer. Objective To develop and implement a need-based, situation-specific education program for mothers to bring about changes in complementary feeding practices, with emphasis on the quantity and nutritional quality of complementary feeds. Methods Four hundred fourteen mothers or caregivers from five slums in Mumbai participated in a 3-month intervention study. Gaps in complementary feeding practices were identified at baseline. Education was given by trained fieldworkers, first to groups of 8 to 10 mothers or caregivers using innovative modules and demonstrations, followed by weekly monitoring and reinforcement. A simple checklist was used at each follow-up to assess impact, identify practices not adopted, and provide further inputs. Data collected at three follow-ups were compared with baseline and analyzed by SPSS using the chi-square test, the t-test, and ANOVA to assess whether feeding practices of the mothers or caregivers were altered favorably. Conclusions The intervention process used in this study, the modules used, and the use of the checklist as complementary feeding practices. Incorporation of these in existing Growth Monitoring and Promotion programs would help to improve child nutrient intakes and thus reduce the prevalence of undernutrition.


The free fall trajectories of flat plates are investigated in order to improve understanding of the forces acting on falling blunt objects. The long term goal is to develop a general applicable model to predict free fall trajectories. Numerically the free fall of a flat plate is investigated using a six degrees of freedom (6DOF) solver and a dynamic mesh. To validate the simulation, the trajectories of aluminium plates falling in water are recorded by digital camera recordings and compared to the simulation. The simulation is able to calculate the motion of the plate within each time step with high accuracy, and thereby allowing the whole trajectory to be predicted with fair accuracy.With the numerical model able to predict the free fall and the complex plate fluid interactions, fluids forces can be extracted for model development in future studies.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


We have studied 12 laryngeal nerves: six internal branches of the superior laryngeal nerve (ILN) and six recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLN) from three human adult larynges (two males and one female). After dissection of each individual laryngeal nerve using a surgical microscope, the nerves were preserved in 10% formalin, embedded in paraffin wax, serially sectioned transversely at a thickness of 10 μm and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. We found 2–4 ganglia associated with the ILN. At least two ganglia were always present (six out of six cases), the largest one being associated with the branch of the nerve innervating the vestibule and the smallest one associated with the branch innervating the aryepiglottic fold. Other ganglia were found associated with the branches for the glosso‐epiglottic fold and vallecula (four out of six cases) and interarytenoid muscle (three out of six cases). The RLN showed from two to six ganglia, all of them located in its anterior terminal division. Two of the ganglia were located in the part of the nerve between the origin of the branches for the interarytenoid and lateral cricoarytenoid muscles (three out of six cases). The remaining ganglia were located close to or at the origin of the muscular branches innervating the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. The cytology of the ganglia reported suggests that they were all autonomic in nature, probably parasympathetic. Clin. Anat. 21:641–646, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Development of products exports causes the markets to get closer to competitive situation and domestic producers to be able to use their production capacity as much as possible. For this purpose, innovations, inventions and creativities of the labor force will be useful during the production and export process. In fact, investing in human capital causes its abilities to be developed so that the more educated and skilled they are, the easier and more accurate it will be for them to learn sophisticated things and it increases the level of their skill and abilities. Therefore, using skills and professions of skilled and creative manpower during the exports of different products process, not only results more productive use of domestic sources, attraction of foreign advanced technology and creation of technology for producing new products, but also it creates new ways to use production factors or raw material and by that, it can cause increase of exports and achieving economic growth in countries. Considering this, the purpose of this study is to analyse the factors affecting exports emphasising on human capital in 20 selected developing countries in period of 1995 to 2014 using panel data model. The results of the estimation show that human capital has positive and meaningful effect on exports of the studied countries in the considered period. Also variables of active population, capital formation and healthcare costs also have had positive and meaningful effect on exports.


The tremendous growth in mobile devices has resulted in huge generation and usage of digital images. Image quality assessment is thus an important issue for mobile media applications. In this paper, we focus on the quality evaluation of images generated by content-aware image retargeting, in which the reference and the distorted images are of different sizes. Through retargeting, many types of deformation inconsistency lead to shape distortion, deformation artifacts, and content information loss, worsening its perceptual quality. The deformation inconsistency occurs on different levels of the retargeted images. Limited by the accuracy of the alignment between the original and retargeted images, previous methods only focus on pixel-level and patch-level fidelity analyses and fail to detect deformation inconsistency. In this paper, we improve the alignment algorithm and propose a three-level representation of the retargeting process. Based on the analysis of this three-level representation, both fidelity measures and inconsistency detection are combined to determine the final retargeting quality. The proposed algorithm is validated on the public data sets RetargetMe and CUHK. Experimental results demonstrate that inconsistency detection contributes to accurately assessing the image retargeting perceptual quality. This inspires us to investigate more about deformation inconsistency to formulate the objective quality of image retargeting.


This study is proposed to reveal how the meaning of Naseem's love reflected in Partition directed by Vic Sarin which is published in 2007. The object of the study is the Partition movie directed by Vic Sarin. The objectives of the study are to analyze the structural elements in the movie and to analyze the meaning of love based on a humanistic psychological approach.
The writer employs the descriptive qualitative research as a type of the research. The data sources are divided into two, namely primary data source and secondary data source. The primary data source is the movie and script of Partition and the secondary data source is information related to the primary data source, website, and book on humanistic approach. The method of collecting data is observation and library review. The method of analyzing data is descriptive technique.
Based on the analysis, the researcher draws two conclusions: first, based on the structural analysis, Vic Sarin wants to deliver a message that love can defeat anything and it is the master key to open the gates of happiness. Second, based on the humanistic psychological analysis, Vic Sarin wants to reflect that the meaning of love is being represented by Naseem's love and belongingness needs.


Control flow obfuscation (CFO) alters the control flow path of a program without altering its semantics. Existing literature has proposed several techniques; however, a quick survey reveals a lack of clarity in the types of techniques proposed, and how many are unique. What is also unclear is whether there is a disparity in the theory and practice of CFO. In this paper, we systematically study CFO techniques proposed for Java programs, both from papers and commercially available tools. We evaluate 13 obfuscators using a dataset of 16 programs with varying software characteristics, and different obfuscator parameters. Each program is carefully reverse engineered to study the effect of obfuscation. Our study reveals that there are 36 unique techniques proposed in the literature and 7 from tools. Three of the most popular commercial obfuscators implement only 13 of the 36 techniques in the literature. Thus there appears to be a gap between the theory and practice of CFO. We propose a novel classification of the obfuscation techniques based on the underlying component of a program that is transformed. We identify the techniques that are potent against reverse engineering attacks, both from the perspective of a human analyst and an automated program decompiler. Our analysis reveals that majority of the tools do not implement these techniques, thus defeating the protection obfuscation offers. We furnish examples of select techniques and discuss our findings. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to assemble such a research. This study will be useful to software designers to decide upon the best techniques to use based upon their needs, for researchers to understand the state-of-the-art and for commercial obfuscator developers to develop new techniques.


Localizing and tracking an underwater acoustic source is a key task for maritime situational awareness. This paper presents a sequential Bayesian estimation method for passive acoustic source localization in shallow water. The proposed probabilistic focalization approach associates detected directions of arrival (DOAs) to modeled DOAs and jointly estimates the time-varying source location. Embedded ray tracing makes it possible to incorporate environmental parameters that characterize the acoustic waveguide. Due to its statistical model, the proposed method can provide robustness in scenarios with severe environmental uncertainty. We demonstrate performance advantages compared to matched field processing using data collected during the SWellEx-96 experiment.


an overall understanding of the phenomenon. This deficiency has become evident, especially in recent decades, despite the growth in the number of democratic countries and the revival of more or less radical approaches to participatory and deliberative strategies to expand the 'quality' of democratic decision making. These have, in fact, reintroduced the problem of the role of leadership in democracies. Joseph Femia and colleagues examine several arguments regarding this role, and consider the apparent neglect of the theme by mainstream democratic theory as a consequence of an egalitarian bias that considers political leadership to be in conflict with democracy's ethos. The editors of this book aim to explain this neglect and intend to correct this deficiency.The first objective is particularly well achieved. However the proposed effort to provide further reasons to revive the issue deserves extra caution. It was intended that this work would come to grips with the wide range of uncertainties and conceptual mist that surrounded the extant literature.This book follows a similar track as it suggests plural approaches and is built upon the contributions of different authors, which has resulted in an unclear connection between chapters and the repetition of arguments. Reading this book is recommended since it offers an accessible and succinct approach to previous scholarship and, more importantly, it presents a coherent argument for the revival of the study of political leadership. Research might take it as a lead towards new approaches to this theme.


Objectives
It is known that the degree of polymerization (DP) of flavanol compounds influences the perceived bitter and astringent sensations of flavanol-rich foods. Previous research has indicated that preference for bitterness and astringency is related to health status (i.e., obesity) and sensitivity to bitter compounds such as 6-n-propyl-thiouracil (PROP). The objective of this study was to examine trends in liking, bitterness intensity, and astringency intensity of wine-like products with distinct flavanols of different DP in a consumer sensory panel when consumers were differentiated by phenotype.

Methods
Recruited panelists (n = 102) were segmented into different phenotypes based on body fat percentage (BF%), body mass index, PROP sensitivity, and stated preference for bitter foods. Differences in overall product liking, perceived bitterness intensity, and astringency intensity were observed between the three wine samples formulated to contain varying flavanol mDP.

Results
Considering the panelists altogether without segmentation, overall liking and bitterness liking decreased with increasing flavanol mDP, with concurrent increased perception of bitterness and astringency intensity. When looking at specific phenotypes, subjects of higher BMI and BF% showed significantly reduced ability to detect differences in bitterness and astringency intensity. Interestingly and unexpectedly, PROP sensitivity and self-reported bitterness preference did not significantly correlate with liking and intensity trends based on flavanol mDP.

Conclusions
Overall, these data suggest that BF% and BMI are greater predictors of liking and sensitivity to flavanol-rich foods compared bitterness sensitivity and self-reported bitterness liking. Reduced perception of bitterness and astringency associated with weight gain may impact selection and preference for these foods.

Funding Sources
Funding for this work was provided in part by the Virginia Tech Translational Obesity Research Graduate Interdisciplinary Research Program and the Virginia Tech Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Hatch Program, USDA-NIFA.


Two studies, aimed at the assessment of internal psychometric properties and construct validity of the new authoritarianism scale, UPA-S, are presented in the paper. The UPA-S scale contains 47 items originating from two earlier authoritarianism scales- ADO (regarding authoritarianism as a personality trait) and AUT-NS (considering authoritarianism as an attitude syndrome). The main aim of the Study 1 was the assessment of internal psychometric properties of the UPA-S scale. Applying the principal component analysis with Promax rotation, three latent dimensions were extracted and interpreted as authoritarian submissiveness, authoritarian aggressiveness and stoicism. The reliability, homogeneity and representativeness indices of the three resulting scales of the UPA-S were satisfactory. Convergent validity of the UPAS was examined in Study 2. By means of confirmatory factor analysis, three models (involving UPA-S scales, Altemeyer's RWA, Revised F scale, Social Dominance Scale and Modern Racism Scale) were tested. The best- fitting model consisted of two correlated latent dimensions, the first one including authoritarianism scales, and the second one including the measures of related constructs. The results suggest that the psychometric properties of the UPA-S are satisfactory, and at the same time support the views which regard authoritarianism as a multi-dimensional construct which consists of both specific attitudes and personality characteristics.


To better understand the geology of metallic asteroids and the crystallization of planetary cores, we have studied the crystallization of the cores of iron meteorite parent bodies. Available data for the relative magnitudes of the adiabatic gradient and the liquidas gradient across the core indicate that for the low pressures of asteroidal cores (less than a few hundred megapascals), crystallization commences at the base of the mantle and continues as dominantly inward growth. A consequence of the rejection of S from the crystallizing solid is that a light S-rich layer forms below the crystallizing front. This inhibits concentric front growth and promotes formation of tree-like crystals called dendrites. The mode of crystallization was therefore completely different from that of Earth. Dendrites in asteroidal cores may have grown to lengths of hundreds of meters or perhaps even as large as the core radius thereby dividing the core into separate magma chambers. Supporting evidence comes from the Cape York iron meteorites and others from the same core: the surface area of the solid/liquid interface was very large; the direction of crystallization was horizontal; and the liquid was not perfectly mixed throughout crystallization. We argue that the Cape York irons did not form as a result of a rare event; they are typical products of core crystallization. Troilite, which has different optical and mechanical properties from Fe-Ni, formed in pockets between dendrites. The distribution of troilite may therefore provide a visual record of the crystallization history of asteroidal cores.


Raptor codes are a class of concatenated codes composed of a fixed-rate precode and a Luby-transform (LT) code that can be used as rateless error-correcting codes over communication channels. These codes have the atypical features of dynamic code-rate, highly irregular Tanner graph check-degree distribution, random LT-code structure, and LT-precode concatenation, which render a hardware-efficient decoder implementation achieving good error-correcting performance a challenging task. In this paper, the design of hardware-efficient Raptor decoders with good performance is addressed through joint optimizations targeting 1) the code construction, 2) decoding schedule, and 3) decoder architecture. First, random encoding is decoupled by developing a two-stage LT-code construction scheme that embeds structural features in the LT-graph that are amenable to efficient implementation while guaranteeing good performance. An LT-aware LDPC precode construction methodology that ensures architectural-compatibility with the structured LT code is also proposed. Second, a decoding schedule is optimized to reduce memory cost and account for processing workload-variability caused by the varying code rate. Third, to address the problems of check-degree irregularity and hardware underutilization, a novel reconfigurable check unit that attains a constant throughput while processing a varying number of LT and LDPC nodes is presented. These design steps collectively are employed to generate serial and partially-parallel decoder architectures. A Raptor code instance constructed using the proposed method having LT data-block length of 1210 is shown to outperform or closely match the performance of conventional LDPC codes over the code-rate range [0.4,2/3]. The corresponding hardware serial decoder is synthesized using 65-nm CMOS technology and achieves a throughput of 22 Mb/s at rate 0.4 for a BER of 10-6, dissipates an average power of 222 mW at 1.2 V, and occupies an area of 1.77mm2.


A simple convergent and general method has been developed for the synthesis of (±)-isopisiferin (1c), a rearranged abietane diterpene, having a hexahydrodibenzo [a,d] cycloheptene ring system, and the related model systems (1a) and (1b), through the respective enolisable tricyclic ketone mixtures (12c) and (13c), (12a) and (13a), and (12b) and (13b), obtained from the corresponding easily accessible 2-arylethyl-3,3-dimethylcyclohexanones (7c), (7a), and (7b). Demethylation of the styrenoid ethers (15b) and (15c) under acid conditions gave the tetracyclic dienones (17b) and (17c) through Ar1-5 cyclisation.


Interleukin-33 (IL-33), the most recently discovered member of the IL-1 superfamily, has been linked to several human pathologies including autoimmune diseases, sepsis, and allergy through its specific IL-1 receptor ST2. However, there is little information regarding the role of IL-33 in gout. In this study, we investigated the potential role of IL-33 in gout patients. The serum level of IL-33 was measured by ELISA, and the clinical and laboratory parameters, serum creatinine, urea, and lipid, were extracted from medical record system. The serum IL-33 expression was predominantly increased in gout patients compared to healthy controls, and the IL-33 levels were higher in patients without kidney injury. Furthermore, IL-33 showed a negative correlation with biomarkers of kidney injury, such as CRE and urea. The lipid metabolism dysfunction, tophi, and hypertension are the common reasons for kidney injury in gout. Interestingly, inverse and positive correlation of IL-33 expression was observed in LDL and HDL, respectively. However, there was no significant alteration in the gout patients with hypertension and tophi. These data suggested that IL-33 might act as a protective role in kidney injury through regulating the lipid metabolism in gout.


OBJECTIVES
Evaluations of the clinical effectiveness of cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) are scarce and therefore represent an urgent service and research need. This paper sought to evaluate a CAT service by profiling CAT clients, examining the outcomes achieved by the CAT service and also comparing such outcomes with those achieved by other services, namely the person-centred service and the cognitive-behavioural service.

DESIGN
Patients in routine practice were matched according to the amount of therapy time received (either brief or medium-term contracts) and the degree of initial presenting psychological distress.

METHODS
Patients completed a variety of validated scales of psychological functioning (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-32)) at assessment and termination of psychological intervention.

RESULTS
The results indicate broad similarities between the outcomes achieved by the services, with rates of clinically significant improvement comparable, in the main, across the three services.

CONCLUSIONS
The results are discussed in terms of (a) the service delivery implications and (b) future indicated pragmatic research and evaluation efforts.


Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with increased mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The interaction between the fibrotic process and the pulmonary vasculature is incompletely understood. There is evidence in human and experimental pulmonary fibrosis that precursor cells may play a role in fibrogenesis, and that precursor cells may also be important for vascular remodeling in chronic models of pulmonary hypertension (PH). But the contribution of precursor cells to vascular remodeling and PH in pulmonary fibrosis has not been investigated yet.

This study aimed to investigate the potential contribution of precursor cells to vascular remodeling in the AdTGF-β1 model of lung fibrosis and PH.

Female Sprague Dawley rats received AdTGF-β1 or AdDL70 and were sacrificed at different time points (7, 14 and 28 days). Immunofluorescence stainings were performed on 3 μm sections of the left lung after formalin fixation.

We detected cells expressing markers of endothelial progenitor cells (CD133/vWF, c-kit/vWF, CD133/VEGFR-2) in pulmonary arteries of AdTGF-β1 animals, mainly after 14 days. We also found cells expressing markers of fibrocytes (CXCR4/α-SMA, CXCR4/prolyl-4-hydroxylase, S100A4/CD34), around pulmonary arteries of AdTGF-β1 animals. In contrast, we did not find such cells in or around pulmonary arteries in AdDL70 treated animals.

In conclusion, our data support the concept that precursor cells may contribute to postapoptotic vascular repair and pulmonary artery muscularization in experimental lung fibrosis. The detailed mechanisms of precursor cell attraction and activation are currently under investigation.


We apply recurrent neural networks (RNN) on a new domain, namely recommender systems. Real-life recommender systems often face the problem of having to base recommendations only on short session-based data (e.g. a small sportsware website) instead of long user histories (as in the case of Netflix). In this situation the frequently praised matrix factorization approaches are not accurate. This problem is usually overcome in practice by resorting to item-to-item recommendations, i.e. recommending similar items. We argue that by modeling the whole session, more accurate recommendations can be provided. We therefore propose an RNN-based approach for session-based recommendations. Our approach also considers practical aspects of the task and introduces several modifications to classic RNNs such as a ranking loss function that make it more viable for this specific problem. Experimental results on two data-sets show marked improvements over widely used approaches.


I investigate the effect of competition on bidder behavior and procurement cost using highway auction data from Michigan. While a bidder's distance to a project location is important in explaining participation and bid levels, there is no evidence of more aggressive bidding when competitors are located close to the project. This pattern is at odds with theoretical predictions based on first-price auctions with private costs but can be rationalized by a more general model that allows firms to have nonindependent private information and partially common costs. I show that such a model is identified from observable variation in bidder-specific cost shifters, and develop an estimation procedure that exploits variation in project locations. The findings point to significant common costs and to a high degree of correlation in private information. Model estimates are used to show that common costs and information correlation reduce the effect of competition on procurement costs by 28 percent relative to a benchmark that assumes independent private costs. Moreover, subsidies to weak bidders are estimated to cost 27 percent more than in the private costs benchmark. ∗This version: November 19, 2011. For the latest version, see www.stanford.edu/~soma/. I am grateful to my advisors Frank Wolak, Liran Einav, and Han Hong for their guidance and encouragement. I also thank Tim Armstrong, Arthur van Benthem, Tim Bresnahan, George Bulman, Dominic Coey, Ignacio Esponda, Pedro Gardete, Caroline Hoxby, Jakub Kastl, Theresa Kuchler, Thomas MaCurdy, Roy Mill, Alejandro Molnar, Peter Reiss, Ilya Segal, Johannes Stroebel, Ali Yurukoglu and seminar participants at Stanford for helpful comments and suggestions. Financial support from the Martin Lee Johnson Graduate Fellowship is gratefully acknowledged. †Department of Economics, Stanford University, 579 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, firstname.lastname@example.com


Intense market competition in recent years has made it increasingly important for integrated steel mills (ISMs) to differentiate themselves from competitors based on customer service, two key attributes of which are the duration and the reliability of order-fulfillment time. To improve responsiveness, some ISMs are shifting from a pure make-to-order system toward a hybrid make-to-stock, make-to-order system. They can then match certain customer orders to existing semifinished inventory, thereby reducing the time it takes to fill those orders. However, choosing which semifinished products to make to stock and how to manage their inventory are difficult problems. We developed an optimization model that one ISM implemented as a decision-support tool for choosing the designs of made-for-stock (MFS) slabs. Use of the model has reduced the number of MFS slab designs and increased the proportion of orders covered by those designs. (Industries: mining, metals. Inventory production: applications.)


West Nile virus (WNV) is still the most common cause of neuroinvasive arboviral disease in the USA with a case death of 10–30%. We are reporting a case of a 61-year-old woman with a history of Crohn's disease, fibromyalgia treated with chronic steroid therapy that presented with a day history of fever, confusion and lethargy. She had a lumbar puncture which was notable for lymphocytosis and was positive for WNV. She initially was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, which were subsequently discontinued when the diagnosis of WNV neuroinvasive disease (WNND) was made. A high index of suspicion is needed to diagnose WNND, and this should be suspected in elderly immunocompromised patient presenting with altered mental status and lumbar puncture suggestive of aseptic meningitis. Recent study has showed that there is genetic variation in the interferon response pathway which is associated with both risk for symptomatic WNV infection and disease progression.


ABSTRACT Godoy, M.D.P.; Meireles, A.J.A., and Lacerda, L.D., 2018. Mangrove response to land use change in estuaries along the semiarid coast of Ceará, Brazil. Mangroves cover an estimated area of approximately 12 to 20 million ha worldwide and serve as protection for the coastline from erosion and flooding. Nearly 70 mangrove species are considered endangered and could disappear in the next decade, which would have devastating economic and environmental consequences for coastal communities because of their ecological and economic importance. The annual rate of disappearance of coastal ecosystems is four times greater than the rate of the disappearance of rain forests. Mangroves suffer great pressure from the rapid conversion of forests into agricultural and urban areas, and, in these scenarios, climate change promotes specific pressures on mangroves and may increase the effects of anthropogenic activities. The focus of this study was to map the changes in mangrove areas in six river estuaries in Ceará, northeastern Brazil, between the years 1992 and 2011 and identify the main drivers of these changes. The results showed an increase in mangrove areas of five estuaries, while one estuary showed a decrease in mangrove area. Changes in river output capacity and sediment accumulation in the estuaries were associated with dam construction in the watersheds and can be responsible for new upstream mangrove areas in newly formed islands and along river banks. Abandoned saltpans also contributed to expansion of the mangrove areas. Deforestation for the construction of shrimp farms was the main cause of decreases in mangrove area, especially in the Pirangi estuary.


The perivascular adrenergic nerves were counted as they crossed a grid-line superimposed on rat cerebral or femoral arteries and arterioles, and on the portal vein and its tributaries. The nerves were visualized with the formaldehyde-vapor, fluorescence technique. No support was received for the hypothesis that cerebral vessels are better innervated than extracerebral vessels. In fact, the density of nerves was significantly greater on the femoral and portal vessels than on the cerebral.


Energy minimization algorithms for bio-molecular systems are critical to applications such as the prediction of protein folding. Conventional energy minimization methods such as the steepest descent method and conjugate gradient method suffer from the drawback that they can only locate energy minima that are extremely dependent on the initial parameter settings of the computation. We present an energy minimization algorithm based on genetic algorithms that largely overcomes this drawback of conventional methods because it provides an effective mechanism, through crossover and mutation, to explore new regions of the parameter space without being dependent on a single, preselected parameter setting. This allows the algorithm to cross local energy barriers not surmountable by conventional methods. The algorithm significantly increases the probability of reaching deeper energy minima. Tests show that the genetic algorithm based approach can achieve much lower final energy than conventional methods. Our genetic algorithm approach differs from other genetic algorithm based approaches in that we do not use the genetic algorithm to directly compute molecular conformations but instead compute a set of parameters to be used in conjunction with the molecular dynamics simulation package GROMOS96


Military physicians can confidently manage hemoptysis with a systematic approach and optimal timing of consultation. Begin with a thorough history, physical examination, and chest x-ray. In our series of 177 cases, a cause for hemoptysis was found in 78% of those with abnormal chest x-rays but in only 21% of those with normal chest x-rays. All 36 cases of bronchogenic carcinoma were associated with an abnormal chest x-ray. A normal chest x-ray was associated with no cause found for the hemoptysis (44 cases) or bronchitis (25 cases), with no carcinomas developing upon a 2-year follow-up. Hospitalization is indicated with excessive bleeding or to allay patient or physician) anxiety. Diagnostic bronchoscopy is usually indicated, especially to localize the bleeding in massive hemoptysis (greater than 600 cc per 24 hours) when surgery may be indicated. Prompt referral should be the rule with bleeding from a mycetoma, diffuse bronchiectasis, or with recurrent significant hemorrhage (greater than 200 cc). In an active-duty population, these instances are fortunately rare, and conservative management and elective referral are the norm.


We report on hydrogen sorptive properties of Zr-Ti-Nb-Cu-Al-Ni icosahedral alloys un- der different mechanical activation conditions. Two compositions were investigated, Zr 67 Ti 6.14 Nb 1.92 Cu 10.67 Ni 8.52 Al 5.75 and Zr 57 Ti 8 Nb 2.5 Cu 13.9 Ni 11.1 Al 7.5 prepared respectively by partial crys- tallization from mechanically alloyed amorphous powders, and by copper mold casting. In the former, independently by the milling conditions, the gaseous absorption took place with loss of the icosahedral symmetry and precipitation of a δ-ZrH 1.66 -type nanocrystalline hydride which accom- panied the formation of an amorphous hydride. Annealing treatments did not permit to restore initial structural conditions, so hindering the process reversibility. In the latter system, conversely, hydrogen absorption, activated by mechanical agitation in absence of milling ball, occurred by retaining the quasiperiodic features, just swelling the icosahedral structure. Thermally activated desorption preserved the QC symmetry and further successful hydrogenation indicated cycling possibility, at least partial, of the process. Hydriding kinetics, studied under isobaric conditions, followed sigmoidal trends, with specific characteristics depending on the alloy stoichiometry and the activation conditions.


ABSTRACT Silva-Cavalcanti, J.S.; Silva, A. R.L; Silva, J.C.P; Araújo, M.C.B; Maragotto, M.G., and Costa, M.F., 2020. User's perceptions abourt rip currents and their specific management approaches at a densely occupied urban beach. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 953-957. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This research aimed to analyze the beach user`s perceptions about rip currents and their specific management approaches at a densely occupied urban beach. Semi-structured questionnaires (N = 216) inquired beach users about use, rip currents knowledge and other hazards. When the beach user's accepted to respond the inquire, they signed an Informed Consent Form. In the 189 valid interviews, females (68%) go to Pina and Boa Viagem beaches more often than males (32%). The choice of the beach part where the beach user will remain was based on easy access (75%), security (13%) and < 6% for fashionable sites, beverages and snacks availability. Rip currents identification is poor, and many are unaware of the meaning of beach safety flags (34%). Around 35% of beach users affirmed not knowing the meaning of the red flags. According to beach users, lifeguards designate areas that are safe for bathing using a pair of red flags. So, they believed that this flag means the area is patrolled by lifeguards, and therefore safer. Other beach users associated red flags to shark attacks (66%). Beach users respondents were asked which area they thought was the safest place to swim and they selected rip channels as the safest place to swim. Beach users declared they know how to swim (71%), however with a swimming ability of < 25 m (84,5%). Information about rip currents is an essential component in developing interventions aimed at reducing the risk of drowning events. Specific management approaches (e.g. red flags) need to focus on debunking rip current myths, to improve understanding of safe swimming areas. The use of flags to indicate the occurrence of rip currents was a partially effective measure of beach management aiming at the prevention of drowning or shark attacks due to beach user's reduced knowledge about rip currents in general and flags meaning.


BACKGROUND
The laser-Doppler skin vasomotor reflex (SVmR) caused by tetanic stimulation of the ulnar nerve may be a test that can predict the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation. A decrease in pulse wave amplitude (pulse wave reflex, PWR) may be an alternative index of this response. We compared the abilities of PWR and SVmR to predict the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation and studied how alfentanil, muscle relaxation, stimulation site and stimulation pattern affected the two reflexes.

METHODS
Anaesthesia was induced and maintained with 2% sevoflurane and 50% nitrous oxide in two groups of 10 ASA status 1 patients. Tetanic stimuli were applied to the flexor muscles of the forearm and the ulnar nerve before and after administration of vecuronium. The change in skin blood flow (laser-Doppler) and pulse wave amplitude (pulse oximetry) after a 5 and 10 s stimulation was measured on the opposite hand. If skin blood flow (laser-Doppler) decreased by more than 10%, a computer-controlled infusion of alfentanil was started and the target plasma concentration was increased in steps until this response was suppressed (< 10%). The trachea was intubated and arterial pressure and heart rate responses were recorded. Plasma alfentanil concentration was measured.

RESULTS
When PWR and SVmR were suppressed, the haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation was reduced in 100 and 53% of patients respectively. PWR and SVmR responses decreased with increasing plasma alfentanil concentration. The SVmR response to muscle stimulation was reduced by muscle relaxants. The pulse wave response to both muscle and neural stimulation was reduced by relaxants. The responses to 5 and 10 s stimulations were similar.

CONCLUSION
An absent SVmR does not predict a blunted arterial pressure or heart rate response to tracheal intubation. The PWR may be a better predictor.


A survey in 25 villages in the Sepik-Ramu basin revealed that fishing was practised in all villages surveyed. The participation in catching fish decreased from 42% of the population of villages situated below 200 m altitude to 23.4% of villages al altitudes above 1,000 111, 111ain(v as a result of the lower involvement in fishing of women and girls at higher altitudes. Females contributed half of the estimated total fish yield of respondents living below 100 m. altitude, and 33% of the annual total yield of the whole catchment, which was estimated at 8,200 tons. At high (>1000 m) and middle altitude (200 - 1000m above sea level) most villages had only access to creeks or small rivers. At low altitudes (<200 m above sea level) most villages surveyed had access to big rivers, swamps or lakes. Average yield/person/trip with various gears and in various waters are reported. Eels Anguilla spp and Cyprinus carpio dominated the catch of respondents living at high altitude levels. At low altitude levels half of/he catch consisted of Oreochromis mossambicus. This species plus C. carpio contributed 42% of the weight of the total catch of the Sepik-Ramu area. The part of the fishing respondents that believed that the exotic species C. carpio and/or O. mossambicus had affected the numbers of native fish species decreased with increasing altitude level. At the high altitude Gobiidae were often mentioned to have decreased in number after the arrival of C. carpio.


For the first time in this research, a feedback control system is used to study the free vibration response of rectangular plate made of magnetostrictive material. In this regard, magnetostrictive plate (MsP) is analyzed by trigonometric higher order shear deformation theory that involved six unknown displacement functions and does not require shear correction factor. The MsP is supported by elastic medium as Pasternak foundation which considers both normal and shears modules. Also the MsP undergoes in-plane forces in x and y directions. Considering simply supported boundary condition, six equations of motion are derived using Hamilton's principle and solved by differential quadrature method. Results indicate the effect of aspect ratio, thickness ratio, elastic medium, compression and tension loads on vibration behavior of MsP. Also, findings show the controller effect of velocity feedback gain to minimize the frequency as far as other parameters become ineffective. These findings can be used to active no...


Background Propofol is used to induce sadation or general anesthesia for procedures. Adjuvants, such as remifentanil characterized by a rapid onset of analgesia and a very short duration of action, which was proved to be an effective opioid receptor agonist considering its effective inhibition of autonomic nervous reflex during endoscopy. Meanwhile, it brings respiratory depression and hypoxia in particular, but there is few reports to explore the optimal dose of remifentanil during gastroscopy so far. So we design this randomized controlled trial (RCT) to identify an optimal remifentanil dosage in patients receiving gastroscopy. Methods A total of 200 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to receive one of four doses of remifentanil: 0 (control group), 1.25μg/ml (PR1 group), 2.5μg/ml (PR2 group), 5μg/ml (PR3 group) combined with propofol anesthesia. The primary outcome is the incidence of hypoxia. The secondary outcomes are the dosage of propofol, patients' awakening time, and perioperative adverse reactions such as hypotension, hypertension, bradycardia, tachycardia, body movements, nausea and vomiting.Results The onset time of PR2 (19 ± 2 s) and PR3(18 ± 4 s) group were shorter than control group (21 ± 3 s). Awaking time in PR2 (1.6 ± 0.4 min) and PR3 (1.7 ± 0.6 min) groups were significantly less than control group (4.1± 1.1min). The dose of propofol in PR2(90 ± 11 mg) and PR3(87±12 mg) groups were also significantly less than control group( 180 ± 20 mg)。The incidence of hypoxia and increase the flow of oxygen and jaw lift in PR2 group were significantly decreased from 38% to 14% and 32% to 10% compared with the control group, respectively (p<0.01).While the incidence of hypoxia in PR3 group was increased to 46%, higher than other groups (p<0.01). Total number of Sedation-related adverse events in PR2 was significantly decreased from 32% to 8% (p=0.03).Conclusions Both 2.5μg/ml (PR2) and 5μg/ml (PR3) remifentanil combined with propofol used in gastroscopy can reduce the onset time、awaking time and the amount of propofol. But the incidence of hypoxia and total number of sedation-related adverse events in PR2 group were significantly decreased compared with other groups. In our study, 2.5μg/ml remifentanil combined with propofol in gastroscopy is an optimal remifentanil dosage.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, ChiCTR2000029216.


What is it really like to watch a total eclipse of the Sun in the sky above your head, and how should you make the most of those precious seconds? The author offers some answers.


PurposeRecent technological and social changes have challenged manufacturing firms to remain competitive in increasingly dynamic markets. A way of facing these challenges is to foster organizational structures that encourage creativity. Although the general importance of organizational creativity for market success is undeniable, few studies on manufacturing firms have provided a nuanced view of how this relationship is affected by firm-external factors (e.g. different levels of market dynamism) and whether and how this leads to greater market success.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses survey data from 255 chief executive officers (CEOs) and top managers of manufacturing firms in Germany. The authors performed different regression analyses to test for direct, mediation, moderation and moderated mediation effects.FindingsThe findings show that, in highly dynamic markets, organizational support for creativity indeed helps manufacturing firms to remain competitive by positively influencing firms' innovation performance, which subsequently results in improved market performance. By contrast, in markets with low dynamism, organizational support for creativity has no impact on firms' innovation and market performance.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical perspective, this study introduces market dynamism as a novel, so-far underexplored firm-external factor that moderates the relationship between organizational support for creativity and innovation and market performance. This research thus enhances the understanding of the dynamics of organizational creativity and its effects on innovation and market performance in an organizational context of manufacturing firms.Practical implicationsIn general, this research emphasizes the importance of establishing a creativity-supporting environment to enhance innovation and market performance. Most importantly, this relationship depends on whether firms are active in highly dynamic or stable markets. Managers should thus consider the level of (future) market dynamism when making decisions about creativity-supporting work environments.Originality/valueThis research provides novel insights into how organizational support for creativity influences innovation and market performance in the manufacturing industry and introduces market dynamism as an important moderating factor.


One of the most important issues when constructing an Information
Extraction System is how to obtain the knowledge needed for
identifying relevant information in a document. A manual approach not
only is an expensive solution but also has a negative effect on the
portability of the system across domains. To automatize the knowledge
acquisition process may partially solve this problem even if a human
expert takes part in it only for specific tasks.
This work presents a methodology ({sc Essence}) to automatically
learn information extraction patterns from unrestricted text corpus
representative of the domain. The methodology includes different steps
from which we stress the specific pattern generalization
process. Generalization reduces the pattern base and therefore reduces
the amount of information to validate by an expert.
As we will see, the use of the lexical knowledge along with the
lexico-semantic relations from WordNet are our basis knowledge source,
especially, for the generalization process.


Mutation of the isocitrate-dehydrogenase (IDH) enzymes is one of the central research topics regarding gliomagenesis. Indeed, 70% of gliomas are associated with a gain-of-function IDH mutation and consequently synthesize the oncometabolite, 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG). This review aims to elucidate the effects of 2-HG on gliomagenesis. 2-HG promotes tumorigenesis by impacting metabolism, vascularization and altering the epigenome of glioma cells. Glioma metabolism and vascularization is altered by 2-HG's effect on the stability of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) and inhibition of endostatin. However, 2-HG's impacts on epigenetic mechanisms are more profound to gliomagenesis. Through competitive inhibition of JHDMs and TET proteins, 2-HG orchestrates histone and DNA hypermethylation, which is associated with gene silencing and dedifferentiation of cells. The hypermethylator phenotype induced by 2-HG also results in alterations of the interaction of the immune system with the tumour. Additionally, this study reviews 2-HG promotion of tumorigenesis by inhibiting repair of DNA alkylation damage through competitive inhibition of AlkB proteins.


A mesophilic, endospore-forming, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain NAW-5T, was isolated from marsh soil. Cells of strain NAW-5T were Gram-stain-negative, curved rods that were motile. Strain NAW-5T grew at 18-48 °C (optimum 32-37 °C) and pH 5.8-8.4 (optimum pH 6.2-7.3). Electron donors utilized were various organic acids and H2 which support autotrophic growth. Fermentative growth occurred on carboxylic acids, but not on sugar. Sulfate, thiosulfate and elemental sulfur were used as electron acceptors. The respiratory isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The genomic DNA G+C content of this strain was 46.6 mol%. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that strain NAW-5T was affiliated to the family 'Desulfotomaculaceae' but the strain shared very low sequence similarity with any representatives of this family (≥89 %). Strain NAW-5T belongs to Desulfotomaculum subcluster Ig which does not include any species with validly published names. On the basis of significant differences in the phylogenetic and phenotypic properties between strain NAW-5T and related species, strain NAW-5T represents a novel species of a new genus for which the name Desulfocucumis palustris gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is NAW-5T (=DSM 102911T=NBRC 112242T).


The Sagdeev potential technique has been used to investigate the existence and the polarity of dust ion acoustic solitary structures in an unmagnetized collisionless nonthermal dusty plasma consisting of negatively charged static dust grains, adiabatic warm ions and nonthermal electrons when the velocity of the wave frame is equal to the linearized velocity of the dust ion acoustic wave for long wave length plane wave perturbation, i.e., when the velocity of the solitary structure is equal to the acoustic speed. A compositional parameter space has been drawn which shows the nature of existence and the polarity of dust ion acoustic solitary structures at the acoustic speed. This compositional parameter space clearly indicates the regions for the existence of positive and negative potential dust ion acoustic solitary structures. Again, this compositional parameter space shows that the present system supports the negative potential double layer at the acoustic speed along a particular curve in the parametric plane. However, the negative potential double layer is unable to restrict the occurrence of all negative potential solitary waves. As a result, in a particular region of the parameter space, there exist negative potential solitary waves after the formation of negative potential double layer. But the amplitudes of these supersolitons are bounded. A finite jump between amplitudes of negative potential solitons separated by the negative potential double layer has been observed, and consequently, the present system supports the supersolitons at the acoustic speed in a neighbourhood of the curve along which negative potential double layer exist. The effects of the parameters on the amplitude of the solitary structures at the acoustic speed have been discussed.


From the very beginning Islam and naturally Muslims have lived as fragmented entities in many parts of the world. As it is historically known, soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad the expansion of Muslims' territorial dominance started. Although they were ruling elite and had territorial dominance, they lived as minority among other faiths and cultures and developed reflexes to survive among others. Currently they are experiencing similar conditions in many parts of the world including Europe with the exception that they do not have this territorial supremacy any more. Furthermore, they have to cope with such issues as identity, immigration, ethnicity, race, etc. With their strong religious sentiments Muslims do not have to entirely submit themselves to prevailing cultural codes, instead they need to treat these lands as free market of religions and cultures, and under the impact of modern and contemporary issues they need to develop a new mindset of contemporary Islam, individualized and voluntaristic. Within this new frame, Islam becomes something Muslims voluntarily join, rather than a tradition in which they live unless they choose to have it that way. This critical process makes Muslims active partners in the life they lead and in the thought they have in their mind. Only this kind of understanding can be competitive and far-reaching. Apart from this self-image of Muslims, the west has also to develop a new frame to evaluate situation of Muslims in their land which requires the Westerners to review the traditional orientalist approach and develop an anthropological one instead, which will deeply be dealt with in this paper.


Two studies were conducted wherein college students with normal hearing sensitivity listened to CID W-22 recordings (Technisonics Studios) mixed with white noise. Four-word discrimination scores were obtained from each listener. In one study, a speech-to-noise ratio of approximately +1 dB was used whereas +7 dB was used in the other. Large standard deviations and low correlations indicate that the use of background noise with this clinical word discrimination test is associated with a relatively large amount of response variability and unreliability. These results suggest that the performance score obtained from a single list of CID W-22 presented in noise may not be a reliable indicator of a listener's true discrimination ability and therefore clinical interpretation of a listener's performance should be made with caution.


INTRODUCTION: Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a pleiotropic bioactive lipid mediator, regulates many cellular processes important for breast cancer progression. The aim of this study is to investigate a role for S1P produced by sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) in breast cancer progression and tumor-induced hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. METHODS: An isozyme-specific inhibitor of SphK1 (SK1-I) was used. Tumor burden were quantified using an in vivo imaging system (IVIS 2000). S1P and SK1-I levels were measured by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are determined by morphological analysis of microvessel density as well as by flow cytometric analysis of endothelial cells. RESULTS: A significant dose dependent effect of SK1-I on inhibition of 4T1-luc2 murine breast cancer cell growth was observed. We confirmed that SK1-I decreased the enzymatic activity of SphK1 and that downregulation of SphK1 with specific siRNA also suppressed growth of these cells. We found that S1P levels increased in the tumor and in the circulation after orthotopic implantation of 4T1-luc2 cells. Similarly, serum S1P levels were significantly elevated in stage IIIA breast cancer patients who have lymph node metastases, compared to age/ethnicity-matched healthy volunteers. SK1-I blocked serum S1P increases in in vivo model and reduced lymph node and lung metastases and overall tumor burden in vivo as well. Importantly, SK1-I also decreased hem- and lymphangiogenesis not only in the primary tumor, but also in lymph nodes, the host tumor microenvironment. Whereas supernatants from 4T1-luc2 cells significantly stimulated tube formation of HUVECs and HLECs, shRNA knockdown of SphK1 markedly reduced them, indicating that S1P produced by SphK1 in 4T1-luc2 breast cancer cells is an important contributor to hem- and lymphangiogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: S1P generated by SphK1 is important for tumor progression, tumor-induced hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and lymph node metastais. Therefore targeting SphK1 and its product S1P would be a multi-pronged attack against breast cancer. This work was supported by Sumitomo Life Social Welfare Services Foundation grant to MN, NIH (K12HD055881) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure (KG090510) to KT, and NCI (R01CA61774) to SS. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4364. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4364


The use of sulpirid in psychiatry allows to delineate three types of activity of this compound which originality consists most in this triple association: neuroleptic activity, as well as anticonfusional and antidepressive. The psychodynamic and phenomenological evaluation of patients receiving a sulpirid treatment, has led us to consider the process of "psychic decompensation" as a target variable particularly sensitive to the action of this psychotropic drug. This process can be found in various pathological states--acute delirious states, depressive episodes, anxiety, autism, stress situation--where sulpirid acts, beside its specific thymoanaleptic or neuroleptic properties, through a "aspecific recompensation activity". This translates, psychopathologically, the action of sulpirid on the vegetative brain as well as the anti-stress properties of this psychrotropic drug, as verified in animal experiment.


Introduction: We recently reported that solute carrier family A1 member 5 (SLC1A5) controls glutamine (GLN) uptake and modulates cell growth, oxidative stress and mTOR signalling pathway. SLC1A5 is a transmembrane, high affinity glutamine transporter that is overexpressed and located at the plasma membrane in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). GLN deprivation has been shown to induce cell death in several types of cancers, however the exact mechanism by which SLC1A5 targeting affects NSCLC survival remains unknown. We hypothesize that inhibition of SLC1A5 deprives cells from GLN which induces autophagy which eventually leads to cell starvation and ultimately apoptotic cell death. Methods: To test our hypothesis we targeted SLC1A5 by siRNA or by its specific inhibitor, GPNA, in a panel of 6 NSCLC lung cancer cell lines (express high level of SLC1A5). For comparison 2 human bronchial epithelial cell lines (HBEs) (express low level of SLC1A5) were used. The effects of targeting SLC1A5 on growth, GLN uptake, ATP level, autophagy, and cell death were examined. Markers of autophagy and cell death were analysed using western blot, nuclear staining and cell cycle analysis. Results: SLC1A5 inactivation by GPNA or by siRNA resulted in a significant decrease in cellular GLN uptake in NSCLC cell lines, while HBE cell lines were unaffected. Decrease in GLN uptake was accompanied by an increase in autophagy as evident by decrease in cell size, increase of LC3-II and decrease if LC3-I markers of autophagy. In addition, we observed a significant drop in ATP levels by 2 folds with increasing doses of GPNA. Markers of internal apoptotic pathway that include decrease of mitochondrial potential and cleaved caspases-3 and 9 were detected in response to increasing doses of GPNA. No change was observed in external apoptotic markers, caspases 8 or 1. In addition a 2-10 fold increase (based on the cell line) of sub-G1 was observed in NSCLC cell lines but not in HBE cell lines. Conclusion: Our results show that targeting SLC1A5 in NSCLC cells induces apoptotic cell death. Cells starve due to GLN deprivation and undergo autophagy which leads to a decrease in ATP level resulting in apoptotic cell death. These findings suggest that targeting SLC1A5 may have therapeutic implications in NSCLC. Grant funding: Lung Cancer Research Foundation Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):B161. Citation Format: Mohamed Hassanein, Jun Qian, Megan Hoeksema, Marie Jacobovitz, Fredrick T. Harris, Bradford Harris, Pierre P. Massion. SLC1A5 inactivation induces apoptosis-mediated cells death in non-small cell lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B161.


A promising approach towards a THz oscillator based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high-temperature superconductors is based on the collective motion of Josephson fluxons, which are predicted to form various configurations ranging from a triangular to a quadratic lattice. Not only for this reason, but certainly also for the sake of basic physics, several experimental and theoretical investigations have been done on the subject of collective fluxon dynamics in stacked intrinsic Josephson junctions. In this paper we will present some experimental results on the fluxon dynamics of long intrinsic Josephson junction stacks made of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 . The stacks were formed either in an open or in an annular geometry, and clear resonant fluxon modes were observed. Experiments discussed include measurements of current-voltage characteristics in external magnetic fields and in external microwave fields.


A suspension of semiconducting graphene oxide/polyaniline (GO/PANI) composite particles dispersed in silicone oil is considered as one of the potential candidates for an electrorheological (ER) fluid. The GO/PANI composite was synthesized by using chemical oxidation polymerization of aniline in the presence of a GO dispersion that contained GO that had been prepared by using a modified Hummers method. The characteristics of the composite were examined by using SEM images and FT-IR spectra and indicated the coexistence of GO and PANI in the composite. The GO/PANI-composite-based ER fluid was prepared by dispersing the fabricated particles in silicone oil, and its dynamic viscoelastic properties were measured using a rotational rheometer under different electric fields, which showed that the ER fluid exhibited typical solid-like ER behaviors.


Most of the times, remote labs developers spend many time building a software architecture to control equipments located in the lab. Sometimes during this long process we forget the objective of the WebLab: to be a learning tool. Using defined standards we can save time creating universal and powerful WebLabs. LXI is an standard to control devices via Ethernet that can be used to this purpose.


In this note, the delay-independent stability of delay systems is studied. It is shown that the strong delay-independent stability is equivalent to the feasibility of certain linear matrix inequality (LMI), that is to the existence of a quadratic Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, independent of the (nonnegative) value of the delay. This constitutes the analogue of some well-known properties of finite-dimensional systems. This result is then applied to study delay-independent stability of systems with polytopic uncertainties.


In this paper, it will be studied that how to fully utilize coordination and share characteristics of Grid technology, and utilize the advantage of the GIS technology in handling spatial data, so that we can provide a set of scientific schemes in integration and issuance of water resources information, and realize the effective share of water resources information. It is suggested in this paper that establishing the integration platform of heterogeneous data with Globus Toolkit and OGSA-DAI. And the studied contents also include the research and construction of the framed structure of integration and issuance of water resources information based on Grid GIS, metadata directory service , data agent based on irrigation works information.


A study was made of the responses of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) produced in hyper- and hypothyroid rats maintained in a state of sodium depletion, as part of a wider study to effect a comparison with results previously obtained for the same parameters in rats maintained on a normal sodium diet and during experimental alterations of thyroid function. In hyperthyroid rats maintained on sodium deficient and normal sodium diet, and in euthyroid animals on a sodium deficient regimen, elevations of both plasma renin concentration (PRC) and serum aldosterone concentration (AC) were observed, while the plasma renin substrate (PRS) was decreased. In hypothyroid rats with normal sodium intake, PRC and AC were observed to be decreased relative to similar sodium-deficient animals. Relationships were observed between PRC and AC, and between AC and urinary sodium excretion. These results suggest that: i) Sodium depletion is a more effective stimulus than the thyroid hormones on the RAAS. ii) Aldosterone changes in sodium depletion are mediated by the RAS. iii) Sodium depletion appeared to induce a decrease in the hepatic synthesis of angiotensinogen.


In this paper in chronological order is analyzed the Macedonia's economic development in general, considering that the country has a liberal trade regime which is characterized by simplicity and neutrality. R. of Macedonia should utilize this trade regime in direction of creating policies and conditions for promoting the private sector development and its possibilities for export that will contribute for greater macroeconomic development. The paper will have a detailed look to the overall economic development and the GDP growth, the components and the main factors influencing this growth, techniques and approaches of assessment of the economic system and its development. It will also analyze the role of exports and the foreign direct investments in Macedonian GDP growth. Numerous theoretical researches related to the role of exports and FDI in GDP growth, have shown a positive relationship between them. The data used in this paper were provided by the Statistical Office of Macedonia and the Macedonian Customs in different periods, while for the empirical analysis I have included the period from 2014-2015. Within the empirical analysis is applied a model of multiple linear regression, where is defined the dependent variable "GDP growth" as well as the independent variables: the growth of FDI and the growth of export.


Extraction of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CW-15 cells by rapid freezing and thawing demonstrates that the in vivo activity of the algal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) is inhibited by the presence of light and activated in the dark, whereas phosphoribulosekinase (PRK) is light activated and inhibited in the dark. The effects of darkening are reversed by incubation with dithiothreitol (DTT) and mimicked by chemical oxidants, indicating that, as in higher plants, reduction via the ferredoxin-thioredoxin system likely regulates these enzymes. The two enzymes varied in their sensitivity to reduction; the inclusion of 0.5 mM DTT during extraction inhibited G6PDH, whereas PRK required treatment with 40 mM DTT for 1 h to reach maximum activation. The activation change for both enzymes was nearly complete within the 1st min after cells were transferred between light and dark, but the level of activation was relative to the incident light at low intensities; G6PDH activity decreased with increasing light, whereas PRK became more active. The reductive inhibition of G6PDH saturated at very low light, whereas PRK activation kinetics closely followed the increase in photosynthetic oxygen evolution. These results indicate that light-driven redox modulation of G6PDH and PRK is more than an on/off switch, but acts to optimize the reduction and oxidation of carbon in the chloroplast in accordance with the supply of electrons.


Feral oilseed rape populations in 3658 quadrats (each of 100 m) on the verges of the M25 motorway were studied for two years. There was substantial turnover in site occupancy; 55 % of quadrats had a different population density in 1994 than in 1993; 53% of the quadrats occupied in 1993 were locally extinct in 1994; and 20% of the empty quadrats in 1993 were occupied by oilseed rape in 1994. Verges next to the carriageway carrying traffic towards the main rape seed crushing plant at Erith in Kent had significantly more plants than the opposite verge carrying traffic away from Erith. Mean rape densities were also higher in the vicinity of exit and entry slip roads than on sections of verge between motorway junctions, but densities were not affected by the presence of rape crops or rape volunteers in adjacent fields. The apparent permanence of oilseed rape populations on motorway verges clearly belies substantial turnover in patch occupancy. In the absence of soil disturbance, rapid secondary succession (principally the growth of perennial grasses) tends to lead to local extinction within three years. Given sufficient soil disturbance, however, rape population density appears to be seed limited, and seed spillage can cause a two- to fivefold increase in mean population density.


A class of codes called finite-state (FS) codes is defined and investigated. The codes, which generalize both block and convolutional codes, are defined by their encoders, which are finite-state machines with parallel inputs and outputs. A family of upper bounds on the free distance of a given FS code is derived. A general construction for FS codes is given, and it is shown that in many cases the FS codes constructed in this way have a free distance that is the largest possible. Catastrophic error propagation (CEP) for FS codes is also discussed. It is found that to avoid CEP one must solve the graph-theoretic problem of finding a uniquely decodable edge labeling of the state diagram. >


The three Colleges of Surgeons declared a climate emergency. Reusable gowns are suggested to improve sustainability in theatres.

 Reusable gowns were made available to explore the interest of staff in using them. Staff were encouraged to answer a questionnaire about their attitude towards sustainability, their view on the impact of using reusable gowns, and whether they would be prepared to approach a colleague wearing a single use gown for a non-clinical reason (feeling cold).

 30 staff members agreed with global warming being important to them, with 4 staff members being indifferent. The same proportion agreed with theatres being an important area of net zero opportunities. 10 staff members consider changes in theatres to only play a minor role in relation to the magnitude of global warming.
 26 of 34 colleagues would voluntarily wear reusable gowns, 8 would prefer single-use gowns given a choice.
 Replying to the scenario of a staff member not being scrubbed up wearing a single-use gown feeling cold 7 would do the same, 9 would disapprove and raise this to the staff member, 8 would disapprove but not raise this, 3 would disapprove and raise this if there was a hospital policy in place to challenge 'it is ok to ask'.

 Most staff (30/34) recognise opportunities in theatre to become carbon neutral. A considerable proportion (26/34) would use reusable gowns if available. We have started work on a logo for a code of conduct of respectful conversations regarding wasteful behaviour (e.g. wearing disposable gowns for non-clinical reasons).


Summary Job Scheduling in a Multiprocessor architecture is an extremely difficult NP hard problem, because it requires a large combinatorial search space and also precedence constraints between the processes. For the effective utilization of multiprocessor system, efficient assignment and scheduling of jobs is more important. This paper proposes a new improved Particle Swarm Optimization (ImPSO) algorithm for the job scheduling in multiprocessor architecture in order to reduce the waiting time and finishing time of the process under consideration. In the Improved PSO, the movement of a particle is governed by three behaviors, namely, inertia, cognitive, and social. The cognitive behavior helps the particle to remember its previous visited best position. This paper proposes to split the cognitive behavior into two sections .This modification helps the particle to search the target very effectively. The proposed ImPSO algorithm is discussed in detail and results are shown considering different number of processes and also the performance results are compared with the other heuristic optimization techniques Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization.


The strongly incised mountain landscape of Northern Thailand has changed dramatically during the last few decades due to increased population pressure, agricultural commercialization, limitation to use old fallows and reforestation of upper catchments. The traditional shifting cultivation with fallow periods of 7 years and longer was gradually replaced by 1 to 4 year fallow periods. As a result, in high population areas the landscape became dominated by rainfed parcels, wetland terraces, secondary fallow vegetation and patches of disturbed forest. This new land-use system triggered severe land degradation. The objective of this research was to assess the multiple effects of land-use intensification in a tropical steepland environment on land degradation processes. A case study was conducted at Pakha village (located in Thailand?s northern most Chiang Rai province), which is dominated by steepland with average slope gradients ranging from 30 to 70%. Soil erosion processes were monitored in a selected catchment for 2 years, and informal interviews were conducted to elucidate farmers? perceptions regarding land degradation processes. The rapid land-use changes at the Dze Donglo catchment (164 ha) resulted in severe and accelerated land degradation, including tillage erosion (386 ton/year), inter-rill and rill erosion (502 ton/year), gully erosion (423 ton/year), and landslides (7572 ton during 1994). Water erosion is most common in intensively farmed areas. The combination of runoff-generating areas, runoff concentrating features and connectivity led to extensive gully erosion. Landslides were most common in steep fallows and in wetland terraces along incising streams. Many of these steepland degradation processes interacted with each other (i.e. rills with gully erosion, tillage erosion with water erosion, gullies with landslides). The observed land degradation processes matched very well with farmers? perceptions. This study enabled to identify "potential land degradation hotspots" and indicates the necessity to analyze steepland degradation processes in a holistic way. (Resume d'auteur)


For all his life Johannes Kepler seeking for harmony. Kepler is best known for his laws of planetary movement. He is also a polymath working in the intersection between contemporary sciences such as astronomy, math, physics, optics, astrology, music theory, meteorology dan history. After spending years exploring those different disciplines, he later learned he was actually longing for the harmony. His fascination over harmony in nature kept growing up, in his last days Kepler was still trying to finish a book he started since he was still a scholar. This book is called Somnium. Somnium itself is the Latin word for 'dream,' a word that make sense if you read the whole chapter. The main idea for this project is Kepler's fascination over the harmony in celestial object, thus he tried to convince people that Copernicus heliocentrism is the absolute truest way to understand how our solar system works. The idea of making narative came up to Kepler's mind as he turned his research into a fiction, a story about a boy who makes his journey to the moon to help his mother for being accused of being a witch. Similiarly to the boy, Kepler's mother is also accused for witchcraft. So Somnium was not really just a scientific book but in some part of them, there is also some biographical facts and fiction. By knowing the pattern in nature we can understand that the nature is in order and there is a grand design hidden in layers. Just like Kepler that are fascinated by the order of nature, 'Somnium' in this work is also talks about the pattern and harmony the curiousity for nature that represented in geometrical objet and natural study, and also about the old knowledge where science, art and spirituality is learnt through one form knowledge.


(Portulaca oleracea L. ) is a plant that is known more as weed, but in recent years, due to its valuable medicinal properties and its use in many areas, including edible, oil and forage, by the World Health Organization as one of the The most widely used medicimlplants are introduced. In this study, in order to investigate the effect of different levels of organic fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of purslane under different irrigation regimes, a split plot experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Nehbandan Municipality farm. Irrigation regimes included 7, 14 and 21 days as the main factor and the sub factor including no fertilizer application (control), organic fertilizers of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium at concentrations of 1, 2 and 3 ml / l. Spraying with phosphorus at the same time as starting the application of the stress (after fully planting in the 8th leaf stage), nitrogen spraying will occur at the same time as the first capsules appear on the plant and potassium spraying occurs in the half-way of the emergence of half of the plant capsules. The results showed that the effect of irrigation regimes, organic fertilizers and their interaction on plant height, stem diameter, fresh and dry leaf weight, number of capsules per plant, 1000-seed weight, aerial yield, chlorophyll a and b, proline, anthocyanin, carbohydrate , Flavonoids, protein, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase in leaf and oil content in leaf and seed at 1% probability level. The highest plant height, stem diameter, leaf fresh and dry weight, number of capsules per plant, 1000-seed weight, shoot yield, chlorophyll a and b content, protein and leaf and seed oil content were obtained in 7 days irrigation regimen. Irrigation regime reduced the values of these characteristics. While proline, anthocyanin, carbohydrate, flavonoids, catalase enzymes and guaiacolvperoxidase increased in the leaf with increasing irrigation regimes. The results of the comparison of mean interactions of fertilizer treatment and drought stress showed that application of 3 ml / L of organic fertilizers caused fresh and dry weight of leaf, 1000 seed weight, aerial yield, leaf oil and seed oil content in irrigation regimen for 14 days and amount anthocyanins, carbohydrates and flavonoids in the irrigation regimen were 21 days (severe stress). Application of 3 ml / l of organic fertilizers increased plant height, diameter, number of capsules per plant, chlorophyll a and b and protein in contvol conditions, but in interaction with water deficit activity, the activity of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, guaiacoloperoxidase and proline concentration thereby increasing the resistance to drought stress.


Sir, We read with interest the article entitled 'Typhoid hepatitis' by S.N. Khosla.' We present here a case of typhoid fever with two rare features, namely hepatitis and pancytopenia (prior to treatment with chloramphenicol). The combination ofhepatitis and pancytopenia in a single case of untreated typhoid has not been reported previously, to our knowledge. A 16 year old male was admitted with a history of continuous fever and jaundice for 15 days. The patient also complained of pain in the abdomen, vomiting, and loose motions for 10 days, prior to admission. The patient did not receive chloramphenicol or any other antibiotic prior to admission. On examination, the patient was toxic, febrile, jaundiced, grossly dehydrated and had altered sensorium. Hepatic flap was present. The abdomen was mildly distended, and meteorism was present. The liver was palpable 4 cm below the right costal margin in mid-clavicular line and was soft and tender; the spleen was not palpable. His haemogram at admission revealed a total leucocyte count of 0.9 x 109/l, (neutrophils 80%, lymphocytes 20%), Hb 58 g/l, packed red cell volume (PCV) = 0.19, platelets 90 x 109/1. Peripheral smear showed normocytic, mildly hypochromic anaemia and white cells and platelets were markedly reduced, all suggesting pancytopenia. Protamine sulphate paracoagulation test was negative. Widal test was positive with antibody titres of 1:320 for Salmonella typhi 'O' antigen and 1:160 for 'H' antigen (Widal test repeated after 4 weeks during convalescence showed a rising titre of 1:640 for both 'O' and 'H' antigens). Blood culture was negative. Blood urea, blood glucose, serum sodium, potassium and chloride were normal. Serum total bilirubin was 111 sLmol/l (normal 3.5-20.5 prmol/l). Direct (conjugated) 51 ltmol/l (normal 1.75.1 prmol/l). Serum alanine aminotransferase activity (SGPT) 23 IU/l (normal 3-26 IU/1) and serum alkaline phosphatase 16 KA' units (normal 5-13 KA' units). The patient was initially put on ampicillin injection, 1 g 6-hourly (chloramphenicol was not used as the patient had pancytopenia); but as the fever pattern remained unchanged with 5 days of treatment with ampicillin, the patient was switched over to chloramphenicol injection, 500 mg 6-hourly. Forty-eight hours after, the patient became afebrile. The haemogram repeated at that time showed total leucocyte count 5.9 x 109/1, differential leucocyte count (neutrophil 68%, eosinophil 4%, lymphocyte 23%, monocyte 5%), Hb 34 g/l, PCV 0.20, platelet count 280 x 109/1. Bleeding time and clotting time were 2 min 40 s and 3 min 10 s respectively. Liver function test showed total bilirubin 37.6 j.mol/l, direct (conjugated) 18.8 jlmol/l, serum alanine aminotransferase activity (SGPT) 55 IU/1, serum alkaline phosphatase 15 KA' units. The patient's jaundice disappeared totally by the sixth day of treatment with chloramphenicol and the patient was discharged from hospital with the advice to complete a 2-week course of chloramphenicol at home. His investigations, repeated 2 weeks after discharge, showed a normal blood count and liver function tests. Jaundice is known to occur rarely in typhoid fever when it can have either a hepato-cellular or a cholestatic pattern.2 However, when present, it is almost always associated with a rise in serum aminotransferase levels.3 Reduction of single cell component like leucopenia or thrombocytopenia is not unknown in typhoid fever,3 but pancytopenia in an untreated case of enteric fever is perhaps extremely rare. That the pancytopenia was related to disease was proved by the fact that blood count improved with recovery of the patient after treatment with chloramphenicol. Blood culture in this patient was negative, probably because the patient came to us in the third week of illness.


Adult onset Still's disease (AOSD), is an inflammatory disease characterized by fever, arthritis or arthralgias, muscle pain, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, rash and splenomegaly. Fever together with arthralgias and myalgias are reported in >90% of patients with AOSD. Disseminated intravascular coagulation is a very rare disorder, which may accompany severe cases of AOSD, especially in the context of hemophagocytic syndrome. Herein, we describe a patient with elevated d-dimers, but without disseminated intravascular coagulation and without hemophagocytic syndrome, who responded well to early corticosteroid treatment. We propose that isolated elevated d-dimers may be associated with the severity of the disease and may be suggestive of the need for early corticosteroid treatment.


Background: This paper presents the results of the research on the Proposals of stricto sensu Postgraduate Programs in Accounting Sciences. Objective: The objective was to analyze the pedagogical training approach delineated in the Proposals available on Sucupira Platform of the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). The technique of document analysis was used for the twenty programs aiming at identifying the discourses about the training of the accounting professor for higher education. The identified data refer to the period from 2010 to 2012 and were organized in categories education, teaching, training, projects, programs, curriculum, teacher, teaching-learning, instruction and methodology. In this text only two categories are discussed, with which, through discursive practice, was sought to understand the concept of education and teacher. Results: It is concluded that, besides the challenges of the stricto sensu postgraduate programs in Accounting for an interdisciplinary dialogue among the areas of knowledge, there are no projects of pedagogical training that take the teaching of Accounting as object of study and training for teaching in higher education. Conclusion: It is claimed that teaching does not conform in the tradition; it is made complex in the plurality of subjects and knowledge that it involves, and Accounting Science is just part of the pedagogical process and object to be known.


We propose a new model for investigating the impact of complex imperfect channel state information (CSI) over Nakagami-m fading channels. The phase difference between two correlated complex Nakagami random variables (RVs) is proposed and its statistical properties are investigated. A closed-form expression for the distribution is obtained using an approach from [1] and depends on the Nakagami-m parameter and the power correlation coefficient (p) between two correlated complex RVs. A simple approximation is given when p is close to unity. The proposed phase difference is shown to accurately approximate that of the Ricean. We derive the joint density function of this phase difference and its associated correlated envelopes. This is given in a closed form in terms of a generalized hypergeometric function, but the RVs can be easily generated for simulation. We analyze the impact of imperfect CSI on the bit error rate (BER) of uncoded and coded modulation. For uncoded modulation, the average BER and a closed-form expression of the asymptotic BER or error floor are obtained. For coded modulation, we determine the error free feedback bound of bit-interleaved coded modulation with iterative decoding for both perfect and imperfect CSI. We show that imperfect phase estimation is the major cause of the error floor.


Abstract This article compares anti-American beef politics in South Korea (2008) and Taiwan (2009) to solve the puzzle of why two similar social protests resulted in dissimilar outcomes. Given the highly comparable political contexts of conservative ascendancy, we argue that cultural factors determined the movement trajectories. The presence of anti-Americanism and the centrality of beef in the national diet produced a strong anti-government movement in Korea but not in Taiwan.


Amongst the modulation techniques used for grid-tie inverters (GTIs), hysteresis current control (HCC) facilitates simple, stable and rugged control with improved dynamic response. However the variable switching frequency of HCC demands high precision AC current sensors (CS) which introduce noise in the power circuit in addition to measurement noise and delay. Therefore, this brief presents a hysteresis current control without AC current sensor based on switching instant computation for a two-level GTI. The proposed control strategy uses the DC link and instantaneous grid voltages to calculate the switching instants. The conventional methods of calculating switching instant of HCC can result in tracking errors. Hence the computations are modified in the proposed algorithm considering the effects of non-linearity in error current and dynamic variations due to supply and load changes. A single-phase GTI is simulated with the proposed control and the results are verified experimentally. The proposed method is observed to considerably reduce the computational time, DC shift and total harmonic distortion compared to the commonly used sensorless current control.


Background Until recently, fire statistics in Canada have been difficult to obtain. The National Fire Information Database (NFID) is a pilot project of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and the Council of Canadian Fire Marshals and Fire Commissioners. For the first time, 10 years of fire information from across Canada is unified in a single database and available for research and analysis. Objective To illustrate fire-related injuries and deaths among Canadian children≤19 years old, and to compare age-related rates between 5 Canadian provinces. Methods All residential fire incidents causing injury and death to children≤19 years old within the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, from 2005–2014 were included in the analysis. Rates per 10 000 fires were calculated and compared between age groups and across provinces. Results The rates of injury and death among the study population were 60.5 and 10.6, respectively. Children aged 0–4 and 15–19 suffered the highest rates of injuries and deaths. The rate of injury among 0–4 and 5–9 year-olds was highest in Ontario (32.0 and 18.6, respectively), while Alberta showed the highest rate of injuries among 10–14 and 15–19 year-olds (16.1 and 43.8, respectively). Finally, the death among 0–4 year-olds in Manitoba was 2.3 times higher than the Canadian average (8.3 vs 3.6). Discussion Rates of injury exceeded rates of death in every province, with the exception of 0–4 year olds in Manitoba. External factors, such as severity of the fire, response time of emergency services, and distance to the pediatric care facility, may contribute to this difference. The youngest children and oldest teens appear to be most at risk, indicating that developmental stage is an important consideration for strategic intervention. Further research is needed to clarify and address disparities between provinces.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper was to study the interaction effects of rainfall regime and slope length on runoff and soil loss under different land uses. Event runoff and soil loss in forest, shrub and grass were measured in plots with lengths of 5, 9 and 13m in the Loess Plateau from 2008 to 2016. A total of 59 erosive rainfall events were recorded and classified into three rainfall regimes. Firstly, the results showed that the runoff coefficient was grass>shrub>forest, and soil loss was grass>forest>shrub, but the differences between forest and shrub in runoff and between grass and forest in soil loss did not reach significant levels. Secondly, rainfall regimes had an important effect on runoff and soil loss under different land uses. The lowest runoff coefficients and the highest soil loss in regime 2 were found in shrub and forest land, respectively, which differed from that of regime 1. In total, rainfall regime 1 had the highest runoff coefficient of 0.84–2.06%, followed by regime 3 with 0.33–0.88% and regime 2 with 0.04–0.06%. Soil loss in forest and grass land had a different order of regime 3>regime 1>regime 2. Thirdly, both the runoff coefficient and soil loss decreased with increasing plot length, while the effect of slope length on runoff/soil loss were influenced by land use type and rainfall regimes.