A new image coding method using predictive classified vector quantisation (PCVQ) is proposed. The image is first divided into different subsources using a two-stage classification method based on the optimum three-level block truncation coding technique. Each subsource is then vector quantised using different codebooks. Simulation results show that an improvement of about 2 to 6 dB in PSNR performance over the JPEG scheme is obtained at the rate of 0.4375 bit/pixel.


Introduction The aim of this study was to conduct a homoeopathic proving of Carcharhinus leucas in the thirtieth centesimal potency (30CH) and to subsequently establish and describe the symptomatology in standard materia medica format and then compare this symptomatology to Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Methodology The homoeopathic proving of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was conducted at the Durban University of Technology and was accomplished by means of a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial. Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was manufactured by the researchers according to Method 6, Method 8a and 10 of the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (Benyunes, 2005: 36-39). The homoeopathic proving was conducted in the form of a double blind placebo controlled study of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH with a total of 30 healthy provers. The prover sample was divided into two groups by a process of randomisation. Twenty four provers (80%) comprised the verum group and the remaining 6 provers (20%) comprised the placebo group. The identity of the proving substance and the potency used was not disclosed to provers. Provers documented their physical, mental and emotional status for one week preceding the administration of the proving remedy. A comprehensive physical examination and case history of every prover was taken before and after the proving period. Provers were instructed to ingest one powder three times a day for two days but were told to discontinue the powders once symptoms arose. The duration of the proving spanned 6 weeks and throughout the proving process, researchers were in constant communication with all the participants. Upon completion of the proving process, journals were collected and the information therein was translated into materia medica and repertory format. This was done in order to acquire the remedy picture of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH. Thereafter, the symptomatology of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was compared to the symptomatology of Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Results The proving of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH produced a total of 590 already existing rubrics and 43 new rubrics. The majority of these rubrics were located in the MIND (127), GENERALS (64), HEAD (55), EXTREMITIES (50), and EYE (34). In regard to the mind, prominent features were apparent such as anger, anxiety, cheerfulness, an aversion or amelioration within company, difficulty concentrating or increased focus, varying delusions and fears and irritability. Pertaining to the head, headaches were evident with varying concomitants and modalities, with headaches predominantly affecting the forehead and sides. Sensations included dryness, heat, heaviness, perspiration and shaking. The extremities displayed symptoms primarily in the forearms, legs and thighs and sensations included paralysis, shaking, swelling and weakness. In regard to the eye, eye pain with multiple modalities were apparent, with symptoms related to the canthi and eyelids. Sensations included heat, heaviness, inflammation, itching and photophobia as well as a visible discolouration of the eye. Analysis of the results presented an understanding of the similarities and differences between Carcharhinus leucas 30CH and Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Conclusion As hypothesised, it was evident that administering Carcharhinus leucas 30CH to healthy individuals did yield observable symptomatology. Additionally, it was apparent that various correlations between Carcharhinus leucas 30CH and Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH existed


Shape memory alloys (SMAs) provide compact and effective actuation for a variety of mechanical systems. Automotive applications of these materials, although very attractive, have not been fully explored. The lack of activities in this area is partly due to the complex thermomechanical behavior of these materials. In this work a two degree of freedom SMA actuator has been developed to orient the position of a rearview mirror for automotive applications. This paper presents the design, modeling, and experimental evaluation of this SMA mirror actuator. To evaluate the performance of the actuator a prototype SMA actuated mirror is designed and fabricated. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SMA actuator in positioning the mirror.


In a recent paper Bukodi E and Goldthorpe JH. (2011) 'Social class returns to higher education: chances of access to the professional and managerial salariat for men in three British cohorts'. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 2, 185-201, 2011 the authors adopt a particular methodological approach to the study of 'causality' in life course research. This highlights an important area of contention among social scientists. We have therefore, with the authors' agreement, taken this as an opportunity to open it up to a wider debate. In this issue of the journal we publish two commentaries, by Clarke, and by Legewie and Solga, that take issue with the Bukodi/Goldthorpe position on causality. The commentaries also question the relationship of the paper's contribution to the existing economics literature on 'returns to education' and the manner in which 'missing data values' are handled by the authors. See also a relevant tutorial published in the journal Goldstein H. (2009) 'Handling attrition and non-response in longitudinal data'. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, 1, 6372, 2009 that discusses methods for dealing with missing data. We also publish a response by Bukodi and Goldthorpe to these commentaries. We are very grateful to the original authors as well as to those who contributed the commentaries, for taking the time to prepare their carefully argued positions. We hope that this kind of debate will form a regular feature of the journal and help to illuminate important methodological controversies, about which, of course, readers will form their own judgements.


In this paper, we will present a new method for solving a class of two-dimensional linear Volterra integral equation of the second kind with weakly singular kernel from Abel type in the reproducing kernel space. The reproducing kernel function is discussed in detail. Weak singularity of problem is removed by applying integration by parts. Further, improper integral belongs to L_2 (Ω). In our method the exact solution ϕ(x,t) is represented in the form of series in the reproducing kernel space W(ω), and the approximate solution ϕ_n (x,t) is constructed via truncating the series to n terms. Convergence analysis of the method is proved in detail. Some numerical examples are also studied to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the presented method. The obtained results show that the error of the approximate solution is monotone decreasing in the sense of the norm of W(ω), when increasing the number of the nodes. Also, that indicate the method is simple and effective. It turns out that this method is valid.


The classification of fresh fruits according to their visual ripeness is typically a subjective and tedious task; consequently, there is a growing interest in the use of non-contact techniques to automate this process. Machine learning techniques, such as artificial neural networks, support vector machines (SVMs), decision trees, and K-nearest neighbor algorithms, have been successfully applied for classification problems in the literature, particularly for images of fruit. However, the particularities of each classification problem make it difficult, if not impossible, to select a general technique that is applicable to all types of fruit. In this paper, the combinations of four machine learning techniques and three color spaces (RGB, HSV, and L*a*b*) were evaluated with regard to their ability to classify Cape gooseberry fruits. To this end, 925 Cape gooseberry fruit samples were collected, and each fruit was manually classified into one of seven different classes according to its level of ripeness. The color values of each fruit image in the three color spaces and their corresponding ripening stages were organized for training and validation following a fivefold cross-validation strategy in an iterative process repeated 100 times. According to the results, the classification of Cape gooseberry fruits by their ripeness level was sensitive to both the color space and the classification technique used. The models based on the L*a*b* color space and the SVM classifier showed the highest f-measure regardless of the color space, and the principal component analysis combination of color spaces improved the performance of the models at the expense of increased complexity.


In May 2009, the sixth printmaking workshop was held at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. This paper is a review of this creative workshop. Critically evaluating the demonstration of drypoint and collagraphy techniques in the exercise, effort is made to highlight the effectiveness of workshop as a strategy of teaching and disseminating the art of printmaking. Also surveyed is the historical evolution of workshop in the development of printmaking in Nigeria, with emphasis on how the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria adopted workshop in its academic programme. Beyond the learning of skills, the sixth Nsukka printmaking workshop is used to interrogate the issue of trans-national and cross-cultural networking in art. The contemporary construction of art history is much affected by how artists, artworks and artistic styles get interconnected in physical, printed and electronic forms. The sixth Nsukka printmaking workshop was a product of such contact, and inspired further linkages for younger artists from Nsukka as will be elaborated in this essay.


The cellulosis Biofill membrane, which has been utilized as a temporary substitute for skin in esthetic and repair surgery, has recently been tested in ophthalmology. With the objective to obtain an alternative for sutures that require the opening of the cornea through the anterior chamber, a comparative study was done to relate the closure of corneal incision by the use of suture and with the aid of Biofill. Five dogs, of unknow breed, and with varying weight and age, were used to perform these incisions. In one eye, the incision was closed with Biofill, while on the other a simple continuous suture was done. An analysis of the results was obtained by daily clinical examination and by use of ophthalmoscopy. The results obtained with the use of cellulosis Biofill pellicle (film) on the closure of corneal incisions, proved to be more efficient in comparison to' incisions closed by the usage of suture.


Caplan's The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies1 has been received by rave reviews. These reviews appear to have failed to note that Caplan's book celebrates the market and denigrates democracy at the very time when markets worldwide have failed and democracies have ridden to the rescue. It thus appears to have been undermined fatally by events that occurred as it was published (and which Caplan artfully omits to mention in the more recent paperback edition). Caplan's book in fact stands in the long tradition of anti-democratic writings that argue that an elite must rule. An elite of free-market economists. An elite no longer in good odour, since the financial crisis (and the climate crisis) occurred and became starkly evident to all. This Critical Notice also points out that numerous of Caplan's key claims, such as that individual voters have zero effect on election results, are empirically false.


Even though planning and market orientation have received great attention in the literature, their innovation pendants were largely neglected. This study explores how firms can achieve product innovation through innovation orientation and planning processes. The results of our study on innovation management are based on a survey study of 241 firms in the Consumer Electronic Industry. We find that the two prominent types of planning processes, the emergent and the deliberate approach, affect both innovation orientation and market performance. The effects on incremental innovation and the right choice of planning strongly depend on the level of uncertainty.


Nephrotoxicity remains a major limitation in the use of cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)]. Although several strategies are in use to limit this serious side effect, none is fully satisfactory. Classical pharmacokinetic studies of cisplatin have been based on blood and urine samples. As nephrotoxicity plays a significant role in the design of the therapeutic strategy, the kidneys should be considered as a separate state in any model formulated for ultimate control purposes. Previous studies of organ pharmacokinetics have relied on population measurements. The authors have developed an organ compartmental model from individual animal data obtained noninvasively. The eight-compartment model used to represent the distribution of cisplatin considers free and bound platinum in plasma, platinum in the erythrocytes, mobile and bound platinum in the kidneys, mobile and bound platinum in the tissues, and platinum in the urine. Data were collected from experiments with anesthetized female rats, after intravenous administration of [195mPt]cisplatin. Both arterial and bladder samples, and multiple images obtained with an Anger camera interfaced to a microcomputer were used. The model was estimated from individual data obtained after injection of a bolus of cisplatin (six animals). The model was validated by using it to predict data obtained from forcing the system with a different input function, a 0.5-h intravenous infusion (three animals). The results of this work show that it is possible to noninvasively study drug kinetics in organs that are not readily accessible to direct measurements in an individual, rather than relying on invasive measurements performed on a population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Transgenic potato lines of cv. Desiree containing the DREB1A gene driven by the rd29A promoter were generated using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The morphological appearance of the 120 transgenic lines was classified into three categories as determined by in vitro test-tube evaluation. Southern blot analyses of genomic DNA were conducted using the restriction enzymes HindIII and DraI. There were significant differences between the transgenic lines and DSC in the quantitative salinity-tolerance evaluations at 1 M NaCl. Two transgenic lines were recognized as highly tolerant to salinity based on Duncan multiple range testing. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the mean tolerance level of the transgenic lines and the DREB1A copy number estimated from the Southern hybridization experiments. Northern hybridization experiments were subsequently done using a DREB1A cDNA probe and transgenic lines with different levels of salinity tolerance. Salt-tolerant transgenic lines expressed substantially more of the transgene at 2 to 5 h of salt treatment, after which the expression returned to basal levels. These observations suggest that the gene transfer of rd29A::DREB1A can be used to increase the salt tolerance of important agricultural crops, such as tetrasomic polyploid potatoes, as occurs in diploid model species, such as Arabidopsis.


Abstract A common problem in multi-environment trials arises when some genotypeby- environment combinations are missing. In Arciniegas-Alarcón et al. (2010) we outlined a method of data imputation to estimate the missing values, the computational algorithm for which was a mixture of regression and lower-rank approximation of a matrix based on its singular value decomposition (SVD). In the present paper we provide two extensions to this methodology, by including weights chosen by cross-validation and allowing multiple as well as simple imputation. The three methods are assessed and compared in a simulation study, using a complete set of real data in which values are deleted randomly at different rates. The quality of the imputations is evaluated using three measures: the Procrustes statistic, the squared correlation between matrices and the normalised root mean squared error between these estimates and the true observed values. None of the methods makes any distributional or structural assumptions, and all of them can be used for any pattern or mechanism of the missing values.


60 GHz technology holds tremendous potential to upgrade wireless link throughput to Gbps level. To overcome inherent vulnerability to attenuation, 60 GHz radios communicate by forming highly-directional electronically-steerable beams. Standards like IEEE 802.11ad have tailored MAC/PHY protocols to such flexible-beam 60 GHz networks. However, lack of a reconfigurable platform has thwarted a realistic proof-of-concept evaluation. In this paper, we conduct an in-depth measurement of indoor 60 GHz networks using a first-of-its-kind software-radio platform. Our measurement focuses on the link-level behavior with three major perspectives: (i) coverage and bit-rate of a single link, and implications for 60 GHz MIMO; (ii) impact of beam-steering on network performance, particularly under human blockage and device mobility; (iii) spatial reuse between flexible beams. Our study dispels some common myths, and reveals key challenges in maintaining robust flexible-beam connection. We propose new principles that can tackle such challenges based on unique properties of 60 GHz channel and cognitive capability of 60 GHz links.


Rethinking "design thinking" as a curricular exercise takes on extra cache as the Ontario College of Art & Design rebrands and repositions itself within the landscape of art and design education. Design, as not just a culturally valuable endeavor, but potentially economically viable endeavor, becomes more of a way of thinking than a profession or series of professions within this new definition. How does this effect design education? How does this change how design theory needs to be taught? What are some of the positive repercussions of reframing design theory? Sustainability becomes a major part of this transformation as global economies and conventional modes and forms of production become obsolete and ineffective following the economic meltdown. How can we get beyond the hyperbole and make design relevant and how will this potentially make sustainability more substantial for all of us? An embedded thesis of this paper is to include design in engineering in an embedded, but more substantial way, perhaps through teaching design theory in more disciplines disguised as sustainability theory.


Quaternary alluvium in valley fiats of the Davis Mountains and adjoining lowlands in Trans-Pecos Texas contains remains of extinct horse and mammoth species as well as artifacts and other cultural material. On the basis of disconformities within the valley-fill complex, the Quaternary has been divided into three formations: Neville, Calamity, and Kokernot, in order from oldest to youngest. The Neville consists mostly of reddish-brown to buff clay and silt. The Calamity contains relatively more sand and gravel than the Neville, although dark zones of humic silt and clay are characteristic of the Calamity. The Kokernot consists of incoherent silt, sand, and gravel. Caliche concretions and cement, abundant in the Neville, are uncommon in the Calamity and generally absent in the Kokernot. Only the Neville contains mammoth remains. To date, no artifacts have been found in the Neville, although the overlying Calamity formation contains artifacts, buried hearths, and human skeletons. Of several cultures represented in the Calamity, one is Pecos River Cave Dweller. The Kokernot formation contains cultural material at top and bottom ; pottery in upper layers shows that these beds were deposited within the interval 1100–1400 A. D.


To the Editor: The editors must be braced for a storm of letters about Chervenak et al1 because of the juxtaposition of this article with those of Drs Ecker and Minkoff2 and of Dr Fineberg.3 However, it seems to me more telling that this piece, which recommends not only refusal of participation in planned home birth but directive counseling against a patient's plan for home birth, appears in the same issue as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee Opinion on Partnering with Patients,4 which reminds us that in shared decision-making, the physician may lead the discussion but the patient decides.


In The Netherlands Lilium is economically the fourth overall flower crop for cut flower production. Longevity is a main quality characteristic for cut flowers. During postharvest handling of Asiatic hybrid lilies pretreatment with chemical solutions containing silver is carried out to ensure a satisfactory longevity at the consumers'. However, the extent to which such a treatment can delay senescence is limited and is dependent on the genotype. Developing cultivars with genetically improved longevity may provide the consumer with a more reliable expectation for postharvest quality in a less environment polluting way. Flower longevity is a particularly difficult genetic characteristic to assess, since it is markedly affected by growing conditions prior to harvest, stage of flowering at harvest and environmental conditions during distribution and after sale. Additionally, longevity of lily is complex because of its inflorescence-type flower. Longevity is determined by two conflicting processes: (1) promotion of flower bud growth and anthesis; (2) retardation of metabolic processes leading to senescence. Therefore, besides knowledge of genetic aspects of flower longevity also insight in the physiological regulation is needed for its improvement. The objectives of the experiments described in this thesis were to obtain knowledge of (1) methods for longevity determination, (2) available genotypic variation, (3) mode of inheritance and (4) physiological regulation of postharvest flower longevity in Asiatic hybrid lilies. The development of a standardized method for the determination of flower longevity in lily is described. To optimize the screening procedure, the main sources of environmental variance (parameter for screening, harvest stage) were located and standardized, whereas conditions improving the degree of variation among genotypes (evaluation temperature) were determined and optimized (Chapter 2 and 3). By using standardized conditions during forcing, harvest and postharvest evaluation measurements became discriminative and repeatable. Standardization of the forcing method is usually not possible in practice. The ranking of the genotypes based on their longevity levels using standardized conditions during forcing was comparable with the ranking found when forcing conditions in practice were used (Chapter 4). This makes screening results highly reliable for practical use. Because of the large influence of temperature on flower longevity postharvest evaluation should preferably be carried out under controlled temperature conditions. For breeding purposes adequate genotypic variation in the breeding material is necessary. Large differences in individual flower longevity were found screening a wide range of genetic material of Asiatic hybrid origin (Chapter 4). Interspecific hybridization research showed that crosses between genotypes from different taxonomic sections is possible (Chapter 1 and 8). So, enhancement of the exploitable genetic variation may be obtained by screening also other lily groups. The in potential reachable individual flower longevity, not preceded by stress, appeared to be a reliable overall parameter for screening as postharvest stress conditions (storage, ethylene) introduced no large differences in the ranking of the genotypes based on their longevity levels (Chapter 8). Segregation after crossbreeding makes selection possible. Large variation in flower longevity within and among progenies was found. Selection at seedling level appeared to be possible because of a high broad-sense heritability based on one individual plant per genotype and because of an equal expression of individual flower longevity in plants obtained from both seedling bulbs and scale propagated bulbs (Chapter 5). This can considerably speed up the breeding process. For an efficient selection of genotypes with improved flower longevity, knowledge is required of the inheritance of flower longevity. Genetic analysis of the results of the individual plant test showed that additive genetic variance is important in the inheritance of individual flower longevity as the general combining ability (GCA) was the most important genetic component and the estimate for narrow- sense heritability was high. Consequently, individual flower longevity of the genotype can be used as an indication for its breeding value in practical breeding (Chapter 5). A more specific statement on the inheritance of flower longevity can be obtained by indirect selection using genetic markers as discussed in Chapter 8. The physiological regulation of postharvest longevity was investigated by studying the role of tepal carbohydrate content (Chapter 6 and 7). The importance of tepal carbohydrate content and distribution in lily postharvest performance (bud-growth, anthesis, longevity) was revealed by comparing the development of inflorescence-attached and detached buds and flowers. Genotypic differences in the availability and use of carbohydrate were found. Per genotype tepal carbohydrate and individual flower longevity of detached flowers were well correlated. Blocking carbohydrate export by detaching the flowers from the inflorescence increased their longevity compared to the longevity of inflorescence-attached flowers. The complexity of the carbohydrate economy within lily inflorescences hampered the detection of a causal relationship among genotypes. However, the data presented suggest that genotypic differences in flower longevity might at least partially be due to genotypic differences in postharvest carbohydrate utilization (Chapter 7). In conclusion, the prospects for improving flower longevity in lily by breeding and selection are promising. The methods described for screening and selection, the genotypic variation in flower longevity found in this study and the way of inheritance as discussed in Chapter 5 make it possible to obtain new lily cultivars with an improved flower longevity in a relatively short period of time. Furthermore, a high broad-sense heritability in combination with a large segregation of individual flower longevity are of great benefit in linkage studies and future breeding programs based on indirect selection using genetic markers. The physiological regulation of lily flower longevity and the important but partially unknown role of carbohydrates in this complex process needs still further research.


The size and number of IP3R (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor) clusters located on the surface of the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) is hypothesized to regulate the propagation of Ca2+ waves in cells, but the mechanisms by which the receptors cluster are not understood. Using immunocytochemistry, live-cell imaging and heterologous expression of ER membrane proteins we have investigated IP3R clustering in the basophilic cell line RBL-2H3 following the activation of native cell-surface antigen receptors. IP3R clusters are present in resting cells, and upon receptor stimulation, form larger aggregates. Cluster formation and maintenance required the presence of extracellular Ca2+ in both resting and stimulated cells. Using transfection with a marker of the ER, we found that the ER itself also showed structural changes, leading to an increased number of 'hotspots', following antigen stimulation. Surprisingly, however, when we compared the ER hotspots and IP3R clusters, we found them to be distinct. Imaging of YFP (yellow fluorescent protein)-IP3R transfected in to living cells confirmed that IP3R clustering increased upon stimulation. Photobleaching experiments showed that the IP3R occupied a single contiguous ER compartment both before and after stimulation, suggesting a dynamic exchange of IP3R molecules between the clusters and the surrounding ER membrane. It also showed a decrease in the mobile fraction after cell activation, consistent with receptor anchoring within clusters. We conclude that IP3R clustering in RBL-2H3 cells is not simply a reflection of bulk-changes in ER structure, but rather is due to the receptor undergoing homotypic or heterotypic protein-protein interactions in response to agonist stimulation.


Summary After Lewis rats bearing transplanted lymphomas were given injections intraperitoneally of colloidal radiogold, estimation of radioactivity in the liver gave evidence for a significant increase of uptake, whereas this was not the case for spleens of tumor-bearing rats. Because of hepatomegaly regularly present in tumor-bearing rats, the Au 198 content of the whole liver was much greater than that of controls, whereas the whole spleen took up similar amounts of radiocolloid in control and tumor animals. These changes in hepatic and splenic uptake reflecting phagocytic activity were absent in rats tested 6 days after tumor inoculation, when metastatic spread had as yet not taken place. Results of this work were compared with those of similar investigations recorded in the literature which attempted to evaluate reticuloendothelial function in relation to cancer.


SiC based ceramics have excellent properties in strength, hardness and chemical stability at high tem-per~tures. Such attractive characteristics make them promising candidates for high temperature structural or wear and corrosion-resistant materials. On the other hand, carbides, nitrides or borides of transition metals, such as TiC, NbC, ZrC, TiN, TiB2 and ZrB2' have prominent refractriness with good electric conductivity. Sintered SiC and refractory compounds, however, have low fracture toughness. In order to improve the fracture toughness of ceramic materials, use of refractory compounds as a filler has been attempted. fabrication and mechano-physical properties of SiC~ (X; carbides, nitrides or borides of transition metals) composites and their microstructure-macro properties relation are reviewed. Refractory compounds particleslSiC matrix composites exhibited improved mechanical properties compared to the monolithic SiC or the compounds. The electric conductivity of the composites can be varied by changing the amount of carbides, nitrides or borides of transition metals. Use of refractory compoundslSiC composites may solve two problems: Iow frac~ure toughness of ceramic materials and difficulty of machining them by using an electric discharge method.


Up to now, the excited charmed and bottom baryon states have still not been well studied experimentally or theoretically. In this paper, we predict the mass of , the only L = 0 baryon state which has not been observed, to be 6069.2 MeV. The spectra of charmed and bottom baryons with the orbital angular momentum L = 1 are studied in two popular constituent quark models, the Goldstone boson exchange (GBE) model and the one gluon exchange (OGE) hyperfine interaction model. Inserting the latest experimental data from the "Review of Particle Physics", we find that in the GBE model, there exist some multiplets (Σc(b), and Ωc(b)) in which the total spin of the three quarks in their lowest energy states is 3/2, but in the OGE model there is no such phenomenon. This is the most important difference between the GBE and OGE models. These results can be tested in the near future. We suggest more efforts to study the excited charmed and bottom baryons both theoretically and experimentally, not only for the abundance of baryon spectra, but also for determining which hyperfine interaction model best describes nature.


The 1943 movie The Song of Bernadette names Alfred Newman as its "composer." But his chief assistant at the time, Edward Powell, appears to have made a number of important contributions. If Newman provided the themes and harmonies with their positioning within the individual scenes, Powell worked out the scorings and registers, and at times filled out the harmonies with additional notes or counter-melodies. In this regard Newman and Powell can be considered a "team." They also shared enthusiasms concerning composers, such as Sibelius, Wagner, or Ravel, from whom thematic ideas appear to have been borrowed, e.g. Sibelius's "forest murmurs" (Symphony no.5) with its strangely dissonant chromaticisms, or the opulent celesta and harp effects in the first vision scene that recall Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe. The three vision scenes are based on essentially the same thematic material, although the third brings in a quotation from Victoria's motet "Ave Maria," which subsequently becomes a leitmotif throughout the movie, underscoring those moments when a sacred feeling was suggested or emphasized.


Existing socio-psychological studies suggest that users of a social network form their opinions relying on the opinions of their neighbors. According to DeGroot opinion formation model, one value of particular importance is the asymptotic consensus value---the sum of user opinions weighted by the users' eigenvector centralities. This value plays the role of an attractor for the opinions in the network and is a lucrative target for external influence. However, since any potentially malicious control of the opinion distribution in a social network is clearly undesirable, it is important to design methods to prevent the external attempts to strategically change the asymptotic consensus value.
In this work, we assume that the adversary wants to maximize the asymptotic consensus value by altering the opinions of some users in a network; we, then, state DIVER---an NP-hard problem of disabling such external influence attempts by strategically adding a limited number of edges to the network. Relying on the theory of Markov chains, we provide perturbation analysis that shows how eigenvector centrality and, hence, DIVER's objective function change in response to an edge's addition to the network. The latter leads to the design of a pseudo-linear-time heuristic for DIVER, whose computation relies on efficient estimation of mean first passage times in a Markov chain. We confirm our theoretical findings in experiments.


The effect of accompanying anion on the transport of Ni2+ and competitive transport of Ni2+ and Fe3+ ions through charged polysulfone or polysulfone polyester-supported cation exchange membranes was studied under Donnan dialysis conditions. In the Donnan dialysis process, two electrolyte solutions were separated by ion permeable membrane, the one side (feed solution) initially containing metal salts or their mixtures, the other is HCl and no external potential field is applied. The transport of metal ions through membranes was correlated with the efficiency factor (EF) values as well as with fluxes and depended on the interaction between the fixed groups in the membrane and the metal ions. The EF value of Ni2+ as a single as well as mixture state was higher than that of Fe3+ for both types of membranes. The effect of accompanying anion on the transport of Ni2+ was found to be in the following order of and the results were correlated with the EF values, as well as with the membrane structure.


The inclusion binding manners of bolaform surfactants of type C(n)R6(2+) 2Br(-) with different spacer lengths (n = 6, 12) and terminal headgroup volumes (R = methyl, ethyl) by p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene were studied. The combination of ITC parameters (binding constants and complexation enthalpy and entropy) and NMR chemical shifts and NOE cross-peaks obtained upon complexation allows us to propose different binding modes. The results point out that the spacer length has an influence on the binding stoichiometry. The bolaforms with larger spacer lengths between polar head groups enable the formation of 2:1 complexes in addition to 1:1, while with the shorter spacer they form only 1:1 complexes. On the other hand, the formation of 1:1 complexes is not affected by the headgroup volume or the spacer length of the bolaform. Unexpectedly, a complex binding mode was observed where both positive charged terminal groups of the bolaform are accommodated in the cavity of the calixarene. The inclusion of both terminal groups of the guests can be related to its own structure but also evidence the high flexibility of the calixarene.


Background Abundant evidence suggests an association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but small sample sizes and inconclusive data in the literature complicate this assertion. Objective We measured the prevalence of SCH in T2DM population, and investigated whether T2DM increase the risk of SCH and whether SCH was associated with diabetic complications. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis using PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Wan Fang, CNKI and VIP databases for literature search. We obtained studies published between January 1, 1980 to December 1, 2014. The studies were selected to evaluate the prevalence of SCH in T2DM subjects, compare the prevalence of SCH in T2DM subjects with those non-diabetics, and investigate whether diabetic complications were more prevalent in SCH than those who were euthyroid. Fixed and random effects meta-analysis models were used, and the outcome was presented as a pooled prevalence with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) or a summary odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI. RESULTS Through literature search, 36 articles met the inclusion criteria and these articles contained a total of 61 studies. Funnel plots and Egger's tests showed no publication bias in our studies, except for the pooled prevalence of SCH in T2DM (P = 0.08) and OR for SCH in T2DM (P = 0.04). Trim and fill method was used to correct the results and five potential missing data were replaced respectively. The adjusted pooled prevalence of SCH in T2DM patients was 10.2%, meanwhile, T2DM was associated with a 1.93-fold increase in risk of SCH (95% CI: 1.66, 2.24). Furthermore, SCH might affect the development of diabetic complications with an overall OR of 1.74 (95% CI: 1.34, 2.28) for diabetic nephropathy, 1.42 (95% CI: 1.21, 1.67) for diabetic retinopathy, 1.85 (95% CI: 1.35, 2.54) for peripheral arterial disease, and 1.87 (95% CI: 1.06, 3.28) for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Conclusions T2DM patients are more likely to have SCH when compared with healthy population and SCH may be associated with increased diabetic complications. It is necessary to screen thyroid function in patients with T2DM, and appropriate individualized treatments in addition to thyroid function test should be given to T2DM patients with SCH as well.


Abstract Recent evidence has implicated microRNA-219 (miR-219) in regulation of gene contributed in glioblastoma (GBM) pathogenesis. This study aimed to prepare miR-219 in chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs), characterize and investigate their efficacy on human GBM cell line (U87 MG). NPs were prepared using ionic gelation method. The influence of process parameters on physicochemical characteristics of NPs was investigated. Apoptotic effect of miR-219 was examined on U87 MG cells. Formulated NPs showed particle size of 109 ± 2.18 nm, with poly dispersity index equal to 0.2 ± 0.05, and zeta potential of +20.5 ± 0.7 mV. Entrapment efficiency of miR-219 in loaded NP has reached 95%. The in vitro release study demonstrated sustained release pattern of miR-219 from CS-NPs. Gel retardation assay has confirmed the integrity of miR-219 after production process. The fabricated NPs reduced the survival of U87 MG cells to 78% after 24 h of post-transfection, and into 67.5% after 48 h. However, fibroblasts were not affected by the NPs, revealing their specificity for GBM cells. Given the tumour suppressing function of miR-219, and advantage of CS-NPs for gene delivery to the central nervous system, the presented NPs have a great potential for treatment of GBM.


OBJECTIVE
To explore whether hydrogen sulphide (H2S) could protect human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) from senescence and the possible underlying mechanisms.

METHODS
Cell cycle assay and Ki-67 assay were used to measure proliferation of PDLSCs. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to measure cellular senescence-related p16 and p21. Calcium influx was detected by measurement of Ca2+ imaging. In addition, we analysed the possible mechanisms underlying H2S acting on PDLSCs by microarray.

RESULTS
The cell proliferation rate of aging PDLSCs decreased significantly. The expression of cellular senescence-related p16 and p21 significantly increased in aging PDLSCs. H2S donor (GYY4137) treatment increased the proliferation rate of senescence PDLSCs. Furthermore, the donor of H2S treatment effectively prevented cell cycle arrest of PDLSCs during the aging process and inhibited the expression of cellular senescence-related markers. Mechanically, H2S donor treatment could activate the calcium influx in PDLSCs. Moreover, pretreatment with TRPV4 inhibitors significantly attenuated the calcium influx induced by H2S donor treatment in PDLSCs. It also alleviated the protective effect of H2S on the senescence of PDLSCs.

CONCLUSION
H2S alleviated the senescence of human PDLSCs by TRPV4 channel mediated calcium flux. These results provide a potential strategy to deal with cell aging and may facilitate cell therapy for oral diseases.


In primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients local T and B cell-driven inflammation can contribute to destruction of exocrine glands associated with clinical symptoms of dryness. Recently we documented increased interleukin 7 (IL-7) and IL7R expression in labial salivary glands of pSS patients. We have shown that IL-7 causes T cell-dependent monocyte activation. Although there are indications that IL-7 affects the activity of developing human B cells, the effect of IL-7 on mature B cell activation in human autoimmune diseases has not been reported. Because B cell activation plays a pivotal role in pSS pathology we investigated the capacity of IL-7 to induce T cell-dependent B cell activation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from pSS patients (n=6) were cultured with and without IL-7. Furthermore, isolated CD4 T and CD19 B cells were co-cultured with and without IL-7 as well, and in the presence or absence of CD14 monocytes/macrophages (n=6). Proliferation was measured using 3H-thymidine incorporation and by Ki67 expression (FACS analysis). Ex vivo IL-7R expression and activation marker expression (HLA-DR, CD25) on CD4 T and B cells were measured by FACS analysis. Nearly all CD4 T cells express the IL-7R (93.6 ±1.4%), while B 3cells and monocytes do not. IL-7 increased proliferation of PBMC pSS (from 2000 to 13000 cpm, p≤0.001), which was associated with significant increases in Ki67+CD4 T cells (from 2.7 ±0.4% to 13.8 ±4.0%) and Ki67+B cells (from 1.5 ±0.2% to 3.4 ±0.5%). Additionally, IL-7 up regulated markers of activation on CD4 T cells (CD25+ CD4 T cells from 28.8 ±4.0% to 79.8 ±2.4%, p≤0.001; HLA-DR+ T cells from 7.1 ±0.4% to 8.9 ±0.7%, p≤0.05), and on B cells (HLA-DR MFI from 317 ±109 to 421 ±129, p<0.01; mean increase 33%). In CD4 T and B cell co-cultures, IL-7 activated T cells, but caused minimal B cell activation (MFI HLA-DR from 214 ±32 to 233 ±30, p≤0.05; mean increase 8.8%). As it has been shown that monocytes are able to support B cell activation and can be stimulated by IL7-activated CD4 T cells, the capacity of monocytes to facilitate IL-7-induced B cell activation was examined. We report that indeed IL-7-induced T cell activation of B cells is significantly enhanced by monocytes (MFI HLA-DR on B cells from 210 ±32 to 284 ±53, p≤0.05; mean increase 35%). Our results show that IL-7 activates B cells in a T cell-dependent manner which is facilitated by monocytes. Since increased IL-7 levels and monocyte/macrophage numbers are associated with increased immunopathology in pSS this suggests that IL-7-driven B cell activation might contribute to inflammation and tissue-destruction in pSS.


This paper investigates the thermal activation behaviour of current in an inhomogeneous Schottky diode with a Gaussian distribution of barrier height by numerical simulation. The analytical Gaussian distribution model predicted that the I-V-T curves may intersect with the possibility of the negative thermal activation of current, but may be contradictory to the thermionic emission mechanism in a Schottky diode. It shows that the cause of the unphysical phenomenon is related to the incorrect calculation of current across very low barriers. It proposes that junction voltage Vj, excluding the voltage drop across series resistance from the external bias, is a crucial parameter for correct calculation of the current across very low barriers. For correctly employing the thermionic emission model, Vj needs to be smaller than the barrier height ø. With proper scheme of series resistance connection where the condition of Vj > ø is guaranteed, I-V-T curves of an inhomogeneous Schottky diode with a Gaussian distribution of barrier height have been simulated, which demonstrate normal thermal activation. Although the calculated results exclude the intersecting possibility of I-V-T curves with an assumption of temperature-independent series resistance, it shows that the intersecting is possible when the series resistance has a positive temperature coefficient. Finally, the comparison of our numerical and analytical results indicates that the analytical Gaussian distribution model is valid and accurate in analysing I-V-T curves only for small barrier height inhomogeneity.


AIMS
Little is known about the mortality for patients with infective endocarditis (IE) on a nationwide scale, and previous studies have been conducted in selected cohorts from tertiary centers. We aimed to investigate temporal trends in mortality using nationwide Danish registries.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We identified patients with first-time IE between 1999-2018, and they were grouped by calendar periods (1999-2003, 2004-2008, 2009-2013, 2014-2018). One-year mortality was estimated using Kaplan-Meier estimates. For calendar periods, odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) were computed using multivariable adjusted logistic regression and Cox proportional Hazards analyses for in-hospital and one-year mortality, respectively.We identified 8 804 patients with IE. Age and proportions of men were: 66.7 (25th-75th percentile: 53.4-76.7) years and 59.9% in 1999-2003 and 72.8 (25th-75th percentile: 63.4-80.3) and 65.8% in 2014-2018. In-hospital mortality was 1999-2003: 24.5%, 2004-2008: 22.8%, 2009-2013: 18.8%, and 2014-2018: 18.3%. Relative to 1999-2003, adjusted likelihoods of in-hospital mortality were: OR = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.69-0.96) in 2004-2008, OR = 0.59 (95% CI: 0.50-0.69) in 2009-2013, and OR = 0.51 (95% CI: 0.43-0.60) in 2014-2018. By calendar periods, crude risks of one-year mortality were: 34.4% (95% CI: 32.0%-36.8%), 33.5% (95% CI: 31.5%-35.6%), 32.1% (95% CI: 30.2%-34.0%), and 33.1% (95% CI: 31.3%-34.8%). Relative to 1999-2003, adjusted rates of one-year mortality were: HR = 0.88 (95% CI 0.79-0.99) in 2004-2008, HR = 0.76 (95% CI: 0.68-0.86) in 2009-2013, and HR = 0.72 (95% CI: 0.64-0.81) in 2014-2018.

CONCLUSIONS
In this nationwide study of patients with first-time IE between 1999-2018, both short and long-term survival has improved over time when accounting for changes in patient characteristics.


This study was performed in order to determine the loss of strength of the dorsiflexors in healthy persons after immobilization of the ankle, and the ability of these muscles to regain strength. First, isometric ankle dorsiflexion strength was measured in 33 healthy male and 39 female subjects in age categories 20-40 and 40-80 years, in order to obtain reference data and to determine the reproducibility of the measurement protocol. Gender, age and ankle position had a significant influence on the ankle dorsiflexion torque. Secondly, torque was measured in 15 patients after 4-6 weeks' immobilization of the ankle due to a fracture. A 28% decrease in dorsiflexion torque was seen. Strength reduction in neutral position and in 30 degrees plantar flexion was not significantly different. Without specific therapy restoration of torque was almost complete 6 weeks after cast removal.


ChatGPT shows remarkable capabilities for machine translation (MT). Several prior studies have shown that it achieves comparable results to commercial systems for high-resource languages, but lags behind in complex tasks, e.g., low-resource and distant-language-pairs translation. However, they usually adopt simple prompts which can not fully elicit the capability of ChatGPT. In this paper, we aim to further mine ChatGPT's translation ability by revisiting several aspects: temperature, task information, and domain information, and correspondingly propose an optimal temperature setting and two (simple but effective) prompts: Task-Specific Prompts (TSP) and Domain-Specific Prompts (DSP). We show that: 1) The performance of ChatGPT depends largely on temperature, and a lower temperature usually can achieve better performance; 2) Emphasizing the task information can further improve ChatGPT's performance, particularly in complex MT tasks; 3) Introducing domain information can elicit ChatGPT's generalization ability and improve its performance in the specific domain; 4) ChatGPT tends to generate hallucinations for non-English-centric MT tasks, which can be partially addressed by our proposed prompts but still need to be highlighted for the MT/NLP community. We also explore the effects of advanced in-context learning strategies and find a (negative but interesting) observation: the powerful chain-of-thought prompt leads to word-by-word translation behavior, thus bringing significant translation degradation.


Parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease, a common and life-threating complication among people who require long-term parenteral nutrition, has been associated with abnormal liver function, cholestasis, steatosis and fibrosis. Intravenous soybean lipids may be associated with the development of liver disease. We therefore examined whether different doses of parenteral lipids would affect the development of liver disease, and further investigated the possible pathogenesis of it. C57BL/6J mice with a central catheter placed in the right jugular vein were divided into three groups. The control group received normal mouse chow with intravenous normal saline; The lipids group received parenteral nutrition solution (0.14 g lipids per day); the H-lipids group received parenteral nutrition solution with twice the amount of lipids (0.3 g lipids per day). Changes in body weight, serum biochemical parameters, liver histology and farnesoid X receptor gene expression in the liver were assessed. The values of serum direct bilirubin, total bilirubin and cholesterol were markedly increased in the H-lipids group at day 7. The predominant histologic finding in the H-lipids group was steatosis, and the steatosis score in the H-lipids group was much higher than in the other two groups at either day 5 or day 7. Hepatic expression of farnesoid X receptor mRNA decreased after 7 d of parenteral nutrition. High doses of parenteral lipids are more likely to develop liver disease in a mouse model of parenteral nutrition. Farnesoid X receptor may play a key role in the development of parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease.


Severe liver impairment is a well-known hallmark of Ebola virus disease (EVD), but the contribution of hepatic pathophysiology to EVD progression is not fully understood. Noninvasive medical imaging of liver structure and function in well-established animal models of disease may shed light on this important aspect of EVD. ABSTRACT Severe liver impairment is a well-known hallmark of Ebola virus disease (EVD). However, the role of hepatic involvement in EVD progression is understudied. Medical imaging in established animal models of EVD (e.g., nonhuman primates [NHPs]) can be a strong complement to traditional assays to better investigate this pathophysiological process in vivo and noninvasively. In this proof-of-concept study, we used longitudinal multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to characterize liver morphology and function in nine rhesus monkeys after exposure to Ebola virus (EBOV). Starting 5 days postexposure, MRI assessments of liver appearance, morphology, and size were consistently compatible with the presence of hepatic edema, inflammation, and congestion, leading to significant hepatomegaly at necropsy. MRI performed after injection of a hepatobiliary contrast agent demonstrated decreased liver signal on the day of euthanasia, suggesting progressive hepatocellular dysfunction and hepatic secretory impairment associated with EBOV infection. Importantly, MRI-assessed deterioration of biliary function was acute and progressed faster than changes in serum bilirubin concentrations. These findings suggest that longitudinal quantitative in vivo imaging may be a useful addition to standard biological assays to gain additional knowledge about organ pathophysiology in animal models of EVD. IMPORTANCE Severe liver impairment is a well-known hallmark of Ebola virus disease (EVD), but the contribution of hepatic pathophysiology to EVD progression is not fully understood. Noninvasive medical imaging of liver structure and function in well-established animal models of disease may shed light on this important aspect of EVD. In this proof-of-concept study, we used longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to characterize liver abnormalities and dysfunction in rhesus monkeys exposed to Ebola virus. The results indicate that in vivo MRI may be used as a noninvasive readout of organ pathophysiology in EVD and may be used in future animal studies to further characterize organ-specific damage of this condition, in addition to standard biological assays.


Let $K$ be a number field of degree $n$, $A$ be its ring of integers, and $A_n$ (resp. $K_n$) be the set of elements of $A$ ( resp. $K$) which are primitive over $\mathbb Q$. For any $\gamma \in {K_n}$, let $F_{\gamma} (x)$ be the unique irreducible polynomial in $\mathbb Z[x]$, such that its leading coefficient is positive and $F_{\gamma} ({\gamma}) = 0$. Let $i(\gamma)=\gcd_{x\in\mathbb Z}F_{\gamma}(x)$, $i(K)=\lcm_{\theta\in{A_n}}i(\theta)$ and $\hat{\imath}(K) = \lcm_{\gamma\in{K_n}}i(\gamma)$. For any $\gamma \in {K_n}$, there exists a unique pair $(\theta,d)$, where $\theta\in A_n$ and $d$ is a positive integer such that $\gamma=\theta/d$ and $\theta\not\equiv 0\pmod{p}$ for any prime divisor $p$ of $d$. In this paper, we study the possible values of $\nu_{p}(d)$ when $p | i(\gamma)$. We introduce and study a new invariant of $K$ defined using $\nu_{p}(d)$, when $\gamma$ describes $K_n$. In the last theorem of this paper, we establish a generalisation of a theorem of MacCluer.


The epidemiology of dental caries in the pediatric population demonstrates that caries is no longer pandemic in the US population. The incidence is confined to a subset of the total population of our children. The disease is also increasingly isolated to specific teeth and tooth morphology types in both the pediatric and the mixed dentitions, with pits and fissures being the predominate diseased sites. This sequestration of the disease into specific populations, individuals and tooth sites mandates a risk assessment strategy. In the past, universal preventive strategies were appropriate because of the extensive penetration of caries in the population. Our health care system does not have adequate resources to treat the entire population when a substantial portion of the population is not at risk for this disease process. Validated risk assessment strategies may prove adjunctive for the practicing dentist. Certainly knowledge of the known risk factors will assist the practitioner in performing risk assessment within their patient populations. This paper presents a review of the known risk factors for dental caries in child and adolescent populations.


Investigation of Parvovirus B19 IgG and IgM antibodies with ELISA, distribution with regard to age groups and comparison with literature Ayse Inci, Aytul Corbacioglu Esmer Objective: Human parvovirus is an un-enveloped, linear, single bundle DNA virus 18-26 nm in diameter which is common worldwide and causes an asymptomatic infection. The most common clinical manifestation is erythema infectiosum, it may also lead to aplastic crisis, arthropathy, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and fetal infections. In this study, we aimed to determine parvovirus B19 sero-positivity rates, distribution according to age and contribute to epidemiologic data in our country. Patients and Methods: Results of pregnant women who were admitted to Kanuni Suleiman Hospital between January 2015 and January 2017, examined for parvovirus B19 infection and whose parvovirus B19 IgG/IgM antibodies were examined with ELISA method were recorded from patient files. Parvovirus B19 IgM and parvovirus B19 IgG test results were retrospectively analyzed. parvovirus B19 IgM and parvovirus B19 IgG were examined with ELISA method in accordance with recommendations of the manufacturer. Results: A total of 156 pregnant women whose parvovirus B19 IgG/IgM antibodies had been analyzed were included in the study. While parvovirus B19 IgG was positive in 64.7% of the patients, parvovirus B19 IgM alone positivity was not detected in any women. parvovirus B19 IgG and IgM were positive in 3 women. parvovirus B19 IgG positivity was greatest above 40 years and minimum in 18-25 age group. Conclusion: In conclusion, parvovirus B19 IgG positivity was found similar with that in other countries. We consider that studies conducted with different groups and in different regions would contribute to epidemiologic data.


A mixed analog/digital chip that forms the core of a medium-speed modem for use on the public switched telephone network is described. It meets CCITT and AT&T requirements for data transmission at 2400 and 1200 b/s, and the AT&T requirement for 300-b/s operation. The chip is implemented in a 1.75- mu m analog CMOS process and occupies 32.4 mm/sup 2/. The device is powered by a single +5-V supply and consumes less than 115 mW. The architecture and circuit implementation are described, and experimental results are given. >


Very little is known about the growth and mutation rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis during latent infection in humans. However, studies in rhesus macaques have suggested that latent infections have mutation rates that are higher than that observed during active tuberculosis disease. Elevated mutation rates are presumed risk factors for the development of drug resistance. Therefore, the investigation of mutation rates during human latency is of high importance. We performed whole genome mutation analysis of M. tuberculosis isolates from a multi-decade tuberculosis outbreak of the New Zealand Rangipo strain. We used epidemiological and phylogenetic analysis to identify four cases of tuberculosis acquired from the same index case. Two of the tuberculosis cases occurred within two years of exposure and were classified as recently transmitted tuberculosis. Two other cases occurred more than 20 years after exposure and were classified as reactivation of latent M. tuberculosis infections. Mutation rates were compared between the two recently transmitted pairs versus the two latent pairs. Mean mutation rates assuming 20 hour generation times were 5.5X10−10 mutations/bp/generation for recently transmitted tuberculosis and 7.3X10−11 mutations/bp/generation for latent tuberculosis. Generation time versus mutation rate curves were also significantly higher for recently transmitted tuberculosis across all replication rates (p = 0.006). Assuming identical replication and mutation rates among all isolates in the final two years before disease reactivation, the u20hr mutation rate attributable to the remaining latent period was 1.6×10−11 mutations/bp/generation, or approximately 30 fold less than that calculated during the two years immediately before disease. Mutations attributable to oxidative stress as might be caused by bacterial exposure to the host immune system were not increased in latent infections. In conclusion, we did not find any evidence to suggest elevated mutation rates during tuberculosis latency in humans, unlike the situation in rhesus macaques.


The suitability of seven Australian essential oil producing trees in the Philippines was tested in order to identify the candidate species for plantation establishment. Percent survival, average stem diameter, total height, total biomass and essential oil percentage were used as indicators. Survival ranged from 40% to 91.25% while stem diameter and total height were from 25 to 40 cm and 25 to 35 m, respectively. Total biomass ranged from 100 to 1200 gcm–3 whereas percent oil yield from the leaves was from 0.2 to 3.4%. If the main purpose of plantation establishment is for wood and timber production, Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill & L.A.S. Johnson is the candidate species because of its stem volume. But if the main consideration is for essential oil production, Eucalyptus staigeriana F. Muell. ex Bailey is the species of choice because it produced as much as 3.4% of essential oil at 30 months of age.


Lipid Ag reactive T cells represent an important component of the T cell repertoire. The most well studied example is the classical (or Type-1) NKT cells that respond to the glycolipid Ag α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) presented by CD1d. While often referred to as 'invariant' due to the expression of an invariant TCR-α chain (Vα14-Jα18), in fact, Type-1 NKT cells carry a diverse TCR-β repertoire that influences Ag recognition. Furthermore, we have identified a completely novel population of NKT cells (Type-1A cells), that expresses a previously unidentified, canonical, Vα10-Jα50 TCR α-chain. These cells exhibit a different pattern of glycolipid Ag reactivity, including a preference for α-glucosylceramide (α-GlcCer) over α-GalCer and a bias towards Th2 cytokine production. Two populations of Type-1A NKT cells (TCRhi and TCRlo) are present in the thymus and they also have diverse TCR-β chains. We also provide the first structural analysis of a non-classical NKT TCR-CD1d-glycolipid complex, showing that the Type-1A TCR-CD1d-α-GlcCer complex displayed a similar docking mode to that of Type-1 NKT TCRs, although differences at the Ag-binding interfaces accounted for the altered specificity. The discovery of a second invariant TCR α-chain expressed by CD1d-restricted NKT cells provides new insights into the repertoire diversity and its influence on glycolipid recognition by NKT cells, and has significant implications for the immunologic role of glycolipid-specific T cell responses.


Previous studies have suggested the involvement of viral and bacterial components in the initiation and progression of feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS), but the role of fungi remains entirely unknown. This pilot study aimed to investigate the bacteriome and mycobiome in feline oral health and disease. Physical exams, including oral health assessment, of privately owned, clinically healthy (CH) cats (n = 14) and cats affected by FCGS (n = 14) were performed. Using a sterile swab, oral tissue surfaces of CH and FCGS cats were sampled and submitted for 16S rRNA and ITS-2 next-generation DNA sequencing. A high number of fungal species (n = 186) was detected, with Malassezia restricta, Malassezia arunalokei, Cladosporium penidielloides/salinae, and Aspergillaceae sp. being significantly enriched in FCGS samples, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in CH samples. The bacteriome was significantly distinct between groups, and significant inter-kingdom interactions were documented. Bergeyella zoohelcum was identified as a potential biomarker of a healthy feline oral microbiome. These data suggest that fungi might play a role in the etiology and pathogenesis of FCGS, and that oral health should not simply be regarded as the absence of microbial infections. Instead, it may be viewed as the biological interactions between bacterial and fungal populations that coexist to preserve a complex equilibrium in the microenvironment of the mouth. Additional investigations are needed to improve our understanding of the feline oral ecosystem and the potential interactions between viruses, bacteria, and fungi in FCGS.


Background: Previous studies have identified differences in the presentation, biology, and behavior of breast cancer as a function of patient age. To directly study breast cancer tumor profiles as a function of patient age, we examined the Oncotype DX Recurrence Score (RS) and the expression of ER, PR, and proliferation-related genes in a large cohort of invasive breast cancers. Material and Methods: All tumor specimens successfully examined in the Genomic Health laboratory from June 2004 through March 2010 were included. Standard RS testing was performed. Quantitative expression for ER, PR, HER2, and the five proliferation genes, CCNB1, Ki-67, MYBL2, STK15, and Survivin, was measured by quantitative RT-PCR on a scale from 2 to 15 (relative to reference genes), where a one unit increment is associated with an approximate 2-fold increase in expression. The proliferation index (PI), a component of the RS, was calculated as the average of the expression of the five proliferation genes. ER negative tumors (ER Results: Among the 145,236 breast cancers, 5,794 (4.0%) were ≥40 yrs, 117,740 (81.1%) were 41 — 69 yrs, and 21,702 (14.9%) were ≥70 yrs. A wide range of RS (0 to >80) was observed in all age groups. The mean RS, median RS, and proportion of patients in each of the standard RS groups are shown in the Table. The average RS is slightly higher in the younger age group and lower in the older age group. Similarly, the proportion of high RS tumors is higher in the younger age group and lower in the older age group. However, many young patients are in the low RS group and many older patients are in the high RS group. Small differences in the mean expression of quantitative ER, quantitative PR, and the Proliferation Index were observed. Younger patients had lower mean ER, higher mean PR and higher proliferation. Discussion: Among estrogen receptor positive breast cancers, the average RS is slightly higher in younger patients and is slightly lower in older patients. However, it is notable that a wide range of RS was observed in all age groups; many young patients are in the low RS group and many older patients are in the high RS group. These results demonstrate the importance of standardized quantitative measurement of gene expression on a continuous scale, and suggest that, for ER positive breast cancer, age per se does not predict individual tumor biology. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-10-01.


Atypical presentations of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been commonly known to occur but are often excluded in the differential when other diagnoses seem more likely. Female gender, patients with diabetes, hypertension, age greater than 55, and a history of smoking are some of the risk factors that have been associated with noncharacteristic presentations of ACS. This often leads to misdiagnosis and overall increased mortality. Patients with risk factors for atypical presentations of myocardial infarctions should mandate a low threshold for suspicion and undergo evaluation with EKG and troponins for prompt diagnosis and early intervention.


Front-face fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize modifications of fluorescence spectra of oil-in-water emulsions, stabilized by bovine serum albumin (BSA) or sodium caseinate during aging at 50°C. Commercial sunflower oil or the same oil stripped of tocopherols, were used as the apolar phase of the emulsions. The 3D-fluorescence spectra of the emulsions were characterized by three groups of fluorescent pigments: (i) protein aromatic amino acid residues, mainly tryptophanyl residues (Trp); (ii) pigments initially present in the oils:tocopherol and others; (iii) new fluorescent pigments due to reactions of lipid oxidation products with the proteins. During oxidation of the emulsions, the fluorescence intensities of protein Trp and oil's pigments decreased whereas the new fluorescent pigments were produced. As expected, and in agreement with development of lipid oxidation, the changes were slower for the unstripped than for the stripped oil. The relative fluorescence intensity of protein Trp decreased slightly faster in the caseinate-stabilized emulsions than in the BSA ones. Increases in fluorescence intensity of new pigments showed no difference.


The toad, Bufo viridis, can live for several months without access to free water, absorbing soil-bound water down a water-potential gradient created, mainly, by accumulating urea in its body fluids. We investigated if the retention of urine was sufficient to account for the rate of accumulation or if an increased rate of urea production was needed in order to do so. The basal rate of urea production in unfed animals in the absence of osmotic stress was estimated by two methods; first, analysis of the bathing medium and, secondly, collection and analysis of urine at two-hourly intervals. This was then repeated with animals fed a weight-maintaining diet. Generally similar results were obtained by either method in both fed and unfed animals, although higher urea production rates were found in the former. Although it had been planned to apply the short interval method to toads with free access to water, the control condition for toads transferred to soil, it proved to be impracticable. Some animals did not bathe for almost a day, during which time minute quantities of urine were obtained. Larger volumes were only produced during or after bathing. Consequently, animals which were partially immersed in water were substituted as controls. Total urea content was determined in these and in toads after a week on soil. The calculated increase was compared to that which could be expected from urine retention. It was found that urea accumulated at more than twice the predicted rate. When rates of accumulation were calculated over longer periods, urine retention alone was sufficient to account for them within three weeks on soil, the usual period required for acclimation. We concluded that B. viridis increased its rate of urea production only for a short period, until a favourable water potential gradient was achieved.


In our quest over the last nine years to find comprehensive over-the- counter supplements, designed to facilitate current classical treatments in fighting diseases, include antiangiogenic, immune and antioxidant defense systems. These supplements include, in part, Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALC), Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), Curcumin with Piperine, Genistein, Lentinan, N-AcetylCysteine (NAC), Resveratrol, selenium, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and zinc. These ingredients have been demonstrated, either individually or collectively, to have antioxidant, anti-angiogenesis, and immune stimulation and antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the scientific literature supports direct cancer cell cytotoxicity for Curcumin, Geinstein and NAC. The dietary supplement activities are supported by over 50,000 references in the scientific literature (PubMed.com) and over 150 clinical trials (clinicaltrials.gov), not including the human-cancer publications (23,000) and clinical trials (2,100) with zinc and the vitamins. From the literature there is evidence that some of the antiangiogenesis components that affect the majority if not all pathways of angiogenesis, such as Curcumin, Genistein and NAC, actually stimulate the in vivo production of natural antiangiogenic compounds that include Angiostatin, Endostatin and Thrombospotin 1. All of the components play a role in serving as either water or lipid soluble (able to cross the blood-brain barrier) antioxidants. Curcumin, Genistein, Resveratrol, Lentinen, NAC, zinc, selenium and the B and C vitamins all stimulate the immune system. Except for ALC and CoQ10, the other components show anti-inflammatory activity. ALC, Resveratrol along with the B and C vitamins are helpful in treating fatigue. The components that help protect the brain and promote nerve regeneration include ALA, CoQ10, Resveratrol, NAC, selenium, zinc and the B/C vitamins. In conclusion, effective prevention and treatment from and for diseases such as cancer, heart disease and immune deficiency will require multiple compounds. 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 621. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-621


According to the European Commission, in 2016 the residential sector represented 25.4% of the final energy consumption. Heating and cooling in EU households account for 69.1% of the total energy consumption. The fraction of 84% for heating and cooling is still generated from fossil fuels, and only 16% is generated from renewable energy. To decrease carbon dioxide emissions of fossil fuel consumption, it is crucial to find alternatives to supply the heating and cooling demand. Alternatives such as adsorption-based heat pumps and desiccant cooling systems are receiving much attention because of their moderate energy consumption. These systems are based on the energetic exchange during the adsorption/desorption of working fluids. In this work, we combined experiments and simulations to evaluate the viability of several zeolites and MOFs with water for cooling systems applications. We combined the study of adsorption mechanisms and the dynamics of water inside the pores of the structures, thereby obtaining an overall understanding of the working pair. We found that the Al content in FAU-topology zeolites is a key factor for an efficient process. We also identify ZJNU-30 metal-organic framework as a suitable candidate for cooling applications because of its outstanding water capacity, cooling capacity, and coefficient of performance.


OBJECTIVE
To describe occurrences of mortality due to cervical cancer in Recife (PE), in northeastern Brazil.

METHOD
This was a time-series ecological study using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) regarding the total number of deaths due to cervical cancer (C53 ICD10) that occurred between 2000 and 2012.

RESULTS
It was observed that the risk of death due to this form of cancer was higher among women over 60 years of age, those of mixed skin color (53.24%), those who only worked at home (63.16%) and those who did not have a partner (44.32%).

CONCLUSION
Additional efforts towards maintaining early detection and health education programs and towards using therapeutic strategies of greater efficiency are needed, given that mortality due to this form of cancer is considered avoidable when diagnosed early.


To enhance the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction of hematite (α-Fe2O3), we engineered both the surface of the hematite nanorods and the FTO/hematite interface simultaneously with an optimal annealing condition. We demonstrated that the enhancement of the photo-electrochemical performance of the hematite film treated by both methods was not just the summation of the improvements originating from each treatment but showed a significant cooperative effect. We clearly revealed that the strong electric field was effectively induced by the surface P doping with the concentration gradient profile, resulting in band bending even at 0 V vs. RHE. Furthermore, the dead layer was removed by the TiO2 underlayer, giving rise to Fermi level unpinning. We confirmed that the introduction of the TiO2 underlayer unpinning Fermi level enables building on the strength of the intrinsic long-lived holes generated by P doping, which is the origin of the cooperative effect.


UNLABELLED Several diagnostic tools have been used in the evaluation of the severity transvalvular gradient and aortic valve area. The advances in cardiac catheterization and Doppler echocardiographic measure these items accurately. We designed a retrospective, observational open and transversal survey that included patients with severe aortic stenosis that required transseptal cardiac catheterization. Their echocardiographic and hemodynamic studies were reviewed. From January 1991 to December 1996 we studied 30 patient from a population of 256. All of them with severe aortic stenosis. There were 17 males and 13 females with an age range from 32 a 71 years. RESULTS the transvalvular gradient measured by catheterization vs. Doppler echocardiogram was 98.80 +/- 37.29 mmHg vs. 96.63 +/- 38.64 mmHg respectively P = 0.84. The valvular area measured by catheterization vs Doppler echocardiographic 0.63 +/- 0.17 cm2 vs 0.62 +/- 0.15 cm2 respectively P = 0.63. There was not difference in the gradients using these two methods. We conclude that patients with severe aortic stenosis could be referred to surgical procedure without the need of cardiac catheterization if no concurrent coronary disease is suspected.


Radiological surveys at some former uranium ore processing facilities have indicated the presence of significant quantities of 'I9Rn and its daughters. Due to the extremely short half-life of actinon, it has traditionally been assumed that its activity is negligible in comparison with '**Rn. This paper discusses the production of actinon, along with the radiological characteristics of the actinon decay series. In addition, the concept of the working level is extended to apply to the short-lived radioactive daughters of 'I9Rn.


Federated Learning is a distributed machine learning approach which enables model training on a large corpus of decentralized data. We have built a scalable production system for Federated Learning in the domain of mobile devices, based on TensorFlow. In this paper, we describe the resulting high-level design, sketch some of the challenges and their solutions, and touch upon the open problems and future directions.


The paper explores the use of open source geographic information system (GIS) applied to firms. Most data available in a company have a spatial dimension and even decisions in marketing and management often have a spatial dimension. The paper is focus on illustrating the variegated opportunities for an open source GIS based strategy for firms. We argue that open source GIS are today as good as its proprietary competitors, and under certain circumstances, they are a superior alternative to their proprietary counterparts. A GIS based strategy for firms, as any other new application of geographical knowledge, it is a prospect of a new area for geography studies. This paper can be considered an initial essay on the role that geographers can play in spatial analysis applied to business strategy. The application is an example of applied geography supporting firm strategies and it has the purpose to identify spatial customer potentials for a specific infrastructure, the inland terminal of Guasticce (Italy).


As technology scales toward deeper submicron, the integration of a large number of IP blocks on the same silicon die is becoming technically feasible. The on-chip communication architecture is becoming the bottleneck for these system-on-a-chips (SOC). The conventional communication architectures all have their limitations. This paper presents new communication architectures, static fraction control bus (SFCB) and dynamic fraction control bus (DFCB), to address the shortcomings of these conventional communication architectures.


Background From among a cohort of 65,553 men aged 30–84 in Karunagappally Taluk, Kerala, India, 52 hypopharyngeal cancer cases and 85 laryngeal cancer cases were identified by the Karunagappally Cancer Registry during the period between 1990 and 2009. Methods We conduct Poisson regression analysis of grouped data, taking into account age and education. Results This study showed that the incidence rates of cancers of the hypopharynx and the larynx were strongly related to the number of bidis smoked a day (P<0.001 for both hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers) and duration of bidi smoking (P=0.009; P<0.001). Laryngeal cancer risk was significantly increased by bidi smoking (P<0.001), cigarette smoking (P=0.013) and regular alcohol use (P=0.005). Conclusion The present study, the first cohort study to examine the association of hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer incidence rates with bidi smoking in South Asia, clearly showed dose–response relationships between those cancer risks and bidi smoking; larger amounts of bidi smoked a day and longer durations of bidi smoking increased the incidence rates of those cancers. Tobacco chewing was found not related to the risk of hypopharynx or larynx cancer.


In the traditional offline context, the mental health industry suffers from poor local demand and a lack of trustworthy supply. Emerging digital platforms can solve this problem to a large extent by building network effects. How to build network effects is a primary issue for mental health platforms. This article explores this problem by investigating two cases from China. Platform firms can design mechanisms to increase user scale, multiply user roles, facilitate user engagement, and enhance user trust on platforms. The pioneer platform and the later entrant can implement different strategies for building network effects.


This paper presents an innovative system (hardware and software) that incorporates the main functions typically found alone in SCADA, oscillography and advanced metering infrastructure systems. The developed system maintains all the characteristics of a SCADA system, suitable for the operation of a distributed generation, while it incorporates oscillography features and power quality measurements. The functions of oscillography and power quality measurements are shared by both smart grid and distributed generation owner on a bilateral basis. The developed system has a low cost implementation.


Reproductive parasites such as Wolbachia are able to manipulate the reproduction of their hosts by inducing parthenogenesis, male-killing, cytoplasmic incompatibility or feminization of genetic males. Despite extensive studies, no underlying molecular mechanism has been described to date. The goal of this study was to establish a system with a single Wolbachia strain that feminizes two different isopod species to enable comparative analyses aimed at elucidating the genetic basis of feminization. It was previously suggested that Wolbachia wVulC, which naturally induces feminization in Armadillidium vulgare, induces the development of female secondary sexual characters in transinfected Cylisticus convexus adult males. However, this does not demonstrate that wVulC induces feminization in C. convexus since feminization is the conversion of genetic males into functional females that occurs during development. Nevertheless, it suggests that C. convexus may represent a feminization model suitable for further development. Knowledge about C. convexus sexual differentiation is also essential for comparative analyses, as feminization is thought to take place just before or during sexual differentiation. Consequently, we first described gonad morphological differentiation of C. convexus and compared it with that of A. vulgare. Then, wVulC was injected into male and female C. convexus adult individuals. The feminizing effect was demonstrated by the combined appearance of female secondary sexual characters in transinfected adult males, as well as the presence of intersexes and female biases in progenies in which wVulC was vertically transmitted from transinfected mothers. The establishment of a new model of feminization of a Wolbachia strain in a heterologous host constitutes a useful tool towards the understanding of the molecular mechanism of feminization.


Introduction/Background Ovarian cancer remains the most deadly gynecological malignant disease in developed countries. Basically, poor prognosis of this disease can be explained by the ineffectiveness of screening programs due to the lack knowledge of the ovarian cancer pathogenesis. Since pluripotent cells play a key role in the development of neoplastic epithelial changes, verification of the of their localization in transition zones (TZs) will help to determine the possibility of simultaneous existence of several potential sources for ovarian carcinoma development. Methodology We investigated 165 tissue samples of the ovary and fallopian tube from patients with benign extraovarian pathology (uterine fibroids and adenomiosis) and 25 samples with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) [(55 fimbriae, 25 parafimbrial zones (PFZ), 25 paraovarian zones (POZ), 35 samples of ovarian surface epithelium (OSE)]. Transition zones were taken separately for morphological assessment. Immunohistohemiscal investigation involved LGR5, NANOG, LNX9, CD117, CD44 and Oct4 assessment. Statistics was done with Student's test with Boferroni correction. Results LGR expressed in 38 fimbriae, 22 PFZ, 21 POZ, 32 OSEs; NANOG expressed in 25 fimbriae, 20 PFZ, 24 POZ, 35 OSEs; LHN9 expressed in 27 fimbriae, 19 PFZ, 19 POZ, 25 OSEs; CD 117 expressed in 30 fimbriae, 10 PFZ, 15 POZ, 11 OSEs. Statistically significant difference in progenitor markers expression were shown between TZs, OSE and fimbriae, as well as between normal epithelium and HGSC and between TZs and epithelial cells elsewhere (p<0,05). Conclusion We investigated transitional zones of the uterine adnexa with progenitor cell markers and revealed that there is a significantly higher concentration of these cells in the transition zones where two types of the epithelia met. Thus, these zones can be a potential source (hot spot) for neoplasia development due to mutations in progenitor cells and further clonal expansion. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


The progress achieved during this quarter includes the reagent shelf life study, the evaluation and selection of magnetizing reagents, an experimental database for activating and depressing the adsorption of magnetizing reagents in the presence of various chemicals, an adsorption regulator investigation, the establishment of a coal surface controlling theory, and a magnetite size effect study for the separation of magnetic enhanced minerals. The work is on schedule with the original plan. Modifications include the addition of a regulator study to help proving the selectivity controlling theory. The fundamentals for applying the magnetizing reagent technology on coal cleaning are generally established during this quarter. Selective magnetic enhancement of minerals through the adsorption of magnetizing reagents has been experimentally proved. The work for the next quarter will be mainly on optimizing the selective adsorption conditions and the continuation on magnetite size effect study.


This research investigated whether classroom-based peer norms for achievement goals moderate friendship selection, maintenance and influence processes related to academic achievement in 46 Grade 5 and Grade 6 classrooms (N = 901, 58.7% Grade 5 students, 48.5% boys). A distinction was made between peer norms for mastery (i.e., developing competence) and performance (i.e., demonstrating competence) goals. Peer norms were measured in terms of popularity norms (the within-classroom correlation between student achievement goals and popularity) and descriptive norms (the class-level aggregated average achievement goals). As hypothesized, longitudinal social network analyses revealed that achievement goal popularity norms played a role in friendship processes, rather than achievement goal descriptive norms. Specifically, adolescents formed friendships with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms. Conversely, adolescents remained friends with similarly achieving peers in classrooms with low performance goal popularity norms but not in classrooms with high performance goal popularity norms. Furthermore, friendship influence on achievement took place in classrooms with high mastery goal popularity norms, but not in classrooms with low mastery goal popularity norms. This study indicates that friendship processes regarding achievement depend upon the extent to which certain achievement goals are made salient by virtue of their association with popularity in classrooms.


Secure development is often thought of as a proactive approach to cyber security. Rather than building a technological solution and then securing it in retrospect, secure development strives to embed good security practices throughout the development process and reduce risk. Unfortunately, evidence suggests secure development is complex, costly, and limited in practice. This article therefore introduces security-focused prototyping as a natural precursor to secure development. Security-focused prototyping embeds security at the beginning of the development process, can be used to discover domain-specific security requirements through active learning, and can help communicate the complexity of secure development to organizations such that the resources and commitment it requires are better understood. A case study considering the application layer of an Internet of Things system is presented and shows that security-focused prototyping has the potential to facilitate further secure development through the achievement of well-established prototyping objectives, such as communication, active learning, and reduced time/costs. Future work could build on this work by conducting additional case studies to further explore the potential of security-focused prototyping and investigating the importance of fidelity with regards to security-focused prototypes.


By means of their efferent projections to motor and premotor structures, the cells in the deep superior colliculus are intimately involved in behaviors that control the orientation of the eyes, pinnae, and head. These same efferent cells receive multiple sensory inputs, thereby apparently enabling an animal to orient its receptor organs in response to a wide variety of cues. This sensory convergence also provides a system in which motor responses need not be immutably linked to individual stimuli but can vary in reaction to the multitude of stimuli present in the environment at any given moment.


A current challenge to alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells (APEFCs) is the unexpectedly sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). A recently proposed resolution is to enhance the oxophilicity of the catalyst, so as to remove the Had intermediate through the reaction with OHad, but this approach is questioned by other researchers. Here we report a clear and convincing test on this problem. By using PtRu/C as the HOR catalyst for the APEFC, the peak power density is boosted to 1.0 W cm−2, in comparison to 0.6 W cm−2 when using Pt/C as the anode catalyst. Such a remarkable improvement, however, can hardly be explained as an oxophilic effect, because, as monitored by CO stripping, reactive hydroxyl species can generate on certain sites of the Pt surface at more negative potentials than on the PtRu surface in KOH solution. Rather, the incorporation of Ru has posed an electronic effect on weakening the Pt–Had interaction, as revealed by the voltammetric behavior and from density-functional calculations, which thus benefits the oxidative desorption of Had, the rate determining step of HOR in alkaline media. These findings further our fundamental understanding of the HOR catalysis, and cast new light on the exploration of better catalysts for APEFCs.


Efforts to induce angiogenesis have been dedicated to developing novel strategies to fabricate an ideal scaffold for bone tissue engineering. In order to mimic the environment of the repair process in vivo, this study was performed to investigate the effect of strontium-doped calcium polyphosphate (SCPP) on angiogenesis-related behaviors of umbilical vein endothelial cells and osteoblasts co-cultured in vitro. The results indicate that, compared with those in calcium polyphosphate (CPP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) group, cells attached and spread better with a significantly improved cell proliferation in SCPP group. More importantly, in vitro co-culture demonstrated a significant improvement in the VEGF and bFGF expression levels in SCPP groups. The results also demonstrated that SCPP could effectively enhance VEGF and bFGF expression from host cell in vivo and thereby inducing angiogenesis in implanted scaffolds. SCPP could be used as a potential material with stimulating angiogenesis, which would provide a novel thought for resolving the problem of angiogenesis in bone tissue engineering.


Climate change research is hampered by the gap between two styles of research, raising fundamental issues of standpoint. Interpretive-style researchers see themselves as at the center of the environment, experiencing it from within; their involvement is what allows them to gain knowledge. Descriptive-style researchers see themselves as outside the environment they analyze; their distance is what allows them to gain knowledge. This fundamental difference indicates that attempts to meld the two styles in articulating global-local links are both wrong-headed and doomed to failure. Instead, we should look for complementarities and attempt to bring the differently achieved knowledge to bear on global problems.


A significant amount of energy is wasted by electrical appliances when they operate inefficiently either due to anomalies and/or incorrect usage. To address this problem, we present SocketWatch - an autonomous appliance monitoring system. SocketWatch is positioned between a wall socket and an appliance. SocketWatch learns the behavioral model of the appliance by analyzing its active and reactive power consumption patterns. It detects appliance malfunctions by observing any marked deviations from these patterns. SocketWatch is inexpensive and is easy to use: it neither requires any enhancement to the appliances nor to the power sockets nor any communication infrastructure. Moreover, the decentralized approach avoids communication latency and costs, and preserves data privacy. Real world experiments with multiple appliances indicate that SocketWatch can be an effective and inexpensive solution for reducing electricity wastage.


The huge quantity  of information in our daily life and the continuous work to organize and use it in the best possible way has led to the emergence of knowledge management. On the other hand, the term "performance" has caused a lot of ink to flow.. This is a vocabulary widely used in the field of management. The quest for performance was the ultimate goal of all organizations.
In addition, it has long been demonstrated that better knowledge management has a positive impact on organizational performance. However, it is not yet clear how this process is to be achieved in academia and particularly in developing countries such as Morocco. The main objective of this article is to address this issue by collecting the views of the Abdelmalek Essaadi University teacher-researchers, through a hypothetico-deductive reasoning approach and a quantitative working method. Our questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 88 teacher-researchers from the different institutions of the university under study. The results obtained show a strong correlation between knowledge management and organizational performance and a low degree of application of the knowledge management process (creation-storage-sharing-application) at the university in question.


Double-deck elevator system (DDES) has been invented firstly as a solution to improve the transportation capacity of elevator group systems in the up-peak traffic pattern. The transportation capacity could be even doubled when DDES runs in a pure up-peak traffic pattern where two connected cages stop at every two floors in an elevator round trip. However, the specific features of DDES make the elevator system intractable when it runs in some other traffic patterns. Moreover, since almost all of the traffic flows vary continuously during a day, an optimized controller of DDES is required to adapt the varying traffic flow. In this paper, we have proposed a controller adaptive to traffic flows for DDES using genetic network programming (GNP) based on our past studies in this field, where the effectiveness of DDES controller using GNP has been verified in three typical traffic patterns. A traffic flow judgment part was introduced into the GNP framework of DDES controller, and the different parts of GNP were expected to be functionally localized by the evolutionary process to make the appropriate cage assignment in different traffic flow patterns. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms a conventional approach and two heuristic approaches in a varying traffic flow during the work time of a typical office building.


In metal discharge tubes composed of long isolated segments operated at high current densities, the axial electric field in the plasma is significantly greater than that in a solid dielectric-walled tube. A characteristic feature of such discharges is that the ion current j+ to the tube wall appears to be a function of the potential V of the wall relative to the plasma. The discharge models investigated are those giving constant j+ and j+ is proportional to V½, Vfraction three-twos, exp (cV) and {(cV)−1 + [exp (−cV)−1]−1} respectively. The maximum length of a floating metal segment along which a discharge can be maintained is determined by the ratio of electron temperature to axial electric field. The constant of proportionality is shown to depend on the form of the ion current to the metal wall, and varies between 3 × 10−4 and 3 × 10−2 V K−1.