Errors and adverse events are common in clinical practice, and have a significant impact on quality and safety issues. They are also a major source of complaints and litigation. However, the study of errors in nursing (apart from medication errors) has been a neglected area of research enquiry. As a result, very little is known of the interaction between professional, contextual, organisational and psychological factors in the production of errors and in their prevention. A series of studies were carried out to investigate the antecedents, types, and incidence of errors as well as nurses' responses to them, principally to identify the types of strategies that may be most effective in reducing errors in nursing care. Using a critical incident technique, the types of errors that were made by nurses and their responses to them were investigated. These were found to occur at various stages of the nursing process. Accepting responsibility for one's error was linked to constructive changes in their practice. The frequency of omissions in the assessment records of patients with chest pain was then examined. The assessment records were found to be very superficially completed and to contain a number of important omissions. When these omissions were compared with nurses' reported omissions, a wide discrepancy was observed. Nurses not only reported significantly less omissions but also attributed their causes mainly to external factors such as job overload rather than internal factors such as lack of knowledge or experience, although they could achieve only 50 % of the expected score in a recall test on chest pain. This may be because they may not have considered these omissions as errors. When they were presented with scenarios describing 'real' errors, they tended to attribute their causes predominantly to internal factors. On the basis of these findings, a system of care pathways was implemented for patients admitted with chest pain to ascertain whether this structured approach to care would be effective in reducing omissions in assessment and care of these patients. The results showed significant improvement in the assessment records of the patients as well as a positive impact on various clinical indicators, including better awareness of patients' needs and improved patients' satisfaction. The results of these studies have implications for the management of errors in nursing and for improving the standard of care given to patients. The evidence suggests that a system approach should be used both for investigating errors in nursing and for reducing their incidence.


The finding that threat boosts the public's preferences for authoritarian policies has been well established in the research literature. Why this shift occurs remains open as the extant literature reports contradictory findings regarding the interaction of dispositions, such as conservatism and authoritarianism, with threat. One line of research argues that threat increases authoritarian preferences among those who are more prone to authoritarianism. Another argues that it is those with a nonauthoritarian ideology who switch in response to threat. By using a two-wave panel study of the French population taken before and after the January 2015 twin attacks in Paris, we find that both trends occur simultaneously. Our results show that the factors that drive the impact of ideological dispositions on support for authoritarian policies are emotional reactions. On the one hand, anxiety led left-wing respondents to move towards adopting authoritarian policy preferences following the attacks, yet produced no such change among right-wing respondents. On the other hand, anger did not turn left-wing voters more authoritarian but strengthened authoritarian policy preferences among right-wing respondents.


In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) , the osteoclast pathway is activated by abnormal immune conditions accompanied by chronic inflammation resulting in periarticular osteoporosis and local bone destruction around joints. In addition, multiple factors lead to systemic osteoporosis, including reduced physical activity and pharmacotherapies such as steroids. These conditions cause decreased bone mineral density and bone quality, and expose patients to an increased risk of fracture. When treating patients with RA osteoporosis, it is important to improve systemic osteoporosis using anti-osteoporotic agents, and to suppress fracture risk by controlling inflammation (which is associated with periarticular osteoporosis and bone destruction) with a combination of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or biological agents.


Abstract Introducing variation in the training dataset through data augmentation has been a popular technique to make Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) spatially invariant but leads to increased dataset volume and computation cost. Instead of data augmentation, augmentation of feature maps is proposed to introduce variations in the features extracted by a CNN. To achieve this, a rotation transformer layer called Rotation Invariance Transformer (RiT) is developed, which applies rotation transformation to augment CNN features. The RiT layer can be used to augment output features from any convolution layer within a CNN. However, its maximum effectiveness is shown when placed at the output end of final convolution layer. We test RiT in the application of scale-invariance where we attempt to classify scaled images from benchmark datasets. Our results show promising improvements in the networks ability to be scale invariant whilst keeping the model computation cost low.


In this paper, we study multiscale Bayesian image segmentation with respect to the different availability of image features. Specifically, wavelet domain hidden Markov models (HMMs) are adopted to obtain statistical image characterization. The joint multi-context and multi-scale (JMCMS) approach is also applied to exploit robust multiscale contextual information. We first review the supervised Bayesian segmentation algorithms where complete image features are given. Secondly, we study semi-supervised segmentation by only providing partial image features. The K-mean clustering is used to convert the semi-supervised segmentation problem into the self-supervised process by identifying the reliable training samples. Thirdly, an unsupervised segmentation algorithm is also developed where image features are completely unknown and can be trained online during segmentation. The simulation results on a synthetic mosaic show that the proposed algorithms can achieve high classification accuracy for both semi-supervised and unsupervised segmentations.


Blue light with an average power of as much as 7.5 mW in picosecond pulses has been generated at 486, 488, and 491 nm from a frequency-doubled, nonresonant injection seeded, gain-switched InGaAs/GaAs diode laser by use of a periodically poled KTP waveguide crystal that incorporates a Bragg grating section.


Bifunctional metalloporphyrins with quaternary ammonium bromides (nucleophiles) at the meta, para, or ortho positions of meso-phenyl groups were synthesized as catalysts for the formation of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide under solvent-free conditions. The meta-substituted catalysts exhibited high catalytic performance, whereas the para- and ortho-substituted catalysts showed moderate and low activity, respectively. DFT calculations revealed the origin of the advantage of the meta-substituted catalyst, which could use the flexible quaternary ammonium cation at the meta position to stabilize various anionic species generated during catalysis. A zinc(II) porphyrin with eight nucleophiles at the meta positions showed very high catalytic activity (turnover number (TON)=240 000 at 120 °C, turnover frequency (TOF)=31 500 h(-1) at 170 °C) at an initial CO2 pressure of 1.7 MPa; catalyzed the reaction even at atmospheric CO2 pressure (balloon) at ambient temperature (20 °C); and was applicable to a broad range of substrates, including terminal and internal epoxides.


Security is an important aspect for all kinds of software development, but it is especially important for web applications since they usually are exposed to the Internet. Web Services offer application to application connectivity using the SOAP protocol. Web Services are quite often built as an extension to already existing applications to provide business to business communication. Since it is often necessary to expose critical business functions through the Web Services, e.g., ordering an item or sending an invoice, security in Web Services are vital for a company's daily operations. In this project we have created an input validation framework for Web Services, to aid developers in creating more secure Web Services in an easier and more reusable manner. We have focused on creating a lightweight policy configuration based on XML, and a set of highly configurable and extendable validators. The framework is implemented in Java and is not dependent on a specific SOAP framework. To keep the framework general and compatible with multiple SOAP frameworks, we have developed a set of interceptors to support the two most common open source SOAP frameworks, Codehaus XFire and Apache Axis2. This report first presents theory and rationale behind the need for a new way of performing input validation. Further the implementation of the framework is documented together with an example application, which demonstrates an example use of the framework.


This article traces the origins of the European economic constitution in the debate on Article 30 of the EC Treaty (general rule on the free movement of goods) between 1966 and 1969, which resulted in Directive 70/50. In this, the first archive‐based analysis of the policy origins of the Court's Dassonville (1974) decision, the article demonstrates that there was a strong continuity in the investment by a number of key actors in focusing on Article 30 to create the single market from the mid‐1960s. These civil servants and lawyers provided the backbone for the Commission's transformation of the Cassis de Dijon judgment (1979) into a powerful tool, driving back the need for legislative harmonisation and making it a cornerstone of the Single European Act of 1986. The article therefore analyses one of the key moments in the transformation of European law.


This project is associated with the field of Information Systems and more specifically with Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). These environments are becoming very popular the last years, especially in higher education. However we decided to focus in lower level education since there is lack of these learning platforms and their spreading is limited.More specifically our project will focus on the description of a Virtual Learning Environment for preliminary schools. The target age will be 5-8 years old. The design of our system is based on the guidelines of a preliminary schoolteacher in Spain, who is actually our stakeholder. Designing a system for so young students means that various aspects have to be taken into consideration such as their level of computer knowledge, their maturity, their not still developed studying abilities and the fact that it is their first approach to school as a learning environment. However we believe that if they can be integrated in the information society in such an early age, it will be beneficial for their future and the future of information technologies as well. We hope that through this project we will be able to contribute to computer based education and equip the young students with new ways and potentials of learning.On a theoretical basis, we could say that our project contains two different parts: a theoretical part and a more practical one. In the theoretical part, all the related work of similar VLEs is presented in an effort to see what products already exist in the market and try to create a new, innovative system taking into consideration various educational aspects. In addition, a review of our literature research concerning computer based education and VLEs is included in order to provide the necessary theoretical background before starting to design our system. Finally, a summary of our research made including questionnaires and interviews as well as the analysis and the conclusions of this research are presented since before designing our system we tried to include the opinion of the different people involved in this system like the students and their parents, the teachers and the pedagogues. On the other hand, the second more practical part focuses on the description of the learning platform. The architecture of the system as well as the use cases is included here. A prototype of the system is also provided but we were not able to complete the whole implementation due to time limitations.


Clay samples were taken from formations outcropping between Corpus Christi and Uvalde, Texas, during the annual field trip of the Corpus Christi Geological Society in 1953. The geologic age of the formations sampled ranges from Quaternary to Upper Cretaceous. Both surface and near-surface samples were taken. The results of examination of these samples by use of x-ray diffraction and electron microscope techniques indicate marked differences in the relative proportions of montmorillonite, kaolinite, and illite. Comparison of surface and near-surface samples indicates the probable course of weathering.


We consider the evolution of a cosmic string loop that is captured by a much more massive and compact black hole. We show that after several reconnections that produce ejections of smaller loops, the loop that remains bound to the black hole moves on a nearly-periodic non-self-intersecting trajectory, "the orbit". The orbit evolves due to an energy and angular momentum exchange between the loop and the spinning black hole. We show that such evolution is mathematically equivalent to a certain continuous deformation of an auxiliary closed curve in a 3-dimensional space; for zero black-hole spin this deformation is curve-shortening that has been extensively studied by mathematicians. The evolution features competing effects of loop growth by the superradiant extraction of the black-hole spin energy, and loop decay by the friction of the moving string against the horizon. A self-intersection of an auxiliary curve corresponds to a capture by the black hole of a new string segment and thus an addition of a new captured loop. Possible asymptotic states of such evolution are shown to be strong emitters of gravitational waves. Whether reconnections prevent reaching the asymptotic states remains to be explored. Additionally, the orbit's shape also evolves due to an emission of gravitational waves, and a recoil of the black hole that changes the orbit and likely leads to self-intersections.
We argue that for a significant range of the dimensionless tension $\mu$, string loops are captured by supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. This strongly motivates further study of interaction between string loops and black holes, especially the influence of this process on the black hole spindown and on the production of gravitational waves by strings created in galactic nuclei. We also discuss potential loop captures by primordial black holes.


We investigate the composition of the DUV-patterned sol–gel indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) and observe a significant zinc loss effect during developing when the DUV exposure is insufficient. The zinc loss, however, is beneficial for increasing the mobility. Reducing zinc to indium composition ratio from 0.5 to 0.02 can effectively increase mobility from 0.27 to 7.30 cm2 V–1 s–1 when the gallium to indium ratio is fixed as 0.25 and the post annealing process is fixed as 300 °C for 2 h. On the other hand, an IGO TFT fails to deliver a uniform film and a reproducible TFT performance, revealing the critical role of zinc in forming homogeneous IGZO TFTs.


This study was conducted to explore the impact of teacher immediacy/non-immediacy as realised via multimodal resources on Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) classroom teaching and learning in Malaysia. Lessons of four CSL teachers were observed. Interview data were also gathered from both teachers and students to elicit information about teaching practices related to teacher immediacy. The data were analysed using a multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) approach and the theory of immediacy. Research findings show that teacher immediacy realised through teacher talk and teacher's body language is effective in creating a harmonious learning environment that leads to successful learning. In contrast, it was also found that some non-immediacy teacher behaviours had a negative effect on the learning process. The study concludes that teacher immediacy as presented through various modes by CSL teachers is important to enhance teaching and learning in CSL classes while non-immediacy teacher behaviours disrupt the teaching and learning process.


SETD3-catalysed N3-methylation of His73 in β-actin plays a key role in stabilisation of actin filaments in the metazoan cells. Overexpression and/or dysregulation of SETD3 is associated with several human pathologies, including cancer. Here, we examined the role of the Ile71 residue in β-actin on human SETD3 catalysis. Substitution of Ile71 in β-actin peptides by its natural and unnatural mimics reveals that the 'secondary' Ile71 binding pocket modulates the substrate efficiency of β-actin. Our enzymatic work demonstrates that human SETD3 can accommodate structurally diverse hydrophobic side chains in its Ile71 binding pocket, providing clear limits of the size and shape of Ile analogues. Water thermodynamics calculations reveal that the Ile71 pocket is occupied by high-energy water molecules, that are released upon the Ile71 binding, contributing favourably to the SETD3-βA complex formation. The work highlights that the hydrophobic Ile71 binding site plays an essential role in SETD3 catalysis, contributing to an ongoing effort in the design and development of chemical probes targeting SETD3.


The purpose of this paper is to discuss the various types of physical universe which could exist according to modern mathematical physics. The paper begins with an introduction that approaches the question from the viewpoint of ontic structural realism. Section 2 takes the case of the `multiverse' of spatially homogeneous universes, and analyses the famous Collins-Hawking argument, which purports to show that our own universe is a very special member of this collection. Section 3 considers the multiverse of all solutions to the Einstein field equations, and continues the discussion of whether the notions of special and typical can be defined within such a collection.


Environmental exposure of people plays an important role in assessing the quality of human life. The most existing methods that estimate the environmental exposure either focus on the individual level or do not consider human mobility. This paper adopts a vector field generated from the observed locations of human activities to model the environmental exposure at the population level. An improved vector-field-generation method was developed by considering people's decision-making factors, and we proposed two indicators, i.e., the total exposure indicator (TEI) and the average exposure indicator (AEI), to assess various social groups' environmental exposure. A case study about the risky environmental exposure of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was conducted in Guangzhou, China. Over 900 participants with various socioeconomic backgrounds were involved in the questionnaire, and the survey-based activity locations were extracted to generate the vector field using the improved method. COVID-19 pandemic exposure (or risk) was estimated for different social groups. The findings show that people in the low-income group have an 8% to 10% higher risk than those in the high-income group. This new method of vector field may benefit geographers and urban researchers, as it provides opportunities to integrate human activities into the metrics of pandemic risk, spatial justice, and other environmental exposures.


This paper is concerned with welfare measurement in multisector dynamic general equilibrium models with externalities. We start with the utility metric theory under di¤erent settings, and then transfer them into money metric measures. With ideal accounting prices for all externalities, we show that a money measure of dynamic welfare should encompass both the comprehenstive NNP and consumer surpluses. Under externalities, a forward-looking term re.ecting the present value of the future externalities has to be taken into account. For a local-in-time welfare comparison, we show that growth in conventionally measured NNP would work, provided that an externality-adjusted genuine rate of return is positive.


The problem of emergence of fatal bugs in the software that drives microprocessors embedded in digital home appliances necessitates a rescrutiny of strategies that are used to revamp software functionalities of such systems. Existing strategies to remedy such problems involve disintegrating the entire system in order to replace the execution of a defective program of the ROM that stores the software. This paper proposes an efficient and a facile technique that corrects the functions of the ROM using a remote controller based on wireless message transmission and reception. The main advantage of this technique is that unlike existing techniques it does not need entire system disintegration to fix the ROM running the software program. In addition, we extend the proposed technique to be applied for a digital convergence appliance embedding two microprocessors by means of a CD-R instead of the remote controller.


Purpose Ingels, who was influenced by Darwin, designs new mutants by developing prototypes. This study, it is aimed to scrutinize the public space alternatives proposed for the 21st-century city through the comparative analysis of the stepped pixelated buildings, one of the mutants of the architect. It has been how much questioned the stages, which offer a public space proposal, in the stepped pixelated buildings allow urban dialogue. Design/Methodology/Approach While Ingels' design philosophy constitutes the conceptual approach of the study, this study is prepared by using the architect's discourse, interviews, videos, digital texts, and literature studies. In this context, the repetitive examples that the architect defines as mutation and adaptation are classified. The stepped pixels in this classification are the main subject of this study. Ingels' pixelated buildings; Suitable human scale, the language of mass and form, relationship between human and space, the suggestion of space for experience, public space concept, dialogue spaces were discussed based on architect's approach. Findings Ingels went in the way of dividing the object through pixels when designing macro-scale structures. Thus, he made the big picture more understandable and perceptible. He tried to achieve the human scale with the gradual pixels rising from the ground level. In this way, Ingels' pixels buildings have transformed themselves into an experiential part of urban. Research Limitations/Implications These parameters were evaluated under four dwelling buildings of the stepped pixel in the case study (Lego Tower, Mountain Dwellings, King Street West, 79 & Park). Social/Practical Implications At this research, it is foreseen that the new living space suggestions consisting of stepped pixels designed by Ingels will undergo different mutations and come up with new urban alternatives in the future. Originality/Value Pixelated dwellings, one of the mutations of Ingels, who constantly draws attention to the problem of not integrating the buildings into the city in today's architecture, have been analysed and evaluated in the context of urban alliterations. In this way, research, a first in its field is important in terms of opening to discuss the alternative urban living spaces proposed by the architect for 21st-century architecture in the contemporary architectural environment.


Breast cancer (BC) is the
most common malignancy in women and is second to lung cancer in terms of cancer
mortality. Treatment of BC remains a challenge as current therapies are limited
by toxicity and drug resistance. Graviola (Annona muricata) is a tree
that grows in the tropics of North and South America. Traditionally, the leaves
and stems from the graviola tree have been used for a wide range of human
diseases including cancer. In
vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate anticancer
activity in BC however clinical studies are lacking. We present the first case
demonstrating clinical benefit without side effects using graviola in a patient
with BC whose disease was refractory to multiple lines of chemotherapy
including anthracyclines and taxanes.


Parasites are rarely considered in ecosystem studies. The current interest in the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, however, has stimulated the emergence of new synthetic approaches across the traditional divide between population and ecosystem ecology. Here we provide a brief introduction to ecosystem ecology, an overview of current trends in the field of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and ideas about how parasites should and could be brought into ecosystem ecology.


Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is considered one of the most frequently diagnosed psychiatric childhood disorders. It has an effect on 3–5% of school-aged children, and brings about difficulties in academic and social interaction in relation to both parents and teachers. The rationale behind this study is the exploration of the knowledge and beliefs of children with ADHD, their parents and teachers in relation to ADHD. An ecological framework has been used in order to achieve an understanding and to interpret data gained through this research; however, although this study considers the social model of disability, the medical one, which is recognised as the dominant framework in Saudi Arabia, was not overlooked.

The results of the survey based on the responses of 58 children to the ADHD Knowledge and Opinions Questionnaires and subsequent interviews showed positive choices of evidence-based medication and psychosocial treatment, and an
understanding of the range of effects of ADHD, as well as the possible handling strategies. The children were able to determine environments in which ADHD made it difficult for them to be, and also identify adults who they considered capable of assisting them with their condition.

The data gained from The KADD-Q (Knowledge about Attention Deficit Disorder Questionnaire) and subsequent interviews with a sample of 40 parents and 54 teachers reveals that the levels of knowledge of parents and teachers in regard to ADHD characteristics were considerably higher than their knowledge of ADHD-related causes and treatment.

Overall, the findings reveal that, whilst children, parents and teachers have some knowledge regarding ADHD, more training is required. Furthermore, the strengths and limitations of the research, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed. The study also provides theoretical, political and practical implications for
prompting knowledge of ADHD within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).


Background Talaromyces marneffei is an opportunistic dimorphic fungus prevalent in Southeast Asia. We previously demonstrated that Mp1p is an immunogenic surface and secretory mannoprotein of T. marneffei. Since Mp1p is a surface protein that can generate protective immunity, we hypothesized that Mp1p and/or its homologs are virulence factors. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined the pathogenic roles of Mp1p and its homologs in a mouse model. All mice died 21 and 30 days after challenge with wild-type T. marneffei PM1 and MP1 complemented mutant respectively. None of the mice died 60 days after challenge with MP1 knockout mutant (P<0.0001). Seventy percent of mice died 60 days after challenge with MP1 knockdown mutant (P<0.0001). All mice died after challenge with MPLP1 to MPLP13 knockdown mutants, suggesting that only Mp1p plays a significant role in virulence. The mean fungal loads of PM1 and MP1 complemented mutant in the liver, lung, kidney and spleen were significantly higher than those of the MP1 knockout mutant. Similarly, the mean load of PM1 in the liver, lung and spleen were significantly higher than that of the MP1 knockdown mutant. Histopathological studies showed an abundance of yeast in the kidney, spleen, liver and lung with more marked hepatic and splenic necrosis in mice challenged with PM1 compared to MP1 knockout and MP1 knockdown mutants. Likewise, a higher abundance of yeast was observed in the liver and spleen of mice challenged with MP1 complemented mutant compared to MP1 knockout mutant. PM1 and MP1 complemented mutant survived significantly better than MP1 knockout mutant in macrophages at 48 hours (P<0.01) post-infection. The mean fungal counts of Pichia pastoris GS115-MP1 in the liver (P<0.001) and spleen (P<0.05) of mice were significantly higher than those of GS115 at 24 hours post-challenge. Conclusions/Significance Mp1p is a key virulence factor of T. marneffei. Mp1p mediates virulence by improving the survival of T. marneffei in macrophages.


DNA methylation and gene expression can be altered by early life stress (ELS) and/or ethanol consumption. The present study aimed to investigate whether DNA methylation of the Vesicular Glutamate Transporters (Vglut)1–3 is related to previously observed Vglut1-3 transcriptional differences in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (Acb), dorsal striatum (dStr) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of adult rats exposed to ELS, modelled by maternal separation, and voluntary ethanol consumption. Targeted next-generation bisulfite sequencing was performed to identify the methylation levels on 61 5′-cytosine-phosphate-guanosine-3′ sites (CpGs) in potential regulatory regions of Vglut1, 53 for Vglut2, and 51 for Vglut3. In the VTA, ELS in ethanol-drinking rats was associated with Vglut1-2 CpG-specific hypomethylation, whereas bidirectional Vglut2 methylation differences at single CpGs were associated with ELS alone. Exposure to both ELS and ethanol, in the Acb, was associated with lower promoter and higher intronic Vglut3 methylation; and in the dStr, with higher and lower methylation in 26% and 43% of the analyzed Vglut1 CpGs, respectively. In the mPFC, lower Vglut2 methylation was observed upon ELS- or ethanol-only. The present findings suggest Vglut1-3 CpG-specific methylation signatures of ELS and ethanol drinking, underlying previously reported Vglut1-3 transcriptional differences in the mesocorticolimbic brain.


This paper examines the effect of unexpected exchange rate movements on U.S. shareholder wealth. Empirical results based on a sample of 634 U.S. multinational firms (1) confirm previously reported evidence that the disaggregation of the worldwide trade-weighted U.S. dollar exchange rate index into seven region-specific trade-weighted indices increases the precision and significance of exposure estimates; (2) show that models assuming that changes in spot exchange rates are unanticipated are frequently misspecified and, thus, unable to correctly detect the impact of currency movements on firm value; (3) reveal that forward and survey expectations enable us to distinguish between the effect of 'realized' and 'unexpected' currency movements; and (4) reveal that investors making pricing and hedging decisions prefer to use the information contained in short-term forward and survey expectation rates to the information included in long-term forecasts.


The advent of genetically engineered systems, including transgenic animals and recombinant viral vectors, has facilitated a more detailed understanding of the molecular and cellular substrates regulating brain function. In this review we highlight some of the most recent molecular biology and genetic technologies in the experimental "systems neurosciences," many of which are rapidly becoming a methodological standard, and focus in particular on those tools and techniques that permit the reversible and cell-type specific manipulation of neurons in behaving animals. These newer techniques encompass a wide range of approaches including conditional deletion of genes based on Cre/loxP technology, gene silencing using RNA interference, cell-type specific mapping or ablation and reversible manipulation (silencing and activation) of neurons in vivo. Combining these approaches with viral vector delivery systems, in particular adeno-associated viruses (AAV), has extended, in some instances greatly, the utility of these tools. For example, the spatially- and/or temporally-restricted transduction of specific neuronal cell populations is now routinely achieved using the combination of Cre-driver mice and stereotaxic-based delivery of AAV expressing Cre-dependent cassettes. We predict that the experimental application of these tools, including creative combinatorial approaches and the development of even newer reagents, will prove necessary for a complete understanding of the neuronal circuits subserving most neurobiological functions, including the regulation of sleep and wake.


Introduction Chabahar Bay is located in southeastern coast of Iran and the northern part of the Oman Sea in the geographic area of 25°22? 47?N  and 60°39?  90?E. This Bay with having a variety of coverings, such as, muddy, stone, sandy and rocky, has provided possibility of life for different taxa, such as, shellfish, mollusks, echinoderm ( Ghanbarifardi and Malek, 2009; Yazdani et al., 2009; Sadeghi and Loghmani, 2010; Khaleghi and Owfi, 2011; Fazeli et al., 2013; Attaran et al., 2014). Ophiuroids are relatively small echinoderms that all live in marine habitats, such as, sandy, rocky, stony, muddy, on sponge and corals (Barnes et al., 2001). Ophiuroids with above 2,000 species are a big group of echinodermata distributed in all marine environments from polar to the equator, and from the intertidal to subtidal zone (Pawson, 2007). In the present study, ophiuroids species are identified based on their morphological features and introduced from Chabahar bay.


This thesis is to address three questions on price competition and one question in statistical application in physics that has a possible application in economics. The aim of the first paper is to investigate the equilibrium in a dynamic Bertrand duopoly where firms do not know the cost of other firms and firms face an avoidable sunk cost when they decide to enter the market. In this model, firms are allowed to monitor rival's entry decision before making their pricing decision. Firms are also allowed to communicate with each other via announcements before they make the entry decision. I show that there exists two classes of Pure-Strategy Bayesian-Nash equilibria in this game. In one class of equilibrium only the low cost firms enter, and in the other class of equilibrium only one firm enters while the other stays out irrespective of their types. This is a new existence result and the paper provides full characterization of the Perfect Bayesian Equilibria (PBE). Communication among firms is just 'cheap talk' and has no effect on the set of equilibria in this game. One-shot price competition among identical firms facing avoidable fixed cost generally leads to a permanent inefficiency when costs are unknown. This stems from the fact that the market is not served with positive probabilities. However, in reality, firms interact repeatedly. My second paper shows that market inefficiency in the one-shot game can be restored with infinitely repeated interaction among competing firms. I demonstrate that with infinite interaction of firms in a Bertrand setting, competing firms can self-impose collusive conduct via communication. I provide a characterization of the Perfect Public Equilibrium (PPE) where firms collude and as a part of this equilibrium firms employ asymmetric penal codes. In this game, pre-play communication has a positive value which is absent in the one-shot game. The results indicate that the presence of an avoidable fixed cost in this setting makes it easier for firms to collude. In the third paper, I consider a Bertrand duopoly where one firm's cost is publicly known and the other firm's cost is private information. In this paper, we provide a full characterization of the [?] of this game under equal market sharing rule. We point out that one-sided cost uncertainty and bounded known cost type is sufficient to guarantee 3 the existence of the PSBNE. Finally, in the fourth paper we use basic techniques from econometrics and statistics, in particular Ordinary Least Square regression and Pearson's rank correlation method, to study second order fluctuations along the fluid side of the melting line of the LennardJones (LJ). We use Molecular Dynamic computer simulation to generate data on the cross correlation between the configurational part of the pressure and potential energy the repulsive and attractive parts of the potential energy. By using the statistical techniques we notice a qualitative change along the melting line.


W of words degenerated into fisticuffs inside the Bengal Assembly with the Trinamool Congress and BJP legislators on Monday exchanging blows over the Birbhum burning and mass murder case that left eight people dead last week. Another woman who sustained 65 per cent burn succumbed to her injuries on Monday morning taking the official toll of the dead to nine. A number of MLAs from both sides reported injuries in the scuffled in the Assembly. But TMC legislator Asit Majumdar had to be hospitalised with broken nose allegedly given to him by Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari. The incident started when Adhikari demanded discussion over the Rampurhat violence and Speaker Biman Benerjee turned turn the request. Soon slogan-shouting BJP MLAs assembled near the Speaker's chair demanding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement in the House. The treasury bench too jumped into the melee. Even as the two sides jostled — with the marshalls trying to separate them — blows started raining and Majumdar, an MLA from Hooghly district, suffered a blow on his nose. His spectacles broke and he was rushed to hospital and was admitted to the woodburn ward of the state-of-the-art SSKM Hospital. "Being a senior man, I was requesting the two sides to calm down when Adhikari hit me and broke my glass and nose," Majumdar told the media with his nose bleeding. However, Adhikari who along with other senior leaders took out a massive rally of the BJP supports in North Kolkata said he was only trying to pacify to the two sides and had in fact escorted his party men out of the House. He alleged "the Government pushed in policemen in civil dress and made them manhandle us ... Had I not taken my MLAs out we would have been badly injured considering the past record of the TMC leaders and their party men." BJP MLA Manoj Tigga later complained that he had been beaten up by the TMC MLAs who tore his dress. Later, the Speaker suspended Adhikari and four other BJP MLAs, including Manoj Tigga, Shankar Ghosh, Narahari Mahato, and Dipak Mahato for "misconduct". "This is unprecedented in history of Bengal ... the Assembly is a place for decent exchange of views ... even heated exchanges often take place ... but this indecent conduct has denigrated the prestige and dignity of the House," the Speaker said. MLAs exchange blows in Bengal Assembly


Actuarial convention has the effect of driving equity allocations of public pension plans upward. It also pushes the risk of pension funding onto future generations of taxpayers, which has fostered taxpayer discontent. Yet, pension plans in the public sector have much to offer in terms of design features, benefit security, cost effectiveness, and investment performance. Ideally, they will evolve into quasi-autonomous financial institutions. For this to happen, they will have to (1) mark assets and liabilities to market, (2) implement funding and benefit-improvement disciplines, and (3) cease to pursue social, political, and economic development ends.


Isolated populations of drosophila pseudoobscura, separated from North American populations by about 2,400 km, were found in Colombia in 1960. We compared for sequences of the small ribosomal RNA (srRNA) gene on the mitochondria between North American and Colombian D. pseudoobscura in order to clarify the age of the Colombian isolates. The North American populations were not genetically different from each other but were genetically different from the Colombian populations. The Mexican strains represent the area from which the Colombian founders might have come. The estimated net nucleotide divergence between Mexican and Colombian D. pseudoobscura indicates that the Colombian population is not an ancient lineage. Phylogenies using both distance and parsimony methodologies reinforced this conclusion. The Colombian samples group together with both methods but, according to the bootstrap analysis, not significantly. It appears that the populations have not been separated long enough for their DNA sequences to show much divergence.


By the selective breeding of obese male mice of the ddY strain and using indices of the heavy body weight and appearance of urinary glucose, we established two inbred strains in 1992: one with obesity and urinary glucose (Tsumura, Suzuki, Obese Diabetes: TSOD) and the other without them (Tsumura, Suzuki, Non Obesity: TSNO). The male TSOD mice constantly showed signs of obesity and urinary glucose with increases in food and water intake, body weight and some fat weight. The body mass index (BMI) clearly showed moderate obesity. Increases in the levels of diabetic blood parameters (glucose, insulin and lipids) were also found in males, in which the levels of blood glucose and insulin were high to the ages past the growth peak. In the histological studies, pancreatic islets of the TSOD males were found hypertrophic without any signs of insulitis or fibrous formation. Among these diabetic characteristics, some of which were similar to the reported models of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), the stable appearances of the hyperglycemia, the hyperinsulinemia and the hypertrophy of pancreatic islets to the ages past the growth peak were the prominent features. In these respect the TSOD mouse may be a useful model for researching the mechanisms of human diabetes and its complications.


Chinese pinyin input method engine (IME) lets user conveniently input Chinese into a computer by typing pinyin through the common keyboard. In addition to offering high conversion quality, modern pinyin IME is supposed to aid user input with extended association function. However, existing solutions for such functions are roughly based on oversimplified matching algorithms at word-level, whose resulting products provide limited extension associated with user inputs. This work presents the Moon IME, a pinyin IME that integrates the attention-based neural machine translation (NMT) model and Information Retrieval (IR) to offer amusive and customizable association ability. The released IME is implemented on Windows via text services framework.


In 2020, A Major Offshore Operating Company in UAE faced a high differential pressure stuck event. This took place, during the execution of formation evaluation with a conveyed pipe sampling BHA. It is well known that after a differentially stuck pipe event happens, the success ratio will be time dependent (i.e. the less time a pipe remains stuck, the more chances there will be for it to become released) and the chances of releasing the BHA are always limited to the logging tools tensile limitations.
 One of the most common and successful methods to release differentially stuck BHA's specifically in limestone formations is by pumping and soaking acid pills. However, under such a high differential pressure environment, the use of acid may induce losses in the so called "thief zones", causing worse problems. The standard release procedure started by working the string within the tensile limits, followed by pumping acid pills (using the available volume mobilized before spudding each drilling section). During the first acid pills pumped to attempt to release the stuck pipe, loss volume pump rates, acid pill position(s) and coverage in the annulus was assessed and evaluated. Based on the results it was observed that the thief zone was in direct contact with the Pipe Conveyed circulation port, at the latching assembly. This then created a situation whereby, the acid pills were lost immediately after the acid came into contact with the formation. Utilizing low acid concentration pills also had the same effect.
 The solution was to pump an Obturating pill made-up of a weighting agent as a spacer behind the high volume, low concentration acid pill with crosslinking divergent chemicals, pumped at a high flow rate. This solution reduced the acid losses across the thief zone and once the Obturating pill came into contact with the loss zone, it facilitated the seal and cured the losses, by allowing the acid to move up the annulus until it reached the differentially stuck point and soaked across the problematic area. Once the acid pill was successfully placed at the required location using this method, the string was worked and successfully released. This combination of low concentration acid along with crosslinking divergent chemicals coupled with the Obturating pill behind the acid helped a major offshore operating company to pump the acid pill under partial losses only, to regain full circulation after only 10 bbl. of Obturating pill had entered inside the annulus. It allowed the acid pill to react across the stuck point, while keeping the string under low torque and compression. The operator was able to release the sampling BHA and bring it back to surface avoiding a lost in hole cost of around 4 MM$. The Obturating pill combined with low concentration CDC acid pill is proven to be a successful method in drilling operations when trying to release differentially stuck BHA's within a wellbore.


This meta-analysis investigated the normative development of domain-specific self-evaluations (also referred to as self-concept or domain-specific self-esteem) by synthesizing the available longitudinal data on mean-level change. Eight domains of self-evaluations were assessed: academic abilities, athletic abilities, physical appearance, morality, romantic relationships, social acceptance, mathematics, and verbal abilities. Analyses were based on data from 143 independent samples which included 112,204 participants. As the effect size measure, we used the standardized mean change d per year. The mean age associated with effect sizes ranged from 5 to 28 years. Overall, developmental trajectories of self-evaluations were positive in the domains of academic abilities, social acceptance, and romantic relationships. In contrast, self-evaluations showed negative developmental trajectories in the domains of morality, mathematics, and verbal abilities. Little mean-level change was observed for self-evaluations of physical appearance and athletic abilities. Moderator analyses were conducted for the full set of samples and for the subset of samples between ages 10 and 16 years. The moderator analyses indicated that the pattern of findings held across demographic characteristics of the samples, including gender and birth cohort. The meta-analytic dataset consisted largely of Western and White/European samples, pointing to the need of conducting more research with non-Western and ethnically diverse samples. The meta-analytic findings suggest that the notion that self-evaluations generally show a substantial decline in the transition from early to middle childhood should be revised. Also, the findings did not support the notion that self-evaluations reach a critical low point in many domains in early adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


The study focused on the impact of climate change on African agriculture and how farmers around Africa have been coping through various indigenous mitigation and adaptation measures they adopt in ensuring sustainability in agricultural productivity. Indigenous methods such as traditional irrigation system, water harvesting and storage methods, soil moisture storage techniques, traditional soil protection techniques such as digging compost-filled planting pits which hold water, helping deep-rooted vegetables grow; building up grass and rock barriers around crops to protect them from soil erosion; and cultivating manure in septic tanks to use as fertilizer, intercropping trees with food crops and so on have responded well in the past to changing climatic conditions. The success of any mitigation cum adaptation strategies would rely not only on the traditional small-scale farming techniques; therefore there is urgent need to revive more traditional farming practices and combine them with modern scientific discoveries to help mitigate and adapt to climate changes.


A young, otherwise healthy man was hospitalized with clinical findings of acute retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Radiographic evaluation suggested a large bleeding renal mass that was thought to be renal cell carcinoma. Radical nephrectomy was performed after angio-embolization. Final pathological diagnosis was grade III transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis invading the renal parenchyma. Distal ureterectomy was subsequently performed 12 days after nephrectomy. Preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma would have spared our patient the morbidity of a delayed second procedure. Transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute retroperitoneal hemorrhage.


Reading is currently a matter of great concern in South Africa where most learners including Grade 4 learners are reading below their grade level. The research project discussed in this article investigated Grade 4 teachers' perceptions of teaching learners to read. Teachers' perceptions could influence their attitude to reading and the ways in which they would teach reading. Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory and qualitative research design were used in the study. Seven Grade 4 teachers, among whom was the teacher used in the pilot study, were interviewed and observed while teaching reading in the classroom to gain first-hand understanding of how reading is taught in English as the home language in Grade 4. For some of the learners English was, however, the first additional language. The findings of the study revealed that the teachers understood what reading is; and also the importance of teaching reading. It was, however, noted that not all the Grade 4 teachers were trained in how to teach reading. Although the teachers who took part in the study used different approaches to teach reading, not all of them were in a position to use a combined approach. The grade 4 teachers aired their concerns about the increase in the number of learning areas the learners had to study on entering Grade 4. They also raised their concerns about the lack of support they get from district officials. In the opinion of the teachers the parents were also insufficiently involved in the lives of their children. Keywords: reading in home language, reading problems, Grade 4 learners, training of Grade 4 teachers


The transient characteristics of x-axis inversion for AT-cut quartz plates were studied. The resonance frequency of the quartz plate was monitored throughout the thermal treatment process for x-axis inversion. The x-axis inversion can be detected by resonance frequency change. It was observed that the critical temperature, T c, for the x-axis inversion decreases with the film thickness deposited on the quartz plate. An expansion phenomenon of the x-axis inverted area was observed at temperatures higher than T c. Degeneration of resonance frequencies corresponding to AT-cut and -35°15′ rotated Y-cut was observed above 553° C.


The year 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of emergency medicine (EM) as a medical specialty in Taiwan. Within the past two decades, Taiwan EM specialists have achieved numerous significant milestones in the development of the specialty in Taiwan, as described in this paper. The themes emerging from this paper assist in understanding the characteristics of Taiwan EM specialty, and may serve as a guiding model for other countries where the EM specialty is undergoing a similar process of development and optimization.


We take advantage of the new large AlpArray Seismic Network (AASN) as part of the AlpArray research initiative (www.alparray.ethz.ch), to establish a consistent seismicity catalogue for the greater Alpine region (GAR) for the time-period January 1st, 2016–December 31st, 2019. We use data from 1103 stations including the AASN backbone composed of 352 permanent and 276 (including 30 OBS) temporary broadband stations (network code Z3). Although characterized by a moderate seismic hazard, the European Alps and surrounding regions have a higher seismic risk due to the higher concentration of values and people. For these reasons, the GAR seismicity is monitored and routinely reported in catalogues by a 11 national and 2 regional seismic observatories. The heterogeneity of these dataset limits the possibility of extracting consistent information by simply merging to investigate the GAR's seismicity as a whole. The uniformly spaced and dense AASN provides, for the first time, a unique opportunity to calculate high-precision hypocentre locations and consistent magnitude estimation with uniformity and equal uncertainty across the GAR. We present a new, multi-step, semi-automatic method to process ∼50 TB of seismic signals, combining three different software. We used the SeisComP3 for the initial earthquake detection, a newly developed Python library ADAPT for high-quality repicking, and the well-established VELEST algorithm both for filtering and final location purposes. Moreover, we computed new local magnitudes based on the final high-precision hypocentre locations and re-evaluation of the amplitude observations. The final catalogue contains 3293 seismic events and is complete down to local magnitude 2.4 and regionally consistent with the magnitude 3 + of national catalogues for the same time period. Despite covering only 4 years of seismicity, our catalogue evidences the main fault systems and orogens' front in the region, that are documented as seismically active by the EPOS-EMSC manually-revised regional bulletin for the same time period. Additionally, we jointly inverted for a new regional minimum 1D P-wave velocity model for the GAR and station delays for both permanent station networks and temporary arrays. These results provide the base for a future re-evaluation of the past decades of seismicity, and for the future seismicity, eventually improving seismic-hazard studies in the region. Moreover, we provide a unique, consistent seismic dataset fundamental to further investigate this complex and seismically active area. The catalogue, the minimum 1D P-wave velocity model, and station delays associated are openly shared and distributed with a permanent DOI listed in the Data Availability section.


Blogs that cite academic articles have emerged as a potential source of alternative impact metrics for the visibility of the blogged articles. Nevertheless, to evaluate more fully the value of blog citations, it is necessary to investigate whether research blogs focus on particular types of articles or give new perspectives on scientific discourse. Therefore, we studied the characteristics of peer‐reviewed references in blogs and the typical content of blog posts to gain insight into bloggers' motivations. The sample consisted of 391 blog posts from 2010 to 2012 in Researchblogging.org's health category. The bloggers mostly cited recent research articles or reviews from top multidisciplinary and general medical journals. Using content analysis methods, we created a general classification scheme for blog post content with 10 major topic categories, each with several subcategories. The results suggest that health research bloggers rarely self‐cite and that the vast majority of their blog posts (90%) include a general discussion of the issue covered in the article, with more than one quarter providing health‐related advice based on the article(s) covered. These factors suggest a genuine attempt to engage with a wider, nonacademic audience. Nevertheless, almost 30% of the posts included some criticism of the issues being discussed.


As shown by earlier experiments high hydrostatic pressure affects the catalytic function of lactic dehydrogenase from rabbit muscle. In the presence of substrates denaturation occurs, whereas in the absence of substrates and --SH-protecting reagents oxidation of sulfhydryl groups takes place [Schmid, G., Lüdemann, H.-D. & Jaenicke, R. (1975) Biophys. Chem. 3, 90--98; (1978) Eur. J. Biochem. 86, 219--224]. Avoiding oxidation effects by reducing conditions in the solvent medium and by chelation of heavy metal ions, the remaining high-pressure effects consist of dissociation of the native quaternary structure into subunits followed by aggregation. Both reactions are influenced by temperature and enzyme concentration. Short incubation (less than or equal to 10 min) at pH 6.0--8.5 and pressures of 0.3--1.0 kbar causes dissociation which is reversed at normal pressure. At 5 degrees C the activation volume is found to be delta V not equal to = -62 +/- 3cm3 . mol-1. Above 1.2 kbar irreversible aggregation takes place; the reaction is favoured by low temperature and decreased pH. The activation volume for the aggregation process at 5 degress C is delta V not equal to = -97 +/- 3cm3 . mol-1. The results may be described by a reaction sequence comprisign pressure-induced dissociation of the native enzyme into its subunits followed by subunit aggregation to form inactive high-molecular-weight particles.


In the past few years, intensive research has focused on corneal stem cells as an unlimited source for cell-based therapy in regenerative ophthalmology. Today, it is known that the cornea has at least two types of stem cells: limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) and corneal stromal stem cells (CSSCs). LESCs are used for regeneration of corneal surface, while CSSCs are used for regeneration of corneal stroma. Until now, various approaches and methods for isolation of LESCs and CSSCs and their successful transplantation have been described and tested in several preclinical studies and clinical trials. This review describes in detail phenotypic characteristics of LESCs and CSSCs and discusses their therapeutic potential in corneal regeneration. Since efficient and safe corneal stem cell-based therapy is still a challenging issue that requires continuous cooperation between researchers, clinicians, and patients, this review addresses the important limitations and suggests possible strategies for improvement of corneal stem cell-based therapy.


SUMMARY: The occurrence of multivesicular bodies (m.v. bodies) in Sclerotinia fructigena, both in vivo and in vitro, was studied by electron microscopy. This investigation was an attempt to correlate the existence of m.v. bodies with extracellular enzyme production. It was observed that when the fungus grew in its natural hosts or in media containing pectin or sodium pectate, where extracellular pectolytic enzyme secretion was high, m.v. bodies were present in the hyphae. However, when the fungus grew in synthetic media without pectin or sodium pectate, these m.v. bodies were absent, and the extracellular enzyme activity was very low. Multivesicular bodies in S. fructigena seemed to originate from the endoplasmic reticulum, moving later to the periphery of the cell.
A new histochemical technique was used at the electron microscope level; this provided supporting evidence that m.v. bodies are the cytoplasmic constituents involved in extracellular enzyme secretion by this fungus.


Objective To study the current management practices of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) throughout the UK and Ireland and identify changes in practice from the most recent survey in 2008. Design Postal questionnaire to a consultant paediatrician or neonatologist in all 215 neonatal units in the UK and Ireland in January 2020. Results Response rate was 62%. An objective scoring tool was used in 97% of units and the Finnegan score was favoured by 70%. Morphine sulfate use as first line for the treatment of opiate withdrawal was almost universal and 70% used a dose of 40 µg/kg every 4 hours (240 µg/kg/day). Phenobarbitone administration as a second-line agent for opiate withdrawal increased to 61% of units with significant reductions in chloral hydrate and chlorpromazine use compared with the previous survey. Morphine sulfate and phenobarbitone remain the preferred first-line and second-line agents, respectively, for polysubstance withdrawal. There was a significant increase in chlorpromazine use as first line for polydrug withdrawal (1.5–14.2%). The practice of units discharging infants' home on medication increased to 46% from 29%. All units now permit breastfeeding in mothers taking methadone, compared with 81% previously. Conclusion and relevance Compared with the previous survey, improvements in evidence-based practices were noted, highlighting the benefits of this type of research. Nonetheless, significant variation still exists in some aspects of the management of NAS. Post-discharge follow-up varies widely, with particular deficits in ophthalmology follow-up.


A fully digital control scheme for synchronous reluctance motors is presented, based on a particular type of flux observer. This includes a quite accurate magnetic model of the motor, taking into account cross saturation. This model is first described and the practically obtained control performance is then shown, giving evidence to the impact of such a model on the system behavior.


Low-temperature dynamics of flux lines in high-temperature type-II superconductors in the presence of correlated disorder in the form of columnar defects is discussed. The effect of tilting the applied magnetic field with respect to the column's directions is considered, using the non-Hermitian quantum mechanics technique used by Hatano and Nelson [N. Hatano and D. R. Nelson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 570 (1996)]. It is shown that the critical current, as well as the vortex transport properties below this current, may be determined by ``surface excitations,'' i.e., by the roughness of the flux line near the edges of the sample, which dominated the bulk jumps. Phase-space considerations determine the critical thickness of the sample, below which the tilt-induced surface transport exceeds the bulk mechanism. This critical length, which depends on the tilt angle as well as the directions of the perpendicular field and the supercurrent, diverge at the delocalization transition.


American Blackout debuted in October on the National Geographic Channel. It is a pseudo-documentary that chronicles the 10-day aftermath of a cyber attack that brings down the nation's entire electricity grid. Experts contend that no cyber attack could bring down the entire national grid, but the program is a gentle reminder that electricity is essential to our basic way of life. The 2003 blackout reminds us multistate disruptions of the grid are not very hard to imagine. Thus, it is critical that our electricity generation and supply system is protected from crippling attacks—attacks of a magnitude beyond the ones in Arkansas that knocked out power to a mere 10,000 people over several days.


To respond to the enduring need for a reckoning with racism in New Zealand through legal scholarship and praxis, this article grapples with the question: how can we adopt a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework that is located within, and appropriate for, the New Zealand context? Our central thesis is that scholars and activists seeking to apply a CRT framework or conduct a CRT analysis in New Zealand should be mindful of the particular circumstances of the settler-colonising state imposed by the Crown. To assist with this mindfulness, we propose five guiding principles for CRT scholarship and praxis in New Zealand, which are all non-prescriptive and subject to critique and further development. To illustrate the usefulness of this framework, we undertake a critical reappraisal of the 1980 Tifaga v Department of Labour case. As we show, it is important to approach this case against the backdrop of the dawn raids and state-fuelled racism against Pacific peoples.


Tissue motion tracking is a critically important step for many ultrasound elastography applications. In this study, we are particularly interested in evaluating motion tracking strategies for large deformation quasi-static elastography. In this study, Bayesian inference is incorporated into a region-growing motion estimation framework and we named the proposed tracking algorithm as a region-growing Bayesian motion tracking (RGBMT) algorithm. Basically, we replace signal correlation by a maximum posterior probability density function to perform motion tracking. Using a computer-simulated phantom and one set of human subject ultrasound data with pathologically-confirmed breast cancer, the proposed RGBMT algorithm was compared to the original region-growing motion tracking algorithm. Our preliminary data suggested that the addition of Bayesian inference is useful in terms of improving the accuracy of motion tracking. Results from both the numerical phantom and in vivo ultrasound data set showed that there are fewer tracking errors in axial displacement and strain images obtained from the proposed RGBMT algorithms. That explained why the contrast-to-noise (CNR) values were higher and the breast tumor on the reconstructed modulus image was better visualized.


The regional characteristics of mineralization in Japanese pyrometasomatic deposits were assessed from amounts of metals, especially Cu, Zn, and Pb, dug out from mines during the past 31 years. For the 49 major mines, the ratios Cu/Zn-Pb and the chemical compositions and textures of genetically related igneous rocks, were determined.Relatively Cu-rich pyrometasomatic deposits tend to be associated with plutonic igneous activity, while Zn-Pb-rich ones are associated with hypabyssal to effusive activity. The relation is clearly demonstrated in the Inner Zone of southwestern Japan. The Cu- and Zn-Pb-rich belts are recognized in the region, and this pattern could be interpreted as the result of a tilted erosion level through an acidic igneous activity of late Cretaceous to early Paleogene.The concept of Cu- and Zn-Pb-rich belts seems to be applicable also to vein-type deposits in the Inner Zone of southwestern Japan. This suggests that the precipitation of base metals in both pyrometasomatic and vein-type deposits may be controlled by the same factor(s), and these factors are not independent of the depth of formation.


To honor James F. Crow on the occasion of his 95th birthday, GENETICS has commissioned a series of Perspectives and Reviews. For GENETICS to publish the honorifics is fitting, as from their birth Crow and GENETICS have been paired. Crow was scheduled to be born in January 1916, the same month that the first issue of GENETICS was scheduled to appear, and in the many years that Crow has made major contributions to the conceptual foundations of modern genetics, GENETICS has chronicled his and other major advances in the field. The commissioned Perspectives and Reviews summarize and celebrate Professor Crow's contributions as a research scientist, administrator, colleague, community supporter, international leader, teacher, and mentor. In science, Professor Crow was the international leader of his generation in the application of genetics to populations of organisms and in uncovering the role of genetics in health and disease. In education, he was a superb undergraduate teacher whose inspiration changed the career paths of many students. His teaching skills are legendary, his lectures urbane and witty, rigorous and clear. He was also an extraordinary mentor to numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom went on to establish successful careers of their own. In public service, Professor Crow served in key administrative positions at the University of Wisconsin, participated as a member of numerous national and international committees, and served as president of both the Genetics Society of America and the American Society for Human Genetics. This Perspective examines Professor Crow as teacher and mentor through the eyes and experiences of one student who was enrolled in his genetics course as an undergraduate and who later studied with him as a graduate student.


Henri Prost, who was one of the founders of town planning in France, was invited to prepare the master plan of Istanbul by the Turkish government in 1935. He conducted the planning of the historic capital and the most populous city of Turkey from 1936 to 1951. Although Prost has been renowned particularly with his conservative attitude toward the cultural heritage and the assets of the natural landscape, curiously he adopted a highly interventionist planning approach in Istanbul. "Les Transformations d'Istanbul" is the title of his speech at the Institut de France in September 1947. This title, which he gave later to the collection of his planning notes, reveals the principal goal of his planning in Istanbul on the basis of three principal issues: transportation, hygiene and aesthetics. The aimed transformation was twofold: it consisted in restructuring the city as a whole mainly by establishing a new transportation infrastructure, and reshaping the urban fabric by intervening on the building and population density of the existing centers. In line with the idea of a "concentration plan," the plans that he prepared for the historic peninsula were directed to rationalize the street network and to increase the building density. But, while Prost intervened radically on the historic fabric of the city, he also cared for the "total effect" in Istanbul's skyline. Prost's plans, which were partly implemented during and after his stay in Istanbul, had long lasting effects on the city's transformation.


Software vulnerability analysis plays a critical role in the prevention and mitigation of software security attacks, and vulnerability classification constitutes a key part of this analysis. This paper proposes a new approach for software vulnerability classification, which is based on vulnerability characteristics including accumulation of errors or resources consumption, strict timing requirement and complex interactions between environment and software. We also present seven attack patterns and explore the mapping between vulnerability types and attack patterns. The proposed methods are used to analyze the vulnerabilities and the corresponding attacks reported by Google Project Zero. Examples of applying our classification approach to specific vulnerabilities are presented, together with a statistical analysis of the occurrence of different types of vulnerabilities. These results allow us to have a better understanding of software vulnerabilities and how they can be exploited, leading in the future to strategies to better equip programmers to avoid introducing them, and also helping us to formulate effective countermeasures. We make three observations regarding software vulnerability classification: 1) Mandel vulnerabilities, especially NMVs (Non-Aging-related Mandel Vulnerabilities), account for the largest share of all classified vulnerabilities. 2) It takes more time and complex strategies to fix NMVs. 3) The major goal for attackers is to get elevation of privilege from a target system. The main cause of vulnerabilities is improper validation mechanisms.


The technical methods of culture and identification of the three first strains isolated in France of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, are described. In two patients, bacilli were seen by the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) method, either during the course of the disease (case 1) or at postmortem examination (case 3). The causal strain was cultivated after guinea-pig inoculation or directly from either bronchial aspirate or postmortem lung. Identification of L. pneumophila required the determination of metabolic characteristics, DFA characterization and cellular-fatty acids analysis (by gas-liquid chromatography). In the three cases, a significant seroconversion was detected by indirect fluorescent antibody test. The relative value of the differnt methods of diagnostic methos is discussed and the importance of strain isolation is emphasized.


This paper focuses on an analysis of the pibidian identity as represented by a new teacher as she leaves the program. Thus, it aimed at discussing the fostering of pibidian identity within teacher education programs in Brazil. It is based on studies of the poststructuralist view of identity (Gee, 2001; Silva, 2004; Block, 2007; Woodward, 2011). Data used are extracted from a transcription of a local seminar. The data are analyzed through Critical Discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003) and the theory of representation of social actors (Van Leuween, 2008). The results show the pibidian identity is constructed through 'differentiation' and 'normalization' and developed as an 'affinity identity' . Thus, it also constructs a 'group identity' and crafts 'agential' ways of positioning.


Although scholars have conceptualised on green supply chain management practices (GSCMPs) and green performance (GP), evidence to validate the conceptualisation was lacking, albeit in the context of small and medium enterprises. In addition, effect of technological innovation on supply chain practices and GP was largely unexplored by researchers. Therefore this study validates and provides empirical evidence on the relationship between GSCMPs, technological innovation and GP, in the context of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was administered on conveniently selected manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Yola, Adamawa State of Nigeria. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools such as frequencies, means, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, independent samples t-test and analysis of variance were used in analyzing data and reporting results. Findings revealed that positive significant relationship exist between GSCMPs and GP in small and medium enterprises. Also, technological innovation was found to have influenced the GP of small and medium enterprises, thereby exhibiting partial mediating effect in the conceptualised relationship. This study has succeeded in validating the aforementioned conceptualization as well as advancing the GSCM theory in emerging economies. Practical implications on how to enhance supply chain practices within the context of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in Nigeria were discussed. Recommendations for future research were stated accordingly.


We had previously reported that aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AhRs) are overexpressed in lung adenocarcinomas. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), an AhR agonist, increased FGF‐9 expression in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Similarly, several AhR agonists increased FGF‐9 mRNA levels, and BaP‐induced FGF‐9 expression was prevented by cotreatment with AhR antagonist in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Furthermore, AhR agonists increased transcriptional activity of FGF‐9 promoter. Modulation of AhR expression via RNA interference or transient overexpression respectively reduced or increased both constitutive and BaP‐induced FGF‐9 expression in human lung cells. These results suggested that AhR activation and overexpression increased FGF‐9 expression in lung cells. FGF‐9 increased growth of lung fibroblasts but not that of lung adenocarcinoma cells. However, conditioned media collected from FGF‐9‐treated fibroblasts increased cell growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Furthermore, lung adenocarcinoma cells expressed FGF receptor 2 and cotreatment with anti‐FGF receptor 2 prevented the interaction between fibroblasts and tumor cells. It is likely that FGF‐9‐stimulated fibroblasts secreted unknown factors, which activated FGF receptor 2 and subsequently promoted growth of lung adenocarcinoma cells. We further compared AhR and FGF‐9 expression in 146 non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases by immunohistochemistry. FGF‐9 expression was more common in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cell carcinomas. Furthermore, FGF‐9 and AhR expression were well correlated in lung adenocarcinomas. These results suggest that AhR expression correlated positively with FGF‐9 expression in lung adenocarcinomas, which might promote tumor growth by modulating communication between tumor cells and fibroblasts. Preventing AhR overexpression or disturbing FGF‐9 function may reduce the development of lung adenocarcinomas. © 2009 UICC


Global environmental and energy crises have attracted wide attention and led to ongoing efforts to search for sustainable energy storage and conversion systems that can meet the energy needs of modern society. Electrocatalytic water splitting driven by renewable-energy-resource-derived electricity has been identified as a potential and practical strategy for future energy generation. Exploring nonprecious-metal-based electrocatalysts with high activity and tolerance is the prerequisite for the widespread application of this energy storage model. Heteroatom-regulated electrocatalysts with controllable components as well as electronic structure have unlimited potential toward the pursuit of high-efficiency electrocatalysts and they have been recognized as the perfect platform for establishing clear structure–property relationships. Therefore, in this review, the compositional engineering of recently reported transition-metal-compound-based water-splitting catalysts with multiple anion, cation, and zero-valent-element regulations were summarized. Particular emphasis is placed on the unique role of different doping configurations for each doping type in enhancing the electrocatalytic activities and stability of heteroatom-regulated electrocatalysts by exposing the active sites, regulating the electronic structure, and promoting the electrical conductivity. Finally, some personal perspectives on the design and development of heteroatom-doped electrocatalysts are shared to indicate the possible prospective development of transition-metal-compound-based electrocatalysts.


The authors extend DFT (discrete Fourier transform) processing of phased arrays operating in sequential mode to primely spaced arrays. Advantages include: one can use elements of different sizes to improve the gain; the information sequence is smaller and needs less memory storage; lower sidelobe levels are achieved without the need of tapering hardware; and fewer elements can be used without degrading the array pattern. Examples validate and demonstrate the technique. The approach is demonstrated for both linear and rectangular arrays.<<ETX>>


Pesticide use has been one of the major factors in improving productivity in agricultural enterprises. Pesticide residues in food and drinking water when ingested affect human health while ecosystems are also affected through loss of biodiversity. The aim of the research was to survey pesticide usage in farms under horticultural production, isolate bacterial strains, evaluate their biodegradation potential of selected pesticides, characterize the bacteria isolates morphologically, biochemically and molecularly. A survey in four horticultural regions of central and rift-valley Kenya showed that out of the twenty two (22) formulations of organophosphorus pesticides used by farmers diazinon had the highest proportion of application at 45.9%., followed by dimekill at 18.9% and least in application was brigade at 5.5%. Linuron was mostly applied with an 18.1% proportion of application followed by isoproturon at 13.2% and the least in proportion of application was Neprapamide at 2.7%. Through enrichment cultures total of thirty one (31) isolates were obtained from diazinon and linuron contaminated soils of which thirteen (13) isolates had the ability to degrade linuron while eighteen (18) isolates could degrade diazinon. Degradation of the pesticides was monitored by High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Bacterial isolates had significant levels (P<0.05) of the pesticides degradation. Isolate DJk-4A was the best diazinon degrader at 95.8% degradation followed by isolate DKi-6A at 93.66% while isolate DLoG-8A was the third best degrader at 92.75%. Isolates LJk-5C had the highest level of linuron degradation at 99.36% followed by LWa-2A at 98.94% and the third best degrader was isolate LWa-2C at 95.54%. Identification of various degradation intermediate metabolites was aided by GC-MS analysis. Diversity of the isolates was assessed through DNA sequencing and BLAST search. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed diazinon degraders clustered into six genera namely; Paracoccus,staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Proteus. Isolates DJk-4A clustered with Pseudomonas sp with a 97% sequence similarity to Pseudomonas pituda. Isolate DKi-6B clustered with Staphylococcus sp with a sequence similarity of 99% to Stapylococcus xylosus while isolate DLoG-8A had a 98-% sequence similarity to Paracoccus sp. Linuron degrading isolates clustered into eight genera namely; Myroides, Lysinibacillus, Arthrobacter, Stenotrophomonas, Burkholderia, Xanthomonas, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. Isolate LWa-2A was positioned among Arthrobacter sp with a 97% identity to Arthrobacter globiformis. Isolate LWa-2C clustered with Burkholderia sp with a 99% sequence identity with Burkholderia cepacia. Isolate LJk-5C clustered with pseudomonas sp with a sequence similarity of 98% to pseudomonas migulae.The study showed that isolates from the genera Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Paracoccus, Arthrobacter and Burkholderia could be used to remediate diazinon and linuron contaminated soils under horticultural production. Further studies should be done to identify and characterize proteins involved in the biodegradation activities of these pesticides.


Introduction: Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is an in-vivo imaging modality based on the introduction of a catheter in a blood vessel for viewing its inner wall using electromagnetic radiation. One of the most developed automatic applications for this modality is the lumen area segmentation, however on the evaluation of these methods, the slices inside bifurcation regions, or with the presence of complex atherosclerotic plaques and dissections are usually discarded. This paper describes a fully-automatic method for computing the lumen area in IVOCT images where the set of slices includes complex atherosclerotic plaques and dissections. Methods The proposed lumen segmentation method is divided into two steps: preprocessing, including the removal of artifacts and the second step comprises a lumen detection using morphological operations. In addition, it is proposed an approach to delimit the lumen area for slices inside bifurcation region, considering only the main branch. Results Evaluation of the automatic lumen segmentation used manual segmentations as a reference, it was performed on 1328 human IVOCT images, presenting a mean difference in lumen area and Dice metrics of 0.19 mm2 and 97% for slices outside the bifurcation, 1.2 mm2 and 88% in the regions with bifurcation without automatic contour correction and 0.52 mm2 and 90% inside bifurcation region with automatic contour correction. Conclusion This present study shows a robust lumen segmentation method for vessel cross-sections with dissections and complex plaque and bifurcation avoiding the exclusion of such regions from the dataset analysis.


Electroacupuncture has shown protective effects on cognitive decline. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not clear. The present study was conducted to determine whether the cognitive function was ameliorated in cerebral hypoperfusion rats following electroacupuncture and to investigate the role of miR-137/NOX4 axis. In this study, chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) model was established by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. Electroacupuncture treatment attenuated brain injury in CCH model group via regulating miR-137/NOX4 axis. Furthermore, the data of neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress were observed. Our findings indicated that (1) neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress in CCH rats were significantly increased compared with control group; (2) the animal cognitive performance was evaluated using the Morris water maze (MWM). The results showed that electroacupuncture therapy ameliorated spatial learning and memory impairment in cerebral hypoperfusion rats; and (3) electroacupuncture therapy reduces neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress by activating miR-137/NOX4 axis. These results suggest that electroacupuncture therapy for CCH may be mediated by miR-137/NOX4 axis. Electroacupuncture therapy may act as a potential therapeutic approach for chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.


For efficient system-on-chip (SOC) design, we need an IP DB (intellectual property database) where everyone can register IP and access IP they want. To quickly collect and register IP from companies and universities, we have to give some benefits to the IP providers while minimizing the IP standard they must observe. To provide IP suitable for IP users, we have to have an IP DB which contains rated IP and has sufficient and convenient functions such as IP search, compare and download. Finally, to satisfy the various requirements of both IP providers and IP users, we have to have many business models and license models working in reality. We present KETI's works to solve these problems, focusing on the development and management of an IP DB.


The neuro-ophthalmologic findings of parasellar neuroendocrine carcinoma are reported. Two patients with parasellar neuroendocrine carcinoma had headache, ptosis, and ophthalmoplegia. In both patients, neuroimaging revealed a parasellar mass with extension into the cavernous sinus. The tumors initially were believed to be pituitary adenomas, but histopathology confirmed neuroendocrine carcinoma. Clinicians should be aware of neuroendocrine carcinoma in the differential diagnosis of sellar/parasellar lesions causing ophthalmoplegia.


The invasion of exotic annual grasses during the last century has transformed plant habitats and communities worldwide. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a winter annual grass that has invaded over 100 million acres of the western United States (Pellant and Hall, 1994. Pellant, 1996). Cheatgrass quickly utilizes available resources especially after a disturbance to the landscape. A major impact of invasion is the increased frequency in fires (D'Antonio and Vitousek, 1992). As cheatgrass is highly successful at invading open and disturbed landscapes at a rapid pace it increases the frequency and severity of fires in arid landscapes (Brooks, 2005). Cheatgrass' prolific seed production and flammability allows it to competitively exclude native plant species (Seabloom et al., 2003). The successful life strategy of cheatgrass gives a unique spectral image reflectance that can allow the use of remote sensing platforms to track and locate invasions.


We calculate the contribution to the anomalous (g - 2) of the muon at the one-loop level from a spin-two particle which appears in the strongly coupled standard model of Abbot and Farhi. We find that this contribution is significant when compared to the standard-model result, and is a clear signature of the strongly coupled model.


Because of severe experimental hindrances, the knowledge on molten fluoride salts chemistry has long remained limited to few experimental approaches. Molten fluorides mixtures can be strongly organized at unusually long distances due to the predominance of coulombic interactions and described by the formation of an intermediate range ordering. The description of free fluorine content evolution is also of primary importance for a better understanding of their properties. NMR spectroscopy is one of the techniques able to provide such information. Nevertheless, these systems cumulate high temperatures (from 500 K to 1800 K), corrosive properties towards most of the materials and sensitivity to moisture and oxygen making the NMR experiment a real challenge. We have already shown that thanks to the specific design of the sample container and of the heating system it was possible to obtain NMR spectra in the melt and to follow the evolution of the local structure with temperature and composition up to 1500°C. The signal position, or the isotropic chemical shift, is the weighted averaged chemical shift of the different components in the melt. Knowing the chemical shift of the individual species, it is possible to define their proportions depending on the composition, except when the number of individual species becomes too high compare with the equilibrium equations. We are now able to calculate directly the chemical shifts corresponding to the system, thanks to the coupling between molecular dynamic calculations and theoretical approach of the NMR chemical shifts DFT calculations.
This new step towards a better description of the speciation in such molten salts will provide a new capability to determine the physical and chemical properties of molten fluorides.


In capillary and micro heat pipes the internal porous media is replaced by a capillary groove, yielding a meniscus formed by the liquid phase. The meniscus height varies along the groove length, from the condenser section to the evaporator section, and the difference between the pressures in each extremity is responsible for pumping the liquid. Such devices have been employed in electronic cooling, due its small dimensions. This system provides excellent thermal control, assuring uniform temperature distribution. In previous works related to capillary heat pipe simulation, empirical or simple 1-D models have been used, but not taking into account the complete unsteady phenomena. In this work, the 3-D unsteady simulation of a flat micro heat pipe is presented, where the meniscus radius is considered constant along the transversal section. The phase change problem of a heated liquid meniscus in a groove is simulated via an interface tracking method, which is an hybrid Lagrangean-Eulerian method for moving boundary problems. A variation of the one-dimensional Stephan problem is used to validate the numerical code.


Objective: To evaluate the action of vildagliptin + metformin on some adipocytokine levels, glycemic control, and β-cell function in type 2 diabetic patients. Research design and methods: A total of 171 patients with poor glycemic control were instructed to add after a 8 ± 2 month-run-in period with metformin, vildagliptin 50 mg twice a day or placebo for 12 months. Main outcome measures: We evaluated at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, the body mass index (BMI), glycemic control, fasting plasma insulin (FPI), homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), homeostasis model assessment β-cell function index (HOMA-β), fasting plasma proinsulin (FPr), proinsulin/fasting plasma insulin ratio (Pr/FPI ratio), C-peptide, glucagon, resistin, retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4), chemerin, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Patients also underwent a combined euglycemic hyperinsulinemic and hyperglycemic clamp, with subsequent arginine stimulation to assess insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. Results: After 12 months of vildagliptin + metformin, we observed a better decrease of body weight, glycemic control, HOMA-IR, and glucagon, and a better increase of HOMA-β, and of all the measures of β-cell function, compared to placebo + metformin. Vildagliptin + metformin also decreased resistin, RBP-4, and chemerin better. Conclusion: Vildagliptin seems to have a positive action on some adipocytokines related to inflammation.


BitTorrent developers have recently introduced a new application layer congestion control algorithm based on UDP framing at transport layer and currently under definition at the IETF ledbat Working Group. Ledbat is a delay-based protocol which aims at offering a ``lower than Best Effort'''' data transfer service, with a lower priority with respect to elastic TCP and interactive traffic (e.g., VoIP, game). However, in its current specification, ledbat is affected by a late-comer advantage: indeed the last flow arriving at the bottleneck is more aggressive due to a wrong estimation of the base delay and finally takes over all resources. In this work, we study several solutions to the late-comer problem by means of packet level simulations and simple analysis: in the investigation process, we individuate the root cause for LEDBAT unfairness and propose effective countermeasures.


EP27.04 Normal/arcuate vs septate uterus: agreement between currently recommended cut-off values for measurements and experts' opinion A. Ludwin2,9, W.P. Martins5,4, C.O. Nastri4,5, I. Ludwin2,9, M.A. Coelho Neto4, V. Leitão4, M. Acién8, J. Alcazar8, B.R. Benacerraf3, G. Condous1, R.L. De Wilde10, M.H. Emanuel6, W.E. Gibbons11, S. Guerriero7, W.W. Hurd12, D. Levine13, S. Lindheim14, A. Pellicer15, F. Petraglia16, E. Saridogan17 1Obstetrics and Gynecology, Acute Gynecology, Early Pregnancy and Advanced Endosurgery Unit, Nepean Hospital, Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2Department of Gynecology and Oncology, Chair of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; 3Harvard Medical School, Brookline, MA, USA; 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ribeirao Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; 5Reproductive Medicine, SEMEAR Fertilidade, Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; 6Obstetrics and Gynecology, Spaarne Hospital, Hoofddorp, Netherlands; 7Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy; 8Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; 9Ludwin and Ludwin Gynecology, Krakow, Poland; 10Carl-von-Ossietzky-University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; 11Baylor College of Medicine, Huston, TX, USA; 12Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Centre, Durham, NC, USA; 13Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, MA, USA; 14Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, USA; 15Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, Valencia, Spain; 16University of Florence, Florence, Italy; 17University College London Hospital, London, United Kingdom


Abstract Polymorphisms in the oxytocin receptor gene are commonly associated with prosocial behaviors in the extant literature, yet their role in antisocial behaviors has rarely been explored, particularly during the transition from adolescence to early adulthood. We examined a prospective cohort (N = 404), collecting youth, mother, and clinician reports of conduct-disordered and antisocial behavior at ages 15 and 20. The oxytocin receptor gene rs53576 polymorphism was hypothesized to interact with social stress to predict antisocial outcomes. Structural equation modeling results revealed a significant main effect at age 15 (p = .025); those with the G allele exhibited higher levels of conduct problems. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant Gene × Environment interaction at age 20 (p = .029); those with the G allele who experienced high social stress exhibited higher levels of antisocial behavior. Heterozygous (AG) grouping models were compared, and parameter estimations supported G dominant groupings. These novel findings suggest that rs53576 polymorphisms may influence social salience and contribute to risk for antisocial outcomes, particularly under conditions of high social stress.


Enhancements in spin-lattice relaxation rates of spin-labelled systems are considered both in terms of recent advances in nonlinear EPR methodology and in terms of the structural and dynamic biophysical information that can be obtained from such measurements at the molecular level.


Predicting the next interaction of a short-term sequence is a challenging task in session-based recommendation (SBR).Multi-behavior session recommendation considers session sequence with multiple interaction types, such as click and purchase, to capture more effective user intention representation sufficiently.Despite the superior performance of existing multi-behavior based methods for SBR, there are still several severe limitations:(i) Almost all existing works concentrate on single target type of next behavior and fail to model multiplex behavior sessions uniformly.(ii) Previous methods also ignore the semantic relations between various next behavior and historical behavior sequence, which are significant signals to obtain current latent intention for SBR.(iii) The global cross-session item-item graph established by some existing models may incorporate semantics and context level noise for multi-behavior session-based recommendation. To overcome the limitations (i) and (ii), we propose two novel tasks for SBR, which require the incorporation of both historical behaviors and next behaviors into unified multi-behavior recommendation modeling. To this end, we design a Multi-behavior Graph Contextual Aware Network (MGCNet) for multi-behavior session-based recommendation for the two proposed tasks. Specifically, we build a multi-behavior global item transition graph based on all sessions involving all interaction types. Based on the global graph, MGCNet attaches the global interest representation to final item representation based on local contextual intention to address the limitation (iii). In the end, we utilize the next behavior information explicitly to guide the learning of general interest and current intention for SBR. Experiments on three public benchmark datasets show that MGCNet can outperform state-of-the-art models for multi-behavior session-based recommendation.