Conflicting theories suggest opposing predictions for the role of working memory capacity (WMC) and mind wandering in insight problem solving and creativity. The executive-control-benefit perspective suggests that insight problem solving and creativity would benefit from the effectively focused attention that high WMC enables. Focused attention should help guide a selective search of solution-relevant information in memory and help inhibit uncreative yet accessible ideas. In contrast, the executive-control-cost perspective suggests that unfocused attention would be beneficial to insight and creativity, as it should allow access to more loosely relevant concepts, remotely linked to commonplace ideas. By inserting incubation periods into two insight problems and two creativity tasks, my main goal was to test whether or not WMC and mind wandering during the incubation tasks predict post-incubation performance on insight and creativity problems. Yet a third possibility, however, is that individual differences in WMC predict flexibility in control, such that people with higher WMC better adjust attentional focus (i.e., narrowly or broadly) to fit the requirements of the task. For instance, there is less benefit to mind wandering during a stand-alone attention task than during the incubation period of an insight problem or creativity task, where task-unrelated thoughts could lead to progress toward the problem-solving or creative goal. Following up on previous research, I also explored the possibility, in both studies, that self-reported concentration during the attention-demanding tasks may moderate the relationship between WMC and mind wandering in the lab, as it does in daily-life activities. In a second experiment I included an openness measure and a need for cognition measure in order to assess the moderating role of intellectual motivation on WMC to predict success in insight and creativity. Overall, results suggest that WMC is beneficial for certain insight problems, but not for creativity, and whereas mind wandering is not helpful for creativity, it may in fact be harmful in some insight problems. In addition, concentration does not seem to interact with WMC to predict mind wandering in the lab like it does in daily life. Finally, although openness to experience predicted both TUTs and creativity, neither openness to experience nor need for cognition moderated the relationship between WMC and insight or creativity.


Extremely poor youths working and/or living unsupervised in urban environments are a common feature in many developing low and middle income countries. Such 'street children' may or may not be homeless, but all are inevitably vulnerable to exploitation and violence. Furthermore, there tends to be a high prevalence of substance abuse, particularly 'glue sniffing', among such populations. Despite this, little is known about their mental health or cognitive development. We performed a psychiatric and neuropsychological evaluation focusing on adverse life experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse and intellectual function, with 37 former street children attending a charitable project in Quito, Ecuador's capital city. Results revealed that the children were characterized by moderate levels of substance abuse and high rates of PTSD. Furthermore, relatively higher cognitive function was significantly linked to both PTSD and to substance abuse. Possible interpretations for these counterintuitive observations are discussed.


Switching time optimization is a crucial topic in the optimal control of hybrid systems. Since it is rare that such problems can be solved analytically, the use of numerical discretization schemes for the integration of state and adjoint systems is indispensable. Thus, in this contribution, the switching time optimization problem is studied in a discretized formulation directly from the beginning. An analysis of the discretized problem reveals that smoothness of the original (continuous time) problem is lost, i.e. the problem will in general become nondifferentiable in discrete time. This has to be taken into account when deriving an adjoint‐based formula for the optimization of the discretized problem. A hybrid double pendulum example is used for illustration of the results. (© 2013 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The atomic structures and the Schottky barrier heights of single crystal silicide–silicon interfaces were studied. Epitaxial NiSi2 and CoSi2 were grown under ultrahigh vacuum conditions on (111), (100), and (110) surfaces of Si. Lattice imaging by high resolution transmission electron microscopy allowed modeling of the interface atomic structures. Capacitance–voltage and current–voltage characteristics of these interfaces were studied. A dependence of barrier heights on orientation is observed which favors intrinsic mechanisms for their formation. The advantages of the present single crystal metal–semiconductor interfaces over the usual polycrystalline junctions in the study of Schottky barrier formation are demonstrated.


Background: The constructive and specific feedback in guiding long jump athletes to improve their performance in each phase is part of the critical process for achieving desired long jump distance. However, to date, the potential approach for assisting a coach in capturing long jump movement and transferring their knowledge to long jump students is not well-established. Objectives: To investigate the performance of long jump students and evaluate transferring knowledge from coaches to long jump students using a Knowledge-Based Smart Trainer (KBST) System. Methods: Twenty-two participants (fifteen males, mean age = 15.33 ± 1.95 years; seven females, mean age = 14.57 ± 2.07 years) participated in the study. All participants were recruited from eleven sports schools in Thailand. Each participant was instructed to perform the long jump movement, including running, take-off, and landing, for three attempts (Test 1, Test 2, and Test 3). Test 1 was the conventional approach (coaches provided the feedback based on their experience). Test 2 and Test 3 were the KBST system approach (coaches provided the feedback based on the results from KBST system). Two cameras were used to record the participant movement from the starting position to the landing position. The capture data were analyzed by KBST system program. The outcome measures were starting position, maximum velocity, maximum velocity position, and take-off angle. Repeated-Measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the long jump performance across the three trials. The statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between Test 1 and Test 3 for long jump distance (mean difference = 0.292; Std. Error = 0.129; Sig. = 0.34). However, the mean of take-off angle was similar across the three trials (Test 1 = 12.16°, Test 2 = 12.71°, and Test 3 = 12.95°, respectively). Conclusion: The KBST system was effective in improving long jump students' performance and also transferring knowledge from the coach to long jump students.


Discrimination and behavioral responses to communication signals compared across Apteronotids. Danielle L. Dillon-Seeger Sensory systems are often uniquely tailored to encode behaviorally relevant signals and comparative studies across species can thus reveal how evolutionary changes shape sensory functions. The structure of communication signals varies widely between ghost knifefish species. Recent findings suggest that the nervous system co-adapted to the various signal structures observed across species to support different sensory behaviors. The aim for this thesis was to compare the sensory behavior of 3 species of ghost knifefish to contrast their behavioral performance with the known differences in neurophysiology. We hypothesize that for the different signal types and species, the ability to discriminate small variations in chirp properties will match the neural encoding method and accuracy employed in the sensory system. We used a habituation-dishabituation paradigm to reveal the ability to discriminate chirp variants. We found that in two species discrimination ability depended on the frequency of the background beat signal and thus on context. For low-frequency beat typical of same-sex interactions, A. albifrons discriminated chirp variants but not A. leptorhynchus but the contrary was observed for high frequency beats characteristic of male-female interactions. A third species, A. devenanzii accurately discriminated all chirp signal independently of the frequency of the background beat. These differences match the differences in sensory encoding previously characterized. We argue that these results thus establish a clear link between signal structure, neural coding strategy and perceptual tasks. These new findings provide an important step forward in our understanding of the co-evolution sender and receiver mechanisms.


Two neonates had early onset Diplococcus pneumoniae septicemia and pneumonia. Both recovered after intensive respiratory and antibiotic therapy, although a review of the literature indicates that early pneumococcal septicemia has been associated with an extremely high mortality. Pneumococcal septicemia in a one-year period accounted for 12% of all documented neonatal bacteremias. This may indicate an increasing incidence of this organism in newborns.


PURPOSE
To assess the efficacy and toxicity of carboplatin, etoposide, and the bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide oblimersen as initial therapy for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). bcl-2 has been implicated as a key factor in SCLC oncogenesis and chemotherapeutic resistance.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
A 3:1 randomized phase II study was performed to evaluate carboplatin and etoposide with (arm A) or without oblimersen (arm B) in 56 assessable patients with chemotherapy-naïve ES-SCLC. Outcome measures including toxicity, objective response rate, complete response rate, failure-free survival, overall survival, and 1-year survival rate.

RESULTS
Oblimersen was associated with slightly more grade 3 to 4 hematologic toxicity (88% v 60%; P = .05). Response rates were 61% (95% CI, 45% to 76%) for arm A and 60% (95% CI, 32% to 84%) for arm B. The percentage of patients alive at 1 year was 24% (95% CI, 12% to 40%) with oblimersen, and 47% (95% CI, 21% to 73%) without oblimersen. Hazard ratios for failure-free survival (1.79; P = .07) and overall survival (2.13; P = .02) suggested worse outcome for patients receiving oblimersen. These results hold when adjusted for other prognostic factors, such as weight loss, in multivariate regression analysis.

CONCLUSION
Despite extensive data supporting a critical role for Bcl-2 in chemoresistance in SCLC, addition of oblimersen to a standard regimen for this disease did not improve any clinical outcome measure. Emerging data from several groups suggest that this lack of efficacy may be due to insufficient suppression of Bcl-2 in vivo. Additional evaluation of this agent in SCLC is not warranted.


Tidal disruption events (TDEs) occur when a star passes close to a massive black hole, so that the tidal forces of the black hole exceed the binding energy of a star and cause it to be ripped apart. Part of the matter will fall onto the black hole, causing a strong increase in the luminosity. Such events are often seen in the optical or the X-ray (or both) or even at other wavelengths such as in the radio, where the diversity of observed emission is still poorly understood. The XMM-Newton catalogue of approximately a million X-ray detections covering 1283$^2$ degrees of sky contains a number of these events. Here I will show the diverse nature of a number of TDEs discovered in the catalogue and discuss their relationship with quasi periodic eruptions.


The G1/S transition governs cell proliferation in many systems, and involves essential transcription complexes such as SBF and MBF in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or MBF in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. SBF and MBF are composed of the regulatory subunit Swi6p and the DNA-binding elements Swi4p (SBF) or Mbp1p (MBF). The fungal pathogen Candida albicans contains orthologues of SWI6, SWI4 and MBP1. Previous genetic, DNA expression and bioinformatic data suggest that Swi4p and Swi6p may be core components of a single MBF-like complex. However, direct evidence is lacking, and the role of Mbp1p is unclear. In order to determine the composition and mechanisms of action of the putative G1/S transcription complex in C. albicans, and identify other factors important for G1/S control, we determined physical interactions between Swi6p, Swi4p and Mbp1p using co-immunoprecipitation, systematically affinity-purified each protein and identified interacting factors through mass spectrometry, and investigated putative Swi4p targets using genome wide location analysis (ChIP-chip). We show that Swi6p physically interacts with Swi4p and Mbp1p, and Swi4p may bind Mbp1p. Affinity purifications did not identify many additional interacting proteins, suggesting that Swi6p, Swi4p and Mbp1p may be the core complex factors. Finally, ChIP-chip analysis identified putative Swi4p targets including G1 cyclins, cell wall-associated factors, and regulators of hyphal growth, consistent with the swi4/ phenotype. Unexpectedly, few putative Swi4p target promoters contained the conserved MBF binding site (ACGCGT). Rather, 8.6% contained a canonical SBF-binding (CNCGAAA) motif, and 43.0% contained a related motif, CACAAAA. Although the ChIP-chip data require confirmation by qPCR, the results suggest that Swi4p may be involved in regulating G1/S progression and hyphal development, but may not exclusively function through the conserved MBF-binding element. In summary, our results provide new insights on G1/S regulation in C. albicans, which have important implications for controlling cell proliferation and development in the pathogen.


A 2-weeks-old girl was presented with a swelling of the right parotid gland, due to acute suppurative parotitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus.


3557 Background: Patients with completely resected metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) remain at high risk of recurrence and death despite adjuvant chemotherapy. Recently, survival of prostate cancer patients was enhanced by antigen-presenting cell therapy. We investigated whether administration of an antigen-presenting cell vaccine based on dendritic cells (DC) after metastasectomy would reduce the risk of recurrence and increase survival.

METHODS
Patients (n=74) with no evidence of disease after resection of CRC metastases and completion of their physician-determined peri-operative chemotherapy were randomized 1:1 to four immunizations with: DC modified with the PANVAC-VF poxvectors encoding CEA, MUC1, CD54, CD58, and CD80 or the PANVAC-VF poxvectors along with GM-CSF at the injection site. We report recurrence-free survival (RFS) at 2 years and overall survival (OS). CEA specific T cell responses were measured by ELISPOT. Data from a prospectively registered, comparable, contemporary control group of patients who had undergone metastasectomy for CRC were also available.

RESULTS
The arms of the study and contemporary controls were well balanced. The majority of the toxicities for the DC and PANVAC arms respectively were grade 1, 2 injection site reactions (63% versus 64%), low grade fevers (17% vs 31%), myalgia (11% vs 11%), and fatigue (26% vs 34%). The two year RFS was similar in all groups (50, 56 and 55% for the DC arm, the PANVAC arm and the contemporary control group, respectively). However, there was a trend for improved RFS among patients with CEA-specific T cell responses (log rank p = 0.10). At a median follow-up of 40 months, 2 of 37 patients treated with DC and 5 of 37 treated with PANVAC alone have died, with a combined survival rate exceeding that of the unvaccinated control patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients vaccinated after metastasectomy experienced a longer survival relative to contemporary controls. A phase III study of OS comparing patients vaccinated after resection with the DC vaccine and observation is warranted.


A survey on paid employment of students in four of the six years of the medical course yielded a 95% return rate. Ninety-four percent of students responding to the survey were in receipt of a student allowance. Eighty-six percent were in paid employment during the 1988-89 summer vacation, working on average for a little over nine weeks. One-quarter of the sample worked during the May vacation, averaging seven days. Twenty-two percent had termtime jobs during the winter term and 20% worked the week before the survey, averaging a little over 8.5 hours for the week. The results are compared with results from an identical survey conducted in 1981. Reasons for taking paid employment are discussed in the context of current changes to course fees and national employment patterns.


In this thesis we present a general theory able to comprehend important phenomena related to the dynamics of a polycrystalline material such as the ice of an ice sheet. The theoretical framework is founded upon the Theory of Mixtures with Continuous Diversity, for which the second law of thermodynamics is exploited to get a complete set of restrictions on the constitutive equations. The main goal of such an exploitation is to provide a theoretical tool to investigate the effects of the micostructure on the mechanical behaviour of polycrystalline materials. An explicit anisotropic constitutive law is given for the stretching tensor of an incompressible polycrystalline material in terms of its deviatoric stress tensor and of the distribution (Orientation Distribution Function or ODF) of the lattice orientations of the crystallites belonging to the polycrystal. Such a law is able to comprehend the mechanical response for any state of deformation, it is objective and its validity is checked by some remarkable examples. The evolution of the anisotropy is modelled with the aid of the evolution of the ODF, and it is not postulated ab initio. The balance of mass, as it is given in the form of the presented mixture with continuous diversity, provides such an evolution equation, that contains two constitutive functions. They are able to model the grain rotation and the Grain Boundary Migation (GBM) and recrystallization, respectively. We provide also a proposal for the explicit form of these two functions. From the balance of mass in the form of the presented mixture with continuous diversity, we have also derived a general evolution equation of the distribution of grain sizes. Two constitutive functions are present in this new equation. They are able to model the effects of grain growth and polygonization, respectively, on the evolution of the distribution of grain sizes. Even in this case, we give our proposal for the explicit form of these two functions. Results about the evolution of the dislocation density is also given.


Background: Apoptosis is a form of physiologic cell death which involves coordinated events and responsible for mediating cell death in a variety of physiologic and pathologic process. Apoptotic cells can be identified by routine haematoxylin and eosin staining, but can be identified with more precision by methyl green-pyronin staining. The added advantage of this stain is that it is simple and cost effective method as compared to other advanced diagnostic methods available for identifying apoptotic cells. Aim: To identify the expression of apoptotic cells in normal epithelium, oral epithelial dysplasia and in oral squamous cell carcinoma using methyl green-pyronin stain. Materials and methods: The study included a total of thirty samples. Ten cases each of oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma made up the study group whereas, ten cases of normal mucosa constituted the control group. Apoptotic cells were identified and apoptotic index was calculated using methyl green-pyronin stain. Results were statistically analysed and compared between the groups. Results: The mean apoptotic index was found to be increased from normal mucosa to oral squamous cell carcinoma. Oral squamous cell carcinoma showed higher mean apoptotic index (3.89±0.63) followed by oral epithelial dysplasia (2.06±0.13) and normal mucosa (1.50±0.28). Conclusion: Methyl green-pyronin staining method can be used as a routine stain in laboratory in identifying the apoptotic cells.


In order to assess the diagnostic usefulness of combined functional and morphological isotopic investigations of brain vascularization after intravenous injection of a bolus 99mTc pertechnetate, the authors explored, besides a control group, patients with acute cerebrovascular disease, angiomas, aneurysms and intracerebral hematomas. Combined flow evaluation and visualization of the intracerebral bolus transit was highly effective in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Angiomas with a diameter of 2 cm or more are always visible, the abnormal vascularization of the affected hemisphere being correctly evaluated. Cerebral aneurysms are frequently missed by angioscintigraphy. Intracerebral hematoma generally gives false negative results.


Predicting phytoplankton succession and variability in natural systems remains to be a grand challenge in aquatic ecosystems research. In this study, we identified six major plankton groups in Lake Bourget (France), based on cell size, taxonomic properties, food-web interactions and occurrence patterns: cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens, small and large phytoplankton, mixotrophs, herbivorous and carnivorous zooplankton. We then developed a deterministic dynamic model that describes the dynamics of these groups in terms of carbon and phosphorus fluxes, as well as of particulate organic phosphorus and dissolved inorganic phosphorus. The modular and generic model scheme, implemented as a set of modules under Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM) enables run-time coupling of the plankton module an arbitrary number of times, each time with a prescribed position across the autotrophy/heterotrophy continuum. Parameters of the plankton groups were mainly determined conjointly by the taxonomic and allometric relationships, based on the species composition and average cellular volume of each group. The biogeochemical model was coupled to the one-dimensional General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM) and forced with local meteorological conditions. The coupled model system shows very high skill in predicting the spatiotemporal distributions of water temperature and dissolved inorganic phosphorus for five simulated years within the period 2004 to 2010, and intermediate skill in predicting the plankton succession. We performed a scenario analysis to gain insight into the factors driving the sudden disappearance of P. rubescens in 2010. Our results provide evidence for the hypothesis that the abundance of this species before the onset of stratification is critical for its success later in the growing season, pointing thereby to a priority effect. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Constitution protects a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. In a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court held further that a state may not unduly burden a woman's fundamental right to abortion by prohibiting or substantially limiting access to the means of effectuating her decision. Instead of settling the issue, the Court's decisions kindled heated debate and precipitated a variety of governmental actions at the national, state and local levels designed either to nullify the rulings or hinder their effectuation. These governmental regulations have, in turn, spawned further litigation in which resulting judicial refinements in the law have been no more successful in dampening the controversy. This book offers an overview of the development of abortion law from 1973 to the present. Beginning with a brief discussion of the historical background, the book analyses the leading Supreme Court decisions over the past 34 years, emphasising particularly the landmark decisions of Roe v. Wade and others. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.


In my Steinberger 2009 I argued that Neil Tennant's Harmony requirement is untenable because of its failure to account for the standard quantifier rules.1 Instead of justifying the customary rules for the existential and universal quantifiers, Tennant's account appears to sanction only wholly unrestricted – and so patently disharmonious – quantifier rules. In his characteristically thoughtful response Tennant 2010, Tennant offers a sequent calculus version of his Harmony requirement that rules out such pathological would-be quantifiers. While I agree with Tennant that recasting his Harmony requirement in the sequent format as he proposes blocks the said disharmonious quantifier rules, I submit that Tennant's revamped Harmony requirement nevertheless misses the mark. I present two objections to substantiate my claim. First, I show that the crucial additional assumption underlying Tennant's sequent calculus-based account – what I call the admissibility assumption – is excessively strong: so strong, in fact, that it renders otiose the core of Tennant's original account. Second, I argue that the admissibility assumption, as a global requirement on deductive systems, is ill-suited for the purposes of codifying the intuitive notion of harmony. Fortunately, though, as I will demonstrate, we can dispense with the admissibility assumption altogether.


. Considerable losses and degradation of heathlands (in moorlands and lowlands) have been reported across Europe, with Calluna vulgaris (heather) being replaced by other species, often grasses. Increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition and overgrazing have been suggested as the driving factors behind this change. This possibility was investigated in a study of the interacting effects of nutrient inputs and grazing on heather and three grass species (Nardus stricta, Deschampsia cespitosa and D. flexuosa) in the field, on a moorland in northeastern Scotland. In addition, the interacting effects of increasing nutrients and Calluna canopy height on N. stricta and D. cespitosa were studied using turves in an outdoor experimental area. In the field, fencing had a larger effect than fertilizer on the growth of all species, except for N. stricta, the species most unpalatable to herbivores. Fencing led to an increase in the height of the Calluna canopy, which may reduce light availability for the grasses. In the turf experiment, the height of the Calluna canopy affected the diameter of the grass tussocks and percentage of green matter (i.e. live leaf material), with plants under the more closed Calluna canopies being smaller.

This study suggests that the slow-growing, evergreen Calluna is a more effective competitor than the faster growing grasses when it has a tall, intact canopy, even at increased levels of nutrient supply. However, overgrazing promotes gap formation in the Calluna canopy, providing an opportunity for grasses to take advantage of increased nutrients. Thus the conservation of heather moorlands requires an understanding of the grazing level which allows Calluna to maintain sufficient canopy structure to outcompete grasses for light.


: The author have reviewed 10 cases of calcification of the nucleus pulposus treated operatively. The lesions were situated in the thoracic or lumbar spine and were the cause of severe pain. Operation was done after failure of conservative treatment. The results have been considered to be satisfactory.


Following the 1997-Asian crisis, a number of crisis-hit countries were committed to the rapid transformation of the corporate governance system to one that is modeled after the Anglo-American system. This, as the article argues, is based on a false premise, that what may have worked in the United States/United Kingdom can also be applied in East Asia. In this regard, the convergence at the firm level is seen to be more in "form" rather than in "substance". This study assesses Singapore's corporate system in terms of its recognition of the merits of the Western model. It then details the corporate governance style of Temasek Holdings Limited (THL), a state- owned enterprise (SOE) in charge of monitoring government investments in companies. The choice of THL as a case study is based on the premise that THL operates very much like a private sector corporation. In addition, it has the ability to influence the standard of corporate governance of Singaporean SOEs. Because the SOEs are large players in their respective industries, the corporate governance of SOEs establish the standards and expectations for monitoring in non-SOEs. There are indications to suggest that the THL has taken into consideration certain aspects of corporate governance practices that may not necessarily be in line with those advocated by the Singapore government. The article argues that selective adaptation such as the style adopted in the THL more realistically portrays the corporate governance practices of East Asian corporations.


Driver hypovigilance (or under-awakeness) is stated as a major cause of road accidents, especially in highways. This paper presents the concept of the system architecture of an intelligent in-vehicle system-AWAKE system which monitors drivers vigilance and warns the driver according to traffic risk estimation. A WAKE intends to develop and validate an on-board system to improve safety comfort and more efficient use of cars, in particular in terms of alertness enhancement and hypovigilance watch. AWAKE is a project, co-funded by the IST program of the European Commission.


Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare malignant neoplasm of the esophagus. In the majority of cases, the disease originates in the mucosal layer of the esophagus, which is similar to other types of esophageal cancer. With the development of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), endoscopic resection is possible for cases in which melanomas are limited to the mucosal and submucosal layer. However, few studies report the efficiency of ESD for PMME, and no studies perform long-term follow-up. The present study reported the case of a 71-year-old PMME patient who was successfully treated by ESD at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (Changzhou, China) in Otober 2011, with a follow-up of >3 years conducted.


Purpose
Additive manufacturing (AM) offers potential solutions when conventional manufacturing reaches its technological limits. These include a high degree of design freedom, lightweight design, functional integration and rapid prototyping. In this paper, the authors show how AM can be implemented not only for prototyping but also production using different optimization approaches in design including topology optimization, support optimization and selection of part orientation and part consolidation. This paper aims to present how AM can reduce the production cost of complex components such as jet engine air manifold by optimizing the design. This case study also identifies a detailed feasibility analysis of the cost model for an air manifold of an Airbus jet engine using various strategies, such as computer numerical control machining, printing with standard support structures and support optimization.

Design/methodology/approach
Parameters that affect the production price of the air manifold such as machining, printing (process), feedstock, labor and post-processing costs were calculated and compared to find the best manufacturing strategy.

Findings
Results showed that AM can solve a range of problems and improve production by customization, rapid prototyping and geometrical freedom. This case study showed that 49%–58% of the cost is related to pre- and post-processing when using laser-based powder bed fusion to produce the air manifold. However, the cost of pre- and post-processing when using machining is 32%–35% of the total production costs. The results of this research can assist successful enterprises, such as aerospace, automotive and medical, in successfully turning toward AM technology.

Originality/value
Important factors such as validity, feasibility and limitations, pre-processing and monitoring, are discussed to show how a process chain can be controlled and run efficiently. Reproducibility of the process chain is debated to ensure the quality of mass production lines. Post-processing and qualification of the AM parts are also discussed to show how to satisfy the demands on standards (for surface quality and dimensional accuracy), safety, quality and certification. The original contribution of this paper is identifying the main production costs of complex components using both conventional and AM.


This article is a synthesis of unpublished and published experiments showing that elementary memory scores (words and pictures immediate recall; delayed recall, recognition), which are very sensitive to aging and in pharmacological protocols, have little or no correlation with school achievement. The alternative assumption developed is that school achievement strongly depends on the longterm memory of scholastic knowledge (history, literature, sciences, maths, etc), called encyclopedic memory. A longitudinal study from the grade 6 to the grade 9 of a cohort of eight classes of a French college, was undertaken in order to observe the implication of the encyclopedic vocabulary (i.e. Julius Caesar, Manhattan, Shangaï, Uranus, vector) in school performance. An inventory in the school textbooks gives approximately 6000 encyclopedic words in grade 6 to 24000 in grade 9. The encyclopedic storage capacity was estimated at the end of each year by a multiple-choice questionnaire with random samples of words (800 items; 8 subjects). The results show an estimation of 2500 words acquired at the end of grade 6, to 17000 at the end of grade 9. The correlations range from .61 to .72 between the score of encyclopedic memory and the average school grades.


In the Method of Multiple-Time-Scales (MMTS), the introduction of independent time scales and the elimination of secular terms in the fast time variable, T0 = t, lead to the well-known solvability conditions. Starting from first order, free terms (solutions of the unperturbed equations) emerge in every order in the expansion of the approximate solution. In orders higher than first, the amplitudes of these free terms appear in the solvability conditions. Contrary to the common belief, in the MMTS analysis, these free terms play a role above and beyond the satisfaction of initial conditions: They make feasible mutual consistency among solvability conditions that arise in different orders. In general, this consistency may not be ensured if the free terms are chosen arbitrarily (e.g., set to zero, as is commonly done in many applications). If consistency is not ensured, the analysis may lead to wrong results, or allow only trivial solutions.
The solvability conditions constitute a system of PDE's for the dependence of the amplitudes that appear in the expansion on the slow time scales. However, whenever the free amplitudes must be included to ensure a consistent expansion, these PDE's cannot determine the dependence of the solution on slow time variables beyond the first one, T1=epsilo*t. The dependence on slower time scales, Tn=epsilon^n*t, n > 1, must be imposed either through initial data at, say, T1 = 0, or through requirements on the structure of the approximate solution (based, for example, on physical intuition) that are not related to the validity of the perturbative scheme.
These claims are illustrated through several simple examples, and then discussed in the general case.


The general idea of the monthly editorial is to highlight a paper or papers. The choice of a paper on which to comment is not based on merit nor is it made as the result ofputting the titles in a hat and drawing one out. The choice is rather a purely idiosyncratic one, the urge to comment on something that interests one personally, the desire to emphasise something which it is believed is not widely enough known, or the challenge of trying to understand something outside one's own special interests, and hence delving into literature not usually consulted. This month's editorial is about the paper by Furuse and colleagues, which interested me, not because it reported world shattering discoveries but strangely enough because it discovered nothing. This is not supposed to be a disparaging remark; the paper is carefully researched and well presented but its results are negative. The negativity, however, refers to the stated object of the investigation, which was to discover if the corneal endothelium of diabetics fared worse than that of non-diabetics after intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. The investigation was successfully completed, and the result was that diabetes appeared to make no difference to the fate ofthe endothelium. One might be tempted to conclude that no further information was likely to be gleaned from the paper, categorising it in the diabetic file as a negative finding. Such a dismissal would, however, be a mistake. Hidden in the paper is some information which in years to come could prove to be of importance. Those of us who saw the early results of IOLs were at first uneasy about the unacceptable number ofcases of bullous keratopathy which occurred, leading some distinguished surgeons to abandon the operation and others not even to start it. We also know how, following the discovery of the vital role ofthe endothelium, bullous keratopathy became much less common, so that now the average surgeon and certainly the average patient normally take little notice of the possibility. We should ask ourselves if this is wise. Could it be that we are building up to a massive epidemic of bullous keratopathy in the future? Do we know enough about the natural history of the corneal endothelium to be confident that all is well and that we are safe to carry on implanting IOLs in all and sundry without a care in the world? The present paper does not set out to evaluate the longterm prospects for endothelial survival after IOL implantation but only to compare diabetics with non-diabetics. Although the authors are encouraging about the probability of diabetes not being a risk factor for endothelial cell loss, their findings are not completely reassuring in this regard. There does appear to be a tendency for the diabetics to do a little worse, though the results do not achieve statistical significance. However, it must be pointed out that the numbers in the diabetic populations studied are rather small, arousing the suspicion that with larger numbers the results might not have been so reassuring. But this is pure speculation, and it would not be fair to question the present conclusions, which are justifiably made. Leaving aside the question ofthe diabetics for the moment, we may consider the incidental finding that neither the diabetics nor the normal persons showed continued cell loss. This certainly gives grounds for a certain degree of optimism for the prospects of the world's huge and ever growing army ofpseudophakes. The authors point out that there have been mixed opinions on the chances of the endothelium of pseudophakes giving trouble in the distant future, some authors being optimistic but others pessimistic. Some of the reported studies are on the natural history of the endothelium, without pseudophakia, and even these do not altogether agree. For example, Laule and others' calculated that at the rate of endothelial cell loss found by them there would be no cells remaining by the age of 100 years, a daunting prospect for aspiring centenarians. But Wilson and Roper-Hall in 19822 found that, though there was a decline in the endothelial cell count up to the age of 50 years, there was no appreciable difference thereafter. The same authors also found3 that approximately 17% of endothelial cells were lost after uncomplicated intracapsular cataract extraction with or without an IOL, but (not surprisingly) endothelial damage was far more serious if prolonged endothelial touch occurred. (The authors noted that the then little tried substance sodium hyaluronate showed promise.) Substantial improvements in technique have been introduced in the last few years, not least the rapidly increasing use of sodium hyaluronate and other barrier substances, and it is becoming increasingly likely that the fears felt by many at the beginning of the decade that an epidemic of bullous keratopathy was on the way will prove to be unfounded. Certainly the present paper adds to the weight of evidence against the chances of such an epidemic. REDMOND SMITH


Establishment and implementation of models of teaching quality evaluation are important tasks for teaching management in colleges. In this thesis, we use a neural network (NN) model optimized by maximum entropy principle, conduct fitting for complicated nonlinear relationship between many indices and evaluation results to evaluate basketball teaching quality, and implement simulated residual comparison with back propagation (BP) NN model that has not been optimized. Results demonstrate that the evaluation results of maximum entropy NN model are better than those of the BP NN model that has not been optimized in experimental function simulation and example verification, thereby indicating that the optimized model has strong generalization ability and high degree of confidence. This optimization algorithm is feasible in establishing evaluation models for basketball teaching quality.


This 'analytical introduction' is yet another elementary textbook for the language of the Hebrew Bible. It is inductively organized and presents various well-known texts in their full biblical dress and in transcription, with grammatical commentary and vocabulary. Many elementary language texts present themselves as suitable for self-instruction; so does this volume, and like most of the others, this claim is dubious. The distinctive feature of the book is the presentation of the texts in Hebrew script and a fairly technical transcription; thus users "need" not "learn the Hebrew characters" (p. xiv). The few well-motivated language learners who are really unable to grasp the Hebrew script and pointing are likely to have trouble with the transcription used here. It is a linguistically sophisticated system that well represents Hebrew script; I cannot persuade myself that it is easier to learn than the Hebrew. The conceptual drawbacks of the book (the inductive organization, the script gimmick) are joined by various problems in execution, most notably a uselessly bulky glossary of over one hundred pages. In it, for example, every graphic word introduced by a prefixed article or preposition in the book gets a separate glossary entry. This and similar practices yield a result closer to a linguist's dream of maximal explicitness than a language learner's need for maximal utility. There are many introductory Biblical Hebrew texts. In the Englishspeaking world alone, half a dozen have appeared in the last three years or will appear soon. I cannot see that this book will make a strong showing or deserves to do so. The first author is a distinguished historical linguist of Indo-European, especially Germanic, whose second festschrift appeared last year. Raizen is a student of (Modern) Hebrew language and literature, and Jakosz Hewitt is a language-learning expert. The book cannot detract from Lehmann's considerable reputation, but sadly it will not add to it.


This paper engages with some of the writings of Hannah Arendt in order to draw a political parallel between the complex nexus of responsibility, judgement and sociality in post-war Germany and post-apartheid South Africa. In her writings on post-war Germany Arendt described the failure on the part of the German public to recognise and respond to what she terms "the horror" of Nazism. In her report on the aftermath of war, written on her return to Germany from the United States in 1949, Arendt recounts how she found "an inability to feel", "absence of mourning for the dead" and a "general lack of emotion" in those she encountered in Germany at that time. In this paper we connect her insights on post-war Germany to her later work on the difficulties of judging; this allows us to cast light on the problem of the evasion of responsibility in contemporary South Africa.


Abstract Importance Suicide is a significant public health burden in the United States. There is little understanding how policies regarding gun purchasing affects suicide rates. Wisconsin state legislature rescinded a 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases, which took effect in June 2015. Objective To determine whether firearm-related suicide increased with the repeal of the 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases in 2015. Method We obtained data through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services via the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health Query System. Suicide rates were compared by Comparative Mortality Figures (CMF). Results We reviewed all suicides in Wisconsin between 2012–2014 and 2016–2018. The rate ratios (R) and second generation P values (pδ) comparing deaths between 2012–2014 and 2016–2018 indicate significant increases in firearm-related suicide among people of color (R = 1.927; pδ = 0.0) and among Wisconsinites residing in urban counties (R = 1.379, pδ = 0.0). There was no significant increase in non-firearm-related suicide (R = 1.117, pδ = 0.092), nor in firearm-related suicide among White non-Hispanics (R = 1.107, pδ = 0.164) or Wisconsinites residing in rural counties (R = 1.085, pδ = 0.500). Conclusion Our findings suggest that the repeal of the 48-hour waiting period on handgun purchases in 2015 is correlated with the increase of firearm-related suicides among Wisconsin residents of color and Wisconsinites residing in urban counties. Key Messages: Firearm policies are associated with changes in suicide rates.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of acupoint catgut embedding on motor function in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI), and to explore its mechanism.

METHODS
Sixty-three ACI patients were randomly assigned to acupuncture group (n = 30) and catgut embedding group (n = 33). Patients of the acupuncture group received acupuncture stimulation of Baihui (GV 20), Neiguan (P 6), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Taichong (LR 3), etc. and scalp-point Motor Area, Sensory Area, Balance Area, once daily, 5 times a week for 20 times. Patients of the catgut embedding group received catgut embedding at the acupoints same to acupuncture group, once every 10 days, 3 times altogether. Additionally, both groups received regular treatment of neurology (controlling blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids levels, physical therapy, etc.) and early rehabilitation training (limb otor training). The patients' functional mobility was evaluated by simplified Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale (FMA) and Modified Bathel Index Scale (MBI). The level of serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was detected using latex agglutination reaction method; and serum in terleukin-6 (IL-6) content measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS
lts After 30 days' treatment, the mean scores of FMA and MBI were significantly increased in both acupuncture group and catgut embedding grou p (P < 0.05), suggesting an improvement of the cerebral infarction patient's functional mobility after the treatment. The therapeutic effect of the catgut embedding was obviously superior to that of the acupuncture grou p (P < 0. 05). The mean contents of serum IL-6 and hs-CRP of the two groups were significantly decreased after the treatmen t (P < 0.05), suggesting a reduction of proinflammatory cytokine and inflammatory mediator levels, respectively. The levels of both serum IL-6 and hs-CRP of the catgut embedding group were markedly lower than those of the acupuncture group ( P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
ion Acupoint catgut embedding therapy is effective in improving cerebral infarction patients' functional mobility, which is related to its action in inhibiting inflammatory reaction in the early stage of cerebral ischemic injury.


Background: Overlap of depressive and anxiety symptoms is supposedly more common in non-Western populations. This can lead to diagnostic uncertainity and undertreatment. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess cross-cultural differences regarding the comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders in a comparative population study. Methods: In a random urban population sample, stratified for descent, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, diagnostic interviews were held by bilingual interviewers. Diagnoses of anxiety and depressive disorders, based on the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, were obtained for 307 native Dutch subjects, 205 Turkish-Dutch subjects and 186 Moroccan-Dutch subjects. Results: The prevalence rate of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders was higher in Turkish-Dutch (9.8 %) and Moroccan-Dutch (3.8%) subjects compared to native Dutch subjects (2.3%). However, this could be explained by differences in baseline prevalence rate and level of severity of the separate disorders. The onset order of anxiety disorders and depressive disorders was comparable in each ethnic group. Conclusions: The high prevalence rate of comorbid anxiety and depressive diorders in non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands necessitates assesssment and treatment of both disorders. There was no indication of a – culturally influenced – stronger overlap between anxiety and depressive disorders in non-Western immigrants in the Netherlands.


In recent years the Supreme Court has heard a number of cases involving disguised methods of returning religion to the public schools. One way in which school prayer advocates have attempted to return prayer to the public schools is through moment of silence legislation. At least twenty-nine states currently have moment of silence legislation circumventing the Supreme Court's decisions on religion in public schools. As school-prayer proponents persist in their efforts to return religion to the public schools, focus on moment of silence legislation can be expected to continue. This article will explain why moments of silence, like all forms of organized religious activities in public schools during the school day, violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. There have been very few articles published on this topic since the 1980's despite the fact that the Court has recently issued a number of decisions on religious expression in the public schools and the states have continued to enact moment of silence legislation.


Bacterial cell walls – Promoters and inhibitors of mineral nucleation T. BEHRENDS*, A. SCHEINOST, S. SHAW, L. BENNING AND P. VAN CAPPELLEN Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, 3508 TA, Utrecht, The Netherlands (*correspondence: firstname.lastname@example.com) Synchrotron Applications Devision, Research Center Rossendorf, 01314 Dresden, Germany School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK


Regular features of ground and surface waters affected by drainage from mine waste include their acidity and elevated concentrations of dissolved metals, with their attendant negative effects on drinking water quality and aquatic life. One parameter that aids in buffering these waters against acidity and sustains aquatic life is dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). In this study, the chemical and isotopic (δ13C) composition of primary calcite and DIC (δ13CDIC) in groundwater and surface waters within and downstream, respectively, of abandoned Cu–W–F skarn tailings at Yxsjöberg, Sweden, were used to trace the biogeochemical processes controlling their respective δ13CDIC signatures. In addition, the δ13C signatures of the inorganic (carbonate) fractions of the tailings were used to verify the formation of secondary carbonates within the tailings. Lower average δ13C values of the carbonate fractions (δ13Ccarb = −2.7‰) relative to those of the primary calcite (δ13C = +0.1‰) from the orebodies from which the tailings originated pointed to the precipitation of secondary carbonates. These lower δ13Ccarb signatures were assumed to represent mixed-source C signals involving isotopically light CO2 from the atmosphere, the degradation of organic matter in the upper part of the tailings and HCO3− from calcite dissolution. The groundwater δ13CDIC values (−12.6‰ to −4.4‰) were far lower than the hypothetical range of values (−4.6‰ to +0.7‰) for primary calcite and secondary carbonate dissolution. These signatures were attributed to carbonate (calcite and secondary carbonate) dissolution and the degradation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from various organic sources such as peat underneath the tailings and the surrounding forests. Downstream surface water samples collected in May had low δ13CDIC values (−16‰) and high DOC (14 mg C/L) compared to the groundwater samples. These signatures represented the oxidation of the DOC from the wash out of the mires and forests during the snowmelt and spring flood. The DOC and δ13CDIC values of the surface waters from June to September ranged from 6–15 mg·C/L and −25‰ to −8.6‰, respectively. These signatures were interpreted to reflect mixed C sources, including carbonate dehydration by acidity from Fe3+ hydrolysis due to the mixing of groundwater with surface waters and the subsequent diffusive loss of CO2 (g), aquatic photosynthesis, photooxidation, DOC degradation, as well as microbial respiration. Although the 13CDIC signatures of the downstream surface waters seemed to be seasonally controlled and influenced by variable groundwater contributions, the lack of data with respect to DIC concentrations, coupled with multiple potential biogeochemical processes that could influence the DIC pool and 13CDIC values, made it difficult to identify the major regulating process of the 13CDIC signatures. Therefore, other complimentary isotopes and elemental concentrations are recommended in order to decipher the dominant biogeochemical process.


This paper focuses on the development of maximum wind power extraction strategies for variable speed constant frequency (VSCF) grid-connected wind power generation systems with a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG). A new optimal control method is proposed by controlling the generator stator active and reactive power, which is based on the condition of the system operation for not only the extracted maximum power of the wind turbine below the rated wind speed but also the higher generator efficiency. Based on the DFIG mathematical models, the optimal stator reactive power value is derived for minimal machine copper losses. According to wind turbine power characteristics and generator power flow equations, the optimal stator active power reference value is also obtained for capturing maximal output power from wind turbines. A dual-passage excitation control strategy is applied to control the active and reactive power independently. Detailed simulation results have confirmed the feasibility and performance of the optimal control strategy


The focus of this study was to evaluate the curriculum of the Almajiri integrated model schools in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory for the content of peace education. The specific objectives of this study are to assess the current curriculum of the Almajiri Model Schools for the content of peace education and find out for the five years of its existence the measures the federal government put in place for the Almajiri to imbibe a culture of peace. The findings showed that there is a 32% content of peace education in the school curriculum. The interview results also found that civic education should be added to the Almajiri integrated curriculum, strategies for Almajiri education should be regularly reviewed, a regular census of Almajiri schools is needed, as well as the mobilization and sensitization of the general public. The study recommended that religious orientations, seminars, and conferences should be organized from time to time to clarify the misinterpretation and misunderstanding associated with Almajiri and the Almajiranci system. The federal government need to improve the provision of basic social amenities in rural areas, as this can reduce the migration of the Almajirai to cities. The government also need to improve the condition of public schools by providing adequate infrastructure and adequate qualified teachers. Finally, generate job opportunities for graduates of formal schools to serve as incentives to motivate students of Almajiri Quranic Schools.


Aiming at producing more realistic and informed agent-based simulations of social systems, one often need to build realistic synthetic populations. Apart of this synthetic population generation, the question of generating realistic social networks is an important phase. We examined the articles published in the Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS) in between 1998 and 2015 in order to identify the models of social networks that were actually used by the community. After presenting the main models (regular networks, random graphs, small-world networks, scale-free networks, spatial networks), we discuss the evolution of the use of each one of these models. We then present different existing alternatives to those kind of models and discuss the combined use of both simple and more elaborated or data-driven models to different aims along the process of developing agent-based social simulation with realistic synthetic populations.


【The purpose of this paper was to present the method of progress efficiency of morphosyntaxical analyzer for French information processing in the view of multilingual information processing. This study indicated that he method prohibit the additional useless word type by decomposing word type by decomposing works which were created by morphological amalgamation. Findings also suggested the need of preprocessing in order to decrease the overload of morphosyntaxical analysis algorithm. In addition, general rules were proposed to divide word form and to decompose complex sentence.】


Crowdsourced software development (CSD) offers a series of specified tasks to a large crowd of trustworthy software workers. Topcoder is a leading platform to manage the whole process of CSD. While increasingly accepted as a realistic option for software development, preliminary analysis on Topcoder's software crowd worker behaviors reveals an alarming task-quitting rate of 82.9%. In addition, a substantial number of tasks do not receive any successful submission.
In this paper, we report about a methodology to improve the efficiency of CSD. We apply massive data analytics and machine leaning to (i) perform comparative analysis on alternative technique analysis to predict likelihood of winners and quitters for each task, (ii) significantly reduce the amount of non-succeeding development effort in registered but inappropriate tasks, (iii) identify and rank the most qualified registered workers for each task, and (iv) provide reliable prediction of tasks risky to get any successful submission.
Our results and analysis show that Random Forest (RF) based predictive technique performs best among the alternative techniques studied. Applying RF, the tasks recommended to workers can reduce the amount of non-succeeding development effort to a great extent. On average, over a period of 30 days, the savings are 3.5 and 4.6 person-days per registered tasks for experienced resp. unexperienced workers. For the task-related recommendations of workers, we can accurately recommend at least 1 actual winner in the top ranked workers, particularly 94.07% of the time among the top-2 recommended workers for each task. Finally, we can predict, with more than 80% F-measure, the tasks likely not getting any submission, thus triggering timely corrective actions from CSD platforms or task requesters.


The collective effects of intracavity Rydberg atoms are investigated and proposed to detect microwave (MW) electric (E) fields with collective Rabi splitting (CRS). When a cavity field drives atoms from ground states to their excited states and a control field further drives them to Rydberg states where a MW field couples Rydberg states, the cavity transmission exhibits a four-peak characteristic, and two side peaks represent the CRS. It is interesting to find that the frequency splitting of CRS changes linearly with the MW-field strength, which can be used to probe MW E-field strength. In the strong coupling regime, the collective effect of Rydberg atoms broadens the CRS peak distance and could improve the detection sensitivity by about 7 times under the given conditions, compared with the common electromagnetically induced transparency scheme. The effects of atomic density and control-field strength on the CRS spectrum are also discussed.


Others2 have reported that sulfonylureas suppress the release of glucagon and concluded that this is an important mechanism by which these compounds lower blood glucose. The studies reported here demonstrate the following: 1) oral administration of chlorpropamide for three days or rapid intravenous injection of tolbutamide did not induce a significant change in basal levels of immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) ; 2) intravenous infusion of tolbutamide in saline over thirty minutes did not evoke significant decreases in IRC; 3) tolbutamide added to solutions of arginine or of a mixture of ten amino acids (10-AA) failed to reduce the increases in IRG evoked by the infusion of these amino acid solutions in the absence of tolbutamide; and 4) tolbutamide injected rapidly at the midpoint of infusions of arginine or of 10-AA did not alter the steady rise in IRG induced by these amino acid solutions. In addition, tolbutamide failed to prevent hypoglycemia-induced increases in IRG. These results indicated that in man sulfonylureas do not suppress plasma levels of glucagon and that sulfonylurea-induced decreases in blood glucose are not mediated through suppression of glucagon release.


In this study, we explore the role of information technology in the seller's decision to formulate an offering. On the basis of a review of existing studies, we identify three dimensions characterizing the nature of a company's offering as a part of a comprehensive business model. We analyze offerings on the continuum from product-oriented to service-oriented offerings. The established dimensions are: degree of standardization, timing of costs and price quotation principle. We identify three types of factors (to be tested empirically) affecting the seller's decision to formulate an offering. These factors are: (1) the use of IT (the degree of integration to electronic business between the buyer and supplier organizations), (2) factors endogenous to the company's offering, (i.e., scope of contract and type of installations to maintain), and (3) factors exogenous to the company's offering, (i.e., factors relating to technical unpredictability and core competencies).


The performance of facilities in buildings has profound influence on end-user satisfaction. This, in turn, would affect the buildings' income and hence the level of resources available for maintaining their facilities. Probing into the computerised maintenance management data of a quality hotel, the study reported here identified a strongly positive correlation between the facilities' downtime and the quantity of maintenance work orders. Work efficiency, which measures the effectiveness of the hotel's maintenance workforce, was found to decline with increasing utilisation levels of the workers. Scrutinising the utilisation and efficiency levels of the workers enabled a review of their workloads and performances. The benchmarking curves developed based on the downtimes of the hotel's facilities can help measure the quality of maintenance works. Further research works are needed to study the effects of low and moderate occupancy rates on maintenance demand, the utilisation and efficiency levels of workers in performing preventive maintenance works, and the availabilities of unreliable facilities and those which are hard to maintain. Practical applications : It has been shown how the data stored in a computerised maintenance management system can be analysed to examine the demand for facilities maintenance, the effectiveness of a maintenance workforce and the performance of facilities. The study findings are useful for facilities management (FM) practitioners. Pursuing more studies of this kind would make further contributions to performance evaluation and benchmarking in the FM field.


Mobile Ballroom was a flash-mob inspired performance/intervention that took place at the close of Golden (Lessons) (2006), a solo exhibition and research residency at Beaconsfield, London, punctuated by a series of live events. Golden (Lessons) took up motifs of ballroom and song as vehicles of nostalgia, aspiration and cultivation, continuing an ongoing series of work developed under the rubric Golden.

Mobile Chorus was first performed on 18 October 2006, at the opening of Golden (Lessons), a solo exhibition and research residency at Beaconsfield, London. It was later performed at MAI, Montreal Arts Culturel (12 April 2014); and at the close of Diaspora Pavilion (26 November 2017).


Present study focuses on identification and mapping of olive in the part of Roodbar region, Guilan, Iran by IRS images and GIS. Two methods were evaluated to separate olive orchards spectrum reflex from the other surface covers. At the first method, upper and lower limit of digital number of olive orchards were determined by the addition and subtraction of standard deviation from the mean in each band and initial classified map of olive orchards was prepared in every band. The final map of olive orchards was prepared from crossing three initial maps of olive orchards. At the second method, olive orchards map was prepared by four models include: Box classifier, maximum likelihood, minimum distance and minimum Mahalanobis distance. Methods accuracy was evaluated from crossing the map of training points (pixel) with olive orchards map. The results indicated that in classification of less-condensed olive orchards, because of spectrum wave interference of olive green canopy and the soil zone between the canopy cover, the interference of digital number of low-condensed olive is observed with the other vegetation cover and bare lands. There was this issue even for wave interference of low-condensed olive with urban and residential regions. There is the interference of spectrum reflexes between the agriculture land and olive. This issue also exists for different methods of supervised classification.

 Key words: Spectrum reflex, olive, training points, map.


We consider the linear and non linear cubic Schr\"odinger equations with periodic boundary conditions, and their approximations by splitting methods. We prove that for a dense set of arbitrary small time steps, there exists numerical solutions leading to strong numerical instabilities preventing the energy conservation and regularity bounds obtained for the exact solution. We analyze rigorously these instabilities in the semi-discrete and fully discrete cases.


Objective. It has been reported that some autoimmune diseases are associated with dry eye syndrome. There are limited studies that relates dry eye syndrome in patients with Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between dry eye syndrome in patients with FMF comparing with healthy controls. Methods. Prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation and ophthalmology clinics in a tertiary public institution with a sample of 46 participants including 23 FMF patients and 23 healthy controls. Detailed eye examination was performed in all cases and indicators of xerophthalmia were assessed by Schirmer-I test, tear break-up time (TBUT) and ocular surface disease index (OSDI). In patient group; results of FMF gene analysis, acute phase reactants, concomitant diseases and number of FMF attacks were noted. Results. The average Schirmer-I test results for right-eye were recorded as 14.74±8.38 for the FMF group and 13.09±10.54 for the healthy group; the TBUT scores were 14.69±5.32 in FMF group and 15±6.45 in the healthy group; and OSDI scores were 9.04±2.75 and 10.86±1.77 in the FMF group and the healthy control, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between FMF and control groups in terms of Schirmer-I, TBUT, and OSDI scores (all p>0.05). No correlation was identified between acute phase reactants and the OSDI, TBUT and Schirmer-I tests for right-eye (all p>0.05). Conclusion. This study identified no correlation between dry eye and FMF. Ocular pathology is rare and infrequently reported in FMF. (J Rheum Dis 2020;27:270-276)


Background/Purpose Neuropsychiatric (NP) involvement and fatigue are both major problems in SLE. S100A8/A9 is a marker of inflammation, which responds to therapy in SLE patients. S100A8/A9 is expressed in the CNS. We investigated S100A8/A9 in relation to NPSLE and fatigue. Methods In this cross-sectional study we used ELISA (Bhulmann MRP8/14 ELISA kit, Switzerland) to measure the concentration of S100A8/A9 in serum in 72 SLE patients and 26 healthy controls and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 33 SLE patients. NP involvement was determined according to ACR case definitions for NPSLE. An MRI was performed in SLE patients and controls assessing white matter abnormalities and cerebral atrophy. Measurements of fatigue were performed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the Visual Analogue Scale (100 mm) (VAS). Statistical calculations were performed using non-parametric methods. Results In all, 72 female SLE patients (median age 38, range 18–52) and 26 female healthy controls (median age 40, range 23–52) were included in this study. Forty-four (61%) patients had NP involvement. NPSLE patients had higher serum S100A8/A9 concentrations (median 1.40 µg/ml) than the non-NPSLE patients (median 0.92 µg/ml; p=0.011) and the control group (median 0.79 µg/ml; p=0.004). Serum S100A8/A9 correlated with increased VAS fatigue in SLE patients (r=0.311; p=0.008), but not with FSS (r=0.184; p=0.124). Serum S100A8/A9 did not correlate with the extent of white matter lesions, atrophy of brain segments, or disease activity (SLEDAI-2K). S100A8/A9 was not detected in the CSF. Conclusions Higher serum S100A8/A9 concentrations in NPSLE patients and patients with fatigue may indicate that S100A8/A9 is involved in the pathogenesis of these manifestations, although further investigation is needed.


An ideal teacher training program is by participant's need. The major aim of this study is getting information about science teacher's perception and needs in their professional's life as a science teacher in Junior High School. The main idea of teacher training is to strengthen the integrated science of Natural Science concepts and problem-based learning. Data is gathered by spreading training needs questionnaire to 20 science teachers under an education foundation in Bandung. The questionnaire consists of six main parts which are teacher's profile, teacher's training, integrated science, problem-based learning, environmental problem and lesson preparation. The result of the training needs questionnaire is used as a basic of Science Teacher Training Program's Arrangement. There are four significant findings in training needs questionnaire. The first finding, the method of training is important. Most of the participant choose discussion method with sharing. The second finding, webbed model/ thematic approach in integrated science is unfamiliar for the participant. Therefore, the thematic approach can be a potential material for teacher training program. The third finding, 70% participants find obstacles in problem-based learning. This finding shows that the need to put problem-based learning material in teacher training program. The fourth finding, 65% participant, express opinions that material about lesson preparation is critical in teacher training. Based on the explanation above, we can conclude that training program for science teacher needs to be arranged according to teacher needs. So, the training program should use discussion method with sharing. Material about the thematic approach, problem-based learning and learning preparation are very potential to put into a training program for Junior High School science teacher.


The world has become a global village and everything is fast becoming technologically based including the teaching of indigenous languages. Information and  Communication Technological (ICT) has advanced the teaching and learning from the traditional method of teaching like the talk and chalk board to a more sophiscated, exciting and resourceful method  through the use of internet, CD-ROMS and computers. The paper sought to present issues which hinder successful adoption of e-learning among Igbo language teachers at secondary school level and the need for national consciousness in language teaching. Data were collected using interview method. Findings reveal  that most indigenous language teachers are not conversant with e-learning. Based on the findings, few recommendations were made.


This paper examines robust partially mode delay dependent H∞ output feedback controller design for discrete-time systems with random communication delays. A finite state Markov chain with partially known transition probabilities is used to model random communication delays between sensors and controller. Based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, a novel methodology for designing a partially mode delay-dependent output feedback controller is proposed. Using cone complementarity linearization algorithm bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs) are solved to obtain the controller gains. We also show that the results for completely known transition probabilities and completely unknown transition probabilities can be derived as special cases of our result. The effectiveness of the proposed design methodology is demonstrated by a numerical example. To the best of authors' knowledge, the problem of designing an output feedback controller for a partially known transition probability has not been fully investigated.


Introduction Aortic Stenosis (AS) is a very common and deadly valvular disease, predominantly present in the elderly. Outflow obstruction of AS leads to hypertrophy
of cardiac muscle cells, eventually leading to fibrosis. This non-ischemic scarring is visualized with (LGE)-images of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Fibrosis can
induce heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Since AS has relatively high mortality, timely and accurate risk-stratification of the patients that benefit from early valve surgery is important. Radiomics is a novel method for extraction of quantitative features from medical images, relating image features to phenotyping, diagnosis and treatment through predictive modelling. This study implements radiomics on an AS patient cohort for
predicting risk of surgery. A second study utilizes radiomics for computer-aided diagnosis of myocardial fibrosis.

Methods Dataset-1 included 146 AS-patients for predictive modelling of aortic valve replacement (AVR). This cohort and additional controls were used for identification
of fibrosis on CMR. A segmentation of the myocardium was performed for extraction of radiomic features. Cylindrical reconstruction of myocardium aided in extraction of case-specific features and texture feature analysis. Univariate analysis was performed on individual features. Multivariate analysis with temporal validation included a generalized linear model (GLM), random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM), with minimum redundancy, maximum relevance (mRMR) feature selection.
A second feature set, comprised of clinical features, was used to determine the performance of these features in prediction of AVR and computer-aided diagnosis of
LGE. Performance measures were concordance index (CI), respectively Area Under the Curve (AUC). A second dataset was implemented for external validation.

Results 5639 features were extracted from LGE-CMR images. Univariate analysis for AVR revealed 49 prognostic features (FDR q-value 0.6). Multivariate
clinical GLM, including peak aortic jet velocity, high-sensitivity troponin-I and electrocardiographic strain pattern showed higher CI (0.86) than models built with
radiomic features (average CI: 0.55). Classification of fibrosis showed opposite performance; average AUC of models with radiomic features was 0.92, clinical modelling showed 0.78. External validation showed similar performance to temporal validation for prediction of AVR (average CI: 0.60), but lower for classification of LGE (AUC: 0.70).

Discussion This study was the first study to implement external validation for predictive modelling and computer-aided diagnosis in CMR. Although training data
and external validation cohort were significantly different in patient characteristics, promising results were shown for classification of LGE. A larger dataset can aid in further analysis to determine the optimal timing of AVR and clinical pathway for patients with AS.


Starting from the known bitter-masking flavanones eriodictyol and homoeriodictyol from herba santa some structurally related hydroxybenzoic acid amides of benzylamines were synthesized and evaluated as masking agents toward bitterness of caffeine by sensory methods. The closest structural relatives of homoeriodictyol, the hydroxybenzoic acid vanillylamides 5-9, were the most active and were able to reduce the bitterness of a 500 mg L(-1) caffeine solution by about 30% at a concentration of 100 mg L(-1). 2,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid vanillylamide 7 showed a clear dose-dependent activity as inhibitor of the bitter taste of caffein between 5 and 500 mg L(-1). Additionally, it was possible to reduce the bitterness of quinine and salicine but not of the bitter peptide N-l-leucyl-l-tryptophan. Combinations of homoeriodictyol and amide 7 showed no synergistic or antagonistic changes in activity. The results for model compound 7 suggested that the hitherto unknown masking mechanism is probably the same for flavanones and the new amides. In the future, the new amides may be alternatives for the expensive flavanones to create flavor solutions to mask bitterness of pharmaceuticals or foodstuffs.


The joint-employer doctrine in the United States is as fissured as the economy itself. As this paper's brief survey of the different joint-employer standards used in the U.S. shows, the diverse set of work laws and governing authorities involved in workplace disputes have led to an unpredictable and confusing set of joint-employer standards.Although most of these standards share similarities, there are numerous differences based on the statute involved, whether the dispute is brought under federal or state law, which federal court is hearing the case, and which political party controls a relevant agency. Moreover, thanks in large part to a labor law action against McDonald's, the joint-employer doctrine has become a politically charged issue, leading several federal agencies recently to change their approach to the question. As a result, businesses and workers cannot be certain that the relevant joint employer standard that exists today will be the same one that applies later. In short, joint employment in the U.S. consists of a complex set of standards that lack clarity and predictability, imposing costs on businesses and workers alike.


The developed method of Objects photometric and colorimetric characteristics measurements on the base of digital cameras are described. Application of the initial samples those are realized as the support of the control points on a non-radiant Object or as primary sources on a radiant Object will provide the metrological traceability and also build a conditional scale in each colour channel and expand the dynamic range of measurements by increasing the reliability and accuracy of measurement results.


A precise knowledge of arterial, portal, hepatic and biliary anatomical variations is mandatory when a liver surgery is planned. However, only certain variations must be searched when a precise intervention is planned. The main liver resection and biliary interventions will be precised. Related anatomical variations will be precised.


Background The disease activity score assessing 28 joints (DAS28) is the gold standard for measuring disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical trials. A proportion of the total DAS-28 reflects subjective report of disease activity, viz., tender joint count (TJC) and VAS general health (GH) to the DAS28. This proportion, DAS28-P, is calculated as follows [1]: (0.56 * √28TJC + 0.014 * VAS GH)/(0.28 * √28SJC + 0.56 * √28TJC + 0.7 * ln(ESR) + 0.014 * VAS GH). A high DAS-28-P may indicate a high contribution of non-inflammatory factors, which may be associated with non-response to pharmacological treatment. Previously we could not confirm this hypothesis in a cohort of RA patients treated with their first biological [2]. Objectives To investigate whether high DAS28-P at baseline is associated with poor EULAR response to conventional DMARDs at 3 months in early DMARD-naïve RA patients. We validated these results using the 28TJC:28SJC ratio as alternative measure of non-inflammatory components of disease activity [3]. Methods We analysed data of the second Computer-Assisted Management in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis trial (CAMERA-II) in which 236 early DMARD naïve RA patients were randomized to start therapy with either methotrexate (MTX) + 10mg prednisone or MTX + placebo [4]. We performed ordinal regression analysis to assess the association between baseline DAS28-P (predictor variable) and EULAR response at 3 months (outcome variable, classed as no, moderate or good response), adjusted for treatment arm. We repeated this analysis using as predictor variable baseline 28TJC:28SJC ratio (after log-transformation), adjusted for treatment arm. Results Neither baseline DAS28-P nor the ratio of tender and swollen joints was associated with EULAR response at 3 months:Table 1 Predictor variables, baseline Odds ratio* (95% confidence interval) P-value DAS28-P 0.19 (0.01–3.28) 0.25 ln(28TJC:28SJC) 0.79 (0.49–1.29) 0.34 *Adjusted for treatment arm. Conclusions These results show that a high contribution of tender joint count and VAS GH to the DAS28 is not associated with poor clinical response to treatment in early DMARD-naïve RA-patients. This is in line with our previous study on this topic in RA patients receiving their first biological DMARD treatment and indicates not to withhold (stepping up) immunosuppressive treatment from RA patients with a high contribution of tender joint count and VAS GH to the DAS28. References McWilliams DF, et al. Predictors of change in bodily pain in early rheumatoid arthritis: An inception cohort study. Arthritis Care Res 2012;64:1505–13. Jurgens M, et al. Contribution of the subjective components of the Disease Activity Score to the response to Biological Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis Care Res 2014;:Epub ahead of print. Pollard LC, et al. Fibromyalgic rheumatoid arthritis and disease assessment. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2010;49:924–8. Bakker MF, et al. Low-dose prednisone inclusion in a methotrexate-based, tight control strategy for early rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2012;156:329–39. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive and lethal form of cancer characterized by lack of estrogen, progesterone and Her2 receptors. It is prevalent in women of African American descent, often present in younger and premenopausal women. It shows high risk of recurrence and frequently metastasizes to lungs and brain, resulting in poor overall prognosis. There is no targeted therapy for TNBC as it does not respond to hormonal therapy and is intrinsically resistance to conventional chemotherapy. It is therefore imperative to understand the mechanism of survival of these cancers and unravel its biological pathways and modes of progression. We have previously described breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) to be intrinsically resistant to treatment which is further confirmed by recent publications by other groups that describe direct functional evidence for the same. Using genomic assays, we traced a BCSC gene signature comprising of 477 genes derived from patient biopsies. On selective shRNA knockdown of these genes we identified RPL39 and MLF2 as the top two candidates that affect BCSC self-renewal. Selective siRNA knockdown of RPL39 and MLF2 in human cancer xenografts, showed reduced tumor volume and lung metastases with a concomitant decrease in BCSC markers. Thus, targeting BCSCs in combination with chemotherapy should eliminate the heterogeneous populations within a tumor. Additionally, next generation RNA-seq confirmed mutations in RPL39 and MLF2 in 50% of lung metastases from breast cancer patients. In vitro and in vivo siRNA knockdown of RPL39 and MLF2 showed decrease in nitric oxide synthase, suggesting that these genes are driven by nitric oxide signaling. In conclusion this study reveals novel tumor initiating genes, RPL39 and MLF2 that target the breast cancer stem cells and also show impact on lung metastasis. Our findings enhance the understanding of treatment resistant breast cancer stem cells, the mutations that cause metastases and also lay foundation for developing new therapies for such cancers with poor prognosis.

Citation Format: Bhuvanesh Dave, Sergio Granados, Junhua Mai, Dong Soon Choi, Ding Cheng Gao, Sucharita Mitra, Haifa Shen, Senthil Muthuswamy, Vivek Mittal, Mauro Ferrari, Jenny Chang. Identification of tumor initiating genes RPL39 and MLF2 that mediate lung metastasis through nitric oxide signaling and mesenchymal to epithelial transition. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2712. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2712


Due to their similar imaging features, high-grade gliomas (HGGs) and solitary brain metastases (BMs) can be easily misclassified. The peritumoral zone (PZ) of HGGs develops neoplastic cell infiltration, while in BMs the PZ contains pure vasogenic edema. As the two PZs cannot be differentiated macroscopically, this study investigated whether computed tomography (CT)-based texture analysis (TA) of the PZ can reflect the histological difference between the two entities. Thirty-six patients with solitary brain tumors (HGGs, n = 17; BMs, n = 19) that underwent CT examinations were retrospectively included in this pilot study. TA of the PZ was analyzed using dedicated software (MaZda version 5). Univariate, multivariate, and receiver operating characteristics analyses were used to identify the best-suited parameters for distinguishing between the two groups. Seven texture parameters were able to differentiate between HGGs and BMs with variable sensitivity (56.67–96.67%) and specificity (69.23–100%) rates. Their combined ability successfully identified HGGs with 77.9–99.2% sensitivity and 75.3–100% specificity. In conclusion, the CT-based TA can be a useful tool for differentiating between primary and secondary malignancies. The TA features indicate a more heterogenous content of the HGGs' PZ, possibly due to the local infiltration of neoplastic cells.


Employing the quasi-classical trajectory method and the potential energy surface of Panda and Sathyamurhy [Panda A N and Sathyamurthy N 2004 J. Chem. Phys. 121 9343], the effect of the reagent vibration on vector correlation of the ion—molecule reactions D− + H2 and H− + D2 is studied at a collision energy of 35.7 kcal/mol. Four generalized polarization-dependent differential cross sections (2π/σ)(dσ00/dωt), (2π/σ)(dσ20/dωt), (2π/σ)(dσ22+/dωt), and (2π/σ)(dσ21−/dωt) are presented in the centre-of-mass reference frame, separately. At the same time, the effects on the product angular distributions P(θr), P(φr) and P(θr, φr) of the title reactions are also analysed. The calculated results show that the scattering tendencies of the product HD, the alignment and the orientation of j′ sensitively depend on reagent molecule vibration.


The welding seams visual inspection is still manually operated by humans in different companies, so the result of the test is still highly subjective and expensive. At present, the integration of deep learning methods for welds classification is a research focus in engineering applications. This work intends to apprehend and emphasize the contribution of deep learning model explainability to the improvement of welding seams classification accuracy and reliability, two of the various metrics affecting the production lines and cost in the automotive industry. For this purpose, we implement a novel hybrid method that relies on combining the model prediction scores and visual explanation heatmap of the model in order to make a more accurate classification of welding seam defects and improve both its performance and its reliability. The results show that the hybrid model performance is relatively above our target performance and helps to increase the accuracy by at least 18%, which presents new perspectives to the developments of deep Learning explainability and interpretability.


The design of high-speed current mode logic latches is discussed, using analytical expressions for delay. An open circuit time constant method is utilized throughout this paper, though similar results were obtained from a charge control analysis. Emphasis is placed on the variables that are under the control of the circuit designer, as opposed to the device designer. Circuit delay is calculated with respect to device area, current density, amplitude, and a keep-alive current. In particular, the keep-alive current gives the circuit designer control over the average transconductance of switching transistors, independent of their bias currents. The cost of the keep-alive current is the loss of output amplitude. The effects of transmission lines and peaking inductors are discussed in a qualitative manner. Latch designs were tested with static divide-by-two frequency dividers. Results of several dividers (both SiGe and InP) are shown and compared with the theory.


Pre-eclampsia is one of the prime causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The syndrome is highly variable, and the clinical presentation is often atypical. We describe the case histories of three women who presented with epigastric pain as the first outward manifestation of the disorder and in whom the diagnosis was initially overlooked.

A 28 year old primigravida attended her general practitioner's surgery at 34 weeks' gestation with pain in the right upper quadrant, nausea, and vomiting. An antacid was prescribed for presumed reflux oesophagitis. Her blood pressure was not measured and her urine was not tested for protein. The symptoms persisted, and five days later she presented to the hospital antenatal clinic. On examination her blood pressure was 140/80 mm Hg and urine analysis showed proteinuria (2+). She had appreciable tenderness of the right hypochondrium. Further investigation disclosed a moderate thrombocytopenia (56x109/l) and raised serum concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase (225 U/l) and uric acid (0.37 mmol/l). Concentrations of haemoglobin, urea, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin all lay within the normal ranges for pregnancy. There was no evidence of haemolysis, and the standard clotting times were not prolonged. A midstream urine sample was clear of white and red cells at microscopy. Pre-eclampsia with raised liver enzyme concentrations and a low platelet count was diagnosed. As the cervix was unfavourable caesarean section was performed to deliver …


We investigate galactic winds in the HizEA galaxies, a collection of 46 late-stage galaxy mergers at z = 0.4–0.8, with stellar masses of log(M*/M⊙)=10.4–11.5 , star formation rates (SFRs) of 20–500 M ⊙ yr−1, and ultra-compact (a few 100 pc) central star-forming regions. We measure their gas kinematics using the Mg ii λ λ 2796,2803 absorption lines in optical spectra from MMT, Magellan, and Keck. We find evidence of outflows in 90% of targets, with maximum outflow velocities of 550–3200 km s−1. We combine these data with ten samples from the literature to construct scaling relations for outflow velocity versus SFR, star formation surface density (ΣSFR), M *, and SFR/M *. The HizEA galaxies extend the dynamic range of the scaling relations by a factor of ∼2–4 in outflow velocity and an order of magnitude in SFR and ΣSFR. The ensemble scaling relations exhibit strong correlations between outflow velocity, SFR, SFR/R, and ΣSFR, and weaker correlations with M * and SFR/M *. The HizEA galaxies are mild outliers on the SFR and M * scaling relations, but they connect smoothly with more typical star-forming galaxies on plots of outflow velocity versus SFR/R and ΣSFR. These results provide further evidence that the HizEA galaxies' exceptional outflow velocities are a consequence of their extreme star formation conditions rather than hidden black hole activity, and they strengthen previous claims that ΣSFR is one of the most important properties governing the velocities of galactic winds.


During the systemic investigations on the desmid biodiversity of Eastern Himalaya the authors visited various regions of Namchi, South Sikkim, India and recorded 12 taxa belonging to the 6 genera viz. Desmidium C. Agardhex Ralfs, Hyalotheca Ehrenberg ex Ralfs, Micrasterias C. Agardhex Ralfs, Pleurotaenium Nageli, Spondylosium Brebisson ex Kutzing and Staurastrum Meyen ex Ralfs. Three taxa Pleurotaenium ehrenbergii (Brebisson) de Bary var. crenulatum (Ehrenberg) Krieger f. crenulatum , Staurastrum botanense Playfair var. botanense and Micrasterias alata Wall have been recorded as new to Indian flora. The remaining taxa are new record for Sikkim&Eastern Himalaya.


A software design process for mapping real-time applications onto massively parallel processors is described. The design methodology incorporates a software test bench used to evaluate the level of real-time performance the processing nodes are capable of delivering. The final integration step maintains the simple test bench interfaces and reduces the complexity of integrating the components to satisfy the timing requirements of the overall application. The process is applied to implement the RASSP SAR benchmark on an Intel Paragon. The initial implementation uses 12 Paragon GP nodes for a single polarization. Under OSF/1 this 12 node configuration satisfies all the real-time requirements. Under SUNMOS, a streamlined high performance operating system available on the Paragon, the throughput improves significantly with sustained processor utilization approaching 40%. A projected implementation of the RASSP SAR benchmark on the Embedded Touchstone suggests that all three polarizations can be processed (including I/O) using 14 out of its 16 MP nodes.


PURPOSE
We defined whether extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) to the kidney activates the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) pathway.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 90 male rabbits were randomly divided into group 1--pretreated with normal saline, group 2--pretreated intravenously (i.v.) with Nomega nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (NAME) (100 mg/kg), group 3--pretreated i.v. with NAME and L-arginine (300 mg/kg) with ESWT to 1 kidney, group 4--pretreated IV with ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one) (20 microg/kg) and group 5--pretreated with normal saline with ESWT to the bladder. Plasma nitrite, NO metabolite and cGMP were analyzed in peripheral blood samples before, immediately after, and 30 and 60 minutes after ESWT.

RESULTS
ESWT to the kidney but not to the bladder caused an increase before, immediately after, and 30 and 60 minutes after ESWT in plasma nitrite in group 1 (186.1 +/- 20.6, 217.5 +/- 21.6, 241.9 +/- 28.4 and 230.5 +/- 25.3 nM) and group 5 (149.0 +/- 14.7, 155.6 +/- 18.4, 131.8 +/- 13.6 and 140.0 +/- 15.7 nM), and in cGMP in group 1 (24.2 +/- 1.9, 33.8 +/- 3.2, 32.9 +/- 2.2 and 29.4 +/- 1.9 pmol/ml) and group 5 (25.5 +/- 2.1, 27.5 +/- 2.5, 28.7 +/- 3.1 and 25.5 +/- 2.6 pmol/ml, respectively). In group 2 NAME significantly inhibited the production of nitrite (113.4 +/- 18.6, 118.2 +/- 19.9, 114.6 +/- 18.3 and 112.5 +/- 17.6 nM) and cGMP (19.4 +/- 2.6, 20.6 +/- 2.8, 19.3 +/- 2.7 and 18.6 +/- 2.6 pmol, respectively). In group 3 inhibited nitrite and cGMP production caused by NAME was recovered with L-arginine. In group 4 ODQ significantly inhibited cGMP production.

CONCLUSIONS
The results show that ESWT increases the level of NO and cGMP released by the kidney in an animal model.


Photovoltaic solar heat pump (PV-SHP) system, an integration of the photovoltaic/thermal and solar assistant heat pump technology, can be one promising and sustainable replacement of the conventional water heaters in future. This paper introduces a dynamic simulation model of our proposed PV-SHP system. Numerical results of the system performance are discussed based on the Typical Meteorological Year weather data of Hong Kong.