ABSTRACT:
 The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of four herbicides for controlling invasive Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) in idle grasslands by monitoring post-treatment plant communities. Experiments were conducted in two remnant savannas in central Kentucky. With the exception of domestic grazing, these sites were chosen because they were undisturbed by agriculture and development. Single treatments of 0.2 kg ai/ha imazapic, 0.2 kg ai/ha clethodim, 0.2 kg ai/ha imazapic + 1.1 kg ai/ha glyphosate, 0.03 kg ai/ha sulfosulfuron, and an untreated control were implemented in fall 2004 and spring and summer 2005 at each site in a randomized complete block design. Plant communities were monitored 3, 10, 12, 14, and 15 months after the final treatments were implemented. At 15 months post-treatment, tall fescue cover was reduced in all treatment plots relative to the untreated control, with the greatest reduction in tall fescue cover occurring in the summer treatment plots. Spring applications of each herbicide were more effective for Kentucky bluegrass control than summer or fall treatments. All herbicide treatments reduced Kentucky bluegrass compared to untreated plots. The most effective herbicide treatment was imazapic + glyphosate, which reduced Kentucky bluegrass cover to less than 7%. However, the resulting bare ground facilitated invasions by other aggressive exotic species, notably musk thistle (Carduus nutans L.). Spring applications of clethodim reduced Kentucky bluegrass cover relative to the untreated plots, and resulted in the highest number of native plant species compared to all other plots. This conservation of forb cover provided by clethodim may be of importance in managing areas impaired by this aggressive, invasive grass. Nomenclature: Carduus nutans L., Clethodim, glyphosate, imazapic, Kentucky bluegrass, musk thistle, Poa pratensis L., sulfosulfuron, tall fescue


Blue iridium phosphors are always precious and desirable for both fundamental research and industrial applications in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Three heteroleptic cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes, namely, Ir1, Ir2 and Ir3, incorporating 2-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-pyrimidine (tfmphpm) or 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-pyrimidine (dfppm) as the main ligand, and 2-(3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)pyridine (fppz) or 2-(5-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-2H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)pyridine (Htaz) as the ancillary ligand, were developed for application in OLEDs. Owing to the introduction of the strong-field CF3-containing ancillary ligand and the incorporation of electron-withdrawing F or CF3 groups on the HOMO-lying C-related aromatic rings of the C^N cyclometalating ligands, the phosphorescence of these Ir(III) complexes peaked at 457–459 nm. In comparison with the well-known commercial sky-blue iridium complex FIrpic (bis(4′,6′-difluorophenylpyridinato) iridium(III) picolinate, 475 nm), the phosphorescence of these complexes is hypsochromically shifted by 16–18 nm, more closely approaching standard blue light. They have high phosphorescence quantum yields in solution. The phosphorescent OLEDs employing these complexes as doped emitters display impressive performance. In particular, the PhOLED based on Ir3 achieves an outstanding maximum external quantum efficiency of 21.23% with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.15, 0.26), which is about 27% higher than that of the control device using FIrpic as a dopant (16.63%).


BACKGROUND
Use of scalp as a donor site was reported for the first time in 1964. Since then, authors have described scalp as a donor site, which heals rapidly and re-growth of hair conceals the donor site. This study was aimed at evaluation of scalp as donor site by calculating the healing time, and frequency of post-operative complications.

METHODS
This was a descriptive study and was conducted at Plastic Surgery Department Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, from October, 2006 to December 2007. Thirty patients requiring split skin grafting for small to moderate sized defects (requiring up to 4 sheets) were included in this study. After taking informed consent skin graft were taken from the scalp using Zimmer Electric Dermatome. Donor site was covered with occlusive dressing. Donor site healing time and complications were recorded. Patients having scalp lesions were excluded from the study.

RESULTS
All the patients in this study achieved healing of the donor site. None of them required grafting. 26 (86.67%) patients achieved healing by 6th post-op day 3 (10.0%) patients achieved healing by 10th post-op day and the remaining 1 (3.33%) patients achieved healing by 20 days. Complications noted were folliculitis in 2 patients and scab formation in 1 patient. Alopecia, hair transplant to recipient site and hypertrophic scarring was not encountered in our study. Patients were discharged by 6th post operative day and complications were managed on outpatient basis. Overall patients' compliance and satisfaction was excellent.

CONCLUSION
scalp is an excellent donor site for taking split skin graft. It has shown to be very useful in terms of quick healing, convenient post-op care and negligible complications. It should be given preference when donor site for taking skin graft is to be selected.


The normal application of Virtual Reality is to the simulation of environments, which are in some way special - remote, hazardous or purely imaginary. This paper describes research and development work which changes the paradigm by simulating perfectly ordinary buildings for special people. Some 15% of the population have some form of physical impairment - a proportion which is likely to rise in line with an ageing population. New legislation, such as the UK Disability Discrimination Act places additional responsibility on building owners to ensure adequate access for people with an impairment and this in turn will place additional responsibility on the architect. Current methods of auditing access for new building are primitive and require the auditor to interpret plans/sections of the proposed building against a checklist of requirements specific to the special need. This paper reports on progress in the use of an immersive VR facility to simulate access to buildings for two broad classes of user: i) those with a mobility impairment; ii) those with visual impairment. In the former case, a wheelchair motion platform has been designed which allows the wheelchair user to navigate the virtual building; a brake and motor connected to the rollers on which the wheelchair sits facilitate the effects of slope and surface resistance. In the latter case, the main categories and degrees of visual impairment can be simulated allowing architects to assess the contribution of form, colour and signage to safe access


Frequency conversion of optical waves as a result of refraction through a moving interface in traveling-wave electro-optic phase modulators is analyzed. Two configurations of a device performing conversion are proposed, and their operating requirements are determined.


Ontology integration is a process of matching and merging two ontologies for reasons such as for generating a new ontology, thus creating digital services and products. Current techniques for ontology integration, used for information and knowledge integration, are not powerful enough to handle the semantic and pragmatic heterogeneities. Because of the heterogeneities, the ontology matching and integration have shown to be a complex problem, especially when the intention is to make the process automatic.This thesis addresses the problem of integrating heterogeneous ontologies, first, by exploring the context of ontology integration, secondly, by building a context knowledge base, and thirdly, by applying the context knowledge base. More specifically, the thesis contributes a context knowledge base method for ontology integration, CKB-OI method, which contains:1) A method of building a context knowledge base by extracting context and contextual information from ontologies in an ontology repository to improve ontology integration.2) A method of refining the result of ontology integration with the help of the context knowledge base and expanding the context rules in the context knowledge base.In the first method, the context of the ontology integration is identified by examining the content and metadata of the integrated ontologies. The context of an ontology integration contains the information describing the integration, such as the domain of ontology, the purpose of ontology, and the ontology elements involved. Context criteria, such as the metadata of ontologies and the element of ontologies in the repository, are used to model the context. The contextual information is extracted and integrated from ontologies in an ontology repository, using an ontology integration process with non-violation check. With the context and the contextual information, a context knowledge base is built. Since this is built by reusing ontologies to provide extra information for new ontology integration in the same context, it is quite possible that the context knowledge base will improve the earlier ontology integration result.A method for identifying the domain of an ontology is also proposed to help in building and using the context knowledge base. Since the method considers the semantic and pragmatic heterogeneities of ontologies, and uses a light-weight ontology representing a domain, this work increases the semantic value of the context knowledge base.In the second method, the context knowledge base is applied to the result of an ontology integration process with a non-violation check, which in turn results in an ontology intersection. The contextual information is searched for and extracted from the context knowledge base and then applied on the ontology intersection to improve the integration result. The ontology non-violation check integration process is adjusted and adopted in the method. Moreover, the context knowledge base is expanded with perspective rules, with which the different views of ontologies in a context are preserved, and reused in future ontology integration.The results of the CKB-OI methods are: 1) a context knowledge base with rules that consider semantic and pragmatic knowledge for ontology integration; 2) contextual ontology intersection (COI) with the refining result compared to the ontology intersection (OI), and 3) an extended context knowledge base with the different views of both ontologies. For evaluation, ontologies from the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI) and from ontology search engines Swoogle and Watson have been used for testing the proposed methods. The results show that the context knowledge base can be used for improving heterogeneous ontologies integration, hence, the context knowledge base provides semantic and pragmatic knowledge to integrate ontologies. Also, the results demonstrate that ontology integration, refined with the context knowledge base, contains more knowledge without contradicting the ontologies involved in our examples.


PURPOSE
To analyse the visual outcomes of cases with posterior capsule rupture (PCR) compared to those without PCR following phacoemulsification. The occurrence of posterior capsule rupture during phacoemulsification surgery for cataract can have serious implications in the visual recovery. However, recognition of PCR and proper management can yield a successful visual outcome. This study analysed the visual outcomes of cases with PCR compared to those without PCR.

METHODS
This is a case-control study. All patients who underwent cataract surgery from 2011 to 2012 in Hospital Melaka were traced from the National Eye Database (NED) of Malaysia. The visual outcomes were classified as good, borderline and poor as per WHO guidelines. The data was analysed with SPSS version 12 IBM.

RESULTS
Out of 80.4% (2519) of eyes that had undergone phacoemulsification (PHACO) type of surgery, 3.06% (77 cases) had posterior capsule rupture complication. There was no significant difference in the visual outcome of borderline between cases with PCR and cases without PCR (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.989; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.382- 2.560). However, cases with PCR were significantly less likely to have good vision compared to those without PCR (OR 0.335; 95% CI 0.157-0.714).

CONCLUSION
The study reveals that a significant number of patients without PCR had good vision, whereas those with PCR did not get good vision. We would like to suggest meticulous care during phacoemulsification surgery to avoid PCR in order to obtain good visual outcomes.


This review focuses on the fact that oral disorders are not merely localized to the mouth; in a broader sense, they also have a more significant impact on systemic health. In this review, we tried to bring to the notice various complications of periodontitis on the body's major organ systems. It has also been suggested that there is a potential connection between periodontitis and certain systemic disorders. Reviewing this fascinating topic is necessary. The objective is to create a thorough body of knowledge on the subject that is simple to access, alert medical professionals to the connection between dental health and systemic health, and highlight the necessity of a more thorough incorporation of medical and dental training. Periodontitis is a probable risk factor for various problems connected to the cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, musculoskeletal, central nervous, and reproductive systems. It is a continual likely source of infection. Oral health affects overall health, and if extensive healthcare is ever accomplished, dental health should never be considered a distinct, remote, and lower significant part of health wholly disconnected from quality of life. One should never underestimate oral disorders as being acute and always curable. People should take utmost care and take the condition seriously to prevent significant complications.


Tauopathies are a diverse group of progressive and fatal neurodegenerative diseases characterized by aberrant tau inclusions in the central nervous system. Tau protein forms pathologic fibrillar aggregates that are typically closely associated with neuronal cell death, leading to varied clinical phenotypes including dementia, movement disorders, and motor neuron disease. In this review, we describe the clinicopathologic features of tauopathies and highlight recent advances in understanding the mechanisms that lead to spread of pathologic aggregates through interconnected neuronal pathways. The cell-to-cell propagation of tauopathy is then linked to posttranslational modifications, tau fibril structural variants, and the breakdown of cellular protein quality control. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, Volume 19 is January 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Porphyria cutanea tarda is thought to result from an inherited deficiency of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (EC 126.96.36.199) in some patients. Present methods for determining uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase activity are time consuming, so we examined the pattern of porphyrins formed from porphobilinogen by hemolysates as a possible marker for hereditary porphyria cutanea tarda. After the hemolysates are incubated with porphobilinogen, the porphyrins are converted to their methyl esters and examined by liquid chromatography, with fluorometric detection. The porphyrinic patients examined, and some of their relatives, showed a characteristic pattern of porphyrin production, with high uroporphyrin/coproporphyrin and (uroporphyrin + heptacarboxylic porphyrins)/coproporphyrin ratios, at least partly ascribable to increased uroporphyrinogen I synthetase (EC 184.108.40.206) activity in patients' hemolysates, and also to a relative deficiency of uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase. Examination of the pattern of porphyrins produced from porphobilinogen by hemolysates is a suitable technique for detecting asymptomatic individuals with porphyria cutanea tarda.


Operational and safety issues associated with subsiding sinkholes in karst areas start with the definition of fractures and joints, causing ground weakness. Conventional geotechnical boreholes and geological mapping must be complemented with indirect subsurface exploration techniques to detail those structures. This work aims to use electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic refraction tomography (SRT) near-surface geophysical techniques to infer the 2D and 3D geometry of sediment-infilled sinkholes formed by the conjunction of fractures and joints in karst areas. Geophysical surveys were performed in a sediment-infilled sinkhole area with two sectors of different subsiding and infilling degrees formed by the conjunction of two fault systems in an experimental research area in the Sierra de Gádor Mountains in southeastern Spain. The ERT survey delimited the geometry of the sinkhole area, including the main fault-boun4ded limits, other minor faults, buried epikarst forms, and the distribution of coarse and clay-rich infilling. The SRT survey corroborated the structure and disambiguated clay-rich and high-moisture-content structures giving similar velocity fields. The integration of the ERT and SRT techniques provides indirect 2D and 3D visualizations of the ground of interest in predicting weakness-triggering mechanisms associated with the regional karst structure. This trial in an experimental uninhabited area, with the possibility of exploring subsiding karst structures is of special interest for designing operational and safety measures in urban areas, where similar karst structures may go undetected and monitoring capability is often more limited. The technological development of the used techniques enables the periodical geophysical monitoring of karst structures, thus making the identification of structural changes modifying the land safety and hydrological mechanisms feasible over time.


We report a magnetoelectric energy harvester structure that can simultaneously scavenge magnetic and vibration energy in the absence of DC magnetic field. The structure consisted of a piezoelectric macro-fiber composite bonded to a Ni cantilever. Large magnetoelectric coefficient ∼50 V/cm Oe and power density ∼4.5 mW/cm3 (1 g acceleration) were observed at the resonance frequency. An additive effect was realized when the harvester operated under dual-phase mode. The increase in voltage output at the first three resonance frequencies under dual-phase mode was found to be 2.4%, 35.5%, and 360.7%. These results present significant advancement toward high energy density multimode energy harvesting system.


The primary purpose of this research is to explore the value of quality dimensions of accounting information systems (AIS) success, as represented by system quality (SQ), information quality (IQ) and service quality (SVQ), on the effectiveness of management during financial crises. This paper highlights the mediation role of system usage (SU) in those associations in the context of a government ministry. Descriptive analytical and quantitative approaches were adopted, using a questionnaire as the data collection instrument and selecting employees of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance as a population sample for the research. A total of 141 questionnaires were distributed, of which 105 were valid for statistical analysis. In the data analysis, the partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques were adopted using SmartPLS software. The results indicate a direct significant effect between SQ, IQ, SVQ, and managing during financial crises in the research context. The mediation of SU in the influence between IQ, SQ, and managing during financial crises in the governmental context is clear. Conversely, this mediation was not demonstrated in the effect of SVQ. The research emphasizes the necessity of adopting high-quality AIS in terms of SQ, IQ and SVQ because of their critical role in enhancing management effectiveness during a financial crisis. The advancement and wider employment of AIS that have high-quality characteristics can improve management tasks during a financial crisis, increasing the ability to contain the crisis and reduce its broader repercussions.


Almost 50 years ago Dahlstrom and Fuxe discovered serotonergic neurons in the brainstem. Much remains to learn, however, about how serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5HT) modulates circuit activity. Serotonergic neurons release 5HT throughout the CNS. Accordingly, these cells influence breathing rhythms, body temperature, heart rate, pain, eating, sleep, arousal, emotion, and cognition to list a few (Hensler, 2006). When the 5HT system gets disturbed much can go wrong: sudden infant death syndrome, obesity, psychosis, depression, and anxiety (Audero et al., 2008; Garfield and Heisler, 2009;Richardson-Jones et al., 2010). Understanding these pathologies and illnesses might require, in part, new ways of manipulating serotonergic cells without affecting other cell types, as addressed by the recent study from Weber et al. (2009).

Studying circuitry with genetics often involves putting foreign proteins, e.g. Cre (cyclization recombination) site-specific DNA recombinase from bacteriophage P1, in specific cell types (Sauer, 2002;Dymecki and Kim, 2007;Gong et al., 2007). The regulatory regions of genes expressed only in 5HT neurons can be hijacked to put Cre in these cells (Scott et al., 2005;Weber et al., 2009). For a cell type-selective manipulation, a "Cre driver mouse" is mated with another that has a gene with recognition sites for Cre. These sites, termed lox (locus of crossover) sites, surround an important exon, and the target gene is designated a "floxed" allele. In the nuclei of those cells that express the Cre enzyme, the Cre cuts and rejoins the DNA between the lox sites, so that the intervening segment gets inverted or removed (Sauer, 2002;Dymecki and Kim, 20071). This makes a cell type-specific knockout of a gene. A difficulty, though, is brain development. 5HT released during development influences how circuitries which govern adult behavior work (Gross et al., 2002;Ansorge et al., 2004). Knocking out the 5HT1A receptor gene in young or old mice gives different phenotypes (Gross et al., 2002); knockout during embryogenesis produces heightened anxiety in adults; but knockout in adults does not (Gross et al., 2002). Thus if we express Cre from a serotonergic-specific gene active during embryogenesis or postnatal brain development, Cre would turn on at an earlier point and by destroying a floxed gene, leave an irreversible genetic "footprint". This may prevent a correct interpretation of the adult phenotype. Inducible Cre activity, where we can turn on the Cre recombinase at defined ages of the mouse, is better. Hence the Weber et al. (2009) paper.

Weber et al. have performed a model exercise in advanced transgenesis. For directing Cre expression specifically to serotonergic neurons, they took the regulatory regions of the tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2) gene, which encodes the first enzyme of the 5HT synthetic pathway (Weber et al., 2009). A bacteriophage P1-derived artificial chromosome (PAC), a large (177 kb) piece of mouse genomic DNA that contains sufficient regulatory regions of the tph2 gene, served as the expression platform. In the PAC, the tph2 coding region was changed to produce an inducible Cre recombinase instead of the Tph2. This modified PAC was injected into nuclei of mouse embryos where it integrated randomly in the genome.

So that the Cre could be activated at specific times, the authors used Cre recombinase fused with the ligand binding region of the estrogen receptor (ER). The ER domain stopped Cre from cutting DNA. However, Cre's activity within the Cre-ER protein (known as Cre-ERT2) could be released by the drug tamoxifen, which binds to the ER segment (Indra et al., 1999). The experimental mice were generated by crossing a strain with a floxed-allele (various floxed "reporter" alleles were used by Weber et al., as examples) with the TPH2-CreERT2 mice. Because Cre was inactive, the progeny were normal. At the chosen time, tamoxifen was given intraperitoneally. Some days later, Cre recombined the target gene specifically in the 5HT neurons (Weber et al., 2009).

Weber et al's study beautifully illustrates the use of inducible recombination, and the amount of work needed to fully characterize the mice (Weber et al., 2009). For this study the authors made their own mice; but many "off the shelf" Cre mouse lines are available (Gong et al., 2007), and more appear regularly (see, for example, the wonderful resource at GENSAT2). Ironically the GENSAT webpage now lists a tamoxifen-inducible Cre line selective for 5HT neurons (using the Slc6a4 gene). One needs to appreciate, however, that in any of the non-inducible lines Cre can express during development, and sometimes in different cell types from the adult. For this reason some non-inducible Cre lines are not useable. Each must be assessed to see when the Cre gene turns on. In conclusion, many neurological and psychiatric diseases may come from 5HT malfunctions in development which then change the adult brain. The TPH2-CreERT2 mice made by Weber et al. (2009), and other inducible Cre mice, will allow investigations of when and how the diseases might first start, or what maintains them.


th , 2012, accepted April 24 th , 2012, final version April, 25 th , 2012 ABSTRACT: The mechanical properties stress of yield limit (s L ), modulus of deformability (Ed), failure stress (s F ), and Hencky strain at failure (e HF ), of minimally-processed yellow pitahaya treated with 200 μgL -1 1-MCP during storage (10±1 °C, 85% RH) was evaluated. Mechanical analysis of the fruit was performed using a stress-strain curve. The samples were subjected to uniaxial compression test at break. The results showed that the samples treated with 1-MCP showed the highest values of stress of yield limit, modulus of deformability and failure stress. This indicates that the application of 1-MCP provides greater firmness to the fruit and may represent an alternative to reduce undesirable changes in texture during storage.


Purpose
Team effectiveness is often predicated by a group's ability to communicate. However, the effect of stress response on communication success, particularly nonverbal engagement, and how this might affect team performance, is not clear; a "phenomenon" this study sought to explore.

Design/methodology/approach
This was an observational study in a cohort of professional rugby players. Participants gave presentations to their peers on two separate occasions during a "live-in" camp designed to have psychologically stressful elements. Presentations were video recorded and audience engagement was measured. Testosterone and cortisol were used as biomarkers of stress response, with a high testosterone–cortisol ratio considered positive. A team training session followed the presentations and participants were rated for training quality.

Findings
A small decline in testosterone was observed each day after waking. Conversely, cortisol rose after waking, with the rise being the highest on the first day. A decline in testosterone–cortisol ratio was also seen each day after waking; the decline was greatest on the first day. Presentation duration and audience engagement was greatest for the second presentation; when the testosterone-cortisol ratio decline and the cortisol increase after waking was smaller. Training quality was also better that day. Pooled data revealed a moderate inverse relationship and weak positive relationships for audience engagement with post-meeting cortisol and post-meeting testosterone–cortisol ratio, respectively. Training quality was related to testosterone and testosterone–cortisol ratio, but inversely related to cortisol.

Originality/value
This study suggests that in stressful conditions, as suggested by an awakening hormone response, communication and team performance could become compromised with reduced ability to engage with others.


Summary: Nine mutants of Aspergillus nidulans differing in cleistothecia and/or conidia production were investigated. The strains were grown on four media with different levels of glucose (0.8, 3, and 4%) and nitrate (0.6 and 0.15%). The mycelia were analysed on the basis of the dry weight of the total mycelium and the alkali-soluble fraction (containing the α-1,3 glucan) as well as enzyme activities lytic to α-1,3 glucan, laminarin, and starch. Low quantities of α-1,3 glucan present on the third day are correlated with low α-1,3 glucanase activity and absence of cleistothecia formation on the sixth day. α-1,3 Glucan and cleistothecium formation seemed to be inversely related to conidiation.


This paper discusses secondary school teachers' interpretation, choice and use of second language theories and approaches in the teaching of English. The main purpose of the study was to determine how teachers situated their teaching on both conventional and personal theories. This was achieved through the study objectives which were to evaluate the factors which influenced teachers' choice of theories and approaches to teaching and evaluating the theories and approaches commonly applied in teaching English. Data was obtained from 30 teachers of English in 10 selected secondary schools within Eldoret Municipality which at the time of the study had 22 secondary schools. This study employed a descriptive survey design. Data was collected by use of structured interview with selected teachers, tape-recording and observation of teachers in classes, and structured questionnaires. The study concluded that several factors including teacher personality and training and the caliber of learners influenced teachers' choice of the various theoretical approaches that were used.


Aers explores the fissures in VC rather than its unity. His target is a large one, the view of Gower as a coherent as well as comprehensive moral and political philosopher first advanced by Coffman and Fisher (whom Aers does not cite) and more recently reaffirmed by such writers as Minnis, Yeager, Olsson, Simpson, and Scanlon. Aers slyly lays out some of the contradictions among those who defend the coherency of Gower's thought, but he give most attention to the contradictions within Gower's own writing. In VC, he finds it impossible to resolve Gower's advocacy of an evangelical pacifism in Books III and VI with his "unironic celebration of aristocratic violence" (p. 190) in his advice to King Richard to follow the example of his father. Such a contradiction, he points out, was encouraged by the medieval church, where it had become "normalized and internalized" (p. 192). It is allowed by the structure of VC, in which the "units . . . are paratactically sealed off from each other rather than brought into dialogue. . . . [VC's] paratactic mode becomes a powerful impediment to moral inquiry, to sustained critical reflection on the difficulties that are raised. The mode protects the poet from having to confront sharp contradictions in his ethics, let alone from having to explore their sources in the traditions he inherits and the culture he inhabits" (p. 193; his italics). The same failure can be found in Gower's treatment of the church in CA, in which the poet alternately condemns the church for the degeneracy of its practices and for the mystification of its claims of spiritual authority and upholds the church against the Wycliffites whose criticisms he echoes. "Are we being invited to cultivate ironic reflections on the grounds of all doctrine, on the grounds of all claims to unfeigned, uninvented authority in matters concerning the divine?" (p. 200). No, Aers concludes; to a "paratactic mode" corresponds a "paratactic moralism" (p. 201). [PN. Copyright The John Gower Society. JGN 18.1]


In this paper the capacity of decentralized wireless networks is addressed. An exclusion region is introduced that protects active receivers from destructive interference of nearby transmitters. An exclusion range imposes an upper bound on the interference that a transmitter may cause to receivers of competing links. While an exclusion region avoids excessive interference and thus improves capacity per link, the spatial reuse in terms of concurrently served links is compromised. The resulting trade-off is elaborated by computer simulations, so to optimize the exclusion range as a function of the user density and maximum transmit power. We demonstrate that by an appropriately specified exclusion range, the network capacity is substantially enhanced. In this context, it has been found that the exclusion range that maximizes the system capacity does not vary greatly when changing the a priori user density. In addition, the trade-off between maximizing the system capacity and maintaining fairness is investigated.


[reaction: see text] The feasibility of using active semiconductor chips containing addressable arrays of microelectrodes for the "real-time" monitoring of biologically relevant binding events has been demonstrated by detecting the binding of a coumarin substrate by an anticoumarin antibody. The coumarin substrate was synthesized proximal to predetermined electrodes on the chip with the use of a Pd(II) reagent that was itself generated by using the selected electrodes. Once the coumarin was synthesized, its binding to the anticoumarin antibody was detected by monitoring the current associated with a ferrocene-ferrocinium ion redox cycle that was established between the electrodes on the chip and a remote auxiliary electrode.


A series of monoclonal antibodies that react with human lymphocyte subsets was used in an indirect immunoperoxidase technique to study representative blocks from normal human testis, epididymis, vas deferens, prostate and seminal vesicles. Biopsies of testis, epididymis and vas obtained during surgical procedures directed at the investigation and treatment of infertile males were also studied. In all normal tissues, apart from the peripheral testis where no lymphocytes were identified, T lymphocytes were the predominant cell type (Leu 4+). These lymphocytes were largely of the suppressor/cytotoxic phenotype (Leu 2a+) and were more abundant in between the epithelial cells in the rete testis, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicles and prostatic acini. Cells of the helper/inducer phenotype (Leu 3a+) were identified mainly within the interstitium of the epididymis and the prostate. B-lymphocytes (Leu 12+) were few in number and were mainly in the stroma of the prostate. In each organ the ratio of the T-cell subsets was determined and changes in this ratio were observed in epididymal and vasal biopsies from some infertile males. Finally, in testis biopsies from infertile men, suppressor/cytotoxic T-cells were demonstrated between the germinal epithelium and the fibrous tunica of the seminiferous tubules and as focal aggregates in the interstitium.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of software pricing, following the advent of cloud-based business intelligence & analytics (BI&A) Software. A value-based conceptual software model is developed to ignite and structure further research. Design/methodology/approach – A two-step research approach is applied. In step one, the available literature is screened and evaluated, and this is followed by ten semi-structured expert interviews. With that input, a conceptual software pricing model is designed. In step two, this model is validated and refined through discussions with representatives of the five leading business intelligence suites. Findings – The paper sheds light on the value perception of customers and suggests a clear focus on the interaction between customers and vendors, and less on technical issues. The developed customer-centric, value-based pricing framework helps to improve pricing techniques and strategies. Research limitations/implications – The research is focused on the pricing strategy of software houses and excludes differentiations of technical specifications and functionalities. Practical implications – The research can support practitioners in the field of BI&A in rethinking their pricing methods. Placing the customer at center stage can lead to lower customer churn rates, higher customer satisfaction and more pricing flexibility. Originality/value – This empirical study reveals the importance of a customer-centric pricing approach in the specific case of BI&A. It can also be applied to other fast-developing sectors of the software industry.


The phytogeographical boundary between two major Central European floristic regions is analysed at the landscave scale in the border area between the Czech Revublic and Austria. A database of floristic records, potential natural vegetation types, selected environmental variables, and mean Ellenberg indicator values was compiled for a grid of 172 quadrats of approximately 1.2 xl .I krn. The data on flora and vegetation were subjected to detrended correspondence analysis to reveal the main gradients, and to cluster analysis to suggest a regional land classification. The patterns revealed by these analyses were related to environmental variables, and cluster analysis of environmental variables was used to produce an environmental land classification. The results indicate that the Pannonicum and Hercynicum are separated by a transitional zone, located on the prominent deforested slope at the edge of the Bohemian Massif. Floristically, this zone is more closely related to the Hercynicum, but according to the environmental land classification it rather belongs to the Pannonicum. This zone possesses some additional unique features not shared with the two main regions, e. g. a low proportion of nitrophilous species and occurrence of several species restricted to it. The DyjeIThaya river valley, which runs roughly perpendicular to the main phytogeographical boundary, does not influence the regional phytogeographical subdivision and belongs to the same phytogeographical region as the adjacent landscape.


The rise of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is a major threat. Multi drug efflux pumps are believed to significantly contribute to the development of resistance by reducing the intracellular concentration of the standard therapy, consisting of isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (ETH), rifampicin (RIF) and pyrazinamid (PZA). Immunohistochemical staining from a patient with tuberculosis of the lymphnodes revealed significant expression of P-gp and BCRP in macrophages at the site of infection. Next, we screened the interaction of tuberculostatics with P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein-1 (BCRP, ABCG2) over-expressed in plasma membranes using an ATPase activity assay. INH and PZA were found to be substrates for BCRP, substantially increasing its activity at clinical concentrations. Moreover, the antimalarial chloroquine inhibited both pumps at clinically relevant concentrations. Differentiated THP-1macropaghes were shown to significantly increase the expression of the respective pumps upon stimulation with interferon (IFN)-γ. In a functional assay, the efflux of INH was reduced in the presence of therapeutic concentrations of chloroquine, as measured in the supernatant with liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry. This effect was clearly more pronounced in IFN-γ stimulated macrophages. In conclusion, we showed for the first time that INH and PZA are substrates for BCRP. IFN-γ stimulated cells pumped INH out into the extracellular space, an effect which could be reversed by chloroquine. Altogether chloroquine, a safe and well-tolerated drug with a long half-life could enhance intracellular tuberculostatic activity, potentially shortening treatment duration.


The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of glucosamine (GlcN) on septic lethality and sepsis-induced inflammation using animal models of mice and zebrafish. GlcN pretreatment improved survival in the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis mouse model and attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic lung injury and systemic inflammation. GlcN suppressed LPS-induced M1-specific but not M2-specific gene expression. Furthermore, increased expressions of inflammatory genes in visceral tissue of LPS-injected zebrafish were suppressed by GlcN. GlcN suppressed LPS-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB in lung tissue. LPS triggered a reduction in O-GlcNAc levels in nucleocytoplasmic proteins of lung, liver, and spleen after 1 day, which returned to normal levels at day 3. GlcN inhibited LPS-induced O-GlcNAc down-regulation in mouse lung and visceral tissue of zebrafish. Furthermore, the O-GlcNAcase (OGA) level was increased by LPS, which were suppressed by GlcN in mouse and zebrafish. OGA inhibitors suppressed LPS-induced expression of inflammatory genes in RAW264.7 cells and the visceral tissue of zebrafish. Stable knockdown of Oga via short hairpin RNA led to increased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in response to LPS with or without GlcN in RAW264.7 cells. Overall, our results demonstrate a protective effect of GlcN on sepsis potentially through modulation of O-GlcNAcylation of nucleocytoplasmic proteins.


The Next European Dipole (NED) project is a EU funded program aiming at the realization of a 15 T accelerator-type of Nb3Sn dipole magnet. The objective of NED phase one is developing high performance Nb3Sn conductor in collaboration with European industry. The envisaged Rutherford type of cable consists of about 40 superconducting strands exhibiting a noncopper critical current density of 1500 A/mm2 at 4.2 K and 15 T. In the frame of conductor development, adequate critical current measurements in terms of accuracy and reproducibility should be ensured to qualify the ambitious strands produced. Therefore, a NED working group focuses at the establishment and implementation of appropriate and standardized procedures for sample preparation and mounting, critical current measurement, data analysis and reporting. A cross-calibration program between the institutes involved has been initiated by exchanging samples of Nb3Sn conductor from a single billet for critical current measurements, prepared at each institute. The experimental results of this program and the conclusive procedures for NED critical current measurements are presented and discussed


Distributional patterns of more than 50 most common benthic foraminiferal genera of the Polish Badenian to Sarmatian (Miocene) are studied semi-quantitatively by factor analysis of correspondences. They appear. independent one of another and do not permit recognition of any consistent ecological communities. 'The multi-species (or better, multi-genus) method appears therefore' as the only valid benthic-foraminifer-based paleoecological approach to paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Six distinct associations are recognized among the Polish Miocene foraminifers, and called after their most typical genera; these are the Asterigerina , · Quinqueloculina , Valvulineria , Robulus , Florilus , and Sphaeroidina associations. The former three associations prevail under shallow-water conditions, while the others are indicative of deeper-water environments. The Asterigerina association is recognized for typical of seagrass or kelp beds. The Quinqueloculina association typical of the Sarmatian deposits appears indicative of very high availability of the calcium carbonate.


In stochastic Nash equilibrium problems (SNEPs), it is natural for players to be uncertain about their complex environments and have multi-dimensional unknown parameters in their models. Among various SNEPs, this paper focuses on locally coupled network games where the objective of each rational player is subject to the aggregate influence of its neighbors. We propose a distributed learning algorithm based on the proximal-point iteration and ordinary least-square estimator, where each player repeatedly updates the local estimates of neighboring decisions, makes its augmented best-response decisions given the current estimated parameters, receives the realized objective values, and learns the unknown parameters. Leveraging the Robbins-Siegmund theorem and the law of large deviations for M-estimators, we establish the almost sure convergence of the proposed algorithm to solutions of SNEPs when the updating step sizes decay at a proper rate.


ABSTRACT Significant religious difference in the family has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. While religious difference may be challenging for families to negotiate, the manner in which family members communicate about it seems to be helpful in promoting positive interactions between parents and children. The purpose of this study was to conceptualize a parental communicated (non)acceptance continuum in the context of significant parent-child religious difference. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 44 adults who identified a significant religious difference with their parent. The results suggested that communicated (non)acceptance occurred along a continuum with four ranges of behaviors: communicated nonacceptance, ambivalence, communicated acceptance, and idealized communicated acceptance. We discuss the characteristics of each part of the continuum and conclude by identifying key theoretical and translational implications.


Introduction: For successful management of difficult paediatric airway intubation, proper preparation of airway along with a calm and sedated child with titrated doses of sedative agents is paramount. Aim: To compare two different classes of sedative agents (Dexmedetomidine vs Fentanyl) regarding intubating conditions and comfort score of paediatric population at the time of awake fiberoptic intubation. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out among 40 paediatric patients, aged between 5-14 years those who underwent surgery for Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) ankylosis. Clinical data relevant for this study was collected from the pre-format sheets of anaesthesia technique, attached with case files of the patients. Inj. dexmetedomidine bolus of 1 mcg/kg for 10 minutes followed by infusion at the rate 0.6 mcg/kg/hr in group A and Inj. fentanyl bolus dose of 2 mcg/kg followed by infusion 1 mcg/kg/hr in group B were compared in terms of intubating conditions and patient co-operation. For data analysis Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 (IBM Inc.) was used. Patient characteristics in the two groups were compared using mean±SD and chi-square test. Results: All the patients had successful intubation in first attempt in both the groups. In terms of airway preparation, out of total, 14 (35%) patients in group A had no secretions as compare to 4 (10%) patients of group B (p-value was 0.002). In terms of cough score, 13 (32.5%) patients in group A had no cough as compared to 3 (7.5%) patients in group B. Patients in group A were more comfortable at the time of insertion of Flexible Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy (FOB) with no or less resistance to FOB insertion (p-value was 0.043). Vocal cord conditions were favourable in both the groups and there was no difference. Conclusion: Fiberoptic nasal intubation was found to be easier and safe in terms of patient comfort and preservation of patent airway with the use of dexmedetomidine, in paediatric TMJ ankylosis.


Background: Recruitment and retention of rural physicians is vital for rural health care. A key deterrent to rural practice has been identified as professional isolation and access to continuing medical education/continuing professional development (CME/CPD). Aims: The purpose of this article is to review and synthesize key themes from the literature related to CME/CPD and rural physicians to facilitate CME/CPD planning. Methods: A search of the peer-reviewed English language literature and a review of relevant grey literature (e.g., reports, conference proceedings) was conducted. Results: There is robust evidence demonstrating that the CME/CPD needs of rural physicians are unique. Promising practices in regional CME/CPD outreach and advanced procedural skills training and other up-skilling areas have been reported. Distance learning initiatives have been particularly helpful in increasing access to CME/CPD. The quality of evidence supporting the overall effect of these different strategies on recruitment and retention is variable. Conclusion: Supporting the professional careers of rural physicians requires the provision of integrated educational programs that focus on specific information and skills. Future research should examine the linkage between enhanced CME/CPD access and its effect on factors related to retention of physicians in rural communities. A proposed framework is described to aid in developing CME/CPD for rural practitioners.


Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online's data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. INTRODUCTION The workshop session was designed to capture and map the thinking of conference participants on the key components of a knowledge management system for hedgerows. It seeks to identify which people and what types of knowledge are involved in the various knowledge exchanges and the nature of the exchanges between those involved. The session drew on our experiences of knowledge exchange processes in environmental settings when working with policymakers, researchers, business and NGOs across a number of participatory research projects.


Background Previous studies suggest that romantic relationships can be beneficial to mental health, but may also be a major stressor depending on specific relationship characteristics. Studies examining the role of romantic relationship in mental health are scarce. This study aimed to investigate differences in mental health with regards to relationship characteristics. Methods We assessed individuals' mental health, i.e., suicidal ideation (via Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, BSS), depression (via Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9), anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), experience of psychological and physical violence, including changes in suicidal ideation and anxiety compared to before the pandemic, and relationship characteristics (i.e., relationship status, satisfaction, and commitment as well as family structure) with online questionnaires in a population-based cross-sectional study with 3,012 respondents in Austria during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results There were small to medium–sized group differences with regards to relationship status and satisfaction (ηp2: 0.011–0.056). Most mental health outcomes were less favorable in singles than in individuals in happy relationships, but scores for anxiety (p < 0.001), psychological (p < 0.001) and physical violence (p < 0.001), and the probability of experiencing an increase in anxiety compared to before the pandemic (p < 0.01) were lower in singles as compared to those with low relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, scores for suicidal ideation (p > 0.001) and psychological (p > 0.01) and physical violence (p > 0.01) were highest in individuals in relationships with low commitment and with a child living in the same household, but effect sizes were small (ηp2: 0.004–0.015). Conclusion During the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to singles, mental health appeared worse in individuals with low relationship satisfaction and those in a relationship with low commitment and with a child in the household. Living in a happy relationship was associated with somewhat better mental health.


The paper examines Indian publications on parasitological research during 2007-2016, as covered in Scopus database. Annual growth rate of World parasitology is 0.43% and growth rate in India is 0.27%. India's global share is increasing and 4/5th of the global parasitology publications are from ten countries, around a quarter are from USA. Half of the World parasitology documents are from USA, UK, Brazil and France. Average Relative Index was low in 2009 and high in 2016. Around half of the documents deals with medicine aspects, India collaborated with 115 countries, of which more with USA. Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow produces the maximum documents. Dr. Shyam Sundar of Banaras Hindu University is the most productive author. Lion's share (97.39%) of the documents are published in journals and Journal of Parasitic Diseases is the most productive journal.


and Implications Selection for lean growth rate (LGR) was conducted for four generations in a synthetic line of YorkshireMeishan pigs. In the select line, seven boars and 20 gilts with the highest LGR were selected from each generation to produce the subsequent generation. A contemporaneous control line was maintained by randomly selecting five boars and 15 gilts to produce the next generation. Inbreeding coefficients averaged .198 and .207 for the select and control line pigs and .173 and .162 for the select and control line dams, respectively, in the fourth generation. LGR was estimated from ultrasound measures of 10-rib backfat thickness and longissimus muscle area from 1,057 pigs. These pigs were sired by 58 boars and out of 133 sows. The generation interval was 13 months and the average selection differential per generation was 1.1 phenotypic standard deviation units for LGR. Heritability and response were estimated from the deviation of select line from the control line and multiple trait derivative free restricted maximum likelihood (MTDFREML) on the same material. Realized heritability was .29 ± .12 for LGR in the control line. Corresponding estimates from MTDFREML were .32 and .37. The estimate of direct genetic change per generation using the deviation from the control line was 9.4 g/day for LGR. Corresponding estimates from MTDFREML were similar but were more precisely estimated.


Cloud radio access network (C-RAN) is a promising architecture for unprecedented capacity enhancement in next-generation wireless networks thanks to the centralization and virtualization of base station processing. However, centralized signal processing in C-RANs involves high computational complexity that quickly becomes unaffordable when the network grows to a huge size. First, this paper endeavors to design a scalable uplink signal detection algorithm, in the sense that both the complexity per unit network area and the total computation time remain constant when the network size grows. To this end, we formulate the signal detection in C-RAN as an inference problem over a bipartite random geometric graph. By passing messages among neighboring nodes, message passing (a.k.a. belief propagation) provides an efficient way to solve the inference problem over a sparse graph. However, the traditional message-passing algorithm is not guaranteed to converge, because the corresponding bipartite random geometric graph is locally dense and contains many short loops. As a major contribution of this paper, we propose a randomized Gaussian message passing (RGMP) algorithm to improve the convergence. Instead of exchanging messages simultaneously or in a fixed order, we propose to exchange messages asynchronously in a random order. The proposed RGMP algorithm demonstrates significantly better convergence performance than conventional message passing. The randomness of the message updating schedule also simplifies the analysis, and allows the derivation of the convergence conditions for the RGMP algorithm. In addition, we generalize the RGMP algorithm to a blockwise RGMP (B-RGMP) algorithm, which allows parallel implementation. The average computation time of B-RGMP remains constant when the network size increases.


Motivation Virtually all biological systems are governed by a set of complex relations between their components. Identification of relations within biological systems involves a rigorous search for patterns among variables/parameters. Two-dimensional (involving two variables) patterns are identified using correlation, covariation, and mutual information approaches. However, these approaches are not suited to identify more complicated multidimensional relations, which simultaneously include 3, 4, and more variables. Results We present a novel pattern-specific method to quantify the strength and estimate the statistical significance of multidimensional Boolean patterns in multiomics data. In contrast with dimensionality reduction and AI solutions, patterns identified by the proposed approach may provide a better background for meaningful mechanistic interpretation of the biological processes. Our preliminary analysis suggests that multidimensional patterns may dominate the landscape of multi-omics data, which is not surprising because complex interactions between components of biological systems are unlikely to be reduced to simple pairwise interactions.


This Ethnobotanical survey was carried out in selected Local Government areas of Sokoto State, North Western Nigeria in order to collect and document information on medicinal plants that were used in the area by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria. A total of 39 medicinal plants belonging to 31 families, were reported as been used locally for the treatment of malaria. The scientific, common, local (Hausa) names of the plants, part used and method of preparation were presented. The survey shows that 28 (71.8% ) of the plants have been scientifically validated to have antiplasmodium/anti-malarial activities. The methods of preparation that were used were 38.5% decoction, 30.7% maceration, 2.6% infusion while 28.21% include the use of Some of the in medicinal plants were found to be solely indigenous.


This paper demonstrates the application of optical diagnostics to the study of internal flows in real-sized GDI injector nozzles. The application of non-intrusive optical techniques provides an opportunity for in-depth study of internal flows in GDI injectors, allowing comprehensive measurement and investigation of injection phenomenon. It also allows the study of spray structures and other physical processes generating atomised fuel. In this study, a series of pressure swirl injectors with varying internal geometry were manufactured from fused silica to allow an investigation of variable driving pressure, variable swirl ratio and pintle angles of 30°, 45° and 60°. Data is presented for the structure of the aircore formed within the nozzle of the injector, together with FPIV data of the axial and tangential components of the internal flow field. The data is compared with semi-empirical relationships found in literature and good agreement was obtained.


The article analyzes processes in the sphere of humanitarian cooperation in the CIS region and PFUR contribution to the development of educational area as a key of success in strengthening intercultural relations and academic mobility in the CIS countries.


Reliable determination of earthquake source parameters is a subject of fundamental importance for seismological research. It also provides critical observational constraints to the study of deformation and stress within the lithosphere. A comprehensive catalog of earthquake source parameters is not only essential to the understanding of global and regional tectonics, but also offers critical information on geological structures that may have engineering, economic, and hazard implications.

In addition to the origin time, hypocenter, and magnitude, an earthquake's source parameters include its focal mechanism, source time function, and the spatiotemporal distribution of slip. However, unless the source dimension is considerably larger than the wavelengths of propagating seismic waves ( e.g., P or S ), the source time function and slip distribution of a seismic event are difficult to resolve, meaning that it is effectively a point-source. The focal mechanism, on the other hand, is directly related to fault movement in the source region and can be determined by several different methods even if the event is an effective point-source. The simplest way to determine an earthquake's focal mechanism is the "first-motion" method that derives the orientation of the fault plane (strike and dip) and the relative movement between the hanging wall and the foot wall (rake) from the polarity and distribution of first arrivals on the focal sphere (Aki and Richards 1980). A big drawback of this method is that it needs a large number of well-distributed stations with good data quality to sufficiently cover the focal sphere. The process of picking first arrivals and determining their polarity of motion can also be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often ambiguous, even for well-experienced data analysts.

One breakthrough in seismology during the past several decades was the realization that a seismic source can be mathematically represented by a moment tensor consisting of six independent elements (Aki …


Well-crystallized and high-performance xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 (x = 1/2, 1/3, 1/4) hollow microspheres are prepared through an in situ self-sacrificial template route. By precisely adjusting y values in the starting precursor, CoyMn3−yO4 porous microspheres, uniform xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 hollow microspheres are formed. Property testing of lithium ion batteries shows that an appropriate x value plays an important role in their electrochemical behavior: a higher x value leads to a higher specific capacity, but a worse cycling capability, and vice versa; when x = 1/3, the xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 electrode shows a high specific capacity and a high capacity retention rate. In particular, the hollow microspheres with x = 1/3 achieved a reversible capacity as high as 203 mA h g−1 at 0.25C and 181 mA h g−1 at 1.0C over 200 cycles. A rate capacity as high as 191 mA h g−1 at 5.0C is obtained after 5 cycles stepwise from 0.25C to 5.0C. This work provides a general approach based on the use of an in situ self-sacrificial template to synthesize xLi2MnO3·(1 − x)LiMO2 (0 < x < 1, M = Ni, Co, Mn, etc.) at various x values and other targeted materials in a morphology with hollow interiors, which is inaccessible through a wet chemistry route.


Abstract Techniques for normalizing aircraft measurements of solar irradiance to a horizontal surface and a constant solar zenith angle are outlined. The effects of these normalization procedures are a minimum when the data are collected at small solar zenith angles. A method of analysis is discussed which takes into account the effects of the heterogeneous structure of clouds on observations of cloud fractional absorptance in the 0.3–2.8 μm spectral interval. Application of the technique to the observed absorptance, results in a corrected fractional absorptance value which is in better agreement with theoretical calculations than previously reported. In addition, the technique significantly reduces the sampling time required to obtain a representative cloud fractional absorptance.


Five largely untested but economical fish-protection systems were tested at sites throughout North America. The process of selecting laboratory and field test sites was completed at the end of 1986. Studies began in April 1987. The sites selected (and the types of systems being evaluated) include: the Hadley Falls/Holyoke Complex on the Connecticut River (mercury light/spill, mercury light/bypass pipe, strobe lights, and sound); the Ludington Pumped Storage Facility on Lake Michigan (mercury lights, strobe lights, and sound); the Wapatox Canal on the Naches River in Washington (mercury light/screen and bypass); and the Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River (mercury light/spill). In addition, laboratory studies of basic behavioral responses of fish to mercury and strobe lights are being conducted by the Universities of Iowa and Washington. Similar studies are being conducted with a sound-generating device by Ontario Hydro.


East Asia is the most dynamic region showing high economic growth in the last decades. This is attributed to the "Factory Asia", which refers to regional fragmentation of production. In this case, technologically advanced countries, also called headquarter economies, hollow out the most labour-intensive production stage to the ASEAN countries and make it a "factory economy" producing parts and components. Technological developments in the fourth industrial revolution era have introduced labour-saving technologies in the manufacturing sector. As a result, low wages have become a less important determinant of competitiveness, which is predicted to end "factory Asia." This study examines whether the adoption of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing is detrimental to the factory economy. It investigates intra-ASEAN regional relations and their relationship with headquarter economies, including the USA, Japan, China, and Korea (ASEAN + 1). Utilising the Regional Trade Introversion Index (RTII) analysis tool, the study examines the interdependency between the ASEAN countries and the headquarter economies. The vertical intra-industry trade approach was used to assess the quality of ASEAN's exports to the headquarter economies. The results showed that ASEAN's factory economy was not disrupted by the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing sector. With a high intra-industry trade index and the positive intra-ASEAN RTII, the ASEAN trade block strengthens. Exports of higher quality products from ASEAN countries to the headquarter economies, especially China and Korea, have consistently increased. Furthermore, geography is important in network production fragmentation and there is a differentiation among the headquarters and the factory economy.


abstract:Although the outward migration of North Korean refugees has received increasing attention in scholarly circles, little research has been done on migration to North Korea. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research, this article considers the changing political identification of migrants from Japan to North Korea, from 1959 to the 1980s, and their relationship to both the ethnic homeland and the former colonizer. The author suggests that the North Korean state's effort to contain the imagined threat posed by arrivals from Japan was undermined by transnational exchange between divided families. Specifically, women on both sides of the Sea of Japan (East Sea) engaged in kin work that alerted ethnic Korean immigrants to their ambiguous status as both fraternal comrade and outsider in North Korea. This article illustrates how mobility provided opportunities for new identities to emerge, as individuals who considered themselves Korean compatriots developed identifications that translocally connected them to kin and communities in Japan.


Aim and objective: The objective of this in-vivo study was to evaluate gingival thickness of mid buccally and interdentally in primary, mixed & permanent dentition. Method: The study included 40 subjects (22 males and 18 females) with 480 sites of an age range 4-25 Years. Subjects were divided into 3 groups – the primary dentition (4-6 years) mixed dentition (7-13 years) and adult dentition (16-25 years). All the parameters were measured in upper and lower anterior segments. Results: Gingival thickness (GT) was measured arch wise and tooth wise in different dentition and overall dentition wise without differentiating arch wise and toothwise. Gingival thickness (GT) was significantly higher (p=.001) in mixed dentition midbuccally (1.3 + 0.46) and interdentally (2.31 + 0.71) in both the arches. GT (MB) was significantly higher in primary dentition (1.4 + 0.5) and GT (ID) was significant in mixed dentition (2.6 + 0.7). Conclusion: Gingival thickness increases from primary to mixed dentition and significantly higher in maxilla.


In this paper, we propose a procedure to reduce data dimensionality while preserving relevant information for posterior crop cover classification. The huge amount of data involved in hyperspectral image processing is one of the main problems in order to apply pattern recognition techniques. We propose a dimensionality reduction strategy that eliminates redundant information and a subsequent selection of the most discriminative features based on classification and regression trees (CART). CART allow feature selection based on the classification success, it is a non-linear method and specially allows knowledge discovery. The main advantage of our proposal relies on model interpretability, since we can get qualitative information by analyzing the surrogate and main splits of the tree. This method is tested with a crop cover recognition application of six hyperspectral images from the same area acquired with the 128-bands HyMap spectrometer. Even though CART do not provide the best results in classification it is useful for a previous pre-processing step of feature selection. Finally, we analyze the selected bands of the input space in order to gain knowledge on the problem and to give a physical interpretation of results.


Unifying Plant Genomes: Comparisons, Conservation and Collinearity. August 29th 31st, 1995. Queens College Cambridge, UK. Sessionson: Maps and markers; Nuclear architecture; Chromosome organization; Sequence analysis, diversification and conservation; Epigenetic variation; The organelles; Evaluation and conservation of biodiversity; Consolidated genomes and plant breeding. Contact: Ms Victoria Wragg, Administrative Officer, Society for Experimental Biology, Burlington House, London WIV OLQ, UK.


The methanol extracts of Loranthus micranthus fractions were collected from column chromatography. From TLC, the fraction 17 and 20 were selected based on the clear distiguishable of bands and few phytochemicals. Same fractions when subjected to GC-MS, fraction-17 yielded 13 and fraction-20 yielded 11 prominent compounds. Diabetic rats that were treated with the fraction 17 and 20 showed significantly increase in body weight (16.52 and 12.43 % respectively). Hypoglycemic effect and antihyperlipidemic characters (decrease in the previously elevated levels of serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides) were observed. The two fractions treated rats have also showed the regeneration of pancreatic connective tissue, acini, blood vessels, blood capillaries, pancreatic ducts and their walls, islets capsule and cells in accordance to proper cytoarchitecture. The in vivo antidiabetic property may be due to the presence of single or all phytochemicals in the fraction. Greater activity was observed in fraction-17. However, further experimental studies are still needed for identification of the functionally relevant phytochemical(s) in management of diabetes in rats.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Mutations in the tumor suppressor gene TP53 abrogate the tumor suppressive functions of the p53 protein, and some mutations endow the mutant protein with oncogenic activity. These specific mutations we term oncomorphic. Many studies have attempted to correlate p53 mutation status with patient outcomes; however the results have been controversial due to indiscriminate categorization of all TP53 mutations into one group. Using advanced ovarian cancer as a model, our objective was to determine the relationship of oncomorphic TP53 mutations with the development of chemoresistance in advanced serous ovarian cancer patients uniformly treated with platinum and taxol primary chemotherapy. Clinical, genetic, and protein expression data from 264 high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data portal. Associations between mutation types, chemoresistance, and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated for patients harboring oncomorphic TP53 mutations, loss of function mutations, or unclassified mutations. Using a large and uniform patient population, we demonstrate the phenomenon of oncomorphic mutations in ovarian cancer. Specifically, patients with oncomorphic TP53 mutations showed significantly worse PFS when compared with patients with unclassified TP53 mutations (Log-rank, p < 0.05). Patients with oncomorphic TP53 mutations displayed higher rates of platinum resistance (X2, p = 0.0024) and an almost 60% higher chance of recurrence (HR=1.59, 95% confidence intervals 1.09, 2.33, p = 0.016). Furthermore, tumors containing oncomorphic TP53 mutations displayed a unique protein expression profile distinct from tumors with LOF or unclassified mutations. Taken together, these data reveal that particular oncomorphic TP53 mutations are highly associated with worse patient outcomes. Importantly, not all TP53 mutations are equal, and future studies should segregate mutations based on functional consequence. These data may have important implications for the future treatment of patients based on which TP53 mutation is present.

Citation Format: Pavla Brachova, Donghai Dai, Mathew Carlson, Michael Goodheart, Kristina Thiel, Eric Devor, Kimberly Leslie. TP53 oncomorphic mutations are associated with resistance to platinum- and taxol-based standard chemotherapy in advanced serous ovarian cancer patients. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1555. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1555


The orthogonal field components from global INTERMAGNET magnetometer stations are studied via multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis to determine whether there are clear and consistent regional patterns in the behavior of the fluctuations. There are three distinct scaling regimes in the qth-order fluctuation function for each of the 24 stations studied covering Southwest North America, Northeast North America, Central Europe, Northern Europe, Australasia and Asia. There is a consistent break point at time scale around 23 h for all stations. The scaling exponents of the second-order fluctuation functions reflect the regional character of the stations, and can be used for station classification, and for possible regional models.


A recyclable copper nanopowder catalyst in ionic liquid is effective for promotion of the cross-coupling reaction of various thiols with aryl iodides under ligand-free conditions. Compared to the usual organic solvents, [bmmim]BF4 exhibited higher performance with the advantage of being able to be reused for up to four successive runs.


BaF2 (Barium fluoride) detector is one of the experiment facilities at the under construction CSNS-WNS (White Neutron Source at China Spallation Neutron Source). It is designed for precisely measuring (n,gamma) cross section with total 92 crystal elements and completely 4 pi steradian coverage. In this proposal for readout electronics, waveform digitizing technique with 1GSps sampling rate and 12-bit resolution is adopted to precisely capture the detector signal. To solve the problem of massive data readout and processing, the readout electronics system is designed into a distributed architecture with 4 PXIe crates. The digitized detector's signal is concentrated to PXIe crate controller through PCIe bus on backplane and transmitted to data acquisition system over Gigabit Ethernet in parallel. Besides, clock and trigger can be fanned out synchronously to each electronic channel over a high-precision distributing network. Test results showed that the prototype of the readout electronics system achieved good performance and cooperated well.


This paper focuses on the optimization of pump spectra to achieve low Raman gain ripples over C-band in ultra-low loss photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and dispersion compensating PCFs (DCPCFs). Genetic algorithm (GA), a multivariate stochastic optimization algorithm, is applied to optimize the pump powers and the wavelengths for the aforesaid fiber designs. In addition, the GA integrated with full-vectorial finite element method with curvilinear edge/nodal elements is used to optimize the structural parameters of DCPCF. The optimized DCPCF provides broadband dispersion compensation over C-band with low negative dispersion coefficient of -530 ps/nm/km at 1550 nm, which is five times larger than the conventional dispersion compensating fibers with nearly equal effective mode area (21.7 mum(2)). A peak gain of 8.4 dB with +/-0.21 dB gain ripple is achieved for a 2.73 km long DCPCF module when three optimized pumps are used in the backward direction. The lowest gain ripple of +/-0.36 dB is attained for a 10 km long ultra-low loss PCF with three backward pumps. Sensitivity analysis has been performed and it is found that within the experimental fabrication tolerances of +/-2%, the absolute magnitude of dispersion may vary by +/-16%, while the Raman gain may change by +/-7%. Through tolerance study, it is examined that the ring core's hole-size is more sensitive to the structural deformations.


Background: Trachea-esophageal fistula (TEF) recurrence is frequent complication after esophageal atresia (EA) repair. Long new fistulas localized different from congenital TEF sites are called acquired TEFs (acq-TEF). We presented 4 cases to discuss diagnostic and management challenges in different localizations of acq-TEF. Case report: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of patients admitted with acq-TEF in last 5 years. From 16 postoperative TEFs, four TEFs were classified as acquired fistulas. Admission age was ranging from 1 to 8 years. Female/Male ratio was 2/2. The presented cases admitted with recurrent respiratory tract infections, choking, coughing. The acq-TEFs were between esophagus and cervical trachea, and right bronchus by passing through intrathorasic abscess cavity, and directly right bronchus, and between colon conduit and trachea. One of acq-TEF was healed spontaneously. Surgical fistula ligation was performed in others. Conclusion: Acq-TEF is mostly seen secondary to local or diffuse mediastinitis. Besides its classical location of TEF, acq-TEF may be seen at unusual rare localizations such esophagus-to-right bronchus, and conduit-to-trachea. AcqTEF may be seen at unusual rare localizations that should be kept in mind to evaluate and manage these patients more comprehensively.


Objective: DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) is associated with microdeletions of chromosome 22q11. It is the second most common cause of congenital heart disease and is an important consideration whenever a conotruncal cardiac anomaly is identified. The availability of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is altering the practice of prenatal genetics and maternal-fetal medicine, resulting in a decline in invasive testing. Antenatal ultrasound and other biomarkers have their own limitation. NIPT was proposed to screen DGS with cell-free DNA in Taiwan. Here, we present our experience of prenatal diagnosis of DGS in our center. Methods: This was a retrospective study between November 1, 2019, and August 31, 2020, in Taiwan. Data were collected from 7,826 pregnant women self-referred for DGS screening with massive parallel shotgun sequencing-based NIPT. High-risk cases subsequently received amniocentesis for array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) to confirm the diagnosis. Characteristics of pregnancies were documented when participants received the test. Report of NIPT was completed 2 weeks after the test. Follow-up on high-risk cases was completed by telephone interview on January 30, 2021. Results: Thirteen cases showed high risk by NIPT, and 7 cases were confirmed by aCGH. The sensitivity and specificity were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] 64.57–100.00%) and 99.92% (95% CI 99.83–99.96%). The prevalence of DGS was 1 in 1,118 pregnancies. The positive predictive rate was 53.85% (95% CI 29.14–76.79%). One true positive (TP) showed US anomaly, and 5 TPs selected termination. Discussion/Conclusion: NIPT demonstrated good performance in DGS screening. Detection of 22q11.2 deletion could be combined with routine screening to facilitate proper intervention.


Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are the most common bacterial virulence proteins and play a significant role in the pathogenesis of bacterial infections; thus, PFTs are an attractive therapeutic target in bacterial infections. Inspired by the pore-forming process and mechanism of PFTs, we designed an integrated hybrid nanovesicle-the erythroliposome (called the RM-PL)-for PFT detoxification by fusing natural red blood cell (RBC) membranes with artificial lipid membranes. The lipid and RBC membranes were mutually beneficial when integrated into a hybrid nanovesicle structure. The RBC membrane endowed RM-PLs with the capacity for detoxification, while the PEGylated lipid membrane stabilized the RM-PLs and greatly improved the detoxification capacity of the RBC membrane. With α-hemolysin (Hlα) as a model PFT, we demonstrated that RM-PLs could not only significantly reduce the toxicity of Hlα to erythrocytes in vitro but also effectively sponge Hlα in vivo and rescue mice from Hlα-induced damage. Moreover, the high detoxification capacity of RM-PLs was shown to be partly related to the expression of the Hlα receptor protein, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain-containing protein 10 on the RBC membrane. Consequently, as a component integrating natural and artificial materials, the erythroliposome nanoplatform inspires potential strategies for antivirulence therapy.


Optimum space–time adaptive processing (STAP) requires knowledge of the true interference covariance matrix. In practice, this matrix is not known and must be estimated from training data, which must be target free and statistically homogeneous with respect to the range gate under test. These conditions are often not satisfied, which degrades the detection performance. Particularly for bistatic ground moving target indication radar, the clutter Doppler frequency depends on range for all array geometries. This range dependency leads to problems in clutter suppression through STAP techniques. The main aim in this paper is to access the relative merits of several strategies associated with STAP weight training for bistatic airborne radar applications. In particular, the issues associated with applying reduced-dimension conventional STAP and in-the-gate processing are studied. Simulation results show that, for a bistatic radar environment, in-the-gate processing approach performs better than conventional STAP approaches.


The passage of current through electrochemical systems results in the development of concentration gradients in the electrolytic phase that can be modeled using concentrated solution theory. Application of this theory requires knowledge of three concentration-dependent transport coefficients, which are often taken to be conductivity, diffusion coefficient, and the cation transference number with respect to the solvent velocity. The governing diffusion equation for molar concentration contains two additional terms, the thermodynamic factor which is related to activity of the electrolytic species and the solvent velocity. The main advance in this paper is the derivation of an expression for the divergence of the solvent velocity. Solving this equation requires knowledge of the partial molar volume of the electrolyte. Analogous expressions are derived for the mass average and molar average velocities. These velocities occur naturally in the diffusion equation if concentration is expressed as weight fraction and mole fraction of the electrolytic species, respectively.


In liquid-metal-cooled fast reactors, the temperature rise and its gradients over the core region, sometimes with an addition of the accumulated irradiation creep and swelling, result in a radial core expansion and the bowing of subassemblies, both of which lead to the radial displacements of fuel and reflector materials.In spite of the small magnitude of such displacements, the reactivity change due to radial core expansion and bowing of subassemblies during a transient, such as unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF), is significant in magnitude and plays one of the most important roles among all inherent safety features; the focus is on the change of the power-to-flow ratio (P/F) from 1.0 to 2.0, during which a large temperature gradient is induced.A 3-D code, named PERMOV, is developed for the calculation of such reactivity feedback, at present as a part of the Neutronics Analysis System (NAS); NAS is a 3-D nodal code, independently developed by researchers in China Experimental Fast Reactor; and at the same time, the code PERMOV has a high portability, making it available to run with other mature core physics codes.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


In two experiments, we explored the utility of using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) evoked during picture recognition to examine the cognitive and neural processes underlying primacy and recency effects. Each experiment consisted of 210 trials in which a recognition probe followed a 12-picture sequence (105 match and 105 nonmatch trials). The 105 match-probe trials consisted of 35 trials in which the probe matched a prime memory set item (Positions 1-3), 35 in which the probe matched a middle memory set item (Positions 6-8), and 35 in which the probe matched a recent memory set item (Positions 10-12). Behavioral results revealed recency but not primacy effects in both experiments. Recent probes, compared with prime and middle probes, evoked ERPs that were more positive from approximately 300 to 400 ms; this enhanced positivity occurred in a positive component peaking around 315 ms and a negative component peaking around 365 ms. These findings fit more closely with the notion of short-term memory as an activation of elements in long-term memory than as a distinct memory store (or stores) separate from long-term memory.


The present study describes the anti-bacterial activity of hydro-alcoholic extract of Terminalia chebula Retz fruit against microorganism like: Bacillus substils, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus flexineria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For this purpose hydro-alcoholic extract of fruit were prepared and tested by "Disc Diffusion Method". As a result of this study it was found that the extract of fruit generally revealed anti-bacterial activity against both gram-positive bacteria (B. subtils, S. aureous and S.epidermis) and gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, S. flexineria and S. auriginosa).


The internet at this time has become an important part of everyday life. From an early age, children already introduced to a digital environment and used to use internet connected devices for various activities such as learning, entertainment, have a chat with family and friends. Apart from convenience and benefits, the Internet also poses a threat to children and adolescents, from inappropriate content such as pornography, violence, narcotics culture, exposure to online pedophiles or dangerous behavior that can make children unsafe. The role of parents in monitoring the online activities of children and adolescents becomes very important. The market offers a variety of control systems for parents who can block or filter content, manage usage, monitor activities, set boundary lines, and quota. This research was conducted to collect basic information about several sites that are often accessed by children with the aim of implementing an internet content screening program utilizing DNSBL and pfSense to increase parental awareness of various technologies that can be used to protect children from the dangers of cyberspace, providing various information for parents of tools that can protect children, and as a form of socialization about the importance of children internet usage monitoring by parents. The study was conducted in the city of Sukabumi by using 30 respondents who were parents of children aged 3–11 years. The most accessible site for children in the city of Sukabumi is Youtube. Therefore, preventive measures are needed to reduce the negative impact caused by filtering content.


The spider of a drum washing machine receives the repeated fatigue loadings during laundering. Although the spider is designed statically safely, it often happens fatigue failure. Therefore it requires the safe design for fatigue and needs the prediction of quantitative fatigue life. The S-N diagram for a spider material is developed by fatigue test and statistical analysis. The stresses are measured directly from strain gages on the spider. To predict the fatigue life of spider, the rainflow counting method and Miner's rule are used. The data for fatigue life are analyzed statistically. From these data, reliability estimation for fatigue life can be done and also, equivalent fatigue life can be obtained. It will be applied to make and improve to a short period for design and prototype test.


The research introduces the combination of Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Activity Theory to investigate the process of adoption and implementation of BIM in the construction industry in Vietnam. Data was collected from three large main contractors as they are considered as innovation leading organizations. Qualitative research was employed using semi-structured interviews to analyze respondents' perspectives of their daily BIM activities. Main informants include senior managers, BIM team members and site staff. Key findings were the factors affecting the decision of BIM adoption of senior managers (i.e., non-BIM users), the factors affecting BIM implementation of site staff (i.e., BIM users), and the contradictions emerging when senior managers mandate to use BIM, and employ a BIM team as the change agent for instruction and collaboration on the construction site.


Earlier modelling studies have shown the difficulty of accurately simulating snowmelt infiltration into frozen soil using the hydraulic model approach. Comparison of model outputs and field measurements have inferred the occurrence of rapid flow even during periods when the soil is still partly frozen. A one-dimensional, physically based soil water and heat model (SOIL) has been complemented with a new two-domain approach option to simulate preferential flow through frozen layers. The ice is assumed to be first formed at the largest water filled pore upon freezing. Infiltrating water may be conducted rapidly through previously air-filled pores which are not occupied by ice. A minor fraction of water is slowly transferred within the liquid water domain, which is absorbed by the solid particles. A model validation with field measurements at a location in the middle-east of Sweden indicated that the two-domain approach was suitable for improving the prediction of drainage during snowmelting. In particular, the correlation between simulated and observed onset of drainage in spring was improved. The validation also showed that the effect of the high flow domain was highly sensitive to the degree of saturation in the topsoil during freezing, as well as to the hydraulic properties at the lower frost boundary regulating the upward water flow to the frozen soil and ice formation.


- We demonstrate theoretically that the lateral field distribution can be utilized to enhance the relaxation oscillation frequency of semiconductor lasers. It is found, for some laser parameters, that gain-guided semiconductor lasers with narrow stripe can exhibit higher relaxation oscillation frequency than index-guided devices. oscillator is deduced. The corresponding relaxation oscillation frequency, wf, is given by


Glucosamine is a natural amino sugar and a normal constituent of glycosaminoglycans in the cartilage matrix and synovial fluid of joints. Crystalline glucosamine sulfate salt has been approved as a medicinal product for the treatment of osteoarthritis in several European countries. Nevertheless, although it has been prescribed for more than 10 years, it is only due to the research in the last 5 years that the scientific basis underlying its beneficial effects are starting to be clarified. In randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, this compound clinically controls pain and produces beneficial effects in patients with knee osteoarthritis, possibly delaying the appearance of long-term structural changes in the joint (i.e., it has a structure-modifying effect). Furthermore, it has an excellent toxicity profile. Despite the different lines of investigation that have been followed, the mechanism of action of glucosamine sulfate still remains to be clearly defined. However, the activity of glucosamine sulfate has recently been related to its capacity to downregulate the catabolic effects of pro-inflammatory molecules, such as IL-1, which are present in osteoarthritic cartilage.


We consider a service system with two types of customers. In such an environment, the servers can either be specialists (or dedicated) who serve a specific customer type, or generalists (or flexible) who serve either type of customers. Cross-trained workers are more flexible and help reduce system delay, but also contribute to increased service costs and reduced service efficiency. Our objective is to provide insights into the choice of an optimal workforce mix of flexible and dedicated servers. We assume Poisson arrivals and exponential service times, and use matrix-analytic methods to investigate the impact of various system parameters such as the number of servers, server utilization, and server efficiency on the choice of server mix. We develop guidelines for managers that would help them to decide whether they should be either at one of the extremes, i.e., total flexibility or total specialization, or some combination. If it is the latter, we offer an analytical tool to optimize the server mix.


ABSTRACT This paper examines the challenges posed by giant polycentric city-regions from the perspective of an analysis of the Tokaido Megalopolis, the first case of this urban scale in Asia. Many of the issues faced by today's mega-conurbations were identified in Tokaido 60 years ago, but at a very different moment in world history, and with different interpretations of major challenges and possible policy responses. The paper makes four main points: first is that timing is important in urban development, particularly in relation to prevailing ideas and norms about planning. Second, even if complexity means that to an important extent mega-conurbations are self-organizing systems, they are still shaped by planning institutions both at the large scale with major infrastructure, and at smaller scales through regulation. Third, the institutions and rules structuring land development are profoundly important politically, economically, and in structuring long-run spatial and social equity outcomes, including distribution of the costs and benefits of urbanization. Finally, the emergence of any particular mega-conurbation is likely to be a once-only affair, and contingent patterns and processes of development will have long-term consequences for the urbanism achieved, and for the urban societies produced. These have important planning implications.


In voice-based interfaces, non-verbal features represent a simple and underutilized design space for hands-free, language-agnostic interactions. We evaluate the performance of three fundamental types of voice-based musical interactions: pitch, interval, and melody. These interactions involve singing or humming a sequence of one or more notes. A 21-person study evaluates the feasibility and enjoyability of these interactions. The top performing participants were able to perform all interactions reasonably quickly (<5s) with average error rates between 1.3% and 8.6% after training. Others improved with training but still had error rates as high as 46% for pitch and melody interactions. The majority of participants found all tasks enjoyable. Using these results, we propose design considerations for using singing interactions as well as potential use cases for both standard computers and augmented reality glasses.


As an index of permeability of the alveolar epithelium, the clearance of an inhaled aerosol of 99mTc-DTPA is increased in several disease states. However, the usefulness of the test to assess the severity of disease is limited because healthy smokers also have abnormally rapid rates of clearance. Because the stability of the 99mTc-DTPA bond might be a contributory factor, we tested the affinity of 99mTc for DTPA in vitro, and in groups of healthy smokers (n = 13) and nonsmokers (n = 7) we measured the clearances of 99mTc-DTPA and 113mIn-DTPA, which have a similar molecular shape and charge. In vitro, sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide released as much as 98% of free 99mTc from the 99mTc-DTPA complex. When incubated with human neutrophils stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate, between 4 and 7% of free 99mTc-DTPA was released after 30 min, and 12% was released after 60 min. In vivo, the clearances of both 99mTc-DTPA and 113mIn-DTPA in the smokers (n = 13) were faster than in the nonsmokers (n = 7) (p less than 0.05). Within the smokers, the mean 99mTc-DTPA clearance (T1/2 25 +/- 4 min) was faster than the mean 113mIn-DTPA clearance (34 +/- 6 min), (p less than 0.05). For nonsmokers, the difference was smaller (T1/2 99mTc-DTPA, 56 +/- 6; T1/2 113mIn-DTPA, 62 +/- 6) and not significant. During hyperinflation, smokers (n = 8) and nonsmokers (n = 8) both demonstrated an increase in 113mIn-DTPA clearance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)