The corrosion behavior of the sputter-deposited nanocrystalline W-Cr alloys was studied in 0.5 M NaCl and alkaline 1 M NaOH solutions at 25°C, open to air using immersion tests and electrochemical measurements. Chromium metal acts synergistically with tungsten in enhancing the corrosion resistance of the sputter-deposited W-Cr alloys so as to show higher corrosion resistance than those of alloy-constituting elements in both 0.5 M NaCl and 1 M NaOH solutions. In particular, the nanocrystalline W-Cr alloys containing 25-91 at% chromium showed about one order of magnitude lower corrosion rates (that is, about 1-2 × 10 -3 mm.y -1 ) than those of tungsten and chromium metals even for prolonged immersion in 0.5 M NaCl solution at 25°C. On the other hand, the corrosion rate of the sputter-deposited W-Cr alloys containing 25-75 at % chromium was decreased significantly with increasing chromium content and showed lowest corrosion rates (that is, 1.5-2.0 × 10 -3 mm.y -1 ) after immersed for prolonged immersion in 1 M NaOH solution. The corrosion rates of these nanocrystalline W-(25-75)Cr alloys are nearly two orders of magnitude lower than that of tungsten and more than one order of magnitude lower corrosion rate than that of sputter-deposited chromium metal in 1 M NaOH solution. The corrosion-resistant of all the examined sputter-deposited W-Cr alloys in 0.5 M NaCl solution is higher than in alkaline 1 M NaOH solution at 25°C. Open circuit potentials of all the examined W-Cr alloys are shifted to more noble direction with increasing the chromium content in the alloys after immersion for 72 h in both 0.5 M NaCl and 1 M NaOH solutions at 25°C, open to air. Keywords: Sputter deposition, nanocrystalline W-Cr alloys, corrosion test, electrochemical measurement, NaCl and NaOH solutions. DOI:  10.3126/jncs.v25i0.3300 Journal of Nepal Chemical Society Volume 25, 2010 pp 53-61


De-Kanting Rawls: evolutionary justifcation of the theory of justice by Ken Binmore:
The article discusses the criticism of John Rawls's theory of justice formulated by Ken Binmore. Binmore criticizes Rawls in his work for inadequate justifcation of fairness norms. In
his opinion, their proper justifcation requires the rejection of Kant's "metaphysics" in favor
of Hume's empiricism. To explain how fairness norms actually work, one must frst provide
a convincing account of evolutionary processes that could lead to such norms being encoded
in our genome. Secondly, it should be explained how this biological mechanism interacts with
our cultural heritage and generates a selection of balance points in games that describe our
social interactions.


Introduction: Sex, race and socioeconomic status may affect long-term mortality after cardiac arrest (CA). It is unknown if this is mediated by differential access to cardiac catheterization (cath), implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) placement, and/or geographic proximity to care. Hypothesis: 1) Female sex, black race and residence in a low income neighborhood independently predict reduced odds of undergoing cath and ICD placement after CA. 2) These demographics predict worse long-term survival. 3) The protective effects of cath and ICD differs across demographics. Methods: We included CA patients surviving to hospital discharge at five hospitals in Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2013, with follow-up through 2014. We obtained sex, race, arrest location, initial rhythm, median ZIP code income, post-arrest illness severity, cath, ICD placement, urban residence and drive time from residence to the nearest acute care hospital. We used logistic regression to test if demographic features predict ICD and cath, and Cox proportional hazard models identify predictors of survival. Results: We included 891 patients followed for 2,081 patient-yrs. There were 340 deaths with median survival 6 yrs. Female sex, black race and low income were independently associated with reduced odds of cath after controlling for rhythm, arrest location and illness severity. Black race and residence >30 minutes from a hospital predicted worse survival (black race hazards ratio (HR) 1.16; 95%CI 1.02 - 1.31), residence HR 1.50; 95%CI 1.15 - 2.59). In adjusted models, female sex predicted better survival (adjusted HR (aHR) 0.83; 95%CI 0.75 - 0.91) whereas residing >30 minutes from a hospital predicted worse survival (aHR 1.86; 95%CI 1.15 - 3.00). The protective effects of cath and ICD were lower in poor and female subjects, respectively. Conclusions: Race, proximity to hospital and sex predict long-term outcome after CA. Female and low-income subjects benefited less from ICD and cath.


Among recent examples of long-form sf drama, there can be observed an increasing tendency to extend the broadcast story across multiple narrative platforms. The web, mobile telephony and print media are recombined with established broadcast platforms to produce a form of storytelling that interleaves online and offline experiences. While this participatory creation of story suits a technologically savvy contemporary audience, why has multimedia storytelling consistently sought to explore sf themes? Through an examination of the narrative mechanics at work within transmedia storytelling, this article explores the relationship between sf and new media, particularly with regard to the emergence of Alternate Reality Gaming since 2001.


This article explores whether the increasingly touted power of solutions-oriented news serves as a potential measure for local media to attract and engage audiences. We take one local outlet in a London district (Chiswick) as a case study and investigate the audience's evaluation of and engagement with two local solutions news stories during the pandemic to explore whether or not this type of journalism helps local media overcome the problem of disengagement with audiences. The findings, from in-depth interviews with 21 local news users, indicate that audiences judge local news based on their community experience and prior knowledge of local news outlets. In doing so, they may express a degree of skepticism about the positive tone of the solutions-oriented news in question. Their concerns can be explained in light of audience expectations of what Silverstone calls the "proper distance" between local journalists and their sponsors and sources. The general demand is that local news should stress its monitorial role, not a promotional one, even in small community contexts.


We develop and test a theory of the supply side of third-party conflict management. Building on Kydd's (2003) model of mediation, which shows that bias enhances mediator credibility, we offer three complementary mechanisms that may enable mediator credibility. First, democratic mediators face costs for deception in the conflict management process. Second, a vibrant global democratic community supports the norms of unbiased and nonviolent conflict management, again increasing the costs of deception for potential mediators. Third, as disputants' ties to international organizations increase, the mediator's costs for dishonesty in the conflict management process rise because these institutions provide more frequent and accurate information about the disputants' capabilities and resolve. These factors, along with sources of bias, increase the availability of credible mediators and their efforts to manage interstate conflicts. Empirical analyses of data on contentious issues from 1816 to 2001 lend mixed support for our arguments. Third-party conflict management occurs more frequently and is more successful if a potential mediator is a democracy, as the average global democracy level increases, and as the disputants' number of shared International Organization (IO) memberships rises. We also find that powerful states serve as mediators more often and are typically successful. Other factors such as trade ties, alliances, issue salience, and distance influence decisions to mediate and mediation success. Taken together, our study provides evidence in support of Kydd's bias argument while offering several mechanisms for unbiased mediators to become credible and successful mediators.


This article introduces "digital technography" as a methodology to interrogate and voice emerging digital technologies and their anticipated futures. I demonstrate, with reference to recent research on wearable self-tracking devices, digital food technologies, and platforms for work automation, how one can gain an understanding of these technologies by attending to the materials in which they are promoted; and actively engaging with them imaginatively and self-reflexively as a social scientist. This article outlines a digital technographic methodology centered around the three conceptual anchors of specification, valorization, and anticipation, all of which pertain to how a digital technology aims and perhaps even aspires to become a part of everyday life.


Purpose Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are relatively new devices that allow the user to inhale a heated and aerosolized solution. At present, little is known about their health effects in the human lung, particularly in the small airways (<2 mm in diameter), a key site of airway obstruction and destruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other acute and chronic lung conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of e-cigarettes on human distal airway inflammation and remodeling. Methods We isolated primary small airway epithelial cells from donor lungs without known lung disease. Small airway epithelial cells were cultured at air–liquid interface and exposed to 15 puffs vapor obtained by heating a commercially available e-cigarette solution (e-vapor) with or without nicotine. After 24 hrs of e-vapor exposure, basolateral and apical media as well as cell lysates were collected to measure the pleiotropic cytokine interleukin 6 (IL6) and MUC5AC, one of the major components in mucus. Results Unlike the nicotine-containing e-vapor, nicotine-free e-vapor significantly increased the amount of IL6, which was coupled with increased levels of intracellular MUC5AC protein. Importantly, a neutralizing IL6 antibody (vs an IgG isotype control) significantly inhibited the production of MUC5AC induced by nicotine-free e-vapor. Conclusion Our results suggest that human small airway epithelial cells exposed to nicotine-free e-vapor increase the inflammatory response and mucin production, which may contribute to distal lung airflow limitation and airway obstruction.


We give a detailed description of electrodynamics as an emergent theory from condensed-matter-like structures, not only per se but also as a warm-up for the study of the much more complex case of gravity. We concentrate on two scenarios that, although qualitatively different, share some important features with the idea of extracting the basic generic ingredients that give rise to emergent electrodynamics and, more generally, to gauge theories. We start with Maxwell's mechanical model for electrodynamics, where Maxwell's equations appear as dynamical consistency conditions. We next take a superfluid 3He-like system as representative of a broad class of fermionic quantum systems whose low-energy physics reproduces classical electrodynamics (Dirac and Maxwell equations as dynamical low-energy laws). An important lesson that can be derived from both analyses is that the vector potential has a microscopic physical reality and only in the low-energy regime is this physical reality blurred in favor of gauge invariance, which in addition turns out to be secondary to effective Lorentz invariance.


Exploring the similarities between the Future of Enterprise Technology trade fairs and the ITU AI for Food Summit, this chapter focuses on trade fairs as spaces of political performance. It explores how trade fairs do politics and what the implications of this are. The chapter begins by showing that trade fairs play a crucial role in generating and enshrining the legitimacy and authority of decentralized, distributed market orders that are in constant change. The trade fairs are rituals where a "tournament of values" is performed through which the hierarchies of this order are negotiated. This helps manage but also enshrine the uncertainties associated with decentralized governance. Second, as ritual performances more generally, trade fairs engage the sacred and magical and the affective and embodied to anchor order not only broadly but deeply and individually. Finally, the chapter discusses the quality of the ordering performed in trade fairs, suggesting that what is performed in the trade fair is a form of institutionalized liminality. However, and contrary to the hopes Victor Turner placed in institutionalized liminality, here it is far from progressive. It builds inegalitarian instability into our societies. Precisely because of this, tending to trade fairs is of fundamental import. The trade fair form has become pervasive in governance, including when it involves public institutions (as epitomized by the AI for Good Summit). Understanding trade fairs as ritual political performance at the core of neoliberalism is therefore a condition intervening politically and for realizing the urgency of imagining alternative forms of governing.


ABSTRACT Background: Cognitive reserve (CR) can prevent the risk of incident cognitive impairment in the elderly. However, the moderator effects of CR on the link between hearing difficulties (HDs) and the risk of incident cognitive impairment are not well understood. Methods: This cohort study obtained data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2008 to 2014. The baseline samples included 6309 participants aged 65 years and older at baseline. Cognitive impairment was assessed using the Chinese version of the Mini Mental State Examination. A composite measure of CR was calculated based on education, occupational complexity, and leisure activities of the participants. The marginal structural model was utilized to investigate whether CR moderates the association between HD and incident cognitive impairment. Odds ratios (ORs) and accompanying 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: Of the 6309 participants at baseline, 1936 (30.7%) developed cognitive impairment during the 6-year follow-up period and 2562 (40.6%) reported HD. The risk of incident cognitive impairment was 1.90-fold (95% CI 1.69–2.14) for participants developing HD compared to those without. Those with middle CR had lower OR (0.72, 95% CI 0.62–0.82) that further decreased to 0.58 (95% CI 0.49–0.69) for those with high CR. Participants with HD with low CR showed the highest OR (4.32, 95% CI 3.42–5.47). In addition, individuals with HD with low education levels or low complex occupations had the highest risk of incident cognitive impairment. Conclusions: CR moderates the negative association between HD and cognitive function. Education and occupation complexity may be more sensitive proxies for CR.


AbstractAim:To evaluate the contribution of an autophagic mechanism to the As2O3-induced death of human acute myeloid leukaemia cell line HL60 cells.Methods:The growth inhibition of HL60 cells induced by As2O3 was assessed with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. The activation of autophagy was determined with monodansylcadaverine labeling and transmission electron microscope. The role of autophagy in the As2O3-induced death of HL60 cells was assessed using autophagic and lysosomal inhibitors. Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and Western blot analysis were used to study the apoptotic and autophagic mechanisms.Results:After treatment with As2O3, the proliferation of HL60 cells was significantly inhibited and the formation of autophagosomes increased. The blockade of autophagy maturation with the autophagy-specific inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or the lysosome-neutralizing agent NH4Cl 1 h before As2O3 potentiated the As2O3-induced death of HL60 cells. In contrast, 3-MA attenuated As2O3-induced death when administered 30 min after As2O3. 3-MA and NH4Cl also inhibited As2O3-induced upregulation of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3, the protein required for autophagy in mammalian cells. Following As2O3, lysosomes were activated as indicated by increased levels of cathepsins B and L. The apoptotic response of HL60 cells to As2O3 was suggested by the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and the activation of caspase-3. Pretreatment with 3-MA prior to As2O3 amplified these apoptotic signals, while posttreatment with 3-MA 30 min after As2O3 attenuated the apoptotic pathways.Conclusion:Autophagy plays complex roles in the As2O3-induced death of HL60 cells; it inhibits As2O3-induced apoptosis in the initiation stage, but amplifies the As2O3-mediated apoptotic program if it is persistently activated.


Bovine practitioners are often presented with dystocias that require a cesarean section. Many practitioners perform this surgery using the same approach each time due to their comfort with one specific approach or lack of familiarity of other available options. The goal of this article is to explain the advantages, disadvantages, and indications for each of the different approaches to aid the practitioner in achieving better surgical success rate.


This dissertation examines organizational level outcomes within a whole network—the national network of fusion centers. Fusion centers are state and local organizations that fuse threat-related intelligence and information by working with federal, state, and local law enforcement as well as other security partners in the public and private sectors. This research will ask why outcomes at the fusion center level vary within the network by exploring unique configurations of conditions at multiple levels of analysis. The results of the research will present evidence that suggests whole network effectiveness cannot be fully comprehended without first examining sub-network level impacts, such as the training or experience of analysts, organizational capacities, and the roles of relationships between network actors. This line of inquiry has ramifications for interorganizational network theory building because it will demonstrate the individual importance of these factors, and how they interact with other factors at multiple levels within a network to influence outcomes. For practitioners in the domestic intelligence community this research will provide important insights and present paths taken by organizations in a national network to achieve a desired or undesired outcome.


One of the economic activity sectors that can be influenced by uncertain weather conditions is aquaculture production. In Lamongan, aquaculture production especially vannamei shrimp is very dependent on the ideal weather conditions. Uncertainty of the weather conditions can cause irregular harvesting to the production of vannamei shrimp. These trend changes can have an impact on the activities of production supply chain, namely the fulfillment of the entry quota of vannamei shrimp production from agents or distributors to exporters of vannamei shrimp to meet market demand. This marketing result can increase the original income of Lamongan area. To find out the development of the trend required a forecasting process and appropriate classification based on past data using artificial neural networks. One structure of artificial neural networks that can be predicting and classifying is a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). The structure of RBFNN is trained using K-means clustering and gradient descent method. We use average temperature, average humidity and rainfall each month starting from January 2013 until December 2017 as the actual datasets. From those datasets, the training datasets start from January 2013 until December 2016 and the remaining datasets are used as the testing datasets. Built in the Python program, the test results show that our forecasting and classification had an accuracy level with mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) 16.7%.


BACKGROUND
Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), is an early-onset inherited generalized epilepsy which displays genetic heterogeneity, with at least 10 known loci. Another neurogenetic disease, dentato-rubro-pallido-luysian atrophy (DRPLA) presents three clinical phenotypes, one of which in Japanese displays many similarities to JME.

AIM
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the DRPLA gene is associated with JME in Caucasians.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The CAG repeat polymorphism in the DRPLA gene, which is expanded in patients with DRPLA, was examined with polymerase chain reaction amplification in 107 individuals of Greek origin, including 24 patients with sporadic and 8 with familial JME, 25 healthy relatives and 50 healthy controls.

RESULTS
The repeat sizes of all studied individuals were within the normal range.

DISCUSSION
These results seem to exclude the DRPLA gene as a major candidate gene for JME in this European population.


Adenosine 5′‐triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) are key intracellular constituents involved in energy transfer and redox homeostasis in the cell. ATP is also released in the extracellular space and in the past half century it has been assumed to be the purinergic neurotransmitter in many systems including smooth muscle. In some smooth muscles (i.e., the human urinary bladder detrusor muscle), ATP does appear to be primarily released from nerves upon action potential firings, but in other smooth muscles (i.e., the human large intestine), ATP does not mimic the endogenous purine neurotransmitter. It was recently found that NAD+, another ubiquitous intracellular adenine nucleotide, also follows a regulated release in neurosecretory cells, vascular and visceral smooth muscles, and the brain. In some cases, NAD+ fulfills presynaptic and postsynaptic criteria for a neurotransmitter better than ATP. Therefore, the purine hypothesis of neural regulation in smooth muscle is in need of reevaluation. This article will briefly review the current understanding of neuronal and extraneuronal release of purines in smooth muscle with emphasis on the roles of extracellular ATP and NAD+ and, further, will discuss more recent information about the likely involvement of multiple purines in smooth muscle neurotransmission. © 2012 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 2012, IUBMB Life, 64(10):817–824, 2012


Both preclinical and epidemiology studies associate β-adrenoceptors-blockers (β-blockers) with activity against melanoma. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear, especially in acral melanoma. In this study, we explored the effect of propranolol, a non-selective β-blocker, on the A375 melanoma cell line, two primary acral melanoma cell lines (P-3, P-6) and mice xenografts. Cell viability assay demonstrated that 50μM-400μM of propranolol inhibited viability in a concentration and time dependent manner with an IC50 ranging from 65.33μM to 148.60μM for 24h −72h treatment, but propranolol (less than 200μM) had no effect on HaCaT cell line. Western blots showed 100μM propranolol significantly reduced the expression of Bcl-2 while increasing the expressions of Bax, cytochrome c, cleaved capase-9 and cleaved caspase-3, and down-regulated the levels of p-AKT, p-BRAF, p-MEK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 in melanoma cells, after a 24h incubation. The in vivo data confirmed the isolation results. Mice received daily ip. administration of propranolol at the dose of 2 mg/kg for 3 weeks and the control group was treated with the same volume of saline. The mean tumor volume at day 21 in A375 xenografts was 82.33 ± 3.75mm3vs. 2044.67 ± 54.57mm3 for the propranolol-treated mice and the control group, respectively, and 31.66 ± 4.67 mm3 vs. 1074.67 ± 32.17 mm3 for the P-3 xenografts. Propranolol also reduced Ki67, inhibited phosphorylation of AKT, BRAF, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 in xenografts. These are the first data to demonstrate that propranolol might inhibit melanoma by activating the intrinsic apoptosis pathway and inactivating the MAPK and AKT pathways.


Clinical quality systems are often managed independently of manufacturing and laboratory operations. This can result in a fractured view of each compliance area (GCP, GMP and GLP) and a failure to provide adequate oversight of an organization's overall compliance. Using FDA's six-system inspection model as a starting point, this article will discuss how to integrate the requirements of clinical quality systems with a GMP compliant quality program to provide a system for comprehensive quality oversight.


Breastfeeding is BESTfeeding. Do mothers really know? According to WHO, today, malnutrition is responsible, directly or indirectly for about one third of deaths among children under five. More than two thirds of these deaths are often associated with inappropriate feeding practices occurring during the first year of life. Breastfeeding, is an easy, basic and cost-effective way for a mother to feed her child. Breastfeeding decisions and practices are influenced by multiple factors including knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, as well as socio-cultural and physiological factors. Hence, there is an urgent need to find out the knowledge and attitude of women towards breastfeeding, why breastfeeding was discontinued and in turn educate women about the benefits of breastfeeding, so as to empower them and help them successfully breastfeed. This can tremendously improve the nutritional status of kids at the risk of malnutrition.


As part of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) 1999 Intensive Field Phase, measurements of aerosol properties were made on board the R/V Ronald H. Brown in the Indian Ocean north and south of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal. On the basis of air mass trajectories, eight air mass source regions were identified including the southern hemisphere Atlantic; southern hemisphere Indian Ocean; northern hemisphere Indian Ocean; east Indian subcontinent where trajectories came from near Calcutta, through the southern portion of India, and then to the ship; Indian subcontinent where trajectories came from across central India to the ship; Arabia; Arabia/Indian subcontinent, a mixed region where lower-level trajectories came from Arabia and upper-level trajectories came from India; and Arabian Sea/coastal India where trajectories came from along the coast of India to the ship. Properties of the aerosol measured in the marine boundary layer included chemical composition, number size distribution, and scattering and absorption coefficients. In addition, vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter and optical depth were measured. Presented here as a function of air mass source region are the concentrations and mass fractions of the dominant aerosol chemical components, the fraction of the extinction measured at the surface due to each component, mass extinction efficiencies of the individual components, aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients, single scattering albedo, Angstrom exponent, and optical depth. All results except aerosol optical depth are reported at the measurement relative humidity of 55 ± 5%. For air masses that originated from the two southern hemisphere marine regions (southern hemisphere Atlantic and Indian Ocean), sea salt dominated the extinction by sub-1 μm and sub-10 μm aerosol particles. The ratios of sub-1μm to sub-10 μm extinction were the lowest measured of all air mass source regions (mean values of 28 and 40%) due to the dominance of the aerosol mass by supermicron sea salt. In addition, aerosol optical depths were the lowest measured averaging 0.06 ± 0.03. Non-sea-salt (nss) sulfate aerosol concentrations in air masses from the northern hemisphere Indian Ocean were a factor of 6 higher than those in southern hemisphere air masses, while submicron sea-salt concentrations were comparable. Sulfate aerosol made up 40% of the sub-1μm extinction, while sea salt dominated the sub-10 μm extinction. Aerosol optical depths for this source region averaged 0.10 ± 0.03. A mean single scattering albedo near 0.89 and detectable black carbon (BC) concentrations (0.14 ± 0.05 μg m -3 ) indicated the transport of continentally derived aerosol to the ITCZ. The two regions influenced by low-level (500 m) airflow from Arabia had higher concentrations of submicron nss sulfate, particulate organic matter (POM), and inorganic oxidized material (IOM) than were observed in the marine regions. Concentrations of supermicron IOM were comparable to supermicron sea-salt concentrations. Nss sulfate aerosol dominated the sub-1 μm extinction and made significant contributions to the sub-10 μm extinction. Sea salt dominated the supermicron extinction. Mean BC contributions to submicron extinction were 8 and 12%. Single scattering albedo values averaged 0.93 ± 0.02 and 0.89 ± 0.02 for these two source regions.


Error tolerance is evolving into a new computing paradigm with further technology scaling, cost constraint, system scalability and emerging applications. Distinguished from defect tolerance and fault tolerance, error tolerance is based on application characteristics and relaxes the constraint of 100 percent functional correctness. From the viewpoint of error tolerance, this paper proposes a framework across multiple layers for fault criticality evaluation. Furthermore, taking an H.264/AVC decoder as an example, fault injection experiments demonstrate that for different functional modules, the faults in them bear different fault criticalities because of their unbalanced effects on applications, the faults in the same module also have diverse fault criticalities. The information that which faults are most critical can aid in test for yield and design for cost-effective fault tolerance. Error control techniques can be used to suppress error propagation and make more faults acceptable.


The discovery of graphene and its excellent properties inspired the search for more two-dimensional (2D) materials. Understanding the structures and properties of the smallest repeating units as well as crystal 2D materials is helpful for designing 2D materials. As germanium tends to form three-dimensional structures, the preparation of germanium-based 2D nanomaterials is still a challenge. Herein, we report a Ge3O3 cluster with the potential to construct a germanium oxide 2D nanostructure. We conduct a combined anion photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical study on Ge3O3-/0. The structure of Ge3O3- is a Cs symmetric nonplanar six-membered ring, while that of Ge3O3 is a D3h symmetric planar six-membered ring. Chemical bonding analyses reveal that Ge3O3 exhibits π aromaticity. First-principle results suggest that a buckled honeycomb 2D nanostructure with a wide band gap of 3.14 eV may be produced based on Ge3O3, which is promising in optoelectronic applications especially in blue, violet, and ultraviolet regions.


Gypsum from the wet
flue gas desulfurization system of the lignite fired thermal power plant Sostanj, Slovenia, can efficiently retain mercury (Hg), of which most is
contained in finer gypsum fractions, with concentrations above 10 kg-1.
The aim of this work was to identify and study the temperature stability of Hg
species in gypsum by a temperature fractionation (TF) method. A self-constructed
apparatus was used that consisted of an electrical furnace for controlled
heating up to 700°C, with a heating rate of 2.2°C·min-1, and an AAS detector
with Zeeman background correction. The pattern of Hg release during temperature
increase depends highly on the matrix/substrate in which it is contained. Based
on spiking gypsum with known Hg compounds we concluded that the largest
proportion of Hg in gypsum belongs to Hg-Cl and Hg-Br compounds appearing at
160°C to 200°C, followed by smaller amounts of HgO, HgS and Hg sulfates
appearing at 300°C and 450°C. Further development of methodology for
identifying Hg species would require identification of the decomposition
fragments of Hg and other compounds, complemented by a better understanding of
Hg reactivity at higher temperatures.


PURPOSE
While some patients presenting with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) benefit from curative therapies (transplantation, surgery, percutaneous ablation), others are only candidates for palliative options such as chemoembolization or symptomatic care. Although conventional external-beam radiotherapy of the liver is regarded as little efficient and potentially toxic in cirrhotic patients, 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (CRT), by decreasing the amount of normal liver included in the radiation portal, allows dose escalation to occur without increasing the risk of radiation-induced hepatitis. This trial was designed to assess the efficacy and tolerance of CRT for small-size HCC in cirrhotic patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Prospective phase II trial including stage A/B cirrhotic patients with small-size HCC not suitable for curative treatments; CRT consisted in a standard fractionation radiation, with a total dose of 66 Gy.

RESULTS
Twenty-seven patients were included, 15 of whom had previously been treated for HCC; mean age was 68. Among the 23 assessable patients, 18 (78%) presented with complete response, 3 (13%) with partial response, and 2 with no response. Acute complications occurred in 24 patients, and were mainly acceptable (grade 1/2: 22 patients, grade 3/4: 11 patients, 4 (15%) of whom had clinical and/or hematological toxicities). Only 2 (9%) grade 3/4 clinical and/or hematological late toxicities are reported.

CONCLUSION
CRT is a non-invasive curative technique highly suitable for small-size HCC in cirrhotic patients; further investigations are needed to compare it to the other available treatments, and to integrate it into the curative therapeutic algorithm of HCC.


This research analyses the dissemination of political and ideological content through the music graphics of selected bands associated with punk and post-punk. It concentrates on the anarcho-punk movement and the neo-fascist scene in the United Kingdom between 1978 and 2008. The aim is to show how music graphics were integral to the philosophy of politically engaged bands, and acted as systems of propaganda. The research further deconstructs these systems and reveals underlying narratives, intentions, tropes and visual codes.

The research presents three main novel contributions to scholarship and knowledge. The first is the creation and cataloguing of the most extensive archive to date of the material under analysis providing an instrumental resource for further research on the subject.

The second is the development of a methodology for analysing the dissemination of ideological and political content through graphic design objects in a subcultural context. This methodology allows for an exploration of the heretofore neglected area of the inter-relationship between dissemination of the message and specific graphic systems. The analysis is conducted through the use of multiple research methods, drawing upon qualitative research methodologies and the development of complementary methodologies devised for the field of graphic design. The focus is on the analysis of political camps and comparisons between them, noting points of commonality and divergence between dialogues of opposition within the common subcultural context.

The third contribution is the identification, analysis and interpretation of 'extreme' political music graphics produced by artists from the United Kingdom from 1978 to 2008. Covering an under-researched field and time span of subcultural movements that were critical for the punk subculture and the corresponding political groups, the analysis of the music graphics presents an insight into their political theory and strategies. This comparative work involved methodologies drawn from cultural studies, subcultural studies and historical studies, and can therefore be seen as a contribution to these fields as well as to that of graphic design studies.


We have performed zero-field muon spin relaxation measurements in single-crystalline samples of superconducting (SC) RbxFe2−ySe2 (Tc = 29 K) and non-SC RbxFe2−ySe2 in order to elucidate whether there is difference in the magnetic states between SC and non-SC systems. In the SC sample, no temperature dependence of the muon spin polarization was observed at temperatures below 40 K while a decrease in the spin polarization was observed in the non-SC sample with decreasing temperature. This suggests that a new magnetically ordered state seems to develop in the non-SC sample.


Diagnosis of copper toxicosis (CT) in Bedlington terriers by the quantitative and qualitative assessment of copper (Cu) in, and pathology of, biopsies has been largely superseded by a DNA-based assay which uses a microsatellite marker (C04107) linked to the CT disease allele. A retrospective study was conducted comprising 154 liver biopsies from Bedlington terriers with 22 matched DNA markers to compare the two methods in the diagnosis of CT. For the biopsy method, three categories (phenotypes) were identified based on analytical and morphological criteria: 'unaffected' in 83 samples (54 per cent), where Cu was much less than 400 microg/g, and there was an absence of visual Cu or liver damage; 'intermediate' in 18 samples (12 per cent), where Cu was less than 400 microg/g, and there was limited histochemical Cu and no/equivocal damage; and 'affected' in 53 samples (34 per cent), where Cu was greater than 400 microg/g, there was histochemical Cu and liver damage was poorly related to Cu content. In the DNA assay, which was used alone on unrelated individuals, the microsatellite marker failed to identify the CT status of any of the groups. Liver biopsy remains a reliable indicator of Cu accumulation and progressive liver disease in individual dogs. The microsatellite marker C04107 has a predictive value only when supported by a pedigree.


Objective: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is characterized by a clinical and radiological entity with rapid onset of seizures, headache, altered consciousness and visual disturbance with neuroimaging findings of reversible vasogenic subcortical edema. It is postulated to have a pathogenesis similar to hypertensive encephalopathy, although correlation with elevated blood pressure has not been demonstrated in chronic kidney disease(CKD). Design and Method: Our goal was to describe the clinical features, triggering factors, neuro-imaging findings in a cohort with CKD. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 22 patients with the diagnosis of PRES between January 2005 and December 2015 at the Inha University Hospital, Korea. Results: There were 22 PRES patients with CKD. The most common co-morbid conditions is on maintenance dialysis in 63% (14/22). The most common clinical presentation was generalized tonic-clonic seizures. The most common identified trigger of PRES was on-going uncontrolled hypertension(> 200/120 mmHg) in 86% (19/22) on seizure; 77%(17/22) patients had estimated glomerular filtration rate under 15ml/min/1.73m2; 50% (9/18) had left ventricular hypertrophy. Two of the 22 patients had recurrent PRES episodes, three episodes each. Atypical brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were more prevalent in the imaged cases (62% vs 25%, P < 0.05). All the brain computerized tomography (CT) scans were normal, despite the positive MRI findings in seven cases when both types of imaging was used. All the episodes had total clinical resolution with anticonvulsants and rapid control of blood pressure with addition of intravenous antihypertensive drugs. Conclusions: Despite the diverse initial trigger factors of PRES, uncontolled hypertension seems to be the common pathogenic pathway for PRES in CKD. For prevention of PRES in CKD patients, more intensive antihypertensive drugs should be prescribed if blood pressure is not under control.c


Although installing offshore pipelines by reel-laying method is eases and cost-effective, still conceal some of plastic deformation into the pipeline which may, in combination with ageing, affect strength and ductility of the pipe material. Therefore, reeling pipelines that internally pressurized is addressed in this study sifting parametrically pipelines stiffness to prevent the ovalization and bifurcation produces during spooling of (initially straight) or laying of (initially bent) pipe. A combination of composite materials is examined and number of bending cases at the limit of ovalization and bifurcation is investigated. It is demonstrated that composite pipeline exhibit more bending stability than Steel. Results on the strain energy release in the reel lay system are presented, extending the findings of previous works on the methods of spooling and laying mechanism.


Growth in the Li-ion battery market continues to accelerate, driven primarily by the increasing need for economic energy storage for electric vehicles. Electrode manufacture by slurry casting is the first main step in cell production but much of the manufacturing optimisation is based on trial and error, know-how and individual expertise. Advancing manufacturing science that underpins Li-ion battery electrode production is critical to adding to the electrode manufacturing value chain. Overcoming the current barriers in electrode manufacturing requires advances in materials, manufacturing technology, in-line process metrology and data analytics, and can enable improvements in cell performance, quality, safety and process sustainability. In this roadmap we explore the research opportunities to improve each stage of the electrode manufacturing process, from materials synthesis through to electrode calendering. We highlight the role of new process technology, such as dry processing, and advanced electrode design supported through electrode level, physics-based modelling. Progress in data driven models of electrode manufacturing processes is also considered. We conclude there is a growing need for innovations in process metrology to aid fundamental understanding and to enable feedback control, an opportunity for electrode design to reduce trial and error, and an urgent imperative to improve the sustainability of manufacture.


Many recently established small game reserves in southern Africa have introduced lion, and have had to actively manage their populations as the lion are in relatively small(<1000 km²), enclosed areas. This study was undertaken on the Greater Makalali Conservancy (140 km²), Limpopo Province, South Africa to describe population demography and lion movement patterns in order to enhance management decisions. A pride of five lion were introduced to Makalali in December 1994 and since then 35 cubs have been born (11.6 % population growth per year over 7.5 years), 31 of which have been translocated to other reserves. To increase genetic diversity, the two male coalition was removed in May 1999 and another two males introduced during July 1999. During the study, the reserve area was increased by approximately 23 %. Although the Makalali lion utilised a smaller home range during winter (75.3 km²) than summer (106.8 km²), this difference was not significant. The core ranges also shifted between seasons, with 46 % of the summer core being utilised during winter. When the new males were introduced, they centred their core range near their release boma. The females also shifted their core range to this region after their young male cubs were moved into the boma. After the Makalali area was increased, the lion increased their home range area, while their core range became reduced and more dispersed. There was no significant difference in the distances the lion moved in a 24 hour period between the two seasons, or before and after the two management actions. The Makalali lion also spent more time than expected in low open woodland and grassland habitats and less than expected in low thickets. We conclude that lion populations can successfully exist within small reserves (<100km²) and that actions to manage the population can be successful if certain criteria are considered.


Aim: We analyze stock market reactions to merger and acquisition announcements for firms in Europe and contribute to the literature by providing empirical evidence how the decisions with respect to alternative financing sources (equity or debt) and the methods of payment (cash or stock) affect the magnitude of the valuation effects.

Research design: An event study methodology is applied to 717 M&A transactions. We analyze the size of the cumulative abnormal returns using the financing sources and payment methods and other variables as the relevant determinants.

Findings: The cumulative abnormal results suggest that target shareholders and bidder shareholders in private deals benefit from mergers and acquisitions. The effect found is centered around the announcement date, making our findings consistent with market efficiency. Debt financed deals outperform equity financed deals and cash paid M&A outperform stock paid M&As, due to information asymmetry, signaling and agency effects.

Originality: This study adds to our understanding of the relevance of the financing sources and the payment methods for mergers and acquisitions in Europe.

Implications: This study may help practitioners to better assess the valuation effects of alternative financing sources and payment methods when acquiring other firms.

JEL: G32, G34


This study on the Influence Job Satisfaction and Job Motivation on Employee Performance with Organizational Commitment as an Intervening Variable (Study of Employee outsourcing PT J placed Tarumanagara University. Population in this study all employees  outsourcing PT  J, with sampling techniques is purposive random sampling, and samples taken 50 employees. Purpose of the study is to examine and analyze the effect of job satisfaction and motivation on employee performance. Analysis is the method of multiple regression analysis and test assumptions, and validity testing is also done and reliability with the help of SPSS (Statistical Program for Society Science) versus 16:00. analysis showed that the presence of a significant positive effect between satisfaction and job motivation on organizational commitment, with a significance of 0.000 <0.05, and R Square value 0.308, meaning 30.80% of organizational commitment is influenced by the level of job satisfaction and motivation. while other  results indicate that the presence of a significant positive effect between job satisfaction and motivation and organizational commitment to employee performance, with a significance of 0.000 <0.05, and R Square value 0.732 performance of 73.2% means employees outsourcing is influenced by the level of satisfaction, motivation, and organizational  commitment.Keywords: job satisfaction, job motivation, employee performance, organizational commitment, hypotheses testing, multiple regression.


Background Disease burden is the impact of a health problem on a given area, which can be used to prioritize actions in health, assess performance of healthcare and disease management, identify high-risk populations, and set research priorities. Disease burden can be measured using a variety of indicators such as mortality, morbidity or financial cost. For SLE, despite a relatively good 10 year survival (95%, vs 97% in controls), its mortality rate remains high relative to general population mortality rate as shown in our analysis of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)'s mortality database comprising of 62,843 SLE deaths. However, mortality rates may not adequately measure SLE burden, because among those who died, a fifth of patients died before reaching 40 years of age. Premature mortality, a measure of burden first proposed in 1940s to address the inadequacy of mortality in measuring the burden of tuberculosis, is an important way to quantify disease burden. In constructing a measure of premature death, an arbitrary limit to life is chosen, and the calculation of the difference between an age at death and this arbitrary limit is defined as the life lost as a result of that death. To assess the relative burden of SLE, we measured the years of potential life lost (YPLL) for SLE relative to CDC's top 15 leading causes of death. Methods This is a population-based study. Death counts were obtained from the CDC-WONDER database. Number of deaths were tabulated for top 15 CDC's leading causes-of-death and SLE. To calculate YPLL, each decedent's age at death from a specific disease was subtracted from a predetermined age of 75 years. The years of potential life lost were then added together to yield the total YPLL. Results 28 411 female SLE deaths were recorded during 2000–2015. The ranking of SLE deaths relative to the CDC's official leading-causes-of-death ranklist in females showed that SLE is within the top 15 leading causes-of-death in reproductive age women (15–44 years) and tenth among women ages 15–24 years. We calculated YPLL for SLE relative to the CDC's official 15 leading causes-of-death in women ages 15–44 and 15–24. YPLL for SLE ranked 14th in women ages 15–44, and 8th in women ages 15–24, above diabetes mellitus, HIV disease, septicemia, chronic lower respiratory disease, anemias, nephritis, and cerebrovascular disease. Conclusions SLE is among the leading cause of YPLL in young women, underscoring SLE as an important public health issue.


Various investigations have explored the uses and impacts of new media technology. Particularly after the introduction of internet, the global village has undergone multiple changes. Initially the researchers conducted studies to find out the uses of internet but gradually the scholars shifted their interest in the domain of Social Networking Sites (SNS). This trend is still in progress and the researchers are deeply concerned with the uses of SNS among youth. This study also intends to find out the uses of SNS (Facebook is selected for this current exploration) among women. Facebook is usually considered as an interactive, time wasting and communicative activity for youth. With male, the female use of Facebook is visibly growing rapidly in Pakistan. In Pakistan where combined gathering of different genders is not appreciated, in this situation SNS have removed their barriers. The specific objective of this study is to measure the time spent on Facebook, mostly the activities in which they are involved and needs which they gratify through the use of Facebook. Students of Fatima Jinnah Women University and International Islamic University (Female Campus) were participants of the study. Like previous investigations, the present study found out that women use Facebook for interaction, communication, pastime, socialization, visual sharing and escapism. One growing factor ie for the development of romantic relations and searching and contacting unknown people is also considerably important according to Pakistani culture. In short, the findings of the present study are consistent with the Uses and Gratification investigations that women in Pakistan also use Facebook to gratify their social integrative needs mostly.


New spectrofluorimetric methods are presented for the rapid and selective determination of pitavastatin calcium (PIT) in the presence of its hydrolytic degradation products and the co-formulated drug ezetimibe (EZE). In the first method (method A), PIT was determined in the presence of its hydrolytic degradation products by measuring the first derivative (1D) of its enhanced native fluorescence using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an anionic micelle enhancer at a pH of 4.1, which was adjusted using Britton–Robinson buffer in aqueous media. PIT was subjected to stress conditions of 5 M hydrochloric acid and 5 M sodium hydroxide. The 1D peak amplitude was measured at a λem of 415 nm using a λex of 252 nm. The effect of different surfactants on the fluorescence of PIT was studied; the quantum yield of PIT was in the following order: SDS (0.30) > cetrimide (0.23) > Tween (0.02). A second method (method B) was developed for the simultaneous determination of PIT and the co-formulated drug EZE in the presence of degradation products of PIT. This method utilized synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) in an acetonitrile medium. The wavelengths that were used were λex = 260 nm and λem = 330 and 272 nm for PIT and EZE, respectively, using Δλ = 40 nm. Validation of the proposed methods was performed according to the ICH guidelines. The methods were employed for the determination of PIT (methods A and B) and EZE (method B) in bulk powder, pharmaceutical preparations of co-formulated drug substances and laboratory-prepared mixtures containing hydrolytic degradation products of PIT. Statistical analysis proved that the investigated assays were excellent. It was concluded that method A was inexpensive and environmentally friendly.


In response to ligand binding and activating mutations, the lutropin receptor undergoes a conformational change to trigger a cellular response. D556 is the most common locus for naturally occurring activating mutations of the lutropin receptor, and a D556A mutant is shown to be constitutively active. A water-mediated proton transfer is postulated as part of the transmembrane signaling mechanism. Using energy minimization and ab initio calculations, a hydrogen bonding network involving a highly constrained water molecule(s) and D556 (helix 6) and N593/N597/Y601 (helix 7) is presented.


In multirate wireless networks, interference between higher and lower data rate links is a notorious factor against performance improvement. We include the interference calculation to derive useful properties in achieving the maximum network throughput, and develop a linear-time channel assignment algorithm accordingly. Through extensive simulations, we show that the proposed algorithm much improves the network throughput.


ABSTRACT Heterosexual transmission of a murine leukemia virus mixture named LP-BM5 MuLV, which is known as the murine AIDS virus, was investigated. Our results indicated that the heterosexual transmission of LP-BM5 MuLV occurs in both directions with high frequency and that the frequencies of virus transmission in the cervix and penis are higher than those in other genital organs. The results suggested that infection by LP-BM5 MuLV via heterosexual transmission may initially take place at particular retrovirus-sensitive sites (cells) in the genital organs.


Testing automation tools enable developers and/or testers to easily automate the entire process of testing in software development. Nevertheless, adopting automated testing is not easy and unsuccessful due to a lack of key information and skills. In order to help solve such problems, we have designed a new framework to support a clear overview of the test design and/or plan for automating tests in distributed environments. Those that are new to testing do not need to delve into complex automation tools or test scripts. This framework allows a programmer or tester to graphically specify the granularity of execution control and aids communication between various stakeholders and software developers. It also enables them to perform the automated Continuous Integration environment. In this paper, we describe details on experiences and usage of the proposed framework.


The hallmark of a Convention refugee is her inability or unwillingness to return home due to a "well-founded fear of being persecuted." Not all forced migrants qualify as refugees in law: only those who face a genuine risk of being persecuted for a Convention reason in their own country are entitled to the rights set out in the Convention. The scope and meaning of the "being persecuted" inquiry – which includes both identification of a relevant serious harm and a concomitant failure of state protection – will be discussed in Chapters 3 and 4, while this chapter addresses the notion of well-founded fear. It is generally asserted that "well-founded fear" entails two requirements. The first criterion is that the person seeking recognition of refugee status perceive herself to stand in "terror of persecution"; her very personal response to the prospect of return to her home country must be an extreme form of anxiety that is neither feigned nor overstated. Second, this subjective perception of risk must be consistent with available information on conditions in the state of origin, as only those persons whose fear is reasonable can be said to stand in need of international protection. Thus, for example, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ("UNHCR") opines:
 To the element of fear – a state of mind and a subjective condition – is added the qualification "well-founded." This implies that it is not only the frame of mind of the person concerned that determines his refugee status, but that this frame of mind must be supported by an objective situation. The term "well-founded fear" therefore contains a subjective and an objective element.


Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells overexpress the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Nuclear EGFR (nEGFR) drives resistance to anti-EGFR therapy and is correlated with poor survival in breast cancer. Inhibition of EGFR nuclear translocation may be a reasonable approach for the treatment of TNBC. The anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine have been shown to promote an anticancer effect. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of chloroquine- and primaquine-induced apoptosis of breast cancer cells. We showed that primaquine, a malaria drug, inhibits the growth, migration, and colony formation of breast cancer cells in vitro, and inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Primaquine induces damage to early endosomes and inhibits the nuclear translocation of EGFR. Primaquine inhibits the interaction of Stat3 and nEGFR and reduces the transcript and protein levels of c-Myc. Moreover, primaquine and chloroquine induce the apoptosis of breast cancer cells through c-Myc/Bcl-2 downregulation, induce early endosome damage and reduce nEGFR levels, and induce apoptosis in breast cancer through nEGFR/Stat3-dependent c-Myc downregulation. Our study of primaquine and chloroquine provides a rationale for targeting EGFR signaling components in the treatment of breast cancer.


The use of Surgicel, a local haemostatic absorbable gauze, is usually spread in surgery. The author reports a clinical case of face lift where the use of Surgicel 2, a more concentrated Surgicel, left under a precarious vascularized cutaneous flap led to a skin slough. He concludes that the full-thickness cutaneous necrosis is bound both to the chemical action of the soluble component (uronic acid) of Surgicel and above all to the "screen-effect" with the nourishing basement. Consequently, the Surgicel should be removed once the haemostasis obtained.


A unified set of parameters and dynamic equations have been developed to describe the time-dependent surface voltage and currents measured for a broad range of electron transport experiments conducted in parallel plate geometry with a dielectric slab above a grounded electrode and with either a floating or fixed voltage upper surface. The framework can model measurements of constant voltage, time-of-flight and AC conductivity; radiation induced conductivity; surface voltage accumulation and decay; electrostatic discharge; electron emission and electron-induced luminescence. The broad applications of the theoretical framework are outlined in terms a comprehensive classification of the ways in which charge is injected into or excited within a material; these classifications include surface deposition, bulk deposition and penetrating radiation for pulsed, stepped and periodic applied voltages/charge from either surface electrodes or electron beams. A set of equations are developed to model evolving electron transport and related phenomena in highly disordered insulating materials over large ranges of time, electric field, temperature, absorbed dose, and adsorbed dose rate. These analytic equations derived from physics-based theories predict the equilibrium and time-dependent accumulation, dissipation and transport of charge carriers; these basic equations are (i) Gauss' law, (ii) a 1D electron continuity equation with Ohm's law and source terms, (iii) a 1D continuity equation for holes with source terms, and (iv) the sum of currents due to various conduction mechanisms (including contributions from drift, diffusion, dispersion, polarization, and radiation-induced processes). The total conductivity is modeled as the sum of contributions from three independent conductivity mechanisms: thermally activated hopping, variable range hopping, and radiation-induced conductivity using a concise, unified set of independent fitting parameters. At a microscopic level, modeling and understanding these conduction mechanisms in disordered insulating materials is fundamentally based on a detailed knowledge of the distribution and occupation of the density of states (DOS) of nearly-free and trapped charged carriers. The conduction is controlled by transitions between extended valence and conduction band states, between localized trap states and the extended valence and conduction band states, and hopping between localized states; constant, linear, power law, exponential and Gaussian localized DOS are considered. By analyzing the observed temperature, field, dose rate and time dependent conductivities that result from both extended and localized trap state conduction, this theoretical framework provides new insight into the role of the localized trap state DOS in myriad ground-based materials testing methods.


Esophageal cancer (EC), as one of the leading causes of cancer‐associated mortality, influences a remarkable population of subjects globally and is histologically divided into two types, comprising esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Although several therapeutic approaches are present for EC, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, these options have low success with serious side effects, for example, gastrointestinal toxicity, esophagitis, and pulmonary complications. Thus, utilizing an effective tool with low side effects is urgent. Newly, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have received special interest for treating diverse diseases, such as cancer. Among different sources of MSCs, human umbilical cord MSCs have notable benefits, and reports expressed that they may be effective in EC treatment. For this purpose, in this review study, we aimed to summarize evidence regarding the effects of human umbilical cord MSCs on EC with a mechanistic insight.


The coinage of Pompey the Great's sons has long attracted the attention of numismatists and historians trying to reconstruct a detailed chronology of their activities. One of the problems examined was the location of the places they minted coins. This article tries to indicate the possible locations of mints producing Gnaeus' and Sextus' bronze coinage (RRC 471, RRC 478, RRC 479) based on the analysis of the die axes of 794 coins and attempts to interpret the results based on local traditions regarding this aspect of coin morphology. The results show that RRC 471 was most likely minted in Corduba. The unusual die alignment of the RRC 478 indicates that it may have been minted not in Spain or Sicily, but in Achaia or Bithynia. It is, however, difficult to reconcile this with the geographical distribution of the finds that points to Sicily. Nonetheless we should probably move dating of this type until after the signing of the Treaty of Misenum in 39 BC. The die axes of the RRC 479 is consistent with traditions of most Sicilian mints. The exception to this is one of the series whose different rotation pattern indicates production in one of only two Sicilian mints (Panormos or Centuripae) or one of the several South Italian cities (most probably Rhegion).


The synthesis of a doxorubicin-formaldehyde conjugate bound to the nonsteroidal anti-androgen cyanonilutamide, via a cleavable tether, and binding of the construct to cell free androgen receptor (AR) as a function of tether design were previously reported. Cyanonilutamide bearing a linear alkyne tether bound to the AR better than other designs. Fluorescence microscopy studies of binding of the lead targeted drug, as well as various tethered cyanonilutamides, to the AR and subsequent trafficking of the resulting AR complex in live PC3 prostate cancer cells transfected with AR-green fluorescent protein (GFP) chimera are now described. Cyanonilutamide and cyanonilutamide bonded to a linear alkyne tether caused translocation of AR-GFP to the nucleus. In general, the ability of tethered cyanonilutamides to cause translocation paralleled their binding affinity for the AR. However, a noncleavable form of the lead cyanonilutamide-doxorubicin-formaldehyde conjugate bound to AR-GFP but the resulting complex did not translocate to the nucleus. Binding was apparent from the drugs inhibition of Mibolerone-induced translocation. Direct observation of anthraquinone fluorescence of targeted drug in PC3 cells showed initial cytosolic localization, independent of AR expression, with predominant nuclear localization after sufficient time for release of drug from the targeting moiety. The results indicate that doxorubicin-formaldehyde conjugate bonded to cyanonilutamide via a cleavable linear tether enters PC3 cells, resides in cytosol, binds to the AR if present, and ultimately releases doxorubicin or a doxorubicin derivative to the nucleus.


Background. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for ∼13% of lung cancers and frequently presents as disseminated or extensive disease. SCLC is a highly proliferative disease, with a median survival of 12-20 months with therapy, and whilst SCLC is initially chemo-sensitive relapse of chemo-resistant disease is rapid and fatal, highlighting the requirement for improved therapeutic options. Monocarboxylate transporters (MCT) such as MCT1 and 4 allow the proton-linked diffusion of monocarboxylates across cellular membranes. A number of these molecules are involved in cellular metabolism including lactate which is elevated in cancer cells that rely on glycolysis for ATP production. Reliance on glycolysis is linked to a number of factors, including Myc overexpression, rapid proliferation and a hypoxic microenvironment within the tumour, all common in SCLC. Therefore we hypothesize that SCLC cells produce high levels of lactate and will be sensitive to the MCT1 inhibitor AZD3965 and that MCT4 expression will predict for AZD3965 resistance. Results. There are a wide range of responses across the panel of cell lines including sensitivity to AZD3965 under both normoxia and hypoxia, under hypoxia only and no response to AZD3965 in either environment. Cells responding to AZD3965 had a significantly increased concentration of intracellular lactate after AZD3965 treatment whilst the lactate concentration was not elevated in AZD3965-resistant cell lines. AZD3965-sensitive cells tended to express MCT1 but not MCT4, whilst AZD3965-resistant cell lines expressed relatively high levels of MCT4. Knockdown of MCT4 in the AZD3965-resistant cell line DMS79, which overexpress MCT4, led to increased retention of intracellular lactate and sensitised these cells to MCT1 inhibition. Conversely, overexpression of MCT4 in the AZD3965-sensitive cell line NCI-H1048 resulted in a decrease in intracellular lactate and increased resistance to MCT1 inhibition. Additionally we have shown that MCT1 is frequently expressed at high levels in SCLC patient tumour samples, suggesting MCT1 is a bona fide drug target for SCLC, and that MCT4 is also expressed in a subset of tumours. Conclusions. MCT1 may represent a useful therapeutic target in the treatment of SCLC patients, however there is significant variability in response emphasising the requirement of a predictive biomarker. Our preclinical data show that MCT1 and MCT4 expression could represent such biomarkers. Additionally we suggest that monitoring of lactate levels could serve as a pharmacodynamic biomarker of MCT1 inhibition. Citation Format: Radoslaw Polanski, Cassandra L. Hodgkinson, Daisuke Nonaka, Lynsey Priest, Paul D. Smith, Fiona Blackhall, Christopher J. Morrow, Caroline Dive. Inhibition of monocarboxylate transporter 1 as a therapeutic strategy in small cell lung cancer: target validation studies using the MCT1 inhibitor AZD3965. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5434. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5434


Emerging applications of commercial mobile satellite communications include satellite delivery of compact disc (CD) quality radio to car drivers who can select their favorite programming as they drive any distance; transmission of current air traffic data to aircraft; and handheld communication of data and images from any remote corner of the world. Experiments with the enabling technologies and tests and demonstrations of these concepts are being conducted before the first satellite is launched by utilizing an existing NASA spacecraft.


This paper presents a new approach with muller method for solving profit based unit commitment (PBUC). In Deregulated environment, the generation companies (GENCOs) schedule their generators to maximize their profit rather than satisfying the power demand. The PBUC problem is solved by the proposed approach in two stages. Initially, the information of committed units is obtained by a simple approach and finally non linear programming sub problem of economic dispatch is solved by Muller method. The proposed approach has been tested on a power system with 3 and 10 generating units. Simulation results of the proposed approach have been compared with existing methods and also with traditional unit commitment. It is observed from the simulation results that the proposed algorithm provides maximum profit with less computational time compared to existing methods.


The ORBCOMM digital data communication and position determination system can provide the US Armed Forces with two-way on-the-move data messaging anywhere in the world. The ORBCOMM system uses a constellation of small spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) instead of terrestrial fixed site relays or repeaters to provide worldwide geographic coverage. The user terminals are inexpensive ($450 retail) light-weight and pocket-sized. They transmit and receive short digital burst packets, with inherent LPI/LPD. The ORBCOMM Capabilities Demonstration Satellite is currently in orbit and is available now to the US Armed Forces for test purposes. The first two operational satellites were to be launched late in 1993 and ready for US Armed Forces Beta tests in early 1994.<<ETX>>


Background:Increasing literature data suggest that cranioplasty at early stage of skull defects may lead to better rehabilitation outcome. This study was conducted to explore the relationship between the timing of cranioplasty and neurological rehabilitation in patients with traumatic skull injury (TSI). Methods:A total of 77 patients were admitted as a result of TSI, assessed on rehabilitation measures, and grouped by the intervals between skull injury and cranioplasty. All patients underwent cranioplasty between 20 and 500 days after TSI. Neurological function and general wellbeing of the patients before and after cranioplasty were assessed as per National Institute of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scales, respectively. Results:Cranioplasty led to significant improvement in functioning, with all the patients demonstrating clinically meaningful gains. There were approximately 80%, 50%, and 20% reduction in postcranioplasty NIHSS in patients who underwent cranioplasty within 90 days (group 1, P<0.01), 90 to 180 days (group 2, P<0.05), and beyond 180 days (group 3, P<0.05) after TSI, respectively. The postcranioplasty KPS scores significantly improved in all the patients compared with those before cranioplasty (P<0.05). The KPS improvement rate was significantly higher in group 1 compared with those in groups 2 and 3 (P<0.05), with no difference between groups 2 and 3. A reciprocal relationship between the intervals from TSI to cranioplasty and the KPS improvement rate was observed. Conclusions:Cranioplasty improved neurological rehabilitation and general wellbeing in patients with TSI, with the optimal surgical time no more than 90 days after skull injuries.


A bacterium, capable of growing aerobically with caffeine as its sole source of carbon and nitrogen, was isolated from soil and identified as Pseudomonas putida sp. The breakdown of caffeine begins with stepwise demethylation, which leads via various N-methyl-purines to xanthine each step yielding formaldehyde. Xanthine is then broken down via uric acid, allantoin, allantoic acid and further intermediates to urea and glyoxylic acid, which serves as the actual source of carbon.


BACKGROUND
Interleukin (IL)-18 in synergy with IL-12 is critical in the initiation and progression of Th-1-type responses. IL-18 and IL12 elevation has been associated with atherosclerosis, and their interaction is hypothesized to partly be driven by glucose. We aimed to explore if simultaneous elevation of IL-18 and IL-12, as related to glucose levels, would influence the prognosis in coronary artery disease (CAD).

METHOD
Patients (n = 1001) with angiographically verified stable CAD were investigated (78% men, mean age 62 years, 20% current smokers). IL-18 and IL-12 were measured by conventional ELISA methods. High fasting glucose (FG) was defined as the 75 percentile, that is, >6.2 mmol/L.

RESULTS
After 2-year follow-up, 100 cardiovascular endpoints (fatal and nonfatal acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, and stroke) were recorded. Subjects with simultaneous (not separate) levels in upper tertiles of both markers were at higher risk of cardiovascular events, compared to subjects in lowest tertile of both (odds ratio = 1.70, 95% confidence interval 1.11-2.61, adjusted P = 0.016), with no influence of high FG. Hyperglycemia associated with higher IL-18 levels (adjusted P = 0.009) and IL-12 levels was considerably lower in current smokers (adjusted P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
Simultaneous elevated circulating levels of IL-18 and IL-12 increased the event rate after 2 years in CAD patients, independent of hyperglycemia.


In this paper, based on instances in substation, the common problems in the management of capacitor bank were analyzed. Moreover, the standard painting method of capacitor bank, the operation procedures and the safety measures of capacitor bank in substation was discussed. The solution to address these problems was proposed, which could provide a theoretical basis for the capacitor bank maintenance and the painting of electric primary system diagram in substation.


Objectives: The objectives of this investigation were to investigate the effectiveness and longevity of an oral rinse product containing 0.10% (w/v) of the chlorine dioxide precursor sodium chlorite (1) on oral malodor in participants throughout a 12 h daylight diurnal cycle. Materials and methods: Thirty healthy participants (17 male, 13 female) were recruited to the study. Volatile sulfur compound levels (VSCs: H2S, CH3SH and (CH3)2S) were simultaneously monitored in their oral cavity air samples both before (0 h) and at 0.33, 4, 8 and 12 h after using the above oral rinse, or water as a negative control (participants refrained from oral hygiene measures during this 12 h period). The experimental design for this cross-over investigation was a mixed model ANOVA-based system incorporating treatments, sampling time-points and participants, together with their first-order interactions, as components of variance. Results: Results acquired demonstrated that the oral rinse formulation effectively suppressed VSC production in the oral environment for 12 h periods (p<0.0001, 0.0001 and 0.002 for H2S, CH3SH and (CH3)2S respectively). Mean 0 vs 12 h reductions in oral cavity H2S and CH3SH concentrations were much greater than those observed for the H2O negative control (p<10 -8), but not so for (CH3)2S. Principal component analysis (PCA) a H2S/CH3SH linear combination and (CH3)2S alone significantly loaded on the first and second separate orthogonal components respectively, an observation confirming differing sources for these variable sets. Conclusions: The oral rinse explored effectively blocked VSC production in the oral cavity for a period of 12 h. This extended efficacy duration is likely to be ascribable to the ability of its active ClO2 ingredient to exert a combination of biochemical (direct VSCand amino acid VSC precursor-consuming) and microbicidal actions in vivo. Clinical relevance: The 12 h longevity of product's# oral malodor-neutralizing actions is of much clinical significance in view of the involvements of VSCs, particularly CH3SH, in the pathogenesis of gingivitis and periodontitis. #UltradexTM oral rinse, Venture Life Group plc, UK


Action observation therapy (AOT) is a developing neurorehabilitative tool, which is based on the existence of the mirror neuron system (MNS). This neural network involves motor regions, and its main feature is that it is activated not only during the execution of an action, but also during the observation of the same action. Bearing in mind this "dual" activation, the AOT proposes that motor symptoms of different neurological disorders can improve with the observation and imitation of different actions. While several studies have shown the benefits of this therapy, others have been less favorable indicating a lack of clarity in the field. The present study focuses on previously undiscussed aspects regarding this therapy: from the kind of actions used in the therapy to the scales that should be used to measure the results of AOT. Differences and similarities between virtual reality-based therapies and AOT are also discussed. The considerations made here about all such aspects may be useful for future studies and possible applications of AOT.


The growth process of Cu polycrystal films on Si, Ti, W and Ru substrate during isothermal annealing was studied by the molecular dynamics method. We focused on the influence of the adhesion strength between substrate and Cu on crystallinity and orientational order of the film. After structural relaxation at low temperature (50 K), the movements of individual Cu atoms were calculated for different annealing temperatures using the molecular dynamics method. The crystallinity and orientational order of the film were examined by 2D-Fourier transformation of the atomic structure. We found that the system with strong adhesion strength between substrate and Cu showed higher crystallinity and orientational order for (111) oriented Cu film.


According to popular belief, Charles II of England (reigned 1660-1685) once heard a prophecy that if ravens left the Tower of London it would "fall," so he ordered that the wings of seven ravens in the Tower be trimmed. Until recently, this claim was not challenged even in scholarly literature. There are, however, no allusions to the Tower Ravens before the end of the nineteenth century. The ravens, today meticulously cared for by Yeoman Warders, are largely an invented tradition, designed to give an impression of continuity with the past. This article examines the few known references, both graphic and textual, to the Tower Ravens through 1906. It concludes that the ravens were originally brought in to dramatize the alleged site of executions at the Tower. Although not accorded great significance at first, legends that would eventually make the ravens mascots of Britain began outside of the Tower.


The Veterans Administration (VA) proposes to implement legislation which provides a privilege and confidentiality regarding certain records and documents relating to the Veterans Administration Medical Quality Assurance Program. Health Services Review Organization--Systematic Internal Review and Systematic External Review Program (HSRO-SIR and SERP) has been the VA's Medical Quality Assurance Program since 1975. The legislation requires that the Administrator prescribe regulations to carry out this legislation after October 7, 1980.


Many species execute ballistic escape reactions to avoid imminent danger. Despite fast reaction times, responses are often highly regulated, reflecting a trade-off between costly motor actions and perceived threat level. However, how sensory cues are integrated within premotor escape circuits remains poorly understood. Here we show that in zebrafish, less precipitous threats elicit a delayed escape, characterized by flexible trajectories, that are driven by a cluster of 38 prepontine neurons that are completely separate from the fast escape pathway. Whereas neurons that initiate rapid escapes receive direct auditory input and drive motor neurons, input and output pathways for delayed escapes are indirect, facilitating integration of cross-modal sensory information. Rapid decision making in the escape system is thus enabled by parallel pathways for ballistic responses and flexible delayed actions.


Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is the most common hereditary colon cancer syndrome and is responsible for as many as 10% of all colorectal cancers. Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer is autosomally dominant with a prevalence of 1 in 200-2000 and exhibits incomplete penetrance. Affected individuals have an approximately 70% lifetime risk of colon cancer with a mean age of onset of 44 years and an approximately 40% lifetime risk of endometrial cancer. At least 5 mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS1, PMS2) have been implicated in HNPCC; however, no predominant mutations were found in these genes. Mutation detection by direct sequencing has proven to be the most sensitive method. We have developed high-throughput full-length sequencing assays of the MLH1, MSH2, and MSH6 genes. These 3 genes account for approximately 90% of all germline mutations found in HNPCC. In our assays, 19 exons of MLH1, 16 exons of MSH2, 10 exons of MSH6, and the adjacent splice sites were amplified using polymerase chain reaction and loaded onto a capillary sequencing machine. Results were analyzed using sequence analysis software and stored in a relational database. Our assay method was validated using 15 affected patients and normal controls. It is anticipated that our high-throughput assay technique will provide accurate diagnoses for patients at risk for HNPCC and thereby facilitate early curative intervention.


We report, for the first time to our knowledge, on the noise characteristics of a Nd:YVO(4) laser pumped by a laser diode modulated at high frequency. We have investigated noise characteristics of a Nd:YVO(4) laser pumped by a laser diode that is oscillating in a stable multilongitudinal mode because of modulation by a high-frequency (several hundred megahertz) current. As a result, low-noise operations of -130 dB/Hz above frequencies of 1 MHz have been achieved. This noise level is comparable to the level obtained when pumping a Nd:YVO(4) laser with a laser diode that is oscillating in a single longitudinal mode. However, a noise peak corresponding to relaxation oscillations of the Nd:YVO(4) laser has appeared around a frequency of several hundred kilohertz.


OBJECTIVE
To study the inhibitive effect of extracts from Scindapsus aureus on alpha-glucosidase and its antioxidant activity.

METHODS
The 70% ethanol extracts was extracted by petroleum, ethyl acetate and n-butanol, and the inhibitory activity against alpha-glucosidases and antioxidative effects of each fraction were determined in vitro, and the inhibitory kinetics of ethyl acetate fraction was investigated.

RESULTS
The inhibitory activity of ethly acetate fraction against alpha-glucosidase was higher as its IC50 was 43.63 microg/mL. The inhibition kinetics analyzed by Hnewaver-Burk plots showed that ethyl acetate fraction was a competitive type inhibitor, and the inhibition constants for free ennzyme (Ki) was determined to be 21.49 microg/mL. The antioxidative effects of ethly acetate and n-butanol fractions exhibited stronger than that of other fractions, the scavenging ability on DPPH at the concentration of 0.42 mg/mL were 88.5% and 93.6%. Ethly acetate fraction showed scavenging ability on autioxidantor, and the IC50 values was 0.27 mg/mL.

CONCLUSION
Ethyld acetate fraction of extract from Scindapsus aureus has potential inhibitroy activity against alpha-glucosidase and antioxidant effects, and n-butanol fraction has great antioxidative effects.


Thermal fluctuations and melting transitions for rotating single-component superfluids have been intensively studied and are well understood. In contrast, the thermal effects on vortex states for two-component superfluids with density-density interaction, which have a much richer variety of vortex ground states, have been much less studied. Here, we investigate the thermal effects on vortex matter in superfluids with U(1) x U(1) broken symmetries and intercomponent density-density interactions, as well as the case with a larger SU(2) broken symmetry obtainable from the [U(1) x U(1)]-symmetric case by tuning scattering lengths. In the former case we find that, in addition to first-order melting transitions, the system exhibits thermally driven phase transitions between square and hexagonal lattices. Our main result, however, concerns the case where the condensate exhibits SU(2) symmetry, and where vortices are not topological. At finite temperature, the system exhibits effects which do not have a counterpart in single-component systems. Namely, it has a state where thermally averaged quantities show no regular vortex lattice, yet the system retains superfluid coherence along the axis of rotation. In such a state, the thermal fluctuations result in transitions between different (nearly) degenerate vortex states without undergoing a melting transition. Our results apply to multicomponent Bose-Einstein condensates, and we suggest how to detect some of these unusual effects experimentally in such systems.


Wireless power transfer based on witricity technology is a new technology which energy can be transferred via coupled magnetic resonances in the non-radiative near-field. In order to verify its feasibility, coupled mode theory and power transfer system structure was proposed in this paper. Based on these analysis, The wireless power transfer experimental device is designed. Experimental results shows that the power can be transmitted is up to 30W, the transfer efficiency is more than 60%, the maximum distance of energy transfer can reach to 450mm. (Abstract)


This study examines the short selling of NYSE stocks contained in the S&P 500 on days with extreme increases (up days) and extreme decreases (down days) in the index. Although Diether, Lee, and Werner [2009] showed, using contemporaneous returns of individual stocks, that short sellers are generally contrarian, Blau, Van Ness, Van Ness, and Wood find that short selling in stocks increases (decreases) on large down (up) days for the S&P, which suggests that during extreme market movements short sellers tend to follow the crowd. Further, the authors' results show that short sellers do not anticipate down days, indicating that these event days are largely unforeseen. When examining the return predictability of short sellers on event days, the authors observe that short sellers on up days are significantly better at predicting negative next-day returns than short sellers on down days, suggesting that market-induced contrarian short selling is more profitable than momentum short selling.


The millions of precisely controlled laser comb lines produced with a train of ultrashort laser pulses can harnessed for highly-multiplexed molecular spectroscopy. Multi-heterodyne spectroscopy with frequency combs is emerging as a powerful new tool.


In this paper, we present an adaptive and intelligent Web-based educational system that uses AI techniques for personalized assessment of the learners. More specifically, we focus on a mechanism for on-line creation of a user-adapted test, which can be used alongside the predetermined test. The user can ask for such a test any time he/she is willing to do so, even if he/she has not studied all predetermined concepts of a learning goal. A small rule base is used by an expert system inference engine for making decisions on the difficulty level of the exercises to be included in the test. This is based on the evaluation of the learner during concept studying. Adaptive assessment of the learner can be repeatedly used until there is no further need. Another small rule-base is used for deciding on whether a new test is suggested or not. This is based on the learner's previous test assessment results. Preliminary experimental results show that the users need less time to study a learning goal when using the adaptive assessment capability of the system


Minimally invasive cardiac surgery including robotic technique has become increasingly popular over the last decade. The advantages of such technique include improved cosmesis and healing, and reduced stress response, hospital and intensive care unit stay, and transfusion requirements. Robot-assisted cardiac surgery requires prolonged one-lung ventilation to optimize exposure. Remote-access perfusion requires appropriate positioning of multiple catheters to establish cardiopulmonary bypass. Carbon dioxide insufflation into the thorax can cause hemodynamic instability and carbon dioxide embolism. Limited exposure of the heart may pose difficulties with management of arrhythmia, hemostasis, myocardial protection and de-airing at the end of surgery. Limited access due to robot manipulator would make rapid intervention for cardiopulmonary resuscitation difficult or impossible. This case report describes robot-asssisted atrial septal defect repair and discusses the anesthetic issues associated with minimally invasive cardiac surgery including robotic cardiac surgery.


Description of the subject. The present study examined the effect of temperature (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 °C) on biomass, esterified fatty acids content and fatty acid productivity of Scenedesmus acutus. Objectives. This work aimed to study the effect of variation in temperature on lipid productivity and fatty acid profiles of S. acutus as a feedstock for biodiesel production. Method. The alga was grown under different temperatures and its biomass, as well as fatty acid content and composition, were determined. Results. The maximum growth rate of S. acutus was achieved at 30 °C , but there was no significant difference in biomass productivity at 25 and 30 °C (0.41 and 0.42 g·l-1·d-1), respectively. The highest fatty acid content (104.1 mg·g-1 CDW) was recorded at low temperature (15 °C) and decreased with increasing temperature. As a result of high biomass production, fatty acids productivity showed the highest values (41.27 and 42.10 mg·l-1·d-1) at 25 and 30 °C, respectively. The proportion of saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids increased from 13.72 to 23.79% and from 11.13 to 33.10% of total fatty acids when the incubation temperature was raised from 15 to 40 °C, respectively. The increase of temperature from 15 to 40 °C decreased the poly-unsaturated fatty acids from 75.15% to 43.10% of total fatty acids, respectively. Conclusions. The present study concluded that incubation temperature was a critical parameter for quantitative and qualitative fatty acid compositions of S. acutus. In addition, the type and proportion of individual fatty acids, which interfere with biodiesel quality, can be modified using different incubation temperatures in order to meet the biodiesel international standards.


Abstract Context.Throughout the world, declines in large mammalian carnivores have led to the release of smaller meso-mammalian predators. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have increased in abundance, distribution and ecological influence following the extirpation of apex predators in North America. Coyotes have had substantial influence on many ecosystems in recently colonised portions of their range, but those influences can vary across land cover types. Thus, understanding the relationship between coyote abundance and land cover may enhance our ability to predict spatial variation in the ecological effects of coyotes. Aims. Our objective was to examine the influence of landscape attributes on eastern coyote abundance to ultimately facilitate predictions of spatial variation in the effects of coyotes on prey populations, ecological communities and human interests. Methods.We collected count data from repeated visits to 24 sites by eliciting howl responses from coyotes. We fit abundance models to howl-response data to examine the effects of landscape composition and configuration on coyote abundance in a mixed forest/agricultural ecosystem in south-western Georgia, USA. Key results.Our investigation revealed that coyote abundance was positively associated with grasslands that were predominantly used for livestock production, and negatively associated with patch diversity. Conclusions.Our results supported the prediction that coyotes would be positively associated with open habitats and that they are well adapted for areas structurally similar to the plains of central North America, where the species originated. In addition, these results suggest that aspects of fragmentation, such as patch diversity, can negatively affect coyote abundance. Our results highlight the importance of patch type and landscape juxtaposition on the abundance of coyotes in complex heterogeneous landscapes. Implications.Our results further our understanding of the spatial variation in coyote abundances across a recently colonised portion of the species range. Combining howl-response surveys with abundance modelling is a promising approach for studying the associations between population dynamics of vocal canids and landscape structure over large spatial scales.


Versatile Video Coding (VVC) is the next generation video coding standard finalized in July 2020. VVC introduces new coding tools enhancing the coding efficiency compared to its predecessor High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). These new tools have a significant impact on the VVC software decoder complexity estimated to 2 times HEVC decoder complexity. In particular, the transform module includes in VVC separable and non-separable transforms named Multiple Transform Selection (MTS) and Low Frequency Non-Separable Transform (LFNST) tools, respectively. In this paper, we present an area-efficient hardware architecture of the inverse transform module for a VVC decoder. The proposed design uses a total of 64 regular multipliers in a pipelined architecture targeting ASIC platforms. It consists in a multi-standard architecture that supports the transform modules of recent MPEG standards including AVC, HEVC and VVC. The architecture leverages all primary and secondary transforms optimisations including butterfly decomposition, coefficients zeroing and the inherent linear relationship between the transforms. The synthesized results show that the proposed method sustains a constant throughput of 1 sample per cycle and a constant latency for all block sizes. The proposed hardware inverse transform module operates at 600 MHz frequency enabling to decode in real-time 4K video at 30 frames per second in 4:2:2 chroma sub-sampling format. The proposed module is integrated in an ASIC UHD decoder targeting energyaware decoding of VVC videos on consumer devices.


Introduction: Food-borne illnesses of microbial origin are major health problem associated with street foods. Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or other public place, such as at a market or fair. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and meant for immediate consumption.
Objectives:
• To study the amount of contamination of street foods by various pathogens.
• To associate the education of food vendors with the implementation of hygienic food-handling practices.
• To determine the relations between the contamination of foods and certain parameters of the vending site.
Materials and methods: A cross sectional study on 80 samples of street food was conducted during the month of January-August 2015. Simple random sampling was done to choose the street food center. Samples from center were collected in dry, leak proof, wide mouthed sterile bottles, and culture was done.
Results: Around 53.5% of street food samples were found to be contaminated. All the juice samples were found to be contaminated. Almost 45% of panipuri samples were found to be contaminated. Chutney samples were around 70% contaminated. Significant associations were found between method of washing utensils, presence of open drains and bin distance with contamination of street food.
Conclusions: Lack of hygiene of food handlers and improper waste disposal could be the main risk factors for the contamination of street foods.


This paper addresses the issue of performance degradation of IR-UWB systems in presence of low resolution ADC. This is a part of a UWB Transceiver working at W-band in Line-of-Sight, so effects of multipath can be ignored. First of all, the paper derives the analytical expression of the BER of an IR-UWB system as a function of the number of quantization bits of the ADC. This model has been used to compare the performance of the IR-UWB system with a BPSK system in presence of low resolutions ADC. The comparison has shown that even if BPSK is less sensitive to the ADC resolution, IR-UWB needs a lower number of bits to get performance close to the ideal ones.