Abstract A Boolean function is called a threshold function if its truth domain is a part of the n-cube cut off by some hyperplane. The number of threshold functions of n variables P(2, n) was estimated in [1, 2, 3]. Obtaining the lower bounds is a problem of special difficulty. Using a result of the paper [4], Zuev in [3] showed that for sufficiently large n P(2, n) > 2n²(1-10/ln n). In the present paper a new proof which gives a more precise lower bound of P(2, n) is proposed, namely, it is proved that for sufficiently large n P(2, n) > 2n²(1-7/ln n)P(2, [(7(n-1)ln2)/ln(n- 1)]).


The traditional VLIW (very long instruction word) architecture with a single register file does not scale up well to address growing performance demands on embedded media processors. However, splitting a VLIW processor in smaller clusters, which are comprised of function units fully connected to local register files, can significantly improve VLSI implementation characteristics of the processor, such as speed, energy consumption, and area. In our paper we reveal that achieving the best characteristics of a clustered VLIW requires a thorough selection of an Inter-cluster Communication (ICC) model, which is the way clustering is exposed in the Instruction Set Architecture. For our study we, first, define a taxonomy of ICC models including copy operations, dedicated issue slots, extended operands, extended results, and multicast. Evaluation of the execution time of the models requires both the dynamic cycle count and clock period. We developed an advanced instruction scheduler for all the five ICC models in order to quantify the dynamic cycle counts of our multimedia C benchmarks. To assess the clock period of the ICC models we designed and laid out VLIW datapaths using the RTL hardware descriptions derived from a deeply pipelined commercial TriMedia processor. In contrast to prior art, our research shows that fully distributed register file architectures (with eight clusters in our study) often underperform compared to moderately clustered machines with two or four clusters because of explosion of the cycle count overhead in the former. Among the evaluated ICC models, performance of the copy operation model, popular both in academia and industry, is severely limited by the copy operations hampering scheduling of regular operations in high ILP (instruction-level parallelism) code. The dedicated issue slots model combats this limitation by dedicating extra VLIW issue slots purely for ICC, reaching the highest 1.74 execution time speedup relative to the unicluster. Furthermore, our VLSI experiments show that the lowest area and energy consumption of 42 and 57% relative to the unicluster, respectively, are achieved by the extended operands model, which, nevertheless, provides higher performance than the copy operation model.


The recent shift towards working from home (WFH) has far-reaching implications for social and economic outcomes. While firms are gatekeepers for the ongoing diffusion of flexible work arrangements, there is little evidence on how firms decide to offer WFH. We leverage two survey experiments among nearly 800 knowledge-intensive services firms in Germany to analyse whether managers' beliefs about the productivity effects of WFH affect their adoption decisions. Exploiting exogenous variation in managers' information set, we find that managers update their beliefs about the productivity effects of WFH when they receive information on workers' self-assessed WFH productivity. In addition, the information treatment significantly increases managers' willingness to adopt or intensify WFH policies. Combining our main survey experiment with two follow-up surveys, we find persistent information treatment effects on both managers' beliefs about WFH productivity and firms' expected WFH intensity after the Covid-19 pandemic. A complementary survey experiment confirms our results pointing to a causal relationship between managers' beliefs about WFH productivity and the adoption of WFH practices. These findings have implications for potential policy measures targeting firms' WFH adoption.


The study on micro-cavity in organic light-emitting diode(OLED) demands understanding the theory of multi-layer films. It is because OLED is basically an optical device and its structure consists of organic or inorganic layers of sub-wavelength thickness with different refractive indices. When the electron and holes are injected through the electrodes, they combine in the emission layers emitting the photons. These photons will experience the reflection and transmission at each interface and the interference will determine the intensity profile. The light reflected at the interfaces or the metallic electrode returns to the emission layer and affects the radiation efficiency. In optical terminology, OLED belongs to a micro-cavity being comprised of multi-layers. Therefore, before studying the cavity effect of OLED, we better begin with the theory of multi-layer film theory in optics. This theory is well explained in most of textbook dealing with optics since it relates to optical coatings and lasers(Fowles, 1975; Born & Wolf, 1989). In this section, a brief review will be given for the purpose of self-containment, which will be especially helpful for the beginners.


Static program analysis is in general more precise if it is sensitive to execution contexts (execution paths). In this paper we propose χ-terms as a mean to capture and manipulate context-sensitive program information in a data-flow analysis. We introduce finite k-approximation and loop approximation that limit the size of the context-sensitive information. These approximated χ-terms form a lattice with a finite depth, thus guaranteeing every data-flow analysis to reach a fixed point.


Performance of the structure includes both the safety as well as comfort level for the user. The safety of the structure mainly depends on the displacement response, while the comfort level of occupants depends on the acceleration response. In this paper, an approach for multiobjective optimal design of a fuzzy logic controller (FLC)-driven active tuned mass damper (ATMD) has been proposed. The evaluation criteria for both the acceleration and displacement responses have been used as the two objective functions for this multiobjective optimization problem. As a multiobjective optimization approach provides a set of Pareto-optimal solutions, the user is allowed to select an appropriate design for the specific performance requirement. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed FLC-driven ATMD has been investigated for the third-generation benchmark problem for the response control of wind-excited tall buildings. A multiobjective optimization version of the genetic algorithm has been used for obtaining the FLC and ATMD design parameters, as this approach is more effective in handling a discontinuous and nonconvex domain. Performance of the proposed control system has been found to be better than the sample controller given in the benchmark problem. The proposed controller is less sensitive than the sample controller for the variation in the stiffness of the structure.


Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the association between Alzheimer's disease and elevated levels of anticardiolipin antibodies. Design and Setting: Prospective study, the levels of anticardiolipin antibodies from Alzheimer's disease was evaluated in Neurogeriatric Ambulatory in Hospital de Base-Sao Jose do Rio Preto. Patients and Method: Thirty-one patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease was evaluated. Twenty-three of the patients were female and eight male with ages ranging from 62 to 79 years old and a mean of 71.2 years. The NINCDS-ADRDA criteria were used to assess the Alzheimer's disease. The control group was made up of 25 female and 9 male participants of a senior citizen group with ages, which varied from 62 to 80 years old. with an average of 68 years. Evaluation of the anticardiolipin antibodies was performed by means of Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay (ELISA) for quantitative measurement of IgG and IgM antibodies against cardiolipins in serum. Statistical analysis was made using the Fisher's exact test, p-value < 0.05. Results: Elevated aCL levels were observed in 9 (29%) of the 31 Alzheimer's disease patients. In the control group, 9 (26.4%) of the 34 presented with elevated levels of aCL giving a p-value of 0.58.Conclusions: This study did not evidence an association between Alzheimer's Disease and elevated levels of aCL.


The design of IoT systems could benefit from the combination of two different analyses. We perform a first analysis to approximate how data flow across the system components, while the second analysis checks their communication soundness. We show how the combination of these two analyses yields further benefits hardly achievable by separately using each of them. We exploit two independently developed tools for the analyses.
Firstly, we specify IoT systems in IoT-LySa, a simple specification language featuring asynchronous multicast communication of tuples. The values carried by the tuples are drawn from a term-algebra obtained by a parametric signature. The analysis of communication soundness is supported by ChorGram, a tool developed to verify the compatibility of communicating finite-state machines. In order to combine the analyses we implement an encoding of IoT-LySa processes into communicating machines. This encoding is not completely straightforward because IoT-LySa has multicast communications with data, while communication machines are based on point-to-point communications where only finitely many symbols can be exchanged. To highlight the benefits of our approach we appeal to a simple yet illustrative example.


Turbulence is commonly viewed as a type of macroflow, where the Reynolds number (Re) has to be sufficiently high. In microfluidics, when Re is below or on the order of 1 and fast mixing is required, so far only chaotic flow has been reported to enhance mixing based on previous publications since turbulence is believed not to be possible to generate in such a low Re microflow. There is even a lack of velocimeter that can measure turbulence in microchannels. In this work, we report a direct observation of the existence of turbulence in microfluidics with Re on the order of 1 in a pressure driven flow under electrokinetic forcing using a novel velocimeter having ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution. The work could provide a new method to control flow and transport phenomena in lab-on-a-chip and a new perspective on turbulence.


Abstract. Three recent phylogenetic studies have used DNA sequence data to examine evolutionary relationships in Amsinckiinae (Boraginaceae). In each of these studies, the genus Plagiobothrys Fisch. & C. A. Mey. has been recovered as non-monophyletic. So that only monophyletic groups are recognized, two new genus names are provided here: Amsinckiopsis (I. M. Johnst.) Guilliams, Hasenstab & B. G. Baldwin and Simpsonanthus Guilliams, Hasenstab & B. G. Baldwin. The new combination P. collinus (Phil.) I. M. Johnst. var. pringlei (Greene) Guilliams & B. G. Baldwin is given for plants from Arizona that were found to be phylogenetically nested within P. collinus. The genus name Sonnea Greene is lectotypified.


The December issue of Breathe focuses on biomarkers in respiratory diseases [1–4]. Biomarkers are measurable indicators of the presence, severity or type of a disease. They can help us understand the cause, phenotype, progression or regression, prognosis, or outcome of treatment of a disease. Biomarkers hold the promise of personalised medicine, which aims to tailor treatments to individual patients based on their biomarker profile and, by doing so, reduce the harms from ineffective treatments and increase the benefits from effective treatments. Biomarkers to describe disease phenotypes and to determine optimal treatments based on these phenotypes are receiving substantial attention in the current respiratory research literature. The search for clinically useful biomarkers that impact clinical decision-making is, however, challenging, and the vast majority of biomarkers are failing at the initial verification and validation stages before they enter clinical practice [5]. The December issue of Breathe focuses on biomarkers in respiratory diseases: read the introductory editorial by Chief Editor @ClaudiaCDobler http://bit.ly/36nzAiW


Abstract The rose petal effect (large apparent contact angles accompanied by high affinity to water) has greatly inspired researchers recently. In this paper, the rose-petal surfaces with tunable high water adhesion have been prepared successfully via a facile electroless galvanic deposition process as well as the subsequent modification with stearic acid on zinc substrates. We have regulated the concentration of CoSO4 solution in the process of electroless galvanic deposition to control the surface topography. After being modified with stearic acid, the as-prepared cobalt coated films showed similar apparent contact angles larger than 150° but contrast high water adhesion. To the best of our knowledge, the fabrication of rose petal surfaces with tunable water adhesion is still scarce. The largest water droplet volumes suspended on the tunable rose petal surfaces were 8, 24 and 28 μL, respectively. In addition, based on the different water adhesion on the rose petal surfaces, the selective transportation of microdroplets with different volumes has been demonstrated. We believe that these tunable adhesive rose petal surfaces would have great potential in the droplet-based microreactors.


The minor probability events detection is a crucial problem in Big data. Such events tend to include rarely occurring phenomenons which should be detected and monitored carefully. Given the prior probabilities of separate events and the conditional distributions of observations on the events, the Bayesian detection can be applied to estimate events behind the observations. It has been proved that Bayesian detection has the smallest overall testing error in average sense. However, when detecting an event with very small prior probability, the conditional Bayesian detection would result in high miss testing rate. To overcome such a problem, a modified detection approach is proposed based on Bayesian detection and message importance measure, which can reduce miss testing rate in conditions of detecting events with minor probability. The result can help to dig minor probability events in big data.


In a typical processor, Multiplication is one of the basic arithmetic operations and it requires substantially more hardware resources and processing time. In computersS-MB, a typical central processing unit devotes a considerable amount of processing time in implementing arithmetic operations, particularly multiplication operations. In this paper, multiplier is done for low power requirement and high speed with Hybrid Carry Technique to improve the speed, area parameters of multiplier.


Arguments in academic writing are the most important things. The arguments asserted by the contributors of research journal publication are assumed to be more specific especially before the articles are edited and published. So far, arguments have been used to distinguish the value of the academic writing especially in the conclusion section. This study attempts to reveal how the arguments in academic writing written by the contributors of research journals are expressed. This research employs qualitative methods, in which the subjects are the documents: research articles (RAs) submitted by the contributors of research journal before they were edited and published. The data were collected from the articles submitted to the accredited research journal. There were 15 RAs selected purposively and then analyzed using the three types of modality showing: low commitment, medium commitment, and high commitment. A triangulator as another investigator was also employed for peer debriefing to get trustworthiness. From this analysis, the uniqueness and styles of expressing the arguments in the conclusion sections were explored and described. It was found that most of the contributors or authors use low level of commitments for arguing in their conclusion sections. Keywords - low commitment, medium commitments, and high commitments, modality, RAs.


Financial crises have shown that dramatic movements in one financial market can have a powerful impact on other markets. The paper proposes to use cobreaking to model comovements between financial markets during crises and to test for conta-gion. It finds evidence of cobreaking between stock returns in developed markets. Finding cobreaking has implications for the diversification of international investments. For emerging mar-ket stock returns the evidence of cobreaking is mainly due to the non-financial event of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Fi-nancial crises originating in one emerging market do not spread to other markets, i.e., no contagion.


Since Representational State Transfer (REST) architecture was proposed by Fielding in early 1990s for distributed hypermedia systems, it has become a popular architectural style of choice in various computing environments. However, REST was not originally designed to support enterprise requirements, in particular the accountability requirements that are crucial for the business services offered through the Software as a Service (SaaS) and Cloud Computing environments. In this paper, we propose an Accountable State Transfer (AST) architecture to bridge the accountability gap in REST. With AST, service participants can be held accountable for each representational state transfer during service consumption. A formal service contract model with a hybrid reasoning mechanism and a novel accountable state transfer protocol are designed as the mechanisms underpinning the AST architecture. Moreover, we implement a Credit Check service prototype based on AST, demonstrating the practicality of such architecture. Inheriting REST's scalability, AST architecture provides the much needed accountability capabilities for the virtual service delivery environment.


The present study is aimed at empirical investigation of job-education match/mismatch amongst professionals working both in industry and academic institutions in India. The intention of the study is to investigate the type of, and the degree to which such a match/mismatch exists. Moreover, the research focuses on different aspects related to job-education match/mismatch. Jobeducation match/mismatch though is difficult to measure but by using traditional indicators like, satisfaction level of employees, their promotion ability, their level of earning etc., it is possible to overcome the rigidity of the topic to greater extent. Keeping this in sight, the attempt has been made in the current study to collect the opinion of employees to know the degree to which they consider their job and education matches/mismatches and its consequences on employee morale. The study also intends to identify various degree fields where greater mismatch is observed and the possible reasons behind it. The data used for the study has been collected both through primary and secondary sources and employees associated with industry and academics.


The incidence of insemination in migrating female Ambystoma opacum was studied in a breeding population near a Carolina bay in South Carolina. Of 77 females that were handcaptured substantial distances from the nesting area and then held in isolation, 24-38 (31-49%) produced fertile clutches. The capture of females during migration that had been inseminated before reaching the pond basin suggests that the timing and location of mating is more variable in this species as compared to other ambystomatids. The evolution of terrestrial courtship, coupled with the potential for high mate competition among males at the nesting area, may have provided an opportunity for sexual selection of an alternate male mating strategy.


Glaucoma, an optic neuropathy characterized by progressive visual field loss, is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. The condition has a substantial heritable basis, as illustrated by the numerous loci and genes identified to date and the large proportion of patients with positive family history. When glaucoma manifests before the age of 40 years, it tends to be more aggressive, more resistant to medical therapy and associated with more visual impairment1,2 This category includes congenital/infantile glaucoma which is a genetically heterogeneous group by itself with the involvement of one gene (CYP1B1) and at least two other genetic loci3–6 The only known genefor primary congenital glaucoma (PCG), CYP1B1, encodes cytochrome P4501B1 that is involved in the metabolism of many compounds, including the 4-hydroxylation of 17 β-estradiol7 It has been hypothesized that alterations in the metabolism of estrogens may be the basis for ocular abnormalities associated with defects in this gene.8,9

Male subjects account for approximately 65% of PCG cases.10 As yet, no molecular cause for this observation has been identified. The CYP1B1 gene that participates in the metabolism of 17β-estradiol is an attractive candidate to study the apparent sex bias observed in PCG. In this issue of JOVR, Suri et al11 compare the phenotypic features of a relatively large number of Iranian PCG patients with and without CYP1B1 mutations, with an emphasis on sex ratios. This study involves 66 patients with mutations in CYP1B1 and is larger than the one previous Japanese study that did the same with 32 patients.12 Despite the fact that steroids are relevant to CYP1B1 gene expression and CYP1B1 protein function, the authors did not observe sex related differences in incidence among patients harboring CYP1B1 mutations, a finding consistent with the Japanese study. It is possible that a still larger cohort may be required to draw a definite conclusion, on the other hand a meta-analysis would be useful in such studies that deal with relatively rare diseases. As the authors quite rightly suggest, the higher male to female ratio among patients not harboring CYP1B1 mutations could be due to another gene involved in the etiology of PCG in a sex dependent manner. Unlike late onset glaucoma, PCG seems to have a strong genetic basis and environmental factors are unlikely to have a strong influence on disease presentation. Therefore if one were to apply classic Mendelian inheritance to these observations, the higher incidence of PCG among male subjects in various populations could be attributed to a major X-linked gene that shows recessive inheritance pattern. The higher male to female ratio observed among Iranian patients without CYP1B1 mutations suggests that this cohort of patients will be a good starting point to further explore and identify this possible X-linked gene. An important factor to bear in mind while carrying out genealogy in these families and probands is that inbreeding within families that actually segregate a recessive X-linked gene mutation will result in some affected females and the appearance of male to male transmission. In such instances these families may appear as classical autosomal recessive or even as pseudodominant pedigrees with incomplete penetrance.

Congenital glaucoma is generally inherited as an autosomal-recessive trait and is prevalent in countries where consanguinity is common. 3,4 Linkage analysis requires large pedigrees; in fact the PCG locus on chromosome 2p21 (GLC3A) that harbors the CYP1BI gene was corroborated using homozygosity mapping with DNA pooling strategy in 3 large consanguineous Saudi PCG families.4 Therefore patients and family pedigree resources available in countries such as Iran will be extremely valuable for the identification of recessive PCG genes, X-linked or otherwise. Identification of more PCG genes will help elucidate pathophysiologic mechanisms that are currently inadequately understood and may even provide new directions for glaucoma therapy. A more immediate benefit will be that it will enable screening of family members of PCG patients to identify potential gene carriers and facilitate genetic counseling. Increased awareness of the genetic basis of PCG and education may discourage consanguineous marriages and will hopefully decrease the incidence of this severe form of glaucoma.


: This paper explores the relationship between judicial corruption and judicial wages in state-level U.S. courts. Specifically, this paper studies whether increases in wages lead to a decrease in the frequency with which prosecutors charge judges with ethics violations. Many previous scholars focus on public service job performance and wage increases; however, little research exists surrounding judicial corruption and wage increases. To test this relationship, the study utilizes empirical data from 1974 to 2020, collected from the judicial conduct boards of each state, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the National Center for State Courts website. In addition, the researcher conducted a difference-in-differences analysis of state prosecutions using salary as a predictor with number of jurists, state GDP per capita, and conduct board budget as possible confounding variables. The findings suggest that, in general, there is a statistically insignificant relationship between judicial corruption and salary increases. In fact, the variable that impacted corruption the greatest was a conduct board's budget . Furthermore, conduct board budgets had a positive correlation with the number of corruption complaints, meaning that as a conduct board's budget increases, the number of cor ruption complaints also increases. These results provide the important insight that a conduct board's budget has a significant impact on the number of judicial complaints. Future research could explore how variables such as cost of living, wages of judicial peers, and number of statewide corruption prosecutions influence judicial corruption.


Abstract Hyper-arid deserts present extreme challenges to life. The environmental buffering provided by quartz and other translucent rocks allows hypolithic microbial communities to develop on sub-soil surfaces of such rocks. These refuge communities have been reported, for many locations worldwide, to be predominantly cyanobacterial in nature. Here we report the discovery in Antarctica's hyper-arid McMurdo Dry Valleys of three clearly distinguishable types of hypolithic community. Based on gross colonization morphology and identification of dominant taxa, we have classified hypolithic communities as Type I (cyanobacterial dominated), Type II (fungal dominated) and Type III (moss dominated). This discovery supports a growing awareness of the high biocomplexity in Antarctic deserts, emphasizes the possible importance of cryptic microbial communities in nutrient cycling and provides evidence for possible successional community processes within a cold arid landscape.


Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu,ZnSOD) from the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophilum was expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified. Crystals were grown in over 120 conditions but only those produced with 1.4 M sodium potassium phosphate pH 8.2 as precipitant were suitable for structural studies. Data were collected to 1.9 A resolution at 100 K from a single crystal using a synchrotron-radiation source. The crystals belonged to space group P6(1)/P6(5), with unit-cell parameters a=90.2, c=314.5 A and eight molecules in the asymmetric unit. Elucidation of the crystal structure will provide insights into the active site of the enzyme and a better understanding of the structure-activity relationship, assembly and thermal stability of Cu,ZnSODs.


Recent years have witnessed the enormous growth of Android phones in the consumer market. On the other hand, as the most popular mobile platform, Android also attracts lots of attackers' attention. As a result, more and more Android malicious apps appear in the wild, which poses a serious threat to user's security and privacy. To such massive volume of Android malware, automated UI testing techniques have become the mainstream solutions because of the detection efficiency and accuracy. However, all existing UI testing techniques treat the Activity as the basic unit of UI interactions and cannot carry out a fine-grained analysis for Fragments. Due to the lack of Fragment-level analysis, the path coverage is usually quite limited. To fill this gap, in this paper, we propose FragDroid, a novel automated UI testing framework supporting both Activity and Fragment analysis. To achieve the Fragment-level testing, we design the Activity & Fragment Transition Model (AFTM) to simulate the internal interactions of an app, and ATFM could be utilized to generate test cases automatically through UI interactions. With the assist of AFTM, FragDroid achieves accessing most Activities and Fragments contained in the app along with the capability of detecting arbitrary API calls. We implemented a prototype of FragDroid and evaluated it on 15 popular apps. The results show FragDroid successfully covered 66% Fragments and the corresponding API calls of testing apps. Also, the traditional approaches have to miss at least 9.6% of API calls invoked in Fragments.


Abstract The 'holy grail' in planet hunting is the detection of an Earth-analogue: a planet with similar mass as the Earth and an orbit inside the habitable zone. If we can find such an Earth-analogue around one of the stars in the immediate solar neighbourhood, we could potentially even study it in such great detail to address the question of its potential habitability. Several groups have focused their planet detection efforts on the nearest stars. Our team is currently performing an intensive observing campaign on the α Centauri system using the High Efficiency and Resolution Canterbury University Large Échelle Spectrograph (Hercules) at the 1 m McLellan telescope at Mt John University Observatory in New Zealand. The goal of our project is to obtain such a large number of radial velocity (RV) measurements with sufficiently high temporal sampling to become sensitive to signals of Earth-mass planets in the habitable zones of the two stars in this binary system. Over the past few years, we have collected more than 45 000 spectra for both stars combined. These data are currently processed by an advanced version of our RV reduction pipeline, which eliminates the effect of spectral cross-contamination. Here we present simulations of the expected detection sensitivity to low-mass planets in the habitable zone by the Hercules programme for various noise levels. We also discuss our expected sensitivity to the purported Earth-mass planet in a 3.24-day orbit announced by Dumusque et al. (2012).


Using data from the Educa onal Longitudinal Study: 2002, the present study examined the effects of demographic variables, high school math course‐taking and high school GPA on ELL students' STEM course‐taking, achievement and a ainment in college.  Regression analysis showed female ELL students were more likely to take more STEM courses and get higher GPAs in STEM, but less likely than males to earn a STEM college creden al. Race was found to be a significant predictor of STEM GPA and a ainment. The number of years taking trigonometry and pre‐calculus in high school and high school GPA were predic ve of the number of STEM courses taken in college. High school GPA also strongly predicted ELL college students' STEM GPA. Implica ons and future research are discussed.


Hybrid nanomaterials composed of synthetic and biological building blocks possess high potential for the design of nanomedicines. The use of self-assembling nanomaterials as "bio-mimics" may trigger cellular events and result in new therapeutic effects. Motivated by this rationale, we designed a therapeutic platform that mimics the mechanism of immune effector cells to cross-link surface receptors of target cells and induce apoptosis. This platform was tested against B-cell lymphomas that highly express the surface antigen CD20. Here, two nanoconjugates were synthesized: (1) an anti-CD20 Fab' fragment covalently linked to a single-stranded morpholino oligonucleotide (MORF1), and (2) a linear polymer of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) grafted with multiple copies of the complementary oligonucleotide MORF2. We show that the two conjugates self-assemble via MORF1-MORF2 hybridization at the surface of CD20(+) malignant B-cells, which cross-links CD20 antigens and initiates apoptosis. When tested in a murine model of human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the two conjugates, either administered consecutively or as a premixture, eradicated cancer cells and produced long-term survivors. The designed therapeutics contains no small-molecule cytotoxic compounds and is immune-independent, aiming to improve over chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. This therapeutic platform can be applied to cross-link any noninternalizing receptor and potentially treat other diseases.


BACKGROUND
Infants younger than 6 months of age are not eligible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations. Maternal variables during pregnancy and the postnatal period may affect the clinical and laboratory course of COVID-19 positive infants.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the clinical manifestation and laboratory differences in infants with three maternal variables: breastfeeding, vaccinated, and co-illness.

METHODS
We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of positive COVID-19 infants with three subgroups of maternal variables. The population included infants under 6 months of age hospitalized due to COVID-19. Data about clinical features, laboratory tests, and maternal information including vaccination status, breastfeeding status and maternal positive COVID-19 infection was gathered. All variables were compared among the three subgroups.

RESULTS
Breastfed infants had shorter hospitalization period (mean 2.61 ± 1.378 days) compared to non-breastfed infants (mean 3.8 ± 1.549) (P = 0.051). COVID-19 infants of positive COVID-19 mothers had a higher absolute neutrophil count (mean 4.4 ± 3.8) compared to infants of COVID-19 negative mothers (mean 2.7 ± 2.4) (P = 0.042).

CONCLUSIONS
Breastfeeding was associated with shorter periods of hospitalization in COVID-19 positive infants. In addition, positive COVID-19 infants of mothers who were positive for COVID-19 are likely to have a higher absolute neutrophils count.


The growth and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities of rice and early watergrass seedlings as affected by pretilachlor and/or fenclorim were investigated, especially in early growth stages.After the seeds were treated with pretilachlor for one week, the I50 value in rice was higher than that of the early watergrass. The inhibition of growth by pretilachlor treatment to seeds was reversed in the rice by fenclorim treatment but not in the early watergrass seedlings. The effects of pretilachlor were similar to the seed treatment, but fenclorim reversed the growth inhibition caused by pretilachlor treatment in the two plants of 1-leaf-stage.GST(pret.) activities of both plants increased progressively with growth from 0.5- to 2-leaf-stage, although these activities were higher in rice. As the plant grew, however, difference in GST activities between two plant species lessened. GST(pret.) activities in rice were increased with individual or simultaneous treatments of fenclorim (2×10-5M) and pretilachlor (10-5 or 10-4M); the activities in early watergrass were increased mainly with the simultaneous treatment at the seed and 1-leaf-stage. GST activities of both plants varied with different substrates, i. e., pretilachlor and CDNB. Differences in GST(pret.) activities might explain the selectivity between rice and early watergrass of pretilachlor. Moreover, the recovery from growth inhibition caused by pretilachlor might be due to induction of GST enzyme by fenclorim.


The first crystal structure of a phenylcyanamide cobaltoxime (cobaloxime) complex is reported. This compound is trans[Co((DO)(DOH)pn)(2,5-Cl2pcyd)2], and consits of an imine-oxime equatorial ligand ((DO)(DOH)pn) and two 2,5-dichlorophenylcyanamide ligands in axial positions. Crystals of trans[Co((DO)(DOH)pn)(2,5-Cl2pcyd)2] were grown by ether diffusion into an acetonitrile solution of the complex. Crystal structure of this complex is orthorhombic (space group: Pbca) with a = 13.6800, b = 13.7434, c = 29.892 Å, and Z = 8. The structure was refined by using 2946 independent reflections with I>2 (I) to a R factor of 0.0606. Both phenylcyanamide ligands are coordinated to Co(III) through the terminal nitrile nitrogen of the cyanamide group. In addition, the cobalt(III)-cyanamide (Co(III)N=C=N-ph) bond angle is significantly bent while the cyanamide group(N=C=N-) is largely coplanar with the phenyl ring. These geometries can be ascribed to the relative importance of  bonding.


The existence of necessity in work activities will cause a trip which can
produce the movement of people, in which it requires alternative modes of
transportation. The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of travel
cost, income, ownership of modes and gender to the selection of modes in
motorcycle and KRL Commuterline as transportation of modes for work in the
district of North Bekasi to Province DKI Jakarta.
This research used questionnaire in which 100 samples for people in six
villages in the district of North Bekasi. Technique used to take sample in the
research is purposive proportional random sampling. This research also uses
Binary Logistic Regression technique with dichotomous dependent variable, 1 for
motorcycle and 0 for KRL Commuterline. Estimation technique by using Binary
Logistic Regression conducted to determine the effect of independent variables on
the probability of commuters to use motorcycle or KRL Commuterline.
The result of this research shows that the choosing of modes motorcycle and
KRL Commuterline for work by people in district of North Bekasi is dominated by
motorcycle users, in which there are 60 respondents, and there are only 40
respondents for KRL Commuterline. The choosing of modes motorcycle and KRL
Commuterline in district of North Bekasi is caused by factor of travel cost and
income, an ownership of modes and gender influence positive and significance


The writer of the following article explains that Indonesia will end the IMF role at the end of this year. The exit strategy policy that will be conducted by Indonesia emerges debating between pros and conts. But the main problem that should be carry out in this context is how to prepare ways so IMF will not come. The economy crisis in Indonesia actually causes the failure in realizing process of Indonesia government. So the important ways that should be done, Indonesia needs good governance and clean government. In addition, indonesia actually will realize development as trusted by The Constitution 1945.Â


The measurement community is best served by transducers with integrated identification and data. The work in the IEEE group and in the involved companies has brought plug and play to the measurement community. This has helped the transition to larger systems with more transducers and simultaneously introduced a new level of quality into the measurements. The author encourages both users and transducer manufacturers alike to participate in the discussions of the standard to ensure that the upcoming IEEE standard meets their needs.


Two promising solutions have been recently proposed to address the massive growth in mobile traffic and wireless devices: LTE-U and in-band full-duplex (FD) wireless. LTE-U extends the benefits of LTE-A to the unlicensed 5 GHz band, used mainly by Wi-Fi users. However, the uncertainty in Wi-Fi user activities makes provisioning QoS guarantees to LTE-U users challenging. On the other hand, FD wireless can double spectrum efficiency by enabling simultaneous transmission and reception over the same frequency band. Our objective in this paper is to exploit excess capacity of deployed Wi-Fi networks (operating in the 5 GHz band) to orchestrate a `robust' virtual LTE-U network from a hybrid set of half-duplex (HD) and FD Wi-Fi access points (APs). Although the orchestrated LTE-U network does not support deterministic QoS guarantees, it is designed to provide prespecified probabilistic QoS guarantees (hence, it is robust). Towards achieving our goal, we develop novel stochastic resource allocation formulations that optimally orchestrate a virtual LTE-U network from a hybrid set of HD/FD APs with the minimum cost. We first consider the single small-cell problem and propose a stochastic formulation, which we refer to as CCLTEUsingle. Then, we study the multi-cell stochastic allocation problem and develop another formulation, which we refer to as CCLTEUmulti. Our formulations adopt a `chance-constrained stochastic programming' approach. We derive the deterministic equivalent programs of CCLTEUsingle and CCLTEUmulti and evaluate them numerically under various system parameters.


This paper offers a synthesis of ideas debated at a one day seminar examining international responses to humanitarian tragedies. With many regions of the world today caught up in a state of protracted crisis, questions are increasingly being asked about the international community's commitment to respond to acute human suffering wherever it occurs and to address its underlying causes. This assault on humanitarian values can be understood in terms of a growing disengagement by rich countries from crisis regions and the belief that saving lives can no longer be the sole justification for international interventions. On the ground, this has manifested itself in declining levels of relief assistance and the manipulation of aid by donor governments in support of strategic and geo-political objectives.


The dynamic relations between Japan and the United States are interesting to be observed due to frequently happen in "non-conventional ". Japan and America are two countries leading in the development of high technology, including military technology capabilities. The competition, both in the development of military technology often brings a unique and surprising relationship pattern. This paper shows that Japan continues to develop military technology that affects perception and capability of the country in the international political stage. On the other hand, the Japanese military technology development has given rise to responses from a number of countries in the region, as well as from major countries like USA. This paper shows that the achievement and the use of military technology will determine the future of the country's diplomacy with major countries in the world, especially the United States.


We propose a microbial role in the enhancement, erasure, dispersal, and creation of certain sedimentary iridium anomalies such as those of the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. The proposal is based on laboratory experiments that have demonstrated the ability of some bacteria and fungi to concentrate iridium from solution and to dissolve iridium from source igneous and meteoritic rocks.


Indeed, many problems concerning the Sami in the Nordic region are still unresolved. It seems that we are still on the way of recognition of indigenous (Sami): land rights, customary laws, self-determination, self-government etc., what will take plenty of time, really. Paradoxically, political and ethnic identity and social awareness are growing rapidly among the Sami. Activism of young people Sami is impressive. The debates on the ILO 169 and many seminars and conferences have put on the table some questions the Nordic states must answer, if they want to be still understood as credible as the place of human rights, openness, tolerance and justice.


The ethics of reciprocity offered by Simone de Beauvoir is founded upon an irreducible epistemic gap between self and other. This gap is often overlooked by commentators, who have tended to imply that the ethics of reciprocity requires recognition of oneself in the other. I claim that Beauvoir's ethics forecloses such recognition of oneself in the other and reveals that it is at once illusory and dangerous. Recognition in this sense is based upon a false notion of self and constitutes a violation of the alterity of the other. I argue that Beauvoir stages this dangerous form of recognition in her novel She Came to Stay, while her claims about reciprocity in The Second Sex provide an image of a different, more positive recognition capable of respecting alterity. Finally, I claim that the epistemic gap characteristic of reciprocity also holds with respect to one's self-relation.


The organic petrology is useful in many aspects of geological applications. This method is mainly applied for geoscience investigation, such as basin analysis, fossil fuel resources exploration, and coal utilization. In the last few years, organic petrology has been applied in other fields such as environmental, archeology, and forensic studies. Study of organic petrology and its applications have also been applied in some Indonesian and Australian Basins. The organic petrography method was combined with other analytical techniques to get comprehensive results, for instance Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Palynology, Rock-Eval Pyrolysis, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Microfocus X-Ray Tomography. Combination of those analytical techniques have been widely used for identification and characterization of organic matter and mineral matter association, even more quantification as well as assessment of the maturity level and rank of organic matter in the organic rich sediments. This paper provides a review of the organic petrology application in basin analysis and hydrocarbon exploration. This research is focused on application of Organic petrology for reconstruction of paleoenvironment, geological history, hydrocarbon source rocks, and unconventional hydrocarbon potential in some Indonesian and Australian Basins.


INTRODUCTION: Forward dynamics simulations are important tools in biomechanics research but the accuracy of the muscle model parameters (such as pennation angle, optimal fiber length, force-velocity relationship, etc.) is critical for realistic force and joint moment estimations. The pennation angle in particular determines the efficiency of force transmission to the tendon. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the modeled triceps surae complex and its predicted maximum moment using a computer based musculoskeletal model when incorporating in vivo measured pennation angle values.

METHODS: The Software for Interactive Musculoskeletal Modeling (SIMM) (Delp et al., 1990) was used to obtain the triceps surae maximum isometric moment at ankle angles of -15o (dorsiflexion), 0o (neutral ankle position), +150 and +300 (plantarflexion). Moments were estimated using pennation angle values a) based on literature pennation angle data used normally in the SIMM model and b) from in vivo pennation angle measurements. Pennation angle measurements were taken using ultrasonography (Esaote Biomedica, Italy) from gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis and soleus in six males during maximum isometric plantarflexions using an electromechanical dynamometer (Lido Active, Loredan Biomedical, USA) at ankle angles of -15o, 0o, +15o and +30o.

RESULTS: The estimated triceps surae moment using cadaveric pennation angle data were approximately 122 Nm, 85 Nm, 17 Nm and 0 Nm at ankle angles of - 15o, 0o, +15o and +30o respectively. The corresponding estimated moments taken incorporating the experimentally observed pennation angles in the model were approximately 106 Nm, 72, Nm, 17 Nm and 0 Nm. Substantially overestimated moment values at ankle angles of -15o (15%) and 0o (18%) were obtained when using cadaveric pennation angle data from the literature compared with the model moment predictions taken incorporating in vivo pennation angle data.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that a realistic model estimation of the moment generating capacity around a joint requires the incorporation of changes in the muscle pennation angle occurring during contraction.

REFERENCES:
Delp, S., Bleck, E., Zajac, F., Bollini, G. (1990). An Interactive, Graphics-Based
Model of the Lower Extremity to Study Orthopaedic Surgical Procedures. IEEE
Transactions on Biomedical Engineering 37, 757-767.


The insulin receptor was isolated from the liver cell membranes of control and diabetic rats. The protein purity was controlled by electrophoresis and Western blot. The tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor was investigated in the incubation medium in the presence of insulin (concentration range: from 10 -11 M to 10 -5 M). The basal tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor (in the absence of insulin) was equal for the control and diabetic state. Maximal tyrosine kinase activity of the diabetic and control insulin receptor was observed at the insulin concentration of 10 -8 M. Results indicate that type 2 diabetes did not cause the irregularities in the functioning of the insulin receptor that could be the reason of insulin resistance.


In order to study the dynamics of amino acid metabolism in rainbow trout, blood samples were collected from the hepatic vein, hepatic portal vein and caudal vein-artery complex at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h after force-feeding complete diets containing casein or corresponding crystal-line amino acids. In both dietary groups, a large proportion of free amino acids appeared in the portal blood within 3h and their level reached peaks by 12h at the latest and dropped to fasting levels by 24h. Most of the amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids, were taken up by the liver intensively during the absarptive period and less intensively but significantly even at 72h after food intake. Patterns of the portal absorption of and hepatic uptake of essential amino acids reflected the dietary profiles in both groups during the absorptive period. Postprandial changes in plasma free amino acids collected from all three regions showed similar patterns in both dietary groups.


We report multiwavelength observations of the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 in 2016-2020. Optical, X-ray and GeV flares were detected. The contemporaneous MAGIC observations do not show significant very-highenergy (VHE, & 100GeV) gamma-ray emission. The lack of enhancement in radio emission measured by OVRO indicates the multi-zone nature of the emission from this object. We constrain the VHE duty cycle of the source to be < 16 2014-like flares per year (95% confidence). For the first time for this source, a broadband low-state SED is constructed with a deep exposure up to the VHE range. A flux upper limit on the low-state VHE gamma-ray emission of an order of magnitude below that of the 2014 flare is determined. The X-ray data are used to fit the column density of (8.10±0.93stat)×10 cm of the dust in the lensing galaxy. VLBI observations show a clear radio core and jet components in both lensed images, yet no significant movement of the components is seen. The radio measurements are used to model the source-lens-observer geometry and determine the magnifications and time delays for both components. The quiescent emission is modeled with the high-energy bump explained as a combination of synchrotron-self-Compton and external Compton emission from a region located outside of the broad line region. The bulk of the low-energy emission is explained as originating from a tens-of-parsecs scale jet.


Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the unique associations between self-report history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on functional outcomes years after head injury. National Guard personnel (n = 608) from the mountain west who denied history of head injury (n = 342, 56.3%) and with history of mTBI (n = 266, 43.7%) were included in the present analyses. Participants completed self-report study measures of emotional (i.e., depression, PTSD symptoms), social (i.e., relationship satisfaction and perceived social support), and other general (i.e., concentration difficulties and sleep disturbance) functioning through an online survey. PTSD symptoms explained unique variance in emotional, social, and general functioning above and beyond history of mTBI. After controlling for PTSD symptoms, mTBI was not associated with current depression symptoms, relationship satisfaction, social support, concentration, or sleep difficulties. Self-report of PTSD symptoms account for emotional, social, and general functioning impairments often attributed to mTBI and labeled postconcussive syndrome. Symptoms often described as postconcussive syndrome in patients with mild traumatic brain injury may be better explained from a psychological standpoint. Patients with history of mTBI and persistent complaints should be screened for mental health conditions. If mental health concerns are present, treatment of that disorder may be indicated.


Abstract Axonopus P. Beauv. comprises nearly 90, mostly New World, species characterized by having spikelets with the inverse position (i.e., the backs of the upper glume and the upper lemma turned away from the rachis). The genus has been divided into four sections, five series, and three subseries, based exclusively on morphological features. Previous phylogenetic analyses based on a limited sampling of species showed Axonopus to be a monophyletic genus. In this study we increased the number of species sampled (46 species in the combined tree) and sequenced four DNA regions (external transcribed spacer [ETS], internal transcribed spacer [ITS], trnL-F, and ndhF). We tested the monophyly of Axonopus and its traditional infrageneric categories using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian inference. Additionally, we performed ancestral character state reconstructions of 45 morphological characters to infer autapomorphies of the species and synapomorphies for the genus and clades. Our findings confirmed Axonopus as a monophyletic genus only when Centrochloa Swallen and Ophiochloa Filg., Davidse & Zuloaga are included within it. Our analyses also showed that, with the exception of section Lappagopsis, infrageneric categories from previous classifications of the genus are artificial. Twenty-one morphological character states were identified as potential autapomorphies; two were reconstructed as potential synapomorphies for Axonopus, whereas 12 were reconstructed as potential synapomorphies for specific clades within the genus. Further molecular analyses, including sequencing of unlinked nuclear genes, are needed in order to reach a robust phylogenetic classification of the genus.


Rational verification is the problem of understanding what temporal logic properties hold of a multi-agent system when agents are modelled as players in a game, each acting rationally in pursuit of personal preferences. More specifically, rational verification asks whether a given property, expressed as a temporal logic formula, is satisfied in a computation of the system that might be generated if agents within the system choose strategies for selecting actions that form a Nash equilibrium. We show that, when agents are modelled using the Simple Reactive Modules Language, a widely-used system modelling language for concurrent and multi-agent systems, this problem can be reduced to a simpler query: whether some iterated game---in which players have control over a finite set of Boolean variables and goals expressed as Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) formulae---has a Nash equilibrium. To better understand the complexity of solving this kind of verification problem in practice, we then study the two-player case for various types of LTL goals, present some experimental results, and describe a general technique to implement rational verification using MCMAS, a model checking tool for the verification of concurrent and multi-agent systems.


We present the CIC-FBK system, which took part in the Native Language Identification (NLI) Shared Task 2017. Our approach combines features commonly used in previous NLI research, i.e., word n-grams, lemma n-grams, part-of-speech n-grams, and function words, with recently introduced character n-grams from misspelled words, and features that are novel in this task, such as typed character n-grams, and syntactic n-grams of words and of syntactic relation tags. We use log-entropy weighting scheme and perform classification using the Support Vector Machines (SVM) algorithm. Our system achieved 0.8808 macro-averaged F1-score and shared the 1st rank in the NLI Shared Task 2017 scoring.


ABSTRACT Macroautophagy/autophagy is a conserved catabolic process that promotes survival during stress. Autophagic dysfunction is associated with pathologies such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, autophagy must be strictly modulated at multiple levels (transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational and post-translational) to prevent deregulation. Relatively little is known about the post-transcriptional control of autophagy. Here we report that the exoribonuclease Xrn1/XRN1 functions as a negative autophagy factor in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in mammalian cells. In yeast, chromosomal deletion of XRN1 enhances autophagy and the frequency of autophagosome formation. Loss of Xrn1 results in the upregulation of autophagy-related (ATG) transcripts under nutrient-replete conditions, and this effect is dependent on the ribonuclease activity of Xrn1. Xrn1 expression is regulated by the yeast transcription factor Ash1 in rich conditions. In mammalian cells, siRNA depletion of XRN1 enhances autophagy and the replication of 2 picornaviruses. This work provides insight into the role of the RNA decay factor Xrn1/XRN1 as a post-transcriptional regulator of autophagy.


In view of environmental pollution control and purification of natural gases, developing ideal porous materials for small gas molecule (hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide) capture is an important, pressing challenge. Accordingly, herein, three microporous organic polymers (MOP-Ad) have been synthesized by Suzuki coupling polymerization of 1,3,5,7-tetrakis(4-bromophenyl)adamantane "knots" with three phenylboronic acid-type "rods". Gas adsorption studies of the MOP-Ad materials demonstrated their permanent porosity and good gas storage capabilities (1.07 wt% H2 at 77.3 K and 1.13 bar, 10.3 wt% CO2 and 2.4 wt% CH4 at 273.1 K and 1.13 bar), as well as moderate CO2/CH4 adsorption selectivity. Moreover, high thermal stability (up to 520 °C) and remarkable chemical resistance to strong acids and bases were found in these polymers, making them suitable candidates as gas storage materials in harsh chemical environments.


We report on comparative study of magnetic phase diagram and critical current of the hole- and electron-doped BaFe2As2 single crystals with close values of superconducting critical temperature, Tc, (slightly underdoped Ba0.64K0.36Fe2As2 with Tc=25K and optimally doped BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 with Tc=20K) obtained from measurements of the temperature dependence of ac-susceptibility and isothermal irreversible magnetization loops, M(H), in magnetic fields parallel to the c-axis of the crystal. From ac-susceptibility measurements we get estimation of a slope of the upper critical field, Hc2, in dependence on temperature, dHc2/dT ≈ −4.2T/K for BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 single crystal and Hc2/dT ≈ −1.75T/K for Ba0.64K0.36Fe2As2 sample that in accordance with Werthamer, Helfand, and Hohenberg (WHH) model gives Hc2(0) = 0.69Tc((dHc2)dT) ≈ 56T for BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 sample and lower value of Hc2(0) ≈ 31T for Ba0.64K0.36Fe2As2 crystal. However, obtained from M(H) measurements temperature dependence of the irreversibility field, Hirr(T), for BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 crystal located below the one for Ba0.64K0.36Fe2As2 crystal. Furthermore, at T=4.2K and higher temperatures our results for critical current density, Jc, calculated from M(H) curves clearly show slower reduction of Jc with increasing field in even underdoped Ba0.64Ka0.36Fe2As2 sample compared to optimally doped BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 crystal demonstrating higher capacity of K-doped 122 compounds for production of superconducting cables and wires with high critical current in strong magnetic fields.


Neuroimmune disorders in children are a complex group of inflammatory conditions of the central nervous system with diverse pathophysiologic mechanisms and clinical manifestations. Improvements in antibody analysis, genetics, neuroradiology, and different clinical phenotyping have expanded knowledge of the different neuroimmune disorders. The authors focus on pediatric-onset myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease, which is a new entity in the spectrum of inflammatory demyelinating diseases, distinct from both multiple sclerosis (MS) and anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs). The authors review the importance of an optimized antibody-detection assay, the frequency of MOG antibodies in children with acquired demyelinating syndrome (ADS), the disease course, the clinical spectrum, proposed diagnostic criteria, and neuroimaging of MOG antibody-associated disease. Also, they outline differential diagnosis from other neuroimmune disorders in children according to the putative primary immune mechanism. Finally, they recommend a diagnostic algorithm for the first manifestation of ADS or relapsing ADS that leads to four demyelinating syndromes: MOG antibody-associated disease, AQP4 antibody NMOSDs, MS, and seronegative relapsing ADS. This diagnostic approach provides a framework for the strategic role of neuroradiology in diagnosis of ADS and decision making, to optimize patient care and treatment outcome in concert with clinicians. Online supplemental material is available for this article. ©RSNA, 2020.


Isomerization of molecular systems is ubiquitous in chemistry and biology, and is also important for many applications. Atomistic simulations can help determine the tunable parameters influencing this process. In this paper, we use the Nonadiabatic EXcited state Molecular Dynamics (NEXMD) software to study the photoisomerization of a representative molecule, 4-styrylquinoline (SQ). trans-SQ transforms into dihydrobenzophenanthridine (DHBP) upon irradiation with laser light, with the cis conformer acting as an intermediate. We study how varying three different external stimuli (i.e., apolar versus polar solvent, low versus high photoexcitation energy, and vacuum versus a constant temperature thermostat) affects the trans-to- cis photoisomerization of SQ. Our results show that polarization effects due to implicit solvation and the thermostat play a crucial role in the isomerization process, whereas photoexcitation energy plays a lesser role on the outcome and efficiency. We also show that NEXMD captures the correct energy profile between the ground and first singlet excited state, showing that there are two distinct reaction pathways to the final stable product that vary by the number of photons absorbed, in agreement with experiment. Ultimately, NEXMD proves to be an effective tool for investigating excited state single molecule dynamics subject to various environments and initial conditions.


Nowadays the formative processes in the higher education are going towards a new format that integrates three basic beginning: gratuitousness, massive and ubiquity. This beginning is the matrix of named, with english abbreviation, MOOC (Courses Online Massive Open). This disruptive innovation has incited a revolution in the universitary education, removing the organizational traditional structure of the universities. For it, this paper describes the environment MOOC of the platform MiriadaX (https://www.miriadax.net/). In addition, this study develops, from a descriptive perspective, the genesis and paradigmatic foundation in which there is sustained the platform MiriadaX and the elements that integrate it. Finally, it shows the elements that compose a MOOC and, as an example, the didactic implementation of the course workspace


Failure to initiate and remain engaged in academic tasks can have long-lasting effects for students. In this study, we investigated the effects of high-preference sequences on both digits correct per minute and latency to initiate nonpreferred mathematics problems for 3 students with emotional and behavioral disorders. We found that high-preference sequences had negligible positive effects on rate of problem completion but had larger effects on problem initiation. This study replicates and extends prior work on the effects of high-preference sequences on mathematics problem initiation and completion.


Man from the beginning of time, tried to automate things for comfort, accuracy, precision and speed. Technology advanced from manual to mechanical and then from mechanical to automatic. Vision based applications are the products of the future. Machine vision systems integrate electronic components with software systems to imitate a variety of human functions. This paper describes current research on a vision based inspection system. A computer using a camera as an eye has replaced the manual inspection system. The camera is mounted on a conveyor belt. The main objective is to inspect for defects, instead of using complicated filters like edge enhancement, and correlation etc. a very simple technique has been implemented. Since the objects are moving over the conveyor belt so time is a factor that should be counted for. Using filters or correlation procedures give better results but consume a lot of time. The technique discussed in this paper inspects on the basic pixel level. It checks on the basis of size, shape, color and dimensions. We have implemented it on five applications and the results achieved were good enough to prove that the algorithm works as desired


SUMMARY: The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will conduct a public meeting with industry representatives, academics, technologists, government personnel, and members of the advocacy community, on the topic: " Defining Privacy. " While the Board will address the definition of privacy in the context of government counterterrorism programs, it is also interested in what conceptual interests are involved in the protection of privacy, how the impact of technology has affected privacy, what privacy interests have been identified by government privacy officials, what lessons have been learned in the private sector, and what the best way is for government to address privacy concerns. Interested parties are encouraged to attend and to submit comments. The meeting and comments will inform the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board's approach to privacy issues within its statutory purview. Visit www.pclob.gov for a list of panelists closer to the meeting date.


This thesis is about different kinds of detection problems in biology: detection of DNA sequences in crime scene samples, detection of harmful bacteria in feed and food stuff and detection of epidemical diseases in animal populations. In each case, biological data is produced or collected in order to determine which DNA sequences, bacteria types or diseases are present, if any. However, the state of nature will often remain uncertain due to limited amounts of samples, low quality samples and imperfect methods for detection and classification. For correct and efficient interpretation of such data it is therefore often necessary to use statistical methods, taking the different sources of uncertainty into account. Several Bayesian models for analysis of such data, for determining the performance of detection methods, and for deciding on the optimal analysis procedure are developed and implemented. In paper I of this thesis it is investigated how the quality in forensic DNA profiles, such as allele dropout rates, changes with different analysis settings, and how the results depend on features in the DNA sample, such as the DNA concentration and marker type. Regression models are developed and the better analysis setting is determined. In paper II Bayesian decision theory is used to determine the optimal forensic DNA analysis procedure, after the DNA concentration and level of degradation in the sample have been estimated. It is assumed the alternatives for DNA analysis are 1) using a standard assay, 2) using the standard assay and a complementary assay, or 3) the analysis is cancelled. In paper III detection models for bacteria are developed. It is shown how heterogeneous experimental data can be used to learn about the sensitivity of detection methods for specific bacteria types, such as Bacillus anthracis. As exemplified in the paper, such results are useful e.g. when evaluating negative analysis results. Finally, in paper IV a Bayesian method for early detection of disease outbreaks in animal populations is developed and implemented. Based on reported neurological syndromes in horses, connected e.g. with the West Nile Virus, the probability of an outbreak is computed using a Gibbs sampling procedure.


Abstract : Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) promise to change the way we think about aircraft and airspace and they are being used in many different environments; everything from entertainment to search and rescue operations. One thing common amongst the different UAV platforms is that all use very difficult user interfaces. These interfaces have been designed by engineers and roboticists who do not have training in incorporating the needs of end users. This research involves developing an innovative interface for UAVs that improves situation awareness for the user and demonstrating its effectiveness. Existing UAV interfaces are almost always targeted towards experienced pilots, engineers, or someone who is an expert in both of those fields. The result is interfaces which are confusing and difficult to use for someone who isn't an expert in these areas. The UAV pilot's interface is usually just a copy of an aircraft cockpit presented to the user. For someone with a great deal of experience looking at the various dials and gauges this can be helpful, but the experience of flying a UAV is not completely analogous to flying a manned aircraft, which involves associating the feeling of flight to the controls. When flying a UAV there is no feedback in the user s body to indicate what is happening with the aircraft, which makes it difficult to understand what the aircraft is doing. In contrast to a pilot, an engineer who is developing and troubleshooting the UAV and its interface needs access to different elements of the aircraft s status, such as the status of the internal computer, tuning parameters, and servo positions. These elements are usually displayed in a list or a table. Once the aircraft can fly, this information is no longer as important and its presence in the display causes unnecessary complexity for UAV pilots.


Royal jelly (RJ) is a yellowish-white and acidic secretion of hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of nurse bees used to feed young worker larvae during the first three days and the entire life of queen bees. RJ is one of the most appreciated and valued natural product which has been mainly used in traditional medicines, health foods, and cosmetics for a long time in different parts of the world. It is also the most studied bee product, aimed at unravelling its bioactivities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-aging, immunomodulatory, and general tonic action against laboratory animals, microbial organisms, farm animals, and clinical trials. It is commonly used to supplement various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, and Alzheimer's disease. Here, we highlight the recent research advances on the main bioactive compounds of RJ, such as proteins, peptides, fatty acids, and phenolics, for a comprehensive understanding of the biochemistry, biological, and pharmaceutical responses to human health promotion and life benefits. This is potentially important to gain novel insight into the biological and pharmaceutical properties of RJ.


The ability to understand the relationship between the reversal potential and the membrane potential is a fundamental skill that must be mastered by students studying membrane excitability. To clarify this relationship, we have reframed a classic experiment carried out by Hodgkin and Katz, where we compare graphically the membrane potential at three phases of the action potential (resting potential, action potential peak, and afterhyperpolarization) to reversal potential for K+ (EK), reversal potential for Na (ENa), and membrane potential (Em) (calculated by the Goldman Hodgkin Katz equation) to illustrate that the membrane potential approaches the reversal potential of the ion to which it is most permeable at that instant.


Ochratoxin A (OTA) is the most common mycotoxin and can be found in wheat, corn and other grain products. As OTA pollution in these grain products is gaining prominence as a global issue, the demand to develop OTA detection technology has attracted increasing attention. Recently, a variety of label-free fluorescence biosensors based on aptamer have been established. However, the binding mechanisms of some aptasensors are still unclear. Herein, a label-free fluorescent aptasensor employing Thioflavin T (ThT) as donor for OTA detection was constructed based on the G-quadruplex aptamer of the OTA aptamer itself. The key binding region of aptamer was revealed by using molecular docking technology. In the absence of the OTA target, ThT fluorescent dye binds with the OTA aptamer to form an aptamer/ThT complex, and results in the fluorescence intensity being obviously enhanced. In the presence of OTA, the OTA aptamer binds to OTA because of its high affinity and specificity to form an aptamer/OTA complex, and the ThT fluorescent dye is released from the OTA aptamer into the solution. Therefore, the fluorescence intensity is significantly decreased. Molecular docking results revealed that OTA is binding to the pocket-like structure and surrounded by the A29-T3 base pair and C4, T30, G6 and G7 of the aptamer. Meanwhile, this aptasensor shows good selectivity, sensitivity and an excellent recovery rate of the wheat flour spiked experiment.


Structured CNN designed using the prior information of problems potentially improves efficiency over conventional CNNs in various tasks in solving PDEs and inverse problems in signal processing. This paper introduces BNet2, a simplified Butterfly-Net and inline with the conventional CNN. Moreover, a Fourier transform initialization is proposed for both BNet2 and CNN with guaranteed approximation power to represent the Fourier transform operator. Experimentally, BNet2 and the Fourier transform initialization strategy are tested on various tasks, including approximating Fourier transform operator, end-to-end solvers of linear and nonlinear PDEs, and denoising and deblurring of 1D signals. On all tasks, under the same initialization, BNet2 achieves similar accuracy as CNN but has fewer parameters. And Fourier transform initialized BNet2 and CNN consistently improve the training and testing accuracy over the randomly initialized CNN.


All-optical tunable delay plays an important role for enabling high-throughput optical routing, such as buffer for contention resolution and timing synchronization. We proposed and demonstrated a widely tunable optical delay using optical Kerr-switch-based wavelength converter and pulse pre-chirping for compensating chromatic dispersion in fiber delay. With wideband operation provided by a Kerr-switch wavelength converter, a tunable delay range up to 8.56 ns was achieved. Meanwhile, pulse pre-chirping helped to alleviate group-velocity dispersion (GVD)-induced penalty, and provided simultaneous nonreturn-zero (NRZ)-to-RZ format conversion functionality.


While Carmines and Stimson's work on issue evolutions has prompted research showing the dynamics and effects of new party alignments on abortion, religion, gender and cultural issues, this research has all centred on the United States. This article examines issue evolution in Britain. Using evidence on the timing of changes in elite positions from Comparative Manifestos Group data, and survey data on public attitudes to the European Union with a longer historical sweep than heretofore, the article finds strong evidence that the European issue has followed an issue evolution path, though with distinct dynamics contingent on the pace of elite re-positioning. Thus, this article extends the theory of issue evolution to a parliamentary political system and demonstrates the responsiveness of the public to elite cues, while also providing additional insights from a unique case in which elites have staked out distinct positions not once, but twice.


59Co NMR measurements have been performed to study the local magnetic properties of Ca1−xNaxCo2O4 with x = 0-0.6, which is a new system synthesized for the first time under a high pressure. The Knight shift of the 59Co NMR spectra for these materials is small and almost T-independent even when the Ca ions are substituted by Na up to x = 0.6. Furthermore, a magnetic order is not observed at least down to 4.2 K for the samples with x = 0-0.6 prepared in this work. In order to explain these peculiar magnetic behaviors, site-selective distribution of holes has been discussed.


The non-resonant two-photon ionization of hydrogen-like ions is studied in second-order perturbation theory, based on the Dirac equation. To carry out the summation over the complete Coulomb spectrum, a Green function approach has been applied to the computation of the ionization cross sections. Exact second-order relativistic cross sections are compared with data as obtained from a relativistic long-wavelength approximation as well as from the scaling of non-relativistic results. For high-Z ions, the relativistic wavefunction contraction may lower the two-photon ionization cross sections by a factor of two or more, while retardation effects appear less pronounced but still give rise to non-negligible contributions.


RATIONALE
Protic ionic liquids have the potential to be useful materials for primary ion beams in terms of protonation, since they have active protons. Selecting protic ionic liquids suitable for primary ion beams is of great importance to increase molecular secondary ion yields. Propylammonium nitrate ([C3 H7 NH3 ][NO3 ]) seems promising in view of its proton affinity. It is likely that [C3 H7 NH3 ]+ cations can act as proton donors, and [NO3 ]- anions can work as proton acceptors.

METHODS
Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) experiments have been performed to verify the usefulness of [C3 H7 NH3 ][NO3 ]. A primary propylammonium nitrate cluster ion beam was generated by vacuum electrospray, and then used to analyze amino acids (arginine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid), angiotensin II and polyethylene glycol. Positive and negative secondary ion mass spectra were obtained to study both protonation and deprotonation.

RESULTS
The propylammonium nitrate cluster ion beam successfully generated protonated molecules [M + H]+ of all the analytes in positive ion mode. The primary ion beam also generated deprotonated molecules [M - H]- of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and angiotensin II in negative ion mode. Additionally, adduct ions related to [C3 H7 NH3 ][NO3 ] were detected in the case of arginine and polyethylene glycol.

CONCLUSIONS
The TOF-SIMS experiments confirmed that the propylammonium nitrate cluster ion beam was useful in generating molecular secondary ions, demonstrating that it is well suited for a primary ion beam in TOF-SIMS.


Background Transferrin saturation reference intervals specific for age and sex have not been previously reported for the pediatric population. The reference values for transferrin saturation have been previously reported to be lower in children compared to adults, caused by a combination of low serum iron and high serum transferrin levels in children, warranting specific reference intervals. Here we use the original iron and transferrin data from the CALIPER cohort to establish age- and sex-specific pediatric reference intervals for transferrin saturation. Methods Iron and transferrin concentrations were measured in serum samples from the CALIPER cohort of healthy children and adolescents on the Abbott Architect c8000. Transferrin saturation was subsequently calculated and statistically relevant age- and sex-partitions were determined. After removing outliers, age- and sex-specific reference intervals with corresponding 90% confidence intervals were calculated using CLSI C28-A3 guidelines. Results Transferrin saturation required 3 separate age partitions, with an additional sex partition for 14-<19 year olds. Transferrin saturation was more variable during the first year of life, evident by a wider reference interval, which subsequently narrowed at one year until adolescence. Upon adolescence, a sex difference was apparent with females having lower percent transferrin saturation than males. Conclusions Age- and sex-specific pediatric reference intervals for transferrin saturation were established based on a large cohort of healthy pediatric subjects. Transference studies suggest that these intervals established using Abbott assays are comparable to those on Beckman, Ortho, Roche, and Siemens assays. Individual laboratories should however verify these reference intervals for their individual instrument and local population as per CLSI guidelines.


As the number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to increase, the medical situation is still critical, and potential therapeutic drugs, vaccines and stem cell replacement approaches are emerging. Chloroquine has shown better clinical antiviral efficacy than lopinavir/litonavir (clazidine) in clinical trials of small sample size. Since pharmacological action mechanism of hydroxychloroquine is similar with chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine is safer than chloroquine in the treatment of malaria and immunological diseases, the clinical pharmacology characteristics of hydroxychloroquine was reviewed, hoping to provide theoretical support for clinical effect verification of hydroxychloroquine from the perspective of clinical pharmacology and quantitative pharmacology.


24 recordings of night-time sleep in three patients suffering from progressive supranuclear paralysis were carried out. There was observed: a tendency to insomnia, disappearance of spindles, an invasion of slow sleep immediately it appeared by the muscular and ocular criteria of paradoxical sleep, a considerable reduction in paradoxical sleep in the strict sense of the term, the latency of which in making its appearance was, however, maintained; progressive invasion of the paradoxical phases by slow waves. These abnormalities differ from those found in Parkinson's disease.


Scientific validation of much medicinal flora is lacking in India and still many species are used traditionally. From many years Ipomoea reniformis was studied for its traditionally claimed activity and still it is unexplored. The plant can be further explored for the study of traditionally claimed unexplored activities, as well as isolation and identification of active constituents may lead to new findings. In the present study whole plant of I. reniformis was collected, dried and extracted with various solvents according to solubility index, and finally five extracts were studied by well diffusion assay for their antifungal and antimicrobial effects on both gram positive, gram negative bacteria and a fungal species. The study revealed that ethyl acetate extract was having highest activity that is why fractions of the ethyl acetate extract was prepared by various solvents and again the antimicrobial study was done with each fraction. The ethyl acetate extract and fraction exhibited activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, while the aqueous extracts elucidated antimicrobial activity against only Staphylococcus aureus. The ethanolic and chloroform extracts showed inhibition of Aspergillus niger. The plant showed antimicrobial activity, evidencing the need to conduct further studies that can identify their active components responsible for the activity.


Purpose The normal values for lung resistance and lung capacity of children, as determined by impulse oscillometry (IOS), are different for children of different ethnicities. However, reference values there is no available reference value for Korean preschool children have yet to be determined. The aim of the present study was to determine the normal ranges of IOS parameters in Korean preschool children. Methods A total of 133 healthy Korean preschool children were selected from 639 children (aged 3 to 6 years) who attended kindergarten in Seongnam, Gyeonggi province, Korea. Healthy children were defined according to the European Respiratory Society (ERS) criteria. All subjects underwent lung function tests using IOS. The relationships between IOS value (respiratory resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) at 5 and 10 Hz and resonance frequency (RF)) and age, height, and weight were analyzed by simple linear and multiple linear regression analyses. Results The IOS success rate was 89.5%, yielding data on 119 children. Linear regression identified height as the best predictor of Rrs and Xrs. Using stepwise multiple linear regressions based on age, height, and weight, we determined regression equations and coefficients of determination (R2) for boys (Rrs5=1.934-0.009×Height, R2=12.1%; Xrs5=0.774+0.006×Height-0.002×Age, R2=20.2% and for girls (Rrs5=2.201-0.012×Height, R2=18.2%; Xrs5=-0.674+0.004×Height, R2=10.5%). Conclusion This study provides reference values for IOS measurements of normal Korean preschool children. These provide a basis for the diagnosis and monitoring of preschool children with a variety of respiratory diseases.


was performed using a cloud database (IBM Explorys), which includes de-identified data across 300 hospitals in the US. ICD 9 and ICD 10 diagnosis codes are mapped using SNOMED CT (Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms) hierarchy. Data on baseline characteristics were collected and compared using odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Out of a total of 8,100 patients with a diagnosis of primary adenocarcinoma of the small intestine, 63% are located in the duodenum and 7.4% in the jejunum. When patients with jejunal adenocarcinoma were compared to patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma, clinical characteristics included higher rates of obesity (OR, 1.36), a significantly higher prevalence of malignant neoplasm of colon (OR, 3.07), Crohn's disease (OR, 4.42), and celiac disease (OR, 2.48). Jejunal adenocarcinoma patients presented more frequently with intestinal obstruction (OR, 1.99) whereas, duodenal adenocarcinoma patients more commonly presented with iron deficiency anemia (OR, 0.16). Patients with jejunal adenocarcinoma are less likely to undergo therapy with antineoplastic agents when compared with duodenal adenocarcinoma (OR, 0.81). There are no differences in patients undergoing surgical intervention or a combination of surgical intervention and antineoplastic therapy. (Table 1) Conclusion: In our first nationwide population-based study, compared to patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma, patients with jejunal adenocarcinoma have greater odds of being obese, younger age at diagnosis (, 65 years), and adverse events like intestinal obstruction. Jejunal adenocarcinoma is more commonly associated with colorectal cancer, celiac disease, and Crohn's disease. The rationale behind this remains unclear, and further prospective studies are required to assess this association. While there were no differences in surgical resection rates, the odds of requiring chemotherapy were lower in patients with jejunal adenocarcinoma. This suggests that patients with jejunal adenocarcinoma are likely to undergo curative resection.


This work illustrates current advancements in SABRE hyperpolarized pyruvate toward in vivo imaging, demonstrating that significant levels of polarization achieved on pyruvate enable dynamic spectroscopy and imaging of downstream chemical products. Specifically in this study we show the monitoring of chemical conversion of pyruvate to pyruvate hydrate using a pH change and pyruvate to CO2 by reaction with H2O2. While the current work only focuses on the study of the chemical conversion of hyperpolarized substrate in a phantom, these studies lay the groundwork for future in vivo injections that mirror these chemical conversion processes.


Infinitesimal -th order bendings, , of higher-dimensional surfaces are considered in higher-dimensional flat spaces (for an infinitesimal bending is assumed to be an analytic bending). In terms of the Allendoerfer type number, criteria are established for the -rigidity (in the terminology of Sabitov) of such surfaces. In particular, an -infinitesimal analogue is proved of the classical theorem of Allendoerfer on the unbendability of surfaces with type number and the class of -rigid fibred surfaces is distinguished.


In the wake of de-Stalinization, the regional leaderships of Eastern Bloc communist parties formed relationships with one another, exchanging delegations, documentary material, students, tourists and technicians. Some parties, such as those of the DDR and Czechoslovakia, established privileged relationships with one another that may be compared to those of sister cities. At once the result of diplomacy and more or less supervised local initiatives, these interactions were institutionalized as they became more widespread. While they were undeniably marked by curiosity, mutual observation and some degree of technical exchange, genuinely transnational practices did not play a prominent role in these relationships. No interpersonal networks truly emerged. While a priori unanticipated forms of re-appropriation occasionally existed in direct contacts between individuals, local political actors above all remained subject to the imperatives of the position they occupied in their national party apparatuses. Due to their extremely centralized mode of operation, communist parties thus reinforced the structure of already existing nation states. They were thus able to develop transnational discourses, values and perhaps even expectations while at the same time hampering their implementation. ■


An analysis is done of 40 evaluable patients treated with a combination of 5-Fluorouracil, adriamycin and mitomycin-C for primary hepatocellular carcinoma in Saudi Arabia. In only 5 patients (12.5%) objective partial remission was achieved. The duration of remission for responding patients was: 6, 6, 8, 12 and 20 weeks, respectively. Responders demonstrated a short survival time of 8, 8, 10, 15 and 33 weeks. The median survival time of non-responders was 8 weeks, which was not different from that of responders. An analysis of potential factors that might contribute to our poor results is presented.


Mossbauer effect (ME) spectroscopy is applied to the study of the mechanism of fossilization process and the effect of environmental conditions on plant and animal fossils. The samples are collected near the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and Libya. The results indicate that fossilization takes place in two stages: (i) an iron mineral is formed which differs according to the geological conditions under which the fossil was formed; (ii) these minerals are then transformed to alpha -Fe2O3. The existence of the iron in trivalent state in all the iron minerals and the absence of sulphides indicate that fossilization took place under oxidizing conditions.


Abstract The problem of the native player in the Romanian basketball generated a lot of pros and cons. To take a stand in this issue, in order to protect the Romanian player, starting with the 2015-2016 season, the Romanian Basketball Federation introduced the rule of presence of the local player on the court at each official match. Thus, at Romanian Cup matches, at least two Romanian players must be permanently on the court, and at the National League matches there must be at least one Romanian player at all times. Starting from the hypothesis that the value of the national team increases through the first echelon, this study aims to analyze and compare the game parameters registered in the National Men's Basketball League (LNBM) and those made by the national team of Romania at Eurobasket 2017.


One way to improve the robustness and flexibility of robot performance is to let the robot learn from its ex- periences. In this paper, we describe the architecture and knowledge-representation framework for a service robot being developed in the EU project RACE, and present examples illustrating how learning from experi- ences will be achieved. As a unique innovative feature, the framework combines memory records of low-level robot activities with ontology-based high-level seman- tic descriptions.


Summary Study aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between objectively measured daily physical activity (PA) and body fat mass (BF) and body mass index (BMI). A further aim was to analyse the variance of PA between quartiles of BF and BMI. Material and methods: A cross-sectional, observational study of 126 university students (53 males aged 20.46 ± 2.04 years and 73 female aged 19.69 ± 1.32 years) was conducted. Results: The female participants and PA characteristics explain 57.10% of BF variance and the model was statistically significant (F(6, 875) = 196.38; p = 0.001). BMI was also included in the model. Standard binary logistic regression was used to test the hypothesis that female sex and PA characteristics can influence overweight. The full model containing all variables was statistically significant (G2(6) = 58.598, p-value = 0.001). Analysis of variance between BF quartiles revealed statistically significant differences in male participants in light PA (p = 0.001; ES = 0.09), moderate PA (p = 0.001; ES = 0.042) and vigorous PA (p = 0.001; ES = 0.130). Conclusions: The statistical model in the regression analysis suggests that low and vigorous levels of PA explain 57% of BF variance in female participants.


A /spl pi/ technology (particle-enhanced isolation, PEI) is proposed to employ penetrating proton beams on the already manufactured mixed-mode (analog-digital) IC wafers (prior to packaging) for the suppression of undesirable substrate coupling. Results indicated that an improvement of 25-30 dB could be achieved by applying a relatively low-fluence proton bombardment on the isolation-intended region in a metal pads pattern. Hall measurements of the irradiated spots were conducted and the associated physics are elaborated on. Issues relevant to the commercial-scale implementation of this technology are also pointed out and discussed. Finally, a /spl pi/-technology-based post-very large scale integration (VLSI) concept: the "particle-beam stand" (PBS) is promoted, which, especially with its design rules pushed to the front end, can potentially serve as the general system-on-a-chip (SOC) integration platform and end most mixed-mode and RF SOC development difficulties.


In order to improve pyrolysis chromatographic analysis of materials that release polar functional groups e.g. carboxylic acids, a simple and rapid methylation method based on TDUpyrolysis/GC-MS in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) was developed. Linseed oil was selected as test material because of its high triglyceride content comprising both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Pyrolysis was performed at 500, 600 and 700°C using a GERSTEL pyrolysis module (PYRO) with a heated platinum fi lament. The optimum pyrolysis temperature for linseed oil was found to be 500°C. The fatty acids in the linseed oil were found to have been quantitatively methylated when using a methanolic TMAH solution (~ 10 % in methanol). The use of an aqueous TMAH solution (25 wt. % in H2O) for the methylation of fatty acids was found to result in lower fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields, indicating that


Routing Protocols are used by routers to dynamically determine the path of a packet (user information) through an internetwork. This is an important subject to understand in today's Information Communication System, since it pertains to all routers and configurations that use Internet Protocols (IP). IP Routing is a key technology for connecting LANs in a Wide Area Network (WAN). This paper studies the underlying concepts widely used in routing protocols. Various techniques are used by effective routing protocols to determine the most appropriate route for data transmission. The most relevant routing information involves various measures that are often obtained in an imprecise manner, hence proposing that neural routing is a natural method to employ in an improved routing scheme. This adaptive artificial intelligence method enables the Wide Area Network (WAN) learn easily once the neural network is initially designed. This technique, neural networks, provides a very effective routing algorithm for computer networks. Computer simulation is employed to prove the new Neural Open Shortest Path First (NOSPF) outperforms the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) in most computer network situations. The benefits increase as the computer network migrates from a stable network to a more variable one. The advantages of applying this neural routing protocol are apparent when considering the dynamic nature of modern computer networks.