Suppressing an already initiated manual response depends critically on the right inferior frontal cortex (IFC), yet it is unclear how this inhibitory function is implemented in the motor system. It has been suggested that the subthalamic nucleus (STN), which is a part of the basal ganglia, may play a role because it is well placed to suppress the "direct" fronto-striatal pathway that is activated by response initiation. In two experiments, we investigated this hypothesis with functional magnetic resonance imaging and a Stop-signal task. Subjects responded to Go signals and attempted to inhibit the initiated response to occasional Stop signals. In experiment 1, Going significantly activated frontal, striatal, pallidal, and motor cortical regions, consistent with the direct pathway, whereas Stopping significantly activated right IFC and STN. In addition, Stopping-related activation was significantly greater for fast inhibitors than slow ones in both IFC and STN, and activity in these regions was correlated across subjects. In experiment 2, high-resolution functional and structural imaging confirmed the location of Stopping activation within the vicinity of the STN. We propose that the role of the STN is to suppress thalamocortical output, thereby blocking Go response execution. These results provide convergent data for a role for the STN in Stop-signal response inhibition. They also suggest that the speed of Go and Stop processes could relate to the relative activation of different neural pathways. Future research is required to establish whether Stop-signal inhibition could be implemented via a direct functional neuroanatomic projection between IFC and STN (a "hyperdirect" pathway).


The newspaper heading 'Bring back a calling for those who really care' echoed the calls of many articles in South African newspapers from 2005 to 2009. According to one newspaper editor (In search of compassion 2006:9), 'hardly a day passes in which the newspaper does not receive at least one letter from an angry, frustrated and often traumatised reader in which yet another horrendous experience at one of the provincial hospitals is recounted'. A qualitative content analysis was done to determine how South African newspapers reported issues related to nurses and nursing. A search of the database SA Media of Sabinet was performed for the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2009, using the keywords, 'nurse' and 'nursing'. A purposive sample of 161 newspaper articles from national and regional newspapers was analysed using a qualitative, inductive approach. Images of nurses as caring, compassionate and knowledgeable professionals were present but were overshadowed by negative reporting. Articles that portrayed nurses as overworked, uncaring, lazy, ruthless, incompetent and suffering from burnout appeared regularly during this period. The government has a major role to play in improving public healthcare in South Africa. Steps to address the nursing shortage, lack of resources and poor performance of public hospitals and clinics have to be introduced as a matter of urgency. It is, however, up to the nursing profession to take a critical look at the image of the profession portrayed in the media and to address issues of laziness, ruthlessness, uncaring and general negative attitudes amongst nurses.


As a company grows, protecting its intellectual property could be key to its valuation. We present some basics about trademarks, patents, copyrights, and contracts. Building an organization, managing and motivating people, and finding customers and investors are all difficult and important. But the most important thing you could do for your new-economy company is to protect your intellectual property. Without hard assets, protected intellectual property could ultimately determine your company's valuation and even prevent a competitor from entering the same market. Companies create intellectual property daily, and the ability to protect it directly affects its value. There are four main types of intellectual property to consider protecting: trademarks and service marks; copyrights; patents; and trade secrets. We also discuss contractual protections that apply to employing IT staffers, consultants, and subcontractors.


The aim of the paper is to analyse the implementation of a climate change mitigation strategy for the forest sector. We suggest a strategy based on an increased storage capacity in wood products. An additional resource is provided by recycling and a reallocation of timber usages. In the first part of the paper, the additionality notion ("Kyoto meaning") is discussed (environmental and economic aspects). Then a case study is conducted on the "Landes de Gascogne forest". The project is assessed on the basis of additional carbon storage and on the basis of avoided emissions, as wood can replace CO2 intensive materials (concrete, steel). Results will be useful in view of the discussions dealing with the post 2012 Kyoto period and the possible inclusion of wood products in the carbon stocks.


This paper discusses the potential of the intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) concept to improve the efficiency of thin-film chalcopyrite solar cells. The results show that solar cells based on CuGaS2, with a radiative limiting efficiency of 46.7%, exhibit the highest potential. A simple method for the identification of transition elements that when incorporated in CuGaS2 could possibly introduce an intermediate band is also described. The IBSC concept is also applied under the assumptions that thin-film solar cells are not to be operated under concentrated light and that a non-negligible contribution of nonradiative recombination exists.


Certain HIV-encoded proteins modify host-cell gene expression in a manner that facilitates viral replication. These activities may contribute to low-level viral replication in nonproliferating cells. Through the use of oligonucleotide microarrays and high-throughput Western blotting we demonstrate that one of these proteins, gp120, induces the expression of cytokines, chemokines, kinases, and transcription factors associated with antigen-specific T cell activation in the absence of cellular proliferation. Examination of transcriptional changes induced by gp120 in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and monocyte-derived-macrophages reveals a broad and complex transcriptional program conducive to productive infection with HIV. Observations include the induction of nuclear factor of activated T cells, components of the RNA polymerase II complex including TFII D, proteins localized to the plasma membrane, including several syntaxins, and members of the Rho protein family, including Cdc 42. These observations provide evidence that envelope-mediated signaling contributes to the productive infection of HIV in suboptimally activated T cells.


In 35 patients with simple multinodular goiter and with normal preoperative TSH reserve, the mean basal TSH and the mean TSH response to TRH increased significantly 5-15 days and 1-15 months following partial thyroidectomy. The postoperative mean TSH values were also greater than the age-related normal mean values. The incidence of postoperative supranormal TSH values and the incidence of postoperative increase in basal and TRH-stimulated TSH did not differ in the early and late postoperative course. In the latter the FTI had decreased significantly in the euthyroid range as compared to the preoperative value, whereas the mean serum T3 had not increased significantly. The patients were divided into two subgroups according to the anatomo-pathological finding and ensuing type of goiter resection (either selective ablation of non-functioning parenchyma with normal remnants, or resection of functioning and non-functioning parenchyma in the presence of goitrous remnants); the postoperative increase in the mean basal and TRH-stimulated serum TSH values was significant only in the non-selective ablation subgroup. Preclinical hypothyroidism was noted post surgery in 6 patients with supranormal preoperative TSH reserve. The results demonstrate a decreased thyroid reserve, as reflected in a persistent increase in thyrotropic function following resection of simple multinodular goiter in patients from a mildly endemic area. Long-term follow-up and thyroid hormone substitution may chiefly be indicated following non-selective goiter resection, in order to eliminate or prevent preclinical hypothyroidism and to prevent development of recurrent goiter.


Exergy concepts and exergy based methods offer an insight to the understanding of sustainable energy engineering. The utilization of energy and other resources by applying physical concept as exergy and exergy based methods and the value of these tools in the design are presented, in particular Life Cycle Exergy Analysis (LCEA). LCEA is applied to a typical wind power plant. This brings a new approach and insight to the engineering conditions for a sustainable development that is further elaborated. The importance of introducing this new knowledge into present engineering education and practices is argued for.


Torque is very essential for performance evaluation of electric machines because it is directly connected with power loss for dynamic characteristics. To evaluate dynamic performance, torque with harmonic component according to time is introduced. Particularly, eddy current loss is significantly increased at high speed, so it is difficult to express the dynamic characteristic without reflection about losses. Therefore, in this paper, rotor eddy current loss wave is derived by fast Fourier transform which uses the phase current wave obtained from finite element analysis according to two conditions: one has rotor eddy current loss, the other does not. The core loss is deduced by a modified Steinmetz equation and additional losses are considered from an experiment. Those losses are worked as drag torque which is inverse force to performance of a machine. The operating torque estimated from the difference between drag torque and electric torque closely reflects the dynamic characteristics.


An architectural framework that allows software applications and operating system code written for a given instruction set to migrate to different, higher performance architectures is described. The framework provides a hardware mechanism that enhances application performance while keeping the same program behavior from a user perspective. The framework is designed to accommodate program exceptions, self-modifying code, tracing, and debugging. Examples are given for IBM System/390 operating-system code and AIX utilities, showing the performance potential of the scheme using a very long instruction word (VLIW) machine as the high-performance target architecture.<<ETX>>


Student graduation and retention rates are among the metrics that many academic institutions of higher education closely monitor because of their impact on the success of recruiting students and in some U.S. states, they can impact the level of state government funding of public academic institutions. For these reasons, many academic institutions explore innovative ways to improve their graduation and retention rates to levels as high as 95%, respectively. An example of an innovative and transformational approach to improving these metrics is presently taking place in a mid-western university, and the cornerstone of this approach are the development and implementation of engineering technology foundations and applications course for all incoming students. While this course uses active learning approaches and team projects, the scope of their contents distinguish them from similar courses that seek to achieve improved graduation and retention rates. For instance, in this course, soft skills such as technical writing, use of Excel, developing an individual academic plan of study, cooperative education, internships, cultural diversity, quality, safety, and ethics are covered. Basic technical skills covered include math, mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering technology. The rationale for this course is to expose students to these subjects and topics before they enroll in core engineering technology courses such as applied statics. Assessment of learning: While the author plans to conduct this study for at least a four-year period, when the students presently taking the engineering technology foundation course would be graduating so as to compare their graduation and retention rates with those of former graduates, preliminary results presented in this study compare performance of students taking the engineering technology foundation and application course with those of their classmates who were not presently enrolled in this course but were enrolled in the same 100-level engineering technology course.


ABSTRACT Clostridioides difficile is the most prevalent pathogen of nosocomial diarrhea. In the United States, over 450,000 cases of C. difficile infection (CDI), responsible for more than 29,000 deaths, are reported annually in recent years. Because of the emergence of hypervirulent strains and strains less susceptible to vancomycin and fidaxomicin, new therapeutics other than antibiotics are urgently needed. The gut microbiome serves as one of the first-line defenses against C. difficile colonization. The use of antibiotics causes gut microbiota dysbiosis and shifts the status from colonization resistance to infection. Hence, novel CDI biotherapeutics capable of reconstituting normal gut microbiota have become a focus of drug development in this field.


As a method of universal approximation deep neural networks (DNNs) are capable of finding approximate solutions to problems posed with little more constraints than a suitably-posed mathematical system and an objective function. Consequently, DNNs have considerably more flexibility in applications than classical numerical methods. On the other hand they offer an uncontrolled approximation to the sought-after mathematical solution. This suggests that hybridization of classical numerical methods with DNN-based approximations may be a desirable approach. In this work a DNN-based approximator inspired by the physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) methodology is used to provide an initial guess to a Newton's method iteration of a very-high order implicit Runge-Kutta (IRK) integration of a nonlinear system of ODEs, namely the Lorenz system. In the usual approach many explicit timesteps are needed to provide a guess to the implicit system's nonlinear solver, requiring enough work to make the IRK method infeasible. The DNN-based approach described in this work enables large implicit time-steps to be taken to any desired degree of accuracy for as much effort as it takes to converge the DNN solution to within a few percent accuracy. This work also develops a general formula for the matrix elements of the IRK method for an arbitrary quadrature order.


The recent theoretical evidence for an on-top adsorption site for xenon on Pt(111) has led us to investigate the possible influence of the adsorption site on the diffraction pattern of the uniaxially compressed phase in this system. As pointed out by Gottlieb adsorption in the threefold hollow or on-top site, respectively, might lead to different domain-wall structures with different characteristic diffraction patterns. This is due to the fact that on the hexagonal surface lattice there are two hollow sites per unit cell (which were assumed to be degenerate) but only one on-top site. Here we show how the diffraction signature is modified if the threefold hollow sites are no longer energetically degenerate [i.e., if the true three-dimensional character of the Pt(111) surface is taken into account]. We give a quantitative evaluation of the nature of the domain-wall phase in terms of domain-wall energies and the difference of the adsorption energy at the two different hollow sites. In conclusion, we find that the inference of an on-top adsorption site from the measured diffraction pattern has to be taken with caution.


The combination of carbon nanotubes with inorganic nanostructures is believed to be a powerful tool for constructing novel organic-inorganic hybrid architectures with desirable functionalities and applications in many fields ranging from energy storage and conversion, to catalysis, sensing, and medical diagnosis and treatment. Due to the chemically inert graphitic surface of the carbon nanotube, different assembly protocols for building functional carbon nanotube-inorganic hybrids, including covalent and noncovalent routes, have been designed and demonstrated. A better understanding of the chemistry associated with the hybrid assembly holds a key to rational manipulation of the hybrid properties. This critical review discusses nondestructive noncovalent assembly methodologies for constructing diverse carbon nanotube-inorganic hybrid materials and provides the latest advances in this field. Particular focus is given to the noncovalent assembly via functional linking molecules which play pivotal roles in the control of morphology, composition, structure, interface, and thus properties of the hybrid materials.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
Expert consensus recommends testing pleural fluid for pH to assist the selection of patients with malignant pleural effusions for pleurodesis. Although published studies report an association between pleural fluid pH and patient outcomes after pleurodesis, clinicians have no definitive information on how to use pH to select patients for pleurodesis. Thus, we quantitatively assessed different methods for deriving likelihood ratios from pleural fluid pH and evaluated the potential role of pH in selecting patients for pleurodesis.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, systematic reviews, article reference lists, and contact with primary authors.

STUDY SELECTION
Studies that assessed the impact of pleural fluid pH on survival and pleurodesis failure rates among patients with malignant pleural effusions.

DATA EXTRACTION
Primary authors provided their data in electronic spreadsheets.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Retrieved data sets included survival and pleurodesis failure rates for 417 patients and 433 patients, respectively. Binary, multilevel, and continuous likelihood ratios were calculated to estimate the likelihood of death within 3 months of pleurodesis or pleurodesis failure rates. Values for the likelihood ratios were compared for each of the three strategies, and relative clinical and statistical significance were assessed. Pleural fluid pH had marginal performance for identifying patients with < 3-month anticipated survival; binary likelihood ratios provided as much information as the multilevel and continuous strategies. Likelihood ratios for identifying patients likely to fail pleurodesis were clinically useful. Continuous likelihood ratios provided statistically more information as compared with the multilevel and binary strategies.

CONCLUSIONS
Pleural fluid pH has marginal value for estimating death within 3 months of pleurodesis, and binary likelihood ratios (cut point </= 7.20) perform as well as the other strategies assessed. Pleural fluid pH provides more useful information for estimating the likelihood of pleurodesis failure for which continuous likelihood ratios provide the most information as compared with binary or multilevel likelihood ratios.


Oxidative stress resistance is an important mechanism to sustain the viability of oxygen-sensitive microaerophilic Campylobacter jejuni. In C. jejuni, gene expression associated with oxidative stress defense is modulated by PerR (peroxide response regulator) and CosR (Campylobacter oxidative stress regulator). Iron also plays an important role in the regulation of oxidative stress, as high iron concentrations reduce the transcription of perR. However, little is known about how iron affects the transcription of cosR. The level of cosR transcription was increased when the defined media MEMα (Minimum Essential Medium) was supplemented with ferrous (Fe2+) and ferric (Fe3+) iron and the Mueller–Hinton (MH) media was treated with an iron chelator, indicating that iron upregulates cosR transcription. However, other divalent cationic ions, such as Zn2+, Cu2+, Co2+, and Mn2+, did not affect cosR transcription, suggesting that cosR transcription is regulated specifically by iron. Interestingly, the level of perR transcription was increased when CosR was overexpressed. The positive regulation of perR transcription by CosR was observed both in the presence or in the absence of iron. The results of the electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that CosR directly binds to the perR promoter. DNase I footprinting assays revealed that the CosR binding site in the perR promoter overlaps with the PerR box. In the study, we demonstrated that cosR transcription is increased in iron-rich conditions, and CosR positively regulates the transcription of PerR, another important regulator of oxidative stress defense in C. jejuni. These results provide new insight into how C. jejuni regulates oxidative stress defense by coordinating the transcription of perR and cosR in response to iron.


Primary hydatid disease of the pancreas is very rare. We report a 33-year-old female who was admitted to the hospital with abdominal discomfort due to the pancreatic mass. A diagnosis of a pancreatic cystic mass was established through abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography scan. Hydatid disease as well as a cystic neoplasm of the pancreas were both thought in the differential diagnosis. Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed. The histopathologic evaluation of the specimen revealed a hydatid cyst affecting the tail of the pancreas. Hydatid disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all cystic masses of the pancreas, especially in endemic regions.


Shaykh Yūsuf ʿAbd Allah al-Qaraḍāwī is a notable erudite Islamic legist (faqīh) in the contemporary Islamic world of the fifteenth century after Hijrah. His rich and wide scholarship and intelligibility have immensely benefitted the Muslim world. He is, most of the time, a controversial scholar as a result of his preference of situational Neo-Ijtihād to traditional juristic approaches of medieval legists. This has indeed created an interesting landmark in the contemporary development of various areas of Islamic law and jurisprudence which calls for thorough research. The objective of this paper is to examine the opinion of al-Qaraḍāwī on neo-Ijtihād. This study explores the legal position of Ijtihād and Neo-Ijtihād in the contemporary Islamic legal system and al-Qaraḍāwī's approach to the necessity, methodology and employment of Neo-Ijtihād in the modern day Islamic legal theory. He premises this on a certain legal assumption of Tajdīd al-Fiqh. The research methods used in this study are expository, descriptive and analytical. This research paper concludes that the situational jurisprudential issues should be better handled by contemporary seasoned Islamic jurists who are fully aware of the situation and circumstances surrounding the issues in relation to time and place. Also, the researcher maintains that this paper could be used as a reference to prove that contemporary jurisprudential issues are limited by time and are geographically binding, and thus medieval juristic materials would be lacking in addressing them.


This paper examines to what extent electronic media and communications have contributed to currently changing concepts of time and space and how crucial their role is in experiencing temporality, spatiality and mobility. The paper argues that media and communication technologies play a complex part in shifting conceptions of time and space, without diminishing to insignificance the concepts of time and space or subjective experiences of them. On the contrary, by challenging established conceptual approaches to time and space, electronic media could be considered to 'mediate' time and space, problematising the multi-layered significance of how they are experienced today. The paper is divided into three sections. First, it presents theoretical approaches to time and space, and it discusses the two seemingly contrasting approaches of 'time-space distanciation' and 'time-space compression'. Second, it develops a historical analysis of the ways in which media have empirically modified the concepts of time and space, and it discusses the examples of 'internet time' and new 'electronic spaces' to challenge the argument of temporal simultaneity and non-significance of space in the new digital era, respectively. Viewing the historical changes of space in particular as intimately linked to the shifting conceptualisation of place, the third section examines the emergence of a perception of place as 'non-place', whilst it argues in favour of the counterthesis of a mediated sense of place. In this regard, the paper espouses the thesis that electronic communications have succeeded in interconnecting remote places without eliminating their importance.


The development of a tail-coiling defect in spermatozoa from Welsh boar was studied by light and electron microscopy. The onset of tail-coiling was coincident with the passage of spermatozoa through the epididymis, since only cells isolated from regions of the duct distal to the caput epididymidis exhibited this characteristic. An intermediate form of this abnormality was detected in the proximal corpus epididymidis, where migration of the cytoplasmic droplets mainly occurred. It is suggested that defective migration of the cytoplasmic droplet might be associated with the pathogenesis of the coiled-tail defect in this animal.


Omni-directional guided wave array transducers contain a circular pattern of elements that individually behave as omni-directional point transmitters or receivers. The data set acquired from such an array contains time-domain signals from each permutation of transmitter and receiver. A phased addition algorithm is developed that allows an omni-directional, B-scan image of the surrounding plate to be synthesized from any geometry of array. Numerically simulated data from a single reflector is used to test the performance of the algorithm. The results from an array containing a fully populated circular area of elements (Type I array) are found to be good, but those from an array containing a single ring of elements (Type II array) contain many large side-lobes. An enhancement to the basic phased addition algorithm is presented that uses deconvolution to suppress these side-lobes. The deconvolution algorithm enables a Type II array to equal the performance of a Type I array of the same overall diameter. The effect of diameter on angular resolution is investigated. Experimental data obtained from a guided wave array containing electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT) elements for exciting and detecting the S/sub 0/ Lamb wave mode in a 5-mm thick aluminium plate are processed with both algorithms and the results are discussed.


We analyze high-resolution spectra of a multicloud weak [defined as Wr < 0.3 Å] absorbing system along the line of sight to PG 1634+706. This system gives rise to a partial Lyman limit break and absorption in Mg II, Si II, C II, Si III, Si IV, C IV, and O VI. The lower ionization transitions arise in two kinematic subsystems with a separation of ≃150 km s-1. Each subsystem is resolved into several narrow components having Doppler widths of 3-10 km s-1. For both subsystems, the O VI absorption arises in a separate, higher ionization phase, in regions dominated by bulk motions in the range of 30-40 km s-1. The two O VI absorption profiles are kinematically offset by ≃50 km s-1 with respect to each of the two lower ionization subsystems. In the stronger subsystem, the Si III absorption is strong, with a distinctive, smooth profile shape, and may partially arise in shock-heated gas. Moreover, the kinematic substructure of Si IV traces that of the lower ionization Mg II, but may be offset by ≃3 km s-1. On the basis of photoionization models constrained by the partial Lyman limit break, we infer a low metallicity of ~0.03 solar for the low-ionization gas in both subsystems. The broader O VI phases have a somewhat higher metallicity, and they are consistent with photoionization; the profiles are not broad enough to imply production of O VI through collisional ionization. Various models, including outer disks, dwarf galaxies, and superwinds, are discussed to account for the phase structure, metallicity, and kinematics of this absorption system. We favor an interpretation in which the two subsystems are produced by condensed clouds far out in the opposite extremes of a multilayer dwarf galaxy superwind.


In this paper, we provide evidence that the trading activity of small retail investors carries significant genuine information that can be exploited for the short-term out-of-sample forecasting of foreign exchange rates. Our findings are based on a unique dataset of around 2000 retail investors from the OANDA FXTrade electronic trading platform. Our results are consistent with the view that in the foreign exchange market private information is highly dispersed, but can be extracted by observing customer order flow. Previous studies, however, focused on the information content of costumer order flow of dealers in the interbank market, whose clients are themselves large institutional and professional investors. Our study is the first that analyzes a crowd of small retail investors and shows that even the trading activity of these investors contains, on aggregate, important non-public information that can be exploited for short-term exchange rate forecasting. Our findings lead us to conjecture that retail investors (on aggregate) are not pure noise traders but process dispersed information at least partially in a similar way as large institutional investors and hence place their orders accordingly.


objectives: To investigate the polyomaviruses (BK, JC) in asymptomatic kidney transplant recipients and healthy persons as control. It is one of the first reports on serological detection and molecular characterization that describes the circulation of polyomaviruses (BKV, JCV) have been done in Iraq recently. Methodology: The present study was designed as prospective case control study was done during the period from November 2015 to August 2016. Total of 97 serum and urine samples were collected randomly from 25 healthy control person and 72 renal transplant recipients, attending Iraqi Renal Transplantation Society. "New experimental indirect ELISA kit" had been designed and synthesized manually for detection Anti-JCV IgM and IgG, Urea and creatinine level had been measured for total study groups for estimation of renal functions. Results: All of the samples were submitted to a Nested-PCR. A significantly difference had been seen (P < 0.01) of PyV was found in renal transplant patients 2(2.8%) in comparison to the control group 4(16.0%). JCV was detected in.6 (6.2%) samples (2 patients/ 4 controls).by conventional PCR, BKV was detected in 2(2.8%) of renal transplant group and not detected with any one of control group. result for IgM revealed positivity for 25(25.8%) out of 72cases of renal transplant subject and 8(8.2%) person out of 25control groups. for IgG the result show that 21(29.2%) out of 72 cases of renal transplant Subjects have a positive result for IgG but this antibody was not detected in the control. Recommendations: Success diagnosis required sensitive assay typically Nested-PCR to detect extremely low viral load present in potential kidney donor before access as a donor, Because of the potentially harmful effects of polyomavirus which may cause loss of the transplanted kidney


This paper challenges what is the standard account of UK employment, namely that the major swings in unemployment over the past 25 years are due predominantly to movements in the underlying empirical natural rate of unemployment (NRU). Our analysis suggests that the UK NRU has remained reasonably stable through time and that the medium-run swings in unemployment are due, instead, to very prolonged after-effects of persistent (transitory but long-lasting) shocks. We argue that (i) past UK labour market shocks have prolonged after-effects on unemployment due to interactions among different lagged adjustment processes in the labour market; (ii) many of the important shocks that have hit the UK labour market over the past 25 years have been persistent; and (iii) the persistence of the shocks is complementary to the persistence of the lagged adjustment processes in generating movements of UK employment. Copyright 2000 by Oxford University Press.


Continuous learning is identified as an integral part of educationists' professional development, as well as a key factor in quality of education. Rapid breakthroughs in information and communication technologies have created new potential in information delivering technologies and have provided new systems in distance learning. In addition, the actualization of high quality and efficiency distance learning programs is essential in achieving a rational allocation of resources, both human and material, as well as upgrading the provided educational work. A key factor in the corresponding training programs is the enrichment of the participants' professional knowledge, the supply in new methods and practices and the opportunity for self-development, through the satisfaction of personal needs and interests. The key aim of the present article is to explore the views and experiences of education managerial executives regarding the factors of efficient planning, organizing and conducting distance learning. Achieving the abovementioned target is based both in bibliographic references as well as empirical research data, conducted throughout the second semester of the 2013-2014 school year among 37 head teachers. The study concludes that the most significant requirements/factors are the need for developing blended learning programs, based on the combination of conventional and distance learning methods, the constant support from an educationalist, the creation of educational material suitable for personalized learning and the enrichment of the provided training by utilizing the Internet's capabilities and implementing a variety of educational techniques, such as "face to face" training. In summary, important conclusions are reached in terms of making planning, organizing and conducting distance learning programs more effective.


Hardware-in-the-loop simulation is an attractive tool to validate the functionality of space robots. It is the purpose of the hardware-in-the-loop simulation to make a rigid robot prototype behave, in contact/noncontact phases, as closely as possible to a given robot reference model that would be encountered in the real-world. We introduce a method for the hardware-in-the-loop simulation that is based on the projection of the generalized coordinates of the robot model into two subspaces representing independent and dependent coordinates. The independent coordinate is obtained via simulation by making use of its acceleration model expressed in a closed form. While, the dependent coordinate is obtained from the generalized coordinated of the linearized robot prototype acting as a double integrator on the input dependent-coordinate acceleration. It is followed by investigating the effect of external disturbance on the performance of the hardware-in-the-loop simulation, by the method of Lagrangian multiplier. Finally experimental results obtained from implementation of a single axis arm is presented.


Late diagnosis of light chain (AL) amyloidosis can lead to catastrophic consequences on the quality of life of affected patients and overall disease prognosis. Therefore, clinicians should have high suspicion and recognize clinical red flags for amyloidosis. This case report presents a 65-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with chronic diarrhea and significant weight loss with significant hypotension. The patient was treated four weeks prior to admission with a five-day course of nitrofurantoin for urinary tract infection. The initial workup was positive for Clostridium difficile(C.diff), which was treated medically; however, the patient started to complain of mild shortness of breath accompanied by mildly elevated brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Later on, the patient had a cardiac arrest and was appropriately resuscitated. Subsequent ECHO showed significant left ventricular hypertrophy, raising high suspicion of myocardial infiltration. Because of persistent diarrhea despite aggressive medical management and an inconclusive workup, the patient underwent colonoscopy with duodenum biopsy, which revealed amyloid deposition confirmed by Congo red staining. The patient afterward suffered from a stroke and recurrent syncopal episodes requiring critical care admission. Due to a compromised quality of life, the patient eventually opted for hospice care. In view of insufficient prospective data spotlighting AL amyloidosis, all patients should be treated within clinical trials whenever possible and ideally evaluated for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) eligibility.


Purpose: To prospectively analyze the inter-fractional motion of the prostate in patients with prostate cancer treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) using image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) with daily cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as part of a rescan protocol for large offset, and to evaluate the efficacy of our protocol. Materials and Methods: Eligible patients were treated with the following protocol: 1) magnesium oxide and dimethylpolysiloxane were administered to ensure that patients had regular bowel movements; 2) the patients were instructed to have an appropriately distended bladder during the planning CT and daily irradiation; 3) the daily CBCT image was fused with the planning CT image using the prostate outline; and 4) if large offset was recognized, a rescan CBCT image was obtained after appropriate countermeasures, such as the discharge of gas and defecation, and re-registration was performed. Three shifts for the inter-fractional motion of the prostate were analyzed, in the fractions which needed the CBCT rescan; the displacement data after the final rescan were used. Results: Sixty-one patients were eligible, and a total of 2302 fractions were available for the analysis. Rescans of the CBCT for large offset were performed in 113 (5%) of the 2302 fractions. After the first rescan, the large offset was resolved in 106 (94%) of the 113 fractions. Excessive rectal gas was the reason for the large offset in 94 (83%) of the 113 fractions. The total mean and standard deviation of the inter-fractional motion of the prostate in the AP, LR, and SI directions were 1.1 ± 2.4, -0.1 ± 2.3, and 0.7 ± 3.0 mm, respectively. Conclusion: Large offset was recognized in 5% of all fractions. Daily CBCT with our rescan protocol could resolve the large offset, which was mainly caused by excessive rectal gas, and it may therefore be promising to reduce the inter-fractional motion of the prostate.


Departing from two protocols that show the difficulties presented to define the triangle in primary school pupils, and through a theoretical framework based on Orton (1990), Herskhovits (1990), Tall and Vinner (1981) and Van Hiele (1981) to establish the meaning that the definition has in Mathematics, we accomplish a summary of definitions of the concept of triangle in various original texts, as well as in material and computer programs. A short analysis of the definitions presented is accomplished and we offer certain theoretical evaluations to justify the answers given by the students.


Littke et al. (1999) present a novel hypothesis for the genesis of the supergiant gas accumulations in the northern West Siberian basin through exsolution of gas from formation water. Some problems are attached to their interpretation, the principal of which are discussed in the following paragraphs.

1. Littke et al. (1999) discard supply of thermal gas from the Jurassic because of the pressure differential between that section and the overlying Cretaceous (their figure 4). Most unlikely, however, is that the high pressure in the deeper section is caused by undercompaction, given the slow to moderate rate of deposition during the Jurassic-Cretaceous and the long time span since deposition coupled to the abundance of permeable sands providing drains for the compaction water, even in the more shaly sections (Achimov-type sands). Much more likely is that the overpressure is generated by kerogen-to-oil/gas conversion …


Pulmonary arterial hypertension is an important cause of death and disability in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Yearly screening of all SSc patients with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is recommended in international guidelines and currently utilised by the Australian Scleroderma Interest Group (ASIGSTANDARD). Owing to the limitations of TTE, the ASIG developed a new screening algorithm (ASIGPROPOSED) utilising a serum biomarker, NT‐proBNP, in place of TTE, which has been shown to be equally accurate as the current algorithm. The aim of this study was to compare the cost of these two algorithms using different scenarios. The new algorithm resulted in significant yearly cost savings of between AU$42 913.35 and AU$84 570 in screening and diagnosis of an Australian cohort which, if extrapolated to the Australian population, would result in a yearly cost saving of between AU$367 066 and AU$725 564. There was no scenario in which the proposed algorithm did not result in a cost saving.


Objective: To understand the experience of families in establishing communication with children in relation to their cancer. Methods: This study used a qualitative methodology to analyze interviews in families of children with cancer treated in a health institution in the state of Minas Gerais. We opted for symbolic interactionism as the theoretical reference and qualitative analysis was the method employed. Results: Data analysis showed that cancer stigma influences the way that the family establishes communication with their child. The family makes a selection of words to find meaning of normality, keeping information from children about their future and consequently about death. Conclusion: This study stresses the need of emotional support as a guide in the communication process between family and child. The family takes messages to the child that express the hope of overcoming their current situation. Thus, it is important to study strategies used by healthcare professionals to assist the family in its communication in respect to the child's illness.


[1] Measurements near the edge of fast ice in Freemansundet, Svalbard, reveal mixing processes associated with tidal advection of a sharp front in salinity, including possible supercooling induced by double diffusion in a fully turbulent water column. The front translated back and forth with the semidiurnal tide between an area of mobile (drifting) ice in Storfjorden proper, and the narrow sound covered by fast ice. Water on each side of the front was near its salinity-determined freezing temperature. Instruments deployed about 400 m into the sound from the fast ice edge measured current, temperature, conductivity, and turbulence quantities through several tidal cycles. Turbulence data illustrate that as the steep horizontal salinity (density) gradient advected past the measurement site, vertical shear near the fast-ice base induced marked flood/ebb asymmetry in turbulent mixing. As fresher water entered the sound on the flood phase, inward transport of denser water near the upper boundary was retarded, leading to statically unstable conditions and enhanced turbulence. The opposite occurred during ebb tide, as denser water underran lighter. Transient episodes of supercooling accompanied frontal passage on both flood and ebb phases. The most likely explanation for a zone of supercooled water within the strongly mixed frontal region is that during mixing of fresher, slightly warmer (but still at freezing) water from outside with saltier, colder water in the sound, the former constituent lost heat faster than gaining salt. This interpretation (differing turbulent diffusivities for heat and salt) challenges strict application of Reynolds analogy for highly turbulent shear flow.


The Dalai Lama is loved and revered by many people everywhere. He is known throughout the world as an exemplary Buddhist teacher, a world statesman and spokesman for peace, and a tireless campaigner for Tibetan freedom. This text gives an intimate portrait of the Dalai Lama in his various roles, together with the background and history up to the current situation, of Tibet and its people. In addition the book profiles the Dalai Lama's teaching and provides background to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism.


PURPOSE
Ultrasound imaging has potential to complement radiographic imaging modalities in implant and oral surgery given that it is non-ionizing and provides instantaneous images of anatomical structures. For application in oral and dental imaging, its qualities are dependent on its ability to accurately capture these complex structures. Therefore, the aim of this feasibility study was to investigate ultrasound to image soft tissue, hard tissue surface topography and specific vital structures.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A clinical ultrasound scanner, paired with two 14-MHz transducers of different sizes (one for extraoral and the other for intraoral scans), was used to scan the following structures on a fresh cadaver: (i) the facial bone surface and soft tissue of maxillary anterior teeth, (ii) the greater palatine foramen; (iii) the mental foramen and (iv) the lingual nerve. Multiple measurements relevant to these structures were made on the ultrasound images and compared to those on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans and/or direct measurements.

RESULTS
Ultrasound imaging could delineate hard tissue surfaces, including enamel, root dentin and bone as well as soft tissue with high resolution (110 μm wavelength). The greater palatine foramen, mental foramen and lingual nerve were clearly shown in ultrasound images. Merging ultrasound and CBCT images demonstrated overall spatial accuracy of ultrasound images, which was corroborated by data gathered from direct measurements.

CONCLUSION
For the first time, this study provides proof-of-concept evidence that ultrasound can be a real-time and non-invasive alternative for the evaluation of oral and dental anatomical structures relevant for implant and oral surgery.


A new framework is described for computing image flow from time-varying imagery and recovering scene-depth from image flow. In this framework, image flow information available in the time-varying imagery is classified into two categories-conservation information and neighborhood information. Each type of information is recovered in the form of an estimate accompanied by a covariance matrix. Image flow is then computed, along with confidence measures, by fusing the two estimates on the basis of their covariance matrices. Dense depth-maps are computed from image flow using Kalman filtering.<<ETX>>


In this paper we have made a statistical analysis of more than a thousand destructive earthquakes which occurred throughout China, since 1000 A.D. We have examined! certain characteristics of the distributions in time, and space and of the intensities of these strong shocks. The whole country is first divided into 23 seismic zones, each of which being regarded as a single unit in which the processes of strain accumulation and release are taking place. It is found that strong seismic activities in the same zone were always concentrated in some periods, while others were of comparative quiescence. The whole duration from the time of comparative quiescence to that of high activity may be regarded as a single process of strain accumulation and release which again may be divided into four stages. The first stage is that of strain accumulation. This is followed by the stage of accelerating strain release. Then comes the stage of rapid release in which the strain accumulated is almost wholly released. The whole course of activity is completed by the stage of remnant release. In the stage of rapid release, the strain accumulated in some of the seismic zones is released through a single major shock but in others, through several shocks of lower magnitudes. The former is called the type of single major shock and the latter, the type of multiple major shocks. As a statistical result of various seismic zones, the total strain release of this stage appears to be of a certain limited value.In the seismic zones of China, one period of seismic activity may last a few hundred, or even a thousand years, maximum magnitude of earthquakes which occurred in various stages may vary a great deal. Therefore, in seismic regionalization, the activity should not be regarded as a stationary process. The stage to which the activity belongs must be taken into consideration. This will be helpful in obtaining a better estimate of the seismicity and the tendency of earthquake occurrence.


Human-Centric Functional Modeling has been proposed as a universal approach towards defining representations of the behavior of systems in terms of "functional state spaces". Such descriptions are hypothesized to be complete in terms of having the capacity to represent all the behavior the system is capable of displaying. This paper provides a brief exploration of Human-Centric Functional Modeling, how it might be used to model the behavior of the cognitive system in terms of a functional state space, and how cognitive complexity might be defined as a property in this functional state space of the cognitive system. Assuming that functional state spaces can be defined for other systems as well, this paper explores the questions that must be asked in considering whether this hypothetical expression for complexity in the functional state space of the cognitive system systems represents a general pattern for defining complexity in any functional state space, and whether complexity is therefore a well-defined property of the functional state space of any system.


The antimicrobial peptides (AMP) have been proposed as an alternative to control resistant pathogens. However, due to multifunctional properties of several AMP classes, until now there has been no way to perform efficient AMP identification, except through in vitro and in vivo tests. Nevertheless, an indication of activity can be provided by prediction methods. In order to contribute to the AMP prediction field, the CS-AMPPred (Cysteine-Stabilized Antimicrobial Peptides Predictor) is presented here, consisting of an updated version of the Support Vector Machine (SVM) model for antimicrobial activity prediction in cysteine-stabilized peptides. The CS-AMPPred is based on five sequence descriptors: indexes of (i) α-helix and (ii) loop formation; and averages of (iii) net charge, (iv) hydrophobicity and (v) flexibility. CS-AMPPred was based on 310 cysteine-stabilized AMPs and 310 sequences extracted from PDB. The polynomial kernel achieves the best accuracy on 5-fold cross validation (85.81%), while the radial and linear kernels achieve 84.19%. Testing in a blind data set, the polynomial and radial kernels achieve an accuracy of 90.00%, while the linear model achieves 89.33%. The three models reach higher accuracies than previously described methods. A standalone version of CS-AMPPred is available for download at  and runs on any Linux machine.


The effects of fabrication variables on the high-temperature strength of hot-pressed Si3N4 containing 5 wt% Y2O3 were studied. Materials containing a crystalline grain-boundary phase, formed as a consequence of a high-temperature presintering heat treatment and identified as Si3N4·Y2O3, had high-temperature strengths significantly superior to those observed for materials containing a glass phase.


This article discusses the findings of a survey of centres using the Twenty First Century Science suite of GCSE courses, focusing on the impact of its introduction on the number of students beginning AS-level courses in the sciences. The data indicate increases of 24% to 38% in the numbers beginning AS-level courses in the three main sciences in 2008 in these centres. This provides striking evidence that GCSE courses which highlight the relevance of school science to out-of-school contexts and encourage discussion of socio-scientific issues, whilst also treating key theoretical ideas in the sciences in depth, increase student engagement and the numbers choosing to continue the study of science.


Feature extraction has been recognized as a useful technique for pattern recognition. Feature extraction is accomplished by constructing a mapping from the measurement space to a feature space. Often, the mapping is chosen from an arbitrarily specified parametric family by optimizing the parameters with respect to a separability criterion.


Recombinant human interferon (IFN) alpha A and alpha D combined with 1% trifluridine ophthalmic solution gave beneficial results when applied topically at a dose of 1 x 10(6) U per eye four times a day commencing 4 hr after eyes were inoculated with herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). Acute herpetic keratitis was suppressed by trifluridine alone and the combined therapies, but the high-titered interferon preparations, alone, had little effect. Duration of HSV-1 shedding into tear film during topical treatment for acute herpetic keratitis was reduced slightly by combined therapy with either IFN alpha A or IFN alpha D with trifluridine.


Since text messaging is a widely popular method of communication among young people, the paper tries to investigate whether it might have some practical application in the EFL classroom. Kuwaiti EFL students asked to render a mixture of text messages written by their peers and native English speakers into Standard English produced a large number and variety of basic language errors. However, native English-speaking judges were unsuccessful in discriminating between the native and non-native English messages. In addition, the EFL text messages showed that the students were effectively able to achieve their pragmatic aims. Text messaging may therefore have some pedagogical use in terms of motivating the learner. This idea is supported by referring to studies in the literature on text messaging which suggest that the medium may not be as linguistically damaging as is commonly thought.


In this paper we propose an admission control policy for wireless ATM networks. The policy is based on the well know method, threshold-based guard channel policy. We modify it to deal with two different types of traffic classes; namely: CBR traffic class and ABR traffic class where we assume two different thresholds, one for each traffic class. In addition, we propose to buffer the handoff ABR calls if no free channels are available rather than rejecting them. For handoff CBR calls, we propose two methods, namely: a blocking method and a preemptive method. For the blocking method, we reject the handoff CBR calls if no channels are available. For the preemptive method, we accept handoff CBR calls in case of no available channels if ongoing ABR calls exist where we buffer one of them in order to serve the handoff CBR call. We study the effect of the thresholds, buffer size and the effect of the proposed methods on call blocking probabilities. Based on these results, we developed an algorithm that uses the proposed policy to estimate the appropriate thresholds and buffer size which meet a certain required call blocking probabilities for each traffic type.


The future success of gene therapy relies largely upon the development of ideal gene-transfer vehicles (vectors) that can efficiently and stably introduce and express therapeutic genes into non-dividing tissue cells. We have developed a fusogenic liposome that can deliver the encapsulated DNA into the cytoplasm through fusion with the cell membrane. For targeting the DNA into the nucleus, we attend to lambda phage particles that encapsulate up to 48 kbp DNA in their small head (55 nm in diameter). When a strong NLS signal is attached on the surface of the phage head by recombinant DNA technology, the particles efficiently accumulate in the nucleus. Reconstitution of the ideal gene-transfer system through a detailed analysis of biological phenomena is discussed.


Historically, the mental health literature focused on the deficits of families, particularly for those families with a family member with schizophrenia. The purpose of the present study is to assess the family functioning of a group of inner-city African-American families who have a family member living with schizophrenia. This study analyzes potential clinical problems for these families using a commonly used family functioning device—the McMaster Family Assessment Device (MFAD). The families showed no clinical problems on five of the seven sub-scales. The study provides preliminary quantitative evidence that social work research and practice models should avoid a deficit-oriented model when assessing and intervening with similar families.


The human retrovirus human T cell lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Axonal degeneration in HAM/TSP patients occurs without neuron infection, with the secreted viral Tax protein proposed to be involved. We previously found that Tax secreted into the culture medium of MT-2 cells (HTLV-1-infected cell line) produced neurite retraction in neuroblastoma cells differentiated to neuronal type. To assess the relevance of Tax posttranslational modifications on this effect, we addressed the question of whether Tax secreted by MT-2 cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of HTLV-1-infected subjects is modified. The interaction of Tax with calreticulin (CRT) that modulates intracellular Tax localization and secretion has been described. We studied Tax localization and modifications in MT-2 cells and its interaction with CRT. Intracellular Tax in MT-2 cells was assessed by flow cytometry, corresponding mainly to a 71-kDa protein followed by western blot. This protein reported as a chimera with gp21 viral protein-confirmed by mass spectrometry-showed no ubiquitination or SUMOylation. The Tax-CRT interaction was determined by confocal microscopy and coimmunoprecipitation. Extracellular Tax from HAM/TSP PBMCs is ubiquitinated according to western blot, and its interaction with CRT was shown by coimmunoprecipitation. A positive correlation between Tax and CRT secretion was observed in HAM/TSP PBMCs and asymptomatic carriers. For both proteins inhibitors and activators of secretion showed secretion through the endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi complex. Tax, present in PBMC culture medium, produced neurite retraction in differentiated neuroblastoma cells. These results suggest that Tax, whether ubiquitinated or not, is active for neurite retraction.


Abstract. The need for presenting information in maps is increasingly high in various scientific fields. All scientific fields need to present effective data for decision making. Good decision making based on maps requires good understanding but not all scientific fields are familiar with using maps. Supporting factors for easy maps to understand are classification method and color symbol scheme. The purpose of this study was to select and test the classification method and the most effective color symbol scheme for mapping population density in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The classification methods used in this study are constant interval, arithmetic progression, geometric progression, quantile, standard deviation and dispersal graph. The effectiveness test method for the most effective classification method is the proportion assessment. The color symbol scheme used in this study is a sequential color scheme, diverging color schemes, Corel Draw color schemes and color symbol schemes provided in ArcMap 10.3 software. The effectiveness test method for the most effective color symbol scheme is conventional eye tracking. The results showed that according to the proportion test the most effective classification method was the arithmetic interval classification method with results of 0.26. The most effective color symbol scheme in accordance with the effectiveness test using the conventional eye tracking method shows that the most effective color symbol scheme is a diverging color scheme. The important aspects to consider are average answering duration of 8.15 seconds, the accuracy of the answer is 98.9%, and easiness level of symbolization readings is 341. This research can be one of the references on the most effective classification method and reference regarding the selection of the most effective color symbol scheme on Choropleth Map of Population Density in Special Region of Yogyakarta, so that further research can continue the analysis of appropriate classification methods for demographic data. The method discussed in this study is also expected to be applicable to other data.


The author considers the effect of recent mental health litigation involving involuntary confinement, the right to refuse treatment, the least restrictive alternative, and the right to treatment on the role of the psychiatrist and the provision of mental health care. His thesis is that the implicit analogies between psychiatrists and agents of the criminal justice system and between patients and criminal defendants are misleading and that the recent changes in the law based on these analogies adversely affect the provision of mental health care.


A new technique for source-to-source transformation of sequential programs is described. It is shown that the transformed programs so generated provide significant speedups over the original program on vector processors and vector multiprocessors. The parallelism that arises when multiple instances of a program are executed on simultaneously available data sets is exploited. This is in contrast to the existing approaches that aim at detecting parallelism within a program. The analytic model is used to prove the optimality of the complete first policy for block selection for a class of program graphs known as nonregressive graphs. Analytic and simulation models of the technique clearly indicate the speedups that could be achieved when several data sets are available simultaneously, as is the case in many fields of interest. >


The presence of functionally competent macrophages in respiratory airspaces is critical to the normal host immune responses. To determine the effect of altered macrophage (MΦ) populations on macrophage recruitment, we employed LysM+/mTOM\mEGFP+/DTA+ mice, a model of macrophage depletion and mEGFP+ labeling. Since controlled by same promoter (Lysozyme M; LysM) and separate alleles of ROSA locus, the expression of mEGFP and DTA transgenes is simultaneously induced that facilitates mEGFP+ fluorescent labeling of DTA+ cells with LysM+ activity. Flow cytometric and confocal microscopic analyses revealed the mEGFP+ labeling of entire bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) MΦ populations in the LysM+/mTOM\mEGFP+/DTA- mice. However, the LysM+/mTOM\mEGFP+/DTA+ had a significant increase in the number of mTOM+ MΦ populations. We hypothesized that the mTOM+ population represents freshly recruited (immature) macrophages that are functionally and phenotypically differently than the mEGFP+ MΦ. The flow cytometric analyses and confocal microscopic approach to immunophenotype mTOM+ and mEGFP+ MΦ revealed increased mTOM+ cells in the DTA+ mice. The mTOM+ MΦ exhibited monocyte-like phenotype with surface expression of CD11b and CD11c whereas entire MΦ populations (~96% are mEGFP+) in the DTA- are CD11b- and CD11c+. The gene expression analysis of mTOM+ and mEGFP+ MΦ revealed significantly altered gene expression of genes for macrophage activation, surface receptors, protease, and anti-proteases. Collectively, our approach and data collected highlights the importance of studying the mature and immature (freshly recruited) macrophage populations independently.


We present an online expectation maximization (EM) based algorithm for the problem of model parameter estimation and hypothesis testing based on observations from a network of heterogeneous sensors. The sensors' measurements are assumed to be correlated and copula theory is used to model this correlation. Moreover, it is assumed that the statistical model for the sensors' data is not completely known. We first develop the batch-mode EM to estimate the parameters of the underlying distributions of the sensors' measurements and to detect the hypothesis. Next, we develop an online EM-based method that processes the data on a sample-by-sample basis. Numerical results are presented for both simulation data and two different real-world datasets. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method showing significant improvements for both parameter estimation and hypothesis testing compared to the method that ignores the correlation in sensors' measurements. Hypothesis testing results from the real-world data are also compared with several unsupervised and supervised learning methods. It is shown that the proposed methods outperform the unsupervised and even some supervised methods.


In the food sector, new configurations of supply chains, as opposed to global conventional ones, are drawing the attention of researchers and institutions all over the world. These are presented as a panacea for the recovery of rural economies and, in general, of food system sustainability. In this context the short food supply chains (SFSCs) become relevant, as happens in Europe, where strategies and regulations designed on their implementation were adopted. Recognising that scientific research always plays an important role in guiding institutions' choices in many fields, it seems important to focus on how SFSCs are considered in the European academic panorama. Therefore, this contribution presents a study performed on a sample of 108 papers published in journals during the last decade. The findings concerning the investigated issues and the approaches to analysing SFSC development and effects are reported from both the producer and consumer perspective. The review strongly emphasizes the factors affecting participation in SFSCs. Moreover, it highlights that the positive perception of SFSC sustainability is not based on scientific evidence. The analysis outlines current research directions and identifies challenges that are still open in order to offer researchers food for thought with a view to developing further future insights.


SEM1(86–107) is a 22-residue peptide corresponding to residues 86–107 in the semenogelin I protein. SEM1(86–107) is an abundant component of freshly liquefied semen and forms amyloid fibrils capable of enhancing HIV infection. To probe the factors affecting fibril formation and gain a better understanding of how differences in pH between semen and vaginal fluid affect fibril stability, this study determined the effect of pH on SEM1(86–107) fibril formation and dissociation. The SEM1(86–107) fibril structure (i.e., residues that comprise the fibrillar core) was also probed using hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDXMS) and hydroxyl radical-mediated protein modification. The average percent exposure to hydroxyl radical-mediated modification in the SEM1(86–107) fibrils was determined without requiring tandem mass spectrometry spectral acquisition or complete separation of modified peptides. It was found that the residue exposures calculated from HDXMS and hydroxyl radical-mediated modification were similar. These techniques demonstrated that three regions of SEM1(86–107) comprise the amyloid fibril core and that positively charged residues are exposed, suggesting that electrostatic interactions between SEM1(86–107) and HIV or the cell surface may be responsible for mediating HIV infection enhancement by the SEM1(86–107) fibrils.


Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits alpha 3 (PCA48E) and beta 4S (ZPC13) were expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells by calcium phosphate transfection. In the presence of atropine, acetylcholine (ACh) induced fast activating currents which exhibited desensitization and inward rectification. The EC50 for ACh was 202 +/- 32 microM with a Hill coefficient of 1.9 +/- 0.4. The rank order of nicotinic agonist potency was 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperozinium (DMPP) > cytisine = nicotine approximately equal to ACh. The maximal response elicited by DMPP was substantially less than that elicited by other agonists, suggesting that DMPP is a partial agonist. ACh (500 microM) responses were very effectively blocked by equimolar concentrations (100 microM) of the ganglionic antagonists d-tubocurarine, mecamylamine and hexamethonium. Equal concentrations of the potent muscle receptor antagonist decamethonium and the competitive antagonist dihydro-beta-erythroidine were much less effective. alpha bungaro-toxin (1 microM) had little effect on ACh-induced responses. This physiological and pharmacological profile is consistent with a ganglionic nicotinic response.


We study spin-glass systems characterized by continuous occurrence of singularities. The theory of Lee-Yang zeros is used to find the singularities. By using the replica method in mean-field systems, we show that two-dimensional distributions of zeros of the partition function in a complex parameter plane are characteristic feature of random systems. The results of several models indicate that the concept of chaos in the spin-glass state is different from that of the replica symmetry breaking. We discuss that a chaotic phase at imaginary temperature is different from the spin-glass phase and is accessible by quantum dynamics in a quenching protocol.


Our work is devoted to the metric facility location problem and addresses the selfish behavior of the players. It contributes to the line of work initiated by Procaccia and Tennenholtz [EC09] on approximate mechanism design without money. We explore and argue for an intuitive and simple rule of complexity O(nk),a so-called proportionality mechanism. The mechanism works in k consecutive rounds,each time choosing a random player at whose position to place the next facility; each time the probabilities of players to be picked are distributed proportionally to their distances to the current set of the facilities. Lu et al. [EC10] showed that the proportionality rule is incentive compatible for k=1,2, but fails to be so for k>2.
We tweak the model slightly such that for any k, the proportionality mechanism becomes incentive compatible. In the new model we allow the government to be bureaucratic, i.e., to have the power of to force each player to choose from only a specific set of available facilities. In the proportionality mechanism, we force every player that receives a facility at his reported location to connect to exactly that facility. We extend the proportionality mechanism to a more general setting with a private network of facilities already present in the metric space and show that it is truthful as well.
We further show that for any fixed k, the proportionality rule achieves in expectation a constant approximation guarantee to the optimal solution; namely at most a ratio of 4k. On the other hand, we show a lower bound of ln k(1+o(1)), and we suspect the truth to be closer to this lower bound. Thus, our work is the first among those on incentive compatible facility location that treats effectively (with a constant factor of approximation) the general case of an arbitrary number of facilities.


A cross-disciplinary experimental study related to both ultrasonic instrumentation and analytical chemistry is reported. The hydrolysis process was conducted by time-resolved titration in a fully automated manner. Acquired ultrasonic records were processed in order to estimate the propagation delay of the ultrasonic pulse in the evolving medium. The limited hardware resolution of two different ultrasonic instruments employed was improved by calculating the center of gravity of the recorded pulses. Application of signal averaging to the acquisition of raw records in the custom-built instrument eliminated spurious records almost completely. The estimated ultrasonic delays were corrected for temperature changes that were measured independently. This procedure transformed the ultrasonic titration curves into two almost straight lines that intersected at the equivalence point. The results obtained showed that it was possible to detect changes as small as 200 ppm by using the ultrasonic instrument in situ at significantly lower setting times compared to a conventional pH-meter.


Abstract:This article explores the early history of nutrition science and nutritional activism in Japan, 1920–40, focusing on the role of the Imperial Government Institute for Nutrition (IGIN). I argue that the IGIN, the world's first government-sponsored nutrition institute, was a manifestation and key instrument of Japan's state-led program of national nutrition as civilization and national defense. The IGIN's successes in science and dietary reform were viewed as a triumph, an indication that Japan had surpassed the West in the most fundamentally modern and rational of pursuits, science—and specifically nutrition science, a critical technology of nation building.


Friction forces measurements between smooth surfaces across two layers of linear alkanes over five decades of speeds are presented. A maximum friction dissipation is observed at a characteristic speed. This behaviour is described by a new approach: the formation and destruction of molecular bridges between confined alkane layers. These bridges which interdigitate between the layers exhibit a thermally activated resistance to shear. An analytical model involving activation barriers accounts for the overall behaviour of the speed dependence of the forces over four decades. This first simple semi-quantitative description sheds new light on the subtle mechanisms of friction at the nanoscale level and shows how the molecular length influences the tribological properties of the liquid.


I defend the view that Cicero writes the Academica from the perspective of an aspirationalist radical skeptic. In section 2 I examine the textual evidence regarding the nature of Cicero's skeptical stance in the Academica. In section 3 I consider the textual evidence from the Academica for attributing aspirationalism to Cicero. Finally, in section 4 I argue that while aspirationalist radical skepticism is open to a number of philosophical objections, none of those objections is decisive.


In mining data streams the most popular tool is the Hoeffding tree algorithm. It uses the Hoeffding's bound to determine the smallest number of examples needed at a node to select a splitting attribute. In the literature the same Hoeffding's bound was used for any evaluation function (heuristic measure), e.g., information gain or Gini index. In this paper, it is shown that the Hoeffding's inequality is not appropriate to solve the underlying problem. We prove two theorems presenting the McDiarmid's bound for both the information gain, used in ID3 algorithm, and for Gini index, used in Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm. The results of the paper guarantee that a decision tree learning system, applied to data streams and based on the McDiarmid's bound, has the property that its output is nearly identical to that of a conventional learner. The results of the paper have a great impact on the state of the art of mining data streams and various developed so far methods and algorithms should be reconsidered.


This paper provides an estimate of the amount of carbon emissions that resulted from large scale deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon during the aggressive development period 1970 1985. The estimate is derived by combining a dynamic carbon model with a municipality level data set describing natural vegetation cover and land uses in 316 municipalities in Legal Amazonia. The results show average carbon emissions from Legal Amazonia of 168 million tons per year during the period 1970-1985, or about 95 tC per hectare cleared. This is lower than other estimates found in the literature because we take into account the uneven spatial distribution of clearing. The agressive development policies implied rapid economic growth in the region. On average, there was generated GDP of approximately $44 per ton carbon emitted. JEL classification: Q23, Q28, R12, R14.


Attention bias modification (ABM) was initially developed with the goal of reducing attentional bias to threat-and subsequently anxious symptoms-in individuals with heightened anxiety. Although controversial, ABM appears to be generally effective in achieving this goal. Yet, the primary outcome measure of ABM (i.e., the reaction time-based differences score) has poor reliability and temporal resolution, which limits the inferences that can be drawn. In contrast, event-related potentials (ERPs) have superior reliability as well as temporal resolution and may therefore be better outcome measures of ABM. In this review, I systematically assess the research using ERPs as outcome measures in ABM protocols. I focus on the extent to which the ERPs modified by ABM represent earlier or later stages of information processing. In addition, I explore the extent to which ABM produces near and/or far transfer of learning effects on ERP measures. The reviewed literature suggests that ERPs are promising outcome measures of ABM. ABM modulates the effects of affective stimuli on posterior visually evoked ERPs (i.e., P1) as well as ERPs at anterior electrodes (i.e., P2, N2, and ERN). Based on the state of the field, several directions for future research are identified.


Total aboveground carbon (TAC) and total soil carbon stock in the agroforestry system at the Balung River Plantation, Sabah, Malaysia were investigated to scientifically support the sustaining of natural forest for mitigating global warming via reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Agroforestry, monoculture, and natural tropical forests were investigated to calculate the carbon stock and sequestration based on three different combinations of oil palm and agarwood in agroforestry systems from 2014 to 2018. These combinations were oil palm (27 years) and agarwood (seven years), oil palm (20 years) and agarwood (seven years), and oil palm (17 years) and agarwood (five years). Monoculture oil palm (16 years), oil palm (six years), and natural tropical forest were set as the control. Three randomly selected plots for agroforestry and monoculture plantation were 0.25 ha (50 × 50 m), respectively, whereas for the natural tropical forest it was 0.09 ha (30 × 30 m). A nondestructive sampling method followed by the allometric equation determined the standing biomass. Organic and shrub layers collected in a square frame (1 × 1 m) were analyzed using the CHN628 series (LECO Corp., MI, USA) for carbon content. Soil bulk density of randomly selected points within the three different layers, that is, 0 to 5, 5 to 10, and 10 to 30 cm were used to determine the total ecosystem carbon (TEC) stock in each agroforestry system which was 79.13, 85.40, and 78.28 Mg C ha−1, respectively. The TEC in the monoculture oil palm was 76.44 and 60.30 Mg C ha−1, whereas natural tropical forest had the highest TEC of 287.29 Mg C ha−1. The forest stand had the highest TEC capacity as compared with the agroforestry and monoculture systems. The impact of planting systems on the TEC showed a statistically significant difference at a 95% confidence interval for the various carbon pools among the agroforestry, monoculture, and natural tropical forests. Therefore, the forest must be sustained because of its higher capacity to store carbon in mitigating global warming.


The manufacturing system transform from hierarchy to parallel, from centralization to distribution which put forward new requirement for production management and control. Holonic Manufacturing System is the new paradigm to organize the production unit. In this paper, the problem of how to demarcate the unit of the manufacturing system, management style of the unit, control structure and the corresponding control method are presented. Order settlement in manufacturing system reconfiguration model is put forward, order intelligent operation series is guided by Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm, Simulation results show that the proposed model and algorithm are effective to order evaluation and implementation .


ABSTRACT Background. We hypothesized that Tumor cell lysate (TCL) prepared from spontaneous mouse mammary tumor (SMMT) may elicit IgG production by spleen mononuclear cells (SMCs) in ex vivo. Methods. The SMCs from healthy mice (HM, n = 6) and four-week SMMT-bearing mice (TBM, n = 6) was cultured in presence of TCL and mitogen for 42 hr at 37°C, separately. Serum and SMCs culture supernatant levels of IFNγ, IL-4, and total IgG were measured using special ELISA kits. Results. Serum IgG level of TBM was significantly higher than that of HM group (P = 0.019), while serum IFNγ and IL-4 did not differ between two groups (P > 0.05). Mitogen significantly induced ex vivo production of both IFNγ (P = 0.013) and IL-4 (P = 0.015) by SMCs from HM group, and only IL-4 (P = 0.049) by SMCs from TBM group. In contrast, TCL increased ex vivo production of IgG by SMCs from both HM (P = 0.034) and TBM (P = 0.016) groups. The ex vivo IgG revealed a moderate positive correlation with tumor size (r = 0.578, P = 0.422). Conclusion. It seems that TCL prepared from SMMT are potent inducers of IgG production. This may propose TCL as a potential tool for monitoring of humoral immunity in animal models.


We present novel method for the organisation of events. The method is based on comparing event-by-event histograms of a chosen quantity Q that is measured for each particle in every event. The events are organised in such a way that those with similar shape of the Q-histograms end-up placed close to each other. We apply the method on histograms of azimuthal angle of the produced hadrons in ultrarelativsitic nuclear collisions. By selecting events with similar azimuthal shape of their hadron distribution one chooses events which are likely that they underwent similar evolution from the initial state to the freeze-out. Such events can more easily be compared to theoretical simulations where all conditions can be controlled. We illustrate the method on data simulated by the AMPT model.


In contrast to Borsboom (2008) who distinguishes between manifest and latent variables on epistemic grounds in terms of "epistemic accessibility," I advocate a demarcation on pragmatic grounds. The latter way of understanding this distinction does justice to the intuitions driving Borsboom's account, but avoids unnecessary epistemic complications. I then turn to two cases, the Flynn Effect and the case of psycho-educational assessment, and show an equivocal understanding of one latent variable, Spearman's g, has led some researchers to draw paradoxical conclusions regarding cognitive ability.


Abstract
 Objective
 Despite differences in obesity and ill health between urban and rural areas in the UK being well documented, very little is known about differences in dietary patterns across these areas. The present study aimed to examine whether urban/rural status is associated with dietary patterns in a population-based UK cohort study of children. Design Dietary patterns were obtained using principal components analysis and cluster analysis of 3 d diet records collected from children at 10 years of age. Rurality was obtained from the 2001 UK Census urban/rural indicator at the time of dietary assessment. General linear models were used to examine the relationship between rurality and dietary pattern scores from principal components analysis; multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between rurality and dietary clusters. Setting The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), South West England. Subjects Children (n 5677) aged 10 years (2817 boys and 2860 girls). Results After adjustment, increases in rurality were associated with increased scores on the 'health awareness' dietary pattern (β=0·35; 95 % CI 0·14, 0·56; P<0·001 for the most rural compared with the most urban group) and lower scores on the 'packed lunch/snack' dietary pattern (β=−0·39; 95 % CI −0·59, −0·19; P<0·001 for the most rural compared with the most urban group). The odds ratio for participants being in the 'healthy' compared with the 'processed' dietary cluster for the most rural areas was 1·61 (95 % CI 1·05, 2·49; P=0·02) compared with those in the most urban areas. Conclusions There is evidence to suggest that differences exist in dietary patterns between rural and urban areas. Similar results were found using two different methods of dietary pattern analysis, showing that children residing in rural households were more likely to consume healthier diets than those in urban households.


Two years ago, Coy Mathis, an angel-faced 1st grader, caused a sensation at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, Colo. Born biologically male, Coy dressed and identified as a transgender female and insisted on using the girls' bathroom at school. School officials said absolutely not. Meanwhile in Maine, a school district reacted to controversy and reversed a decision that had allowed Nicole Maines, a transgender 5th grader who was born male, to use the girls' bathroom. Both rebuffs sparked legal clashes and are symbolic of a still-unfolding nationwide drama for K-12 public schools. Educators in large and small communities increasingly confront delicate issues surrounding transgender students--youngsters who feel trapped by the gender designation of the body they were born into and either socially or medically transform to what they feel is their true identity. While reluctant parents and uncomfortable peers might pressure schools to restrict transgender students, the law and evolving notions of gender identity are trending the other way. Court decisions, human rights commissions, and the U.S. Department of Education have predominantly sided with transgender students on access and nondiscrimination. California even passed a law. Given that reality, principals, teachers, superintendents, school boards, and attorneys have a duty to embrace policies and practices that respect a student's wishes while factoring in pragmatic concerns of propriety and safety. In Colorado, the Civil Rights Commission ruled in favor of Mathis, the transgender 6-year-old. She had been told her only options were to use the boys' room, the nurse's bathroom, or the staff bathroom. Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 officials said its obligations under the law were unclear. The Maine dispute had a similar triumph via the courts. Born Wyatt Maines, Nicole identified with girls beginning at 2-years-old. In the early grades, she had permission to use the girls' bathroom. In 5th grade, a boy followed Nicole into the bathroom on two occasions. He said his grandfather had told him that if Nicole could use the girls' bathroom, so could he. Afterward, the school district concluded that Nicole would be required to use a single-stall, unisex, staff bathroom and follow the same practice in middle school. The Maine Human Rights Commission had previously ruled that discrimination occurred when the district barred Nicole's use of the girls' bathroom. Nicole and her parents sued the Regional School Unit 26 in Orono. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5-1 that the Maine Human Rights Act included the right of a transgender student to use the bathroom of choice. The court praised the school district for exploring Nicole's needs through a Section 504 disability plan. The Maine high court concluded that, "Decisions about how to address students' legitimate gender identity issues are not to be taken lightly." The court added, "where, as here, it has been clearly established that a student's psychological well-being and educational success depend upon being permitted to use the communal bathroom consistent with her gender identity, denying access to the appropriate bathroom constitutes sexual orientation discrimination." While bathroom issues are the most prominent conflict, questions also can arise out of rooming arrangements, field trips, proms, and dances, or over whether to insist that a child be in the process of gender reassignment to trigger policies. Still more issues may stem from school portrait dress codes, bullying, and harassment. Being a good sport Participation on sports teams is particularly problematic for transgender students. The traditional separation by gender acknowledges that muscle mass, speed, and other elements reflect born boy-girl differences. So fairness comes into play. In February 2014, the Virginia High School League unanimously adopted a policy allowing transgender students who have undergone sex reassignment surgery or taken hormone treatments to join a sports team that fits their identity. …


We investigate the influence of external forcings on the frequency of temperature extremes over land at the global and continental scales by comparing HadEX3 observations and simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Programme Phase 6 (CMIP6) project. We consider four metrics including warm days and nights (TX90p and TN90p) and cold days and nights (TX10p and TN10p). The observational dataset during 1951–2018 shows continued increases in the warm days and nights and decreases in the cold days and nights in most land areas in the years after 2010. The area of the so-called 'warming hole' in North America is much reduced in 1951–2018 compared with that in 1951–2010. The comparison between observation and simulations based on an optimal fingerprinting method shows that the anthropogenic forcing, dominated by greenhouse gases, plays the most important role in the changes of the frequency indices. Changes in CMIP6 multi-model mean response to all forcing need to be scaled down to best match the observations, indicating that the multi-model ensemble mean may have overestimated the observed changes. Analyses that involve signals from anthropogenic and natural external forcings confirm that the anthropogenic signal can be detected over global land as a whole and for most continents in all temperature indices. Analyses that include signals from greenhouse gas (GHG), anthropogenic aerosol (AA) and natural external (NAT) forcings show that the GHG signal is detected in all indices over the globe and most continents while the AA signal can be detected mainly in the warm extremes but not the cold extremes over the globe and most continents. The effect of NAT is negligible in most land areas. GHG's warming effect is offset partially by AA's cooling effect. The combined effects from both explain most of the observed changes over the globe and continents.


It does not seem terribly unfair to say that studies of both rhetoric and dialogue have tended, by and large, to pass over listening in favor of speaking. In scholarly as well as quotidian parlance, it would appear that both rhetoric and dialogue are principally concerned with speech, banishing listening to the silent subservience of rhetoric's other. Whichever way it is glossed—as rhetoric, dialogue, language, or argumentation—the Western conception of logos emphasizes speaking at the expense of listening (Fiumara 1990). And the problem with conceiving of logos in terms of speech and speaking is not only that it ignores the importance of listening but also that it obscures how listening makes the ethical response possible. Drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, this article examines the ethical exigency of the face and its relation to primordial discourse in order to disclose the otherwise hidden ethical significance of listening and its vocation as a form of co-constitutive communicative action that can "listen persons to speech."


The present study was conducted to determine the possible role of intracellular Ca2+ in lipid peroxide formation in endotoxin‐poisoned mice. Leakages of LDH isozyme and acid phosphatase in serum of mice fed a Ca2+‐deficient diet were remarkably increased after administration of 200 μg of endotoxin compared to that in endotoxin‐nontreated Ca2+‐deficient mice. Superoxide anion generation in liver of Ca2+‐deficient mice and in mice fed a normal diet greatly increased after endotoxin administration. On the contrary, after endotoxin injection there was scarcely any difference in SOD activity of liver of Ca2+‐deficient mice as compared to that in endotoxin‐nontreated Ca2+‐deficient mice. In spite of an increase of superoxide anion generation there was little or no effect of endotoxin administration on lipid peroxide formation in mice given a Ca2+‐deficient diet. In the mice treated with a Ca2+‐deficient diet, free radical scavenger levels (α‐tocopherol and nonprotein sulfhydryl) in liver tissue after endotoxin injection were markedly decreased compared to those in Ca2+‐deficient diet alone. Mice fed a normal diet exhibited a significant decrease of lipid peroxide level in liver by injection of endotoxin together with verapamil (10 mg/kg, s.c.). When mice fed a normal diet were injected with endotoxin, the state 3 respiratory activity showed a 49% decrease, and respiratory control ratio (RCR) of endotoxemic mice liver mitochondria was 38% lower than normal liver mitochondria. No difference could be observed in levels of state 3 and RCR between the mice given verapamil plus endotoxin and the normal mice. These findings suggest the possibility that Ca2+ may participate in the free radical formation in the liver during endotoxemia and also that Ca2+ may play an important role in the damage of liver mitochondrial function in endotoxemic mice.


This work studies the contribution and significance of mud mounds in the dewatering of the continental fore-arc in an erosive subduction system. Through the analysis of multibeam bathymetric, narrow-beam sediment echosounder, and multi-channel seismic data, the main goals are to determine the structure and mechanism of mud domes investigated at two study areas, and to identify and locate alternative fluid pathways through the subsurface. Structural investigations near a single large mound reveal it to be of diapiric origin. Based on the observed deformation and sediment deposition patterns in its vicinity, a local tectonic model of the Mound Culebra area is constructed. Thermal modelling in the area, allowed by a widespread presence of clathrates in the subsurface, helps identify probable locations of heat and fluid advection as well as evaluate their relative importance. These results are compared to those from a second study area, the differences revealing a significant effect of subducting seafloor topography on the deformation and dewatering patterns of the fore-arc. A possible fate of mud mounds on the Central American margin is also outlined.


Grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a severe complication of premature birth. We retrospectively performed serial exams on 13 infants with grade IV IVH and compared their ocular findings to 11 infants matched by gestational age and birth weight without an IVH. All children in the study were initially examined in the neonatal unit within 8 weeks after birth. Subsequent periodic eye exams were performed until 3 to 7 years of age. Of the 13 grade IV IVHs, there was a 92% incidence of ocular abnormalities, compared to a 73% incidence in the premature group without IVH. The children with grade IV hemorrhages had a statistically significant increased incidence of severe eye disease with resultant visual loss (38%) compared to the non-IVH group. Loss of vision was due to optic atrophy and retinopathy of prematurity. Grade IV IVH children are at high risk for severe eye disease and should have early and frequent ophthalmologic exams.


We report the design and performance of a nonmagnetic drift stable optically pumped cesium magnetometer with a measured sensitivity of 35 fT at 200 s integration time and stability below 50 fT between 70 and 600 s. The sensor is based on the nonlinear magneto-optical rotation effect: in a Bell–Bloom configuration, a higher order polarization moment (alignment) of Cs atoms is created with a pump laser beam in an anti-relaxation coated Pyrex cell under vacuum, filled with Cs vapor at room temperature. The polarization plane of light passing through the cell is modulated due the precession of the atoms in an external magnetic field of 2.1 μT, used to optically determine the Larmor precession frequency. Operation is based on a sequence of optical pumping and observation of freely precessing spins at a repetition rate of 8 Hz. This free precession decay readout scheme separates optical pumping and probing and, thus, ensures a systematically highly clean measurement. Due to the residual offset of the sensor of <15 pT together with negligible crosstalk of adjacent sensors, this device is uniquely suitable for a variety of experiments in low-energy particle physics with extreme precision, here as a highly stable and systematically clean reference probe in search for time-reversal symmetry violating electric dipole moments.


A toxic mushroom, Russula subnigricans, causes fatal poisoning by mistaken ingestion. In spite of the potent bioactivity, the responsible toxin had not been identified for about 50 years since its first documentation. Recently, we isolated an unstable toxin and determined the structure. The slow elucidation was partly due to the instability of the toxin and also due to misidentification of R. subnigricans for similar mushrooms. To discriminate genuine Russula subnigricans from similar unidentified Russula species, we searched for a unique chemical marker contained in the mushroom. Cyclopropylacetyl-(R)-carnitine specific to R. subnigricans was identified as a novel compound whose (1)H-NMR signals appearing in the upfield region were easily recognizable among the complicated signals of the crude extract.