This paper proposes a novel conceptual system of optical wireless power transfer between objects, whether stationary or in-motion. Different from the currently existing optical wireless power transfer systems, where the optical transmitter and receiver are two distinct devices, the proposed system in this paper employs a single device - an optical transceiver, which is capable of working as both light absorption and emission. This optical transceiver is fabricated from a metal halide perovskite which yields superior features such as low costs, capability of flexibly attached on curved surfaces, thin and light weight. Therefore, the whole system size and cost can be significantly reduced, while perovskite transceivers can be made adaptive to any surface. This will contribute to realize a thing-to-thing optical wireless power transfer system, in which surfaces of objects/things are covered (fully or partially) by perovskite transceivers, enabling them to wirelessly charge or discharge from the others.


The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of a lipid-encapsulated CLA preparation on rumen metabolism and the actual post-ruminal bioavailability of the applied CLA isomers. In the rumen, the CLA supplementation modified the molar proportions of VFA. In period CLA-1 the rumen fermentation shifted toward more butyric acid at the expense of acetic acid. The highest CLA supplementation resulted in increased amounts of isobutyric, isovaleric, and valeric acid. The apparent ruminal digestibility of starch increased in period CLA-2. The ruminal protein degradation was higher after CLA supplementation, while the efficiency of the use of the RDP for microbial protein synthesis declined. The duodenal flow of trans-10,cis-12 CLA amounted to 16 and 5% of the intake in periods CLA-1 and CLA-2, respectively. The transfer of trans-10,cis-12 CLA from duodenum into milk was 36 and 48% in periods CLA-1 and CLA-2, respectively. Overall, the observed effects of the supplementation of lipid-encapsulated CLA on the parameters of rumen metabolism were negligible. The actual low post-ruminal bioavailability of trans-10,cis-12 CLA suggest that most of the applied fat supplement was biohydrogenated.


We present a novel coding scheme for reducing bus power dissipation. The presented approach is well suited to driving off-chip buses, where the line capacitance is a dominant factor. A distinctive feature of the technique is the dynamic reordering of bus line positions, in order to minimize the toggling activity on physical bus wires. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated through cycle-accurate simulation of industrial benchmarks in conjunction with post-layout evaluation of speed, power and area overhead.


Are they applicable in Britain?

In 2004 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) revised its guidelines for management of severe hyperbilirubinaemia in the newborn.1 The objective was to strike a balance between preventing severe hyperbilirubinaemia and its sequelae on the one hand and minimising overinvestigation and treatment of physiological jaundice on the other.

The previous guidelines, published in 1994,2 reflected a "kinder, gentler" approach to neonatal jaundice.3 Thanks to improvements in the management of rhesus isoimmunisation, bilirubin encephalopathy and kernicterus had virtually disappeared among term infants in the western world. Many paediatricians were concerned that this experience was extrapolated inappropriately to neonatal jaundice in general, and that infants with physiological and breast milk jaundice were undergoing unnecessary investigation and treatment. The 1994 guidelines were directed to reducing such intervention. They included the recommendation, however, that all infants discharged within 48 hours of birth should be followed up within three days.

Increasingly early postnatal discharge of term and near term infants, and initiatives to promote breast feeding, coincided with the more relaxed approach to neonatal jaundice. Ironically, these developments may have contributed to the re-emergence of severe jaundice and bilirubin encephalopathy in North America and Europe.4–6 Reported associations included relatively short gestation7 and comorbidity, particularly glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.4 Possibly early discharge, before jaundice has reached a maximum and breast feeding is established, leaves some infants, particularly if immature or ill, vulnerable to severe jaundice, which would previously have been identified during inpatient postnatal stay. Non-white infants may be particularly vulnerable because, compared with white infants, jaundice is more difficult to evaluate clinically and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is more common.

The pendulum thus swung away from the "kinder, gentler" approach and led to the recent revision of the AAP guidelines. The experts who revised them …


Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between government interventions to promote investments in innovation and firm‐financed R&D. Merging a unique panel data set on Argentinean firms in the 1990s with a data base on different types of public support received through the FONTAR (Fondo Tecnólogico Argentino) program, we estimate a fixed effects model and find evidence of a significant positive impact of FONTAR on private R&D. A 1 per cent increase in the amount received through FONTAR induces an average increase of 547.6 real pesos in annual R&D expenditures. The result is robust to the use of an instrumental variable estimator that controls for the potential bias induced by changes in the structure of the program. An analysis by type of financial support reveals that the impact is mainly due to targeted and fiscal credit with no evidence that funding received through matching grants has an additionality effect on private investments. This result is in line with the predictions of a simple theoretical model that investigates the impact of different policy interventions to promote investments in R&D. When firms' preferences are not directly observable, the provision of direct subsidies is more likely to incur the risk of adverse selection attracting firms that would have invested in innovation even in the absence of public support or dismiss some of the non‐financed projects, thus leaving unchanged or decreasing the overall level of expenditures in R&D.


A new statistical approach based on global typographical features is proposed to the widely neglected problem of font recognition. It aims at the identification of the typeface, weight, slope and size of the text from an image block without any knowledge of the content of that text. The recognition is based on a multivariate Bayesian classifier and operates on a given set of known fonts. The effectiveness of the adopted approach has been experimented on a set of 280 fonts. Font recognition accuracies of about 97 percent were reached on high-quality images. In addition, rates higher than 99.9 percent were obtained for weight and slope detection. Experiments have also shown the system robustness to document language and text content and its sensitivity to text length.


Between the mid- 1990's and the mid- 2000's, in a period characterized as the Celtic Tiger, the Irish residential real estate market experienced a boom. During the 13 years from 1994 to 2007 house prices rose in excess of 400% and then in September 2007 they started to collapse with a sustained decline continuing for almost six years eventually stabilising in March 2013. From peak to trough this fall was in excess of 50% and in modern times is second only to Japan in terms of magnitude. This series of years of steady price rises accompanied by sustained price declines constitutes a classic speculative bubble which, when it finally burst, had disastrous consequences not only for the housing market, but also for the banking system and the entire Irish economy triggering eventually triggering a bailout from the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank. This paper explores the role that individual's emotions potentially played in firstly escalating and eventually pricking this bubble. To do this we conduct a textual analysis on official reports (including IMF and OECD reports) as well as commentary on the real estate market as reported in the media as prices firstly escalated and eventually declined. We also perform a textual analysis of the official reports that were commissioned after the collapse to investigate their analysis of the causes of the bubble. Our findings are consistent with Kindleberger and Aliber (2011) who couch their model of market bubbles in terms of human emotions, though the official reports into the causes of the crisis were largely silent on emotions as a primary driver. Our results have implications for the effectiveness of official policy responses to prevent a similar bubble emerging in the future


An atomic broadcast protocol should meet the three properties of unanimity, order and termination. The protocol presented here assumes weak fail-silent Network Attachment Controllers (NACs) and a broadcast channel subject to omission failures. In a failure-free environment it consists of a single phase. The response time achieved is almost the same as for a simple broadcast. In case of receivers failures, the number of phases depends on failure occurrences. In case of a broadcaster failure all the correct receivers detect the failure and all the receivers ignore the broadcast. This protocol ensures that each correct NACs has the same view of the correct NACs' list.


We show that the average number of integral points on elliptic curves, counted modulo the natural involution on a punctured elliptic curve, is bounded from above by $2.1 \times 10^8$. To prove it, we design a descent map, whose prototype goes at least back to Mordell, which associates a pair of binary forms to an integral point on an elliptic curve. Other ingredients of the proof include the upper bounds for the number of solutions of a Thue equation by Evertse and Akhtari-Okazaki, and the estimation of the number of binary quartic forms by Bhargava-Shankar. Our method applies to $S$-integral points to some extent, although our present knowledge is insufficient to deduce an upper bound for the average number of them. We work out the numerical example with $S=\{2\}$.


The metallic surfaces of total joint replacement components are subject to surface damage and roughening that can severely limit the service lifetime of the bearing system. To date, there are no standards by which to characterize the severity and modes of this critical surface damage, and therefore it remains difficult to accurately assess how femoral damage influences total joint replacement longevity. This study introduces a novel femoral component damage scoring methodology that combines a semi-quantitative visual damage scoring assessment and a fully quantitative non-contact characterization of the articular surface profile. The femoral surface was divided into 6 pre-determined zones, with 5 possible modes of damage and 4 (0–3) levels of damage severity, to produce a maximum possible damage score of 90. The 5 modes of metallic surface damage were; number of scratches, scratch depth, third body wear, abrasion and pitting. Three independent examiners were trained and then evaluated 33 retrieved TKRs systems (n = 11 Oxinium and n = 23 CoCr) with in-situ times of 3.6 ± 4.2 yrs (range of 0.1–20 yrs). The average damage score was 19.9 ± 30.8 with an inter-observer variability of only 1.5% Articular damage mode frequency was calculated and found to be 61% for scratching, 15% for pitting and 52% for abrasion. The quantitative characterization of the articular surface profile of the femoral component using non-contact profilometry (n = 150/retrieved component) illustrated a positive correlation between damage score and the average surface roughness for implants with an Ra greater than 65 nm (R2 of 0.865). This methodology identified a critical Ra threshold above the standard manufacturing tolerance (∼50nm) wherein visual damage scoring was predictive of increases in quantitative surface roughness. This study validates the use of this novel methodology across most TKR material pairings. Future work will correlate damage scores and measured surface roughness with patient demographic and functional information.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


In order to determine the upper limit of the audible frequency range as well as its age-dependency we have examined 198 persons whose ages varied from 3 to 90 years of which 111 were women. To correct for potential errors that might occur due to other factors which may differ from the age only, an additional 28 variables have been recorded besides the measurement of high-tone perception. The hearing experiment was based on the monaural exposition of a monofrequent test signal. Its frequency was continuously varied whereas the sound pressure level was kept as constant as possible. The results show a strong dependency of upper frequency limit at a given sound level with the age and some sex-differences. All the rest of possibly interfering variables (i.e. noise-exposition or ototoxic drugs) remained below the threshold of statistical significance. The approximately linear relationship between the age and the ability of high frequency perception shows a more pronounced and earlier loss of sensitivity (to high frequencies) in males than in females.


In this case study, we researched one cohort from the Center for Animation, a higher education teaching environment that has successfully fostered group creativity and learning outcomes through problem-based learning. Through live and videotaped observations of the interactions of this community over 18 months, in addition to focused interviews with nine key community leaders, we considered the evaluative culture and actions of this community, and how these evaluative practices improved their creative problem solving. We describe their evaluation practices in the context of principles derived from the Joint Committees' Evaluation Standards (Yarbrough, Shulha, Hopson, & Caruthers, 2011), which are well-respected standards used by professional evaluators. Specifically, we found that problem-based learning strategies were successful in part because the community members (1) established a context and culture of high expectations, collaboration, and evaluation; (2) united the students, teachers, and industry leaders as shared stakeholders in the success of the project; (3) identified early the key criteria for evaluating progress; and (4) asked questions to evaluate progress towards meeting the criteria, using many approaches to gathering information. We discuss the implications for applying these principles to other problem-based learning environments, particularly in higher education, as well as future research.


Background Complete relief of pain due to irreversible pulpitis is challenging to obtain with analgesic medications. The high incidence of an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) failure makes it difficult for practitioners to perform endodontic treatment without implementing other anesthetic techniques, especially mandibular molars. The aim of this study was to compare efficacies of two different quantities of paraformaldehyde based pulpal medicaments to relieve the pain and control hyperemic pulp post-failure of IANB and supplementary technique in patients experiencing this symptomatic irreversible pulpitis in the permanent mandibular tooth. Method Eighty-two participants with severe pain pre-operatively (Heft Parker Visual Analogue Scale, VAS > 114 mm) were enrolled, and pain responses were recorded at different time intervals using the Heft Parker visual analogue scale. To the patients experiencing pain even after the administration of the standard IANB and supplemental intraligamentary injection, one of the two paraformaldehyde based pulpal medicaments was placed in the pulp chamber and sealed. Participants were recalled after 24–48 h (second visit) to assess pain and bleeding reduction. Results Results showed a significant decrease in pain severity and bleeding score post medicament placement (p < .05). Hence judicious use within a recommended period, pulpal medicaments can be considered safe. Conclusion Paraformaldehyde based pulpal medicament can be used as an alternative to manage pain in patients having severe irreversible pulpitis and hyperalgesia.


An intrusion detection system (IDS) monitors the network traffic looking for suspicious or malicious activities or policy violations, which could represent an attack or unauthorized access. Traditional systems were designed to detect known attacks but cannot identify unknown threats. They most commonly detect known threats based on predefined rules or behavioral analysis through baselining the network. Expert attackers can bypass these techniques, therefore the need for more intelligent intrusion detection is increasing by the day. Intelligent IDS collects and analyzes information from different areas and deals with large amount of data, which contains various redundant and irrelevant features and results in increased overfitting, processing (training) time and low detection rate. For that reason, feature selection should be applied as a preprocessing step to improve accuracy and system performance while shrinking large data sets. In this paper, filter method which is a method used in feature selection to identify important features and to eliminate the less effective features has been developed for three different class structures on the NSL KDD dataset. After this process, classification models were created and performance measures were used to evaluate the models.


Microcirculatory disturbances of the colon may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the alterations of rectal blood perfusion in experimental colitis with reference to nitric oxide and heparin treatment. The study was carried out on 36 rats, divided into six groups: group I, control; group II, control + NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA); group III, colitis without treatment; group IV, colitis + L-arginine; group V, colitis + L-NNA; group VI, colitis + heparin treatment. Experimental colitis was induced by 4% acetic acid enema, and 48 h after the enema, besides the measurement of rectal capillary blood flow by means of laser Doppler flowmetry, the serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) level and histopathological alterations within the rectal mucosa were examined. Experimental colitis resulted in a drop in rectal wall perfusion. L-Arginine and heparin treatment improved the microcirculatory values. The highest IL-6 level and the most advanced histopathological alterations were observed in the rats treated with L-NNA. L-Arginine treatment had no influence on IL-6 concentration, however it aggravated the inflammatory changes within the rectal mucosa. Heparin administration reduced the IL-6 values and also had a positive impact on the microscopic alterations within the rectal wall. It is concluded that heparin treatment has a beneficial effect on the microcirculatory disturbances and inflammatory changes observed in experimental colitis. The inhibition of nitric oxide-synthase aggravated the course of experimental colitis. L-Arginine administration improves the rectal blood flow but aggravates the histopathological alterations within the rectal wall.


Geckos are famous for the skill of switchable adhesion that they use to stick on various surface while keep their fingers super clean. In the dissertation, a unique mechanism was discovered to explain gecko self-cleaning phenomena. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we managed to compare the microparticle-substrate adhesion and the microparticle-seta adhesion with a single seta bonded to the AFM cantilever. A dynamic effect was approved that high pulling-off speed could increase the microparticle-substrate adhesion and thus the self-cleaning appears at high moving speed. Based on the self-cleaning theory, a gecko-inspired N-doped graphene surface with switchable adhesion was achieved, which was designed into a bio-inspired micromanipulator with a success rate over 90%. When electrical bias was applied on this biomimetic surface, the charge concentration induced an electrical double layer (ELD) on the convex surfaces, which attracts polar water molecules to form a water bridge on it, significantly enhancing the adhesion on the wrinkled graphene surface, mimicking the capillary force on beetle feet. Therefore, the bio-inspired adhesive surface can be controlled with speed, electrical bias, humidity and different material surfaces. The water attraction phenomenon on the polarized surface was further tested for the potential application of water collection and evaporation in microsystems.


There are many lesions that cause compression of nerves and vessels in the head and neck, and they can often be overlooked in the absence of adequate history or if not suspected by the radiologist. Many of these lesions require a high index of suspicion and optimal positioning for imaging. While a multimodality approach is critical in the evaluation of compressive lesions, an MRI utilizing high-resolution (heavily weighted) T2-weighted sequence is extremely useful as a starting point. In this review, we aim to discuss the radiological features of the common and uncommon compressive lesions of the head and neck which are broadly categorized into vascular, osseous, and miscellaneous etiologies.


Summary Source rock properties were determined on samples obtained from three modern African lakes—Tanganyika, Kivu and Edward—and on thermally immature material from Eocene Lake Uinta of Utah and Colorado (Green River Formation). The modern rift lakes represent largely clastic lacustrine systems, whereas Lake Uinta is a carbonate-dominated system. The sediments from both systems exhibit a wide range of organic enrichment: up to ∼ 13 wt.% TOC in the clastic lake samples and sometimes greater than 30 wt.% TOC in the carbonate-dominated system. Total hydrocarbon generation potentials, as determined by 'Rock-Eval' pyrolyses, also indicate higher yields in the carbonate system (up to ∼200 mg HC g−1 rock) as compared to the clastic systems (up to ∼ 90 mg HC g−1 rock). Differences in hydrocarbon yield are greater than can be explained by the organic content. They appear to be the combined result of mineral matrix effects and kerogen character. Elemental and visual analyses of isolated kerogen also support the idea of differences in organic character. The kerogen from the Green River Formation was used to define the Type I reference curve. The kerogen isolated from the clastic lakes appears intermediate between the Type I and Type II reference curves and contains varying and, in some cases, very significant proportions of Type III and/or residual (inert) organic material. In both cases, the principal product will be a high-wax crude oil. The primary differences in organic enrichment and character appear to be related to the relative quantity of allochthonous sedimentary material, both organic and inorganic.


ABSTRACT Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small colony biotype (SC) is the high-consequence animal pathogen causing contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. We report the complete genome sequences of the pathogenic strain M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC Gladysdale and a close phylogenetic relative, Mycoplasma leachii PG50T, another bovine pathogen of the M. mycoides phylogenetic clade.


Although research has identified the importance of interaction behaviors in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), very few attempts have been made to carry out in-depth analysis of interaction behaviors. This study thus applies both qualitative (e.g., content analyses, interviews) and quantitative methods in an attempt to investigate the role of interaction behaviors (i.e., cooperative processes, cognitive involvement) in group motivation (i.e., collective efficacy) and group performance in CSCL. A total of 35 college students generated 387 cooperative processes and 421 cognitive ideas during the collaborative process over six weeks. The results indicated that the quality of interaction behaviors was positively related to CSCL performance. High performance groups were more involved in complex cooperative processes, and expressed more cognitive ideas at both high and low cognitive levels than low performance groups. For the role of interaction in collective efficacy, the quantity rather than quality of interaction behaviors played a more critical role in constructing collective efficacy. High efficacy groups had more cooperative processes and cognitive ideas than low collective efficacy groups. The interviews also revealed that group interaction played a mediating role in constructing collective efficacy. For the role of collective efficacy in group performance, the results also show that the high efficacy groups performed better than the low efficacy groups. Implications and suggestions for future research are also provided.


This paper examines the mediating role of competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination between leadership styles and Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation. The empirical data for this study were drawn from a survey of 203 leaders from manufacturing and service firms in Addis Ababa and its surrounding cities to examine the reliability and validity of the independent constructs; mediating constructs (i.e., competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination); and implementation of TQM. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to examine the mediating role of competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination between leadership styles and the implementation of TQM. The result of this study revealed that servant and transactional leadership did have a positive and direct effect on the implementation of TQM, while the relationships were further positively mediated by inter-functional coordination for the servant leadership-TQM relationship and negatively mediated by competitor orientation for the transactional leadership-TQM relationship. On the other hand, transformational leadership had only a positive and indirect effect on implementing TQM through competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination. Our sample companies came from different industries (both manufacturing and service sectors). Hence, future studies could consider samples from manufacturing and service sectors independently to control and reduce the bias resulting from industry differences. The results can be beneficial for the current organizational leaders to achieve appropriate leadership styles and understand the mediating role of competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination between leadership styles and the implementation of TQM.


ABSTRACT Using Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847) as a backdrop, this article examines the symbol of slavery in Fredrika Bremer's novel The Neighbours (1837). In particular, the character Hagar (mirrored in Jane Eyre by Bertha Mason) is analysed. The Neighbours depict slavery both on a literal and a symbolic level; firstly, in the representation of colonial plantations and transatlantic slave trade and secondly as a symbol of white women's submission. The slave trade is described as fundamentally un-Swedish, and Swedes complicit in slave trade as corrupted by foreigners. The wrongs of oppression are doubled with the wrongs of being oppressed, and both owning and being slave are constructed as non-Swedish positions marked by race. Building on the slave as a symbol, submission appears as a counter image of white femininity. Being a proper woman equals not allowing oneself to be treated as a slave.


Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a catastrophic illness causing significant morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in surgical technique addressing primary brain injury caused by ICH, little progress has been made treating the subsequent inflammatory cascade. Pre-clinical studies have made advancements identifying components of neuroinflammation, including microglia, astrocytes, and T lymphocytes. After cerebral insult, inflammation is initially driven by the M1 microglia, secreting cytokines (e.g., interleukin-1β [IL-1β] and tumor necrosis factor-α) that are involved in the breakdown of the extracellular matrix, cellular integrity, and the blood brain barrier. Additionally, inflammatory factors recruit and induce differentiation of A1 reactive astrocytes and T helper 1 (Th1) cells, which contribute to the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, augmenting M1 polarization and potentiating inflammation. Within 7 days of ICH ictus, the M1 phenotype coverts to a M2 phenotype, key for hematoma removal, tissue healing, and overall resolution of inflammation. The secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-4, IL-10) can drive Th2 cell differentiation. M2 polarization is maintained by the secretion of additional anti-inflammatory cytokines by the Th2 cells, suppressing M1 and Th1 phenotypes. Elucidating the timing and trigger of the anti-inflammatory phenotype may be integral in improving clinical outcomes. A challenge in current translational research is the absence of an equivalent disease animal model mirroring the patient population and comorbid pathophysiologic state. We review existing data and describe potential therapeutic targets around which we are creating a bench to bedside translational research model that better reflects the pathophysiology of ICH patients.


If today's television landscape is ripe with Gothic or supernatural dramas (True Blood, Penny Dreadful, Supernatural), paranormal crime dramas (X-Files, Grimm) and, on children's networks, animated or live-action sitcoms about monsters and ghouls trying to fit in at home or at school (Monster High, Every Witch Way), all of this programming can be traced back to its humble origins in the 1960s and 1970s. This study will focus on the creation of three different types of hybrid series that were aired during this early period and each of which attempted to combine supernatural characters and story-lines borrowed from traditional Gothic literature (and later from science fiction) with a different standard and rather conventional TV format. In the early 1960s, The Munsters on CBS and The Addams Family on ABC brought Gothic monsters and otherworldly misfits into the family sitcom. This was immediately followed by two successive contributions from TV producer-director Dan Curtis for ABC –first in the late sixties with Dark Shadows, the 'Gothic soap opera' that took the melodramatic afternoon serial format and spiced it up with dozens of overlapping subtexts on classic vampires, werewolves and witches, and then in the early seventies with two TV films that resulted in the first 'paranormal investigation series', Kolchak: The Night Stalker. In addition to analyzing the hybrid nature of these experimental programs and their rather light borrowing of literary icons in terms of adaptation, this study will also focus heavily on the context and television landscape into which these two-headed hybrids were born. To understand their countercultural value, one must first understand the type of programming that was dominant at the time, as well as the battle for dominance in those all-important Nielsen ratings that would drive certain networks to bolder experimentation. All three of these hybrid series were indeed the spoils of the Network Wars, and all involved third-place ABC's attempt to overturn CBS's unshakeable dominance through counter-programming and the targeting of new demographics. Finally, this article will also focus on the inherent paradox shared by these early 'monster-mashes', for at the time most of these series failed in terms of expected audience numbers, and all but Dark Shadows were canceled after one or two seasons. Yet, these series –though often camp if not unintentionally burlesque and with often laughably low production values by today's standards –have still consistently grown in popularity over time, thanks to syndication, later reboots on TV and as feature films –making these initial hybrids and their off-the-wall characters cult icons today and leading to scores of current programs that readily admit to the significant influence of these early, low-budget experiments.


Blind source separation is the computation underlying the cocktail party effect––a partygoer can distinguish a particular talker's voice from the ambient noise. Early studies indicated that the brain might use blind source separation as a signal processing strategy for sensory perception and numerous mathematical models have been proposed; however, it remains unclear how the neural networks extract particular sources from a complex mixture of inputs. We discovered that neurons in cultures of dissociated rat cortical cells could learn to represent particular sources while filtering out other signals. Specifically, the distinct classes of neurons in the culture learned to respond to the distinct sources after repeating training stimulation. Moreover, the neural network structures changed to reduce free energy, as predicted by the free-energy principle, a candidate unified theory of learning and memory, and by Jaynes' principle of maximum entropy. This implicit learning can only be explained by some form of Hebbian plasticity. These results are the first in vitro (as opposed to in silico) demonstration of neural networks performing blind source separation, and the first formal demonstration of neuronal self-organization under the free energy principle.


Objective Increasing maternal age was associated with an increase in obstetric interventions, induction of labour and early postpartum haemorrhage. We aim to investigate the effect of maternal age and body mass index (BMI)on delivery outcomes. Methods Retrospective analysis of hospital database, of all the women who delivered in Ninewells hospital between 2004 and 2007, (n=18753). The outcomes analysed include mother's age at delivery, mode of delivery, gestation, indications for interventions including instrumental deliveries and caesarean section, PPH, and baby's birth weight. Results For the purposes of this study the data will be compared against each other (over 40 and under 40) and each outcome will be compared with BMI. There were 518 patients in the 40–43 age group (92%), 41 patients in the 44–47 age group (7.3%) and 4 (0.7%) in the ≥48 age group. Compared to the younger age group, the older mothers are at increased risk of caesarean section (21.9% at <40 and 35.5% at >40). They also have higher induction rate (29% compared to 35%). The incidence of PPH in older mothers are significantly higher (10% in <40 and 42%in >40). There was no difference in baby's birth weight. Older patients with higher BMI have slightly higher incidence of PPH. Conclusion Our study confirmed that age and BMI are indeed two independent risk factors for obstetric complications. Though rate of induction, rate of caesarean section and PPH rates are higher in older women with high BMI, there was no difference in birth weight.


S-Acylation is a reversible protein post-translational modification mediated by Protein S-acyltransferases (PATs). Here, we demonstrate that three plant immune receptors P2K1 (DORN1), FLS2 and CERK1, representing three distinct families of receptor like-kinases, are S-acylated by Arabidopsis PAT5 and PAT9 on the plasma membrane (PM). Mutations in Atpat5 and Atpat9 resulted in an elevated plant immune response, increased phosphorylation and decreased degradation of FLS2, P2K1 and CERK1 during immune signaling. Mutation of key cysteine residues S-acylated in these receptors resulted in a similar phenotype as exhibited by Atpat5/Atpat9 mutant plants. The data indicate that S-acylation also controls localization of the receptors in distinct PM nanodomains and, thereby, controls the formation of specific protein-protein interactions. Our study reveals that S-acylation plays a critical role in mediating spatiotemporal dynamics of plant receptors within PM nanodomains, suggesting a key role for this modification in regulating the ability of plants in respond to external stimuli.


A 6 year-old child was hospitalized for thoracoabdominal pain. There was a clinical and radiological right pleural effusion. Ultrasonography showed a pseudocyst of the head of the pancreas. CAT scan and operative opacification showed a mediastinal extension of the pseudocyst, with no communication with the pleural effusion. This pseudocyst illustrates an unusual variation of a known complication of this disease. Recovery was obtained via fistulization into the jejunum.


We describe the physical mechanisms of the recombination-pumped laser action of the carbon vi Balmer-α line (18.2 nm), which is expected to have a gain duration of as long as 10 nsec in the cylindrical-wall-confinement plasmas produced by a CO2 laser. We present the modeling of the laser action with the combination of the one-dimensional hydrodynamic code and the multilevel atomic rate equation code. The gain coefficient derived from the calculated dynamics of the level populations is somewhat smaller than the experimental data. Additional expansion cooling may account for the discrepancy. The higher gain coefficient of the order of 5 cm−1 is expected when we irradiate a high-Z doped cylinder-type target.


We study multi-finger binary search trees (BSTs), a far-reaching extension of the classical BST model, with connections to the well-studied $k$-server problem. Finger search is a popular technique for speeding up BST operations when a query sequence has locality of reference. BSTs with multiple fingers can exploit more general regularities in the input. In this paper we consider the cost of serving a sequence of queries in an optimal (offline) BST with $k$ fingers, a powerful benchmark against which other algorithms can be measured.
We show that the $k$-finger optimum can be matched by a standard dynamic BST (having a single root-finger) with an $O(\log{k})$ factor overhead. This result is tight for all $k$, improving the $O(k)$ factor implicit in earlier work. Furthermore, we describe new online BSTs that match this bound up to a $(\log{k})^{O(1)}$ factor. Previously only the "one-finger" special case was known to hold for an online BST (Iacono, Langerman, 2016; Cole et al., 2000). Splay trees, assuming their conjectured optimality (Sleator and Tarjan, 1983), would have to match our bounds for all $k$.
Our online algorithms are randomized and combine techniques developed for the $k$-server problem with a multiplicative-weights scheme for learning tree metrics. To our knowledge, this is the first time when tools developed for the $k$-server problem are used in BSTs. As an application of our $k$-finger results, we show that BSTs can efficiently serve queries that are close to some recently accessed item. This is a (restricted) form of the unified property (Iacono, 2001) that was previously not known to hold for any BST algorithm, online or offline.


This study seeks to determine the effect of N fertilization method on ratoon lowland rice performance, to choose a fertilization method that provides high ratooned yield, and to assess its profitability adopting N fertilization method. The experiment lays out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications and five N fertilization methods as treatments. Method of N application significantly affected the number of days to heading and maturity, plant height, leaf area index (LAI), number of productive tillers hill-1, panicle length and weight, number of filled and unfilled grains panicle-1. This method compensates cost of production of growing ratoon crop than those of the main crop. In fact, the highest profit (PhP25,564.80) was obtained in ratooned plants, which received 60 kg ha-1 N basal + 30 kg ha-1 N topdress application (T3) due to higher grain yield. Thereby, this is an appropriate option that provides high productivity and income for the ratoon growers.


High-redshift galaxies permit the study of the formation and evolution of X-ray binary (XRB) populations on cosmological timescales, probing a wide range of metallicities and star formation rates (SFRs). In this paper, we present results from a large-scale population synthesis study that models the XRB populations from the first galaxies of the universe until today. We use as input to our modeling the Millennium II cosmological simulation and the updated semi-analytic galaxy catalog by Guo et al. to self-consistently account for the star formation history and metallicity evolution of the universe. Our modeling, which is constrained by the observed X-ray properties of local galaxies, gives predictions about the global scaling of emission from XRB populations with properties such as SFR and stellar mass, and the evolution of these relations with redshift. Our simulations show that the X-ray luminosity density (X-ray luminosity per unit volume) from XRBs in our universe today is dominated by low-mass XRBs, and it is only at z ≳ 2.5 that high-mass XRBs become dominant. We also find that there is a delay of ∼1.1 Gyr between the peak of X-ray emissivity from low-mass XRBs (at z ∼ 2.1) and the peak of SFR density (at z ∼ 3.1). The peak of the X-ray luminosity from high-mass XRBs (at z ∼ 3.9) happens ∼0.8 Gyr before the peak of the SFR density, which is due to the metallicity evolution of the universe.


To the Editor.— The article, "Diuretic Agents: Inciting Factor in Nonocclusive Mesenteric Infarction?" (229: 1451, 1974), by John B. Sharefkin, MD, and William Silen, MD, describes three cases of nonocclusive mesenteric infarctions following diuretic and digitalis therapy and suggests hypovolemia, diuretic-induced, together with vasospasm, possibly digitalis-induced, as the mechanism for the infarction. Although some hypovolemia seems to have occurred, the slight elevation in blood urea nitrogen level of two of the patients renders the hypovolemia theory not too impressive. Another more likely explanation may be the hypothesis forwarded by Alexander Leaf, MD, 1,2 suggesting cell swelling as the possible cause of nonocclusive infarcts. The cell swelling is caused by potassium efflux coupled with sodium chloride and water influx across the cellular semipermeable membrane, and thus interference with cell metabolism and possibly impingement on micro-circulation. The current knowledge of the mechanisms of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent active sodium-potassium transport involving the specific


Endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR or CD201) is expressed in the endothelial cells of large blood vessels, such as aorta, and contributes to the natural anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory system by activating protein C. Recent study showed that EPCR is also expressed in murine bone marrow, and that the majority of the EPCR-positive cells are the hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in quiescent state, defined as the side population (sp) fraction in flow cytometry, suggesting the possibility of EPCR involvement in the hematopoiesis. In the murine mid-embryonic stage, on the other hand, the main location of hematopoiesis is fetal liver (FL), where the HSCs are highly proliferative. In this period of development, there are no quiescent HSCs, which is different from adult bone marrow. It is not clarified whether EPCR has any relevance to the fetal hematopoiesis. Here, we demonstrate that EPCR is involved in the hematopoiesis in FL. Immunostaining of murine FL (E12) clearly showed the EPCR-positive cells, and they were located adjacent or connected to the Lyve-1-positive sinusoidal endothelial cells. Some of those were endothelial-like, and others were in round shape, co-expressing c-Kit. In the HSC-enriched Lineage − Sca-1 + c-Kit + (LSK) fraction, the proportion of the EPCR-positive cells was approximately 30%. Sorted EPCR + /LSK and EPCR − /LSK cells were examined for the capability of bone marrow reconstitution and multilineage differentiation. In colony assay, the EPCR + /LSK cells exhibited higher proliferation and differentiation capability into the full range of the hematopoietic cells, including the megakaryocytes and erythroids, while most of the EPCR − /LSK-derived colonies were granulocytes and macrophages. Furthermore, the EPCR + /LSK and EPCR − /LSK cells isolated from donor FL were transplanted with the bone marrow-derived competitor cells into the lethally irradiated recipient mice, resulting in the striking difference between two fractions, i.e., robust long-term reconstitution of EPCR + /LSK cells and almost no reconstitution of EPCR − /LSK cells. The EPCR + /LSK cells were serially transplantable. These data collectively conclude that EPCR-expressing cells in LSK fraction of E12.5 FL exclusively exhibit the capability for long-term bone marrow reconstitution and self-renewal, as well as multilineage differentiation. Thus, the EPCR + /LSK fraction is the highly HSC-enriched population. The function of the endothelial molecule in HSCs will be discussed.


A nuclear/radiological incident is known as a low-probability and high-impact disaster, yet it is catastrophic when it actually happens. Therefore intensive preparation for an effective response is required and many institutions and stakeholders are involved in the preparedness phase. This research is to examine the inter-agency coordination model on nuclear/Radiological incident response in the United States and aims to extract policy implications. In order to do so, the Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex to the Response and Recovery Federal Interagency Operational Plan was studied with a focus on the interagency coordination program in the United States. This study reviewed the Federal Radiological Preparedness Coordinating Committee (FRPCC) and Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP) in the United States and examined the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a lead entity for federal response activities for the nuclear/radiological event. This study suggests establishing a central government program to support local governments for radiological emergency preparedness activities and coordination efforts among stakeholders.


Objective a) to propose and implement an evaluation system; b) to classify the pulmonary involvement and determine levels of physical therapy; c) to check the progress postoperatively. Methods Patients underwent physiotherapy assessment preoperatively, postoperatively and after 5 days of intervention. They were classified into three levels of care: level 1 - low risk of complication; Level 2 - medium risk; Level 3 - high risk. We used analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis and analysis of variance for repeated measures or Friedman. Chi-square test or Fisher for proportions. We considered statistical significance level P<0.05. Results We studied 199 patients, 156 classified within level 1, 32 at level 2 and 11 at level 3. Thoracoabdominal motion and auscultation changed significantly postoperatively, persisting at levels 2 and 3 (P<0.05). Oxygenation and respiratory rate changed at levels 2 and 3 postoperatively (P<0.05) with recovery at the end. Significant decrease in lung volumes occurred in three levels (P<0.05) with partial recovery at level 1, lung collapse occurred at all levels, with recovery by 56% at level 1, 47% at level 2, 27% at level 3. Conclusion The proposed assessment identified valve surgery patients who require differentiated physical therapy. Level 1 patients had rapid recovery, while the level 2 showed significant changes with functional gains at the end. Level 3 patients, more committed and prolonged recovery, should receive greater assistance.


In electromagnetics education, it is important for beginners, who start to learn electromagnetics, to give an illustration of magnetic field. In this paper we propose a new real-time visualization system. It can visualize a composite image of source materials and their generated magnetic field utilizing the Augmented Reality technique to the users. With this real-time visualization system, electromagnetics learners can observe the visualized magnetic field as a realistic magnetic distribution on real-time and the visualized field changes immediately they move the objects.


Acid tolerance is one of the critical factors to determine the quality of the industrial production strains. Therefore, we have investigated the introduction of the acid tolerance genes into the genome of Escherichia coli BL21 by using CRISPR-Cas9 system. The dsrA and rcsB genes of E. coli K-12, which are involved in the heptanoic acid tolerance, were inserted into the genome of E. coli BL21 without scar. The native transcription unit (TU) of dsrA and the synthetic TU of rcsB were integrated in E. coli BL21 genome. We found that the position of genomic coordinate of 1,300,270 was more efficient to integrate dsrA and rcsB than genomic coordinate of 3,876,428. Furthermore, the rcsB was successfully expressed in the resulting engineered strains (i.e., rcsB or dsrA rcsB strains). The engineered strains expressing dsrA and/or rcsB showed the higher survival rate and specific growth rate under n-heptanoic acid stress than wild-type E. coli BL21. These results indicate that the newly introduced acid-tolerance systems were active in the E. coli BL21 strain.


Groundwater utilization and groundwater quality vary in the Baltic and Nordic countries mainly because of different geological settings. Based on the geology, the countries were treated in the following three groups: (1) Fennoscandian (Finland, Sweden, and Norway) countries, (2) Denmark and Baltic (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) countries, and (3) Iceland. Most of the utilized groundwater resources are taken from Quaternary deposits, but Denmark and the Baltic countries have in addition, important resources in Phanerozoic rocks. The groundwater quality reflects the residence time of water in the subsurface and the chemical composition of the geological formations. Concentrations of ions in the Fennoscandian bedrock are elevated compared to Iceland, but lower than in Denmark and the Baltic countries. Compared to groundwater in the bedrock, groundwater in Quaternary deposits has usually lower concentrations of dissolved minerals. Unconfined Quaternary aquifers are vulnerable to contamination. Examples from Denmark and the Baltic countries illustrate challenges and successful effects of mitigation strategies for such aquifers related to agricultural application and management of nitrogen. Confined and deeper groundwater is better protected against anthropogenic contamination, but water quality may be affected by harmful compounds caused by geogenic processes (namely, sulfide, arsenic, fluoride, and radon).


Modern advancements in technologies and further developments in computer-mediated communication have tremendously enhanced social practices. They also empowered individuals in sense of motivation, overcoming psychological barriers, creating the "collective intelligence" (Levy, 1997), providing for temporal and spatial flexibility, and for the synthesis of communication technologies, group and individual forms of communication (Katz & Rice, 2002). Rooted in the belief that professional development has a visible influence on the educational process and eventually leads to students' achievements, this paper discusses in-service professional development in the context of a language institution in the Sultanate of Oman with a particular focus on the benefits of virtual environments on designing and implementing professional development and training programs that will enable teachers to bring innovation and creativity to their teaching practice. It also discusses barriers and challenges to professional development in the virtual context.


Researchers and teachers often invoke context to explain their particular research/teaching issues. However, definitions of context vary widely and the direct impact of the context is often unexplained. Based on research showing contextual differences in second language (L2) learner beliefs and interactional behaviors, the current project compared those factors in two distinct contexts: Chilean English as a foreign language (EFL) (n = 19) and Australian English as a second language (ESL) (n = 27) contexts. In this project, the learners completed a set of group discussion activities as part of their regular class work. They then completed a questionnaire pertaining to L2 motivation, perceptions of group work, and first language (L1) use. The group interaction data were analysed for: (1) the frequency of language-related episodes (LREs); (2) the initiator of LREs (self or other); and (3) L1 use for resolving LREs. The results showed that the EFL learners produced significantly more LREs. The EFL learners also used more L1 to resolve LREs. Factor analyses of the questionnaire data, conducted within- and across-contexts, showed notable differences in the two contexts as well. However, the findings of learner beliefs did not necessarily account for the differential classroom behaviors. We discuss our findings by reference to the socio-linguistic and socio-educational statuses of English in the two contexts as well as approaches to instruction which together shaped the learners' differential needs and purposes for learning the L2.


Si-B-N-C ceramic fibers were prepared by polymer derived method using precursor polyborosilazane. The composition, structure, high temperature stability and oxidation resistance of the ceramic fibers were investigated. The results indicate that the Si-B-N-C fibers combine several desired properties relevant for an application in fiber-reinforced ceramic composites. The fibers show good mechanical properties with the tensile strength 2.1 GPa and elasticity modulus 230 GPa. The ceramic fibers resist crystallization up to 1700℃ and only a mixture of partial crystallized Si3N4, BN and SiC phases is observed when heated to 1850℃ in N2 atmosphere. The fibers also show a excellent stability against oxidation, with a weight gain of only 3.3%in flowing air up to 1400℃.


Despite increasing interest across a range of scientific applications in modeling and understanding social network structure, collecting complete network data remains logistically and financially challenging, especially in the social sciences. This paper introduces a latent space representation of social network structure for partially observed network data. We derive a multivariate measure of expected (latent) distance between an observed actor and unobserved actors with given features. We also draw novel parallels between our work and dependent data in spatial and ecological statistics. An application using a random digit-dial telephone survey further demonstrates the contribution of our model. The latent space model for networks represents high dimensional network structure through a projection to a low-dimensional latent geometric space—encoding dependence as distance in the space. We develop a latent space model for cases when complete network data are unavailable. We focus specifically on Aggregated Relational Data (ARD) which measure network structure indirectly by asking respondents how many connections they have with members of a certain subpopulation (e.g. How many individuals living with HIV/AIDS do you know?) and are easily added to existing surveys. Instead of conditioning on the (latent) distance between two members of the network, the latent space model for ARD conditions on the expected distance between a survey respondent and the center of a subpopulation in the latent space. A spherical latent space facilitates tractable computation of this expectation. This model estimates relative homogeneity between groups in the population and variation in the propensity for interaction between respondents and group members. The model also estimates features of groups which are difficult to reach using standard surveys (the homeless, for example).


Thermoregulation of the human testes is a fundamental mechanism to protect the normal evolving of the spermatogenetic process and to store at specific temperature the definitive DNA carried on by the final spermatozoa. Impairment of this complex mechanism increases the core temperature of the testes, disrupts the uniform distribution of temperature into the testis and gives up an incremental differential gradient into the testis with impairment of the spermatogenetic process and increase of the apoptotic events at the differential steps of spermatogenesis. Meiosis is a crucial event during spermatogenesis: this dynamic process of rearrangement of DNA material is very sensitive to thermic disregulation and genetic abnormalities occur with the appearance of apoptosis in this pachitene stage. The testis is a fractal organ, with a multifractal organization involving the internal microvascular network and the seminiferous tubules spermatogenetic patterns. On the other side the thermoregulatory process scaling from the microvascular compartment to the capillary network to the cellular energetic level implies the non-linear complexity of the dynamics of the morpho-functional parameters involved into. In the past studies three levels of the fractal scaling of the human testes are described. From recent studies two other levels can be introduced at the seminiferous tubules internal mapping of the spermatogenetic process and at the apoptotic process on the spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids compartments. Recent studies demonstrate that specific thermoregulatory mechanisms are involved too in the maturation of oocytes in women and that the meiotic process on female gametes is thermosensitive too. The application of the multifractality approach to the interpretation of the structural organization of the human gonads on one side and the non-linear analyses of the complexity of the functional thermoregulatory mechanisms on a scaling process into the gonads reveal for the first time the sophistication of the control mechanisms of the basic processes of the human reproduction at the gonad levels, opening the route to new micro and nanotechnological procedures of intervention on these structures and of extraction of state informations on the time-space domain non-linear approaches.


Improving together will complement the development of the Scottish national GP contract that sets out the role of GPs and their important contribution as clinical leaders and expert medical generalists working in a community setting. This framework will be reviewed by the Scottish Government and the Scottish General Practitioners Committee of the BMA on a periodic basis, attentive to feedback from those involved in delivering its intent. As such, it is a framework that will develop to its full potential over time, as elements of the transformation of primary care in Scotland create the capacity to do so.


The influence of the hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐genotype on liver disease severity was evaluated in 429 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C, including 109 with cirrhosis who were followed up prospectively, allowing for the assessment of the role of the HCV‐genotype on disease outcome and on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCV‐1 was detected in 147 (46%) patients without cirrhosis and in 47 (43%) with cirrhosis (x not significant), being mainly HCV‐1b. HCV‐2 was found in 103 (32%) cases without cirrhosis and in 30 (27.5) with cirrhosis (P: not significant), being mainly HCV‐2a. HCV‐3 was detected in 32 (10%) patients without cirrhosis and in 2 (2%) with cirrhosis (P < 0.005). Infection with more than one genotype (HCV‐1/HCV‐2 and HCV‐1/HCV‐3) was observed only in cirrhotic patients (6 of 109; 5.5%). During a mean follow‐up of 67 ± 22 months, 21 (19%) patients with cirrhosis showed worsening in Child's stage, 5 (4.5%) underwent liver transplantation, 23 (21%) developed HCC, and 24 (22%) died of complication of liver disease; the overall incidence of at least one of these events was 38.5%. By the Kaplan‐Meier method and log‐rank test, the cumulative probability of developing each or at least one of the above events did not differ in relation to the genotype of infecting HCV, apart from patients with mixed genotype infection who showed a significantly higher incidence of death (P < .05). These data indicate that HCV‐genotypes do not have a significant effect on the severity and outcome of liver disease in patients with chronic HCV‐infection. Patients with cirrhosis who are also infected by HCV‐1 and HCV‐2 had a similar prognosis and progression to HCC, while patients infected by more than one genotype showed the most unfavorable course of disease.


Most of the students in middle and high schools today wear school uniforms. The school uniform is the most important and intimate clothes in adolescences and makes students feel a sense of group identity and belonging, and lessen the difference of economical capabilities. However levels of satisfaction is low because school uniforms do not express their individualities and do not keep up with the fashion. In this paper, we studied the partial liberalization of schools uniforms to raise the levels of satisfaction. The subjects were 378 male and female students from middle schools and high school in Ulsan, and a questionnaire was sent out. The survey was conducted in February 2007, and frequency analysis, -analysis, and t-test were used for the analysis of the data. The results are as follows: The students recognized the partial liberalization of the dress code as loosening of the regulation As the result of analysis on attitudes toward the partial liberalization of the dress code, most of the students support the introduction of the plan. They chose a shirt as the most appropriate item and length as the best extent in liberalization. Among the elements of school uniform required to be unified, they selected a jacket and design as the item and extent, respectively. Through this study, we came to know the demands of students for school uniform and confirmed the possibility of the partial liberalization of the dress code as an improvement of consumer-oriented school uniform. In the future, it seems that their desires would be accepted and reflected in the design and school uniforms would be manufactured from the view point of consumer.


Community Plantation Forest, known as Hutan Tanaman Rakyat or HTR, is one of social forestry programs aiming at reducing economic inequality at rural community level. However, there is no evidence that HTR has  improved the community welfare at the local level due to some problems particularly funding availability. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of financing policy in developing HTR carried out by the Public Service Agency of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (BLU-KLHK) and to look for alternative sources of funding that might support the ongoing funding mechanism. Survey and focus group discussion (FGD) are methods used to collect the data. Qualitative descriptive, content analysis and Grindle theory approaches are implemented to analyze data. The results show that, based on the content of the policy, HTR financing mechanism managed by BLU-KLHK is efficient, comprehensive and prudent in regulating and facilitating the financial support to develop HTR. However, this funding policy has not been effective to support HTR business development at the implementation stages. Some other funding schemes that might be potential to support the development of HTR include LPDB, SBSN, Rural Area Development Program, and Village Fund.


Background: Research is fundamental for developing high-quality assessments and new evidence-based treatment and is an integral part of the skills base for physiotherapists, particularly at a university hospital. However, physiotherapy research remains to be assessed and promoted. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate research field and resultant publications conducted by physiotherapists in a Danish university hospital. Materials and methods: Sixty-three research studies involving physiotherapists in the period 2010 to 2018 were screened for inclusion in this retrospective review. A standard template was completed for each research studyThe template includes: study title, design, manager; location, contact person, period and status. Results: Thirty-three studies conducted by physiotherapists were included. Of these, 2 (6%) studies were cancelled, 10 (30%) studies were in process and 21 (64%) studies completed. The most frequent research field was neurological physiotherapy (21%), followed equally by orthopaedics physiotherapy (15%), back related physiotherapy (15%) and oncology physiotherapy (15%). The most frequent used design was randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (27%), followed equally by validity studies (15%) and systematic reviews (15%). Twenty-five articles with a physiotherapist as first author were published in peer-reviewed journals. Of these, 20 (80%) articles were published in disease, symptom or gender specific journals while 5 (20%) articles were published in physiotherapy journals. An additional 11 articles were published in national physiotherapy or patient-related journals which were not peer-reviewed. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that neurological physiotherapy was the most frequent research field, RCTs the most used design and 25 articles were published in peer-reviewed journals. A standard template is recommended to obtain systematically data from research studies. Clinical rehabilitation impact: This study documented for the first time that physiotherapists in a university hospital conduct and publish research as basis for high-quality assessments and new evidence-based treatment.


This paper introduces the hierarchical iterative shooting algorithm, which has been used for volumetric radiosity in virtual reality rendering. Based on the emission, absorption, diffusion, reflection and scatteration of light by a voxel, it is suitable for generating and rendering realistic images of complex scenes. It plays an important role in virtual reality graphics. First of all, the main concept of volumetric radiosity is briefly introduced. This method contains calculation of intensity, radiosity equations and form factors. Secondly, the principle of the hierarchical iterative shooting algorithm for volumetric radiosity will be introduced. Finally, an example and algorithm evaluation have been given in this paper.


BACKGROUND
The most refractory symptom of herpes zoster (HZ) is pain. Approximately 90% of people who have HZ suffer from pain. Early use of antiviral medications has been found to reduce pain across all stages of the disease. Although many antiviral agents via oral or intravenous administration were recommended by clinical practice, the best approach to prevent HZ-associated pain remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and adverse events of various antiviral agents used for the treatment of HZ-associated pain through a network meta-analysis.

STUDY DESIGN
A systematic review and meta-analysis.

SETTING
The Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, and PubMed were searched from inception to Feb 2020.

METHODS
Randomized clinical trials evaluating antiviral agents currently available for treating HZ-associated pain were included. We extracted data in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and conducted network meta-analyses with random-effects models. The primary outcome was the presence of acute pain at the end of anti-virus treatment, and the secondary outcomes included the presence of pain at 28-30 days after the onset of the acute herpetic rash, the presence of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and any other adverse events.

RESULTS
A total of 17 randomized control trials with 5,579 participants were included in this study. According to the results of the network meta-analysis, for the treatment of acute pain, there was no significant difference between oral acyclovir and intravenous acyclovir. Furthermore, oral famciclovir was the most effective treatment concerning both the odds ratio (OR) (superior to placebo OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.13~0.48) and the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) values of 0.84 for the treatment of acute pain among all the oral antiviral agents. For the presence of pain at 28-30 days, no significant difference was observed in efficacy between all antiviral treatments and placebo concerning the OR; however, oral valaciclovir ranked first (SUCRA values of 0.96). For the presence of NPH, oral famciclovir was determined to be the most effective (SUCRA values of 0.77) treatment with an efficacy of 0.42 (95% CI: 0.18~0.99) versus placebo. For adverse events, there was no significant difference between oral antivirals and placebo; however, intravenous acyclovir ranked last with a score of OR 4.31 (95% CI: 1.26~14.75) versus placebo.

LIMITATIONS
The distribution of severity of pain was different in various studies; then, the lack of availability of individual data prevented us from analyzing the effects of the risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS
For the treatment of acute pain and PHN, oral famciclovir was the most effective treatment among all the oral antiviral agents. For alleviating pain after 28-30 days, oral valaciclovir appeared to be the most effective among all antiviral agents. Additionally, all oral antiviral agents were well tolerated.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION
PROSPERO under the identification CRD42020212834.


We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly-varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select certain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate different possibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot survey, which began in October 2011.


The assumption of constant rock properties in pressure-transient analysis of stress-sensitive reservoirs can cause significant error in determination of reservoir transmissibility and storativity. One the other hand, inclusion of pressure-dependent rock properties makes the governing equation for the pressure in the reservoir nonlinear. These nonlinear can be treated only approximately by numerical means. If a permeability modulus is defined, the nonlinearities associated with the governing equation become weaker and an analytical solution in terms of a regular perturbation series can be obtained for a radial infinite-acting reservoir. Three terms in the perturbation series are derived to show the convergence and accuracy of the solution. The equation obtained for each order (zero, first, and second) in the perturbation series is solved exactly, and hence, the solution is exact to the third order. In this paper the effect of wellbore storage on the pressure behavior is investigated. First-order approximation for bounded systems is presented to show qualitative effects. A field example is analyzed to determine the permeability modulus and reservoir properties.


This review paper stresses the possible connection between time-reversal violation and new physics processes beyond the standard model. In particular, this violation is proposed as an alternative to CP violation in the search for such unkown processes. Emphasis is put on the weak decays of heavy hadrons, especially beauty ones. Specific methods for extracting useful parameters from experimental data are elaborated in order to test TR symmetry. These methods could be used successfully in the analysis of the LHC data.


In the wireless sensor networks composed of battery-powered sensor nodes, one of the main issues is how to save power consumption at each node. The usual approach to this problem is to activate only necessary nodes (e.g., those nodes which compose a backbone network), and to put other nodes to sleep. One such algorithm using location information is GAF (Geographical Adaptive Fidelity), and the GAF is enhanced to HGAF (Hierarchical Geographical Adaptive Fidelity). In this paper, we show that we can further improve the energy efficiency of HGAF by modifying the manner of dividing sensor-field. We also provide a theoretical bound on this problem.


Locally applied bisphosphonates may improve the fixation of metal implants in bone. However, systemic bisphosphonate treatment is associated with a risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). We hypothesized that local delivery of bisphosphonate from the implant surface improves the fixation of dental implants without complications in a setting where systemic treatment induces ONJ. Forty rats were randomly allocated to 4 groups of 10. All groups received a titanium implant inserted in an extraction socket. Group I received the implants only. Group II received dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg). Group III received dexamethasone as above plus alendronate (200 µg/kg). Group IV received zoledronate-coated implants and dexamethasone as above. The animals were sacrificed 2 weeks after tooth extraction. All 10 animals with systemic alendronate treatment developed large ONJ-like changes, while all with local treatment were completely healed. Implant removal torque was higher for the bisphosphonate-coated implants compared with the other groups (p < 0.03 for each comparison). Micro-computed tomography of the maxilla showed more bone loss in the systemic alendronate group compared with groups receiving local treatment (p = 0.001). Local bisphosphonate treatment appears to improve implant fixation in a setting where systemic treatment caused ONJ.


Purpose: Research demonstrates that non-attendance at healthcare appointments is a waste of scarce resources; leading to reduced productivity, increased costs, disadvantaged patients through increased waiting times, and demoralised staff. This study investigated non-attendance and implemented interventions to improve practice. Methodology: A mixed methods service audit took place in a primary care psychological therapies service. Existing service guidelines and reporting systems were reviewed. A cross-sectional design was used to compare a year's cohort of completers of cognitive behavioural therapy (N=140) and drop-outs (N=61). Findings: Findings suggested contrasting guidelines and clinically inaccurate reporting systems. The overall service DNA (Did Not Attend) rate was 8.9%; well below rates suggested in the literature. The drop-out rate from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was 17%. The most influential factor associated with CBT drop-out was the level of depression. The level of anxiety, risk ratings and deprivation scores were also different between completers and drop-outs. The main reasons given for non-attendance were forgetting, being too unwell to attend, having other priorities, or dissatisfaction with the service; again these findings were consistent with prior research. Conclusions: A range of recommendations for practice are made, many of which were implemented with an associated reduction in the DNA rate.


Summary Energy independent electric vehicles (EIV) are EVs that have almost unlimited range because they never need to pick up electricity. They make their own electricity from on-board solar cells etc. They should now be taken seriously as a potentially huge business and technology generator. EIVs already exist as land, water and airborne vehicles, some needing no energy storage. Investment in them is at the billion dollar level and they are already spinning off technology startups exploiting their inventions into wider markets.


229 This paper discusses the theoretical concept and principles of the theory assessing the technological development of working tasks in construction. The relationship between the complexity of tasks, cost of manual labour, technological advancement of the equipment and other factors is studied and quantified. Using the Fisher-Pray models, the dependence is established and summing up conclusions are drawn.


We present a dynamic radio bandwidth management scheme for mobile communication systems to achieve a high level of QoS for both handoff calls and new calls, while at the same time to improve the utilization of wireless network resources. The simultaneous satisfaction of these two actually conflicting interests will be thanks to two major key features. First, due to the a priori information about handoff reservation requests that is provided by the mobile terminal. This information is based on the cell transition probabilities calculated by the mobile itself using collected information during past operations. Second, thanks to a two-way approach implemented in the radio resource reservation and new call admission processes. The two-way approach controls both the amount of reservation and the new call admission in a highly dynamic way, depending on subscriber mobility and network traffic conditions.


Co3O4 has received much attention because of its excellent performance in activating peroxymonosulfate. However, the practical application of Co3O4 has been seriously restricted by the problems of agglomeration of Co3O4, difficult separation, easy loss, and poor recycling. In this study, the CMF/Co3O4 heterogeneous catalyst was prepared using the hydrothermal method. The crystal structure and morphology of CMF/Co3O4 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation was employed as a model test for evaluating potassium peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. The degradation rate of RhB can reach 98% in the catalyst dosage of 35 mg·L-1, PMS concentration of 50 mg·L-1, pH of 7, and RhB initial concentration of 10 mg·L-1 after a 30 min reaction. The results showed that the degradation rate of RhB could be significantly improved by increasing the amount of CMF/Co3O4 heterogeneous catalyst and the mass concentration of PMS. The degradation rate of RhB can be inhibited by increasing the initial mass concentration of RhB and pH value. The process of degradation of RhB can be fitted by using the pseudo first-order kinetics model. The effect of temperature on the degradation rate of RhB conformed to the Arrhenius model, and the degradation process was a surface reaction-controlled process. The results of the free radical capture experiment showed that the sulfate radicals were the dominant active species for RhB degradation. After four cycles, the degradation rate of RhB still remained above 93% with CMF/Co3O4 catalyst.


Due to the act on Energy Audits in Large Enterprises (EKL) that came into effect on the 1st of June in 2014, all larger companies are obligated to perform an energy audit every four years. Parallel to the audit performed at Alufluor AB this more detailed audit of the drying part of their process was carried out. This as the drying part is energy intensive and is responsible for the majority of the energy consumed in the process. The thermal decomposition of the intermediate product, aluminum fluoride trihydrate (AlF3ᐧ3H2O), was investigated through thermal studies. The dehydration process described in literature was confirmed by the experiments and the enthalpy of dehydration was measured to 2660 kJ/kg water. A theoretical minimum value of 0,58 MWh/ton product for the overall drying process was estimated. The results of the thermal studies can be used when designing a new drying process or when replacing current unit operations. An energy mapping of the thermal and electrical energy consumers was performed and the efficiency of the thermal unit operations were estimated. It was concluded that replacing the current centrifuge with a new unit would decrease the natural gas consumption in the following step by 23,6 % per year. This would give the investment a payback time of 4,2 years. (Less)


ABSTRACT This essay reads on the incident of Komagata Maru as described in Gurdit Singh's Voyage of Komagata Maru or India's Slavery Abroad (undated) within a category I characterize as 'dissident mobilities'. The Komagata Maru incident has been read most often as embodying unjust Canadian immigration laws, racism and the anxiety over Hindu migrants. Dissident mobilities is my term for the emphasis on resistance, opposition, nationalism but also on rights, equality and survival that we can discern in the documents (such as the Report of the Komagata Maru Committee of Inquiry, 1914) around the mobility of Komagata Maru's passengers as well as in other travelogues of the same period (1910–1930). I propose to locate the Singh's text and supporting documents within an entire canon of similar travel narratives by Indians to the West, thereby making a case for a discourse of dissidence that seems to underlie the politics of mobility.


In Reply. — Morgan and Yaes both make good points. Morgan has identified an error in my editing and has interpreted my intentions correctly. Yaes correctly points out that each of us has different needs depending on whether we are acting as individuals or as members of society. The sentence he quotes was intended to set up precisely that paradox. As a literal statement, it is true that "society is nothing more than a collection of individuals." On the surface, this seems to imply that the interests of society and individuals should be identical. However, as Yaes states and as I described in the remainder of my article, the interests and responsibilities of individuals change when they are viewed as members of society. In the context of health care, our health is determined by two factors: what we can gain for ourselves if we act selfishly, without regard for the


Recent studies have demonstrated that at the early stages of carcinogenesis of the large intestine(s) (LI), severely dilated crypt(s) (SDC) appear followed by atypical and/or neoplastic crypt(s) (ANC) and, subsequently, carcinomas. Thus both SDC and ANC appear to be premalignant changes and are probably initiated foci. Since the Japanese in Japan (JIJ) show a much lower rate of large intestinal carcinomas (LIC) compared to people in the Western Hemisphere, a study was designed to answer the question: Is the difference between the rates due to a difference in initiation or promotion? If the difference is due to less initiation, large intestinal epithelium of JIJ should contain fewer initiated foci. For testing this hypothesis, a retrospective histopathologic study was conducted on 100 LI of JIJ resected at the Cancer Institute, Tokyo, Japan, between 1977 and 1978, and mucosae remote from carcinomas were examined for SDC and ANC. In sharp contrast to a 100% incidence of SDC in the cases in the United States, only 1 of 100 LI of patients with LIC at the Cancer Institute demonstrated the presence of SDC. However, ANC was seen in 10 of 100 LI (10%), a figure comparable to that in the United States (7%). The extreme rarity of SDC in JIJ represents lesser initiation of that type. The presence of a comparable number of ANC in JIJ indicates that ANC is the predominant morphologic type of initiated foci in JIJ. This study suggests that not only promotional agents but also different initiating factors may be responsible for the difference in incidence and prevalence of LIC in the two populations. Comparative studies of parallel experimental animal models with the use of high and low doses of azoxymethane support this conclusion.


Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are considered promising tools for tissue regeneration. However, ADSCs have very poor proliferation capacity. Therefore, fetal bovine serum (FBS) is generally added to the culture media of ADSCs. As FBS contains many uncharacterized components that may affect cellular functions, methods for serum-free cultures of ADSCs have been widely investigated. In this study, to develop an efficient method for a serum-free culture of ADSC-T, we used an ADSC line established by introducing the simian virus 40 (SV40) T gene into primary ADSCs. We then investigated the effect of amino acids, vitamins, and other components on the growth of ADSC-T. When the ADSC-T cells were plated with DMEM/F12 serum-free medium, the cells did not proliferate, and the mixture of amino acids, vitamins, and B27 supplement did not increase the growth of the cells. However, when the ADSC-T cells were provided with serum-free DMEM/F12 after they had been cultured with serum-supplemented DMEM for 24 h, the cells proliferated, and the vitamins and B27 supplement increased the cell growth. Stem-Pro serum-free medium also appeared to be useful as a suspension culture for the ADSC-T cells. The ADSC-T cells secreted large amounts of proteins of around 70 kDa. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and fibroblast growth factor basic (FGF basic) were secreted by ADSC-T in larger amounts in the serum-free culture than in the serum-supplemented culture.


The purpose of this study was to propose a method for exchange of data on RC structural members between IFC and Tekla. To achieve this purpose, a close investigation of data exchange between IFC and Tekla using import/export provided by Tekla was made and the problems of distortion or loss of data were identified. And, the explicit and reliable method for exchange of the following data was proposed; the name of building, name and elevation of story, member group, geometric shape, position and eccentricity of solid, axis and section profile, member identifiers. Then, a software, which implemented the proposed data exchange method based on Tekla Open API and IFC Engine DLL, was developed using C#. Finally, for verification of the proposed exchange method, the data on RC structural members in 2 RC sample buildings was exchanged using the software without distortion or loss of data. From the result of the data exchange, it was concluded that the proposed method can solve the problems of distortion or loss of data of RC structural members between IFC and Tekla.


Background. Vineyard workers (VW) are exposed to various inhaled respiratory allergens. However, the prevalence and risk factors of occupational asthma (OA) and rhinitis (OR) in Champagne VW have not been studied. Aims. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the prevalence of OA and OR in Champagne VW and to analyze the relationships between occupational symptoms (OS), occupational exposure and sensitization profile. Methods. Champagne VW were recruited from the Department of Occupational Medicine in May and June 2010. Demographic and occupational characteristics were recorded. Nasal and respiratory symptoms were scored for each month of the past year. OS were defined by symptoms related to work exposure. Diagnosis of asthma was based on symptoms. Skin prick tests (SPT) were performed for common respiratory allergens, grape mould (botrytis) and grape pollen. FEV1/FEV6 ratio was measured. Results. Sixty-six patients were included. The prevalence of rhinitis and asthma was 38% and 13% respectively. The prevalence of OR and OA was 21% and 3% respectively. SPT showed sensitization for gramineae (18%), D. pteronyssinus (12%), D. farinae (11%), vine pollen (11%), botrytis (5%). Compared to VW without OS, VW with OS were more frequently sensitized to betulaceae (20% vs 2% respectively, p=0.03) and were involved in the activities of disbudding, straightening and/or hooking (35% vs 6% respectively, p=0.04). OS were present in May and June only for 67% of patients, corresponding to disbudding, straightening and hooking. Conclusion. The prevalence of OR in Champagne VW is high, whereas OA is relatively rare. OA and OR are associated with a sensitization to betulaceae and with direct exposure to vine.


This study examined the comparison of exercise self-efficacy and indices of wellbeing based on different orientations to activities among physically-motion disables and veterans. 123 physically-motion disables and veterans filled the questionnaires of exercise self-efficacy, hedonia and eudemonia motives for activities, positive and negative affect and subjective vitality.The results showed that only eudemonia motive positively associated with positive affect and vitality. Exercise self-efficacy positively associated with eudemonic well-being. There were significant differences between different orientation to activities on positive affect and vitality. People whose lives were high in eudemonia had higher degrees of positive affect and vitality than people whose lives in the lower degree of both hedonia and eudemonia (empty life). Also, people whose lives were in both high eudemonia and hedonia (full life) had the higher degree of positive affect than people whose lives in empty life.The finding show of crucial role of eudemonia on well-being among physically-motion disables and veterans, and the combination of hedonia and eudemonia may be associated with optimal well-being. 1. Mohammad Taghi Aghdasi, (Ph.D) University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran


The optimal control of sugar content and its associated technology is important for producing high-quality crops more stably and efficiently. Model-based reinforcement learning (RL) indicates a desirable action depending on the type of situation based on trial-and-error calculations conducted by an environmental model. In this paper, we address plant growth modeling as an environmental model for the optimal control of sugar content. In the growth process, fruiting plants generate sugar depending on their state and evolve via various external stimuli; however, sugar content data are sparse because appropriate remote sensing technology is yet to be developed, and thus, sugar content is measured manually. We propose a semisupervised deep state-space model (SDSSM) where semisupervised learning is introduced into a sequential deep generative model. SDSSM achieves a high generalization performance by optimizing the parameters while inferring unobserved data and using training data efficiently, even if some categories of training data are sparse. We designed an appropriate model combined with model-based RL for the optimal control of sugar content using SDSSM for plant growth modeling. We evaluated the performance of SDSSM using tomato greenhouse cultivation data and applied cross-validation to the comparative evaluation method. The SDSSM was trained using approximately 500 sugar content data of appropriately inferred plant states and reduced the mean absolute error by approximately 38% compared with other supervised learning algorithms. The results demonstrate that SDSSM has good potential to estimate time-series sugar content variation and validate uncertainty for the optimal control of high-quality fruit cultivation using model-based RL.


Aims: In this study, we specifically aimed at identifying distinct miRNAs that are governing nutrientdriven adipogenesis via the mTOR pathway. Methodology: The murine pre-adipocyte cell line 3T3-L1 was differentiated in the presence and absence of mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. MiRNA profiles were generated using two different array platforms. Differential regulated miRNAs were subjected to in silico target prediction. Candidate miRNA-target pairs were studied via luciferase assays, transfection assays and functional assays. Results: This study confirmed 31 previously known and revealed 7 additional miRNAs, namely miROriginal Research Article Kaeuferle et al.; JABB, 2(2): 109-122, 2015; Article no.JABB.2015.013 110 34a, -96, -106b, -148b, -214*, -678 and -690 as being involved in adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, we identified a subset of 16 miRNAs showing both responsiveness to rapamycin and being predicted to target genes within the mTOR pathway. Within mTOR signaling, the novel miRNA-target pairs miR183-Tsc1 (tuberous sclerosis 1), miR378-Tsc1 and miR103-Pik3r1 (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulatory subunit alpha), were confirmed via luciferase-based binding assays. Accordingly we observed down-regulation of Tsc1 on transcript level in cells transfected with miR-183 or -378 (18.3 % P = .004 and 40.4 % P < .0001). However, on protein level we could detect Tsc1 up-regulation (35.7 % and 39.8 %), which is consistent with an inhibitory influence on mTOR signaling (33.6 % and 32.9 %) and on adipocyte differentiation of these miRNAs. Conclusion: Our findings reveal a novel role for a set of miRNAs during adipocyte differentiation and mTOR signaling. Especially the attenuating effect of miR-183 and -378 on adipocyte differentiation and mTOR signaling suggests their potential as biomarkers for nutrient-driven dysregulation of adipogenesis.


We study the real-time evolution of a charge-excited state in a one-dimensional eg-orbital degenerate Hubbard model, by a time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group method. Considering a chain along the z direction, electrons hop between adjacent 3z2−r2 orbitals, while x2−y2 orbitals are localized. For the charge-excited state, a holon-doublon pair is introduced into the ground state at quarter filling. At initial time, there is no electron in a holon site, while a pair of electrons occupies 3z2−r2 orbital in a doublon site. As the time evolves, the holon motion is governed by the nearest-neighbor hopping, but the electron pair can transfer between 3z2−r2 orbital and x2−y2 orbital through the pair hopping in addition to the nearest-neighbor hopping. Thus holon and doublon propagate at different speed due to the pair hopping that is characteristic of multi-orbital systems.


Safe houses and secret message drops, double crosses and defections - it sounds like the stuff of sophisticated espionage, but the agents are only schoolboys engaged in harmless play, unaware of the danger awaiting them if their messages were intercepted...John Creevey doesn't know the truth behind the mysterious codes he is reading. To him, the messages he decodes with painstaking care are the communications of dangerous and evil men. As he comes face to face with the reality of his beloved wife Jennifer's defection, he begins to see a way to get back at the man she left him for, a man with a disturbing connection to schoolboys...And soon the schoolboys are playing more than just a game.


Evidence suggests that social isolation and loneliness have became major problems in many countries around the world. Given the numerous physical, mental health problems and economic negative consequences associated with social isolation and loneliness, there is a greater interest for the development of more complex and holistic health strategies to help prevent or mitigate social isolation and loneliness. Natural environment is increasingly recognized as an important component of these strategies. Outdoor natural space (in the form of greenspace, such of parks and street trees, and bluespace, such as rivers and oceans) can reduce the effects of stressors while facilitating social connections, especially emotionally close ties or the sense of community belonging. The present article will consider the results of previous academic studies to discuss the concepts of social isolation and loneliness, the connections between them, and their effects on physical and mental health. This theoretical framework will be used to support the effectiveness of nature-based health interventions for the prevention or the treatment of poor mental health associated with social isolation and loneliness.


The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) rituximab has been used successfully for lymphoma therapy for more than 10 years. Although several direct mechanisms by which anti-CD20 mAbs act have been characterized in vitro, their specific role in clinical efficacy is still debated. Little is known about the possible antitumor immune response that they may induce in patients, despite clinical data suggesting a "vaccinal" effect. We show here that an initial treatment with anti-CD20 induces protection against human CD20-expressing tumor cells and allows immunocompetent mice to survive tumor challenge. This long-lasting protection requires the presence of the Fc portion of the anti-CD20 mAb and is achieved through the induction of a cellular immune response. Only CD4(+) cells were needed at the beginning of the treatment, but both CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were required after tumor challenge to achieve protection. Finally, we show that interleukin-2 treatment, given after tumor challenge, improves the overall survival rate, compared with that obtained by anti-CD20 treatment alone. These findings demonstrate that anti-CD20 mAbs exert therapeutic effects through the induction of an adaptive cellular immune response, aside from any direct mechanisms involving effectors from innate immunity.


Low-voltage electrowetting on liquid infused films realized with lubricated honeycomb polymer surfaces is reported. Introduction of ethylene carbonate into the polymer (polycarbonate) matrix allowed an increase in the sensitivity of the scheme. A theoretical analysis of the thermodynamics of the electrowetting on a liquid infused film is reported. Fitting of experimental data to theoretical curves allowed an estimation of the specific capacity of the double layer. An analysis of the viscous dissipation taking place under the proposed electrowetting scheme is presented.