Precipitation events are infrequent in the dry quarter (SON) of the Alcântara Launch Center (Centro de Lançamento de Alcântara, CLA), the main launch site of the Brazilian Space Program. However, their occurrence could be a risk for activities during launch missions. In this work, the observational features of wet days (daily precipitation total ≥ 1 mm/day) in the dry quarter of the CLA region were studied. Daily precipitation totals over the course of 37 years (1979-2016, except 2006), outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data and ERA-Interim reanalysis data were used. On average, in the dry quarter, there were 9 wet days, which accumulated 32 mm. The number and quarterly precipitation total of wet days showed pronounced interannual variability. This variability was negatively and significantly correlated with the interhemispheric sea surface temperature anomalies gradient in the Atlantic Ocean and the wind speed at 925 hPa over the CLA region. Based on a theoretical distribution (log-normal), the probability of occurrence of heavy precipitation days (daily total ≥ 10 mm/day) was only 0.5%. For days with heavy precipitation and deep convection (OLR ≤ 230 W·m-2), over a large area along the northeastern coast of South America including the CLA region, negative OLR differences (from the mean) and the strengthening of favorable conditions for deep convection were found. The large-scale organization of the convective activity and atmospheric features for higher precipitation events obtained in this work could be helpful for nowcasting and short-range weather forecasting during launch missions at the CLA.


This article presents a new four-port electronic circulating duplexer (CD) that enables similar functionality to that of a four port circulator. The proposed CD is formed by connecting a quadrature hybrid (QH) and a quasi-circulating quadrature hybrid (QCQH). We derive the S-matrix of the CD by employing Mason's rule and verify the analytical results by simulations in which the 90° NRPS of the QCQH is implemented as a behavioral 8-Path NRPS. The functionality of CD enables implementation as a simultaneous transmit-receive (STR) RF front end that includes transmit (TX), antenna (ANT), self-interference cancellation (SIC) and receive (RX) dedicated ports. Measurements of a CD with a commercial QH connected to a QCQH that employs 65-nm NMOS 4-path NRPS integrated on PCB, show a 1.6 dB TX-to-ANT, less than 2 dB ANT-SIC and 2.9 dB SIC-to-RX losses over 40MHz bandwidth. TX-RX and TX-SIC isolation are also measured showing 18 and 13.5 dB respectively. A 5 dBm modulated TX signal at 970 MHz achieved a total isolation of 55 dB with active SIC injection along with a TX EVM of −39 dB.


The high attenuation which increases as frequency increases in power line communication systems (PLC) makes achieving and sustaining high data rates over such channels a challenging task. In most communication systems, relays are normally deployed to overcome the effect of signal attenuation and to achieve reliable transmissions between users. Amplify-and-forward (AF) and decode-and-forward (DF) relays are often used. In contrast to the existing work on this topic which advocate utilizing relays either between PLC links or between wireless links, the authors of this paper focus on using AF relaying for in-home PLC and wireless systems where one PLC user wants to share data with one wireless user which has no access to the PLC network. We refer to this system as the Hybrid approach. A mathematical method is developed for this network to formulate the capacity of the system by exploiting the statistical properties of both PLC and wireless channels. Monte Carlo simulations are used throughout this paper to validate the analytical results. The impact of several system parameters is investigated in this paper. For the sake of comparison, we also provide the performance analysis and results for a PLC only network. The results showed that the performance of the hybrid system enhances as we increase the relay gain and deteriorates as the end-to-end distance increases. It is also found that the PLC only scheme may outperform the hybrid one if the relay gain is relatively small; however, the user mobility offered by the hybrid system remains the main advantage over the PLC only system.


In this issue of ONCOLOGY, Golan and Javle provide an excellent update on targeting the insulin growth factor (IGF-1R) in gastrointestinal cancers. The review opens with the statement "IGF-1–directed therapy is currently at a crossroads"; this truly sums up the current status of the field. Decades of laboratory and preclincial research have shown a role for IGF-1R in many cancers; however, this hypothesis is now being tested directly in clinical trials. The crossroads the authors refer to, which several other targeted therapies have previously arrived at, is a dangerous one. The requirement for rapid clinical development of therapeutics demanded by both the pharmaceutical industry and patient advocates results in the risk that several therapies will be abandoned simply because trials have been performed in unselected populations. In this commentary, we will not dwell on the large literature implicating IGF-IR in cancer, but rather focus on the road forward for development of IGF-1R inhibitors.


Purpose - The purpose of this article is to examine the regime to remediate contaminated land in the UK set out in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and to analyse the UK Government's intent and objectives in introducing the regime. The legislative provisions and the statutory guidance that accompanies that legislation are then analysed to determine whether those objectives could have been met.

Design/methodology/approach - A research approach was taken to trace the legislative history of Part 2A and to analyse the statutory provisions and the statutory guidance. The approach included researching Parliamentary debates on the statute, consultations on the statutory guidance, other information published by the UK Government, commentaries on the regime, and contaminated land regimes in other jurisdictions.

Findings - The paper found that the introduction of a contaminated land regime that delegates primary implementation and enforcement authority to local authorities, and that severely limits their discretion in doing so, has resulted in a regime that has proven to be unworkable in practice and that has failed to meet its objectives.

Originality/value - The article is the first paper to examine the legislative intent and objectives behind Part 2A and to analyse their effect on the provisions in the statute and the statutory guidance and their implementation and enforcement.


A quasi one-dimensional model for the charge and current distribution in the integral quantum Hall effect (QHE) is presented. The electron-electron interaction is included in the Hartree approximation. Temperature, sample size, applied Hall voltage and external fields may be varied over a wide range. Although the model does not include localization effects, it yields a distinct Hall plateau. Furthermore, it suggests a simple mechanism for the experimentally observed spatial current distribution behaviour.


We develop a two-agent model where agents have preferences over consumption, leisure, independent and interdependent tax preferences - personal (own tax payments) and interpersonal (average tax payments in the economy). We characterize the optimal labor income taxation under different assumptions regarding tax preferences (tax affinity, hostility, conformity and opposition). We find that tax preferences can either amplify or reduce the marginal tax increase of the low-ability type. When individuals can hide a fraction of their earnings at a resource cost, the link between consumption and tax payments is broken. Tax evasion affects the aggregate measure of taxes and what people take into account and care about when making their optimal decisions. We find that the trade-off associated with tax preferences and consumption have their effects intensified in the optimal low-ability income tax. With evasion, the marginal income tax of high-ability types is no longer zero - it is optimal to subsidize this type and avoid the mimicking of low-ability individuals.


ABSTRACT The yeast vacuole plays key roles in cellular stress responses. Here, we show that deletion of lvs1, the fission yeast homolog of the Chediak-Higashi Syndrome CHS1/LYST gene, increases vacuolar size, similar to deletion of the Rab4 homolog ypt4. Overexpression of lvs1-YFP rescued vacuolar size in ypt4Δ cells, but ypt4-YFP did not rescue lvs1Δ, suggesting that lvs1 may act downstream of ypt4. Vacuoles were capable of hypotonic shock-induced fusion and recovery in both ypt4Δ and lvs1Δ cells, although recovery may be slightly delayed in ypt4Δ. Endocytic and secretory trafficking were not affected, but ypt4Δ and lvs1Δ strains were sensitive to neutral pH and CaCl2, consistent with vacuolar dysfunction. In addition to changes in vacuolar size, deletion of ypt4 also dramatically increased cell size, similar to tor1 mutants. These results implicate ypt4 and lvs1 in maintenance of vacuolar size and suggest that ypt4 may link vacuolar homeostasis to cell cycle progression.


The learning process using teaching materials is an effective way for teachers to deliver material to students. This study's teaching materials' development aims to produce teaching materials for writing news texts on eighth-grade junior high school students. The developed teaching material validity is seen from developing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of the teaching material. The research method used is the Borg and Gall's Research and Development. Data collection techniques used were questionnaires and observations. Data analysis uses descriptive qualitative analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The process of developing the materials was based on experts' validation of the materials, the language, and the product's graphic. The material experts' validation result showed a value of 77.5% and 92.5% in the very feasible category. The linguists' validation results showed a value of 72% and 92% in the very feasible category. The graphic experts showed a value of 78% and 92.8% included in the very feasible category. In this study, the product trial subjects were students of class VIII of junior high school and were carried out with small class trials and field trials. Through a small group and field test results, the effectiveness of teaching materials from assessing student responses was the average value of 3.23 (82.8%) on average value or good category. Student learning outcomes show an overall grade point average of 83.8 (100%). This shows that the quality of student learning based on teaching materials in writing news is very good. From the data obtained, the developed teaching materials are suitable for use.


In many industries, muffler and silencer design is primarily accomplished via trial and error . Prototypes are developed and tested, or numerical simulation (finite or boundary element analysis) is used to assess the performance. While these approaches reliably determine the transmission loss, designers often do not understand why their changes improve or degrade the muffler performance. Analyses are time consuming and models cannot be changed without some effort. The intent of the current work is to demonstrate how plane wave muffler models can be used in industry . It is first demonstrated that plane wave models can reliably determine the transmission loss for complicated mufflers below the cutof f frequency. Some tips for developing dependable plane wave models are summarized. Moreover, it is shown that plane wave models used correctly help designers develop intuition and a better understanding of the effect of their design changes.


A number of studies have identified childcare environments as significant resources for children's development, learning through play, and contact with nature. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how, from a child's perspective, specific outdoor physical environments in preschools stimulate children's cognitive play. Emphasizing on the value of listening to children, this study reports the perspectives of 22, 4- to 5-year-olds. The study context was an outdoor preschool with natural, mixed, and manufactured settings. A combination of photo preferences and semi-structured interviews was used to investigate children's perception of preferred settings and cognitive plays. The results identified that children mainly enjoyed functional and dramatic play. They mostly preferred mixed behavior settings that incorporated ranges of natural and manufactured elements. Compared to other settings, children found mixed settings provided the most opportunities for functional, constructive, dramatic, and game with rules play. The outcomes of this study have implications for the design of outdoor preschools, suggesting a balanced integration of nature with manufactured play features to enhance cognitive play experiences.


This research study about the disciplinary behavior of children in the implementation of learning from home in RA Al-Akhyar. The purpose of this research was to identify : the implementation of the process of learning from home, disciplinary behavior of children while they are learning from home, and the rates of discipline of the child during learning from home. The subjects of this research is 14 children and 2 teachers in RA Al-Akhyar. The data was collected using observation, interview, and documentation. The data was analyzed by reduce data, presented data, and draw conclusion. The results of this study obtained that the disciplinary behaviour of children during the learning from home system implemented in RA Al-Akhyar is that students have developed as expected. This is proven by the achievement of six indicators of disciplinary behavior, namely : filling out the online attendance list on time, wearing uniforms during learning from home, praying in an orderly manner before starting lessons and after online learning during learning from home, trying to do the tasks that have been given during home study accompanied by parents, completing all tasks given by teachers during home study and collecting tasks on time given by teachers before online learning closes.


The first possibly causative molecular aberration in patients with myeloproliferative disorders has recently been described. A point mutation in the Janus kinase 2 exchanging a valine for a phenylalanine at position 617 (JAK2 V617F) was found in 65% to 97% of polycythemia vera (PV) patients, as well as in approximately 50% of essential thrombocythemia (ET) and idiopathic myelofibrosis (IMF) patients. In addition, a growing set of molecular and genetic markers, some possibly contributing to disease development, some more likely epiphenomena, has been characterized in these patients over the last few years. Compiling and synthesizing the increasing knowledge on the genetic changes observed in myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) patients will allow us to generate testable hypotheses on the molecular etiology of disease development. Therefore, this review will summarize the current knowledge on chromosomal aberrations, molecular markers, and gene expression studies in MPD patients. From these data, a model depicting our current understanding of the interplay between these markers is presented.


This article aims to study the social reality of Luanda (Angola) during the 17th century. While it will seek to profile the main groups in question it focuses especially on the universe of African slaves, the largest social group by far. It will describe these socio-ethnic groups with some of their characteristics (language, everyday habits, beliefs and rituals) revealing a clearly evident cultural diversity. Simultaneously, it also aims to assess how processes of transfers took place in these areas, generating forms of reciprocal adaptation between vast sectors of the African and European population, in a process of miscegenation which was typical of this city.


Medical images, acquired with low exposure to radiation or after administering low-dose of imaging agents, often suffer due to noise arising from physiological sources and from acquisition hardware. The noise can be detrimental to the correct diagnosis well as for the computation of quantitative functional information. To overcome these deficiencies, in this paper we present a genetic algorithm-based wavelet domain denoising technique. The proposed technique optimizes the tradeoff between signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and resolution. The SNR and Liu's error factor form the basis of an objective function to optimize threshold for each subband across the scales. Based on an object- oriented approach, the proposed algorithm is developed as reusable software component using Java. Evaluation using simulated Shepp-Logan head phantom and real EMR images of phantoms and live animals, and comparison with other state of art wavelet-based denoising methods show the GA-based approach to be superior in terms of visual quality as well as quantitative metrics such as PSNR, RMSE and Liu's error factor, F(I).


The short-chain fatty acid, α-lipoic acid (ALA) is a powerful antioxidant used for treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Recent studies suggested the possibility of ALA as a potential anti-cancer agent, because it could activate adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibit transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) pathway. We evaluate the effects of ALA on thyroid cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. We performed in vitro cell proliferation analysis with BCPAP, HTH-83, CAL-62, and FTC-133 cells. ALA suppressed cell proliferation through activation of AMPK and subsequent down-regulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-S6 signaling pathway. Low-dose ALA, which had minimal effects on cell proliferation, also decreased cell migration and invasion of BCPAP, CAL-62, and HTH-83 cells. ALA inhibited epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) evidently by increase of E-cadherin and decreases of activated β-catenin, vimentin, snail, and twist in these cells. ALA suppressed TGFβ production and inhibited induction of p-Smad2, and twist by TGFβ1 or TGFβ2. These findings indicate that ALA reduces thyroid cancer cell migration and invasion through suppression of TGFβ production and inhibition of TGFβ signaling pathways. ALA also significantly suppressed tumor growth in mouse xenograft model using BCPAP and FTC-133 cells. This is the first study to show anti-cancer effect of ALA on thyroid cancer cells. ALA could be a potential therapeutic agent for advanced thyroid cancer, as an adjuvant therapy with other systemic therapeutic agents. Citation Format: Hyemi Kwon, Min Ji Jeon, Won Gu Kim, Seonhee Lim, Soyoung Sim, Tae Yong Kim, Young Kee Shong, Won Bae Kim. Alpha lipoic acid inhibits proliferation and epithelial mesenchymal transition of thyroid cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1816.


Intense microwave beams are proposed to be used for cleaning atmospheric chlorofluorocarbon contamination which is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth. It is shown that it may be possible to excite microwave discharges freely localized in the troposphere. The relation between the quantity of the destroyed chlorofluorocarbons and discharge parameters is established, the energy required for destruction is evaluated and possible unfavourable consequences of the accompanying effects (such as nitrogen oxides production) are analysed. The mechanism of dissociative electron attachment which is manifested in a cold decaying plasma of a pulsed microwave discharge is considered to be a principle mechanism causing dissociation of chlorofluorocarbons (CF2Cl2, CFCl3, etc.). The results are presented of a model laboratory experiment in which, under conditions close to those of free space, a study is made of the efficiency of chlorofluorocarbon dissociation under the action of the discharge produced in air by intense microwave radiation. The experimental results do not contradict the conclusions of the analysis of elementary processes causing the destruction of the chlorofluorocarbon component.


Physicians say rules the Texas Medical Board is proposing for call coverage agreements are part of an effort to bring telehealth front and center as a core service within the health care system.


In recent years, the literature has shown a significant increase in the enrollment of students with autism in regular classrooms. Among the essential teacher competencies to effectively deal with this demand is the knowledge on Evidence-Based Practices (EBP), conceived as scientifically effective intervention strategies. Knowledge produced by research centers about these practices is not disseminated and incorporated by teachers in the school context. In this scenario, this article aims: to revise the concept of EBP, in the scope of research in Special Education and autism; and identify factors that interfere with the transposition of the knowledge. As a complement, a theoretical-explanatory model of transposition of scientific knowledge beyond the walls of the academy is proposed.


OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE Spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistulae are rarely reported in the literature and can be treated via both endovascular and direct surgical approaches. Coils, glues, and balloons have all been used to embolize these fistulae. Cellulose acetate polymer (CAP) solution is a liquid embolic material that was originally developed for thrombosis of cerebral aneurysms. This is the first report of CAP solution being used to treat a spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistula, with changes in the viscosity of the solution. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 15-year-old boy experienced spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage without any neurological deficits. A radiological examination revealed a spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistula (Type 2) at the L1 level. INTERVENTIONTransarterial embolization was performed with local anesthesia. The microcatheter was navigated through the anterior spinal artery to a site just proximal to the fistula. After provocative testing demonstrated negative results, CAP solution was injected and the fistula was completely closed, without complications. The patient experienced an uneventful postoperative course. CONCLUSIONWe describe the usefulness of CAP solution in the treatment of a spinal perimedullary arteriovenous fistula. This procedure must be performed for a larger series of patients for assessment of its long-term results.


Reductions in weed interference achieved through hand weeding or herbicides in a newly planted peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) orchard led to increased summer growth and greater freezing resistance of bark and wood tissue in dormant scions. Controlled freezing tests for 2 winters following spring plantings indicated that bark and xylem tissues of scions from weed-free plots averaged 5.5° and 3.2°C more cold hardy, respectively, than those from unweeded plots.


(Pb1¿xSrx)(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O3 ( x= 0 to 0.65) thin films were grown on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition. Films were crystallized in the single phase perovskite structure in the temperature range ( 550¿700°C). Dielectric constant and loss tangent at room temperature reduced as the percentage of Sr substitution increased at the A-site of this perovskite structure. The phase transition temperature (Tc) lowered with Sr-substitution and Tc below the room temperature was obtained for composition with Sr ¿ 40%. The room temperature tunability reduced with Sr substitution, however, the k-factor slightly improved.


INTRODUCTION
One of the main matters of drug administration into the central nervous system (CNS) is to cross the blood/brain barrier. For this reason, in some cases the drug does not reach the therapeutic level or is necessary to use some special systems to get a right administration.

AIM
To present a technological system which allow continuous and direct administration of the drug into the CNS. It consists of enclosing secreting-cells of the desired product within a semipermeable polymeric matrix. Furthermore, this device could be implanted easily into the CNS which improves the access of the drug to the injured places.

DEVELOPMENT
During the last years the use of this technology has been researched in the treatment of diverse diseases affecting the CNS. Although it is important to point out that the majority of the studies done have been carried out in experimental animals therefore, it is in experimental state. The aim of this article is to review the current state of the use of cell encapsulation technology as treatment of CNS disorders.

CONCLUSION
Taking into account the results obtained in different research works cell encapsulation technology could be a useful strategy to treat CNS disorders. However, some important matters are still to be solved out, before than technology of cell encapsulation could be a reality at clinical level.


Research on the intimate relationships of drug-involved women has characterized these women either as passive victims of male violence and exploitation or as instrumental actors who maintain intimate relationships merely for the financial benefits they provide. This dichotomous depiction fails to capture the complexity of women's accounts of such intimate relationships. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a group of poor, inner-city, largely African American and Puerto Rican women with a history of drug addiction and violent intimate relationships, this article looks at the accounts women offer for secretly withholding financial capital from their partners. Taking a constructionist approach, it demonstrates that women account for their practices within a normative context of gender relations by withholding capital to address the changing financial needs of the couple over time. In so doing, women provide themselves with a needed sense of order and continuity, what Anthony Giddens calls ontological security. This article adds to our understanding of how drug-involved women's changing orientations to time may impact their constructions of their intimate relations. Implications for future research are discussed.


Chemical genomics is a powerful approach to dissect processes that may be intractable using conventional genetics because of gene lethality or redundancy. Recently, a link has been established between endomembrane trafficking and gravitropism. To understand this link, we screened a library of 10,000 diverse chemicals for compounds that affected the gravitropism of Arabidopsis seedlings positively or negatively. Sixty-nine of 219 compounds from the primary screen were retested, and 34 of these were confirmed to inhibit or enhance gravitropism. Four of the 34 compounds were found to cause aberrant endomembrane morphologies. The chemicals affected gravitropism and vacuole morphology in concert in a tissue-specific manner, underscoring the link between endomembranes and gravitropism. One of the chemicals (5403629) was structurally similar to the synthetic auxin 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetate, whereas the other three chemicals were unique in their structures. An in vivo functional assay using the reporter beta-glucuronidase under the auxin-inducible DR5 promoter confirmed that the unique compounds were not auxins. Interestingly, one of the unique chemicals (5850247) appeared to decrease the responsiveness to auxin in roots, whereas another (5271050) was similar to pyocyanin, a bacterial metabolite that has been suggested to target the endomembranes of yeast. These reagents will be valuable for dissecting endomembrane trafficking and gravitropism and for cognate target identification.


Abstract Objective: To evaluate the association between maternal asthma and perinatal outcome. Study design: In this retrospective population-based cohort study, all pregnancies between 1991 and 2014 in a tertiary medical center, were included. Multiple pregnancies and congenital malformations were excluded. Pregnancy course and outcomes were compared between women with and without asthma, and multivariable generalized estimating equations were used to control for confounders. Results: During the study period, 243,363 deliveries met the inclusion criteria, 1.35% of which (n = 3283) occurred in women diagnosed with asthma. Multiple perinatal complications were found to be associated with maternal asthma, including hypertensive disorders, preterm delivery, and cesarean delivery. However, no significant differences between the groups were noted in neonatal outcomes, including perinatal mortality rates and low Apgar scores. In the regression model, maternal asthma was noted as an independent risk factor for preterm delivery, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and cesarean delivery (aOR = 1.21, 95%CI 1.1–1.4, p = .007; aOR = 1.35, 95%CI 1.2–1.6, p < .001; and aOR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.2–1.4, p < .001, respectively) while controlling for multiple confounders. Conclusions: Maternal asthma is associated with an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcome. This association remains significant while controlling for variables considered to coexist with maternal asthma. Nevertheless, perinatal outcome is generally favorable.


Construction sector is considered as one of the main sources of environmental pollution in the world. It has massive direct and indirect effects on the environment. Gaza Strip is witnessing widespread construction projects which increase the pressure on the ecosystem and generate various pollutants. Gaza Strip is suffering from weak and deteriorating ecosystems due to limited natural resources, deteriorating economic and political situation, escalating population growth, and lack of awareness of environmental issues. The aim of this paper is to assess the environmental impacts due to construction projects activities in Gaza Strip and propose some suggestions in curbing down these adverse impacts. A total of 50 questionnaires were distributed to professionals working in the construction industry. The environmental impacts are categorized into three safeguard subjects: ecosystems, natural resources and public impacts. The results of this study revealed that dust generation, noise pollution, operations with vegetation removal, and air pollution are the most significant environmental impacts of construction projects. The results also revealed that labors and those who are working in construction sector are the most slices of people exposing every day to health problems such as respiratory problems, liver, cancer, hearing impairment, hypertension, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and other cardiovascular adverse effects. In addition, the public impact was found as the most important category that affects the environment in Gaza Strip. It is recommended to enhance the knowledge and awareness of construction participants with regard to environmental impacts of construction and enact strict laws to attempt curbing down the adverse impacts of construction such as enforcing institutions to conduct environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the early stage of the projects. The results of this study can help decision makers to identify major construction impacts on environment and make environmentally friendly construction plans in the early stages of construction.


The immune system undergoes age‐associated changes known as immunosenescence, resulting in increased susceptibility to infections, cancers and autoimmunity in the aged. The basis of our understanding of immunosenescence has been derived primarily from studies examining intrinsic defects within many of the cells of the immune system. While these studies have provided insight into the mechanisms of immunosenescence, a picture is now emerging that the stromal microenvironment within lymphoid organs also contributes significantly to the age‐associated decline of immune function. These extrinsic defects appear to impact the functional activity of immune cells and may offer a potential target to recover immune activity. Indeed, rejuvenation studies which have targeted the stromal niche have restored immune function in aged successfully, highlighting the impact of the microenvironment towards the aetiology of immunosenescence.


Different surveys point toward that over the past several years' software security has raised its precedence for many software organizations. Software security testing is upgraded with the help of security attributes, security models, testing tools and most importantly test case used in testing. Software security testing was once considered a technical obligation performed by software developers. At that time, software security was much important during the test phase of software development life cycle. Present time an emergent number of security incidents and a growing awareness among business owners about invalidated software due to security issues have moved security testing into software world of testers. It is often impossible to find all the errors in a program. This basics problem in testing thus arise an open question, as to what would be the policy that we would adopt for testing. Thus now security testing is important in each phase of development life cycle. Here is a proposed framework is finalized for that security testing.


South Haven Health System has developed an innovative approach to strategic planning. The key to success of this process has been the multidisciplinary involvement of all stakeholders from the first planning session through the final formation of a strategic plan with measurable objectives for each goal. The process utilizes a Conversation Café method for identifying opportunities and establishing goals, Strategic Oversight Teams to address each goal and a Champion for implementation of each objective. Progress is measured quarterly by Strategic Oversight Team report cards. Transparency of communication within the organization and the sharing of information move the plan forward. The feedback from participant evaluations has been overwhelmingly positive. They are involved and excited.


SUMMARY: Crude preparations of the lecithinase of Clostridium bifermentans are lethal for mice. Their toxicity, haemolytic activity, and the power of liberating acid- soluble phosphorus from lecithin are neutralized by Cl. welchii aL-antitoxin; in terms of lethal doses of Cl. welchii α-toxin and the bifermentans lecithinase, α-antitoxin is less than one five-hundredth as effective against the bifermentans lecithinase as against the α-toxin.
In terms of in vitro lecithinase activity in standard conditions, equipotent amounts of lecithinase from three different strains of Cl. bifermentans were respectively 9, 60 and 75 times less toxic than the corresponding amount of Cl. welchii lecithinase. The toxicity of the Cl. bifermentans lecithinase therefore is determined, not only by its lecithinase activity, but by unknown factors that vary from strain to strain of the bacillus. These factors are not likely to be contaminating substances with a synergic or inhibitory effect, since the differences in toxicity were maintained in several preparations from each of the three strains studied.
The analysis of the two antigenically related lecithinases from Cl. welchii and Cl. bifermentans provided no positive evidence against the hypothesis that the α-toxin of Cl. welchii is identical with the lecithinase.


Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of GPS 3300 to predict active (feeding, moving) and inactive (bedded, standing) behaviours in European roe deer. Observed activity of three tame roe deer was correlated with the three variables provided by the activity sensors of their collars (normalised for each individual) using discriminant analyses. The best model discriminated correctly 84% of the "active" time intervals (defined as roe deer spending at least 30% of the time active) and 97% of inactive ones. We tested for consistency with movements using 11 wild roe deer, six living in a forest and five in an open habitat. As expected, wild deer identified as inactive (sensors) were mostly immobile (GPS locations, 831 records of 1096), whereas deer known to be moving were mostly classified as active (493 of 758 records). The records classified as inactive but moving (24% of inactive records or 35% of moving records) can indicate short distance displacement, erroneous detection of movement, or moving without neck movements. The records classified as active but immobile (46% of active ones, 33% of immobile ones) can represent feeding on a small patch without detectable movements.


The bulk composition of Earth is dramatically carbon poor compared to that of the interstellar medium, and this phenomenon extends to the asteroid belt. A gradient in the amounts of refractory carbon relative to silicate is shown in our solar system. To interpret the carbon deficit problem, we focus on two issues: (1) The carbon depletion gradient in the inner solar system. (2) Test the carbon grain destruction observationally. We assume two kinds of central stars T-tauri star and Herbig Ae star for the former and the latter issues, respectively. The results of the chemical models with and without the carbon grain destruction show significant differences especially in the inner region of the disk midplane, where CO gas is abundant and not photodissociated. Furthermore, we consider HCN and its isotopologue, H 13 CN, as our candidate tracer of the carbon grain destruction, and make a prediction for the HCN and H 13 CN line intensity maps for the ALMA observations by applying their abundance distribution into the radiative transfer model for a Herbig Ae disk. The results indicate, the difference in the HCN/H 13 CN line emitting regions as well as their intensity ratio are useful tracers of the carbon grain destruction. In addition, the cumulative line flux as a function of the velocity will trace the line emitting regions and the difference between the HCN and H 13 CN lines will also be a tracer of the carbon grain destruction.


Game-based learning is a highly motivational learning approach, with appropriate difficulty level being the key to level of motivation in this type of learning. However, it is not easy to adapt the difficulty of game-based learning for some students. This study proposes two evenly matched competitive strategies to dynamically adapt the difficulty of game-based learning during the game, while matching game progress and maintaining evenly matched game results. The strategies are designed to realize a even opportunity tactic to manipulate perceived performance in game-based learning. This study also proposes three adaptation methods: Adjusting the complexity of learning tasks, uncertain game factors, and virtual characters to realize the strategies. A system was implemented and two preliminary experiments were conducted with a total of 56 participants to validate the strategies and adaptations. The results of the experiments show that adaptations based on strategies can dynamically adjust in order for different students to keep the game evenly matched.


Modern environmentalism is in need of a major overhaul. Despite some progress over the past generation, the majority of today's environmental groups have been using the same set of tactics that have been used since the environmental movement took hold in the 1960s and 1970s. The tools originally built for the job worked at one time, but today they're no longer keeping up with our evolving problems. As a result, environmentalists are obtaining an ever smaller return on their investment. Despite all the advocacy, legal victories, and public and private funding that have been funneled into environmental efforts, our waterways are in many ways far worse off today than they were a half century ago. As sad as it sounds, our combined efforts have added up to little more than a speed bump placed in front of a car with superb shock absorbers. To address the magnitude of the environmental challenges that confront us, we must revamp our approaches, and we must do so at a fundamental level. The time to patch, tinker, and improve parts here and there is done. We must change a much broader system, and that means a new environmentalism altogether.


type="main"> While there is great deal of scholarship on the nature of presidential appointments in the realm of domestic policy (e.g., cabinet departments and regulatory agencies), foreign policy appointments have received far less attention. Yet, these appointments are important because they have global implications, dealing with such basic issues as trade, diplomacy, war, and peace. We examine one type of foreign policy appointment, the ambassadorial appointments of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. We employ data provided by the U.S. Department of State and data collected from various sources on the background characteristics of their U.S. ambassadors. We find that while both presidents promoted loyalty over competence in their ambassadorial appointments, they did so in different ways. The first President Bush used a personal "friends and neighbors" approach, while Clinton rewarded former campaign officials. Though it generally is assumed that presidents reward key contributors from their presidential campaign with key assignments, we find that Clinton was more likely than Bush to reward contributors with appointments to choice countries. Finally, we demonstrate that women and minorities received appointments of lesser quality during the Bush administration. The determinants of ambassadorial appointments are more complex than previously assumed. While presidents appoint ambassadors on the basis of campaign contributions, they do not reward them equally with plum assignments.


Abstract Movies include a shockingly high number of products - it is almost impossible to have a movie with no brand exposure at all. As entertainment fills a large part of our lives, product placements have invaded our social sphere more than we can imagine. Just as for the tobacco industry, until something is done to reduce and eliminate the images of unhealthy dietary behaviour on film, movies will remain one of the most powerful forces in the world promoting unhealthy sugary diets and serving the industry's financial interests. The unhealthy lifestyle that is portrayed on the screens through extensive consumption of food items especially high in sugars, and how this can influence people's dietary behaviour, is the main concern and discussion for this article. Thus, this article tries to give an overview of the current situation and how exactly it is possible for movies to influence the things we eat. Just as the tobacco industry has had a long history of working to influence Hollywood, the sugar industry will most probably face the same future. And this is not what films should be about.


Since its inception, Low Impact Development (LID) has become part of urban stormwater management across the United States, marking progress in the gradual transition from centralized to distributed runoff management infrastructure. The ultimate goal of LID is full, cost‐effective implementation to maximize watershed‐scale ecosystem services and enhance resilience. To reach that goal in the Great Plains, the multi‐disciplinary author team presents this critical review based on thirteen technical questions within the context of regional climate and socioeconomics across increasing complexities in scale and function. Although some progress has been made, much remains to be done including continued basic and applied research, development of local LID design specifications, local demonstrations, and identifying funding mechanisms for these solutions. Within the Great Plains and beyond, by addressing these technical questions within a local context, the goal of widespread acceptance of LID can be achieved, resulting in more effective and resilient stormwater management.


Within recent decades, the development of nanotechnology has made a significant contribution to the progress of various fields of study, including the domains of medical and pharmaceutical sciences. A substantially transformed arena within the context of the latter is the development and production of various injectable parenteral formulations. Indeed, recent decades have witnessed a rapid growth of the marketed and pipeline nanotechnology-based injectable products, which is a testimony to the remarkability of the aforementioned contribution. Adjunct to the ability of nanomaterials to deliver the incorporated payloads to many different targets of interest, nanotechnology has substantially assisted to the development of many further facets of the art. Such contributions include the enhancement of the drug solubility, development of long-acting locally and systemically injectable formulations, tuning the onset of the drug's release through the endowment of sensitivity to various internal or external stimuli, as well as adjuvancy and immune activation, which is a desirable component for injectable vaccines and immunotherapeutic formulations. The current work seeks to provide a comprehensive review of all the abovementioned contributions, along with the most recent advances made within each domain. Furthermore, recent developments within the domains of passive and active targeting will be briefly debated.


Factors affecting exercise tolerance have been of interest to respiratory physiologists for several decades. Among these limiting factors is diaphragmatic fatigue, which occurs during sustained exercise of high intensities (> 80% maximal oxygen consumption ()) (Babcock et al. 1995). Exercise-induced diaphragmatic fatigue is, in part, due to the high levels of respiratory muscle work that must be sustained throughout high intensity exercise. The consequences of a fatiguing diaphragm and other respiratory muscles have been addressed in a recent review by Dempsey et al. (2006). Briefly, recent reports have suggested that accumulation of metabolites in the inspiratory and expiratory muscles when respiratory muscles are fatigued activates unmylenated type IV phrenic afferents (Hill, 2000), which in turn increases sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity via a supra-spinal reflex. Why is this reflex effect important during exercise? During strenuous exercise, when the work of breathing is reduced by ∼50% via proportional assist ventilation in healthy subjects, cardiac output is reduced and vascular conductance and blood flow to the exercising legs are increased and whole body exercise performance increases (Harms et al. 1997, 2000). Presently, it is not known what specific mechanisms activate the respiratory muscle metaboreflex sufficiently to increase sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity and affect cardiovascular indices.

In the current issue of The Journal of Physiology, Witt et al. (2007) provide significant insight into the role of the respiratory muscle metaboreflex on cardiovascular consequences during heavy exercise. These researchers utilized five weeks of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in an attempt to increase respiratory muscle strength and presumably reduce or delay respiratory muscle fatigue. In this study, IMT reduced the increase in heart rate and mean arterial pressure that typically occurs with the increased work of breathing during heavy exercise in healthy subjects. What was the mechanism for this reduced cardiovascular responsiveness to high levels of inspiratory work? The authors speculated that the decreased cardiovascular response was due to: (a) reduced activity of chemically sensitive afferent fibres innervating the inspiratory muscles or to a desensitization, or (b) a decline in responsiveness of the type III and IV afferents to chemical stimulants resulting from a conditioned response to repeated exposure to the accumulated metabolites associated with IMT, although either mechanism has yet to be established.

The significance of these findings by Witt et al. (2007) addresses broader questions of the importance of respiratory muscle work to exercise performance. Recent studies have demonstrated that the respiratory muscle metaboreflex is a key player in increased sympathetic tone and blood flow redistribution during heavy exercise (Sheel et al. 2001; Rodman et al. 2003). Importantly, there appears to be a threshold for activation of this reflex that does not occur during exercise of low to moderate intensities or non-fatiguing inspiratory efforts. The authors suggest that IMT may have raised the threshold required to elicit significant increases in mean arterial pressure. Future work is necessary to determine specifically how increases in inspiratory muscle strength led to these improvements.

Additionally, inspiratory muscle training has received considerable interest and enthusiasm in recent years as a method to improve whole body exercise performance in healthy subjects. However, to date, the literature appears inconclusive. This may be due in part to differences in training strategies, subject populations or inappropriate control groups. In those studies that have shown significant gains in performance, mechanisms responsible are still unresolved. Results from the present study of Witt et al. (2007) provide novel insights into a potential role of the metaboreflex for the possible benefit of IMT. Reduced cardiovascular responsiveness to high levels of inspiratory muscle work with IMT in this study points to a plausible explanation for the improvements in exercise performance with IMT. Alternatively, IMT has often been shown to be an effective tool for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). Based on Witt et al. (2007), future studies investigating the role of IMT on the inspiratory muscle metaboreflex could help determine the mechanistic basis for the improvements in this population.

In summary, Witt et al. (2007) have provided a significant step forward in our understanding of the inspiratory muscle metaboreflex by their careful, quantitative approach in determining the mechanisms responsible for the cardiovascular responses that occur with respiratory muscle work during strenuous exercise. The results from this study substantiate the importance of this reflex to competing vascular beds in healthy subjects during high intensity exercise. Hopefully, these findings will provide an impetus for further, insightful investigations into the cardiopulmonary consequences of respiratory muscle work during exercise.


The methods and means of using ontologies within systems for the categorization of textual content were created. Also, a method for optimizing the definition of which rubrics best relate to a certain text content was developed. The intellectual system that will use the methods developed earlier, as well as other research results was implemented. The results will allow users to easily filter their text content. The system developed has an intuitive user interface.


Raman and infrared spectra of Tl 2NbO2PO4, Tl3NaNb4O9(PO4)2 and TlNbOP2O7 are reported. The observed bands are assigned in terms of vibrations of NbO6 octahedra and PO 4 tetrahedra in the first two compounds and in terms of NbO 6 octahedra and P 2O74− anion in the third compound. The NbO 6 octahedra in all the title compounds are found to be corner-shared and distorted. The higher wavenumber values of the ν1 (NbO6) mode and other stretching modes indicate that the NbO 6 octahedra in them are distorted in the order TlNbOP2O7 > Tl2NbO2PO4 > Tl3NaNb4O9(PO4)2. The splitting of theν3 (PO4) mode indicates that PO 4 tetrahedra is distorted more in Tl2NbO2PO4 than in Tl3NaNb4O9(PO4)2. The symmetry of P2O74− anion in TlNbOP2O7 is lowered. Bands indicate that the P–O–P bridge in the above compound has a bent P–O–P bridge configuration. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive nervous system disorder. Until now, the molecular mechanism of its occurrence is not fully understood. Paraquat (PQ) was identified as a neurotoxicant and is linked to increased PD risk and PD-like neuropathology. Ferroptosis is recognized as a new form of regulated cell death. Here, we revealed a new underlying mechanism by which ferritinophagy-mediated ferroptosis is involved in PD induced by PQ. The effect of PQ on movement injury in mice was investigated by the bar fatigue and pole-climbing test. SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells were used to evaluate the mechanism of ferroptosis. Our results showed that PQ induced movement injury by causing the decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase in mice. In vitro, PQ significantly caused the iron accumulation in cytoplasm and mitochondria through ferritinophagy pathway induced by NCOA4. Iron overload initiated lipid peroxidation through 12Lox, further inducing ferroptosis by producing lipid ROS. PQ downregulated SLC7A11 and GPX4 expression and upregulated Cox2 expression significantly, which were important markers in ferroptosis. Fer-1, an inhibitor of ferroptosis, could significantly ameliorate the ferroptosis induced by PQ. Meanwhile, Bcl2, Bax, and p-38 were involved in apoptosis induced by PQ. In conclusion, ferritinophagy-mediated ferroptosis pathway played an important role in PD occurrence. Bcl2/Bax and P-p38/p38 pathways mediated the cross-talk between ferroptosis and apoptosis induced by PQ. These data further demonstrated the complexity of PD occurrence. The inhibition of the ferroptosis and apoptosis together may be a new strategy for the prevention of neurotoxicity or PD in the future.


Abstract Plants are acutely sensitive of their light environment, adapting their growth habit and prioritizing developmental decisions to maximize fecundity. In addition to providing an energy source and directional information, light quality also contributes to entrainment of the circadian system, an endogenous timing mechanism that integrates endogenous and environmental signalling cues to promote growth. Whereas plants' perception of red and blue portions of the spectrum are well defined, green light sensitivity remains enigmatic. In this study, we show that low fluence rates of green light are sufficient to entrain and maintain circadian rhythms in Arabidopsis and that cryptochromes contribute to this response. Importantly, green light responses are distinguishable from low blue light‐induced phenotypes. These data suggest a distinct signalling mechanism enables entrainment of the circadian system in green light‐enriched environments, such as those found in undergrowth and in densely planted monoculture.


Recently, there have been lots of research and development activities to confirm the reliability in terms of the healthy condition for hanger cables of suspension bridges. However, little research about non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques for main cable of the suspension bridges has been carried out. In this context, this study proposes a new methodology incorporating DC magnetization with a search coil-based total flux measurement to investigate the loss of the cross section of the main cable due to corrosion damage. From the hysteresis curve of the magnetized main cable measured at the search coil of the proposed NDE equipment, a quantification algorithm to estimate the loss rate of the main cables' cross section is induced. The feasibility of the proposed NDE methodology is verified throughout an experimental study using a real scaled cable specimen with artificially inflicted broken wires.


Moral blackmail is a wrongful strategy intended to force a person to perform an act by manipulating her circumstances so as to make it morally wrong for her to do anything else. The idea of moral blackmail can seem paradoxical, but moral blackmail is a coherent and indeed a familiar phenomenon. It has special significance for our intimate personal relationships and is often a force within family dynamics. It is used to enforce power relationships within families, and in particular to uphold expectations that women and girls will do most of the work in caring for vulnerable family members. It is also used as a tool of policy makers, to transfer to families duties of care that would otherwise be discharged by the government or by society at large. It is an important but under-recognized source of ongoing manipulation and exploitation.


Background Mobility impairment is a common disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) and negatively impacts patients' lives. Clinical studies suggest that fampridine improves motor function in people with MS. Purpose To assess the effectiveness and security of sustained release fampridine in patient with MS and walking disability (EDSS 4–7) after 2 weeks of treatment. Material and methods A 1 year prospective observational study was performed (July 2014–July 2015). Patient characteristics (age, sex and different MS subtypes), fampridine dose information, associated disease modifying treatments and baseline EDSS were collected from the available hospital databases. The timed 25 foot walk test (T25FW) and the 12 item Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12) were performed before the start of treatment with fampridine and after 2 weeks to define response. The primary outcome measures were mean changes in walking speed (T25FW). Improvement of >20% was indicated as a clinically meaningful change. Reported adverse events were also collected during this period. Bootstrapping for paired samples was calculated for effectiveness variables, assuming a p value <0.05. Results 34 patients were treated, all with 10 mg twice daily; 55.88% were women. Mean age was 50.76 years (95% CI 46.90 to 54.63). 21 patients (61.77%) had progressive subtypes and 13 (38.23%) relapsing remitting MS. 33 patients (97.07%) had an EDSS between 6 and 7. Associated disease modifying treatments were: 11 none (32.35%), 8 fingolimod (23.53%), 6 interferon beta 1A (17.65%), 4 natalizumab (11.76%), 3 interferon beta 1B (8.8%) and 2 glatiramer (5.88%). The mean time reduction in T25FW was 5.81 s (95% CI 2.58 to 9.17, p = 0.007) and walking speed increased by 30.02% (95% CI 22.31 to 37.74). The MSWS-12 mean decrease over 100 was 21.53 points (95% CI15.00 to 28.0.4, p = 0.001). Fampridine was withdrawn in 6 patients (17.65%); 3 of them were considered non-responders and the rest suffered arrhythmia as an adverse event.  Conclusion Treatment with fampridine focused on patients with an advanced stage of progressive subtypes of MS with either no other associated disease modifying treatments or secondline associated treatments, such as fingolimod and natalizumab. Treatment resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in walking speed. Arrhythmia was the only adverse event reported. References and/or Acknowledgements We thank the hospital pharmacists at Torrecardenas for their support. No conflict of interest.


Cultures of rat oligodendrocytes were used to test the possible role of the cerebellar soluble lectin (CSL) in myelin formation. Immunocytochemistry at the ultrastructural level showed that the lectin is present in the cytoplasm of the perikaryon of cultured oligodendrocytes and also on the plasma membrane of the cell body and processes. It is present in compact myelin and in the zones of contacts between different myelin sheaths or oligodendrocyte membranes. Staining of blots of the cultures with iodinated CSL indicated that endogenous glycoprotein ligands for CSL are present in the culture, rendering probable the hypothesis that cell contacts between different oligodendrocytes or between adjacent lamellae in myelin are mediated by lectin-glycoprotein interactions. This hypothesis was demonstrated by two effects of anti-CSL Fab fragments (4 micrograms/ml) on oligodendrocyte cultures: (1) the almost complete detachment of the cell layer from the culture substratum, and (2) the loss of myelin compaction by a separation of lamellae at the intraperiod line. The present findings could explain the complexity of the contacts between cultured oligodendrocyte processes by the formation of CSL bridges between glycoproteins of the membranes of these cells. CSL seems to be a key molecule in adhesion both for intercellular contacts and fixation of cells to the substratum. The small number of glycoprotein subunits found in oligodendrocytes that interact with CSL suggests that CSL-mediated cell adhesion involves a special class of glycoprotein glycans.


INTRODUCTION: Myeloid Zinc Finger 1 (MZF1) is a transcription factor that is normally involved in myeloid differentiation. MZF1 can also be found in epithelial cancers, where it functions as an invasion and metastasis promoting oncogene. MZF1 is a central node of the invasive signaling network activated by HER2/ErbB2 in breast cancer, where MZF1 mobilizes and activates lysosomes and increases the expression of cysteine cathepsin B to promote invasion and metastasis. Thus, maintaining the sufficient expression level of MZF1 is important for the invasive signaling of breast cancer cells. RESULTS AND EXPERIMETAL PROCHEDURES: Here we show that MZF1 is essential for the invasion of breast cancer cells in 3-dimensional cultures. We also describe a possible mechanism that regulates MZF1 levels in breast cancer. By using available micro-RNA (miRNA) binding site prediction programs (www.microrna.org/), specific microRNA mimics, corresponding miRNA inhibitors e.g. locked nucleic acids, luciferase reporter assays, immunofluorescense, quantitative PCR and 3-dimensional invasion assays we show that some breast cancer specific miRNAs can regulate MZF1 RNA and protein levels and revert the malignant and invasive cellular phenotype of breast cancer cells by altering the invasion promoting functions of lysosomes. These results are supported by the analysis of breast cancer patient data from the cancer genome atlas (http://cancergenome.nih.gov) showing that MZF1 expression correlates negatively with the expression of the identified miRNAs, when using data collected from over 600 primary breast cancer tumors. SUMMARY: This study shows that MZF1 is an oncogene whose sufficient expression levels are central for breast cancer cell invasion and whose specific miRNA-mediated downregulation can inhibit breast cancer malignancy by modifying the expression of its lysosomal target genes. CONCLUSION: Cancer-associated upregulation of MZF1 increases the breast cancer malignancy. Thus finding ways to downregulate MZF1 expression or inhibit its activity can be beneficial for breast cancer therapy. Citation Format: Tuula Kallunki, Siri A. Tvingsholm, Knut K. Bundgaard Clemmensen, Ditte M. Brix, Bo Rafn, Jose Moreira, Lisa Frankel, Anders Lund, Riku Louhimo, Sampsa Hautaniemi, Irina Gromova, Marja Jaattela. Regulation of the oncogenic, invasion-promoting transcription factor myeloid zinc finger-1 (MZF1) in breast cancer by microRNAs. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1999.


Isolated fetal ascites is a rare finding in prenatal ultrasound examination. The finding is always aberrant and requires further exploration. More than half of fetal ascites findings are associated with structural anomalies. Other causes include prenatal infections and genetic disorders. The cause and time of detection of ascites have an influence on the baby's prognosis. In spite of careful examinations the cause of ascites frequently remains open during pregnancy. During the first hours of life the baby needs intensive care, and when necessary, etiologic exploration will be simultaneously continued.


The Hidaka Metamorphic Belt, in southeastern Hokkaido, Japan, provides insights into how magmatic sulfide deposits may form through magma mixing deep within arcs. Here, a near-complete cross-section of arc crust is exposed, with large mafic igneous complexes preserved at deeper levels. Magmatic sulfide mineralization occurs within the Opirarukaomappu Gabbroic Complex (OGC), which preserves a record of crustal contamination of mafic magmas via assimilation and magma mixing involving introduction of crust-derived tonalite. Assimilation^fractional crystallization modelling suggests that the gabbro evolved through a combination of approximately 10 wt % mixing and 14 wt % fractional crystallization. Magmatic sulfides and associated gabbros, diorites and tonalites at this locality contain graphite, with carbon isotope signatures consistent with derivation from the surrounding partially melted carbonaceous shales. This indicates that crust-derived carbon was added to the mafic magma through the magma mixing and assimilation process. Sulfur isotope data suggest that sulfur was also added from crustal sources during assimilation and magma mixing. The relationships observed in the OGC suggest that intrusion of basalt into a segment of deep arc crust drove partial melting of carbonaceous metamorphic rocks, producing graphite-bearing felsic magmas with high reducing potential. Redox budget modelling shows that mixing of only small proportions of these magmas is sufficient to lower the oxidation state of oxidized basaltic magmas enough to induce sulfide saturation and consequent exsolution of immiscible sulfide melt. Magmatic sulfide deposits are likely to form by this reduction-induced sulfide saturation mechanism deep within other arcs where magma mixing is thought to be common.


ABSTRACT Rapid identification of infection has a major impact on the clinical course, management, and outcome of critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We compared the results of PCR and procalcitonin with blood culture for ICU patients suspected of having septicemia. Ninety patients (60 patients meeting the criteria for sepsis and 30 patients not meeting the criteria for sepsis) were evaluated. Compared with blood culture as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for PCR were 100%, 43.33%, 46.87%, and 100%, respectively, and for procalcitonin were 100%, 61.66%, 56.6%, and 100%, respectively. The average times required to produce a final result were as follows: PCR, 10 h; blood culture, 33 h; procalcitonin, 45 min. Both PCR and procalcitonin may be useful as rapid tests for detecting septicemia but compared with blood cultures lacked specificity.


Quality of life is an increasingly important outcome measure in medicine and health care. Many measures of quality of life present patients with predetermined lists of questions that may or may not be relevant to the individual patient. This paper describes a brief measure, the SEIQoL-DW, which is derived from the schedule for evaluation of individual quality of life (SEIQoL). The measure allows respondents to nominate the areas of life which are most important, rate their level of functioning or satisfaction with each, and indicate the relative importance of each to their overall quality of life. Given its practicality and brevity, the measure should prove particularly useful in clinical situations where patient generated data on quality of life is important. This article describes the first clinical application of the measure, assessing the quality of life of a cohort of patients with HIV/AIDS managed in general practice.


Business processes can be described with diagrams, e.g. BPMN diagrams, or as text. Use cases are a text-based notation. They are semiformal: a business process is expressed as a sequence of steps and each step is presented in a natural language. In the paper two experiments are described that aimed at comparison of diagrambased and text-based notation. Moreover, we describe some extensions to use cases which we have found interesting when working on description of business processes based on use cases. Those extensions, among others, allow to describe actor metamorphosis and specify steps which must be performed before the main scenario is executed. The ideas described in the paper have been incorporated into UC Workbench – a tool supporting editing and animation of use-case-based models.


The sea level of the Black Sea coastal area is subject to non-periodic wind-induced fluctuations. Such fluctuations affect economic activity of the sea ports, enterprises and businesses located within the coastal area while those may be flooded when the sea level rises and, on the contrary, there is a threat of vessels grounding in case of sea level fall. There are several big sea ports which are located at the north-western part of the Black Sea and affected by wind-induced fluctuations. Therefore, the study of these processes and development of methods allowing their forecast are of great practical interest and this fact proves the topicality of the conducted research.
The article's aim is to analyse wind-induced fluctuations within the water area of Yuzhnyi and Chornomorsk sea ports, identify statistical links between such fluctuations and wind characteristics / equations used for calculation of their values. The observations at Chornomorsk (2006-2013) and Yuzhnyi (2000-2011) stations show that within a year there are 1-2 upsurge-downsurge occurrences during an average month, however, the number of those increases up to 3-4 over the autumn-winter period. The average sea level rise at Chornomorsk station is equal to 34 cm, the average sea level fall – 38 cm, maximum values amount to 97 cm and 191 cm, respectively. The average sea level rise at Yuzhnyi station is equal to 30 cm, the average sea level fall – 34 cm, maximum values amount to 91 and 98 cm, respectively. The average duration of wind-induced fluctuations at both stations amount to 34-38 hours. In most cases the sea level rise is observed at Chornomosk station when winds blow from the South and the South-East, at Yuzhnyi station  – when those blow from the South, the South-East and the South-West. The sea level fall is observed at Chornomosk station when winds blow from the North-West and the West, at Yuzhnyi station – when those blow from the North, the North-West and the North-East. Both stations are characterized with effective directions of wind causing occurrence of upsurge-downsurges. Based on the regression analysis equations for calculation of the sea level rise and fall values associated with wind characteristics were defined. The initial value of the sea level and the sum of the wind projections on effective directions for previous 30 hours are used as arguments in the equations. The accuracy of equation-based calculation constitutes 60-90%. The article offers recommendations on the use of equations when forecasting wind-induced fluctuations.


Mention Wikipedia in a group of people and a lively discussion is sure to follow with terms such as peer-review, editing policies, and Web 2.0 entering the conversation. Wikipedia is the open access, Web 2.0 encyclopedia that is harnessing the power (and knowledge) of the masses and making it freely available to the Internet audience. With open access, problems have appeared and solutions have been implemented; however, many netizens (network citizens) are only aware of the negative and high profile misuses of Wikipedia, skewing their view of this knowledge repository. This paper studies how one group of information seekers, librarians, is utilizing this freely accessible web resource in their work, and how positive and negative awareness affects this usage. Usage statistics, awareness statistics, and gender differences for Wikipedia usage are presented in this paper and discussed. Comparisons of librarian statistics to previously published data on university faculty and student usage of Wikipedia are presented. It is established that librarians have greater awareness of negative issues surrounding Wikipedia than of positive issues. This awareness drives usage of Wikipedia in personal and professional settings. Results also indicate that there are no major gender differences in awareness of positive and negative issues concerning Wikipedia, but that males tend to use Wikipedia more than females, confirming the results of previous studies.


An F-FTCS mechanism that develops a fault tolerant single IP address cluster for TCP applications is proposed. The FTCS mechanism performs fine grain load balancing by handling all incoming TCP connection requests with a master node. Three fail-over algorithms are designed and implemented to carry out the fault tolerant FTCS mechanism. Discarding and Gathering Algorithms discard and gather TCP connections whose state is SYN-RECEIVED, respectively, at failure. A Scattering Algorithm synchronizes the information between nodes in the failure-free phase. These three algorithms are evaluated on Core 2 Duo machines. The Discarding Algorithm recovers from a failure from 440 to 950 msec earlier than the Gathering Algorithm, but it requires reprocessing the discarded TCP connection requests. The Scattering Algorithm requires from 120 to 160 usec more overhead during processing of a TCP connection request than that of the original FTCS mechanism.


ABSTRACT Muscle is an attractive target for gene delivery because of its mass and because vectors can be delivered in a noninvasive fashion. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) has been shown to be effective for muscle-targeted gene transfer. Recent progress in characterization of AAV serotype 1 (AAV1) and AAV6 demonstrated that these two AAV serotypes are far more efficient in transducing muscle than is the traditionally used AAV2. Since all cis elements are identical in these vectors, the potential determinants for their differences in transducing muscle appear to be located within the AAV capsid proteins. In the present study, a series of AAV capsid mutants were generated to identify the major regions affecting AAV transduction efficiency in muscle. Replacement of amino acids 350 to 736 of AAV2 VP1 with the corresponding amino acids from VP1 of AAV1 resulted in a hybrid vector that behaved very similarly to AAV1 in vitro and in vivo in muscle. Characterization of additional mutants carrying smaller regions of the AAV1 VP1 amino acid sequence in the AAV2 capsid protein suggested that amino acids 350 to 430 of VP1 function as a major tissue tropism determinant. Further analysis showed that the heparin binding domain and the major antigenic determinants in the AAV capsid region were not necessary for the efficiency of AAV1 transduction of muscle.


Postprandial glycaemic and hormone responses to meals with different nutrient compositions and their heterogeneity were evaluated in 16 non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients and 5 healthy volunteers. Five kinds of nutrient stimulation--75 g glucose, a Japanese mixed meal (400 kcal, carbohydrate 60%, protein 14%, fat 26%), a high protein meal (300 kcal, C 26%, P 64%, F 10%), a high fat meal (300 kcal, C 23%, P 5%, F 72%) and 20 g iv glucose--was given to each subject. On the average, in both normal and diabetic subjects, the increases in plasma glucose (PG) and insulin (IRI) were the largest with the oral glucose load and the smallest with the high protein meal. The ratio of increase in IRI and PG (sigma delta IRI/sigma delta PG) was the highest with the high protein meal and the lowest with the oral glucose load. sigma delta IRI with the high protein meal and the high fat meal were the same in normal and diabetic subjects. However, each of the 16 NIDDM patients and 5 normal volunteers exhibited a different pattern of response to the nutrient stimuli and no definite subgroup could be classified. There was no correlation between metabolic responses and family history of diabetes mellitus, duration of diabetes, body mass index and fasting plasma glucose. The present results suggest the nearly intact capacity of insulin secretion in NIDDM in response to a high protein or high fat meal and the difficulty of subclassification in NIDDM according to the glycaemic and hormone responses to the different nutrient stimuli.


Motivated by challenging resource allocation issues arising in large-scale wireless and wireline communication networks, we study distributed network utility maximization problems with a mixture of concave (e.g., best-effort throughputs) and nonconcave (e.g., voice/video streaming rates) utilities. In the first part of the paper, we develop our methodological framework in the context of a locally coupled networked system, where nodes represent agents that control a discrete local state. Each node has a possibly nonconcave local objective function, which depends on the local state of the node and the local states of its neighbors. The goal is to maximize the sum of the local objective functions of all nodes. We devise an iterative randomized algorithm, whose convergence and optimality properties follow from the classical framework of Markov Random Fields and Gibbs Measures via a judiciously selected neighborhood structure. The proposed algorithm is distributed, asynchronous, requires limited computational effort per node/iteration, and yields provable convergence in the limit. In order to demonstrate the scope of the proposed methodological framework, in the second part of the paper we show how the method can be applied to two different problems for which no distributed algorithm with provable convergence and optimality properties is available. Specifically, we describe how the proposed methodology provides a distributed mechanism for solving nonconcave utility maximization problems: 1) arising in OFDMA cellular networks, through power allocation and user assignment; 2) arising in multihop wireline networks, through explicit rate allocation. Several numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the convergence speed and performance of the proposed method.


Far-infrared spectra of ferrimagnetic Dy3Fe5O12 single crystals have been studied in the spectral range between 12 and 700 cm−1 and in a wide temperature range between 5 K and 300 K using transmission spectroscopy and rotating analyzer ellipsometry. In the temperature range below TC = 16 K for the magnetic ordering of Dy3+ spins, a number of ligand field and Kaplan-Kittel (KK) exchange resonance modes have been found. Temperature dependencies of their frequencies allowed us to estimate the ratio between the Fe-Dy and Dy-Dy exchange constants. We found that variation of the oscillator strength of the KK modes correlates with the magnetic-field-induced changes of magnetic permeability. The low-temperature peak in the static value of the dielectric function at TC = 16 K may be related to the observed temperature-induced variation of the oscillator strength of the optical phonons.


Degradation-induced changes in the structural and optical properties of the polyfluorene-based blue emitting films and LEDs are examined using spectroscopic (FTIR, UV−vis, photo- and electroluminescence), analytical (FTIR and ESCA), and scanning probe microscopy techniques. The materials studied are oligomers (DP ∼ 10) of 9,9-di-n-hexylfluorene and its random copolymer with anthracene. In situ FTIR monitoring is used to characterize chemical changes in the active layer of operating LED devices. Two primary mechanisms of degradation are identified. In the first, photooxidation of the polymer matrix leads to the formation of an aromatic ketone, most likely fluorenone at the chain terminating monomer units, which quenches the fluorescence. The second process promotes aggregate formation, which then leads to loss of luminous intensity by exciton transfer and relaxation through excimers.


This paper explores the interactive relationship of the opening up practice of China and international economics,as well as international rules.It is found that China's open economy is based on its own opening up practices,and characterized by territory open.It is a kind of multi-level,wide-ranging and all-round economic activity,and also a process of mechanism transformation.Based on the above mentioned research,this paper outlines the basic analysis framework of the system of China's open economy,and puts forward the main content which is needed to perfect the institutional and mechanism reform of the system of China's open economy.This paper argues that,in order to comprehensively improve China's capability of open economy,firstly,the system of China's open economy need to be perfected,and solve the relationship of give and take between China and the world,balance various contradiction relationships,achieve mutual beneficial,to fulfill the mission of efficient operation of both the security and the economy of the country.Secondly,two transformations are needed to improve China's capability of open economy.One is the transformation of international development model.Not only considering the performance of international economic activities from the demand side,in the future,but also considering perfect the effect of international economic activities from the supply side.The other is the transformation of China's role in global economic arena.Not only improve the capability of supply of public goods of China for the globe,but also gradually complete the reform mission from territory opening up to in-bound institutional opening-up.


Image segmentation is an important precursor to boundary delineation of medical images. One of the major challenges in applying automatic image segmentation in medical images is the imperfection in the imaging process which can result in inconsistent contrast and brightness levels, and low image sharpness and vanishing boundaries. Although recent advances in deep learning produce vast improvements in the quality of image segmentation, the accuracy of segmentation around object boundaries still requires improvement. We developed a new approach to contour evolution that is more intuitive but shares some common principles with the active contour model method. The method uses two concepts, namely the boundary grid and sparse boundary representation, as an implicit and explicit representation of the boundary points. We tested our method using lumbar spine MRI images of 515 patients. The experiment results show that our method performs up to 10.2 times faster and more flexible than the geodesic active contours method. Using BF-score contour-based metric, we show that our method improves the boundary accuracy from 74% to 84% as opposed to 63% by the latter method.


At present, the equivalent transformer model obtains a wide range of applications in the calculation of multi-voltage power grid, but it also faces the problems of complicated computation, poor adaptability, not conducive to analysis and programming when taking into account the effect of tap changer regulation on transformer equivalent impedance. The equivalent transformer model based on CIM can easily consider the effect of tap changer regulation on transformer equivalent impedance. The model is simple, easy to grasp and use, greatly improving the computational efficiency and helps the real-time computing of power system. The model is proved to be accurate, simple and convenient according to the comparative analysis of a numerical example given in this paper.


A dentigerous cyst is a cyst that encloses part or the entire crown of an impacted or late-erupting tooth and occurs with comparatively high frequency in humans. In animals, there are three different lesions that are similar to dentigerous cyst and this complexity has led to confusion. In order to clarify the dentigerous cyst most similar to that in humans especially with regard to characteristics of the lining epithelium, this report describes the clinical, pathological, and immunohistochemical features of a dentigerous cyst in a dog. Further, approaches to the surgical and dental management of this cyst in dogs are also discussed and the literature is reviewed. Extraction of an embedded right mandibular first premolar tooth and debridement of the dentigerous cyst soft tissue lining were performed in a 4-year-old female mixed-breed dog. Radiography showed a well-defined unilocular and radiolucent area associated with the crown of the unerupted tooth. Histologically, the unilocular cyst wall was mainly lined by non-keratinized stratified flattened epithelium. As in humans, canine dentigerous cyst can be appropriately treated by cyst enucleation after accurate diagnosis. The radiographic appearance of an unerupted tooth embedded in an osseous cyst wall is a significant characteristic finding. Moreover, non-keratinized epithelium is immunoreactive for amelogenin and ssDNA, which might be associated with deregulation of cell death in the lining epithelium, derived from odontogenic origin. When encountering any questionable lesions, an accurate diagnosis and immediate treatment can avoid malignant transformation.


The Black church, which I define as a church with a Black clergy, a predominately (at least 70%) Black congregants and an orientation towards African cultural values, is often considered an important institution within the Black community, yet it has received minimal attention from scholars in the field of lifelong learning/adult education. Using a qualitative method of inquiry supported by a theoretical framework that includes Africentricity, critical race theory, and post colonialism, this thesis examines the role of the Black church in reproducing and affirming an African cultural identity among the congregants of African ancestry. The study centres the voices of 17 congregants from three churches in Nova Scotia: Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and St. Phillip's African Orthodox Church. By using both inductive and deductive thematic analysis, emerging themes suggest that these religious organizations provide valuable learning activities and promote community involvement that enhance intrinsic values such as, the feeling of home, a sense of belonging, empowerment, cultural grounding, heritage, traditions, identity, and spiritual grounding. These values align with the broader themes found in the data: shared cultural experiences, culturally relevant learning, social engagement, and a sense of community. By exploring how these churches effect change among congregants and the community at large, it is clear that these churches are agencies of significance for the Black congregants, particularly within a racially diverse multicultural society.


Dual resource constrained (DRC) systems are those with capacity constraints which stem from both machines and human operators. Such systems are prevalent in real-life industries and resource planning must acknowledge the unique characteristics inherent in different types of resources in order to provide optimal schedules. In particular, the inclusion and consideration of human characteristics is necessary to allow more accurate depictions of realistic situations. This paper proposes an integrated dual resource management and production planning system that is able to evaluate the combined effects of numerous worker related issues such as capability, efficiency and reliability. The resultant information can then be used to produce a set of optimised schedules accordingly. The proposed system will be module based to provide flexibility and allow easy customization to suit different industry needs.


Herbal products are considered as phytomedicines which are used as complementary medicine and without adequate monitoring they are leased straightaway into the market. Preparation, transportation and handling of these products can lead to high microbial contamination which can be harmful to human health. The aim of this research was to molecularly characterize some multiple resistance bacteria obtained from JIKO which is a herbal preparation consumed in some parts of Kaduna metropolis. The genomic DNA was extracted from each bacteria isolates, 16s rRNA genes were amplified and sequenced. The sequenced obtained from the amplified genes were analyzed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) of the National Center for Biotechnology Institute database to compare the genes with the exist genes with ones in GENbank. The results obtained confirmed the identities of four bacteria isolates: Three Bacillus cereus and a Serratia species.  It was concluded that herbal products can contain some bacterial contaminants if not properly handled.

 Key words: Herbal, phytomedicines, contaminants, genomic.


This investigation examined the role of brain perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPET) in traumatic head injury in 35 patients. The results were compared with those of X-ray computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT and MRI detected brain contusions in seven patients, subarachnoid haemorrhage in one patient and both in nine patients. In 16 of the 17 subjects (94%), SPET with technetium-99m-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) revealed CT/MRI-negative abnormalities, such as hypoperfusion in the contre-coup region, frontal hypoperfusion related to personality change and cerebellar hypoperfusion associated with vertigo. In two patients presenting with diffuse axonal injury in the brainstem, hypoperfusion in the frontal cortex on the affected side was observed on SPET. SPET demonstrated hypoperfusion in the adjacent cortex, with no abnormality on either CT or MRI, in six of seven patients exhibiting acute epidural haematoma. SPET failed to provide additional information in two of five patients with acute subdural haematoma and in one of two patients displaying chronic subdural haematoma. In four of nine patients with post-traumatic amnesia, SPET detected hypoperfusion in the temporal lobe, with no abnormality on either CT or MRI. In five of eight patients with vertigo, SPET detected hypoperfusion in the morphologically normal cerebellum. In seven cases involving personality change, frontal hypoperfusion was observed in four; moreover, a markedly non-homogeneous pattern was evident in the remaining three. Overall, SPET afforded additional information in 26 patients (74%). CT possesses an advantage with respect to the detection of haemorrhagic lesions. MRI provides more precise information regarding contusions and axonal injury. Frequently, SPET may be the only examination to reveal perfusion abnormalities which are related to symptoms in the absence of other objective findings, such as post-traumatic amnesia, vertigo or personality change.


Contemporarily, TV series experience a flourishing growth. Based on information retrieval and literature analysis, the research was to examine the development of the recent Chinese TV series industry with the help of new media. News reports, journal papers, and other research papers related to the topic in recent years also support the analysis of this paper. To have a deep understanding of current TV series development, this paper selects two qualified representatives in the current TV industry and new media industry, namely Shanheling and Weibo. After tons of research and reading, this paper analyzes the development of TV series with the help of new media in two dimensions, audiences' engagement and marketing strategies. Through the above two aspects, more and more TV companies use similar marketing strategies to increase the traffic of the TV series. Most marketing strategies also improve audiences' engagements and TV companies' plans for their released TV series. This paper described that the current TV company uses marketing strategies to increase the traffic and audiences' engagements in new media, which can provide some reference for scholars and practitioners in related fields to explore the new direction of the development of contemporary TV series development.


This study aims to assess family caregiver quality of life (QOL) and its relationship to the health of chronically ill children. Family caregivers (n = 100) completed the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36, Beck Depression Inventory, and Caregiver Quality of Life for Cystic Fibrosis Scale. Disease severity data were collected for children with cystic fibrosis. Analysis revealed significant QOL issues; and as the child's disease severity increases, the QOL of the caregiver decreases. A relationship exists between the child's and caregiver's health. Program recommendations to benefit family caregiver health and in turn benefit health of chronically ill children are discussed.


ABSTRACT One of the major challenges in the application of biological control agents into the soil is their inability to withstand competition from natural microflora. In this study a management programme involving fungal biological control agents Trichoderma harzianum (TH) and Purpureocillium lilacinium (PL), and the organic amendment neem was carried out for the control of Meloidogyne javanica and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). The experiment was carried out in sterile and non-sterile soil in order to test the efficacy of biological control in natural soil conditions. This experiment was repeated twice. A Wilcoxon's Signed-Rank test indicated there were no significant (P < 0.05) differences in fusarium wilt control in sterile and non sterile soils in the treatments PL neem and TH neem, but there was significantly (P < 0.05) higher control of M. javanica in the same treatments in sterile soils compared to non sterile soils. The combinations of fungal antagonists and neem were effective in non sterile as in sterile soils in the control of fusarium wilt, while being less effective in the control of M. javanica. Thus the biological control agents can be very effective in the control of fusarium wilt in natural conditions where the soil is not sterilised, but be less effective in the control of M. javanica in the same conditions. There is therefore potential of integrated management of fusarium wilt and root-knot nematodes (RKN) by these biological control agents in natural soil field conditions as an alternative to using chemicals.


The detection and analysis of ocean eddies via remote sensing have become a hot topic in physical oceanography during the last few decades. However, eddy identification and tracking via remote sensing can be a challenging task, since each sensor has some limitations. In order to overcome potential challenges, it is crucial to exploit the complementary information provided by different sensing systems. As one of the steps toward this aim, we have investigated the pertinence of applying the scheme, including a texture features extraction and a superpixel segmentation method, in order to distinguish eddies in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) using multisensor remote sensing data. Nevertheless, not all the images available from various sensors are of actual importance, since they can be corrupted, redundant, or simply unnecessary for a particular task. Therefore, we are additionally exploring the relevance of different sensors separately and simultaneously as well as with extracted texture features for eddy monitoring.


Models of stochastic choice typically use conditional choice probabilities given menus as the primitive for analysis, but in the field these are often hard to observe. Moreover, studying preferences over menus is not possible with this data. We assume that an analyst can observe marginal frequencies of choice and availability, but not conditional choice frequencies, and study the testable implications of some prominent models of stochastic choice for this dataset. We also analyze whether parameters of these models can be identified. Finally, we characterize the marginal distributions that can arise under two-stage models in the spirit of Gul and Pesendorfer [2001] and of kreps [1979] where agents select the menu before choosing an alternative.


Image captioning has demonstrated models that are capable of generating plausible text given input images or videos. Further, recent work in image generation has shown significant improvements in image quality when text is used as a prior. Our work ties these concepts together by creating an architecture that can enable bidirectional generation of images and text. We call this network Multi-Modal Vector Representation (MMVR). Along with MMVR, we propose two improvements to the text conditioned image generation. Firstly, a n-gram metric based cost function is introduced that generalizes the caption with respect to the image. Secondly, multiple semantically similar sentences are shown to help in generating better images. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations demonstrate that MMVR improves upon existing text conditioned image generation results by over 20%, while integrating visual and text modalities.


A distributed switching local network for metropolitan area applications is proposed. The network has no centralized building to accommodate the switching system, but parts of the switching are distributed over the city in small metallic boxes. The objective of this kind of network is to reduce the cost of investment in a telephone local network which has customers spread over a large area. The network configuration and the access protocol are discussed. The access control, based on hybrid switching, is flexible enough to accommodate new switching technologies such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). The performance analysis and simulation of the network are also discussed. The network has a ring configuration and a fibre optical transmission system is provided.<<ETX>>